Author's Note: So for today's chapter I have a fun announcement at the start of this all. When I first started this story I ended up doing most of the groundwork myself. It had ended up as an idea that was tossed around a bit on Discord that I got big inspiration for creating. After a while of writing it I ended up collaborating with a friend on Discord regarding the story. In that the two of us ended up becoming writing partners as we bounced ideas off of each other pretty well. So from now on I'd like to credit Josh25908 as a Supervisor for Roze from Remnant. His name will be in the description from this point on. But I thought I'd let you know as well via this chapter. So with that out of the way, please enjoy this latest chapter.
Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 06 – Dead or Alive 2003
Once more in the dark void Woz, looking through the book once more as static filled the page while looking at previous events.
"As it is usually written in this book, in September of 2018, average high schooler Tokiwa Sougo embarks on a path which leads him to become the overlord of time, Oma Zi-O. By continuing to delve in the gaming attacks dealt by the Another Rider and steeling his resolve, our hero procured the power of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid alongside Geiz's acquisition of Brave. And awaiting Tokiwa Sougo are more legendary riders… one of which Ms. Ruby Rose has met already personally."
Earth – Mid September 2018
Some time had passed since the Another Ex-Aid incident, and all seemed well as everyone in Shibuya Scramble was currently minding their own business as they hurried along to where they needed to go. With so many people passing through and trying to get somewhere it was only natural that time was suddenly put to a halt. The familiar green tint and static nature of the Time Jacker's washing over the area as a result.
"So, Zi-O and Roze messed up your plan too, huh?" Uhr asked with a smug grin as he walked over to Ora who did the same. "And you said your Another Rider was pretty unique. That's precious, Ora!"
"There's nothing even remotely precious about you!" Ora groaned as she saw Uhr laughing at her failure. "Besides, that Roze girl doesn't even seem remotely like a threat."
"Of course she is," Swartz's voice rang through the area as the two were suddenly caught in his time stop once more. "Otherwise I wouldn't have gathered our new friends." He said as he approached the two with Finis close behind. Swartz casually grabbed a chocolate bar as he walked over to Uhr, feeling the need to patronize the younger members given their past failures. "Uhr, would you like some chocolate?"
"Don't treat me like a child, Swartz!" Uhr hissed out as he barely managed to move to look at Swartz and Finis once the two were next to them, Ora doing the same.
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves," Swartz answered, ignoring Uhr's statement entirely. "But the flow of time still steadily moves towards Oma Zi-O's awakening. We must stem the flow of time and crown a new king. Keep that in mind." He then forced the piece of chocolate into Uhr's hand.
"And luckily I believe I've found the perfect candidate for our new King," Finis explained with a wry smile. "But I'd like someone to accompany me and make sure that Zi-O and Roze won't interfere."
"Then I nominate Uhr, after all, Ora was last," Swartz answered before walking away.
"Fine…" Uhr growled out before nearly falling over alongside Ora as time resumed for everyone. "When do we start?" He looked over towards Finis.
"Right now would be preferable," Finis spoke before taking off, fading out of existence as Uhr followed, leaving Ora by herself.
"Just what is Swartz thinking…?" Ora clicked her tongue.
Earth – Late September 2018
It was a late night as more time had passed without any real notable incidents, or rather, major incidents like the previous Another Rider incidents. One was starting to stir however via a strange case that was scattered throughout nearly two decades. Complete random disappearances within the Tokyo area but they were so spread thin and entirely different that no one would think of investigating heavily.
At least that was until a few days ago where a new rumor rose. And it was the talk of the night between a young man and woman, the two heading home after a wonderful date.
"Aren't you scared about being out this late?" The woman asked.
"I know you're worried about the rumors but we should be fine," The man reassured. "You can spend the night at my place if you're really worried."
"That would be fine," The woman gave a nod.
"Perfect, let's cut through here," The man said as he began to lead the woman through an alleyway that had an exit at the end. "My apartments at the other end, that way we don't have to walk around."
"Let's just hurry," The woman suggested.
"Right, you won't have to worry about-"
In an instant the dating couple stopped, the two looking down as they saw grey tendrils wiggling out from their chests. The two couldn't even scream as they suddenly lost all function in their bodies, their skin turned a lifeless grey and began to crack as they soon fell and turned to ashes. The grey tendrils glowed a bright blue briefly before they were withdrawn.
Behind the former living humans was a deep and low growl belonging to a grey and black creature with red vein-like lines running throughout its armored form. It gave a snarl as its yellow circular eyes glowed brightly alongside the veins. It just barely illuminated the alleyway it was in, revealing on its right shoulder the name Faiz, and on its left shoulder, the year 2003.
"Henshin."
[STANDING BY!]
[COMPLETE!]
The Another Faiz turned as bright white light suddenly shined from the end of the alleyway. A black suited rider with white lines was standing before it, two piercing orange eyes staring intently at the Another Rider.
"Found you," The black and white Rider said before walking towards Another Faiz.
Another Faiz gave a brief scoff before making its way towards the Rider.
The Next Day
Sougo was currently on his way home from school, a bit surprised by how relaxed Tsukuyomi and Geiz were as of late in regard to watching him. Upon passing a few classmates he heard talks about their dreams, a lot of them seemed pretty normal to him, some feeling just pretty mundane if he was personally asked about it. But he said nothing as he kept his pace on his way home, eventually entering to hear his uncle talking on the phone.
"What I'm trying to say is we're a clock shop… So we don't do stereo repairs, alright." Junichiro was currently on the phone with a potential customer who was insisting he fix something that, no surprise, wasn't a clock. "Well, yes, I know they can have clocks in them…" He trailed at the response he got before getting another. "But the stereo is the main thing, and the clock is more like an accessory…" It wasn't long before he was interrupted and inwardly chose to accept his defeat. "Y-Yeah… sure, I'll take care of it, happy to help. I'll pick it up now. Take care." He said before hanging up.
"Was it a customer?" Sougo asked.
"Yeah," Junichiro gave a nod. "They want me to fix their old stereo. I told them we're just a clock shop."
