Disclaimer: It's a new year, and I still don't own anything.
Journey Through Remnant
Chapter 17: Nothing Notable Happens
World of Remnant...
"Tsukasa Kadoya..." Ozpin smiled, "You've finally returned."
"Ozpin," Tsukasa simply said, "I guessing it's been a while."
"It has."
"Professor Ozpin!" Ruby erupted in joy. Despite still worrying over her teammates' disappearance, she was still glad to have returned to Remnant after who knows how long for the planet.
"Good to see all of you are doing fine," The Headmaster of Beacon had not yet realized that there were 3 fewer people than those that disappeared 2 months prior, "Now then. we have much to discuss."
"That we do," For once, Tsukasa agreed completely with Ozpin, "First, let's get them out of here."
"Agreed," Ozpin then took out his Scroll and called someone, "Glynda, will you please come to my office? It's urgent."
"So... Uh... How long have we been gone?" Eiji asked the headmaster with uncertainty.
"I thought you would know that?" Ozpin answered with a hint of amusement in his voice, "Or had you all lost your sense of time while hiding from that monster."
"Just to be sure, you know." The vagabond Rider tried his best to come up with a good excuse for his question.
"Let's see... you all left on the 4th of August, and now it's the 9th of October," Ozpin answered, "So just over two months."
"Two months?!" Weiss shouted, temporarily forgetting that she's talking to her Headmaster, "And it's the 9th?! Isn't the Tournament in a few days?!"
"Correct, Miss. Schnee. That reminds me, I have unfortunate news for you all."
"Uh... What is it?" Jaune wasn't feeling comfortable speaking to Ozpin, his mind already thinking of the worst things that could have happened in their absence, "Were we kicked out of Beacon? Did something happened to our families?!"
"No, no. Nothing of the sort," Ozpin calmed the teen down, "Although, if you hold participating in the Tournament in high regards, then it is rather terrible."
"Please don't say what I think you're going to say..." Yang already knew what the news was, she just didn't want to hear it.
"Yes... Unfortunately, because of your disappearance, Team RWBY and JNPR, along with Penny Polendina and her Team, had been disqualified from joining the Tournament."
"What?!" "Aw..." "That is...preposterous!" "But we've been training the whole year for this!"
"Yes, I'm terribly story for that. But with how things had been, the Festival itself may not even begin." Ozpin apologized.
"What do you mean by that?" Tsukasa, who had been rather quiet since the discussion began, asked Ozpin.
"To put it simply, things had been terrible since you all left."
"Can you tell me more?" "He means us. Can you tell us more?"
"As you may recall, before your disappearance, people were going missing from the various villages in the Four Kingdoms," Ozpin began explaining, "However, shortly after you left, the number of reports coming in daily had increased. Originally about 5 or so people were disappearing daily under mysterious circumstances from all over Remnant. Now roughly, at minimum, about 90 go missing each week."
"90?!" Eiji already knew who was behind the disappearance, but Foundation X had always done things discreetly and under the radar. For them to capture that many in a short amount of time weren't like them.
"Yes. And before you ask, the monster like the ones that attacked Beacon the day you left hadn't been seen since then." Ozpin told Tsukasa.
"Hmm..." Tsukasa hummed to himself, "How about the ones that attack that village, were there any incidents with them?"
"No, just sightings," Ozpin answered. However, in the back of his mind, he noticed that Tsukasa didn't seem to think that the two groups of monsters weren't connected.
"Ozpin," With a ding, Glynda Goodwitch came out of the elevator, "I apologize for taking some time to get here. I had to-Professor Kadoya?!"
"Yes, Glynda, he has returned. Now, can you please escort the students here out? I still have much to talk about with him." Ozpin asked her politely.
"Of course," Glynda was still shocked at them, "Come, children."
Not wanting to anger the Combat Instructor, the two teams (plus Penny) reluctantly followed her, splitting up among the two elevators. That left only Ozpin, Tsukasa, Eiji, and Woz (who were going through the pages of his book).
"Now, then," Ozpin said, "I'm sure you know what I want to ask you."
"Where had we been for the past two months? I can't say." Tsukasa bluntly answered.
"You can't say, or you don't want to say?" Ozpin asked.
"Either is fine. At the end of the day, you still won't know."
"Tsukasa! Don't-"
"-be rude. I know, Eiji." But frankly, Tsukasa doesn't really care.
