Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 93 – Petal Dance of the Rozes
Woz was currently standing at the center of the staircase in the Schnee Manor, all the lights around him shut off as a single spotlight shined down on him.
"As it is written in this book, Sougo Tokiwa embarks on a path which will lead him to become the overlord of time, Oma Zi-O. The Battle for Atlas seems to have started reaching its peak as Salem unleashes a Grimm/Rider Hybrid known as Briar Rose," He narrated as he stared at his book before closing it, "Now it is up to Miss Rose alongside her Mother, Tsukasa and Team Zi-O to deal with Briar Rose before we can fully commence our plan for finishing this battle."
He said nothing more as he walked down the steps, the spotlight shutting off as the darkened room began to return to its normal lighting.
Remnant – Atlas, Schnee Manor
"Why the heck were you standing up there anyway?" Geiz asked as he watched Woz walk down the steps.
"That's none of your concern," Woz brushed off the question before looking around, "Are we all ready?"
"Looks like it," Sougo said as he looked around, his team alongside Ruby and Tsukasa had gotten ready by already preparing their Drivers, only needing to slot in their gimmicks once they were ready.
"Are you sure you guys don't want us to come?" Blake asked, having arrived with Yang, Penny and Jaune after they had seen the video that Salem had sent out.
"Given how hectic it is out there, you'd be getting in the way," Tsukasa said much to the annoyance of everyone there.
"Rude wording aside…" Ruby muttered before clearing her throat and speaking up, "We might end up springing our plan soon and we need as many people well rested as possible. Our group can handle the heavy lifting for the time being, but we'll need everyone else at mostly full strength if we're going to win this."
"We have good odds," Tsukuyomi added, "What with six of our seven being Riders."
"And once we beat that Rider Grimm thing we'll have seven," Sougo said, "Which will definitely help us for the next phase."
"Just stay safe guys," Yang said as her worry was evident, "We've gotten this far so we really can't afford to lose anyone at this point."
"Please stay safe," Penny agreed.
"Yeah," Jaune nodded, "I know you guys are Riders but you all should be careful too."
"Don't worry, I'm sure we can do this," Ruby said with a confident smile.
"And with that, let's be off," Tsukasa said as he held out his hand, forming an Aurora Curtain before flicking his hand towards him, the Aurora Curtain sliding back and enveloping himself, Summer, Ruby and Team Zi-O, the group being warped to the outskirts of the city of Atlas.
"So what do we do now?" Blake asked once a few seconds had passed.
"We keep on planning and finalizing details," Yang said as she took the lead, "Let's keep the momentum going here as much as we can."
"Yeah," Jaune agreed, "While they fight their hardest out there, we'll fight our hardest by coming up with a solid plan for the next phase."
Remnant – City of Atlas Outskirts
The Atlesian Army was currently keeping back, noticing that the Another Agitos had stopped charging forward as well once Cinder transformed. Of course while attacking was potentially a good idea, with two forces now focused on each other, the soldiers had all noticed that General Ironwood had been silent with his commands.
Briar leapt forward, sending a punch at Hi-Roze who caught it with both hands. The Another Rider gave a yell and unleashed a burst of fire from her hands to force it back. Briar watched as Hi-Roze leapt towards it to keep up the pressure, so it began to morph its right leg before kicking out.
[GRIMM RIDE: GOLIATH!]
Black liquid formed and expanded, creating a massive elephant's foot that blocked Hi-Roze's incoming charge. Briar then pushed forward, using the force of its massive foot to force Hi-Roze to stagger back.
"So it can use the abilities of every Grimm?" Hi-Roze muttered as she used her Semblance and Maiden Powers to form two glass scimitar styled blades before rushing forward.
[GRIMM RIDE: QUEEN LANCER!]
Briar retracted its elephant foot before drawing out a stinger-like sword from its body, slashing and clashing blades with Hi-Roze. It pushed forward, managing to force Hi-Roze to stagger back, but to its surprise Hi-Roze had let go of her weapons. However before the twin scimitar fell to the floor they shined brightly before exploding in front of it. While the explosion didn't damage it, the force managed to push it back into a stagger.
Hi-Roze quickly mixed her abilities to create a black glass bow, attaching it to her wrist instead of holding it normally. Forming a multitude of arrows she launched them out, the arrows striking the ground near Briar before detonating and causing massive explosions.
Briar was caught between them all, some damage occurring but managing to summon Shadow Hands out of the sigil on its back to have them take most of the damage. To its surprise its arm was slashed as a purple figure struck its arm. It looked around before the purple figure struck at multiple angles, managing to deal some damage to it as sparks flew.
"Enough of these games," Briar said before yelling out.
[GRIMM RIDE: NEVERMORE!]
Nevermore styled wings erupted from its back as it unleashed a gust of wind while also breaking the wings apart, the wings splitting into multitudes of feathers all around it. The feathers then launched outwards at all sides and angles. The attack had managed to land as the purple blur attempted to strike again only for the feathers to slam against it, sparks flying as Another Shinobi was sent to the ground.
Hi-Roze saw the projectiles heading her way and chuckled, the grooves on her armor shining brightly as orange petals began erupting from them. The petals fluttered around before spinning rapidly, forming a small tornado that incinerated the feathers that tried to strike at her. She then threw her hand forward, the petals launching out towards Briar.
[GRIMM RIDE: LEVIATHAN!]
Grimm Liquid began forming over its left hand, soon forming a gauntlet that resembled the head of a Leviathan. Briar then swiped the arm forward, unleashing a beam of yellow energy that engulfed the petals that were heading its way, miniature explosions happening between it and Hi-Roze.
"Not bad, not bad at all…" Hi-Roze said as she gripped her hand, taking in her new forms power.
"Cease this meaningless struggle and relinquish the Maiden Powers," Briar said as it took a step forward while dismissing its newly formed weapon.
"Like I'd do that," Hi-Roze chuckled, "Clearly we're evenly matched."
The two soon perked up at the sound of a strange hum, both glancing towards the side as an Aurora Curtain formed. Hi-Roze couldn't help but turn fully once she saw Ruby among the group, gripping her hands tightly.
Briar meanwhile was focused on Summer instead, it holding a hand near its buckle as it could feel a slight pull from Summer. It didn't take long for the Grimm/Rider Hybrid to realize that Summer was the original host of its current power.
Summer meanwhile narrowed her eyes, feeling the same small pull from Briar, balling her hands into fists.
"And now things are more complicated…" Tsukasa trailed as he saw this.
"There's that Grimm/Rider Hybrid, Another Shinobi," Tsukuyomi listed off, "And…"
"…Another Roze?" Ruby's eyes widened before she gave a wince, a slight pain coming to her forehead, "Why is there an Another Roze?"
"Looks like they found someone to replace your mirror half," Geiz said before noticing that the Another Agitos that were nearby as well as the Atlesian Army was starting to become aware of their presence, "And of course we've got them on top of it all."
"So what exactly is the plan here?" Woz asked as he drew out the Kikai Miridewatch.
"I'll be reclaiming my powers," Summer said.
"Not without me you aren't," Tsukasa argued.
Sougo gave a nod, "Then Ruby and I-"
"Sougo," Ruby interrupted as she stared at Hi-Roze, "Let me deal with this new Another Roze."
Sougo looked over in surprise, "Ruby?"
"Just trust me," Ruby said, having this strange feeling in the back of her head.
"Alright then, Woz, Tsukuyomi, you two keep the Atlesian Army off of us," Sougo said as he readied Zi-O II, "Geiz you're going after Another Shinobi since you'll be fast enough. Ruby will go after Hi-Roze and I'll help Summer and Tsukasa get her power back."
"What an excellent plan my Overlord," Woz spoke with joy.
"Then I guess we should get ready," Ruby said, readying Silver Roze as the rest of their group nodded.
