Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 73 – Experiments Down Below
"Our adventures in Atlas and Mantle continue onwards," Woz stated as he walked through the white void of narration, pacing around his clock, "Sougo Tokiwa alongside yours truly, Geiz, and Tsukuyomi have also entered an alliance with the Happy Huntresses of Mantle fame."
"Pretty dangerous given Ironwood's presence," Jinn mentioned as she floated into view.
"But that's what I enjoy about my Overlord," Woz gave a smile, "Despite the risks he chose to form an alliance in order to make our full group's bond with Mantle stronger."
"No doubt that having Robyn as an ally will help out in the long run," Jinn mused.
"Indeed," Woz gave a nod, "And soon enough we shall fight alongside each other to uncover a new mystery that has taken hold in the midst of our currently busy lives."
Remnant – Mantle
Team Zi-O was fully split up for the day, the first of which was Woz who had been tasked with helping their new allies, the Happy Huntresses. It was a fairly simple mission as it was basic guard duty when it came down to it. The Happy Huntresses themselves participated in various charity projects to help build morale and also help get Robyn better public appeal. This one today was helping to pack and organize several care packages to give to those who weren't well off in Mantle.
Robyn, Fiona and Joanna handled the packing and carrying, while both May and Woz were positioned nearby. Both faced the direction where the wall dividing Mantle from the rest of Solitas was.
Woz currently wasn't utilizing his Rider gear and simply had his Zikan Despear out and slung over his shoulder. May herself having her crossbow staff touching the ground while she leaned on it.
"So why exactly are we positioned here again?" Woz asked.
"So you know how some of the walls are heavily damaged right?" May asked.
"Yes," Woz gave a nod.
"Well there's one I'm sure you've seen which is pretty badly damaged," May said, "It looks like if you tried to slice into it with a giant sword. Would you be surprised if I told you that wasn't the biggest pain in the ass?"
"I would be," Woz said.
"While it can let in the most Grimm, it isn't the most dangerous one," May replied, "See the wall near this food center actually has smaller more precisely dug holes. Some Grimm had gotten smarter and started to use holes like those instead of the main one that's being guarded by Atlas Soldiers."
"I can only assume that it's like this elsewhere?" Woz asked.
"Pretty much," May gave a nod, "There are a lot of key locations in Mantle located near the walls where the holes are. We were hoping to get them repaired first at least but well…"
"Ah yes," Woz gave a nod, "I take it resources are being diverted heavily?"
"Yep," May gave a groan of annoyance and slumped before straightening up, "Okay, so now that I told you something. I think it's fair that you say something."
"Must I…?" Woz asked with a sigh.
"Hey I gave you valuable information," May gave a light grin at seeing Woz's exasperation before continuing, "So fess up, what's the whole Overlord deal with you and the Clock Kid?"
"Clock Kid…?" Woz asked before he shook his head, "My Overlord is simply destined to become a great King who will rule with great power. And I am a vassal to help assist him to getting to that point."
May gave a skeptical raise of her eyebrow, "Right…"
"May, how's it over there?" Robyn called out as she began to walk over.
"All clear for today thankfully," May said as she turned, "Everything good?"
"Yeah just finished up the last of it," Robyn said as she began to stretch a bit, "Sorry if I had you both doing the boring stuff. I can only imagine the only thing worse is staring at drying paint."
"As boring as it was I'm kind of glad we didn't have to deal with anything," May admitted.
"Now that's what I like to hear," Robyn gave a smile, "You can join Joanna and Fiona, the truck's all loaded so we'll be riding along with it soon."
"Sweet," May gave a grin before heading off to join the others.
"Did you need me to offer any further assistance?" Woz asked.
"No we're good, I'd rather not borrow you for the whole day," Robyn said, "That being said I'm hoping you can give your leader a message."
Woz raised an eyebrow, "A message?"
"Yeah, just tell him to try and keep your group free for tomorrow, I'd like to talk with you all about something that's been popping up recently," Robyn replied.
"He'll likely be able to arrange that," Woz gave a nod.
"Sweet, then just tell him to give me a call tomorrow." Robyn said before heading back to join her team.
"I'm curious as to what is going on now," Woz said as he dismissed his weapon and placed his hands in his pockets.
At Pietro's Pharmacy, Tsukuyomi had been helping Pietro with whatever small things he needed. While exploring the city with Penny and hanging out with her was a valid idea, she figured that helping Pietro out wherever she could wouldn't hurt either.
Of course it wasn't long before Pietro had a patient come in for a scheduled repair. It was a man in his late twenties named Angelo who had prosthetic left leg. It turned out that he had ended up smashing it while working the other day so Pietro had ordered in some new parts prior in order to fix it up. The process was fairly lengthy which normally wouldn't be the problem except the man was actually a single father.
He had a daughter who was nearly ready to cry at the door, but after a few encouraging words from Pietro however she managed to calm down. Though in order to help her stay calm they had her stay in another room with Tsukuyomi. Maria also had to wait outside given she was scaring the girl, mostly due to her heavy prosthetic eyes.
Tsukuyomi admittedly wasn't prepared for this sort of situation as she was someone who lived in a ruined timeline and had to be cared for most of the time. It was hard to really think on how to be friendly towards kids since once she was old enough she had joined the resistance. Despite her concerns and fears over the situation, she knew she had to do something soon since the girl was getting more nervous as they sat in silence in the chairs in the waiting room of the pharmacy.
"Hey," Tsukuyomi gave a gentle smile, "It'll be alright. My name's Tsukuyomi, but you can call me Tsuki, okay?"
"O-Okay…" The girl gave a nod.
"What's your name?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"S…Senna…" The girl replied.
"Senna, that's a nice name," Tsukuyomi smiled.
"I'm just scared…" Senna admitted, "Daddy needs his legs to do work, and if he can't use them then well…"
"Pietro's the best of the best," Tsukuyomi reassured as she put a hand on the girl's shoulder, "He'll do whatever he can to make your dad walk just fine again."
"H-He can…?" Senna asked.
"Of course," Tsukuyomi smiled as she stood from her seat and crouched down to talk to the girl at eye level, she then held up her right arm, "You know, it wasn't a leg but my friend lost her right arm a while ago."
"She did?" Senna gave a light gasp, "That sounds horrible."
"It was," Tsukuyomi gave a nod, not denying that, "But Doctor Polendina made a prosthetic arm for her to use. I've seen it used ever since and it's worked without fail."
The girl looked at Tsukuyomi in awe, "Really?"
