December 2022, Castle Doran…
"Stay out of trouble; I mean it."
"You say that as if it's my fault this entire thing happened," Hakuno chuckled as he and his sister walked down the entrance hallway of the latter's new home. "If anything, it should be me saying that. You actually got around the whole 'history erasure' thing."
Hakunon simply rolled her eyes at the advice. She wasn't the type to go looking for problems; Hakuno was the one who usually got caught up in things, intentionally or not. It was mainly because of the Bloody Rose but then again, even before their father's creation started warning them of Fangires, he always had that terrible habit.
"Oh, are we still on for dinner with everyone this weekend?"
"Yes but… are you sure about this?" There was no doubt putting Taiga and Keisuke in a small space with each other will result in a fight. Sure, with Tatsulot around, Hakuno could more than likely handle it when it came to that but this was an unneeded conflict.
Her brother simply waved his hand and said it would be fine as they finally reached the end of the hallway. "See you soon," he said goodbye before leaving Castle Doran.
Near immediately, her bat partner flew down and made her presence known. "Was it just me or was he a bit too lax about the whole thing?" Kiva-la questioned as she perched on Hakunon's shoulder. "I mean more so than usual. He took the whole time travel thing pretty well."
While Hakuno was generally more easygoing compared to herself, she agreed that he treated the whole Another Kiva situation rather smoothly. While it was already resolved— from his perspective —within a day or two and he was only "conscious" (for lack of a better term) for a few minutes of it, Hakuno acted like it was your run-of-the-mill Fangire.
Or maybe it was just herself overthinking the entire thing? There was really no point dwelling on Another Kiva anymore. Hakuno, with Fujimaru Ritsuka's help, had resolved it already. Yet, it still didn't sit right with her how easy it was for everyone to get erased like that. The only reason she and the Arms Monster managed to survive the initial time alteration was thanks to Castle Doran escaping into the Sands of Time at the last second. Then she tried stopping Another Kiva herself and wound up getting erased by everyone.
While it was because she did defeat the Another Rider and caused the "time wipe" to happen again, it still stung a bit that she failed. In the end, they needed Ritsuka— that weird guy from another World who tried to kill them before —to come back and fix everything for them. Hakunon was still trying to fully understand the whole plan he came up with.
"Hey, Hakunon, where are we going?" Kiva-la's question pulled Hakunon out of her thinking and made her realise she had been wandering the halls the entire time. "You know Jiro said this way is forbidden," the small bat reminded her, telling Hakunon where they were— the Door of Time. She understood why it was forbidden to use, everything of time travel was a headache, but she wondered why Doran randomly had a door like that and why the King never used it. Something like that would be more than helpful to him during the twins' stint as runaways.
"…Hey, I have an idea~" Kiva-la let out a dark chuckle. "Don't you find it unfair that those guys got the chance to mess around in the past? Come on~ no one needs to find out—"
"Kiva-la, no." Hakunon had to put her foot down on this; messing around with time would only bite them in the butt.
"Really? If you're so against it, why are we getting closer?"
"…Quiet." Kiva-la only continued laughing as the two soon found themselves standing before the Door of Time.
Hakunon contemplated opening the door, recalling what her brother and the Arms Monster had detailed in their retelling of events. Another Kiva's creation resulted in history changing and her father living up to the present day where Ritsuka met him. Then, in the past, Ritsuka and her brother watched their mother when she abandoned them all those years ago. It was only natural for her to feel jealous, right? She was the only one out of everyone who saw neither hide nor hair of Kishinami Otoya or Maya.
She unconsciously reached for the handle and as soon as she touched it— "What's the destination you have in mind, princess?"
Hakunon spun on the spot and saw Jiro coming down the hallway. He looked as disinterested as always, even though it was clear she was breaking one of the rules of the castle.
"Nothing," Hakunon answered a bit too fast despite knowing it was useless in trying to fool the Wolfen. "I was just making sure it's closed."
Her attempt to lie only made Jiro dismissively scoffed. "If you want to see your parents, go ahead," he permitted her to do what's been nagging at her. "But don't change anything, you know that, correct?"
