1. Wuliang

"Mitsuko!!" Another voice had the group turning over to see a brown-haired girl with green and red highlights in her hair running over.

Wuliang blinked. That face looked... Familiar. Almost like-

"Amia-nee!" Mitsuko smiled as they hugged their sister. "You're back from the latest research?"

"Yeah! Restoring memories is definitely not easy," She answered before she blinked, looking at the group. "And they are...?"

"Old Buddy, bal!" Bal answered with a smile. "Gao and Tasuku!"

"Wait, our ancestors?!" She gasped and bowed. "I am so sorry! I am Takahiro Amia!"

Black rain?... Yuga thought to himself. That was... A weird name.

"But you can call me Labite! It's a nickname of mine!" She added.

"Amia-nee helped Bal remember his past," Mitsuko explained. "She's a top cognitive neuroscientist who's supported me against Azi Dahaka!"

"Huh..." Glasssweeper seemed to... Seemed to go quiet as he looked at her.

Wuliang hummed. Eh, that didn't really matter, right?

... Why did the name Labite ring a bell, though?

2. Wuliang (Realisation)

"So this is your Papa's team, huh?" Dan leaned into the picture he had.

"Yeah! There's Aunt Ditra, Aunt Angelia, Uncle Kyuma, Uncle Gamine, Aunt Yeow, Blair, and Renee-"

And then he stopped.

Hang on...

"Renee.... Their full name...."

How had he not...?!

"Wuliang?" Yuga asked. "You good?"

"O-Oh yeah! Of course!" Wuliang smiled.

He had heard from Uncle Shotaro how he and the other Heisei Phase 2 Riders had joined the team; during a crisis he didn't truly remember...

But that name.

Labite...

It couldn't be... Could it?

3. Winnie

"Hi! I'm Takahiro Amia," The other greeted Winnie and Onyx. "You two are fellow Dimensional Keepers right? Hajime mentioned you guys do a great job!"

But Winnie's eyes were trained on her. Sure she looked a bit more like a Mikado, yet... She would recognise the glint in her eyes any day.

The same glint Leader had.

The determination, hidden deep within.

But how? Who was this person?

"Win? You good?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just... Remembering something from the team. Pretty personal, no worries."

"Oh okay! But you can call me Labite if you want! Everyone does!"

The gears clicked. That was...!

She had heard about her briefly from the others but to think that she would meet her HERE OF ALL PLACES...

Winnie was truly in shock.

4. GF Dan, Hiro, BE Magnus, BE Brakken, Narumi Detective Agency

"Mitsuko!!!"

Heads swiveled over to see the Mikado descendant hug Shin Gao as they smiled. From behind Mitsuko, though-

"Wait hang on, that's...!" GF Dan gasped.

"Geno Labite-san..." GF Hiro whispered.

BE Magnus' eyes widened and BE Brakken stared.

But when Labite looked their way, the four pointedly looked away.

She blinked. "What's up with them?"

"They're friends of Wuliang!" Yuga answered while gesturing for her to sit down. "They're weird but that's just part of stuff."

"O... Kay?" Her eyes landed on Shotaro, Philip and Ryu. They... Seemed to give off a vaguely familiar aura, but what?

Seeing this, Tokime gave a small laugh. "I... Think I know what Fic was talking about when they said they knew the perfect family to let her reincarnate in."

The four briefly followed her gaze, but Philip gave a smile. "I see. A family of love to replace the lack of a childhood she got due to the experimentations, huh...?"

"That's good enough, I think. Leader really made the right call here," Shotaro agreed.

"Not bad," Ryu said.

"Hopefully she stays that way," Akiko decided, and the five gave wistful smiles.

Yuga frowned a bit. He... Had suspected something when he first saw Glasssweeper's reaction, but...

Was there a connection between Labite-san and the SRS? If so, what was it?

And... Why did she seem so familiar?

5. Fic

"Hey, Wuliang!"

"Papa! Here for another Q and A?" My son hugged me as I hugged back.

I chuckled a bit. "Nah. My usual partner for that ain't around, is she? I'm here for something else."

