Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 01 – New Kingdom 2068
Earth – Early September 2018:
Sougo Tokiwa was an ordinary high school student, or at least as ordinary as he could get for some folks. Ever since he was a kid he had the dream of becoming a King, and it only grew as time passed on. Many people found it odd and questioned it, even his uncle to some extent. There was one person who believed in and supported his dream. Granted even she seemed like quite the oddball compared to him.
Of course while making his way back home from school he was heading up a hill with his bike when he approached by one of his classmates who took Judo.
"Hey, Tokiwa I heard about your career placement counseling. You seriously said you wanted to be a king?" The Judo practitioner asked, receiving a small nod. He was still a bit in disbelief over his classmate's goal. "Even little kids wouldn't say that anymore, dude!"
"Well, being a king someday was the only thing I could think of…" Sougo mentioned as his bike was taken away from him and parked. He was then grabbed by both arms, "Huh?"
"I've gotta wake you up, dude." The Judo Club member said, ready to plant his foot on Sougo's stomach only for his right wrist to be grabbed. "Ow! Ow!" He yelped as he let go of Sougo and turned his head to see who was grabbing him.
"Oh hey," Sougo said casually once he saw what was going on. The one grabbing the Judo member's arm was none other than Ruby Rose.
Ruby's attire was a bit different from what she was wearing nearly a year ago. She had a white tank top with a red rose emblazoned on it, a black jacket over it along with a red scarf draped around her neck. Black shorts with dark grey tights underneath, and brown boots finishing off her new ensemble. Even her hairstyle was changed, having a spikier and choppier look as her hair was noticeably redder than before but retained the same color gradation as it was black towards her roots.
"…H-hey hey, can you let go?!" The Judo Student asked as Ruby soon released her grip. He gave a groan as he rubbed his wrist. "Jeez, what was that for?"
"Pretty sure it takes a lot more than a flip to do what you were thinking," Ruby remarked as she crossed her arms before giving a smile. "I think Sougo's dream is fine."
The Judo player gave a bit of a scoff, "Whatever you say, but don't blame me for the mess you get stuck with." He muttered before taking off, several other students following after him once they caught up.
"I think I'll be fine," Ruby gave a small smile before looking over to Sougo. "I know you're not the confrontational type but you should be a bit more careful."
"Oh come on Ruby you know I'd be fine." Sougo brushed it off before leaning towards her to whisper. "Especially because of my… well you know already."
"Of course I do silly," Ruby waved it off with a smile before giving a short sigh. "I just thought he was being rude was all. I mean you're committed to your dream for a reason. You shouldn't let anyone try and force you to think otherwise."
"Exactly, so what brings you out here?" Sougo asked, not expecting to run into his friend.
"I was on an errand for your uncle and figured I'd meet up with you given the time," Ruby explained as she held up a white bag she had with her.
"Sweet, we can head back together then," Sougo said, turning towards his bike before noticing a strange stopwatch shaped device on his bike seat. He gently picked it up and observed it. "What is it?" He muttered but gently set it down.
"Huh? What was that?" Ruby asked trying to get a good look at what Sougo had set down.
"Probably some trash. We should probably hurry though," Sougo said as he began to push his bike further up the hill.
Ruby managed to catch a glimpse of the watch before hearing some whirring and turning back towards the bottom of the hills steps but couldn't see anything. She narrowed her eyes as she took a step back down.
"Hey Ruby, are you coming?" Sougo asked as he was nearly at the top, giving a wave to her.
Ruby was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Sougo yell, giving a nod as she waved back. "Right, I'm coming!"
The whirring grew louder as the two left the area, it being revealed to belong to a giant red robot with yellow accents and a watch-like head with a face printed on it. What it wanted, was anyone's guess though the pilot inside was confused at the sight of Ruby when he managed to catch a glimpse of her.
It didn't take long for Sougo and Ruby to get to their destination, arriving at a shop named 9-5-DO, a sign having rooms available for rent. Sougo parked his bike before the two entered the front of the shop which was filled to the brim with clocks. They quietly and quickly made their way to the back where the kitchen was.
"I think it just needs some parts," An older man said from behind the counter of the shop. He was filling out some paperwork with a woman who had placed a radio on his countertop. "Come pick it up in two days." He said before the woman left.
"Uncle, we're home." Sougo called out once he noticed his uncle was free from having to deal with the customer.
"Oh, welcome back, Sougo, Ruby," The uncle called back.
"Was that a customer Mr. Junichiro?" Ruby asked.
"Yes, she asked me if I could fix her old radio… even though this is a clock shop," Junichiro explained.
"Nothing's ever easy for you," Sougo gave a smile, reminded of how many weird requests his Uncle would get and he'd accept purely to keep money flowing.
Junichiro looked over to an envelope that held College Admissions for 2019, though realizing he'd be met with the same answer as before he decided to direct his attention to Ruby for now. "Ruby, how have you been adjusting? I know this must be quite the experience for you."
"I've been adjusting well," Ruby answered, just a bit glad that Junichiro wasn't asking tons of questions about her situation. Though this in turn had made her think back to how she even ended up in this situation to begin with. How she wandered aimlessly until she met the king to be and his uncle, the two giving her a place to stay. "I think I'm finally getting the hang of things. I'm just touched you've heavily slashed the rent down for me."
"Well you are helping out with the chores around the shop, alongside errands I have to run while Sougo is at school," Junichiro reminded. "So you're more than making up for it by working hard."
"Just trying to help out where necessary sir," Ruby replied as she rubbed the back of her head.
"Besides, taking care of strangers is like a King taking care of his subjects," Sougo gave a smile before looking over to his Uncle who came over. "Right, Uncle?"
"Of course, if that's how you want to view it," Junichiro said as he turned away for a bit, giving a slight worried expression since he still wasn't sure about his nephew's current dream. But he still wanted to be supportive. But deciding to not mull on it he turned back towards the two. "Well it's the weekend, and you two have been busy all day with school and errands for the shop. How about you get some fresh air and relax?"
"Sounds good to me, I'll be right back Ruby," Sougo said as he went upstairs to get changed.
