Despair. Nothing but the rawest, more pure form of despair ran through the veins of General James Ironwood. He had been thoroughly beaten, destroyed by everyone who could think to beat him back. Perhaps, he deserved it for his brutal methods. He had done much he had regretted in the name of saving Atlas, but some lives would be lost anyways in the war against Salem. It did not matter who fell, so long as Atlas survived.

That was all just a simple dream, now, off in the distance never to be heard again. It was all gone now, an empty loneliness akin to the captain going down with his ship. Ironwood laughed to himself, dry and dead as the world began to rumble around him. This was going to be it. First, Beacon had fallen all of those years ago. And now Atlas would fall, so many dead and gone between Salem and his own actions.

That's when he saw it. The moment he accepted his likely earned fate…

Two shoes. Business in design. He had seen the type worn by many of the greedy Atlesian elite. And suddenly, out of nowhere, someone appeared like a savior riding in on horseback. Of course, in this case his savior was dressed less like your typical huntsman and more like the type one would seek pushing pencils. Dress shoes, tan pants, a white button up shirt, a tweed jacket, all of it wrapped up with a bow tie around his neck. He was the type that Ironwood would smack after he noticed what was on his face.

"I can save your world, you know." It was the smirk of a businessman, well suited and ready to strike a deal in the worst possible hour. The sudden appearance of such a man, however, was confusing enough to nearly cause the fallen general to draw his weapon and fire. All was lost. That was the sole thought running through his head, a string of fate cut and falling into nothingness. "It's the truth… What do you have to lose, general?"

"H… How? Nothing can… Nothing can stop them…" Ironwood's despair was palpable, thick in the air like a muggy smog filling the empty cavern.

"Perhaps… Or perhaps, you can. All I ask is that you allow me to use this place for… my own means. I understand time is of the essence, and I shall reveal more in due time." The man smiled again, a pseudo look on genuineness that only a masterful liar could capture. "I'll save your world, if you give me just a moment of your time afterwards. How about it?"

The tan-suited man crouched over to Ironwood, handing the fallen Atlesian a card printed on high quality stock, accentuated by gold trim and a black and white border. Additionally, there was an inked pen along with it.

"This is your Desire Card. In exchange for one small meeting, I'll grant you any wish that your heart desires…"

"Any… Anything? I can save Atlas… No I can… I can save Remnant?!" Ironwood's eyes grew wide in shock, as he nearly crushed the Desire Card in his hands. He hadn't lost! In his final moments, he had been granted a second chance. Perhaps, it was his will to save everyone, no matter the cost, that he had been given this heavenly opportunity. It did not take long for his hand to begin moving, scribbling his greatest wish onto what he had been given.

The suited man gave another professional looking smile, retrieving the card from Ironwood's hands as he finished writing:

~A world where Salem does not exist.~

- James Ironwood

"What a wonderful wish!" His smile grew wider, as he extended his arms to help the fallen man to his feet. "I thank you for giving me some of your time, General Ironwood. However, first thing's first, let us get to saving your world… Shall we?"

"Anything… Anything for Remnant!"

First came the sound of bells, like those ringing in the ruins of an old cathedral. Second, came the world glowing brightly, through the shadows of those falling, bringing them back up into the world. Ultimately, there was nothing. And finally, there was something again.

Ruby Rose felt as though she had been born to do nothing more than bear the burdens of Remnant. She fought for eternity, wishing to save as many as she could from the eternal hell that the witch, Salem, sought to press upon them all. One day… One day something had occurred. The day it had happened, it felt like she was in some form of a nightmare. It had started with traumatic horrors that one could only dream of within the deepest depths of the mind, and she felt like… she had been falling into nothingness. Her happiness stripped away from her, forever gone to return nevermore.

Something was wrong. That was the first thing that ran through the seventeen year old's mind as her eyes shot wide open from the depths of her unconscious mind. Falling. That was was she had felt, dropping lifelessly into the nothingness below her crashing to death. Oh… Had she died? No, she could feel herself physically existing, and… a familiar ceiling sat right above her line of sight.

Panic. She sat up quickly, looking at the room around her. Much to her confusion, it was all extremely familiar to her, albeit tucked away in the recesses of her memory. The two bunked beds, one of which was hastily thrown together, was all she needed as proof that this was her old Beacon dorm room from nearly two years prior. A dream, perhaps? Beacon was long abandoned, and even if she had somehow ended up back in Vale, then she was certain that the fallout of the academy's fall would still have blocked the light out of the sky.

