"What the heck...?"

Never in his life had he seen such injuries. It was a wonder any of them were alive at this point.

Either second degree or freeze ones, and they were all barely alive...

Igarashi Daiji had no words to describe the sheer fear he felt in his mind. He had been a soldier of Fenix, yet seeing his big brother with a gun shot AND freeze burns, it... It scared him.

His inner demon Kagero seemed disgusted as well. "Who... Who would do such a thing?"

Izu shivered. No... Not Aruto-sama. Why was he...?

"H-How did you guys even manage to get up there in time?" Sawa stammered. She was so relieved that Sento and Banjo were okay but...

"We managed to stabilize them, thankfully," Hiiro said. The doctor had a frown on his face as he continued, "But something is off. I didn't find the Mighty Novel X Gashat on the pediatrician."

"Weirdly enough, it seems like none of their final forms are with them minus Tsukasa..." Tokime spoke up.

"But who would take them, and... had they gotten this hurt from fighting, or..." Keiwa asked quietly. 

Daiji... didn't know, and... it scared him. 

His fists tightened, but he felt his mentor give him a gentle hug, making him sigh as he tried to calm down. Not now. He couldn't lose it now. Not when he had to stay calm, make sure things didn't fall into chaos.

"Aruto-sama is connected to a satellite. Thus, we may be able to access his memories to see what happened back there," Izu spoke up. 

"Please, Izu-san... I can't... oh God, my brother..." Sakura had to be hugged by Hana, tears soaking the other girl's chest.

Daiji turned to Kagero as he couldn't help but remark, "You're not looking too good."

"Whoever this was... they were very messed up, Daiji," his inner demon replied. "I can't fathom what human would burn others after they have this many injuries."

If KAGERO was saying that...

Just what kind of psychopath would...

Izu managed to connect to the satellite on Sawa's laptop, and everyone leaned in to watch what happened, but...

Daiji felt sick to the stomach when he saw the door slam close. He felt even more sick during the Vice fight. Oh god, this sicko...! Sakura, George, Hana, and their parents sported varying looks of disgust and anger on their faces. At this ridiculous abomination not made from their Vice. At the ******* who smugly watched this happen, even laughing at them.

Parado looked like he was going to puke, watching a copy of that ******* make Emu stumble back and cry. Poppy gave him a hug despite her own shaking, unable to see Emu suffer. Even Hiiro, Taiga and Kiriya averted their gazes. Of all the insanity, this had to be the worst...

Hiiro knew he kept his distance, but to see this person fall apart inside... It... Ached.

Onari paled considerably upon seeing Takeru collapse and hug himself, sobbing all the while. He looked so much like a child. Meanwhile, Akari looked close to punching a wall, eyes narrowed at the sheer audacity of this crappy monster. How dare it use his dad!?

Tokime and Akiko shook. Seeing Shotaro so broken up... Philip looked like he was in a existential crisis... And Ryu was shaking, tears streaming down his face. It was heartbreaking...

Akiko hugged Tokime, although both knew it was only meant as a chance to express their feelings of helplessness. 

Only Ryusei, Kengo and Yuki were able to make it, but never in his life had Utahoshi Kengo wanted to deck himself in the face more than he did now as he watched a doppelgänger shatter his friend internally. He HAD seen those signs, but eventually chose not to question it, because it didn't matter when it was Gentaro, yet here it was, killing him inside out and Kengo felt sick that he hadn't approached his friend about it beforehand. Yuki was sobbing onto his shoulder too, unable to see her childhood friend so... so broken, and Ryusei shuddered at that. It was... painful...

Rinko and Kiriko held each other's hands as they watched Haruto and Shinnosuke. Gou gave both of them a gentle hug, eyes shaking with rage at the nerve this villain had to copy Krim AND cause his Aniki pain but remaining calm for their sake. Rinko had to calm down before she actually destroyed something in the hospital. This... this absolute psycho!!! How dare he use Koyomi for his malicious schemes! Kiriko leaned into Gou and sobbed quietly. Her husband... oh, Shinnosuke... it wasn't his fault...

Nito Kousuke would have stormed out already were it not for Mai holding him back. But it was clear that he was shaken up at Haruto falling so much into hating himself. Mai understood, so she hugged him while mentally cursing out the man who had done this. She knew Kouta was better than that, but this piece of crap had used Kaito AND her. She knew Kouta still felt angry that Kaito had to die. It... It made her so angry that this human had rubbed salt on that wound.

Eijiro could only watch copies of his granddaughter and Yusuke hurt Tsukasa. He could see the hurt, the doubt in his eyes... if only... just, if only they hadn't... they would be here. Tsukasa needed them, but they weren't there.

Poor, poor Tsukasa...

Izu and Yua paled when they saw Aruto fight his dad AND Fuwa. Yua was actually punching a wall, tears streaming down her eyes, while Izu wished more than ever that she was human so she too could cry. Cry at this horrible display of successful emotional manipulation. At how Aruto-sama was defeated.

Even as a former villain who regained his memories, Swartz would have destroyed that thing in one instance. He was still a principal. He had come to care for them so to see them hurt this badly all, all because of his actions... It infuriated and tore him apart internally as the guilt permeated throughout his entire being. He had... he had caused this, hadn't he?

