Kamen Rider Wild New Age: The Hypothetical Second Season
Some time after writing Kamen Rider Wild New Age, I sat down one day and realized I had many many MANY more ideas left for Felicia. Enough so that it could constitute an entire second season, so to speak. However, with how long it takes me to write a complete series front to back (that being two and a half years), as well as already having another long-term project in queue, I decided that this story would never come to pass. That decision did nothing to stop me from fulling fleshing out this proverbial second season. So in order to meet a happy medium with myself, I'm going to share what it would have looked like had I decided to take it on.
This is going to be rather different from the previous entries here thus far. Rather than share an actual story, I'm going to share a broad outline of the events. It will be very similar if not identical to how I outline stories I actually write, so for those long-timers, this will be a rare glimpse at my creative process right before the actual chapters are written. Of course, I'll still try to structure this in such a way that can still act as an entertaining story in and of itself. There will be notes for those who are coming by for the first time, but for the most part, this outline will be assuming you have read Wild and Wild New Age.
The Opening Chapters
The story itself takes place after the events of the New Age "Movie," in which Felicia is still in University in New York. She's continuing to conduct her studies as a geneticist. Dragonov is now in prison for using the DNActuator to change the species of random furs against their will. An action for which Felicia is facing backlash for. While she managed to avoid major punishment from the government (as allowing such a guarded device such as the DNActuator to fall into the wrong hands was…unideal in the eyes of government officials), her credibility and public image was put under scrutiny. It certainly made her goal of using the device to help others on a large scale that much more difficult. She's in her third year now, heading for fourth, and her plans on basing her thesis on the DNActuator are not looking well.
It turns out, this is going to be the least of her problems for the year.
One day, news breaks out of a ravenous beast wreaking havoc through the city. No one has any ideas what it is or where it came from. However assumptions are made that it is a Dopant (for those who don't know already, my first real project was one based on the works of Kamen Rider W. Previously Kamen Rider Zero and now Kamen Rider 00. Kamen Rider Wild takes place in the same world as that fic). Being the only legitimate superhero available in the area, Felicia dons her shiny new suit from New Age and rushes onto the scene. The monster is ferocious monstrosity is covered in scales, looking like some mutated crocodile. It's tearing through the streets, chomping whatever is in its way to bits.
Felicia, being a well-experienced combatant, manages to subdue it using her knowledge of crocodiles and their lack of strength in opening their jaws. Once it's fully incapacitated, Felicia assumes that she must return this person to normal in the same way Dopants are returned to normal; via one high powered attack. She finishes it off with a Rider kick, causing it to explode. The smoke settles, and as expected, the monster shrinks down to form the outlines of a fur. However, no Gaia Memory drops from them. In fact, it seems as though the transformation hasn't fully worn off. The person is still a crocodile, just far less monstrous and more anthro.
Again, for those not familiar, this world consists of furry people. Canine and Feline anthros are all over the place. And, due to the events of Kamen Rider Wild, there've recently been Sergals as well. But up to this point, only those three types of animals have been "anthro'd." All other animals are either still feral or extinct altogether. So seeing a crocodile anthro is not normal for this world in the least bit, and technically shouldn't be possible. However, thanks to the technology of the DNActuator, it has recently become possible for new types of furs to emerge. Felicia safely assumes that this person has been treated by that very technology.
But it doesn't make sense; there are currently only two DNActuators in the world. She possesses one, and the other is being closely guarded by the government. Felicia has never let hers out of her sight ever since the incident with Dragonov. But she doesn't know entirely what Dragonov was doing with the other one for the period of time he had the other. She only knows the times he was in public forcing people to change. She'd assumed that's all he did with it, given how short of a time he had it. But seeing this crocodile anthro here was proof the technology was used. And even then, the DNActuator never created monsters!
It was all so frustratingly confusing. If she wanted answers, she'd have to confront the man himself.
So Felicia heads to prison to talk to Dragonov, who was also treated with the DNActuator. She interrogates the bear, assuming the worst. Out of her frustration and confusion, she accuses him of doing something in prison somehow. But as they continue to talk, it's clear that Dragonov has done nothing wrong. He's been peacefully serving his time, and as such, he had no possible way of being involved with this recent monster incident. However, Dragonov admits he might have something to do with it indirectly.
A long time ago, some time after he had parted ways with Dr. Kagami, Dragonov had tried selling the idea of using species-altering technology to create the perfect species. He'd shared the basic schematics behind Kagami's DNAnalyzer (at least what he could manage to remember) and presented the ideas to various companies and the like. None of them ever took on the idea, leading him to his downward spiral. He'd assumed that was the end of that.
However, in the present, after rampaging through New York as Kamen Rider GAU (whose name I somehow never dropped in New Age), Dragonov believes his idea was proven legitimate to those people. He believes whoever was responsible for this monster was among those people and had far more interest in his idea than he'd initially realized.
