Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 25 – The Brunswick Enigma
The black void that Woz would normally be present in was empty, the only thing there being the black painted clock that ticked consistently.
"Honestly…"
The black void suddenly was wiped away and replaced with the white void from Jinn's storytelling, Jinn soon floating into view with an annoyed face. "I suppose I must continue to play his role since he's yet to return."
"Once upon a time there was a young man by the name of Sougo Tokiwa, he was to grow up to become the overlord of time, Oma Zi-O. After firming his resolve he chose to walk the path of a Kamen Rider and not an Overlord. Despite the need to get out of the cold an argument broke out between the students and their former leader Ozpin. Summoning yours truly they asked me to dig up the old man's secrets, which I did."
She glanced to the side, images appearing of the group of Riders and Students arguing over each other.
"To make matters worse, the chronicler and retainer to Zi-O, Woz, had chosen to reveal Oma Zi-O's existence to the others. With tensions on the rise and morale on an all time low, the group despondently made their way to the old and dreary Brunswick Farms to take shelter from the cold weather. With the mystery of the farm hanging above their heads, alongside more other worldly visitors, can they find the will to push forward? Or will they drown in their own apathy?"
Remnant – Northern Anima, Brunswick Farms
As the group made their way further into the farm the snow and wind began to pick up further and further before becoming a full on snow storm. What didn't help was the fact that the place seemed entirely abandoned, as everything was still standing, and the buildings were finished but held an aged look to them.
Ruby shook her head as the group stopped at the porch of the main estate, Yang having parked Bumblebee off to the side. "I don't get it. The empty towns I've passed through were all damaged or unfinished. But this place looks… fine."
Weiss gave a shiver as she wrapped her arms around herself, "Maybe everyone left in a hurry. Before things took a turn?"
"Possibly, it could very well be abandoned," Geiz agreed.
"C-Can we just go inside, please!" Sougo managed to chatter out as he began bouncing in place to try and keep warm.
After no answer when knocking, Qrow went to open the door only to see that it was locked, narrowing his eyes. "Stay on guard."
With that phrase everyone drew out and readied their weapons before Qrow kicked the door in, opening it up with everyone rushing in, weapons trained and ready to go. They were greeted by an unlit front hall, stairs in front leading up to the second floor, a room off to the left and another straight ahead in the immediate view.
As everyone was on guard, they were unaware of a severely annoyed Maria stood outside still, "Close the door already!" She called before walking in, snapping everyone out of their battle stances. "It's cold enough in here as it is."
"And what if there was an enemy right now?" Geiz asked. "Think they'd wait for us to do that?"
"Listen young man I don't need your sass," Maria remarked as she raised her cane slightly causing Geiz to flinch. "Now shut the door!"
"With the lock broken it may just blow open given the strength of the storm," Tsukuyomi noted before seeing the drawer nearby. "Let's use that."
Weiss went to go hold the door shut from the side, Sougo deciding to help out as well. Geiz went with Blake and Oscar, pulling while they pushed the drawer, eventually getting out of the way so they could push the drawer and keep the door shut.
"I saw a chimney from the outside. Maybe we could get a fire going?" Blake suggested.
"Please. I'll look for some blankets," Weiss offered.
"Blankets, Fire, both good," Sougo said as he began rubbing his arms to keep warm in the meantime.
"Yang, go with her." Qrow said.
With that everyone began to spread out, Oscar going off to the room on the left with a few of the others, finding a study/miniature library of sorts. Weiss and Yang headed upstairs with Tsukuyomi following after them.
Ruby and Geiz however lingered at the entrance hall, the two feeling a sense of unease. Ruby decided to go deeper, noticing a group of pictures on the wall that belonged to the owners and those who lived there.
"Looks like it was a tightly knit community," Geiz noted as he crossed his arms.
"Yeah…" Ruby gave a nod, wondering just what happened to everyone.
"What do you guys think?" Blake asked, having noticed the two were still lingering and decided to stick close.
"Something doesn't feel right," Ruby admitted.
"That we can agree on," Geiz nodded.
Blake went to speak when suddenly two screams were distinctly heard coming from upstairs.
Ruby's eyes widened as she rushed off to the second floor, "Weiss!"
"Crap, Tsukuyomi!" Geiz recognized the second scream, quickly following after Ruby with Blake.
Reaching the room the scream had come from, Ruby, Geiz and Blake quickly stopped. Yang, Weiss, and Tsukuyomi were all on the floor backed away in shock and fear. Of course once the others saw what was ahead they quickly knew what was wrong. Qrow arrived shortly after, coming across the same sight of a pair of decomposing corpses neatly tucked in the bed before them.
Geiz could only stare at the corpses before managing to get some semblance of speech out, "What… the hell?"
Everyone had chose to reconvene in the study that they had found, it having the houses main fireplace. Once a fire was lit, Weiss immediately had gone to sit by it. Sougo came by with the blankets, already having one over his shoulders as he put one over Weiss.
Weiss gave a bit of a jump before realizing it was Sougo, "T-Thanks…" She muttered.
"No problem," Sougo gave a smile before sitting next to hear, giving a sigh as he appreciated even the smallest bit of warmth coming from the fireplace.
Yang and Blake could only stare at the fire from across the room via the couch. Tsukuyomi had managed to recover from her shock and was sitting near Maria on another couch on the side. Geiz though chose to stand and pace a bit much to the elder's annoyance while Ruby and Oscar just kept near the fire while standing.
The group had turned to the entrance of the study once they heard the door squeak open, Qrow coming in while brushing off the snow on him.
The Huntsman could only give a sigh as what he learned wasn't the best news. "It's the same in every house."
Yang's eyes widened, "What?"
"Excuse me?" Geiz questioned. "How can it all be the same?"
Qrow went over to the fire, getting next to Sougo and Weiss to warm up, "I wish I could be more insightful but what you saw upstairs is what we're dealing with. Bodies in every bed in every home, it's like the whole estate just went to sleep and never woke up."
"Then we're not staying here, right?" Weiss asked.
"We don't have a choice. Storm outside's only getting worse. We'd freeze to death before we made it anywhere." Qrow added.
"And from what you all explained Aura only protects against the cold so much," Tsukuyomi noted.
"And we've got two people without Aura here," Qrow added thanks to Tsukuyomi speaking up. "The fact that they tolerated it so long is a miracle. But right now it's too risky, especially with night coming."
"I'm honestly surprised you two aren't cold," Blake looked over at Geiz and Tsukuyomi.
"We've had to deal with harsh conditions before," Geiz answered simply.
"But we can only take so much," Tsukuyomi admitted.
"Well, might as well get comfortable," Maria admitted as she scooted off the couch and went over to a bookshelf.
"Yeah, fat chance." Yang remarked.
"Okay, then, let's do something," Ruby suggested. "If this place wasn't abandoned it might still have supplies we could use."
