Reviews:

stardrago: Yes, Hajime's Deck will also be destroyed later on. The ones who aren't going to have this issue are the Divine Disasters of Valhalla since they'll be joining up with the Alchemic Cult. As for the merge, I can't say anything to avoid spoilers, but you're on the right track.

Guest DCDGojira: Glad you liked it

lordri25may2001: He was more neglectful than abusive. Back in season 1, Takeru described his father as someone who neglected him because they weren't blood-related. But he also praised him as a good mercenary when he needed to. I also enjoy writing those heart-to-heart moments between characters. So wholesome.

Caballero lector rojo: Me alegra que te haya gustado el capitulo. La verdad, Scissors, como tal, ya esta muerto. O bueno, su previo protador, Goro Tanaka, lo esta. Scissors como tal forma parte de Ouja, al igual que en canon cuando Ouja hizo contrato con Metalgelas y Evildiver. No pienso meter mas Riders de los que ya estan en el campo de batalla. Ya que si no la guerra de los Riders nunca terminaria y esto se haria muy largo. Y sobre Odin, si, tiene un plan entre manos. Un pequeño spoiler, pero aparecera en esta temporada. Sobre cual sera su funcion, lo dejare en secreto por ahora.

FlameFireZero X: Yup, things are getting heavier and heavier. From here on out, it'll be a roller coaster of emotions for all the characters.

Nexus240: Glad you liked it, friend! That's right, things are getting intense. And we're still at the beginning of the season too.

Chapter 50
Sins of the Father

A young mother ran down a stone path, carrying her child in her arms to escape from the screams of horror behind her. She closed her eyes shut, trying her best to ignore the sounds of women and children crying and hiding from the intruder that had entered their compound. The men had long since been killed in combat. They fought bravely against the seemingly weak, diminutive boy that had invaded their family compound. All of them met their end in the most gruesome ways that Mei had the displeasure of seeing.

Since she was married into the Liang family, she didn't possess the characteristics that defined them. She had brown, cascading hair and purple eyes with a gentle face. Of course, since she was Chinese, her children inherited the Liang's defining black hair and hot pink eyes.

Fortunately, her youngest child was safe with her husband, hiding somewhere. That was the only solace Mei could find in all of this, despite not knowing if they were alive or dead. Now, all she had to do was save her baby daughter. However, all the exits were blocked by black walls of some kind. And no matter how hard she tried to pry them open, they wouldn't budge an inch.

Growing desperate, Mei ran to a clothing store that belonged to one of her neighbors, who she hoped had escaped. She moved the pot in front of the door, grabbing the key her neighbor would hide for easy access every morning. She slid the door open, closed it behind her, and ran to the utility closet.

"Why are we running Mother?!" Chao-Xing gasped when her mother sat her down in the closet."We must fight!"

"Quiet now, dear." Mei began tossing rags on top of her daughter, burying her with clothes in an attempt to hide her."I need you to be a good girl and hide-"

"But Grandpa is still fighting-"

"Your Grandfather is dead!" She yelled, grabbing her by the shoulders."Your cousins are dead! Your uncles! Your aunts! We're all being purged! But you...you need to stay alive, okay? Your dad and brother...they're okay. And I..."

Her heart stopped when she heard someone scream close to their location."It's a losing battle...this monstrosity...whatever it is, came here to punish us. We turned away your dad's brother's family when they needed our help after he went missing. But this is not something a child has to carry. Stay here and live for me, please."

"Mother, please..." Chao-Xing couldn't help but shed tears as her mom kissed her on her cheek. The poor girl was beyond terrified, but she wanted to battle. Her Liang blood boiled inside of her in both fury and powerlessness. She crawled out of the closet, peering out the window to see her mother standing in front of the person behind the slaughter. She could never forget those cold crimson eyes. The wicked smile that haunted her in her dreams.

"I seem to have missed one last sheep." The boy smiled viciously as if he were a predator eyeing his prey. He rose his hand, opening a dark magic circle from which a black spear came out, impaling Mei's head and killing her instantly."Let's change that, shall we?"

"No!" Chao-Xing abruptly jolted awake, surprising the person who had been peacefully sleeping on the chair next to her hospital bed.

"Gah!" Wei yelped, falling off his chair and landing face-first on the floor."Ow..."

Chao-Xing panted, glancing around her unknown surroundings."Where...?"

"Chao, it's okay!" Wei said, crawling over to her bedside."You're okay. You're in a hospital."

"A hospital..." The dark-haired girl winced in agony, clenching the air when he tried to grab at where her arm was supposed to be. Feeling nothing there, she slowly peered down to see that she was missing her whole left arm.

"Your...your arm..." Wei grabbed his sister's shoulder, but the girl was too in tranced to pay any attention.

"Again...I was unable to do anything against that monster again." She muttered, biting her lower lip hard until she drew blood."And I paid the price. But again, I wasn't even worth killing..."

"But that's good, sister. You're still alive with us today!"

"And for what? So we can be hunted down again? Live in constant fear." She grumbled, cold sweat dripping down her face at the pain. Even if she was missing her arm, she could still feel as if she had her fingers."Our clan is extinct. We're the only ones left. We can't even fight anymore. Lost my damn arm...heh. How pathetic. That was my dominant arm too...All that training...all of my honor...tarnished. For nothing."

"I'll...go fetch Dad...I'm sure he'll be happy to see you're awake. If you need anything just press this button." He set down the emergency button the nurses gave him next to her. She didn't react to his words, simply laying back on her bed and staring into space.

"No...No, wait...You must have...Wait, said that again." Hajime shook his head, grabbing his head to get his bearings. His knees shock uncontrollably, and Takeru stood by his side to prevent him from suddenly falling.

