"You know, all things considered, being stuck here isn't so bad." They could make do without the Three Stooges though but Ryoko supposed they were bearable when they weren't possessing their bodies.
After Ritsuka and Ryotaro ran ahead into the portal, they (and by that, mainly Ciel and Emu) managed to force the battalion of monsters that got in their way to retreat through another Aurora Curtain. Ritsuka had also left behind the Rider Pass so after bidding goodbye to Emu— who told them to give Ritsuka his regards —the group of time-travellers returned to the DenLiner where they realised their newest problem.
None of them had any idea where Ritsuka or Ryotaro could be. They couldn't even be sure those two (well, three) were still in 2017.
The Owner didn't answer their questions at all, citing passenger confidentiality or something like that. The Taros also said they couldn't feel Ryotaro anymore because of whatever Another Den-O did to them.
With no leads, all they could do was wander King Station until something came up. The Imagins mentioned that they had an ally that had a time train of their own so they could use that instead if they had a lead.
"Madam, you know a frown doesn't really suit you. What can I do to turn it upside down?" Oh, and Ciel had the additional misfortune of dealing with Urataros's flirting. If only he wasn't an ally, she thought. She tried her best to ignore it and if that wasn't enough, a good non-verbal threatening with her Black Keys was enough to dissuade him for a couple of hours.
"Hmm… You guys willing to bet it wouldn't be long for them?" Tetsuya suddenly spoke up while they were walking on one of the platforms. The DenLiner was about to depart again but without a ticket, there was little reason for them to be on board.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Ciel.
"You remember how a couple of months passed for me and Ryoko in Blade's World—"
"And it was only a couple days for Ritsuka and me. I get it," Ciel sighed. It sounded probable with all the time travel they were doing.
"If they continue taking the train, it shouldn't be a problem," Kintaros told them. "There are countermeasures in place to keep travellers from being too out of sync from their present. Once you all return to the future, the appropriate time would've passed."
"So…?"
"So you'll all be experiencing the same amount of time across the timestream."
"Ah, thank you." Kintaros was so far the most helpful out of all the Taros, Ciel realised.
"The DenLiner is now departing the station. Please stay behind the white line." The PA system announced. The doors of the DenLiner closed with a hiss before it slowly chugged along the rails and picked up speed.
"Think they have a restaurant around here."
"There are several actually. They're on the other side of the station, over this wa—"
"WAIT!" A shout echoed across the platform, making most of the time travellers around pause as they wondered who was being called. It turned out whoever was shouting was doing so at the departing DenLiner. On the other side of the platform from Ciel's group, they saw someone running through the crowds to chase after the train. For the untrained eye, one can only pick out the rushing man's light brown jacket and a mop of ruffled black hair.
Ciel, however, could see better than the normal person. She caught a glimpse of the young man's face and two thoughts ran through her head. The first was wanting to know why he was here. The second was that things were getting more and more complicated.
The others had more simple thoughts though— "How do you be late for a time-travelling train?"
"Madam, do you know who that is? You seem to recognise him." Say what you will about him; Urataros was good at reading people.
"It's… nothing." It could possibly be him either way. Across all of space-time, people with similar must have popped up here and there. It could just be someone who happened to look like him.
"Ah, he just jumped onto the back of the train."
"What a particular fellow… Here's hoping the Owner doesn't kick him off in the middle of the desert."
Yeah… it couldn't possibly be him…
Chapter 34: Temporal Escapades
Christmas morning, 2008…
"So let me get this straight: you and this guy have been hopping around the timeline to stop that noisy nuisance from…"
"Erasing all of us from history… somehow."
"Alright, I think I got everything," nodded Kivat (even though he was mostly a head), "And I'll be saving myself a headache by resuming my beauty sleep. Good night all." Without missing a beat, Kivat flew upstairs to his perch and went back to sleep.
That left the three humans (well, one was half-human) and single Imagin to talk around the dining table. The first to speak was Hakuno, who summed up what he thought of the situation pretty well.
"That sounds… complicated."
It wasn't that complicated really. The chase with Another Den-O was pretty simple—it was all the Riders who were living in the past like everything was normal that hurt Ritsuka's head.
Speaking of Another Den-O, he somehow gave them the slip again. Ritsuka blamed Momotaros for that one; he had no idea how the Imagin managed to cause all of them to slip and pile up like that.
"Sorry for causing trouble for you, Kishinami-san. Especially on Christmas," Ryotaro, ever the apologist, tried to say sorry but Hakuno was having none of that.
"Don't worry about it. This whole Another Rider business is nothing new. Not after all that happened in the past few days…" Hakuno sighed.
"The past few days…? Another Kiva was yesterday for you?" That made sense and not at the same time. Swartz did make it on the night of December 24th.
Hakuno nodded to his question, "Yes, all of that was yesterday… right?" Suddenly, Hakuno didn't seem too sure about it himself. "It was definitely yesterday… I think."
"You think?" Ritsuka sighed at his hesitancy but there was little use worrying about it now. They could do that later.
Ryotaro, meanwhile, wanted to know more about Hakuno's experience with his Another Rider. He asked about it and Hakuno answered, "It was… confusing? I suppose that's the best word to describe the whole situation. I spent a couple of days not existing and then before I could understand what was going on, I was dragged… I was dragged…" a frown appeared on Hakuno's face as he tried to recall the precise sequence of events. "Well, I was dragged somewhere by Jiro–he's sort of a butler of mine–and fought Another Kiva in this church."
"And you beat him?"
"Her, apparently, but yes," he nodded. "And that was yesterday… I think."
"Sounds like your brain got all messed up too– ow ow ow!"
"Be respectful. We're guests, don't forget," Ritsuka scolded Momo while shaking his head by the horn. After a few seconds of that, he turned his attention to Hakuno, "Can you help us track Another Den-O down? We'll be out of your hair as soon as we defeat him." Or more likely, Another Den-O jumping further into the past. Ritsuka still had more tickets after all.
