Book 3: XDR Rising
Chapter 8: The Astral Plane
Last time, our heroes investigate the old Second Division Base hidden below the old Lydian Academy to search for Gjallarhorn's secret location before it was shattered. They managed to find the location via a teleporter hidden behind a secret passage in the R&D Lab. From there, they found a hidden cavern with a building that used to house Gjallarhorn, but they have to deal with the unexpected chimeras lead by the Beast Nemesis that are guarding the entrance. Eventually, they are able to defeat the chimeras, destroyed the Red Gates that spawned the chimeras in the area, and captured the Beast Nemesis which then turned back into the Beast Legion, adding a new member to the team. And now our heroes have entered the secret building, hoping to find the answers they seek. What will they discover inside the building that used to house Gjallarhorn?
Inside Gjallarhorn's Secret Building
As the group ventured inside the building, they saw plenty of debris in the hallway with a few cables hanging around the ceiling. It was dark at first, but luckily thanks to Gunvolt's lightning, he was able to turn on the lights for everyone to get a clear view of the hallway.
"Huh, for a secret building to house Gjallarhorn, it seems kind of basic." Chris commented as they kept moving.
"Well it has been a long time since anyone explored this place. Usually they have a lot more security than before to guard the place." Fu Hua pointed out.
"But I guess with the events that happened after the Zwei Wing tragedy, they chose to desert this base to focus on the other disasters occurring in this world." Miku stated.
"Which enabled the Neo Time Jackers to easily infiltrate this place without any interference." Zi-O deduced.
"But how did that third party managed to track those Time Jackers down so quickly?" Kiana pondered with her finger on her chin.
"I think they were secretly following them without being detected until the right moment to intervene." Copen guessed.
"Hm, maybe so." Geiz replied as he glanced at the debris around the hallway. "And they may have started a fight which caused the building to look like this on the inside."
"Then it looks like we'll have to search the main room that housed Gjallarhorn and find out." Ashe stated.
"Speaking of which, I see a large security door up ahead." Mei spoke up as they noticed said door at a distance. "This must be the place."
"GV, Copen, care to get the door open?" Starlight requested, earning a nod from them as they head for the door controls. Gunvolt used his electricity to start up the console before Copen inserted Finé's USB Drive onto the USB slot and pushed a few buttons. A few moments later, the door began to open as Gunvolt and Copen regrouped with the others while Copen put away the USB Drive back into his pocket.
"Alright, this is it. Everyone ready?" Zi-O asked the group, who then nodded back. "Okay, let's do this." He declared as everyone went inside the room that housed Gjallarhorn.
And once they were inside, they gasped in shock at what they saw in the large circular room. "Looks like Geiz was spot on about a fight breaking out between the Neo Time Jackers and that unknown third party." Himeko remarked as they saw multiple debris, broken walls, and hanging cables around the entire room, especially the burn marks at the center of the room. "This room is a complete mess..."
"Why do I feel like the Time Jackers brought an army in this room just to steal Gjallarhorn?" Hibiki pondered.
"Highly unlikely." Vent answered. "I'm guessing that at least one or two of the Time Jacker generals showed up. They didn't need a large enough army to steal one relic considering how strong a general is."
"Well they should've done that since that third party managed to intervene so easily." Chris remarked.
"True." Fu Hua agreed before turning to Zi-O. "Zi-O, could you command the Beast Legion to sniff out any clues in this room?"
"Got it." Zi-O nodded as he glanced at the still active Beast Legion right beside him. "I'll search the center. Geiz, Starlight, help me out."
"Right." Geiz and Starlight nodded as the three and the Legion head for the center of the room to begin the search.
"Hey guys, there's a nearby console over there!" Kiana informed the group as she pointed at said console on the right side of the room. "I wonder if it's still active?"
"That console might have some info we need about what happened to Gjallarhorn." Copen commented before turning to Gunvolt. "Gunvolt, help me start it up."
"You got it." Gunvolt replied as he and Copen head for the console to activate it.
"Right then, everyone else will split up and search the entire room for clues." Himeko ordered the others, earning a nod from them as they split up and searched the room, with Hibiki and Kiana searching the entrance, Himeko and Fu Hua at the north, Miku and Mei at the east, and Chris, Vent and Ashe at the west.
At the control console, Gunvolt used his lightning once more to activate said console, allowing Copen to use it before he inserted Finé's USB Drive into the USB slot and typed a few buttons to search for any useful info.
"Hmm... let's see..." Copen said as he continued his search, until he discovered something on the screen. "Looks like there's some data logs, research notes and videos about Project Gjallarhorn."
"At least we found something." Gunvolt responded. "Should we take a look?"
"Not here. It's better if I download all of the data onto my Zikan Phone before we get head back to S.O.N.G HQ." Copen replied as he took out his Zikan Phone and began downloading the data via wireless connection. "Hopefully Elfnein and the others will put them to good use."
"Fair enough." Gunvolt agreed with a nod.
"Hey, while it's downloading, can we search for the most recent video footage of Gjallarhorn before it was shattered?" Lola suggested.
"Good idea, Lola." Copen agreed as he quickly searched for the recent video footage on the console, until he found what he's looking for. "There it is, December 31st 2044."
"It occurred last month? Well that's oddly specific considering it was New Year's Eve at the time." Joule remarked.
"But... it does make a lot of sense since it counts as a holiday." Gunvolt mused. "While everyone is busy preparing to celebrate the New Year, the Neo Time Jackers can take advantage of the distractions to infiltrate the base without being noticed."
"Okay, gotta admit, that was pretty damn clever." Copen remarked. "Anyway, I'm gonna play the footage now." Once he started playing the video, all they saw however was too much static images which made it difficult to describe what was on the video. "Tch... looks like the footage had too much static. I can't tell what I'm even looking at right now." He muttered.
"Still, let's download that corrupted footage so that Elfnein and the others can repair it when we get back." Lola advised.
"Right." Copen nodded as he began downloading the corrupted footage.
Meanwhile at the center of the room, Zi-O, Geiz, Starlight and the Beast Legion are there to search the area for any clues. "Alright Legion, see if you can sniff out any clues. Sound off if you find anything." Zi-O ordered, earning a nod from the Legion as it began to walk around the area, sniffing for clues.
"You know, I've just realized that you guys have four of the five Legions now." Starlight spoke to the Riders. "Which leaves us with one more chimera we've yet to encounter."
"Yeah, the Arms Legion." Geiz nodded. "Though we have to deal with the Arms Nemesis first, and we all know how strong that thing is when I reached that part of the game."
"Yep." Zi-O nodded. "Those large fists are gonna be hard to deal with, and it fires lasers and a gravity cannon."
"Not to mention that chimera also acts like a living armor, meaning it could possess someone for additional power and defence, along with the ability for the wearer to hover." Starlight added. "Plus it can push, carry and throw really heavy objects."
"Speaking of possession, if we ever encounter the Arms Nemesis, will it appear alone or in possession of someone first?" Geiz pondered.
"Who knows." Zi-O shrugged. "But in case of the latter, we'll have to free the possessed person first before subduing the Nemesis."
"Right." Geiz nodded. "Though we'll need to use our Legion to perform a Blueshift on the person to erase that Red Matter out of the person's body. I don't want the person we saved to turn into a chimera once we've dealt with the Nemesis."
"Good idea." Zi-O agreed, until he saw Starlight pondering with her hand on her chin. "What's up, sis?"
"I've been wondering about the Astral Plane." Starlight said. "Eventually we'll have to go inside that place to close the swirling Red Gates by destroying the chimeras inside, especially the ones responsible for creating that gate which is mostly an elite."
"Guess so." Zi-O replied back. "I just hope that our Rider suits and your Pretty Cure powers can resist the Red Matter corruption. None of us want to get hit with a Redshift."
"Yeah, same goes for the Attuned with the Gear Systems, and Gunvolt and Copen with the Faust Robes." Geiz nodded. "Don't know about Kiana and the other valkyries, unless they had implanted a special Stigmata on their backs."