Caught off-guard by him letting her go with only a single warning, all Hakunon could do was give a short nod. "Of course I do, but is it really fine for me to—"
"Go." Hakunon heard the door swing open behind her before pulling her and a shrieking Kiva-la into the past. The doors shut as soon as they passed through, leaving Jiro standing there like a statue with a distant look in his eyes.
"What was that…" He muttered to himself, replaying the scenes he saw when bathed in the light. "That battle…" So many were fighting… even them…
Chapter 38: Birth
'What am I forgetting…' That thought kept replaying in Yuuto's mind as the ZeroLiner went further into the past. 'December 26th, 1989… something happened then…' He was close to slapping himself for not remembering what it was.
His thinking was soon interrupted by Deneb who had finished making lunch for him and the others. "Enjoy your meal!" The Imagin proclaimed after setting down all the plates of food. While the other passengers scarfed down their lunch, Yuuto only unconsciously ate as his mind was too preoccupied with making sense of everything.
'This Swartz guy makes a fake Den-O and sends him back through time.' That much was for certain. 'He also has other minions who are protecting the fake Den-O but that's not necessary. According to them, only Ryotaro himself could beat the fake. Not only that, the fake managed to seal Ryotaro's transformation abilities. No bodyguards were needed. All that did was show just how many people Swartz has under his control.'
Was that it? Was all this just a display of power from Swartz?
"…Hey, you, blue girl."
"Yuuto, don't be rude."
"Do you have any idea what Swartz is scheming?" Yuuto ignored Deneb. "All I can come up with is he just wants to show off."
Ciel thought about the theory for a few seconds and didn't find herself disagreeing with it. However— "I don't think that's all. He claimed his motive is to test Fujimaru and Kihara and it certainly looks that way."
"All this seems too over-the-top to be just a simple 'test'. And why would Swartz want to test them in the first place?" A chase through time may sound simple (for them) on the surface, but as they've seen, their stops in the past only complicated things further. Their group was separated from the two being tested, ran into people that ultimately served next to no purpose (if Swartz intended them to meet them), and it was only thanks to a ticket left lying on the ground that they were able to move on. "Was there anything odd you noticed about all this?" Yuuto then asked.
"You mean besides the whole time travelling thing?"
"I wasn't asking you."
"You really don't know the meaning of 'nice', do you?" Yuuto ignored Ryoko's jab at his personality and listened to Ciel's observation of events.
"There is something… off, if that's the right word," Ciel told him. "I am from Agito's World as Fujimaru calls it and have met Igarashi before. All of us, actually. And it's clear he remembers us."
"What was off about that?"
"We met him in 2021," Tetsuya interjected. "It wasn't only him. We also met Dairiki in 2021 but we ran into him in 2017. They both looked the same as when we first met so it's not like we ran into their younger selves."
"So… What you're saying is someone's altering the timeline? More so than we initially assume." Was Another Den-O's creation responsible for the mass displacement? Then… Swartz was the one behind it? But then that goes back to the question of why. What would be the point of moving people around time? There were still too many clues and not nearly enough answers or even clues pointing them in the right direction. "What about that guy? Shouki, was it?"
Ciel was quick to correct him. "His name is Shiki."
"Right, right, Shiki. You know him?" She did run off the previous night to look for him; Yuuto doesn't believe it was just because he was a potential ally.
"I… do," Ciel hesitated in admitting. "But not that Shiki. The one I knew was different. The way he acts and fights are similar, but it's definitely not the same." If anything, the Shiki that attacked her in Ryuki's World— Eternal —fought more like the one she knew. Personality-wise, the new one was similar enough to the one she knew.
Now that she was thinking of him, she realised another oddity about that Shiki. If he was from the further future, sometime after 2022, then how old was he? He didn't look much older than the 17-year-old high-school student she met in 2014. Assuming he was still alive in 2022, that Shiki didn't look the right age. So the Riders were not the only people who had their birth years moved around.
Her pondering was then interrupted by Ryoko, who brought up a question that was bothering him. "He refused to call himself a Kamen Rider when Shouichi introduced him, right? Those monsters also called him an Amazon too."
