Rider Time Zi-O: Roze from Remnant
Chapter 110 – 2019: The Grand Climax
"Tokiwa Sougo embarks on a path which will lead him to become the overlord of time, Oma Zi-O," Woz narrated as he usually did, "Upon coming into contact with Ryotaro Nogami, Kamen Rider Den-O, he has received the final Ridewatch needed in order to claim the power of all Riders."
The chronicler looked around as the area around him was muted as he began to pace around. He was in the plaza that Another Den-O had attacked with the Riders alongside Penny, the rest of Team RWBY, and the Imagin all gathered around but frozen.
"Marking the collection of all the Primary Ridewatches, a new power has appeared, Grand Zi-O," Woz smiled as he looked over at the giant gold Ridewatch in Sougo's hand, "It will make its grand debut soon, especially because there is a small urgency to be had, as we must track the DenLiner now that it has fled through time. Especially since my Overlord's uncle was also aboard when it was hijacked… though likely, his presence will be the very clue we need."
As his narration began to finish up, he went to stand where he stood before starting his usual bit.
"Have I read too far? Or am I just hopeful that the owner and tenant of 9-5-DO will prove pivotal to our victory?"
Time Stream
The DenLiner was currently making its way along the time stream as it had already made several stops throughout various points in time.
Within all the cars there were a large amount of Mole Imagin, all of them cheering and doing whatever they pleased. In the main car, Junichiro was currently huddled in the corner booth with Owner. Owner kept his calm persona while Junichiro was a bit worried. He had been shoved out of the cockpit after managing to park the DenLiner and then it wasn't long until Another Den-O and Hi-Roze both boarded.
Thankfully the two Another Riders didn't seem to care for him and merely shoved him off to the side, figuring that he wouldn't be able to do much.
"There is no need to be worried," Owner said as he snapped his fingers before carefully moving his spoon forward. He was still currently picking out rice from his rice mound, the flag having yet to fall, "While time must move forward, there is one that time must halt for always…"
"I'm not sure I understand," Junichiro said nervously.
"Alright you Imagin, listen up!" Cinder called out as she entered with Another Den-O, "Your little leader is currently getting us on our way to our destination."
"You're to follow us and help us with our goal," Another Den-O said, "After that you can rampage wherever and whenever to your heart's content."
"What about the other passengers?" a Mole Imagin asked while raising its clawed hand.
"Leave them be," Cinder said before smirking, "They can't do anything to stop us."
"Once we arrive in 2008, we'll kill Sougo Tokiwa alongside his parents," Another Den-O explained before raising his fist with a yell, "And then the future will be saved!"
"You're going to what?!" Junichiro asked as he stood up in shock, "You can't do that!"
"Don't try and talk me out of this old man, I've already decided," Another Den-O scoffed before turning to head back to the main cockpit, "Make sure you're all ready."
The Mole Imagin began to cheer and howl while Cinder turned and gave a smirk.
"Please, you can't do this!" Junichiro begged as he stepped forward only for a Mole Imagin to shove him back in the booth he had stood up from.
"You're free to stop us… but oh wait, it's like I said, you can't," Cinder remarked with a wicked smile before finally following after Another Den-O.
Earth – Late June 2019
"Excuse us for a moment," Yuto said as he walked over to Ryotaro before grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him away, "What's the big idea? We're supposed to protect time, remember?"
"And there are some things we can't go against," Ryotaro said as he repeated his words, "One of those is that Zi-O must collect the power of All Riders, in whatever way he chooses."
As Ruby, Sougo and their friends watched the huddle session, it wasn't long before the five Imagin began to join the huddle as well to listen.
"So we're supposed to let the future go to ruin?" Yuto asked, "He becomes an Overlord that destroys and rules the world."
"I'm not saying that we can't go against that," Ryotaro replied before gesturing back at the other Riders, "In fact while we haven't, they have."
"What?" Yuto asked.
"Owner contacted me a while ago and told me the situation," Ryotaro admitted, "And thinking about it… it makes sense. Zi-O is not a person… it's a title and a power that Sougo uses."
"What are you talking about?" Yuto asked.
"Sougo won't turn out like many think he will," Ryotaro reassured, "It's hard to explain but a lot of it has to do with people confusing titles for people… I think anyway."
"You think…?" Yuto asked skeptically before sighing, "Fine, if you say so…"
"If Ryotaro's alright with it then so are we," Momotaros finally spoke up, "Right?"
"Of course," Kintaros nodded.
"Naturally," Urataros remarked.
"Yeah, yeah," Ryutaros nodded quickly.
"We've got one more problem though," Deneb admitted as everyone looked over at him, "Where did they even take the DenLiner too?"
"Crap, that's right," Momotaros lightly gasped as he pointed at Deneb, "That stupid Imagin hijacked the DenLiner and didn't go the usual way!"
"Didn't we prepare something in case of an emergency like this?" Yuto questioned.
[CALLING!]
The two Riders and Imagin all perked up when they heard the announcement before seeing Sougo looking at his ringing Faizphone X.
"Huh, Ruby…?" Sougo asked as he stared at his phone's contacts, "Why are you calling?"
"Wait, but I'm not," Ruby said as she held up her hands before dropping them in realization, "Sougo answer that now! I gave it to Mr. Junichiro, remember?!"
"Oh crap, Uncle!" Sougo quickly answered and put it on speaker, "Hello?!"
"Sougo, thank goodness!" Junichiro gasped out as it sounded as though he was running, "Listen I'm glad I got through but there's no time to waste! I know where those guys took the train I fixed up!"
"Are you alright?" Sougo asked, ignoring everything else which was something that Yuto took notice of.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, I slipped out after they all left and am getting some much needed exercise while finding out where I am," Junichiro reassured between heavy breaths, "Listen, they arrived at July 21st 2008, is there any specific meaning to that day?"
"Is there…" Sougo thought back before snapping his fingers, "Mom and Dad wanted to kick off Summer Break with something fun so they took me to a coastal park on a picnic."
"Wait…" Ruby trailed as she started to realize something, "That's such a random date to probably everyone but Sougo…"
"Damn it, so that's his game, it's before April 2009," Geiz hissed out as he realized what Gestern was going to do, "He wants to put an end to Zi-O before Swartz gets to him."
Weiss' eyes widened, "We can't let him do that!"
"Don't worry everyone!" Junichiro called out loudly, "I'll make sure Sougo and his parents stay safe!"
"Hey uncle, don't do anything crazy," Sougo said with a hint of worry only for the call to cut off, "Uncle!"
"Now that we know where they went, we'll make sure he's alright," Weiss reassured as walked over and took his free hand in her own to comfort him, "Right now we should call the Time Mazines."
"R-Right…" Sougo nodded as he relaxed a bit.
"Do you really think someone like that could destroy the world?" Ryotaro asked as he looked over at Yuto.
"Fine," Yuto held a resigned look before walking over, "If you all don't have enough room in your machines I can offer you a trip aboard the ZeroLiner."
"Eh?" Sougo looked over in surprise, "Does this mean… you trust me now?"
"I still don't trust you," Yuto frowned before giving a more neutral look, "But I respect you."
"Close enough?" Ruby asked with a shrug.
"I suppose that's the best we'll get," Geiz replied.
"I feel like I'm missing so many contexts," Yang spoke up.
"I mean we were sort of out of commission for most of the previous encounters," Blake pointed out, "But whatever it is I guess it's resolved."
"As usual… you never say what you freaking mean," Momotaros remarked as he looked over towards Yuto.
"Ah this is wonderful!" Deneb cheered, "More friends for Yuto!"
"Whatever," Yuto scoffed at Deneb's words before wincing as a green light shined in his pocket, he pulled out a new Ridewatch, it forming from the Blank he was given earlier. It had a black base with a vibrant green dial and button, Zeronos' Rider face on it, "My own Ridewatch?"
"Yep," Ruby said as she hurried over, "Thanks."
"This doesn't really matter, you know?" Yuto handed it over.
"It gives me cool new weapons so it matters enough," Ruby answered as she happily took it.
