Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 36 – Blooming Next Stage 2013
"As it was once written in this book, average highschooler Tokiwa Sougo would embark on a path that would lead to him becoming the overlord of time, Oma Zi-O. He has since abandoned this dream and chooses to live as a Kamen Rider instead."
Once again Woz was in his black void, having set down the clock that he had Junichiro fix. He then began to pace about casually as he looked at his book.
"As the New Year starts up, a new era also begins," Woz explained as the year 2018 was shown behind him before the 8 shifted to a 9, turning it into 2019. "Thanks to Sougo's decision and adventure in Remnant with Miss Rose, many branching paths in the record of time have occurred."
Various green digital lines began appearing at Woz's feet, all of them branching out before one turned red. The red path led out into the dark voice, a red katakana visor piercing through the darkness in the distance of the path.
"Yet despite this, one path remains as strong as ever, even if it is not being utilized," Woz gave a bow in that direction before turning. "As new Riders arrive, many mysteries still remain alongside Diend, Young Oscar and the Relic being hard to track down. But one action is still clear, and that is to make sure that the Time Jackers are not allowed to do as they please."
Earth – Zawame City, Early January 2019:
Team RWBY alongside Sougo, Geiz and Tsukuyomi were currently making their way out of the train station. The group of seven had managed to finally arrive at Zawame City, and were all taking in the sights. Well that was all except for one person.
"So," Geiz gave a bored look. "Why are we here again?"
"For a mission," Ruby answered.
Geiz rolled his eyes, "Why all of us though? I thought this was just a job for your team?"
"Normally yes," Blake replied. "But given we're dealing with Gaim this time, it's likely we have an Another Rider on our hands."
"Yeah, we haven't met Gaim yet," Sougo agreed.
"So it's likely a Time Jacker plot!" Ruby pointed up high.
"Likely is an understatement," Weiss sighed.
"Regardless, the hotline that Kougami set you up with is working well," Tsukuyomi noted.
"Yep," Yang gave a nod. "It worked just like it was supposed to."
Several Hours Earlier
Earth – Tokyo, Early January 2019:
It had taken a while, what with all the New Year celebrations and also sleeping in, but Team RWBY had managed to finally wake up early for once. Yang and Blake were working on breakfast while Weiss was still getting ready. Ruby meanwhile was scrolling on her phone as she drank a cup of coffee, lounging around the dining room table. It was a fairly quiet morning all things considered.
RING
RING
RING
Ruby perked up when she heard the phone for the Team RWBY Rider Hotline ringing. Staring at the phone for a bit she set her cup down before quickly hurrying over and answering before anyone could get a word in.
"Hello, this is the Team RWBY Rider Hotline!" Ruby called out with as much pep as she could muster in the morning. "This is Ruby Rose speaking."
"Ruby Rose, I take it you're the Kamen Rider Roze I've heard about, correct?" The voice on the other end asked.
"That would be me," Ruby confirmed.
"Then you've been the one I've heard that's been helping out Riders with their issues," The voice replied. "My name is Takatora Kureshima, Kamen Rider Zangetsu. I have a request for you and your team."
"What sort of request?" Ruby asked.
"I'd rather not give too many details away, even on a private line I can't have us be compromised," Takatora admitted. "I've currently tracked down a possible dangerous group and I need more Riders. I was told you all might be able to help."
"Sure, we can give you the backup you need," Ruby agreed. "Where exactly do you need us to meet you?"
"I won't be getting back into the country till later today," Takatora replied. "But I need you all to meet with my brother and his friends in Zawame City. I've already talked to Kougami and you won't have to worry about transportation costs."
"Zawame City huh, it's a bit of a distance but I'll make sure we're ready to go," Ruby agreed. "You can count on us to help you all get to the bottom of this."
"That is appreciated, I'll let the others know to be expecting you," Takatora said before hanging up.
"Yes!" Ruby cheered as she hung up the phone. "We've got our first mission girls!"
"I managed to overhear a bit," Blake noted as she went to set hers and the others coffees on the dining room table. "We're going out of town?"
"Sorry about suddenly springing it on you, but yeah," Ruby apologized as she went back to the table. "Zawame City is one of the neighboring cities and one of the few places outside of here to have their own Rider too."
"Of course it does," Weiss gave a near yawn as she walked over to the dining table before sitting at where Blake had placed her mug. Something felt familiar about the city name though, "So who is it this time?"
"If it's Zawame, then it's Kamen Rider Gaim," Ruby answered as she took out her phone and began searching through some saved files. "But he isn't the same kind of well known Rider like W from Futo."
"Was he more of an urban legend?" Yang asked as she began setting the food down on the table.
"Not exactly, he was sort of well known on the net," Ruby admitted as she put her phone in the center of the table, showing a video of a dance team wearing blue jackets. "Zawame City used to be a battleground for dancers back in 2013, a whole bunch of different teams vying for popularity showed up."
"So what's dancing have to do with Kamen Riders?" Weiss asked.
"Well this one in particular was Team Gaim," Ruby explained as she switched to a different set of archived footage. The next scene showed a warrior in a blue samurai styled bodysuit with gold armoring and trimming, orange fruit-like samurai armor on the chest, shoulders and helmet with complimentary weapons finishing the look off.
Yang raised an eyebrow, "Okay when you said Gaim I wasn't expecting a fruit theme."
"Why does a dance team need a Kamen Rider?" Blake asked.
"There's a lot more stuff to this than just dancing," Ruby admitted. "The second part of this all was the Inves Game. They'd summon small monsters to do battle and settle disputes, and eventually Riders got involved to escalate it… but well things went way out of control…"
Weiss could only give a curious look, "How out of control are we talking?"
Present
Earth – Zawame City, Early January 2019:
"One issue though, if this is an Another Rider, then we might be out of luck with making a Ridewatch," Blake admitted.
Sougo tilted his head, "How so?"
"Gaim kind of vanished after what was supposedly his final battle, and there's not much word on what actually happened in this city either," Ruby admitted. "Our best bet is finding out from one of his allies."
"Where do we even start?" Geiz asked. "This city is fairly expansive."
"Not as expansive as it previously was," Weiss corrected, having borrowed Tsukuyomi's tablet to look through news more easily. She then pulled up the image of a large tower that had a ring encircling the top of it, the tower looking almost like a tree. "It's a wonder on what five or so years will do."
"It used to be a suburban area before being expanded thanks to Yggdrasil," Tsukuyomi was also reading the articles that Weiss was pulling up, "However the company was liquidated and their assets scattered once all their private information was uploaded online, including the reasons why they went for expanding development in various cities all over the world."
"Well the city's still pretty big," Yang remarked.
"Not like we need to look for them," Ruby reminded. "Our employer said that he'd have his brother meet with us after we disembarked."
"I don't see anyone here," Blake looked around, noticing a normal crowd. "Do you think we're early?"
"Maybe, Mr. Kureshima did say that he got some strings pulled with Mr. Kougami with our transportation," Ruby explained. "Maybe the train was supposed to arrive a bit later and they were expecting us then."
"Well how do we kill time until then?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Well there are a few famous locales still intact," Weiss mentioned as she gave a small smirk. "I actually have the perfect idea-"
"Run!"
"Why are they back?!"
"Move it, move it!"
Everyone suddenly perked up when they heard yelling and running, seeing a plaza near the station that was currently being attacked by Elementary Inves, all of them having a piercing red glow to their eyes.
Ruby's eyes widened, "Oh jeez, Inves?"
"These are the things that were attacking everywhere right?" Yang asked. "I thought you said they were gone."
"I thought so too," Ruby admitted.
"Let's go!" Sougo called out as he rushed for the plaza under attack.
"Hey, wait up!" Geiz called out as he hurried after Sougo.
Ruby could only give a sigh before quickly pepping up, "Okay Team, you three and Tsukuyomi work on making sure everyone gets out safely. I'll make sure those two don't get in over their heads."