"Amazon? Isn't that those women warriors or something?" Yuuto recalled reading something about that in a mythology book before. It made more sense if that's what Amazon was referring to than the forest. "As for why he doesn't call himself a Rider is his business, not ours. No sense in looking into it anymore." Curiosity killed the cat and all that. "Anyway, get ready. We're about to reach our destination."
26th December 1989… What was he forgetting…?
The sound of the violin filled the air as a familiar man played to his heart's content in the park. It was drowned out by the distant sounds of festivities but after a long day of doing nothing but nothing, playing a good tune would brighten up his day. He soon winded down as he finished the piece, finishing it with a high note.
"…So how long will you be following me, young lady?" The suave man glanced towards a nearby tree. "I know I give off that impression but don't think I'm dumb enough to not notice you tailing me this whole morning."
There was no reply for a few moments before the girl peeked her head around the tree. "You are… Kishinami Otoya?" She asked with narrowed eyes. "The famous violinist?"
"Ah, so you're a fan?" Otoya beamed at her. "I didn't expect a young lass like you'd be interested in classical stuff! Or… maybe you're more interested in the musician himself?" He squiggled his eyebrows but that only made the girl grimace.
"That's sort of right but please don't say it like that. And don't give me that look either."
"Huh, feisty."
"Stop," the girl glared at him in a way that reminded Otoya of someone; he just couldn't remember who.
"Okay, message received." To be honest, a part of him felt irked out for reasons unknown to him.
Before he could say anything, the girl resumed talking. "My mother used to talk about you a lot. My brother and I grew up listening to her stories and what you are like."
"…How old are you?"
"18."
Her answer made Otoya let out a sigh of relief. "Good, so you aren't my kid." If he had given it any more thought, he would have noticed the discrepancy in how the girl knew of him since she was a kid when Otoya himself was only 23. "So you want an autograph for your mom? It'll cost you a tiny bit but it'll put a smile on her face."
"I haven't seen her since I was 6," the girl replied in a deadpan tone.
"Oh…" Otoya's grin fell for a moment before he quickly recovered. "What about for your brother then?"
"Are you trying to swindle me?"
"…No," he denied before checking his watch. "Oh, would you look at the time?! I have somewhere to be!" He quickly backed away, making up excuses to get out of this awkward situation. "See you around, kid!"
Hakunon rolled her eyes as she watched the violinist turn tail and flee. She wouldn't say her view of her father had utterly shattered from the interaction but it certainly soured. Her mother always said how Kishinami Otoya was a great, kind man who'd always do the right thing in the end but she wasn't seeing it. It seems that Fangire who tried suing them nearly a year ago (in her time) wasn't pulling things out of her ass as they believed. Either way, Otoya could still mature but there were only a few months left before he died.
"Hey, Hakunon." Kiva-la snapped her out of her thoughts. "Stop standing around and move already. We don't have a lot of time here, you know."
"I know, I know…" Even outside of the time limit Ramon once told her about, the longer they stay in 2001, the more the future could change. She had to be careful and efficient with her time here. "That's dad done, let's look for mom." Now finding her would be a bit harder…
"So what's our next move?" Asked Tetsuya as they regrouped in a crowded park. He glanced towards the Taros plus Deneb who, thanks to their mascot disguises, were being assaulted by a hoard of children. "Are we going to look for those two again?"
"Not like we have any other choice," Ryoko shrugged. "Even though we have no idea where they might be."
"Blue girl, got any more informants in the past?"
"This is before I joined up with… No, nothing." Despite Yuuto clearly not caring what the Holy Church does in secret, Ciel still hesitated to tell him about it. "We'll have to stumble in the dark for now."
Just like in 2001… at this point, this whole time travelling was more hassle than it was worth. She wouldn't be surprised if Ritsuka and Ryotaro were done with everything by the time they found them.
Hakunon knew that back when she was Queen, her mother's job was to hunt down and exterminate any Fangires that "mingle" with humans. Very ironic knowing what happens next but nonetheless, Maya could be anywhere at the moment. The first place she should check was Castle Doran since it was the seat of the Checkmate Four but not only did Hakunon have absolutely no clue where it might be either but the Fangires there would more than likely execute her should they learn of her identity.