"She's pretty cool," Tsukuyomi gave a nod, "And I'm sure your dad's pretty cool too. So as long as he's careful then his leg will work just fine."
"Yeah, my dad is usually really careful!" Senna gave an eager nod.
"Then he'll be just fine, I promise," Tsukuyomi reassured as she put a hand on the girl's head to help reassure her.
"Ms. Tsukuyomi," Pietro's voice called through the intercom as a buzzer was heard, "You can bring the girl in now."
"I think your dad's ready," Tsukuyomi smiled and backed away before holding out her hand. Senna sat up while taking Tsukuyomi's hand. The time traveler soon led the way and entered the exam room together with the girl.
"Daddy!" Senna quickly hurried over to her father and hugged his legs, both of which were now in good shape.
"Look at my brave little sweetie," Angelo said with a smile as he squatted down and ruffled his daughter's hair, "I told you everything would be alright."
"Mm-hmm," Senna gave a nod and gave a smile, "Daddy's cool so there's no way things would go bad!"
Tsukuyomi could only smile at the interaction, though she also felt some relief that her consoling the girl worked out in the end.
"Of course," Angelo smiled before lifting his daughter up to carry her before standing fully. He looked over at Pietro, "Thanks again and sorry about any trouble."
"Just make sure you're a lot more careful," Pietro smiled before giving a light cough, "You're not just taking care of yourself after all."
Angelo nodded before looking at his daughter, "Let's get going sweetie."
Pietro and Tsukuyomi could only smile as they watched the father and daughter head out of the exam room and back out into the streets.
"You know despite being nervous you seemed to have handled that excellently well," Pietro mentioned.
"It was still scary admittedly," Tsukuyomi admitted as she rubbed the back of her head, "I haven't really dealt with children before."
"Well from what I can see you did quite well," Pietro complimented.
"Oh, I uh… thanks," Tsukuyomi gave a bow.
"Thank goodness that's over with," Maria said as she walked back in from the outside, shaking her body to warm herself slightly, "Seriously, what's so scary about me?"
"Probably the prosthetics you wear?" Tsukuyomi gave a deadpan stare as she pointed at her face.
"Oh, right…" Maria realized before giving a scoff, "Whatever, at least that kid managed to calm down."
"Thanks to Ms. Tsukuyomi over here," Pietro added.
"Huh, well would you look at that," Maria remarked, "I must admit you've done some growing between when we first met and now."
"You really think so?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Trust me girl, you're going to go far," Maria gave a reassuring smile.
"Excuse me."
It wasn't long before a young woman entered the examination room. She was currently wearing khaki pants and a maroon turtleneck sweater with a white lab coat over it. Her most distinct feature however was her short curled towards her face hair, it being a vibrant yellow coloration with some white streaks in it alongside golden yellow eyes.
"Ah yes, Ms. Mikado please come in," Pietro waved for her to enter.
"Your office seems a lot livelier than usual," Ms. Mikado remarked as she kept her hands in her pockets, closing the door with her foot. Despite this she gave a pause as she noticed Tsukuyomi.
Tsukuyomi noticed the stare and tilted her head, "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing at all, I just usually don't see new faces here that often," Ms. Mikado shook her head before looking over towards Pietro, "Mind introducing me to these two?"
"Ah well this wonderful woman over here is Maria Calavera," Pietro gestured towards his friend, "An old friend who I help with her eyes and then the young lady over here is Tsukuyomi. She's currently helping me with a project the General put me on."
"Ironwood back at it again, huh?" Ms. Mikado raised an eyebrow before giving a wave, "The names Veda Mikado, I work on medicines for the people of Mantle."
"Speaking of, I take it you're here to drop off the list of supplies you need?" Pietro asked.
"Yep," Veda said as she drew out a few papers from her pockets and handed them to Pietro who began to look them over.
"So you two work together?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"More like Pietro's my middleman provider between Mantle and Atlas," Veda explained though her tone was slightly tense and almost bitter sounding, "While medicine is readily available over in Atlas that isn't the case for Mantle. And while Pietro helps out enough, there's still people suffering. So I work on more homemade remedies to match the official stuff in order to help folks out a bit."
"I must say though, are these measurements bigger than last time?" Pietro asked as he looked at the list, "And the last time was already a pretty big increase."
"Just a bit higher," Veda replied as she looked over at Pietro, "I've been getting more and more orders and while I can get stuff from my usual Mantle sources, it's in less volume than before."
"I'll see what I can do then," Pietro nodded, "I'll get them to you tomorrow alright?"
"That would be appreciated," Veda gave a nod before turning and heading out of the office, "Thanks again."
"I'm surprised to see someone working on medicine down in Mantle though," Tsukuyomi admitted.
"Ah yes well she was working in Atlas for a time," Pietro admitted, "But then some things happened and she chose to relocate to Mantle full time."
"I can only imagine it was a difference in ideas," Tsukuyomi mused.
"Something of that sort, she just had a lot of aspirations and ideas that weren't really looked seriously enough by her peers," Pietro said, "So she decided to go somewhere she thought could use her ideas. So she's been helping out ever since."
"I see," Tsukuyomi said, her mind going back to thoughts about how Atlas wasn't as great as it labeled itself if situations like these happened. There was also the worrying fact that Veda seemingly took an interest in her for no reason right off the bat.
Maria looked over to Tsukuyomi, "Something on your mind?"
"Nothing important," Tsukuyomi shook her head, figuring she'd deal with this if it came up again.
Remnant – Solitas, "Moss Town" (Mosset Grotto)
Within the depths of the Mosset Grotto of Solitas, both Sougo and Weiss were dealing with a few Sabyr's that were attempting to make it a nesting spot. Weiss begrudgingly had to accept the mission due to no one else on her team wanting it, so she picked Sougo to help her with it since the others were busy.
He was currently in his base form of Zi-O, slashing with his Zikan Girade's sword mode while also kicking and punching any Sabyr that got close.
Weiss was currently going for a support role, standing back and utilizing her summoning that she's been getting a hang of. She had brought out her Arma Gigas, but this time it wasn't full sized liker her other attempts at summoning it. It was instead human sized, it spinning in front of Zi-O and using its massive sword to block two Sabyr's that tried to pounce at him.
"Thanks," Zi-O said as he backed up before switching his weapon to its gun mode.
The Arma Gigas punched a Sabyr away before slashing at another slice it in two. The Sabyr that was punched away leapt up to try and tackle the Summon only for it to get shot in the head several times, it falling to the ground and dissolving.
