Book 3: XDR Rising

Chapter 11: Confrontation

Zi-O Liner, Dining Area

Back at the Zi-O Liner, Theresa, Fu Hua, Woz, Noelle, Lumine, Miriam, Regina and Sakura are observing the holo-screen that showed the London Stadium where the Queens of Music in their idol attires were currently performing their opening song, Angelic Remnant. The girls were impressed at how amazing their music was, while Woz simply smiled in amusement.

"So this is their song, huh? It's amazing." Sakura commented.

"Sure is." Theresa agreed. "We never had a concert like this back in our world."

"Wow... wait till Barbara hears about this..." Noelle said.

"Barbara? Who's that?" Lumine asked.

"Oh, Barbara's a Hydro Catalyst User from Mondstadt. She's also Master Jean's younger sister and a deaconess for the Church of Favonius." Noelle explained.

"A deaconess, huh? Interesting." Miriam remarked. "But why do you want to tell Barbara about this concert?"

"Well, she's a self-proclaimed idol after learning about them from a famous adventurer named Alice."

"A deaconess who's also an idol... Well, that's new." Regina commented. "Wait, who's Alice?"

"Like I said, she's a famous adventurer travelling all across Teyvat, and she's also the author of the Teyvat Travel Guide." Noelle replied.

"Ah, so she wrote a travel guide of Teyvat? How interesting." Woz mused. "I would've liked to have a copy of that guide since it'll prove useful when we plan to explore that world."

"I'm pretty sure they sell those books in Mondstadt." Noelle replied. "I'd let you borrow mine, but I left it back at my work quarters."

"That's fine."

"Speaking of buying a copy of that travel guide, what's the currency for Teyvat?" Fu Hua asked.

"Oh, the currency there is called Mora." Noelle answered. "It was named after Morax, the Geo Archon."

"I see. Could Morax be the reason why the Mora currency exists?"

"Hmm... I think the people from Liyue thought so." Noelle replied with her hand on her chin.

Before they could continue their conversation however, the lights suddenly started to flicker red with an alarm ringing. "I don't like the sound of that." Miriam frowned.

"It looks like an attack really is about to occur tonight. Zeo, Gaius and Akira's premonition is quite spot on." Woz added.

"Considering how many anime and movies they've watched, the answer's kinda obvious." Regina pointed out, before a holo-screen that revealed Einstein appeared.

"Einstein, an attacker is about to head for the stadium?" Theresa asked.

"I believe so, considering the alarm rang. But this alarm is different this time." Einstein replied.

"What do you mean?"

"You see, this kind of alarm signifies that an Another Rider has appeared."

"What?!" Everyone exclaimed while Woz simply frowned.

"An Another Rider... a corrupted version of a Kamen Rider." Sakura frowned, recalling the last time Kanade and Serena were turned into those corrupted Riders and were forced to fight Zeo, Gaius and Akira. "Einstein, which one is it?"

"Revealing the name on screen now." Einstein typed a few keys on the laptop before hitting 'Enter', revealing the identity on another holo-screen for the group to see.

=ANOTHER SHINOBI=

"Another Shinobi?" Lumine repeated the name shown on screen while the alarm stopped and the lights returned to normal.

"That means a corrupted version of Kamen Rider Shinobi has appeared." Regina clarified before groaning. "Ugh... why did it have to be a ninja? And I've watched plenty of anime and movies knowing what ninjas can do, especially their ninjutsu techniques."

"Ninjutsu..." Sakura whispered while pondering at the name on screen, before her eyes widen in horror upon realization. "Oh no..."

"What is it, Sakura?" Noelle asked.

"Like Regina mentioned, ninjas are known for the art of ninjutsu, meaning mastery of stealth and deception." Sakura explained. "And they can also perform special techniques such as camouflage, running across water, and even creating shadow clones."

"Shadow clones?" Theresa repeated, before her eyes widen in realization when Sakura mentioned 'shadow clones'. "Oh crap, no wonder you look so horrified. Another Shinobi can perform ninjutsu techniques as well!"

"Exactly." Sakura grimly confirmed with a nod. "If we don't stop that Shinobi now, it'll be too late."

"Einstein, notify Prairie about this immediately so we could track him down before he reaches the stadium!" Theresa ordered.

"Already on it, Theresa." Einstein replied while she pulled out her Zikan Phone and began contacting Prairie. "In the meantime, you should head out first while they search for Shinobi's location."

"Understood." Theresa complied before the holo-screens vanished. "Woz, you have the means to deal with that Another Rider, correct?"

"I do." Woz confirmed as he took out his Shinobi Miridewatch and showed it to her. "I'll be using Shinobi's power to deal with him."

"Good. Then you and I are going Another Rider hunting."

"Wait, you're going with Woz, Theresa?" Miriam questioned.

"I am." Theresa nodded. "Don't worry, Einstein and Tesla will take care of communications while I'm gone. Plus, I can handle myself pretty well in a fight."

"You should be careful though, ninjas are not that simple to deal with, especially if they could learn ninjutsu." Sakura warned.

"We'll be careful." Theresa replied.

"Wait." Regina raised her hand before stepping forward. "Let me join you. Something tells me that the two of you won't be enough to stop that corrupted Rider."

"You sure?" Theresa asked, earning a nod from Regina.

"We'd better let her join us, Principal Theresa. Another Shinobi could be pulling out other ninjutsu tricks, so more help might be needed." Woz suggested.

"Very well." Theresa replied before turning to Regina. "Alright, you're free to come with us. The rest of you will stay here and guard the Zi-O Liner in case we're compromised."

"Got it." The group complied with a nod while Regina went to Woz and Theresa's side.

"Let's head for the Garage Bay, my Time Mazine is waiting." Woz said before heading for the train door.

"If you need additional assistance, let us know, okay?" Fu Hua advised.

"Got it. Take care of things while we're gone, yeah?" Regina said to the group before she and Theresa went after Woz.

"Please be careful out there!" Lumine said.

"We will!" Theresa replied before she and Regina went through the door and closed it.

Garage Bay

Once the three arrived at the Garage Bay, Woz immediately led them to his personal Time Mazine with a white and black color scheme along with blue and green highlights. "It's been a while since I've used this." Woz remarked as he glanced at his vehicle.

"So this is yours, huh? Suits you well since it has the same colors as your Rider suit." Regina commented.

"Still wondering if we might get more Time Mazines for our own." Teressa added.

"Well there were mass-produced versions of those vehicles, but then there's some custom-made ones that surpassed the mass-produced ones." Woz stated. "Most noticeably, Zi-O and Geiz's Time Mazines."

"What's so special about those two?" Theresa asked.

"Remember the Rider armors Zi-O and Geiz have access to by using their Ridewatches therefore gaining their abilities in the process?" Woz mentioned, earning a nod from the girls. "Well the same are applied to the Time Mazines as well, but only in their robot Battle Modes. However instead of equipping armors, its equipping their weapons and a change to the robot's head."

"Whoa..." Theresa and Regina responded in awe at what Woz mentioned.

"Would be nice to see those Time Mazines in their Battle Modes." Regina said.

"Only for emergencies, Regina Madoka." Woz replied as he materialized his BeyonDriver and Woz Miridewatch from his Zikan Phone. "But enough talk, we have an Another Rider to hunt down." He then placed the belt on his waist before it strapped in by itself.

=BEYONDRIVER!=

Next, he pushed the button on his Miridewatch.

=WOZ!=

Then he placed the watch onto the slot located on the belt's handle.

=ACTION!=

A transformation jingle with a dubstep tune began to play as he performed his transformation pose while the girls took a few steps away from him. "Henshin!" Woz shouted before opening the front of the Miridewatch and moved the handle into the center of the belt while the Miridewatch projected Kamen Rider Woz's face on the screen of the belt.

=TOUEI! FUTURE TIME!=

=SUGOI! JIDAI! MIRAI! KAMEN RIDER WOZ! WOZ!=

And after a quick transformation sequence with green techno lights, he transformed into Kamen Rider Woz with the blue katakana for Woz slamming onto his visor.

"...What's with the dubstep jingle?" Regina questioned.

"I have no idea. And this is the second time I've seen Woz transform." Theresa replied.

"Tell that to the person who made this belt, ladies." Woz told them as he boarded the Time Mazine. "For now though, we need to get moving."

The girls nodded before hopping onto the Time Mazine while the Garage Bay doors opened up. Woz then revved up the vehicle and quickly rode off towards the city before the doors closed.

Guardian Base, Command Center

"Incoming transmission from Dr. Einstein!" Tulip reported.

"Already? And the concert's just begun, too." Prairie questioned. "Patch it through."

Tulip responded before pushing the button, revealing Einstein on the large holo-screen. "I take it that Zeo, Gaius and Akira's hunch came true about an attack occurring?" Prairie asked.

"I believe so since the alarm rang on the Zi-O Liner." Einstein confirmed. "And it turns out that an Another Rider called Another Shinobi is heading for the stadium as we speak."

"An Another Rider?!" Prairie gasped, recalling Zeo and Gaius' explanation about the corrupted Riders a few days ago.

"Woz, Theresa and Regina already left for the city in the Time Mazine to search for Another Shinobi. Can your operators help locate the target from your location?"

"I'll see what they can do from here. I'll be sure to notify the teams immediately once they've located the target."

"Understood. However, you'd better let the patrol teams hold their positions in case more unexpected surprises show up. But you can contact Theresa instead to pursue it."

"Got it, I'll keep you posted." Prairie replied before dispersing the holo-screen and turned to the operators. "Operators, you know what to do! Locate that Another Rider immediately!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The operators complied before performing their tasks on their consoles.

"Did something happen, Prairie?" Vent asked as he, Aile, Grey and Ashe arrived.

"Actually, yes." Prairie replied as she turned to them. "Due to a recent transmission from Einstein, an Another Rider called Another Shinobi is en route toward the stadium."

"Another Rider... you mean a corrupted version of a Kamen Rider, correct?" Grey recalled, earning a nod from Prairie.

"But why did it have to have the name 'Shinobi' on it?" Ashe groaned. "You know enemy ninjas can be problematic to deal with. I'm getting annoying flashbacks when me and Grey fought Siarnaq last time, especially the shadow clones."

"Looks like that nasty hunch came true after all." Aile sighed. "So when do we get to intervene, Prairie?"

"Not just yet, but it should be soon." Prairie answered. "Right now, the operators are searching for that corrupted Rider before he could reach the stadium."

"The sooner the better, I hope. None of us wanted civilian casualties tonight, especially concerts." Vent replied.

"Ma'am! Target has been located just 1km north and heading for the stadium!" Tulip reported, showing Another Shinobi on the holo-screen.

"So that's Another Shinobi, huh? That is one creepy looking ninja." Aile commented.

"More like a skeletal one in my opinion." Ashe added.

"Wait, hold on! The target is also located 1km south!" Gardénia suddenly reported, showing the same target on another holo-screen.

"Huh?! Now another target is located 1km east!" Marguerite added, showing the same target on another holo-screen.

"T-There's three of them?!" Prairie exclaimed.

"I knew it. Here comes the shadow clones." Ashe frowned.

"At least the west area is okay at the moment." Grey said... but unknowingly jinxed it.

"Wait a minute, now there's yet another target 1km west from the stadium!" Tulip suddenly reported, showing one more target on another holo-screen.

That additional info earned Grey questionable dry looks from Vent, Aile and Ashe. "...I jinxed it, didn't I?"

"Yep." The three Mega Men replied with a nod.

"...Sorry."

"But now the question is: Which one of these four is the real Another Shinobi?" Vent asked as he and his team along with Prairie stared at the holo-screens revealing the same corrupted Rider but in four areas at the same time.

"I guess the only way to find out is to take them all down." Aile deduced. "One of these has to be the real one."

Prairie then materialized four holo-screens revealing the four positioned teams. "Calling all teams! Enemies have been detected and en route towards the stadium!" She informed.

"I knew something's about to go wrong during this concert." Zi-O frowned.

"What kind of enemies are we dealing with? Is it the Alca-Noise?" Copen asked.

"Actually, it's an Another Rider called Another Shinobi." Prairie answered. "Well... four of them, to be exact."

"Another Shinobi?!" Zi-O, Geiz and Starlight exclaimed.

"Four Another Shinobis?! How is that possible?!" Kiana also exclaimed.

"Hold on, Kiana-chan." Mei interrupted. "With a name like that, it seems that Another Shinobi used the Shadow Clone Jutsu, hence why there's four of them."

"So that's why there's four of those same targets." Bronya noted.

"If that's the case, then we'll have to take them all down until the real one shows up." Seele stated.

"Unless..." Geiz pondered with his hand on his chin, until he had a suggestion. "Prairie, can your operators get an energy reading from all four of those Another Shinobis?"

"Why do you need that?" Grey asked.

"Because I wanted to know which of these four have the largest amount of energy, which would help us detect the real one." Geiz replied.

"That's... actually a good idea!" Kallen agreed. "Can you at least try out Geiz's suggestion?"

"...Alright, we'll give it a shot." Prairie accepted with a nod. "Operators, reveal the energy readings on the four Another Shinobis!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The navigators complied before they perform their tasks.

"It's gonna take a while for the results to come in, but I'll notify all of you when it's ready." Prairie told the teams. "Until then, keep your guard up and prepare to face those Shinobis. And if the battles becomes too intense to handle, I'll send in the Mega Men or Theresa's team to assist."

"Yes, ma'am!" The teams responded before the holo-screens of the teams vanished.

"Now then..." Prairie turned to the Mega Men. "Which one of you will assist which team?"

"I'll go and support Bronya and Seele." Grey declared.

"I'll take the same route Grey took." Ashe added.

"I'd better go and assist Kallen and Copen." Vent added.

"Then that leaves me to assist Kiana and Mei." Aile finished. "And besides, I don't think Cure Starlight and the Riders needed any back-up, they've got this."

"Understood." Prairie nodded. "Once I give the signal, begin deployment to your locations."

"Yes, ma'am!" The Mega Men complied with a salute before they continue watching the holo-screens of the four corrupted Shinobis.

"Hope they have something planned to deal with those Shinobis." Prairie prayed.

Zi-O's Team

"Shinobi... of all the Another Riders those Neo Time Jackers picked, they chose the troublesome one..." Zi-O complained.

"Considering the abilities we saw during those episodes, this is gonna take a while to take down." Geiz stated.