"Right, I'll wait for you outside," Ruby said as she went over to the front, to her surprise she saw a hooded man with a long grey scarf staring at her. Ruby tilted her head and gave a slight wave when she noticed that the man seemed confused. Before she could say anything the sound of a horn nearby caught her attention, turning her head to see if the man would speak up she was surprised when he suddenly vanished. "Is that what felt off before?"
Her thoughts were interrupted when Sougo came out in his casual clothes. "Alright, I'm ready to go."
"Sorry if I'm making you walk," Ruby apologized, realizing that Sougo couldn't take his bike with him if they were both going to different places together.
"It's fine, though I'll see if I can get you a bike to make things easier on you," Sougo said as he waved her concern off.
"I mean, that or we could get motorcycles," Ruby innocently mentioned. "After all we did decide to get those licenses just in case."
Sougo blinked a few times, "I'm pretty sure I don't have the money for that. Actually I'm pretty sure you don't either. Plus we only did that because of that really good discount."
"So true," Ruby sighed as she hung her head, realizing it was too farfetched to get one for ease of use.
"Besides it just means we can take in the sights a bit more and you can get more familiar with Tokyo." Sougo added.
"Sounds good to me," Ruby agreed reluctantly before following after Sougo.
As they walked up an incline Ruby noticed the strange hooded figure off to the side in their path though he seemed to be waiting for them. The hooded man stepped in front of them. "Congratulations young man."
Ruby gave a wary look as she raised her arms slightly though Sougo was completely confused by the man's words. The man then turned as he was reading a book, and Ruby was just very curious about his clothing style since it definitely seemed foreign to this world.
The man said suddenly closed his book, giving a light sneer from underneath his hood towards Ruby who barely caught it. Something seemed to be bothering him. "Supposedly according to this book, today will be a very special day for you, young man." He stressed, addressing Sougo personally. "But you should beware the red robot."
"Red robot…? An Atlesian Paladin's here?" Ruby muttered as she raised an eyebrow, despite the odd rumors she had been studying up on, those were the only robots that came to mind.
Sougo heard Ruby's words before chimes could be heard, a strange feeling washing over the two before the hooded man was gone. Sougo tilted his head, "Ruby do you know that guy? Is he um from your… well you know…?" He trailed. While Ruby was pretty tight lipped around his uncle, an incident in late December last year had caused her to confide in him about her true origins. He was a bit unsure about her being from another world, yet given what she did for him that day…
"He definitely dresses like where I came from…" Ruby interrupted his thoughts. "And that red robot could possibly be something where I'm from… but I really don't know. Plus he was talking to you and not me." She kept the small glare she received to herself, still wondering why this man didn't like her exactly.
"Right, well let's get going," Sougo said as he took off.
The man was still nearby; in fact he had vanished to behind a corner where he couldn't be seen. "My Overlord…" He trailed as he gingerly placed his fingers on his book. "Just what is going on? He shouldn't have friends."
Sougo and Ruby soon made it onto a higher street, but on the other side was the red robot from earlier. It rose up to greet the two, though it's figure was imposing.
[TIME MAZINE]
"W-What the…" Sougo stammered out as he stepped back.
"That is not an Atlesian Paladin!" Ruby yelped as she quickly grabbed Sougo and tackled him to the ground, the two nearly avoiding a swipe from the robot's fist as it approached them.
"But it is definitely a robot!" Sougo exclaimed.
Inside the Time Mazine was a man wearing a black bodysuit with red lines and a high collar. He gave visible confusion at Ruby's presence, especially when scanning the two. Sougo was the only one confirmed to be in the databanks. Still he had his target. "I've finally found you… Oma Zi-O."
"Okay less gawking more running!" Ruby called out as she grabbed Sougo's hand and lifted him up, a shimmering red shield-like aura surrounding her as she began to drag Sougo away.
"Wait a minute, are we activating it now?!" Sougo asked as he was dragged along.
"Remember what I taught you!" Ruby called out as she felt the old adrenaline rush of using her aura. She had barely had to use it or only use it sparingly when not using it to keep from getting rusty. So despite the unpleasant situation she was glad that things were getting interesting.
"What was that?" The man in the Time Mazine questioned Ruby's aura but shifted his mecha to its vehicle mode, the Time Mazine chasing after the two.
"Ruby it's going to catch up!" Sougo yelled out before Ruby suddenly stopped pulling him and held onto him. "What?"
"Hold on I'm about to use my Semblance!" Ruby called out.
"Wait will that even work if your hol-whoa!" Sougo barely had time to react as everything became a blur around him.
Ruby had initiated her petal burst semblance, turning into a stream of rose petals that sped forward at great speeds. Because Sougo was with her he left a trail too, instead of her red they were pink in coloration. Ruby soon stopped, the two stumbling forward as they entered an enclosed area where a few shops were.
"You okay?" Ruby asked as she steadied Sougo. "You should really use your Aura more often, that way you can just flip it like a switch."
"Sorry, sorry," Sougo said as he steadied himself and closed his eyes, soon a pink glow washed over him as he opened and smiled. "Better?"
"Better," Ruby smiled before she gave a light grin having just seen the Time Mazine stop at the entrance, it being unable to get through. "Better luck next time!" She stuck her tongue out.
"Yes! You see that?!" Sougo called out, clearly thinking he and Ruby were safe.
"Now how about you come out and face us like a man!" Ruby taunted as she cracked her knuckles, she may not have Crescent Rose but she definitely make due with a makeshift weapon from the area.
"Clever but just because one of you is fast doesn't mean you can get away!" The man called out as he went above them, the two being able to see the Time Mazine transform back into a robot due to the area having a glass ceiling to let light in through. The Time Mazine then pounded its fist down through the glass to try and smash and smack the two.
"No fair!" Ruby yelped as she and Sougo ran to try and get away only for the Time Mazine to cut them off.
[TIME MAZINE]
Suddenly a grey and black version of the robots vehicle mode slammed into it. "Get in!" A female's voice called out as the Time Mazine opened its hatch. Sougo and Ruby looked at each other before deciding to get in. The two entered the cockpit, meeting a young woman with a white dress, black tights, a white cape and long black hair.
