Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 72 – Meeting Mantle's Best
Woz was currently lying on top of his clock, it being flat on the ground as he stared up into the narrative void he occasionally resided in, "Now in Atlas, Sougo Tokiwa and Team Zi-O have been assisting Miss Rose and her friends out due to them being full-fledged Huntsmen and Huntresses now. Recently my Overlord and I merely helped out Miss Polendina with patrol, my Overlord becoming quick friends with her while Geiz and Tsukuyomi both had their fair share of interesting tales."
"It seems as though the Time Jackers influence grows, with a Mantle Citizen and Atlas Military Official becoming monsters for different reasons," Jinn mentioned as she floated nearby, putting a hand to her chin, "No doubt this will cause unrest in various individuals."
"We can only hope it will not get worse," Woz sighed, "Regardless, as the days pass and our assistance continues… whether it be helping out in the field, or continually bluffing as we're studied, today is a special day… for we will be part of a very special meeting."
"Oh now you can't do that," Jinn turned towards Woz, "Teasing me like that."
"Do not worry you will witness it soon enough," Woz smiled as he soon sat up before standing fully and walking off.
Remnant – Mantle Streets
A few Sabyrs were running through a wide alleyway, giving a growl before they were suddenly shot at. This was courtesy of Marrow who had his rifle out at the moment. A few of the Grimm tumbled over and onto the ground but one managed to keep charging forward. Jaune soon got in the way, blocking the alleyway exit as he held his shield forward and crouched slightly, his shield extending its sides with Hard Light Dust. His tactic had worked and the Sabyr ran into the shield, while he stepped back he managed to force the Sabyr to back up a bit from the failed attack.
"Sougo, go for it!" Jaune called out.
Zi-O yelled out as he flipped over Jaune, bringing out his Zikan Girade and stabbing down against the lead Sabyr, killing it. He then drew out the Kaixa Ridewatch, loading it into his weapon as its blade began to shine a bright yellow.
[KAIXA GIRI GIRI SLASH!]
Zi-O rushed forward, slashing against the remaining Grimm. The slashes had caused a yellow net of energy to form over the Grimm and damage them further. The nets then vanished as soon as the Grimm dissolved into nothingness.
"Not bad," Jaune smiled.
"We're not out of the woods yet," Marrow soon walked over and gestured further in.
A pack of three Sabyrs all huddled together had turned the corner and began rushing forward. Zi-O quickly got in a defensive stance before Marrow walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Let me help with that," Marrow said as he stepped in front of Zi-O before pointing forward as soon as the Sabyr's leapt in the air, all huddled and ready to maul the Ace-Operative, "Stay!"
The Sabyrs growled while they suddenly slowed to a crawl, soon being stuck in mid-air.
[FINISH TIME! TIME BREAK!]
Zi-O leapt up into the air before kicking out at the frozen Sabyrs, yelling out as he performed a Rider Kick, striking through the Grimm with ease and skidding to a stop on the other side.
"Oh man, that was really cool to see up close," Marrow admitted with a giddy expression before suddenly clearing his throat and trying to look serious, "I mean uh, good work rookie."
"Thanks," Zi-O gave a light chuckle as he stood up and dismissed his transformation, "You know what they say, if at first you don't succeed, Rider Kick it."
"Do they really say that?" Jaune asked curiously.
"No not really," Sougo admitted, "But it should be an important saying."
"Right," Jaune chuckled before clearing his throat, "So uh Sougo, you've felt different ever since we got in Atlas…"
"Wait, really?" Sougo asked as he looked himself over before pointing at the scarf that Weiss gave him, "Maybe it's cause I have this cool scarf now and it oozes style?"
"Sure it does," Marrow rolled his eyes.
"Now I'm curious," Jaune said, "Why did Weiss give you that?"
"Huh?" Sougo said before thinking, "You know I'm not sure, she said it just completed my look."
"I see," Jaune put a hand to his chin as things began to add up for him.
"Okay guys, if we're done with the chitchat I think we're clear with our mission here," Marrow mentioned as he walked over and holstered his weapon.
"Right," Jaune gave a nod.
Sougo meanwhile turned around, thinking he caught sight of something only for nothing to be there. He gave a shrug before following after Jaune and Marrow who had taken the lead.
[BIRTH GIWA GIWA SHOOT!]
Geiz was currently in his base Rider form, pulling back on his arrow before releasing it and unleashing a barrage of coin-shaped blasts at a Manticore that was attempting to make its way past the wall of Mantle by flying up and diving down. The coin-shaped blasts had hit their mark, completely tearing the Manticore apart.
"How's the bottom?" Geiz asked.
"All clear," Nora gave an OK gesture as she and Ren began to put up their weapons, "Well they say lien doesn't grow on trees but it certainly grows on arrows."
"Nora I'm not sure that even makes sense," Ren admitted before looking over to Geiz, "Thanks for helping out."
"Hey you asked me to join your team and I said yes," Geiz said as he walked over and dismissed his transformation, "I figured I'd do something to help out in Mantle."
"Yeah, whenever we get missions I usually try to pick the ones in Mantle," Nora admitted, "I think we've got enough Huntsmen running around working on other things."
"That I can agree on," Geiz gave a nod, "Mantle could definitely use as much help as we can give it."
"If we're done we should probably report back," Ren suggested before turning to head for the stairs that led down the wall.
"So Geiz," Nora said as she walked after Ren with the Rider, "How's Sougo been doing lately."
"Fine honestly," Geiz said before he was nudged in the stomach by Nora's elbow, "What?"
"No, no… I mean haven't you noticed aside from like today?" Nora asked, "How Weiss usually manages to pick Sougo for missions and he agrees near instantly?"
"Oh," Geiz said before giving a groan, "I seriously wish they'd move forward a bit, and I share that sentiment with a few others."
"I know right?" Nora asked with a groan before clearing her throat, "I wish someone would take the hint!"
"What about a clue?" Ren turned as he was unsure what the two were talking about.
"Nothing Ren," Nora gave a smile, before grimacing once he turned and gesturing at him, "See what I mean?"
"I have no stake in this, but I understand wholeheartedly about wanting to move forward," Geiz admitted before patting Nora's shoulder, "Good luck."
"Yeah, I'm going to need it," Nora groaned.
Geiz stayed silent but glanced towards the side down into the streets of Mantle, he felt something odd but he wasn't sure what. He could only shrug before following after Nora and Ren.
