Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 75 – An Evening Break
"Well now, these past events have been interesting," Jinn said as she floated through the narrative void she and Woz shared, "But after settling into life in Atlas, things are finally starting to take a turn."
"Indeed," Woz said as he was currently standing on top of his clock, not falling, nor causing the clock itself to fall or move, "Team Zi-O continues to help out in whatever way they can, and while our mystery Rider in Sylphi has seemingly given up, we've got other issues."
"Jacques Schnee purposely went on live television to rile up the voters," Jinn said, "Needless to say it seems like his plan worked pretty well."
"Unfortunately," Woz sighed, "Regardless that was only the prelude… as I fear whatever comes next will be worse."
Remnant – Atlas Academy
Team Zi-O was currently in their room watching the aftermath of Jacque's Schnee's announcement of closing non-essential SDC facilities. Currently they were watching an interview that had happened earlier in the day and involved Robyn due to her essentially being the face of Mantle while running in the election.
"Although rioting in Mantle is finally under control, how does it feel to know that the majority of those involved were your supporters?" The Newscaster asked from behind the camera, pointing a microphone at Robyn.
"I don't condone rioting, especially when our city is being denied aid for the hardships we've already had to go through," Robyn explained, "But Jacques Schnee's latest stunt is holding the city hostage for his own political gain. So I understand their anger, but ask that they show it not in the streets but at the polls today."
"So now that we have you here, what of the strange happenings beyond the Grimm?" The Newscaster asked, "Any comments on the rumors and sightings of monsters lurking around Mantle?"
"I haven't seen anything too concrete and mostly just heard rumors," Robyn lied as she crossed her arms, "I can assure you though, that if I get that Council Seat I will be looking into these since the Atlas Military hasn't been open with us on that front."
"And what of the supposed armored warriors who fight them that people have thought to have seen?" The Newscaster asked, "Any opinions?"
"I'm not sure who they are or if they even exist," Robyn lied once more, "But if they do exist then they've been doing a good job at keeping the peace. The most Mantle's had to worry about as far as I know has been our usual issues."
"You know for having a lie detector Semblance she's good," Sougo said.
"Of course she is," Geiz replied before rubbing the back of his head, "Trusting her has been working out well for us, she's been good on keeping everything confidential."
"See, I know what I'm doing," Sougo smiled.
"Sometimes I worry you're too good at this," Geiz sighed.
"That may be but Sougo's leadership has been pulling us through heavily," Tsukuyomi reminded.
"Such is the power of my Overlord," Woz sat cross-legged with a satisfied expression.
"Of course you'd be proud," Geiz gave a groan.
Sougo was ready to answer when he heard his Faizphone X ring, "Hello?"
"Hey it's me," Robyn spoke on the other line, "I take it you've been watching the stuff on my end?"
"Just saw your interview," Sougo said, "Thanks for that."
"Hey, it's the least I could do to keep both of our groups safe," Robyn said before a loud microphone screeching could be heard, "Jeez…"
Sougo had to keep from laughing, "Uh… everything alright?"
"Yeah, May's just trying to set the microphone up for our victory party," Robyn admitted, "I know it's pretty early but given all the pre-voting data and how things are turning out, I think it's safe to say it's in the bag."
"Well from what I saw before the broadcast, it sure looked like it," Sougo gave a nod, "Do you need us to go down there tonight?"
"Nah, you four have got the night off from helping us," Robyn said, "You've already assisted enough as is with the monster stuff. Plus I've got a pair from Atlas showing up anyway, can't have even the smallest risk that something gets unveiled."
"True," Sougo agreed, "Well since we won't be seeing each other, good luck out there tonight."
"Thanks," Robyn said, "That speech of yours is sure to come in handy."
"Like I said, just try to use it as a guideline and let loose," Sougo smiled, "You've got a pretty good stage presence so I'm pretty sure you can do this."
"Well with that vote of confidence I probably can," Robyn chuckled, "Anyway I'll see you all later, got to finish the preparations."
"Got it," Sougo said before hanging up.
"A night off, huh…" Geiz remarked, "That's if Ironwood lets us off."
"We'll just have to see if the others need help in their missions tonight," Tsukuyomi added.
"It would make sense to have us work hard during the Election or just be on standby," Woz said as he thought on the situation, "Especially given we have no idea if they Time Jackers will try anything. And that's not considering the possibility of enemies from this world."
"Then there's that Rider…" Sougo thought back to Sylphi, "I know she said she wasn't going to try anything…"
"I wouldn't believe that," Geiz said, "She's planning something."
"But is there anything we can really do about that at the moment?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Not really," Sougo admitted as he got up and began to stretch before hearing a knock on the door, "Coming!"
When Sougo opened the door he was surprised to see Ironwood there, the General cleared his throat, "Apologies if I was interrupting anything."
"You weren't," Sougo shook his head, "Just taking a look at the election since that's all anyone is talking about today."
"Right, tonight's big night," Ironwood said though it seemed more like he was reminding himself than addressing Sougo, "Either way, I've got some news for your friends about tonight and it involves your Team as well. Think you can come with me to the training room?"
"Of course, just give us a couple of minutes," Sougo gave a smile before heading back inside to gather the others and letting them know that Ironwood needed them.
It wouldn't be long before Team Zi-O made sure they were fully presentable before following after Ironwood, the group meeting with Clover as they made their way to Atlas Academy's training room.
