Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 04 – Genm Master 2016
In the same dark void as before Woz entered once more, reading his book though giving a confused look as he sighed and closed it.
"According to this book, in September of 2018, the ordinary high schooler Tokiwa Sougo embarks on a path which leads him to become the overlord of time, Oma Zi-O. Despite assistance from Another Cross-Z, both he and Another Build are defeated in a spectacular fashion by my Overlord and his new ally, Ruby Rose."
Woz opened his book, the pages showing video footage of Sougo and Ruby fighting alongside Sento, Ryuga and Geiz against the Another Riders. Though oddly enough the pages were almost static filled and shimmering, as if it was unstable.
"Ruby herself has shown the ability to transform into a Rider named Roze. They obtain the power of Build and Cross-Z while Build still puzzlingly exists when all is said and done. Despite this my Overlord takes his first step down the path to becoming Oma Zi-O. Now he will come to find the Genius Gamer M or is it N? Oh, pardon me… I suppose that's still in the future, for you."
Earth – Mid September 2018
It had been a bit since Tsukuyomi and Geiz moved in and aside from the awkwardness at first, Sougo and Ruby had managed to survive at least one weekend. Of course it was now a school day and Sougo was yet again the last person downstairs due to oversleeping.
"Good morning," Tsukuyomi greeted as she and Geiz were busy having breakfast alongside Ruby, the trio having fully dressed themselves and gotten ready all while Sougo continued to sleep.
"G'morning…" Despite this Sougo had good timing as he sat down just as the next set of toast was done, though he noticed the butter knife wasn't nearby. "Can you pass the butter knife?" He asked, hoping Ruby would get it.
"Sure," Ruby was ready to grab it when Geiz suddenly did, tossing it with incredible speed and piercing the toast, the force flinging the knife and toast and embedding the knife into the nearby wall. "Whoa…"
Sougo jumped out of his seat in surprise, glancing back at Geiz.
"Here you go," Geiz said casually, clearly it was still going to be rough times with him.
"Appreciate it…" Sougo trailed nervously as he went over and just barely managed to pull it out, staggering back and spinning to keep himself from falling over.
Tsukuyomi just gave a sigh and grabbed the second piece of toast before handing it over to Ruby who gave a nod of appreciation.
Junichiro entered at this point, giving a chuckle as he saw his nephew all energetic even though he completely missed the reason. "Oh Sougo, dancing already?" He asked before noticing the toast and knife. "The butters over here," He pointed towards the table as he walked over to the kitchen. "Coffee's ready, too. The beans are from Santos in Brazil."
"It was really good," Ruby admitted, having had a cup herself.
"You say that yet you put so much sugar and cream…" Geiz muttered, not having seen anyone put so much sugar in something before.
"Hush!" Ruby immediately hissed out.
Sougo at this point had managed to drink from his mug only to notice it was nearly lukewarm. "It's kinda cold."
"Because you overslept, Time waits for no man." Junichiro half-chided before realizing something. "Oh, I should mention, Geiz and Tsukuyomi are going to be starting school today."
"School? How old are you two?" Sougo asked in surprise.
"Geiz and I are both 18," Tsukuyomi answered.
"We're the same age…" Sougo trailed in shock.
"I'm more surprised that Ruby isn't attending." Tsukuyomi added. "I figured given she was living here this long she'd enroll."
"I uh, my situations a bit complicated so it wouldn't have really worked out," Ruby admitted though also used it as an excuse not to talk about it in front of Sougo's Uncle. "But it's not like I'm bumming around either."
"Yep, she's my big help when it comes to the shop," Junichiro called from the kitchen as he put the finishing touches on what he was working on.
"I see, though it would do you some good," Tsukuyomi mentioned, figuring it would have been helpful to Ruby to learn more about Earth via schooling.
"Just leave her alone about it," Geiz answered, personally fine with this outcome since the two weren't really going to school to learn. Plus with Ruby absent there it just made it easier to target Sougo if the eighteen year old tried anything funny. "She's at least being productive."
"Ta-da, lunches for everybody!" Junichiro exclaimed as he set down four bento meals on the free end of the table.
"Whoa, these are pretty big too," Ruby stared in surprise.
"Well I got excited and had enough left over to add some to each one, think of it as a special treat while you're running errands," Junichiro smiled.
"Sweet, thank you!" Ruby thanked.
"You're overdoing it…" Sougo trailed though was surprised by how quick Tsukuyomi and Geiz were to take their bento.
Elsewhere in the middle of a busy section of the city, time froze as Uhr walked through with a neutral expression. He had been far enough away in the prior fight to view everything and was caught off guard by how Ruby could transform. Needless to say, he needed to be smart about his next plan…
"Looks like things didn't work out… With that Kamen Rider Build you slapped together." A girl in a light blue outfit with similar aesthetics to Uhr's suddenly walked out from behind him. "Even giving him a partner didn't work out. I don't know why you even bothered with that."
"Well, Ora, if you must know someone interfered." Uhr answered.
"Interfered? Ora asked as she turned towards Uhr. "Who?"
"Zi-O," Uhr answered.
"He actually came back?" Ora asked with a sneer as she paced around. "That old geezer is such a pain."
"No not him, a young Zi-O, from 2018." Uhr corrected. "He's not quite as strong yet, but you should be on guard anyway. Especially because of another game changer in our plans…"
"There's another? Is it those Time Travelers?" Ora asked.
"They're a pain too but not as much as this new one, a Kamen Rider called Roze," Uhr explained. "Apparently her mere presence is getting Swartz all anxious."
"Seriously, she's even got Swartz anxious?" Ora asked as she leaned on a nearby table.
Suddenly an intense aura was felt as both Uhr and Ora were stopped in place, the two seemingly stuck in their own time stop now, though they could just barely move.
"Oh come on…" Ora groaned out.
"Swartz…" Uhr trailed when he realized why they were frozen.
"It's not polite to talk about others while they aren't around," Swartz remarked as he walked over and stood between the two. "I heard everything… this is becoming more troublesome. Even if history gets derailed from Oma Zi-O, this new history may not be favorable to us at all."
"Then what do you suppose we do?" Uhr gave a light growl, not liking that Swartz was keeping them in place.
"Ora, you're going to need to rethink your candidate…" Swartz turned towards his female compatriot.
"Aw but I already had a good one picked out," Ora was annoyed that her plans had to be changed so suddenly.
"If we are to end up victorious, we need to think more thoroughly. Picking at random won't help us anymore. It needs to be more… personal." Swartz answered. "As Uhr has failed to mention, creating an Another Rider no longer erases the Rider's history. Thus we must choose from history itself to gain the advantage."
