Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 23 – A New Direction
"Once there was a young man by the name of Sougo Tokiwa who will grow up to become the overlord of time, Oma Zi-O. Having traveled after Ruby Rose to Remnant alongside Geiz and Tsukuyomi, the trio soon find themselves wrapped up in Remnant's secret war. With preparations in place, the group will set out to Argus on train to try and get to Atlas. Of course, it won't be easy as the first of many secrets will come to light alongside unexpected intruders arriving on Remnant. Though I suppose I can't say too much… this story is still playing out."
Remnant – Mistral Central Station
It was a busy day at Mistral Central Station, tickets were being purchased, conversations were being had, and food was being eaten. It was a very hustle and bustle kind of day as everyone had somewhere to be or something to do.
"I swear, they're going to be late," Geiz huffed as he crossed his arms. Blake, Qrow and Ruby were all doing their own things while the rest of them were huddled up and waiting.
Sougo, Geiz and Tsukuyomi were currently sitting next to all of their bags on a set of double sided benches alongside Team JNR, Oscar and Weiss. Yang though was already up and waiting for their first arrival.
"Nah they're totally on time, well, my sis is anyway," Yang pointed as they could soon see a certain red hooded huntress in training Petal Bursting her way through the crowds to get to them.
Ruby gave a grin as she landed, humming as she bounced up and down with her hands behind her back.
"Is using her Semblance to maneuver crowds even a good idea?" Tsukuyomi sighed with a bored stare.
Geiz had an annoyed look while Sougo blinked a bit in curiosity alongside Jaune and Ren who turned when she arrived, Oscar and Weiss were just plain confused, while Nora simply gave a grin.
Yang though was the first to ask, "And?"
To which Ruby quickly brought out a gift bag with a yell of joy, "Ta-da!"
Weiss rolled her eyes, "What an absolute waste of time-"
"What did you get me?" Yang immediately interrupted.
"~You'll have to wait and see~!" Ruby called in a sing-song voice.
"No fair!" Yang immediately tried to grab the bag to which Ruby moved back while sticking her tongue out. Before the two could give chase Nora immediately interrupted them by getting between the two.
"Oh, I can't believe we're taking the train to Argus! The beautiful northern coastline… You really think it's too early for beach season?" Nora inquired.
"Aren't we going somewhere that's decently cold still?" Geiz questioned.
"Wait if it's cold that basically means no beach right?" Sougo realized.
"You are correct, so sorry, no beach season," Ren answered. "But we will be one step closer to Atlas."
Weiss gave a bored stare, "Well, I'm glad you're all excited. But I don't think you appreciate the trouble I went through to leave Atlas."
"I know you're worried, Weiss, but trust us. Team RWBY won't leave your side for a second! I promise." Ruby called as she tried to reassure her friend.
"So long as you don't go disappearing on us again," Weiss remarked with a playful smile.
"Hey, it's not like that was under my control alright?" Ruby huffed while crossing her arms.
"Don't worry that's why Team Zi-O is here to help give you all support," Sougo cheered.
"Team Zi-O…?" Tsukuyomi asked.
Geiz gave a glare, "Since when was it your team?"
"H-Hey, I'm just trying to give our group a name," Sougo admitted as he raised his hands. "There's Team JNR, Team RWBY, and I couldn't figure out a name between the three of us."
"And now I'm worried Geiz is going to bite Sougo's head off before we even reach Argus…" Ruby gave a groan.
"No one's gotta be worried with us around," A voice called as a Huntsman with wavy brown hair walked over, holding a spiked club walked over as his friend approached with him.
His friend was a man with a goatee beard, brown hair tied to a bun, with a small fringe hanging over his right eye. He was holding a black and brassy yellow hunting rifle.
Everyone's immediate reaction was to give them blank looks, Nora being the only one to speak up, "Aaaand you are?"
"Why Dee and Dudley of course," The club wielding Hunstman introduced gesturing to himself before his friend, "The Argus Limited's very own Huntsmen. We'll be keeping everyone safe as we pass through Grimm territory."
"But for a generous tip, we can make sure your passenger car gets extra special attention should things get dangerous." Dudley added, giving a wink towards the ladies of the group.
Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Nora and Tsukuyomi all gave bored looks this time, Geiz simply standing up with a glare as he was ready to tell them off.
"Yeah, I got a tip for ya," A voice called as Qrow approached with a frown from the side. "Buzz off," he then got in front of Ruby and Yang who began to make faces and mocking the two Huntsmen from behind his back.
Sougo couldn't help but chuckle a bit at seeing Ruby and Yang just lay into them visually while Qrow did the same verbally.
"Looks like Mistral's really scraping the bottom of the barrel these days," Qrow added.
Dudley gave a glare, "Hey! You're talking to a-"
"A professional Huntsman, right," Qrow immediately flashed his huntsman license to shut the two up. "Well, it seems one of you heroes left the staff entrance to the caboose wide open." He crossed his arms with a smirk. "It'd be a shame to lose your job before it even started."
Dee and Dudley could only look in shock before grumbling and taking off as they argued with each other on whose fault it was.
"I do hope those weren't Beacon graduates," Ozpin mentally noted to Oscar.
"You know sometimes the burden of saving the world feels overwhelming," Oscar admitted before looking at everyone else. "But then people like that come along and make me grateful that it's our job and not theirs."
"I couldn't agree more," Geiz gave a nod as everyone else agreed.
"How did they even become official?" Tsukuyomi questioned.
"They probably barely passed," Ren suggested.
"And suddenly that makes me doubt their abilities even further if that's true…" Tsukuyomi deadpanned.
"So, you kids ready to go?" Qrow asked. "Bike loaded up?"
"Yep," Yang confirmed.
"Just waiting on Blake, as usual," Weiss remarked though she playfully rolled her eyes to show she wasn't too serious.
"Well that seems like plenty of time… to see what's in that bag!" Yang called out as she immediately took the gift bag with her robotic arm and began pulling.
"Hey, no, no, bad Yang," Ruby called out as she gripped the gift bag with both hands to keep it away. "It's a surprise!"
Geiz rolled his eyes as he got up, "I'll go see what's taking her so long."
"Geiz, don't be rude, she probably has a lot of people to say goodbye too," Tsukuyomi chided.
"And she could have been doing that yesterday," Geiz said as he began to walk off, trying to spot Blake through the crowd and upstairs. He was unaware and also not paying attention as someone neared him, bumping into his shins and causing him to wince. "Hey, watch it you brat!"