"Hey, Uncle…" Sougo trailed the question on the back of his mind for a while now. "Why do you always take jobs that you don't want to?"
"It's not that I don't want to do it. I just prefer to fix clocks, that's all." Junichiro answered, grabbing a clock from the counter before heading for the kitchen, passing Geiz and Tsukuyomi who were currently discussing something with Ruby who was mysteriously missing her scarf.
Ruby noticed Sougo, "Oh hey Sougo, how was school?"
"The usual, a bit relaxing though," Sougo admitted. "The two of you were home?" He asked the two time travelers. "No watch duty today?"
"Just busy," Tsukuyomi admitted.
"Was it an Another Rider?" Sougo asked.
"That's what we're thinking," Ruby answered much to Geiz's annoyance.
Geiz began to move forward to head out immediately. "You need to stay-"
"No way, I'm coming with you." Sougo insisted before heading for the stairs. "Hold on a sec."
"Did you really need to blab what we were doing?" Geiz glared at Ruby but eventually looked away, something was bothering him but he didn't want to say just yet.
"Given how we were reeling from Another Ex-Aid we can't afford to let just one of us sit out," Ruby argued and crossed her arms, giving an impassive stare. "This is why I suggested us waiting till the afternoon to begin with."
"She makes a good point Geiz, Another Ex-Aid wasn't the easiest to take down," Tsukuyomi reminded.
"Fine…" Geiz relented, realizing for now they'd have to get along with Sougo if it meant making sure the Time Jacker's didn't mess things up too badly.
Once Sougo was ready, the four of them ended up heading to the scene of the disappearance from the previous night. Barely anything had remained of the scene, so much so that the crime scene that had been put up was taken down just as quickly due to the lack of any real evidence aside from there possibly being a fight there.
"Wait there's been a string of disappearances?" Sougo asked.
"Every time the police arrive, they end up not having anything to make a crime scene out of," Tsukuyomi explained. "But people nearby the crime scenes mention they've noticed that there's a lot of ashes in the nearby area that were blown about because of the wind. They disperse so quickly that no one's been able to get a good clump."
"That's weird… we don't know the target this time," Sougo mentioned. "Another Build had athletes, Another Ex-Aid had gamers… but this one is just disappearances?"
"Unfortunately that's all they could find," Ruby said as they stopped by the alleyway. "But it's too much of an abnormal thing that's happened recently."
"Especially since there were reports of bright lights and sounds of fighting here last night," Tsukuyomi explained.
"Huh, we do make a lot of bright flashes don't we?" Sougo suddenly realized.
"Really, you're focusing on that?" Geiz questioned though his eyes were drawn towards Ruby who noticed he was staring at her. He quickly averted his eyes as he went to check the alleyway.
Ruby raised an eyebrow before she noticed some burn marks along the bricks, "Hmm, someone had a gun. These are definitely from a Riders weapon…" She said as she inspected the area. She then noticed Geiz glancing her way again before clearing her throat. "Okay, what's going on?"
"What?" Sougo asked.
"Huh?" Tsukuyomi was lost at what Ruby was asking.
"Geiz, is something wrong?" Ruby asked as she walked over. "Do I have something on me? Or is there something you want to say? Cause you've been unsubtly staring at me for quite a bit…" She trailed, really hoping that whatever the answer was, it wasn't a weird one.
Geiz said nothing as he lifted his collar up a bit, embarrassed that Ruby had caught him staring before he gave a sigh. That was until he noticed no one else was noting it. "Is no one seriously asking or wondering like I am? Fine, I'll say it!" Geiz called out before pointing at the huntress rider. "Why don't you have your scarf?"
"Eh?" Sougo was even more confused.
"I mean, I figured it was odd since she wears it everywhere normally…" Tsukuyomi trailed. "But I just assumed she was trying something different."
"Wait it was just about my missing scarf?" Ruby asked in surprise before giving a giggle. "That's so silly… but fine. I took it to the dry cleaners yesterday. It's pretty delicate so I have to be careful when it comes to cleaning it. Thankfully I found this nice little place to do it."
"Speaking of, they usually do it in a day right?" Sougo asked. "So shouldn't it be time for a pickup?"
"Oh that's right, I totally forgot the time!" Ruby realized before quickly running off. "I'll catch up with you all later!"
"I don't feel comfortable letting her go on her own…" Geiz noted. "Not with what's going on."
"But she's a Rider right?" Sougo asked. "She should be fine."
"Given what happened last time?" Geiz reminded.
"Oh… right," Sougo realized, remembering how Ruby had been infected by Another Ex-Aid's game disease.
"I'll go after her, it shouldn't be too hard to follow her," Tsukuyomi said as she rushed off.
"Hey, wait we should discuss who-!" Geiz cut himself off when he saw Tsukuyomi turn the corner to follow after Ruby. "Damn it…"
"Guess we're partners this time," Sougo realized, though he was a bit nervous given Geiz's deal with him.
"I suppose so," Geiz said before glancing upwards, having sworn he heard something coming from one of the rooftops.
"Is something wrong?" Sougo asked.
"No, nothing at all… let's get going, there was another place Tsukuyomi wanted us to check out," Geiz said before he took out his Ride Striker watch. "We'll go on bike."
"Oh, okay," Sougo said as he took out his own Ride Striker watch, the two activating their bikes before mounting them. Sougo then put his helmet on. "So… where are we going to again?"
"Just follow my lead," Geiz replied as he put his helmet on before revving his bike's engine, soon taking off.
"Uh sure," Sougo said as he took off after Geiz.
"Ruby slow down please!" Tsukuyomi called out, despite Ruby not using her semblance the time traveler still had trouble keeping up with the huntress.
Ruby heard her name and turned as she slowed to a stop, "Huh? Tsuki? What are you following me for?"
"It's too risky for us to be out on our own," Tsukuyomi managed to get out as she slowed down. She was somewhat winded so she didn't even question the nickname this time. "I came with you just in case the Another Rider attacked."
"Oh… right," Ruby gave a nervous chuckle as she twiddled her fingers, realizing that she had just rushed off on her own despite being one of the victims in the previous case. "Sorry, it's just I wanted to make sure I got my scarf back before they closed for the day."
