A/N: Hey guys, MCN here bringing you what you all probably expected, another random fic to distract me from my other ones, WOOT! Of course, this time it's a little bit different, this time the fic I'm bringing to you is a collaborative effort between myself and my buddy "brave kid" on this site, he came to me a while ago and we bounced around some ideas for some fics and recently he came to me with this idea and I thought, hey, my two current obsessions are RWBY and Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, so why not give this fic a try? Basically brave kid came up with the premise and a lot of the rolls for the RWBY characters, I just hammered out a few of the details, threw in a little bit of my own ideas, and wrote it down. Of course I ran this chapter by him before posting this, so this was a total team effort. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter and I'll see you guys in a bit.

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or Kamen Rider Ex-Aid

I'm a Kamen Rider!

Ever since I was a kid, all I ever wanted was to be was a hero…

"Come on, you almost got him!"

Hearing stories about my great, great, grandfather, how he fought in the Great War and made the Arc name known far and wide…

"No, don't, you're too hurt, it's too risky!"

I wanted to be just like him, a Huntsman, a warrior who fought to protect others…

"Don't worry, I got this, just leave it to me!"

I've always… wanted to be a hero…

"This. Is. IT!" A blond haired teen sporting a black Pumpkin Pete hoodie cried as he raised his hand up in determination and brought it down… on the attack button. On the arcade screen, the little Mighty character unleashed a powerful kick on the boss monster and in a bright, colorful flash it was destroyed, the character landing safely on its feet. A moment later a victory jingle began playing as Mighty pumped his fist into the air in victory, the words "Stage Clear" in bright yellow letters appearing on the screen.

"YEAH!" The teen playing, as well as the crowd of children watching, cried in joy.

"Wow mister, nobody's ever beaten that level before!" One of the children said.

"You really are Ultra Player J!" A little girl next to him added.

"See, what did I tell you, Jaune can beat anyone at any game!" A third little boy said confidently, as if he were praising himself rather then his neighbor.

"Ah, come on guys, you're making me blush." Jaune Arc, also known as Ultra Player J replied, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Suddenly, Jaune felt a vibration in his pocket and pulled out his scroll, seeing that he had a message from his mother. "Oh, sorry guys, but I gotta get going." Jaune apologized.

"Aww, what, already?" The girl in the group said.

"Come on, one more level, I want to see what Mighty has to fight next!" One of the boys insisted.

"I'd love to, really I would, but duty calls." Jaune said in an awkward attempt to sound witty.

"Well, we'll see you at the launch party tomorrow, right?" His neighbor, a young boy named Souta said.

"Are you kidding me, wouldn't miss it for the world, we've been waiting 5 years for this!" Jaune called back as he made for the exit of the arcade. "See you tomorrow guys!" He called one final time as he exited establishment and started down the sidewalk. Almost immediately he pulled out his Scroll again and activate an app on it, the home screen for the "Mighty Action Mobile" appearing before he tapped "Game Start".

But the truth is, the only thing I've ever been good at, and I really do mean the only thing, is video games…

Jaune was brought out of his gaming trance by the sound of a group of teenagers his age walking down the other side of the street, they had weapons strapped to their backs and belts, suggesting that they were students at the local combat school, probably excited to be graduating into one of the higher academies. Jaune looked down dejectedly at the pavement, he actually recognized some of the teens in that group, they went to preschool together, to grade school, but then when it came time to try out for combat school…

I could never make the cut; even though I tried every year until I was too old, I just… wasn't good enough.

It was frustrating, being the only Arc to not be able to get into combat school, let alone become a Huntsman, it's all he ever wanted to do, but it just… wasn't meant to be. He looked back at the game that he had instinctually paused; there was a slight breeze before he unconsciously cracked a small smirk as he unpaused it.

Oh well, brooding can wait; right now I got a game to beat.

"Ultra Player J, real name: unknown." A man said from behind a desk, looking over a file being displayed on a holographic screen in front of him. The man wore a white general's uniform and was slightly aged, with black hair that had sections of white and grey from both stress and age. "Has won multiple tournaments in the past and holds many world records in several different games in several different genres. Often regarded as a "Genius Gamer" by fans and developers alike." He read aloud.

"I'm telling you General Ironwood sir, this Ultra Player J would be a very suitable candidate for the Gamer Driver, I guarantee~ it!" A playful yet almost robotic voice said from a separate screen, showing a young girl with curly, shoulder length orange hair with a pink bow tied in the back.

"…I understand that given the nature of our enemy that this "Genius Gamer" may seem like a suitable candidate, but it'll take more than being able to hit a few buttons on a controller to be effective with a Gamer Driver." Ironwood replied as understandingly as he could, though the girl didn't seem too happy with his response.

"But General Ironwood, I have a really good feeling about him, I've seen him play, if it's a game then he will definitely be able to beat it, please reconsider." She pleaded with him. Ironwood sighed and looked the girl in the eye through the screen.

"Penny, I know you want to help, but I'm afraid we just can't let a civilian with no combat experience use a Gamer Driver, it's simply too risky, for the "gamer" and any potential victims." He tried to explain as softly as he could, Penny's only response being to look away dejectedly. "I know you want to help, but your job is just to look over and support the candidates, leave the selection process to us. We already have a list of suitable candidates coming in from the applications to the Huntsmen Academies, trust us, we'll pick people who can do the job right, ok." He waited for a response and Penny eventually looked back up at him.

"Understood General Ironwood Sir." She said in a more upbeat tone with a playful salute.

"Excellent, now, do you have the package?" Ironwood asked.

"Packed and ready for transport sir!" Penny assured as she showed the black case.

"Good, be sure to bring that to Beacon safely, we will have a candidate ready for debriefing once you arrive." Ironwood stated.

"Got it sir, you can count on me!" Penny said with one last salute before hanging up. Ironwood spared a small smile before looking back at the file of "Ultra Player J".

