Kamen Rider Chrono

Chapter 15: Alter Time

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.