"Since there's two types of Red Gates, I think I'll just call the swirling one the Red Vortex. What do you guys think?" Starlight asked for their opinion.
"That'll do./Makes sense." Geiz and Zi-O agreed, until they eventually heard the Beast Legion barking.
"Looks like the Legion found something. Come on." Zi-O said as they went to the barking Legion. "Found something?" He asked the Legion, who then nodded back before turning to the spot it sniffed and began digging with its front claws. And once it stopped digging, it took a few steps back, allowing them to see what it dug up, and their eyes widen in shock at what it found. "Well, holy shit. What do we have here?" Zi-O responded as he picked up a small fragment that the Legion dug up.
"Is that what I think it is?" Starlight said, taking a closer look at the fragment, while Geiz pulled out his Zikan Phone and examined it.
"Yeah, there's no doubt about it. That's a Gjallarhorn Fragment!" Geiz informed after seeing the results and put away his phone. "I never expected some of the fragments to be left behind."
"Neither do I." Starlight nodded before pulling out the colorless Gjallarhorn Ridewatch. "Either way, we've hit the jackpot! Let's store it inside the Ridewatch."
"Not just yet. I have plans for this one." Zi-O replied with a raised finger before moving the fragment in front of the Legion. "See if you can sniff on this fragment to find more hidden ones around here." He told the Legion before it began to sniff on the fragment. Afterwards, its eyes slightly widen before beginning to search the ground once more to find any more of the fragments. A few moments later, it began barking once more, prompting the three to see what it dug up, and it made their eyes widen once more. "I feel tempted to yell out a catchphrase from a certain Super Sentai right now, 'cause boy are we lucky to find more fragments!" Zi-O grinned as Geiz and Starlight picked up what the Legion dug up, two more Gjallarhorn Fragments.
"Hehe! That's a good boy!" Starlight praised the Legion with a smile as she rubbed its head, making its tail wag.
"When we get back to base, I'll be sure to give you some dog treats." Geiz smiled at the Legion.
"So, any more fragments, Legion?" Zi-O asked the Legion, who then shook its head in confirmation. "I see. That's fine, it'll have to do." He nodded as they brought out the Gjallarhorn Ridewatches. "Alright, time to store them inside." He said before they turned the dials and pushed the button, activating the Ridewatch as it began to absorb the fragments into the watches. Once done, the Ridewatches became colorized with the Gjallarhorn symbol appearing at the center.
"I'm sure Einstein and Elfnein will know what to do with the Gjallarhorn Ridewatches." Starlight said as they put away the Ridewatches. "Maybe portals to some of the worlds we haven't visited yet."
"Well, Einstein could be planning to build a warpgate to the other worlds later on, with the help of Elfnein, Tesla and Dr. Fleuve." Geiz stated. "Gonna take a while before it could be properly used."
"Oh well, guess we'll have to rely on the Zi-O Liner for our world travelling for the time being." Zi-O shrugged as they put away the Gjallarhorn Ridewatches. "Thanks for the help, Beast Legion. You can rest now." Zi-O said to the Legion, who let out a nod and a bark before disappearing back into his Legatus. "Everyone, status report!"
"No clues on our side." Himeko reported.
"Not much over here." Vent informed.
"Nothing on our side either." Mei added.
"Same goes for the entrance. Not much." Kiana reported. "Did you three find anything?"
"Yup, we sure did." Zi-O answered as he, Geiz and Starlight nodded. "GV, Copen, any useful info you found on that console?"
"Yeah. Copen's downloading all of the data about Gjallarhorn into his Zikan Phone, including the most recent video footage." Gunvolt informed.
"Recent video footage?" Geiz repeated. "When was it?"
"December 31st 2044."
"Wait, New Year's Eve?" Starlight responded. "So this entire multiversal incident happened on that day?"
"Should be." Copen replied. "Unfortunately the video is a bit corrupted when we tried to take a look. We'll have to show this to Elfnein and the others when we get back to S.O.N.G HQ, they might be able to repair it."
"Understood." Geiz nodded. "How's the download process so far?"
"Just give it a few more seconds..." Copen informed as he stared at his Zikan Phone, until it let out a small ping. "Alright, download complete. All of the data is inside my phone now." He reported as he put away the Zikan Phone.
"Good work." Geiz replied before turning to Zi-O. "So, what now?"
"We've got all we need, so our investigation is finished." Zi-O replied. "Alright everyone, time to go home! We're all done here!"
"Finally! I can head home to relax." Chris sighed with relief. "Hopefully there's something good on TV lately."
"Oh, maybe you can watch with me and the others about the history of the Kamen Riders at the Zi-O Liner!" Hibiki suggested before turning to Miku. "You wanna watch with me too, Miku?"
"Well, I don't have any plans lately, so sure. I'll watch with you, Hibiki." Miku accepted with a smile.
"Thanks, Miku!" Hibiki smiled back.
"History of the Kamen Riders, huh?" Chris pondered before turning to the Riders. "Hey, it's not gonna be another boring video encyclopedia, is it?"
"Nope, it's a long list of video volumes with each season." Zi-O answered.
"I'd suggest you start with Kamen Rider Kuuga before watching the other seasons." Geiz suggested. "But hey, it's your choice."
Chris pondered for a moment with a hand on her chin, until she made her choice and turned to Hibiki. "Fine, I'll come and watch with you. Hope it's worth it."
"Don't worry, it'll definitely be worth it!" Hibiki assured with a smile before turning to the Riders. "Right, guys?" The Riders then responded with a thumbs up.
"Hehe, kids these days." Himeko chuckled as she turned to Fu Hua, who was starting to feel off with her eyes closed. "Hm? What's wrong, Fu Hua?"
Fu Hua then opened her eyes with a serious look on her face. "...We're not alone."
"Huh?"
"Someone's watching us. I can feel their aura from here." Fu Hua clarified. "Prepare for an ambush."
Himeko's eyes widen when she heard what Fu Hua said considering that she knew about her ki powers before, including detection. "Everyone, weapons ready! We've got an ambush coming for us!" Himeko quickly informed the others, making their eyes widen before they prepared their weapons.
"Tch! I've should've known that there's enemies hiding inside the base besides the entrance." Geiz muttered.
"Ugh... why can't life always be easy?" Ashe groaned in annoyance.
"Hey, life can also be a bitch at times! Get used to it!" Chris responded, earning an annoyed sigh from Ashe.
"Everyone stay in position, and keep your guard up!" Vent ordered, earning a nod from everyone as they looked around, prepared to deal with the ambush.
And soon enough, the ambush came from above consisting of more canine chimeras as they surrounded the areas on each of the teams.
"More chimeras?!" Mei exclaimed. "Is there another Red Gate hidden inside this building?!"
"Could be it! That's how the chimeras got inside in the first place!" Fu Hua responded.
"Here they come!" Zi-O shouted as he dodged a lunge from a chimera, and then slashed it in half with his Zikan Gilade.
For a few moments, they managed to hold off the ambush, until something appeared right behind Kiana and Hibiki. A red swirling portal appeared, catching the two off guard and shocking the others. "What the?! Where did this portal come from?!" Hibiki exclaimed as she and Kiana tried to stand their ground to avoid being sucked in.
"I think this must be the other Red Gate that spawned the chimeras!" Kiana stated while grabbing Hibiki's hand. "Hang on, Hibiki!"
However, two more canine chimeras drop down from above, landed behind the unaware girls and lunged at them, sending the girls and themselves into the gate.
"HIBIKI!/KIANA!" Miku and Mei exclaimed as they noticed their friends being lunged into the gate by the chimeras. In response, Miku and Mei immediately obliterated the chimeras around them with their weapons and quickly dashed towards the gate.
"Wait, Miku! Mei! Don't go in there yet!" Geiz called to them, but it was too late as the two already dashed into the gate.
"Miku! Mei!" Himeko exclaimed.
"Tch! Those idiots!" Chris shouted as she turned her Armed Gear into her gattling guns again and shoot down every single chimeras to dust, with support from Ashe using her Giga Crush skill. "Well, what now?!" Chris asked the Riders and Starlight who were pondering on their next course of action.
