"Hmmm… how about we call you, Arachne?"
Water Tsutsumi said, tilting his head as he looked up at the massive Ethereal Swarm looming over the shattered cityscape.
The creature's distorted body twitched, ten glistening legs piercing through the stone beneath it, six humanoid arms unfolding from its chest like jagged spears. Its shriek rattled the air.
"Now is not the time!" Yanagi shouted, hair bristling as she released her energy and leapt aside.
Arachne's leg came crashing down where they had just stood, pulverizing concrete and sending a shockwave across the ruins.
"Doesn't look that big from here," Earth Tsutsumi remarked, unfazed.
Soukaku gawked at him. "Not that big!? It's the size of a house!"
She didn't get a chance to yell more. Another leg slammed toward them, forcing both to dive away.
"I wonder if it has a third phase," Wind Tsutsumi mused aloud, lifting off the ground with a gust of emerald wind as he grabbed Harumasa by the shoulders and carried him skyward.
"Ughhh... that'd just mean extra work," Harumasa groaned under his breath, already nocking an arrow.
"We need to move! It's not safe to fight here!" Miyabi commanded, backing up alongside Fire Tsutsumi.
The structure beneath them groaned; the entire ruin was seconds away from total collapse. Fighting here would be suicide.
Without a word, Miyabi and Fire Tsutsumi exchanged a glance. Then they ran.
Fire and frost flared from their boots as they sprinted down the collapsing building, sliding through gaps, vaulting through shattered walls, and diving past bursts of falling debris. Trails of flame and ice intertwined behind them like a twin comet streak.
Behind them, chaos unfolded in motion.
Yanagi screamed as Water Tsutsumi carried her princess-style, surfing down a wave he'd conjured from thin air. The torrent twisted and turned, carving a winding path through the collapsing ruins like a high-speed water slide from hell.
"Could you please not hit every bump!?" she yelled, clinging to him for dear life.
"I'm trying my best!" he shouted back, dodging a rain of debris by sheer reflex.
High above, Wind Tsutsumi carried Harumasa by the shoulders. Harumasa drew back his bow, firing explosive arrows in rapid succession. Each arrow detonated against Arachne's carapace, keeping its fury fixed on them instead of the others.
Meanwhile, Soukaku had claimed her own "mount", sitting comfortably on Earth Tsutsumi's shoulder as he surfed down a massive slab of broken wall like a stone hoverboard.
"Soukaku, that's insane!" Yanagi shouted, seeing the two rockets pass them.
"THIS IS AMAZING!!" Soukaku yelled back, grinning as she raised her Oni Banner. With focused swings, she smashed incoming boulders aside, deflecting them like a baseball bat hitting multiple home runs.
Arachne roared in frustration. Its ten legs scraped the crumbling structure, causing huge chunks of concrete to collapse around them. The sheer force of its pursuit made the world tremble.
Yanagi yelped again as several enormous stones came crashing down toward their path. Water Tsutsumi twisted the water mid-slide, reshaping his torrent into a sharp curve. The entire water path corkscrewed wildly, sending them spinning out of reach of the falling debris.
"That was too close!" Yanagi shouted.
"Got it!" Water Tsutsumi replied, voice straining as he righted the course.
Far back up, Harumasa continued firing, his arrows forming a glowing trail in the dust-choked air. Each impact lit up Arachne's body with flashes of light, distracting it long enough for the rest of Section 6 to regroup.
Finally, the ground came into view.
Miyabi and Fire Tsutsumi hit the surface first, their landing kicking up a shockwave of heat and frost. Trails of steam rose where the two elements met.
Moments later, the others descended, some surfing, some gliding, one screaming. Everyone hit solid ground, alive.
"Formation!" Miyabi barked, voice cutting through the dust.
The Section 6 members fell into place, forming a semi-circle around her. Harumasa drew a new arrow, Soukaku raised her banner, Yanagi steadied her blade.
Miyabi's gaze then turned to the four colored Tsutsumis. "Ryokos adapt and follow our lead."
"Got it," Fire Tsutsumi said, cracking his knuckles as the others nodded in sync.
The ground trembled again. Arachne landed heavily, its impact shaking the battlefield and throwing up a suffocating cloud of dust.
For a moment, all sound vanished; only the faint ringing in their ears remained.
Then, from within the smoke, its black and red core glowed.
Arachne screamed, a sound like tearing metal and breaking glass, and began to advance toward them.
Miyabi's hair billowed, freezing streaks of azure light flared behind her. "Section 6. Operation starts!"
The Arachne's roar shook the ruins with a thunderous, gut-churning cry that rippled through Hollow Zero. All around them, lesser Ethereals answered the call, spilling out of cracks and shadows like a flood of black oil.