Beacon was nothing more than a testament to the power and cruelty of Salem's cabal.

Leaning slightly over her bed, she checked below to see a sleeping Weiss, as she once was back when she first enrolled at the academy. For a moment, the memories flooded back of those days when it felt like Weiss was a completely different person as to whom she was now. It made her smile slightly, the halcyon days of her first days at Beacon and when they eventually crumbled to nothing at the Vytal Festival.

The Vytal…

Her eyes darted down to the other beds, where Yang and Blake both laid deep in their own slumber. Blake was still wearing her ribbon, even asleep… Ruby was smart enough to know that was not a great sign for whatever was occurring. The last thing she would need to check up on was…

Silently, Ruby got to the floor of the dorm room, trying to make sure that no one would be woken up by her actions. One last thing to check, as she made her way to Yang's bed, an action that was easier said than done. On the opposite top bunk, her sleeping sister slept peacefully, something that was easier said than done during Ironwood's military takeover of Atlas, and subsequent abandonment of Mantle.

"Hngg…." Yang's violet eyes fluttered open slowly, not liking the fact that light was entering in so early in the morning. Her "Hey, sis… What's wrong?"

Her voice was tired, but not in the way that all of them had gotten over the years. Yang was simply the normal kind of tired that someone was when they did not get enough sleep. Ruby was not sure why, but something stirred in her. Something primal, as raw as the sparkling silver of her eyes. It was screaming at her that this? This was wrong.

"Run." Is what she heard deep down in the cracks of her mind. Perhaps her brain was still fighting Neo on that bridge, preparing for its eternal fall into nothingness.

"Hey, Ruby!" Yang shot up, her big sister instincts going on full blast.

So Ruby did what she had to do. She ran. Yang could do little as she watched her little sister's Semblance flare to life, confusion and shock blasting through Ruby's body and mind like a bolt of lightning in her skin. Yang had her arm. Yang had her arm. It couldn't have been… No, Yang should not have had an arm. It was the biggest sticking point for her older sister after the Fall. Her muscle memory of the old dorm room had her quickly changing into what she assumed were her old clothes, once worn in the time of relative peace.

Ruby's Semblance granted her a unique burst of speed and maneuverability that most would dream to have. While it did leave her defenseless, it was easy to curl out of the essential bullet she turned into. For moments she was lost in the panic, leaving Beacon's immediate area.

"I don't get it… I don't get this!" Ruby said to herself, coming to a full stop out in the city of Vale. Now this was a blast from the past, if anything, Ruby thought to herself. Looking around she could see that the city was preparing for the Vytal Festival.

"Did… Did I really travel back in time?" Ruby looked down at her hands, not callused or worn in any possible way. They lacked the build of an older huntress, one that had stared down impossible odds again and again. A reflective sheen of a window showed a Ruby whose body was young, yet wore two eyes that were far too old. "B-But that can't be right… Oh what did he say? That it would be bad for us to fall?"

She had indeed fallen off of the bridge that connected Mantle to Vacuo, an escape that would likely go down for the ages… If she had been there.

"Not quite." A voice said, shaking Ruby from beyond as she quickly hopped around and made a small vocalization in fear. Before her was a taller man dressed completely in heavy black clothing, complete with a trench coat. Over top his face was a hood and mask combination, one half white and the other half red, obscuring his identity. "Time has been rewritten, Ms. Rose. A new fight will soon begin, without the witch."

"W-Who are you? Why do you know my name?" Ruby backed up a bit, her silver eyes brimming with distrust. Her morning had been some sort of living nightmare of flashing back to her dead past, and a part of her continued to wonder if she was living in a dreamworld. Perhaps she had died when she fell, and this was some sort of eternal torment? To see and live a world that could have been, all while she knew people on the outside were getting hurt and dying to Salem's horrible plans. But… now she could only wonder if all that time was just some horrible nightmare?

"Congratulations, Ms. Rose." The man in the mask said, pulling out a box from his cloak. It was yellow and black metal, with a question mark on the top of it. His voice was eerie, obviously being modulated by some sort of device, likely hiding inside of that odd mask he used to hide his identity. "After careful consideration, you have been selected as one of our first contestants. Starting today, you will be a Kamen Rider."

"A… A what?" Ruby raised an eyebrow, still distrusting but slightly intrigued by what this meant. With somewhat curious eyes, the teenager watched as the man opened the box, revealing a small black-and-grey belt buckle with a circular indentation on the front. Sitting next to it was a small circular item with what looked like a wolf's head on it, red and black… just like her.

