Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 56 – Fellow Soldier 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, sitting on the clock in his black void, "The unexpected arrival of Evolt's brother Killbus caught Miss Rose and Xiao Long off guard after assuming they'd have a normal day of helping out Kamen Rider's Build and Cross-Z. Despite the issues that were present, the invading brother was no match for the power of Cross-Z Evol alongside Yang Xiao Long attaining a new unprecedented power in the form of Rider Weapons."
Woz stared at his book as it showed him the events that had transpired, it showing Cross-Z Evol and Yang dual wielding the Magma and Blizzard Knuckles. The pages then flipped to reveal Kuroto Dan, the mad genius' image fading before showing the images of Kamen Riders Brave, Snipe, Para-DX, Poppy and finally Lazer.
"As we approach the midpoint of March, the once silent Kuroto Dan will proceed to make his final move…" He trailed before walking off.
Earth – Mid March 2019
In the estate used by Kuroto Dan, classical music continued to echo through the halls as Kuroto himself walked down the steps of the main hall. He held a conductors wand as he slowly but surely reached the ground floor.
"The fateful meeting between a boy and a girl, and their eventually parting…" Kuroto spoke to himself. "This melody complements this sad love story wonderfully…"
BZZT!
With a single throw of the conductor's wand the record player's needle was forced away, the music stopping with an abrupt scratch.
"…But there are complications," Kuroto closed his eyes before giving a small grin, "How about we add the melody of two caring sisters then?" He asked no one in particular, "My fellow Kamen Riders… behold, for we shall revolutionize the very history of the world! Watch as I, the one who knows no boundaries… display the talents of a God!"
Behind him walking into view was a Kamen Rider Genm in its Level 2 form, the purple Proto Mighty Action X in the main slot of its Driver. On its holster however was another copy of Proto Mighty Action X, this one being the Origin version.
It seemed to be a fairly normal day for Team RWBY and Oscar, the five deciding to go on a shopping trip to stock up the fridge and pantry.
"So what should we have for dinner tonight?" Ruby asked.
"I could go for something super meaty," Yang admitted, "We haven't had something like that in a while."
"Meat's pretty expensive though isn't it?" Oscar asked.
"Well we do have a lot of money… and thankfully it's not like we're not gaining any money," Ruby admitted as she recalled their current living situation, "I think we could splurge just a bit."
"It's better than eating out honestly," Blake admitted, "Even if the restaurants are good, it'll help cut down on our spending if we just go for some home cooked stuff for now."
"Thankfully there are sales all the time," Weiss said as she looked around, "We just need to find a good sale on meat and capitalize on it."
"Whoa," Yang looked over to the ex-heiress, "Since when did Ice Queen learn how to budget?"
Weiss' eye twitched before she glared towards a smirking Yang, "And just what is that supposed to mean?!"
"Oh nothing," Yang turned away.
"It does feel weird that Weiss is the one who wants to budget," Ruby admitted as she put a hand to her chin, "But hey whatever works, right?"
"Listen, I just know that our money isn't unlimited even with our funding from the Kougami Foundation," Weiss said before crossing her arms with a sigh, "Besides, if we're living here we might as well adapt and budget spending is the best way to do so."
[MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGH~TY ACTIO~N X!]
Everyone immediately turned at the loud announcement, all of them noticing a purple digital wave moving across the area. They all turned to see people running away from a black Ex-Aid that was attacking anyone in sight, it having purple detailing with red ringed eyes.
"Oh no," Ruby muttered as she drew out the Genm Ridewatch before holding it up, "It's Genm."
"Isn't that guy supposed to be in virtual prison or something?" Yang asked.
"About that…" Weiss trailed, "I seem to recall he escaped after that puzzle game, correct?"
"Emu said he'd figure out if he escaped or not," Ruby replied, "But it looks like we've got confirmation."
"Good, I can test my new weapons," Yang cracked her knuckles.
"We should probably make sure that everyone gets out alright," Oscar said.
"The rest of us can take care of that," Weiss gave a nod, "Ruby, Yang, you two can handle this, right?"
"Oh yeah," Ruby quickly readied her Driver and Ridewatches before launching upwards with Petal Burst, "Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]
[BRAVE! WEAPON TIME! GASHACON SWORD!]
Genm was busy aiming and firing at any nearby civilians before it heard a yell, looking upwards. Kamen Rider Roze soon dropped down, stabbing downwards with the Gashacon Sword. Genm was quick to act however, hopping and taking a couple of steps back to avoid the stab.
"Got you," Roze chuckled as she had the sword in its ice formation, ice suddenly traveling towards Genm and freezing its legs before creating a few crystallized spikes to keep it in place.
"You're wide open!" Yang called out as she came in from the side, bringing out the Magma Knuckle before pressing down on the front of it. She then reeled her arm back before punching at Genm's face.
Genm quickly raised its Bugvisor, managing to block against the strike though this resulted in its hand and weapon smashing into the helmet regardless. The force behind the attack had also managed to shatter the nearby ice as it was forced to stagger back.
"Looks like someone's liking their upgrade," Roze joked as she walked over to join Yang, "What's say we wrap this up. If he's basic Genm then that's Level 2."
"If he's base form then yeah, let's do this!" Yang called out.
[MIGHTY ACTION X!]
Genm seemed to answer this by taking out the Proto Mighty Action X Origin Gashat. It loaded it into its available slot on the Gamer Driver, a sudden purple aura bursting from the Rider's body as it took aim and fired off powered up blasts of energy.
Roze yelped as she tackled Yang while grabbing onto her, using Petal Burst to quickly avoid the blasts.
"Okay jeez," Yang winced as she got up, "What's with the power up?"
"Let's end this quickly," Roze called out as she swapped out Ridewatches, "I'll hit him from long range."
[SPECTER! WEAPON TIME! GAN GUN HAND!]
Roze drew out the Gan Gun Hand in its rifle mode and took aim while readying her finisher.
Soon enough two rows of six spectral Gan Gun hands appeared on both of Roze's sides as she took aim towards Genm, "Go!"
[FINISH TIME! OMEGA TIME BLAST!]
Yang gave a nod and began sprinting forward while loading in the Dragon Fullbottle.
[BOTTLE BURN!]
Roze gave a yell as she pulled on the trigger. Suddenly dozens of blasts were shot from the spectral Gan Gun Hands alongside the one she was holding. All of the blasts shot forward as they rapidly approached Genm who tried on shooting them all down. Despite this there were still a few that managed to get past and began striking against it.
[DRAGON! VOLCANIC KNUCKLE!]
Yang soon rushed in, a dragon of flames erupting from the Magma Knuckle as she slammed it into Genm's stomach. She roared as her punch managed to send Genm flying backwards, dislodging the Proto Mighty Action X Origin from its belt. Surprisingly though, this didn't disengage the transformation.
"Not bad," Roze whistled as she walked over, grabbing the Proto Gashat.
"Thanks, I think I'm getting the hang of this," Yang admitted as she held up her weapon.
"I'm surprised that didn't knock him out of it though," Roze admitted as she began to walk over towards Genm.
Yang however noticed the hand that gripped the Gashacon Bugvisor twitched. She was quick to rush forward, tackling Roze out of the way, "Wait!"
Genm suddenly shot up at the same time, spraying out the Bugster Virus from its Bugvisor.
Yang gave a gasp as she was struck by the Bugster Virus, groaning before falling to the ground. Her body began to glitch in an orange coloration and became pixilated as she had the telltale signs of the Bugster Virus within her system.
"Yang!" Roze called out before quickly turning towards Genm and firing at him with the Gan Gun Hand.
Genm simply disappeared into a messy glitch of purple pixels, vanishing just as the shot had hit the ground it was laying against.
"Damn it," Roze hissed, disengaging her transformation before hurrying over to Yang, "Why'd you do that? You know I have armor."
"Yeah but it wouldn't protect against that," Yang pointed out before giving a wince, "You told us remember? And he looked like he was targeting you."
"I hate it when you're right," Ruby gave a sigh, "Just stay relaxed okay?"
"Ruby, Yang!"
Oscar, Blake and Weiss quickly rushed over, they were already on their way during the tail end of the fight only to see what had happened.
"What's going on?" Oscar asked, "What did he do to her?"
"Infected her with a Bugster Virus," Ruby explained as she went to help Yang stand, "We need to track Genm but we also need to get her to a Seito University."
"That's not anywhere near here though," Weiss reminded.
"Are there any other places we can get to faster then?" Oscar asked.
"There is," Blake spoke up as she was already immediately searching when she realized they were nowhere near CR's usual base of operations, "Hanaya Game Illness Clinic, it's not that far from here."
"So we take her there and get her diagnosed," Oscar said.
"The only issue is if Kuroto was targeting me he wouldn't make it a run of the mill virus," Ruby admitted before taking a deep breath, "Alright Blake, think you can take Yang to the Clinic with Weiss? Oscar and I can go search for Genm to try and find clues."
"Here's hoping it's just a common one," Yang gave a slight chuckle.
"Sounds good to me," Blake agreed as she hurried over, helping Yang stand with Weiss before the three walked off.
"You think we're going to find something?" Oscar asked.
"I can only hope we will," Ruby admitted, "Or at least if we beat Genm we get that Bugvisor he has."
"Genm's missing?"
It was another slow day at the Hanaya Game Illness Clinic, Taiga Hanaya taking in the cases of the Bugster Virus as they came in. Of course with Bugster Virus surges growing shorter as time passed, it was becoming a more manageable disease to deal with. Taiga himself though wasn't expecting that there would be a phone call with the news that Kuroto escaped.
"Yes, he also vanished along with the Bugvisor and Proto Gashats CR were watching over," Hiiro's voice came from the other line.
"So Genm broke out of his prison then?" Taiga asked.
"Breaking out of that prison is impossible," Hiiro answered, "A third party may have been involved in his disappearance. Contact me if you find Kuroto Dan."
"That bastard…" Taiga hissed out.
"By the way, is everything well with your hospital?" Hiiro asked.
"Yeah, all thanks to the new medicine Lazer developed," Taiga replied, "So how's your hospital doing? Are there any developments in the research for reviving those who were erased?"
"We're working with the regenerative medicine department and making progress," Hiiro replied, "The process may be time-consuming, but one day…"
"I hope you can see your girlfriend again someday," Taiga admitted.
"I'll make it happen, just wait and see," Hiiro replied.
With that both medical experts ended their conversation and hung up, Taiga staring at a drawer that was near the Vaccine Gashats and opening it up. Inside was a small black box nestled between office equipment. He opened it up to reveal a Kamen Rider Chronicle Gashat and gently took it in his hand.
