"Ah hello there, you might be wondering what exactly this is," Woz introduced as he was sitting in his usual narrative black void. Behind him was the same clock that was all black and nearly blended into the space. He was currently sitting on a stool and held his book at his lap, "The story of Ruby Rose from Remnant who became Kamen Rider Roze has grown exponentially. So much that there are some stories worth telling beyond the main chapters and interludes of the main story."

He then stood up and began to walk forward.

"This will eventually turn into a compilation of stories that will span across various points of Roze from Remnant," Woz smiled as he held up his book before opening it up, "For now we look back in time as the holiday season is in full swing, to an unsaid adventure that my Overlord and Miss Rose participated not long after they got back from Remnant in December of 2018."

Rider Time: Roze Gaiden Collection

"Ghosts of Christmas Past 2018"

(Placement: Within the time skip present in "Welcome Back to 2018")

Earth – December 23rd 2018

A prison guard was currently whistling a bit, going through the various cells of the prison he worked at. He was currently making his way towards the back section which contained the criminals involved in highly illegal and dangerous activities. For Earth, that meant those who either were in league with monsters or became monsters through various means.

He made his way to one particular cell, a recent inmate who had been separated from his partners back in early November. He looked around, seemingly making sure the cameras were active as he approached the cell.

"Hey," The guard said as he stared in the room, there being a man that was sitting towards the back wall of the cell. The guard gave a smile as he squatted down once the man began to turn. The man saw the smile the guard had and smiled back. The guard soon placed his hand on the ground before flicking it forward, the sound of scraping metal just barely being heard.

The man turned and looked down, seeing what had entered his cell and gave a bigger smile.

Earth – December 24th 2018

Ruby and Sougo were currently walking along the streets, the two making sure they didn't get lost in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Everyone was out and about at the moment, all trying to get somewhere and get presents fast. Ruby and Sougo however were taking the day off from Christmas preparations as Junichiro explicitly closed 9-5-DO the day before and after Christmas just to give him the extra time needed for prep and cleanup, especially this year.

"I'm surprised you didn't have the rest of your friends tag along," Sougo said.

"Well Blake and Yang felt like sleeping in," Ruby said, "But Weiss said she wanted to help your Uncle get everything ready since Christmas is going to be big this year."

"True, that's nice of her," Sougo admitted.

"I guess she figured since we're imposing on your uncle for a few days she'd do her own part," Ruby shrugged as she put her hands in her pockets, "Anyway, I'm not sure what to even do when it comes to relaxing."

"We haven't really had much of a break since Remnant," Sougo reminded, while they had the days before traveling to Argus that was still getting himself and Geiz prepared for the trip, "So unwinding after getting back was nice."

"So just want to wander around until something fun happens?" Ruby asked.

"Ooh, we could visit some of our Rider friends," Sougo said, "How about Takeru?"

"Nah, I think he mentioned being busy with a new ghost hunting case," Ruby shook her head, "How about Emu and Parad?"

"Hmm…" Sougo began to think, "I'm not sure…"

"It's because you're bad at videogames isn't it…" Ruby asked with a knowing smile.

"No!" Sougo crossed his arms and looked away before slumping, "Yeah…"

Ruby gave a chuckle, "Well I'm sure it would still just be fun hanging-"

"Breaking News"

The two Riders turned towards a nearby television as a news report was currently in progress. The newscaster straightening her papers out. Footage could be seen of what appeared to be Smash wandering around the streets, alongside a black bodied green coat wearing monster that was likely a Ganma. There were also sightings of what appeared to be the famed villainous mascot of Mighty Action X, Salty.

"Huh, is that a Ganma?" Sougo asked.

"Kind of looks like those were Smash too," Ruby said, "And Salty from Mighty Action X?"

"Alongside recent ghostly monster sightings, Kamen Rider Genm has been spotted in numerous locations stalking about. The Rider resembles the form game developer Dan Kuroto once took when transformed. When reaching out to CR we were informed that they would investigate immediately but that Kuroto Dan was still under their supervision."

On the television the two would see images of Genm but it wasn't of his usual Level 2 of Level 0 forms. This one had a black and white splotched bodysuit with jagged armor and a zombie aesthetic.

"Whoa, that's Genm?" Sougo asked.

"Zombie Gamer Level 10/X," Ruby said as she looked carefully at the footage that was being shown, "At least I think that's what we're looking at."

"How do you know?" Sougo looked in surprise.

