Ashbel Longhart: Story Ideas Chapter 48: FGO: Chaldea 2018, a x-overs fanfic

(Disclaimer: I do not own Fate Grand Order or Kamen Rider Zi-O. They both belong to their respective owners. I just own this story idea and nothing more. Please enjoy.)

Fate Grand Order: Over Quartzer

Time 1: Chaldea 2018

Date: September 24, 2018

Today had started out like any normal day for Fujimaru Ritsuka. He got up from bed around 6 o'clock in the morning, letting out a big yawn as he stretched his limbs in order to wake them up. Rubbing his blue eyes, the young 18-year-old teenager made his way to the bathroom to freshen up. Looking at himself in the mirror, he scratched his unkempt black hair but made no attempt to fix it as he turned on the faucet and began brushing his teeth. Four minutes later, the young man was now dressed in his Homurahara school uniform, ready to tackle the day.

"Morning, Auntie," Walking down the steps that led to the repair shop on the ground floor, Ritsuka greeted his aunt who seemed to be fixing what looked like an old radio.

"Ah, good morning, Ritsuka," Ritsuka's aunt, Fujimaru Sakura, paused her work to greet the young man. Sakura was an older woman in her mid-fifties, though one would mistake the woman to still being in her early thirties due to how young she looked, even with the developing wrinkles on her face and the specks of grey hair decorating her long black hair.

"I've already laid out your breakfast. Eat it before it gets cold," She said before adjusting her glasses and turning back to work on the radio on her workbench.

"Is that for a customer?" Ritsuka asked as he entered the dining room and sat down. On the table before him was a plate of sausage and eggs, with two pieces of toast in another place. A simple, normal breakfast. Grabbing a butter knife, he began to spread the butter over the toasted bread.

"Yes, a woman asked me to fix it for her, even though this is a clock shop," Sakura said, adding in that last bit with a small laugh before she went back to examining the inner workings of the old radio.

True to his aunt's words and tone, this wasn't the first time people have come here asking Sakura to fix something that wasn't a clock even though this place was a clock shop. Despite not being in her job description, the clocksmith nevertheless continued to take on such jobs simply because she was just to kind to decline. And hey, whatever pays the bills.

"Thanks for the food. I'm off!" Ritsuka said before he rushed out the door.

"Have a good day!" His aunt replied as Ritsuka grabbed his bike parked out in front of the shop entrance. Throwing his school bag into the basket, the teen kicked off the kickstand and was off to school.

A normal morning and a normal breakfast followed by a normal day of school. To Fujimaru Ritsuka, life was pretty average for him and he wouldn't have it any other way. Unknown to him, however, his life was about to take a drastic change, in more ways than one.

Up in the sky, a pair of raging eyes was watching the unsuspecting teen.

"There you are...Oma Zi-O..."

The world...is dead. There was no other way to describe it. The lands, once filled with life, was no more. Scorched earth and ruins long since destroyed was all that remained with flames lapping the earth as if to lick away any remains of life itself. The sky, once a beautiful blue, now a dull grey to the point one couldn't even tell if it was cloudy or not. It was as if life itself had been destroyed.

*Crunch-Crunch-Crunch*

With footsteps that seem to echo throughout the wasteland, the one responsible for all of this stood before a set of statues all gathered around in a circle surrounding one bigger monument. Each statue except the center one depicted a masked hero with each being different from the other. But even with their differences, there was one thing they all had in common amongst them; they all wore belts around their waists, each one different yet serving the same purpose. As for the center statue the others were surrounding, it was a monument depicting two young teenagers, a male, and a female. Like the masked heroes, the male too wore a belt around his waist as he posed about to transform. As for the female, she was dressed like a knight as she held a massive shield bigger than herself, raising the shield as if to protect the male beside her. Down below, a plaque read:

{Commemorating The First Transformation Of Fujimaru Ritsuka Alongside His Most Trusted Ally Ma—light}

The rest of the plague could not be made out due to what appears to be a bullet hole. It could be noted that the man standing before the monument seems to grow angry at the sight of this, not because it had been ruined, but because of where the bullet hole was at. Taking a deep breath, the man then looks up at the statue with a sense of longing, his gaze staying on the female with the shield.

*BANG!*

The sound of a gun echoed throughout the wasteland, but the man did not flinch as the bullet aimed at him stopped before it could even reach him. And despite the distance, he could hear the sniper curse before he attempted to run. 'Attempt' being the keyword as the bullet he had fired came flying back to him, blowing his brains out. Soon after the sniper was shot by his own bullet did all hell break loose.

"CHARGE!"

A huge, almost deafening cry was nearly drowned out by the sounds of vehicles as behind the man was a massive army of seemingly a million soldiers, consisting of both men and women. Some chose to run on foot, others riding jeeps, motorbikes, tanks, or flying through the skies in jets and battleships. Some looked like they knew what they were doing, others not so much yet they still fought. Equipped with guns and explosives, it was painfully obvious what the massive army was after; the man's head.

The man showed no sign of turning around. He was too busy staring up at the statue before him. The small, inconvenience behind him did not require his attention. He'll address them when he'll feel like it. So until then...

*snap*

*SHINE!*

With a snap of a finger, eleven pillars of light suddenly shined down from above, piercing through the grey sky as if coming down from Heaven itself as the massive army was forced to a stop as the lights died down, revealing eleven figures standing in between the man and the army. Instantly, one could tell that the eleven figures standing before everyone were not human.

Suddenly, the man, while still turning his back to the army, spoke.

"Saber." A jet black sword is gripped firmly, ready to be used.

"Archer." A pair of guns were cocked, readied to be fired.

"Lancer." Spears and swords were stabbed into the ground, ready to be wielded.

"Rider." The cry of a neighing horse is heard before a pair of hands calms the winged beast.

"Caster." A scepter slams down on the ground as the gates of the underworld open up, ready to claim souls.

"Assassin." A cup of sake is brought to a pair of lips as gleeful eyes send chills down the army's backs.

"Berserker." An indescribable growl is heard as a halberd is swung around.

"Avenger." A flag bearing the image of a dragon flaps in the wind.

"Alter Ego." A sultry giggle echoes through the wind, causing something to change within the army.

"Foreigner." A giant key is held at the ready as tentacles are heard moving from behind.

Finally, after addressing all his {bzzzzz} was the final verdict declared.

"...Deal with them."

"Yes, Master!" And just like that, true hell descended upon the army.

*BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!*

In less than a second, guns were fired which soon turned to screams. Vehicles were flipped over, jets and planes were shot down, men and women were either sliced, shot, incinerated, vaporized, and/or crushed. It was a slaughter. Despite outnumbering them 100000 to 1, the army found themselves on the losing end. It didn't matter what was thrown; bullets, knives, rockets. Magic soon came into play and even then it was in vain. Fire, wind, water, earth, magic took on different forms and its power was staggering. But in the end, that too was futile against the eleven.

[TIME MAZINE]

Suddenly, stepping into the fray was what could only be described as robots. Standing over 7 meters tall, these mechs towered over everyone on the battlefield. But size was useless in the face of overwhelming power.

With a grunt, the jet black sword of a knight erupted into dark energy, becoming as big as the mechs over her before the black knight swung her sword down, sending forth what could only be described as a giant sword beam, destroying anything in the knight's path.

The sound of gunfire was heard as bullets pierced the hull of the mechs. Seconds later, swords of all shapes and sizes exploded from within the mechs, killing the pilots within them. Not even batting an eye, the gunman continued to fire, shooting down the enemies before him.

The sound of a horse cry was heard as a god of war mounted her trusty steed and faced the opposition in front of her. Wielding all eight of her great weapons, she struck down both men and mechas around her, all the while wearing a wide smile.

From up in the air, another horse cry was heard as the flapping of wings was the only warning anyone got as what could only be described as a star descended upon the earth and proceeded to run down anything in its path.

Muttering words of power, what appears to be a giant mirror carried by the guardian of the underworld, Anubis, seemingly manifests behind the pharaoh. With a wave of her scepter, a wave of ghosts bursts from the mirror, passing through anyone and anything. Soon after, both man and machine fell to the ground, their souls stripped from their bodies.

With an innocent giggle, the oni tips her sake cup over, letting a drop spill onto the land. Soon after did that single drop become a poisonous wave that washed away and killed anything it touched. The oni herself watched this all with a smile as she drank her own cup of poison.

With a roar akin go thunder, a giant bow was slammed down before the halberd was loaded, acting as an arrow. Pulling back the bow with great strength, the string was released, sending the halberd flying as it flew through the air, arced back down to the ground, and proceeded to explode with the force of god itself.

A vicious smile sends dread done the many spines of people as the unholy saint drew her sword out and swung it. A wave of flame surged forth, incinerating those the flames caught. And those that somehow survived found themselves skewered by spears of darkness before being set ablaze. It was like a scene straight out of hell.

A sultry laugh echoes throughout the battlefield as white hands slither up from the ground, grabbing anyone it could touch. Struggle as they might, men and women could only scream as they were forcibly dragged into {bzzzzz}, forever lost.

From the keyhole, an eye is seen staring through it. A 'gate' is soon opened and thousands of tentacles burst out from it, slithering out as it grabbed anyone and anything it could reach. By the time the people found themselves dead, it was already too late.

The slaughter of both men and women seemed to go on for eternity despite a minute barely passing by. Finally, what seemed like forever, the man was finished with looking at the monument and turns around to the slaughter happening behind him, flicking his hand out.

The effect was instant. Everyone and everything, to the people and the very wind itself, had frozen still. Time had been stopped. The only thing not frozen were the {bzzzz} as they all retreated back to their Master where everyone could finally see him in all his regal glory.

Garbed in a black bodysuit, a silver wristwatch strap went down from beneath his neck, over his chest and down stopping right above the knees. Another strap, this one golden, was wrapped around him starting from his left shoulder and wrapped all the way around. On his back were two silver clock hands pointed downward and acting as some sort of cape. To his right was the hour hand and to his left was the minute hand. Black and golden armor covered his upper torso and shoulders with grey metal pocket watch-like devices attached to the right side, acting as if they were medals. Wrapped around his arms were golden bands as on his forearms were golden strap holders with two circular slots in each of them. Golden kneepads protected his knees as his lower legs were donned in armor boots with golden steel toes with the boots themselves being mostly black and gold. Covering his entire head was a clock-like helmet. Small diamonds were embedded into a golden frame that surrounded a black faceplate. Three small subdials were located right above the forehead with two gold clock hands pointed out on the front of the helmet with the hour hand pointed to the left while the minute hand was pointed to the right. A white logo located on the forehead read 'Kamen' in katakana while the visor read in red, flaming letters 'Rider' in katakana. Finally, around the man's waist was a golden belt buckle device with a digital screen in the center as the year '2018' was displayed in red.

A king. Just by looking at the man garbed in golden armor could one easily tell that he was a king.

The king's red 'eyes' then scanned the scene before him before finally addressing what remained of the army.

"You fools cannot possibly defeat me. Do you know why?" His voice was powerful and baritone, sending chills down everyone's spine. He then clenched his hand into a fist, sending out a wave that struck everything around him. Anything touched by the wave disintegrated into nothing, machines and people alike.

"Because I was born to be—!"

And just like that, everything went black.

