A/N: By the time of this chapter, the events of the first two episodes of Season 2 have played out. Thanks to KR Chrome for helping as always.
"Rejoice, Brightmoon! Princess Chronera has successfully returned from her diplomatic mission!" Woz announced as he and Chronera entered the throne room.
"Welcome home, Chronera, Woz," Queen Angella greeted.
"Your Majesty," Chronera bowed.
"How are things in the Fangire Kingdom?" Angella asked.
"Princess Ana has retaken her throne and is in the process of repairing the damage done by Dark Kiva," Chronera reported.
"And you have been aiding her in that time, I take it?" Angella questioned.
"I have. I also have more good news: the Fangire Kingdom have agreed to join the Rebellion and Princess Ana wishes to become a member of the Princess Alliance."
"That is wonderful news," Angella said, proud of Chronera.
"Where is Lady Glimmer and the others?" Chronera asked. "I wish to speak with them and tell them the good news."
Glimmer was in her room, feeling miserable when Chronera knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Glimmer asked.
"It's Chronera, Lady Glimmer. I've just returned," Chronera said.
Glimmer sighed and went to open the door for her friend.
"Guess your mission was a success," Glimmer guessed.
"Yes, Lady Ana is now the rightful ruler of her kingdom and has agreed to join the Princess Alliance," Chronera informed her. She noted Glimmer's somber mood. "What's wrong?"
"Entrapta's alive and she's joined the Horde," Glimmer answered.
"Oh," Chronera blinked. "So you know."
For a moment, Glimmer blinked when she heard Chronera's reaction and then she realized why she sounded like that.
"You knew," Glimmer said accusingly.
"Lady Glimmer, I-"
"You knew all this time that Entrapta was alive and she's with the Horde! You knew and never told us!" Glimmer shouted as her aura glowed brightly.
"Yes," Chronera confessed. "But-"
Whatever Chronera wanted to say was cut off as Glimmer pointed to the door.
"Get out."
"Lady Glimmer, please, let me explain."
"I SAID GET OUT!" Glimmer shouted.
Chronera froze then put on a neutral expression as she bowed.
"As you wish, Your Highness."
Chronera turned and exited the room. Glimmer slammed the door.
Chronera stood outside with a look of regret on her face.
"I'm so sorry, Lady Glimmer."
"Hey," Bow said as she found Chronera sitting in her room with clock parts strewn all over her table. She looked pretty busy.
"Sir Bow," Chronera greeted as she examined a gear before putting it down. She had dismantled one of her clocks and checking the parts. Although, the clock was not broken. She just did it because she needed to occupy her mind since she was still bothered by her last talk with Glimmer.
"So, Glimmer told me that you knew about Entrapta," Bow said.
"Yes, I did," Chronera admitted. There was no sense in denying it. "I take it Lady Adora knows too."
"Yeah, she's with Glimmer right now. So, if you knew, why didn't you tell us?"
"Queen Angella told me not to tell you. She was afraid of how Lady Glimmer would react. I agreed to spare her feelings," Chronera answered honestly. "I believe that was not the wisest of decisions."
"That's an understatement," Bow said. "I mean, Glimmer's used to her mom keeping things from her, but not her friends."
"I'm not sure if she wishes to remain friends with me," Chronera said. "People are so complicated."
"Is that why you like to fix clocks?" Bow asked.
"I can understand a clock inside and out, but people have always confused me," Chronera explained. She really wished the Time Mazine could go back in time so she could tell her past self to be more honest. "Do you think Lady Glimmer would ever forgive me?"
"Just give her time to cool off," Bow advised. "So, how did the mission in the Fangire Kingdom go?"
"It went smoothly. Lady Ana judged her father and put him in the dungeon. I knew it pained her so I was with her while she began to fix the damage caused by her father's unjust rule," Chronera answered. "She's likely to come to Brightmoon when the Alliance has another meeting."
