Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 12 – Advent of Silver 2002
"As it is usually written in this book, average high schooler Tokiwa Sougo embarks on a path which leads him to become the overlord of time, Oma Zi-O." Woz narrated.
Yet again he was in the black void, standing on the clock this time as he paced over it. "Once more he has obtained the power of a Rider, two-fold even while Miss Rose adds to her own collection." Around him, images of the OOO, Tajador, and Birth Ridewatches appeared before the images shattered like glass. "However as the end of October approaches as well as Miss Rose's birthday… an Another Rider Plot thrusts my Overlord and his ally into an unexpected situation."
Ruby gave a soft moan as her eyes fluttered open, light filling her vision before she suddenly jolted awake. She was currently laying stomach first on a bench in a plaza. As she looked around however she noticed something strange, there was no one nearby. And even the entire area felt muted.
There were no birds chirping, no talking in the distance, even cars weren't sounding off. And it wasn't like the area was just muted, the area also felt lifeless. A plaza like this would have been packed with people but there was no one here.
"Where am I?" Ruby asked, she fully pushed herself off the bench and looked around. "Why is…" She quickly turned, feeling something off. To her surprise it was just a man wearing a black suit with swept up hair and a lavender tie. Ruby could only tilt her head at this development, "Uh, hello…?"
"Oh, huh," The man had a look of surprise on his face. "I was wondering if my mind was playing tricks on me, but you're really here huh?"
"Uh, yeah I am," Ruby replied. "Pretty sure I'm as here as I can get."
"That's weird though," The man admitted. "What's a girl like you doing here? No wait… it can't be, you're a player too?"
"A player… I mean, I guess you could say that," Ruby admitted, thinking the man was talking about video games. She wondered if there was some meet up she was trying to get to but that didn't explain the eerie locale.
"Okay good, I guess they make just anyone a special player since I'm a pretty random pick, well this will be easy since we haven't really gotten to know each other yet," The man admitted as he shuffled around his pockets.
"Um… excuse me?" Ruby really did not understand what this man was all about.
"It'll be over in a minute don't worry," The man soon pulled out what looked to be a light blue card deck with a gold shark symbol on it. Holding it up a silver strapped buckle with a slot big enough for the card deck formed from out of nowhere and latched onto his stomach. "Henshin!" He called out as he slotted it in.
In an instant three grey flat images of an armored warrior spun towards him, overlapping and fully forming the armor. He had a black bodysuit with blue wave-like patterns running along the sides, bright blue armor on his arms and legs, alongside his chest, holding a shark motif. His helmet was different than prior Riders, this one having black vents running horizontally with a shark shape to it. Oddly enough he had a shark themed gauntlet that covered most of his left arm.
"As per my name, Abyss, I shall send you there in an instant," Abyss introduced before drawing a card from his buckle and slotting it into the open mouth of his gauntlet.
"Wait you're a Kamen Rider?" Ruby questioned as she backed up.
[SWORD VENT]
"Of course I am, as are you, and that means you're too dangerous to keep around," Abyss remarked as he drew two jagged toothed swords. He then rushed at Ruby, slashing at her only to receive rose petals in her place. "What?"
"Hey, why are you attacking me?" Ruby called out off to the side as she put her Driver on her waist. She was under the assumption that Riders fought together not against each other. "We're both Riders aren't we?"
"Yes, and as per the rules of the game I must kill all the other Riders to gain my wish," Abyss remarked as he went to rush at her again.
[GUARD VENT]
Suddenly plumes of white feathers were launched between Ruby and Abyss before circling around Abyss. The Rider yelped as he was suddenly disoriented by the feathers, soon getting slammed into by a large white shield before being struck by the tip of a sword. Abyss staggered backwards before stumbling and falling.
"Uh…" Ruby stared a bit, she was really confused.
Before her stood what looked like a female Rider, a black bodysuit, white armor lined with gold, the holding a similar design to Abyss', though with her she had the motif of a Swan. She held a white shield in a similar shape of a swans wings, a rapier also in her hand. She holstered her weapon before rushing over to Ruby and grabbing her by the arm.
"Hey, let go!" Ruby called out.
"Listen to me, we need to get out of here, I'll explain to you what's going on but that guy's not going to be happy when he recovers. Plus there are worse things on their way here." The female Rider managed to start to drag Ruby along.
"Fine…" Ruby muttered as she worked on running alongside the female Rider to keep from being dragged along. She hated to follow a stranger, especially since she had no idea what was going on and Riders were enemies apparently. But it was either that or stay and try and fight off that shark rider.
Abyss shook his head as the feathers faded, glancing up before realizing that he had lost sight of not only one but two targets he was supposed to take out. "Seriously… has anyone been taken out yet?"
"Don't worry, you'll be the first." A man with disheveled brown hair walked over, he was wearing dark blue pants with brown shoes, a light blue button up shirt and a black jacket over it.
"Huh?" Abyss turned before tilting his head. "Will you fight unlike the girl?"
"Oh I'll fight alright, I'll kill you all myself," The man gave a grin as his eyes glowed a bright red, purple wisps of energy wrapping around and constricting his body.
[RYUKI!]
The familiar sound of an Anotherwatch activating occurred, flames escaping as the dark energy broke apart. A muted silver and red armored Another Rider forming, it having a dull gold rimming to its armor as the motif was a mix between a knight and a dragon, even having a bright red dragon head gauntlet on its left arm.
On his breastplate were a name and date, Ryuki on the right breast while 2002 was on the left.
'Stop it…'
"Y-You…! You're the monster rider they talked about!" Abyss gasped out as he shakily brandished his blades. He gave a yell as he rushed towards Another Ryuki, the Another Rider giving a crazed laugh before thrusting his left arm forward, flames spewed from the dragon gauntlets mouth and engulfed Abyss.
'Stop it… please…'
Ruby stopped running as she heard a scream and explosion from where they had come. "What just happened?"
"We've got to keep moving, come on!" The swan Rider grabbed Ruby's hand before tugging her away.
After a while of running they had managed to find an old office that wasn't' being used anymore, the lights were off and the only lighting was from the outside. Ruby glanced at where they were trying to figure out what was going on but she felt she was going cross-eyed when she couldn't even read the lettering on the door.
"Okay we should be fine here," The swan Rider said as she took out her deck, dismissing her transformation. She was a woman with long brown hair, an orange blouse covered by a light brown velvet jacket, her pants being odd in that they were a light blue but with dark blue wave-like designs on the sides with sand colored heels. "I'm Miho Kirishima, Kamen Rider Femme."
"Ruby Rose, Kamen Rider Roze, you said you'd explain right?" Ruby asked. "Where are we?"
"So you really don't know?" Miho asked. "We're in the Mirror World."
"Mirror World…?" Ruby asked before turning and seeing the lettering again, realizing that it was reversed as if she was looking at it from a mirror. "Listen… I just woke up and have no idea how I got here." She then realized something. "Oh no, Sougo and Tsuki are probably worried sick about me."
"Are they Riders too?" Miho asked.
"Just Sougo, why do you ask?" Ruby asked back.
"If he's a Rider there's a chance he might be here," Miho admitted. "Let me explain how it all started."
Mirror World – Late October 2018 (2 Days Ago):
"Awaken my Warriors."
Miho gave a light groan as she began to wake up, slowly standing as she suddenly jolted, looking around as she was in a plaza with seven men who were just as confused as she was. She was pretty sure she had business somewhere, and then everything went blank before waking up here. She then noticed a bunch of blank card decks on pillars surrounding the seven.
It wasn't long before everyone became startled as strange animal-like monsters of all shapes and sizes began moving around them.
Surprisingly though they didn't attack but merely moved around, either trying to show off or intimidate the humans that were all surroundeing.
