Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 52 – A Specter's Plight 2019
"As it is written in this book, average high schooler Tokiwa Sougo embarks on a path which leads him to become the overlord of time, Oma Zi-O," Woz narrated as usual though he walked along the street. "By coming together, he and Geiz cooperate alongside Team RWBY to blaze a new path to the future. And thus all is back to normal… well with the addition of yours truly."
Woz soon stopped at the entrance of 9-5-DO and gave a smile as he held his book closely, "As March starts up, the Time Jackers start to lay low as their attempted counterattack against us failed. But while they grow silent, the Legend Rider's become more rowdy as new problems start to seep in thanks to the current state of time and space…"
He then opened up his book to reveal images of Kamen Rider Ghost, however the focus shifted to two Riders he fought alongside, those being Specter and Necrom.
"However it is not Ghost who shall bring the issue, but the disciples of those involved with one of Specter's fathers," Woz said before closing his book, "Needless to say, this will provide an interesting start to the month."
Earth – Early March 2019
"~the egg I made… with a smile… just needs a little longer~
~with tears and anger… the egg will soon break. Fill it with blood… and shorten my life to finish it~
~the precious life's… egg is flattened. Overheat it and its flat~"
Three individuals were singing a lullaby in a dark stone walled room, it having various shelves and tables with lab equipment. Of course at the center of the room held four chairs, four girls in black dresses all strapped to them with helmets covering their heads. The helmets were attached to a device in the center, feeding information to them as the lullaby continued. It wasn't long before the lullaby stopped, the three individuals looking at each other.
The three individuals wore tattered clothing, all three once disciples under the man who nearly overthrew the Ganma World, Danton. Of course Danton had been defeated a while back and most of his research went up in flames. But that wasn't going to stop the three individuals from trying to continue his work. They were Robes, Kamiyu and Muller, the trio watching with smiles as it seemed their plan had worked.
"You want to meet Rio, don't you?" Robes asked in a whisper. "You will if you look for him. But remember… you must crush anyone who stands in your way."
The four girls could only softly nod as they all said the same word.
"Brother…"
Muller gave a smile, "Good, we'll send them out in order to find him."
"We'll need to be careful," Kamiyu said. "After all we don't know who might be ready to cause us trouble."
"If necessary we can just take them back by force," Muller said as he went over to help Robes release the young women that were strapped down. "This is all for the sake of our plans. We cannot allow the last remnants of Danton to go up in smoke."
"Then I suppose it's time we get started on our distraction," Kamiyu said as he walked over to a table that held various eye shaped devices alongside an old sword.
They were currently unaware of a watcher however, it watching from a nearby corner as it peered into the room, it being a black suited and white armored creature of sorts.
"And that's what we learned," Tsukuyomi finished. She was currently in Team RWBY's apartment standing with Oscar. The two had explained what exactly had gone on during her trip to 2009 alongside their brief excursion to 2017.
"This is… a lot," Weiss admitted.
"So Swartz is the reason Oma Zi-O exists?" Yang asked.
"Not exactly," Tsukuyomi corrected. "While Swartz is responsible for Sougo's constant dream he has, and while that no doubt pushed him towards his dream, his powers are still very much his."
"Something tells me that whatever Swartz did tampered with Sougo's abilities," Blake noted as she fully took in the information. "The fact is he was able to use time stop and could accelerate the age of something when he was young. But he can't do that now and the most control over time he has is Zi-O II."
"And then there's his Aura," Oscar added. "I'm sure that his Aura being activated is changing things around a bit."
"Like how the Kamen Riders are still able to exist despite the Another Riders and Ridewatches being present," Tsukuyomi said. "Of course, it's only a theory."
"I still can't believe that happened when I gave him his Aura," Ruby admitted. "So what exactly was Tsukasa's theory?"
"From what he said and what is true now, there used to be a lot of different worlds where Kamen Riders lived," Oscar mentioned. "But in 2009 a lot started to merge and be drawn together. Tsukasa was able to stabilize the process through some means he didn't bother to explain and while the world was still inconsistent, it was stable."
"Well that explains everything," Weiss spoke up.
"It does?" Blake asked.
Yang raised an eyebrow, "How?"
"I mean given how large scale a Rider's fight can escalate from what Ruby mentioned, it feels odd that Tokyo and its surrounding cities could deal with it year after year," Weiss mentioned. "That much chaos should have ripped the country apart by now after 18 years especially with how most events start happening years before the Riders take the stage."
"So where was I," Oscar said before snapping his fingers. "Okay, so around the time the worlds merged was when W was the primary Rider. After that despite all the inconsistencies, new Riders began to be born and exist until they couldn't anymore."
"That's why Build was in a separate world," Ruby suddenly realized.
"Tsukasa said this was a theory, and we aren't exactly sure at the moment either but…" Tsukuyomi started as she took a deep breath before continuing. "The likely endgame of all the worlds fully merging was supposed to be catastrophic, cataclysmic."
"You said was," Blake said, noticing the wording. "It changed because of Ruby's intervention didn't it?"
"It's the only guess we have to go on," Oscar replied. "He guessed that Sougo gaining an Aura is what smoothed the process since he suspects Sougo's the one's pulling Riders to each other."
"This is… a lot," Ruby echoed Weiss' earlier statement. "Then this really does confirm my suspicions…"
"Hold up," Yang interrupted. "Are we really believe the guy who's had it out for Sougo and my sister?"
"He's not that bad when you get to know him," Oscar said before rolling his eyes. "Well, he's annoying and a handful but…"
"I don't think Tsukasa Kadoya is our enemy," Tsukuyomi answered firmly. "While he has been giving us issues, he's done more than enough to help. After all it was his intervention that got Geiz to Remnant."