"…Brat?" An older voice called before Geiz was suddenly assaulted in his shin by something hard and sturdy. "Mind your manners young man!"
Geiz howled as he held his shin up and began bouncing back and force, managing to put it down before looking around, only managing to glimpse what seemed to be a short old woman with grey hair in a braid walking away. "Why you…"
"Geiz are you okay?" Blake walked over.
"Huh, oh Blake," Geiz shook off the pain before looking over. "I was just seeing if you were going to be ready, seems everyone's done with what they have to do."
"Yeah I'm ready," Blake nodded. "I just had to get in a few more goodbyes, just what as that about?"
"Nothing, just some senile person not knowing where they're going," Geiz huffed before heading back towards the group.
Blake couldn't help but chuckle, "I wonder how Ruby even put up with you for all those months."
Remnant – Northern Anima, Argus Limited
It was a near hectic process boarding the train and making sure they had their luggage with them. Sougo couldn't help but be impressed since he hadn't really gotten on trains that weren't subway trains before. It had just about everything needed, coach and dining cars, the rooms inside each cars containing a bunk bed setup as the trip was fairly lengthy which allowed anyone who wanted to relax to be able to do so.
Team Zi-O was currently in their own room taking in their current accommodations.
"This is really cool," Sougo admitted.
"I must admit this is fascinating," Tsukuyomi relented as she sat on her bed.
"It's not that impressive but it is comfortable," Geiz said as he was lying on the higher bed of the bunk beds they had in the room they were assigned to. The three of them had their own room, Team RWBY as well, JNR and Oscar while Qrow got the luxury of having a room all to himself.
"Oh come on Geiz don't be such a grouch," Sougo said as he went to lie down on his bed.
"I am not a grouch," Geiz huffed before looking over at Sougo. "So have you gotten everything sorted out yet?"
"Hmm…" Sougo thought about it a bit, while Ruby's words did get to him there was still a small bit of doubt. "Yeah, I think so."
"Sougo, if there's anything you want to say…" Tsukuyomi started.
"I'll be fine guys, trust me," Sougo insisted.
"Just leave him alone, if he says it's fine then it is," Geiz said, deciding to not be pushy. He could tell something was bothering Sougo still, but luckily he noticed that Sougo seemed to be in better spirits than a few days ago.
Tsukuyomi couldn't help but give a small smile, she was glad that Geiz was being more reasonable towards Sougo. Granted it felt really weird seeing them sort of get along now, especially given all the awkward tension she could feel between two particular members of Team RWBY.
In team RWBY's room, everyone was minding their own business for the most part. Ruby was playing a game on her scroll on the top bunk while Weiss read below her. Opposite to them was Yang on the top bunk flipping through a magazine while Blake was on the bottom and took a look at the view they were presented with.
"All right, girls, I know I've been away for a bit and most of the time preparing was for Sougo and Geiz, but let's try an official team exercise," Ruby called enthusiastically. "Who wants to play video games?"
"I mean, if you want me to kick your but, yeah sure." Yang remarked. "Let me grab my scroll."
"I've been practicing against a genius gamer so don't think you can beat me that easily!" Ruby called out in a prideful manner, really glad that she had gotten tons of gaming sessions in with Parad over her many months on Earth.
As Yang got down and went to grab her scroll from her duffel bag, she gave a light frown when she saw Blake walking over and helping get her bag down.
"Here, let me help you with that," Blake insisted, clearly wanting to make up for lost time.
"Blake, you don't have to do that," Yang insisted back as she took her bag.
Blake frowned a bit, her ears drooping as she realized she might have made a mistake, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I'm fine," Yang added. "We're gonna be fine. It's just going be a bit before things are back to normal. But…" She started and gave a smile. "I am glad we're all back together."
Ruby couldn't help but give a light sigh before smiling alongside Weiss to help reassure Blake. 'Yep,' she thought as she looked at her two teammates, 'They are somehow just as bad as Sougo and Geiz when it comes to awkwardness…'
"Yeah, okay," Blake gave a nod, a bit worried but now relieved.
"How touching," Qrow remarked, having been passing through after getting a cocktail and having seen the little interaction.
"Oh hey Uncle Qrow," Ruby greeted, "You wanna play too?"
Qrow chuckled, already remembering how he would school his nieces, "Kick your butts? Sure."
Suddenly the train jolted, Qrow dropping his drink as passengers began to yell from the jolt with a few rushing around to see what was going on.
"What was that?" Blake asked.
As if on cue, the growls of Grimm in the distance could be heard as Weiss and Ruby dismounted their bed.
"Exactly what it sounds like," Weiss narrowed her eyes.
"Just my luck," Blake sighed.
Qrow hurried to the window and narrowed his eyes, "It's not yours… grab your weapons!" He quickly hurried over to the room he was staying at, Ruby, Weiss and Blake grabbing their respective weapons as they exited their room while Yang simply shifted her Ember Celica into its battle mode.
As Qrow and Team RWBY passed, Sougo, Geiz and Tsukuyomi noticed this alongside the sounds of the Grimm.
"Looks like we're up," Geiz quickly got off his bed going to grab his weapon, "Tsukuyomi meet with the others to let them know we're topside."
"We'll handle it for now," Sougo gave a nod as he got up, grabbing his weapon.
"Just be careful you two," Tsukuyomi said as she saw the two rush off after Team RWBY and Qrow, soon getting off her bed and going to try and find Team JNR and Oscar.
Geiz and Sougo managed to pick up the pace, finding the exit to the ladders to get on top before climbing them, managing to catch up to their friends as they saw the situation.
Coming from behind the train was winged lion-like Grimm with scorpion tails, leading them was a slender but large feline-like Grimm with wings as well.
"What are those things?" Geiz asked.
"Manticore's and a Sphinx," Qrow explained, "Stay on guard you two we've got a swarm."
"On it," Sougo said as he switched his weapon to its gun mode, readying it.
Towards the back trying to confront the group of Manticore's were Dee and Dudley, the Sphinx landing on the train shortly after they readied themselves. Dee gave a yell as his spiked club began to spin and charge with electricity, soon rushing towards the Sphinx.
What Dee wasn't expecting was for a Manticore to blindside him as he charged forward. Dee yelled out as he was snatched up and dragged away from the Argus Limited by the Manticore.