"That's good. Say, Chronera, we managed to capture one of the Horde bots attacking the Whispering Woods. You want to go check it out?" Bow invited.
Chronera put down her tools and looked up at Bow.
"Show it to me."
It was a spherical bot and definitely of Horde design.
"It's way more powerful than anything the Horde has ever thrown at us," Bow explained.
"Because Entrapta upgraded it," Chronera finished.
"Yeah, with First Ones' tech! The Horde now has access to First Ones' tech! That's bad! Even more so since Entrapta was the one made everything go crazy!"
Now Chronera was glad that she managed to take the Kabuto and Drive Ridewatches when she had. Who knows what kind of weapons Entrapta could've made for the Horde if she managed to unlock their secrets.
"When I was captured, Entrapta studied my belt," she informed Bow. "Hopefully, she was not able to find out too much about it."
"Don't underestimate her. Entrapta is a better tinker than I am," Bow warned. Now he was worried. What if Entrapta managed to make a Rider for the Horde?
"Since you're good with machines, do you mind looking at something for me, Sir Bow?"
Chronera took Bow outside to see the Time Mazine.
"And Woz gave this to you?" Bow asked.
"Yes," Chronera answered. "Supposedly, it functions as both a flying machine and a time machine."
"Hold on, did you say 'time machine'?" Bow gaped. "As in this thing can travel through time!?"
"It used to. Woz was able to get it to fly but it can't travel through time anymore," Chronera told him.
"And you want it to be able to?" Bow asked.
Chronera looked at the Time Mazine. If it could travel through time, then she could go back and save her parents. Hell, maybe she could go back and prevent the Horde from ever becoming the threat when they first arrived in Etheria.
But Woz had warned her of the dangers of time travel, like even the smallest change in the past could have unforeseen consequences. He also explained the dangers of paradoxes.
And if she did stop the Horde in the past, what would that mean for Adora? She could save her parents, save Glimmer's father, but then they wouldn't have met Adora. Maybe Adora would have never become She-Ra.
There were just too many what-ifs to risk time travel.
"Entrapta would go crazy over this thing. She might even try to fix it," Bow said.
"She might and she might even succeed," Chronera considered, thinking of using Entrapta to do that but decided against it. They couldn't trust Entrapa not to tell the Horde that the Rebellion had a working time machine. The Horde could use the Time Mazine as a weapon and destroy the Alliance before it even began.
Maybe it was for the best that the Time Mazine could not travel in time. It could fly and it did have a combat function. That should be enough.
Right now, Chronera needed to figure out a way to make things up with Glimmer. But how would she if Glimmer wouldn't even talk to her?
A guard approached the two and informed them that Queen Angella wanted to see them.
"She lied to us, Adora! She knew about Entrapta and never told us!" Glimmer ranted. "How can I trust her again? How can we trust her again?"
"Look, maybe Chronera had a good reason for keeping it from us," Adora reasoned.
"She's supposed to be our friend, Adora! She shouldn't be keeping secrets like this!" Glimmer yelled, stamping her foot on the ground a bit.
"Hey, do you think your mom knew? If Chronera found out about Entrapta, she'd be the first to know."
Glimmer paused for a moment to think about it. Adora was right. There were more secrets being held behind her.
She was going to confront her mother to find out for sure. Before she could think of what she wanted to say, there was a knock at the door. Adora went to open it and there was a guard standing in the doorway.
"Her Majesty has summoned you," the guard stated. "Please, come with me."
Adora, Glimmer, Chronera and Bow were gathered in the throne room, facing Queen Angella. Chronera glanced at Glimmer before guiltily averting her eyes.
Queen Angella began to address the team.
"A week ago, we've lost contact with our supply outpost in Alwyn. I need you four to investigate," Queen Angella instructed.
"Okay, Mom," Glimmer obeyed. "We'll check it out and see what's wrong."