"Parad talked about it a bit when we were gaming," Ruby said nonchalantly, "Said it was pretty tough to beat him unless you really piled the damage on."

"Huh, well I guess it lives up to the name zombie then," Sougo put a hand to his chin, "So what do you think is going on?"

"Not sure," Ruby admitted as she went to take out her phone only to pull out her Scroll instead. She could only grown out in annoyance at her own actions as she pocketed her Scroll, "I really need to stop doing that."

"I'm surprised you keep it on you," Sougo chuckled.

"Force of habit," Ruby said as she brought out her phone, "Alright, let's see if Emu-"

"RUN!"

The sudden yell alongside screaming caught both Riders' attention as they saw everyone running away from a plaza. The two looked at each other before rushing over to the plaza as they saw the source of the attack. It was a lively plaza as various stands and holiday decorations had been set up, with an inflatable Santa Claus also in view.

Ruby's eyes widened as she gave a look of confusion, recognizing the one that was causing the commotion.

"Come on, come on!"

Swinging his massive sword around was the high ranking Phantom, Phoenix. Except that was the confusing part of the whole situation. It didn't make sense to Ruby since she was sure Woz had told her that Haruto had kicked him directly into the sun. And while she wasn't sure on the logistics of everything, she was sure that Phoenix's trip was one way.

"Well now, what do we have here?" Phoenix asked as he turned towards the two.

"Whoa, this guy's new," Sougo said before noticing Ruby's confusion, he tilted his head, "Uh, Ruby?"

"Huh?" Ruby shook her head, "Yeah?"

"Hey!"

"Are you alright?" Sougo asked, "You looked really confused."

"Yeah I'm alright," Ruby shook her head, "Just surprised to see that guy there since I was told he was supposed to be vacationing in the sun right now."

"Hey!"

"Eh?" Sougo asked, "Really?!"

"Really," Ruby said, as she gestured towards Phoenix without looking, "So I don't get how he's here."

"HEY QUIT IGNORING ME!"

Ruby and Sougo both turned to see Phoenix with his sword slung over his shoulder, the Phantom letting out a low growl.

"So what's the big idea?" Phoenix asked, "You all didn't run away, you're supposed to run away!"

"Uh… should we tell him?" Sougo asked as he cracked a small smile.

"How about we show him," Ruby suggested as she brought out her Ziku Driver.

"Sounds good to me," Sougo grinned as he brought out his own.

The two Riders brought out their upgraded Ridewatches, Ruby going straight for Silver Roze while Sougo planned to go for Decade Armor.

"Huh?" Phoenix tilted his head.

"Henshin!"

[SILVER TIME!]

[ARMOR TIME!]

A bright flash occurred where Ruby and Sougo were, Phoenix yelling out as he covered his eyes and backed away. The sounds of cards shuffling could be heard as the light began to fade.

[KAMEN RIDER~! (RIDER~!) SILVER! (SILVER!) SILVER~! ROZE!]

[KAMENRIDE! WOW! DECADE! DECADE! DECA~DE!]

Roze and Zi-O stood side by side in their strongest forms, Silver Roze and Decade Armor.

"Who are you two supposed to be?!" Phoenix called out.

"Kamen Riders," Roze called out, "Duh."

"Uh yeah, pretty sure you should know who we're supposed to be," Zi-O said before gesturing at Roze and himself, "She's Roze and I'm Zi-O though."

"Damn, Kamen Rider's have grown a lot weirder in the past decade," Phoenix remarked.

"Huh?" Roze tilted her head, a bit surprised by that remark since it hadn't been close to a full decade since Wizard was active.

"Well you're weird!" Zi-O called out as he pointed forward, "Who goes around messing up Christmas?!"

"I can do whatever I want to drive up despair!" Phoenix pounded his chest with a shout.

"Then I guess it's up to us to stop you," Roze said as she drew out Silver Crescent.

"Yeah," Zi-O agreed as he brought out the Ride Heisaber.

The two Riders leapt towards the Phantom, Roze shooting out enhanced energy blasts while Zi-O closed in and raised the Heisaber.

Phoenix raised his massive sword to block against the blasts before swinging outwards. Zi-O gave a yelp as he raised the Heisaber to block the swing only to be sent staggering back still.

[SILVER HENKEI!]

Roze gave a yell as she jumped up, hopping onto Zi-O's shoulder before hopping off as she stabbed down at Phoenix who blocked the strike. He then pushed Roze back before swinging, Roze ducking underneath the swing and charging while stabbing forward, striking the Phantom in the gut and forcing him to stagger away. She then gave a yell as she began to rush forward, stabbing further and further and forcing Phoenix on the defensive.