"Dee!" Dudley called out in horror, watching his partner helplessly fall from the Manticore's grip and towards his death by dropping down into the forest below.
"What's the plan, Ruby?" Blake asked.
"Don't let anyone else die!" Ruby declared.
"Uh, that's not really a solid… you know what never mind, it's go time," Geiz was ready to argue but realized it could wait.
"I think we can do this," Sougo gave a nod as the group charged forward to deal with the Manticore's and Sphinx.
Oscar was in one of the dining carts, opening the window to get a look before gasping as a Manticore passed by at high speeds, nearly missing his head as he ducked back in.
"Shall I?" Ozpin asked.
"No, I'm keeping control," Oscar insisted as he closed the window and got out of the booth he was in only to bump into Jaune.
"What's going on?" Jaune asked, having been heading through the train cars with Nora and Ren to figure out what the commotion was.
"Guys," Tsukuyomi quickly hurried over. "The others are up topside so they could probably use our help."
"That's all you had to say," Jaune gave a nod as Tsukuyomi went to lead them towards a train car with the ladders.
As Team RWBY, Sougo, Geiz and Qrow fought, Dudley was running for dear life past all the fighting and battles, trying to get to a better vantage point as he began activating the Argus Limited's safety protocols on his scroll.
The windows began to seal up with armor plating that was hidden away, the plating also coming out from various areas of the train to give it more armor and defense. Of course the final defensive touch was the roof-mounted proximity turrets, one on each train car.
At the start it seemed to be looking like a good idea, Manticore's that were following Dudley towards the front were getting shot down. And the guns towards the rear were helping take care of the Grimm trying to overwhelm the other fighters.
Qrow meanwhile seemed to be the unluckiest, having tried to follow after Dudley only for the Sphinx to get in his way. It ended up using its serpent tail to strike at him but he easily maneuvered around it. When it tried to crush him with its front legs, the Huntsman had vanished, a crow taking his place as it flew up before morphing back into the Huntsman. Jumping on the Sphinx's back, landing a heavy strike before jumping off.
The Sphinx was ready to counter when it started getting pelted by gunfire, soon screeching out as it sent a signal to the Manticore's before flapping its wings and taking off back towards the rear. The Manticore's growled before launching themselves towards the turrets, rolling along the train cars when possible and smashing into them, others began launching fireballs out to strike the turrets and were already starting to make their way towards the front of the Argus Limited.
Sougo and Geiz took aim at one trying to dive down, the shots from both Riders weapons managing to force it to tumble into Ruby's path, Ruby switching Crescent Rose to its scythe formation and easily slicing through it.
"Not bad you two," Ruby grinned. "Now who's next-whoa?!" She turned just for a shield of ice to form behind her with a Manticore running straight into it, tumbling off the train and slamming into the rock mountain they were traveling along.
"Remember, you're not using armor!" Weiss called out playfully as she used her glyphs to race across the trains. She then sent out two ice blasts to hit and send two incoming Manticore's down towards the sides to the train to get damaged by the surrounding areas.
"Show off!" Geiz called out as he took aim and shot at a Manticore's wings, Sougo doing the same and managing to get it to crash into a few of its incoming brethren.
"Jeez, when they swarm they swarm!" Sougo called out as he ducked underneath a swipe, turning and shooting one in the eyes to blind it, forcing it to hit a tree as a result.
Blake meanwhile had used Gambol Shroud to fling herself around the Manticore that Yang was fighting, "Incoming!" tying up its neck and landing behind it, managing to force it on its hind legs. Yang launched herself forward, punching through the Manticore causing it to dissolve.
Landing near Blake she smirked, "Let's show these Riders how it's done."
"Hey now, they seem to be doing pretty alright, but sure," Blake couldn't help but smirk as she charged forward with Yang.
Back towards where the group had reached the topside from, Jaune, Nora, Ren began to climb up, Oscar and Tsukuyomi came last though they immediately booked it towards Qrow.
"Why is it always something?!" Nora shouted.
"Just keep them towards the back!" Ruby called out.
"What's the situation?" Tsukuyomi hurried over to Qrow who was attempting to drag the Manticore's attention back towards the rear of the train.
"How can we help?" Oscar asked.
"You can get that idiot to shut off the turrets. They're just drawing the Grimm towards the passengers!" Qrow called out.
"Right," Oscar called as Tsukuyomi nodded, the two making their way towards where Dudley was.
[BURST MODE!]
Tsukuyomi drew out her Faizphone X, shooting and forcing any Grimm that tried to get near them to tumble away as a result. Despite this the two narrowly had to avoid a few close calls by ducking or jumping past a few Manticore's that weren't fazed by Tsukuyomi's weapon.
They eventually managed to reach Dudley who was also shooting at any Manticore he could with his own rifle.
"Stop! You've gotta shut the turrets off!" Oscar called.
"Are you crazy? No way!" Dudley called out, giving a grin when the turrets managed to hit several more Grimm. "Yes! Another one down!"
"Stop! We have to lure the Grimm to the back," Oscar pleaded.
Tsukuyomi gave an annoyed growl, "He's right, the turrets are putting too much unwanted attention towards the front!"
"What does it matter if they're dead?" Dudley called out. "Let them come, we'll clear them out in no time!"
"Of all the…" Tsukuyomi was about to start ranting and ready to grab Dudley's scroll away from him when she suddenly saw the turrets ahead them stop their firing. Turning, she and everyone else began to notice the Manticore's and the Sphinx were suddenly backing off.
"Where are they going?" Dudley asked.
Oscar turned on instinct before his eyes widened, "TUNNEL!" He quickly grabbed Tsukuyomi, rushing and sliding, managing to drag her between the train cars before it was too late. Dudley wasn't as lucky, having tried to go for an opening further back towards the side instead of the one near him, yelling out as his arm got caught between the tunnel and the train for a brief moment.
The others were luckily far enough back to where they heard the warning and had ample time to get between the train cars. Sougo nearly tripped only for Geiz to grab him and drag him down between one set of cars.
Weiss wasn't so lucky, having gotten struck near her feet as she ran and began to fall towards the edge of the train. Ruby though was one to make sure everyone was inside before going herself, having seen this and grabbed Weiss.
"Don't need fancy armor for this." Ruby used Petal Burst on herself and Weiss, the two becoming a spiral of red and blue with pink-tipped petals flowing behind them as they slipped between the cars just before they reached the tunnel.