"—aaaaaaaa—"
"I really didn't think this through, did I?" she sighed to herself. Jiro was to be partially blamed for it; he was the one who didn't give her a chance to plan things out before sending her into the past.
"—aaaaaaaa—"
"You sure you really want to meet the Queen, Hakunon?" Her bat companion questioned her. "I've never really known her before she tasked me with caring over you but I've heard stories about her. If you see her, what you think of her will definitely chan—"
Hakunon didn't let her finish. "I know but… This is not an opportunity I'll have again. For all I know, Mom is dead back in 2022. This is my only chance of meeting her again."
"—aaaaaaaa—"
"Alright, alright. I understand. But don't say I didn't war—"
"—aaaaaaaa—"
"Okay, who's screamin—?!" Before she could finish again, Kiva-la was cut off by several bodies dropping on top of her and Hakunon. Both let out muffled shouting as they (read: the latter) tried to push the people off.
"We're never… doing that… again," one of them whose voice Hakunon thought she recognised crushing her groan. However much pain he was in though would pale in comparison if they continued to bury her underneath them.
"—ff—e," her cry was muffled but it was obvious enough what she was saying.
"Sorry, sorry," another more apologetic voice said. Slowly, the three people got off of her, letting Hakunon get onto her feet and dust herself off.
"If you don't have a good reason for nearly crushing me to death, I swear—" she started to say before realising who one of them was. "…You again?" She gave Ritsuka an incredulous look; Hakunon did not expect to see him again literally hours after their last meeting. "What's going on this time?"
"Long story," Ritsuka answered as if that'd explain everything before introducing the two with him. "Anyway, this is Ryotaro and Momotaros."
"Yo," the one in a monkey costume saluted her. "Wait a second, aren't you that vampire dude? Why are you a girl now? And in the past."
"I'm—"
"This is his mom," Ritsuka said with a completely straight face. "Her name's Hakunon."
"Ehh, you really got a terrible naming sense."
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, ma'am. Your son was a huge help to us in the—"
"Idiots."
"Ow!" "Ouch!" "Ow." The three yelped in pain (although in a muted and dry manner for Ritsuka) as Hakunon smacked them each over the head. As they recovered from the hard hits to the head, she asked again what was going on. "It's honestly more confusing to explain everything from the beginning."
"Try me." It couldn't be that complicated, right? Certainly not as complicated as what just happened within the last day or so.
"Don't say I didn't warn you. It all started roughly 33 years in the future." And looks like she was immediately proven wrong. Joy.
Ryotaro, however, couldn't help but notice they were missing a certain thief. 'Did he jump through with us?' Everything happened so fast but he was pretty sure Takaragi was right behind them…
Elsewhere…
The creaking of the heavy wooden doors interrupted the silence the ancient man enjoyed. "You best have a good reason to intrude on my thinking, Bishop." He spoke with an air of superiority and confidence in his voice. "If it is about Queen's activities or Rook's whereabouts, you might as well leave already. I have little interest in those matters right now and expect you to deal with it."
"My sincerest apologies, my King." The priest kneeled before the King of the Checkmate Four. "I am not here because of the others. However, I am sure what I have to say would still be of interest to you."
The King stared at his still kneeling subordinate for several seconds before— "Speak then."
"Thank you, my liege." Yet Bishop did not dare stand up. "I received a message from a strange individual. He claims to be from the future and speaks of someone who'd bring about the downfall of the Fangire race."
What Bishop said only annoyed King who narrowed his eyes at him. "What makes you think the ramblings of a person so clearly insane would interest me?"
"He—"
*pzzt*
"Hmm?" Right before King's eye, it was like someone took a remote and paused Bishop. His mouth still hung open as he was still speaking while his body occasionally turned static like the latest television screen those humans increasingly grew addicted to in recent times.
His hand reached to his side towards his sword, the Zanvat, ready to strike down whatever threat came his way. However, to his mute surprise, the person in question sauntered into his throne room slowly clapping. "So this is the first time we're meeting. You did say I had nerves of steel the next time we met." The man addressed King like he was his equal. Had he not been intrigued by the man in purple, he would have struck him down without question. "Allow me to introduce myself— I am the Time Jacker, Swartz from the World of Zi-O. I have a proposition for you, the King of the Fangires."