On the way they passed a few patrolling pairs of Soldiers, though one seemed to be patrolling by themselves. Despite this the Soldier didn't seem to arouse any suspicion as Ironwood and the others passed by without so much as questioning him. The Soldier glanced back and looked at the group after they had passed before looking around and continuing on his scheduled route. Once he was sure he couldn't be tracked or seen he shifted directions to a secluded corner of the Academy.
Of course attempting to see where the Soldier had gone would have ended up at a dead end, literally. He had walked into what seemed like a dead end, and despite that he was nowhere to be seen.
The training room was livelier than usual as there were various pillars set up all over the place while everyone worked on their own exercises. Blake was currently leaping from pillar to pillar via her Semblance while Yang worked to keep up with her. Weiss and Winter were continuing their summon training with Winter going on the offensive while Weiss worked to defend against a Beowolf while they were limited in movement due to practicing between the pillars. Weiss had thought quickly and used gravity glyphs to throw the Beowolf around before using a standard glyph to push it back towards Winter.
Winter was ready to stop it with her own glyph only to wince as she dropped to one knee. A smaller version of Weiss' Arma Gigas was to blame as it had snuck up and cut her ankles. The result had caused the Beowolf to fly past her before it slammed into the ground and dissipated. Winter could only give a light glare as she watched the tiny knight summon pose proudly before looking over to her sister who gave a smug smirk.
Jaune was paired up with Nora, the latter smacking a ball at Jaune as he went to deflect it with his shield. Nora kept going harder and harder before charging the ball with electricity and launching it directly at Jaune. Jaune raised his shield and went to brace, the emblem glowing cyan as he activated the Hard-Light Dust in his shield to bolster his defenses. He skidded backwards a bit and fell to one knee but the ball turned to ash after being unable to fully get past the Hard-Light Dust.
Oscar was watching this matchup but was also paying attention to Jaune's Aura. It was in the yellow but thanks to a quick use of his Aura Boost he was able to recover at a faster rate.
"Nice," Oscar said, "Your recovery is getting faster."
Nora went to congratulate Jaune, which ended up being a hard slap that knocked him on his back and reduced his aura again.
Ruby meanwhile was practicing nearby them with her Semblance. She was using Petal Burst and launching directly towards a pillar that Ren was meditating in front of. Suddenly she split into three red trails of red petals, all going around the pillar before merging and dispersing as Ruby landed on the other side.
"Have you always been able to do that?" Oscar asked, this catching his attention.
"Uh… I think?" Ruby asked as she panted slightly while peeking out from behind the pillar and walking over, "I don't normally think it through that much, I just go with the flow. Guess I'm getting better."
Oscar sighed however, "You guys are evolving and I still don't have my Semblance."
"Well, Sougo doesn't either," Ruby pointed out, "Neither do Geiz or Tsukuyomi and they've been in this for around the same time you have. I'm sure once you all get them we'll be pretty jealous when you get super cool ones."
Surprisingly the activities around him didn't seem to bother Ren in the slightest as he was deep within meditation. He was currently so deep he had managed to block out everything and everyone around him. Despite this he did manage to take notice of the training room door opening before looking over to see Ironwood, Clover and Team Zi-O.
Sougo decided to lead his team over to meet with everyone as the training room began to return to its original state.
"Clover wasn't kidding," Ironwood held an impressed tone, "You're really giving this your all."
"Well we have to with the way things are going," Ruby admitted.
Ironwood took out his scroll, seeing the live election results, "They're not going well, are they?"
Sougo couldn't help but narrow his eyes at these words due to managing to see the voting percentages. Robyn currently had 70% while Jacque's only had 30% of the vote.
"Better Robyn than Jacques Schnee," Yang said as she went to lean on Oscar's shoulder.
"I suppose so," Ironwod said, "Either way, this election doesn't bode well for our stability."
"It could be a chance to work with Robyn and get Mantle on your side," Ruby suggested.
"Yeah, I mean… wouldn't Salem want to take advantage of a divided Kingdom?" Sougo asked.
Ironwood went to put his Scroll away, "The likelihood of that working-"
"They're right," Nora interrupted, "You have to do something about Mantle. If you could get Robyn to trust you…"
"I bet if you opened up to her she'd understand that you're being framed," Jaune said.
"Not to mention if she gets that seat she's bound to start challenging you if you keep to yourself," Geiz replied.
"Perhaps…" Ironwood sighed, "But it will only work if she's open too."
Geiz and Nora were ready to speak up again when Ren suddenly stepped forward.
"I take it you're here for new mission assignments?" Ren asked, earning some raised eyebrows from Geiz and Nora.
"You could say that," Clover said as he stepped up, "The General and I want you to take the rest of the day to recuperate."
"You're giving us the night off?" Blake asked.
"Ordering it," Ironwood said, "After tonight's election, we'll be waking up to a very different Atlas tomorrow. I need all of you rested and ready for whatever that may bring."
Sougo and Ruby both glanced at each other, getting a sense of unease as they felt like something was creeping up on them.
Remnant – Mantle Streets
An Atlas Soldier was seemingly patrolling through the alleyways, potentially on a mission to exterminate any Grimm that were lurking. Well that was until he made it to an opening and walked over to an apartment complex. Making sure no one was around he began to walk up the steps of the complex before heading over to a room and checking the door. He gave a knock before opening the door and entering inside, it having been left open.
The Soldier gave a sigh of relief after he shut the door, removing his helmet to reveal that the one underneath the helmet was actually Daiki Kaito.
