Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 15 – Two in One 2018
Woz hummed as he walked through a white void, soon coming across a particular book. The white and red thorn decorated book that held the title 'Rose'. It appeared as though he was in the Gaia Library, taking the book and staring at the lock. He attempted to force it open only for the book to burst into petals.
"Dear me, and I was hoping that information could be of use," Woz said before noticing he was being watched. "Ah yes, forgive me…" He then opened his book, showing the image of Oma ZI-O standing next to his statue. "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."
Instead of opening his book and looking at the static filled images he instead looked off to the side. There was another floating book that was a bright red with gold decorating. He then began to approach it as he narrated.
"The Current Case, my Overlord and his companions head to the city of Futo in order to investigate the rise of Another W," Woz narrated. "And what shall continue as a standard investigation… will become so much more…" He grimaced when he grabbed the book to look at it. "I do hope that I have not read too far ahead this time."
Earth – Japan's Chuo Alps, January 28th 2000
"So this is where it all begins," Tid remarked as he walked through the mountainous region, a specific target on his mind. Of course he was not just going on blind luck as he had a Blank Ridewatch out, a faint red glow pulsing off of it. It would grow stronger and beat faster the closer he got, so he used it like a makeshift compass of sorts.
'Now that I've given you the rundown of what you will be doing… a warning. There is but one Another Rider we shall not attempt to create unless we have a solid plan. Because Riders can stay intact, we can't risk being caught off guard by the real deal.'
'What Rider is that?'
"Swartz you fool…" Tid smiled as he continued to walk forward, "To be so easily scared by this power… but I've already got a plan in mind. It will be a long one coming, but I will attain the power to erase Zi-O and his allies."
'His name is…'
The pulsing glow would turn into a more constant one, the glow growing brighter as seconds passed once Tid reached his destination. It seemed to be a set of ancient ruins that had been uncovered via an excavation.
'…Kuuga'
Earth – Futo City, Early November 2018:
Philip was still in a bit of a stunned state, surprised to see the Cyclone Dopant again given the last time they had seen it. He was now very worried about what this meant regarding their foes in regards to their equipment.
"Ah… Philip!" Shotaro shouted.
"What is it Shotaro?" Philip asked.
"Dismiss your transformation and let's transform into my W," Shotaro realized. "Sougo and Tsukuyomi are fighting a giant castle dragon thing and I need to help!"
"Wait, they're what?!" Ruby asked.
"Calm down Shotaro," Philip said as he dismissed his transformation, Fang hopping off of him as he held out the Cyclone Gaia Memory. He paused before giving a chuckle, "He should really watch how he wakes up."
"I uh… I'm confused." Ruby admitted before the Fang Memory jumped on her head. "Hey!" She tried grabbing at it only for it to jump off and back onto Philip's shoulder.
"The W Driver allows our minds to be connected," Philip explained before rubbing his head. "Your friends seem to be alright given he just bumped his head into theirs."
"Oh… jeez," Ruby held her head, realizing that must have probably hurt a lot. She then heard ringing and pulled out her Faizphone X, answering it. "Hello?"
"Ruby, are you alright?" Tsukuyomi asked. "Shotaro mentioned you guys ran into Another W."
"Yeah," Ruby replied. "We beat him but a Dopant showed up to take him away."
Philip stared lost in thought at where the Dopant and Another Rider had disappeared from before suddenly noticing something, breaking away from Ruby to investigate.
"Shotaro says we should regroup at the Agency," Tsukuyomi replied. "See if we can figure out something."
"We haven't gotten much on our end though," Ruby admitted.
"I wouldn't say that," Philip called out as he held up a pen. "I think we've obtained a clue."
"Henshin!" Geiz called out.
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!]
Geiz immediately went into the fray against the Luna and Masquerade Dopants, transforming and punching at whatever Masquerade got in his way.
Ryu went over to his motorcycle, soon pulling out a large silver bladed engine-like sword that seemed so heavy he was barely able to lift it. He lifted it however and managed to swing at a few Masquerades that got too close, sending them flying back.
"The hell kind of weapon is that?" Geiz questioned as he brought out his axe. Even without his Rider Form he was sure that his axe wasn't that heavy.
"Just watch," Ryu said as he slammed the sword, tip first into the ground. He pulled out buckle that held motorcycle handles, a memory slot in the center, putting it on he took out a red Memory with an A on it.
[ACCEL!]
"Hen… shin!"
Slotting it into the center slot he revved the handle on his right twice, several Gaia Memori projections surrounding him in a ring as red electricity began forming around his body. The armor pieces appeared out of thin air and latched together forming his armor.
Geiz gave a light gasp as he realized this was the same figure from last night. A red bodysuit with silver accented armor on the legs and arms, bulkier armor on the chest and shoulders with three sets of tires, one full one on his back and half of one on each leg. His helmet was now discernible as it was red with a wide blue visor, a silver frame forming an A shape.
"Now… let's get shaking," Ryu called out as he removed his Engine Blade from the ground with easy.
"Uh… yeah," Geiz said, wondering just how strong Ryu's suit enhancements were.
"I'll just overwhelm you two!" Luna called out as he began summoning more Masquerades.
"How about no," Geiz said as he began easily cutting through the Masquerade Dopants with ease.
Ryu rushed forward, spinning around rapidly and swinging his sword with ease. He swung in wide arcs and ended up knocking soon exploding grunts into those that were still standing, creating a chain reaction.
"No way, no way!" Luna called out.
"Memory Break," Ryu said as he gripped the left handle of his Driver. "Take the lead, Rookie."
"Don't call me a rookie," Geiz replied as he activated his finisher.
[FINISH TIME! TIME BURST!]
Geiz jumped up, the Hiragana from his mask and for the kick on the sole of his boot formed an energy trail towards Luna. The Dopant summoned more Masquerade Dopants, though Geiz launched forward, shooting through the trail and destroying all of them as he kicked through Luna.
[ACCEL! MAXIMUM DRIVE!]
Ryu had revved his Driver up, gathering heat and combusting into flames as he sped forward. He then jumped and spun, performing a jumping spinning heel kick. His strike had managed to slam straight into the Luna Dopant.
Geiz began to stand as Ryu spun and landed in a crouching position, both of their backs facing the Luna Dopant as he exploded.
"Despair is your… goal," Ryu stated, turning when both he and Geiz could hear the audible screeching of truck tires.
"Damn it, they got away," Geiz hissed out.
"Not exactly," Ryu said as he began to approach the smoking body, a yellow ribcage Gaia Memory being shattered, part of the label being intact and showing that it was a Dopant Luna Memory. His eyes narrowed when he saw part of a white suit. "Foundation X…"
"Foundation X?" Geiz asked.