"Professor Kadoya, I know you can be rather... difficult to say the least, it is rather important that you tell me where you all were," Ozpin insisted, "I want to trust you, but I can't do that unless you tell me."
"You can't trust me, or you don't want to trust me?" Tsukasa repeated what Ozpin had said moments ago, hoping to get out of this conversation.
"I can't trust you." Ozpin, however, can be just as blunt as Tsukasa.
"Is it really that important that you need to know?"
"Yes, because if you don't, there's a high probability that you all will be arrested," Ozpin answered.
"What?!" This was the first time Eiji was hearing anything about being arrested.
"Care to elaborate?"
"Professor Kadoya, Professor Hino, Mr...Woz, you three disappeared two months ago and took 9 students with you. You may not have thought of it at the time, seeing as you all were facing a terrible foe, but there are consequences."
"And you think that the authorities would be able to arrest us? You know what we are capable of."
"I do, but I'd rather we handle this professionally. If you could just tell me what happens, you might be able to avoid this."
"Yeah... No can do."
"Tsukasa, I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, we don't have to tell the whole truth, right?" Eiji tried to convince Tsukasa to tell a little.
"...No."
"Why did I have to get stuck with the most stubborn man that ever existed..."
"This is quite the dilemma we found ourselves in," Ozpin said, "You are quite clear in your desire to hide the truth from everyone, but it's only by revealing the truth, can you go free."
"No need to get all linguistic on me, Ozpin."
"I don't think you're using that word right," Eiji said.
"Maybe I'm, maybe I'm not." Tsukasa waved off Eiji's concern.
"What you said doesn't sound right either."
"Technically, I'm not wrong."
"...Technically."
"Hmm..." All Ozpin could do was watch the two Riders argue over Tsukasa's grammar, leaving the last of the three doing his own thing, "Mr. Woz, may I ask what are you doing?"
"Huh?" Woz looked up from his book, having been taken out of his thoughts by the Headmaster, "Oh, Kadoya had instructed me to see if anything had changed in my Lord's story."
"I...see," Ozpin didn't really understand what the retainer was talking about, but the mention of Woz's Lord reminded Ozpin of something, "Now that you mention it, where is your Lord? Was he not with you two months ago?"
"He was. Unfortunately, in the time between then and now, he and two others were abducted." Woz informed, not caring that that information was something Tsukasa might want to keep secret. Said Rider was still arguing with Eiji and didn't know that Woz was talking with Ozpin.
"Abducted? Who?"
"Who was abducted, or who was the abductor?"
"Both."
"My Lord, Lie Ren, and Blake Belladonna were abducted by Kaitou Daiki," Woz answered.
"And who exactly is Kaitou Daiki?"
?: Unknown World...
"Ow!" Due to the sudden way Kaitou Daiki had sent them into the next World, the three abducted teenagers lost their balance upon entering the next one.
"Now then, off you go. You guys need to find this World's Rider." Kaitou orders the three that were sprawled out on the sidewalk before opening another dimensional wall.
"Hold up!" That's all you're going to say?" Sougo called out before the thief could leave them again, "You're not even gonna give us a clue?"
"Hmm... Fine, I guess I should. Wait here for a sec." Kaitou sighed before entering the silver wall.
"...So, where are we this time?" Ren took the time to survey their new location. It was now midday. Like before, they were in a city, but it wasn't Tokyo. The distinctive red and white tower was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a giant white windmill/tower. In addition to that, there were some smaller windmills nearby as well.
"I know that tower! Don't remember from where, though." Sougo informed his two traveling companions, "I'm sure it's related to a Rider."
"I think that part is a given." Blake snarked while dusting off her clothes.
"How about the name of the Rider? Do you remember that?" Ren asked while touching the dimensional wall, only for it to be completely solid.
"Nope, not at all."
"Guessed you would say that."
"I'm back!" Kaitou announced, coming back through the portal, this time carrying three large backpacks, "Here, catch!"
Tossing the three bags, Kaitou told them something else, "You'll be here for a while. What you three learn here will be important on Remnant."
"Wait, what do you mean?!" Ren called out to the thief, but the man only gave them another message.
"Find the two-in-one detectives. They'll help you." With that, Kaitou Daiki left the three again...
Student's Dormitories, Team RWBY's room...
"So not only were we gone for two whole months, now we've been disqualified from the Tournament?! Plus, Blake and Ren are still missing!" Yang was loudly complaining. It was a bit hard to believe that she was eager to learn more about other Worlds just a few hours before.