Phoenix gave a gasp as he quickly dodged out of the way of a stab before managing to end up backing into the Santa Claus inflatable.

"Huh?" Phoenix looked over.

"We've got you now!" Zi-O called out as he rushed forward and slashed at Phoenix who dodged, leaving only the Santa inflatable in his path. Zi-O could only yell out as he stomped his feet to come to a sudden stop and threw his arms in the air. The result was him falling flat on his back.

"Hah, that was pretty funny!" Phoenix laughed out.

"Sougo…" Roze spoke slowly before stomping forward, "What was that?!"

"I didn't want to hurt Santa…" Zi-O admitted with a whimper.

"Sougo…" Roze sighed before giving a gasp as she was struck by a fireball, being slammed into the ground near Zi-O.

The two just barely managed to pick themselves up as they saw a rain of fireballs, the both Riders yelling out as they scrambled away, the fireballs impacting as they were blown to the side.

The result however had completely decimated the Santa inflatable.

"Santa…" Zi-O shouted in despair as he dropped the Heisaber.

"You're a bunch of idiots!" Phoenix laughed out.

"Ugh…" Roze grunted as she picked herself up, grabbing the Heisaber and giving a glare behind her mask, "You want to say that again?"

"You're a bunch of idiots?" Phoenix asked before laughing out.

[HEY! WIZARD!]

"That's it!" Roze shouted as she swung forward, a blue magi circle forming in front of her, "I'm freezing you!"

[WIZARD! DUAL TIME BREAK!]

The blue magic circle unleashed a torrent of icy wind that struck Phoenix, the Phantom yelling out as he was slowly encased in ice.

"Perfect!" Roze called out as she held the Heisaber towards Zi-O, "Sougo, let's finish this!"

"Santa…" Zi-O whimpered.

"Sougo…" Roze groaned out.

The sky suddenly distorted into an odd green coloration as Ruby looked up in surprise.

"You will not defeat my minion of the damned…"

"What?" Roze began to look around, trying to find the owner of the voice.

A strange air began to fill the area as grey smoke began to combine together into a creature in dirtied robes, holding a scythe, its face being a multitude of skulls stacked on top of one another.

"I am Death!" The creature called out as he floated towards the frozen Phoenix, "The ruler of the land of the dead! I was defeated in this season so long ago, but now I will resurrect the monsters of Christmas past to take over the world once more!"

"Huh?" Roze tilted her head.

"Huh…?" Zi-O looked over from the fallen Santa inflatable towards where Death was.

"You cannot stop our reign," Death said as he swung his scythe, breaking Phoenix out of the ice.

"A-Ah… T-Thank you…" Phoenix shivered a bit.

"Wait," Roze called out, "Are you the one behind Kuroto's escape?!"

"Ah so you've seen my handy work," Death chuckled before slamming his scythe on the ground, "I will revive all those who have fallen during the holiday season… and eliminate the Kamen Rider's. You new ones especially... you're continued existence means that we can have no peace from you!"

Roze narrowed her eyes at this, especially from what she remembered of what Parad had told her.

"Yeah, well you're not ruining Christmas!" Sougo called out.

"You cannot win this…" Death rasped out before vanishing alongside Phoenix.

The two Riders could only look around for a bit before dismissing their transformations.

"This is weird…" Ruby muttered as she heard this, she was expecting some kind of alien or something, not a grim reaper, "This doesn't make sense."

"Wait, really?" Sougo asked, "I assumed a monster bringing back fallen monsters would be pretty easy to follow?"

"No, it's the people that are brought back," Ruby stressed as she began to move away from the plaza with Sougo following after her, "Phoenix should be endlessly dying and reviving in the sun right now, Woz told me so. And I'm pretty sure Kuroto wasn't the one who died on Christmas."

"Oh, that is weird…" Sougo admitted as he kept pace with his friend.

"So I want to get to the bottom of this," Ruby admitted as she walked forward before giving a gasp as she bumped into someone, she quickly gave a bow, "Oh, sorry about that!"

"Hey watch where you're-Ruby?"

"Huh?" Ruby looked up to see she bumped into a familiar Genius Physicist, "Sento?"

"Oh, hey," Sento gave a wave, "Were you two involved in the fighting I just heard not that long ago?"

"Yeah," Sougo replied, "This Grim Reaper guy is trying to ruin Christmas!"