"Listen, I don't… I don't get what this is, guy, but I really don't want anything to do with it." Ruby said, backing up slightly, only for the man to step forward and hand the box to her. A part of her wanted to step back again, to run away back to whatever fake like she had woken up in. Yet… Something was drawing her to that little circular item with the wolf's head on it. It was calling out to her, drawing her in like a magnet does metal.

Her hands moved almost on autopilot, grabbing the small little circular item and the belt. When her finger tip grabbed the circle, it sparked alive with red-lightning. That's when she glowed a bright crimson color, before it turned black and suddenly Ruby felt as though all of her doubts had been washed away, and when her eyes darted down to her clothing… They resembled what she wore in Atlas. A quick move of her hand to hair was all she needed for the confirmation she desired, wildly out of place as it should have been.

"W… Wait, I don't… get it. These are my Atlas clothes…" Ruby was buzzing slightly happy, her voice a bit more strained as it should have been. While anyone would have been less than enthused to seemingly age forward, Ruby needed it more than anything. She could feel it in her bones, that she was herself as she knew she should be. Not as she once was.

"A present from us to you… To make you more comfortable." The masked man pointed to the small item again. "That ID Core… Place it in the center of that belt when you are ready, as well as placing it around your waist. We will be gathering soon, Ms. Rose." He remained silent for a moment…

"Remember what I said.." His voice remained emotionless, vague and tired. "This world is free of the witch… Her history erased."

Turning around, he fell back into the shadows of an alleyway. Not wanting to lose him, as many questions raced back into her head, she made chase.

"Wait, hold on a second! You know… You know?! I need to…" The man was gone, somehow, melting into the darkness of the world behind him. He had known about Salem, something none of her teammates or friends had ever heard of… If Salem didn't exist, then… That's why things were different. A world without Salem would mean none of her life's most important, and horrific experiences ever happened. It was too much to take in all at once.

"Great… Everything I went through, was it… was it for nothing? What even is all this? ID Core? Ugh, why can't anything ever just be straightforward for me!?" Ruby stomped her foot onto the ground in frustration. "And I have to put it in… in here?"

With slightly trembling hands, she took the small wolf-like ID Core and slid it into place on the empty hole in front.

ENTRY

The odd voice made her jump a bit, though the belt seemed more complete now that it had its middle core filled in. No time to waste, Ruby simply accepted her fate. There was no way that waking up in Vale, in Beacon of all places, was not unrelated to the odd masked man. From her older sister still having her arm, Blake still hiding her Faunus heritage, Weiss would still be haughty and closed off, and, not to mention, if her theory was correct then Professor Ozpin would be alive and well and not absorbing Oscar's soul meant all of this had to be connected. With a deep breath, Ruby shoved down her fears and placed the belt around her waist, causing her to vanish as though she were using her Semblance.

It was instantaneous, within the flash of a single blink, Ruby found herself in a completely different location, far away from where she had been prior. In her sights were now a brightly lit sky, clouds in front of her, and an endless pit beneath her. Turning around, she could see other people standing before her, all rumbling and chatting with one another. Like herself, all of them wore belts with the small ID Cores in the center, though all of them differed in design and color.

"Where is this?"

"I don't know!"

"Did anyone else see that odd girl?"

"Girl? Lucky. Mine was some guy in a mask!"

Ruby examined her surroundings, unlikely to let anyone get her near falling again. If her past was the genuine article, and not a fever dream brought upon by stress, then the leader of Team RWBY had not wished to be pushed to her death ever again. Her bright silver eyes scanned the people around her, many of them strangers and more importantly, civilians. Some were people who looked like they were just going to their jobs or a school, dressed in uniforms or suits, while some were likely hunters or huntresses.

To her concern, she noted some familiar faces amongst the crowd. The first was a fellow student at Beacon, Coco Adel, the leader of Team CFVY. Her height made her amongst the tallest of the people here, and her striking choice of fashion helped to identify her. Another was the horrific serial killer follower of Salem, Tyrian Callows. He was simply looking around with a devious look upon his face, as though he considered everyone here another victim. Clover Ebi was the next one she noticed, the fallen leader of the Ace Ops… He was alive? Their eyes met, with no recognition from the older man. He simply gave a smile and a wave, before returning to his conversation with another person.