What came next was a strange event, as on the stairs that lead to the plaza a man in a loose brown jacket with a white hood draped over his face began to walk down.
"Welcome, Warriors," The man introduced in a loud booming voice. "You have all been selected to play a game."
"…A game?" Miho muttered as she glanced around. She could have sworn having déjà vu at one of the men who was wearing all black attire aside from a deep blue jacket. She shook her thoughts as the hooded man continued to speak.
"Welcome to a special world just beyond the glass walls of humanity, the Mirror World. This game is a simple one, but one with a great prize at the end of it all."
"A prize you say?" One of the men asked.
"A wish for whatever you desire," The cloaked man explained. "Compete against others, kill them in combat, and achieve what you truly want. As well as obtain a way out of this world."
"You want us to what?!"
"A killing game, don't joke like that!"
"A game like this…"
Miho was at a loss for words but at the idea of a wish there was one that did come to mind. Even then, she glanced around, trying to find a certain someone relating to that wish. When she couldn't find him she looked down, wondering what she was going to even do once this started.
"You have no other choice. All you can do is believe in me…. And fight to your heart's content as Kamen Riders."
"Kamen Riders…?"
"That title…"
"Before you are the Contracts you will choose to become a Rider by picking up an Advent Deck on one of the pillars before you. Choose carefully as you will be bound until the end of the game, whether that is through victory or death."
"…"
"The rules are simple, survive. But do not think you all can be cowards and hide away. The Mirror Monsters will hunt and slaughter you if you do not fight with all your might. And even then, this game has a time limit of four days. If there is no singular winner, then you will all perish."
"What do you mean four days, why four days?"
"Just what are you trying to pull?"
"You may notice there are only 8 of you, there are in total 13 contestants," The man continued to ignore the people he faced. "The 9th contestant is here as well. He is the Monster Rider, and he will be seeking his own victory as well, hunting those who are weak."
"This is a horror movie isn't it?"
"It's all a bad dream…"
"On the third day, the remaining four contestants will arrive. They are special Riders who are not bound by this world, but have their own desires just like you do. They will arrive to see how you compare in two days time."
Miho shook her head as the man vanished from their view, staring at one of the pillars that held an empty deck.
"Now choose your fate… Kamen Riders."
Mirror World – Late October 2018 (Present Day/Rider War Day 3):
"A wish would have been nice," Miho admitted. "There's something I want with all my heart but… so long as one man lives, I'd find no solace. And he wasn't chosen to be a part of this game."
Ruby was currently mulling all of this over, "So that's what happened…" She trailed, realizing she and Sougo were likely the special Riders, but she wondered who the last two were. Was Geiz also dragged into this world?
"You seem to have an idea of what might be going on," Miho noticed her new companion's thoughtful expression.
"Yeah," Ruby admitted. "I think we're dealing with an Another Rider situation. Long story short, there are these twisted versions of Kamen Riders called Another Riders. I think that's this Monster Rider you all were warned about."
"Then… from the way you talk there's a way to get out of here?" Miho asked.
"That Another Rider needs to be defeated, but we'll need to jump through some hoops to do so," Ruby explained. "The first is confirming who he is, and then finding the Rider he corresponds with."
"The hard part will be finding him," Miho said. "He likes to pop out of nowhere and ambush us… at least from what I've heard from spying on other Riders. I haven't gotten that unlucky yet."
"Did you at least hear if he had numbers or a name on him?" Ruby asked.
"I… hmm," Miho thought a bit before nodding. "I think I heard he has the numbers 2, 0, 0, 2."
"2002…" Ruby muttered before shaking her head, of course it was another dead end in regards to her knowledge. She had done so much research and noticed the really odd gap early on in the Heisei Riders she had researched. That being between 2001 and 2003, there was no Rider activity of any kind. "But, there shouldn't have been one then…"
"Is something wrong?" Miho asked.
"As dangerous as it'll be, we need to go out and find him," Ruby admitted, this was a more perilous situation than the other times. She'd have to be careful, especially since she didn't like the idea that the other Riders were out to kill. "But…"
"You still don't trust me do you?" Miho asked.
"I mean, I really want to," Ruby admitted. "It's just, this whole situation…"
"Understandable," Miho admitted. "I can be a bit underhanded sometimes… but well it's not worth it right now. I have no reason to try anything dirty with you. It's been three days in this hell and I've started to realize going at it alone isn't going to do me any good. When I saw you being harassed by Abyss I figured I could help you out so that you could help me out."
Ruby thought about it a bit, going out alone likely wasn't recommended and Miho's assistance in general was convenient, "Well…"
"I know, not exactly the best circumstances… but I'm not going to bring myself to do anything bad to you," Miho added. "I don't know if you're touchy with age but even if you are a Rider… you're young. You shouldn't have to be going through this hell. So I won't let anything happen to you."
Ruby raised an eyebrow, "So you have a soft spot for me?"
"A bit…" Miho admitted with a soft smile before she looked more serious. "But also because you talk like you have an idea of how to break this game, meaning you're my ticket out. Don't expect me to handhold you though. I expect you to pull your weight."
Ruby couldn't help but chuckle, at least her new partner was honest, "I'd be embarrassed if I had to rely on someone who just became a Rider when I've been one for nearly two months now."
"So does that mean we have a deal?" Miho asked.
"You bet," Ruby gave a smile as she held out her hand.
The two's banter was interrupted when the back door to the office was torn through, several strange pale creatures with a humanoid shape and larval-like features bursting through. The creatures, Sheerghosts, stumbled their way forward as they tried to reach the two.
"Crap they've found us," Miho hissed out.
"These are the Mirror Monsters?" Ruby asked as she took out her Ridewatch and activated it.
"Yes, we need to get going," Miho said as she drew out her Advent Deck before summoning her V-Buckle.
"Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]
Ruby quickly drew out her weapon as Miho stood at the ready, the rose themed Rider aiming and firing at the Sheerghosts to strike at them, sparks flying as she managed to damage them and force them back.
"We need more space," Miho turned and drew her Blancvisor, using the rapier to strike the window behind them and shatter it. "Let's go."
"On it," Ruby said as she followed after Miho in jumping out the window. "And now…"
[TAJADOR COMBO!]
[WEAPON TIME! TAJA SPINNER!]
Ruby had dismissed her rifle before holding out left arm, the Taja Spinner forming as she took aim, launching fireballs at the Sheerghosts that tried to make their way out the window.
"Well aren't you full of surprises," Miho mused, having only seen her type of Riders for the past two days, so seeing Ruby's different gear as well as versatility had caught her off guard.
Mirror World – Late October 2018 (Rider War Day 3):
Elsewhere in the Mirror World, Sougo was very confused about what was going on. He was going out with Ruby and Tsukuyomi to try and find clues on where Geiz was. And then it all went blank, and then suddenly he was in this weird reversed world. Any attempt at using the Faizphone X that Woz had given him proved futile. There was no signal so he was unable to contact Ruby or Tsukuyomi.
Of course that confusion began to drop as he saw numerous Sheerghosts that were trying to overwhelm several Riders.
The Riders all had the same base bodysuit like Femme's, two colored black while the third was colored red. The first two had the motif of a brown gazelle and a green chameleon, the third oddly enough having a dragon's motif with silver armor and red eyes peaking behind the vented visor, similar to Another Ryuki's.
Realizing they were getting overwhelmed, Sougo leapt into action. He prepped his Driver and Watch before running in. "Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!]
Sougo drew out his weapon in its sword mode and began slashing at the Sheerghosts, managing to slowly but surely cut his way through. "Make way! Coming through," He called as he slowly but surely managed to reach the center where the trio of Riders was.
"Huh? Who are you?" The chameleon rider questioned, kicking a Sheerghost back.
