The Seed of Change

by Remus973

Tokyo, 2039. 10 years had passed since Lost Christmas happened. The nation of Japan is now under occupied rule. There is resistance, but they need more power. It comes in the form of Shu Ouma, a young boy with a desire to change. To be better. He becomes a Kamen Rider to make a difference for himself and everything and everyone connected to him. Rated T for some language.

13. Phase 11

Hello, readers. I hope you have enjoyed the last chapter to the best of your abilities. This chapter, Shu is going through pretty heavy shit. He was traumatized by the truth of the Inves by witnessing Yahiro's little brother mutate into one, and killed him. And all on the same day he confessed his feelings to Hare. Talk about an emotional roller-coaster. And that was just yesterday. Also, Yahiro is manipulated into hating Shu for some sinister purpose by some mysterious person. Or is he? Read to find out. This is the chapter where things go down.

Phase 11 - Resonance: Kachidoki Arms!

After two weeks of investigations, headed by both the Japanese government and the U.N, GHQ resumed business like nothing had changed. Except things did, but for the worse. Since the discovery of the underground greenhouse located underneath their headquarters, it was made public that the GHQ were responsible for the existence of Inves and the new strain of the virus that produced the fruit that they feed on. Although that did evoke a tremendous amount of rage from both the people that lived in Japan and the international community, it was not enough to expel GHQ from the country. The reason why was that the Inves infestation was still ongoing, and as such, it demanded their resources. Specifically speaking, Kamen Riders produced by the GHQ as well as the vaccine. As well as the fact made apparent during so that GHQ was not responsible for the creation of the virus itself. The fact of how the Inves came to be was still known to the GHQ, was kept strictly classified for fear of riots and anarchy in the streets. One thing that did change after the investigations was that GHQ was crueler than before. Operating under the fact that the Inves had a source of nourishment that could only come from the victims of the Apocalypse virus, GHQ began rounding them up from the hospitals and in areas where they hid from the rest of society. Citizens were encouraged to report of cancerous fugitives. Isolations wards were now under heavy security. No one was permitted to see the victims. Not even their families for fear of public safety. The whole scenario was reminiscent to that of a nation supporting a campaign of genocide. As such, this emboldened Funeral Parlor to take further action, and annihilate GHQ from their country. By any means necessary. Funeral Parlor was engaging in another raid on a GHQ convoy. Argo lit up a flare in the middle of the highway the convoy were traveling on. The setup was that of a car accident with fighters behind the wrecked vehicles, ready for an ambush. Gai was contacting all his fighters who were participating in the raid.

"You know the plan people. Shu will attack them with his Sonic Arrow. Once he does, we seize that second truck, ASAP."

Shu was with Inori on a nearby rooftop. Shu was still suffering from the trauma of discovering how Inves came to be. How he had to kill Jun when he became an Inves after the Apocalypse Virus mutated his corpse into a monster. Tsugumi was giving live updates of the situation.

"The target will reach the attack point in six... five... four... three... two... one... GO!"

Shu began his transformation. He summoned his driver, and placed it on his waist. Then, he placed the Genesis Core on his driver, and took out both his Orange lockseed and his Lemon Energy lockseed.

"HENSHIN!"

"ORANGE! LEMON ENERGY!"

"LOCK-ON!"

"SOIYA! MIX!"

"JIMBA LEMON! HA-HA!"

Shu was now in his armor, and readied his Sonic Arrow to fire on the convoy. However he hesitated for too long. He was still haunted by what he knew and did. Shu could still hear Segai, one of his enemies, condemning him by pointing out the hypocrisy of his actions.

"You have spilled blood to find hope for yourself. Deny it all you want. That's just the way the world works."

More and more did his words hit Shu hard.

"The only reason why you can be called a hero is because of the lives that were sacrificed to get you where you are today."

Shu was completely immobilized.

"Shu, engage them. Get your ass in gear."

So much so that one of the soldiers in the convoy saw him on that rooftop. The convoy stopped to take the chance to apprehend Gaim. One of the new orders that was given to all GHQ soldiers after the scandal was to capture and arrest all non-GHQ Kamen Riders. The convoy stopped, and all the soldiers had their firearms ready to shoot at Gaim. One of the commanding officers spoke to Gaim with a loudspeaker.

"Attention, Kamen Rider Gaim. We are under orders to apprehend and arrest all Kamen Riders not affiliated with GHQ. Surrender now, or we will open fire."

In the Funeral Parlor comm line, so many of the fighters were talking about how to recover from his mistake. All the while, not knowing what was going on in Shu's soon-to-be fractured mind. The soldiers in the convoy opened fire on Gaim. Gaim jumped high, while screaming as he descended unto the soldiers, and began slaughtering them with the bladed edge of his Sonic Arrow. The soldiers kept on firing with their rifles. Some of them even had grenade launchers and shot at point blank. None of their weapons even fazed them. Shu flipped the Cutting Blade of his driver two times.

"SOIYA! ORANGE AU LAIT!"

With one swift slash, Gaim released an energy blade on to the soldiers and burned them alive. His comrades were shocked at how Shu had fought and killed them all with efficiency and without mercy. Some were impressed. Others were concerned, to say the least. Gaim had killed all of the soldiers of the convoy. All but one. Gaim encountered him near the truck he was assigned to derail. He was shuddering in fear.

"My god. You killed them all. You killed them, and I bet you don't feel sorry about it."

Flashbacks of what Segai said to him came back to him, causing further strain on his state of mind.

"When I first saw you on TV, fighting off those monsters. I thought that even though you didn't like us, you didn't like Funeral Parlor either. That made me believe that you just wanted to protect people. To do what you thought was right. At least that's what I told my son."

Shu remembered back when he was offered to join Funeral Parlor two times. He gave that same reasoning to Gai himself.

"I thought you were a person. Then you do something like this! Killing all my friends IN A FRENZY! You're no hero. YOU'RE JUST A GODDAMN MONSTER! A LIVING FREAK OF NATUR-"

He stopped talking due to Gai shooting several bullets in his face. Gaim turned around to see him as well as the rest of his fighters taking the truck that was the goal of the mission. However, Gai was less than favorable of how the mission was accomplished.

"Shu! What the hell was that?!"

He turned around to see all the corpses.

"What's the problem? That's no different from what we usually do."

"The problem is you, Shu. You're not acting like yourself. You would never do this sort of thing. Going on a killing frenzy!"

"AND WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?! ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS RESULTS! WELL, I JUST GAVE YOU SOME! HOPE YOU'RE MOTHER****ING SATISFIED!"

Shu pushed Gai from his path. Everyone who saw them were surprised by what Shu had done. Shu activated his Lock Vehicle, and mounted on to it to ride.

"Wait, where are going?!"

"I'm out. I am done with you, Gai!"

"You can't quit on us, Shu!"

Shu gave Gai the middle finger before riding away from everyone.

xxxxxx

(Morning, Tennozu High)

Shu was sleeping on a mattress where his club usually meets. He did not want to go back home due to Inori. She was still part of Funeral Parlor while he quit. With an insult towards its leader. While he was sleeping, he had a dream. First, he heard Inori's song. Next, there was a gentle wind blowing through trees. Then flowers surrounding a young girl with a long dress and a sunhat. It was the girl with the dark pink hair. She spoke to Shu.

"Tell me, Shu. Do you love me?"

Shu responded back with a child's voice.

"Of course I do."

A wind blew away the girl's hat. The landscape then turned into a cliff over the sea.

"Then promise me that you'll make your big sister happy."

The wind blew the girl's hair as she smiled. Then fire surrounded the girl as her face had virus crystals on her face. They were now in a church and everything was on fire. Even the Christmas tree. A young boy was bleeding on the floor. The girl was there wearing a red coat with a look on her face that conveyed shock and sorrow. She was approaching Shu, but he moved back in fear as the girl was getting closer to her. She was constantly pleading to him, but the words could not be heard. Then, she was all alone, surrounded by fire. She cried bloody tears as a bright light now enveloped everything. Shu woke up with a shudder. He looked around to see where he was. It took a while for him to remember what he exactly did. He then checked his holo-tablet to see if anyone tried to contact him. He received 21 missed calls and 35 messages. He had a feeling where those came from. The club door opened.

"Hey! Are you awake? I'm coming up!"

Shu instantly recognized that voice. Hare came upstairs to check in on Shu. Although it was weary, Shu had a smile on his face.

"Rise and shine, Shu! Did you sleep okay?"

"A little. But seeing you makes this a great day already."

Hare blushed at that, but smiled nonetheless. She gave Shu a brown bag containing food and a juice box.

"Here. I grabbed you a breakfast sandwich on the way. Does that sound alright?"

"Fine by me, but you didn't..."

"I wanted to. After all, you did give a good time yesterday."

As Shu remembered yesterday, he had a sad smile on his face and thought,

'How is it possible for both the best day of your life and the worst day of your life to happen on the same day?'

He enjoyed the breakfast Hare gave to him.

"I had to admit, you really surprised me yesterday. I had no idea you had feelings for me back."

"Back?"

Hare blushed for a while before regaining her train of thought.

"I... had feelings for you as well. I just... thought I would be the one to confess. But that's okay. I'm happy that you were honest with me."

Hare was close to Shu. Her shoulder was touching his. Shu understood the signal, and got closer to her as well. His arm wrapped around her arm, and the two were holding hands.

"For me, this was a long time coming."

Once again, their faces got closer, and just like before they were interrupted. Shu's phone function of his holo-tablet was ringing. Shu knew who was calling him, but he did not want to answer.

"Gonna answer?"

xxxxxx

Inori was back at Shu's apartment, calling for him. She had a worried look on her face as stared at her device, hoping that Shu would talk to her. The only with her was Funell.

xxxxxx

Gai was at the Kouhouin estate, waiting to speak with Okina. He was in the middle of a phone with Inori, listening to her worries about Shu.

"I see. No. Leave him be for the moment."

Gai hung up as he was still angry at how Shu quit from Funeral Parlor. Especially at the end.

"Damn that Shu."

As soon as he finished, Gai was visited by Arisa who came to notify him that her grandfather was ready to speak with him.

"Sorry to make you wait. Hello again, Mr. Tsutsugami. It's been a while."

"Please, call me Gai. There's no need to be so formal with each other."

Arisa led him to her grandfather. She stood by his side as Okina presented to Gai the information he was gathering on him. It was a full binder's worth of background information.

"Interesting reading. Truth be told, I never would have imagined that you were his son, young man."

Arisa was confused by what her grandfather said.

'Whose son is he?'

"Knowing that, I put this question to you. What's your angle? Why are you fighting? What's worth risking life and limb for?"

Gai stood stoic and silent for a while until he gave an honest answer.

"A girl. She's the reason I do this. The one I want close to me. Is that good enough?"

Both Okina and Arisa were stunned by Gai's answer. Okina then laughed hard and loud. Like he never did before.

"Liberating Japan to impress the one you love. I'll be damned."

Okina kept on laughing as Arisa was expressing shock with a gaping mouth.

"The Rock will arrive at Hanada the day after next. From the looks of things, Yan will send it overseas at the first opportunity. In every sense, that stone belongs to the Japanese people. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes. We'll keep it here, no matter what."

Gai stepped outside to the car that would drive him back to his comrades. Before he could, Okina was outside as well with Arisa to have one last word with him.

"Before you go, let me say one last thing. That reason you said, about why you wanted to free Japan. I honestly appreciate how candid you were in your intentions. In the past, revolutions had good intentions, but those intentions came to fruition because of men with a clear vision of the future. Now, they are done with no plan at all. Some are done out of anger, some out of dissatisfaction, and some are done out of a need for power. But, love? That just makes more sense than all the rest."

xxxxxx

(GHQ main headquarters)

Marcus Yan was packing up the last of his things before stepping down as the supreme commander of GHQ. He was with his secretary/girlfriend, Emily. One of the things he managed to keep with him was The Rock. The meteor fragment that gave birth to the Apocalypse Virus, and by association, the Inves.

"Who would've thought? This rock, envied the world over, would just fall into my hands as if it was preordained."

Emily placed her hand on Marcus's as his was placed on the canister.

"Men have been catapulted to the White House by far less than this, my dear."

"Such ambition. I like it. Still. I wonder what Keido's playing at. I am honestly shocked that he would keep such research and his works a secret for so long. I can only count myself fortunate that I don't have the bulk of the clean-up of that man's mess."