[RIDER/SILVER/FUTURE TIME!]
"HENSHIN!"
[KAMEN RIDER~! (RIDER~!) ZI-O! (ZI-O!) ZI-O~! II!]
[KAMEN RIDER~! (RIDER~!) SILVER! (SILVER!) SILVER~! ROZE!]
[REVI-REVI-REVI! REVI-REVI-REVI! REVI-I-VE SHI-PPU! SHIPPU!]
[DEKAI! HAKAI! GOKAI! FUTURERING KIKAI! KIKAI!]
[KAMEN~ RI~DER~ TSUKU~YOMI! TSU-KU-YO-MI!]
[KAMEN RIDE: DECADE!]
The Six Riders stood together, Summer drawing out her Roseiber before they all nodded, splitting up from each other, Roze and Geiz rushing for their individual opponenets as Tsukuyomi and Woz went to deal with stalling the army.
Zi-O, Decade and Summer meanwhile all began to approach Briar who stared at them curiously.
"So you've all calculated who to send where and figure this group is appropriate for me," Briar said as it took a step forward, "Very well. The three of you are listed as Salem's highest priority threats. So I will gladly deal with you three."
"This thing talks too much," Decade gave an annoyed click of his tongue.
"Talking or not, we need to get ready," Summer narrowed her eyes.
"I think we can do this," Zi-O raised his fist as he had yet to summon any weapons.
Roze meanwhile brought out Silver Crescent and shot at Hi-Roze, the Another Rider bringing out shards of black glass and forming a shield that shattered once the blasts of light hit. Roze began to slow down as she realized who this could be…
"Cinder…?" Roze asked in surprise.
"Oh, what's this?" Hi-Roze asked with a chuckle, "Not expecting me to have this form?"
"Just what's your game?" Roze glared behind her helmet, "I thought you were working for Salem?"
"I don't need Salem anymore, now I want to become Queen," Hi-Roze smiled before giving a cruel chuckle, "I'll defeat you and then make you my obedient servant like I did with Emerald. Speaking of her…"
Another Shinobi yelled out as she managed to recover before leaping at high speeds towards Roze. A blue blur however shot forward, kicking Another Shinobi in her stomach and sending her slamming down into the ground away from Roze and Hi-Roze.
"What?" Hi-Roze looked up before glaring once she saw Geiz in his Revive form.
"Like I'll let you do that," Geiz scoffed before speeding off towards Another Shinobi, "She's all yours Ruby!"
"If you think you're winning this then you're out of your mind," Roze glared as she readied her rifle.
"Let's see if that form of yours you tried to pull out before can pose any threat," Hi-Roze said as she brought out two glass scimitars as her weapons.
Remnant – Atlas Academy, Ironwood's Office
Ironwood was currently staring at the projected screens as he gritted his teeth in near anger at what he was seeing. It had all happened so fast, they were ready to start focusing on Salem's inevitable defeat, only for her to unleash a strange new Grimm that was seemingly a Rider. Not to mention Cinder suddenly showed up and she apparently had the powers of Another Riders as well. He was admittedly surprised when he saw her fighting against Salem's minion, but then it wasn't long before he caught eye of Zi-O and his team of Riders.
"Sir… what's going on?" Harriet asked, having yet to dismiss herself.
"That's what I'm curious about…" Ironwood admitted with a hiss.
"I'm terribly sorry about that," Swartz said as he soon appeared out of nowhere in a corner of the office, "It seems as though some of my subordinates were acting without permission."
"And you're not exactly concerned about this, why?" Ironwood asked, "Cinder is an Another Rider, something that can easily match me."
"And yet she can't because she won't bother," Swartz answered, "Purely for the simple fact that she's focused on other opponents at the moment."
"I was about to say…" Harriet managed to speak up, "It looked like she wasn't working for Salem anymore given she's facing down what Salem declared as her ultimate weapon."
"That still doesn't solve the issue of the Overlord and his friends showing up," Ironwood said as he stood up, "How exactly am I supposed to not be concerned?"
"Because they're splitting their forces up and barely paying attention to your army," Swartz answered as he was watching the footage on the projected monitors, "Utilize the full power of Another Agito and use the army you have there to overwhelm them while they're dealing with their other opponents."
"I see…" Ironwood said before pressing a button on his desk, "Central Command, begin turning those on the battlefield into Another Agitos."
Swartz could only smirk as he heard an Another Agito groan out in response to that.
"Sir, what should the Ace Ops do?" Harriet asked.
"Start making the announcement for all students to assemble at the front of the Academy in a few hours," Ironwood said as he turned to stare out his window, "It's time we bring in our full forces to this fight."
"Yes sir," Harriet saluted before walking off.
Remnant – City of Atlas Outskirts
"Now then, let's deal with the majority of you all," Woz said as he slammed his forearms together, unleashing a burst of electricity that shot outwards, striking against all the rifles and helmets of the Atlesian Soldiers before striking the Paladin's that were still operational.
Sparks began to fly as the Soldiers yelped, dropping their weapons and tearing off their helmets. The Paladin's meanwhile began to short circuit and shut down. The Another Agitos tried to move only for them alongside the rest of the Atlesian Army to freeze in place.
"We're not making this easy for you all," Tsukuyomi said before looking over at Woz, "Now!"
"Wonderful young Tsukuyomi, your powers sure are growing," Woz complimented as he activated his finisher.
[BEYOND THE TIME! FULL METAL BREAK!]
Woz moved his arm inwards as a giant projection of Kikai's arm formed in front of him. He then yelled out and swung forward, the arm sweeping out and striking against the army in front of him as time resumed. The Atlesian Soldiers could only yell out as they were thrown across the battlefield, any Another Agitos caught in the attack exploding as well.
"Alright, let's keep this up," Tsukuyomi said as she brought out her Zikan Girade Tsu, aiming with its gun mode before she noticed something, "Wait…"
"What's going on?" Woz shared his ally's confused sentiment.
The Another Agito clone army began to pounce on any conscious Atlesian Soldier despite the Soldiers pleas. The Another Agitos then began biting into the Soldiers as well, any of them who had active Aura struggled but once their Aura was broken they were bit into and soon infected. The two could only watch in shock and horror as the Soldiers began to rise up, soon gaining the features of Another Agito underneath their armor.
"Another Agito… can infect people?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Not good," Woz hissed out, "We need to hold the line for now."
"Right," Tsukuyomi gave a nod as she glanced back at the other battles taking place, "At least until they can finish off those Another Riders."
[SILVER HENKEI!]
Roze gave a yell as she shifted Silver Crescent into its spear formation, stabbing with her energy projected tip at Hi-Roze who merely batted her attempts away. Roze tried to rush forward to stab again only for Hi-Roze to stab against the ground, the blades digging in and forming red hot glowing cracks that formed underneath Roze. The Huntress Rider could only yell out as fire erupted from the ground, launching her back as sparks flew from her armor.
Roze quickly spun in mid-air, launching at the ground with Petal Burst to land faster before holding her weapon in a defensive manner, "That Maiden Power…"
"I've grown stronger thanks to this transformation," Hi-Roze admitted as she dismissed her weapons, "And I could see why Finis was concerned about that form before I got these powers… now though…"
"Just because you've got a transformation doesn't mean anything," Roze said as she kept herself at the ready.
"Oh I'd say it means a lot," Hi-Roze said as she rushed forward, smirking inwardly when she saw Roze do the same. She then flipped and slammed her foot into the ground, unleashing a line of fire that launched out at Roze, the Huntress Rider bracing with her spear but being forced back as a result, "I won't be humiliated by you anymore!"
Briar meanwhile gave an inquisitive noise as it watched Decade and Zi-O close in to attack it from both sides. It avoided a kick from Decade before punching him in the stomach to stagger him, before quickly batting down a punch from Zi-O and sending its knee at him.