"Whew," Zi-O pretended to wipe his helmets brow, "That's the last of them I think?"
"Given no others seem to be appearing…" Weiss looked around before sighing in relief, "Good… I'd rather not spend more time here than necessary."
"Not exactly liking the locale?" Zi-O asked.
"More like the nut that's 'running' this place," Weiss stressed.
"Oh… that Mossius Berbere guy right?" Zi-O remarked, "Yeah he's kind of weird… and that's saying something."
"Coming from you, yes," Weiss remarked with a light smirk.
"Okay come on I'm not that weird," Zi-O huffed a bit.
"Sure you aren't," Weiss kept her smirk before turning away, "I'm just glad that he didn't lose his bird again."
"Oh right, that was a thing you had to deal with, right?" Sougo asked, "I think Tsukuyomi mentioned something like that when we had split up one of those times during the Arrowfell Incident…"
"Yes, and she was equally as annoyed," Weiss replied as she wanted to change the subject, "So…"
"Huh?" Zi-O turned towards Weiss.
"How was my summoning?" Weiss asked.
"Oh, it was pretty good," Zi-O admitted as he looked over to the Arma Gigas and compared heights, "I'm surprised you can make him just about my height."
"I've been working on figuring out sizes aside from their original ones," Weiss admitted, "While I can't go bigger I can go smaller."
"Nice, nice," Zi-O gave a nod as he dismissed his transformation, "So I take it that your training's been paying off?"
"Yes, having Winter to help me with my summons is definitely appreciative," Weiss admitted as the Arma Gigas began to fade away, "Not to mention having to help out the others in training is good practice for my Glyphs in general."
"So Winter doesn't teach you much about Glyphs in general?" Sougo asked.
"I'd like to think I've got a handle on those honestly, I just need to expand my creativity," Weiss admitted as she began to lead the way out of Mosset Grotto, "What is appreciative is the Summoning Training since she excels in that. Especially recently with what I've been attempting to do with the Monsters I've dealt with."
"Oh that's right," Sougo realized, "You dealt with…"
"While I've dealt with plenty of those creepy ants with Agito, there are two specific ones I'm working on," Weiss replied, "That Evolved Shika Inves that Takatora and I dealt with alongside the Bossroach from the Another Blade incident."
"Oh right," Sougo nodded, "So does that mean you can really summon them?"
"Nothing concrete yet, though I'm hoping through her training I can get a better handle on the basics to bring both out," Weiss explained, "Of course, I can't exactly practice summoning them around her given well…"
"Yeah," Sougo said, "Speaking of practice though I was surprised you were free today."
"Yeah well, my sister said she had important business with one of your team today," Weiss explained, "Not sure what kind of business admittedly."
"Huh," Sougo said, trying to figure out who it was before recalling Geiz mentioning that he wouldn't be going down to Mantle today.
Remnant – Atlas Academy, Training Room
Geiz was currently in his base form, holding his Zikan Zax in its axe mode at his side as he stared at the shifting training room before him. The training room's floor was lined with Hard-Light Dust squares that formed various blocks to create various layouts for scenarios. This one was simple with one block pillars rising out of the ground in various spots to limit free movement. He had briefly sparred with Winter in a simple close ranged weapon match, though thanks to her lengthier swords she was able to force him on the defensive for the most part despite his power being great.
Now was a more unorthodox spar of sorts as four Beowolf summons were approaching him from the front, back and sides. The Bewolves gave snarls as Geiz slowly but surely raised his weapon, and once it was raised high enough they all charged at him.
Geiz quickly kicked up and flipped back before dropping down, slamming his foot down on the back of a Beowolf before slamming his axe into its head to kill it. He then jumped away before easily switching his weapon to bow mode, firing arrow after arrow against the three Beowolves that charged at him. He had managed to strike and take down two with head and neck shots while the other one lunged at him.
Geiz used his weapon to block against the bite, lodging the tip of it in the Grimm's mouth before pulling back and releasing his blast. The attack had torn through the Grimm Summon's mouth and killed it as a result. Geiz then turned when he heard fluttering behind him.
Soon enough a cold gust of wind occurred as dozens of small Nevermore's were launched out to strike at and distract him. While they didn't do much in the way of damage, Geiz was barely able to shoo them away in time. Once he did he was surprised to see several of the pillars destroyed by a Manticore Summon breaking through them and charging straight towards him.
"Alright fine then," Geiz took out the Faiz Ridewatch.
[ARMOR TIME! COMPLETE! FAIZ!]
Geiz held up his right arm to brace as the Manticore Summon rammed straight into him just as the Armor Time formed and latched onto him. Despite this Geiz held his ground and was only slowly sliding back as the Manticore pushed against him. In his free left hand he summoned the Faiz Shot before giving a yell and slamming his weapon between the Manticore's eyes.
The Grimm howled out as it was forced to hop and take several steps back from the attack.
"Let's go," Geiz said as he tossed the Faiz Shot over to his right hand before rushing for the Manticore. The Summon raised itself up via its hind legs before slamming down. Geiz gave a light yell as the Manticore fell forward and quickly dropped against the ground to get underneath the Grimm summon.
[FINISH TIME! FAIZ!]
Geiz yelled and pushed himself up while punching and using his armor's strength to strike the Manticore Summon in the stomach. The result was forcing it onto its hind legs as the Faiz Pointer formed on his right shin armor. He moved forward and spun, kicking against the Grimm Summon's stomach and stunning it with the familiar red energy drill of his finisher.
[EXCEED TIME BURST!]
He stepped back before jumping forward, punching and entering the drill. The drill dug into the Summon before piercing through, Geiz reforming from red energy on the other side. The Faiz symbol appeared over the Manticore Summon as it cried out while vanishing.
"Not bad," Winter said as she walked over, the remaining pillars slowly lowering back into the ground, "I can see what was meant by you all not having proper schooling."
"I can still get by just fine," Geiz remarked as he rubbed his wrists and dismissed his transformation, "I'm surprised you only wanted a brief spar before having me fight your summons though."
"I figured this would be a good way to get a good overview of your fighting style," Winter admitted as she placed her hands behind her back, "From what I could see earlier and just confirmed, you have a rather rough but experienced style of fighting."
"Is that why you chose me to spar with today?" Geiz asked.
"In a sense, yes," Winter replied, "From what little I've seen of your team, you were the one who could give me the best showing."
