Begins Night

This article is about an event in Kamen Rider W.

Begins Night
Series	Kamen Rider W
Location	Begins Night Building
Outcome	The origin of Kamen Rider Double and Philip's freedom from the facility. A known casualty during the events is Sokichi Narumi.
Belligerents
Participants	Shotaro Hidari Philip Sokichi Narumi Saeko Sonozaki

Begins Night (ビギンズナイト, Biginzu Naito) is the name given to the night of Sokichi Narumi's death and Shotaro Hidari's first transformation into Kamen Rider Double with Philip.

Begins Night

Sokichi and Shotaro had infiltrated a top secret installation, seeking the "Chosen Child," whose powers were being used for evil. When the alarm sounded, Sokichi gave an attaché case to Shotaro and ordered him not to move as he transformed into Kamen Rider Skull to fight off the guards as they all transformed into Masquerade Dopants when the Taboo Dopant damaged Sokichi's fedora in the fight. Elsewhere, Shotaro saw a young man and followed him, determining him to be the person they are after. The young man revealed that he created the Gaia Memories via his access to the Gaia Library, and during the discussion, Shotaro dropped the case revealing the Doubledriver. The young man was intrigued with its design, remarking that it to be made for the user to be able to access his power. However, after a short argument with Shotaro, he was inadvertently pushed into a transport device and is teleported into the crystalline structure of the Gaia Tower. Sokichi arrived and berated Shotaro for not listening to him, as they headed upstairs to the central chamber of the Gaia Tower. Sokichi went up to the crystal and entered the Gaia Library where he found the young man, offering him the freedom to do as he wished and also make amends for his part in the creation of the Gaia Memories. Learning he had no name, Sokichi christened him Philip, after his favorite fictional character.

Double's first debut

After rescuing Philip from the tower, the building's guards shot down Sokichi. In his last breath, he asked Shotaro to finish the case and take care of Philip, giving Shotaro his now ripped fedora. Shotaro felt he was at fault for his death when the Taboo Dopant arrived as he and Philip transformed into Kamen Rider Double for the first time, before the floor they were on gave out and fell down several levels and the transformation ended soon after landing as Philip used the Fang Memory to become the feral Kamen Rider Double FangJoker to take all the Masquerade Dopants and drive the Taboo Dopant off before picking up Shotaro's body and escaping as the building exploded.

Following the death of Sokichi Narumi, whose body was never recovered, Shotaro was left to fight Dopant crimes, as well as the Museum organization, with Philip as Kamen Rider Double. ^{[Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider W & Decade: Movie War 2010]}

Notes

• As the origin event to Kamen Rider Double, flashbacks and references to Begins Night were scattered across multiple forms of media relating to the series and the character.
  • The events regarding Sokichi’s death and Shotaro and Philip's first transformation into Kamen Rider Double, was first shown in the cold opening of the first episode.
  • A full depiction of the events leading up to the night was dedicated to the W portion of the film Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider W & Decade: Movie War 2010.
  • The event was revisited as W's origin in the video game Kamen Rider: Battride War Genesis (2016).
  • The event was depicted in the Futo Tantei manga as part of the "Portrait of s" arc from Chapters 47 to 55. This portion was later adapted as part of the Fuuto PI anime in a film titled Fuuto PI: The Portrait of Kamen Rider Skull. This arc added multiple details not depicted in the live-action:
    • The Narumi Detective Office was notified of the case by Shroud, who wanted Sokichi to rescue her son Raito. Furthermore, Sokichi was already in possession of the attache case with the Doubledriver and Double's associated Gaia Memories while still in the office, implying that it was Shroud who developed the new Driver.
    • Shotaro was never supposed to be on the island as he had stowed away in a Museum-affiliated ferry to get there, only to be scolded by Sokichi.
    • Saeko was alerted to the intruders by her father, giving her a reason to be on the island.
    • Kamen Rider Skull's fight with the Taboo Dopant had ended in a draw, with Saeko Sonozaki knocked out and Sokichi's Lostdriver critically damaged beyond repair. His Skull Memory remained intact, but Sokichi sacrificed it in order to reach out to Philip and it eventually disintegrated back into data inside the Gaia Library.
    • Kamen Rider Double is seen fighting the enemies while alternating forms, such as FangJoker.