"…Seriously?" Ora questioned, not liking that their plans were being messed up that badly because of one person. "I haven't even met her yet and she's making this a pain."
"Is that all?" Uhr asked.
"Given the situation… we'll need help," Swartz said before walking off, once he was gone time resumed for both Ora and Uhr, the two staggering as a result of being aware in the frozen time and moving again.
"Help…?" Uhr asked.
"Something tells me this is going to get annoying…" Ora trailed as she crossed her arms. She then began to walk off. "I guess I'll get started."
Earth – Genm Corp December 2016:
Kuroto Dan was in his office as he stared at the small open case before him, it was nearly time to unveil his true nature to the Doctor's he considered mere lab rats. He closed the case and began to walk away before stopping, he figured that he needed to say good bye to his office one last time. He turned only to suddenly narrow his eyes at the sight of Ora sitting at his desk.
"And just who might you be?" Kuroto asked calmly though he was secretly worried that something was about to go wrong.
"I'm Ora, a Time Jacker," Ora introduced. "And I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. But there's good news, too." She soon pulled out a blank ridewatch.
Kuroto continued to keep his stare as he took a step forward, "I would suggest making haste. I do not have the time for petty games."
"A bit ironic coming from someone like you," Ora giggled when she heard Kuroto's response. "I'll get to the point then…"
Earth – Mid September 2018:
Ruby had decided to walk the trio to school, mostly to confirm her own suspicions on everything happening. Luckily she didn't have to worry too much about the errands since there wasn't much on the list she was given. Of course the hardest part right now was trying not to laugh. The reason why was because of Geiz and Tsukuyomi, but mostly Geiz.
The two time traveler's had ended up incorporating their outfits into their school uniforms. Tsukuyomi's was simple, just draping her cape over it. This admittedly validated her wearing her own cape over her school uniform at Beacon.
Geiz was another story, wearing a black bodysuit underneath his school uniform, being able to see it due to the sleeves being short. But he was also wearing his upper harness with the high collar which just made the whole affair look weird. The part Ruby was trying to keep from laughing at was that Geiz had hooked his bento on the front strap of his harness, which just made him look like a cute dog carrying food from its collar to someone.
Thankfully she was walking a few paces behind them so it was easy to keep her face hidden from them. She had to quickly turn when Sougo turned to look back at the two, not wanting to get caught.
"I never thought you guys would go to my school," Sougo admitted.
"We're not actually attending class… Man, you're dumb." Geiz remarked, clearly having pegged Sougo to be more observant.
"You're not?" Sougo asked.
"Well, it's not like we can just explain that we're from the future, can we?" Tsukuyomi mentioned. "Whatever excuse Ruby used would be too suspicious if we ended up using it too. So saying we're in high school is just convenient to do what we need to around here."
"And that is…?" Sougo trailed.
"Um… reminder you have a target on your back," Ruby noted as she went to walk past the trio.
"She's right. I came here to wipe you out. All I'm doing now is watching for any sign that you're on the path to becoming Oma Zi-O." Geiz addressed Sougo. "Ruby not being there will just make it easier for us if things end up going south."
"And now I somehow regret not enrolling even temporarily…" Ruby sighed, figuring Geiz was going to be a hard head about this.
"You even got uniforms… must be hard work," Sougo mentioned before Geiz suddenly grabbed his cheeks.
"I can end you now, if you prefer." Geiz glared.
"Okay, that's enough." Tsukuyomi quickly got between the two before giving a smile. "It's alright Sougo, just go about your usual routine for now."
"Good luck," Ruby told her friend before heading off, realizing that Sougo was likely going to have a rough day in trying to get used to Geiz and Tsukuyomi's constant pestering.
Ruby gave a sigh of relief as she set a bag down before opening up the small backpack she had and taking out her bento. In what seemed like record time, Ruby had finished up the errands Junichiro had for her by the time lunch arrived.
"Managed to get that all done without a fuss. I think I'm getting the hang of this…" She said as she had managed to get all the tools and parts that Junichiro needed. Now she could finally relax and eat her bento before heading back. She gave a smile as she began to dig in, "Ah, so good! He really knows his stuff."
Once she was done eating she put the bento away, though instead of heading back immediately she took out a simplistic gaming handheld, it being white with two pink buttons and a short pink joystick. It held the label of Genm Corp on it. Giving a small grin she turned on the console before starting up the game inside. "I think I can do a bit of gaming before I head back though… it's still super early."
As Ruby began to get into her game a passerby took notice while he was walking with his friend. This reminded him of some gossip he heard that he needed to tell his friend.
"Hey did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
"The arcade's and game stores have been getting sparse lately… apparently there are gamer hunters infecting people out there now."
"Gamer hunters… don't be ridiculous dude."
"No I'm serious, people playing games or purchasing games ended up in the hospital, it's not a normal sickness either. People are thinking Game Disease is making a nasty comeback."
"Ah jeez, and not even that long after that stupid Chronicle Fad too."
Despite the two not wanting to draw attention, Ruby had slowed down in playing her game while listening to it all. Something seemed to be wrong, especially at the mention of Game Disease and Chronicle.
"Game Disease… that would mean Ex-Aid," Ruby trailed as she continued to play her game, in her time studying Kamen Rider's there were two that were the easiest to come by information wise. Of those two there was a Rider named Ex-Aid who the Ministry of Health had revealed in order to help combat a new virus known as the Bugster Virus. This suspcion made the most sense given that the Virus dealt with Games to some extent, at least from what was publicly available to read about Ex-Aid. "So… either something's wrong on his end or…"
"Quick someone call an ambulance!"
"Huh?" Ruby was broken out of her thoughts when she heard screaming at a nearby arcade. She quickly stuffed her handheld away before putting her bag of supplies in her backpack. She took off and managed to make it there before a crowd started forming, someone already calling an ambulance.
An unconscious man with brown hair, a purple jacket with a plaid inside and black jeans was currently sprawled out against the floor. His most distinguishable feature was the fact that he had classic 3D Glasses on. What seemed like a friend was checking on him.
"What happened?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know," The friend mentioned as he checked the unconscious man's pulse. "KZ was just getting into the groove of this fighting game when suddenly some pink monster grabbed him. In a flash it was gone and he just fell to the floor. He won't wake up."
"Huh? KZ?" Ruby tilted her head, a bit confused at the name.
"Yeah, you know Genius Gamer KZ, like M and N. He's not as popular but he's been climbing his way up into notoriety," The friend explained.
