Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 48 – GeizRevive 2019
Woz sat in his dark void of narration with his book open, standing in front of the still clock cloaked in the darkness as well, "As it is written in this book, average high schooler Tokiwa Sougo embarks on a path which leads him to become the overlord of time, Oma Zi-O."
"Assisting Kagami Rose is a mysterious young man, Hiryu Kakogawa who has emerged from obscurity," Woz explained as he watched the fights with Hiryu in his Another Rider forms. "He is Another Zi-O, an enemy that cannot be defeated by Zi-O. Kagami has also revealed herself to be Another Roze, an enemy that cannot be defeated by Roze herself."
The book closed with a sudden shut as Woz had a look of discomfort on his face, "And now… Geiz Myokoin is about to become Geiz Revive. Acquiring the power needed to beat Zi-O."
Standing up the chronicler walked forward, a shadowy figure bathed in fog with a dim light barely showing its shape. It held a primarily black body with heavy orange bulky armor, the visor resembling Geiz'.
Earth – Japan's Chuo Alps, Late February 2019
"Come on, come on!" Kagami called out as she continued to slice at Ruby, keeping up the pressure so that her counterpart couldn't bring out Crescent Rose to replace Silver Crescent.
Ruby winced, quickly jumping back and turning, using Petal Burst to speed further away. As she landed however she backed up as a burst of black petals flew outwards from Kagami. The Another Rider appeared from within the storm of petals and slashed down at her. Ruby raised her arms and winced as sparks flew, staggering back as a result.
"You have your own speed boost?" Ruby questioned.
"Something like that... let's just say I'm pushing our abilities to their limits thanks to these new powers," Kagami answered as she spun her weapons in her hands once while approaching.
"Let's see how you like this then," Ruby said as she let her arms drop, her armor visibly showing that she was taking in deep breaths.
"Oh, this trick," Kagami decided to let this play out as she knew exactly what Ruby was planning. She simply spread her arms out as she awaited Ruby's attack.
Ruby was slightly distracted by the fact that her mirror self was just going to stand there but she assumed it was overconfidence. Gathering her thoughts she took a final deep breath before leaping forward, her right fist gaining a bright white shine as she punched forward, "Rider Punch!"
Kagami chuckled as she quickly crossed her blades, holding the flats of her weapons forward as a black glow and shine coated them. Ruby's attack hit dead center against the blades as both white and black energies suddenly dispersed canceling each other out.
Ruby's eyes widened behind her helmet as she retracted her fist, "What?"
"I'm the opposite of you, especially as Another Roze," Kagami explained as she lowered her arms, "Silver Roze does have purification abilities making it strong against Another Riders. However, as Another Roze I gained the opposite of purification, corruption. With it I can channel that energy and cancel out your rider forms attacks."
"Let's see how you deal with this then!" Ruby called out as she initiated her finisher.
[SILVER FINISH TIME!]
Kagami jabbed the sword she held with her left hand into the ground as she pressed down on her Anotherwatch, sliding her hand across her buckle. She then gripped her remaining sword with both hands as she readied herself.
[ANOTHER BLAST!]
[SHINING TIME BLAST!]
Ruby leapt up into the air, light shining off of her armor as it all gathered in the form of silver energy around the sole of her boot. Kagami meanwhile readied her blades, the weapons glowing with the same black energy before. Ruby kicked downwards as Kagami swung forward, a flash of white and black occurring before both attacks canceled each other out, Kagami pushing further and forcing Ruby away.
Ruby yelped in surprise as she landed on the ground with a stumble, "No way…"
"Your Rider Powers aren't going to cut it this time," Kagami answered as she drew her second blade from the ground before bursting into a flurry of black petals. "We'll meet again…"
Ruby looked around as the petals scattered but it seemed as though her mirrored self had chosen to retreat for the time being. She also noticed that Muchiri was no longer in the area as well, a set of black petals off to the side where he likely once was. Ruby could only remain silent as the rest of her team walked over to her before she looked to see how Sougo's fight was going.
Both Sougo and Hiryu had grabbed onto each other as they clashed blades, eventually tossing themselves to the ground. The two kept rolling however, tumbling as they began to rise before charging at each other again. While Hiryu did have an advantage with his clock hand based naginata, Sougo's large blade allowed him to keep up regardless.
Despite this Sougo was having a hard time doing anything other than just keeping up. He had managed to spin while swinging, opening himself up to a swipe from Hiryu which he blocked with his hand. He then spun and slashed only to get blocked by Hiryu's naginata. A few more swings and it was clear the two were locked in a stalemate when it came to forcing their way past each other.
[RIDER FINISH TIME!]
Sougo jumped back, readying his belts finisher as he raised his sword with one hand. Once he had finished rotating the Driver he gripped his sword with both hands.
Hiryu rested his pole-arm against his shoulder as he pressed down on his Anotherwatch, sliding his hand across his buckle.
[ANOTHER BREAK!]
[TWICE TIME BREAK! KING GIRI GIRI SLASH!]
Both Rider and Another Rider charged their finishers as fast as they could before slashing forward. An explosion of energy occurred as Hiryu vanished from where he was, black petals in his place. Sougo meanwhile was thrown out, losing his transformation. Sougo began to sit up but suddenly felt tired, soon resting against a large rock that was nearby before falling asleep.
"I'm disappointed in you my Savior…" Shiro-Woz could only stare at this development with a frown as he looked towards Geiz who was nearby, "It would appear that you are no longer concerned with defeating the overlord."
"I'm always ready to do so if needed," Geiz gave a glare as he walked over, grabbing Shiro-Woz by his collar, "I made a promise that I would do it if necessary. So I'm always ready."
"Promise or not, the Geiz Revive Watch did not activate, that is all the proof I need. It exists to defeat the overlord. You could say it responds to your will. Right now, you are little more than a beast with no fangs," Shiro-Woz smirked as he pushed Geiz's hand off of him.
"…" Geiz stayed silent at that, merely glaring at Shiro-Woz.
"I ask of you to try and remember your mission," Shiro-Woz said as he began to walk off, "There are quite a few people who are on your side and yours alone, however can you continue to face them with this failure?"
Geiz could only stare at where Sougo was, starting to walk over when he was broken out of his thoughts as he watched Team RWBY approach.
"Geiz are you alright?" Ruby asked as she walked over.
"Just got hit a bit hard," Geiz admitted, the blank Geiz Revive Watch still in his hand.
"You tried to use the Watch?" Blake asked.
"It apparently can beat Hiryu, and I bet Kagami as well," Geiz answered before glancing at it, soon pocketing it. "But it just won't activate."
"Man we could really use some kind of edge," Yang sighed.
"We'll have to make due regardless," Ruby answered more firmly before looking towards the time traveler, "Geiz can you take my team back with you to Tokyo? I'll wait here with Sougo."
"You mean we'll wait here with Sougo," Weiss corrected as she walked over, "I'd rather make sure you're both safe."
"Fine," Geiz gave a nod as he knew what Ruby was trying to do, "I'll take Black and Yang back and we'll keep watch for both Another Zi-O and Another Roze."