"He looks totally d-different, is he the Special Rider?" The gazelle rider wondered as he struck a few Sheerghosts with a two drill tipped gauntlet, the drills resembling twisted antlers.
"Eh? Special Rider…?" Sougo asked as he pointed at himself. "Well… I want to be King someday does that count?"
"Wait a King? What are you on kid?" The chameleon rider asked.
"Wait, are you helping us?" The red and silver dragon themed Rider asked. "I thought you were supposed to test us?"
"Test you? Listen I'm bad at exams, especially math so I don't know if that'd work out well," Sougo admitted.
"Okay who is this kid…?" The chameleon rider trailed in slight disappointment.
"Let's just introduce ourselves quickly then we can get to know each other when we can breathe," The red dragon rider suggested. "I'm Ryuki, that's Imperer," He pointed at the gazelle rider before pointing at the chameleon rider. "That's Verde."
"Ah, I'm Zi-O," Sougo introduced before slotting in the OOO Watch and rotating his Driver. "Let me help though, Armor Time!"
[ARMOR TIME! TAKA! TORA! BATTA! OOO!]
The hawk, tiger and grasshopper that made up the OOO Armor launched out of hiding. The trio of animals tore their way through several Sheerghosts before overlaying and combining with Sougo.
"H-Hey he gets three!" Imperer exclaimed.
"Let's do this! I'll round them up, Seiya!" Sougo called out before running forward at a faster speed. While it wasn't on the level of Drive Armor or Petal Burst, he was clawing his way through quite the number of Sheerghosts. It wasn't long before he began to jump around, picking off the outer edges and slowly but surely grouping them up.
"He's rounding them up, I'll finish them off," Ryuki said before drawing out a card from his deck and slotting it into the Dragvisor on his left forearm.
[FINAL VENT!]
From the sky a red and silver trimmed eastern styled dragon flew around, snaking around him as he crouched slightly.
"Let's go Dragreder!" Ryuki called out as he jumped up into the air, Drageder following and coiling around him as he performed several flourishing flips before launching downwards in a kicking position. Dragreder breathed fire outwards, engulfing Ryuki in it as the flaming rider hurtled towards the pile of enemies that Sougo was making work of.
In one explosive burst he kicked through and annihilated the Sheerghosts that were left.
Sougo gave a yelp as he danced out of the explosive display of fire, patting any stray flames off of him, "Ooh, you definitely pack a kick. So…"
"Follow me, we've got a hideout near here," Ryuki said before taking off, Verde and Imperer following after.
"This is kind of weird, but oh well," Sougo said as he followed after them, figuring that going somewhere else might help him find his friends.
Mirror World – Late October 2018 (Rider War Day 3):
To say Geiz was annoyed was the least of his worries, he was currently hiding out after being forced into this strange and wild world by the Time Jackers, not even getting a moment of rest as the Sheerghost's had attacked him.
"Damn them," Geiz hissed out, Swartz's words echoing in his mind from their confrontation prior to his current situation.
"We share a similar goal."
"Every day Zi-O grows more powerful. And with Roze helping him, he'll become unstoppable."
"I've even got the perfect plan to get rid of Zi-O, and I won't take no for an answer."
Geiz absolutely hated how there was no true way to stop a Time Jacker's time stop. He was left helpless before being flung into a nearby reflective surface and brought to the Mirror World. Needless to say he was lucky to have found a buffet nearby and since everything seemed real in this world despite it being reversed, it was the perfect place to hide and get a bite to eat.
"Okay, let's see what we've got," Geiz said as he entered, looking over the various options that were laid out. At the very least while it was hell outside; he'd get some peace and quiet in here.
"Whoa buddy, who do you think you are?"
"What?" Geiz turned and got on guard.
Two men stood up from one of the tables off to the side, both seemed young, one having brown puffy hair and a letterman jacket that was white and black, green cargo pants and thick black boots. "The names Ishihashi, Scissors, and you're at our spot."
While the other was a young guy with black buzz cut hair, a black shirt and green baggy jacket over, tan fit pants and black boots. "You messed with the wrong guys, I'm Tozuka, Tiger, and we don't like anyone busting in while we're eating good."
"Yeah we're the Kings of the Buffet, anyone who tries to eat here gets killed," Ishihashi took a step forward.
"Kings…" Geiz rolled his eyes; all he saw were a bunch of punks, figuring that the other names they used were just gang names. "Listen, I'm just going to leave then."
"Nope," Tozuka chimed in. "You look really different, and you weren't here two days ago." He said, already noting Geiz's strange sense of fashion.
Geiz looked down, wondering if changing back into his future clothes was a bad idea before scoffing. "What's that matter?"
"It means you're the Special Rider the cloaked dude told us about, meaning we've got to take you out fast," Ishihashi pulled out an Advent Deck, it being orange with a gold crab.
Tozuka grinned and pulled out a blue advent deck, holding the gold symbol of a tiger.
"Henshin!"
The two summoned the V-Buckles before slotting their Decks in, the flat images of their Rider forms spinning onto them and fully forming their armor.
The two had the same base bodysuit as the others, Ishihashi having orange crab styled armoring while Tozuka had silver and blue lined tiger styled armoring. Ishihashi had become Kamen Rider Scissors while Tozuka was Kamen Rider Tiger.
Geiz backed up in surprise. "You two punks are Riders?"
[STRIKE VENT!]
Both Riders activated their special cards, Ishihashi bringing out a large orange crab claw gauntlet for his right arm while Tozuka got two large gauntlets with tiger claws.
Geiz quickly grabbed a tray from nearby and threw it at the two, he needed to distract them and fast before transforming.
Tozuka however growled out and slammed his claws into it, slicing it into pieces, "Not so fast!"
"Kill him before he transforms!" Ishihashi called out before running forward.
Suddenly the windows at the front of the establishment were broken as a monstrous bat came through.
[NASTY VENT!]
The bat began to screech loudly, a purple wave forming from its mouth as it struck Tozuka and Ishihashi.
"Gah, that's Knights Contract Monster!" Tozuka called out as he tried to use his large pawed gauntlets to cover his ears.
"Retreat, we need to leave, he's a tough bastard!" Ishihashi ordered as he covered his ears as best he could.
The two Riders yelled out as they made their way towards the kitchen, tumbling as they ran past and knocked down whatever they could to get to the back exit, eventually leaving.
Geiz immediately put on his Driver and got his Ridewatch ready. "I come in to hide and have a good meal and then…"
"Calm down," A voice called as the doors opened to reveal a Rider, he wore a muted blue bodysuit, silver and dark blue lined armor stylized like the bat Mirror Monster. "Darkwing and I won't hurt you." He called out to Geiz before taking a step back when he got a good look at Geiz. "Wait…" He stared at him a bit. "Are you from the future?"
Geiz perked up a bit, "What makes you say that?"
"It's just well… you remind me a lot of how I looked when I was younger," The Rider admitted. "So I figured you might be… my son from the future here to help?"
Geiz nearly fell over at that accusation, "What the hell kind of logic is that?!"
"Okay so you aren't then," The Rider shook his head. "I guess some people just look the same."
"Just who are you anyway? Why help me?" Geiz asked.
"Sorry about that, Kamen Rider Knight," Knight explained as he dismissed his transformation, revealing an older man in an all black outfit but with neatly combed hair. "Ren Akiyama."
"Geiz Myokoin, Kamen Rider Geiz," Geiz introduced. "Do you know what's going on?"
"Well since we have this place to ourselves… how about we sit and eat?" Ren asked. "It's a bit of a long story."
"Huh, not the cozy place I had in mind, you guys camp out here?" Sougo said as he looked around, Ryuki and the other Riders had set up shop in an abandoned warehouse, several bags filled with non-perishable food. The four Riders had yet to dismiss their transformations since Ryuki had wanted them to be prepared.
