Que Bom 2020

by WorshipYourCatsKids

The advent of a strange Minusaur led Koh and his friends to team up with an odd trio consisted of a king, a savior and a prophet. (cover pic by @3 soua)

First story in a while. Hope this works.

Reference for the characters design in these stories can be found in my profile.

---

"Come on!"

Koh was burning with vitality. In his Noblesse Form, he felt invincible. Not far from him, Bamba was also burning in his own spirit as he prepared to fight in his MeraMera Armor. Koh took the first move. With a full might, he charged at Bamba with the Ryusoul Calibur raised. Bamba held his ground, not letting Koh's passion to influence him.

Eventually, their blade met. Before Koh could strike Bamba, the black Ryusoulger parried his sword with his own. A beginner knight would have faltered with such counter but not Koh. With Bamba's torso exposed, Koh threw a kick. Bamba was able to dodge it, but then he realized that was the intention. Koh was trying to create some distance.

"Just what I expect from you, Bamba!"

"Likewise. Your unorthodox fighting still shine even under the grace of the Calibur."

Koh replied with a loud battle cry. He thrusted the blade towards Bamba's torso but the black knight was quick to dodge before striking back with a flaming swing. Koh blocked it in time but Bamba didn't stop there of course. He pulled back the blade and proceeded to thrust the flaming tip towards Koh continuously.

While the duel raged on, not far from them, Towa was watching, studying the two swordsmen as he cheered for his older brother.

"Go, Nii-san!"

While he was dodging, Koh learned to read Bamba's movement, trying to figure out an opening. Once he did, he immediately devised a plan. Well, part of a plan. He would just improvise the rest. Seeing how Bamba was starting to get agitated with his movement, Koh knew he has to take the chance.

Bamba threw another thrust. Anticipating it, Koh stopped it with the Calibur's edge. Instead of pushing it away, he slid his blade on Bamba's Ryusoulken sideway, allowing him to be face to face with Bamba. Startled by Koh's action, Bamba didn't have time to think back as Koh struck him with a headbutt. The mixture of pain and surprise was enough to push Bamba's down. Before he could regain his senses, Koh had the tip of Calibur a few centimeters from Bamba's neck.

"Yield." Koh teased. Bamba willingly dropped his Ryusoulken and raised his arms up in the air.

"Very well." Bamba concurred to his defeat. Both men transformation came undone as Towa ran to join them.

"No fair, Koh!" Towa laughed "You played dirty!"

"Everything is fair in a fight." Koh joked.

"Koh is correct. I should have figured that he would be reckless enough to pull such stunt." Bamba said as Koh pulled him up.

"I think the Ryusoul Calibur kind of pushed me to it. Something about it exhilarates me. I'm not just talking about strength alone. It's as if I dare to be more reckless with it." Koh explained as he eyed the holy sword.

"Even more reckless than usual? Yeesh." Towa commented.

"You wouldn't mind I give it a test run, would you?" Bamba asked.

"Sure. You and Towa next round?"

"Only if Nii-san lend me the MeraMeraSoul."

"Then it's settled. Let's take five!"

As they sat under the tree, sipping the beverages prepared by Koh, the red warrior took out something from the satchel he brought along. It appeared to be some kind of a trinket. A stopwatch of sort. The size was a bit too large then an ordinary one though. But that wasn't even the oddest part. On the surface of the watch, there was a drawing of Ryusoul Red's helmet.

"What do you got there, Koh?" Towa asked.

"It showed up on my chest when I woke up today. Melt and the rest have no idea what it is and Tatsui-san is out till tomorrow so I can't consult Seto. I figure since I ask you guys next." Koh explained as he handed the watch to Bamba.

Bamba eyed the watch, tapping it a bit. He noticed that the top part of the watch was rotatable. Pushing it around, the watch jingled before announcing:

"Ryusoul Red"

"Nice jingle." Towa commented.

"It gives off a powerful Soul. Some kind of a RyuSoul?" Banba guessed.

"I tried to use it with the Ryusoulken and the Ryusoul Calibur. No effect. Heck, I don't even know where to load it." Koh explained.

"Can't you hear Soul, though? What does this say?" Towa questioned.

"Yeah, that's the thing. When I held it, I could hear it tells me to 'find the king'. Any idea?" Koh asked.

"I don't think the Ryusoul Tribes ever had a king." Towa pondered.

"I'm afraid we can't help as well. Sorry." Banba apologized.

"It's fine. I guess we'll just have to wait for Seto." Koh said before stretching his arm to retrieve the watch. Banba was about to place the watch on it until something weird happened.

They could not move.

Their minds were still working, thankfully. It was an odd sensation. They could not feel their body. Their hearts, their sweat were not functioning. They could not hear anything. Only the deafening silences. They knew that it was only their souls that kept them conscious. Worried that they have fallen to the trap of a Minosaur, their instinct peaked when they caught the sounds of a footstep. Approaching them was a man. Dressed in a gaudy fashion, the man gave off a nasty air. He glanced at them for a bit before grabbing the watch, eying it once he did.

"So, this is the Ryusoul Red Ridewatch." He said as he studied the trinket "Interesting."

In a strange manner, the man dashed away from the knights. Once he was far enough, he snapped his finger and the halting stopped. Koh and his friends regained their freedom. Glaring at the perpetrator, Koh raised the Calibur threateningly.

"Who are you!?" He demanded to know.

"The name's Swartz. I'm just a man who wishes to raise the world a king that it desperately needs." He introduced himself while playing around with the watch.

"King?" Bamba noted "I take it you're tied to whatever that thing is?"

"Enough to know that it will get in my way." Swartz answered simply. While their attention was engaged towards the mysterious man, Koh didn't notice the presence of another one behind him. The presence, swiftly ran beside Koh, swiped the Ryusoul Calibur off him and sprinted towards Swartz.

"Got the blade!" Kreon cheered as he danced around next to Swartz "Pricious-sama gonna love this!"

"Kreon! Give back the Calibur!" Towa screamed as he transformed. Koh and Bamba followed suit. They were aware of Swartz capabilities but standing by and screaming would get them nowhere either. Now suited up, the three knights charged in vigorously, not bothering to chant their roll call.

Kreon was flustered with their action that he brought himself to hide behind Swartz, who was unfazed with the warriors' rage. In fact, he just stood there, bouncing the watch with his right hand. Despite, the knights were getting closer yet he still remained calm.

Then, it appeared.

Crashing between the Ryusoulger and Swartz powerfully, a creature in the form of a red energy appeared before them. The tremor from its landing pushed the three knights back, falling to the ground on their butts. The dust scattered from its arrival was slowly settling down, allowing them to have a clear looks of their adversary.

From the settling dust, they could tell it's a humanoid. It also seemed to be wearing armor, judging from the clanking noises it made from moving. It was also equipped with a bone blade, which it was holding on its right hand. Soon, they could make out the color of the beast. The creature donned a red armor, with the joints painted in gold. The torso part was silver, with a bit of black in the middle. The left arm was a bit different than the rest, seemingly designed to be much more detailed, a combination of silver and gold. On its shoulder, the word 'Ryusoul Red' and '2020' were written on it.

Then it hit them.

"Uh, guys? Is it me or does that Minosaur looks like Koh?" Towa brought up.

"It does bear a lot of similarities with the Ryusoul Red form." Banba agreed.

Koh wished he could disagree but the appearance of the Minosaur was very similar to his suit. From the overall color and the dinosaur theming, it was as if the Minosaur was some kind of a imitation of Ryusoul Red. Koh could not help but shiver at the presence of the Minosaur. Part of him was worried that this monster was trying to steal his identity for some reason.

And that was not the worst of it. As he gazed at the Minosaur, he could hear voices. The voices of Souls. They were screaming for his help. He couldn't figure why. Was this creature doing something to the Souls? Where are these voices coming from, he wondered. He closed his eyes, focusing his hearing. The voices became much clear now. He could hear them. He could-

'…Koh, save us-tyra…'

And Koh lost it.

"Waargh!" Koh roared. He charged at the Minosaur mindlessl. The Minosaur violently swung its bone blade, blowing an intense wind at Koh and the others. Koh held himself down by thrusting the Ryusoul Ken's tip into the ground. He was safe from being blown away but that didn't last long. The Minosaur had taken the chance to lunge at Koh before bashing him with the bone blade.

"Gah!" The impact of the blade blew Koh away. Fortunately, Bamba and Towa were there to catch him.

"Calm down, Koh!" Bamba scolded, holding the red knight firmly "He's clearly different that the usual ones. We shouldn't just charge mindlessly."

"You got that right, Ryusoul Black! This guy is no ordinary Minosaur!" Kreon boasted "He's a collaboration of Druidon and Time Jacker's power, Another Ryusoul Red!"

"Another Ryusoul Red?" Towa repeated slowly "So it is a knock-off of Koh?"

"I prefer the term, upgrade." Swartz clarified "Aside from possessing similar abilities to the original Ryusoul Red, it also capable of accessing all the potentials the original possessed but too afraid to tap."

"What do you mean?" Koh asked, fearing the answer.

Swartz gave Another Ryusoul Red a look. The monster stuck his sword into the ground and raised his silver arm onto the air. The shining metal gleamed under the sun. Confused with its behavior, the three knights carefully examined the arm. Then they caught something. It was a shape. A shape of a man. A man with blue hair…

"Melt?"

They couldn't believe what they were seeing but it was there. Melt, knocking on the monster's biceps from the other side of the reflection, mouthing the word 'help'. The image didn't last long as it faded away. Replacing Melt was another familiar face.

"Asuna!"

Asuna was much more frantic than Melt, knocking with more vigor. Sadly, her situation mimicked Melt's own, fading into the background. Following her was, much to Koh's fear and dread, Tyramigo.

"No… Not you too, Tyramigo…"

Tyramigo struggled around in the reflection. As mighty as he was, there was no stopping him from fading as well. Fortunately, that was all it could show. The monster grabbed his blade and prepared to resume the fight. Unfortunately, the same could not be said to Koh, Towa and Bamba. The three of them were still grasping on what was happening. Koh was taking it the hardest, as he would be considering he was the closest to those three.

"What have you done to them?" Bamba was the first to find his words. His voice filled with rage as he shakily held himself from striking out on his own.

"Like I said, Another Ryusoul Red has the ability to tap the full potential of the original, including the ones you're too afraid to use. The ability to manipulate souls, to be exact." Swartz taunted.

"That's insane. What are you planning to do with those souls?" Towa shakily asked.

Swartz did not answer that. Instead, he smirked at Another Ryusoul Red, who understood him clearly. The monster furiously charged at the three knights, his blade raise leftward. Before he could strike them, the three managed to dodge it, with Koh and Towa leaping to the left while Bamba to the right on his own.

If only they knew it was a trap.