"Are you guys going to be alright here?" Yang asked.
"Kuro-Woz is on our side, remember?" Ruby pointed out. "That's how we got here so fast."
"Right…" Yang trailed before giving a nod, "We'll try and keep your mirror self from causing too much trouble."
"Stay safe," Blake spoke up.
"You guys stay safe too," Ruby responded back as she watched the three of them head back over to the Geiz Unit Time Mazine.
Weiss meanwhile looked over at Sougo who seemed to be dreaming peacefully.
Kamen Rider Roze landed with a splash between both Geiz and Zi-O II before they could get closer to each other. As she landed she had shifted her rifle into its scythe formation, holding it behind her back as she glanced back and forth between both Riders.
Instead of allowing both Riders to rush towards her, Roze turned and rushed for Geiz, swinging her scythe as she twirled it with ease. Geiz could only dodge against Crescent Rose before grabbing onto it, kneeing Roze in the gut before spinning to the side and kicking her to force her back.
Geiz was ready to charge towards Zi-O II before he was suddenly blocked by Crescent Rose's blade, the weapon turning and swinging towards him as he was hit by the butt of the weapon. Roze closed in as she swung her weapon to force Geiz back before planting it in the ground and firing at the time traveling Rider.
Suddenly something felt wrong as Geiz gained an unnatural orange glow, the bullets merely bouncing off of his body as he walked towards Roze. Roze continued to fire until the glow around Geiz turned an unnatural blue. The blasts that Roze shot suddenly passed through Geiz as he became a blur, the Rider rushing straight towards Roze in mere seconds.
Roze backed up in surprise as Geiz regained the orange glow while punching forward. With a single punch Roze was sent flying, splashing across the water and slamming hard into a rock near Zi-O II. Zi-O II hurried over in shock, shaking her a few times before turning towards Geiz.
Sougo had been watching the whole time, the last few seconds of the battle taking a horrifying turn as he saw his friend go limp in her armor, "RUBY!"
As he yelled the sky lit up brightly as Regulus began to shine brighter and brighter. The star shined a bright white before engulfing the area.
Sougo gave a light gasp as he woke up before shaking his head.
"Was that the Day of Oma…?" He muttered.
Ruby gave a concerned look, "Sougo?"
"I'm uh… fine," Sougo turned towards his friend, his body relaxing as he saw she was alright, "It's just the dream was a bit more intense this time around."
"If you say so," Weiss said, deciding to not press the subject for now.
"I see he is dreaming once again," Woz remarked as he walked out of the entrance of Kuuga's tomb, approaching the three with a more serious expression, "Are you unhurt?"
"We managed to get through it… I think…" Sougo admitted with a nod.
Ruby held her arm and gave a nod, agreeing with Sougo while she wondered just how she was going to beat Kagami.
"Another Zi-O, Another Roze… a set of troublesome foes, indeed," Woz admitted as he stared off into the distance. "It takes the power of a Rider to defeat a Rider… but the same could be said for your foes."
"So we're stalemates then against our other selves," Ruby mused, and while switching up was an idea, she wondered if Hiryu and Kagami would even let them.
"Your powers as Zi-O II and Silver Roze may seem unbeatable, but it would appear your Another Rider counterparts are your true weaknesses," Woz explained further as he went to help Sougo stand.
"Just what we need…" Sougo groaned out.
"We should probably head back to the city," Weiss suggested. "Figure out our next move from there."
"Think you can get us back Kuro-Woz?" Sougo asked.
"Of course," Woz gave a bow before unfurling his scarf, it wrapping around the four of them like a tornado before shrinking, the four vanishing as the scarf tornado compressed itself into nothing.
Earth – Tokyo, Late February 2019
"Space-Time System, activate!" Tsukuyomi took the controls of the Zi-O Unit Time Mazine after setting the date for 2009, just a few days after the accident that she had read up on. The Zi-O Unit shot through the sky as it opened up a time gateway, heading through as Tsukuyomi went on her mission.
Watching the Time Mazine head off was Swartz who stared intently from the rooftop patio he was lounging on, "Tsukuyomi is headed towards that day…" He turned to head for the indoors area.
Uhr was getting nervous, Finis had decided to just vanish completely for the time being and Ora didn't seem to care all that much after the initial shock wore off. He paced around the patio while Ora simply sat where she was.
"Ora," Uhr spoke up as he looked towards his ally, "I thought we were looking for a different king to rewrite the history of Oma Zi-O? Or am I wrong?"
"Of course we're still doing that," Ora shifted in her seat as she crossed her legs.
"Then why would Swartz create Another Zi-O?!" Uhr questioned. "What's the point of any of this if this Hiryu becomes Oma Zi-O?! And then Another Roze, why a mirrored version of her? After all the trouble she caused why would we want an Another Roze to lead our new future?"
"Calm down!" Ora called out in a frustrated voice as she leaned forward, "I get your concerns but you're freaking out too much. If we're going to play on their level we need to keep cooler heads."
"I have a bad feeling that Swartz has an ulterior goal that he's not telling us about…" Uhr trailed as he squatted down. "And that he's had this planned all along."
"I could say the same thing for Finis," Ora admitted as she walked over. "Ever since Another W they've been acting odd… I really want to know what their deal is. Let's just take this one step at a time and see how this goes."
Ruby and Weiss had decided to call up Eiji and Ankh again, meeting the two at a café to discuss what they had learned while Sougo and Woz went back to 9-5-DO. Ankh was currently perched on his seat as he gave a bored look when he heard that they had yet to recover the medals.
"So why haven't you been able to take them back?" Ankh questioned.
"Well… and I hope you're all bracing…" Ruby trailed. "They used Another OOO to create ton of Cell Medals to act as a basis for a new Greeed, Muchiri."
Ankh's eye twitched as he stood up on his chair, "What?!"
"A-Ankh sit back down you're making more of a scene!" Eiji stammered out as he grabbed Ankh's wrist to force him down.
"N-Nothing to see here," Ruby called out as she waved her arms, quickly grabbing Ankh's other wrist, Eiji and her yanking him back down into his seat. "He just really wanted to stretch!"
"We're just as surprised as you are," Weiss admitted. "We didn't think it could happen."
"It shouldn't have though," Eiji said, "Kougami mentioned the new Medals run on pure desire to keep them from becoming monsters like the original Greeed."
"We were also created from a set of ten, the tenth being taken from our original set causing us to hunger after it," Ankh mentioned in a casual manner, "So how did three do the same?"
Ruby gave a hum as she tried to think before it suddenly dawned on her.
'Run on pure desire…'
'Pure…'
She remembered Kagami's words…
"Desire is easily corruptible."
"As Another Roze I gained the opposite of purification, corruption."
Her own confusion on Muchiri…
"Silver Roze is effective on the Greeed?"
Then she remembered what Maria said back in Argus…
"Corruption of life is opposed to preservation…"
Eiji could only watch as she spaced out, "Ruby?"