Remnant – Project Amity Launch Site
"Get ready, hostiles incoming," Ruby said as she was currently looking through Crescent Rose's scope, several Beowolf's rushing towards their location. They currently had to clean up what remained of a Beowolf pack that attempted to reach the Amity Launch Site. While the Manta's managed to deal with a majority of the pack, several still managed to slip through into harder to hit places. Ruby was currently with Tsukuyomi and Woz at the edge of the launch site to stop any hostiles from coming through.
"Right," Tsukuyomi said as she drew out her Ridewatch.
"I still find their appearance strange," Woz said as he drew out the Kikai Miridewatch.
"It's because they've adapted to the cold climate of Solitas," Ruby explained, "Why do you think the other ones have more white on them than usual?"
"Fair," Woz said.
"Let's just hurry up and do this already," Tsukuyomi shivered as she readied her Ziku Driver, "It is seriously too cold even with Aura."
"Very well," Woz gave a nod.
"Henshin!"
[RIDER/FUTURE TIME!]
[KAMEN~ RI~DER~ TSUKU~YOMI! TSU-KU-YO-MI!]
[DEKAI! HAKAI! GOKAI! FUTURERING KIKAI! KIKAI!]
"You guys attract them towards you, I'll make sure they don't spread out," Ruby said as she used Petal Burst to launch herself to a rock high up before taking aim and firing at the Grimm on the sides that were trying to branch out.
"Shall we go, Tsukuyomi?" Woz asked as he drew his Despear.
"Sound good to me," Tsukuyomi said as she brought out her Zikan Girade Tsu out in its sword mode.
The two Riders ran forward to meet their opposition, the Grimm rushing towards them once they saw the two in their sights. A Beowolf raised its arms and slammed them down on Woz but gave a confused growl. Its paws had hit Woz's shoulders but weren't even budging him. Woz gave a chuckle as Kikai's durability came in handy, with the Beowolf confused he stabbed upwards, skewering the Grimm's neck with its spear.
Tsukuyomi meanwhile decided to enhance her sword by gathering her energy. Since she could easily create an energy blade from her hand she realized she could do it with weapons. As a result her weapon's blade began to glow a bright white as she rushed forward. She gave a yell as she slashed at Bewolf, deflecting its claws. She then stabbed forward, striking it in the chest before slicing downwards to fully kill it.
A pair of Beowolves rushed towards Tsukuyomi from both sides, both leaping upwards only to be frozen in the air mid-pounce. Tsukuyomi walked away from them before resuming time, the Beowolves smacking into each other. By the time they had gotten their bearings they were suddenly slashed horizontally along their waists by Tsukuyomi, being cut in half and dissolving as a result.
Woz meanwhile was allowing the Beowolves to assault him, continuing to use Futurering Kikai's high defense to stay in one piece. Of course he also had his Despear which he was using to playfully bat away their strikes, trying to draw in at least four. Once he saw he was surrounded on all sides he initiated his finisher.
[BEYOND THE TIME! FULL METAL BREAK!]
Four mechanical spear tipped arms erupted from Woz's back, each piercing through a Bewolf as electricity coursed through them. The Beowolves dissolving as Woz dismissed his weapon and dusted off his hands.
"Looks like we did it," Tsukuyomi said as she looked around while walking over to Woz.
"I suppose we did," Woz said before looking over to Ruby, "Are we all clear?"
"Yeah, I think s-!" Ruby cut her declaration off when she noticed something crawling in a deep patch of snow nearby, "Watch out!"
Both Woz and Tsukuyomi turned as a Beowolf launched out of the snow, using it as cover to try and ambush them. The two Riders quickly readied themselves before they heard a yell. Ruby had launched herself using Petal Burst before spinning in the air via recoil from Crescent Rose. Ruby soon rushed in like a rapidly spinning saw, slicing through and cutting the Beowolf in half.
Ruby landed as the Beowolf pieces landed nearby, dissolving as she had managed to take care of it.
"Most impressive Miss Rose," Woz clapped a bit, "You're doing quite well."
"Thanks," Ruby gave a smile as she walked over, "Been getting some Semblance training in so I think Petal Burst has been improving."
"It definitely shows," Tsukuyomi gave a nod.
"You're not half bad yourself either Tsuki," Ruby complimented, "You know despite being new to this whole Rider thing."
"I must admit I'm surprised at how naturally it comes," Tsukuyomi admitted as she looked herself over.
"So was that all of them?" Woz asked.
"Not sure," Ruby admitted as she looked around, "Let's sweep the area, some other ones might have gotten smart like that last one."
"Got it," Tsukuyomi gave a nod.
Remnant – Atlas Academy, Ironwoods Office
"Sorry about just getting to your report," Ironwood sighed as he sat at his desk while Winter stood in front of the desk, "It's just things have been busier ever since we started work on the Amity Plan."
"Its fine sir," Winter insisted, "Aside from the reports which I'm sure you read, what did you want to know?"
"On a power scale what can we put the Riders and Monsters as?" Ironwood asked.
"I'll be honest, despite my abilities I could only really assist in the end," Winter said, "As such I'd like to classify them as being close to a Maiden's level of power depending on the situation."
"That isn't good," Ironwood sighed, "And the devices that the two individuals used?"
"Completely gone with no traces," Winter replied and grimaced slightly when she thought back to Pico becoming a Dopant, "Though in my personal opinion I'm not sure if we should be trying to study those sorts of devices. Especially since from what I've seen, Team Zi-O is able to overpower them with ease."
"A solid reasoning," Ironwood gave a nod, "Has Pietro reported any progress?"
"He seems to be getting additional data to try and decipher the devices, but so far he has yet to get anything concrete," Winter explained.
"What of the camera footage?" Ironwood asked.
"I've compiled all available footage and sent it to the lab as requested," Winter stated, "But are you sure we should be doing this?"
"Sougo simply asked for Pietro to study his gear, he didn't say anything about us using whatever footage we had to start up our own projects," Ironwood gave his answer, "I get being worried since this is an unknown power, but if we can create a proxy of our own and refine it, well… I think we may really stand a chance at defeating Salem."
"Understood," Winter said.
"Speaking of Team Zi-O, do you know if they're free today?" Ironwood asked.
"They're all doing their own missions and are currently scheduled to return with Pietro later in the evening," Winter explained.
"I see," Ironwood stroked his beard slightly, "If you can, set up a day to personally spar and train with them. I'd like to see if we can get any concrete data from the training room's camera system."
"Of course," Winter gave a nod, "Is that all?"
"Yes, you're dismissed," Ironwood said before Winter turned to exit.