"No doubt Woz is with Theresa to hunt down Another Shinobi since he has the Shinobi Miridewatch to deal with him." Starlight added. "So, ready to get started before that Shinobi shows up?"

"I've got just the thing." Zi-O replied, showing off the Gaim Ridewatch from his hand.

"Samurai vs Ninja, huh? Good pick." Geiz remarked. "As for me though..." He then showed off the Wizard Ridewatch from his hand. "I'm going with this."

"So it's Magic vs Ninjutsu. That would be an interesting match-up to see." Starlight remarked. "And as for me..." She pulled out her Pirate Master card set from her card carrier on her right hip. "Time to use this form again."

"Oh, the Pirate Master Form. The one you used to defeat the Pirate Master in Sequin Land." Zi-O recalled the report Akira explained two days ago.

"So it's Pirates vs Ninjas. Again." Geiz commented.

"Yep, pretty much. Except that I'm making sure the pirates get the win." Starlight replied. "Okay boys, let's make it showy!"

The Riders nodded before the three began their transformation sequences.

"Change!"

"Pretty Cure Kururin Mirror Change!"

=ARMOR TIME!=

A metallic armor in the shape of Kamen Rider Gaim's face appeared above Zi-O, slammed onto his head and began to unfold into an armor with orange armor parts on his legs, shoulders and chest, a pair of locks as shoulder pads with an orange on the front, a pair of orange blades attached on the back of his armor, and lastly the helmet that's the same shape as Gaim's with the pink katakana for Gaim slamming onto his visor. On his hands are a pair of orange blades that's shaped like a sliced orange called the Daidaimaru Z. This is Zi-O's Gaim Armor.

=SOIYA! GAIM!=

For Geiz, a red magic circle appeared above him before it descended onto him, forming his armor in a flash of red light. He's now donned in a ruby, black and silver armor with a pair of large ruby and silver rings as shoulder pads, while the yellow katakana for Wizard slammed onto his visor. This is Geiz's Wizard Armor.

=PLEASE! WIZARD!=

As for Starlight, she quickly changed her attire with a flash of light starting with her pirate pants and boots appearing along with her pirate pistol and sword holstered on each side of her hip, followed by her bra and pirate jacket with a small cape, and lastly her bandana and pirate hat. "The shining light rising through the stars! Cure Starlight, Pirate Master Form!"

Zi-O whistled in amusement upon looking at Starlight's new form. "Looking pretty good there, sis. You'd definitely fit as a captain of the ship."

"Hehe, thanks brother." Starlight smiled while rubbing the tip of her nose with her finger. "Though I have to ask..." She then pointed at the swords on Zi-O's armor. "What's with those swords hanging on the back of your armor? Is that supposed to look like you have an extra pair of sword hands?"

"Hmm... now that you mention it..." Zi-O replied as he focused on performing a few sword swings using the additional sword hands. "Huh, handy. I'm surprised Sougo never tried this feature yet."

"Well, considering Sougo just got that Ridewatch for the first time and used its power in that one episode, he didn't get to try out its full potential." Geiz pointed out.

"Hm, makes sense now that you mention it." Zi-O agreed. "Speaking of which, how's using the Wizard Armor felt like? I wonder what kind of magic spells you can us-OW!" He grunted after feeling something pinching his butt, prompting him to rub on the small bruise. "...Very funny, Geiz!"

"Sorry, just wanted to test it out." Geiz chuckled after he used the Connect Spell magic portals to move his hand from one portal to another one behind Zi-O's butt. "And to answer your question, it's plenty of them. Good thing I've watched the whole season of Kamen Rider Wizard, so I know what kinds of spells he can use. Another Shinobi wants to use shadow clones? Well, two can play at that game."

"He won't see us coming." Starlight smirked, until she noticed the corrupted ninja at a distance, quickly hopping from rooftop to rooftop and headed straight for the stadium. "Okay, I'm gonna intercept him first. If he tries any unexpected surprises, ambush him."

The Riders nodded before they moved to take their positions while Starlight quickly ran towards the area to cut off Another Shinobi's path.

Speaking of which, Another Shinobi kept leaping rooftops with his sights set on the Queens of Music located at the London Stadium.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

But then bullets were fired from above, prompting him to jump back to dodge the bullets. "Who's there?! Show yourself!" A-Shinobi demanded while looking around to find the assailant.

"Yohohohoho!"

"Hm?" A-Shinobi quickly turned to the sound of laughter coming from the staircase entrance where he saw a lone pirate girl standing atop said entrance. "Who are you?!"

"Oh, me?" Starlight replied as she jumped off the entrance and landed several steps away from A-Shinobi. "I'm just a passing through Pretty Cure." She grinned as she pointed her pistol at the corrupted Rider. "And who are you supposed to be?"

"None of your business. Now step aside, or else..." A-Shinobi warned.

"How about... never. You're gonna have to get pass me first." Starlight replied.

A-Shinobi scowled in annoyance at her answer. "...I don't have time for this." He then pulled out several Alca-Noise crystals, surprising Starlight. "I'll let them deal with you instead!" He tossed the crystals to the ground and summoned a large group of Alca-Noise that began to surround Starlight.

"Alca-Noise?! When the heck did this guy get those crystals to summon these beings?! Unless..." She thought before asking the corrupted Rider. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to be an alchemist remnant from the Bavarian Illuminati, are you?" Starlight asked. "Because if so, you really should stop. It's pointless to continue since your leader Adam bit the dust."

"You don't deserve to say HIS name, pirate! His death will be avenged with the death of S.O.N.G and the Symphogears!" A-Shinobi proclaimed. "Alca-Noise, erase this girl from existence!"

"So it's true. The Neo Time Jackers must've met the Bavarian alchemists at some point. This is gonna be a huge problem in the future." Starlight thought with a frown.

As the Alca-Noise slowly went closer to the surrounded Pretty Cure, she retaliated by spinning around and firing bullets that destroyed the Alca-Noise quickly which shocked A-Shinobi. "I-Impossible! How could your gun harm the Alca-Noise!? And you're not even an Attuned!"

Starlight sighed while twirling her pistol. "Did you forget who I am, you ninja pretender? I'm a passing through Pretty Cure. I've fought all kinds of creatures before, so this doesn't surprise me."

"Grr...!" A-Shinobi growled before summoning more Alca-Noise, including the aerial ones. "Don't get cocky! Not even you can handle this many Alca-Noise at once!"

"Are you sure about that?" Starlight smirked, until orange slash-waves and fireballs rained down from above that obliterated the aerial Alca-Noise before Zi-O and Geiz landed in front of Starlight. "Because I wanted these guys wanted to have a piece of the action."

"What?!" A-Shinobi exclaimed at the sudden reinforcements. "Who the hell are you two?!"

"Just passing through Kamen Riders." Zi-O replied with his swords ready.

"And you'd better remember it this time." Geiz added with his Zikan Zax Ono Mode in hand.

"Hey guys, mind if I deal with this guy personally?" Starlight requested, gesturing her pistol towards the corrupted Rider.

"All yours, sis." Zi-O accepted as he and Geiz shifted their focus onto the remaining Alca-Noise.

"We'll keep the Alca-Noise at bay until you request for assistance." Geiz added.

"No problem." Starlight grinned before turning to Another Shinobi and brandished her pirate sword. "Now then, let's make this showy, Mr. Fake Ninja."

"Don't call me that!" A-Shinobi retorted as he unsheathed his ninjatō before they begin to clash.

Kallen's Team

"Looks like we'll be dealing with a shinobi this time." Kallen stated. "Copen, have you fought those kinds of enemies on your world before?"

"If you mean the sneaky kind, then yes." Copen replied. "One type of Eden soldier does that kind of stuff to get the drop on me."

"Still no match for Boss, though. He completely curb stomped them." Lola also replied from inside Copen's relic pendant.

"However, we're dealing with a corrupted Kamen Rider with ninjutsu techniques. Best be prepared on how to combat him." Copen stated.

"Speaking of prepared, I think it's time to try out my new battlesuit Einstein made for me recently." Kallen said as she took out her Zikan Phone and pushed a few buttons.

"Oooh, a new battlesuit?! What is it?" Lola asked with glee.

"You're about to find out." Kallen replied with a wink before summoning a rectangular field as it passed through her, changing her battlesuit before it vanished. She's now wearing a black, purple and white suit that resembled a phantom thief's attire along with purple gloves, a purple rose neckband, three purple roses hanging on the left side of her lower front clothing, ankle-length black boots with thigh-high purple socks, and a black and purple crow opera mask hanging on the left side of her hair. "This... is Sixth Serenade. A battlesuit that's perfect for dealing with phantom thieves and ninjas."

"That... looked like something you wear at a stage-play musical." Copen remarked. "But I guess looks can be deceiving when I see its abilities first-hand."

"That's true. Plus, it looks good on me." Kallen smiled and looked as herself, until she saw someone at a distance. "Well, look who's here..." Copen went beside Kallen and saw Another Shinobi leaping rooftops, heading for the stadium.

"Another Shinobi." Copen frowned.

"Allow me to greet our concert-crasher personally." Kallen said as she move her mask to her face. "Once he tries something fishy, go in for the ambush."

"Got it." Copen and Lola replied before Kallen quickly took off to intercept the corrupted Rider.

"Wow, this girl is such a pro compared to Kiana." Lola commented.

"Well according to Kallen, she used to be one of Schicksal's elite valkyries. An S-Rank Valkyrie." Copen stated.

"Makes me wonder if Kiana will ever become a powerful valkyrie like her."

"Maybe someday, as long as she fights to protect the ones she cares for." Copen replied before taking his position to prepare the ambush.

Meanwhile, Another Shinobi is en route towards the stadium by jumping from rooftop, until a figure garbed in purple and white clothing along with a mask suddenly appeared from above and landed in front of him with her Holy Guns ready.

"And where you think you're going in this time of night?" Kallen greeted while pointing one pistol at the corrupted Rider.

"A phantom thief?" Another Shinobi responded. "Why do you cross my path?"

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same question. I'm just taking a little stroll tonight. Also, shouldn't ninjas supposed to punish the wicked from the shadows?"

"They killed my master, and we were promised to have divine power under his leadership."

"Divine power, you say?"

"I've said enough, now step aside or I'll have no choice but to kill you." A-Shinobi threatened with his hand on the ninjatō.

"Sorry, but I might as well have some fun kicking your ass." Kallen responded, preparing her combat stance.

"Hmph. Your funeral then!" A-Shinobi replied as he used his other hand to summon a large group of Alca-Noise via the crystals.

"Alca-Noise?! Where did he get those?!" Kallen thought while her eyes widen in shock at the sudden appearance of the creatures.

"Heh, farewell." A-Shinobi smirked as he was about to leave.

"Prism Break!"

...Until multiple large prisms crashed onto the floor, surrounding him, the Alca-Noise and Kallen in a large circle, with some prisms crushing a few Alca-Noise.

"Going somewhere?" Said the Luminous Avenger in his Faust Robe hovering above the prism arena before landing on top of a prism with his Burning Divider pistol, his Armed Gear shield and his support bits ready.

"Perfect timing, Copen." Kallen smiled at his arrival.

"You had help?!" A-Shinobi scowled at Kallen.

"Leave the Alca-Noise to me! You take care of that corrupted ninja!" Copen told Kallen before he turned to the Alca-Noise.

"Got it!" Kallen complied with her sights set on Another Shinobi.

"You shall regret facing me in battle." A-Shinobi warned with his ninja claws ready.

"Heh, funny." Kallen smirked while twirling her guns before pointing one gun at her target. "Because that's what most cocky people say before they get their asses kicked."

Bronya's Team

"Are you nervous, Seele?" Bronya asked.

"A little." Seele replied. "It's just that I've never fought an Another Rider before, especially if it's a ninja."

"The Bronya understood your reason." Bronya nodded before smiling. "But not to worry. As long as we fight together, not even he will stand a chance against us."

"...Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Bronya." Seele smiled back.

Suddenly, Project Bunny appeared beside Bronya and Seele, earning their attention, and saw Another Shinobi with its optics, jumping through rooftops and heading towards the stadium.

"Target detected." Bronya stated.

"Shall we intercept?" Seele asked.

"Yes." Bronya nodded. "The Bronya will cut off his route from the front, while you intercept from behind. He must not escape us."

"Understood." Seele nodded back. "Otherwise, a lot of people are going to get killed, and that's not something everyone wants to see."

"Correct." Bronya replied as she sat atop Bunny's right arm. "Beginning mission." Afterwards, they flew off to intercept the corrupted ninja from the front while Seele ran towards the other direction to intercept from behind.

Meanwhile, Another Shinobi continued jumping from rooftop to rooftop, until he was suddenly halted when he saw a girl floating above before landing in front of him. "What nonsense is this?" He frowned in annoyance.

"You shall go no further, the Bronya will make sure of that." Bronya stated.

"The way you were floating earlier... are you an alchemist?" A-Shinobi asked.

"The Bronya is a valkyrie, not an alchemist." Bronya replied. "Now surrender and come quietly, or the Bronya will have to use force."

"...I don't have time for this." A-Shinobi scoffed as he was about to walk past Bronya, until Project Bunny revealed itself and fired a laser below A-Shinobi's feet from its right finger. "What the...?!"

"So this is your answer. Very well then, prepare yourself." Bronya declared as Bunny's cannon arm on the left was primed and ready.

"Since when did S.O.N.G hire this strange girl with a mech?!" A-Shinobi mentally exclaimed. "Fine then, if it's a fight she wants...!" He then summoned a group of Alca-Noise by throwing the crystals in front of him.

"Alca-Noise? The Bronya did not expect him to summon these creatures. Could he be related to the alchemist remnants of the Bavarian Illuminati?" Bronya thought while feeling slightly shocked at the sudden appearance of the creatures. "So you've brought reinforcements. Not bad." She spoke to the corrupted Rider.

"You've forced my hand, and now the Alca-Noise will make sure you have a fool's death." A-Shinobi proclaimed, but then saw Bronya smirking. "You're not threatened?"

"Heh. Unfortunately for you, the Bronya came prepared in case something like this happens." Bronya stated, before Seele came from above and slashed away the group of Alca-Noise with her scythe called Azure Storm before landing beside Bronya.

"You should've listened to Bronya's warning." Seele stated. "And now you'll have to face the both of us."

