Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 27 – Arrival at a Dead End
Jinn gave a smile as she floated into view, once more the white void she resided in.
"Once upon a time there was a young man by the name of Sougo Tokiwa, who abandoned his dreams to become an overlord to live as a Kamen Rider. After escaping Brunswick Farms and fighting Another Ghost, the hero's finally arrive at Argus, their goal to get to Atlas very close within their reach. But with a possible Time Jacker lurking in the shadows, and complications in regard to their transport situation… what exactly will happen?"
Remnant – Argus, Atlas Military Base
After spending a day at the Cotta-Arc residence, the group had decided to try their luck at the Military Base. Jaune, Nora and Ren had ended up staying back, not wanting to really mess this up for the others. Of course it was hard to mess anything up as once the group approached, the gates suddenly closed with warning.
Any attempt at trying to explain their situation was immediately shut down by the two Nubuck Guards that were at the front.
Yang grabbed the bars, trying to get the guards to listen, "Come on! You didn't even hear us out!"
The first Guard on her right spoke up, "Our orders are clear: The Mistral-Atlas border is closed!"
The second Guard on her left soon spoke up, "Please!"
"Have a good day!" Guard-1 finished.
Yang tried to get another word in, "But…"
"…A good day!" Both Guards straightened up and spoke in sync.
Sougo blinked a few times, "Do… do they practice?"
Qrow spoke up, deciding to take the lead, "Hey, if you don't wanna believe that I'm friends with Ironwood-"
"General Ironwood!" Both Guards interrupted.
"Yeah, General Ironwood, then fine," Qrow decided to approach this from a different angle. "But look, we have Weiss Schnee with us and we're trying to get her home safely."
Both guards looked at each other before turning back to the group, "Approach!"
Weiss glanced at Blake who shrugged before looking over at Sougo who gave her two thumbs up. She then walked over to the gate to which the two guards stepped up and bent forward to inspect her.
After an intense and seemingly long period of staring, they stood back up straight, "Very well!"
"You may speak with our commanding officer!" Guard-2 declared.
"We will fetch her at once!" Guard-1 explained.
The two turned around in sync with exaggerated movements, marching forward in a run as they went deeper into the compound. Not to mention the 'hup hup hup' chanting alongside 'Atlas Atlas Atlas' didn't help the group in their first impressions.
Blake had to comment at last, "They were… kind of-"
"Super weird," Ruby interrupted, "Uh, yeah."
"Do you think they practice?" Sougo asked. "Or are they like twins and its some weird twin thing?"
"… probably some weird twin thing," Qrow admitted.
"For our first taste of Atlas…" Tsukuyomi trailed. "This isn't…"
"What you imagined? No you're right," Geiz crossed his arms. "I do hope this person higher up is more reasonable."
"Hmm… about that…" Maria started.
"What's wrong?" Oscar asked.
"Oh no…" Geiz grimaced as he looked over.
"Well, I… may know this commanding officer…" Maria trailed.
"That's good, isn't it?" Ruby asked. "If she's your friend, then maybe she'd be more willing to help us."
Maria was quick to deny this, "I wouldn't exactly call us… 'friends'."
"Oh damn it," Geiz pinched the bridge of his nose, already knowing the term.
Weiss wasn't so quick to think negatively like Geiz did, "Acquaintances?"
"Not quite," Maria shot that line of thought down.
Blake decided something more professional, "Colleagues?"
"Warmer," Maria admitted.
"Ooh, ooh, rivals?" Sougo asked.
"Eh… warmer just by a bit more," Maria answered.
Tsukuyomi thought about it a bit, "Adversaries?"
"What about enemies?" Yang asked.
"There we go, those two fit perfectly!" Maria called out.
"Wait, what?" Oscar asked.
"I knew it, damn it," Geiz slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand.
"Oh, yes," Maria explained, tapping her prosthetics. "I come through here about once every ten years to get my eyes checked up in Atlas. You bring outside cashews on one flight, and suddenly you're placed on the additional screening list for life!"
"All of that for cashews…" Sougo started as he slumped slightly. "Do they not like cashews?"
"Sougo, I think they just don't want outside food," Tsukuyomi figured.
"Okay but what if they don't have cashews and you want some though?" Sougo replied. "Is it really that bad?"
"You know what in this case I'm on your side," Geiz looked over at Maria, "Seriously, additional screenings for cashews?"
"Finally we can agree on something!" Maria called out. "It's unfair I tell you!"
"You've got to be kidding me…" Qrow nearly gasped out.
"Now, now, let's not give up hope yet." Maria replied, pausing before continuing with a smile, "Maybe she's dead!"
Mostly everyone could only give further bored stares towards Maria as they all couldn't believe what they were hearing. Geiz though silently nodded at Maria's suggestion, especially because he did not need an old lady rivalry to screw their chances to get to Atlas.
With a sudden slam the gates opened up as the guards returned.
Guard-1 took the lead, "Introducing!"
Guard-2 followed, "Special Operative!"
Both Guards synced up, "Caroline Cordovin!"
To everyone's and no one's surprise, the commanding officer was a short-statured elderly woman wearing an Atlesian officer uniform. Despite her short nature she kept both arms behind her back and carried a proud posture as she immediately stepped over to Maria, glaring at her.
"Witch," Cordovin remarked.
Maria's eyes narrowed, "She-devil."
"Hm," Cordovin looked over the group before assuming they were all with Maria. "I see you've chosen larger contraband to smuggle this time."