Hakuno's response was a simple smile—"You didn't even need to ask."
Since his appearance would frighten people (and he would generally cause more trouble), Momotaros had to stay behind as the three ventured into town. It was still early in the morning and combined with it being a holiday, there weren't many pedestrians around nor were there many stores open. As such, there was basically nobody for them to ask for help.
The holiday spirit was definitely in the air though. Ritsuka noticed various decorations at nearly all the stores' front. He even saw a couple of Christmas trees and fake snowmen set up here and there.
To fill the silence, the group soon engaged in conversation again— mainly prompted by Ryotaro noticing Hakuno staring at him.
"Is there something on my face?"
"No, it's just that…" Hakuno trailed off as his face scrunched up. After a moment of deep thought, he asked, "Have we met before? I feel like we have…"
"Not that I recall," shrugged Ryotaro. "Unless you met a future me too."
'Okay, has everyone met Ryotaro?' This was what? The third time including himself? It made some sense, of course. If Ryotaro was kicking around for the next 14 years, he'd run into a few other Riders here and there. But two out of the three Riders they bumped into so far on this temporal (mis)adventures knew who Den-O was.
"Hmm… I'm sure it'll come back to me later," Hakuno muttered as he decided to file his feeling of recognition for later. For now, he should be focusing on his task. After a few more minutes, it was decided it was better if they split up. Ritsuka initially had problems with letting Ryotaro go off on his own; his terrible luck combined with his inability to transform worried him but Ryotaro eventually convinced them he would be fine.
"Here's hoping we don't find him in another tree again," Fujimaru chuckled in his head as they split up and went off in their own directions.
Elsewhere…
At around the same time, organ music filled the mostly empty cathedral; the priest played the instrument expertly and gracefully, enjoying this downtime away from the tasks he was supposed to do. He was already aware of the two presences that entered his nave but they could time to enjoy the skill he had been honing for centuries.
His playing soon slowed down as the piece came to an end. Breathing a heavy sigh of contentment from finishing the song, Bishop finally addressed the other two in the hall. "I informed Swartz that I'll be attending to my duties in my World and would like not to be disturbed," he spoke with his usual tone before getting up from his seat and facing the man and monster, "Why are you here, Phantom? I have little interest in helping your organisation at the moment."
"I don't like that tone of yours, Fangire." If Bishop was going to call him by his species, then it was only right Spriggan did the same. "Need I remind you, you have also sworn fealty to our Great Leader."
Spriggan's reminder only made Bishop scoff. "Need I remind you, the throne of your 'Great Leader' has been empty for a long time. Not only was my declaration of loyalty ceremonial at best, but so were most of the others. In these circumstances, my loyalty goes to the Fangire throne first." Even if the throne of the Great Leader was filled, Bishop would still be loyal to his King first and foremost… ignoring him staying his hand and allowing the previous King to be assassinated.
Spriggan could only seeth in anger at what Bishop said; he was correct, but that didn't mean it wasn't disrespectful.
"But for the sake of my professional relationship with Swartz, I shall aid you. Under the condition you help me with a certain… issue I have." Bishop negotiated but didn't wait for Spriggan to agree. "What do you require my help for?"
While it pained him now to accept Bishop's aide, Spriggan swallowed his pride for the sake of his mission. "We are to safeguard this Another Rider and help him find passage to the past. His own mission is to…"
"Is to what?"
"I… have not been informed what his task is. All I know is that he has to go further into the past until he reaches the correct date," Spriggin finished his brief.
Bishop changed focus and eyed the red monster accompanying Spriggan. A faint sense of familiarity went through the Fangire priest and he studied Another Den-O. It took a minute before he recalled where and when he had seen the Another Rider before. When he realised that, he couldn't keep his amusement down and laughed, much to Spriggan's irritation and confusion.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing… I just figured out what that whole debacle was all those years ago." It had been nearly two decades since that confusing incident and only now did he understand it. Time travel was truly an interesting mess to understand. "Unfortunately, my King has gifted the castle to his siblings as an apology for his father's actions. Had he not, we could easily send this Another Rider to the past."
"So? What do you have planned? Searching for the right person for him to jump through would be too troublesome." Why Swartz did not just use the Aurora Curtains to send Another Den-O back as he did him, Spriggan didn't understand. It wasn't his place to question it, however; he'd follow his leader's command to the T to the best of his abilities.
Bishop gave the matter some thought. He had a semblance of an idea about how the Imagins travel through time and answered, "Without knowing when his destination is, there's little I could do to expedite his mission. My own memories may not take him far enough back or make him overshoot." While taking the slow path could be an option, that would just give their enemy plenty of chances to stop Another Den-O.
That meant they had to do things the hard way, and on Christmas too. In the meantime, they could also deal with Bishop's little problem.
With Ritsuka…
Not too much time had passed since they had split up and Ritsuka… was lost. As it turned out, his knowledge of the city was out of date; he was walking around with the idea it was 2022. As it turned out, the city 14 years ago was different enough from the present day. It wasn't long before he took a wrong turn here and there and found himself with no idea where he was.
"Where's a landmark when you need one?" Ritsuka quietly sighed to himself as he walked alongside a river; he was being reflected in the slow-moving water. He just hoped he'll find someone who could give him direction soon.
In the absence of anyone to talk to, his mind eventually wandered back to his current situation. Not the Another Rider they were hunting, but the altered years.
"Emu was in 2017… Gentaro was in 2012… and now Haku is in 2008…" He mumbled. It was obvious that something was wrong but… at the same time, it felt right. Ritsuka didn't know why he felt like that, but he suspected his missing memories are to blame… again.
Naturally, since he was thinking about it, Fujimaru added his two cents— "What really confuses me is why this is happening now. This doesn't usually happen until later."
Ritsuka couldn't stop himself from glancing at his reflections. Sure enough, he saw Fujimaru dressed in his usual attire walking alongside him. Unlike nearly every other time, Ritsuka decided to humour himself and talk to him.