"I think we're all working towards the same goal here," Ruby admitted, figuring that while Tsukasa and Oma Zi-O especially were antagonistic, their actions were more helpful than anything else. "So that leaves us with one thing, do we tell Sougo?"
"I'd rather we not for the moment," Tsukuyomi said near immediately. "He just got his dream back and I don't want to kick his feet from underneath him so soon."
"He'd honestly take it hard," Weiss agreed.
"We do need to make sure we tell him before Swartz does though," Yang suggested.
"Then we wait a bit but if it's looking like a risk we make sure he knows," Blake added.
"That sounds good to me," Ruby nodded, standing up and walking over to Tsukuyomi, taking out a Blank Ridewatch before holding it out. "Also… there's something I want to test so hold onto this for a bit."
"What exactly are you doing?" Oscar tilted his head.
"I'm curious too," Tsukuyomi said as she took the Blank Ridewatch before pocketing it. "What exactly do I need it for?"
"Just don't let go of it," Ruby answered. "I want to see if it might react to your powers. You mentioned they were growing stronger, right?"
"Yes," Tsukuyomi nodded. "So you just want to see if it reacts?"
"Yeah pretty much," Ruby shrugged. "If not and you run into a Rider you'd be able to get a Ridewatch without any of us being around."
"Now that would be useful," Weiss agreed.
"So with that over, what do we do now?" Yang asked.
"Well," Tsukuyomi checked the time. "I believe Oscar has some training to get in with Geiz today."
"Wait," Ruby paused at what her friend said, "Training?"
"Oh right," Oscar said. "I thought about it and figured I could use some training given everything going down and how we'll probably still be here for a while. Geiz was kind enough to help out."
"Now I'm really curious, Geiz, train?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.
"You make it sound like he can't fight," Yang said.
"Not that," Weiss crossed her arms. "He just doesn't look patient enough for being a trainer."
"Trust me," Tsukuyomi replied. "Despite his anger issues he makes a good and firm instructor."
"Now I'm curious…" Weiss trailed. "I'm going to tag along if Oscar doesn't mind."
"I don't mind," Oscar admitted with a shrug.
Sougo was currently talking to Takeru in the dining room of the Daitenku Temple, the two having some tea which Javel had served them. Sougo wanted some help from Takeru regarding a few things he was thinking on.
"I'm surprised you came to me for help," Takeru admitted.
"I felt like you were the one guy who could help me," Sougo admitted. "You've done a lot for Ruby."
"True," Takeru replied.
"Not to mention I figure that having some meditation advice could help me sleep," Sougo said before ruffling his hair slightly. "But still, I'm so nervous about graduation!"
"You'll be fine," Takeru reassured as he put a hand on the younger Rider's back. "It's nerve-racking but you got through the hard part already."
"True," Sougo said as he twiddled his thumbs a bit. "But this is like, huge, you know? I'm becoming an adult and the world is opening up."
"Well at the very least you'll have more time to focus on your Rider duties," Takeru said.
"Yeah," Sougo gave a nod. "Thankfully I don't plan on starting school till next year so it gives me some time since I need to also help Ruby out."
"How has Ruby been anyway?" Takeru asked. "I know she's mentioned she's wanted to slow down on meditation training."
"Oh she's been fine," Sougo said. "I think she's got everything sorted so that might be why."
"That's good," Takeru smiled, "What about Geiz and Tsukuyomi? How is it with them back under the same roof?"
"It's been… interesting," Sougo admitted, "Especially with Woz living with us. I feel like Geiz is ready to explode any day thanks to that, but he's found a way to be out of the shop mostly."
"Ah I can only imagine," Takeru chuckled, reminded of how Onari and Akari would get into fairly explosive arguments before and during the beginning of his tenure as Ghost. "Still that's good."
"Master Takeru!"
Takeru turned to see Javel rushing into the dining room, "Javel, what's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing is wrong," Javel waved off the concern. "But you have a very special visitor."
"A special visitor…?" Takeru asked.
"Wonder who it is," Sougo wondered.
Takeru and Sougo soon followed after Javel who led them to the front entrance of the temple, waiting for them being the young man dressed in casual white attire with a lime green knitted sweater.
Takeru gave a smile as he rushed over, "Alain!"
"It's been a while," Alain gave a smile. "How have you been?"
"Oh you know, the usual," Takeru said. "Aside from new Rider issues popping up, it's been relatively quiet."
Alain raised an eyebrow, "New issues? Is this about what you mentioned around Christmas last year?"
"Yeah," Takeru turned and gestured towards Sougo before he continued. "He's the current Kamen Rider that helped us out, Zi-O."
"Hello," Sougo gave a bow. "I'm Sougo Tokiwa, and I want to be a King!"
"A king…?" Alain asked in surprise. "I did not know parts of this world still had a royal hierarchy."
"This world…?" Sougo asked.
"Ah that's right," Takeru said before gesturing towards his ally. "This is Alain, he's basically King of the Ganma World."
"Eh, King of the Ganma World?!" Sougo asked in near shock before hurrying over and clasping Alain's hands, his eyes bright and star-like, he gave a bow. "It's an honor to meet you your highness!"
Alain couldn't help but chuckle a bit, "There's no need to be so formal. But it is a pleasure to meet you."
"S-Sorry…" Sougo gave a goofy grin as he stood up and rubbed the back of his head. "Still I can't believe Takeru knows a King!"
"He's also a Kamen Rider," Takeru said.
"Wow," Sougo was now star struck. "A King and a Kamen Rider? That's just like my dream!"
"Well while I'm unsure of the current political climate, I'm sure you'll be able to reach your dream eventually," Alain reassured.