Sougo tilted his head, "Uh, isn't she with us, not the other way around?"
"I don't think that matters to her," Geiz admitted.
"Oh, Cordo," Maria started with a friendly smile, "They say time changes people, but I see you've still got that stick right up your-"
"H-Hello!" Ruby quickly interrupted. "Miss, uh, Cordovin. My name is Ruby Rose, and I was wondering if you would hear us out about-"
"I've already heard what your other little friends had to say, Miss Rose," Cordovin interrupted she soon glanced and saw Jaune and his team standing further away. Fed up she dropped her formal stance and raised her fist in the air, "What are you doing back here?! I thought I told you to leave!"
Nora tried to charge forward only to be barely held back by her teammates, "And I told you we wouldn't rest until you let us through!"
Ren could only give a wave to try and defuse the situation, "Nice to see you again as well!"
Cordovin was not amused, "You civilians are clearly incapable of comprehending the importance of our mission here in Argus. So allow me to say this slowly, with smaller words…" She spoke in a very condescending manner, "This base, that relay tower, the very safety of Argus are all gifts from the glorious Kingdom of Atlas!" She gestured to each individual location before having her arms spread out. "And it is my duty to uphold them, as only I have the wit and tenacity for such a task."
Guard-1 popped up on her left, "Such wit!"
Guard-2 popped up on her right, "Such tenacity!"
Sougo and Tsukuyomi could only stare in disbelief at what was going on, all that was missing was a large flowing military flag behind Cordovin. Geiz meanwhile was constantly gripping his arms tightly to keep from breaking out into a fight right there and then.
Maria though couldn't help herself, "Or maybe Atlas just wanted to get you as far from the kingdom as possible."
Cordovin growled out, "You're just like the rest of these Argus ingrates! This city wouldn't even be here if it weren't for our Atlesian ancestors, and what do we get in return? The entire world is ready to put a knife to our throats!"
"Please, we know your kingdom had nothing to do with the Fall of Beacon," Ruby pleaded, hoping to get on the commanding officer's good side. "We were there."
"No one's happy about the Atlas borders or embargo, but I know General Ironwood is just worried," Weiss stepped up, though was unaware she pressed one of Cordovin's buttons. "It's why we need to talk to-"
"The General is no coward!" Cordovin called out, half offended and getting the wrong idea out of Weiss' words. "If all the kingdoms plan to make us their enemy, then so be it! Atlas will prevail!"
"Atlas will prevail!" Both Guards shouted as they stood at attention right behind Cordovin.
"Do you guys seriously have to do that?" Yang rolled her eyes.
"I hate to say it but it's starting to wear on me," Tsukuyomi sighed.
Sougo meanwhile was trying to keep Geiz from moving forward by linking his arm with his, Oscar grabbing onto one of Geiz's harness straps to keep him from moving forward.
Cordovin gave a sigh before composing herself, "If Miss Schnee has truly come to her senses and wishes to return to her family, then, of course the Atlas military will escort her home." She then looked directly towards Blake. "But the kingdom will not be responsible for her "friends" of… questionable character."
"Let me go, let me go now," Geiz growled as Sougo and Oscar had to work double time in keeping him from moving forward, Tsukuyomi sighing and simply stretching her arm back to push against his stomach and hold him in place.
Blake couldn't help but look down and to the side at the remark.
Weiss quickly stepped in front of her with a light glare, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means we're done here," Cordovin answered simply.
In an instant, both Cordovin and her Nubuck Guards stepped behind the gate and had the doors shut close before heading off to resume their duties.
"Like hell we are!" Geiz called out as he was continually trying to move forward only to be held back. "Get a message sent to Ironwood this instant and he'll confirm Qrow Branwen as an ally!"
"Geiz, calm down," Tsukuyomi sighed further.
Geiz gave a low growl as he stopped resisting, still staring up at the military compound in front of them.
Nora was fed up as well, pointing and stomping, "Oh yeah? Well, your base looks… like a big dumb boot!"
Jaune could only deadpan, "Way to show her, Nora…"
"Atlas kind of sucks," Sougo admitted.
"That's my home kingdom you're referring to," Weiss pointed out before lowering her head, "And honestly I may as well just agree with that statement…" She looked over at her friends. "I…"
"Weiss," Ruby walked over and put a hand on her friend's shoulder, "I told you we wouldn't leave your side for a second. We'll find a way to Atlas. Together."
Weiss gave a smile before giving a nod, "Right."
Tsukuyomi crossed her arms with a sigh, "If only we had the Time Mazine's… it would be a tight squeeze, but we'd have our transport."
"Those are the robot things you guys mentioned right?" Jaune asked.
"Yeah, unfortunately we haven't been able to remotely call them via our usual means," Geiz admitted.
"Maybe I can try later tonight," Tsukuyomi suggested, it had been a while, and they were in another city now. Maybe location was the issue when it came to trying to reach them.
"Possible cool robot transportation…" Nora trailed. "I'm in!"
"We don't actually know if we can get them yet though," Ren reminded.
"We can't just rely on them," Geiz shook his head. "As much as they'd be a big help, they're as slim a chance as getting Cordovin to send us to Atlas."
Qrow simply gave a disgruntled noise as he walked off.
"So…" Ruby trailed and looked at her uncle. "Where are we going now?"
"Yeah, what's the plan?" Nora asked.