"Huh, that isn't good," Sento frowned before snapping his fingers, "Mind if I tag along? I only have Rabbit and Tank on me today, but I think I'll be good."

"Uh sure, but you really aren't going to ask any questions?" Ruby asked, "You're just accepting this?"

"I can't afford to let this guy ruin your Christmas!" Sento declared as he raised a fist, "You should be celebrating the hardest you can! Nothing should interrupt it, not monster attacks, shocking revelations about your pasts, war being declared, and especially not some weird ghost of Christmas monster past!"

"The second and third ones were oddly specific…" Sougo muttered as he saw Sento get pumped up.

"Well if you insist," Ruby chuckled, "You're also trying to kill time aren't you?"

"Maybe…" Sento slumped, "Plus I need something to do to distract myself."

"Ah, are you guys not too big on Christmas planning?" Sougo asked.

"Ryuga and I don't really have much money so we're doing a low-key celebration this year," Sento admitted in an almost wistful fashion, "Very quiet, but I don't mind."

"Really…?" Ruby asked, recalling her talk with the two remaining Build Riders about the Old World they were from.

"Yeah, really," Sento gave a nod as he forced a small smile, though it was clear that he wasn't exactly in the best mood about it.

"Hmm…" Sougo had a bit of a thought but didn't say much yet, grabbing his phone and sending a text.

"So how do we get a lead on this?" Sento decided to ask as he turned towards Ruby.

"Hmm…" Ruby was trying to figure out a pattern but the one thing bugging her was the fact that Phoenix and Genm Zombie Gamer had shown up. She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text out, "Let me try and get into contact with someone."

"Who's this someone?" Sento asked.

"You'll see," Ruby said cryptically before her phone began to ring, she soon answered and put it on speaker.

"Yo Ruby, how are you?" Philip's voice could be heard.

"Pretty good," Ruby said, "How about you guys over in Fuuto?"

"Well currently Shotaro is trying to quell the yearly argument between Watcherman and Santachan on what is better, breasts or thighs," Philip said nonchalantly.

"Did not need to know that…" Ruby shivered while Sougo and Sento were both curious and confused at this.

"Ah, so I take it you all don't have roast or fried chicken for Christmas?" Philip asked, "Is it salmon instead? I've heard that's an odd but interesting replacement."

"Huh? Wait it's about chicken?" Ruby asked before shaking her head, "Not why I'm calling, Philip I need your expertise."

"Well I do have the Earth's memory at my fingertips," Philip mused, "What lookup shall we do?"

"Well first, I want to know if you know anything about a monster that can impersonate others," Ruby said, "We ran into some that were claimed to be the dead revived but clearly can't be."

"Oh how compelling…" Philip remarked, "This reminds me of a case we took during Christmas ironically enough."

"Wait seriously?" Sento asked.

"It was this priest impersonating people, be it the rich, Kamen Riders, and even Dopants," Philip answered, "The Dummy Dopant…"

"Dummy Dopant…?" Sougo asked.

"Yes," Philip responded, "He was pretending to be a peculiar Dopant. Using that as his guise he pretended to raise the dead and was using that to terrorize Fuuto. It was a tough mental battle for Shotaro, but we managed to win in the end."

"So… how did that work?" Ruby asked as she began to realize this was a bit more complicated than she thought, "Was he able to show up in two places at once or…?"

"Oh no, he wasn't able to do that," Philip said, "He used fancy tricks to disappear and then appear as his disguise."

"Huh… but there were two of them for sure," Sougo said, "Phoenix and that Death guy…"

"Two of them…?" Philip asked before giving a hum, "Death… huh?"

"Something smells fishy," Sento crossed his arms.

"Alright, tell us what you know about that Dopant he was impersonating then," Ruby said, despite Philip not saying it outright, she was starting to put everything together.

"Of course," Philip said, "Given I've already started to figure it out the core of your issue as well."

"But first," Ruby looked over at Sougo, "I need you to make a few calls."

"Sure thing," Sougo nodded as he held his phone up, "Just tell me who."

"It didn't take long to call upon this army… good…" Death called out as he slammed his staff against the ground, he was currently at a park, managing to scare off everyone nearby as various monsters began to lumber into view. While Phoenix was not around, Genm was in his Zombie Gamer form.

Nearby the two were various monsters of different types that had been resurrected. Among them were the Seiryuto Ganma, Salty Bugster in his Level 3 form, alongside the Press and Flying Hazard Smashes.

"Not too big of an army," Genm remarked, "You sure this will work?"