"Huh…" Ruby trailed before the ambulance arrived. Out of the corner of her eyes though she managed to see what she thought was a strange pink creature with wire-like dread hair watching out of an arcade cabinet. Turning fully she noticed the cabinet was empty. Shrugging it off she went to see where the ambulance belonged to. This one in particular was heading to Seiai Hospital. Taking out her phone she typed in the address in order to follow some directions there and took off.
It took a while and the Ambulance was able to beat her there, but she eventually made it. As Ruby entered though, she was surprised to see two familiar faces.
"Ruby, what are you doing here?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Oh jeez did you guys-" Ruby was assuming Geiz had done something when he suddenly stepped from where he was leaning and walked over to her. "Uh…"
"We didn't do anything, Sougo got us all out of school because one of his classmates needed to come here," Geiz answered. "So you can calm down."
"Well excuse me…" Ruby huffed a bit. "Just trying to make sure you don't go all attack dog on Sougo."
"What was that?" Geiz glared.
"Will you two please calm down," Tsukuyomi sighed, ready to stand up when she saw Sougo exit.
"That's no sickness…" Sougo trailed. "It was an Another Rider that did that to Owada and the other patients." He then noticed Ruby. "Huh? Ruby what are you doing here?"
"Following a lead," Ruby admitted. "And from the sounds of it, my second hunch was right."
"Wait, what?" Geiz asked.
Ruby explained about the gamer hunter rumor alongside her run in with KZ. "I was going to do some investigation after confirming what hospital the ambulance was heading to. Guess you all beat me to it. But there's one thing I need answered."
"What is that?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"What did the Another Rider look like?" Ruby asked.
"Uh… pink, had weird cable hair. Had green on it too, and this weird visor," Sougo listed off. "I didn't get a good look at the name though."
"That's fine, I already have the answer." Ruby answered, recalling she glimpsed something like that earlier too. "It's Another Ex-Aid."
"We need to find it before there are more victims then," Sougo suggested.
"How do you intend to do that?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"I was just going to head out and look, it can't be that hard. Plus Ruby already gave us some clues." Sougo replied.
"Not so fast," Geiz put a hand out to stop Sougo from going forward. "You need to stay out of this. If you find the Another Rider, you'll have to use Zi-O's power again. You may have not erased Build but you still earned his power, meaning you're still on track to becoming Oma Zi-O as far as I'm concerned."
"Hold it, before we go any further… I've got an idea." Ruby said, figuring now would be a good time to set things in motion. "Geiz your coming with me, I've got a good lead. But I want Sougo and Tsukuyomi to start searching rumors on arcades and game stores to see which ones haven't been hit and head to those to make sure no one else gets hurt."
"Why am I going with you?" Geiz questioned before Ruby grabbed his harness, using her aura to easily drag him towards the door.
"Good luck Sougo, Tsuki." Ruby said as she managed to drag Geiz out through the entrance.
"I still don't get her boosted abilities…" Tsukuyomi trailed before suddenly realizing something. "Wait, Tsuki?"
"She gave you a nickname," Sougo gave a smile.
Geiz meanwhile gave a growl as he finally got Ruby to let go, "What's the big idea?"
"I've got an idea of where to go to deal with Another Ex-Aid, which will also involve us making sure we have the power to beat it," Ruby answered. "So what do you say?"
"Why not pick Sougo? He's your friend," Geiz crossed his arms, trying to figure what Ruby was trying to pull. "Finally realized he's no good?"
"Nope," Ruby responded suddenly as she put her hands behind her back before walking backwards. "You're so intent on making sure Sougo doesn't get more power, why not take it first? Also I just want to get to know you more so come on!" She called out as she turned and began skipping off.
"Just what is this girl…?" Geiz asked, still confused by Ruby's behavior before picking up his pace to follow her.
Sougo and Tsukuyomi had decided to go out to check about the rumors, the latter wondering one thing based on Ruby's information.
"So she said a Genius Gamer got hurt right? What about that student, was he one?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Owada? I don't think he is, but I know he's got the reputation as the best gamer at school," Sougo mentioned. "He's able to clear plenty of games in near record time. People say he might even make the pro-leagues if he works hard enough."
"Hmm…" Tsukuyomi meanwhile decided to look online via her tablet. "Well Ruby's right, it definitely is a rumor that's spreading. A gamer hunter that's been targeting well known gamers or people who have been said to have a high skill set."
"Think we can find out who the best is?" Sougo asked.
"Looking here… there is two of them. Considered two of the best even if they haven't done competitive play in a while," Tsukuyomi said as she looked up the information. "The Genius Gamers under the handles of N and M, M being the best while N is close behind."
"Now if only we could find them…" Sougo trailed.
"At this point our best bet is to look at the game stores and arcades that haven't been hit," Tsukuyomi suggested, creating a list. She then cross referenced it against the rumors to narrow it down.
Sougo couldn't help but look in awe at how fast Tsukuyomi was compiling the information, "The future seems awesome…" He muttered.
"Found it, there's at least one place that hasn't been hit yet that people are considering a safe haven of sorts." Tsukuyomi said before looking at the location. "It's not that far from here either."
"Greetings, my overlord," Woz suddenly said from behind causing Sougo to jump back. "I am pleased to see you are doing well."
"Ah Woz," Sougo said as he put a hand to his chest, still surprised by Woz's sudden appearances. As he calmed down he noticed Tsukuyomi wasn't too fazed by it.
"What do you want?" Tsukuyomi gave a light glare.
"According to this book, your destination is Seito University Hospital," Woz said as he held up his book. "This is not the time to be playing games."
"I know but we've got a really good lead and I kind of want to try that first," Sougo admitted before looking over at Tsukuyomi. "So where was it again?"
"This way, come on," Tsukuyomi said, glad that Sougo chose to take her lead over Woz's, leading him off.
Woz gave a click of his tongue in annoyance, "Things are becoming more unpredictable…" He trailed as he opened his book, the most that could be seen was static and fire with a hint of Zi-O wearing some kind of strange spiked hair armor with large gauntlets. "Even so…"
Incidentally enough Ruby's destination for her and Geiz was in fact Seito University Hospital. The two entering as Ruby herself began to look around.
"Okay so we're here, how exactly does this help us with getting Ex-Aid's power?" Geiz asked.
"That's the hard part, it's public but I haven't researched enough to really figure out who to go to," Ruby admitted as she sat down in one of the seats of the lobby with a sigh.
"And here I thought you were the smart one…" Geiz trailed.
"Are you sure about this?"
"The scans don't lie, they don't have the standard symptoms but they definitely have a form of Game Disease."