"Hey Doc, I'm done with the paperwork."
The sudden voice had snapped Taiga out of his thoughts as he quickly stashed the Gashat away. He glanced back to see Nico walking over and into his office with a folder. Nico herself despite having donned the Genius Gamer N persona for the Another Ex-Aid case, actually worked with Taiga at his hospital as an assistant doctor.
"I'm so hungry I could die!" Nico admitted as she removed her lab coat before walking over towards Taiga and leaning near his desk.
"If you want to you can head home already," Taiga pointed out.
"Hey how about we order some pizza on you," Nico mentioned, "I'll have the most expensive one."
"Stick to your snacks, kid," Taiga scoffed.
"Stop treating me like I'm a child," Nico gave a light glare, "I'm grown up now."
"Hey did I hear something about pizza?" Yang spoke up as she walked over to the entrance of the office with Blake and Weiss supporting her, "Would you be able to share that with patients? Cause I could go for a good slice right about now."
"Yang not now," Weiss rolled her eyes.
"Hey there," Blake said as she kept her partner held up, "This is a Game Disease clinic right? My friend got hit with the Bugster Virus today."
"Got hit with?" Nico asked.
"Uh yeah… might've taken the hit for my sis," Yang admitted before wincing a bit as the telltale signs of a Bugster Infection visibly appeared, "You might know her, her name's Ruby, she and some of our other friends helped your group with Another Ex-Aid."
"Oh yeah that fake Gamer M," Nico recalled.
Taiga narrowed his eyes however, "Lay her down in the open room behind this one, I want an explanation."
"Uh sure," Weiss said as she went to help Yang over to the patient area, "Uh, this place is alright, right?"
"See I told you we should focus on cleaning this dump up more," Nico huffed as she crossed her arms.
"Shut it," Taiga said before looking over at their guests, "Just get her situated onto the bed."
"No need to tell us twice," Blake said as they helped Yang over to the next room, helping her lie down on the hospital bed for the meantime, "So how to begin…"
"How did she get Game Disease?" Taiga asked as he crossed his arms, "The way you've worded it was that someone infected her."
"Yeah, a palette swapped Ex-Aid named Genm," Yang replied as she went to get herself comfortable, "My sis mentioned he might've escaped recently but they were still looking into it."
"He did," Taiga confirmed.
"He did?" Nico asked before giving a huff, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I just found out and you were bugging about pizza," Taiga countered before taking his Game Scope out and running a scan over Yang. Taiga however paused when he saw the Bugster Icon that had appeared on screen.
"Hey what gives?" Nico asked as she walked over to view the icon, "You look like you've… seen a ghost."
"I am slightly concerned now that you aren't talking…" Yang trailed a bit with a nervous chuckle, "What's wrong?"
"Normally I'd be able to give you standard treatment but it's as I feared…" Taiga admitted as he closed the scan, "With Genm involved you've been infected by Lovelica's Virus."
"Lovelica...?" Yang asked.
"This doesn't make sense," Nico admitted as she ruffled her hair in frustration.
"So um… you said that normally you'd give standard treatment," Weiss spoke up, "What exactly is the issue?"
"Nothing," Oscar sighed, "Are you sure he'd even be out in visible daylight like this?"
"I was hoping there might be other incidents going on," Ruby admitted as she looked around before seeing a pastry shop, "Oh! I think I've got a lead!"
"A pastry shop…?" Oscar raised an eyebrow, "I know you like sweets but-"
"No!" Ruby huffed before pointing near the entrance, more specifically the man in a business suit walking out of the store with a business case and cake bag, "That's one of the CR Riders, Hiiro Kagami, Kamen Rider Brave."
"You think he might know something?" Oscar asked.
"I can only hope, come on!" Ruby called out as she rushed off to chase after Hiiro.
"Hey don't forget about me!" Oscar yelped as he ran after his friend.
"Dr. Kagami! Hiiro!" Ruby yelled out as she tried to grab the Riders attention, slowing down when she noticed that Hiiro himself had frozen in place. She began to slowly walk over when she saw him turn over.
"Oh," Hiiro let out a shaky breath before shaking his head and assuming his usual stoic demeanor, "You were the one that was infected by Another Ex-Aid, correct?"
"Nice to see you again," Ruby gave a deadpan reaction as she crossed her arms.
"Jeez, you really need to not run as fast," Oscar managed to catch up before taking a few deep breaths.
"What did you need from me?" Hiiro asked.
"I've been meaning to ask you about something related to CR," Ruby admitted, "Genm just infected my Sister and I've been looking for a lead. I know Emu was looking into things."
"All we know is he's currently escaped," Hiiro replied as he put his full attention on Ruby, "Where was he last seen?"
"Uh… I can't remember locations well but he vanished almost immediately afterwards," Ruby replied, "There was no way to track him aside from maybe hoping we'd run into him."
"I see, well we need to make sure he's found as quickly as possible," Hiro started but paused when the loud clicking of heels could be heard. He turned as he paled slightly at someone emerging from behind a nearby pillar.
It was a young woman with long black hair in a white dress. She looked towards the group and gave a smile, "Hiiro."
"No…" Hiiro shook his head, "This is just exhaustion, nothing more."
"Uh Hiiro, right…?" Oscar glanced towards the Rider, "Who's she?"
Hiiro glanced towards the two before looking back at the woman, "You can see her?" In an instant he dropped both bags that he was carrying, "Then this isn't a hallucination…" He took a few steps forward, "Saki! Why are you here?"
"Uh…" Oscar looked towards Ruby, "Do you…"
"No clue honestly," Ruby shrugged.
The two were unceremoniously pushed out of the way by someone who walked straight past them, purposely stepping on the bag that held Hiiro's cakes and squashing them. The culprit was a portly man with slicked to the side hair in a bright pink suit.
"That would be Hiiro's darling Ex-Girlfriend who lost her life to the Bugster Virus," The man remarked as he held up a mirror, he gave a smirk as he saw Hiiro turn in surprise, "It's been a while, hasn't it… Dr. Kagami."
"How…?" Hiiro questioned, "You were completely erased!"
"Love creates miracles, let's leave it at that," The man said as he walked around Hiiro, he then worked on pulling out a business card, "By the way, my motto is… 'From all around the world; I Miss You', I am… Ren Amagasaki!"
"Ren Amagasaki… Lovelica…" Hiiro took the card in shock before staring at the scene before him, Lovelica being extremely close towards Saki.
"Forget about me, Hiiro," Saki spoke in a near monotonous tone, "I'm going to stay by his side from now on."
Hiiro immediately rushed over and grabbed Amagasaki by his jacket, "Did you brainwash Saki? What are you up to?!"
"You're creasing my favorite suit!" Amagasaki called out as he unleashed a burst of pink energy to knock Hiiro away. He then fixed his suit a bit, "All I've done is capture the girl's heart with my charms."
"Yeah this is hardly answering my questions…" Oscar slumped slightly.
"It's making me gag," Ruby nearly coughed, "This is like a bad romance route."
"I wouldn't expect someone as young as you to know a thing about romance," Amagasaki remarked as he glanced towards Ruby.
"One I'm not that young!" Ruby called out, "Two, I already can see that you're an awkward creep!"
"H-How dare you!" Lovelica called out with a gasp.
Hiiro though narrowed his eyes, normally an insult on that level would have affected Amagasaki, so why wasn't it this time? Needless to say he had a Bugster in front of him so he had to do his job, readying his Gamer Driver.
"You haven't changed at all," Lovelica remarked as he drew out his Bugvisor, "Only the lowest of men resort to violence."
"The Bugvisor…!" Hiiro called out.
"Wait, you were the Genm that was attacking?!" Ruby questioned before giving a glare, "Hiiro we need to take that Bugvisor from him!"
"Sorry to say dear but I'm not Genm," Amagasaki remarked.
"Regardless it is my duty to excise you," Hiiro called out as he readied a variant of the Dual Gashat, "Proceeding to Level 50… Henshin!"
[TADDLE FANTASY!]
"Cultivate!" Amagasaki called out as he pressed the main button to initiate his transformation.
[INFECTION! THE BUGSTER!]
[DUAL UP! TADORU MEGURU RPG! TADDLE FANTASY!]
Hiiro assumed his form of Brave, demonic purple and black chest, shoulder and helmet armor latched onto him, granting him a black cape. He then brought out the Gashacon Sword, readying it.
Amagasaki's true form of Lovelica was an interesting one and also related to his game and name, having a pink upper body with white suit-like components with green legs, a bouquet of flowers growing out of his right shoulder.
Brave rushed in immediately but not to deal with Lovelica, he was rushing towards Saki only to get pulled away and thrown back by Lovelica, "Saki!"
"Get back, honey!" Lovelica called out before moving to approach Brave.
Brave gave a yell, his temper rising as he slashed at Lovelica only for his attack to receive a 'Miss' as an electrical backlash forced him back.
"Wait, what?" Ruby was a bit surprised to see Brave's hit count as a miss and him being punished for it, "Just what's going on?"
"Uh, is he always this angry?" Oscar asked.
"Short-tempered as always, I see!" Lovelica remarked as he was hit again only for the same 'Miss' and backlash to occur. He pressed his advantage and smacked Brave away. He had his back facing Brave as he put a hand to his head, "Have you forgotten?"
Brave gave a yell as he rushed and slashed numerous times against Lovelica's back.
'Miss'
'Miss'
'Miss'
"In my romance game…" Lovelica quickly turned around and smacked Brave away.
'Hit'
'Hit'
'Hit'
Brave gasped out was he was struck by invisible forces multiple times in response to the amount of misses he received.
Lovelica wagged his finger, "…using violence will never…"
"Shut up!" Brave threw his sword away and punched Lovelica.
"…get you your happy ending!" Lovelica gave a yell as he unleashed a force of energy that sent Brave staggering back before sending out streams of pink petals.
Brave gave a gasp as he was hit by the attacks, rolling away and losing his transformation.
"Okay what's going on?!" Oscar questioned as he gestured towards the scene.
"Oh I know what's going on," Ruby hissed out as she brought out Crescent Rose now that Lovelica's back was turned towards them. Given what Lovelica had said, she was curious as to why her previous insult didn't work on him, so now she needed to test something.
"Frustrated, are you?" Lovelica asked his fallen opponent, "Being a little more charming would work wonders."
"Like you can talk," Ruby spat out as she shifted Crescent Rose to its scythe formation and moved forward, swinging downwards.
