Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant

Chapter 37 – Riders on Parade 2019

"Once written in this book, average highschooler Tokiwa Sougo would embark on a path that led him to become the overlord of time, Oma Zi-O. However he has since chosen to live as Kamen Rider Zi-O."

Woz narrated in his black void, having sat on a stool as he had made himself comfortable. Respecting his former Overlord's wishes he had yet to interfere in the story, only narrating. He stared intently at his book as it contained the battles of the Kamen Riders against the Black Bodhi.

"Traveling to Zawame City the group hoped to uncover an Another Rider while dealing with the Black Bodhi. Their assumptions ended up correct as the leader Kugai Kudo returned from his absence and has now taken on the powers of Another Gaim. Using his resources his plan to use the Saver System to "save" the world was nearly in place but thanks to some quick thinking and odd quirks, the machine was dealt with. And now Kamen Rider Gaim has shown his face in this battle… truly this is one battle that he and the Time Jackers cannot hope to possibly win."

Woz closed his book before giving a smile, "Perhaps I've read too far. Nevertheless more Rider powers are open to be claimed. That is of course if they can obtain them."

Earth – Zawame City, Early January 2019:

"Now then, let's get started because this is our stage now!" Kouta called out as he took a step forward.

"You abandoned this world!" Kugai called out as he stabbed his sword into the ground, summoning a multitude of orange shaped projectiles. He then held his free hand forward, launching the projectiles. "You could have given the gift of ascension to those who were worth your time but you chose the cowards way out!"

Kouta simply stared down the projectiles as they were launched towards him, he then held up his hand, the projectiles sticking against an invisible barrier before they were all dismissed.

"I wanted this world to live on as it always did and not have change forced upon it," Kouta answered before jumping forward into the air. "That way I could give another one a chance!"

[KIWAMI SQUASH!]

Kugai yelled out as he hopped over the Altar and charged forward, raising his sword high. He swung before gasping out, Kouta reaching and kicking against his chest before his sword could connect.

Kouta gave a yell as multicolored energy flooded from his boot, pushing forward and sending his Another Rider counterpart flying backwards, crashing straight through the altar.

Kugai could only scream out as his body exploded, destroying the altar further as smoke came from where he had landed. Out of the smoke however emerged a black suited Rider with blood red upper armoring.

"You can't kill me Man of the Beginning…" The seemingly immortal man hissed out before he shimmered and vanished into thin air.

"Okay, well at least he's out of our hair for now," Sougo sighed as he and Ruby dismissed their transformations.

"We have a chance to breathe and plan at least," Takatora admitted as he and his brother dismissed their transformations too.

"Yeah, needless to say despite acting on the offensive we were still caught off guard," Mitsuzane agreed before heading over and picking up the Dragonfruits Energy Lockseed and Genesis Core, pocketing them for later.

Kouta stared at where Kugai had been before he stood up before dismissing his transformation, the silver fading off of him as he was still in his Man of the Beginning form but in a more casual outfit. "You guys okay?"

"Wait a minute…" Ruby trailed, it was a casual outfit that she almost instantly recognized from before, "Weren't you the guy who was with Nitoh!"

"Huh?" Kouta turned before giving a smile. "Oh hey there, did you enjoy my gift?"

"Wait, is he the guy that gave you your bike?" Sougo asked.

"Not personally," Ruby said, her suspicions being confirmed now that Kouta admitted about a gift. "But he left it with the fruit that Nitoh received."

"I knew it seemed too oddly convenient from what Ruby described," Tsukuyomi added.

"I've been around Earth a few times and heard about you all," Kouta said as he crossed his arms before looking at Ruby. "I figured you in particular could use a bit of help in the mobility department."

"Well, I appreciate it a lot but why did you lock certain functions out?" Ruby asked. "Was it about the dimensional gateway thing?"

"It only goes to one place, Helheim, and I really wouldn't want you getting lost in there," Kouta explained with a light nervous chuckle. "So I figured it would be best to disable that feature."

"Okay but like… what are you?" Sougo asked. "I can feel like… this really big presence coming from you."

"Oh well that's easy," Kouta kept up his smile before spreading his arms out. "I'm basically a Space God."

Tsukuyomi's eyes widened, "You're a what?!"

"A space God…" Ruby trailed in surprise as she began to repeat it a few times. "O-Okay… finding out about another God was not on the agenda today."

"Well at least he's a lot better than the other two we recently saw," Sougo admitted, still shocked but managing to take it somewhat well.

"I can agree with that," Tsukuyomi nodded.

"You guys alright?!" Geiz immediately rushed in, having dismissed his transformation as he gasped for air slightly, he had bolted to the chapel as soon as he was able to do so.

"Doing fine Geiz," Ruby gave a wave. "Tsuki really got us out of a tight spot, oh and we just met a Space God too."

Geiz blinked a few times. "I'm sorry a what?!"

"With everyone here let's regroup with the others," Kouta suggested. "We've got a lot to talk about."

Ora and Swartz were currently meeting in an abandoned garage. It had once belonged to one of the less desirable Dance Teams in Zawame, Team Red Hot. Now it was simply a relic of a once past era, posters and memorabilia relating to the team torn and weathered by the effects of time.

Swartz was currently sitting on an abandoned couch, hands clasped and near his face as he was deep in thought.

"Swartz," Ora gave an annoyed click of the tongue, "Will you quit it already! Tell me why Zi-O doesn't want to be a king anymore and why Roze has a new form!"

"If you could I'd like you to shut up please," Swartz gave an annoyed roll of the eyes as time froze around Ora. He stood before walking past her, soon freeing her from the time stop. "There's a reason I had us all spread out in helping our king to be, and that's to find out what information we might have missed back in December."

"What we missed?" Ora gave a glare and turned. "Clearly we missed a change of priorities and an unknown form."

"Well if someone wasn't so scared of said new form they'd have more information now wouldn't they?" Swartz narrowed his eyes causing Ora to look away. "That's what I thought."

Uhr suddenly rushed into the garage with a worried expression. While this wasn't new, what caught Swartz and Ora completely off guard was the almost panicked face that Finis wore.

"Swartz… we have a lot to discuss," Finis said in an eerily serious voice.

Swartz put a hand to his face as he tried to keep from yelling out at that very moment, he gritted his teeth. "And just what do we have to discuss?"

"Those three girls that Roze apparently knows, they're Kamen Riders!" Uhr called out.

"She made friends with Kamen Riders?" Ora raised an eyebrow, "So we have three more, that's not as bad as-"

"Three unknown Kamen Riders," Finis interrupted with a light glare.

Swartz' face dropped when he heard this, "What do you mean three unknown Kamen Riders? How can you be so certain?"

"They summoned weird blank Ziku Drivers before attaching stuff to them," Uhr explained as clearly as he could. "I'm pretty sure no one in this era has technology related to Zi-O's."

"Not to mention them all appearing right after all of our enemies vanished," Finis added as they crossed their arms. "We've clearly missed a lot… which is quite the statement when it comes to our group."

Swartz began to pace around in a more rapid manner before he looked out one of the dirty windows of the garage, he gave a light glare as this situation was growing out of hand.

Yang could only stare a bit, "So did you guys think we'd be on our third and fourth Gods by now?"

"Honestly, I wasn't expecting this…" Blake shook her head.

"Well at least they seem nice," Weiss admitted.

"You guys are taking this well," Zack noted.

Ruby could only give a nod, "Yeah well… we've been through a lot."

