Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 96 – Go Forth Roze RWBY!
A darkened version of Ironwood's Office could be seen, a singular spotlight shining down upon Woz who was transformed into Futurering Kikai. Near him were Penny, Cross-ZBuild and Another Quiz who were all frozen mid-fight. The chronicler cleared his throat as he drew out his book and opened it up.
"As it is written in this book, Sougo Tokiwa embarks on a path which will lead him to become the overlord of time, Oma Zi-O," Woz narrated as he tapped his foot a bit, "The Final Battles are upon us, with few loose ends to clear up, my Overlord faces his Another Rider counterpart via Ironwood. Of course Salem is now done playing around…"
He looked at the book that showed Salem utilizing all the Grimm Liquid and Grimm to form a chimera-like form.
"This page will be the most decisive moment in Remnant's history," Woz stated as he closed his book with a slam, "In order to win against Salem's new monstrous form, Team RWBY must put their bonds to the test as my Overlord once instructed them to when he had met them in 2068…"
The spotlight cut out before the darkened room returned to its natural lighting again as Woz ran forward.
Remnant – Atlas Academy, Ironwood's Office
Woz rushed straight towards Another Quiz who had managed to force Cross-ZBuild and Penny back with electric streams. The chronicler of time used Futurering Kikai's stamina and defenses to easily get through the electricity, performing a few heavy hitting punches against Another Quiz who staggered back.
Another Quiz gave a growl, "Fine, true or-"
"Shut the hell up!" Sento and Ryuga yelled at the same time, Cross-ZBuild having flipped forward and drop kicked Another Quiz directly in the face, a burst of fire forming as the Another Rider was sent slamming against one of the walls.
Penny shouted out, boosting forward and swinging Floating Array forward. Another Quiz quickly brought out Hard-Light barriers to block against the attacks before sending them out to force Penny back. Penny shifted Floating Array to her front, the blades spinning rapidly as it deflected the thrown barriers.
"Come now, this is asinine!" Another Quiz called out as he realized that he was in a bad position but tried to pivot it in his favor, "Clearly we all hate Ironwood, right? So why not join forces to take him down?!"
"Seriously…?" Ryuga asked.
"No," Penny called out firmly with a glare as the wind began to pick up in the office, her eyes gaining a green fiery glow as she began calling upon her magic, "You have hurt so many people, too many for us to ever consider that."
"She's right, and for the sake of this Kingdom… we won't let you go!" Sento called out.
"Then let us finish this," Woz said as he brought out his Despear.
"Then I won't go down without a fight," Another Quiz said as he began forming holographic barriers around him now, electrifying them as he stood his ground against his attackers. He then threw his hands forward, launching the electrified shielding out at them.
Penny quickly held her hands forward, the wind she brought in catching and forcing the barriers to all bounce and crash into each other.
[NINJYA! FULLBOTTLE BREAK!]
Cross-ZBuild summoned the Fullbottle Buster, slotting in the Ninja Bottle and slashing forward, numerous slashes occurring at the same time as he shattered the electrified barriers. Digital sparks flew from the electrified constructs being destroyed as Cross-ZBuild yelled, charging forward with Penny and Woz.
Remnant – Mantle Streets
The Another Agito clones yelled out as they were thrown backwards, exploding as the remaining Another Agitos began to emerge to take their place while what little Grimm remained began to close in.
"They're at their limits," Kanon Specter noted, "I think it's time we wrap this up."
"Anyone who's holding back, go all out," Kiva-la called out.
"Then let's get going," Faiz said as he detached a case from the Auto Vajin before drawing out his Faizphone to load it in, "Can't go all out, but this will do just fine."
"Wait, that super speed thing wasn't going all out?" Nico Snipe asked to which Faiz shook his head.
"I suppose finishing them off quickly will do us some good," Chalice gave a nod as he drew out his Evolution Paradoxa card.
"Sounds good to me," Beast chuckled as he brought out a blue rimmed ring with a lion's face, "Time for a finale so big that even my rival will be jealous!"
[AWAKENING! BLASTER MODE!]
[EVOLUTION!]
[HYPER, GO! HY-HY-HY-HYPER!]
Faiz simply shifted the case he was holding, unfolding it to reveal that it was also a gun as it was now in its Photon Buster mode. Chalice's form shimmered as entered his Wild Chalice form. Beast meanwhile gained the fullest form of his inner phantom Chimera as it erupted from his belt as an orange projection, overlaying on top of him and forming Beast Hyper, wearing a dazzling shiny blue armor with gold accents and a symmetrical lion theme.
"Oh that's pretty cool," Ryuki said in awe before rubbing the back of his head, "Man I really wish I had something like that, but even I'm not sure how these powers work."
"Huh?" Nico Snipe called out in surprise, "Aren't you supposed to be like one of the older guys?!"
"One, that's rude," Ryuki huffed crossing his arms, "Second, I'm kind of a special case when it comes to these things. I'm not even sure I'll remember this battle when we're done."
"That doesn't make any sense…" Nico Snipe trailed in a bored tone.
"Shut it," Snipe called out as he fired a warning shot in the air, "And get ready."
"Yes sir," Nico Snipe lazily saluted before raising her Gashacon Magnum.
"Alright, let's give these guys hell," Proto Birth cracked his knuckles.
Remnant – Atlas, CCT Tower Rooftop
Another Zi-O yelled out as he used his dual blades to block slashes from Zi-O and Zangetsu, forcing the two Riders back as he pushed forward. He then winced as he was struck in the side by several energy blasts, Necrom and Poppy having brought out their guns to hit him from a distance. He gathered energy in his blades before launching it out at the two, managing to send them stumbling back as the blasts impacted in front of them
Geiz quickly rushed in, using Shippu's speed to overwhelm Another Zi-O, using the Jaclaw to strike hard against the Another Rider. Of course his attack was to disorient as much as it was to deal damage.
[ATTACK RIDE: SLASH!]
Decade rushed in, brandishing his Ride Booker in its sword mode. It shined a bright magenta before he slashed and managed to strike Another Zi-O a few times before his last few attacks were blocked. He gave a chuckle however as he suddenly backed away.
[CRACK UP FINISH!]
Another Zi-O watched as Rogue leapt and kicked out towards him. He quickly held up his blades in a cross formation, blocking the kick though Rogue continued to yell out. That was when literal cracking was heard, Another Zi-O giving a light gasp when he realized that it was his swords that began to crack.
Rogue yelled further as he shattered both blades and kicked Another Zi-O in the chest, landing on one knee as the Another Rider staggered back.
Another Zi-O gasped out as he fell onto his hands and knees. He shouted as he punched the ground, a dark aura surrounding him before it began converging on his right arm. He quickly stood up as his arm morphed into a strange arm cannon that seemed to be a slapdash of different mechanical parts. He raised it high, launching up a projectile that suddenly split apart, raining down energy blasts upon the Riders facing him.
Everyone could only gasp, yelp or yell out as they dodged, braced or were struck by the attacks.
"I will never lose to the likes of you…" Another Zi-O hissed out as he gripped his left fist tightly.
"Jeez," Mercury muttered when he saw this, him and Emerald having backed away from the fight at that point. Both were trying to observe the fight between Another Zi-O and the one against Salem at the same time. He then looked up, "Do you seriously think they can win this?"
"I can only hope," Emerald admitted.
"Where was that confidence from earlier?" Mercury scoffed before crossing his arms, "Salem's a beast now that she's willing to try."
"Even then…" Emerald muttered as she looked up before speaking up, "Even then, I still want to believe."
"It'll take a lot more than believing…" Mercury spoke up before giving a smirk.
Roze had to admit that she wasn't expecting this turn of events. While destroying the barrier was definitely something they knew they had to do, and while she knew Silver Eyes wouldn't permanently stop Salem, she wasn't expecting Salem to pull something like this out. The fight against the Grimm Chimera that Salem had transformed into soon became a hectic and constantly moving fight.
Despite the bulky body, Grimm Chimera was able to move around with ease and was also using its massive pincers to destroy any small pieces of debris to keep them out of use.
"What foolish children," Grimm Chimera said as it looked around at its fleeing opponents, "You boast and yet you do not come and face me head on? Truly your iteration of humanity is worthless in the end."
Yang shouted as she leapt off of a piece of floating debris, falling straight for Salem as she curled into a ball to spin and build momentum.
[DRAGON! GLACIAL KNUCKLE!]
Yang slammed her Blizzard Knuckle Grimm Chimera's left bicep, a dragon of ice launching out and biting down just as she punched down. The result was freezing over the bicep of the massive Grimm. Grimm Chimera went to look at Yang before noticing that the Huntress had dropped down to back away.
[GIRI GIRI CRITICAL FINISH!]
