Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 22 – A Roze's Homecoming
"Such an interesting course in history has occurred. Ruby Rose a huntress in training has traveled realms and met with Kamen Rider Zi-O, Sougo Tokiwa, the one who will become the overlord of time, Oma Zi-O. She herself became a Rider in due time as well by the name of Roze. The two have faced various individuals trying to change the course of history regarding Oma Zi-O, some becoming allies and others standing against them. What they weren't prepared for was the harsh reality to the revelation that sweet little Sougo truly would be Oma Zi-O by meeting his older self."
"With Ruby, Sougo and their two friends now on Remnant the course of history is about to take an interesting course. Friendships will be forged, secrets will be uncovered, and many trials will be placed in front of them. Needless to say, viewing this history should be interesting from where I'm sitting, or rather sleeping. However, before all those intriguing happenings occur, a certain king to be needs to steel his shaken resolve for the coming trials."
Remnant – Mistral, Four Days after Kasshine's kidnapping:
After meeting up with her uncle, Ruby alongside her team and friends from Earth had arrived at their residence in Mistral. While the house wasn't truly their home, it had felt like one given all of her friends felt like family to her. Qrow had managed to arrange the rest of their group to arrive before they did, mostly just so Ruby and the others could take their time given how overwhelming the situation was. Not to mention it allowed the rest of Team RWBY to introduce themselves to Sougo and the others and vice versa.
"Okay…" Ruby took a deep breath as she arrived at the door.
"Take your time kiddo," Qrow said as he and the others stopped, figuring that the reason Ruby was ahead of the group for most of the walk was that she wanted to walk in first.
Ruby gave a nod before opening the door and entering inside, "I'm home."
In front of her were the three remaining members of Team JNPR now Team JNR, Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie along with their now resident farm boy Oscar Pine. She did expect the genuine reactions of shock given her own team's reactions, though that didn't make it any less emotional. But what she wasn't expecting was…
"RUBY?!"
All four yelled out, Nora giving a scream of joy as all of the members of Team JNR jumped forward, tackling her to the ground in an attempt to hug her. Oscar could only look a bit in surprise and horror at how fast and scrambled onto the ground everyone had managed to get.
"Ow…" Ruby groaned out as she was now under a pile of her friends.
"Do you have any idea how much we were worried?!" Jaune asked.
"We had no leads at all," Ren added.
"Just what kind of crazy adventure were you up to?!" Nora yelled.
"Okay kids take it easy," Qrow gave a light chuckle as he entered with Weiss, Blake and Yang. It wasn't long before Sougo, Geiz and Tsukuyomi entered as well, though they had ended up stepping off towards the side.
"Huh?" Nora immediately took notice of the newcomers. "Who are they?"
"Friends of mine," Ruby gasped out as she tried to squeeze her way out from underneath Team JNR. "And if you all could please get off of me!"
"O-Oh right," Jaune gave a nervous chuckle as he and his teammates got off the floor before he helped Ruby up. "Seriously though, you had us all worried."
"Trust me, I know," Ruby gave a smile. "If I could have come back sooner I would have, well… at least in my case anyway."
"What exactly happened anyway?" Oscar finally spoke up. "We heard about this weird gold robot thing capturing you, but even Ozpin had no clue what it could even be."
"Him… uh," Ruby trailed, trying to figure out how to best explain it and while she hated to lie, this was something she needed to do for Sougo's sake, "It was this guard named Kasshine, he had ended up taking me but I managed to get away. But instead of ending up back here I ended up on… and I know this might sound unbelievable but… I ended up on another planet named Earth," She then gestured towards Sougo, Geiz, and Tsukuyomi, "And long story short for now, I met these three."
"Wait… so you're telling me you get abducted and then get to befriend aliens before ending up relatively fine?!" Nora called out, completely going off the rails yet technically getting the situation right in all regards.
"Huh…" Sougo trailed a bit before pointing at himself, "We are aliens aren't we?"
"Really, we're going with that? If anything they're the aliens," Geiz pointed out.
"Yes but we're technically on their planet now so that would make us the aliens to them," Tsukuyomi pointed out before clearing her throat, "I suppose we should introduce ourselves though, I'm Tsukuyomi."
"Geiz Myokoin," Geiz answered simply.
"I'm Sougo Tokiwa… I… uh… it's nice to meet you." Sougo introduced, his introduction being more stilted due to distinctly lacking his king proclamation, something which Geiz and Tsukuyomi immediately picked up on.
"Now, I know it doesn't sound exactly believable but…" Tsukuyomi took over before drawing out her tablet, utilizing the projector function to showcase a hologram of Earth, various video screens suddenly showing various cities and aspects, "She's telling the truth, she ended up on Earth."
"Ooh," Nora was enamored by the projections showing Earth and the various cities and aspects.
"This is... wow," Jaune managed to get out.
"Okay I was skeptical before but…" Weiss trailed.
"That is a lot of video footage and information to just forge," Blake added. "But well… this is all just…"
"Overwhelming?" Yang asked.
"I'd say it's exciting!" Nora called out. "We have aliens visiting us and showing us their home planet!"
"Yeah um, Earth is… it's a way different place from Remnant," Ruby admitted.
"Yeah, it really is," Sougo agreed.
"I have a lot of data and information to help ease you all into what exactly she's been doing via my tablet," Tsukuyomi explained. "But to get to the point as of right now, we're unable to go back."
"But given all the trouble Ruby's gone through for us, it would be a bit rude to just leave her here now that she's finally back," Sougo replied. "So we'll help however we can!"
Geiz could only stare at Sougo a bit, not wanting to call Woz, skipping out on the king proclamation, and now wanting to stick around. This wasn't the same Sougo he had talked with this morning, at least on Earth anyway. He really wondered if meeting Oma Zi-O had shaken Sougo's resolve that much.
"Listen, kids, I get it you want to help," Qrow spoke up as he examined the trio. "But one of you looks like they can't fight and the other two don't look like much, no offense."
"Yeah… um about that," Yang spoke up. "While I'm not sure about Tsukuyomi, I know for sure that Geiz and Sougo can absolutely fight."