The Answer to the Mystery, and The Episodic "Formula"
The pair doesn't realize that this is 100% the case. There is a scientist in New York who is using a crude recreation of the DNActuator to forcefully turn furs into these berserk animals (we'll call them Zerkimals from here on out). For the first arc of the story, he would begin with entirely unwilling victims, but as the story progresses, there would be willing participants as well. Furs with either physical shortcomings, or self-esteem issues, or even both. They'd request specific animals with traits that make up for their shortcomings in hopes of turning their lives for the better. Felicia on the other hand tries to get them to reconsider these changes, hoping to try and get them to work through their issues directly instead of jumping right into such a drastic and extreme change.
In the fights themselves, she will apply things she's learned about animals from the feral era, such as their tactics and weaknesses, in order to strategize the best ways to gain advantage on an opponent. Most often she'll counter-pick a particular species that's best suited for combatting a particular animal. At times she'll sample the species of a fur nearby using her DNActuator in order to use their form. The general progression of the story at this point would be similar to that of a weekly or bi-weekly series. There would be a "patient of the week" so to speak that Felicia tries to help in both a physical and personal level.
All the while, the mystery scientist that we'll call Lycan from now on collects data from afar on both the Zerkimals and the forms they take after being defeated. He begins by experimenting with a large variety of animals coming from all across the evolutionary tree before eventually progressing to combining two different species into one Zerkimal. He'd also interfere with Felicia in fights as well as his own Zerkimal, a hybrid one consisting of a wolf and something else I have yet to determine. One thing to note about Lycan's Zerkimal form; he has full control over himself like Felicia has over her Rider transformation. Most other Zerkimals do not have this level of control, much less hybrid ones. Single-species Zerkimals can eventually have control over themselves, but this becomes much harder when a second, or even a third species is added.
The Berserk Gene
The first occurrence of a second species being added to a Zerkimal leads to the discovery of something known as the "Berserk Gene." This would be the first big concept of the series that has links to real life biology and genetics. But first, I need to set the stage. So Felicia defeats a Zerkimal and is ready to finish it off. However, Lycan intervenes and stops her from doing so, claiming it's time to move on to the next stage of his experiments. He then takes out a device that has a strong resemblance to Felicia's DNActuator. It can be assumed at this point that it is the device responsible for creating Zerkimals in the first place. He approaches the Zerkimal and injects a second species into it, causing the formation of the first hybrid Zerkimal (excluding himself of course).
Lycan leaves as the new hybrid Zerkimal goes on a rampage. Felicia is forced to fight it again, but she finds it's even stronger than its previous form. Through much difficulty, she does eventually manage to defeat it. However, when the Zerkimal returns to a fur, they are still rabid and animalistic in behavior. It's as though they've lost their mind completely. This horrifies Felicia, as up to this point all of the Zerkimal victims had returned to their normal selves after being defeated. The rabid fur is taken in and restrained in quarantine as everyone figures out what to do. Because the rabid fur is currently a hybrid species, she seeks out the family and samples their DNA in hopes of returning them back to their original species. The transformation is successful, however the fur remains rabid and manic.
It's at this point that the Berserk Gene is introduced as a concept. After the victim's DNA is thoroughly analyzed, a peculiar strain is discovered and isolated. This strain is found amongst the chimerical DNA introduced to the victim's body via the Zerkimal transformation. (And just to define chimerical, a genetic chimera is a single organism made up of cells with more than one distinct genotype.) After thorough studies, it is determined that this gene is what is responsible for the victim still remaining in this rabid state. It is named the Berserk Gene, and this victim isn't the only one that has it. In fact, much to Felicia's horror, he is far from the only one who has it.
It turns out that anyone that has undergone any treatment via Dr. Kagami's technology ended up acquiring this gene as well. This means that Felicia, Dragonov, all of the Zerkimal victims, and all sergals currently possess this gene. It seems that this gene in particular is linked to other genes associated with the feral animal genome. This is a concept similar to one found in the real world. Studies have been done about domesticated dogs and their habit of sociability, tail wagging and barking. It was found that the genes associated with domestication were linked to those associated with tail wagging and barking. I believe the term was genetic linkage, but I could be wrong.
In terms of how genetic linkage applies to the Berserk Gene, the gene originated from the feral age, back when canines and felines were all still feral animals, and before anthro animals became a thing. The Berserk Gene is linked to the genes responsible for strong muscles, ones necessary for surviving in the wild. Whenever Lycan applies a second species to a Zerkimal, this gene remains active in the victim even after they are defeated, and even if they are returned to their original species.
A New Attack: The Silencing Splice
Of course, learning all of this devastates Felicia. Not only does she still have a victim still out of their mind, she now has to worry about herself and everyone else previously treated with the DNA altering technology. This is something that can't be reversed either. Upon treatment, the new DNA is integrated into the person themselves, making it outright impossible to remove. This isn't like a disease or virus. This gene is now part of them. And though the effects of this gene have only recently surfaced, seemingly in reaction to Lycan's second species application, there's no telling if this gene has alternative activation conditions that could pop up at any time. And on top of all of that, all of this is putting the life's work of Dr. Kagami into a troubling light. Felicia feels as though she's somehow tarnished his legacy in all of this, and it breaks her heart immensely. She begins to doubt herself and wonders if things would have been better off had she not decided to follow in his footsteps.