"I swear these helmets are too stuffy," Daiki sighed as he went to toss it on an empty couch before sitting down and slumping in it.
"Daiki is that you?" Summer's voice called from another room, "Did you just get back?"
"Yeah I did," Daiki called out, "Where's Tsukasa?"
"You know him, trying to take the perfect shot," Summer said as she walked into the main room of the apartment.
"We both know that's impossible," Daiki said before chuckling, "Especially since he's already found it."
"I suppose so," Summer smiled before giving a curious look, "So how did it go?"
"I can see why Salem might target this Kingdom next, as despite their high security they're slightly incompetent in some aspects," Daiki said as grabbed the helmet and poked it a bit, "I was able to basically disable anything and everything that might compromise me on the suit while making sure everything looked like it was in order. Regardless, I'm in."
"Is there anything of note?" Summer asked.
"That Ironwood fellow is not looking the best," Daiki admitted, "I wouldn't be surprised if the Time Jackers goal at the end of it all is to do something with him."
"That's not good," Summer frowned.
"With that being said," Daiki shoved the helmet off before lying down on the couch, "I saw your daughter and her friends while making my rounds. They seem to be doing alright for themselves."
"That's good to hear," Summer smiled as she went to lean against the wall before looking at the ceiling in thought, "I've been thinking…"
Daiki's head perked up at this, "Oh?"
"Depending on how the situation develops, I think it might be time," Summer said before gripping her left arm with her right hand, "But…"
"You're still worried about how they'll react," Daiki said, "Especially given how you left them."
"Exactly," Summer gave a nod before shaking her head and calming herself down, "Even so… I need to do this. I can't keep hiding away forever."
"That's the spirit," Daiki said with a small smile.
Remnant – Atlas Academy
Team RWBY's dorm was fairly packed as the evening began to approach. Blake was currently doing her makeup while Yang watched on the bottom bunk near the window of their room. Ruby was currently lying on the top bunk above her sister and looking down at Weiss who was leaning on the ladder between the bunks, intensely staring at her Scroll. Sougo was on the last top bunk looking over at Weiss as well while Tsukuyomi sat on the bunk below it. Geiz and Woz meanwhile were near the lockers of the room, leaning on them.
"We still have hours ahead of us, but as votes come in, it looks more and more certain that Robyn Hill will fill the open council seat."
"I think I figured it out," Sougo snapped his fingers, "I figured out what was bugging me about Jacques!"
"Wait there was something bugging you about him?" Weiss turned in surprise.
"Yeah," Sougo gave a nod as he pulled out his Scroll and began going to a video sharing website before pulling up Jacque's announcement video, "And I finally figured it out!"
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, wondering Sougo had figured out something they had all missed.
"What is it Zi-O?" Geiz asked as he walked over.
Sougo had his Scroll project a larger screen and zoom in at a certain angle that he had stopped the video on, there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary…
"He's wearing a clip on tie!" Sougo called out as he pointed at Jacques collar, showing that the tie wasn't wrapping around the collar like it should.
Weiss had to grip the ladder on the bunks to keep from falling over while Ruby had to stop herself from nearly rolling off in a reactionary fashion. Tsukuyomi however slumped over and quickly went to lie down on her bed as she gave a deadpanned reaction to the realization.
"Impressive as always my Overlord," Woz smiled while Yang and Blake couldn't help but giggle a bit at Sougo's revelation.
"That… that's what you felt off about him?" Weiss looked at her friend in exasperation.
"I mean he's a big business guy right?" Sougo pointed out, "It's kind of embarrassing that he's wearing a clip on tie. I feel like if you've been in the business as long as he has you'd know how to tie a tie properly."
"Yeah okay that revelation was a bust…" Ruby groaned out.
"You know, I hate to say it Zi-O but you're right," Geiz admitted as he crossed his arms, "The fact that he's one of the biggest names on Remnant and he resorts to a clip-on tie? That's embarrassing."
"Not you too," Weiss groaned out before shaking her head and pacing around, "Regardless there's no way my father could've thought layoffs would do anything but hurt him. So why announce this the day before the election?"
"He definitely seems to be making a lot of bad decisions," Sougo mentioned, ready to continue and mention the tie again only to quickly pucker his lips and stop when Weiss turned with a glare.
"Just seems like a power play that backfired to me," Yang said as she went to sit up before walking over to Blake, "Won't matter in a few hours though."
"Where are you guys going?" Ruby asked.
"Team FNKI invited us out dancing," Blake said, "Yang and I thought it would be good to get our minds off the election."
"I thought you said Team FNKI was annoying?" Ruby raised an eyebrow.
"That's the best part about dance clubs," Yang said before pointing towards her ears and lowering her voice significantly to where she was only whispering, "I can't hear you."
Blake gave a giggle before looking over at Team Zi-O, "Any of you all want to come?"
"Nah, I don't think I dance that well," Sougo said.
"Hell no," Geiz shook his head, "You wouldn't catch me anywhere near those places."
"You probably don't want to be embarrassed by showing that you can't dance at all," Yang teased before snickering when Geiz glared at her.
"I must say that I'd rather not go as well," Woz admitted, "I see no point."
"I admit it could be an interesting experience," Tsukuyomi thought on it before shaking her head, "I think I'll just head to the school's library for tonight. I'm a bit interested in learning more about Remnant at the moment."