"We'll catch up with you in a bit," Weiss gave a nod.
"Right," Ruby nodded before rushing off for the plaza.
"Now then," Yang said as she hurried over and went to make sure people weren't trying to trample each other, "Alright everyone, this way, this way!"
"Keep calm!" Weiss called out as she helped coordinate the people running off with Tsukuyomi.
Two individuals began running towards the plaza, both being fairly young black bushy haired adults. The smaller of the two wore black jeans, grey shoes, and a grey sweater with a black leather jacket over it. The taller one had on blue jeans, brown shoes, a white v-neck and a grey camo-patterned windbreaker jacket.
Blake noticed the two cutting through the crowd, "Hey you two wait!"
Her call seemed to have no affect as the two ran forward through the crowd as they made their way towards where Sougo, Geiz and Ruby were.
The trio of time Riders had readied their Ziku Drivers and Ridewatches, setting them in place and striking their usual stances.
"Henshin!"
"Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME!]
[HAI!]
"Huh?" Sougo and Ruby perked up at the sudden new noise, turning to see the pair of men standing right next to them, Sengoku Driver's on them as they had grape and walnut themed Lockseed's each cut into already. Armoring in the shape of a grape and walnut respectively hovered above them.
"Huh?" The taller of the two looked in surprise at the same time.
[KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!]
[KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!]
[KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]
[BUDOH ARMS! RYU! HOU! HA-HA-HA!]
[KURUMI ARMS! MR. KNUCKLE MAN!]
When both sets of transformations finished up, Ruby and Sougo had fully turned. Geiz meanwhile had ignored the other Riders entirely, simply rushing in and throwing himself at the Inves.
The first and smaller of the two Sengoku Driver Riders was wearing a green and black bodysuit with gold lining and a Chinese motif to it. Grape armoring had landed on top before folding out and in place to fully reveal Kamen Rider Ryugen.
The second and taller of the two had a black bodysuit similar to the Kurokage Troopers, the walnut armor landing and unfolding to fully reveal Kamen Rider Knuckle. Despite having a similar bodysuit the helmet was different from the Troopers. The biggest difference in the armor was the large knuckle shaped gauntlets he wore.
"Eh? Who are you guys supposed to be?" The walnut Rider asked.
"That's what I want to know!" Sougo pointed out.
"You must be Roze correct?" Ryugen asked as he drew out grape themed magnum with a Gatling gun barrel. "My brother talked to you this morning, I'm Mitsuzane Kureshima, and this is Zack."
"Ah, you're Takatora's brother," Ruby realized. "Yes, that would be correct. Ruby Rose, Kamen Rider Roze at your service."
"Huh, so you're the help?" Zack asked before brandishing his large fists. "Well let's get to it then!"
"Sounds good to me," Sougo agreed and drew out his Zikan Girade in its gun mode, aiming and firing at a few Inves that were starting to overwhelm Geiz.
Geiz gasped out as he kicked one away, "Took you long enough!" He drew out his Zikan Zax, swinging and slamming it into a nearby Inves.
"Sorry, just talking to the guys we're helping!" Sougo apologized as he switched his weapon to its sword mode and slashed an Inves away.
"What are you on about?" Geiz asked.
Zack gave a yell as he jumped and slammed his fist into an Inves near Geiz. He performed a set of punches against it before using an uppercut to send it into the air. The Inves screeched out as it exploded mid-air.
"Hey there, the names Kamen Rider Knuckle!" Zack held up his fist. "Hope you don't mind the help!"
"Huh," Geiz tilted his head before switching his weapon to its bow mode, taking aim and shooting an Inves in the face. "Well this just made things easier."
Ruby and Mitsuzane meanwhile were using their long range via their rifle and magnum respectively. Ruby went for single shots to trip Inves up while Mitsuzane had gone for burst shots when the Inves were grouping up too much.
"You're a pretty good shot," Mitsuzane complimented.
"You aren't half bad yourself," Ruby said as she took aim and shot an Inves directly in the head to send it to the ground. "So what's the deal with these Inves, I thought they were gone."
"They should be," Mitsuzane admitted. "Someone's bringing them back, plus they're different from last time."
"Different?" Ruby asked.
"Their eyes are shining for some reason, they didn't do that previously," Mitsuzane explained.
"Odd," Ruby said as she continued to keep up the covering fire, her and Mitsuzane both managing to draw the Inves into formations to where they'd be easily picked off.
[KURUMI SPARKING!]
Zack began punching the air in front of him, launching out energy spheres shaped like walnuts towards the Inves he was facing. The energy attacks slammed into the Inves, knocking them back before they exploded.
[TIME BURST!]
Geiz spun forward, kicking out with his right leg and releasing a wave of energy towards the Inves that were facing him. He then planted his leg before spinning and kicking it out again behind him, unleashing a second wave towards a few Inves trying to sneak up on him. Both sets of Inves were struck, growling out as they fell back before exploding.
[OOO GIRI GIRI SLASH!]
Sougo loaded in the OOO Ridewatch as he crouched forward, waiting for the remaining Inves to get closer to him. Once they did he gave a yell and slashed forward, a white slash cutting through the Inves and even cutting through space. The entire area behind the Inves was slanted as if it was cut as well. In time the space behind the Inves returned to normal before the monsters themselves exploded.
"Looks like you guys took all the fun," Yang called out as she walked over with Blake, Weiss and Tsukuyomi.
"Sorry guys," Ruby gave a bit of a chuckle before dismissing her transformations, the others doing the same.
"You two," Blake recognized Mitsuzane and Zack as the two rushing towards the plaza. "I suppose that makes sense, the only people who would run towards danger would be Riders."
"So what exactly is going on here?" Geiz asked.
"I think it would be best if we discuss this somewhere else," Mitsuzane suggested.
At the abandoned chapel that was Kugai's main base, he and his Kurokage Troopers were currently feeding various Elementary Inves the Zakuro Lockseed's they had. Once fully eating them the Inves' eyes began to glow a bright red.
"They are ours just like the rest," Kugai said as he looked the Inves over before giving a nod. "Take them to the others."
"Yes sir," The Troopers said as they began to escort the Inves away.
"Just how many Inves are there even?" Uhr asked as he walked in from the chapel entrance. "You certainly have a lot to spare."
"How was the small performance?" Kugai asked as he walked over, he had been familiarized with the entire group of the Time Jackers during his several days as Another Gaim. So he had gotten used to not only Swartz but the other members showing up.
"The Riders in the city bought the bait you laid out," Uhr mentioned. "They definitely know something's wrong. But we've also got the Riders from out of town sticking their nose in your business."
"Which is exactly why I'm preparing my own forces, hoping their numbers will give us the time we need," Kugai replied. "No matter, once the Saver System fully activates and gets underway it won't matter how many Riders they send at me. Especially with this new power that you all have gifted me."
"Don't get too overconfident," Uhr warned. "You need to be prepared for whatever they pull out. But especially when it comes to the out of town Riders."
"They're the ones that Swartz mentioned, correct?" Kugai asked, "Zi-O, Geiz and Roze."
"Yes," Uhr gave a nod. "You're going to want to be careful with them. So long as Gaim stays out of the picture then we should be fine."
"Gaim is no longer on this planet," Kugai gave a smile. "We won't find interference from him. He's too big to be worrying about someone like me."
"You'd better hope so," Uhr said as he turned to head off.
Kugai turned towards the back of the chapel, looking at the bodhi tree-like structure that was giving off various pulsating glows. "Soon… soon the Saver System will initiate its startup sequence, and then I will give those who are worthy… salvation."
"You sure they won't mind?" Ruby asked.
"They said it was fine," Mistuzane reassured. "Besides with the Inves attacking they figured it would be safer to break for the day."
After getting introductions out of the way, Mitsuzane had led the group to an old hangout spot of his. It was a stone building with stairs that lead up to a hangout spot that used to belong to Team Gaim before being populated by the Beat Riders in general.