It's at this point that Felicia reaches out to the former members of NOA, them being NexUs, Alpha and Omega. She shares with them not only the situation, but also all of the previously laid out fears and concerns she's harboring. It's from them that Felicia receives the care and support she's in such desperate need of right now. She's reminded of all her accomplishments thus far, as well as the fact that she and she alone is responsible for saving the last members of humanity by turning them into the sergal race. She's reminded that she's been able to turn things around before, even when things seemed impossible. This is simply another of those obstacles.
This seems to be enough to get Felicia back in the game. Tirelessly, they fire ideas back and forth on how they can approach this problem. The fact that the Berserk Gene is a gene in the first place makes this so intensely difficult of a problem to fix. They can't just remove it or destroy it. But then they realize that they're looking this the wrong way. The Berserk Gene sequence isn't the problem itself, but rather it's the blueprint that leads to the problem itself. For those that don't remember their biology, DNA is a sequence of nucleotides that act more or less like a code. That code becomes transcripted for mRNA, which is then translated into proteins that enact whatever function that sequence was for. Thus, if a protein is stopped from being translated, that particular gene is essentially silenced.
So the team develops a new attack for Wild known as the Silencing Splice. Believe it or not, this is based on a real life application that is currently in consideration (if not already being applied) for treating cancer. siRNA, or silencing RNA, is an RNA designed to seek out a specific mRNA in order to destroy it, preventing it from being translated and thus preventing its intended protein from being formed. Without that protein, the function of the gene in question is more or less shut down. With this new attack, Felicia is now fully capable of shutting down the Berserk Gene and negating all of its effects, returning rabid furs and even full on Zerkimals to their normal state of mind. Thus enabling her to fully talk things out with them to stop them from rampaging.
The Secondary Rider
Later down the line, some time in the middle of the story, Lycan confronts Felicia directly and manages to steal her DNAniRiser. Shortly after, he breaks into the prison holding Dragonov and abducts him, taking him to a secure area. It is here where it is confirmed that Lycan is indeed one of the scientists that Dragonov shared his schematics with and presented the idea of a perfect species. Lycan tells Dragonov that he believes in his cause and wants to work with him. He saw what happened when he rampaged as Kamen Rider GAU and believes in his conviction to make the world a better place for those struggling with genetic disabilities. He then gives Dragonov Felicia's DNAniRiser and asks him to make it compatible with he device he's been using to turn furs into Zerkimals (which we'll call the AbaRiser from here on out). Dragonov agrees to do so, so Lycan leaves him to his work and heads out to continue his current Zerkimal study.
The current Zerkimal is still rampaging through the city, and Felicia no longer has access to her main Rider form. She has to wait for a second DNAniRiser to be build and sent to her before she has access to it again. However, this doesn't make her helpless. She still possesses the original DNAnalyzer she used back in the day, before the events of the New Age "movie." So she uses that to transform into her original suit and goes out to fight the Zerkimal. However, because of her using her old suit, she doesn't have access to her Silencing Splice, and is thus unable to handle the sheer strength of a hybrid Zerkimal.
Matters are only made worse when Lycan arrives. Him and his most recent Zerkimal rush her with everything they've got, putting Felicia on the backfoot. Even using her strongest form, the sergal form, she cannot hope to best two opponents of such raw strength. When that becomes clear, he gets ready to take his Zerkimal with him for a closer study. Felicia struggles to rise and stop him from getting away until she sees the familiar silhouette of Dragonov. Lycan turns to see and is pleased to see him with both the DNAniRiser and the AbaRiser in paw.
After being asked if he successfully made the two devices compatible, Dragonov answers Lycan by telling him to see for himself. He puts on the DNAniRiser and attaches the AbaRiser to it. Both react and, for the first time, Dragonov transforms into the New Age version of Kamen Rider GAU. The sight leaves Felicia in shock. She was already horrified to see that Dragonov was apparently working with Lycan. Now she's seeing him betray her using the very device she'd used when she thought she turned him in the right direction in life.
Lycan goes on about how pleased he is to see his success. Dragonov joins his side, but before anything else can happen, the bear suddenly turns his claws on Lycan and strikes him instead. It's then that Dragonov tells Lycan that he tried to tempt him with the goals he's long since left behind. The days of him pursuing the perfect species are long gone, but the days for him to make a change for the better have only just begun. He joins Felicia's side and helps her back to her feet. Once he's assured she's alright, the two of them turn their fangs to the enemy and leap into battle together.
And now's the time I get to break down what the design philosophy of this version of GAU would have been. For anyone that's only recently gotten into Kamen Rider and have grown used to 5+ Rider rosters, lemme sit you down and talk to you about the good ol' days. Back when I got into Rider, the designs of the secondary Riders were taking the gimmicks and aspects of the main hero and turning them on their heads. Take Birth for example. While he may use a similar medal system to OOO, he uses a different version of those medals in the form of Cell Medals. Additionally, rather than different medals creating forms that replaced armor parts, Birth's medals created equipment that went over his original armor.