Blake had leapt downwards from Grimm Chimera's right, utilizing Shadow to launch down faster. She spun and slashed out, her sickles laced with jagged purple energy that cut through the frozen bicep, shattering and severing Grimm Chimera's arm.
"Nice one," Yang hurried over.
"Not now!" Blake yelled as she tackled Yang and immediately used Shadow on the both of them to send them further just as Grimm Chimera's tail had lunged in, slamming into the ground where they once were.
"Come now…" Grimm Chimera spoke out as it looked as its severed arm, the severed piece surprisingly staying intact despite being cut off.
[RYOSHI SASU!]
[ATTACK RIDE: BURST!]
Several blasts and beams of light were shot downwards towards Grimm Chimera from Roze and Rose who were on a higher platform of debris.
"This body is the ultimate culmination of Grimm," Grimm Chimera said again as the Seer-like bulge on its chest suddenly opened up to reveal a circular maw filled with teeth, the central hole suddenly gathered energy in it before unleashing a powerful beam of energy that struck the incoming light projectiles, dispersing them while continuing straight towards the rose themed Riders.
Roze and Rose had both quickly had to dodge out of the way, leaping off of the platform they were on as it was shattered, landing separately on two smaller platforms.
"This is a foolish effort… however I cannot let you all go," Grimm Chimera hissed out as its chest began to close up, "You've given me such humiliation that it's time that I returned it 100 times over…"
It then launched out several tendrils from its stump of a left arm, the tendrils attaching to the severed arm before reeling it back in and reattaching it. The chimera's body began to shift slightly, and while there wasn't a noticeable difference it did get somewhat smaller due to at least some of it getting destroyed in that last attack.
"Just great, it can heal itself?" Weiss narrowed her eyes as she tried to figure out a strategy.
'Oscar, there's only one way…" Ozpin urged, 'We need to at least blast away this form of hers.'
"Okay… looks like we are going to have to use it," Oscar sighed as he held up Long Memory, "Weiss, can you distract her long enough?"
"I'll try," Weiss gave a nod as she knelt down and began concentrating, creating a Summoning Glyph on one of the higher points while Oscar began to move around the battlefield in order to set himself up for a good attack.
Soon enough the Evolved Shika Inves was summoned from the Glyph, launching off of the piece of debris it was on with a roar before slamming its arms down against Grimm Chimera. Grimm Chimera quickly raised its pincers to brace against the attack, the Evolved Shika managing to cause the ground to crack from the force of its downward swing.
Grimm Chimera let out several grunts as it attempted to counter against the Evolved Shika Inves. Despite having greater size than the Summoned Inves, it was still at a disadvantage when it came to speed. The Evolved Shika Summon had the size and mobility needed to outpace it, it even charging up and gaining a fiery aura around its arms to increase its punching power.
"Why you…" Grimm Chimera slammed its King Taijitu tail against the ground, readying it when the head of the Taijitu noticed something. Grimm Chimera suddenly went into a defensive mode, blocking with its claws and huddling up as the Evolved Shika Summon continued to pound on it to wear away at its defenses.
Oscar smirked as he saw this was seemingly working, having not noticed that the Taijitu tail was acting odd. He quickly leapt down from where he was, concentrating and closing his eyes as he gripped Long Memory, pressing in on the lever as energy began to gather.
'Oscar, watch out!'
Oscar's eyes opened wide when he heard Ozpin's voice, but he wasn't able to react in time as he was slammed into by the King Taijitu tail, it striking him from the front. His aura shimmered heavily as he lost grip of his weapon, it falling down and losing its charge while he had the wind knocked out of him. The Taijitu hissed out as it bit into Oscar's leg, slamming him into a lower piece of floating debris and letting go.
Oscar could only yell and scream as he hit the debris, it breaking from impact as he fell to the rooftop below. Thankfully he had enough Aura left to hit the rooftop of the CCT somewhat safely, his Aura shattering afterwards as he fell unconscious.
"Oscar!" Weiss called out as everyone else's eyes had widened at what had just happened.
"What humorous tactics," Grimm Chimera said as it grabbed one of the Evolve Shika Summon's punches with its pincer, using its free pincer to strike the Summon in the gut before tossing it away.
The Evovled Shika Summon landed on one of the nearby pieces of debris still around, giving a growl as it awaited its next orders.
"As for you…" Grimm Chimera looked over at Weiss only for its vision to blur before Weiss and her Summon had vanished, "What? What is-"
It was suddenly kicked in the head, a gun round going off as its neck was jerked to the side. Mercury was soon seen as he kicked off of its shoulder and leapt away. The chimera was ready to step forward when it suddenly felt its legs get cut into as Emerald slid past, managing to cut into the tendons and force Grimm Chimera onto one knee.
"You two…" Grimm Chimera hissed out, "Mercury, what is the meaning of this?"
"Hazel's out and you're not doing so hot yourself," Mercury shrugged, "Figured I'd pick the side that's clearly going to win."
"They've already disrupted your other plans," Emerald glared, her hands shaking but still keeping her stance, "They can beat you too!"
"You silly lost children… I suppose I made a mistake allowing Cinder to bring you in," Grimm Chimera remarked before seeing a glowing spot out of the corner of its eye. It turned to see the Evolved Shika Summon launching towards her and quickly lunged forward with its pincers.
That was until the Evolved Shika was grabbed and merely passed through. Grimm Chimera couldn't register what had happened as the real Evolved Shika Summon stomped down on the Taijitu tail to pin it down before punching with both fists against Grimm Chimera's back.
"You've been honing that Semblance of yours…" Grimm Chimera hissed out in a near disgusted tone as she glanced at Emerald and Mercury who quickly leapt away from her, "Very well…"
Remnant – Atlas Academy, Ironwood's Office
Another Quiz grunted as he was forced to use his Hard-Light barriers to block against the onslaught of attacks coming his way. With all the bladed weapons being sent against him, his barriers were broken in one or two slashes and he was being backed up against a figurative corner as he tried to dodge around. He let out a gasp as he was surrounded on all sides, forming multiple barriers as the three closed in.
Penny slashed with all of her blades, Woz stabbed forward while Cross-ZBuild slashed with the Fullbottle Buster. The three managed to clash before breaking through the barriers, striking against Another Quiz and forcing him to fall forward and onto his knees.
"Like I'll let you take me and my new power!" Another Quiz slammed his palms against the ground, electricity launching out in all directions as he managed to force the three to hop away from him. He then jolted up from where he was kneeling, hopping over the desk in the office before leaping out of the window that Penny had broken, forming Hard-Light barrier after Hard-Light barrier to try and escape. After hopping on one, the previous barrier would disappear after a while.
"Like we'll let you," Sento and Ryuga called out as Cross-ZBuild rushed forward, using their rabbit agility to land on one of the barriers that had yet to disappear before hopping over onto the one Another Quiz was on, grabbing onto him, "You're not leaving at all!"
"You insistent little pest," Another Quiz growled out as he grabbed at Cross-ZBuild, "I just don't get it, you're clearly an outsider. You have no stake in this, so why? Why are you so persistent in trying to stop me?!"
"That's very obvious…" Sento called out as Cross-ZBuild's grip tightened, recalling a similar question posed to him a while ago back in the old world, "All of us, especially Ruby, are fighting for the sake of love and peace! We'll help her build a new future for Remnant! And no one, not even you, can stop us!"
Cross-ZBuild threw his arms up to force Another Quiz to back up. He then gathered his energy enhancing his punches and hitting Another Quiz upwards into the air. He then leapt up and spun, performing a spinning axe-kick at Another Quiz to send him falling down towards the entrance of Atlas Academy.
"Penny, Woz, we're finishing this!" Sento called out as Cross-ZBuild dropped down to follow Another Quiz, turning the crank of the Build Driver as he got closer to the Atlas Academy building.
"I get the feeling we can't lose!" Ryuga called out.
Penny and Woz both gave nods, the leaping out of the building to follow after Cross-ZBuild and Another Quiz, Woz swapping Ridewatches from Kikai to his base form.
[KAMEN RIDER WOZ! WOZ!]
Woz shifted back to his base form before opening and closing the Beyondriver again, a spinning cube appearing at his feet as he kicked it downwards towards Another Quiz, catching and trapping the Another Rider in a cube that floated just above the school entrance.
[BEYOND THE TIME!]
Cross-ZBuild righted their body so that they were falling feet first, Woz doing the same as Penny also made sure she was falling feet first. The three continued to drop and drop before they all kicked out at the same time.
[ARE YOU READY?!]
The three took the announcement as their cue, Penny kicked out with her right leg, gathering air, fire and electricity around it to boost her kick. Woz kicked out with his right leg as well, the digital blue katakana for kick circled around him, while Cross-ZBuild kicked forward with both feet.
"Maiden Kick!"
[TIME EXPLOSION!]
"LOVE AND PEACE FINISH!"