"Easy there, Luitenant. I got you." Takeru held him firmly, shifting his gaze to the God inside the patchwork homunculus."What do you mean? There's no way it's his father."

"Maybe someone with the same name?" Andreas offered.

"That's way too coincidental." Jades shook his head."How do you know it was his dad anyway?"

"Bragard...use to rant about him a lot, after the Cataclysm."

"Cataclysm?" Tsubasa parroted.

"The day Bragard's plans failed. I'm not sure about the details. But that's the day the dimensional rift opened up and I snuck in. Something big happened. But I don't know. Not even Elfnein knows. But whatever it was, it's what caused three things. One, for the Decks to be sent around the world, two for Bragard's Alchemy to be taken from him, leaving him unable to use any of the elements, and three, the coming of Loki and the beginning of his plans. I know it was indeed your father, Lad, and you know it quite well. You fought Bragard, didn't you? Did he call you Boy Wonder?"

"He did...but I didn't know that he..." Hajime took a step back, suddenly bursting out of the room.

"Hey! Hajime-kun!" Hibiki tried running after him, but Yosuke stopped her by grabbing her arm."Yosuke-san!"

"Give him some time." Yosuke shook his head."He's been through a lot of unexpected revelations today. It must be quite a lot to process..."

"Hold on, back up a second." Jades said, earning Thor's attention."What even are these Advent Stones? How did his dad find them? Do you know the origin of our Advent Monsters?"

"More or less. This was eons ago, back when your average humans did not exist. In our home world, Asgard. You see, not all Aesirs were gods. Only a few of us were. However, we were neighbored by another world similar to ours. Where a single deity ruled over. A Divine Beast, if you will. This being acted independently of our Pantheon. In fact, it had its group of followers. They were called the Advents. Their real name has been lost to time, unfortunately. However, for the Allfather, this was a great offense. He believed only he should stand at the top of all things and us Aesir to be the ones in power, not a mindless beast, as he so eloquently put it."

"So what happened?" Genjuro asked.

Thor sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose."We were dragged into an all-out war with the Advents. It was...horrible. Too much bloodshed and for what? For the Allfather's thirst for conquest? First the Giants and then the Advents. It was never enough for the Allfather. He wanted to be the one with absolute control."

The God of Thunder took a deep breath, composing himself."I apologize for the rant. Back to what I was saying. While we managed to defeat a good amount of the Advents, the Divine Beast was something entirely different. We stood no chance against it. Even the Allfather saw his position being threatened, which only served to fuel his desire for control. So he came up with a scheme with Heimdall's help."

"What was it?"

"I don't know." Thor sighed."The Allfather only told his plans to Heimdall, his right-hand man. The rest of us were his footsoldiers, meant to follow orders without question. The plan was for us to distract him to buy the Allfather sometime. The plan was to weaken the beast. And this was done by separating it into 13 parts."

"13 parts?" A light bulb lit up in Andreas' head."You mean our Advent Monsters?"

"That's right. The Divine Beast was split into 13 parts to contain its power. Dragreder, Darkwing, Magnugiga, Volcancer, Destwilder, Gigazelle, Evildiver, Metalgelas, Blancwing, Venosnaker, Abyssodon, Biogreeza, and Goldphoenix. On top of that, we were meant to absorb some of the power into us to further debilitate the beasts, rendering them in the state that they are today. The ones who did this were me, the Allfather, and Loki. Of course, the Allfather took the strongest power, Goldphoenix, for himself, and trapped the other beasts into the Advent Stones. It is no coincidence that Kamen Rider Odin is the strongest of them all."

"That's where these Survive Cards come from. As well as the ability for Gods to create new cards and such." Elfnein quickly cut in."These Survive Cards were manifested by Thor and belong to him."

"That's correct." Thor nodded."So in the end, the Divine Beast was contained, and the remaining followers were vanished by the Allfather's orders in another dimension inside the mirrors with the help of Mimir. He locked the Advent Stones away until they were lost later on. These stones are what you call Relics. Essentially, each Deck is composed of their respective Relic from their monster."

"How were they lost?" Tsubasa quirked a brow."You'd think that Odin would keep those things locked away after all the trouble he went through."

"That's when Ragnarok happened." Thor groaned, running a hand over his face."Our whole world as we knew it came to an end."

"Ragnarok...if I'm not mistaken, that the apocalyptic event that befell the Norse Pantheon." Yosuke rubbed his chin."And if I remember correctly, the one who led that was..."

"Loki." Thor confirmed with a grim expression."Ever since then, the stones were lost to time, hidden deep in the earth."

"So...wait, what exactly did Ragnarok do?" Hibiki tilted her head.

"It wiped out the world as we knew it. Killed everyone and everything" Thor stated, earning several gasps."The world was destroyed, and all of us were killed. I believe pieces of our world befall different planets, with Earth being the final resting place of the Advent Stones. Our souls, however, ascended to a new realm. That's why we are unable to exist in this realm without a host. The Allfather must have known this, so he sealed part of his consciousness into that stone containing Goldphoenix. When the stones were found by Hazama Liang and given to Bragard, I suspect he convinced him to work with him to bring his consciousness fully into this world, giving him the power enough to grant a wish to the winner of the Rider War and told him how to weaponize the Advent Stones."

"Can't the stones be used normally? Like a Pokemon." Andreas asked, receiving a chop on the head from Shirabe."Owie!"

"Be serious." Shirabe chided him.

"I do not know what a Pokemon is, but I can tell you that using the stones' raw power is not recommended for humans. The power is uncontrolled and the surge of energy can kill them. They go out of control and attack anything in sight."