"Honestly good call," Geiz crossed his arms, "As much as I like my team, I'd like to say I'm the most experienced of them all."
"Someone's rather confident," Winter said.
"What can I say," Geiz chuckled, "However that doesn't mean I'm the strongest. Our leader is a real powerhouse and someone you don't want to get on the bad side of."
"Now that is something that I can't imagine," Winter admitted as she began to pace around, "He doesn't seem the type."
"Trust me on this," Geiz said before rubbing the back of his head, "So, was that all for today?"
"Yes, you can go back to your barracks," Winter gave a nod.
The Next Day
Remnant – Mantle, Happy Huntresses HQ
A day had passed since Robyn had requested Woz to ask Sougo for some assistance. Needless to say once Sougo found out, he made sure that Team Zi-O would be clear to explore Mantle for the day. Once out and about they called Robyn on the Faizphone X to get information on where exactly the Happy Huntresses were set up.
While the Happy Huntresses had multiple hangouts and spots as to keep from being too predictable, there was at least one building officially labeled as their headquarters. This was mostly for any deliveries or mail that was sent Robyn's way. Inside was a fairly barebones medium sized room as well, aside from a few posters of Robyn up there wasn't much in decorations. There were two couches set up against the walls that could seat around four people each, a cheap desk and a chair with a door leading to a restroom behind them at the very end.
Robyn was currently at the desk while May was lounging about on one of the couches, lying down across it.
"Coming in," Sougo announced as he opened the door and entered alongside the rest of Team Zi-O.
"Is it just you two today?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"More like the others are scouting ahead," May said as she glanced at the group.
"Glad to see you could make it TickTock," Robyn smiled as she leaned forward in her desk, "I was wondering if you all could help us with something."
"Woz mentioned something about that," Sougo nodded, "So what's going on?"
"Well there's a bit of an issue that people have been bringing to my attention," Robyn replied, "You know about the murders going on right?"
"We wouldn't know anything about them," Geiz shook his head, "We're just as in the dark as Ironwood is."
"That's unfortunate," Robyn said, "But not what I wanted to focus on. You see there have been disappearances as well. People brush them off as murders but the thing is the bodies have been found whenever that happens. The people who have been reported missing for a few days have not had their bodies show up."
"Wasn't that part of the issues related to Fifestone?" Tsukuyomi asked, recalling that several Faunus disappearances were the result of some issues with one of the Union Leaders in Mantle.
"Only some of those disappearances ended up tying into him," Robyn explained, "There are still people missing and there are newer ones too."
"What?" Sougo asked in surprise.
"There's also something really fishy too about these ones," May said before sitting up and showing a few pictures from her scroll to the approaching Riders, "People caught pieces of Atlas gear left behind around where the remaining missing people were last seen. Ammo, pins, etc…"
"You think Atlas is up to something?" Sougo asked.
"No that's the thing, they're placed too deliberately," May admitted as she gritted her teeth briefly, "So I have to begrudgingly admit that Atlas isn't probably behind this."
"Someone's likely trying to make it look like Atlas is at fault," Geiz suggested, "Try and raise tensions even further."
"You've got any leads?" Sougo asked.
"We do."
Team Zi-O all jumped when they heard a voice from behind, Joanna standing immediately behind them before walking over to the side, Fiona giving a wave as she entered and shut the door.
"Jeez," Tsukuyomi held her chest as she tried to calm down.
Geiz meanwhile was trying to push his collar up higher as he hid his face, trying to stop from blushing in embarrassment at being scared that easily. Woz meanwhile cleared his throat and shifted his scarf around.
"How did you…?" Sougo trailed as he looked back and forth, he could have sworn they didn't hear the door open.
"You just weren't paying attention," Joanna said, "We've got a lead and we need to pursue it immediately."
"What's the lead?" Geiz asked as he cleared his throat.
"Apparently people have also been spotting monsters nearby the locations where people were last seen," Fiona explained, "Weird green monsters."
"Sounds like Inves this time," Geiz noted.
"But Inves normally attack people," Woz reminded, "If these Inves are ushering them away then there is likely a mastermind behind this."
"So do you know where they went?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"We didn't until the most recent disappearance," Joanna replied, "Probably one of the best medical experts in Mantle just vanished this morning according to a few people. Her name's Veda Mikado."
"I remember meeting her yesterday," Tsukuyomi's eyes widened, "She's missing?"
"Yeah," Fiona said, "But apparently there were some people who managed to catch her being dragged off by those things you called Inves? They managed to catch the general direction of where they were going too."
"I'm surprised they didn't tell any Military personnel about this yet," Geiz remarked.
"Oh they did and they got laughed at," Joanna said, "We made the witnesses day by believing them since the military passed the witnesses off as being drunk."
"Of course they did," Geiz sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Not like we can blame them," Woz reminded, "Only Ironwood's upper brass know of the monster issues that are plaguing the Kingdom."
"Do you have her address?" Tsukuyomi asked, "I'd like to check and make sure the shipment she was getting sent to her place doesn't get stolen."
"Hmm, then I have an idea," Sougo spoke up, "Woz, Tsukuyomi, you all check and make sure the supplies aren't stolen. Geiz and I will deal with the kidnappers."
"We'll give you a hand then. Fiona and I will go with TickTock and Collar," Robyn said before looking over at Joanna and May, "The rest of you all will go with Crescent and Bookmark to lead them to Mikado's place."
"Collar…?" Geiz asked, his eye twitching.
"Crescent?" Tsukuyomi raised an eyebrow.
"Bookmark…?" Woz muttered as he looked down at the book he carried.
Sougo just gave a chuckle, "I think we can do this."
Remnant – Mantle Streets
"So it was around here right?" Robyn asked.
"Yeah," Fiona gave a nod as she led the way towards an older part of Mantle before stopping at an old cluster of buildings that didn't seem to be used anymore.
"Okay yeah, looks like they were right on the money," Robyn realized as she looked around, "If I was kidnapping people I would have gone for here too."
"So why exactly would they have gone here of all places?" Geiz asked.
"Is there a secret entrance to a secret base or something?" Sougo asked.
"Nah nothing that crazy," Robyn waved off Sougo's answer before pointing towards one particular building, "That building leads to a defunct maintenance tunnel that was closed off from the rest of the tunnels used for the sewers. There were plans for an expansion and there was one room built but that was all that could be built before the new system was decided and figured building from scratch would be better. If anyone was going to make their hideout somewhere around here, it'd be that."