"I'm sorry Penny, but this is just too important to leave in the hands of someone who will treat it like a game." He said to himself before he closed the file and got back to work.

The next day, Jaune woke up bright and early to be first in line at the convocation center, where a special launch party was being held for the release of Genm Corp. newest and most anticipated game, Mighty Action X, the latest installment in their famous Mighty Action Series. It had been 5 years since the game's release was delayed, and nothing was going to stop Jaune from getting his hands on it today. It didn't take long for the line to start forming behind him, it was already stretched down a whole city block or two, and people just kept coming.

"Hey Mister, remember us?" A familiar voice called out to him. He looked back and saw the group of kids from the day before being held back by some security guards.

"Oh, hey guys, hey it's ok, they're with me!" He stated, causing the guards to release them and allow them to rush up to the blond. "Hey guys, how's it going?" He said as he high fived a couple of them.

"We're doing awesome, we're first in line now!" One of the boys said excitedly.

"Can you believe it, we're gonna be the first people to play the legendary Mighty Action X!" Another added with equal excitement.

"Tell me about it, the clock can't move any slower!" Jaune replied with almost more childlike anticipation then the actual children. However, his face fell slightly once he realized someone was missing from their little group. "Hey, where's Souta?" He wondered, the kids experiencing a similar change in their demeanor.

"He's not coming." One of the girls said dejectedly.

"Huh, not coming, why, he was so looking forward to this." Jaune inquired.

"Well, yesterday he was feeling a little sick, and today he got even worse, so his mom took him to the hospital." The first boy explained.

"Hospital…" Jaune was shocked, was it really that serious that he would have to miss coming to the gaming event of the century. The children began talking about how they could bring him a souvenir after the event, but Jaune was too preoccupied to listen, his little buddy suffering in the hospital was all he could think about. "…Guys, hold my spot for me, I'm going to go check on him." Jaune said before getting out of line and rushing down the street.

"Yes, he should be in Room 107." A nurse said at the front desk of the local hospital.

"Thank you very much." Jaune replied politely before striding down the hallway to the specified room. However, he heard Souta's voice before he even got there.

"But it's not fair, why do I have to stay here!" Souta cried, much to Jaune's concern.

"Please sweetheart, you have to understand it's for your own good." A voice Jaune recognized as Souta's mom replied.

"No, I'm not staying, you can't make me!" He rebuked stubbornly just as Jaune was about to reach the room. Suddenly, Souta burst from the open door and rushed down the hallway to the exit.

"Huh, Souta?" Jaune said quizzically as he began to advance, only to stop before crashing into Souta's mother.

"Oh, Jaune, what are you doing here?" She questioned him.

"I heard about Souta, is he ok?" Jaune questioned.

"Please, he's getting away, help us catch him!" She replied frantically.

"Uh, right!" Jaune said before bolting after the young boy. He was out of sight and so he went outside and looked around, finding Souta already crossing the street. "Souta!" He called out to him.

"Jaune!" Souta said with a smile happy to see his friend, however, that smile fell when he saw his mother and the nurse follow after him, making him immediately run away.

"Souta, wait!" Jaune cried as he ran after him, having trouble closing the gap the boy's head start gave him. "Come on Souta, wait, I just want to talk!" Jaune kept calling, but Souta just ignored him and kept running. He turned a corner and just barely missed a casually strolling Penny, who lifted the black case she was carrying to keep the boy from running into it.

"Oh, that was a close one." She sighed with relief as she turned back around to keep running, only to be met with Jaune running at top speed into her. The two fell to the ground painfully, Penny's case falling out of her hands and spilling its contents onto the ground, one such item was a strange neon green device with what seemed to be a neon pink lever switch closed onto it, and the other was a little pink device with a strange glass part sticking out of it. Souta look back at the sound of the crash, but the first thing that caught his attention was the pink trinket on the ground.

"Ugh, oh, I'm so sorry, are you ok?" Jaune said frantically as he stood pack up, rubbing his bottom from the fall.

"Oh I'm wonderful, thank you for asking." Penny said jovially, uncharacteristically of someone who just took a great fall.

"Uh, here, let me help you up." Jaune offered.

"Oh no need, I can get up myself." Penny insisted before nimbly leaping back up to her feet, much to Jaune's surprise. "My name is Penny, it is a pleasure to meet you!" She greeted happily, as if completely oblivious to their circumstances of meeting. Jaune struggled to find the words to respond when Souta walked back and picked up the pink trinket.

"Hey, it's Mighty Action X!" Souta said in surprise as he read the label on the trinket. "What's it doing here?" He wondered out loud, gaining the attention of the two teens, specifically Penny.

"Oh, pardon me, little boy, but that belongs to me." Penny said politely, yet she quickly snatched the device away from the boy and quickly began to gather up her things.

"That game comes out today, hey you think you can let me play it? Please, just for a bit?" He pleaded, clasping his hands together.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot let you do that little boy." Penny replied as she secured the game and the device back into the case. "You see, this isn't just an ordinary game, it is very important that I deliver this to Beacon as soon as possible." She explained, Souta looking down sadly at her response.

"Uh, Souta, are you ok, why did you run away like that?" Jaune questioned as he put his hand on the boy's shoulder. Much to his shock, he pushed his hand away rather violently, refusing to look up at the older boy.

"I can't… play it…" Souta said dejectedly. Suddenly, Souta moaned in pain as he grabbed his head, suddenly feeling dizzy. A moment later he fell to the ground unconscious.

"Souta, hey Souta, are you ok, what's wrong!" Jaune cried as he kneeled down and tried to shake Souta awake. Penny looked over as well just in time for the both of them to see strange black blobs come out of the back of Souta's neck leaving behind a strange rash that looked almost like… pixels. "Huh, what was…?" Jaune wondered but was suddenly pushed out of the way by Penny.