"If we're done we should get going," Geiz suggested as he brought out his Faizphone X to call the Time Mazines, "We can't exactly afford waste time given the urgency of everything."
Earth – July 21st 2008
Another Den-O, Hi-Roze and their Mole Imagin army were currently making their way through the coastal park that Sougo's family would be arriving to soon. They had made sure to set up deep into it, before the Another Rider leaders began to instruct the Mole Imagin on where to go to hide so they could easily surround the family when it was time.
"Well you two look like you're having fun."
The two Another Riders paused in their instructions and turned to see that it was Uhr who had spoke, both him and Ora standing nearby in the area now.
"Who are you two?" Another Den-O asked.
"Allies," Hi-Roze answered before looking over at the younger Time Jackers, "Why are you here?"
"You're going to get a lot of bad attention with this stunt," Uhr said as he brought out the Ganma Eyecon he received, "We're here to help."
"Yep, and we're better than before," Ora said as she brought out the Nebulasteam Gun, loading in the red gear bottle before taking it out and loading the blue gear bottle.
[ULTIMA!]
[GEAR ENGINE! GEAR REMOCON! FUNKY MATCH!]
Uhr and Ora nodded, Uhr letting the Eyecon drop while Ora aimed forward and pulled the trigger.
The Eyecon floated at Uhr's waist, yellow electricity launching from it onto him as dark energy formed. It wasn't long before he gained the blackened form of the Ganma Ultima, the Ganma Ultima Ebony.
[FEVER!]
The Nebulasteam Gun meanwhile launched out blue and red gears, the gears crashing against each other as black smoke spewed out of the gun and coated Ora in it. Soon enough she gained a black leather bodysuit similar to Night Rogue's, the gears latching onto both sides, red on her right, blue on her left, forming the armor of Bikaiser.
"You really think we'll gain opposition?" Hi-Roze asked, "They have no way of knowing our plan and those old fools on the train are practically useless in a fight. They weren't even worth keeping an eye on."
"You left some passengers alone?" Bikaiser asked as she walked over before clicking her tongue in annoyance, "That was a mistake."
"You're severely underestimating those guys," Ebony warned as he walked over.
"What do you mean?" Hi-Roze asked.
The horn of the ZeroLiner could be heard, it passing overhead alongside the Geiz Unit Time Mazine, several figures dropping down.
[REVI-I-VE SHI-PPU! SHIPPU!]
[KAMEN RIDER ROZE RW~BY~! RWBY!]
[ALTAIR FORM!]
Kamen Riders Geiz, Roze, and Zeronos all landed near the Mole Imagin Army that was in the process of hiding. The first two Riders were in their strongest forms while Zeronos kept to Altair for now. Landing around them were, Penny, Ryotaro's four Imagin partners and Deneb.
"This guy raised an entire army?!" Momotaros questioned as he pointed forward.
"Well we got the DenLiner," the Lead Mole Imagin shouted, "So I figured we could use some hefty numbers and took some trips to the recent past to get a bunch of me!"
"That's not going to stop us," Zeronos said as he brandished his ZeroGasher, "So let me say this to start, we are fairly strong!"
"Team RWBY's ready to go all out from the start," Roze shouted as she raised her right hand while flexing her fingers, the cheers of her teammates echoing through.
"Do not forget that they have reliable friends," Penny gestured towards herself and the Imagin, all of which began to get their weapons ready, "And we are combat ready!"
"Geiz…" Another Den-O spoke up as he looked at what he considered his former ally, "You're really doing this?"
"It's complicated," Geiz admitted, "And even if I told you everything I've been through you still might not understand. But I have to stop you."
"Fine then…" Another Den-O took a deep breath before yelling out, "DESTROY THEM!"
The Mole Imagins all shouted as they charged forward, the Riders and their allies doing the same. It wasn't long before the entire battlefield became a mess as it was less of a coordinated fight and more of a backyard/bar brawl.
"Good," Another Den-O said as he looked at his allies, "While the Imagin deal with them, we'll find and take out Sougo Tokiwa."
"Sounds good to me," Hi-Roze agreed.
"Wait a minute," Ebony spoke up, "Zi-O isn't here though."
"Which means…" Bi-Kaiser trailed.
"If you want to get to me, you'll have to go through me."
Another Den-O, Hi-Roze, Ebony, and Bikaiser all turned, and standing before them all was Sougo who had his driver and Ridewatches at the ready.
"Wait a sec…" Bikaiser said as she spied a bulky gold Ridewatch in Sougo's hand, "He never had that one before."
"Crap, did he do it?" Ebony hissed out.
"Do what?" Hi-Roze asked.
"Obtain the power of all Riders…" Ebony trailed off as everyone partially froze at that thought.
"I'm not about to stand aside with my existence on the line," Sougo said as he held up both of his Ridewatches, activating them.
[ZI-O!]
[GRANDZI-O!]
Upon activating the GrandZi-O Ridewatch, the layered sides popped open. The outer layers had the first ten Kamen Riders from Kuuga up to Decade, while the inner layers had W all the way to Build. Loading both Ridewatches in a suspenseful background standby began to play as it began to go the various Legend Riders' standby sounds while Sougo unlocked the Driver to rotate it.
As he did a short gold clock tower appeared behind him, his katakana visor on the main block while various gears, clocks and pillars decorating it. Gold coins began to rain down from above as rusted over statues of Kamen Riders Kuuga to Zi-O all began to rise out of the ground. Decade to Kuuga was on Sougo's right, while his left side had Zi-O going back to W.
[ADVENT!]
[TURN UP!]
[CHANGE BEETLE!]
[SWORD FORM!]
[WAKE UP!]
[KAMEN RIDE!]
[CYCLONE! JOKER!]
[TAKA! TORA! BATTA!]
[3, 2, 1!]
[SHABADOOBI TOUCH HENSHIN!]
[SOIYA!]
[DRIVE!]
[KAIGAN!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[BEST MATCH!]
[RIDER TIME…]
Sougo took a deep breath as the rust slowly but surely flaked off of the Riders around him, all of them standing alongside him as he rotated his Driver.
"Henshin!"
[…GRAND TIME!]
The 20 Heisei Riders were all soon contained in golden gateways that flew around each other before shrinking. Sougo took his base form of Zi-O as the gates all latched on, forming the golden armor of Grand Zi-O.
[KUUGA, AGITO, RYUKI, FAIZ, BLA~DE! HIBIKI, KABUTO, KIVA, DECA~DE!]
The gates began to open up, each Rider performing their respective signature pose before turning into a gold statuette.
[W! OOO! FOURZE~! WIZARD, GAIM, DRIVE~!]
His right side consisted of Kuuga on his right shoulder, Agito and then Ryuki underneath on his right forearm. On his right hip armor was where Kabuto was positioned, Hibiki in front on his right thigh with Blade and then Faiz below him on his right shin armor.
His left side had W on the shoulder, OOO and Fourze below him on the left forearm. The left hip armor had Ghost, with Drive in front on his left thigh, Gaim with Wizard below him on the left shin armor.
[GHOST! EX-AID! BUILD~!]
On the chest was Decade at the center, Kiva with Den-O below on Zi-O's right breast while the left breast had Build and Ex-Aid below him.
[IWAE!]
The katakana on the clock tower turned bright pink with gold edges, launching out at the tower faded away. The forehead gate on Zi-O's helmet finally opened up to reveal a small Zi-O in base form, striking his pose as the lettering latched on, a gold wave rocketing through the area.
[KAMEN RIDER~! GRAND ZI-O~!]
(Insert: Next New Wφrld by Rider Chips)
"Awesome…" Zi-O let out a low breath as he looked himself over while gripped his fists tightly, "I can feel the power!"
Roze was currently stabbing into a Mole Imagin with Myrtenaster and Gambol Shroud, giving a low whistle, "Whoa…"
"Incredible…" Weiss muttered in awe.
"Not bad Zi-O," Geiz remarked before clawing a Mole Imagin away.