Qrow stopped, "The plan?" He turned, "The plan just got shut on our face three times over. I'm going for a drink."
Ruby narrowed her eyes as she watched him walk away, she quickly hurried over to run along with him, "Uncle Qrow, I really think we should try and come up with something…" She stopped when she saw him pick up the pace and ignore her, "…together."
"What's his problem?" Jaune asked, confused by Qrow's sudden attitude. "It's not your fault we can't go on."
"If he's gonna be a jerk then we'll just come up with something without him." Nora replied before gesturing towards Oscar. "I mean, we've got Ozpin with us! He usually knows what to do."
Of course with everyone suddenly looking down and slightly dejected, Jaune and his team suddenly realized something was wrong in regards to Ozpin.
"What is it?" Ren asked.
Remnant – Argus, Cotta-Arc Residence
As per Ruby's request, the team did not divulge any information regarding anything Woz had said about Sougo being Oma Zi-O. The news that they would tell would likely be enough to set everyone off, and she wanted to still try her original plan with Team JNR. To have them see Sougo as his own person and not the person who had the possibility of Oma Zi-O as his future.
That left retelling the important parts of what Jinn had told them, which was the story of Salem, Ozma, the merge, the relics, his true mission, and of course Salem's inability to die. Needless to say, their friends were taking this about as well as they expected it to.
Jaune suddenly punched a nearby wall, causing a crack to form from the hit.
"Jaune!" Ruby called out.
"Everything we did was for nothing!" Jaune called out before going to pace around.
"Okay but was punching the wall necessary?" Sougo asked.
"You know that's not true," Blake added.
Nora though had lost her pep and enthusiasm and was severely angered, "Really? Cause it sure does sound like it."
"I, um…" Blake sighed, were they really this hard to deal with when they first found out the news?
"If Salem can't be killed, then how are we supposed to win this?" Ren asked.
While the members of Team RWBY and Oscar were silent, Geiz had chosen to take the lead and speak up.
"If she can't be killed then we find another way to stop her," Geiz replied. "Being unable to kill her only takes away one option."
"And you really think we have any other kind of option?" Jaune asked sarcastically. "I know you guys are otherworldly but give me a break. Honestly, great plan everyone!"
"Look, none of this is great, we know." Oscar reminded. "But we're not the bad guys here."
"Are we sure about that?" Jaune asked in a more hostile tone.
"What?" Oscar was confused.
"Jaune," Ruby called, wanting him to turn his attention to her.
"Oh hell no…" Geiz muttered as he began to pace around, already predicting Jaune's next action.
"He's in your head, isn't he?" Jaune turned with a glare, only addressing Oscar as he began to walk over. "Did you already know about this?"
"He didn't know any of it!" Weiss replied.
Geiz quickly got between Oscar and Weiss, moving forward and holding his arm out to block Jaune once he saw him going for the grab, "And what the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Don't give me that crap," Jaune glared as he tried to push past Geiz who managed to hold his own despite slipping slightly, "How much longer can we even trust him?!"
At the sight of Jaune approaching Oscar flinched back before flinching even further when he heard the yelling.
Tsukuyomi walked over, trying to pull Jaune off of Geiz, "Jaune, calm down!"
"Stop it you two, how do you even know it's really him?!" Jaune called out as he tried to push past the two, "What if we've been talking to that liar this whole time?!"
"Jaune, that's enough!" Ruby snapped loudly, managing to finally catch her friend's attention.
Jaune exchanged a glare with Ruby before relaxing his body, his expression softening when he suddenly saw Oscar had moved back and pressed himself against the doorframe to another room in fear. He looked down as he realized what he had done before turning to the staircase to head upstairs.
Geiz however grabbed Jaune's arm and kept him in place, "Listen here and listen good," He had a bitter expression on his face as he looked at Jaune before glancing around at the entire room. "I don't care to know anything about this merge, how it works, or what it entails. But right now Oscar is in control, he doesn't deserve to hear this crap. And even if Ozpin was in control, I do not condone any kind of violence against a teenager."
Jaune simply gave a sigh as his arm was let go, hurrying up the stairs and heading to a room before shutting the door.
Sougo couldn't help but look over at Oscar who seemed pretty scared and unsure of himself. Honestly the feeling of being attacked for someone you aren't at the moment, it resonated with him clearly.
Yang looked up the stairs, "Is he… gonna be okay?"
"I don't know!" Nora called out in frustration before getting up and heading for the stairs.
"I think it would be best if we had some time to ourselves," Ren gave a tense response before heading up after Nora.
"Maybe we could all use some space," Blake suggested.
"And now I get why Maria decided to head straight to the backyard porch," Tsukuyomi realized.
"We've already been too down about this," Weiss gave a light groan. "We need something to do."
"How about we get food for tonight?" Yang suggested. "Might as well do something productive right?"
"I'm probably going to take a page out of the old woman's book," Geiz admitted as he went to sit down on one of the couches. "I'll stay here."
"I'll… probably stay here too," Ruby admitted. "See if I can get in contact with uncle."
"Ruby," Yang sighed. "I know you mean well, but… you know how he gets."
"I know," Ruby admitted. "But I want to at least try to see if he'll listen."
Sougo gave a few nods, "Alright, well with the rest of us we can go out and grab some stuff for dinner then." He walked over to Oscar and put a hand on his shoulder. "Six should be enough right?"