"Why take care of that scarf anyway? Can't you just get more and cheaper ones to wear?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Well… I mean that's true," Ruby admitted before she put a hand on her shoulder, glancing at it. "But well… I know this'll sound weird but I used to wear a cape on Remnant. When I got here my clothes were entirely different but the scarf felt… familiar. I know it sounds weird but I think that scarf is my cape from Remnant."
"I see, so you keep and care for it because it reminds you of home," Tsukuyomi realized, deciding not to question if the two were really connected or not. "Geiz and I are kind of similar in that regard. That's why we wear what we wear even over normal clothes. It just feels more comfortable that way."
Ruby gave a nod, "Exactly, I figured you all would understand. Though I can see why it'd be a bit weird to see me without the scarf."
"So how much further are we anyway?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Not too much farther… just about… here!" Ruby stopped at a small unassuming building that was seemingly a business as well named Kikuchi Dry Cleaning. "If you want you can wait outside."
Tsukuyomi shook her head, "I'll be honest when I say this trip to the past is also a learning experience, since I get to see things that I may not have researched into initially."
"Yeah, you and Geiz are more used to the regular cleaning that Junichiro does," Ruby noted, a bit jealous about how Geiz and Tsukuyomi's outfits despite being intricate, didn't need special care. "Come on then." She said as she led Tsukuyomi inside.
Oddly enough despite the various shirts and suits that lined near the windows on the clothing racks, it was actually a pretty cozy shop that looked more like a home first than being a dry cleaner. There was a woman with long brown hair at the main counter who gave a smile, "I was wondering when you'd come by Ruby."
"Hey and yeah, I nearly lost track of the time too." Ruby greeted. "Surprised you're in today."
"Yeah well today's one of my off days from the other job but you know I just have to help those two," The woman admitted.
"Huh? Is that our favorite customer?" A voice asked from the back before a man with medium sized spiked hair came out from one of the back rooms. "Looks like it is, how are you doing little red?"
Ruby gave a huff as she crossed her arms, "I thought I told you to stop calling me that."
"Better watch out or our big bad wolf is going to eat you," The woman teased.
Tsukuyomi blinked a few times, surprised by how very familiar Ruby was with these two. Ruby though noticed Tsukuyomi's silence and surprise so she decided to speak up.
"Oh right, Mari, Keitaro, this is a friend of mine Tsukuyomi," Ruby introduced.
"Oh, hello," Tuskuyomi gave a quick bow.
"Yeah she definitely looks like someone you'd hang out with, what with that fancy cape," Mari noted.
"You need it dry cleaned? Cause we can get that job done for you in no time," Keitaro grinned.
"No thank you," Tsukuyomi shook her head. "I'm just surprised really, given I heard Ruby only moved here barely a year ago. I wasn't expecting her to be so… friendly with people from a dry cleaner's of all places."
"Well, I ended up actually visiting quite a bit because of my scarf, and we just really hit it off you know," Ruby admitted. "I wouldn't have found out about this place though if I didn't run into… oh right, speaking of where's Takumi?"
"You know you shouldn't talk about people behind their back," A voice called as a man with bushy long dark brown hair in jeans, a white shirt, and black jacket walked down from upstairs. "I know I grow my hair out quite a bit but I'm not a wolf."
"Oh come on Takumi you know we like to just tease Ruby a bit," Mari reminded. "All she needs is a red hood and a cape and she'd really be Little Red Riding Hood."
'Oh if only they knew…' Ruby thought to herself with a light smile, "Hey Takumi!"
"Hey there Ruby, I suppose you're here to pick up your scarf, we just finished it earlier today," Takumi greeted.
"Yep," Ruby gave a nod.
"Let me get it and then you can pay," Takumi said before the door opened, revealing a man in a blue jacket and a red shirt with thick short combed brown hair. Takumi stared in surprise, "Shuji?"
"Ah, sorry about barging in with a customer Takumi, but it's important." Shuji answered. "Can we talk for a minute?"
"Uh sure," Takumi gave a nod, noticing the look in his friend's eyes. "Keitaro can you get Ruby her scarf so she doesn't have to wait?" He then gestured towards the back as he went deeper into the business/house. Shuji followed after him and apologized as he moved past the huntress and time traveler.
"Hey Keitaro, can you also check her out?" Mari asked and decided to follow after the two men.
"Right, right," Keitaro said as he went to get Ruby's scarf before going over to the front counter so Ruby could pay.
Tsukuyomi though thought it seemed a bit suspicious, especially given the way the tone changed after Shuji had entered. Seeing that Keitaro was busy she decided to make her way towards a spot where she could hear them.
"Takumi," Shuji started. "I know you rarely fight unless it's important, heck I barely do anymore either. But something's wrong."
"You mean the sudden disappearance rumors?" Takumi asked, knowing what Shuji meant. "The fact that ashes are being left behind…"
"We know that all too well," Mari added. "Orphnoch's."
"The issue is they should be long gone… I mean, aside from you know," Shuji mentioned as he glanced towards Takumi.
"Whatever the case, it sounds like you made a breakthrough if you want to call me in on this," Takumi noted.
"I found the culprit but he wasn't who I was expecting…" Shuji admitted. "It was Faiz."
"Wait what?!" Mari exclaimed before covering her mouth, everyone remained silent though it seemed like Keitaro and Ruby were still unaware of the conversation. The group not aware that Tsukuyomi herself was listening in.
'Orphnoch… Faiz…?' Tsukuyomi thought as she listened in.
"What do you mean it was Faiz?" Takumi asked his expression turning more serious. "Is there a second Faiz Gear?"
"No, it's nothing like that," Shuji corrected. "It's more like… a monster… that looks like and has the powers of Faiz."
'Another Rider…' Tsukuyomi suddenly realized as she put together the clues.
"A monster Faiz…" Takumi trailed before giving a groan. "We can't have that running around."
"Takumi… it's been a while are you sure?" Mari asked.