"They're uh… what was it called again?" Weiss asked.
"Kamen Riders and I can vouch for them. We've faced a lot of dangerous things on Earth, more dangerous than Grimm at times," Ruby explained. "We'll give you a bit of a practical example later but well… with Professor Ozpin's permission I'd like them to join us on our mission."
"Kiddo, you know our mission isn't exactly the most normal thing right?" Qrow reminded. "There are certain things we have to keep close to our chests."
"They aren't exactly from this world," Yang reminded as she gestured to the trio of Earth residents. "It's not like they have any ties here and we could use the help right?"
"More help would be good," Weiss agreed.
"I know we can't exactly tell just anybody but I'm not going to be leaving any of them behind, they need to come with us," Ruby replied firmly. "And I want them to fully know what they're getting into."
"I suppose… so long as Oz is okay with it," Qrow relented, figuring his niece's were going to be a bit stubborn.
"Oz?" Sougo asked.
Oscar's eyes glowed, his posture and demeanor changing as he cleared his throat, "That would be myself," He put a hand to his chest. "I am Ozpin, due to various circumstances I am currently sharing a soul with young Oscar here. As for Miss Rose's request, I suppose I do have to relent and allow you all in, it would be rude to leave you stranded here." He then looked over at Ruby and then Yang. "And I will allow you all to tell them everything they need to know about the mission."
"Whoa…" Sougo muttered as he saw this change take place.
"Good, because I agree with my sister," Yang gave a nod. "They need to know what they're getting into, the whole truth."
"I will warn you, the journey and dangers that this presents are going to be perilous," Ozpin stared at the Earth trio. "It is not an easy task we are dealing with."
"We've faced a lot," Geiz said, unfazed by the warning. "I think we can handle this issue."
"I agree," Tsukuyomi gave a nod.
"If it's for Ruby, then we'll do it!" Sougo answered while pumping his fist. "She's already helped us so much, so it's time for us to help her back."
"Very well then," Ozpin gave a nod before his eyes glowed, allowing Oscar back into control.
"Ooh, ooh, do I get to break out the whiteboard again?!" Nora called out.
Geiz stared at Nora. "…Again?"
"Oh, that…" Weiss gave an exasperated sigh, already recalling Nora's recap of events via whiteboard. "We're doing it again?"
"I think you may need to add a bit," Blake noted. "Since that only covered all the stuff I missed."
"And we Riders need to tell you what we've been dealing with," Ruby admitted. "I figured it would be a fair trade. Plus there are some interesting stories to be told."
"Honestly," Ren finally spoke up. "We may need a bit of a history lesson as well, for both sides since I doubt Ruby's told them much about this world, and we need to know more of this Earth to likely understand Ruby's side."
"We should get some food prepped though," Qrow replied. "Just take all the explaining and boards to the dining room, since it's near the kitchen everyone can listen and chime if needed."
"Sounds good to me," Ruby replied.
"Finally," Sougo gasped out as he held his stomach, "Food!"
"Sougo please don't be rude!" Tsukuyomi called out.
"He has a right to call out for food though… I am getting hungry," Geiz was forced to admit.
"I think I've got a quick idea as well, let's go for a hotpot, that way we can cook as we go," Jaune suggested.
"Ooh, you all have hotpot here?!" Sougo asked in slight glee. "We haven't had that in ages!"
The next hour was interesting to say the least. While the hotpot and its accompanying ingredients were being prepared a history lesson was going on. Sougo and Tsukuyomi took to explain the history of Earth while Blake and Ren had ended up explaining the history of Remnant. Both groups ended up becoming very interested and intrigued by how similar yet different both worlds were.
A few people like Weiss were surprised that there was a different source of fuel instead of dust. Geiz was surprised by how habitable Remnant was despite only having four actual Kingdoms' with village's in-between and Grimm simply swarming everywhere else. Others like Ren and Blake were taken off guard by the fact that Earth was relatively at peace. Tsukuyomi was interested at the differences in technology, how Earth had a better communication grid while Remnant had the technology to build more advanced transportation alongside robot guards.
Everyone's state of awe and intrigue grew further once they talked about Hunstmen and Rider's respectively. Sougo loved the idea of a profession that was meant to help defend people, while Nora was just in awe of the fact that there were superheroes on Earth. Not to mention three of them were in this house as well.
Of course with the brief history lessons aside, it was time to get into the real details. Two whiteboards had ended up being dragged in, various drawings and phrases on them. One was listed as Zi-O while the other was listed as RWBY, Tsukuyomi taking lead again while Geiz came up to help explain about what had happened in regards to their adventures starting in September of 2018.
Geiz had mostly chosen to go up because he knew Sougo wasn't comfortable talking about them, and he had also chosen to not mention any word on Oma Zi-O or Sougo's dream to be king. What he did cover of course were the Time Jacker's and their plot alongside the Another Riders. Needless to say there were some questions…
"Wait, you have a motorcycle now?" Yang asked.
"Yep," Ruby smiled, "Got a license and everything too beforehand, so it's all legit. Wouldn't really be a Kamen Rider if I couldn't ride something, would I?"
"You're definitely growing up too fast," Yang admitted.
"Calm down Firecracker," Qrow spoke up. "Remember that around her age you've been riding Bumblebee too."
"I uh… drat," Yang managed to get out.
Meanwhile it was up to Ren to help contain Nora and her overactive nature to explain the events of what transpired at Beacon alongside the revelations they learned from Qrow and Ozpin about the Maidens, Relics and their current enemy Salem. Alongside their current plan to take the Relic they have, the Relic of Knowledge, to the Kingdom of Atlas via transport through Argus. Of course on this side there were also questions…
"So like…" Sougo trailed before looking over at Qrow, "Do you have to wait and turn back into human form to spit out one-liners? Or can you like speak in bird form?"
Qrow could only blink a few times, "What kind of question is that?"
"Out of everything… that's what you want to know?" Blake asked.
"I mean, I feel like it's important," Sougo replied. "At least fight banter anyway."
"I really feel like we're missing the point…" Tsukuyomi hung her head down.