"It can't be…" She said as she kneeled down and put on a strange looking stethoscope, though instead of pressing it to the boy's back, she hit a button on it, a screen appearing displaying Souta and strange star icon right around where the rash had appeared. "Oh no, these symptoms…" Penny mumbled to herself with great concern. Jaune looked up and saw the screen, but didn't know at all what to make of it. "Hurry, we have to get this boy to a hospital, please help me!" Penny said to Jaune, only increasing his concern.

Once Jaune had carried Souta back into the hospital, the boy was immediately moved to an intensive care unit that seemed almost quarantined from the rest of the hospital. Jaune, as the good Samaritan that helped out was allowed through, as well as the boy's mother, who looked on helplessly as her son was frantically examined by multiple doctors, all spouting medical nonsense that neither she nor Jaune could understand. Eventually they were forced to wait outside, Jaune thought that he should probably say something to comfort the worrying mother, but with himself just as worried he could think of nothing to say. After what felt like hours of waiting, Penny came out of the ICU and approached them.

"Excuse me, are you that little boy's mother?" She inquired.

"Yes I am, is he ok?" She asked as she shot up from her seat.

"He is stable for the moment, but there are some things that I must discuss with you, can you please follow me?" She politely asked.

"Uh, yes, of course." She confirmed, and with that she followed Penny to another room, leaving Jaune to sit there, worrying by himself.

Penny led her to a generic looking office, it didn't seem like the doctor it belonged to was in, and so she took a seat to wait for him to return.

"Give me a moment ma'am while I set up the call." Penny said as she began typing on the holographic computer on the desk.

"Huh, call?" The mother said quizzically, but soon got her answer when Penny hit enter and the image of Ironwood appeared on the screen facing her.

"Greetings ma'am, my name is General James Ironwood of the Atlesian Military," He introduced himself. "I'm sorry that we had to meet under these conditions."

"Atlesian Military?" She said with confusion, shouldn't she be talking to a doctor?

"Yes, I have been briefed on the situation and I'm sorry to say that it seems that your son has fallen victim to a new type of Creature of Grimm." Ironwood replied, much to the mother's shock.

"What, Creature of Grimm, b-but that's impossible, Souta has never even seen a Grimm!" She said frantically.

"I can't disclose all of the details, but this new form of Grimm seems to act very much like a virus, infecting humans and assimilating their body into its own." Ironwood explained further, though it only served to worry the mother even more.

"Assimilate… his body…!" She repeated.

"Yes, if left unchecked… there is a very real possibility of the boy turning into a Creature of Grimm." Ironwood said, he couldn't find a better way to break it to her.

"…No… no, no, this can't be happening!" She cried as she stood up and began pacing all over the room tears spilling from her eyes.

"Ma'am, please clam down, we're not sure how the virus will react to negative emotions." Penny said, putting a comforting hand on the mother's arm.

"We do have a counter measure available, but at the moment it is not operational." Ironwood informed, Penny glancing back at the black case she had brought with her.

"Then… Then what do we do?" The mother pleaded.

"For now we just keep your son in the ICU and stave of the virus, I will have my associates speed up the preparation process and have our countermeasure ready in a few days… I'm sorry, but it is the best we can do." Ironwood said apologetically. The mother didn't reply, she just sat back down in her seat and began crying into her hands. "…I'll let you know if anything else happens ma'am, end transmission." And with that Ironwood disappeared from the screen. Penny frowned at Ironwood's somewhat tactless way of handling the situation, but what really saddened her was the crying mother in front of her. She looked back at the black case and narrowed her eyes in determination, taking the case and walking to the door.

"Don't worry ma'am, I promise your son will be fine." She said in a chipper voice, much to the mother's surprise as she looked up at her. "I'll go and bring Ultra Player J here and he'll beat that virus no problem, you just wait!" Penny assured with a bright smile before leaving the room. The mother just looked at the doorway in confusion.

"Huh, Ultra… Player?" She mumbled to herself, the title seeming somewhat familiar to her.

Meanwhile, once all of the doctors had gone, Jaune went in to see Souta, who was lying in a bed in the ICU, surrounded by screens monitoring his vital signs.

"Souta?" He said softly in case he was a sleep.

"Mm… Jaune?" Souta replied.

"Hey buddy, how are you feeling?" Jaune asked as he walked over to his side. Souta was silent, looking down sadly as he pulled out a key ring with a little trinket shaped like Mighty on it.

"That's, the key ring I won for you at the arcade right?" Jaune said, recognizing the little prize.

"I really wanted to go to the launch party today." Souta lamented.

"…Hey come on, I know it sucks, but it's not the end of the world." Jaune said, trying to cheer him up. "Tell you what, I'll buy you a copy, and once you're good to receive visitors we can all…"

"There's no point if I don't go to the launch party!" Souta cried, slamming the key ring on the bed in frustration.

"Souta…?" Jaune said quizzically at the boy's reaction.

"…I didn't make it into combat school." He admitted, Jaune's eyes widening in shock. "Me and my friends all went to try out together, but I was the only one who didn't make it. Pretty soon all of my friends will be too busy training to play with me anymore… this was our last chance to all do something together…" Souta's eyes began well up in tears but he was stopped by a sudden shooting pain in his head.

"Souta!" Jaune cried in concern. The boy's words resonated with Jaune greatly, memories flashed in Jaune's head of all of the times he was rejected to go to combat school, of falling his face during the obstacle course while his peers all performed perfectly, of looking at his former classmates from a distance while playing a video game on a bench while they all spared with each other, he wouldn't wish that crushing loneliness on anyone.

"Am I… going to die?" Souta asked him.

"…No way, and you know what, you're not missing that party." Jaune replied, with a determined smile on his face.

"Huh, but…" Souta began.

