Song: Corpse Party Book of Shadows ~ Deciding Fate D (Extended)
Short Lines 1
Location: World of Kamen Rider - Hikari Studios
"...?!"
Kohtaro Minami was worried and horrified by the concurrent events that had transpired. First, he had been given a rundown from Natsumi Hikari about what was truly happening.
"My husband explained this about Jouji-kun," She said.
And that explanation shook him to his core. Kohtaro could not help but be heavily reminded of his own unfortunate circumstances. A forced destiny that continuously plagued him to this very day. To be a ruler of the universe itself. That was the ideal of a Century King. Not only that, but also a god-like being of great power. His powers of the Kingstone, while powered by the very sun itself, were not only limited by the sun.
The Century King Black Sun was created to symbolize the source of light itself, along with Century King Shadow Moon, both of whom reflect aspects of that very light. Black = the eclipse; Shadow Moon = the twilight.
Now... there was a new flavor, but the same general principle. Jouji Minami, and Souta Mizushino, have been chosen, to be Century Kings. Why? Many reasons. Many that are unknown at this time. But what is well known is that two Century Kings, as Kamen Rider Zi-O, are needed. Twofold individuals as one single Kamen Rider, representing two of the Century Kings. Though, with the added caveat of them being allies from the start, at least from the perspective of a resistance (Valkyrie Tech-Com) from an apocalyptic timeline, of not just one future, but all futures.
A time war has begun, and his son and his son's best friend - close as brothers, would be key players in this temporal maze.
"...Umm, excuse me."
Kohtaro and the others noticed the young woman, who had formerly introduced herself as Hagumi Kurai - Cure Tomorrow, much to his and his wife's shock, their attention fully grabbed, would listen to the account that followed, supplementing her account with Natsumi's account.
"My husband's enlisted you too?" Natsumi asks with an interested frown.
"Hmm," Hagumi nodded grimly. She didn't like where this was going, with her father being destined either way as Zi-O. "He never told me much, only of the important detail about my father... my father's past self, being chosen as this great destroyer and tyrant, a man who had eradicated countless gods and brought mortals and superpowers to their very knees. He showed me that future, and what... what awaited him."
"And, what about you?" Kohtaro would ask the Asian Snow White, Tsukuyomi, who expressed concern and bewilderment. "What's your story?"
"I..."
Tsukuyomi would explain her side of the story. Of how she, and another resistance fighter named Heinz Myoukouin, would travel back in time to the year 2024, before all of the madness had started, in order to prevent the rise of the Demon King - Ohma Zi-O. Though there's a major difference in their motivations. While Tsukuyomi wanted to prevent Ohma Zi-O's existence, she wanted to do so with more peaceful methods.
She would not be a party to something that would condemn a person of committing a crime that George Kurai, or in this case Jouji Minami, had yet to fully commit. But Heinz was not so understanding. He wanted the more direct approach. He didn't care if it was right or wrong to kill a person who by all rights is still innocent of what he's about to do. He couldn't care about the nuances. All he cared about was that there was a chance that he could take, to prevent their comrade's deaths at the hands of the tyrant, and prevent their future altogether.
...But.
"It's unfortunately impossible," Natsumi corrected, crossing her arms. "From what my husband told me, preventing Ohma Zi-O's entire timeline and existence is not something achievable by simply killing Minami Jouji in the past. It doesn't matter what you try to do in the past, since Ohma Zi-O's timeline is akin to an artificial timeline of its own, and it has the nasty tendency to correct itself in several ways. You may potentially end up in the right timeline, but that timeline may not lead to the desired future that you and Heinz would want. The timeline would just diverged into another, one where, say you did kill him, it would not matter, for Ohma Zi-O exists in every timeline. Even if you kill his past, you cannot kill his future, and that future's fixed, with all roads leading to the Great Destruction and the Rise of Ohma Zi-O."
"...Then, is there really nothing we can do?" Tsukuyomi asks with tone of desperation.
"I would agree," Reiko Minami, Kohtaro's wife, who had been silent for a long while, would speak up. Kohtaro could tell from her face that the latter did not like this as much as he did. But despite what she heard, she shares Kohtaro's sentiments. She refused to allow her son to have his fate be dictated by anyone. "I'm sorry, Natsumi-san, but I cannot fully accept this. I cannot fully accept my son to become something like my husband, forced to fight and potentially lose his own humanity."
"Honestly," Natsumi sighed. "That's what I said to my husband, so I'm actually on your side, Reiko-san, but..."
"He may not have an actual choice to begin with," Kohtaro surmised, crossing his arms. His tone became sadder and resigned. "So with everything against him and Souta-kun, they would have to choose whether or not to take that responsibility. If they do so, then they would get involved in this time war, and if they don't, they are doomed either way. Only two choices... just like me..."
