"Welcome back to this particular entry of the Roze Gaiden Collection," Woz introduced briefly as he held his book close to his chest as he simply stood in his narrative void, "As you can see an unprecedented occurrence has occurred. Numerous variations of Ruby Rose have all gathered, and it looks as though the one we've followed has taken it upon herself to take one out."
He then began to walk off with a smile.
"Now just how will this story continue I wonder…?"
Rider Time: Roze Gaiden Collection
"2019: The Eight Ruby Roses – Part 2"
(Placement: Between "2019: Oma Time" and "1971: Showa Time?")
Within the restaurant base, Keiji, Kikai, Meijin, and Mushi waited patiently for either Ruby to come out from the restrooms or for Kaen and Kagemi to return. Needless to say they were starting to get restless when their conversation had died down and no one was coming.
"They're sure taking their time…" Meijin trailed, "Ruby I get, but she's here with us even if she isn't out right now."
"Should one of us search for them?" Keiji asked, "Because if they aren't coming back they could have found trouble…"
"It would be best if we did," Mushi replied, "We can't afford to get split up like this."
"I'll go," Kikai said, standing up only to suddenly wince, holding their head. Their headpiece modules began flickering between blue and orange at a rapid pace alongside their eyes, "I'll…!"
"Hey, hey what's wrong?" Meijin asked as she hurried over, Keiji and Mushi doing the same.
Kikai yelled out as they began thrashing around, forcing the other three Riders to back away. Ruby had heard yelling and immediately exited the restroom only to stare wide eyed at what she was seeing.
Kikai continued to yell before the yell died out, their arms dropping as they fell to their knees, their head hanging. Their eyes were shadowed and their headpieces no longer had any kind of glow in them. At least until they suddenly turned red, Kikai's head jolting upwards as their eyes were now a bright red.
[FORCERISER!]
"Destroy…" Kikai said as they brought out their buckle and attached it to their waist, before bringing out the Zetsumerisekey they used to transform, the image being of a wolf as they pressed down on the button, "Destroy everything!"
[JAPANESE WOLF!]
Naki glared at the three Riders before them as they loaded the key into the Forceriser before pulling on the hook at the bottom to force open the Japanese Wolf Key, "Henshin…"
[FORCERISE! JAPANESE WOLF! BREAKDOWN!]
A flurry of snow circled around them as various armor pieces attached to straps launched out from the snow storm only to get pulled backwards, dispersing the snow and fully armoring Kikai as Kamen Rider Naki.
"Destroy, destroy…" Naki repeated as they marched forward, ready to extend their claws only to get grabbed by both Keiji and Mushi, the two surprisingly able to hold the Rider back despite not being transformed.
"Hey, you need to snap out of it!" Mushi called out.
"I don't know what's going on, but this isn't like you Kikai!" Keiji shouted.
Naki let out a shaky breath as they grunted, their head jittering as they seemingly tried to fight whatever was compelling them to destroy. They could only yell out however, spinning while shoving Mushi and Keiji away. They then drew out their claws, going for two quick swipes that struck against the two.
Keiji and Mushi both yelled out the two slamming into tables as their bodies suddenly flashed. Keiji was soon revealed to be a Human Type Roidmude, her breastplate revealing the core lettering of RRR. Mushi meanwhile was revealed to be a Worm, though she seemed to be an evolved version. Her form was a shiny green-blue, resembling a spongefly of all creatures.
"Wait, what?" Ruby asked as she backed away.
"Shit, did I get hit hard enough?" Keiji asked as she looked herself over before noticing how Meijin and Ruby were staring at her. She then looked over to see Mushi and let out a light gasp, "Oh, we both got hit hard enough…"
"What the hell are you two?" Meijin asked as she quickly prepared her Gamer Driver and Mighty Action X Gashat.
"Cats out of the bag, huh," Keiji asked as she raised her hands, "I'm technically a human type Roidmude, designation RRR."
"I'm not a normal Worm," Mushi shook her head as she went to lean against a chair, "I'm a Native, though I'm not sure how much that means to you all…"
"You're both monsters disguising yourselves as Ruby Rose," Meijin narrowed her eyes, "Pretty sure we can't trust anything you all say."
"And yet you were willing to give Kikai a pass despite not being human or actually Ruby Rose?" Keiji questioned in a clearly hurt tone, "What the hell happened to being a different kind of hero not being enough to distrust someone?!"
"Trust me when I say that it's entirely different, besides Kikai's clearly compromised now," Meijin said as she shook her head before bringing out Gekitotsu Robots, "I'm taking each and every one of you monsters down."
"W-Wait a minute," Ruby called out as she looked over at Meijin, "Maybe there's a misunderstanding here!"
"Ruby, they're monsters!" Meijin called out which caused the Huntress to flinch, "And we Kamen Riders deal with monsters, even if they're 'Riders'!"
"What?" Ruby asked.
"Damn it, she just had to be prejudiced huh," Keiji questioned as she picked herself up.
Mushi let out a groan as she picked herself up, "It looks like we're not going to have a choice…"
Both Roidmude and Worm shifted back into their human states before preparing their transformations.
"HENSHIN!"
[DRIVE TYPE SPEED!]
[HENSHIN!]