The three kicked and struck three of the four sides of the cube, all yelling out as their energies poured into it before they kicked through it. They all kicked past each other as the cube exploded, the trio dropping into kneeling stances as the explosion occurred. The Quiz Miridewatch fell and clattered against the ground, losing its dark aura while Watts gave a grunt as he was slammed into the ground on his side from the fall, his Aura breaking.
The event was witnessed by a few students who had chosen to run outside to avoid the fighting inside, none of them knowing what had just happened but cheering all the same.
"And that takes care of that," Sento said as Cross-Z Build dusted his hands off.
"Hell yeah," Ryuga called out.
"We did it?" Penny asked looking back before giving a gasp, "We did it!"
"Indeed," Woz said as he stood up before walking over to retrieve his Miridewatch. He took it before returning it to his holster, "I suppose this is the end of your story, Arthur Watts."
"Don't be ridiculous," Watts coughed out as he was still conscious, "You may have beaten me but you still haven't dealt with the army I turned on everyone."
"You underestimate our allies," Woz remarked.
Remnant – Atlas Military Compound
Agito took a deep breath as he transformed into Flame Form, bringing out the Flame Saber and splitting it before lighting both on fire. He began slashing through the Another Agitos that came his way, working with Tsukuyomi to help clear up a path as they made their way to Central Command.
The horde thankfully wasn't endless, but it had seemed as though most of the Another Agitos had began to congregate to the area. Of course the two were eventually able to soon reach Central Command and stepped back.
The room was in a similar state to where Ironwood had left it, holding an eerie dark coloration with only a few flickering lights to provide light. At the end of the room near the main monitors was the makeshift cross that held the motionless Prime Another Agito. Of course the room was in slight disrepair now with consoles, walls and the floor being torn up by the rabid Another Agito clones.
The Another Agito clones all turned when they heard the doors open, soon turning very feral as they began to charge towards the two. Tsukuyomi quickly blocked a grab from one before kicking it away, Agito meanwhile slashed through one before stabbing another.
"Tsukuyomi, finish this!" Agito called out, "I'll keep them busy!"
"Alright," Tsukuyomi gave a nod as she drew out the Agito Ridewatch, rolling forward to avoid a swipe from an Another Agito before initiating the form change.
[ARMOR TIME! AGITO!]
The Agito symbol appeared in front of her crouched state, sliding back and covering her in the Agito Armor. Wasting no time stood up and initiated her finisher, holding her arms forward as the Agito insignia appeared at her feet, gathering it into her boot and shin armor.
[FINISH TIME!]
Agito yelled out as he began slashing through Another Agito after Another Agito, making sure to keep their attention on him while also moving closer to Tsukuyomi to defend her.
Tsukuyomi meanwhile slid her left foot back before running forward, leaping up into the air and performing a kick with her right leg.
[GROUND TIME JACK!]
Her body flashed as she struck the crucified Another Agito, striking it in the chest. She kicked away from it after planting her foot in its chest, landing in a standing state as gold cracks appeared on the Another Rider's body. Sparks began spewing from its body before it exploded where it was, Tsukuyomi taking a few steps back as the Agito Anotherwatch flew out and exploded.
The Another Agito clones all around the room soon began twitching and shaking, their transformations shattering and freeing the human inside. The ones that were Atlesian Knights also were freed though the machines shorted out as soon as they were freed, falling limply onto the ground. Of course with the Prime Another Agito gone, that meant every Another Agito in Atlas and Mantle also lost their transformations, freeing whoever they were holding.
"We did it…" Agito gave a sigh of relief as he let his arms drop.
"Thank goodness," Tsukuyomi fell to her knees, placing her hands on her lap as she hung her head, "That's one problem done."
Remnant – Mantle Streets
The Another Agito clones began to freeze and shudder before their transformations shattered, the Atlesian Knights held inside shorting out and falling limp as a result.
Beast was had just shot one away and was ready to strike at another one when he yelped at the sudden occurrence.
"They did it," Faiz said as he slammed an Atlesian Knight to the ground with the back end of his Faiz Blaster.
"We're not out of the woods yet!" Snipe called out as he closed and opened his Driver, watching as a flock of Nevermore and Manticore flew in, his cannons began taking aim and targeted the flying Grimm, "Partner!"
"On it," Nico Snipe said as she slotted in Jet Combat into the Gashacon Magnum, holding her weapon with both hands as orange energy began to charge.
[BANG BANG CRITICAL FIRE!]
[JET CRITICAL FINISH!]
Snipe yelled as he unleashed the full power of his cannons while Nico Snipe unleashed a burst of orange missiles that split and homed in on the Grimm. Explosions filled the air as the Nevermore and Manticore Grimm were eradicated, leaving nothing but black dust to sprinkle down.
"Let's go Natsumi, Shinji," Kanon Specter said as she pumped the lever her Driver, watching as the remaining Sabyrs, Beowolves and a large Alpha Ursa charged towards them.
"Right," Kiva-la gave a nod as she held her blade in a reverse grip while crouching forward, energy wings appearing behind her.
[DAI KAIGAN: SPECTER OMEGA DRIVE!]
Kanon Specter kicked off the ground, floating forward before landing in front of the charging horde, she spun twice, unleashing swiping kicks that launched energy outwards, striking at the horde and slowing them down. She then crouched as Kiva-la had rushed in after her.
Kiva-la flew over Kanon Specter with her wings, spinning and sending a reverse slash of purple energy outwards that crashed against the horde of Grimm, further slowing them down and scattering them as a result.
[ADVENT!]
Dragreder shot out of a reflective surface, slinking between the Grimm and damaging them further before flying into the air. Ryuki meanwhile drew out another card and slotted it in. He leapt up into the air, performing a spin before kicking out as Dragreder engulfed him in flames.
[FINAL VENT!]
Ryuki shouted as he struck against the Alpha Ursa, piercing through it and landing on the other side.
"Alright guys, let's finish what they started," Proto Birth called out as he dropped in a Cell Medal.
[BREAST CANNON!]
The Breast Cannon formed for Proto Birth, while Chalice, Beast, and Faiz all prepared their respective finishers, holding their enhanced weapons forward and taking aim. Kiva-la and Kanon Specter both nodded as they leapt away from each other, clearing the path while Ryuki ran over to and entered a nearby reflective surface for cover.
[WILD!]
[HYPER! MAGNUM STRIKE!]
[EXCEED CHARGE!]
Three beams of red, green, and gold shot out alongside an orange-ish projection of the Phantom Chimera, the Chimera projection turning into a beam at the last second and joining the group of beams. The beams struck against the staggered Grimm Horde as an explosion of energy occurred.
"Alright," Proto Birth called out as he pumped a fist.
"The rest is up to them," Faiz said as he looked up, still seeing the dark clouds above Atlas.
Remnant – Atlas, CCT Tower Rooftop
Another Zi-O aimed at Zi-O, launching a blast of energy towards the Future King of Time who readied the Saikyo Zikan Girade to defend. Neither was expecting Woz in his base form to seemingly walk out of nowhere, thrusting his Zikan Despear to strike against the blast to block it before tossing it away.
"Do not think that you can best my Overlord so easily," Woz declared as he held his weapon forward.
"Took you long enough," Geiz called out as he hurried over, "Everything good?"
"Yes, it appears as though everyone is wrapping up their battles," Woz said.
"Then let's try and finish this punk off soon," Decade said before glancing up, "Because it doesn't look like Salem's going to go down anytime soon."
"Go help them," Zi-O said as he brought out the Trinitiy Ridewatch, "The rest of us will clean up here."
"If you're certain," Decade said as he stepped backwards, an Aurora Curtain appearing behind him before he backed into it, "Then I'll leave it to you kids."
"Seriously…" Geiz let out a groan, "But I suppose Trinity will help, I'm starting to get tired of all this fighting…"
"How amusing to think you could tire of fighting," Woz mused.
"Come on you two," Zi-O said as he stepped forward, slotting Trinity in, "Let's go!"
[TRINITY TIME! MITTSU NO CHIKARA! KAMEN RIDER ZI-O! GEIZ! WOZ! T-RIN-I-TY~! TRINITY!]
Geiz assumed his base form as he and Woz were transformed into their watchstrap states, attaching to Zi-O as the transformation into Zi-O Trinity completed.
"That form…" Another Zi-O shuddered a bit as he felt the power emanating from it, especially after witnessing what it could do twice over. And that was because both times it wasn't fighting, it was just utilizing a finisher.
"Ironwood, this ends now," Zi-O said in a solemn voice, "I really wanted to believe in you and I didn't want it to come to this. But your fall will benefit Remnant in the long run."
"Don't be ridiculous… my fall will only doom Remnant!" Another Zi-O yelled out.
"Mad till the end," Rogue scoffed as he removed his Driver before attaching a Build Driver to his waist, soon taking out a purple and gold crocodile themed version of the FullFull Bottle Sento had, "For the sake of this Kingdom, this World… you won't be going any further."