Before they could even reach the battlefield, Harumasa's arrows pierced the air in a glowing arc, each shot bursting upon contact with the Ethereals.
Soukaku swung her Oni Banner in a wide arc, metal slamming into twisted bodies with a resounding clang!
Yanagi moved with fluid precision, her naginata slicing clean through the advancing swarm.
Meanwhile, the four Tsutsumis encircled the Arachne, covering Miyabi with their elemental attacks as she charged in.
Her blade slammed into one of its legs, a spark of frost and steel, but only managed to chip away a fragment of its white-stone armor before the sheer impact threw her backward.
"It's tougher than Nineveh…" Miyabi hissed, twisting aside just as another spike-leg stabbed where she'd stood.
The creature's six humanoid arms opened their palms. From the center of each hand, a round mouth gaped open and spewed torrents of glistening white fiber, Ether-infused webbing that streaked toward them like liquid glass.
The Tsutsumis dodged aside easily, but Miyabi met it head-on, slicing with precision.
Her blade cleaved through, yet the cut webbing clung to her sword like molten glue.
"What the?" she muttered, trying to shake it off. Frost crackled over her blade as she channeled her Ether, but the frozen strands only splintered halfway before stiffly holding fast.
"Cover me!" she shouted.
The ground erupted, a wall of stone rising in front of her, intercepting another wave of web before it struck.
"Let me." Fire Tsutsumi raised his hand. Flames erupted, roaring over the wall, and in seconds, the web melted away from Miyabi's weapon.
"So… it's weak to fire, huh," she murmured, wiping the ash from her sword before they both leapt aside, just in time to avoid the Arachne's next sweeping strike that shattered the stone wall completely.
"Its skin is tough and it's resistant to elemental attack, but the web burns easy." Water Tsutsumi reported, slashing with a wave of compressed water that barely left a scratch.
Arachne shrieked again, firing another volley of webs, only for Wind Tsutsumi's cyclone to surge up and engulf the attack. The air twisted violently, a roaring green funnel holding back the onslaught.
The Arachne thrashed against the storm, its claws scraping against the spinning walls.
"My wind can't hold forever!" Wind Tsutsumi warned, hovering beside his other selves. "Should we use Complete?"
"No," Earth Tsutsumi said firmly, hands pressed to the ground as he manipulated the terrain inside the vortex, slowing Arachne's movements. "Complete is our trump card. We save it for later."
Miyabi's gaze flicked toward them, catching that word, Complete. She didn't ask, but her curiosity flared. Whatever it was, they clearly weren't ready to show it.
"Chief!" Yanagi's voice echoed through the roar of the cyclone. She approached with Soukaku and Harumasa close behind. "What is the status on the Arachne?"
Miyabi turned back toward the towering shape struggling inside the whirlwind, her hair and haori whipping violently in the storm.
"It resists elemental attacks," she said sharply. "Its web is flammable, avoid getting caught on it."
"Got it." Yanagi nodded.
The four Tsutsumis talk before each one pulls a different card.
Soukaku blinked, curious. "Uh… what are you guys doing?"
"Dividing roles," Fire Tsutsumi said with a smirk. "And killing it."
They turned their cards over.
"Henshin!" they shouted in unison, slotting the cards into their Drivers.
Form Ride: Hibiki! Kurenai!
Form Ride: Kiva! Dogga Form!
Form Ride: Ghost! Newton Damashii!
Form Ride: Faiz! Axel!
Crimson flame swallowed the first Tsutsumi, followed by a high-pitched ringing.
Hibiki Tsutsumi waved his hand, clearing the flame that had swallowed him, although his clothes had turned back to normal, his skin glowed bright red, and two large silver horns jutted from his head.
Soukaku's eyes widened, tail swishing rapidly. "No way! You are an Oni too!?"
Yanagi widened her eyes, feeling the mixed Oni blood inside her reacting strongly to the presence of a more powerful oni. Her pulse quickened. The blood infused from the rebel leader long ago flared awake inside her.
After the war against the Oni Rebels, she was infused with the blood of their injured leader and made a promise to protect the Oni people. This gave her mixed oni blood, while also granting her new strength along with the burden of caring for the Oni people's safety.
She shut her eyes, breathing hard, slipping off her glasses as she fought the strange, primal heat rising in her veins.
A strange, high-pitched sound, like a whistle, rang out as the second Tsutsumi was suddenly turned into a metallic cocoon that resembled his body.
The metallic cocoon around Kiva Tsutsumi shatters like glass. Beneath it, his black and magenta coat gleamed, reinforced with purple and silver plating that looked half-organic, half-machine.
His eyes grew sharper and his skin gone paler, in his right hand was the Dogga Thunder Slap, a massive purple hammer with its hammer head shaped like a closed fist.
A blue hoodie with glowing blue eyes appeared, floating around the third Tsutsumi before falling on his body.