"If we're going to Alwyn, we should take my Time Mazine," Chronera suggested. "It'll get us there faster."
"Very well," Queen Angella permitted. "Good luck and be careful."
The four bowed and left the throne room. Chronera led the way to the Time Mazine, occasionally glancing at Glimmer who would not meet her gaze. She let out a sad sigh.
This was going to be a long mission.
The team boarded the Time Mazine and Chronera went to the controls. The screen turned on and Chronera set a course for Alwyn.
"Alright, here we go!" Chronera gripped the controls and started the Time Mazine up. It ascended then flew toward Alwyn.
It flew at a very quick pace, avoiding all sorts of terrain and other things that would have made for a longer trek if they were travelling by foot. It was quite a tight fit, much to Glimmer's dismay, but soon enough they landed in the abandoned village. There was a cool, creepy air to it.
The Time Mazine landed in Alwyn and the ramp descended, allowing the team to exit the vehicle.
"Okay, that is fast," Adora complimented the Time Mazine, looking up to the tall machine.
"Yes, it is," Chronera agreed. "With this, we can go anywhere in Etheria and arrive in the blink of an eye."
"Really useful," Adora said. "Don't you agree, Glimmer?"
Glimmer said nothing as she led the way. Chronera sighed again but followed the princess as Adora walked alongside her.
"So, Entrapta's working for the Horde," Adora said to Chronera.
"Yes, and I've known for a while now," Chronera repled. "I'm sorry."
"Queen Angella told you not to tell us, didn't she?" Adora asked and Chronera nodded. "Okay, I guess I can understand that."
"With Entrapta working for the Horde, they will be deadlier than ever, especially since she can upgrade their weapons with First Ones' technology," Chronera said worriedly.
"Entrapta can combine magic and technology," Bow added. "But don't worry, you guys got me, tech master and premier member of the Etherian Maker Community."
"It's just a good thing she never figured out how to make the Ridewatches work,"Chronera remarked.
"Entrapa made her choice," Glimmer said sternly. "There's no changing that so let's just focus on our mission. And who cares if they have upgraded tech? They're no match for us."
"Yeah, Best Friend Quad to the rescue!" Bow exclaimed, earning odd looks from the girls. "Cause there's four of us?" He received silence and half-lidded stares. "Okay, taking that off the list."
As they continued on their way, Adora paused as the leaves rustled. She ignored it and went with the others. She failed to notice the dark presence stalking them.
The team entered Alwyn. Glimmer was just finished telling Adora that it was the Rebellion's main supplier for the war effort. When they entered the orchard, they found it creepy and abandoned.
"The outpost should be up ahead," Chronera said as she took out her Edge of Time. She already had her Ziku-Driver on.
"But where is everyone?" Adora asked. "I don't see any Horde soldiers or anybody."
"Maybe they're all inside?" Glimmer suggested.
"Let me take a look," Bow volunteered as he took out his tracker pad. "I've upgraded my pad for Horde signals. If they're here, we'll find them with this." He turned it on and a shrill humming came out of the device. "Oh, no! I must've broken something during the upgrade! Don't worry. I can fix this." He tried tapping it but the screen was not working. "Okay, I can't fix this."
"That's fine. Whatever's going on here, we can solve it. Nothing gets past us," Glimmer said confidently. A chilly breeze blew by. "Even with all the stories about Alwyn being haunted."
"Haunted?" Adora asked. "Like with ghosts?"
"They're just stories," Glimmer dismissed.
"You know, Shadow Weaver used to tell me ghost stories when I was a kid. Like the one about the Weeping Princess. A vengeful spirit that roams Etheria looking for victims. You'll know she's nearby by the sound of her weeping right before hse strikes." The story made the others tremble with fear before they heard something and freaked out. Chronera immediately stood before Glimmer, aiming her Edge of Time once it was in Gun Mode.
"What was that?" Bow asked.
"I don't know but I don't think we're alone," Chronera frowned. "Your Highness, maybe we should be careful during this mission."