"Hey that just means more room on the dance floor for yours truly," Yang gave a shrug and a smile, glad to see it was likely just going to be her and Blake at the club.
Before anyone else could say anything, the door opened with Nora and Ren at it.
"Ruby, come on!" Nora called out.
"I still can't believe you're going to that thing," Weiss sighed.
"Just because Ironwood dislikes Robyn doesn't mean we all have to," Nora said, "From where I'm standing both of them seem to be trying their best to help Atlas. As to who's doing a better job…"
Weiss couldn't help but sigh again, "But a victory party?"
"I figured I'd go and lend my support," Ruby leapt off her bunk before she gave a wink towards Sougo who did the same, "Invite's still open if you want in. Penny's gonna be working security."
Weiss was ready to answer when she heard Yang laughing, glancing back to see Blake trying but failing to perform a particular dance move.
"Oh my gosh, no. You gotta do it like this," Yang said as she went to show Blake the proper way to actually do the dance move Blake was attempting.
"That's what I'm doing!" Blake exclaimed with a laugh.
"Hey," Jaune quickly leaned into the doorway with Oscar, "Oscar and I are hitting the movies if anyone wants-"
"Sure!" Weiss interrupted near immediately, since she wasn't sure if Team Zi-O even had any plans. And she did not want to be at a dance club, premature victory party, or library.
"Oh, okay," Jaune was surprised at how quickly Weiss agreed while Oscar just gave a smile.
"Ooh, the movies sound cool," Sougo admitted.
Weiss turned to face Sougo but glanced to the side, "Do… do you want to join us?"
"I mean… if they don't mind," Sougo said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Jaune put a hand to his chin in thought after seeing this before giving a smile, "The more the merrier."
Geiz thought on it, "That doesn't sound like a bad-"
"Actually Geiz," Woz said as he gripped his friend by the wrist before dragging him out, "I suddenly realize that I would like to partake in something that requires your company."
"Huh, what the hell are you doing?" Geiz asked as he was dragged away, unable to get out of Woz's sudden iron grip, "Hey! Stop that!"
Woz meanwhile kept continuing to smile as he dragged Geiz along, already figuring that four people at the movies was enough of a crowd. Though he did detest the idea of hanging out with Geiz alone, this was for his Overlord's sake.
Remnant – Mantle, Time Jacker Hideout
"So what do you think this Jacques guy's plan is?" Uhr asked as he paced around.
"Aside from burning his chances at winning… no clue," Ora said as she was currently leaning on the back of the couch they had.
"I wouldn't say he's burning his chances…" Finis trailed off, thinking on the situation, "It's absolutely stupid for him to think this would have had any positive effect. So why do it?"
"Given what we know about this world, stir up negativity," Swartz answered as he tapped his fingers on his desk.
"Yeah but that bumbling business man doesn't look like he's our mastermind," Ora said, "I mean did you see that he had a clip-on tie?"
"That's pretty lame," Uhr admitted with a laugh.
"He's merely working with whoever it is on this world that wants to make their move," Finis said as they went to lean on the door, "Stir up negativity before starting their move tonight. Something is going to happen and I suggest we start looking at the news once this election wraps up."
"There's one other order of business," Swartz said as he looked around the room, "Veda Mikado… from the looks of things, she wasn't the one who asked for our assistance."
"Actually we got confirmation on that," Finis said as they held up a letter, "This suddenly appeared when I was out for a stroll."
"Oh?" Swartz asked, "What exactly do you mean?"
"It's exactly as I say," Finis said, "It appeared and I went to read it. Apparently our masked jester friend went through the trouble of trying to perform an elaborate scapegoat plan for us. Unfortunately it appeared to have failed."
"How kind of him," Swartz gave a smile but was inwardly worried, wondering why their benefactor went through the trouble of sneaking in help before telling them after it failed, "Was there anything else?"
"He said that if we do not make progress soon that he'll personally provide us the means to do so," Finis said as they walked over and handed the letter to Swartz, "That is where my guess comes in, that something is bound to happen tonight. Things are lining up a little too perfectly."
"How very kind of him," Swartz said as he went to look at the letter before bringing out the Zi-O Anotherwatch and giving a grin, "Uhr, Ora, I need you to start looking around for potential candidates. While these monsters have been serviceable, it's time we start leaning more towards our specialties."
"Fine…" Ora gave a groan as she managed to stand before walking towards the door, Uhr following after her.
Once both younger Time Jackers left it was just Swartz and Finis, the latter of which pulled out the Roze Anotherwatch. Suddenly both Anotherwatches began to pulsate and glow briefly before the glow vanished entirely.
"So it seems this detour will be worth it in the end," Swartz said, "Whoever is faintly resonating with the Anotherwatch will be the one I need to push this power beyond its original limits."
"Meanwhile it seems like I'm in the presence of the one who will inherit the power of Another Roze," Finis said while staring at the Roze Anotherwatch.
"I suppose things are finally starting to look up for us again," Swartz grinned.
Remnant – Mantle Streets
Ruby, Nora and Ren meanwhile had managed to make their way down to Mantle, the group passing a truck that had a few people holding up signs promoting Robyn Hill. There was something still eating at Ren though.
"I understand Weiss' point though," Ren said, "A victory party does seem a bit premature."
"Aw, let them have one sure thing," Nora replied.
"Probably the last sure thing before Amity Tower goes up and everyone learns about…" Ruby trailed a bit before speaking again, "What we're fighting."