Ruby suddenly perked up and turned as she saw two doctors walking through the lobby. One was a surgeon who was dressed up in more formal clothing with a doctor's coat. While the other was a pediatrician who was wearing scrub bottoms and a numbered colored t-shirt underneath his doctor's coat.
"Bingo," Ruby quickly stood up and got in their way. "Excuse me."
"Hmm, is something the matter?" The pediatrician asked.
"Pediatrician, we don't have time for this," The surgeon mentioned in a slight cold tone.
"You guys were talking about Game Disease, so does that mean you guys know Kamen Rider Ex-Aid?" Ruby asked.
"We need Ex-Aid's help," Geiz answered more firmly as he walked over to stand near Ruby, meeting the surgeon's gaze. "Because I'm pretty sure the problem you're dealing with involves what we're looking into."
"Bystanders don't need to get involved," The surgeon replied, more firm in his tone.
"We're not Bystanders," Ruby said, while she didn't want to be risky she also didn't want to be turned away. Instead she drew out her Roze and Cross-Z watches.
"Cross-Z…" The Pediatrician trailed immediately realizing who the watch belonged to, he then cleared his throat. "How did you get that?"
"You know Ryuga?" Ruby asked as the pediatrician nodded. "I met up with him the other day alongside Sento. I ended up getting this from them."
"Then you're Kamen Riders as well." The Pediatrician realized. "I'm Emu Hojo, Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, and he's Hiiro Kagami, Kamen Rider Brave."
"Pediatrician, just what are you doing?" Hiiro questioned. "We don't need to involve others in CR matters."
"I'd agree but given they're Riders too, and the strange nature of this new Game Disease… we need to consider all of our options." Emu answered.
"It's a lot more complicated than a new strand," Ruby admitted.
"This isn't what you guys normally deal with," Geiz added. "You're going to need our help."
"Fine then, if that's the case then follow us," Hiiro said as he took off, Ruby and Geiz looking at each other before following after him with Emu.
"Where are we going?" Geiz asked.
"To CR," Emu answered as he kept pace with the two Riders while Hiiro kept on further ahead.
Sougo and Tsukuyomi had managed to reach the game store, the duo seeing someone playing a handheld game right outside on a bench that overlooked it. The two were a bit surprised by her attire, it being fairly bright and colorful with a backpack that had tons of game memorabilia on it.
"Hey Sougo, do you think…" Tsukuyomi trailed.
"I think she might be the next target," Sougo agreed.
Unbeknownst to everyone a man in a long black coat was staring at the distance, his face obscured by a hood. The man looked towards the gamer, giving a sneer, "Genius Gamer N…" He trailed as dark energy wrapped around him.
[EX-AID]
Soon enough he became the bright pink and silver armored monstrosity known as Another Ex-Aid, having wild pink spiked hair at the front and cable-like dreads. Another Ex-Aid soon shimmered and began to glitch away.
Suddenly he appeared in front of the gaming girl, beginning to walk forward as he raised an arm.
"Another Rider!" Tsukuyomi called out.
"You aren't claiming another victim." Sougo quickly drew out his Ziku Driver and took out his Ridewatch, activating it and initiating his transformation.
[RIDER TIME!]
[KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!]
Sougo transformed into his base form as he grabbed Another Ex-Aid's arm before kicking him away.
"It's you again!" Another Ex-Aid growled out though his voice was heavily distorted.
"I won't let you get away this time," Sougo drew out his Zikan Girade in its gun mode and began shooting at Another Ex-Aid to force it back.
The Another Rider summoned a large brown block, managing to lift it and block against the blasts from Sougo. "Take this!" He then yelled and threw the block towards the Rider.
"Wait what?!" Sougo yelled as he was hit by the block, staggering back as it broke into pieces upon impact. "He's tough…"
"Sougo you have armor remember!" Tsukuyomi reminded, while she was sure Geiz would bite her head off at giving Zi-O advice, she also figured the Another Rider's needed stopping first.
"O-Oh right, let's go Build!" Sougo called out as he took out Build's watch, turning the dial and clicking the button.
[BUILD!]
"Armor Time," Sougo slotted it in, yelping as he ducked when Another Ex-Aid leapt at him, moving forward to keep from getting jumped on. He quickly rotated his Driver. The Build Armor was summoned between both him and Another Ex-Aid, Sougo kicking it out and sending it into the Another Rider to distract it.
[ARMOR TIME! BEST MATCH! BUILD!]
The Armor flew back to Sougo who assumed his armored form, holding up his drill and letting it spin as he charged forward. He jabbed with the drill and managed to strike at Another Ex-Aid who hopped back. The Another Rider then summoned another brown block to stop Sougo's attacks again.
"It won't work this time… I think!" Sougo declared as he rushed forward. He then jabbed forward, drill spinning and breaking the block into pieces as slammed the tip of his drill into the Another Rider's chest. The future king gave a yell and a push, sparks flying as the monster Rider was sent backwards.
Another Ex-Aid growled out, ready to move forward before suddenly getting shot at from another angle. It was ready to move forward again but was assaulted again by long range fire from far away.
"Huh?" Sougo turned to see a cobalt blue Rider with a sniper motif, having neon green highlights alongside a scarf and even a neon green bang covering his right eye. "A Kamen Rider?"
"Take this!" A voice declared as a black suited and yellow armored motorcycle themed Rider jumped over Sougo, kicking at Another Ex-Aid to send him back. The most distinct feature he had now that he landed were the pink liberty spikes at the top of the helmet. "It's time to take you for a ride."
"Wait, another one?" Sougo was now really confused. "Uh, who are you?"
"Hey Snipe! You didn't say we'd be getting back up!" The motorcycle themed Rider called out, ignoring Sougo as Snipe approached.
"Enough talking Lazer," Snipe growled out as he stopped near the two. "We have a Bugster to deal with."
"Too many Riders… I'll play with you some other time!" Another Ex-Aid growled out before jumping back, his body breaking apart into pixels and static as he vanished.
"Dang it he got away," Sougo sighed before realizing why he jumped in. "Ah right." He turned towards the girl who had her head down and approached. "Are you alright?"
Suddenly his collar was grabbed as he was slapped in the face by the girl, dropping his weapon and staggering to the side as he turned his head in confusion.
"You idiot, you ruined it!" The girl called out in annoyance as she suddenly grabbed onto the antenna of his helmet and began shaking it constantly.
"I'm s-s-sorry…?" Sougo yelped as he was continually yanked on. "C-C-Can you please let go?"
"Wait what?" Tsukuyomi asked. "We thought you were in trouble."