"We were at a loss, despite splitting up we had barely gotten into our search when we were confronted and distracted. Not only did Another W escape, but we've yet to create the W Ridewatch. And we're still no closer at trying to figure out this mystery as to who is even doing this, and what they even want. Truly this is going to be my toughest case, one where I will have to pull all my resources together to think of even making a few significant steps. But regardless, as a detective…"
Ruby stared at Shotaro fully narrating his typing down before looking at Philip, "So why the attack names?"
"So we synchronize better at full power," Philip explained. "It's a good way to coordinate, but also Shotaro thinks they sound cool."
"Speaking of Shotaro," Tsukuyomi looked towards the left half of W.
"What are you doing?" Sougo asked, hovering over his senior.
"Gah, don't scare me like that!" Shotaro raised his hands up, managing to shoo Sougo away from him before rubbing his forehead, a bandage slapped on it. Sougo also had one as well, the two having bumped heads immediately when the detective had woken up.
"Sorry, sorry," Sougo said. "But no seriously."
"I'm writing this case," Shotaro explained coolly. "It is what we detectives do."
"But what's with this old school setup?" Sougo asked. "I think I saw my uncle fix one of these sometime before."
"It's because he wants to play up the detective motif," Philip answered as he sat on the bed nearby. "Shotaro…"
"Just give me a second," Shotaro said, typing in a few more words while self narrating before finishing it up. "What is it, partner?"
"I have a clue by who might be behind this," Philip said before holding up a pen.
"Uh Philip… that's a pen," Tsukuyomi pointed out.
Shotaro put his hand against his face, "What did I tell you about picking up random stuff on the street?"
"Not just any pen," Philip said with a smile as he turned it, it having the logo for Lovely Corp on it.
"Eh?" Shotaro looked at the pen. "What does Lovely Corp have to do with this?"
Ruby thought about it for a while before snapping her fingers.
'When the city cries… the Kamen Rider will arrive.'
'Some upstart security firm, thinks that they can provide good security for the citizens here.'
'Kamen Rider… you won't be this city's protector for much longer.'
'A new era is coming old-timers, my era!'
"That would explain the way Another W spoke a bit," Ruby admitted. "But how exactly would they be able to get a hold of this sort of technology besides the Anotherwatch?"
"That's the hard part, not everyone is privy to Gaia Memories and I've been cracking down hard on those devices for a while now," Shotaro replied.
"I feel like we're missing some clues," Philip replied. "A proper lookup can't happen without it."
"Hmm, well for now you three should get to your hotel room and get comfortable," Shotaro suggested. "Leave the detective work for me, and I'll call you if I have any updates."
"Sounds good," Tsukuyomi gave a nod. "Let's go."
"Right," Ruby and Sougo nodded before following after her to the exit.
"We may have to ask for his help," Philip suggested.
"At this point yeah," Shotaro admitted.
Geiz was feeling a bit more relaxed, but he was still confused by this whole thing. He was even more confused when he was allowed to view the interrogation when the culprit had woken up. They had seemingly gotten nowhere with the man in the hour they had done the interrogation.
Of course what didn't help matters was how Ryu's direct subordinates were, for lack of a better word, bumbling. Needless to say, Ryu seemed to figure out what was going on quite quickly, having asked to be alone with Geiz in his office. The subordinates were a bit skeptical, mostly in regards to Ryu figuring it out.
"They're right though, I got nothing out of that interrogation but a lunatic," Geiz replied.
"Normal officers won't know about this but I do," Ryu answered. "Foundation X, Black Market Dealers that deal in Rider technology, they funded a hefty amount of projects that ended up trying to hurt this city. And they never abandoned their ambitions."
"Are they that tough to crack down?" Geiz asked.
"They're hard to fully exterminate, deal them a heavy blow and they suddenly go silent for years," Ryu explained. "However… that man is not with Foundation X." He said as he stared at the evidence that was bagged up and placed on one of the tables in the office.
"What makes you say that?" Geiz asked.
"Just some intuition," Ryu replied. "We're going to need to collaborate with a friend of mine. But I feel I should pick up where I left off."
"Another lesson about being a Rider," Geiz guessed.
"Correct, it's about hatred," Ryu replied as he stared directly at Geiz, a more serious look on his face. "You have too much hatred."
"You're telling me that after everything I've told you?" Geiz asked.
"I mean of course you would have hatred," Ryu continued, ignoring the question. "From what little you've told me, it sounds like your life up until now has been hell. But hatred runs back to what I was talking about earlier."
"Protecting others," Geiz replied.
"Exactly, a heart full of hatred will only cloud your mind and judgment," Ryu explained. "You'll do things you'll regret, and you'll become bitter and alone in the end. If you fight with a heart to protect, then you'll end up coming out much better off."
"How can I even do that though?" Geiz asked. "Let go of my hate?"
"It's a long hard road, but I'm sure you can do it," Ryu smiled. "Just remember my words, and think on them when you fight."
Geiz crossed his arms and gave a nod in thought, it dawning on him that his outburst and leaving had likely hurt both Ruby and Tsukuyomi. He wasn't thinking about Sougo but in the back of his mind he did have the thought that Sougo was also hurt by his actions. "Fighting to protect…" His eye suddenly caught a red glow.
"It's done," Ryu said as he took out the Accel Ridewatch, tossing it over to Geiz.
Geiz quickly caught it, looking it over. It had a black base with a red dial and button, having Accel's mask on it. "What's our next move?"
"I need to make a call," Ryu said.
The trip to the hotel for Ruby, Sougo, and Tsukuyomi ended up being fairly pleasant. They were able to take in the sights a bit more, and the attacks seemed to have ceased for the day. Surprisingly Tsukuyomi had managed to score them a pretty nice hotel room, not the fanciest, but it was better than nothing.
Sougo was currently having a crisis, "Ah, what do we even get for lunch? Do we order take out? Get room service?"
"I mean we have infinite Yen right?" Ruby asked absentmindedly as she lied on her bed, glad that she had packed her handheld console since the moments of peace between this Another Rider case were fairly dull. "We can probably order something good."
"I'd rather not try to," Tsukuyomi admitted. "I'm already starting to feel bad enough that I'm forging documents and getting so much money amassed out of nothing."
"Please Tsukuyomi," Sougo begged as he got on his knees before showing her the room service menu.
"Maybe we should put this to a vote," Tsukuyomi said before noticing there was no response, she looked to Ruby. "Ruby, did you hear me?"
"Huh? Oh yeah," Ruby said as she paused her game, looking a bit distracted, "Whatever you say."
"Ruby…" Tsukuyomi started. "Is something wrong?"
"Just, thinking about things," Ruby admitted. "Philip tried to do a look up on me, but didn't seem to find anything on me."
"Well you have only been a resident of this world for a year," Tsukuyomi reminded.
