Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 54 – Double Dragon 2019
"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." Woz narrated, sitting on the clock in his black void, "A request from Kamen Rider Ghost has allowed us to grow in various ways, Miss Rose gaining the Specter Ridewatch while my Overlord is able to meet with the leader of the Ganma World, Alain."
Woz was currently reading through his book, images of Kamen Rider's Specter and Necrom appearing before the pages were flipped to reveal Kamen Rider Cross-Z of all Riders.
"With one mission done, an unexpected force will make itself known to us thanks to Kamen Rider Build's tampering with parallel worlds… oh, perhaps I've read too far. Regardless I'll need to pass the rest of the recap to someone else…"
"Perfect!" Sento called out, "I won't let you down!"
"Who are you talking to?" Ryuga asked.
"None of your business," Sento soon cleared his throat as footage from Kamen Rider Build began to play while the narration began, "It's been ten years since the Pandora Box found on Mars caused the Skywall Incident. Thanks to the extraterrestrial lifeform Evolt, Japan was split into three and descended into chaos. Kamen Rider Build, the genius physicist Sento Kiryu, worked alongside the other Riders to stop Evolt's plot to destroy the Earth. He also fused his Earth with another to create a new world where everyone could be saved. That unintentionally ended up being the Earth where most Kamen Riders come from so we're now part of a long running history. And that's not including the crazy shenanigans we've gotten into ever since meeting Sougo Tokiwa, Kamen Rider Zi-O alongside Ruby Rose, Kamen Rider Roze."
"Hey!" Ryuga shouted. "What's up with "the other Riders", huh? You name Sougo and Ruby but not us?! Introduce us properly damn it!"
"Okay, there's the musclehead Ryuga Banjo," Sento started to list out in a fairly rapid pace, "The idol lover Kazumi Sawatari, and the guy who likes word t-shirts, Gentoku Himuro-"
"Hey wait a minute," Ryuga interrupted once more, "Don't call me a musclehead!"
"Stop nagging," Sento groaned out, "Think of a name yourself if you don't like it. Anyway here's the "Kamen Rider Cross-Z" segment of Roze from Remnant, where even someone like Ryuga can be the star… alongside something helpful happening in the long run."
Earth – Early March 2019
At the Build Duo's resident warehouse Sento clicked the button on his recording device to stop it before giving a sigh and rolling his neck around, they had done it. They had finally gotten the final session in and he was feeling relieved.
"All right, I got it! I'm not a musclehead," Ryuga declared as he sat up before turning to face Sento while pointing upwards, "I'm the Prince of Protein… Ryuga Banjo!"
"Huh?" Sento stared in surprise, "I stopped recording already."
"Seriously…?" Ryuga asked in disbelief before giving a glare, "But I thought I was the main character!"
"I was obviously joking," Sento remarked.
"What about the helpful thing?" Ryuga pointed out.
"Another joke," Sento countered before giving a sigh of relief, "Anyway, that's the story of our memories complete."
"Finally…" Ryuga gave an exasperated sigh as he sat back down, "That took us what, like more than half a year? And why did you make Misora or even Evolt appear too? It was so hard to find people that sounded like them…"
"Well, there was no other way since they all lost their memories," Sento pointed out.
"Why did everyone forget about us?" Ryuga asked wistfully.
"This again…? I explained it multiple times already," Sento gave a frustrated groan since it was easy to explain in a factual sense. But it always dug a deeper hole in his heart when he did, "When we created the New World, all memories related to the Pandora Box were reset. That's why no one remembers the Skywall… That Evolt almost destroyed Earth… And even the existence of the Build Rider System. Of course, that includes us…"
"We should have died when creating the new world…" Ryuga mentioned as he stared at a magazine on a nearby table, it being a boxing magainze that had a Ryuga with black hair on it. "So we shouldn't even exist here, right?"
"I wouldn't say it's been all bad," Sento replied, despite the emptiness he felt at points, being alive and well meant he was able to meet Sougo and Ruby. And in their short months of knowing each other he had managed to visit another world as well. He got up however and walked over to his workbench, "Now then, someone needs to get to work."
Ryuga could only stare at what Sento was showing him, it looked like an adapter similar to the Cross-Z Dragon, but spider themed and unpainted, "What is it?"
"It's this week's new item," Sento explained as he displayed it with both hands, "The Spider-shaped Pet Robot."
"What's with this trash you're making?" Ryuga remarked as he walked over. "I know that Ruby's been helping out with the sales, but who would even buy that piece of junk?"
"What do you mean junk?" Sento asked, "This is a transformation item that's stronger than the Cross-Z Dragon."
"Then can't we just sell it somewhere as a weapon?" Ryuga asked, "Or maybe to some Rider the others know or something?"
"This world doesn't need the burden of the Build System," Sento gave a more serious look before sighing and grabbing the duffle bag of gadgets he had made to sell, slipping the spider robot in as he hoisted it up. He tossed it over to Ryuga and quickly went on pushing his partner towards the exit, "Now get to work because at this rate, we'll be on the streets!"
"Why can't we ask Ruby for money?" Ryuga groaned out.
"Because she now has another person living in her apartment," Sento called out, "And we can't just accept handouts. Besides we're already getting help from Ruby and Yang today anyway, they're working out of the kindness of their hearts. So don't come back until everything's sold."
Ryuga could only turn back towards his partner in surprise, "What?!"
Sento could only shoo Ryuga off before thinking of something, "Try selling your watch too!"
"This is my important Dragon!" Ryuga called out.
"Where'd you even buy that?" Sento asked but received no response as his friend walked out the door, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He went to sit down to mull on the current situation, at least enjoying the peace he had now. Or so he thought…
The White Pandora Panel emitted a hum and a glow, enough to catch the genius physicist's attention.
"So this is the new world created with the Pandora Box's power?" An excited and unhinged voice questioned as a blue liquid-like substance began emerging from the panel before launching out. The liquid consumed Sento before shooting away from him, forming an exact copy.
"I just made a lil' copy of your memories," The lookalike explained as his eyes flashed blue.
"Who are you?!" Sento demanded.
"I'm Killbus!" The lookalike turned around with exaggerated movements, "Evolt and I are very close, you could say. And I'm here to take back the Pandora Box he stole from me!"
Sento hurried over to his container of Rider Gadgets, grabbing his Build Driver and ready to transform before a tendril hit him in the chest. He gave a gasp as poison entered his body, soon falling to the floor and writing in pain. Desperate he began to grab onto anything and everything to reach what he needed to help him.
This resulted in him tossing the remote and accidentally turning on the television, it showing a famous dancer by the name of Satoshi Kakizaki. He was a striking man and the current outfit he was wearing were red pants, black shoes, and oddly enough no shirt but a red open jacket instead, showing his bare chest.
"Oh?" Killbus became immediately interested in the dancer, figuring he needed a flashier body to suit himself he spread his arms out as his appearance shifted from Sento's to Satoshi's. "This forms cooler…" He explained as he struck a pose. He waltzed around, taking the Build Driver alongside a few Full Bottles and the White Pandora Panel, "Now, Evolt… The hunt is on!" He called out as he rushed over to the garage door of the warehouse, opening it up and leaving in a hurry.