"Stay still, if you try to move it'll only hurt worse," Tsukuyomi said as she tried to keep Dudley still while Oscar tried to get a better look at the injury. The two looked back when they saw their friends approaching a less than pleased Qrow making his way through.
"I said, turn those damn things off!" Qrow called out as he grabbed Dudley before shoving him into the wall.
"Qrow he's injured!" Tsukuyomi called out.
"I'm not exactly in the mood to be nice, kid," Qrow gave a light glare towards Dudley, "Especially with idiots like him."
"Watch your mouth, those things are keeping us alive!" Dudley glared back.
"Us, sure, but they're putting the passengers in danger!" Qrow corrected.
"I'm the one they hired for this job, okay?! I'm in charge here!" Dudley called out.
Ruby started to tune out the argument as she went over to the window to check on something. Sure enough she noticed the Manticore's entering the tunnel, continuing their pursuit by foot. She grimaced, "We're not out of this yet."
"Yeah," Sougo agreed, having heard some crying towards the back and seeing the passengers in fear huddled with a baby crying, "And with everyone like this…"
Ruby took a deep breath and walked over to her arguing Uncle and Dudley, putting a hand on Qrow to get him to calm down. She then looked at Dudley and gave a gentle look, "Please just shut off the turrets."
"Trust us, we know what we're doing," Jaune added as he went over to Dudley, holding out his hands as they gave a soft glow of aura, the glow extending to Dudley's bruised arm and healing it.
Dudley looked at Ruby and Jaune, his breathing slowing as he relented begrudgingly, "Fine."
"Okay but the issue is still with everyone riled up now, even if we shut off the turrets… we still might attract more Grimm," Sougo reminded.
Nora put a hand on Ren's shoulder, "Actually Ren, could you use your Semblance to mask everyone on this train?" She asked before looking towards everyone else. "With the guns off and emotions hidden, they might lose track of us!"
"Hm, I never attempted to affect this many people," Ren admitted in an unsure tone.
"Well, you've never had Jaune's help before," Ruby reminded.
"He could amplify your Aura!" Weiss realized.
"Yeah, that's an alright plan," Qrow agreed.
"Don't look so worried, Ren," Nora reassured. "You can totally do this!"
"May I?" Ozpin asked, Oscar allowing him to take over.
"I'm afraid there's one complication," Ozpin admitted as he stepped forward before gesturing to the Relic of Knowledge hooked to his belt, "The Grimm are also attracted to this."
"What's that?" Dudley asked.
"None of your business," Qrow glared before turning in disbelief to Ozpin. "Oz, are you serious?"
"That sounds like something that should have been mentioned," Geiz noted.
"But wouldn't that have just gotten our anxiety up?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"I'm with Geiz, why wouldn't you tell us that?!" Yang glared.
"We have more important things at the moment," Ruby quickly took charge to prevent another argument. "Every second we're on board this train, we're putting everyone else in danger." She looked towards Ren and Nora. "Get the passengers to the front cars, you'll still mask the emotions and kill the turrets… we just can't come with you. If we cut the back cars with us and the Relic on them, we can deal with the Grimm. You just make sure the rest of the train makes it safely to Argus."
Jaune gave a sigh as he walked over, having finished his work on Dudley, "Only if you'll promise you'll meet us there."
Ruby gave a smile, "Promise."
"Don't worry, there's plenty of us to make sure things go smoothly," Sougo reassured.
"I'll hold you to that," Jaune replied.
With time running thin on when they'd be exiting the tunnel, Jaune, Ren and Nora helped escort everyone towards the front. Of course there was a particular short, older grey haired woman who stopped, turning back as it was revealed she had strange goggle-like prosthetics over her eyes. The lenses narrowed as she suspected something more was going on. She used her height and the crowd to her advantage as she moved back to investigate.
It didn't take long before the passengers were all evacuated to the front cars of the train, it exiting the tunnel just in time. Blake jumped down to decouple the train with one clean slice via Gambol Shroud. The front half began to move forward while the back half she and the others were on began to start to slow. When she looked up she gave a light gasp and backed up into a defensive stance.
For a second she could have sworn she saw Adam in front of her on the train car that was moving forward. When she double checked and readied herself she noticed he was gone.
"Blake, are you good?" Geiz called as he peered over.
"Yeah, coming," Blake shook her head before jumping back on top of the train to join the others.
"Okay it's just us now, so we'll go full power to finish this faster," Ruby called as she prepped her transformation, Sougo and Geiz doing the same as they grouped up.
"Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME!]
[KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!]
[KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!]
[KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]
(Insert Start: Miracle by Jeff Williams feat. Casey Lee Williams)
The three Riders stood together as Ruby pulled out her scroll, putting out a call between her and Nora, as the trains got farther apart she looked to see the signal strength as she noticed Nora's was getting weaker.
The Manticore's and Sphinx took the bait, all of them exiting the tunnel as the Sphinx landed at the very rear car of the decoupled train.
Ruby gave a nod, "Now!"
Tsukuyomi looked back, seeing the train in front of them take on a grey coloration as it sped off, all of the Manticore's and Sphinx keeping their sights on the train cars the Hunstmen and Riders wre on. She then turned to see Oscar blocking a Manticore's attack with his cane.
Oscar rushed in, twirling the Long Memory and spinning, managing to smack the Manticore in the face several times before jumping back. Before the Manticore could try to move forward it was shot several times and forced to back off.
"I'll provide the cover, you go for the heavy hits," Tsukuyomi ran over to Oscar's side, weapon at the ready.
"Sounds good to me," Oscar said as he charged in again, Tsukuyomi providing covering fire. Oscar had managed to get a few more smacks as Tsukuyomi shot several energy blasts at the Manticore's eyes to blind it.
She had managed to anger it enough to where it reeled back, getting on its hind legs only to get shot several more times in its stomach causing it to take a step back and stumble. Oscar quickly moved in, spinning and slamming his cane into the side of the Grimm, forcing it to tumble off the train and into the rock landscape below.
Geiz gritted his teeth as he blocked a Manticore's head butt with his weapons arrow formation; he pulled back the hammer before releasing a point blank shot. The Manticore howled and reeled back as it began to raise its body. Geiz quickly ducked and slid, performing several quick arrow shots against the underside of the Grimm, piercing through and destroying it.
