Yuya: "To think there are only five Zodiacs left..." Yuya sighed as he took another spoonful of ice cream.
Kibou: "Yeah. We're almost done, but..." His words trailed off as he gazed into his soft-serve vanilla cone. There was something bothering him, and the two others had a good guess as to what.
Trish: "It's about the future, right? What happens from now till then." She asked, getting it spot-on.
Kibou: "Exactly. There are two things that Aibo and I have been thinking about."
AI: "And it has to do with your guys' future, as well as the previous user of Chrono."
Kibou: "You guys mentioned that the Zodiacs were running rampant, which should be impossible for some because I sealed away two without your guys' help."
Yuya: "Now that you mention it... How did the Pig Zodiac get freed?"
Trish: "There was also the Rabbit Zodiac. Even if Yuya changed the timeline by helping with Pig; there was no one to switch what happened with the Rabbit Zodiac."
Kibou: "There's also Chrono Prime."
AI: "As the compatibility of Kibou and I get better, more of my memories come back. I can clearly remember that he sealed most of them, so it's bizarre that they're free again."
Trish: "And that could only mean..."
Yuya: "That someone at HOME is responsible for this."
An eerie silence washed over the four of them. The thought at HOME having a person on the inside was terrifying for them. Collectively and in silence, they agreed they have to find out who this person was and just what was their end goal.
Kibou: "I think we can clear Mercy and Connor."
Trish: "Definitely."
Yuya: "That still leaves all the other personnel, besides the receptionist, of course. Hell, it could even be Zetsubou."
Kibou: "It could... I actually have a strong feeling it might be him, actually... He is the CEO of HOME and the one that worked closely with Chrono Prime, and not once did he ever go into detail about his death."
Trish: "But we can't exactly accuse him without any evidence. We have no idea how that'll go."
AI: "Correct, Trish. If he is Chrono Prime's killer, then I don't think the three of us could stop him. Chrono Prime was nearly unstoppable."
Yuya: "We need to get the upper hand, not only against the one responsible for Chrono Prime's death but also the three Legendary Zodiacs."
Kibou: "Easier said than done. Those aren't exactly easy roadblocks to overcome."
All three let out a sigh, with Kibou and Trish standing up from their bench and Yuya pushing himself off the tree he was leaning on. The three were about to go their separate ways when screaming had drawn their attention. They all looked at each other and nodded, running over to where the crying was.
...(HOME Base)...
Zetsubou was walking through the halls of HOME with a cup of coffee in one hand and an exhausted expression. He glanced around as he made his way towards his destination, watching multiple people chatting and just hanging around since they had just started.
Zetsubou: "Excuse me, sir? Do you have any clue if Mercy and Connor are in today?" He stopped a passing employee to ask about the two employees that were solely responsible for assisting the three Riders. He was told that they had already started their job, being down in the labs.
A tired sigh of acknowledgment left his lips as he gulped down the rest of his drink, leaving it a nearby breakroom and going to the central elevator. He patiently waited as the elevator rocked back and forth, then whirled to life. It started down towards the lower floors, bringing the Chief down to the lab that the two usually were found in.
Mercy: "The day hasn't even started properly!" He heard the female employee yell from behind the steel doors.
Zetsubou let out a nervous sigh as the doors creaked open, and he stepped out. This caught the attention of Connor and Mercy, both immediately standing up from their seats and saluting him.
Zetsubou: "I'm not a soldier. You can lower your hands."
Connor: "R-Right, Yessir!" They both relaxed and lowered their hands, releasing a breath they weren't aware they were holding in.
Zetsubou: "I just decided to drop by to check on the progress of the Riders."
Mercy: "Well, they're doing good so far. Chrono hasn't been pushing his limits too far lately, I thank the other two Riders for that. Paradox is more confident in her abilities now, even going as far as sparring with the other two. Finally, there hasn't been much change with Gears, but that's to be expected."
Zetsubou: "That's good to hear. Yet, we shouldn't relax just yet. The Legendary Zodiacs are still out and about... Has there been any sign of them?"
Connor shook his head and turned around to his computer, quickly tabbing off the cat video and pulling up the scanner.
Connor: "Nope, no signs of the Zodiacs. All is quiet on the Western Front."
Zetsubou smiled and was about to head out when a weird beep came from the machine. Mercy and the Chief crowded around Connor as a black circle appeared on the map of the city.
Zetsubou: "Is it meant to do that?"
Mercy: "No... It isn't..."
She was about to push Connor out of the way to get a closer look when three more symbols appeared. One a sort of brown, another one white, and the final one a cobalt grey.
Mercy: "That's..."
Connor: "The Ox, Rabbit, and Dog..."
...(Back with the Riders)...
The three of them rushed onto the scene, and what they found confused them beyond belief. Three Zodiacs they thought were sealed away were wreaking havoc among the citizens. They all reached into a bag tied around their waist and pulled out their respective coins.
Kibou: "What the? How?"
Trish: "I have no idea... This should be impossible."
Yuya: "Apparently not. Let's let Connor and Mercy figure this out later! We got a job to do!"