"Guys, Blake's clothes are gone!" Ruby noticed that their missing teammate's clothing was nowhere to be found. The remainder of Team RWBY was cleaning their dorm when their leader came across it (or didn't, to be more accurate) in the wardrobe. Miss. Goodwitch, after leaving them at their rooms, went back to Ozpin's office in a hurry. Penny, on the other hand, had left to find General Ironwood.
"Is hers the only ones gone?" Weiss asked. She was looking through their bookshelf to see if anything else was missing.
"Yeah, all of our stuff is still here," Ruby told the others, "I'll go check on JNPR; maybe something happened with Ren's things too."
Moving towards the door, the silver-eyed girl was about to open the door before someone started knocking on it. Opening the door, Ruby saw Pyrrha standing there.
"Oh, Ruby!" Pyrrha was smiling, "Jaune sent me; he wanted to know if anything has gone missing."
"Well, that confirms it!" Yang shouted.
"So Ren's stuff is gone too?" Ruby asked the spartan-themed Huntress.
"Yes," Pyrrha nodded, "How about Gambol Shroud? Do you still have it?"
"Of course, I put it on Blake's bed-Uh...Weiss? Did you move it?" There was nothing on the missing Faunus' bed, despite Ruby clearly remembering gently placing Gambol Shroud there not even 5 minutes ago...
?: Unknown World...
"Exactly how did he manage to pack all of our stuff in two minutes?" Blake wondered as she rummaged through the backpack she was given. Nearly everything that she left behind in the dorm was in there. Most curiously, Kaitou Daiki somehow managed to even get Gambol Shroud as well. As far as she knew, it was still at Kadoya Tsukasa's house. She was not aware that her friends had already headed back to Remnant without her, "He even packed some food and drinks for us."
"Well, he did say that we will be here for a while." Ren reminded them of the thief's parting message.
"Uhh...I think you two shouldn't be taking those guns out in the open." Sougo suggested nervously, as Blake and Ren were also inspecting their personal weapons in between checking their bags' contents.
"Now then, what should we do now?" Ren asked, wanting to know what their next move was.
"I pretty sure that we should find those detectives Kaitou told us about," Sougo said, "That's the only thing we can do."
"And where exactly do we even start? All we know is that we're looking for a detective." Blake was as doubtful as ever, putting her Gambol Shroud away.
"Give me a minute..." Sougo closed his eyes to help himself focus as the wind was starting to pick up.
"...Hey Ren, what do you think of all this?" Blake asked the other teen from Remnant.
"What do you mean?" The boy didn't understand exactly what the secret Faunus was talking about.
"This whole 'traveling through time and space for Sougo to reawaken his powers.' What do you think of it?"
"It's been interesting. I mean, when does one get the chance to travel to different dimensions?" While he would have preferred not to have been abducted by an irresponsible thief, Ren still found the whole thing rather fascinating.
"I guess you have a point," Blake admitted.
"Got it!" Sougo suddenly cried out before taking off in a random direction, carrying his bag with him, "This way!"
"Hey! Wait for us!"
World of Remnant, Ozpin's Office...
"In the two months that you were gone, you manage to somehow get three of your students kidnapped by someone you trust. Am I getting this right?" Ozpin, for the first time since Tsukasa met him, had an irritated look, to say the least, finding the fact that something like that happening under Tsukasa's watch was far-fetched. The Headmaster's mood, however, didn't really deter the Destroyer at all.
"No, you're not getting that right," Tsukasa corrected, "First off, only two of them were my students. Secondly, I don't really trust Kaitou all that much." 'Especially not with all the things he pulled in the last month.'
"Professor Kadoya, I am serious this time," Ozpin scolded, "This time, you truly in trouble."
"I would be... If they don't return before anyone notices." Tsukasa grinned, getting up from his seat.
"Uh... Tsukasa? What are you up to?" Eiji was confused at the traveler's action.
"Woz, we're leaving. Eiji, stay here." Tsukasa instructed, opening another dimensional wall.
"Professor Kadoya, where are you going?"
"I'll find those students of yours. Eiji here is staying here and will be doing my job for me until I come back. You go first, Woz."
"Of course." The retainer walked through the silver wall, leaving Remnant.
"I'll be back in a bit. Eiji, try your best to stay out of trouble." Tsukasa said, going through the dimensional wall and disappearing.
"You always say that, but you take hours to get back," Eiji complained under his breath before turning to Ozpin, "So then... What do you want to talk about?"