"Hey, isn't that what happened to the Luitenant and Ryuga?" Takeru asked his senior."Back when we were fighting FIS?"

"Right. Adachi lost control because, for a split second, he and Dragreder were in complete sync after Tachibana got hurt."

"Oh, yeah. I still remember that all too well." Jades chuckled to himself, glancing down at his arms.

"He...lost control? Did he and his dragon fuse? Did he manifest dragon limbs and such?"

"He did." Yosuke nodded in affirmation, raising a skeptical brow."You sound like you know what that was. I'm not surprised. Ryuga-Or I guess, Loki, knew as well. He was the one who helped us save Adachi."

"He...told you? I'm surprised..." Thor adopted a wistful smile."He did always cause trouble, but he found ways to help us when we needed him the most. I'm even more surprised that Hajime managed to come back to his senses."

"Apparently if he goes through that again, he might not be able to turn back." Yosuke said, prompting Hibiki to gasp in horror."Ryuga said that if Dragreder takes complete control over his body, he will not be able to be human again."

"That's correct. Because at that point, you're not using the Deck to harness the monster's power, but the monster itself. Which is impossible due to the natural duality between humans and Advent Monsters. Have any of you gone through that?"

All Riders in the room shook their heads, except for Yosuke and Takeru."We've come close. But not to that extreme."

"Good. It's imperative that under any circumstance you lose control of your power like that. Because you will attack those around you, friends and enemies alike. And you may cause more harm than good. That's why Bragard created the Decks. To harness the power and be able to control them to his will. I suspect he must have handed a group of people that he assigned those Decks to. But for whatever reason, he only has control of Abyss and Verde."

"You don't know what happened?" Chris wondered aloud."How come?"

"Like I said, when I followed Loki through the dimensional rift, I had no choice but to take control of whatever wild animal I could find on Bragard's headquarters located on a distant island that's long gone. All I could do was hide because there was all sorts of chaos going on on that island at the time. A huge battle. This resulted in Odin taking all the Decks and spreading them around the world, Bragard's power being severely weakened, as well as the end of his plans."

"There's something I can't wrap my head around just yet." Takeru chewed on his thumb."How the hell did Bragard create a whole new Deck? And how did create the Mirror World."

"Remember how I said the Allfather vanished the Advents after their defeat? Well...He tried to make them submit to his will. When words didn't work, he tried experimenting on them. Eventually, this led to the creation of what you call Mirror Monsters and the Mirror World. The Mirror World was a parallel dimension to this one, where the Advents...no, Mirror Monsters, remained trapped forever. It changes based on the changes of this world. That's why when you cross over, it looks the same, except everything is inverted. Bragard found a way to open that dimension and connect it to this one."

"You're saying the Mirror Monsters are...people?" Tsubasa looked perturbed by the thought.

"Not anymore. After several thousands of years, the Advent citizens stopped existing entirely, and this new species, the Mirror Monsters, are what remains. They were meant to be used for wars and conquest, but as you can tell, this never got to happen because of Ragnarok. There wasn't enough time to use them."

"You're making it sound like Ragnarok was too much for whatever you Gods could throw at it." Genjuro surmised."How did Loki accomplish this?"

"To be perfectly honest, I have no idea. No one knows what he did. We thought he was imprisoned after he killed Baldur. But one day..." Thor grabbed at his head, wincing in pain."He brought hell itself to our doorstep. Destroyed the entire world and left nothing behind. I suspect he might be planning to do the same thing to this world too."

"So that's what he meant..." Yosuke's eyes shot wide open in realization."Ryuga says he wants to eradicate all evil from this world and cleanse humanity by wiping out all life on the planet. And then using Odin's wish to create a new world where he reigns as the Ultimate Good. So he's trying to start Ragnarok here?!"

"Loki must be manipulating whatever human is using him as host." Tsubasa said."There's no way a human would be capable of wanting to commit global genocide! Even if they believe they can just bring back everyone to life!"

"Loki is extremely manipulative." Thor pursed his lips."I no doubt he must have taken advantage of his human host and promised him all sorts of things. We must stop him. If you can convince the human host, Ryuga, to stop, we might be able to prevent this world from coming to extinction. Because let me tell you...if Ragnarok does happen here...there will be nothing left. Men, women, elderly, children, animals, families, and friends. All of them will be massacred. There will be nothing we could do to stop it. Not even us Aesir Gods could."

Before Thor could say another word, his body went rigid before falling limp on the table.

"What...happened?" Maria blinked in confusion."Is he okay?"

"He must have used all his energy." Elfnein flipped him onto his back."I'm sorry. Since I was unable to properly contact him, Tobias has very limited energy. Thor serves as his power source, but due to the incompatibility, even he's unable to manifest even a tiny portion of his power. Also, since Thor was locked away for a decade, all his power has been diminished severely, so he isn't able to manifest even a fraction of his true strength. He'll have to rest for a bit. But I should warn you about those cards. We're not sure if non-Autoscorers can use them or what side effects they may cause. Only use them in case of extreme emergencies."

"I'm okay, Master..." Tobias regained control over his body, remaining slumped on the table."Just a bit tired."

Yosuke grabbed said cards, eyeing Andreas."Either you or Amaterasu should keep one. I'll give the other to Adachi. You guys are our only Riders available."

"Roger!"

"Tachibana, give this to Adachi next time you see him." Yosuke handed the card to the cream-haired girl."Remember to tell him to only use it in emergencies."

"R-right!"

"We learned all we could for now." Genjuro said, earning their attention."I'd like to perform a scan on Elfnein-kun and Tobias-kun if that's okay with you both."

