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Title: Mirror
Series: Kamen Rider Decade, Kamen Rider Zi-O
Characters: Kadoya Tsukasa, Tokiwa Sougo, Swartz, Tsukuyomi, mentions of Ora, Heure
Summary: He was summoned to be someone's obstacle. But he ended up meeting someone whose fate mirrors his own.
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He thought that he should check it out. The day when Tokiwa Sougo's family was involved in a bus accident. Since that should be the starting point where everything begins.
And perhaps, by knowing about Sougo's origins as well as the reason the kid ended up wanting to become 'king', would further provide more answers to him as to whether or not he should destroy this world where Zi-O exists. After all, Zi-O's existence, as well as all of the Time Jacker's activities, have done enough damage to the timelines of the other Kamen Riders before Zi-O. That alone should be enough reason for him to take action.
Yet, there should also be a reason for Zi-O's existence in this world.
So anyway, he had arranged for the original bus driver to not be able to go to work, which made it natural for him to take over the job. There shouldn't be any other problems after that, just as how it used to be in the past. As in, back when his memories were still fragmented and mostly a blank sheet, he'd unconsciously use the Hikari Studio to manipulate the location of the place towards any world that he was supposed to go. And with each world that he goes to, his identity in those worlds would change accordingly to fit his purposes.
"Sougo!"
Tsukasa perked up as he turned slightly towards the voices. A pair of husband and wife, alongside a young child, was walking towards the bus. So there's the young Sougo, about to experience something that's going to shape his future from here on. But should he even be rejoicing at this fact?
"Come on, let's pick strawberries!"
He bit his lips as he continued eyeing the family. What an innocent sight. To think that this happy moment would be shortlived; for them, as well for the rest of the passengers on this bus.
That aside, the sight of all these happy families, parents with their children, made him think about his own. Although by now, even with the few memories that he recovered, he could no longer tell if those memories were truly real or fabricated. Like the memories he had of his sister, as well as memories of his parents and the mansion that they used to live in. Not that it mattered anyway since his own world no longer exists following his 'death' by Kivaara's sword.
"Why we're not moving yet?"
Tsukasa snapped back to attention as he turned to check the time. He blinked. Oh, he should start the bus now—And just then, from the corner of his eyes, he noted a flash of white stepping into the bus.
He lowered his head as to not catch her attention. It's not good for his presence to be noticed by her this early.
Guess he was not the only one thinking about coming to this point in time to learn up about things.
xxx
The figure in black appeared without warning, and they appeared unfazed at the fact that the bus might run them over. Tsukasa punched the horn in response while hitting the brakes to try to stop the bus before hitting the figure. But it didn't look like he could—And then the surrounding time around the bus stopped.
Tsukasa frowned slightly. Perhaps because he himself had the power to manipulate space and dimensions (as well as inheriting the powers of the Kamen Riders from his past and future, in which at least two had the ability related to time), he wasn't quite affected by the Time Jacker's ability.
Regardless, he kept himself still so that his presence wouldn't be noticed.
And seconds later, time moved again but the figure disappeared. Much to his surprise as well, the bus also remained stationary.
xxx
"You, all potential kings..."
Tsukasa turned around as he recognised the voice. It was Swartz. Tsukasa frowned at the man.
Did he just said... potential kings? The man didn't come for Sougo especially?
The Swartz from this point in time had a different appearance than the one he met on the latter timeline. What could this mean?
Tsukasa turned his attention back towards the bus dashboard. While the bus was still unmoving, from the looks of the many indicators, meters and readings on the dashboard, by rights, the bus hadn't really stopped. It made him wonder to what extent the Time Jacker's powers reach. Since as far as he'd observed before, Swartz's powers were much more elaborate compared to Ora, or even that kid Heure.
"The ruler of time, travelling beyond time and space to reign over past and future. Among those of you born in the year 2000, some possess the potential to rise up."
Tsukasa made a face as Swartz continued talking. He was expecting to find a clear answer by coming to this point of time, yet now it looked like things were much more complicated than he thought. And he didn't like this.
He didn't like this at all.
The bus suddenly moved without warning as Tsukasa tried to see if he could regain control of the bus. But it didn't look like he could. The controls didn't seem to respond to him prodding or kicking at it.