"That's it!" Ruby called out as she snapped her fingers, "The reason they were able to make a Greeed, it's because the Core Medals were corrupted to allow them to mix with the Cell Medals."
Weiss blinked a few times, "How did you figure it out?"
"I just sort of put everything together about Another Roze alongside Silver Roze," Ruby admitted as she rubbed the back of her head, "I think if I can use my powers against Muchiri, I can purify its Core Medals and retake them."
"Purify them?" Eiji asked, "How?"
"Well uh…" Ruby smiled and pointed towards her eyes, "I have Silver Eyes."
"We can see that idiot…" Ankh gave a bored stare.
"No I mean I have Silver Eyes with a capital SE," Ruby huffed and crossed her arms, "They're a special trait that acts against destruction, and corruption of life is one of the many things they can go up against. It's why the Another Riders end up affected alongside Muchiri."
"There's an issue," Weiss reminded, "Another Roze counters your powers. So she can easily just get in your way and stop you. And I doubt I'll be much help in trying to stall her."
"Even if I did have others to help me I think Silver Roze wouldn't be enough," Ruby admitted as she gripped her fist, "I need to use it all in one big burst. It'd be good too since Another Roze, and Another Zi-O would also get hit and weakened."
"Then it's a matter of mimicking what you've done in the past to the Grimm," Weiss pointed out.
"That's the issue…" Ruby admitted as she took out her Silver Roze Ridewatch, "I've concentrated just like I have before, it's been getting easier even… but all I can do is channel it into direct attacks. I can't do what I did before."
"What was different about before then?" Eiji asked.
"Well before Silver Roze…" Weiss trailed as she stopped herself upon the realization of what she said, "That's right! Before Silver Roze you were able to do it whenever you access your Silver Eyes!"
"You're right," Ruby realized, while her Rider Powers were useful she realized that for this next fight, she'd have to do something extremely risky.
"Urgent news, reports of an attack against Saint Central Hospital are just coming in." A news broadcast was happening on a television screen nearby as a reporter was currently showing footage of Another Faiz attacking the hospital before footage of Another Ryuki was seen. "The monster's attacking appears to have relation to the ones in prior attacks around the city alongside neighboring cities."
"Not good… they're calling us out," Ruby realized. "Another Wizard's the only one left."
"We should get into contact with the others," Weiss suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Ruby agreed as she began to text.
"We'll leave it to you," Eiji gave a nod.
"Like hell we are!" Ankh called out as he stood up only to get his ear grabbed as he was forced to sit back down.
"We'll leave it to you," Eiji said more firmly.
"You have our word that we'll get those Medals back," Weiss said with crossed arms and a bored stare as she looked towards Ankh, "With the mystery coming together we have a solid plan."
"Just need the location," Ruby said as she was working on getting information from Section Zero to help her with Another Wizard's birthplace location.
Sougo and Woz entered 9-5-DO, Junichiro currently cleaning up the front table as he had lingered and sat there for a while after Tsukuyomi left.
"Oh Sougo, you just missed Tsukuyomi she was here with Weiss earlier," Junichiro mentioned once he saw the two enter.
"Huh? Tsukuyomi came by?" Sougo asked, he knew that Weiss had stayed behind but he didn't think it was for that long.
"Yes, she was asking about a friend of yours," Junichiro explained.
Sougo was a bit confused now, "A friend?"
"Hiryu Kakogawa, I think his name was," Junichiro said as he recalled who Tsukuyomi was asking for. He set everything on the tray before heading for the kitchen, "I never met him myself. Tsukuyomi seemed to know him, though."
"Just who is this Hiryu Kakogawa?" Woz questioned.
"To be honest, I can't really remember…" Sougo scrunched his face up a bit as he went to sit down, "But for some reason, I feel like I've met him before…"
"Well, he certainly seems fixated on you," Woz remarked. "And not only that, he is trying to gather the power of Another Riders. He has a new unknown Greeed as an ally and then there's Another Roze. I'm afraid there's no time to muse on the current state of your relationships."
Sougo was ready to say something when he heard his phone buzzing, taking it out he found he had a text from Ruby. His expression dropped as he saw that Another Wizard was the only one left. Without a word he quickly jumped out of his seat and hurried out of the store.
"Hiryu Kakogawa…" Woz repeated and lingered in the shop as he sat down, becoming lost in thought, "I have heard that name, somewhere…"
Earth – April 2009
Shirahae General Hospital was Tsukuyomi's current destination, heading into the lobby as she had arrived in 2009 after the accident. Taking a deep breath she gathered her wits before heading over to the front desk.
"Which room is Sougo Tokiwa in?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Let me check, I'll be just a moment," The nurse said as she went to go through the files.
"Oh I see, a king, huh?" A familiar older voice remarked.
Tsukuyomi turned towards the hall that lead deeper in, soon seeing that it was Junichiro who had spoken up, he was currently leading a young Sougo through the hall, Sougo having crutches on as his right leg was in a cast.
"I keep having the same dream," Sougo admitted. "It tells me I'm supposed to become a King. But…" He looked down, "Mom and Dad are gone…"
Junichiro knew where this was going, squatting down to talk to his nephew, "Sougo, you can stay with me when you're better, okay?"
"What?" Sougo's frown turned into a soft smile, "Really?"
Junichiro gave a nod and a smile, "Of course! That makes it official!"
"Thank you!" Sougo smiled.
"Let's get some ice cream," Junichiro replied, deciding to spoil Sougo a bit to help lift his spirits.
Tsukuyomi could only stare as they walked past her only to turn when she heard another voice, it seems as though she wasn't the only one watching.
"Hiryu, you can't get up yet! You need to rest!" A nurse hurried over to a young boy with a bandaged head, who currently was holding onto an IV pole. The nurse went to help the young boy back into his room. "You can't go home unless you get better, okay?"
"Is that Sougo?" Hiryu asked.
"Yes, he was on the same bus as you," The nurse answered as she helped him onto the hospital bed, "Thank goodness he's okay, right?"
"It's his fault…" Hiryu answered bitterly, "He did this!" He yelled as he threw the IV to the floor before going to cover himself in his blankets. The nurse could only call out in surprise as she went to clean up the mess he had made.
"Hiryu…" Tsukuyomi muttered as she had gone to discreetly look at what was going on from the door. She then looked to the plaque near the door and saw that the full name was Hiryu Kakogawa. This made the child she just saw right now a match for who they were researching. Figuring she had done as much as she could she decided to head out of the hospital to contact Geiz.
Earth – Late-February 2019
Geiz had decided to split off from Blake and Yang for now and was currently ignoring his normal phone buzzing off in his pocket. Tsukuyomi had just called his Faizphone X before it started ringing and so he put her as priority. It was a good thing as well since he was informed about what was going on.
"I see, so that's the connection between them…" Geiz trailed as he walked through a less crowded and shade filled waterway.
"Mr. Junichiro came by the hospital," Tsukuyomi explained. "But no one came for Hiryu Kakogawa. I feel so bad for him… otherwise, no details yet. What about on your end?"