Of course as it continued, both Ruby and Sougo while not fully participating were also moderating just to help everyone. Whether it was Sougo mentioning something Geiz wasn't around for, or Ruby also trying to help keep Nora on track.
And thankfully as the explanations ended the hotpot and all of the assorted meats and vegetables were spread out on the table alongside the plates, everyone going to dig in while Ruby offered to tell stories about their adventures. Qrow and Oscar had decided to stay off to the side since there were already a lot of people at the table already, the two having their own small meal to have.
"Okay hold up, I get what you're saying," Weiss had to stop her partner from speaking further. "But you cannot seriously make me believe there is a world through reflections called the Mirror World."
"Hey I know things are somewhat outrageous but that's true!" Ruby called out.
Geiz meanwhile was grabbing some potatoes he had dropped into the broth at the center of the table, having let them cook for a while to let the spices and broth seep into them. "It's true, even I couldn't believe it."
"Still, an entire world behind a reflection," Jaune said as he grabbed a potato out of the broth. "I know Earth is pretty strange for our standards but that seems too strange."
"I don't know… they did mention time travel," Blake reminded as dipped a strip of beef into the broth for a few seconds before pulling it out once it was cooked. "Is a Mirror World really that hard to believe?"
"I'm just saying, this is a bit much to take in," Weiss admitted.
"I can stop if it's too much for you," Ruby said, a small smirk forming.
"No, no, no!" Nora called out. "We can handle it!" She yelled before suddenly speeding over to Weiss and shaking her by the shoulders, "We can definitely handle it!" And in an instant she was back to her seat.
"Thought so…" Ruby smirked further before turning away with a slight smug look when Weiss glared at her. "Anyway… how about I tell you about the time we teamed up with a half-boiled detective to stop a bunch of psycho fans."
Yang raised an eyebrow, "Psycho fans?"
"There's this company known as Foundation X that deals in Rider Technology," Tsukuyomi explained. "They've been beaten down hard as of late, but an investing company that was obsessed with them tried to continue their legacy."
"It was honestly the weirdest case of Another Rider issues we got," Geiz admitted. "We thought we were dealing with the rise of an old enemy, but no it was just obsessed fans."
"Okay, I know you're talking about fans but what about a half-boiled detective?" Jaune asked. "Did you team up with an egg?"
Nora put a hand to her chin and raised an eyebrow in interest, "An egg detective huh?"
"I bet he was eggcellent," Yang remarked, much to the groans of everyone at the table. "Huh? Come on you guys were totally setting yourselves up for that."
"Okay, no he wasn't an egg, I know Earth is full of monsters who live around but egg person is not one of them, at least… not yet," Ruby said, remembering how they hadn't met all the Heisei Riders yet. "No it's a phrase, or at least hard-boiled is."
"It's a term for detective stories if you've read any," Tsukuyomi replied.
"I've read a few," Blake admitted. "It's used to describe a detective who is tough and unsentimental, usually having a matter-of-fact attitude towards violence. I take it half-boiled is more like an insult?"
"For Shotaro oh yeah," Sougo chuckled a bit. "He always insists he's hard-boiled."
"He is anything but," Ruby deadpanned as she swiped her hand forward. "That being said Kamen Rider W was cool, since it's both Shotaro and his partner Philip in the suit."
"Huh, so kind of like Oscar and Ozpin then," Weiss noted.
"Sort of yeah, they're two separate people," Ruby replied. "When one does a specific transformation, the other passes out and their mind goes into the others body."
"They live up to their nickname well, the two in one Kamen Rider," Geiz replied.
"Still, meeting all those legends and you mentioning all the cool new stuff you got from them too," Yang mentioned. "I kind of want to see what my baby sister ended up learning over there."
"Yang, I'm eighteen I'm not that young anymore!" Ruby shouted.
"I will still never get used to that," Jaune admitted.
"I'm sure it will take Qrow even longer," Nora mentioned. "Did you see him when you mentioned that during the explanation?"
"You know I'm right here," Qrow remarked off on the side. "I am perfectly capable of handling this news."
"Sure you are uncle," Ruby gave a smile.
"Still, it would be kind of cool to see these Rider Forms of yours, I know we had the pictures and short videos of others… but," Jaune started.
"Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow, it is getting late," Ren reminded.
"Yeah, let the kiddo and her friends get some rest and unwind," Qrow replied. "Sounds like whatever got them here gave them a rough time. We can all go gasping in awe at the new stuff tomorrow."
"I did want to show off some stuff anyway," Ruby admitted before looking at Sougo and Geiz. "Especially since we need to have you guys ready for battle before we leave."
"What are you talking about?" Geiz asked.
Sougo tilted his head, "Ready for battle?"
"Yep," Ruby said before looking at Qrow. "Did you all happen to change the schedule on our trip or?"
"Nope, as discussed we're heading out to Argus on time, we were planning on holding it off if we didn't get any leads in the next two days," Qrow admitted. "But given you're here we should be fine. Will have to buy three extra tickets though…"
"Okay, so counting all the days that leave us with…" Ruby trailed trying to figure out the math.
"Five days," Weiss answered. "We'll have five days before we take the train to Argus."
"Hmm, five days sounds like plenty of time," Ruby nodded.
Remnant – Mistral, Five Days till Trip to Argus
After dinner a relatively peaceful night of rest everyone eventually woke up when morning hit. And thankfully there didn't seem to be any issues in the city to deal with at the moment. Ruby's first order of business was making sure everyone was filled for breakfast before taking Sougo and Geiz to the downstairs patio through the indoor training room.
Qrow and Oscar had decided to head out at the moment, the two planning on getting the tickets for Sougo and the others ahead of time just like theirs so they could keep ahead of schedule.
Everyone else followed of course, Tsukuyomi a bit curious as to why she didn't get called out last night.
"Alright, now while this will also be to show off my cool moves," Ruby smirked before pointing at both Sougo and Geiz who were away from everyone else. "We need to work on your battle readiness."
"Ruby, you know what I've been through right?" Geiz asked.
"Uh, I have my armor remember?" Sougo pointed out.
"Also why was I excluded from this?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Tsuki, you have the Faizphone X remember?" Ruby reminded.