Glimmer frowned and went on ahead, ignoring Chronera.
The group entered Alwyn, keeping their eyes open for anything. They looked odd, sticking close and back-to-back in a tight circle, looking battle ready. They finally reached the outpost.
Bow knocked on the door of a house and heard noise coming from inside. It sounded like someone was inside.
"Guys, I think someone's in there," Bow pointed at the door.
"Okay then we go in on three," Glimmer instructed, her hands glowing, "One, two, three!" they barged right in and screamed as they saw a figure standing at the dining table.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
"PLEASE, DON'T ATTACK ME!" the figure yelled.
Glimmer's glowing hands revealed that the figure was a young man who was dressed in a floral pattern hoodie over a white shirt, black pants and sneakers. He had short and dark brown hair done in a messy bowl cut.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Chronera demanded as she pointed her gun at him.
"My name is Takeru," the man identified himself. "I'm a ghost hunter."
"So, you're a ghost hunter? Those really exist?" Adora asked, crossing her arms a bit. The group were now seated outside around a fire pit Takeru had made.
"Of course they do! Who else would hunt ghosts if we didn't?" Takeru said, poking at the fire he had lit. He had been on this ghost's tail for awhile now, and he wasn't about to give up on it now. "Alwyn has been all but abandoned because of the ghosts here."
"W-wait! You're not saying all those stories about ghosts…?" Bow began to say.
"They're mostly true. Maybe not specific stories, but ghosts are real. This one is particularly nasty, chasing away everyone from this village."
Glimmer looked at the fire a bit and sighed.
"I knew this wouldn't just be a simple mission. Nope, it just had to be ghosts, didn't it?"
"Is there anything you can tell us about this 'ghost'?" Chronera asked.
"Does it weep?" Adora questioned.
Takeru sensed something.
"I don't think I need to say anything," Takeru said as he stood up and his eyes hardened. "Because it's right here."
A dark figure soon materialized before the group.
"That's not a ghost," Chronera frowned as she studied the entity. It was an Another Rider. It had a black body with a leather jacket over his top. On his limbs he had patterns resembling lightning bolts. His head was a demonic and flaming blue skull with sharp antlers that appeared to be detached from the body. A big eye was in the middle of his chest and he had a belt with an eye in the centre. The word 'SPECTER' was on its right sleeve and 2015 was on its left sleeve. As it appeared, ghostly figures flickered in and out of existence.
"That thing's been haunting this place ever since the people left along with the rest of those ghostly figures," Takeru told the group. "If it wasn't for them, this place would still be alive with people." Takeru was about to do something, when Chronera, stepped forward as she docked the Zi-O Ridewatch into her Ziku-Driver.
"Transform!"
Rider Time! Kamen Rider! Zi-O~!
Zi-O ran forward and began striking at the Another Rider, who simply blocked each strike by turning invisible, allowing each attack to go through his gasly body without hurting him. The permanent smile on his face perturbed them all. He floated forward and struck at Zi-O with his beast-like claws, causing her to fall back quite a bit. Adora pulled out her sword, only for Zi-O to turn around and knock it out of her hands.
"I'll handle this!" she said in an almost choked up voice. She felt horrible that she felt as though she had lost her friends due to her following the queen's orders. She was a soldier. That's what she was. And a soldier protected the princesses. Grabbing Another Specter by the arm she tossed him into a tree, which he turned unseen for a moment to float right through it. Adora picked up her sword as Zi-O ran after Another Specter. Bow panicked, running after the two, leaving Glimmer sighing alone with Takeru. The rest of the ghostly figures flickered again and disappeared.
The ghost hunter simply smiled and sat back down towards the fire. Glimmer couldn't understand why he was just sitting there, but she didn't want to go any further with Chronera, so she simply left the others to their own devices for the time being.
"I have a feeling that your group's experiencing some disharmony," Takeru said to Glimmer.