"Hell no," The girl snapped towards her. "We had this awesome plan and then clock face here decided to ruin it!"
"Wait you wanted to be attacked?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Clock face?" Sougo asked.
"Will you stop that," Snipe growled out as hegrabbed the girl by the arm and dragged her aside. Once he let go he turned before aiming his weapon at Sougo. "Now then, you're answering my questions."
"Eh? When did this turn into an interrogation?!" Sougo suddenly held his hands up.
"Hey, hey, Snipe calm down." Lazer said as he walked over, putting a hand on Snipe's shoulder. "Something tells me this kid's connected to our Ex-Aid issue. And I doubt we'll be getting any answers out of him this way."
"Wait, do you all know Kamen Rider Ex-Aid?" Tsukuyomi asked as she approached. "We've been hoping to run into him to deal with this Another Rider."
"Another Rider… that explains why the cases don't seem to be the usual Game Disease," Lazer noted when he heard the term used. "I think we'll need each other's help to figure out what's going on."
"Then let's make a trade, you two seem to have an idea of what's going on," Snipe said as he dismissed his transformation, revealing a younger man with white streaks in his hair, wearing a black shirt, camouflage pants and a doctor's coat.
"If it means stopping that Another Rider then fine," Sougo gave a nod as he dismissed his transformation. "I'm Sougo Tokiwa."
"Tsukuyomi," Tsukuyomi introduced.
"I'm Kiriya Kujo," Lazer answered as he dismissed his transformation, revealing a man wearing a Hawaiian shirt and short cut jeans with a doctor's coat. He then pointed at Snipe. "That's Taiga Hanaya, he's one of the doctors alongside me that deal with Game Disease, and the girl with us is his partner, Nico Sai-!" He was suddenly elbowed in the gut by the girl.
"I can introduce myself!" Nico called out in annoyance before giving a smirk. "The name's Nico Saiba, Taiga's partner and Genius Gamer N."
"Ah I get it now," Sougo realized. "You were using yourself as bait!" He then gave a bow. "Sorry about ruining your plan."
"Yeah you better be." Nico called out with a glare as she crossed her arms.
"Something tells me this is going to take a while…" Tsukuyomi sighed when she realized how high strung both Taiga and Nico were.
After entering the elevator, Hiiro pressed a button combination before the digital screen displaying the floor they were on shifted to a stylized CR logo. It wasn't long before the back end of the elevator opened up to a new hallway.
"Cool," Ruby grinned as she and Geiz were lead forward by Hiiro and Emu, the two taking them up a spiral staircase to reveal a fairly standard break room styled medical office with various monitors and an odd area that was section off from the rest and held a game cabinet with the name DoReMiFa Beat.
"Hmm, Parad must be on the roof, and it doesn't look like Asuna is back yet," Emu noted as he looked around the formerly empty break room.
"What does CR even stand for anyway?" Geiz asked.
"Cyber Rescue Center," Emu answered as he went over to pour himself some coffee. "We have different branches and locations but here's our main center alongside the hospital itself."
"Now then you said that this possible pandemic is linked to something else?" Hiiro asked as he sat down.
"Yes, but first, do you have any details of what happened to the victims?" Ruby asked as she went to take a seat, Geiz choosing to stay standing.
"From reports that had witnesses, they mentioned seeing a pink armored monster," Emu answered. "Oddly enough despite the monstrous appearance, the details are enough to vaguely assume that it's based on my Rider form. Eyewitness reports claim the monster grabbed the victim before disappearing. The victim would then pass out and afterwards were diagnosed with a strain of the Bugster Virus."
"The issue is that we haven't had a Bugster that was based on an existing Rider, they mostly all form as Game Characters," Hiiro answered, Geiz catching the wording but not choosing to keep on topic.
"There's a reason for that," Geiz answered. "What you're dealing with is an Another Rider."
"…Another Rider?" Emu asked.
"There's this group of people called the Time Jacker's, they want to create their own King to rule the future," Ruby decided to keep the explanation quick. "And it looks like Ex-Aid's their next ticket."
"It's likely that this Another Rider's abilities also help mimic this Game Disease you two keep talking about," Geiz added.
"That's ridiculous," Hiiro scoffed, clearly brushing off the idea.
"Hiiro, as strange as it is, it would make sense given this isn't exactly a normal strand we're dealing with," Emu replied. "The fact that the Virus isn't trying to overtake any of the patients alongside them being comatose…"
"Say I do believe you," Hiiro looked over at Ruby and Geiz. "How do we stop this from growing any worse?"
"We have to beat Another Ex-Aid," Ruby answered. "But only Ex-Aid's power can do it."
"Then we just need the Pediatrician to transform and fight," Hiiro replied.
"It won't work," Geiz replied. "Defeating him with Ex-Aid normally won't defeat him permanently. We need Ex-Aid's powers specifically to deal with it." He said before taking out a Blank Ridewatch and handing it over to Emu. "You need to activate this."
Emu took the Ridewatch and looked it over, "Just how am I supposed to do that?" He asked as he shook it, the watch being unresponsive as it stayed blank.
"There has to be a trigger…" Ruby trailed, remembering how Sento's activated after a while. "Just hold onto it for now."
"Oh how you all would be so lost without me," A smug and mysterious voice called out from the game cabinet.
Geiz immediately got on guard, "Who's there?" He questioned as he began to approach the game cabinet only for it to light up, a grey prison-like room appearing with a single table, purple energy bars overlaying the screen as the one sitting inside was none other than Kuroto Dan, albeit in more casual clothing. Geiz backed up as he raised his arms. "Who are you?"
"Why I am your savior, a God!" Kuroto declared with an almost crazed grin. "Dan Kuroto Shin!"
"If you need me I'll be continuing my usual schedule," Hiiro said as he stood up almost immediately after Kuroto introduced himself before heading out through one of the other exits.
"That was fast…" Ruby blinked a few times, surprised by how abruptly Hiiro had chosen to leave. She then carefully made her way over to the game cabinet that was Kuroto's residence.
"Kuroto…" Emu muttered with a sigh as he walked over, he then gave a more stern but tired look. "Just what skeleton have we dug up this time?"
"This is not my doing, though I can only assume this is likely from a deal I chose to ignore…" Kuroto trailed before typing a few commands on the laptop he was sitting in front of.
"Deal… did you meet with a Time Jacker in the past?" Geiz questioned.
"The specifics don't matter, what matters is I can guarantee your victory," Kuroto said as a fully activated Ridewatch appeared on the base of the Game Cabinet in a flurry of data. It was black with a purple button and dial, holding a black haired red-eyed version of Ex-Aid. "Your opponent is Ex-Aid, thus if you use this against it, you will win even without Emu Hojo's power."