Flashes occurred as Zero Drive and Dark Kabuto assumed their transformations, Dark Kabuto assuming Masked Form instead of going straight to Rider Form. That was because the two quickly had to roll out of the way as they saw Ex-Aid's transformation into Level 3 complete itself.
[A GACHA! BUTTOBASE! TOTSUGEKI! GEKITOTSU PUNCH! GEKITOTSU ROBOTS!]
Ex-Aid shouted and punched forward with her armored fist, unleashing a rocket punch that struck where the two were grouped up previously, a burst of energy exploding out. The resulting force of the fist had sent the two further back, both yelling out as they slammed into some tables and chairs.
Naki brandished their claws before yelling out and rushing towards Ex-Aid who recalled the fist, using it to block against the claws.
"I can handle this one!" Ex-Aid called out before looking over at Ruby, "Deal with the monsters!"
"W-Wait a minute," Ruby called out, "I can only guess that you Riders don't exactly like monsters much, but they didn't seem like they were going to hurt us."
"Someone's speaking sense," Zero Drive remarked as they looked over at Ruby with a nod before looking back at Ex-Aid, "Don't just lump us up with the bad guys because of our appearance!"
"You say that but look at the facts," Ex-Aid called out as she shoved Naki's claws down before punching them in the face to stagger them. She rushed forward and held her left arm up, using her mechanical gauntlet to help her pin Naki against a wall, "The one 'Ruby' that wasn't human just went berserk! How can I even begin to trust you two?"
"Trust isn't easy to earn," Dark Kabuto replied, "Especially when it comes to someone who simply judges because of appearance."
"I… I…" Ruby looked around, drawing out Crescent Rose but even then she was unsure of what to do, "Listen, maybe we just need to-"
SLAM!
The doors to the restaurant were kicked open, though to everyone's surprise it was just Kagemi who held a neutral stare.
"Hey good," Ex-Aid sighed in relief before gritting her teeth as Naki tried to break free, "Listen, Kikai just went berserk and started attacking, and I just learned that Keiji and Mushi are-"
"Where's Kaen?" Ruby interrupted, already noticing the glaring issue that was Kaen's absence.
Ex-Aid paused as she glanced over, fear starting to creep on her as soon as she realized that Kagemi was alone. Dark Kabuto and Zero Drive looked at each other as they began to move closer, not exactly liking the neutral stare that Kagemi had.
Kagemi said nothing as she brought out her Roze and Rose Ridewatches, activating them before slotting them both onto her Ziku Driver. She then went to initiate her transformation, "Henshin…"
[RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]
Roze stood in her base form before the five other versions of herself, stepping forward as the Rose Armor formed all around her, it sliding inwards and latching onto her body.
[ARMOR TIME! KAMEN RIDE! YEAH! ROSE! ROSE! ROSE~!]
"Hey now," Ex-Aid said as she pulled away from Naki, planning on moving the berserk Rider towards Roze to get a distraction going, "That's a fancy looking…"
A burst of red and white petals occurred, Roze reforming on the other side of Ex-Aid and Naki while swinging her Roseiber. The two were struck and yelled out, rolling away from each other as sparks flew from their armor.
"W-What…?" Ex-Aid coughed out.
"Wait your turn," Roze said simply, the result causing Ex-Aid to freeze. She then turned towards Naki and brought out the Ex-Aid Ridewatch, loading it onto her Rose Ridwatch.
[FINAL WEAPON TIME! E-E-E-EX-AID! GASHACON KEY SLASHER!]
"T-That's my weapon, and my powers?" Ex-Aid questioned as they picked themselves up, "How do you…?"
"So she did know about us," Zero Drive said, realizing her theory from earlier was correct.
"And she can use other Riders powers," Dark Kabuto added.
"Now then," Roze brandished the Key Slasher before using it to strike against a recovering Naki, the berserker Rider unable to properly counter the strikes.
Naki gasped as they were grabbed by the collar and slammed against the window of the restaurant, the hilt of the Key Slasher being slammed into their face to daze them.
"Hey, cut it out!" Zero Drive called out.
"You don't need to go that far!" Dark Kabuto shouted.
"Kagemi…?" Ruby muttered before suddenly shivering, she felt her vision shift as she thought she saw a black armored and red-eyed figure in the reflection of the window behind Naki, "What-"
[MAXIMUM GASHAT! KIMEWAZA!]
"Huh?" Ex-Aid perked up at the announcement, "Are you doing what I think you're doing?"
Roze had loaded the Maximum Mighty X Gashat into the Key Slasher, pressing the blade of the weapon against Naki's chest before pressing the trigger and slicing forward. In an instant a pink bubble engulfed the two, the energy clipping through the wall.
"Hey, cut it out!" Zero Drive shouted as she rushed forward alongside Dark Kabuto only for Ex-Aid to quickly stumble into their way, "Move!"
"No wait!" Ex-Aid called out as she held up a hand, "Hear me out this once!"
"And why should we?!" Dark Kabuto asked.
"She's using a thing I know called reprogramming, she has to be," Ex-Aid explained, "She's going to use it to calm down Kikai and then-"
[MAXIMUM MIGHTY CRITICAL FINISH!]
The pink bubble suddenly exploded, the result blowing a hole through the windows/walls that Roze and Naki were near. Ex-Aid gasped as she was forced to the ground due to being the closest while Zero Drive and Dark Kabuto staggered back. Ruby meanwhile shrieked while ducking and turning away to brace against the debris that flew near her.
