Kamen Rider Chrono

Chapter 19: Mercy's Contingency

Aibo: "Ready Go! Steady Go! Time To Go! Kamen Rider Chrono!! The future is in your hands."

Compatibility: 25%

Gears Driver: "Gears Time! Battle! Break! DESTROY! Kamen Rider Gears! Special System: All Green."

Mercy leaned back in her seat as she watched the mess that was Kibou and Yuya's henshin. Inside the makeshift training room, Aibo was the first to activate. Sand had gathered around Kibou, masking him in the golden dust before an explosion launched all the sand off into various directions, leaving him in that golden armor.

A gear shot out of Yuya's Gears Driver, flying into the air and coming back around to snap around his midsection. The gear started to spin at high speeds, allowing it to create a screen of light that only dulled after it slowed down.

Both Riders were ready for combat now, and Gears wasted no time engaging. Yuya effortlessly drew his sword out of its place from his side and swung for Chrono's neck, forcing Kibou to duck under the attack.

Summoning the gun from one of the time portals, Chrono held it to Gears' chest and squeezed the trigger. Sparks flew out as Gears stumbled back, but was quick to recover. Gears dove off to the side, holding up the Snake Coin and inserting it into the Driver.

Gears Driver: "Zodiac Time! Slithering! Venomous! Ambushing! Kamen Rider Snake Gears!! Such Lethal Fangs."

Green scales began to coat the plates of armor he wore, causing it to shrink slightly. Two large spikes sprouted out of the sides of his greaves, spiking down and stabbing into the floor. One larger spike appeared on each gauntlet, strong enough to punch through solid steel. Finally, a green cape wrapped around his hips, with a green jacket appearing over the armor.

Gears turned into a green blur as he weaved around each bullet that Chrono fired. Before Chrono knew it, one of the giant spikes was punched into his chest plate, knocking him down to the floor and dropping his gun as a result. Before Chrono could recover, another blow was dealt to his stomach which caused him to slide against the wall of the room.

This time, Aibo had taken over while Kibou processed what was going on. Portals appeared around the room and chains shot out. What Gears had thought was an attempt to restrain him, turned out to be a ploy to restrict the space he could move. The chains had created a fence of sorts, where it forced Gears to only move backward and toward Chrono.

Chrono summoned his twinblade, stabbing it into the floor and pouncing forward. With no other option, Gears readied his sword and the two began to duel. The sound of metal clashing against metal, combined with the sparks from the two weapons proved just how seriously the two Riders were taking this sparring match.

Mercy hummed from her seat as she inspected Chrono and Gears vitals. All seemed fine with Gears, which was normal. He was used to these types of situations from his previous timeline. What caught her off-guard was Kibou and Aibo. Kibou's vitals appeared normal with no sign of degrading muscle tissue, and Aibo seemed to work with him flawlessly despite their poor compatibility. It was unlike anything she had seen before, even when Chrono Prime was still alive.

Aibo: "Ready, Go! Steady, Go! Time to Go! Kamen Rider Chrono!! The Lucky Rabbit Jumps Over the Moon." Aibo announced as they took on their Rabbit motif.

Gears Driver: "Zodiac Time! Rush! Crush! Blow! Kamen Rider Ox Gears!! Such Powerful Horns." A gear shot out of the Gears Driver, surrounding the Kamen Rider and replacing his armor with one that was more Roman in nature while also having an Ox motif.

The sword glowed various colors of the rainbow as Gears charged it up, swinging at Chrono. As it glided through the air, it made an irritating sound that Mercy could confidently say she wasn't a fan of.

Chrono alternated between dodging and parrying the blows, but Gears never left himself open. Due to the nature of Chrono's weapon, Gears had found a spot comfortably close to Chrono so even if Chrono could counterattack, it would be with the shaft of the weapon.

Deciding to abandon the weapon entirely, Chrono stabbed it down in between Gears legs, and kicked him back with all the force he could muster. This successfully launched Gears back as the chains unraveled and went to go restrain Gears. The soldier was too experienced for that to work though, and he had the proper gear to prevent it. Charging the saber to max power, he effortlessly sliced through all the chains.

Aibo: "Ready, Go! Steady, Go! Time to Go! Kamen Rider Chrono!! The Immovable Pig Guards the Innocents." Gone was the Rabbit motif. Now, the golden plates started to bulk up, especially around the upper body. The gauntlets on his suit started to flatten out, taking the appearance of shields rather than gauntlets. The scarf turned a light pink as it now had a point at its end and a pig snout. Even the little fluff ball that acted like the Rabbit's tail turned into a swirl like that of a pig.

This immediately drew Gears' attention, as he assumed that Chrono took on all the aspects of the pig. This included its near-perfect defense and damage reflection, which would force Gears to find roundabout ways of attacking him.

Before Gears could give it a second thought, Chrono had advanced on him. Gears didn't have a gun like Chrono, and his only form of attacking safely would be if he tossed his sword, which wouldn't be a good idea. Instead, he switched to a more defensive style. The Pig form had restricted Chrono's movements, so it was easy for him to weave between each attack, unless Chrono made an effort to attack with his twinblade. At that point, it was easy enough to repel the weapon and cause it to crash into Chrono instead.

Mercy: "Chrono... Even though he has such low compatibility with AI, they're still able to keep up with Gears." Mercy twirled her hair around her finger before a blinking light caught her attention. There were two dots in the city, signaling that Remnant Zodiacs had appeared. The strangest thing, though, was that they seemed to be engaged with the Dragon Zodiac.

Mercy: "Zetsubou... What are you planning...?" She wondered. The scientist eventually sighed and pressed the button that would end the training session between the Riders.

The Riders turned over to the glass window and nodded. They both let out heavy sighs as their suits of armor disappeared and started making their way to the office. Just as Yuya and Kibou entered, a red dot appeared on her monitor alongside the other dots.

Mercy: "Kibou. I'm going to call in a favor and ask you to deal with a Zodiac problem. The Rat Zodiac appeared in a residential district. A place you would know well since it's around the area you live."

Kibou: "What!? Has there been any attacks? Is everyone safe!?"

Mercy: "They should, since it just appeared... Now, get going."

Kibou nodded and made a dash outside the building and to the parking lot. Yuya, on the other hand, placed a hand on the chair of Mercy and leaned in to peak over her monitor.

Yuya: "Those dots... They're grey? What does that mean?"

Mercy: "Those are the weird Zodiacs that you all encountered the day before... Can you keep a secret, Yuya?"

Yuya: "Considering it's you asking, and you'd probably kill me if I didn't... Is it something I should be worried about?"

Mercy: "That's the thing... Zetsubou says it's not... but you can never be too sure."