"How can you be sure though?" Ruby asked.
"Genm and Ex-Aid are essentially counterparts to each other, not to mention I've been studying this strange device and realize that this is the best way to counter our current predicament," Kuroto explained, having been keeping up on the official news and data flowing in from the current Another Rider issue. "And even then, if it fails to work I can use the data alongside data regarding Emu to create the trinket you need."
"If it's the fastest way…" Geiz trailed, realizing he had a chance to get Ex-Aid's power and keep it away from Sougo. After a moment of staring he took the Genm Ridewatch. "I'll do it."
"But how are we going to track Another Ex-Aid?" Emu asked.
"Judging by its pattern and escalation…" Kuroto trailed as he typed away at his laptop. "There are only two options. The first is Nico Saiba, Genius Gamer N, alongside you Emu Hojo as Genius Gamer M."
"M… Emu… a little on the nose don't you think?" Geiz asked.
"I think it's clever," Ruby argued.
Suddenly the phone began to ring as Emu hurried over to it, "Cyber Rescue Cen-Asuna?" He interrupted when the person on the other line began to speak. "Wait what?! Don't worry we've got a plan, just make sure everyone's safe!"
"He's arrived," Kuroto grinned.
Geiz glanced at unhinged man before looking towards Emu, "Is it the Another Rider?"
"Yeah," Emu gave a nod. "Another Ex-Aid showed up in the parking lot, but he's also brought out a plethora of Bugster Virus', we're starting up evacuations of the first floor but we need to get out there."
"We'll handle this Emu, just worry about keeping everyone safe first." Ruby insisted before dropping her backpack off though she did it so hard that it ended up knocking her handheld out of it. She didn't seem to notice since as soon as she dropped her backpack she bolted out of the door.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Geiz called out as he ran after Ruby, also not noticing the handheld falling.
Emu though noticed and walked over, gently picking it up, "This is…"
Ora was currently sitting alone in a café, having frozen time around her as she had stolen someone's slice of cake and began helping herself to it.
"I'm surprised you're being so hands off about this given what happened…" Uhr remarked as he walked in, taking drink that was being delivered before taking a sip from it.
"I figured I could let this Another Rider have fun for a little bit." Ora admitted. "He is pretty unique all things considered. I won't need to baby him like you had to yours."
Uhr narrowed his eyes a bit, "It's not my fault things ended up changing when I decided to choose my target."
"You should have picked a better Another Cross-Z," Ora remarked as she took a bite of her stolen cake.
"Now, now, don't be too mean to Uhr," Swartz remarked as he entered from a corner. "I see you two are having fun."
"Swartz…" Ora glared slightly. "Why are you back so soon?"
"I've actually been gone for a while," Swartz chuckled; the young Time Jacker's giving a groan as they realized their leader was speaking relatively about time. "However I'd suggest finishing up soon. You're coming with me so that we can plan our next move carefully… and I won't take no for an answer."
"At least let me check up on Another Ex-Aid," Ora responded with a huff.
Uhr stared at her. "I just thought you said you didn't want to ba-"
"If I want to check up on him let me check up on him," Ora glared, if she could just get a bit more peace before they had their forced meeting she'd take it.
"I will allow you a bit of time for that." Swartz admitted, he then gave a grin. "I must admit he's quite the unique one. In a sense he truly is an Another Rider."
Ruby and Geiz arrived just outside in the parking lot to witness Another Ex-Aid marching forward with a Legion of Bugster Virus foot soldiers. They had sickly black bodies with an orange foot and a grey arm, wielding tridents alongside orange turkey-like heads.
The two Riders quickly ran forward and straight into the path that the Another Rider was taking. They then drew out their Drivers before readying their Ridewatch's.
[GEIZ]
[ROZE]
"Out of the way, I want M," Another Ex-Aid declared as he noticed the two.
"Sorry but you'll be getting us," Geiz called out as he slotted his Ridewatch in.
"Yeah he has another appointment so we're going to have to fill in," Ruby said as she slotted her Ridewatch in.
"Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME]
[KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!]
[KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]
The two stood side by side as their transformations completed, Geiz drawing his Zikan Zax in its axe formation while Ruby brought out Crescent Rose.
"Cover me, I'll deal with them at close range and cut my way through to the Another Rider," Geiz said as he got ready.
"I can do better than that," Ruby answered as she rested her weapon on her shoulder, clicking a single button and starting a transformation. The rifle began to unfold and grow thinner, soon transforming into its more notable scythe formation. Geiz backed up as the Bugsters managed to yelp despite all their speaking of gibberish. Ruby then began twirling around her scythe as it spun, slamming the blade into the ground as she stared towards her opponents.
"I thought that was just a rifle?!" Geiz questioned.
"Nope, it's also a scythe," Ruby answered with glee.
"Just what is a girl like you doing with a weapon like that?!" Geiz asked in shock.
"Figured you'd get a kick out of it," Ruby grinned behind her helmet before manning her weapon, to Geiz and the Bugsters surprise she was still able to use its rifle function as she began sniping down the various Bugster grunts that were in front of her.
One Bugster managed to get past the shots and went to swipe at her only for Ruby to lift her weapon with ease and jump, firing and killing the Bugster while sending her back due to the recoil. Ruby however dug her weapon into the ground and flipped on top of it with ease.
Another two Bugster's rushed in, the first closing in faster while swiping at her only to miss as she ducked and hopped onto her weapon soon pressing her boots against the back end of her sickle. The Buster had ended up stumbling further past Ruby due to missing its initial swing. Ruby then released another sniper blast while lifting her blade up to hit the second Bugster that was closing in from the front.
This had resulted in sending her flying towards the first one she dodged. She firmly planted both of her boots into the Bugster and sent it tumbling as she kicked off of it, landing and readying herself.
More Bugster grunts began to close in though Ruby began to easily slaughter them by using her weapons recoil to perform impressive swings and lethal blows.
Geiz could only stare in shock as he saw this, "Incredible… while she's still strong enough to spin and wield that thing, she's using the massive recoil to help increase mobility and force."
"Geiz, I've got this!" Ruby called out as she slammed her scythe against the back of one Bugster before pulling the trigger and using the recoil to slice it in two. "Deal with Another Ex-Aid!"
"On it," Geiz said, figuring he'd use the Another Rider to distract himself from how strange Ruby was. He rushed forward with his axe, managing to land a hit in when Another Ex-Aid tried to go for a quick punch.