Bamba found himself facing the Minusaur, who swung its blade at him. He raised his Ryusoul Ken in instinctively, hoping to block it. But Another Ryusoul Red was simply too powerful. When their blades collided, it didn't take the monster too much effort to knock Bamba's sword away. Startled from the disarming, Bamba could not react on time. The monster grabbed his now bare hand and tossed him to a tree, a loud thumping echoed from the impact.

"Nii-san!" Towa screamed. He cringed as he watched his brother helplessly lost his transformation. Towa bravely attempted to save him but the monster intercepted his movement by throwing its bone blade like a boomerang. The sword swirled towards him and Koh like a flash before crashing them to the ground.

"Gah!" The two knights yelped. The combination of weakened body and the weight of the blade rendered them immobilized.

With those two out of the way, Another Ryusoul Red menacingly approached Bamba. Injured and barely conscious, Bamba accepted to his defeat. However, he had not lose hope as he knew that no matter what happened to him, the rest of the Ryusoulger would pull through as they always have. With that being his last thought, he did not struggle as Another Ryusoul Red grabbed him by his head with its left arm, activating its power and absorbed his soul.

Koh and Towa were not prepared to witness it. Seeing Bamba's body slowly turning ghoulishly pale as his eyes remained opened and his mouth left ajar. The monster turned to them with its left arm flexed, boasting the reflection of Bamba on the surface.

"Nii-san…" Towa muttered in despair. Another Ryusoul Red reached out his arm and the bone blade levitated itself to his hand. The monster then did a little sword practice with his blade, performing some amazing moves with it. Kreon and Swartz got themselves closer to him, applauding it for its victory.

"I should tell you, Another Ryusoul Red can tap the power and skills of the souls he stole." Swartz said, which Koh begrudgingly realized to be true. The monstrous strength of Asuna, the prudency of Melt and the ferocity of Tyramigo. Now with Bamba's swordsmanship added into the mix, the monster might be unstoppable.

Koh knew, despair was not an option. But the situation was simply too much for him and Towa to face alone. Even if Canalo was to appear, who knew how much would it help. He glanced at Towa, who seemed to have given up, seeing how his grip on the Ryusoul Ken was loose. Koh considered of joining him.

But a voice at the back of his head kept screaming; fight on?

With the assistance of his blade, Koh got himself to stand. He was wobbling a lot but he did not let that hinder his spirit. His blade was raised in a defending manner while his eyes were glaring behind his visor. Taking a deep breath, he uttered "I won't fall without a fight."

His valor had quite an effect to everyone around him. While Another Ryusoul Red did not show it, there was a hint that the silent beast was threatened, seeing how it was grasping its blade much more firmly. Even Kreon and Swartz were intimidated, Kreon in particular judging from how he was crouching behind Swartz.

Towa had a much more positive effect. Seeing how Koh chose to stand up again, he felt challenged. Refusing to let Koh hog all the moment, joined the red warrior in a similar pose "Likewise."

---

"He's quite interesting."

Meanwhile, in the woods, far from where the battle was happening, three men were watching the battle that was unfolding. The one in the lead, who seemed to be the youngest of the three, was excited from seeing Koh demonstration of spirit.

"I have to admit, he's got some spunk." His spiky haired companion commented "Shouldn't we help?"

"Naah, let see what he can do. Be ready to transform though."

The second companion, who was dressed the strangest, chuckled at his statement "As expected of my king. It's not always for a Kamen Rider and Super Sentai to cross path. One must not waste a chance to witness the way of Super Sentai warriors."

"You know it. Something tells me these guys are different than all of those Legend Riders we've met."

With that being said, the three of them remained where they were, eager to see how Koh and Towa were going to handle this.

---

While he was not quite afraid, Swartz knew how these kinds of people work. First they gave a speech about heroism and stuff then they proceed to draw power from out of nowhere and turn over the tide of the battle. It's bullshit, he knew. Very well, if they wished to draw the power of bullshitry, then so would he. Thus, he turned to Kreon with an order "Grab the guy's blade and pass it to Another Ryusoul Red, will you."

"Yes, sir!" Kreon comically saluted as he proceeded to pick up Bamba's RyusoulKen.

"Don't you dare to touch my brother's sword!" Towa warned.

"Whatever!" Kreon retorted before passing it to Another Ryusoul Red, who grabbed it violently.

His silver and gold left arm began to glow as he gripped the sword firmly. Glowing in several different colors for a moment, the arm sparkled under the sunlight. Flexing it, the monster taunted the two with reflections of various dinosaurs, before replacing them with the reflection of flames.

"Oh right, forgot to mention, he can also absorb the souls from these mystic trinkets of yours." Swartz stated mockingly.

Koh and Towa braced themselves. There were no need for them to plan, seeing how those were not their forte and in a do-or-die moment such as this, it's better to play by their own strengths. Right now, they needed to trust on their instinct, guts and-

"SOUL!"

The deafening roar of the Minusaur startled Koh and Towa, giving it a chance to lunge at them, leaping from a great distance with its blade raise up in the air. The blade then stretched, turning longer and longer as it reached the sky. If that was not enough, the blade then glowed in a dimly orange color, before immediately turning into a harsh red color. Then, the monster ferociously swung its blade, creating a rotating vertical crescent of flame. The crescent was then launched towards Koh and Towa with a roar "SOUL!"

Their instinct was sharper than ever thanks to their newly resolute spirit. Just as the crescent was about to crash them, the two knights leaped sideway as they inserted a RyuSoul into their RyusoulKen.

Koh chose to counter the power of flame with the power of earth, hence the use of the DoshinSoul "Doshin Soul! Kyo! Ryu! Soul! Soul! Kono Kanji! Doshin!"

Towa chose a more unexpected power. Instead of the regular HayaSoul, he picked the KataSoul "Ryu! Soul! Soul! Soul! Kono Kanji! KataSoul!"

There was no need for them to change words as they both knew what the others were thinking. Koh slammed the two gauntlets to the ground, creating a wall of stones around the Minusaur. Towa then swung his RyusoulKen, sending a blue wave towards the wall. The wall then hardened, becoming as solid as steel. Both of them leaped inside the ring, Towa as he switched his KataSoul for a HayaSoul.

"Let's go, Towa!" Koh roared.

"Right!" Towa heeded before charging towards the monster in a super speed. The monster might have Melt's brain but even he was not prepared for Towa's intense swordplay. Every time it parried Towa's blade, Towa would become faster with his attacks, thrusting and hacking his blade onto the monster's scaly armor. It didn't damage it enough but it did broke some scales.

Once the monster determined it could not handle the Towa's fury much longer, it activated a hardening power, turning itself as solid as the wall it was trapped in. Alerted by this, Towa backed off, having finished his part. The monster, noticing how willingly Towa giving up, realized that the green knight was simply a distraction.

Koh had used the chance to charge the power in his right fist. The oversized fist was now glowing in earthly energy. With the monster's attention was now at him, Koh took the chance and launched the fist, roaring as he did so "Go!"

The fist rocketed towards Another Ryusoul Red, who defended itself by channeling its hardening power into its bone blade. It didn't manage to hold it down for long as the sword started to crack and in a short time, the crack spread around until it finally shattered. The fist however didn't stop there as it pushed on forward and slammed Another Ryusoul Red's down to the ground.

Unfortunately, the Minusaur was quick to channel its hardening power to its chest the instant its sword shattered. While it didn't suffer too much damage, it was still struggling as the fist pushed it onto the hardened walls. The pain of being sandwiched by the two intense forces was clearly beyond what the monster was capable of taking as it was roaring in pain "SOUL!"

Eventually, the wall behind him cracked. The crack quickly spread across the wall around them before shattering, with the jetting fist still pushing the Minusaur away. The fist propelled Another Ryusoul Red into the woods, wrecking a lot of trees in the process.

Finally, the fist started to lose its speed. With its speed reduced, so was its strength. But that was enough, Koh told himself. While the Minusaur was still standing, it's easy to tell that one more full-powered attack would end the it once and for all. Koh willed the fist to return before turning to Towa.

"Let's end this, Towa!" Koh cried out, his RyusoulKen raised "Cho! Cho! Cho! Cho! Ii Kanji! Ken B-B-B-Bom!""

"Yeah!" Towa heeded, raising his own RyusoulKen "Sore! Sore! Sore! Sore! Sono chōshi! Ken Bom! Byun!""

Koh thrusted his blade into the ground, causing the entire clearing to shake. Then, from where the tip of his blade was, the ground began to crack, creating a fissure that raced towards Another Ryusoul Red. Not preparing for such dangerous move, the Minusaur fell into it. It didn't manage to fall down far as the fissure immediately closed, leaving him to stuck on the waist-level.

Towa followed up with a sprint. His RyusoulKen was fully imbued with the power of HayaSoul. Ferociously, he raised his blade and shouted "Give me back my brother!"

The scene was akin to a samurai duel. In a split-second, Towa had slash down the Minusaur. The monster did not have the chance to channel its hardening power as its armor cracked, its scales scattered up in the air. With its chest exposed, Towa thrusted his blade directly at the center.

BOOM

The pressure from the explosion pushed Towa away. Fortunately, Koh was quick to activate the KaruSou, replacing his DoshinSoul was replaced with the KaruSoul gauntlet. Hastily, he pointed his blade at Towa, sending a red wave that reduced the green knight's weight. Towa gracefully landed next to Koh before his exhaustion kicked in, de-transforming him into his civilian, an action followed by Koh.

"Did we get him?" Towa wondered. Koh was too exhausted to answer. He silently prayed for Towa to be right.

The dust from the explosion began to settle down. Once it settled, they were relieved to find the Minusaur gone. But their relief wavered when they caught the glimpse of a floating object. A round trinket resembling a stopwatch...

"Ryusoul Red"

Minus Energies exploded from the watch before forming a black flesh. Red scales grew from the flesh, forming an armor. Details such as gold and silver followed after. To finish it off, the name Ryusoul Red and the number 2020 appeared on its left arm, finishing the process.

Another Ryusoul Red was reborn.

"SOUL!" The Minusaur roared mightily, fully recovered from its previous fight. A despairing fact that made them crashed to the ground. Swartz and Kreon could not resist from laughing.

"Do you see just how foolish it is for you to fight? Why don't you just accept your defeat and give up your souls?" Swartz mocked.

"That's right! Another Ryusoul Red is invincible! You knights are nothing against his kingly might!" Kreon added.

Weakened and humiliated, whatever voice that would have encouraged Koh to stand was gone. Perhaps it's about time he gave up. Perhaps this was it. At the very least, he might be able to see his master soon, assuming his soul can pass on. He wondered what he would say to his master when they meet again.

Maybe that he wished for a savior.

That's right. The voice came back. Right now, it was telling him to hold on to hope, that someway, somehow, everything will work out. Canalo is still out there. He would come and save them. That's right, there's still hope.

Too occupied with his thoughts, he didn't realize that Another Ryusoul Red was walking towards them, glaring with its menacing pair of green eyes. Koh glanced at Towa, upset to find his comrade making an expression of despair. He wished he could share his hope with him but at that point, he was too exhausted to even whisper. The Minusaur then gripped his head with its left arm. So this was it, he thought. All hopes remained with Canalo now. And thus, with his eyes closed, he braced himself.