Oscar gave a nod, "Hey, yeah. Maybe even a car."
"That would solve our bike issue," Sougo realized.
"I'll do another sweep of the grounds. No one else goes anywhere alone." Qrow ordered before taking off, heading out of the study and soon enough exiting the building.
Blake began to stand, "Yang and I can search the other buildings for vehicles."
Yang just rolled her eyes, "Fine, whatever gets me out of this house."
Geiz however was noting that something was off, and he needed more evidence. He looked at the two as they got up. "As much as I love the buddy system I'm going with you, you could use a third."
"Just try not to get in our way," Yang said as she went to leave the study, Blake following after her.
Sougo looked over at Geiz, "You sure?"
"I've scavenged before," Geiz started a half-lie before following after Blake and Yang. "Even if there aren't any vehicles there could still be something useful."
Once everyone was out, Ruby with some help from Sougo slowly but surely pushed the drawer back into place to keep the door closed. She then turned, noticing Weiss had semi-followed them and could already tell that the ex-heiress was in low spirits.
"Food always makes me feel better." Ruby gave a sheepish chuckle, "Just saying."
"Right…" Weiss trailed.
"Food is always the best," Sougo agreed. "We should at least try to not go to bed on an empty stomach."
"Just try not to gorge it all if we do find something," Ruby joked.
"Like you're one to talk about food habits," Sougo sniped back. "Ms. I drink sugar with a hint of coffee."
Ruby couldn't help but blush a bit in embarrassment, "Hey, well maybe they shouldn't make coffee so bitter!"
Weiss couldn't help but give a small smile at their banter, "Alright, let's see what there is."
With the three of them going deeper into the estate, that left Oscar and Tsukuyomi with Maria who decided to do something productive with the remaining members. "I'll tell you what. You two keep that fire fed…" She found a book with the Roman numeral 'I' on it. "And I'll find us a story to read before bed."
Oscar could only sigh while Tsukuyomi decided to humor Maria, plus she figured that a story could possibly lighten the mood, or depending on the book, shed some more insight.
The trio of Geiz, Blake, and Yang eventually made it to the nearest shed, entering it and immediately shutting the door. There seemed to be no shortage of supplies, rows upon rows of shelves all over filled with miscellaneous items. At the front near the entrance was a tractor.
Blake was sure that wouldn't work, "Something tells me that's not street legal."
"Not even that, I'm sure it would just be too slow," Geiz noted as he began to look around though aside from some vehicle repair tools he'd mentally note down just in case, there wasn't much.
"What do you think happened here?" Yang asked as she made her way towards the back.
"There's that well in the square. Maybe water contamination?" Blake suggested.
"Either that or some kind of virus in whatever food they had," Geiz added though he severely doubted any of his guesses. "Could have just been an airborne sickness that passed through."
"Yeah, valid guesses, though I'd hate for it to be airborne. That just sounds unsettling." Yang replied before stopping, a light gasp escaping as she put a hand to her forehead.
Blake couldn't help but show concern, "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah… I mean, no. But, I don't know." Yang tried to reassure but could feel her body getting heavier over time. "I'm just tired."
Geiz could only watch as Blake agreed with Yang in regards to being tired. This wasn't good to him in the slightest, the lack of vigor, the foreboding atmosphere…
"Hey, I found something." Yang called before suddenly giving an audible gasp and visibly reeling back.
Blake quickly ran over, "What is it?"
Geiz however stayed back a bit and glanced out towards where Yang was gazing, a window that could barely be seen through due to the snowstorm. He then noticed the flatbed trailer nearby, figuring that's what she saw first.
"I…" Yang could only stare outside since she had supposedly seen what looked like Adam nearby a tree. She gave a sigh when there was nothing there. Her left hand shook a bit before she steadied it with her robotic one. "I was just seeing things. I'm sorry. I still get flashes from that night."
Geiz could only raise an eyebrow at that phrasing, but he recalled there were a few touchy subjects when it came to the recap of events on the Remnant side. Specifically on details when it came to the Fall of Beacon. Just like how he didn't mention Oma Zi-O, they had been vague about what happened to Yang.
"Do you think Adam's still out there?" Yang asked.
And there was a name for Geiz to mull on, he knew about the White Fang and Adam taking it over. So he could only put two and two together, noting that Ruby wasn't the only one of her family to suffer from an episodic attack regarding the past.
Blake shook her head, "I don't know. If he went back to the White Fang there would have been serious consequences. But, he never really liked people telling him what to do. Adam's strong, but his real power comes from control. He used that to get in my head, make me feel small. But now I see he just wanted to pull me down to his size." She then clasped Yang's prosthetic hand with both of hers. "Hey, I'm not leaving. And if we ever see him again, I promise I'll be there."
Geiz could only roll his eyes a bit as he put a hand on his hip, seeing the tender moment.
"And I'll protect you," Blake added.
Yang's eyes widened at this and she frowned, "What?"
Blake wasn't sure what was wrong, "What?"
"Oh boy," Geiz sighed as he put a hand to his head. He had heard from Ruby that things were awkward at best, and boy was she right.
Yang pulled her prosthetic away, "Forget it. Let's just head back."
Blake was confused now, "But what about-"
"We're fine," Yang said in light frustration as she began to walk off. "We can hook that flatbed up to Bumblebee in the morning. It should carry out extras just fine while everyone else goes on bike. Mission accomplished." She muttered the last words before looking over at Geiz. "Find anything?"
"Some tools to use on the vehicles if we have to," Geiz answered.
"Sounds good to me," Yang replied before stopping. "How are you fine with all of this?"
Geiz crossed his arms, "I'm going to give you the same response as before about Sougo-"
"No, I mean this whole situation," Yang replied. "How can you still look raring to go after everything that happened?"
Geiz gave a sigh as he rubbed the back of his head, "If you know about Oma and saw what he could do, and know that I'm from the same time, do you really have to ask?" He questioned before heading for the front door.
"Is that the brightest that thing goes?" Sougo asked.
"Sorry, don't exactly have a giant torch to wave around, not like I'd want to anyway," Ruby replied as she was using her scroll's flashlight to look around in the back room they had found. There were hints of some alcoholic bottles, but also a few candles which Weiss saw.
"Let's try something more practical," Weiss suggested as she readied Myrtenaster, using the fire Dust compartment to send small flames to each and every candle in the room, fully lighting it up.
The trio now realized that they were standing in a bar with all sorts of alcoholic beverages and wine ready for the picking.
Ruby grimaced, "On second thought, maybe we should keep this room closed."
"Huh?" Weiss asked.
"I'm just… Not sure how well my uncle's taking all of this," Ruby admitted.
"Oh," Weiss realized where this was going and gave a nod.
"Does your uncle's drinking really get that bad?" Sougo asked.