"Smart," Geiz put a hand to his chin, "But we'll need to be ready just in case."
"Already on it," Robyn said as she deployed her weapon into its fan/shield formation while Fiona drew out her crossbow staff and split it into her twin crossbows.
"Should we…?" Sougo trailed.
"Just our weapons should do for now," Geiz said as he brought out the Zikan Zax in its axe mode while Sougo nodded, bringing out the Zikan Girade in its gun mode.
"Let's get going," Robyn said as she hurried over to the door to pick the lock. She paused and was surprised however to see that it was just left open, "Odd… it's open?"
"Stay on guard," Geiz said, not liking that it was already open.
"Right, Fiona you've got the rear," Robyn said as she switched her weapon to its crossbow mode and took aim while leading the way forward, Geiz and Sougo following after her as Fiona kept to their back and began keeping an eye on their blind spots. It was a fairly ordinary building though one that clearly was showing its age. The interior wasn't important however, but the stairs at the end of it was.
Robyn led the way downstairs while keeping aim, Sougo and Geiz bringing out their scrolls to shine a bit of light in front of Robyn. The group soon made it down to a small room with various pipes and a door that had been ripped off its hinges. Beyond the doorway was the maintenance tunnel
"Lower your lights," Robyn said as the two Riders put their scrolls away, narrowing her eyes as she could see light coming from the maintenance tunnel itself, "Get ready."
The group began to slowly but surely make their way through the maintenance tunnel, a few lights indeed being on and giving a view of the path forward. At the end of the tunnel was the unused room that Robyn had mentioned earlier. The door itself wasn't ripped off like the other doors and seemed to be closed.
Robyn went to the side of the door and checked the knob, seeing that it wasn't locked. She gave a nod towards everyone and quickly opened the door before everyone rushed in.
To their surprise the room was currently occupied, it was a large room as there were various hospital bed frames set up along opposite walls of the room, various Humans and Faunus of Mantle unconscious with some having masks over their mouths. These masks were connected to tanks that likely contained anesthesia. In the corner of the room was a chair that was facing said corner with someone in it and a table with various Smash Bottles lined up. Near the table were several boxes that had what appeared to be medical supplies in them.
"Okay what's the big idea?" Robyn called out as she took aim at who seemed to be the mastermind, "What are you doing with these people?!"
"They're not the ones you should be concerned about," The mastermind spoke up causing everyone but mostly Roybyn and Fiona to pause before several unlocking sounds were heard.
"That voice…" Robyn's eyes widened but she didn't have any more time to comment because of what happened next.
Six Cracks formed as Elementary Inves jumped through them, surrounding the two Huntresses and Riders, all four getting back to back.
"A trap…" Geiz hissed out.
"So we're seriously just letting them do this?" May asked.
"You know we should probably keep our distance," Joanna reminded, "At least until we're inside."
The two were currently across the street and hidden away as they watched Tsukuyomi and Woz head over to the house that belonged to Veda Mikado. The two had decided to make things less suspicious and also to keep from being seen with them by passing military soldiers or drones.
"Well?" Woz asked.
"There are no signs of a delivery," Tsukuyomi said as she looked around, before checking the door, "And it's locked so I can only assume she went outside before getting kidnapped."
"Can you see anything inside?" Woz asked.
"I already checked, but the blinds are in the way," Tsukuyomi said, "Maybe she already got the package and put it in before leaving."
"Then there is only one way to find out," Woz said as he walked over to the door and unfurled his scarf, it thinning itself out and slipping into the cracks of the door. It took a bit of wiggling around and messing with the internal mechanisms but eventually the door unlocked. Woz retracted his scarf before opening up the door, "After you."
"Right," Tsukuyomi said and entered before giving a yelp as she had kicked something. To her surprise it was a package that had already been opened, "What?"
"What is it?" Woz asked.
"A package," Tsukuyomi said as she went to check the date before her eyes widened, "Wait, this was addressed for today and it looks to be the medical supplies she ordered."
"Then I suppose she took them with her to her office," Woz replied.
"No from what was said it feels like she's more freelance than Pietro who has an office," Tsukuyomi shook her head, "She would have made the medicine here… so why?"
"Perhaps a further investigation warranted," Woz admitted as he entered, closing the door before he looked around, "I hate to admit it but this location gives me an odd feeling."
"Normally I would disagree…" Tsukuyomi trailed, "But something seems fishy."
"Then let us proceed further in," Woz said as he went to look around, though it seemed to be a fairly normal house. Well that was aside from a curtain leading to a backroom that was clearly her main lab and where she conducted her medical work.
"Nothing seems that odd," Tsukuyomi said as she looked around, "It looks like something you'd normally find at a pharmacy."
"Indeed," Woz said as he began to look around before spotting a thick philosophy book that seemed very out of place to one with keen eyes, "Now that is odd."
"What's a book like that doing in a place like this?" Tsukuyomi raised an eyebrow.
Woz quickly picked up the book despite its hefty nature and opened it up, revealing a small journal inside of it. Woz quickly took hold of the journal and opened it up to read, flipping through pages rapidly as his eyes continued to widen.
Tsukuyomi noticed this, "Woz? What's wrong?"
"Get our two allies," Woz said as he held up the journal, "I'm going to search the basement immediately."
"How about you reveal yourself?" Robyn called out, "I already know who you are, Veda!"
"Wait, what?" Sougo asked.
"There's no point in hiding, you're right."
Soon enough the mastermind stood up from the chair and turned, revealing to the group that she was indeed Veda Mikado. She was currently holding six low class Lockseeds in her hands.
"I'm glad at least two of you Happy Huntresses could make it," Veda smiled, "Not sure about these Huntsmen but they're probably better than the people I have been snatching."
"What do you mean?" Robyn asked as she kept on guard and took aim in a not obvious direction, already figuring the Lockseeds in Veda's hands had a part in this.
"Well you'll be helping me destroy Atlas of course," Veda gave a smile, "I've come into contact with a powerful group of people who have given me the tools to continue my research so that I could have my revenge against the idiots who shunned me."
"Now that sounds like a bad joke," Robyn scoffed.
"Come on, don't you hate Atlas?" Veda asked, "That's why you're doing that whole little campaign spiel right?"
"I hate what Atlas has become yes," Robyn gave a nod, "But I plan on changing it from the inside. Plus while my methods aren't always the most legal, you're out of your mind if you think I'll be a puppet of revenge."