"Revi-Revi-Revi Revi-Revi-Revi Revi-i-ve Shi-ppu! Shippu!"

The loud jingle snapped Koh back to reality. He had only had a chance to blink before he was swooped away, where he found himself and Towa being held by a figure in blue, away from Another Ryusoul Red. Assuming it was Canalo, he turned to look at their savior enthusiastically.

And he found himself face to face with a hiragana.

He could barely make it out but he assumed it spelled 'Rider'. The remaining details of the stranger were much simpler. An armor of blue and black with some white mixed in here and there. On his waist was a belt with some of the most extravagant buckle Koh has ever seen. Part of it even looked like an hourglass.

"You're not Canalo…" Koh blurted out.

"Who?" The stranger asked.

"Geiz!" Swartz called out, looking frustrated with the presence of the stranger known as Geiz "If you're here then-"

"Finaly Time! Gin-gin-gira-gira-Galaxy! Uchū no kanata no Fantasy! WozGingaFinaly! Finaly!"

"Rider Time! Kamen Rider~! (Rider~!) Zi-O! (Zi-O!) Zi-O~! II!"

From the other side of the clearing, Koh could see two more odd-looking warriors joining the fight. The first one had a simpler suit, a mixture of green, black, silver. His visors were blue, with the word 'planet' written in katakana. He was wearing an armor that reminded Koh of Noblesse, but with more galaxy pattern designed into it.

The one next to him however was wearing a suit that even Koh thought to be extremely gaudy. A black bodysuit covered in silver armor with a magenta color thrown here and there and a little bit of gold around the chest. His visor, also magenta colored, spelled the word 'Rider' in katakana. Something about him reminded Koh of a wristwatch, probably the clock hands-like antenna and the two watch straps placed on his torso.

Something about the armored warrior made Koh uneasy. The man was giving off a feeling of comfort, some kind of kindness that made Koh feeling fine but at the same time, his demeanor was that of a danger, making Koh conflicted whether to lower or raise his guards.

"Zi-O and Woz. I'll admit, I was expecting you to be here sooner or later." Swartz said, his expressions flashing with annoyance.

"We went to do a little bit of investigation. Seems like the space-time rift is much worse than we assume seeing how it merges us with the World of Super Sentai of all place. Could be worse. At least it's not the World of Ultraman." The green warrior said.

"Woz, what's an Ultraman?" The flashy one, whom Koh assumed to be Zi-O, asked. He was a bit surprised hearing such a young voice coming from such a bulky man.

"You don't have to worry about them, my lord. Not until 2026, at least." Woz told him "And, Swartz. I see you're already ahead with your experiment."

"Well, it's not always that you get to visit a different universe. I assume you're familiar with Another Ryusoul Red." Swartz introduced.

"We've heard of him. Even met some of his victims." Zi-O said.

Then it hit Koh that he was likely talking about Melt, Asuna and Tyramigo. Before he could ask for further explanation, Geiz gave him an answer "Their bodies are fine. Your friend Ui is taking care of them."

Koh was a bit relieved. It didn't last long though as he immediately freaked out when he saw Another Ryusoul Red grabbing his and Towa's Ryusoulken. Thanks to its extra-ordinarily large left hand, it was able to hold both of them at once. Its arm glowed in several colors, suggesting that it has succeeded to absorb the power in their Ryusoulken.

"What's he doing?" Geiz asked them.

"This is just a theory, but I think it's absorbing the RyuSoul power we mostly use with our Ryusoulken." Towa suggested "I mean, that's what happened after it absorbed Nii-san's Ryusoulken, which he mostly used with MeraMeraSoul and KataSoul. And those were the only power it used."

"I don't really get it, but I assume this mean he's stronger, right?" Geiz inquired.

"Pretty much."

"Got it. Stand back, we'll take it from here." Geiz ordered. Koh and Towa obediently hid themselves behind a tree. While they didn't like being sidelined, they had to concur with the situation, plus they were curious of the capabilities of these strangers.

Geiz flew himself to the Minusaur's seven o' clock. Woz did the same by bringing himself to the monster's twelve through levitation. Zi-O was where he was, the five o' clock direction. With all eyes locked on the Minusaur, nobody dared to make a move. Koh had a problem breathing, afraid that he would choke in case of someone pulling a surprise-

"SOUL!"

The Minusaur reached out its right arm with its palm facing the ground. From the soil, a new bone blade emerged. It grabbed the handle and spun the sword around, sending a blue wave towards the warriors. As if a weight had been chained to them, the three warriors crashed to the ground on their chest, struggling to stand after they did.

"OmoSoul's power… That must be Asuna's!" Koh deduced.

"And the NobiSoul from earlier must have been Melt…" Towa added "Say, what power do you think it got from our Ryusoulken?"

Before Koh could think of one, Woz made his move. He raised his right arm and a different shade of blue wave was released from it. Thanks to that, the three warriors were able to raise their body from the ground.

"Don't bother trying to fight us with the force of gravity, for I am a master of it." Woz boasted before sending another blue wave towards Another Ryusoul Red. This time, it was its turn to be weight down as the blue wave forced it to knee down.

Geiz took out his weapon, which was a claw. With a boost from his legs, he flew towards the monster in a flashing speed, attempting to strike it with his claw but Another Ryusoul Red managed to resist the gravity force to raise its bone blade. It then swung it ferociously, sending a roaring wind that blew him away. Geiz was fortunately able to hold himself mid-air from getting pushed further.

"That TsuyouSoul's power must be from mine." Towa assumed.

"And mine too, so that's double the power."

"Wait, what about Asuna and Melt?"

"No, their Ryusoulken give it something else and I might have an idea of what it might be…"

Koh turned towards Zi-O, whom he noticed has not moved from where he was. His visor was glowing, as if he was using it to study the Minusaur. Then, the glowing stopped and the warrior spread his arms out, summoning two different swords from the air. One of the blades was quite peculiar, seeing how it has the warrior's own face built on it. Zi-O then combined the two blades, forming one mighty, albeit silly looking, sword.

"I've seen it. Woz, keep holding it down! Geiz, when I give you the signal, I want you to fly around it clockwise!"

Koh was clueless with the order but Geiz and Woz seemed to catch it from their answers "Got it! / But of course, my king."

Zi-O approached the Minusaur threateningly, walking in a regal manner. The Minusaur, determining that he was too much of a threat, thrusted its bone blade into the soil. It created a red circle around it. Then, magma blasted out from the spiral. It spiraled around the Minusaur, covering it in a cyclone of magma.

"That's MeraMera, Doshin and Mawari, right?" Towa asked.

"It has to be. Now, the only ones left are mine and yours second RyuSoul."

"Well, mine is obviously HayaSoul."

While they were discussing, Sougo was holding sword upward, where he unleashed a massive yellow energy that coated the blade's edge. The energy then sparked upward, increasing the size of the sword. On the edge, a line of pink characters spelling the word Zi-O Saikyou emerged on it. Even with a look, Koh could tell, this man is powerful. The sheer energy from the blade itself was all the evident he needed to see.

"Now, Geiz!"

Geiz did as he was told, flying around the storm of magma in a clockwise manner. It was then Koh realized that he was flying at the opposite direction of the magma storm's rotation. He figured out what was happening. The magma vortex started to slow down until eventually, it lost its momentum, allowing the magma to spill on the ground, exposing the Minusaur. With his target left in the open, Zi-O, with a mighty bellow, struck down the monster with a mighty slash "King Giri Giri Slash!"

Upon impact, Another Ryusoul Red's armor exploded, its scale blasted to every direction. It roared in agony, burning from the sword that was phasing through its black flesh. Once the sword left its body, crack of light spread across it. Following the cracks was an explosion of energy, blowing the fleshes across the clearing.

The grand explosion left an intense wind that once covered the clearing in dust. Koh and Towa, who had taken cover behind a tree, was anxious to see the conclusion of the fight. Realizing that they had to wait for the dust to settle first, Koh took the chance to look for Swartz and Kreon, who had also hidden themselves behind a tree not far from them. The expressions on Swartz's face indicated that even he was worried, giving Koh a bit of hope.

Once the dust from the explosion receded, they immediately eyed for any sign of the Minusaur. They caught the watch that served as the monster's heart floating mid-air. They were elated when they saw it broken, with a crack spreading across the watch.

"They did it!" Towa cheered.

"Alright!"

But seeing how none of the strangers were cheering along, Koh realized that it was not over. Suddenly, the watch sparkled. The sparkling light began to undo the damage done on the watch in a gently.

"Damn it, that's KagayakiSoul's power! It must have taken it from my RyusoulKen!" Koh concluded, hitting the tree frustratedly.

"Let me guess, that's the power of healing!?" Zi-O, who must have caught his words, asked.

"Yes! There's no way to stop it unless the damage is done from another RyuSoul!"

The watch had been fully restored. Koh could now make out what it was. The watch was similar to the ones in Koh possession earlier, with the face of Another Ryusoul Red drawn on it instead of Ryusoul Red. The watch's surface rotated itself clockwise, activating itself, reviving Another Ryusoul Red once more.

"Soul!"

Swartz, enjoying the twist, laughed out loud, with Kreon joining him "Not even your strongest individual forms are capable of doing it! Don't you see how hopeless you are!?"

Koh gritted with frustration. He couldn't help but to blame himself. If only he had used some other Ryusoul more. Towa was likely able to guess what was in his mind, as he found him grabbing his shoulder gently.

"Don't bother getting stressed out. What happened, happens."

Koh let out a sigh. He turned to the three strangers, hoping that they might have figured something out. It seemed like they have just finished discussing something, from the way they nodded to each other. The one named Woz took out a small trinket of his own and loaded into his belt.

"Future Time! Dare ja? Ore ja? Ninja! Futurering Shinobi! Shinobi!"

His form changed. His armor was replaced with another, a purple one with some ninja-like design thrown around it. He raised two of his fingers in front of him and released an explosion of smokes that covered him and his companions.

Koh and Towa were startled from his action. Too startled that they didn't realize a smoke bomb was rolling under them. It exploded and enveloped them with similar colored smokes. Caught unprepared, Koh and Towa panicked until a familiar voice eased them down.

"We're retreating for now. Let's go!" Geiz explained as he grabbed their arms.

"Wait! My brother! He's-"

"Don't worry, we've got him. And your swords as well. Now come on!" With that settled, Geiz carried them away from the smokes, taking them away from the battlefield.

Eventually, the smokes dissipated, leaving Swartz's party with no target to fight. Swartz didn't seem bothered. He was excited even, seeing how his newest creation had succeeded to intimidate his nemesis. But that was not enough. If he wish to turn this monstrosity into a match again Ohma Zi-O, he needed to strengthen it more.