"Damn," Another Ex-Aid quickly jumped back before jumping forward, using his great jumping height to kick Geiz from above. Geiz however ducked and moved forward, turning and swinging his weapon against the Another Rider's back once he landed.
Geiz jumped back, switching his weapon to its bow mode as he avoided a kick from Another Ex-Aid. He then pulled back before firing an energy arrow against the Another Rider. Another Ex-Aid was struck but rushed forward, batting away another arrow before grabbing Geiz and kicking him away. Another Ex-Aid then began creating brown block-like platforms all around them, jumping and bouncing off at great speeds to disorient Geiz.
"Stay still!" Geiz called out as he tried shooting at the monstrous rider only to miss his shots. He gave a gasp as Another Ex-Aid slammed his foot into his back, sending him tumbling forward.
"Fine then," Geiz said as he drew out the Genm Ridewatch, turning the dial to complete the watch face before pressing the button.
[GENM]
"I won't let you!" Another Ex-Aid jumped at Geiz who rolled out of the way, slotting in the watch into his empty slot.
"Let's see you deal with this," Geiz unlocked his driver before spinning it once as Hiragana spelling out Genm shot out.
[ARMOR TIME!]
The similar arm and leg armoring from the Ghost Armor appeared, the chest however was now a gradient with a healthbar on his left and four multicolored buttons on his right. The shoulders were two purple cartridges with blue-ish grey ends. The helmet piece had a purple mouth and black spiked hair for the forehead piece.
[LEVEL UP! GENM!]
Geiz ran forward as the armor followed after him, latching on as it completed the transformation into Geiz Genm Armor.
"Genm? As if that can give me trouble," Another Ex-Aid scoffed out before holding his arms out and walking casually towards Geiz.
As the armor completed Geiz closed in and threw a punch, landing a clean hit against Another Ex-Aid's chest.
*HIT*
A sudden Hit Marker appeared as Geiz's attack landed, the Another Rider staggering back. Another Ex-Aid growled out and punched forward only to get his arm smacked away before getting kicked in the gut. "What?"
"I guess that loud guy was telling the truth," Geiz remarked as he shook his hand before rushing forward to continue his assault.
"Nice!" Ruby cheered as she swung one last time, managing to wipe out the rest of the Bugster grunts. She then looked over and shifted her weapon into its inactive mode, dismissing it for now before taking out the Cross-Z Watch. "Let's see…" She turned the dial and pressed the button. "Let's go, Armor Time." Ruby slotted in the Cross-Z Ridewatch before unlocking and spinning her Driver to activate an armor time.
[CROSS-Z]
[WEAPON TIME!]
"Wait, what?" Ruby looked down at her Driver, confused that she got a different sound. Suddenly piping emerged from her belt and formed into a sword with a bottle slot in the center, it matching Cross-Z's aesthetic.
[BEAT CLOSER!]
"I thought I was supposed to get armor… not a weapon," Ruby looked over the Beat Closer; surprised that Ryuga had a sword given he was pretty content with punching stuff. Then again this did suit her more than the bulky armor she had seen Geiz and Sougo use. "Not that I'm complaining. I think I can work with this…"
Ruby ran forward, becoming a flash of holographic roses that shot towards Another Ex-Aid. She then reformed and landed, skidding near the monster rider and slashing at him. Another Ex-Aid barely saw Ruby coming and braced with his arms, sparks flying as he staggered back.
"Curse you!" Another Ex-Aid yelled out as he jumped upwards towards an item block he had formed. His plan was to bounce off it back towards Ruby to slam into her. But suddenly bike wheels made of energy launched out, breaking the block and slamming into him once he had nothing to bounce off of. The wheels had come from Geiz who was using the Genm Armor to generate them.
Ruby noticed the strange handle at the end of the grip and pulled it out; soon realizing it was a pump of sorts. She pumped the handle twice before red, yellow and green music bar-like energy formed around the blade.
[HIPPARE! HIPPARE!]
[MILLION HIT!]
"Take this," Ruby swung her weapon forward, the bar-like energy launching out towards Another Ex-Aid. The monstrous rider countered by forming a stack of blocks in front of him but the attack managed to break them apart, the debris hitting the Another Rider and sending him back. "Geiz, now!"
"Right," Geiz said as he pressed down on both watches buttons.
[FINISH TIME!]
[GENM!]
"It's over," Geiz declared as he rushed forward, a purple blur trailing behind him as he slammed his fist into Another Ex-Aid. He ran past the Another Rider before curving and suddenly running around him in a circle.
[CRITICAL TIME BURST!]
Another Ex-Aid began to look around, trying to see where Geiz would come from only for the time Rider to come from behind, kicking out and through him. "I can't believe…!" He suddenly blew up as the finisher took its toll.
"Nice one!" Ruby cheered out as Geiz was slowly approaching the defeated Another Rider.
"Now let's see who's been causing all this trouble," Geiz said as he began to approach the pile of smoke only for both him and Ruby to get caught in a sudden time stop, "W-What?!"
"T-Time… Jacker?" Ruby managed to grit out as she was unable to move, recognizing the familiar green tint of the time stop.
"So you're the Roze that Uhr told me about," Ora commented as she walked into view. "Interesting…" She said before noticing the pile of smoke beginning to clear. "My work is done here." She flicked the feather charm earring she had, time suddenly resuming.
Geiz tilted his head before moving forward. "Just what are you-!" He gasped out as a black sleeved arm reached out from the thinning smoke and grabbed at his Driver. As he tried to grab at the arm he felt a sudden shock, purple electricity coursing through him. "Gah!"
"Geiz!" Ruby called out as she rushed over to him.
The arm released Geiz's Driver, the electricity stopping as the future rider lost his Genm Armor. He gave a gasp as fell to his knees, his head drooping down before he realized what happened.
"Geiz are you alright?" Ruby quickly knelt beside him.
"The watch," Geiz managed to get out, noticing he had lost his Genm Ridewatch.
"I can't believe he was that predictable," A familiar voice spoke up as the Another Rider's true voice was heard. Out of the dissipating smoke was the black cloaked figure from earlier, the hood actually being part of a sweatshirt that was underneath a black doctor's coat. He then removed the hood, giving a grin at Ruby and Geiz who tensed up.
Ora couldn't help but smile as she saw the two's shocked reactions, or at least as shocked as they could get when it came to armor.
"That's…" Ruby trailed.
"Emu Hojo?" Geiz questioned as before them, the Another Rider was bearing the face of the original, Emu.
"Not quite…" Ora remarked.