"Actually wait," Sougo suddenly realized something. "So the Ganma World… but Takeru didn't you mention your enemies were the Ganma? Also there's another world connected to Earth?"
"Another?" Alain asked.
"Oh right, well the Ganma used to be antagonistic," Takeru admitted. "Even Alain and I were enemies for a while, but we came to an understanding and helped each other."
"It is thanks to Takeru's help that my world is able to thrive again," Alain added.
"Oh, that's pretty cool," Sougo replied.
"As for your other question, yeah, the Ganma World is another world connected to Earth," Takeru confirmed.
"Huh, the more you know," Sougo put a hand to his chin.
"So what brought you here Alain?" Takeru asked.
"I actually came here with Kanon," Alain admitted. "She gives her regards, but we're currently dealing with a troubling situation."
"What kind of situation?" Takeru questioned.
"We have reason to believe that-" Alain was cut off when they suddenly heard ruffling nearby, suddenly several Ganma Assaults leapt out from over the main gate, landing in the courtyard.
Takeru's eyes widened, "Ganma Assaults? How are they here?"
"That situation I mentioned," Alain said as he readied himself. "I'll fill you in once we're done here."
It wasn't long before a Ganma in Roman Gladiator styled armor stepped through the crowd of Assault's, it wielding a short sword, this was the Kentoshi Ganma.
"I'm not sure what's going on," Sougo admitted as he readied his Ziku Driver and Zi-O Ridewatch. "But I'll definitely help out!"
"We'll be glad to have it," Takeru said as he summoned his Ghost Driver before readying his Ore Eyecon.
"Let us get to work then," Alain readied his transformation device, it being a wrist device that looked to be based on an eye dropper on its side. He then took out his own personal Eyecon, it looking more mechanical than the others. He activated it before loading it into the device and tilting it upwards.
[STANDBY! YES SIR!]
Sougo and Takeru readied their transformations, slotting in their Ridewatch and Eyecon and taking their stances, Alain meanwhile pressed the button on the side, a Parka Ghost emerging from the device.
[LOADING!]
"Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!]
[KAIGAN: ORE! LET'S GO! KAKUGO! GO GO GO! GHOST!]
[TENGAN: NECROM! MEGA ULORD! CRUSH INVADER!]
Sougo and Takeru transformed into their base forms as Alain did the same, being fairly different from both Ghost and Specter as his bodysuit was primarily white with black as a secondary color and green highlights, the Necrom Damashii landing on him and fully forming his coat as even his visor was different, being a circular green mask with a white rim and a horn.
"Whoa, that's different," Zi-O said as he looked over Alain's transformation.
The Kentoshi Ganma gave a yell and pointed its sword forward, the Ganma Assaults all giving yells and rushing forward as well.
"Let's go," Necrom said as he ran to meet the Ganma Assaults, Ghost and Zi-O running after him.
Uhr was currently skipping through the city as he gathered his thoughts. Swartz had basically vanished and Finis wasn't around as often ever since the defeats of both Another Zi-O and Roze. He figured the best thing to keep him from being bored is potentially find an Another Rider candidate. He also attempted to get Ora involved but she didn't seem to want to have anything to do with his search.
That was until he felt a sudden chill as an unnatural presence crossed his path. He turned to see a young woman in a black dress with long brown hair walking aimlessly. Narrowing his eyes he soon realized that the young woman wasn't human.
"You there," Uhr called out as he walked over, hands in pockets. "You're not human, are you?"
"I want to meet my brother," The woman answered. "Do you know where he is?"
"You get lost or something?" Uhr questioned.
"Do you know where my brother is?" The woman asked again.
"I can't help you if I don't know your name," Uhr pouted as he crossed his arms.
"Kanon, Kanon Fukami," Kanon answered in a near robotic tone.
"Now that you're nice I think I can help you," Uhr smiled as he held up a Blank Ridewatch. "Contract with me and I'll help you find your brother, maybe."
Kanon said nothing as she gripped Uhr's wrist before kicking his legs from underneath him, tossing him onto the ground. She then turned to walk off, "If you won't take me to him then get out of my way."
Uhr gave a groan as he had let go of the Blank Ridewatch, slowly picking himself up with a glare, "You…"
A white armored foot stepped into view, soon stepping on and crushing the Blank Ridewatch. Uhr looked up to see a white armored monster with gold decorative detailing over its body.
"It would be best to stay out of this conflict," The white armored monster said before turning to follow after Kanon. "I shall crush those who humiliated me with my new power."
"Just who are you people?" Uhr questioned.
The white armored monster fully turned, revealing he had a similar belt to that of a Ganma. He gave a chuckle. "I'm Xibalba, a hunter who hates Kamen Riders… and I'm here to make sure that the one who wins in the end is me."
Uhr could only stare in confusion as he watched Xibalba walk off.
Ruby was currently walking with Blake and Yang, the three deciding to hang out a bit since everyone else was busy.
"So you really think Tsukuyomi might be able to do something with that Ridewatch?" Yang asked as she had her hands behind her head.
"I can only hope," Ruby admitted. "It probably won't be an immediate reaction but I'm hoping for something."
"I take it this is because of what we learned?" Blake asked.
"We're breaking things pretty thoroughly already without even trying," Ruby pointed out. "So I figured maybe actually trying might end up helping us out."
"Fair enough," Yang said.
"No."
"Come on girl!"
"I said no."
Ruby, Blake and Yang turned to see two strangers seemingly arguing. One was Kanon while the other was some man who was seemingly trying to hit on her.
"I hate creeps like that," Yang rubbed her wrists.
"Yang, let's not try and make a scene," Blake put her hand over Yang's hands and lowered them.
"Come on," The man said, "Let's have some fun togeth-!"
Kanon gripped the man's wrist before twisting his arm behind his back, she then let go and spun him around. With a single palm strike she managed to send the man flying backwards.