"No choice. We'll have to go inside the Red Gate, find them, and then bring them back here." Zi-O reluctantly declared.
"Are you guys crazy?!" Chris exclaimed. "Didn't you two tell me two days ago about what happens when you enter the Astral Plane?! The Red Matter inside that place will turn you into chimeras overtime!"
"We know!" Geiz responded. "But we can't leave them in there! That, and we have to destroy the Red Vortex from the inside by eliminating the guardian chimera that created it. Destroying the vortex from the outside with the astral chain will not work."
"Red Vortex?" Vent repeated.
"Another type of Red Gate created by the chimeras. We call it that because of the swirling vortex."
"You two are going in there, are you?" Starlight asked the Riders, earning a nod from them. "Alright, then I'm gonna stay here with the others."
"Wait, you're not going with them, Starlight?" Himeko questioned.
"Some of us will have to stay here and fend of the chimeras spawning out of the Red Vortex." Starlight stated.
"Fair enough." Fu Hua nodded as she turned to the Riders. "Speaking of which, can your battlesuits resist the Red Matter corruption?"
"Well, we won't know until we find out for ourselves." Zi-O replied. "But as long as we're still in our Rider suits, we should be fine... hopefully."
"GV, can you come with us? We could use a bit of backup." Geiz offered.
"Hold on a minute, Geiz!" Joule interrupted. "Are you sure it's a good idea bring along GV into the Astral Plane? I'm not sure if his Septima and the Faust Robe will protect him from the corruption."
"Again, won't know until we find out ourselves."
Copen began to ponder about what Geiz said about the Red Matter corruption and the possible resistance to said substance. If he could get some results, he might be able to find either a temporary or permanent solution to safely enter the Astral Plane and deal with the chimeras inside. "Gunvolt, I think you should go with them." He suggested.
"Copen?" Gunvolt responded.
"I might be able to write some notes on how to resist the Red Matter corruption when we get back to HQ. It's like testing experiments on lab rats in order to get results." Copen stated.
"In other words, you want us to report on our battlesuits if it can resist the corruption or not." Gunvolt guessed.
"Exactly." Copen nodded.
Gunvolt pondered on Copen's words, until he made a decision. "...Alright, I'll go with them. Hope you'll make good use of those results."
"I will. I wouldn't be a scientist if I didn't make use of them." Copen assured before turning to Ashe. "Ashe, you go with them too."
"What?!" Ashe and Vent exclaimed.
"Hold on, Copen! Are you sure it's safe for her to go inside the Astral Plane?" Vent questioned.
"And I'm still unsure if the Mega Man armor can resist the corruption." Ashe added.
"I know. But we won't know the answer without trying, even if it's risky." Copen replied. "Still, it's your choice if you want to go or not. I'll respect your choice either way."
Vent and Ashe looked at each other and pondered about what Copen said, until the decision was made. "Ashe, will you be okay in there?" Vent asked.
"Honestly, I'm not sure what will happen when I go there, even though I can be quite the thrill-seeker." Ashe replied. "Ah, what the hell. If it's to help Copen with his research, then I might as well take that risk."
"I'd figured you'd say that." Vent sighed before smiling. "Stay safe in there, okay?"
"I will." Ashe smiled back before turning to Copen. "Alright, I'm taking that risk."
"Thanks, Ashe." Copen smiled.
"Okay, let's head for the Astral Plane before the next wave of chimeras arrive." Geiz declared, earning a nod from Zi-O, Gunvolt and Ashe as they head for the Red Vortex without going too close to it.
"GV, better use your Faust Robe before entering that vortex." Joule advised.
"Got it." Gunvolt nodded before he took out his Relic Pendant and begin his transformation sequence. "Oversurge! Faust Robe!" And in a quick flash of azure light, he donned his Faust Robe.
"So this is your Faust Robe, GV? Wow you look badass in that, with a nice scarf too." Starlight complimented.
"Heh. Thanks, Starlight." Gunvolt replied with a smile.
"GV, grab my hand. Ashe, hold onto Geiz's hand. And whatever you do, don't let go." Zi-O ordered, earning a nod from the two as they hold hands. Afterwards, the Riders summoned the Sword and Arrow Legions, and with one swipe, they sent the Legions into the Red Vortex, before the four were pulled into the vortex via the astral chains bound by the Legatus.
"Good luck, guys." Starlight whispered.
"Head's up! I'm sensing more enemies coming out of the vortex!" Fu Hua informed after using her ki-sense at the vortex, prompting everyone to prepare their weapons once more. A few seconds later, several more ground and air abberations spawned out of the vortex, hell-bent on eliminating their targets.
"Tch... looks like we're gonna be busy for a while dealing with the abberations...!" Chris muttered.
"They'd better not take too long, or we'll be overwhelmed by this endless swarm...!" Vent stated.
"Get ready to stand your ground, everyone!" Himeko shouted as they prepared to face the approaching abberations.
Elsewhere...
A vortex appeared in an unknown red dimension with large black cubic-shaped floating platforms, and out came the Legions, Gunvolt, Ashe, and the Riders, landing safely onto said platform before the vortex disappeared behind them. "Okay, you can let go now. We're here." Zi-O spoke to Gunvolt and Ashe, who then released their hands while the Riders dispersed their Legions back into their Legatus unless needed once more.
"Whoa..." Gunvolt and Ashe spoke in awe when they glanced at their new location. Several more floating cubes along with red crystals and an endless void below.
"Everyone, welcome to the homeworld of the chimeras; the Astral Plane." Geiz announced.
"Why do I get the feeling that we've stepped into Hell?" Ashe commented.
"For me, I'm reminded of that one mission where I had to deal with Teseo by traversing through something like this. Except that his version is green instead of red, and without any unknown corruption." Gunvolt added.
"Is that so?" Ashe asked, earning a nod from Gunvolt. "How's Joule doing?"
"Well, I'm fine at the moment. But it's better if I stay inside the relic for the time being." Joule replied.
"I understand." Ashe nodded. "Still, it'd be nice if we have some kind of device that knows how much Red Matter corruption we're absorbing while we're in here."
"That would be really nice right about now. I just hope I can last long in here, and this place gives me the creeps..." Model A commented to Ashe, earning a nod from her.
"Hmm... let me see if the Legatus has that feature." Geiz said as he activated a holo-screen on the Legatus and pushed a few buttons. "Ah, there we go. We can see our corruption levels from here, but let me set the numbers in percentage format to make it easier to read." He then pushed a few more buttons until the settings are done. "Okay. Looks like the percentage is increasing at a very slow rate, probably thanks to our armors. But if we take too much damage, the corruption rate will increase." He informed before dispersing the holo-screen.
"So as long as we don't get hit too much, we'll be fine. Got it." Gunvolt noted with Ashe nodding.
"Alright team, time to get moving. The sooner we rescue our friends, the better." Zi-O declared as they quickly ran deeper into the Astral Plane to look for their friends.
"Hey, while we're looking for them, is it alright if I can take a few pictures of the Astral Plane?" Ashe suggested while they're running.
"This isn't a field trip, Ashe." Gunvolt deadpanned. "Although... it might be useful study material for Copen and the other scientists. It may gave them some ideas in the future."
"In that case..." Ashe responded by taking out her Zikan Phone, activated the Camera function with the flash deactivated, and took several photos of the Astral Plane. "Boy are those scientists gonna be surprised once I show them these, especially Elfnein and Einstein." She commented as she looked at the photos she took before putting away the phone.
"Why those two in particular?" Gunvolt questioned.
"Meh, just curious." Ashe shrugged.
As they traverse through the dimensional space and eliminating any abberations passing by, they soon reach a location where unknown purple gas spewed out from below the platform. "Ugh... this trap." Geiz muttered in annoyance. "Take one step into the gas and your body will hurt, even when you covered your mouths."
"So how do we get past this trap?" Gunvolt asked.
"We have to find some kind of cocoon that produced the gas and destroy it." Zi-O answered as he looked around to find said cocoon. "Ah, there it is." He then noticed said grey colored cocoon on the far left at a long distance.
