Orphnoch

Orphnochs are human evolutionary stages seen in the fanfictional series Kamen Rider: 555. Orphnochs are supposed to be the next stage in human evolution. They are stronger, tougher, & faster, with various other special abilities. The term Orphnoch is the combination of the names of Greek mythological hero Orpheus & biblical character Enoch.

Background
There are two types of Orphnochs in the most of series: the Original Orphnochs, who are "born" when a certain human suffers a violent death & 'resurrected' into an Orphnoch, & Sired Orphnochs, that are created when certain humans survive being attacked by an Orphnoch & become ones themselves, though weaker than the Original Orphnochs. But the most unique of type that appear in the series finale are the Evolved Orphnochs, the first of this type is the Orphnoch King, which are genetically perfect to the point of being unable to resume human form. An Orphnoch King can remove the genetic flaw from other Orphnochs, evolving them as well at the cost of their humanity.

All Orphnochs have their senses enhanced to a superhuman level, able to hear, smell or see great distances, tuning out background noise to focus on their target. They can also regenerate an ability as well as a first sense when the Orphnoch survived its human death, with the regenerating abilities depending on the Orphnoch in question. The stronger Orphnochs may fire energy blasts from their hands, though used a surprise attack due to its attack speed being slow and inaccurate for long distance attacks. But the Orphnochs' greatest ability is to 'siring' other Orphnochs (similar to Vampires or Werewolves) by attacking humans & (usually) stabbing them through the heart. This has a very low success rate, & usually results in disintegrating the human in question. Some Orphnochs seem to be capable of using long, skin piercing tentacles specifically for siring others. However, most cases of siring occur when the "sirer" is in Orphnoch form.

Every Orphnoch can interchange between their original human form & a unique Orphnoch form, light grey in colour with characteristics of either a plant or an animal with a body armour resistant to standard small firearms blasts & its strength varies wildly among Orphnochs as good measure of one's power. Only more powerful conventional weaponry can penetrate the body armor & harm or even kill some Orphnochs, while others can withstand even the basic attacks of the Rider Gears. Orphnochs can also generate signature weapons from their bodies. While in Orphnoch form, some of their kind can assume a Hybrid Form, becoming more creature-like in form. Few Orphnochs can assume a Secondary Form, increasing their standard Orphnoch form abilities at the cost of losing self-control. An Orphnoch can change their shadow into a hologram of their human form.

It is uncertain when or how Orphnoch lose their powers due to the infinite lifespan, but they are almost invulnerable to just about untimely demise ranging from various injuries that would be fatal to humans. In addition, their wounds recover quickly; Orphnochs can be seen injured when (a) small blue flame(s) burst(s) from their wound. Unfortunately, it seems that they can only be defeated at the hands of a Rider or another Orphnoch; possibly because they're powerful enough to beat them, disintegrating back to a human as a result.

Former chief of Smart Brain, Luther, learned a revelation that only few Orphnoch know of, that "the human body cannot stand such a rapid evolution", & that as such, they were doomed to die of inevitable break down & disintegration within any number years of becoming an Orphnoch depending on their transformation into & out of Orphnoch form or use of the Rider Gears, which takes an amount of time from that person's lifespan. Others, however, have exhibited signs of early disintegration (the process starts with the skin turning grey, & slightly ash-like, before their entire body is destroyed) but subsequently showed a recovery. The only known solution to this problem is the Orphnoch King, who can "complete" Orphnochs' evolution, apparently forcing them to remain in Orphnoch form, but granting long life and a higher level of power.

Orphnoch King
The Orphnoch King is of a special type who possesses the power to "complete" Orphnochs' evolution, removing all traces of humanity in the process while granting long life. Unlike others, the Orphnoch King can disintegrate them instantly. The Rider Gears were originally created to protect the Orphnoch King.

Abner Bell/Arch Orphnoch (Grasshopper): An anti-social young boy who was orphaned when his parents died in a fire caused by the Barnacle Orphnoch. Abner was placed in the Age of Discovery Children's Home orphanage run by Smart Brain until Seymour took him to his home & later stayed & lived in Kendrick's laundry mat. Abner soon began to act strangely & was eventually revealed to be the Orphnoch King. Whenever Abner blacks out, the Orphnoch persona emerges from his shadow to consume the lifeforce of Orphnochs, in which to fully mature. After being taken by Carter, Abner eventually transformed completely into the Arch Orphnoch. Fully awaken, the Arch Orphnoch fully evolved Anissa after beating Phi. It took Carter's sacrifice & Phi Blaster Form's Blaster Crimson Smash to defeat the Arch Orphnoch. But Arch Orphnoch barely survived & was mortally wounded, placed in the stasis tank under Smart Brain by Anissa.