"I have to, I may have a dream now but that won't stop me from protecting others," Takumi answered before looking over to Shuji. "Just give me a call and I'll come running."
"Right, I think I've got a lead but I need to confirm it," Shuji said as he stood up. "But I'll make sure to give you a call as soon as I find this imposter."
Takumi stood as well, "Please do."
Tsukuyomi quickly hurried back to the front, slowing down and managed to not be seen by Ruby and Keitaro as she returned. The two had been busy with Ruby paying and putting the scarf back on that they hadn't noticed her missing presence alongside Mari's outburst.
"Thank you for having me," Shuji said as he walked over to the door before exiting, Takumi and Mari heading over to the front, the latter giving a worried look towards her friend.
"Everything will turn out all right," Takumi reassured.
"Okay, sorry about taking so long Tsuki, we can get back on track now," Ruby apologized.
"Right, about that," Tsukuyomi said as she grabbed Ruby's arm and took her over towards the door and away from the others. She then spoke in a whisper. "The Another Rider case… they might be able to help us."
Ruby gave a bit of a confused look towards the time traveler, "Um… Tsukuyomi are you sure?" She whispered back. "I've known them for a while and none of them seem like Riders."
"Listen I know what I heard," Tsukuyomi whispered. "Orphnoch, Another Faiz, Faiz Gear. All signs are pointing towards this location."
"Okay, but how do you expect us to ask them, it's going to be really awkward," Ruby whispered in response.
"Well-," Tsukuyomi was cut off when her Faizphone X started to ring. The two stopped huddling as she took it out and answered it, much to the dry cleaner trio's surprise. "Hello?"
"Tsukuyomi, tell Ruby her scarf can wait, we need backup!" Geiz called out from the other line, the sounds of fighting being heard.
"Eh… Geiz?" Tsukuyomi asked, noticing the sounds. "What's going on?"
"There were these strange grey creatures following us, when we got to a more open area they started attacking."
"Strange grey creatures…?" Tsukuyomi asked. "It's not the Another Rider?"
"No, none of them look like Riders, they just look like different animals."
"Just hurry!" Sougo's voice rang out from the distance.
Ruby had grabbed Tsukuyomi's hand and shifted the phone over to her, "Don't worry we're on our way!"
"No need to yell!" Was Geiz's last line before he gave a yell as an impact was heard, the call cutting off.
"Hey…" Takumi finally spoke up. "Where did you get that phone?"
"Huh?" Ruby turned towards the older man.
"That phone," Takumi replied. "Where is it from?"
"Oh that? Well it's a really long and complicated story, and I'd love to explain but Tsuki and I really need to go help our friends!" Ruby admitted, hating to bail and run but quickly grabbed Tsukuyomi and rushed out the door without a second thought.
"H-Hey, wait a minute!" Takumi had tried to catch them but Ruby's movements were too fast. "So fast…"
"So um… are things going down again?" Keitaro asked.
Mari though didn't answer, quickly heading off to find a certain briefcase that they had been storing away for a decent while.
"From what I could hear… it sounds like Orphnoch's," Takumi said, slight dread in his voice.
"Ruby, Ruby! I can run on my own!" Tsukuyomi shouted as she was dragged along.
"Sorry, can't hear you! Need to get going!" Ruby exclaimed.
"But you don't even know where we're going!" Tsukuyomi called out before suddenly bumping into Ruby due to her stopping. "Ouch…"
"Oh… right," Ruby realized before giving a sigh, having stopped right outside of a park that didn't seem to have anybody around. "Sorry, I just didn't want things to get complicated with Takumi."
"It's alright but I do want to ask them questions later," Tsukuyomi admitted. "Now then…" She was ready to work on tracking Geiz and Sougo when they heard a growl. "What? Was that a dog?"
Ruby quickly looked around, the growl was more monstrous than a normal dog's snarl, soon enough she set her eyes on what they had heard. Another Faiz was the culprit, standing at the center of the park surrounded by ashes.
Tsukuyomi's eyes widened as she saw the Another Rider, "That has to be it… Another Faiz." That was when she realized something. "But we don't have the Ridewatch yet. It'll just keep coming back."
"Even so if we let it go then more people will end up like this," Ruby answered, drawing out her Driver and Ridewatch. "But given the name of your phone… I'm counting on you to back me up. Got it?"
[ROZE!]
"My phone…?" Tsukuyomi asked, having not made the connection between the names yet.
"Henshin!" Ruby called out as she spun her Driver.
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]
Ruby drew out Crescent Rose before shifting it into its scythe formation, striking a pose with it as Tsukuyomi backed up. She had heard from Geiz about Crescent Rose's secondary mode but seeing it in person was another thing entirely.
Another Faiz said nothing as he began to make his way forward; it was as if it was accepting the fight before it.
Ruby quickly positioned her scythe to where the gun barrel and blade were behind her, pulling the trigger to launch her forward as she spun and slashed at the Another Rider.
(Insert Start: The people with no name by m.c.A-T.)
Sougo and Geiz weren't having much luck when it came to Geiz's plan of getting out into a more open area. The two had arrived in a plaza only for three grey animal based monsters to come out and attack, scaring off the crowd. The three were each a unique animal, one was a Pelican, the second was a Wild Boar, and the last was a Slug. These were the monsters that the Takumi and the others were worried about, Orphnoch's.
In response both Sougo and Geiz had transformed into their respective base forms already. But even then the two were still caught off guard by how strong they were.
"Just how sharp are you Geiz?" Sougo asked as he drew out his sword and slashed against the Wild Boar Orphnoch. He then ducked underneath the Pelican Orphnoch and punched it in the stomach.
"When you have to deal with a tyrant for your entire life you learn to sharpen your senses," Geiz said, his tone being cold at the beginning purely to remind Sougo of his future. He ducked underneath a swing from the Slug Orphnoch and slammed his axe into its gut.
Sougo yelped as he was slammed in the chest by the Wild Boar's head butt, staggering back. He drew out his Build Ridewatch in order to use an armor time only for the Pelican Orphnoch to swoop in and strike at him while he was distracted. He ended up losing his grip as the Build Watch rolled along the ground.