I wanted to apply this same type of idea to GAU. You see, Wild's gimmick is DNA vials. Each vial contains DNA from one particular species of animal, and that vial produces the form of that particular animal. If a vial contains DNA from multiple animals (say, sampling from her own chimerical DNA), the resulting form becomes a fusion of the animals present. In her case, it creates her sergal form. However, GAU would be different in this aspect.
For those not familiar with GAU's previous iteration, he had four main forms. A bear, a bat, a gecko and a jellyfish. Like Felicia with sergal, he also had his own fusion form; a dragon. That form actually had physical aspects of each main form present on him. The bear gave him his large claws, the jellyfish gave him his poncho, the bat his wings, and the gecko his tail. I wanted to expand this idea for his New Age suit. So rather than each vial changing his species like Felicia, he would instead take out the AbaRiser and inject the DNA into different slots on his body parts. The chosen body part would morph into a form reminiscent of the animal of his choice. So if he were to pick a cheetah and choose his leg, his legs would change form and grant him increased speed. If he chose bat and injected his back, he would grow wings. A mantis shrimp would give him powerful punching arms, a kangaroo would give jumping abilities, etc, etc. It's sort of a "mad scientist" type of take on Wild that I feel really fits Dragonov in particular.
So back with he story, as is common place with all new form/Rider debuts, GAU's first fight results in a victory. Lycan is forced to retreat, and Felicia helps Dragonov in subduing and curing the Zerkimal. With the day saved thanks to him, it's decided that his best way to serve time is by helping Felicia in fighting against Lycan and his Zerkimals. He is to remain in prison, but whenever a Zerkimal is rampaging through the city, he is assigned to head out and assist Felicia in any way he can. Dragonov is very satisfied with this decision and will gladly cooperate however and whenever he can. He also shares the identity of Lycan and tells everyone everything he knows about him (what little he does know, anyways).
Wild's Final Form
So it's at this point I need to admit something. Back in Wild's original run, Felicia's final form was her sergal form. As discussed before, it is an amalgamation of all of her previous forms combined into one. It was fitting for the story, but truth be told, it never really felt like a true final form to me. If anything, it was more like a berserk form, similar to the likes of Build's Black Hazard and W's Fang Joker. I was fine with it, but if I'm being honest, treating it as her final form felt more like a tick box being filled than anything. Like I had to have one because it's Kamen Rider I'm writing.
But in light of me realizing I have more ideas for Wild, I realized this was also a chance to take a real attempt at a final form. Sergal always felt more like an upgrade form for me anyways, a mere scaling tool in the face of power creep. So when an idea for a new final form reached my mind, I realized I knew what I could do to make it feel far more definitive.
To start from the top, Kamen Rider Wild's themes are about DNA and wildlife, with the latter having far greater emphasis. It wasn't until her New Age iteration on her suit that the DNA aspect was fit in a little better, represented by the red and blue 'x' found on her chest. Her forms are based on whatever animal DNA she puts into her belt, the DNAniRiser. The question I wanted to answer for this new form was, "What was the natural next step I could take this concept that is both fitting to her, and is unique to her?"
Flash back to 2020. Kamen Rider Saber is the currently running series. Me, having way too high of standards for a Japanese children's show, do not watch the series. Later into its run, I see what Saber's final form is, a simple repaint of his previous forms. I end up rolling my eyes at this, and the lack of creativity I feel from this. (If you can't already tell, I do not care for Saber in the slightest). However, despite my feelings towards it, there is something I can't shake off about it. Even despite it's blatant repaint status, I realize that it's still a unique idea. A final form that isn't necessarily just one form… Interesting. Fast forward. I'm sitting down coming up with ideas for Wild's hypothetical Season 2. I remember Saber's final form.
And it hits me.
In Wild's New Age "movie," I briefly talked about how, in life, there is no "final stage" of evolution. Life is constantly evolving and adapting to new changes in the environment. Evolution is not a ladder, but rather a tree. How does this all come together? Well, Kamen Rider Wild's themes were DNA and wildlife. So what if her final form…was life itself? To put it in different words, Kamen Rider Wild's final form never was and should never be one animal. There will never be one single animal that is capable of accomplishing anything and everything. Even humans, for what they have managed to accomplish, have their own shortcomings. Most do not have the raw strength that most other wild animals do. And in the same way, most wild animals don't share the same level of intelligence most humans do (granted it's a different case in Wild's world). As Felicia had told Dragonov, there is no perfect species to strive for. So then what could Wild's final form be?
All of the animals.
Wild's final form would have the ability to become any of her previously taken forms instantly. For those who have watched Ben 10, think of it like Master Control. In this form, Felicia would not have to take the time to remove a vial, replace the vial, pull the activation trigger and wait for the form to materialize. Instead, her form changes would be almost instant. Like life itself, Wild would have the ability to adapt to any and every situation that presents itself to her.