"He uh… he does not have the best track record," Ruby admitted as she held her arm. "Like when we met with Haven's Headmaster, we didn't really get anywhere and he came back to us pretty bad. Yang also told me about the days I was gone… it didn't sound pretty."
"Him and Yang did take it the hardest," Weiss admitted. "Yang had her own ways of dealing with things. But she was right about your Uncle."
Sougo couldn't help but grimace a bit, not liking how Qrow would seemingly just drown in his sorrows than try to do something proactive. While Yang definitely felt like the hot tempered kind of reaction, at least she felt something instead of trying to numb everything.
"Come on," Ruby said as she made her way towards the door in front of them, opening it up. "We'll never get to Atlas on an empty stomach!"
Sougo followed after her, "Here's hoping this is also the pantry."
Weiss though couldn't help but linger and reflect on the dire nature of their situation, "Ruby? Are we really still going to Atlas?"
Ruby raised an eyebrow and turned, "Why wouldn't we be?"
"I mean… where else would we take the Relic?" Sougo gestured towards the Relic of Knowledge.
Weiss couldn't help but continue to mull, "Well… you two heard what Jinn said. If there's no way to kill Salem, then what's the point in all of this?"
Ruby was wondering just what was going on, "Weiss, you can't be serious."
"I mean we should still have it somewhere safe," Sougo pointed out.
Weiss could only give a sigh as she composed herself, "Sorry, I- I don't know what I'm saying. I'm just really tired and I really, really hate this place." She then decided to step into the newly found room with the two, "Anything in there?"
Sougo couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, he knew that morale was low but this was getting weird even for him.
Ruby meanwhile went to search with her flashlight, only to groan at seeing more alcoholic bottles on the right end of the room. "More alcohol… At least we'll never have problems starting a fire."
"What's that?" Weiss pointed towards the center, the light stopping on a metal cellar door in the ground with the handles chained together. She was not amused, "A wine cellar? Great."
Ruby glanced towards her left before giving a yelp, Sougo and Weiss jumping slightly as Ruby sped over to a set of shelves on the left.
Weiss was concerned, "What? What is it?"
Ruby held out a can of beans on her palm as if showcasing it off, "Food!"
Weiss couldn't help but be skeptical, "Canned food?"
"Uh…" Sougo stared at the can of beans, something was off.
"Oh trust me, you put enough salt on anything, and it will taste juuust fine," Ruby declared, waving off the skepticism.
"Okay but can we look for something else?" Sougo asked as he went over.
"What's wrong with beans?" Ruby asked.
"I mean I'm fine with beans but like uh…" He then pointed at the label, more specifically the bottom portion that labeled them as shrimp flavored. "Shrimp flavored?"
"You know as much as I hate to agree with him… yeah let's find another flavor," Weiss realized.
"I'll just take one for myself then, doesn't seem too weird!" Ruby called out with a huff, a bit offended by the two taking potshots at the flavor of choice.
"I shouldn't be surprised," Weiss rolled her eyes before giving a soft smile. "Even with the two of you being dolts at least one of you has good taste."
"Yes, score one for Sougo," Sougo pumped his fist.
"Hey don't forget she called you a dolt," Ruby pointed out.
"Is being a dolt that bad?" Sougo asked. "It seems more like a nickname than an insult, at least around you all."
"Huh," Ruby never really thought of it like that, she couldn't help but give a small smile, "Guess Weiss has really warmed up to you if she's calling you that."
"Let's not get off topic," Weiss nearly blushed as she hurried over, picking at various cans and grabbing a bundle. "We're wasting enough time, and I still seriously hate this place."
"Fine, fine," Ruby said as she went to grab a few more cans that weren't shrimp flavored beans while Sougo grabbed his own bundle of stuff he saw.
The trio soon left the room, heading back to the others with their findings in food. While Sougo was aware something was off, he wasn't aware something was supposedly behind the cellar door. Something pushing against it and opening it slightly before it was released, the door shutting with a low bang.
Qrow had yet to come back into the estate immediately, everyone assuming that he was likely taking breaks in each building while traversing the snow. Yang meanwhile arrived back with her group and informed everyone of their progress in finding the flatbed.
Tsukuyomi though had decided to start working on the canned food they were given in the kitchen, while much of the pantry wasn't usable she had used her time in 2068 to try and pep up the food to make it good enough to eat for at least one night.
As she did though she was holding a discussion with Geiz, Ruby and Sougo, the unofficial Team Zi-O having concerns about the situation.
"There is something seriously wrong with this farm," Geiz pointed out. "As much as leaving in the morning is the best, I don't like this feeling at all."
"You're right, this low morale is very, very unnatural," Tsukuyomi agreed. "I understand the bombshell of news but like…"
"It just feels weird," Sougo admitted as he rubbed his head. "I know we've only been with them for barely a week but they don't seem the types to lose so much energy like this."
"Yeah…" Ruby had to agree. "Even when they lost me for a while they still kept moving, but… maybe it is just the news."
"Speaking of, how are you taking it?" Geiz asked.
Ruby crossed her arms, "Salem in general? Well… is it weird that I don't have the same feeling of dread as everyone else?"
"I mean you've seen so much in your time away from home," Tsukuyomi pointed out. "As for Geiz and I at least…"
"You've seen worse with Oma," Sougo finished much to the surprise of the both of them. Despite choosing to become a Rider, his thoughts were on Oma still. But not because of that being what he could become, but rather the raw power he held. "I… have to agree."
"That makes all of us then," Ruby gave a nod. "After witnessing what little power Oma showed off first hand… it takes a lot to frighten and force you to lose hope."
"And that cycle's back around, any idea on what could be causing this?" Geiz asked since everyone agreed there was some reason that morale was low.
"I've never heard of or studied a Grimm that could possibly do it… and it'd have to be a pretty clever and patient person to hide if it was somehow a Semblance," Ruby listed off, trying to make some sense of it all. "But given Kasshine showed up… I'm worried it might be an 'us' problem."
"That was still weird, it didn't act like it did before," Sougo noted.
"Well before I did get here Tsukasa intervened," Geiz explained. "I assume he roughed it up so badly it malfunctioned."
"I suppose," Tsukuyomi said as she finished preparing everything. "Okay, let's start passing this out."
"I'm going to try and look for uncle Qrow," Ruby said as she went towards the entrance, making sure she had her Driver on and Crescent Rose ready. "Even if he's taking breaks he's taking too long."
"Just be careful," Geiz suggested. "We'll hold down the fort here."
"Got it," Ruby gave a nod before heading outside, scanning her surroundings with what little visibility the snow storm gave before she pulled her hood up and took off.
Ruby continued to trek through the snow, glad that she had stayed inside since it meant she wasn't reeling from the cold like the others were. Deciding not to shout due to how loud the howling winds were she simply marched forward. Her eye's however narrowed when she thought she saw someone in the distance.