"Who are you?" Sougo asked.
"Introductions can wait, now hold on!" The woman said as she activated a holographic interface, scrolling through a bunch of numbers before setting coordinates. "Activate Space-Time transport system!"
"Wait a second, Space-Time what now?" Ruby asked before holding onto to the wall.
The Time Mazine opened up a gateway before shooting through, the machine entering a fairly forested region with lots of volcanoes and mountains surrounding it.
Earth – 66810000 B.C.:
"Before you ask anything, just take a look at this," The woman said as the vehicle touched down, playing a video of a black and gold armored man fighting against an army that tried to defeat him. The armored man was protecting a statue of Sougo alongside 19 other armored warriors. The fight didn't even last several minutes, the armored man easily defeating them all.
At the end of it all, all the destruction was paused, as time itself had stopped.
"You fools could never defeat me. And do you know why?" The man spoke before releasing a wave that rapidly aged everything into dust. The video was paused before scrolling back to where the two teens could get a good look at him. Ruby was having the faintest sense of déjà vu, swearing she had heard that voice and seen his face somewhere…
"This man is you, fifty years in the future," The woman said, a hint of disgust in her voice as she addressed Sougo. "The most reviled overlord of all time."
"That Overlord… is me?" Sougo asked, a bit in shock by this revelation.
Ruby had to hold her hands to her mouth when that news was dropped. She had lived with Sougo for nearly a year but even she had no idea how a young man like him could turn into some ruthless warrior like this. "No way…"
"I think I need some fresh air…" Sougo said as he quickly dismounted the Time Mazine, this was clearly a lot to process.
"Who are you?" The woman asked Ruby almost immediately.
"Huh? Me?" Ruby asked. "I'm Ruby Rose. I'm living with Sougo at the moment."
"Ruby Rose?" The woman asked as she pulled out a tablet, searching Ruby's name only for no results to be found. "This can't…"
Suddenly the Time Mazine released an alarm before Tsukuyomi activated the cameras. Sougo was being attacked by a Tyrannosaurs Rex.
"I'm sorry but where the heck did you take us?!" Ruby yelped as she saw the dinosaur.
"Not good!" Tsukuyomi called out as she shifted the Time Mazine back to its robot mode. The machine grappling and forcing the T-Rex back while she activated the machines speaker to inform Sougo. "You didn't notice? We were in a hurry, so I jumped all the way to the Cretaceous period!"
The Time Mazine switched back to its vehicle mode before scooping Sougo up and entering a time gateway once more.
Earth – 1671:
This time Tsukuyomi set it to a more stable timeframe of 1671. She parked the Time Mazine in a discreet location before leading the two 2018 teens into the town. Ruby was a bit surprised at the change of locale since it reminded her a bit of what she had seen of Mistral. Sougo meanwhile was amazed at being in such a historic period.
"So it really is a time machine…" Sougo trailed as he looked around before finally turning to the woman. "Just who are you?"
"I'm Tsukuyomi, I come from the year 2068," Tsukuyomi introduced. "The reigning lord of time, Oma Zi-O, has persecuted our people and created a world devoid of all hope. We chose to stand against him. But… my ally Geiz Myokoin wanted to go back in time and change history. I followed Geiz through time in order to keep you from attaining the power of Oma Zi-O."
"Wait a sec… Just checking, but are you sure you have the right guy?" Sougo asked.
"This is highly suspicious yeah…" Ruby admitted. "Sougo's one of the nicest people I know, he'd never do this."
"Sougo Tokiwa," Tsukuyomi read off on her tablet. "Born April 28th 2000, 18 years old. Currently resides at a clock shop with his paternal uncle, Junichiro Tokiwa. You're a third year student at Hikarigamori High School. Also performs well in the subject of history, but abysmally in physics. Very thorough, isn't it…?"
"She read you like an open book…" Ruby trailed before her eyes perked up. "Hey you had a reaction when you searched me up. What about me?"
"Open book or not I feel more attacked than researched, to be honest…" Sougo trailed.
"To be honest, I'm more concerned about the watch he has right now," Tsukuyomi admitted.
Ruby pouted as she wanted to know what Tsukuyomi found out about her before she tilted her head. "Wait a watch?"
"Watch?" Sougo asked before seeing the same blank watch from before in his hand. "How…?"
"It's that thing from earlier, I saw you put it on the ground. How did you even get it again?" Ruby questioned.
Tsukuyomi took Sougo's hand, "This will grant you incredible power. With it you will become Oma Zi-O, the king who eventually destroys the world."
"I believe you," Sougo admitted. "I mean, I've always wanted to be a king. If I can get the power to do that, then it works just fine for me. Not sure about the evil overlord part though…"
"The watch isn't responding…" Tsukuyomi tilted her head as she noticed the watch remained blank.
"I wonder," Ruby took the watch shaking it a bit as she examined it. "Hmm… yeah no just seems like a piece of metal. You sure that this thing is what makes him a King?"
"You seem oddly unconcerned about the Evil Overlord he becomes," Tsukuyomi gave a deadpan stare.
"Well duh, Sougo's not like that," Ruby said as if it was fact. "That's why I'm still skeptical of your story because I don't see how Sougo fits the bill. He wants to be King but to become an Evil Overlord of Time? That seems like it's stretching it isn't it?"
"Just who are you anyway? I don't recall a Ruby Rose living with Sougo from my records," Tsukuyomi admitted.
"I moved in about 10 months ago," Ruby admitted but decided to not say much more than that. "And you know my name so that's that."
"Well in any case…" Tsukuyomi's thoughts were interrupted by a group of men yelling and running in fear. A red watch themed armored warrior with a Yellow Hiragana visor walked into view, the buckle on his waist was oddly similar to the device Ruby had with her when she first arrived on Earth. But the difference was it was mainly white in coloration. One of the two empty slots was also filled by a red stopwatch that held his face. "Oh no…"
"Wait…" Ruby trailed as her eyes immediately shifted towards the belt. "It's a belt…?" She muttered before noticing the watch on it. "So is that why it didn't do anything?" She then suddenly realized what the man was. "Wait is he… a Rider?"