The Other Emu held up the Genm Ridewatch. "Got to say, you guys were good. But not good enough, now that I have Genm's power the real deal won't be able to stand up to me."
"Damn it… that Kuroto guy betrayed us?" Geiz asked, immediately jumping to conclusions.
"As if," Another Emu remarked as he gripped the Ridewatch tightly before shoving it into himself, he gave a yell as purple waves of energy coursed through his body before slumping. Another Emu's eyes glowed purple as he raised his head with a grin. "More like I was hoping he'd be egotistical enough to finally use that Watch. And he was… so not only am I a Genius Gamer now; I also have the power of a Genius Gamer Creator!"
[EX-AID!]
Suddenly the transformation kicked in as Another Emu was transformed back into Another Ex-Aid, though this time he had a strong purple aura to him.
"Well now that you have what you're here for, you won't need me." Ora said as she began to walk off, suddenly vanishing into thin air.
Before Ruby and Geiz could even think of trying to follow, the area began to grow pixilated around them as another sound was heard.
[STAGE SELECT]
"Now I'll finish your lives here in the arena of my choosing!" Another Ex-Aid declared as the parking lot shifted into a scrap yard. "Then once I'm done I'm taking out the real deal." He said as he gathered orange energy in his hands, creating a sphere as he began to grow it in size.
"Like hell you-!" Geiz tried to get up only to fall to one knee, the forceful disengagement and stealing of his Rider Armor had worn him out. "Damn it…"
"Oh no," Ruby quickly stepped up, taking out a Rose Fullbottle as she slotted it into the Beat Closer, pumping the lever three times.
[SPECIAL TUNE!]
[HIPPARE! HIPPARE! HIPPARE!]
"DIE!" Another Ex-Aid yelled out as he released the blast of energy.
[MEGA SLASH!]
"I won't let that happen!" Ruby called out as rose petals began flowing around her weapon before she released a stream of them out. The petals clashed against the blast of energy as they managed to stall it, slowly trying to break through and destroy it. Ruby began to relax only for the blast to suddenly cut through the petals. She ran forward to make sure the blast only hit her as she raised her sword and braced.
"Hey, what are you doing?!" Geiz questioned.
Ruby said nothing as she braced against the attack, trying to put all her strength into forcing it back only for it to break through her defense and strike her. She yelled out as she took several steps back, the blast surprisingly causing little damage. However static and glitches began to fill her armor as she suddenly lost her transformation. Ruby gave a wince as she fell forward, the blast hadn't done any damage to her but she suddenly felt very weak.
Geiz quickly rushed over, "Hey, what's wrong? What's going on?" He asked as she shifted Ruby over who had her eyes closed, while she wasn't hurt she looked extremely uncomfortable. "Hey, speak to me!"
"S-Sorry…" Ruby managed to give a weak smile as she managed to barely open her eyes. "Couldn't let that hit you…"
"Dang… she went full hero and took the blast that was meant for both of you…" Another Ex-Aid said in faux-surprise only to suddenly burst into laughter. "Idiot, playing a game means wanting to win, you can't win by protecting people! You've got to crush everyone in your way!"
"So boring," A voice suddenly echoed from behind, Geiz and Another Ex-Aid soon turned their attention towards the one who spoke up, a young man with curly hair. Ruby barely managed to shift herself to see the newcomer. He was oddly dressed, wearing a blue shirt with a black coat and high all around collar over it, the coat being zipped at the top but open from the bottom. Hanging off the coat were various colored wires. His pants were also odd, being purple with various pink, yellow and blue squares alongside black boots.
"You are…" Another Ex-Aid trailed with a shiver.
"Who…?" Geiz stared.
"H-huh?" Ruby questioned.
"Instead of a fair fight you'd try and just force them to suffer while fighting, is that because you think you can't win?" The young man asked.
"Shut up…" Another Ex-Aid trailed.
"Too bad that trick won't work on me," The young man remarked as his expression turned deadly serious. "Now my hearts boiling…" He drew out a Driver just like the one's the other Doctors and placed it on his waist. He then took out a chunkier dual slot cartridge with a yellow dial, two game titles listed on both sides. He slotted it in as suddenly two title screens popped up behind him, one fighting and one puzzle game.
The young man took a transformation stance before opening up the lever to the Driver and calling out, "Max Dai Henshin!"
[GACHAN!]
[MAZARU UP!]
Suddenly a human sized screen shot out from his Driver, it was cut diagonally, a blue owl-like rider on the bottom while a red fighting rider was on the top. It slid back to transform him into a mixed red and blue armored form with a black primary body almost having a Chinese theme in terms of armor styling. The red was distinctly fire themed while the blue was puzzle themed. The wildest part was the circular saw-like blue and red hair protrusion on his head with a red and blue eye respectively.
[PERFECT KNOCK OUT!]
"The names Parado, Kamen Rider Para-DX…" The Rider introduced as he took a single step forward. "Level 99…"
"Level 99?" Geiz questioned.
"T-That's like usually the strongest level you can even get!" Ruby managed to call out in shock before wincing as whatever was wrong with her body slightly worsened.
Another Ex-Aid hissed out as he took a visible step back, "Oh hell…"
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"Go forth into battle my Overlord, and claim a new Rider's power once more."
"Swartz… you didn't…"
"But I think I can at least try to guide you, so you don't turn into an evil overlord."
"I do believe, Geiz. In you, Ruby, and Tsukuyomi."
"Since this is a game world I've got another idea."
"Now, to finish with this!"
Chapter 05: Game Clear 2018
Authors Note: So we now begin Ex-Aid's arc, and with the wonderful Kuroto still intact and nothing erased in regards to Ex-Aid, that means the OOO arc is going to turn out a lot differently so look forward to that. As for certain questions, I can't answer clearly otherwise I'll give away too much. I do want to return to Remnant in the future, that's all I can say. Of course I do have ideas, especially since V8 is around the corner tentatively. I've got the hype pumping to get those creative juices flowing.
Speaking of RWBY though, [Weapon Time] was my way of being lazy yet creative. Basically it's a way for me to keep using the watches of non primary Riders without coming up with brand new Armor Times. But also as a way to help differentiate Ruby from the others, and just play a bit on her love of various unique weapons. So I figured her becoming a weapon master would fit her more than gaining bulky armor.
That being said, Build was mostly a special case here, in that I gave it three chapters with interactions spread out because I also had to deal with the introduction of all the Zi-O elements. Normally for the most part, each Rider at minimum will be getting a full two chapter arc, even those who had a "tribute" in movies or specials. Now there will be special cases, but we'll get there when we get there.