Finally, hidden in the corner, attempting to be charming to some lady, was… Ruby took a deep breath. It was Roman Torchwick, alive and well and not dead from being devoured by a Griffon. Of course, fate would have him alive too. Even if their history wasn't as depthful as it should have been… Their eyes locked for a moment, and it seemed in this altered world, they still had their first encounter.

"Well, surprise, surprise! Lookie who it is! Red." Torchwick would only remember her as the slightly young teenager with the scythe who almost cut his face off. How much Ruby wished she had Crescent Rose on her person at the moment. "It's been far too long… Though, not long enough… What do they put in the water at that school of your's?"

"Ugh, I don't have time for whatever you have to say, Torchwick." Ruby rolled her eyes, crossing her arms.

"Oh! Someone's a little testy, aren't they?" Torchwick was… just as she remembered him: a low-level criminal way in over his head. "And just here you were, what was it now? Four months since you foiled my little Dust heist? Though the fact you know my name, now, that is an honor, Red!" Sarcasm dripped from his voice, earning him a second eye roll.

"A heist? I think that's giving you too much credit." Ruby was thoroughly unimpressed. "Why are you even here, anyway?"

"Same reason as you, Red! No idea!" Roman laughed heavily, turning around to look at the crowd. All of us have been gathered by some mysterious individuals, and I gotta say that I needed a bit of change to the old routine. So whatever this… Kamen Rider thing is, I'm all in."

"Of course you are. Guess I'm not one to talk, here I am when I should be at school or whatever."

"Our little Red is playing delinquent, huh?" A sly smile appeared on his face. "My crew could always use someone with speed like your's."

"Not in a million years, Torchwick. I'd rather… Get swallowed whole by a Griffon than do whatever it is you do." Ruby smirked at her own joke, going right over the criminal's face.

"Wow, harsh rejection." The man shrugged slightly, turning around. "Well, can't say I didn't try, Red! Besides, it looks like we're getting called up here." With a quick hand, he pointed his cane gun at the center, where a lady wearing a dual black and white colored dress had appeared. She seemed somewhat concerned for a moment as she looked at the people gathered, but quickly hid behind a veneer of a smile.

"Good day, everyone!" The woman said, making sure her voice could be heard by all of the people around them. What had the masked man told Ruby? They were… contestants? I'm Ashe, your Game Navigator. Welcome to the Desire Grim Prix: Duos!"

That sounded even worse to Ruby. The Desire Grim Prix? Duos? It definitely sounded like some sort of game, though, to what end?

"For eons, Remnant has long been under the threat of the Grimm. Hunters and huntresses have fought to eliminate them, but they always come back for more." The woman saw a responsive group of nods from people, though Ruby had her own doubts. Sure, the Grimm have existed forever and been made worse by Salem… But… "Lately, the Grimm have become far more dangerous, and even licensed hunters and huntresses have had trouble keeping them out of civilized areas. So… That's where we have stepped in from! The Desire Grim Prix has discovered a far more vicious form of Grimm, that we have come to refer to as the Jyamagrim. These horrific beasts are far more resilient than normal Grimm, so we have developed a system to defeat them. Around your waists are your ID Cores and Desire Drivers, newly minted weapons to save previous human and Faunus lives!"

"This is a weapon? Seriously?" Ruby looked down at the belt, sighing a bit as she did. What was all of this about? Why would they need to be contestants in some sort of game to save people from the Grimm?

"Jyamagrim are wildly adaptive! So many of you may not come from a background with combat history! To that end, the Desire Grim Prix has something in mind in the form of this competition." The lady, Ashe, raised her hand into the air. "The ones who make it to the end will be crowned our Desire Deities! Any wish you want, any ideal… All of that can be granted!"

"What do you mean, our ideal world?" Ruby yelled, piping up and getting a variety of stares from other people. The navigator simply smiled and nodded her head.

"As I said, any wish you want can be granted." She waved her hand to everyone around her. "All you need to do is write your ideal world on your Desire Card. And if you win, your deepest desires will be granted!"

Suddenly, a pen and a card were firmly rooted into Ruby's grasp. Her breath hitched slightly, as she looked at it. Was… was this true? Anything in the world she could want, granted to her if she won some silly game? It seemed like a walk in the park considering the last few years of her life. With all she had seen, whether it be the powers of the Relics and the beings within them, or even Salem herself, this did not seem too far outside of the realm of possibility.