"Really, what makes you think that?" Glimmer asked, looking over to Takeru.
"I have a sixth sense for things like this. My friends and I… well we fought sometimes."
"Did your friends ever keep something like another friend being alive from you?! When everyone else thought she was dead?" Glimmer pulled her knees up to her chest and stared into the fire. It crackled warmly, yet Glimmer still felt cold on the inside.
"Well maybe not that, but my friend did try to kill me once. Well more than one occasion in any case." Takeru chuckled a little bit. Glimmer raised an eyebrow, but wasn't feeling up to questioning the man anymore than she needed to.
"I'm just so upset with her that she kept something so important a secret from us," Glimmer finished saying, putting her head onto her knees and groaning. She felt betrayed by someone she trusted.
"Sometimes people can forget to take their friends' feelings into account," Takeru told Glimmer. "But maybe if you both sat down and talked, you can come to an understanding."
"You're right, but still! She kept this from us for who knows how long, and I had to find out the hard way that she was still alive! And Chronera knew this entire time! My mom too!" Glimmer bit her lips a little bit. "How could they do that?"
"People do things sometimes that they just feel they have to do. By the way, your friend seems to have a lot on her shoulders," Takeru observed. "Is there a reason for that?"
"Well… Okay long story short, Adora and Chronera both have these incredible destinies to save the world from the Horde." Glimmer began to go on about their adventures and the monsters they had fought up to now. "But just because she has this awesome destiny, doesn't mean she can just keep important things from us! She didn't even know Entrapta like we did, and she just casually forgot to mention she was alive!"
"You know not everyone goes through the same things the same ways." Takeru said. "Everyone is different, and their experiences are different. Everyone feels different. Your feelings about her keeping that your comrade was alive a secret is valid. But her feelings are also valid." Takeru smiled a bit. "You just need to understand each other's is feelings, and you'll be able to figure out how to move forward."
Glimmer was surprised at how well thought out his response was. She knew he was right, and that she needed to talk to Chronera about how she felt. That was the only way for her to stop feeling upset about her knowing Entrapta was alive this whole time.
"Maybe you're right. I'm still mad at her, but… maybe ignoring her and pretending she doesn't exist isn't doing anything for either of us." Glimmer said, as Takeru nodded.
Before Glimmer could say anything more, however, Another Specter had shown up once more, making an eerie groaning noise as he floated towards Glimmer and Takeru.
"It's him! That specter!" Takeru said, putting his arm out in front of Glimmer. "I'll handle this! I'm a ghost hunter after all."
Takeru waved his hand over his waist, summoning a belt, and pulling a small eye-looking thing out of his coat. He clicked the button on the side of it, before opening the belt and dropping the eye into it.
"Ahhh! A belt!" Glimmer's mouth was wide open. "You can't be…?"
"Henshin!" Takeru called out, pumping the lever on the side of the belt.
Eyes Open: It's Me! Let's Go! Dead Set! Gho-Gho-Gho-Ghost! GO! GO! GO! GO!
A Parka Ghost appeared from the belt, the Ghost Driver, and soon covered over the transient armor that Takeru, now Kamen Rider Ghost, wore. His armor was mostly black, with orange accents on it. His helmet had a large horn protruding from it, with an orange face with two large black spots on it to resemble eyes.
"I'm gonna let my life burn brightly! I won't forgive you for using those powers for evil!" Ghost floated forwards, with his Gangun Saber in his hands. He struck Another Specter several times over with it, sparks flying with every strike. Another Specter made a growling noise as he placed his hands on his chest, where the eye was, and sent flying a bunch of demonic looking Parka Ghosts. Ghost weaved in and out of the Parka Ghosts, dodging them along with the other ghostly apparitions that had appeared once more. They were blue and didn't seem to be doing much harm, so Ghost did his best to avoid them.