Zi-O blocked the knee with his free hand before pushing it back and punching Briar in the chest, sparks managing to fly as it staggered back.
One of Argent Venator's blades was thrown at Briar, the Grimm/Rider Hybrid deflecting it into the air with its armored forearm. It thought it saw a white petal out of its eye and quickly turned, Summer suddenly stabbing down at it with her Roseiber. Briar quickly backed away as Summer stabbed into the ground.
Decade shouted, switching his Ride Booker into its sword mode and slashing at Briar's back, sparks flying out. Decade was ready to attack again when the glyph on the back of the Grimm's coat unleashed several Shadow Hands to lash out and grab at Decade. The magenta colored Rider grunted as he dodged back, slashing through several of the hands as he got in a defensive stance.
"I suppose I should take you three more seriously…" Briar said as it faced its three opponents. Its arms began to bubble heavily, various red wiring with white tips erupting from its arms as it threw them forward.
[GRIMM RIDE: SEER!]
Summer's eyes widened as Decade and Zi-O grew more tense, the latter of which quickly activating his Future Sight as they all began to rush forward.
[ATTACK RIDE: SLASH!]
[RIDER GIRI!]
Zi-O began dodging out of the way of the tendrils, batting a few away while slashing through several of them. Summer dodged wherever she could, drawing out her remaining Argent Venator and using both it and the Roseiber to block and slash through the tendrils. Decade meanwhile blocked with his armor, sparks flying though he was able to slice through more tendrils by not dodging as often, his blade shimmering and splitting allowing him to cover more ground.
"Just how many Grimm abilities can it use?!" Zi-O asked as he dodged.
"Probably all of them," Summer called out as she ducked underneath a few tendrils, "Now focus!"
"Less talking more hitting!" Decade agreed as he broke through several Tendrils, rushing forward and slashing at Briar.
"Right," Zi-O quickly leapt up and went for a downwards slash to try and disorient the Grimm/Rider Hybrid.
Both slashes hit dead on, sparks flying from Briar as its body bent and reeled back, soon going to step back to keep its footing in order to not fall over.
'I'm definitely getting too confident…' Briar thought as it began to recover from the slashes, 'Zi-O hits harder, so that form definitely isn't his base. But that doesn't mean Decade is a pushover, and then there's the Huntress's strange speed attack…'
"We're finishing this now!" Decade called out.
"Right, let's go!" Zi-O called out.
Both Riders rushed forward, ready to slash forward at the recover Grimm/Rider Hybrid.
[GRIMM RIDE: GEIST!]
Both Zi-O and Decade could only watch their weapons pass through Briar, its body becoming smoky and transparent as they eventually ran through the spectral Grimm/Rider Hybrid.
Summer had split away from the battle to reclaim her dropped portion of Argent Venator when she had seen it. She narrowed her eyes, realizing that she'd need to do something drastic to deal with this kind of opponent.
"It can do that?!" Zi-O asked.
"Considering this likely has the power of every single Grimm…" Decade sighed before immediately stopping and turning. To his surprised however he noticed their opponent wasn't attacking, "What?"
"I believe it's time for me to finish this," Briar said as the markings on its body and coat began to shine brightly before it slammed its hands into the ground, "But first…!"
Decade, Zi-O and Summer could only watch as a red glyph suddenly expanded outwards and encompassed a wide circular area. The outer ring of the glyph began to shine before unleashing energy upwards, soon forming a black ink-like dome over Briar and its three opponents.
"Huh?" Roze backed away from Hi-Roze before turning her head to see the black dome suddenly form, "Mom, Sougo!"
"Pay attention!" Hi-Roze called out as she slashed at Roze, the Huntress Rider dodging out of the way.
"What the hell?" Geiz asked as he saw the black dome before easily using his speed to phase through a slash from Another Shinobi, swiping and striking the Another Rider in her chest with his Jaclaw.
"Well that's troublesome," Woz noted as he saw the black dome.
"Less talking more dealing with these Another Riders," Tsukuyomi called out as she shot an Another Agito in the head, sending it down to the ground.
"Right, right," Woz said as he drew out his Jikan Despear, stabbing against an Another Agito that tried to leap at him, "I have no worry for my Overlord shall lead them to victory!"
Remnant – Dimensional Pocket
"What even…?" Summer asked as he looked around.
"Wow, this place looks weird," Zi-O admitted.
"…A dimensional space?" Decade guessed.
The group was in a strange area, endless stretches of farmland that resembled the outskirts they were on was seemingly their current location. The sky was also strange and tinted orange with grey clouds hovering throughout it, alongside the moon being out in full view and shining down on them.
"You would be correct," Briar said as it stared at its opponents, "I have brought you to this space so that I can finish you off quickly."
"Then I guess it's time to get serious," Summer said as she stepped forward before holding her hand out, "Tsukasa, Sougo, take my hand."
"Eh?" Zi-O turned towards her, "Why?"
"Just do it," Decade said, figuring out what the older Huntress was planning and placed his hand on top of hers.
"Alright," Zi-O gave a nod before placing his hand on top of both of theirs before feeling a tingling sensation, "Huh? Is that my Aura acting up?"
"It's a small tradition," Summer admitted before pulling away while smirking, "Just a bit of good luck before a big battle."
"Oh, I see…" Zi-O nodded, though he wasn't sure as to what even happened. He could have sworn this felt familiar but he couldn't place it.
"Now then, it has that glyph on the back to create extra limbs and it can use the powers of Grimm whenever it pleases…" Summer listed off as she prepared her Roseiber, "Not to mention we have no clue what advantages it has in this dimensional space…"
"But that won't matter so long as we overwhelm it, right?" Decade replied.
"Right," Summer gave a grin as she rushed forward, "We can win this so long as we work together!"
"Of course," Zi-O nodded as he rushed forward alongside Decade, the three keeping an even pace as they closed in on Briar.
"Like I'd let you overwhelm me," Briar said simply.
"Huh?" Summer suddenly felt something tug at her shin before glancing down and seeing a Shadow hand grabbing her leg.
"What?" Zi-O turned.
Decade turned in surprise, "Summer!"
Summer yelled out as the Shadow Hand extended up and managed to lift her off the ground soon flinging her up into the air and towards the side.
Briar immediately rushed in, sending a few rapid paced punches and kicks at Zi-O and Decade while they were distracted. Both Riders were forced to brace and block as they tried to counter against Briar.
Summer glanced back as she was thrown, her eyes widening as a pool of Grimm Liquid began to pool out before bubbling and forming into a medium sized King Taijitu. The newly formed Grimm hissed out before opening its mouth to bite into her. That was until she gave a smirk, holding the fingers of her free hand together.
"One of you doesn't have armor, so the choice was simple to make," Briar said as it blocked a punch from Decade, it then went to block against a kick from Zi-O, "The Huntress dies first-"
SNAP!
CRUNCH!
White petals obscured Briar's vision before it suddenly began to yell out, the King Taijitu biting into its body as it somehow ended up right where Summer was right at the last second.
"Huh?" Zi-O had seen Briar vanished and glanced over to see it being bitten into by the King Taijitu. He then turned and saw that his kick had been grabbed by Summer who was currently smirking, "Wait, Summer?"
"So you could do it," Decade mused as his punch had also been blocked by Summer raising her arm.
"What just…" Briar gave a growl as the King Taijitu suddenly exploded into black goop, the Grimm/Rider Hybrid landing on one knee as it gave a groan, "What was that?"
"I was wondering if it would work," Summer said as she let go of Zi-O's leg and dusted off her hands before staring directly at Briar, "But you could feel it, right? That invisible pull… we're connected thanks to my Rider powers and that was all I needed."
"So you can swap us around, how exactly does that help you?" Briar questioned as it stood up.