Remnant – Mantle, Crater Cafe
It was getting later in the day and Team Zi-O themselves had reconvened at a place that Nora and Ren had recommended after going one time, the Crater Café. The four were currently near the window, enjoying their orders.
"You should not be drinking coffee so late into the day," Woz remarked.
"Shut it," Tsukuyomi said as she gave a light glare, shivering before sipping some coffee and giving a sigh of satisfaction, "It was too cold out there today. How are you not affected?"
Woz simply gave a smug smile before going to one at confusion as he stared at the drink before him, "What was this drink called again?"
"Bubble Tea," Sougo said.
"Intriguing," Woz said before taking a sip, surprised at the texture, "It is so odd, these little balls in this drink."
"I'm surprised you didn't go for hot chocolate like Zi-O and I did," Geiz mentioned as he looked over at Tsukuyomi, "Sure it's sugary but it's a lot better than the caffeine keeping you up late."
"I think I'll crash regardless," Tsukuyomi gave a light yawn at her friend's words, "After all, our work's been getting a bit more intense with the scheduling these past few days."
"Oh yeah for sure," Sougo replied.
"Incredible," Woz stated as he was completely disconnected from the conversation, "At first they were odd but I have grown to like these little balls."
"Woz learning about Bubble Tea aside," Geiz said before looking at his friends, "You get the feeling we're being watched?"
"Now that you mention it, kind of yeah," Sougo replied, "Like today when I was helping Jaune and Marrow out."
"I feel like it felt like that about two days ago," Tsukuyomi admitted.
"Good, you at least noticed it," Geiz said before taking a few sips of his drink and setting it down, "How much longer do we have down here?"
"Doctor Polendina said he'd be going back up around 8pm, and it's 6:30pm at the moment," Tsukuyomi mentioned, "Said he had quite a few appointments scheduled for today."
"Good," Geiz said, "Finish your drinks because we're going to investigate this."
"I wonder if it has to do with the rumors I've been hearing," Tsukuyomi pondered.
Sougo raised a brow, "Rumors?"
"Oh yeah, I've heard them too," Geiz said, "Apparently there's been a few Faunus disappearing, which doesn't sound good. This city's been a bit shadier than usual, and I'm not talking about the Time Jacker issues either."
"Huh," Sougo said, "Well hopefully something will come up soon."
"Right," Tsukuyomi said before catching something out of the corner of her eye, soon staring out the window since she was next to it, "Wait, guys…" she gestured for them to look out the window.
Standing on one of the rooftops across from Crater Café was a monstrous peacock-like monster. It's piercing blue eyes stared down at them before it turned and began to run along the buildings.
Woz narrowed his eyes, "Isn't that…?"
"Crap, we get out there now," Geiz said as he quickly got out of his seat before bolting for the door.
"Ah, Geiz wait!" Sougo yelped as he got up before tugging at Woz who had immediately gone back to his bubble tea, "Woz, come on!"
"If I must," Woz sighed as he got up and followed after Sougo.
Tsukuyomi meanwhile took a big sip of her coffee before bolting out after the three.
The four however were unaware that the monster was not the presence they were feeling earlier on. Nearby on another table was a group holding newspapers that all hid themselves, the four lowering them to reveal themselves as what seemed to be Huntresses. The four glanced at each other before giving nods and setting the newspapers down before leaving their table.
Remnant – Mantle, Time Jacker Hideout
"I'm surprised that Swartz isn't here at the moment," Ora admitted as she looked around, "What gives?"
"Well thanks to our last plot the Riders are aware we're here," Uhr replied, laying on one of their couches, "I think Swartz is trying to ambush them."
"That would make sense," Ora replied.
"Because that's exactly what he's doing," Finis said before walking towards the door, "He wants to create a good distraction so that we can meet with a new client."
"Oh?" Uhr asked, "Who is it this time?"
"That I'm not sure of," Finis replied before hearing a knock, "Though I believe they're here right now."
"That was fast," Ora crossed her arms.
Finis quickly opened up the eye window and peered through, meeting a pair of golden eyes, "Yes?"
"I heard from what I assume is your leader that you can help me with a little project," The person said, the voice being distinctly that of a woman's.
"We can," Finis replied, "But you'll need to let us in on that little project."
"So long as I get the tools I need then I'll tell you," The woman replied.
Remnant – Mantle Streets
Team Zi-O was currently racing as fast as they could to try and catch the peacock monster they had spotted. Thankfully their stalker seemed to want to take a less busy route, but that was worrying since that meant there were fewer eyes on them and fewer chances of help if there was an ambush.
"Woz, just what is that thing?" Sougo asked.
"I believe it is the Peacock Undead," Woz explained, "One of the higher level Undeads that exist."
"So we're dealing with one of Blade's enemies, got it," Sougo gave a nod.
"Undeads are their own things right?" Tsukuyomi asked, "They don't need a human host?"
"The normal categories of Undead are simply sealed monsters, no doubt that the Time Jackers have access to alternate versions of those cards in order to bring out this and the Eagle Undead," Woz explained as he continued to follow.
"What makes you say alternate versions?" Geiz asked.
"If the Eagle Undead was unsealed or its card taken beforehand then we would have known about it before hand since Kenzaki would have likely told us," Woz explained, "And given that Decade himself deals with alternate reality worlds, this isn't a baseless hypothesis."
"We can figure out that stuff later," Tsukuyomi called out as she pointed forward, "Look!"
The Peacock Undead soon landed in front of an old warehouse before opening the door and quickly entering inside.
"This is a trap, it has to be!" Geiz called out, "If it isn't someone turning into a monster then it's likely it wants to lead us somewhere!"
"Well there are four of us and if we need to we can go all out!" Sougo argued as he made his way to the front of the group before running inside of the warehouse. He was surprised to see that it was fully lit up on the inside.
Upon entering the Peacock Undead had run to the center, turning and giving a growl as it drew out a blade and gripped it with its right hand.
"Doesn't look like anyone else is around," Sougo glanced around before seeing his teammates rush over to his side, "I think we're good."
"Let us make haste then," Woz suggested.
"If this isn't a trap then this monster is overconfident," Geiz said as he readied his Ridewatch,
"This still takes some getting used to," Tsukuyomi admitted, still not used to the fact that the four of them could transform together now.
"Yeah but it's cool, we're like our own superhero group!" Sougo called out, "So ready…"
"Henshin!"
[RIDER/FUTURE TIME!]
[KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!]
[KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!]
