It had been a day since Chrono's fight with Dragnis, a fight that turned the sky the blood-red that Paradox remembered. Those strange grey Zodiacs had swarmed the city, like she remembered, only now there were three Riders to manage them.
It's only because of the Riders that they managed to relocate the people of the city into Seven Sisters. The school acted like a haven while the Riders looked to fix this whole mess.
Currently, Paradox was out and about, looking for anyone that had managed to survive, and silently praying to herself that she could find Connor.
Trish: "Where did you disappear to?" She whispered to herself, gazing at her phone with a solemn expression.
She had tried calling and texting to no avail. It went straight to voice mail, and she never received a text back. The same was also happening to Mercy, so Trish assumed the worst.
Trish: "I just hope I'm wrong..."
She slid her phone back into her pocket and revved her bike, ready to drive off when something flickered out of the corner of her eye.
Trish reacted quickly, slamming her boot down on the pedal and spinning her motorcycle around.
While she successfully managed to avoid the brunt of the damage, the shockwave from the impact was enough to shake the street and blow her away from her motorcycle.
Trish had landed with an audible thud against the debris of a nearby building, feeling something crack inside her. That wasn't all, though, because before she could even recover she felt someone grab her collar and yank her to her feet.
Aquos: "It's all your damn fault!" The Horse Zodiac screamed, slamming her fist against Trish and tossing her to the side.
Aquos: "All he wanted to do was help you sad, pitiful Humans! And you killed him!" She continued, walking up to Trish and stomping her foot down where her head was, Trish moving out of the way just in time.
Aquos: "He loved you Humans for whatever reason! And you were the animals that killed him!" At this point tears could be seen streaming down her face as a light engulfed her body.
Once the light died down, she stood proud in her Zodiac body and swung for Trish's head. Trish sidestepped out of the way and kicked the Horse off of her, giving her enough time to take out her Paradox Driver.
Trish slapped it around her waist and struck her pose, her right arm raised to her left side, sliding it across the sky, then crossing both over her chest.
Trish: "Henshin!"
Paradox Driver: "Distorting Reality, Please Standby... Paradox Authorized. Kamen Rider Paradox!!"
Paradox: "Dai Henshin!"
Paradox Driver: "Shifting Reality: Flow Form."
A rift opened in front of Trish as she ran through, coming out the other end wearing her Rider armor and performing a jumping kick at Aquos.
The Horse Zodiac caught the kick just as it landed and tossed her to the side, all the while she stared at the Rider with unbridled fury.
Aquos: "You all love to play hero, but you're nothing more than murderers!" She shouts, dashing ahead and kicking at Paradox.
Paradox rolled to the side before the kick could connect and swept the legs out from under Aquos.
The blade on Paradox's wrist extended down and Paradox went for a punch while Aquos was on the floor, but was caught by surprise when Aquos suddenly sat up and slammed her head against the Rider's helmet.
Aquos: "Why...? I never understood why Dragnis cared so much for you Humans!"
The Rider stumbled back, grasping at her helmet and letting out a low groan.
Paradox: "Ironic coming from you... Don't act like the Zodiacs are all that wholesome... Not when they destroyed my future."
Aquos: "You all probably deserved it! The Zodiacs were living their lives peacefully until you Humans decided to attack us!"
Paradox: "Huh? You attacked us first!"
Aquos froze as Paradox said that, then started to laugh. She ran a hand through her mane and laughed to the sky.
Aquos: "Are you kidding me...? We've existed for as long as you Humans have! Do you think we started attacking out of nowhere?"
Paradox: "That..."
Paradox was at a loss for words at this realization. For the first time, she wondered just what started this fight. She didn't have a lot of time to think, however, since Aquos vanished again, speeding into Paradox. Sparks flew from her armor as the Horse Zodiac kicked and kicked again, cracking and breaking apart the armor bit by bit.
Aquos: "It's all your fault...! I knew I should've killed you all when I had the chance! Maybe... maybe then Dragnis would still be alive!"
Aquos punched the helmet of Paradox, knocking a section completely off and sending the Rider into the air, then tumbling over as she crashed into the floor.
Aquos: "It's... It's all your fault... Dragnis would still be alive! He would still lo—"
Paradox: "Dragnis would want you to move on...!" She shouted, slamming her fist into the floor and pushing herself up.
Aquos: "Don't... Don't you dare say that when you knew nothing about Dragnis! Nothing about us!"
Paradox: "That's the thing, though... I do know... I know that look in your eyes, that rage you feel right now. You just want to make everything suffer, right? You want to take revenge for him, for Dragnis..."
Aquos: "Be quiet... How can a Human like you possibly understand!" Aquos raised her fist and punched downward, intending to crush Paradox.
Paradox: "I understand because I lost my loved one as well!" Paradox raised her hands and caught the fist, shaking as she held back the force of the punch.
Paradox: "From where I'm from, the future I'm from... Chrono was my other half. I loved him with all my heart, and you Zodiacs were the ones that killed him!" She managed to press her leg firmly on the floor, rising and pushing back against the punch.
Paradox: "I was angry! I wanted nothing more than to hurt the Zodiacs that took him from me! But being here now..." Paradox shoved the fist back and slammed her shoulder into the chest of the Horse Zodiac.
Paradox: "Being here in the past... I've realized that no matter what happens, I'll never get MY Kibou back... So I have to move on."
Aquos slid back from the blow, spitting up a bit of blood in the process, but keeping her glare.