Ora shivered. Junichirou definitely seemed shaken by this, especially having regained his memories recently, but Uru? He was hugging himself, crying, screaming at how unfair it was that of all the people, it had to be Sougo, the man who had shown him kindness.

Keiwa nearly puked for real while Neon paled considerably at Ace's scene. The cool, confident dude was frozen in place... He had been broken with those words...

Katsuragi Takumi had to be held back by Misora as his eyes burned in anger. That... That absolute psychopath! It was one thing to mess with him. It was another thing entirely to mess with Sento, who he had come to see as a "friend", and the muscle idiot!!! Those people were going to PAY!!!! Misora herself had tears as Sawa's fists tightened. Kazumi and Gentoku both looked down, with Gentoku showing a shirt saying, "This hurts."

Mei was already cracking her muscles. Messing with her friend was bad enough, but using HER to do that?! She was the one who wanted to be involved in the first place! Touma didn't have to blame himself for that! Rintaro already had his own sword prepared. He was going to SLAUGHTER that insane man.

And then... There was Hina, sobbing while Shingo snarled. How could they.... They had trusted them and this was what they got in return?! Rotten! Absolutely rotten and evil!!!

With all the emotions happening, it was natural to forget something, but eventually it was brought up.

"Kovkov!" Lovekov nudged Sakura before gesturing to the end of the video, at Jin and Kouri's scene. At the final form trinkets now handed over by Kouri, at the way they were all brutalised....

Those chains... Had been a conduit for them.

"Wait, Love-chan has a point..." Sakura blinked. "Those chains... What are they?"

"You mean these?" Kiriya held out the chains he had barely managed to get off them. "They're real durable, I tell ya. Real durable."

But Swartz's eyes widened. That signature...! "It can't be... Imaginal... Energy?"

"What's that?" Yuki asked. The others were slowly regaining their composure upon hearing Sakura's question, yet Swartz could see it. The sheer aura...

"I... I thought it was impossible!" He stammered. "To harness this energy, it would require...!"

"Imaginal...? Wait, Swartz, isn't that?!" Ora gasped.

"It is," He grimly confirmed. "The energy of world creation. But in order to do that, you would require someone from... That world."

"W-What world?" Junichirou asked.

"A world where we are but fiction," He answered. "A world where our lives are, for better or worse, dictated by creative minds. A world... Abound with Imaginal Energy. I always believed that if a person from that world would come to our multiverse, it would mean chaos."

"What are you talking about?" Kengo demanded.

"That man..." He gestured to the newly Henshined Rider. "He exudes an abnormal amount of it. These chains do too, which... Makes me wonder. I had always wondered what would happen if such a person, one from that world, stayed in our multiverse for a long time. But now, I have gotten the answer to that question. And... I hate to admit it, but Kougami Kousei thought this plan through. His presence has allowed Kougami to wield Imaginal Energy at his will and thus, he created these chains and those monsters."

"WHAT?!" Mei yelped.

As he turned around to say more, his eye caught Jin, and something... Something made him freeze.

His potential.... This couldn't be!!

Walking over, he gently felt the other's forehead, and closed his eyes.

This feeling... He...

A grin formed on his face. Not a malicious one. A genuine one. Hopeful.

"Akasei Jin... Something tells me that you have more things in store for you," He whispered.

This Imaginal Energy, once wielded correctly, could combat the new Rider.

That he was sure of.

The real question was...

Would he gain the resolve to fight against someone he seemed to genuinely care for?

Swartz didn't know, but he...

He had a feeling that once fully overcoming his hurdles, the newest Reiwa Rider would go to heights beyond one's imagination-

"GUYS!!!" The door slammed open, and they all turned over to see a frantic Saiba Nico. "TURN THE TV ON-"

Narita and Shibuya were with her, faces pale as well as Hiiro hurried to turn it on and-

"Happy birthday, everyone! We of Kougami Corporation would like to congratulate all of you for surviving into the new era!" The villain greeted, standing at the top of Hiden Intelligence with a smirk as Kamen Rider Nonfiction stood beside him, quiet. Satonaka kept a polite smile while he continued, "Now! The destruction of every Kamen Rider is at hand. I have managed to create an army of Impulls specifically for each and every one of them to ensure they will never win. After all..."

A sinister smile formed. "Only a true psychopath would hurt their loved ones, am I right?"

And they could see. Behind Kougami, as the camera panned out...

Rows and rows of kitsunes, their forms slowly morphing into various loved ones of every Kamen Rider in existence. From Showa to Heisei to Reiwa, every single living Rider seemed to have a counterpart aside from Nonfiction.

And not just that...

Mummies with USBs stuck into a certain part of their bodies flanked them.

"I present to you! The Shapeshifter Impulls  and the Dopant-Yummys!" Kougami roared in laughter as the monsters screeched out, proclaiming their creator's superiority.

Tokime felt sick to the stomach. Of all the things...! She had to be supported by Akiko as she shook. Why Dopants...?

Hina really did punch a wall this time, screaming out her frustration as Shingo hugged her, yet not truly stopping her. He was angry too. How could he...?! This PSYCHO!!!

... All the while, a tear fell down Jin's cheek.

Nearby, a child watched, head tilted slightly.

"Why uncle sad...?" They murmured to themselves. They... Wanted to know.

Why did the uncle look so sad even in his sleep?