"Thus, you will undergo this life or death trial."
He hated when people do this in his presence. Why did everything had to involve a life or death situations?
Tsukasa kept his expressions grim. It didn't look like there's much that he could do, but he could at least try to get everyone to safety.
xxx
In the end, he only managed to get Tsukuyomi and himself off the bus... and followed the trail Swartz left behind to catch up on him. But the ordeal still left him with a bad aftertaste. Leaving those other people behind to their deaths—leaving anyone to face their deaths—would always be terrible. Even if the other passengers in the bus would have still be in a suspended state that they probably wouldn't have suffered anything when they died.
Being too kind can never be good, especially for him in these kinds of situations.
Right after they arrived at the place, Tsukuyomi immediately started looking for Sougo. Tsukasa glanced up as he saw the giant machines wreck havoc to the city.
As lauded by those people coming from the distant future, the giant machines were indeed a terrifying sight.
xxx
"Look out!"
Without warning, several disembodied characters materialized in a form of words uttered by Sougo and froze the time around the other child. The kid even managed to destroy a Dai Mazine just by his own thoughts!
Swartz approached Sougo and spoken to the kid before undoing the frozen time. Little Sougo then rushed over to save the other kid before a large boulder hits them.
On their side as well, more large debris started falling around Tsukasa and Tsukuyomi before he grabbed her along towards safety. But before he left, he saw Swartz disappear again taking Sougo and the other child away from the place.
xxx
"Kamen Rider Decade!"
Tsukasa turned around to face Tsukuyomi. "You saw that? That was the birth of the overlord you and your friend have been chasing after."
"The one who set up the accident that killed Sougo's parents was Swartz. He brought the children to this future to test their potential as kings," said the girl.
An apt observation. At least the girl didn't try to deny the things that both of them had witnessed and experienced.
He shrugged. "And the one who passed was Tokiwa Sougo."
"What was Swartz doing? It was like he gave him some kind of power..."
Tsukasa kept himself quiet. Because what he saw was actually quite the opposite. It looked more as if Swartz was altering Sougo's memories. Or even sealing Sougo's original power! The thought of such thing being done to Sougo reminded him of his own situation. Back then, he lost his memories and even forgetting that he had any special powers besides the ones he wields as Decade. Because of that, he ended up wandering around aimlessly not knowing who he really was or what he was supposed to do.
While his situation wasn't as complicated as Sougo's, he hated the idea that someone would intentionally do that to Sougo and manipulated the kid's life for some nefarious purposes.
And that's another thing. Sougo's powers, what was the kid's true power actually? While Zi-O's ability was similar to Decade's ability to assume the form and power of the other Kamen Riders, was that the only ability that THAT rider form have? Also, when Sougo stopped the boulder from falling on the other kid, that light on his forehead; it reminded him of Zi-O's appearance where the characters 'Kamen Rider' was etched on the forehead and the eyes.
Was there some connection to that? And Swartz also touched that particular point on Sougo's forehead!
Tsukuyomi asked what happened to the children afterwards. And Tsukasa told him that Swartz sent them back. But he didn't mention that beside Sougo and the kid who almost died, the other children that were dragged along to this future were left behind. And he wasn't even sure now if those kids were still alive or not.
"Why are you here?"
Tsukasa stepped aside from her, turning his attention back towards the devastation that was miles away from where they were.
"I..."
"I'm trying to decide whether or not I should destroy this world. If this world is destined to have Tokiwa Sougo reign as its overlord... then the answer is pretty clear. But.."
"There might be another way?"
"Who knows?" he replied instead.
Tsukasa shrugged. Just as his own fate has been changed a long time ago, perhaps it was also possible for Zi-O to choose a different future for himself. That kind of outcome... could perhaps be possible for the kid. Since like him, Sougo had people who cared about him.
A happy ending should still be around somewhere...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: A minor note about the other kids. Since we know that Sougo and Hiryu were supposed to be the only survivor of the accident, it shouldn't be hard to figure out what happened (could have happened) to the others. Swartz might even have taken some who perished back to their own time to the accident aftermath. Who knows.