"REJOICE!" Woz soon walked over with a smile, his book open before he cleared his throat, "No… words alone cannot do this any justice… you must simply bask in this moment!"
Zi-O chuckled a bit as he glanced at Woz before turning to see his four opponents staring at him like deer caught in headlights, "Let's get started…" he then didn't move forward but instead tapped the OOO statuette.
[OOO!]
A large gate similar to the ones on his body soon appeared in the sky above, the red lettering that read 2010. It wasn't long before multiple Eiji's yelling could be heard, the gate opening up as dozens of OOO in the Gatakiriba Combo launched downwards at the Another Riders, Ebony, and Bikaiser. The four tried to dodge but yelled out as the radius covered by the mass amount of Gatakiriba clones forced them to all be sent rolling away from each other.
"You don't scare me!" Another Den-O brandished his knives and rushed forward, swinging at Zi-O who tapped the Kuuga statuette.
Hi-Roze meanwhile began gathering fire in her hands, combining the flames with wind to help boost its potency as a glitch-filled image of Wizard appeared over her, digital copies of her Another Rider form appearing near her.
[KUUGA!]
Zi-O grabbed the knives just as the Another Rider brought them down, his hands not being damaged in the slightest. He kicked hard, sending Another Den-O flying while still gripping the knives. Electricity began crackling around as he transformed them into two copies of the Rising Titan Sword.
Hi-Roze yelled out as she and her digital copies threw their arms forward, the enhanced fireballs all being launched at Zi-O who ran towards them all. The fireballs exploded all around him and engulfed him in a fiery tornado-like inferno.
The copies were dismissed before Hi-Roze perked up, hearing glitch sound effects from behind her. She turned to see Zi-O glitch into existence via gold glitch effects. She barely had any time to react as she was slashed multiple times by the two Rising Titan Blades.
"Take this!" Zi-O performed a gold filled cross-slash with the blades, the Another Rider yelling out as sparks flew as she was sent tumbling backwards.
Bikaiser yelled out, launching red and blue energy gears out at Zi-O who raised his arms and braced against them. She could only step back in surprise as she watched him throw his arms out, dispersing the gears with gold energy.
Ebony let out a shout as he ran forward, raising his fists to strike at Zi-O.
"Uhr you idiot," Bikaiser ran forward to try and help only to pause when a gold gate suddenly appeared next to Ebony who passed by it.
[BUILD!]
Suddenly Build Hazard could be seen, its head jolting up as it sped towards Bikaiser with a purple aura around it. Bikaiser quickly raised her Nebulasteam Gun and shot at Hazard only for the berserk form Rider to easily leap and dodge past all of the shots before jumping into the air, kicking forward at high speeds.
[HAZARD FINISH!]
Bikaiser screamed out as Build Hazard rider kicked against her chest, purple energy exploding outwards as she was launched backwards.
"You're going down, Zi-O!" Ebony was too caught up in charge to notice what happened, punching at Zi-O who caught his fist. He then gathered energy in his free fist, punching forward and unleashing a burst of energy that struck Zi-O in the chest.
Zi-O let out a grunt as he stepped back before releasing his grip on Ebony's hand, slapping his left hip, "Sorry, but I won't go down that easily."
[GHOST!]
The Gan Gun Saber and Sunglasseslasher launched out and struck Ebony in the chest to force the Time Jacker back. Zi-O gripped them tightly as a transparent projection of Ghost in Mugen Damashii appeared over him.
[IKARI SLASH!]
Red energy coated the blades as he swung several times, striking Ebony and sending the Ganma Ultima rolling backwards as a result.
"I'm not done," Another Den-O yelled out and charged at Zi-O.
"Let's go for this again," Zi-O tapped the OOO statuette once more.
[OOO!]
This OOO was brought from a particular time, where several concrete tubes had gotten in the way of his standard Rider Kick in TaToBa. Instead of just grabbing OOO, Zi-O grabbed the concrete as well, OOO kicking through all of them and slamming into Another Den-O, the Another Rider being sent backwards.
"Let's go for a repeat," The Zi-O Statuette came to life as OOO's attack was rewound before the Rider and concrete were paused.
Zi-O quickly raised his arm, blocking an attack from Hi-Roze who had formed her glass into a fist-like protrusion to try and enhance her hits. With a shout he pushed her away before tapping Build's statuette.
[BUILD!]
The Fullbottle Buster was brought out with the Rabbit Fullbottle already loaded in. He batted away several punches from Cinder before switching the Buster to its gun mode while aiming it at the Another Rider's gut.
[RABBIT! FULLBOTTLE BREAK!]
The shot impacted against Hi-Roze, the bouncing properties of the Rabbit Fullbottle sending her stumbling back farther than she normally would go. The result lined her directly in the path of the paused OOO and debris.
"Time will resume," Zi-O snapped his fingers.
[SCANNING CHARGE!]
Hi-Roze could only yell out as she was engulfed by the concrete and OOO's Rider Kick.
Zi-O turned as he watched Bikaiser and Ebony meet up, the two gathering energy in their arms before launching energy gears and blasts forward.
[GAIM!]
A gateway opened in front of him just as the blasts impacted, though it wasn't long before a hailstorm of bullets as launched out from the smoke. Both Bikaiser and Ebony gasped out as sparks flew, the two quickly splitting up as Gaim had been summoned in Kachidoki Arms, the shogun-themed Rider having the DJ Ju out in its rapid fire mode.
Zi-O watched as Gaim vanished, taking a deep breath, "So this is the power of All Riders…"
(Insert End)
"He's getting me pretty pumped up!" Momotaros yelled out as he slashed through a Mole Imagin.
Another Mole Imagin was about to perform a sneak attack when it was suddenly kicked from behind.
"Momotaros," Ryotaro said as his Imagin partner turned, "You should be careful."
"Ah I had him," Momotaros waved it off, "Did you do it?"
"The DenLiner's secure," Ryotaro said before he brought out the Den-O Belt, wrapping it around his waist, a red cell phone, the K-Taros, attached to the front of it, "So I'll fight alongside you once more."
"Sounds great," Momotaros pumped his fist.
Ryotaro soon brought out a red and gold bladed sword with a large wheel at the front of the grip and hilt, it having the faces of all four Den-O forms on it, Sword, Rod, Axe, and Gun. "Henshin," he called out as he slotted a black pass into the empty spot on the blade.
[LINER FORM!]
The DenLiner soon flew through, turning into a bright blue projection that passed over. It was primarily a red suit with white and black accents all over, a few yellow decorations as the station themed base of Den-O became DenLiner themed. The wide and pointed red eyes had purple, blue, and yellow accents to them as the back of his head having a protrusion similar to the top of the DenLiner's main car.
"Let's go," Den-O(R) raised the sword and slashed against a Mole Imagin.
"Hell yeah," Momotaros quickly brought out his own Den-O Belt, "Now I'll transform and join-" he paused when he looked at the Den-O Belt, it being the one that had been busted by Another Den-O's retaliation, "I forgot that the last spare broke! That's so unfair and messed up!"
"Uh Momotaros," Den-O(R) spoke up as he looked over, "If you want we can do it how we normally…"
"Hey, listen."
Momotaros and Den-O(R) both turned towards Zi-O who had just dodged past a few attacks against him.
"I think I have a solution," Zi-O tapped the Den-O statuette before blocking a punch from Another Den-O.
[DEN-O!]
A gateway opened up as one particular instance of Den-O showed up. This one had immediately finished its transformation into Den-O Sword Form, though the Momotaros in control seemed very apathetic.
"I… have arrived…" Den-O(M) said as he did the bare minimum Momotaros would do.
"Wait a minute…" Den-O(R) said as he recalled this specific instance.
"Not what I expected, but I'll take it!" Momotaros quickly leapt into the Den-O(M) that was summoned before taking control, "And now I've really, finally, arrived!" he shouted before bringing out his own K-Taros, pressing the buttons before attaching it to the belt, "And we're doing the dogpile to end all dogpiles!"
[MOMO! URA! KIN! RYU! CLIMAX FORM!]