"This is the best I can do for now, but it will work," Death said before giving a chuckle, "Now that damn Roze and Zi-O will pay for what they did… and then after them is that stupid Geiz one."

"Oh will we?"

"Huh?" Death turned to see Ruby walking over with Sento and Sougo.

"And what exactly are supposed to be paying for?" Ruby asked as she crossed her arms.

"So you've come to finally accept your fate, Kamen Riders!" Death ignored the question as he turned fully and held his scythe forward, "When I'm done with you two and the foolish friend you had tag along, I'll go after the red one next!"

"Wow he really doesn't know who I am," Sento put his hands on his hips, "I'm a bit offended."

"Excuse me?" Death asked.

"You go through the trouble of bringing back my enemies and you don't even know who I am," Sento huffed before bringing out his Build Driver, readying it before bringing out the Rabbit and Tank Fullbottles and shaking them. He slotted them in before cranking his Driver, "Henshin!"

[HAGANE NO MOONSAULT! RABBITTANK! YEAHHH!]

The Snap Builder formed around him as the Rabbit and Tank halves closed in and fully clothed him in the armor of Build RabbitTank. Build gave his signature salute as Death visibly backed up.

"A third Kamen Rider…?" Death gasped out.

"No matter…" Genm spoke up confidently as he began to walk towards Build, "I am immortal, so I can handle him."

"Who said they were alone?"

"If Kuroto was here he'd hate your cheap performance!"

[DAI KAIGAN: OMEGA BREAK!]

[MIGHTY CRITICAL FINISH!]

A slash of blue energy struck at Genm, sparks flying before Ex-Aid Level 2 fell from the sky, slamming a charged up Gashacon Breaker down against Genm's chest.

Genm gasped out as he was sent rolling, sparks flying. He gasped out as he pushed himself up only for sparks to spew out of his body as the damage was too much. Soon enough his body began to shift and change, showing what looked like a priest, the Phoenix Phantom, Genm himself in both Level 2 and Level 10 forms, even Death before he shifted into a fairly plain silver armored body with no visible face.

[DUMMY!]

"I-Impossible…" The Dopant called out as he looked himself over, "I was revealed again?!"

"Sorry to say but we'll clear this mystery with no continues," Ex-Aid called out.

"Not to mention I can't allow you all to mess with the balance of life and death," Ghost gave a nod, "No matter what tricks you use."

"Sorry Dummy Dopant but you didn't coordinate that well with Mr. Death Dopant over there," Ruby said as Ghost and Ex-Aid walked over to their group, "Phoenix is reviving and dying constantly in the sun and Kuroto never died during Christmas."

"What are you saying?" Death asked, "I am no Dopant… I am Death-"

"Dopant," Ruby interrupted as she pointed forward, "The Death Dopant."

"We had Philip look it up," Sougo said, "And it turns out that already knowing about the memory helped us solve this case in no time flat! It also helped that Accel was doing an investigation too that correlated to it."

"Seriously," Ruby gave a deadpan stare, "You're seriously trying to get revenge on us during Christmas of all times?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about…" The Death Dopant stammered out as he began to shake, the confident and mysterious air around him beginning to fade.

"But you said you'd make us in particular pay," Sougo said as he pointed between himself and Ruby.

"I said no such thing," The Death Dopant replied, "My vendetta is against all Kamen Riders!"

"You literally just did before and when we first got here," Ruby added as she crossed her arms.

"Genki Hirata, formerly the Cyclone Dopant," Ruby listed off immediately as she recalled from memory what Philip had told them, "You had contacts in the prison you were placed in. So you managed to get someone to slip you a Death Gaia Memory so you could escape. Ryu Terui's been trying to track you for a day now."

"How did you know all that?" The Death Dopant gasped before gasping further as he put a hand over one of his skulls, "No way…"

"Yep, cracking under pressure almost instantly," Ruby narrowed her eyes before giving a glare, "When I said I wanted to do something today I did not want to be dealing with Lovely Corp leftovers a day before Christmas!"

"Yeah, you'll pay for trying to ruin Christmas!" Sougo called out.

"Oh you stupid brats… this was never about Christmas!" The Death Dopant yelled out as he stomped forward, "I just wanted my revenge on you for me and my wife with you all with you being none the wiser and I figured resurrecting those that died this holiday season would give me the perfect cover to allow me to avenge Lovely Corp! But now you're annoying me so cut it with the Christmas crap already!"

"Disrespecting the holiday season huh," Build crossed his arms.