"It wasn't all bad."

"Yes. I never would've imagined my own son to be a superhero. It has made him a better person. That and Colonel Eagleman."

"You must be proud of him."

"If he is happy with what he is doing, then that is fine. I can't avoid him for long. I know he has his hands full with the monsters that are terrorizing the people of this city. Monsters that mad scientist has created. What could motivate a man to create such abominations?"

xxxxxx

(Tennozu High)

Hare was walking with Shu to class.

"Welcome back. I'm so glad to see you here again. I mean, you can't ditch forever. Right?"

Hare's upbeat attitude made him smile, and she was happy to see Shu that way.

"There's that smile I know and love."

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to say to you?"

Hare laughed a bit, seeing Shu act like a boyfriend.

"By the way, have you seen Inori?"

"Not for a while. She out today?"

"Yeah. It's so weird."

"Yo!"

Hare and Shu turned their heads to see Souta and Kanon.

"What's up? Haven't seen you around lately?"

"You feeling okay, Shu?"

"Yeah. Nothing unusual."

"By the way, how was your date with Hare?"

Hare and Shu blushed real hard, and it showed.

"H-H-H-How did you...?"

"Holy crap, it really happened?"

Shu clamped shut.

"Dude, I had no idea! You two are a couple?"

"Told you it would happen."

Kanon had a sly cat smile on her face which made Hare nervous.

"Wait a moment, you mean to tell me..."

"What? That I planned all this? Now what gave you that idea?"

Souta was reveling in their embarrassment.

"So, how was it? Did you get lucky?"

Souta touched Shu. This caused him to remember the whole day in full, but the bad memories of that day were more profound to remember. The trauma was still inside of him. He moved backwards in fear. This caused him to bump into a girl by accident and fall down.

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just..."

Shu then saw virus crystals on the girl growing, then she turned into an Inves right before his eyes. The same Inves Jun turned into as memories of him turning into an Inves, and being forced to kill him rapidly flashed before his eyes. He yelled like a patient suffering from severe psychosis.

"Oh no. Shu! It okay. Just look at me!"

Souta was with Hare as Shu continued to scream like a maniac.

"Shu! Look at me! What's wrong?!"

In Shu's mind, there was no other sound than the ringing. All he could see were his own classmates either nearly consumed by the Apocalypse Virus, or Inves.

xxxxxx

Shu was outside of his own clubroom, near an old amphitheater. Hare was with him to give him a place of peace and quiet.

"I'll get you some water. You just stay here."

Shu wrapped his arms around himself, still suffering from his fear. When he was all alone, the sound of a wheelchair was heard. Ayase was there to check in on Shu. She saw him, having no full idea of what he went through, and assumed he was acting like a coward.

"Shu. What is with you? Why the hell are you acting like this?"

Shu heard Ayase's voice, and saw her as she wheeled closer to him.

"Ayase. You should know why."

"I know. You saw Yahiro's little brother turn into an Inves. I get that. I think it's horrifying as well. But that's all the more reason why you have to fight. To stop the GHQ from turning more victims in those monsters. If they're gathering the infected to jumpstart their monster army, then you have to fight them."

"I can't keep doing this. I'm out."

"Is that all it takes? One person dies because of you, and you're ready to throw in the towel? Acting out this self-pity game?"

"IT'S NOT JUST HIM! I... have killed so many people with my own two hands. People that didn't even want to become monsters."

"But nonetheless, they did become the Inves you have killed, Shu."

Shu turned around to see Gai standing over him.

"There is no other choice. Once the virus overtakes the victim, the human dies. Leaving behind a soulless creature, whose only instinct is to devour. If we do not kill them, they will kill us. Can't you see that, Shu?"

Gai took out a gun.

"Don't do this, Gai. I know he'll turn around."

Gai placed his gun on Shu's head. Cocked it before he did so. Shu was quivering in fear.

"We found The Rock. And you're going to help us get our hands on it."

Inside of Shu, he could not believe Gai's audacity. He was suffering from some serious trauma, and Gai presumed that he can still order Shu around. As he is still a member of his Parlor. A soldier he can still boss around. Although he was still feeling a great amount of fear, also inside of Shu was his instinct to fight back.

"Quit your whining and stand up. Now."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Shu!"

"I had no problems with our battle against GHQ soldiers. They were willing to die, and I was willing to fight against them. But this is different. You want to liberate Japan, and what about after the war, Gai? What do we do about the people still suffering from the virus? Answer me that, Gai!"

"I have heard that the Void Genome can be harvested after the host dies. I wonder..."

Shu was now feeling anger alongside fear. A dangerous combination that possess the potential to bring out the worst in people.

"Any last words?"

The instinct to fight back was now active in Shu. He tackled Gai, weakening his grip on the gun, allowing Shu to grab it before he could. Shu also reached inside of Gai's coat for an additional item. Shu ran for a while for distance while Gai was regaining his footing. Ayase was now seeing rage on Shu's face. Now she was the one feeling fear. Shu intensely stared at Gai with angry eyes.

"Where was that before?"

Shu was not amused.

"You do realize that gun has..."

Shu pressed the button on the gun that released the magazine. Thanks to Ayase's training, he now knows the feel of a gun when it has real ammo, no ammo, and fake ammo. Gai searched his coat and realized Shu took the magazine that had the real bullets.

'Aw, shit!'

Shu reloaded the gun with the magazine he took from Gai. He spoke in a low, threatening voice.

"I am so sick of your shit."

Before Gai could act, Shu shot Gai in the left kneecap. This caused tremendous pain in Gai as he struggled not to yell. Ayase was utterly shocked by what Shu did. She felt it even more when Shu shot Gai again on his right shoulder. He finally screamed in pain.

"Shu! Stop!"

Shu turned to Ayase and shot her on the left shoulder, and then on her right leg. She felt the pain on her shoulder. Ayase cried a bit as she saw Shu with a murderous intent in his eyes.

"Shu... please... don't do this."

She said with tears in her eyes. However, the plea was on deaf ears as Shu placed his finger on the trigger. Ayase and Gai were now in the mercy of a former comrade they had pushed away with their behavior. Shu yelled as he began firing. Ayase covered herself as she feared she would die today. When the shots stopped firing, Ayase was surprised to find both herself and Gai still alive. She looked at Shu to find out that he pointed the gun to the sky, and kept on shooting until the ammo was depleted. She also saw tears streaming on his face.

"You wanna know the worst part about all this is? I really wanted to be a better person. Because I always believed that I had nothing to offer. That the world has no desire for someone like me. I wanted to change because I wanted to be somebody else! Anybody else than this... stupid... weak... useless coward that nobody wants!"

Shu threw the gun to the concrete ground.

"I thought I was. Really, I did. I thought that I was something different."

Shu sobbed for a bit.

"I was stupid to believe that I could be anything else other than this."

Shu ran from the both of them, crying. Ayase was now feeling guilty over what she had done. She then stared at Gai, still adapting from his wound while calling for backup, and wondered,

'Doesn't he realized what he just did?'

Ayase now had doubts about her leader, whom she would give up her life for. Elsewhere at the amphitheater, Hare hid from everyone and saw the whole thing. She felt utterly shocked that her boyfriend was a member of Funeral Parlor.

xxxxxx

Haruka came to the apartment early due her work being officially suspended. She was not even required to come to work today. She only went to pick up a few things like clothes, her personal items like her toothbrush and the like, and all the data of her work on the Apocalypse Virus in a personal data core. When she got home, she immediately discarded her professional clothes and was nothing but her undies in a short nightgown. She grabbed a beer, and channel surfed. As much as she wanted some time for herself, she also wanted to make time for Shu to see if he was feeling better. The memory of her son being in prison without her knowing was still fresh in her mind. She knew she had make amends of any kind. After a few minutes, she heard the door open. She turned around to see Shu home from school early.

"Shu. Welcome home. Had a half-day or something like that?"

Shu had his head down. Haruka had an indication that he was in a sad state, but did not know why.

"What the matter, honey? Had a bad day?"

Shu spoke softly at first with his voice gradually getting louder.

"I... don't know anymore. I don't know if I'm doing the right thing anymore. I thought I did, but it... turned out to be a big fat lie. I didn't want to do any of the things I did, but I did because I thought I was doing the right thing. I'm the worst. The absolute worst."

Haruka sensed that Shu was going through a personal crisis. One, she thought, had something to do with him being in prison. She hugged Shu to make him feel safe.

"You are not the worst. That's a fact. Whatever you think is your fault is not, honey. No matter what, I am there for you. You are a good person, no matter what anybody else says."

Shu hugged Haruka back, and cried hard in his mother's embrace. Haruka profoundly felt the weight of her son's sorrow as she saw tears streaming down her son's face.

xxxxxx

(Hanada airport)

The Anti-Bodies were under orders to guard the former Supreme Commander as he was departing back home. Colonel Dan led the mission.

"All right men. Our mission to see that Major General Yan's flight back home goes without a hitch. That means reporting any suspicious activity, and keeping an eye out any and all threats. Funeral Parlor is getting bolder. So that means if they come here, we hit them hard before they do. Understood?"

"SIR! YES SIR!"

"To your posts!"

The soldiers marched to their assigned posts and secure the Major General Yan's departure. Segai was playing a game on his flip-phone when all the soldiers marched out.

"Well, I guess I should get to my post as well."

No one knew that Funeral Parlor was going to attack them today. And Segai wanted that.

xxxxxx

(Inside the airport)

Daryl was waiting to meet with his father before he left. When the elevator made it the floor where Daryl was waiting, he saw his father locking lips with his secretary.

"Aww, COME ON!"

Both Marcus and Emily were shocked to find themselves in an embarrassing position.

"Daryl I know..."

"Save it. Let's just pretend that didn't happen. Can I talk with you, father?"

"Of course, son."

Daryl went inside of the elevator with his father and girlfriend/secretary. Things were awkward between the three of them. Daryl started first.

"So anyways..."

"I know you were not actively aware of the activities of the former leader of the Anti-Bodies."

"That's right. As a matter of fact, he threatened me in case I ever talked with anyone with more authority than him. So naturally, I obeyed with fear. But, I testified against Keido as soon as the opportunity arose. I hope that you're not disappointed with me, father."

"Disappointed? For what?"

"For not speaking up sooner. I never would have taken part if I had known that he was using people for his experiments. Granted, we can't call them people anymore, but still..."

Emily saw the two men speaking to each other, hoping that both would forgive each other.

"You were just following orders. I can understand that. You were just being a good soldier, but another quality of a good soldier is knowing to speak against atrocities anyway you can. You saw the opportunity to do so, and acted on it. It makes me feel proud of you, Daryl."

Daryl's heart skipped a beat when he heard his father actually said he was proud of him.

"... T-T-Thank you, sir."

"No need. You've earned it. And I believe that you will continue to serve the GHQ and humanity with the same, strength, will, and courage you have displayed. Both as yourself and as... What was the name of your other persona again?"

"Baron. Kamen Rider Baron."

"Kamen Rider? What is that?"

"I think at first it was cyborgs on motorcycles fighting against secret organizations plotting for world domination, but then became into something that I can't even recognize. Then again, I'm not from this country."

"In any case, my point is this. You have become a fine young man, and that makes me glad for you."

"I appreciate it."

Marcus placed his hand on Daryl's shoulder. Emily understood it to be an expression of fatherly love and pride. It made her smile. For some people, it was not much, but for Daryl it meant the world to him. As soon the elevator opened, a GHQ soldier ran to the three of them.

"Major General Yan!"

"What's the situation?"

"We're under attack by Funeral Parlor. I'm under orders to guide you to a safe location until an extraction team can place you in protective custody."

"Private, do you know who I am?"

"Lieutenant Daryl Yan. Also known as Kamen Rider Baron."

"I'll take them somewhere safe. You can then call the extraction team, and protect the Major General until the extraction team arrives. Since we're on the upper levels of the airport, there are private waiting rooms for premium customers. I'll protect them from the outside while you do the same on the inside. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir!"

"Major General and Miss Emily, we need you to come with us."