"Hey, there's another one over there!" Ashe informed, noticing and pointing at another cocoon on the far right at a distance.
"Two, huh? Then that means we need to destroy both of them in order to turn off the gas." Geiz stated as he summoned his Zikan Zax Yumi Mode and the Arrow Legion.
"Think yours and the Legion's energy arrow can hit that far?" Gunvolt asked.
"I've done my marksman training when I was doing my police CCA in collage." Geiz replied as he took aim at the left cocoon. "Legion, take out the one on the right." He told the Legion, earning a nod from it before taking aim at its target with its bow.
"Try not to miss." Ashe smirked with her arms crossed.
"Heh, there's a secret to hitting your target properly." Geiz smirked back. "One clean motion. No hesitation." He and the Legion then fired their arrows at the same time and destroyed the cocoons in one shot, which permanently turned off the gas. "Just like that." He finished as he dispersed his weapon and the Arrow Legion.
Gunvolt whistled at Geiz's performance. "Nice shot."
"I feel like I've heard that quote before in a video game. But boy was it accurate." Zi-O smiled.
"Well that quote made me ace my marksman training." Geiz smiled back.
"Ah, so that's how. Heh, and people said video games doesn't teach you useful facts." Zi-O chuckled. "Alright, time to get moving." He declared as everyone continued to traverse through the Astral Plane since the path is safe to cross.
Eventually, they reached another area where they saw a floating glowing red crystal that looked a bit broken, and a path that's blocked with more cubic walls. "Huh, well that's a pretty looking crystal." Ashe remarked, looking at said crystal. "If this thing wasn't created in the Astral Plane, I'd definitely sell it."
"I wouldn't sell something like that if I were you." Geiz warned her.
"Although, why does this crystal looked... incomplete?" Gunvolt questioned after taking a closer look at said crystal.
"Incomplete?" Zi-O repeated before taking a closer look, before gently slamming his palm with his fist in realization. "Ah, now I remember why. We need to find some of the broken shards and put them back into this crystal so that the completed crystal will reveal the path forward."
"So it's another puzzle." Ashe responded. "Hopefully it's only a few shards we need to find."
"Something like that." Zi-O replied. "Except for one tiny little detail; we need to use the astral chain to drag the shards back to the crystal."
"...You're kidding." Ashe deadpanned.
"I wish I was." Zi-O sighed.
"Anyway, while me and Zi-O drag the shards back to the crystal, you two will have to cover us in case any abberations try to get the drop on us." Geiz stated. "GV, you're with me this time to search the right. Ashe, you go with Zi-O and search left."
"Got it." Gunvolt replied with a nod, with Ashe also nodding.
Soon after, they go their separate ways to search for the shards. They eventually found a shard on their paths, prompting the Riders to summon the Sword and Arrow Legion again, and used the astral chain to drag the shards back to the crystal. However, abberations began showing up to impede their progress, but we're quickly eliminated thanks to Gunvolt and Ashe. Once they regrouped back to the crystal's location, the Riders used the astral chains to drag the shards into the incomplete crystal, fusing it into a complete crystal as it turned blue, and fired a small blue laser onto the cubic walls, turning them blue and revealing a new path to enter.
The group then traversed through the new path, until they reached a dead end with a floating cubic platform high above them. "Okay, how are we gonna go up there?" Ashe asked, looking at said platform.
"Usually we need to find a switch to activate that floating platform." Geiz answered.
"You mean that large crystal over there?" Gunvolt said, pointing at said crystal on their left.
"Good eye, GV." Zi-O praised before summoning the Beast Legion. "Now stand back. Only the Legions can hit that switch."
"...Seriously?" Ashe deadpanned.
"Seriously." Zi-O responded with the same look. "Hitting the switch with our normal weapons and powers will not work."
"I wonder if it's because of the Red Matter and Blue Matter?" Joule pondered.
"Now that you mention it... it does makes sense in a way since the Astral Plane is comprised with Red Matter." Gunvolt mused.
"Man, Copen's gonna have one heck of a field day if he entered the Astral Plane next time, examining everything he sees in there." Ashe commented.
"I just hope that he can keep his mind in check. I don't want him to take the mad scientist route." Geiz said.
"And that's why we're looking out for him in case he took the wrong path again." Zi-O added, earning a nod from the group. Afterwards, he ordered the Legion to attack the red crystal, turning it blue and fired a small laser onto the floating platform above them, making it descend till it stopped right in front of them while the crystal changed back to red. "Alright, everybody onto the platform. It's our only path forward at the moment." Zi-O ordered the group before everyone climbed onto the platform. Afterwards, he ordered the Legion to attack the crystal again, turning it blue and fired the laser onto the platform their standing, making it ascend to the path above them while Zi-O dispersed the Legion.
Once they reached the top path however, Joule began to sense something. "Guys, I'm starting to feel a small Phonic Gain reading up ahead. I think it might be Hibiki or Miku!" Joule informed, shocking the group.
"My guess is probably Miku since she's the second one to enter the Red Vortex." Geiz deduced. "And maybe Mei is with her too."
"Then we'd better get a move on and save them!" Gunvolt declared as they quickly traversed through the path to save their friends.
"Wait, what about Hibiki and Kiana?!" Ashe questioned.
"Probably way ahead of them since they're the first ones that entered the Astral Plane! But right now, let's focus on saving Miku and Mei first!" Zi-O stated as they continued to run as fast as they could.
Speaking of Miku and Mei, they're busy fighting a really powerful floating chimera that fired several finger lasers at them, prompting them to block and evade said lasers before regrouping. "I've never expected to run into another Nemesis so soon...! And he's a lot tougher than the Beast Nemesis!" Mei muttered while catching her breath.
"And those large fists of that Nemesis... This is something Hibiki would excel at when it comes to hand-to-hand combat...!" Miku added as they stared at the Nemesis.
The Nemesis in question has a large and stocky body build resembling the upper torso of a human, has black skin along with black, grey and red-accented lined armor plating on its body, glowing red eyes, and a red triangular core on its hollow chest. The Nemesis also resembled a living armor, but it has a pair of large floating and heavily armored lower arms and hands that are detached from the main body, and suspended in front of it. It's branded with "NEURON" on the extensions from its hip, "POLICE" on the floating arms and the area on the main body, and "SV-02" on its chest. In addition, there's a pair of human legs hanging below the Nemesis' lower body.
"But why does this Nemesis have a pair of human legs? That looks... unnatural." Mei commented as she noticed said legs on the Nemesis.
"Either way, what do we do, Mei? I don't think I can hold on for much longer." Miku asked.
"We'll have to stand our ground." Mei answered, preparing her katana once more. "I'm pretty sure that the Riders are also in the Astral Plane to look for us, Hibiki and Kiana."
"You think so?"
"They knew how to deal with the chimeras and the Astral Plane. I have faith in them, and so should you, Miku. So we can't give up just yet!"
"Mei..." Miku whispered, before nodding with a determined look and prepared her Armed Gear once more. "You're right, we can't give up now! Hibiki and Kiana wouldn't want us to give up either! Let's stand our ground until the Riders arrive!"
"That's the spirit." Mei smiled before they heard the Nemesis roaring once more, earning their attention. "Here it comes!"
The Arms Nemesis quickly rushed towards the girls and about to deliver a haymaker punch, only for a large rolling spike tyre to hit the back of the chimera's head before the tyre flew off. The Nemesis turned around, only for another rolling spike tyre to hit right on its face. The Nemesis punched away the tyre to the side in annoyance, only to be hit in the face by a flaming dive kick from a mysterious figure, pushing the chimera back a few steps and making it stagger, while the figure jumped away and landed right in front of Miku and Mei while still facing the chimera.
"Huh?/Who is that?" Mei and Miku questioned as they stared at the mysterious figure.
It looked like a mechanical humanoid gazelle with a sand color body along with red, black and white details. It has two cannons for arms with long red hooks on its wrists, and a pair of red and black horns with the appearance of sword blades. The plating on the back of its head resembles the feathers of a war bonnet, and its feet have the appearance of pilots from locomotives.