"Huh," Oscar glanced at Sougo who he noticed gave a subtle wink. "Uh… sure, I could use some fresh air."
Remnant – Argus Streets
With Geiz and Ruby staying with the others at the house, the remainder of Team RWBY along with Oscar, Sougo and Tsukuyomi took to the streets of Argus.
"So do we really have any idea as to where we're going?" Weiss asked.
"I figured we were just going with the flow," Sougo noted as he kept to the back with Oscar. "Might as well explore you know?"
"We don't even really have a dinner plan," Yang added. "Maybe inspiration will hit us good."
"Preferably something easy," Weiss admitted.
"What? You don't trust yours truly?" Yang asked as she placed a hand on herself with a bit of pride.
"N-No it's just…" Weiss stammered as she tried to come up with a way to not insult her friend. "There's so many of us!"
"Relax Ice Queen," Yang chuckled, "Just trying to lighten the mood."
"Nickname throwbacks huh?" Weiss narrowed her eyes.
"I mean to be fair you do use a lot of ice," Blake reminded with a chuckle before glancing to her side and noticing that Tsukuyomi was oddly silent and starting to slow down. "Hey, is everything okay?"
"I…" Tsukuyomi sighed. "I don't get it…"
"Get what?" Weiss turned.
"How can you all still be so comfortable around me?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"I mean… you're a friend of Ruby's," Yang mentioned. "Of course we'd be."
"Yet you all weren't hostile towards me when I said I might have Time Jacker powers," Tsukuyomi reminded. "Yet with Sougo…"
"…she's right you know," Weiss realized. "We're giving her a chance still but you all didn't feel the same about Sougo."
Yang raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean you all?"
"You two were pretty defensive," Weiss reminded. "Me, I'm still unconvinced. He's too much of a dolt to become something like that."
"It's just that… seeing Oma Zi-O," Blake started. "You really think he won't?"
"Ruby even admitted that it was his future self," Yang said before sighing and shaking his head. "That's not the point we're trying to address here though. I get what Tsuki's trying to say, we haven't exactly given Sougo a fair shake like we have with her."
"And yet I feel like I'm more dangerous." Tsukuyomi replied. "Unlike him at the moment, I have power over time. The same as…"
"It doesn't matter if you have a power connected to the Time Jackers," Blake spoke up firmly. "I get it, but don't think like your connection to a group of bad people mean you're like them."
"But, how can you be so sure?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"It was only touched on briefly but well," Blake pointed towards her cat ears, "I was once a part of the White Fang, pretty much born into it."
"But they were…" Tsukuyomi started.
"They used to be relatively peaceful but when the leader stepped down around five years back, a new era took over with a new leader," Blake explained as she crossed her arms. "Very militant, very violent, and their involvements in the attacks on both schools show just how dangerous they were."
"But, well… I know you fight for Faunus rights, but you don't seem like the violent type," Tsukuyomi mentioned.
"I left before things got further out of hand," Blake explained before giving a smile. "And you hit the nail right on the head, I wanted change not violence. But let's flip what you said back on you."
Tsukuyomi blinked a bit, "Wait, what?"
"What she's trying to say is, just because you have the power of a Time Jacker, doesn't mean you're like them," Yang replied.
"Sure, we don't know anything about them really, but we know enough from what you told us," Weiss replied. "They mess with time, hurt people to get what they want. But you aren't like that."
"And honestly, you should think of your new abilities as gifts," Blake suggested. "You mentioned how much the Time Jackers were a pain, if you master the abilities then you could help out greatly in the future."
"I never thought of it like that…" Tsukuyomi looked down before shaking her head, looking up. "I suppose I was just thinking too much about it."
"I mean we get it," Yang replied. "You've got a new unknown power just like your enemies, that thing doesn't exactly happen every day you know?"
"Right," Tsukuyomi gave a nod before giving a small smile when she saw Blake put a hand on her back as a sign of reassurance.
"Speaking of new powers," Weiss decided to change subjects. "What do you think that new Ridewatch that Ruby got is?"
"That I'm also not sure of, it seems to only fit on the Armor Time slot," Tsukuyomi noted. "But it also didn't activate when Ruby tried to use it. I've also never seen a non Legend Rider Ridewatch fit on the Armor Time slot."
"Huh, well what about you Sougo, you have any take on this?" Yang asked.
"…"
"The silent treatment huh," Weiss sighed when there was no response. She went to look at where Sougo and Oscar were, "Listen I know they were talking about you like you weren't here but… I'm sure they…" She trailed when she suddenly saw that Oscar and Sougo were no longer behind them. "Didn't mean it…"
Everyone stayed silent as they all stared back and realized that their two companions weren't around in the slightest. Everyone quickly began to panic and look around, trying to find some kind of clue as to where they went.
Tsukuyomi cupped her hands together, "Sougo!"
"Oscar!" Yang called out as her eyes widened.
Remnant – Argus, Cotta-Arc Residence
Ruby and Geiz were both trying to relax, the two sitting on one couch each in the living area, Ruby getting more annoyed as the minutes passed with no response from Qrow via her calls.
"I'd say leave it for later," Geiz suggested. "Maybe it's just a bad time."
"I can only hope…" Ruby sighed before deciding to switch subjects. "So you said we only had one option taken from us, but given Salem can just regenerate after being defeated, what else is there? Beat her until she's tired?"
"Well I know we haven't had to deal with it in our older fights," Geiz replied. "But remember that all the older Riders have likely had different methods of fully defeating their enemies."