"No problems here." Elfnein nodded.

"If my Master says it's fine, then I'm okay with it too." Tobias nodded."But before you guys go, I have something else Thor informed me of. Regarding that Divine Beast. When a Rider kills another, they gain a new power in the form of a Contract Card, which they can use to contract with the defeated Rider's monster."

"We know." Yosuke's expression hardened."A friend of ours...was killed by Ouja. He took his power and can now fuse both monsters to create an abomination."

"That's because the Divine Beast is trying to piece itself back together."

"Piece itself back together?" Takeru repeated.

"Yes. It's yearning to be one again. That's why Riders can take the power of others. At this moment, Ouja is the closest thing to the Divine Being before. This is the only way to take down Odin. By combining the power of all Advent Monsters into one, you might have a good fighting chance."

"That's not possible." Chris chimed in."Ouja and Gai are both dead along with their monsters."

"Oh..." Thor murmured."I see...well, it can't be helped.

"Actually..." Raiden finally entered the room, hands in the pockets of his hoodie."I think that's not going to be a problem."

"Ah! Raiden-san!" Elfnein beamed."Is your stomach okay? I was worried."

"Oh, right..." Raiden avoided her gaze, flustered."Yeah. I'm okay."

"I'm glad." Elfnein smiled at him, prompting the boy to look at the wall next to him. Maria and Jades giggled at his demeanor, with Kirika, Shirabe, and Andreas completely lost.

"We can talk about this later." Takeru cut in."I'm starving."

"You ate not that long ago!" Chris exclaimed.

"Fine." Yosuke sighed."We can take a break for now. It's meatball day today, right?"

"Uh...what about Hajime-kun?" Hibiki asked.

"I'll talk to him." Takeru offered with a grin."No doubt the must be blaming himself for what his dad did. I would know."

"I'll come with." Chris offered as well."I know a thing or two about blaming yourself that's not your fault."

With that, the couple went off to look for Hajime and the meeting was adjourned.

Hajime dragged his feet down the hallway, his gaze glued to the floor."My dad...did all this..."

He glanced down at his Deck, suddenly repulsing it.

"All the times I thought this was a game...that it was fun..." He leaned against a wall, fighting the urge to vomit."The people that died...it's because of my dad..."

Memories of his previous battles filled his mind. The many times he's come close to death as well as his friends."Oh, god...all of the kids that Kuwana killed...That Cypher killed...It was all possible because of their Rider powers...because of my dad..."

Overwhelmed, the boy took a seat on the floor, hugging his knees. The boy couldn't help but shed a few tears, crying silently.'On top of that, the Liang family was massacred by Bragard because my dad did something to him...and now he's coming after me and my family...'

"Happy birthday Hajime!"

Hajime jumped up and down, excited to blow out his birthday candles on his fourth birthday. However, the poor boy was too short to properly reach the table and blow out his candles, leaving him in a frustrated state.

"Calm down, Boy Wonder." His dad scooped him up from his armpits, helping him get closer to the cake."I gotcha."

"Hold him right there for the picture." Kyoko waved her hand, holding her camera with her daughter next to her, carrying a 2-year-old Setsuna. Hajime paid no attention to the camera, and instead, grabbed a fistful of cake and shoved it into his mouth just in time for the picture to be taken.

"Hajime!" Kaoru gasped, rushing to her husband's side and pulling on her son's cheeks."That's a big no-no! You can't be impatient like that! Everyone has to wait a turn to get their cake, even if it's their birthday!"

"But I'm hungry!" Hajime groaned, licking his fingers full of frosting.

"He's a growing up, dear." Hazama chuckled, carrying his son with one arm and grabbing a nearby knife to slice him a piece.

"Wait!" Kyoko cried, causing them to freeze."Another picture for the birthday boy! I want his family with him! Hug!"

"Mom, look at him." Kaoru sweatdropped at her son's face full of frosting."We need to clean him up..."

"Nonsense!" Kyoko shot down the idea."Enjoy him to the fullest, even when he's being silly! I did the same thing with you. Now cuddle up together!"

"Guess we have no choice but to listen to your mom." Hazama chuckled sheepishly. Kaoru sighed, obliging, and scooted closer until Hajime was in between their faces and Setsuna was close to her mom. Hajime grabbed his parents' faces, bringing them closer to his, and gave a goofy smile to the camera.

"We love you." Kaoru ignored her face now full of frosting and kissed her son on his cheek.

"Always. You and your sister are our pride and joy." Hazama kissed his cheek as well."Our Boy Wonder and our Daisy. We'll see if we can go somewhere for your birthday next year. How does Legoland sound?"

"Won't you be busy with work?" Kaoru asked, her smile faltering.

"I'll make some time. Our project is coming close to an end, so I'm sure I can work something out."

"That's the last birthday I had with him." Hajime muttered to himself, releasing the hold of his knees and simply spreading his legs, leaning against the wall."And all that time, he had another family. Fucking hell. I know it's not my supposed brother's fault. His dad's gone and his mother is dead. I just hope that Bragard didn't get to him and wherever he is, he doesn't get involved in this whole mess. No more people need to die by that bastard's hand..."

"Heads up, Lieutenant."

Hajime reacted in time to grab a bottle of iced tea someone had tossed at him. When he looked up, he saw Chris and Takeru walking toward him. He quickly wiped his tears with his sleeve, straightening up."Chris-san, Captain? What are you guys doing here?"

"Making sure you're not sulking on your own." Chris shrugged, slumping down next to him. Before he could object, Takeru did the same thing and crossed his legs on the floor, making himself comfortable."So, wanna talk about it?"