He turned to Kreon, who was pandering to Another Ryusoul Red by attempting to give it a massage "Mushroom! You told me there's another one of the Ryusoulger, correct?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Ryusoul Gold! He's a master in shooting and lighting attacks!"

"Search for him. Now."

"Yes, sir!"

---

At the Tatsui residence, Koh was in despair. His mind was blank, unable to pull out any positive ideas to distract him from the sight he was gazing at. There were his friends, Melt, Asuna and Bamba, lying on the couch, face as pale as the moon, eyes and mouth ajar. Koh heart was roaring with rage. What was he doing, giving up back then? They are his friends, he's the one who needed to save them. Before he realized it, tears of frustration were streaming on his cheeks.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Ui, looking at him with concern "Don't blame yourself."

"Right… I'm sorry… It's just…"

"Look, why don't you join the rest at the table? I've prepared snacks."

Koh sighed. Nevertheless, he took the suggestion. The three warriors, who had introduced themselves, were sitting on the table with Towa. The younger knight seemed to have calmed himself down. Koh was glad. He could barely control himself, he didn't know what he could do for Towa. As he took a sit next to the green knight, he caught up with the tales told by the three men.

Well, one man and two teenagers. He was astounded to find out that Zi-O was really an eighteen years old boy, only two years younger than Ui. This boy, Tokiwa Sougo as he introduced himself, was apparently destined to become a demon king in the future. The concept sounded so much like something out of an isekai stories (which Koh was a huge fan of) that Koh could not take it seriously. But it would explain the strange air the boy was giving off. A kind and gentle, yet intimidating and immense.

They then proceeded to explain about Kamen Riders, Ridewatch, the concept of multiple universes and spacetime rift. By the end of it, Towa took the words right out of Koh's mouth "Honestly, this is quite heavy."

"It is what it is." Woz said, closing the book containing everything he had just told them "The universe is simply infinite, both in size and possibility."

"So, what exactly are we supposed to do now?" Koh asked, wanting to get away from the topic before it gets anymore unnecessarily complex.

"Isn't it obvious? Beat that Minusaur and save Nii-san and the others!" Towa answered in frustration.

"But how? Not even Sougo-kun and his friends could beat him, and they're clearly stronger than us." Koh questioned. His heart was yielding for defeat, something that's quite unusual even for him.

"Maybe we can't but you definitely could." Geiz stated "Another Rider can be defeated by the Rider they are based on. In this case, you."

Hope returned to Koh's heart "But me and Towa fought him earlier. How could that be?"

"Yes but it wasn't you who gave the final blow to Another Ryusoul Red, right?" Sougo reminded them "It needs to be you, or at least anyone with your power, to end it. Usually we could have used our strongest Ridewatches but thanks to the power that Another Rider possessed, our power could only go so far."

Koh could feel his heart jumping. So, there was still hope. His body was shaking with agitation, his desire to fight burning intensely. He was going to save his friends and nothing was stopping him.

"But how are you planning to fight though? It doesn't seem like your blade functions anymore." Geiz brought up, glancing at the two knights now-colorless blades.

"I have another thing that I can use." Koh reached up in the air. Sure enough, in a blink, his Max Ryusoul Changer appeared on his palm. He never understood how it worked but he figured it was just one of the weapon's many abilities.

"This is the Max Ryusoul Changer. It allows me to achieve my strongest form, Max Ryusoul Red. It's a gift from a dear friend." Koh explained, his voice turned heavy at the thought of said person "I didn't use it just now because I was afraid that Another Ryusoul Red might absorb it too. But honestly, if he's still here, he probably would have scolded me for thinking that."

Sougo and co didn't bother asking for him to elaborate, knowing very well how the past is better left where it belongs. They were just relieved to know that their key to victory was capable and willing to fight with them. Geiz then turned to Towa "What about you? You have one of those?"

"I'm afraid not." Towa sighed "I can still transform but without a RyusoulKen, I can't use RyuSoul. Heck, I don't think I can fight properly without a sword."

"You can borrow mine." Sougo offered.

"Thanks, but I don't think heavy blades fit my style. If only we can retrieve the Ryusoul Calibur."

"And the Ryusoul Red Ridewatch, assuming that Another Rider hasn't absorb it yet." Woz added "While I do have faith in Koh-san's capabilities, it's much safer to have a backup."

"Admit it, you just want to rejoice." Geiz said, to which Woz responded with a mysterious smile.

Sougo noticed that Koh was pondering. He was looking at the Max Ryusoul Changer thoughtfully, as if he had something in mind "You're thinking of something, Koh?"

"Well, I never try it but the Max Ryusoul Changer could probably use RyuSouls even when I'm not in Max form." Koh stated "So, I kind of have an idea on how to get back both of those items…"

This intrigued the group. Koh then described to them his plan. While Geiz and Woz remained skeptical, Sougo and Towa were all for it.

"I like it. I think it can work." Sougo said.

"Good thing we just happened to have both of those RyuSouls. We can do this!" Towa claimed.

"It's quite risky. Just for safety, I think Geiz-kun should join Towa-kun as well." Woz suggested.

"Don't order me around. But I guess I should. Let's do it." Geiz said.

Now, with a plan in mind, the group was determined to win this battle. Suddenly, Koh's Ryusoul Changer beeped, indicating an oncoming message "Hello?"

"Koh-san!?"

"Otou! Where are you and Canalo, right now?"

"Miyagawa Bay! We're being attacked by a strange looking Minusaur!"

"Listen, Otou. Tell Canalo to make sure he stays away from the monster's left arm! The one in silver and gold!"

"Huh? Al- Alright!"

"Good, we'll be there soon! Just hang in there!" Koh promised her. He turned to the rest of the group, who each gave him a nod. Thankful of their spirit, Koh pumped up his arm "Alright, let's show that bootleg what we're made of!"

---

"BiriBiriSoul!"

"Zappan! Messa! Nossa! Mossa! Yossha! Kono Kanji! KyoRyuSoul!"

The armor of thunder materialized over Canalo's suit. With the power of lightning by his side, Canalo's firepower increased. He was unstoppable, he may vanquish anything that he in his way. He has to, for his pride as the Prince of the Sea Tribes was on the line. He kept telling himself that, hoping it would give him the strength to defeat the monstrosity he was facing.

It wasn't working.

The monster, or Another Ryusoul Red as Kreon introduced, not only possessed a superior skill to Koh, but also strength that made Asuna looked like a child. He was hoping his specialty with range attacks would give him an edge but the monster somehow was capable of stretching its bone blade. Even if Canalo's shots could reach it, it wasn't enough to take down the monster's mighty armor, which somehow possessed the hardening ability of KataSoul.

This Minusaur, who had attempted an assault at his home, was not done. Its speed, which surpassed HayaSoul's, was the biggest problem of all. After Otou delivered Koh's warning about the left arm, Canalo had been on the edges. There have been more than a few times where he was almost gripped by the Minusaur but thanks to his enhanced hearing, a natural trait of a Sea Ryusoul Tribesman, he was able to hear the approaches of the arm and avoid it in time.

Realizing that avoiding won't help him for long, he had to get risky. Thus, he got himself some distance from the Minusaur, took out his MistSoul and loaded it inside the Mosa Changer "Que Bom!"

He shot several bombs of mist around the monster, which exploded forcefully, surrounding the Minusaur in thick mist. Then, Canalo took out the Mosa Blade, prepared to unleash the finisher.

"Mosa Breaker!" Canalo announced as he combined the Changer with the Blade "Prepare to have your heart pierced by my shot!"

The headpiece on his armor roared as he aimed the lightning blast at the mist enveloped Minusaur. Releasing the trigger, he shouted "Final Thunder Shot!"

The electricity gathered to form a bullet, as if it was a meteorite of lightning. The rushing thunder ball charged towards the gathering mist and once it made contact with it, the electricity was amplified thanks to its moist nature. This also would affect its firepower, as planned by Canalo. The power of the attack has exhausted him, causing him to de-transform. But it was worth it. Any second now, there would be an explosion.

Any second now…

Any second…

…

"SOUL!"

The air pressure of the roar cleared the mist away, revealing Another Ryusoul Red with an electrified fist. If that wasn't terrifying enough, there were flames mixed in the between the concentrated charges. Canalo knew at that moment, victory was just a dream. He needed his team. He couldn't do it alone.

"Better give up now, Ryusoul Gold! My king, Another Ryusoul Red has evolved itself to the point that it can absorb any attack that is originated from RyuSoul! You could never touch it!" The man named Swartz boasted. Somehow, he made Canalo miss Prishas.

Kreon, being the type who loved to get in with the hype, joined him "That's right! And you know what else?"

As if it was reading his mind, the monster flexed its left arm. At first, it reflected a scene of thunderstorms. Once that went away, images of familiar faces popped up on the reflection.

"Bamba?" He recognized.

"Melt-kun! Asuna-san!" From behind him, Otou, who he just remembered was there with Pii-tan in her arms, cried out.

"You bastards! Give us back our friends!" Pii-Tan threatened but his childish voice and adorable form wasn't helping.

"Instead of us giving them up, why don't you lots join them?" Swartz mocked "In fact, I don't think they have much more time in there. Sooner or later, Another Ryusoul Red will absorb them to be part of itself. If you wish to be with them one last time, now's a good time."

The agonizing expression on his little sister's face was just too painful for Canalo to look at. Adding the despair of seeing his friends trapped and suffering, it made him weak. He couldn't do this alone. He had grown to rely on his friends. He wondered if that was a mistake on his part.

"No, that's not true." He whispered to himself as he stood up once more. It's not like relying on his friends had weakened him, it just that he was becoming too comfortable doing that. Now was the time for him to step out of his comfort zone. Time for him to grow. Time for he-

"Canalo!"

Maybe some other time.

Running towards him and Otou were Koh and Towa. He sighed in relief while Oto jumped in excitement. Victory seemed much clear now

"Koh, Towa! Thank god you guys are alright!"

Oto didn't waste a moment to express her worries "Melt-kun and the others! They're in that thing! They don't have much time left!"

"We know. Except for that last part. You're saying they have a time limit?" Towa inquired.

"Indeed, Ryusoul Green. Your precious brother is about to be part of Lord Another Ryusoul Red. Once his swordsmanship is fully integrated in the soul of his majesty, there will be no more of him." Swartz informed.

Towa probably would have charged then but someone held him by the shoulder. A spiky haired boy, probably younger than Ui. In fact, Canalo just noticed that Koh and Towa were accompanied with a trio of strangers.

"Um, Koh?"

"Oh, Canalo, Oto, Pii-tan. These three are our new friends. That's Geiz, that's Sougo and the one with the book is Woz."

"Pleasure to see you." The one named Sougo greeted "Don't worry. We can take care of ourselves."

"Uhm, alright." Canalo couldn't help but feeling intimidated by the one named Sougo. Something about him was telling all of Canalo's battle instinct to perk up. Canalo noticed that Koh still had his Max Ryusoul Changer, which gave him even more hope of beating the imitation. But he wasn't the only one who was aware of it.