"I'll take that!" Geiz quickly threw his weapon into the Slug Orphnoch before rolling and grabbing the Build Watch, activating it and slotting it into his Driver before initiating the Armor Time.
[BUILD!]
[ARMOR TIME! BEST MATCH BUILD!]
Geiz gained the Build Armor, the most difference between his and Sougo's being that the armor was darker like his other ones and he gained yellow Hiragana that spelled out Build in the shape of his visor.
The Pelican Orphnoch jumped towards Geiz to try and tackle him only to receive a slash from Geiz's rapidly spinning drill across his chest. It gasped out and staggered, turning only to get assaulted by Geiz who began slashing and jabbing against him with the rapidly spinning drill.
"Impossible…" The Pelican Orphnoch gasped out.
[FINISH TIME! BUILD!]
Suddenly a white energy chart slammed into the Orphnoch, holding it in place, this one being more curved and sloped than Sougo's straight line. Not to mention actual equations were suddenly appearing all around instead of Sougo's half-baked answers.
[VORTEX TIME BURST!]
Geiz yelled out as he used his left foot to boost himself up, the rabbit properties of the form boosting him above the chart. He then slid along the sloped chart and kicked out with his right foot, energy tank treads forming and spinning as he slid down and kicked against the Orphnoch. With one final yell and push he kicked past the monster, the Pelican Orphnoch gasping out as its body lit up with blue flames before disintegrating.
(Insert End)
"Why you…" The Wild Boar Orphnoch growled out as it and the Slug's attention were now on Geiz for killing their comrade.
Suddenly a large shadow began to be cast over the area, a strange black pirate ship with red eyes, and green front limbs suddenly came out from behind a building. The eyes glowed red before releasing blasts of energy towards Geiz and Sougo, sending the two tumbling across the ground. Suddenly it opened up as additional parts began to come out, it revealing itself as a heavily modified Time Mazine.
"Alright you two, I'm taking you out here and now," Uhr's voice called from the cockpit. "With this Captain Ghost outfitted Time Mazine, you have no chance!"
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Sougo called out, deciding to take charge.
[TIME MAZINE!]
Suddenly the Time Mazine Tsukuyomi used shot into view, slamming into Uhr's Unit and forcing it back.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Geiz asked.
"I'll take care of that robot; you take care of those other two!" Sougo said as he leapt into the Time Mazine and took control of it. It entered its own warrior mode just like Geiz's but this one held Zi-O's watch as the head.
"Let's rumble!" Uhr called out as his Time Mazine rushed forward to attack, throwing a punch.
The Zi-O Time Mazine crossed its arms to block against the punch, it then pushed forward with both arms, forcing Uhr's machine to take a step back. Sougo threw the controls forward as the machine kicked out and slammed its foot into Uhr's Ghost Mazine. "If you want a fight then you'll get one!"
"Seriously…" Geiz sighed before suddenly ducking underneath a swipe from the Wild Boar, slashing to force it back only to be kicked from behind by the Slug. "Give me all the work huh?"
Ruby yelled out as she swung against Another Faiz, a bit surprised by how it just stood and took her slash. She spun before using the recoil to enhance her slash, swinging and managing to hit it again.
The Another Rider raised its hand, flames forming before launching a fireball at the young Rider.
Ruby quickly raised her weapon and braced against the fireball. "Just what is this guy?"
Tsukuyomi however used its current attention on Ruby to get to a good vantage point. She tapped the enter button of her weapon twice.
[BURST MODE!]
Tsukuyomi began firing off multiple red energy bullets that struck the Another Rider from the side. Another Faiz hissed out as it jerked from its shoulder getting hit by the attack.
"It's working?" Tsukuyomi asked in surprise.
"Knew it, that name isn't a coincidence," Ruby rushed in again, slashing at the Another Rider who swung its arm in retaliation. Both strikes ended up connecting though neither overpowered the other, Ruby went for a second swing as the Another Rider did the same with its other arm, the two spinning away from each other as a result of the impact from the attacks. "Keep firing!"
"Right!" Tsukuyomi continued to fire the burst of shots until she could only fire regular blasts. But this was enough to litter Another Faiz with sparks and damage it slightly.
"Hmm," Another Faiz was unable to keep up its assault due to the two attacking in tandem. It then summoned a large triangular sword with a gap in the center of the blade. It gripped the weapon tightly before charging forward and slashing at Ruby. Ruby swung and pulled the trigger of her weapon the recoil managing to let her win out in the slash and stagger the Another Rider.
"Take this!" Ruby brought her weapon down only for the Another Rider to swing its weapon up, catching Crescent Rose's blade in the center gap. Ruby yelped as the monstrous rider twisted the weapon and yanked towards the side, managing to force Ruby to let go and toss her scythe off to the side.
"Hmm," Another Faiz then released another fireball against Ruby, the huntress crying out as she only had enough time to brace with her arms.
Ruby gritted her teeth as she staggered back from the attack, panting as she took out Cross-Z's watch, ready to use her Weapon Time to try and give her an edge. That was until she heard footsteps and turned only for her eyes to widen behind her helmet in surprise.
Tsukuyomi turned when she saw Ruby turn, "Takumi?"
Takumi was currently standing near where the fight was standing, a strange silver belt with a black indented buckle slung over his shoulder. He grabbed the belt and swung it around his waist, locking it in place and making sure it stayed. "I must admit, I wasn't expecting this. But today is when it ends. You see, there are plenty of people who have dreams. I've been living mine for a while already."
"Dreams…?" Ruby trailed.
Takumi then drew out a flip phone of all things, flipping it over before entering a code by pressing the 5 button three times before hitting the enter key. "So to those who are still figuring things out, or starting their dreams. Especially young people like these two… that's why I'm here, I'll protect their dreams."
[STANDING BY!]
"Henshin!" Takumi closed his flip phone before slotting it in vertically at the front buckle, sliding it down and locking it in place horizontally.
[COMPLETE!]