"Most Riders and Monsters expect us to hide out in actual buildings and not abandoned ones," Ryuki explained as he looked around. "Okay we should be good." He said before dismissing his transformation. He ended up being the same man that Miho had ended up getting Déjà vu over. "I'm Shinji Kido."
Imperer dismissed his transformation next, revealing a timid young man in glasses with a white shirt, black trench coat, grey pants and black sneakers, "I-Ishida."
The other was a man with dark brown hair, in a tan jacket with a purple button up, blue jeans and brown boots. "Kimura, and you are?"
"Sougo Tokiwa," Sougo introduced as he dismissed his transformation, shocking the three of them as they realized the Special Rider was just a high school student. "Just uh, what's going on? I was trying to find a friend when suddenly I get sent here with no explanation."
"Wait, so you weren't told about the Rider Battle?" Kimura asked.
"Rider Battle…?" Sougo tilted his head in confusion. "Aren't Riders supposed to help each other?"
"See, that's what I'm saying!" Shinji called out, glad to see there was a like-minded person.
"S-So you won't hurt us?" Ishida asked.
"Of course not," Sougo answered. "Why is there even a Rider Battle anyway? Why are you all in this weird world?"
"We were forced here against our will because of some white hooded man," Kimura explained. "We were then told to become Riders and fight to the death. That our deepest and personal wish would be granted, but we only have four days or else something happens and there is no winner. We are on day three, when Special Riders would show up."
"There's also this monster rider too," Ishida explained. "We were scared it was Shinji at first because of the way his armor looked, plus it had his Rider name."
Now Sougo had something more to go on, "A Monster Rider with Ryuki's name?"
"Yeah, not sure why but he looks like my armored form a bit, got people really confused and thought I was just planted with everyone to lull them into a false sense of security," Shinji explained. "But then they saw me fighting him and well I managed to clear my name, with the two of them anyway."
"Did it have a visible date printed on it?" Sougo asked.
Shinji pondered a bit, "Now that you mention it, it did have the year 2002 on it, why do you ask?"
"Ah, then that's it, we're dealing with an Another Rider!" Sougo grinned before grabbing a blank watch out and handing it to Shinji. "Hold this, it will be important. So you've been a Rider for 16 years huh?"
"W-Wait what do you mean a Rider for 16 years?" Shinji managed to stammer out. "I only became a Rider two days ago!"
"Wait, what?" Sougo tilted his head, he was sure the date an Another Rider had was the year the Rider was active. So why was the date not labeled as 2018?
"We all became Riders two days ago," Kimura explained. "None of us even knew what a Rider was. Shinji seemed to have a vague idea, but he would have remembered something important like being one for 16 years."
"I'm… I'm just a bit of a writer, don't really have a big important life," Shinji admitted, though he glanced to the side and his voice grew lower when he said his possible occupation. "There's no way I've been a Rider for 16 years. Sorry."
"And this place just gets weirder and weirder huh…" Sougo trailed, before figuring out a way to gain some clarity. "I'm going to go get some fresh air. This is a bit different than I'm used to."
"Sure, take your time kid," Kimura replied.
Sougo gave a nod before rushing out of the warehouse, Shinji giving a sigh.
"Poor kid, I hate that he got wrapped up in all this," Shinji admitted.
"You know, you're going to have to…" Kimura trailed.
"I don't want to think about that," Shinji answered. "We shouldn't be slaughtering each other for a stupid wish."
"At least one of us should survive instead of all of us dying though," Kimura called out. "That's why I haven't been trying to get close; I've only chosen this alliance to get closer to winning, that's all."
"D-Do we really have to fight?" Ishida asked.
"Let's not focus on that for now, let's get some grub, there's no telling what might happen," Shinji said as he went to the food they had collected.
Geiz had slammed a knife into a table, having dug it in quite deeply when he heard Ren's Story, more specifically once the 'Monster Rider' was mentioned alongside the his brief encounters with it, "Time Jackers…" He hissed out.
Ren and Geiz were currently exchanging information over food, figuring they'd get their fill while they had the chance. Ren was concerned when he saw Geiz' reaction.
"How bad is this issue?" He asked the future rider.
"Really bad, especially given all the outside factors," Geiz admitted. "Even I'm not sure if I can crack this."
"But from the way you sounded, you are familiar with this right?" Ren asked. "There's a way to win without this fighting?"
"I'd ask why you're even participating but from what you told me it sounds like you didn't have a choice," Geiz replied. "So I take it you've just been scaring people off with your strength?"
"Pretty much, and defending myself against whatever Mirror Monsters there are," Ren replied. "Surprisingly I'm scarily effective."
"Sounds like you don't believe you're that strong," Geiz noted.
"I mean, I really shouldn't be," Ren admitted. "Yet I fight and use my powers like its second nature, like… I've done it before. So much that I'm probably the best fighter here."
"Are you sure you haven't been a Rider before?" Geiz asked.
"Positive…" Ren answered though even his answer was dripping with doubt.
"I see," Geiz said, already figuring something was off here with Riders only existing two days prior. Deciding to take a chance he held out a Blank Ridewatch. "Take this."
"What's this going to do?" Ren asked.
"Just insurance," Geiz admitted, while he wasn't sure if Ren/Knight was the Rider he was looking for, creating a Ridewatch of any kind at least took priority. And if it wasn't the Rider targeted, he'd just give it to Ruby.
"It won't hurt to hold onto it then," Ren said as he pocketed the blank watch.
"Exactly," Geiz replied, but thought a bit more on it. If an Another Rider was based off of any of the Riders it wouldn't make any sense. Zi-O was technically the current Rider and the Time Jackers always picked from the Riders prior to him. "That Monster Rider by the way, did it have a name and a date on it?"
"Uh, yeah," Ren confirmed. "I was a bit confused too since it held the same name as one of the other Riders. At first I thought they were the same, but I'm not sure anymore."
"What makes you say that?" Geiz asked.
"Just… something in my heart, telling me that the Rider wouldn't stoop as low to be a Monster like that," Ren admitted.
"Okay, what was the name?" Geiz asked.
Sougo was currently looking outside the warehouse that Shinji's team had turned into a hideout, "Woz!" He called out; hoping that Woz's strange habit for suddenly appearing would pay off, "Woz!"
"I am glad that you are calling upon me, my Overlord," Woz grinned as he stepped out from behind some crates. "How was it meeting one of your earlier predecessors, Kamen Rider Ryuki?" He asked. "He is even older than Faiz, but just by a year."
"Actually I was wondering about that," Sougo admitted. "They said the date was 2002 on Another Ryuki, and you just confirmed it by saying he's older than Takumi. So why does Shinji think he's only been a Rider since two days ago?"
"Well, he has no memory of his time as Ryuki, so I suppose that's to be expected," Woz explained. "Ryuki is an interesting existence, his story as it is written spans over multiple failed and reset worlds/timelines. A Rider Battle did happen in 2002, but it was then made so that it did not."
"But now someone's started the Rider Battle again," Sougo realized. "Do we have any idea who?"
"The Mirror World is a World that always exists, its nature left up to those who wish to take reign of fate," Woz explained. "Tracking down who is responsible, despite myself having a hunch, will not be easy. I can confirm though that it is not Another Ryuki who brought you all in."
"What about Tsukuyomi?" Sougo asked.
"She was not drawn into this world like you and Miss Rose were," Woz replied. "She is currently frantically searching for the two of you however."
"Woz, I don't know what went on between you, Tsukuyomi and Geiz," Sougo admitted. "But as your Overlord, I want you to try and work with her to get to the bottom of this. Something tells me that even if Another Ryuki is beaten, the guy pulling the strings might be worse."