Yang meanwhile had managed to grab a Manticore by the horns, spinning and twisting her body as she spun and let go of the Manticore, the Grimm spinning and slamming onto the train car before she performed an uppercut to send it flying back.
[ZI-O! GIRI GIRI SLASH!]
Sougo yelled out as he used his sword to bat fireballs off to the sides against a Manticore that was going for long range before it landed. The Manticore pounced at him, only to be sliced through and destroyed once Sougo ducked and ran his blade through the underside of the Grimm.
[ARMOR TIME! PLEASE! WIZARD!]
Geiz initiated his armor time before he began summoning red barriers for the flying Manticore to smack into. While it didn't get them to crash it managed to disrupt their flight and allowed the others to focus their fire on taking them out while in the air.
Blake had gone up against a Manticore solo, swinging her weapon by its rope to goad it into attacking her. As it charged she ended up using her Semblance to have her shadow clone struck by the Grimm's scorpion tail. She had appeared right next to the tail and sliced it off as she got behind it.
The Manticore tried to turn only to get smacked in the face by a fireball, stupidly thinking one of its own had hit it, it began launching fireballs at nearby Manticore trying to keep up near the train, managing to take a few out. Blake used this chance and used her Semblance to speed towards the Manticore, using both her blade and sheath to slice through its neck.
"Handy trick," Blake noted, seeing Geiz nearby with his hand held out.
"It helps that these things are sometimes not too bright," Geiz admitted.
Ruby meanwhile had decided to stick to Crescent Rose, figuring their numbers were enough to deal with the Grimm. Slicing through a Manticore's right legs she decapitated the Grimm by slicing from the bottom, using her scythe's rifle boost herself up. She ran along the dissipating body of the Grimm before jumping up and aiming, firing a sniper blast at an incoming Manticore and destroying it as she used the recoil to reel back and land near Weiss.
"We're certainly thinning them out faster," Weiss noted.
"Told you they were good," Ruby chuckled.
Sougo looked around before noticing that Qrow had the honor of fighting the Sphinx all by himself, but he could see the professional Huntsman was struggling. Instinctively he took out the Decade Ridewatch, ready to use it when he paused, staring at it as his hand shook. Taking a deep breath he shook his head before putting the Ridewatch away. He shifted his weapon to its gun mode and began firing at the Sphinx.
"Guys, Qrow could use some help!" He called out.
"That's our cue," Ruby realized.
Weiss gave a nod, summoning glyphs along the train cars and sliding across it, quickly forming glyphs in mid-air to jump between in order to distract the Sphinx while Ruby provided covering fire.
"We need to ground it!" Ruby realized as even on the train cars the Grimm was too erratic in its movements.
"On it," Blake immediately offered before glancing back, "Yang!"
"No need to tell me twice!" Yang used her shotguns to launch herself forward, sliding underneath and onto the other side of the Sphinx.
Swinging Gambol Shroud around in its sickle formation to build up momentum Blake soon through threw it forward. It flew over the Sphinx, Yang waiting before giving it a shotgun boosted punch to send it swinging around through the underside, managing to keep it looping before digging the weapon into the train car, pulling on the rope at the same time as Blake as the Manticore was forced to keep its whole body on the train.
"Geiz, keep its head in place!" Ruby called.
"You really don't need to tell me twice," Geiz held out his hands, forming red magic portals before chains shot out, the chains wrapping around the neck and head of the Sphinx and forcing it to look up. The serpent-like tail saw this and quickly tried biting into the chains to free it.
Weiss used this chance to get in front of the Sphinx utilizing her glyphs, quickly forming two near its wings and freezing them over.
The Sphinx screeched out only for the wings to suddenly shatter, causing it to screech further. Both Qrow and Ruby had used their weapons to shoot and break apart the ice covered wings.
"Now for the finale," Ruby loaded her Ridewatch in before getting in a ready stance, seeing her uncle getting ready to go for the finish too.
[FINISH TIME!]
The Sphinx was not about to let this be the complete end, gathering fire in its mouth it planned to release one last attack even if it's neck and head were held back.
[ROZE KAMA KAMA CUTTING!]
Both Uncle and Niece launched themselves forward with the gun functions of their weapons, the scythe wielders soon spinning as Ruby became a glowing spiral of energy. The two soon crossed paths and sliced through the Sphinx's stomach.
The Sphinx let out a death cry as its body dissolved, its head still mostly formed as it fell from the rest of its body, letting out the fireball before it fully dissolved. It had missed anyone on the train but was quickly headed towards the tracks ahead of them.
"No you don't!" Geiz quickly brought out a large connect portal, forming another one off to the side as the fireball flew through the portal and ended up hitting a tree in the forest below.
(Insert End)
Sougo gave a sigh of relief, "Safe…"
"Okay guys how are we doing?" Ruby asked as she rested her weapon on her shoulder. "I think that's all of them."
"We managed to clean up pretty good," Yang admitted. "I would have hated to see what would have happened if that fireball hit."
"So all we need to really do is just keep riding the momentum right?" Sougo asked.
"For as long as it can take us," Qrow answered. "But after that we'll need to go on foot."
"Then we should be fine for the moment," Tsukuyomi sighed in relief before giving a wince, a bright shine occurring ahead of them on the track. Her eyes widened as she tried to get a better look, "No way…"
"Uh, what is that?" Oscar pointed as he saw the same thing, the others rushing over towards the front of the decoupled train.
A golden cluster of clocks appeared farther ahead, soon spreading out to reveal a black portal as Kasshine suddenly dropped down from it.
Yang's eyes widened, "Hold on, isn't that!"
"Kasshine…" Sougo managed to get out, his voice trembling just slightly.
"K-Kill… Zi-O…!" Kasshine jittered out as it unleashed its two extra appendages, energy charging from both them and its trident. "K-Kill kill, Roze… Geiz…!" It declared as it unleashed its blast of energy right towards where the decoupled train cars were.
Weiss and Geiz acted quickly, Weiss bringing out black Glyph's to anchor everyone onto the train car while Geiz brought out yellow magic circles, increasing everyone's gravity to give them more weight. Oscar remembering that Tsukuyomi didn't have aura quickly held her close, planning on cushioning her.
The blast had ended striking the front of the slow moving vehicle, the train cars bouncing up and suddenly being derailed as it crashed into the snowy field below. The train had managed to sink a bit into the snow as cargo was thrown everywhere.