[SUGOI! JIDAI! MIRAI! KAMEN RIDER WOZ! WOZ!]
[KAMEN~ RI~DER~ TSUKU~YOMI! TSU-KU-YO-MI!]
The four Riders stood together before each of them took their own stances and charged forward towards the Peacock Undead. The Peacock Undead however suddenly spread its arms, feathers shooting out from its back before pointing forward and being launched at the four.
Zi-O gave a yelp as he summoned his Zikan Girade in sword mode, holding it up to brace while Tsukuyomi ducked and rolled. Zi-O winced as a few hit against him while both Geiz and Woz yelled out, sparks flying as they were sent rolling backwards.
Tsukuyomi quickly leapt up and punched at the Peacock Undead who blocked her fist with its sword. It forced her fist away before swiping at her with its claw. Tsukuyomi winced only to be surprised when Zi-O had managed to block the claw with his sword. Zi-O then kicked the Peacock Undead in the gut to send it staggering back.
The Peacock Undead tossed its sword towards the two, Zi-O easily batting it away. But that was a distraction as the Peacock Undead held its hands to its mouth, throwing them forward and unleashing fireballs at the two.
Zi-O and Tsukuyomi both yelled out as the fireballs impacted around them forcing them backwards.
"Okay… this is tougher than I thought," Tsukuyomi winced.
"Doesn't help we were unwinding from missions today," Zi-O groaned out before taking out the Blade Ridewatch.
The Peacock Undead rushed forward to try and keep the pressure up.
[BAKURETSU DELANCE!]
[GIWA GIWA UCHI!]
Two pointed blasts of green and yellow energy each shot past both Tsukuyomi and Zi-O, the two blasts striking and hitting the Peacock Undead, forcing it to tumble onto the ground.
"Zi-O let's get this over with already," Geiz suggested as he had his weapon in Arrow Mode while Woz had the Despear out.
"On it," Zi-O said as he initiated the armor time.
[ARMOR TIME! TURN UP! BLADE!]
Gaining the Blade Armor, Zi-O brought out his Blayrouzer and rushed forward to fight against the Peacock Undead. Two of the cards on his shoulders ended up shining brightly as his Blayrouzer began to shine.
[THUNDER! GEMINI!]
Zi-O gained a copy of the Blayrouzer, dual wielding and rushing forward as the blades began electrified. Zi-O began slashing against the Peacock Undead, managing to get a good few slashes in despite the Undead attempting to block with its clawed hand.
The Undead quickly began spewing out fireballs and feather shuriken to try and force Zi-O back, the attacks striking as Zi-O gave a yell, losing one of his Blayrouzers in the process.
Zi-O gave a groan as he staggered back, "Jeez!"
The Peacock Undead began to gather more feather shuriken before launching them forward.
Tsukuyomi however thought quickly, spinning in front of Zi-O and bringing out her Zikan Girade Tsu in its gun mode while loading in the G3-X Ridewatch.
[G3-X JINSOKU SHOOTING!]
Tsukuyomi quickly took aim and held her weapon with both hands, unleashing a hail of white energy bullets outwards. The bullets had ended up deflecting and destroying the shuriken feathers before the remainder struck at the Peacock Undead, it yelling out as sparks flew.
The Peacock Undead shouted and spat out several more fireballs towards Tsukuyomi and Zi-O, but the white clad Rider was quick. Getting beside Zi-O and pushing him out of the way while dodging out of the way herself. The fireballs flew past them, Geiz and Woz quickly stepping out of the way.
Geiz quickly aimed his arrow weapon, pulling and firing several arrows at the Peacock Undead which simply batted them away. Woz used this as cover, leaping among the arrow shots and performing several slashes at the Undead. He had managed to land a few hits in but to his surprise his final slash was batted away so he was forced to dodge out of the way of a counter swipe.
"Take this!" Zi-O yelled out as he leapt forward and stabbed his Blayrouzer deep within the Undeads chest. He then began to back away while initiating his finisher.
[FINISH TIME! BLADE!]
Suddenly a Rouse Card formed over the Peacock Undeads body as electricity coursed through its body. Zi-O then ran forward at great speeds before leaping and kicking out.
[LIGHTNING TIME BREAK!]
Zi-O gave a yell as he kicked against the Blayrouzer, piercing through the Peacock Undead as blue lightning erupted from the where the blade was embedded in. A small explosion was the result as Zi-O kicked past the Undead, completely destroying it.
"Not bad," Geiz crossed his arms.
"Thanks," Zi-O said as he stood up and began to wave away the smoke while walking back to his friends.
"Not you," Geiz said before turning to Tsukuyomi, "You're getting the hang of those Auxiliary Watches."
"What can I say," Tsukuyomi shrugged, "It's a good use for them given Ruby can't use them at the moment."
"And to think you were opposed to us utilizing them at first," Woz remarked.
"At least until she figured she could test out a bunch of cool stuff with her weapon," Zi-O teased.
Tsukuyomi was glad she was still transformed as her helmet hid her blush, "S-Shut up. I figured that I could at least make sure they're used properly."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Geiz asked.
"I bet you Sougo used one when he didn't have to today," Tsukuyomi pointed out.
"Not true!" Zi-O called out as he puffed his chest out before slumping forward, "Okay maybe a bit true… I just wanted to show off a bit for Marrow, he's cool."
Geiz gave a light groan, "Okay, fine, good point. Let's just get going already, alright?"
"Okay, now I'm curious as to how Atlas tech skyrocketed in regards to advancements, unless this is Ironwood's secret project."
"Huh, nah," Zi-O waved off the voiced remarks with a laugh, "Like Atlas could ever do all the cool stuff we can even if they made their own."
"Oh it was pretty cool alright."
"Hold up," Geiz quickly turned at the unfamiliar voice.
At the entrance of the warehouse were what looked like four Huntresses, the very same four that was at the Crater Café. Upon closer inspection they seemed to share a similar uniform in terms of design but each had their own complimentary colors. Zi-O instantly recognized the one at the front with blond hair alongside a black sleeveless coat. She was the same person who was on the posters all over Mantle.
"Eh?" Zi-O tilted his head, "Aren't you the lady on the posters all over Mantle?"
"And my reputation precedes me in the most unorthodox way possible…" The lead Huntress remarked, "You don't know who I am?"
"Uh… the posters I saw didn't have a name," Zi-O gave a nervous chuckle.
"Wait a second… posters…" Geiz thought back before realizing who the woman was as he recalled a different poster he saw earlier, "You're Robyn Hill, leader of the Happy Huntresses."