Series: Kamen Rider Decade, Kamen Rider Zi-O
Characters: Kadoya Tsukasa, Tokiwa Sougo, Swartz, Tsukuyomi, mentions of Ora, Heure
Summary: He was summoned to be someone's obstacle. But he ended up meeting someone whose fate mirrors his own.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He thought that he should check it out. The day when Tokiwa Sougo's family was involved in a bus accident. Since that should be the starting point where everything begins.
And perhaps, by knowing about Sougo's origins as well as the reason the kid ended up wanting to become 'king', would further provide more answers to him as to whether or not he should destroy this world where Zi-O exists. After all, Zi-O's existence, as well as all of the Time Jacker's activities, have done enough damage to the timelines of the other Kamen Riders before Zi-O. That alone should be enough reason for him to take action.
Yet, there should also be a reason for Zi-O's existence in this world.
So anyway, he had arranged for the original bus driver to not be able to go to work, which made it natural for him to take over the job. There shouldn't be any other problems after that, just as how it used to be in the past. As in, back when his memories were still fragmented and mostly a blank sheet, he'd unconsciously use the Hikari Studio to manipulate the location of the place towards any world that he was supposed to go. And with each world that he goes to, his identity in those worlds would change accordingly to fit his purposes.
"Sougo!"
Tsukasa perked up as he turned slightly towards the voices. A pair of husband and wife, alongside a young child, was walking towards the bus. So there's the young Sougo, about to experience something that's going to shape his future from here on. But should he even be rejoicing at this fact?
"Come on, let's pick strawberries!"
He bit his lips as he continued eyeing the family. What an innocent sight. To think that this happy moment would be shortlived; for them, as well for the rest of the passengers on this bus.
That aside, the sight of all these happy families, parents with their children, made him think about his own. Although by now, even with the few memories that he recovered, he could no longer tell if those memories were truly real or fabricated. Like the memories he had of his sister, as well as memories of his parents and the mansion that they used to live in. Not that it mattered anyway since his own world no longer exists following his 'death' by Kivaara's sword.
"Why we're not moving yet?"
Tsukasa snapped back to attention as he turned to check the time. He blinked. Oh, he should start the bus now—And just then, from the corner of his eyes, he noted a flash of white stepping into the bus.
He lowered his head as to not catch her attention. It's not good for his presence to be noticed by her this early.
Guess he was not the only one thinking about coming to this point in time to learn up about things.
xxx
The figure in black appeared without warning, and they appeared unfazed at the fact that the bus might run them over. Tsukasa punched the horn in response while hitting the brakes to try to stop the bus before hitting the figure. But it didn't look like he could—And then the surrounding time around the bus stopped.
Tsukasa frowned slightly. Perhaps because he himself had the power to manipulate space and dimensions (as well as inheriting the powers of the Kamen Riders from his past and future, in which at least two had the ability related to time), he wasn't quite affected by the Time Jacker's ability.
Regardless, he kept himself still so that his presence wouldn't be noticed.
And seconds later, time moved again but the figure disappeared. Much to his surprise as well, the bus also remained stationary.
xxx
"You, all potential kings..."
Tsukasa turned around as he recognised the voice. It was Swartz. Tsukasa frowned at the man.
Did he just said... potential kings? The man didn't come for Sougo especially?
The Swartz from this point in time had a different appearance than the one he met on the latter timeline. What could this mean?
Tsukasa turned his attention back towards the bus dashboard. While the bus was still unmoving, from the looks of the many indicators, meters and readings on the dashboard, by rights, the bus hadn't really stopped. It made him wonder to what extent the Time Jacker's powers reach. Since as far as he'd observed before, Swartz's powers were much more elaborate compared to Ora, or even that kid Heure.
"The ruler of time, travelling beyond time and space to reign over past and future. Among those of you born in the year 2000, some possess the potential to rise up."
Tsukasa made a face as Swartz continued talking. He was expecting to find a clear answer by coming to this point of time, yet now it looked like things were much more complicated than he thought. And he didn't like this.
He didn't like this at all.
The bus suddenly moved without warning as Tsukasa tried to see if he could regain control of the bus. But it didn't look like he could. The controls didn't seem to respond to him prodding or kicking at it.