Renegades
Renegades are Orphnochs that not aligned with Smart Brain, & each follow their own agenda. Most Renegades wish to continue with their normal human lives, thus they are branded as traitors that deserve death. Some use their new found powers to hurt people who have wronged them (in real or imaginary ways), while others fight to protect humans.

Luther/Goat Orphnoch: The foster father of the Meteor School students & former chief of Smart Brain, Luther was intent to find the Orphnoch King. He is also responsible for creating the three Rider belts & the six Omicron belts. The origin of his Orphnoch nature remains untold, however it's assumed that he is perhaps a 'natural' Orphnoch due to his great speed & strength (that suppresses even the Dragon Orphnoch). He disappeared under Smart Brain HQ upon learning the fatal nature of humans' rapid evolution into Orphnochs, stealing the Rider Gears & entrusting them to his surviving students. Before he disappeared after his rapid evolution, Luther returned to Smart Brain to strip Midgley of his duties & appointed Carter as the permanent head of the company to fulfill his final request: to terminate the Orphnoch King.

Shannon Jeanes/Dolphin Orphnoch: Nathan & Carter's boss at a pizza parlor; was forced by Smart Brain to attack humans. He was defeated by Phi but was spared, told to remain living as a human.

Crab Orphnoch: A experimental guinea pig used by human scientists until he heard Dean's scream & broke out of confinement to free Dean. He had no interest in fighting the humans who held him prisoner & simply ran for life after giving Dean to Carter. Despite Phi's interference to save him from Chi & Delta, the Crab suffered genetic breakdown & died.

Wolf
Main article: Nathan

Horse
Main article: Carter

Crane
Violet Dean is a teenage girl whose desire is to go to a place where there is no fighting. Originally a normal human, Violet was bullied terribly by her younger stepsister Calla & other girls in her school's female basketball team. The abuse worsen as Violet's parents favoured Calla over her, with only her messaging to Kendrick keeping her happy. However, the extreme emotional stress Violet suffered from caused her to fall down the snow covered stairs, killing her & thus being reborn as the Crane Orphnoch. Though she attempted to use her power to help, it backfired when Calla had her as a scapegoat for her injury & having Violet kicked out of the family as a result. But when the mistreatment got worse after the school basketball team teased her for the last time, Violet finally "snapped" & single-handedly mortally wounded the entire girls basketball team, including her sister. Horrified of her actions, she runs out of the school, disgraced, & soon meets Carter, who joins her in learning of their new-found existence. Though she agrees with Carter's ideals of protecting humans, Violet occasionally attacks humans who seem bad (bullies, etc.) on reflex without others knowing, a habit that would eventually gain interest by Lucky Clover. She exchanged e-mails with Kendrick to a lesser extent after becoming an Orphnoch, as she later developed a strong crush on Seymour, though he did not reciprocate. Eventually she & Kendrick come to realize who the other was, & they had a brief relationship before she was weakened by police's shots & almost killed by Anissa when Dean was unable to assume Orphnoch form. Later, Violet survived after being being impaled by the Elasmotherium Orphnoch.

Snake
Main article: Saral Seymour

Smart Brain
A company that is a front for a group of Orphnochs that sees themselves as the master race & are dedicated to the genocide of the human race & increase of the Orphnoch population. They experiment in making their race even more powerful & developing weapons that only Orphnochs can use. This is the largest coordinated group of Orphnochs ever seen, & they also seem to have formed a de-facto world government after the Orphnoch Revolution.

Jordan Midgley/Rose Orphnoch: The temporary president of Smart Brain after Edmund Porter's disappearance. Midgley was the one who assigned Lucky Clover to do his dirty work until Luther took back the company & gave control to Carter. Despite losing his place in Smart Brain, Midgley had a trump card in the Orphnoch King, whom he had waited for & learn of his human host. To that end, Midgley attempted to abduct Abner, fighting the Riders on his own & barely escaped their attacks. In his weakened state, Midgley offered his life to Abner to awaken the Arch Orphnoch so he can correct the Orphnoch's genetic instability. In the end, Midgley was somehow decapitated & his head is kept alive in a tank for the rest of his life.