"Don't worry about it," Zack added. "We used this place for a lot of important meetings anyway. It's the safest place to be at the moment."
"So your brother was pretty close to the chest in terms of information," Ruby spoke up after sitting down. "He mentioned a group rising up but he didn't specify who, and we have our own suspicions on what might be causing this."
"It's a group known as the Black Bodhi," Mitsuzane explained. "A man known as Kugai Kudo ascended past his human form and eventually started said cult. He tried attacking Yggdrasill in the past but it didn't end up working. But once Yggdrasill ended up bankrupt his group alongside smaller groups started up again."
"One of the groups that he was using was called Neo Baron," Zack continued as he took out a blank Zakuro Lockseed and placed it on a nearby table for everyone to inspect. "The leader was spreading Zakuro Lockseed's. They have a weird brainwashing effect, and it seems like he spread enough to where those who held them vanished after I beat Neo Baron's leader."
"Those members likely helped Kugai secretly during all these years and now they're finally making their move," Mitsuzane explained. "They're also rather nasty as when blank ones are active they act as bombs."
Blake winced, "Suicide bombers?"
"Cult leader huh," Geiz mused. "Yeah, that clinches it then, it's likely this Kugai Kudo is our Another Rider."
Mitsuzane raised an eyebrow, "Another Rider?"
"They're monstrous versions of Kamen Riders," Sougo explained. "There's a group known as the Time Jackers creating them, trying to crown a new King to rule the future."
"The reason I also accepted it is because I know that Zawame was home to Kamen Rider Gaim," Ruby added.
Mitsuzane and Zack however looked down and to the side when Gaim's name was mentioned. Blake seemed to pick up on this.
"We were wondering if you had any idea of where Gaim was," the cat Faunus spoke up. "If Kugai Kudo is Another Gaim we need Gaim's Ridewatch to beat it."
"Kouta…" Mitsuzane paused a bit before clearing his throat. "Gaim isn't here right now. I'm not sure when exactly he'll show up either."
"We've had to take matters into our own hands on these cases," Zack admitted.
"Oh…" Ruby looked down a bit, realizing it was a touchy subject.
"But," Mitsuzane raised his head and gave a smile, "If we really need him, then he'll show up, I know he will."
Sougo couldn't help but give a smile at that before looking around, "So what exactly is our next move?"
"Well we were trying to convince the last available Rider to join us again," Zack rubbed the back of his head, "But he's being stubborn about it."
"Who's the last one?" Yang asked.
"Hideyasu Jonouchi," Mitsuzane replied, "Kamen Rider Gridon."
"Wait THE Hideyasu Jonouchi?" Weiss asked.
Ruby turned in surprise to her partner, "Weiss, you know him?"
"Well you know I have to do something to not get bored, so I browse a lot," Weiss answered as she held up a finger. "He's a famous patissier from Charmant. Even though the shop is based here it's still famous throughout the country thanks to the original head chef, Oren Pierre Alfonzo. I actually wanted to visit there to taste his sweets for myself if we had the chance."
"Of course you'd be interested in the high quality sweets." Blake gave a snicker before looking away with a smirk when she saw Weiss glaring at her.
Mitsuzane couldn't help but chuckle, "Yes, well Oren went back to his roots in being a mercenary alongside also resuming his work as a Rider. So Jonouchi took over and gave up being a Rider as a result."
"The situation must be pretty bad with this Black Bohdi group if you're trying to get him out of retirement," Tsukuyomi realized.
"We need as many hands on deck as possible," Zack replied.
"Well lucky for you, you've got six Riders in total to help out," Yang gave a grin.
Zack's eyes widened, "Wait six?!"
"Yeah, aside from Sougo and Geiz, my teammates are also Riders," Ruby replied. "We figured not to go all out immediately."
"That puts us at 10 Riders," Mitsuzane counted before giving a nod. "Then we should be good to go."
"I suppose the next question is where this Black Bohdi group is hiding," Weiss mused.
"We've been trying to search but Inves attacks have been popping up a lot recently," Mitsuzane admitted. "So we're forced to split up and keep people safe while wasting our time on them."
"Hmm…" Ruby trailed trying to figure out something.
Sougo meanwhile looked over at Tsukuyomi, "Hey would your tablet have that sort of information?"
Tsukuyomi could only give a sigh, "I really shouldn't be doing this constantly. And even then I'm not sure if it has that information. The network I access is public files that have been released, not more close to the chest classified ones."
Mitsuzane meanwhile heard his phone ringing and answered, "Brother?"
"Mitsuzane, we've got an issue, it turns out Kugai was closer to completing his plans than we thought."
"What do you mean an issue?" Mitsuzane asked as everyone turned towards him and his conversation.
"I've been looking up the power grid in Zawame, and it seems a decommissioned chapel is drawing in an insane amount of power."
"That must be where he is," Mitsuzane realized.
"I've also been searching through the data of what I found, and given the power fluctuations we don't have time to spare. Did you meet with Roze's Team?"
"Zack and I have, in total there are eight of us at the moment," Mitsuzane confirmed, "What did you find?"
"Some information about a Saver System, and how it will activate when enough power is fed to the main activation unit," Takatora answered in a more tense tone. "While I can't get into specifics the important details are that it will emit invisible radio waves that act as a stronger version of the Zakuro Lockseeds. Anyone without a Driver will likely succumb to the effects. After he has everyone under his control however… I'm not sure what his plans are. The most I've got is how the Saver System works. There should be a central device, destroy it."
Zack was listening closely as his eyes widened, "What?"
"Send me the location, we'll put a stop to it," Mitsuzane spoke up.
"Be careful, Oren and I are on our way, we'll try to rendezvous with you shortly after you start the confrontation."
"We will," Mitszuane hung up and soon got a text almost immediately after. "Good news, we've found Kugai's hideout. Bad news is his plan is about to initiate."
Geiz's eyes narrowed, "Seriously?"
"We need to stop him then," Sougo realized.
"What exactly is his plan?" Ruby asked.
"The Saver System," Zack answered. "That Neo Baron I was telling you about was recruiting people to be saved when it would activate. It's supposedly a weapon that would have wiped out everyone in Zawame City."
"What a terrible name for something like that," Blake shivered.
"This one just seems to emit the same control effects as the Zakuro Lockseeds," Mitsuzane noted. "The only ones safe are however are those with Drivers."
"Yeah but given Neo Baron's detailed blueprints I wouldn't be surprised if some kind of wipeout would occur," Zack admitted as he rubbed his neck, "At least after the initial wave goes out."
"Then we take this Saver System out before it fully activates," Ruby stated firmly.
Sougo gave a nod, "We should have some time after the Saver System activates to stop it before it possibly goes into a second phase. So even if it does initiate soon there's still a chance."
"So we've got a gap," Weiss said before looking around. "There's one issue, what about Tsukuyomi?"
"That's right," Yang realized. "She's not a Rider, she won't be protected."
Tsukuyomi soon looked down, realizing that the others were right, "If that's the case… then I-"
"She can still come with us," Sougo interrupted causing his allies to stare at him. "I mean, given Tsukuyomi's unique case, I think she'll still be protected."
"How can you be so sure?" Blake asked.
"Because of her powers," Sougo answered before going over and putting a hand on Tsukuyomi's shoulder. "I mean after all, why would the Time Jackers take a risk on the Saver System if they had the potential to be affected by it?
Tsukuyomi blinked in surprise before thinking about it, "You're right."
"Okay, but what if they notice she's alright? Wouldn't that give her away?" Yang asked.
"They might just think it's a bug so long as Tsukuyomi doesn't do the one thing that will attract unwanted attention if they're watching," Ruby admitted before giving a stretch and walking forward, "That being said we're bringing the full team out for this since Sougo makes a good point. Plus we can't waste anymore time."
"Sounds fine by me," Geiz agreed before looking over to Mitsuzane, "Where's the location?"