"Another scythe user?!" A-Shinobi exclaimed.

"Now then, let the game begin." Bronya declared as Bunny and Seele prepare for battle.

Kiana's Team

"Looks like the party's about to begin." Kiana cracked her knuckles before turning to her friend. "Mei, are you prepared to fight Another Shinobi?"

"I hope so." Mei replied. "But his ninjutsus are going to be tricky to deal with."

"That reminds me, you were never taught ninjutsu before?"

"Kiana-chan, I'm a valkyrie not a ninja. I can't do ninjutsu techniques. Although, when I sparred with Tsubasa-san earlier, she told me that Shinji-san was able to perform ninjutsu techniques such as the Shadow Clone Jutsu."

"If that's the case, then how's about you ask Shinji-san to teach you those techniques? I'm sure it'll prove useful in a long run." Kiana suggested.

"Hmm... maybe I should." Mei replied after a bit of pondering. "Guess I'll have to ask him another time. But I was able to learn the Shadow Weaving technique thanks to Tsubasa-san."

"That's great! Though make sure you have some kunai if you're going to use that technique."

"Already did." Mei winked at Kiana, until she noticed someone at a distance jumping on rooftops. "Kiana-chan, it's him. Another Shinobi."

"We're not gonna let him reach that stadium." Kiana stated.

"I'll intercept him from the front while you handle the back."

"Got it." Kiana nodded. "Be careful, Mei."

"You too." Mei replied before the two went their separate ways to intercept Another Shinobi.

Meanwhile, Another Shinobi continued his route towards the stadium by jumping rooftops, until he was put to a halt when some kunai dropped from above the night sky, forcing the corrupted Rider to jump away and dodge the kunai. "Who goes there?!" He shouted while looking around, until he looked up and saw a girl landing in front of him, wearing a maroon ninja outfit. "Another ninja? And it's a girl?"

"Never underestimate a kunoichi." Mei replied with her hand on her Thermal Cutter katana holstered on the back of her waist. "Why are you here? I thought ninjas are supposed to punish the wicked and the unjust."

"That's none of your business, now step aside!"

"I see..." Mei frowned. "You're not even a real ninja, you're just a fake."

"That's enough out of you! I'll let them deal with you instead!" A-Shinobi retorted before summoning the Alca-Noise by throwing the crystals in front of him.

"Alca-Noise?! Why does a ninja have those at his beck and call?!" Mei mentally exclaimed with her eyes widening. "Even so..." She unsheathed her katana and prepared a stance. "I won't let them stop me!"

"You should've let me pass." A-Shinobi said before walking away.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

...Until a bullet storm from above eliminated some of the Alca-Noise by hitting its weak spots before a figure landed in front of Mei. "Kiana-chan!" Mei smiled at her friend's arrival while Another Shinobi felt shocked that the kunoichi had help.

"Alca-Noise, huh?" Kiana spoke to the corrupted Rider while pointing her Water Spirit Type-1 pistol at him. "Are you part of the Bavarian Illuminati? You really should stop this senseless fighting already since your leader is long gone."

"Tch... another annoyance..." A-Shinobi mentally muttered as he unsheathed his ninjatō. "Our master Adam may be gone, but I'll make sure he has his vengeance! And if you, S.O.N.G or any more of your allies stand in my way, I'll cut you all down as well!"

"Mei, I'll hold off the Alca-Noise while you deal with Another Shinobi!" Kiana said before turning to the Alca-Noise while taking out her other pistol.

"Okay! Just remember to be careful!" Mei replied with her sights still onto Another Shinobi. "Now then, prepare yourself!"

Guardian Base, Command Center

"All four teams have engaged the Another Shinobis! But I've never expected them to summon Alca-Noise out of nowhere!" Tulip reported after watching the holo-screens.

"Since when did the Neo Time Jackers get their hands on those Alca-Noise to fight for them?!" Aile questioned.

"Hmm..." Prairie pondered with her hand on her chin. "If I recall from Genjuro and Elfnein, the Alca-Noise were summoned using special crystals made by alchemists. So far, only the alchemists remnants from the Bavarian Illuminati have possession of those crystals."

"So you're saying that the identity of Another Shinobi is a Bavarian alchemist?" Vent guessed.

"If that's the case, then the Neo Time Jackers must've paid a visit to those alchemists some time ago." Grey deduced.

"Then that means..." Ashe began.

"I'm afraid so, Ashe." Prairie replied. "The Neo Time Jackers were able to convince those Bavarian alchemist remnants to join their side."

"Damn... S.O.N.G, the Symphogears, the Riders and Cure Starlight are not gonna be happy about hearing this." Vent frowned with everyone else also feeling the same way.

"So what do we do now, Prairie?" Aile asked.

"Let's focus on dealing with the current threat first." Prairie replied before turning to a operator. "Gardénia, did you finish the process of scanning their energy readings?"

"Almost there..." Gardénia kept typing on her console, until a ping was heard. "Okay, revealing their energy readings now!"

Everyone turned to the holo-screen appearing in front of them and saw the results. "What?!" And they exclaimed in shock at the reveal of the results.

"No gacking way... they're all the same?!" Ashe exclaimed.

"Are you completely sure this is the correct result?" Grey asked the operator.

"I've done the best I've could, and I still can't believe it!" Gardénia replied.

"Crap... now how are we supposed to figure out where's the real one?" Vent questioned.

"Guess there's no other choice but to defeat all four of them until the real one shows up." Aile reluctantly answered.

"I'm sorry, everyone." Gardénia apologized.

"It's alright, Gardénia. You did the best you could." Prairie replied.

But then something beeped on Marguerite's console. "Hold on, Principal Theresa's on the line." She informed.

"Principal Theresa?" Prairie questioned. "Patch it through, I'll hear what she needs to say."

"Understood." Marguerite nodded and pushed the button before the holo-screen appeared in front of Prairie, revealing Theresa inside the Time Mazine with Regina and Kamen Rider Woz driving.

"Einstein told me about your operators searching for Another Shinobi. Did you manage to find him?" Theresa asked.

"We did, but there's been a problem. There's four of them and they're currently engaging the four stationed teams. Not only that, the four even summoned Alca-Noise." Prairie replied.

"Wait, four of them?! Dang it, I should've known they'd use ninjutsu to confuse us. Not only that, Alca-Noise?! Hibiki and the others are not gonna like this..." Regina muttered. "Oh, I'm Regina Madoka, by the way. A magical girl."

"Just like Cure Starlight? That's pretty neat." Ashe responded, before pointing at the white and green Rider. "And who's that on the controls?"

"Kamen Rider Woz, at your service." The Rider greeted.

"Oh, so you're the other Kamen Rider Zeo and Gaius mentioned. That's pretty cool." Aile recalled.

"Anyway, I see that Another Shinobi used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to confuse us. Were you able to detect the real one?" Woz asked.

"Unfortunately, no." Vent shook his head. "The operators even scanned their energy readings to see which one is the real one, but they all have the same readings."

"I see, that is indeed unfortunate." Woz responded, until he had an idea after a bit of pondering. "Then how about combining those energy readings into one?"

"Huh?" Prairie and the Mega Men responded.

"Combine their energy readings? How is that going to work?" Grey questioned.

"Wait, I think I'm starting to get what Woz is thinking!" Theresa realized. "Usually the real target has the most amount of energy, so by combining the energy readings of the clones..."

"We can use the combined energy reading to find the real one!" Ashe finished with a finger snap and a grin. "Heh, if that's not a good idea, then I dunno what is, Woz!"

"I appreciate your praise, Chosen Mega Man." Woz smiled.

"Did you get all of that?" Prairie asked the operators.

"Already on it, ma'am!" Tulip replied while typing on her console. "Should be done in a few moments!"

"Good to know." Prairie replied back before turning to Theresa's team. "I'll send you the coordinates of the real Another Shinobi shortly. Not only that, I'll send in the Mega Men to assist the other teams except Cure Starlight and the Riders. They can handle the Another Rider and the Alca-Noise themselves."

"You got it, Prairie!" Theresa replied.

"Okay, it's finished! Revealing the results now!" Tulip informed before pushing a button, revealing the result on the holo-screen appearing in front of the group. It was a map with a blinking red dot revealing the location of the real Another Shinobi. "This is the result of combining the energy readings into one, and it seems that the real Another Shinobi is approaching the stadium from the underground sewers. He'll be reaching the stadium in about 5 minutes."

"So that's where the real Another Rider is located!" Regina exclaimed.

"We can still intercept him before he could reach the stadium." Woz stated.

"And don't worry about the Alca-Noise he'll summon, we can handle them no problem." Theresa added.

"Good." Prairie nodded while sending the coordinates to Theresa's group via console. "Then you know what to do. Let's end this wild goose chase for good!"

"Roger!" Theresa's group complied before the holo-screen vanished.

"Vent, Aile, Grey, Ashe, time to begin the deployment." Prairie ordered.

"Yes, ma'am!" The Mega Men complied with a salute... except for Vent who raised his hand.

"Actually, can I change my deployment to assist Theresa's team?" Vent requested. "I'm a bit paranoid that Another Shinobi might pull another trick on them to catch them off guard."

"You sure, Vent?" Ashe questioned with her hands on the back of her head. "I'm pretty sure Theresa's team can handle it, especially Woz since he's dealt with Another Riders before."

"True, but I'd better be cautious about it."

"...Very well, Vent will assist Theresa's team." Prairie approved Vent's request after a bit of pondering. "Ashe, you'll go and assist Kallen and Copen instead."

"Got it." Ashe replied.

"Before you go, pay a visit to the R&D Lab. Dr. Fleuve recently finished the improvements on your Biometals. He'll explain the improvements from there." Prairie ordered before standing up from her seat and moved her hand forward. "With that said, Chosen Mega Men, move out!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The Mega Men complied with a salute before leaving the command center.

R&D Lab

"Ah good, you're just in time." Dr. Fleuve greeted the arriving Mega Men.

"I take it that our Biometals are finished with the improvements?" Vent asked.

"Indeed, thanks to some help from Dr. Ciel, Einstein and Elfnein's research notes yesterday night." Dr. Fleuve nodded as he took out Model X, Z and A before they flew back to their respective owners.

"How are you feeling, Model X?" Aile asked.

"Better than usual, Aile. And I'm sure you'll enjoy the improvements the doctor made." Model X replied.

"These improvements will be useful in the battles to come." Model Z added.

"So try not to get careless, I don't want our frames to be broken." Model A also added.

"Hey, we're friends, remember?" Ashe smiled. "We're not gonna let anything bad happen to you guys."

"So what are the new improvements?" Grey asked the doctor.

"We'll start with Model X." Dr. Fleuve explained. "You can now have a second X-Buster for your other arm. Plus, you can even combine the X-Busters into one for a more powerful charge shot, but be wary of the recoil and the recharge time."

"Got it." Aile nodded.

"Next is Model Z. You can now have a second Z-Saber and can combine the two into a double-blade or a greatsword. Though do be careful when using the greatsword considering how heavy it is to use."

"A double-bladed Z-Saber, huh? Sounds awesome." Vent grinned. "Were you watching those Star Wars movies Commander Genjuro mentioned?"

"Actually it was Dr. Ciel." Dr. Fleuve admitted, making the others sweatdrop. "However, I do like the double-bladed lightsaber, though the crossguard lightsaber looked a bit ridiculous in my opinion."

"Uh-huh." Ashe rolled her eyes. "Anyway, can you move onto Model A's improvements?"

"I was just about to explain that, Ashe." Dr. Fleuve assured before clearing his throat. "The hand cannons can now combine into a more powerful cannon, but just like the combined X-Busters from Model X, be wary of the recoil and recharge time."

"Mm, we'll be careful." Grey nodded with Ashe also nodding.

"Wait, can I ask you about something, doctor?" Aile raised her hand.

"Go ahead." Dr. Fleuve nodded.

"If me and Vent use Model X and Z together, does that mean the improvements carry over as well?"

"But of course. A second ZX-Saber you and Vent can use." Dr. Fleuve confirmed. "And you can combine them as well, including the ZX-Busters."

"That's good to know." Vent smiled.

"Last but not least, the improvements to your Mega Man battlesuits for the four of you. First is the ability to double jump and the air dash without the need of Model H's power, though you cannot dash upwards. And the second is a new addition to your arsenal which will enhance your strength capabilities, most noticeably, your hands."

"So basically, super-strength?" Grey guessed.

"Correct." Dr. Fleuve nodded. "Dr. Ciel was the one who made this chip and requested me to install it onto your Biometals. It will also enhance your punching power and you can even charge its power like the X-Buster. Plus, you can rip out enemy weapons and use it against them."

"Now that sounds badass." Ashe grinned.

"Hm?" Suddenly, Dr. Fleuve's Zikan Phone beeped, prompting him to answer it, which turned out to be a text message. "Ah, Dr. Einstein has a gift for the four of you!"

"What kind of gift?" Aile asked.

"I'll send it to your Zikan Phones immediately." Dr. Fleuve replied as he pushed a few buttons on his phone to transfer the gifts onto their Zikan Phones. "These are your new Wind Gliders, allowing you to glide long distances. But these are the enhanced versions augmented with magic silk, allowing you to fly even longer distances. You can also fly above the clouds."

"Magic silk? Where did a material like that come from?" Ashe questioned.

"Apparently the material is from Sequin Land." Dr. Fleuve answered.

"Ah, okay."

"Well, that's all for me." Dr. Fleuve finished. "Now get going, you four. You have a mission to deal with."

"Thanks for the improvements and gifts, doctor. We'll make good use of them." Vent replied before turning to the others. "Alright, let's move out!"

"Right!" The others nodded before they left the R&D Lab.

Loading Bay

As they arrived at the Loading Bay, they were already donning their Mega Man battlesuits and ready to be deployed. "Looks like you fellas are ready to go." Silure the mechanic spoke to the Mega Men.

"Yep, open the doors. We're heading out." Aile requested.

"Got it. Opening the doors now." Silure complied as he opened the doors.

"Hey, I forgot to ask but, once we're done with our tasks, where do we regroup?" Ashe asked.

"Oh yeah, forgot about that last part." Vent realized. "How's about we rendezvous with Theresa's team? I'll send you the coordinates once the real Another Shinobi is dealt with."

"You got it." Grey noted with Aile and Ashe nodding.