"Yeah, I've confirmed that Hiryu Kakogawa is Another Zi-O, alongside Kagami Rose being Another Roze," Geiz answered, when he heard only silence he decided to continue, "Neither Zi-O or Ruby could beat them. The Geiz Revive watch might be able to do it, though."
"Did you use it?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"I couldn't use it…" Geiz admitted in an almost regretful tone.
"Geiz…" Tsukuyomi trailed, "Don't feel like you have to force yourself to. If anything we should see what swapping opponents can do. That might be the key this time."
"I suppose…" Geiz trailed.
"I'm heading to the day of the accident now," Tsukuyomi continued. "I'll keep supporting you all by trying to uncover the mystery behind everything. Maybe that might help too."
"Take care," Geiz said before hanging up, ready to check what the buzzes were about when he noticed someone on the walkway across from him.
Uhr was casually walking on the other side of the waterway, hands in his pockets, "Where did that girl travel to?"
"Time Jacker…" Geiz narrowed his eyes, not liking the question asked. "What the hell are you after?"
"Me?" Uhr gave a thoughtful look before laughing and leaning on the railing, "After all this, you really think I'm scheming something?" His face dropped however, "Regulus is starting to shine brighter… The Day of Oma is close."
"The Day of Oma… The day the King of Riders is decided." Geiz reminded himself before looking over to Uhr, "You people have been trying to find a king for that day, haven't you?"
Uhr turned before suddenly speeding up, disappearing and rushing across the waterway before landing near Geiz, "That's right. I thought that would bring about a new future… But things were more complex than I imagined. From the appearance of Roze, to your group's disappearance and reappearance with strangers, the alternate Woz from an unknown future, Another Zi-O and Another Roze…"
"What's your point?" Geiz asked.
"Tell me, when did that girl travel to, and for what reason?" Uhr asked.
Geiz didn't like where this was going, it all went back to Tsukuyomi. And he still wasn't sure where her Time Jacker abilities came from. He could not risk this whatsoever, "No way, kid."
"I want to know…" Uhr admitted as he began to walk up the steps, "What happened in the past and how it relates to the future…" After those words he vanished in a burst of speed.
Geiz furrowed his eyebrows before he glanced at his phone and saw the text forom Ruby mention that there was only one target left. But with Uhr trying to pressure him for information on Tsukuyomi he was starting to worry for her safety. He pocked the phone and hurried for his Time Mazine, he needed to get to Tsukuyomi as soon as possible.
Sougo alongside Team RWBY walked up to an old laboratory, it being a lab that studied artificial Phantom's. Inside once rested a set of Carbuncle Phantom's that would act as an automated defense against intruders. Of course this was also where one was whisked away to become Another Wizard by Tid.
"Are you sure about this?" Sougo asked, having his Driver prepped and ready.
"As sure as I'll ever be," Ruby admitted, not wearing her Driver but instead having Crescent Rose out, "I'm counting on all of you to help back me up."
"Of course," Weiss gave a nod.
"We'll give it our best shot," Blake added.
"The plan sounds simple enough," Yang cracked her knuckles, "So what are we waiting for?"
"Let's go," Sougo said as he hurried into the lab, going deeper past the first hallway to see all the faded scorch marks and destroyed equipment from the fight that happened to the area around five years ago.
As the full group entered they all came to a stop as they saw Hiryu sitting on one of the tables, his back facing towards them. Kagami was currently leaning against a wall while petting Muchiri's head as the Greeed crouched down near her.
"Looks like you were too late, Sougo Tokiwa," Hiryu said as he held up the Wizard Anotherwatch. He turned towards them and hopped off the table, "I've taken Wizard's power."
"You're doing this because of me, right?" Sougo wanted to get straight to the point. "Tell me… why are you coming after me?"
"I've been curious about that as well," Kagami spoke up as she stopped petting Muchiri before crossing her arms. "You haven't told me much aside from your base motivations."
"Good question…." Hiryu admitted, "It would be a shame if I killed you, and you didn't know why… not to mention everyone here deserves to hear it. Alright then, I'll explain. My family was killed… because of you."
"Wait, what?" Blake asked.
"Um…" Yang was plain confused.
"What are you talking about?" Ruby asked.
Sougo was just as confused, "Because of me?"
"I still remember… You were sitting near me," Hiryu remarked. "And then… the woman in white shouted your name and pulled the trigger…"
"Woman in white…?" Sougo asked.
"No way…" Kagami's eyes widened however in genuine shock, putting a hand over her face, giving a smirk and speaking with a low tone, "Oh this is getting interesting…"
Weiss was silent before but now she was deathly silent, taking in Kagami's realization as further proof. To her she realized that Hiryu was connected to the day that Sougo lost his parents… but Sougo's weren't the only ones who died in the end.
"Apparently you're gonna become an overlord, or something… and people who wanted to prevent that came back from the future to kill you," Hiryu said, seemingly changing topics only to give a glare as he activated his Anotherwatch, placing it near his waist, "My family… they died in that accident because of you!"
[ZI-O!]
Hiryu transformed into Another Zi-O, he rushed forward only for Weiss to act quickly, using a Glyph to block and repel him. Hiryu took a few steps back as he shook his arms.
"Uh, you have any idea what he's talking about?" Yang asked as she raised her arms.
"Honestly he sounds too unhinged," Blake shook her head.
"I really don't understand," Soug admitted as he readied his transformation, "But I won't let you abuse the power of the Heisei Riders any longer just because you want to get to me! Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER~! (RIDER~!) ZI-O! (ZI-O!) ZI-O~! II!]
Sougo drew both of his signature weapons before rushing towards HIryu, slashing forward only for Kagami to appear in a burst of black petals, blocking both swords with one of her curved blades.
"Henshin…" Kagami pressed down on her Anotherwatch before activating the transformation.
[ROZE!]
Kagami completed her transformation into Another Roze, summoning her second blade and stabbing Sougo in the gut to force him back. She quickly raised her weapon as she blocked bullets and impact rounds from both Blake and Yang.
"Alright team, let's go!" Ruby called out as she took aim with Crescent Rose in its rifle mode before firing at Kagami.
Earth – April 24th 2009
Geiz was currently in his personal Time Mazine, traveling through the time tunnel as he made his way to his current destination, "April 24th… What if it wasn't an accident?" He asked as he pushed forward on the controls, the Time Mazine speeding up as it exited above the city.
The Time Mazine soon began locking onto the coordinates of where the accident happened. It wasn't long before Geiz noticed a white bus that was heading for a tunnel, but it was swerving constantly. Something was wrong as it seemed as though whoever was driving wasn't in control of the bus.
"This is it…" Geiz shifted his Time Mazine to lower to the ground but to be far enough away, activating the camera's scan function to get a view from one of the windows, "Just what is…"
He stopped in near shock as he saw what looked to be Tsukuyomi staring forward with a cold glare, hand on the trigger of her Faizphone X as she pressed down on the trigger.
"Sougo!" Tsukuyomi gave a shout as she pressed the trigger and sent a blast out of the weapon.