"Please lead the way."

xxxxxx

(A few moments earlier)

Gai and the rest of his fighters were stationed a few kilometers from the airport that Major General Yan was departing from. They went all out with the planned offensive. They even managed to get some Endlaves, albeit they were the older models. Similar to what Ayase had to pilot before she got Steiner. As the fighters were preparing for the mission, Ayase was getting in her pod that controls her Steiner remotely. Tsugumi was with her with Funell as well. Tsugumi noticed the sad look on her face.

"Something about your mind?"

"Sort of."

"Don't tell me it's about Shu? I thought you would hate him after what he did to you and Gai."

"I... can't honestly say that we didn't deserve it."

"Woah. You're not honestly feeling guilty about the whole thing?"

"We did push him away from us instead of... listened to him. I mean, he did considered us friends, right?"

"Honestly, I don't know. When it comes to Shu, he can never focus on what he wants. I think he just gets in the motions of things so much that he isn't even aware how much of a blank slate he is. If you're worried that we lost a trump card, don't be. Gai's a Kamen Rider now."

Ayase then remembered seeing the fight from two weeks ago. Watching how Zangetsu wiped the floor with the riders from GHQ.

"Maybe, but Shu was still a part of our group. We tested him hard, but he passed with the kind of determination we never expected out of him. Maybe we need to consider that we drove him to quit."

"All I know is this. Shu couldn't hack it, and he pussied out. Gai made that evaluation himself."

"Maybe Gai's not right all the time."

Tsugumi replied in a playful tone.

"If he heard you, he might hate you."

"Somehow, that doesn't affect me as it did before."

Tsugumi was shocked to hear that from Ayase. Elsewhere, in Gai's private trailer, Gai was recovering from the kneecap shot Shu gave to him. He did not need the blood transfusions he had before. Gai concluded that the Sengoku Genome he inserted inside him gave him more than a Sengoku Driver void. It somehow fixed all the health problems he used to have before. It even gave him mild regenerative abilities. And mild was correct as his kneecap was still repairing itself from the injury.

'The wonders that science can do.'

Then, Inori came inside, wearing a mostly white dress with zippable cleavage, long sleeves that were connected to the dress with broad black lines attached to each end. She was also wearing lipstick.

"Gai. Tell me something. Are you sure that was the right thing to do? Leaving Shu like that?"

"Are you feeling sorry for him now? It doesn't matter. Unless you love him."

Inori got closer to Gai.

"Do I love him, Gai? Is that what it is?"

Gai felt a hint of jealousy in him.

'So, it the end, you choose him too.'

"For now, just survive. We'll talk about it later."

Inori nodded to confirm. Gai stepped outside with Inori, seeing all the fighters ready for the mission. Gai spoke to the fighters.

"Our mission is to locate Major General Yan, and apprehend the item he has with him. The Rock. That belongs to our country. By our strength and courage, we will get it back!"

The fighters cheered at Gai's short, but sweet speech.

"Get to your assigned posts, and wait for my command."

All the fighters mobilized to their positions within the airport. Gai did the same as well. He, alongside Inori, Ougumo, and Argo, and a wheeled drone, arrived at their post with stealth. Inori had her earpiece confirming that all fighters and Endlaves were in position.

"It's time."

Gai started the mission.

"Alright, take the door."

Argo kicked down the down, and ran outside taking point. They were under a bridge with a plane taking off.

"We'll reach point B in 60 seconds."

Tsugumi received his transmission.

"Gotcha. Just remember. I can't control all the of the security cameras past there, so be careful."

Gai was in front now, signaling everyone to stop. He then contacted his fighters via earpiece.

"All units, listen up. We only have 30 minutes before that transport is airborne. My team will seize the plane within that window. After we announce the seizure, all Endlaves will back us up. Got it?"

Ayase was in her pod, focused on the mission and ready for the battle.

"Affirmative."

Tsugumi was ready as well.

"Aye-Aye."

Kenji was with Shibungi.

"You dragged me out here, so you better get this right."

"That's the plan."

Gai waited for confirmation by one of his fighters to know if Major General Yan was actually in the airport. He received a transmission confirming that he was there. Gai had a bomb trigger that alerted all GHQ personnel of their presence. Colonel Dan heard the explosion, and was now aware of a terrorist attack.

"So, they're here. ALL UNITS! We are now under attack! I repeat: We are under attack! Funeral Parlor has made themselves known. Show no mercy and take no prisoners! Major Segai, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, Colonel. I'm currently overlooking the security feeds, and confirmed that Gai Tsutsugami and his merry band of freedom fighters are indeed here."

"Gotcha! Alert me for any new developments."

"Affirmative."

As Segai hung up, he approached one of the technicians for a favor.

"Be a dear, and switch the camera to G7."

"Begging your pardon sir, but there's no such thing as G7."

"You need to let me finish. I had just set one up. Let's see."

Segai pressed a button on the keyboard, and it revealed Ougumo standing guard.

"Bingo. Are we ready for broadcast?"

"Yes sir. All systems ago. The transmission is set to play on every GHQ control transmitter in the city."

"Thank you for that."

Segai picked up a receiver, broadcasting to Anti-Bodies still loyal to him and Keido.

"This is Major Segai speaking to those loyal on this private channel. Take Vaccine D now. I repeat, to those who are loyal, self-administer Vaccine D now."

xxxxxx

Gai and his team were closer to the plane that was supposed to carry the Major General. Both Argo and Ougumo were at top. Ougumo found a spot that provided a good view for his sniper rifle. He shot a couple of soldiers near the cargo hold of the plane while Argo killed one with one of his thrown knifes. One of the remaining soldiers saw the other killed by the knife.

"Hostiles!"

But before the soldier could fight back, Argo choked him for a while, and then slit the soldier's neck. Gai and Inori then ran to the plane with Ougumo behind them.

xxxxxx

Segai prepared for the final stage of the plan.

"I'm not nothing if not thorough. Now, let us allow all the pieces fall into their place."

xxxxxx

The plane was ready to take off. Gai, with Ougumo, Inori, and Argo, were all on board the plane. Gai planted a small C4 charge on the passenger door. It exploded, and both Argo and Ougumo stormed inside. When they got into the passenger's seats, nobody was there. No attendants, no passengers, no people of any kind. Gai saw the same thing as he entered. He ran to the cockpit with everyone else behind him. He kept further silence, and busted the cockpit door. There was nobody inside as well.

"Something's not right here."

"I'll say. It's unmanned. What the hell's going on?!"

Gai examined the controls until he saw a texted message on the status screen. It read,

Congratulations, Gai Tsutsugami. You are in heaven.

Argo attempted to control the airplane, but failed.

"Damn it. The controls aren't responding."

Gai was in the right pilot seat, contacting Tsugumi.

"Tsugumi. Block the remote control function."

"Got it. Give me a sec. There, she's all yours"

Gai took control of the plane, and made it stop. As soon as he did, Tsugumi alerted him to bad news. Around this time, a strange sound was heard.

'GAI! We have a serious situation!"

"What is it, Tsugumi?"

"We're under attack by Inves. They're practically everywhere."

"What?!"

Back in the oil rig near the airport, several members had virus crystal appearing on their bodies. Shibungi looked on horror.

"This is Genomic Resonance. Don't tell me one of those jack-booted thugs would do something like this..."

Shibungi saw one of the fighters almost completely consumed by the virus. Shibungi shot him dead in the head to prevent the transformation. However, where he got one, three were devoured by the virus and their bodies were now mindless Inves, ready to kill.

xxxxxx

Segai was now in an ecstatic mood.

"GAI TSUTSUGAMI! I AM SENDING YOU TO HEAVEN!"

He twisted the tube to activate a modified version of the new strain to be transmitted not through the emitters that were discovered, but rather through the main GHQ media link. The strain was concentrated from the tree in the underground greenhouse. The sound that was heard was that of a song that was twisted into something obscene. Everyone in the city heard the sound. What came after it was the stuff of nightmares.

xxxxxx

(Present)

Major General Yan was in a private waiting room near the gates with Emily and a GHQ private. Daryl was standing watch in case any Funeral Parlor insurgents came to take his father's life. He heard some noises coming from the left side. Daryl readied himself for battle. Instead of insurgents, Daryl found an Inves horde coming for him. He was shocked to say the least.

'Inves? Here? But how is it possible? I thought we shut down the emitters. Is this one of Keido's backup plans? Did he plan this, and we didn't see it?'

Daryl then heard screaming inside of the waiting room. He ran inside to see another Inves emerging from virus crystals. Daryl attacked it as quickly as he could to get it away from his father and his girlfriend. He then shut and locked the door. He asked his father,

"How did that get in here?"

"He was in pain, then the Apocalypse Virus manifested on him, and then he turned into that monster as soon as that sound appeared."

Daryl thought,

'They must be connected.'

"Stay here. Lock the doors. Make sure nobody comes in."

Marcus Yan took his son's command without question. Daryl rushed outside to battle the Inves as Marcus took the couches and tables to block the doors with Emily helping him. As soon as they were done, Marcus took the rifle the soldier dropped before he turned into an Inves for protection. Daryl went to the lobby to find a horde of Inves waiting for him. Daryl commenced his transformation.

"HENSHIN!"

"BANANA!"

"LOCK-ON!"

"COME ON! BANANA ARMS! KNIGHT OF SPEAR!"

"One at a time. I'll kill you all, eventually."

The Inves charged at Baron. Baron flipped the Cutting Blade on his driver three times...

"COME ON! BANANA SPARKLING!"

... and multiple energy bananas sprouted out of the floor, stabbing the Inves charging at Baron, causing them to explode. There were only a few left. Baron defended himself with ease. Just then, a mysterious lifeform walked as the remaining Inves made way for it. Its body was primarily red, but with black on the legs and blue on the forehead and knuckles. The forehead was sticking out like a horn, with it resembling a cliff. The top of its head had a curved horn that was combed back. Its eyes were yellow. The wrists had spiked appendages. In its left hand, it carried some sort of black sword. Baron never saw anything like this in his life. He was now struggling to deal with his fear. The mysterious lifeform spoke in a language unheard by anyone.

"What are you trying to say?! State you intentions!"

The mysterious lifeform raised its hand to summon vies out of nowhere. Baron noticed them, and swinged his weapon to ward them off. He failed, and the vines surrounded his whole body. With its commands, the vines slammed Baron to the ground for a while. Baron no longer responded, making the mysterious lifeform believe that it had killed Baron. In reality, Baron was losing consciousness and struggled to maintain it. Baron was feeling dizzy and seeing blurry images. He got on the floor on all fours. The dizziness lasted for five minutes. When Baron regained his senses, the Inves as well as the mysterious being were gone. He went to the room where his dad and Emily was. What he saw was something horrible. He first saw Emily's dead body nearly cut wide open. And then he saw his father, barely alive and bloody.

"DAD!"

Baron ran to him, shocked and horrified.

"Come on, dad. Don't die on me yet!"

Baron placed two fingers on his father's neck, checking for a pulse. It was faint, but there.

"Hang on. I'll get you out of here."

"Don't bother son."

Marcus spoke with a faint voice.

"I can't leave you here. I have to save you."

"I can't be saved, Daryl. I can feel that my time here is almost over."

"Don't say things like that! We still have a chance, but we have to get out of here."

"Daryl. Listen to me. I have sustained crippling damage. I'm not going to make it out of here. You must survive to defeat the bastards that are behind all this. No matter what, you mustn't submit to their will. Make them submit to yours. Promise me Daryl. Swear that you will live to fight against this evil that has claimed so many lives."

Daryl was holding in his sobs underneath his armor.

"I will. I swear. I will never surrender to anyone!"

"You are strong, Daryl. Strong to make the world bend to your will. I meant what I said before. I am proud of you, son..."

With his last breath, Marcus professed to Daryl his fatherly love before passing away. No more did Marcus breathe. Now, he was no different than the rest of the corpses in the room. Daryl sobbed for his deceased father. All by himself. Just then, Baron heard someone bursting in. He was on his guard only to find out it was Bravo.

"I've been looking for you. Is the... Oh no."

Bravo saw the corpse of the Major General.

"GOD DAMN IT! We failed the mission. Now things are going to fall into chaos."

"No. I did. I wasn't strong enough to protect him."

"That's the grief talking, lieutenant. Listen to me. Listen."

Bravo held both of Baron's shoulders for a heart-to-heart chat.

"No one could've predicted this. We did everything in our power to prevent this, but obviously we never expected this. We both have a pretty good idea who did all this."

"Keido. He must've created that Inves that killed my father. The one who can create vines out of nowhere."