"Shame… not like it matters anyway," Veda admitted before holding the Lockseeds up, "These guys will rough you up enough for me to continue my plans, with or without your permission. Two Happy Huntresses and some random Huntsmen will fit my needs well."
"Yeah not going to happen, alright boys how about you show her you aren't that random," Robyn said.
"On it," Sougo dropped his weapon alongside Geiz, the two readying their transformations with an Armor Time each as they both gave each other a nod.
"Duck, now!" Geiz called out.
"Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME!]
[KAMEN RIDER ZI-O! ARMOR TIME! SOIYA! GAIM!]
[KAMEN RIDER GEIZ! ARMOR TIME! KAGAIN! GHOST!]
Geiz punched and kicked his armor time away as the Gaim Armor Time landed on Sougo's body. Robyn and Fiona quickly ducked, the armor pieces flying all over while a juicy wave was unleashed, the pieces slamming into the Inves alongside the wave knocking them away. The armor soon fully formed on each Rider, donning them in their Armor Times of Gaim and Ghost respectively.
"Wait, what?" Veda questioned before giving a gasp, recalling a warning, "You're those meddlers!"
Robyn realized this was her chance and shot an arrow bolt at a seemingly random part of the room. But she was actually aiming precisely, the arrow bouncing off of a wall and building momentum before striking past both of Veda's hands. The attack had caused her to drop the Lockseeds as a result, but this had also caused the Inves to give screeches and lash out at anyone nearby.
"Glad we're recognized," Geiz called out as he kicked an Inves to the ground before punching one in the face, "But that move wasn't smart Robyn! Get those Lockseed's and shut them now!"
"They're a lot wilder!" Zi-O yelped as he slashed against the Inves that were coming towards him before turning and ramming into two that tried to reach towards Fiona, "Try and get the people out of here!"
"Got it," Fiona said before giving a yelp as she ducked past an Inves before rushing over to start waking people up.
Robyn meanwhile was rushing towards the Lockseeds when Veda quickly rolled towards them to reclaim them. Grabbing them she was ready to retake control before realizing something was wrong. She stared at all the Lockseeds, now broken in her hands thanks to being hit hard enough by the first attack.
Veda glared at the Happy Huntresses leader, "You idiot!"
"Oops," Robyn gave a nervous smile.
An Inves gave a few sniffs and managed to lumber over quickly grabbing onto Veda's arms, the scientist managing to pull away but ended up losing four of her Lockseeds to the Inves, it gobbling up the broken devices before screeching out.
The Elementary Inves soon shifted shape, molting and evolving into the Komori Inves, but with strange white wings, becoming mutated from the broken Lockseeds. The Mutant Komori Inves gave a screech before rushing towards a wall and slamming through it, breaking the boundary between the old maintenance tunnel and the new sewers as it began to flee.
"Crap that's not good!" Zi-O gave a yelp as he quickly sliced through three Inves, small explosions occurring as they fell back.
"We need to make sure the others don't eat those!" Geiz called out.
Veda stared at the Lockseeds before grinning and tossing it to one of the two remaining Inves. The Inves managed to catch them before eating them hissing out as it transformed into the Kamikiri Inves. The Inves growled out before shoving the Riders away and rushing off after the mutated Komori Inves.
"That's it!" Geiz yelled out as he sent several punches against the last Inves before kicking it towards the hole. The Inves fell through the hole before exploding.
"Bad news guys," Fiona called out as she kept shaking two civilians who were still unconscious, "They won't wake up!"
"Well of course they won't," Veda chuckled as she put her hands in her pockets, staying where she was as she watched Robyn aiming directly at her, "The drugs I administered made sure they wouldn't wakeup for about another 8 or so hours. I'll have to give them a new dose soon though."
"You're sick," Robyn narrowed her eyes, "I thought you wanted to help Mantle."
"If you really thought that then you really are naïve," Veda gave a grin as she soon removed her hands from her pockets and held up an Eyecon, pressing on the button.
[ULTIMA!]
"Shit!" Robyn quickly fired at Veda only for the medical expert now Ganma Ultima to grab the bolts that were fired.
"That won't work," The Ultima held up the bolts and gripped them tightly, the bolts snapping before she let her grip slack to let them fall. She then turned towards the table with the Smash Bottles and grabbed two before making a grab for the other ones.
"Not so fast!" Robyn quickly took aim with an explosive bolt and fired, an explosion forcing Veda back and destroying the table alongside the rest of the Smash Bottles, the essences being released, dispersing, and fading due to not being contained any further.
"You're really getting on my nerves," The Ultima growled out before turning and releasing the Smash Essences she had onto two of the unconscious civilians.
To everyone's surprise the essence transferring worked, as the civilians opened their eyes widely before giving yells and transforming into the Burn and Fang Smashes. The two Smash sat up and broke the beds they were on before giving yells and charging forward.
"Zi-O, save those guys quickly, I'll distract her in the meantime!" Geiz called out as he leapt up, floating towards the Ultima and grabbing onto her. He then used his floating abilities to launch both of them near the whole in the wall, forcing them to crash through as they entered the main sewer area of Mantle.
"Got it," Zi-O drew out both the Decade and Build Ridewatches.
The two Smash however didn't seem to want to let him transform into a stronger form as the Burn Smash launched a stream of flames from its flamethrower. The Fang Smash meanwhile jabbed forward with its blade to try and stab Zi-O.
Zi-O yelped as he spun away and raised his arms to activate his Ridewatches only to gasp out. The Burn Smash had launched a fireball out at Zi-O, striking him in the gut.
Both Smash gave growls and began to move towards Zi-O only for two bolts to hit them each. These bolts however were packed with Lightning Dust, creating electrical shocks that stunned the two Smash briefly.
"Got them," Fiona said as she was the one who had stopped the Smash's advances.
"TickTock, do it now!" Robyn called out.
"On it," Zi-O gave a nod as he readied his transformation into Decade Armor before initiating his Final Form Time with the Build Ridewatch.
[ARMOR TIME! KAMEN RIDE! WOW DE~CADE! FINAL FORM TIME! B-B-B-BUILD!]
Zi-O assumed his Decade Armor form before his bodysuit changed to that of Build RabbitTank Sparkling. He brought out both the Heisaber and the Drill Crusher Crusher from Build Armor before yelling and rushing towards the Smash.
"I have to admit," May crossed her arms, "I wasn't expecting this."
"Neither were we," Tsukuyomi admitted.
The sight before them was odd, as was the whole situation they had found themselves in. At Woz's request, Tsukuyomi had gotten the two Happy Huntresses accompanying them to come inside. And upon investigating the basement they had found a horrifying sight.
