Nolan Bennett

## Kamen Rider Ryu-O

**Nolan Bennett** (ノーラン・ベネット, *Nōran Benetto*) is one of the recurring participants in *Group 3: Kamen Rider FX Episode Jo³ker* and later on, a main participant in *Group 2: FX Episode ⬡(Birth)*. Using the Ryu-O Belt, Nolan unknowingly works alongside a parasitic Imagin within him to become **Kamen Rider Ryu-O** (仮面ライダー竜王, *Kamen Raidā Ryu'ō*).

## History

### *Group 3: Kamen Rider FX Episode Jo³ker*

#### Session 3

*See: Session 3 (Episode Jo³ker)*

Recently being hired as a minimum-wage intern at an unnamed tech company, his first day on the job has yet to begin upon Nolan's car unexpectedly breaking down. Upon investigation, he stumbles upon a Rider Artifact, a Rider Pass, lodged within his car's fuel tank. Once he stops to extract it, Nolan finds himself transported into the dead center of the Deadzone, the dystopian remnants of what was once Tokyo, Japan. An spacious, heavily guarded area plagued with otherworldly creatures who ravage it, the remaining peace is upkept by those who use the Rider Artifacts to fight in the name of justice: the Kamen Riders.

#### Session 4

*See: Session 4 (Episode Jo³ker)*

Now having to travel by foot to navigate his way out of the Deadzone, Nolan finds himself taken aback by a domineering force of sorts. Though incorporeal, it felt as if the force was closing on him with each step he took. Eventually, the uneasy feeling he had became difficult to ignore, and as soon as the Earth beneath him violently quaked, he instantly made a run for it in hopes of survival. While attempting to take refuge, Nolan witnessed four warriors, some of which were armor-clad while others appeared more monstrous, appearing to be locked in combat with a greataxe-wielding demonic figure.

Upon hearing a distant voice in his head, urging him to transform, Nolan notices the Ryu-O Belt now materialized around his waist. Reluctant and very much afraid, he detached the belt and took in his surroundings. Knowing that his life will never be the same, but wanting to ensure that his sense of justice will be made known to those endangering others, Nolan would confidently put the belt back on before scanning it with his Rider Pass. Encompassed by a wave of radiant light, Kamen Rider Ryu-O was born.

Joining the four warriors, Kamen Riders Hankyuu (Gakuto Kanemoto), NeOOO (Hachiro Mochizuki), AZA (Alice Haley), and Another AZA (Daisuke Togo), Ryu-O would lunge towards the greataxe-wielding figure, Kamen Rider Kagayaki, before slashing at him with his RyuGasher. Almost instantaneously however, a mysterious figure would appear out of the blue. The figure would look different depending on one's ambitions, but to appeal to Nolan's, they would appear as an idealistic hero loved and adored by many. This being would introduce himself as Master, an entity who reveals that all the Riders are mere aspects of the world he created for them, including Nolan. After disintegrating Kagayaki, the figure would transform into Kamen Rider Master using his own personalized Rider Artifact.

Master would turn the battle in his favor using Dungeons & Dragons-esque game mechanics, raising his Initiative to 1000 to outrank his opponents and altering the scope of the Earth to have it fold in on itself. And although Ryu-O would attempt to subdue him alongside his fellow Riders and newcomer Kamen Rider Khloros Tiefe, Master would prove to be too formidable of a force to defeat. Once Master's ultimate attack was struck, their world would be wiped from reality as its resident Riders would appear to fade away as well.

Ryu-O, alongside Hankyuu and NeOOO, would all find themselves experiencing a vision of the Second Plane, seeing themselves head towards their personal jobs in a pre-Deadzone Tokyo. In this vision, after noticing the intricacies of life in spite of how ordinary it all seemed, the three of them would all board the same bus. Only a few minutes later however, the bus would unexpectedly crash, killing them and all the other passengers resultantly and bringing the vision to a sudden end. Afterwards, they would reawaken in the Third Plane unharmed and would be greeted by a disapproving Master. Given a second attempt to prove themselves in another afterlife by Master himself, Nolan and Hachiro would subconsciously choose and be transferred over to a new world with only vague recollections of what transpired.

Still untransformed and in a state of unconsciousness, Nolan and Hachiro would reawaken in another Tokyo that fell victim to the Deadzone incident after being discovered by a man named Kouga Katsuaki and one of his associates, David. Upon being asked how he got here and who he was, a rather stressed Nolan would glare over the question so that he can attempt to figure out what happened in his own world, only revealing his name once he gave up attempting to explain himself. After being given a brief rundown of this world's Deadzone Riders, he and Hachiro would be offered and given refreshments and a place to stay, welcoming them to their new home.

### *Group 2: Kamen Rider FX Episode ⬡(Birth)*

#### Session 5

*See: Session 5 (Episode ⬡(Birth))*

A few days afterward, Nolan and Hachiro have grown accustomed to their new surroundings. An inquisitive Kuma would spark up a conversation with Nolan, leading into a discussion where Nolan intentionally riles up Kuma just to get a rise out of him, jokingly telling him that he doesn't have much of a use in terms of his Humagear abilities. Although weary of Nolan because of his overall demeanor, Kuma would reluctantly team with Nolan to sneak into Imagine Corp. and steal a Rider Artifact that he's been waiting to retrieve.

Kuma would posit three separate plans to Nolan, and although all of them would be discarded, he'd suddenly come up with something ingenious. Having broken into Imagine Corp. with his KikaiLiner before, Kuma suggests that they ram both of their trains into the side of the building to break in. Although he wasn't entirely enthused by the idea, Nolan would summon his own RyuLiner. With the two trains being summoned at the same time, they'd merge into the "Kikai Dragon" before penetrating the establishment with a sudden crash.