Sougo groaned out as he saw everyone running away from the warrior. "Now what…?"
"That's what Geiz looks like after he transforms!" Tsukuyomi explained. "He wants to eliminate you before you can obtain the power of Zi-O! We need to run!" She went to grab Sougo and Ruby's arms only to notice that Ruby was no longer next to them.
In a burst of rose petals Ruby had suddenly gotten right next to Geiz, surprising the future warrior. She suddenly began staring and pointing at the belt he had. "Hey what's with this belt? Is this armor what it gives you? Are you a Kamen Rider? How do I get a watch like that? And why is it white?!"
"Will you back off!" Geiz called out as he stepped away from Ruby, unaware that one of his blank watches was glowing from their interaction. "Just who are you? What was that aura around you? And how's an ordinary girl like you so fast?!"
"Uh, Ruby Rose, Huntress in Training and friend of Sougo," Ruby said giving a salute, deciding to see if Geiz would let it slip if he knew anything about her if she was a bit more open.
"Huntress?" Geiz questioned as he adopted a fighting stance. "What are you on about?"
"Ruby we need to go!" Tsukuyomi's voice called as she had called the Time Mazine, her and Sougo entering before she zoomed over towards Ruby and picked her up before heading through another time portal.
"You're not getting away this time," Geiz hissed out as he called on his own Time Mazine, getting inside and taking off. He relentlessly chased after his targets, catching up and trying to grab and slow them down so he could force them back into 2018.
"Not good!" Tsukuyomi called out as she tried to force her Time Mazine out of Geiz's grip.
"Can this thing take us to Remnant?!" Ruby yelped as she tried to hold on before grabbing one of the controls. "'Cause I'm definitely certain if we go there we'll be a lot safer!"
"But can we really go there with this?" Sougo asked, he knew this was a space-time traveling vehicle but he wondered if it could even go to a hypothetical other world.
"What on Earth is Remnant?!" Tsukuyomi questioned before they all yelled out, Ruby's tugging at the controls getting them free only for them to get slammed into the year 2017. "Brace!" She called out they suddenly appeared in front of a giant wall, the Time Mazine slamming into it and spiraling out of control.
Earth – Old World 2017
Ruby and Sougo were flung out, Ruby using her petal burst semblance to get them to land without crashing. The two landed on their sides, though luckily their Aura managed to hold out.
"That is seriously useful," Sougo admitted. "Thanks Ruby."
"No problem," Ruby said as she got up before looking around, it was snowing and fairly cloudy. "Atlas?" She asked as they were in an industrial district. Suddenly however a strange bulked grey humanoid with large fists accompanied by a small squad of robots with rifles appeared. "Not Atlas…" Ruby trailed when she noticed the robots weren't Atlesian Knights.
"Well they aren't friendly that's for sure!" Sougo called out as the machines began to approach.
Suddenly shots came from behind Sougo and Ruby, the bullets blasting the machines in the head and forcing them to the ground as they sparked violently. The monster wasn't scared off by the attacks and began to move forward.
"Get down!" A voice called out.
Ruby glanced back before suddenly pulling Sougo out of the way and throwing both herself and him to the ground.
[READY, GO]
[VORTEX FINISH!]
[DRAGONIC FINISH!]
Equations relating to physics began flying forward as a blue energy dragon snaked between them all, a white energy chart forming as a blue and red warrior with a rabbit and tank motif slid down it while kicking out. Meanwhile a blue with orange flames dragon-like warrior with a similar body kicked down as well, the dragon coming from behind and lighting him on fire. The two struck and kicked through the monster, a green explosion occurring as they landed.
Ruby looked up just in time to see the finishing blows land, "Cool, definitely Kamen Riders… even if I haven't seen these two yet."
"Wait, Kamen Riders? You mean the ones you research?" Sougo asked as his friend gave a nod.
"Good work muscle-head," The rabbit tank Rider remarked as he pulled out an empty bottle, the bottle sucking out the essence of the monster revealing it to be a man in hospital clothes.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this," The dragon Rider replied.
"No not really otherwise you would have finished the Strong Smash before civilians got involved," The rabbit tank Rider said in a deadpan manner before heading over to check on Sougo and Ruby. "You guys okay?"
"Everyone's a critic," The dragon Rider crossed his arms before following after his ally and went to help the two teens up.
"That was awesome!" Sougo admitted. "Are you guys from the-"
"You guys were awesome!" Ruby interrupted as she was suddenly all over their two saviors, looking over their armor and gear. "And the armor too, it's so nicely crafted."
"Aw, stop that you're going to make me blush," The rabbit tank Rider said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"So who are you guys?" Sougo asked. "Are you from the future too?"
"Future? What? That's Kamen Rider Build," The dragon Rider said pointing towards Build who dismissed his transformation revealing an ordinary man in a long brown coat with black combed down hair.
"Sento Kiryu," Sento introduced as he pointed towards his accomplice. "And this is my assistant…"
"Like hell I am," The Rider remarked before dismissing his transformation revealing another normal man in more casual clothes, his light brown hair done up in a unique styling, his most notable feature was that he wore a blue bomber jacket with a dragon image sewed onto the back. "Kamen Rider Cross-Z, the names Ryuga Banjo."
Ruby noted this since she recalled Tsukuyomi's style of outfit was a lot different from these two, and if Geiz was from the future then he'd have a just as out there outfit too.
"So what era are we in?" Sougo asked.
"Era…?" Ryuga asked. "It's November 30th, 2017."
Ruby and Sougo both gave a shocked expression. The former huntress in training glanced towards the side to look at the large wall the Time Mazine slammed into. The date was around the time she had met up with Sougo, but she clearly remembered that there wasn't a giant wall just cutting off parts of the country. Though given what she saw of them in action… "Um hey, all those equations and stuff, are you a scientist?"
"I'm not, he is though," Ryuga pointed at Sento.