"As much as I'd love to simply do so myself," Woz gave a bow. "I understand your wishes. I must say I do enjoy the tactician you are becoming though."
"Well, we have to think smart about this right?" Sougo asked rhetorically. "The Another Rider's are getting more complex. Especially since this one also has an outside source."
"An astute observation my Overlord, I shall leave you be to plot your next move," Woz grinned as he stepped backwards and disappeared behind the same crates he emerged from.
"I just hope Ruby's alright," Sougo stared out towards the busier section of the city.
Ruby and Miho both gave sighs of relief as they slowed to a stop, the two deciding to keep their Rider Forms active for just a bit longer as they caught their breath. They had managed to fight off and get away from any Mirror Monsters looking for a meal.
"You fight pretty well," Miho admitted.
"You too for someone only doing this for two days," Ruby complimented.
"I guess it has been two days… its felt longer though," Miho replied as she stared at her hand, it shaking slightly. "Sometimes I feel like I've done this before…"
"But you only just became a Rider right?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah, I just became a Rider… yet," Miho trailed.
"So what's with those things?" Ruby asked. "Your story mentioned a lot of different animals at the start."
"The ones that weren't contracted attacked," Miho explained. "They were our first trial, and we managed to beat them. These weird larva ones just kept showing up afterwards though."
"Weird," Ruby replied. She was ready to keep moving when she heard a ringing sound before seeing a glimpse nearby of a woman in white in one of the reflections, "Tsuki?!" She called before rushing over.
"Hey, wait!" Miho called as she ran after Ruby.
Ruby eventually made her way to a set of store windows, though to her surprise the woman in the reflection wasn't Tsukuyomi. The woman was dressed in a silky white long sleeved dress and a white shawl draped over her shoulders, long brown curled hair running down to her chest.
Ruby stared at the woman, noticing the pleading face. "What the…?"
"I've never seen this before," Miho admitted as she slowed to a stop.
'Stop him…' The woman opened her mouth but her words were almost like a whisper. Yet both Ruby and Miho heard her clearly.
"Stop him?" Ruby asked.
"Stop who?" Miho asked.
'Tatsuya… please, stop Tatsuya…'
"…who are you?" Ruby asked.
'Sara… please, please stop Tatsuya…' The woman called before her image began to shimmer and fade, a muffled voice starting to be heard.
"Hey wait," Miho called to the woman before perking up when she heard the new voice. "Huh?"
"Wait… can it be?" Ruby asked before hearing it again, gasping a bit as the woman's image was replaced by Tsukuyomi wandering in the reflection, "Tsukuyomi!" She called out, slamming on the window before cupping both her hands together before yelling, "Tsukuyomi!"
"Is she that friend of yours?" Miho asked.
"Yeah, I'm trying to call out to her," Ruby explained.
"I've tried that so many times with the people I briefly see pass by, I don't think she can hear us," Miho admitted in a bit of a somber tone. "I'm not sure who that woman was but she was different… I doubt we can get through."
"I have to keep trying," Ruby said before banging on the glass further, "TSUKUYOMI!"
Earth – Late October 2018:
To say Tsukuyomi was worried was understating it, in a bright flash of light both Sougo and Ruby were gone. And any attempts at contacting them or even Geiz had ended up in failure. She was currently wandering around the city, trying to find some sort of clue to find them.
'TSUKUYOMI!'
Tsukuyomi stopped when she swore she had heard Ruby's voice alongside a ringing sound, "Ruby?" She asked as she looked around, hearing her name called again she began to move towards the sound of Ruby's voice.
She slowly but surely found her way to the same set of shop windows that Ruby and Miho were at, gasping as she saw Ruby's Rider Form in the reflection. "…RUBY!"
Despite the two managing to meet however the two were at a loss when they realized despite being so close, they could barely hear each other. That was until Tsukuyomi got an idea, taking out her Faizphone X and calling Ruby.
To both her and Ruby's surprise, the call got through as Ruby quickly picked up the phone and held it up.
"Tsuki! I'm so glad that I got through to you!" Ruby called from the other side.
"I'm relieved to hear you're alright, what's going on?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Okay, this is going to take a bit but I'll try to run through it as fast as possible," Ruby said, explaining to Tsukuyomi what Miho had told her alongside what she had experienced. Before she ended in her likely assumption that an Another Rider was behind this but she didn't know which.
"This is… a lot," Tsukuyomi admitted. "What can I do to help? I'm not sure what Rider this could be."
"Me either," Ruby admitted, having no information or luck in regards to Ryuki, not even knowing his name. "But well, before I called you over I did find a few clues. See if you can find anything relating to the names Tatsuya and Sara."
"Tatsuya and Sara," Tsukuyomi gave a nod. "I'll see what I can do. What about Sougo?"
"I haven't seen him yet, I'll keep looking," Ruby answered before giving a visible wince, a sudden ringing sound coming through their phones. A bronze and golden phoenix helmet suddenly appeared on the both sides of the reflection.
"BEGONE!"
A sudden force erupted from the glass windows, Tsukuyomi screaming as she was suddenly pulled backwards before the glass exploded suddenly. She gave a gasp as she was suddenly caught, looking up and seeing to her surprise, "Woz?!"
"Sorry to grab you so suddenly Young Tsukuyomi," Woz apologized, having used his scarf to yank her away, a crowd starting to form at the glass window where she was originally at. "And as much as it pains me to say this… we must work together to deal with this Another Rider, my Overlord decree's it."
"You met with Sougo then?" Tsukuyomi asked as she backed away from Woz.
"Indeed, and I saw just before that interruption you made contact with Miss Rose," Woz gave a sly grin. "Let us make haste."
Mirror World – Late October 2018 (Rider War Day 3):
Ruby yelled out as golden feathers erupted from the window, it becoming duller as Tsukuyomi's image faded. Miho quickly braced Ruby but the two were sent skidding back.
"Tsuki!" Ruby called out but couldn't see or hear Tsukuyomi anymore.
"Just what was that voice?" Miho asked, it sounding very familiar to the hooded man's. And she did not like that she briefly saw a Rider helmet as well.
"Well, I did as much as I could," Ruby stood up straight. "I can only hope she'll find a way to help us."
"You think she can?" Miho asked.
"If she doesn't then I'm not sure what we can do," Ruby admitted, hoping the key to cracking this was with whatever connection Tatsuya and Sara had.
"We should…" Miho trailed before giving a glare as she saw a reflection in one of the non-dulled windows. "Too late…"
"Huh?" Ruby turned before seeing both Ishihashi and Tozuka in their Rider Forms. "Oh no…"
"Hey, that's a Special Rider, and Femme too," Ishihashi commented as he put a hand on his hip, chuckling. "So you ladies felt the need to team up huh? It won't help at all."
"We don't have to fight," Ruby said as she reached for a Ridewatch. "We just need to beat the Monster Rider."
"Beat him? No, that dude's too scary!" Tozuka exclaimed. "We'll beat you guys first and hope the others take care of him."
"Sorry Ruby but we're going to have to fight to survive," Miho drew her weapon that was her card reader.
"We're just disabling them," Ruby stated as she slotted Brave's watch into her Weapon Time slot, "Nothing further than that."
[BRAVE!]
[WEAPON TIME! GASHACON SWORD!]
Ruby quickly took hold of her weapon, switching it to its ice formation as she began to carefully approach the crab and tiger based Riders with Miho by her side.
The four Riders were unaware of the heavy breathing that was coming from one of the alleyways. The monstrous silhouette of Another Ryuki was watching the battle start up.
"You had two days of peace… now that the rest of the sheep are here it's time to slaughter you all…"
'Tatsuya please…' The woman appeared in a nearby reflection. 'Stop this…'
The Another Rider shook his head, giving a growl as he watched the fight play out.