Blinking his eyes awake, Ritsuka let out a tired groan as he sat up from his desk, rubbing his eyes.

"Look who decided to finally wake up." A voice spoke up to Ritsuka's left. Turning, the teen saw a teenage male of the same age as him with reddish-brown hair sitting next to him.

"Oh, hey Mitsuzuri."

"Don't 'oh hey Mitsuzuri' me," The teen, Mitsuzuri Ren, smacked Ritsuka in the back of the head, making him hit his head on the desk while letting out a small "ow." On the plus side, it fully woke the teen up.

"Seriously, man, you gotta stop falling asleep in class like this. You're gonna get in trouble with the teacher sooner or later."

"Hehe, sorry," Ritsuka laughed as he rubbed his forehead, wincing not from the pain but at the thought of getting into trouble with the teacher. Mr. Taiga was a bit of an oddball, but he took his job seriously.

"You all right? You were mumbling in your sleep," Ren asked.

"I think I had a dream, though I can't remember what it was about," Ritsuka said before looking around to see that it was only him and his friend in the classroom. "Did class end already?"

"Yeah, the bell just rang. I was just here waiting for your sleeping ass," Ren said as he grabbed his school bag and got up with Ritsuka following suit as they both left the room.

"I didn't miss anything, did I?" Ritsuka asked, wondering if he might have slept through a lesson or two.

"I'm not lending you my notes."

"So I did miss something!?"

"Nah, you're good. Taiga-sensei was just talking about our future careers. You know, what we what to do and stuff when we get older."

"Future careers..." Ritsuka muttered to himself, seemingly deep in thought until he turned to his friend. "Hey, Mitsuzuri, what are your plans for the future?"

"You mean, what am I gonna do when I grow up?" Ren raised an eyebrow before humming to himself, taking a moment to think. "Hmm, well, I guess I'll just inherit my old man's dojo. He keeps telling me that when I come of age, I need to take over and stuff, and I enjoy martial arts so I don't see a problem with it. What about you?"

"I don't really know," Ritsuka as nothing came to mind about what he wanted to do when he grew up. "I never really thought about it, and it's not like I excel at any of the stuff I do here."

"Average grades, average physique, average looks..." Ren listed off.

"Hey! Leave my look out of this," Ritsuka said, playfully punching his friend in the arm.

"Heh, sorry," Ren apologized as the two changed their shoes at the shoe locker before heading outside to the bike rack. "What about that shop your aunt owns? Maybe you'll inherit it from her when it's time for her to retire."

"Hmm, maybe?" Ritsuka answered unsurely. "I mean, sure I know how to fix a clock and all, but I'm not sure that's what I want to do for the rest of my life."

"Well, we've still got a whole year of high school left, so I'm sure something will come to you," Ren said as Ritsuka grabbed his bike. "Anyway, some members of the martial arts club invited me to hang out later, want to come?"

"Sorry, but I gotta get some stuff for my aunt. Maybe next time?"

"Eh, that's fine. See ya later."

"Yeah," Waving goodbye, Ritsuka placed his school bag in his bike basket and was about to hop on when he noticed something on his seat. "What the...?"

Picking it up, the thing in Ritsuka's hand looked like an analog stopwatch. A single button sat at the top of the device, connected to a series of small gears and circuitry which was exposed by the missing clockface.

"The heck? A watch?" Ritsuka looked at the item in his hand in confusion, turning it over as if he would find the answer as to why this thing was on his bike seat.

"Congratulations."

"Whuh!?" Jumping in surprise, Ritsuka quickly turned around and found standing behind him was a man dressed in a brownish-green jacket with little open cuts on the sleeves and black jeans with black boots. He also wore a black glove over his right hand and had a grey scarf wrapped around his neck which, along with a hood, covered the man's appearance.

'What the, where did this guy come from?' Ritsuka thought to himself, alarmed at the man's sudden appearance.

"According to this book, today will be a very momentous day for you. As such, congratulations are in order," The man said as he held up a large book with a unique yet strange cover titled {Oma Advent Calender}.

"Um...okay? That's...nice to hear?" Ritsuka said, confused as to how today was going to be so special for him.

The man smiled behind his scarf before he added, "However, you should remain cautious of the red robot."

Ritsuka couldn't help but blink at that. "I'm sorry...what?"

*Slam!*

*ring!*

The man suddenly slammed his book closed. At the same time, the bell of Ritsuka's bicycle suddenly rang on its own, drawing his attention. The young man only looked away for a second, but when Ritsuka looked back up, the mysterious hood man was nowhere to be seen.

"What the...?" Once again surprised, Ritsuka looked around to find any sign of the hooded man, but he was all alone. Confused and a little frightened, Ritsuka threw the watch in his hand into the basket and pedaled away.

"I'm home!" Ritsuka called out as he returned home.

"Ah, welcome back," Ritsuka's aunt was there to greet him as she quickly finished talking with a customer who soon left, leaving behind an old looking standup clock.

"Was that a customer?" Ritsuka asked.

"Yep, and wouldn't you know it, he asked me to fix this clock for him," Sakura smiled as she held up the said clock on her desk. "I think this may be the first clock I get to work on this month."

Ritsuka laughed at that a little before he handed the woman a plastic bag carrying differently shaped parts. "Here you go, this is what you need to fix that radio, right?"

"Yes, this is just what I needed, thank you," Sakura said, taking the bag happily before looking bashful. "I'm sorry, I know you just got back, but can I ask you to run to the store real quick? We've run out of eggs and milk."

"Sure, I can do that. Just let me get changed real quick," Ritsuka said before running up the stairs.

"And can you also grab some chicken? I'm thinking of making curry for dinner."

"Sure thing!" Ritsuka called out from upstairs. After changing into a red polo shirt and black pants, the young man grabbed his aunt's credit card and was out of the house. The grocery store wasn't that far from his place so a quick five-minute bike ride was all it took for Ritsuka to grabs the things he needed and ride back.

"Huh?" Just as he was about to put his groceries into his basket, Ritsuka noticed the black watch and remembered the words spoken to him by that hooded man.

However, you should remain cautious of the red robot.

"A red robot..." Ritsuka said as he held up the watch in his hands. After a minute, the young teen scoffed as he pocketed the watch, planning on showing it to his aunt to see if she could figure out what the strange watch was.

"A 'red robot,' yeah right." Exactly where would he even run into such a thing?

[TIME MAZINE]

"Huh?" Ritsuka blinked in confusion when he noticed a shadow over him. Looking behind him, his eyes widen in both shock and disbelief as towering over him was a seven-meter tall bright red humanoid robot with yellow and black accents. The word "robo" was written in flashing yellow on the center of its chest in hiragana. Seeing this unbelievable sight before him, Ritsuka reacted like any normal Japanese person would.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?"

While Ritsuka was busy screaming his head off, the robot's 'pilots' were busy talking with each other.

"So that's him?" A feminine voice asked as in front of them was a holographic scream which displayed what was going on outside, showing Ritsuka screaming at them.

"That's him, no doubt about it," A male voice spoke as to the left of him was another holo-screen displaying Ritsuka's profile, everything from his age and birthdate to his family and school record. "I'm going for it."

Grabbing the controls, the male pilot operated the robot to lift one of its arms up into a fist and aimed it right down at Ritsuka who clearly saw this.

"Oh, crapbaskets..."

"Die...Oma Zi-O!" The male's voice echoed from a speaker as the robot brought down its fist onto Ritsuka who quickly reacted and jumped out of the way in time, rolling back up and turning to see that the robot had smashed his bicycle flat along with his groceries.

"My bike!" Ritsuka cried until he noticed the robot turning to him. "Oh crap!" Seeing that he was in danger, Ritsuka's instincts took over and he ran.

"You're not getting away!" The male pilot cried out as the robot gave chase, its steps always one step away from crushing Ritsuka who ran as fast as his legs were able. The chase went on for a few more minutes until Ritsuka turned a corner and ran into a tight alleyway. Due to its size and width, the robot obviously could not fit through and Ritsuka knew this as he took that chance to catch his breath and taunt the robot.

"H-Hah! Can't fit through, can you!?"

*pssshhhhh!*

Ritsuka was silenced in less than a second as the front torso of the robot opened down into a ramp and out jumped the male pilot. Said pilot was donned in a full red bodysuit with two straps, one on each arm, held holsters which held what looked to be watches much like the one Ritsuka had found earlier. Covering his lower legs were darker red armored, black steel-toed boots with black slot-like kneepads cover said knees. Dark red armor covered the pilot's upper chest with a black strap running down his torso where, around his waist was a white, belt-like device that had two black, identical slots on both sides with the right currently being occupied by one of those watch-like items which depicted a face. Said face was actually the pilot's black helmet which covered the man's entire head with a yellow visor which read "Rider" in hiragana was displayed over a white faceplate. Upon the forehead of the helmet was a logo that reads "Kamen" in katakana.

"Oh...fuckberies..."

[YU-MI]

Seemingly pulling it out of nowhere, the masked pilot pulled out a red metal bow with the words "bow" written in bright yellow hiragana over the barrel. If Ritsuka wasn't so concerned about his life right now, he would have sensed there was some weird theme going on with this man and words that were spelled in hiragana.

*WHOOSH!*

"Whoa!" Ritsuka cried out, ducking in time to dodge an energy arrow flying over his head. Once again fearing for his life, Ritsuka resumed running away from the masked assassin trying to gun him down. Only by moving left and right and even sometimes ducking was Ritsuka able to dodge the masked man's arrows albeit barely as his clothes were torn in some places and he could feel his body being littered with burning cuts when arrows nicked him a little too closely.

No doubt growing frustrated that he could not land a decent hit on Ritsuka, the masked man suddenly jumped up and leaped over Ritsuka, flipping over and landing right in front of him. Ritsuka was only able to get out a cry of alarm before the masked man backhanded him across the face where he crashed into some trash bins. Shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness, Ritsuka looked up to see the masked man aiming his bow right at his face.

"End of the road, Oma Zi-O."

'Oma Zi-O?' Ritsuka was confused as to why this masked man was calling him that, but he was more concerned with, "Why are you doing this? What did I ever do to you!?"

"Nothing...yet," The masked man said cryptically as he pulled back the hammer of his metal bow. "No hard feelings, but this is for a better future."

'I have absolutely no idea what that means...but fuck that!' Refusing to just roll over and die like this, Ritsuka grabbed an old banana peel laying right next to his hand and threw it at the masked man's face, blinding him momentarily to throw off his aim as Ritsuka quickly turned his head just in time to avoid the energy arrow that would have blown his head off. Acting fast, Ritsuka raised his leg and kicked the man right in between his legs. Armor or no armor, the masked man definitely felt that as he keeled over, giving Ritsuka the chance to get up and make a break for the exit. However, just as he exited the alleyway, the red robot from before landed right in front of him, blocking him from going any further.

'What!?' Ritsuka thought in surprise as he looked back at the masked man before looking up at the robot in confusion. 'Who's piloting it!?'

"I'm sorry," A feminine voice, the second pilot, spoke through the speakers as she brought the robot's fist up and brought it down on Ritsuka who brought his arms up in a vain attempt to protect himself.

'Is...is this how I die? Crushed by a robot right outside an alleyway without even knowing why? What the hell did I do to deserve this?'