Red glowing lines began flowing out from the belt and going over Takumi in a pattern, suddenly armor formed as the lines solidified. Gaining mostly black armor with silver accents and a silver chest, having a shark-like helmet with two half circle yellow eyes and red fins separating and going around the two. The red lines were now accenting the armor as well as he fully transformed into Kamen Rider Faiz.
Ruby stared in awe at the transformation. "No way… Takumi's…"
"Kamen Rider Faiz…" Tsukuyomi finished before looking at her Faizphone X, suddenly realizing the connection after getting a good look at Takumi's Faiz Phone. "Then this is…"
Takumi gave a flick of his wrist before charging forward, ducking underneath his counterparts sword swing and nailing it right in the gut with his fist. He grabbed the Another Rider's wrist to keep it from swinging the sword before punching it in the face a few times, suddenly letting go and planting his foot in it to kick it away.
"Hmm," Another Faiz only made another noise as it brandished its sword, ready to keep on fighting.
"Can you keep fighting?" Takumi tilted his head back towards Ruby.
Ruby gave a nod, re-holstering the watch for now and hurrying over to her weapon, switching it into its rifle mode. "I'm not out just yet!"
"This is weird, why is it so calm?" Tsukuyomi muttered as she noticed that the Another Rider wasn't grunting, or speaking like the previous two had. It was a lot more in control of its movements, and was disturbingly sturdier. "Just who are you?"
(Insert Start: Dead or alive by Shinichi Ishihara)
Geiz gasped out as he was slammed against the wall, the Wild Boar Orphnoch having pinned him against the wall while the Slug Orphnoch ended up ripping his weapon away from him.
"Now then, be a good kid and get rid of that armor," The Wild Boar Orphnoch said as its partner grabbed onto Geiz's belt and tried to rip it off.
"Get, off!" Geiz yelled out as he managed to shift enough to kick the Wild Boar away before slamming his fist into the Slug before kneeing it. Geiz quickly ran off to the side to get some breathing room. "These guys are getting annoying."
"Fire."
[BURST MODE!]
Suddenly blue bolts of energy were shot out towards the two Orphnoch, striking and sending the two rolling away.
Geiz perked up and quickly raised his arms as he turned towards the source. The black and white striped rider from the night before had shown up, holding up what seemed to be a walkie talkie attached to a digital camcorder that together formed a gun.
"Looks like I was right to go on patrol after that meet up," The new Rider mentioned. "Are you okay?"
"Who are you?" Geiz asked.
"Kamen Rider Delta," Delta responded before firing several more shots towards the recovering Orphnoch until he couldn't anymore. He then hooked the gun weapon back onto his belt. "I'm on your side."
"More help huh," Geiz muttered, realizing that Delta was likely involved due to the current situation which was likely Another Rider related. "Fine then, first you can start by answering what these guys are."
"Orphnoch, though it may surprise you in that I'm shocked that their still around," Delta admitted as he walked over to Geiz.
"Orphnoch huh… I've got some more questions but let's deal with these guys first," Geiz said as he swapped out the Build Watch with Ghost's.
[GHOST!]
[ARMOR TIME! KAIGAN GHOST!]
Geiz discarded the Build Armor before allowing the Ghost Armor to form and latch onto him. He raised his fists before jumping forward and kicking off the ground, floating forward as Delta yelled out and followed after.
The Wild Boar and Slug Orphnoch's both gave a yell as they charged forward towards their opponents.
While their fight occurred, Uhr's Captain Ghost Time Mazine Unit was flung overhead, slamming into a building. Uhr winced, having to admit that Zi-O was definitely something of a prodigy despite only just starting out. He barely had time to think as Sougo had his Time Mazine jump forward and kick against Uhr's machine.
"Just what are you planning?" Sougo questioned as he has his machine kick off of Uhr's before landing.
"Wouldn't you like to know? This time you won't be winning!" Uhr grinned, their plan was going perfectly and it was looking like this new Another Rider wouldn't be as easily stopped. Uhr's machine soon ducked underneath a swing from the Zi-O Unit, getting behind and grabbing onto the Unit as it turned.
The Zi-O Unit was soon pinned against the wall of the building, the Uhr Unit reeling its head back before jabbing at the Zi-O Unit with the bowsprit of its Captain Ghost head. Sougo yelped as the Zi-O Unit tilted its head from one side to the other to avoid the Uhr Unit's attacks. The Zi-O Unit went for a punch against the other Unit's gut, managing to force it a few steps back.
"Take this!" Sougo yelled out as he reeled back the controls before having his Unit send a powerful punch against Uhr's. The strike managed to land a direct hit against the main body of the Unit as Uhr's machine fell on its back sparking heavily.
Unr quickly detached his Captain Ghost from the Time Mazine Unit and flew off as the unit itself exploded from the damage. "Aren't you impressive? I suppose you really are Zi-O." Uhr said to himself as he winced a bit, a few sparks flying from his cockpit as he flew off. "But don't think your victories will come easily to you."
Sougo relaxed as he saw Uhr fly off, glad to see that it was over, or at least his fight was. The Zi-O Unit then turned towards the fight happening nearby on ground level.
Geiz had brought out the Parka Ghosts of the Ghost Armor to help swarm and confuse the Orphnoch, easily striking in tandem with Delta. Geiz did seem to notice that Delta's style seemed to be a bit stiff, and wondered if the Rider had fought anytime in recent memory.
"Let's finish this," Geiz said as he went to initiate his finisher.
[FINISH TIME! GHOST!]
"Sounds good," Delta said as he moved his hand to the front of his belt, slipping out a memory chip that had his face on it and loading it onto the gun he had at his side.
[READY!]
The orange points of the gun pushed forward and became pointers of sorts. He detached the gun and held it up to his mouth.
"Check."
[EXCEED CHARGE!]
He took aim with both hands and shot a purple blast of energy, the energy hitting the Wild Boar and stunning it as purple energy formed a cone-like shape.
[OMEGA TIME BURST!]
Geiz jumped and kicked forward, the Parka Ghosts spiraling around him as he gained a cloud of ghostly energy at his foot that trailed behind him. Geiz's kick connected against the Slug Orphnoch, tearing completely through it as it burst into blue flames before exploding.