"Yeah, it just felt weird the way he responded though," Ruby admitted, having some suspicions but gave Philip the benefit of the doubt. "I'm not giving up though."
"Oh right, how's going to Sento been working out?" Sougo asked. "I know you've been going for more than your bike."
"It's been… eventful to say the least," Ruby answered. "He sort of let me in on his secret and after I told him about mine, it makes sense as to why our 2017 didn't really have a Rider in it."
"So how exactly has he been helping you?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"He's been studying me, my Aura and Semblance," Ruby replied as she scooted herself further off her bed, to where her back was hanging off the edge. "So far nothing, but given he has experience with alternate worlds, I'm willing to go to him for help."
"Wait, he has experience with alternate worlds?" Sougo asked.
"Yeah that audio stuff he does with Ryuga?" Ruby asked. "Turns out they're keeping records of their prior adventures since, it's complicated, but they sort of came from another world? It's hard to explain, too sciency."
"Huh, well that would explain that giant wall in that 2017 we went to given well… we never had that," Sougo replied.
"It's nice to see that you're at least trying to get some progress," Tsukuyomi smiled.
"Yeah," Ruby said, giving a grunt as she lifted herself up and switched to sitting on the bed. "I do want to talk to Philip more, keep in touch maybe too since I think he could help me too."
Sougo heard his phone ring and pulled it out, the caller ID being the one he had recently put for Shotaro, "Speaking of…" He trailed before answering. "Hello?"
"Sougo, its Shotaro."
"Ah, did you find a lead?" Sougo asked.
"Yeah, you guys hungry? I know a good café run by some friends."
"We were actually trying to decide what to eat just now," Sougo admitted. "So that works out."
"Good, I'll give you the address. If you get lost don't hesitate to call. See ya."
"See ya," Sougo ended the call. "Okay, we've got a meeting, and at a café Shotaro recommended too!"
"Ooh, I could use a good cup of coffee," Ruby admitted.
"Do you mean coffee, or sugar with a tiny amount of coffee in it?" Tsukuyomi questioned.
"He he…" Ruby gave a nervous chuckle. "Uh… Sougo help."
"Hey, I'm good with my coffee habits, thank you." Sougo raised his hands as he turned the other way.
After making sure they were prepped and ready to go, Ruby, Sougo and Tsukuyomi took off towards the café that Shotaro mentioned. Eventually they came across a quaint homey building labeled Shirogane Snack & Café. It was a small café with a counter and a seating area one would step up into that faced said counter. Shotaro and by extension, those related to the Narumi Detective Agency, would come fairly often. The owner and master was Frank Shirogane while his granddaughter Lily acted as the waitress.
"Ooh, how did you find this place?" Sougo asked as he was sitting near Shotaro and Philip.
"Master and his granddaughter were clients a way back," Shotaro admitted though didn't tell the whole story. "He makes a good blend, and is good at presentation too."
Ruby though was staring at an empty cup of coffee that the owner had just set down, a cloth being draped over it. Tsukuyomi couldn't help but look between Ruby and Frank, wondering just what was going on.
"This is today's blend." Frank said with a smile before removing it, the cup suddenly filled with coffee once it was uncovered. "There!"
Ruby's eyes widened, "No way!"
"Impossible…" Tsukuyomi trailed.
Shotaro couldn't help but clap, he had seen it done a million times by this point but he was always fascinated by the magical tricks that Frank had always pulled out. "It's just what you'd expect from Master!"
"How thrilling," Philip smiled, enjoying the looks on everyone's faces.
"Whoa, that's really cool magic," Sougo called out.
"Sougo, you know you met Wizard right?" Tsukuyomi turned towards him.
"Yeah but he never did cool tricks like that," Sougo answered.
"Illusions… it's amazing!" Shotaro called out.
"Grandpa always seems to get new customers with his tricks," Lily smiled as she came to give everyone the food they ordered.
"If we weren't another city away we'd totally visit every day," Ruby admitted, having added only a little bit of sugar due to Tsukuyomi's consistent gaze. She took a sip, "Mmm, this is good!"
"So did you find something out?" Sougo asked his detective friend.
"Yeah, but we're waiting for our other ally to get here," Shotaro admitted.
As a result the five of them went to work on eating their orders and getting filled up, all of them waiting for the next two arrivals. When they were about finished with their food they soon heard the door open, Ryu entering with Akiko.
"I see you've been busy," Ryu remarked.
"Eh? Three kids I haven't met?" Akiko asked.
Geiz entered next only for his eyes to widen in surprise, "…You three?!"
Tsukuyomi blinked a few times, "Geiz?"
"Wait, what?!" Ruby had to set her coffee down before she drank it, glad she didn't have a sip at the moment. "Why are you in Futo?!"
"I could ask the same thing!" Geiz answered.
"Eh, they all know each other?!" Akiko questioned. "I didn't hear about this!"
"Akiko," Shotaro gave a wave. "How's Haruna?"
"Oh she's doing fine," Akiko smiled. "She's in school right now so I decided to tag along with Ryu for a bit to meet up, but I wasn't expecting this."
"Good, but now that Ryu's here we can see who's right," Shotaro said.
"Who's right?" Akiko asked.
"Yeah, Philip and I are butting heads at who's really behind this case," Shotaro replied. "It's neck and neck."
Geiz meanwhile walked over to Sougo, the tension in the air as the two stared at each other. "Zi-O…"
"Geiz," Sougo replied. "I was wondering…"
"I'm still not giving up on you become an evil Overlord," Geiz answered firmly.
"Why you…" Akiko gave a glare towards Geiz, pulling out a green slipper with the katakana for 'Stop Fighting!' before smacking Geiz in the back of his head.
Geiz yelped and held his head before turning with a glare, "What was that for?!"
"Hey, Akiko, don't just do that to just anyone!" Shotaro chided only to get smacked in the face. "Ow!"
"All of you just stop fighting!" Akiko called out. "You're all Kamen Riders or something right? Well, Riders work together so put your heads together and solve this case!"
Tsukuyomi could only blink a bit as she realized that this woman was the owner of the slipper at the Detective Agency.
Geiz sighed before looking over at Sougo, "We'll discuss what happens once the case is over. For now, I'm on your side again."
"That's fine by me Geiz," Sougo smiled.
"Okay good," Akiko said before turning towards Shotaro who flinched. "And?!"
"Now, now chief, calm down," Ryu smiled as he put his arm around his wife, "We're just about to do that."
"So what did you find?" Shotaro asked.
"A man using a Dopant Luna Memory," Ryu said as he pulled out a picture of the evidence.
"That would explain the Cyclone Dopant," Philip realized.
"But we know there's an Another Rider behind this too," Shotaro answered. "I think it's Foundation X."
"Sort of," Ryu answered. "The Luna Dopant didn't work for them, because he worked for this company." He said, holding up a picture of more evidence, this one being Lovely Corp related uniform equipment.