[TIME MAZINE]

*CRASH!*

Suddenly, before Ritsuka could lament his unfortunate fate further, a second, equally large machine appeared, crashing into the red robot and sending it crashing onto its back.

"Eh!?"

"What!?" It seems both Ritsuka and the masked man were both surprised at the machine's sudden appearance as the said machine turned to Ritsuka's direction and a voice came through the speakers.

"Get down."

*RATATATATATATATA!*

Quickly doing as the voice told, Ritsuka ducked as a sound akin to a machinegun firing was heard as behind him, the masked man was assaulted by gunfire, forcing him to take cover. Once the gunfire died down did Ritsuka turn to examine the machine.

Unlike the robot, this appeared to be more of some sort of vehicle with a silver body and black and pink accents. On its underside, the words "robo" was written in green katakana as they flashed before a ramp descended.

"My Lord, please enter," The owner of the voice requested through the speaker.

Seeing that he risked further death if he stayed here, Ritsuka did as told and entered the machine. The cockpit inside didn't seem designed to hold passengers, but there was plenty of room for him to stand and walk a bit as futuristic mechanisms designed the walls, no doubt what was providing the machine its movement. And standing as the pilot, grasping two wall-mounted controls, was the mysterious hooded man Ritsuka had met earlier today.

"Hey, you're...!"

"My apologies, but introductions will have to wait," The hooded man said as the cockpit closed shut and a holographic screen appeared in front of him. He slid his fingers across the screen, which originally displayed the date: [2018, A.D.], scrolling through other numeric values before deciding on one.

"Space-Time transport system, activate," The hooded man announced before pulling back on the controls, lifting the vehicle up into the air. "I suggest holding onto something, My Lord."

With only that warning given, the machine flew up into a portal that had appeared overhead and disappeared.

"No! Dammit!" The masked man cursed before turning to the red robot. "Tsukuyomi, track down where they went! We're going after them!"

"Right!" The female pilot made the robot nod its head before it jumped up and transformed into the same vehicle that Ritsuka escaped into. Taking a moment to allow the masked man back inside, the red machine flew up and entered a portal similar to the one the earlier machine disappeared into.

"Whoa~!" Ritsuka exclaimed as he tried to grab onto anything to steady himself inside the cockpit.

Currently, the machine he and the hooded man were in was traveling through a fluorescent blue vortex-like tunnel, hexagonal in shape with what seemed to be blue circuitry lining the 'walls.' While Ritsuka was busy trying to hold on to dear life, the hooded man calmly piloted the vehicle, making adjustments to their flight pattern every so often against the turbulence of the vortex. Eventually, another portal opened on the sidewall of the tunnel and the hooded man drove the machine into it, freeing them from the turbulence much to Ritsuka's relief.

"I apologize for the rough ride, but we were in a rush," The hooded man politely said as he brought the machine to a landing, using the trees as cover before pressing something on the holo-screen which turned the whole vehicle invisible outside via camouflage. Once that was done did the man turn fully to Ritsuka. "Fortunately, for the time being, we should be safe here."

"And where exactly is here?" Ritsuka asked as the holo-screen showed nothing but trees outside. Were they in the mountains or something? Perhaps near Ryuudou Temple?

"Take a look for yourself," The hooded man replied coyly as he hit a button that lowered the ramp.

While still suspicious of the hooded man, Ritsuke got up and stepped outside. He heard the sounds of birds chirping, but he just chalked that up to the mountain wilderness. Looking further ahead, Ritsuka noticed a clearing up ahead and walked forward, soon finding himself over a cliff where down below he could see what looked to be a city depicting old traditional Japanese-styled buildings.

"What the heck?" Rituska raised an eyebrow at this, confused as to where he was. "Where is this, Kyoto?"

"Correct," The hooded man appeared next to Ritsuka's side as he pulled down his scarf and hood, revealing an adult man in his early twenties with long black hair with most of it swept over to the right side of his face. "Specifically, we are currently in Kyoto of 1860 A.D., in the middle of the Bakumatsu Period."

"The Bakumatsu Period!?" Ritsuka looked at the man in disbelief. However, now that he looked closely, it was nothing by traditional buildings for miles, not a single looking modern building in sight. But how was that possible?

"I see you do not believe me, understandable," The man said as he walked away. "Then, if you'll please follow me, my lord, then you shall see that I am not lying. Ah, but first..." Seeing the state Ritsuka was currently in, the man grabbed his scarf and threw it at Ritsuka where it magically extended and wrapped around the young teen, surprising him as the scarf was soon drawn back, revealing Ritsuka now dressed in a black traditional kimono.

"Whoa! What the-!?" Ritsuka looked at himself in surprise, confused as to how he had changed clothes when he didn't even feel his old ones being taken off. In fact, now that he checked himself, he could feel any of the cuts stinging him and he no longer smelled like garbage.

"There, that should help you blend in better," The man said as he too was now dressed in a dark green kimono though he still had his scarf on him. "Now then, shall we be on our way?"

"Hold on! Time out!" Ritsuka exclaimed, feeling very confused right now. Everything was going a bit too fast for him to keep up. Taking a moment to collect himself, Ritsuka faced the man who had saved him and asked, "Who...are you?"

"Ah, yes, do forgive me for forgetting to introduce myself," The man said as he soon bowed towards Ritsuka. "My name is Woz, and I am but a simple prophet."

"A prophet?"

"Indeed, and may I simply express how honored I am to be acquainted with you in your youth, waga maou(my lord)."

"'My Lord'?" Ritsuka raised an eyebrow at that before looking around as if expecting some regal figure standing behind him to be the true target of this strange man's reverence. Only after seeing that it was just him and the now named Woz did he realize that Woz was referring to him. "W-Wait, are you talking to me?"

"Why of course, who else would I be referring to?" Woz said as he stood back up and gestured for Ritsuka to follow him. "Now please follow me, my lord. While we have much to discuss, there's no reason why we can't do that over a cup of tea."

Still very much confused as to what was going on, Ritsuka decided to follow this strange man as Woz led them down the mountain and eventually reached the city. Some guards stopped them in their tracks, asking for identification, but Woz simply waved his hands around, and the guards allowed them entry. Ritsuka noticed that the guards' eyes were blank after whatever Woz did to them and only returned to normal when they long since passed, looking confused as to what just happened.

"Did...did you just use the Force on them?" Ritsuka asked, remembering that Western movie he watched with his friends years ago.

"No, my Lord, I simply used magecraft to hypnotize those guards to allow us entry," Woz said as they continued walking.

"Magecraft?"

"Think of it as using magic to produce something which can be replicated using modern science. For example, using magecraft to light a fire can be done the same way by using a matchstick."

Ritsuka nodded his head, understanding somewhat but was still a little confused. Before he could ask more he started noticing his surroundings more. Besides the tradition-styled buildings, he had seen up from the mountains, there were people dressed in kimonos like him walking around going about their business. There was even this guy riding a horse-driven cart carrying bundles of wheat. And much like he had seen from the mountains, there was not a single modern-looking building in sight.

"Do you believe me now, my Lord?" Woz asked as they sat down at a restaurant, having already ordered two cups of tea and a plate of Dango.

"I-I guess..." Ritsuka said, still in disbelief that he was actually back in time. As much as he tried to deny it, the scenery around him was much too real to be fake. Of course, with this new knowledge, Ritsuka turned and asked Woz, "So...are you from the future or...?"

"Indeed I am. Specifically, I hail from the year 2068, approximately 50 years from your present day.

"Fifty Years..." Ritsuka repeated, having expected Woz to come from a bit farther into the future but was nevertheless amazed that the man before him was from the future. No doubt that the aptly named 'Time Mazine' was the time machine Woz used to travel.

"Wait a second," Ritsuka said, realizing something. "That red guy...is he also...?"

"You are correct, my Lord. That man who tried to kill you earlier was Myokoin Geiz who also hails from my own time," Woz said before grabbing on of the Dango sticks and began eating. "And as I'm sure you noticed earlier, he is not alone. He is accompanied by a woman named Tsukuyomi. She will reveal herself to you in time, and before you ask, yes, she is indeed named after the god of the moon."

"But why were they trying to kill me?" Ritsuka asked, confused as to why two people were after his life. Had he done something to them in the future?

"That, my king, is because they are trying to stop your reign to power."

Ritsuka blinked confusedly at Woz. "My what?"

"Allow me to explain," Woz took a moment to finish his Dango before speaking. "You see, my Lord, in the future you shall become the ruler of the entire world, it's one true king!"

"...come again?"

"I did not stutter. You, Fujimaru Ritsuka, shall ascend to power and claim your rightful throne as king of the universe."

'Did he just bump up my status from 'king of the world' to 'king of the universe'?' Ritsuka thought before speaking, trying to make sense of what Woz had just told him.

"H-Hold on a second. King? I become a king in the future?"

"That is correct," Woz said as he took out the book he was carrying earlier and opened it. "According to this book, in two years from now, you Fujimaru Ritsuka will ascend to the throne as king over all and has since held his status for 48 years. Many consider you to be a wise and just ruler, but there are those who view you as a monster."

"A monster?" Ritsuka seemed surprised by that.

"You must understand that not everyone would accept a global monarchy, especially since such systems have been dead for years. As such, resistance groups have formed over the years all with the misguided goal of removing you from power. Both Geiz and Tsukuyomi are from one such resistance group."

"I see..." Ritsuka said, now understanding why the now named Geiz and his friend had tried to kill him. "But, am I really that strong in the future? I mean, I'm not that bad at sports, but I'm not the best, and it's not like I'm super smart or anything."

"Believe me when I say that you, my king, are the most powerful person in the universe," Woz said with absolute confidence. "As for how you obtained such overwhelming power, it remains a mystery. What is known, however, is that you began your journey to power in the year 2018."

"My journey to power..." Ritsuka repeated, still finding it hard to believe that he would become so powerful in the future that assassins from the future were forced to come here to his own time and kill him before he became so powerful.

"I still find it hard to believe what you're saying. Are you sure you got the right guy?"

Woz smiled confidently as he said, "That watch in your hand is all the proof I need."

"Watch?" Ritsuka raised an eyebrow until he noticed Woz's gaze was directed downward. Following it, he let out a cry of surprise when he was no longer holding his teacup and was instead grasping that strange watch he had found today. "This thing-!"

"Is known as a 'Ridewatch,'" Woz said as he grabbed the watch from Ritsuka and held it up before them. "This Ridewatch will grant you incredible power where you shall usher in an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity, and reign over the Earth as the Ruler of Time: Oma Zi-O!"

"Oma Zi-O..." Ritsuka repeated, remembering that that was what Geiz had called him earlier.

"Fight! There's a fight!" Suddenly, a voice screamed out, getting Ritsuka and Woz's attention as they saw a crowd gathering over the bridge. Curious and concerned, Ritsuka pocketed the Ridewatch and got up, running over to a gathering crowd with Woz following close behind but not before paying for the tea and snack.

"It looks like it really is a fight," Ritsuka said, jumping to look over the crowd and seeing two groups of people fighting one another.

"So it seems," Woz said, not look the least bit interested at this as he turned to leave. "Come, my Lord, it's time I returned you home so that you may fulfill your destiny."

"What? But we gotta do something about this," Ritsuka said, gesturing to the fight which seemed to be escalating.