"You should know how important this time of year is," Ex-Aid said as he wagged his finger.

"Yeah," Ghost gave a nod, "It may not mean much to you but it means a lot to everyone else!"

"Yeah," Ruby said before raising a fist up, "Sorry to say but you don't get to say that after trying to use Christmas for your own selfish ends!"

"We'll protect Christmas and send you packing!" Sougo agreed.

"Well said Kamen Riders!"

Everyone turned towards a tree as a red blur dropped down from it, and everyone could only stare in shock and awe as the figure fully stood up. It was the iconic red coat and pants with white fur lining it, a fluffy white beard with the signature red hat and a giant grey sack.

Before the monsters and Riders was, the one, the only…

…Santa Claus.

Sougo was in awe, "S-Santa…?!"

"Whoa…" Ruby muttered with wide eyes.

"Incredible…" Build nearly fell over in shock.

"No way…" Ghost muttered as he began to get excited, bouncing up and down, "Santa Claus?!"

"You're kidding," was all that Ex-Aid could say.

"What am I staring at…?" The Death Dopant asked.

"Ho Ho Ho!" Santa Claus called out before reaching into his sack, "Merry Christmas!"

In an instant he threw his hand out, unleashing gold specks that floated over to the Riders. The gold specks washed over them as they all gained holiday related items. Ghost received a Santa Claus Eyecon, Ex-Aid received a Christmas Energy Item, and Build now had his Cake and Santa Bottles on him.

Ruby and Sougo felt something in their pockets, taking out their personal Ridewatches. The Roze and Zi-O Ridwatches flashed, changing to have a dark green base with a red dial and button. Everyone could only stare in awe at this.

"Merry Christmas!" Santa Claus gave a wave before turning and walking off, disappearing into gold sparks.

"What was that just now…?" The Death Dopant asked.

"A Christmas Miracle," Ruby grinned before readying her Ridewatch alongside Sougo, "Let's go!"

"Right," Sougo gave a nod as the other Riders prepared their form changes.

"Henshin!"

[KAIGAN! SANTA CLAUS! JINGLE BELL! HOSHI FURU! SEINARU YORU!]

[CHRISTMAS!]

[SANTA CLAUS! CAKE! BEST MATCH! SEINARU SHISHA! MERRYCHRISTMAS! YEAH!]

[CHRISTMAS TIME! KAMEN RIDER ZI-O!]

[CHRISTMAS TIME! KAMEN RIDER ROZE!]

The three Legend Riders had assumed their own Christmas related forms. Ghost was in his base transient form, holding the signature red and white lined coat of Santa Claus with bells attached to the shoulders, the face plate being a green Christmas Tree.

Ex-Aid had transformed into his special Christmas form, of Ex-Aid Level 1, having red boots and a cape along with a Santa hat, beard and sack.

Build meanwhile still had his usual aesthetic of the half-bodies, Santa themed red armoring replacing his Rabbit half while white cake themed armoring replaced his Tank half.

Ruby and Sougo's transformations into Roze and Zi-O happened similarly to before. However a flash of green and red occurred as the two now gained white fluff lined red velvet capes that were draped over their shoulders. Finishing it up was that their katakana visors changed to where they were now pure red with green lining.

"Whoa this is cool," Zi-O said as he looked himself over.

"Festive," Roze gave a grin as she spun, allowing her cape to flow a bit, "And familiar… I think we can do this."

"Hey, isn't that my line?" Zi-O asked.

"Come on, Christmas is the gift of giving isn't it?" Roze chuckled as she looked over, "Mind letting me have it this time?"

"Well if you insist…" Zi-O reluctantly replied but chuckled at the end, "I think you can have it."

"Thanks," Roze chuckled further.

"Get them!" The Death Dopant yelled out as he held his scythe forward, all the monsters yelling out and charging forward as well. The Dummy Dopant gave a light yelp as he began to back away only to get shoved forward by the charging monsters he was with.

"Let's give you two some treats!" Build called out as he launched out cake frosting from his left arm, managing to strike the Flying and Stretch Smash's in the face and blind them.

The Stretch Smash began to flail around while the Flying Smash immediately leapt into the air to start flying wildly around in circles.

"How about no," Roze took aim with Crescent Rose, firing a white and red burst of energy that struck the Flying Smash, sending it falling to the ground.

"Take this!" The Dummy Dopant called out as he ran towards Roze and punched at her only for the Rider to twirl around, her Christmas cape smacking the Dopant and sending him tumbling away. He attempted to get back up only to get shot in the chest.