"That would add to my theory," Philip drew out the pen he had taken.
"That being said, a connection to the Foundation isn't too farfetched." Ryu answered.
"He kept raving about how great the Foundation was as he was interrogated," Geiz explained.
"Hmm, two corporations possibly tightly linked…" Philip trailed. "I might have enough for a lookup."
"Let's go for it then," Shotaro said.
"Right," Philip soon assumed his stance, standing up as the lights darkened a light shining from beneath his body.
Philip was once again in the blank space of the Gaia Library, "Our starting point will be, Lovely Corp." He said as the bookshelves began sliding into view all around him.
'First Keyword: Foundation X' Shotaro said.
Philip was surprised when the amount of bookshelves were cut down by a significant amount, "This is good. However we've still got a fair amount."
'Second Keyword: Funding' Ryu said, much to the confusion of several people.
"Let's go for it then," Philip said as he entered the second Keyword, the bookshelves were dwindling but there were still too many. "I need something better…"
'Well, Foundation X is this mysterious organization… and Lovely Corp popped up recently right?' Ruby asked. 'Third Keyword: Alias!'
'Hey I'm the detective!' Shotaro shouted.
"Actually she may be onto something, let's go, Alias," Philip said as he held out his arms, before him all of the books shelves clearing out of the way and leaving a few books that soon moved out of the way. He then grabbed a black book with pink rimming that held the name, 'Another Double' on it. Philip gave a chuckle.
"I've got it," Philip explained. "It seems as though Lovely Corp and Foundation X are more interconnected than we realize."
"Ooh, ooh, what did it say? What did it say?!" Ruby asked, excited to hear the wealth of information that Philip had available for them.
"…Seriously?" Shotaro asked. "So then… we were both right?"
"We were." Philip smiled. "We both had two pieces of the puzzle in our hands. It just took a bunch of young upstarts to help us with that."
"Well what can I say… we really are a two in one Rider," Shotaro replied, everyone giving a chuckle when suddenly a green and purple flash occurred. Shotaro drew out the Blank Ridewatch to see it transform in color. It had a purple base with a green dial and button, the normal W's face on it, that being the green and black Kamen Rider of Futo. "Huh."
"This was earned a bit differently," Ruby admitted.
"But we have our Watches," Geiz said as he took out Accel's. "Now what's our info and what's the plan?"
"We'll strike tomorrow, it'll be the most opportune time, plus it gives our guests to enjoy Futo further," Philip suggested. "As for our culprit…"
Later that evening
Earth – Futo City, Early November 2018:
"You nearly had him out there," Finis mentioned as they walked over to Ora, the two taking in the night sky as both were on a building overlooking Futo Tower. "I must say I'm impressed."
"That stupid Zi-O though," Ora huffed as she crossed her arms. "Do you really think Another W is going to help us in the long run?"
"I'd say, yes." Finis answered as they looked up into the night sky. "It will very much help us out."
"So aside from the cryptic answers… what's your stake in all of this?" Ora asked.
"I simply wish to see a new King rule, same as you," Finis replied. "If it means the Kamen Riders are also reverted to what they're meant to be, then that would be wonderful."
"Revert?" Ora asked.
"Kamen Riders are weapons, tools to be used," Finis explained. "They were always supposed to be, but that all changed a long time ago…"
"Now they're pains in the butts we can't erase for some reason," Ora huffed.
"Erasing them through our normal means yes, the rules of time have changed drastically," Finis agreed. "So much so that Tid and I were brought in, but I don't think he'll last much longer. He's growing too impatient."
"You think he might do something drastic?" Ora asked.
"No, something stupid," Finis replied before taking off.
Ora could only stare at her senior member before shaking her head, there was something about Finis that felt… off. But she couldn't quite place it and she didn't want to bug Swartz with it. She was also not about to ask Uhr for his opinion so she took off as well.
Finis however stopped when they could no longer sense Ora's presence and smirked, "Something stupid indeed…"
The Next Day
Earth – Futo City, Early November 2018:
Two individuals walked through the city streets as early in the morning that they could. It was the couple that was selling cookies the day prior. The man with short slicked back hair and the woman with puffy brown hair glanced at each other before staring straight forward as they kept their pace. Eventually their walk led them to an unassuming warehouse that held the Lovely Corp logo on it. They were both in white suits, the two having pink aprons alongside oven mitts. The two went over to a pad that was near the door, both getting close as their eyes were scanned, the door unlocking and letting them in.
They entered the dimly lit warehouse, a gigantic tarp at the very end that seemed to be covering something human sized. The two gave smiles as they reached the tarp, ready to pull off their mitts when a voice spoke up.
"You know it's a shame, your cookies were really good."
The two turned, surprised when the lights slightly turned on to reveal Sougo having been leaning on a crate while hidden in the shadows off to the side. Of course more lights began to turn on revealing that Geiz and Ruby were sitting on the crates near him. On the other side were Shotaro, Philip and Ryu.
"You had us real good yesterday, you and your backup, Another W," Shotaro said as he shifted his fedora before pointing towards the two. "But it ends today."
The man gave a chuckle before holding up his hands, "Well then. I suppose you've managed to corner me. No matter, I shall use my powers to blow you all away."
"Actually…" Philip started.
It wasn't long before a black and blue mechanical bat with a camera shutter body shot into view, it flapping around the couple. The two raised their hands to shoo it away as the Taka Watchroid came in, lighting itself on fire before rushing past the two's mitts.
The two gave yelps as they had to discard their mitts before they could burn fully, throwing them to the ground and stomping the flames out. It wasn't long before they realized what had happened, the man having a bandaged hand in clear view.
Tsukuyomi and Akiko came into view between both groups, both gadgets returning to their respective owners.
"And there we go," Geiz called out. "I see your hand hasn't healed from my attack, Cyclone Dopant."
"I found it a bit odd that you were wearing oven mitts, especially since the tray wasn't hot," Sougo admitted. "But we managed to put it together once we found out you were involved."
"Genki Hirata, the very high up almost second president of Lovely Corp." Philip gestured towards the man before looking at the woman. "Chizu Hirata, the president of Lovely Corp and wife to Genki. I've done quite a lot of research on you."
"How did you even figure it was us?" Chizu asked. "I know Luna had failed but he was so much of a raving lunatic that you would have been thrown off."
"Because I'm not one who simply accepts one answer," Ryu called out sternly. "The white suits are a good throw off, alongside praising Foundation X, but he still had plenty of Lovely Corp additions to his outfit."
"Though Lovely Corp is your second company and the one you wanted to start new with," Shotaro replied before pointing forward. "Isn't that right, Black-Tech!"
Genki's eyes widened in shock, "H-How did you even find that name out?"
"You idiot…" Chizu stared when she realized Genki confirmed they were involved.
