Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 58 – Genm vs. Lazer 2019
"As it is written in this book, average high schooler Tokiwa Sougo embarks on a path which leads him to become the overlord of time, Oma Zi-O." Woz narrated as he walked along the edge of a building in a casual manner, sudden groans could be heard below him, "The second revolutionary game has reached its climax thanks to quick teamwork from Miss Rose and Miss Belladonna, the two assisting Kamen Rider's Para-DX and Poppy in their troubles but pushing Kuroto closer to his climax. With Kuroto now gaining great power, what will be his next move?"
Woz then looked below, soon seeing dozens of armored beings lumbering throughout the streets, they were white and black zombie-like versions Genm, resembling his Zombie Gamer form, all of them wearing a Buggle Driver.
"Oh dear… it appears as though he's started," Woz noted before turning and walking away from the edge.
Earth – Mid March 2019
Blake was currently sitting on a bench outside of Seito University Hospital. It had been a few days since the Another Para-DX incident and Kiriya had called her to talk to her. It wasn't long before she saw the doctor walk out, though he seemed to be off duty for the time being due to him wearing a red leather jacket in place of his white coat.
"Did I keep you waiting long?" Kiriya asked.
"Not really," Blake replied, "What did you want to talk about?"
"Not here," Kiriya shook his head before taking out a Gashat and activating it.
[BAKUSOU BIKE!]
Soon enough the Bike Gamer formed, a yellow sports bike styled after Lazer, though despite having a visor at the front there were no eyes.
"Let's get rolling," Kiriya mounted the bike with Blake getting on after him. It wasn't long before Kiriya revved the engine before taking off. The trip was quiet but it wasn't long, the two arriving at a gravesite.
"Why here?" Blake asked.
"I've gotten you involved fairly deep," Kiriya admitted, "And I figured given our partnership I could at least tell you why I've been pushing this far to get to the bottom of things."
"I did notice that you wanted to investigate further compared to the others who are just waiting," Blake said, "So why?"
"I absolutely hate Kuroto's attitude on life," Kiriya admitted as he went to get a bucket, sponge and ladle before filling the bucket with some water. He led Blake through the tombstones before stopping at one in particular.
'Jungo Aihara' was the name written on the stone.
Blake watched as Kiriya went to wash the stone with the sponge, wondering if this was a friend of Kiriya's. She decided to speak up, "His attitude on life?"
"He's always willing to defend the Bugster Virus because the user is saved as data," Kiriya explained, "He doesn't understand how that may still be painful for some people, or how some people don't have that chance despite being infected."
"What do you mean?" Blake asked.
"This here is my friend Jungo," Kiriya explained, "Back around the start of this all, Zero Day, well… he was coming down with something bad. Being the nosy man I am I discovered the Ministry of Health's secret files on the Bugster Virus. He was my friend so he had a right to know what was wrong with him. But he… he took it horribly… and in his panic he ended up getting caught in a traffic accident and ended up dying before the Virus could overtake him…"
"…his data couldn't be saved since he wasn't overtaken," Blake managed to figure it out before lowering her head, "So even if you all save everyone…"
"Jungo can't come back," Kiriya gave a nod.
"Kuroto's the one who started this whole mess right?" Blake asked, "I take it that's one of the many reason's you don't like him."
"Hit the nail on the head," Kiriya gave a nod as he finished cleaning the stone, he fixed up the flowers since they were still fairly alright, "But it's why I developed a bad habit of lying to people. After that, I pretty much walked myself over to Genm Corp and forced Kuroto to make me a Rider through blackmail. Needless to say we've been at each other's throats since day one."
Blake could only watch in silence as she watched Kiriya take a ladled and pour water over the stone before he took some incense out, lighting it and placing at the base of the stone. Both Blake and Kiriya clasped their hands together in prayer, the two staying silent for a few minutes.
'Jungo, it's taken us a while, but… the cure for the Bugster infection has been developed. Even so… I don't expect you to forgive me,' Kiriya thought as he prayed, 'I'll continue to pursue my duties and responsibilities.'
Blake soon opened her eyes and lowered her arms, "I appreciate that you wanted to tell me this."
"I've gotten you especially involved in this," Kiriya reminded, "So I figured you have a right to know why this fight is so important to me."
"Of course…" Blake gave a nod, "But why exactly confide in me?"
"I don't know, call it a bit of intuition but I feel like it was the right thing," Kiriya admitted as he paced around, "I mean also, I could use some help. I usually try and go things alone, usually for worse."
Blake gave a frown, "You don't want to get anyone else hurt do you?"
"I don't," Kiriya admitted before glancing at Blake, "But there's something different about you compared to the others, even your own team."
"I see," Blake said, "So what now?"
"First I'll return this," Kiriya held up the items he borrowed before walking off, "Then we're going to try and track Saiko down, she might have an idea of where Kuroto is."
"Here's hoping she's willing to talk," Blake said before following.
Swartz could only give a small smile as he overlooked the city from a random building, "So he's started, huh?"
"So this is where you are," Ora gave a bored stare as she walked over to Swartz, "Where have you been?"
"Readying things for the next stage because our little God here is going to make sure we keep getting the cover we need," Swartz explained.
"Isn't it too dangerous to leave him alone though?" Ora asked.
"Are you afraid because you couldn't control him?" Swartz asked.
Ora scoffed and looked to the side, "Me, afraid? Don't joke around like that."
The two stopped their conversation briefly when they suddenly heard screams sounding off from below.
"And so it begins," Swartz gave a chuckle.
Ora simply turned away, "And you're not afraid of anything he's doing that'll mess up your plans?"
"If he takes out our enemies in the process then I see that as a win," Swartz answered, "There's nothing he can do to truly get in our way. And even then he's running out of time, even if he deals with nuisances there's no way he's getting out of this alive."
"If you say so…" Ora trailed before heading off.
Blake and Kiriya had soon arrived at Seito University Hospital's Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Kiriya exchanging his red leather jacket for his white coat as he worked on tracking down one of Saiko's colleagues to ask about her.
"Is Dr. Saiko absent today, too?" Kiriya asked.
"That's right," The colleague said, "We haven't been able to contact her at all..."
"I'll come by again," Kiriya replied.
"Sorry for the trouble," The colleague said before heading off.
"That's one lead busted," Blake sighed, "But given her reaction to Kuroto just abandoning her, I suppose she's taking it pretty hard."
"Where could you be Saiko Yaotome… or should I say, Saiko Zaizen…" Kiriya trailed as he walked forward a few steps.
Blake was ready to follow him before her ears twitched before they shifted towards the window, "What is…" It wasn't long before audible screaming could be heard, "What?"
Kiriya quickly turned towards the window only to see a stampede of people running away from something, "Crap."
Everyone ran as a lone figure was currently after them. It was a Zombie Gamer, holding up its Bugvsior and spraying out a sickly green virus. Those hit by the virus soon transformed into a Bugster, a black version of the Bugster Head now over their head with their arms and necks having green pulsing veins.
It wasn't long before Kiriya and Blake arrived on the scene, the two staring at the Zombie Gamer that lumbered forward.
"What is that?" Blake asked.
"That's Genm's strongest form, Dangerous Zombie," Kiriya said before clearing his throat, "Hey you're taking this ride a little too far, God! Just what are you up to?"
The Zombie Gamer turned towards Kiriya and Blake before staggering towards the two. Blake moved out of the way while Kiriya spun behind the Zombie Gamer, kicking it in its back to send it stumbling to the ground.
[BAKUSOU BIKE!]
Kiriya readied his Gashat and Driver, "Zero Gear, Henshin!"
[LEVEL UP! BAKUSOU DOKUSOU GEKISOU BOUSOU! BAKUSOU BIKE!]
Kiriya spun and gave a swift roundhouse kick, transforming Kamen Rider Lazer Turbo Level 0 before rushing forward. With a few punches to disorient his opponent he eventually flipped forward and planted his foot onto the Zombie Gamer's chest, pinning it to the ground, "You be good now, God!"
The Zombie Gamer simply snarled as it tried to break free.
"He's not in a talkative mood," Blake noted as she walked over.
"Yeah he…" Lazer soon took notice that the Zombie Gamer had no Rider Gauge, even when Genm used dangerous Zombie, the Gauge marked zero, but this one was completely blank, "He's got no Rider Gauge!"
The Zombie Gamer gained a purple aura as it forced itself up unnaturally, pushing Lazer off balance before kicking him away. It then began to run forward until it gasped, sparks flying as it was slashed past by Blake.
"Not so fast," Blake gave a glare as she held Gambol Shroud up.
The Zombie Gamer gave a yell and tried to grab onto Blake only to grab onto a fire clone of hers instead, the Fire Dust infused clone exploding and blasting it to the ground.
"Just who is this guy?" Lazer questioned, already figuring something was off.
"You call for me?"
Lazer and Blake turned, the two seeing Kuroto on a set of steps nearby, though he was oddly dressed in a butler styled outfit.
Throughout the city was panic as similar attacks were taking place. It wasn't long before a breaking news report began to air.
"Breaking news, Kamen Rider Genm is spawning in large numbers in the capital and its surrounding areas. The Rider resembles the form game developer Dan Kuroto takes once transformed. In the past, he had left society shaken with his game, Kamen Rider Chronicle, and is now a fugitive at large. The swarm of Genms are attacking citizens indiscriminately, and the city is in a state of panic. According to the Ministry of Health, victims of Genm are being infected with a new strain of the Bugster Virus and turned into zombie-like forms. Said victims then proceed to attack those around them. Citizens are being urged to stay indoors, and those already outside are advised to evacuate. Avoid crowded places and be wary of the spread of the virus."
Not only were there near hundreds of Zombie Gamers running about, there were now Infected Humans that could easily cause a deep enough wound to infect other humans. Panic was overtaking everyone as civilians tried to flee or hide in buildings to keep safe.
A Zombie Gamer attempted to grab onto a woman only for it to get grabbed, the culprit was Geiz who pushed it back before kicking it away.
"I always hated Genm!" Geiz yelled out as he readied his Ziku Driver.
"You can call out your complaints later!" Tsukuyomi called out as she aimed and fired her Faizphone X at any approaching Zombie Gamers while directing the panicked civilians as best she could, "Try not to trample over each other but keep moving!"
"What do we do about these guys though?" Oscar asked as he managed to shove an Infected back with Long Memory, using its range to jab and force them to stagger back.
"Don't hurt them too much," Weiss said as she used her glyphs to force a few Infected back, taking aim and launching a fireball at a Zombie Gamer, "But we have to keep them from grabbing anyone else."
"Easier said than done," Geiz said as he brought out his standard Ridewatch, "Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!]
Geiz drew his Zikan Zax in its arrow mode, taking aim and firing at the Zombie Gamers to keep them at bay.
"Make sure you keep together," Tsukuyomi said as she took aim and blasted a Zombie Gamer in the shins to send it to the ground, "We've already had to split up to deal with this outbreak."
"Right," Oscar gave a nod as he quickly shoved an Infected away from a civilian before helping them hurry off.
Sougo, Ruby, and Yang were all paired up, the trio rushing over to a plaza where a good amount of people were trying to flee from a Zombie Gamer.
Ruby readied her Ziku Driver, "Alright, let's get to-"
The Zombie Gamer had noticed the group and had quickly drawn out its Bugvisor, aiming at the dozens of civilians that were crowded and spraying them all with the zombie virus. It wasn't long before everyone began to writhe and stumble forward before becoming Infected. The Infected soon began to stagger towards the group at a rapid pace.