"Not exactly," Summer wagged her finger as her smirk had turned into a full smug grin at this point, "There's a reason those weapons are specially crafted aside from being a fun pet project. Because I'm able to swap myself or anything I desire around so long as I've infused my Aura into it in a pretty flashy display. There's a reason I call it Petal Dance."
"Whoa… so that's your Semblance?" Zi-O asked.
"It's pretty tricky," Decade chuckled.
"You said before that you wouldn't let us overwhelm you, but you don't have a choice in the matter," Summer gave a grin before rushing forward, Decade and Zi-O running around towards the sides so that the three could strike at three different points, "So here's a hint!"
Summer was rushing from the front while Decade rushed at Briar's left, with Zi-O coming in from the right.
SNAP!
"Every time I need to use my Semblance…"
SNAP!
"…I need to snap my fingers!"
SNAP!
With each snap, Summer had swapped her position with one of the two Riders, or even swapped both Riders themselves. By the time they were a few feet away from Briar, Decade was coming in from the front while Zi-O came in from the left, Summer dashing in from the right. Not only that but each swap caused a burst of white petals to form, which ended up clouding Briar's vision slightly.
What occurred next was an overwhelming opposition against the Grimm/Rider Hybrid. Despite going to block for attacks, Summer was able to change who was making what attack. The change in fighting tactics alongside body builds allowed each combatant to get solid hits against Briar.
Despite being so confident before, Briar now had a new puzzle to figure out when it came to its opponents. Was Summer going to swap with Decade or Zi-O? Was she going to swap both of them? Was she going to swap herself with it? Was she going to swap it with one of the Riders?
All of these questions raced through Briar's mind as it was overwhelmed. Zi-O rushing in and getting a clean punch against its stomach, and it attempted to counter only for Decade to suddenly appear in a burst of white petals, slashing past its stomach.
It turned towards Zi-O who was crouching ready to attack when suddenly Summer appeared in his place. The next thing it knew it had Zi-O's boot slammed into the side of its face.
'This isn't good…' Briar realized as more damage was being piled on, 'At this rate I'll be completely defeated!'
Briar attempted to punch at Summer who had lit her Roseiber on fire via an Attack Ride Card only for her to vanish, Zi-O bracing and blocking the punch. It then felt slices across its back and the tearing of fabric alongside the smell of smoke as it soon realized Summer was behind the attack. Briar quickly leapt up into the air before it suddenly found itself back on the ground, stumbling forward.
[ATTACK RIDE: BLAST!]
Decade was the one who had swapped with it, sending down a rain of powered up projectiles that tore through its coat.
Briar growled out, tearing off its coat as it realized that its defensive measure was completely ruined by the combination attacks.
[SAIKYO FINISH TIME!]
Zi-O moved into Briar's line of sight and had readied his Saikyo Zikan Girade, raising the blade upwards as it gathered energy.
Briar however was keeping an eye on both Decade and Summer, Decade was further away so it knew that she wouldn't swap his and Zi-O's places. Instead it looked to see where Summer was, catching the Huntress dashing towards its back.
'The attack I need to prepare for… is Zi-O's…' Briar thought as it began to follow Summer to keep her in its line of sight.
SNAP
Briar gave a light gasp as it fully turned, seeing that Summer hadn't swapped positions with Zi-O despite snapping her fingers. Glancing back it looked to see Zi-O was still in the same place as he was, the Saikyo Zikan Girade now crashing down, "You didn't-"
[KING GIRI GIRI SLASH!]
"Snapping doesn't always mean I'm using Petal Dance," Summer gave a smirk, "It's a pretty good trick to be honest."
The Grimm/Rider Hybrid could only yell out as its skin began to bubble while it shifted its stance, trying to figure out a way to avoid the golden slash of energy crashing down.
KA-BOOM!
Zi-O began to raise his combined sword up as he straightened himself out, "Did we…"
"Damn you…" Briar hissed out as sparks fell from its smoking body, a few black scarred portions being seen on its white armor now. Of course various portions of white armoring began to fall off of it as it managed to avoid the worst of the attack.
[GRIMM RIDE: URSA!]
"Of course it had to be stubborn," Decade gave a groan.
"But we've got it on the ropes," Summer said as she sheathed her Roseiber and drew out her Argent Venator in its bladed forms.
Remnant – City of Atlas Outskirts
"Come on, is that all you've got!" Hi-Roze yelled out as she slashed forward.
"Not a chance!" Roze called out as stabbed forward with her spear, giving a soft chuckle as she managed to stab against both of Hi-Roze's scimitars, breaking them.
"Perfect," Hi-Roze threw her hands to the side as the scimitars shattered further, becoming orange petal-like shards of glass before she held her hands forward. The orange petals embedded themselves into the ground all around and beneath Roze. It wasn't long before the embedded shards began to shine before unleashing pillars of fire outwards.
Roze gasped out as she was caught between all the small pillars, screaming as she was struck by several of them. Sparks flew as she ended up losing grip of Silver Crescent in the process.
"I've got you now!" Hi-Roze rushed in, forming glass around her left hand and creating a glass claw that was superheated, striking at Roze. To her surprise, Roze had summoned Crescent Rose in its rifle form to block the attack, the Huntress Rider just barely getting her footing back.
"Like that's going to happen!" Roze yelled out as she shifted Crescent Rose and shot Hi-Roze directly in the face.
Hi-Roze screamed out as she staggered back, holding her face as the close ranged blast had stung despite not being that strong, "Why you!"
'This is going nowhere…'
Roze perked up when she heard a familiar voice in her head, "Wait, wha-"
'Shh… don't worry about it. But you look like you could use some help.'
"I'm fine," Roze muttered as she took a deep breath, "But…"
'She's outpacing Silver Roze, but that's not the only upgrade we have.'
"Right," Roze dismissed her weapon and removed Silver Roze from her Driver before taking out her Roze and Rose Ridewatches, activating both before slotting them in, "Chou-Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]
"Oh?" Hi-Roze perked up at Roze reverting to her base form, "So you're going to show it off…"
[ARMOR TIME! KAMEN RIDE! YEAH! ROSE! ROSE! RO~SE~!]
Roze stood ready as the Rose Armor latched onto her base form, transferring her into her new upgraded form. She then summoned the Roseiber and brandished it before stepping forward.
"There we go…" Hi-Roze said with a chuckle, "I heard from those stupid kids that you got a new form that ended up dealing with them easily… so I wanted to see it for myself."
"Just what exactly is your deal with me?" Roze decided to finally ask, "Why go out of your way to try and kill me all this time?!"
"Because you ruined my life the night I fully became the Fall Maiden!" Hi-Roze yelled out in near anger as she heard Roze's questions, "If it wasn't for your stupid Silver Eyes, I would have still had my left arm and eye! I wouldn't have been crippled and weak after obtaining all that power, after obtaining what I thought was my first step at freedom!"
"I see…" Roze said before taking a deep breath, at the very least she now had a clear motive. She then took hold of her weapon with both hands, "Then I hope you're ready to be defeated again!"
"Fat chance," Hi-Roze called out as she slammed her hands against the ground, forming dozens of glass swords along the ground before raising them up into the air and launching them at Roze.
Roze deflected a few before looking up and using Petal Burst to launch into the air to avoid the rest. To her surprise Hi-Roze had launched up as soon as she did, the Another Rider launching a large fireball at her before it split into dozens of smaller ones.
[ATTACK RIDE: BARRIER!]
Roze utilized the Roseibers defensive card, creating a bright spherical shield around her to block against the fireballs. Once the fireballs had passed, Roze dismissed the shield and was ready to drop down when she realized Hi-Roze wasn't in front of her anymore. She gave a gasp as she looked up, a glass spear slamming down and striking her in the chest.
"Take this!" Hi-Roze yelled out as she launched downwards towards Roze to strike at her again only to hit red and white petals, "What?"
[ATTACK RIDE: BURST!]