Sento could only gasp for air as he tried to force himself towards his rider gadget box.
"Hey Sento, what's with the guy in the red-" Ruby was entering from where Killbus had exited. She cut herself off when she saw the state he was in, "Sento!"
"B-Box…" Sento gasped out as he rolled onto his back. "Big blue and gold bottle… jab…"
Ruby used Petal Burst to immediately get near Sento, rummaging through the box and finding the bottle he was mentioning before jabbing the ends of it into Sento's chest. An immediate effect was seen as a light shined, the poison fading as the veins retracted.
"Are you alright?" Ruby asked as she helped her friend sit up.
"Yeah… need to breathe…" Sento gave a light gasp as he went to find his bearings. "We've got a problem…"
"Was it that guy I just missed?" Ruby already was putting two and two together.
"Yeah, Ryuga's in danger…" Sento gave a nod, "Where's your sister?"
"I was going to meet her at the market after dropping by here," Ruby explained, "You said that you wanted to ask me about something Emu mentioned, is this…?"
"Not really," Sento admitted, "It is related… but we need to warn them."
Ryuga was oblivious to the occurrences going down in his absence, instead having gone to the usual plaza the weekly flea market was held at. The sun was bright, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and everyone was selling something.
"Come one, come all!" Ryuga declared, "Today, we have a bunch of interesting inventions from a weird genius physicist!"
Surprisingly despite all his shouting, no one seemed to come aside from a lone boy who went to inspect the Spider-shaped Pet Robot.
"Oh! Good eyes, boy!" Ryuga smiled as he sat down, "That's the-"
"-Who on earth would buy these, idiot?!" The kid interrupted before running off.
"Huh?" Ryuga could only stare at where the kid was before giving a glare, "Brat!"
"Tough crowd," Yang remarked as she walked over, "No one's biting?"
"Not really," Ryuga admitted as he went to sit down, "He's not wrong though…"
"You just got to find the right people," Yang suggested as she looked the devices over, "Your market is people like Ruby."
"Well she is the most interested in selling all these things, got all pumped and genuine about it too," Ryuga agreed before pausing, blinking a bit, "Where is she anyway? Sento said you and her were going to drop by to help."
"She mentioned that Sento wanted to pick her brain a bit," Yang explained, "So she was going to meet up with us in a bit."
"I hope she shows up soon though, sales seem to get better with her," Ryuga admitted.
"Well I'm no Ruby but I'll try my best," Yang gave an encouraging smile before noticing the Spider-shaped Pet Robot, "What's this thing? Kind of looks like the Cross-Z Dragon."
"It's a Spider Adapter," Ryuga answered, "For some reason he made one and wants me to sell it as a toy. Says it's stronger than Cross-Z."
"Really," Yang asked with a raised eyebrow, "Consider me skeptical given how strong you are."
"I know right?" Ryuga gave a grin before hearing his phone ring a few times. He pulled it out before noticing it was Sento and answered, "Hey what's up? Don't tell me you're hogging my saleswoman for-"
"Get out of there, Ryuga!" Sento called out, "You and Yang need to leave immediately. Ruby's on her way but you can't stay in one spot!"
Yang felt her phone buzz before getting a series of texts from her sister, "Wait, what?"
"A new extraterrestrial lifeform emerged from the White Pandora Panel, he poisoned me and he's after you" Sento explained through a few heavy breaths. "His name is Killbus and he's taken some weird form, I'm not sure who he is but you need to be wary of him."
"Killbus…" Ryuga trailed.
"This isn't good," Yang grimaced as she read the texts her sister sent, "We need to get on the move."
However it was too late as Killbus arrived, flaunting his new imitated body onto the scene as he managed to draw in a crowd. Of course given Sento's lack of proper descriptions, the two assumed he was just some strange model/dancer that the crowd was clearly enjoying.
"You know this guy?" Ryuga asked, "The entire crowds eating him up."
"I think I saw him one time when Weiss was channel surfing," Yang said.
Killbus however was using this moment to survey his surroundings. He noticed both Ryuga and Yang, and while Yang's presence was odd due to her Aura, he could sense Ryuga's alien DNA. Gathering energy into his hand swiftly he launched it out, just barely missing the two and sending it hurtling into the ground nearby, kicking up an explosion.
Both Ryuga and Yang gave gasps as they were thrown to the sides from the explosion, the two looking at each other and suddenly realizing who this was. The explosion had also caused people to back away with screams as they began to run off.
"I found you…" Killbus grinned as he put the Build Driver on, "Evolt!"
[RABBIT! TANK! BEST MATCH! ARE YOU READY?]
Slotting in the base Fullbotles into the Build Driver, he didn't hesitate in turning the crank, "Henshin!"
[HAGANE NO MOONSAULT! RABBITTANK! YEAHHH!]
Before their eyes Killbus transformed directly into Kamen Rider Build, and it felt absolutely wrong from second one as this Build was copying Killbus' mannerisms.
"Okay so he can just do that?!" Yang asked.
"Like hell he can!" Ryuga was sent a punch only for it to get caught before he was then sucker punched in the face, getting slammed into a series of baskets.
"Evolt! You're in there, right?!" Build questioned.
"And who's Evolt?" Yang asked.
"Let's just kick his ass first," Ryuga brushed the question off as he readied his own Build Driver and the Cross-Z Dragon.
[WAKE UP! CROSS-Z DRAGON! ARE YOU READY?]
"Henshin!"
[WAKE UP BURNING! GET CROSS-Z DRAGON! YEAH!]
Ryuga completed his transformation into base form Cross-Z while Yang summoned Ember Celica. The Huntress quickly took aim and sent several shots against Build.
Build wasn't expecting the shots and barely braced against them, a few minor sparks flew as he took a step back. There wasn't much damage but that wasn't the point as he soon gave a grunt, Cross-Z's fist digging into his chest as the draconic Rider had closed in via the distraction.
Cross-Z went for another punch only for his arm to get grabbed. His feet were kicked under him as he was thrown. While being thrown to the ground he gave a wince as Build punched him in the face.
"What's wrong, Evolt?!" Build questioned as he pointed at Cross-Z, "Why aren't you showing yourself?!"
Cross-Z quickly braced with his arms to stop a stomp, "What are you talking about?! Evolt is dead!"
Build was ready to repeatedly stomp when his legs were struck by shots from Ember Celica, he ended up tripping as Cross-Z pushed further, forcing him to stagger backwards.
"Back off creep," Yang gave a glare.
"Looks like I'll have to wake him up!" Build called out as he began backing up to avoid a series of punches from Cross-Z. Noticing that Yang had sent a few more shots their way he grabbed the dragon Rider to use a shield.
Cross-Z gave a gasp as the shots hit against his back before he was pushed backwards by his opponent.
"Crap," Yang called out before quickly leaping out of the way of an energy blast that Build sent towards her. She was ready to aim and fire when she was caught off guard by Build sending another energy blast against her feet. It had knocked her off her feet, sending her crashing into another part of the market with junk scattering everywhere.