"Uh oh…" Yang trailed as she backed up.
"We were too late…" Ruby gripped her hands tightly.
"No we're not," Sougo called out as he readied his Ziku Driver and Zi-O II Ridewatch, "Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER~! (RIDER~!) ZI-O! (ZI-O!) ZI-O~! II!]
SMASH
As soon as the transformation completed, reality shattered around the three as everything faded to black, time rewinding to just several seconds before the incident.
The Zombie Gamer had quickly drawn out its bugvisor, aiming at the dozens of civilians that were crowded.
[ZI-O SAIKYOU! HAOU GIRI!]
Zi-O gave a yell as he leapt at the Zombie Gamer, slashing through it with his Saikyo Girade as he landed in front of it. He then spun and slashed through the Zombie Gamer again. The Zombie Gamer could only stagger back before exploding.
Zi-O turned towards the civilians, "Get out of here and hide!"
The civilians gave a nod and began to run off, several of them spreading out in order to keep from trampling each other. Ruby and Yang quickly hurried over to Zi-O who looked towards them.
"That's right, forgot you could do that," Yang said as she went and patted Zi-O on the shoulder, "Nice job."
"But you can't keep doing that for everything," Ruby reminded as she walked over, "There's too many Genm's to keep track of and I don't need you wearing yourself out."
"We need to find the source then," Zi-O suggested.
It wasn't long before two Zombie Gamers began to lumber into view.
"Just great," Ruby sighed as she readied her Roze Ridewatch, "Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]
Ruby transformed into her base form, drawing out Crescent Rose while Yang summoned her bottles alongside the Magma and Blizzard knuckles.
"How are we supposed to find the source?" Yang asked, "Find the real Kuroto?"
The Zombie Gamers suddenly paused, the same butler simulation of Kuroto appearing between the NPC's and staring directly at the group. However it wasn't just their group, but everywhere else in the city the Zombie Gamers began to stop moving, various Kuroto's appearing one after another.
"I am Dan Kuroto Shin," Kuroto smiled as he placed a hand over his heart and gave a bow, "I'll be your guide for this game."
Yang's eye twitched, "…Game?"
"This is a survival horror game where you must battle immortal zombies," Navigator Kuroto explained, spreading out his arm and revealing a holographic screen, the title being, "This is, Zombie Chronicle!"
"Excuse me?" Roze asked.
"I've remade the old Kamen Rider Chronicle into a game about zombies," Navigator Kuroto explained, "My dear players… arm yourself with any weapon you wish. Show me you have what it takes to conquer the masses of Genm's. Of course the invitation is also for all Kamen Rider's, but be warned as there will be special NPC's to keep you from making this too easy. However, take down just one Genm and I shall grant you a blessing from god."
"What's he talking about, 'a blessing from god'?" Yang asked.
"Hey, I killed one," Zi-O pointed out, "What exactly is the blessing?"
Navigator Kuroto turned serious for a few moments, "A life taken by the game disease, brought back. One life will be chosen at random to be resurrected as a Bugster. However, players that are infected by the zombie virus will get a game over. They will not be able to return, ever. They will stay a zombie forever."
"So this is why you put everyone through so much trouble…" Roze said, clenching her teeth as she glared behind her helmet.
"So I just brought back one of the infected…" Zi-O muttered as he weighed his options. The situation was heinous but he realized that they had the power to help everyone in the present and those who suffered in the past. It was twisted, but he knew that they couldn't stop fighting now with what was on line.
"Will you take back the lives that were erased? Or will the hunter become the hunted? It's up to you," Navigator Kuroto said as he spread his arms out, "Now, go forth! You can become a hero, a savior!" He then crossed his arms before disappearing, "Let's game!"
[LEVEL UP!]
[BAKU~SOU~BIKE~! A GACHA! GIRI-GIRI-BARI-BARI CHAMBARA!]
[TADDLE QUEST~! A GACHA! ALRIGHT! DOREMIFA BEAT~!]
Zi-O perked up alongside Roze and Yang, the three looking behind them as they soon saw two approaching figures. The first was a grey scaled version of Kamen Rider Brave, it having light grey DJ themed armoring on its shoulders, helmet, and right forearm. The second was a grey scaled version of Lazer's bike gamer, having light grey and black armoring attached to it to act like legs and arms, resembling a samurai of sorts.
"I guess this is what he meant by special NPC's," Yang raised her Knuckle weapons.
"Looks like he's using the remaining Proto Gashats to act as enforcers," Roze shifted Crescent Rose to its scythe mode.
Zi-O quickly got back to back with Yang and Roze, making sure he was facing the Zombie Gamers, "Alright, I'll deal with the Zombie Gamers, you two deal with those NPC's."
Lazer and Blake had heard the same conversation, the two growing pretty frustrated with Kuroto's antics. Needless to say Lazer was ready to burst.
"This is horrible…" Blake gave a look of disgust before turning towards the Zombie Gamer that was starting to move again.
"That bastard," Lazer hissed before loading his main Gashat into the finisher slot, "We're finding his real body now."
"If you say so," Blake gave a nod.
[BAKUSOU CRITICAL STRIKE!]
Lazer summoned the Bakusou Bike again before getting on, Blake quickly mounting from behind before Lazer sped forward, ramming past the Zombie Gamer, "Outta our way!"
The Zombie Gamer could only give a groan as it was thrown to the side, slowly picking itself up as it fruitlessly tried to lumber after the already gone duo.
Lazer continued to ride along before noticing something in the distance, "Well I'll be… we're making a detour."
Lazer had spotted Saiko walking along in a despondent fashion. She had been wandering for seemingly days without doing much thanks to Kuroto's betrayal. She continued on her way only to get blindsided by a Zombie Gamer that pinned her against the wall. It withdrew its bugvisor and took aim at Saiko.
"I don't care what happens to me anymore!" Saiko called out, seemingly alright with this fate.
"Take this!"
Lazer gave a yell as the Bakusou Bike shined a bright yellow, ramming straight into the Zombie Gamer and unleashing all the energy in the bike to strike at it. The Zombie Gamer could only groan out as it was struck and launched backwards before exploding.
Saiko could only look up in shock, having dropped to the ground after she was let go, "Why did you save me?!"
Blake dismounted while Lazer did the same, the two simply staring at Saiko.
"You should already know what I've done," Saiko kept her head down.
"Yep, heard all about it from Poppy and Blake," Lazer replied, "I was told you were trying to bring back your father, Michihiko Zaizen."
"I… betrayed all of you," Saiko replied.
"Yeah, that's true," Lazer dismissed his transformation before punching his hand and approaching the female doctor, "I can't rest easy until I get to beat up..."
Blake stayed silent as Saiko closed her eyes before looking over towards Kiriya who had picked up something. It was Saiko's ID tag, Kiriya placing it over her head and around her neck again.
Kiriya gave a smile, "…the one who betrayed you, Kuroto Dan."
"Huh?" Saiko looked in confusion.
"He's giving you another chance," Blake replied.
Saiko looked over to the Faunus, "But what about everything I said-"
"I'll be honest, you aren't exactly the best person," Blake wholeheartedly admitted, "But if everyone's willing to give you another chance, I'll trust their judgment for now."
"If you truly respect your father, then pick yourself back up again," Kiriya said as he mounted his bike, "We need you, Doc. The only one who can change the future of regenerative medicine and save the erased… is you."
"They're counting on you so you shouldn't let them down," Blake added before getting on the bike after Kiriya.
Kiriya gave a wave to Saiko before gripping the handles of the Bakusou Bike before revving it up and taking off.
At the Hanaya Game Illness Clinic, Taiga just hung up from a call with Hiiro. He had made the surgeon realize they'd have to play Zombie Chronicle in order to save whatever lives they could.
"So what are we going to do?" Nico asked.
"Playing that madman's game," Taiga replied, "If we can save those that were lost then that's a plus for us."
"You sure you should be doing this?" Nico asked, "I can take over for you remember?"
"To be honest you're more demanding than me," Taiga admitted as he looked at his assistant, "I want you to grab anyone nearby and get them here, try and clear the streets as much as you can."
"You know you can't go higher than Level 2 right?" Nico reminded, "You're still reeling from Cronus."
"I'll do what I can to crush all those zombies," Taiga insisted, he had already heard the rules and realized this was a chance to make up to an old friend.
"If you're going to be stubborn then here, I was planning on giving this to you later, but the situations bad," Nico said as she held out a white box, "It's a special Gashat I had Genm Corp make."
"Why did you have this made?" Taiga asked as he took the box.
"I'm the majority shareholder, remember?" Nico gave a smile, before she grew a bit more serious, "Following on from Monk of Terror, it's a game where you use a tank to free a world overrun by zombies. Besides I wanted to give you a boost just in case that stupid zombie form of Genm's made a comeback."
"Well aren't you thoughtful," Taiga rolled his eyes as he opened the box to reveal the new Gashat, Bang Bang Tank.
"If you die I'll kill you," Nico huffed.
"Don't get too annoying," Taiga sighed as he went to prepare his gear.
Masamune was currently sitting in an abandoned building. There was nothing much he could do except to hide until he could reclaim his power again. While his power as a Bugster had returned, he still lacked the ability to fight.
"So this is where you are…"
Masamune's head shot up when he saw the real Kuroto walking towards him, "You…"
"You shouldn't be surprised," Kuroto replied, "I'm the Game Master, and you were an instrumental part of the new game I created. I'm not sure how you escaped but I must commend you for doing so."
"Why did you resurrect me? Just so you could take the Parad that was within me?" Masamune asked.
"I just needed to… borrow him for a little while," Kuroto admitted, "I needed the same power the genius gamer M has… to create god's Gashat," he then held up his newest creation, " God Maximum Mighty X will change the world as we know it. It is a game that can freely create any game you desire. What do you think? Isn't it beautiful?"
"Don't try me," Masamune hissed out, "Kuroto!"
Kuroto held up the Bugvisor Zwei in response, revealing Another Parad within it. He then tossed it over to Masamune, "He is of no use to me anymore."
Masamune caught the Bugvisor, confused by this, "What?"
Soon enough several Zombie Gamers began to lumber their way inside, all of them slowly inching towards Masamune.
"I'd like to see you try and beat Zombie Chronicle," Kuroto smiled as he began to walk away, "Oh I forgot about Rider Chronicle, I suppose you'll have to use the Bugvisor to defend yourself while searching for it."
"Kuroto…" Masamune growled as he grabbed the Bugvsior and started shooting at the Zombie Gamers, "Kuroto! Get back here!"
Kuroto ignored Masamune before disappearing in a flash of purple pixels.
The Zombie Gamers meanwhile continued to move forward despite getting shot. It wasn't long before they were suddenly blasted from the side by an invisible force.
"Well now…" A distorted voice spoke as the masked Jester from before walked into view, "Seems like you could use some help."
"You…" Masamune trailed.
"Here," The Jester tossed a Gashat over to Masamune, "You'll need this to regain your full power."
Masamune caught the Gashat, soon realizing it was Kamen Rider Chronicle, "This is…"
"Do it," The Jester spoke as he began to walk away, "Kill Kuroto Dan."
Masamune gave a glare as he placed the Bugvisor Zwei on his waist, the virus that was Another Parad flowing back into his body as a result of the connection. He then activated his Gashat, "Henshin!"
"That man is too sick," Geiz pulled back the hammer of his bow, ready to strike a Zombie Gamer in the eyes when his Zikan Zax was blasted out of his hand, "What?!"
