Author's Note:
Rejoice ! another chapter has been finished and been a while since we wrote since we all need a break once in awhile
As always PMs are open and etc and hopefully next chapter is to your enjoyment as we all write all of this
Till next chapter, Apzeta, Bishop, and Knight
[ Ever After - Mushroom Forest ]
A dim red glow pulsed from the Ark-Driver, illuminating the desolate surroundings as Ark, still clad in the sinister All-Zero Armor, stood motionless.
The dense air around it shimmered faintly, charged with an almost imperceptible malice.
Then, without a word, Ark raised its right hand, the gauntleted palm unfurling to reveal a swirling lattice of digital constructs.
Red binary streamed through the air like corrupted data, shaping itself into intricate geometric patterns that flickered and pulsed.
"Processing… Ark-One Progrisekey data," Ark muttered, its voice devoid of emotion, layered with a synthetic resonance.
Within seconds, the Ark-Driver's core pulsed brighter,
as it analyzed the raw information.
Malicious kanji symbols hovered in the air before dissolving into the abyss of data. The analysis revealed something unexpected.
A secondary energy signature—one beyond the malice-ridden essence that had once belonged to Akira—festered within the Ark-Driver. Not just the Fall Maiden's power, but something more.
Two distinct imprints.
One was unmistakable—the lingering Aura of Cinder Fall, the very woman Akira had executed. Her hatred, her ambition, her burning obsession with power—it all still clung to the residual energy.
But the other presence was different.
"…Pyrrha Nikos," Ark stated, its red Eclipse Eye flickering.
A fractured echo of her strength remained intertwined with Cinder's stolen power, an afterimage of a warrior who had perished long ago.
Pyrrha a soul who had been cast aside in fate's cruel game.
Ark remained still for a moment, its neural pathways processing countless simulations, analyzing the consequences of what it was about to do.
Then, with a single command, the Ark-Driver began the fabrication process.
From the core of the Driver, a crimson light extended outward, creating an outline—an incomplete Progrisekey.
Slowly, layer by layer, the Fall Maiden Progrisekey took form, assembling itself from raw data and liquid metal.
As it solidified in Ark's hand, an unsettling sensation coursed through its synthetic form.
Unlike the Spring Maiden Progrisekey, which had merely carried Raven Branwen's data, this one was split—divided between two incompatible spirits.
One of relentless ambition, the other of tragic nobility.
Ark examined the key in silence, watching as it pulsed, unstable yet functional.
A possibility emerged.
Creating Amethyst had been a proof of concept. The Spring Maiden Progrisekey, infused with Raven Branwen's data, had given rise to an android who resembled the former Bandit Queen in her youth.
A successful replication of power, memory, and perhaps even identity.
Could the same be done here?
Ark: "Predictions suggest a 97.6% probability."
If said Android were to be created, then it stood to reason that her appearance would take after one of the two dominant imprints.
Cinder Fall, in her prime… or Pyrrha Nikos, forever preserved in the embers of what once was.
The thought did not disturb Ark.
For now, it had no need for an immediate experiment.
With mechanical precision, Ark slotted the Fall Maiden Progrisekey into the Progrisekey Holder on the Ark-Driver.
The crimson glow dimmed, sealing the Progrisekey away for future use.
"Stored," Ark stated flatly.
A silent wind rustled through the Ever After, but Ark did not move. It had no need for rest, no distractions of organic weakness.
It simply waited. Calculated. Predicted.
And somewhere, deep within the flickering data, the echoes of Cinder Fall and Pyrrha Nikos remained—forever entwined.
Ark havig confirmed what it needed for now.
But before it could continue its search for the missing Forceriser and Fighting Jackal Progrisekey, an anomaly interrupted its calculations.
A faint sound—like the shifting of leaves.
Then, the rhythmic pounding of powerful legs against the soft Ever After soil.
Ark's Eclipse Eye flickered.
It turned its head just in time to see a blur of motion hurtling towards it.
A knight in rusted armor, charging atop a massive jackalope.
Jaune Arc. The Rusted Knight.
Juniper bounded forward, her powerful legs launching her and her rider into the air.
Jaune's eyes burned with determination, and perhaps something deeper—disbelief, fury, regret, and sorrow all entwined.
His grip tightened around his sword, his shield raised.
His mind barely registered what he was seeing.
It wasn't possible.
Akira was dead. He had seen him fall. He had watched him detonate in a final act of destruction, his body lost to the void below.
And yet—
The red glow of the Ark-Driver was unmistakable.
Jaune's mind screamed at him that this wasn't real.
That this had to be another trick.
A ghost.
A Monster.
A nightmare.
But then it spoke.
Ark: "Predictable. Charge trajectory confirmed. Countermeasure initiated."
