Last Time on Kamen Rider Chrono: Kamen Riders Gears and Chrono found the Pig Zodiac hiding out inside an abandoned factory outside the town, to which Gears started advancing towards the Zodiac to defeat it, but wanting to prove himself Chrono intervened. He had successfully used the Rabbit Coin with the Chrono Driver, increasing his Jumping, and Kicking power. With this new power he managed to defeat the Pig, but heavily injuring himself in the process.
When Kibou came regained consciousness he found himself in a strange room. Pushing himself upright, he started to look around. The blinds were open, allowing a decent amount of sunlight in, there were flowers by his bedside, and sitting on two chairs nearby were Connor and Mercy.
Connor: "Ah! He's awake!"
Mercy perked up and held up a hand, asking him how many fingers she was holding up. Staring blankly for awhile, Kibou eventually answered four to which she sighed. A smile appeared on her face as she said she was glad he was okay, before raising her hand and slapping him across the face.
Mercy: "Just what were you thinking!?"
Kibou lowered his head, grabbing the side of his face that Mercy slapped as he listened to her berate him. She called him an idiot, reckless fool, and any synonyms in the book. When she was finally done insulting him, she said that she was glad that he was alive at the very least.
Connor walked up to the bedside and held out an envelope, saying he didn't have a stone-cold heart like Mercy, so the least he could do was give him the bonus for defeating the Pig Zodiac. Kibou nodded and took the envelope, looking at it for a second, then throwing it on his bedside counter.
Connor: "Still, looks like you could use the coins. That'll help the job from now on."
Mercy: "Huh!? No way in Hell! The agreement was that the moment it got too dangerous for the kid, then he's pulling the plug! He nearly died, so I think that's too dangerous!"
Connor: "Hey, I agree with you, but at the end of the day it's not our choice. That honor belongs to the three of them."
Kibou: "Three?"
Before Connor could answer, the door flung open and in came rushing a middle-aged couple. The woman pushed right past Mercy and Connor, locking the boy into a death-grip hug. She had been hysterical, calling out for her baby and running her hand through Kibou's hair.
Mr. Kitai: "Thank the Lord that you're alive, otherwise your mother would've marched into the afterlife and drag your soul back into your body just to kill you again."
Mrs. Kitai: "Oh my sweet baby boy! Who did this to you!? Give me a name, quickly!"
Kibou: "It's okay mother. I just got injured on the job."
Kibou turned his gaze, not wanting to look his mother in the eyes. She released him and let out a terrifying screech, yelling at him to repeat that, reminding multiple times that he wasn't allowed to take up a job until after he graduated college with straight A's, and that if the job caused injuries then it was obviously sketchy, that they raised him better than this.
Mercy: "Excuse me?" Mercy folded her arms and glared at the older lady.
Mrs. Kitai: "Oh? And are you the one that caused my boy so much trauma! You're lucky that we're in a hospital, because I'm about to make sure you regret it."
Mercy: "I'd like to see you try, but let's push that aside! What your son does is nothing less, but respectable! You should be proud of what he's been able to accomplish! His grades haven't dropped one percent, along with juggling various clubs and this stressful job? That's a miracle!"
Mrs. Kitai: "That isn't a miracle, that's the minimum I expect of him! After all, I didn't raise a failure!"
Mercy: "That's incredibly sad on your end! You should be ashamed of yourself for raising the bar so high that anything less than perfect is a disappointment!"
Mrs. Kitai: "Listen here you weasel! I don't tell you how to raise your kids, oh wait, who would want kids with someone as ugly as you!?"
Mercy: "Okay, that's it! I had enough of this!"
Mrs. Kitai: "Bring it you—!"
Connor and Kibou's father were quick to react, grabbing their lady and trying everything in their power to just keep them from mauling one another.
???: "It certainly is lively in here." An older gentlemen knocked on the door, grabbing the attention of all present.
Mercy/Connor: "Chief!" They both bowed immediately.
???: "At ease, haha. You must be Mister and Missus Kitai?"
Mr. Kitai: "Correct, sir."
Mrs. Kitai: "And just what do you want!?"
Zetsubou: "My name is Ketsubou, and I'm the one that employee's your child."
Mrs. Kitai: "So it's your fault he got injured!"
Zetsubou: "I will take responsibility for it, yes. However, I request that you allow your son to keep working for HOME, our operation's name."