"Whoa," Yang blinked a few times.
"I uh…" Blake wasn't sure what to say.
"Uh… I don't think we need to worry about that," Ruby said as she decided to hurry over with Yang and Blake.
"Who are you all?" Kanon asked in a tone of annoyance.
"Why did you do that?" Blake asked.
"I followed him because he said he knew where my brother is," Kanon explained. "But he lied."
"Pretty sure he was trying to hit on you," Yang pointed out.
"Then it is fair that I hit back, correct?" Kanon asked.
"That uh…" Ruby gave a sigh as she ruffled her hair a bit. "You're trying to find your brother?"
"His name is Rio," Kanon replied. "Have you all seen him?"
"We don't know anyone with that name," Blake shook her head. "Do you have a last name?"
"Kanon Fukami," Kanon answered.
"Well if you're trying to find him maybe we can help," Ruby suggested before looking at her friends. "Right?"
"We've got nothing better to do," Yang agreed.
"Might as well," Blake replied.
"My name's Ruby, this is my sister Yang and my friend Blake," Ruby greeted as she held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you."
Kanon stared at Ruby's hand before grasping and gripping it tightly, soon grabbing Ruby's arm and tossing her onto the ground.
Kanon gave a glare, "Stay out of my way!"
"Hey what's the big idea?!" Yang gave a glare as she moved forward only to quickly block a palm strike.
"Yang!" Blake called out before wincing as she was kicked in the side, stumbling near Yang. She then gave a gasp as Kanon spun around, kicking her in the stomach and sending her straight into Yang, the two tumbling to the ground.
"Brother," Kanon said in an almost monotone-like voice before running off.
"Jeez…" Ruby gave a groan as she slowly stood up, holding her back. "It's like she has Aura but I'm pretty sure she's not from Remnant."
"Something is seriously wrong with her," Yang said as she managed to pick herself and Blake back up.
"Thanks," Blake said before looking over. "We should follow after her, something doesn't feel right."
"Yeah," Ruby gave a nod.
Geiz was currently sitting underneath a tree in the park alongside Oscar, both taking sips out of a water bottle while leaning against the trunk.
"You're improving at a steady rate," Geiz noted.
"That's honestly good," Oscar admitted. "Though I can only imagine some of it is Oz's muscle memory."
"Muscle memory or not, getting strong is the important part," Geiz pointed out. "After all compared to the others you're still a ways behind… well aside from maybe Jaune."
"That's a bit mean don't you think," Oscar gave a bit of a chuckle.
"He's good but he's definitely one of the lower tiered fighters of your group," Geiz said. "Regardless, he's a good tactician and defensive player."
"I'm still surprised you agreed to this," Oscar admitted.
"Well one, I figure I could use something to keep me active on down days," Geiz said as he held up a finger before holding up two. "And two, the longer I can be away from Woz, the better."
"Fair enough, Woz seems like… a lot," Oscar replied.
"Trust me he's more than a lot," Geiz said before taking another swig of his water.
"I'm honestly surprised…" Weiss was watching the two from a distance, "He's… he's actually…"
"Approachable?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Pretty much," Weiss sighed. "I didn't think he'd be this good at training or this patient with Oscar."
"Deep down, despite everything that's happened, he has a kind heart," Tsukuyomi gave a soft smile. "I think being around this Era's Riders has definitely helped with that."
"Speaking of Riders when do you think we'll meet new ones?" Weiss asked.
"It's hard to say," Tsukuyomi admitted. "We've had the Time Jackers on detours as of late. So we might have to wait until they target a normal Heisei Rider."
As if on cue screaming could be heard as people started running through the park in order to get away from something.
"And it looks like we've got trouble," Weiss gave a groan.
Geiz and Oscar had heard and seen all the panic and quickly got up, the two hurrying over to Tsukuyomi and Weiss.
"What's going on?" Oscar asked.
"We're not sure yet," Tsukuyomi replied.
"Then let's get going," Geiz said as he took the lead and hurried for the source of the disturbance.
"Brother! Where are you?!"
The group would arrive at the scene of the disturbance and would see Kanon who was currently assaulted by Xibalba, the hunter gripping her arm to keep her in place.
"You don't need to see your brother," Xibalba called out as he tried to restrain Kanon. "Because once we become one you'll be nothing more than my power."
"What is that thing?" Weiss questioned.
"Looks like it might be related to Ghost," Geiz noticed the eye buckle that Xibalba had on his waist.
Tsukuyomi pulled up her tablet and searched through the database she had, soon finding a match, "It appears to be a Ganma Ultima, it seems like it was the most elite soldier of the Ganma Forces."
"Great, something worse than those Superior's," Geiz said as he took out the Geiz and Ghost Ridewatches. "Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!]
[ARMOR TIME! KAIGAN! GHOST!]
Geiz ran forward as his transformation completed, kicking off the ground and floating towards Xibalba to kick at him. He had managed to catch the Ultima off guard, kicking him away from Kanon as a result.
Xibalba gave a groan as he was kicked away, quickly leaping to the ground and rolling away before getting on one knee in a defensive stance, "Ghost Armor?"
"Who the hell are you?" Geiz asked as he raised his fists.
"Xibalba, and you're in my way," Xibalba called out before unleashing a purple wave of energy against Geiz.
Geiz gave a gasp as the purple wave struck against him, forcing him to step back as he braced against it, trying to keep from being blown back.
"Give up fool," Xibalba called out before giving a yelp, a Glyph appearing underneath him before it launched him up into the air.
Geiz gave a gasp as he hunched over, catching his breath from the attack.
"Don't tell me you're out of practice," Weiss sighed as she walked over to a recovering Geiz.