Just for my own technical clarification, she couldn't just change species willy nilly. She would actually have to travel up and down the branches of life's evolutionary tree. (It's for this reason the device used to achieve this form is in the shape of a small tree). For anyone familiar with phylogenetic trees, it's very easy to guess what I'm trying to get at here. For those unfamiliar though, I'm afraid you'll just have to settle with my shorthand.
In evolution, animals branch off from a common ancestor. Think of that common ancestor as a point on a paper. And from that point come two lines heading in different directions from one another. In this example, let's say one branch is a cat, and the other is a dog. If Felicia were to want to turn from a cat to a dog, she would have to go down to that point on the paper (the common ancestor) before she can go up to the other line for the dog. Expand that by every new form that Felicia gains over the course of this second season and you have a basic understanding of this final form.
But what would this form's starting point be? Well, naturally, the common ancestor of all living things that now roam the Earth, the Eukaryote. As another biology refresher, a eukaryote is a single celled organism with a nucleus. The theory of evolution believes that this organism is the genesis of life as we know it, as from it formed organisms made up of multiple eukaryotes, which would further diversify into countless different lifeforms. As such, Felicia's final form will start as this animal. In terms of what it would look like, (because I imagine trying to picture what a Kamen Rider based on a cell is rather difficult), its armor would look similar to that of Kamen Rider Ghost's Mugen Damashii. The armor would be clear white with sparkling shards scattered throughout. This is to represent the various organelles found in the cell. The most important one, the nucleus, would be represented by a big gem at the center of the chest. As for why I referenced Kamen Rider Saber's final form, each animal form she takes will have their usual black armor repainted to match the Eukaryote's armor. Both Wild's and Saber's final forms have access to all previously established forms the Rider has used before (as far as I'm aware. Like I said, I didn't actually watch Saber).
Regardless of where the inspiration for this form came from, I'm very happy with this iteration. Some of Kamen Rider's best forms I feel are ones that take the themes and motifs of that Rider and expand upon it. And not to pat myself on the back or anything, but I'm very proud to say that this final form of Wild's does follow this criteria. It takes the general theme of animals and the motif of DNA and unites them in a way very specific and unique to Wild herself. I can safely so no other design I've ever made comes close to such a feat.
Lycan's Endgame, and The Final Arc of Wild Season 2
So then, with the general plot of the story established, our secondary Rider added to the roster, and Wild's true final form fully fleshed out, all that leaves now is to put everything to use and bring the story itself to a close. In the last arc of the series, we finally learn the reason why Lycan has been conducting all of these Zerkimal experiments. As it turns out, Lycan does not have intentions of trying to create the perfect species, or anything of that sort. In fact, he has no grand plans of changing the world, or changing anything about life as everyone knows it.
If anything, he's been trying to do the opposite.
This arc begins with Lycan confronting Felicia directly, claiming this to be the "final experiment." He comes at her with everything he's got, even going so far as to change his own Zerkimal species frequently. However, thanks to Felicia's ability to change forms quicker than he can keep up with, she gains the upper hand and eventually defeats him. And it's upon this defeat that Lycan declares the experiment a rousing success. The confusion this brings to Felicia makes her feel the need to attend his interrogation after his arrest.
It's at this point that his true identity is revealed, and it matches up with Dragonov's recollection of him. Like him and Dr. Kagami, he is a well renowned scientist. Eventually, the interrogation reaches a point where Felicia enters the room. She wants to know why he's done all of this, and what he meant by his experiment being a rousing success. It's here that we finally learn the truth behind everything. As it turns out, the experiments he's been conducting with the Zerkimals have all been very deliberately chosen. The specific species, the layering of multiple species, every single problem he's put in front of Felicia was put there for her to solve.
Because he couldn't solve them himself.
Every single experiment he's conducted is identical to an experiment he's conducted on a single individual; his dying mother. Years ago, before Lycan even acquired the schematics from Dragonov, he was trying to prolong the lifespan of his mother, who was on her death bed. He loved her so dearly that he couldn't just let her go, not while he still had the power to keep her alive. So he tried everything he could possibly think of, and while his methods seemed to work to a degree, they were doing little to actually keep her from dying. Her condition was growing worse, and he was growing desperate.
So after acquiring the incomplete schematics of the DNAnalyzer and filling in the gaps himself, he created the first AbaRiser. With it, he conducted his first big experiment and injected the DNA of a species with a prolonged lifespan. Somehow, it worked, but she was still weak and bedridden. This was no life he felt satisfied with leaving her with, so he continued to add more. This kept going, and with every problem solved, a new one would arise. As the years went by, things just got worse and worse, and his mother was quickly becoming an unrecognizable mess. He knew this needed to end, he knew that it was getting out of hand. But he was far too deep into it at this point. And given his absolutely heinous acts in this experiment, there would surely be no one out there willing to help him fix this. No, he had to just keep going, trying all sorts of different things. As long as he kept at it, he'd surely find the answer he was looking for.
He didn't.