?: Unknown World...
"You sure we're going the right way?" Blake asked as they walked down the sidewalk towards their destination, wherever that may be.
"Yup, I'm getting a feeling that things will work out if we go this way," Sougo answered with a smile on his face, "Besides, with our luck, I'm sure we'll run into the detectives sooner or later."
"What luck? We've only met one of the people we were supposed to be looking for, and he tried to kill you."
"Hey, Blake, did you forget that your team was the ones that found Professor Hino?" Ren reminded the black-clad girl of her chance encounter with the second Rider that appeared on Remnant.
"Don't worry, Blake, we'll be fine," Sougo reassured.
"Still getting a bad feeling with all of this."
After some time, the trio found themselves in a small park. Had they not been looking for the detectives, they would've taken the time to admire the park's beauty, but they had higher priorities.
"So...What does a detective look like?" Now that they had arrived at their destination, Sougo realized that he had not actually thought that far ahead yet.
"We're doomed."
Somewhere on Remnant...
ETERNAL! MAXIMUM DRIVE!
That was all Daido Katsumi had been doing. Train and train all day in between breaks. Had he not proved himself to be the best warrior there is yet? Apparently not.
Once the white Kamen Rider destroyed the next batch of Grimms, as Katsumi had learned they were called, it wasn't long before the sound of clapping filled the room. Salem, the woman whose castle the Rider woke up in, entered the training room, followed by a large man who Katsumi didn't recognize at first.
"Katsumi, I like you to meet Hazel Rainart," Salem introduced the Rider to the man, who was staring at the white armored warrior, as if trying to judge him for whatever reason, "Starting today, you would be working with for your first mission."
"...I understand," After a moment of studying who would apparently be his temporary partner, Katsumi finally responded, "What's my objective?"
"You two are to head to Vale as fast as possible. There, you two are to meet up with another one of my subordinates to aid in her own assignment," Salem briefed him, "Due to circumstances beyond her control, she is not able to complete her mission as well as I would like."
"What is this woman's name?"
"Cinder Fall."
Unknown Location, in a parallel World...
"Great Leader!" A shadowy figure entered what seemed to be a throne room, if the large silver seat at the end of the hall was any indication, "Our sensors on the World you have called Remnant have detected someone entering the dimension."
"...Zanjio, how many times do I have to tell you," The figure seated on the throne had a displeased tone in his voice, disliking having been disturbed by what he saw as inconsequential news, "Ignore the members from that Foundation. We do not need to concern ourselves with them."
"We know, Leader. But the disturbance was detected at the site known as 'Beacon,' as you have predicted there will be one.'' Zanjio informed.
"...So he has finally returned. That man took his time," The Great Leader grinned, standing up from his throne, "Send the Roidmude and Smash."
"Understood." Zanjio saluted his Leader before leaving the throne room, leaving the latter by himself.
"...But they wouldn't be able to stop Decade," The Great Leader muttered to himself before thinking of a way to defeat the Destroyer of Worlds, "...He knows of all enemies of the Riders."
Taking time to think it over, the Great Leader finally realized that there was something he could use against his adversary.
"...But he would not know of them yet."
Reaching out his hand and focusing, the man created a dimensional wall, "Come, the one who fought Reiwa's first Rider!"
From the silver wall, a black entity emerged. At first glance, one would mistake the entity as a Kamen Rider. That is if it wasn't for the malicious aura radiating off the Rider. The glowing red eye shone ominously in the dark room...
Destroy Everything!
Connect Everything!
A/N: First chapter of the new year! Rejoice!
Now then, important things to note from this chapter. Firstly, Tsukasa left Remnant again after 10-ish minutes with Woz. Secondly, the traveling trio is now on what you guys probably already realize is Fuuto, and they'll be there for a while. But how much time would have passed on Remnant while they hang out with the two-in-one Kamen Rider? I don't know. But Ren already knows what the people of Foundation X dress like, and Double was the season that introduced them. That'll be important.
Also, in this chapter, this Remnant is being more and more AU. Team RWBY, JNPR, and Penny are out of the Tournament, so how would the Fall happen in this reality? I don't know. But at least Eternal is gonna be involved somehow.
Another thing is that the Great Leader (I'm sure you guys know who that is) is already aware that Decade has returned but unaware that he had left again. So Eiji will have to deal with the monsters that the Leader sent by himself (and some other Huntsmen...probably).
As always, leave a review about what you think about the story or what you think I'm doing wrong.