"There we go!" Robyn gave a smile as she pointed forward with both hands.
"Oh? Oh!" Zi-O called out before pumping his fists near him as he began to walk towards them, "Yes! I was really hoping to meet you!"
"Armor off," The tall huntress with dark green hair spoke up, bringing out a crossbow staff and pointing it forward, "Then we'll talk."
"Someone's excited," The blue haired, dull orange coated woman remarked.
"Oh um… sorry," Zi-O said before looking back and giving a nod to everyone, all four Riders dismissing their transformations at the same time
"So um… what exactly are you?" The white haired, olive green coated sheep Faunus spoke up.
"We're Kamen Riders," Sougo said before pointing to himself then gesturing to the others in turn, "I'm Sougo Tokiwa, that's Geiz, Tsukuyomi and Woz."
"Now those are some unique names. Well since you're so nice to introduce yourself here's my crew," Robyn gestured towards her squad, "Our friendliest member who just threatened you is Joanna Greenleaf. Then you've got May Marigold and Fiona Thyme."
"Can't be too careful," Joanna answered in regards to Robyn's remark.
"It's nice to meet you all," Sougo gave a smile, "This is great though!"
"You said you really wanted to meet me, right?" Robyn asked, "Why is that?"
"Well I heard about you from this guy who was really raving about you all," Sougo mentioned, "And well anyone who wants to help Mantle sounds like they're alright in my books."
"I'll be completely honest here," Geiz replied as he crossed his arms, "Anyone who is helping Mantle at all is a godsend given how bad you all have it. Like it's livable but it could be way better, and Atlas isn't helping."
"Yeah, I think we've understated how much Atlas sucks," Tsukuyomi gave a nod.
Woz gave a nod, "I must relent indeed, it's even worse than my Overl-"
"You finish that sentence and I punch you in the face," Geiz turned towards Woz while pointing his finger at the retainer's face, "This is bad but it's nowhere near the level of bad you were about to imply!"
"Huh, I like that kid," Joanna gave a smirk at Geiz's violent nature.
"Of course you would," May gave a sigh.
"Okay fine, but you must at least admit it is on its way to that point though," Woz stepped back while raising his hands.
"I hate that I have to agree with you on that point," Geiz huffed and crossed his arms while Sougo and Tsukuyomi could only look on in surprise.
"I don't know if I should be happy that they're finally agreeing on something," Sougo admitted, "Or questioning it given what it is they're agreeing about."
"I feel like we're losing the topic here," May coughed out as she stepped forward, "So let me get this straight, you guys who work with Atlas officials, whether it be the military or Huntsmen, hate Atlas?"
"Hate's a strong word," Sougo admitted, "But I do dislike how they go about a lot of issues."
"Finding common ground already, huh?" Robyn asked with a smirk before her face grew more serious, "Alright then, why are you exactly working with them?"
"Well basically our friends knew the General from when he was in Vale," Sougo explained and wondered if he should even give the whole story but decided to go cliff notes for now, "We came here to try and stop what's been happening to the Kingdom's as of late. And the General basically drafted our friends to help with a big project and we played along by offering our cool armor as research material so we could stick close to them."
"Said big project isn't helping Mantle at all and is only hurting it," May said, "How about you let us in on it since you seem to hate Atlas that much."
"We can't," Geiz replied, "If any of it leaks then we're likely the first suspects since we don't know the General as well as the others do. And we'd rather not get our full group in trouble."
"That's fair," Robyn said, deciding to change subjects for now, "So what's this about research material? Though I can hazard a guess…"
"Well Ironwood was really enamored by our armor and wanted to study it to make more, I agreed," Sougo explained, "But that's only because there's no way him or his scientists can figure it out."
"What makes you say that?" Fiona asked.
"Well…" Sougo trailed and put his hands behind his back, "You'd think I'm lying."
"You don't need to worry about that," Robyn said as she held out her hand, "Take my hand and give it your best shot."
"Uh…" Sougo looked at Robyn before looking at his hand.
"Zi-O…" Geiz said warily.
"I'll trust you," Sougo said as he walked over and took Robyn's hand with his own, to his surprise a violet glow began to form around their hands and forearms, "Ooh."
"Tell me what you were going to say," Robyn said.
Sougo took a deep breath, "My friends and I are from another world called Earth and we came here to help our friend Ruby save Remnant."
Geiz's eyes widened, "Seriously Zi-O?!"
Tsukuyomi placed her face in her hands while Woz had a stupidly big grin on his face.
"What kind of made up story is that?" May asked.
Robyn raised an eyebrow during this and looked down as the color changed. She was expecting red, so it was surprising to see that the color changed to green.
"It's true?" Robyn asked as she pulled away, "What?"
"How…?" Joanna raised an eyebrow.
"Whoa, you have a lie detector Semblance?!" Sougo asked in surprise, "That's cool!"
"There's no way that's true," Robyn shook her head, "Is my Semblance acting up?"
"Your Semblance never acts up though," Fiona pointed out.
"Let me tell an obvious lie then," Sougo said.
"Not sure how that'll work," Robyn said as she held out her hand, "Since I barely know you."
Sougo suddenly slapped Robyn's wrist before pointing towards Geiz, "He did it."
Geiz gave a deadpanned stare, "Really?"
Robyn was surprised but gave a smirk, holding out her hand, "Say that again."
Sougo grasped her hand, "Geiz slapped you."
The obvious happened as the aura joining their hands turned red.
"Tell me that story of yours again," Robin said.
"Okay, so my friends and I are from this planet called Earth and we came here to help our friend Ruby save Remnant," Sougo repeated, and much like before the aura coloration turned green. Needless to say, the remainder of the Happy Huntresses could only stare in shock at Sougo's words being confirmed true.
"This is…" Robyn trailed as she let go of Sougo's hand, "You're serious?"
"As serious as I can be," Sougo replied.
"So are you guys like… aliens?" Fiona asked.
"To you all, technically, but we're still as human as we can be," Geiz replied before looking over at Tsukuyomi, "Do it."
"If you say so," Tsukuyomi brought out her tablet before projecting the same images of Earth and various video footage of different aspects like she had back for their friends back in Mistral, "If we were lying would we have something this extensive?"
Needless to say, the four Huntresses before them were all in shock at what they were seeing. So much so that they all went silent and only Robyn could really speak up once Tsukuyomi dismissed the projections.
"This… is a lot to take in," Robyn admitted as she stared in surprise, "And you're sharing this with us… why?"