"Right then, let's Ragna-Rock and Roll!" Vent declared as he began to sprint forward and jumped off the airship, with Aile, Grey and Ashe following behind before the doors closed. Once they began to free-fall, they materialized their new Wind Gliders and flew separately towards their own destinations.

Underground Sewers

Elsewhere, the real Another Shinobi is rushing through the sewers, heading for the underground entrance of the stadium where he could begin his assassination ploy. "So this is the power of an Another Rider." Another Shinobi commented. "It's more powerful then I could have hoped. Even better since this watch is based of a shinobi, especially since S.O.N.G has their very own ninja, but does not have the means to deal with the Alca-Noise. Perhaps I should kill that ninja first before going for the main course since he's still a threat. Hmph... that man named Zwei should've used its power himself to easily destroy the Symphogears instead of relying on some stupid plan of his. I don't have time for such nonsense when this small window of opportunity is right in front of me."

A few minutes of traversing later, he began to hear music at a distance. "I can hear them... the Queens of Music, which means that I'm nearly reaching the stadium. Hehe, I'll make sure that tonight will be a night to remember. A night where they will fall by my hand. The late Adam will be pleased with my deeds." But before he could get any further, a pair of headlights shined in front of him, making him stop to cover his eyes with his arm. "What?! I'm detected?! I thought I distracted them with my shadow clones!" He mentally exclaimed.

"Going somewhere?" Said the smirking Theresa arriving with her arms crossed with her weapon Judah holstered on her back, and standing beside the pair of headlights, which turned out to be Woz's Time Mazine. "Did you really think that we're not cautious enough, or not expecting even more help besides S.O.N.G?"

"Who are you?!" A-Shinobi demanded as he lowered his arm.

"Theresa Apocalypse." She introduced while pulling out her spear from Judah. "And don't let my appearance fool you, I'm a lot stronger than you think."

A-Shinobi began to sense the young girl, and had his eyes widen in shock at what he found out. "She's not lying... this massive energy coming from this girl could rival some of the top alchemists from the Bavarian Illuminati!" He thought. "Even so, it's only one person, so I mustn't falter in the slightest!"

"Are you thinking that I'm the only one here?" Theresa smirked before hearing a finger snap at a distance, which summoned a magical wall behind her and the Time Mazine, blocking the only path to the stadium.

"A magical wall?!" A-Shinobi mentally exclaimed in shock, until he heard watery footsteps approaching, prompting him to turn around and saw Regina resting her spear over her shoulder.

"You should've brought help instead of going solo." Regina smirked while surprising the corrupted Rider. "Plus, you only used the Alca-Noise as mere tools instead of training yourself."

"This energy coming from this girl... could she be the one who summoned that magical wall?" A-Shinobi thought. "Wait... did they figure out my identity already?!"

"Your clones summoning the Alca-Noise is a dead giveaway on revealing your identity, alchemist remnant of the Bavarian Illuminati. And since you're not the type to surrender quietly, we'll just have to do this the hard way." Theresa declared.

"Grr...!" A-Shinobi growled in annoyance before summoning the Alca-Noise by throwing the crystals in front of him. "I will not go down so easily!" He proclaimed as he prepared his ninja claws.

"Good, because it'll be too easy and boring if you go down too quickly." Regina quipped as she and Theresa prepared their spears and began to clash with their targets.

Zi-O's Team

Meanwhile with Zi-O's Team, they're still currently in a battle with the Another Shinobi clone and his Alca-Noise with the Riders dealing with the Alca-Noise while Cure Starlight fought the corrupted Rider.

Zi-O slashed through several more Alca-Noise with his blades with support from his back blades. A few more were about to ambush the Rider, but were quickly sliced to pieces by his back blades. "Time to end this!" Zi-O declared as he pushed the button on the Ridewatches, slammed the tilt button on the belt and gave it a 360 spin.

=FINISH TIME! GAIM!=

Zi-O combined the Daidaimaru Z's together into a double blade and rushed towards the group of Alca-Noise while spinning his blade that generated orange energy.

=SQUASH TIME BREAK!=

Zi-O then delivered a triple slash onto the group, and followed up with one more 'X' slash that sliced all of them to pieces before exploding. "Thank goodness I did okay during my cooking lessons back home, especially the orange slicing." He commented before heading towards Starlight's location.

As for Geiz, he quickly performed a Defend Spell in front of him and blocked the projectiles fired by the Alca-Noise. He then used his other hand that has his Zikan Zax Ono Mode held to perform the Extend Spell and stretched his hand to slice away the attacking Alca-Noise from behind. After dispersing the Defend Spell while keeping the Extend Spell still active, he used it to finish off the last of the aerial Alca-Noise with a single axe swing before dispersing the spell. "Huh, so this is what it feels like to me Mr. Fantastic." Geiz commented before turning towards the last group of Alca-Noise. "And now... the finale!" He pushed the button on the Ridewatches, slammed the tilt button on the belt and gave it a 360 spin.

=FINISH TIME! WIZARD!=

A red fire magic circle appeared below Geiz as his right foot is enveloped in flames before he rushed forward while performing a few cartwheels before leaping into the air.

=STRIKE TIME BURST!=

He then lunged his fiery foot forward and delivered a burning dive kick onto the Alca-Noise, incinerating them all upon impact. Once the flames dispersed, he dusted off his foot before standing up. "Nothing beats the classic Wizard finisher." Geiz commented before heading for Starlight's location.

Back with Cure Starlight, she kept parrying the strikes delivered by Another Shinobi with her pirate sword, though she was able to get a few strikes to his chest. A-Shinobi leapt into the air and threw several kunai, prompting Starlight to dodge and block the falling kunai. When she looked up though, A-Shinobi seems to have vanished, but she knew that he would strike at another angle without being seen, so she decided to close her eyes and let her ears do the work, trying to hear an attack sound. Eventually, A-Shinobi appeared from behind using Starlight's shadow and is about to slash her with his ninja claws, but she immediately heard the sound of the claws, prompting her to lean back and fired several shots to the chest with her pirate pistol, pushing him back a few steps.

"You don't know much about me, do you?" Starlight quipped with a smirk as she stood up straight while twirling her pistol.

"Why you...!" A-Shinobi scowled as he's about to rush attack her, until he was suddenly entangled with magic chains made by Geiz's Bind Spell. "What?!"

"Sorry, but we don't have time for you." Geiz spoke to the corrupted Rider with his glowing red hand forward.

"Haaaaa!" Zi-O yelled as he delivered several energy slash-waves with his Daidaimaru Z's, trapping A-Shinobi into an orange shaped sphere. "Finish Time's all yours, sis!"

Starlight nodded as she rotated her PreBrace several times, charging her weapons to full power with an aura. Next, she threw her pistol up in the air, earning everyone's attention. But she used it as a distraction as she rushed towards her target with her pirate sword ready. "Pretty Cure! Final Starlight Wave!" She unleashed a powerful 'X' slash onto the trapped Another Shinobi before passing through. The pirate pistol fell down onto Starlight's free hand and unleashed one final projectile blast onto the center of the 'X' mark, causing a large explosion that defeated the corrupted Rider. Starlight blew off the smoke from the nozzle before holstering her weapons as the dust cloud in front of her dispersed, revealing dust and burn marks on the floor, and not the body or the Another Ridewatch. "Tch, so that one's a clone, after all." Starlight frowned as she reverted back to Base Form while the Riders approached her while holstering their weapons.

"So what do we do now?" Zi-O asked. "Should we split up and help the other teams?"

"Maybe we should contact Prairie first, just in case she has any new info." Geiz suggested.

"Okay, we'll go with your idea." Starlight approved Geiz's suggestion, prompting him to contact the Guardian commander with his Zikan Phone.

"Geiz here, we've cleared out the Alca-Noise and Another Shinobi, though the latter was just a shadow clone." He informed the Guardian commander.

"That's okay, at least the area is secured." Prairie replied. "And as for Another Shinobi, Theresa's team is in contact with the real one in the underground sewers just a kilometer away from the stadium."

"The real one's in the sewers?!" Zi-O exclaimed. "How are you able to find his location?"

"By combining the energy readings of the four clones into one singular reading. Woz was the one who came up with the idea."

"Ah, so that's how." Geiz responded. "So what do we do now?"

"Assist Theresa's team on taking down the real corrupted Rider and the Alca-Noise. I've already deployed the Mega Men to assist the other teams, though Vent chose to assist Theresa's team as well. Here are the coordinates."

"Good to know, ma'am. We'll be there soon." Starlight replied as said coordinates are sent onto their Zikan Phones. "Speaking of which, is the concert over yet?"

"Hold on." Prairie took a moment to look at the time on her Zikan Phone. "It'll be over in about 15 minutes."

"Okay, 15 minutes is all we need to wrap this up." Starlight noted.

"Then you'd better get moving. Good luck, guys." Prairie replied back before ending the call.

"Right then, time to help out Theresa's team before they get overwhelmed. Though me and Geiz are going to look for Woz instead." Zi-O declared, surprising Geiz and Starlight about the latter part.

"Wait, why look for Woz? He's probably with Theresa's team." Geiz questioned.

"True, but he might have a plan up his sleeve to deal with Another Shinobi, and I want in on his plan." Zi-O stated.

"Ah, I get it." Geiz noted before turning to Starlight. "Sorry Starlight, but you're gonna have to find Theresa alone instead."

"That's fine." Starlight replied. "Though Vent's on his way to assist her too, so I won't be alone for too long."

"Good." Zi-O nodded as he and Geiz quickly called their Time Mazines using their Zikan Phones. A few moments later, their vehicles arrived as they landed behind them. "See you in a bit, sis!"

"Have fun, guys!" Starlight waved with a smile before they flew off with the Riders searching for Woz while Starlight head for the location of Theresa's team.

Kiana's Team

Meanwhile, Kiana kept fending off the Alca-Noise with gunfire while dodging its attacks with jumps and cartwheels, while Mei is battling Another Shinobi with both of them dodging and parrying blow for blow. Suddenly, A-Shinobi vanished into the shadows, surprising Mei before she kept her guard up and awaiting for a sneak attack. While Kiana shot down a few more Alca-Noise, she gasped in shock when she noticed A-Shinobi appearing behind Mei with his ninja claws ready.

"Mei, behind you!" Kiana yelled.

"?!" Mei gasped and quickly turned around to block, only for A-Shinobi to strike with his claws, pushing her back and making her fall to the floor.

"Mei!" Kiana exclaimed as she's about to come to her aid, only for more Alca-Noise to block her path. "Oh, for the love of...!" She muttered before shooting the Alca-Noise down.

"Gh..." Mei shook off her dizziness and is about to stand, only to see a ninjatō right in front of her.

"This ends now." A-Shinobi declared as he was about to strike down Mei... only to get struck with a headshot by a charged shot from above, sending the corrupted Rider flying a few steps away from Mei and also dropping his ninjatō in the process.

The one who shot the corrupted Rider landed in front of Mei who looked up, and began to smile at the familiar saviour in a red battlesuit and a blaster in hand.

"Hope you don't mind me dropping in to save you, Mei." Aile smiled while offering Mei a hand up.

"Aile! It's good to see you!" Mei smiled back as she grabbed Aile's hand and stood up.

"Prairie deployed me and the others to assist in case things go south." Aile explained. "But I'm glad I made it in time." She then turned to Kiana. "You doing okay over there, Kiana?"

"Ah, Aile!" Kiana smiled, noticing the Mega Man after sending a few Alca-Noise flying with a spinning roundhouse kick and then shot them to dust with her pistols as a follow-up. "Nice to see you again!"

"You too!" Aile smiled back, before noticing A-Shinobi's ninjatō on the ground and picked it up. "Hope he doesn't mind us borrowing it for a while." She smirked while offering Mei the ninjatō.

"Fufu, perhaps." Mei chuckled while taking the ninjatō and held it in a reverse grip while also taking out her Thermal Cutter in a normal grip. Aile changed her ZX-Buster into her ZX-Saber while also taking out a second ZX-Saber thanks to Dr. Fleuve's improvements on the Biometals.

As Another Shinobi slowly stood up and recovered from a sudden sneak attack, he gasped in shock at the two fighters glaring at him with their weapons ready. And his eyes widen in shock at Mei holding onto his ninjatō that he dropped earlier. "W-What is this?! And give me back my sword!" He demanded.

"Forgive me, but scum like you doesn't deserve this sword." Mei responded.

"Let's end this in a flash, Mei." Aile said.

"My thoughts exactly." Mei replied before she and Aile rushed forward.

A-Shinobi breathe purple flames towards the girls, prompting them to jump over to evade the flames. Mei then threw the ninjatō onto A-Shinobi's shadow before she and Aile landed on the floor. A-Shinobi was about to attack them with his claws, but something is preventing him from moving his entire body. "I... can't move...?!" He exclaimed.

"Shadow Weaving. Prevents a target from moving or using its entire body." Mei stated, which shocked the corrupted Rider.

"Y-You knew about that technique?!"

"I had a good tutor." Mei smirked with her katana ready before rushing forward. "Aile, let's go!"

"Yeah!" Aile complied before going after Mei while combining her ZX-Sabers into a large energy sword called the ZX-Greatsword. Mei sent the bound corrupted Rider flying with a double aerial whirlwind slash while Aile jumped over Mei's shoulder as a boost, aimed her greatsword downward and unleashed a powerful Skull Crush, plunging Another Shinobi to the ground with a large shockwave that also destroyed a few Alca-Noise in the process. And then Mei followed up by unleashing a lightning plunge strike onto A-Shinobi that caused an electrical explosion.

When the dust clouds dispersed, Mei and Aile saw nothing but dust and burn marks with no body in sight. "Just as I thought, it's just a clone." Aile deduced while resting her greatsword over her shoulder.

"You knew it was a clone?" Mei asked.

"Mhm." Aile nodded before turning to Kiana who's still fending off the remaining Alca-Noise. "But first, let's finish off the Alca-Noise in one sweep."

"If you're thinking about using that technique, then let me assist you." Mei replied before turning to her friend. "Kiana-chan, get out of the way! We're ending them in one strike!"

"Okay!" Kiana nodded before jumping into the air while Mei and Aile unleashed a powerful combined horizontal slash-wave that sliced all of the remaining Alca-Noise with their top-halves flying before exploding into dust. Kiana then landed in front of Mei and Aile before they holstered their weapons. "Nice one, you two." She smiled before turning to Aile. "And thanks for saving Mei back there."