Woz watched as his king pushed his way through the crowd, trying to get through in order to stop the fight. The prophet sighed at this, feeling that they shouldn't bother with people of the past until he noticed an approaching group of people garbed in blue coats. Seeing this, the prophet smiled and decided to let things play out.

With a bit of struggle, Ritsuka was finally able to make through the crowd and was now right in front of the fighting groups. Gathering up his courage, Ritsuka spoke up.

"U-Um...excuse me!?"

Both groups paused in their fight and turned towards Ritsuka. One man with a bleeding nose spat out some blood before glaring at the teen.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I-I'm just someone who's not a fan of fighting," Ritsuka said, a bit nervous due to the glares both groups were sending at him. Swallowing down his nervousness, Ritsuka spoke up again. "I don't know why you're all fighting...but perhaps we can settle this like civilized men? Why don't we all just sit down...and talk?"

"..."

"W-Wait! Hold on now! Let's all calm down, all right!?" Ritsuka cried out as the group of men was now carrying the poor boy over their shoulders. Struggle as he might, the men were stronger than him and had a good grip on his limbs. With no way to break free, Ritsuka was unable to do anything as the men all threw him over the bridge and down into the river below. The river was not that deep so Ritsuka was able to come up for air immediately as up above, the men and the people were all laughing at him now.

"Serves you right!"

"Why don't you cool your heels!?"

And with that, the group all left laughing.

"Well, that could have gone better," Ritsuka said as he began climbing out of the water.

"Here," Looking up, Ritsuka saw a hand offered to him. Not one to take kindness for granted, Ritsuka grabbed it and its owner pulled him out with surprising strength.

"Thanks," Ritsuka thanked whoever helped him. Brushing his wet hair back, Ritsuka turned to see who exactly helped and was surprised to see that it was a young girl his age.

Standing half a foot shorter than him, the girl was dressed in a white kimono with a black sash wrapped around her waist. The kimono was cut short at the legs, showing off her exposed thighs as her legs were covered by black stockings with blackguards worn over them and opened-toed sandals. A black bow was tied behind her peach blond hair with a small ahoge sticking out along with a black scarf worn around her neck. However, the thing that attracted Ritsuka's attention was the katana hanging by the girl's waist and the blue haori worn over her kimono.

"I should be the one thanking you for breaking up that fight," The girl said but Ritsuka's attention was focused on the haori the girl wore.

'That haori...Woz said that it was the Bakumatsu period, which means...'

"Hello?" The girl called out to Ritsuka, snapping him out of his thought. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine," Ritsuka said as he looked over to where the group that had thrown him into the river were now laughing together. "Huh, seems they stopped fighting. That's good to see."

"They threw you into the river and yet you're still concerned about them fighting?" The girl said, laughing a little at Ritsuka. "You're a strange guy."

"I get that a lot," Ritsuka said, not bothered in the least about what just happened. If fact, he felt quite proud that he was able to stop that fight.

"Oi! Okita! Let's get a move on!" A voice from a group wearing the same haori as the girl called out to her.

"Coming!" Okita called back before turning to Ritsuka. "Well, I gotta go. Stay safe."

"Yeah," Ritsuka nodded as he watched the girl run back to the group. At the same time, Woz reappeared by Ritsuka's side though the teen wasn't surprised as his full attention was on the girl. "Woz?"

"Yes?"

"Was that girl...?"

"Indeed. As unbelievable as it is, that girl is, in fact, the Okita Souji of the Shinsengumi. In fact, the man standing next to her is the Vice-Commander, Hijikata Toshizo. Hmm, but I don't see Kondo Isami with them. Perhaps he's away?"

"...how the hell did history books get her gender wrong?" Ritsuka asked, completely stumped that the famous Okita Souji was, in fact, a very pretty girl. Sure, some sources said that Okita was attractive, but he could clearly see breasts under her kimono. Plus, no man had legs like those.

"It is one of the world's greatest mysteries," Woz said, speaking as if he knew more than he let on, but Ritsuka didn't pry, still too stunned to care. "Well, I think we overstayed our welcome here. It's time we return you to your own time before—"

"M-Monster!" A voice cried out in fright.

"...that. Before that happens," Woz said he and Ritsuka turned around to see the man who had been trying to kill Ritsuka earlier, Geiz, or as he currently is, Kamen Rider Geiz, pushing aside people as his sights were set on Ritsuka.

"Oh, what is he doing here!?" Ritsuka said, still a bit traumatized from his last experienced.

"He has his own time machine, plus Tsukuyomi who is a master of tracking. It was only a matter of time until they tracked us down," Woz said, not in the least bit surprised to see Geiz here. And if he was here, then Tsukuyomi was close by.

"What do we do?" Ritsuka asked, knowing from his last experience that there was no way he could outrun the masked assassin.

"Fear not, my Lord, for I foresaw this would happen and took steps to keep us protected," Woz said as he took a step back to allow what was about to happen to occur.

*BANG!*

A gunshot was heard as a bullet bounced off Geiz's helmet, making the masked man stagger back a bit from the unexpected hit.

"Hold it right there!" Then, faster than Ritsuka could blink, Geiz was surrounded by members of the Shinsengumi, Okita herself being amongst them as she and the others drew their swords at Geiz whose attention was now on Okita.

"You...!" Geiz seemed to seeth at the mere sight of Okita, but the swordswoman herself remained unaffected, having adapted cold, impassive look which caught Ritsuka off guard.

"I don't know what you are, oni(demon)," Stepping up and joining the other Shinsengumi members was Hijikata himself who glared right at Geiz. "but you will go no further."

"Hijikata Toshizo..."

"So you can talk. You even know my name," Hijikata said as he slowly drew his katana. "That makes it easier for me then since I don't have to tell you who's going to kill you now. Don't bother telling me yours, I won't bother remembering it."

Seeing himself surrounded with no way out, Geiz decided on the next best thing.

[OH-NO]

He took out his weapon, the Zikan Zax, in its ax form, and held it at the ready.

"Hoh? Seems like this one is raring for a fight. In that case..." As was as if fire had filled Hijikata's eyes as he pointed his sword at Geiz and shouted at the top of his lungs, "SHINSENGUMI! SUSUME(ADVANCE)!"

"And that is our cue to leave," Woz said as Geiz began fighting the Shinsengumi.

"Right..." Ritsuka said as he and Woz took their chance to escape. Future assassin or not, the one known as Geiz was fighting with the Shinsengumi. He certainly didn't want to be in his position. Still...

"Ganbare(Do your best)!" Ritsuka shouted over to the Shinsengumi before escaping with Woz. Amidst the fighting, only one swordsman heard him.

"Heh, weird guy," Okita laughed to herself before setting her sights onto Geiz who was currently throwing one of her members into the river. She didn't know what armor this stranger was wearing, but their swords have been unable to do anything to it. In that case...

One step, silence...

Two steps, infinite...

Three steps, a sword absolute!

"Mumyō Sandanzuki(Three Stage Thrust)!"

"Come now, my Lord, the Time Mazine is not too far now," Woz said as he and Ritsuka made it back to the mountains after a bit of walking.

As they walked, Ritsuka looked down to see Kyoto below, thinking of Okita and the rest of the Shinsengumi.

"Are you worried, my Lord?" Woz asked, seeing Ritsuka's gazing down at the city below.

"A little," Ritsuka admitted. "But I'm sure they'll be fine. They're the Shinsengumi after all."

"Indeed. Geiz-kun is by no means a slouch when it comes to fighting, but even he is no match for the likes of the Wolves of Mibu. Rest assured, my Lord, you will see Okita-sama again in the future."

"What do you mean?" Ritsuka raised an eyebrow at that, taking notice of how highly Woz spoke of when talking about Okita.

"Now now, that would be spoiling things to come. I cannot reveal everything to you," Woz said with a cryptic smile. "Now then, if you'll please step away from that spot, my Lord?"

"Huh?"

*SMASH!*

Faster than Ritsuka could react, Woz suddenly dashed up to him, grabbing him by his kimono, and jumped back in time to dodge a mechanical fist which would have squished Ritsuka had Woz not saved him.

"My my, I never knew you could be so aggressive, Tsukuyomi-kun," Woz said, looking up at the red Time Mazine as he helped Ritsuka up to his feet.

"Woz..." A feminine voice spoke through the speakers, no doubt belonging to the one known as Tsukuyomi.

"Waiting out here in case we would escape from Geiz-kun, you were always the brain to his brawn."

"Woz, I won't ask twice, give him here."

"Now you know I can't very much do that," Woz sad before he smiled. "On another note, may I ask...how's your father doing?"

...

'Did it just get colder here?' Ritsuka thought to himself, feeling a shiver run down his spine.

Screaming in rage, Tsukuyomi made the robot throw a punch at them but was stopped when another mechanical hand grabbed the fist and pulled back, revealing the Time Mazine belonging to Woz had now taken a form much like the red Mazine, the only difference was that while the red Mazine had a round head displaying Geiz's face, Woz's Mazine simple had a cyclops-like eye.

"What!? How is it moving without a pilot!?" Tsukuyomi expressed her surprise before Woz's Mazine punched her right in the face, sending her stumbling back where she fell down the cliff. Ritsuka couldn't help but be concerned if she was all right.

"Come, my Lord. Let us make our escape before she has time to recover," Woz said as his Time Mazine transformed back into its vehicle mode.

"Wait, how did it move without anyone at the controls?" Ritsuka asked as he and Woz entered the time machine.

"That, my Lord, is my little secret," Woz said with a playful smile as he discarded his kimono, returning to wearing his jacket before he grabbed the controls. "Space-Time transport system, activate."

Once again, the Time Mazine took to the air and flew into a portal, disappearing from this time period.

After what seemed like a minute, a portal appeared in the air, and out came the Time Mazine carrying Woz and Ritsuka. Landing by a playground with no one in sight, the ramp opened up allowing Ritsuka to exit, now back in his old clothes which had been repaired by Woz.

"Well, my Lord, while it pains me to say this, this is where we part ways."

"Wait, you're just gonna leave?" Ritsuka said. "But what if that Geiz guy and his girlfriend come back to attack me?"

"Worry not, my Lord, for I shall always be watching over you," Woz said through the speakers as the ramp closed and the time machine began lifting up into the air. "Until we meet again!"

"W-Wait!" Ritsuka cried out but Woz had already flown away before he could say any more. Now, he was alone, back in his time. His time...

'I...I actually traveled through time. All that really just happened,' Ritsuka thought to himself, still a bit dazed as he reached into his pocket and sure enough, the Ridewatch was still there, confirming that what had just happened, happened.

"King, huh..." Ritsuka muttered to himself, walking back home while thinking about everything Woz had just told him. A king. He was going to be a king in the future. Just the thought alone with unbelievable. Hell, he didn't even want to be a king, especially if it earned him such a reputation that enemies were forced to come back to the past to try and kill him.

'It's already late,' Ritsuka noted, seeing that night was about to descend just as he made it back home. Now came a new problem. He had been gone far longer than he had intended, plus he lost his bike and the groceries he was supposed to bring.

'Man, what am I gonna tell Aunt Sakura...hm?' Ritsuka blinked in surprise. Right there at the front entrance as a gallon of milk and a bag containing two cartons of eggs and a pack of frozen chicken. On the bag was a sticky note that read:

{It took the liberty of getting you your groceries. I should also be able to obtain a new bike for you by tomorrow. Have a wonderful day, my Lord.} signed, Woz.