"Vines?"

"I know what killed my father, and the one who created it. It was Keido. I swear. I'M GONNA MAKE HIM INTO A BLOODY CORPSE!"

"You're not alone. It was planned to make portions of his trial available to the public with details pertaining to his involvement. But since all this happened, as far as the public knows, he still has a position of authority in the GHQ. There's no doubt that he will seize power for his own ends. We need to stop him before he does so."

"That'll leave you in charge of everything."

"If it has to. There's too much at stake if we let Keido be in charge of everything. Let's move out!"

Baron turned his head to see his father one last time. This motivated his need for revenge.

"Roger that."

xxxxxx

A swarm of Inves were breaking into the prison where Keido was imprisoned. Leading the break-in was Yuu. With one hand, he ordered the Inves to kill every guard in the building. The Inves did so with no resistance. And by no resistance, it meant that the guards' weapons had no effect on them and therefore the Inves killed them all with no difficulty. Keido heard all the yells of agony, and concluded,

'Sounds like somebody is here to release me.'

The doors slid open as the cage ascended, and the chair locking Keido's wrists and ankles released him from his confinement. Yuu was there to greet him.

"I've been sent here to retrieve you, Shuuichirou."

Keido took off the blindfold that was on him when he was jailed. He saw Yuu in front of him.

"You got a lot of nerve."

"My masters and I apologize to you."

"Well, that is rare."

"Indeed. If we had believed you from the start, then the plan would not have to be accelerated the way it has to now. Even now, we cannot find him. Sagara has hidden himself from us."

"That little fanboy can't stay hidden forever. But back to the matter at hand..."

"We have suppressed all information regarding your involvement in Project Helheim from official news sources. And the international community have no idea of the current situation. We're working hard to keep this localized. As far as the public knows, they have no idea about your full involvement. When it is confirmed that all commanding authorities are dead, you will then announce that you will be in charge of GHQ."

"Is that all?"

"We have also found this in Sagara's office. Seems as though he was careless for one moment. An opportunity, to say the least."

Yuu snapped as a more evolved Inves had with him a grey suitcase. It handed it over to Yuu, and he handed it to Keido. Keido opened it to reveal a driver. It was mostly red with a glass-like pod at the center. On its left was a juicer-like push lever with the right acting like a grip. It had a lockseed slot on it as well.

"We had recovered some of Sagara's notes. This is called a Genesis Driver. You will notice that the case has a lockseed as well."

Keido did see the lockseed. It was the Lemon Energy lockseed. Keido closed the case to save the driver for later.

"I am grateful for this gift. And rest assured, I will not only fulfill the plan. I will kill Sagara. By any means necessary."

"I am pleased to hear that. For now, wait this out. The Anti-Bodies loyal to you are in process of locating the Rock in Major General Yan's possession. We are also eliminating Funeral Parlor as well."

"Very well. Even if they somehow survive this, there won't be much of a resistance left to oppose us."

Keido chuckled in a menacing way.

xxxxxx

Endlaves, piloted by Anti-Bodies uninfected the outbreak, used their long-ranged cannons to destroy the oil refinery near the airport to wipe out any Funeral Parlor members somehow unaffected by the virus. The blasts were powerful enough to completely take down the refinery. Tsugumi detected artillery round coming their way.

"Aya, run for it!"

Ayase piloted Steiner to fast enough to dodge incoming fire. Tsugumi remote-controlled the trailer containing her tech. They managed to get away from the line of fire. However, that was more like the frying pan. The real fire came in the form of a horde of Inves that had ate the Helheim fruit. Tsugumi saw the horde of evolved Inves, and was terrified. Ayase made a risky move.

"I'll go on ahead to clear a path for you."

"Aya, no! You'll lose Steiner."

"That doesn't matter. We need to get out of this alive."

Steiner charged towards the Inves horde with knife in front. Although she managed to stab the first one she saw, it was not enough to kill it. Ayase knew that ordinary weapons had no effect on the Inves. She still put up a valiant fight as she distracted the horde long enough for Tsugumi's trailer to get through. The Inves horde quickly overwhelmed her. Steiner was being pulled apart like a cow carcass being fed to ravenous wolves. Ayase felt every one of the metal limbs being pulled part, and she yelled in great pain. It was practically overwhelming. Tsugumi typed in commands to disconnect Ayase from Steiner. She managed to do so in time. Ayase stopped yelling and her body was almost limp in the pod. Tsugumi opened it to check to see if she was still alive. Ayase was still alive, but she was also crying.

"We're dead. We're so dead."

"Don't say that. Gai was still alive, last time I checked. We just need to wait for him, that's all."

"And what about Shu?!"

Tsugumi was startled by that outburst of emotion.

"We pushed him away, and now we're paying the price for it."

Ayase continued to cry. Tsugumi hugged Ayase to console her. The trailer drove by itself, and was heading for one specific destination. Tennozu High.

xxxxxx

A helicopter was waiting for Keido. When he saw what was going on, Keido was in awe.

"Now humanity can have a real future. Now we can begin, or rather, finish what was started on that fateful Christmas!"

The sound resonated harder as it spread the new strain of the virus all over Tokyo. Inori woke up to the sound, and it nearly broke her.

"Somebody. Make it stop."

Gai noticed what was wrong with her.

"I know how you're feeling. But keep it together."

"This isn't the right song. If it plays for much longer, she's gonna wake up."

Gai knew what Inori meant. Gai spoke to Argo and Ougumo as they appeared unaffected by what was going on.

"Argo, Ougumo, take Inori with you, and regroup with whoever is left. Get to a safe location, away from the city, and standby for further instructions."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Retrieve The Rock."

"Good luck to you sir."

"Ougumo, are you serious?"

"He can handle this. Remember?"

Argo then remembered the fact that Gai was a Kamen Rider.

"Okay then. Just make it out alive."

Gai got out of the plane only to find the runway partially filled with Inves. A few of them noticed him, and moved closer to Gai menacingly.

"You sure you want me?"

One of them growled.

"I'm not gonna make it easy for you."

Gai summoned his driver and placed it on his waist. Then he took out his lockseed and began his transformation.

"Henshin."

"MELON!"

"LOCK-ON!"

"SOIYA!"

"MELON ARMS! TENKA GOMEN!"

The Inves charged towards Zangetsu only to be quickly killed by him and explode. This resulted the rest of the Inves on the runway to notice him. Zangetsu, by far, never had a problem handling regular Inves by himself. And thus, did he fight and ride his way to GHQ main headquarters.

xxxxxx

Haruka was near the bed where Shu was laying down, and stroked his hair to help him go to sleep. Then, she received a call.

"I'll be right back."

Haruka answered.

"This is Haruka... Wait. Slow down... What?!"

Haruka checked the windows to see what was going on. She was shocked to say the least.

"Okay. I'll be there soon. Just hang on!"

Haruka got dressed as quickly as she could. She went to Shu's room.

"Shu. Listen to me. There's an emergency at where I work. I don't know when I will be back. Just stay here. Don't go outside for whatever reason."

Shu was unresponsive.

"Shu, are you listening to me? This is very important."

Shu nodded yes.

"Okay. I know that you're going through a tough time right now. I wish I had more time to understand. But, I want you to know that I know that you are a good person, Shu. I always believed that."

Shu was unresponsive again.

"If I can, I will come back."

Haruka kissed Shu on the cheek. She then stepped outside to see the disaster that was happening. She made to the complex garage, drove in her car to GHQ main headquarters, and discovered the streets covered in chaos. People were running from the Inves that were appearing out of the crystal silhouettes of the people who were completely covered of virus crystals. Everywhere they turned, Inves were there to grab them and kill them. It was pure carnal anarchy. Haruka was never more scared in her life.

xxxxxx

Shu was laying down on his bed, wallowing in his guilt rather than in his pity. Lost in his own thoughts, everything around him was in a sort of haze-like viewpoint. He did not question it, however, as he was began to lose sense of purpose.

'What am I? Really? Just another tool that everyone can throw away as soon as they're done? An excuse for murdering in the name of freedom? Just another nobody everyone can forget existed? Why am I even asking these questions?'

(Play Kamen Rider Gaim OST – Track 11)

Shu felt his self-worth slipping away from his own hands. He then went to sleep. As Shu was sleeping, little wisps of light spinning around him until more came to completely surround him in brightness. Shu was semi-aware of the whole thing until he segwayed into dreaming. There, he was in a large, lush field of grass and flowers. Then, he saw the girl with the dark pink hair he saw before. She appeared this time wearing a long white dress with black knee-high boots. Shu didn't know whether it was actually her, or just his subconscious speaking to him via her image.

"I know things are dark right now, and you're feeling like you don't matter. That nobody cares about you. That's because people are useless and no sense of mercy towards each other."

"It's you. Who are you?"

"Even if there are good people, they eventually get used by the bad ones who ruin the world without anyone knowing. That's why... you should forget about them, and find me. If you do, I can give you happiness."

"What?"

"It's okay to turn your back on humanity. They've pretty much betrayed you. And they will betray you further. But now, you have freedom. The freedom to run away."

"Why should I run away?"

"Because it's the only way we can be together, and start anew."

(end music)

Shu did not know if it was her talking, or himself. The dream was so intense that he finally woke up. When he did, he found himself not in his room anymore. She was not even in his home anymore. He was now in the building where his club mates meet.

"Am I still dreaming?"

Shu pinched himself to confirm.

"Okay. I'm not. But how did I get here?"

He looked around until he saw DJ Sagara sitting on the desk. He felt that Sagara was expecting him for quite some time.

"Yo. You look freaked out."

"You. How long have you been here? Are you the one who brought me here?"

xxxxxx

(Several moments earlier)

The city was held hostage by mass panic in the streets as massive riots threatened to tear Tokyo apart. Meanwhile, Keido made to GHQ main headquarters. He looked around to see the damage done while making his way towards the main control room. With the media link still open, Keido made an announcement to the city and the country.

"You attention, please. This is the chief of GHQ's Anti-Bodies, Shuuichirou Keido. I am saddened to announce that the majority of the GHQ chain of command, including the former Supreme Commander, Major General Marcus Yan, were killed in a surprise terrorist attack. As the highest-ranking official, I will be effectively assuming command of all military action."

Haruka finally made it to headquarters and into underground parking. When she got out, she was met with half a dozen soldiers pointing guns at her. Leading them was Segai.

"Hello, Dr. Ouma. We've been expecting you. Your brother ordered me to retrieve you. Cooperate, and no harm will fall on you."

Haruka had no choice but to cooperate. She walked to the main control room of headquarters with Segai pointing a gun to her back. Both of them eventually made it.

"Funeral Parlor are the culprits behind all that is happening. We have declared this a level-one state of emergency. As a necessary consequence, the Anti-Bodies have taken over command. I repeat, this is a level-one state of emergency."

Segai guided Haruka to a nearby chair and made her sit down.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head, Dr. Ouma. We have use for you."

Then, motorcycle sounds were heard as Baron and Bravo rode their bikes inside of the main control room. Keido was mildly annoyed by this while everyone else inside were dodging the bike, including Segai. Haruka saw this as an opportunity to escape. The personnel in the room were afraid of the riders. Keido instantly stopped his announcement in order to deal with the riders.

"All personnel, leave this room."

They did so, leaving only the riders, him, and Segai.

"Segai, you as well."

"Forgive me sir, but I like to see how you handle this."

"Very well. Never said I didn't give you the chance."

Bravo saw Segai speaking to Keido.

"Scarface, you're with him?"

"It's a hell a lot more preferable than being with you, quarterback."

This angered Bravo.

"I expected more out of you. I'll see to it that you'll never see sunlight again. Both you and your boss."

"Well, Major Segai. Time for me to make my move."

Keido lifted the grey suitcase that was given to him by Yu. He opened to reveal his driver. This shocked Bravo and Baron.

"A Sengoku Driver?"

"This one looks different."

"That's because it has more power than yours."

Keido took the Genesis Driver, and placed it on his waist. The driver was fully active...

"Henshin."

"LEMON ENERGY!"

and placed the energy lockseed on his driver, starting his transformation.

"LOCK-ON!"

A European techno tune was played and repeated until Keido pushed the lever on his driver.

"SODA!"

The metallic lemon landed on Keido's shoulders as a shiny blue latex suit with a grey-black chest formed around him.