"No problem, Kiana." Aile smiled back.

"Are there anymore Alca-Noise left?" Mei asked while looking around for any more remaining creatures.

"Model X? Z? Anything we've missed?" Aile asked the Biometals.

"No signs of any more Alca-Noise, Aile." Model X informed after a quick analysis.

"Looks like the area is clear." Model Z added.

"What did the Biometals say?" Mei asked.

"Area's all clear since they didn't detect any more Alca-Noise." Aile replied.

"What about that corrupted Rider? Is it real or a clone?" Kiana asked.

"A clone, unfortunately." Mei replied.

"Damn it."

"Oh, you girls don't have to worry about locating the real Another Shinobi. The Guardian operators managed to find the real one located in the underground sewers just a kilometer away from the stadium." Aile informed.

"What?!" Kiana exclaimed. "That sneaky little bastard..."

"Can we still make it in time?" Mei asked.

"Theresa's team should be intercepting him by now, so we should still be able to make it in time to assist." Aile said.

"Great, then let's go!" Kiana replied as she's about to head out.

"Wait, Kiana-chan! Do you know where's Theresa's location?" Mei questioned, making Kiana stutter in realization.

"Uh... ehehe, nope?" Kiana sheepishly chuckled while rubbing the back of her head, making Mei and Aile sweatdrop.

"That's okay, we can use our Zikan Phones to locate her coordinates. I already did that earlier before arriving here, so I pretty much know where she is." Aile stated.

"Then we'll follow your lead, Aile." Mei replied with Kiana nodding.

"Try to keep up!" Aile grinned before jumping off the roof and flew away using her Wind Glider, which surprised Kiana and Mei.

"Wait, when did she get a Wind Glider?!" Kiana questioned.

"Probably because of Einstein as a gift." Mei answered. "Now come on, let's not get left behind!" She then jumped off the roof and flew after Aile using her Wind Glider.

"O-Oi! Wait for me, Mei!" Kiana exclaimed before flying after Mei with her Wind Glider to catch up.

Bronya's Team

Elsewhere, Bronya continued to fight off the Alca-Noise using Project Bunny who fired homing missiles with its cannon arm, while Seele was still dueling with Another Shinobi. However, the corrupted Rider is starting to get the upper hand as his attacks are pushing back Seele. In response, Seele used her Blinking Flash to evade a sword attack from A-Shinobi and quickly regrouped with Bronya and her mech as they stood back to back.

"Are you okay, Seele?" Bronya asked.

"Sorry, I'm having trouble dealing with that corrupted ninja." Seele replied while catching her breath. "Would be nice if we had some back-up right about now."

"Do not worry. The Bronya is assured that help will arrive soon."

"I hope so." Seele replied as A-Shinobi and the Alca-Noise started closing in on them. "...Because I'm not sure how long we can last."

"We must not give up just yet, or more innocent people will be in danger." Bronya stated.

"Bronya..." Seele whispered.

"I can't watch this anymore, let me take care of them for you, Seele."

"Veliona?" Seele thought after hearing her voice in her mind.

"You're not gonna let those bastards kill you or Bronya, are you?"

"...No. I'm not ready to die yet. Bronya told me to never give up, so I'll have to keep fighting. We have much to prepare in the future."

"In the future, huh? Are you talking about the Neo Time Jackers?"

"Yes. And I'm not going to let them destroy mine, Bronya's or any of my friends futures!"

"...Fufufu, good answer. Well then, shall I lend you my power once more?"

"Yes, I'll-"

"Hm?" Bronya suddenly heard Bunny detecting something as it let out a few beeps. "Bunny's detecting something approaching."

"Eh?" Seele responded as she cut off her thoughts for a moment.

Soon after, a pair of spinning green energy cross shurikens flew from above and sliced the surrounding Alca-Noise like boomerangs, forcing A-Shinobi to jump a few steps back to evade the shurikens as they then flew towards a figure standing atop the staircase entrance, caught the shurikens and dispersed them before crossing arms. Everyone then noticed the mysterious figure who had a purple helmet with a white face guard and red eyes, an armor that looked similar to Mega Man ZX's but with a purple color scheme, a pair of yellow arm guards and a red flowing dual scarf around the neck.

"Bronya, who is that?" Seele asked.

"The Bronya does not know, but it looked like another ninja." Bronya replied.

"I see... at least that ninja saved us from the Alca-Noise."

"You dare to interfere with me...?" A-Shinobi spoke to the ninja with narrowed eyes. But the ninja did not respond, irritating the corrupted Rider even further. "No response, huh? Then, die!" He summoned multiple water spears using his ninjutsu and launched them towards the ninja, only for said ninja to vanish using his own shadow and evaded the spears. "Tch! He vanished..." A-Shinobi muttered as he prepared his ninjatō while looking around. And then out of nowhere, four clones of the purple ninja appeared from above and threw a storm of energy kunais, prompting Bunny to protect Bronya and Seele with its energy shield, while the Alca-Noise were shredded to pieces from the kunai storm. A-Shinobi summoned a purple wind barrier ninjutsu to protect himself from the kunai storm, but failed to notice a few energy kunais were planted onto his shadow behind him. The ninja landed in front of A-Shinobi with a pair of energy kunais held in reverse grip. A-Shinobi was about to confront the ninja, but felt shocked when he cannot move his entire body. "W-What's happening?! I can't... use my entire body...!" He mentally exclaimed.

"Eh? Why can't he move?" Seele questioned why A-Shinobi cannot move, after she slash a few Alca-Noise with her scythe.

As for Bronya, she noticed the energy kunais planted over A-Shinobi's shadow, and remembered watching Mei's training session with Tsubasa earlier this morning. "The Shadow Weaving technique... of course! It prevents an enemy's movements, including the entire body. Clever..." Bronya thought, but then realized that the technique gave an opening to counterattack. In response, she ordered Project Bunny to fire a black hole sphere 45 degrees above the area using its cannon as the black hole began to suck up all of the Alca-Noise and the corrupted Rider, trapping them inside the hole. "Seele, finish them off in one strike."

"Understood!" Seele nodded before turning to the purple ninja. "Mr. Ninja, let's finish them together!"

The ninja nodded before they leap towards the black hole and unleashed a combined decisive strike into the trapped targets with Seele delivering an aerial rolling slash and the ninja performing an 'X' slash before they landed on the floor. The black hole exploded, turning all off the Alca-Noise and Another Shinobi into nothingness. With the area cleared, they regrouped while Bunny searched the area with its optics for a moment until it shook its head. "No more hostiles detected, area is secured." Bronya declared, prompting Seele and the ninja to disperse their weapons.

"Phew... thank goodness." Seele sighed with relief before turning to the ninja. "And thanks for the help earlier."

"...You're welcome. We are comrades, after all." The ninja replied, surprising the girls.

"So you can speak!" Seele responded. "Why the silence?"

"Aren't ninjas supposed to be silent and deadly without speaking?"

"Uhh..."

"Hmm, you do have a point there." Bronya pointed out.

"Also no need for introductions, Bronya Zaychik and Seele Vollerei. Kiana told me about the both of you." The ninja said, making the girls gasp in shock.

"Kiana met you before?!" Seele questioned.

"Allow me to properly introduce myself." The ninja said as he transformed back into a certain Mega Man with a dark blue and light gray armor with red accents. "My name is Grey, a Mega Man from the Guardians. Kiana and Mei fought alongside Ashe yesterday."

"Oh! Now I remember!" Seele realized after recalling the report from Kiana and Mei yesterday night. "So you and Ashe share the same armor, right?" She asked, earning a confirmed nod from Grey.

"That power earlier... was that A-Trans?" Bronya recalled.

"Yup." Grey confirmed with a nod. "The power to transform into other reploids or Falseroids by using their DNA. Though as you saw earlier, I can even transform into other Mega Men since Model A absorbed their DNA."

"Then... the purple ninja you transformed earlier was a Mega Man?" Seele asked.

"Correct." Grey nodded. "That was Siarnaq, the Shadow Mega Man with the power of Model P. I may have a copy of his power, but the real Biometal is still with him. And Model P is one of the Biometals that was stolen from Vent and Aile."

"I see." Bronya noted. "If that's the case, then the Bronya and Seele will help you retrieve that Biometal back."

"Thanks, girls." Grey smiled. "Anyway, good job dealing with that clone and the Alca-Noise."

"Wait, that was a clone?!" Seele exclaimed.

"Usually when an Another Rider is defeated, the unconscious body and the Another Ridewatch will reveal themselves."

"Of course... the same thing happened when Kanade and Serena were freed thanks to Zi-O and Geiz." Bronya recalled.

"Don't worry, Theresa's team should be intercepting the real Another Shinobi by now." Grey assured. "The Guardian operators were able to locate him hiding in the underground sewers, only a kilometer away from the stadium."

"Then we need to hurry." Seele replied.

"I have Theresa's coordinates, so I can escort you girls to her." Grey said while showing off his Zikan Phone.

"Hop on top of Bunny's shoulder and show us the way, Grey." Bronya requested.

"Got it." Grey nodded before he sat on top of Bunny's right shoulder, while Seele sat on the other shoulder and Bronya sat on the mech's hand. Afterwards, they quickly flew off with Grey providing directions towards Theresa's location.

Kallen's Team

Meanwhile, Kallen continued to duel with Another Shinobi with neither of them slowing down as they kept parrying and dodging each other's attacks, although Kallen managed to get a few hits in as it left a purple Raven Mark onto the corrupted Rider; while Copen fend off the Alca-Noise with his Burning Divider pistol and his support bits firing homing lasers at them after tagging them with his Armed Gear and his Bullit Dash.

"Man these things are annoying!" Lola complained. "How did that Another Rider get his hands on the Alca-Noise?!"

"According to Elfnein and Genjuro, the Alca-Noise are summoned using special crystals." Copen recalled. "So far, only the alchemists remnants of the Bavarian Illuminati has those crystals."

"Wait... then that means the identity of Another Shinobi is a Bavarian alchemist?!"

"Bingo. Which means the Neo Time Jackers must have something to do with this... Damn them to hell." Copen muttered before firing explosive energy daggers from the front of his Armed Gear and destroyed them upon impact. However, more Alca-Noise began to surround the Luminous Avenger as he holstered his gun and pulled out his whip-sword from his Armed Gear. "You want some more? Then I'll gladly give it to you!" He said as he's about to flung his whip-sword at his targets.

...Until a storm of homing lightning blasts from above obliterated the surrounding Alca-Noise before the figure who fired those shots landed in front of Copen. "I'm not late for the party, am I?" The figure grinned at him.

"Heh." Copen smirked back. "I take it Prairie requested you to be deployed for assistance, Ashe?"

"Hey, I never got a chance to fight the Alca-Noise yet." Ashe replied, before shooting down one of said creature from behind with her hand cannon. "So how's about we clean up this mess before we assist Kallen?"

"Fine by me." Copen replied back as he and Ashe stood back to back.

"By the way, why are there prisms surrounding the area?" Ashe asked while noticing said prisms.

"Oh, that was Boss using his Prism Break EX-Weapon he's gotten from a defeated Adept. The bad ones, mind you." Lola explained.

"It's called the EX-Weapon Mirroring System. I've installed that system into my suit and my weapons, allowing me to use the weapons of the Adepts." Copen added.

"Huh, kinda like how me and Grey defeated the enemy Falseroids and obtained their DNA to use their power." Ashe remarked. "How many do you have so far?"

"13 weapons, with one of them being Gunvolt's lightning Septima."

"13?!" Ashe gawked. "Wow, that's a lot of versatility. Speaking of which..." She glanced at the prisms. "Are those prisms reflective to lasers?"

"Yes, why?"

"...Let's see how they like lasers flying all over the place." Ashe grinned after thinking of an idea. "Do you have an EX-Weapon that can fire lots of lasers?"

"That would be the the Broad Circuit..." Copen answered... before realizing what Ashe is planning. "Oh, I see where this is going." He smirked.

"Uh... guys? What are you two planning?" Lola asked.

"Just prepare the Broad Circuit EX-Weapon, Lola. Ashe's got an idea." Copen replied while holstering back his whip-sword and took out his gun again.

"O-kay, you got it, Boss."

As the two prepared their weapons, the Alca-Noise are ready to fire their lasers at them. And when they began to fire... "Now!" Copen and Ashe jumped into the air to evade the lasers, and then pointed their weapons at the prisms on opposite sides.

"Fire away!" Ashe yelled as she and Copen fired a storm of lasers at the prisms with the latter using his Broad Circuit that fired a stream of light green lasers. When the lasers struck the prisms, it reflected them all over the place, piercing through all of the Alca-Noise at every angle without warning.

"Hm?" Kallen also noticed the lasers heading straight for her and A-Shinobi, prompting her to push him back with a side kick before leaping into the air to evade the lasers as they struck the unaware corrupted Rider at all angles complete with explosions. Once the lasers are gone and the dust clouds dispersed as Kallen, Copen and Ashe land safely, they saw the heavily damaged A-Shinobi struggling to stand up.

"Last chance... surrender." Copen demanded to the corrupted Rider as weapons are pointed at him.

"Never... I'd rather die then get captured by you...!" A-Shinobi strongly refused despite taking too much damage.

"By the way, guys? The Guardian operators managed to find the real Another Shinobi, so you're free to kill this clone." Ashe informed.

"What?!" A-Shinobi exclaimed.

"Really?" Kallen asked, earning a confirmed nod from Ashe. "In that case..." Kallen then snapped her fingers, detonating the Raven Mark which caused an icy explosion that froze A-Shinobi in place. "You should've paid attention to the Raven Mark I tagged onto you. When detonated, this happens." She smirked.

"Wait, you were tagging him during the fight?" Copen questioned.

"Mhm." Kallen nodded. "Though you couldn't see it because you're busy with the Alca-Noise."

"Ah, right."

"Now then, anyone wanna finish off this frozen clone?" Kallen offered.

"I'll do it, but let's send it flying into the air first." Ashe responded as she fused her hand cannons into one large cannon.

"Huh?! When did you get that?!" Lola gawked upon seeing Ashe's new arsenal.

"You can thanks Dr. Fleuve for providing upgrades for the Biometals." Ashe replied. "Copen, if you'd be so kind?"