Kreon, jumping excitedly, nudged Swartz while pointing at the claw "That's it, Swartz-san! The Max Ryusoul Changer! That's the thing I told you about!"

"Oh, so you've brought the key to his highness' evolution yourself, Ryusoul Red? Much obliged."

"Forget it, Swartz! I'm not losing this one either! Not after you stole the Ryusoul Calibur!" Koh screamed.

"Oh yeah, the Calibur! I assumed you've given it to your employer, Kreon?" Swartz asked the mushroom creature.

"On the contrary, I still have it!" Kreon reached down the ground, summoned his teleportation slime and dragged out the Ryusoul Calibur "I change my mind! From today onward, I shall devote myself as one of Another Ryusoul Red's regents! Accept this blade as my offering!"

Swartz hungrily grabbed the sword, eying it for a bit "Interesting. This blade gift you swordsmanship, right? Heh, it's almost like we don't need Ryusoul Black's soul anymore."

"Bastard! Don't you dare!" Towa warned, which Swartz responded with a laugh.

"You got that right, sir!" Kreon joined in, laughing along.

Had they were not too indulged with their gleeful emotion, they probably would have caught on with what was happening. But they were too full of themselves, and they had no idea that was about to be their downfall. And that was when it happened.

DUSH

Suddenly, Swartz crashed onto the ground, knocked unconscious. Kreon, dumbfounded with what was happening, noticed that Swartz's body was shifting oddly, as if someone was rummaging him. Being the coward that he was, Kreon backed away from his new employer, afraid that whatever happening to him would bit Kreon's ass.

Eventually, Swartz's body stopped moving. Instead, the Ryusoul Red Ridewatch floated out of his cloak. It got weirder when the Ryusoul Calibur was pulled away from Swartz's hand, joining the Ridewatch in the air. Kreon tried to go after the two trinkets, only to be tripped by something, before crashing face-first to the ground

Another Ryusoul Red was much more aggressive as it swung its bone blade at the direction of the Calibur and the Ridewatch. Fortunately, Woz was prepared as he warped himself towards the two items with his scarf, bringing them back to where the groups were. At that very moment, Geiz and Towa's body vibrated as they stood motionlessly. The bodies then slid towards where the Ridewatch and Calibur were, revealing Geiz and Towa. The two were holding the Ryusoul Red Ridewatch and Ryusoul Calibur respectively on their hands.

"Good job, you guys!" Koh praised.

"That must feel good, knocking Swartz out, huh?" Sougo asked.

"Oh, you bet." Geiz answered, throwing the Ridewatch to Sougo, who almost missed from catching it.

"Hold up, what on earth just happened!?" Pii-tan freaked out as he along with the Sea siblings were astonished with what had happened.

"A combo of KakureSoul and FueSoul." Koh explained as he raised the claw.

"You don't mind if I use the Calibur this time, Canalo?" Towa asked.

"Go on ahead. I stick with my gun." Canalo answered.

With Sougo now in possession of the Ryusoul Red Ridewatch and Towa getting the Calibur, they were ready for the rematch. Belts ready, weapons raised, it was the formation of the mightiest team-up.

Another Ryusoul Red, probably could sense the vigor roaring from their spirit, gave its own roar in retaliation as if to provoke them to come at it.

Or it was actually calling its own backup.

From the ocean next to them, a creature emerged, jumping onto the land mightily. It was not just any creature. It was a tyrannosaurus rex. With its body covered in silver scales with intense blazes bursting out of its, the red-eyed monstrosity roared ferociously, baring its silver fangs for the world to see.

"What is that?" Oto asked out loud, hiding with Pii-tan behind her brother.

Koh was also in fear. But unlike the rest, it was not out of intimidation He could hear it. He could hear the cry of his friend "Tyramigo?"

"Huh!?"

"That's right, Ryusoul Red! Thanks to its constant evolution, Another Ryusoul Red was able to create its own Kishiryu! Gaze upon the might of Another Tyramigo!" Kreon explained as he tended to Swartz, who was still out cold. Koh was about to charge towards the fake Kishiryu but Sougo stopped him.

"We're going to need you to fight Another Ryusoul Red." Sougo reminded. Something about the way he said it made Koh hesitate to disobey, despite his heart crying to save Tyramigo.

Fortunately, Sougo understood his need well "Okay, Koh and I will take care of Another Ryusoul Red. The rest of you make sure Another Tyramigo stay out of our way. Also, try to not go overboard, seeing how the real Tyramigo is trapped in there."

Koh was touched with Sougo's consideration, but he knew how strong his partner is "No. Fight him with your full power. I know Tyramigo wouldn't want to be a burden. He can take a beating."

Seeing how resolved Koh was with his statement, the others were ready. The heat of the battle was building up and they were about to catch it on. Even Oto seemed to be affected.

"Onii-chan. Here." She took out the HieHieSoul from her pocket "I know you've always wanted to give it a try."

"Oto… I won't lose this time."

"I know you won't. Get him, onii-chan!"

And with Canalo joining the line-up, they were truly ready. Taking out their transformation gadgets, each of them performed the necessary steps to activate it, and thus starting up their transformation sequence.

"Que bom! Wassei Wassei! Sou! Sou! Sou! Wassei Wassei! Sore sore sore sore! Ryu So Cool! Bwahahahahaha"

"Que bom! Dongara Haha! Nossa Mossa! Essa Hoisa! Mossa-sa-sa! Ryu So Cool! WOW!"

"Max Que bom! Max, Max! Max, Max! ~Oh! Max!"

"Rider Time! Kamen Rider Zi-O!"

"Rider Time! Kamen Rid~er Geiz!"

"Future Time! Sugoi! Jidai! Mirai! Kamen Rider Woz! Woz!"

A show of light and sound shook the bay as suits and armors were cast on. There, standing mightily, six warriors ready to wager their life in a one of a kind clash. The Ryusoulgers, stepping up, ready for an all-out clash but not before doing their trademark pose, of course.

"The Valorous Knight! Max Ryusoul Red!"

"The Gusting Knight! Ryusoul Green!"

"The Glorious Knight! Ryusoul Gold!"

"Eh? Uh, The Timely K-King! Kamen Rider Zi-O!"

"Huh? Uh… The Future Guardian! Kamen Rider Geiz!"

"The Devoted Prophet of Demon King! Kamen Rider Woz! Iwae!"

"These proud souls will unite for justice! Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger!" The Ryusoulger chanted.

"Featuring Kamen Rider!" Woz added.

With the residue energy from their transformation exploding in the background, each warrior stood in their signature pose. Somehow, despite the jarringly different looks between the two teams, they gave off a strong synergy. As if their souls literally united.

"I've got a great feeling about this." Sougo muttered "Alright, everyone knows what they need to do, right?"

"Yes!"

"Then let's go!"

---

"Unleash the souls! Ryusoul Calibur!"

The Noblesse armor conjured over Towa's body. He could feel his speed increasing, his agitation roaring and his soul blazing. Truly, the power of Noblesse was something else. With his blade raised towards Another Tyramigo, he led the charge "Let's take it down!"

"HieHieSoul!" Canalo announced before loading the blizzard RyuSoul into the Mosa Changer. He then shot the ice-powered energy towards Another Tyramigo, damaging it a bit, before having the energy returned to him to conjure the HieHie Armor on his body. Now equipped with wings, he took off to the sky, shooting ice bullets at the beast all the while.

"Not going to join him, Geiz-kun?" Woz asked, taking out the Ginga Miridewatch.

"One air force is enough. What we need the most is power." Geiz answered with the Revive Ridewatch turned towards Gouretsu mode.

"Rider Time! Kamen Rid~er Geiz! Re~vi~i~ve Go~retsu~! Goretsu!"

"Finaly Time! Shakunetsu Burning! Gekiatsu Fighting! Hey, yo Taiyo! GingaTaiyo!"

With each warrior equipped with their strongest auxiliary, Towa led the attack. With Canalo and Woz occupying the monster's sight by shooting a combo of ice and fire energies to its face, he and Geiz went to its blind spot, the back. However, its tail was thrashing around, preventing any from coming closer.

Geiz boldly charged on. With his massive strength, he caught the tail, holding it down to prevent it from trashing. Towa took the chance and charged for its leg, slashing the left calf swiftly. The pain of the attack made the monster roared before losing its balance from the frontal assaults of Woz and Canalo.

With the monster down and not moving for a while, Geiz lunged onto its fiery back. Forcing himself to brace the blasting flames on the monster's back, he sawed into the flesh with his buzz-saw, making the monster trash even wilder. Towa took the chance and jumped onto its head as he loaded an OmoSoul into the Calibur's slot.

"Don Dino Slash!"

Charged with the power of heaviness, Towa smashed the Calibur on the head of Another Tyramigo, causing a sonic boom that thrusted the monster down into the ground while blowing Towa upward onto the sky. Canalo was quick with the save, grabbing Towa by the hand before he could get any higher.

"Did that get it?" Canalo wondered.

"Doubt it. Tyramigo's not the type who's going to fall with just a smash."

"Then let's proceed to the finale, shall we?" Woz invited, swapping his form for another.

"Finaly Time! Sui-kin-chi-ka-moku-do-ten-kai! Uchu nya konna ni arunkai! Wakuwaku Wakusei! GingaWakusei!"

With Woz armor shifted, the three warriors went to join Geiz on the ground, who had gotten himself in front of the now awakening monster. Its roar boomed much louder this time, with a lot more flames shooting out from its large throat, scattering embers across the plains. If that wasn't enough, the heat from its scales were increasing, as indicated from how its scales were emanating in red heat, increasing the temperature of the area. Canalo knew, unless they do something about the heat, they won't be able to touch it, much less finishing it off. Seem like it was up to him.

"Let me handle the heat first." Canalo equipped the Mosa Breaker on the Mosa Changer. Loading the HieHieSoul in, he then aimed at Another Tyramigo "Let the power of blizzard pierce you! Final Blizzard Shot!"

The blast unleashed was similar to the ones of Final Thunder Shot but instead of gathering electricity, it was gathering the wind, converting it into ice. The ice swirled together into a sphere of sub-zero energy, before landing right into the monster's throat. The frostbite instantly spread across the entire body. While it didn't stop the monster itself from moving, it did stop it from emitting heat. Now that they were able to touch the beast, Towa and Geiz activated their finisher. Towa loaded a HayaSoul into the Calibur's slot while Geiz plugged in Faiz Ridewatch into the Zikan Jaclaw.

"Byun Dino Slash!"

"Zikan Jack! Faiz! Super Noko Setsuzan!"

The edge of the Calibur was enveloped in a cackling golden energy. Meanwhile, a red energy in the shape of a cone emerged underneath Another Tyramigo's jaws, spinning around like a drill. Raising their weapons above their head, they charged with a roar.

They moved in a split-second speed, as if they were teleporting, and immediately found themselves in front of the red energy cone before pushing Another Tyramigo upwards with a massive energy slash.