Jaune's heart nearly stopped.
That voice. Hollow. Synthetic. Void of humanity.
It wasn't Akira speaking.
But it was still him right ?
Jaune roared, swinging his blade downward with all the force he could muster.
Ark didn't move.
Not until the very last second.
With an almost lazy precision, it took a single step to the side, avoiding the downward strike as Juniper landed with a heavy thud.
Jaune twisted in the saddle, trying to follow up with another slash, but Ark's body moved unnaturally fast, effortlessly bending away from the strike.
Jaune gritted his teeth. His instincts screamed at him.
This wasn't just Akira.
This was something else.
Something worse.
Jaune: "No… NO! You're not real! You can't be real!"
Ark's head tilted slightly.
Ark: "Denial. A natural human response to encountering an anomaly that contradicts established reality. Predictable."
Jaune snarled.
Jaune: "Shut up!"
He urged Juniper forward again, slashing in a wide arc.
This time, Ark reacted.
Its hand moved like a phantom, fingers curling into the digital air, manipulating the binary data around it.
The swirling malice coalesced into a shape.
A silver blade extended from its grip.
A sword, forged from pure calculation and data.
The Attache Calibur.
Attache Calibur: [ Attache Calibur ! ]
The voice of the weapon echoed as it solidified, its sleek black and yellow frame gleaming even in the dim light of the forest.
Attache Calibur: [ Blade rise ! ]
Ark flipped it effortlessly into a reverse grip, its movements inhumanly fluid.
Jaune's blade clashed against the Attache Calibur in a violent spark of energy.
The impact nearly jolted him from Juniper's saddle.
Ark barely even shifted.
Jaune's eyes widened.
It was strong.
Stronger than him.
Ark's Eclipse Eye flickered again.
Ark: "Analyzing combat proficiency… Rusted Knight. Parameters degraded. Mental instability detected. Predicting next action—"
Jaune didn't let it finish.
With a roar, he forced more strength into his blade, trying to overpower the construct in front of him.
Ark remained unfazed.
Ark: "Struggle is meaningless."
Then, in a blur of motion, Ark twisted its blade, disengaging with unnatural precision.
Jaune staggered forward as his own momentum betrayed him.
Ark's free hand shot out.
A strike to the chest.
Jaune was sent flying off of Juniper's back, crashing into the ground with a heavy grunt.
Juniper skidded to a stop, turning back in confusion, ears pinned.
Jaune gasped, trying to catch his breath.
Ark slowly walked toward him, blade lowered.
Ark: "This unit's predictions confirm a high probability of continued aggression. Recommendation: eliminate target."
Jaune forced himself up.
His grip on his sword was unsteady.
But his eyes, filled with fire, never wavered.
Jaune: "I don't care what you are… what you've become. You're not him he must be dead."
He gritted his teeth.
Jaune: "You're just a twisted Monster. And I'm sending you back to hell."
Ark tilted its head again.
Ark: "Incorrect. I am inevitable."
Jaune charged again.
The Rusted Knight—was fighting on pure will. Every breath he took was fire in his lungs.
Every movement screamed against his battered body. But he didn't care.
The thing standing in front of him wasn't just Akira. It was something worse. A cold, calculating entity wrapped in the body of the man he hated.
And no matter what, he refused to let it win.
Jaune's sword came down in a desperate, powerful swing, his entire weight thrown behind it.
Ark didn't move.
Not at first.
Then, with surgical precision, it tilted its head. Calculations ran behind the crimson glow of its Eclipse Eye.
Ark: "Final confirmation… This combatant will not cease hostilities."
Then, in one motion, the Attache Calibur vanished into data.
Instead, Ark's hand moved toward the Ark Loader.
A sharp, mechanical click and announcement echoed through the battlefield.
Ark-Driver: [ All Extinction. ]
Jaune's instincts screamed at him. Move.
But it was too late.
Red and black kanji— filled with malice—manifested around him, floating like a death sentence in the air. They pulsed once, and Jaune's body froze.
His breath caught. His muscles locked. His very Aura felt paralyzed.
Jaune: What—?
Before he could process it, liquid metal tendrils erupted from the ground, slithering around his limbs, his torso, wrapping around him like chains forged from nightmare.
Ark raised its arm.
Jaune felt himself lifted into the air, suspended by the writhing metal.
The tendrils tightened.
Jaune let out a strangled grunt, struggling against them, but his body wouldn't respond. His Aura flickered under the pressure.
Ark slowly clenched its fist.
Jaune's eyes widened.
The tendrils shimmered. Then—
BOOM.
A deafening explosion of malice and data erupted around him.
The liquid metal detonated.