Thankfully everyone's auras managed to hold up, Oscar's quick thinking keep Tsukuyomi from getting too hurt. Geiz however had ended up losing his Armor Time from the crash, while Sougo had ended up losing his transformation, Ruby getting lucky and managing to just barely keep hers up.
"Is everyone okay?" Qrow asked as he got up.
"I'm fine," Weiss managed to get out.
"Yeah," Blake gave a nod. "But…"
"Still alive," A sudden but unfamiliar voice called out, unfamiliar to everyone except… Geiz.
"Wait…" Geiz quickly turned towards one of the open train cars, seeing the elderly women with the prosthetics from before, "You?!"
"That sure was a close one, huh?" The woman remarked.
"Wait… when did she…?" Sougo trailed as he tried to figure out why they had an elderly woman with them.
"Uh I really don't think it's time to be questioning things!" Ruby gave a slight panicked call out as a golden blur shot over them before landing far in front of them.
Kasshine gave mechanical hiss as it began to move forward, its head twitching. "Kill… kill… kill…"
Sougo stared forward, his hands shaking as he took a step back from where he was.
"That's new…" Geiz winced as he got in a fighting stance.
"Now that is strange, is that some kind of new Atlas tech? And what's with all the fancy armor?" The old woman questioned.
"That is on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know," Geiz snapped as he looked back at her. "Just stand back and let us clean this mess up!"
"I swear you young people get ruder by the day!" The old woman huffed out.
"Kill… Riders…" Kasshine growled out as it began to walk forward,
"Okay, time for some payback," Yang pounded her fists together, Blake readied her weapon in it's sheathe while Weiss got in her usual stance.
"Guys, try and follow my lead," Ruby said as she got towards the front, "This guy is not like any of the other enemies I've faced before."
"Whatever you say kiddo," Qrow said as he readied his weapon in its sword mode.
"Alright… and…" Ruby trailed before she saw Kasshine aiming forward, charging a blast. "Spread out!" She used Petal Burst to launch herself into the air, Weiss and Qrow rushing one way while Yang and Blake went the other, the blast hitting and kicking up the snow where they were all standing.
Ruby took aim and began firing at Kasshine, sparks managing to fly as it aimed up towards her.
Weiss formed her glyphs at Kasshine's feet, ice creeping up and freezing them in place. This caused the mechanical retainer to stop aiming and look down at its predicament. This ended up being a good distraction as Qrow and Blake rushed in, the two slashing past before Yang came in from the front, slamming her left fist forward while unleashing a shotgun blast.
Kasshine had been struck by the slashes and raised its staff to block against the fist. The force from the punch had allowed it to break it free of the ice. It stepped back but it was able to hold Yang's fist back before forcing her away with a swing.
"Need… more…" Kasshine sputtered out as it began to glow, a golden glow shaped like it exiting its body before a new similar styled but differently armored Kasshine was formed, Kasshine-2.
"Oh no…" Ruby grimaced as she lowered Crescent Rose.
"I think we should stay back," Oscar suggested as he began to move back, both he and Ozpin unaware that they were currently missing the Relic of Knowledge.
"A good idea," Ozpin agreed.
Tsukuyomi decided to hang back as well, even if it meant having to deal with the old woman who was trying to ask questions, "Please Ma'am stay back, this isn't an ordinary fight."
"I can see that missy," The old woman answered, "Which is why I want to know what's going on!"
Geiz was ready to charge forward to help when he suddenly noticed Sougo wasn't even trying to transform again. "Hey," he called out before noticing Sougo seemed to be stuck in place, "Zi-O, come on."
Sougo could only stare out as his hands trembled, unable to muster up the strength to move. Staring at Kasshine was reminding him what he would become, alongside Oma Zi-O's insistence on being a Kamen Rider. If he became a Kamen Rider, even if he focused on that, would he stay in that new path or would he wind back on the path of Oma Zi-O?
"Zi-O," Geiz quickly went over and grabbed Sougo by the shoulder, "You need to get in there. Ruby's good and her friends aren't slouches but they need both of us to help them win this."
"But… if I do, if I keep walking the path of a Rider…. I'll become Oma Zi-O," Sougo managed to get out. "I tried to look at it Ruby's way… to just be a Rider but…"
"So you really did give up on your dream to be a king," Geiz muttered before turning Sougo to face him. "If that's the case then you don't have to be afraid of becoming him! If you really want to just walk the path of a Rider, then we're good."
"I can't!" Sougo called out as he shoved Geiz away before tossing the Zi-O Ridewatch near Geiz.
Geiz stumbled but kept his footing, he gave a growl as he picked up the Ridewatch walked forward. "Even after all of it, if becoming a Rider still ends up turning into you becoming an Evil Overlord." He grabbed Sougo by his collar and lifted him close. "I'll take you out, I promise. Just trust me!" He said as he placed the Zi-O Ridewatch in Sougo's hand. "Trust in Ruby, Tsukuyomi, and everyone else… trust in them to help you onto the right path."
Sougo stared at Geiz in shock, remembering how he spoke similar words to Geiz back when he first became Zi-O. He gave a nod before closing his eyes, a more resolved look appearing once he opened them. He pushed away from Geiz before holding his personal Ridewatch tightly. "Alright… I'll become a Kamen Rider, and I'll help Ruby save her world!"
[ZI-O!]
Sougo had turned the dial and pressed the button before slotting the Ridewatch into his Ziku Driver, unlocking the Driver as he got ready to transform, "Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!]
Sougo stood at the ready as his transformation completed, crouching before jumping forward into the battle.
Tsukuyomi couldn't help but give a small smile when she saw Sougo transform, there was something different about this transformation. Though the moment couldn't be appreciated due to the old woman's constant nagging. Tsukuyomi sighed as before noticing a small glint off to the side, "Huh?"
Ruby winced as she was forced back, "Okay, we need to round these guys up, so let's do that one thing!"
Weiss couldn't help but pause, "What one thing?"
"Y-You know the thing where we…" Ruby trailed, she was sure that they had some sort of trick involving two opponents and they just weren't remembering. "Come on you know!"
"Sis you're being kind of vague!" Yang reminded as she managed to grab onto Kasshine-1, using her gauntlets to increase her momentum as she threw and slammed it into the snow. She quickly backed up once it tried jabbing at her with its trident.