"That Ultima is something else," Geiz admitted.
Kanon meanwhile stared at the fighting with curiosity, Oscar and Tsukuyomi rushing over to her.
"Hey, are you alright?" Oscar asked.
"I want to meet my brother," Kanon said.
"You're looking for your brother?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Do you know where he is?" Kanon asked back.
"You won't need your brother once I'm through with you!" Xibalba called out as he threw his hand forward, unleashing a blast of purple energy towards Kanon.
Weiss quickly turned towards the trio, forming a glyph as a barrier. She gritted her teeth as the blast clashed against her glyph only to shatter it. The blast impacted against the ground sending Oscar, Tsukuyomi and Kanon tumbling backwards.
"You're not doing anything!" Geiz yelled out as he drew his Zikan Zax, floating forward and slashing at Xibalba only for the Ganma Ultima to shift and dodge the slash. Geiz quickly raised his arms when he was assaulted by another wave of energy, giving a yell as he was blasted backwards.
"I'll let you all in a little secret just so you realize what you're doing," Xibalba gave a laugh as he walked towards the fallen Kanon. "That girl is no human, she's an artificial being. She is just one of many who were an attempt to create the Ultimate Lifeform."
"What?" Geiz asked as he managed to sit up.
"So what if she is an artificial human, that still means she's human," Weiss narrowed her eyes as she readied Myrtenaster. "And we won't let you hurt her."
"Like you all can stop me," Xibalba called out before bracing against laser fire, Tsukuyomi having gotten up and drawn her Faizphone X. He then had to raise his arms to block against Long Memory, Oscar having gotten up and swung at him. Xibalba gave a growl as he grabbed the cane before tossing Oscar to the side, unleashing a pulse of energy to knock Tsukuyomi away.
"Brother… Brother…" Kanon repeated as she tried to stand.
"He's not even your brother, now come!" Xibalba called out as he unleashed a purple wave of energy towards Kanon, drawing her towards him and converting her into energy. That energy entered his buckle before he flashed red, gaining a red armoring that took the form of a skirt, cape, gauntlets, Xibalba's helmet becoming twisted with various eyes emerging. "It's been too long since I've felt this feeling…"
"Crap…" Geiz hissed out.
"Did he just absorb her?" Oscar asked.
"Now to make sure you fools don't interrupt me," Xibalba summoned a jagged sword, one side being white while the other was red as he began to gain a red aura around him.
"Jeez, there's so many!" Zi-O shouted as he slammed his knee into a Ganma Assault's gut before bringing his hands down to slam its back.
"Keep it up, we're getting somewhere!" Necrom called out as he performed a palm strike against a Ganma Assault, sending it flying backwards before it was destroyed.
"Alain's right, there's three of us!" Ghost called out as he slashed through several Assaults only to suddenly clash blades with the Kentoshi Ganma.
The Kentoshi Ganma gave a yell as it managed to force Ghost to stagger back from their clash. It then charged forward only to get intercepted by Zi-O
"Not so fast!" Zi-O yelled as he held his Zikan Girade, managing to push the Kentoshi Ganma's sword away before switching his weapon to its gun mode, firing at the Ganma.
The Kentoshi Ganma gasped out as sparks flew, it staggering back from the attacks. It gave a growl as it stabbed its sword into the ground, cracks running towards the Riders before the ground exploded near them. The three Riders gave yells as they were thrown backwards by the attacks.
"Jeez he packs a punch," Zi-O shook his hand as he stood up.
"I'll deal with this," Ghost called out as he swapped Eyecon's, "Musashi!"
[KAIGAN: MUSASHI! KETTOU! ZUBATTO! CHO KENGOU!]
Ghost assumed the Musashi Damashii, splitting his Gan Gun Saber and dual wielding before charging to clash blades with the Kentoshi Ganma. Ghost hopped back to keep the clash from continuing, stepping back to avoid a slash before lunging with one blade, closing in via a clash before spinning and slashing with his other blade, sparks flying as the Kentoshi Ganma staggered back.
The remaining Assault's meanwhile began to move towards Necrom and Zi-O.
"Let's finish this off quickly," Necrom said as he readied his Mega Ulorder.
"Right," Zi-O slotted in the W Ridewatch and took aim.
"Listen to the call of my heart!" Necrom declared.
Zi-O turned towards Necrom a bit confused before shaking his head and kept his aim.
[DOUBLE SURE SURE SHOOTING!]
[DESTROY! DAI TENGAN! NECROM! OMEGA ULORD!]
Zi-O launched a stream of purple energy bullets that were surrounded by green gusts of wind. Necrom meanwhile gathered green ectoplasmic energy in his left hand before thrusting forward, unleashing a wave of green energy striking forward.
The Ganma Assaults all gave yells as they were struck by the bullets, either fully destroying or stunning them. Meanwhile Necrom's attack flooded through the remainder, completely destroying them.
"Alright," Zi-O pumped his fist.
"Not bad," Necrom remarked.
"Oh you haven't seen anything yet," Zi-O waved off the compliment.
[DAI KAIGAN! OMEGA SLASH!]
Ghost scanned his weapon before both blades shined with a bright red energy, blocking a slash from the Kentoshi Ganma before slashing past it. He then turned and slashed down at the Ganma with both blades, the Ganma turning around just as he did and receiving a cross slash on its chest. The Ganma gave a yell as it exploded completely, dropping a roman styled sword.
"There," Ghost sighed as he lowered his weapons before dismissing his transformation, "Just what's going on?"
"That's what we're here for," Necrom spoke up as he walked over with Zi-O, the two dismissing their transformations. "Takeru, do you remember Danton?"
"Danton…" Takeru trailed as he remembered clearly. "He tried to use Makoto and Kanon to create the ultimate lifeform, right? All so he could reform the Ganma World in his own image."