"So you're a little sick, big deal, and you know what I always do when I'm sick to feel better?" Jaune asked playfully.

"Play games!" Souta replied.

"Exactly!" Jaune replied before his smile softened and he took his friend's hand. "Don't worry, I promise you'll be playing with your friends in no time, us gamers have to stick together after all." He promised sincerely, the two friends smiling at each other.

After waiting in line for hours, the convocation center finally opened and fans flooded into the room that the Mighty Action X Launch Party was being held. There were merchandise booths set up everywhere, as well as demo booths for those who wanted to try the game before purchasing a copy. As soon as they were allowed in fans already scrambled to start a line for the demos and began shopping around for Mighty memorabilia. The scene was chaotic enough that many didn't notice the man that walked onto a stage set up on the far wall of the room, a large monitor flashing to life behind him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my apologies for the wait." The man announced, his voice emanating from the speakers grabbing everyone's attention. Many recognized the man as the CEO of Genm Corp himself, Daniel Negro that would always attend these sorts of events personally despite his high position. "It's been five long years since it was originally announced. Now, the long awaited legendary game… Mighty Action X is finally complete!" He announced dramatically as the game's logo appeared on the screen behind him. The crowd burst into applause at this announcement and immediately after the demo booths sprang to life and fans quickly started playing.

Not too long after the main event had started, Penny walked into the party and examined her surroundings with a childlike wonder, she had never been to such a crowded and fun looking place before, it almost made her forget the reason she came.

"No, no, no, pull yourself together Penny Polendina, a little boy's life is at stake, and the only person who can save him is somewhere in this room… at least, I hope he is, he has to be." She said to herself as she scanned the room. Honestly, she didn't really know what she was looking for, she didn't know Ultra Gamer J's real name or even what he looked like, she had no idea where to even start looking. However, as her gaze passed over the line for the demos she had to do a double take as she saw a familiar head of golden hair as well as the yellow jacket of a familiar young boy. "Huh… AHHHHH?" She cried as she rushed over to the line.

"Little boy!" She cried out, gaining the attention of the group of children that Souta was speaking with, as well as their teenage chaperone. Souta looked both surprised and worried at the sight of the ginger haired girl, and Jaune seemed just as shocked.

"Huh, what are you doing here?" He asked her as she stood before them.

"That's just what I was about to ask!" Penny replied. "Why is this sick little boy not in bed at the hospital?"

"Souta, who is this girl?" One of Souta's friends asked.

"I thought you said you were all better." The girl of the group added with concern.

"I am, I am, I don't need to go back to the hospital!" Souta replied, turning around mid sentence to Penny, shooting her annoyed glare.

"Oh I am certain you do little boy Souta, you are very, very…" Penny began to lecture before Jaune covered her mouth.

"Ah, will you excuse us for a moment, don't mind us, you guys just keep waiting for the game, I'll be right back." Jaune said awkwardly as she guided Penny off to the sight out of earshot. "Look, I'm sorry for sneaking Souta out of the hospital without permission, but he really wanted to come to this event." Jaune began to explain himself. "Please, just let us off the hook this once, I promise I'll take Souta back as soon as the Launch Party is over." He pleaded, clasping his hands together desperately.

"Absolutely not, that little boy is very, very sick, he needs to be taken back to the ICU as soon as possible." Penny insisted.

"Oh come on, so he gets a little dizzy sometimes, one afternoon playing video games with his friends isn't gonna kill him." Jaune tried to rebuke.

"I'm sorry, but you just don't understand the situation that boy is in." Penny replied. "If his illness is left unchecked, his life, as well as those he comes in contact with, will all be in danger." She explained.

"…What?" Jaune nearly whimpered with a shocked expression on his face, he had no idea that Souta's condition was that serious. He looked back over to the group of children silently, all giddy to finally get their hands on this legendary game, did he really just put all of their lives in danger? Once it seemed like Jaune would no longer protest, Penny walked back over to Souta and his friends.

"Souta, we're going back to the hospital." Penny said as she grabbed the boy by his wrist.

"Let go, it's nearly our turn!" He protested, refusing to move from his place in line.

"I'm sorry, but this is for your own good." Penny insisted as she tried to pull him away.

"It's just for a little bit, let me play!" Souta pleaded desperately. Suddenly, he felt a shooting pain in his head, closing his eyes and grasping it as he moaned in pain.

"Hey, Souta, you ok?" Souta's friend asked.

"You really are still sick, aren't you?" Another one stated.

"Souta!" Jaune cried as she rushed over to him. But as soon as he was in reach Souta pulled out of Penny's grip with enough force to not only send Penny, but Jaune to the ground a few feet away. Souta cradled his head in his hands as the mirage of a strange creature momentarily appeared over Souta, but vanishing as soon as it came. Souta couldn't take the pain anymore and let out a scream, the same black blobs from before now covering his entire body and morphing into what can only be described as a giant black golem. The entire room erupted in panic as the sight of the monster as began to stampede away and out of the room, including Souta's friends. However, Jaune and Penny could only stare in horror at the creature as a strange white mask with blood red markings and two round yellow eyes materialized on the creature's "face" and it began to swing its large club like limbs at whatever was around.

"Wh-what is that?" Jaune managed to say.

"…It's breaking out." Was all the response Penny offered, only confusing Jaune even more. The creature seemed to finally notice them and rose up its left arm for a strike.

"Run away!" Penny cried as she dragged Jaune to his feet and out of the room, the creature slamming its arm down where they had just been. Once they were outside and relatively safe, Jaune stopped running and grabbed Penny by the shoulders.

"Wait, wait, what do you mean "breaking out", what the heck is going on!" Jaune demanded. In her state of panic, she threw caution to the wind and decided to explain.

"There's… a new virus threatening humanity." Penny began ominously.

"A new virus…?" Jaune parroted incredulously.

