It's How You Play the Game

So, as I write this chapter, I am faced with a conundrum. I have some basic plans for Volumes 4 and onward, but aside from new powerups for the villains, I don't have a good plan for how I want to pull off the plot material for after the Battle of Beacon. I will accept and consider any ideas and suggestions so long as they aren't ridiculous.

In any case.

Disclaimer: Toei owns Kamen Rider and RWBY was created by Monty Oum.

Note: 8/11/2019 – So I am re-posting this with edits and extensions to hopefully make it seem less rushed. Sorry about before.

The next day was a weekend, meaning that the remaining members of Team RWKBY had the day off, and Ruby decided to make good use of it by gathering her team to scour the streets for their missing friend.

"Blaaaaake!" yelled Ruby as the team passed by From Dust till Dawn in their search for their missing teammate.

"Blaaaaake!" Yang called out as well, "Weiss is sorry and said she wants to apologize!"

"I said nothing of the sort!" protested Weiss indignantly.

"Really?" asked Kazi coolly with a raised eyebrow as he followed them.

"Look," said Weiss as she crossed her arms, "I said I'd keep an open mind and hear her out, but I'm not ready to pass forgiveness or judgement just yet."

"Fair enough," said Kazi, "though you could help us look."

"Yeah Weiss," said Ruby as she turned to her partner with her hands on her hips, "Blake's our friend!"

"She was lying to us!" said Weiss with a frown, "All this time! And now you want to act like everything's alright?"

"I'm sure she had her reasons," said Ruby, "and as her team, we need to give her a chance to explain herself."

"I look forward to that," said Weiss, "then you'll know that I was right!"

"In any case," said Yang as Kazi pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "we need to find her first."

"I still think we're being far too quick to forgive," said Weiss.

"Well I think we should give her a chance," countered Ruby.

"And I think that Weiss's hair looks great today," said Penny, suddenly appearing behind the group, causing the group to jump and do a quick about face.

"Gah! Penny where did you come from?" exclaimed Ruby in surprise.

"Hello everyone," said Penny as she seemingly ignored the question, "what are you up to?"

"Uhhh," said Ruby hesitantly.

"We're looking for our friend, Blake," said Yang, answering for her sister.

"Oh, you mean the Faunus girl," said Penny as she pounded her fist into her palm.

A beat passed as the female members of Team RWKBY stared at Penny warily.

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

"Uh, the cat ears?" said Penny as if it was obvious as she pointed at her head.

"What cat ears?" asked Yang, "She wears a bow…"

Another beat passes and a tumbleweed blows by as the realization sinks in along with an awkward silence.

"…she does really like tuna," mused Ruby awkwardly.

"You guys really never noticed?" asked Kazi, causing the girls to turn to face him.

"You knew?!" exclaimed Weiss.

"Well, yeah," said Kazi.

"HOW?" exclaimed Ruby.

"Simple," said Kazi with a shrug, "bows don't twitch."

Yet another beat passes as the girls process that, with another tumbleweed blowing by.

"So," said Penny, seemingly not noticing the awkward silence, "where is she?"

"We don't know," said Ruby sadly, "she's been missing since Friday."

"That's terrible!" gasped Penny before walking up to Ruby and taking her hands in her own, "Well don't you worry Ruby my friend! I won't rest until you find your teammate!"

"Uh, right," said Ruby nervously as she put on a strained smile, "that's really nice of you Penny, but we're ok. We got this. Right guys?"

Ruby turned to get support from her team, but only saw Kazi standing there, with empty space where Weiss and Yang had been standing before.

"They left a while ago," sighed Kazi, causing Ruby to slump.

"So," said Penny, "what's the plan friend Ruby?"

"Well," said Ruby as she composed herself, "I guess we just need to look around."

"Right," said Penny, "then lead on Ruby."

"Right," said the redhead hesitantly as the trio continued their search through the streets.

"So, friend Ruby," said Penny, "why did Blake leave?"

"It's complicated," said Ruby sadly, "we had an argument."

"The argument was thanks to Weiss," said Kazi, "the rest of us are worried and want to find her."

"So, Blake is your friend?" asked Penny as she tilted her head inquisitively.

"Yeah," said Kazi, "she is."

"But you're mad at her," noted Penny.

"Yes," said Ruby before correcting herself, "well, I'm not. Weiss is though."

"Is she friends with Blake?" asked Penny.

"That's a bit complicated right now," said Kazi.

"Why is that?" asked Penny.

"You see," said Ruby, "Blake wasn't who we thought she was."

"You mean…" said Penny, "is she a man?"

"No no!" exclaimed Ruby as Kazi burst out laughing from the ridiculousness of the idea, "She's…I don't know. We didn't get a lot of time to talk when she ran off."

"I don't have a lot of friends," said Penny as Kazi composed himself, "but if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things."

"So, would we," sighed Kazi, "so would we."