Sougo had decided to return inside, noticing Shinji was looking out one of the windows by himself, with Ishida and Kimura in various spots eating whatever food they had by themselves.
"So if food exists here," Sougo said as he walked over to Shinji. "You all still just go for canned stuff?"
"Probably the safest thing, there was a buffet we found but two Riders made it extremely difficult," Shinji admitted. He then looked at Sougo and reached into a bag he was carrying before holding out a coffee. "Here, have some."
"Ah, thanks," Sougo admitted before noticing it was still pretty cold. "Huh."
"We were sort of on a cold drink and hot food run," Shinji admitted. "We got the cold drink part out of the way but couldn't do anything else since the Monsters attacked."
"Speaking of you all," Sougo admitted before glancing around. "You all don't seem like too much of a team."
"Yeah, well, some of us are only with each other for convenience," Shinji admitted. "Some just want to last as long as possible."
"But from what was said…" Sougo trailed, remembering how the game would end on four days. He looked as Shinji had given a nod. "I don't get it, why is it so hard for everyone to work together?"
"I suppose it's the nature of the battle," Shinji admitted. "Call me naïve but I have the same mindset as you, we should be working together to end this battle and not play into it. Something just bugs me about this whole situation…"
"Like… déjà vu?" Sougo asked, wondering if Shinji still had the feelings of the prior timelines before the reset.
"Yeah," Shinji admitted. "Still even if they are my enemies, and they don't want my help. I'll still help them because I don't want anyone to die. Especially against those vicious Mirror Monsters."
"Right, it just makes sense right? You want to protect everyone," Sougo gave a nod. The two didn't realize it, but a soft red glow began to come from Shinji's pocket.
It wouldn't be long before the two perked up at the sounds of fighting in the distance.
"Uh oh, Mirror Monsters?" Sougo asked.
Shinji though recognized the few announcements that rung out loud enough. "No… it's a Rider Battle."
"So run this by me again. What are we doing?" Ren asked as he and Geiz were making their way through the alleyways of the city, planning on using the narrow pathways to avoid any Mirror Monsters trying to hunt in open areas.
"We need to find Ryuki, so we need to search for him since you don't know where he is," Geiz explained. "The minute we find him I need to have a talk with him. Once that's over and if it succeeds we can take out Another Ryuki and end this damn fight."
"I'm not sure how that exactly works specifically," Ren admitted. "But I'm guessing you're sparing me the non-important details."
"Exactly," Geiz answered. "The important part is finding him though and hoping he hasn't already been killed. If he is then we're doomed."
"So everything hinges on him…" Ren trailed.
"Unfortunately," Geiz admitted. "If there was another way I would have taken it."
"Honestly I'm just glad there is a way," Ren replied. "So long as there's some way to end this battle I can actually be active and keep fighting. And even then, I wouldn't forgive myself if I just sat in defeat. There are people who are waiting for me in the outside world."
"I take it your family?" Geiz asked.
"No, a special someone actually, she's a nurse and well I can only imagine she's worried sick especially with the stress being in a hospital gives." Ren admitted with a soft smile.
"And the other people who are waiting?" Geiz added.
"Just one," Ren replied. "It's a man that I seem to have forgotten until now. But even then I think it's been so long that I don't even know if he knows who I am, even I'm not sure who he is. I hope to properly meet him one day, even if we both don't know that we've met before."
"Hmm," Geiz stayed quiet as he figured that this man might be part of the mystery of Ryuki and how this all dated back to 2002 despite no one remembering. He then perked up when he heard the familiar sounds of battle. "Someone's fighting."
"But which is it, Mirror Monsters, or Riders fighting Riders?" Ren pondered.
[TADDLE CRITICAL FINISH!]
The announcement suddenly broke Geiz out of his concentration as he realized the announcement had belonged to Kamen Rider Brave. Or rather, it was his weapon going off, and he knew only one person who would use Brave's Ridewatch.
"Wait, she's here too?!" Geiz questioned before immediately taking off.
"Hey, wait up!" Ren called out.
"No time, transform now," Geiz called as he readied his transformation.
"If you say so," Ren said as he held out his Advent Deck.
"Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!]
[SWORD VENT!]
A golden pointed staff was summoned from the sky, Miho grasping at it and twirling it around. She used its double bladed ends and length to keep Ishihashi and Tozuka from getting too close while Ruby set up her attack.
"Take this!" Ruby called out as she stabbed her weapon into the ground, having let the icy energy in the Gashacon Sword build up while Miho distracted the two.
Ice began to quickly run across the ground, Miho jumping back as patches of ice formed underneath the two Riders. Suddenly the ice began to spread, holding their feet in place before chunks of ice rapidly formed out of the ice path, the chunks managing to overlap and trap the two riders in a makeshift prison of ice.
"There we go, that should do the trick," Ruby sighed in relief as she stood up straight.
"That's a real nice trick," Miho admitted as she walked over, she then glanced towards the side and quickly shifted before holding Ruby tightly.
"Wait what-!" Ruby didn't have time to react as Miho cried out in pain, the two being sent tumbling by an explosive force.
Miho gasped out as he back began to smoke, getting off of Ruby as she laid on her back, "Damn…"
Ruby winced as she got up before quickly going over to her ally, "Miho!" She called before turning and seeing Another Ryuki entering the area. "…Another Rider!"
"Four of you, four of you all lined up, that will make five," Another Ryuki growled out as he drew his sword.
"…F-Five?" Ruby stuttered, not liking that tone of voice.
"Damn, did he already…" Miho began to pick herself up. "Ruby, we need to run now."
"But what about…" Ruby shifted her head over to Ishihashi and Tozuka who were struggling with all their might, the two already slowly but surely breaking out of their ice prison.
Of course this didn't go unnoticed by Another Ryuki who gave a chuckle, "Perfect… let me help you!" He said as he gathered fire in his dragon gauntlet's mouth. He then swung forward, unleashing a flurry of fireballs towards the two Riders.
Ishihashi and Tozuka both yelled out as they were broken out of the ice and sent tumbling backwards. The two were struck with fear, but instead of running away the two of them both yelled and got up, running towards Another Ryuki.
[STRIKE VENT!]
Tozuka was the first to act, spreading out his giant tiger claws before slamming them against Another Ryuki, forcing the Another Rider to block with both arms. "Yeah, keep it up!" Tozuka yelled out.
Ishihashi quickly jumped onto Tozuka's shoulder using it to hop over the Another Rider and land behind him. He had also brought out his crab claw gauntlet, getting Another Ryuki's waist between the pincers before clamping down on it, sparks flying.
Another Ryuki yelled out at the attack, his arms slumping as they were struck by Tozuka's claws, the Mirror Rider trying to keep the Another Rider from lifting his arms.
"We've got you now, you prick!" Ishihashi yelled out. "We'll thank you for freeing us by killing you!"
Another Ryuki continued to yell out, sparks flying before he began to chuckle. His chuckle soon turned into full out laughter causing the two Riders to let up slightly on their attacks.
"What's so-" Tozuka stopped mid-sentence, coughing and gasping.
Ruby gave a light shriek of horror as Another Ryuki had brought out a sword and impaled Tozuka straight through the stomach despite his armor.
"Hey, Tozuka… Tozuka!" Ishihashi called out as he noticed his ally slump forward.
'…Tatsuya!'
"Two…" Another Ryuki said as he kicked Tozuka away, removing his blade from it. Despite sparks flying, and the pain that had to have occurred, the Another Rider began turning himself around in the grip of pincers he found himself in.
Ishihashi could only stare in shock as Another Ryuki turned to face him. He reeled back his free arm for a punch only to suddenly feel extreme heat and a lot of pain. He yelled out as his entire body was engulfed in flames thanks to the Another Rider's gauntlet.