Geiz could only continue to stare in shock, "Tsukuyomi?!"
The time traveler was so surprised by his friends actions he'd yet to notice that the bus had began to combust. Smoke trailed off of it heavily as fires raged on in the back of the vehicle. Warning sirens began to go off within the Geiz unit, catching the time traveler's attention as he quickly kept the Geiz Unit from following any further.
The bus swerved as it entered the tunnel, exploding just as it reached the entrance.
Geiz said nothing as he could only stare at the destruction in front of him. His hands dropped to his lap as the Geiz Unit hovered in place. There were so many similar but important questions going through his mind right now. He knew his friend, that she would always give Sougo a chance. So why was Sougo in 2009 different? What did Tsukuyomi find out that made her shoot at Sougo? Was Sougo really that dangerous in the past that she'd resort to that? Was she trying to shoot at something else?
But any attempts at reason started to fade as he began internally beating himself up, grief overtaking him. Why did he have to act so passive recently? Why did he push for Tsukuyomi to go find out more information? Why did he have to be so indecisive that his friend got killed because of him? Was he going to let anyone else risk their lives to stop Sougo, just so they could die too? Was his complacency also going to get Blake and Yang killed because of their stances?
He closed his eyes and shut them for the longest time before opening them, both of them watering as a few tears streamed down his cheeks. In his silent grief he knew what to do, there was only one way to finish this without anyone else sacrificing themselves. At least, that's what he was going to push to the forefront as he buried all his other feelings.
Earth – Late-February 2019
The fight that Sougo and Team RWBY had charged into had managed to eventually make its way out of the lab due to its confined space. All eight combatants had realized they needed more space, everyone making their way towards a construction yard with several small factory warehouses nearby.
Hiryu combined both of his clock hand swords into their naginata state, using its range and double sided nature to keep Sougo from combining the Zikan and Saikyo Girade's. Hiryu gave a yell as he managed a clean slice against his opponent's chest, sending the Rider stumbling back. He gave a yell as he charged in and slashed, his attack being blocked by Sougo's Zikan Girade.
"If only you weren't there!" Hiryu yelled out as he tried to push further only for Sougo to brace the block with the Saikyo Girade. Hiryu pushed further, "You can't beat me!"
Sougo managed to slip away only to get stabbed in the chest by the tip of Hiryu's weapon, the Another Rider's range being fairly great.
Sougo gasped out as he was sent staggering backwards, "That may be so…" He quickly worked on combining his two weapons, "But you can't beat me, either!"
With a yell Sougo rushed forward for a relentless set of slashes, holding his sword by both the hilt and the blade to go for faster shorter swings. He kept putting pressure before managing to stagger Hiryu with another clash of weapons.
[KING GIRI GIRI SLASH!]
Sougo didn't even wait for the full charge up, slashing forward at an opening and forcing Hiryu back further. The attack had managed to do hefty damage to his Another Rider counterpart, which made sense. Both of them were weak to each other.
"My attacks hit just as hard as yours…" Sougo trailed before he gave a nod, "I think I can win this!"
"I refuse to go out…" Hiryu gasped out, "…until I destroy you!"
Kagami gave a grin as she was on one side of her real counterpart while Muchiri was on the other. The two had managed to force Ruby onto the defensive while working on avoiding the support the rest of her team was giving.
"Your team isn't much help!" Kagami called out. "Of course they're not Riders like you are!"
Muchiri gave a snarl, "Muchiri… revenge!"
Ruby gave a yell as she twirled her scythe, loading her Ridewatch onto the slot of it as it began to glow with a bright red energy.
[ROZE KAMA KAMA CUTTING!]
Ruby began to spin as she unleashed energy slashes, all around her at various heights. Kagami had managed to brace and block against most of them while Muchiri ended up staggering back from them.
Ruby looked between her opponents, "Freezerburn!"
Weiss quickly stabbed Myrtenaster into the ground, ice quickly spreading into a large radius towards Kagami as Yang jumped up into the air.
"No you don't!" Kagami called out as her blades shined a red coloration, slashing upwards and sending two slashes of energy outwards.
Yang smirked as her leg was suddenly tugged on, Gambol Shroud wrapped around her boot. Yang could only hold her hands up as she was launched back down, "Gotcha!"
Kagami's eyes widened when a fire wave suddenly was launched towards her, melting the ice as she braced and blocked against it. "What?" She then gave a grunt as she began to be assaulted by slashes from behind. She turned and slashed with both blades, seemingly hitting her target which was Blake. To her surprise her blades had ended up embedded in a clone of solid stone.
A punch came from behind, Kagami then letting go of her weapons and turning to punch. To her surprise she was blocked by Yang who had crossed both of her arms.
"That's risky," Kagami warned.
"Say's you," Yang backed away before jumping up and using her gauntlets to boost her further, leaping over Kagami and towards the stone clone. From where Yang was Blake charged forward, slashing at the Another Rider version of her leader with Gabmol Shroud's blade and sheath.
Kagami gritted her teeth as she crossed her arms and braced against both slashes, "Playing smarter huh?"
"Oh yeah," Yang called out as her eyes went red, punching towards the stone clone with her left fist.
Blake gave a nod as she used Shadow once more, leaving a fire clone that suddenly exploded in front of Kagami.
It wasn't long before Yang sent a flurry of stone and Kagami's own swords back towards her, the assault from behind and the front causing her to yell out as sparks flew from her monstrous form.
Kagami could only laugh however as she kicked up her weapons, combining them together to form her bident as she twirled it around, a wind blowing out from her as black petals flew from her feet. It wasn't long before the fog that lingered was blown away.
She looked around however before noticing that Blake and Yang were both ready to face her as they blocked her off from the other current fight.
Weiss had managed to summon her Arma Gigas, the summoned knight using its sword to keep Muchiri back. Weiss meanwhile worked on supporting it, using Gravity Glyph's to keep Muchiri in place and even using Hard Light Glyphs to launch multiple projectiles out towards the Greeed.
Despite these factors, Weiss' battle with Muchiri was turning from a slow stalemate into a fight that would likely end in her loss. Kagami was a bit confused before she realized Ruby wasn't fighting alongside Weiss, quickly turning she saw that Sougo and Hiryu were fighting on their own.
"What?" Kagami asked before suddenly spotting Ruby standing by herself, "You…" She quickly raised her bident to block shots from both Blake and Yang.
"Sorry but we're not letting you interrupt anything!" Yang called out as she punched forward, launching impact rounds out to keep Kagami on her toes.
Kagami gave a yell as she swung forward, unleashing a short wave of energy that detonated the impact rounds before they could reach her. "Enough games…"
Ruby meanwhile took a deep breath as she closed her eyes to concentrate. It was admittedly hard to call upon this state of mind. She figured the genuine adrenaline of the battles the last few times she did had managed to carry her. But it also seemed like Silver Roze was meant to expedite the process in dealing out damage. But for her she didn't need to fight, she needed to protect.
'This corruption of life… of desire… all it's being used for is destruction…'
Ruby focused further as she called upon her various memories a bit more easily than before, her hands dropping as they relaxed further. There was one memory she continued to focus on, an image of her mother at sunset on a hill, smiling at her.