(Insert: Climax Jump by AAA)
The bodysuit changed to include train tracks going from the chest to the arms and legs, the red armor becoming more rounded as Urataros, Kintaros and Ryutaros were turned incorporeal and dragged over, becoming armor pieces based on their Den-O form helmets and attaching to the right shoulder, left shoulder, and chest respectively. Den-O(M)'s visor peeled back to reveal a more orange gradient style of compound eyes.
"Yay, yay!" Ryutaros made Den-O(M) jump around before waving, "It's been so long!"
"Kin, my dear, you're stepping on my foot!" Urataros complained as the body moved in accordance to his actions.
"What do you want? It's packed in here like usual!" Kintaros argued as he moved the body.
"Shut it!" Den-O(M) got back control of the body before charging forward, DenGasher in hand as he slashed at the Mole Imagin, "Let's go, go, go!"
Roze could only watch the chaos of Den-O Climax Form take the battlefield, "So… we're better than that, right?"
"Oh we're miles better," Weiss agreed.
"Yeah, we may be a bit crazy but we're not that crazy," Yang agreed.
"In coordination yes," Blake remarked, "Though admittedly their coordination is so random it goes back to being genius."
"I will gladly take Trinity over whatever I'm witnessing," Geiz admitted as he landed near them.
"Aw…" Deneb saw both Den-O(M) and Roze and pouted, "No fair!"
Zeronos managed to get a Mole Imagin in an armlock, "Deneb, we're finishing things up quickly!"
"Got it," Deneb rushed forward and shoved a few Mole Imagin away as Zeronos got up, he soon spied that his partner held a red card, "That one, huh?"
"Yep," Zeronos slid it into the Zeronos Belt.
"Let's do it!" Deneb nodded.
[CHARGE AND UP!]
[DENEBICK BUSTER!]
Zeronos' body became rusted all over before the rust shattered to reveal all the green on his body had turned a dull red coloration, his eyes now a bright orange-red. Deneb meanwhile had shifted into a gatling gun styled weapon with his face on it, the Denebick Buster.
"Let's go," Zeronos said only for the Denebick Buster to start shaking.
"Allow me to reiterate," Deneb shouted, "Please be nice to Yuto!"
"Just drop it already," Zeronos sighed before taking aim, firing rapid bursts of energy at the Mole Imagin to start mowing them down. He dodged a few swipes before firing off more bullets to strike the Imagin with.
"Ooh," Roze said as she brought out Crescent Roze, swinging it in its scythe mode and knocking back a Mole Imagin, "Note to self, try out that in Rose Armor."
"It does seem very useful," Penny agreed as she launched out a few fireballs to strike from long range, spinning Floating Array out and striking any Mole Imagin near her.
Den-O(R) yelped as he had ended up getting too careless in a swing, the DenKamen Sword being knocked out of his hands.
Den-O(M) quickly rushed in, slashing past an incoming Mole Imagin and looking over, "You alright?"
"I am," Den-O(R) nodded as he quickly brought out his own DenGasher in sword mode, "Let's finish this, everyone!"
"Right," Den-O(M) pulled out his pass alongside Den-O(R), the two scanning it on their belts and charging their weapons with rainbow and red energy respectively, "Our finishing move… Double the Den-O Version!"
[FULL CHARGE!]
The two Den-Os crossed their blades before slashing forward. The result unleashed a cross slash of multiple colors that launched forward and cut through a good chunk of the Mole Imagin. While several started to explode, others hunched over in pain.
[TSUME RENZAN!]
A blue blur began striking the remaining Mole Imagin, gathering them all in one spot as Geiz slid to the side, his claw out, "There we go, all rounded up!"
[FULL CHARGE!]
[FINISH TIME! RUBY! WEISS! BLAKE! YANG!]
Zeronos charged the red card with energy before pushing it into the Denebick Buster's main slot.
Roze meanwhile switched Crescent Rose into its rifle formation while initiating her Ziku Driver's finisher, taking aim as the sigils of her and her teammates appeared in front of the barrel. Projections of her teammates formed behind her to help her brace as multicolored energy gathered within Crescent Rose's barrel.
Penny meanwhile was between the two Riders, Floating Array in front of her and in its firing mode as she began charging up energy between the blades. She accessed her magic, carefully charging up her weapons with extra electricity.
[RWBY TIME BLAST!]
Upon that announcement, the two Riders and Maiden yelled out, unleashing beams of energy towards the remaining Mole Imagin. The Imagin could only yell and try and move away, but they all pushed against each other, tumbling forward only to get struck by all three beams.
An explosion happened as the three turned away, Penny recalling her weapons while Roze lowered her weapon and held it with both hands. Zeronos meanwhile rested the Denebick Buster on his shoulder, it shaking slightly as Deneb let out a cheer of victory.
(Insert End)
"Alright," Zi-O nodded as he caught the tail end of everyone's fight against the Imagins. He turned towards his own fight, the Another Riders, Bikaiser, and Ebony surrounding him on four sides, "Let's end this."
[FINISH TIME! GRANDZI-O!]
Another Den-O drew his two remaining knives, slowly moving forward.
Hi-Roze yelled out as images of all the Primary Riders flashed over her with glitch-like effects, pumping all of her new energy into a massive ball of elemental energy.
Bikaiser meanwhile gathered energy, forming them into spinning gears and leaping up in order to close in and slash with them. Ebony decided to take things simple as well, gathering energy in his fist and leaping up to try and deal a close ranged assault.
Zi-O looked around and figured how he'd need to counter each one, rotating his Driver once he was ready.
[ALL 20 TIME BREAK!]
Hi-Roze launched the elemental energy ball forward, a gateway suddenly getting in its path as Ex-Aid in Maximum Mighty X kicked through it. The bulky Rider yelled out as he kicked through the energy attack, dispersing it into digital particles as the high level Rider directly struck Hi-Roze with his giant foot, sparks flying.
Hi-Roze rolled backwards while pink electrical sparks formed on her body, the sparks growing in number as she yelled out in pain before suddenly exploding.
Bikaiser was greeted by two gates from 2011 as Fourze in Rocket States and OOO in Super TaToBa launched out. Fourze's leg flashed as his left leg gained his iconic Drill Module, the two Riders yelling out and striking Bikaiser with the Rider Double Rocket Drill Kick.
"What…?" Bikaiser gasped out as she her attempts to slash forward were broken through, the Riders kicking against her chest as more and more sparks flew. She could only scream out as the Riders pushed further, launching her backwards before she exploded.
At the same time, Ebony was greeted by one gate opening in front of him from 2015, Ghost in Toucon Boost falling out. The rider emblazoned in red slashed forward with his Sunglasseslasher, energy erupting and forming an energy axe that struck and dug into Ebony. Another gate from 2015 opened up, Drive in Type Tridoron slashing horizontally against Ebony's back with the Handle-Ken. Both Riders shouted further and completed their slashes, catching the Ganma Ultima in a large explosion.
Another Den-O was ready to charge forward when he watched all of the finishers go off at the same time. He took a step back with a gasp before looking around as four gates formed in above him. One was of Kuuga in Pegasus form hanging from the Gouram, the other was Decade in Complete Form, kicking out with Hyper Kabuto beside him. The next was Gaim in Suika Arms, brandishing the Suika Sojinto with Build in Genius form kicking through the last gate.
Another Den-O yelled out, lashing out and forming energy knives that struck at the summoned forms and Riders, explosions occurring only for them to pause as all the Riders summoned had time stopped around them.
[RIDEHEISEIBER!]
Zi-O brought out the Heiseiber, raising it up and slotting the Decade Ridewatch in. He began rotating the clock hand around, powering up the blade with a gold glow.
[HEY! KAMEN RIDERS!]
Another Den-O watched as Zi-O rushed towards him, running forward to meet the Riders charge. The two engaged in brief combat, slashing, clashing, dodging and blocking against each other. They continued to dance around each other, but it was clear that Zi-O was slowly but surely overwhelming Another Den-O.