The crab based Rider continued to scream and scream before dropping to his knees, the fire fading as he fell flat onto his face.
"Three," Another Ryuki counted.
'Please stop…'
Ruby stood up straight and backed up holding her hands to her mouth as she saw the Mirror Riders transformations shatter.
Ishihashi tried to pick himself up, instead falling onto his back. Tozuka groaned out as he fell onto his side, a visible stab wound on his stomach. The two however felt a sudden stinging sensation all around them. Much to the horror of Ruby and Miho, they saw the two Riders clothes and skin start to dissolve into particles.
The two former Riders seemed to be aware of their bodies dissolving however, Ishihashi and Tozuka breathing heavily, both panicking before screaming out as they dissolved fully.
"What a horrible way to go…" Miho trailed, now she really wanted to escape. She managed to fully stand. "Ruby, we need to go now." She said, but once she heard a thud she immediately turned.
Ruby had fallen into a sitting position, her arms keeping her from fully falling flat on her back. She trembled as she saw what had just occurred. But it wasn't because of how brutal Another Ryuki was, or even that he killed the two.
It was how Scissors and Tiger had died.
Her vision shifted as an older memory was brought to the forefront. It was a dark night and she was in the ruins of what seemed to be a tower, having just arrived at the top. She saw a woman in a red dress and raven black hair alongside a teenage girl with red hair and a ponytail, wearing a brown and gold Grecian styled armor. The woman had a hand outstretched to the girl's head, the girl flashing an orange coloration before dissolving away.
"Ruby," Miho called out as she saw the younger girl staring before quickly looking at Another Ryuki. The Another Rider was beginning to approach. She looked back at Ruby who was unmoving. "…Ruby!"
A voice called from the distance, "Ruby!"
Miho's head shot up when she saw Geiz and Ren, the two rushing towards them.
"More players…" Another Ryuki chuckled as he saw Geiz and Ren enter.
"Wait, you're…" Ren slowed as he saw Miho.
"Femme, yes, no need to worry I've been helping Ruby since she got here," Miho replied. "But she just suddenly froze up."
Geiz quickly crouched near and grabbed Ruby's arm. "Ruby what's wrong? We need to-what?" He paused as he saw the digital katakana on Ruby's Roze transformation shimmer and shake, suddenly turning silver.
Ruby began to whisper, "No… no, no…"
Geiz tilted his head, "Ruby?"
"NOOOOOOOOOO!"
Ruby suddenly yelled out in a panic as the katakana on the Roze helmet began to glow and shine brighter and brighter, engulfing the entire area in a bright white light.
Shinji was about to turn and ignore the sounds of fighting, ready to tell Sougo to do the same when the two had to barely shield their eyes from the display of light that Ruby had caused. Kimura and Ishida were both startled by the light, the two staring and wondering what had happened.
Sougo though could feel something was wrong, something felt different about that light. What's worse was he felt as though things might get worse if he didn't get involved. "Shinji, we need to go there, now." He said as he began to rush towards the exit.
Shinji was a bit taken aback by Sougo's sudden desire and quickly ran after him, "Hey, don't you think that's too dangerous?!"
Sougo stopped, turning and giving a determined stare, "I can't just sit down knowing people are getting slaughtered like animals, if the Riders don't do it to themselves then that Another Rider will!" He took a deep breath before calming down. "You said you didn't want anyone to die right? Well, are you going to just react to everything or are you actually going to do something?"
Shinji couldn't help but stare at Sougo, getting an entirely different feeling from the young Rider. He gripped his fists, giving a light gasp as he could have sworn he saw what seemed like old memories, but he sure as heck didn't remember them. He held his head a bit before shaking it, giving a nod.
"You're right… I don't want anyone to die." He answered.
"You know, that's a nice rousing speech and all, but you two can't be serious right?" Kimura asked as he walked over. "This is a battle for survival and you literally want to walk over to where you saw a flashbang go off?"
"If we do go, we should go together right?" Ishida asked. "I mean strength in numbers, right?"
"There is no 'we' in this discussion," Kimura protested. "You all are going to be idiots, throwing away your lives for some Special Rider."
"What are you getting at?" Shinji asked.
"It's just a trick for us to lower our guard." Kimura pointed towards Sougo. "Don't you think it's convenient he showed up to help us, and now he wants us all to go to where is likely a trap?!"
"I don't think it's a trick," Shinji replied, noticing the concern on Sougo's face prior alongside his more serious demeanor. "He's serious about wanting to help others."
"And what if he is?" Kimura nearly shouted. "You two are too naïve to see the true situation here! We're in a survival game! There is no helping others, only killing and death to survive!"
Ishida couldn't help but shrink a bit, not liking that he was ignored and more so not liking Kimura's attitude. Yet he was too cowardly to even admit that opinion of his.
"Maybe we are naïve!" Shinji called out. "But that doesn't mean we're just going to abandon our ideals for some stupid battle!"
"Yeah, like I said my dream is to be a King someday, and being a king means to help everyone you can," Sougo gave a nod. "I'm not going to just abandon people when they need my help, especially if it might be my friends who also are stuck here!"
Shinji looked at Sougo in surprise before giving a light smile, "You know, despite the King thing, you're a good kid." He admitted before he suddenly felt a burning sensation. "Hot, hot…!" He called out as he suddenly reached into his pocket, wincing as he began to juggle the blank Ridewatch between his hands. Only it wasn't blank anymore, it was red with a grey dial and button, Ryuki's helmet on it.
"Ah, the Ryuki Watch!" Sougo grinned before holding his hands out. "Shinji, pass!"
"You got it!" Shinji called out as he threw the Ridewatch at Sougo who caught it. "That was too hot!"
Sougo stared at the Ryuki Ridewatch, gripping it firmly, "I think we can do this." He said before pocketing it and rushing out the door to the exit. He then took out his Bike Ridewatch, bringing out the Ride Striker. He got on before looking over to see Shinji approach, "Shinji, let's go!"
"Alright," Shinji called out before getting on the rear end of the seat, holding on as Sougo took off.
Kimura and Ishida both ran out of the exit but were too late, the two staring at the two Riders as they rode off.
"Damn idiots…" Kimura muttered before growling out. "They're just going to bring in more trouble. This alliance is off!"
"W-Wait you're just going to leave!" Ishida called out as he grabbed Kimura only to get shoved onto the ground.
"Yeah, I'm going to see if there are actually people who won't throw their lives away," Kimura called out. "I don't need that Shinji kid, or that King kid, and I don't need a coward like you." He said before walking off.
Ishida stayed where he was trembling, slowly getting up and looking at where Sougo and Shinji had taken off to. He was ready to follow before suddenly hearing sounds of crashing objects nearby.
Earth – Late October 2018:
Tsukuyomi and Woz were currently at a bench nearby where she had talked with Ruby, the two having found a perfect place off to the side while everyone was gathered at where the window had shattered. Woz had chosen to unveil the nature of Ryuki's existence to her alongside the mention of Another Ryuki.
"Whichever Time Jacker did this… they were smart," Tsukuyomi admitted. "If we don't do something soon then we'll be finished."
"That is why I hope the clues that Ms. Rose gave you do not end up giving us a dead end." Woz admitted.
"Trust me when I say that I'm working as fast as I can," Tsukuyomi admitted as she searched through her tablet. Putting in the names Tatsuya and Sara could only give her so much information. So she had to guess and fill in some of the blanks herself. She figured that any event involving the two would have had to take place in Japan. And if this was a recent Rider resurgence she had to cut the date down to 2018 and 2018 alone.
However, it wasn't just the Mirror World that had gotten a taste of the shining light that came from Ruby. The reflective surfaces in the real world reacted as well, shining a brief white light that caused everyone nearby to scream.