"You won't get away with that!" Cross-Z rushed forward with a few punches, all of them getting batted away with ease.
"Be a good boy and sit!" Build leapt up and performed an enhanced dropkick against his opponent, grinning in delight as he saw Cross-Z slam against the ground.
Cross-Z could only gasp out as he lost his transformation, the attack having done enough damage. He could only clutch his chest as he was reeling from the fact that Killbus was able to use base Build to beat him.
Build noticed Yang was still getting back up and dismissed his transformation, waltzing over to Ryuga and taking out the White Pandora Panel. He placed it on the ground before grabbing Ryuga's wrist.
"What are you doing?!" Ryuga questioned as he tried to resist.
"I'm going to revive the Pandora Box!" Killbus declared as he slammed Ryuga's palm onto the White Pandora Panel, a bright light emanating from it.
Yang finally picked herself up before her eyes widened at the sight before her. From the ground, Killbus had forced Ryuga's hand up, a box made up of Blue, Red and Green Pandora Panels now underneath the White Pandora Panel.
"The Pandora Panels…" Ryuga trailed, "What's going on?!"
Yang was ready to rush in when suddenly golden shockwaves of energy began erupting from the Pandora Box, the energy forcing Ryuga back while Yang had to take a few steps back.
Unbeknownst to the two, the reactivation of the Pandora Box and the shockwaves had rippled throughout the world. The shockwaves had resulted in restoring the memories of those who were involved in the experimentation done in the Old World. This had also managed to result in a phenomenon where clouds began to gather at a rapid pace.
Ryuga's eyes shined a bright red as he suddenly regained memories he was sure wouldn't come back, memories of the destroyer of planets, Evolt.
"The outer shell is done, now for the inside…" Killbus looked over his work as the clouds became thicker before rain began to fall, "Let's use your life to restore the Pandora Box's power!"
"Talk about setting the mood," Yang muttered as she hurried over to Ryuga.
[HARINEZUMI! SYOUBOUSYA! BEST MATCH!]
[RESCUE KENZAN! FIREHEDGEHOG! YEAH!]
Killbus figured he'd go for a different form to spice things up as he assumed the white hedgehog and red fire truck based Best Match of the Build System. He reeled his right arm back, the spikes of the hedgehog glove growing larger as he punched towards Yang.
Yang was ready to defend, having her Aura up and bracing, but to her surprise she was pulled back.
Ryuga quickly blocked against the gloved hand, his hands being perfectly placed to where he didn't skewer himself. Not like that was needed as his defense was higher, his eyes shining a bright red as he kicked Build away.
Build could only laugh as red liquid began to escape from Ryuga's body, to Yang's confusion and the dragon Rider's shock. Escaping Ryuga, the liquid formed a new figure in front of them.
It was a red suited rider-like being, various metal pipes and wires running all around as there was a steam motif. The main motif was accentuated by a green cobra themed chest decoration alongside a visor covering the front of the helmet. This was Blood Stalk, or rather who Ryuga knew as…
"Evolt…"
"This is Evolt?" Yang questioned.
"So you finally show up…" Build said with a hint of glee before charging forward, "I've been dying to see you!"
Stalk could only dodge out of the way of Build's attempts at attacking him, batting a few strikes before grabbing onto his opponents arm, "I'm not keen on seeing you, though," He quickly forced Build back going for a high kick to keep him on the defensive.
Build however ducked, using the water cannon of FireHedgehog to spray pressurized water and force Stalk backwards. He then attempted to force Stalk back even further by launching a more pressurized stream of it.
Stalk however gathered his energy, unleashing a red barrier that forced the water back before launching all of the water towards Build. The water splashing everywhere was just a distraction however, Stalk leaping through it and sending a powered up punch against Build.
Build gave a yell, slamming against a nearby stall as he was thrown against the ground.
Stalk figured that the best option was to retreat, noticing that Ryuga and Yang had grouped up had made things easier. He grabbed the Pandora Box and hurried over to the Huntress and Rider, grabbing both of them.
"Hey, what's the big deal?" Yang asked.
Ryuga could only stare at Stalk, "What's even going on?!"
"Stop with your shouting," Stalk gave a groan as his body began to glow, "We'll talk later but for now we bounce!" Stalk soon used his abilities to speed off with the two of them, planning on getting as far away from Build as fast as possible.
Build gave a growl as he got up, "Huh?"
[RYOSHI SASU!]
Build gasped out as he was struck several times in the back, sparks flying as blasts of light impacted against his body. He was thrown to the ground once more as he stared up at his assailant.
Ruby had immediately gone into Silver Roze, bringing out Silver Crescent and going for her strongest special attacks. Sento had warned her that Killbus was likely planet level in regards to his destructive powers, so she wasn't about to mess around and find out.
"Sorry to say but I don't like it when you poison my friends," Roze called out with her weapon raised.
"Again with the interruptions… I can't keep fighting like this," Build hissed before noticing that he was near a bunch of Sento's inventions. His eyes were drawn to the Spider-shaped Pet Robot. "Everything you do is futile… he won't escape from me, and you won't get in my way," He muttered as he grabbed the device, a flash occurring as it changed into a black base with red accents. It had now become the Killbuspider adapter.
"What the…" Roze noticed this before firing at Killbus again.
Build quickly took aim with the water cannon, this time unleashing a fireball from it to detonate the blast of light earlier. An explosion occurred which allowed Build to dismiss his transformation before his body shined a bright blue, speeding off in a similar manner to Stalk.
Roze didn't want to risk it but did anyway, quickly rushing through the smoke of the explosion and looking around only to see that Killbus had escaped.
"Sorry Sento, he got away, plus Ryuga and Yang are missing."
"Its fine Ruby," Sento sighed, "I just hope they're alright."
"I've tried contacting Yang but she won't answer, what do we do?"
"I'll see if I can contact Ryuga," Sento said before hearing a sudden beeping, he had kept the television on to keep track of the news. He had hoped maybe they'd find something that way. What he wasn't expecting was an emergency message.
URGENT: To Kamen Riders Build, Cross-Z and Grease, come to the government residence ASAP
"Sento?"
"Ruby, we're regrouping," Sento explained with wide eyes as he began to get everything ready for the trip, "After that we have somewhere we need to be."
"We do?"
"Someone just sent out a message requesting me," Sento answered.
"Wait, but who even could? Was it Kougami?"
"No… but I think I might know who did," Sento admitted.
"Hey, wake up. We're waiting on you."
"You really think that's going to work?"
"I don't need to hear an opinion from a guy in a snake themed jumpsuit."
"First, it's a cobra. Second, this is the best form I can muster right now so deal with it."
Ryuga gave a mutter as his eyes began to slowly open up giving a light groan as he began to stretch, slowly sitting up on the ground and seeing Yang in front of him, "Jeez, how long was I out?"
"Not too long," Yang admitted as she sat down on a bench near him. "I was out too, but I ended up waking up first."
"Wait," Ryuga looked up before sitting up and staring at the wall they were next to, "Where are we?"