[HEISEI RIDERS ULTIMATE TIME BREAK!]
Zi-O yelled out as he performed a slash that launched Another Den-O into the air, "GO!"
The little statuette of Zi-O moved and pointed forward, a rainbow burst of energy commanding the frozen Riders to move once more. Kuuga launched out several powered up shots from the Pegasus Bowgun, keeping Another Den-O up in the air further. Decade Complete and Hyper Kabuto kicked out next, the two striking past the Another Rider. Next up was Gaim in the Suika Armor, launching forward with the jet boosters before slicing past with Build Genius launching forward and kicking through Another Den-O to finish it off.
Another Den-O was caught in an explosion due to the energy buildup, soon dropping to the ground. His transformation vanished, leaving only Gestern as the Den-O Anotherwatch rolled away and shattered.
"No way…" Hi-Roze winced, managing to keep her transformation before gasping. A blue shell of digital energy began to break apart and disperse before she clutched her chest, her body growing unstable just like it did before she received the powers of the Ganbarizing Gashat.
Unbeknownst to her, Zi-O utilizing Ex-Aid Level 99 as her counter was to reprogram and permanently disable her newly gained Bugster Virus-like abilities, "Did… did he somehow remove the Gashat programming that kept me stable?"
"Cinder…"
Hi-Roze turned and saw Finis near a tree, before looking around. Both Uhr and Ora were both dazed on the ground and everyone else seemed to be in awe over Zi-O's newest form. Realizing she needed to survive she swallowed what pride she had and quickly hurried over towards Finis.
Once Cinder was close enough the elder Time Jacker snapped their fingers, the two vanishing completely.
Uhr and Ora groaned as they got up, before their eyes widened. The two saw their newly acquired powers completely broken in front of them. Not only that but Hi-Roze was nowhere to be seen and Another Den-O was now defeated. The two nodded at each other, barely managing to pick themselves up before vanishing.
"Whoa, they sure are getting fancy over there," Junichiro said as he was far enough away from the fights to not be in danger, but just close enough to see the ending explosions. When there weren't any more for a while he figured they were finished. He then began looking around the area, it being where one would normally approach the park from, "I suppose I should try to find them. Thankfully I didn't have to stall-"
"…Junichiro?"
Junichiro froze at his name being called as he turned, soon seeing a very young Sougo alongside his parents, Sotaro and Namie Tokiwa.
The younger Sougo smiled and waved, "Hey uncle!"
"Fancy meeting you here," Namie smiled, "Off on an errand for the shop again?"
"Something of that sort," Junichiro chuckled in slight nervousness as he wasn't expecting them to hurry over to him, "What are you all doing here?"
"Oh well we're kicking off summer with a picnic," Sotaro explained as he held up the picnic basket, a few towels underneath his arms, "I know it was just supposed to be the three of us, but did you want to join?"
"Honey, he just said he was on an errand," Namie sighed as she looked over, "You know he can't."
"I just thought I'd offer," Sotaro gave a sheepish smile, before looking over at Junichiro, "But if you are busy…"
"Oh please, you don't have to worry," Junichiro reassured as he moved closer, admittedly it was starting to get hard being in their presence. He hadn't seen them in a while and even though they were on good terms before the accident… he still had to use everything he had to keep from breaking down on the spot, "Just make sure you all enjoy yourselves."
"Of course," Sotaro said.
"Aw…" the younger Sougo pouted a bit, "It would've been nice for you to join, uncle."
"Oh I know, but don't worry," Junichiro smiled as he knelt down towards the younger version of his nephew, brushing his younger nephew's hair a bit, "If you ever need anything, I'll be there for you, I promise."
"Really…?" the younger Sougo tilted his head.
"Of course," Junichiro smiled before ruffling his younger nephew's hair.
"We should plan something whenever you're not busy," Namie suggested.
"That'd be nice but you don't have to go out of your way for me," Junichiro smiled as he stood up before moving away from them, "It was just nice seeing you all again."
"Likewise," Sotaro nodded before looking at his wife and son, "We should get going before it gets too late."
"Right," Namie nodded before looking over at Junichiro, "It was nice seeing you again."
"See ya, uncle!" the younger Sougo said with a wide smile while he waved before hurrying off with his parents.
Junichiro turned away and began to walk a bit, glancing back every now and again before quickly running behind a corner and sitting down on the ground. He pushed his glasses up as he quickly covered his eyes with his hands, tears starting to flow as he worked to find a handkerchief he'd normally have on him.
He knew there wasn't much he could do about the situation. After all, telling them to not go on that trip in the next year would result in so much changing more than likely. So all he could do was use this chance to spend one fleeting moment with two members of his family that were gone far too soon.
He sniffled a bit before going to wipe his eyes and letting out a shaky breath before hearing ringing. He realized it was the Faizphone X and went to answer it, "Hello?"
"Uncle… um… are you alright?" Sougo asked on the other line, having noticed Junichiro's voice was a bit choked.
"I'm… I'm fine Sougo," Junichiro reassured as he cleared his throat, "How'd everything go?"
"We managed to stop Another Den-O, and I got the power of all Kamen Riders," Sougo said, his tone clearly showing his pride, "Where were you anyway?"
"I was just making sure that you and your parents would arrive without issue," Junichiro explained, "You all should make sure you don't go through the usual way people would enter the park from."
"Don't worry we're already out," Sougo said, "We're heading back to the DenLiner. I'll send Penny to help you find your way, alright?"
"Sounds good to me," Junichiro said before hanging up and taking a deep breath, giving a wide smile as he stared into the vast blue sky that set the mood for a nice summer day, "I'm so proud of you…"
World of 2058
"Alright, here we are," Tsukasa said as he stepped in front of the large manor that towered over them.
"But where is here…?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Where you used to live, I assume," Tsukasa replied.
"Pretty much," Futaros nodded.
"So we were on the right track," Summer said in realization, "We had never gotten too close or got a lot of information. The best we could find was that there was some sort of connection."
"Thankfully Futaros gave us a lot of good answers," Tsukasa replied, "But we still don't have a motive."
"Ah, I will admit this brings back memories…" Fuutaros admitted with a soft chuckle before giving a curious sound, "Weather seems a bit better though."
"Are these uniforms really going to help?" Tsukuyomi asked, just barely getting over her embarrassment at having to wear a maid's uniform.
"Your family did always hire whoever they could to spare them from how bad the outside world was," Futaros mentioned, "So you all should blend in fine."
"So at what specific point in time are we?" Summer asked.
"I tried to get us just before the incident," Tsukasa said, "So hopefully we can find out Swartz's plans here and now."
"I suppose we should get started then," Futaros said as he cracked his knuckles before Tsukasa grabbed him by the shoulder, "What?"
"You can't be out and about," Tsukasa shook his head, "We can't risk you meeting your past self."
"Fine, but I'm still going to go with you all," Futaros said before looking over at Tsukuyomi, "Tsukuyomi… if you don't mind."
"Do what you need to," Tsukuyomi nodded.
"Given your powers you should be able to keep in control but I'll take over if need be," Futaros said before entering an incorporeal state and entering Tsukuyomi. A red pulse occurred though Tsukuyomi didn't gain any of the identifiable features that an Imagin would be in her.
"Weird, it doesn't feel different," Tsukuyomi admitted as she walked forward.
'Yeah, just think of me as you conscious,' Futaros chuckled a bit within Tsukuyomi's mind.
"Let's get going," Tsukasa said as he went to enter.
It was fairly quiet as they entered, everyone looking around as they tried to spot some kind of marker of where they were. That was until Tsukuyomi found a clock in a corner, it being a digital clock despite the old fashioned and fancy décor.
April 2nd 2058, 3:22 PM
'Ah crap!' Futaros shouted as he realized something, 'This isn't good! This really isn't good!'
"Futaros, what's wrong?" Tsukuyomi asked.
"Is he freaking out already?" Tsukasa gave a groan before being elbowed, "Ouch."
"If he's freaking out it must mean we have a complication," Summer hissed out, having been the one to hit Tsukasa.