But he wasn't ready to accept that. His mother was still alive thanks to him, and he was sure he was going to find that answer eventually. That's what he believed, anyways, and that belief was slipping. The years continued to tick on, and his mother was still none the better. She'd become this disgusting amalgamation that barely resembled a person at this point. She'd become a rabid monstrosity that he could barely contain, let alone control. He was beginning to lose hope at this point.
But then, the event with the humans happened. A bonafide miracle! A single girl using Dr. Kagami's technology managed to save the entirety of the human race by changing their species altogether. A spark of hope returned to Lycan. While maybe he himself couldn't fix his mother, maybe this miracle worker could! But he couldn't ask for her help, not considering everything he's done. He had to plan this out, to make sure whatever it was he did, he did it right. So he spent the next few years retracing his steps, figuring out every minute detail of what he'd done to his mother.
Then, when Dragonov rampaged as GAU, and the technology of changing furs into completely different species was proven legitimate, Lycan finally made his move. He sent out his Zerkimal experiments one at a time, testing Felicia to see how she solves each problem he places in front of her. He'd layer one problem atop another, switch the order they're laid, anything and everything he could manage. And every single time, Felicia managed to solve all of them. Turning his victims back into their regular species, subduing their Berserk Gene to return them to their proper state of mind, and overcoming their overwhelming strength altogether. There wasn't a single issue left unsolved thanks to the hard work of her and her allies. All that was left now was to solve the final test; to return his mother to normal.
Of course, this is all a lot to take in for Felicia. She's not even sure if she can trust him. But given his position, Lycan has very little incentive to lie. None of this would get him out of prison if it were true. If anything, it would ensure his stay was elongated. But if what he said really was true, and he was as sick as his actions portrayed, that meant there was someone in Lycan's captivity trapped, horribly disfigured, and (if the Zerkimals were anything to go off of), highly dangerous. With all of these sickening implications in light, Felicia still concludes that there is someone out there that needs her help. So despite every instinct in her body telling her not to, she decides that she's going to try and save her. Lycan adds that it's in everyone's best interest anyways, as without him around, there is very little to stop his mother from breaking free and causing havoc.
The Final Boss, Amalgam
In this final confrontation, Felicia and Dragonov find themselves in a seemingly long-abandoned facility. It's in a remote location far from most other civilization. The place is rundown, seemingly falling apart at the seams. At least, that's how it appears from the outside. They enter the building and go deeper and deeper in levels. The deeper they go, the more cleaned up and reinforced they find the place. It's at the final floor that they find the greatest level of security. Steel door after steel door, it's very clear that this place is meant to contain something dangerous. They're about to find out just how dangerous that subject is.
Lycan's mother, the Amalgam, is the very antithesis of Wild's final form. Where as Wild is one form that can become many, Amalgam is many forms merged into one. It's a grotesque mass of flesh and deformities, as if every animal on Earth was blended into pieces and melted into one. Mismatched limbs jut out from it in dizzying numbers. It's absolutely massive, and it's still attached to the bed Lycan's mother originally laid upon as she was treated by him. And worst of all, it's not alone.
One thing I left out through the course of this summary; on rare occasions in which Lycan is present for a Zerkimal fight, he would send out these mindless fleshy minions to combat Felicia and whoever's aiding her. These would be the generic foot soldiers found in a lot of various Rider series. To summon them, Lycan would throw these small fleshy masses that would rapidly grow into these creatures. These fleshy masses originated from the Amalgam's flesh.
And upon sensing foreign bodies, the Amalgam reacts by sending hordes of these fleshlings, (we'll call them Amalgamites) after them. Having faced them many times before, the two Riders easily best them. But they just keep coming. It's as though Amalgam has an endless supply of them, producing them in masse at a frightening rate. And they keep getting stronger, eventually taking on the forms of Zerkimals the have previously fought. But they are much more twisted in form, sometimes looking like horrifying fusions of one or two of them.
Dragonov struggles to keep up with so much variation, but thanks to her final form, Felicia is able to quickly adapt to everything Amalgam throws at her. She claws her way closer and closer to it, and with Dragonov recognizing her advantage, he switches strategies and acts as interception for her. Thanks to this, she manages to get closer to Amalgam, weaving her way through its lashing tentacles and razor sharp appendages.
When she finally closes in, she takes out her DNActuator and uses it to try and change Amalgam into one single species. She manages to successfully inject the species DNA in, but rather than it changing into that animal, Amalgam writhes and screeches, striking Felicia away as it morphs into a more humanoid shape. Now no longer bound to the operating table, Amalgam barges past the two of them and escapes into the outside world.
And now that it's finally free, it sets out to do what nearly all living creatures on Earth build their entire lives around accomplishing; to ensure the continuation of its genotype by spreading it across the world. It unleashes an immeasurable mass of Amalgamites that spread like wildfire and move with new purpose, setting out to inject their DNA into every living being they come across. Any living non-plant organism unfortunate enough to fall victim to them is mutated into an Amalgamite, which then also becomes compelled to do the same to other non-Amalgamites. It's akin to a full on zombie outbreak, and it puts the entire nation in a state of emergency. All of the big powers across the globe are forced to act. The members of NOA are sent out to aid, and even Kamen Rider 00, Felicia's predecessor, comes over to aid in the fight. Even Lycan, the very man responsible for all of this in the first place, is sent out to fight in his Zerkimal form. The situation has just become that dire.