"My partner is very thorough," Shotaro answered. "It was hard though, after all, finding a connection between Lovely Corp and Foundation X is hard. That is if it were just those two, Foundation X has many aliases and your company prior to the change had interacted quite a bit."
"Very heavily," Philip corrected as Ryu soon brought out several documents regarding funds, payments, etc.
"Black-Tech was very involved in helping out Foundation X throughout the 2010's when it had lost most of its footing due to the Lem Kannagi incident," Ryu explained. "Through persistent buying out of companies and funds, Black-Tech was able to help Foundation X and their main scientist rise up in 2017 with the Enigma Incident."
"However, several Kamen Rider's put a stop to that," Geiz added. "But, there were a lot of spare parts and devices left over. So they were spread all throughout various Futo Storage Facilities as well as ones in other cities. They were the storage facilities that you would hit up this past week."
"As Foundation X made their move, you destroyed your old company but kept most of the resources, rebranding it to Lovely Corp and making it a security firm based on Foundation X technology you had stolen," Philip added. "The first of which were top secret Dopant Memories of W's refined Gaia Memories."
"But given Foundation X equipment isn't easy to come by you had to charge insane prices at first," Shotaro replied. "At least until you could get the means to strike out big. But that failed when you gathered our attention by trying to kill us. Still, this all points to one thing, you all are trying to replace Foundation X through your security company!" He declared as he pointed towards the two.
"Okay, now that was cool," Ruby conceded.
"See," Sougo said as he elbowed his friend playfully. The two were brought out of their thoughts when Chizu and Genki started laughing.
"We don't want to replace Foundation X!" Chizu laughed out as she clapped a bit, the lights turning on further to reveal the back wall of the warehouse.
There were various pictures of different Foundation X members plastered as posters. The three biggest were Jun Kazu the Utopia Dopant, Lem Kannagi the Super GingaOh, and Kaisei Mogami the Right Kaiser of Bikaiser.
In various glass cases were various old equipment and tools that were clearly unable to be used but propped up to display instead. Some items just odd like a singular uniform that was by itself, or a briefcase that held the Foundation's logo on it.
"We love Foundation X!" Genki smiled as he put his hands as best he could in a heart shape. "We love them so much!"
Ruby could only stare, "… I feel like we walked into something different here."
"What the hell am I even looking at?" Shotaro asked.
"We want to share our love of Foundation X with everyone! Thus we must acquire all of their equipment!" Chizu called out. "And with our efforts Foundation X will come out of the shadows and rule once more!"
"No matter how much we tried, all the funding we gave to keep them going, they never appreciated it," Genki admitted. "We wanted to be included, but now we can be! If we have all their equipment and show how successful we are with it, then we'll be accepted!"
"These people are absolutely insane," Geiz answered.
"I didn't hear anything about this!" Akiko shouted.
"But given you meddling detectives want to mess with our work…" Chizu sneered before grabbing the tarp and throwing it off. It revealed the Guardian Robots that Sento would fight against, though their chest and faceplates held the signature X of the Foundation. Most seemed incomplete however and they didn't look like they'd be active anytime soon.
"Let's go lovely workers! Let's make boss proud!" Genki shouted as suddenly from out of the shadows three suited people wearing rabbit mascot heads jumped into view. The trio took off their heads to reveal two women and one man. Chizu smiled as they got in position, Genki taking out the Cyclone Dopant Memory, the two women taking out Heat and Trigger respectively, while the man took out Metal.
"Let's go," Chizu's eyes glowed green and purple each.
"…Dopant Change!"
[W!]
[CYCLONE!]
[HEAT!]
[TRIGGER!]
[METAL!]
Before the Riders stood the twisted versions of W's Gaia Memories, the Cyclone, Heat, Trigger and Metal Dopants with Another W standing in the center.
"The Wonderful Breeze," Genki called out, making a heart shape with his hands, "Cyclone Dopant!"
"The Silent Sniper," Trigger held a hand out before closing it, "Trigger Dopant."
"The Hardened Staff," Metal slammed his metal staff into the ground, "Metal Dopant!"
"The Scorching Fighter," Heat crossed her arms, "Heat Dopant!"
"The Lovely Commander," Chizu declared as she pointed forward, her voice less distorted which allowed everyone to hear her true tone, "Another W!"
"Lovely Squadron, Dopantenger!"
The Riders alongside Akiko and Tsukuyomi could only stare at their opponents as they did the entire roll call and poses.
"I feel like we're violating something…" Ruby admitted.
"I feel like you're right," Shotaro remarked before fixing his hat. "Everyone form up!"
"I am not doing that," Geiz gave a glare.
"It's too ridiculous," Ryu agreed.
"When I mean form up I mean get in position!" Shotaro called out in annoyance as the Riders all lined up.
Akiko and Tsukuyomi quickly got ready, getting behind Shotaro and Philip as the duo prepared their W Drivers and Gaia Memories. This time Philip put in the Cyclone Memory into his slot which disappeared and went into Shotaro's Driver. Shotaro pushed it down before slotting his Joker Memory in.
Ryu prepared his Accel Memory while Sougo, Geiz and Ruby prepped their Drivers and Watches.
"Hen… shin!"
"Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME!]
[KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!]
[KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!]
[KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]
[ACCEL!]
[CYCLONE, JOKER!]
A small cyclone appeared around Shotaro, transforming him into Kamen Rider W. He was similar to Kamen Rider Joker in design and shape though he now had a strip of silver down the middle, the right half having green and gold to match Another W's base form.
Tsukuyomi had gone over and assumed Shotaro was going to fall again but her eyes widened when he didn't and transformed instead. She looked over to Akiko who had caught Philip's unconscious body and gave a smile.
"Don't worry you get used to it," Akiko said as she began dragging Philip's body away, Tsukuyomi rushing to help her.
"Now… count up your sins!"
"Let's get shaking," Ryu called.
Sougo looked between everyone before nodding, "I think we can do this."
"Alright you faker," Shotaro said as he rushed forward towards Another W, he gasped as he was stopped by Metal's staff. He tried to stop the Dopant from pushing him but he gave a yell as he was lifted up and smacked away, being smashed into a few crates.
"You guys just fight, I've got her," Ruby said as she quickly used Petal Burst to land on a stack of boxes, aiming at Trigger. Trigger turned and aimed at Ruby, the two fired on each other and canceled out each other's blasts.
"Zi-O it's all you, take care of it!" Geiz called out as he rushed forward, Heat running towards him. The two clasped hands as they tried to push each other away.
"We'll take out the trash," Ryu said as he began to move forward, planning on going for Genki. "Genki Hirata, you and your wife are under arrest!"
"Someone like you can't hope catch me!" Genki called out, using the Cyclone Dopants power to launch himself upwards once Ryu came in with a slash.