Ex-Aid turned only to shudder when she only saw Roze standing, the Rider staring at the hole that had been made.
"W-Where's Kikai…?" Ex-Aid questioned as everyone remained deathly silent at the fact that Kikai was nowhere near Roze. Even Ruby, who had a good view of the outside window, was unable to see any trace of Kikai in or out of their armor.
"Kikai's gone," Roze answered before turning towards the three Riders, "Just like Kaen."
"What?" Ruby asked as he grip on Crescent Rose slacked.
"Just like the rest of you if you're lucky," Roze said as she dismissed her weapon before stepping towards the three Riders.
[GEKITOTSU CRITICAL STRIKE!]
Ex-Aid had been the first to strike, unleashing her mechanical fist against the ground near Roze. The result kicked up a massive explosion that sent Roze tumbling out of the restaurant.
"Like hell I'm getting a Game Over by her," Ex-Aid called out before noticing the frightened Ruby and hurrying over to her, "Time to get you out of here kid," she said as she lifted Ruby underneath her arm with ease before hurrying for the kitchen.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Zero Drive called out.
"Of course she'd still abandon us," Dark Kabuto scoffed before hurrying towards the exit, "Come on, we'll stick together on our own!"
"Got it," Zero Drive nodded as she followed.
[ATTACK RIDE: BURST!]
Several beams of light struck against the two, sparks flying as they were sent to the ground.
"Huh, looks like you two are the only ones here now," Roze said as she walked over, "Honestly this works out better."
"We won't be for long!" Dark Kabuto managed to pick herself up before folding over the horn of her Zecter, "Cast Off!"
[CAST OFF!]
Roze gasped, raising her arm as she was assaulted by the extra armoring that Dark Kabuto had in Masked Form, bracing as she was forced back.
[CLOCK UP!]
"Hold on," Dark Kabuto quickly helped Zero Drive up before disappearing with her in a blur.
Roze shook her head as she looked around, soon realizing that the two had gotten away. And she had no idea where Ex-Aid or Ruby would be either.
"Clock Up huh, that'll be annoying…" she muttered before shaking her head, glancing at the intact windows before turning towards the hole that she had made when dealing with Naki. She walked out and looked around, "And now the hard part…"
"Fang!"
Suddenly leaping in from nowhere were various Fangs, the grouping holding out their tridents as they went to surround Roze.
"Oh, guess we managed to stir up enough trouble to alert you all," Roze looked around before raising her Roseiber, "Or rather…"
The Fangs all yelled out as they charged forward, aiming their tridents as they planned to skewer Roze from all sides, the Rider simply keeping her stance before bursting apart into the streams of rose petals. The Fangs ended up striking each other as a result, sparks flying as the petals reformed above them, Roze yelling out as she dropped down while swinging her Roseiber downwards.
"Alright… we should be good here for now…"
"Right…"
Ex-Aid was currently peaking out of the office building she had managed to carry Ruby into after escaping from the restaurant. Thankfully the office had window blinds, so they used those to cover up the fact that there might be anyone inside.
"Sorry about being rough back there," Ex-Aid said as she peaked out from the blinds before backing away and dismissing her transformation, "Are you alright?"
"I've been through worse," Ruby brushed off the concern as she simply wanted to focus on the task at hand for the time being, "Do you think Kagemi's the one that brought us here?"
"Not sure, but she's an enemy that's for certain," Meijin said as she walked over only to watch Ruby back away, "Hey now…"
"And how exactly can I trust you?" Ruby asked warily.
"I get it," Meijin sighed as she held up her hands and backed away, "I didn't exactly act the best back there but…"
"How can I trust any of you?" Ruby questioned further, "I'm the only one here that can't transform into some kind of colorful superhero. I'm just a Huntress, and I find that especially odd."
"I guess I could throw your accusation back at you," Meijin remarked much to Ruby's surprise before turning away, "But if all of us were out to get you, then why would Kagemi be going after all of us?"
"I uh…" Ruby paused at that, "That's…"
"Listen I get not trusting people," Meijin admitted as she glanced towards her, "It's why I don't exactly have the best relationship with monsters."
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked as she kept her guard up but relaxed slightly.
"Bugsters weren't just mindless monsters for me to fight, they had personalities, actual sentience," Meijin explained as she looked back at Ruby, "And I was naïve enough to think I could try and connect with them…" she trailed off before gripping her fist tightly, "It cost me a lot… so that's why I reacted like that."
"O-Oh… I… I didn't know," Ruby said as she held her hands up to her mouth, "W-What-"
"You don't want to know," Meijin interrupted while shaking her head as she walked off to a wall and leaned against it with her arm, "Sorry if I brought the mood down, but…"
"No it's fine," Ruby shook her head as she went to pace around, "Do you have a plan?"
"Give me long enough and I'll try and figure something out," Meijin said as she looked over with a smile, "I've beaten my way out of tougher puzzles before, and besides I haven't gone all out."
"Alright," Ruby looked over and smiled back, "I'll see what I can come up with too."
"That's the spirit," Meijin replied.