Kibou: "Right. Let's go!"
Kibou/Yuya/Trish: "Henshin!"
They all ran forward, inserting the coins into their Drivers as a mess of noises filled the air.
Chrono jumped high into the air, performing a front flip before extending his leg and kicking the Dog Zodiac away. The beast stumbled back, holding the wound as black sand began to pour from it.
Chrono: "Wha...?" He stepped forward, clearly confused.
Young Boy: "Excuse me..."
This got Chrono's attention, causing him to look over his shoulder. He saw the little boy and sighed, kneeling down to his level. He noticed that the little boy had tears in his eyes and was holding his father tight. He was knocked unconscious.
Young Boy: "My father... He jumped in front of me to protect me. Mother will be very sad and angry if he doesn't get home soon... Is he gonna be alright?"
AI: "Poor kid. We can't just leave this to Gears and Paradox, though."
Chrono: "I know," He whispered to AI. "He's going to be alright. Go run and get help, I'll make sure nothing bad happens to him."
Chrono placed a hand on the kid's shoulder and patted it. The kid nodded and looked down at his father one more time before wiping his tears and running off. Chrono stood back up and quickly turned back to the Dog Zodiac, summoning his gun and pointing it forward.
...(Gears Pov)...
Gears swiftly pulled out his sword and slashed at the Rabbit Zodiac, sending it flying through the air and crashing into the ground. The Rabbit pushed itself off the floor, black sand pouring onto the ground. Its head snapped to the right, an awful crunching sound coming from the beast.
Gears: "This isn't right... Something's off with this Zodiac."
Pulling the lever on his sword down, Gears charged it up to Forty Percent. A loud ringing could be heard from the blade as it vibrated at a faster pace and the Rider dashed forward. He swung it down, aiming to finish the Rabbit Zodiac as quick as possible, but it jumped out of the way, moving at speeds he couldn't keep up with.
Gears: "Huh... Looks like Ox isn't going to be capable of keeping up this time. Let's switch it up."
He detached the Ox Coin from the Driver, ducking under a kick as he did so and deflecting another one. Geats slid the Snake Coin into place and pulled a lever.
Gears Driver: "Zodiac Time! Slithering! Venomous! Ambushing! Kamen Rider Snake Gears!! Such Lethal Fangs."
Two gears shot out of the Driver and landed on the ground around him. The first gear floated up, removing all the armaments that the Ox Coin had put on his suit, then the second gear did the same thing. His greaves now had two large spikes on the sides, going from his knees into the ground. A green cape appeared around his waist just under his Driver. The chestplate grew thinner, with green scales now acting as an outer coat. His gauntlets now let no openings for the undersuit to peak out of, along with a huge spike on his left forearm. The final detail was a green jacket with short sleeves, and the hood pulled up, giving him a snake resemblance.
...(Paradox Pov)...
Paradox grabbed the arm of the Ox Zodiac just as it swung at her, pulling herself in closer and slamming her knee into its chest. It tried to recoil back, but Paradox's tight grip kept her in range for a harsh kick backward, involuntarily ripping off its arm.
Paradox: "Huh?" She looked at the arm as it began to crumble into dust, then she turned back to the Ox Zodiac.
Sand poured out of its socket, and the open wound on its chest where the blade stiletto stabbed it, but it didn't look all that bothered by it. It simply shrugged it off and began walking forward. Its arm grew back, and the wound closed completely.
Paradox: "What are these? Nothing about them makes sense."
She then raised her arms in a boxing stance, ducking under a swing and flipping the Flow Mode switch open before returning with a punch. Sparks of blue flew out from where her fist connected, and its shoulder exploded in a similar fashion to her Atomic Flare.
Paradox: "Looks like that stopped the healing this time... Alright, I can do this!"
...(Chrono Pov)...
Chrono ran forward, tossing the gun into his left hand and summoning the twinblade into his dominant hand. He raised it to the left side of his head and took a wide swing, one which the Dog Zodiac caught and reached over to where it split off. The Kamen Rider noticed and kicked the beast away to try to stop it from splitting the weapon, but he was just a second too short. The blade came apart as the Zodiac stumbled back.
AI: "It knew where the weapon split apart... The Zodiacs shouldn't be able to do that. They aren't smart, apart from the three Legendary ones."
Chrono: "Well, it's safe to say this isn't a normal ZODIAC!" Chrono accidentally increased the volume of his voice as the Dog threw the end of the blade toward him, causing him to duck and allowing the Dog to pounce toward him.
It grabbed Chrono by the shoulders and rammed its knee into his stomach, causing him to recoil with each hit and drop the other end of the blade. Acting quickly, AI opened up portals to wrap chains around the Dog Zodiac and pull him away.
Chrono: "Thanks, Aibo."
The Rider nodded as a physical way to say thanks and pushed the belt closed, allowing energy to build up before opening it back up. The world all around them turned grey, and he jumped high into the air, a clock appearing on the underside of his boot before he shot downwards. '
AI: "Grand Time Kick!"
Chrono kicked straight through the Dog Zodiac, landing safely on the other side, and held up three fingers.