"Finish it, Woz!" Geiz shouted to the prophet, who had been waiting up in the air.

"Finaly! Beyond The Time! Sui-kin-chi-ka-moku-do-ten-kai Explosion!"

The eight planets emerged around Woz, spinning as they gathered into his sole, filling his right leg with cosmic energy. When Another Tyramigo was only a few meters away, he did a flip and threw out his right leg as an apparition of the Milky Way conjured at the bottom of his sole. Thrusting his leg onto the dinosaur, the impact created an explosion of white light, followed by twinkling stars scattering in the air, with Another Tyramigo nowhere to be seen. What could be seen though was a red ball of energy floating where Another Tyramigo was. It immediately flew away, heading somewhere.

"That was…" Towa stammered, not daring to hope.

"Tyramigo." Pii-tan finished for him as he and Oto joined the warriors "I could feel his soul. You guys saved him!"

Towa let out a sigh of relief as his transformation dissipated before crashing to the rocky ground. Canalo joined him, lowering his buttocks onto the ground with a pant. It has been a long day and all they wanted was to get back to their friends.

"SOUL!"

Oh, yeah. There's still that.

---

While the other party was occupied with Another Tyramigo, Sougo and Koh were having a hard time against Another Ryusoul Red, who was almost a different beast compared to the one they fought earlier, being able to engage both of them evenly.

Its swordplay that it 'inherited' from Koh's friends were something else. Every time one of them attacked, it would immediately parry before countering with its own. The swordplay was one problem but another thing Sougo had to keep an eye out was for its left arm. If it was to touch Koh with that, it's game over.

The same might happened to the Ryusoul Red Armor as well, which prompt Sougo to not use it yet. He considered using Zi-O II but knowing how powerful the form could be and how he still was not synchronized with Koh, he decided against it. Then it occurred to him, since Koh is a swordsman, perhaps he should match him there. A dino knight would have to get along with…

"Let's give you a try." Sougo took out the Ryuki Ridewatch, loading it in the left slot of the Ziku Driver.

"Rider Time! Kamen Rider Zi-O! Armor Time! Advent! Ryuki!"

A rectangular mirror matching him in height emerged from the ground. From it, the armor of Ryuki appeared and casted itself onto Sougo. A pair of dragon headpiece on the shoulder, some red armor pieces and a part of Ryuki's helmet merging with his owns as the name Ryuki replaced the word 'Rider' on the visor. To complete it, a gauntlet shaped similar to his shoulder-piece appeared on his left hand.

"Neat. Let's see what I can do." Sougo willed for the power of Ryuki to help him. A card appeared on his right hand. There was a drawing on it, a drawing of something Sougo quite familiar with. Thrilled with the power, Sougo drew open the slot on the gauntlet and inserted the card.

"Advent"

Out of nowhere, the red dragon Dragreder soared into the battle, shooting flames at Another Ryusoul Red upon entrance. The Another Ranger's reflex kicked in. It deflected all of the fireballs with its bone blade before lunging at the Mirror Monster. But Dragreder was faster. It flew around the Minusaur in a circle before biting it by the leg. It swung the Minusaur around, trying to get it to let go of its bone blade.

Unhappy of its current state, Another Ryusoul Red was quick to executing its plan. It channeled the power of OmoSoul from Asuna's Ryusoulken onto its bone blade, weighting it down to the ground, pulling the Mirror Monster along. Dragreder stubbornly held it firmly in its mouth, much to the Minusaur's annoyance. Thus, it channeled the power of DoshinSoul on the ground below it, sending blast of rocks towards Dragreder. Eventually, the Mirror Monster had to let go as the injuries it received forced it to leave the world.

"Sword Vent"

"Ryusoul! Awesome! IkeSoul!"

While Sougo was equipped with the Zikan Girade and DragSaber, Koh had the Max Ryusoul Changer loaded with OmoSoul and KataSoul, charging it up with a gold and blue aura. The two simultaneously struck the Minusaur, who was still recovering from its battle with Dragreder.

KTANG

The impact of the strike echoed throughout the area. Another Ryusoul Red seemed unfazed from it, much to their horror. It gritted its fang then proceeded to unleash a deafening roar, followed with a powerful electric shockwave.

"SOUL!" It bellowed as Sougo and Koh were blown away, rolling on the ground after crashing.

While they were dealing with that, Sougo noticed that he was not hearing anymore loud trashing. Glancing at the direction of his comrades, he was relieved to see they were victorious against Another Tyramigo. It seemed like the battle exhausted Towa and Canalo, seeing how they both were out of their suits. Geiz and Woz were fortunately still in theirs as they were joining him hastily.

"My king! Are you alright?" Woz worriedly ran to him.

"I'm fine, Woz. But this one, it's tougher than the ones we fought so far. Not even Koh's strongest form could damage it."

"I take it that's why you're not using the Ryusoul Red Ridewatch?" Geiz asked.

"That and I have a feeling it's not the right time yet."

"Well, then, my king. Perhaps we should use our strongest form, the Trinity?"

"…No. Let's wait for a bit."

While they did not fully grasp his decision, they chose to respect it. They knew full well how amazing Sougo's intuition could be even when it makes almost no sense. Meanwhile, Koh had gotten himself back up and charged the Minusaur, fighting carefully to avoid its deadly left arm. There were a few close calls, as he almost touched by its claw but he managed to perform well so far. Eventually, with Geiz and Woz joining in, the scale of the battle tipped to his side.

After a double assault from Sougo and Woz, the monster found itself unbalanced, creating an opening. Geiz immediately charged in and grabbed its left arm firmly before turning to Koh "Now's your chance!"

Koh took a stance, preparing the Max claw for a finisher. He loaded in the MeraMera and Doshin KyoRyuSoul into the the slot, before activating the finisher function.

"Fantastic! Super Ike Soul!"

"Give me back my friend! Everlasting Claw!" Koh roared, jumping into a corkscrew dive.

At that moment, it was as if time had stopped itself. If it wasn't for the fact that Swartz was still unconscious, it might as well been so. Nobody dared to make a move, worried that they might messed with Koh's momentum. Seeing how Geiz was doing a good job holding down Another Ryusoul Red, they believed that victory was at their side.

The Sougo realized it. A fatal blunder of their side.

"SOUL!" Another Ryusoul Red roared as its arm stretched around Geiz's body. Startled with the surprise attack, Geiz didn't get enough time to react as the arm activated its soul-absorption ability, robbing Geiz of his soul.

"Geiz!" Towa, who had been watching, cried out, despairing as he witnessed the body of his new friend crashing to the ground, his transformation came undone.

Koh could not stop his attack despite the horror of witnessing Geiz's fall. It was far too late for that anyway. Just before the claw could pierce the monster, Another Ryusoul Red raised its left palm in front of him, enveloping it in a powerful orange energy, powerful enough to stop Koh from moving, effectively cancelling his Everlasting Claw. Then, without making a move, the Minusaur released the energy on its palm, blowing Koh away. Geiz's lifeless body was also caught in the attack but Woz was quick to save him.

While Woz had Geiz, Sougo went to check on the red knight, who was lying on the ground weakly "Koh!"

Koh was fortunately still in his transformation but was choking for air "I'm fine. I'm fine."

The silver and gold color on the arm of Another Ryusoul Red mutated from the new addition of Geiz's soul. Orange and blue pieces replaced the gold and silver respectively. Scales gathered together pass the elbows part, forming its own Max Claw which color scheme was a mixture of Gouretsu and Shippu. It raised its newly-made claw and in a blazing speed, it assaulted both Koh and Sougo as it roared "SOUL!"

"Gah!" The attack, a combination of Geiz Revive's dual power, easily knocked them out of their transformation as they were blown to opposite direction. Fortunately, Woz came in with the save using his gravity power to stop them mid-air, before slowly levitating them to the ground. Sougo, despite his own injuries, was worried of Koh's well-being, wondering if the monster had taken the red knight's soul "Koh?"

"I'm fine!" Koh waved back, slowly bringing himself to stand "I could feel it touching me. Why didn't it steal my soul?"

"I have no need for them now."

Terrifying everyone in the area, Another Ryusoul Red spoke more "With the addition of Myokoin Geiz's powerful soul, I was able to become powerful enough that I can afford to give up yours."

"You bastard…" Towa said from the other side of battlefield "Let go of them now!"

"I should add, those three are at the edge of losing themselves to me. I think it's better if you accept their fate and move on…"

"ENOUGH!"

Koh, despite his wobbling body, his eyes were burning with fury. A fury so intense that even Sougo couldn't help but flinched. While he had witnessed his ferocity earlier, something about this moment was standing out. This was a man who had his limit broken, a man who was about to lose everything.

"Melt. Asuna. Bamba. I can hear them… They're still fighting… And not just them… the RyusoulKen and Geiz too… They're counting me…"

"You can absorb as many souls as you want but don't even for a second think that they will give in to you, that you can make them your own…"

"If I give in now… I'll be betraying their faith… and that's the last thing I will do!"

He drew out the Max Ryusoul Changer, ready for another round "Let's go, Sougo!"

Sougo, despite the aching across his body, found himself laughing. Something about this man was exciting him. Gone was his hesitation to use the Ryusoul Red Ridewatch, as he held it up firmly, his soul burning with chivalry. Before they could proceed to transform again, Pii-Tan hastily flew to Koh, with the Ryusoul Calibur held by its foot.

"Here, Koh!" It called before throwing the Calibur at Koh, who caught it while his eyes still burningly locked at Another Ryusoul Red "Show that impostor what's being Ryusoulger is all about!"

Sougo and Koh gave each other's a look of acknowledgment and they simultaneously performed the transformation sequence. While Koh's remained the same as usual, Sougo's was a little different as he also loaded the Ryusoul Red Ridewatch on the left slot.

"Max Ryusoul Change!"

"Henshin!"

"Max Que bom! Max, Max! Max, Max! ~Oh! Max!" The Armor of Max emerged, as blazing waves of soul energy blasted through the clearing. Koh got into his battle stance, the Max Claw thrusted in front while the Ryusoul Calibur was raised upward behind him.

"Rider Time! Kamen Rider Zi-O!" As Sougo's suit was casted on, the energy of time conjured an apparition of armors. The armor resembled the KyoRyuSoul armors, with the head of Tyramigo on the right shoulder and RyusoulKen's headpiece on the left. The faceplate and the chest-plate's pattern were similar to Ryusoulger's suits. Its colors alternated between red and silver.

"Armor Time!" The suit equipped itself on Sougo, fitting perfectly on him as Latino music being played. Once the equipping was finished, the Ziku Driver announced the name of the power "Ryu So Cool! Ryusoul Red!"

Bathe under the light of the sunset, Zi-O Ryusoul Red Armor shined on its arrival. On his right hand, Sougo was holding a RyusoulKen of his own while on his left, the RideHeisaber. Taking the stance of a dual-wielding swordsman, he was very much ready.