"Damn it…" Keiji gasped out as she stumbled out into the rooftop of a building, having just arrived at the upper floor with Mushi. She quickly went to lie down, "It's all gone to hell…"
"That's putting it lightly," Mushi said as she went to sit next to Keiji, "And unfortunately this isn't a permanent solution."
"At the very least it feels less predictable," Keiji admitted as she looked over, "Since I'm sure she'd think that we'd think a good hiding spot would be inside a building."
"Exactly why I picked it," Mushi replied, "For now we should just recover our strength and strategize."
"Do you have a plan for dealing with her?" Keiji asked.
"Not really, what about you?" Mushi asked, "Your system seems more upgradable than mine."
"You'd think but I'm actually still pretty early into my run," Keiji explained, "Kind of got these powers like… not even 2 months back."
"Then leave the heavy lifting to me," Mushi replied, "I've got speed that can likely outmatch her and use that to my advantage."
"Just what kind of technology is that anyway?" Keiji asked, "I can speed up pretty well but I can't go as fast as you."
"Devices made via extraterrestrial knowledge and Remnant's resources," Mushi explained.
"Remnant…?" Keiji glanced over.
"You don't know about our home planet?" Mushi asked.
"Huh, guess we are pretty different and that's not counting the others," Keiji replied, "I'm from a place called Earth."
"I see…" Mushi muttered before continuing, "Well, I alongside several other of my kind, classified as Natives, landed on Remnant via a meteorite. We established contact and started work on the Masked Rider System to combat the Worm, which we were a subsection of."
"What exactly is the deal with the Worm anyway?" Keiji asked as she went to slowly sit up.
"Take total control of the world they currently inhabit," Mushi answered, "We Natives didn't exactly like that prospect and branched off earlier than they did to get to Remnant."
"So you created the Masked Rider system, made friends with the locals and such…" Keiji trailed before realizing something, "Wait, how exactly are you a Ruby Rose?"
"One of the humans I met was someone I assume you'll likely know of, Summer Rose," Mushi explained as Keiji's eyes widened, she had a fond but saddened expression, "She offered to take me in and I modeled my appearance after her while being given the name Ruby Rose. She was also the primary user of the Masked Rider System, Kamen Rider Kabuto. I would back her up as Dark Kabuto."
"Wait, that's past tense…" Keiji quickly looked over, "Don't tell me…"
"We were set up…" Mushi shut her eyes tight as she leaned forward, gripping her pants tightly, "And she made sure I could survive. But as a result Dark Kabuto was pinned as the cause of Kabuto's death and a new set of Masked Riders took up Summer's mantle as a hero officially…"
"Let me guess," Keiji spoke up, "They're anything but well meaning?"
"Yeah, they've let me in on their intentions behind the scenes several times, trying to get me to join them," Mushi admitted as she kept tense only to tense further before relaxing, feeling an arm around her as she glanced over to see that it was Keiji who was trying to comfort her.
"I can't exactly relate but we do have similar situations," Keiji admitted as she shifted briefly to her humanoid Roidmude form before shifting back, "I was caught up in an attack by Roidmudes and nearly killed. I ended up being saved but the only way I could be saved was by being transferred into this Roidmude styled body, and even then I feel like some things got messed up during the transfer."
"Oh…" Mushi trailed, "I can't imagine how that could…"
"Don't worry about it," Keiji said as she patted Mushi's back before withdrawing her arm and staring at her hand, "It's honestly been hard to come to terms with… but the most important thing I need to remember is that I'm still alive even if it's not the way I want to be."
"I suppose so," Mushi nodded, "So you said you were pretty early into your run as a Rider?"
"Yeah, the crew I run with only managed to update the Prototype system they've worked on ever so slightly," Keiji replied, "It's why I go by Zero Drive and not just regular Drive, since while I'm better than the Prototype Armor, I'm just at the very start."
"Well that's one way to look at it," Mushi admitted.
"Stronger than a prototype but weaker than normal Drive," a familiar voice said from nearby as the two as they froze in place on instinct, "That makes things both easy and hard when it comes to this situation…"
Keiji and Mushi both tensed, white and red petals floating past them. The two quickly stood and stepped away from a now reformed Roze who was still in Rose Armor.
"Ruby and Meijin aren't my concerns right now," Roze admitted as she looked around, "You two are."
"Why?" Keiji questioned as she began to prepare her transformation, "Because we're not the 100% genuine article? Is that why you took out Kikai?"
"I also took out Kaen," Roze said, fully confirming her involvement in the Ranger's disappearance, "And Kaen was as normal for a Ruby that you could get."
"So you're not discriminating," Mushi said in a near sarcastic manner as she drew out the Dark Kabuto Zecter and stepped in front of Keiji, "How very kind of you."
"I suppose it is kindness," Roze said as she stared at Mushi, seemingly not minding the sarcasm, "Targeting the two of you next is important for my plan if I'm being honest."
"Well you're just getting one of us," Mushi answered, "Keiji, try and find the others, if all goes well I'll be joining you."
"H-Hey, wait a minute," Keiji said as she stepped forward, "Don't tell me you plan on…"
"Just go!" Mushi shouted as she raised her arm with her Zecter up, ready to lock it in place, "I can handle her!"
"Fine," Keiji turned away before heading for the rooftop exit, "But I don't like this one bit, and I don't mean going back to Meijin!"