There was a workbench that held a bunch of chemicals and medical equipment that seemed to have been used recently. Alongside there being various formulas sketched out in various papers and such. There were also various scattered trays of food, some half eaten and starting to stink due to age. Of course at the very back was an unconscious and clearly exhausted Veda who was chained up. Of course it didn't take long for Joanna to work on freeing her while also checking her vitals.
"She's alive," Joanna said.
"Good," Tsukuyomi sighed in relief.
"But what is she doing down here?" May asked as she walked over, "People saw her getting taken away."
"Something tells me that was a trap to lure you all in," Woz said as he held up the book he was reading before opening it up and skimming through the pages, "According to this book, the real Veda Mikado has been down here for at least a week. Whoever the perpetrator is she's been forcing our good natured scientist to create medicine that will create subservient soldiers that are easy to command. The main idea seemed to be to create a scapegoat with her in order to lure out the Happy Huntresses, use the betrayal of her to distract you all before subjecting you to experimentation via equipment she had recently gotten from our enemies."
"They wanted us, huh?" May frowned before her eyes widened, "Robyn and Fiona!"
"If my Overlord is there then they will be safe," Woz said, "That being said…"
"On it," Tsukuyomi said as she went to call with the Faizphone X but frowned when she couldn't get Sougo to answer. "Alright," She tried Geiz only for no answer as well, "Come on…" she frowned before deciding to call Robyn, "Please…"
Zi-O yelled out as he drilled against the Fang Smash with the Drill Crusher Crusher before tossing the handheld drill away. He then turned the dial on his Heisaber.
[HEY! BUILD!]
The Burn Smash launched a fireball out at Zi-O who braced against it with the Heisaber, the fire impacting against the blade and dispersing.
[BUILD! DUAL TIME BREAK!]
Zi-O gave a yell as he jabbed forward, unleashing a drill of yellow energy outwards from his weapon. The attack pierced through the Burn Smash, it exploding before falling over as the essence was removed from the civilian.
The Fang Smash yelled out before rushing towards Zi-O, raising its blade to try and slash downwards. Zi-O however tapped the Decade Watch's main button.
[B-B-B-BUILD! FINAL ATTACK TIME BREAK!]
Zi-O shifted slightly and performed a sidekick with his right foot against the Fang Smash's stomach, red, blue and white fizzy bubbles bursting out from his foot before he pushed further. More fizzy bubbles were unleashed as the Smash yelled out, exploding before falling over as the essence was removed.
"Not bad," Robyn said while Fiona rushed over to check on the civilians that had been turned into Smash. The leader of the Happy Huntresses was ready to walk forward when she heard her Faizphone X ring. Taking it out of her pockets, she answered it, "Hello?"
"Thank goodness I caught you, we've got an issue," Tsukuyomi said in a hurried voice.
"Yeah I know already," Robyn sneered, "Veda Mikado is a traitor."
"No you don't understand," Tsukuyomi said, "Whoever you just met isn't the real Veda Mikado, we just found her in the basement of her house right now."
"Robyn the kid's right," May's voice came through next, "Whoever it is you just met with, it's not her but our mastermind."
"What?" Robyn's eyes widened, "What do you mean that wasn't Veda Mikado?"
"Seriously…?" Zi-O turned in surprise before turning back towards the hole and rushing towards it, "I need to get to Geiz now!"
Geiz meanwhile was trying to beat the Ganma Ultima back, sending punch and kick one after another to try and overwhelm it. The Ultima herself merely chuckled as she easily blocked against the kicks and punches though at some points the attacks had managed to slip through and hit her. She cursed slightly before she kicked out and slammed her foot against Geiz's stomach.
"Come now," The Ultima chuckled as she got in a defensive stance.
Geiz coughed as he staggered back before drawing out his Zikan Zax in its bow mode, loading in the Specter Ridewatch, "Let's see how you like this!"
[SPECTER GIWA GIWA SHOOT!]
Multiple spectral copies of the Gan Gun Hand in its rifle mode formed alongside Geiz who pulled back the hammer of his weapon. He released it and unleashed an arrow of blue energy, the rifles launching out their own arrows as well.
The Ultima chuckled however and gathered energy within the palms of her hands before unleashing two blasts of energy outwards. The blasts were wide and long enough to block all the arrows, causing an explosion with smoke filling the tunnel.
"Time and time again, it's always you," The Ultima muttered before leaping out of the smoke and punching at Geiz, "Why do you continue to get in my way?!"
To both combatants surprise, Zi-O soon leapt into view at great speeds thanks to RabbitTank Sparklings agility. The Rider quickly raised the Heisaber and blocked against the punch.
"Alright enough games," Zi-O hissed out, "Who are you?!"
The Ultima chuckled, "I'm Veda Mika-"
"That's a lie!" Zi-O called out, "My friends just found out you aren't her!"
"Wait, what?" Geiz asked in surprise.
"That explains the absence of half of each of your groups," The Ultima hissed out before leaping back, "It seems I need to retreat for now."
"You aren't going anywhere," Zi-O called out before holding his hand back, "Geiz, Ghost now!"
"Got it," Geiz quickly dismissed his Armor Time and tossed the Ghost Ridewatch over.
Zi-O quickly caught it before swapping out Legend Rider Watches on the Decade Ridewatch.
[FINAL FORM TIME! G-G-G-GHOST!]
In a flash of gold, Zi-O soon gained the bodysuit of Ghost Grateful Damashii and with it he wasted no time in initiating his finisher. Soon enough in a flash, out of the Ghost Ridewatch, fifteen orbs emerged before traveling behind Zi-O. They all transformed into the Luminary Damashii that Ghost would normally use, creating a diamond symbol that was placed within a square glyph.
[G-G-G-GHOST! FINAL ATTACK TIME BREAK!]
The fifteen Damashii turned into energy before launching past Zi-O. They gathered together to form a sphere of energy as the Rider leapt up. Zi-O gave a yell as he kicked at the golden sphere, hurtling towards the Ultima.
The Ultima yelled and unleashed an energy blast against the attack, only for her attacks to be dispersed almost instantly by the sphere. She screamed as the sphere connected with her, shattering her monstrous form as she was launched backwards before exploding.
Zi-O landed on a knee before rising up, watching as embers and smoke began to die down.
[SOIYA! HELLS ARMS! SHINRYAKU NO KAIJITSU!]