"Phew... glad we made it in time." The humanoid spoke before slightly turning its head to see the girls. "Miku, Mei, are you both okay?"
"Eh? How do you know our names?" Mei asked.
"It's me, Ashe. I'm using Buckfire's form using Model A's A-Trans power."
"Wait, Ashe?!" Miku gasped. "And this is your Biometal's power?!"
"Heh, pretty neat, huh? And don't worry, I'm not the only one here to bail you girls out of trouble." A-Buckfire said as she gestured her head to the arrivals, which turned out to be Gunvolt, Zi-O and Geiz in his DriveArmor.
"GV! Zi-O! Geiz!" Miku smiled at the arrivals.
"You two really need to wait first before jumping in." Zi-O said to the girls with his arms crossed. "Don't you know how worried all of us are? Especially Chris."
"Sorry..." Mei apologized.
"Well, no matter. At least you two are okay." Zi-O said.
"Though I never expected you two to run into another Nemesis so soon. The one called the Arms Nemesis." Geiz added as they stared at the Nemesis.
"So that's what that Nemesis is called." Mei noted.
"But why does it has human legs for some reason?" Gunvolt questioned as he noticed said legs hanging on the Nemesis' lower body.
"Human legs?" The Riders repeated before taking a closer look at the Nemesis, before their eyes widen in shock. "Oh, son of a bitch!"
"Eh?" Everyone responded.
"That Nemesis is possessing an innocent civilian as a shield for protection!" Zi-O pointed out.
"What?!"
"We'll have to get that person out of that Nemesis before we can subdue it!" Geiz stated.
"And how are we supposed to do that?" A-Buckfire asked.
"We'll have to wear down its stamina so that we can forcefully pull that person out." Geiz answered.
"After that, we're free to deal with the Nemesis. Just make sure to put that person to a safe distance." Zi-O added before turning to Miku and Mei. "By the way, I need to check your corruption levels really quick. Hope you don't take too much damage from that Nemesis." He quickly materialized the holo-screen from the Legatus and activated the Scan feature onto the girls. "30% from both of you. Glad you're still hanging in there. Good thing Miku's Symphogear can resist the Red Matter corruption. Though I don't know about how Mei can resist it."
"I think it might be because of some leftovers powers of the Herrscher of Thunder inside my body that helped me resist the corruption." Mei guessed.
"Ah, right. I remember my sister telling us about that." Zi-O recalled Akira's report yesterday at the London Eye where he met her and some of her teammates.
"Oh, there's another thing I need to inform you guys." Miku spoke up.
"What's up?" Gunvolt asked.
"Before we encountered the Arms Nemesis, we saw a few canine chimeras heading for that path over there." Miku informed as she looked at said path in the north. "I think Hibiki and Kiana must've gone through that path."
"Is that so?" Geiz responded, until they heard the Arms Nemesis roaring again. "Miku, Mei, Zi-O, you three head for that path and find Hibiki and Kiana. The rest of us will stay here to deal with the Arms Nemesis and save that innocent civilian."
"Think you and the others can handle it?" Zi-O asked.
"Trust me, we'll get the job done. We'll catch up to you guys soon." Geiz assured. "Also, Miku and Mei will need to take a breather to recover their stamina from fighting that Nemesis, so keep an eye on them until they're ready to fight again."
"Understood." Zi-O nodded before turning to Miku and Mei. "Come on, you two! Time to go after Hibiki and Kiana!"
"Right!" Miku and Mei nodded as they and Zi-O head for the northern path to find their friends.
The Arms Nemesis is about to go after them, only to get intercepted by Geiz, Gunvolt and A-Buckfire. "Don't even think about it, buddy! If you want them, then you'll have to go through us first!" A-Buckfire taunted the Nemesis, earning an angry roar from it.
The Nemesis began to fire multiple lasers from its body and its fingers, prompting Geiz to summon the Axe Legion in front of him with a barrier active to block the lasers. For Gunvolt, he went in front of A-Buckfire and used his Flashfield to protect themselves from the lasers. "Geiz, any tips on how to deal with the Arms Nemesis?" Gunvolt asked.
"Well despite its large fists, it knows how to punch really hard and really fast." Geiz answered.
"How fast are its punches?" A-Buckfire asked.
"My guess, it's lightning fast. Good thing I'm using the DriveArmor that allows me to punch really fast, but not as hard as the Arms Nemesis." Geiz answered, before glancing at Gunvolt. "But, maybe you can do that with your fists, GV, thanks to your Faust Robe and your Armed Gears, along with your Septima."
"Now that you mention it... I do feel a lot faster and stronger when I use my Faust Robe." Gunvolt replied.
"Better give it a shot, GV." Joule suggested, earning a nod from Gunvolt.
"Though we still need to rescue that civilian first before we can attack the Nemesis properly. Any ideas?" A-Buckfire asked.
"We'll have to use some risky coordinated maneuvers in order to trick the Nemesis and lower its guard down." Geiz answered. "And as for getting the civilian out of that chimera safely, just leave it to me and my Legion."
"Got it." Gunvolt nodded. "So what should we do first?"
For a few quick moments, Geiz explained his strategy to them on how to deal with the Nemesis. Once his explanation is finished, they nodded in understanding and turned their attention towards the Nemesis that's still firing lasers at them.
"Alright, time for our plan to go for a spin!" Geiz declared as he dispersed his Legion and quickly rushed towards the firing Nemesis while dodging, jumping over and sliding under the lasers thanks to his DriveArmor enhancing his speed. When he's nearly up close, he summoned the Axe Legion to attack the Nemesis, forcing it to retaliate in close combat. Once the Legion delivered a few axe strikes to the Nemesis, it began to block with its axe and its barrier while the Nemesis retaliated with a few punches and hooks before unleashing a torrent of lighting fast punches to the Legion. The Nemesis eventually broke the Legion's barrier, pushing it back. When the Nemesis is about to deliver a powerful haymaker onto the Legion, the Legion quickly disappeared while Geiz went ahead and dodged under the Nemesis' haymaker, and countered with a flurry of rapid punches to the stomach, following up with a red energized right hook which staggered and pushed back the Nemesis.
The Nemesis roared once more before rushing towards Geiz and delivered a torrent of lightning fast punches, while Geiz retaliated with the same torrent of fast punches, turning it into a power struggle. The Nemesis is gaining the upper hand due to its strength, making Geiz fall behind as his momentum is slowing down. The Nemesis then delivered another powerful haymaker to Geiz, only for him to evade the attack with a backflip while Gunvolt rushed forward, dodged under its haymaker and delivered a few lightning hooks to the stomach, and following up with a powerful lightning uppercut that sent the Nemesis flying into the air. Geiz quickly summoned the Arrow Legion and ordered it to rush towards the civilian's legs and grabbed them. And with one astral chain pull from Geiz, the Legion pulled the civilian out of the Nemesis, flew right next to Geiz and gently place the civilian onto the ground. And as for A-Buckfire, she delivered a powerful flaming dive kick onto the Nemesis' face till they crashed onto the ground before she jumped away and landed beside Geiz while Gunvolt regrouped with them.
"Hehe, don't you just love it when a plan comes together?" A-Buckfire commented with satisfaction. "So, who did we rescue?"
Geiz took a closer look at the rescued unconscious civilian, until his eyes widen in deep shock as to who that person is. "No. Gacking. Way." He thought with disbelief as he recognized the person. "CIEL?!"
The older woman named Ciel has pale skin, long blonde hair with three angular bangs that are tied into a ponytail. She wears a pink outfit consisting of a helmet with a hole on the back for her ponytail along with a retractable visor on the front, a sleeveless dress, a resistance vest, plated high heels and white gloves, with a black bodysuit underneath, and also wearing a pink commander's coat over her outfit.
"Geiz? You feeling okay?" Gunvolt asked after noticing the Rider's behaviour.