"The detention center," Stalk spoke up, he was sitting casually on a bench not that far from the bench that Yang was on. Next to him was the Pandora Box, "Where you were held after being framed for Takumi Katsuragi's murder."
"Oh that's right Ruby did mention something like that," Yang said, remembering how when Ruby would tell them about Riders she explained the most about Build. This was due to Sento and Ryuga choosing to share their extensive story with her.
Ryuga gave a wary stare, "Evolt… Why are you-?"
"Have you forgotten?" Stalk asked as he held up his hand, red liquid spiraling around in specific patterns before he retracted it, "I can freely control my genes. When I was defeated, I snuck a tiny bit of my genes into your body. And due to the Pandora Box's effects, they were finally activated."
"What…" Ryuga gave a glare, "Is that Killbus guy your friend?"
Stalk gave an annoyed sigh, "Killbus is my older brother. He's also at fault for destroying our home, Planet Blood."
"What's up with that?" Ryuga asked.
"Killbus was the king of Planet Blood, but he's a hedonist who lives to destroy," Stalk explained, "Fueled by his urge to destroy, he eradicated his own planet. I… Put my life on the line to steal the power source of Planet Blood, the Pandora Box, and escaped." He then placed his hand on the mentioned object, "I'm sure he's after that same Pandora Box right now."
"But the Pandora Box's energy should have been drained completely," Ryuga pointed out.
"Unfortunately, the Blood can regenerate it," Stalk countered, "With enough energy, this thing can be revived."
"That sounds annoying," Yang admitted.
"You and that box are just like cockroaches you know," Ryuga remarked.
"Wow, now I'm hurt," Stalk faked sounding insulted as he placed a hand on his chest. "Honestly I'm more surprised the blonde doesn't have more questions."
"Oh don't get me wrong, I'm like mostly lost," Yang admitted as she stood up, "Point is we need to beat this Killbus guy, and aside from calling other Riders for help, I'd rather we not bother everybody just yet."
"So what you're suggesting we work with him?" Ryuga asked.
"I don't like it at all, especially given his whole deal," Yang answered, walking over. "But that just means we need to keep an extra eye on him."
"Fine," Ryuga grumbled before looking at Stalk, "Where do we start?"
"The basement of this place has a clue that can help us defeat Killbus without needing to gather a mob," Stalk answered. He turned and went to begin infiltration when he suddenly hunched over, falling to a knee, "Not yet, huh…" He gave a gasp as his body felt like it was burning, likely having strained it while just waking up. He gave a frustrated groan before falling onto his back, "Let's get along, partner."
Ryuga shivered as Stalk immediately liquefied before entering his body, needless to say Ryuga could only shake his body around as he began slapping it, "Why are you entering my body without permission?!" He began jumping around, thinking that he could just shake Stalk out, "I'll just punch you out!" He then spread his arms out and turned towards Yang, "Do it!"
"Excuse me?" Yang raised an eyebrow.
"Help me punch him out!" Ryuga called out.
"Alright then," Yang stared at her left fist before giving a grin, punching Ryuga in the chest, "You asked for it!"
"Ow! That hurt!" Ryuga yelped as he staggered back. "Get out, Evolt!"
Yang gave a bored stare, "Yeah no, I don't think he's coming back out."
"Seriously…?" Ryuga asked as he finally calmed down a bit, "This sucks…"
"So what is your whole deal with him?" Yang asked, before remembering Ruby warning of Ryuga's bad habit of long winded stories. She clarified, "Just you and him, I don't need the full story."
"Well basically… a piece of him came to Earth before I was born, tried to possess my mom, did that to me while I was still in her, and then I was born pretty fast and healthy," Ryuga said as he tried to sum it up as best as possible, remembering that Sento was also helping him with this, "A bunch of stuff happened but basically I had his DNA in me and he needed me to be complete. We merged, then I got split, and then it happened again like in our final battle. Point is, we both have the same DNA."
"Not bad partner," Evolt's voice rung through Ryuga's mind. "You forgot to mention my charming personality though."
"Shut it," Ryuga called out before seeing Yang, "S-Sorry, it's just he said something annoying."
"Yeah I'm glad I'm not you," Yang crossed her arms. "But well I guess that explains everything, so he's like your weird father or something."
Ryuga gave a deadpanned stare, "Hell no."
His eyes suddenly flashed red as Evolt took over, "I don't know son, I kind of like the ring of it? How about you call me papa?" He asked while putting a hand on his hip.
Ryuga soon regained control and gave a shiver, "Don't do that! And like hell I'll ever say that! I'd rather call you partner than that!"
"Yeah this is going to be a long day…" Yang realized.
"So this really doesn't bother you?" Ryuga asked, "The fact that the guy sharing a body with me used to be an enemy?"
"To be honest that doesn't change anything about you," Yang waved it off as she began to walk towards the Pandora Box, "I've had to get used to weird since coming here. Plus I'm doing this because I'm your friend. You still want to do good now, right? Well let's do some good… even if that means breaking and entering."
Ryuga couldn't help but give a bit of a chuckle before following, "Fine then."
Ruby could only stare up at the location that Sento brought her, the Government Residence. She wondered what exactly they were doing there. Sento was no help in that regard, simply staying silent as he entered the building. He soon asked to be pointed in the direction of the 'Kamen Rider Meeting' that had been called. When questioned about who Ruby was he told them that she was his guest.
Eventually the two were led towards one of the meeting rooms inside the residence. Sento's eyes widened and so did Ruby's.
"Sento, are these…" Ruby trailed.
"They are," Sento managed to get out.
Before the two were the remaining four members of the original Team Build from the Old World. They were Misora Isurugi, Sawa Takigawa, Kazumi Sawatari, and Gentoku Himuro.
Misora had immediately stood up, "Sento!"
"It's been a while," Gentoku sat up from his seat and began to walk around, "We remember everything now."
"I had forgotten everything about the old world…" Kazumi spoke solemnly before gaining a more determined stare towards Misora, "But even so… I still fell in love with Mii-tan at first sight in this New World. Yes, this can only be fate!"
Misora sat down in annoyance at that, not even bothering to look the Riders way, "That's enough, Grease. Now shut it."
"We're back to Grease?" Kazumi asked in disbelief.
Ruby couldn't help but chuckle a bit at that but kept silent and towards the back since she knew this was a big moment for Sento.
"But why have your memories been restored?" Sento asked.
"It seems to be because of the Pandora Box's activation," Gentoku explained. "This must be one of its effects."
Sento's eyes opened wide at those words, "The Pandora Box?"
"Uh isn't that really bad?" Ruby asked.
"Oh yeah for sure," Sawa answered.
"It's weird, though," Kazumi admitted. "Akaba and the others had their memories restored too, but no one else seemed to remember anything."
"Dad doesn't remember the old world either," Misora added.
"Maybe only the people who had been experimented on recovered their memories of the old world," Sento figured, though that would bring in some complications regarding a select few people, "We'd have to look into it though."
"It is true that everyone here underwent experimentation…" Gentoku agreed.
"So um…" Sawa started as she looked at Ruby, "Who are you?"