"There are still people trying to continue his legacy," Alain replied. "We had thought that Danton's lab was unsalvageable but it appears as though they've taken Kanon's remaining sisters to try and draw Makoto away from the Ganma World."
"So why not talk to him about it?" Takeru asked.
"Kanon insisted she do this without his knowledge," Alain replied. "She was already concerned with my involvement given our prior issues with Danton, but I insisted to come along because there's also another issue."
"What is it?" Takeru asked.
"Do you remember a Ganma Ultima named Xibalba?" Alain asked.
"I remember him getting involved with Frey and Freya during the Legend Rider Eyecon incident," Takeru recalled, though he didn't like Alain's tone. "Why?"
"Well after finally getting a census in place and keeping track of everyone, we found out that Xibalba is missing," Alain explained. "Not to mention various amounts of Ganma equipment that were meant to be under lock and key were stolen."
"That isn't good…" Takeru grimaced before realizing something. "Wait, you don't think?"
"He's likely targeting the other Kanon's," Alain replied.
"Hey so," Sougo raised his hand as he walked to where he was now in view. "I'm not sure what exactly is going on, but this sounds like a job you all could use some extra hands with."
"Only if you want to," Takeru said.
"Of course," Sougo smiled as he pulled out his phone, starting to text the group chat. "I'm sure Ruby and the others would be happy to help, more cooks in the kitchen and all that."
"I appreciate it," Alain gave a bow.
Ruby, Blake and Yang were rushing through various alleyways, trying to find and cut off Kanon.
"There she is!" Yang called out and pointed.
"Hey!" Ruby called out as she hurried over. "What's the big idea of just flipping me?!"
"Huh?" The group had indeed found Kanon, but this one was wearing all white, her body covered by a mantle and she had her long brown hair styled into a side ponytail. "Have we… met somewhere before?"
"Wait," Ruby realized something. "How and when did you change clothes?!"
"Ruby I think you're missing the point," Blake sighed, immediately realizing something was off.
"She's right," Yang agreed before cracking her knuckles. "Did you forget that you just assaulted us?"
"Yang no, that's not what I…" Blake gave a groan as she stopped herself from going further.
"You are Kanon, right?" Ruby asked. "We just met like not that long ago, you were trying to find your brother."
"That wasn't me," Kanon said as she suddenly realized what was going on. "The girl you met was my sister."
"Huh," Yang rubbed her chin a bit. "You look pretty similar, are you two twins?"
Kanon gave a slightly awkward smile as she puckered her lips a bit, trying to figure out how to word this before deciding to just get it out of the way, "To be fair, there's five of us."
"Quintuplets?!"
Ruby, Blake and Yang were in complete shock at what they were hearing. While they recalled knowing about big families before, they were surprised at the quintuplet part.
"Whoa, this is like, my first time meeting someone with that many sisters," Ruby admitted, now wondering something. "So are all of you absurdly strong or…?"
"Ruby that's kind of rude to ask," Blake said.
"I mean given we were all tossed around like ragdolls I feel like that's fair," Yang argued.
"Wait, is the brother a twin too?" Ruby asked. "So it would be sextuplets right?"
"I swear to…" Blake closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You don't need to worry about her," Kanon reassured. "I'll find her and give her a stern talking-"
"KYAA!"
The four soon turned towards the side when they heard the scream. Everyone forgot about the current conversation and ran off towards the scream. The group would soon find their way into an old warehouse where the Copy Kanon was waiting for them in the center.
"This is… ominous," Yang admitted.
"Looks like the climax of a bad horror movie," Blake said.
"What's going on here?" Ruby asked.
"Please come home with me," Kanon called out to her copy self. "We need to return to the Ganma World."
"No! I want to meet my brother," Copy Kanon protested. "They told me he'll come for me if I stay."
"His heart would be broken if you two meet," Kanon spoke up.
Yang and Ruby looked over at Kanon, wondering what exactly was going on between the siblings.
"That's a lie!" Copy Kanon shouted. "My brother will want to meet me. I know it!"
"You don't understand how he feels at all," Kanon said.
"Of course I do!" Copy Kanon replied, "I'm his sister."
"No you don't!" Kanon called out, recalling her brothers suffering when he had learned the truth about himself. "Do you know how much he suffered when he learned he was Rio, an artificial ultimate lifeform? I don't want him to remember that pain again. That's why I'll take care of this myself."
"Um…" Blake leaned in to whisper to Ruby. "Did we just…?"
"Stumble across a Rider related issue on complete accident?" Ruby asked back before giving a nod.
"Take care of what?" Copy Kanon spoke up.
"That's…" Kanon trailed, she had finally found one of her goals and she wasn't sure what she wanted to truly do to make sure her brother didn't suffer.
"Sounds like a complicated family situation," Yang sighed as she put a hand on Kanon's shoulder. "To be honest, my upbringing was rather rough, what I did learn from all of that though is to be there for your siblings."
"If only we could…" Kanon looked down.
"And why can't you?" Yang asked.
"I think I've heard enough," Robes soon exited from behind one of the pillars. "I was hoping I'd drag out Rio but I guess that I can deal with the other meddler."
Kanon narrowed her eyes, "So that's why she screamed, she wasn't in any danger."
"Of course she wasn't," Robes said as he gestured to the Copy Kanon, the copy hurrying to run off.
"Wait a minute!" Kanon was ready to run forward when Robes quickly got in her way to cut her off. "Out of the way!"
"You were always a failed experiment, but now you have the gall to get in our way," Robes remarked as he pulled out a Ganma Eyecon, pressing the button he transformed into a Ganma Superior, soon drawing out two silver bladed short swords. "But with you here I can at least capture and bring you back to draw out Rio."