"Well... I sorta know who this person is." Geiz slowly answered, before quickly shaking his head and turned to Gunvolt and A-Buckfire. "On second thought, I'll tell you who it is later after we deal with the Arms Nemesis." He declared as he and the others turned to the Nemesis that's slowing floating properly and has recovered from A-Buckfire's dive kick. "Wearing down that Nemesis is gonna take a while before I can capture it."
"...Very well. We'll hear your answer later." Gunvolt replied.
"No problem." A-Buckfire smirked. "With the three of us working together, we can-" But then she was forcefully reverted back into her Base Form before she could finish her sentence. "H-Huh?" Ashe blinked in confusion before looking at herself. "A-Trans wore off already?! Model A, what happened?! I thought it would last longer!"
"Sorry Ashe, but I think being inside the Astral Plane somehow shortened the duration of A-Trans. Not to mention having a longer recharge time than before." Model A answered.
"Tch, I really hate that handicap." Ashe muttered.
"What did Model A say?" Gunvolt asked.
"The Astral Plane somehow shortened the duration of my A-Trans, along with having a longer recharge time." Ashe answered. "Sorry guys, but I'll have to stay in Base Form for the time being."
"I see." Geiz noted. "That's fine, you've done enough. For now, I want you to protect that girl. Me and GV will finish the fight."
"Alright." Ashe nodded before smiling. "Looking forward to meeting the Arms Legion soon."
Geiz smirked back as he and Gunvolt prepared to fight the Arms Nemesis once more while Ashe went to protect the unconscious Ciel from harm. "So, any advice on how to deal with the Nemesis now?" Gunvolt asked.
"It may no longer have a possessed host, but it's still strong without it. Just watch out for its Gravity Storm skill." Geiz replied.
"Gravity Storm?" Gunvolt raised an eyebrow. "Does this Nemesis have a gravity cannon or something?"
"Yep, so try not to get hit, or get sucked in. It'll leave you open for a counterattack."
"Got it." Gunvolt heeded Geiz's warning with a nod.
"Time for a Form Change." Geiz declared as he detached the Drive Ridewatch before putting it away as he reverted back to Base Form, and then brought out the OOO Ridewatch as he turned the dial and pushed the button.
=OOO!=
Afterwards, he inserted the Ridewatch onto the belt, slammed the tilt button and give the belt a 360 spin.
=ARMOR TIME!=
Three mechanical creatures appeared behind Geiz via a portal consisting of a red hawk, a yellow and black-striped tiger, and a grasshopper as the three began to briefly attack the Nemesis. Afterwards, the three went back to Geiz and fused with him, with the grasshopper forming armor for the legs, the tiger for the body along with a claw on his right arm, and the hawk for the helmet with the katakana for OOO slamming onto his visor. The katakana for hawk, tiger and grasshopper also appeared on his front body armor. This is Geiz's OOOArmor.
=TAKA! TORA! BATTA! OOO!=
"Whoa..." Gunvolt spoke with awe at Geiz's new armor.
"So this is the power of Kamen Rider OOO..." Joule also spoke. "But what's Taka, Tora and Batta?"
"It's japanese language, Joule. Taka means Hawk, Tora means Tiger, and Batta means Grasshopper." Gunvolt explained.
"Yep." Geiz nodded. "OOO uses the power of three creatures; one for the head, one for the arms and body, and one for the arms."
"I see. And from the looks of your armor, you gained enhanced sight of a hawk, a tiger's claw, and enhanced jumping power of a grasshopper."
"Yep, got it in one, GV."
"Huh, feels a bit similar to W's power, except that OOO has three abilities instead of two." Joule compared, with Gunvolt nodding in agreement, before they noticed the Arms Nemesis roaring as it fused its hands together, forming a large cannon and fired a gravity bomb.
"Gravity Storm already?!" Geiz exclaimed in shock. "GV, grab my hand for a bit!"
Gunvolt nodded as he grabbed Geiz's hand, who then used his enhanced jumping power to jump very high above the Nemesis and away from the Gravity Storm to avoid being sucked in.
"Springboard, GV!" Geiz shouted before Gunvolt released Geiz's hand and then moved his hands to the front, allowing Geiz to launch himself towards the Nemesis like a springboard. He then moved his right claw forward and began a rapid spin while the Nemesis fired homing lasers onto Geiz, but Geiz's spinning blocked and redirected the lasers with ease. "I better not aim for the core, or I might kill the Nemesis by accident." Geiz thought while using his enhanced vision onto a spot where he can attack the Nemesis without aiming for the core on its chest. "The stomach... that'll do!" He quickly spiral dived towards the Nemesis' stomach, only for the chimera to block the attack with its hands while Geiz is still spinning, though the force of the attack is still pushing the Nemesis till it crashed into a wall. Geiz then immediately stopped spinning, pulled the chimera's arms away and delivered a double kick with his feet onto the chimera's stomach before jumping away, while the airborne Gunvolt followed up by firing a powerful lightning charged blast from his Lightning Leader gun onto the chimera's stomach and dealing massive damage as he landed right beside Geiz.
"Did that get him?" Gunvolt asked.
"Not yet. Look!" Geiz answered as they saw the Arms Nemesis still floating and roaring in anger, before unleashing another barrage of homing lasers while slowly moving forward, prompting Geiz to summon the Axe Legion again as it moved in front of Geiz and Gunvolt, and created a barrier to block the exploding lasers.
"Damn it, that thing is tougher than the Beast Nemesis." Gunvolt muttered.
"Well I don't wanna waste anymore time, so we'd better finish this, here and now." Geiz declared.
"Do you want me to sing for a bit of extra power?" Joule offered.
"I'd allow it, but we're in the Astral Plane, so singing might attract too many chimeras." Geiz declined.
"Ah, you're right. I understand."
"That's okay, Joule. Sometimes we don't need the power of song to defeat our enemies." Gunvolt said.
"Allow us to prove it to you." Geiz added as he pushed the buttons on the Ridewatches, slammed the tilt button on the belt, and gave it a 360 spin.
=FINISH TIME! OOO!=
"GV, ready to end this fight in one shot?" Geiz asked.
"Yeah, let's do it!" Gunvolt complied before rushing forward, gaining the Nemesis' attention as it fired homing lasers onto him, while Geiz dispersed his Legion and slightly bent his knees as his legs energized in a green glow before leaping into the air. While Gunvolt is rushing towards the Nemesis, his right arm transformed into a war gauntlet. The gauntlet boosters ignited and its turbine rapidly spinning as Gunvolt moved his right arm back while curling his hand into a fist. Then, he jumped towards the Nemesis while lunging his fist forward, boosting forward like a bolt of lightning. The Nemesis took notice of Gunvolt's attack and reeled its right arm backwards, curling its hand into a fist as it ignited with flames. "Oversurge! Gungnir!" Gunvolt yelled as he's about to collide with the Nemesis, who then retaliated with a burning right hook to Gunvolt's fist, resulting in an enormous explosion.
"Whoa!" Ashe exclaimed, shielding herself with her arm from the force of the explosion while keeping the unconscious Ciel safe from harm. Once the smoke cleared, Ashe lowered her arm and saw Gunvolt and the Nemesis' fist colliding in a power struggle. "Damn, it's still going...! Come on guys, you can do this...!" She silently prayed.
Gunvolt and the Nemesis tried to push each other with their fist in a power struggle. And then, Gunvolt ignited the boosters on his right arm again and began to spin his entire body rapidly, turning his punch into a spiral corkscrew punch, causing the Nemesis' fist to be pushed back as the attack landed onto its stomach. But Gunvolt wasn't done as he kept pushing the Nemesis into the air and towards Geiz as three giant medal-like projections with katakanas on them (red for Taka, Yellow for Tora, and green for Batta) appeared in front of the Rider.