'Is no one around?' Futaros asked as Tsukuyomi looked around and gave a nod, 'Good'
Tsukuyomi shivered as Futaros exited her body, the Imagin reforming in front of her.
"Alright, I know when we are now," Futaros explained with a whisper and a few gestures as he hurried them over to the back of the manor. Admittedly he was a bit surprised by how little staff were out and about, which made his gut feelings kick into overdrive.
Once there he gestured them towards a couple of doors that had windows about halfway up that led into the back garden. He also gestured and made sure that everyone would keep low and crouched to avoid detection. Everyone began to peak through the windows, Summer grabbing Tsukasa's chef hat and ripping it off his head to keep him from giving away their position.
Listening closely they could hear laughing, and it wasn't long before another Futaros came into view. On his shoulders was a young girl in a white long sleeved dress with long black hair and a white choker. Everyone could only stare, Tsukuyomi's eyes growing in surprise as she saw her younger incarnation, Alpina.
"Faster Futaros," Alpina held onto the past Imagin's head, "Faster!"
"As you command my princess," the past Futaros laughed as he continued to run around while carrying Alpina.
Futaros let out a soft chuckle at seeing his past self and Alpina before nudging everyone and getting their attention. He gestured for them to move away as they all crept away from the doors before they returned to the entrance. Once there they found a corner that had a couple of chairs and were underneath the staircase.
"I remember now," Futaros said before looking at Tsukuyomi, "Your parents were going to be out for a couple of hours so I was watching you. You wanted to play so I suggested we play for a bit outside in the back. Before we could come back in around four… your brother found us and then… well…"
"Attacked us…" Tsukuyomi finished for the Imagin as she had a look of realization, "Does that mean he's going to strike now?"
"He's likely already started," Futaros replied, "This manor is too damn quiet."
"So what exactly do we do?" Summer asked, "Confronting Swartz at this point may cause complications."
"Leave that to me," Futaros said, "I'll get you your info and get out of there before Swartz starts his plan."
"Take this then so we can see what you see," Tsukuyomi held out the Kodama Suika Arms.
"Thank you," Futaros said as he took the Ride Gadget before heading off, "Try and keep yourselves scarce… there should be a bathroom nearby you all can huddle into to keep out of Swartz's eye."
"Not the best accommodations…" Tsukasa remarked as he finally took his chef hat back from Summer before working to put it back on, "But better than the broom closet."
"Let's just hurry up," Summer sighed as she went to go find the bathroom that Futaros was talking about, Tsukasa and Tsukuyomi following after her.
Earth – July 21st 2008
The Riders and the Imagin were currently making their way to the now parked DenLiner, ZeroLiner and Time Mazines, everyone having cleared out of the park to avoid meeting Sougo's younger self and his parents. Of course, they had yet to actually board the Liners and Mazines since they were still waiting for Junichiro.
"Wonder what's taking them so long," Sougo said as he looked around.
"Penny probably doesn't want to scare your uncle too much," Weiss replied, "So she's probably just leading him here instead of grabbing him and flying."
"True," Sougo said.
"Yeah, that does get a bit too surprising," Ruby said, "And I'm sure your uncle has had enough excitement for one day."
"I'm pretty sure we all have," Geiz said as he looked over towards Kintaros who currently had an unconscious Gestern slung over his shoulder.
"Hey," Yang spoke up when she noticed Geiz was staring at Gestern a bit too often, "Are you going to be alright, Geiz?"
"It's not like we were that good of friends," Geiz answered before sighing, "But there's still something wrong about having to fight a comrade."
"Especially when he doesn't consider you one," Blake replied, "If you explained what was going on-"
"I doubt he'd buy it," Geiz replied, "Even if I told him, he doesn't have the experiences I had with you all."
"True, sometimes it takes more than words to get through to someone," Weiss replied, "And that's not exactly something that can be replicated."
"He did what he thought was right," Geiz shrugged as he put his hands in his pockets, "I'm not going to blame him for it. Tsukuyomi and I did the same anyway."
"Yeah, that is true," Ruby said before pausing and realizing something, "Oh crap! We were so caught up in everything that we basically just left Tsuki alone!"
"Huh… you know you're right," Sougo said before rubbing the back of his neck, "I kind of feel bad…"
"We should probably explain to her what's…" Ruby trailed off before seeing a couple of people in the distance, "Oh there they are."
"Salutations again," Penny said as she hurried over with Junichiro, "Junichiro Tokiwa is here, safe and sound."
"All thanks to you Penny," Junichiro smiled before holding out the Faizphone X and walking over to Ruby, "Thanks for letting me borrow it Ruby."
"No problem," Ruby said as she took her Faizphone X back, "It ended up coming in clutch thankfully."
"Thank you for the help," Ryotaro said as he walked over and shook Junichiro's hand.
"Yeah you really pulled through for us," Momotaros added.
"Oh it's no issue," Junichiro shook Ryotaro's hand as he waved it off, "After all I'm apparently the best clockmaker of this era so I've got to show my stuff every now and again, you know?"
"So are we all good to go home?" Sougo asked.
"You all can go ahead," Geiz said as he looked over, "I'll go drop Gestern off in 2068."
"Sounds good," Sougo nodded, "When we get back to 2019 though I think we should find Tsuk-"
Sougo was cut off by the ZeroLiner's horn suddenly sounding off as tracks began forming, the ZeroLiner immediately taking off.
"What the hell?" Yuto asked as he ran towards the ZeroLiner only to cross his arms and brace as the wind from the train taking off had forced him back, "Why did the ZeroLiner just take off on its own?!"
"Well… if that isn't karma then I don't know what is," Urataros remarked as Kintaros and Ryutaros nodded.
"Serves you right for trying to get in our way earlier," Momotaros added.
"Guys, come on," Ryotaro sighed at the Imagin's remarks, "This is serious."
"But who's even left to take it?" Blake asked.
"Well Uhr, Ora and Cinder got defeated so I think they retreated," Sougo said, "Swartz is still absent so it could be him but I doubt it. That leaves…"
"Finis…" Ruby finished as her eyes widened, realizing that the elder Time Jacker was involved with Another Den-O if their first confrontation was anything to go by, "We need to try and go after that, now!"
"Okay, but we've also got a lot of other issues to take care of," Weiss pointed out, "Too much stuff is piling up and all of it is equally as important."
"We'll split up then," Geiz said as he went to take Gestern from Kintaros, "I'll take Junichiro and Gestern back to where they need to go. You all go after that time train."
"Right," Sougo nodded before turning to his retainer, "Woz, do you think you can find Tsukuyomi and let her know what's up?"
"Of course my Overlord," Woz bowed before quickly wrapping his scarf around him and vanishing.
"You'll need to leave the Time Mazine behind for now," Yuto said, "It can only make tunnels and can't properly breach into the Time Stream."
"Guess we're finally getting a proper ride on the DenLiner," Ruby said.
"I'll try to meet up with you all soon enough," Geiz said as he went to lead Junichiro to his Geiz Unit, "Just give me updates on where or when you'll need me though."
"Stay safe everyone," Junichiro said as he waved them off.
"We will," Sougo said as he waved alongside Ruby and the others.
Time Stream
The ZeroLiner was currently traveling through the Time Stream, making its way across the barren wasteland though it was currently set on auto-pilot. In the main passenger car was Cinder who was currently sitting by a table.
"So you were reckless while I was gone," Finis said while standing across from the Fall Maiden, currently holding the Roze Anotherwatch and seeing the cracks that were on it.
"I was overwhelmed," Cinder said as she winced, still reeling from Grand Zi-O's attacks, "I wasn't expecting Roze's new form to be that strong, nor for it to permanently damage me."
"Well unfortunately it did," Finis replied.
"I had a solution," Cinder admitted, "That Ganbarizing Gashat you all used… Uhr gave it to me and it stabilized me but whatever Zi-O did to me… it removed the virus."