"Talk...?"

"About what's on your mind." Takeru waved his hand around in a "go on" gesture."You know. Talk about your problems."

"But...really? I mean...aren't you mad at me? Don't you hate me now?" The boy asked carefully, receiving two glares in response.

"Hate you for what? For your dad being the one who found and caused the creation of the Decks?" Takeru blew raspberries."So what? That's not your fault."

"One would have to be seriously stupid to blame you for something you had no control over." Chris huffed, folding her arms under her chest."You were...what? 3 or something when that happened? How the hell can anyone blame you for that?"

"But because of my dad, a lot of people died! He ruined a lot of people's lives and gave people the tools they needed to commit so many atrocities!" Hajime exploded, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face, releasing his bottled-up feelings."We're in this fucking Rider War because of him! The Liang family died because of him! I hate him!"

"And we're not saying to just magically forgive him or anything." Takeru ruffled his hair soothingly, his voice calm and serene."I know how you must be feeling. I also had a shitty dad who did horrible things. He was...a crappy dad, I won't lie. Sometimes he would be nice to me and treat me like a son. But other times he would think of me as just another tool at his disposal. As a soldier, I was meant to follow orders. Not his son. He did a lot of bad shit..." His gaze fell on Chris, who gave him a wry smile."To a lot of people. He was the reason why Chris' parents died. I could never forgive him for that. And for the longest time, I blame myself for something I didn't do. I blamed myself for the people we killed under his orders and the people whose families we took away from. But Chris helped me realized that me and my dad are two different people. What he did has nothing to do with me and I should strive to be better than him. I never forgave him. But I learned to look past his actions and simply move on."

"Fine was...the closest thing to a mom that I had after my parents died." Chris started, looking at Hajime in his eyes."She abused me and emotionally manipulated me. She made me activate Solomon's Cane which was used to hurt a lot of people. I blamed myself for that until recently. But I learned that I shouldn't blame myself for something Fine ordered me to do. Like Takeru told me, we had no choice. We were both being used and manipulated. Instead, we have to protect the people who need protection. Do some good after the bad we did and all that jazz. We can't let the chains of our past and our parents be what holds us down from progressing."

"It's true that the Rider War can be considered a curse. A lot of people died because of it. Both Riders and innocent people." Takeru closed his eyes with a thoughtful expression."But at the same time, it saved a lot of people too. Because I was able to steal my dad's Deck and make a contract with Magnugiga, I managed to save Chris and the kids they had kidnapped. Jades saved Andreas and protected the others. We fought so hard to save the world using these powers. You have to understand that yes, this power can destroy, but it can also protect. Just like how we have been doing."

"We don't know about your dad's intentions to know whether he intended them to be used for evil or not." Chris continued."You chose to use your power to protect people. You're already different than scumbags like Cypher and Kuwana. People like them chose to use their powers for evil. So don't go thinking that you had anything to do with what they've done. They're just assholes who deserve what they got."

"I know...I know it's stupid of me to blame myself for it. But still..."

"Then if that's not enough to convince you, then all you can do is keep fighting the good fight." Takeru said with a huge grin."Keep fighting to protect others. For what's right."

"If you do that, then you're proving that your dad finding those stones wasn't that bad after all." Chris wiped a lonely tear from his face."Only you can make a difference in that. Prove to the world that Kamen Riders are meant to be good."

"Chris-san...Captain..." Hajime's gaze shifted from side to side, a small smile appearing on his face."Thank you...really...Thank you..."

"Hey, it's our job to help our juniors." Chris smirked, nudging his sides with her elbow."So make sure you remember we're good senpais, okay?"

"Yeah..." Hajime nodded as they stood up."I'll do just that. Erm...this might seem like a weird request, but..."

"What is it?" Takeru quirked a brow, curious as to why Hajime was acting so shy all of a sudden.

"Could you...give me a hug?"

"A hug?" The couple echoed, glancing at each other. Hajime shrank, feeling he had just said something dumb. But to his shock, the couple engulfed him in a hug, sandwiching him in between them.

His eyes widened at the distant yet familiar feeling. Something he hadn't experienced in a long time. His heart felt the warmth of the hug, returning it.

"This feels...just like how my parents used to hug me before..." The boy muttered, reminiscing about when his family was whole. It seemed like a lifetime ago."You guys would make great parents."

"I know, right?" Takeru gave a shit-eating grin, prompting Chris to step on his foot."Ow!"

"Not now...!" She grumbled, grabbing Hajime's hand."Why don't we go eat something? Our treat."

"So don't hold back on our account. Eat as much as you want." Takeru rested his arm on his shoulder.

"Okay, now you're treating me like a kid." Hajime blushed but did not attempt to pull back. It was a very familiar feeling. He found himself back in his childhood, between his parents as they took him to his favorite park where he had met Kirika.

'Still...I can't help but feel like all this is my fault. Or at least...that I'm the one who has to clean this mess up.' With his newfound determination and rejuvenated confidence, the hazel-eyed boy glanced ahead with a smile.'I won't turn out like you, Dad. I'll fix this whole mess. Everyone is counting on me and I won't disappoint them. I never run away from my problems and I won't start now.'

"Tsubasa."

"Yes?"

"What the hell is this supposed to be?"

"It's how the Alca Noise looked in London. You don't remember because you were unconscious, but this is how they looked."

"And this?" Yosuke glanced down at the second drawing in his hand, depicting what looked to be a humanoid kraken.

"The Mirror Monsters that I fought in the Mirror World," Jades said.