Lovelica chuckled as he turned and spread his arms out only to gasp as sparks flew. He took a couple of steps back in surprise, "How?"
"I knew it," Ruby grinned, "I'm not a part of your game, so I can hurt you as much as I want!"
"I-Impossible… you should only be able to defeat me in a game of wits and romance!" Lovelica called out as he began to step back further while pointing.
"Maybe if this was just Ex-Aid's World, but this is a world full of different kinds of Riders so sucks to be you!" Ruby shifted her weapon back to its rifle mode and began firing at Lovelica, smirking when she managed to land a few clean hits in.
Saki however quickly got between Ruby and Lovelica, holding her arms out.
Ruby gave a light gasp as she quickly lowered her weapon, "Seriously?"
"Y-You may be a brute but you're not heartless…" Lovelica coughed out with a chuckle.
"Come to your senses Saki!" Hiiro called out as he picked himself up, "I've worked so hard all this time just so I could see you again! There has to be a way to bring you back with regenerative medicine! There has to be! I've been searching for so long! I did all of this, Saki… so I could make you smile again!"
There didn't seem to be any reaction from Saki despite the heartfelt speech. Her next reaction was surprising as she gave a cold stare towards Hiiro, "But in the end, you didn't do anything for me."
"She's given up on you," Lovelica remarked as he assumed his human form and walked to stand beside Saki, "Let's go, my honey." He took out the purple rose that was in his suit pocket, tossing it to the ground. The two were engulfed in a burst of purple petals, and once the petals scattered, the two were nowhere to be seen.
Ruby gave a sigh before hurrying over to Hiiro, "Hey are you going to be alright?"
"I'll be fine, this is none of your concern," Hiiro stated as he tried to recompose himself, "I will deal with the Bugster, it is my duty as a doctor."
"Um…" Oscar trailed as he looked at his phone, "Hey so… that guy's name was Lovelica right?"
"Yes, but it's none of your concern," Hiiro answered and near repeated.
"It actually is," Oscar walked over, "Ruby's sister Yang is infected with Lovelica's Virus."
"Wait, seriously?!" Ruby asked, "Of all the luck…"
"Not luck," Hiiro shook his head, "Just follow me."
Taiga had Blake and Weiss wait in his office while he had Nico help him with getting Yang fully set up in the patients room. It wouldn't be long until Taiga entered the office again with his partner.
"Your friend is going to have to spend the night," Taiga replied, "While it doesn't seem like she's been hit with the worst of it, it's steadily progressing."
"So what exactly is the problem with Lovelica?" Blake asked.
"Yeah, you avoided my question and told us to wait here," Weiss pointed out.
"Lovelica should be completely erased," Nico replied, "That's the short of it."
"A Kamen Rider, Cronus, used time based powers to force Lovelica into a temporal death," Taiga added, "Cronus was eventually erased himself so Lovelica was likely set free. Someone must have revived Lovelica."
"It was probably Genm," Nico pointed out.
"The reason no normal treatment can be given is because there was no vaccine developed since Lovelica was erased alongside his virus," Taiga said as he drew out a Dual Gashat that was identical to the one Hiiro used, "It's been a while since I've had to use higher levels, hopefully I'm in practice."
"We can support you," Weiss suggested.
"I work better alone," Taiga remarked.
Blake narrowed her eyes, "This involves Yang so it involves the rest of Team RWBY. We're supposed to be support for the Heisei Riders anyway."
"Even if you all team up the issue is he's a Bugster from a romance game," Nico pointed out, "You can't fight him normally."
"I have a way," Taiga answered, "Kid, you're to tend to the patient and make sure she has everything she needs. I need the rest of you to leave since I don't need you at risk of possibly catching this infection."
"We really can't stay?" Blake asked.
"She's our friend and you're asking us to leave her?" Weiss asked.
"I'll make sure you get called if her condition changes," Taiga insisted, "And my assistant will be here as well."
Weiss narrowed her eyes, "Well at least let us-"
"No Weiss, it's fine," Blake said as she grabbed Weiss' wrist before giving a bow. She then quickly hurried out while dragging a complaining Weiss in tow.
Once the two eventually made it out of the clinic Weiss managed to wrangle her wrist free. Blake simply took out her phone and began texting Ruby and Oscar.
"So why are we letting up on him?" Weiss asked.
"Yang should be fine," Blake said as she got replies back, "But if that guy wants to be stubborn about it then we can just go around him if need be. Seems like Ruby might be trying to go through the main branch of CR to see what's going on."
The two began to take off, not noticing that Taiga had heard their conversation before taking his own shortcut to Seito University Hospital.
Hiiro had immediately called Emu and Asuna up to the helipad once he had gotten everything situated at Seito University Hospital. Of course the doctor and nurse duo were surprised to see Ruby and Oscar were with Hiiro, the genius surgeon walking at a brisk pace to talk with Emu.
"Has anyone found anything regarding Kuroto Dan's disappearance?" Hiiro asked.
"We've made an inquiry with the Ministry, but they have no leads," Asuna admitted.
"That's not possible!" Hiiro called out unexpectedly, "Someone must be secretly pulling the strings."
"Wait, so there was no like Bugster Alerts going off in the past couple of hours?" Ruby asked as she walked over.
"Unfortunately no, what exactly is going on?" Emu asked.
"Genm showed up first," Ruby replied, "He infected my sister."
"Oh no," Asuna spoke up, "Then…"
Emu grimaced at this, "So it really is possible…"
"What's possible?" Hiiro asked.
"Just before Kuroto disappeared, we cleared a puzzle game he developed," Emu explained.
Hiiro was processing this information, "A puzzle game?"
"Yes, I cleared it alongside Ruby, Weiss and Parad," Emu explained, "If that game were a trap, then…"
"So then… it was a game that would let Kuroto escape?" Asuna asked.
Unbeknownst to the five they were being spied on by Taiga who had managed to make it to the hospital before Blake and Weiss could. Having gotten what he could, he decided to head back to his clinic.
"But why would he go silent until…" Ruby started to pause when she suddenly remembered the Another Rider Army, "Wait, I think I remember encountering Bugster-like Another Riders. They had like… data bodies or something so they were weaker in regards to defense."
"The only one who could even begin to create data bodies and had minor involvement in the Another Rider case is Kuroto," Hiiro spoke up, "He really did orchestrate this… why would you go and-"
"How were we supposed to know Kuroto was going to do something like that?" Ruby asked.
"Did something happen, Hiiro?" Emu asked.
"You're acting a little weird…" Asuna trailed.
"It's none of your concern," Hiiro said as he rushed off, he was too deep in his thoughts about the plot against him alongside Saki's return that he didn't realize he left two witnesses with Emu and Asuna.
Ruby crossed her arms as she tapped her foot, waiting for Hiiro to walk back inside, "Alright, so there's this Bugster named Lovelica that confronted Hiiro right before we got here. The Genm that showed up infected Yang with Lovelica's Bugster Virus…"
"That isn't good," Emu shook his head, "But for Hiiro to be so unnerved by him…"
"I'm not sure if that's my part to say," Ruby admitted, "But I did at least want to let you all know about what's going on in general."
"I appreciate it Ruby," Emu gave a smile.
"So what do we do now?" Oscar asked.
"I'll get Kiriya to look into it and have him contact your hotline tomorrow," Emu replied, "If the Virus just settled in today, and Lovelica did just appear… we should have some time to run an investigation."
"Sounds good to me," Ruby agreed before taking out the Proto Mighty Action X Origin Gashat, she then held it out towards Emu, "I did manage to get this off of Genm."
"That was one of the Proto Gashats that were stolen," Emu hurried over and gently took it.
"If we run into him again me and my team will give you all whatever we get off of him," Ruby replied.
"Sounds good to me," Emu agreed.
Amagasaki and Saki were in the manor that Kuroto had taken up residence in, the two enjoying a dinner as they smiled at each other occasionally. Amagasaki however needed answers as he removed his napkin and went to take a sip of his wine, "I think it's about time you told us, don't you agree? I'd like to know how you revived the girl and me."
"Nothing is too difficult for my godly talents," Kuroto smiled as his back was facing them while he sat in a comfortable chair. He lifted himself up and walked over to the Proto Gashat Case. Mighty Action X, Shakariki Sports and Jet Combat were currently missing. He went over and took Drago Knight Hunter Z's Proto Gashat, he soon held it up before holding the Bugvisor up, "Be it releasing the girl's locked data… or re-cultivating your virus, and using it to infect a new patient."
"Why pick the blonde anyway?" Amagasaki asked, "What are you plotting?"
"Love comes in two different forms with her. The sisterly love between her and Roze, and the more tense romantic love between her and the cat girl," Kuroto answered as he walked past the dinner table, "Three games are needed to revolutionize the history of our world. The first… is on you."
"I suppose getting that new Rider involved is interesting… but making Brave suffer isn't really revolutionary," Amagasaki remarked.
"While Roze being dealt with would be fine, it's no concern if she manages to escape unscathed, and I'm not after Dr. Kagami," Kuroto replied, "My true target… is the other one."
"Oh…" Amagasaki said as the realization dawned on him.
"The time limit for your romance game ends tomorrow at midnight," Kuroto warned, "That's when the princess' spell breaks and she is erased. And if you don't become a complete being by then, you will meet the same end."
"You truly are a disgusting little man," Amagasaki hissed out as he tore a bread roll in half.
"Ren," Saki spoke up, having just had the same blank expression on her face the entire time, not even reacting to anything the two had said, "Your foods getting cold."
"Yes, you're right," Amagasaki forced a smile before stuffing the two bread halves in his mouth.
"Okay jeez, Aura was helping a little bit but now I'm starting to feel it," Yang breathed heavily a bit as a cold towel was put on her head.
"So long as you don't stress out you should be fine," Nico said as she went to sit by Yang, "You'll be uncomfortable, but fine."
"Is that all huh?" Yang chuckled a bit, "Will say you're pretty good at this, I feel as relaxed as I can be."
Nico couldn't help but smirk, "Glad to see someone appreciates my hard work."
"I take it your boss isn't much of a praise kind of guy?" Yang asked.
"No he says good job and stuff," Nico crossed her arms, "But he keeps calling me a kid, I'm an adult you know."
"A pretty young one, but not like I'm one to judge," Yang replied, "I'm pretty sure we're around the same age. But I get it, Ruby was sort of like that too."
"So Ruby's your sister right?" Nico asked.