"Genius Physicist," Sento corrected in a proud fashion. "And before you ask, yes I designed our gear."
"Perfect!" Ruby said as she took out the watch Sougo had before handing it over. "Can we get this examined?"
"Of course, I was hoping to ask you two a few questions anyway since you ran into Faust," Sento mentioned before gesturing to follow.
Eventually they were lead to a café positioned in an alleyway named Caffe Nascita, Sento promptly heading downstairs in a rush while Ruby and Sougo sat at one of the tables to warm up. Ryuga went over to the fridge to grab them some drinks, Ruby having requested Milk while Sougo didn't want anything.
"So um, I never really asked too much but that petal speed thing is a part of this whole Aura deal right?" Sougo asked.
"Yep, that is specifically a Semblance," Ruby gave a nod as she held up a finger. "But everyone's Semblance is unique. So yours is going to definitely be different from mine."
"And so it just… shows up one day?" Sougo asked.
"Yeah, it just depends really, one day you'll find out you can do something cool. Other times there's a trigger that ends up activating it," Ruby explained. "For now your Aura should be good enough."
"Here you go," Ryuga said as he handed Ruby a small carton of milk, he gave a grin at Ruby's excitement. "So you like milk too huh? It's good for us, keeps us strong." He said as he patted his muscle.
"Which is why I always drink plenty of milk," Ruby raised her fist before going to gulp it down.
"Of course I still have my protein shakes and my ramen, my two essentials for living," Ryuga replied as he began to down his milk.
"Huh," Sougo had briefly taken Ruby's milk when she stopped drinking and was staring at it.
"Hey, mine!" Ruby snatched it back.
"Oh, sorry," Sougo sheepishly smiled. "Just look at the expiration date."
Ruby did just that, seeing the expiration date was 12/21/2017, "Oh my goodness we really are in 2017."
Sento eventually emerged from the refrigerator behind the counter, but not the same one that Ryuga had pulled the drinks from.
"Whoa, what's up with that fridge?" Sougo asked.
"Well. I've examined it…" Sento ignored the question as he held out the watch for Sougo to take. "This device of his doesn't seem to use any current generation technology. They really are from the future."
"Not so fast. We're only from one year in the future, that hardly counts," Sougo said as he looked the watch over.
"I mean technically I'm from-" Ruby was cut off as Sougo put a hand on her mouth, not wanting to freak out people they just met since they weren't time traveling like they were.
"But either way there's someone from even farther in the future," Sougo said as the door to the café opened, Ryuga taking notice as the teen continued. "And apparently I become a king in fifty years… I turn into some guy-o, or something…"
Ryuga went to go greet the person when he was suddenly shot and knocked out, Sento saw this and was about to say something only to get knocked out instead.
Ruby gave a snicker at Sougo's butchering of the name they heard but quickly turned when she noticed both Sento and Ryuga falling in quick succession. Ruby and Sougo didn't have any time to react as they were struck by the same blasts. Surprisingly however the two just winced as they took some steps back. A pink and red shimmering glow from each showed that their Aura had held out and protected them. The two winced but weren't knocked out by the laser shots against them. Sougo though wasn't expecting to get hit like that and accidentally dropped the blank watch.
The blasts had come from Tsukuyomi who had attempted to knock everyone out, only to stay in shock when she saw Ruby and Sougo essentially tank through her shots. "What?"
Ruby gave a bit of a glare and quickly moved in, managing to get to Tsukuyomi first and grabbed her gun, managing to use what little weaponless training she had to yank the strange phone-like gun out of Tsukuyomi's hand. Ruby then held the weapon with both her hands as she forced Tsukuyomi to take a few steps back and raise her arms.
"Yeah, not happening," Ruby said as she kept her aim.
"Wow, we took those shots like champs!" Sougo called out but winced a bit as he rubbed his arm, having instinctively raised it to protect himself. "Ow…"
"It doesn't make us invincible but we did luck out," Ruby said, still keeping her aim on Tsukuyomi. "What's the big deal?"
"What are you even? I've never encountered another human with abilities like yours, it's like you're not of this world." Tsukuyomi started before looking at Sougo. "And you haven't even become Zi-O yet, how do you have shielding that strong?" Ruby's presence and impact were continually surprising her as the situation continued on.
"I'm just Ruby, and I felt like helping Sougo out a bit." Ruby shrugged as she went to pocket the weapon. "Now then what was all that about?"
"Sorry, I just wanted to make sure there'd be no resistance when I tried taking you back to 2018," Tsukuyomi admitted. "We shouldn't interact with the past more than necessary."
"That's uh… kind of hypocritical isn't it?" Sougo asked, remembering Tsukuyomi and Geiz's entire mission.
Tsukuyomi sighed, "Whatever… just follow me." She said realizing it would be stupid to try and take her weapon back from Ruby. She then led the two out of the Café and back to the Time Mazine she was using.
Earth – Old World 2017:
A young man with a basketball jersey was practicing, managing to get a good groove going until his last shot bounced the ball away since it hit the rim. He went to grab it only to yell out as a car was driving towards him, the driver unable to turn or hit the brakes in time due to not paying attention.
As this happened a young boy in a strange blue outfit sped along before tapping the back of the car causing it to come to a halt, the car itself blurred as if time itself stopped. "I'm choosing you." The boy called out.
"What…?" The basketball player managed to get out. "What just happened…?"
"Originally, history states that you were hit by that car just now," The boy said as he picked up the basketball before going over to the player. "But if you contract with me…"
"You'll save me?" The player asked.
"…Precisely!" The boy said as he let go of the ball and squatted down, pulling out a blank watch like the one Sougo had. "What's your decision?"
"Alright…" The player said as he took the watch. "I'll contract."
[BUILD!]
The watch gained purple hands that began going clockwise before turning purple and gaining a monstrous version of Kamen Rider Build's face on it.
"You're one smart boy," The boy grinned as he saw this happen before flicking his wrist, sending the frozen car spiraling into another car. "Starting now, you're Kamen Rider Build!" He said taking the watch and slamming it into the player.
[BUILD!]