"Yeah again, how about no," Roze remarked as she lowered Crescent Rose, having just fired it.

"Here's your present!" Build yelled out as he formed a projection of a Christmas present before tossing it towards the Stretch Smash. The Stretch Smash finally wiped the frosting off of its face before catching the present. It stared at it long and hard before the present exploded, sending it flying back.

"Not this accursed form again," Salty yelled out as it tried to send an electrified punch at Ex-Aid only for it to get batted away by the Santa sack that Ex-Aid had. He then yelled out as Ex-Aid slammed the Gashacon Breaker into its gut, "Let me salt you!"

"Too much salt on cake ruins the sweet taste!" Ex-Aid called out as he spun, smacking Salty with his Santa sack again.

"Don't think you can beat me!" The Seiryuto Ganma yelled while launching fireballs out its dragon beard.

Ghost said nothing as he crossed his arms, a bell projection forming over him like a shield. The fireballs struck the bell causing it to ring out, the sound waves causing all the monsters pain as the fireballs were deflected.

"Impossible…" The Seiryuto Ganma called out as it held one ear with its hand, "What is this?!"

"The power of the holidays," Ghost called out as he ran forward before floating up into the air. He then kicked the Seiryuto Ganma's staff away before kicking it in the chest.

The Death Dopant yelled out, swinging his scythe as Zi-O ducked underneath the slashes before the festive Rider punched the Dopant several times in the chest. The Death Dopant gasped out, sparks of red and green erupting from him as Zi-O's attacks were also festive themed.

"Trying to abuse Christmas for your own means by disturbing the natural balance," Zi-O gathered green, red and white festive energy within in his right fist before punching forward, "We won't allow it!"

"Ah!" The Death Dopant yelled out as he was thrown backwards from the punch, "Will you shut up already! This was supposed to be my revenge, not some plot against-!"

It wasn't long before the Flying and Stretch Smash's, Dummy Dopant, Seiryuto Ganma and Salty Bugster were all thrown and sent rolling near him.

"What?" The Death Dopant looked around in shock, "No way… my army!"

"Everyone, let's finish this!" Zi-O called out.

"On it," Build said as he and, Ex-Aid, and Ghost began preparing their finishers.

[READY, GO! VORTEX FINISH!]

[DAI KAIGAN: SANTA CLAUS OMEGA DRIVE!]

Build slammed his hands into the ground, a massive projection of a Christmas Cake forming underneath the monsters and lifting them upwards. Ghost soon held his hands out, forming the projection of a bell over them and on top of the cake to top it and trap them.

[MIGHTY CRITICAL FINISH!]

Ex-Aid leapt up into the air, charging his hammer with the finisher as he dropped down. He spun a few times before slamming his hammer directly into the bell, a gong sounding off as explosions occurred.

The Death Dopant yelled out as he was launched into the air, the rest of the monsters being destroyed but absorbing enough of the attack to allow him to survive the initial three finishers.

[FINISH TIME!]

Roze and Zi-O leapt high into the air, the two's capes flowing out as they kicked out with their right legs, red Katakana flying out of the soles of their boots. Soon enough the katakana struck against the Death Dopant before the two Riders kicked against him immediately after.

[TIME BLAST!]

[TIME BREAK!]

The two yelled out and slammed the Death Dopant into the ground, an explosion of green, red and white occurring as Roze and Zi-O slid out of the explosion.

[MERRY CHRISTMAS!]

"Nice," Zi-O said as he pumped his fist.

Between them the Death Gaia Memory flew out and clattered between them. It crackled with red, green and white electricity but remained intact due to it not being destroyed by a Memory Break. Roze saw this and grabbed it before crushing it, soon snapping it in half.

"And that's another battle done," Ruby said as she dropped the broken Gaia Memory.

The two Riders stood up while surveying the area, seeing the various fallen pieces of the monsters they had destroyed alongside a dazed Genki Hirata. As the Riders began to meet up with each other, flashes of white and red occurring as they all lost their Christmas armaments, Ex-Aid returning to Level 2 as a result while Ghost returned to Ore Damashi. That was everyone except for Build who was still in Santa Cake form. Finally, both Roze and Zi-O's Ridewatches returned to normal as they were back in their base forms.

"Hey how come yours didn't disappear?" Zi-O asked.

"Oh, because Santa Cake is one of the 30 Best Matches," Build explained, "I'm assuming Santa Claus somehow teleported them over here…" he paused at this before scratching his helmet's chin, "That's weird to say."