Mrs. Kitai: "And just why would I do that!?"
Zetsubou: "I'll try my best to convince you, so please, sit."
Grumbling profanities, she sat down at his request.
Zetsubou: "Now, I can't disclose much information about what it is we do, because it's classified. What I can tell you is that your son is vital for our work. We'll pay any and all hospital bills currently and in the future, he gets a wealthy check and bonus frequently, and he currently has a high position in this government position. If that isn't convincing enough, though."
The Chief of HOME went on about various benefits, trying to convince Kibou's parents with much success. They gladly agreed, but ushered everyone out of the room as their son needed his rest.
Kibou: "Er, Connor. One question, please?"
Connor looked at the parents, which sighed and allowed him to speak to him in private. He thanked them and took his original seat.
Kibou: "What'll you guys do about the Zodiacs while I'm in here?"
Connor: "Oh, we'll get Yuya to handle it. He's very capable."
Kibou: "Yuya?"
Connor: "Did you not meet him? Kamen Rider Gears?"
Kibou: "Wait, he's Yuya!?"
Connor: "I should've figured that he wouldn't tell you... Yeah, Yuya or Kamen Rider Gears has been working with us for a little over two months now. Try your best to get along."
Connor stood up and excused himself, leaving AI and Kibou alone. AI flew out of his chest and Kibou asked if he knew anything about Gears being Yuya.
AI: "No clue."
Kibou: "But how's that possible? Wouldn't you have worked alongside him?"
AI: "Maybe, but all my memories are a bit hazy."
Kibou: "What? Is something the matter?"
AI: "Mm... I can't remember much of anything before the original Chrono's death. It's weird."
AI rested his head down on his paws and Kibou leaned back. They both wondered about his missing memories, but decided not to push the subject. Right now, they both needed rest.
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Yuya was leaning against his bike with a mirror in his hand, examining his hair with a smile on his face. He was happy with the mullet look, which was a relief to him since he figured it'd look weird at first.
A buzzing from his phone caused him to roll his eyes and toss the mirror, picking up just when it had landed in a nearby trashcan.
Yuya: "This better not be for another stupid cat video, Connor."
Connor: "Er... No, it isn't!" He heard a button get pushed from the opposite end, figuring it was the DELETE button. "The Ox Zodiac appeared about a mile and half from your position. Sending you the details."
Yuya: "Got it, on my way."
He hung up the call and put his helmet on, kicking the kickstand and driving in accordance to his bike's GPS. It about ten minutes with him cutting red lights and taking shortcuts, but he eventually made it to the mall where this thing supposedly was.
Quickly attaching the belt onto his waist, he yelled Henshin and crashed through the glass doors, ramming right into the monster. He spun his bike around and jumped off to get a better look at this thing.
The Zodiac Beast stood at an impressive nine feet tall with bulking muscles all over. It had on a dark purple chestplate that put heavy emphasis on its abs and pecs. The head looked like a helmet with hollow eyes, and silver horns that pointed forward. It's right side had a massive shoulder pad and claw to boot.
It roared, shattering all the windows and charged forward. Gears quickly produced his sword and pulled the lever twice, switching it from Red to Orange to Yellow. He jumped high into the air, dodging the charge and spun around to kick him further.
The Ox crashed into a toy store, landing on its hands and knees, then smacking the ground. It stood up and cut its left arm open, letting the blood pour onto the floor to summon minions.
The minions had smaller horns, no chestplate, and a big mane around their heads. They all looked at Gears and ran towards him. Accepting the challenge, Gears jumped forward and slashed upward, a wave of light following and a high-pitched swish.
Slashing back down, he took a massive step forward and spun, slashing again to take care of the ones that tried to circle him. Gears rolled forward to dodge a wide swing from a mook, then propped himself on a knee and slashed all over the place.
At this point a crowd had started to form and mumble amongst themselves, which were a new focus for the mooks. Letting out a massive sigh, Gears made a dash towards them and drop kicked one, sending it flying past a random guy and into a sharp piece of glass that used to be the door.
The guy thanked Gears and pulled out his phone to start recording, causing him to scoff and give a nods towards the camera. Gears placed his left hand on the floor and pushed hard against it, lifting himself up and spinning to kick all the minions that surrounded him.
They were all sent into the air and Gears leaped after them, slashing to the left, then right, then to catch his blade in a reverse grip and slicing back down. The mooks landed with a crash before exploding and taking care of a dozen more.