"Alright then." Copen complied as he switched to his whip-sword again, flung it towards the frozen A-Shinobi as it wrapped around him, and flung him into the air with one swing while Ashe kept aiming at A-Shinobi while charging the cannon. Afterwards, Ashe fired a powerful laser blast that incinerated the corrupted Rider into nothingness in one shot before she unfused the hand cannons and holstered them. "Wow, that was one heck of an upgrade." Copen blinked after witnessing Ashe's combined hand cannon.

"I know, right?" Ashe grinned as Copen and Kallen holstered their weapons. "Good thing I didn't go overboard or the recoil will kick in." She then turned to Kallen who moved her mask to the side of her hair. "So you're Kiana's ancestor, Kallen Kaslana, right?"

"That's me. A pleasure to meet you, Ashe." Kallen replied with a smile. "Kiana also to me about you, especially when you went inside the Astral Plane."

"Yeah... that place was literally a hellhole for chimeras." Ashe replied back with a slight shiver at the memory.

"No signs of any more of the Alca-Noise, so I think it's safe to say that this area's clear." Model A informed.

"Good to know, then we're done here." Ashe replied before turning to Copen and Kallen. "Model A didn't detect anymore Alca-Noise activity in this area, so we're all clear."

"Would be nice if I could also chat with the Biometal instead of just you and the other Mega Men." Lola commented.

"Hmm..." Ashe pondered with her hand on her chin. "Maybe some other time, Lola."

"Anyway, you said that you know where's the real Another Shinobi." Copen mentioned.

"Yup." Ashe nodded. "He's in the underground sewers just a kilometer away from the stadium, which is where Theresa's team is there to intercept him. I can escort you guys there since I have the coordinates."

"Theresa's team is intercepting him, huh? So there's still time for us to make it there." Copen noted.

"Then let's not keep my relative waiting." Kallen added. "Lead the way, Ashe!"

"Don't get left behind!" Ashe grinned before she jumped off the rooftop and flew off with her Wind Glider which surprised Copen and Kallen.

"A gacking Wind Glider?! I thought she was going to use a flying form with her A-Trans! When did she get that?!" Lola gawked.

"Fufu. Must've been Einstein's doing by sending her a gift." Kallen chuckled. "Okay, let's go!" She and Copen began to jump off the rooftop and flew after Ashe, with Kallen using her Wind Glider and Copen using his jet boosters.

Theresa's Team

Back at the underground sewers, Theresa fend off the Alca-Noise by throwing multiple spears with straight throws and boomerang throws; while Regina fought against the real Another Shinobi, though she's having a bit of trouble gaining the upper hand considering the corrupted ninja's speed. Regina is about to thrust her spear onto A-Shinobi, but he quickly vanished into the shadows, making her miss her mark.

"Tch... would be nice if Mana and the others were here. They'd know what to do in this situation." Regina commented while mentioning her Pretty Cure allies back in her world. She looked around the area for the corrupted Rider, however the underground sewer is quite dark, allowing the corrupted ninja to have a huge advantage. Speaking of which, she failed to notice said corrupted ninja right above her hanging on the ceiling using his ninja claws. He quickly drop down and is about to perform a plunging claw attack onto the unaware Regina... until a charged shot out of nowhere sent A-Shinobi flying away from Regina and rolling into the watery floor. The shocked Regina immediately noticed the fallen A-Shinobi. "What the... where did he come from?!"

"Phew... glad I made it in time."

"Hm?" Regina turned to the one speaking at a distance as a figure approached her, which turned out to be Vent who blew off the smoke from his ZX-Buster's nozzle. "Who are you?"

"Vent, a member of the Guardians, the one who just saved you from a sneak attack from above the ceiling." He greeted as he switched his weapon into his ZX-Saber.

"A sneak attack from the ceiling?" Regina questioned as she briefly looked up the ceiling and saw some claws holes, making her gasp. "I guess I've gotten careless." She spoke to Vent.

"That's okay considering I've used a ninja based armor before, so I know most of their tricks." Vent replied. "The underground sewers can be dark at times, allowing ninjas such as Another Shinobi to use it to their advantage since they can hide in the shadows."

"...Crud, I completely forgot about that little detail." Regina admitted.

"It's fine, everyone makes mistakes, including me." Vent replied before turning to A-Shinobi that's slowly standing up. "For now though, we'd better take him down before he could cause too much harm to everyone."

"Actually, I'm gonna go help Theresa to deal with the Alca-Noise instead. He's all yours." Regina requested.

"Very well, but be careful, okay?" Vent replied.

"I will! Same goes for you too!" Regina smiled back as she went to Theresa's aid, leaving Vent to deal with A-Shinobi instead.

"So you're the one who shot me... I was this close to killing her!" Another Shinobi growled while glaring at the Mega Man.

"Sorry." Vent responded as he ignited his ZX-Saber once more. "But you're not laying a finger on her or any of my friends."

"An energy sword?!" A-Shinobi exclaimed. "Who are you anyway?!"

"Me?" Vent responded before preparing a combat stance. "I'm just a passing through Mega Man. Remember that, Bavarian alchemist!" He finished before dashing forward.

"He also knew my identity?!" A-Shinobi mentally exclaimed in shock before quickly evading the saber slash with a back-step. He took out his ninjatō and began to clash blades with the Mega Man.

Meanwhile back with Theresa, she continued to fend off the Alca-Noise with her spear throws, but more and more Alca-Noise kept surrounding her while some of them attacked the magic wall to break through. "This is bad... I don't think I can hold them off for much longer...!" Theresa thought with worry.

"Principal Theresa!"

"Huh?" Theresa then noticed the arriving Regina launching energy blasts at the Alca-Noise, including the ones attacking the magic wall. "Regina? Why are you here? Where's Another Shinobi?"

"Vent is dealing with him now, so I'm free to help you out." Regina informed.

"That must've been Prairie deploying the Mega Men to assist." Theresa deduced before smiling. "Either way, I'm glad you're here."

"Good to know you're still standing." Regina smiled back. "Oh and uh... sorry about insulting you earlier back at the Zi-O Liner."

"That's fine, water under the bridge." Theresa waved off as she and Regina stood side by side, noticing more Alca-Noise approaching. "Now how's about we send these Alca-Noise packing?"

"Fine by me!" Regina grinned as the girls prepared their spears once more.

"Starlight Twin Saucer!"

...Until a pair of yellow energy saucers sliced the Alca-Noise in half as they exploded before both saucers collided with one more Alca-Noise, resulting in a small explosion that destroyed it.

"I know that voice all too well." Regina smiled. "Cure Starlight, you made it!"

"Sorry I'm late!" Said the arriving Starlight. "Our team managed to clear the area and defeated the clone Another Shinobi. So where's the real one?"

"Vent is fighting him right now while we hold off the Alca-Noise from breaking this magical wall." Theresa informed.

"I see." Starlight noted, until she noticed someone missing. "Wait, where's Woz? Is he on the Time Mazine?"

"Actually he went somewhere else to set up a trap in case that corrupted ninja planned something." Regina replied.

"Huh, looks like my brother's premonition was right." Starlight remarked. "He and Geiz are also looking for Woz to help with his plan." She then glanced at the magical wall Regina made, and then had an idea after a bit of pondering. "Regina, could you do me a favour real quick?"

"Sure, what's up?" Regina responded.

"I want you to set up a few more magical walls on the remaining access points towards the stadium, just to make sure neither Alca-Noise nor Another Shinobi gets through. I'll stay with Theresa to keep up the defence."

"I can do that." Regina accepted. "Though it would be nice if reinforcements would arrive to help us."

"I'm pretty sure more help is on the way." Starlight assured. "The other teams should be done dealing with those clones right about now, so they'll be here soon."

"Well Prairie did deploy the Mega Men to assist them, so they'll be able to do just that without any trouble." Theresa stated.

"Then there you go." Starlight smiled before turning to Regina. "You'd better get started. The sooner we finish this, the better."

"Got it." Regina nodded before heading for the magical wall and briefly dispersing it. "Best of luck, girls!" She then summoned another magical wall behind her, boarded Woz's Time Mazine and rode off to the next access point, leaving Starlight and Theresa to deal with the Alca-Noise.

"Now then, where were we?" Theresa said as she brought out her spears while Starlight summoned a pair of energy spears to her hands, which caught Theresa's attention. "I didn't know you could do that."

"I'm a Pretty Cure, remember? Gotta use my imagination to perform stuff like this." Starlight smirked.

"Touché." Theresa's smirked back before she and Starlight rushed towards the Alca-Noise and began their clash.

Meanwhile back with the duel with Vent and Another Shinobi, it turned out to be a stalemate with neither of them slowing down as they parried and dodged each other's attacks. But then, A-Shinobi jumped away from Vent while evading another saber slash, and launched a water blast at the Mega Man using the sewer water. In response, Vent quickly took out his 2nd ZX-Saber, fused the two sabers into a double-saber, and spun his weapon forward to block the water blast.

"He has another energy sword AND can fuse them into a double-saber?! Where did this guy come from?!" A-Shinobi mentally exclaimed at how skilled the Mega Man is, not to mention having another saber that can combine.

"Huh, so this is how it feels to use a double saber. Gotta give credit to Dr. Fleuve and Dr. Ciel for the Biometal upgrades." Vent thought before pushing forward without losing ground thanks to his dash boots.

A-Shinobi stopped using his water blast, brandished his ninja claws, and proceeded to lunge towards Vent from above. In response, Vent split his double-saber into a pair of ZX-Sabers and blocked the attack. A-Shinobi continued to deliver claw strikes at the Mega Man, who kept blocking and parrying the attacks until their weapons clashed into a deadlock. During the deadlock however, Vent charged his weapons, changed one of his ZX-Saber into his ZX-Buster without being noticed, pointed it right at A-Shinobi's stomach, and fired a charged shot that sent him flying. But Vent was not done yet as he unleashed a charged slash-wave with his ZX-Saber, combining the two attacks into one powerful blast that engulfed the corrupted Rider into an explosion.

Once the dust clouds dispersed, Vent approached the fallen A-Shinobi, but what he saw instead was a scarecrow wearing A-Shinobi's attire minus the helmet. "What the... it was a clone this entire time?!" Vent exclaimed in shock.

"He must've used this scarecrow as a last minute distraction to escape defeat." Model X stated.

"A distraction, huh? Then where's the real one?"

"Luckily I can still detect his energy signature. It seems that he's heading for another access point to enter the stadium." Model Z informed.

"Then we'd better get a move on." Vent replied before going after the runaway corrupted Rider.

"Tch... he's a lot stronger than I thought! When did S.O.N.G hire this guy, along with those two girls?!" A-Shinobi questioned in annoyance while rushing towards another access point to the stadium. But when he reached the route to the next access point however, not only that it was blocked by another magical wall, Kiana, Mei and Aile are also waiting with their weapons ready. "What?!"

"I'm sorry, but are you going somewhere in a hurry?" Aile quipped while pointing her ZX-Busters at the corrupted Rider.

"You're gonna have to get pass us if you wanna go inside." Kiana added while pointing her pistols at her target.

"Chances are however, you're not going to go far unless you surrender." Mei also added with her hand on her katana grip.

"W-Where did they come from?!" A-Shinobi mentally exclaimed in shock before throwing a smoke grenade below him and ran away.

"Should we go after him?" Mei asked.

"I'll go chase him down." Aile answered while stepping forward. "You two stay here and guard the wall in case any Alca-Noise he summons come by."

"Okay then, Aile. Happy hunting!" Kiana replied back before Aile went ahead to chase down the corrupted Rider.

"This isn't how it's supposed to go! What happened to my clones?! And where did these people I've never heard of come from?!" A-Shinobi questioned in panic while rushing towards another access point. But when he reached the route however, he was met with a bullet storm, prompting him to jump way and hide from the bullets. "T-There's more of them?!" He mentally exclaimed as he peeked at the route without being noticed, to which the route was blocked by another magical wall, followed by Kallen, Copen and Ashe with their guns (and also Copen's support bits) pointing forward and ready to fire upon sight.

"Hehe, oh I bet he's scared now!" Lola chuckled.

"He's expecting a fight against the Symphogears..." Copen said.

"But he did not expect a fight against us." Ashe grinned.

"Though I'm surprised that he never thought about surrendering." Kallen remarked.

"Guess it shows how stubborn some people can be." Copen replied. "Trust me, I know how it feels like before I started opening up to others."

"Grr... I don't have time for this! The concert's almost over!" A-Shinobi thought before leaving the area silently to find another access point.

"My sensors picked up that Another Shinobi is heading for another access point." Lola informed the group. "But by the time he reached there, it'll be too late since Regina set up a magical wall to block the way."

"Copen, you chase down that corrupted ninja while me and Ashe stand guard here." Kallen ordered.

"He's all yours, Ix!" Ashe added.

"Got it." Copen nodded... before blinking a few times at what Ashe just said. "Wait... Ix?"

"Just a random nickname I've thought of, kinda like how we call GV for Gunvolt's nickname."

"Luminous Avenger Ix... Oooh, I like that title!" Lola remarked. "I'm gonna start calling Ix instead of Boss from now on, unless he says otherwise."

"Don't decide nicknames from out of the blue." Copen deadpanned. "...Though I have to admit, it does sound cool."

"I was hoping you'd like it." Ashe grinned.

"I think you'd better get going before you lose your target, Ix." Kallen reminded.

"Don't need to tell me twice, Kaslana!" Copen smirked back before blasting off with his jet boosters to chase down the runaway Another Shinobi.

"There's only one access point left to enter the stadium unseen. If that path is also blocked, then I have no choice but to take the normal route." A -Shinobi mentally stated while running. "There had better not have a magical wall blocking my path towards the Queens of Music!"

When he saw the last access point at a distance, there was no magical wall blocking the path yet. There's still a chance for him to succeed, so he ran as fast as he could towards the path.

...Unfortunately, he was flying several feet away by an invisible punch, when then revealed itself to be Project Bunny who decloaked itself, with Bronya, Seele and Grey appearing beside it from behind with their weapons ready.

"Wow, that was one heck of a punch." Grey remarked after witnessing Bunny sent A-Shinobi flying with a single punch while it was still invisible.

"You can thank Anti-Entropy for building Project Bunny to become a powerful weapon for the Bronya." Bronya replied, with Seele nodding in agreement.