"Is it about-"

"Yeah. I'm guessing you figured it out."

"Uncle Shotaro told me about what happened after... After the world erasing," He said quietly. "I don't remember much, just how you hugged me through the pain."

"And that's fine. Don't push yourself," I said. "Is... Is she okay?"

"She's very fine, Papa. She's also very smart too!"

"Ha, that's to be expected considering how she was befor-"

"How she was before? So... She IS connected to your group."

"Mikado Yuga. I'm not shocked you figured it out first," I said while looking back at him. "Where's your Garga?"

"Spending time with the Takahiro siblings. I had my suspicions because of everyone's reactions, so..."

"Mei?"

He shook his head. "Mei-sempai doesn't know her well. She would look her up, sure, but-"

"The data she seeks wouldn't be accessible in this multiverse. I'm betting you know that as well, which is why you're confronting me right now."

"That and Ichita mentioned how your Aura is weaker than before."

"Well, that's to be expected. I did give up most of my Imaginal Energy to let Labite be reborn."

"Imaginal..."

"The powers I gained as a result of being a Fate Changer, in a sense. Now I'm not as strong as I was before. No magic, no wings, no MythiSoul and all that. It's just... I've become a normal person. As normal as one can be in my situation at least. I gave up the energy because..." I paused a bit. "Because it only made it harder for me to connect to people. I want to connect with people more. And I can't do that on a pedestal, if I'm strong or anything. Plus... Humility goes a long way. I am proud of how far the team has come, even if some of them are overprotective as ****.”

"So you... You didn't train Wuliang in the future despite being a nonfictioner because-"

"I think so. Plus, Niisan is right. What makes me someone who protects the multiverse.... It's what I have instead of what I think I don't have. I have the heart and soul for it. I didn't need fancy titles. I didn't need acknowledgement. At the end of the day, past all this hurt and sorrow... I just needed an actual family. The SRS gave me that. @XenoSaiyan, venusaura, everyone on the team... And all the people I've connected with so far. I want to focus on those I care for instead of my achievements. And... Labite... At the end of the day, even though she took my energy, she was... She was hurt. Experiment after experiment... Then she accidentally killed the scientists when they cut her skull open... Then she ended up resting in my Geno self's soul, showing up here and there but otherwise a separate entity, and..."

I faltered. "My Geno self's death released her, and five years was spent on getting revenge on the ones who wronged her. The de la Cruzes were delusional as heck, and she... She killed them. Taking so much Imaginal Energy from other Fate Changers, their memories, what made them, them for this plan. Then, the final piece; the world erasing. My Imaginal Energy harnessing. She killed the de la Cruzes and took my energy to destroy and hurt, to reboot the world in her image, I think. But... We beat her. She... Asked me why I allow pain, and... Venusa- no, Venu-nee, she told me that these arcs allow us writers to grow as well, but it doesn't mean you don't feel. No, you're as alive as we are in your own way, and I rather not hurt if I can avoid it."

"Fic..." Glasssweeper frowned.

"Watching the team in pain... And then watching them fade off... It was scary. For hours I had to agonise, hate myself for letting myself detach from them. And... I know pain aversion will make it hard for me to do anything. But.... If connecting means that I have to hurt, I'll gladly do it. To help those around me, be it through talk or music. It's a step towards an unclear goal that I want to keep moving towards... That's why. I won't fear pain. Small steps. I know now what truly makes me a Fate Changer; changing the lives of those around me and beyond. Connecting and helping. That... Is the true meaning of a Fate Changer, no matter how dire the consequences, there is always another way."

Yuga's eyes widened. "Small steps..."

"Don't deny your dark side. Embrace it, no matter how scary it is. In the end, it's YOUR choice on who you are."

I knew that was aimed at myself as I teleported away, happy that she had finally gotten the childhood she wanted.

Instead of stealing souls and memories... Now she was restoring them.

I smiled. "Another step to the bright future ahead of me."

And so, time moves on, but the lessons stay. I'll make sure of that.