More energy blasts were sent towards Geiz only for them to be stopped by Glyph's, Weiss quickly slid into view near Geiz.
"We've got company," Weiss said as she kept Myrtenaser pointed forward.
A grayscale version of Snipe was walking into the area, holding its Gashacon Magnum with both hands.
Tsukuyomi took aim, firing several blasts from her Faizphone X only to watch Proto Snipe spin out of the way. She quickly held her hand forward when she saw a few blasts were sent her way. Surprisingly she didn't freeze the blasts this time. Instead an invisible force was unleashed and deflected them away from her.
"Whoa, when could you do that?" Oscar asked.
"J-Just now I think," Tsukuyomi gave a bit of a shaky response, taking a deep breath as that was too close for comfort.
"That must be one of the enforcers that he mentioned," Weiss realized.
"We're ending this quickly because this is getting out of hand," Geiz said as he loaded the Ex-Aid Ridewatch into his Driver.
[ARMOR TIME! LEVEL UP! EX-AID!]
Geiz began to run forward before leaping into the air, the Ex-Aid Armor latching on just as he did and allowing him to jump high up.
Proto Snipe took aim and fired several blasts at Geiz who merely used his massive hammer gauntlets to block against the enforcers attacks.
Geiz landed and rushed forward, slamming his fist forward and completely broke past Proto Snipe's attempt to guard with its gun. Geiz landed a clean hit against the chest, moving forward again and slamming his gauntlet into the chest one more time.
Two Zombie Gamers began to lumber towards Weiss who got an idea, using her Glyphs she managed to slide and spin the two around, forcing them to walk towards Geiz.
"Geiz!" Weiss called out.
Proto Snipe switched its weapon to its rifle mode before loading its Gashat into its weapon, taking aim when it saw Geiz glance back, thinking him distracted.
[BANG BANG CRITICAL FINISH!]
A powerful blast of energy was shot towards the Geiz who simply leapt high into the air to avoid it, the blast striking the Zombie Gamers that were making their way towards Geiz. Both Zombie Gamers gave a groan as sparks flew from their sturdy bodies.
[FINISH TIME! CRITICAL TIME BURST!]
Geiz landed immediately behind Proto Snipe, slamming his two hammer gauntlets into the Proto Rider's chest just as it turned. The attack filled the Proto Rider with energy before sending it slamming straight into the Zombie Gamers, a huge explosion occurring.
As the explosion faded the only thing left was the Bang Bang Shooting Proto Gashat.
Oscar hurried over and grabbed it, "Got it."
"Good because it looks like we've got company," Weiss pointed out as she walked over, aiming towards a street that was filled with Infected along with several more Zombie Gamers.
"There's just no damn end to these things," Geiz growled out before looking around, noticing that during their fight they had allowed the civilians nearby to escape, "This area's clear, let's regroup and figure out our next move!"
Oscar, Tsukuyomi and Weiss nodded as they followed after Geiz who had dismissed his Armor Time to allow him to run faster via his base form.
A Zombie Gamer was lumbering past an alleyway in search of people to infect when it suddenly got hit by a few blasts from within. It turned to see that Snipe in Level 2 was the one who shot at him. With a target in sight it rushed towards the Rider.
Snipe went for a few punches once the Zombie Gamer got close enough, gritting his teeth when it tried to grab onto and smother him. He turned it around before kneeing it in the gut, smacking its head with his Gashacon Magnum. He kept going for punches and kicks, needing to get the Zombie Gamer a bit worn down first.
The Zombie Gamer tried to grab at Snipe only for its arm to be caught and forced to the side, it getting shot in the gut and sending it staggering further out of the alleyway and towards a tunnel. With Snipe closing in it noticed that the Rider was going for a punch, blocking it before performing its own string of punches to force the Rider back.
"These damn zombies are too sturdy huh?" Snipe asked before taking out Bang Bang Tank, "In that case… I'm going to destroy you."
The Zombie Gamer began to stagger towards Snipe with a groan.
Snipe switched his weapon to its rifle mode before slotting the Gashat into it, taking aim as a spectral version of a tank appeared over him.
[KIMEWAZA! BANG BANG CRITICAL FINISH!]
Snipe gave a yell as he unleashed a super-powered shot of energy, the attack striking against the Zombie Gamer and completely destroying it.
"With its defeat, someone's life will be brought back…" Snipe trailed as he lowered his weapon.
It wasn't long before he heard groaning, at the other end of the tunnel three more Zombie Gamers began to emerge, all of them lumbering towards Snipe.
"I'll destroy you all!" Snipe yelled out as he removed his Gashat and took aim, "No matter the cost!"
"Hey now, suicide tactics aren't exactly the most reliable!"
A sudden voice was heard before various heavy shots whizzed past Snipe, striking the Zombie Gamers and littering them with damage, sparks flying everywhere.
Snipe turned to see an older man with his hair tied back in a ponytail wearing a white coat, Snipe tilted his head, "Who are you?"
"The names Akira Date," Date answered as he wrapped the Birth Driver around his waist, "Us Doctors should help each other out right?"
"You…" Snipe trailed before turning at the groans.
"Henshin!" Date called out as he flicked a Cell Medal up before slotting it into the Birth Driver, turning the dial.
POP
The standard transformation for Birth occurred with Date clasping his hands at it completed. Of course he wasn't just standard Birth, the red rings and lines around the capsules denoted the difference, he was Proto Birth.
"So you're my backup huh?" Snipe asked.
"Yes!" Proto Birth gave a thumbs-up before walking over to stand beside Snipe, "Let's give these undead freaks a run for their money."
"Just don't get infected," Snipe scoffed before running forward, Proto Birth running alongside him.
"You know I always was a fan of clubs, but this is ridiculous!" Yang called out as she leapt out of the way, a blast of sound impacting against the ground near her.
Proto Brave was using its Beat Gamer form to launch sound blasts out of the shoulder cannon it held, scratching the turntable every now and again to boost its attacks.
"Hey you're not the only one having it rough!" Roze called out as she swung her scythe around, clashing against Lazer in its Chambara Gamer form.
The form not only gave Lazer limbs but also allowed access to the Gashacon Sparrow, it having split it into its sickle mode. Despite its bulky state, it was using its sickle based weapons to block against Roze's own massive scythe, tapping the enhancement button every now and again to power them up further and make up for its lack of range.
Zi-O meanwhile was slashing against the two Zombie Gamers, sparks flying as he utilized both the Zikan and Saikyo Girade's. He quickly removed the Best Face from the Saikyo Girade before tossing it up into the air, combining both blades into the Saikyo Zikan Girade before stabbing it into one of the Zombie Gamers. He then used his free hand to grab the Best Face and attached it to complete the transformation.
[SAIKYO FINISH TIME!]
Zi-O gave a yell as his blade was enveloped in gold energy, it piercing through the Zombie Gamer before he swung, slashing through it before slicing through the other one that was nearby.
[KING GIRI GIRI SLASH!]
Zi-O panted a few times as he watched both Zombie Gamers fall back before exploding. He then turned towards where Roze and Yang were fighting before accessing Zi-O II's Future Sight.
Proto Brave quickly unleashed a powerful blast of sound against the ground Yang was on, shattering it before closing in to strike at her while she stumbled. Proto Lazer meanwhile leapt back, unleashing energy slashes to disarm Roze before striking her with several more.
"I can see it," Zi-O said before holding a hand near his helmets mouth, "Ruby, Yang! Jump back and switch!"
The Sisters heard him and looked towards each other.
"What do you say?" Yang asked.
"Go for the belts, we can't waste anymore time," Roze said before looking back towards her opponent.
Proto Brave quickly unleashed a powerful blast of sound while Proto Lazer leapt back, unleashing energy slashes. To both Proto Riders surprise, the two sisters had leapt backwards to avoid both attacks. The sisters got back to back as they landed before they pivoted, spinning and rotating before Roze rushed for Proto Brave while Yang charged straight for Proto Lazer.
Roze utilized Petal Burst, launching herself past Proto Brave, she then slammed her scythe into the ground and took aim. Just as Proto Brave turned to face her she unleashed a blast of energy against its belt, tearing through and breaking the strap alongside part of its waist.
Proto Brave could only fall backwards as it disappeared in a flurry of pixels, both Taddle Quest and DoReMiFa Beat Proto Gashats dropping to the ground.
Proto Lazer had sent several energy slashes towards Yang to stop her approach, Yang loading the Diamond Bottle in and punching forward with the Blizzard Knuckle.
[DIAMOND! GLACIAL KNUCKLE!]
Ice spread out quickly from the knuckle, creating a diamond shaped shield of hardened ice that took the brunt of the attacks before shattering. However Yang wasn't behind the shield when it had broke.
[DRAGON! VOLCANIC KNUCKLE!]
Yang had jumped into the air, readying her Magma Knuckle as she dropped down. Proto Lazer had quickly braced, readying itself for a downward strike. To its surprise Yang had landed right in front of it in a crouched state, she then punched forward with the Magma Knuckle, a fiery dragon being unleashed against Proto Lazer's waist.
The attack had completely burned through the strap of the Rider's Gamer Driver alongside its waist. Proto Lazer fell to the ground and disappeared into grey pixels, the Bakusou Bike and Giri Giri Chambara Proto Gashats dropping to the ground near where it had faded.
"And that's that…" Yang sighed as she grabbed the Proto Gashats.
"Hey Sougo," Roze said as she picked up the Proto Gashats near her before walking towards her friend, "Think you can use your Future Sight to see where the real Kuroto is?"
"I'll try," Zi-O said before activating Zi-O II's Future Sight.
It was hard to make out because there were dozens of people running away in fear. But he managed to see Kuroto Dan among them. It was the real one as he wasn't dressed up like Navigator Kuroto. However Kuroto also had two visitors in the form of Kiriya and Blake. Going further he soon saw that Kuroto had also obtained an insanely powerful new form.
Zi-O gave a light gasp, "Oh no."
"What happened?" Roze asked.
"What did you see?" Yang asked.
"We need to get to where Kuroto is now," Zi-O said, panic in his voice, "Kiriya and Blake are going to confront him."
"Isn't that a good thing though?" Yang asked, "They'll probably finish him off."
"No…" Zi-O shook his head, "He's obtained a terrible power… it'll probably take all of us to put him down."
"We need to get going then," Yang suggested.
Roze grimaced beneath her mask as she activated her Rose Attacker Lockseed, "No need to tell me twice!"
Elsewhere in the city, everyone was in panic and trying to run away and get to safety somewhere. Among the crowd was Kuroto walking forward in a calm fashion.
"It is I…" He spoke up, "…the supreme god who will revolutionize this world."
There were two among the crowd that weren't running however, Kiriya and Blake, the two standing in Kuroto's way. Kiriya had his Gamer Driver ready while Blake held Gambol Shroud at her side.
"Kiriya Kujo…" Kuroto smiled before noticing Blake, "And you have a friend this time."
"Let's just say we're both mutually sick of what you've been doing," Blake answered.
"You sure you should be out and about like this? You're a wanted man, y'know," Kiriya remarked, "You're a bold one, I'll give you that."
"But of course," Kuroto smiled as he took out God Maximum Mighty X, "My godly talents have finally been given a more… tangible form, after all."
Kiriya inwardly sighed as he spoke up, "There you go making something weird again."
"As long as I have this Gashat, the only limit to the games I can create is my imagination," Kuroto boasted, "And Zombie Chronicle was one of them."