Roze had used Petal Burst to launch away and upwards, reforming and slashing down with the Roseibers long ranged attack. A silver rose projection had formed as she slashed down, being torn apart as the petals launched towards Hi-Roze before turning into streaks of white light. The light hit their mark and pierced several parts of Hi-Roze's body, the Another Rider screaming out and being sent towards the ground as Roze landed.
Hi-Roze crashed against the ground before immediately getting up, "Like hell you're winning this one!"
Roze let out a low growl as she landed and readied her sword, "I'm not going to lose."
"Hey, are you sure you're going to be alright?" Geiz called out as he dodged out of the way of Another Shinobi.
"Yeah," Roze said as she began to walk towards Hi-Roze, "Just deal with Another Shinobi then help Woz and Tsukuyomi, they're the ones dealing with an army."
"Alright," Geiz shrugged before catching Another Shinobi's fist with his hand, soon kicking the Another Rider away. He then turned away as Hi-Roze went to charge at Roze, deciding to focus all of his attention on the Another Rider.
Another Shinobi yelled out as she tried to leap at Geiz to catch him only for the Rider to use his high speed to simply move a bit forward at the last second to dodge.
"This one's barely using its abilities…" Geiz noted, soon realizing that this one likely wasn't as willing as most other Another Rider hosts. He then turned and hunched forward, blue afterimages were sent out from his body, striking Another Shinobi multiple times, sending the Another Rider tumbling backwards.
[ZIKAN JACK!]
Geiz leapt up into the air while loading the Geiz Revive Ridewatch into his Jaclaw, blue energy building in the blades. He then launched downwards at great speeds, slicing through Another Shinobi once while spinning. He spun several more times, slashing rapidly against the Another Rider before going for one a single thrust.
[SHIPPU SUPER TSUME RENZAN!]
Another Shinobi yelled out before falling back and exploding, the Shinobi Miridewatch clattering out of the explosion.
"That's two," Geiz said as he went to pick the Shinobi Miridewatch up before seeing the smoke clear, "You…"
Emerald was currently sitting down while holding her head with a groan, "Ugh… what…" she gave a light gasp as she recalled her final moments of consciousness, "…I… what have I even been doing?"
"Sounds like you were forcefully turned into an Another Rider," Geiz spoke up, watching as Emerald noticed him before she backed away and aimed her weapons at him, "Those won't work on me so just calm down."
"Calm down? You expect me to calm down?!" Emerald shouted as she kept her weapons aimed at Geiz though her hands were visibly shaking. She then dropped her weapons before putting her head in her hands, "I… I…"
"For what it's worth, despite you being with the enemy you didn't deserve being forced into that transformation," Geiz said before turning towards where Tsukuyomi and Woz were fighting, "Anyway I've got allies to help so you can either run or stay here."
Emerald looked up, watching as Geiz sped off to go help Tsukuyomi and Woz before she turned her attention to see Roze fighting Hi-Roze. She gripped her hands tightly as she watched the fight, her confusion turning to anger the longer she kept staring at the battle.
Remnant – City of Atlas
Narutaki and Evolt were standing on a building in the currently empty city of Atlas. The only things around were the flying Grimm that had managed to get past the army during the initial charge. The two were observing the current battles from afar, out of sight of anyone else.
"So was it really necessary to give her two chances?" Evolt asked.
"How much did you gain from The Hound?" Narutaki asked.
"Not much," Evolt admitted as he flexed his fingers, "While I was able to see some of their stuff, that kind of battle experience isn't good enough for me."
"Then that's why I had our second chance take place," Narutaki replied.
"Yeah, I guess," Evolt replied with a light groan as put his hands behind his head, "I appreciate it by the way."
"You wandering around in space trying to regain your former power would be a waste," Narutaki replied, "Well?"
"Yeah… yeah… I'm starting to feel it," Evolt gave a nod as he lowered his arms, holding out his right hand and gripping it tightly, "That Clone is putting up a good fight and they're going all out against it. This kind of combat experience is going to help me big time."
"I knew I made the right choice bringing you into the team," Narutaki smiled.
"I must admit you've gathered quite the unruly bunch," Evolt admitted.
"If we are to succeed I need to," Narutaki admitted with a smile before glancing back, Neopolitan walking over, "Though with our newest recruit I think we can."
"Ah yes, her," Evolt chuckled as he looked back to address Neopolitan, "From what Narutaki told me, sounds like you have quite the bone to pick with Roze."
Neopolitan's expression turned into a fierce glare at the mention of Ruby's Rider designation, pretty much confirming Evolt's words.
"Good," Evolt chuckled, "Stick with us kid and we'll let you get all the revenge you want."
"Our part in this battle is coming to a close," Narutaki said as he stared out at the battle taking place, "However our time to truly enter this stage is still far off."
Remnant – City of Atlas Outskirts
"This is getting worse…" Tsukuyomi took a few deep breaths as she stepped back a bit, "Just how many are there still?"
"Plenty," Woz hissed out as he assumed a defensive stance.
Despite working together, both Riders had yet to truly make a dent in the Another Agito army, especially since no other Atlesian Soldier's remained by that point. Several Another Agitos had leapt forward to try and strike at the two only for a blue blur to strike through them, the clones exploding as broken machinery and unconscious soldiers fell to the ground. Geiz soon slid into view, brandishing his Jaclaw as he faced the Another Agito army.
"Sounds like you guys are working hard," Geiz said as he glanced back to face his allies.
Tsukuyomi's eyes widened, "Geiz!"
"What about Miss Rose?" Woz asked.
"She said she could handle it," Geiz said before holding out the Shinobi Miridewatch, "This should even the odds."
"Many thanks," Woz said as he grasped the Shinobi Miridewatch only for Geiz to not let go, "Hmm?"
"Woz, between your Shinobi and my Shippu, which do you think is faster?" Geiz asked as he let go of the Miridewatch.
"How intriguing, challenging me now of all times?" Woz asked as he readied his Shinobi Miridewatch.
"Are you two seriously doing this?" Tsukuyomi asked with a light groan.
"Come now, I cannot let my pride be trampled by the likes of him," Woz scoffed before initiating his transformation.
[DARE JA? ORE JA? NINJA! FUTURERING SHINOBI! SHINOBI!]
"Sorry to say but you can't match me," Geiz said as he flew forward, launching himself at the horde of Another Agitos and cutting through several groups of the cloned Another Rider, explosions occurring. He then flew up before slashing downwards, unleashing two blue slashes of energy that cut through several more of the Another Rider forces.
Woz meanwhile had entered his Futurering Shinobi form, disappearing in puffs of smoke and cutting through batches of Another Agitos with his Despear in its sickle mode.
With two mobile forms the two Riders were able to clear a good portion of the Another Agito army, Tsukuyomi watching in slight awe but also frustration as the two pushed themselves further to try and outdo the other via a simple contest.
[SPEED CLAW! TSUME RENZAN!]
Geiz's weapon began to glow a bright blue as he reeled his arm back before thrusting forward, dozens upon dozens of energy needles launching out as he used his high speed to launch himself downwards.
[FINISH TIME! ICHIGEKI KAMAN!]
Woz kicked off the ground, sliding forward as his body began to shine a bright green coloration before the shine split off of him and multiplied, taking the form of a dozen Woz's. The army of Woz's rushed forward and began slamming into the Another Agito army as Geiz dove down and cut through a few before flying away as the energy needles he had sent out rained down and caused massive explosions.
The two Riders landed near each other, both of them soon turning to see a grouping of more Another Agito's charging forward. The two readied themselves before they perked up at a sudden noise.
[FINISH TIME!]
Tsukuyomi leapt up into the air, drawing a slanted half circle. The image of a crescent moon appeared behind her as her blade shined a bright white.
[TSUKUYOMI JIGOKU STRIKE!]