"I was hoping you'd back down, but it looks like we have no choice," Zangetsu admitted as he drew out his Kachidoki Lockseed.
"You will listen to the call of our hearts," Necrom said as he withdrew his Necrom Eyecon, gold flames surrounding it as he clenched it tightly before it transformed into Yujou Burst.
"We won't let you run around doing whatever you want anymore!" Poppy called out as even she drew out a new Gashat, being a pink and Poppy themed version of DoReMiFa Beat.
[PRIME ROGUE!]
[KACHIDOKI!]
[DOREMIFA BEAT!]
The four slotted their devices into their Drivers/Changers before they initiated their transformations.
[YUJOU KAIGAN: BURST!]
[ARE YOU READY?]
[SOIYA!]
[A GACHA!]
The Yujou Burst Damashii launched out of the Mega Ulorder and began circling Necrom as his Necrom Parka vanished. Rogue meanwhile was surrounded by gold spiraling lines and the projected jaws of a purple crocodile. Zangetsu had lost his upper armor as the Kachidoki Armor descended from a Crack, while a digital screen shot out from Poppy's Bugvisor Zwei and slid backwards.
[ORE GA BURST! YUJOU BURST! TOMETE MISERU ZE! OMAE NO TSUMI O!]
[TAIGI BANSEI! PRIME ROGUE! DORYADORYADORYADORYADORYADORYA DORYAA!]
[KACHIDOKI ARMS! IZA SHUTSUJIN! EI! EI! OH!]
[DO-DO-DOREMIFA-SO-LA-TI-DO! OK! DOREMIFA BEA~T~!]
Necrom and Zangetsu had assumed their forms of Yujou Burst and Kachidoki Arms, the two stepping forward when the transformations completed.
The gold energy lines around Rogue spiraled together into a cylinder that the crocodile jaws gnashed and broke apart, the energy dispersing to reveal his new form. His armoring remained intact but he now gained a build styled bodysuit with gold spiraling lines. The gold spiraling lines were also on his armor, primarily covering up the crack lines on his chest and helmet. The tops of his shoulders were now white alongside him having a white cape that draped downwards.
The digital screen meanwhile had slid back to fully form over Poppy, pink digital energy forming into a Pink Version of the Level 3 Beat Gamer Armor that Brave would normally use. This was a new form she had requested just in case something got out of hand like Kuroto had in the past, Poppy Beat Gamer Level X.
Another Zi-O looked all around him before growling out, spinning and firing out five blasts of energy at his opponents.
Necrom and Rogue chose to dodge by rolling forward, closing in on Another Zi-O as they shouted. Zi-O meanwhile brought out the Zikan Jaclaw in its saw mode, having it clash against the blast before splitting it apart, explosions occurring behind him as he ran forward.
Poppy and Zangetsu meanwhile had chosen to go on the offensive form of defense, Zangetsu drawing his flags while Poppy began scratching the turntable situated on her right arm. The shockwave of flags being swung and the sound pulsations from the speakers on Poppy's shoulder deflected the blasts straight back at the Another Rider.
Another Zi-O gasped out as he was struck by the blasts, sparks flying. He then swung his cannon arm once he saw the other three getting closer.
Rogue raised his own arm to block the swing before using his free hand to punch the Another Rider in the gut, his fist crystallizing with energy as he watched his opponent stagger back.
Necrom came in next ducking under a few wild swings before performing palm strike after palm strike, gold flames gathering in his hands and increasing the power in his strikes.
Another Zi-O coughed out as he was forced back before he went to blast at both Necrom and Rogue, the two quickly leaping away to avoid the blasts. He shouted while charging forward towards the two only to get punched directly in the side of the face, staggering and holding his face as he turned and fired a blast almost immediately.
[Zi-O SAIKYO!]
The blast was deflected back, striking him in the face before he was sliced into, sparks flying as he was sent rolling.
It was Zi-O who had assaulted him, raising the Saikyo Girade before rushing towards the Another Rider.
(Insert: For Every Life by Jeff Williams feat. Casey Lee Williams)
"Chou-Henshin!"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]
Roze leapt up as she swapped to her base form, using Petal Burst to take her higher into the debris field as she loaded in her Rose Ridewatch before dropping down.
[ARMOR TIME! KAMEN RIDE! YEAH! ROSE! ROSE! RO~SE~!]
Roze soon landed on a piece of floating rock, slotting the Birth Ridewatch into place as she held her arms out.
[FINAL WEAPON TIME: B-B-B-BIRTH!]
[BREAST CANNON!]
The Breast Cannon of Birth's formed in front of her chest, locking in place before she gripped the handles and took aim, red energy building up in the barrel, "Breast Cannon… SHOOT!"
In an instant a beam of red energy was launched towards Grimm Chimera, the beast-like Queen of Grimm giving a roar as its chest opened up and unleashed another beam from its chest. The two beams clashed against each other, lighting up the darkened skies around them as they struggled to overtake each other. Despite this it was clear that Grimm Chimera's attack was stronger, it slowly but surely overwhelming Roze's beam.
"Now you're open!" Yang yelled out as she dropped down with her Magma Knuckle in hand.
Grimm Chimera realized what Yang was attempting to do and quickly shifted its body, the beam moving and missing Roze as a result while its chest began to close up. It then used its left pincer to brace against Yang's punch before striking with its right pincer.
Yang coughed out as her Aura flickered before she grabbed onto the pincer that struck her, flipping on top of it as her eyes changed from lilac to red. She leapt forward and gave a yell as she loaded in the Ninja Fullbottle.
[NINJYA! VOLCANIC KNUCKLE!]
Yang's hair lit ablaze as she punched forward, the Magma Knuckle splitting into multiple afterimages. Numerous heat filled indentions appeared on the orb-like portion of Grimm Chimera's chest before exploding outwards.
Grimm Chimera howled out as the front of its body busted open, the attack managing to dig deep enough to where Yang was barely able to see Salem at the center of the mass. She was ready to charge forward when Grimm Chimera immediately spun, lashing out with its snake tail and ramming it directly into Yang.
Yang gasped out as she was thrown backwards, her Aura flickering before she cried out as she crashed against a piece of debris. She gave a groan, becoming lightheaded and unable to act immediately, instead falling downwards after she was loosened from the debris.
"Yang!" Blake screamed out as she began to make her way towards her partner.
"Hey, keep up the attack!" Mercury yelled out as he used his boots to launch himself downwards, grabbing Yang and landing on a piece of debris that was lower than the rest, "You need to blow away that monster!"
Blake released a slight gasp of relief as she saw Yang get saved. Despite this she grit her teeth and glared towards Grimm Chimera who was in the process of restoring its chest.
The Grimm Chimera was unable to fully restore its chest, instead gaining blackened skin with red cracks as white armoring began to form to replace its Seer-like chest. Thanks to the attack, it was unable to utilize its cannon ability anymore. Of course this had forced it to use a lot of its body to reconstruct it, and as a result it grew smaller yet again, this size change being more noticeable.
[TADDLE CRITICAL FINISH!]
Grimm Chimera immediately looked up to watch as a rain of icy arrows descent upon it, freezing the platform she was on alongside freezing portions of its body. Grimm Chimera went to move its King Taijitu tail only to hear cracking, soon realizing most of the arrows had frozen its tail.
The Evolved Shika Summon soon slammed down behind Grimm Chimera, shattering the tail before flipping over and striking rapidly at the chimera Grimm Queen. Its attacks were strong and fast enough to chip away and break apart the ice portions of its opponent, damaging Grimm Chimera further.
[TADDLE CRITICAL FINISH!]
Blake yelled out as she used Shadow to fall faster downwards, fire filling her Gashacon Sparrow sickles as she slashed against Grimm Chimera.
Grimm Chimera took a step back to avoid the slash before instantly grabbing the Evolved Shika Summon with both hands. It then raised it up before slamming it down against Blake whose eyes widened.
"Blake!" Weiss immediately worked to dismiss her Summon but it was too late.
While some of the Summon had been recalled, Grimm Chimera had still managed to slam most of it into Blake, the Faunus screaming out as the platform they were on shattered. Blake fell fairly fast as her Aura flickered, thankfully not breaking but she was too stunned to think of trying to recover.
Thankfully she was caught by Emerald who quickly began navigating down the debris to meet with Mercury, realizing that Blake would be out of the fight for now.
Grimm Chimera meanwhile used her magic to boost itself upwards by summoning wind around it, allowing it to use its wings to fly upwards as it began to approach Weiss at a rapid pace.
[FINAL WEAPON TIME: G-G-G-G3-X!]
[GX-05 KERBEROS!]
Roze landed in front Weiss, taking aim and launching a red missile from the tip of the Kerberos. The missile struck Grimm Chimera in the face causing a minor explosion before it was assaulted by a rain of bullets.