Both groups of Riders had met back up thanks to some quick traveling around via Kouta and Mai. With that fast travel they were back at the Team Gaim Garage in no time flat. Thankfully most details were filled in, how the Inves Invasion in 2014 was really just a backdrop for the real battle. That was the battle for the Golden Fruit, the chance to reshape the world, which Kouta was able to win.

Needless to say most of the group was just barely managing to process the fact that Gaim himself had ascended beyond what they assumed a Rider normally would. Those that knew Kouta well however were more concerned when it came to Kugai's next move.

"So why exactly did you come to help us?" Takatora asked his friend. "Normally you try to keep from getting involved aside from rare occasions."

"It's because of the power Kugai's obtained," Mai explained. "Not only is the power of Another Gaim dangerous due to the potential it holds, but it also allows him to control Inves."

"He's been pulling away Inves from Helheim," Kouta added. "And I can't just allow that after all, so that's why we're getting involved in this fight."

"Huh, well thank you very much," Sougo gave a bow.

"Please, no need to act all reserved," Kouta said as he held out his hands, giving a smile. "We're all friends here."

"So what is our next move?" Blake asked. "I doubt we have a lot of time before Kugai starts up again."

Tsukuyomi gave a nod, "Especially if his words of 'Becoming the Saver System myself' are true."

"I know what I shall be doing," Oren called out. "I will go and drag that troublesome pattissier back into the battlefield."

"Having the extra numbers will do us some good," Zack agreed. "I tried convincing him to no success though."

"Well that is why you have me," Oren answered with a smile.

Weiss gave a hum, this was her possible chance to meet with Jonouchi, "I-"

"If you guys need a third hand for some convincing I can do it," Yang interrupted as she stood up, having noticed the look in Weiss' eyes.

"The three of us should be good then," Zack agreed unaware of Weiss' attempt.

"Mitsuzane and I need to work on figuring out what exactly Kugai's taken from the remains of Yggdrasil," Takatora said.

"We can also see if he'll have any nasty surprises waiting for us," Mitsuzane gave a nod.

"I'll go with you two then," Blake suggested. "The more Riders we have per group the better, just in case."

"Sounds fine by me," Takatora agreed.

"In that case, looks like Mai and I are in charge of getting the Ridewatches ready," Kouta put his hands on his hips.

"First things first," Sougo said as he took out a Blank Ridewatch before handing it to Kouta. "You'll need this."

"Actually… could I get two more?" Kouta asked.

"Wait, what?" Ruby tilted her head.

"Uh… sure," Sougo pulled out two more blank watches before handing them over.

"Good," Kouta smiled as he went to pocket them. "I need Sougo and Ruby to come with me, anyone else who isn't part of the other plans can come if they like."

Takatora looked around before giving a nod, "We've got our plans prepared. Let's go."

Sougo and Ruby weren't exactly expecting this when it came to obtaining the Ridewatches, the two alongside Geiz, Tsukuyomi and Weiss had joined Kouta and Mai on a fieldtrip of sorts. The two were at a lot that held a large growing tree.

"So why exactly are we all the way out here?" Ruby asked.

"And why did you need three Ridewatches?" Sougo asked further.

"For this," Kouta soon reached into his pockets and drew out the Ridewatches to reveal them glowing orange, red and green. In a flash they all transformed into fully completed Ridewatches. Gaim's was an orange base with a blue dial and button. The second had a yellow base with a red dial and button, while the last was a pure green Ridewatch with a black button and the image of a watermelon.

"Whoa!" Ruby and Sougo called out in shock as the others eyes widened.

"It was that simple?" Weiss asked.

"This one's for you," Mai took the third green Ridewatch and handed it to Tsukuyomi.

Tsukuyomi looked at it for a bit, "Is this a Ride Gadget?"

"He'll be a good helper for you," Kouta smiled.

"How did you do that?" Ruby asked.

"Space God," Kouta smiled as everyone could only hunch over at such a simple explanation. "I'm able to cheat a bit."

"So that's it huh, we're good to go?" Sougo asked only for Kouta to pocket his own Ridewatch and hand the other to Mai. The time Rider could only stare in confusion, "Huh?"

"We called you here for a test," Mai explained. "We figured this would be the best way to go about things."

Ruby scratched her cheek, "A test?"

"I knew it wasn't going to be that easy," Geiz scoffed.

"For Sougo's test it's simple," Kouta said as he walked past Sougo and walked for a bit before stopping and turning. "He's going to fight me and I'll see if he has what it takes."

"That's it?" Sougo asked as he turned and prepped his transformation taking out his Zi-O and Decade Ridewatches. "Are there any rules?"

"I'd only suggest going all out but other than that there are no rules or restrictions," Kouta explained before closing his eyes, "Henshin."

[KIWAMI ARMS!]

"As for you Ruby," Mai went over to the base of the tree before placing the Ridewatch at the base. "In order to obtain the power of Baron you'll be facing him."

Ruby looked around before staring at the tree, "The tree?"

Soon enough red particles began to form together to reveal a man with messy brown hair in a black and red accented suit and jacket combo. He held his own Sengoku Driver already with a Banana Lockseed in place.

"Kaito," Mai gave a smile, "If you could."

Kaito could only scoff as he laid eyes on Ruby, "So you're the one who seeks my strength?"

Ruby readied her Driver and Roze Ridewatch, "I am."

"So be it," Kaito answered as he initiated his transformation, "Then show me your strength."

[COME ON! BANANA ARMS! KNIGHT OF SPE~AR!]

A red bodysuit with silver chainmail and medieval themed accents formed around him as a metal banana dropped down and formed his shoulder and chest armor alongside finishing up his helmet. This was Kamen Rider Baron, the Rider gaining a lance styled after a banana and pointing it forward.

Ruby raised an eyebrow, "Banana?"

Kaito took a step forward, "Baron!"

Sougo looked back at Ruby and gave a nod, "Alright then, you're on!"

"Right," Ruby agreed. "We'll show you what we've got!"

Sougo drew out his Zi-O and Decade Watches while Ruby drew out her Roze Watch alone.

"Henshin!"

Oren had led Yang and Zack to Charmant, as while Jonouchi was rather busy most of the time due to his high profile career, he still did run the bakery.

"Master, it's so good to see you," Jonouchi greeted as he came to the front. "Thankfully my apprentice has been able to handle the busywork so…" he slowed when he saw Yang and Zack behind Oren before giving sigh. "I thought I told you Zack that I'm not coming out of retirement."

"Unacceptable!" Oren called out as he slammed his hands on the counter as Jonouchi himself flinched back in response. "You get the call to defend your home and you deny it?!"

"Y-You know when you said you wanted to visit I had no idea this was what you had in mind," Jonouchi admitted.

"Have you no pride?!" Oren called out and leaned further towards his former apprentice.

Jonouchi nervously pushed up his glasses, "O-Of course I have pride as a pattissier it's my-"

"Pride as a fighter boy, fighter!" Oren called out before Yang quickly went to keep him from trying to leap over the counter.

"Jonouchi, I told you this is big enough for you to come out of retirement," Zack sighed, a black case in his hands.

"Didn't you feel that weird wave earlier?" Yang asked as she managed to finally pull Oren away who had huffed and gone to a corner.

Jonouchi put a hand to his chin, "Huh now that you mention it… things sort of did just go blank…"

"Yeah that happened to the whole city," Yang pointed out. "After the initial blank your body feels light, you sort of feel like your fading away and then starting to feel a pull towards a sea of unknown people. Everyone got affected by it, even Kamen Riders if used long enough."

"We had ten Riders all working together to stop it," Zack spoke up. "And even we were barely able to make it in time."

"Right now we're at eleven," Yang put a finger up. "But we could really use some more help."