Ghost Tsutsumi's inner layer turned black, a single blue eye glowing at his chest as the spectral hoodie fell into place over him. A horned mask clicked into position, and both his hands were covered by a glowing blue orb.
Crimson glowing lines ran across the fourth body before it glowed brightly. The light faded, revealing Faiz Tsutsumi, crimson lines crawling across his frame like veins of molten light. His chest opened, circuitry pulsing beneath the armor plate.
"So cool!!" Soukaku shouted, her tail swishing furiously as she took in the sight of the four Tsutsumis.
Even Miyabi, who had seen her share of impossible things, found herself speechless, half impressed, half curious at just what her son, or sons now, had become.
Yanagi was still rubbing her eyes, trying to calm the suddenly awakened urge inside her.
"Okay, just… who are you?" Harumasa asked, equally amazed and absolutely baffled.
All four Tsutsumis turned toward him at once, their voices layered and calm.
"Just a passing-through Rider. Remember that."
The cyclone wall broke apart, dispersing into ribbons of fading green Ether. The Arachne roared, shaking the battlefield, but Ghost simply raised a hand. Gravity warped. A deafening crack thundered as the monstrous spider was yanked down, smashing hard into the earth.
Start Up!
Faiz Tsutsumi vanished. A streak of crimson light slashed through the air, too fast for even Miyabi to follow.
Final Attack Ride: Fa-Fa-Fa-Faiz!
The world lit up in red.
Crimson photon drills spiraled from the air, descending like divine punishment. They pierced through the Arachne's body, five legs and half its arms shredded before it could even register the attack.
Time out!
Faiz reappeared in front of the beast, his Faiz Edge humming with a deep, red glow. He stood with his back to the Arachne as smoke billowed behind him, the lightsaber angled downward in a sharp line of light.
The creature let out a distorted shriek, flailing one remaining leg, only for it to be smashed apart as Kiva swung his massive hammer down. The ground shook. Then again, another leg obliterated in a single blow.
Each strike from Kiva found the weak points that Faiz had carved open.
The Arachne screamed, desperate, spewing webs from its broken arms. But before they could reach, the pull inverted, Ghost flipped gravity itself, sending the webs spiraling upward into the sky like balloons.
Kiva's hammer came down one last time, shattering the final leg. The Ethereal collapsed in a convulsing heap.
Final Attack Ride: Gh-Gh-Gh-Ghost!
Ghost floated upward, his right foot glowing an eerie blue. A massive spectral eye opened behind him as he dived, cutting through the air like a comet. The impact crushed one of the Arachne's remaining arms, Ether splashing outward like liquid light.
Final Attack Ride: Ki-Ki-Ki-Kiva!
A full moon shimmered suddenly in the blackened sky. Kiva leapt, unsealing his right leg, and came down in a fiery dropkick that shattered the Arachne's final arms.
The Ethereal's howl was no longer rage, only fear.
Final Attack Ride: Hi-Hi-Hi-Hibiki!
From the smoke and flickering flames, Hibiki Tsutsumi strode forward. Ongekiko Kaendutsumi clung to the Arachne's upper body, holding it still as Hibiki landed atop the spider's back.
His flaming Ongekibou Rekka blazed in his hands. Raising both drumsticks high, he struck.
Each impact echoed like thunder, fire rippling with every strike. Shockwaves tore through the Arachne's body, pulsing in rhythm to his hits.
The creature screamed, its form fracturing from within, until, with one final beat, it erupted in a violent burst of Ether.
The members of Section 6 threw up their arms to shield their eyes as the shockwave rolled past. Dust, heat, and Ether washed over them in a wave that rattled the ruins.
As the haze began to clear, a single silhouette walked forward.
Tsutsumi Ryoko, the original, stepped out of the smoke, his clothes and expression the same as before. The other forms had vanished, fading like reflections.
The battlefield was quiet now. Only the faint shimmer of spent Ether remained.
Although the battle seemed like a team effort, none of them could deny that he alone dealt 90% of the damage to the Ethereal Swarm.
Soukaku let out a low whistle. "You… you did that all by yourself?"
Yanagi adjusted her glasses back on, still half-stunned. Harumasa opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it.
Even Miyabi couldn't help but smile, pride flickering briefly before her face hardened again.
Without warning, she reached out, grabbed Tsutsumi by the back of the neck, and yanked him down to her level.
"Recklessly entering a Void, fighting an Ethereal Swarm alone, what were you thinking!?" she snapped, voice sharp.
Tsutsumi crouched slightly, folding down his fox ears so she would look taller than him.
Due to losing his mother at an early age, he was never scolded by a mother figure before; so now he is quite intrigued by what it would feel like.
The rest of Section 6 turned away, trying very hard not to laugh.