"Oh?" Kiriya asked. "So that means if we destroy that Gashat, we can force this zombie game to shut down, right?"
"Sure sounds like it," Blake nodded as she raised her weapon.
"You have courage for facing me," Kuroto spoke up, "I do hope you utilize the blessings I gave you during the earlier two games."
"If you mean me getting my full arsenal back than sure," Kiriya said as he took out Proto Shakariki Sports and Jet Combat, "But it's really annoying me how calm you are about all this. But if you insist..."
"We'll take you down," Blake said as she kept her stance.
"Explosive Gear, Henshin!" Kiriya called out as he loaded in both Bakusou Bike and Proto Shakariki Sports, opening up his Gamer Driver before spinning and kicking out.
[LEVEL UP! BAKUSOU BIKE! A GACHA! SHAKA! SHAKA! KOGI! KOGI! SHAKARIKI SPORTS!]
In a flash of yellow and grey he transformed into Lazer Turbo, gaining the Proto Sports Gamer as armor.
"It's time you witnessed my true power…" Kuroto smiled as he held his new Gashat forward, "…the power of the highest of deities."
[GOD MAXIMUM MIGHTY X!]
Kuroto spread his arms out before clasping his hands around the Gashat as if he was praying, "Grade Billion. Henshin!" He slotted the Gashat in before opening up the Driver.
[MAXIMUM GASHAT! GACHAN! FU~MET~SU!]
Soon enough a purple and black Genm themed exo-suit emerged above him, having Genm's face as the center chest piece. This was the God Maximum Gamer. Kuroto meanwhile transformed into Genm Level 0. He slammed his fist down on the button that was sticking out, initiating the next part of the transformation.
[GOD MAXIMUM X!]
Genm flipped backwards, the God Maximum Gamer opening up and allowing him inside. Once inside the limbs began to outstretch themselves, Genm's head popping out as the massive suit landed with a slam.
"Billion…?" Lazer asked.
"I am now… Level 1,000,000,000!" Genm exclaimed.
"I'm sorry is that even a real level number?!" Blake questioned with wide eyes.
"Is 'one billion' supposed to scare us? You just make these levels up as you go!" Lazer called out before rushing forward, going for a kick only for it to not affect Genm. He gave a gasp as he staggered back when Genm's large fist only tapped him. He avoided a small swing before kicking and punching at Genm only to get punched back further.
Blake quickly rushed in, slashing at Genm's back, just barely scraping it and doing no damage. Her eyes widened as she quickly used Shadow to back away, her clone taking the hit as Genm spun and swung his fist back.
"You're foolish for thinking that you can easily cut through this armor without a transformation," Genm scoffed before gathering energy in his exo-suits eyes, launching out energy beams to keep Blake at a far distance.
Blake flipped and jumped back to avoid the beams, using Shadow when all else failed for a quick escape.
"Don't forget about me!" Lazer called out as he dislodged the tire on the Sports Gamer, tossing the wheel towards Genm before he became a yellow and black blur. Lazer began speeding around at all angles, him and the tire attacking in tandem and causing some sparks to fly as he worked to overwhelm Genm.
"Cosmic Chronicle, activate!" Genm called out as he held out a hand, suddenly a giant magnifying glass formed overhead in the sky. He used it to channel the suns power into a laser which he used to strike at Lazer. This had managed to force the Rider to slide to a stop, though it wasn't long before the sun laser began tracking after Lazer, striking him and forcing him to the ground to keep him from speeding up again.
"I'm sorry, what?!" Blake asked.
"Cosmic Chronicle is a game in which you save Earth from the destruction of the universe," Genm explained.
"Now you're bringing the sun into this? Give it a break already!" Lazer groaned as he activated Proto Jet Combat before initiating his form change.
[A GACHA! FLY! HIGH! SKY! JET COMBA~T!]
Lazer gained the Proto Combat Gamer armor, flying up into the air and unleashing a rainstorm of bullets against Genm.
Genm had decided to activate another one of the God Maximum Gamer's abilities, stretching its arms and legs out. He jumped all over the place, trying to strike at Lazer only to just barely miss him while he was littered with bullets.
Blake meanwhile took aim with Gambol Shroud, shooting and trying to hit some sort of weak point. Despite this, all of her hits that did land still didn't do much.
"I have committed myself to the universe," Genm landed, his visors eyes glowing before he raised his hands. Soon enough meteors began to rain down, Lazer trying to destroy a few with his guns only to get struck several times. Blake meanwhile gave a scream as she worked to avoid the meteors, one crashed down nearby with an explosion kicking up, blowing her away.
Lazer gave a yell as he dropped from the sky, falling to the ground and losing his transformation.
Blake meanwhile gave a groan, just barely standing up before noticing what had happened, "Kiriya!" She called out as she hurried over, "Are you alright?"
Kiriya could only gasp out as he was rolled onto his back, trying to catch his breath.
"This is what the power of a God is like," Genm explained before turning to walk away.
"You spent all that time with CR, with Emu and Poppy and the others…" Kiriya spoke up finally, "And you don't feel a single bit of empathy? You don't feel how precious life is? You don't feel sympathy for the victims?"
"I'm giving you all a chance to save those who were erased, aren't I?" Genm pointed out. "It's up to the players themselves whether they get a happy end or a bad end. That's what a game is about!"
"That's not a game, that's just your sick and twisted ego!" Blake snapped before noticing that Kiriya was starting to shake.
Genm's words struck a nerve with Kiriya and all he could do... was laugh. He rolled onto his stomach.
"A game…? Screw you," Kiriya rolled onto his stomach and began to pick himself up. The further he spoke the more irritated and annoyed his tone felt, "Yeah, sure, the data of the erased exists and is being kept somewhere, but that's not how it is for Jungo. It doesn't matter what grand things your godly talents can do. You can never... You can never bring him back!"
Blake's ears drooped as she helped Kiriya stand, "Kiriya…"
[STAGE SELECT!]
Genm turned in confusion, "What?"
Genm, Kiriya and Blake had all been transported via stage select, being brought to a flat quarry in the middle of the night. A loud chime could be heard as footsteps grew louder, everyone turning to see a large clock set up, Kamen Rider Cronus walking towards them.
"That's…" Blake trailed.
"Kuroto!" Cronus called out, his voice filled with anger despite his calm movements going forward.
"That voice… its Masamune Dan," Kiriya realized.
"Oh, so you got yourself out of that little pinch, did you?" Genm asked, "Then why don't you join us in Zombie Chronicle too? You could bring back that woman you loved, Sakurako Dan."
"…What?" Cronus asked.
"Human life is no longer finite. My talents have changed this very world into a game!" Genm explained, "This world is now one in which any life can be continued! My very existence will be immortalized as a legend!"
"You truly have lost it," Cronus called out over Genm's deranged laughter, "I gave you life, and I will discontinue it too!"
"Why..." Genm spoke up, "Why aren't you trying to bring back Sakurako Dan?"
Cronus placed a hand on his chest, "Because... she lives on in my heart!"
"What?" Genm asked, not understanding what his father meant.
"I will not tolerate nor forgive you for toying with her life!" Cronus called out in near anger.
"This feels odd…" Blake admitted, feeling as if she had just walked in the middle of some family drama.
"Odd yeah, but this might be our chance to win," Kiriya whispered.
Genm raised his arm up, sending down meteors to strike at Cronus, with the time themed Rider simply pressing down on both buttons of the Bugvisor Zwei. Explosions littered the area around and in front of him as time came to a halt.
[PAUSE]
Despite having the power of a god, even Genm was apparently stuck in the paused time. Cronus gave a chuckle, walking forward to finish Genm off. "Hah, so even you are powerless against Pause," He punched forward only for Genm's head to jerk up and catch his punch, "What?!"
Genm wasted no time in tossing the punch to the side before smacking his father away.
Cronus retaliated, trying to fight against Genm who managed to easily counter the time Rider's movements. Despite Genm's large advantage Cronus managed to land a kick while jumping over his son, but was soon smacked back onto the ground by Genm.
"Even time must bend to the whims of the universe," Genm explained as he picked his father up before gathering energy in his fist, punching Cronus upwards. The punch was so powerful that Cronus ended up flying further and further up until he was out of the atmosphere and in space.
Genm used boosters on his suits feet to fly up after his father, soon flying in front of the moon. Stretching his arm out he dug his fist into the moon before using his strength to swing it at Cronus.
"What in-" Cronus called out before he was struck by the moon, being sent hurtling back down to the ground, falling through the frozen explosions and slamming into his clock. Genm dropped down after him, landing as Cronus could no longer keep up Pause.
[RESTART]
In the blink of an eye, Cronus was on the ground defeated, the clock destroyed as the explosions died down around him. The stage select was disabled, returning everyone to the plaza.
"Dan Masamune... your Rider Gauge is now at... zero." Genm explained before he disappeared in a flurry of pixels.
Cronus gasped out as his transformation dismissed itself, reeling from the attack that Genm had thrown at him.
"…I …what just happened?" Blake asked as she stared at the scene in front of her.
Kiriya could only stare in shock, "One of the strongest Riders ever just got beaten."
"Oh you've got to be…" Blake trailed.
"Bakusou Bike…" Masamune managed to get out as he tried to pick himself up, "Do you remember… when we first met?"
Kiriya looked down before giving a nod, "Yeah."
"I want you to stop my son. Back then... I entrusted you with this fate... and told you everything." Masamune replied.
"But weren't they all just lies so you could seize and monopolize Chronicle?" Kiriya asked.
"Things are different now, whether they were lies or not mean little. You of all people... should understand," Masamune admitted as he slowly stood up straight. He held out his hands and gripped them tightly with a look of regret on his face, "Please, stop my son. He... should never have been born." His eyes flashed green, and it wasn't long before his body began to dissolve into pixels.
[GAME OVER]
Masamune fully faded away, the Bugvisor Zwei dropping to the ground before the screen flashed green, it seemed as though Masamune loaded something into it before he fully disappeared. Kiriya walked over and picked it up, slowly starting to realize what Masamune had left them.
"How are we supposed to stop Kuroto?" Blake finally asked.
"I'll be able to stop him with whatever Masamune left in this," Kiriya said as he held it up, "But we need to regroup."
"Blake!"
The two turned towards the side, watching Sougo, Ruby and Yang run over to them. Needless to say they'd need to regroup with the others and figure out their next move.
"Breaking News: The Ministry of Health reports that approximately 14% of the metropolitan population has been infected by the zombie virus. As the infection spreads, the number of victims is escalating exponentially."
After finding Blake and Kiriya, Ruby and her team had met up with Geiz's team alongside Asuna and Parad. They reconvened back to Seito University Hospital, settling in CR's office to try and come up with a plan while watching a news report play out.
"This is getting ridiculous," Ruby gave a groan as she slumped in her seat, "We can't keep up with all of these Zombie Gamers."
"At the very least the other Riders are helping out," Weiss admitted, "But even then we're still not making enough headway."
"Not to mention that these zombies don't seem to be able to enter buildings for whatever reason," Oscar pointed out, "But even then… we need to destroy the source."
"But Kuroto's too strong," Blake said.
"He's making my blood boil," Parad said as he gripped his fist.
"Given all the Zombie Gamers it'll make it hard to try and rush Kuroto to beat him," Sougo admitted as he tried to work on a plan, "If Ruby, Geiz and I brought out our strongest forms all at once we should have a chance though."
"Maybe even bring in Tsukuyomi too," Yang suggested.