"Well out of the two major groups I met in Atlas, I think I can trust the people working on the ground more than the one's in the clouds," Sougo admitted before holding out his hand, "Also I gave Ironwood a made up story while I'm telling you all this. Want me to tell you the made up one so you can confirm it as fake?"
"No, no I'm good for today," Robyn held up her hands, still needing to process some stuff, "So you wanted to meet me to tell me this?"
"Not exactly, I just wanted to meet and talk with you," Sougo admitted, "But I figured I'd give you a reason to trust us by being open about our situation since you approached us like this."
"So what exactly is this whole saving Remnant thing about," May asked, "Is there some kind of world ending threat or something?"
"Uh… well those details… I'm not sure if I can say since they involve your world and I'm not really a true part of it," Sougo admitted, not sure if he should jump the gun on that yet, "But, I can at least tell you there's a group of people who want to make sure Remnant burns."
"Great," Robyn sighed as she threw her hand up, "Got an election to deal with, stupid Atlas officials using up supplies for a secret project that we could be using instead. What's next, that someone from your world came over here to help mess it up further?"
"Actually…" Sougo gave a nervous smile.
"You can stop right there and tell me some other day," Robyn interrupted as she held a hand out and hung her head.
"Okay, so what exactly do you want?" May questioned.
"Oh, well…" Sougo twiddled his thumbs a bit, "I was wondering if we could make an alliance or something. Help each other out. There are a lot of strange things happening in Mantle involving our enemies and we want to help however we can."
"And unfortunately it's hard to do that with Atlas' strict mission scheduling," Geiz spoke up, "Luckily if we really want to we don't have to take the missions and just wander around given our setup."
"But that would mean not knowing what's going on," Tsukuyomi admitted.
"It's why I wanted an alliance at least, us to be friends at most, so we could help out Mantle together," Sougo said, "We could use your experience with Mantle and you could use some Kamen Riders on your side."
"There have been all those strange things happening lately," Fiona said.
"There was also that monster we saw explode before we made ourselves known," Joanna added.
"And you're sure you can give Ironwood the slip in making sure we aren't connected in the slightest?" Robyn asked, "If only because you guys are taking a huge risk with this."
"I know, but I figured this might be the best way to help," Sougo said before looking at Woz, "Woz, think you can bring out another Faizphone X?"
"Of course my Overlord," Woz smiled as he brought out the device and handed it to Sougo.
"Here," Sougo held it out to Robyn.
"What's this?" Robyn asked as she took the device carefully.
"Watch," Sougo said before taking out his own and calling Robyn's FaizphoneX.
Robyn watched as hers began to ring before answering it, "Hello?"
"Hey," Sougo said with a wave, "That way we don't have to compromise each other by talking through Scroll's."
"Smart," Robyn said before closing it up.
"It's also a gun," Sougo said as hung up and shifted the weapon into its gun mode before firing at the ground, "See?"
"Not bad," Robyn looked hers over, "You know I wasn't expecting this, I expected you all to be more wary given we were tailing you all for the past few days."
"So that's what kept feeling off," Geiz said.
"Why exactly watch us?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Your armor for one," Robyn said, "It's been the talk of the town, especially when you all are around official Atlas Specialists and the Protector of Mantle."
"Risky though, if we didn't have a hint of who you were we wouldn't have been as friendly," Geiz said, "Especially since we just got out of a fight."
"I figured, but it was a risk I was willing to take," Robyn said, "And I think I got a pretty good deal out of it."
"I think things are going to work out," Sougo smiled and held out his hand, "So how about it?"
"Sure thing kid," Robyn shook Sougo's hand, "We've got ourselves an alliance."
The moment wouldn't last however as the windows to the warehouse shattered, Bugster Grunts wearing chef outfits and wielding tridents alongside normal and large sized utensils, rolled into the warehouse on all sides. A few had entered from the main entrance and forced the Happy Huntresses towards the Riders to huddle up.
"Okay seriously, Bugsters this time?" Geiz asked as he turned alongside Woz and Tsukuyomi.
"And suddenly we've got trouble," Robyn quickly held her left arm forward, a bird themed crossbow fully unfolding while Fiona and May brought out their own crossbow staffs, "Alright ladies, let's show them our teeth."
"Well, well, well," A haughty voice called out as the Salty Bugster jumped through the main entrance, holding up its left arm and rubbing it, "If it isn't a bunch of terrible customers who went and dined and dashed. It seems like I'll have to salt you up and teach you some manners!"
"Okay first off we paid for that, we just didn't finish it," Sougo corrected.
"My Overlord I do not think that's the point," Woz sighed.
"Well someone's talkative," Robyn raised an eyebrow, "And who are you supposed to be?"
"The names Salty," Salty said before holding up two fingers, before pointing at the black hat it wore, "I'm Level 2."
"That's code for he's weak as hell," Geiz spoke up.
"W-What did you just say?!" Salty gave a gasp before pointing forward, "Clearly I can handle you lot!"
"Yeah he doesn't seem like much," Robyn replied before waving off Salty's bravado, "I mean Level 2 is pretty weak in video game terms right?"
"Pretty sure," Fiona said.
"Yep," Sougo gave a nod.
"How about we cut the chat and start dealing with these guys," Joanna suggested.
"As much as I'd love to bruise this guy's ego some more, you're right," Geiz said as he readied his transformation alongside the others.
While Tsukuyomi only drew out her base Ridewatch, Geiz and Sougo drew out the Genm and Decade Ridewatches respectively while Woz drew out the Quiz Miridewatch.
"Henshin!"
[RIDER/FUTURE TIME!]
[KAMEN~ RI~DER~ TSUKU~YOMI! TSU-KU-YO-MI!]
[KAMEN RIDER GEIZ! ARMOR TIME! LEVEL UP! GENM!]
[KAMEN RIDER ZI-O! ARMOR TIME! KAMEN RIDE! WOW DE~CADE!]
[FASHION! PASSION! QUESTION! FUTERERING QUIZ! QUIZ!]
The Four Riders and Happy Huntresses all stood near each other while facing all the Bugsters that surrounded them.
"It doesn't matter what forms you use," Salty called out as it began to walk forward, electricity gathering in its left hand, "I'll simply salt you-"
BOOM
Salty gave a yell as a crossbow bolt hit his face and exploded upon impact. It was from Robyn who had given a bored stare at Salty's antics.
"Shut up already," Robyn said before lowering her arm, "Shall we?"