"Yep," Yang gave a nod, "But yeah… Ruby's always been trying to prove herself, even to this day. It's been to her detriment sometimes, but her hearts in the right place. I honestly would have hated to see her end up like this, especially since I heard about the first time…" She gave a wince as the virus began acting up due to her imagining how Ruby would be fairing.
"Hey, try and stay calm alright?" Nico replied before her expression dropped into a deadpan tone, "Or I'll beat you up, you hear?"
Yang couldn't help but laugh a bit, "Aye, aye doc," She said as she calmed down a bit, "So I think I heard you were a genius gamer, didn't know you were an assistant."
"Oh that was mostly my cover during that incident," Nico admitted, "We needed a way to draw Another Ex-Aid out."
"So you aren't a gamer?" Yang asked.
"I am… or was… but I decided to pursue different stuff," Nico admitted, "After the whole Kamen Rider Chronicle incident I decided I wanted to try something else."
"I mean you're happy doing this right?" Yang asked.
"Yeah but well…" Nico gave a sigh as she ruffled her hair a bit, "It's not that I miss gaming, I still do it on the side. It's just it doesn't feel like I'm getting anywhere with Taiga, no matter how much work I do he doesn't seem to respect me."
"Hmm… maybe you just have to take that first step," Yang admitted, "Try and show him you're serious about this. Especially now with what's going on…"
"You think he'll listen?" Nico crossed her arms with a bored stare, "You obviously don't know how stubborn he is."
"Yeah I figured," Yang sighed before smiling, "Hey though, I'll put in a good word for you as your patient."
"I've only know you for not even an hour and you've already got my back," Nico said before giving a smile before heading out, "I'll let you get some rest."
Just entering was Taiga who had a concerned look on his face, "How's the patient?"
"Just fine," Nico replied, "Is there anything else you need me to do? Anything I can help with at all?"
"Where did this come from?" Taiga scoffed.
"What? I can be serious about stuff too," Nico replied.
"More like you're trying too hard," Taiga said as he walked past Nico, "You can head home for the night. I'll deal with the patient till you clock back in."
"Seriously…" Nico trailed before giving a glare, "Will you stop treating me like a kid already? I joined your division in the first place because you shouldn't be trying to force everything on yourself. I wanted to help you help everyone after how horrible Chronicle was."
"And this is something you can't handle," Taiga gave his own glare, "Now leave everything to me, I'll be helping our patient, you can go game or whatever until your next shift."
"Fine, see if I care," Nico spat out before storming out of the clinic.
"Well now, sounds like you're having a lovers spat," The familiar voice of Lovelica called out from behind Taiga. He put a hand to his chin in thought, "Though I suppose the one with the most potential for heartbreak lies with the young miss in the room. After all, there are two people gunning for her safety from my virus."
"Will you cut it with the romance crap," Taiga turned with a light glare, "She and I are nothing near what you're insinuating. Furthermore it's a good thing you're here, that way I can beat you to a pulp here and now."
"You really think you can beat me, when you don't even understand a girl's delicate heart?" Lovelica asked before holding up a hand, "And I'm not talking about Romance either, her feelings on the matter are as clear as day and you're simply babying her… it's a shame honestly. You two would make an unstoppable duo, one which could defeat even me and you're actively preventing that."
"Shut up!" Taiga called out as he rushed towards Lovelica only for the Bugster to vanish as he got close.
"Adieu!"
"Hey," Yang's voice came from the room she was in, "Is everything alright?"
"Everything's fine," Taiga called out as he glanced towards his office, "Just get some rest, it'll help make sure the virus doesn't spread faster."
"So how's everything going on your guys' end?" Ruby asked as she was currently on her Faizphone X speaking to Tsukuyomi.
"Well Woz is… Woz," Tsukuyomi sighed, "Sougo's been busy prepping for graduation, and Geiz has been out searching all day after we heard."
"What about you?" Ruby asked.
"Unfortunately I can't seem to figure out where Kuroto might be hiding," Tsukuyomi admitted, "And this tablet doesn't exactly have a tracking function for monsters, just records on them."
"I guess I'll try looking more into this with CR themselves," Ruby said, "Thanks for trying though."
"Sorry if I can't be more help," Tsukuyomi admitted.
"It's fine, just make sure you all stay on guard," Ruby suggested, "With Kuroto out and given he actively targeted me I'm worried he might be pulling something big soon."
"Will do," Tsukuyomi replied.
Ruby soon hung up and pocketed her phone, heading out of her room and giving a stretch as she entered the living area where the others were.
"So any luck on our side?" Oscar asked as he was currently reading through a magazine.
"Unfortunately we've got no real leads," Ruby said as she went to the fridge, taking out some milk to pour herself a glass, "We'll have to wait and see what Emu's side turns up."
"You think Yang will be alright?" Oscar asked, "I mean, given how you said the Bugster Virus felt when you had it…"
"I'm worried but her Aura should help keep the virus at bay for long enough," Ruby said before taking a quick swig of her milk, "Yang's strong, she can hold out."
"She's right," Blake agreed before gripping her hands a bit as she sat at the dining table, "Still though… I wish we weren't so stuck in a corner like this."
"Unfortunately there's not much we can do in that regard," Weiss said as she was in front of the television channel surfing, "Waiting is terrible but if we ran around like chickens without heads then we'd probably make even less progress."
"We'll just have to trust in the Ex-Aid Riders," Ruby agreed, "I just hope Hiiro deals with what he needs to."
"Given what little we glimpsed it sounded super personal," Oscar replied, "Hopefully that doesn't cause any issues."
[KAMEN RIDER CHRONICLE!]
Taiga was in his office late at night, having made sure that Yang's door was shut and that she was asleep before starting his test run. He held the Chronicle Gashat and stared at it for a good while before slotting it into his Driver.
[GASHAT! ENTER THE GAME! RIDING THE END!]
Taiga gritted his teeth as a surge of the Bugster Virus entered his system from attempting to use it. He had already transformed into the Rider that the Gashat depicted, Cronus, once before. Even if that was a while back he assumed he'd still be able to do it even if that transformation was hazardous.
It wasn't long before the pain from the virus itself was too much forcing him to fall onto the ground while giving pained gasps. Blood began to trickle out of his mouth as he lashed around with a few minor yells, trying to regain his bearings by gripping his chair.
"I need more power…" Taiga gasped out before giving a yell.
He was unaware that his small virus attack and subsequent lashing and yelling had managed to wake up Yang. The blond huntress in training could only stare up at the ceiling in slight worry since she was sure that was Taiga who was yelling. She gave a wince as she felt the virus act up and quickly took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Deciding to take initiative she found her phone and sent a text to the Team RWBY group chat, letting them know for either them or Nico to check in on Taiga as early as possible.
The Next Day
Ruby and Blake were currently riding on the Rose Attacker on their way to Seito University Hospital's Center for Regenerative Medicine. It seemed as though that was where the CR Riders were spending most of their time lately. Likely to work hard to recover those lost to the Bugster Virus. Ruby had gotten a text early in the morning from Emu mentioning that Kiriya had requested to hand off the information personally. It didn't take long for them to arrive at the area, Ruby parking and dismounting alongside Blake. She then recalled her motorcycle before walking to the entrance with Blake.
"I know we agreed to split up, us coming here while Weiss and Oscar check up on Yang," Ruby finally spoke up, "But honestly seeing those texts in the morning… do you think Yang's alright?"
"I'm worried for her," Blake gave a nod before putting a hand to her chin, "But that text seemed odd in the way it was worded. I don't think it's about her."
"True," Ruby said as she led the way forward.
The two walked through the outer areas of the research center until Ruby spotted the familiar sight of Kiriya. The man wearing his signature Hawaiian shirt and lab coat combination alongside his circular sunglasses.
"It's been a while," Kiriya remarked as he leaned against a support pillar, "Though given how deep into research I am I don't get to see you as often as Emu and Parad do."
"That is true," Ruby admitted as she walked over, "So I heard you found out some stuff?"
"I did, but I am waiting for someone else," Kiriya replied, "While Emu told me that we'd be meeting I also made sure that I let Mr. Genius Surgeon know I had to talk too. Well… that's if he lets me know what's going on."
Blake crossed her arms, "I seriously don't think forcing him to spill personal business is a good idea."
"I mean there's that, but also are you sure?" Ruby asked, "If only cause well… Hiiro's been a bit emotional as of late. I'm not sure if it's safe for him to keep going in this state."
"Well if he's getting emotional it's up to him to sort those issues out or to let those burdens fall on someone else's shoulder alongside his," Kiriya mentioned, "Somehow I doubt he'll answer either way… but before I do give you out the information… I need something in return."
"I don't like the sound of that," Blake narrowed her eyes as her ears twitched.
"What exactly do you want from us?" Ruby asked.
"Just some cooperation," Kiriya replied, "I'd like some help doing some digging after all this is said and done."
"You want help?" Blake asked.
"Kuroto's coming back and given how dangerous he got before we put him on a leash…" Kiriya trailed, "I need someone to help me cover more ground. Though I'd like to do it off record if that's alright with you and your team."
Ruby thought about it for a bit before giving a nod, "Fine, we'll help you but only after Hiiro gets all his stuff settled."
"Sounds good to me," Kiriya agreed.
"Are you sure about this?" Blake asked as she looked over towards her leader.
"Positively," Ruby gave a nod, "We could use and give all the help we can before Kuroto gets too dangerous."
"I know I'm not the most trusting looking guy," Kiriya admitted with a grin before turning more serious, "But you can rest assured I will do everything in my power to make sure Kuroto stays in check."
Blake couldn't help but wonder if Kiriya had a specific early history with Kuroto that they weren't aware of. Regardless her thoughts would have to wait as Hiiro soon walked over.
"I see you have guests," Hiiro couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly as he slowed to a stop, "Are they here because of what you wanted to talk about?"
"They are," Kiriya answered, "I looked into Kuroto Dan's disappearance and found eyewitness reports of someone… interesting," He soon held up a paper that seemed to have a map drawn on it, "This here's a map of places a Bugster called Lovelica frequents."
"Show me!" Hiiro immediately rushed towards Kiriya only to slip past him.
"Emu told me some stuff," Kiriya mentioned, "And while Ruby here is kind to keep your privacy intact, you're hiding something, arent'cha, Doc?"
"That's…" Hiiro trailed before staying silent.
"You've got a terrible poker face," Kiriya remarked as he walked around Hiiro, "I mean given how much you should assume we know, you really should just ask us to respect your privacy instead of trying to act like nothing's wrong."
"Kiriya…" Ruby gave a sigh.