"That won't work," Blake sighed and shook her head, "Kuroto can make any game he wants and from what I just witnessed, he's able to bypass Cronus' Time Stop."
"Our best bet was Hyper Muteki," Asuna admitted, "But with Emu bedridden…"
"Speaking of the Doctors, where is everyone?" Oscar asked.
"Hiiro and Taiga are still fighting," Asuna said as she paced around, "Kiriya said he was going to visit Emu to see how he's doing."
Blake narrowed her eyes at that as she already knew that Kiriya had a plan given how he was staring at the Bugvisor for most of the trip back, "I'm going to take a walk," She said as she gave a stretch while sitting up.
"You sure that's a good idea?" Yang asked.
"It's only a walk inside the hospital," Blake smiled before taking off.
[TADDLE CRITICAL STRIKE!]
Brave gave a yell as he slammed his Gashacon Sword into the ground, having assumed Legacy Gamer Level 100. He brought out angelic wings that split into dozens of feathers, the feathers becoming swords of light that rained against the various Zombie Gamers, destroying them. Of course it wasn't long before more Zombie Gamers emerged from the flames of the destroyed ones.
Brave gave a gasp as he lost his transformation, running on steam as he had been fighting for what seemed like hours without a break. He quickly began to stagger away, needing to hide in order to take a breather.
[KAIGAN: ORE! LET'S GO! KAKUGO! GO GO GO! GHOST!]
In a flash of orange, Ghost suddenly appeared in his Ore Damashii, slashing past the Zombie Gamers that were approaching. He scanned his weapon over his Driver before spinning and slicing forward.
[DAI KAIGAN: OMEGA BREAK!]
An orange slash of energy was sent outward, the slash striking against the Zombie Gamers and sending them flying backwards, sparks flying.
"You…" Hiiro's eyes widened in surprise at his savior, "What are you…?"
"Life is important, so I'll fight to make sure everyone's safe," Ghost said as he rested his sword on his shoulder, "Take a break for now, I'll cover you."
"But you're only one person…" Hiiro managed to straighten himself up.
"I may be one person but I'm not alone," Ghost drew out the Eyecon Driver G before replacing his Ghost Driver with it, "Let's go, everyone!"
[ZEN KAIGAN! KENGOU HAKKEN KYOSHOU NI OHSAMA SAMURAI BOUZU NI SNIPER! DAI~HEN~GE~!]
Soon enough a flood of Parka Ghosts erupted from the Driver before forming the Grateful Damashii, the gold and black armored Ghost being adorned with the faces of the 15 Luminary Spirits that fought alongside him. Ghost wasted no time in activating his forms primary function.
[MUSASHI! NOBUNAGA! SANZO! RASSHAI!]
Soon enough the Damashii of Musashi, Nobunaga and Sanzo appeared, the three charging towards the Zombie Gamers. Musashi drew his swords and began slicing past the Zombie Gamers, Nobunaga taking aim and forming spectral Gan Gun Hands to shoot and damage the Zombie Gamers further. Sanzo withdrew the gold ring on his back, spinning and throwing it forward, the ring slicing through the Zombie Gamers and causing them to explode.
"Let them come," Nobunaga declared as he saw more Zombie Gamers lumbering towards them.
"Have faith in your comrades," Sanzo declared as he readied himself.
"We'll have your back, Takeru!" Musashi brandished his blades.
"Just leave it to us," Ghost turned towards Hiiro, and despite his helmet masking his face he gave a smile. He then drew out his Gan Gun Saber and Sunglasslasher, giving a yell as he rushed forward with the Luminary Spirits.
Snipe gave a yell as he was thrown backwards, a Zombie Gamer managing to get a good hit on him as he was sent tumbling to the ground.
"Hey, maybe you should take a break!" Proto Birth called out as he drop kicked a Zombie Gamer that he was fighting.
"Just one more…!" Snipe called out as he attempted to stand up and run forward only to fall flat on his face, despite this he still pushed himself up, the Zombie Gamer simply staring at him, "Just one more… just… let's end this."
The Zombie Gamer began to approach Snipe, the Rider loading in Bang Bang Tank into the Gashacon Magnum.
[BANG BANG CRITICAL FINISH!]
The spectral projection of a tank appeared once more as Snipe took aim, sending a powerful blast of energy against the Zombie Gamer. Just like before the blast was strong enough to completely destroy the Zombie Gamer.
"There…" Snipe could only stare at the remains as his transformation disengaged. He glanced over at Proto Birth, "At the rate we're destroying these guys… I have someone I need to look for."
"Just leave it to me," Proto Birth quickly spun and slammed his leg into a Zombie Gamer's neck, sending it straight into the ground as more began to approach, "I'll wrap things up here!"
"Don't try anything suicidal," Taiga remarked before walking off.
Proto Birth could only give a laugh as he slotted in a few Cell Medals, "Let's go, it's the last batch of Cell Medals but…"
[BREAST CANNON!]
Proto Birth brought out the Breast Cannon and aimed towards the approaching Zombie Gamers, "Charging Complete, Fire!" He gave a yell as he sent a beam of energy against the Zombie Gamers, the beam tearing through them and completely destroying them.
"Looks like you could use a refill."
Proto Birth turned before giving a grin seeing Goto ride in on a Ride Vendor, "Broto! I see you've got my back as always."
"Well I can't be leaving you by yourself especially now," Goto reminded as he skidded to a stop before removing a briefcase from the back of the Ride Vendor and opening it up, "Here, this should cover us for the rest of the day."
"I sure hope so," Proto Birth said as he heard growls in the distance, "Because these guys are not letting up."
Kiriya had meanwhile gone to give Emu the breakdown of what was going on, needless to say the injured pediatrician was taking it as well as he could.
"…Level 1,000,000,000?!" Emu questioned before giving a wince, having sit up too fast and agitating his shoulder in the process.
"Don't push yourself," Kiriya sighed as he stood up and forced Emu to lay back down, "You're still in bad shape, remember?"
Emu wasn't one to comply however, "But the only thing that can stop Kuroto is Muteki-"
"Not possible," Kiriya interrupted, "As a doctor, you won't be able to take his life, even if he is total scum."
"Then what should we do?" Emu asked, realizing that Kiriya was right.
"Emu," Kiriya sat down, "We need Dr. Saiko's help. You'll be able to change the lives of those who were erased… one day. I believe in the future of regenerative medicine."
"Did you come all this way to tell me that in person?" Emu asked, figuring that Kiriya could have just called him.
"Uh, no," Kiriyia admitted as he removed his white coat, "I was gonna ask if you could take care of my coat. Don't wanna get it dirty, after all."
"Huh?" Emu was confused by his friend's choice of words.
"Looks like I'd better find our little god, then," Kiriya mentioned before giving a smile as he glanced back, "To punish him."
Emu was suddenly assaulted by white as Kiriya had thrown the coat on his face, he quickly sat up and removed the coat, "How?!" He asked before seeing that Kiriya was gone, "Kiriya!"
Kiriya was currently making his way out of the hospital as fast as he could, that was until he paused, slowing to a stop when he saw Blake at the other end of the hallway.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Blake asked.
"I'm not going to let you get involved any further," Kiriya answered, "Maybe before when he didn't have that Gashat but you saw how little you were able to even do."
"Even so I'm not letting you do this alone," Blake stated firmly as she walked forward, "We're a lot alike you know?"
"Where'd this come from?" Kiriya asked.
"You confided in me earlier today, so why are you trying to push me away?" Blake asked rhetorically as she kept walking forward, "The reason is because you don't want to get me hurt. You don't want to get anyone hurt because you think it's your job to deal with Kuroto. And you're right, you two are closely tied together but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you go alone!"
Kiriya blinked a few times, "Blake…."
"I know what it's like, thinking you're helping others but in the end you're just hurting them," Blake replied as her Aura began to visibly show while growing brighter, though she was unaware of this, "So that's why even if it's a small chance, I'll help you out so you can come back alive to Emu and the others!"
"Uh, Blake…" Kiriya blinked further as he took a step back before feeling his pocket grow warm. He looked down and took out his Giri Giri Chambara Gashat, it glowing brightly before energy was sent from it into Blake and mixed with her Aura.
[GASHACON SPARROW!]
Blake gave a light gasp as the combination arrow/sickle weapon formed in her hand. She took a few steps back and stared at it as she held it up.
"Uh… is that supposed to happen?" Kiriya asked.
"Just like Yang…" Blake muttered before giving a smile, "I think I can keep up with you now."
"Is that so?" Kiriya asked, "You sure about this?"
"Absolutely," Blake gave a nod.
Saiko was currently mulling over the current situation, having stayed where she was as she stared at her ID Tag.
'The only one who can change the future of regenerative medicine and save the erased… is you.'
'Let's begin revolutionizing the history of our world, shall we?!'
Kiriya's and Kuroto's words echoed through her head as she knew what she wanted to do, "Show me how this game ends. Weren't you going to start a revolution that would change history?"
"I, Dan Kuroto Shin, will be your guide for this game."
At her words a Navigator Kuroto appeared before Saiko, the regenerative medicine specialist turning as she realized this was her chance.
"How will the world be revolutionized?" Saiko asked.
"How the world will be revolutionized depends on the ending," Navigator Kuroto explained.
Kuroto was currently staring at a near empty city on a rooftop, everyone hiding indoors while the Kamen Riders fought their hardest against the Zombie Gamers. He couldn't help but feel disappointed with the common citizens relying on the Kamen Riders, being content with simply hiding away.
"What's wrong, humanity?" He asked, "Show me you can clear my game. Are Kamen Rider's truly the only ones worthy of god's blessing?!" After his outburst he grew silent as he pondered the situation, "A game no one can clear… a game much too far ahead of its time… it seems like that's what I've ended up with."
'Listen closely, Kuroto. You should never have been born into this world.'
His father's words gnawed at him constantly, Kuroto could only give a thoughtful look, "If I truly am guilty of something, it must be being born in the wrong generation."
"You'd be wrong there," Kiriya called out as he walked forward alongside Blake, "You misused your own talents yourself."
"He's right," Blake agreed, "You can do all these incredible things but you chose to use them to make people suffer."
"Oh, so there is someone playing this game!" Kuroto's thoughtful mood soon cracked as he gave a grin, turning towards the two, "Welcome, you two!"
"You're getting way in over your head, we'll put an end to this game," Kiriya said as he prepared himself, "All these tragedies started with you. No matter how far treatments for Game Disease advance, as long as you still exist, humanity will still be under threat."
Kuroto looked over to Blake, "And why would one of Roze's friends involve themselves even farther than her?"
"I dislike people who think they can do whatever they want," Blake narrowed her eyes, "And I'm not letting Kiriya go against you alone."
"She's right, this world isn't a toy for you to play with," Kiriya said.
"I've already warned you that if you dare oppose me, you will be deleted," Kuroto reminded as he activated his Gashat.
[GOD MAXIMUM MIGHTY X!]
"Grade Billion," Kuroto said as he floated into the air, "Henshin!"
[GACHAN! FU~MET~SU! GOD MAXIMUM X!]
Kuroto transformed into Genm as the God Maximum Gamer appeared behind him, he entered it and fully transformed into Genm Level 1,000,000,000.
Blake stepped away from Kiriya before holding out her hand, summoning the Gashacon Sparrow and taking aim, "Ready whenever you are."
"Right, Kuroto, let's end this," Kiriya looked over to the mad game creator, readying the Bugvisor Zwei before holding up the Giri Giri Chambara Gashat, "You defeated me once, that Christmas day, with this very same Gashat."