But the situation isn't hopeless, not while Felicia is still fighting. Through great effort, teamwork, and a little dash of luck, she manages to reach Amalgam and engage in a one-on-one fight. The battlefield of their final confrontation is isolated from all other life. No one else is able to access it, and thus there is no one that will be able to act as back up. And if things go awry, no one will be able to rescue her…
In this form, Amalgam has access to any and every ability Mother Nature has had to offer. Felicia must use everything she's learned up until this point to adapt to and overcome Amalgam's attacks. And through grit and determination, she manages to close the gap between them and delivers onto it a Silencing Splice. Amalgam recoils from the Berserk Gene's sudden shutdown and knocks Felicia aside. Felicia remains on guard as she waits for Amalgam to calm down, but it only continues to writhe and lash out like a wild beast. That is, until it begins to speak.
It wails out in absolute agony, gripping its head and clawing at its deformed body. Amalgam is suffering, and it's outright begging Felicia to be put out of its misery. Felicia is taken aback by this, and her hesitance leads to her ending up on the receiving end of a harsh blow. Amalgam can barely control itself and its base desire to survive, but Lycan's mother is seemingly still in there fighting to regain control. Felica goes on the defensive as she tries to figure out her next step. She's already tried everything she knows, and Amalgam is still not much better than before. Felicia has always insisted on making the impossible possible, and she still feels as though she can save her. But as she hears the pained wails of pain and agony coming from Amalgam, a morbid realization hits her.
She's been suffering like this for so very long…
Considering how long ago Dragonov shared Dr. Kagami's schematics, Lycan's mother must have been suffering for around a decade. It's likely that it's only now that she's been able to voice her suffering. And what Felicia is hearing from her is breaking her heart, almost overwhelmingly so. She's been suffering for so long, and Felicia just doesn't know how she can end it. It's at this point that Felicia remembers a lesson that 00 taught her before their fight to stop NOA's Ark; one of the hardest parts about being a hero is knowing not everyone can be saved.
Right now, the fate of the very world is at stake. Lives are being put in danger every passing second. Even if there is a solution for Felicia to find, there's no telling just how long it would take to find it. And all that time spent would put Amalgam through that much more suffering. She's been stuck in this miserable existence for years now, and the thought of putting her through move of that sickens Felicia. It's absolutely breaking her heart, and the voice in her head constantly begs her to reconsider what she plans to do. But deep down, she knows what she plans to do is what she must do. For the sake of all lives on Earth, and for the sake of Lycan's mother, Amalgam must be destroyed.
Mustering every last ounce of willpower she has left in her, Felicia hurls herself as high into the sky as she possibly can before turning into her tiger form and careening down onto Amalgam with a final passionate Rider kick. The attack rocks through Amalgam's body, obliterating it from the inside out. And after Felicia lands back on the ground, Amalgam falls to the ground…laying still and silent.
Back in the rest of New York, Amalgamites suddenly stop before either melting off the bodies of their hosts or disintegrating altogether. It's at this point that everyone realizes that Felicia managed to do it. Everyone races to where Felicia was, with Lycan taking the lead. In her arms she holds Amalgam, or rather, what traces remain of Amalgam. While large patches of it remain, for the most part the body of Lycan's mother has returned to at least a resemblance of its former self.
Lycan freezes upon realizing how still she was. He looks to Felicia, whose eyes remain averted from his gaze. It's at this point, he realizes what happened. Felicia gently lays his mother on the ground, and she tells him to say go to his mother's side. It's time for him to say goodbye.
Lycan rushes over to his mother, who is barely breathing at this point. For the first time in a long time, she opens her eyes to look upon her son. She thanks him for all the work he did to try and keep her alive for all those years. However, her time came long ago. She was never meant to last in this world for as long as she did, and she is overdue to leave. Now, it's time for her to finally rest. She wants Lycan not to focus on living for as long as possible, but instead to spend that time happy and around the people he loves. With that said and done, Lycan's mother passes away peacefully in his arms. In a state of denial, Lycan tries to think of how to bring her back. His work isn't over yet, he can still do more. But Felicia stops him, telling him it really is over.
Lycan refuses to accept this. He blames Felicia for not being able to save his mother. He's ready to lash out, to tear her apart for failing him and for giving up on his mother. But before he can do anything, he's subdued by authorities and is taken away. All the while, he's screaming bloody murder and vowing vengeance on Felicia. The tigress can only watch on, the pain of sorrow clutching at her broken heart as she is guided away by her allies. The body of Lycan's mother is left to be taken away. Thus, no one notices just how peaceful she finally is.