"Ah yes I caught the tail end of that fight," Finis said, "Ex-Aid Level 99, Maximum Gamer… with a nasty ability of reprogramming and in general, virus removal."
"So it did remove the data from the Gashat I had…" Cinder realized.
"I don't blame you for falling victim to that," Finis replied, "In fact your temporary fix was ingenious, I'll give Uhr that much at least. You couldn't have known that Zi-O would be able to throw out an easy counter to cripple you once more."
"True…" Cinder muttered as she sank in her seat and looked to the side, "Still…"
"Well it's too late for regrets," Finis said, gathering energy and unleashed it against the damaged Roze Anotherwatch. The cracks began to grow duller as they somewhat began to recede but didn't fully go away, "This is the best I can do."
"Uhr already told me what I could do," Cinder admitted as she held out her hand to take the Anotherwatch back, "I just need to take Roze's Ridewatches for myself."
"Then I suppose we're in the perfect situation to do so," Finis smiled, handing Cinder the Roze Anotherwatch before walking towards the door that led to the cockpit, "I doubt they'll leave us alone."
Cinder gripped the Anotherwatch before slowly standing up and staring at the cockpit entrance, "This is my last chance…"
World of 2058 – April 2nd
Futaros was currently wandering around the manor, trying to find some sign of Swartz before entering Alpina's playroom. Various horse statues and dolls were set up all around as the Imagin tried to find something. He knew he was running out of time since there was only about maybe 10 minutes until Swartz made his move. He kept the Kodama Suika Arms in his palm, his hand wrapped around it tightly enough to keep it concealed.
"I thought you were playing with Alpina, Futaros," a voice asked as a young man in a white shirt, black pants, a black jacket and a black hat approached, "Why are you all the way over here?"
"Well I uh… you see Alpina wanted…" Futaros turned as he saw the young man. He knelt down as if to pick up a doll, dropping the Kodama Suika Arms as it quietly entered its robot mode to record. He then stood up and turned to face the young man, "I'm actually here because I wanted to see you Swartz…"
"What do you mean?" the past Swartz asked.
"What are you planning to do to Alpina?!" Futaros questioned.
The past Swartz flinced at this, "How did you…" he shook his head before giving a glare, "What I do is for the sake of this world, nothing more."
"Oh cut the crap!" Futaros shouted as he pointed towards the younger iteration of the Time Jackers leader, "I'm onto you so just spill it already."
"Fine then, I'll explain everything to you just so you can understand," Swartz replied, "This world is about to disappear. But I'm going to save it."
"What?" Futaros asked, "What do you mean save it?"
"I will destroy the other worlds… all of them," Swartz replied, "You see, there are multiple worlds that exist. So why should they get to exist while this one ends?! If that's how it has to be, then I'll just destroy the other worlds."
Futaros gave a light gasp as he watched Swartz's form shift and change rapidly into the more adult self everyone knew him as, "You… are you abusing your powers…?" he questioned before shaking his head, "What would destroying them do?"
"If I destroy them, this one will be allowed to survive," Swartz explained.
"Okay… but how would you even do it?" Futaros questioned.
"That's easy, I'll just combine them together," Swartz answered as he shifted back into his younger self, "Each reality minus this one has its own Kamen Rider. If you combine them into a single Rider, the worlds will follow suit. Then it's a simple matter of destroying that world."
"Isn't there another way to stop the destruction of this world?" Futaros questioned, "Why go this far?"
"Of course a time wanderer like you wouldn't understand," Swartz scoffed as he began to step forward, "And of course my sister as usual spurns me even if unintentionally…"
"What?" Futaros asked as he went to back away and kneel down, pretending to get in an odd defensive stance, "What do you mean? What does Alpina have to do with this?"
"I'm supposed to be the strongest," Swartz answered, "But my parents chose her to be the heir to the throne, and I cannot allow that to happen. So for the sake of my plan, she must be removed from the picture before I implement it."
"So you'd throw your own sister under the bus and destroy billions of lives just for some damn throne?!" Futaros questioned as he quickly grabbed the Kodama Suika Arms before cupping his hands together, "Get a new joke!"
"It's not a joke!" Swartz shouted as his anger caused him to morph back into the older form he briefly took, energy gathering in his hands before he launched it at Futaros who dodged out of the way, "Only the strongest can be King and I will make sure I'm the strongest one there is!"
Futaros quickly shifted into a glowing red ball of light, carrying the Kodama Suika Arms within it and launching out of the room.
"Going to warn my dear sister…?" Swartz asked as he shifted back to his younger incarnation. He then began to walk out of the room, "Very well… I was hoping to have at least another hour but I suppose I'll do it here and now…"
Of course he wasn't aware that Futaros was currently rushing throughout the manor to make it to the bathroom that Summer, Tsukasa and Tsukuyomi were hiding in.
Time Stream
The DenLiner was currently speeding through the Time Stream, Ryotaro and Momotaros piloting it as Den-O with Yuto co-piloting while everyone else was in the main passenger car, all conversing or waiting for anything new to pop up.
Yang had managed to enter an arm wrestling contest with Kintaros with Blake having to referee the two while Ryutaros was cheering on Kintaros. Urataros was observing from a far, chuckling as he drank some coffee.
Deneb and Penny meanwhile were both chatting up a storm about how great their friends were while Sougo, Ruby, and Weiss were currently talking to Owner of all people.
The Owner of the DenLiner had managed to finish up his rice challenge, having managed to keep the flag from falling until the last bite needed to be had. Of course next he was onto dessert where he had a flag stuck in caramel coated pudding that he needed to work around. A dessert he somehow got… while there were no servers.
Sougo and Ruby weren't going to question it, and neither was Weiss especially when they saw that Urataros had managed to somehow get his own cup of coffee.
"Now then, how does it feel to have the power of all Riders?" Owner asked.
"Kind of incredible," Sougo admitted, "There's like so much information flowing through my mind in Grand but I'm still able to figure it out and use it to fight."
"That sounds overwhelming but cool," Ruby admitted in a low voice.
"It was rather impressive," Weiss admitted, "It's like my Summoning but to an insane degree."
"Not to mention I get Rider abilities and weapons too," Sougo said, "I'm like… the ultimate Kamen Rider."
"No," Owner shook his head as he got another scoop of his pudding before taking a bite. He gave a smile of satisfaction before continuing, "It would be more accurate to call you the King of Kamen Riders."
"The King of Kamen Riders…" Sougo muttered in awe at the title.
"Your existence is a special one, even more so than a Singularity Point's," Owner explained, "You are the one who gathers all Riders together, regardless of status. Collecting the Watches of the other 19 Heisei Riders is simply your first step in attaining your true destiny."
"Wait, so it's not over?" Sougo asked in realization as he thought back to Oma Zi-O's words, "So then, Oma Zi-O…"
"Is something you shouldn't be afraid of," Owner replied much to everyone's surprise, "He is you… but you are also so much more different than you should have been. Such is the power of the one who Connects Worlds…"
Ruby saw Owner look over at her and finally spoke up, "You mentioned that title before."
"It was merely happenstance that Summer Rose and Tsukasa Kadoya met and became intertwined," Owner admitted, "Despite their interactions, the worlds were still separated. It was only thanks to the actions of Oma Zi-O and the acquiring of a Ziku Driver that you were able to make the connection."
"Huh…" Ruby trailed off a bit, "So my theories were right… things are changing."
"Yes, various outcomes are changing," Owner nodded, "There are those beyond your current battle that wish to take advantage of that so be on guard. However there will always be one constant… Oma Zi-O."
"But Sougo won't become Oma Zi-O," Weiss said with confidence despite some clear worry slipping through in her tone, "He can't, especially not at this point."
"You all are thinking of this situation too narrow-mindedly," Owner admitted as he continued to carefully chip away at his pudding, "I think you'll understand in due time what I mean. But needless to say, you do not need to be worried about Oma Zi-O's advent… everything will work out."
"If you say so…" Sougo let out a bit of a nervous chuckle as despite the reassurance there was still something foreboding about the way Owner spoke, "I think we can do this."