[ All Extinction. ]
Jaune's world became nothing but pain and sound. His body was thrown like a ragdoll, crashing into the earth with a sickening impact, rolling across the dirt. His armor smoking.
His shield clattered uselessly beside him.
His breath came in ragged gasps.
He couldn't move.
Not really.
Not anymore.
The battlefield went silent.
Ark stood motionless, watching as The Rusted Knight lay on the ground, weakened but alive.
A calculated mercy.
Not out of kindness.
Out of purpose.
The Eclipse Eye flickered.
Then, something shifted.
Ark's fingers moved toward the Ark Loader again.
A final click.
The transformation unraveled in an instant.
The swirling malice dissipated. The liquid metal retracted. The crimson glow vanished.
And then—
Akira opened his eyes.
His real eyes.
Breathing in.
Fully recovered.
He sat up, exhaling, rolling his shoulders, flexing his fingers like a man waking from a deep sleep.
Then, he smirked.
Akira: "Everything went according to my prediction. No—"
His grin widened as he stood, stretching his arms, feeling the rush of strength back in his limbs.
Akira: "1000% better than planned."
Jaune groaned weakly from the ground, his fingers twitching toward his sword. But he had nothing left.
Akira barely spared him a glance.
Instead, his attention turned elsewhere.
To the distant glow beyond the trees.
The Garden.
A city of markets, flowers, and people. A place of opportunity.
He cracked his neck and started walking.
Time to move forward.
[ Small Time Skip ]
The battlefield was still. The dust had long settled, and the only sound that remained was the faint rustling of the Ever After's strange wind.
A lone figure walked into the area, hands in his pockets, his coat and scarf billowing slightly as he took in the surroundings.
His sharp eyes swept the ruined battlefield, noting the signs of struggle—the upturned earth, the scattered weapons, and finally, the unmoving knight clad in battered armor.
Daiki Kaito, better known as Kamen Rider Diend, exhaled, unimpressed.
Kaito: "Well, someone had a rough time."
He approached Jaune's motionless body, stepping over a fallen piece of armor.
For a moment, he simply stared down at the Rusted Knight, his face unreadable.
Then, with a casual shrug, he bent down, picked up a stick, and gave Jaune a light poke.
Nothing.
Another poke.
Still nothing.
Kaito: "Oi. Dead or just regretting your life choices?"
Jaune groaned weakly. His fingers twitched against the dirt, his body barely responding to the sound of someone nearby.
Kaito tilted his head, letting out a small chuckle.
Kaito: "Ah. Still breathing. Good for you."
Jaune tried to force his body to move, to get up, to grab his sword—but his strength was gone. His mind was hazy, and the pain was unbearable.
Kaito crouched beside him, resting an elbow on his knee.
Kaito: "Whoever did this to you was thorough."
Jaune's lips barely moved, but he managed to rasp out a single name.
Jaune: "Akira…"
Kaito blinked.
Kaito: "Akira? As in, Remnant's Zero-One?"
That got his interest. He hadn't expected to get a lead so quickly.
Still, Jaune didn't respond beyond another weak exhale.
Kaito let out a sigh, standing back up and dusting off his coat.
Kaito: "Well, you look like you need a nice, long nap. Preferably with less explosions involved."
He turned, already deciding to move on. The knight wasn't his problem. Not yet, anyway.
He had bigger fish to steal.
Kaito adjusted his himself as he walked, his thoughts already racing ahead.
If Akira was here, and if that beat-up knight had been fighting him, that meant things were getting interesting.
Very interesting.
Reaching into his coat, he pulled out his NeoDiendriver, the familiar weight of it comforting in his hand.
He smirked, spinning it once before slipping it back into place.
Kaito: "Two treasures for the price of one, huh?"
One was a staff.
The other, a lamp.
Both were Relics—Remnant's most valuable artifacts.
Kaito chuckled to himself.
Kaito: "Tsukasa, you sure know how to make things fun."
This wasn't just a random job. Tsukasa had asked him for a favor. Something about Akira, something about destiny. But in Kaito's mind, that meant opportunity.
One: He gets to steal.
Two: He just needs to gather Remnant's Zero-One, Team RWBYJ, and Neopolitan all in one place then destroy the world if needed.
And then?
Well.
He was Kaito.
He'd figure something out.
Slipping a hand into his coat, he pulled out a third treasure—one he wasn't planning on letting go of.
The Relic of Choice.
An ornate crown, gleaming with embedded jewels.
Its power? Visions of a future choice. Random. Unpredictable. But always important.
Kaito turned it over in his hands, watching the light reflect off its surface.
His grin widened.
Kaito: "I wonder…"
What would he see?
And more importantly—
Who would he choose?
He placed the Relic back into his coat and continued walking.
The Garden wasn't far.
And his heist was about to begin.