'Thank you… Mom…'
Weiss gave a wince as she staggered back, sliding near Ruby as the Arma Gigas was toppled over. The summoned knight had taken a heavy blow to it. "Ruby…" She muttered as she raised Myrtenaster forward.
"Muchiri destroy!" Muchiri yelled out as it launched towards Ruby and Weiss.
Ruby opened her eyes as they shimmered with a silver flash before suddenly lighting up as they began to glow brighter and brighter. Soon enough a white light erupted from Ruby as it engulfed the entire area.
A yell could be heard as the light began to die down, Hiryu gasping out as his monstrous form was smoking from the flash, "What the hell?!" He questioned as he quickly stabbed his pole-arm into the ground to lean on it. He looked around before staring in shock, "Mu-Muchiri…?"
Sougo turned towards where Ruby and Weiss were standing, "Ruby…"
"Did she…?" Kagami gave a wince as she had immediately braced with her trident, coating it in black energy as she utilized it to brace against most of the damage, a few wisps of smoke exited her Another Rider form as she did get somewhat weakened by the attack.
Weiss had ended up closing her eyes and raising a barrier on instinct, slowly opening them before they shot wide open. Before her and Ruby was Muchiri but coated in stone, the Greeed having been the most affected by the attack.
Ruby smiled as she opened her eyes before giving a nod, "There we go."
"You somehow still manage to utilize them at the last second," Weiss gave a soft smile.
"What can I say, still getting used to them, plus the Rider Form seems to help with concentration more than doing it by myself," Ruby admitted as she poked the side of her head before readying her Driver and Silver Roze Ridewatch, "Even so, I can't rely on them for everything. But I guess the same could be said about my Rider gear. I was only able to do this as Ruby Rose."
"So you are learning… good job," Kagami muttered with a soft chuckle as she lowered her weapon.
Blake took notice of this with her enhanced hearing, "Huh?"
Yang looked over at her partner, "Something wrong?"
"Nothing," Blake shook her head, but at this point she really wondered what Kagami's deal actually was.
"So what exactly do we do now?" Weiss asked.
"This," Ruby said as she rotated her Driver, "Henshin!"
[SILVER TIME! KAMEN RIDER~! (RIDER~!) SILVER! (SILVER!) SILVER~! ROZE!]
Taking the form of Silver Roze, Ruby walked over to the stone coated Muchiri as she took another deep breath. She readied her finisher as she held back her right palm, it open as light energy gathered.
[SILVER FINISH TIME!]
[SHINING TIME BLAST!]
Ruby shot her right arm forward, striking forward with her right palm as she smashed through the stone, Cell Medals clattering where she had penetrated from. She soon gripped her fist as she felt the familiar sensation of the Core Medals. Gripping the Core Medals she began to pour purifying energy within them as her fist began to shine brighter and brighter.
Cracks began to form on Muchiri's body as beams of light broke free from the cracks, more light shining out before Muchiri's body shattered, stone and Cell Medals all dropping to the ground.
Ruby moved her hand closer to her as she opened her palm, the Mukade, Hachi, and Ari medals all being revealed with black smoke exiting them.
"Did it work?" Weiss asked.
"Yeah, I think it did," Ruby gave a nod before turning towards where Sougo and Hiryu were, "Now then…" She glanced back at Kagami, "Who…"
"Go handle Hiryu," Weiss said as she turned towards where Kagami was, "Trust in the rest of your team keep your Another Rider busy."
"Are you sure?" Ruby asked.
"Positive," Weiss replied. "Hiryu has more Rider Powers than Kagami does, he's more dangerous."
"You're right," Ruby realized, "Alright then."
"What did you do?!" Hiryu questioned as he began to walk towards Ruby only for Sougo to get in the way with his sword, "Stop butting in!"
"First you want to kill me and now you want me to stop butting in?" Sougo questioned as he began slashing forward to try and force Hiryu back, "Make up your mind!"
"Fine, I'll just destroy all of you!" Hiryu called out as his anger began to rise, blocking against Sougo's strikes before going on the offensive. He began swinging harder and faster, going for different angles as he managed to spin and swing hard enough to send Sougo backwards, "Now then!"
A yell was heard as Geiz suddenly leapt into the battle without transforming, punching the Another Rider in the shoulder with his bare left fist. He spun and rolled to a stop on one knee after the attack, and surprisingly his punch was hard enough to send Hiryu rolling as well.
"Geiz…?" Sougo gasped out.
Yang's eyes widened, "Whoa, since when did he decide to throw caution to the wind?"
Blake's eyes narrowed as she saw Geiz' expression, "Something's different…"
"Are you here to get in my way again?!" Hiryu questioned as he stood up, "Get out of here! The one who kills Sougo Tokiwa will be me!"
Geiz kept his hunched posture as he didn't seem to mind his bloodied left knuckle, the attack having hurt him more despite managing to push the Another Rider. "Sorry, no way," he spoke in a cold and distant voice. He stood up as everyone soon felt a chill in the air, this wasn't the same Geiz they knew from a few hours ago, "You won't be defeating Zi-O. That's my mission."
Ruby' gave a horrified expression a bit behind her helmet, "…Geiz?"
"Hold on…" Weiss trailed as she realized what Geiz meant by that, "What?"
[GEIZ!]
Geiz gave a firm glare towards Sougo as he loaded his personal Ridewatch into the Rider Time slot. He then held out the blank Geiz Revive Ridewatch. His hand shook as the back began to glow blue, cracks forming in the front as it shattered to reveal its completed form.
The back was primarily grey, with a deep blue rimming and a gunmetal grey frame that held the Kamen katakana on top. The bottom held blue beads that covered it with a Geiz Helmet, it having a red stripe with white lining similar in shape to an hourglass while the lettering was a sharper and exaggerated version of his normal 'Rider' Hiragana visor.
Geiz said nothing as he pressed down on the large clear button before loading it onto the Armor Time portion of his Driver.
[GEIZREVIVE GORETSU!]
A secondary heavier beat was added to Geiz's digital ticking standby, as he gripped the Ziku Driver with both hands, "Hen… shin…" he trailed before throwing his hands forward, rotating the Driver. A large armored hourglass-like projection formed behind him with various gears poking out and turning. The stylized and jagged hiragana for Geiz formed on both sides of the hourglass before launching out as heavy duty metallic watchbands began encircling Geiz.
[RE-VI-I-VE GORETSU~! GORETSU!]
Geiz's bodysuit formed in an orange flash, it being primarily black with some white detailing on the outer portions of the gloves and feet. Because there were no major editions to his arms he kept his Ridewatch holsters. It was a heavier looking bodysuit with the armor seemingly molded on, white hourglass markings on the front of his shin armor. The flashier part of this suit was the chest and shoulder armor, it being orange from the front, bulky and wide with grey detailing, it also having visible cracks as the center chest held a red lined white hourglass marking on his chest. His helmet was fairly standard, having a white hourglass outline with red filling that inside, the hiragana flying back into place and fully forming the visor.