Another hitched breath escaped from Ruby, as everyone else seemed to be writing down their wishes on their cards. Perhaps, she was… she was evil for what wish crossed her mind. It did not even take any long period to think of her wish, it was instantaneous:

~A world exactly as the one I remember.~

- Ruby Rose

Just as she finished writing her sentence and name, the card vanished into thin air, as it had first appeared. Of course odd things like this would be happening… One step at a time, Ruby supposed she would need to abide by that. Everything was bizarre, reset to how it had been just before the Vytal Festival sent them all to hell in a handbasket. And as horrific as the idea of bringing Salem back into existence was… She knew that it was the only way to get her friends back… her sister…

"And of course, you won't be alone through the trials we will offer you all!" The navigator pointed to a screen that showed icons for all of the different players, alongside their apparent title as a Kamen Rider. "Everyone needs a partner in Remnant, that much is certain from the beloved academies that produce our hunters and huntresses. So each Rider will be teamed up with another at random! Let's start our team selections!"

Suddenly, the screen began to move the icons around at random, almost like a slot machine rolling by to an eventual loss or jackpot. And one by one, Ashe began reading the names of the duos to everyone present. Team by team, everyone was paired up for the competition ahead.

"Next, we have Kamen Rider Coffee and Kamen Rider Lucky!"

Ruby easily saw the two ahead as they walked up to one another, Coco and Clover. The latter seemed rather happy with his choice, though Coco didn't seem too enthused at who she has been paired up with.

"Then, we have Kamen Rider Stinger and Kamen Rider Crook!"

A match made in heaven, Ruby supposed as she saw the serial killer and lowlife criminal meet one another. She wondered how long it would take for either of them to backstab the other.

"Finally, we have Kamen Rider Hood and Kamen Rider Punkjack!"

That was Ruby's name! So she was Hood, huh? A part of her felt somewhat giddy at the name. Kamen Rider Hood, huh? Made sense considering what she once wore. More importantly, a younger and more innocent part of herself liked the idea of being a superhero. Though Punkjack… who was that? She looked to see an older man walk up next to her. He wore an orange T-shirt with a carved out pumpkin on it, alongside a black-colored jean jacket and matching color jean pants.

Most notably was… Well, it was hard to get around it, but some of his face had been badly scarred. It seemed like a burn, though how he got it was beyond Ruby. She remembered how much damage Nora had to take with her Semblance before the scars caused by the electricity build up harmed her. But these burn scars didn't seem to affect the affable smile on his face.

"You and me, huh, sis? I'm sure we'll knock these jokers out one by one." He extended his hand out to Ruby. "Name's Win. Harerurya Win." The man seemed nice enough, though his hand was littered with small scars that matched the ones on his face.

"I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose, Mr. Win." Ruby shook the hand of the man, though something was hidden behind those eyes. It felt like fear hid behind those eyes, paranoia omnipresent locked away in that affable face. "You don't look too good."

"Ah, these?" Win rubbed his face slightly, frowning as he did so. "No need to worry about that… Let's just focus on winning this game… Without him, we might stand a chance at the Desire Deity thing."

"Without him?" Ruby raised an eyebrow, just to receive a shrug from the older man.

"Ah, it's nothing. Sorry, haven't been able to talk to anyone in a while due to well…" He pointed to the burns on his face. "You get the picture."

"I guess I do?" Ruby frowned a little. "Sorry to see that you got hurt that much."

"That's life, I suppose. One miserable disappointment after another." He clenched his fist tight. "Though this time? I'm not gonna let it end like it did last time."

Ruby only wondered what he meant by that, but before she could ask him any further questions, she found the navigator speaking once more.

"Today, we will be starting with a game to ensure everyone is well prepared for the upcoming rounds! Riders need weapons to fight, so our first game will be our Get A Weapon Game! Throughout the city of Vale, we have hidden a variety of loot boxes containing various items. If you collect one, you will be immediately teleported to our waiting room. Anyone who fails to collect one within the allotted time limit will be eliminated and retired from the game! You will have one hour!"

Ruby gulped a bit, nervousness suddenly striking her. Why? Why did she feel so nervous? It suddenly evaporated as she grasped her own fists. No, she needed to win this thing and put things back to normal… Even if things didn't turn out well for her, something just didn't fit right with this what-if world where everything was okay. A part of her desperately loved it, but the truest part of herself hated it. Yang, Blake, Weiss… None of them were the same as they should have been, the girls she fought alongside lost what made them… well them. And if she had to play some ridiculous game that dropped out of the sky to do so?

The Hood and Punkjack would win this game, in that case. Knock everyone else out and claim victory.