"Ruby…" Weiss sighed in relief.
"We're not out of the woods yet," Roze said as she kept firing, "We need to keep taking this thing apart!"
"Right," Weiss gave a nod.
"If you two wish to go down together then so be it," Grimm Chimera managed to boost itself up higher with wind magic to avoid the remainder of the bullets before launching down towards the two.
[KAMEN RIDE: WIZARD!]
Magic circles immediately appeared all around Grimm Chimera, chains lashing out and tying up the bestial Grimm Queen. Instantly green lightning began striking down as Decade dropped into view, transformed into Kamen Rider Wizard.
"You all are taking too long!" (D)Wizard chided.
"Well excuse us for dealing with an immortal Queen of Evil!" Weiss called out in annoyance.
[WEAPON RIDE: OOO, MEDAJALIBUR!]
Rose landed on a debris right in front of Salem, drawing out the Medajalibur before the Cell Medals appeared in the sword itself. She then summoned an O Scanner before sliding it across the sword.
[TRIPLE SCANNING CHARGE!]
Rose shouted and spun while swinging outwards, a slash striking through Grimm Chimera at a slight diagonal angle. The slash had also distorted space slightly before returning to normal, the energy exploding out and splitting Grimm Chimera in half. The resulting attack had also burned away a lot of the Grimm Liquid and pieces that it had used to keep itself together.
(Insert End)
"Nice!" Roze called out as she went to get her next Ridewatch out before storm clouds began to form, "What?"
"Is that you?" Weiss asked as she looked at (D)Wizard.
"No, it's not me," (D)Wizard put his hands up.
The clouds that formed over the Grimm Chimera sent down lightning strikes, shattering the chains as both halves of the severed beast shot tendrils out, linking up and combining back together again. Despite this it wasn't as big anymore, now more akin to a heavy suit of armor around Salem's true body.
"Oh hell," (D)Wizard muttered.
"I won't lose that easily!" Grimm Chimera roared out as it used several bursts of wind magic to launch itself at the platform the three were on at high speeds.
(D)Wizard and Weiss immediately acted with the former bringing out a red magic circle barrier while the latter brought out several Glyphs to act as defensive shields. Despite this the hybrid Grimm smashed through them with little effort, crashing into the platform and scattering everyone.
Grimm Chimera quickly looked around, soon finding Roze as its right arm began to bubble. It shifted its mass before launching out its pincer towards Roze like a tendril. Roze let out a gasp as she crossed her arms to brace against the attack.
[DRILL! TORNADO!]
Suddenly Myrtenaster struck at the pincer, it being in a drill-like whirlwind as it managed to hit hard enough to force Grimm Chimera to recall its limb.
[SPINNING ATTACK!]
"Weiss…" Roze muttered as she managed to use Petal Burst to launch towards and scoop up Myrtenaster, landing on a small piece of debris, watching as Grimm Chimera landed on a medium sized platform.
Rose meanwhile was still where she was while (D)Wizard landed on a small piece of debris as he reverted back to his base form of Decade, keeping his feet close as he stared up at Salem.
Weiss meanwhile could only chuckle, feeling a bit lightheaded as she was straining herself at this point. Despite this she managed to hold out the Chalice Arrow, bringing out as many Glyphs a she could to slide and hop down on. Eventually she managed to get her footing, soon landing near Mercury and Emerald who had fully moved down to a corner of the roof with Yang and Blake respectively.
"You look like crap," Emerald remarked.
"Shut up," Weiss said as she stumbled and fell onto her knees, "Just give me a second…"
"More like an hour, you're not going back up there," Mercury remarked, "Let your leader handle the rest."
"And so three gnats remained," Grimm Chimera let out a chuckle as her tone revealed she was seemingly satisfied with this turn of events, "Say you destroy this form, what then?"
The three Riders that stood around her stayed silent at that. Admittedly they had one plan but they needed to incapacitate her long enough for them to even think of utilizing it. And her being able to easily break out of stone bindings from Silver Eyes was too troublesome. All three silently perked up however when they heard the sounds of fighting not below, but around them. They didn't move but they could just hear the faint sounds of Rider ability announcements through the thunderstorms. As if that wasn't enough, several flying Grimm were flying unprompted towards the center arena.
Grimm Chimera's eyes began to glow red, two Manticore had broken off from the group and moved inwards before launching themselves after Rose and Decade. The two Riders both gave gasps as they quickly began to move away while attacking the Grimm, soon realizing what Salem was trying to do. Grimm Chimera then began forming glyphs over its body, launching out Shadow Hands that began striking through the other Grimm, draining them of their essence and allowing it to regain more mass and muscle though its body was still somewhat small compared to before and didn't repair its tail.
"You must learn the importance of life and death. Only then may you rest," Grimm Chimera said as it stared at Roze, "That is what those fools said to me after placing this curse on me. And yet while this is a curse… this is a gift because I cannot die against you all. And now more than ever I want to see not only Remnant, but the world you Riders come from, burn."
"That's never going to happen," Roze said as she brought out the Roseiber, gripping it and Myrtenaster tightly before using Petal Burst to launch herself towards Grimm Chimera. She shouted as she coated Myrtenaster in fire thanks to the Dust within it, coating the Roseiber on fire as well. She then slashed past Salem, leaving scorching marks as a result.
"No matter what you do, if you can't end my life, you Riders are merely children to me," Grimm Chimera turned to look at Roze as the damage easily regenerated itself.
Roze immediately used Petal Burst to launch towards a piece of debris at an angle. She reformed and landed on it except she didn't have a chance to do anything. The minute she used Petal Burst, Grimm Chimera had flown after her, immediately slamming her through the piece of rock and sending her flying into a large piece of rock that was floating.
"Damn…" Roze coughed out as she lost grip of both the Roseiber and Myrtenaster, the two clattering down towards the rooftop as a result, "I won't…"
"Give up," Grimm Chimera flew towards Roze again and slammed its pincer into Roze, sending her falling through the debris as sparks flew, "Your iteration of humanity only holds a semblance of what true humans should have. And the fact is you can only stand up to me because of your ridiculous armor. If you didn't have that you'd be with the rest of your team that abandoned you."
"They… they didn't abandon me…" Roze coughed out as she had landed on a fairly medium sized portion of stone, getting into standing stance as she breathed heavily.
"Then why are they not here with you?" Grimm Chimera asked in a near taunting tone of voice as she landed on the platform where Roze was but didn't attack just yet.
"They may be down, but until their last breath… they'll keep fighting," Roze managed to call out as she straightened herself up but instinctively began to back away. This was mostly to give her some room, since while Rose Armor was strong and protected her well compared to her other forms, even she was wondering how many hits she'd still be able to take at this point.
Weiss meanwhile could only look up and stare at the battle taking place above them. Yang and Blake could soon be heard groaning out, finally fully waking up from their near unconscious states.
"What… what's going on?" Blake asked.
"I need… I need to get back in there…" Yang gasped out as she tried to stand.
"Yeah," Blake gave a nod.
"You're right," Weiss agreed.
"Hey, are you three insane," Mercury called out, "You're going to get yourselves killed if you go back in there!"
"Shut up," Yang replied before scoffing, "Like you care about how we're feeling."
"This is serious!" Emerald called out with clear concern, "You just need to hope Ruby holds out until the other Riders are finished."
"Looks like they'll be wrapping up with tin head soon too," Mercury said as he saw the fight playing out between Another Zi-O and the other Riders, "So just sit back and trust your leader to sur-"
[RECOVERY!]
Weiss had slid one last card on her Chalice Arrow, a green pulse flowing through the floor as it struck herself, Blake and Yang. The three all sighed in relief as they managed to shakily stand up.
"We do trust Ruby," Yang said, "But…"
"We can't let her be alone, not now," Blake shook her head.
"It's our job as a team to stick by our leader if we can," Weiss said as she looked up, "And we're not going to back down just because we're tired."
"You all…" Emerald trailed in near shock at the level of recklessness she was seeing.
"That's a cute speech and all," Mercury shrugged, "But need I remind you that-"
Mercury was interrupted yet again, not by an announcement but by three shining lights. Weiss, Blake and Yang all winced before seeing the source of them. The source of the lights was none other than the friendship bracelets that they had constantly worn ever since Ruby had given them to them.
"What is…?" Yang trailed.
"Wait, didn't they do this before?" Weiss asked.
"Yeah," Blake gave a nod, "Back when Oma helped us with Tsukuyomi's… Ridewatch…"
"I have gifted you all the tools you need."
"In your time of need all you must do is to believe in your bonds, and then a new power shall make itself known to you."
The three remembered Oma Zi-O's words as clear as day before they all looked up, raising their arms that held the friendship bracelets. The bracelets soon began to pulsate in rhythm as they shined brighter and brighter as their remaining Aura was poured into them.