"Oh right, sorry about intruding on your moment but…" Ruby cleared her throat before speaking again, "I'm Ruby Rose, Kamen Rider Roze, and one of the current Riders at the moment."
"Wait, I thought we were the current Riders?" Kazumi asked.
"We haven't been current since September 2018," Sento sighed as he crossed his arms.
"Seriously…" Kazumi trailed before hanging his head, "And I just got a super cool upgrade…"
"Which I am not giving to you under any circumstances," Sento gave a glare towards Kazumi.
"I take it you've been defending the city from all the recent attacks then?" Gentoku asked the Huntress Rider, wanting to get the conversation back on track.
"That would be correct sir, well my Team and my Friends," Ruby gave a salute.
"As the son of the current Prime Minister I'd like to thank you for your hard work," Gentoku gave a bow.
"Oh right!" Ruby soon realized before quickly taking a small metal case out of her pocket before slipping a business card out of it. She hurried over to Gentoku and handed it to him, "You're a government official right? So here's my team's hotline."
"Team RWBY Rider Hotline…?" Gentoku asked as he stared at the card, it being white with each of the letters of RWBY being in Red, Blue, Black, and Yellow respectively.
"If you ever need my team for something Rider related we can help out," Ruby answered, "We've got a good streak going so far."
"Speaking of Riders…" Sawa spoke up once again, "Where's Ryuga? He wasn't with you two?"
"The ones who caused the Pandora Box to be revived were probably Ryuga… and Killbus," Sento finally spoke up.
"Killbus?" Misora asked.
"The new extraterrestrial lifeform who emerged from the White Pandora Panel…" Sento answered. "The only issue is we've lost track of both of them and Ruby's sister Yang since she was with Ryuga."
"The sooner we find them the sooner we can help them," Gentoku replied. "So how do we go about finding them?"
"Actually let me try her cell right now," Ruby went to call Yang only to receive a text, raising an eyebrow, "Okay so you'll never guess where they are."
"It can't be that crazy," Kazumi replied, "Where are they?"
"They're in jail," Ruby answered.
Everyone could only stare at Ruby for several seconds before finally giving their reaction.
"EH?!"
At the detention center's security locker room, there were two guards who were tied up and stripped down to their boxers, being gagged so they couldn't yell for help. The two had been victims of both Ryuga and Yang jumping them, both Rider and Huntress getting fitted in the outfits though Yang had the hardest time out of the two in trying to blend in. She had to wear white gloves to hide her prosthetic and she also had to tuck her hair in pretty tightly to get it to fit in a hair net while also making sure the cap still fit. Needless to say she was pretty uncomfortable.
The next step though was making sure the Pandora Box was concealed, finding a box and packing it full of packing peanuts to cover it before sealing it up. The two loaded it on a trolley and began pushing it through the halls. The two tipped their caps down whenever they passed an officer, as a greeting and to keep from being too noticed.
Thankfully their infiltration mission was going smoothly, though in a slightly annoying fashion. Because Evolt was the one giving the directions by speaking into Ryuga's mind. But he put up with it as they kept their steady pace, no one the wiser at the moment.
"How are you holding up?" Ryuga asked.
"This hair net and cap is annoying," Yang admitted as she fixed the cap every now and again. "My partner's hair is just as long so she'd probably have trouble, but she has more of a knack for this kind of stuff than me."
"Oh," Ryuga said as he looked over, "You're talking about the girl with the black hair and cat ears right?"
"Yeah, Blake," Yang gave a nod, "She's probably the best person for stealth stuff like this. I'm more of a punch and kick kind of person."
"Well we're both fishes out of water right now," Ryuga reminded, "Still that's good, from what I saw she's quick on her feet and fast. She's definitely your Best Match."
Yang couldn't help but blush a bit at those words, "B-Best Match huh?" She asked, "You really think so?"
Ryuga couldn't help but give a smirk, "Yeah, I think so."
"Why you little…" Yang gave a bit of a playful glare when she saw Ryuga was enjoying the quick tease, "Fine then, what about you?"
"Me?" Ryuga asked, "Well… I used to have a girlfriend. But well, there's another Ryuga Banjo in this world and she's with him. Honestly I'm kind of glad."
"You are?" Yang asked, "You lost your girl to yourself… yeah that sounds weird."
"I mean she can live a normal life," Ryuga pointed out as he continued to push the cart along, "Honestly I'm not sure if I ever want to get involved romantically ever again. Even then, sometimes I feel like I'm some old married couple with Sento given the way we bicker and stuff… so I'm not sure if I'd want an actual relationship on top of that."
"Sounds to me like you and Sento are a Best Match though," Yang pointed out.
"You'd be right about that," Ryuga answered simply before stopping at a door, "We're here."
Yang went to open it, noticing that it was locked so she used her aura to enhance her strength, breaking the lock on it before opening it up. Thankfully it wasn't connected to an alarm, but she could only stare as she saw the spiral staircase that lead below.
"Going down," Yang said as she began to walk down the steps.
"Wait up," Ryuga said as he grabbed the package before following after her at a steady pace.
"Okay how are we doing this," Ruby asked as she hurried out of the Government Residence with Sento, Kazumi and Gentoku in tow. Misora and Sawa were both given the address to the warehouse Sento now used so they would catch up later. The important thing was making sure that they got Kazumi and Gentoku back to fighting strength before heading to the Detention Center.
"We'll need to run," Sento suggested, "We don't have enough bikes."
"Seriously…?" Kazumi asked, "You didn't bring your bike or anything?"
"Honestly I was so in shock that you guys might've remembered everything that I didn't bring any equipment," Sento admitted, "So I had to hitch a ride with Ruby."
"If we can find a Ride Vendor then we can use that and mine," Ruby said as she brought out the Rose Attacker and a Cell Medal, "So long as one of you knows how to ride."
Gentoku stepped forward, "A Ride Vendor? Where-"
"Need a lift?"
Everyone turned as they watched a Ride Striker come into view, the one riding it being Geiz who soon parked before taking off his helmet before showing that he had another Bike Watch with him, likely having grabbed Sougo's.
Ruby gave a smile, "Geiz!"
"Just what kind of trouble are you getting into now?" Geiz asked.
"Does this happen often?" Gentoku asked.
"It's not my fault trouble comes to us," Ruby argued with a pout.
"Such is the life of a rider," Sento answered in a fond manner.
"You bugged me about wanting to hang out with you and Yang to help Cross-Z sell some junk," Geiz answered as he crossed his arms. "Then I'm just browsing the news and suddenly Kamen Rider Build is asked to come to the Government Residence."
"Oh," Ruby soon had to stifle her laugh, "Trying to not go stir crazy again huh?"
"Shut it," Geiz hissed out, "Sougo's busy with graduation stuff and Woz isn't helpful so I'm picking up the slack. You could use another Rider to help out."
"The more the merrier," Kazumi answered, "We're dealing with a planet destroyer, again."
"Lovely," Geiz rolled his eyes, "Now let's get going, I doubt you all have time to waste."
Upon arriving downstairs both Ryuga and Yang would find a fairly empty room that was built fairly long, but not that wide. One peculiar trait was that there was a random stone block near the stairs.