"We spent so much time worrying about how Ironwood will react to the truth about her," Ren reminded, "But have any of us considered how we're even going to beat her if we manage to work past that?"
"Jinn said she can't be beaten," Nora repeated.
"She told Oz that he couldn't destroy her," Ruby said.
"But maybe someone else could?" Nora asked, "Or maybe we don't need to destroy her?"
"Tsuki was thinking the same thing," Ruby admitted, "That the wording was very specific and that she chose to answer very literally. But it was too risky to ask Jinn another question, which is why we haven't yet."
"What about things on the Rider side?" Nora asked, "I mean you've got all that history behind you, do you think there's anything that could stop her?"
"Honestly we were so busy trying to find Oscar, dealing with new Another Riders, and then just getting involved in our predecessor's issues that we just didn't have time," Ruby shook her head, "But we know Kamen Riders have faced down threats just as bad, if not worse than her. There has to be something in the pool of Riders we've obtained and will obtain that will help us."
"Oof, that's right you all did have your own enemies," Nora realized but tried to remain optimistic, "But I'm sure you'll figure out something."
"She'll only figure it out though if she actually tries to research more," Ren said sternly, "And on that note, we should be training right now."
"We've trained enough!" Nora groaned out, "We should take some time to-"
"We don't have time!" Ren interrupted in an aggressive manner.
Ruby couldn't help but give a slightly worried look as she watched the two walk ahead of her, having slowed down a bit at the outburst. She shook her head, not liking the bad feeling that was still creeping up in the back of her mind.
Remnant – Atlas Movie Theater
"Man, I'm surprised we got tickets," Oscar admitted as he walked with the other four in the lobby of the theater, "Given it was a recent release from what I saw I assumed it'd be sold out."
"Probably helps that everyone's focused on the election," Weiss said, "They're either glued to their screens at home, at watch parties, or having their own gathering events."
"Lucky for us then," Sougo said.
"And that means there's more of a chance for the theater to be emptier than usual," Jaune said.
"So what do we do now?" Oscar asked, "Go get our seats?"
"Sounds like a good idea," Sougo agreed, "We've got to get like the perfect ones! Not too high, but not too low. Just right in the upper middle or so at the center of the row…"
"Sounds like you know your stuff," Weiss said.
"I just have my preferences," Sougo shrugged.
"Hey Oscar, how about you and Weiss scout ahead," Jaune suggested, "Get us some good seats while Sougo and I get all the food."
"Sounds good to me," Weiss said.
Sougo and Jaune went to go stand in a fairly short line to get food and drink while Oscar and Weiss went ahead to save the two some seats. Oscar and Weiss had also made sure to tell the two on what they preferred for drinks while leaving the snack and candy choices up to them. Thankfully it didn't take long for Sougo and Jaune to reach the front of the line, both of them placing their orders and going to self serve their drinks while the workers were getting their trays of snacks and candy ready.
Of course it was going to take a while since a new worker had ended up burning the current batch of popcorn so a new batch had to be made. But that just gave Jaune a bit more time to ask what he needed to.
"Hey Sougo," Jaune said, "Now that we're alone I want to ask you something."
"What kind of something?" Sougo asked, "Is it about the whole Ironwood-"
"No, it's nothing like that," Jaune interrupted and shook his head, "Admittedly I am impressed you managed to come up with all that stuff. Did you practice?"
"I actually did it all on the fly while we were being transported there," Sougo admitted with a nervous smile, "But it sounded believable right?"
"Well he sure believed it," Jaune said, "But that's not what I wanted to talk about."
Sougo raised an eyebrow, "What did you want to talk about then?"
"Sougo…" Jaune paused and took a deep breath, "How do you feel about Weiss?"
"Huh?" Sougo tilted his head in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"You know… I mean, you spent a lot of time with Team RWBY on Earth right?" Jaune asked, "And I was talking to Ruby on a mission a while back, it sounded like you and Weiss spent a lot of time together too compared to the others."
"O-Oh… it was uh… nothing really," Sougo said with a light blush, "All she was doing was just helping me study so I could pass high school."
"I don't think it's just nothing," Jaune admitted as he went to pour the next drink, "I mean Weiss barely goes out of her way to help anyone out as much as she did with you. The last time she did that was Ruby and it was because they were partners."
"Really…?" Sougo asked, "I just thought she was helpful… strict… but helpful."
"I'm just saying, after all of that… could you really just say the two of you are just friends?" Jaune asked.
"I…" Sougo trailed a bit as he thought back to his time on Earth with Weiss.
There were a lot of times during their dealings with the Mirai Another Riders where he was scared for Weiss' safety at certain points. That led to him remembering that she was just as concerned for him as he was with her. More specifically during the Another Zi-O incident where she showed genuine concern for him multiple times compared to the others, even Ruby, and then he finally remembered.
He was surrounded and mobbed by Another Riders, not even Zi-O II was able to break through because they were just overwhelming him. Then he heard her voice…
"Sougo, grab on!"
Then the next thing he knew he was riding a Nevermore Summon. He didn't pay attention to the wording at the time but now that he thought back on it, he remembered what she had said.
"I barely made progress in summoning it before, but I knew I couldn't let you get hurt by Hiryu… so I used that feeling to make it manifest…"
Of course there was a more recent memory that he was stuck thinking about constantly after it had happened. The sudden hug and the very concerning words should have been a dead giveaway to him at the time.
"I don't get it. How could you ever become that…?"