Another Shinobi quickly shook off his dizziness saw the one who punched him, and his eyes widen when he saw three more people with weapons ready, standing in his way. And if that's not bad enough, Regina arrived a few metres behind them in Woz's Time Mazine as she got out and summoned a magical wall right in front of her. She even teased the corrupted Rider with a playful wave and showing her tongue.

"Impossible...! I'm too late?!" A-Shinobi mentally exclaimed in panic that his only way forward is blocked.

"This chase ends here, Bavarian alchemist. Now please stand down and surrender." Seele demanded with a glare. "Or we will retaliate."

"No. I'll never surrender to the likes of you!" A-Shinobi responded before dropping a smoke bomb below him.

Seele quickly teleported in front of the smoke and delivered a single slash, only for her to slash a scarecrow wearing Another Shinobi's clothes instead. "A... scarecrow?" She responded in shock.

"Must've used a Substitution Jutsu to escape at the last minute." Grey deduced as he, Bronya and Bunny regrouped with Seele.

"Sorry guys, he managed to get away." Seele apologized with a bow.

"There's no need for an apology, Seele." Bronya assured as she took out her Zikan Phone. "Bunny was able to tag the corrupted ninja during the punch, so now we'll be able to track him."

"Way to plan ahead, Bronya." Grey complimented.

"According to the map layout, he's heading for the empty canal just a few metres from here." Bronya informed while looking at said holo-map on her phone. "Not only that, the Bronya can see some of our allies chasing him down, along with 3 more waiting at said canal."

"In other words, the trap is set." Seele deduced.

"Then it's almost checkmate." Bronya smirked as she put away her phone.

"Hey guys!" Regina spoke to the group, gaining attention. "I'm gonna head for the stadium for a bit to see how everyone's doing... and hopefully catch a glimpse of the concert before it's over."

"Sure thing, Regina. Thanks for setting up those walls." Grey replied.

"And thank you for coming as reinforcements." Regina smiled back as she got back on the Time Mazine. "See ya!" Afterwards, she drove off and headed for the stadium.

"The Bronya will continue to pursue Another Shinobi. You and Seele will stand guard here until further notice." Bronya said as she hopped onto Bunny's shoulder.

"I understand, Bronya." Seele complied as she and Grey nodded. "Stay safe."

Bronya nodded back before she and Bunny flew off to hunt down the corrupted Rider.

"Damn it. Damn it! DAMN IT! My plan is falling apart! Curse those meddling little...!" Another Shinobi muttered in a fit or rage while running away. "No choice, I'll have to take the long way to the stadium!"

A few moments later, he finally arrived at the empty sewer canal and looked around cautiously before planning to get out of the canal. But before he could take a step forward, multiple magical walls appeared on all sides, turning it into an arena with no way out. "It's a trap?!"

And then two magical red portals appeared and out came the Kamen Riders in their Time Mazines, with Zi-O GaimArmor on the east side and Geiz WizardArmor on the west. Once the portals vanished, the Riders disembarked their vehicles. "What's the matter? You're in a hurry or something?" Zi-O quipped to the corrupted Rider.

"Who the hell are you two?!"

"Just a couple of passing through Kamen Riders. The real ones, to be exact." Geiz replied with his arms crossed. "Oh, and there's no way you're breaking through my magical walls."

"You gave all of us one heck of a long wild goose chase, but this is the end of the line, buddy." Zi-O added.

"Huh? 'All of us'?" A-Shinobi repeated in confusion, but then his eyes widen in a shocking realization after what he has witnessed so far. "Wait... then those people that stood in my way are...!"

"That's right! They're our friends. We know what you're planning to do, so we decided to take a few steps ahead of you." Zi-O replied.

"Quite a genius plan to confuse us with your shadow clones to approach the stadium on different areas, including sharing the same energy frequency." Geiz added. "However, we have plenty of trustworthy and intelligent friends to figure out your plan."

"And once we have the winning formula... well, you're screwed." Zi-O finished.

"Screwed...? SCREWED?!" A-Shinobi retorted before summoning a few more shadow clones around him. "I'm not letting the both of you interfering with my mission! The Queens of Music WILL die tonight! I swear it in the name of Adam!"

Zi-O sighed in disappointment. "Defiant till the end, I see. Well then, have it your way."

"However, we're not gonna be your opponents." Geiz added before summoning a magic portal on the north side of the arena, and out came Kamen Rider Woz as he stepped forward before the portal vanished.

"I'll be your opponent instead, Another Shinobi." Woz said while he took out the Shinobi Miridewatch and pushed the button.

=SHINOBI!=

"What?" Another Shinobi responded in shock as he watched Woz took out the Woz Miridewatch from the handle after pulling it, then inserted the Shinobi Ridewatch onto the handle.

=ACTION!=

Then Woz opened the front of the Miridewatch and moved the handle into the center of the belt while the Miridewatch projected Kamen Rider Woz's face with a purple visor on the screen of the belt.

=TOUEI! FUTURE TIME!=

=DARE JA?! ORE JA?! NINJA! FUTUREING SHINOBI! SHINOBI!=

Purple shoulder pads with an 'X' shape and chest armor with a cross shuriken at the center appeared, and slammed onto Woz's armor, with a purple dual flowing scarf appearing around his neck alongside purple katakana for Shinobi slamming onto his visor and a slightly longer and sharper antenna for the helmet.

"IWAE! The chronicler of the past, present and future! The prophet who will correct the timelines and the multiverse! And thy name is Kamen Rider Woz, Futureing Shinobi!" Woz announced. "Now, bare witness the true strength of the name 'Shinobi'!"

"What?!" A-Shinobi exclaimed in complete shock.

"Yep, he definitely doesn't need our help to take him down." Zi-O stated while resting beside his Time Mazine.

"Time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the beatdown." Geiz added while also doing the same thing.

"Get him!" A-Shinobi ordered his clones while pointing at Woz, prompting the clones performing claw lunges towards him. Woz simply stood there and allowed the clones to attack him, causing a large pile-up. "Hmph, this is too easy."

"Are you sure about that? Then why is he standing there doing without even retaliating?" Zi-O spoke to the corrupted Rider.

"Well that because... wait..." A-Shinobi stopped his sentence in realization before turning to his clones that are still attacking. "Cease the attack!" He ordered them to stop, making them comply as they stopped attacking. They took a closer look at the fallen Rider, which turned out to be a scarecrow wearing Shinobi's clones, along with a tag that says 'explode' in kanji. And then said tag begun to lit up and detonated into a large explosion that eliminated the clones into dust, shocking Another Shinobi. "Wh-my clones! What just happened?!"

"Ah, I know this trick." Geiz spoke to the corrupted Rider. "The old Substitution Jutsu, with an explosive tag for good measure. It's both used as a distraction and a trap all in one package."

"It was a puppet?!" A-Shinobi exclaimed before looking around the arena. "Then where is he?!"

And then Woz appeared behind A-Shinobi using his shadow, tapped his shoulder to earn his attention, and then lift him up with a chokehold to the neck. "Right here." Woz answered before delivering a purple energized spin kick that sent A-Shinobi flying before rolling to the ground.

"Grr...!" A-Shinobi growled as he stood up before unleashing purple flames with his mouth. But then Woz countered by unleashing a torrent of sewer water to put out the flames and pushed him straight into the magical wall before falling to the ground. While slowly standing up from the attack, he even spat out some leftover sewer water to the ground. "Disgusting...!"

"My my, I thought you could use a little drink after spewing out flames." Woz quipped.

"Ugh! You dare insult me?!" A-Shinobi retorted as he pulled out his ninjatō and lunged towards the Rider. But he quickly summoned a wind barrier around himself to block the attack easily.

"Okay, I think I've had enough fun for tonight." Woz declared as he summoned his Zikan Despear from his hand and changed a weapon mode after pushing a button on his weapon while his wind barrier is still actively blocking A-Shinobi's attacks.

=KAMASHI-SUGI!=

The weapon is now changed into Kama Mode with a hooked blade on one side and a spear tip on the other after Woz moved the spear tip to the left, making it look like a scythe. Afterwards, he pulled the belt handle back before pushing it back in to trigger the finisher.

=BEYOND THE TIME!=

=NINPO: JIKAN SHIBARI NO JUTSU!=

As A-Shinobi is about to deliver an overhead slash, Woz disabled the wind barrier and caught the ninjatō with his two fingers, surprising the corrupted Rider. Not only that, eight clones of Woz appeared and in position on eight angles with their weapons ready. Then Woz pulled A-Shinobi's ninjatō back and pushed him back with a shoulder tackle, disarming his weapon in the process. Next, Woz and all of his clones unleashed a green cyclone, trapping A-Shinobi mid-air with no hope of escape. Afterwards, he pushed the Kama Mode button on his Zikan Despear, then pushed and hold the Woz button before swiping all four buttons back and forth several times to trigger his weapon finisher.

=KAMASHI-SUGI! FINISH TIME!=

=ICHIGEKI KAMAN!=

The Zikan Despear Woz and his clones are wielding charged up with green energy before they all unleashed a slash-wave onto the trapped Another Shinobi. And then Woz quickly ran towards A-Shinobi, and delivered a decisive aerial spin slash to finish him off, causing a green explosion that sent the unconscious Bavarian alchemist and the Another Shinobi Ridewatch falling to the ground, with the latter shattering to dust.

"And that, my friends, is how I get the job done." Woz declared as he dispersed his weapon, his clones vanishing, and then reverted back to his Base Form.

"Looks like you've still got it after fighting alongside Sougo and Geiz for so long." Zi-O said to the chronicler as he and Geiz approached him.

"But of course." Woz replied. "My journey with my king may be over, but my journey with Team XDR has just begun. But that won't stop me from observing Sougo and his friends during my spare time."

"I see."

"By the way Woz, I have an important question." Geiz asked.

"Ask way, Geiz." Woz replied.

"...Did Sougo became Ohma Zi-O in the end?"

"Oh? Asking that question so soon?" Woz questioned. "I thought you'd want to wait till tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but that question kept nagging at mine and Zi-O's head for quite some time now." Geiz answered. "So please, answer that question, here and now. Did Sougo became Ohma Zi-O?"

"If you insist... Yes, he did." Woz answered back, shocking the Riders. "But... only for a brief moment."

"Huh?"

"The reason Sougo chose to become Ohma Zi-O, is because of Geiz after he saved him from Swartz when he unleashed a fatal blow that's meant for Sougo, so Geiz took the blow instead."

"No way... Geiz died...? Saving Sougo's life...?" Geiz responded with disbelief.

"Yes." Woz nodded. "Geiz even asked Sougo to become Ohma Zi-O as his last words to defeat Swartz, the leader of the Time Jackers, once and for all. And indeed, the enraged Sougo became the Demon King of Time and defeated Swartz, with a little help from Tsukuyomi by stabbing the Time Jacker's back before getting killed herself. Or should I say... Kamen Rider Tsukuyomi."

"What?!" The Riders exclaimed in shock.

"Tsukuyomi became a gacking Kamen Rider?!" Zi-O questioned. "When the heck did that happen?!"

"During the final battle with Swartz, of course." Woz answered.

"Oh..." Zi-O responded. "Anyway, what happened after Swartz is defeated? Is that bad future going to happen anyway, despite everything they've done so far?"

"...Not exactly."

"Eh?"

"Remember when I said that Sougo became Ohma Zi-O for a brief moment?" Woz mentioned. "He chose to destroy the timeline instead of ruling as king, because he does not want to become the strongest and kindest king if his friends are dead."

"So my theory was right, all along. He picked the third path for a better resolution." Zi-O said.

"Indeed, he did." Woz confirmed. "Thanks to Sougo's selfless actions, all of the Rider worlds and the timelines are fully restored, and the Future Sougo ceased to exist, though the World of Swartz is integrated into Sougo's new world. Even Geiz and Tsukuyomi were revived in the new world of 2018, now under the aliases of Keito Myokoin and Alpina Tsukuyomi."

"Keito and Alpina, huh?" Geiz commented. "Man, Starlight's gonna be surprised when Tsuku- I mean Alpina became a Kamen Rider. Female Riders are kind of rare nowadays, and she's quite a fan of those kinds of heroines despite being a Pretty Cure fan."

"Indeed." Woz agreed with a nod.

"And I'm really glad that Sougo and his friends got the true ending they deserved." Zi-O smiled.

"Hey, guys!"

"Ah, our allies are here." Woz said as Copen, Bronya, Vent and Aile arrived. "Welcome, my friends! Unfortunately, you've missed the entire show."

"Wait, the fight's over already? Damn it, I wanted Ix to kick that corrupted ninja's butt personally." Lola muttered.

"Wait, who's Ix?" Aile questioned.

"Copen's new nickname Ashe gave him since Gunvolt kept being called GV most of the time."

"Luminous Avenger Ix, huh? That's not a bad nickname and title." Vent commented.

"Wait, you liked that nickname?" Copen asked, earning a nod from Vent. "I take it that you're gonna start calling me Ix now?"

"Not all the time, I'll still call you Copen regardless." Vent replied with Aile nodding.

"Good to know then." Copen nodded back.

"Wait... who are you?" Bronya asked the white, green and purple Rider.

"Ah, Bronya Zaychik. It's me, Kamen Rider Woz, Futureing Shinobi."

"Futureing... Shinobi...?" Bronya tilted her head.

"Hold on..." Aile noticed the changes on Woz's armor. "When you have purple ninja armor parts and a scarf?"

"Oh, that's Woz's version of the Rider's Armor Time, except that he uses the power of the Kamen Riders that's past the Heisei Era." Zi-O explained.

"Ah, I see. That explains the armor parts." Aile noted.

"So I'm guessing the three of you defeated Another Shinobi?" Vent asked the Riders.

"Actually, it was all Woz." Geiz answered, gesturing his hand at said Rider. "He didn't need our help, but I did block the escape routes using my magic thanks to my WizardArmor."

"WizardArmor?" Copen repeated before noticing Geiz's new armor. "Huh, that's a lot of red. So I'm guessing you're using Kamen Rider Wizard's power?"

"Mhm." Geiz nodded before pointing to his magic ring at his shoulder pad. "Thanks to the magic rings on my shoulder pads."

"I see. Does that make you an Adept now since you use magic?"

"Maybe." Geiz shrugged at Copen's question.

"And as for you..." Vent glanced at Zi-O's armor. "What am I looking at right now?"