Of course he also had a new weapon the Zikan Jaclaw, it took the form of a black handled and bodied hand saw with a circular silver blade with an orange edge.
Everyone could only stare in stunned silence before a familiar voice snapped them back to reality.
"Rejoice!" A voice called as Shiro-Woz was standing on a set of concrete blocks, "He is il Salvatore, here to smite evil and shepherd us towards a new future! His name is Kamen Rider Geiz Revive!" He called out with a laugh, "The one true Savior has made his advent!"
"Shiro-Woz does this, too…?" Sougo asked as he had to do a double take at what had just happened.
Geiz said nothing as he began to approach Sougo, the future king raised the Saikyo Zikan Girade in defense. Surprisingly however it wasn't Ruby or her friends who tried to stop Geiz's advance immediately.
"Get out of my way!" Hiryu yelled out as he charged for Geiz, he swung but Geiz was quick to turn, the saw of the Zikan Jaclaw digging into his chest as he was forced back. He went for a heavy swing, his blade clanging against the Goretsu Armor only for a couple of sparks to fly with Geiz not budging in the slightest. Hiryu yelled out as the saw was slammed into him again via a swing, the swing forcing him to tumble into a roll.
"I do not know why your spirit changed, but this is magnificent, my savior!" Shiro-Woz declared with a smile, "The time has come to unleash the power of Geiz Revive!"
Ruby began to breathe heavily as she realized the situation just grew more complicated. Not only was Hiryu after Sougo but now Geiz was too? She had to do something, anything… taking a step forward to try and confront Geiz after Hiryu was taken care of.
"Don't even think about it," Kagami spoke up as she slammed the end of her bident into the ground to catch Ruby's attention, "I know exactly what you're thinking."
Ruby gave a glare behind her mask as she turned towards her mirrored counterpart, "Of course you'd want Sougo-"
"You'll die if you try and face that monster," Kagami spoke suddenly, catching all of Team RWBY's attention. "That form is unlike any form that's been shown so far. So take it from someone who can actually read the room… that you won't win facing that monstrous form."
[POWERED NOKO! NOKO SETSUZAN!]
Hiryu went for an overhead swing only for Geiz to strike him directly in the chest, the Jaclaw's saw shining a bright orange as it released a powerful burst of energy via the special attack.
Geiz pushed forward as the weapon released its energy, sending a yelling Hiryu hurtling past everyone and through several feet of concrete blocks, the Another Rider eventually exited the long line of concrete before stopping by smashing into another set of nearby concrete blocks.
Hiryu gasped out as he fell and rolled onto his back, clutching his chest as he tried to fight through the pain. Sougo could only stare wide eyed behind his helmet before realizing where he had seen this level of strength before. The dream… with Geiz… the orange aura… he suddenly realized why Geiz was suddenly super powered. It was the dream telling him about Revive.
Geiz said nothing as he charged up his weapon, this time swinging forward and sending a large circular saw of orange energy forward. It tore through any concrete blocks in the way with ease as it steadily approached Hiryu.
Hiryu had gotten up and quickly braced before the sounds of everything became muted, he slowly lowered his arms when he saw Swartz walk in front of him. Time had frozen for everyone but himself, Kagami and Swartz.
"I think that's enough for right now, wouldn't you agree, Hiryu, Kagami?" Swartz asked the two Another Riders before continuing. "Zi-O, Geiz, Roze… we'll meet again on the Day of Oma." He turned to leave as Hiryu followed after him.
Kagami could only give a glance towards Ruby before following after Swartz and Hiryu.
Time soon resumed, Geiz said nothing as he relaxed now that Hiryu was gone. Ruby alongside her teammates scanned the area and they were surprised to see that Kagami had vanished as well.
"Geiz," Sougo spoke up first, "What-"
"There's nothing to say, I'm going to defeat you." Geiz interrupted before turning towards the future king to be, "That's the future we're headed towards…"
"Geiz…" Ruby spoke up as she took a step forward.
"Ruby," Sougo called out as he looked over to his friend before shaking his head. He remembered his dream, and he knew he didn't want her involved, "If he decided that he wants to fight me, then so be it."
Ruby paused as she became horrified at those words, "Sougo you can't mean that…"
"Ruby," Yang looked towards her sister, "I don't think you're going to talk them out of it."
"And given what Kagami said and we just saw…" Blake added slowly, "I don't think it's a good idea to get on Geiz's bad side right now."
"Sougo can win this," Weiss muttered as she kept her eyes on the two male Riders. She did not like Geiz's sudden turn into wanting to defeat Sougo and could only hope her prediction was true, "He'll win this and beat Geiz up enough to where we can get some answers."
"I'm ready whenever you are," Sougo said as he held his combined blade with both hands.
"Here I come," Geiz firmed up his grip on his handheld saw before walking forward. He easily swung his left arm to block Sougo's first swing, countering with his saw to strike Sougo in the chest. He allowed Sougo to swing again with the Saikyo Zikan Girade bouncing as it hit against his front chest plate. He swung his Jaclaw, the saw managing to send Sougo stumbling to the side.
Sougo did not like how impenetrable Geiz's new form was so he swung again, and again, and again. Each time he did his attack wasn't enough to pierce Geiz's armor. And each resulting time he'd get hit by the handheld saw and get sent stumbling back. On the last hit he had realized he was getting nowhere so he immediately jumped back to gain more room.
Geiz would soon charge forward, going for two direct punches with his Zikan Jaclaw before moving his arm inwards and swiping outwards for a swing.
"I can see it…" Sougo trailed as he knew that combo was his chance, "Geiz's future!"
Geiz charged forward, punching as it was blocked by a quick bat from Sougo's combined blade. He went again only for the same result to occur. This time he went for a swing only for Sougo to sidestep and slide behind him. He turned only to receive a powered up swing from Sougo against his chest, a rainbow of energy briefly occurring upon the hit as he was thrown backwards. He was caught off guard and as a result sent tumbling deeper into the open factory nearby.
"I can do this!" Sougo called out as he raised his sword and began to enter the factory.
Ruby hurried towards the entrance alongside the rest of her team as she saw Sougo go deeper. She could only hope Sougo knew what he was doing. If Geiz was defeated then maybe they could figure out why exactly he was acting like this.
Weiss could only silently cheer, despite Geiz being able to overpower Sougo, Zi-O II meant that Sougo could easily outpace Geiz. Not to mention if Ruby got involved she could easily get past his defenses with Petal Burst if she tried hard enough.
Blake and Yang looked towards each other as they followed. They were confused since this was what they were hoping for. They wanted Geiz Revive to happen so they could stop Oma Zi-O. But why was it that this situation felt completely off to them?
Sougo went to take the initiative once he saw Geiz had stood up and reached for the Revive Ridewatch. He leapt forward, aiming a stab towards the newly empowered Rider. What he and everyone else wasn't expecting was for Geiz to vanish as a blue blur circled around, slamming into Sougo's back and sending him off to the side. Sougo gave a yell as he was slammed against a few pieces of equipment.