"I know you don't," Mushi said as she went to slot the Dark Kabuto Zecter onto her buckle, "Henshin!"
[HENSHIN!]
Mushi shouted as she ran forward, leaping up and performing a falling punch as she transformed into Dark Kabuto.
Roze quickly blocked the punch by raising her arm, forcing Dark Kabuto's fist back before closing in to punch. The two quickly got into a close ranged brawl, trying to force the other back. Surprisingly however, Dark Kabuto was slowly but surely overtaking Roze in hand to hand, and this was something the darker variant on Kabuto noticed.
While Roze was fairly decent at hand to hand, her skill level was still lacking when it came to minor things. This allowed Dark Kabuto to easily take control of the fight, forcing Roze onto the defensive in order to initiate the next phase.
Dark Kabuto flicked the horn of her Zecter outwards with great force, "Cast Off!"
[CAST OFF!]
Dark Kabuto's Masked Form armoring exploded off of her, forcing Roze back. She then drew out her Kunai Gun in its axe formation, rushing in and slashing at Roze who quickly summoned the Roseiber to block and brace against the axe.
[CHANGE BEETLE!]
"Do you really think you can handle me?" Roze questioned as she began to push back.
"Of course I can," Dark Kabuto hopped back to force Roze into a stumble, spinning the weapon in her hand to switch how she held it. She aimed with its gun mode and shot at the ground in front of Roze, sparks kicking up, "Because I have this, Clock Up!"
[CLOCK UP!]
Roze gasped as a black and red blur struck against her chest, sending her spinning back only to get struck in the head, sparks flying as she ended up falling onto her knees as a result, "Clock Up… yeah that's going to be an issue…"
"You know, as much as I know you might not like it," Ruby said as she was currently leaning against a wall while trying to figure out something, "We're going to have to team up with Mushi and Keiji before Kagemi finds them."
"I know that," Meijin said in an almost frustrated tone, "I know that, but do you really expect me to-"
"If they're based on us, then they'll be fine," Ruby replied as she put a hand to her chest, "It could be an act, but I'd like to believe in them. That basing their appearance off of ours or being just like us but a monster doesn't mean they're evil."
"I get it, I really do," Meijin answered, "But something like what I experienced… it's not something I can easily brush off."
"I get it," Ruby replied, "But if we're going to have any chance at surviving against Kagemi then we need as much help as we can get because Kaen and Kikai are gone."
"I guess you're right," Meijin sighed before chuckling, "How are you managing to power through this?"
"Just trying to keep moving forward, that's all," Ruby admitted, as internally she was a mess, but there was a feasible goal guiding her forward so she was fine for the moment.
They just needed to figure out what was going on with Kagemi, get to the bottom of this strange world, and find a way to return home. It was a clear and simple goal, and afterwards she'd figure out a new plan to keep moving forward. So long as she didn't get stuck in a rut she'd be fine.
"Alright," Meijin agreed with a nod as she walked over, "We should probably hurry before Kagemi finds-"
CRASH!
Several Fangs broke through the building windows, tearing through the blinds in the process as they all began to charge into the office.
"Oh no, what are they doing here?!" Ruby questioned as she didn't have a chance to draw out Crescent Rose, quickly dodging against swipes from the grunts.
"Not good," Meijin said as she dodged between swipes and swings while initiating her transformation into her base form, "Henshin!"
[LEVEL UP! MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY MIGHTY ACTION X!]
Ex-Aid formed in a flash of pink, smashing a Fang's head in with the Gashacon Breaker before bracing against some that tried to tackle her. She shoved them back before swinging her hammer to force them back further.
That was until a shriek was heard, the Rider turning to see the Fangs having managed to grab Ruby while carrying her away.
Ex-Aid gasped out, "Ruby!"
"Let go of me!" Ruby called out as she tried to struggle as the Fangs quickly went to rush for the entrance, a few others smashing through the door as the Huntress was carried away.
"Get out of my way!" Ex-Aid called out as she began striking against the Fangs who continued to get in her way.
Roze gasped out as she was sent rolling back, managing to stop herself and getting into a kneeling stance.
[CLOCK OVER!]
"You're tough, I'll give you that," Dark Kabuto admitted as she reappeared, charging and slashing at the recovering Roze, "But… you can't match Clock Up."
Roze said nothing as she stabbed her sword into the ground.
[ATTACK RIDE: BARRIER!]
White and silver energy swirled outwards from the blade of the Roseiber, forming a domed barrier that deflected Dark Kabuto's strike. Dark Kabuto gasped as the force of her strike and the strength of the barrier forced her to stagger back.
"You'd be right," Roze said as she stood, the barrier vanishing as she slotted the Roseiber onto a holster at her side as she drew out a new card, "However I've dealt with Clock Up before so I made sure to be very persistent in figuring out how to deal with certain techniques that could outpace me."
Dark Kabuto let out a gasp as she saw an Attack Ride Card in Roze's hand, the card having Kabuto with blurring behind him, the words reading Clock Up for the card description. She quickly went to slap her own Clock Up pad as Roze loaded the card in.
[CLOCK UP!]
[ATTACK RIDE: CLOCK UP!]
The two Riders became blurs that began slamming against each other, either on the ground or in the air. It wasn't long before the blurs struck against the edge of the roof, tearing through it due to the speed and force of their battle as debris began falling from the building.