Tsukuyomi and Woz had both covered their eyes out of reflex, and thankfully aside from just people panicking, nothing had happened.
"Just what is going on in there?" Woz questioned.
"Nothing good," Tsukuyomi replied, also not liking the fact that they were still near the area where she talked to Ruby. Meaning if Ruby didn't move then this was likely something happening nearby her. "I think… I've got it!"
"You do, do you?" Woz asked.
"Yes," Tsukuyomi gave a nod as she pulled up two profiles, one holding a less disheveled version of the man who became Another Ryuki and of the mysterious woman in white. "According to the data files, the man's full name is Tatsuya Kano and he does share a connection to this Sara." She said as she began looking through the news and recoded documents about the event that involved the two.
"What kind of connection?" Woz asked.
"Well they…" Tsukuyomi's eyes caught the tail end of the article though, quickly zooming in and giving a gasp. "Oh no, this isn't good!" She suddenly put two and two together, the time limit on the Rider Battle, and the disturbing ending she just read. "We need to find a way to contact them soon!"
"Why is that Young Tsukuyomi?" Woz asked, wondering what had caused her near desperate state.
"We're almost out of time," Tsukuyomi answered with a grave expression.
Mirror World – Late October 2018 (Rider War Day 3):
As the light faded from the area, everything seemed to be fine. Ruby gave a light moan, the Katakana shifting back to its original color before she passed out. Since he was nearby, Geiz had braced and caught her before laying her down on his lap. It wouldn't be long before her transformation dismissed itself as well.
"Just what was that?" Geiz asked, he was sure it wasn't what Ruby called a Semblance because he knew that hers was her speed technique.
"I'm… not sure…" Miho admitted with a wince.
"Whatever it was… he's not happy about it," Ren pointed as the two other Riders looked in that direction.
Another Ryuki gasped out as he staggered back, smoke coming from his armor as if the white light from Ruby's visor had burned him. He panted just a bit as he composed himself, despite some damage being done, he was still standing.
"Make way!" A voice called as Sougo suddenly rode in with Shinji, the two riding past Another Ryuki and sending him to the ground.
"Whoa!" Shinji yelled as the Ride Striker skidded to a stop.
"There we go," Sougo quickly dismounted before seeing Another Ryuki. "There he is, now…" He then realized that there were more people in the area and turned, giving a light gasp. "Geiz, Ruby!" He rushed over.
"You got stuck here too?" Geiz questioned. He recalled Swartz' words about how the new plan would work out for him. He shook his head. "Listen I don't care what you have to say right now. But she's out cold."
"Okay," Sougo said, a bit put off that Geiz didn't want to talk but figured Ruby was more important. "What happened?"
"She just froze up and yelled out," Miho spoke up.
"The lettering on her helmet changed colors," Geiz specified. "It went from Red to Silver. Then a bright shine came from it before she passed out."
"Silver…" Sougo muttered before remembering the first feature he recalled of Ruby's. "Silver Eyes…"
Ren and Shinji didn't say anything, instead the two had taken to staring at each other for an extend period of time. Though Shinji eventually broke off the stare, thinking it was awkward, especially since he didn't have a helmet on.
Another Ryuki yelled out, "So there are six of you here now! Fine, I'll slaughter you all and bring it up to nine!"
"Nine?" Sougo asked, before his face paled at the realization of why Ruby would freeze and yell. "You didn't…"
"You won't do anything to them," Shinji called out as he took out his Advent Deck, summoning his belt before slotting it in. "Henshin!"
In an instant the grey images of his armor spun into him and fully formed it.
"Let's go!" Another Ryuki drew his sword as he rushed forward.
"Alright," Shinji drew out a card and activated its effect.
[SWORD VENT!]
He held up his hand and drew out a curved blade that was the end of Dragreders tail, rushing in and slashing once he got close.
The Another Rider and his real Counterpart clashed weapons, the space around the two shimmering like an unstable puddle as they clashed weapons. The two then kicked each other away and staggered back.
Sougo seemed to notice this, wondering if it had to do with both being the same Rider. He then looked at the Ryuki Watch and gave a nod, "Alright." He was ready to finish this when the entire Mirror World itself shook.
"What was that?" Geiz asked.
"Nothing good," Ren said before turning and immediately drawing his Darkvisor and inserting a card from his deck into it.
[SWORD VENT!]
He went into a dual wield stance as he gripped a new lance-like sword, getting ready. Miho got up and stood at the ready as well, drawing out a card to prepare.
All around the area the group in were a horde Sheerghost Mirror Monsters began to make their way towards them. It wasn't long before another rumble occurred, the Sheerghosts suddenly falling face first and going limp.
"What is…" Sougo wasn't sure what was going on, but he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. "What is going on?"
(Insert Start: Go! Now! ~Alive A life neo~ by Rica Matsumoto)
"Kamen Riders"
The same booming voice called as nearby the man dressed in brown and clouded by a white cloth walked forward before stopping. "There has been an amendment to the rules. Time is running short. Your time limit is now Three Hours. Bring this fight closer to an end, or you will all be slaughtered."
"Three Hours?" Another Ryuki questioned before yelling out, hunching over as he stared towards the grouping of six Riders. "Six in a few minutes doesn't sound too bad."
"Whoa, hold on three hours?!" Shinji questioned.
"I'm not taking this crap, who are you even?!" Ren asked.
"What do you even want?" Miho asked.
The man only faded away at their questions.
Strange cracking and crushing sounds could now be heard coming from the Sheerghosts, their bodies tensing up as they were now crouching in bowed states on their arms and legs.
"Continue to fight Kamen Riders, or die."
It wasn't long before webbing began to form off of their hard stone-like bodies, the monsters looking less like monsters and more like cocoons. And that was certainly the case as their backs began to convulse and grow, splitting apart as a more streamlined blue armored form began to slowly rise out.
"Not good…" Sougo started as he stared at the Mirror Monster's that were emerging from their former shells.
"Not good at all," Geiz hissed out.
"These are…" Shinji stared in disbelief, brief flashes of memories regarding these creatures entering his head as he put a hand up to it.
The Sheerghosts were no more, now replaced by the blue jagged armored, black helmed red dotted eyed presence of the Raydragoon's.
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"This isn't what Sara would want you know!"
"This plan bodes poorly."
"Therefore, the game will continue."
"I'm not ready to come back yet."
"Now this is interesting..."
Chapter 13: Flames of Revolution 2018
Author's Note: Probably one of the lengthier chapters, but that's a given since I'm dealing with Ryuki and a full blown Rider War. Thankfully Rider Time Ryuki managed to give me just enough 'fodder' Riders to utilize as minor character additions since they had new people take up most of the old suits alongside older actors returning. In the end I was only short one Rider and eventually I decided that Femme would be a good choice. I figured I'd give her a spot in the limelight once more.
Plus picking the Riders this way was to avoid Kamen Rider Ouja showing up in this, mostly because I'm not that mean. I'd rather not have our heroes deal with that Rider just yet. Especially since Another Ryuki is our current resident psychopathic killer.
Other than that, the parts towards the end regarding Ruby didn't come up until I was doing research for the chapters admittedly. There's a sort of twisted part as an author where you start to think "Ah how can I traumatize the characters today?" that activated when I remembered how Mirror Riders would die. So I figured seeing two people explicitly die in front of her in a similar fashion to what happened at the end of Volume 3 would trigger something.
Now the big question I can imagine some would have is why the Silver Eyes activated too. Since it's basically stated that they only activate in the presence of Grimm. The reason is that I plan on expanding the Silver Eyes lore/function just a tad bit for the purposes of this story. Anyway that's all for me, I'll see you guys next time for the conclusion of this arc.