"Looks like you realized it," Jaune said with a small smile as he saw Sougo's reaction.
"I guess… I guess I didn't think about it too much until now," Sougo admitted as he gripped his shirt near his chest before looking down and smiling, "But that explains why I feel the way I do around her, why it feels so nice… and why she's acted the way she does around me, but…"
"Yeah I know, confessing is probably the hardest part," Jaune said before gently putting a hand on Sougo's shoulder, "But that shouldn't scare you off."
"So… you think she feels the same way?" Sougo asked.
"It looked like that from what little I saw," Jaune admitted, recalling the interaction Sougo had with Weiss over her new Huntress look, "I think you'll be fine."
"Yeah… uh, sorry if I'm uh…" Sougo tried to find his words, "I'm still sort of trying to take this all in. This is like the first time I've ever really… How do I even act now? Like…"
"Just keep doing what you've been doing, once she's ready I'm sure she'll come around," Jaune reassured as he firmed up his grip on Sougo's shoulder to help calm him down, "You're a great guy Sougo, even if we haven't known each other that long. You'll do fine when it comes to her."
"Thanks," Sougo smiled.
"Now how about we check and see if the food's ready so we can make sure her and Oscar aren't waiting forever?" Jaune asked.
"Sounds good to me," Sougo nodded as they finished up preparing the drinks before heading off to get the food they ordered.
Remnant – Atlas Academy
Tsukuyomi was currently walking through the halls of Atlas Academy. Her trip to the library had been rather refreshing, especially since she had managed to learn just a bit more about Remnant as a whole. Though she couldn't help but feel a few Atlas specific articles held a bit of bias, at least from what she could tell on wording.
She figured that since everyone was out she'd turn in early and relax at Team Zi-O's room until Sougo and the others returned. Maybe she'd get lucky and the others would end up breaking off from their different events early before returning back.
As she looked around she noted that the academy was fairly empty. She assumed that the other students were at an Election Watch Party she kept hearing about but couldn't care for. What she wasn't expecting was to see Winter sitting on a couch in one of the student lounges scattered across the campus. The eldest Schnee sibling was currently staring at her Scroll which likely held the election results.
Tsukuyomi couldn't help but step forward, "Specialist Schnee?"
"Huh?" Winter looked up and lowered her Scroll to see Tsukuyomi approaching, "Oh Tsukuyomi, what are you doing here? I assumed you'd be off with your friends."
"I didn't really feel like going anywhere tonight," Tsukuyomi admitted as she walked over, "Decided to hit the library and then just wander for a bit."
"That's right, I'm sure you all are quite curious to know more about the world in general given your situation," Winter realized, "How was it?"
"Enlightening," Tsukuyomi said before seeing an empty spot next to the Specialist, "Mind if I…?"
"No go ahead," Winter said, "Admittedly I could use the company. It'd probably be better than worrying over this."
"Do you really think your father is going to win?" Tsukuyomi asked as she went to sit down.
"It's getting really close," Winter said as she decided not to look at the results the Scroll was showing at the moment, "And while pushback from Robyn is expected, it's not our worst case scenario. But if Jacques gets the empty seat…"
"It's because he'll try and do anything to deal with Ironwood," Tsukuyomi said, "Right?"
"Right," Winter nodded as she was actively dreading the potential worst case scenario, "With three seats opposing Ironwood's two, then that means the Council will be able to easily oppose his decisions should they all agree. And while that fear is there with Robyn, I don't think she'd go for the drastic measures Jacques would."
"So I take it everyone else is doing their own thing?" Tsukuyomi asked, deciding to shift the subject slightly.
"Yes, Marrow and Penny are the only ones on duty at the moment," Winter said, "They're both attending Robyn's victory party to make sure nothing happens. The others are on their own, so I chose to simply lounge around in case I'm needed."
"I take it the General's ordered Night Off wasn't just for us then," Tsukuyomi said.
"He did tell me we'd be waking up to a very different world tomorrow," Winter explained, "So I suppose he just wants us all rested and ready for anything that might-"
"Hey are you there, Winter? We've got an urgent transmission from Marrow!" Clover's voice suddenly spoke through her earpiece.
Winter placed two fingers to her earpiece, "What? What's going-"
"And the winner of the Atlas Council election is… Jacques Schnee!" A newscaster's voice called through the Scroll that Winter was holding.
"Oho, thank you, everyone, thank you. It's all because of you. It's a new day in Atlas. We've won, we did it!" The insincere voice of Jacques rung through the empty lounge as both Winter and Tsukuyomi stared in horror while the Specialist raised the Scroll up to see.
There was a long silence before Clover's voice suddenly rang through Winter's ear again.
"Winter, are you there?" Clover asked, "We need you to meet with Penny at the School docks and escort her to Pietro's lab for her safety. Someone's set us up."
"Understood, I'm with Tsukuyomi right now," Winter said, "We'll meet with Penny and make sure she's safe."
"Good, I'll try and get in contact with the others," Clover said before signing off.
"What's going on?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"The worst possible thing that could…" Winter trailed in a grim manner before getting up, "Do you have any of your equipment on you?"
"I always keep my Driver and Ridewatch on me," Tsukuyomi explained as she sat up as well.
"Good, while I'm not expecting a fight it'd still be best to go prepared," Winter said before taking off, Tsukuyomi following after her.