The sound of the crash wouldn't go unnoticed however, as they'd immediately be surrounded by eight ImagineTroopers who witnessed the infiltration. Kuma, having gone in first, would be attacked mercilessly by the troop, with Nolan standing by idly in cowardice. Although Nolan eventually gives in and attempts to aid Kuma, he too would be no match for the ImagineTroopers. Kuma and Nolan would transform into the Ursa Phantom and Ryu-O respectively, taking out one of the soldiers in the aftermath. With the assistance of Jade's soldiers, the rest of the ImagineTroopers would be taken care of, allowing Nolan and Kuma to make their way to the laboratory.

Kuma would come up with a new plan, having Nolan "politely" tell all the scientists to get on the floor so that he can sneak in and take the Rider Artifact. Nolan, unsure of the plan, goes through with it anyways, asking for the scientists to hand over their money as part of the ruse. The scientists would then respond by aiming Smart Brain-licensed firearms at him, causing Ryu-O to swiftly disarm all of them using his lance. Finally making it to the drawer in which the Rider Artifact was contained, opening it would reveal to Nolan a Forceriser and the Freezing Bear Progrisekey. Both items would be placed into the possession of Kuma, resulting in his transformation into Kamen Rider Kuma and subsequent battle with Jade.

#### Session 6

*See: Session 6 (Episode ⬡(Birth))*

Having evaded the devastation brought upon the Imagine Corp. building by both Kuma and Jade's finishing attacks, Nolan and his Rider comrades are mostly unscathed. As a few ImagineTroopers show up on the scene to hold them responsible for the damage, the group would make a hurried retreat to The Conductors' base of operations: the warehouse.

As David and Kouga evaluate the active threats Kuma, Jade, and Goro Higashikita pose, a being with a similar appearance to Hachiro would exit from Kuma's abandoned Liner (Samero Mochizuki). With Samero coming to assist the group due to Kuma's sacrifice of his own Imagin, David recommends to Kouga that the six of them should separate into two individual groups to fight Kuma and Goro separately. Jade, due to how powerful they have become, is instead reserved for another time. Since Kouga, Sold, and David decide to take on Goro, Hachiro, Samero, and Nolan are left with the mission of taking on Kuma.

The three managed to come across a rock quarry Kuma set up camp at, with Kuma himself being unsure of what their intent was. As soon as Samero brought up what occurred with both of Kuma's Imagin, however, he immediately caught on to what he was in for. Denouncing both Hachiro and Nolan as stowaways, as well as his own Imagine, Kuma transforms into Kamen Rider Kuma to take all three of them on.

While Samero and Hachiro transform into Conquer Tiefe and NeOOO respectively, Nolan stalls for a while to assess the battle from afar. Insisting that the path Kuma go chose "isn't the way", the Imagin within Nolan awakened for the first time before fully transforming him into Ryu-O. While Ryu-O and the others put up a valiant effort in combat, Kuma eventually got the upper hand by means of his Ark Bear form. The three would be defeated, allowing Kuma to continue roaming free.

## Personality

Nolan, who began his journey as a timid individual, would gradually shape himself into a more snarky persona in an effort to cope with the irreversible loss of his home world. While he seems to deal with his emotions on a surface-level basis, there still happens to be inner struggles deep down. Self-doubting, and self-loathing to a certain extent, Nolan walks on with this burden in search of a greater purpose.

## Forms

* Plat
* Destroy

**Plat Form**

**Plat Form** (プラットフォーム, *Puratto Fōmu*) is Ryu-O's most basic default form undersuit, which is briefly seen during Ryu-O's transformation sequence before the Aura Armor and the Denkamen facemask attaches.

**Destroy Form**

*"Destroy Form!"*
―Transformation announcement[src]
**Destroy Form** (デストロイフォーム, *Desutoroi Fōmu*) is the primary form of Kamen Rider Ryu-O that Nolan can access with or without the presence of Bahamut. Its motif is the Azure Dragon of the East, the Guardian Beast of springtime.

In this form, Ryu-O wields Destroy Form's primary weapon, the shield-like Bahamight. Alternatively, his standard weapon, the RyuGasher, can be used in **Sword Mode** (ソードモード, *Sōdo Mōdo*) or **Lance Mode** (ランスモード, *Ransu Mōdo*) in conjunction with the Bahamight or when Bahamut is in possession of Nolan's body.

Destroy Form's Full Charge finisher, the **Spring Forward** (スプリングフォワード, *Supuringu Fowādo*), involves Ryu-O charging greenish-blue electricity into the RyuGasher, which chains itself onto the back of his waist to resemble the tail of a dragon. As the energy chain circles him and takes on a tornado-like shape, Ryu-O spins towards the opponent before striking them with the RyuGasher tail.

**Appearances:** *FX Episode Jo³ker* Session 4, *FX Episode ⬡(Birth)* Sessions 5-6
## Equipment

### Devices

* Ryu-O Belt - Transformation belt
* Rider Pass - A device to scan on the belt

### Weapons

* RyuGasher - Ryu-O's default weapon
* Bahamight - Destroy Form's personal weapon

## Notes

* Ryu-O's dragon motif and blue-dominant color scheme is heavily inspired by the likes of Kamen Rider Cross-Z from *Kamen Rider Build* and Ryukendo from *Madan Senki Ryukendo*.
* Initially conceived as a character named **Ryoto Tatsushima** (辰島 凌斗, *Tatsushima Ryōto*), Ryu-O would've served as the A.R. World equivalent to Ryotaro Nogami from *Kamen Rider Den-O* (who lacked an A.R. World variant in *Decade*). This idea would later be scrapped, as it proved too difficult to implement into FX's storyline.