To the two however, the entire area was a bright blur as time had slowed down tremendously. Even all the debris that had started to fall at most were only slowly floating down at a relaxed pace.
The two had landed on a large enough piece of debris, both Riders trying to overwhelm each other in hand to hand combat.
'Before Clock Over happens, I'll pretend to start a Rider Kick… and then suddenly shoot at her with my weapon. In that time I'll initiate a Put On to smash her into the ground. It's a self sacrifice attack, but I'll have high defense in Masked Form so that'll help cushion the blow…'
'…is what she's thinking,' Roze had been thinking on her opponent's strategy the entire time, already figuring that Dark Kabuto was going to get desperate when it came to beating her, 'That's why I'll just have to fall for her tactic.'
The two were grappling onto each other before quickly shoving each other away, landing on smaller debris away from each other. Dark Kabuto quickly turned and initiated her Zecter's finisher.
[ONE, TWO, THREE!]
Roze saw this and immediately went to initiate her finisher as well.
[FINISH TIME! RO-!]
Dark Kabuto immediately drew out the Kunai Gun and shot at the debris that Roze was on, breaking it and forcing the Rider into a freefall. She quickly leapt after the Rider while shifting her Dark Kabuto Zecter's horn.
[PUT ON!]
Dark Kabuto regained the armoring of Masked Form, the heavier armor allowing her to drop further and further as she closed in one Roze. Once she was close enough she went in for a grab only to grasp at red and white rose petals just as Clock Over initiated for the both of them.
[ATTACK RIDE]
"Smart tactic, but kind of predictable," Roze said as she had reformed at the ground level, brandishing the Roseiber as it shined brightly.
"What?" Dark Kabuto gasped as she tried to brace as she was just about to hit the ground as Roze swung, a bright flash of silver being unleashed as the energy lashed outwards.
[SHINE!]
Dark Kabuto yelled out as she slammed against a nearby window as sparks flew from her suit, the Rider gasping as she fell to her knees while her suit released smoke from the damage.
"Well your clever plan did allow you to survive that," Roze remarked as she approached the fallen Rider, perking up as she noticed something off, "That being said…"
Ruby continued to struggle as she was carried away by the Fangs, the grunts having managed to carry her far away from where Ex-Aid was. Despite this, her struggling had some merit as she managed to slam her boot into one of their faces. Her struggling soon turned into thrashing as she managed to get loose enough to perform Petal Burst, managing to get a short ways away from the Fangs.
The Huntress gasped as she managed to reform into a stumble but quickly rolled forward while grabbing at Crescent Rose. She quickly took aim and began shooting at the Fangs, surprised to see her weapon do heavy damage against the Fangs.
That was when she paused and lowered her weapon, the sudden realization dawning on her that this wasn't her weapon, it was Kagemi's. She looked over the weapon and it indeed was Crescent Rose in every way except for a single indention that allowed Ridewatches to fit. Her hands began to tremble and shake as questions raced through her mind, recalling that Kagemi summoned the weapon to give it to her.
Why did she still have it?
Shouldn't it have been recalled by now?
Is it a way for Kagemi to keep track of her?
Was she the next target?
But then why were the Fangs attacking and not Kagemi herself?
And why was Kagemi even attacking everyone to begin with?
Why pick off Kaen while away from everyone only to go full mask off instead of deceiving them further?
"Fang!"
Ruby's questions were interrupted as she saw a Fang rushing towards her. She quickly raised the weapon on instinct only for it to get smacked away. She let out a grunt as she was grabbed by her collar, getting lifted up and slung over a Fang's shoulder only for her sudden kidnapper to crumple.
Blue pixels filled her vision as she fell to the ground, tumbling away from the Fang that had grabbed her as she watched it fall back and explode.
[SWORD VENT!]
The sudden announcement caught her attention, quickly looking up to see the black armored draconic Rider, Ryuga tearing through the remaining Fangs with the Dragsaber. The black warrior was silent but efficient, easily clearing through the Fangs in seconds. They brandished the blade as the Fangs all fell over and exploded.
Ruby let out a wince before suddenly freezing when she saw Ryuga stare straight at her. She recognized the bright red eyes that shined beneath the vents of the Rider's helmet. They were the same segmented round eyes she had seen back when…
Ryuga took a step forward, snapping Ruby out of her recollections. The blackened Mirror Rider walked forward towards the frozen Huntress. They calmly and slowly approached before they were now standing right in front of Ruby, staring down at her in silence.
Ruby could only stare up in fear before her eyes darted towards Ryuga's hand, watching as the dark Rider began to shift the Dragsaber in their hands. She quickly looked back at Ryuga but was too afraid to run so she simply closed her eyes and flinched as she realized this was likely the end for her.
Keiji was breathing heavily as she ran as fast as she could, trying to find any sign of Meijin or Ruby but to no avail. She eventually began to slow down, giving a light gasp as she went to lean against a wall.
"Damn it, they hid pretty good," Keiji admitted before hearing the sounds of fighting nearby, "Huh?"
"Sounds like the others are preoccupied with something else."
Keiji tensed as she quickly turned to see Roze approaching from the side, "You… then Mushi…"
"Your friend was tough, but I'm unfortunately out of a lot of your guys' leagues," Roze admitted as she didn't have her Roseiber out for the moment.