The trio continued their search, but were interrupted when there was a sudden and loud explosion from the nearby Bullhead Docking Port.

"You don't think…" said Kazi worriedly.

"Oh no," said Ruby before rushing off toward the docking port with Penny following close after.

"Damnit," swore Kazi as he tried to keep up with them, "Ruby wait!"

Unfortunately for the him, Ruby and Penny's superior speed meant that they arrived on the scene first, just in time to see Roman Torchwick aiming his Melodic Cudgel at the head of the Monkey Faunus they had seen earlier, with Blake stuck dealing with White Fang troops on the side.

"HEY!" yelled Ruby, attracting the criminal's attention as she unsheathed Crescent Rose.

"Well hello Red," said Torchwick mockingly as he rested his cane-weapon on his shoulder, "Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Ruby," said Penny as she walked up, "are these people your friends?"

"Penny get back!" yelled Ruby, but the distraction gave Roman enough time to fire off a shot from his weapon that would have struck and badly injured her, had the blast not been intercepted by a flying Gashacon Breaker in hammer mode.

"Great," groaned Roman as Ex Aid landed next to the two redheads in a crouch.

"You know you really didn't learn your lesson, have you Torchdick," mocked the Kamen Rider, causing some of the White Fang to snigger at the insult.

"Well you see," ground out Roman, more than a little pissed at the nickname, "I have help how, and he's been itching for a rematch with you."

"And who would be stupid enough…" began the Kamen Rider, but an energy blast hit him in the chest, sending him skidding across the ground as Kaito leapt down from an approaching aircraft and landed in a crouch.

"Remember me?" asked the Faunus.

"You," growled Ex Aid, "so you're working with Torchdick."

"It's TorchWICK!" protested Roman, but everybody ignored him.

"More I'm working with his boss actually," shrugged Kaito casually, "but our motives seem to align at the moment, so I'm going to have to stop you."

"Ruby," said Ex Aid as he pulled himself to his feet and pulled out the Gekitotsu Robots Gashat, "you might want to get clear."

Ruby nodded and went to help Penny, who had started dealing with the White Fang with several floating swords that she had taken from her backpack, and the Kamen Rider faced his opponent.

"That device," said Ex-Aid as he pointed to the purple device that Kaito used to fight and create Bugsters, "you stole that from Hyperion."

"Actually, I built it," said Kaito, "but I don't deny that the plans came from your Father's company. I did make improvements to the original designs though. That 'Gamer Driver' is so inferior to my Bugvisor."

"Then that makes this easy," said Ex Aid, "you're going to give me answers about the attack, even if I have to beat it out of you. If you try to create a Bugster, I'll take you out before you can summon a Grimm."

Ex Aid slotted the Gashat into his Driver and pulled the handle on it, causing his Robot Gamer Armor to appear and attach to his body, getting into a fighting stance.

[A Gacha! Buttobase! Totsugeki! Gekitotsu Punch! Gekitotsu Robots!]

"Hmm," mused Kaito, "it's true that you've been able to deal with the mobs and bosses you've faced so far, so perhaps it's time for something different."

A distortion appeared and deposited a metal object similar to a belt buckle in Kaito's hand. Placing it on his waist caused a belt to form to hold it in place, allowing him to attach his weapon to it.

[Gachan!]

"Witness the true potential of the of your father's work," said Kaito as he pulled out his Gashat, "as now we turn this PVE into a PVP."

[Dangerous Zombie!]

Smirking, Kaito pressed an activator button on his Driver, causing energy to arc out of the Gashat as a miasma surrounded him, obscuring him from view as the cloud of darkness flashed with bolts of power.

[Buggle Up! Danger! Danger! (Genocide!) Death the Crisis! Dangerous Zombie!]

A holographic screen appeared in front of the dark cloud, but unlike with Ex Aid, the screen was shattered as an armored figure punched its way through, revealing a humanoid figure that wore cracked white armor that resembled that of his Bugsters, but more similar to Ex-Aid's rider armor than that of the Bugsters.

"Hahahaha!" laughed the transformed Faunus a he relished in the power of his new form, "New Player Loading: Kamen Rider Noire: Zombie Gamer Level 5."

Ex Aid grimaced behind his helmet, knowing that this was going to be a difficult fight due the gap in their Levels and Power, but he raised his gauntleted fist as he got into a fighting stance. Letting out a laugh, Noire rushed forward at Ex Aid, dodging a swing from the other Rider's fist and landing a punch to his torso that sent him staggering back. Regaining his bearings, Ex Aid swung his robotic fist at the enemy Rider, but Noire's agility allowed him to dodge the blow by bending backwards, flowing into a flip that allowed him to slam his feet into Ex Aid's helmet.

"You seem a bit slow today," laughed Noire, "where's those stats you used to beat my Bugsters?"