…He was going insane, wasn't he?
"Do you have an idea why this is all happening?" Ritsuka asked which Fujimaru answered with a cryptic yes and no. "You're really useless to me, aren't you?"
"Hey, I'm still trying to figure it all out myself!" Fujimaru pouted. "It doesn't make sense for Swartz to do this. He'd only end up losing if Another Den-O erases all of us from existence… again."
"Again?"
"I don't mean him; I mean that someone had succeeded in erasing Rider history in the past," the reflection elaborated… before adding a moment after, "Actually wait. Swartz has erased Riders from existence before. It didn't stick, obviously, but this goes way beyond just a few Riders here and there."
It took a couple of seconds for Ritsuka to figure out he was referring to the Another Kiva incident… probably. "And why does he end up losing if—"
"Because his main schtick is creating Another Riders. If all Riders get erased, then there's no history for him to steal from… I think."
"Stop backtracking on yourself."
"Hey, you try understanding all this time business and then we'll see who's backtracking on themselves," Fujimaru retorted. "In any case, he himself might get erased too if whatever he's planning works. Even if there's a one-percent chance of that happening, Swartz wouldn't risk non-existence for anything… maybe."
Maybe Fujimaru had a point but the fact Swartz is carrying out this challenge for him proves that isn't the case. Unless Swartz believed the rewards outweigh the potential consequences but that must be something truly amazing. The only other explanation would be… he didn't care if he wins or loses. If that was the case, why make this challenge in the first place?
"Swartz is a man who knows what he wants and does anything and everything for it," Fujimaru stated. "He wouldn't do this for the hell of it; it's for the sake of something and not knowing what that something is is worrying me. And if it worries me, it worries you."
Try as much as he would, Ritsuka couldn't deny that something didn't sit right. And there was the other elephant in the room. "Why are the Worlds like this? Everyone's living in the same universe now and in different years too."
Ritsuka knew Fujimaru had an answer for that— he said so himself not even five minutes ago —but what was his reflection's reply?
"Oh that? You don't need to worry about that yet," Fujimaru once again gave a non-answer. "All I can say for now is Swartz has nothing to do with that. You can take my word for it."
"That doesn't mean much to me," Ritsuka bluntly said, which made Fujimaru huff.
"You're so irritating, you know that?"
"You are too."
"Then that just means being irritating is part of being Fujimaru Ritsuka, when both true and real have that trait," laughed Fujimaru, sounding amused now at their banter. "Anyway, just go wander around for a bit. You'll get into trouble sooner or later and speed this investigation along."
That sounded easy enough… right?
"A red monster with horns for eyes… Have you seen one?" It was certainly an odd question but not something too out of the ordinary for the city. Even with knowledge of the Fangire's existence being kept tightly under wraps, rumours of monsters running around the city still made their way through the public.
Still, that didn't mean Hakuno find anyone who could point him in the right direction. The uncrowned prince of the Fangires soon found himself loudly sighing out of frustration; all leads were either useless and pointed him to a Fangire or another sort of dead end.
"Maybe I should get those two to scout for me…" He muttered to himself, thinking about Kiva and Tatsulot who were back home sleeping. "And here I thought I could get some rest on Christmas."
A part of him had been excited for this day as this would be the first time he'd actually have real friends and family to spend with. Sure, his sister and he were close being twins and all, but they usually spent the last decade's worth of Christmas by themselves and their bats. Jiro and the others usually only give them gifts and rarely have they spent the day with them. However, this year they reunited with Taiga after so long (and learned they were truly half-siblings), and befriended Keisuke and Megumi. While it was without a doubt it'd be awkward for Fangire Hunters to be in the same room as the new King of the Fangires— and a fight would more than likely break out between them —Hakuno had hoped it'll turn out fine.
And if a fight does break out, Emperor Form could deal with both Saga and IXA. Especially now that he had the Zanvat. It'd be even easier if Hakunon and Kiva-la helped instead of just watching like they usually did.
"That reminds me, I should get them something too…" While it may not be Christmas for them, Hakuno still thought he should get Ritsuka and Ryotaro something. There was nothing like last-minute Christmas shopping; he just needed to figure out what they like… aside from regicide for Ritsuka. Looking back, he was a bit too fast in suggesting they kill Taiga's father.
Either that or Ritsuka liked killing in general.
"Maybe a sword would be nice…" Was there a waiting period for purchasing a sword? Or maybe Taiga has something in the treasury he inherited from his father. The King had lived for centuries; surely he had picked a few things here and there.
As Hakuno was walking around thinking about Christmas gifts, his train of thought was eventually interrupted by someone calling out his name.
"Ah! Hakuno-kun! Over here!"
Hakuno easily recognised the voice even as he turned towards the source. Sure enough, at the other end of the sidewalk was the ever-cheerful Kuzu Megumi, waving her arm trying to get his attention as she made her way to him.
"Oh, good morning, Kuzu-san."
His formal way of greeting her, however, made Megumi puff her cheeks. "Hey, how many times do I have to tell you? You can just call me Megumi. We've all been through enough together."
She wasn't wrong, the number of times they've gotten into trouble with each other (mainly due to a Fangire running amok) was uncountable at this point. Still, he wanted to be respectful to her.
"What are you doing out so early anyway? Most shops aren't opening for another couple hours?"
"It's… complicated," Hakuno answered. "You remember Fujimaru-san, right?"
Upon hearing that name, Megumi's mood immediately soured and she scowled. "Oh, that guy. What about him?" It was clear she didn't think highly of him after the stunt he pulled all those months back. While he did help them kill the King, Ritsuka still helped the Fangires for a bit. She'd definitely not like what he was going to say next.
"Well… he's back in town and—" Hakuno immediately shut up at the cold glare Megumi gave him. Her scowl turned into a thin line as what Hakuno said sunk in.