"Iwae!" Woz declared, startling the Ryusoulgers next to him "On this very special day, our demon king, Tokiwa Sougo, the inheritor of all Heisei Rider powers, has acquired himself a very special, one of a kind power that is the Ryusoul Red Armor! Truly, this day will leave a burning mark in history!"

Another Ryusoul Red finally showed a bit of fear. It brought itself into a stance that was mimicking Ryusoul Red's. With the Gouretsu/Shippu Claw upfront and its bone blade raised in the air, it prepared itself for battle.

Koh and Sougo circled the monster, seeking for an opening. But Another Ryusoul Red positioned itself in a manner that protected it from every direction. Koh made the first move, charging at Another Ryusoul Red with a roar.

Another Ryusoul Red had foreseen this. With Shippu's speed, it brought itself behind Koh and attempted to attack him with its blade. Unfortunately for it, Koh expected that and block the attack by bringing the Calibur to his back. Swiftly, he parried the bone blade with a zest, surprising the monster. While the Minusaur's attention was occupied, it didn't notice Sougo preparing an attack.

"MawariSoul!"

"Hey! Drive!"

Sougo swung the two blades, unleashing a barrage of Shift Tires that whirled around intensely, generating a massive whirlwind made of Max Flare, Funky Spike and Midnight Shadow's energy. The tri-colored whirlwind then made its way to Another Ryusoul Red, who was pushed into the whirlwind by Koh. Trapped in the whirlwind, the Minusaur could only cried in pain as it struggled to escape.

"SOUL!" The monster roared, as it released a wave of energy to cancel out the whirlwind. It made a mistake of doing so when it was far up in the air as it had no control of its body's fall. Not wasting their chance, Koh leaped at it. He loaded in a TsuyoSoul and a MawariSoul into the Max claw, charging it with a white and cyan energy "Ryusoul! Awesome!"

He swung the claw at the direction of Another Ryusoul Red, sending a his own whirlwind towards it. The wind blew the monster higher into the sky, trapping it in a more unbalanced state. It immediately saved itself by activating the OmoSoul's power, crashing itself down to the ground. Unfortunately, Sougo was already preparing his next move.

"BiriBiriSoul!"

"Hey! Blade!"

While Sougo held his two blades in a dual-wielding stance, electricity began charging the two swords. Once the charge began to leak out with sparks, Sougo swung both of them at once, discharging a pair of thunder crescents that merged in the mid of its journey to form a cross. When the lightning cross touched Another Ryusoul Red, it unleashed a massive of electric discharge, so painful that the beast gave out the loudest roar it has given in its life

"GUAAAARGH!"

And thus, Another Ryusoul Red crashed to the ground without being able to make a proper landing, adding more pain. Koh went forward with the power of DoshinSoul and KataSoul loaded into the claw, he thrusted it into the ground below him, filling it with a green/blue energy "Amazing! Ike-IkeSoul!"

Pillars of rock protruded from the ground surrounding the Minusaur. Koh pressed the ground harder, making the pillars gathered at the center where Another Ryusoul Red was. The huddling hardened pillars of rock crashing on it again and again, adding more piles to its suffering. When the pillars finally stopped, Another Ryusoul Red was already wobbly from the damages it received so far. As it shakily brought itself to stand, Sougo was already waiting for it.

"FueSoul!"

"Hey! Double!"

A duplicate of Zi-O emerged next to Sougo. In synch, the two Zi-Os slashed Another Ryusoul Red together. The original Sougo's blades enveloped itself in a purplish energy while the copy had his in a greenish windy one. After their sword then shifted to a different energy, with the original's having his edges shining in silver while the copy glowed in red, emitting intense heat. After some more slashing, their sword shifted again. The original turned to blue while the copy's turned to yellow.

"Up you go!" The copy thrusted his yellow blade into Another Ryusoul Red's torso, which lodged it inside firmly. Then, he stretched the edge, pushing the monster to a rock. The original then followed with a thrust of his owns, sending a piercing blue energy into the monster which shattered more of its armor. The duplicate then disappeared, leaving Sougo and Koh to finish the abomination.

"Curse you…" It growled slowly, its right arm was holding the stabbed part. The monster was now almost naked, with most of its armor gone, exposing much of its dark-colored flesh, with some of the red scales here and there. The only thing that remained intact was its silver arm, and even that thing has lost its shine from the battle.

The Ryusoulgers were at the edge seeing the battle. Their hope were raised again seeing how close to victory the Sougo and Koh were. Otou however noticed how Woz didn't seemed as elated.

"What's wrong, Woz-san?"

"I'm trying to avoid from being too excited. This is not the first time Another Ryusoul Red has been pushed to the corner of defeat."

Towa heavily accepted his point "You're not wrong. Having the souls of Nii-san and the others probably toughened it up."

This statement brought something to Otou's mind "Say, that Minusaur is in touch with everyone's quirks, right?"

"I believe so."

"Huh, I wonder…"

Meanwhile, Sougo and Koh were ready to put an end to this battle.

"Should we finish this, Koh?"

"Yeah, Let's go!"

Koh took out the Max Ryusoul from the claw and loaded it into the Calibur. Activating the power of Max inside the Calibur, the edge of the sacred blade enveloped itself in an overloading gold and white energies as it announced the power inside it "Max Ryusoul! Maximum Dino Slash!"

Then something strange happened. Next to Koh, another charge of energies was gathering, forming a figure of a knight whose armor was similar to the ones worn by Koh at the moment. Koh glanced at the figure with a bit of a surprise but was excited nevertheless.

Towa realized who the figure was "Nada…"

The spirit of Nada nodded at Koh. Koh felt a surge of confidence rushing through him now that even Nada's himself has joined in the fight. Sougo on the other hand didn't fully grasp what was happening but went along with it. He spun the Ziku Driver, activating the finisher.

"Que Bom Time Break!"

With a grunt, Sougo raised the Ryusoulken and lowered the Heisaiber in a parallel vertical angle. The RyusoulKen was enveloped in silver energies while Heisaber had red. The energies spread across Sougo's body and when they met, it shifted to form an apparition of Tyramigo's head over Sougo's body, as it roared with power.

Another Ryusoul Red didn't want to lose. It gave out its own roar as it channeled all of its remaining energies into its left arm, charging it with blazing red energies similar to the ones on his opponents' blades. The energy sparked intensely, bursting out orange and blue embers around the monster's left arm.

Once again, it was a Mexican stand-off. Both sides took a stance as they waited to catch the opposing side off-guard. One hasty move and it could mean utter defeat.

"Hey, you rip-off!"

From behind Sougo and Koh, Otou was suddenly shouting. She was frustrated, perhaps out of being helpless to lend a hand the whole time "You stole other people's souls, why!? Is it because you're empty on the inside!?"

Unsure of what was happening, the three grown-ups around her, plus Pii-tan, were clueless on what to do. Stop her? She seemed like she would bite them if they try. Canalo tried to get her to be quiet but before he could even say something, Otou gave her a glare before turning back to the Minusaur.

"You're the most pathetic Minusaur I've ever seen! Your power isn't even your own! You sucks!" She taunted. Someway, somehow, the taunt seemed to be working as the monster twitched from each of the insults. Koh was about to tell Otou to not continue, but stopped when Sougo nudged him, hinting for him to let it go on.

"If you're even as much as a man you believe you are, I dare you to come at me! That's right, you won't because you're actually a coward! I bet Koh-san and Sougo-san intimidate you, so much you can barely make a move! You-you bootleg!"

Apparently that was the last straw as Another Ryusoul Red let out its most furious roar yet. With the speed of Shippu, it lunged towards Oto, its claw shining intensely with the power of Gouretsu. Unfortunately for it, that move turned out to be fatal as Koh and Sougo took the chance of its exposed back.

Koh went on first. With the spirit of Nada moving in synch with him, Koh made a vertical swing. From the swing, the energy on the edge of the Calibur was discharged. The spirit of Nada mimicked him, causing two dash of energy to charge towards Another Ryusoul Red. The charging energy guided itself to crash towards the Minusaur and when it did, it held the monster static when it was only a meter away from Oto and the rest. Rendered immobile, Another Ryusoul Red could only stand there as the intense pain of Koh's attack prevent it from moving.

"Now, Sougo!" Koh shouted, signaling for Sougo to proceed with his finisher.

"So Cool Dino Slash!" Sougo yelled, launching himself towards Another Ryusoul Red as he was enveloped in the apparition of Tyramigo's head. He increased more space between the two swords, making it like the head of Tyramigo was widening its mouth for one huge bite. Finally, when he made it to the monster, he closed the space, bringing the two blades together by tearing Another Ryusoul Red to half.

He faced a bit of resistant as his blades tried to tear through the Minusaur's flesh but it didn't take him too long to progress. The tearing became deeper and deeper as Sougo forced for the blades to push in, causing Minus Energies to leak out, bubbling all over them. Finally, the two swords met at the center, where the Ridewatch was also located.

As the edges collided with the watch, sparks blast around. The Ridewatch tried to counter the push by unleashing waves of Minus Energies, hoping to reform Another Ryusoul Red or at least to push Sougo away. But Sougo was not giving in. With a cry of power, he kept on pushing until a crack emerged on the watch. A little bit more, he told himself.

"GRAAAAAH!" With one last cry, Sougo exhausted all of his remaining energy and finally, the two edges collided with each other, breaking the Ridewatch to half in the process. The broken watch fell to the ground, no longer giving out Minus Energy but instead, dozens of colored spheres were blasted out of the Ridewatch. Sougo realized those were the stolen Souls as he watched it flying away from the clearing, likely heading back to its hosts.

Sougo panted from the immense workload he had gone through. His arms were wobbling from the excruciating amount of swordplay. He admitted, it was nice to be able to wield the swords like an actual swordsman, but the aching in his arms made it almost not worth it. His Rider form finally worn off and he was about to fall to the ground face-first if it wasn't for Woz being so quick to catch him.

"Thanks Woz. I don't think I want to use my arms for a while…"

"But of course, my king. I am more than happy to feed you if you want to."

Sougo slowly, achingly, turned to Koh, who was also out of his Ranger form, now being surrounded by his friends who were clamoring him with praises.

"You did it, Koh!"

"Just what I expect from you, man."

"We couldn't have done it if it wasn't for Otou being so brave. How did you know taunting it would work?" Koh asked, impressed with the princess' boldness.

"Well, since the Minusaur absorb everything from the souls it steal, I figure that's also include all the bad things. Then I remember how sensitive Asuna-san could be about herself, so I had to try."

"Otou, why didn't you tell us? I swear, my heart probably stopped every time you spoke!" Canalo scolded.

"Sorry, it was the heat of the moment…"

"Now, now. We're all fine, right? That's what matter the most." Koh stepped in, holding the two siblings reassuringly despite his exhaustion pushing him down.

When Koh mentioned the word 'we', it occurred to Sougo to check on Geiz. Turning where his body was, he was relieved to see Geiz waking up from his comatose state, rubbing his head as he groaned "God, what happened?"