"Fine, fine," Kiriya chuckled a bit before looking at Hiiro and holding the paper out, "I need to lend you a hand anyway. Lovelica needs to be defeated to cure the patient and he's an important clue that will help us catch Kuroto Dan."
Hiiro was ready to answer when his phone went off, he turned away to answer, "Yes?"
"Brave, help! Taiga's… He's-Hey, hang in there!" Nico's voice called out.
Blake's ears twitched as her eyes went wide as she looked over to Ruby, "Check your texts."
"Crap," Ruby said as she quickly reached for her phone.
"Got it, I'll be over right away," Hiiro quickly pocketed his phone.
"What's up?" Kiriya asked.
"I'll deal with this," Hiiro quickly snatched the paper away from Kiriya and ran off.
"Crap, Blake can you make sure you get everything I'll go with Hiiro!" Ruby called out after checking her texts, not missing a beat she immediately rushed after the genius surgeon.
"Huh?" Kiriya realized what had happened, "Hey!"
"R-Ruby…? Wait…!" Blake called out as she took a few steps forward before slumping forward, "Too fast…"
"Dr. Kagami?"
Blake and Kiriya's attention were drawn to the voice as another doctor approached from afar. Blake's ear's twitched as she couldn't help but feel an odd presence from the doctor. It was a woman with long brown hair and glasses, her name tag reading Saiko Yaotome.
"Oh, my apologies," Kiriya turned to greet Saiko, "Seems he had to attend an emergency. I'll be representing CR at the conference today."
"Ah I see," Saiko said before glancing at Blake, "And you are…?"
"Oh she's a friend of the Hospital," Kiriya introduced.
"Blake Belladonna," Blake gave a courteous bow, "The team I'm apart of has been helping around with stuff popping up in regards to CR lately."
"Right, this is Dr. Yaotome," Kiriya decided to introduce, "She's been heading research in regards to regenerative medicine, we're hoping to put it into use regarding those who have fallen to the Bugster Virus."
"I see," Blake gave a nod.
"It's a shame that Dr. Kagami can't make it though," Saiko admitted, "You two wouldn't happen to know when he's free next?"
"Unfortunately it seems like whatever's going on might take a bit," Blake spoke up first.
"Well in that case he sure is popular even outside of the hospital," Saiko mused, seemingly not bothered by this despite her earlier question, "From the looks of things, he'll be following in his father's footsteps to become Hospital Director, huh?"
"Oh," Kiriya gave a sly smile, "So that's why you've got your sights set on our Doc-"
Saiko cut Kiriya off by gently placing a finger on his lips, "Don't get the wrong idea," She gave a sweet smile before pushing Kiriya's bangs away, putting a hand on his shoulder before walking past him, "I just feel sympathy for him."
Blake narrowed her eyes when she noticed how Saiko immediately steered the conversation into her advantage. But she didn't say anything, though she could also tell that Kiriya was easily flustered when it came to these types of women.
"When I was young, I often watched my father work, too," Saiko admitted out loud.
"Huh? Your father was a doctor, too?" Kiriya asked.
"That's right," Saiko replied, "I pursued regenerative medicine because of my father's influence."
"You don't say?" Kiriya asked, "Your father must be proud to have such an excellent daughter."
"If only that were so," Saiko gave a smile before heading off, "I'll be waiting for you at the meeting, don't take too long."
"Right, right," Kiriya gave a salute as he watched the female doctor walk off.
"Hey Kiriya," Blake spoke up once she couldn't see Saiko anymore, "If you need help in doing some digging or research, don't hesitate to call me first."
"Huh?" Kiriya looked at her in surprise, "What brought this change of heart? You seemed pretty suspicious of me earlier."
"Consider it me misjudging your attitude," Blake admitted as she pulled out her phone, "But given what's going on I'd like to try and take the lead on this case."
It wasn't long before both Hiiro and Ruby arrived at Taiga's Clinic, the two seeing a worried Nico alongside Weiss and Oscar waiting outside of the Rider's office. Inside the office was a bedridden Taiga with a towel over his head.
"How is he?" Hiiro asked.
"Not good," Oscar shook his head.
"Just what happened?" Ruby asked.
"We'll see in a second," Hiiro said as he took out his Gamescope to scan Taiga and proceeded to scan him only to see that he was infected with nearly ten different Bugster Virus strains. "This is…!"
"It seems like Taiga activated this Gashat he had hidden away," Nico said as she took out the Kamen Rider Chronicle Gashat, "He's had this after all this time."
"What's the meaning of this?!" Hiiro questioned as he got closer to his ally.
"So I could have… complete immunity…" Taiga gasped out, "If I have the power of Cronus, I can beat Lovelica…"
"He's only appeared recently! That can't be your only reason," Nico pointed out.
"With the power of Cronus… we could revive your girlfriend," Taiga said as he revealed his true intentions.
"You kept it to revive Saki?" Hiiro asked.
"But wasn't her data completely erased?" Nico questioned.
"The data came back. When Cronus used Reset, remember…?" Taiga pointed out.
"Stop this nonsense!" Hiiro snapped, "Saki's already been revived. However, she's been brainwashed by Lovelica."
"Did you see Lovelica? Where is he?!" Nico questioned, they needed a lead on that Bugster.
"Whoa, whoa calm down," Oscar held his hands up and moved towards them, "We were with Hiiro yesterday and after the fight he vanished."
"We have a patient who needs immediate treatment," Nico pressed.
"And what do you think you can even do?" Taiga gave a tired scoff.
"Hey!" Nico turned with a light glare.
"Don't worry," Hiiro reassured, "Leave your patients operation to me."
"Are you even sure you can do this?" Ruby asked as she crossed her arms, giving a skeptical stare.
"Trust me," Hiiro said, already knowing that Ruby knew what he was going to do but that didn't stop him from walking off.
"Guys we're following after him," Ruby said to her friends before hurrying off after Hiiro.
"All of you wait!" Taiga growled out as he tried to force himself up only to fall on his hands and knees.
"Will you just stay put and go to sleep!" Nico called out as she tried to keep Taiga from straining himself further.
"Why are you all following me?" Hiiro asked as he was walking down some steps, following the directions on the note Kiriya gave him. That didn't stop him from noticing he was being followed by Ruby, Weiss and Oscar.
"As much as you are a specialized Doctor are you sure you aren't letting personal bias' effect you on this?" Weiss asked.
"Oscar and I both saw it yesterday," Ruby pointed out, "You should at least have someone help you out so you don't do this alone."
"That was yesterday," Hiiro insisted, "But-"
"There you are!"
Everyone soon gave yelps and yells as they were shoved by a limping Taiga suddenly bolting against them, Taiga quickly grabbing onto Hiiro and managing to roll down the rest of the set of stairs with him. The two doctors gave grunts as they soon landed near the entrance of a tunnel.
"Jeez," Oscar winced as he was thankfully only pushed into a wall, though Weiss and Ruby had ended up tumbling down the stairs a bit.
Weiss managed to slowly get her bearings before giving a glare, "What is your problem?!"
"I'm the one doing this operation!" Taiga called out as he stood up, holding up the note with the directions.
"You need to rest! You're sick!" Hiiro countered.
"Stop trying to act tough," Ruby narrowed her eyes before she looked over at Weiss and gave a nod to her.
Nico wasn't far behind however, quickly rushing over to try and keep the doctor from falling over, "Taiga! You can't push your body like that!"
"If I have the power of Cronus, I can beat Lovelica," Taiga insisted, "I can get your girlfriend back, too!"
"Why are you so concerned with Saki?" Hiiro questioned.
"I got to live because you gave up on the chance to revive your girlfriend," Taiga admitted, "That's why I have a responsibility to save her."
"This is my problem remember, it's got nothing to do with you!" Hiiro said as he walked over and grabbed Taiga by his shirt.
"Your girlfriend was originally my patient," Taiga answered, clearly not willing to back down, "This is my problem, too!"
"Get him to rest, and make sure he doesn't move," Hiiro instructed Nico before taking off.
Taiga was still being stubborn and followed after Hiiro, "If you're going to go no matter what I say, then I guess I'll just have to take your Gashat."
"Okay that's enough," Ruby said, "Weiss, now!"
Just as Taiga as ready to ready his Gamer Driver and activate his Gashat, with Hiiro bringing his own out in self defense, the two suddenly felt a heavy pressure on them. Both doctors gave gasps as they fell to their knees, the intense gravity around them suddenly forcing them to the ground.
"What is…?" Taiga gasped as he tried to stand only to fall to his knees.
"This pressure…" Hiiro gave a gasp but let himself relax as he soon saw what was going on.
The two doctors had been stuck in place and forced to the ground thanks to Weiss' Gravity Glyphs. Weiss walked over, holding Myrtenaster out while Oscar had Long Memory at the ready. He wasn't going to hurt them but planned to use the cane defensively if they kept up their stubborn nature.
"Both of you stop it!" Ruby called out as she walked over with Weiss, quickly snatching away Taiga's Driver and Bang Bang Shooting Gashat from him.
"Give those back!" Taiga called through gritted teeth as he tried to rise only to be unable to.
"Fine," Hiiro closed his eyes and let his equipment drop.
"You know maybe I was wrong," Ruby sighed as she looked over to Hiiro, "You're honestly being more reasonable about this than I thought."
"Like I said, yesterday was yesterday," Hiiro admitted, "But I still need to do this operation, for your sister's sake."
Ruby looked at Hiiro before looking over to Weiss and giving a nod as she pocketed the Gamer Driver and Bang Bang Shooting.
Weiss decided to let Hiiro go from her Glyph since he was being the more reasonable, waiting for the doctor to collect and put away his stuff before releasing Taiga from the gravity Glyph.
"Give me my equipment back," Taiga hissed out as he stood up.
"Don't push yourself," Hiiro insisted, he looked over at Nico slowly approaching, "There's something you can't afford to lose, right?"
Taiga glanced back at Nico and gave a defiant stare towards Hiiro, "She's not my patient anymore. She's just a part-timer. I have… nothing left to lose."
"Will you shut up with that already," Nico called out more firmly with a glare, "You're really doing this whole thing again? You really want to do this by yourself?"
"Just worry about yourself from now on," Taiga turned with a glare.
"I don't need to worry about myself," Nico crossed her arms, "Right now I need to worry about you, alongside Yang, she's my patient and as it stands I need to make sure you don't push yourself too hard as your assistant."
"Well too bad that won't happen anymore," Taiga said as he managed to fully stand up and not hunch over, "You're fired. It's time to stop playing doctor."
Everyone stared in a stunned silence at those words, Taiga merely walking off on his own as a result.