"And just what's that supposed to mean?" Keiji narrowed her eyes, noticing the usage of 'a lot'.
"Exactly what it means," Roze replied, "There's at least one of us who's finished her journey."
"Meijin…" Keiji trailed as she recalled what Meijin had said earlier, "So that's why you haven't gone after her immediately."
"I could probably beat her," Roze admitted, "Though it would be a tough fight given the circumstances."
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Keiji questioned further.
"You don't need to worry about that for a little bit," Roze replied.
"I swear you may be a Ruby but this cryptic talk is starting to get frustrating," Keiji admitted as she began to prepare her transformation, "Why are you doing this?"
"If I told you I was doing this to save most of us, would you believe me?" Roze asked.
"I'd ask you what you even mean by that," Keiji replied in a clearly frustrated tone, "You keep talking cryptically like we're supposed to get what you mean. But we don't!"
"This is the only way to truly get the ending we want," Roze answered, "Sorry."
"Now that's a surprise," Keiji admitted with a light chuckle, though it was clearly in an almost mocking manner, "You actually apologized for the least offensive thing you've done today…"
"If that's what you want to believe," Roze replied.
"Yeah this is getting nowhere," Keiji muttered as she initiated her transformation, "Henshin!"
[DRIVE TYPE SPEED!]
Keiji spread her arms out as her transformation into Zero Drive took place, bringing out her Break Gunner and firing at Roze who braced.
Roze braced against the shots, minor sparks kicking up but her armor held up despite the shots hitting.
[SP-SP-SPEED!]
Zero Drive sped forward while still shooting, becoming a black blur with red streaks before she punched forward with her weapon.
[BREAK!]
Roze grunted as the shots sped up before staggering back as the weapon hit her crossed arms, forcing her to take a few steps back.
"It's not as fast as Clock Up but…!" Zero Drive sped forward again, punching forward only to suddenly gasp as she felt something nail her in the gut.
"You may be pretty fast," Roze was lurched forward, having avoided the punch by Zero Drive and slammed her fist forward and low, striking the Rider in the gut, "But you're too straightforward!"
Zero Drive coughed as she staggered back only to get grabbed by the collar, quickly grabbing onto Roze's arm as she was lifted and dragged across the empty city. She could only yell as she was smashed into glass, shattering the large window of a building as she was sent rolling into it.
"I'll admit you have guts for fighting me in something weaker than a base form," Roze replied, "But we both know how this is going to end."
"Even so…" Zero Drive called out as she began to pick herself up, "I've got to keep fighting!"
"We do," Roze nodded as she brought out the Tajadol Combo Ridewatch, loading it onto her Rose Ridewatch.
[FINAL WEAPON TIME! T-T-T-TAJADOL COMBO! TAJANITYSPINNER!]
Bursts of red, yellow and green fire formed on Roze's left arm as she formed the Tajanityspinner, it being attached directly to her armor.
"Hand to hand huh?" Zero Drive questioned as she managed to stand while getting in a defensive stance, "Think you can keep up?"
"I'd like to hope I can, at least in comparison to Mushi," Roze answered as she got in her own stance, "Whether or not I can, well… we'll see, especially since I'm hoping I won't be kept waiting much longer."
"Again with the cryptic wording," Zero Drive muttered before shooting at Roze who blocked with the Spinner. She then yelled out and rushed forward, punching forward with her Break Gunner as Roze braced against it.
Roze pushed forward, a fiery burst being unleashed to force Zero Drive back. She then leapt from where she was, punching down and unleashing a burst of fire from her punch. The result forced Zero Drive back further before the Rider crouched down and dashed towards the side, firing at Roze while circling around her.
Zero Drive was managing to outpace Roze ever so slightly, sparks flying from the heavily armored Rider. Roze however managed to catch up, utilizing the Tajanityspinner to brace against the last set of shots. This didn't stop Zero Drive who had closed in while encircling, pushing forward with a few hefty punches thanks to her Break Gunner.
Roze was forced into a prone position, Zero Drive closing in as a result with a right hook. She quickly grabbed the right hook with her free hand, forcing it down before jabbing against Zero Drive's chest with her weapon. A burst of fire was released, sparks flying as Zero Drive was sent skidding away from her.
"Not bad," Zero Drive gasped out before chuckling, "But I managed to land a good few hits."
"You're doing pretty well," Roze admitted.
"Then let's…" Zero Drive was ready to move forward before she paused, a ringing sound being heard as she glanced around, "What the hell?"
"Someone finally picked up the pace," Roze said in a near exasperated tone before walking towards Zero Drive who simply stayed on guard.
"Damn it, where is she?" Ex-Aid asked as she was currently wandering around the empty city. She was sure the Fangs hadn't taken Ruby so far, so why wasn't she able to find a trace of either of them, "She shouldn't be this hard to find."
Of course she had also begun to notice that there was no sign of Keiji, Mushi, or Kagemi as well. While she assumed she was lucky at not getting caught by Kagemi, it was concerning that nothing had happened yet. She had hoped that either of the Riders had survived or were still in hiding. Even with her outburst she knew that she'd likely need their help to put Roze down for good.
It felt like hours as she continued to search and look around, being careful in where she was going so as to not run into Kagemi.