Yosuke had to admit, the burly man had amazing drawing skills, which put Tsubasa's to shame completely."Maria, is this true? This is how the Noise looked?"

"Well..." Maria sweatdropped."I wouldn't say it's completely the same..."

"Okay. Tsubasa, this drawing is terrible."

"W-what?! No, it isn't! I drew a pretty good likeness!"

"Tsubasa, not even the most junior detectives draw like this." Yosuke crumbled the piece of paper, tossing it in a nearby garbage can.

"Y-you! My drawing!" Tsubasa stammered, sulking over her poor drawing being thrown away.

"Does it really matter what they look like?" Raiden scoffed, folding his arms."I mean, the Noise look about the same, and the Mirror Monsters are just monsters. It's not like they'll be hard to identify."

"They're not the only problem." Maria clicked her tongue."If what the Commander said is true, then Gai and Femme might be working together."

"But there's no way that's Teru-nii, right?" Andreas asked with a hopeful tone."You guys said he was disintegrated...It can't be him."

"But now that we know that Ryuga has a God inside of him, it's well within reason to think that he may have saved him back then. He is capable of creating warp gates, after all." Yosuke rubbed his temples."If so, then I wouldn't be surprised if Ouja is still alive too. Damn..."

"First Carol and Bragard, now this..." Hibiki glanced down at the floor dejectedly."But we could talk to Ryuga first, right? He has a soft spot for Miku. And if we can talk things out with him, we could prevent Ragnarok from happening...I'd rather avoid a senseless fight if possible."

"So are you running away?" Maria said with an accusatory tone, hand to her hip.

"W-what?! No! But our powers should be used to help people, not fight-"

"That's arrogance to those privileged with power." Maria shook her head."The power has gone to your head."

"Hold it." Yosuke frowned at her words."You out of all people have no right to criticize others."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Maria scowled, challenging him to elaborate.

"You call her a coward for wanting to solve things with words. I say that's rich coming from the person who folded like a card table when Dr. Ver was bossing you around. Need I remind you that when you were at your weakest, the same girl you're calling a coward was the one who lifted you up? I say you're no better than a hypocrite, Maria."

"Okay, that's enough. That was completely uncalled for." Jades stood up, positioning himself in front of Maria and Yosuke. Despite towering over the purple-haired teen, Yosuke kept his gaze forward.

"Just like you, I have people I have to protect. Tachibana is my subor-No. She's a precious friend. And as such, I won't let anyone bad mouth her. Including you."

"Guys! Please!" Kirika and Shirabe got in between them, separating them."You can't be fighting now-desu!"

"We have to be united if we want a shot at defeating these upcoming threats," Shirabe stated, pulling on Yosuke's sleeve.

"What a healthy and friendly group," Raiden commented with a sardonic smile.

"Not the time, Raiden." Shirabe deadpanned.

"Instead of fighting amongst ourselves, we should figure out what our next move should be." Tsubasa took reigns of the conversation."If Ouja is alive, we can't let him kill another Rider and take their power. You heard Thor, if that Divine Beast is trying to piece itself together again, then whoever contracts more monsters will most likely win the war. If he was as strong as you say with just two monsters, I don't even want to imagine what he'll be like if he or another Rider gets more."

"I think we can leave Ryuga and the other Riders on the side for now."

"Really? How come?" Maria pondered.

"Remember Thor's words. A human making a contract of equals with a God is unable to draw their full strength immediately, in contrast to taking over their host, as Odin did. None of you were there, but when we all fought Odin, not even Ryuga, who was probably being assisted by Loki, stood a chance. This leads me to believe that he can't access all of Loki's power yet. And if he could, he would have started Ragnarok right away to commence his plan. Which means that he most likely can't use it yet. There must be something he's missing. It's safe to say that Ragnarok won't be happening any time soon. Or at least, that's my hypothesis." Yosuke explained, though his voice had a tint of uneasiness at the end.

"So for now, should we make Carol and Bragard our top priorities?" Tsubasa inquired, receiving a nod in response from Yosuke.

"Yes. We must prepare Tachibana, Adachi, Amaterasu, and Kagatsuchi to fight the Autoscorers. We must tackle this one step at a time. And remember, be careful when engaging the Noise. We don't know if they also can destroy not only the Pendants but our Decks too. And try to not get pulled into the mirrors. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" The three teenagers saluted.

"By the way, what are we going to do regarding the Mjolnir Relic?" Maria asked, crossing her arms."Can one of us use it?"

"I don't recommend that." Tsubasa denied the idea."We're all attuned to our respective Relics. Furthermore, you, Akatsuki, and Tsukuyomi need LINKER to even use yours without any backlash. Not to mention you're already attuned with two different Gears. We'll need a whole different person to use it, and even then, it's unknown whether that Relic will be compatible with any other person."

"Well, can't ask any of the girls here since you guys got your Gears." Jades shrugged."What about Hibiki's friend?"

"Miku?" Hibiki's face was drained of all color."But-"

"Don't forget Kohinata was forced to use the Shénshòujìng. Much more forcefully than the others. Not to mention I don't want to drag her into this mess. For now, let's keep the Mjolnir as an emergency exit. If you must...then one of you will have to use it."

"I...think I know someone who could use it." Hibiki rose her hand."But Hajime-kun won't like it one bit."

"Really?" Tsubasa blinked in surprise."Who?

Before they could continue their discussion, Genjuro entered the room, ending their conversation.

"Elfnein and Tobias' scans are ready. Follow me."

Back in the command center, the group had gathered to be briefed on the results of the scans.