"Let's," Zi-O gave a nod as everyone quickly rushed in all directions to fight against their opponents. Geiz and Woz had rushed for Salty while Zi-O, Tsukuyomi and the Happy Huntresses all went to fight against Bugster Grunts that were gathered.
Geiz gave a yell as he leapt forward, punching at Salty's face and causing a Hit marker to appear on impact. He rushed in, going for quick punches to keep piling on the damage. He gave a light yell however when Salty struck him with its electrified left arm.
"How do you like that?" Salty laughed as it began unleashing electricity from its hand to force Geiz to step back further. He went to step further when suddenly Woz got in the way and jabbed it with his Despear in its cane mode, "Get in line! I'll spice you up later!"
"Question," Woz called out undeterred as he rushed forward and began jabbing and swinging at Salty, "The Mighty Action Game that infected Emu Hojo was Mighty Action D, True or False?"
"This isn't a quiz game!" Salty called out as it grabbed the Despear with its left hand, sending electrical shocks through it to try and shock Woz. To its surprise the electrical shocks merely gathered around the cane and didn't harm Woz before turning a bright blue.
"The answer is False, it was Mighty Action C," Woz stated as his left shoulder opened up with a buzzer sounding off. Soon enough the electrical shocks that were gathered were sent back into Salty. Sparks flew as the Bugster staggered back from the attack.
"Not so tough when you can get shocked back huh?" Geiz asked as he summoned energy wheels before launching them out Salty, the wheels digging in and slicing against the Bugster.
"Not bad Geiz," Woz remarked.
"The fact that you're actually using that form decently is impressive," Geiz said before rushing towards Salty alongside Woz.
"It feels weird to see them getting along," Zi-O said as he blocked a trident from a Bugster with his Heisaber, slipping past and slashing through it.
"So they're usually at each other's throats?" May asked as she spun and slashed with her staff, thankfully the Bugsters were grunts and were easily tossed around even if the blades didn't do much damage.
"I feel like that's an understatement," Tsukuyomi admitted as she used her Zikan Girade Tsu in its gun formation. Dodging and shooting at any Bugsters that got near. Three tried to rush her down, aiming their weapons to attack her from all sides. They were immediately frozen in time, Tsukuyomi repositioning their weapons before stepping back. Once time resumed for the three they all struck each other with their weapons before exploding.
"So long as they get the job done that's all that matters," Joanna said as she held her crossbow staff over her shoulder, firing as fast as she could at the Bugsters that rushed at her. Luckily despite the crossbow bolts doing no real damage, the impact and force from the hits still managed to disorient the Bugsters as they hit the fronts of their faces. The Bugsters could only yelp out as they stumbled forward in pain, slowing down as Joanna gripped her staff with both hands before swinging at the lead Bugsters, hitting with enough force to send them all tumbling down into each other.
"So are most Monsters always this bumbling?" Robyn asked as she grabbed a Bugster's whisk that it had tried to hit her with before throwing it away.
"Not usually," Zi-O admitted as he slashed through a few more Bugsters, "It depends on their type but I've noticed Bugsters are a lot more relaxed and less vicious."
"You can say that again," Robyn said as she casually walked over to a Bugster that only held a bowl, it held it over its head to block a smack from Robyn when she raised her hand. She then lowered it before shifting her crossbow, the wings folding further and creating a shield/war fan as she slashed against the Bugsters open body before kicking it away.
Tsukuyomi was currently shooting down a few Bugsters further from her, unaware of two Bugsters sneaking up from behind her.
"Behind you," Fiona called out as she slid to where she was back to back with Tsukuyomi, having split the crossbow staff she had into twin crossbows. She took aim and fired two explosive bolts, the bolts impacting against two Bugsters that had leapt to try and strike at Tsukuyomi.
Both Bugsters yelled out as they were thrown back from the small explosions, landing on their backs. They were ready to get up only to get shot repeatedly by Tsukuyomi before exploding.
"Thank you," Tsukuyomi gave a nod while looking back.
"No problem," Fiona smiled.
"Everyone, start herding them together," Zi-O called out as he kicked a Bugster towards the center of the warehouse.
"You heard him ladies!" Robyn called out as she blocked the tips of a trident with her weapons shield formation before backing away. She dodged another stab before getting in close and kicking the Bugster away.
Slowly but surely, Tsukuyomi, Fiona, May and Joanna all began to herd the remaining Bugsters into the center of the warehouse.
Zi-O quickly drew out the Brave Ridewatch and loaded it into the Heisaber, "Tsukuyomi, use Para-DX!"
"On it," Tsukuyomi said as she brought out said Ridewatch before loading it into her weapon.
[FINISH TIME!]
[BRAVE SCRAMBLE TIME BREAK!]
Zi-O switched to a reverse grip and held his sword with both of his hands. He stabbed down and unleashed a trail of ice that shot towards the center of the grouping of Bugsters. In an instant, all the Bugsters in that grouping had their legs frozen solid.
[PARA-DX JINSOKU SHOOTING!]
Blue puzzle pieces began forming all around the surrounding Bugsters in a dome shape as fire gathered at the tip of Tsukuyomi's weapon. The female Rider took aim and launched out a red fireball that tore through one Bugster and shot past the rest. It had impacted against one of the puzzle pieces, bouncing off of it and tearing through a few more Bugsters before hitting another puzzle piece and bouncing off. The fireball became like a pinball, striking Bugsters and bouncing all over before hitting the top puzzle piece and launching downwards, creating an explosive attack that destroyed the remainder.
"Nice," Zi-O held up his hand, Tsukuyomi walking over and giving him a high-five.
"I suppose it is time for us to wrap up," Woz stated as he jabbed the Despear into Salty's gut, striking the end of his cane and unleashing a force of blue and red energy from it.
Salty could only gasp out as it staggered back, "No, too much salt, too much of it I say!"
"Oh just shut up already," Geiz groaned out.
"Shall we?" Woz asked.
"I thought you'd never ask," Geiz sighed in relief as they initiated their finishers.
[BEYOND THE TIME!]
[FINISH TIME! GENM!]
Geiz crossed his arms as a purple pipe appeared beneath him, soon enough he sunk into the pipe before it vanished. Woz meanwhile tossed his weapon aside, forming a sphere of energy within his hands, multiple question marks surrounding it.
[QUIZ SHOCK BREAK!]
"True or False," Woz soon pushed the sphere forward, it hitting Salty and trapping it in a dome with an X and O in half circles beneath it, both flashing in their usual colors, "I will be the one who gets the deciding hit on you."