Ruby immediately rushed forward and got in front of Kanon, "You aren't doing anything!"
"And who are you supposed to be?" Robes questioned as he pointed towards Ruby.
"Just watch," Ruby placed the Ziku Driver on her waist before activating the Roze Ridewatch, "Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]
Ruby readied herself as she transformed into Kamen Rider Roze, but she didn't bring out Crescent Rose immediately.
"What?" Robes stepped back, "A Kamen Rider?"
"Huh?" Kanon's eyes widened at the transformation.
"You want a sword fight, I'll give you a sword fight," Roze took out the Gaim Ridewatch and loaded it in.
[GAIM! WEAPON TIME! DAIDAMARU! MUSOU SABER!]
Roze rushed forward, slashing with both blades at Robes who slashed forward as well, the two clashing with each other to try and overtake each other. Despite Robes shorter ranged swords, he had ended up getting a few hits on Roze, though vice versa thanks to Roze having weapons with decent reach. Sparks flew as they staggered away from each other.
"Is that all you've got?!" Robes questioned.
"Jeez, this Superior's tougher than the one I faced with Geiz," Roze kept her weapons facing forward.
"I'm not an average Ganma Superior," Robes called out as he gathered energy in his blades before spinning and unleashing several energy slashes. "I am one of the chosen!"
Roze gave a yelp as she used Petal Burst to dodge to the side, sliding across the ground as she discarded the Daidaimaru, pulling back the hammer on the Musou Saber and firing bullets at Robes.
Robes gave a gasp as he was shot, quickly bracing against the remaining shots, the Superior gave a gasp as one of his hands was shot, sparks flying as he dropped his sword. He gave a yell before charging towards Roze with his remaining blade.
"She must be the one Takeru mentioned," Kanon suddenly realized before she took a few steps towards the fight.
"Hey, you probably don't want to get in their way," Yang suggested as she got beside Kanon and readied Ember Celica.
"We'll handle things from here," Blake did the same and drew out Gambol Shroud.
"I appreciate your concern," Kanon looked towards them and smiled at them before adopting a more serious face, she turned towards the fight and removed the mantle that covered her body, revealing a Ghost Driver. "But I can handle this."
Yang and Blake could only stare in surprise as they watched Kanon bring out a pearl white backed Eyecon with a pink iris, clicking the button once the initials KS appeared in a flash. She loaded it into her Ghost Driver before reading herself, a long white sleeveless Damashii with pink lining being unleashed and flying around.
Kanon took a deep breath, "Henshin!"
[KAIGAN: SPECIAL! YUKOU SAIKO! SPECIAL NA GHOST! GO GO GO GO!]
Soon enough her base transient body formed, it being pure white with pink highlights, the patterning being pink EKG lines. The Damashii soon landed in place, revealing that her faceplate was a pink version of Specter's, the black detailing to show a visor being grey, alongside two small white horns with pink insides. Kanon held her hands up to her coats chest, adjusting it before pushing her hood back, having transformed into Kamen Rider Kanon Specter.
"Wait…" Yang trailed as she stared at Kanon Specter.
"She can transform?" Blake asked.
Roze was currently in a clash with Robes, hearing noises off to the side and managing to kick him away before turning, "Huh?" She dropped her weapon in shock as she held her cheeks in surprise. "There's a female Specter?!"
"So you can transform," Robes called out. "Like that makes a difference!"
Kanon Specter looked towards Yang and Blake, "See if you can find any trace of my sister, we'll handle this."
"Got it," Yang gave a silly salute before being dragged off by a sighing Blake.
Kanon Specter turned back towards Robes before she entered a fighting stance, soon rushing forward. She watched as Robes closed in and went for a slash and blocked it mid-swing before smacking Robes' wrist. The counter had managed to force him to drop his weapon. He was ready to grab at it mid-fall when Kanon Specter spun and kicked at the weapon, smacking it away and smacking Robes' wrist in the process.
"Whoa…" Roze could only trail in awe.
Kanon Specter braced with her arms against a kick before pushing it away, she then used both hands to redirect a punch towards the side. She quickly leaned back to avoid a punch, moving back in and gripping Robes' arm slightly, she let go after she sent a kick against the Superior's side.
Robes staggered slightly, seemingly still recover when he gave a chuckle. He quickly managed to slip past a punch Kanon Specter performed, spinning and swinging his arm into her back to send her stumbling. He went after her only for Kanon Specter to regain her balance, kicking back and striking him in the stomach. He staggered as she quickly spun around him before he was struck in the chest by her palms.
Kanon Specter readied herself and gestured for Robes to approach her.
"I'll make you regret that!" Robes called out as he gathered energy in the palms of his hands.
Kanon Specter quickly got in a defensive stance as she kept her feet loose, planning on dodging whatever attack her opponent put out.
"Remember there are two of us!"
Roze used Petal Burst to launch herself forward, kicking out with both legs and performing a dropkick against Robes' chest. The Ganma Superior could only yell out as he was thrown backwards from the attack, falling onto the ground as his attack was disrupted.
Roze landed in a crouched state as Kanon Specter hurried over, she gave a chuckle before she looked over.
"Kamen Rider Roze, right?" Kanon Specter asked.
"I see my reputation precedes me," Roze chuckled, "You weren't half bad out there."
"And you're just as good as Takeru described," Kanon Specter complimented.
"So you do know Takeru," Roze snapped her fingers, realizing that it wasn't coincidence that Kanon herself was a Ghost Themed Rider.
"I'll explain what's going on later, but right now…" Kanon Specter turned back towards Robes who was trying to recover.
"Right," Roze said as she removed the Gaim Ridewatch before initiating her Ziku Driver's base finisher with Kanon readying her Ghost Driver's too.