"A bit too vague, just try a team attack call out!" Blake suggested, as she used Gambol Shroud at long range, swinging it in its sickle mode from her rope as she tried to bat away Kasshine-2's trident from a distance. She managed to distract it enough for Qrow to slash it from behind, though the attack barely did anything, the mechanical combatant turning and smacking him away.
Kasshine-2 was ready to advance when suddenly Sougo jumped in, grabbing onto it and sending both it and him tumbling into the snow. "I can help Qrow! You four focus on the other one!"
"Got it," Ruby called out, deciding to take some pages off of their early days. "Girls form up, time to go old school! Start off with Freezerburn!"
"On it," Weiss quickly formed glyphs around Kasshine-1, imbuing them with ice dust and frosting over his body. Yang rushed in, sending several punches against the mechanical vassal, more specifically the frosted over portions, managing to do better damage with her explosive shotgun bursts.
[KAIXA!]
[WEAPON TIME! KAIXA BLAYGUN!]
"Blake!" Ruby called as she pulled back the hammer of the weapon before pushing it in. "Ladybug!"
[BURST MODE!]
"On it," Blake quickly rushed forward, attracting Kasshine-1's attention away from Weiss and Yang, but also from Ruby.
Kasshine-1 raised its trident only to get shot several times in the chest from afar by Ruby, forcing it to stagger back.
Blake closed in, slashing with both her bladed sheath and katana, some sparks flying as she targeted the damaged areas of the vassal. She then raised her arms in defense as Kasshine-1 swung downwards.
The vassal was confused as in an instant Blake was replaced with an ice replica of her, its trident now stuck in it as it had formed as he swung down on her. Blake had mixed her Semblance with Ice Dust, creating a clone of solid ice to trap Kasshine-1.
[READY!]
Holographic rose petals flew past Kasshine-1 as Ruby landed, her Kaixa Blaygun now extending its blade as she began to slash several times at its back. Blake meanwhile switched her Gambol Shroud to its gun mode and fired at any open areas.
"And…" Ruby quickly kicked at Kasshine-1's back, sending it smashing through the ice statue, "Got it!"
"Looks like you're kind of getting back into the swing of things," Yang remarked as she and Weiss rejoined their teammates.
"I'm not the only one," Ruby muttered with a chuckle.
Both Sougo and Qrow had tried to overwhelm Kasshine-2 by slicing and slashing in tandem. Despite this the vassal's trident allowed it to keep the two from overwhelming it with their swords. It then unleashed its extra appendages, smacking the Huntsman and Rider away when they were locked in a clash.
"You know I'm glad you've got some more pep but pep isn't going to help us," Qrow remarked.
"Then we'll go with this," Sougo took out the Decade Ridewatch and initiated the form change, "Armor Time!"
[ARMOR TIME! KAMEN RIDE! WOW DE~CADE!]
In an instant Sougo took out the Ghost Ridewatch before slotting it into the Decade Ridewatch's extra slot.
[FINAL FORM TIME! GHO-GHO-GHO-GHOST!]
In a flash of gold Sougo's lower armor had changed into Ghost's Grateful Damashii, the lettering on his chest and shoulders alongside the screen on his head switching to the appropriate katakana and visor. Sougo rushed in, grabbing Kasshine-2's trident and wrapping it underneath his arm, sending a punch against the vassal's chest and staggering him.
Qrow used this chance, switching his weapon to its scythe formation before landing a few clean hits as he twirled his scythe around, using the blade to hook Kasshine-2 from behind and drag it towards Sougo.
Sougo slipped in and kicked at Kasshine-2, sending the copied retainer back first into the snow. He then clasped his hands together, "Let's bring out some heroes!"
Soon enough two blank bodies formed as energy erupted from underneath the right shoulder of Decade Armor and the side of the left shin. Soon enough the Damashii's of Thomas Edison and The Brothers Grimm took hold of the blank bodies, eyes flashing as they readied themselves.
"Uh, who are these guys?" Qrow asked.
"I am Edison!" Edison called out as he began shooting at Kasshine-2, though his shots were simply blocked by the Trident the copied vassal used, "I am Edison… Edison!"
"Jacob and Wilhelm at your service," Grimm gave a salute as he unleashed the pens on his shoulders outwards, revealing them to be whips. He began to jab at Kasshine-2, managing to force it onto the defensive.
Sougo could only stare at the scene before him for a bit. Grimm was doing surprisingly good work alongside Edison, and he wasn't picky but… why was Edison acting like that?
"Here we go!" Grimm called out as he managed to wrap the pen whips he held around Kasshine to hold it in place.
"Are you Edison?" Edison asked as he walked towards the bound vassal, he then began unleashing electricity against the servant to try and overload it, "No, you are not! I am Edison!"
Kasshine-2 gave a few grunts before managing to unleash its extra appendages, breaking through the whips it was caught in and dispersing the electricity. It then gathered energy in its trident before slashing forward and unleashing a wave of energy that struck both summoned Damashii. Edison and Grimm yelled out as they were thrown backwards before exploding.
"That could have gone better…" Sougo trailed before he looked over, "Geiz, let's even up the numbers a bit! We could use a third man!"
(Insert Start: Ride the Wind by Masahiro Inoue)
Geiz had held back on transforming for the time being, he wanted Sougo to get comfortable fighting again now that he had regained is fighting spirit. Hearing the request he gave a scoff as he took out Ex-Aid's watch, "What a bossy Rider."
[ARMOR TIME! LEVEL UP! EX-AID!]
Geiz gained the Ex-Aid Armor, using the forms high jumping to leap over Team RWBY's battle with Kasshine-1, allowing him to land near Qrow and Sougo.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to all of this," Qrow admitted.
Geiz quickly blocked a swing from Kasshine-2 as it rose from the ground, using his hammer gauntlet to punch the vassal backwards. "I could say the same about Remnant."
"Let's just wrap this up," Sougo suggested as he ran over, punching at Kasshine-2 who blocked with its trident. Kasshine-2 managed to force his fist away before striking him in the chest, the Rider giving a yell.
Kasshine-2 wasn't done just yet, extending its extra limbs once more before jumping up and slamming into both Sougo and Geiz to force them backwards.
Qrow however got in the way before it could advance, twirling and swinging his scythe as he planned to distract Kasshine-2 via a battle of poled weapons.
"How the heck are they doing so well?" Geiz glanced over, seeing Team RWBY managing to take care of Kasshine-1 just fine.