It was hard to tell as it seemed like a person though their grey clothing helped blend into the storm too well. Ruby though could have sworn she was looking at Woz, or at least someone who looked similar, especially when she thought she saw a book in the stranger's hands.
~Ruby Rose could not find anything out of the ordinary, but what she did find was her uncle, the two heading back inside with little issue~
The storm picked up slightly until Ruby could barely see who she tried to see. Even then she started to realize that maybe she was just seeing things. Turning she saw Qrow slowly making his way back to the estate, "Ah there you are."
"Huh," Qrow turned in surprise to see Ruby, "Kiddo? I thought I said not to go out alone."
"I've dealt with my fair share of dangerous situations beyond being a Huntress," Ruby hurried over before she gestured to her Ziku Driver. "It was only to find you and maybe spot a clue. You were taking too long."
"Thanks for the concern but I'm alright," Qrow reassured though his attitude and general lack of caring now betrayed those words. "Spot a clue?"
"Something feels off." Ruby admitted.
"You're right in that regard," Qrow gave a nod as the two walked back towards the estate. "I couldn't find much on my end, how about you?"
"We've got some food that Tsuki and the others are passing out," Ruby answered. "And there's a flatbed that we can hook up to Bumblebee in the morning."
"Then it sounds like we're all set," Qrow replied, the two making their way back into the entrance of the estate.
Several hours had passed, everyone managing to get something, even if only a little bit of food in their stomachs. While Weiss, Blake and Yang sat by the fire, Maria continued to read on her couch, Oscar pacing around while Tsukuyomi sat next to her and listened, Sougo leaning on the head of the couch near his friend.
Ruby peaked in from the staircase, having been sitting on it and staring at the night sky as the snow seemed calmer than before. Geiz was leaning on a wall deeper in the main hall while Qrow sat on a chair nearby the front window, legs propped on the drawer that kept the door in place.
Qrow noticed Ruby walking over and decided to speak up, "Storm's cleared up for now. We should be able to leave by morning."
"That's good," Ruby said.
"No…" Qrow shook his head his hand lingering towards a bottle of wine that he had pilfered from the estate's bar. "I don't have a good feeling about this place, especially with me around…"
"Are you… okay?" Ruby asked, having seen the bottle.
Qrow could only scoff, "Sure. Tell everyone to get some sleep. I'll wake you guys up just before sunrise."
Geiz could only watch as Ruby walked away, just barely seeing her slight pained expression when she looked back to see Qrow drinking straight from the bottle.
Geiz then walked over, "Hey, if you get tired just let me know. I'll gladly cover the rest of it if you need some rest."
"And where did this come from?" Qrow asked as he set the bottle down.
"You saw and heard what everyone else did," Geiz reminded. "Tsukuyomi and I are the best assets you could have in a situation like this."
"Well if you're going to be insistent about this I'll be sure to let you know," Qrow answered before taking another swig of the wine bottle.
With everyone else though, Oscar finally had a revelation once he paid enough attention to Maria's storytelling. "It's a diary?"
Maria gave a nod, having a book labeled 'III' with the prior two volume's on the nearby table, "The head of this household, Bartelby." She started. "Apparently, he and several other families found this little settlement to try and live on their own. It sounds like it worked, at least for a spell."
"Grimm?" Oscar asked.
"Just one of many hardships," Maria answered. "Slowed down their farming, made everything harder… It's a shame, really. He seemed like quite the ambitious fellow, always thinking of new schemes to overcome the odds."
"From what little you read out loud it sounds like he was quite the tinkerer," Sougo noted.
"I wonder what made him stop," Tsukuyomi wondered.
"Hey guys," Ruby announced her presence as she entered. "Qrow said we should get some sleep. We're gonna head out early tomorrow."
Blake gave a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness."
No one seemed to complain as everyone went to get everything ready to sleep as comfortably as they could.
Maria though hopped off the couch with a huff, "Hmph, the last thing you'll catch me doing is letting some kid tell me what to do." She called as she hurried over to the single chair near a lamp. "Go to bed!" She mimicked Ruby before giving a scoff, sitting down and turning on the lamp before continuing to read.
Ruby couldn't help but shrug before smiling, glad to see that Maria was still lively despite it all. She then went to help everyone else set up for bed.
Despite his earlier pep, Sougo couldn't help but think back on the whole issue of Oma Zi-O alongside everyone now knowing. He also wondered if he had ended up being too hard on Woz, he shook his head however as he went to lay down with everyone else.
Sougo gave a yawn as he opened his eyes, only to blink a bit, "Wait, what's going on?" He was standing at the center of a large plaza that looked to be on Earth, in Japan. "When did we get back here? Or was Remnant a dream?"
The area began to grow foggier as steps could be heard from the steps that lead up and out, through the fog seemed to be a Kamen Rider. Yellow eyes pierced through as what seemed to be a purple Rider walked forward, scarf blowing in the wind.
He turned as soon as he heard plumes of fire, his eyes widening as all he could see behind him was a dark and light blue gradient void, fog covering a Rider with what seemed like a question mark shaped head crest walking towards him. Sougo looked up finally once he heard whirring, the fog being at its thickest where he stared.
Red compound eyes shined down on him as what looked to be a gold plated Guardian Robot launched towards him with a punch.
Sougo's eyes widened, "Ah, what's with these guys?!"
'Ruby…'
Suddenly the entire area around him alongside the Riders dispersed into various colored rose petals, leaving Sougo in a black void.
Sougo tilted his head as he saw this happen, "What?"
'Ruby…'
"Wait who's calling Ruby's name?" He asked as the entire area began to fade into white.
"Ruby…"
"Ruby…!"
"Come on, wake up Ruby!"
Ruby gasped awake and sat up, breathing heavily before feeling a hand, she glanced and saw Geiz nearby, "Geiz…" she gave a breath of relief. "Don't scare me like that."
"Sorry," Geiz apologized. "It's just its not early morning."
"Wait, what?" Ruby stared at her friend before hearing a bottle drop, clattering. She gave an annoyed look as she quickly got up. "Did he really just…"
"I told him to wake me up if he got tired," Geiz gave a light growl. "I should have been more stubborn."
"Don't, I'll deal with it," Ruby said as she got up and opened the curtains that kept the light from coming in.
"Close the window!" Weiss managed to groan out.
"Come on you all," Geiz raised his voice. "It's not early anymore."
"Ugh finally…" Sougo moaned as he sat up, holding his back. He thought briefly on his dream before shaking his head, "This floor is not comfortable…"
"You should have slept on the couch then…" Tsukuyomi yawned.
"Then my neck would hurt," Sougo pointed out, the couch's being too short to lie on for a long time.
Ruby meanwhile grabbed the bottle that was dropped and walked over, "Uncle Qrow, come on get up." She called as she shook him.