She then slashed downwards as her blade changed from white to yellow. Crescent slashes of yellow energy crashed down upon the Another Agitos that were approaching the two male Riders.
"Are you two done?" Tsukuyomi asked in a mildly annoyed voice.
"It seems as though we've thoroughly cleared out the General's frontline forces," Woz noted as he looked to see a several scattered batches Another Agitos, most of which were the recently turned Soldier's.
"There are still some left but it doesn't seem like they're warranting immediate action," Geiz said, "Let's just hope the others can wrap things up soon."
"Right," Tsukuyomi said before glancing back, hearing the yells of Roze and Hi-Roze echo out as they continued to clash.
"Don't think you can break even forever," Hi-Roze yelled out as she formed a glass claw around her left arm, it being superheated as it was a scorching bright orange. She used her Maiden powers, forming flames at her feet to boost her forward as she slammed her clawed hand at Roze.
Roze meanwhile braced, holding her weapon by its grip and blade as she blocked the clawed strike, wincing as she worked to keep the claw back, "You're really persistent…"
"I could say the same about you," Hi-Roze hissed out as she kept pushing her claw to keep Roze in the lock, "You're a girl who shouldn't even be here… you were just supposed to be some ordinary kid I'd step on to get to the top. And yet you continue to be the bane of my existence…"
"Sorry to say but I'm not about to stop anytime soon," Roze hissed out as she held her ground, "I'll never let you, Salem, Ironwood or anyone do whatever they want to Remnant."
"Such bold words, but it doesn't matter what you do to try and stop me," Hi-Roze softly chuckled as she reeled her right arm back, a black glass claw forming around her hand as before she lunged with it at Roze, "I will become a Queen with the power that was always destined to be mine!"
In an instant Roze lunged out with her left hand, grabbing and tightly grasping her Another Rider's claw as she stopped it from moving entirely.
"The power that was always destined to be yours…?" Roze repeated as she closed her eyes beneath her mask, feeling a pulse go through her before she opened them. Her eyes shined a gold coloration over her usual silver eyes briefly as she could only scoff, "Don't make us laugh!"
Hi-Roze's eyes widened as she felt a strange presence from Roze before coughing out as the Huntress Rider's foot was slammed into her gut. It didn't take long for her to stagger back as she was soon slashed across the chest by her opponent, sparks flying out.
"Sorry to say but there's only one person I'll recognize as worthy of that power," Roze called out in proud tone, "And we're not about to let you insult us any further!"
"What?" Hi-Roze watched as Roze rushed forward, soon working on batting away the Huntress Riders slashes with her claws before they were both shattered by two consecutive strikes from Roze. She then growled as she jumped up, using fire magic to launch herself up further.
"We're not done yet!" Roze crouched down before using Petal Burst to launch up after Hi-Roze, reforming and attempting to slash at Hi-Roze only for a fireball to strike her in the chest, sending her crashing against the ground, kicking up a small cloud of smoke as a result.
"Don't get cocky because you caught me off guard!" Hi-Roze called out as she used fire magic to launch herself downwards like a missile towards Roze. She continued to charge forward headfirst before she saw a glint from within the smoke.
[ATTACK RIDE: SHINE!]
A bright white blade erupted from the smoke as Roze slashed at Hi-Roze who just barely veered off course to avoid it. The blade however had managed to stab against her shoulder, it scraping across the entirety of the Another Rider's arm as it made a blackened scar.
Roze leapt past Hi-Roze after the slash while Hi-Roze managed to flip and land, skidding forward while hissing out.
'Her left arm scarred easily…' The voice spoke again.
"Then that means…" Roze recalled Hi-Roze's left arm that she had seen back when they had met in the Winter Maiden's chambers alongside Geiz's mention of it. Realizing that she had a way to weaken Hi-Roze easily with her weapon she wasted no time in turning around, launching forward with Petal Burst before reforming and slashing.
Hi-Roze had just barely turned around, forming a black glass scimitar to slash back at Roze, both clashing blades as a shockwave occurred.
"H-How did you do that…?" Hi-Roze hissed out.
"The power of a Silver-Eyed warrior can be channeled into this sword," Roze said as she pushed further, shattering the glass blade that Hi-Roze had. She then continued to press forward, slashing at Hi-Roze who was forced to form glass weapons at a rapid pace to block and defend, "And given my abilities are also effective against Another Riders… that means your arm is an easy target for me to deal with!"
"Like I'll let you win that easily!" Hi-Roze yelled out as she unleashed a fiery tornado from her feet to force Roze to back away. That was until she saw Roze rush at her from the side somehow, Hi-Roze quickly turned and unleashed a fireball only for it to pass through Roze as the Roze slashed at her and passed through, "What?"
Turning around Hi-Roze soon saw Roze in front of her only for multiple Roze's to start appearing all around her.
"Huh?" Roze tilted her head when she saw Hi-Roze attack her side before seeing the Another Rider looking around in confusion, "What's-"
"Hey I'm giving you an opening!"
Roze turned when she heard the voice, soon seeing Emerald holding out her hands, "Wait, what?"
"You have something that can easily beat her right?!" Emerald called out in a somewhat strained voice, "So take the shot while she's still confused!"
Roze was a bit surprised before giving a nod, drawing out a Final Attack Ride Card and slotting it in as she raised her Roseiber high into the air.
[FINISH TIME!]
"Emerald…" Hi-Roze growled out as she watched the illusions of Roze Rose Armor appear, however she soon saw them all raise their swords up high. She shuddered as their blades shined a bright silver coloration before the shining energy extended upwards, elongated blades of light all surrounding her.
[ATTACK TIME BLAST!]
All of the Roze's yelled out as they slashed downwards, blinding slashes of light all raining down upon Hi-Roze as she tried to figure out which way to dodge correctly. Suddenly she felt a burning hot sensation in front of her as she quickly dashed to her right only to scream out as left arm was struck by Roze's slash, an explosion occurring.
Emerald began to pant before falling to her hands and knees as Roze held her weapon at her side, waiting for the outcome as the smoke was still thick.
"Whoa…" Tsukuyomi trailed in shock.
"Told you she had it," Geiz said.
"I am certain even you had your doubts," Woz remarked much to Geiz's annoyance.
The smoke began to clear as Cinder was revealed to be out of her Another Rider form. But there was no indication that the Hi-Roze Anotherwatch had launched out and shattered, meaning she likely still had her powers. But she had still lost something as her left arm was now a stump, the Shadow Hand no longer in place and seemed to be permanently removed as it was making no attempts to reform.
Cinder could only pant heavily before screaming out. Despite the Grimm Arm being a parasite to her, it was still a part of her and that meant it hurt getting it burned off.
"I think we're done here," Finis said as they appeared in front of Cinder, "I was hoping we could take Rose's power for our own but it looks like we were far too ambitious."
"And your ambitious nature will be your downfall," Roze spoke up as her voice became slightly distorted.
Finis raised an eyebrow at this before snapping their fingers, vanishing alongside Cinder.
Roze looked over at her Roseiber, shifting the swords blade to where she saw her reflection. Instead of her armored form she saw herself but with yellow eyes, the strange reflection giving a small smirk before flashing a peace sign and vanishing to reveal the Rider's actual reflection.
"See you around… you are me after all," Roze gave a slight chuckle at the action her reflective self made before she dismissed her transformation. She glanced at Emerald before looking at the black dome that Briar had created, "Alright… how to deal with this?"
Remnant – Dimensional Pocket
To say the battle would have been over quickly was a miscalculation on both sides' part. Briar had grown more intense and smart in its tactics and despite the usage of Petal Dance, it was starting to figure out patterns and timing as it utilized the main ability of the Dimensional Pocket it formed. And that was forming Grimm out from the ground near instantly to attack its foes.