Glimmer couldn't stand back and do nothing, as she pulled out her staff and assisted Ghost in taking out the Parka Ghosts. As much as the thoughts of the ghosts scaring her made her want to take a sit back, she knew she needed to help. She bounced around the trees with her teleport, striking at the Parka Ghosts whenever they were close by. A single whack was enough to make them vanish in a puff of smoke.
"You're not half bad!" Ghost said, floating towards Glimmer. "You would make a pretty decent ghost hunter!"
"I think adrenaline is pushing me through this!" Glimmer laughed nervously, as Another Specter approached her and threw a punch at her from behind. An expertly shot arrow, however, knocked his hand away. Glimmer looked to see Zi-O, She-Ra, and Bow had arrived.
"Looks like we finally found you guys!" Bow said, waving a bit, and taking another shot at Another Specter with his trick arrows. "We got lost chasing Chronera through the woods! You two oughta really talk about thi-."
"Okay, I know I know! But now is not the time!" Glimmer said, pointing to Another Specter who had summoned a group of black cloaked mooks to fight beside him. All five of them groaned, as they began fighting the mooks and Another Specter.
Zi-O turned to Ghost during the battle, as the latter floated around off the ground striking them down with his saber.
"I had a feeling you weren't just an ordinary person." Zi-O said, as she ran forward to strike Another Specter away from Glimmer and Ghost. "Your name… it sounded like this one person we me. He was a Kamen Rider, so I knew you were a Kamen Rider too!"
"Did you really?" Glimmer asked, finally breaking her silent treatment of Chronera. The girl inside the mask gave a dorky smile no one could see, happy that maybe they could talk about things.
"Kind of! Not really!" Zi-O said, readying her sword for battle. Ghost and She-Ra were at her sides.
Bow leaped up into the air, shooting an arrow at the mooks' feet, causing them to get trapped in rope that had come out of the front of them. Glimmer teleported towards them and struck them hard with her staff, causing them to poof into nothingness along like the Parka Ghosts Another Specter had summoned earlier.
"Let's put this guy to rest once and for all!" She-Ra said, running forward and taking several shots at Specter with her sword. He tried to turn invisible, but the strikes went through him anyways. He fell back a little, staggering towards a tree. Up against it, there was nowhere else left to run.
Finish Time! Time Break!
Eyes Wide Open! It's Me! Omega Drive!
Zi-O and Ghost both leaped into the air, energy channeling into their feet as they flew down towards the tree. The Another Rider, in primal fear, could not move an inch from where it was. It was now feeling how it had made the people of the village feel. Their feet struck the Another Rider hard, sending it flying through the tree and onto the ground. After a large explosion had occurred, the two Riders looked over to see a villager laying on the ground. They groaned a bit as the Another Specter Watch fell out of them, and broke apart upon impact.
"Well… That's one more problems solved!" Ghost said, cancelling his transformation and going to check on the villager.
She-Ra and Zi-O also turned back to normal, and both took a sigh of relief. It was over.
After Another Specter was defeated, the team began to wonder if the Another Rider had been the cause of the villagers abandoning Alwyn. That was when they began to saw humanoid figures walking around again. Those mysterious apparitions of what appeared to be people were simply playing as if on loop.
"They're not spirits," Takeru said. "I don't sense any spiritual presence?"
"Then what are they?" Adora asked. "Holograms?"
"Pretty sure holograms don't move on their own," Glimmer argued. "Look, that's one is waving."
"If they are holograms, there has to be a source for the broadcast," Bow said. "I think I know where it is, come on."
Bow led the way to the tower in the middle of the village square. Everyone pulled away the vines that covered the base, revealing it to be First Ones' tech.
"It's like Light Hope's Beacon," Adora realized.
"It's an antenna," Bow clarified. "This must've been some old communications hub. When the Black Garnet disrupted the planet and must've caused this hub to power on. With you translating, maybe we can shut it off."
"So these are First Ones?" Adora asked in wonderment.