"LEMON ENERGY ARMS!"

"FIGHT POWER! FIGHT POWER! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FI-FI-FI-FI-FI-FIGHT!"

The metallic lemon unfolded into an upper chest plate with a cape extending to his left shoulder. The suit possessed regal attributes. Legs possessed steel leggings with the upper knees having pointed spikes. A mask resembling a variation of a knight's helmet. Keido caught a reflection of himself, and was impressed to say the least.

"Hmm. I look splendid, don't you think, Segai?"

"I honestly agree, sir. You look like royalty."

"You know, I always found the title of duke to be an attractive title. Tell me gentlemen, do I look like something of a duke?"

Baron flipped his driver three times while Bravo flipped his two times.

"BANANA SPARKLING!"

"DURIAN AU LAIT!"

Both attacks hit Keido, forcing him back.

"Well, that was dramatic."

There was no damage of any kind on Keido. He shrugged off the combined attack like it was nothing.

"Now the real fight begins."

Keido jumped to Bravo first, and attacked him using both bladed edges of his Sonic Arrow. Bravo landed a few hits with his weapons, but Keido struck back harder. Baron took part of the fight and attempted to hit Keido, but missed as Keido leaped to the side and dealt blows to Baron. Then he slashed Baron hard enough that Baron would stumble backwards, allowing Keido to shoot an energy arrow at Baron. He missed due to Bravo tackling him to help his comrade. This made Keido mad.

"I think I'll finish you off first."

"Hit me with your best shot!"

"I always hated that song."

Keido removed the lemon lockseed from his belt, and placed it on the slot on his Sonic Arrow.

"LOCK-ON!"

Keido pulled back the retractable bow to generate an energy arrow shot. While Bravo flipped cutting blade of his driver three times.

(guitar riff)

"DURIAN SPARKLING!"

Bravo's dori nokos both generated an energy field around themselves until they were fully formed into larger versions of the top bladed weapons. Keido released the bow of his sonic arrow, releasing an energy arrow while Bravo swinged his weapons to collide with the arrow shot. Bravo held out as long as he could, but the power difference between the two was too great. The arrow shot through Bravo's attack, and hit him hard. Thereby causing the transformation to cancel. By the time Baron regained consciousness, Colonel Dan lied on the floor defeated. Baron was still too weak from Keido's power. Keido walked to Colonel Dan with a smug attitude.

"Down on your luck, Colonel?"

"Screw you! You won't get away with this."

"As if you have any say in the matter."

Colonel Dan saw Baron getting up to fight again.

"Daryl, run!"

"I won't! I owe it to myself to get vengeance!"

"You won't be able to do... ACK!"

Keido stabbed the Colonel on his back.

"COLONEL!"

Baron charged towards Keido, but was hit by Keido with arrow shots. He fired a few more times causing Baron's transformation to cancel as well. Colonel Dan spoke to Daryl one last time.

"DARYL, LISTEN TO ME! You have to stay alive. You have to live so that you can get stronger to fight him again. But right now, you can't! If he's too much for me, what makes you think you can take him on?!"

Daryl had to accept that fact. Keido was leagues above him. He had no other choice but to stop fighting. He ran towards Keido. Keido swinged his sonic arrow, but Daryl slid underneath him to get Colonel Dan. He tried to pick him up, but Colonel Dan refused.

"We got to get out of here!"

"No. You have to get out of here. Find other who are willing to fight back. Stop Keido."

Colonel Dan gave Daryl his Durian lockseed.

"No matter the cost."

Daryl did not have a choice in the matter. Colonel Dan was going to die here, and he could not do anything about it. Daryl grabbed his bike and ran from the scene. Segai was going to make a call to apprehend him.

"Let him be."

"Are you sure?"

"What can he do now?"

"A lot more than you think, you bastards."

Both Keido and Segai turned their head to see Colonel Dan still alive.

"As long as he's alive, you better watch your backs."

"I thought you were already dead. I'll have to fix that."

Keido drew his sonic arrow until it fully produced an energy arrow, which he released, instantly killing Colonel Dan. The energy arrow exploded on contact, reducing Colonel Dan to a bloody mess. His blood and innards were all over the room, with an eye rolling near Segai. Segai took a picture of the whole thing on his flip phone.

"Time to make our next move."

Keido closed the lockseed on his driver to cancel his transformation.

"Right behind you sir."

At the bottom headquarters floor, Daryl was on his Rose Attacker, driving away from GHQ headquarters, and riding for Tennozu high. He remembered a name that he heard from the last time he encountered Gaim. Then he remembered the face that went with that name. The night after he got into trouble with the school for starting a fight, he looked up a face with the school's database to look for the student that had the audacity to interrupt his fight. He found the face and the name that came with it. Shu Ouma. Daryl now knew Gaim's secret identity. Daryl swallowed all his pride in order to do two things. First, he ran away from a fight. Second, he would have to ask his rival for help.

xxxxxx

(Tennozu High)

The school was in full-on tension mode as they were hearing the news about what was going on. Being informed that the massive breakout of Inves on the streets of Tokyo was the result of the actions of Funeral Parlor. Everyone was buying it. All but one. Hare was all over the school, looking for her friends. She wanted to tell them about Shu. She eventually found Souta and Kanon in the gym. All the students were relocated there in emergency procedures Arisa guided the remaining students to the gym.

"Souta! Kanon!"

"Hey Hare."

"Are you hearing this right now?"

"That's just the thing. Have either of you seen Shu?"

"No we haven't. Do you know where he is?"

"I'm sure he must've gone home earlier today after what happened. Why? What's going on?"

"Come with me. I'll tell you at the club building."

Hare, Souta, and Kanon made it outside the school past the teachers. Little did they know they were seen by Arisa. Once the last of the students in the school were all inside the gymnasium, she immediately began to follow the film club. She acted on her responsibilities as the student council president.

'Where they could be going? Don't they know what's happening right now?'

Since the whole school was in a state of emergency, she had to make sure all the students were inside the school. She was also curious, and decided to spy on them for a while. They walked to the building only to find a huge metal trailer bearing the symbol of Funeral Parlor parked near their club building. The side doors opened. Coming out were two girls. One was wearing some sort of black latex jumpsuit with headwear resembling cat ears, and another wearing the same thing, except red, and was bound to a wheelchair.

"Who are they?"

"Are they with Funeral Parlor?"

Souta took a closer look at the redhead.

"Hey, I think I know them."

"You know them Souta?"

"Not personally, but I did see them. Back in Oshima. The redhead was posing as a rich girl, and the other one was the maid pushing the wheelchair. I didn't know they were Funeral Parlor."

"We better call the teachers."

"Kanon, wait."

"Hare, they're terrorists."

"Shu used to be with them!"

Souta and Kanon were gasping with shock at that last statement.

"No way!"

"That's impossible!"

"You're half-right."

Souta and Kanon turned around to see Ayase and Tsugumi behind them. Both were startled and took a step back. Tsugumi was annoyed, but Ayase had a sad look on her face.

"He used to be one of us."

Hare approached Ayase. She bowed a little bit to get to get to Ayase's level.

"Why did he leave?"

Ayase had tears in her eyes.

"We pushed him away when we should've been there for him. I called him a coward when he was hurting."

"Ayase, don't cry. You have nothing to apologize for."

Hare spoke to Tsugumi.

"What's your name?"

"Tsugumi. And I'll explain why Shu quit on us. He couldn't hack it, that's why! He was acting selfishly and quit on us when we needed him most. And to top it all off, he shot our leader! Nearly killing him!"

Souta was blown away by the last thing Shu did. Arisa, hearing from afar, was absolutely shocked by what she heard.

"Holy crap! Shu nearly killed Gai Tsutsugami?! I knew he had some balls inside him, but DAMN!"

Tsugumi was ready to pounce on Souta, but Hare snapped at him first.

"Souta! That's not nice!"

"They're terrorists. Who cares about what they feel?"

Hare slapped Souta hard on his face.

"Don't say that! Ever! If Shu was with them, then he must've had a reason to do it. He wouldn't hurt anyone!"

"She's actually right."

Ayase said, silencing the argument.

"He was actually saving lives when he was with us. All he wanted to do was the right thing. Thing is, he's too clouded by his inadequacies to see it for himself."

"I think the same thing."

Ayase looked at Hare with mutual understanding.

"Just tell me. Why did he quit?"

"Because he killed my little brother."

Everyone heard the voice and recognized it. They all turned to see Yahiro. Kanon and Souta were relieved to see him while Hare had an angry look on her face. Ayase and Tsugumi saw it.

"Yahiro!"

"You're okay."

"Hey guys. Miss me much?"

"Dude, where you've been?"

"It's a long story."

"I'm sure it is."

Yahiro heard Hare speak with a harsh tone.

"Hey Hare. What's the matter with you? You sound like I made you mad or something."

"Oh, I'm mad all right. I'm mad at what you did to Shu!"

"So, he told you?"

"Yes, he did. How could you? He was your best friend, and you betray him?"

Souta was immediately shocked by what Hare said.

"Wait, betray? What are you talking about Hare?"

"Shu went to jail because of him."

Kanon couldn't believe her.

"No way."

"Yeah way."

Tsugumi answered.

"We were the ones who broke him out."

Tsugumi knew that to be a half-truth, but they did not know that. Kanon was heartbroken by Yahiro's actions.

"But why?"

"I know why Kanon. You were selling drugs, and he made you out. But Shu promised, Yahiro. He promised that he would never let anyone know. He believed you were his friend, and you send him to jail?! What is wrong with you?!"

Yahiro was completely silent. He could not think of anything. His charm and friendly demeanor were now useless. He looked at Kanon. The sight of her face expressing profound heartbreak only added to his guilt. Yet, for the part of him that wanted to sever bonds out of instinct, he could not care less. Then, motorcycle sounds were heard as one was fast approaching everyone. On it was a familiar blonde-haired person they were all familiar with, albeit with two different names. He slowed down to stop in front of the group. Then, he removed his helmet. Both Groups spoke simultaneously.

"Daryl Yan?"

"Takumi Inui?"

"You know him?"

"This guy is part of GHQ."

Hare, Souta, Kanon, and Yahiro were half-surprised. The three of them did not know Takumi very well. Each of them had figured that he had his problems, but none of them had any idea that he was undercover at their school. For Daryl, that was intentional.

"But why?"

Daryl explained himself to everyone that was there.

"I was assigned here to locate Kamen Rider Gaim. After the incident in Roppongi Hills, an investigation was underway to determine whether he had any connection to Funeral Parlor. We finally uncovered the man behind the mask."

Everyone instantly remembered the news of Shu's arrest.

"However, all data related to the fact were gone. Deleted without a trace. So, we went back to square one. Investigators had educated guesses pertaining to Gaim's identity. With information provided by Major Makoto Segai, we had a lead to who Gaim really was."

Kanon interrupted him.

"Why are you telling us all this?"

"I'm getting to that. My last mission before this disaster happened, I was part of a task force called the Anti-Bodies. Our mission was hunting down a cancerous fugitive."

"You mean my brother?"

Yahiro said with spite. Daryl noticed it.

"For what it's worth, I am sorry about your loss."

"Oh are you? You people hunted us down like animals! You honestly that shitty little apology of yours is gonna do anything?"

"Like you're one to judge."

Yahiro turned around to see the person who said that. He saw Tsugumi.

"You're from Funeral Parlor?"

"Yeah. Now let him finish. I really like to know what his organization has to gain from all this."

"Which I would like to get to. The mission ended in failure due to the fugitive succumbing to the virus. However, it's what happened afterwards that the true intention of the ones behind the greenhouse clear."

Hare, Souta, and Kanon remembered the greenhouse that GHQ had underground. It was all over the news.

"One of the scientists involved was experimenting with the monsters that were appearing all over Tokyo. Or more to the point, he was experimenting with their nourishment. What they feed in order to survive."

"What they feed?"

Souta asked nervously.

"It served as the basis of the new strain of the Apocalypse virus. That's the reason why we were harboring the people infected with the Apocalypse virus. They're targets for the monsters. What grows on the infected are what the monsters eat. But's not the worst part."

Almost everyone listening were feeling tense at what Daryl was going to say next.

"Once the virus completely consumes the infected, the host dies. But the virus doesn't stop there. It mutates the corpse into the monsters that are rampaging the streets right now. In short, the Inves, those monsters I was talking about. They used to be human."