Jaune stared at Ruby, "Faizphone what?"
"Here," Tsukuyomi took out her phone and shot at the ground, a few scorch marks appearing. "The weapon doesn't need to run on Dust, and I can change the power of the beams."
"My point exactly, while the Faizphone X isn't the strongest weapon," Ruby explained as she pulled out Crescent Rose and began gesturing to the various changes. "Tsuki doesn't need to become a Rider to use it. It's the same with my Crescent Rose now despite all the Rider Modifications to it."
"Wait, now… did you mean you didn't have Crescent Rose on you the entire time?" Weiss asked.
"It sort of vanished when I got to Earth and became a part of my Rider powers, but coming here I was able to carry it normally again," Ruby explained. "Which gets to my next point, despite having super cool armored forms, we need to be discreet. Meaning we need Sougo and Geiz to be able to summon their weapons and keep them formed so they can carry them like a normal Hunstman would."
"Okay but how do we do that?" Geiz asked. "Wasn't yours automatic?"
"Well if I can carry it outside of my Rider form you can too," Ruby surmised before giving a grin and holding out a fist. "Besides the sooner we get the weapons out the sooner you guys will be ready to grab onto a giant Nevermore and hitch a ride!"
Geiz could only stare blankly at the huntress in training, "We're… not actually doing that right?"
"Wait, we can do that?!" Sougo asked before realizing it was a very specific action, "Did you do it?"
"Did it on the second day at Beacon," Ruby grinned.
"Ooh, I want to do it now!" Sougo admitted with a smile.
"Oh no he's just like her…" Weiss deadpanned before dropping her head, receiving a pat on the back courtesy of Yang.
"Well that explains how they managed to get to be such good friends in the span of a year," Blake gave a chuckle.
"So given this seems to be a learning experience, do you even know how they're supposed to do it?" Jaune asked.
"Unfortunately no," Ruby admitted as she rubbed her neck. "When it comes to our Rider Powers they're not the most straightforward to understand."
"Well given their weapons are tied to the base of their powers…" Tsukuyomi started. "Let's try them using the Ridewatches without their Driver's on."
"You really think it's that simple?" Yang asked.
"Well given we always activate them when the Driver's are already on…" Ruby trailed before giving a nod. "Yeah you heard Tsuki, let's try that."
"Fine then," Geiz said as he set his Ziku Driver down in front of him before taking out his Geiz Ridewatch.
[GEIZ!]
[ZIKAN ZAX! YOU! ME!]
Activating the Watch by itself seemed to do the trick as Geiz's weapon formed in its bow formation. Geiz took grip of it as he pocketed his watch before he took aim at the ground, managing to create a scorch mark when he landed a hit on it.
"Are all Rider Weapons so loud and chatty?" Weiss questioned.
"Hmm," Ruby thought about it for a bit. "Not all of them on the chatty part, I noticed earlier Riders were more relaxed on announcements while later ones had more."
Jaune put a hand to his chin, "Any idea why that is?"
"That… I'm not sure of," Ruby admitted with a shrug, "I guess it's just a sign of the times."
"Okay…" Sougo was glad that everyone was distracted a bit as he had to keep his hand from shaking as he held his Ridewatch.
[ZI-O!]
[ZIKAN GIRADE! KEN!]
Sougo pocketed the watch before his weapon was summoned in its sword mode. He looked it over and was surprised to see that he was able to hold it easily without the armor. "Huh and it's not vanishing either."
"Perfect," Ruby smiled. "After demonstrations and stuff I think we can plan a quick shopping trip in Mistral to get you all some weapon holsters fitted to their shapes."
Nora put her hands on her hips as she observed the two weapons, "So just a sword and a bow… even them working without dust… I was expecting… more."
[OH! NO!]
[ZYU!]
In an instant the two Riders had flipped and shifted their weapons into their axe and gun forms respectively.
"They can do a lot more than this," Geiz mentioned before holding out his Faiz Ridewatch. "Those Watches we mentioned gaining through our battles help enhance and unlock special attacks on our weapons."
"But…" Sougo started. "I don't think we should show them off here."
"Yeah as cool as it would be it'll have to wait for actual combat situations," Ruby admitted before smiling. "But what we can show you are cool armor and transformations!"
"Ooh, ooh, that's what we've been waiting for!" Nora called out.
"Let's see what you've got little sis," Yang smirked as she crossed her arms.
"Okay, Sougo you want to help me out with Armor Time since well, I can't?" Ruby asked.
"I uh…" Sougo thought about it for a bit before shaking his head and smiling. "Geiz should do it I think, they'll be more impressed by his suit and armor."
Geiz and Tsukuyomi glanced at Sougo, now they were starting to wonder what exactly was going on with Sougo.
"What can I say, it's probably the red," Geiz remarked as he walked over to Ruby, readying his Driver and Ridewatch.
"Uh, sure," Ruby gave a nod, she a bit surprised that Sougo didn't want to show off but decided not to press it. She readied her Driver and Ridewatch, "Okay, so… Henshin!"
"Henshin!" Geiz called out.
[RIDER TIME!]
[KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]
[KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!]
The two took their base forms once more, while the rest of her team had seen her and Geiz's forms before they were still in awe. Especially by the transformation effects and flourishes that accompanied them. Of course the ones in total shock were Jaune, Nora and Ren.
"Oh my gosh that's so cool!" Nora shouted.
"This is certainly… different," Ren admitted.
"So um… what's with the lettering on your faces?" Jaune pointed.
"Aesthetics," Ruby admitted as she touched her visor gently. That was one thing she wasn't really sure on, but it seemed like Zi-O and its Riders were based on written language aesthetics to a certain point, "It's purely the aesthetics of our set of Riders."
"I've got to say though it's pretty impressive," Weiss was forced to admit as she began to walk around the two. "It's just the fact that all of this armor just comes from those Belts and Watches. It's surprising to see such technology."
"Not all Riders are technological though," Geiz replied as he took out the Wizard Watch. "Some use more ancient magical power."
"Yeah you seemed to be pretty convinced that what Weiss did was magic," Yang noted.
"The way she uses Dust is pretty close," Tsukuyomi spoke up.