Smart Lady: Smart Brain's "mascot", she works closely under the company's chief & helps fledgling Orphnochs. She never exhibits Orphnoch powers in the series, & her species is left ambiguous despite her association with morpho butterflies. She acts friendly & playful towards the many workers at Smart Brain, although she doesn't realize that no one enjoys her company.

Edmund Porter/Squid Orphnoch: The temp head of Smart Brain, Porter uses a staff that he uses to Sire & can move in a blink of an eye. Originally tracking down the Phi Gear until it came, Porter was reasigned by Smart Lady to educate Carter & Violet in the nature of Orphnochs. After the two refused to Sire, Porter goes on siring rampage starting with Seymour until he sees Nathan & Maria. After chasing them down, Porter is fatally injured by Phi's Crimson Smash. After telling Carter & Violet their final lesson Porter disappeared & was never seen or heard of again.

Lucky Clover
An elite quartet of Orphnochs within Smart Brain who are "cream of the crop"; in other words, elite assassins, & answer to the Chief.

Anselm/Dragon Orphnoch: The most powerful & youngest of the Lucky Clover group, referring to himself as the "strongest lifeform", he is able to turn anything he touches into ash. This talent also made Anselm withdrawn from society & have a childish outlook on others' suffering as fun. He was the one who brutally wounded all members of the Meteor School. Upon making his presence known, Anselm used the Delta Belt until he got tired of it & gave it to Summerfield. Anselm had a flawless victory streak until he battled Nathan as Phi & suffered his first loss, driving him more insane. Later, Anselm was intent on killing Abner to prove his superiority, with Anissa & Auttenburg forced to fight him to protect the boy. In the end, a very weakened Anselm was stripped of his powers & banished by the Arch Orphnoch.

Anissa Horn/Lobster Orphnoch: The calmest of the group, she works as the proprietor of the Clover Bar. Her calling call to her victim is to send them a bottle (of possibly wine), as their final drink. She enjoys seeing others suffer & comforts them in a somewhat disturbing fashion. Upon learning of the breakdown & the Orpenoch King's power, Anissa was intent to survive. Anissa succeeded by allowing the Arch Orphnoch to completely evolve her (turning her into a permanent Orphnoch, making her unable to turn back to human) & thus became his caretaker after he was left close to death after his defeat by Phi.

Jack Auttenburg/Centipede Orphnoch: A prideful man who enjoys reading poetry. Though he acts calm, Jack was very much fearful of Anselm most of the time, acting tough whenever Anselm is not around or is too injured to fight back. His repeated defeats during the series costed him a great deal of stability in Lucky Clover, becoming a whipping boy for Anselm to pick on. Eventually, after seeing the Arch Orphnoch banish Anselm & later evolve Anissa, Auttenburg ran off during the final battle & decided to join human society as a construction worker.

Mr. J/Crocodile Orphnoch: A man who is usually seen with his pet dog, Chaco. He has three lives, though was able to regenerate from attacks that would kill normal Orphnochs. After being defeated by Kamen Rider Chi's Xeno Clash twice, Mr. J was reluctant to continue his pursuit on Phi until Midgley threatened him with being named a traitor & what would come of Chaco if he didn't complete his mission. Though J was finally defeated by Phi's Grand Impact, Chaco ended up in the care of April Kimberly.

Albert Summerfield/Spider Orphnoch: Formerly of the Meteor School, he was mortally wounded by Anselm on the night of the school reunion & soon revived in Smart Brain experiment as an Orphnoch. Before his change, Summerfield was a kind-hearted figure as Maria remembered him. Turning his back on his former friends & humanity, Summerfield mortally wounded Qiana to get the Delta Gear in order to become the new member of Lucky Clover. He has a habit of crafting animal origami & lighting them on fire just before going on a attacking spree while listening to rap music, with the flame dying out the same time Summerfield attacked the last person. He was eventually branded a traitor by Midgley for giving the Delta Belt to the surviving Ryūsei Students, before going after them one by one. No longer a member of Lucky Clover as he still had a shred of humanity left in him, Summerfield was seeming killed by Nathan upon revealing his Orphnoch form. But Summerfield survived & begins to regain a bit more of his humanity, eventually beginning to feel the breakdown while taking Nathan's place in fighting the other Lucky Clover members, sustaining injuries from fighting all three of them & being hit by Chi's Gold Smash. Summerfield eventually crawled out of the battlefield & saw Maria one final time before disappearing; it's unknown if he survived or not.