"It's an old chapel and I've got the coordinates on my phone," Mitsuzane held his phone up before heading to the exit, the others following after him. "How many of you all have bikes?"
"Three of us," Ruby said.
Geiz and Sougo said nothing as they activated their respective Bike Ridewatches, bringing out the Ride Strikers.
"Then that makes five bikes," Mitsuzane said as he drew out his Rose Attacker Lockseed and activated it.
Zack drew out a Sakura styled Vehicle Lockseed, activating it to reveal the Sakura Hurricane Rider Machine.
"Whoa, you guys have them too!" Ruby called out as she activated her own Rose Attacker Lockseed to bring her vehicle out.
Zack stared a bit, "Wait how did you get one?"
"Huh, oh it was in a pile of these strange fruits a friend of mine was using and he told me I could have it," Ruby explained. "His name's Nitoh Kosuke, Kamen Rider Beast."
"I think I remember a Kamen Rider Beast from a while ago… if he's getting raw Helheim Fruit though…" Mitsuzane thought on it a while, there was only one real source that he'd likely get it from. He couldn't help but smile a bit as he realized the Rose Attacker was intentionally left there. He gave a smile, "It looks like you ended up getting quite the gift."
"Okay everyone let's stop wasting time," Geiz called out. "Mount up with a partner."
Yang had decided to mount up with Ruby, Tsukuyomi going for Geiz, Weiss for Sougo, and Blake mounting up with Zack.
"Let's go," Mitsuzane called out as he took off, the screeches of all their tires resounding through the street they were on as they shot forward.
"So why exactly are we here again?" Uhr asked as he sat on the edge of a building in a bored manner, feet hanging off as he kicked them back and forth.
"To observe Zi-O and the others," Finis answered as they stood by Uhr. "Swartz was very clear with his intent on this. We need to see what exactly they've gained."
The two were currently situated on a building that was behind several others that were tall enough to hide them but low enough for them to see. The two had picked a spot near the old chapel that Kugai was using.
"You really think they've got fancy new tricks?" Uhr asked.
"The fact that they have three strangers on their team now is worrying to our leader," Finis answered.
Uhr gave a nod before glancing up, "So why have all of us check up on our Another Rider?"
"To make sure he wasn't startled by our constant gaze or have him question who we are during a decisive moment," Finis explained as they glanced to the side, hearing a loud noise coming from the end of the street. "The more familiarity we have with him the more we're able to simply lurk around without distraction."
"Fair," Uhr replied before noticing the loud noise and turning his head, "Is that?"
"The first act is about to come to its close," Finis gave a nod.
The noise would come from none other than the Rider Machines that were currently making a beeline through the streets. Thankfully the closer they got to the chapel, the further into the old streets of Zawame, which meant less traffic.
Of course as they rode everyone driving shifted slightly once a sudden red almost invisible-like pulse echoed through the area. It was enough for them to feel as it shook their bodies, thankfully the presence of their Drivers allowed them to remain unaffected.
Mitsuzane was the first to speak, "Everyone felt that right?"
"Tsukuyomi," Geiz glanced back.
"I'm fine," Tsukuyomi gave a nod. "I felt it too though."
"Looks like Sougo was right on Tsukuyomi not being affected," Ruby chuckled as she continued to ride forward.
"She may not be but we've still got the other issue," Blake said, glancing and noticing that what few people they passed had suddenly stopped in their tracks.
"Yeah, everyone else," Yang replied.
"Which means we're on our time limit," Weiss pointed out.
As the group began to approach the old chapel they soon noticed several shadows jump out of the alleyways that were nearby. The shadows leapt forward and suddenly slammed onto the ground between the group and the chapel. It was soon enough revealed to be a squadron of Kurokage Troopers, all holding their spears at the ready.
"Not good," Mitsuzane quickly turned as the Rose Attacker he and Blake were on skidded to a halt. The screeching of tires was heard as everyone quickly came to a stop right next to or behind him.
"Correct me if I'm wrong," Weiss pointed out. "But those are Mass Produced Riders aren't they?"
"They are," Zack gave a nod as he got off his machine with Blake before recalling it. "Kurokage Troopers, Yggdrasil and even Neo Baron would use them, so I guess the Black Bodhi is too."
"They aren't the toughest to take down, especially given their armor is some of the weakest among all the Lockseed's," Mitsuzane explained. "But we can't get distracted."
"Then you guys go ahead," Yang said as she quickly dismounted her sister's bike and cracked her knuckles.
Weiss dismounted Sougo's Ride Striker and walked forward, "She's right, we'll keep them busy to give you all the time you need."
"We have the numbers, so we might as well split," Blake replied.
"Four Riders each sounds like good odds," Zack agreed as he walked forward and stood between the Kurokage Troopers and the rest of the Riders alongside Weiss, Blake and Yang. He gave a smirk as he readied his Sengoku Driver, "Let's get cracking."
"Right," The three Remnant Riders called out as they all prepared their transformations.
(Insert Start: E-X-A (Exciting x Attitude) by Kamen Rider Girls)
"Henshin!"
[KURUMI ARMS! MR. KNUCKLE MAN!]
[FASHION! PASSION! QUESTION! QUIZ!]
[DARE JA? ORE JA? NINJA! SHINOBI KENZAN!]
[DEKAI! HAKAI! GOKAI! KAMEN RIDER KIKAI!]
The three members of Team RWBY all manifested their personal weapons and readied themselves. They were still glad to see that despite the weapons keeping their physical forms they could still call them to them a city away.
Weiss quickly took aim, summoning glyphs that shot out chunks of ice towards the Kurokage Troopers. Her tactic had worked, the Troopers switching to more defensive stances as they braced against the ice chunks.
Yang punched forward several times, launching explosive bursts while Blake dashed while ducking forward, drawing out her ninjato and dual wielding as she got closer. One Kurokage Trooper managed to stab at her, striking her Rider form only for it to fade out of existence.
Blake soon appeared behind the trooper, spinning and slashing at his back before blocking two attacks from nearby Kurokage's. She twisted and spun while swinging her arms, kicking one while slashing the other after they were pushed back from her tactic.
"Let's go!" Zack yelled as he charged forward and leapt into a grouping of the Kurokage's to tackle one to the ground while attracting the attention of the others. He raised his fists as he blocked the spears of the nearby Kurokage's. "Get going!"
"On it," Mitsuzane called out as he sped forward past the fighting.
"We'll wrap this up quickly!" Ruby called as she sped past with Sougo, Geiz and Tsukuyomi following after.
"Leave this to us, we've got this!" Yang raised her fist before turning and smashing it into a Kurokage's helmet.
Weiss blocked against a swing with Myrtenaster, she gracefully wrapped her arm around the spear the Kurokage held before shifting her weapon and stabbing him in the chest. Sparks flew as the Kurokage let go of his weapon.
"Let me really show you how to use this," Weiss remarked as she holstered Myrtenaster at her waist before twirling and flourishing the Kagematsu spear. With one thrust she struck at the Kurokage's gut and sent him flying back.
"Not bad!" Zack called as he blocked against a spear only to get struck in the stomach by another Kurokage's spear.
"Since when could she do that?" Blake asked.
"Ruby's her partner and you need to ask?" Yang asked back with a chuckle.
"Fair enough," Blake ducked underneath a swing of a spear before crossing both of her weapons together to block the swing of another.
Their battle was going fairly well as they had managed to break up and distract the Kurokage Troopers enough to where they couldn't follow after the rest of their team.
(Insert End)
Of course their fight was also distracting when it came to the two Time Jackers keeping watch. Both Finis and Uhr's eyes had widened as all they simply could do was stare at the three individuals who had transformed into completely unknown Kamen Riders.
"H-How is that even possible?" Uhr managed to stammer out.
Finis couldn't help but stare in surprise, normally nothing would faze them. But this was an exception, "The three that suddenly showed up with Roze… are Kamen Riders?"