"So probably see if we can pick their brains then," Ruby gave a nod, "Which Rider would even be good to talk to?"
"The key word being 'if', since we're not any closer to getting back to Earth," Geiz added. "But if we're mulling over whom we've met… I'd gather someone like Kuuga or Wizard."
"The power of Wizard is a great starting point as he also faced an immortal being."
Ruby and Geiz turned before both giving out yelps when they saw Woz was sitting next to Geiz on his couch. Geiz himself though nearly fell over at Woz's sudden appearance. Though Woz himself wasn't exactly in his most joyous of moods, he seemed very apathetic like the group ended up becoming over at Brunswick Farms.
"Please stop doing that," Ruby clutched her chest a bit.
"Is sitting next to me really necessary?" Geiz questioned.
"I am fraught with anxiety…" Woz sighed. "Is… is my Overlord still mad at me?"
"He should be," Geiz rolled his eyes as he scooted away from Woz, wanting to still sit but not wanting to be next to him. "That stunt you pulled with telling everyone about Oma Zi-O didn't help things."
"There are times and places for that kind of news, Woz," Ruby sighed before looking at the floor. "I've never seen Sougo that angry…"
"But given his attitude I doubt he'll stay mad forever," Geiz was forced to admit.
"So there is hope?" Woz asked.
"Yeah, I guess," Ruby mentioned, she was half tempted to ask about her seeing him at Brunswick but decided to hold off for now. She figured she'd distract Woz a bit, "You mentioned Wizard's a great starting point, what did you mean by that?"
"Ah yes, Kamen Rider Wizard," Woz quickly held out his book as he seemed to get semi-energized talking about a prior Rider. On the pages Wizard could be seen in his Flame Dragon form, though with additional armor via wings, a tail, clawed gauntlets and a dragon's head on the chest. "He faced an immortal enemy named Phoenix."
The images shifted to said monster, the Phoenix Phantom, large sword, fiery attacks, a ruby red coloration, it surely lived up to sharing its name with the legendary bird. Of course they saw through the pages that through every defeat, Phoenix would rise back up, regenerations taking a shorter time and the Phantom growing stronger the more he was killed.
"Okay, so how did he beat him?" Geiz asked.
"Yeah cause it looks like freezing him one time didn't work," Ruby noted.
"Simple," Woz smiled as the armored Wizard known as Wizard All Dragon was shown easily besting Phoenix on the books pages. It wasn't long before Haruto had ended up finishing off Phoenix by kicking him high up into the air, the force of the kick so powerful that Phoenix was thrown straight into the sun. "He was kicked into the sun."
Both Geiz and Ruby stared at Woz a bit before Geiz immediately pulled out the Wizard Watch.
"This," Geiz held it forward. "This has the power to kick people into the sun?"
"I mean yeah that's his power but would we be able to even pull it off?" Ruby asked.
"I doubt you would be able to handle it, my Overlord on the other hand…" Woz trailed before lowering his head. "I continue to be fraught with anxiety…"
"And he's back to sulking," Ruby hung her head.
"Well at least there's one idea," Geiz admitted. "Either the sun or send her deep into space, she's still susceptible to the same kind of afflictions as humans. We send her into space and there won't be an issue."
"Okay, yeah that's a good idea, also another thing we should realize," Ruby quickly looked at Geiz. "I'm pretty sure none of us have the actual kicking or punching power to do that."
"Hey at least they're ideas compared to the actual none we had earlier," Geiz pointed out. "I'm honestly surprised Woz, you were useful." He turned only to see Woz was now gone. "Of course he's gone…"
"So okay, kicking/punching into outer space," Ruby said aloud while mentally noting it. She then gave a sigh, "You think Jaune and the others are going to be alright?"
"I think I've got an idea," Geiz admitted. "If there's anyone who can try and get you all through the process of this it's me," He looked up at the ceiling. "I've lived through this life enough to know that you all can't just give up."
Ruby gave a soft smile, "Thanks Geiz." She said before pulling out her Scroll again. "Okay, I waited enough I think… let's try again."
"Just don't get mad if he doesn't answer," Geiz remarked.
"That…" Ruby trailed before giving a hum, "No promises!"
Remnant – Argus Streets
Weiss cupped her hands near her mouth as she shouted, "Sougo! Oscar!"
"How did we lose them?" Yang asked as she looked around, they had been looking around the area they were walking through only to find them. "I didn't think we were walking that fast."
Blake tried to listen out to the two before her ears twitched when she heard… scraping? She quickly looked up at the source, her eyes widening, "Another Rider!"
"Wait, what?" Tsukuyomi turned with the others at where Blake pointed.
Staring down at them was Another OOO who was scraping the ledge of a building with its claws, perched in a crouching state as it stared down at the group. It gave a low growl as its legs glowed brightly, jumping off the building and landing near the four.
The appearance of the Another Rider though did what it was supposed to, caused enough of a small panic to get people running.
"Great, we lose them and get an Another Rider?" Yang questioned.
"I'm just glad we made sure to take our weapons," Blake admitted.
"Can we even take it down?" Weiss asked as she readied her weapon.
"We just need to make it run," Tsukuyomi said as she pulled out her Faizphone, "I'll see if I ca-"
Another OOO growled and jumped towards the four, managing to land near them before swiping with its claws. Weiss and Blake quickly went to block only to get staggered from the force of the slashes, Yang trying to punch only for her fist to get batted away, getting kicked in the stomach and being sent tumbling into Tsukuyomi.