"That's the spirit," Owner smiled.
"The Time Jackers are nearly out of options at this point," Weiss reminded, "Something tells me we'll be finishing up with them sooner rather than later."
"Well given we have Grand Zi-O, I'm confident we can handle anything they throw our way," Ruby replied.
Earth – Late June 2019
Ora and Uhr had managed to return to the present day, the two managing to limp over to a rooftop as they began to relax and lie down on it.
"So what do we do now?" Uhr asked.
"I could care less… I just want to rest," Ora admitted.
"Well would you look at you two," Swartz said as he walked into their line of view, towering over them. He smiled as he watched the two Time Jackers hastily pick themselves up despite their injuries, "I see you all tried to fight again."
"It's over Swartz, Zi-O has all the Ridewatches," Uhr explained, "Nothing we threw at him could even faze him."
"And we're all out of new Another Riders too," Ora added.
"That was never an issue," Swartz replied, "I've been preparing just for this kind of situation and I'm nearly ready. Sougo Tokiwa's vast power will be mine."
"Huh?" Uhr tilted his head, "What are you talking about?"
"I thought we wanted to destroy Zi-O, not take his power," Ora spoke up.
"Oh did I say that out loud?" Swartz asked before immediately grabbing both Uhr and Ora by their foreheads, keeping them in an iron tight grip as the two younger Time Jackers tried to pry his arms off. It wasn't long before the younger Time Jackers' bodies began to glow in a rainbow of colors, the glow being sucked through Swartz's hands and into him, "Well I suppose it's because I no longer have any need for you in my schemes. So I'll be taking my powers back."
Uhr and Ora could only scream out in pain as they felt their Time Jacker powers being drained from their bodies. Their screams could only turn into low groans as they lost all the energy that had been powering them up by this point. It wasn't long before their grip faltered and their arms fell, their eyes rolling back as they fell forward and onto the concrete of the roof.
"I'll admit while I didn't give them a hefty chunk, it still feels nice to have this back," Swartz smiled before turning away to walk off, "Normally I wouldn't have done this so hastily but given Tid's destruction and Finis' more than likely imminent demise… I'll need all the power I can get to finally deal with my dear sister and Sougo Tokiwa."
Time Stream
The DenLiner continued to race through time, and thankfully due to the DenLiner and ZeroLiner being so essential to guarding time, it was decided that both would have trackers installed. Needless to say, it wasn't long before the ZeroLiner's signal was picked up.
With the signal set and the DenLiner going at full speed, while also taking a few shortcuts, it was able to catch up to the ZeroLiner just as it was making its way through a narrow canyon. The DenLiner had decided to move upwards, deciding to go atop the canyon walls to try and catch the ZeroLiner off guard.
"Alright, let's do this!" Den-O shouted as he revved the DenBird's handles, "Let's go, go, go!"
"Don't rough up the ZeroLiner up that much!" Yuto shouted before getting an idea, "Don't go for any long ranged attacks, try and tie it down. "We'll send a boarding party onto it."
"Hey, you know I'm careful," Den-O remarked, "Right, Ryotaro?"
"You really aren't at times Momotaros…" Ryotaro chuckled.
"Hey, you think I asked you?" Den-O questioned before sighing, "But fine I guess we can do that."
"I'll let the others know," Yuto said as he hurried out of the cockpit and into the main cabin, "Look alive everyone, we're approaching the ZeroLiner!"
"Ah, good," Deneb said, "So what's the plan?"
"We're tying it down and then boarding it," Yuto replied, "But we can't send everyone given the ZeroLiner is only so big."
"We'll hang back," Yang suggested, "That way sis can use Roze RWBY near immediately."
"Sounds good to me," Ruby nodded.
"We'll be safe on the DenLiner too," Blake agreed.
"So long as you lot protect us and don't posses us again," Weiss said as she gave a glare towards the remaining three of Ryotaro's Imagin partners, her ice cold stare managing to get the three to shiver, "Understood?"
"Yes ma'am!" All three managed to call out.
"Huh not bad," Yuto remarked.
"If we're boarding we should go light weight first," Sougo suggested as he only brought out the Zi-O Ridewatch, "We can form change when we're on board."
"Let's get going then," Yuto said as he wrapped the Zeronos Belt around his waist while prepping his transformation card.
Ruby and Sougo prepared their Ziku Drivers and base Ridewatches as well, the three striking their poses in the center lane of the main passenger car.
"Henshin!"
[ALTAIR FORM!]
[KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!]
[KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]
Once transformed the three rushed to one of the back exits, all peeking out and watching as the DenLiner approached the ZeroLiner. It wasn't long before one of the DenLiner's cars began to unfold to reveal a giant dog-like head. Out of its mouth it lashed out with a red tongue to try and wrap around and restrain the ZeroLiner.
The Zero Liner however suddenly had its tracks curve upwards and into a loop, the front of the ZeroLiner shifting from its bull face to a massive gold drill. It wasn't long before the ZeroLiner got behind and next to the DenLiner, slamming into Den-O's train with its drill and sending it out of control.
"Crap, hold on!" Zeronos shouted as he tried to brace alongside Zi-O.
Roze meanwhile let out a shriek as she hadn't managed to brace, being thrown high into the air and outwards into the barren wasteland that was the Time Stream.
Zi-O paled behind his helmet, "RUBY!"
Roze meanwhile yelled out as she thought fast and quickly used Petal Burst, launching herself towards the back of the ZeroLiner and landing in the back of the main car.
"Alright," Roze shook her head as she got her bearings, "Not exactly the kind of boarding we needed… but given I can't exactly disembark the only thing I can do is go forward."
Roze quickly hurried forward, making it to the main passenger car that was before the cockpit only to pause when she saw Cinder standing in front of her.
"Well now, you must really like me if you came all this way," Cinder had a smile that turned into a deadly grin, "You have something I want."
"Not sure what exactly you want but this ends today Cinder," Roze said as she struck a defensive stance, carefully reaching for her Roze RWBY Ridewatch, her best bet was to stop Cinder's Another Rider powers first and then deal with the Maiden aspect.
"Oh I agree," Cinder said as she activated her Anotherwatch, "But it won't end the way you think it will."
[HI-ROZE!]
Cinder fully transformed into Hi-Roze, raising her left hand as she stared her true counterpart down.
Of course neither was aware that their current fight was only a small part that wasn't related to Finis' current plan. A plan that the ZeroLiner was already close to reaching as the DenLiner crew, or rather Den-O had noticed something off about the destination ahead once they regained control.
The two trains were currently rapidly approaching a set of what appeared to be metallic ruins within the time stream. Scrap was everywhere, metal was strewn all over, and it was massive. These ruins however had something interesting in particular… they were all time trains of varying shapes and sizes, all of them in disarray or ruins. Their parts all scattered about as if a reminder of all the battles waged to control time.
The DenLiner and ZeroLiner were on course to Finis' true objective, and the reason she wanted Another Den-O to begin with, the Time Train Graveyard.
To Be Continued…
Next Time:
"It's time to get started and I won't take no for an answer."
"Will we meet each other again?"
"It's not going to get me to stop believing."
"I see you have obtained the power of all Riders."
"Oma Zi-O…"
Chapter 111: 1973: Cross of Fire
Author's Note: So yeah, had a bit of fun by pretty much placing Grand's Debut right at the start since the Den-O Ridewatch wasn't taken away. Speaking of the form of the hour itself, it's such a fun power to think on and utilize when not limited by a television budget. Like, you saw that while I could grab things just like the show, I still added a lot more. Please look forward to what other fun stuff I manage to think up with Grand.
Going beyond debuts, the rest of the episode is still very important. We may have dealt with Another Den-O but we're not truly done with Den-O yet. Finis' plan is progressing and that takes priority as we enter an unknown chapter. Of course on the other side we've got some changes as Futaros manages to proc a conversation with Swartz earlier than the show, and Swartz has dropped the act as he's taken back his power from Ora and Uhr now. I'll leave the rambling here for now though, thanks for reading and I'll see you all next chapter.