"…Where is he? I just want to… talk with him." Her tone suggested that was not her intention with Ritsuka…
Hakuno didn't want to lie… but luckily he didn't know where Ritsuka was either and told her so.
"You really can be useless, you know that?" She grumbled at him before sighing. Hakuno tried to apologise (even though he didn't quite feel bad about it) only for her to say it was fine. "I'll just keep an eye out for him. But just to be clear, he'll be getting divine judgement—preferably from Minami's blade."
'Good luck with that.' He didn't want any of them getting hurt… but if Keisuke gets injured trying to punish Ritsuka, then that's his fault. "So what are you doing up so early?" Knowing Megumi, she wouldn't be caught dead being awake before 10am especially since it was the holidays.
Hakuno's question just made her scoff in annoyance, "Why else? Had to pull an all-nighter. This latest case has been causing a stir and that means the big man is making us work 24/7."
Now that she mentioned it, Hakuno noticed bags under her eyes. "Uh… my condolences…" He sympathised with her plight.
"Can't you get your brother to deal with this?" She complained-slash-requested.
"Taiga…" —doesn't actually care, Hakuno wanted to say. Despite the new King being more open to humanity because of his half-siblings' origins, Taiga still looked down on humans. As such, he wouldn't lift a finger to help them unless the Fangire broke one of the laws.
Feeding on humans, unfortunately, was still not against the laws.
"No sense complaining about it now, I guess. I better head home and get some sleep," Megumi covered her mouth as she yawned; exhaustion was finally catching up to her. "Oh, before I forget, are we all still on for later?"
"Assuming nothing comes up—" Or to be more accurate, they solve their current issues. "—then we're all good for dinner."
"Sounds good," she hummed before yawning again. "See you later then. Say hi to your sister for me."
Megumi gave him a short wave goodbye as she turned around and went off; Hakuno waved back in return.
"That reminds me…" Hakuno thought to himself. "What's she up to? Jiro said she was off doing something on her own…" A part of him was worried but if Kiva-la was with her, then Hakunon would be fine. He just wished Jiro would tell him where she actually went. The only hint their butler was willing to give was that she "wanted the chance to experience the past".
Oh well, so long as she returned before dinner, she was free to do as she wished.
As soon as he took his first step though, a familiar tune rang in his head. 'A Fangire?'
It had to be for the Bloody Rose to start playing. A more serious expression appeared on Hakuno's face before he took off, following his instincts towards the rampaging Fangire. Kivat would meet him there; the Bloody Rose would signal him and Tatsulot back home.
"This church is…" Ritsuka, after a bit more wandering, finally came across a familiar location. It was the church where he and Ciel first ran into Otoya and Noel during the Another Kiva incident.
'And all of that was yesterday…' He was already feeling a headache coming again. Even discounting how time moves differently between different Worlds, he still couldn't understand how the final confrontation would've gone if everything happened here in 2008. They defeated Another Kiva in the present and the past at the same time and that couldn't have happened in this new history… right?
It really depends on if Another Kiva's birth was also pushed back, he supposed.
Ritsuka wandered the courtyard in front of the church deep in thought, he was interrupted by yet another headache: "Ritsuka-kun~"
"Oh great, he's here too."
If it's not one of them, it's the other— Ritsuka mentally grumbled.
Ritsuka turned around to see the other person capable of giving him a headache thanks to their presence alone. "How are you here?"
Takaragi Yuu's reply was, naturally, irritating to him, "Don't sweat the small details. You'll just give yourself a migraine."
"Your presence is already giving me one."
"Ouch," Takaragi feigned hurt once again. His pained expression lasted all of five seconds before his cheerful grin returned. "But I'm sure you'd prefer having a headache over being erased from existence again," Takaragi said as he walked past Ritsuka.
"Again?" The amnesiac questioned with a raised eyebrow.
He turned around as Takaragi explained, "From what I heard anyway. You did up and vanished for a while and no one knew who you were besides those hiding outside of time's gaze. It was only thanks to Swartz rallying the Worlds together that you were found."
Ritsuka realised Takaragi was talking about his "exile" to the World he woke up in years before. "I wouldn't consider that being erased from existence."
"Maybe not, but as far as the Rider Worlds were concerned, you didn't exist to them for a period of time," Takaragi shrugged. "If nobody knew or cared that you existed, can you truly say you existed? What was it he would say… Time is memory— so long someone remembers you, you exist? I'm pretty sure that guy was quoting someone though."
"Who are you talking about?" Ritsuka felt like he should know but nothing came to mind yet. "You still haven't explained why you're here."
"Welllllll—" Takaragi drew out, his pitch raising a bit. "After some thinking, I realised something."
"Please stop talking. I don't think I wanna hear it."
"Trust me, I dislike the conclusion I came to too," Takaragi grumbled with a frown. "Since we all have a common goal— not being erased from history —we'll have a truce. Until we stop Another Den-O, you won't have to worry about me shooting you in the back again."
"And why should I agree with that?" Why he should listen to anything Takaragi has to say was the better question. Of course, the logical part of him knew that as a Kamen Rider, Takaragi would be wiped from existence too should Another Den-O succeed so they did have a common interest.
"You don't need to agree, I'm doing it anyway," Takaragi scoffed, "Even if it pains me too. To make up for my last stunt, I shall accompany you for the rest of this jour— hey! Don't just walk away!"
Takaragi chased after Ritsuka who was already walking away. The latter didn't care for what direction, just that he was walking away from Takaragi. It was too bad the thief noticed him sneaking away earlier than intended.
Lastly, with Ryotaro, his own search had ironically been fruitful. With the terrible luck he normally had (even if it was generally getting caught in accidents), it surprised even him when he finally found someone who had seen Another Den-O.