"Eleven sounds like a lot," Jonouchi admitted. "Are you sure you really need me?"

"I give up," Zack sighed as he ruffled his hair and went to sling the case over his shoulder when Yang grabbed it. "Hey!"

"I'll be honest, three of us are complete newbie's to this Rider business," Yang said as she had an idea, opening the case and taking out the contents, a Sengoku Driver and Donguri Lockseed. She walked over and placed them on the counter before leaning forward, "While yeah we have guys like Takatora or Kouta, we could use another experienced Rider to help us out."

Jonouchi held up his hands, "Wait, wait, Kouta's back?"

"That's how serious this issue is," Zack spoke up.

"Yeah," Yang gave a nod before looking back at Jonouchi. "That being said, my friend's actually a big fan of yours and she was impressed to find out that you were a Rider too. It'd mean a lot to her if you helped out. Plus once this is all over she'll probably end up here anyway since she was just dying to try your sweets."

"A fan you say?" Jonouchi asked before thinking on it a bit, after a long hum he took both the Sengoku Driver and Lockseed, "I'll be more than happy to assist you all. I mean, if Kouta's involved this is pretty bad right? And I can't just disappoint a fan of mine."

"That's all it took huh?" Zack commented.

Oren simply gave a huff as he turned to glance at Jonouchi, "Glad to see you made the right choice."

Sougo gave a yell as he was hit, sparks flying off of his Decade Armor as he staggered back. He fell to a knee and slammed his sword into the ground to keep from falling over.

"Come on, is that all you've got?" Kouta asked, holding both Zangetsu's and Ryugen's weapons, using the shield for defense while the gun was used to hit from afar.

"This is just like Oma Zi-O…" Sougo gritted his teeth as he just managed to stand, remembering his first confrontation with his future self. While Kouta was definitely high up there, his attacks weren't as brutal when it came to Oma ZI-O's. "But… I can do this!"

"Can you?" Kouta asked as tossed his weapons away and put a hand to his Driver, turning the key attached to his main Lockseed. "Are you sure about that?"

[DURINOKO!]

Kouta quickly drew out Bravo's twin swords before rushing forward and performing a cross slash. He was surprised when his slash was stopped by Sougo's Heisaber.

Sougo gave a yell and kicked forward, managing to hit Kouta in the stomach to force him back. He then pointed his Heisaber forward as he readied himself, "What do you mean am I sure? I'm pretty sure!"

"Remember like I said, anything goes," Kouta answered. "You have a lot of options available to call on."

Weiss watched intently, a bit worried at how both trials were going, "Is… is he going to be able to do this?"

"He has to if we're going to beat Another Gaim," Geiz answered, arms crossed while his finger tapped his arm. He admittedly was worried since Sougo wasn't doing much to harm Kouta.

Tsukuyomi stayed silent but looked over towards Ruby's trial, noticing that she wasn't having too much trouble. In fact hers seemed more like a spar than anything else.

"Come on," Kaito continued to spin and slash with his weapon, easily blocking the shots from Ruby's Crescent Rose. "I told you to show me your strength, so do so!"

"Fine," Ruby drew out Brave's Ridewatch.

[BRAVE! WEAPON TIME! GASHACON SWORD!]

Ruby quickly drew her flame rimmed sword and rushed forward, charging it up as she slashed forward. She was surprised when Kaito had just stayed where he was, raising his lance to block against her slash.

"So this is your power?" Kaito asked as he held his ground.

"Yes," Ruby answered firmly before backing up, flames wrapping around her sword before she lunged forward. A stream of fire launched out like a flamethrower to strike at Kaito.

[COME ON! BANANA SPARKLING!]

Stabbing his Bana Spear into the ground the pealed lance soon formed several banana projections that launched out and battled against the flames. The flames broke through and shattered his projections though he was kept unharmed.

"My power comes from the Riders I help out," Ruby spoke further. "It's because of them that I'm able to keep growing stronger."

"I see, and what of the other half?" Kaito asked.

Ruby was ready to charge in when she paused, "Other half?"

"Do not play coy," Kaito called out. "I exist at this moment through the assistance of other means, and I am aware of certain facts like your origins. So I ask again, what of the other half?"

"What other half…?" Ruby asked as she paused and lowered her weapon. "Are you talking about Remnant… but-" She was cut out of her thoughts when she saw Kaito suddenly move in and lunge towards her. She braced with her weapon and cried out as she was forced back from the force of the jab.

"The current you is composed of two halves thanks to your experiences," Kaito explained as he walked forward before raising his lance and slamming it down. "However those two halves are not equal!"

"Not equal?" Ruby winced as she raised her sword to block with both hands, "What are you talking about?"

"The fact that you're faltering means that you regard the other half of yourself poorly," Kaito explained as he kept the pressure up, eventually managing to break Ruby's block. He then swung again, managing to force Ruby backwards. "If you cannot accept both of your sides equally then you cannot achieve true strength."

"What are you talking about?" Ruby gasped as she had ended up skidding back from the last hit, "I'm not ignoring anything!"

"The more you continue to deny it the weaker you become," Kaito answered.

"I am not weak," Ruby gave a light growl, dismissing her Gashacon Sword before bringing out Crescent Rose once more, twirling and spinning before shifting it to its scythe formation. "I'll prove it to you!"

Blake stood over the two Kureshima Brothers who were currently both sitting at a computer. The trio had found themselves inside a small office that didn't seem to be used often. Blake wasn't concerned about the three having issues finding anything, since despite the hard to search nature, Takatora seemed to be a master of cracking illegal and shady shipping patterns.

"So what's your stake in all of this?" Blake asked.

"What brought this on?" Takatora asked.

"Just curious to know a bit more about my employer," Blake admitted.

"Brother is… we're trying to make sure no one misuses Yggdrasil's technology any further," Mitsuzane explained.

"I made a lot of mistakes while I thought I was doing the right thing," Takatora admitted. "Then everything fell apart… so I'm not about to let my mistakes continue to spread after everything was tied up by others in my stead."

"Sound like a lot of hard work," Blake could only give a nod, while she knew Takatora wasn't going to outright say anything, their vague answers were enough to give her the full picture.

"That's the plan," Takatora admitted. "The battle seems never ending but I don't mind it too much."

Mitsuzane gave a bit of a concerned look towards his brother, "You know if you ever need more help-"

"I'd rather you focus as much as you can on your future," Takatora answered. "I will always appreciate your help. But I'm the one who responsible for this growing out of control for not seeing things sooner."

"You know, you should try sharing some of the burden," Blake mentioned. "It must be pretty rough trying to do that all alone, but well, you seem to have plenty of people who want to look out for you."

"I suppose," Takatora remarked before finding information of shipping to a location named the Torika Republic. He quickly closed the location however before finding what he was looking for, "Here we go, I knew some of these part orders were odd."

"What's so odd about them?" Blake asked.

"A lot of it was the same parts ordered when Yggdrasil was studying Lockseed's," Takatora explained as he pulled up part information. "There are a few different models and additions as well in the listings, which leads me to believe that these shipments were meant to create a Helheim Fruit farm to mass produce Zakuro Lockseed's. I'm not surprised since he did this when he first resurfaced as well."

"So do we have our location?" Blake asked.

"We do," Takatora gave a nod. "Now then… let's just see how much they stole. You recall how many Kurokage Troopers you faced?"

"I do," Blake gave a nod.

"What are you thinking?" Mitsuzane asked.

"Knowing our enemies numbers will be important," Takatora explained.