"Well if these forms aren't working, let's trade," Sougo removed his Ghost Ridewatch and shook it a bit.
"If you think that'll help," Geiz nodded as he removed his Ex-Aid watch and tossed it to Sougo who did the same with Ghost's.
[ARMOR TIME! KAIGAN! GHOST!]
[FINAL FORM TIME! E-E-E-EX-AID!]
Geiz assumed the Ghost Armor while Sougo achieved Ex-Aid's Final Form Time, this one was a bit more special than the others however as Sougo had split into two Zi-O's with differing Ex-Aid bodysuits. This was due to channeling the power of Mighty Brothers XX.
The first was a primarily orange Ex-Aid bodysuit with green highlights, on the right shoulder was 'Ex-Aid' in Katakana, the chest and left shoulder reading 'Double Action XX R'. The Ex-Aid face held orange eyes, green hair over the left eye with orange hair forming a bang over the right.
The second was a primarily green Ex-Aid bodysuit with orange highlights, on the left shoulder was 'Ex-Aid' in Katakana, the chest and left shoulder reading 'Double Action XX L'. The Ex-Aid face held green eyes, orange hair over the right eye with green hair forming a bang over the left.
Sougo-R held the Ride Heisaber, signifying that he was the original. While Sougo-L held the Zikan Girade, the two looked at each other before nodding.
"I think we can do this!" The two echoed.
Qrow stepped back and blinked in surprise as he dodged away from Kasshine-2's attack, "Okay yeah… definitely not getting used to this."
The two Sougo's quickly went to work, the two using Ex-Aid's jumping abilities to leap towards Kasshine. Sougo-L used his sword to parry and open up Kasshine while Sougo-R focused on landing heavy hits with the Heisaber.
[HEY EX-AID!]
[EX-AID DUAL TIME BREAK!]
Sougo-R enhanced his sword and began slicing and cutting against Kasshine-2, various 'Hit' and 'Great' Markers appearing as he did.
Geiz gave a yell as he rushed in, jumping up and using the Ghost Armor's ability to float as he performed a side kick. He planted his foot against Kasshine-2 before rapidly kicking with both legs against the vassal.
Kasshine-2 gasped out before yelling, unleashing its extra limbs once more to force Geiz back as it staggered from the attack.
Ruby couldn't help but give a smile as she saw Sougo going all out, "Alright girls let's not let them show us up, Iceflower and Bumblebee!"
Yang gave a grin as she rushed forward, leaping towards Kasshine-1 who swung. She made sure to plant her feet and gauntlet on the trident. She then kicked off while firing, Blake swinging her Gambol shroud by the rope as Yang grabbed on, kicking off one of the stray crates from the Argus Limited as Blake began to swing her around.
Kasshine-1 backed away just before Yang could hit it. Despite this it gasped out it as it was assaulted by blasts of energy that exploded into ice. The culprits were Ruby and Weiss, Weiss enhancing her Glyphs with Ice Dust to allow Ruby's energy shots to explode into ice upon contact.
The mechanical vassal could only watch as Yang came closing in, her eyes turning red and hair lighting up briefly as she slammed her first into Kasshine-1's chest, sending it stumbling back. Kasshine-1 knelt down, sparks filling its body as it tried to get up.
[FINISH TIME!]
The announcement caught its attention, looking up as it followed the trail of holographic rose petals upwards. Ruby had decided to remove the Kaixa Ridewatch going for a finisher with just her base armor.
[TIME BLAST!]
Ruby yelled out as rose petals surrounded Kasshine-1, striking and forcing it to stay still before they moved away, forming the katakana for kick as Ruby kicked out. The katakana of roses spiraled into the sole of her boot, lighting it up with a bright red. She then kicked against Kasshine-1, sparks flying before she kicked past him.
"K-Kill…" Kasshine-1 gasped out as it sparked heavily before exploding.
Sougo-R readied the Heisaber, slotting in the Decade Ridewatch before turning the dial all the way, "My dream to protect everyone hasn't changed! But from now on, I'll do it as a Kamen Rider!"
[FINISH TIME! HEY! KAMEN RIDERS!]
"Take this!" Sougo-R yelled.
[D-D-D-DECADE! HEISEI RIDERS ULTIMATE TIME BREAK!]
A green and orange card featuring Ex-Aid's insignia appeared in front of and behind Kasshine-2, sandwiching the copied vassal between the two. Sougo-R rushed in and slashed through Kasshine-2 and the cards, the cards exploding into a burst of energy as dozens of 'Hit!' and 'Great!' markers appeared before the machine exploded.
(Insert End)
"And that takes care of that…" Sougo sighed as he dismissed his transformation, his copy disappearing as Geiz dismissed his transformation too.
Geiz walked over and held out a hand, "Good to see you back, Zi-O."
Sougo couldn't help but grin a bit, taking Geiz's hand and shaking it, "Glad to be back, Geiz."
"All's well that ends well…" Ruby smiled as she dismissed her transformation.
"Okay, this is good and all," A distinct elderly voice interrupted as the old woman was starting to lose her patience, "But I think we still have some more important matters to attend to."
"Okay but seriously though…" Sougo started. "How did she sneak on with us?"
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"Give me a damn break!"
"Tell me, what knowledge do you seek?"
"Apparently, we've been attracting Grimm ever since we left Haven."
"This is too cruel…"
"REJOICE!"
Chapter 24: Uncovered Fables & Consequences
Author's Note: And that's the first episode of Volume 6 down the drain, thankfully the premiere was long enough to where I was able to write out a whole chapter with just it. Though what also helped was adding on the Kasshine fight at the very end. Did you know that there are two Kasshine suits? It wasn't until I looked at official high quality images of Zi-O on the official Rider Zukan website that I noticed. There's the one in the lead which was the one we see in series, but there are also minor grunt variants as well that appear in the movies/specials.
Rambling aside, this chapter also fully begins the start of something I wanted to do with Sougo and that was exploring more of him abandoning his dream after meeting Oma Zi-O. This time Sougo wasn't given the easy answer of destroying his Driver alongside the Time Jackers pressuring him near immediately after his choice. Not to mention because of the Riders still existing in the first arc, he was able to forge more meaningful connections with them. Thus this had him shifting his dream, while still helping people, to being a Kamen Rider. I figured Remnant might be a good place to sort of dwell on this feeling for quite a bit before moving forward on what to do next.