A jogger had told him that he saw a horned monster skulking around a church across town and unless there was another monster running around (which was actually not unlikely), it was Another Den-O. Now Ryotaro had another problem on his hands— two, actually. Namely, he had no idea where the others were or how to contact them, and that they still had no way of defeating the false Den-O. It was his and the Taros' abilities needed to end him once and for all. Without being able to transform, they couldn't stop Another Den-O even if they do find him…
Ryotarotook out his transformation belt and stared solemnly at it. 'If I can't transform, then what good am I?' It was basically all he was good for, being a Singularity Point and Den-O. Now that the latter was taken away and the former would soon no longer matter with how greatly Another Den-O was going to alter history, he was essentially a nobody with terrible luck.
'But I can't just sit back and do nothing either…'
That's right; even all he could do was be a target, it was better than doing nothing. Ryotaro steeled himself and took off in the direction the jogger pointed. Being able to transform or not, he was still a Kamen Rider and he had to do something.
King's Station…
"That wou… be…'am." Ciel overheard the vendor tell Ryoko.
The group were exploring the station when Ryoko was suckered into purchasing some things by a street vendor selling "authentic" historical artifacts for cheap. It was more than likely a scam but as Ryoko put it, "Getting scammed by a time-traveller is still worth something."
…Ciel didn't understand what she was getting at but neither she nor Tetsuya couldn't stop her.
There were a couple other street vendors selling more mundane things that the others were looking at. Ciel, meanwhile, decided to sit down at a bench a bit off to the wayside to rest her legs. Now that she thought about it, they hadn't taken the time to rest much since this whole time-travelling started.
Once again, she found herself exhausted by the misadventures of Fujimaru Ritsuka and he wasn't even here!
"Where is he…?" She muttered maybe a bit too loudly. Ritsuka could be anywhere and anywhen and they had absolutely no clue where he could be—
"Missing someone?" Her thoughts were interrupted by the man sitting next to her. She glanced at him and took in his appearance.
The man, at a single glance, had nothing that stood out. The most he had that earned Ciel's attention was the deck of Tickets he was shuffling in his hands. However, she could tell that there was something shifty about him but she didn't sense any ill intentions.
"Yes," she cautiously replied. "A couple from my group had gone off somewhere on their own and we're trying to find them." Ciel tried not to give away too much.
"Here in the station or are they lost somewhere in the timestream?"
"The latter."
At her answer, the man grinned. "Then I'm your man. If you're looking for information on time travellers, I know a thing or two." The man spoke in a hushed tone.
'An information broker?' Ciel thought. While any help was needed, she was still wary; even if he didn't seem hostile, she couldn't let her guard down around him. She didn't even know yet what he'd want in exchange for giving her a hint. "And your price?"
"A ticket—" the broker sharply answered and raised one of his own as emphasis. "—with your strongest memory attached. For that, I'll tell you everything I know… within reason."
As a novice time-traveller, Ciel wasn't too sure if that was a good deal or not. The broker noticed her hesitation and quickly offered a deal to convince her.
"How about this? I give you something free-of-charge. If it interests you, then pay up and I'll tell you more. Just say who you're looking for."
"...Very well." They didn't have many options and this would surely not come to bite them in the butt in the future… maybe… "The person I'm looking for is Fujimaru Ritsuka."
The broker had a look of deep thought on his face and for a few moments, Ciel thought it was another dead end. Luckily, the man proved her wrong. "Kamen Rider… Decade, correct?" Ciel was about to say yes when the man continued, "The new one, I mean?"
"The new one?" That was the first she's ever heard of another Decade but it wasn't important at the moment.
"So your friend never mentioned it, huh?" The man looked like he was about to break out into laughter but stayed professional. "I'll give that out for free too since that wasn't the info you wanted. As for where or when he is now… What year are you all from?"
"2022."
"...Oh right, that wouldn't work out since he's involved," the broker sighed. "That's the pain when dealing with Kamen Riders, you know? Time gets very muddy when they're involved with it and time travel doesn't even need to be in the equation," he rambled on for a bit before noticing Ciel's annoyed glare. "Alright, alright, I'll get to it… Let me think of something else…"
'This is useless,' Ciel mentally groaned.
However, yet again, the information broker proved her wrong. "Decade… actually, now that I think about it, I heard that he and Den-O had been messing around in the past lately. A couple of passengers were gossiping about it. He's apparently been jumping around here and then according to them."
"When?!" Ciel asked a bit too loudly for her liking but the broker wasn't going to give out that information easily.
"Nah-ah-ah. Remember our deal," the broker smirked before presenting her with an empty ticket. "Do give me a good date, I'm missing a couple in my collection. "
Ciel hesitated for a few moments but gave in and took the ticket.
"Just think about the most important memory in your life. The ticket would do the rest," he instructed her.
She closed her eyes and focused on her past. Her strongest memory was naturally the one that still haunted her to this day. It pained her to recall that time but she kept her emotions in check and kept a neutral face. When she opened her eyes, there was now a date on the ticket.
21 years later and she was still going back to it. At least she didn't have to look at the date for long as the broker took it out of her hands.
"2001, huh?" The man read the year on the card. "What a coincidence actually."
"What do you mean?" Ciel's tone was flatter than a few moments earlier.
"One of the years those passengers actually saw Decade running around was 2001," the broker revealed. He pocketed her ticket and said, "1999 and 1989 were also some years that were flying around but getting to 2001 is your best shot at finding him. In my opinion, of course."
'Of course he is…' Ciel mentally groaned again but at least they now had three leads. Sure, one of those leads pointed to the worst year in her entire life but that was better than nothing… maybe…
"And that is all I know," the broker sounded proud of himself. He then sat up and before walking away, told her. "Pleasure doing business with you. If you need any more intel, just come to me~" The man left Ciel be and disappeared into a crowd of commuters.
Now left with her thought again, all Ciel could think of is how much trouble Ritsuka must be in to be the talk of time travellers. 'Well, no use in sitting around now…' She stood up and went to rejoin the others who were still window shopping…
2008…
After a whole night of staking out, patrolling, and investigating, Minami Keisuke wanted nothing more than return home and rest. There was just one problem with that— as soon as he entered his apartment, he got a call from one of Blue Sky's informants.