An old warehouse was where Kugai was currently laying low, walking along a catwalk on the side of the warehouse, staring down below at his backup. A blue haze enveloped the floor while various Helheim Fruit lined various poles that were spread throughout the area. Dozens upon dozens of Inves were currently feeding on the last of the Helheim Fruit attached to the poles.

Standing and watching the process were a dozen or so Kurokage Troopers that were still his loyal soldiers under his influence. They stayed still as the Inves chose to ignore them, simply acting on orders to consume as many Helheim Fruits as possible.

"I see you haven't given up, despite all the hindrances," Swartz remarked as he walked over in a semi-composed manner.

"They caught me off guard," Kugai admitted. "Especially Roze… that silver form of hers felt as effective as Gaim's attacks were."

"I do hope you have a plan," Swartz said as he went to look down at what was going on.

"The Saver System was destroyed, but if I use myself as the Saver System then I can continue my plan," Kugai explained. "They nearly lost to me last time, I just need to do what I did prior and break up their forces."

Swartz gave a nod, "A smart tactic… though your forces leave a lot to be desired."

"Do not worry… it's not about quantity, it's about quality," Kugai smiled and snapped his fingers, transforming into Another Gaim.

[GAIM!]

As his transformation echoed through the warehouse all of the Inves suddenly perked up before turning on each other. It was suddenly a free for all as Elementary Inves began battling each other at Kugai's command.

Swartz was ready to say something when he heard a sickening crunch and a tear, an Inves' arm getting crushed before being torn off. The Inves that had taken the arm soon began to devour it as a red aura began to form over it.

"Like I said… it's all about quality," Kugai chuckled.

[PINE IRON!]

Sougo yelled out as he was struck by a pine shaped flail that Kouta was swinging around. Tumbling across the ground he managed to find his stopping point as he was now on his side.

"Sougo!" Tsukuyomi called out.

"Do you give up?" Kouta asked. "Because you're not getting anywhere like this."

"I… I need the Gaim Ridewatch… so I can't give up!" Sougo called out as he managed to get on his knees.

"You aren't going to beat him you idiot!" Geiz called out. "It's clear you're out of your league!"

"He's right you dolt," Weiss agreed. "It's clear Decade Armor by itself won't help you win. You need a new strategy."

"You should listen to your friends," Kouta suggested as he began spinning the Pine Iron around near him. "They can be pretty helpful."

Sougo gave a groan as he managed to stand up, deciding to take a deep breath to figure out what he needed to do. That was when Kouta's suggestion hit him, "Wait…"

'Beat him'

'Won't help you win.'

That was what Geiz and Weiss had mentioned, but that wasn't what Kouta asked him to do.

'He's going to fight me and I'll see if he has what it takes'

'You have a lot of options available to call on'

'You should listen to your friends'

"That's it!" Sougo called out as he stood up fully before running forward. "Geiz, Weiss! I want your help!"

Weiss couldn't help but blink a bit, "Wait what?"

"Are you being serious?" Geiz asked. "This is your trial remember!"

"Yeah and there are no rules!" Sougo called out as he continued to approach Kouta. "So please, help me!"

Geiz and Weiss both looked at each other before looking back at Sougo.

Kouta gave a chuckle before yelling and swinging upwards before slamming down the Pine Iron, and to his surprise it suddenly impacted against a glyph.

Weiss had chosen to not transform, having simply brought out Myrtenaster to bring out a defensive glyph.

Kouta was ready to bring out another weapon to quickly attack with when his hand was suddenly struck by an arrow. He looked up, surprised to see that Geiz had also not transformed and merely summoned his Zikan Zax in its bow mode.

[HEY! BUILD!]

[BUILD! DUAL TIME BREAK!]

Sougo was suddenly in front of Kouta, jabbing forward as the Heisaber's blade was coated in a yellow drill of energy, striking Kouta in the gut and sending him staggering back.

"Not bad…" Kouta said slowly before laughing as his transformation faded, he then gave a smile, "Congratulations, you pass."

Sougo nearly stumbled forward at that declaration, "Wait, seriously?"

"You figured out what you needed to do with my test," Kouta explained as he drew out the Gaim Ridewatch and tossed it over to Sougo.

"So all I had to do was ask?" Sougo asked as he caught the Gaim Ridewatch, looking it over, "That's all you wanted to hear?"

"It was never about beating me in a fight. It was about making sure you recognized the importance of your allies." Kouta explained. "And I knew if you were sincere enough in your request they'd help you out. In a way it was a test for them as well."

"Well I can't just leave all the fighting to him alone," Weiss huffed.

"I suppose we do need to act more like a team," Geiz admitted before giving a chuckle, "At least you knew you were in over your head this time."

"Yeah… had some bad flashbacks there when I got sent skidding back the first time," Sougo admitted with a nervous laugh.

"Just remember that it never hurts to ask for help," Kouta replied. "Your allies are just as important as any form or weapon you have."

"Right," Sougo gave a nod. "I'll be sure to remember that."

"Ruby!"

Everyone turned at Tsukuyomi's yell when they saw Ruby skidding backwards from attack by Kaito, the huntress Rider digging her scythe into the ground to keep from going too far.

Kaito gave a scoff before seeing that Kouta's test was done. He then turned and began to walk towards the tree, "There's no point in continuing."

Ruby panted a bit before realizing what Kaito had said, "What do you mean?"

"Until you learn how to balance your strength, I will not acknowledge you as worthy," Kaito explained as his transformation vanished. He then went over and grabbed the Baron Ridewatch. "You may come back whenever you feel you're ready. But know that I won't be as kind the second time."

"Wait," Ruby called out as she began to approach. "Wait!"

Kaito simply vanished alongside the Baron Ridewatch causing Ruby to stop in her tracks.

"Ruby…" Weiss trailed, surprised to see that her partner didn't pass the trial.

"What does that even mean?" Ruby sighed as she dismissed her weapon and took a deep breath, now mulling on what Kaito said about her only accepting half of her strength.

"Don't let it get you too down," Kouta called out as he walked over. "Kaito can be quite the hard to handle guy."

"I suppose," Ruby said, dismissing her transformation before quickly perking up, "Guess I'll just have to really show him my strength next time!"

"That's the spirit," Kouta gave a laugh.

"So how did your test go?" Ruby asked when she saw everyone walk over.

"Managed to just barely get it," Sougo smiled as he flashed the Gaim Ridewatch.

"I think the important part is we're dealing with Another Gaim and not Another Baron," Ruby admitted.

"I'm still surprised they haven't tried to pull a trick like that again," Geiz sighed. "That Another Cross-Z made things way too annoying."

"I suppose they're just really confident with their picks," Sougo shrugged.

Ruby gave a nod before pulling out her phone when it buzzed, seeing the Team RWBY group chat being messaged by both Blake and Yang.

'We've got a location for where Kugai likely is'

'We managed to get Jonouchi to help!'

"Looks like everyone else is ready, which means we can finish this," Ruby said before texting about the Gaim Ridewatch.

Near the warehouse that Kugai had set up at the remaining Kurokage Troopers rushed through the streets. Kugai had gotten word that the Riders were on their way and immediately sent them out to whittle them down.

The Kurokage's all held their spears forward as they went to intercept the Riders on their way. Quickly jumping into view they readied themselves before tilting their heads. To their surprise only Geiz, Oren, Jonouchi and Tsukuyomi were approaching. The three Riders had their Drivers and Henshin devices ready.

"My, my, seems you all were tricked rather handily," Oren called out in a confident voice as he strutted forward. "Such are the results of brilliant tactics from my Melon Prince."