"A computer virus that came into contact with the Creatures of Grimm and mutated from them. It evolves by coming into contact with and infecting humans… we call it the Bugster Virus." She elaborated. "Once infected, the virus multiplies and assimilates the cells in the host's body until… it completely turns into a Bugster." She concluded as she looked back at the convocation center, where the Bugster Union was still rampaging. Jaune's eyes widened in terror at this new information, he looked back at the convocation center and listened to the sounds of the Bugster Union rampaging, he couldn't believe that hidden somewhere in that monstrosity was his little buddy Souta, and what's more, it was all his fault that he ended up like that.

"…So then… Souta is… already…" Jaune said as he took a few weak steps forward before falling to his knees in despair, and then falling over onto his hands as he fought back tears. He screwed up again, no wonder he could never become a Huntsmen, he couldn't even protect his close friend, let alone the world, and now his incompetence cost Souta his life.

"…No, we still have a chance." Penny said.

"R-really, how can we save Souta?" Jaune said as Penny kneeled down and opened up the case she had with her, the blond boy crawling over as well.

"With the Gamer Driver and Rider Gashat, we can operate on Souta and remove the Bugster from him." Penny explained as she removed said items from the foam casing.

"Huh, we can operate with that?" Jaune said quizzically as he looked at the strange devices.

"Yes, if you transform into a Kamen Rider." Penny elaborated.

"Kamen Rider…" Jaune wondered out loud, the title gave of the air of a super hero of some sort.

"We have to hurry and find someone who can use it, I guess it'll have to a Huntsman after all." Penny said, somewhat lamenting that her personal pick for the role was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, the Bugster Union burst through a hole in the convocation center and began thrashing about outside, shocking the two as they stared at it, the panic surely attracting other Grimm. As Jaune watched the creature walk away, his but firmly planted on the ground, he couldn't help but remember the words of his grandfather, as well as his own words to Souta.

'…Remember Jaune, a true Huntsmen never gives up, especially when there are lives a stake…'

'…Us gamers have to stick together after all…'

Suddenly, all of his fear drained away from his body, giving him the strength to stand back up again. He stared at the creature with a determined glare, he didn't know what he could do to help, but he had to try, for Souta.

"I'll do it, I'll do the operation." He stated. Before Penny could reply, Jaune snatched the Gamer Diver and the Rider Gashat from her and quickly ran to the Bugster Union.

"Give it back, it's too dangerous for just anyone to use that game!" Penny cried as she ran after him. Jaune wasn't paying attention to her, but as he slapped the Gamer Driver on his waist and a black belt looped around and tightened, one word she said clicked in his mind.

"Game?" He said quizzically as he looked at the Gashat in his hand. It did indeed have the logo of new released Mighty Action X, but it couldn't actually be…

"Mighty Action X!" The Gashat announced as Jaune hit the black switch on the top right of it. Suddenly, a holographic screen resembling the home screen of the Mighty Action X game appeared behind him and modernized remix of the Mighty Action jingle rang throughout the area. The world around him suddenly began to change, a pulse of energy rippling out and turning the area around him into a blocky, pixelated version of itself, before quickly reformatting into its original appearance, the only difference being that there were now square blocks of what seemed to be chocolate sporadically placed all over the place, some on the ground and some floating in the air.

"The Game Area!" Penny stated as she witnessed the world change. What she didn't notice was a slight breeze blowing passed Jaune's face as a confident, almost excited smile graced his features.

"If it's a game, just leave it to me!" Jaune declared, much to Penny's confusion. "I will change Souta's fate… with my own hands!" he added as he swung the Gashat around in a transformation pose. "Henshin!" He cried before flipping the Gashat so the glass end pointed downwards and switched it to his left hand and inserted it into the first slot in the Gamer Driver.

"Gashatto! Let's game, meccha game, mucha game, whatcha name!" The Driver announced as a virtual ring appeared around Jaune, followed by a multitude of icons that showed various armored characters. Once the icons stopped spinning Jaune chose the one that resembled Mighty, his body glowing with pixelated energy before the character icon phased into him.

"I'm a Kamen Rider!" In a flash of bright light Jaune's transformation was complete and standing in the place of the quirky golden-headed boy was… a rather ridiculous looking mascot like character that vaguely resembled Mighty. The only indication that this was in fact Jaune was the Gamer Driver that was around the character's waist.

"Hmm, whoa, what is this, huh, what, wha…?" Jaune stammered as he tries his best to get a handle of his new bulky Level 1 form. Finally, the Bugster Union seemed to notice the "threat" and winded its big arm to attack.

"Look out!" Penny warned. Jaune looked up and saw the attack coming, immediately leaping out of the way, a little jumping sound effect leaving his feet as he did. The Bugster's arm smashed the ground where Jaune once stood, the suited boy landing right on top of the large fist, only leaping off when it tried to shake him off. The Bugster raised its arm to slam him again, but Jaune once again leaped out of the way, landing on the creature's head in a mocking pose. The creature took the bait and reached for him, only to slam its own head once Jaune leaped out of the way.

With a flip in the air Jaune landed a couple of feet away from it safe and sound. He took a momentary look at his surroundings and quickly deduced that it would be more effective to be on the other side of the Bugster. And so he literally rolled under it, the Bugster desperately trying to step on him the whole way until he made it to his desired location. He unrolled and stood up straight letting out a cocky chuckle as he unconsciously summoned his weapon, it started as an icon on a ring surrounding him, but eventually materialized into a little white and black hammer with a pink A button and a green B button on one said. On the other was a large, black slot and on top it had what seemed to be a spiky pink mohawk.

"Gashacon Breaker!" The weapon introduced itself as Jaune took it in his right hand.