The player gasped out before turning into a monstrous version of Kamen Rider Build, Build's name imprinted on its chest while it had the year 2017 on it as well. The Another Rider quickly made short work of its new mission, wanting a Best Match using athletes. A Karate student tried stopping Another Build from assaulting a Tennis Player but he was no match, the two being absorbed into bottles that Another Build held out.
"Tennis… Karate… not a Best Match," Another Build gave a sigh before continuing on. Of course its rampage hadn't gone unnoticed.
Sento and Ryuga had eventually managed to recover from being shot and were trying to figure out where their guests had gone. The only clue they even had was the blank watch that was left, Sento wanting to crack its mystery. But they barely had time for that as they received a Smash Report, the report mistaking the Another Rider for a strange new Smash.
The two headed out before running across the Another Rider in a tunnel as it just absorbed two more athletes, an archer and a swimmer.
"Swimmer! Archer! Best Match!" Another Build called out with joy before suddenly perking up and noticing its counterpart and his partner.
"What is that thing?" Sento asked.
"It sure doesn't look like a Smash," Ryuga mentioned.
"Me Build!" Another Build called out as it began to approach. "You… Cross-Z!" It pointed at Ryuga before suddenly running and hugging him. "Best match!"
Ryuga quickly pushed and kicked Another Build away before rubbing his body. "That is super freaky!"
"I feel oddly jealous," Sento admitted, Ryuga staring at him briefly before the two took out their Build Drivers, Sento taking out his Rabbit and Tank Bottles, slotting them in.
Ryuga took out his Cross-Z Dragon and Dragon Bottle, setting the latter in the adapter before closing it up and setting it in.
[RABBIT! TANK! BEST MATCH!]
[WAKE UP! CROSS-Z DRAGON!]
The two then began turning the cranks to their Build Drivers, setting up the transformation. Tubing in the shape of plastic runners began to form the armor pieces for them.
[ARE YOU READY?]
"Henshin!" The two called out as they initiated the transformation.
[HAGANE NO MOONSAULT! RABBITTANK! YEAHHH!]
[WAKE UP BURNING! GET CROSS-Z DRAGON! YEAH!]
The armor pieces closed in and overlapped against their bodies, transforming them into Kamen Rider's Build and Cross-Z respectively. The two got ready before running towards Another Build. They closed in, throwing a few punches and kicks at the Another Rider.
Another Build was beaten back but quickly used it's agility to bounce off the hill outside the tunnel to get behind the two, using its tank foot to force the two away. It then used its rabbit foot to jump forward and close the distance, punching at the two and forcing them back further.
"It's like it really is Build!" Ryuga yelped.
"Careful then, I may have to go all out," Sento admitted as he brought up his Drill Crusher and got on guard. He then rushed forward, spinning the drill and striking at Another Build a few times before jabbing it in the gut, forcing the monstrous Rider back.
Another Build groaned before it threw the bottles it made upwards before opening its mouth and swallowing them whole.
"Swimmer! Archer! Best Match!"
Another Build soon dived into the pavement as if it was water, jumping out like a fish and striking the two Riders before diving back in. It then jumped out and shot arrows at them while they were recovering, forcing the two to the ground.
"It's just like KaizokuRessya!" Sento gasped out as he realized he needed a counter and quickly drew out two new bottles, slotting them in before turning the crank.
[OCTOPUS! LIGHT! BEST MATCH!]
[INAZUMA TECHNICIAN! OCTOPUSLIGHT! YEAHHH!]
Sento took his pastel yellow and pink octopus based form. He aimed the spotlight on his forearm forward, flashing a bright light to blind Another Build as it rose to attack again. The Another Rider yelped and covered its eyes, diving back in.
"The laws of victory are set!" Sento called out as he extended his Octopus side's tentacles, entering the ground as if it was water. Hits and sparks flying were heard before Another Build was forced to jump into the air, Sento then threw the tentacles on his arm out to constrict Another Build. "Ryuga now!"
"On it," Ryuga called out as he took out his Beat Closer sword, slotting in a Lock Bottle before pumping the lever at the end of the grip twice.
[SPECIAL TUNE! MILLION SLASH!]
Ryuga let out a yell as he unleashed a blue fireball that slammed into Another Build, the Another Rider falling to the ground as sparks came off of its body. It lost the bottles that it held and consumed, the bottles breaking and returning the athletes back to normal.
"Get out of here, now!" Sento called out as the athletes all managed to get to their feet before running off. "Good, now to finish this." He said as he took out a soda can that held a similar theme to his rabbit tank form. As he was ready to pop the lid open, time was suddenly frozen for him and Ryuga.
Another Build on the other hand managed to get up and looked around confused before noticing something in the distance. It quickly ran past the two frozen Riders over towards the boy who had created it.
"This wasn't supposed to happen…" The boy hissed as he saw Cross-Z and Build were still intact. "Why weren't their powers erased?"
"Having trouble Uhr?" A voice called as an older man wearing purple walked into view out of nowhere. He held a smug look as if he was a father looking down on his son for not pleasing him enough. He had wondered if putting his faith in the boy before him was a mistake due to his current feeling.
"Swartz…" Uhr gave a glare and turned towards him. "What's the meaning of this? Why hasn't Build been erased?"
Swartz looked over towards the scene and his smug look vanished, his eyes widening. "Impossible… I was sure that they'd be erased and no longer able to use their powers."
"What do we do?" Uhr asked.
"Hide Another Build for about a year, I need to see to something now due to this," Swartz said before reaching into Another Build, taking out the watch and clicking the button.
[BUILD!]
Smoke began exiting the watch before spiraling out towards the side. Out of the smoke formed the strange bulky humanoid from earlier but this time its body was mostly purple. Alongside the monster were the same machines that accompanied it. Swartz gave a smirk at seeing the small army before him before shoving the watch back into Another Build.
"When Another Build resurfaces, I suggest making him a partner." The older man said as he began walking towards his creations before vanishing out of view with them.
"Right, right," Uhr gave a bit of a bored look before turning to Another Build. "Let's go." He said before vanishing with the Another Rider. Once the two were gone time began to resume for Sento and Ryuga.