"Huh, there's nothing here," Ryuga stared at his blank surroundings.
"Well at least we're alone," Yang admitted as she took off the cap and hairnet, giving a sigh of relief as she let her hair flow once more.
"That's right."
Soon enough a red liquid began to emerge from Ryuga, fully forming Evolt in his Blood Stalk form. The alien gave a stretch as he moved his arms back and forth, "This is different from the old world, after all."
"Okay, so why bring us here?" Yang asked.
"Yeah if it's different why bring us here?" Ryuga asked.
"I don't need the same question given to me twice," Stalk smacked his hand against his face before dragging it down. He walked over and ripped the tape off the package, opening the box up he shook off the packing peanuts and removed the Pandora Box. Setting it down on the block he flexed his fingers before pressing a hand on it.
A green glow began to shine from the White Pandora Panel, and soon enough a green digital wave of energy erupted and engulfed the room. As it began to fade it would soon be seen that there were various shelves, equipment and computers all around, even lights where there were none.
"What is…?" Yang trailed as she looked around, "What is all this?"
"This was where Faust's research lab was located," Stalk answered.
The Pandora Box wasn't done however as it emitted dozens of various equations and documents. All of them holding a green tint as a few could be noted to be about the Build System.
"What's all of this?" Ryuga asked.
"Experimental reports from the lab," Stalk explained.
Yang began to look around before noticing something on a computer, "Ryuga Banjo…"
"You know you can call me by my first name only right?" Ryuga turned towards his friend.
"No, it says your name on here," Yang pointed.
Ryuga quickly hurried over and began skimming through the document, "Why are there things about me?"
Soon enough all the various text and equations began to be sucked away, all of them flowing into Stalk's hand. The resulting merging of all the data had formed a familiar trinket to Ryuga, the Dragon Evol Bottle.
"Establishing the lab here was to track your activity in prison," Stalk continued his explanation while glancing over the restored bottle. "But that's not all. While you were under surveillance, we gave you many trials to raise your Hazard Level. This included framing you for the murder of Takumi Katsuragi, as well as killing of your parents."
Yang's eye twitched as she took a step forward, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"Wait…" Ryuga suddenly paused as he heard new information, "What's this about my parents?"
"Have I not told you before?" Stalk asked, "Your parents didn't die in some accident. I killed them."
Ryuga could only stare in disbelief while Yang closed her eyes, her hands shaking as she heard this information and how casually it was dropped.
"That was one of the trials I presented you with," Stalk made his way over to Ryuga, "As I predicted, their deaths made your Hazard Level rise rapidly."
"You can't…" Ryuga trailed before punching Stalk in the chest, "Be serious!"
Stalk gave a gasp as he was slammed against one of the shelves, falling over as equipment clattered down on him. What he wasn't expecting was to be suddenly grabbed by the collar. He was lifted up by Yang whose eyes were bright red.
"What the hell do you think life is?!" Yang called out as she punched Stalk in the face while letting go, her Aura spiking for a second as Stalk was slammed against the ground. "You took their lives, just so he could get stronger? What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Stalk gave a light gasp, while he only dealt in Hazard Level's he could definitely feel the Aura spike from Yang. He coughed a bit, "You're worth aggravating, huh?"
"What was that?!" Ryuga questioned, normally he'd be surprised at Yang's actions but he was so angered that he was honestly glad to see Evolt punched again.
"Professor Katsuragi once said… 'Born from the mysteries of man, a power stronger than mine resides within you'," Stalk answered.
"So you got me to come here to raise my Hazard Level?" Ryuga questioned in near disbelief. "Mentioning my parents as well… So my anger would be…"
"You're sick," Yang spat out.
"Don't get me wrong, what I wanted from here was data regarding our genes," Stalk managed to stand before he held up the Dragon Evol Bottle, "This thing holds the key to defeating Killbus."
Ryuga raised an eyebrow, skeptical about that, "Seriously?"
"Working with me would be your best bet right now," Stalk said as he shook the bottle towards them while walking over.
"Just because we have to work together doesn't mean we have to like it," Yang answered.
"I must admit I wasn't expecting you to get angry," Stalk remarked, "Him for sure… but you, did I touch a nerve?"
"Messing with people's lives, especially someone's family… I'll say it again, you're sick," Yang gave a glare.
"So that's it huh," Stalk glanced at Yang to stare at her a bit before giving a stretch, "Well if we're done, we've got a brother of mine to deal with."
"And you're sure what you got can beat him?" Ryuga asked.
"It's the only way," Evolt answered as he shook the Evol Bottle once more, "After all he can freely control his genes. We need a way to counter that permanently so he can die for good."
"I never would have thought…"
The trio heard Killbus' voice before all turning towards the stairs to see the elder brother descending. "You'd rather help humans than me?" He asked in an insulted tone.
"Killbus…" Ryuga trailed.
"Well we have been the winning side for the past 18 years," Yang remarked as she ripped most of her right sleeve off, readying her mounted gun on her prosthetic while bringing out Ember Celica, "Even I can't blame him for siding with the winning team."
"I did get some good info from this," Killbus admitted as he held a hand forward, "I knew Ryuga Banjo had Evolt's genes… But I never thought he'd have power that can surpass the original!"
"He's been there that long?" Yang asked.
"I thought you said he liked to destroy things?" Ryuga asked.
"Are you implying he's dumb?" Stalk questioned, "I said he was a hedonist, not an idiot you muscle brain."
Ryuga gave a glare, "Hey it's the Prince of-"
"Uh guys can we really not do this right now?!" Yang asked as she kept her stance up.
"Yes, don't bicker… I want to enjoy a good fight," Killbus answered as he drew out the Killbuspider adapter.
"That's Sento's…" Ryuga trailed.
"Oh no," Yang frowned when she saw this, remembering what was mentioned about it earlier, "This is really bad."
Killbus gathered blue energy and formed a new Fullbottle, it being black in the center with red ends and a cap, a red spider emblazoned on the front. This was the Killbus Spider Fullbottle, the elder brother shaking it before slotting it into the adapter. He folded the legs inwards before gripping it with both hands, slamming it down into the Build Driver.
[KILLBUS SPIDER!]
Turning the crank, red tubing formed from the driver before becoming red spider webs that were now in front and behind Killbus.
[ARE YOU READY?]
"Henshin!"
[SPIDER! SPIDER! KILLBUS SPIDER!]
The webbing soon constricted and spiraled around, spider legs extending out before slamming into Killbus' body. Soon enough a black suited and red armored spider themed Rider stood before the three. Killbus rolled his neck around with a light laugh as Kamen Rider Killbus was born.
Ryuga could only stare in surprise, "Seriously?"
"How screwed are we?" Yang asked.
"I don't know I'd say our odds are pretty good," Stalk admitted.
"Are you saying that to make us feel better?" Ryuga asked.
"No it's to give me the delusion that we might have a shot at this," Stalk gave a deadpanned answer.
Killbus gathered red energy in his hand before unleashing it against the Pandora Box, the white panel suddenly folding and shifting into a boxy adapter-like shape that could fit into the Build Driver. Grabbing the White Pandora Adapter, he began to shake it around, "If I absorb your energy using this… I can create the best Pandora Box ever!"