"Just shut up!" yelled Ex Aid as he swung his fist at Noire again, but received a punch to the torso in response.

As the Kamen Rider staggered back, Noire followed through with two quick jabs and a series of jump kicks that sent his opponent flying back across the ground. While this was happening, the White Fang had not been idle, though they weren't having an easy time, as Penny had stepped forward to fight them. Alone.

Normally, a single teenage girl against a large group of trained terrorists would be a bad idea in any situation, but the odd teen that had befriended Ruby was holding her own with her own unusual choice of weapon. Extended from the bag on her back, several swords were whipping around being held by thin wires, allowing the girl to tear through the ranks of the White Fang, with them not even being able to get off a shot, as her blades cut through their guns as soon as they brought them to bear.

Suffice it to say, that the White Fang were caught completely off guard by the girl's skill and strength, keeping them occupied with fighting the orangette, and leaving Roman unguarded. Blake quickly took advantage of this to put Roman on the defensive as she wielded Gambol Shroud with skill and agility in sword mode.

While this fight was going on, Ex Aid was being pushed to his limits as he tried to take on Noire, but his opponent's superior agility and Level meant that his bulkier armored form was at a disadvantage as Noire danced around his lumbering swings of his gauntleted fist and landed punches and kicks on the other Rider, knocking him around and slowly depleting his Life Gauge.

"Face it," taunted the Dark Rider as he landed several more hits on Ex Aid, "I'm stronger! Faster! Better! You can't compete with my Level!"

Ex Aid tumbled across the ground and his Level Three armor dispelled, leaving him in Level Two form with his health bar at half.

[Gahsun!]

"Maybe you're right," ground out Ex Aid as he pulled himself to his feet, "Gekitotsu Robots wasn't the best option to use against you. Lucky for me though, I just managed to finish a new Gashat. I think you'll make a good target to test it on."

The Kamen Rider pulled out a yellow colored Gashat and pressed the activator on it, causing a pixilated wave to shoot forth.

[DoReMiFa Beat!]

"Seriously?" laughed Noire, "You're going to fight me with that?!"

"Believe it," said Ex Aid as he slotted the Gashat into his Driver, "Henshin: Third Shift!"

A yellow floating object appeared in the air and floated around Ex Aid as the Rider pulled the activation lever on his Driver, causing the floating object to split apart and attack itself like armor to the Kamen Rider.

[Gachan! Level Up! Mighty Jump! Mighty Kick! Mighty Mighty Action X! A Gacha! Do-Do-DoReMiFa-So-La-Ti-Do! OK! DoReMiFa Beat!]

"Do you seriously think you stand a chance with just a Level 3 game?" laughed Noire.

"We're about to find out," said Ex Aid as he scratched the discs on a turntable that was attached to his arm, causing music to play.

(play Gold: RWBY Vol 1 Soundtrack)

Ex Aid moved forward with the beat of the music, flowing with the beat as Noire threw a series of punches at him, dodging each one without breaking the rhythm before landing a punch of his own that surprisingly made the Dark Rider stagger back. Hissing, the Rider threw a spinning roundhouse jump-kick at Ex-Aid, but the attack didn't even make him stagger as a loud buzzer sounded upon impact.

[MISS!]

"What the heck?" exclaimed Noire, but before he could react, Ex Aid landed a kick followed by two punches to the solar plexus as the song went into the chorus, dodging Noire's attempts to strike back.

Ex Aid continued to attack, flowing around Noire's punches and kicks as he let himself move with the beat of the song that was being played, throwing out punches of his own to the rhythm of the music. Several times, Noire managed to get a lucky shot in time with the beat, but Ex Aid didn't let that break his rhythm and kept dance-fighting, slowly whittling down his enemy's health bar.

As the song moved into a more lively chorus, Ex Aid moved faster, landing several more hits on Noire, while the Dark Rider's off-beat attacks continued to do nothing when they made contact due to the effects of the new Gashat. Ex Aid then performed a jump-kick on the enemy Rider as the song reached its climax, knocking him back into some containers of Dust.

(end song)

"Now," said Ex-Aid, "let's end this game."

The Kamen Rider pulled the Gashat out of his Driver and slotted it into a slot on his hip, pressing a button on said slot once the Gashat was inserted.

[Gashat! Kimewaza! DoReMiFa Critical Strike!]

Rainbow colored light gathered around the Kamen Rider's gauntlets as a fast and upbeat song began to play from the turntables on his arm and said Rider punched forwards, sending out energy constructs shaped as musical notes that slammed into him and exploded, keeping pace with the fast beat of the music. Once the music reached its crescendo, Ex Aid punched forward one last time, sending a barrage of notes into Noire, creating a large explosion at the exact moment that Penny slammed a Bullhead into the docks using her swords.

[PERFECT!]

When the smoke cleared, there was no sign of the enemy rider, but carved into the concrete was a message, 'Let's play again sometime.'