The events that led to their current situation were surprisingly easy to explain. Either that or Hakunon just nodded along without really understanding what was coming out of Ritsuka's mouth. After giving her the gist of things, it was her turn to explain why she was in the past. Her recounting of everything went equally as smoothly though Ritsuka had some choice comments on her reasoning.
"So you're just here in 1989 because you got jealous Haku got to go back in time? Really?" He shot her an incredulous look which she tried to brush off.
That is, until she realised what he just said. It had gone over her head earlier during his initial explanation but it didn't this time. "What do you mean 1989? It's 2001, isn't it?" Hakunon questioned with a confused face.
"…What year did you say you come from?"
"It was 2022 last time I checked."
"Huh… Guess whoever's making a mess of the timeline missed a spot." Ritsuka's passing comment only served to confuse her further. Was it not that Time Jacker who was messing with everything again? Or was it someone else? She asked that only to get a shrug in response. "Maybe it's Swartz; maybe it's someone else. I think there's still a missing piece we haven't found yet."
"Thanks for the non-answer, jerk."
"Since when were you such a little Miss Snarker?" Ritsuka didn't recall her being like this the last time they met. Then again, the last time they had a casual conversation not related to Fangires and such was… never, really. He was pretty sure the others talked more to her than he did the first time they arrived in Kiva's World. On his second visit there, she was wiped from history so they naturally didn't talk much then either. "Anyway, we better start looking for Another Den-O. The sooner we finish things, the better. Come on."
"I don't remember agreeing to help you guys," Hakunon tried to say but was promptly ignored. "Remind me again why we're friends?"
"Are we actually friends?"
"…I have no idea." She was stuck with him for the time being in any case. Might as well help out.
"What's today…?" Yuuto found himself wondering that question to himself again. It was killing him that he was forgetting something that was clearly important yet nothing was coming to mind. "Deneb, do you remember what today was?"
"Hmm… no, I don't recall anything happening today…" His Imagin partner answered which frustrated him more.
While Yuuto was off to the side beating himself to remember, Ciel and the others were trying to figure out another mystery themselves. Namely, the discrepancy between the years they met the Riders versus their recent encounters. "Is it because of Another Den-O?" Ryoko suggested. It would make the most sense seeing as it was currently going through time. However, as Tetsuya would quickly point out, that was all it was doing and wasn't doing anything to change the past. "Then it has to be Swartz, right?"
"It does point towards him being responsible but…" To be honest, Ciel didn't think he was the one behind everything either. Something as big as this felt too much for Swartz to be responsible, at least by himself. There was also the question of motive. If he was behind Shouichi getting sent back and living in 2001, why? For what reason would he do this especially since Ritsuka didn't meet Shouichi again?
"And how did you and Ryoko find Ritsuka? I remember him saying you guys were off doing your own things now."
"I think it's better you just forget what I said."
'But he will…' From what Shouichi unintentionally implied, Ritsuka would return to Agito's World. There was also the ticket that took them here; it was definitely left behind by Ritsuka which meant at some point in the future, he'd return there. The only question now was why. Just to close the loop? Was he even aware of there being some sort of loop going on in the first pla—
"Ah, you guys made it here too."
Her thinking was interrupted by the last person Ciel expected to run into. "Takaragi?" Their fellow dimensional (and time) traveller appeared before them like nothing had happened the last time they encountered each other. "Why are you here this time?"
"I thought you'd be a bit more polite, Blue."
"Stop calling me that."
"I was going to tell you where to meet up with Ritsuka-kun but if you guys are going to have that tone with me then I might as well just go—"
"Just tell us already," Ryoko cut in, also sick and tired of playing along with him. Her interruption made Takaragi cross his arms but didn't take offense judging from his smirk.
"Alright, alright. You're lucky I'm feeling nice today," he joked. "You can find those three wandering a bit north of here. Just follow the sound of arguing and you'll run into them… or probably Otoya and whatever girl he's trying to pick up this time."
"Otoya? You mean the twin's dad?" Ryoko recalled that name being mentioned before. "Shouldn't he be like… 2 or something now? Or did the same thing happening with Dairiki happen to them?"