"Geiz!"

Surprisingly, it wasn't just Sougo who said it. He caught Towa running towards the future warrior, grabbing him by the shoulder to assure his condition to be well.

"Did we win?" Geiz asked, his expression still blurry from waking up.

"We did. Koh and Sougo were amazing."

"Yeah, I sort of remember seeing that from Another Ryusoul Red's eyes. That bastard has been torturing your teammates by making them watch it fighting with their power."

"Wait, you met my brother?"

"Briefly. Him and the other two were very strong. They have been fighting to keep themselves from being completely absorbed."

The statement gave the rest of the Ryusoulger a huge relief. Knowing that their friends were saved gave them the liberty to lie down. Even Sougo could not help but to join in, lying down on the ground with a huge grin.

Then he saw the crack on the sky.

A huge crack, akin to the ones you may found on a broken glass. If that wasn't weird enough, it was also showing something from the opposite side. But what terrified Sougo the most was what on the other side was; a giant of red, purple and silver was fighting some kind of an eldritch horror in the midst of a dark ocean.

Then more cracks appeared around them. There was one showing a warrior of blue fighting an army of one-eyed mooks with the power of dragons. A metal warrior traversing the space on a blue dragon robot. A squadron of futuristic fire fighters, more characters resembling the colorful giants earlier, some more Sentai warriors and even giant robots.

"Woz…" Sougo could only stutter from the terrifying sights. Even Woz seemed distraught from what was happening.

"What the heck is going on!?" Pii-tan asked, flying around in panic. Nobody could give him an answer as they were too overwhelmed with what was happening.

Fortunately, Woz was the first to get himself together "My king, may I see the Ryusoul Red Ridewatch?"

Sougo shakily grabbed the watch from his pocket and passed it to Woz, who began to fumble it around. The widening of his eyes didn't relax Sougo in the slightest "No date… I'm sorry, Ryusoulgers. If I might ask, what is the date today?"

"Huh? It's the 20th of January…" Canalo answered, confounded with the random question.

"The year?"

"…2020?"

"Hold on, January 2020? That can't be right." Sougo chimed in "It's supposed to be the June of 2019."

Woz figured it out immediately "I see what's going on. The space-time rift is much worse than we thought. It appears that it has merged two worlds of different timelines."

"I don't quite get it, but I take it that's bad?" Towa asked.

"The worst. As you might see here, when an imperfect world merging occurs, it damages the walls that separate the different worlds from each other. If nothing is done, we might end up bringing all the problems from different worlds together into one place."

"Well, how do we stop it then?" Koh asked, ready to do what's necessary, despite his exhaustion.

"We need to destroy this watch." Woz raised the Ryusoul Red Ridewatch for everyone to see "You can say that it's sort of a glue that's holding the two worlds together at the moment. Remove it from existence and we might be save. But I'm afraid that's quite impossible at the moment seeing how only Koh-san could do it. And clearly, he's not in the state of fighting anymore."

Koh tried to argue but his body was not supporting him. He could barely move his arms anymore. It was clear that he had no choice but to sit this one out "There has to be another way, right?"

"Well, if we have something that shares your power, then we might have a-"

"KOH!"

The familiar scruffy voice brought joy to the Ryusoulger. Turning towards it, they were joyful to see Tyramigo running towards them. Even the Riders were happy to see him, seeing how they have found the solution to their problem…

---

"I see. So all I need to do is destroy this, right-tyra?"

"Indeed. Seeing how you and Koh are tied to one another, you're the only one who can do this now. Just a bite from that massive jaw of yours and everything will be fine." Woz explained as he placed the Ridewatch at the tip of Tyramigo's enormous jaw "Well, if you wish to say goodbye, now's the time. Once the Ridewatch is broken, it's likely we might never see each other again."

The air turned somber. Both parties looked at each other with a mixture of sadness and admiration, hoping to capture each other's face one last time.

Otou approached Woz excitedly "Say, Woz-san! How do I do that iwae thing you do just now? I kind of want to try to do it to my friend!"

"You're going to do it to me too, right Otou?" Canalo asked.

"Get your own hype man." Pii-tan teased.

Woz could only chuckle at the little princess' excitement "All you need to do is believe in the greatness of your friend and you'll know what to say."

While Otou was being tutored by the prophet, Geiz and Towa were having their own bro moment.

"Really hope we could have more time. I would love to have a spar with you." Towa expressed.

"Likewise. We've seen how well Ridewatch and RyuSoul could work with each other. How do they stand against one another though ought to be more interesting…" Geiz chuckled "Also, tell your brother and the other two they have my respect."

"I will. You know, I do wonder how you and Nii-san would interact. You two are quite similar actually."

"How?"

"I don't know. Something about the air that you two give off."

As Towa tried to figure out how to explain his point, Koh and Sougo were enjoying the sight. Seeing their friends getting along warmed their hearts. At the same time, tragic, seeing how short the moment was.

"We'll see each other again." Sougo said "I don't know, I guess I just have a good feeling about it."

"Well, consider the feeling to be mutual." Koh nodded to the future king. Then, his expression turned to those of wonder "Say, how exactly do you intend to change your future?"

"… With my friends helping me, I guess."

"… I see. That's nice."

"Tell you what, when I do become a great and kind king, how about you and your friends come and serve me as my knights?"

"Consider it a promise."

With that being said, the two of them gave each other a fist-bump, a solemn sign of brotherhood. Once everyone was done, they turned to Tyramigo, who has been watching the whole thing patiently.

"Bite now?"

"Wait!" Sougo cried. He then proceeded to pat Tyramigo's snout for a bit "Whoa. Sorry, I just had to touch your partner even once. He is so cool."

The sudden and random act brought the Ryusoulger group to laugh, with Woz joining in with a chuckle. Geiz wasn't so impressed "Really?"

"Come on Geiz, you know you want to."

Geiz, unable to hold himself, joined Sougo with a sigh. Patting Tyramigo's body, he was impressed to find how tough the exterior of the Kishiryu was "Okay, fine. This is cool."

"Thank you! Bite now?"

"Well, see ya." Sougo nodded to Koh, who gave him a thumb up in return. Tyramigo, with a mighty grunt, pressed his fangs on the Ridewatch strongly, cracking it until it shattered. When the Ridewatch broke, an explosion of light was released from it, blinding them for a moment.

Once the light dissipated, the Riders were gone, and so were the cracks. The only thing was left was the dirt and blood on themselves and the wrecking they have done to the bay. Also Kreon, who was still there for some reason.

"… Well, see ya?" He shrugged before he leaving. The Ryusoulgers were too exhausted to care at that point. They'll take care of him some other day.

"Let's go home."

---

"How could you guys left me at home!?"

Despite having just faced what might be one of their toughest enemies yet, nothing prepared the boys from the wrath of Tsukuyomi, who clearly did not appreciate being left behind.

"Sorry, we know you've been exhausting yourself after the whole trip with Tsukasa, and Woz did rush us out…" Sougo trailed off, glancing at Woz who was stunned by his lord's betrayal.

"Look, you don't miss much. I mean, I did lose my soul for a bit." Geiz regretted adding the last part almost immediately when he caught Tsukuyomi's expression turning much more frustrated.

"Now, now, Tsukuyomi-kun. We are truly sorry about this. But going ballistic on us would not change what happened. Wouldn't it be better if we just move on from this now?" Woz reasoned. Thankfully, his words convinced Tsukuyomi who sighed exasperatedly.

"Fine. Come on, Sougo. Let's treat those arms of yours. But you better fill me in on everything."

"Of course! You won't believe what we went through today! We met the Ryusoulger, fought a-"

"YOU WHAT!?"

And the tense air returned. This time, Tsukuyomi's expression was the ones of disbelief rather than fury. She turned to Geiz, who was just as confused as Sougo, then to Woz, who suddenly found the clocks around the store to be interesting.

"Geiz, you of all people should know who they are!?"

"Tsukuyomi, I barely know about the Legend Riders. Why would I be bothered to learn about some other-world heroes?"

"I don't know, maybe because they're the ones who started the whole Resistance thing?"

The statement left both Sougo and Geiz speechless. Hoping for come clarification, they turned to Woz, who finally gave in and opened his book, looking for the answers they wish for.

"In 2021, the immense power of Ohma Zi-O began to seep through the other multiverse. The Super Sentai, being one of the first universes to be affected, took a proactive action and tried to put an end on his highness' reign. Led by the Ryusoulger, whom had previously made contact with the demon king in 2020, they dragged his highness Ohma Zi-O on a full-blown war which ended with a glorious victory for our great demon king. While the Super Sentai warriors were all wiped out from existence, their spirit remained, inspiring warriors on every multiverse to fight on. The Resistance being one of them."

None of them have any idea on how to react to the sudden revelation. Woz broke the silence first "I decided it was better for me to keep it to myself until we have everything sorted out. I hope you forgive me, my king."

"It's okay. I get it." Sougo reassured him. He took a deep breath, trying to swallow the fact slowly. Once he did, he gave out a small smile "I guess this means we just have to work harder to make sure that future never comes to be, right?"

The way he declared that was almost absent-minded but somehow, filled with determination. His companions could only give him a small smile, having used to how casual Sougo could be with his choices.

"Well, I guess that's that. Uncle, What's for dinner!?"

---

Things were much more hectic in the Tatsui's household, with cheering and tears being thrown around.

As usual, Asuna was giving Koh her signature aggressive hug, shaking him up and down "Koh! I know you'll come through!"

Fortunately, Koh had grown to it "I tried my best. I'm just happy to see you guys are fine."

Meanwhile, Melt and Otou were having their own moment, as the young princess was giving the Knight of Wisdom her own not-as-painful hug "I'm glad you're alright."

"All thanks to you, Otou. I saw what happened. You were very brave."

The compliment turned Otou's face red. While Melt was not comfortable with it, he let it slide, knowing how important the moment was to Otou.

Even Bamba and Towa were in on the moments. While they did not hug, there was a warm moment between the two brothers as Bamba gave his brother a pat on the shoulder "You've done well. I don't think I could have used the Ryusoul Calibur any better."

"Don't say that. We haven't even seen you try it yet. By the way, Geiz told me to tell you this; he thinks you're awesome."

"Ah, thank you. I wish I could have met him in a better scenario. He seemed like he would make a good sparring partner."

"I bet he will."

While everyone had each other, Canalo was left out, watching the entire thing with Tyramigo and Pii-tan. He didn't want to intrude in any of these moments, but he did wish he has someone to be with. Then, he felt a little nudge on his shoulder. It was Ui who had came from the kitchen.

"If you don't have anything to do, you can help me prepare the dinner. I made burger steak."

"Ui… I-"

"Please don't. Now come on and help me set the table."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Eventually, dinner began with everyone, even Towa and Bamba joining. They ate as they talked, recounting the battle. It was a joyous night, as if the entire day had been nothing but a short nightmare. All is well now, and that's what mattered to them…

---

Any criticism is welcomed