"Now then," Sougo rushed forward, drawing his sword out and slashing at Another W who blocked with her arm. "You really should have just opened a bakery."
"That's adorable that you love our cookies, but I can't have you in my way sweetie," Chizu admitted in a sweet voice before unleashing a torrent of wind, blowing Sougo away.
Tsukuyomi and Akiko peaked out from behind some of the crates, Tsukuyomi figuring it might be better to keep Philip safe than get involved. Especially since this was an equal five on five match.
Shotaro grunted as he was thrown backwards by the Metal Dopant, "This guy is still so tough." He hissed out. He switched out his Left Memory's despite the complaint.
[CYCLONE, METAL!]
Shotaro's half became silver with light grey rimming, a collapsible staff known as the Metal Shaft on his back. He quickly drew and extended it, blocking against Metal's staff with it.
"We're now even," Philip responded.
"Then let's finish this guy and help out Sougo," Shotaro said as he continued to spin and slam his staff against Metal's. The two were evenly matched when it came to their precision using their weapons. Despite this Metal's strength was winning through, slowly but surely beating Shotaro back, "Or maybe not."
"Perhaps it's my turn to assist further."
[HEAT, METAL!]
W's right side soon turned red with orange rimming, the added strength behind Heat compared to Cyclone allowing Shotaro to easily keep Metal at bay now. "Not talkative huh, well that's fine." Shotaro said as he got into a close lock with Metal, shifting his staff and slamming a fire filled foot into the Dopant's stomach.
"Gah, that burns!" Metal gasped out.
"Ah so he can speak," Philip mused.
"Not for long," Shotaro said as he slotted the Metal Memory into his weapon.
[METAL MAXIMUM DRIVE!]
"Metal Branding!" The two in one Kamen Rider called out, fire erupting from both ends of the Metal Shaft before he slid forward, slamming it into the Metal Dopant.
The Dopant yelled out as he exploded and slammed into a pile of boxes. The Dopant lost his transformation as the Metal Dopant Memory ejected itself before breaking.
Geiz gasped out as he was kicked into the wall by the Heat Dopant, her foot slamming into his stomach and combusting into flames.
"You want heat? Fine," Geiz gritted out as he readied an Armor Time.
[ARMOR TIME! PLEASE! WIZARD!]
The magic circle floated down from above, Geiz gritting as he managed to push forward and off the wall as the armor came down and folded over him. He then unleashed a splash of water against Heat, soaking her and forcing her back.
"What?" Heat questioned as she tried to heat up, managing to slowly burn off the water. "Where did that water even come from?"
"It's magic," Geiz responded before immediately activating his Finisher. "For my next act your Dopant Form will disappear."
[FINISH TIME! WIZARD!]
"What's that even mean?" Heat asked as she tried to heat herself up to counterattack.
[STRIKE TIME BURST!]
Summoning a magic circle between him and the Dopant, Geiz kicked through it, his boot enlarging as it exited the magic circle. He slammed it straight into the Heat Dopant, sending her hurtling into the Foundation X Guardian Robots and causing a large explosion.
The Heat Dopant gasped out as she staggered from the explosion, reverting to her human form as her Dopant Memory ejected itself and shattered.
Geiz took a few steps forward however when he noticed a few Guardians had activated from that explosion, the small grouping wandering off. "Uh oh…"
Ryu gave a gasp and yell as he was thrown against the ceiling of the warehouse, punching a hole through it and landing on the roof.
"What an uncultured man, thinking that a motorcycle is as fast as the wind," Genki laughed. "All vehicles submit to the winds power."
"Then I've got an idea on how to shut you up," Ryu said as he removed his Accel Memory.
"We've been around Foundation X long enough to know all about you," Genki explained. "Trial won't be fast enough."
"I don't need speed, I need mobility," Ryu answered as he took out a silver device before slotting it on top of his Accel Memory.
[ACCEL UPGRADE!]
"Let's break through," Ryu slotted his upgraded Memory in before revving up his Driver's engine. Yellow Gaia Memory projections spiraled around him before slamming down, shattering his red armor and revealing bright yellow-gold armor.
[BOOSTER!]
His bulky red armor was now replaced by silver thin plated armor, the back resembling a jet turbine as the tires on his legs were also now jet boosters. The rest of the armor held various openings that also acted as such. His visor was now a layered grey vent instead of his headlight styled blue visor.
(Insert Start: Leave all Behind by Wilma-Sidr)
Genki gasped out as he quickly jumped back, using the wind to carry him.
"No you don't!" Ryu called out as he jumped, using the booster on his back to send him flying forward. The various boosters on his body began activating as he closed in. He performed a side kick, slamming his foot into Genki who barely braced.
"No way," Genki fell towards the roof before managing to release a burst of wind to keep from dropping. "Take this, and this, and this!" He yelled out as he began launching green razor slashes of wind towards Ryu.
Ryu chuckled before using his booster to dodge against them, keeping close to the roof to allow kicking off points. This allowed him to easily dodged against Genki's attacks. He then drew his sword before continuing to dodge, this time lifting his body up higher as he began strafing around Genki.
"Can't you understand? Foundation X is eternal! Even if we are defeated, it will rise again!" Genki yelled out as he began wrapping himself in wind as a protective shield.
"So long as there are Kamen Riders, Foundation X will always fall!" Ryu called out as he opened his Engine Blade up and slotted in a new Memory.
[ENGINE MAXIMUM DRIVE!]
Ryu gave a yell as he boosted himself towards the ground, landing performing an electrified running slash through Genki.
Genki gasped out as he was cut through despite his shielding, "No my goals, Foundation X please for-gah!" He suddenly exploded, soon falling out without his transformation, the Dopant Memory ejecting and breaking.
"Despair is your goal!" Ryu announced.
"You'll pay for hitting me yesterday girl!" Trigger hissed out as she began blasting as fast as she could against Ruby.
Ruby yelped as she dodged and rolled, firing at Trigger in retaliation. Both were currently ducking behind cover, rolling and shooting at each other.
"Sorry but that's what you get for shooting my friends!" Ruby called out, using Petal Burst to launch up into the air. She aimed and shot at Trigger's head, sparks flying and sending the Dopant staggering.
"Yeah well this is payback for my arm!" Trigger called out, holding her head and shooting several times.
Ruby quickly dodged out of the way, suddenly yelping when a crate was blasted near her, sending her tumbling into a few more, "Gah!"
"We end this," Trigger began shooting at crates all around Ruby, debris flying and hitting the Rider to keep her from immediately moving.
Ruby gritted her teeth as she took out the Accel Ridewatch, gripping it tightly as she readied it.
"It's over," Trigger got closer and aimed her rifle at the fallen Ruby.
"You're right." Ruby said before disappearing into a blur, digital rose petals shooting past Trigger.