The horror finally set in. This fact about the Inves made Hare, Souta, Kanon, and Arisa shudder in terror at what they heard. Hare sobs were heard.

"There's no use weeping for the dead. What used to be human is now gone."

"It's not that! It's Shu!"

Kanon was curious about how he was involved.

"Hare, what do you mean? I mean, I know he was part of Funeral Parlor but…"

Daryl intervened.

"That's why I came here, to your school, undercover."

Kanon connected all the dots.

"Oh my god."

Souta had trouble catching up.

"What? What is it?"

"SHU IS KAMEN RIDER GAIM!"

Souta and Hare were immensely surprised by this revelation.

"Which is why I'm here. I… need his help. There has been a coup d'état."

Ayase was dumbfounded by that fact.

"An uprising? By who?"

"Shuuichirou Keido. The man behind both the new strain of the virus and the underground greenhouse. He's also the one responsible for creating the Inves. I have to stop him. He's killed both my father and my commanding officer. I even had to leave behind some of my comrades just be here."

"Welcome to the club."

Everyone looked at Tsugumi when she spoke.

"How do you think me and Ayase here feel? We came here to get that spineless pussy to help us fight, but personally, it's a waste of time. If he's lost the will to fight, then we came here for nothing."

Ayase spoke up for Shu's defense

"Tsugumi, you're being too harsh on Shu. You know he would fight for us in an instant. He's like this because we were crappy friends. We pushed him away when we should've been there."

"Oh please Aya. I already know you were gonna trade Gai for Shu. So don't act like…"

Hare walked towards Tsugumi, and slapped her hard. Almost everyone did not see it coming.

"What was that for?"

"You were being unnecessarily cruel to your friend, and to Shu! Just knowing the fact that the monsters terrorizing innocent people out there used to be people themselves. But imagine seeing it for yourself! It's no wonder Shu was acting scared! Anyone would!"

Hare had tears streaming from her eyes. She felt so bad for Shu. So much so, that it made her weep for him. Everyone stood silent for a moment to think about a person that they cared about risking his life to keep them safe. Never knowing that everyday he was protecting them, he was pushing his limits, both physically and mentally. It wasn't until a few moments later that Funell wheeled in front of them. Tsugumi was the first to notice her robot.

"Funell?"

"Hello there, children."

The voice was instantly known by everyone, and was spoken out at the same time.

"DJ Sagara?!"

"Yo. Glad y'all can be here today. Now, the truth can be revealed."

Hare was confused by Sagara's words.

"What truth?"

"The huge reveal that will enlighten you all on who is doing all this and why. For some of you here, you know one part of the truth. But the whole truth still escapes you. Today, your eyes will open, and your parts in all this… well, I'm still working that out. For now, just listen. All of you. That's right! I'm talking to you, Madame President!"

Arisa was startled, and unceremoniously fell out of the bush she was hiding in and unto the ground. Everyone stared at the president getting up in an awkward way.

"I'm…so sorry. I couldn't help but overhear everything. I had always believed the accusations of Shu's collaboration were entirely false."

"No, it wasn't. But Gai was willing to make things right with him. At least until today."

Arisa stared at Ayase, who looked as if she was wrestling with guilt.

"I just want to know. What the hell is going on here?"

Sagara spoke.

"You're about to find out."

The audio switched to a live conversation taking place.

"Yo. You look freaked out."

"You. How long have you been here? Are you the one who brought me here?"

xxxxxx

(Now)

"Well?"

"Pretty much. I brought you here because you look like you have a lot on your mind. So much that it caused you to resign. And on unfriendly terms. So, what happened? Why you'd do it? Whatever happened to that 'I going to do the right thing!' pep?"

Shu lamented on what he did so far with his powers.

"I… fought because I didn't like the way GHQ was acting. That's why I joined with Funeral Parlor, with Inori, with Gai. But… it turns out that… I'm no better than them. I had just realized that I was actually killing the same people I really wanted to protect. I was a hypocrite without realizing it."

"Hmm. They got you pretty good, didn't they?"

"So what the hell should I do?! To save a life, I have to take a life? That makes me no different from the bad guys. What the hell was I doing anyways, then?! WHAT WAS THE POINT?!"

"Fighting to protect… is an oxymoron in of itself. Power only has one purpose, and that has been to destroy."

Shu was digesting Sagara's words.

"But… I don't want to destroy."

"Then let me open your eyes."

Sagara stood up, walked near to Shu, and sat down with him.

"What you really want to fight against isn't just the GHQ. It's this unspoken law that says in order to have hope in your life, it has to be taken from another life. You wanna know what to do? Take that stupid law, and destroy it. Change the rules, and you change the world."

Shu felt like his desire to stop and defeat the GHQ was placed in some sort of fiery crucible, and melted down into this pure instinct that Sagara perfectly summarized.

"Change the world?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Me?"

"Oh yeah. Do you want to know the real reason why GHQ acts the way it does right now? It's because… they're weak. They honestly believe the way the world is right now honestly doesn't deserve a future. They've resigned themselves to their cynicism and doubts because they never considered that they have the power to make a difference. To change what's in front of them, and making it better. Like somebody we both know."

"Like Gai?"

Sagara paused for a bit with a look on his face.

"…Yeah. Like Gai. I don't see someone like him giving in to the status quo of things. At least he's proactive in his beliefs. He's doing everything he can to achieve his goals. Right now, he's standing his ground against the odds. It's really admirable. Unfortunately, he's going in without all the facts. He's going up against not just the GHQ, but also the people who had a hand in Lost Christmas."

"Wait. Lost Christmas was…?"

"A setup. A planned terrorist attack made to look like an unnatural disaster. Lives lost on the whims of powerful figures that hide in the shadows of society. You've heard this before, one way or another."

Shu was shocked to hear that one of the most horrific events that almost tore his nation apart was actually orchestrated by people who think themselves above the innocent.

"These people believe that the Apocalypse Virus may contain the key to furthering human evolution. The name of the group is Daath. Their leaders are called the Overlords. They are more than just leaders. They possess the ability to manipulate the Apocalypse Virus, and therefore the Inves."

"Don't they have any idea what they're doing to us?"

"Honestly, Daath don't give a f***."

Shu was appalled by how Daath perceived human life to be worth.

"I know. They're pretty damn irresponsible sons of bitches, aren't they?"

"And GHQ is going along with this?"

"Not the GHQ. A man named Shuuichirou Keido. Daath approached him to create the first Lost Christmas. Well, he and a colleague that I once knew as well. Keido doesn't care if the Apocalypse Virus will usher in a new age of human evolution. He's actually doing for far more… pettier reasons. He's the one in charge of GHQ right now."

Shu processed everything he had learned into one focused point.

"He's the one I have to defeat. One of, perhaps, many people I have to take down."

Shu said with passion and conviction. Sagara's talk with Shu was apparently successful. So much though that it made Sagara smile.

"Now there's the fire I've been waiting to see!"

Sagara took out an object out of his left pocket. Shu saw it and recognized that it was some sort of lockseed. The design was different. It was more rectangular than round. The fruit design was that of a metallic orange. On its right side was an attachment slot, but its purpose was unknown for now. The lettering on the front read 'K.L.S-01.'

"So, if I take down Keido and Daath, then everything can be saved?"

"That's a bit of a tall order you're asking of yourself."

"I've pushed away everyone who can help me, and I don't want to put my friends and my mom in danger."

"Well, then I guess you're gonna need this."

Sagara gave the lockseed in his hand for Shu to hold.

"Also this."

Out of his right pocket, Sagara gave Shu the Dandiliner lock vehicle. It was rectangular as well as a bit bigger than the lock vehicles for the Sakura Hurricane and the Rose Attacker. Its colors were primarily yellow, sliver, and black. It read 'L.V.-03' Shu accepted Sagara's help. Then, he asked a question.

"Why do you want to help me?"

Sagara felt it was time to give Shu a measure of honesty to get Shu to trust him.

"Because it's not just your story that has to live on. You have another that was forced to be left unfinished."

Shu wanted to ask Sagara what he meant, but he was denied as little wisps of light surrounded Sagara until light engulfed him and disappeared. In his place was the blue hoodie Shu hasn't worn for quite a while. Shu was left feeling confused as well as renewed. Renewed in purpose and motivation. However, before he could start his mission, Shu saw his friends, Yahiro, Daryl, and Arisa enter into the club. They all wanted to talk.

"How much did you hear?"

Hare replied,

"All of it. Are you okay, Shu?"

"More than that. But before I go, I owe all of you here an explanation."

xxxxxx

(Hanada airport)

"We've pinpointed their leader. He's in his armor, currently engaging. Hold on… He now has an accomplice with him."

Rowan was in the command center of GHQ, overseeing the mission. He witnessed a pink-haired girl in a white outfit joining him. They looked like they were arguing for a while, and then she followed him.

"The group's remaining Arsenal consists of one large-sized trailer, one Endlave, and a fighting force consisting of eight people west of the terminal."

"We've severed their chain of command. They're good as helpless."

"Sir, about Gai Tsutsugami. Since he possesses the rider armor, should we be worried?"

"The monsters on the ground should keep him occupied long enough to complete the mission. Continue your duties."

"Yes sir."

"Where's he chief?"

"He's just landed in Roppongi."

"Very well."

Rowan oversaw the progress of the mission. He as monitoring Gai in his rider armor. Rowan remembered when he was in charge of delivering the two Genomes to headquarters, but failed. What his superiors did not know was he failed on purpose.

xxxxxx

(Flashback)

Gai made to Zeta three's position. Each of the fighters had their weapons aimed at the car that was transporting the Sengoku Genome in their possession. Gai approached the assault team to receive information about the situation.

"What's up?"

"We open fire on the car. We didn't hit directly. Just fired a few rounds to get the security detail out and disarm them. Nobody came out though. But one of the windows open and someone inside said that they were willing to surrender the item…"

"But on one condition, right?"

"Yes sir. The demand was that you were here to retrieve the item yourself. The person inside the car says that he has a message that you need to hear, and you alone."

Gai was in thought.

'This could be a trap. I approach that car, they come out with all guns and kill me then. And yet, not only didn't they return fire after being hit, they're also willing to give up a valuable item to us. More specifically, to me. There's no other choice.'

"This is Gai Tsutsugami! I am going to come to you! Try anything, and my men here will shoot to kill!"

The back left door opened, and out came Rowan. He held both of his arms up with his right hand holding the attache case with the Sengoku Genome. Some of Gai's doubts were beginning to fade, but he still kept his guard up. Gai walked until he was within close enough distance to have a talk with him.

"Okay. I'm here. What did you want to talk about?"

"My orders were two things. One: I was supposed to give this to you."

"Who's it from?"

"Sagara."

"I see. What was the second thing?"

"To deliver this message to you. 'This is my gift to you, Triton. You'll know what to do with it. Don't make me regret it.' Those were Mr. Sagara's words."

Gai was once again at a loss as to how Sagara knew his previous name. He tried to remember who he was exactly, but that had wait. With a Sengoku Genome in hand, he now has the power to help Shu.

"My men will not open fire on you. You can leave here with your life."

Rowan went back into the car, and it drove away. Gai then gave his orders.

"All teams, report back to base. I repeat, report back to base. This mission is done."

Even though all teams obeyed Gai's orders without hesitation, Tsugumi had to ask.

"Gai, what about the second genome? Weren't we…?"

"I have a feeling that GHQ won't be seeing those anymore. Now, if you will excuse me, I like to open my gift."

Gai opened the attache case to reveal three items inside. A Sengoku Genome, the Melon Lockseed, and a Sakura Hurricane lock vehicle.

"These will do nicely. Hopefully, Shu's held his ground long enough."

xxxxxx

(Present)

Keido's helicopter landed on the building where Funeral Parlor made their base. His personal security scouted the entire place for any insurgents to eliminate. There were none. Keido proceeded downstairs to reach the library where Funeral Parlor would meet. Segai was with the security team and waited for Keido at the library.

"Everything's going according to plan. Funeral Parlor's forces are concentrated at Hanada. The meteor fragment should be here soon?"

"It already is."

An extra set of footsteps were heard. What came out the shadows was the humanoid creature that Baron faced earlier. It held in its hands the canister that held the meteor fragment that he had to kill in order to retrieve. It spoke in a language no one could understand once again. Keido, however, looked like he could.