"Some of my men just reported that some demons are now running around in the northern parts of town. Not sure if it's the guy your hunting but it's worth looking into."
And there he was out on the streets again. While the smarter option was to get some much-needed rest, Keisuke wasn't that much into doing the smart thing over the right thing. The Fangire needed judgement cast down on them and it was his job to deliver it. He could rest later and enjoy that Christmas dinner with the Kishinamis without worrying about his job.
That being said, he was now severely regretting his decision when he was ambushed by a bunch of golem-like footmen. There was, fortunately, nobody around so didn't need to worry about that and focus solely on fighting. Even sleep-deprived, he was able to dodge the golems' spears and knock them down with ease. Problem was, they got back to their feet just as quickly and he was soon surrounded.
"Persistent bastards…" Keisuke glared at the monsters around him. He naturally wasn't concerned; he was sure the IXA Calibur could put them down for good— but before he could put on the IXA Belt, the golems' leader showed himself.
"And you must be… Kamen Rider IXA, right?"
The circle of golems parted, letting Keisuke see their leader. As an expert Fangire hunter, he immediately deduced the monster was not one of the life-eaters he faced on a regular basis. "Who are you? Are you in leagues with the Fangires?" Keisuke steadied his stance. "Depending on your answer, I will have to cut you down."
It was clear he may have to do so regardless, Keisuke wanted to know why they were attacking him and their connection with the Fangires. It was fortunate then that the monster was more than willing to speak.
"My name is Spriggan, IXA!" The so-called Spriggan declared with full confidence. He then spoke through gritted teeth (even though he didn't have a movable mouth) his purpose, "And I am here to eliminate a threat to our operations: you."
On one hand, it sounded terrible for him; on the other hand, it meant he was actually getting close to the truth behind this Fangire case. "In that case, you'll be the one to fall here, demon."
Keisuke reached inside his jacket for his belt but had to narrowly dodge a beam attack from Spriggan. Now that their leader went on the offensive, his grunts resumed attacking Keisuke.
Despite their (somewhat) coordinated movements, they still failed to stop him from putting on the IXA Belt and taking out the Knuckle.
READY!
"Henshin!"
FIST ON!
He transformed in an instant just as Spriggan came into melee range and tried to cut his head off. The Phantom's blade was parried by the IXA's own sword and the former got slashed across the chest for his troubles.
Spriggan recovered quickly from the blow as his Ghouls rushed to overpower IXA. 'Damn you Bishop, you really know how to pick your targets,' he cursed the Checkmate Four member. If he didn't know better, Bishop could've just sent him out here to be killed while the Fangire continued playing that damned organ in his cathedral.
In truth, Bishop couldn't care less if Spriggan died trying to kill IXA or not. If the Phantom failed, it was no skin off his back but if he succeeded, then the Fangires had one less problem to deal with albeit most likely temporary. IXA was a tough opponent and it'd only be a boon to them if he was eliminated. The Fangires wouldn't lose or gain anything if Spriggan died.
'But I refuse to die here.' If he were to die, he'd rather it be a magician rather than some human who had to close the power gap between their races with technology.
As Spriggan watched him from the sidelines, IXA continued to destroy the platoon of Ghouls with little effort. As he thought, the IXA Calibur which was meant to be used against Fangires worked just as well against these magical foes. He noticed seals with ancient script appearing briefly before the mooks explode into stone chunks. It was of little concern though and he kept his mind on defeating all of them to move onto their boss.
One of the Ghouls' spears, sent flying by its wielder's death, landed some distance behind Spriggan. It laid there for a few moments before silently being picked up. Weapon in hand, they snuck up behind the unsuspecting Phantom and was about to strike the monster in the back.
Unfortunately, Ryotaro didn't have the luck needed to pull it off. Before the tip struck, Spriggan spun around and deflected the spear, disarming him in the process. At least he managed to backstep far enough for Spriggan's sword to whiff him entirely.
"Ah… You're here, Den-O," Spriggan laughed under his breath while pointing his sword at Ryotaro. "And I don't see Decade around. Surely you don't think you could take me on alone when you're unable to transform." If he did, then Den-O was a bigger fool than Spriggan originally assumed.
"Hey, kid! Get out of here!" IXA, noticing Ryotaro was now here, tried to go save him but was stopped by more Ghouls blocking his way.
The human and Phantom slowly moved— the former backward while the latter forward. "You're the only person capable of killing Another Den-O. To make sure his mission will be a success, your life is forfeited!" Spriggan triumphly declared before he tried stabbing Ryotaro.
However, Ryotaro was able to avoid the stab and following slashes. It lasted only for about a minute before Spriggan managed to trip him up and Ryotaro fell on his rear. He still tried to crawl away but a foot on his leg stopped Ryotaro in his tracks.
"Now then, die."
Spriggan raised his sword, ready to bring it down and end Ryotaro's life once and for all. The Phantom would have succeeded too, had a stroke of good luck not save Ryotaro.
ATTACKRIDE: BLAST
Hearing the overlaying voices from his side, Spriggan swiftly raised his shield to protect himself from the barrage of bullets. The recoil from the bullets still forced him back slightly, just enough to allow Ryotaro to escape.
Once the sound of gunfire stopped and he couldn't feel anymore hitting his shield, Spriggan lowered it to see the new interlopers: Decade and DiEnd. The latter was standing slightly behind the former as both had their guns trained on the Phantom.
"...You could've hit me, you know?" Decade said after a moment.
"I do, but I didn't. Does that earn your trust?" DiEnd retorted.
It was another moment before Decade answered: "No."
KAMENRIDE: FAIZ
Decade dashed towards Spriggan as red lines covered his suit. One bright flash later, he transformed into Faiz.
The Phantom who initially wanted to avoid direct combat now found himself engaged in a one-on-one with Kamen Rider Decade. At least it was better than fighting and potentially losing to IXA.