"I'll clear this game without any continues!" Jaune declared as he pointed the Gashacon Breaker at the monster. Once the monster acknowledged the challenge, Jaune, with a determined grunt, raised the weapon in the air, turned on his heel… and began running away into the intricate bridges of connected the various buildings of the convocation center. "Come on, over here, over here, come get me!" He taunted, the monster chasing after him furiously, breaking some of the chocolate blocks that floated overhead.

"Hey wait, where are you going?" Penny called as she tried to follow at a safe distance.

"This is just how you fight in Platformers… you jump around the stage, collecting items… and then strike at just the right moment!" Jaune explained as he leaped from bridge to bridge, platform to platform, jumping on and off chocolate blocks to avoid the Bugster Union's flailing attacks. Penny couldn't help but get a little dizzy watching the little character leap all over the place, was this really the most effective way to battle this Creature of Grimm.

Eventually, Jaune saw that its movements were slowing down and the time to strike was approaching. He leaped on a couple of chocolate blocks to get to the highest one he could get to and broke it apart with the Gashacon Breaker, revealing a yellow glowing medal that depicted a black figure running at top speed. The item phased into Jaune's body, making him glow as well.

"Got an item, Speed Up!" Jaune announced as he unleashed the power of the medal, zooming across a set of floating blocks at blinding speeds, hitting the Bugster as he passed by, too fast for it to respond. Each time the Bugster was hit, a little graphic that said "HIT" in bright yellow font appeared, this truly was a game. As the power up was beginning to fade, Jaune landed one last powerful hit to send the Bugster out into the open, landing just within range to get hit. The Bugster noticed this and took the bait, going to hit him only to have all of his strikes knocked away by Jaune's weapon. Once the Bugster seemed to be getting tired, Jaune leaped up into the air, spun in the air and then slammed down on the creature with the Gashacon Breaker, he did this a couple of times before he saw that its form was beginning to lose shape.

"This is it!" He cried as he landed one last powerful smack of his hammer, the Bugster melting away and then exploding into a series of black pixels. A little victory jingle played in the background as Souta appeared in the aftermath of the explosion, falling to the ground unconscious.

"Souta!" Jaune cried as he rushed up to the boy. He kneeled down and tried to touch him, only for his hand to pass right through him, noticing that his body was transparent and sparking with pixelated energy. "What the… why?"

"The game isn't over yet!" Penny stated as she joined him.

"Huh?" Jaune said quizzically before seeing what she meant. A few feet away, a bunch of little black specks began to come a together, fusing into a multitude of enemies. The majority of them were strange little foot soldiers, with black bodies and white heads with red markings reminiscent of the Creatures of Grimm. The one that seemed to lead them however, was a strange looking creature, it was mostly blue and seemed at least partially mechanical, wearing a black top hat and matching cape. But what really caught their attention about it was that it was wearing a Grimm mask and on its top hat was a strange red symbol that in part resembled a sideways eye.

"Puny Level 1, not even worth biting into." The creature mocked as he stroked the strange snail like appendage on its left arm. Suddenly, the foot soldiers changed appearance as well, now seeming to be dressed as chefs with various utensils as weapons.

"That's the boss Count Salty." Jaune said, recognizing the creature from his many playthroughs of the various Mighty Action games. "So I just have to defeat him and I clear the level, right?" He said nonchalantly.

"Yes, but be careful, leveling up might just be too dangerous." Penny warned.

"Pffft, yeah right, Salty's the first boss you fight in almost every Mighty Action game, this is gonna be a cake walk." Jaune insisted, waving off Penny's warning. "Although, I guess a little more attack power couldn't hurt." He admitted as he reached to the side of his belt and hit a button on a strange green slot.

"Stage Select!" The driver announced a ring of images featuring different areas appeared.

"Nope, that's the Stage Select." He deduced as he let the images disappear without selecting anything. He then reached to the buckle of the driver, noticing the only thing on it was the large pink switch lever. "So I guess it's this then. Don't worry about it, just sit back, relax, and watch the skills of Ultra Player J in action!" Jaune stated.

"...You're… Ultra Player J?" Penny said in disbelief.

"Dai-Henshin!" Jaune cried as he posed heroically, or as heroically as possible with that ridiculous looking body. He then pulled the lever out, revealing the Gamer Driver's screen with an image of his second Rider from on it, the other side of the cover having the words "Gamer Driver" in bright, colorful font.

"Gachan! Level Up!" The Driver announced as the image on the screen blew up into a life-sized hologram that Jaune dashed through. He glowed with pink energy as the image fused into him.

"Mighty Jump! Mighty Kick! Mighty, Mighty Action X!" The Driver sang as Jaune jumped high into the air and threw out a flying kick. Finally, the rest of his body completely fell apart, leaving only his face, and out from behind it popped a body resembling the image on the screen; Jaune now wore a pink body suit with black lines running down either side of his body, with a grey chest plate that resembled a game controller with four multicolored buttons on the right hand side and what seemed to be a life bar over two command buttons on the left hand side. Of course, his helmet still made him resemble the Mighty character, but its more humanoid appearance almost made him look like a fighting game character.

Jaune landed in a kneel, pausing for a moment before standing back up and raising his right fist into the air with his other hand on his waist in Mighty's iconic pose, the words Level Up appearing in bright yellow font. Penny looked in amazement at Jaune's Level 2 form, though the Bugster seemed unfazed, though it would soon be sorry. Jaune let out a cocky chuckle before cracking his knuckles and summoning the Gashacon Breaker once more.

"Let's go!" Jaune said as he took the weapon in his hand and flicked his wrist confidently. He then charged into the small army of Bugsters, bashing any that came into range, each one taking one or two hits to disappear into a burst of black pixels.