[FINISH TIME!]
[DAI KAIGAN!]
"It's time to end this," Roze said as she got in a kicking stance, red holographic petals flowing around her before entering her right leg, traveling down to her boot.
"Listen to the call of… my heart!" Kanon Specter announced, a pink eye shaped glyph appearing behind her before funneling energy into her right leg.
The two female Riders leapt up into the air, red and pink aura surrounding them respectively before they kicked out with their right legs. They both gave a yell as they kicked against Robes who had just gotten up.
[TIME BLAST!]
[SPECTER! OMEGA DRIVE!]
Robes gave a yell as both female Riders slammed their right foot into his chest before kicking off and away from him. Both Roze and Kanon Specter landed before turning around, Robes giving a yell as his body overloaded and exploded. The two Riders turned to see that there was no trace of him anymore.
"Looks like we defeated him," Kanon Specter said as she dismissed her transformation before giving a smile. "I'm Kanon Fukami, nice to meet you."
"Oh, nice to meet you too," Roze said as she dismissed her transformation, admittedly it was a bit awkward given they were technically introduced to each other already. "My name's Ruby Rose."
"Bad news," Yang quickly ran over with Blake.
"We can't find her anywhere," Blake said.
"That isn't good," Kanon frowned.
"How about we offer you our help," Ruby suggested. "I know you mentioned doing this alone, but you could totally use more help if there's more of those guys right?"
"Actually about that," Yang held up her cell. "Sougo called us, said he volunteered us to help with a mission Takeru had."
"Huh," Ruby turned towards Yang before giving a small smile. "Guess we're already involved."
"I suppose I can't exactly deny your help," Kanon admitted since she was sure what Takeru was asking for was more help. "So let's get going."
"Right," Ruby said as she and her two teammates followed after Kanon.
Xibalba gave a laugh as he began gathering fire in his sword, slashing forward and unleashing fireballs. Tsukuyomi and Oscar dodged out of the way while Geiz and Weiss braced against them, Weiss utilizing her Glyph's to form stone walls to help shield them.
"Damn it I need to…" Geiz was ready to take out Geiz Revive when Weiss immediately gripped his wrist, "Weiss… we need Revive!"
"Are you sure it's even safe to use it this soon?" Weiss asked, "You just fully recovered and while trying to get used to it is a good idea we can't have you breaking yourself again!"
"If I don't we're all going to die," Geiz called out in annoyance.
"Just use what you have!" Weiss called out as she formed more stone walls to shield them, the stone slowly cracking, she then lowered her voice. "You have enough cover."
"Whatever," Geiz loaded the Ghost Ridewatch into his Zikan Zax, switching it to its bow mode and pulling back weapon to charge, orange colored energy gathering at the tip.
[FINISH TIME!]
Suddenly the Robin Hood Parka emerged from Geiz's shoulder eyes, it becoming transparent and overlapping with him to grant even greater power, the energy charge changing from orange to green as a large spectral version of the Zikan Zax overlapped the real weapon.
[GHOST GIWA GIWA SHOOT!]
Geiz gave a yell as he released his grip, launching a green energy arrow towards Xibalba just as the stone walls had full shattered.
Xibalba gave a gasp as he quickly formed a hexagonal layered barrier, bracing against the shot. Despite this the arrow slowly began to crack it, Xibalba quickly leaping upwards as the arrow shattered the barrier and struck the ground instead.
"Damn it," Geiz hissed out.
"Don't think I'll let you do me in that easily," Xibalba called out as he landed, gathering fire in his sword, "Now die-"
"Hah!"
Xibalba gave a gasp as he was kicked in his head, being sent stumbling to the side as a result of the attack.
"What?" Tsukuyomi asked.
Everyone looked over to see who had attacked Xibalba, the familiar black and blue accented leather outfit revealing to Geiz in particular who this newcomer was. It was Makoto Fukami, Kamen Rider Specter.
"Kamen Rider Specter…?" Geiz asked.
Makoto turned and saw Geiz, noticing the armor and lettering, "You must be one of the ones Takeru talked about, don't worry, leave this to me."
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"We deserve a bit of a break."
"Just what are you going to do with her?"
"Oh come on, it won't be like the last time."
"Humanity's potential... is infinite!"
"Let's finish this, together."
Chapter 53: Specter Siblings 2019
Author's Note: So you might have noticed we did a bit of a change in terms of like technical stuff here. I figured since there's going to be a lot more Riders running around alongside some fusion related stuff, even if this won't affect three of the canon Zi-O Riders, I'll be referring to Riders and Another Riders by their transformed identities. Now what does this mean for the past chapters? I'll eventually get to them and slowly make the changes but don't expect anytime soon, the plan here is to finish this story first before making any edits.
Moving onto a fun fact about this plotline, this was actually originally planned before the Ghost/Saber TTFC Specials. It was going to be a full original plot based on nothing at the time and was going to be a fun sort of adventure to kick off this section of the Arc. This was mostly because I wanted to introduce both Specter and Necrom fully into the main story for certain reasons later on alongside finally giving Ruby the Specter Watch. Though honestly, I'm glad the TTFC Specials came out when they did since they helped provide a stronger backbone for the plot. Plus I get to use Kanon Specter and I love her Rider Form so it's really a win/win for me.
Admittedly, not having a solid structure originally and only having 2 TTFC Specials as the new base still meant I had to add a few things. Like including Alain in it, bringing in potentially the most obscure pull for a villain in Xibalba returning, and also having the start of this chapter sort of deal with the aftermath of what Oscar and Tsukuyomi learned. And even then, this and the other chapter came out on the shorter side, though I'm pretty satisfied with both if I'm being honest. That being said, thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time.