"I guess I should thank him the next time I see him," Ritsuka said, thankful for the prophet as he grabbed the groceries and opened the door. "I'm home!"

(The Next Day)

"Hey, dude, you okay?"

"Huh?" Ritsuka lifted his head up from his desk and turned to his friend, Ren.

"I know we just had a test but you look more...tired than usual."

"That's one way of putting it," Ritsuka muttered before sitting up. "I'm fine, just had a rough day yesterday. My bike got stolen so I had to wake up earlier than usual to walk here."

"Oof, that does sound rough."

"Yeah. Fortunately, it seems policemen caught whoever stole it, so I'm gonna head over there later to pick it up," Ritsuka half-lied. It seems Woz kept his promise as he got a message from him this morning(he wondered how he got his number when he remembered that technically Woz worked for him in the future and thus probably got his number from his future self) telling him to come by the police station to grab his new bike. He had told nobody about yesterday's events knowing that nobody would believe him so he settled on telling half-lies much like what he was doing now.

"Well, good luck with that. I got club today so I'm gonna have to leave early," Ren said as he got up and left. "Try not to get attacked along the way!"

"If only he knew..." Ritsuka said to himself as he grabbed his bag and left. After yesterday's events and a surprise test today, Ritsuka was a bit more tired than usual.

'I wonder what kind of bike Woz got me? I hope it's nothing too flashy,' Ritsuka thought to himself as he walked around the city, thinking that maybe the prophet had gotten him a bike that could fly in the sky via hover technology. The man seemed to revere him quite greatly from the way he spoke with him, but it just made him a bit uncomfortable to be referred to in such a way. He still found it hard to believe he would become a king in the future.

'I wonder what the heck is future me thinking, becoming a king in this day and age,' Ritsuka thought as he took out the Ridewatch from his pocket and looked at it. Woz had said that this thing would give him incredible power, but he didn't see it. To him, it just looked like some weird watch. Not even his aunt could make heads or tails of it, and she was a clocksmith!

As Ritsuka continued walking, trying to figure out the mystery behind this so-called power granting watch, he passed by what looked to be a blood drive. Already a few people were lined up to donate, showing just how kind the people of the town were, and it seemed some of them walked away with a cookie to snack on.

'Hmm...maybe some sugar will help me forget about all of this. Plus, it's a blood donation, someone probably really needs it!' Ritsuka thought to himself as he got in line.

"Hello, thank you for donating your blood. This will only hurt for a second."

Nodding in understanding, Ritsuka rolled up his sleeve and offered his arm to the receptionist. One minute later, he was bandaged up and given a cookie as thanks.

'Those guys seemed surprised about something when they used that machine to check my blood, but I'm sure it's nothing,' Ritsuka thought to himself. So long as he helped to do good, he was fine. Plus, free cookie!

"Nom!"

[Base Sequence: Human Genome Confirmed]

"Master, it seems those foolish rebels are at it again. What is your command?" Standing next to him while riding on top of a black horse was a black knight wielding a dark lance that hummed with the very energy of a storm. Over the horizon, a massive army was approaching.

[Alignment: Neutral]

The approaching army cried out for one thing: his death. But it was futile. With nothing but outdated weapons and stolen tech they did not even know how to use, not to mention the leaders were stubborn idiotic remnants of the old magic society that refused to accept the truth, they had no hope of winning. And yet they still come as if each attempt would be different. It hasn't been different for the past 48 years.

"What fools..." A baritone voice spoke as if lamenting the stupidity of those aiming for his life.

[Fingerprint, Voiceprint, and DNA authentication cleared. Magical Circuit assessment complete.]

"Shall I take care of them, Master?" The black knight offered, readying her lance as her horse neighed, seemingly eager to charge forth.

[Username confirmed. You are recognized as a member of the primates.]

"No. There is no need for you to waste your time on them. Allow me..."

[Welcome to the data center for the future of humankind. This is the Security Organization for the Preservation of Humanity, Chaldea.]

Grabbing the lance from the knight, he raised it up into the air where it began to spin. Soon after, it was as if he was holding up an entire storm.

He looked down at the approaching army. Despite the distance and the fact that they were still running towards him, he could see it, the fear on their faces.

"Fools. I gave you a chance...and you wasted it."

Pierce and devour...

The Thirteen Fangs!

"Rhongo—!"

[We hope you enjoy your time here.]

"Fou? Kyuu...Kyuu?"

'Hm? What is that?'

"Fou! Fou...Fou!"

'Feels like something's licking me...ugh...my head's still spinning...' Slowly but surely, Ritsuka regained function over his eyes, slowly opening them and seeing just what was bothering him.

"Fou?" Ritsuka blinked in confusion, unsure of how to describe the creature before him. The only thing he could was that it looked to be some sort of fluffy hybrid of a squirrel and a puppy. Whatever it is it's...

'Cute.' Ritsuka thought. If his body didn't feel so tired right now he would have attempted to pet the little guy for he was that cute.

"Umm..."

"Huh?" Ritsuka blinked again as he looked up, realizing that he and the little critter were not alone.

Kneeling next to him was a young girl around his age, maybe a year or two younger than him, with lilac hair and wearing rectangular framed glasses over lavender colored eyes, and dressed in a grey hoodie over a black shirt over a white-collar shirt, a red tie, a black skirt and tights, and brown shoes.

"Since it's neither morning nor night, please wake up, Senpai."

"Huh...Wha-!?" Ritsuka quickly sat up and jumped away from the admittedly attractive girl in front of him, surprising her as well. Perhaps he was still jumpy from yesterday's events. But first off... "Who are you?" And on that note, where was he? Looking around, he saw that he was in a huge hallway. Futuristic-looking panels lined one side of the wall while the other was completely blueish-white with this strange C symbol decorating some parts of it.

"Who am I? That's a hard question to answer suddenly," The lilac-haired girl said. "Maybe I'm not important enough for you to know my name?"

Ritsuka couldn't help but title his head in confusion at the girl. "Huh?"

"No, I do have a name. I have a proper name," The girl said, looking a bit bashful as she tried to correct herself. "But I never really had a chance to use it. I'm afraid I don't leave a good first impression..."

'Well, you're certainly making an impression on me now,' Ritsuka thought to himself in amusement. There was something about the way the girl talked that was both amusing and cute to him.

"Ahem..." The girl cleared her voice for a second before looking at him. "Anyway, can I ask you a question, Senpai?"

'Senpai?' Ritsuka raised an eyebrow at that, wondering why this girl was calling him 'senpai.' Nevertheless, he listened to the girl's question.

"Yes?"

"You were asleep, but I don't see why you'd sleep in the hall. Can you not sleep unless you're on a hard bed?" For a minute, Ritsuka debated whether he should answer sarcastically or not, but decided against that.

"Was I sleeping here?" He asked, wondering if his old sleeping habits were acting up again. At least he wasn't found sleeping while standing up, man would have that been embarrassing.

"Yes, like a log. It was such a deep sleep, it was almost textbook," The girl answered, smiling a little.

"Fou! Kyuuu! Kyao!" Suddenly, the creature that had woken Ritsuka up spoke up, getting the attention of both of them when it suddenly climbed up Ritsuka and jumped off of him, grabbing onto the girl before climbing up to her head. Not that Ritsuka looked close, the creature was barely the size of the girl's head.

"I completely forgot. I still haven't introduced you yet, have I, Fou?" The girl said, taking a moment to adjust her glasses before gesturing to the creature sitting on her head. "This squirrel-like creature is Fou. He's a Privileged Lifeform allowed to freely walk around Chaldea. Fou led me here, and that's how I ran into you, Senpai."

"Fou. Mmkyu, Fou!" The now named Fou jumped off of the girl's head, landed on Ritsuka's, and then jumped off before running off to who knows where.

"He ran off again," The girl said. "He does that sometimes, just walks around.

"What a mysterious creature," Ritsuka said as he finally stood back up on his feet.

"Yes, normally he doesn't go near anyone aside from me, but he seems to like you, Senpai."

"Does he now?"

The girl nodded. "Yes. Congratulations. Now you shall be the second caretaker of Fou in Chaldea."

"Th-Thanks?" Ritsuka said, unsure whether he was being praised or not.

"By the way, are you one of the Master candidates who were gathered for Rayshifting today?" The girl asked.

"Rayshifting? What's that?" Ritsuka asked, asking his own question.

"Eh? Have you come here without knowing what you're going to do?"

"To be honest, I don't even know where here is," Ritsuka said, gesturing to the entire hallway.

"That's a surprise. Then allow me to explain," The girl said as the two began walking together. As they did, they passed by some windows, allowing Ritsuka to see that there was currently a blizzard occurring right outside. Not only that, but his clothes have changed, now wearing a black shirt and pants with a white blazer over the shirt.

'What the heck happened when I blacked out?' Ritsuka thought, now really concerned as to where he was right now. Last he checked, winter wasn't until a couple more months.

"This is the Security Organization for the Preservation of Humanity, Chaldea," The girl spoke, getting Ritsuka's attention. "Chaldea is a research facility and an observatory that gathers researchers of every stripe, from sorcery to science, all for the purpose of continuing the history of humankind for as long as possible. For that purpose, our top researchers have developed Chaldeas, a global environmental model."

"Chaldeas?"

"It was proposed that planets have souls, so a miniature Earth was built to replicate that soul," The girl explained before continuing. "As long as the light of civilization burns in Chaldeas, humanity is guaranteed to last for at least another 100 years."

"That's amazing..." Ritsuka said, amazed at such a technological marvel.

"Yes. However, about a week ago, that precious light has suddenly begun to fade. If the light disappears, that means civilization will come to an end," The girl said grimly. "According to our observations, the human race is predicted to become extinct by December 2018."

"That's only a couple months from now," Ritsuka said in alarm until he realized something.

'Hold on a minute, Woz and those assassins came from the year 2068. If humankind is predicted to go extinct in just a couple months, then how...but then again, this place's job is to preserve human history. Does that mean...does this place have anything to do with my rise to power?'

"A close examination of the information has revealed a new abnormality," The girl continued speaking, snapping Ritsuka out from his thoughts. "That's Special Singularity F. We discovered from 2004 to 2016 CE, there was a suburban city in Japan that was an 'unobservable area' and did not exists in history. Chaldea assumed this is the cause of Humanity's extinction, and proposed the Rayshit experiment to the United Nations, which received approval."

"I see," Ritsuka said, finally understanding what this place is. "And what is Rayshifting?"

"I was about to get that," The girl said before explaining. "Rayshifting turns a human into Spiritrons and sends them back into the past to intervene in certain events. In other words, it's like time travel."

"Eh? So time travel is possible?" Ritsuka said, surprised. From how advanced the Time Mazines was, he would have thought time travel wouldn't be possible until a couple more years.

"Yes. By this means, we can transfer to the past and investigate the cause of the future's disappearance, then destroy it," The girl said, stopping by a vending machine and paying for a water bottle which she gave to Ritsuka. "And that is the idea behind Rayshifting, which Chaldea is currently trying to conduct."

"I had no idea I was in such an incredible place," Ritsuka said as he took the offered water and drank from it.

"Are you surprised?" The girl asked.