"Kohtaro!" Reiko would speak with her husband, right beside her. "Surely you can't accept this either?!"
"I don't, Reiko, believe me!" Kohtaro reinstated. "I know fully well what being a Century King is. Even after Gorgom's full destruction, there's a part of me that could not escape who I have become. I may have been forced to become a Century King long ago, but I chose a much different path. I know the cross that I have to carry, one that I would not wish on anyone, especially on our son. But..."
Kohtaro looks at his wife with a grim face. "I also know that Jouji is going to have to make a choice. He has the right to choose... and whatever our son chooses, I know that I will support him to the best of my ability."
"Kohtaro..." Reiko muttered, before nodding resolutely.
"Hagumi-chan," Kohtaro turns to his son's future daughter, giving her a smile, which made the young woman attentive and hesitant.
"Yes?"
"...It's alright," Kohtaro reassures. "Your father, my son, won't become Ohma Zi-O. Not on my watch." He looks at Tsukuyomi with a grim tone. "And there would be no killing here. Nobody will die, not especially my son."
"I agree," Tsukuyomi nodded. "But Heinz may oppose that decision."
"Let him try, for I will fight to defend my son's life if I have to," Kohtaro explained.
(*1) And then, all of a sudden, a backdrop would form from a large marble wall and project a scene that showed his son, along with the missing Hana and other Cures. Hagumi pointed them out as the other members of the HUGtto! PreCure. They would bear witness to the events shown. Of a future leader of the resistance, one that Tsukuyomi recognizes well, explaining the true purpose of why Jouji, and Souta, are needed to become Ohma Zi-O, of the main threat of what is called the Time Jackers, one of whom had shown up, plucking somebody from who knows where, and turns them into something monstrous.
"An Another Rider," Natsumi explained, recognizing the foe shown on the backdrop. "They are monstrous Kamen Riders whose powers are derived from their originals, connected intimately with their timelines and histories, and this also includes their origins, and anyone and anything associated with them."
They would see the battle arising, of the HUGtto! Cures transforming and fighting against this Another Build. A sense of anxiety would be expressed by both Kohtaro and Reiko. They worry about their son, even more so, they worry of the ultimate decision that he has now made.
He desired to walk the paths of a Century King, even if it meant that road would not be a kind one.
He had made his choice.
And his resolve was set.
He transforms.
He - and his Kingstone - felt the connection, the divine power flowing within Jouji, transforming and augmenting him into something else. Subtle, yet effective.
"...Tou-san wouldn't let fate dictate his future. ...And I cannot let it dictate mine either, and... I refused to be a monster, no matter what anyone says!"
Then he hears his son call out a few other names. Nodoka. Mashiro. Ayumi. And lastly, Hana.
"Hagumi-chan..." He asked with urgency. "Are these names mentioned by my son besides your mother also PreCure?"
"Hmm," Hagumi, who was near to his position, spoke with similar sentiments. "They are Cure Grace, Cure Prism, and Cure Echo. Out of the three, I'm more familiar with Echo, as in my timeline, the former two don't exist."
And, they all bore witness to the transformation. His son copied his body movements, a reminder of where he came from, an expression of his resolve. Despite everything, he still chooses, but he would choose on his own terms.
"Hen...shin!"
RIDER TIME! KAMEN RIDER BLACK! ZI-O!
And now, the time had come. His son had become just like him. Looking at his new armor, it resembled his form, an amalgamation of his first (Black) and second (Black RX) forms, with a newly modernized outlook and form.
"...IWAE!"
And as if on cue, a young man with a grey robe, a resistance fighter, spoke with such solemnity, that one would think that it was now the coronation of a brand new candidate to take the throne. But that was so. His voice was simple yet booming with conviction.
"He is the heir to the power of all Riders! The Century King who brings hope and salvation as he travels beyond time and space to connect past and future, the eternal protector of all magical girls, and the beloved champion of Mother Earth... His name is Kamen Rider Black Zi-O! To all peoples, you have now borne witness to the dawn of his advent!"
"...Protector of all magical girls? Champion of Mother Earth," Kohtaro could not help but ponder those very words.
He could not help but especially pay close attention to the latter. For he understood the intimate connections that lay in the origins of the Kamen Riders, starting from the first officially recognized Rider, Kamen Rider Ichigo. A Kamen Rider, sometimes, was described as a warrior sent by nature itself. There was some inkling of truth to this, for speculations as well as encounters with some Riders, indicated that they have the blessings of divine assistance, acting as indirect answers and champions for the Mother Earth who is worshipped by various cultures.
"...Gaea," Kohtaro muttered softly, with respect. He looks at his wife, who questions him with a look. "Champion of Mother Earth... that is one of the titles known to a Kamen Rider. For that to be emphasized... and with Souta-kun to become a Century King as well..."