"What are you after?" Stalk asked.
"Unlike you, I don't care about what happens to this world at all," Killbus gave a laugh at his brothers words, he spun a few times in place before finding a table and tossing it to the ground, "I'm going to use this box's power to cause a Big Bang and destroy everything! Wouldn't it be awesome to die with the universe and return everything to rubble?"
"Uh… no," Yang answered as if it was obvious.
"Hear that, guys?" Stalk asked, "Am I your enemy? Or is it him?"
"Him, for now," Ryuga relented.
"We're still watching you though," Yang added.
"Okay, fine by me!" Stalk gave a thumbs-up before glancing over at his host, "While I'm in this state, you won't be able to use Cross-Z Magma."
"I still have a strong form to use anyway," Ryuga argued before taking out the Magma Knuckle and Dragon Fullbottle, handing it to Yang. "You could use the extra boost."
"Sounds good to me," Yang gave a nod as she grabbed both items, she gave a wince however as she felt a sudden jolt. Gripping them she took them and shook her head a bit, "Alright…" She said as she inwardly tried to figure out what happened, "Let's do this."
[DRAGON JELLY!]
Ryuga had prepared his Sclash Driver and Dragon Jelly before initiating the transformation, "Henshin!"
[TSUBURERU! NAGARERU! AFUREDERU! DRAGON IN CROSS-Z CHARGE! BURAA!]
As the transformation completed, Ryuga in Cross-Z Charge stood alongside Stalk and Yang. The trio readied themselves before charging forward against Killbus who simply let out a joyous laugh. Cross-Z brought out not only his Twin Breaker but his Beat Closer, figuring he shouldn't hold back.
Killbus laughed out as he brought out his Drill Crusher, easily blocking against Cross-Z's attacks.
Stalk tried to go in for the grab only to get slashed backwards. Yang rushed in to punch at Killbus with the Magma Knuckle. The spider Rider merely blocked with his weapon before grabbing her wrist, he then threw her into a shelf to force her away.
"Yell all you want, but it's not gonna help!" Killbus gathered energy in the Drill Crusher before slashing at an incoming Cross-Z and Stalk. The energy was unleashed and smashed both Riders through the wall. A hole soon led outside as both Cross-Z and Stalk were thrown out into the field near the detention center with Killbus following.
"Jeez he packs a punch," Yang winced as she got up and shook her head. Deciding she needed to back both of them up she rushed out to see the situation, and she winced as it didn't look pretty.
Cross-Z attempted to slow Killbus down by firing at him with his Twin Breaker but was surprised to see the spider Rider keep pace.
Killbus gave a yell as he slashed forward with his sword, managing to force Cross-Z and Stalk to split from each other. He then began to swipe at Cross-Z before he was kicked at by Stalk. He turned and sent two slashes, Stalk staggering back as a result.
Cross-Z gave a yell as he brought down his Beat Closer, clashing blades with Killbus who braced with his own blade, "Gotcha!"
"Take this!" Yang gave a yell as she leapt in, slamming the Magma Knuckle against Killbus' shoulder.
Killbus gasped out as he was sent staggering from the punch, he then raised his arms and braced against the dozens of energy shots fired against him from Cross-Z. He kept on the defensive to play to Cross-Z's confidence so he waited for the draconic Rider to get closer. Quickly he swung his Drill Crusher, managing to send Cross-Z's Beat Closer flying away.
Cross-Z immediately took aim and fired at Killbus with his Twin Breaker who quickly closed in. He gasped as he was struck in the chest by the enemy Rider.
Stalk meanwhile noticed that the Beat Closer had landed near him, quickly grabbing it and sliding towards his brother, "Gotcha!" He yelled as he slashed past Killbus to catch the Rider off guard.
Cross-Z could only get annoyed by Stalk however, "Why are you using my weapon?!"
"What belongs to you also belongs to me," Stalk answered as he stood up.
"Quit yapping!" Killbus yelled out as he charged forward.
[BOTTLE BURN!]
Yang quickly got between all the combatants, loading the Dragon Fullbottle into Magma Knuckle before pressing it against her free palm. Her Aura became visible for a second, it flashing from yellow to orange briefly as blue flames gathered against the base of the knuckle. The Huntress gave a yell as she punched forward, managing to strike against Killbus who just barely braced against the attack.
[VOLCANIC KNUCKLE! ACHA!]
Yang gave a yell as she pushed further, her eyes glowing red briefly as she used Burn to push further.
"W-What is-!" Killbus couldn't even finish as an explosive burst of flames erupted from the knuckle, sending him staggering backwards as a result. He gave a hiss, "You…!" He yelled out as he charged forward, raising his weapon.
"Come on!" Yang taunted as she gestured for Killbus to go for Round Two.
"Huh, not bad," Cross-Z admitted.
"She just resonated with…" Stalk muttered before rushing forward, he grabbed Yang by the shoulder before forcing her back. He then raised the Beat Closer to brace against Killbus' slash, "Now Partner!"
Cross-Z jumped up and kicked against Killbus, landing on his side but forcing Killbus back.
"Hey what was that for?" Yang asked as she walked over to Stalk.
"You may be strong but you aren't that well protected," Stalk mostly lied, he knew that Yang could hold her own, but something was going on with her, and he needed to make sure she survived long enough for that something to happen. "Consider it a favor."
"How about no," Yang deadpanned.
"Whatever," Stalk shrugged before he rushed in to keep up the pressure against Killbus, "You seem a little stronger than before," He told his brother as he slashed forward, but to his surprise his slashes were blocked and countered, Killbus' strikes growing stronger as he was thrown back.
Cross-Z attempted to go in for a jab only to miss as Killbus moved to the side. He tried to follow up only to receive a Drill Crusher to the stomach, getting thrown to the side by Killbus.
"Of course I do!" Killbus yelled out as he blocked a punch from Yang, grabbing her arm and throwing her to the ground before stomping on her stomach.
Yang gave a gasp as she was stomped on, grabbing onto Killbus' foot to hold him in place and keep him from stomping further.
Stalk quickly rushed in and slashed only to get into a clash with Killbus who managed to shake his leg free before kicking Yang away.
"While you guys rested on your laurels on this planet, I was out there hunting all sorts of planets!" Killbus continued as he managed to grab onto the Beat Closer, ripping it out of Stalk's hand and kicking his brother back. He then closed in, slashing with both weapons in tandem while using his own energy to enhance them. He unleashed his energy from the blades of the weapons, managing to send Stalk rolling backwards.
"Jeez, how tough is this guy," Yang gave a wince as she got up.
"We're pounding him with everything we've got," Cross-Z agreed.
Killbus meanwhile gave a laugh as dropped both weapons before cranking the handle of his Build Driver, readying his finisher.
[READY, GO!]
Killbus' speed increased an immense amount as he began speeding all around Stalk while spewing out white webbing. With several yells and hollers he finally completed the first phase of his finisher, trapping Stalk in a massive spider web, the pattern laid along the ground as strands lifted up and bound Stalk in the center to keep him from moving.