"You were expecting something else?" Chronera questioned.
"I've just imagined them as epic, larger than life figures. But they turn out to be regular people who were trying to send a message back home. But their messages were never received because of what Mara did."
"You shouldn't feel guilty for what your predecessor had done," Chronera said sympathetically. "Trust me on that." Adora smiled and put her hand on the hub, shutting it off. "Be at rest."
"Farmers must've freaked out when this thing turned on. It must've caused the interference on my pad. Now, we should be able to send a message to tell them everything is okay," said Bow.
"This hub caused the ghost rumors and then Another Specter must've taken advantage of it to scare people away when they tried to investigate," Chronera theorized.
"Looks like you solved the mystery," Takeru said.
"Looks like we have. With this, the villagers will return to Alwyn," Chronera said. They would take the injured villager back to Brightmoon for medical treatment.
"You know, your friend Glimmer told me you have quite a lot on your plate," Takeru said.
"Yes, my destiny," Chronera sighed. "I'm supposed to gather the powers of the Kamen Riders to become a ruler someday."
Takeru dug into his pocket and pulled out a Ridewatch.
"Well, then it looks like this is yours," Takeru said as he gave Chronera the Ghost Ridewatch.
"But this… these are your powers." Chronera pushed his hand away. "You need them too!"
"I really don't. My life has burned brightly for far too long. I think I need a rest." Takeru looked up at the moonlight. "But you know, as long as this watch is around, I know my power can protect people. I'll be around, you know? Everyone has their time, and I think mine is about now. Thank you though."
"F-for what?"
"For helping put Specter's powers to rest. I know he wouldn't like them being used for the wrong purpose." Takeru smiled as he faded away...like a ghost.
"Guys...did he just...vanish?" Bow asked slowly, the blood draining from his face.
"He...he...he was a ghost too!?" Adora yelled out.
"Yes," Chronera confirmed as she held the Ghost Ridewatch. "Kamen Rider Ghost. Guess it wasn't just a name."
They all stood there awkwardly for a moment, before Adora pushed Glimmer towards the former royal guard. Glimmer sighed, knowing there was no way to avoid talking about her feelings. So she decided to sit down with Chronera next to Takeru's fire, which was starting to go out.
A short while later, the two were deep in conversation about what had happened. The two had a lot to say to one other.
"I never meant to hide anything from you," Chronera explained. "I just... " She sighed a little bit. "I didn't want to disobey a direct order from your mother. She expected so much of me and I let her down when I got captured in the Fright Zone. So when she asked me to keep this secret… I couldn't help but accept her terms."
"I get where you're coming from. She can really be like that, can't she?" Glimmer joked a bit, trying to lighten up the mood a bit. Chronera nodded.
"Yes, but even then, I still feel like I should've told you," Chronera replied. "But she said it was to spare your feelings and to make sure the Alliance does not fall apart because of one defected princess. Back then, I was still thinking like a soldier instead of as a friend. And things got so wild, which isn't an excuse, that I never thought to tell you." She looked over to Glimmer. "Is there anyway you could forgive me?"
Glimmer smiled a bit.
"I think I can."
Meanwhile, in the Fright Zone, Entrapta was in her lab going over her latest invention. After studying the schematics she had gotten off Zi-O's belt, she had been working on reverse-engineering it. The way it could generate a suit of power armor was just so awesome that she wanted to duplicate it. Fortunately, the Horde had resources she could use to make the belt. She had already designed the armor and had a candidate in mind.
Meanwhile, Shadow Weaver was sitting miserably in her cell. Not too long ago, she had been Hordak's second-in-command and in charge of the Black Garnet. But since Catra rebelled against her, it seemed that her wayward ward was now the one who had taken her place.
She clenched her fists in anger. She had worked too hard to be just thrown away like this. It was not fair. She had done everything for Hordak and yet once she proved no longer useful, he just tossed her away like garbage.