"That would also be me combining my Dust with my Semblance," Weiss remarked as she stepped away from the two.
"Yeah, your Semblance does help make Dust a bit more magic-like," Ruby admitted before looking at Geiz. "Want to show them some actual magic though?"
"Sounds fine by me," Geiz agreed.
[ARMOR TIME! PLEASE! WIZARD!]
Soon enough Geiz initiated his Wizard Armor time, gaining the bulkier armor as he did a few flourishes and spun around briefly, soon holding up one hand as fire began forming from his palm. He then closed it before thrusting his palm forward, the flame gone as wind took its place, blowing a gentle breeze on all of the in-training huntsman and huntresses.
"This is…" Blake blinked a few times. "This is real magic?"
"When it's not being used to kill you its honestly really nice," Ren admitted.
"Ooh, so what else can you do with that?" Nora asked before suddenly feeling something on her shoulder, "Ah!" She yelled as Geiz's hand was holding her shoulder and batted it away. The hand entering through a portal that opened near her.
Ruby couldn't help but laugh a bit as Geiz removed his hand from the portal. "Good one Geiz."
"Connect has its uses," Geiz admitted before he summoned a magic circle beneath him before raising it up, causing him to vanish.
Weiss could only look in awe, "Invisibility too?"
"No," Geiz said as he was behind the group now, everyone giving yelps and yells as they backed away and turned. Geiz only shook his head, "Teleportation."
"It's like we have our own Maiden with us now," Jaune realized.
"While I'm not sure of the level of magic that Maidens can reach since I haven't seen one in battle, I suppose you could say that," Geiz replied. "But Wizard is only one of the many Armor and Weapons we have in our arsenal."
"Speaking of weapons, it's time for me to show off," Ruby grinned behind her helmet as she brought out the Accel Watch, "Weapon Time!"
[ACCEL!]
[WEAPON TIME! ENGINE BLADE!]
Soon enough the Engine Blade formed, digging itself into the ground before Ruby grabbed and pulled it out. "Unlike Geiz and Sougo, I don't get the cool armor. What I do get are cool weapons though." She then opened it up, slotting in the Engine Gaia Memory.
[ELECTRIC]
Suddenly the blade became electrified as Ruby swung it forward a few times before popping out the Engine Gaia Memory and slotting in the Cyclone Gaia Memory.
[CYCLONE MAXIMUM DRIVE!]
"Even though it's just a sword this one has some really cool diverse things it can do," Ruby said as the blade gave a green colored pulse, a green whirlwind surrounding it.
"Wait, so just any Watch you put on your belt, it doesn't become armor but you get a weapon?" Yang asked.
"Yep," Ruby said as she removed the Accel Watch to dismiss the Engine Blade. "Hey Geiz, do you mind lending me one of the Main Riders?"
"Sure, give me a second," Geiz said before finding and tossing Ruby the Ex-Aid Watch.
"Okay, let's go for this," Ruby said as she slotted the Ridewatch in.
[EX-AID!]
[WEAPON TIME! GASHACON BREAKER!]
Soon enough Ruby pulled out Ex-Aid's signature handheld hammer the Gashacon Breaker, swinging it around a few times before pressing the A Button and switching it to its sword mode.
"You've just become a walking arsenal haven't you?" Jaune remarked.
"I think the scariest part about this is that this is pretty much Ruby's dream come true," Weiss realized, remembering how much of a weapon nut her partner was.
"Well she does love weapons, so it makes sense that her Rider Form reflects that," Blake agreed.
"That's Ruby for you," Sougo gave a nod.
"And since we've done a lot of demonstrating, I think it's time to take a bit of a break so I can get Sougo and Geiz a bit more prepared," Ruby admitted.
"I think I remember seeing a place where they can get some weapon holsters fast and cheap," Jaune offered.
"That would be nice given well, we don't exactly have your currency," Tsukuyomi admitted. "I just hope we're not imposing on you all too much."
"It's making sure you all are prepared for our travels ahead," Ren answered. "There's no need to feel like you're imposing."
"Thanks again," Geiz replied.
After what seemed to take all day, the Riders and Huntsmen had managed to move forward on both sets of preparations. Qrow had just barely managed to snag three more tickets for them while Ruby and Jaune had just managed to get someone to take measurements of both the Zikan Girade and Zax to start working on holsters for the two. It would take a couple of days though Ruby was also currently wondering how exactly to deal with Sougo. Mostly in the form that his clothes weren't exactly the best suited for Huntsman work, but she didn't want to blow their budget either.
In the evening after everything had settled and dinner was finished she had headed downstairs to the indoors training room. Mostly in thought about what would fit Sougo the best when it came to traveling.
"Huh," Ruby soon noticed that someone was out at the patio again despite it being late. She took a few steps forward before noticing that Geiz was leaning on the railings of the patio.
Geiz was currently lost in thought, his mission was to stop Oma Zi-O by defeating Sougo, and yet… the fear, the hesitation, and Sougo mostly going quiet aside from a few fake smiles and laughs…
Ruby walked over, "The stars are nice tonight, aren't they?"
"They are," Geiz agreed as he stared up. "Oddly enough they seem pretty similar… even on a different world they feel the same as the ones on Earth."
"I figured you'd agree," Ruby admitted as she leaned on the railing and looked up. "Even though I was gone for so long, I'd always try and stargaze whenever I could. It just felt familiar."
"Odd, but comforting," Geiz admitted though soon gave an audible sigh.
Ruby looked over, "Something on your mind?"
"Kind of," Geiz admitted.
Ruby looked over at Geiz who was staring out into the distance. "I know you don't want to really leave Earth behind… but until we get the Time Mazines-"
"It's not about them," Geiz replied. "It's about Zi-O… Ruby, what happened in 2068?"
"We met Oma Zi-O and… you were right, both you and Tsukuyomi…" Ruby admitted and hung her head slightly as she stared down. "Sougo is Oma Zi-O…"
"We had no reason to lie," Geiz replied. "But… from what we saw of Sougo, and even you living with him for a year. It really is that hard to believe, so I don't blame you for taking it this hard."