"Well, I guess you got tired of hiding."
"Huh?" Ex-Aid turned and let out a gasp as she saw Roze standing nearby, "You…"
"You're next," Roze said as she stayed where she was, noticing that Ex-Aid was frozen in place, "Are you afraid?"
"Not really, no," Ex-Aid said as she lowered her head and let out a chuckle as she raised her head to face Roze, holding a determined stance, "Because I've got you right where I want you!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Roze asked.
"It's not obvious but I'm able to read my opponents pretty well," Ex-Aid admitted, "Which is why I could tell that form of yours isn't your strongest. That means you either are holding back which isn't likely, or you have yet to achieve your strongest form."
"And how exactly does that help you?" Roze questioned.
"Because I know exactly what form to use to deal with you," Ex-Aid said as she drew out the Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat, "Dai-Henshin!"
[A GACHA! DRAGO KNIGHT HUNTER! Z!]
A black squat dragon with multi-colored detailing on the armor soon formed nearby Ex-Aid. It soon broke apart into upper body armor that covered the chest, back, shoulders and helmet alongside a right arm blade, left arm gun, and shin armor.
"Full Armor Level 5 should be enough to take care of you," Ex-Aid said as she let out a roar, fire forming at the dragon's mouth around her helmet and launching it outwards.
Roze quickly spun backwards, dodging against a hailstorm of fireballs that impacted and caused explosive bursts. She was ready to draw out her Roseiber when Ex-Aid suddenly launched forward, flying towards her while shooting with her left arm cannon. Roze braced against the blasts before letting out a gasp as she was struck in the gut by Ex-Aid's right bladed arm.
"Got you now," Ex-Aid chuckled as she used her forms almost monstrous strength to start dragging Roze backwards.
Roze was forced to backpedal to keep from being sent to the ground, quickly drawing out a Ridewatch and loading it onto the Rose Ridewatch.
[FINAL WEAPON TIME! D-D-D-DRIVE! TRAILER-HOU!]
Roze quickly brought out the Trailer-Hou, aiming the cannon against Ex-Aid's gut while loading Shift Formula to power it up.
[FORMULA HOU!]
In an instant a burst of blue energy slammed against Ex-Aid, sparks bursting out as she was sent flying away from Roze who fell to one knee.
"Lucky shot…" Ex-Aid gasped out as she quickly loaded the Drago Knight Hunter Z Gashat she had into her holster's finisher slot, "But!"
[KIMEWAZA!]
"Sorry, but it's over," Roze answered, standing up as she loaded up the Type Speed and Type Wild Shift Cars into the Trailer-Hou's main compartment.
Ex-Aid meanwhile roared out as energy gathered in the fangs, blade, and gun armaments of her armor. She reeled her arms back while tilting backwards herself before hunching forward, thrusting both of her arms as she unleashed the built-up energy into a singular beam.
[DRAGO KNIGHT CRITICAL STRIKE!]
Roze carefully aimed as she watched the beam hurtle towards her before pulling the trigger, unleashing a blue beam that clashed against Ex-Aid's finisher. The result was the beam barely holding back the finisher, until Roze firmed her stance up while unleashing a stronger shout.
[HISSATSU! FULL THROTTLE: FULL FULL FORMULA TAIHOU!]
The beam had split and shredded Ex-Aid's finisher, it hurtling towards the Rider and striking her directly. The gaming Rider could only scream out as a flash occurred, being sent flying and rolling onto the ground and forced back into her Level 2 form.
"Damn it," Ex-Aid let out a gasp as she tried to pick herself up, "I lost?"
"There's only one reason you lost," Roze answered as she dismissed her weapon, walking towards the fallen Rider, "And that's-"
A sudden burst of red petals suddenly appeared between the two, Ruby aiming her weapon directly at Roze who didn't seem to react immediately.
"Ruby, what are you doing?!" Ex-Aid questioned as she got in a kneeling stance, seemingly relieved to see Ruby again but not expecting her to show up like this.
"Just doing whatever I can to help," Ruby admitted, but she didn't turn to face Ex-Aid when answering.
"Are you crazy?!" Ex-Aid asked in shock as she finally managed to stand up, "Get out of here, you can't-"
[FINISH TIME!]
Ex-Aid froze when she heard the announcement come from in front of her. She knew something was wrong because she could tell that Roze had yet to initiate any kind of movement to utilize a finisher. But she had seen Ruby shift Crescent Rose ever so slightly. It was confirmed when Ruby immediately turned and aimed the weapon at her with the Ex-Aid Ridewatch slotted into Crescent Rose.
"I'm sorry about this," Ruby said as she had a sad expression only for it to grow firmer as she steeled herself, "But we're ending this."
[EX-AID SASU SASU SHOOT!]
Ex-Aid could only gasp as she was engulfed by a burst of colorful energy.
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: Ah, I always enjoy it when I can end a chapter on a cliffhanger. Heck, when it came to this Gaiden the reason it turned into 3 parts was mostly when trying to plan around cliffhangers. I really wanted to bring some fun ones to the table when it came to this particular concept. Other than that there's not much to say this time given this is the middle chapter. I do elaborate a bit more on Keiji and Mushi though when it comes to their backgrounds, which was fun to figure out. It was also fun in figuring out was the different fights Roze would get into. That said, thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time.