Eventually the fight spilled into a nearby parking lot, giving the genius gamer a lot more room to work with. He was surrounded and out numbered, but Jaune effortlessly avoided their attempts to strike him, leaping around the battlefield with acrobatic ease as he hammered down each Bugster one by one, slowly wedeling down their numbers. Eventually, Jaune leaped out of the crowd of creatures, standing at the perfect angle for them to be all lined up before him. Spinning his weapon in his hand confidently, he rushed in, bombarding the Bugsters with powerful strikes, knocking them all over the battlefield before they burst into nothingness. Once he made it to the last one, that didn't seem to be paying attention, he gave it a moment to guard its head with what seemed to be a cooking bowl, before slamming his weapon on to it, killing the creature anyway. Suddenly, a second wave of Bugsters materialized, though it did little to deter Jaune as he tapped the A button on the Gashacon Breaker.

"Ja-kin!" The weapon announced as the mohawk unfolded and extended into a blade.

"Ja-kin!" Jaune couldn't help but repeat as he brandished the Gashacon Breaker in Blade Mode. He then reengaged the Bugster, skillfully slashing at them while blocking and countering any attack thrown at him. He leaped around the battlefield easily dispatching the second wave of Bugsters.

"Oh, spicing things up are we?" The Salty Bugster said from his perch, impressed by his opponent's skills. He then leaped down onto the parking lot, haughtily laughing and gaining the gamer's attention. "Have at you!" He cried as he dramatically threw his cape behind himself and charged toward him. Jaune simply leaped over him, much to Salty's surprise, the Bugster came at him again and without even looking Jaune back flipped out of the way over him again, much to the enemy's irritation. However, this time Jaune landed within range and attempted to slash at the Bugster, but Salty blocked the attack with his snail like appendage and chuckled menacingly as sparks began to travel down Jaune's weapon.

"Gah!" He cried as he was shocked by the sparks making him stumble back a bit. Salty didn't give him any time to recover as he began firing bolts of lightning at his feet, making him dance. "Whoa, whoa, easy there now." Jaune said as he avoided the arcing electricity as best he could, he was surprised, Salty could manipulate electricity in the games too, but only for large, area of effect, desperation attacks, so he was taken off guard with these more practical attacks. However, when Salty was about to fire a bolt straight at him, Jaune quickly swatted the appendage away with his blade and then countered with an upward slash to his torso that sent him rolling to the ground.

With Salty now staggered, he leaped up onto a near by floating chocolate block and then came down on Salty with a powerful downward slash just as he got back to his feet. He followed up with a high horizontal slash, which Salty ducked under, but he immediately swung back around and nicked him with a slash to the face. Jaune then took a moment to tap the B button on the Gashacon Breaker twice before landing an extra powerful slash across Salty's chest, two HIT graphics appearing to signify the extra damage. Before Salty had a chance to recover Jaune tapped the button again and slashed once more, followed by two more normal slashes that ended up with him standing on the other side of Salty. Jaune could see that they were nearing the end and so with a loud battle cry he began jabbing Salty with his blade, each jab keeping him in the air as they traveled across the lot and once Salty had come back down Jaune let out one final slash that sent him flying back across the battlefield.

"Gah… curse you!" Salty cursed as he struggle back to his feet.

"Now, let's end this with a finisher!" Jaune declared, seeing it was time to end it.

"Gashun!" The Driver said as Jaune removed the Rider Gashat from its slot and blew into it like an old fashioned game cartage before sliding it into the slot on the side of his belt.

"Gashatto! Kimewaza!" The slot announced after Jaune hit the button. There was a standby noise as colorful graphic like energy began pulsating from the Gashat and collecting onto Jaune's foot, glowing green like his boots.

"Alright, here we go!" Jaune stated as he began to limber up, getting into a stance as the energy began overflowing from his foot.

"What the… AH!" Salty cried when he finally noticed Jaune's finisher charging.

"Mighty Critical Strike!" The slot announced after Jaune hit the button once again, the eyes on his visor glowing momentarily before he leaped into the air and landed a kick onto the Salty Bugster. However, he stayed in the air and delivered a series of leaping and spinning kicks, the HIT graphic occasionally turning into GREAT as he did more complex looking kicks. Eventually, he let out one last powerful kick, which earned him a PERFECT graphic, and Salty was flung back by its shear force.

"Kaishin no Ippatsu!" The holder cried as Jaune landed with a kneel on the ground and Salty writhed in pain before exploding, not even leaving behind any pixels. Realizing he was victorious, Jaune slapped his knee and stood back up, striking Mighty's pose triumphantly.

"ALRIGHT!" Jaune announced with glee at his victory.

"Game Clear!" The Driver announced as the victory jingle began to play, a ring of faded game titles orbiting him before stopping on Mighty Action X, the icon turning fully visible and the words GAME CLEAR appearing on it.

Souta sat in anticipation, Jaune untransformed by his side, as Penny scanned him again with her strange stethoscope. The screen only showed Souta's face, no graphic to suggest Bugster Infection.

"Yep, everything's fine, you're as fit as a fiddle now!" Penny said with delight, much to the joy and relieve of the two boys.

"See, what did I tell you Souta!" Jaune said with a comforting hand on the young lad's shoulder.

"Yeah, thanks a ton Jaune!" Souta replied with a grin, Jaune offering his own as a response. "I saw you a little from inside that thing, you were totally awesome!" He added.

"Well I should expect nothing less from Ultra Player J." Penny said proud of her chosen Rider.

"Aww shucks you guys, it was no big deal, just doing my…" Jaune paused his obligatory humble speech as he caught what he was about to say. He was doing what, his job?

'...Oh, that's right, I'm… not a Huntsmen…' He thought, remembering that he was just a civilian, who under any other circumstances would've just made the situation worse. His expression fell for a moment, concerning his two companions a bit, but he quickly noticed and continued.

"Just uh… keeping my promise, remember, us gamers have to stick together, no matter what." He said, Souta nodding in agreement.

"Come on now Souta, your mother is probably still at the hospital, let's go let her know you're alright." Penny suggested before helping the boy to his feet along with Jaune.