"Okay, so. Let's get the simple one out of the way. Tobias is an Autoscorer. Simply put, he's a living doll, quite literally. He's composed of different parts, which makes him look like someone sewed him up in a hurry. Then there's Elfnein." Aoi cleared her throat."We ran some tests on...her. Let's say her, as Elfnein decided for us to refer to her as a female since she's based on Carol."

"So...what does that mean?" Kirika asked, not following the conversation.

"Well, in the simplest of terms, she doesn't have reproductive organs."

"Oh! So is that why Raiden was so spooked earlier?"

"Hey! I wasn't scared!" Raiden sneered."Stop making stuff up! Also, why the hell is she still wearing that!" He pointed at Elfnein's scans, where she was still wearing her skimpy attire."Put on some clothes on her! There are kids here!"

"You're a kid too." Shirabe pointed out but her comment was ignored.

"She gave us permission to show you her results." Sakuya scratched the back of his neck."Though I understand how you feel. But she claims since she's a homunculus, this is only natural."

"This is not natural!" All of them exclaimed in unison.

Later on in the day, Raiden was lounging around in his room, enjoying his third can of coffee in the day, browsing the internet on his phone.

"There you are." Maria entered the room, noticing that Andreas wasn't in."Where's Andreas?"

"Who knows." Raiden idly replied, his eyes fixated on the screen.

Maria pouted, walking over to him and snatching the phone out of his hands.

"What the hell!?"

"You're going to tell me what's wrong right now." Maria sat on his bed, resting her arm on his back and essentially pinning him down."You've been acting very distant lately. More than usual."

"It's nothing. I just don't have the energy to be social right now, okay?" Raiden grumbled, trying to get up but Maria didn't allow him to move.

"Really? Are you sure it has nothing to do with a certain blonde we just met?" She teased, giggling as his face turned scarlet."Aw, my little brother has a crush~!"

"No! I don't have a crush!" He shook his head rapidly."You're misreading the situation!"

"Am I? Because that's not what Chris and Elfnein-chan told me." Maria sighed."Why can't you just be honest with me and yourself? It's not bad if you like her or anything. Is it because she's a Homunculus?"

Raiden didn't reply, burying his face in his mattress.

"Raiden, you're better than this. So what if she's a Homunculus? If you're in love then-"

"It's not because of that, okay?!" Raiden snapped, catching the pinkette off guard."But...I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a small factor. It served to make me realize that...it was better to leave it alone."

"Leave it alone?"

"Maria, let's be real. I'm a shitty person." The boy said, finally allowed to sit once Maria got off his back.

"What? No, you're no-"

"Maria, please." Raiden scoffed."I know what I am. Even before joining FIS. Even before being sold by my parents to the Yakuza. I was never a friendly person. I kept people at bay and preferred to be alone. I guess it was because...I would wind up hurting others. I was never a social butterfly like Kirika or a ball of joy like Andreas. I was just...me. In hindsight, I guess that's why I'm so socially awkward to this day."

"..." Maria remained silent, listening to him attentively.

"All the people I ever came across, I ended up hurting. Even you guys. Look how Terunosuke manipulated me. I'm just...afraid of hurting more people."

"So that's why you decided to avoid Elfnein-chan." Maria nodded."Not because you don't like her, but because you're afraid of hurting her."

"Yeah...I was...I was such a dumb idiot for thinking I could ever have some sort of connection like that. I fooled myself thinking that maybe I could. But the more I thought about it, the more I realize that that's not possible. Eventually, I felt so guilty that I was desperate to look for an excuse to avoid Elfnein-chan. So I tried starting a conversation. And she just happened to say she was a homunculus. So I left."

"Be honest. Do you have any friends at school? Other than our social group here?"

"No. Some people try to ask me out to hang out but I say no."

"Raiden, do you truly think you don't deserve to be happy?" Maria sighed, rubbing his head soothingly."Do you want to be lonely and sad for the rest of your life? Because that's what will happen if you keep cutting yourself off from those around you."

"Maria, I tried killing Andreas and potentially you guys."

"But Andreas doesn't hold that against you."

"Well, he should!"

"Do you want him to?"

The bespectacled boy found himself at a loss for words. Did he want his siblings to hate him? "No...but I'm no better than Terunosuke."

"Stop right there, young man." Maria pulled on his cheeks hard as she berated him."You are nothing like that man. The fact you regret what you did proves that you're a far better person than he could ever hope to be. You made mistakes. But we all make mistakes. Just because you make a mistake doesn't mean you need to punish yourself for it. Be happy. I want you to be happy. We all do. You deserve it, even if you think you don't."

Raiden hummed to himself, prompting Maria to continue."Besides, I think Elfnein-chan does like you."

"Maria, she's a homunculus. What would she know?"

"Just because she's a homunculus doesn't make her oblivious." Maria stated."Look, love is complicated like that. It bypasses any barriers of any type of logic."

"What the hell are you on about?" Raiden grumbled, baffled at Maria's sudden rant.

"I'm just...Look, you don't have to ask her out or anything. You barely know each other. But that doesn't mean you can't get to know each other. Be friends. Things like that. Start small. She seems to like you, so if you don't want to be a complete jerk, I suggest you stop avoiding her."

"I...well, I guess when you put it like that..." Raiden sighed, nodding."I can try. Thanks for the talk. I needed it."

"It'll take time, but you'll see that you can also help people. Not just hurt them." She gave him a quick hug before standing up."Sometimes I have to act like a big sister, don't I? I'd do anything for you guys. There's no shame in asking me for help. I sometimes ask Jades-nii for help as well."

"You're right." Raiden nodded."I have to stop being so stubborn. Gotcha."