"What kind of Kamen Riders even are they?" Uhr asked as he stood up and looked at Finis, "They just summoned weird blank Ziku Drivers and attached stuff to them."
"Whatever they are…" Finis narrowed her eyes. "Swartz is not going to like what we have to say."
The remaining four Riders alongside Tsukuyomi finally made it to the front of the Chapel, recalling their bikes and ready to move forward when a sudden horde of Elementary Inves began to rush out.
"You all go," Geiz quickly readied himself, taking out his personal Ridewatch alongside Wizards, "We can't waste anymore time, destroy that machine before things get worse."
"Are you sure?" Ruby asked.
"You and Zi-O are our best bets," Geiz answered, gripping his Driver with both hands, "Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER GEIZ! ARMOR TIME! PLEASE! WIZARD!]
Geiz immediately sent a stream of flames forward, burning a few Inves that tried charging forward while the others stumbled out of the way. Several stayed near the entrance before getting shot in the head.
Tsukuyomi charged up her Faizphone X before firing again to distract the Inves, "Get going!"
"Good luck you two!" Ruby called out before rushing in with Mitsuzane and Sougo. It didn't take long for the trio to enter the main area of the chapel, noticing the stacks of boxes alongside all the vines along the walls and floors. At the very back behind the altar was the Saver System, it pulsating with a consistent red energy that grew brighter and brighter.
Off to the side in the shadows of the doorway that lead to the back area was Ora who stared at the trio of Riders in interest. Needless to say she was relieved to see that there would at least be some entertainment.
Meanwhile Kugai stood in front of the Saver System and stared at it with a smile on his face. He was so caught up in looking at his work that he didn't even pay the mind to turn towards the intruders. His back faced the trio of Riders but he was still aware of their presence.
"Kugai Kudo," Mitsuzane spoke up. "This ends today."
"I'm afraid my dear Riders, you're too late… just accept that I will be the one who saves this world by starting with this city," Kugai called out as he spread his arms.
Ruby narrowed her eyes, "If your plan involves brainwashing people and then wiping out those unworthy while you and a select group of people stay safe, I'm pretty sure that's not saving."
"Those sacrificed and not deemed worthy will still go to a worthy cause," Kugai explained as he lowered his arms, "For it is their life energy which will help those who are worthy to ascend further, to ascend into paradise."
"What kind of paradise is that?" Sougo asked with a look of disgust, "What kind of twisted person are you? Deciding who lives… who dies… who ascends…? That's not your call to make!"
"Like I should heed the call of an Overlord in the making," Kugai scoffed as he looked back at the trio.
"You're wrong!" Sougo snapped. "I'm not going to be an Overlord anymore!"
"Oh?" Kugai turned fully, curiosity but also skepticism lining his facial features. "That wasn't what I was told."
"Yeah because that information's outdated," Ruby added with a smirk.
Sougo closed his eyes before taking a deep breath, his eyes soon shot open, "I'm going to live as a Kamen Rider who helps others… as Kamen Rider Zi-O!"
Ora had to keep from making a noise at Sougo's sudden declaration, she was certain that he had harbored a desire to become an overlord. So what changed?
"Amusing, however if you really want to help humanity then you will allow the Saver System to fully activate," Kugai smiled as he spread his arms out the dark transformation overtaking his body.
[GAIM!]
Another Gaim soon stood where Kugai was, the cult leader giving a low growl as the vines began to grow, launching out all behind him and creating a net of vines in front of the Saver System.
"Alright, time to burn some stuff," Ruby said as she took out her Roze and the TaJaDor Combo watches.
Sougo gave a nod and took out his Zi-O and OOO watches.
Mitsuzane meanwhile drew out his Sengoku Driver and Budoh Lockseed as he readied himself.
"Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME!]
[HAI!]
[KAMEN RIDER ROZE! TAJADOR COMBO! WEAPON TIME! TAJA SPINNER!]
[KAMEN RIDER ZI-O! ARMOR TIME! TAKA! TORA! BATTA! OOO!]
[BUDOH ARMS! RYU! HOU! HA-HA-HA!]
In an instant the three Riders took their transformed states, Ruby and Sougo readying their weapon and armor abilities immediately while Mitsuzane kept his base form.
"Let's take care of that net," Ruby took aim with the Taja Spinner and began to shoot bursts of fire at it.
A large sword suddenly defended against the blasts as Kugai had summoned his weapon, "I won't allow you to stop the world's salvation."
Sougo quickly rushed in, clawing out and blocking against a swing that Kugai had attempted to do. He then sent a powered up kick to force the Another Rider backwards.
Mitsuzane pulled the hammer of his gun back before aiming, "Ruby, consecutive fire!"
"On it," Ruby gave a nod and crouched as she took aim.
Kugai growled out as he raised his sword, ready to bring it down on Sougo when his body was littered with sparks, getting shot by bullets and flame bursts from the two gunslinger Riders. He shifted his sword, pointing and stabbing it down to block against a claw strike from Sougo. Aiming his free hand forward he unleashed an orange shaped blast of energy forward.
Ruby and Mitsuzane quickly rolled and dodged away from each other, though that had ended up being a mistake. Vines suddenly launched forward, slamming into Mitsuzane and forcing him against one of the chapel walls, more vines coming to ensnare him.
"It's like he's an Overlord," Mitsuzane hissed out as he struggled to break free.
Several vines lashed out to strike at Ruby only to miss as she used a Petal Burst to dash to the side. Before the vines could seek her new position out they were lit on fire and burnt to a crisp from her Taja Spinner.
Sougo gave a yell, trying to jab rapidly with his claw at Kugai who used the large sword to brace behind. The Kamen Rider gave a groan as he went for a kick only for his leg to get grabbed by a vine, yelling out as he was thrown across the room into a crate, smashing and spilling its contents.
Mitsuzane's eyes widened when he saw that among the contents was a Genesis Core add-on to the Sengoku Driver and a rare unstable Lockseed, the Dragonfruits Energy Lockseed.
Sougo didn't notice and could only give a groan as Ruby went to help him stand, "This is getting us nowhere," He said as he held his back.
"Either we're out of practice or this guy's power is insane," Ruby said as she stared at Kugai who was simply laughing. "I can sort of see why they picked Gaim now."
"Well, if his powers crazy then let's go for our strongest forms," Sougo called out as he took out the Decade Ridewatch.
[D-D-D-DECADE!]
"Sounds good to me," Ruby gave a nod taking out her Silver Roze Ridewatch and activating it before splitting it.
[SILVER ROZE! ROZE!]
The two slotted their Ridewatches in before rotating their Drivers and initiating their form changes.
[ARMOR TIME! KAMEN RIDE! WOW! DECADE! DECADE! DE~CADE!]
[SILVER TIME! KAMEN RIDER~! (RIDER~!) SILVER! (SILVER!) SILVER~! ROZE!]
The holograms holding the armor pieces for the Decade Armor formed around the two Riders as the mirrors for Silver Roze's transformation formed behind them. A flash of light occurred causing Kugai and even the hidden Ora to cover her eyes. The combining of the Decade Armor could be heard before the light died down soon to reveal Silver Roze and Zi-O Decade Armor.
Kugai stepped back in surprise, "She has another form?"
Ora's eyes widened as she lowered her arm, stepping back a few times before quickly vanishing as she needed to inform the others at once.
"Glad to see you didn't know," Ruby admitted, now knowing that the Time Jackers weren't extremely nosy. Holding out her hand she drew out her Silver Crescent rifle while Sougo drew out the Ride Heisaber.
"No matter… you won't win!" Kugai yelled out as he charged forward.
"We'll see about that!" Ruby took aim and began firing powerful bursts of energy towards the Another Rider to force him to block.
The plan had worked as Kugai was forced to block via the large blade he held. What he wasn't expecting was for Sougo to use that covering fire to his advantage.
[HEY! GAIM!]
[GAIM! DUAL TIME BREAK!]