[GIRI GIRI CHAMBARA!]
"Henshin!"
Kiriya let go of the Gashat, it floating as he spun and roundhouse kicked it, the Gashat spinning around him and entering his Buggle Driver before he initiated the transformation.
[BUGGLE UP!]
[GIRI-GIRI-GIRI-GIRI (WOW!) CHAMBARA (WOW!)]
The screen shot outwards from the Buggle Driver before sliding backwards and engulfing Kiriya in blue flame. The flames subsided to reveal he was in the same armor as Lazer Level 3, but it was primarily metallic blue coloration with dark blue flame decals all over. He had now assumed the form of Lazer Level X.
"I don't remember making that version of Lazer," Genm stared at Lazer before looking past him at Blake, "Or someone being able to summon a Gashacon Weapon without a Gashat or the Antibodies that one would normally need."
"To be honest even I have no idea how this works," Blake admitted, "But I'm not complaining."
"As for this," Lazer patted his chest, "Guess you could call it a memento from your old man."
"He wasn't satisfied with just going out quietly, I suppose," Genm said, trying to hide the nagging feeling he had as his father would continue to haunt him even in this battle, "But are you sure you should use it? Without complete immunity, you'll only end up destroying yourself."
"Well I guess you could say this really puts the Giri Giri in Giri Giri Chambara then," Lazer gave a chuckle, "And I'm prepared for that!"
Blake took aim, launching out several arrows at Genm, the arrows striking and managing to cause small sparks. While it wasn't much due to Genm's high level, it was more than Gambol Shroud could do.
Lazer rushed in, punching at Genm only to get his hands grabbed, his arms were thrown towards the side before he was smacked away by Genm, giving a yell as he landed on a lower portion of the rooftop.
Genm was ready to jump after Lazer only to raise his arm up, several powered up arrows striking against his bulky arm and protecting his head, "You are quite persistent."
"I'm not running away just because you're insanely strong," Blake said as she quickly leapt off the portion of the roof she was on to regroup with Lazer.
"Suit yourself," Genm leapt after the two.
Blake split the Gashacon Sparrow into its dual sickle mode, using Shadow to slice past the approaching Genm while Lazer gave a yell, moving in and performing a running kick against Genm's massive chest.
"Enough!" Genm gave a yell as he turned to face his opponents, the eyes on his chest glowing bright and launching beams out.
Lazer and Blake yelped, rolling out of the way to dodge.
"We need to get to more solid ground it's too cramped," Blake suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Lazer gave a thumbs-up.
Emu had managed to get dressed despite still being injured, making his way over to the CR office where everyone else was. Well everyone except for Yang who had went to search for Blake after getting worried when the Faunus was taking a while to come back. Needless to say everyone's reactions towards Emu pushing himself were as expected.
"Emu are you crazy?!" Ruby questioned as she hurried over to help him brace, "You should be in bed, why are you here right now?"
"She's right you should get some rest," Geiz agreed.
"It's about Kiriya," Emu admitted as he held up his friends white coat, "I think he's going to face Genm alone. He said he was worried about getting his coat dirty."
"Lazer's going to what?!" Parad asked.
"It's not like Kiriya to worry about getting his coat dirty," Asuna admitted.
"That stuff about wanting me to take care of it was a lie," Emu explained, already knowing his friends intention, "Kiriya… doesn't think he'll be coming back to us."
"Dr. Kujo is going to do what?"
Everyone turned in surprise to see Saiko walk in from the main entrance to the office next.
"You…" Ruby trailed as she kept herself on guard. While she knew that Saiko had been betrayed the fact that she had been missing until now kept her cautious.
"That man saved me," Saiko admitted, "Despite tricking and trying to hurt you all, he spared me. So I want to help him in any way I can. Because I have something I need to tell Dr. Kujo."
"What is it?" Emu asked.
"How the world will be revolutionized will depend on the ending of the game," Saiko explained, "Every single game Kuroto Dan created had some meaning to them, even this Bugster-raising game." She revealed a white and lime green Bugvisor, "This could change the future of regenerative medicine. That's why we can't let Dr. Kujo die."
"Guys," Yang quickly ran into the office space, "I can't find Blake anywhere!"
Ruby's eyes widened when she realized what was going on, "Blake's likely with Kiriya…"
"That isn't good," Geiz replied, "From what Blake described that Level 1,000,000,000 form of Genm is a nightmare, why are the two going up against it alone?"
"Kiriya likely has a plan… but…" Emu trailed.
"Then we get everyone for this," Sougo said as he turned to address everyone in the room, "We'll get Emu and Dr. Saiko here to Kiriya and Blake while taking care of any threats in the meantime."
"Right, let's…" Ruby cut herself off when she heard Emu's Gamescope beeping, "Emu?"
Emu activated his Gamescope, soon seeing an alert occurring near the hospital they were currently in, his eyes widening at the Bugster Signal, "This is…" His head shot up, "We need to get outside now!"
"Give me a good fight…"
The last of the Proto Gashats had been used not to bring out a Rider or enhance them, but to bring out a Bugster. This was the Drago Knight Hunter Z Proto Gashat, and it had been used to summon the Dark Graphite Bugster.
Dark Graphite was currently making his way slowly towards Seito University Hospital alongside a good plethora of Zombie Gamers.
Emu and the others soon arrived outside at the entrance just in time to see the army of Zombie Gamers slowly approaching.
Sougo quickly stepped forward, "Ruby, take the others and try and find Kiryia and Blake. Geiz and I will handle this."
"That confident huh," Geiz asked as he stepped forward, "Fine then, we'll go all out."
"You guys be careful," Ruby said before looking at their group, "Emu, Yang, Parad and Oscar, you guys go one way, Dr. Saiko, Poppy, Weiss and I will go the opposite way. We'll cover more ground and it'll keep us from being a big target."
"Sounds good," Emu gave a nod.
Sougo and Geiz looked back to watch both groups split up before turning to face Dark Graphite and his army.
"Only two of you dare to face me?" Dark Graphite asked.
"Only two of us are needed," Geiz said as he readied Geiz Revive, "Zi-O."
"On it," Sougo said as he prepared his Zi-O II Ridewatch.
"Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER~! (RIDER~!) ZI-O! (ZI-O!) ZI-O~! II!]
[RE-VI-I-VE GORETSU~! GORETSU!]
Both assumed their strongest forms of Zi-O II and Revive Goretsu respectively, the two drawing their weapons before approaching Dark Graphite.
Dark Graphite laughed out before launching a green energy sphere towards the two.
[POWERED NOKO! NOKO SETSUZAN!]
Geiz had moved forward to take the lead, his Zikan Jaclaws saw spinning wildly as it grew in power. He pushed his arm forward, the saw cutting through and splitting apart the energy sphere, explosions occurring as it was destabilized.
"Not bad," Dark Graphite gathered more energy in his hand before launching several smaller energy spheres towards the two.
[ZI-O SAIKYOU! HAOU GIRI!]
Zi-O immediately spun to where he stood in front of Geiz, slashing forward and unleashing a multi-colored wave of energy that cut through the energy spheres.
"You won't find us that easy to deal with!" Zi-O called out as he rushed forward, swinging at Dark Graphite.
Dark Graphite scoffed as he drew his double bladed weapon the Graphite Fang, managing to keep Zi-O in a clash as he held his ground, "That's what I should be saying!"
"Don't get too over your head Zi-O!" Geiz called out as he began to make his way forward only for several Zombie Gamers to run past Zi-O and Dark Graphite, rushing towards Geiz, "Out of my way!" He called out as he swung forward, the saw on his Jaclaw spinning as he sliced through several Zombie Gamers in one swing.
"Kiriya!" Emu called out as he looked around, his group having made it to a plaza by the water.
"Where are you, Genm?!" Parad shouted.
"Come on if they're fighting we should be able to find them right?" Oscar asked, "Blake! Blake!"
Yang cupped her hands together, "Blake!"
A Zombie Gamer gave a hiss as it stumbled out from behind a corner, grabbing Emu who was hardly able to resist due to his injured shoulder. Before the Zombie Gamer could go any further, it was grabbed by Parad who tossed it to the ground.
"I'll work up a distraction!" Parad called out as he kicked the Zombie Gamer back, readying his Driver and Gashat, "So you all just run ahead straight for Lazer! Max Dai Henshin!"
[GACHAN! MAZARU UP! PERFECT KNOCK OUT!]
Para-DX moved in, fire gathering at his foot as he spun and performed a roundhouse kick, knocking the Zombie Gamer further backwards.
"You heard the Rider, let's get going," Yang hurried over to help Emu.
Oscar meanwhile brought out Long Memory, keeping it out as he covered Emu and Yang's rear while they hurried off.
Para-DX gave a nervous chuckle when he suddenly saw a few more Zombie Gamers stumble into view. He brought out his Parabragun in its axe formation, "Guess I better make a good distraction."
Blake and Lazer were currently avoiding Genm's attacks, the game master utilizing God Maximum Gamer's stretch limbs to attack them from afar. The two were attempting to get lower and lower, hopping to nearby buildings in order to make a decent jump to ground level without hurting themselves. Genm however had seen their tactic and used his exo-armor's surprisingly fast speed to grab the two of them, utilizing the rockets in the armor's feet in order to fly off with both Rider and Huntress.
"Let's see how well you do with this landing!" Genm laughed as he aimed to smash them into the ground.
Blake gave a grunt as she dug her Gashacon Sparrow into the hand that was gripping her, managing to pry herself loose and use Shadow to leap towards the ground. Lazer was not as lucky, getting smashed into the ground and sent rolling by Genm.
Genm soon ejected himself from the God Maximum Gamer, leaping towards and landing on top of Lazer who rolled to force Genm off. The two picked themselves up, exchanging punches and while Genm managed to get a few good hits in, Lazer managed to as well.
Blake was ready to rush forward when she suddenly paused, watching the God Maximum Gamer turn towards her. Its eyes lit up brightly before it charged forward, Blake giving a yelp as she dodged against one of its punches.
"So it can function independently too?" Blake questioned before seeing that Lazer and Genm were very enveloped in their fight, "Fine then, let's see if I can do some damage."
The God Maximum Gamer gathered energy in its eyes before unleashing beams of energy. It landed a hit on Blake only for her to vanish, it being a clone via Shadow. It looked up only to see Blake leap towards it, slashing past it with the Gashacon Sparrow.
Blake turned and quickly braced, blocking a punch from the Maximum God Gamer only to get sent tumbling back. She looked at her weapon, "Come on there has to be a way to power these up." She said as she remembered that Yang had gotten Bottles to use with her Knuckles. At those words a digital ring appeared, various Gashats spiraling around her as if waiting for her to take one. Blake quickly grabbed the Shakariki Sports Gashat, "This'll do!"
[KIMEWAZA!]
The God Maximum Gamer began to run towards Blake when it saw her load in the Gashat for a finisher. It took aim and slammed its fist downwards to strike at the huntress.
[SHAKARIKI CRITICAL FINISH!]
Blake leapt backwards, bright green energy gathering in her weapons before she landed and swung forward several times. Bright green energy slashes launched forward, the slashes taking the shape of sharp wheels, the wheels striking past the God Maximum Gamer before turning and slashing past it again. Sparks flew as it was struck several times by the energy wheels. The wheels had also aimed towards the legs, tripping it up before smashing the ground causing the God Maximum Gamer to lose balance and fall.
"Not bad," Blake gave a whistle.