"Ah!" Tsukuyomi ended up dropping her Faizphone in the process, falling and giving a groan as she ended up underneath Yang, "Yang…"
"Sorry," Yang gave a grunt as she got up. "You need to make that call!"
"On it," Tsukuyomi gave a nod as she got on her knees and tried to run to reach the Faizphone X only for Another OOO to come in and kick it further away into a corner.
"He really doesn't want us calling help," Blake realized.
Another OOO quickly turned at Blake's voice, giving a growl as it rushed forward, bringing down both claws as Blake brought out Gambol Shroud in its sheath form to block as she braced with both hands. She winced as the Another Rider was starting to pull through before in a surprising display she began to push up.
Blake gave a yell as her Aura began to glow and shine as if it was being amped up via Jaune's Semblance. But he wasn't around, and her Aura seemed to be acting as if it had a mind of its own.
"What the…" Weiss trailed.
"That… that's not normal," Yang admitted.
"Wait, it's not?" Tsukuyomi asked as she had finally grabbed her phone.
With another yell Blake managed to force Another OOO away from her, she began to pant before blinking a bit as she realized what she had done, "I… what?" She looked at her hand and saw the glow and shining before it faded.
Another OOO growled out before gathering energy in its legs, quickly launching up into the air before landing onto the roof, running off.
"Whatever happened, you scared it off," Tsukuyomi noted. "So your Aura shining like that isn't normal?"
"No, not at all," Blake shook her head. "But it's not just the glow, it actually felt stronger… I felt stronger."
"That's strange," Tsukuyomi admitted.
"We can worry about that later though," Blake said as she brushed it off. "There's an Another Rider loose while Sougo and Oscar are missing. We need to hurry back and tell the others."
"Not just a call?" Weiss asked.
"I think in this case we need all hands on deck," Tsukuyomi agreed. "Just calling Ruby and Geiz will only net us them, we need them along with Jaune and his team."
"Then what are we waiting for, let's get back!" Yang called out as she hurried off back towards the Cotta-Arc residence, the others rushing to keep pace with her.
Remnant – Argus, Cotta-Arc Residence
Ruby was fruitlessly trying to reach her uncle, having her Scroll up to her ear as she heard it continually ringing. She had gone outside onto the backyard porch to get some fresh air. "Come on please…"
'NO ANSWER' was what she read after her attempted calling, Qrow having not picked up at all.
"Where are you?!" Ruby yelled as she threw her Scroll into the yard.
"I thought I said not to get mad," Geiz remarked from the door, walking through and closing it.
Ruby sighed, "I know but-"
"You know, I came out here to avoid the yelling."
Both Geiz and Ruby turned to see Maria sitting next to a small table with a plate of fruit.
"Smart move honestly," Geiz admitted as he went to sit down on the porch.
"Sorry," Ruby apologized. "The others went to get food for tonight."
"Why not go with them?" Maria asked.
"I don't know," Ruby admitted as she sat down on the porch next to Geiz. "It's just… a bit frustrating, I wanted some time mostly alone. Geiz and I sort of have a plan for beating Salem, but even then it's so absurd that I doubt it would give Jaune and his team comfort. Qrow's out drinking, Ozpin hasn't come back and I wouldn't blame him if he just stayed dormant…"
"I'd like to stop you on the pity train," Maria called out. "You said you had a sort of plan?"
"It's a work in progress," Geiz replied. "Not really important."
"Like hell it isn't, if we have something we should act on it," Maria suggested. "It can't be that bad, right?"
"It's uh…" Ruby started, wondering if she should even say it before taking a deep breath. "We're thinking of launching Salem off Remnant and into space, possibly the sun!"
Maria's prosthetics simulated blinking a few times, "Okay, you were right, that's a sort of plan. Honestly it's more a concept. How do you even plan on attempting that? Or is this that Kamen Rider business?"
"Would you believe me if I said one of my predecessors already did it to an immortal enemy he had?" Ruby asked with a nervous chuckle.
"Just because it worked for someone else doesn't mean it will work for us," Maria sighed. "Best start thinking of insane Plan B."
"There is always using Jinn," Geiz reminded. "I noticed the wording Ozma used was specific, if we worded the question differently…"
"We only have one more question though," Ruby reminded. "We can't exactly risk that."
"True… we could end up just getting the same song and dance," Geiz realized.
"I thought returning home would end up making things simpler," Ruby admitted as she looked down. "But even with my new power I can't help but feel I'm letting everyone down…"
"You know, you don't give yourself enough credit," Maria replied.
"Oh…" Ruby gave a chuckle. "Thanks."
"That wasn't a compliment," Maria answered dryly.
Ruby was a bit surprised, "Uh… what?"
"Just speak what you mean," Geiz gave a sigh as he got up and stretched a bit.
"If I have to explain to you, it will just defeat the purpose," Maria gave an almost exasperated response before shifting gears and looking at Ruby. "But if you're tired of not knowing anything, how about we discuss those eyes of yours?"
"Oh!" Ruby quickly stood up, "Yes, ma'am, I would be honored!"
"Sit back down, for Pete's sake," Maria immediately called out; she didn't need Ruby being all formal on her.
Ruby kept her smile, sitting on her knees as she awaited Maria's instructions.
"Let's start with what you do know, tell me," Maria prompted.