Chrono: "Three. Two. One. Your clock has struck Zero."
AI: "Time, Resume."
The world began to speed up again, but instead of an explosion playing out behind him, there was the soft sound of dust fading away.
...(Gears PoV)...
A green stream of light filled the area where Geats and the Rabbit Zodiac were fighting. To the average person, it just looked like the light was bouncing off something, which led to an explosion. The Rabbit Zodiac and Gears had a different perspective, however.
Gears spun under a high kick, pulling the sword out from the sheath on his back, and slashed at the chest of the Zodiac twice, causing sparks to fly out and the beast to stumble back.
The Kamen Rider rolled his head as he stood up straight and pulled down on the sword's lever again, causing it to glow and exclaim 'Sixty Percent'. Gears ran forward, slashing away a fist that flew out to connect with him and performed a side kick, quickly followed by his body fading away into a green light and two copies of him coming from both sides of the Rabbit. The first jumped into the air and drop-kicked it before fading; then, the second copy punched him with enough force to shatter a wall.
A hole opened up in the chest of the Rabbit Zodiac, and as it began to heal itself, a green liquid poured out of the wound. Gears followed up by charging his sword to max power and slicing away at the Rabbit Zodiac, ending with him pulling on the lever of the sword again to trigger his finisher.
A high-pitch whirring could be heard from the sword as Gears slashed upward, sending the Zodiac into the sky, where the Rider jumped after him and slashed him downward. The Rabbit landed with a loud thud, leaving the beast vulnerable as two gears wrapped around the Rider's leg, and with gravity's help, his foot went straight through the Rabbit Zodiac's chest, reducing it to dust.
...(Paradox's PoV)...
Paradox raised her arm in a sweeping motion to deflect the attack of the Ox Zodiac, then, with her free arm, punched into the monster, her wrist blade extending out to pierce the sandy flesh of the monster. The Ox seemed unfazed by this and went to bash its head against the female Rider, but she simply wrapped her arm around its own and flipped it over her shoulder.
Paradox Driver: "Finisher Authorized: Atomic Flare."
Paradox stomped down with all her might. A blue orb of energy surrounded the both of them as it reduced the Ox Zodiac to nothing. She let out a sigh and stood up straight as Chrono and Gears ran over to her side.
Chrono: "Woah... Nice job, Paradox."
Gears: "It looks like you managed to get over your fear."
Paradox: "Eh... Let's not go that far." She let out a nervous chuckle as the Driver deactivated and her suit disappeared.
Trish: "I still have a long path to walk before I reach your level, Gears."
Gears: "That could be said about either of you." Gears also turned off his Driver, looking around.
Yuya: "Still... I thought we killed those things..."
Aibo: "You did, which is why I'm curious as to why we had to fight them again."
Kibou: "What's also bugging me is why Mercy or Connor didn't call us..."
Trish: "Hm? What do you mean?"
Kibou: "Those were Zodiacs... so they should've seen them, right?"
There was a silence among the four of them, the other three now catching on to what Kibou was saying.
Yuya: "Right... which means..."
Aibo: "Let's not jump to conclusions, guys. I agree that that's super suspicious, but right now, HOME is our ally. We need their support, so it's not a good thing to be making enemies. Let's keep our distance, though."
Yuya: "I agree... Even if they do aim to betray us—"
Trish: "My brother would never do that!" She seemed to snap at the prospect of her brother betraying them, but she managed to regain her composure. "But if Zetsubou somehow forced him..."
Kibou: "Yeah... I don't want to believe it either... but who can I really trust at the moment..." Kibou let out a dejected sigh and turned his gaze toward the floor.
The other three picked up on the shift in his mood, but it was Aibo that truly understood him right then and there. They had been connected for so long, and it had led to Aibo having a sixth sense when it came to Kibou.
Aibo: "You're worried about who you can trust at the moment... It has to do with the future, right?"
Kibou: "Right... I'm sorry, but it just feels like... I can't really trust anyone. Both of my possible futures lead to my death and the destruction of the world..."
Trish's heart ached as soon as she heard this. Yuya could also feel the despair that he was at the moment. The both of them had seen Chrono and Kibou as a legend for so long, a beacon of hope, but at this moment, they understood him even more. He was just a student who wanted to help people, who took up the mantle of Chrono to save someone else from that fate. Eventually, that fate he takes leads to his death, and if it weren't for Gears and Paradox, he would've never known. He wouldn't have to worry about what led to his eventual death.
Aibo: "Well, as much as I don't wanna say this... You have me by your side."
Kibou: "Huh...?"
Aibo: "I mean? In both futures, you continued to be Chrono, right? So even if HOME betrayed you, that means that I stuck by your side."
Trish: "You also have me. I basically abandoned my old life to help save the future. I think it's safe to assume I don't have any plans to kill you, especially since Paradox wasn't a thing at that point."
Yuya: "Same could be said about me. So at the very least, you have three people you can trust... Listen, at this point, we all know you're terrified, but now we have a chance to change the future. So let's do that."
Kibou stayed silent, looking between the three of them, before smiling and nodding.