"I…" Nico stared at the ground.
"Let's… regroup," Ruby suggested.
"I suppose that's all we can do," Hiiro gave a nod.
"That stupid idiot," Nico gave a grumble as she sat backwards in one of the office chairs in Taiga's office. The group had arrived back at the Hanaya Game Illness Clinic in order to regroup with Blake who finally caught up to everyone. Needless to say it was a bit of an explanation to Blake on a few things, but now that everything settled, they could only figure out what to do next.
"I know where and when Lovelica will likely be, we have plenty of time," Hiiro said, "Though I could use some help in making sure he's fully defeated."
"We'd offer it anyway," Blake replied, "After all this is our fight too."
"There's also no guarantee it'll be Lovelica alone, Genm might show up again," Ruby admitted.
"I'm going," Nico managed to mumble out causing everyone to stare at her in confusion. She then turned and gave a firm stance, "I'm going with you all!"
"It's too dangerous," Hiiro insisted, "You may have been able to fight in Chronicle and handled the Virus before but that was then."
"I'm tired of Taiga thinking I'm just a kid with a part-time job!" Nico called out, "I just want him to take me seriously for once, just like I'm trying to take this job seriously! He may have fired me but I still have a patient to take care of and I need to help her, so if me fighting with you all does it, then I'll do it!"
"The resolve is there," Weiss admitted, "But you can't fight like the rest of us can."
"Then we find a way to let her fight," Blake said as she crossed her arms, "From what I recall of what Ruby said about CR's Riders, you all have a procedure to turn others into Riders right?"
"What are you getting at?" Oscar asked.
"Wait a minute…" Weiss started, "You don't mean?"
"Nico gets the surgery to become a Kamen Rider," Blake gave a nod, "From the way it was mentioned, she's had experience with the Bugster Virus before."
"What?" Nico asked.
Hiiro narrowed his eyes, "It's too dangerous and we don't-"
"We have enough time given our deadline is midnight," Ruby reminded Hiiro of his own words, "Honestly, given Snipe is completely out of commission we could use another Snipe, and if Nico really wants to do this then I say we do this."
"But that's only if she wants to," Blake said before looking over at a silent Nico, "I don't want to force anything on you."
Nico could only stare at the ground in silence, thinking back to her talk with Yang and just the way Taiga treated her. If it was the old her she'd probably get fed up and just leave Taiga to his own devices. But she had gotten too involved already, and this was definitely her chance.
Hiiro simply stood up, "I think we have our answer."
"No, no…" Nico managed to get out before she looked up, her eyes holding a more hardened look as she stared at everyone in the room, "Give me the surgery, and I'll prove to everyone here including Taiga, that I have what it takes to keep going with CR."
"Are you sure about this?" Hiiro asked in a stone faced manner as he walked closer to Nico, staring her down, "This isn't some easy decision."
Nico met Hiiro's stare with her own, not backing down, "I am. And if you're the one doing the procedure then I have no reason to worry."
Hiiro could only turn and simply sigh, "What am I even going to do with you all?"
"Sorry to say but you're stuck with us," Ruby chuckled.
As the day grew later, everyone was preparing for the final confrontation. While Hiiro was still hesitant about the operation, there was some reassurance from Emu. Once the pediatrician was told of it, while worried, he knew that this was the next step towards expanding CR. So with everything in place and getting the paperwork out of the way, the operation was put into motion.
Taiga meanwhile had managed to get a hold of Poppy before anyone could warn the rest of CR about him. As a result he had managed to take her Bugvisor Zwei from her. With both it and the Kamen Rider Chronicle Gashat he had managed to sneak away, he was ready to implement his plan.
The setting for this battle was simple, a fountain plaza with various stone pillars and cover, in the center a clock illuminated by light sitting on a tower. The clocks hands were closing in on midnight as the sky was pitch black with a few starts twinkling in the sky.
Standing still and keeping her same stoic expression was Saki, well that was until she turned to see someone approach.
"No man alive can trump my charms," Amagasaki remarked as he sniffed a blue rose, before pocketing it, "I'll captivate all the ladies of this planet. Oh, how sinful I am!" He gave a grin, "The patient will be erased shortly, and I shall become a complete being." He grasped Saki's hand before holding her close, "My princess let us exchange a kiss of fortune and bliss. At midnight tonight, your spell will break and you will disappear. I'll stay with you to the very end."
"Okay," Saki complied as she closed her eyes.
Amagasaki gave a smile as he moved closer, closing his eyes as he went for…
"Hold it."
Both Saki and Amagasaki could only turn in confusion to see Taiga standing before them. Despite being worse for wear earlier in the day, the doctor had managed to recover decently before this confrontation.
"At midnight tonight…" Taiga trailed as he stared at the clock.
"What a boorish man!" Amagasaki called out as he was genuinely ticked off at Taiga's attitude, "You'd put getting in the way of our affair over the romance game you have with Nico Saiba?!"
"You seriously have something wrong in your head if you think my issues with her are romance related," Taiga kept his hands in his pockets as he gave a bored stare.
"Cultivate!" Amagasaki called out as he revealed his Bugvisor and initiated his transformation.
[INFECTION! THE BUGSTER!]
Soon enough in a flash of pink energy and blue roses bursting out, Amagasaki had completed his transformation into Lovelica.
Taiga soon held up the Bugvisor Zwei before latching it to his waist to form the Buggle Driver Zwei, "Fine then."
"Taiga!"
Taiga turned to see a flurry of rose petals, Ruby sliding nearby him. He gave a glare, "What do you want?"
"You're not doing this alone," Ruby gave her own glare.
"Fine then, but don't cry when I finish this without your help," Taiga replied.
"You should listen to that brat," Lovelica admitted as he pointed towards Taiga, "That device isn't something intended for human-"
Taiga ignored Lovelica's words and activated the Kamen Rider Chronicle Gashat.
[KAMEN RIDER CHRONICLE!]
"Henshin," Taiga called out as he slotted in his Gashat before pressing the button to activate it. Needless to say the expected thing happened, the overwhelming amount of infections with the Chronicle Gashat, and utilizing the Bugvisor Zwei took an immediate toll on Taiga's body.
Taiga gave a yell as he staggered, but he was surprisingly braced by Ruby who held him up to keep him from falling.
"You…" Taiga trailed before giving out a yell, "Gah!"
"Man up!" Ruby called out, as she used her strength to keep the doctor from falling over, "You wanted to do this then keep standing and do it! And if you can't stand I'll make you stand!"
"Courage and recklessness are not the same," Lovelica pointed out, "And honestly, he's a fool for thinking he could be like Masamune Dan. To think you're even helping him..."
"Oh he's a fool alright, there's no denying that," Ruby admitted, "But if he's willing to go this far then I'm willing to give him some kind of support to ease his burden."
"I'm a Doctor…" Taiga gasped, "I will save my patient… and Brave's girlfriend. I will save them all!"
Ruby noticed the Buggle Driver was starting to shine and she quickly moved away as Taiga managed to fully stand on his own.
[BUGGLE UP!]
Soon enough the screen flew out of the Driver and upwards, forming a giant holographic clock above, various Roman numeral styled numbers appearing in front of Taiga in a clockwise formation. The screen soon slid down and completed the transformation.
[TEN WO TSUKAME RIDER! (WOW!) KIZAME CHRONICLE! IMA KOSO TOKI WA KIWAMARERI! (WOW!)]
Cronus was what appeared to be a modified Ex-Aid in regards to the bodysuit chest and helmet. It was primarily black with green accents, silver digital lines running down the left side of his body. He had wide shoulders and a coattail adorned with various digital circuit-like patterning. The helmet was essentially a green and black Ex-Aid, though with various horns and spiraled eyes similar to Genm.
"W-What?!" Lovelica gasped.
"So this is Cronus…" Ruby muttered.
[STAGE SELECT!]
With a simple press of a button, Cronus had brought everyone into a new stage, this one being garden in the middle of the day.
"I must say, seeing the one that erased me is really quite unpleasant!" Lovelica admitted.
"I'll take you on, so shut it," Cronus said as he took a few steps forward and to the side before looking at Ruby, "I need you to do something for me, when the time comes, make sure no one's in our way."
"Fine," Ruby was unsure what Cronus meant but figured it would be clear soon enough she assumed. She just needed to keep an eye on him and make sure she could stall if necessary.
Lovelica gave a growl as he unleashed a storm of flower petals, "Like I'll let you-!"
[PAUSE!]
A bright filter was put on the world as time stopped in the entirety of the Game Area. All Cronus had to do was tap both buttons of the Buggle Driver at the same time. While he would have loved to completely decimate Lovelica, he had priorities and knew he couldn't waste any time.
He walked over in the frozen time over to Saki, "Please… Wake Up…" He placed his right hand on Saki's head, his visors eyes glowing brightly. Utilizing his powers he did his best to remove the mental control on Saki's data.
[RESTART!]
With a simple press of both buttons, time was resumed.
Saki gave a gasp as she hunched over and gasped before falling to her knees, clearly despite Cronus's best efforts there still seemed to be some side effects.
"Just hang in there," Cronus held her back to try and comfort her. Wasting no time he looked up, "Roze!"
Lovelica continued his spray of petals only to stop when he saw Cronus was no longer where he was aiming. He began to look around before spotting Cronus and Saki, giving a gasp.
"Huh," Ruby looked to her side and saw that Cronus was no longer near her before seeing what was going on, "On it!"
"What have you done to my beloved honey?!" Lovelica asked, "Unforgivable! I won't forgive you for making her suffer in her final moments!"
Before Lovelica could rush forward he was suddenly spun around multiple times by a flurry of red rose petals, Ruby using Petal Burst to launch herself past Lovelica and at Saki, grabbing the young woman and speeding off to a more secluded area of the garden.
"You reckless fiends," Lovelica called out as he rushed forward.
"Shut your trap!" Cronus brought out his Gashacon Magnum, firing at Lovelica several times before dodging and smacking the Bugster away.
Despite the blasts Lovelica was able to rush through them for the most part, he kept swinging his arms, trying to keep Cronus on the defensive. Eventually he got close enough to strike at Cronus only for the Rider to block with the Magnum, so he settled for pushing Cronus back.
Cronus took aim only to get his weapon smacked away from his hand. He quickly ducked, spinning behind the Bugster and going for several well placed kicks.
Lovelica gave a gasp as he was forced to stagger back, raising his arms as he tried to move forward.
"Come on…" Ruby looked around as she kept guard over Saki, "Where are they?"