=SCANNING TIME BURST!=
"SEIYAAAA!" Geiz yelled as he dive kicked onto the projections and towards the Nemesis being pushed by Gunvolt, till they collided into a massive red, yellow and green explosion. Geiz and Gunvolt dashed away from the explosion and landed safely to the ground before the Rider quickly turned around while setting the Legatus to MODE-C and launched a blue capture ring towards the Nemesis, which latched onto its neck upon impact before crashing to the ground. The Arms Nemesis tried to pull out the capture ring on its neck, until the ring fully latched itself and turned the chimera back into its normal blue skin, eyes and core, and grey and white armor with some green highlights.
"The Arms Legion... is now under my command." Geiz declared as he pulled the new Legion towards the Rider while reverting back into his Base Form. "Nice job, GV." He smiled at his teammate a thumbs up.
"Hey, it was a team effort, remember?" Gunvolt smirked back with his own thumbs up.
"Alright! Now we have five Legions on our side!" Model A cheered.
"Yep, we certainly did." Ashe smiled and nodded.
"Ugh..."
"Hm?" Ashe suddenly heard a sound before turning to Ciel, who's slowing waking up, revealing her cobalt blue eyes. ("She's waking up...?") Ashe whispered before turning to Geiz and Gunvolt. "Hey guys, come quick! Our damsel in distress is waking up!"
The two quickly regrouped with Ashe and Ciel, with the latter waking up and blinking a few times before staring at the ones watching her. "Who... Who are you people?" Ciel spoke.
"Oh, we're just passing through travelers. No need to think about it too much." Geiz replied after he dispersed his Legion back into the Legatus. "The name's Gaius, but call me Geiz when I'm wearing this suit. And these are my friends, Gunvolt and Ashe. What's your name?"
"Ciel. Doctor Ciel. A researcher and commander of the Guardians."
Ashe's eyes widen in shock upon hearing a familiar name. "C-Ciel? As in, Prairie's older sister?!"
"What?! You know Prairie?" Ciel responded.
"Yeah, Vent and Aile told me about her. And she's now the commander of the Guardians ever since your disappearance." Ashe replied.
"I see..."
"Wait, how can you tell that this woman is Prairie's older sister?" Gunvolt asked Ashe.
"I saw photos of her inside Prairie's room, and this woman looked just like her." Ashe explained. "Prairie even told me, Grey, Vent and Aile about her name and how she's responsible for the creation of a new energy source called the Ciel System and also created the Biometals, except Model A."
"Model... A?" Ciel questioned before looking at Ashe and the armor she's wearing.
"Yep, that's the Biometal I'm using right now." Ashe nodded to Ciel. "The one who created Model A was... Master Albert. Ugh, even mentioning that bastard's name gives a bad taste in my mouth."
"Let me guess, another bad guy?" Gunvolt guessed.
"Yeah." Ashe confirmed. "But at least me and Grey managed to destroy him and Model W for good, with a little help from Vent, Aile and the Guardians."
"Master Albert used Model W?!" Ciel exclaimed. "I thought Serpent was the one using that Biometal! Whatever happened to him?"
"Well if you wanna hear about that part of the story, you'll need to ask Vent and Aile about it." Ashe answered as she offered a hand. "But right now, we really need to get you out of the Astral Plane. Don't want the Redshift to happen to you overtime."
"Astral Plane? Redshift?" Ciel repeated.
"It's a long story. But we'll explain later as we look for an exit gate." Geiz answered.
"I understand." Ciel nodded as she grabbed Ashe's hand and pulled herself up. "And thanks for rescuing me."
"No problem." Geiz smiled. "Though we never expect to find you in a place like this."
"I see." Ciel smiled back before looking at her surroundings. "But I've never seen a place like this before."
"Yep." Gunvolt nodded. "This place is called the Astral Plane. Homeworld of the chimeras, dimensional beings from another world."
"Hey Geiz, can you check Ciel's corruption level real quick?" Ashe requested.
"One moment." Geiz then used his Legatus to examine Ciel's body via holo-screen. "Oh boy... 50%."
"That can't be good." Gunvolt frowned. "What about us?"
"Hold on..." Geiz then examined his, Gunvolt's and Ashe's body. "At least 30%. We're still stable thanks to our armors." He reported before dispersing the holo-screen. "But I'm a little worried at how long Ciel's gonna last in here."
"You said something about a Redshift." Ciel mentioned. "If the percentage reached 100%, does that mean I'll die from illness?"
"Worse, you'll be turned into a chimera." Ashe answered, making Ciel gasp in shock.
"That's horrible..." Ciel muttered. "If that's the case, then please escort me to safety before it's too late."
"That's the plan." Geiz replied, until the Arms Legion suddenly appeared beside the Rider, surprising everyone.
"Huh? Why did the Arms Legion appeared out of the blue?" Gunvolt questioned.
"Arms Legion? You mean this creature?" Ciel questioned as she stared at said Legion.
"Think of it as Geiz' partner thanks to a device called the Legatus." Ashe clarified as she pointed at said device attached to Geiz' wrist. "Anyway, what does the Legion want?"
In response, the Legion pointed at Ciel before gesturing its hands to itself. "You want Ciel to go inside your body? Are you sure that's safe?" Geiz guessed, earning an assured nod from the Legion. "Well, if that's what you want, then I'll trust you."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ashe questioned. "I know that it's not a Nemesis anymore, but still..."
"Wait... I think the Legion is trying to use the Blue Matter inside of its body to stabilize Ciel's condition. It might not be a permanent solution to erase the corruption out of her body, but it'll be enough to resist its effects." Joule stated in realization.
"You think so, Joule?" Gunvolt asked.
"Maybe. It's like the Legion wanted to protect Ciel, even when it was a Nemesis."
"Hm, that explains why the Arms Legion appeared so suddenly. It wanted to help her." Ashe mused.
"Um... who's Joule?" Ciel asked.
"Oh right, forgot about her. Joule's over here." Ashe pointed at the relic crystal on Gunvolt's chest.
"Nice to meet you, Ciel. My name is Joule, GV's partner."
"I see. Nice to meet you too, Joule." Ciel greeted back. "Are you some kind of AI?"
"Well... not exactly. I'll properly explain to you after we get out of the Astral Plane."
"I understand." Ciel nodded before turning to the Arms Legion. "Okay Legion, my life is in your hands."
The Legion nodded before it gently grabbed Ciel and absorbed her into its body while her legs are being shown below it. "How are you feeling, Ciel?" Gunvolt asked.
"My body feels... a bit better and stable than before. I should be able to last for quite a while." Ciel replied while looking at herself inside the Arms Legion.
"Just try not to get hit too much or else the Legion's energy will run out and must recharge inside the Legatus." Geiz cautioned.
"Got it." Ciel replied.
"Okay, time to catch up with the others before we get left behind." Gunvolt declared as they quickly head for the northern path where Zi-O and the others took.
"Speaking of catching up, hope you don't mind if I tell you my story of how I got Model A and how I met Grey, Vent, Aile, and Prairie and the Guardians." Ashe said to Ciel while they kept running.
"Sure thing, Ashe." Ciel approved.
"Telling her about your story, Ashe? I'm a little curious about it, so let me hear it too." Gunvolt said.
"No problem, GV." Ashe smiled before beginning her story. "Right then, it all started back at the Hunter's Guild where I participated on a mission involving a Raider airship..."
Meanwhile with Zi-O, Miku and Mei, they've managed to traverse through the northern path without too much trouble while dealing with the weaker abberations, until they encountered a floating wall in front of them that has three red ley-lines in the middle of the open wall. "Hey, I remember this wall..." Zi-O recalled seeing a familiar wall before. "This is something the Arrow Nemesis would do."
"The Arrow Nemesis? That's the one Geiz and Chris fought two days ago. Chris told me about it before." Miku also recalled. "That Nemesis created those walls, but can be broken if the ley-lines holding them together are severed."
"So we'll just have to cut those lines, correct?" Mei guessed, earning a nod from Miku.
"Before you try and cut that wall, Mei, we're in the Astral Plane, so cutting it with our normal swords are gonna do jack squat here because of the large amount of Red Matter in this place." Zi-O stated, before summoning the Sword Legion in front of the wall. "However, the Sword Legion can sever those lines thanks to the Legion having Blue Matter within its body."