Sougo gave a yell as he came in with a jump, his Heisaber glowing with a bright orange energy that took the shape of an orange slice. He sliced downwards against Kugai's defense, forcing the blade down and striking the Another Rider against the shoulder.
Kugai gasped out as he was struck by the attack, feeling more damage from the swing due to it being a Gaim powered slash.
"You can have this back," Weiss quickly tossed the spear towards the Kurokage Troopers who raised their spears in defense. She then drew out Myrtenaster and summoning a large chunk of ice above the horde. "Blake!"
"On it," Blake quickly jumped into the air and spun her Shuriken Starter.
[FLAME NINPO!]
Placing her hands together Blake quickly shot a stream of fire against the ice, melting it nearly instantly and causing a splash of water to slam down against the Kurokage Troopers.
"Now time for a pop quiz," Weiss called out.
"Wait, what?" Zack asked.
Yang chuckled, "Just watch."
Weiss held up a finger, "True or false, the wavelength of red light is shorter than that of blue light."
An audible ticking sound was heard as the Kurokage Troopers all stopped to consider the question, all of them looking and mumbling at each other. Some shrugged and some simply rubbed their helmets in frustration. That was until a buzzer sounded off.
"The answer… is false," the X on Weiss' armor flashed several times as blue electricity erupted from the Kurokage Troopers bodies. The electricity had ended up enhanced by the water they were soaked in causing heavy sparks to fly as most fell to the ground.
"You will not get in the way of our salvation!" One called out as he managed to barely stand, taking out another Lockseed before swapping his current one with it.
[SOIYA! SUIKA ARMS: ODAMA BIG BANG!]
Above him a large metal watermelon armor formed above the Kurokage Trooper before slamming down.
[YOROI MODE!]
The metal watermelon soon shifted shape before becoming a power armor robot suit, drawing out a double bladed sword themed after a watermelon.
"That's cheating!" Yang called out.
"Yang I don't think that's how this works," Blake deadpanned.
"I really didn't think they'd have one of these," Zack said as he backed up before giving a yelp, jumping away from a swing that slammed into the concrete where he was.
"We just need to pry him out," Weiss quickly brought out a glyph underneath Yang and gave a nod.
"Right, Blake if you could please!" Yang called out as she jumped into the air thanks to the glyph boost.
Blake gave a nod taking aim and spinning her driver again.
[MEGATON NINPO!]
Suddenly a purple tornado appeared from underneath the Suika Armored Kurokage, the enemy giving a grunt as he quickly shifted forms.
[GYRO MODE!]
The watermelon themed machine quickly shifted into a flight mode. However this mode left it open from the front as it tried to fly higher from the tornado to avoid it.
"Got you," Yang called out as she dropped, planning on performing a drop kick against the exposed pilot.
"No I've got you," The Kurokage called out as it switched modes once more.
[ODAMA MODE!]
Yang could only give a yelp as her drop kick bounced off the watermelon themed machine now that it was in its fully protected fruit mode. She quickly righted herself, a quick burst of wind from Weiss helping her slow her fall and land on a knee.
"You won't be beating me that easily!" The Kurokage called out as the Suika Armor shifted back to its robot mode, twirling the doubled bladed weapon it had above it. "It's over!"
"Such a shame, good tactics but you must be more flexible if you are to truly fight against an opponent like this!"
Everyone's heads perked up before the Suika Armor was shot rapidly in its hand causing sparks and small explosions to fly as it was forced to let go of its weapon.
The Kurokage Trooper looked in shock, "Huh?!"
Suddenly Bravo could be seen riding a different type of Lock Vehicle. It was a hovering motorcycle themed after a dandelion, the Dandeliner.
"Allow me to wrap this up for you all," Bravo laughed as he shot past the Suika Armor, the Dandeliner releasing a hook that latched onto the Suika Armor's leg. In several quick turns Bravo continued to wrap the wire around the legs, eventually entangling them.
"It won't work!" The Kurokage Trooper tried to move forward only to give a yelp as the armor tipped forward from the legs being tangled.
Yang cracked her knuckles and walked over, grabbing the helmet of the machine and giving a yell before ripping it off. She then grabbed inside and pulled out the Kurokage, "Now then."
"I-Impossible," The Kurokage stammered out. "This is one of our best assets!"
"Sorry to say but even your best assets can be defeated by a bit of smart thinking," Bravo called out as he came into view and hovered behind Yang.
"Exactly," Yang grinned behind her helmet before slamming her fist into the Kurokage's helmet to knock him out. She then looked back at Bravo, "And you are?"
"Ah my beloved Melon didn't tell you all about moi?" Bravo asked as he gestured to himself before giving a salute, "I am Oren Pierre Alfonso, Kamen Rider Bravo!"
"So I take it you're one of the last two Riders," Blake mentioned as she walked over with Weiss.
"Yeah he is," Zack said as he hurried over.
"Do not worry, so long as I am here, you all won't have to worry your pretty little heads!" Oren gave a laugh before noticing something. "Huh? Did I really take care of the last one?"
"We sort of had it handled until the last one," Yang admitted.
Weiss though had notices something out of the corner of her eye, "Problem, we're not out of the woods yet."
"What do you… oh," Zack soon noticed that random civilians began to make their way into the area, but all of them were in a trance. "This isn't good."
"Do not worry, my beloved Melon is closing in right now," Oren called out as he raised his arms. "But we will need to hold them off!"
"Guess our job isn't done just yet," Yang said. "I just hope Rubes destroys that Saver System in time."
Geiz gave a grunt, quickly using barriers to block against two Inves. "Why are they so feral?!" He questioned as they seemed to be more active than the ones earlier.
"It might be the Saver System, for now we just need to keep luring them away!" Tsukuyomi called out as she shot at a few to distract them.
The two had worked on making sure the Inves were lured away via combat to keep them from entering the chapel and ambushing the remaining Riders. Of course they had ended up luring the Inves away in a different direction than where they came from. As a result the two were more isolated than the others and the number, durability and feral nature of the Inves were slowly getting to them.
"How are you holding up?" Geiz asked, quickly bringing out a rock wall via his magic before shattering it with a wind spell to knock several Inves back.
"As best as I can," Tsukuyomi admitted as she dodged out of the way, taking aim and firing at an Inves' eyes to distract it.
"I don't think anyone's watching us," Geiz added as he spun and kicked away an Inves.
"As much as I'd love to I'm still getting the hang of things," Tsukuyomi admitted as she winced, getting grabbed by an Inves, "Let… go!"
Geiz' head shot up in surprise, "Tsukuyomi!"
Tsukuyomi struggled against the Inves before the monster suddenly fell limp, letting go and falling backwards. The time traveler turned in surprise to see Takatora dressed up as the white armored Rider, Zangetsu.
"Are you okay?" Takatora asked.
"Y-Yes," Tsukuyomi gave a nod.
"Good, you all keep these things distracted, I'll assist in the main battle," Takatora said before rushing off, bashing his shield into a few Inves while slashing at them.
"That makes ten Riders," Geiz noted, relieved to see that their backup had arrived. He was just wondering what was taking so long in destroying the Saver System. "Tsukuyomi…"
Tsukuyomi dodged out of the way of an Inves, shooting at it to force it back. "Yes?"
"Follow that Rider, I have a bad feeling about this," Geiz admitted as he brought out a blue magic circle, a stream of water erupting from it to launch several Inves into the air.
"Alright," Tsukuyomi nodded before taking off.
[RYOSHI SASU!]
Ruby took aim and sent several energy blasts filled with light towards Kugai, the Another Rider bracing but hissing against the blasts.
Kugai stepped back a bit as his armor was smoking, giving a growl, "How…?" He asked. "How is this hurting me that badly?"
"Trust me I was surprised too when it first happened," Ruby admitted before dismissing Silver Crescent, now that she knew that her attacks held added damage she remembered a particular set of advice, "Sougo, back off."
"Eh?" Sougo was ready to charge in when he heard this, "You want to do this now?"