He looks at Natsumi, nodding. "Hmm, other powers would want his ascension, good as well as bad. Gaea is probably on the former."
"But what does this mean?" Kohtaro looks back at the backdrop.
He would see his son's first fight as a Kamen Rider. If it weren't for the dire circumstances, he could not help but be proud. But that did not lose the anxiety that he feels for his son. He at least found comfort that his son was not fighting alone, because Hana and the others were with him. What also concerned him were the random appearances of the Worms, alien lifeforms who had tried to conquer Earth a few times, opposed by one of his fellow Riders, Kamen Rider Kabuto.
"Yay! Go, Jouji-nii-chan! Kick their butts!"
"Raft! Raft!"
Kohtaro would glance at Natsumi's daughter, Akiko, who was pumping her fists, all excited, expressing an innocence that made him remember the pangs of his own heart, for he as well as Jouji could never return to that kind of innocence. Along with Akiko was the loyal family dog Stewart, who shows his own support for his young master.
After watching the fight, which ended in Another Build's defeat, the backdrop would change once again, this time with a static image.
"...Is this?!" Kohtaro muttered.
There was the image of a large Chinese dragon with red scales that was hovering in the clear skies, tinged with an orange sunrise. The words '無差別格闘流' (*2) were seen on both sides of the backdrop. In the center were two prominent characters. One wore a Chinese-style sleeveless shirt in red colors, and the other had a white hadagi undershirt and beads. One had his fists raised while the other had a large sword, as if these two would intend to fight. Both women in the background were seen facepalming, and other people had sweat-dropped facial expressions.
"...Ah, hold on, I know those two!" Akiko pointed at the anime-esque images in the center. "That's Saotome Ranma and Inuyasha! (*3)"
"Huh?" The others look questioningly at Akiko.
"The World of Ryuki, huh..."
An old man with grey hair and glasses would speak with a solemn tone, placing a hand on the young girl's hair. Kohtaro would recognize him as Eijirou Hikari, the still long-lived grandfather of Natsumi and great-grandfather of Akiko.
"Ojii-chan," Natsumi spoke with a concerned tone.
"...Hmm, I see," Eijirou spoke softly, looking at Kohtaro with an empathetic expression. "It seems that we now know what world we must go to, for us to reunite together... as one."
Kohtaro was only silent as he stared back at the backdrop.
Jouji... what does this mean for you, for Souta-kun, and for this world...? He thought.
(*1) Short Lines 2
Location: World of Den-O - Beyond the World Region/R Worldline
"...So, are we on the same page?"
A familiar, grim voice echoed from the phone that Rintaro was holding. At some point after escaping the random Worm attacks with the help of Grey Woz. His future self - codename: Rising Phoenix, decided to give him important data and information, and send in mail to his phone. It was information that is vital to the future, and several futures.
"...Ah," Rintaro's tone was grim and decisive. "We're on the same page."
But he wasn't happy about this turn of events. Not only is the current dilemma connected with the very Organization that had grinded him through hell and back, but the threats were not just them this time. All of the current events of now and of the future are centered around two key individual players, Jouji and Souta, and a few other key individual players.
In the midst of this chaos, there are a few factions that seek to take advantage of this senseless conflict, to twist and revise bits of the timeline for their own ends. The Organization, the one that he fought, is one of the main players.
"HYDRA, huh (*2)," Rintaro's tone was displeasure. "Like the Greek myth. Sounds oddly fitting of a name for an Organization of this magnitude. So it's them and the Time Jackers who I really need to watch my back for."
"That's right, among other things," Phoenix nodded.
(*3) Now, Rintaro personally has a bone to pick with the Organization. He had been through literal hell because of them. For there were two categorical sets of worldlines that relate to his universe's history. They were called Alpha and Beta.
In the Alpha Worldlines, in the future, a global research organization called SERN, under the control of the Committee of 300, had ultimately created a dystopia, shaping history through time travel. But of course, one of the more personal losses that he commonly had was the death of his childhood friend, Mayuri Shiina, and it was a convergence point that could not be overturned. Her death was fixed and sealed.
In the Beta Worldlines, in the future, instead of dystopia, one finds a lawless wasteland, this time caused by the superpowers of the world who vied for time travel research, and would use it for their own purposes. The results were the beginning of a third world war, which caused millions of deaths, and the survivors had to pick up the scraps.
Both worldlines had their demerits. Both were something he'd wouldn't want. Hence why he decided to enact an operation called Operation Skuld (*4), which ensures the pathway for a new worldline that is neither from each of these attractor fields. Steins Gate.
It wasn't a perfect world by any means, but it was better than the alternative.
"...And," Rintaro grimaced. "I never thought that Hiyajo Maho (*5) would end up in the same predicament as myself."