"A little, yeah," Ritsuka said as the two of them sat down at a couch. "But that still doesn't explain how I got here."

"What was the last thing you remember?" The girl asked, trying to help.

"Well, I was donating some—"

"Ah, there you are, Mash," Suddenly, Ritsuka was interrupted by a sudden voice. Looking to the right, Ritsuka saw a tall western man with long brown hair that rested past his shoulders and dressed in a green suit and top hat, along with a purple tie that had...spikes?

"That won't do, you know, wandering about without permission," The man said as he walked over to the girl until he noticed Ritsuka. "Oh, someone's already with you? You're..." The man then took out a bracelet and topped on it, causing a small holo-screen to appear which displayed Ritsuka's face and some of his info like his age and birthday.

'Am I in the future?' Ritsuka thought to himself, wondering if he was actually still in the year 2018. He also wondered if Woz had something to do with him being here. This place certainly looked way more advanced than any place he's been to.

"Ritsuka Fujimaru, No. 48, I see...You're the rookie who just got assigned here," The man said before turning off the bracelet and offering a handshake to Ritsuka. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Professor Lev Lainur, one of the technicians employed here."

'This guy's a technician?' Ritsuka thought to himself as he shook Lev's hand, having assumed that this man was some sort of rich dude.

"Welcome to Chaldea. I'm glad you're here. I heard you were selected out of many public applicants, how long was your training?"

"Training?" Ritsuka raised an eyebrow, having no clue as to what Lev was talking about. "I'm sorry, I'm still a bit confused here. Can I get an explanation?"

"Hm? Do you not understand?"

"No, I mean, the last thing I remember was donating my blood to this blood drive, I ate the cookie they gave me, and I think there were these men in masks. The next thing I knew, I was here," Ritsuka explained.

"Hmm, I see," Lev said. "Allow me to explain then. From what can gather from your story, when you donated your blood, we learned that you had the potential to be a Master. The cookies you ate were drugged a little, from there some masked men proceeded to grab you and bring you here, which brings us to now."

'Wait a minute...did I just get kidnapped!?' Ritsuka thought in realization. And it seems he wasn't the only one.

"That's definitely kidnapping! Don't try to soften it!" The girl who Ritsuka guessed was called Mash exclaimed at the professor. "If we were to go to trial, you would definitely lose!"

"You're right, I apologize!" Lev clapped his hands together and bowed in apology, looking ashamed. "And to think you were put through the simulator as soon as you got here even with everything else going on. I'm not surprised you were found sleeping since you aren't used to Spiritron Dives. I'm sincerely, sincerely sorry, Fujimaru-kun."

"I-It's okay, it's not like you two were at fault or anything," Ritsuka said, trying to wave off Lev's apology. "More importantly, what should I do now?"

"Ah, that. Well, while I'd like you to visit the infirmary first just case the simulator has any lasting effects on you, the Director's orientation is about to start. Forgive me, but please hang in there a little longer."

"Orientation?" Ritsuka repeated, confused.

"Yes, to greet the Master candidates assigned here today like you, Senpai," Mash said.

"In other words, it's for the big boss to welcome the careless newbies," Lev said. "If you go there, you should be able to find out why you were brought to Chaldea. I suggest hurrying as the Director is not the type to forgive and forget. If you show up late, you'll be on her radar for the entire year."

"Then I guess I better hurry then," Ritsuka said. "So, where exactly is this orientation?"

"The orientation starts in five minutes at the Central Command Room. Simply go straight down this hall and you'll find an elevator that will take you there," Lev instructed.

"Prof. Lev, do you think I'll be allowed to sit in on the orientation too?" Mash asked the professor.

"Hmm? Well, if you stand way back in the corner, I think she'll look the other way. Why do you ask?"

"I just thought I should take Senpai to the Command Room in case they might fall asleep on the way again.

"...I'll come along as well," Lev said, a concerned expression appearing on his face. "If I leave you alone like this the Director might yell at me." With that decision, Lev then turned to Ritsuka. "Is that fine with you, Fujimaru-kun? If you have no other questions, let's head to the Command Room."

"Umm...can I ask a single question?" Ritsuka asked before pointing to Mash. "Why is she calling me 'Senpai'?"

Mash looked surprised at that sudden question before she started blushing a little.

"Ah, that? Don't worry about it," Lev said. "To her, every human your age is her senpai. But it's unusual to hear her actually call someone that. This might be the first time. Actually, I'm intrigued. Say, Mash, why do you call Fujimaru-kun here 'Senpai'?"

"The reason? Well..." Mash looked a bit bashful for a moment before explaining. "Senpai is...human."

"Huh?" Ritsuka raised an eyebrow at that, having not expected that answer.

"Let me revise that. To be exact, he is the most human-like person I've ever met."

"Which means...?" Lev prodded the girl to explain more.

"I don't feel threatened. So there's no reason for me to be hostile."

A complicated expression formed on Ritsuka's face, unsure of whether he should take that as a compliment or not.

"I see, that is important!" Lev said, laughing a little. "The people in Chaldea have one or two quirks, that is to say, that they're all a piece of work! I agree with you, Mash. I think the two of you will get along just fine!"

"...If you like Senpai Prof. Lev, the Director will probably hate Senpai," Mash said with a concerned face. "Well, why don't we hide in the restroom to boycott the orientation, then?"

'Just what kind of person is this Director guy anyway?' Ritsuka thought to himself.

"That will only make the Director more upset. We're going to have to leave it to fate," Lev said before turning to Ritsuka. "Shall we jump into the lion's den, Fujimaru-kun? I'm sure once you get used to her, the Director can be a pretty sweet person."

"If you say so..." Ritsuka said as he followed the two to the Orientation.

(Command Room)

Following both Mash and Lev, Ritsuka was soon directed into a meeting room where people dressed similarly to him were all standing in rows. Beyond them and throwing a viewing window was an orbital model of the Earth glowing bright blue and surrounded by rings that spun around it.

'So that's Chaldeas...cool,' Ritsuka thought to himself as he got into one of the rows of people and stood as straight as possible. Only problem is, his eyelids were beginning to feel heavy.

'Shit...getting drowsy again...gotta stay awake...'

"Although we're a bit late, it seems like everyone has gathered," A feminine voice spoke up, belonging to a young woman around Ritsuka's age dressed in orange and black noble clothing. Her long hair was snow-white with some parts of the left braided and her orange eyes examined every person here.

"Welcome to the Chaldea Security Organization. I am Olga Marie Animusphere, the director of Chaldea. And all of you have been chosen or discovered from around the world for the rare talent you possess. By talent, I mean the potential to do a Spiritron Dive. You all possess magical circuits and the qualifications to become a Master. That being said, it's a special talent, but you yourselves are not special people. Make yourselves aware that you are no more than tools whose sole purpose is to protect the history of humankind."

At this did the Master candidates all start whispering to one another, confused and angry at being referred to as a tool. Those that came from Mage families took such a comment negatively and were openly glaring at the white-haired director who remained steadfast.

"Silence!" She shouted, getting everyone to quiet. "If you don't like what I have to say, leave Chaldea immediately!" She took a moment to see if anyone would get up to leave, but everyone remained standing. "Good. Now then, Chaldea has never seen this many..."

Olga was unable to continue due to sounds of snoring interrupting her. Looking to her right, she saw that Ritsuka had fallen asleep standing up. There was even a comical snot bubble coming out of his nose. Olga was less than pleased.

*SLAP!*

"Ow..." Ritsuka groans as he rubbed his red cheek. "Did she have to slap me like that?"

"Are you all right, Senpai?" Mash asked, walking beside him as Ritsuka, after being slapped awake by the Director, had been kicked out of the meeting room and was now being directed by Mash to his room. Along the way, they ran into Fou who decided to climb up Ritsuka and rest on his shoulder which he didn't mind in the slightest.

"I'm fine, it's nothing serious," Ritsuka assured the lilac-haired girl. "I was kicked out of the briefing though..."

"Yes, but on the plus side, you're fully awake now thanks to the Director."

"That's one way of putting it," Ritsuka laughed a little at that. "What was with her anyway? She was acting all high and mighty like some noble."

"Well, in the world of Magecraft, ability is a given, but lineage is just as important as well," Mash explained. "The Director is the head of the Animusphere family, a distinguished family of mages. She indeed has a strong predilection for bloodlines."

"So, it's like a Noble family?" Ritsuka asked and Mash nodded.

"Exactly."

"Guess that explains why she acts like one, but I still don't know what this 'Master' stuff she was talking about means."

"I guess it is a bit confusing from a normal standpoint," Mash said before explaining. "In the world of Magecraft, Masters are people who have the ability to summon heroic spirits, famous figures in history from the Throne of Heroes."

"Famous figures in history?" Ritsuka perked up at that. "So, people like King Arthur and Oda Nobunaga?"

Mash nodded. "Correct. Many potential Masters were needed after moving the Rayshift's experimental stage to practical use. But only a handful of mages had that potential."

"I see, I think I get it now. They needed more Masters so they brought people like me from the public to fill out the numbers."

"Will you leave Chaldea?" Mash asked.

"I haven't decided for certain yet," Ritsuka answered. While he wanted to return home to his aunt, this Chaldea stuff seemed pretty big and he didn't want to leave just because he was kicked out from the first mission. "For now, I'll see what I can do here. Plus, leaving like this would be frustrating."

As the two continued to walk down the halls, Ritsuka stopped at a window to stare out of it, seeing nothing but the raging blizzard outside and the grey clouds that covered the sky.

'Just where the heck am I?' Ritsuka thought, coming to the conclusion that he was no longer in Japan right now.

"As high as we are above the ground, we can't see one bit of the blue sky," Mash said, looking out the window with Ritsuka.

"The blue sky, huh?" Ritsuka mused, his attention now on Mash has he noticed how the girl was staring up at the sky longingly. "Mash? Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, yes, I'm fine," Mash insisted as she turned and continued walking. "Come, we're almost to your room, Senpai."

Ritsuka frowned in concerned but nevertheless followed the girl. Turning a corner, they eventually reached a room numbered: 1028.

"This is your room, Senpai," Mash said, gesturing to the door.

"Thank you for everything," Ritsuka said.

"Not at all. If you ask me, Senpai, I wouldn't mind even if it's treating you to lunch."

"Kyu...Kyu!" Fou spoke up, patting Ritsuka's cheek reassuringly.

"Fou says he'll look after you, Senpai," Mash said, somehow understanding the squirrel-like creature. "That puts my mind at ease."

"Well then, I guess I'll be in your care," Ritsuka smiled amusingly at Fou before turning back to Mash. "You'll be participating in the mission, right?"

"Yes. Which is why I must leave now," Mash said as she bowed before running off.

"Ah! Mash!"

"Hm?" Mash stopped running and turned around to Ritsuka.

"Umm..." Having spoken up without thinking, Ritsuka looked a bit awkward before saying the first thing that came to mind. "Be careful."

Mash seemed momentarily surprised before she smiled and waved before running off, leaving Ritsuka alone with Fou to keep him company.

"She seems like an interesting girl," Ritsuka said, smiling.

"Fou!" Fou cried out as if agreeing with Ritsuka who simply smiled at the little critter.

Pressing a button next to the door which opened it, Ritsuka walked inside...and found a guy with light orange hair and dressed like a doctor sitting on his bed eating cake, tea, and was on some website Ritsuka had never seen before.