"Ruby…" Yang started, "We're here for you!"
"Ruby…" Blake continued, "We'll still fight alongside you!"
"Ruby…" Weiss closed her eyes before opening them to give a determined stare, "Let us lend you our power!"
As if reacting to their words the bracelets launched energy in their respective colors, yellow, purple, and blue upwards into the sky. The three felt their Aura's fully shatter before they fell forward, passing out and causing Emerald to freak out while Mercury looked up in awe.
"It's time we end this," Grimm Chimera said as it approached Roze and raised its pincers, chuckling as it realized Roze had backed herself up against a figurative wall, standing at the edge of the platform.
Rose slashed through the Manticore chasing her before turning and gasping, "Ruby!"
"Hey don't stand there, do something!" Decade called out as he punched the Manticore he was fighting before kicking it back.
Roze felt a sudden pulse as her left wrist grew hot, she could instantly tell something was calling out to her. As if knowing what she needed to try she gripped her Rose Ridewatch, dismissing her Armor Time before falling back just as Grimm Chimera lunged forward.
Grimm Chimera's pincers struck against the ground as Roze had fallen off the platform, "So you give up…"
"No…" Roze muttered as she fell before red energy began pouring out from underneath her armor and into her left hand, forming a glowing red Ridewatch. She then turned and fell forward, holding out the glowing Ridewatch as the energies that her team had launched out struck the Ridewatch one at a time. It turned a glowing blue, then purple, then yellow before shattering to reveal itself.
The Ridewatch was shaped just like the Trinity Ridewatch, having numerous layers to it and a dial. The main base of it was red, with a silver cover and dial. On the front was what appeared to be a Rider Mask whose forehead and mouth were covered by Arma Gigas-styled armoring, the katakana for Rider being written in bright red in the gap between.
Roze immediately slammed the Ridewatch into the free slot on her Driver, though unlike Trinity, it didn't actively unfold on top of the main screen.
[PETAL!]
Roze turned the dial once.
[GLYPH!]
The faceplate flipped over to reveal the inside portion. The top of the label held Ruby's rose emblem, while on the middle left of that held Weiss' Schnee Family emblem.
She turned the dial again.
[SHADOW!]
Another layer of the watch flipped over towards the screen portion of the Ziku Driver, revealing Blake's emblem at the bottom.
And with one last turn, she fully opened up the Ridewatch.
[BURN!]
The final layer of the watch flipped over and fully completed the now new center of the Driver, a layered rose similar to Ruby's emblem in design. Yang's emblem was now also revealed on the Ridewatch itself, it being across from Weiss' in the center.
Roze felt relief flowing through her as she unlocked her Ziku Driver, gripping it with both hands before spinning it.
[RWBY TIME!]
Roze immediately began to shift her body, moving herself to where she was now feet first as four emblems shot out of the Ziku Driver, surrounding her on all sides. The markings were the personal emblems of Team RWBY in red, blue, purple, and yellow respectively. They all shined light onto Roze, encasing her in a multicolored orb that began to constrict before shattering.
[DANKETSU YOTTSU NO TAMASHI! KAMEN RIDER ROZE RW~BY~!]
Suddenly bright red glowing rose shaped petals launched upwards into the sky, flying back up to where Grimm Chimera was and flying past her before hovering above her. The petals dispersed to reveal Roze's new form.
She had a black bodysuit like before, though her knee and ankle armor now had a metallic red coloration to them. She also still had her skirt, the two armored pieces on the side being black now with metallic red trimming that held thorny vine patterning, the cloth in the front and back being black as well. The watch strap was still on her bodysuit, reaching right to the top of the Ziku Driver, it having the same metallic red trimming on its edges.
But that was just the base as the rest reflected what her new form was truly well. For each part of her now represented a part of Team RWBY. Her arms represented Yang, having two yellow dragon heads with lilac eyes biting down on her shoulders, holding scale-like armored padding on the outsides of her biceps and forearms. Her legs represented Blake, purple bandage-like wrappings on her thighs and shins, having purple shin armoring that resembled samurai armoring but also had cat-ear like points at the end of them, the tops of her boots now having a cat paw-like look to them.
Last was Weiss, who was represented in the chest and head. The chest resembled that of Weiss' Arma Gigas, it being shaped and fit perfectly to Roze's body. On the chest was Ruby's emblem emblazoned in the same metallic red as the other accents. Of course Roze's helmet retained the same base Roze design though over her usual faceplate the forehead and mouthpiece of the Arma Gigas was now on top of it, creating a narrower gap for her Katakana which flashed into existence, a red version of Rider as the forehead held the Kamen crest that the Zi-O Riders would normally have.
The arm, shin, chest and helmet armoring had the same metallic red trimming to them which helped bring the armor into a more cohesive form. Of course the finishing piece was that Roze had a fully formed cape in this form… somewhat. The cape was bright red, it seemingly being made out of pure energy as it wrapped around Roze's neck, forming a puffy collar of sorts with Ruby's emblem holding the energy cloth together by the collar.
Roze stared down at Grimm Chimera noticing that while the beast's mask-like face didn't offer any expression, it was still surprised by the appearance of her new form.
"I am never alone," Roze finally spoke up, "And I'll never give up!"
Grimm Chimera yelled and launched towards Roze who immediately brought out Crescent Rose in its scythe form. Roze spun it and parried Grimm Chimera's pincer strikes before taking aim and firing a red beam of energy out from Crescent Rose, sending the Grimm hybrid crashing down against the platform it had leapt from.
Roze began twirling around her scythe, landing on the same platform as she struck a pose, Crescent Rose now behind her back.
"Salem, these are Team RWBY's bonds…" Roze trailed as she stared straight ahead, her voice devoid of any exhaustion or fear before three familiar voices began to echo alongside hers, "And with them we'll never lose to the likes of you!"
"Ruby…" Rose muttered in awe.
"Well now," Decade said with a whistle, "That's an interesting combination…"
"You expect me to believe that you can win against me?" Grimm Chimera asked before launching upwards, using its wings to gain height before kicking out at Roze.
"Team RWBY…" Roze trailed, "Let's go!"
"YEAH!"
The voices of her teammates echoed after Ruby's voice as she spun Crescent Rose, blocking against Salem's kick, skidding backwards somewhat but managing to hold her ground after stomping her foot.
"You will not find victory in strength little girl!" Grimm Chimera called out, "No matter what form you take, your power is meaningless!"
Roze shouted as she managed to shift Crescent Rose, forcing Grimm Chimera to kick against the ground. She then began spinning Crescent Rose while shooting it, blocking and striking at Grimm Chimera as the two danced around each other in battle.
"Well it's not just me that's fighting you!" Roze called out as she dismissed Crescent Rose, getting directly underneath the chimera Grimm Queen. In an instant Roze had shifted her scythe to its rifle mode, taking aim and shooting Grimm Chimera in the gut, the blast launching it high into the air.
Grimm Chimera managed to stop itself with its wings, utilizing air magic to keep itself floating as it gathered magical energy in its left pincer before launching it out at Roze.
Roze used Petal Burst to launch herself further, soon reforming as her arms flashed yellow, Ember Celica forming over her forearms. She crossed her arms as a projection of Yang appeared beside her, the two yelling out as they tanked through the magic blast, Roze's armor gaining a bright red glow around it. She then used Petal Burst to launch herself towards Grimm Chimera once more. She released it again, reforming right in front of Grimm Chimera and sending a powered up punch while shooting out with Ember Celica.
The result was a hole being blown in Grimm Chimera's stomach, the beast of a Grimm being launched upwards and slamming into a large piece of debris towards the top of the gravity field, being embedded in it.
Roze soon landed on a Glyph, kneeling before standing up, dismissing Ember Celica and drawing out Myrtenaster. She raised it upwards as a projection of Weiss appeared next to her, two Glyphs formed before combining themselves as the two performed a forward jab. Icy blue beams of light launched out from the Glyphs, spiraling upwards before striking Grimm Chimera in various parts of its body before freezing the chimera Queen Grimm solid.
Grimm Chimera could only let out a frustrated growl as it watched Roze use Glyphs to launch herself towards it. Its eyes shined red as two small pieces of debris near Roze broke apart, two Shadow Hands lashing out.
Roze had just summoned Gambol Shroud, ready to attack when the Shadow Hands grabbed and struck at her. Roze then saw the Grimm Chimera yell and break free of its icy prison, launching itself towards her.
Grimm Chimera struck at Roze only for her to fade and dissipate like a shadow, a projection of Blake also appearing briefly before fading. It gave a light gasp as it soon noticed something towards its right side. It turned and gave a gasp as it saw Roze pointing Crescent Rose at it, the weapon in its rifle mode.