"By the time you ended up here in this place," Phoenix explained. "She's probably worried about you - about us."
"I can only imagine how sudden her transition was," Rintaro said, rubbing his forehead. "Hopping through worldlines isn't always a good thing in my opinion."
"We both can attest to that very well," Phoenix agreed. "Nevertheless, she would need us - you to break down bit by bit of what had occurred."
"...Uhh," Rintaro pinched his eyes out. "This would really complicate things, you know that, right?"
"I know..." Phoenix grimaced a bit. "...Doesn't really help that we're married. We would have to come clean on that eventually."
"...Hmm," Rintaro nodded sadly. "I've already explained the gritty details of my experiences with the worldlines with all of the Lab Members... though I fail to fully mention my and Maho's relationship. I just... After everything, I don't want her to get dragged back into our problems. Ignorance is bliss in this case."
"Though we still had her name written down on the badges that we commissioned out," Phoenix pointed out, while his tone became soft.
Okabe Rintaro
Shiina Mayuri
Hashida Itaru
Makise Kurisu
Kiryu Moeka
Urushibara Luka
Faris NyanNyan
Amane Suzuha
Hiyajo Maho
Shiina Kagari
Amane Yuki
By acronym, it goes: O-S-H-M-K-U-F-A-H-S-A.
The official members of the Future Gadget Laboratory. Most, he knew and met. Some, he knew intimately in another lifetime. Two are still far off into the future.
"...Have you ever told her?" Rintaro asks. "Kurisu I mean."
"Well, it was actually Maho who told Kurisu about us," Rintaro can tell from Phoneix's face. "She wasn't happy about it, naturally. Though not like we had a choice. We did promise to keep our relationship a secret, and only I - we would be the ones who would remember it, but not her."
Yes, Rintaro made a promise about that. Maho in fact made him swear not to tell Kurisu about them. To fully leave the future behind, one would need to leave even that behind as well. That was the ultimate sacrifice that Rintaro had to give up. Their relationship, forged by traumas and fire, would be swept away as a new worldline and reconstructed history would take its place.
"...And there's another thing you need to keep an eye out for," Phoenix pointed out.
"Yasaka Mahiro - Kamen Rider Den-O (*6)," Rintaro spoke softly. "That's why Grey Woz referred to my - our world as the World of Den-O, because of that Kamen Rider."
Trivia For Chapter:
Short Lines 1
(*1) - See Episode 12 of this story, as the events described can be found there.
(*2) - It means Anything Goes Martial Arts.
(*3) - From the Wikipedia - Ranma Saotome (Japanese: 早乙女 乱馬, Hepburn: Saotome Ranma) is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the manga series Ranma ½, created by Rumiko Takahashi. Ranma is a Japanese teenage boy who has trained in martial arts since early childhood. As a result of falling into an enchanted spring during a training journey in China, he is cursed to transform into a girl when splashed with cold water, while hot water changes him back into a boy. Throughout the series, Ranma seeks out a way to rid himself of the curse, while his friends, enemies, rivals, and many fiancées constantly hinder and interfere.
- Inuyasha (Japanese: 犬夜叉) is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the manga series of the same name, created by Rumiko Takahashi. He is a half-demon, half-human from the Sengoku period of Japan. He later appeared in the anime sequel series Yashahime.
Short Lines 2
(*1) - These events concurrently took place during Episode 12 of the story.
(*2) - HYDRA, an ancient organization with mysterious and contradictory origins, with operations found on various worlds, including the World of Kamen Rider/Universe-616. In the context of the World of Den-O, HYDRA is the organization behind the Organization/Committee of 300, which is a secret cell of the former.
(*3) - Many references to the events of Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0, and anything related to them via expanded universe/supplementary materials (Drama CDs, etc.).
(*4) - In the World of Den-O, Operation Skuld was an operation that Rintaro Okabe and his Valkyrie Resistance had personally conducted. To reach the ideal worldline, dubbed as the Steins Gate Worldline, a pure timeline without any dystopia from either SERN or World War III, and to save the two women who were close to him, came with three steps. First, the motivation to get back on his feet in his darkest hour; Second, a plan to deceive the world; Third, a way to convey that plan to his past self. All of which went off without a hitch, apart from his past self getting stabbed in the chest for good measure.
(*5) - In the World of Den-O, Maho Hiyajo was a member of the Brain Science Institute at Viktor Chondria University, one of the lead minds behind Project Amadeus alongside her mentor Alexis Leskinen and was Kurisu Makise's senior and friend. In the future, she had become Rintaro Okabe's wife.
(*6) - In the World of Den-O, a young man in high school by the name of Mahiro Yasaka became Kamen Rider Den-O, the main Kamen Rider of this reality, who started out in the year 2020.