Trigger gasped as she turned, being face to face with the barrel of Crescent Rose.
"Accel Thorn Blast!" Ruby called out.
[ACCEL SASUSASU SHOOT!]
A red blast of energy immediately struck Trigger, she gasped out as the red blast had marked a giant red 'A' shape on her. She yelled out as she exploded, losing her transformation with the Trigger Dopant Memory ejecting and breaking.
(Insert End)
Ruby sighed in relief as she lowered her weapon. She was ready to approach the fallen Dopant before gasping as she was struck from the side by several bullets. Wincing she turned to see what had hit her.
The assailants were several of the accidentally activated but damaged Guardian robots. Before they could approach they were suddenly sliced through and destroyed by an black and orange glowing blur.
The blur faded to reveal a thin armored black suited Rider, his distinct feature being that he wore an orange rimmed short sleeved parka. The parka was currently covering the back of his head, turning his head he revealed half of his face, having a silver wispy horn with a bright orange mask, two black round eyes staring at her. Oddly enough he didn't shift enough for her to see the Driver.
Ruby was in shock at her current savior, so much so that she couldn't immediately pin which Rider this was. "Who are…?"
"You're a clever kid, but a warning," The Rider answered. "This isn't the real battle, be prepared."
"Wait, what do you mean?" Ruby asked only for the Rider to vanish into thin air. "Wait!" She called and ran over only to find no trace of him. "…Who are you?"
"Hey, are you alright?" A voice called as Geiz soon came into view before noticing the busted machine parts. "Huh, looks like they didn't catch you off guard."
"Uh, yeah, finished up my Dopant before they showed up and then took care of them," Ruby lied, figuring that she could explain what happened later.
Sougo yelled out as he was thrown outside, Chizu having used her Another Rider's Luna ability to extend her arm and toss him about.
"Sorry sweetie but you aren't getting in my way," Chizu hissed out as she reverted to her Cyclone Joker state, jumping forward with a burst of wind and kicking at Sougo.
Sougo yelped as he dodged out of the way, switching his weapon from its sword to gun mode and firing at Chizu. He managed to get a few hits in but the Another Rider soon released a burst of wind from her body, deflecting the rest.
[JOKER MAXIMUM DRIVE!]
"Joker Extreme!" Shotaro and Philip called out. They had exited the warehouse and switched back to Cyclone Joker. The wind carried them up high, the Rider's body splitting down the middle as the halves descended against Chizu.
Chizu however chuckled, suddenly splitting her body as both halves spun away, causing the Rider's attack to slam straight into the ground. Chizu then spun both her halves back into themselves, recompleting her body. "Nice try but no dice…"
"You guys alright?" Sougo asked as he hurried over.
"Yeah, but why aren't you using the Watch? We worked really hard you know," Shotaro mentioned.
"Sorry, just wanted to warm up a bit before going for the finish," Sougo admitted before taking out the W Ridewatch.
[DOUBLE!]
"Armor Time!"
[ARMOR TIME!]
As Sougo rotated the Driver and to everyone's surprise, only two pieces formed for the Armor Time. One was green with gold highlights, it having a near humanoid appearance with a full cyclone rider-like face. The second was black with purple highlights, having the same humanoid appearance with a full joker rider-like face. Both stood, posing as if they were preparing Gaia Memory's to use.
[CYCLONE! JOKER! DOUBLE!]
These were the Memory Droids, Cyclone and Joker. The two configured into two half armor pieces, latching onto Sougo's body. The left half was black and purple with a large Joker Memory sticking out of his shoulder, the right half being green and gold, a large Cyclone Memory sticking out of his shoulder.
Sougo gained the usual Armor Time Helmet, having the split face of W but with the eyes replaced with the Katakana for 'Double'.
"REJOICE!"
Sougo and Shotaro yelped as they turned towards the side to see Woz step up onto a stray crate.
"Ah I was wondering when you'd get here!" Sougo called out.
"Who the heck is he?!" Shotaro called out.
"He is heir to the power of all Riders! The ruler of time, traveling beyond time and space to reign over past and future… his name is Kamen Rider Zi-O: W Armor! And in this moment he has obtained the powers of two in one!"
(Insert Start: Cyclone Effect by Labor Day)
"How thrilling," Philip admitted.
"Ooh, that was kind of different too!" Sougo admitted before looking back towards Woz only to tilt his head when he saw Woz was gone. He decided to clear his throat before raising his hand. "Now, why don't you confess your sins…?" He held out an open palm.
"That wasn't even close to what he said earlier…" Chizu nearly fell.
"It's count up your sins! Count up your sins!" Shotaro nearly yelled out, Philip taking control of his half to keep Shotaro's movements in line.
"Was that off?" Sougo asked before shaking his head. "Oh well, let's just go!" He rushed forward with a punch from his left fist.
Chizu punched with her left fist as well, the two's fists slamming into each other as they were surrounded in purple energy.
Sougo pushed forward first however, giving a yell as his punch broke through. He then spun around, kicking out with his right leg. A green whirlwind surrounded his boot as it slammed into Chizu, sending her tumbling backwards. He quickly jumped again, spinning and creating a whirlwind in front of him as he kicked out with his left foot, a purple flame erupting as it turned it into a flaming purple tornado.
Chizu unleashed a powerful wind to try and combat the new combination attack only to yell out as she was struck regardless, the attack hitting her a few times before sending her tumbling back.
"Let's finish this Hard-Boiled style," Sougo called out as he activated his finisher.
[FINISH TIME! DOUBLE!]
"Philip, we need to make sure she doesn't split," Shotaro called, already figuring out a way to help Sougo out.
"I've got it then." Philip said as his half took out the Luna Memory, Shotaro's taking out the Trigger.
[LUNA, TRIGGER!]
The two assumed their Luna Trigger form, a blue handheld gun, the Trigger Magnum forming on the left side's chest. Shotaro removed it before slotting in the Trigger Memory and closing the Trigger Magnum, initiating its Maximum Mode.
[TRIGGER MAXIMUM DRIVE!]
"Trigger Full Burst!" The two in one Rider called as he gripped the weapon with both hands, pressing the trigger and releasing a flurry of curving yellow and blue blasts.
Chizu however was just focused on Sougo who began to use a green whirlwind to lift himself up.
"Not so fast you brat," Chizu sneered as she split her body, ready spin away when she gasped out. The yellow and blue blasts from the Trigger Full Burst had slammed into her, causing both halves to stumble into each other.
[MAXIMUM TIME BREAK!]
The W Armor unfolded back into the Memory Droids, Sougo spread both of his legs out as Memory Droids attached to both feet in kicking positions. Their shape had for the kick had ended up creating a 'W' shape. A glowing 'W' of green and purple formed as Sougo launched downwards.