"I just… I don't get it," Ruby sighed. "Why? Why did Oma Zi-O send me to Earth? Did he really want me to meet Sougo, to become a Kamen Rider… if so, why?"
"What exactly happened anyway?" Geiz asked.
"I well… I was coming home from a quick errand and got ambushed by Kasshine," Ruby explained. "My team showed up to help but I ended up getting taken away. Then I met Oma but I didn't really know it at the time, he told me I had a task or something and just dropped me off on Earth with a lot of Yen and a Ziku Driver."
"That's… odd," Geiz admitted, he knew Oma Zi-O was a tyrant, but he questioned what the point of taking Ruby away from Remnant was.
"It's just weird knowing its Sougo, what happened to make him like that?" Ruby questioned as she gripped her fists. "Because I know who I lived with, he isn't like that. He isn't Oma Zi-O, he's Sougo Tokiwa… that's why I didn't say anything regarding Oma. I want everyone to get to know him as who he is, not who he will be."
"I chose to follow your lead in that regard, you heard him right?" Geiz reminded. "He didn't talk about becoming a king to anyone. Did the shock really do that much to him?"
"It might have been that… and the fact that Sougo couldn't easily get rid of his problems like before," Ruby admitted. "He… he and I tried to fight Oma but even with our powers we couldn't even put a dent in him."
Geiz's eyes widened as he turned, grabbing the huntress in training's shoulder and turning her, "You two did what?!"
"Sougo thought Decade Armor was strong enough, but it wasn't." Ruby replied. "But I didn't want to see him slaughtered and I knew if he ended up fully defeated we'd just be bounced back to Earth before I got answers. But I wasn't expecting Oma to open a portal to Remnant…"
"That was stupid for him to try, you as well," Geiz said sternly before giving a small smirk. "But I suppose you've got guts to stand up against someone that strong."
Ruby couldn't help but give a chuckle, "I suppose…"
"Still, if anyone needs a talking to it's not you or me," Geiz replied. "It's Zi-O, he has a lot to get through and I'm sure the reason he didn't demonstrate anything was because he's afraid of his power now."
"Yeah, I know." Ruby said as she crossed her arms, "He's going to need some kind of help to get through this, because I don't want him freezing up and getting hurt during our trip. But I'm not sure if I can do it alone…"
"Ruby, you're his friend, if anyone can help him it's you," Geiz reminded.
Ruby couldn't help but give a smile, "Yeah, you're right. Thanks Geiz."
"Don't thank me just yet, I'm just willing to help out because by the end of this all we might not have to worry about Oma Zi-O," Geiz answered as he turned away to look out at the night sky. "The fact of the matter is none of us are supposed to be here, history will change, that's the only reason I'm willing to help him."
"Of course it is," Ruby said, still keeping her smile since she knew that Geiz was finally growing softer on Sougo.
Remnant – Mistral, Three Days till Trip to Argus
"Okay let's see what you've got," Yang called out as she kept her arms raised, she began batting away several punches before turning and performing a spin kick.
Geiz was her opponent and ended up reeling back to avoid the kick, managing to find his footing before cupping both hands together and blocking a punch via her left fist. The two were currently in a sparring match on the patio, no weapons, no rider gear, just fists.
"Trust me I'm not a pushover," Geiz called as he let Yang push her fist a bit further before spreading his hands away from each other and grabbing her arm, he reeled her in before sending a knee her way.
Yang though blocked that knee with her robotic arm, easily holding it back before yanking her left arm away from Geiz's grip and pushing her right palm forward to force Geiz to stumble backwards.
"Oh yeah you're definitely better than Ruby," Yang admitted as she got in a ready stance.
"Hey I'm getting better!" Ruby called out before yelping and blocking a punch.
"Miss Rose I would suggest paying attention," Ozpin called, having taken control of Oscar's body to drill Ruby on some hand to hand basics, especially after hearing that she had a decent time with it over on Earth. "After all you've yet to truly beat me."
"Yeah but the point isn't to beat you right," Ruby said as she backed away, batting a punch before countering with her own.
"No it isn't," Ozpin winced slightly when the counter punch hit his shoulder. He backed away and put on a more defensive stance, "But despite them saying you prefer your weapons, you have improved. However…" He quickly rushed in, going for a rush of punches before jumping and performing a spin kick.
Ruby kept her arms rose, bracing against the punches before quickly ducking and rolling underneath the spin kick. She quickly turned and spun, swinging her leg and managing to strike Ozpin in his side. "However…?" She asked with a small grin as she backed away.
"I retract that statement…" Ozpin gave a small cough before chuckling. "You've grown a lot in your time on Earth."
"Thanks," Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. "I still feel like I've got a lot to really learn, but that's nice to hear coming from you."
Off to the side in the indoors training area were Blake and Tsukuyomi, the two sharing more details over their histories and worlds since the two seemed to be pretty curious about the differences and similarities.
"It still feels weird to hear, how you all have different sources of power than Dust," Blake admitted.
"I'm just surprised at how technologically advanced your world seems to be despite the limitations," Tsukuyomi admitted. "Everything I hear about Atlas makes it feel like something far out in the future compared to here in Mistral."
"True, but it's not without its issues," Blake reminded.
"The same could be said for Earth in general," Tsukuyomi admitted. "And that's not counting all the monster attacks."
"Still it is a bit odd," Blake said as she gently touched one of her cat ear's. "That there's nothing like us Faunus over on Earth."
"It does at least make Remnant unique, and I don't think that's a bad thing," Tsukuyomi replied.
"Will you please try and take this seriously!"
Blake and Tsukuyomi winced before the time traveler gave a sigh and stared forward. Joining them in the indoor training room were Sougo and Weiss. Ruby had wanted Sougo to get a bit better at his sword swings since he wouldn't be relying on his Rider Form or Armor unless necessary. Of course this meant being taught by one of the few people with actual experience in the form of a blade, Weiss.
The result was currently Sougo trying to imitate various sword stances that they had found via text. Though his form and posture were too loose and relaxed at times which was making Weiss lose her cool.
"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Sougo called out with a whine. "You're making me too stiff!"