Remnant – Mantle Streets
Earlier, both Geiz and Woz were both trying to find something to do down in Mantle while the Election results slowly but surely came in. Neither of them was paying attention to each other, nor actually suggesting anything, so they just kept walking to see where their walk would take them.
"Streets are mostly empty," Geiz said as he awkwardly tried to make conversation.
"I suppose that's because everyone is trying to do their own things for the Election," Woz answered simply.
"Yeah…" Geiz trailed, unsure of what else to say.
"Indeed…" Woz trailed as well.
"So why not waste time at the movies?" Geiz finally asked.
"Surely you realize my Overlord's current position," Woz said, "Said position involving Miss Schnee."
"Oh," Geiz suddenly knew what Woz was talking about before giving a scoff, "Like he'll even progress tonight."
"You sound so certain," Woz said, "Shall we make a bet?"
"No need to bet," Geiz replied, "I'm sure that nothing major will happen since both Jaune and Oscar are with them. Then again I suppose that's why you kept both of us from accepting, wasn't it?"
"Indeed," Woz smiled, "I figured that the less in that group the better a chance of them moving forward might happen."
"Well you might be right about that," Geiz sighed, "Honestly despite saying it's not likely to happen I do want it to happen soon. I'm tired of them being clearly attracted to each other but not realizing it."
"Yes, there are already quite a few of those," Woz said, "I am glad to see we agree on another thing."
"And the winner of the Atlas Council election is… Jacques Schnee!"
Both Geiz and Woz paused at these words and looked at one of the screens as they watched Jacques give a victory speech.
"We can agree on something else now I'm sure," Geiz said.
"You're right about that," Woz said before glancing at a nearby alleyway, "Geiz."
Geiz quickly turned his attention as his eyes widened, a scorpion Faunus with a prosthetic tail landing in the alleyway with an unnerving laugh.
"Just who is this suspicious Faunus…?" Woz trailed.
"Wait a second…" Geiz almost missed it because of the prosthetic/heavily mechanized scorpion tail but everything else was the same on a description standpoint, "That's one of Salem's goons, Tyrian Callows."
"Oh?" Tyrian suddenly turned as he heard muttering behind him before giving a crazed smile, "I was stopping for a breather but it seems I've been spotted…" He readied his weapons, the weapons being dual wrist blades resembling scorpion pincers with automatic guns equipped. He was ready to rush towards the two when he suddenly paused, "Huh? But I was… fine…" He gave a smile before bowing, "You brats are lucky that I have other places to be… just forget you saw this…"
Without another word he quickly bolted deeper into the alleyway.
"Like hell we will!" Geiz quickly brought out his Zikan Zax and began rushing forward with Woz who brought out his Despear, the two deciding that it would be best to forgo the transformations for now.
And so a chase was now initiated, Tyrian rushing through the alleyways as fast as he could with Geiz and Woz close behind. The two Riders ignored the constant buzzing that their Scrolls were doing as they tried to keep pace with Tyrian. It wasn't long before the sounds of Grimm Sirens began to occur as the areas outside the maze of alleyways began to tint red due to the emergency lights turning on.
Tyrian continued to rush forward before laughing in glee before his chance finally presented itself. He quickly turned the corner as he watched a Manticore Grimm fly above as if eyeing him and the Riders as prey. It wasn't long before the Manticore landed downwards nearby. He rushed and soon began to jump from wall to wall in the alleyway, avoiding the Manticore Grimm that was now running down the path he was going.
The Manticore let out a roar as it charged for the two that were now in its way.
"Crap!" Geiz called out as he and Woz quickly braced with their weapons, Geiz activating his aura as he gritted his teeth as he worked to keep the Manticore from ramming them away. Thankfully Woz was able to help ease the burden.
"Geiz, we need to transform!" Woz called out as he used one hand to put his Driver on before loading his personal Watch, "Henshin!"
"On it," Geiz called out as he used one hand to put his Driver on before loading in his personal Watch, "Henshin!"
[KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!]
[KAMEN RIDER WOZ! WOZ!]
The two's transformations took hold, the rings that circled around them forming and pushing the Manticore back. Geiz and Woz both gathered energy in their weapons before slashing forward and unleashing spinning crescent slashes that cut through the Manticore as it tried to charge at them again. The Manticore could only let out a low growl as it fell forward and dissolved.
"Crap, the hell is going on?" Geiz asked, "Why was that Tyrian guy here? And why would the election end up causing this much panic?"
"Geiz…" Woz tapped his allies arm before pointing at the open alleyway, a special breaking report interrupting one of the broadcasts as footage of Penny attacking civilians in cold blood could be seen, "I think that is also causing our issues."
"Penny? There's no way she could have…" Geiz trailed as he saw this, and this pause was enough for him to feel his Scroll vibrating. Holding it up, he saw Ruby's name on the Caller ID, "Geiz here."
"Geiz thank goodness, we've been trying to reach the others but so far have only gotten through to Blake, Yang, Winter and Tsuki," Ruby spoke through the communications while the sounds of fighting could be heard, "Blake and Yang are on their way and the others are waiting for Penny at Atlas Academy."
"We're in Mantle," Geiz confirmed, "We'll help with Grimm cleanup. Contact us if you have any issues or orders, alright?"
"We will, stay safe," Ruby said before hanging up.
"Shall we get started then?" Woz asked as he quickly made his way into the streets. Three Manticores had landed and were racing along the streets alongside a few Sabyrs that had been lurking around and come out of hiding once the negativity started to rise.