Sougo and the Memory Droids kicked against Another W, an explosive burst sending both halves flying backwards. The trio jumped back, the Memory Droids reforming the W Armor as Sougo landed.
The two halves recombined before landing on the ground, Chizu yelling out as her Another Rider form sparked before exploding. Chizu was thrown out of the blast, her Anotherwatch clattering beside her before shattering.
(Insert End)
"Awright," Sougo held up his hand, flicking his wrist in a similar manner to Shotaro.
"That was way off…" Shotaro admitted as he walked over but he patted Sougo on the back. "But you're a good kid."
An hour after the battle, Ryu was currently with the Futo Police Department. The officers were working on apprehending all of the members involved as well as collecting and marking all evidence. And given the entire warehouse was filled with evidence, it would take a while.
Shotaro, Philip and Akiko were off to the side watching. Sougo, Geiz, Ruby and Tsukuyomi joined them as they watched the Case of Another W slowly wrap up before their eyes.
"And thus another case has been successfully solved," Shotaro remarked before looking at the others. "I've got to thank you for your help."
"Oh it's no problem," Sougo waved it off. "We just did what we do best."
"Kicking Another Rider butt," Ruby cheered with a grin.
"I'm still wondering why Another W though…" Tsukuyomi admitted, something wasn't adding up. "Given what we went through the prior times."
"My guess is that they wanted to see if the city gap would be enough to deter us," Geiz replied. "Too bad for them, it wasn't enough."
"But why Lovely Corp's President?" Ruby asked.
"Likely they knew of Lovely Corp's presence as Black-Tech and wanted Another W purely because of her access to Foundation X Technology," Geiz answered.
"So uh, Geiz…" Sougo started.
"I'll be coming back with you all," Geiz replied. "But I need to do something when we get into town."
"Just remember my husband's lesson young man," Akiko said before taking out her signature slipper.
"U-Uh, right, right," Geiz stammered in agreement, not wanting to get slapped again.
"Ah right, before you do go," Philip said as he took out his phone, exchanging information with Ruby. "There we go, while we may be cities apart, we can still be pen pals of sorts."
"That sounds great," Ruby smiled. "I'm kind of hoping maybe one day we can do a successful lookup of me."
"That would certainly be thrilling," Philip admitted with a spark of excitement in his eyes. He had to admit he had found the Rose Book such a certainly unique challenge that he wanted to figure out how to unlock it. But he'd need Ruby's help for that. "Do take care."
"Don't be shy next time you're in Futo, I'll take you to some great places you hear," Shotaro answered.
"That'd be nice," Sougo admitted.
"We should get going though, it'll be a bit of a trip back," Tsukuyomi realized. "Plus we did this under the guise of a school trip; we need to be back at a reasonable time."
"That is also true," Sougo realized. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's head back to Tokyo!"
"I am fraught with anxiety…" Woz held his book close to him as he walked along the edge of a building, one foot in front of the other. "While my Overlord has proven strong and while Ms. Rose has proven a powerful ally… their toughest challenge now awaits them. I was a fool for not realizing earlier… but here we are now. I can only hope that because of the erratic and ever changing winds of history that things do work out in their favor…"
He then stared out into the city of Tokyo, looking at one place in particular. "Otherwise this may be the beginning of the end as we know it."
Ruby and Sougo were laughing a bit as they were trying to outrace each other. There was surprisingly little traffic heading back into Tokyo from Futo. Geiz meanwhile was more annoyed than anything, having agreed to take Tsukuyomi on his Ride Striker.
"Without your speed unlocked you can't beat me!" Sougo called out.
"We'll see about that!" Ruby answered as she began to speed up.
As they drove an invisible force seemed to rock through the area, though only Tsukuyomi and Geiz seemed to notice immediately. The sky above them began to darken as sudden waves of clouds began to cast overhead.
"What was that…?" Tsukuyomi asked.
Geiz didn't like the feeling of it however, "Hold on." He said as he revved his Ride Striker, taking off and passing both Ruby and Sougo. He continued to speed further and further before his eyes widened, slowing down before skidding to a stop. "This is…"
Ruby and Sougo were the next to arrive, the two stopping near Geiz.
"Hey Geiz what's wrong?" Sougo asked. "You just sped up and then stopped."
"Yeah, are you…?" Ruby trailed when she noticed what Geiz was looking at, pausing as her face dropped in horror. "What even... is this?"
"Huh?" Sougo looked at Ruby before looking at where everyone was looking before yelling out, "EH?!"
The clouds began to swirl around further and further, growing darker and darker as the group stared at the sight before them. The city of Tokyo, or rather, it was the city of Tokyo, plenty of buildings in ruins, and various architecture changed around as if they didn't exist. Screams could be heard in the distance as a large layered tower could be seen towering above all in the center. At the top was a glowing red orb that held a strange black symbol, a symbol that was well known back in the early 2000's.
The symbol of Kuuga…
"Just what's going on?" Ruby asked before wincing slightly, on instinct she quickly drew out her personal Ridewatch, noticing it glitch up slightly. She pulled out Accel's since it was the most recent, it began to glitch up too, but to her shock everything about it turned to a stone grey coloration. She quickly began checking the others only to find the same result. "Guys, the Watches!"
"Huh?" Sougo quickly took his out, the same glitch up occurring to his personal watch as he gave a yell when he saw W's Watch, it being the same stone grey coloration.
"What the hell?" Geiz asked as he took out his, the same occurrence happening to his own like the others while the other Rider Watches he had were also the same dull stone coloration.
"Guys, what's happening?" Ruby asked.
Geiz however turned towards the entrance of the city, "Nothing good…"
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"It all starts at the beginning, or at least, the second beginning."
"Why are you Riders appearing?"
"I'm not sure if they're going to make it this time."
"Unidentified Lifeform #4."
"The future is counting on you."
Chapter 16: Resurrection 2000
Author's Note:
Well, well, isn't this quite the note to leave off on huh? Yeah when I said I was doing my own take on Heisei Generations Forever I meant this. Since our heroes are getting thrown directly into the Kuuga Arc with the odds not looking good.
Of course let's talk a bit about W's portion, the original idea was for this to be Foudation X before it shifted to it being a company that funded them. But then I thought what if I just had the villains be insane fans of Foundation X to just throw people off? Their inspiration is a taken a bit from Makoto Aizen of Ultraman R/B. Also, the Dopant versions of W's memories are based on Fuuto PI. Because there's an actual Joker Dopant Memory featured in the Manga, so I figured if there was a Dopant variation for Joker it wouldn't be a stretch for there to be variations of the others.
I will say with the way I changed the schedule it ended up working nicely in how Kuuga's Arc will fall on May when this story first began a year ago. I only ended up realizing that more recently as we started approaching this set of arcs. Either way, not much to say aside from thanks for reading and I'll see you guys next time.