"I don't expect you to act like me but you really need to get your posture and stances better," Weiss called out in an annoyed tone. "Even if you have the advantage the other two don't in having your Aura unlocked, going into battle without your armor and with your sloppy movements will get yourself killed."
"Weiss lighten up a bit on him," Blake gave a chuckle. "We know you're worried but he should be fine. Just make sure he has the basics down."
"I-I'm not worried, I just don't want him to jeopardize our important mission," Weiss quickly turned away with a quick blush.
"Sougo don't whine so much," Tsukuyomi spoke up. "This is for the best."
"But it's so troublesome…" Sougo whined further.
"How do you even deal with him?" Weiss asked.
"Trust me he's a lot more capable than you think he is," Tsukuyomi defended. "It's just this is a bit new to him that's all."
Blake raised an eyebrow, "So I take it becoming a Rider sort of enhances a person to the point of being more familiar in combat than they usually are?"
"Honestly it does seem like it sometimes," Tsukuyomi admitted.
"Well he's not going to have that luxury unless he absolutely needs to," Weiss mentioned.
The word luxury gave Sougo a bit of a nostalgic thought, it bringing him back towards his dreams of becoming a king. Of course those thoughts stopped when he clearly remembered seeing his face 50 Years in the future, and the armor he donned as Oma ZI-O. His face dropped a bit, growing more serious before giving a nod, "Alright, no more goofing around! I'll try my hardest!"
Tsukuyomi blinked a few times, "Sougo…"
"Huh, guess he got his second wind," Blake remarked though she could tell that Sougo seemed to be holding something in, at least from a glance.
"I'm not sure what was even said but I'm glad you're finally taking this seriously," Weiss huffed before going over, this time deciding to be a bit more lenient in her teaching to help Sougo.
Hours had passed and eventually dinner time had arrived, though Sougo had asked Ruby to bring him some dinner since he wanted to train some more. While everyone ate Sougo continued to practice his sword stances and swings, he wasn't a professional by any means but he was better at fighting out of suit than he had been months before.
Eventually he had ended up lying down to take a breather, gasping a bit as he had worked fairly hard without stopping for a while.
"Looks like someone could use some dinner," Ruby walked over and sat down with a tray of steamed rice and ramen for Sougo. "Everyone already ate but I made sure that there was enough left for you."
"Thanks, food sounds good," Sougo said as he gave a grunt and sat up. He crossed his legs and grabbed the tray from Ruby, balancing it before giving thanks and starting to dig in.
"Since it's just the two of us…" Ruby trailed as she looked down before looking at Sougo. "How are you holding up?"
"This is a pretty weird world," Sougo admitted between bites. "But I think I can handle getting used to this."
"No, I don't mean that, I mean with…" Ruby lowered her voice further. "Oma…"
Sougo was taking a bite of steamed rice when he stopped, slowly setting his chopsticks down before setting the tray down. "I…" He started to shudder as his voice gave away how uncertain he was. "Ruby I'm scared…"
Ruby sighed as she scooted closer before putting an arm around his shoulders, "I know… you wanted to believe you wouldn't become Oma Zi-O, I did too. But then, we both saw that… that he was you."
"How could I turn out like that?" Sougo shook his head as he stared at his hands. "That's the power of Zi-O? That's the power of the Heisei Riders?"
"Is that why you've been pushing yourself today?" Ruby asked. "You don't want to transform again?"
"If I can just use my Zikan Girade then I'll be fine," Sougo replied. "I can't use that power anymore… if I was always meant to become an Evil Overlord because of it…"
'But what's important isn't how you got that power… it's what you do with it. All power is neutral in a sense; even if it's intended for evil you can use it against those evil intentions.'
Ruby's eyes widened as she recalled Sento's first words to her when she doubted becoming a Rider at first. She looked at Sougo, "Sougo… did you know I was afraid to be a Kamen Rider at first?"
Sougo looked up in surprise, "You were?"
"I was worried, because I had the Ziku Driver on me for a year," Ruby replied. "Then when my Ridewatch formed I put two and two together after our first run in with Geiz. But when we faced Another Cross-Z I hesitated. I wasn't sure if I was playing into someone's trap, if I was actually going to do good…"
Sougo tilted his head, "So what happened between then and our fight alongside Sento?"
"I asked Sento for advice," Ruby explained as she stared out at the open door that lead towards the patio, removing her arm from Sougo. "He told me how he knows how it's like to be used by someone, but the important part isn't how we get our power, it's what we do with it. Power is just that, power, it's neutral, and it's up to us to use it for evil or against it."
"But… all the times he… Zi-O was always talked about in this revered kingly manner, how am I supposed to use Zi-O in any other way?" Sougo asked, still afraid to say Woz's name in fear that he would show up suddenly.
"That was just him and his idea of you because of your potential future," Ruby replied.
"Potential future…?" Sougo trailed. "But… we saw it, he's me."
"Right, but… I thought about it a bit, how you were supposed to erase Riders… yet they're still around. Even this trip to Remnant, this wasn't something that was supposed to happen," Ruby explained. "Even me, I was never the catalyst to you becoming Zi-O. Ruby Rose, Kamen Rider Roze, and Remnant, they're all unknowns that have been added."
"Then why hasn't the future changed?" Sougo asked as he held his head.
"Maybe Oma Zi-O is just that powerful, to the point where he can't be erased easily. It's to the point where you need to change your destiny fully and not just along the way." Ruby explained, remembering how she was considered a Singularity Point by Tsukasa, so she wondered if Oma ZI-O was similar and that's why 2068 remained the way it was despite all the changes.
"But how can I change my destiny?" Sougo asked.
"Simple… deep down, I know you want to protect others," Ruby answered as she put a hand to her chest. "But there's other ways to protect others than being a King. After all, we've met so many others already."
"Kamen Riders…" Sougo trailed in near shock at the realization. "So you're saying I use Zi-O not to become king, but to be a Kamen Rider?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Ruby smiled. "You're already way off course being here, so why not veer just a bit further?"
Sougo thought about it for a bit before giving a nod, "I think I can do that."
"Glad to hear it," Ruby smiled.