Aquos: "Don't tell me you understand, then... If you can move on so easily, then you can't understand my pain!"
Aquos charged toward Paradox, now too emotional to fight like she did in the past. Each punch was filled with her anger, but just tossed about like she was hoping it would connect with something. Each kick had no direction to it. She was lashing out at this point.
Aquos: "He... I loved him with my everything, and the one to push him away... was me..." Aquos began to shake as tears streamed down her face.
Aquos: "I don't understand what he saw in you all... I don't understand why he valued your pitiful lives above all else... You all only live for a mere fraction that we do. You all are so fragile, and yet..."
Aquos attempted to kick Paradox again, with the Rider making no attempt to block it this time. Paradox stumbled back, the kick being a mere fraction of Aquos power.
Aquos: "I didn't mean to kill her... She was just so fragile..."
Paradox: "Horse..."
Aquos: "It's Aquos... That's the name that the Humans from long ago gave me. A stupid mixture of Horse and Water." She took a step back and looked down at the floor.
Aquos: "I can't move on... Chrono had died loving you, but Dragnis... I never got to amend what I had destroyed. How could I possibly move on when I can't make amends?"
Paradox: "You can still make amends, even if Dragnis passed away... He trusted you to hold me back yesterday? Why was that?"
Aquos: "I don't know... All I know is that he said it was the only way to save the future... That whoever won, we would all need to put our faith in..."
Paradox: "Then how about you trust what Dragnis told you? I know it's difficult, but Chrono won... and Dragnis put his faith in Chrono. Do you think you could do the same? Put your faith in us Humans?"
Aquos: "You want me to put my faith in Humans? The same people who have gone around exterminating my brothers and sisters..."
Paradox: "I know it sounds terrible. I'm not asking out of malice, though. I'm asking because I feel like it's the right thing, for the both of us."
Aquos met Paradox's gaze and watched for any signs of aggression. She had came here to end the Rider, and here the Rider was, asking for her to trust them. The Humans she had hated all her life.
Aquos: "And yet... I'll trust you. I won't trust Humans, they are way too greedy and selfish, but I'll trust the Riders... and only the Riders."
Aquos took a step back and closed her eyes, spreading her arms out and waiting for Paradox to finish all of this. Paradox nodded and flipped the trigger on her Driver, a voice calling out from the device.
Paradox Driver: "Finisher Authorized: Atomic Flare."
Paradox spun around, extending her leg as the blue energy pulsed around her, striking Aquos in the chest. The energy from Paradox transferred over to Aquos and she slowly added away, leaving behind her coin which fell into the Rider's hand.
A sigh left Paradox as she went to undo her transformation, stopping when a voice called out to her. She looked over her shoulder and felt her heart drop when she saw Zetsubou approaching her.
Zetsubou: "That was quite the fight, Paradox. I applaud you for talking down the Horse."
Paradox: "You... What do you want?"
Zetsubou: "Nothing much, just since eleven of the twelve Zodiacs are dead, I thought I could take the coins off of you. Your job in this timeline is finished, after all."
Paradox: "That's not happening. Not now, not ever." She clutched the Horse Coin and took a step away from Zetsubou, intending on leaving.
Zetsubou: "Let's not be so quick to jump to conclusions... Not when you value the lives of Connor and Mercy."
She stopped in her tracks and felt her body shake at the thought of the Chief hurting them.
Paradox: "If you lay a finger on them, I'll personally hunt you down."
Zetsubou: "Then it's a good thing that I won't be doing the hurting." The Chief snapped his fingers and multiple of the Alter Zodiacs stepped out, two of them carrying both Connor and Mercy which seemed to be out cold.
Paradox: "Are you joking? You're no better than a snake! A rat!"
Zetsubou: "Say what you will, but I'll be the one to deliver Humanity to a new world, a better world... Now, the coins?"
Paradox let out a low growl as she looked down at the coin in her hand. She knew that she shouldn't give the coins to Zetsubou, but...
Paradox: "Fine." She put the Horse Coin into her pouch and tossed it over to Zetsubou.
Paradox: "There... Now since you care so much about making life better for Humans, let go of Connor and Mercy."
Zetsubou: "Thank you for understanding, but unfortunately I can't have any of you in my new world." He snapped his fingers again, leaving Paradox alone with the Alter Zodiacs, and for the Alter Zodiacs to kill Mercy and Connor.
Her eyes widened and she dashed forward, reaching out for her brother as the Zodiacs holding them made an attempt to off them, only stopping when golden chains appeared out of thin air and restrained all the Zodiacs.
Chrono: "You alright, Paradox?"
Paradox: "Chrono... Thanks for the assist." A sigh of relief escaped her as the chains disintegrated the Zodiacs to ash.
Chrono and Paradox ran up to Connor and Mercy, glad to see they were mostly uninjured.
Chrono: "Zetsubou... He doesn't have the coins, right?"
Paradox: "The opposite, actually. He has all of mine, how about you?"
Chrono: "The Rabbit, Pig, and Rat were already missing. He took the Dragon's coin, however..."
Paradox: "Meaning his next target is Gears..."
Chrono: "Heh, the most responsible of us all..."
The sound of shuffling could be heard from behind them. More Zodiacs had showed up, an army worth of them.
Chrono: "Can I trust you to deal with all these?"
Paradox: "Yeah. Just focus on getting these two to safety... Please..."
Chrono: "I will. Stay safe, Paradox."