Lazer meanwhile managed to kick Genm back before leaping back, bringing out his own Gashacon Sparrow and firing arrows at Genm. Genm reeled back to avoid a few before hissing out, a toxic purple cloud forming that acted as a shield, it melting the energy arrows as they hit it.
Genm gave a chuckle before moving in close, easily dodging past the other arrows as he slammed his hand into the Gashacon Sparrow to send the rest of the arrows upwards. He then punched at Lazer only for the rider to dodge.
Lazer leapt out of the way, either cart wheeling or leaping to avoid the toxic cloud while trying to fire at Genm. Eventually he managed to perform a side step, managing to strike Genm several times in the chest.
Despite the direct hit, Genm could only let out a hiss as he stepped forward.
Lazer wasn't deterred and only gave a chuckle as he finally got a clean hit. He split his Gashacon Sparrow into its sickle forms before rushing towards Genm. Lazer went for a few slashes, getting Genm to punch at him only to use his weapon to catch the game master's wrist, reeling Genm in and sending his knee right into Genm's gut.
Genm moved back, dodging against the various slashes before hopping over a few low sweeps. He then stomped on one of the sickles as Lazer slashed, pinning Lazer's hand to the ground before kicking him away, forcing Lazer to let go of one of his sickles.
Lazer gave a yell as he leapt forward and raised his remaining sickle to slash at Genm.
"Come at me!" Genm brought out the Gashacon Keyslasher, slashing forward to block against Lazer's slash.
Lazer had proceeded to leap at high speeds, either getting his slash caught by a counter slash or Genm just dodging out of the way. He rolled towards Genm, dodging a slash, standing only to get slashed in the chest. He gave a gasp as he landed on the floor, trying to pick himself up.
Genm threw away the Keyslasher before going over and lifting Lazer up by force, "You really thought you could defeat a Level 1,000,000,000, you scumbag?"
"Shut up, trash!" Lazer called out as he dropped his weapon and gripped onto Genm.
"Huh?" Genm was confused by this tactic.
[GIRI GIRI CRITICAL FINISH!]
Blake leapt into view, performing a cross slash against Genm's back, sparks flying before she rolled out of the way, Lazer kicking Genm and sending him tumbling back.
Genm gave a growl as he stood up, glancing back to see that his God Maximum Gamer was just getting up from getting knocked down by Blake's prior attacks. He yelled out as he gripped his fists tightly, running towards the Huntress and Rider.
Ruby's team was running along trying to find any signs of Kiriya and Blake fighting Kuroto. Needless to say despite Ruby and Asuna shouting as loud as they could, they weren't getting a response. Asuna and Weiss began to pick up their pace, Ruby trying to find some kind of clue when she saw something out of the corner of her eye.
A Zombie Gamer had rushed in from the side, grabbing onto Saiko and pinning her against a nearby wall out of view. It gripped its Bugvisor in order to infect her when suddenly it was grabbed from behind, being thrown off of her.
"You're not infecting anyone!" Ruby yelled as she managed to just barely pull the Zombie Gamer back into view.
Asuna and Weiss turned in surprise, Weiss quickly bringing out a Gravity Glyph to pull the Zombie Gamer away from Ruby.
"This isn't good," Weiss gave a glare as she let go of her Gravity Glyph before sending a fireball towards the Zombie Gamer to knock it off its feet.
"Are you alright?" Ruby hurried over to help Saiko up.
"Yeah," Saiko gave a nod as she managed to stand, "Thank you."
"Its too dangerous here," Asuna said as she hurried over.
"Unfortunately we're going to be stuck here a little longer," Weiss said as she looked to the sides, noticing more Zombie Gamers making their approach.
"Just great," Ruby gave a groan, "Dr. Saiko stay off to the side, we'll attract their attention, Weiss I need you to make sure you disable them if they draw out their Bugvisors. Poppy and I will handle the brunt of the work."
"You've got it," Weiss gave a nod.
"Let's go then," Asuna said as she readied her Buggle Driver Zwei and Gashat.
Ruby gave a nod and readied her Ziku Driver and Silver Roze Ridewatch.
"Henshin!"
[BUGGLE UP! OTEME WA ITSUMO TOKI MEKI CRISIS!]
[SILVER TIME! KAMEN RIDER~! (RIDER~!) SILVER! (SILVER!) SILVER~! ROZE!]
Kamen Rider's Poppy and Silver Roze stood back to back, Roze drawing out Silver Crescent while Poppy raised her fists, the two preparing themselves for the approaching Zombie Gamers.
Zi-O gave a light gasp as he was pushed back by Dark Graphite, ready to rush forward only to get grabbed by several Zombie Gamers, "Let go!" He called out as he tried to force them off only for more to add to the grab pile.
"Zi-O!" Geiz called out as he cut through one Zombie Gamer only for several more to get in his way, "Out of my way!"
[SPEED TIME! REVI-REVI-REVI! REVI-REVI-REVI! REVI-I-VE SHI-PPU! SHIPPU!]
Geiz entered his blue speed based form, his Jaclaw turning to its claw formation as he sped forward. In a flash of blue he began slicing through the Zombie Gamers in a fast manner, easily tearing through and forcing them back.
Zi-O meanwhile continued to struggle only for a grey scarf to suddenly shoot out towards his side, the scarf striking and slamming into all the Zombie Gamers grabbing him. Zi-O gave a yelp as he stumbled slightly before seeing Woz nearby, "Woz!"
"My Overlord," Woz gave a bow.
"What took you so long?" Geiz growled out as he sped nearby the two, landing in a crouched position, "And why aren't you helping out?"
"While my Overlord may be participating, this is not his story. Thus I see no reason in wishing to assist," Woz explained as he held up his book, "However I cannot allow that trash to touch my Overlord like they had been."
Zi-O could only chuckle a bit, "Is that so?"
"Whatever, we'll get it done ourselves!" Geiz called out as he launched up into the air while initiating the special attack of his Jaclaw.
[TSUME RENZAN!]
Geiz launched downwards as his Jaclaw glowed with energy, slashing through the Zombie Gamers in a rapid fashion. He then skidded to a stop as explosions occurred all behind him.
Zi-O meanwhile brought out his Zikan Girade, dual wielding it with the Saikyo Girade and rushing towards Dark Graphite. The two clashed weapons and while Zi-O did dual wield, Dark Graphite's dual bladed weapon allowed him to keep up for the most part.
Dark Graphite forced Zi-O back with a laugh before swinging forward. He was surprised to see that Zi-O had ducked forward, giving a gasp as he was slashed past as sparks flew from his stomach.
Zi-O turned only to be surprised that Dark Graphite was still laughing, "Huh?"
"That's it! Keep it up!" Dark Graphite yelled out as he turned and held his chest, "You're unlike the others I've faced, you have unparalleled strength right? Show me it! Let this mere remnant of a monster bask in it as we finish our clash!"
"That's what you want, huh?" Zi-O asked as he began to combine his weapons, "Very well then!"
[SAIKYO FINISH TIME!]
"That's it," Dark Graphite slammed his weapon onto the ground before lifting himself up and twirling it around, dark energy gathering around it, before he readied himself, reeling the double bladed weapon back, "Do-Do-Do Dark Dragon Sword!"
[KING GIRI GIRI SLASH!]
Zi-O gave a yell as his sword shined a bright gold, running forward and clashing several times with Dark Graphite. The two attempted to find an opening as they spun around and passed each other. Zi-O turned and gave a yell, slashing downwards as his sword extended itself, becoming a massive blade of energy.
Graphite performed an upwards swing to try and counter the slash, holding it for a few seconds before the weight of the attack crashed down upon him. The dark Bugster gave a yell as he was cut down vertically. Sparks began to fly before he exploded as the Drago Knight Hunter Z Proto Gashat dropped to the ground.
"That took longer than I would have liked," Geiz admitted as he walked over to retrieve the Gashat, dismissing his transformation.
"Let's go find the others," Zi-O suggested as he dismissed his transformation before hurrying off, Geiz following after him.
"There is no need for me to intervene," Woz remarked as he walked off in the opposite direction, "This chapter is ending soon after all."
Genm gave a yell as he leapt backwards to avoid a slash from Blake alongside a kick from Lazer. His leap was so great he ended up sliding back into the God Maximum Gamer before having it take a step forward.
"Is that all you got?" Lazer asked, "Aren't you the "supreme god" or something?"
"This is Game Over for you," Genm held out a hand before closing his Driver.
[KAMIWAZA!]
"Blake, stand back," Lazer held his hand out as he initiated his finisher.
Blake gave a nod before backing up, recalling what he had said on their way to face Kuroto.
[KIMEWAZA!]
Both Riders began pouring energy into their right legs, Genm merely standing while Lazer went for a crouched stance. The energy began to overflow for both of their finishers, the two gaining an aura around them in their respective colors.
[GOD MAXIMUM CRITICAL BLESSING!]
[CRITICAL CREWS-AID!]
The two launched up into the air, kicking towards each other with their right legs. As they collided an explosion of energy occurred near instantly.
Genm gave a light yelp as he landed, he had stumbled slightly but managing to keep standing. Lazer meanwhile had ended up losing the clash, landing on his back.
"Kiriya!" Blake hurried over.
"The one thing I failed to predict was your discovery of Reprogramming," Genm spoke to Lazer as he began to walk towards the two, "If you had never existed… my fate would've turned out very differently."
"I don't even want to imagine what that would've been like," Lazer admitted as he sat up thanks to Blake's help.
"Even after that game over you got many moons ago, you continued to be a thorn in my side," Genm replied, "And even now you've brought someone along to help meddle further, why is that? Why do you two challenge me knowing you cannot win?!"
"If it was me from a few months ago I wouldn't have tried something this stupid," Blake admitted, "But where I come from, we're supposed to keep fighting no matter what. The same can be said about the Kamen Rider's here."
"What pretty words," Genm remarked.
Lazer meanwhile began to laugh as he managed to fully stand up, "I think we've stalled enough."
"What?" Genm asked, "You planned to lose this?"
"Not exactly," Blake gave a knowing smile.
"Oh what's this?" Lazer gave a laugh, "Looks like we took you for a ride."
"What-" Genm was cut off as his God Maximum Gamer began to spark violently, blue electricity coursing through it and his body as it began to glow bright blue. Soon enough the God Maximum Gamer was completely dissolved as Genm was now left in his standard Genm Level 0 Armor. Genm fell forward with a gasp as he felt weaker, "What have you done?!"
"Your old man created this power," Lazer said as he gestured towards his Driver, "This Bugvisor Zwei holds the ability to reformat and reset your powers. So the Lazer I am now is a Lazer built specially for defeating you, Genm!"
"We were pretty much trying to get enough hits on you to force you into a finisher clash," Blake added, "Get you so distracted in the fight that you weren't aware of what we really wanted to do."
"Impossible," Genm shook his head as he tried to stand, "I cannot be vanquished!"
"You just don't know when to give up!" Lazer called out, "You'll get a game over when you lose your last remaining life. That's what a game is, isn't that right?!"
Genm gave a yell and rushed forward only for Blake to intercept him, the Huntress slashing past him before spinning and slashing his back. Genm could only tumble as sparks flew. He turned and was ready to counter when he was grabbed by Lazer, getting punched in the chest several times.
Lazer gave a yell as he threw Genm towards Blake who performed a cross slash with her Gashacon Sparrow. She then kicked Genm in the stomach, forcing him back towards Lazer.
"Get over here!" Lazer grabbed Genm before dragging him off.