"Huh?" Sento looked around as he tried to find Another Build. "It vanished!"
"How did it do that?" Ryuga questioned as he looked around. "Should we chase it?"
"Unfortunately we have no idea where it could have even gone, there's no trail," Sento answered. "We'll deal with it when we can. We have our own worries to deal with remember?"
"Right, that thing definitely wasn't a Smash so there's no way it was Faust or Stalk," Ryuga agreed.
Earth – Early September 2018
"Can I have my Faizphone X back?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Huh so that's what it's called…" Ruby trailed, she could have sworn she recalled the name Faiz before, was it a Rider she was trying to find? She shook her head of the thoughts. "Simple, but a girl can't be picky."
"Why are you acting like it's yours?" Tsukuyomi deadpanned, a bit annoyed at Ruby claiming her device.
"I'm not handing it back to you," Ruby went to defend her actions. "After you tried to shoot us and knock us out, no way."
"It's technically hers though…" Sougo reminded.
"Hey do you want me to defend us from that Geiz guy or not?" Ruby asked, figuring that since Sougo didn't have a way to fight she'd have to use whatever she could to stop Geiz.
"I… you're right he's probably going to come back soon," Sougo sighed as he slumped over. "This is the worst…"
"Don't worry about it, let me see if I can get through to him," Ruby said as she patted Sougo's back. "I want to see if I can convince him you aren't that evil overlord. Because I still don't believe it. You're going to be a King but a good one."
"Ruby…" Sougo gave a soft smile at his new friend's encouragement only for his thoughts to be interrupted by screaming.
"What?" Tsukuyomi looked to see several people running away as the monster and mechanized soldiers that Swartz had brought out were wreaking havoc nearby. Tsukuyomi quickly lifted her tablet, managing to find them in the database. "Strong Smash and Guardian Robots, what are they doing here?"
"Ah these guys again!" Ruby yelped out.
"Yeah but the big guys purple now," Sougo pointed out.
"Whatever the case, they shouldn't be here right now," Tsukuyomi said as she held her hand towards the young huntress. "Ruby, I need my weapon back."
"Sorry Tsukuyomi, but if these guys are here I've got a job to do," Ruby said as her expression turned more serious.
"But you aren't a Rider you can't handle it!" Tsukuyomi argued.
"I may not be a Rider but I didn't train to be a Huntress just to sit around and do nothing when innocent people are in danger!" Ruby called out as she turned, drawing the Faizphone X before running forward and shooting at the Guardian's and Strong Smash. "Everyone run!"
"Ruby wait!" Sougo called out as he went to try and follow after her only to get knocked over by someone trying to run away, another blank watch falling out of his pocket. "This thing…" He trailed as he grabbed it. He glanced at Ruby who was fighting with all she had before turning back to the watch. "I need to become a King."
"You can't, just throw it away!" Tsukuyomi called out. "Stop talking nonsense!"
"It's not nonsense; I want to be a King!" Sougo admitted. "I want to make the world a better place. I want to make people happy! When I think like that, the only choice is to become a king!"
Ruby meanwhile had managed to knock a Guardian down and relieved it of its rifle. It wasn't exactly Crescent Rose but now she was having an easier time defending and countering compared to using the Faizphone X primarily. Of course she had to dodge the gunfire and use her Semblance to move around and confuse her opponents. Luckily it seemed like the Strong Smash wasn't the brightest, meaning she didn't have to worry about a tough opponent. But without a decent weapon she was still at a disadvantage.
"Yes. You simply must become a king," The hooded man from earlier called out as he stepped beside Sougo.
Tsukuyomi did a double take at the voice before stepping back. "Woz…? What are you doing here?!"
"Zi-O's power is unrivaled throughout time," Woz called out to Sougo, he removed his hood. "Use that power and the world, including the past and the future, will be yours to shape."
"But if I do, won't I become the most evil overlord of all time?" Sougo asked, while he did want to become King that thought did weigh on the back of his mind.
"Which is why you shouldn't, don't bring about that evil!" Tsukuyomi argued.
"Shut up!" Ruby called out as she staggered back from the fight, giving a light glare at Tsukuyomi. "I may not have known him all his life, but in the 10 or so months I spent with him, there's no way Sougo would ever become something like that! Don't put down his dream; let him be what he wants to be!"
Tsukuyomi could only stare in surprise at Ruby's words, wondering just who this girl was to be giving Sougo such a big chance like that.
"I've made up my mind," Sougo announced. "I will become that overlord… But I won't be feared and despised. I'll become the greatest and most beloved overlord of all time!"
Tsukuyomi gave a concerned look while Woz was simply confused by this statement; Ruby though gave a grin before yelping and dodging out of the way of an attack.
Sougo's watch began to glow; gaining a white dial casing that could be turned alongside a white button, a partial face being on the watch. Sougo was in complete shock, noticing there was a symbol on the top while the date 2018 was on the bottom.
"This is for you, my overlord." Woz called out as he held out a red pillow with gold rimming, on it was a belt that was just like Geiz's. Sougo took it as Woz gave a smile. "You should know how to use it."
[ZIKU DRIVER]
Sougo had placed the belt on his waist before turning the dial to the watch, completing the face before turning the dial and pressing down on the button.
[ZI-O!]
He slotted in the watch on the right side of his Ziku Driver before pressing down on the top button of it, unlocking the front of the Driver allowing it to spin around. An old fashioned clock with tons of smaller clocks circling around it formed behind Sougo. The hands turning counter clockwise.
"Henshin!" Sougo called out as he spun the belt, it locking back in place after one full cycle as a clock sounding off was heard. Suddenly the entire world spun around Sougo as the clock hands formed a wide v-shape with pink katakana for Rider forming underneath them.
[RIDER TIME]
[KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!]
The clock broke as the Katakana flew off, dozens of holographic watchbands circling around him while overlapping before they formed a black bodysuit with pink and silver blue highlights. While having a watch motif like Geiz, Sougo's was more of the old fashioned kind while Geiz's resembled a digital watch.