Random Lady: "Excuse me!"
Gears: "What is it?" Gears raised his sword to block an attack, then started running forward.
Random Lady: "You can't be killing these creatures!"
Gears: "Nani? Why the Hell not?" He kicked the mook back and gave another one a hook punch.
Random Teen: "Because it's immoral! They have lives too!"
Gears: "You have got to be joking me!" He ducked under another attack and delivered an uppercut.
Random Lady: "They just want to live, so stop attacking them!" She ran in front of one of the mooks, who looked just as confused as Gears felt.
Everyone including the Ox stopped and looked at everyone else. They all sighed and one mook stepped forward, grabbing the lady and barely held on as she started screaming and flailing. Gears shook his head and walked forward, thrusting his sword past her head to kill the mook.
Gears: "Look here, these are monsters, they want to eat you. That's all." He grabbed her and tossed her back in the crowd, yelling that if they didn't like it then they should leave.
Gears rolled his right shoulder and ran forward again, going in swinging and slashing. By this point almost all the mooks had been defeated, which is why a teenage girl wearing a camera and the Seven Sisters school uniform came up to Gears.
Reporter Girl: "Excuse me, sir?"
Gears: "Hm? Kinda busy!" He thrusted his blade forward, catching one in the chest.
Ann: "My name is Ann and I'm with the Sevens Newspaper, do you have time to answer some of my questions?"
Gears: "Toooootally!" He stabbed down on a mook that had tripped.
Ann: "Perfect~!"
Gears: "I was being sarcastic!"
Ann: "So, are you the same masked hero as the one that first made an appearance about two weeks ago?"
Gears: "No. My name is Kamen Rider Gears, his is Kamen Rider Chrono."
Ann: "Interesting. So are you two on the same side?"
Gears: "Yeah, I consider him a good ally."
Ann: "Fascinating. Just how old are you?"
Gears: "Classified."
Ann: "Why are you a 'Kamen Rider', was it?"
Gears: "Yeah, Kamen Rider. Also classified. You're not gonna get an answer for any personal questions."
Ann: "Alright, well what's a Kamen Rider's job?"
Gears: "Our goal is to destroy the Zodiacs before they kill humanity."
Ann: "Sounds pretty tough. Do you get paid?"
Gears: "Of course, but not enough for this interview."
Ann: "Rude. Alright, how about... AH!"
Gears spun around as he heard her scream. The girl was being dragged off into the crowd, disappearing into a sea of angry foes. He sighed and held up the Rabbit Coin he took off of Kibou's body.
Gears Driver: "Zodiac Time! Running! Jumping! Kicking! Kamen Rider Rabbit Gears!! Such Fleeting Feet."
Two gears shot out of the driver, into the air, then down to his feet. They both started to float, taking off his boots and replacing it with white greaves, his chestplate grew a collar that had a rabbit face on both ends, and rabbit ears sprouted from the top of his helmet.
He disappeared from everyone's sight as all the mooks were sent into the air and exploded. The one that grabbed the girl was about to pass her off to the Ox Zodiac, but a sword flew into his back and she was stolen from him. Gears reappeared in front of the Ox Zodiac, girl in his arms, and roundhouse kicked the Ox back.
Ann stopped screaming and opened one of her eyes, blushing when she realized she was in his arms. He gently set her down and told her to save the interview for another day, to which she agreed to silently.
Gears: "For a better future, I must defeat you."
Gears pulled his sword from the ground and pulled the lever four more times. The bar in the middle of it shifted from Yellow, to Green, to Blue, to Indigo, to Violet.
Gears Driver: "40%! 80%!!! 90%!!! 100%!!! Finishing Slash!"
The Rider squatted down low and held his sword with both hands. It started to flash the various colors of the rainbow and the Gears Driver spat out more gears in front of him, seven to be exact. Gears yelled and started running through the gears, a loud swishing sound could be heard coming from the sword as the space around him started to distort.
Connor: "Gears! I'm getting another signal!"
He barely had time to stop himself and jump back as a bomb landed between the Rider and Zodiac. It blew up a large area and restricted his sight with smoke. Slashing his sword, he cleared the smoke to see that the Ox was gone.
Mercy: "It was that stupid Rat Zodiac! Sending you the location of both."
Gears: "Hmmm... Show me on the Ox Zodiac."
Mercy: "Roger... Over and Out."