"Now then," Sougo said before grabbing the tray and eating again.
"Don't take too long though," Ruby began to rise up, "Don't want to keep Jaune and Ren waiting on the empty dishes since they're on washing duty tonight."
"I won't," Sougo gave a nod as he went to work through his food fairly quickly.
Remnant – Mistral, One Day till Trip to Argus
The day was soon approaching, Team RWBY along with Sougo, Geiz and Tsukuyomi were at the upstairs lounge making sure everyone would be ready for the trip tomorrow.
"I have to admit this is pretty good craftsmanship," Geiz was looking over the holster for his Zikan Zax, having asked for it to be for its bow mode. He had managed to get a holster that easily hooked and added to his back harness, despite the weapon being on his back he managed to easily slip it out and put it back with ease.
Sougo's was probably the most drastic change, at least in regards to clothing since Ruby realized that Geiz and Tsukuyomi were more combat ready than he was in regards to outfits. The first was a pair of leggings to wear under his rolled up khaki pants. His shoes were replaced with brown heavy duty boots alongside having a thicker and more fitting brown coat over his pale pink button up. On his waist was a belt strap that held a sword holster, his Zikan Girade fitting snuggly in it.
Ruby figured that they could get Sougo some proper Hunstman gear before they made their way to Atlas. For now the additions would be enough to help him just in case they ran into a fight. "Not the best we can do… but for now it'll do at least until Argus."
"You really think so?" Sougo asked as he looked himself over.
"For a sudden trip like this and not really having much time on our hands, I'd say yes," Blake agreed. "Especially since we needed to make sure your holsters were top priority."
"Thankfully the only one's needing semi adjustments of their outfits was Sougo and Weiss," Yang commented.
The former Schnee Heiress had added a red scarf with white designs at the ends and pale blue tights to complement her dress. "Yes well if you expected me to not make some adjustments given it's only going to get colder the closer we get to Argus then you're wrong."
"Thankfully Geiz and I didn't really need to change our outfits," Tsukuyomi admitted, she had her long sleeved version of her 2068 attire thanks to the dimensional curtain while Geiz was also decked out in his 2068 all black combat gear thanks to the one he was sent through.
"Still, we've got quite the crew together now," Ruby admitted before holding her fist up. "I'm sure we can handle whatever's thrown at us."
"We've got some kind of advantage now that's for sure," Yang agreed. "I doubt anyone from Salem's forces is expecting us to roll up with some super cool Armored Heroes."
"Kamen Rider's," Geiz corrected. "But you're right about that, we have the element surprise on our side."
"Then I think we can do this," Sougo agreed.
"For now we relax, get anything we need to do by tomorrow sorted, and then tomorrow, Argus!" Ruby called out as she pointed up at the sky.
Remnant – Mistral, White Fang Headquarters
"Step away from my throne, we have work to do…"
"We? Everyone knows what you did. You abandoned your brothers at Haven!"
"Step. Away. From my-"
"We're not taking orders from you anymore! We heard you folded the moment you got sass from the Belladonna girl. I guess she's got more control over you than you-"
The sounds of slicing and yelling echoed through the throne room of the White Fang Headquarters in Mistral. Even after the battle, or rather slaughter, the sounds of screaming and blood spilling still echoed as several dead bodies were strewn about the floor, all bleeding out and no longer moving.
Sitting on the main throne was Adam Taurus, the man who had taken over the White Fang just before the siege on Mistral Academy. He seemed pretty casual in his thinking, rubbing his chin with one hand while he held his katana with the other. It was as if he was ignoring the bloodshed he had caused before him.
That wasn't true however as he thought very specifically on one particular thing during the confrontation.
"The Belladonna girl…" Adam spoke up in thought as he stood up. "Blake…"
The entire room turned black for a second, a red slice suddenly cutting through the head of the throne Adam was sitting on. The cut pieces clattered to the ground as it was revealed Adam had done it, his blood red sword shining a bright red alongside the other red parts of his outfit and even his hair.
The glow began to fade as he stared at the throne. He gritted his teeth before letting out a yell of rage.
"Adam Taurus…" A voice spoke, the door of the room creaking further as a black hooded man walked into view.
Adam turned and gave a sneer, "And just who do you think you are?"
"Such rage, such spite, such determination…" The hooded man managed to get out, giving a chuckle. "I can help you in your vengeance, in righting the wrongs done to you."
"I've had enough of humans deciding they can just offer me whatever I want on a silver platter," Adam called out as he began to walk towards the hooded man.
"Oh I am so much more than just a human…" The hooded figure remarked before holding out his hand, a Blank Ridewatch in it. "I want revenge too, and if you're going to have any chance at attempting it… you'll need this power I'm going to give to you."
"…" Adam paused as he stared at the man. He had to pause as he could already feel the power emanating from the Blank Ridewatch. Whispers slowly crawled at his ears, beckoning him to take it. He kept on guard with his weapon at the ready. "…Power you say?"
"Yes… power that transcends what you know as Aura and Semblances," The hooded man explained as the Ridewatch began to gather a dark energy in it. "With it, you could rule over all."
Adam stared intently at the hooded man before him before taking a few steps forward, a wicked grin flashing across his face, "Very well then."
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"They are somehow just as bad as Sougo and Geiz…"
"So have you gotten everything sorted out yet?"
"K-Kill… Zi-O…"
"Let's show these Riders how it's done."
"If you really want to just walk the path of a Rider, then we're good."
Episode 23: A New Direction
Author's Note: And with that out of the way, we've got Volume 6 up next. Now something I should mention with Volume 6 is that some Chapters may end up a bit odd in how they're structured. But that's mostly because of how I'm writing Volume 6. There are a lot of scenes that I won't be writing since they'll be the exact same scene with no changes if I did. This basically includes all of the isolated villain related scenes as there are no other characters from Zi-O that are going to interact with them. So there's no point to be repeating scenes that we know for sure happen. As a result this shortens certain Episodes and so I have to combine some together sometimes. And I'd rather not put out super short chapters or bloat the episodes too much to make standard length Chapters.
Also glad to see that people are hyped for my secondary project. Thanks for the support and I'll see you all next time.