"I want to test something yeah," Ruby gave a nod as she began to walk forward calmly before stopping a few feet in front of Kugai.
Sougo gave a nod as he backed up and readied his Heisaber, realizing that it would be his chance if this worked correctly.
Kugai tilted his head in confusion, wondering what exactly Ruby was attempting to do, he did seem to notice her form had started to shimmer and shine a bit more.
Ruby meanwhile stared forward in almost deep concentration as she recalled a single conversation from her time back on Remnant.
After the incident with Another Ultimate Kuuga alongside Oscar following after Diend and the Relic of Knowledge, Maria had wanted to talk to Ruby before she and her team left for Earth.
"I must admit in all my years I never thought I'd see our Silver Eyes in a form like that," Maria remarked. "I suppose this makes things easier on you."
"Just a bit yeah," Ruby admitted. "I don't think it's the same kind of light, but it's definitely light. So in that sense I won't have to concentrate every time I want to use it."
"That may be so but I still would recommend training yourself in that regard," Maria admitted.
Ruby tilted her head, "What do you mean?"
"Simple," Maria replied. "The power of the Silver Eyes comes from the desire to preserve life, to protect it. Despite that mindset not being necessary to continue using Silver Roze, I doubt it will be a hindrance to practice calling upon it more easily."
Ruby thought on it a bit, "Wait…"
Maria gave a nod and smiled a bit when she realized Ruby was onto the same idea, "Exactly, by calling upon the feelings you used to activate the last half of the Ridewatch, you can possibly increase the power of your form exponentially as a result."
Ruby took a deep breath as she focused her mind. Trying to practice a meditative mindset would be hard without proper training. While she could look into asking Takeru for some help, she did already know who to focus on in her mind for the time being. Instead of seeing Kugai as Another Gaim her surroundings turned into a black void, she saw her team in front of her, and soon they faded away to reveal her mother who smiled at her.
'The feeling to protect life… precious life which he wants to control…'
"This concentration…" Sougo trailed.
Mitsuzane had stopped struggling and could only stare, "What is she…?"
"Not like it matters," Kugai raised his sword, planning on moving forward and bringing it down once Ruby approached.
Ruby slowly but surely raised her arms, readying herself as she hunched forward slightly.
In an instant both opponents shot towards each other to commence their clash. Kugai took a few steps and bringing down his large sword. Ruby meanwhile shot forward in almost a flash of silver as she reeled her right arm back.
The shimmering of the Silver Roze Rider suit all suddenly gathered into Ruby's right hand. She balled it into a fist as she struck forward, creating a silver flash filled punch, "Rider Punch!"
Kugai could only gasp out, his sword barely being brought down as he was hit straight in the chest by the punch. The silver and white energy spread from the punch all over his body, sparks suddenly spewing out and flying as he could feel his new form burning from the contact.
"Wha…" he could only sputter out half a word as he staggered back, letting go of his weapon as he was forced to kneel.
'It worked…!' Ruby thought as she saw the reaction.
[HEY RYUKI!]
[RYUKI! DUAL TIME BREAK!]
Sougo let out a yell as he lit the Heisaber on fire, spinning and quickly throwing a stream of flames against the net of vines. With Kugai's weakened state and the raging fire, the net of vines had managed to burn away.
"There we go," Sougo chuckled.
"It seems you all are wrapping things up well," Takatora's voice called as he entered.
"Brother!" Mitsuzane called out.
"Hold on," Takatora hurried over and swiftly cut his brother out of the vine bindings. "There we go."
"It's over, Kugai," Ruby called out as she walked towards him. The amount of damage done to the Another Rider form was curious to her. She wondered if maybe Silver Roze could defeat any Another Rider as a result.
"N-No…" Kugai gasped out as he held his chest. "It's just begun…"
Suddenly the Saver System shined a brighter red before turning gold, unleashing a white pulse of energy that spread throughout the city.
"Oh no," Ruby realized that the second phase was starting to activate. She was ready to move forward before clutching her chest and falling to one knee. "What…?"
"Ruby!" Sougo's eyes widened trying to move forward only to suddenly fall to a knee, clutching his chest.
"W-What is?" Mitsuzane soon gasped as he hunched over.
"Kugai…" Takatora hissed before suddenly falling to a knee. "What did… you do?"
It wasn't long before gold specks of light began to form from the Riders armor, flying off and becoming gold particles in the wind.
Kugai could only give a laugh as he saw this, "The Saver System's second phase… not even Kamen Riders are resistant to it."
"T-Then… the others…" Ruby breathed heavily as she glanced back at the entrance.
The remainder of Team RWBY alongside Zack and Oren were having a rough time before the second phase started. After the Kurokage's had been defeated a horde of controlled people had suddenly swarmed them. It wasn't enough to just push them away as the brainwashed civilians were persistent.
Each Rider could only try to struggle as they were grabbed and held in place by the civilians. Of course once the wave of phase two hit, that was when everyone gasped out. The civilians backed away as they gave a gold glow and started to fade away almost immediately. The Riders meanwhile all felt weaker as they hunched over, or dropped to their knees, gold specks of dust flowing from their armor.
"Were we too late?" Blake asked.
"It's even affecting us too…" Weiss winced as she tried to stand.
"We need to get going…" Yang managed to stand and tried to walk forward only to tumble and fall, "We've got to help Ruby!"
"Keep fighting it!" Zack called out. "Don't let this thing take you!"
"It will take more than this to take out little old me!" Oren declared though he was still affected as badly as the others.
Meanwhile with Geiz he could only hunch over as he tried to make his way back to the Chapel. He had just gotten rid of all the Inves that were sent to attack when the second phase wave had passed through.
"Like hell I'm giving up…" Geiz growled out as he tried to keep pushing forward. "This isn't over!"
"You all will not get salvation," Kugai explained as he managed to stand up, holding his stomach. "You Riders will be continually tormented for trying to oppose me and my ideals…"
"We're not… going to give up," Ruby winced as she tried to stand but had to hold her hand out to keep from falling fully onto the ground.
"Come on…" Sougo growled out as he used the Heisaber to try and stand, "Get up!"
Tsukuyomi soon ran in, her body unaffected by the second phase of the Saver System, "Ruby! Sougo!"
Ruby's eyes widened as she turned to see her friend enter, "T-Tsuki?!"
"Y-You're unaffected?" Sougo asked.
"What's going on?" Tsukuyomi asked when she noticed all the Riders were nearly ready to collapse. That was until she saw the Saver System activating in full force.
"The Saver System is active," Mitsuzane called out. "Destroy it!"
"I won't let you!" Kugai called out as he stood up only to gasp, falling to a knee. He came to the horrible realization that Ruby's attack had been strong enough to keep him down for this long, "Still?!"
[BURST MODE!]
Tsukuyomi gave a glare and quickly ran forward, charging up her weapon. She then took aim and began firing relentlessly against the Saver System. Sparks began to fly as the damage continued to pile on and on as Tsukuyomi kept firing. Once the sparks began to shoot out uncontrollably the time traveler quickly stepped back before rolling away as several small explosions occurred.
Kugai gasped out, "No!"
With the Saver System going haywire the system was no longer able to keep sending out both waves that it had sent out earlier. As a result the Riders were now freed from the grasp of the system alongside the civilians caught in it.
Sougo gave a gasp as he fully stood, "Oh jeez…"
"Just how did she do that?" Takatora questioned as he managed to stand, helping his brother up.
"Zi-O had mentioned she was a bit special," Mitsuzane admitted. "I'm still not sure how, but it's a good thing she came with us."
"Never again," Ruby quickly initiated her finisher.
[SILVER FINISH TIME!]
"Don't you dare!" Kugai yelled out as he managed to stand before staggering towards the damaged Saver System.
[SHINING TIME BLAST!]
Ruby gave a yell as she jumped forward, the light shining off her suit and accumulating in her right boot as she kicked forward with her right leg. She slammed into the Saver System, white cracks spreading all over before an explosion occurred.