"So...you'll let me know if you need any more girl advice?" Maria's eyes sparkle."I want to see you succeed! I'm cheering for you! Get her, tiger! I'm so happy to see you in love!"

"I'm a stingray, not a tiger!" Raiden threw her a pillow in the face."And get out of my room!"

The next, everyone was attending classes as normal. Despite being in the midst of a battle, they were expected to continue their schooling while the enemy remained in the shadows. Since there were only 4 fighters available and multiple enemies, they were to be in pairs at all times. Hibiki and Hajime made one pair, while Andreas and Raiden made another.

Hajime trailed off behind the group of girls, barely listening to their conversation.

"Personally, I don't see why it matters if there's anything down there or not," Miku said nonchalantly, much in contrast to Hibiki's expression.

"W-w-what do you mean?" Her face reddened."Where is "down" there?!"

"Huh? We're talking about fractions. Did you really not pay attention at all to the point where you don't even know what we learned in class today?" Shiori rose a brow.

"She's talking about something else." Yumi laughed."Hey, Hajime-kun, your girlfriend has a dirty head. Did you know?"

"W-what?! No, that's-"

"I'm sorry. What did you say?" Hajime asked, clearly not following the conversation.

"Don't tell me you're spacing out too..." Kuriyo frowned at the raven-haired teen."Is Bikki rubbing off on you the wrong way?"

"A lot of things have been going on lately." Hajime responded."Sorry. Just had a lot on my mind."

"I guess being a superhero is hard." Yumi surmised."I'm surprised you're down in the slums. Usually, you're always in the conversation."

"Hajime-kun." Hibiki waited until Hajime caught up with them."Are you-"

The group heard a loud thud from behind, causing them to turn to the source of the noise. Several men were pilled up on the ground, all with white hair and no color to the skin.

"The fuck...?" Hajime muttered in disbelief."How are we just noticing this now?!"

In front of them, a familiar shark-theme Rider and a girl in a blue dress stood by a tree, as if they were waiting for them.

"You're Garie!" Hibiki immediately recognized the Autoscorer from before.

"And he's Kamen Rider Abyss!"

"Aw, they remember us, Damian." Garie cooed with a sweet smile which then turned into a murderous grin."Makes me feel a little bad for having to crush them."

"So, that's the Boy Wonder. The Hersscher of Chaos." Abyss commented.

"Yup. That's him." Garie confirmed."He's the one who fought Bragi. And that girl is the one who faced Master Carol. Well, not really faced. More like just say dumb shit which pissed her off even more."

"Huh. So they both fought Mama and Papa and survived." Abyss whistled, impressed."Not bad. Also, it's Bragard. Not Bragi."

"Well, whatever the case, let's get this show on the road, shall we? There are no mirrors here, so let's go with plan B" Garie threw a bunch of gems on the ground, summoning a battalion of Alca Noise."And since they so generously brought us, hostages, to exploit, we should-"

"The girls with no Symphogear or Rider Decks!" Abyss shouted, loud enough to be heard."Get out of here! You have no business here!"

"Excuse you?!" Garie gasped. She then giggled, covering her mouth."Oh, my. You got me there. You want them to run to then destroy their hopes by chasing after them, huh? I didn't you know had it in you."

"I have no intention of harming humans who have no part in this. I'm already doing too much by allowing you to take people's memories and their life force." Abyss reiterated."So like I said, the girls who can't fight. Get out of here. I promise you, you won't be harmed."

"Is he serious?" Yumi breathed.

"He sounds like it. But he might be a trap." Kuriyo furrowed her brow.

"Just...get out of here, alright?" Hajime turned to Miku."Please, Miku-chan. We can't fight if you guys are in the middle of this."

"Got it." Miku nodded guiding the girls to a safe place."Please, be careful you two."

"W-wait! We don't have to fight! We can just-"

"Yeah, how about no." Garie snapped, commanding some Noise to rush at them.

Hibiki pulled out her pendant, but no chant came out of her."What...?"

Hajime pulled out his Deck but realized he wasn't going to make it fast enough to transform. However, the Noise were cut to shreds by water blades that Abyss fired from his Abyssvisor, saving them.

"What the fuck!" Garie threw her arms out."What are you doing, dumbass?!"

"I told you before, no hostages." Abyss said, leaving no room for argument."Our objective is those two. Not the girls behind."

"You're seriously a pain in the ass with all this human stuff." Garie grumbled under her breath."I'm not about to get in trouble because of your stupidity."

"Whatever. No hostages."

"Henshin!"

In a flash of light, Kamen Rider Ryuki appeared, ready to fight."Hibiki-san? Why aren't you transforming?"

"I can't...the chant won't come out!" Hibiki panicked, trying to force her chant out to no avail.

"Oh, you gotta be freaking kidding me." Garie growled in disdain."Won't I get to fight, after all?"

"We could just jump him." Abyss shrugged.

"Hey, what happened to your honor?!" Ryuki pointed at Abyss."You let the girls go! You wouldn't jump someone, would you?"

"Honor?" Abyss snorted."This isn't about honor. Just about humanity. If it were up to me, I would have killed all of you after you defeated the Nephilim. There's no honor in this. Just doing my job while doing what's right in my book. Just like you are."

"Yeah? Well, I guess I don't mind fighting a 2v1." Ryuki drew a card from his deck, opening up his visor."Because as it stands, you having that power, is just another mistake made by my old man that I have to correct."

So we're finally out of what I like to call an "exposition dump chapter" and now we're going back to the story. There was a lot to unpack and there will be more, but the rest will be going in bits and pieces so don't worry about that for now. Some elements from Norse mythology will be included in the story, however, not everything will be the same and some things will be added, like the Divine Beast.