"Uh… Silver-Eyed people are supposed to be legendary warriors. Or something," Ruby said, paraphrasing what her uncle had said much to Maria and Geiz's disappointment. "And at the Fall of Beacon, I turned a giant Wyvern to stone."
"She said what you know not a repeat of what we got on our way to Argus," Geiz called out.
Maria just shook her head, "I was hoping there would be more."
"Look," Ruby pointed out, crossing her arms with a huff. "If I knew everything I wouldn't be asking for help!"
"Yelling…" Maria narrowed her eyes. She then noticed Ruby's more downer expression, "It's not your fault. I had my father to teach me, and even he didn't have all the answers. But what he told me makes sense, given what I've seen."
"Was he a Huntsman too?" Ruby asked.
"It wasn't really an official title back in the day," Maria admitted as she began to reminisce. "I only knew him as an old soldier and an excellent teacher. I never attended one of those fancy academies of yours, but I scored higher on the license exam than any other Huntsman or Huntress that day."
"As expected of a legend, sounds like you started off strong right out the gate," Geiz commented.
"You must've been proud," Ruby gave a smile.
"He would've scolded me for showing off," Maria admitted. "He'd never been able to find much information about our abilities. Just legends of warriors whose eyes shone like mirrors, reflecting the light of the world onto darkness. He found so little, in fact, that it made him cautious. How could such powerful bloodlines be so rare?" She asked rhetorically, "Unless something was actively seeking to destroy them."
"Salem…" Ruby realized.
"I wonder…" Geiz was already getting gears turned in his head, he was curious if Salem while not able to be killed could be weakened heavily by a Silver-Eyed Warrior. "Maybe…" He muttered, while it would be hard to likely get Ruby to activate them on command, there was another possible way.
"I tried to keep my powers a secret, but as you know, it wasn't enough," Maria reminded. "I owe my life to my training, and my Semblance. At the end of the day, those are still your most powerful tools." She paused before moving her head side to side. "That and the fancy belt and trinkets you have as a Rider, I'm sure those have served you well."
"By the way," Ruby was now curious. "What is your Semblance?"
Geiz meanwhile heard a snapping sound, seeing a lemon fall from the tree above Maria, it fell and looked like it was ready to drop onto the plate of fruit Maria had. To Geiz and Ruby's surprise, Maria caught it without even looking.
"Preflexes!" Maria announced with a smile, "A silly name I came up with. Hard to explain, but I can sense everything better than most and react to attacks almost before they happen. Combine that with my training and secret ability to turn Grimm to stone, or blind them, or vaporize them." She cleared her throat before smiling, "And that's how you become the Grimm Reaper!"
"Uh-huh…" Geiz trailed as he gave a nod.
"So," Ruby gave a smile as she kept her fists close in excitement, "How do I laser beam monsters with my eyeballs?"
Maria was quick on the draw, grabbing her cane and extending it before smacking Ruby right on top of her head with it.
Geiz couldn't help but snicker, "You kind of deserve that."
"Don't make me come over there mister!" Maria pointed her cane at Geiz who visibly backed up, she then looked over at Ruby with a frown, "But do you see my point? You need to not think like that! I want you to think of all the times you've triggered your powers. What did those moments have in common?"
"I…" Ruby rubbed her head as she thought back to every single time, "Was scared, and stressed. Is it emotional, like unlocking a Semblance?"
"It's emotional but more focused than that." Maria partially confirmed, "Think, what is it you wanted?"
Ruby clenched her hands slightly as she thought back. Even against Another Ryuki it was still the same as all the other times on Remnant, "I wanted to protect my friends."
Maria gave a nod, "Precisely! It is the desire to preserve life which fuels the light inside you. And to make no mistake, it is light." She added firmly. "Preservation is an extension of creation, or, at the very least, an enemy of destruction. The Creatures of Grimm were made by the God of Darkness, but your light comes from his brother."
Geiz's eyes widened a bit, but not on the last part, but rather Maria's mention of preservation opposing destruction. And all the Grimm were essentially beings of evil… so was he onto something?
"Wait… how do you know that?" Ruby asked.
"I always knew how to use the light, but never why it only worked on the Grimm," Maria explained, not knowing the key detail that Geiz had. "Then, Jinn showed us her vision. Were you paying attention?"
Ruby thought back to the moments shown of the two Brother God's, remembering right before the God of Light transformed, a bright light erupted from his eyes, "The God of Light… his eyes!" She stood up. "Okay, where do we start?"
"Ruby did you even listen to what she said?" Geiz gave a groan as he leaned against the nearby back of the house. "You can't do anything right now."
"He's right, it can't be here," Maria gave a nod as she rested her finger near her plate, a butterfly moving onto it as she held it out, it's wings moving up and down calmly. "The light will only work in the presence of Grimm. Meaning the only practice you'll get will be a trial by fire. But, what you can do is focus on creating a state of mind that you can tap into when you need it. Don't think about your light as a means of destroying evil, but as a way to protect the people of Remnant."
Ruby though was now thinking back to the two times when her eyes activated where the requirements seemingly weren't met, "But, that can't be right."
Maria tilted her head, "Hm?"
"Did you finally notice?" Geiz asked.
"Yeah, the light is only supposed to react to Grimm," Ruby started. "But I used it during the battle at Haven, it reacted to Cinder. And then when I was on Earth, it reacted to Another Ryuki."