"Leave me alone," Qrow muttered.
"We overslept," Ruby narrowed her eyes, becoming less amused by Qrow's stubbornness when she was pushed away. She stared at the bottle, giving a glare before tossing it at the wall nearby and shattering it.
Qrow gasped as the noise was loud enough to startle him up, he then saw the scene before him and noticed a very annoyed Geiz at the doorway to the study, "Oh, right. Switching and… Sunrise."
Ruby though couldn't stay mad at her uncle and simply hugged him, "You know… you can talk to me about stuff, Yang too."
Qrow simply hugged his niece back, "Let's just get outta here."
Ruby released her uncle from the hug before they went to go help wake everyone up.
As the day moved forward everyone woke up and started their plan to leave, though a lot more sluggish than before. Geiz and Tsukuyomi were already noticing that something was severely off, especially when they noticed that everyone's eye's looked so dull and dilated except for Ruby's, Sougo's and their own.
Yang was currently keeping Bumblebee steady while Weiss used her weapon to weld a metal ball to the back of the motorcycle, making a makeshift trailer hitch.
"There," Weiss rose up into a slouch.
"Can we just go back to bed?" Oscar complained.
"If we're all so tired, maybe we should make breakfast?" Blake suggested.
"You wanna make it?" Oscar gave a tired smile.
"Not really," Blake backed down.
"We'd waste too much time with breakfast anyway," Geiz added.
Ruby, Qrow and Sougo meanwhile were pushing the flatbed from the storage house to Bumblebee, stopping a short distance away.
"You guys got the bike ready?" Ruby asked but was only able to receive a gesture from Yang.
"Well, it's done now. So let's hook this thing up and-" Qrow had gone to rest his leg on the side of the trailer only for the tire on the opposite end to suddenly pop and go flat. He gave a groan of frustration before going to check on the tire.
Sougo blinked a few times, when they mentioned Qrow's semblance was Bad Luck he didn't think it would have this kind of timing to it.
"You people are just beacons of bad luck, aren't you?" Maria asked as she came out of the house when she heard the pop.
Qrow could only stew in his own frustration as he walked to a nearby fence post and sat on the ground, opening his flask.
Yang meanwhile just sat near the well, "I'm starting to think the universe just doesn't want us getting to Atlas."
"Like hell it doesn't," Geiz remarked. "I was worried about the bikes but if we can't find a spare we just need to triple up and hope for the best."
"If this place wasn't abandoned I'm sure there's a spare," Ruby added.
"It's not just that, it's everything," Yang spoke up, though there was a lack of energy in her voice. "Storms, crashes, monsters…" She sighed. "I'm so tired…"
Blake couldn't help but agree, "Me too. It feels like we always have to fight to get by."
Ruby was getting concerned now, "Yeah. But that's what we signed up for."
"We signed up to try and save the world," Oscar reminded. "Not just… delay the inevitable."
"Seriously…?" Tsukuyomi groaned out.
Geiz narrowed his eyes as he was fed up, and it wasn't just his experience facing impossible odds keeping him going. He was sensing something is wrong, "Will you all just wake up already?"
"What… what is there to even wake up from?" Weiss asked. "I just couldn't stop thinking… why are we even going to Atlas?"
Sougo couldn't help but notice the entire mood and energy drop at those words, especially with everyone exchanging glances.
"Weiss, we have to," Ruby insisted.
"Why?" Yang stood back up. "Ozpin hid the Relics behind giant doors under enormous schools, but… how long would it take Salem to find a Lamp in the middle of nowhere?"
Ruby shook her head, "What? The Grimm might-"
"They'd find it eventually, sure." Yang admitted. "But bury it or just throw it down the well, it would take years. It might not even happen in our lifetime. But we could be done with it now."
"And the minute Salem finds out that we ditched it she will send someone or arrive herself to find out that we left it here," Geiz glared as he moved in front of Ruby and pushed her back. "If you really don't care about it right now then you won't care enough to keep it a secret."
Tsukuyomi moved over to Geiz when she saw both Weiss and Blake join Yang, the two looking at the trio who seemed very despondent at the moment.
"And if we just go on with our lives? Will Salem really know where we are?" Blake asked.
"Given you said her servants escaped Haven, she knows each and every person involved," Tsukuyomi huffed as she grew more frustrated. "What is wrong with you all?!"
"Do I need to transform and give you all a good clock to the face?" Geiz crackled his knuckles, "Because I am seriously ready to do so."
"Seems like that's the only answer to your problems," Weiss got out. "Too bad we can't beat Salem with that."
"I swear…" Ruby held her head a bit, detaching the lamp from her waist and going over to Sougo. "Hold this and stay back. I need to defuse this situation."
"Oh, right," Sougo gave a nod as he took the Relic of Knowledge and moved back. He gave a frown when he saw Ruby's body swaying side to side, as if she might pass out. "R-Ruby…? Are you okay?"
"I'm just…" Ruby steadied herself as she gained a similar dazed look, going over and leaning on the well as he pupils began to dilate as she stared down into the well. "Tired…"
Sougo hurried over to Ruby, "Ruby, come on… this isn't like you." He said as he went to put a hand on Ruby's shoulder he glanced down the well.
From the darkness at the bottom of the well, two glowing red eyes shined brightly startling the two. Both yelped and gave a scream, the two bumping into each other which had the effect of dropping the Relic down into the well.
Ruby was now wide awake and out of her trance as she began to freak out, "Ah, no, no, no, Sougo!"
"No, no, wait, I didn't mean to!" Sougo cried out.
Geiz and Tsukuyomi turned in surprise at the scream, and had seen the tail end of what had happened.
"The hell is going on with you two?" Geiz asked.
"Don't worry, its okay," Weiss brushed it off, "Right Ruby?"
"No! No, there's something down there! I saw it, it was looking at me!" Ruby called out, she hurried over to try and spot what she saw again only to notice that they were gone, "Sougo!"
"H-Hey I saw the same thing and they were creepy!" Sougo called out. "Then you bumped into me!"
"You bumped into me too!" Ruby called out.
"Guys, it's okay," Yang tried to brush it off as she went to move around Geiz and Tsukuyomi. "Ruby's tired, Sougo can get startled easily, let's just go."
"Oh hell no," Geiz grabbed Yang by her left wrist, when Yang just pulled away without comment he knew something was off. "We are not leaving."
"Yeah, what's wrong with you?! We can't just leave… we have to go down there! We have to get the Lamp back!" Ruby shouted.
"All we have to do is fix this trailer," Qrow reminded before looking over at Oscar. "Hey, farm boy, check the shed for a spare."
Ruby was fed up by this point, "I'm not leaving without the Lamp!"
Sougo was ready to speak up when Geiz held an arm up and shook his head.