"Thank you for bring the item."

(intelligible)

"Yes, I'm quite aware, there is no need to worry. He's far too powerless to do anything. Certainly not worth your time."

The creature left the room, leaving Segai puzzled as to how Keido could understand him. Keido took out a small earpiece out of his right ear.

"This little thing here has their entire language in data. It's a sort of translator. It is a temporary solution. They're starting to learn our language."

"Who's they?"

"For another time. Now we continue our work. Now is the time for us to cross the river of lamentation."

Keido placed the canister containing the meteor fragment in the center as it began to glow. The glow grew brighter and brighter until Segai and Keido were in a silver and blue room with a hive-wall in front of them.

"So this is the passage to Cocytus. The gateway to hell itself."

"Not quite. I personally think of it as the gate to heaven."

xxxxxx

(Tennozu High)

Arisa summarized all that she heard to better understand what Shu was doing all this time.

"So, you joined Funeral Parlor because you accidently injected yourself with a superweapon that helps you not only transform into an armored superhero, but you can use people's souls as weapons. Then, you finally started committing to Funeral Parlor because you discovered before anyone of us here that the GHQ was using the Apocalypse virus to turn people into 'Inves' for an evil plan of some sort, right?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

A brief silence filled the air before Souta bursted with energy, shouting,

"THIS IS SO CRAZY! I mean… Shu, that time when you were arrested for actually being with Funeral Parlor…"

"That was actually true, Souta. But you have to realize. At that time, I honestly didn't know anything. I needed to get my eyes open by the truth. That's where he came in."

"Who?"

"DJ Sagara."

Kanon joined in on the conversation.

"Why is he helping you, Shu? I mean, if he knows all this stuff, then why can't he do something about it?"

Daryl provided his own answer.

"Maybe it's because of Keido. I've heard some things about him. He used to be part of the research team that studied the virus itself before Lost Christmas. I also heard that he and Keido aren't on good terms with each other. But also, I think it's because since he's the guy that somehow managed to replicate your powers. Keido can't do that, he needs Sagara. Sagara won't cooperate, Keido hunts him down. Explains why we haven't seen him lately since the Greenhouse was exposed."

"You might be right about that. But for now, I know he's on our side."

"Hmph. If you say so."

"There's also one more thing I want to know."

"What, Souta?"

"How do you do it? Use people's souls as weapons?"

Shu knew that that question had to pop out at some time.

"Okay. I'm willing to show you."

"Really? Do you mean use us as tools?"

Yahiro said in harsh tone. Everyone in the room felt Yahiro didn't have the right to be so accusing considering his actions. Daryl was the one who was not afraid to be unapologetically blunt.

"Are you really gonna stand there and say that kind of shit when you did the same kind of shit to the guy that used to be your friend? Because if you are, that only show how weak you honestly are! Your insecurities are you own damn fault, not his. If you don't want to volunteer, keep it to yourself. But don't act like you honestly care about everyone else here."

Ayase was inclined to agree with Daryl.

"Despite my opinion of this guy, he has a point. You turn on your friends for petty little reasons. So don't act like you have any moral ground at all, backstabber."

This shut Yahiro up good. Hare stepped forward.

"It's okay, Shu. I trust you with my life."

Shu walked towards Hare to give a demonstration of his void-extracting abilities.

"This is going to look scary, but it's really not. You'll be fine."

Shu aimed his hand at Hare's chest. Everyone automatically jumped to the wrong conclusion before seeing Hare's chest glow with some sort of portal forming at her chest. Shu reached inside with crystal streams coming out of Hare. Shu then extracted Hare's void out of her body.

"Bandages. That makes sense."

Kanon looked at Hare as she was in Shu's arms, unconscious.

"Hare. What did you do to her?"

"She's okay. She'll be back as soon I put it back."

Almost everyone in the room was in shock as they witnessed Shu's abilities to use voids was for real. To be able to use the manifestation of people's souls as weapons was something entirely unbelievable. Souta spoke in way that expressed just how freaked out he was by what he saw.

"What the hell is this, Shu?"

Tsugumi was being annoyed by Souta's 'amazement.'

"It's like he was telling you, dummy."

"This is a void. Its shape and from are different for every person. The abilities as well. It all depends on the person. Daryl. I know you didn't want to say anything, but I've noticed that you got some nasty scratches on you."

Everyone saw Daryl and did see some scratches on his face. Shu used Hare's void by wrapping Daryl's left wrist. The void started glowing, and all the scratches on Daryl were instantly gone. Everyone was amazed, even Daryl himself.

"Huh. That was way different from what I was expecting."

Shu returned Hare's void back to her body. Shen then woke up

"Hey Shu. What happened?"

"It's okay. I extracted your void, and used to heal Daryl's injuries."

"Really? What was it like?"

"Kind and loving, just like you."

Hare knew she was being swooned in a cheesy way, but she didn't care.

"The person who I've extracted the void from won't have any memory of me extracting and using it. I've done it to Souta."

Everyone looked at Souta. This made him feel nervous.

"Seriously, you did?"

"Twice actually."

Souta blushed in embarrassment.

"If it makes it any better, I am really sorry. The same thing goes for all of you. I wasn't being honest and trusting with you. I let a lot of things get in the way of me being the friend you all deserve. I've done a lot of bad things without even knowing it. The real reason why I joined with Gai and Inori, Ayase and Tsugumi, is because… I was ashamed of myself for quite a long time. I believed that if I was gone the next day, people would be like 'who was that guy?' When I had the chance to be something other than me, I took it, believing that I could be something else. I was doing this all wrong. I didn't need to become something else. I had to be myself, free of my inadequacies. I'm sorry I lied to all of you, but I want you to understand. I have to go to Hanada. I have to help my comrades. But I can't do it alone. I need your help."

xxxxxx

(Hanada)

Zangetsu and Inori were making their way to GHQ headquarters, but were surrounded with Inves from all corners. Both of them got away from the horde for a while until one jumped out of nowhere, catching Inori off-guard. Fortunately, Zangetsu was swift in killing it. A few more appeared as they stampeded towards the couple. Zangetsu flipped the cutting blade once.

"SOIYA! MELON SQUASH!"

Zangetsu's Musou Saber glowed, enabling him to create a sword beam that destroyed them all in a single stroke.

"More of these thing keep on coming. Is there no end to them? Mana, is this what you truly wanted?"

"Gai."

Zangetsu turned around to see Inori.

"I can stop this. I know I can."

"The infestation is far too advanced to stop. It's already consumed the city."

"The song. It'll help us."

She heard another set of footsteps approaching the both of them. Zangetsu waited until he grabbed the person coming their way. It turned out to be Haruka, Shu's mother. Haruka was terrified of the armored figure that grabbed her by the throat. Inori immediately recognized her.

"Gai, stop!"

He did so, realizing who he grabbed. He let go, allowing Haruka to breathe.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know who you were."

Haruka saw the person behind Zangetsu.

"Inori, are you with him?"

"Yes."

Haruka was shocked by seeing her as a terrorist.

"I got a lot of questions for you. But first, tell me. Is Shu all right? Isn't he with you?"

Inori nodded no. Zangetsu joined in on the conversation.

"We didn't bring him with us. Right now, he's at the school."

"But he was with you and your group, right?"

Zangetsu gave a yes nod to Haruka.

"He can transform like you?"

"Yes. The one who gave him the power do it was…"

"DJ Sagara."

Haruka was shaking in anger.

"Damn it! I told him to stay away from Shu! I didn't want him involved with my son! I didn't want him in our lives. He thinks he's doing all out of loyalty, but really. All he wants is revenge. Damn him."

All were silent over the fact that everything was falling down, and none of them could prevent it. Inori spoke with hope.

"He'll come. I know it."

xxxxxx

(Tennozu High)

Everyone took a moment to fully understand what was going, what Shu can do, and whether they wanted to be involved. Souta was the first to give his answer.

"Okay. I'm in. There's no guarantee that we're going to be safe here anyways. Might as well give it a shot."

Souta's enthusiasm, while simple, was effective and contagious. Arisa gave her support as well.

"Count in in. I'm sick of saying it's none of my business."

Hare and Kanon gave their answer as well.

"I'm always behind you, Shu."

"And I'm always behind Hare."

"Well, might as well join in. Tsugumi."

"Ayase, do we have…?"

"Yes we do. Gai is in trouble, and we have no plan to help him. I trust Shu on this as well."

Only two more have yet to answer. Daryl spoke next.

"I have my own reasons to fight, but right now, I can't do anything by myself. I'm in, if only to avenge those I've lost. Besides, I have a friend in the GHQ I have to get out. And you're the only guy I can trust to help me do it."

There was only one person left to give an answer.

"What about you, Yahiro?"

Everyone was surprised to see Shu giving Yahiro a chance to join their crusade. Even Yahiro himself.

"I get it. All of you think I don't deserve a second chance. And I know why. The reason why I acted the way I did is because I didn't have a purpose. If Jun hadn't needed me as much as he did, maybe I would've had the time to know what I really believe in. That's why I want in. If you honestly believe you're doing the right thing Shu, then I'll stick with you. To the very end."

xxxxxx

(Hanada)

Zangetsu was fighting some more Inves that were fast approaching a computer lab where Haruka was modifying the signal to somehow reverse the spread of the virus. The stairway was narrow, so Zangetsu was able to bottleneck the Inves. However, he was growing tired.

"I can't hold out much longer."

Haruka was tearing off panels to upload her program faster.

"This isn't how I thought the test would go, but I think it might work."

Haruka worked as fast as she could to get the program up and running. Since she knew that the virus spreads itself by harmonic resonance, it was theoretically possible to create a biological frequency to stop the spread of infection and reverse the damage. She had the math to make it possible. She just needed the frequency carrier. That was where Inori came in. She went to the roof of the control tower to wait for part to start. Haruka was working on multiple keyboards to maintain the progress of her work.

"Keep on going. Almost there."

After typing a few more commands, the program was complete.

"It's open. Inori!"

Inori heard Haruka, and began to sing.

(Play Guilty Crown - Departures ~ Blessing)

As Inori began to sing, crystal streams were all around her now. One stream tuned into a circle that expanded all over the city. Row of circles formed above her as Inori kept on singing her song. Then, what looked like snow fell upon Tokyo. Her song was heard all over the city as people listened. Even Shu and his friends started to notice.

"Woah, look at that."

"It's so beautiful."

"Who's doing it?"

Shu gave a confident answer.

"It's Inori. Listen."

Everyone did so, and sure enough, they all heard Inori singing.

"What's she's trying to do?"

Tsugumi went to Funell to determine who this was being done.

"Shu, look at this."

"What is it?"

"Someone's hacked into the network. It making Inori's song reach all over Tokyo."

"What's it trying to do?"

"Give me a minute…. Got it. It's… erasing the virus. She's curing everyone infected with the virus."

They were all amazed and relieved at the results.

"What about the Inves?"

"I'm checking city surveillance. Woah. Not only are they being docile, but they're actually disappearing."

Tsugumi showed the actual video of Inves being calm and not attacking people.

xxxxxx

Zangetsu was seeing the Inves not doing anything and dissipating right before his very eyes.

"Keep it up, Inori."

Haruka was seeing the progress of her program, and was amazed by how effective Inori's song was.

"Genomic Resonance is passing 3000."

xxxxxx

Keido and Segai were in the center of Cocytus watching the meteor fragment glow, proceeding their plans when it stopped glowing all of a sudden.

"What the hell is this?"

"It seems as though we have undesirable interference…"

Both men turned to see Yuu standing there.

"…by a little girl."

"This cannot go on."

"I'll take care of it. The way I see it, two birds with one stone."

xxxxxx

Inori kept on singing as Zangetsu walked upstairs to the roof of the control tower to see how she was doing. Then, a dark portal appeared behind her. Zangetsu used his speed to reach Inori, but it was too late. Yuu step through, extracted Inori's void. Her void was that of a giant sword with a gun function. Yuu used the gun function of Inori's void, and shot at Zangetsu. Although the shot missed, the blast threw Zangetsu off, causing him to trip and fall.

"And to think I thought highly of you. This is where you lose everything, Gai Tsutsugami."