"Thus, you will undergo this life or death trial."
He hated when people do this in his presence. Why did everything had to involve a life or death situations?
Tsukasa kept his expressions grim. It didn't look like there's much that he could do, but he could at least try to get everyone to safety.
xxx
In the end, he only managed to get Tsukuyomi and himself off the bus... and followed the trail Swartz left behind to catch up on him. But the ordeal still left him with a bad aftertaste. Leaving those other people behind to their deaths—leaving anyone to face their deaths—would always be terrible. Even if the other passengers in the bus would have still be in a suspended state that they probably wouldn't have suffered anything when they died.
Being too kind can never be good, especially for him in these kinds of situations.
Right after they arrived at the place, Tsukuyomi immediately started looking for Sougo. Tsukasa glanced up as he saw the giant machines wreck havoc to the city.
As lauded by those people coming from the distant future, the giant machines were indeed a terrifying sight.
xxx
"Look out!"
Without warning, several disembodied characters materialized in a form of words uttered by Sougo and froze the time around the other child. The kid even managed to destroy a Dai Mazine just by his own thoughts!
Swartz approached Sougo and spoken to the kid before undoing the frozen time. Little Sougo then rushed over to save the other kid before a large boulder hits them.
On their side as well, more large debris started falling around Tsukasa and Tsukuyomi before he grabbed her along towards safety. But before he left, he saw Swartz disappear again taking Sougo and the other child away from the place.
xxx
"Kamen Rider Decade!"
Tsukasa turned around to face Tsukuyomi. "You saw that? That was the birth of the overlord you and your friend have been chasing after."
"The one who set up the accident that killed Sougo's parents was Swartz. He brought the children to this future to test their potential as kings," said the girl.
An apt observation. At least the girl didn't try to deny the things that both of them had witnessed and experienced.
He shrugged. "And the one who passed was Tokiwa Sougo."
"What was Swartz doing? It was like he gave him some kind of power..."
Tsukasa kept himself quiet. Because what he saw was actually quite the opposite. It looked more as if Swartz was altering Sougo's memories. Or even sealing Sougo's original power! The thought of such thing being done to Sougo reminded him of his own situation. Back then, he lost his memories and even forgetting that he had any special powers besides the ones he wields as Decade. Because of that, he ended up wandering around aimlessly not knowing who he really was or what he was supposed to do.
While his situation wasn't as complicated as Sougo's, he hated the idea that someone would intentionally do that to Sougo and manipulated the kid's life for some nefarious purposes.
And that's another thing. Sougo's powers, what was the kid's true power actually? While Zi-O's ability was similar to Decade's ability to assume the form and power of the other Kamen Riders, was that the only ability that THAT rider form have? Also, when Sougo stopped the boulder from falling on the other kid, that light on his forehead; it reminded him of Zi-O's appearance where the characters 'Kamen Rider' was etched on the forehead and the eyes.
Was there some connection to that? And Swartz also touched that particular point on Sougo's forehead!
Tsukuyomi asked what happened to the children afterwards. And Tsukasa told him that Swartz sent them back. But he didn't mention that beside Sougo and the kid who almost died, the other children that were dragged along to this future were left behind. And he wasn't even sure now if those kids were still alive or not.
"Why are you here?"
Tsukasa stepped aside from her, turning his attention back towards the devastation that was miles away from where they were.
"I..."
"I'm trying to decide whether or not I should destroy this world. If this world is destined to have Tokiwa Sougo reign as its overlord... then the answer is pretty clear. But.."
"There might be another way?"
"Who knows?" he replied instead.
Tsukasa shrugged. Just as his own fate has been changed a long time ago, perhaps it was also possible for Zi-O to choose a different future for himself. That kind of outcome... could perhaps be possible for the kid. Since like him, Sougo had people who cared about him.
A happy ending should still be around somewhere...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: A minor note about the other kids. Since we know that Sougo and Hiryu were supposed to be the only survivor of the accident, it shouldn't be hard to figure out what happened (could have happened) to the others. Swartz might even have taken some who perished back to their own time to the accident aftermath. Who knows.