...

"Who are you!? This is my slack off place!" The cried out in surprise, pointing his fork at Ritsuka.

"Who the hell are you!?" Ritsuka exclaimed.

"Who am I? Isn't it obvious that I am a healthy, diligent, and hard-working doctor!?"

'A doctor? Well, he certainly looks the part,' Ritsuka thought, feeling a bit tired due to how many people he was meeting this week.

"I was told that this was my room," Ritsuka said.

"Your room? Here?" The man said before a look of realization appeared and he palmed his face. "I see. So the last kid finally showed up..."

"You didn't answer my question," Ritsuka said, still not knowing who the doctor was.

Setting down his cake and tea at a nearby table, the man stood up from his bed and introduced himself.

"I'm Romani Archaman, head of the medical department. Everyone just calls me Dr. Roman so feel free to call me that too."

"Okay, nice to meet you," Ritsuka said, offering a handshake.

"Yeah, nice to meet you. I look forward to getting to know you," Romani said, shaking Ritsuka's hand before noticing Fou sitting on his shoulder. "I see you're already acquainted with Fou-san. Color me surprised. I've never seen him get so close to anyone besides Mash."

'Is it really that surprising?' Ritsuka thought, wondering if the creature on his shoulder was a loner or something.

"So, what brings you here? Isn't the Rayshifting starting soon? I heard all staff members were involved with it," Romani asked.

"Well..."

And so, while he preparing some coffee for them, Roman listened to Ritsuka and what had happened that led him here.

"I see. In other words, you got on the Director's bad side and were cut from the first mission." Ritsuka nodded, his mouth full of what used to be Romani's cake as the teen was currently sitting down at a chair, petting Fou while also feeding him a strawberry. The doctor chose not to point out how accustomed Ritsuka seemed to be despite just getting here.

"Then we're two of a kind, you and I," Romani said as he handed Ritsuka a mug of coffee. "I got yelled by her too. She chased me out saying, 'When Romani is here, the mood softens up too much!' My job is to look after everyone's health, but the machines are more accurate at reading the vitals of mages who are in the Coffins. So I've just been here sulking."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's fine, really. But since we've got nothing better to do, why don't we spend some time and deepen our friendship!"

"Sure. This is my room anyhow," Ritsuka said as he and Romani clicked their mugs together.

"Huh, I guess that means I'm visiting a friend's room," Romani said before smiling and cheering. "Woohoo! I've made a new friend!"

Ritsuka smiled to himself, amused by the doctor's antics. While he still didn't know much about this place, he could honestly say that the people he's met so far have been good people, certainly an improvement from the future assassins. And so, he and the doctor killed time by just talking with one another.

"...So that's the structure of Chaldea," Romani explained. "An underground workshop built on a snowy mountain 6000 meters above sea level..."

*Beep!*

Romani was interrupted by his watching beeping. Setting down his coffee, the doctor pressed on it, and out came Lev's voice.

{Romani, we're going to start the Rayshit soon. Could you come in case there's an emergency?}

"Did something happen?"

{Team A is in perfect condition, but Teams B and down are having small abnormality issues with some of the people less experienced with this.}

"That's unfortunate. I'll go give them a little bit of anesthetic."

{Yes, be quick. You're in the medical office, right? You should be able to get here in two minutes.}

And with another *beep* the link was cut.

"This isn't the medical office," Ritsuka pointed out while Fou seemed to give the doctor a look of pity.

"Please don't mention that. It's gonna take five minutes from here, no matter what..." Romani groaned. "Well, I think they'll forgive me for being a little late. Besides, it seems like Team A isn't having any issues. Oh, that man I was talking to..."

"Prof. Lev, right?" Ritsuka interjected. "I met him earlier. He said he was a technician here."

"A technician? That's putting it lightly," Romani laughed, confusing Ritsuka until he explained. "Lev's the Mage who created the Near-Observation Lens, Sheba—A telescope used to observe the pseudo-planet, Chaldeas. Sheba not only observes Chaldeas, but also serves as a surveillance system for most of this facility. Also, it was the previous Director who built the summoning/unsummoning system, which is the foundation of the Rayshift tech. To actualize that theory, the Pseudo-Spiritron Calculation Engine, which is basically a supercomputer, was provided by the Atlas Academy. All these different talents have been gathered to carry out this mission."

"Wow..." Ritsuka said in awe. While he had no idea what some of the stuff Roman described meant, he did know that a lot of work had been put together for this mission. He really got himself involved in something big.

"It seems pointless to have an average doctor like me on hand, but if I'm summoned, I must go," Romani said as he made for the door. "Thanks for chatting with me, Fujimaru-kun."

"No, thank you," Ritsuka said.

"When you get settled in, come by the infirmary. Next time, I'll treat you to some yummy cake," Romani offered with a friendly smile.

Ritsuka nodded and just when Romani was about to leave, the lights of the room suddenly went out.

"Huh? What's this?"

"A power outage?" Ritsuka stood up in alarm.

And then...

*BOOM!*

In the distance, the sounds of an explosion were heard before alarms started blaring throughout the building.

{Emergency. Emergency. A fire has broken out in the Central Power Station and the Central Command Room. Central Area's containment wall will activate in 90 seconds. All staff must evacuate from Gate 2 at once.}

"A fire? What on earth is going on?" Romani said as flashing red lights illuminated the room.

"The Command Room..." Ritsuka muttered to himself, remembering just who was in the Command Room right now.

If you ask me, Senpai, I wouldn't mind even if it's treating you to lunch.

"Mash!" Realizing that his friend was in trouble, Ritsuka accidentally dropped Fou who didn't seem to mind one bit and bolted out the door.

"Wait! Fujimaru-kun!" Romani called out to him, running after the teen as they both ran for the Command Room.

*CRASH!*

Suddenly, both men cried out in surprise when a black metal fist suddenly came bursting through the wall, throwing them both off their feet. A bit dazed but fine, both Ritsuka and Romani looked to see a familiar-looking round face.

"What is that!? A robot!?" Romani cried out in surprise and disbelief. Ritsuka, on the other hand...

"Oh hell no..." Ritsuka cursed under his breath as the familiar red robot widened the hole it had made before a ramp descended, allowing a familiar masked man to step out.

"Oma Zi-O..." Geiz practically growled as he pulled out his Zikan Zax in its ax mode.

"Geiz..."

"Wait, you know this guy!?" Romani asked, pointing at the masked rider.

"He tried to kill me yesterday!" Ritsuka said before realizing something. The timing of all this...

"Wait, are you behind this?"

"Huh? The hell're you talking about?" Geiz said as he was about to charge and swing at Ritsuka if it wasn't for a roll of cloth wrapping around his arm and pulling him back. Looking to see who had stopped him, it was none other than Woz using his scarf to hold the Rider back.

"Woz!" Ritsuka cried out in surprise, wondering how the prophet got here.

"No time to talk, my Lord. You must get to the Command Room. Hurry!"

Ritsuka could only nod his head as he scrambled up to his feet and ran with Fou following close behind.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Romani cried out, following after the teen.

"Dammit, no!" Geiz exclaimed, trying to pry himself away from Woz before shouting to the robot. "Tsukuyomi! Go after him!"

Faster than Woz could react, a white figure jumped out of the robot and ran after Ritsuka, leaving the prophet to deal with Geiz who grabbed his scarf and ripped it off, freeing himself.

"Woz...Stay out of this, you traitor," Geiz growled as he glared at the prophet.

"Now Geiz-kun, you know I can't do that," Woz said as his scarf returned to normal length and he smiled. "After all, we are about to witness history in the making."

"Who the hell was that guy?" Romani asked as he and Ritsuka ran together.

"Believe it or not, he's some guy sent from the future to kill me," Ritsuka answered, getting a look of disbelief from the doctor.

"The future?"

"Yeah. Apparently, I'm a king in the future."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, I can't believe it either," Ritsuka said before he and Romani made it to the Command Room and were greeted with a horrific sight.

The last time Ritsuka was here, the entire room was bathed in calm blue light. But now, the entire place was blazing red as fire and ruin filled the room. The only thing that remained unchanged was the pseudo-planet, Chaldeas, except the planet model was now pure black as if its power had been cut off.

"How awful..." Ritsuka muttered as the smell of smoke and embers filled his nostrils.

"Only Chaldeas is safe," Romani pointed out as he saw no sign of survivors. But more than that... "This was no accident. This is an act of sabotage!"

"You mean, someone did all this?" Ritsuka said, finding it hard to believe that someone would cause all of this destruction. He had half a mind to think Geiz was behind this, but taking into account how the masked assassin had just arrived, the possibility was too slim.

[Generator operation has ceased. Power levels critical. Switching to backup generator...error. Please make switch manually. Containment wall will close in 40 seconds. Those remaining in Central Area, evacuate immediately.}

"This is bad," Romani stated, noticing that those on the upper level were caught in the explosion too. "I'm heading down to the underground power station."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Ritsuka asked as the doctor ran out of the room.

"We can't let Chaldea's light go out—!"

*BANG!*

"Gah!" Romani cried out in pain as something had shot him.

"Dr. Roman!"

"Don't move!" Ritsuka found himself freezing as a woman about his age appeared around the corner dressed in a white dress and a cape of the same color worn over it, black stockings and shoes. Also, in her hands was a strange-looking gun, no doubt the thing Romani had been shot by as the doctor while showing no visible injuries, was unconscious.

"Fujimaru Ritsuka, Age: 18, born July 30th, 2000. Attends Homurahara High School as a 3rd Year student with grades average across the board and lives with his Aunt Sakura who works as a handyman in Miyama Town," The woman listed off as she slowly walked over to Ritsuka. "...I find it hard to believe that you're actually the person who grows up to be Oma Zi-O."

"Oma Zi-O...so you're with Geiz," Ritsuka concluded, figuring out who this woman is.

"Tsukuyomi is my name. I'm sure Woz has already told you about me."

"Just your name, really," Ritsuka said as he slowly tried stepping backward.

"I said don't move!" Tsukuyomi shouted, stopping the teen from going any further. She used both her hands to steady her aim at the young man who could clearly see that she was hesitating with what she was about to do.

"Look, I don't know what I did to you in the future, but can we not do this right now?" Ritsuka said as he gestured to the room around them. "Can't you see what's happening around us?"

"Of course I can, scenes like this are common in my time," Tsukuyomi said, starting to sweat a little, but kept her aim and gaze on Ritsuka. "I don't know what exactly is going on, but Geiz and I came here to do one thing: Kill you and bring about a better future."

"Please, don't do this..." Ritsuka begged the woman, fearing for his life.

"I'm sorry," The woman apologized, finger over the trigger. "For what it's worth, I'll make this as quick and painless as possible."

'That's what all the movies say,' Ritsuka couldn't help but think as he was about to break free and run...

"Fou!" When Fou suddenly appeared behind some rubble, jumped up and bit down on Tsukuyomi's hand.

"Argh! What is-!?"

Mentally thanking the squirrel-like creature, Ritsuka took this chance to run and find Mash.

{System Switching to the final phases of Rayshift. Coordinates: 2004 A.D., January 30th, Fuyuki, Japan.}

{Laplace's shifting protection established. Singularity's additional factor slot secured.}

{Unsummon program set. Please start final adjustments.}

Rituska ignored the announcements as he ran through the ruin around him, checking every Coffin around him to see if they held Mash.