"You can see the future… but I can go beyond it."
Geiz could now be standing where Sougo just was. His armor was now different despite everyone only seeing his back. The bulky chest and shoulder pieces of Revive Goretsu could be seen folded back acting as almost wing-like protrusions. Geiz turned revealing as sleek blue body, a fit chest plate with a blue variant of the hour glass on his chest, alongside compact blue rounded shoulders. The center stripe of his face had changed colors from red to blue as well.
Sougo gave a gasp as he sat up, "What?!"
Several Seconds Earlier…
Sougo went to take the initiative once he saw Geiz had stood up and reached for the Revice Ridewatch. He leapt forward, aiming a stab towards the newly empowered Rider. Geiz had spun his hourglass, the front frame being able to rotate with a simple twist. The beads that were covering part of the Ridewatch began to drop like sand once they were rotated to the top, revealing a blue variant of Goretsu's face.
[SPEED TIME!]
In that instant everything became slower to Geiz, as his transformation began to occur. His helmet stripe flashed from red to blue as his chest armor puffed out before unfolding, the chest and shoulders becoming wing-like protrusions as the Zikan Jawclaw shifted from a saw to a two pronged blue tipped bladed claw. The weapon switching forms also meant it switched dominant hands, it shifting from his right to left.
[REVI-REVI-REVI! REVI-REVI-REVI! REVI-I-VE SHI-PPU! SHIPPU!]
Using his speed he easily sped past Sougo before swinging his claw arm and slamming directly into the side of Sougo's back to toss him to the side.
Present…
"No way…" Sougo trailed.
[SPEED CLAW!]
In a flash of blue Geiz sped forward as a blur, getting behind Sougo in a near instant.
Weiss' eyes widened, "Behind you!"
[TSUME RENZAN!]
Sougo turned on Weiss' warning only to be too late, getting sent flying into the air via an uppercut from Geiz's claw hand.
Geiz soon leapt into the air as he began flying at high speeds while clawing at Sougo from all angles. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine… nine hits in the span of a few seconds that ended up disarming and launching Sougo down near a wall of the factory.
Ruby gripped her fists as she saw Sougo on the ground trying to recover, despite her friends warnings alongside her Another Rider warning her… she just couldn't do anything. "Geiz, that's enough!" She called out a she used Petal Burst to speed towards Geiz to try and grab him. To her shock just as she reached him to grab him he had disappeared in a blur.
Geiz had expected that Ruby might interfere but his speed based Shippu Armor allowed him to easily get away from her grasp. He sped directly towards Sougo and swung forward with his left arm. To his expectation Sougo had managed to stand and grab it. But that's what he wanted as he used his free hand to spin the Geiz Revive Ridewatch to swap forms.
[POWERED TIME! RE-VI-I-VE GORETSU~! GORETSU!]
Geiz's armor closed up as his face changed colors, swapping back to the Goretsu Armor. This also gave the effect of bringing the Jaclaw to his right hand which was free at the moment. He lunged forward, slamming the handheld saw against the future king. This sent Sougo flying backwards, crashing through the wall of the factory and back outside.
Ruby could only watch in horror as Geiz made his way outside before continuing the fight with Sougo.
"This isn't right," Weiss shook her head.
"There has to be a way to stop them," Ruby gripped her fists before walking towards the hole in the wall.
"Hey, hold on!" Yang called out as she rushed over and grabbed Ruby by the shoulder, "Do you want to get yourself killed?!"
"If it means stopping them, then I'll gladly get hurt…" Ruby shifted her shoulder to push her sister's hand off.
Yang gave an annoyed growl as she grabbed Ruby and spun her around, putting her hands on both of her sister's shoulders, "Ruby, Sougo told you to back off, and you heard what Kagami said. If you go out now…"
Ruby gave a frown as she broke away from Yang, "Of course you're the one telling me to not get involved."
"You don't understand!" Yang called out.
"I get that you're worried about me!" Ruby yelled out as she turned away, "But right now if I don't do anything then those two are going to kill each other! And I don't want any kind of future with either of them gone!"
"Neither of them should have to die," Weiss shook her head.
Yang could only stare in stunned silence as she watched Ruby rush forward towards the hole with Weiss hurrying after her.
"Maybe…" Blake spoke up as she walked over to stand beside Yang, "Maybe… we were hoping for the wrong future?"
Yang gave a sigh, "I… I just don't know anymore."
Currently at a bus company, literally everyone was asleep, from customers, to bus drivers, to all the office workers. Everyone could only sleep peacefully as they didn't care much for what was going on.
It was all thanks to one singular individual, the same person who had pulled a similar stunt when investigating Another Ryuki. Woz walked without a care through the building as he went to look at the bus records for April through June of 2009.
"The passenger list from my Overlord's accident…"
Flipping through the pages to the day of the 24th he did see a record that Hiryu Kakogawa was indeed there, his parents Ryuzo and Sena Kakogawa were listed as well.
"Hiryu Kakogawa was indeed there as well," Woz confirmed before the end of the list caught his attention, it was the bus driver alongside… his assistant? His eyes widened as he saw who was listed. "Tsukasa Kadoya and… Oscar Pine? Why are they both on this list?"
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"The ruler of time, traveling beyond time and space to reign over past and future…"
"You need to slow down."
"If you want to talk about anything, please, just let me know."
"Your defeat will open the door to new possibilities."
"This is the first page in a new chapter of history!"
Chapter 49: The Day It All Began 2009
Author's Note: So I suppose I should mention that I've seen the Volume 9 Teaser. Though given V9's not coming out till Early 2023 and how far I'm writing ahead… I can finally fully confirm to both myself and everyone else that V9 Onwards will likely not be impacting Roze from Remnant's story. I've already got my plan and where I want to go, and maybe I might be influenced by some aspects of Volume 9, but at this point it has no current bearing on the story. Glad to see more of RWBY Arrowfell though I'm not sure how much I'll be able to do with it, I might try something though. We'll just have to see. And then a Justice League and RWBY Crossover Film, I wasn't expecting it but it's a welcome surprise nonetheless.
As for a peculiar question that cropped up recently, Ruby and Sougo will not be getting together in the story. They're more so brother and sister in terms of relationship if I'm being honest. I do have plans for shipping the two with other characters though. Ruby's is a lot less obvious at the moment because we're not far enough in, though I'd like to say I've been somewhat obvious with Sougo in that regard and I feel a few people have caught on already.
Anyway, it looks like Ruby's starting to figure things out after being pushed around by her Mirror Self. Muchiri's been taken out of the conflict, and given its mindless nature, it was only going to last so long. But even then, we now have Geiz running rampant with grief as he obtains his upgrade! Of course though, just like the show it isn't exactly a triumphant debut in that it feels wrong in how it's used. It's to the point where even Blake and Yang feel off about it. Needless to say things aren't looking good for our heroes even if some spots are shining brighter than others. Next time though, it's time we get into the start of our look into Sougo's past, which should go like usual… probably. Thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time.