A few Small Nevermore had launched out at the trio, Summer giving a light yelp as a few managed to force Argent Venator out of her hands, the Huntress retaliating with her Roseiber and slashing through them. Zi-O meanwhile split his Zikan Saikyo Girade into its separate components to slash through them.
[KAMEN RIDE: BUILD!]
Decade had switched to his Build Form, using RabbitTanks agility to leap back while spinning. The tank tread on his foot spinning rapidly as he tore through incoming small Nevermore's that way. He then landed before using his rabbit foot to launch towards Briar.
SNAP!
Summer soon appeared in (D)Build's place, slashing at the Grimm/Rider Hybrid as it defended with its forearm armor, pushing forward to force Summer to stagger back.
SNAP!
Just as Briar began to rush in, Summer swapped places once more, this time swapping again with (D)Build who was already leaping up, performing two kicks against Briar's chest to force it back.
Zi-O had rushed in to slash at it only for Briar to jump back, the ground bubbling underneath it as the black head of a King Taijitu formed, raising it high up into the air.
"Come," Briar used both of its hands to gesture the group to attack it.
Summer glared at this taunt before glancing at her two allies, both of them giving nods as she held up her fingers.
SNAP!
The two that had been swapped this time were Zi-O and Briar. The King Taijitu noticed the change and jerked its head to force Zi-O into the air before going to swallow him.
[RIDER GIRI!]
[GIRI GIRI GIRI!]
Zi-O had allowed the King Taijitu to attempt and swallow him, the Rider spinning and slashing out with both of his blades' special attacks to tear through the Grimm.
(D)Build meanwhile had gotten ready just as the swap occurred, going to punch at Briar as it swapped only for Briar to punch back, both performing a cross-counter as a result.
"It's reacting before each swap now…" Zi-O trailed.
"But that first finisher definitely got it scared," Summer muttered as she was thinking the same thing as Zi-O, "Then that means…"
"This has gone on for long enough," Briar called out as it leapt backwards, spreading its arms out as a horde of Sulfur Fish Grimm formed and began spiraling around like a pillar.
"Uh… what are those?" Zi-O asked as he ran over to meet with Summer and Tsukasa.
"Sulfur Fish… pretty nasty in a pack but…" Summer narrowed her eyes when she saw they weren't attempting to take a different shape.
"Try to run as you'd like, you three sticking together is a mistake," Briar moved its arms forward, the Sulfur Fish launching out of the pillar all at once to strike at the group.
"That's where you're wrong," (D)Build drew out a card and initiated a new transformation.
[KAMEN RIDE: EX-AID!]
As the switch to Ex-Aid occurred, a pink pixilated wave shot out from his feet, brown blocks soon digitizing into existence and forming a makeshift wall with small gaps in front of Summer and Zi-O. (D)Ex-Aid had meanwhile stayed in the front to attract the attention of the Sulfur Fish, his body gaining a golden coloration just as they were inches away.
In an instant the Sulfur Fish slammed against the blockade and Tsukasa, impacting hard enough against the blocks to where both block and Grimm were destroyed while any that slammed into Tsukasa instantly disintegrated.
"What?" Briar perked up in surprise at this.
"Trust me that's not all the tricks we have," (D)Ex-Aid chuckled as he reverted back into base Decade form before running forward.
Summer patted Zi-O on the shoulder before leaping after Decade, landing right behind him before pushing forward and running alongside him. Decade drew out another Ride Card but kept it tucked in his hand as he prepped his Driver.
"Whatever you do…" Briar said as it watched both of them approach, shifting its body to ready a counter, "It won't-"
SNAP!
[FINAL ATTACK RIDE]
Summer had gotten in front of Decade only to suddenly vanish in a burst of petals, Argent Venator suddenly in mid-air where she was. Decade had closed up his Driver before grabbing the weapons. Pink glows began surrounding the blades as he spun and performed a cross slash.
[D-D-D-DECADE!]
Briar was caught off guard by this, a pink glowing X-shaped slash adorning its chest armor and stomach as sparks flew heavily. Briar stepped backwards several times before finding its footing and kneeling on the ground.
"So a close hitting and direct finisher just puts you on your knee…" Decade remarked as he twirled Argent Venator in his hands, "Still though, weapons designed to kill Grimm alongside my Rider Powers… I'm sure that was pretty potent."
"Too potent…" Briar admitted as it placed a palm against the ground, a pool of black liquid beginning to swirl underneath it as the red gem of its buckle began to shine brightly. As it stayed there the pool began to spread further and further outwards, "I'll put my all into this next tactic then…"
"What is it doing?" Zi-O asked.
"Tsukasa!" Summer called out as she rushed towards the two.
"Stay back!" Decade called out as he held an arm out, "This thing plans to finish this fight here and now!"
"You're right, I do," Briar said as the pool of Grimm Liquid began to extend further and further, it slowly starting to creep up onto its body, "It is time to put all my powers into a singular form. No more interrupt-"
CRACK!
The side of the area suddenly shattered into glass, a bright light shining through before it enveloped the area, the dimensional pocket sizzling and dissolving away.
Remnant – City of Atlas Outskirts
The culprit had been Ruby who began to breathe heavily, her eyes wide but shining brightly as she had thought to use her Silver Eyes on the domed barrier Briar had erected. It had worked despite the only Grimm in the area being Monstra which was too far for her light to reach.
Zi-O, Summer and Decade could all only blink a few times as they looked around, all of them now close together as the dimensional pocket had been dispelled. They would have stayed confused for a bit longer if they didn't hear screaming.
Briar howled out in pain as its body bubbled, steam exiting it as the pool it had tried to form and expand had completely dried out and vanished. It seemed as though the Silver-Eyed blast had ended up hurting it in the process.
Zi-O quickly used his future sight to see what Briar's next form of action would be, and quickly initiated his finisher, "Summer!"
[RIDER FINISH TIME!]
Zi-O jumped upwards as pink and yellow katakana for 'Kick' encircled Briar, forcing it into the center of the lettering before said lettering flew out and entered Zi-O's right sole. He then shouted while kicking out with his right leg.
Summer saw this and immediately turned towards Decade who gave a nod, already figuring what Zi-O wanted to do.
[TWICE TIME BREAK!]
Briar's head shot upwards as it was struck in the chest, quickly grabbing Zi-O's leg and trying to force him away before he could pierce through it with the kick. A glint caught its eye as one of Argent Venator's blades was thrown past it, embedding itself into the ground.
SNAP!
Summer had swapped places with the blade of Argent Venator, slotting in a card from Decade into her Roseiber before raising her blade and slashing downwards, her blade being coated in pink energy. Summer slashed downwards, the Roseiber crashing against Briar's back as both her and Zi-O's attacks reached their peak.
[FINAL ATTACK RIDE: D-D-D-DECADE!]
An explosion of pink energy occurred before an actual explosion happened. Summer skidded backwards while Zi-O launched out and skidded along the ground on one knee near her. Out of the explosion the Kamen Ride Card for Rose flew out and landed between the two.
As the smoke began to clear, everyone in the area would be able to see that Briar had still managed to stay somewhat intact. Despite this, it didn't take long for its body to start dissolving before fully fading away. Zi-O however narrowed his eyes as he watched portions of it turn red and slime-like before sliding down to the ground, using the smoke and fire as cover to escape.
"You guys alright?" Ruby asked as she finally caught her breath, having hunched over.
"Yeah," Zi-O nodded as he stood up, his transformation fading before he hurried over, "Were you the one who broke the barrier? How did you even do that?"
"I was a bit stumped, but I figured since the barrier was created by a Grimm entity that I'd be able to do something to it," Ruby admitted with a soft chuckle, "Though I can only imagine you all weakening that Grimm Rider first helped."
"Well thank goodness you did because it was about to pull out a nasty trick," Decade admitted as he walked over and dismissed his transformation, "What happened to the Another Riders?"