*BANG-BANG-BANG!*

"Shit!" Ritsuka cursed as energy shots flew past his head, forcing the teen to run as Tsukuyomi was hot on his trail, trying to gun him down. He ran up a piece of rubble only for a shot to graze his shoulder, throwing him off balance as he tripped and fell down.

"Ow..."

"...sen...pai...?"

Ritsuka gasped as he pushed himself up and turned to his right to find, to his horror, Mash dressed in some sort of bodysuit and with half of her body crushed under a huge slab of rock. From under the rubble, a puddle of blood was forming.

'Oh god...' Ritsuka thought in horror. 'With those wounds...'

"...yes. It's helpful that...you're quick to understand..." The trapped and crushed Mash wheezed out, barely hanging onto life. "Please, Fujimaru-san, you need to...get out of here."

"I can't just leave you here!" Ritsuka exclaimed as he ran over to the girl and tried to lift up the slab of rock only to burn his hands due to how superheated it was. That didn't stop him as he simply rolled down his leaves and used them as makeshift gloves as he tried again to lift the slab off of Mash.

"Please...just leave me..."

"Forget it!"

"Oma Zi-O!" Suddenly, appearing over some rubble was Tsukuyomi who pointed her gun at Ritsuka only to see what he was doing. "What the...?"

Despite the girl had tried to kill him earlier, Ritsuka called out to her. "Help! Please! She's stuck and I...!"

"That girl..." Tsukuyomi muttered to herself, seemingly recognizing Mash.

{Warning all observation staff. Chaldeas' state has changed.}

Everyone gasped as the model planet above them suddenly turned bright red, looking like some sort of miniature sun.

{Now rewriting Sheba's near-future prediction data.}

{Unable to detect the existence of mankind 100 years in the near future on Earth. Unable to confirm human survivors. Unable to guarantee mankind's future.}

"What...is this...?" Tsukuyomi said, unable to understand what was going on right now.

"Survival? Future? What is it talking about?" Ritsuka said, equally confused.

"Chaldeas...has turned bright red..." Mash said as if she were seeing the worst thing possible. "No, more importantly..."

{Central Area, sealed. 180 seconds till internal containment procedure.}

"...they...shut off...the area. Now...we can't...get out," Mash said, looking regretful as she turned to Ritsuka. "I'm sorry...because of me..."

"No, it's..." Ritsuka tried to find the right words to say as he gave Mash a reassuring smile. "Well, I'm sure we'll find a way out of this somehow."

{Coffin Vitals: Masters, baseline not reached. Rayshift requirements not met. Searching for qualifying Master...}

Seeing that he would be unable to lift the slab off of Mash anytime soon, Ritsuka gave up and decided to do the next natural thing to him...sit down next to Mash.

"Mash, are you...well you're obviously not okay...how're you feeling?"

"I'm fine...thank you..." Mash gave Ritsuka her best smile which Ritsuka returned.

"Hey," He then turned over to Tsukuyomi who had just been standing and staring at them. "You wouldn't happen to have a way to get us out of here, would you?"

"...no...I don't..." Tsukuyomi answered, lowering her gun as the flames around them grew stronger and closer.

"Well, worth a shot. On the bright side, you won't have to kill me yourself."

"You..."

"What are...you two..." Mash looked between the both of them, confused by their conversation.

"Ah, it's nothing, Mash. Just an inside joke," Ritsuka said.

"Fou!" Suddenly, Fou appeared from behind Tsukuyomi, running past her and over to the two teens.

"Oh! There you are, Fou-san," Ritsuka smiled, relieved to see the creature all right. "Hey, Mash, look who came to visit."

Mash simply smiled as Fou walked over to her, looking concerned as it licked her slightly bloody cheeks.

"I'm all right, Fou-san..." Mash said, her breath getting noticeably slower.

"Hey...Senpai..."

"Yeah?"

"You can't see...the sky...at all...from here..."

"Yeah. Because there's always a blizzard here...but someday, I want to show you the sky, Mash."

{Searching for qualifying Master...Found.}

{Candidate No. 48, Ritsuka Fujimaru, reset as Master.}

"Um...Sen...pai?"

"Yes?"

{Unsummon Program, start. Spiritron Conversion, start.}

"Would you mind...holding my hand?"

"Sure." Ritsuka nodded as he wiped his hands on his blazer before leaning over and grasping Mash's outstretched hand, making extra sure to hold them tightly yet gently.

To the side, Tsukuyomi watched Ritsuka comfort the dying Mash as best he could. As she did, doubt started to cloud the girl's mind as she stared at the unbelievable sight before her.

'Is this...really the Demon King?'

{Rayshift starting in 3...2...1...}

{All procedures clear.}

{First Order, commencing operation.}

And then, the world went dark...

And...done. Wow, I'm surprised at how fast I finished this. Just goes to show when one is bursting with motivation. So anyway, if you're wondering why I did this, it's mostly because I saw the new opening for FGO and got excited which led to this. Plus, this doubles as an anniversary gift to celebrate FGO's 5th anniversary. So to all you FGO fans out there, here you go and you're welcome. No Ritsuka transforming into Zi-O yet, that'll happen in the next chapter when I finally decide to post this story. So until then, here's a little preview of what's to come.

Preview: Fuyuki Fire 2004

He watched. He watched how both knights exchanged swords. He watched how Mash was doing her best to support Lily. He watched how despite it being 2 on 1, Saber was still overpowering them. He watched from the sides, feeling helpless, useless, as Tsukuyomi did her best to support both hers and his Servant.

"It's no good...we can't win like this..." Over by his side, the Director fell to her knees, unable to stop the tears from falling. "We're going to die here...without even returning to Chaldea!"

All around him, the pressure kept on building as the situation grew worse and worse.

'It can't...I can't let this go on!' Ritsuka thought to himself, gritting his teeth and gripping the Ridewatch in his hand both in frustration.

"What will you do, my Lord?" Woz asked, seemingly the only person who was still calm.

"...Woz..."

"Yes?"

"...Just what kind of power...is Zi-O?"

Woz couldn't keep down the smile forming on his face even if he tried. "Zi-O's power is unrivaled throughout time. Should you accept and use that power, both past and future, the very world will be yours to shape."

"...In that case...!" Ritsuka gripped the Ridewatch with both hands, glaring at it as if knows it could hear him. "Zi-O...even if it's just a fraction...give me power...enough power...to stand by Mash's side!"

*SHINE!*

Right before Ritsuka's eyes, the watch in his hand glowed briefly before it changed. Gone was the flat black as a translucent appeared over the watch face, displaying a strange symbol of highly stylized katakana that spelled the world 'kamen' on the top, and displaying the numbers '2018' on the bottom.

"This is..."

"My King!" Woz's smile was practically splitting as he beamed at Ritsuka. "It is just as the book foretold! In a time of strife, just as all hope is lost, you have awakened to your power! Now then...what will you do now?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ritsuka said as he stepped forward. "I'm going to fight!"

"Are you crazy!?" Olga, who seemingly recovered from her crying fit, screamed at the teen. "You can't go out there! Masters are not meant to fight Servants!"

"My King is no ordinary, Olga Marie Animusphere," Woz said as he gestures to Ritsuka. "What you shall soon witness is the birth of the Master who stands above all Masters! He who walks alongside his Servants rather than behind them! The Grand Master!"

"Grand...Master?" Olga raised an eyebrow at Woz, having absolutely no idea what he was talking about right now. Woz didn't care of Olga understood him or not as he turned to Ritsuka.

"My Lord, if you wish to fight, then this is necessary for you." Woz kneeled before Ritsuka holding up a red cushion that carried the same belt he had seen on Geiz. Looking at it and the watch in his hand, Ritsuka figured what he needed to do.

Grabbing the belt buckle, he slapped it on and watched as a belt formed around his waist.

[ZIKU-DRIVER!]

The sounds of the belt stopped all fighting as everyone in the room turned to Ritsuka.

Holding out his hand, Ritsuka turned the watch's face until the mask was positioned correctly, showcasing a masked face. He then pressed the button on top.

[ZI-O!]

Despite not knowing what was going on, despite obviously being the most powerful person here, Artoria Pendragon (Alter) felt a shiver run down her spine. Whatever the boy was doing, it would spell out her doom.

"I won't let you!" She exclaimed, swinging her sword down and sending a dark energy wave at Ritsuka who cried out in alarm. Luckily, Mash was able to make it to him and used her shield to protect him.

"Master! I don't know what you're doing, but please hurry!"

"No! Don't do it!" Tsukuyomi cried out, but unfortunately for her, the teen's mind was set.

Nodding to Mash in thanks, Ritsuka focused back on his task and slotted the watch into the right slot.

Olga stepped back in shock when the phantom of a clock's hand appeared right behind Ritsuka, spinning around until the face of a digital clock appeared followed by random gears surrounding the giant clock face. A constant 'tick tock' reverberated as if waiting for the boy in impatience.

Ritsuka's hand hovered over the crown of the belt as he looked over to the altered Saber. Just her gaze alone sent a wave of fear running down his spine. His instincts screamed at him to run for his life, leave behind the others in order to save himself. And with massive willpower, he squashed those fears within him. He would not run. He will stand and fight!

He pushed down, causing the buckle to shift slightly. Grabbing the edge of the device, he spun it around easily and cried out a single word that would echo throughout history.

"HENSHIN!"

[RIDE TIME!]

Metallic straps identical to that of a hand watch surrounded Ritsuka in different directions, vibrating and glowing with power as it entrapped the young teen in a ball of energy. The straps spun and rotated wildly, pushing against each other and the forces that opposed it. Both Mash and Olga had to step away due to how much power was leaking out. Only Woz stayed where he was as he opened his book and spread his arms out as if addressing a crowd of thousands.

"IWAE(REJOICE)!" Woz roared, shouting to the skies, to the heavens above, and to the earth below, in a voice preachers would envy as the straps around Ritsuka started to slow down, revealing the young man within.

"He is the heir and the one who will inherit the powers of all Kamen Riders! The King of Time and Space! He who has saved and will rule over the past and future!"

An explosion of energy rocketed throughout all directions, causing the straps to expand and then blow up into pieces, revealing a transformed Ritsuka.

He was garbed in a black bodysuit, a silver wristwatch strap went down from beneath his neck, over his chest and down stopping right at the crotch. Black, magenta, and blue armor covered his upper torso and shoulders as two straps, one wrapped around each arm, both held two sets of blank watches. Silver kneepads protected his knees as his lower legs were covered by black-armored, steel-toed boots. The belt around his waist remained the same as displayed on the digital screen were the numbers '2018' colored in magenta. Finally, covering his entire head was a clock-like helmet with two clock hands pointed out on the front of the helmet with the hour hand pointed to the left while the minute hand was pointed to the right. A silver logo located on the forehead read 'Kamen' in katakana while the visor read 'Rider' in magenta-colored katakana.

"We have all witnessed his birth! He who stands above and surpasses all kings that came before him! He who sits upon the very Throne of Heroes as the one and only Grand Master! He who shall guide the world into a prosperous future! His name is Ritsuka Fujimaru! And he is...!"

[KAMEN RIDER: ZI-O!]