The Kurokage Troopers all realized what had happened and quickly went to turn only for Tsukuyomi to immediately fire with her Faizphone X. Red lasers impacted against their ankles and the ground, forcing them to tumble around into each other. They still attempted to make their way back until several vines shot out and lashed at them.

"Sorry but you won't be going back to help," Mai walked into view and crossed her arms.

"It wouldn't be a smart move to run anyway," Geiz replied. "We aren't pushovers ourselves."

The Kurokage Troopers could only growl out as they turned, being provoked enough to warrant a fight as they all stood and readied their spears.

"I'll teach you all to wear that armor frivolously," Jonouchi said as he readied his transformation.

"Henshin!"

[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER GEIZ!]

[DURIAN ARMS! MR. DANGEROUS!]

[COME ON! DONGURI ARMS! NEVER GIVE UP!]

Alongside Geiz and Bravo, the brown, silver accented acorn themed Rider, Gridon stood alongside them. Geiz brandished his axe while Oren readied his swords, Jonouchi spinning his hammer in his hand. The three then yelled as they charged at the Kurokage Troopers who did the same.

"Sounds like our plan worked," Sougo said as he regrouped with the remaining Riders outside the main warehouse.

"Seems like it," Mitsuzane gave a nod. "That should take care of all of his soldiers. We'll just have the Inves to deal with."

"We should be able to handle that," Ruby replied.

"Then let's get going," Kouta suggested.

The nine Riders all nodded and were ready to transform when suddenly the warehouse doors began to bulge, visible bumps suddenly appearing.

"W-What is that?" Weiss asked.

Zack's eyes widened, "Is it an Inves?"

"Oh no…" Takatora hissed out.

Suddenly the warehouse doors were punched through by two large pronged hands, the doors being ripped away to reveal a large brown Inves with bulging muscles and various orange and blue antler-like branches along its body and arms, it's head having the same antler-like headpiece though the blue in this case was replaced with a blood red.

Joining it was a humanoid red and black ram-like Inves with white decorating its body, and a humanoid jade dragon Inves, both of their eyes a piercing red coloration. Surprisingly there were no other Inves behind them as it was only just the three, each gaining an eerie red aura around them.

"Shika, Yagi, and Seiryu Inves'," Kouta pointed at each in turn, "Seems like Kugai's been busy."

"Kouta," Takatora took out a red Driver that looked like a juicer, the Genesis Driver. "Go and handle Kugai alongside Roze and Zi-O, as we went over your abilities are vital in this working."

"We'll catch up later," Blake agreed. "We can't let him get another try at that Saver System."

"Sounds good, but first things first," Kouta went over to Mitsuzane and held out a hand a gold pulse washing over his friend. "I know you managed to snag a pretty potent Lockseed."

Mitsuzane's eyes widened as he took out the Dragon Fruit's Energy Lockseed, it having a pulsing gold glow to it, "Kouta…"

"Can't have you do anything too reckless, right?" Kouta smiled.

"I figured you'd do something like this," Mistzuane gave a bit of a laugh.

"If we're done with preparations," Weiss started before stabbing Myrtenaster into the ground, "Get going!" she ordered, forming a black glyph underneath the three Inves, the monsters struggling against the weight gain.

"Oh I can do better than that, see you inside Kouta!" Ruby quickly grabbed Sougo.

"Huh? Wait we're doing it n-?!" Sougo yelled out in the middle of his question, being caught in Ruby's Petal Burst as they shot over and around the Inves.

Kouta couldn't help but give a chuckle as his body turned into a golden light, the light taking the shape of an orb that quickly shot after Ruby's Semblance.

The Inves soon staggered forward as they were released from the glyph, the Evolved Shika Inves pounded the ground before leaping towards the group of remaining Riders. Weiss and Takatora quickly hopped backwards to avoid the giant Inves' assault. Yang and Zack had rolled to the side while Blake leapt away alongside Mitsuzane who had barely managed to roll away.

"Guess we're pairing up," Weiss said as she readied her Driver and Quiz Topper.

"Let's make this quick," Takatora readied his Driver and activated his Energy Lockseed.

[MELON ENERGY!]

"Henshin!"

[SODA! MELON ENERGY ARMS!]

[FASHION! PASSION! QUESTION! QUIZ!]

Joining Weiss as Quiz this time was Takatora as Zangetsu Shin, his bodysuit gaining black padding and now having a honeydew archer styled melon armor.

Weiss quickly brought out a pair of Glyph's in defense, the glyphs shattering as they took the full force of a punch.

Takatora drew out his red and blue rimmed bow the Sonic Arrow and took aim, firing at the Inves' shoulders and stomach in rapid succession to force it to take a step back.

Blake and Mitsuzane meanwhile were both dodging against the Yagi Inves, it extending its horns into a drill-like formation to strike at the two.

Blake glanced at her partner, "You ready?"

Mitsuzane gave a nod, swapping his Sengoku Driver's faceplate with a Genesis Core and activating both Budoh and Dragon Fruits energy Lockseed's.

[BUDOH! DRAGON FRUITS ENERGY!]

"Henshin!"

[HAI! MIX! BUDOU ARMS! RYU! HOU! HA-HA-HA! JIMBER DRAGON FRUITS! HA-HA!]

[DARE JA? ORE JA? NINJA! SHINOBI KENZAN!]

Mitsuzane had his usual bodysuit on as his Budoh Arms and Dragon Fruits Energy Arms mixed together and descended onto him to form bulky black armor resembling a jinbaori, the front panels unfolding and being decorated in dragon fruit slices. The back of his helmet was now black with red and he gained his own Sonic Arrow as well.

"Not bad," Blake remarked as she quickly sent a stream of flames towards the Yagi Inves.

The Yagi Inves screeched as it quickly extended its horns to drill at the ninja Rider, only for Mitsuzane to swiftly shoot against the horns and force them to retract.

Blake crouched forward while running, drawing out Gambol Shroud and speeding up even further, slashing past the Yagi Inves. She then spun while drawing her blade out of the sheath, slashing with both components of her weapon and striking the Yagi Inves again.

The Yagi Inves howled out, turning only for sparks to fly against its back. It fell to its knees as Mitsuzane had let out a volley of arrows when it had turned.

The Seiryu Inves meanwhile had attempted to interfere in the other fights, but thanks to Yang and Zack it was merely dragged away. The two managed to throw it away from them before backing up.

"Let's get cracking," Yang grinned.

Zack couldn't help but groan, readying his Sengoku Driver by attaching the same adapter that Mitsuzane had done, "Seriously?"

"Huh, tough crowd," Yang readied her tools.

"I feel like that was too easy given me," Zack remarked as he readied his Kurumi Lockseed alongside a Marron Energy.

[KURUMI! MARRON ENERGY!]

"Henshin!"

[MIX! KURUMI ARMS! MR. KNUCKLE MAN! JIMBER MARRON! HA-HA!]

[DEKAI! HAKAI! GOKAI! KAMEN RIDER KIKAI!]

Zack's Knuckle Armor gained the same jinbaori styled armor that Mitsuzane's had, this one being lined with chestnut slices in the front. While the back of his helmet didn't change he gained a cap-like attachment to his forehead with a gold sun for the head crest. Instead of gaining a Sonic Arrow his weapons were instead enhanced, gaining the Marron Bombers, depth charge styled gauntlets.

Yang brought out Ember Celica and began launching blasts against the Seiryu Inves. They hit but didn't seem to do much damage against the hardened body.

"We need to hit it hard," Zack said as he rushed forward.

"Note to self, think about more explosive options," Yang glanced at her gauntlets before using them to launch herself forward.