"You'll find out soon enough," replied Takaragi. "And you best be quick before they get into trouble again. It wouldn't be long before Swartz starts pulling some strings, whether they involve Another Den-O or not."
None of them doubted that Ritsuka would get into trouble here. It was only a matter of when not if. But surely it would not be too ba—
*BOOM!*
The loud explosion not too far away was a pretty clear indicator that something had gone wrong (read: Ritsuka got into trouble). At least they knew which direction to go to now.
What was the cause of the explosion, you may ask? The defeat of one of the Fangire sent to assassinate the group of time travellers, naturally. The glowing orb that was its soul flew off as its compatriots continued fighting the two Riders plus one Imagin.
'How did they know we were here?' Thought the magenta Rider as he blocked the scythe's blade of the Mantis Fangire. He assumed Swartz was responsible; there should be no reason King would know nor care about them running around in 1989. How the Time Jacker convinced that pompous Fangire was a mystery but in any case, they now had to deal with Fangires again.
And to deal with Fangires, using Hakuno's power was the most suitable. "Henshin."
KAMENRIDE: KIVA
In the blink of an eye, the quicksilver coated his armour and shattered to reveal Kiva's form before he kicked away the Fangire. Decade dusted off his hands and took out another card.
FORMRIDE KIVA: DOGGA
Chains covered his arms and chest that swiftly shattered too as the massive purple hammer flew out of the Decadriver and into his hands. "Let's finish this quickly," he muttered to himself before resuming fighting the Mantis Fangire.
Nearby, Momotaros and the transformed Kamen Rider Kiva-la fought the Chameleon Fangire. Unlike Decade, they were not having as easy a time as the Fangire made heavy use of his camouflage ability to avoid attacks and strike them in return. "You sneaky bastard! Stop hiding and fight like a ma— Yeow!" Momotaros yelped in pain as the invisible monster slapped him right across the face.
'This won't do at all…' Kiva-la thought, her face twisting under her helmet. Unless they could counteract the Chameleon Fangire's ability, they were sitting ducks. Luckily, she did know of a way and that was currently in the hands of her brother's imitation. "Peachy, cover me!" She shouted before dashing off towards Decade. Momo tried to protest at being left alone but was shut up by an invisible kick to the butt.
Just after Decade punted the Mantis Fangire away with a powerful swing of the Dogga Hammer, the weapon was taken from his hands by Kiva-la. "Let me borrow this for a second!" She shouted as she ran off again, leaving Decade standing there, his mask hiding his exasperated look. That, however, led to him getting struck by the Fangire's scythe. He'd have to get back at her later; dealing with the Fangire takes priority.
Quickly returning to help Momo (who was now just getting tossed around and wildly swinging his sword in thin air), Kiva-la planted the Dogga Hammer in the ground while pointing the fist-like head in their general direction. She then pulled on a lever on the back, causing the fist to open and reveal a large eye in its palm. A purple pulse came from the eye and swept across the battlefield, causing the silhouette of the Chameleon Fangire to illuminate and reveal his location.
The Fangire only had a second to realise what had just happened but Momo was quick to take advantage of it. "There you are, time for some payback!" He cried before finally landing a critical slash across the Fangire's body. And worse (for the monster), Kiva-la was not in the mood to be outdone by Momo and swung her massive war hammer, hitting the Chameleon Fangire straight in the stomach.
Back with Decade, he was forced to engage his opponent hand-to-hand (well, scythe) with Kiva-la taking his weapon. He assumed changing out of that form would cause the Dogga Hammer to disappear so relying on fisticuffs it was. It was fortunate that Dogga Form had massive gauntlets to make things easier. He blocked an overhead swing with both arms but the blade was long enough to reach and scratch his shoulders. The Mantis Fangire tried pressing on and pushing the blade deeper, forcing Decade to his knees. Fortunately for him, more help came and weren't trying to take his weapons. The Fangire was struck in the side by Black Keys, forcing it to stumble away and saving Decade in the process.
ATTACKRIDE: BLAST
Following that, a shower of blue energy rained down on the Fangire. Decade did not need to turn his head to see who it was that saved him; he only groaned as he thought DiEnd had gone off to do his own thing again. At least it was nice to see Ciel again after they were all separated. Sure enough, the Executor landed right next to him soon after.