"Like I said, it's not just me fighting you!" Roze called out, "It's all of Team RWBY! With this form, our minds, hearts, and souls are one! And with that kind of power… we won't lose!"
[ROZE SASU SASU SHOOT!]
A wide beam of red energy launched outwards engulfing Grimm Chimera in a bright display of light.
As if the attack signaled the tide of the battle turning, the pained squeals of Grimm began to all be heard. Fireballs were launched out, bursts of juice could be seen, rainbow colored slashes rocketed through the air, blue beams of light and striking green cuts lit up the stormy sky. The Tempests and surrounding Grimm in the area had all been cut through in succession, dissolving as the clouds began to part way and showcase the beautiful sky that was slowly but surely shifting from nighttime to sunrise.
The group led by Diend had been successful in their mission to deal with the Grimm surrounding the CCT Tower, all of them turning their attention at the battle going on.
Another Zi-O backed away after seeing the sudden beam of red light in the sky alongside the clouds starting to part way as Grimm remains rained down all around.
"Whoa, that's so cool," Zi-O said, having managed to catch a few glimpses while he had hung out, "Actually wait, Woz, aren't you going to rejoice?"
"Of course, though I wanted to give Miss Rose her moment," Woz cleared his throat as he took control of Zi-O's body, the combined Rider raising a hand upwards, "REJOICE! She who shall surpass all on Remnant! The Huntress who has traveled through space and time from Remnant to Earth and became a Rider! Her name is Kamen Rider Roze, RWBY Form! And we bear witness to the bonds of Team RWBY given physical form!"
"There we go," Zi-O said as he took back control before noticing something, "Hey wait…"
Upon further realization, Weiss, Blake and Yang were still on the ground off to the side with Mercury, Emerald and the unconscious Oscar. They hadn't combined with Roze like Geiz and Woz would for Zi-O Trinity.
"Yes, it appears to be quite different from our situation," Woz noted.
"Lucky…" Geiz muttered.
Zi-O ignored that before turning towards Another Zi-O, "One last chance, stand down and give us the Anotherwatch."
"I just don't get it, how am I losing to you all?" Another Zi-O questioned as he shook his head, "Isn't Zi-O's power supposed to be the strongest? If that's the case then why aren't we equals?! How is it that I'm not dominating every other Rider that isn't Zi-O?!"
"What you have isn't real power!" Zi-O called out, "There's a clear difference between a Kamen Rider and an Another Rider!"
[READY, GO! PRIME SCRAP BREAK!]
"We fight to protect precious human life," Rogue called out as he turned the crank on his Driver, running at Another Zi-O's side and leaping up. Projections of gold crocodile jaws formed as he bit into the gun arm of Another Zi-O's Another Rider form, chewing further and further before clamping down fully.
An explosion sent Another Zi-O back as the gun became scrap, his arm reverting back to normal.
[KIMEWAZA! CRITICAL CREWS-AID!]
"We want to make everyone smile!" Poppy called out as she had initiated her finisher, scratching the turntable on her arm and unleashing streams of sound waves against Another Zi-O who crossed his arms. He could only yell out however as sparks flew, staggering back.
[SOIYA! MELON SPARKING!]
"We will always face forward and never run away!" Zangetsu yelled out as he rushed forward, his flags drawn as he slashed against Another Zi-O several times before performing an uppercut, launching him into the air.
[YUJOU DAI KAIGAN: BURST! OMEGA DRIVE!]
"We always listen to our hearts!" Necrom yelled out as he had leapt up into the air, golden flames surrounding him as he kicked against Another Zi-O, striking the Another Rider in the chest and unleashing the full force of his gold fire, sending Another Zi-O crashing into the ground.
"What… what…" Another Zi-O groaned out as he picked himself up, falling over and managing to get on his knees in a daze, "I don't need that… none of my men… need…"
[FINISH TIME! ZI-O!]
Zi-O began initiating his finisher for Trinity, having pressed the button once before pressing it again.
[GEIZ!]
"I'll always fight against tyrants like you!" Geiz called out as his side of Trinity moved.
[WOZ!]
"And I will always fight alongside my Overlord," Woz said as his side of Trinity moved.
Zi-O stepped forward and gave a nod, "I'll continue to fight against the Time Jackers and any Another Rider they send at us! I'll help Roze protect the future of both worlds while also becoming a King and Kamen Rider!"
Zi-O leapt up into the air before kicking out at Another Zi-O, striking his Another Rider counterpart in the chest as, pink, yellow and green energy erupted from where he was kicking. Soon enough projections of Zi-O, Geiz and Woz appeared over the appropriate spots of Trinity before merging into the armor.
[TRINITY TIME BREAK BURST EXPLOSION!]
Another Zi-O could only yell out as the energy continued to build and build before he exploded. Zi-O leapt away before landing and backpedaling slightly to keep from falling over.
The explosion began to die down as Ironwood fell out of it, his Aura shattering as he dropped face first on to the ground. The Zi-O Anotherwatch clattered nearby before shattering… until it stopped mid shatter and reformed itself.
Everyone looked in surprise at this as Zi-O went to move forward only for Swartz to suddenly appear in front of Ironwood.
"Good work Zi-O, General," Swartz said as he picked up the Anotherwatch, "This truly was the perfect way to grow this power."
"Swartz…" Zi-O trailed, "Just what are you after?"
"You need not concern yourself with that. Just keep trying to oppose us," Swartz chuckled, turning to leave when he felt his ankle grabbed, "Hmm?"
"Give that back…" Ironwood called out weakly, "That power… is mine…"
"No, it was never yours," Swartz shook Ironwood's hand off of him before stepping away, "You were always just meant to keep it warm."
Ironwood could only let out a final weak glare before passing out, while Swartz laughed and disappeared. All the Riders there could only stare warily at each other, not liking that kind of foreboding talk from Swartz. But that didn't matter at the moment, the group all looking upwards as the forces led by Daiki began to descend and join up with them.
(Insert Start: Beyond Selves by Void_Chords (feat.L))
Roze landed on one of the last intact large platforms made of debris, having followed the smoking trail of Grimm Chimera as it fell and crashed after her first finisher. Roze stared at the smoke for a while before she saw something moving in it.
The Chimera form had been defeated as Salem was mostly back to normal. She still had Grimm armoring on her chest and shoulders, less bulky but still muscular arms, this time holding humanoid clawed hands. Her legs were also less bulky but still had the Nevermore-like aesthetic. Her face however was in full view with her hair disheveled and out of its styled look as it was now just draped down.
"How…" Salem hissed out as she staggered forward, "Just how is it that you're so powerful? Just having additional Semblances shouldn't have made you this strong."
"I don't think I need to repeat myself," Roze said.
Salem watched as Roze ran towards her without a weapon. She threw an arm out to strike at the Rider only for it to get caught, soon coughing out as she was elbowed in the gut. She kicked and punched a few times only for Roze to dodge around her. Salem turned only to get struck in the face by Roze's boot, gasping and staggering back.
"I'll kill you, you brat…" Salem levitated before gathering magical energy in her hands.
"I'd rather not take a hit like that…" Roze admitted.
"Then allow me to assist again," Blake's voice was heard as Roze nodded.
Roze watched as Salem launched the magical blasts at her before using Shadow to dash upwards at the last second. But then she used Shadow to dash at an angle in an instant, appearing in front of Salem seconds after the attack. Bringing out the Gashacon Sparrow she yelled and slashed, cutting into Salem with ease.
Salem yelled out as she was cut into, crashing against the ground, "What? What was that voice?"
"You really don't get it do you?" Weiss' voice asked as Roze began to stride forward with confidence as she dismissed the weapon, "When she said our souls were one she meant it."
"You gained a similar ability to Ozma?" Salem rushed forward to try and strike at Roze only for the Rider to bring out the Chalice Arrow. With graceful precision, Roze began to parry and use Glyphs to deflect Salem's attacks, dancing around the Grimm Queen, "You expect me to accept that?!"
"Oh trust me this is weird!" Yang called out as Roze raised a hand and summoned the Blizzard Knuckle to block a punch from Salem, "But it's kind of cool!"
Roze threw Salem's hand away before kicking her back. She then rushed forward in an aggressive manner while summoning the Magma Knuckle in her free hand. She sent several punches, not letting up and managing to overwhelm Salem enough to send the Queen of Grimm rolling.
"Like I said, I'm not alone in this form," Roze called out.
In Roze RWBY's mental space, it was a white room, aspects of what seemed to be a dorm room fading in every now and again. Ruby was at the front with Weiss, Blake, and Yang all behind her. Team RWBY faced forward with confidence as they were all smiling.
"That being said… if you think I can just only use their Semblances…" Roze then chuckled, "Let's show you what we've got."