Zack used his massive gauntlets to shield against the Seiryu Inves' fire blasts, soon spinning and cupping the Marron Bombers together. With three spins he slammed them straight into the Inves' face, sparks flying as it staggered back.

Yang gave a yell as she flipped in mid-air, using her gauntlets to fire and send her spinning before she sent a downwards kick against the Seiryu Inves.

As the Remnant Riders and their partners continued their fights against the three enhanced Inves, they would be unaware of their own audience of one. Swartz had asked the other Time Jackers to go away while he investigated the matter personally. His faced twisted and contorted into glares and sneers as he saw the trio of new and unknown Riders fighting.

"This isn't right… this isn't right…" He growled out as his eyes gave a purple shine. He gripped his wrist and took a deep breath, "So fate wishes to mock me now?" He muttered, "First the girl, now these three… I will not be kept from what I want."

"I'm so glad you all could make it," Kugai called out as he was at the back of the warehouse in his 'human' state, seeing the Petal Burst and golden light stop several feet away from him. Ruby, Sougo and Kouta stood side to side as they all landed.

"This ends today Kugai," Kouta called out. "You won't be fading away temporarily this time."

"No matter, despite your numbers increasing you were still forced to only confront me with three again," Kugai smiled as he walked forward, dark wisps wrapping around him.

[GAIM!]

"That's because we'll only need three," Sougo said as he readied himself. "I'll take the lead, you two hang back."

"You've got this!" Ruby called out as she pumped her fist.

"Show him how you use my power," Kouta gave a nod.

Sougo gave a nod as he watched the two back up before readying his Zi-O and Gaim Ridewatches.

[ZI-O! GAIM!]

"Henshin!"

[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!]

[ARMOR TIME!]

As Sougo's transformation completed he saw a shadow cast over him as he looked up before seeing the Gaim Armor, it acting like one of the Arms the Armored Rider's would use. The armor was orange themed with a large Gaim face present on the front of the armor.

"Huh, what is this?!"

Suddenly the armor landed on his shoulders, though with Sougo unprepared for the weight, he suddenly fell over. His legs kicked and flailed around as he tried to right himself.

"O-Oh boy…" Ruby gave a sheepish chuckle.

Kouta couldn't help but laugh a bit, "Uh… does this normally happen?"

Kugai could only stare at what was happening, "Excuse me?"

Sougo managed to bend his legs and find his footing, tipping over and managing to get back up, "There we go…"

"You know it's been a while since we've had an Armor Time like this but…" Ruby thought on it a while. "I don't think they were this top heavy."

"It's opening!" Sougo called out as the armor began to unfold, soon fully latching on fully as a burst of orange juice shot out from the armor. This was another unique Armor Time, having Gaim themed shins with orange slices lining the sides of the shin armor and samurai hip armor that had connecting points to the chest. The chest itself was the upper half of Gaim's helmet, having Orange Lockseed's for shoulder pads. More orange styled samurai armor extended from the shoulders and extended outwards.

[SOIYA! GAIM!]

The top and sides of his helmet was just like the Orange Arms back helm while the front Sougo's mouth plate now had Gaim's crusher jaw, the upper half being dark blue with Gaim's head crest. Between the mouth and forehead was the blank space where the pink katakana for Gaim shot into place.

Silence fell as Sougo simply stood where he was, Ruby and Kouta both looking at each other before looking back at the rider.

Ruby cupped her hands together, "Sougo?"

Sougo suddenly jolted as he looked back, "Huh? What?"

"You were just standing there," Kouta pointed out.

"I was?" Sougo asked before shaking his head, in truth he had paused because normally now would be the time when Woz would give a rejoicing speech. "Huh, well anyway… Now…" He quickly clasped his hands together before striking a Kabuki-like pose, "…On parade, through the flowered path!"

(Insert: JUST LIVE MORE by Gaim no Kaze)

"This is your trump card?" Kugai couldn't help but give a laugh before he charged towards Sougo.

Sougo drew out two orange slice-styled katana's, the Daidaimaru. He blocked Kugai's slash with one before spinning around and slashing at the Another Riders back. He quickly raised both swords, blocking against a heavy swing from Kugai.

"Why do you deny my salvation?" Kugai questioned as he tried to push forward. "I simply want everyone to evolve like I have, into Overlord-like states. It was what was meant for us before the Man of the Beginning took it away!"

Sougo gritted as he quickly pushed forward and stepped back to gain some space, "Kouta had his reasons for doing what he did. If he wanted us to stay the way we are then who are you to decide that we should evolve!"

"You've seen power beyond your imagination so why deny that it isn't good for everyone," Kugai called out as he rushed forward.

Sougo quickly spun around, his swords releasing orange energy as he managed to stop and force Kugai to step back. He quickly began dancing around an approaching Kugai, blocking with one sword and slashing or stabbing with his second one. He continued to spin and step around Kugai, "I have… and I'm scared of it!"

"Scared?" Kugai asked before he braced, defending against a double slash as he skidded back from the push Sougo was doing. His grip loosened before the swords were struck against him again, sparks flying as he slammed against the wall of the warehouse.

"Sometimes having a lot of power isn't fun… or good…" Sougo admitted as he specifically remembered back to his fight against his future self. "It's honestly scary… especially seeing what kind of person you turn into… which is why I wouldn't want to wish that burden onto anyone else!"

"A fools words…" Kugai hissed out.

Sougo said nothing as he raised his sword, summoning misshapen cartoon orange projections above him. He then threw his sword forward as the projections rained down upon Kugai, littering the Another Rider with juice filled explosions.

"It's over…" Sougo called before initiating his finisher, shifting his swords into a reverse grip, "Time to slice and dice!"

[FINISH TIME! GAIM!]

"Don't mock me!" Kugai yelled out as he rushed forward towards the Rider.

[SQUASH TIME BREAK!]

Sougo took a step back before throwing his arms forward, shifting his blades into a standard grip and slicing through the Another Rider twice.

Kugai gasped out as his body was split three ways briefly before exploding. The immortal Armored Rider yelled as he was thrown out of the explosion, the Gaim Anotherwatch shattering.

(Insert End)

"Nice one Sougo!" Ruby called out with a thumbs-up.

Sougo couldn't help but turn and chuckle, dismissing his swords as he gave a thumbs-up too.

"Time for us to tag in," Kouta spoke up as he took a step forward.

"Right," Ruby said as she readied her Ziku Driver and Silver Roze Ridewatch.

"I may have lost my gifted power but I will not abandon my ambitions," Kugai called out as he stood, placing his Sengoku Driver on his waist before taking out his Blood Orange and Zakuro Lockseeds.

[BLOOD ORANGE! ZAKURO!]

[LOCK ON!]

"Henshin…"

[HA! BLOOD ZAKURO ARMS! KURUIZAKI SACRIFICE! HA! BLOOD ORANGE ARMS! JA NO MICHI ON STAGE!]

The transformation was different, the mismatched Zakuro and Blood Orange Armor forming around his body before his black bodysuit formed, the armor soon latching on to reveal the black and blood red armored Rider, Saver.

In this form he gained not only a Blood version of the Daidaimaru but also the Saver Arrow, a Sonic Arrow that was repainted black.

Kouta quickly summoned his own Driver, initiating his transformation alongside Ruby.

"Henshin!"

[SOIYA! LOCK OPEN!]

[SILVER TIME!]

The various fruit armors of the Armored Riders all floated down and surrounded Ruby and Kouta, as the twin mirrors appeared behind both. The mirrors shined a brilliant light that reflected in the metallic armor, a pillar of light forming from the two.

[KIWAMI ARMS! DAI! DAI! DAI! DAI! DAI SHOGUN!]