"It's true… it has to be!" Salty called out.
"The answer is… False," Woz stated as the full circle beneath Salty turned to an X on a blue background. An explosion occurred as Salty was sent upwards towards the roof of the warehouse.
Soon enough a purple pipe formed in mid-air, facing Salty's back. Geiz soon leapt out, his right leg already filled with energy as he kicked out.
[CRITICAL TIME BURST!]
Geiz gave a yell and kicked against Salty's back, pushing forward once to completely tear through the Bugster.
PERFECT!
Geiz soon dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch before standing up and dusting his hands off. It wasn't long before all the Riders went to dismiss their transformations.
"Good job ladies," Robyn told her team as both groups began to respectively gather together. Robyn then looked over to Sougo, "You too TickTock."
"Eh?" Sougo tilted his head at the name before hearing the faint sound of sirens, "Oh I think we should get out of here, sounds like our fighting managed to catch some attention."
"Yeah, can't be seen together after all," Robyn gave a nod before looking back at her team, "May."
"No need to tell me twice," May smiled as she held up her hands, a soft glow coming from them before the Happy Huntresses vanished in an instant.
"I still wonder what the point of all of the attacks was though," Sougo admitted as he thought a bit, "Also why TickTock…?"
"Unfortunately that's going to have to wait," Geiz suggested.
"Right," Sougo said before looking at Woz, "Woz, do you mind?"
"Of course not my Overlord," Woz gave a bow before unfurling his scarf and wrapping the entirety of Team Zi-O within it, warping them somewhere else.
And so the warehouse was once again empty, the only real sign of a fight even taking place being the windows the Bugsters broke.
Remnant – Mantle, Time Jacker Hideout
Swartz smirked as he returned to their hideout, opening the door and then closing it, "So did she come by?"
"She did," Finis replied, "How was your end?"
"Enough of a distraction on two different fronts to keep them occupied," Swartz said, "They have no idea about the deal we just made."
"She was a bit pushy though," Uhr sighed, "She ended up taking a decent chunk of devices."
"We have a decent amount of them still," Ora waved it off, "So I think we'll be fine."
"It doesn't matter if we fail or win with any of these attempts," Swartz reminded as he paced around, "Nor does it matter how much we use, so long as we continue to stir the pot, then we'll end up acquiring what we desire."
"Speaking of stirring the pot, I noticed a lot of the cameras seem to be moving positions to where they can't get any good views," Uhr mentioned, "Think it's…?"
"It's likely the forces of this world who wish to tear this world apart, yes," Swartz gave a nod before giving a grin, "And if need be we will use them and their plans for our own gain."
Remnant – Atlas Academy
Sougo and Ruby were in Team RWBY's dorm alone, Weiss having some late in the day training with her sister, while Blake and Yang were out and about. The remainder of Team Zi-O had gone back to their dorm to rest after the fights of today but Sougo figured he'd hang out a bit with Ruby since she was free. The two had ended up talking about missions and what they had been up to in their free time.
"Jeez we've been busy," Ruby gave a chuckle, "I didn't think being a Huntress would be so time-consuming."
"Eh, I'd say that's less the Huntress part and more the 'Trying to get Amity Tower up' part," Sougo reminded with a smile.
"True," Ruby said, "Still it's nice to hang out like this, it's been a while."
"Yeah," Sougo gave a nod, "But there is something I wanted to let you know."
"What's that?" Ruby asked.
"Well, and don't be too loud…" Sougo moved closer so he could lower his voice, "But after a fight today, the others and I managed to finally meet the Happy Huntresses."
"You mean that group that Robyn has?" Ruby asked in a low voice as she looked at her friend in surprise, "How?"
"Turns out they were tailing some of us in the city," Sougo mentioned, "But anyway, I sort of let them in on a few things related to Earth."
"Wait, did they believe you?" Ruby's eyes widened, "You know even though it's true it sounds ridiculous right?"
"Robyn has a bit of a handy Semblance that helps with that," Sougo admitted with a chuckle, "But we struck up a deal to help each other since there's a lot of Rider Trouble in Mantle."
"I was hearing about that," Ruby admitted, "Apparently Geiz and Tsuki had a mission with Winter? I think Marrow mentioned something about it."
"Yeah, I definitely think the Time Jackers are trying to do something here," Sougo said, "So I figured the best way to handle that would be to get the hometown hero of Mantle on my side."
"It's a good idea," Ruby gave a nod, "But dangerous since from what I've heard, Ironwood really doesn't care for Robyn."
"Of course he doesn't," Sougo didn't even need to sigh since he figured this already, "And I know the risks but I think having some foundation of trust in Mantle with our group could help us out in the long run."
"If it means you can help more people in Mantle then that's fine," Ruby reassured.
"Think you can just let only the rest of your team know?" Sougo asked.
"Yeah I'll let them know," Ruby gave a nod, "Only Weiss, Blake and Yang right?"
"Yeah," Sougo said, "I want at least some of you all to know but not everyone so we can keep things confidential."
"Got it, and I know I don't need to tell you of all people to be careful," Ruby said before smiling, "I mean you're a Kamen Rider and future King after all. I think you can handle this."
"Thanks Ruby," Sougo said, "But I'll still make sure to be careful."
And without any issue, the two friends went back to talking about how their days were. The two exchanging details on any fun stuff they had seen or heard.
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"One of the best medical experts in Mantle just vanished this morning."
"Just what are you doing here?"
"We've got a lead."
"How about you reveal yourself?"
"I can only imagine it was a difference in ideas."
Chapter 73: Experiments Down Below
Author Notes: One of the reasons I made these specific original chapters was because I wanted Team Zi-O to meet the Happy Huntresses. Given their reactions to how Atlas handled things, them wanting an alliance with a group dedicated to Mantle was a given. It'll definitely be beneficial in the future, that's for sure. These original chapters also allow me to have things at low stakes for a bit. I can bring back some old Armor Times like Decade and Genm, while also utilizing weird stuff that barely got a chance to shine like Quiz.
Important Announcement: That being said I do have an important announcement about updates, nothing too major of course. But I figured I'd do this on a date that isn't next to Christmas or New Years to not bring the mood down. So, Roze from Remnant will be taking a break for January 2023. I'll still be posting for any other story, but to give me some breathing room I've decided to take January off. There'll likely be other month long breaks deeper into 2023 but I'll give big heads up to those in due time. But yeah, don't worry about the story going anywhere, it'll just be a short break and then we'll get back to a weekly schedule in February.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time.