"So how many times did you run into one of those things?" She semi-jokingly asked as she helped him to his feet.
"Hmm… five times?" There were twice in 2012 against Another Den-O, and then another three times in 2008. So this would be the sixth time he's fighting. In any case, they could now finish things off and focus on finally dealing with Another Den-O. "Takaragi!"
"Yes, yes. Leave it to me," DiEnd confidently scoffed as he took out his finisher card and inserted it into his gun.
FINAL ATTACKRIDE: DI-DI-DIEND
Rings of card materialised, forming a cone between DiEnd and the Mantis Fangire. "Say hello to the others for us," taunted DiEnd before pulling the trigger; a beam of energy blasted through the air and struck the Fangire, punching a hole straight through his glass body. With one last cry of pain, it exploded and shattered into shards.
Seeing the other group done with their foe motivated Kiva-la to end things too. "Let's go, Peachy."
"Don't call me that!" Momo shouted but still followed her lead. Kiva-la revealed the Dogga Hammer's True Eye and let loose another pulse of energy. This time, it froze the Chameleon Fangire in place, leaving him unable to do anything as the two swung their weapons at him and shattered his body. "Hehe… Me, two. Those glassy guys, zilch! Yo, Ryotaro, did you see that?!" Momo celebrated his second win even though the first time in 2008 was the other Riders' victory rather than his.
Kiva-la (the bat) was quick to knock him down a peg though."Hey, you were basically a training dummy the entire time till we took Dogga."
"Shut it, pipsqueak!"
"Don't call me that! Hakunon, hit him for me!"
"Don't want to." —was her partner's short response. Even if she wanted to, the Dogga Hammer vanished from her hands as Ritsuka cancelled his transformation with herself following suit. With the battle now over, they could regroup especially since they were about to be joined by a lot more people. One of whom, she could tell was going to be rather bothersome.
"Now that we are all here together… someone tell me what the hell's going on!?"
Next time on Across the Kaleidoscope…
"You forgot, Yuuto-san? Today is the day—"
"Will things play out to his will? Or will you be able to change things, Fujimaru Ritsuka?"
"Ryotaro, you can stop relying on us; this power is all yours."
"…Sorry, but Ritsuka will have to do everything in that time by himself."
Chapter 39: The End of the Line
Castle Doran…
Fujimaru poked his head into the room and looked around to make sure there was no one. Seeing that the room was empty, he waltzed on in while whistling. He made his way to the bookshelf at the back of the room and scanned the books' titles.
'Which one was it again? Did Jiro mention it?' He thought to himself. He didn't recall the Wolfen mention where he found the ticket. 'Guess that means any one of them would do.' Fujimaru shrugged before pulling out a random book from its spot. Taking out the ticket he procured in 1999, he opened the book and put it inside like a bookmark before putting it back in place.
"There we go. Loop closed." Fujimaru patted himself for a job well done. Sure, some girl he thinks he knows from somewhere might have paid the ultimate price but that was neither here nor there. Everyone dies at some point; why bother being sad over a single lost life, especially when he didn't know her name?
With the ticket to October 19th, 1999 in place to be found by Jiro nearly 20 years from now, Fujimaru turned to leave and let time play out. Before he could open an Aurora Curtain to leave though— "And who are you? Walking in my castle as if you own it? Such offence to me deserves punishment, don't you agree, Kivat?"
"Yes, it's extermination time."
"…Crap." Welp, he knew it wouldn't be that easy.
A/N: A bit later than usual but the penultimate chapter of the Den-O arc is done! I meant it to go a bit longer but I'm going to let things lay where they are. Next chapter will be a doozy, I'm sure of it. Maybe you can see where I'm going with it.
Oh yeah, Geats has now ended and Gotchard's first episode aired (and the OP is amazing). I started this fic back when Revice started and now two whole seasons have finished while I'm still trying to be done with the first half of AtK. Well, after this arc, there's only one more before the halfway point. I'm planning it to be a much shorter endeavour but it remains to be seen how that'll end up…
With that said, please leave a review and see you all next time!