Delta yelled out and ran forward, jumping and performing a kick towards the Wild Boar. As he neared the cone of energy his body turned white as he suddenly shot into the cone itself. The Wild Boar Orphnoch gasped before screaming. Delta suddenly appeared in a blue flash behind it, a blue triangle appearing on the monster before it exploded into blue flames.
(Insert End)
"Now then," Geiz said as he looked over. "You're going to answer our questions."
"Of course, but not here, it's not safe right now," Delta said as he dismissed his transformation, revealing that he was Shuji.
"Thanks for the save," Sougo said as he hurried over and dismissed his transformation, having sent the Time Mazine back to its hiding spot. "So you know what those things are?"
"He says they're Orphnoch's, but how that deals with our Another Rider issue is another question," Geiz pondered as he dismissed his transformation finally, tossing the Build Watch back to Sougo.
"…Another Rider?" Shuji asked, wondering if he heard that right. "It wouldn't happen to be a monstrous version of a Rider would it?"
Now it was Geiz's turn to wonder if he heard correctly, "Wait, you actually know what we're talking about?"
"Somewhat, I can answer your questions, but again not here," Shuji answered.
"Our friends should be coming shortly, we can't just leave yet," Sougo said before noticing something. "Wait, shouldn't they have gotten here by now?"
"Yeah," Geiz agreed. "I called them a while ago. We shouldn't be that far from them."
"I'm afraid it's a lot more concerning than you may think, my Overlord," Woz was suddenly around the corner near them, Shuji got on guard but Sougo put a hand up.
"Its fine, he's with us," Sougo gave a smile; while he was a bit spooked he was glad that Woz here.
"Woz…" Geiz hissed out.
"So what's the concern about Woz?" Sougo asked.
"Miss Rose and Young Tsukuyomi are in a bit of a dire situation, they are currently fighting the Another Rider you are seeking," Woz explained. "However… this Another Rider's identity is quite troubling. If you wish to make sure they stay alive then I would suggest making haste."
"Just where are they though?" Geiz questioned.
"Near a place Miss Rose is much familiar with alongside the man with you all here," Woz mentioned. "It is a park nearby a Kikuchi Dry Cleaner's."
"Kikuchi… oh no," Shuji suddenly realized that if the Another Rider was there, then Takumi was likely fighting it as well. "We need to hurry!"
Takumi gave a yell as he rushed forward, ducking underneath a swing from his monstrous counterpart. He then performed a rapid series of punches against the abdominal area of the Another Rider.
Another Faiz gasped out as it took a step back, but raised its sword upwards.
"Not so fast!" Ruby came from behind Takumi, jumping up and kicking off of his shoulder. She flipped over Another Faiz and began unleashing energy blasts from her weapon against the Another Rider. Sparks flew as it was staggered from the attacks.
Takumi rushed in next, managing to perform several wild swings and rapid kicks, just barely managing to get the Another Rider to let go of the blade. What he wasn't expecting was Another Faiz to suddenly flick its wrist, a tendril releasing from its right index finger before it lashed it out towards him like a whip. Takumi raised his arms, gasping out as he was struck, sparks flying as he tripped and rolled back.
"Takumi!" Ruby called out when she saw this happen.
"T-That attack…" Takumi trailed, the sword, the fireballs, it was all starting to ring a familiar tone to him. He took out what looked to be a camera from his holster, releasing a handle as he gripped it, it acting like a knuckle-duster of sorts. "Hit it with your best attack! I'll finish it off!" He then took the memory chip off the front of his Faiz Phone and slotted it onto his new weapon.
[READY!]
Takumi then began to make his way forward, thankful that Another Faiz's attention was on him.
Ruby gave a nod, "Alright." She said as she removed her Ridewatch before loading it into Crescent Rose's Ridewatch slot. She took a kneeling position as she readied and braced herself.
[FINISH TIME!]
Ruby kept her aim as she lined up a shot, energy petals beginning to gather around the barrel of her weapon as a bright red energy charged within it. Once she had her shot she pulled the trigger, the red energy shooting out in a spiral with rose petals following after it in a trail.
[ROZE! SASUSASU SHOOT!]
The blast struck the unsuspecting Another Rider straight in the back, the monstrous Faiz counterpart gasping as it was suddenly picked off its feet. The finisher had managed to do that and launch it forward towards Takumi.
Takumi opened up the Faiz Phone on his belt and pressed the enter key, closing it up as energy began traveling through the lines on his suit over to his Faiz Shot.
[EXCEED CHARGE!]
Takumi ran forward and reeled his fist back before punching forward with the Faiz Shot; he slammed his weapon straight into Another Faiz's gut. The energy spread throughout the Another Rider, a red circle with a diagonal line representing the Phi symbol appearing.
Another Faiz gave a yell as it was thrown backwards and landed on the ground a fair distance between both Takumi and Ruby. The two stayed on guard as the Another Rider laid still for a moment or two.
"Did we…?" Ruby trailed.
"Just who are you…?" Takumi questioned.
Another Faiz gave a groan as it began to pick itself up, hunching over as its body fully turned grey, with the monstrous rider form breaking off to reveal who was inside.
"That's…" Ruby trailed.
"Didn't Geiz say something similar to this guy's appearance?" Tsukuyomi questioned as she witnessed the user of the Faiz Anotherwatch be revealed.
Takumi had to hold back a hiss as he took a step forward. "You…"
One could almost mistake it for an older Kamen Rider due to a blatant grasshopper motif and big rounded eyes and scarf. But it was thanks to its grey and detailed body that gave away it was an Orphnoch.
"The Orphnoch King," A new voice said as Finis suddenly appeared back to back with it. Tsukuyomi and Ruby both took a step back in surprise; Takumi stopping after the Time Jacker stepped away from behind the Orphnoch King. "The Arch Orphnoch."
"Time Jacker…" Ruby trailed when she noticed the newcomer's style of clothing.
"But how," Takumi finally found his voice as he took a step forward. "How is he still around? I put my all into that final attack."