"She isn't yours!" Cronus called out as he brought out Brave's Gashacon Sword in its fire mode, going for several wide and powerful swings. It was clear however that despite Cronus giving him access to the weapon, he wasn't a master at it. His swings were too wild not to mention he stopped swinging after a while, mixing in kicks that shined brightly with green energy. Cronus kept at it for a good while, swing, kick, swing, swing, kick, he wasn't giving Lovelica a chance for recovery.
Cronus gave a final yell, his body glowing with green flames while the Gashacon Sword erupted in fire, rushing forward he slashed against Lovelica several times.
Lovelica could only yell out as he was thrown backwards, exploding.
"Did he…?" Ruby narrowed her eyes.
"Hah, nice try," Lovelica called out as he emerged from the flames, "But, even if you hurt my body, you cannot break my heart with violence!"
"You're one tough bastard," Cronus hissed out before giving a yell and charging forward. He aimed a slash before a sudden pulse of pain ran through him, "Guh!" He ended up missing his swing as he staggered past Lovelica, dropping his weapon.
"Looks like you're finished," Lovelica chuckled, "Luckily for me I'm not one to ignore others help and sideline them!"
[MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGH~TY ACTIO~N X!]
Leaping into view was Genm who had come out of seemingly nowhere, kicking out at Cronus and sending him staggering back further.
"Genm…!" Cronus called out before gasping as his transformations power began to backlash, green electricity flowing everywhere before his transformation forced itself off.
[GASHUN!]
The backlash was so great the Kamen Rider Chronicle Gashat was thrown far off into the distance. Taiga fell to his hands and knees, blood dripping from his mouth.
"This is what you get for ignoring my advice," Lovelica chuckled as he walked towards Taiga, despite boasting that he couldn't be killed he was heavily damaged at least, "A fool to the very end…"
Genm said nothing as it walked forward, cracking its knuckles as it seemed to target Taiga as well.
"He may not accept help but that won't stop me," Ruby quickly readied her Ziku Driver and Ridewatch, "Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]
Ruby transformed into her base form before leaping forward, while she didn't want to leave Saki alone she needed to keep Lovelica and Genm at bay for now. Using Petal Burst she launched between the two before reforming, bringing out Crescent Rose in its scythe mode and standing between them and Taiga.
"And what about you young girl," Lovelica pointed forward, "You should be at your sisters side, not fighting barbarically!"
"Like that kind of trick will work on me," Roze called out as she kept her stance, "I'm fighting to make sure she can live, it's as simple as that!"
Lovelica gave a gasp as he realized Roze wasn't as dense as the others, "I uh… I..."
"Cat got your tongue?" Roze asked.
"Even so, you can't beat both of us!" Lovelica called out desperately.
With no one at the Hanaya Medical Clinic, that left Weiss and Oscar to look after Yang, the two trying their best to care for their friend. Since Lovelica was close to fully reforming that meant the spread of the Bugster Virus completely kicked in on Yang.
Yang was currently tensing up as she tried to relax, "W-What's taking them so long… jeez!"
"Don't worry, they have a plan, it'll be over soon," Oscar reassured as he tried to keep Yang relaxed by placing a wet towel over her head.
"We're here for you, you don't need to worry," Weiss took her friends hand with her own.
"W-What about, Ruby… and Blake…" Yang asked before giving a wince, "Where are they?"
"They're fighting for you," Weiss reassured, "Because those two don't want to lose you."
"Well if you won't care for those you can have each other when we send both of you to hell," Lovelica said, ready to attack when a white coat was suddenly thrown over him.
"Huh?" Taiga was surprised by this.
"Finally…" Roze relaxed before looking to the side, "You're late."
Genm quickly turned to see who threw the white coat only to be shot in the chest several times, sparks flying as it staggered back.
Off to the side it was none other than Hiiro who was in a black business suit, alongside Blake, but also joining them was Nico who was wearing her white coat. Of course the biggest draw to them all was the fact that both Hiiro and Nico were wearing Gamer Drivers.
"Looks like we were right that it would show up for support," Blake narrowed her eyes at Genm as she lowered her weapons.
"We'll be taking over this operation," Hiiro stated.
"Brave…" Taiga was near speechless at this turn of events, "Kid?!"
"You tried to save Saki… Now it's my turn. I'll save your patient," Hiiro brought out a marble white Gashat with a intricate gold handle, it having the label of Taddle Legacy.
Nico meanwhile spun the Bang Bang Shooting Gashat around in her finger before aiming it forward, "I'll show you Taiga, how serious I am about this occupation."
"T-This wasn't what I was expecting, but it doesn't matter," Lovelica howled out, fed up with all the twists and turns of this situation, "Why would a girl resort to stupid violence to try and beat me? Not to mention an insensitive man who could never understand a girl's delicate heart! You all could never beat me!"
"You're getting very flustered for someone who's supposedly the ultimate romance expert," Blake gave a bored stare.
Hiiro meanwhile saw Saki off to the side, "Saki, I'm really sorry, I'm sorry for getting too caught up in my studies… and ignoring you the way I did."
"It's too late for regrets!" Lovelica countered, "Once you-"
"Just shut up already," Nico groaned out as she activated her Gashat alongside Hiiro, "Going for Level 2."
"Proceeding with Level 100," Hiiro called out.
"Henshin!"
[GASHAT! GACHAN! LEVEL UP!]
[TADORU REKISHI! MEZAMERU KISHI! TADDLE LEGACY~!]
[BA-BA-BANG! BANG-BA-BANG! (YOW!) BANG BANG SHOOTING!]
Hiiro was surrounded in a blue tornado, a bronze version of his bodysuit and armor before the coloration returned, white angelic wings spreading from his back as feathers began to fall as he was now Brave Level 100. His armor was similar to his Taddle Fantasy armor but was more angelic in its shape alongside being white with gold accents.
Nico meanwhile was transformed in a flash of lime green and pink, transforming into Snipe Level 2. The biggest difference aside from her body type was the fact that she held a pink scarf instead of Snipe's usual lime green.
Taiga could only stare in shock, "Kid…"
"We will now begin excising Lovelica and Genm," Brave stated as he brought out the Gashacon Sword in its flame mode.
"Let's see you try!" Lovelica called out as he rushed forward, trying to keep Brave on the defensive, "You cannot break my heart with violence-"
HIT!
Brave had swung once and managed to do visible and heavy damage to Lovelica.
Lovelica gave a gasp, "M-My hear-!"
HIT!
Another swing and Brave managed to cut against Lovelica once again without any issue.
"Guess you were right, it was all just yesterday," Roze gave a soft chuckle before seeing Genm moving towards the fight, "Let's go team!"
Nico Snipe had leapt forward, getting in Genm's way and bringing out the Gashacon Magnum, "Bang!"
Sparks flew as Genm was forced backwards from the shots, hunching over as it soon saw both Roze and Blake get beside Nico Snipe.
"Now then… let's beat you for good this time," Blake gave a light glare as she readied Gambol Shroud, wielding both of its blades.
"Let's go!" Roze launched herself forward with Crescent Roses recoil, spinning her scythe and slamming it down against Genm, only for it to dodge towards the side.
Blake quickly ran over to Roze, using Shadow to move in closer and faster before leaping off of her leaders shoulder. She then used Shadow to launch downwards, slashing past Genm. While her weapons didn't completely scar Genm it did manage to budge him slightly.
Nico Snipe was up next, both Roze and Blake moving away as she unloaded the Gashacon Magnum fully against Genm. Sparks flew as the dark Rider was sent stumbling backwards from Nico Snipe's blasts.
[SHAKARIKI SPORTS!]
Genm had quickly brought out one of the Gashats it was carrying, loading it into its secondary slot and activating the transformation.
[LEVEL UP! SHAKARIKI! MECHAKOGI! HOT! HOT! SHAKA! SHAKA! KOGI! KOGI! SHAKARIKI SPORTS!]
Grey data overlapped it before it gained a sports-like chest plate with two halves of a bicycle acting as shoulder armor.
"More Proto Gashats…" Roze swung at Genm only for her scythe to get batted away by Genm who withdrew the wheel on his left shoulder. Energy gathered in the wheel before it was thrown and struck Roze in the chest. She gave a gasp as she was sent stumbling back from the hit.
"Ruby!" Blake called out as she switched Gambol Shroud to its gun mode and began firing at Genm to distract it alongside Nico Snipe. Despite the two's efforts they were unable to get past the armor on Genm, the Rider throwing out its wheel to home in on and block the shots before it returned.
"Not good," Nico Snipe hissed out as she quickly tapped on the secondary button of her weapon, charging up more power before firing at Genm's legs. Her attacks had managed to work, managing to force it to fall over due to its top heavy nature.
Blake meanwhile hurried over to Roze, "You alright?"
"Just peachy…" Roze gave a wince as she picked herself up before coughing, "Jeez that hits hard…"
"We just need to hit harder," Blake replied.
"Then let's use this," Roze took out the Genm Ridewatch before loading it in.
[GENM! WEAPON TIME! GASHACON BUGVISOR!]
Roze brought out the Bugvisor before handing it to Blake, "I'll open him up."
"Sounds good to me," Blake said as she took the weapon before making sure it was in its chainsaw mode.
Roze rushed for Genm, using Petal Burst to launch high into the air.
Genm saw this and quickly aimed upwards, reeling back and throwing its wheel at Roze. It then watched as Roze swung her massive scythe, batting it away. Knowing it needed to strike again it stood up and went to recall it.
"Not so fast!" Blake quickly rushed in with both Gambol Shroud and the Bugvisor, slashing with both blade and chainsaw and sending sparks flying.
The resulting attack had managed to dislodge the Shakariki Sports Proto Gashat and sent it flying off to the side nearby.
Genm staggered to the side, losing its armor as a result before immediately working to change forms once more.
[JET COMBAT!]
[LEVEL UP! BUTTOBI! JET! TO THE SKY! FLY! HIGH! SKY! JET COMBA~T!]
Soon enough grey jet themed armor appeared on its chest, it gaining two chain guns before it launched up into the air, taking aim and firing at Blake, Roze and Nico Snipe to force them back.
Nico Snipe winced as she had to step back a few times, "That's it." She switched her weapon into its rifle mode, taking aim and firing. Despite her higher range and powerful shots, Genm was managing to avoid them pretty easily.
"We need a way for Nico to get that hit," Blake said as she kept an eye on Genm in the air.
"Then we'll distract it for her," Roze said before grabbing Blake's wrist, "You ready?"
"Yeah," Blake gave a nod before looking over at their ally, "Nico get ready!"