"Let's wrap this up quickly, I could use something to take my anger out on," Geiz admitted as he looked around, noticing that any cameras nearby were pointing downwards or completely shut down. He then drew out the Geiz Revive Ridewatch, "No surveillance, I'm going all out."
"I suppose I can't allow you to best me," Woz said as he drew out the Shinobi Miridewatch.
[RE-VI-I-VE GORETSU~! GORETSU!]
[DARE JA? ORE JA? NINJA! FUTURERING SHINOBI! SHINOBI!]
Geiz Revive Goretsu and Woz Futurering Shinobi both stood together, the former taking out his Zikan Jacklaw in its saw mode while the latter switched the Zikan Despear to its sickle mode.
"I'll leave the small fry to you," Woz performed a hand sign before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"Don't take all the fun," Geiz said as his hand began to twitch due to seeing the video of Penny out of the corner of his eye. The three Sabyrs charged, one leaping at Geiz only to get smacked away by his Jaclaw, it slamming into the corner of a nearby building and immediately dissolving from the force of the impact. He then punched the second one that leapt at him, digging his Jaclaw's saw into its stomach before gripping and tearing into it with his weapon.
The third Sabyr went for a low lunge as it tried to trip Geiz up while he was finishing the second Sabyr. What it wasn't expecting was Geiz to slam his foot into its head, crushing its skull and causing it to dissolve alongside its torn apart brethren.
The three Manticores roared and charged at Geiz, two of them lifting up with their wings as they were planning on diving while the lead charged from the front.
Woz however appeared above the two that were starting to take flight, gripping his weapon as he shined brightly with green energy.
[FINISH TIME! ICHIGEKI KAMAN!]
Woz gave a yell as he launched forward before splitting into numerous clones of himself, all of them slicing past the Manticore's and tearing them into pieces. Despite its allies dying out the lead Manticore roared out as it tried to slam into Geiz.
Geiz meanwhile braced and held his hand out, catching the Manticore by the top of its mouth as he barely budged. Revive Goretsu's extreme strength and endurance was something he enjoyed having when it came to fodder like this. He then raised his hand as he initiated his Jaclaw's special attack.
[POWERED NOKO! NOKO SETSUZAN!]
Geiz gave a yell as he slammed his weapon into the Manticore's skull, digging in further and further as orange energy exploded out, completely engulfing the Manticore's head and destroying it. Geiz began to pant as the Manticore began to dissolve before standing straight as he surveyed the situation. There were several more Manticore flying in due to the amount of panicking and negativity occurring.
"This is going to be a long night…" Geiz gripped his fist as he began to walk forward to continue fighting.
Remnant – Atlas Academy
Winter and Tsukuyomi were both rushing down the steps that led to the docks of Atlas Academy. It wasn't long before they managed to make it just in time as Penny quickly flew forward before landing. Though it was clear that being framed had done a number to her morale as she was completely silent and looking down with distraught.
"Penny, are you alright?" Winter asked.
"Penny?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"I'm…" Penny held her arms close as she wasn't sure how to feel, "I… I was only trying to help…"
"Oh Penny…" Tsukuyomi said before quickly rushing over and giving Penny a hug, "It's alright, you'll be alright."
Winter gave a soft smile at Tsukuyomi's willingness to comfort Penny before holding a finger up to her communicator, "General?"
"Winter, is Penny secure?" Ironwood asked.
"She just arrived sir," Winter said as she began to walk forward, "Tsukuyomi and I have the situation under control."
"Good, make sure she gets to Pietro's lab without any trouble and be on standby," Ironwood said, "We've already got people down there taking care of the issues but I'm afraid I'm going to need to take drastic measures."
"Understood… sir…" Winter said, realizing the drastic measures meant more patrols and soldiers on the streets, and she could only imagine what the public would think of that. For now however she just needed to focus on her mission which was to keep Penny safe. She walked forward, "Penny, we should get you to your Father's lab."
"It'll be safer there," Tsukuyomi reassured as she shifted from hugging Penny to having her arm wrapped around her.
Penny gave a nod before being led by both Tsukuyomi and Winter towards the Academy. Tsukuyomi though couldn't help but inwardly worry as she had a strong feeling this was only the start of the situation escalating into something worse.
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"He's probably trying to figure out something we missed"
"This is the worst case scenario."
"It's a big risk he's taking."
"Isn't the most important part of the Kingdom the people?"
"Sorry but that's checkmate."
Chapter 76: A Grim Aftermath
Author's Note: So as most people have been guessing, and this is pretty much the big chapter where I confirm it… yes, Sougo and Weiss are a ship for the story. I'm genuinely glad that people are enjoying some Frozen Time, I'd like to thank my supervisor Josh for the name suggestion back when it was first conceived in November of 2020 and I'd also like to give shoutouts to a reader, SymphogearPug, who managed to guess the name of it a while back.
Aside from that there's not a lot to talk about with this chapter. It was very much a slow one with a minor fight scene at the end. I do enjoy Revive Goretsu and how much of an unrelenting tank it is, so writing it has been fun. Fun fact though, Tyrian's chase scene was inspired by the V7 commentary where they mentioned they wanted to try something like that in his fight against Qrow, Robyn and Clover but couldn't work it in.
That being said, RWBY returns on the 18th with V9, and I guess with Roze back in full force you all will be getting a double dose of RWBY content for quite a while. It's been a while since V8 and I'm curious as to what they've got cooking in V9. With all that said, thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time.