Soon enough out of the embers and thin smoke, Kamen Rider Sylphi appeared as she slammed her staff to disperse the embers and smoke around her.
"You…" Geiz trailed in near shock, recalling her from the Torkia Republic, "Just what are you doing here?"
"What does it look like?" Sylphi gave a light giggle before pointing her spear towards the two Riders, growing more serious, "If you think I'm done you're mistaken, but those stupid Time Jackers have definitely given me the chances I need to continue my mission."
"Wait, who is she?" Zi-O asked.
"She was that Rider I mentioned that we fought when we were trying to help Zangetsu," Geiz explained as he prepared himself for a tough fight, "I figured she had slipped away after I attempted to finish her off. I didn't think she'd be here though."
"That isn't good…" Zi-O frowned as he got in a fighting stance, "Then we'll defeat her for sure."
"Just because I'm not done here, doesn't mean I'm a fool," Sylphi said as a Crack opened behind her, she then began to walk backwards into the gateway, "We'll likely meet at least one more time… that is certain…"
Zi-O and Geiz could only watch in silence as the female Rider backed away fully through the Crack before the zipper themed gateway closed up.
Remnant – Atlas Academy
Robyn had decided that she'd work on cleanup since the monster threats were gone. Especially since she was sure people would get nosy and start asking questions, and the last thing she needed was attention on both of their groups at once.
Of course, there were still the escaped Inves, but the monsters of Helheim had escaped too far into the sewers to be tracked. Despite not wanting to, Sougo realized they'd have to save searching for the Inves for another day. So Team Zi-O decided to turn in for the day once Pietro went back to Atlas.
Back at their barracks, after making sure no one was nearby outside and they were safe, the team gathered around as Sougo had the Faizphone X out.
"So how'd it go?" Sougo asked.
"A lot of confusion, reassurance and comforting," Robyn reported, "Turns out the drug that fake was using made their memories pretty fuzzy. Which is good for Doctor Mikado's reputation since it wasn't her doing this, but…"
"How's Doctor Mikado?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"She's recovering but she's out of it. It seems she remembers the most and it's definitely taken a toll on her," Robyn admitted, "We plan on giving her some protection for the next few days to make sure she feels safe."
"Well at the very least the drugs didn't seem to affect them mentally all that much," Geiz said, "Still… what a horrible experience."
"So you really don't know much about our mystery mastermind?" Robyn asked.
"Unfortunately no," Tsukuyomi said, "We ran into her once before but we barely know anything about her."
"Damn that's unfortunate," Robyn sighed, "Well at the very least, thank you all for your help today. You helped stop a huge misunderstanding on all sides."
"Thanks," Sougo said, "We'll be seeing you sometime alright?"
"Sounds good to me," Robyn said before hanging up.
"That explains why she stared at me when I first met her," Tsukuyomi said in realization, "She must have recognized me from Torkia while she was fighting Geiz."
"This is still concerning," Geiz spoke up, "I didn't want to think about it at first given that she was using Gaim's technology but…"
"The fact that she's here means there might be another faction in play," Woz stated, "While we could suspect something before with the Time Jackers sudden usage of Rider Monsters… her taking advantage of their equipment and generosity definitely confirms it."
"That's so weird though," Sougo scratched his head, "Why now?"
"Something changed after Another Zi-O and Roze," Geiz said as he clasped his hands together and looked down, "And whatever changed is attracting the attention of a lot more than just our Teams and the Time Jackers."
"We'll just have to be prepared for anything in that case," Woz said.
"But will we be?" Tsukuyomi asked, "This is starting to grow a bit out of control."
"Don't worry," Sougo reassured, "I think we can do this."
"Let's hope so," Geiz said before getting up and giving a stretch, "Now how about we start turning in, it's not that late but I'm so damn tired."
"Sounds good to me," Tsukuyomi said before getting up as well.
"I could go for a good late day shower," Sougo admitted as he went to stretch.
"Now that I can agree with," Geiz nodded.
Woz meanwhile clasped his book tightly as he spaced out, unaware of the world around him. His concern was the fact that there could only be one group that he knew of that would want to interfere with Sougo's path. That same group that Shiro-Woz had hinted at, the group that he was technically still allied to… at least he assumed it was them. He was unaware of the other individual who had been pushing forward and moving behind the scenes back on Earth.
Remnant – Mantle Rooftops
Sylphi was currently standing on a building that was tall enough to overlook most of Mantle, making sure she was away from the edge as she took in the sights.
"You didn't have an easy time I see."
"Unfortunately not," Sylphi admitted as she glanced back, watching as Evolt walked over to her, "They're rather clever, even with your help to give me my disguise I was unable to truly trick them."
"Yeah, I hate to admit it but they're not pushovers," Evolt replied, "Still though… what exactly does our boss hope to accomplish here?"
"I don't even know what he wants half the time," Sylphi admitted, "Though I suppose with the main show away from Earth he can move around more freely. So even if we don't gain any advantages we can still do something here."
"I suppose so," Evolt said, "What a scary man that guy is…"
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"How do you like my little garden?"
"What's Ironwood doing with Amity at the old SDC mine?"
"She takes a lot of pride in what she does."
"You Atlas folks aren't giving people many options."
"You've grown up a bit, haven't you?"
Chapter 74: Desires and Destiny
Author's Note: There were a lot of fun little bits this chapter, the bait and switch in terms of the culprit this time, some split interactions, some opening montage bits, some older forms getting the spotlight, etc. I'm in full swing with the Arrowfell teasing and references as I can confirm now that Roze's version of Arrowfell will take place between Chapter's 72 and 73 timeline wise.
So expect there to be continued minor references and stuff though of people talking about it in past tense. Speaking of Arrowfell though, I hinted on my twitter when going through Arrowfell that they had ended up naming an NPC (Mikado Lem) a similar name to a minor character I introduced in this chapter (Veda Mikado) thankfully it's a last name first name difference but still, that was kind of amusing to witness.
I should mention that Roze from Remnant now has its own side story which is the Rider Time: Roze Gaiden Collection. While it won't update as often or have a standard schedule like this main story, it'll still contain some goodies that I won't be putting in here. First up to start it all off is a Christmas Special that takes place during the time skip in Chapter 35: Welcome Back to 2018. So if you're feeling up to some holiday fun, go ahead and check it out. I've got some fun stuff planned for it in the long run, I'll say that much at least.
I suppose that's all I have to say for now, we're closing in on the end of the year and I have one final chapter to put out. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.