[KILLBUS SPIDER FINISH!]
Killbus spread his arms out as four massive red spider legs formed from his back. He then unleashed them all against Stalk, the tips of the legs piercing against the cobra warrior's chest. Blue liquid sprayed out as Stalk was immediately coated in an explosion upon impact.
The smoke soon cleared as Stalk fell onto his back, his suit sparking heavily before it began to glow a bright red. Specks of red energy flew off of it as he was slowly being absorbed into the White Pandora Adapter.
"Jeez," Yang gave a wince at that brutal display.
"Evolt!" Cross-Z called out.
"An unexpected miscalculation…" Stalk coughed out, drawing out the Dragon Evolbottle before tossing it Ryuga and Yang's way, it clattering near them, "Give this Bottle to Sento!"
Yang quickly hurried over and grabbed it, pocketing it before looking back towards Evolt.
"The rest is up to you," Stalk gave a light gasp as his color faded, he raised his hand and flicked his fingers in his signature wave, "Cia-" He cut himself off as he soon fell forward, his body fully dissipating into energy and being sucked into the Pandora Adapter.
"He's gone," Cross-Z muttered.
"We need to go," Yang realized as the two of them were clearly not a match for Killbus in their current states.
"Don't think I forgot about you blondie!" Killbus called out as he pointed forward. "I'll kill you and then go after Ryuga Banjo!" His forehead gem shined before he spread his hands out, unleashing webbing from his hands.
"No you don't!" Cross-Z grabbed Yang and shoved her away, getting caught in the webbing instead.
Yang gave a grunt as she stumbled forward, managing to keep herself from falling flat on her face, she gave a glare, "Ryuga you idiot!"
"It doesn't matter what you do!" Killbus yelled out as he initiated his finisher once more.
[KILLBUS SPIDER FINISH!]
He grew two enlarged spider legs from his back this time, the legs slowly striking the ground in front of them as they inched towards Cross-Z.
[RYOSHI SASU!]
[SINGLE! SINGLE FINISH!]
[FUNKY BREAK! CROCODILE!]
Blasts of silver, yellow and purple shot towards the spider appendages, crashing against them and destroying them. Killbus was forced to stagger back, inwardly questioning what even occurred to force his finisher to be interrupted.
"The cavalry has arrived!" Roze called out as she took point with Silver Roze. Beside her were Kazumi and Gentoku in their Rider Forms, both wielding Sclash Driver's. Kazumi was Grease, decked out in gold and black, holding a robotic theme. Gentoku was Rogue, decked out in purple with various white cracked detailing running through his suit that held a crocodile theme.
Yang couldn't help but sigh in relief as she fully stood, "Glad to see you made it in time sis."
"Glad to see you're alright," Roze admitted.
Cross-Z was currently in shock, "Gen, Kazumin… but how?!"
Both Grease and Rogue walked over to help undo the webbing that was tangling Cross-Z up.
"Our memories are back," Grease explained before flicking Cross-Z in the head.
"Musclehead," Rogue gave a light tap to Cross-Z's chest.
"For real…?" Cross-Z asked.
"Reminiscing can happen later because right now we've got a spider to squash!" Roze called out as she worked on firing off blasts of light towards Killbus.
Killbus gave a gasp as he was struck by the attacks, but soon gathered energy in his hands and began batting any other attacks away. He watched as both Rogue and Grease closed in, dismissing the energy as he planned to meet them head to head.
"Let's get this party started!" Grease yelled out.
The two Riders rushed in and punched at Killbus to force him to defend. What they weren't expecting was for the spider Rider to grab their fists. They ripped their fists free before spinning behind him, punching again only for Killbus to turn and block with his forearms.
[SILVER HENKEI!]
"Try dodging at close range!" Roze yelled out as she drew out her spear, charging forward and stabbing, managing to strike Killbus in the chest.
Killbus gave a growl and rushed in only to watch Ruby spin away, giving a gasp as both Yang and Cross-Z closed in, striking with their Magma Knuckle and Twin Breaker respectively. Sparks flew from Killbus' body as he was forced backwards.
Grease leapt forward, flipping in front of Killbus to grab his attention, and it had worked. He quickly braced against a punch from Killbus as Rogue moved in, punching against the spider Rider's shoulder.
Killbus however removed his fist from Grease and quickly shook Rogue's fist off of him. He then gathered energy in his hands before slamming them down into the ground. As everyone attempted to close in to overwhelm him, he unleashed dozens of underground explosive bursts all around him.
The four Riders and Huntress all yelled out as they were thrown backwards, everyone scrambling and trying to move towards each other to regroup.
"What the hell, I thought we had him!" Cross-Z called out.
"It's been a while since we've done this, but he isn't half bad…" Grease admitted.
"I'm still in the middle of my tenure and I'm finding this ridiculous," Roze answered, "This many of us against one of him should have done the trick."
"It has to be that adapter he's using," Yang replied, "If he was basic Build we'd probably stand a better chance."
"It'd be best to retreat for now," Rogue suggested as he drew out his Nebulasteam gun, he then threw his arm forward, creating a cloud of grey smoke that covered the group.
Once the smoke cleared it could be seen that everyone had vanished.
"Huh?" Killbus could only stare at what was once where his prey was. But that was fine since he had managed to absorb Evolt's energy. It should be enough to start up his plan, and then he'd use that amassed power to kill Ryuga.
So he decided he'd set up base, waltzing back into the detention center and dealing with anyone that attempted to get in his way. He made his way back to the Faust Laboratory and used his abilities to change the room up once again. This time it only held a single red block.
Killbus set the Pandora Box onto the block before dropping the White Pandora Adapter into it. Energy began gathering and unleashing itself within the box, but it soon faded not long after. He gave a sneer as he realized Evolt's energy alone wasn't enough to even start up his plan.
"I won't be able to destroy the universe like this… Ryuga Banjo!"
To Be Continued…
"It may be possible to defeat him."
"Thanks for the loan."
"My hero… taught me all of that!"
"Is this… a new power?"
"How about you come with me?"
Chapter 55: Galactic Cross-Z 2019
Author's Note: So the obvious change here is that I removed Yui from my version of events. When watching the V-Cinema I didn't really like her role of reiterating how selfish Ryuga used to be. Like I feel like that could work but it came off in a bad way to me. So that's why I chose to bring Yang in as his buddy for this version of events, hence the name of the chapter. Something seems to be going on with Yang though, but I'm sure she'll be fine.
Another thing I wasn't too fond of was the V-Cinema just immediately and effortlessly resetting the status quo when it came to Build. Though that was mostly because of how standalone Build's story was. When it comes to Roze though, I can make good use of Grease and Rogue later, so them regaining their memories was something that needed to happen.
Other than that I mentioned really subtle hints in the last Author's Note so let me give some reference points. When writing Build related stuff I purposely had mentions of the White Pandora Panel seemingly moving. These are present in the "Rose of Victory 2018" and "Of Mecha and Another Riders" Chapters. Very subtle and spread apart but it was fun adding in those little teases. That being said, thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time where we cap off this arc.