"In the case of this Cinder… it could be something you just weren't seeing…" Maria suggested before gaining a more thoughtful stance, "But this Another Rider definitely calls into question the mechanics."
"It might be able to deal with pure beings of darkness alongside corruptions of life," Geiz suggested as he walked over. "The Another Riders at their core are corrupted powers seeking to destroy, which might explain why you did some damage to Another Ryuki but didn't vaporize him. The monster-like nature might make them sturdier than the Grimm alongside holding a host."
"That… is a possibility," Maria admitted as she tried to wrap her head around it. "Corruption of life is opposed to preservation, as the further the corruption gets, the closer it gets to destruction."
"Also…" Ruby took out the mysterious Ridewatch she was able to create, "I know you said you were the Grimm Reaper, and I know you have no reason to lie to us. But I need to know why the blank watch reacted and formed this."
"That I'm afraid… I can't answer," Maria admitted as she was unable to properly wrap her head around the new Ridewatch. "The whole concept of Kamen Rider's is a foreign concept to Remnant itself. As someone who has lived long, especially steeped in our mythos, I never knew such power existed, even being unaware that our power could be compatible with it."
Ruby gave a sigh and stared at the mysterious device, "And no one on our side knows what this is either."
"Well we haven't asked Woz," Geiz pointed out.
"But we have no idea when he'll just pop up," Ruby sighed. "Sometimes I wish he'd be as eager to pop up randomly as he was back on Earth…"
"Be careful what you wish for," Geiz warned.
"Honestly Ruby, you're a remarkable child," Maria had to fully compliment. "Not only have you followed the path of a Huntress but added on the responsibility of a Kamen Rider. At such a young and impactful age as well. I said it before, but you and your generation are definitely up to the task of inheriting this world."
Ruby gave a smile before slightly jumping at the sound of a door slamming open from the front of the house. Shouting could be heard from the inside causing Geiz and Ruby to stand at the ready. But it wasn't long before Yang and Tsukuyomi had opened the door from the backyard.
"Ruby, Geiz!" The two yelled out.
"What's up?" Geiz asked as he and Ruby quickly hurried over and inside.
Ruby though noticed everyone's concerned looks, and suddenly realized two of their group were missing, "Guys?"
Jaune, Nora and Ren all walked down from upstairs, Jaune curious as to all the shouting, "What's going on?"
"Oscar and Sougo… they're missing," Blake responded.
Geiz raised an eyebrow, "…Missing?"
"We can just call Sougo up," Ruby suggested as she took out her Faizphone X.
"I've already tried," Tsukuyomi shook her head. "There's no response."
"There's also another concern too," Yang admitted. "Normally we wouldn't be worried given Sougo is well… a Rider. So him going missing at the same time would just mean Oscar's safe right?"
"Oh no," Ruby paled slightly when she realized where this was going, "It's…"
"We were attacked by what Tsukuyomi called Another OOO," Weiss explained. "So it looks like you were right, there are Time Jackers here on Remnant."
"Oh no, those Another Riders you all mentioned are on the loose?" Jaune's eyes visibly carried worry.
"Yeah, and it seems like whoever it is they're trying to get the old crew back," Geiz added. "We need to be on caution now and sweep the city. Not only do we need to find Oscar and Sougo, we need to make sure there are no Another Riders roaming."
"…Do you think they'll be fine?" Nora asked.
"If Sougo's with Oscar, maybe… but that depends on if they weren't taken by an Another Rider or if they were separated," Ruby admitted, while she did have faith in Sougo, if an Another Rider surprise attacked him she was worried he wouldn't be able to defend himself and Oscar. "Either way we need to form up and start our search."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Absolutely sure, I think we can do this."
Oscar was currently questioning his life decisions up to his point, mostly in how Sougo was able to talk him into this. The two were currently staring up at a peculiarly named clothing shop that Sougo had brought him to. Sougo himself just wanted Oscar to go to a place where he could get a fresh new look. While Oscar admittedly felt like some change was needed, he was skeptical of just leaving abruptly.
Oscar raised an eyebrow and looked at the Rider, "And the others?"
"They should be fine," Sougo admitted as he ignored the ringing in his pockets despite Oscar pointing it out on their way there. He then pulled out a fair amount of Lien, "But I think it's time we get started."
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"I still want to do as much good as possible."
"Someone's been picking their targets a bit too well."
"Something feels off."
"That's what the others use isn't it?"
"Uh… Henshin?"
Chapter 28: A Flashing, Shocking… Transformation?
Author's Note: So yeah here's another fairly standard chapter, this one mostly going through and slightly expanding some things from the show. Also Geiz is pretty much the Oscar protection squad by this point, ha ha. Expect a wholly original chapter next time though as we extend our time in Argus just a bit.
Speaking of next time though, we've got a scheduling announcement change for the remainder of the year. Now it's not too big of a change, next Roze is coming out when it's scheduled on the 13th of November. But, I'm shifting Song of Swords into the week before on the 6th, that is because from the 13th onwards, the last three Saturdays of November are going to be updates for Roze Chapters 28, 29, and 30. Expect the same thing to happen for December as well, Song of Swords the first week and then three chapters of Roze the following weeks.
Now, why am I doing this? Well we're getting to some fun stuff so I figured I'd do something special for the end of the year. But this is also because my backlog is getting pretty big and sizeable. It's to the point where I'm covered for quite a while and this won't really affect things long term.