Kugai yelled as he tried to rush over only to get blown backwards by the explosion, "Not my salvation!"
It wasn't long before the destruction took effect instantly, the invisible waves suddenly halting as everyone was freed from the Saver System's grip.
Yang coughed as she managed to stand and dismiss her transformation, "Did… did she do it?"
"I think so," Zack said as he got up, dismissing his transformation.
The civilians around them suddenly returned and all groaned out before falling over as they passed out. The other Riders meanwhile dismissed their transformations, while not close to fainting like the civilians they all were fairly winded and tired from the ordeal.
"We must press on," Oren said as he stood up straight, popping his back slightly before marching forward.
"You're not going anywhere…" One Kurokage Trooper gasped out as he managed to stand, soon taking out a blank Zakuro Lockseed. It wasn't long before the other Kurokage's began to do the same, all of them taking out their own.
"You took away our salvation!" Another Kurokage yelled out.
Zack's eyes widened, "Run!"
Green vines suddenly shot forward from behind the grouping of Riders, snaking between all of them. Before the Kurokage's could even press the buttons the vines wrapped around their Zakuro Lockseed's alongside their Driver's. The vines then pulled, stripping them of their transformations and bombs before snapping and breaking the equipment into smaller pieces.
The resulting breaking of their gear alongside the Zakuro Lockseed's caused all the Bodhi Members underneath to faint and fall to the ground.
Weiss, Blake and Yang all perked up before turning alongside Oren and Zack, the four seeing a woman in a white dress and brown boots behind them, having dark blonde hair alongside a red and brown eye just like Kouta did.
Zack couldn't help but give a smile, "Mai!"
Oren couldn't help but give a smirk, "I see someone finally decided to show up. I take it the boy is at the source?"
"Good to see you two are doing well," Mai gave a smile as she walked over, "And yes, Kouta's taking care of the rest of the group."
"Wait, hold on," Yang held her hands out. "Were you the one who did all that just now?"
Mai gave a nod, "Yes."
"And you know them?" Weiss asked.
"It's a bit of a long story," Zack admitted. "But this is Mai Takatsukasa, a friend of ours."
"I suppose if you want to know what I am… I'm a Space Goddess I guess." Mai said with a small smile, taking a page out of her partner's book.
Blake, Weiss and Yang all gave understanding nods before it fully hit them.
"EHHHHH!?"
Ruby rose from the flames of the Saver System, glaring behind her helmet as she looked at Kugai, "Now then…"
"I won't lose so easily," Kugai growled out as he sent several vines to lash out, the vines gripping his sword and bringing it back. He gave a yell as his visor shined a bright orange before he launched out a slash of orange energy towards Ruby.
Ruby quickly dodged out of the way using Petal Burst, bringing out Silver Crescent and taking aim before firing. To her surprise Kugai had dodged to the side to avoid her shots.
"Don't let him get near that!" Takatora called out.
Kugai quickly ran over to the destroyed Saver System, "My work will not perish…" He quickly grabbed what little remained of the central core piece before slamming it into his body. He yelled as it was soon absorbed into him. "I will continue to save this world!"
As the visor of Another Gaim flashed, the vines all around everyone quickly became drenched in a blood red coloration, all of them lashing out and striking at the Riders.
Tsukuyomi barely dodged out of the way, shooting at a few vines as she was forced to the center of the room alongside the others.
"Did he just power up?!" Sougo asked.
"I think he just used the Saver System to upgrade himself," Takatora realized.
"He already had Overlord-like powers, so what more could he do?" Mitsuzane questioned.
"There has to be a way out of this," Tsukuyomi said, she looked around trying to see if there were any Time Jackers. She held out her arm before it was grabbed by Ruby, "Ruby?"
"No, we'll figure out another way," Ruby insisted, given their opponent's earlier words it meant he was likely in deep contact with the Time Jackers. "Hold onto that secret for now."
"If I cannot build my Saver System in peace I will become the Saver System myself," Kugai hissed out as he held his hand out, "And you all will become its fuel!"
The red vines lashed towards the Riders, ready to ensnare them. That was until they hit a golden wall, or rather, a barrier in the shape of an apple that was projected around the grouping of heroes. Ruby, Sougo and Tsukuyomi looked around warily as they thought they had been trapped. Their worry turned to confusion when Mitsuzane and Takatora visibly relaxed their postures.
"I see you made it in time," Takatora remarked.
"I knew you'd come," Mitsuzane sighed in relief.
The gold barrier spread outwards and unleashed a golden wave from itself as it disappeared, burning the red vines and clearing the entire chapel of them.
From the doorway a bright light came as a man in silver shogun themed armor walked forward, a white cape with a popped collar flowing as he came in from the light. He had two distinct colored eyes, one red and one brown with bright blonde hair.
"Just because it's been a good several years and I'm all the way on the other side of the universe doesn't mean you can get careless Kugai Kudo," The caped man called out as he glared at the corrupted Rider.
Kugai gave a growl as he took a step forward, "The man of the beginning… Kamen Rider Gaim."
"Wait," Ruby turned in surprise. "That's Gaim?"
"Whoa," Sougo blinked a few times, he could feel such a great and powerful aura coming from the man who had just entered. "This is him?"
"Yeah, that's Kouta alright," Mitsuzane couldn't help but chuckle.
"I'm glad to see that you two have been keeping well, Takatora, Mitchy," Kouta gave a warm smile towards the two brothers. He then looked over at Ruby, Sougo and Tsukuyomi, "Glad to see you new guys are handling things as well as you can too."
"Uh… uh yeah," Ruby gave a nod.
"You won't be getting in my way," Kugai slammed his sword into the ground. "You can't beat me as I am now!"
"You're right I can't," Kouta admitted as he glanced down before looking straight back at Kugai, "But that doesn't mean I can't stall you."
"I'd like to see you try!" Kugai called out.
"Everyone please step aside, I'll deal with this." Kouta said as he began to walk forward, the other Riders slowly but surely parting. He closed his eyes as his form began to shimmer, "Henshin…"
[KIWAMI ARMS!]
Surprisingly the most that changed about his form was the chest piece, it now having a mural of various fruits emblazoning the front as the shoulders shifted to more elongated black forms, a more simpler combat oriented cape draped down, black on the back with gold markings and red on the inside. His helmet soon formed, pointed at the top and pure silver with a rainbow colored single visor, the Gaim symbol emblazoned as a head crest. The last thing to add was he gained his Sengoku Driver, it having an attachment added to it to where two Lockseeds were linked together on it, various other Lockseeds lining the holsters on both hips.
Kouta stood in a relaxed position, both arms at his sides as he stared at his Another Rider counterpart who had backed up. "Now then, let's get started because this is our stage now!"
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"You're a what?!"
"I told you to show me your strength, so do so!"
"I will not allow my plans to be ruined by some unknown brats!"
"Your allies are just as important as any form or weapon you have."
"Time to slice and dice!"
Chapter 37: Riders on Parade 2019
Author's Note: Ladies and Gentlemen, Fruit Jesus has arrived. This was an interesting tribute to plan out since I knew I couldn't just copy and paste what the show did, especially at this point in Roze. So I'm sorry to say we won't be seeing 3 Days Later Sougo in this story. It was because of that reasoning that I chose to partially base it on the Novel descriptions I saw back when writing this and doing my own spin on it.
I'll admit when I was first writing this up it felt odd since it's been quite a while since we've had a chapter in this format, huh? Needless to say it was fun to get back into the groove for tributes and I had a lot of fun since I was basically dedicated to using the entirety of the remaining Gaim Rider cast in any way I could. Especially since I knew I wasn't going to have Kouta show up till the end of this chapter. Dude may not be too powerful on the grand scale of Rider but I couldn't have him here from minute one otherwise things would be a bit too easy.
Anyway, I'd just like to thank you all once again for your support, and I'll see you next time for the finale of the Gaim Tribute!