Blake couldn't help but sigh, keeping her stare, "I'll go down with you…"
"We'll go down together," Weiss added, to which Yang only gave a nod.
Qrow was more fed up than tired and dazed, getting up, "Fine! Get the stupid Lamp. Oscar, fix the stupid tire."
Maria could only watch as Qrow went to enter the estate again, "Where are you going?"
Qrow shook his flask in response, "Where do you think?"
Maria just looked down, "Stupid…" She went to sit down on the porch steps so she could continue reading the next volume of Bartelby's diaries.
"Tsukuyomi, keep watch," Geiz looked at his friend. "Zi-O and I will join the others."
"Oh good, I was going to volunteer anyway," Sougo admitted.
"I know you were," Geiz said, but wanted to keep Sougo from volunteering just to force Ruby's friends to follow after her.
Ruby took a deep breath, "We transform before we enter, we don't know what's down there."
Zi-O, Geiz, and Roze dropped down into the well after their transformations to their base forms had ended. The trio were admittedly put off that the remaining members of Team RWBY weren't reacting to the amount of loud noise all at once. The trio's lettered visors gave a soft glow in their respective colors, as if reacting to the dark area.
It wasn't long though before Weiss, Blake and Yang joined them, holding out their scrolls and using them as flashlights.
"Maybe the current carried it away?" Yang suggested.
"It shouldn't have gotten that far," Geiz argued.
"Let's proceed with caution," Ruby called out as she began to lead the group, having decided to just use Crescent Rose in its rifle mode for now since she wasn't sure what would show up down here.
Everyone began to follow her lead, Geiz and Sougo having their weapons out in their gun modes just to keep to long range in case something appeared farther away.
"Oh, come on, where is it?" Ruby groaned.
"Turn off your lights and just look for the glow?" Blake suggested. "The helmets should give just enough to see with."
Sougo gave a nervous chuckle, "Uh…"
"Let's do it…" Ruby agreed but was also nervous about the idea, "Even if I'd rather not."
The other girls went and turned off their flashlights, Ruby slowly but surely making her way forward with the others.
"There," Blake pointed out, a blue glow coming from a tunnel along the path ahead of them.
"That sure is a blue glow," Sougo agreed.
"Okay," Ruby took a deep breath before hurrying forward, Geiz and Sougo looking around to see if anything else was off.
Maria meanwhile was starting to pick up the pace in terms of reading while Oscar was fixing the tire. She had already noticing that the journals were picking up in regards to clues. It wasn't long before she gave a gasp at what she saw.
Tsukuyomi was startled by the gasp, holding her chest, "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Maria asked as she stood up and held out the book to her. "We need to get down there now!"
Tsukuyomi took the book before her eyes widened, having no time to read as a crude drawing of a humanoid Grimm caught her eye, the name of it giving her all she needed to know.
'The Apathy'
Ruby stopped at the tunnel and found the Relic of Knowledge, hurrying over and grabbing it, "Guys, I-"
Whispers and low gasps were all that Ruby could hear now as she suddenly stared in horror at the sight before her. Multiple humanoid Grimm of different sizes was bunched together, soon turning their heads towards the huntress rider and reaching their hands out. These were the Apathy, Grimm that had infested the tunnels underneath the estate.
"Crap, no, no!" Ruby gasped as she let out a few shrieks.
The shrieks and yelling had done the trick as Weiss, Blake and Yang's eyes returned to normal, adrenaline filling their bodies as they snapped out of their trance-like state due to fearing for their leaders safety.
Yang's eyes widened, "Ruby?!"
"Get over here, now!" Geiz called out as he and Sougo readied their weapons.
[TIME CHARGE!]
Ruby quickly backed out from the tunnel before running out, her teammates approaching her.
"What is it?" Yang asked.
"What… the hell?" Geiz managed to get out as everyone soon watched The Apathy come into view slowly but surely.
[ZERO TIME!]
Both Geiz and Sougo yelled as they sent powered up blasts of energy at the emerging Grimm, managing to strike and take out a few of them. But more and more began to slowly show up, a few getting hit and stumbling back a bit by normal blasts from Ruby's weapon.
One of the Apathy let out an ear-piercing scream, and suddenly everyone, Huntresses and Riders hunched over as they struggled to stand.
"What is this…?" Yang asked.
"My weapon… feels heavy…" Blake managed to get out.
"H-How is this even…" Sougo gritted out as he tried to force himself to stand.
Geiz gritted his teeth as he tried to aim, "Damn it… is this-?!"
[BURST MODE!]
Red shots zoomed past everyone and struck the Apathy, the blasts clearing a few more out as they struck directly against their heads.
Tsukuyomi's voice could soon be heard, "Everyone!"
"Run!" Maria called out as everyone turned, "Now!"
"Go, go!" Ruby called out in panic.
"She's right, we can't fight like this!" Sougo struggled to straighten up and quickly turned.
It was a race to escape this freshly discovered batch of Grimm, the group managing to catch up to Maria and Tsukuyomi before they all made their way back towards the well. Despite the comfort of daylight, it turned to tension as more Apathy walked through the daylight to block their path.
With another ear-piercing scream, everyone including Maria and Tsukuyomi hunched over again as they tried to keep from falling over.
Ruby had ended up hunching over and holding onto a wall near another tunnel entrance, "This way!"
"Move people, move! Go into full panic mode, do not get tired!" Geiz struggled to yell out as he smacked his weapon into his side, wincing at the pain. "Slap yourself or each other if you need to!"
It wasn't long before the group had rushed into the tunnel via Ruby's suggestion. A skinless corpse lying against a wall couldn't even be commented upon as running was the only thing that mattered. Especially due to Apathy starting to crawl out of every corner and hole there was.
Eventually and thankfully they managed to reach an underground room, only to gain more fear as a larger group of Apathy was at the other end of it. Moving as quickly as they could the group rushed over to the opposite end to make a break for some kind of exit.
But another scream from a single Apathy managed to force everyone to collapse onto all fours. Even Sougo, Geiz and Ruby were unprotected from the vigor stealing scream despite their armor.
"I can't… do this… I can't…" Yang struggled.
"Even the armor…" Geiz gasped as he tried to force his body to move. "Come on…"
Sougo gritted his teeth in frustration, "No, no!"
Maria managed to force herself back up, using her cane as support to move a few steps but still ended up collapsing again. But she ended up collapsing near a set of stairs, "An exit… an exit!"
Geiz managed to get onto his knees only, shifting one forward at a time as he reached Tsukuyomi and began to force her to move.
Ruby managed to look up, seeing the stairs lead up to the cellar door, struggling she managed to get to Weiss. "Come on!" She tried to push Weiss forward when she heard a weapon drop. Her eyes widened in horror at the sight before her.
Blake had dropped her weapon and collapsed to the ground on her side, the Apathy slowly but surely reaching her as she was at the back end.