[KAMEN RIDER~! (RIDER~!) SILVER! (SILVER!) SILVER~! ROZE!]

The two silver Riders stood side by side in their strongest forms, Kouta drawing out his Daidaimaru and Musou Saber while Ruby raised her Silver Crescent.

"This is our stage now!" Kouta called out.

"Come!" Kugai yelled as he charged forward.

Ruby ran forward with Kouta, taking aim and shooting as Kouta shot at the same time, using the gun function of his Musou Saber.

Kugai braced against the shots by crossing his weapons, spreading them out before slashing with both. The attack had forced Kouta to charge in and block with his own weapons. Ruby however rolled past the two, turning and taking aim.

[RYOSHI SASU!]

"Bang," Ruby called out before firing a burst of light from her weapon.

To say the Kurokage Troopers were putting up a fight would be a lie. The remaining members of Kugai's cabal were getting slaughtered by their opponents. Geiz had yet to use an armor time, simply switching between the axe and bow modes of his weapon. Oren was easily besting them with his superior combat skills. Jonouchi while being fairly weak in power, managed to get heavy strikes in. It also helped when he stole a Kurokage's spear, using it rather well against several when they tried to surround him.

"You all don't deserve to be named Kurokage's," Jonouchi quickly hopped over them before raising his hammer and initiating his finisher.

[DONGURI AU LAIT!]

Jonouchi slammed his Donkachi onto the ground, unleashing pale brown shockwaves that forced the Kurokage Troopers to stagger.

[DURIAN AU LAIT!]

[ZERO TIME! GIWA GIWA UCHI!]

Oren formed and energy ball shaped like a durian before throwing it forward, Geiz following up with a charged up yellow arrow. The durian projection hit before getting struck by the arrow causing a more volatile explosion.

The Kurokage's could only gasp out as they were thrown all over, losing their transformations.

"My my boy," Oren chuckled as he turned towards Geiz. "You fight like a real professional. You would make a good soldier."

"Trust me when I say you're not far off," Geiz had to chuckle a bit as he put a hand on his hip, looking away as Oren hit the nail on the head.

Tsukuyomi couldn't help but smile a bit, noticing that Geiz was getting a bit more relaxed in his demeanor.

Watching the grouping however was the silver clad Woz, giving a small smirk as he glanced in another direction, managing to spy Swartz still spying on the other fight happening. He then began to walk off as he kept a firm grip of his Future Note.

"Your time is coming… my Savior."

[KURUMI SQUASH! JIMBER MARRON SQUASH!]

Zack jumped up high into the air before slamming his Marron Bombers together. The spikes on the shells were released in a burst of energy, raining down upon the Seiryu Inves. He soon dropped to the ground and rushed forward, still having smaller gauntlets around his forearms. In a combination of a few punches he managed to deal heavy damage to the front of the Seiryu Inves.

Zack soon stood his ground and braced with both arms when the Seiryu Inves retaliated with a fireball, "Yang!"

"On it," Yang jumped up and hopped over Zack's shoulder, kicking against the Seiryu Inves to force it back, "Let's see how you handle this!" She quickly began to punch and unleash blasts from her Ember Celica at the same time.

Despite being heavily armored the Seiryu Inves' body sparked, the amount of heavy hits from Zack having weakened its' armor. It attempted to launch another fireball only for its head to be smacked away, it spitting it out off to the side. It was then grabbed and thrown by Yang, the huntress Rider managing to force it between her and Zack.

"Let's finish him off," Yang suggested as she placed both hands on her Driver.

Zack gave a nod as he prepared his finisher, "Let's go."

[ULTIMETAL FINISH!]

[KURUMI AU LAIT! JIMBER MARRON AU LAIT!]

Yang gathered ice and electrical energy into right arm, readying it while Zack slammed both of his gauntlets together, lighting them on fire. The two gave a yell and rushed forward, Yang going for a right hook while Zack threw both arms forward. The Seiryu Inves was stuck between both attacks, it growling out as it was consumed by both attacks.

Weiss and Takatora currently both had to constantly duck and weave while firing off at the Evolved Shika Inves. Weiss only had enough time to make quick projectile glyphs, while Takatora focused on weakening various spots with his arrows.

It wasn't until Takatora had hit against its feet with a few arrows that Weiss got an idea.

"Stand back," Weiss stabbed Myrtenaster into the ground, a thin sheet of ice spreading out and forming underneath the Evolved Inves.

The Evolved Inves had tried to move forward only to slip and fall as a result, slamming onto its stomach. The Inves slammed both hands onto the ground to push itself up.

"Let's finish this," Takatora took the Melon Energy Lockseed and loaded it onto his weapon before pulling the string back.

[LOCK ON! MELON ENERGY!]

Releasing his grip he unleashed an arrow against the Evolved Inves, the arrow splitting into multiple ones as they all struck and dug into the monsters body.

[FINAL QUIZ FLASH!]

Weiss jumped into the air a line of X's and O's forming between her and the Evolved Shika Inves as she gave a yell. Her boot was filled with electrified energy and in an instant she struck straight through the Inves, skidding to a stop on one knee.

The Inves gasped out before its whole body sparked heavily, soon exploding in a bright display.

"Our turn," Blake said as she spun her Shuriken Starter to initiate her finisher.

"Right," Mitsuzane readied his Sonic Arrow, loading the Dragon Fruits Energy Lockseed on it.

[LOCK ON!]

[FINISH NINPO!]

Blake suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke, soon appearing nearby the Yagi Inves and performing an uppercut. She vanished again and struck again before vanishing once more. Her appearing and disappearing assault had managed to juggle the Yagi Inves high into the air before she ended with a powered up upward kick.

Mitsuzane took aim, pulling back on the bow before releasing his grip on it.

[DRAGON FRUITS ENERGY!]

Upon releasing his grip on the arrow's string a red eastern dragon of energy shot out, snaking forward before biting into the Yagi Inves, causing a large explosion in mid-air.

Swartz could only watch in displeasure from a distance before quickly turning away and vanishing.

(Insert: Ranbu Escalation by Gaku Sano & Yutaka Kobayashi)

Kugai gritted his teeth as he was sandwiched between three opponents. Both Kouta and Sougo were dual wielding weapons while Ruby was utilizing her long range to take pot shots at him with her weapons light energy blasts. That was until he saw Ruby transform her weapon into a spear, and realized this was his chance.

Just barely he was able to force all three near him, gritting as he blocked some of their strikes but was hit regardless. He then gave a yell as he spun around, red energy erupting from his weapons as he managed to force everyone back.

Kouta gave a yell as he skidded backwards, stomping his foot to stop himself. Sougo had ended up tumbling back due to his armor's top heavy nature while Ruby turned in the direction she was falling and used Petal Burst to make a quick landing.

Kugai threw away his Blood Daidamaru before pulling back on his Saver Arrow. He launched an arrow at Kouta before aiming and launching one at Ruby.

Kouta was forced to brace against his projectile while Ruby dodged out of the way.

"You want a gun fight, fine," Ruby called out as she switched Silver Crescent back to its rifle form, dashing and firing at Kugai.

Kugai had spun backwards to avoid the shot before firing at Ruby, eventually getting in a run and gun fight with her. As he flipped and hid to avoid her shots, he would make sure to keep his weapon pulled back before firing each arrow.

Kouta saw this and realized that despite Ruby's faster firing rate, Kugai was still able to keep up despite using the arrow weapon.

[HINAWADAIDAI-DJ-JU!]

Kouta drew out one of his strongest weapons, a bladed edged rifle with a DJ Table turn dial on the side. He took aim and began shooting a rapid fire stream of bullets towards Kugai. Kugai turned and gave a gasp as sparks filled his body, staggering back and dropping his weapon.