"It's a samurai, Vent." Bronya answered before turning to Zi-O. "But why does your blades have sliced oranges on it?"

"Uh... yeah... That's pretty much Kamen Rider Gaim's motif. A fruit samurai." Zi-O answered while rubbing the back of his helmet.

"A... fruit samurai?" Bronya tilted her head again.

"Just watch the history of Kamen Rider Gaim. You'll understand why."

"Anyway..." Vent spoke as he pulled out his Zikan Phone. "I'm gonna call the other teams to meet up here since Another Shinobi's defeated."

"You do that." Copen nodded before he and the others turned to the unconscious Bavarian alchemist. "And speaking of that Another Rider... I can't believe that it was a Bavarian alchemist this whole time."

"Yeah, I can't even believe it either after he summoned the Alca-Noise out of nowhere." Zi-O agreed.

"Considering how he got the Another Ridewatch, then we know that our problems are about to get worse." Geiz stated.

"I'm afraid so, Geiz." Woz grimly agreed. "The Neo Time Jackers have indeed recruited the Bavarian alchemists remnants to their cause."

"At this rate, Prairie's definitely contacting Genjuro about this unfortunate turn of events." Aile said before smiling. "On the bright side however, the London Stadium is safe with no civilian casualties in sight."

"Then the Bronya believes that the mission is a complete success." Bronya deduced with a smile.

"Damn straight." Zi-O confirmed with a nod as he and Geiz reverted back to Base Form. "Excellent work, Team XDR. Not bad for our first mission as a team." He praised the team, making them smile at their successful mission while they wait for the rest of their friends to arrive.

London Stadium, Backstage

Meanwhile back at the stadium, the Queens of Music has just finished singing their final song for the night and bid farewell to their caring fans before leaving the stage and reuniting with Gunvolt, Joule, Kanade, Serena, and Shinji. Regina was also with them backstage after recalling Woz's Time Mazine back to the Zi-O Liner on autopilot with her Zikan Phone, and arriving just in time to see the idols perform two more songs.

"Welcome back, you two." Shinji greeted the arriving idols.

"Excellent concert, ladies." Joule praised with Gunvolt nodding with a smile.

"You were great, Maria-neesan." Serena smiled.

"Good job out there, Tsubasa." Kanade grinned.

"You two did pretty good out there." Regina added. "At least I was able to hear the last two songs after I summoned those magical walls on those access points in the sewers."

"Wait, access points?" Tsubasa blinked. "An attack was about to occur?"

"Yeah, but the others managed to take care of the problem before that Another Rider tried to enter the stadium." Regina assured.

"An Another Rider?!" Maria exclaimed, recalling the report of Serena and Kanade being victims.

"If you think that's bad, Regina-chan told us that the identity of the Another Rider turned out to be a Bavarian alchemist since he summoned the Alca-Noise." Kanade frowned.

"Alca-Noise?!" Tsubasa and Maria exclaimed.

"The Neo Time Jackers have become a lot more dangerous than I thought since they managed to recruit those Bavarian alchemists remnants to their side." Gunvolt stated.

"Genjuro-san's not gonna be happy about this." Shinji frowned.

"Well, at least the stadium is safe with no civilian casualties." Regina said. "The others must've defeated that Another Rider by now."

"Glad to hear, Regina." Maria smiled.

"Are the civilians in the stadium being escorted safely?" Regina asked the manager.

"Mm." Shinji nodded. "Hibiki and the others are assisting with the evacuation. It should be done in a few minutes."

"Phew... thank goodness for that." Regina sighed with relief.

"I think you two should change back to your casual clothes while we wait for the others." Joule advised the two idols.

"We're planning to do just that." Tsubasa replied.

"See you in a bit." Maria added with a wink as she and Tsubasa head for the dressing rooms to change back.

"Even though the stadium is safe with no casualties, I just hope there isn't anymore unexpected surprises tonight." Serena said.

"Relax, Serena-chan. Heiki, hecchara!" Kanade assured, while borrowing Hibiki's catchphrase. "I'm sure everything will be just fine."

"But still, if something else does happen tonight, we'll be ready to help in a flash." Gunvolt said, with the others agreeing with a nod.

Guardian Base, Command Center

"Phew, glad the problem is taken care of." Prairie sighed with relief after witnessing Woz defeating Another Shinobi on the holo-screen. "The other teams should be regrouping at any moment along with apprehending that suspect. Tulip, status report on the London Stadium."

"No civilian casualties in sight along with no damages to the building." Tulip reported. "Not only that, the concert has already ended and now Hibiki and the others are assisting with the evacuation of the civilians. It should be done in a few minutes."

"Thank you for the report." Prairie nodded.

"So, what's our next directive, ma'am?" Gardénia asked.

"Let's continue to observe from our current location until I give out the next order." Prairie replied. "Our suspect may have been captured, but prepare to expect the unexpected. I get the feeling that this night is far from over."

"Yes, ma'am." The operators nodded before resuming their work.

Empty Sewer Canal

A few minutes later...

"Ughh..."

"Oh, look who finally woke up."

The unconscious alchemist finally woke up from being knocked out and saw Zi-O, Geiz, Starlight, and the rest of their teammates staring at him. The alchemist tried to move, but then noticed that his knees are on the ground, hands behind his back and his body wrapped within astral chains thanks to Geiz's Legion. Not only that, Geiz was holding the alchemist's cloak to search for anything else that's hidden, with the alchemist's face revealing to have brown eyes and short black hair.

"I wouldn't try breaking out of those astral chains if I were you, buddy. Plus, I'm confiscating your stuff for investigation purposes." Geiz spoke to the alchemist. "I've already called in the S.O.N.G agents to pick you up. While we're waiting though, I'm gonna have to start asking a few questions, starting with the Another Ridewatch. Did a member of the Neo Time Jackers gave it to you?"

"Gave me? Hmph." The alchemist scoffed. "That person doesn't deserve to wield that watch."

"Wait, you stole it?" Zi-O responded. "...Did not see that coming. Usually they'd give you the Ridewatch for a reason."

"That idiot Zwei should've used that power to destroy the Symphogears in one fell swoop! And yet, he still chose not to reveal that power to any of us!"

"Zwei?" Starlight repeated. "Could that person be another general?"

"That could be it, Cure Starlight. Only the generals can give out Another Ridewatches to those who are worthy." Woz stated before turning to the alchemist. "You should've waited a while longer instead of stealing it. You know that he'll go after you eventually."

"Who cares about that! I'd rather follow Adam for divine power instead of Zwei and his stupid promise of paradise!" The alchemist retorted.

"Paradise?" Gunvolt repeated.

"That's the same thing Eins mentioned when we first encountered him back in our world." Copen recalled, with Gunvolt agreeing with a nod.

"If you're planning to look for Zwei, then you can forget it! I'll never tell all of you where he or the rest of my comrades are!" The alchemist scowled.

"That's fine, we've already got enough info anyway. And honestly, by the time we try to search for Zwei and the other alchemists, they're already long gone." Geiz stated.

"Wait, really?" Aile questioned, earning a confirmed nod from Geiz.

"He's right, you know." Woz agreed with Geiz. "The Neo Time Jackers have the ability to travel through other dimensions with ease thanks to their Dimension Walls, which is both a barrier and a portal, so trying to chase them down is out of the question."

"There is one other thing I wanted to ask you about." Geiz asked the alchemist while pulling out an empty syringe from the cloak. "What is this thing? Some kind of drug?"

"Tch, that thing is completely useless." The alchemist scoffed. "I thought it was a useful enhancing drug. I even injected it myself before arriving at the Big Ben, but it did absolutely nothing! Stealing it was a big mistake, so you can keep it for all I care!"

"Could you give the Bronya the syringe for a moment?" Bronya requested.

"Go ahead." Geiz gave the syringe to Bronya, who began to examine it using her Zikan Phone. "I see... it's not an enhancement drug, after all." She informed the group.

"It's not?" The group, including the alchemist, responded.

"Not only that, it seems that the drug is incomplete. But what kind of drug is it?" Bronya pondered before storing it inside the phone and putting the phone away. "This requires further study."

"Wait." Kiana spoke up. "If that's not an enhancement drug, then what is it?"

"Perhaps Elfnein and the other scientists might figure out what it is once the Bronya deliver it to them." Bronya replied.

"Good call, Bronya." Theresa agreed.

"Wait a second!" The alchemist spoke up. "If that's not an enhancement drug, then... Gh?!" He suddenly felt large amounts of pain within his body while also having a difficult time breathing. "What's... going... on...?!"

"Hey, what's happening to him?!" Kiana asked the group as they saw the alchemist suddenly not feeling well.

"If I were to guess, it must've been the effects of the drug." Kallen guessed. "Some types of drugs begin the effects at a later time instead of an instant."

"Dude, didn't you even read the manual before stealing the syringe?!" Zi-O questioned the alchemist.

"I... I...! S-Stay away... f-from me...!" The alchemist screamed in pain as something began to change inside of him. And it's not of the good kind.

"For once, I'd listen to what he said if I were you! Everyone stay back!" Starlight cautioned the group, prompting everyone to take many steps back away from the alchemist.

The alchemist began to scream loudly in pain as part of his body began to change in a horrific manner with his skin turning reddish-purple. His arms began to quickly grow large as it also broke off the astral chains with force, followed by his growing legs as he became a quadruped. Both arms and legs also started to have six-toed sharp claws. Soon after, he began to grow larger and larger as his face mutated into a monster with six red eyes clustered in rows of three on each side of a large bone-like crest covering his forehead, along with having a large sharp-toothed jaw. His back became a large bone-like shell covered in seven tall spikes, while his chest became encased by rib-like structures extending around both sides from the back. Lastly, he also grew a long tail that's capable of sweeping and slamming down foes. With its transformation complete, it let out a massive roar that echoed throughout the city before glaring at the heroes.

Everyone's eyes, including the ones watching from inside the Guardian Base, widened in absolute horror at what happened to the alchemist. He's no longer a human, he's become an uncontrollable monster that's hell-bent on destroying everything.

"Dear sweet mother of god... he's become a monster..." Copen spoke in shock.

"I guess that's what he gets for not listening to instructions properly." Lola added. "But seriously, this is REALLY freaking me out, even more than Zonda's Final Form!"

"What in St. Freya's name are we looking at right now...?!" Theresa exclaimed.

Zi-O, Geiz and Starlight gulped nervously when they took one really good look at the monster, and instantly know what that monster is thanks to their video game knowledge. "Well..." Zi-O spoke up cautiously. "Me, Geiz and Starlight know what that kaiju is. And you're not gonna like it one bit."

"Tell us anyway. We need to know this." Mei requested as everyone began to stand their ground.

"The alchemist permanently mutated into a kaiju called a Homunculus. And this one's the Beta Type." Geiz revealed.

"A Homunculus... Beta?" Kiana repeated.

"And guess what, that kind of kaiju is from the Astral Chain world." Starlight revealed.

"WHAT?!" The others exclaimed in complete shock.

"I never expected a dangerous drug like that could turn a person into... this...!" Seele exclaimed.

"Though like the Bronya mentioned earlier, it's incomplete." Bronya pointed out. "Honestly though, the Bronya does not want to know what will happen if the drug is in a complete state."

"Probably a lot worse than this, that's for sure!" Ashe gulped.

"Vent, call the S.O.N.G agents to direct the civilians away from this area! I don't want that... thing... to find them!" Aile requested.

"Got it!" Vent nodded as he began contacting the agents with his Zikan Phone.

"Wait, should we also contact Commander Prairie about this?" Grey questioned.

"Grey, I think one REALLY loud roar from that thing garnered a LOT of attention! So there's no point in contacting them!" Ashe pointed out.

Kiana gulped nervously before asking the group. "We're gonna fight that thing, aren't we?"

"His humanity is long gone the moment he became a Homunculus, Kiana Kaslana." Woz stated. "If we look the other way, hundreds, maybe thousands of people will perish."

"...Yeah. I'd be really selfish if I ignore this problem." Kiana admitted before feeling determined. "Alright, I'm in. No time to back out now!"

"We'll fight too!" Kallen declared, with Mei, Theresa, Bronya and Seele nodding with determination. "We're not gonna run away! We're gonna face that kaiju, head-on!"

"Okay, the agents are diverting the civilians away from this area as we speak!" Vent informed the group after putting away the phone. "We must not let the Homunculus escape this area!"

"Roger!" The other Mega Men complied with a determined nod.

"I'm calling my Time Mazine to come to this location!" Woz said while pushing a few buttons on his Zikan Phone. "Zi-O, Geiz, don't let the Homunculus destroy your Time Mazines! You're going to need them for their Battle Modes soon!"

"Got it!" The Riders nodded.

"GV, Hibiki and the others should've also heard that loud roar earlier, so expect reinforcements soon!" Starlight added.

"Thanks for the info, Starlight!" Kiana smiled.

"With that said..." Zi-O began as he and Geiz materialized their Legatus, attached them into their left arms, and summoned the Sword and Axe Legions respectively. "Let's go exterminate a kaiju!" He finished as everyone set their sights at the Homunculus with their weapons ready before it began to roar at the heroes once more. This will be a night to remember for Xross Drive Rebellion.

Chapter 11: Confrontation

END

Author's Note: And now you know what happens when the incomplete Red Evolve drug is used; it turns into a Homunculus Beta from Astral Chain. That thing is a nightmare to deal with during my first fight in the game. Anyway, some news happened while I was busy writing this chapter.

First, Genshin Impact with all three Inazuma chapters released. I have plenty of ideas for that region when I reach that point of the storyline. And I might plan to have Mei Raiden face off against the Raiden Shogun, along with Yae Sakura's meeting with Yae Miko.

Second, I did not expect Luminous Avenger Ix to have a sequel out of nowhere. However, I do like Copen's new battlesuit, along with his new arsenal which included energy buzz-saws for both melee and ranged combat. If that's the case, then I think Shirabe might help give Copen some inspiration on those new weapons somewhere down the line.

And third, I've been playing Blaster Master Zero 1 and 2, and beaten them both with their true endings. I'm planning to play the third one eventually. Also, I've never seen any fanfics of Blaster Master Zero lately... I think it's time I change that very soon since I like the characters and the glorious Metal Attacker that is SOPHIA III.

But first thing's first, is the completion of this Book which is almost done. Will our heroes be able to exterminate the Homunculus Beta? Only time... will tell... Till next time and stay safe!