"Hmm… you're right, he seems to be perfectly healthy now, but just to be safe we'd like to keep him overnight to run some further tests." One of the doctors said.

"Yes, of course doctor, and this time Souta will stay put, right?" Souta's mother said in a pseudo stern tone.

"Yes, mom." Souta complied.

"Yes, Mrs. Suyama." Jaune replied as well.

"Good, but in the mean time, I believe you have some visitors Souta." The doctor said as he opened the door and his trio of friends rushed in.

"Souta!" They all cried in concern.

"Guys!" Souta said in shock at their sudden appearance.

"Idiot, the hell do you think you're doing!" One of the boys said.

"Why did you lie about not being sick anymore!?" The second boy added.

"We were seriously worried about you!" The girl stated, all three glaring angrily at him.

"Um… I'm sorry." Souta replied as he looked down sadly. "I just really wanted to go to the Lunch Party with you guys, I know you're all going to be too busy to play with me soon, so this was our last chance… but, I ended up screwing everything up, I'm sorry…" Souta said, feeling like he was about to cry. His friends expressions softened a bit, realizing what this was all about.

"… Geez, you really are an idiot Souta." The first boy replied, Souta looking up in surprise at the declaration.

"Do you seriously think we'd stop playing with you just because we're going to combat school?" The girl asked rhetorically, with a somewhat disappointed look on her face.

"But…" Souta began to reply.

"Sure we'll be training a lot more now, but we can still get together and play afterwards." The second boy stated.

"And remember Souta, you can always reapply next year." Mrs. Suyama interjected, making the three children beam.

"Yeah, that's right, and we can help you get ready!" The second boy offered.

"We train hard, then we play hard, just like always!" The first said.

"And next year, we'll all definitely go to combat school together!" The girl assured with a bright smile. Souta's eyes sparkled with wonder and gratitude at his friends before he looked down to hold back tears of joy.

"Thanks you guys, I promise I'll work really hard to get in, after all, us gamers have to stick together!" Souta repeated Jaune's words, making the blond smile with pride. However, that slime son turned sullen as he looked at the four hopeful children.

That's right, ever since I was a kid all I ever wanted to be was a Huntsmen… but I was just never good enough, even with the help of my family, and I sure didn't have friends like Souta's I could rely on…

Jaune looked down at the Gamer Driver and Rider Gashat, it was only because of these items that he was able to help, he couldn't help but wonder what they could do in more "capable" hands.

"…Here Penny." Jaune said as he handed the items back to their original owner. "I'm sorry for borrowing them without asking… I know how important they are." He lamented, though his gamer side was reluctant to return such a fun and unique "game".

"Hmm, oh no Ultra Player J, these are yours now." Penny replied, handing the items back to him.

"Wait, what?" Jaune said, surprised by her response.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, and I'll be happy to answer them, just follow me." She insisted as she grabbed Jaune by the wrist and "guided" him out of the room.

"Whoa, hey, hey, grip, that's a strong grip…" He stammered as he struggled against her grip but eventually just submitted to following her, leaving everyone behind very confused and curious.

Penny dragged Jaune into an unused examination room that housed both a holographic screen for staff use and Penny's own personal computer.

"Just a moment please, I think the other me is probably more suited to explain things to you." She stated as she began loading a program on her computer.

"Huh, what do you…?" Jaune began but was cut off by a familiar sounding tune. He looked passed Penny to see that the program she opened was in fact a beta version of the yet unreleased DoReMiFa Beat video game. "That's… a game?" He wondered out loud before Penny stood the side taking a deep breath before all of the emotion drained from her face and her eyes glowed a faint green.

"Establishing Aura Link with virtual program. Preparing for complete system transfer. All systems scan… All Green." She said in a strangely robotic voice that began to freak Jaune out. Suddenly, Penny's face sprang back to light with her usually bubbly smile. "Costume Change!" She cried as she held her hands out at either side, her body glowing a bright yellow and what seemed to be green and pink musical notes emanating from her. Jaune had to shield his eyes from the bright light, allowing one of the notes to hit him and send him tumbling to the floor. She heard her crying in delight as she spun around and inched closer and closer to the screen, and once she was there her body faded into a ball of light and entered the computer, appearing inside now dressed in a strange, frilly, yellow and pink outfit, her orange locks replaced with bubble gum pink hair. Once she was settled into her new form, she struck a cutesy pose.

"Huh… AHHH!?" Jaune cried in shock as he ran up to the screen and stared at the character inside.

"Penny is my 3D, real life identity! In here I'm Poppi Pipopapo, very nice to meet you!" She said the last part in a sing-songy voice as she waved at him from behind the screen cheerfully.

"What the… WHAT!" Jaune was at a loss for words, to think that he was actually talking to a game character, that not five seconds ago was a real living person.

"I knew you'd pull through, I have a really good eye!" Poppi happily praised herself. She then reached beyond the screen and pulled out a new background, ten numbered game titles filling the screen one by one. "Clear all~ of these games and become the super Huntsman that saves humanity!" Poppi declared as she appeared on the other screen in the room. "Kamen Rider… Ex-Aid~!" She cried pumping her fist at the screen.

"…Wha?" Jaune mumbled, beyond flabbergasted, this was truly the strangest day of his entire life.

See you Next game

A/N: Well, there you guys have, I know I kind of have this habit of sticking close to the canon when it comes to battles and to get the plot going, but I'm sure with all of brave kid's ideas we'll stray slightly from canon enough to give you something interesting to read. Anyway, you'll probably not see an update to this until 2017, I kind of want to get a chapter done on one of my other fics first, then I'll come back to this one. Still though, I should update this pretty regularly as long as I stay in contact with brave kid, so if you liked this, don't you worry, more will be on the way soon. Well, I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and if I don't see you before then, have a Happy New Year as well, and don't forget to R&R please.