Nico Snipe turned towards where Roze and Blake were only to see the former use Petal Burst, a trail of red and black petals shooting high into the sky. She then noticed that Genm was also following after them and realized this was her chance.
"Snipe!"
Nico Snipe turned to see that it was Taiga who called her out, "Taiga?"
"Load the Gashat in and finish this," Taiga called out.
Nico Snipe stared at Taiga before giving a nod, loading in the Bang Bang Shooting Gashat into her Gashacon Magnum before taking aim, "Alright!"
[KIMEWAZA! BANG BANG CRITICAL FINISH!]
Nico Snipe took aim before firing, sending a powerful beam of energy against Genm's back while it was turned. The resulting attack pierced through Genm, the Jet Combat Gashat flying out as it returned to its base form. As it felt it's head bolted up as it heard another announcement.
[FINISH TIME! GENM!]
Both Roze and Blake were in the air, having reformed not too long after the finisher. Crescent Rose and the Gashacon Bugvisor's blades began to glow a bright purple before the two descended.
[CRITICAL TIME BLAST!]
The two gave a yell each as they sliced past Genm, littering him with a purple cross slash of energy. The energy built further and further before it exploded. The only thing that fell out of the explosion however was Proto Mighty Action X, it dropping to the ground just as Roze and Blake landed.
"M-My ally has been shattered," Lovelica called out as his body began to spark violently, having been beaten back by Brave during the course of the fight, "And my heart keeps breaking apart…" He gave a yell and sent a flurry of petals towards Brave to try and overwhelm him.
Brave threw his cape to the side, an angelic wing forming as feathers flew and broke apart the petals storm he was caught in.
"Wh-" Lovelica was interrupted as he was cut through, "Why-?!" He gasped as he was cut yet again, the damage growing as Brave was doing critical damage to him, 'Hit' markers showing up.
'If only I had treasured the time I had with Saki…' Brave thought to himself as he continued his assault, soon switching to his weapons ice mode as he sent chilling attacks against Lovelica, 'If only I had paid more attention to her!' He quickly forced Lovelica away before going in for a reverse gripped spin slash, 'All I am is… the worst man in the world.'
"Why… how…?!" Lovelica gasped as he rolled against the floor after Brave's last assault. He barely managed to pick himself up, "How is he…?!"
"Because he finally got his emotions together after yesterday," Roze pointed out.
[KIMEWAZA!]
Brave got himself in a jumping stance, two angelic wings spreading out from his armor as they began to flap, lifting him high up into the air.
[TADDLE CRITICAL STRIKE!]
Brave gave a yell as he kicked out with his right foot, meeting Lovelica who punched at him with his right fist. As the two collided, the angelic wings closed in, covering the two as an explosion was heard. Feathers began to spread everywhere, clearing the view of what had happened.
Lovelica gasped out as he staggered out from the explosion of feathers that had occurred, "From all around the world… I… Miss… You… Gah!" He gave a yell as he fully exploded.
[KAISHIN NO IPPATSU!]
Brave meanwhile floated down and gently landed on his two feet, dismissing his transformation.
With the battle over, Roze and Nico Snipe dismissed their transformations, Ruby going to collect the Gashats that were dropped while Nico went over to help Taiga up.
As they did that, the Game Area reverted back to the fountain plaza that had originally been the area of the confrontation.
"Think I'm a part-timer now?" Nico asked as she helped lift him up.
"Maybe I was wrong," Taiga kept from making eye contact, he then looked at the clock, noticing how close it was to midnight, "She's got no time left, Brave."
Hiiro didn't say anything, his back facing everyone as he tried to work through his nerves.
Ruby looked towards Taiga and then at Saki before looking back at Hiiro, "I know it's probably hard but… well, this might be your only chance right?"
"You should take it," Blake agreed.
Taiga meanwhile managed to stand up straight, "There's one more thing we need to do."
"What's that?" Ruby asked.
"Just follow me," Taiga said as he looked around before walking off, Ruby, Blake and Nico looked at each other before following after Taiga, leaving Hiiro alone with Saki so he could say whatever he wanted.
Taiga meanwhile began looking around, trying to find something in the bushes and grass, "The Rider Chronicle Gashat… it flew off, we need to find it."
"That's right," Ruby gave a gasp as she looked around, trying to find it, "Where did it go?"
"I'm not sure, but we need to find it," Taiga said, "Spread out and search."
Unbeknownst to everyone, Kuroto was currently watching from afar. He was behind a few tall bushes and walked off as he had taken the Kamen Rider Chronicle Gashat.
"Good work, Lovelica. With this, my goal has been achieved."
The Next Day
Unfortunately trying to find the Kamen Rider Chronicle Gashat was a bust, but despite that Ruby had promised they'd keep an eye out for it alongside Kuroto. Needless to say that wasn't the most important thing on Taiga's mind as he was currently busy seeing off his patient alongside Nico.
Due to how late it had ended up being, Yang was suggested to stay at the hospital to recover with some rest till morning. Blake had decided to personally pick her up since she figured the others deserved some rest after all the running around they did.
"Thanks for taking care of me," Yang gave a chuckle as she rubbed the back of her head, "Sorry if I was a burden."
"Just don't let it happen again," Nico gave a deadpan stare as she crossed her arms, "Or else I'll beat you up."
"Like I'd let you use Snipe for something that trivial," Taiga rolled his eyes.
"Well remember you can't be straining yourself either," Blake pointed out.
"That's right, and you need to make sure you don't overwork yourself," Nico agreed, "Good thing I'm here to help pick up the slack."
"No need to get too bratty," Taiga sighed as he went to take a seat, "Besides if you should be thanking anyone it should be Brave."
"Pretty sure Ruby already did that hundreds of times when handing all the Proto Gashats she got back to him," Blake gave a smile.
"Still thanks for your help," Yang gave a bow, "Keep in touch too, after all Team RWBY's here to help you all out."
"I'll keep that in mind," Taiga said as he looked over to his computer, "And if you need any help, don't hesitate to call."
"Right," Blake gave a bow before heading out with Yang, "So how do you feel?"
"I could totally use another long nap," Yang admitted with a yawn and a stretch, "But other than that relieved… that's something I do not want to go through again."
"Well we'll just need to be more careful," Blake replied, "Still I'm glad you're alright."
"I'm just happy to hear you ended up fighting so hard for my sake," Yang admitted, "I mean, you don't have a weapon like me to compensate so…"
"True, but I'd do anything to help you out," Blake replied as she took the lead and walked past her partner.
"Anything…" Yang muttered as she stared at her friend walking off.
At Seito University Hospital's Center for Regenerative Medicine, Hiiro was currently overlooking some paperwork in a meeting room as Kiriya walked over.
"You can finally move on now, huh?" Kiriya patted his friend's shoulders, having heard the details from Blake.
Hiiro gave a soft chuckle and smiled, removing Kiriya's hand from his shoulder, "This is just the beginning. There's still a lot we have to do if we want to revive those who were erased."
"True," Kiriya gave another pat before sitting down next to him, "We're already at a big start thanks to Ruby and her friends, we've got some of the Proto Gashats back which contain the locked data."
It wasn't long before a knock was heard on the door.
"Come on in," Kiriya called out.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," A doctor walked in with a binder, giving a bow as he closed the door.
"Huh? Where's Dr. Saiko?" Kiriya asked.
"Oh, she has some urgent business to attend to and couldn't make it," The doctor explained.
Hiiro and Kiriya were a bit surprised by the sudden disappearance and Kiriya couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious. At least now he had an ally to help him with those suspicions.
Swartz gave a small smile as he walked towards a defunct building, he had to admit all of the issues that past Riders were having was music to his ears. He couldn't help but be thankful for all these distractions coming out of the woodwork. It allowed him to focus his efforts on his next Another Rider plots. Of course what also helped was he knew that Kuroto was planning something big.
The defunct building was labeled as the Next Genome Institute, an important place where the Pac-Man Incident that united Kamen Rider's Ex-Aid, Ghost, Drive, Wizard, and Gaim occurred. Now it was being utilized once more. He crept in, while his allies here were aware of him, he wanted to see them without them knowing.
Kuroto could only give a smile as he walked through the disheveled and destroyed lab.
"You really are such a bad man," A female's voice was heard before it was revealed to be Saiko, "Who else could take advantage of Taiga Hanaya's conviction as a doctor as you have?"
Kuroto cracked his neck a few times, "This Gashat is vital in obtaining Cronus' power, after all. I'll need it to recreate Rider Chronicle's Master Gashat."
"So you can fully restore the data of the one being kept inside of it, right?" Saiko asked.
"Now, let's begin the operation," Kuroto said, he raised his hands up, "Let's being revolutionizing the history of our world, shall we?!"
"Here's to reaching heights mankind has never been capable of reaching," Saiko gave a smile as she walked over to an operating table where a body was lying.
The body was that of the first president of Genm Corp, alongside the main user of Kamen Rider Cronus, Masamune Dan.
"Still though…" The woman gave a bored stare before glancing back, "I'm surprised you wasted Level 0 this early…"
"We already have the equipment created from its data so there was no need to keep it any further," Kuroto answered as he glanced at a table that held a few sets of multicolored ropes. He then walked over to where Masamune Dan was, "Now then…"
Swartz could only give a smile as he watched what was going on from the shadows. The woman that was working with Kuroto was making a deal with the devil to make a jump in medical advancement. If Kuroto hadn't proved he was unruly and uncontrollable, Swartz would have considered making someone as manipulative as him an Another Rider. He turned to head out as he still needed to keep up on making the preparations for the next Another Rider.
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"That's not Parad?"
"Having a heart only makes you weak."
"You said you wanted to help me do some investigating right?"
"It's because we have hearts that we value life."
"It's time… finally, I will become the God amongst all gods!"
Chapter 57: The Heart of a Bugster 2019
Author's Note: So fun fact, this section was actually five chapters long. Both Brave & Snipe/Genm & Lazer were two chapters each but I decided I didn't want you all waiting too long through Ex-Aid and ya'll deserve a bit of a treat so say hello to some extra long chapters!
As you can see though, I do have a slight streak of replacing certain characters in V-Cinema's with others. Yang once again takes the role of replacement as she's the one hit with the Bugster Virus to get Blake ivested in this arc. I didn't really care for Luke Kidman in Brave & Snipe alongside what his presence meant for Nico and her character. So we get a heavily modified Nico plot where she becomes a variation on the stage show exclusive Rider, Nico Snipe! Figured it would be an interesting concept to do.