Roze brought out Myrtenaster, holding it up and close to her as a summoning Glyph appeared underneath her. Her body began to shimmer with shadowy wisps before an afterimage slide out from her, getting on one side of Salem, then another afterimage slid out from it, and another from the third. Soon four Roze RWBY's were all surrounding Salem, each holding a weapon of Team RWBY.
"Four of them…?" Salem looked around.
The Roze clones holding Myrtenaster and Gambol Shroud slashed forward, numerous energy waves crashing against Salem before three beams of energy struck right after. One was from Crescent Rose while two were from Ember Celica. The attacks caused a destructive enough explosion to shatter the platform they were on, the Rider and her opponent falling back down towards the Academy Tower's roof.
Everyone could only backup as they saw what was going on, deciding to give Team RWBY the space they needed to finish this.
Salem gasped out as she fell onto her hands and knees, her extra Grimm portions dissolving. She attempted to get up only to fall back onto her hands, her eyes wide at what was going on.
Roze meanwhile landed on both feet as the clones faded.
"This is foolish… just accept defeat over this futile struggle," Salem gasped out, "No matter how many times you defeat me I'll keep coming back! No matter what you devise I'll simply outlive you or you'll die for whatever reason and I can continue my mission!"
"You're the one who should accept defeat," Roze called out, "Even if I or my team dies, another Huntsman or Rider will rise! Another will rise after them and then another! So long as Huntsmen and Riders exist, you won't be able to do what you want! And someday, they'd likely find a way to stop you forever, no matter what!"
The unified Rider wasted no time in readying her finisher as she tapped her normal Ridewatch once before tapping the RWBY Ridewatch four times.
[FINISH TIME! RUBY! WEISS! BLAKE! YANG!]
Salem heard the announcement and quickly managed to stand despite everything, gathering her magic into one fairly large orb as she began to build it up.
Roze rotated her Ziku Driver, bringing out Crescent Rose and taking aim as the four emblems for each member of Team RWBY appeared in front of the gun barrel. They then slid back as a rainbow of energy began building within Crescent Rose. Soon enough projections of Weiss, Blake and Yang appeared behind Roze, the three helping her brace as they all held onto her.
[RWBY TIME BLAST!]
Team RWBY yelled out as a singular multicolored bullet was unleashed from Crescent Rose, Salem launching her magic blast towards it. The two attacks collided against each other, but there was barely even a clash. The bullet had pierced through the magic blast instantly, the blast destabilizing and launching upwards, various small blasts exploding in the air all around as the bullet stayed on course.
Salem couldn't even try and attempt a second counterattack, the bullet piercing her near instantly and digging into her. She gasped out as multicolored cracks of red, blue, purple and yellow traveled all over her body, the energy building further and further… until she exploded.
Roze let out a heavy exhale as she let her arms drop, her weapon falling to her side. The projections of her teammates fading as she stared at the massive explosion that had occurred.
(Insert End)
It had taken a while to regenerate, and while Salem herself had retained some consciousness throughout the process that usually didn't bother her. Usually was the key word, as now was a special case. She was so infuriated and so humiliated that it felt like an agonizing wait compared to usual, she was so disoriented that her vision was fairly blurry. Though that was enough to tell that there was a faint change as the normal cold and metallic atmosphere was replaced by a dead brown and dusty atmosphere.
Her vision began to refocus as she looked around, her eyes widening as she stared at her surroundings. She was in a barren wasteland, there were some trees and foliage but everything looked so dead.
"What… is this…?" Salem trailed slowly as she didn't understand what was going on, "I was in Atlas, so where is this? Vacuo…?"
"No."
Salem felt a chill at the voice, a sudden killing intent being felt all over her as her body screamed to suddenly run. She wasn't sure why she was feeling this way and could only turn, her eyes widening as she saw him. Bathed in black and dressed with extravagant gold armor, Sougo stood before her as Zi-O. But this wasn't like any Zi-O she had seen as this one was more regal, more powerful. She could only stare into the piercing red katakana that stared down at her.
This wasn't just any Zi-O that was facing her… this was Oma Zi-O.
Earth – Wasteland, 2068
In an instant he had performed a side kick, kicking her in the stomach and causing her to fall to the ground, the force being so great she began to roll. She began to get up before she felt a strange pulsation in her stomach. As she stood she stared down to see the mark of Kuuga on her stomach. Cracks began to emerge from the mark, spreading all over her body before she screamed out and exploded.
Oma Zi-O could only stare as the explosion died down to reveal a black pool of liquid, likely what Salem would regenerate from. He then turned another way, as if to address someone.
Remnant – Atlas, CCT Tower Rooftop
Everyone admittedly wasn't sure what had happened as soon as the fight had finished. The remains of Salem had all vanished near instantly as they began to slowly regenerate. It wasn't long before Oscar began to wake up, Jaune and his team arriving not long after alongside Penny flying up and landing as she had come up to check on the fight. Rose and Decade meanwhile had begun to make their way downwards as the anti-gravity field of debris above the CCT Tower began to finally fade, chunks of debris dropping down the sides of the tower every now and again.
Before anyone could ask what had just happened, golden clocks formed off to the side where everyone could see. The Riders and Huntsmen could only stare as the golden clocks spread out to create a screen before they witnessed what had just happened to Salem in 2068. Everyone couldn't help but get chills as they saw Oma Zi-O who had soon turned to address them, or more particularly…
"It appears as though this journey to Remnant has ended in victory, boy of my youth…" Oma Zi-O remarked as he and Zi-O stared directly at each other, "To that I say, congratulations. You have overturned the fate of one world. Truly something only you could have done."
Everyone could only stare at Oma Zi-O as he said those words, though Ren was staring more intently than the rest, not averting his eyes despite the aura radiating from the ruler of 2068.
"Oma Zi-O…" Geiz muttered as the right shoulder of Trinity shook slightly.
"It wasn't just me," Zi-O finally spoke up, "It was all of us, the Huntsmen, Huntresses, Kamen Riders…"
"How modest of you," Oma Zi-O chuckled before looking over at Roze, "I see you made good use of my gift."
Roze didn't say anything, her and her friends simply staring at Oma Zi-O.
"The Witch cannot be killed," Oma Zi-O remarked as he didn't mind the silence, "However… she will simply get in the way if she were to stay in your world."
"What do you mean?" Roze asked.
"I will hold onto her for now, for there is now a new journey you must partake in without interruptions," Oma Zi-O explained as six lights began to shine around him, forming into Ridewatches. He turned his attention towards Zi-O, "There are six powers you have yet to gather within your grasp after all."
The six Ridewatches were the final remaining ones the group had yet to obtain, Hibiki, Fourze, Drive, Kabuto, Kiva, and Den-O.
"Obtaining these remaining Watches is your path to sovereignty as well as one of the keys to her permanent destruction," Oma Zi-O explained as he held up a finger, "These will mark the beginning of your final conquest."
"…" Zi-O stayed silent at this.
"For any rats listening to this conversation… know that this will not end in your victory," Oma Zi-O called out, knowing there was likely a Time Jacker or someone else potentially watching this little affair. He chuckled a bit before continuing, "You are welcome to try and stop my younger self, but in the end you will fall."
Everyone could only stare as Oma Zi-O turned away, the screen fading as the clocks moved together into a cluster before shrinking fully. Once that was done, there was silence for a good while before nearly everyone began to let out breaths they didn't know they were holding in. Everyone's bodies relaxed as each Riders transformation was dismissed.
The night sky had fully faded at this point, shifting into morning as the bright shining sun on the horizon bathed everyone in its warm light, their bodies relaxing further. Some went to sit down, some almost immediately collapsed onto the ground as they all realized that they had done it. They had won, and now that opened the doors for a new age in Remnant.
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"We need to talk. It's about Sougo."
"You'll get your revenge soon enough."
"Okay, but why?"
"I'm sure things will turn out better."
"Welcome back."
Chapter 97: Remnant's New Dawn
Author's Note: Whew this was a packed chapter, but it would be considering this is the debut of Roze RWBY. It's not that long after Rose Armor, but when it came down to it the narrative beats lining up won out over standard Rider form pacing. What helps is that Ruby has been using Silver Roze for the better half of the story anyway and both Rose Armor/Roze RWBY serve different purposes that should keep them at the same pace.
Speaking of Roze RWBY, I've noticed some people asking about why I chose this specific order for the words, considering how the other way would be play on Ruby's name. My reasoning is simple, in Zi-O the form names usually come after Rider name. The only exception is Grand, and in this story's case, Silver Roze. Plus I'm likely to have people refer to the form by name, and having them say a very similar style of name to Ruby's on occasion… doesn't really work well in my head.
With the specifics out of the way, the Battle of Atlas finally comes to a close as we've received a few interesting developments. Mostly because I've had Oma Zi-O show up to do his small spiel from the end of the Blade episodes. The time to continue collecting Ridewatches is at hand, but of course we've got one more chapter left before we fully put an end to this Saga. Thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time.