"Ooh," Ruby couldn't help but be impressed by Kouta's proficiency at all the different weapons he used. She had to admit she was a bit jealous since she was able to briefly see his fight with Sougo while she had hers against Kaito.

Kugai growled out as he stepped backwards, "No… no…" He called out before his visor glowed, his armor glowing as well. "I will not die here!"

Suddenly all the remaining emptied vines alongside various wires and equipment began to spiral around him. A tornado of nature and technology occurred which was strong enough to draw the three Riders in. The tornado grew stronger and stronger before launching all three Riders through the roof.

Sougo yelped as he was thrown onto the roof, reverting back to his base form. Ruby and Kouta winced as they were thrown nearby but kept their current forms still.

"Okay what's he doing now?" Ruby asked.

"Taking a page out of an old enemy's book," Kouta coughed as he managed to stand.

Busting out of the roof in front of them was a large pink lotus flower that was closed, it being attached to a large green stem. The flower unfolded to reveal Kugai's upper body attached to the base of the flower via orange liquid.

[JA NO MICHI ON STAGE!]

"I told you I would become the Saver System myself," Kugai declared as he spread his arms out. "I will use this flower to take root within the world and unleash my salvation upon everyone."

"Uh, we can stop this right?" Sougo asked before snapping his fingers and standing up. "Ruby, what about your big cannon attack?"

"I mean…" Ruby looked at Silver Crescent. "I'm not sure I can handle the recoil on that yet."

"Then we go for a distraction and then a kick," Kouta suggested. "Sougo, think you can hit Kugai with a big enough attack?"

Sougo thought about it for a bit before giving a nod, "Of course!"

"Ruby, you're with me, we'll finish him off together," Kouta held up his arm. "Aim for his Driver."

"Sounds good to me," Ruby nodded and bumped her arm against his.

[ARMOR TIME! KAMEN RIDE! WOW! DE~CADE!]

Sougo quickly stepped forward as he summoned his Decade Armor, slotting Gaim's Ridewatch into the Heisaber before readying himself.

[FINISH TIME!]

Kugai gave a sneer, "You won't be doing anything!"

Suddenly brown root-like tendrils shot out from underneath the warehouse near Kugai's flower, the tendrils launching forward.

[GAIM SCRAMBLE TIME BREAK!]

Sougo allowed the orange energy to gather around his sword before he spun and slashed forward several times. The orange slashes cut through the tendrils before striking against Kugai in his Lotus Position and trapping him within a fiery orange projection.

[SHINING TIME BLAST!]

[KIWAMI SQUASH!]

Both Kouta and Ruby had jumped high into the air before kicking forward side to side. The two gave a yell as silver and multicolored energy gathered around their boots. The two quickly struck against the fiery orange projection before shattering it and kicking directly against Kugai's Driver. Their attacks managed to crack the device before shattering it completely.

From their kick a bright white explosion occurred and sent shockwaves that shook the area. Anyone in the vicinity had to cover their eyes or be blinded as the explosion also blew any debris nearby away.

Sougo gave a wince as he dropped back down into the warehouse, surprised to see that Kouta and Ruby had both landed inside as well.

(Insert End)

"Did we do it?" Sougo asked.

"I think?" Ruby asked back.

"Not yet," Kouta said as he walked forward, dismissing his transformation as he approached a glowing red entity. "Kugai… it's time to rest."

"No… I must keep fighting…" The entity gasped out as it tried to stagger forward only for its body to break down further. "For… for…"

"There's a reason I didn't want everyone to evolve," Kouta said as his form changed to that of an ordinary young adult, normal clothes and even messy black hair compared to his usual godly attire. "I want everyone to live as they are, that was my mission when I took my power elsewhere."

"And so with your mission complete you rest…" The entity took a step forward only to break apart even further.

"No, I'm still going to fight so long as I'm alive, so that I can preserve my ideals," Kouta explained. "But you need to understand that it's futile to keep doing this. The Earth that I allowed everyone else to inherit is an Earth that decides what they want to be. Neither of us who reached for the Golden Fruit can decide any further."

"I am… I want… rest…" The broken entity soon began to fade away.

"Then rest in peace, Kugai," Kouta closed his eyes as the entity faded before his eyes. He knew that Kugai had gotten lucky when his Driver first broke. It was a simple act, but a combined kick from his and Ruby's their silver forms were enough to break the Driver and mortally damage his malicious spirit.

"Now it's over…" Ruby sighed in relief.

"Man, for your first mission it sure got crazy," Sougo admitted. "This was probably one of the more intense Another Riders."

"Yeah, yeah that's for sure," Ruby agreed before she and Sougo dismissed their transformations.

"You guys did pretty great honestly," Kouta smiled as he walked over. "Not bad."

"Well we were only able to get this far in thanks to all our friends," Sougo added.

"That is true," Kouta said before noticing their allies making their way into the warehouse. "We've all got our reliable friends to watch our backs."

"That's for sure," Ruby gave a tired smile. Though as the adrenaline wore off she gripped her left arm and looked down.

'If you cannot accept both of your sides equally then you cannot achieve true strength.'

'What was he even talking about? Both sides aren't equal?' She thought to herself as Kaito's words echoed in her mind.

Earth – Tokyo, Early January 2019:

Night had fallen onto the world as Swartz continued to contemplate his next move, glaring as he brought up three Blank Ridewatches. "Come on…" He glared at them as he fed his power into them. "Come on…"

The Blank Ridewatches didn't seem to react to his pleas.

"I will not allow my plans to be ruined by some unknown brats!" Swartz yelled out in anger as his eyes shined a bright purple.

The Blank Ridewatches began to resonate by pulsating with a bright purple glow. They then shot up before shattering completely and turning into energy. The three streams of energy shot out into the night sky before splitting, all falling down to various parts of the city below.

Swartz began to breathe heavily as his arms dropped, his anger had soon subsided enough to realize what had happened. He couldn't help but grin a bit, "I will not allow my plans to be ruined… if they want to play then I'll play…"

To Be Continued…

Next Time:

"The Day of Oma…"

"There you are, Fake Shinobi!"

"I get the feeling something weird is going on…"

"I need Shinobi's power for myself."

"Kamen Rider… Hattari?"

Chapter 38: Shinobi Festival 2019

Author's Note: Well things mostly went off without a hitch, though Ruby failed to actively claim Baron's Ridewatch. I'm sure what Kaito told her won't come back to bite her later… nope, clearly not :D . But hey, let's look on the bright side… oh who am I kidding? The real meat of the Arc is about to start with a Shinobi focused pair of chapters next month so um… things are about to get kind of rough before they get better. But to not leave things on a foreboding note, with the return to Earth that also means Interludes are back! A lot more this time compared to the first arc too! Their scheduling will be a bit different too, whenever I announce an Interlude will be coming, it'll show up the Monday after the chapter releases. So expect one pretty soon!

Also I noticed I got a question about Roze's Stats and well… I'll be honest I never really thought up of any stats for Roze. Mostly because those come from TV Asahi who mostly put out stats just to have them out, and they are very inconsistent between series. Like one example I love to point to is Kamen Rider Poppy having better all around stats than Gaim Kiwami Arms of all Riders. At best I can say that base Roze is comparable to base Zi-O and Geiz while Silver Roze lands her around the usual upgrade form spot, the upcoming Zi-O II will still edge Silver Roze out a bit, but Silver is definitely way stronger than Decade Armor.

I hope that answered any lingering questions on that topic, either way thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time!