As the two fought, Ryotaro barely got to his feet before DiEnd grabbed him by the arm. "Who—?"
"Sorry but we'll be making a quick escape. Can't have you in danger, can we?" DiEnd playfully said. Ryotaro couldn't get a word out as the thief summoned an Aurora Curtain to whisk them both away.
FORMRIDE FAIZ: AXEL
Start Up!
Before Spriggan could so much as blink, he was sent flying into the air by a high-speed blow. As he was about to crash into the ground, another attack sent him flying back. For the next ten seconds, the Phantom was tossed around by Decade until he finally hit the pavement.
Time Out!
Spriggan, using his sword as support, pushed himself to his feet. Unfortunately for him, as soon as he stood up, he was immediately struck from behind by IXA. The other Rider had finished off the Ghouls and was finally free to fight the Phantom. Without a single word spoken between them, Decade and IXA teamed up against Spriggan. As one landed a blow and stepped back, the other took his place and slashed the Phantom. Under this assault, it wasn't long before Spriggan was finally forced to retreat.
He jumped back and with a last, "Curse you, Decade!", he summoned an Aurora Curtain and disappeared.
'And that's one problem solved.'
"Not really, but we shouldn't be worrying about him for a bit."
Decade let out a long sigh before his suit morphed back to its original form. He was about to leave to go look for Ryotaro and (painfully) Takaragi but was stopped by IXA.
"Hey, wait." An audible sheen filled the air as IXA raised his sword at Decade. "Where do you think you're going?"
'Really?'
"Well, you never did apologise for helping the King last time." For the three days between the assassination and his initial departure from Kiva's World, Ritsuka had avoided the members of Blue Sky. He wasn't in the mood to explain his actions to them back then. "And you still don't want to now."
"Why are you back here?" IXA interrogated him. "Are you helping the Fangires again?"
"No, not this time." Decade was blunt and unworried. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to find a couple of idiots." What else is there to call someone willing to attack a monster with no chance of winning; Ryotaro could have easily died if he arrived a second sooner.
"Do you really think I'll let you go aga—" Ring ring! "—hmm?"
IXA touched the side of his helmet with his free hand; Decade assumed he was taking a call and couldn't help but find it helpful that he could reply while transformed. Whoever was on the other end, however, didn't have good news.
"What?! Where?!" IXA shouted. "...Hold your position, I'm on my way." After presumably hanging up, IXA glanced at Decade. "If you don't want me coming after your head, you better help me with this."
'Great, another problem already.'
"Kuzu and Kishinami are pinned down by a Fangire; follow me."
'…Really?' Decade mentally groaned. At least that explains where Hakuno was. The only thing that could make it worse was if—
"Just to be clear, I'm usually good at picking destinations," DiEnd tried to defend himself as he, Ryotaro, and Momotaros took cover from a firing squad behind some pillars. The safe location he had chosen (a warehouse on the other side of town) was no longer safe as Kiva had been battling a Fangire along with a couple of other monsters there.
He didn't get a good look at which types were here, but they at least included Roidmudes from Drive's World. They were numberless but that didn't change the fact they could still shoot bullets from their fingertips. Luckily, it looked like they didn't have the trademark ability of Slowdown.
Currently, Kiva and that woman helping him were outside the warehouse dealing with the leading monsters while DiEnd was pinned down inside.
"Just get Ryotaro out of here, you blue idiot!" Momotaros screamed at him over the bullet fire. "Unlike you guys, he doesn't have bulletproof armour!"
"Relax, peachy. He'll be fine," DiEnd waved off the Imagin's concern. "I just need to do this—"
KAMENRIDE: MACH
KAMENRIDE: CHASER
Slotting in a pair of Rider Cards, DiEnd summoned the perfect counters to the Roidmudes. The two Riders also from Drive's World, upon materialising, immediately fought the robots and gave their master the opening to get away. "You two, come on!"
The three ran away from the battle, leaving the battle to the summons, and out the massive door. Unfortunately, they had forgotten Kiva was fighting out here and wouldn't you know it— "Get down!" —they nearly ran into an explosion.
"Damn it! Ryotaro, hide there!" Momotaros pushed him towards cover again; some barrels and a forklift this time. Meanwhile, he and DiEnd would help Kiva fight the monsters off.
As Ryotaro ducked behind the industrial equipment, he found himself face-to-face with the woman with the cool gun-whip. "Eh… Hi?" Ryotaro nervously waved at her.
"…And there's some weird guy here too," the woman sighed into her phone. "Just get here quick, Minami." She hung up and put her phone away. "So what brings you to this part of town?"
"AHH! GIANT DINOSAUR!"
"…I knew I should have just gone home. Why did I follow him here…" she sighed and all Ryotaro could do was empathise with her. At least it couldn't get much worse with a triceratops already here…
2001…
What happened after meeting the information broker was a whirl. The Taros took them to their ally with his own time train but ran into another problem: they didn't have an exact date or ticket. While they knew general years where Ritsuka was seen messing around with Ryotaro, they couldn't get there.
After getting chewed out a bit by the other time-train's owner, they managed to procure a ticket from an unlikely source. They couldn't take the time to think about it, however, and quickly headed back in time to search for Ritsuka and Ryotaro.
When they reached the oh-so-great year of 2001 AD though…
"This… isn't right…" The first person they ran into was the last person they were expecting. At first, they thought they found another of Tetsuya's doppelgangers but nope, it was Shouichi who recognised them too.
It didn't make sense at all, especially to Ciel. They met in 2021 yet here was Shouichi, looking the same as he did despite it being 20 years earlier. Even if they discounted it and assumed this was another Shouichi who happened to also meet yet another her but nope, a few minutes of discussion later and it was clear he was the same Shouichi they met before.