"Well if you didn't believe in Santa before you can now," Roze chuckled.

"Thanks for calling us up," Ex-Aid said, "After all, now I can tell everyone at work that it wasn't Kuroto but-work!"

"Huh?" Zi-O tilted his head.

"I need to get going!" Ex-Aid called out as he quickly ran off while dismissing his transformation. He gave a yelp as he fell flat on his face.

"I suppose I should help him and get going too," Ghost chuckled before dismissing his transformation and hurrying over to help Emu up. He looked back however and waved, "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas," Roze called out while waving as she dismissed her transformation with the others.

"So what do we do now?" Sougo asked.

"Well first we call the cops," Ruby said as she began to dial the number on her phone, "And then I say we try and find something to do to actually relax."

"Well that was a fun distraction," Sento said as he began to walk off, "I'll be seeing you two around."

At that moment Sougo felt a buzz and took out his phone, reading the message and giving a smile.

"Sento, wait!"

Time had passed and the police had taken Genki Hirata into custody alongside cleaning up any and all remains of the monster remains. Well that was for one large piece of the Flying Smash that had somehow ended up getting stuck in a tree. Once the police had left and there was no one else in the area, it began to move.

The monster piece fell out of the tree and gasped out as it shifted forms back into the Dummy Dopant.

"I'm saved…" The Dummy Dopant gasped out before dusting himself off, "Now shall I continue my old schemes?"

"How about a new scheme…?"

A distorted voice could be heard as a blue robed man in a jester mask walked towards the Dummy Dopant.

"Who are you?" The Dummy Dopant questioned before tilting his head, "And why are you so familiar?"

"A friend," The Jester said as he clasped his hands, "This coming year will be very special, so I want you to help me."

"I suppose I have nothing better to do…" The Dummy Dopant trailed, "Fine."

"Good," The Jester said as he began to walk off before gesturing, "Follow me."

Night had fallen as everyone continued to hustle and bustle, whether it be going to or hosting Christmas parties, going out with family, real last minute shopping, or even just taking in the sights. Everyone had somewhere to be. And that was especially the case for 9-5-DO as Junichiro had fully decorated the store up for a Christmas dinner with both Team Zi-O and Team RWBY under his roof, alongside two very special guests.

"You really didn't have to do this," Sento said.

"Yeah, we were fine on our own," Ryuga gave a nod.

"Guys, it's fine right?" Ruby gave a chuckle before looking around the room at her teammates and friends as they gave various nods and gestures agreeing with her.

"Yeah," Sougo gave a nod, "I mean the way Sento made it sound, it seemed kind of sad that you two would be celebrating Christmas on your own. Plus Uncle didn't mind, right Uncle?"

"Of course not," Junichiro said as he began serving everyone, "I mean, they're friends right?"

"Yep," Sougo smiled.

"You're not getting past their kindness," Weiss gave a smirk.

"He's very stubborn like that," Geiz agreed.

"But it's a nice kind of stubbornness," Tsukuyomi admitted.

"Plus even if it's not family, you should still celebrate the holiday season with someone, right?" Yang asked.

"I suppose we have to relent," Sento smiled as he rubbed the back of his head, "This is the greatest…"

"I guess," Ryuga chuckled.

"There it is," Blake smirked.

"Now, now enough chitchat everyone," Junichiro clapped his hands as he went to sit down at the packed table, "Let's eat!"

Everyone gave nods before going to dig into the food that Junichiro prepared for them. It was a nice and lively Christmas that year. It was also an event that would be a subtle but sure sign of the bright future to come despite whatever hardships occurred.

"And thus that small story comes to an end," Woz closed his book as he began to walk off, "Not the most necessary of tales… but not everything needs to be necessary. I do hope that you'll keep an eye on this story in order to see the other events that will take place over the course of Roze from Remnant…"

Author's Note: I originally wanted to do a Christmas special as an interlude episode back before the end of the Second Saga. But I realized that by the time I released Welcome Back to 2018, it would've been decently into January even with my pushing up of the releases further. So I figured a fun way to christen this new story was to have a Christmas Special start off the Rider Time: Roze Gaiden Collection as a small flashback of sorts to an earlier point.

As stated, this is going to be for a bunch of side stories that I can't fit into the main story that well. They'll obviously still be connected but they're more disconnected than even the Interludes. Of course that means updates will be sporadic and with no real solid date, so please keep an eye out on the main story, my twitter, etc for an updates or just make sure you're following this story.