"Geiz took care of Shinobi and I was able to hurt Cinder pretty badly," Ruby admitted, "So Finis showed up and took her away."
"That's my girl," Summer gave a smile before bending down and picking up her Rider Card, staring at it as she felt a missing piece of herself return. Of course she let out a light gasp as her Rider Card holster formed at her waist, several flashes of light occurring as she opened it up and began looking through the cards, "Looks like I'm back in action and even more if these cards are to be believed."
She hadn't looked through all of her cards but she had caught glimpses of new Weapon Ride Cards that were for weapons beyond Drive.
"A much needed update," Tsukasa said as he put his hands in his pockets, "Now you don't have to rely on just your Huntress weapons."
"Which is a relief since Argent Venator is bit harder to handle than my usual one," Summer admitted.
"Eh?" Sougo tilted his head, "Usual one?"
"Wait, what?" Tsukasa asked, equally confused.
"Oh, Argent Venator was me getting fired up and making a weapon for one of my classes in Beacon," Summer admitted with a slightly goofy smile before holding a finger up, "The teacher was a snob so I ended up choosing that name to specifically get a higher grade as well."
"Eh…?" Sougo tilted his head further.
"Ah that's right," Ruby snapped her fingers, "I was wondering why you didn't have Sundered Rose during the flashback but I never thought to ask."
"Sundered was my signature weapon, something that people could recognize Summer Rose the Huntress for," Summer explained, "Meanwhile Argent Venator while made later, was still useful so I used it as my covert weapons while undertaking Oz's secret missions. It helped give a bit of misdirection in what equipment and fighting style I use."
"And here I thought I knew everything," Tsukasa remarked.
"You just never asked," Summer chuckled.
"Is everyone alright?" Tsukuyomi asked as she ran over with Geiz and Woz, the three dismissing their transformations.
"Yeah, we're good," Sougo gave a thumbs-up.
"It seems as though our plan was a success," Woz said as he saw the state of the group, "I suggest we head back before we draw more attention from both sides."
"Sounds good, one question though," Geiz said as he looked over, noticing Emerald was still nearby, "What do we do with her?"
"Uh…" Emerald froze a bit when she saw everyone turn towards her.
"As much as I'm not a fan… she did help me get a good hit on Cinder," Ruby admitted as she looked over at Emerald, "And given how's she's acted before, that was definitely a surprise…"
"I just… I couldn't take it anymore," Emerald admitted, "I try pouring my heart out for Cinder, trying to help her however I can. And how am I repaid? I'm turned into a damn monster with no sense of what I'm doing!"
"Do you have anywhere else you can go?" Sougo asked.
"Huh?" Emerald looked over in surprise.
Woz looked over, "My Overlord?"
"I mean, you don't want to go back to Cinder, do you want to go back to Salem?" Sougo asked, though there was no sense of threat behind his words. He was genuinely curious about Emerald's mindset right now.
"I never liked being with Salem…" Emerald shook her head, "The only reason I even stayed there was because I had hope about Cinder returning… but now…"
"Then I think you should come with us," Sougo suggested, "Because leaving you alone here would be cruel."
"True," Ruby agreed with a nod.
"Really…?" Emerald asked, a bit confused by Sougo's words.
"I mean, I don't think there's any harm since there'll be a lot of us at our current base to keep an eye on you," Sougo admitted, "But I don't think we'll need to really do that. Plus we could use any and all help for our next plan."
Remnant – Monstra
"No way…" Mercury muttered with wide eyes.
"They were able to deal with it?" Hazel asked.
"Leave."
Hazel and Mercury both looked back, the two watching as a silent but rage filled expression filled Salem's face.
"Leave," Salem spoke again, "Now."
The two looked at each other before nodding, quickly making their way out of the throne room of Monstra as they heard a loud scream pierce through the halls despite the door closing up.
"Jeez…" Mercury muttered as he rubbed his ears, "I don't blame her though… like what the hell are they to be able to beat a Grimm that could easily take on an army?"
"Clearly something that can stop a force of nature like Salem," Hazel muttered as he stared down at the floor.
"You okay buddy?" Mercury raised an eyebrow.
"Just wondering how we even got to this point," Hazel admitted, "But it's too late to back out now."
"You're right about that," Mercury gave a sigh, "I'm heading for my room, I doubt she's going to try anything immediately while she's fuming."
"Right…" Hazel muttered before walking off.
Remnant – Atlas Academy, Ironwood's Office
Ironwood could only stare at the footage before him, Woz's interference as Futurering Kikai had basically knocked out any live cam footage he could attempt to gather for the fight itself. After waiting for so long without any clue as to how the situation was going he perked up when he got a call, quickly answering it.
His eyes widened as he saw only a few Another Agitos left roaming the empty outskirts of the city, the Soldiers and Paladins knocked out and heavily damaged, with pieces of Atlesian Knights scattered everywhere.
"I…" Ironwood choked out, "How…?"
"I'm sorry, but it appears as though Zi-O's allies dealt with your army alongside Cinder and Salem's Grimm Rider," Swartz's voice came through from the video.
"Damn it, they talk about protecting the people and yet they completely destroyed my front lines," Ironwood hissed out, "And for what? A city like Mantle isn't worth protecting and leaving Atlas dry on its defensive forces has… wait…" he trailed as he had an epiphany, "Mantle… this has always been about Mantle…"
"Oh?" Swartz spoke up.
"I still have an army, not just stationed in the military compound or the school either," Ironwood stroked his beard as he began to realize what he could do to bolster his forces. He stood up from his desk, turning to face the window that gave him a view of the Atlas outskirts, "I'm surprised I didn't think of this before."
"Sounds like you have an idea," Swartz remarked.
"Just get back here for now, I need a few things," Ironwood admitted as he clasped his hands together, "It's going to be a long night. And come tomorrow morning, I will take my rightful place as Remnant's Savior."
Remnant – Atlas Academy, Medical Wing
"That should be good," Harriet said as she watched two Soldiers give a few grunts as they set Clover's body down on a free bed.
"Are you sure we didn't need to keep him hooked up?" The first Soldier asked.
"Positive," Harriet said, "His health was stable while he was being monitored."
"Right," The second Soldier gave a nod, "Anything else you need from us?"
"No, you're dismissed," Harriet said.
"Got it," The first Soldier gave a salute alongside his companion before the two walked out.
"Clover…" Harriet muttered as she walked over, clenching her hands, "Once we get the Anotherwatch from Swartz to give to you, you won't have to stay like that."
Clover didn't respond, still unconscious as Harriet gave a sigh before walking out of the medical wing. Had she stayed a few minutes longer she would have seen his fingers begin to twitch further before his hand began to shift, soon forming into a fist.
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"You're perfect for this one,"
"I'm sorry but I'm going to have to refuse."
"Will you just leave Salem already?!"
"No, you have sacrificed everyone else!"
"I think it's time to get this show on the road."
Chapter 94: The Spark of Revolution
Author's Note: Briar Rose was a fun Rider-like entity to utilize, it being a very formidable opponent. To the point where Decade, Zi-O, and some trickery from Summer were needed to take it down. Of course we also had Roze vs. Hi-Roze, and while Cinder is strong, Ruby's no pushover herself. Not to mention it wasn't just Ruby fighting her this time since a familiar face showed up, even if briefly.
Also regarding Summer's remarks about her weapons… listen I couldn't resist her being a parent while having both an axe and a twin set of blades. Kudos to anyone who gets this particular reference!
That being said, we're at the home stretch folks, only four chapters are left before the current Saga 'A New Age for Remnant' finishes up entirely. I will mention now though, that once we hit Chapter 97 on July 8th we will be taking a near month break from posting Roze updates. We'll be back the first Saturday of August however, so don't worry it won't be too long. Thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time as we kick off this Saga's finale!