(Insert Start: Over "Quartzer" by Shut Sueyoshi ft. ISSA)
"Whoa… he's a Kamen Rider now!" Ruby called out before backing away, realizing that Sougo would be able to handle this fight better.
"Rejoice!" Woz exclaimed as he opened his book, choosing to announce Sougo's transformation while Sougo himself was looking himself over. "He is heir to the power of all Riders. The lord of time, traveling beyond time and space to reign over past and future… His name is Kamen Rider Zi-O, and you have bore witness to the dawn of his advent."
"Oh no…" Tsukuyomi trailed, realizing she was too late to sway Sougo from choosing the path of Zi-O.
"I think… I can do this!" Sougo called out as he ran forward before punching a Guardian and sending it flying into a few others, the damage built up from Ruby's prior attacks and his current ones building and causing an explosion when they collided. Sougo immediately looked at his punch and then where the Guardian's once were. "It's working!"
Sougo then began to punch and kick at the remaining Guardian's, managing to slowly but surely take them out. With a few more quick punches and kicks he managed to wipe out the remaining Guardian robots.
The Strong Smash growled out and began rushing for Sougo, Ruby tried to shoot it down but the Smash's body was too tough. The Strong Smash then slammed his arm into Sougo, the new Rider giving a yelp as he was thrown back.
[ZIKAN GIRADE!]
Suddenly Katakana for Sword appeared before forming a clock-hand based sword with a watch slot on it. "Is this?" Sougo started.
[KEN!]
"A sword…?" Sougo asked before realizing he still had an enemy to take care of. He raised his sword to block against another punch from the Strong Smash. Realizing he now had a better way to fight back he blocked another punch before going on the offensive. As he slashed against the Smash he noticed a trigger near the grip, pressing it and increasing the power of his slashes as a result.
"Yeah, slice and dice!" Ruby cheered before realizing that Sougo likely had a cool finisher similar to Sento and Ryuga. "Hey Sougo, use your belt to finish it off!"
"Ah, right!" Sougo said as he moved his sword to a reverse grip before pressing down on his watch's button, then unlocking the Ziku Driver.
[FINISH TIME!]
The Katakana for Kick suddenly formed in a circle around the Strong Smash, damaging it when it tried to leave and keeping it in the center. The Katakana began to overlap and combine into one as Sougo jumped up and rotated his Driver.
[TIME BREAK!]
The Katakana soon flew towards Sougo and entered the sole of his boot, Sougo letting out a yell as he kicked out towards the Strong Smash. Sougo closed in and slammed through the monster with a single kick, sparks flying as it exploded. This one oddly enough didn't have anyone inside of it. Sougo skidded out of the explosion as he stood up, giving himself another glance over as he gave a chuckle. "Awesome…"
(Insert End)
"Not bad for your first fight," Ruby gave a smile, glad to see that Sougo was a somewhat natural guy at fighting, even if he wasn't very mobile in his fighting style like she was.
Woz had already left at this point, his Overlord had been able to properly transform thus he was relieved for the moment. However nearby from atop a building was Swartz looking down in displeasure.
"He became Zi-O but this feels terribly off…" Swartz trailed before his eyes landed on Ruby, soon widening. "You… just who are you?"
Back on ground level, dozens of thoughts were running through Tsukuyomi's mind, at least until that was interrupted. "Looks like you couldn't change history," A voice called to Tsukuyomi as Geiz came up in his civilian form. Geiz gave a glare towards Sougo. "Why did you choose to become an overlord?"
"It's the path I chose," Sougo said before rethinking things, choosing to firm up his stance. "No… I think I was destined to choose this path, from the moment I was born!"
"You fools could never defeat me. And do you know why? Because I was born to be king."
Oma Zi-O's words echoed in Geiz's mind as he became more angered once Sougo had brought back that memory. "I see… In that case, I need to put an end to that destiny right now!"
Geiz placed his own Ziku Driver on before taking out his own watch and activating it.
[GEIZ!]
He then slotted the watch on the right side of his Driver before unlocking the front portion. A digital clock display appeared behind him in contrast to Sougo's. He held his hands forward before gripping the Driver with both hands. "Henshin!" He then used both hands to spin the Driver once.
[RIDER TIME]
[KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!]
Hiragana for the word Rider formed as Geiz took the armored form he had used previously when trying to attack the group. He then drew out one of the watches from his holsters, a black one with an orange dial and button.
[GHOST!]
Geiz then slotted the Ghost Watch onto the left free slot before spinning the Driver once more.
[ARMOR TIME!]
Suddenly full body armor formed, the shoulders being two giant eye-like devices while the chest held an eye symbol on it, the thighs holding bone outlines on them. The armor latched over Geiz's body, forming the Ghost Armor as he gained Hiragana spelling out Ghost. Geiz walked past the armor as it broke apart and began attaching to his body to complete the transformation.
[KAIGAN! GHOST!]
"Here I come, Oma Zi-O!" Geiz called out.
"Wait he can do that?" Ruby asked, a bit amazed by the armor but also realizing Sougo was currently a sitting duck for Geiz.
"J-Just a sec…!" Sougo yelped.
Geiz held his hands up, performing a hand sign as four ghostly parka's formed out of his eye shoulders, rushing forward alongside him as he closed in with a yell.
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"You haven't done anything wrong yet, in this time. But this is for the future's sake."
"So is this how I'm supposed to fight…?"
"Is she the reason that Build wasn't erased?"
"Protect… Build!"
"Ruby that was amazing, I didn't know you could do that."
"I get the feeling I can't lose!"
Chapter 02: Rabbit! Rose? Best Match 2017
Author's Note: Well that was definitely a packed Chapter, ended up adapting quite a lot of Episode 1 with a few twists for Chapter 1. Though of course now that you're at the end you can tell what's going to be vastly different compared to the show. There was at least one scene missing, but it'll be showing up in Chapter 2 due to the timing being different for certain things. I'll also mention that I'm likely going to do my own Complementary Project for this story, so expect that to be the next update fairly soon. I'll see you guys next time!