"H-Hey Kiriya, wait a minute!" Blake called out as she tried to run after him only for a Zombie Gamer to suddenly get in her way, "Seriously? Now of all times?" She asked as she combined her sickles back into the Sparrow's arrow formation. She then took aim and began firing at the Zombie Gamer.
[KNOCK OUT CRITICAL FINISH!]
Para-DX soon came into view from above, giving a yell as he slashed against the Zombie Gamer with his axe, slamming it to the ground before pushing his axe further. Red energy was unleashed before the Zombie Gamer fully exploded.
"Parad?" Blake asked.
"Huh?" Para-DX turned towards her, "Thank goodness, we've been trying to find you and Lazer. Where is he?"
"He went that way, tell the others that!" Blake called out as she began to rush off in the direction Lazer and Genm had been running, "I need to make sure that idiot doesn't kill himself!"
"Hey, hey wait!" Para-DX held out a hand before sighing, "At least we've got a lead."
The day grew later as Genm and Lazer continued their fight, night finally falling as thunder began to be heard from above. The two weren't concerned with that however as they were trying to beat the hell out of each other. Lazer was starting to run on fumes and with Genm weakened the two had merely adopted for simple punches, kicks and grabs. It was less a fight and more a brawl by this point due to their current states.
"Come on get up!" Lazer called out as he tossed Genm to the ground.
Genm kicked Lazer before getting up, grabbing onto him only to get punched off. The game master retaliated with another punch, the two smacking each other before Genm ducked, grabbing Lazer's leg and tossing him to the ground. Genm then began stomping on Lazer's stomach, "Trash! Vermin!"
"You're trash!" Lazer grabbed Genm's leg, tossing him to the ground before getting on top of him and punching his face repeatedly.
Rain began to fall as the two ended up growing sloppier in their movements and attacks. Blake had just managed to catch up with the two, watching as Lazer shoved Genm into a set of barrels, only to get kicked over to another set as a result. Genm fell over while Lazer leaned on his barrel for support. Despite nearly running on empty and the fight dragging out, both fighters began to laugh as Genm picked himself up.
"I've really got to hand it to you," Lazer said as he leaned on the barrels. "Surprised you can still stand, honestly."
"I am... god!" Genm yelled out in defiance as he fully stood before running forward.
Lazer gave a yell as he pushed himself off the barrel and ran forward, both running and stopping right next to each other as they punched forward with their right arms. The result was that the two slammed their fists into each other's faces at the same time. The force behind the punches ended up sending them spinning, throwing both of them to the ground and on their backs. Of course a loud beeping was heard from both of their armors as their brawl and general tiredness had ended up depleting the rest of their rider gauge, both of them losing their transformations.
Kuroto gasped out as he tried to catch his breath, shocked to see his Gamer Driver and Gashat crackled with electricity.
"The game..." Kiriya managed to get out. "...ends here."
"Kiriya…" Blake muttered.
Roze gave a yell as she shifted Silver Crescent to its spear mode, stabbing through a Zombie Gamer before unleashing a blast of light to send it tumbling back. She was ready to move forward when she suddenly saw all the Zombie Gamers freeze up.
"Huh?" Poppy had braced for a grab from a Zombie Gamer only to see it stop.
"What's going on?" Weiss asked.
The Zombie Gamers shined a bright purple before dispersing into black particles, it wasn't long before everyone had noticed a group of Infected nearby. Their heads flashed a green coloration before disappearing, the Infected returning to normal.
"They're returning to normal!" Poppy called out.
"Then… Dr. Kujo won?" Saiko asked as she walked over.
"Guys," Para-DX hurried over, "I know where Lazer and Genm are!"
Roze immediately turned, "Take us there."
Blake stared at the two fallen Riders, slowly making her way over.
"Blake!"
Blake turned in surprise, seeing that Emu, Oscar and Yang had finally managed to make it to the scene of the fight.
"Guys," Blake said before she was suddenly grabbed by Yang who pulled her into a hug, she gave a light gasp at Yang's grip, "Y-Yang?"
"Don't worry me like that," Yang said as she released her hug, grabbing Blake's shoulders, "What were you thinking?"
"Well…" Blake looked down before giving a smile, "I knew you all would come so I wasn't worried."
Yang couldn't help but give groan before sighing in relief, "Seriously…" She trailed before noticing the Gashacon Sparrow in Blake's hands, "Hey, is that?"
"Looks like I'm the next to get our upgrade," Blake admitted as she held up the Gashacon Sparrow.
"Wait, so was it…?" Oscar trailed.
"Yeah, it happened just like how Ruby said it happened to Yang," Blake replied.
Emu meanwhile could only stare in slight horror at the sight before him, seeing both Kiriya and Kuroto on the ground, both at their absolute limits.
"And to finish things off... I'll bare your biggest lie to the world," Kiriya said as he sat up while pointing towards Kuroto, the two riders pushing themselves slowly but surely into a standing position, "You've always... been disappointed in the medical world for failing to save your mother. So... you had no choice but to believe... in your own talents. But it's fine now. Leave the rest to the doctors of our nation."
"I was only... being guided by my own talents," Kuroto replied, "If the ethics... the morals of this era have refused me... when I am reborn... I wonder... if it'll be in a society that can keep up with me."
Kiriya gave an amused chuckle, "Even if that did happen it'd quickly overtake you again, if you're still Kuroto Shin, at least."
"I've... long abandoned... the name 'Dan Kuroto Shin'..." Kuroto managed to get out, "I am... now... Kuroto... Dan."
"Kuroto..." Emu trailed.
Kuroto looked at Emu before giving a genuine smile, soon staring at the ground and taking a deep breath.
[GAME OVER]
The Genm Life Counter appeared beside Kuroto, the 1 going to 0 before fading away. Kuroto said nothing as he shined a bright gold, suddenly disappearing in a burst of gold sparks. The only thing left was the Gamer Driver and God Maximum Mighty X Gashat still slotted in. The driver soon dropped to the ground, leaving it as the only remaining piece of Kuroto Dan.
"It's over…" Oscar gave a breath of relief.
"Today was a wild day," Yang admitted.
Blake however looked over towards Kiriya with concern since she had heard and seen his life gauge go to zero.
Kiriya stayed standing as long as he could but it wasn't long before collapsed onto his knees.
"Kiriya!" Emu called out as he rushed over to them. He quickly put Kiriya's coat over him, though with the rain continuing even that was soaking wet at this point.
"Go and change fate... for all of us," Kiriya said as he brought Emu close, though it wasn't long after that his body began to slightly glitch up.
"Even to the very end... you were still a liar," Emu replied.
Kiriya gave a chuckle before his eyes closed and he went limp, glitches appearing on his body though it seemed as though he was still stable despite losing all of his Rider Gauge.
"You liar…" Emu managed to get out tearfully.
Blake walked over towards the two, gripping her fists as she saw this happen. The rain began to pour harder and harder as Sougo and Geiz arrived alongside Ruby's group, all of them stopping and staring at the sight before them.
The Next Day
Thanks to the defeat of Kuroto Dan, Zombie Chronicle was completely disabled allowing the populace to return to normalcy slowly but surely. Needless to say everyone was tired from the whole ordeal, Emu offering the various Riders temporary stay at Seito University Hospital for the night. This was especially due to what they had discovered during the aftermath of the battle between Lazer and Genm.
Blake was currently making her way down the hallway with Emu and Asuna, the three remaining silent before they entered a patient room. Lying on the bed was Kiriya who began to slowly stir.
Kiriya slowly opened his eyes with a wince, the bright lights of the hospital room blinding his sight for a bit as he tried to readjust and focus, "Have I gone... to the other side?"
"Sorry to say but no," Blake spoke up.
"You're still with us," Emu smiled as he hovered over Kiriya to get his attention.
Kiriya was at a loss of words as his vision readjusted, realizing he was in a hospital and very much still alive. "How...?"
"Hiiro headed your operation," Asuna explained.
"What operation?" Kiriya asked.
Emu's smile dropped as he held up his hands, "Stay calm and listen. Kiriya, your body... We've managed to regenerate your original human body."
"You gotta be kidding me." Kiriya stared at Emu in shock before suddenly realizing his body felt a lot different than when he was a Bugster. He was so shocked that he began to rasp out, starting to hyperventilate.
"Stay calm, inhale, exhale," Emu moved over and put his hands on Kiriya to calm him down.
"Hey now, we don't need you to die of shock," Blake gave a soft smile as she placed a hand on Kiriya's shoulder to calm him down.
"It's true," A voice spoke up as Saiko entered.
"Dr. Saiko..." Kiriya trailed as he sat up a bit.
"We were able to put our Bugster raising game's mechanics to practical use with this, you see," Saiko took out God Maximum Mighty X. "We analyzed your genes, reconstructed the damaged human genes, and reset them to their base state. In other words, you were reprogrammed. You have this Gashat to thank, I think."
"It's hard to believe that someone as mad as Kuroto ended up making something useful in the end," Blake admitted.
"You're telling me…" Kiriya gave a slow nod.
"It's still a bit hard to work with and it was a miracle that we managed to do what we could," Dr. Saiko admitted. "But I'll leave the rest to you. If we can research this Gashat further, we could change the future of regenerative medicine."
"I look forward to your work," Emu said with a bow, Asuna bowing as well.
Dr. Saiko took her leave, though she gave a bit of a playful wink towards Kiriya before fully departing. Kiriya meanwhile was still in shock and trying to process everything that was being fed to him.
"Kuroto..." Asuna spoke up, "Wanted to be erased in the end, he wanted his talents erased."
"He really loved games so he put together this ending just for his player, Kiriya." Emu said, "An ending done in true Kuroto style."
"Honestly…" Blake walked over to a window and stared outside it, "I can't help but thank him a little bit."
"Really…?" Kiriya asked.
"If he didn't target Yang and get her infected I wouldn't have been as deeply involved," Blake said as she glanced back towards the others, "Then I wouldn't have personally met you Kiriya, and I wouldn't have grown stronger as a result."
"When you put it that way… I guess you're right," Kiriya gave a nod.
"Still this is good for you all," Blake turned fully before walking towards the door, "You'll be able to fully saved those erased by the Bugster Virus now, and there's no telling what else you'll be able to do with that Gashat either."
"You're right," Emu gave a nod before bowing, "Thanks for you and your teams help, Blake."
"Yes, thank you," Asuna gave a bow.
"It's no issue," Blake waved it off as she began to exit but turned and gave a smile, "Meddling with other Riders and helping them out is what Team RWBY does best."
"Then keep up the good work," Kiriya smirked as he watched Blake leave.
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"Zangetsu decided to head to the Torkia Republic."
"My employer has said they're all very dangerous."
"…do you not remember me?"
"I only know one Baron, and you're not him."
"I'll kill Takatora myself."
Chapter 59: Zangetsu Lost 2019
Author's Note: And on that note, we finish off Ex-Aid Another Ending with Blake getting her replica weapon, the Gashacon Sparrow. Unlike with Yang, I'm not really restricting Blake on Gashats since there aren't that many compared to the Fullbottles, plus she could use the extra versatility.
This chapter was also fun to write just having a few non Ex-Aid Riders jumping in and reacting to Zombie Chronicle as well as bringing in mostly everyone from the main cast into this. After all, when something like Zombie Chronicle happens, you might need all hands on deck.
Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time where you begin to understand how I was able to adapt a stage play of all things into a pair of chapters for Roze via Kamen Rider Zangetsu: -Gaim Gaiden-. It was interesting to say the least.