Yuu raised Inori's void, and began to undo the healing Inori brought. What happened instead was a large hurricane began to tear Tokyo apart with the wind alone. Yuu then hijacked the media link to broadcast a challenge to the only rider left.

xxxxxx

Shu and his friends ran outside to see what was going on. All but Yahiro. Before he went outside, Shu went back for his hoodie. What started out as a miracle now turned into the actual Apocalypse itself. It was centered at GHQ headquarters. Then a transmission was made all over the media.

"Kamen Rider Gaim! I know you're listening to this, someway."

Shu knew that message was meant for him.

"If you truly desire to stop the destruction that is devouring your city, then come to GHQ Headquarters. I'll be waiting for you."

Shu, taking this announcement as a challenge, summoned his driver. His friends attempted to make him see reason.

"Hold on, Shu!"

"What if it's a trap?"

"We can't lose you!"

Daryl was the lone voice that asked the question that everyone else was afraid to ask.

"What do you really want to do, Ouma?"

"What the hell do you think?"

Daryl gave half a smile, as he was impressed at Shu's determination.

"He has to go."

Ayase quickly disapproved of this.

"Now hold on! At lease let us come with you, Shu!"

"We can't do anything for him. Not today. This is one of those time where you can do nothing else but see what happens."

"I agree with Daryl on this, guys. I have to do this on my own."

Everyone didn't want see Shu die for nothing, but Hare understood, in her own way. She got close to Shu.

"Promise me you'll come back."

"If I do come back, it's gonna be for you."

Shu then finally planted one on Hare. The kiss actually happened. Hare blushed wildly before doing the same thing again to Shu. It was only for a few seconds, but the passion was real. This made everyone either gaped or surprised at what they saw. For Kanon and Souta, both of them thought,

'It's about damn time'

(Play Kamen Rider Gaim OST – Track 17)

Shu then put on his hoodie, and ran for a bit to fully face the dangers that were in front of him.

'Even the weight of my sins will break me someday…'

"The only reason why you can be called a hero is because of the lives that were sacrificed to get you where you are today."

'If the only purpose of my power is to destroy, then I will destroy all things that are ruining the world I live in. I will destroy everything that threatens my friends and those I love. I will move forward in the name of those who have died by the GHQ! ... And by me.'

"HENSHIN!"

"ORANGE!"

"LOCK-ON!"

"SOIYA!"

"ORANGE ARMS! HANAMICHI ON STAGE!"

As soon as Gaim fully transformed, he activated the Dandiliner lock vehicle. It became a hover-bike. The back was a mid-sized rocket. The dandelion in the middle was yellow and served as a gravity generator. The rest was in the form of a motorcycle without wheels. Shu got on, and rode as high as he could into the sky that was full of debris centering at GHQ headquarters. Gaim flew so close that he was detected on their radar systems.

"Sir. We've detected an object headed for GHQ."

Rowan took notice.

"Get me a visual."

The image of Gaim riding what seemed to be a hover-bike was shown.

"Activate HQ weapons systems. Shoot him down. If he makes it here, call for every Endlave we have here to take him out."

GHQ headquarters' in-built weapons starting firing on Gaim. Multiple laser beams were firing in bursts, making Gaim dodge like hell in order to get close to the building. He eventually discovered an empty helicopter pad while still in the air. Then, one laser round him Gaim's dandiliner causing him to fall headfirst. Gaim aimed at the helicopter pad. Then he activated his Kachidoki lockseed.

"KACHIDOKI!"

"LOCK-ON!"

Another metallic orange appeared as he was falling down, but this one had a different design.

"SOIYA!"

Gaim fell closer to the empty helicopter pad as the armor landed on his shoulders and unraveled. He then flipped midair to land with his feet. Gaim landed on the pad successfully. The armor fully formed. Gaim was glowing so bright that he literally shined an orange light within the chaos of the calamity that was consuming Tokyo. Those who were still alive saw the light. Even Gaim's friends saw the orange light. Hare was in front of her friends, seeing what was happening, and hoping that the one she loved would come back to her alive.

'I know you can win. At the very least, come back to me, Shu.'

The glow waned, but in its place was Gaim in his new arms. His armor was more elaborate. As it opened, it gave more than just upgraded upper torso armor. The orange gave Gaim an armor that was more reminiscent of samurai armor than his orange lockseed did. Specifically, samurai shogun armor. His helmet was called the Kachidoki Kabuto, which donned a pair of beetle horns. On his back were a pair of flags called the Kachidoki Beta, which were similar to sashimono, flags worn by ancient samurai when they went into battle.

"KACHIDOKI ARMS! IZA SHUTSUJIN! EI, EI, OH!"

Never did Gaim possessed the bearing of a titan until now. GHQ Endlaves made to the helicopter pad by using special flight attachments to hover in the air. Gaim turned around to see flying Endlaves surrounding him. Then the Endlaves open fire on Gaim. They fired a volley to kill the armored intruder. And yet, Gaim barely moved. He stood firm within the hailstorm of bullets. When they stopped, the pilots, as well as the personnel within the building, were astounded at the sight if Gaim not just alive, but scarcely unfazed. Within the smoke, Gaim summoned his arms' weapon, the DJ Gun. It was similar to that of a Tanegashima rifle, except it was larger, heavier, more futuristic looking. Near the trigger was an apparatus called the DJ Table. To the top of the trigger was the DJ Pitch. It had three levels, with a blue L representing 'low,' and a red H representing 'high,' and the level was at the middle, which suggested that it represented the normal pitch. Gaim raised his weapon and said,

"My turn."

Gaim turned the table on his gun, and it made a dubmix of the horangai music Gaim's belt made when he would transform and switch between arms. As it played, Gaim fired some shotgun rounds on two Endlaves, destroying them entirely. The rest scrambled all over Gaim in order to dodge Gaim's weapon shots and well attempting to take him down from different angles. Gaim turned the table on his gun again while still figuring out how his weapon worked. He saw the DJ Pitch and set it on high. The dubmix sound played at a fast pace as Gaim turned the able again, resulting in his DJ Gun now acting like a machine gun rifle. Gaim fired on the Endlaves flying around and above him as a few rounds of his weapon took the Endlaves down like flies to a bug zapper. One by one, the Endlaves went down in pieces as the battle rages on. The personnel in the building saw how easily Gaim was defeating machines larger than him, possessing weapons that would turn a tank into scrap metal. And he was defeating them like it was nothing. Rowan, in particular, was feeling like his choice to remain with the GHQ was going to come back to haunt him one day.

'Just what of man is Gaim? Is he even human anymore?'

Gaim turned the table on his gun once more, but with the added action of setting the pitch to low. The music was now playing at a slow pace. The DJ gun now acted lie a cannon, resulting the weapons fire being bigger and powerful. Of course, Gaim had to turn the table again to reload, but that was a small inconvenience. A few Endlaves who dodged Gaim's shots landed on the helicopter pad, and attacked him directly. Gaim reached behind to retrieve his Kachidoki Beta to crush the Endlaves with his bare hands. One of them wheeled near Gaim, but its arms were instantly crushed by Gaim's weapons. Although the wind resistance of the flags made them a little difficult to bear, Gaim wielded his Betas with ease, delivering swift and powerful strikes to the Endlaves' joints and bodies. One of them eventually grabbed Gaim, held its weapon against his head, and open fire. There were no exits wounds coming out of Gaim's head. The Endlaves' gun instantly jammed and exploded in its arm. The only damage given to Gaim was a nasty headache. Gaim had one arm free, and crushed the Endlave's hand with a powerful punch. Then Gaim punched the leg to bits, immobilizing the mech. Finally, he lifted the Endlave with his own hands, and threw it off the pad. For a moment, there was silence until it was ended by malicious laughing and clapping. Gaim turned around to see Yuu with a portal appearing behind him.

"Excellent, Shu Ouma! Truly, you possess the potential to sit upon the throne that waits for you. Come through this portal, if you desire to see Inori safe again."

"You bastard!"

Gaim ran towards Yuu as he entered the portal backwards. Gaim then entered the portal himself. Not knowing what was ahead, but he was focused to rescue his friend. He was determined to rescue Inori.

xxxxxx

(Hanada)

Haruka and Zangetsu saw the battle from the control tower. They both saw the orange glow, and knew instantly that Shu was there. Fighting for his life, and Inori's. Haruka was holding back her tears, knowing that her son was fighting a fight she did not want him to take part. She hated the fact that, ultimately, it was out of her control. She knew that it was not just her fault, but also a certain meddler. A meddler that instantly appeared behind both her and Zangetsu. A bright white light manifested behind the both of them. Haruka and Zangetsu turned around to see DJ Sagara appear out of nowhere. He first saw the both of them, and then he saw the battle taking place at GHQ headquarters. Haruka walked to him furiously, and slapped him hard on the face. This rather shocked Zangetsu.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

"Nice to see you as well, Haruka."

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO ME LIKE THAT! Don't you dare act like we're old friends! I told you that I didn't want Shu involved in all of this! I specifically told you never see us again! And now I hear you're the one who made Shu into a FRIGGIN SUPERHERO?!"

Sagara stood with a blank look on his face, answering nonchalantly,

"Yeah. Pretty much. Why?"

Haruka was shocked to see how Sagara was acting. She wanted to express more anger at him, but found it was no use. She acted more emotional than she usually would.

"Just tell me. Why are you making him fight?"

"Because I was given a torch that was meant for him. I consider my duty to make him ready."

"Ready for what?"

"Ready for the day when he would redeem the legacy of his father. I consider it one of the duties of a godfather. Now Gai, how badly do you want to be over there?"

"Very."

"Ok."

Sagara raised and open his left hand to teleport Gai to GHQ headquarters. Haruka was astonished to see something like that happening. She remembered from her past what Sagara was working on as she and him worked together with Kurosu.

"You made it happen?"

"Yes. I have to go away for a while. Be somewhere safe. Don't worry too much about Shu. You can trust me with him. That's a promise."

Sagara disappeared in a flash of light. Haruka was all by herself. She kneeled down to the floor, crying.

"Kurosu. I'm so sorry. I failed you. I failed Shu."

xxxxxx

Back inside the clubhouse, Yahiro was visited by a familiar face.

"It's you."

It was the stranger that Yahiro met that night he lost Jun. Yahiro did not know it, but it was similar to the figure that knocked out Daryl in order to kill his father and took the meteor fragment. Its skin was primarily green with goldenrod markings on its bare chest. It was wearing a goldenrod dress with thin leaf-like shoulder pads. It was also wearing some decorative feathers that matched the color of its dress and markings. The eyebrows were solid, and looked similar to that of a Japanese dragon's eyebrows. Its eyes were red, but it possess a mouth.

"You have gained his trust?"

"Yes."

"Good. If by some small chance that he survives, the city will not. It will fall in ruin. He will compelled to inspire the people to be kind to one another."

"What makes you say that?"

"He's honest. Trustworthy. Dependable. Attributes typical that of a leader-type. But he will not desire it. He will only accept if it was thrusted upon him. That will be your job."

"What's the purpose of doing it?"

"You wish to have revenge for your little brother? Well this is the effective way of doing so. You build him up, isolate him from his friends, feed whatever delusions he has, and when he is at his lowest, he will believe that the only person he will depend on is you. That is the moment when you tear him down. Break his spirit. Make everyone see him for the weakling he honestly is. When he knows the depths of you rage and everything worth of value has been ripped away from his soul, then you give him permission to die. At your hands."

The stranger spoke in such a tone that fed into Yahiro's darker desires and impulses. And yet, the stranger saw traces of doubt within Yahiro.

"Let me guess. He made some sort of speech explaining that he would be more honest with you, and gave you a second chance to gain your trust?"

Yahiro was surprised by the stranger's keen intuition.

"Do not fall for it. He's still the weakling that killed your brother. Remember what I said about delusion."

As it spoke, the stranger waved its hands as it spoke to Yahiro even more. This made Yahiro fall to the stranger's side even more. Thus, the stranger's control over Yahiro was cemented.

"I understand. I will follow your orders."

"Good boy."

The stranger left as mysterious as it came. Silently laughing.

ALL DONE! This chapter took so long to complete. I had school during the time I was writing this chapter. We're almost done with the first half. I honestly hope you enjoy this chapter. Secrets revealed! Lives lost to the will of evil! Tokyo falling to ruin! Heroes rising and falling within the chaos of the Apocalypse! Stay tuned for more. Don't forget to review, if you can. See you next time.