"That you did, you did so much damage that he needed to be put somewhere safe to rest," Finis explained in a more somber tone as they looked at the ground. "But the sad part was that he was to simply fade into obscurity and never be heard from again… a fate much worse than death. That's where I came in however…" They trailed with a light smirk.
Earth – January 2004:
At the end of a dark hallway in a room underground was a faint orange glow coming from a human sized tank filled with orange liquid. In the tank was the Arch Orphnoch in a mostly submerged state. While it didn't seem to be dead as its head shifted slightly, it was a far cry from being fully living.
Hovering over and leaning on the tank was another Orphnoch, it held a female shape and her animalistic features were akin to a lobsters.
"You will not die." She spoke softly as she stared at her King. "You will revive. I swear…"
"A beautiful promise… Ms. Saeko." A voice spoke from behind causing the Orphnoch to turn in surprise. The person speaking was none other than Finis. "However one that ends in utter silence…"
"Who are you," Saeko tensed as she stood between Finis and the tank containing Arch. "And what are you prattling about?"
"I am a Time Jacker, Finis," Finis answered as they suddenly disappeared from view before appearing on the other side of the tank, startling Saeko as she turned to keep up with them. "And I know the future of the Arch Orphnoch, a sad and pitiful one…"
"What did you say…?" Saeko hissed out as she took a step towards the side to try and reach Finis only for the Time Jacker to disappear and reappear right behind her.
"You're precious King's fate is to simply lie here and fade into obscurity as his legacy… no grandiose finale, no ruling over all… just sitting in pitiful silence," Finis explained in a near mocking tone.
"Just what do you want?" Saeko said as she stopped, feeling Finis' presence behind her and realizing that if she turned the Time Jacker would just disappear and reappear.
"An alternative," Finis soon appeared on the other side of the tank again, holding a blank watch. Purple energy surrounded it as it suddenly formed into the Faiz Anotherwatch. "It may take a while, but this will fully stabilize Arch and in time he'll regain his full power."
[FAIZ!]
"Faiz?" Saeko questioned as she saw the monstrous face of Another Faiz on the front of the watch. "And this power will help him?"
"You have my word, he will become the strongest King this world has ever seen," Finis explained with a wry smile. "So what do you say?"
Earth – Late September 2018
"We Time Jacker's wish to crown a new King to usurp Oma Zi-O," Finis explained. "So in that case, what better candidate for an Another Rider than an already existing King?"
"How dare you…" Takumi gripped his fists firmly; Kiba's sacrifice… it ended up being for nothing thanks to Finis' intervention.
Finis simply gave a scoff before turning, soon locking eyes with Ruby, "Hmm, so you're this Roze who is getting Swartz all worked up…"
"…Swartz?" Ruby asked.
"No matter, I doubt even you can handle this Another Rider," Finis remarked before walking towards the young rider. Though once they reached a certain distance they vanished into thin air.
"Hmm," Arch began to groan as it was soon filled with energy, dark wisps of energy wrapping around him as the ashes from the fallen monstrous form began to move backwards, as if the disintegration was happening in reverse. Soon enough the ashes reformed into the Another Faiz form it had been using.
[FAIZ!]
It then gave a yell as it released a tendril, grabbing it fallen sword and flinging the weapon back towards it. It grabbed the sword as the weapon soon lit up in flames.
"You two watch out!" Takumi warned as he got ready to run.
Arch gave a yell as it spun and unleashed a torrent of flames, the flames morphing into fireballs that shot out and landed all over the park they were in.
Tsukuyomi and Ruby both yelled out as they were blown away by the force of the attacks despite managing to avoid getting directly hit by them. Ruby gasped as she hit the ground, losing her transformation in the process.
Takumi wasn't as lucky either; he ended up getting hit right in his feet by a fireball and slamming straight into a tree, nearly breaking it in the process. His transformation ended up disabling as being tossed around loosened and removed the entirety of the Faiz Gear from his waist. He had ended up getting kicked out of his transformation as a result.
Arch gave a scoff as it began to drag its sword along the ground, digging into the dirt as it set his sights on Ruby.
Ruby winced as she got up but suddenly froze when she noticed that Arch was coming for her.
"Ruby!" Tsukuyomi called out as she went to aim only to find out she dropped her Faizphone X, it having landed further away. She silently cursed before scrambling to reach it.
"She won't make it in time," Takumi realized before looking towards Arch, even if he wasn't Rider Powered he still had to do something. He gave a yell running towards Arch a blue aura surrounding his body as he suddenly leaped over the Another Rider. In a flash a grey and white figure landed in front of the monstrous Rider/Orphnoch hybrid. The figure quickly spun and roundhouse kicked the Another Rider with enough force to send it staggering backwards.
Ruby stayed where she was, currently in shock at what had just happened, first Takumi was revealed as Faiz, but now…
Standing before her was a wolf themed Orphnoch, it even having fur in some places. Of course the voice and posture were all familiar as it spoke up, "You aren't laying a finger on her!" Takumi called out sternly.
Ruby stared at her friend in his new state, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Takumi…?"
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"At first I thought it was a bad omen…"
"You're a Orphnoch?"
"Even with that our issue is trying to beat him as he is now."
"You never really talk about your dreams that much."
"It's time we end this."
Chapter 07: Justifaiz 2018
Author's Note: So a lot of people assumed that you know, I'd be following the ending from Kamen Rider Yongou with what Toei decided to do and all.
And I understand that Toei had made a decision, but given it's a stupid one I've elected to ignore it. Jokes aside, I'll be real when I say that Yongou's implications and explanations on the ending of Faiz restrict me more than they help me. As of right now I'm basically going for the vagueness of Faiz's ending and choosing to go for my own interpretation. I do have a bit of a subtle story explanation for why Takumi is here though. That will have to wait for next time though.
Speaking on other recurring topics though, Ruby and well Roze herself. I already have ideas regarding potential upgrades and the like, but those won't come for a while. Regardless, Weapon Time will be a way for Ruby to keep up despite only having a base form. But fret not as I do have ideas regarding upgrade and super forms, some more obvious than others.