Ruby gritted her teeth, she fumbled with her wrist holsters for a Ridewatch, she need a weapon any kind of weapon. Unknowingly and in the heat of the moment, she gripped a Blank Ridewatch, "Blake… get… up!"
Blake's pupils began to dilate again, "Its fine…"
Sougo rolled onto his back, trying to sit up and take aim only to fall back onto the ground. "No…"
The Apathy continued to slowly reach Blake, their arms reaching out once they were close enough.
Geiz could only give a light gasp, soon noticing the digital lettering on Ruby's visor beginning to shimmer again, "No way…"
Ruby could only look out in horror, reaching out with her free hand as she fully turned to try and reach Blake in time, "BLAAAAAKE!"
The Katakana on Roze's helmet turned silver briefly once more as bright light shined out forcing the Apathy to recoil, their skin being burned as they reeled back. As if reacting to her eyes the blank Ridewatch she gripped gave a soft white glow.
Blake gave a gasp as suddenly everyone managed to get a second rush of adrenaline thanks to the bright light.
"Take this!" Sougo yelled as he began shooting at the Apathy near Blake, managing to take down a few of them.
Ruby's visor returned to normal as she went to help Blake up, "I've got her!"
"What just happened?" Maria asked, seeing the light and having a suspicion of what was going on.
"No time to explain, we leave now!" Geiz was trying to push Tsukuyomi towards the exit, wanting her out first.
Weiss meanwhile rushed forward, managing to get near the entrance with Yang trailing behind her. "They're locked!"
Yang began running up the stairs, getting ready to blow it open with a punch, "Out of my way!"
The Apathy meanwhile had managed to recover despite the stun, giving another scream as everyone was unable to fight against it. One by one they all collapsed simultaneously.
Yang tried to reach the door but her hand soon fell, "No… no…!"
Tsukuyomi gasped out as not only did tiredness fill her but panic as well. It was all going to end here, to a bunch of creatures that could just force them into this state with a scream. She tried to fight the grogginess, after all her and Geiz had fought Oma Zi-O, lived and kept on fighting. They couldn't let this produced apathetic feeling be the one thing that did them in.
"Come on…" She tried to aim her weapon, she needed to do something. But she could only watch it fall out of her grip. She went to reach it before she saw Ruby and Blake collapsed on their backs, "No… no…" She trailed as she looked to the side and saw Sougo near the back as well, laying on his side. She held a hand out despite how futile it seemed, "NO!"
CLICK
Suddenly the whispers and gasping stopped with a click, Sougo and Geiz tried to see what had happened when they noticed that the Apathy had a green tint and glitch effect surrounding them.
Sougo sputtered, "Time…"
"…Jacker?" Geiz finished.
The two slowly but surely tried to look around, soon noticing Tsukuyomi reaching her hand out and starting to come to the realization that their friend had did it. Tsukuyomi couldn't help but look in surprise, only staring at her own hand as she had felt some sort of power emerge from it.
Maria managed to get into a sitting position, narrowing her eyes at the scene and realizing this was her chance. While she could only see in a cyan coloration due to these prosthetics giving her color-blindness, she needed answers.
Crawling over to Ruby she needed to know something about the huntress Rider, "Ruby… what color are your eyes?"
"They're… silver…" Ruby managed to get out, just barely aware of what was going on.
Maria let out a gasp as she gently held Ruby's shoulders, "You have a family? Friends?"
Ruby was just confused, "What?" She tried to look up, her eyes widening as she saw the time stopped Grimm only for Maria to lay her head down, covering the sides of her helmet.
"Don't think about them. Think about the people who love you. Focus on the thought of them, the way they make you feel," Maria coached, "Focus!"
Ruby wasn't sure where this was leading but could feel a warm light in her palm urging her to follow the advice. She closed her eyes as her helmet's lettering was still for the moment. She worked on what Maria had said, focusing her thoughts on everyone in the cellar.
Weiss meanwhile was trying to budge the doors open, with Yang only able to reach out before lowering her hand. Even just the presence of the time stopped Grimm was enough to put her back into a trance.
"Life… is beautiful," Maria spoke. "It is precious. And it must… be protected."
"What… are you…" Geiz trailed.
CLICK
The time stop had faded as the Apathy resumed their slow walk towards everyone.
The lettering on Ruby's visor however shimmered once more before fully changing to silver, the effect staying on this time as Ruby opened her eyes as wide as she could. The katakana for Rider began to glow brighter and brighter as Ruby sat up.
In a flash alongside hisses and screams of agony, the Apathy all reeled back as they disintegrated and turned to dust. Despite the silver coloration of her visor's lettering lasting longer, it soon faded with its use back into its natural red color. Maria and Ruby stared in awe before the huntress rider could feel a warm feeling in her hand. She could only look at it as the blank Ridewatch she held faded to reveal a new Ridewatch.
It had a bright red backing with silver thorn-like detailing on it, the frame of it being black and holding Roze's visor in the center. On the end of it was a dial that prevented it from being slotted in on the Rider Time slot, instead it was meant for the Armor Time slot.
Everyone else meanwhile began to recover, Geiz and Sougo sharing a look at their friends' sudden new abilities and acquisitions before silently nodding. Despite this they could hear the faint whispers and hisses of the other Apathy that were starting to make their way to the room.
Not wanting another close call Yang managed to crawl up, giving a yell as she punched the doors open. She rushed up with the others shortly behind and moved forward, surprised to see where they were. The group had returned to the wine cellar that was connected to the bar in the main estate.
"We're back in the house?" Blake asked.
Ruby though immediately noticed Qrow passed out on top of the counter, she rushed over and shook him, "Uncle Qrow, get up!"
Qrow awoke with a frown, soon slurring as he got up, "Hey! Get off me! What are you doing here? And why are you armored?"
"We're leaving, you idiot! Come on!" Maria called out, tapping her cane in annoyance before rushing for the exit, Tsukuyomi hurried after her while Yang grabbed Blake's hand and dragged her forward to follow after them.
Weiss looked back towards the basement however, "Not yet…" She narrowed her eyes before looking at Geiz and Sougo, "Start handing me bottles you two!"
The two that were called looked at Weiss before giving a nod, Geiz and Sougo passing the bottles on the shelf near the door. Weiss wasted no time taking the grabbed bottles one by one and tossing them near the entrance of the basement, shattering them and letting the flammable substance loose along the floor.
Qrow was questioning what the three were even trying to attempt aside from wasting good alcohol, "Hey… hey! What are you doing?!" He slurred and held his head.
Weiss readied Myrtenaster, fire forming along the blade. She formed a glyph, sending the fire through it to spread and slam into the approaching Apathy that started making their way up the stairs. Thanks to the alcohol the fires burned brighter and stronger and set the approaching Grimm on fire.
"Now we can leave," Weiss said as she turned.