"Is that so?" Mei asked, earning a nod from Zi-O, prompting her to move her hand away from the katana grip. "In that case, I'll leave it to you and your Legion."
"Thanks." Zi-O nodded before turning to the wall. "Now stand back." The Sword Legion prepared its sword arm, and with one swift motion, the ley-lines were severed, destroying the wall completely and revealing the path forward. "Let's keep moving." Zi-O declared as the group quickly moved on. More of the same walls kept appearing along the way, but we're easily cut down thanks to the Sword Legion.
Eventually, they reached a blocked path, along with three floating and moving red crystals over a ledge on the right. "A dead end. Now what?" Mei asked.
"Those red crystals over there." Zi-O pointed at said crystals. "I'll need to use the Legion to hit those crystals to reveal a new path. And since there's three of them this time, the Legion will have to hit all three crystals in one strike."
"That sounds like a puzzle from a video game." Miku commented.
"Something like that." Zi-O replied as the Sword Legion prepared its sword arm again.
"Hitting three targets at once... Reminds me of the time I sliced three falling apples in one move during my training." Mei recalled.
"Really? How did you do it?" Miku asked.
"You need to properly concentrate your mind, and it must be calm and serene like a flowing river, without any stress or distractions clouding your mind." Mei answered as they observed Zi-O and the Legion concentrating. "And if you can achieve that..."
The Legion immediately struck all three crystals at once, turning them blue and opened up the blocked path with a blue laser, revealing a staircase. "...then this is the result." Mei finished with a smile as they glanced at the staircase.
"I see... I'll be sure to remember that, Mei." Miku nodded back with a smile.
"Okay girls, up the stairs and onwards!" Zi-O declared as they went up the stairs and moved on.
Meanwhile with Hibiki and Kiana, they're traversing through a forward path after defeating a few abberations, especially the ones that lunged them into the Astral Plane in the first place, hoping to locate an exit portal to return back to the others. "I really hope there's a way out of this place. I don't wanna be redshifted into a chimera." Kiana said while looking at herself as they kept walking.
"Me too. Miku and the others are already worried about our disappearance." Hibiki replied while also looking at herself. "Do you think the Riders have a plan in case something like this happens?"
"I sure hope so. I mean, they and Cure Starlight do have video game knowledge after all since they know how to deal with the chimera threat." Kiana replied back.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Hibiki nodded. "And to think that Gjallarhorn being shattered and scattered across the multiverse caused the Dimensional Quakes in the first place."
"Mhm." Kiana agreed with a nod. "But, at least we get to make new friends in the process."
"Yup." Hibiki smiled. "It's great to be friends with you, Kiana-chan."
"Hehe. Likewise, Hibiki-chan." Kiana smiled back. "So what made you become a Symphogear in the first place?"
"Well... it was actually an accident. It happened during the Zwei Wing tragedy when a shard of Kanade-san's Gungnir armor latched deep into my heart." Hibiki explained, making Kiana gasp in shock. "O-Oh! Don't worry, the shard inside my body is already long gone after the Frontier incident. The Gungnir I'm using now is originally from Maria-san."
"Oh... glad that you're no longer hanging by a thread with that shard on your heart gone." Kiana sighed with relief. "Anyway, when was the time you first awakened your Symphogear?"
"Two years later after the tragedy. And it was during the same time I was protecting a little girl before I saw Tsubasa-san arrive in her Symphogear."
"Ah, right. That's also the first time you met Commander Genjuro later on." Kiana remembered, earning a nod from Hibiki.
"When I started fighting as a Symphogear, I was a bit clueless about what I'm fighting for."
"Shouldn't that power be used to defeat the Noise?"
"True, but there's a lot more than just fighting the Noise." Hibiki looked at her own hands. "I want to use these powers to help a lot people as much as I could. I may not be able to save everyone from dying, but even so, that won't stop me from trying. If the Noise or any of our enemies are attacking innocent people, I'll protect them from those enemies. But if there's someone willing to ask for a helping hand, even if that person is a creature or another being, I want to help them understand and to resolve their problems peacefully without the need for fighting."
"I see... so that's what you're fighting for." Kiana responded. "Heh. And there I was, trying to become an S-Rank Valkyrie by doing well in missions and such when I was in St. Freya Academy. I'm pretty good when it comes to combat, but when it comes to written exams... I pretty much suck at it."
"Oh, written exams... Kiana-chan, I feel your pain."
"Yeah, I really need to work on that instead of just thinking about Mei so much." Kiana admitted. "It also made me ignore the important stuff that I should be doing in the first place, especially during missions and exams. But, after hearing about that dark future of my world from Starlight, Kallen, Sakura and Einstein, I made a promise to improve myself so that horrible future will never happen. And after hearing about your reason to fight, Hibiki? It's starting to motivate me even more now to become a better person. This isn't about becoming the best Valkyrie anymore, its about protecting the ones you care for and to destroy that source of hatred that caused conflicts. And if there's a peaceful solution for those conflict, I'll gladly take it, but not without thinking things through first. However, if there's anyone that tries to destroy the world or any other worlds just for the heck of it, I... no. WE will stop them."
"...Well said, Kiana-chan." Hibiki smiled, making Kiana smile back as they clasped hands together. "You have my support."
"Same to you too, Hibiki-chan." Kiana nodded. But when they looked forward, their eyes widen at what they saw at a distance. "Wait, is that...?"
What they saw straight ahead was another swirling vortex, the same one that sent them into the Astral Plane from the beginning. "That vortex... could this be our way out of the Astral Plane?" Hibiki asked.
"Seems like it." Kiana replied before narrowing her eyes. "But if I remember Himeko's lessons, some things are never easy. Look." Hibiki also narrowed her eyes and saw that the vortex is on a platform that's at least 100m away with no bridge or other moving platforms in sight as the girls stopped at the edge of a large open area.
"I guess we'll have to fly our way to the exit." Hibiki deduced. "Good thing my Armed Gear allows me to rocket towards that portal." She's about to summon her Armed Gear, until she felt something off which earned Kiana's attention.
"Let me guess... there's someone guarding our only way out." Kiana guessed with a frown as she brought out her handguns.
"Yeah." Hibiki nodded with the same look as they turned around and prepared to fight.
What the girls saw up the cliff was several more growling canine chimeras, along with one big canine arriving, making the girls' eyes widen in shock. That big canine has three heads with glowing red eyes, sharp teeth and claws, and grey skin with red highlights all over its body.
"A three-headed dog?" Kiana questioned.
"C-C-CERBERUS?!" Hibiki exclaimed, recognizing the creature somehow.
"Wait, you know this thing?!"
"Well, there's a monster from Greek mythology called Cerberus, the guard dog from Hell. But I didn't know there's a chimera version of that thing!"
"Guard dog from Hell... Why the hell does that name sound so terrifying to me?"
The canine chimeras jumped off the cliff and landed on the arena, growling and ready to attack their targets, while Cerberus stayed atop the cliff as it let out a loud howl.
"Hibiki-chan, can you still fight?" Kiana asked.
"Heiki, hecchara! I can still keep going!" Hibiki replied with a determined look while clenching her fists. "What about you, Kiana-chan?"
"I'm not about to give up just yet!" Kiana replied back with the same look while preparing her handguns. "I just hope the Riders will arrive in time before we get overwhelmed!"
"Until then, let's face them head on!" Hibiki declared as she and Kiana rushed towards the chimeras before leaping into the air to strike them from above.
Chapter 8: The Astral Plane
END
New members joining the team:
Astral Chain series
Arms Legion
Megaman Zero series
Ciel
Author's Note: Bet you never expected Ciel to be found in the Astral Plane of all places, eh? Then that means Ciel's fated reunion with Prairie will happen soon, provided if Ciel can escape the Astral Plane first with the help of the Riders and their team. Not only that, they have to deal with the guard dog from Hell first. And yes, that version of Cerberus DID exist in the Astral Chain series, so the heroes will have their hands full in the next chapter. Also, finally all five Legions are now with the heroes, and they'll be useful for the future battles to come. Until next time, stay safe!