'But… that's impossible…' They couldn't have met in 2001. After all, in 2001, she was…
In any case, they could rest for long. As it turned out, they were expected as a group of Ant Lords were sent to take them out believing Ritsuka was with them. That led to their current situation—fighting in the industrial district yet again with Ciel trying to clear a way for the two civilians to escape. The Taros were no slouch in combat and it was clear Shouichi's skills had grown since the last time they met. As for the rude guy that brought them here, he was admittedly fairly strong too.
Still, like the insects they were, there were too many of them. When one died, more just took their place and made it harder for them to run away. At some point, the three were separated from Agito and the others—founding themselves surrounded by the Ant Lords.
"Yahaha!" A shrill laugh pierced the air. "Found you~"
"We'll be getting revenge for our brother if you don't mind~" From out of the sea of black ants, the pair of Mole Imgains from before ran out and targeted Ciel. Their claws were deflected away but they didn't let up on the offensive. They were determined and nothing would slow them down.
Their rabid attacks were easily telegraphed though and it was not difficult for Ciel to continuously counter. The main problem was her having to fight off the Ant Lords at the same time. Any opening she had, she threw her slowly dwindling supply of Black Keys at those getting too close to Tetsuya and Ryoko. She knew she had to clear a path for them before she could focus on fighting for real.
As another of her blades shattered and was quickly replaced, Ciel formulated a plan to get them all out of there. The best she could think of was to grab them and try jumping up to the support beams above them. That may or may not go terribly. Her second option was to just pray for a godly intervention— the Riders have a habit of appearing when least expected. One of them should appear right about now and help her.
"And where is he?!" Wasn't Ritsuka supposed to be around here? Is this what she got for just accepting the ticket from that man who didn't even call Ritsuka by the correct name? The next time she sees them, she was going to—
"Die already!" One of the Mole Imagins was fed up with fighting her and put more weight in its next blow. Her Black Key shattered again but before she could replace it, the other Mole Imagin took advantage of the opening. A pained cry escaped Ciel as she felt sharp pain shoot through her lower abdomen. The Mole Imagin had successfully clawed her if rather shallowly and drew blood.
Ciel heard the others call out her name but couldn't look away as her foes resumed their assault. She couldn't let them hit her again and had to get the others out now. Where was help when she really needed it?
Bang!
Her prayers were finally answered as a red motorcycle rode in, crashing through steel barrels and sending them flying at the Lords. The motorcyclist tried to slam his bike into the Imagins and though they avoided being run over, it put some much-needed distance between them and Ciel.
"Are you okay?!" Worry was present in the biker's voice as he got off his vehicle.
'How…?' Ciel instantly recognised the voice even though it was years since she last heard him. Moreover, she glanced at what he was wearing and despite him wearing a helmet that concealed his identity, she realised it was the same clothes as she saw earlier in the station. That meant…
"You are…" she muttered and even though she knew who it was, she still found herself asking, "Who are you?"
"You don't…" the young man muttered but it seemed he knew something she didn't. "Of course you don't. Not yet," he sighed before turning around and walking around his bike to confront the Imagins. He took off his helmet and put it on the seat. "All you need to know now is…" He pulled out a large silver belt with a bulky red buckle from nowhere and put it on. "I am… A man-eating monster… I guess."
The young man swiftly inserted a silver device into his buckle, raised the slot holder up, and slammed his palm into the device.
NEW OMEGA!
"…Amazon!"
Hot steam and green shockwaves erupted from his body, forcing everyone to get back and cover their faces to protect themselves. As the last wave of green energy dissipated, the unnamed young man stood there now transformed.
His body was now green with red accents. His upper body, meanwhile, had been modified with silver and black armour platings with some wires and tubes running around his chestpiece. His gauntlets were outfitted with razor-sharp slicers and pointy claws.
Lastly, large red eyes made up most of his helmet—the parts not covered by the armour platings anyway.
The new Kamen Rider, if he called himself that, took a lower stance and growled quietly. He raised his arms menacingly, showing off what seemingly were his only weapons before finally, leapt into battle.
Next time on Across the Kaleidoscope…
"If going back to the beginning is Swartz's goal, there's only one time that comes to mind."
"I'm here for my own reasons. Do not get involved in my problems."
"All is going according to the script. That is… the power these books hold."
"Now— It's Showtime!"
"Remember, the future you want…"
Chapter 35: Unknown Past, Known Futures
A/N: And finally done with the next chapter. Once again, school got in the way but I present the next leg of Ritsuka's journey. Some things got changed from the initial plan (mainly the ending scenes) but I'm satisfied with what happened.
And just to clear any confusions in this chapter regarding everything, Ritsuka and Ryotaro are still in 2008 but as the passengers that are viewing things outside of time saw, they will be in 2001 at some point. Also with Ciel and co. in 2001 is the guy I've been teasing in my author's note for some time. His identity may or may not be a surprise since Nanaya is already running around doing stuff but remember, that's Nanaya. His other schizo self is still free in my eyes so I'm using him for stuff too
Now the question of what he's doing running around in 2001 but that will be answered… sometime in the future. Maybe next chapter, maybe a further future chapter, depends on many things really.
But why did I decide to go for him being Amazon (New) Omega? Because y'know, craving to eat humans, doesn't look their age, was sheltered before a run-in with a madman who nearly killed them that changed their lives. Also, gets very screwed over by fate. No I am not still crying over Arc's ending thank you very much! Either way, he'll just be a guest star for a bit before he'll have another major role (just like Nanaya!)
Look, I have to set things up for the future, 'kay? So I gotta throw in plotlines that will be important at a later date than immediately.
There were many questions brought up in this chapter, weren't there? What is Swartz's goal with Another Den-O? How will they finally beat Another Den-O? And of course, who was the one who gave Ciel the ticket to 2001?
All that may not be answered next time so see you all then!
P.S. please give me dopamine and leave a review.
P.P.S. I'll probably be busy grinding in Monster Hunter Sunbreak too. Sorry not sorry
P.P.P.S. Yes, I was playing Die Set Down in that last scene