The Final Sendoff
With the Amalgam crisis averted and Lycan detained, the world now sets its eyes on Felicia. Controversy now riddles Felicia's biotreatment via DNA. The life's work of both her and Dr. Kagami is under threat of being shut down for good. She must now issue a statement to the press via a world-wide conference. Naturally, she's incredibly nervous over this. All it would take is a single slip up for her career to be over, and Dr. Kagami's legacy would go down the drain. But as terrified as she is of this, she has faith in the message she has to send. Everything she's been doing for the past few months, all of the fighting she's endured up until now, it's all led up to this moment. It's time for the world to learn what all of this fighting was for. So she goes up to address the world.
The first thing she's asked is what she has to say on the recent string of disasters her technology has brought upon the world. Felicia tells them that these were horrible atrocities she hopes will never happen again and— Before she can continue, someone else asks can she guarantee she'll be able to prevent such things from happening again. Someone else then asks how she will fix the damage these events have caused to the people they affected. More and more questions keep piling on as more and more people pipe up. What finally cuts through the chaos is Felicia's voice, and more importantly, the words she chose to silence the crowd.
She doesn't know.
She doesn't have the answers they're looking for. The way this world is now, and the way this technology has begun to change the world is completely unprecedented. She's facing questions that's never been answered before, and that thought terrifies her to her very core. She quite frankly isn't prepared for what kind of changes this kind of technology may bring. The room is thrown back into chaos. People are infuriated by this answer. They are reprimanding her and demanding she put an end to her destructive project. But once again, it's Felicia's voice that cuts through the overwhelming chaos.
She tells them that it's this very terror that motivates her to continue working with this technology. She tells them that, sooner or later, this kind of technology was going to come into existence. That sooner or later just happened to be now. And she doesn't want to run from it. She wants to face these untouched waters head on. This technology is nothing more than science. It's neither malicious nor benevolent. It is a tool to be harnessed. And she wants to harness this technology for people who face this unyielding feeling of terror and uncertainty every day of their lives.
While there are people that face conditions and diseases of which all the answers are known for, there are still others out there that face those with no known cures whatsoever. To them, science and technology have already explored everything they could within their reach, returning with nothing to show for it. These people fight endlessly for their lives every day, never knowing if they will get to see the sun rise tomorrow. It's these people that Felicia will harness this technology for.
Not to create some perfect species, not to create some sort of super soldier, and not to pursue immortality. She is here to open new doors that were previously never even known to be closed. She wants to create more pathways to that new tomorrow. That way no one must face that terrifying question every day of their lives. Even if that answer is no, she wants to improve the lives of those who may not get that chance otherwise. She wants to grant people a sense of peace, so that horrible atrocities such as those that have recently transpired may never come to pass again. She wants to help build fulfilling lives so that those whose lives she can't save may at least enjoy every minute of life they have been given on this Earth.
Epilogue
And true to her word, that's exactly what she pursues. Felicia eventually graduates from her college and takes Dr. Kagami's legacy as her own. She acts as its guiding hand, implementing the technology in ways that remain as noninvasive as possible. She limits the spread of the technology as much as she can, keeping it far out of the hands of malicious intent. She isn't able to save everyone she tries to treat, but she does manage to bring them the peace of mind they'd been searching for. She manages to bring hope to people who thought such hope was just out of reach. The doors she opens pave the way for brand new kinds of treatment, and all of her hard work eventually lands her a Nobel Prize.
Marking her forever more as a true scientist
And with that, I can truly say that I can close the curtain on Kamen Rider Wild. This is as far as I can take her story, and honestly, I couldn't be happier. There is no more story to tell with her, and that thought brings me a sense of peace. It really brings that sense of finality that I feel a series like Wild's needed. During her original run, I was never really quite sure what kind of character Felicia was. But now, having gone through this "second season" of sorts, I really feel as though she's come into her own. She really embodies my admiration for life, and the desire to enrich and preserve it. She wants to fight for the happiness of others, to protect it when threatened, and to bring it to those who may be missing it. She is a goddamn bonafede hero, and I hold a strange sense of pride for her.
Admittedly, having written all of this out, there are parts I feel could be made stronger. Some inconsistencies to fix and the like. And while I could do that, I'm actually quite satisfied with how this all plays out. As I've said before, I have no plans of writing this into an actual story, and I'm going to stick to that statement. But as I said before, I still wanted this story out there in the world. And being able to actually write this out into a form that's more extensive than bullet point notes actually makes me very happy. It reminded me of why I like writing, why I like storytelling. It was really fun, and I'm glad now other people get to enjoy this too.
So a sincere and heartfelt thank you to anyone that decided to give this little rundown a front-to-back readthrough. I know this probably wasn't as satisfying as reading an actual story, but I hope it at least brought you some sort of entertainment. That's honestly all I could ever want my stuff to do. I'm very happy with being able to be more open about my writing with this Leisure Writing collection of sorts. I'm not sure how much more I have to add to it at the moment. I do have a few more story concepts to throw around in my head, but I don't have many plans to do to them the same thing I did with this. I'll just cross that bridge when I get there. In the meantime, I hope whoever's reading this has a fantastic day!