"Geiz, Weiss, get Qrow out of here," Sougo said, the two giving him a nod before gripping the drunken uncle tightly and dragging him away. Ruby and Sougo began to follow as well, wanting to make sure that they could keep Qrow from going back deeper into the estate.
"Stop it! Stop! What's wrong with you?!" Qrow slurred further. "What's…?" He slowed to a pause when he saw the burning Apathy fully emerge from the cellar door. His eyes widened as he suddenly received the realization that there were Grimm underneath the farm and he didn't do a thing to help anyone.
Thankfully during all their running around and panicking below ground, Oscar had managed to get the spare tire locked in place and filled up. He had even managed to hook the flatbed up to Bumblebee without issue. To his surprise everyone had started to immediately pile onto Bumblebee and the flatbed while shouting that they needed to drive away.
Sougo looked over at Ruby as they went to exit with the others, once outside he spoke up. "Ruby, I need the Tajador Combo and Cross-Z Watches."
"Wait, what?" Ruby asked as she had pulled out her Rose Attacker Lockseed and activated it once outside, the bike landing near Bumblebee.
"Just trust me, Geiz and I are going to make sure that those things won't hurt anyone else again," Sougo insisted as he held out his hands.
Yang looked at Sougo in shock when she heard that, "You can't be serious, that armor won't protect you!"
"Just trust us," Sougo insisted.
Geiz gave a nod, "We won't be taking any damn risks now that we know what they can do."
Yang shook her head, "Listen, I know you're used to fighting monsters but-"
"Yang," Ruby walked over and put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "They'll be fine." She then pulled out the requested Ridewatches and tossed them to Sougo.
Tsukuyomi had turned silent as she sat the flatbed with Maria, Blake and Oscar. Weiss meanwhile had helped Qrow sit down.
Once Ruby had dismissed her transformation and gotten on her bike, she made sure everything was in place. The two sisters revved up their motorcycles before taking off, Ruby leading the way while Yang followed in pursuit with everyone else.
"Geiz, go Wizard," Sougo said as he took out his Decade and OOO Watches. "We're burning this place further to the ground."
"For once I'll follow your orders," Geiz scoffed as he drew out Wizard, the two backing up and slotting their Ridewatche's in, rotating their Drivers with Sougo then slotting the OOO Watch into the Decade Watch.
[ARMOR TIME!]
[PLEASE! WIZARD!]
[KAMEN RIDE! WOW DE~CADE! FINAL FORM TIME! O-O-O-OOO!]
Geiz gained his standard Wizard Armor Time while Sougo's under armor immediately formed into the Tajador Combo suit that Eiji would use. The chest and left shoulder read 'Tajadol' while the right shoulder read 'OOO' in katakana. His visors screen shifted around before stopping on the Tajador Combo's helmet.
"Now then, all out, no holding back," Sougo tossed Geiz the Tajador Combo Watch while he jumped up into the air, the wings from the Tajador Combo forming on the back of the Decade Armor as they lifted him higher and higher.
Geiz took aim with his Zikan Zax in its arrow mode, pulling the hammer back as he saw a few burning Apathy make their way to the door as the house began to burn further and further.
[FINISH TIME!]
[OOO GIWA GIWA SHOOT!]
"Never again," Geiz gritted his teeth before releasing the hammer and unleashing a fiery blast that turned into a large fire filled phoenix, the phoenix slamming straight into the main Brunswick estate and causing it to burn further. This resulted in any Apathy that was directly in front of it to get completely obliterated.
[FINISH TIME!]
[CROSS-Z SCRAMBLE TIME BREAK!]
Sougo began flourishing the Heisaber, blue and orange lined flames forming at his swords blade before he slashed downwards. A blue energy eastern styled dragon launching out from the swing and slamming into one of the surrounding houses below, snaking its way through the various buildings, tearing through and causing them to burn.
"Now, the finale," Geiz called out as he initiated his forms finisher.
[FINISH TIME! WIZARD!]
"Right, we'll make sure even if you survive, you won't be able to hide in plain sight again!" Sougo called out as he initiated his forms finisher.
[STRIKE TIME BURST!]
[O-O-O-OOO! FINAL ATTACK TIME BREAK!]
Geiz raised his hand, a magic circle appearing high enough above the farm as fireballs began raining from it, continually adding to the fire to keep it burning for a good long while as more objects and structures were set on fire.
Sougo meanwhile spread his arms out, flames erupting from and engulfing his body as they took a brilliant phoenix shape, lighting up the sky briefly, "SEIYA!" Sougo yelled out as he charged downwards, the phoenix launching downwards and towards the center of the farm.
As Yang began making her way away from Brunswick Farms with everyone in tow, Ruby rode alongside her.
Yang looked at the trail in front of them, "Hey, are you sur-"
"I'm sorry was that just a gigantic bird on fire?!" Weiss interrupted, having just witnessed the fiery phoenix that was Sougo's finisher in the distant sky.
"I'm more wondering about what looked like fireballs just raining down just before that," Blake added.
Ruby looked back as she began to slow down along with her sister and gave a small smile, "Absolutely sure."
It wasn't long before thicker and darker smoke could be seen coming from where they left Brunswick Farms. Even the sound of fire crackling had managed to echo throughout the forest as the fires burned bright.
The familiar sound of engines revving could soon be heard, Ruby and Yang slowing down before stopping as they did. Geiz and Sougo soon came into view from a turn, the two having dismissed their transformations.
"There we go," Sougo smiled as he slowed to a stop.
"They won't be bothering anyone ever again, and even if we didn't get all of them, they won't be able to hide under anyone's noses," Geiz added.
"To think you kids decided to insanely stay behind and risk succumbing to those Grimm," Maria chided. "Just who do you think you all are?"
"Us, well…" Sougo started before giving a smile, Ruby couldn't help but realize that Sougo was going to be cheeky about his answer as he finally spoke again, "We're Kamen Riders."
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"Save the tests for later."
"Don't worry I'll get them warmed up for you."
"They might just be here on Remnant."
"I tried not to dwell on it… but now."
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived in Argus."
Chapter 26: Two Kinds of Arrivals
Author's Note: Glad to see the reactions and changes I added regarding The Lost Fable were well received. I was really curious how that was going to turn out honestly after I finished writing it up. Nice to see people thought similarly.
I also figured it would be best to just combine both Brunswick episodes together into a singular chapter. Both managed to make it the usual length of my chapters. But also I really didn't feel like bloating and overextending things. Regardless, things are moving forward. I've introduced quite a few concepts and ideas from actual Zi-O quite early, so that'll be fun to play around with. And the most important part of this chapter, Ruby's on the path towards her first upgrade! If I did a terrible job explaining what it was, it's pretty much meant to be the normal watch styled half of the Zi-O II Watch. So yeah, thanks again for your support and I'll see you next time.