"Damn you, Catra..." Shadow Weaver glowered.
"You seem upset."
Shadow Weaver looked up to see a young woman dressed in a silver outfit.
"You can call me Aura, Time Jacker Aura," the woman said as she casually approached the captive sorceress. "And you, madam, seem to be in a bit of a bind."
"Are you some kind of hallucination?" Shadow Weaver questioned.
"Nothing of the sort," Aura said as she knelt down before her. "You can call me your salvation. You probably feel as if the world has turned against you, don't you?"
"I've done everything for the Horde! Yet this is how they repay me!" Shadow Weaver snapped.
"Then they all must pay, right?" Aura asked as she took out an Another Ridewatch. "How about I help you with that?"
She clicked the button, activating the device.
Beast!
She then inserted it into Shadow Weaver's body, screaming as she transformed into Another Rider Beast.
Back in her lab, Entrapa was going over some finishing touches on her invention. It looked like Zi-O's belt but lacked the digital time display mounted on the front.
The door to the lab opened and Catra entered.
"Entrapta," Catra called to her teammate.
"Oh, Catra!" Entrapta ran up to her then placed the belt on her. Instantly, the belt strapped appeared and looped around her waist. "It fits!"
"Oh, so you got it working," Catra smiled. "I'm guessing this is a copy of Zi-O's belt?"
"Yes, but not an exact copy," Entrapta said. "I mean, it should be able to generate a suit of armor, provided it has the proper power source."
"And you've got it?" Catra asked.
"I'm working on it," Entrapta looked at Catra's Force Captain badge and her eyes lit up. She snatched it off.
"Hey!"
"Sorry! I'll give it back but I'll need this! I just got an idea!"
Catra scowled but she had long gotten used to her teammate's odd behavior. As long as she proved useful to her and the Horde, she could do whatever she wanted, provided she did not overstep her bounds. There were places that were off limits in the Fright Zone and Entrapta was not the kind of person who respected personal boundaries.
If whatever Entrapta did by tinkering with her badge brought results, so much the better.
Alarms in the Fright Zone began to blare causing Catra went to investigate with Scorpia.
"What's making all that racket?" the scorpion-girl asked.
"I don't know, but it's coming from the cells," Catra said worriedly. They found a cell and the door had been broken open. "Crap." It was Shadow Weaver's cell. "Shadow Weaver's escaped."
"But how?" Scorpia asked.
"I don't know. Magic? Kyle? Who knows? We gotta find her before Hordak finds out! Scorpia, order everyone to find Shadow Weaver, now!"
"You got it!" Scorpia saluted and ran off as Catra paced back and forth in front of Shadow Weaver's cell. The feline thought that becoming Hordak's second-in-command meant more power, but it also came with added responsibility and pressure from Hordak as he expected more from her. And now Shadow Weaver had escaped. This just was not her day.
However, Shadow Weaver had not gotten far. In fact, she was actually pretty nearby.
Within the cell, a figure emerged as it became visible. Its green eyes narrowed as it saw Catra. With an inhuman roar, it lunged out of the cell. Catra gasped when she heard this and immediately leaped aside as the massive figure came at her.
"What the Hell...?" she uttered as she saw the creature that had tried to disembowel her. It was humanoid, with black fur and gold armor. At the tip of each finger and toe was a sharp claw. It had a slender, female figure under that armor. What truly made it inhuman were its chimeric features. It had the head of a lion with a a pair of bull horns, wings like a hawk, a tail like a dolphin and eyes like a chameleon.
This was Another Beast.
"Catra..." Another Beast snarled. "You've been a very, very bad kitty."
Catra recognized the voice.
"Shadow Weaver?"
With a roar, Another Beast lunged for Catra who leaped away to avoid before shredded by those claws. The Force Captain gritted her teeth and took out a baton which was charged. Usually used to stun enemies, it could also be used to kill.
"Hyah!" Catra swung at Another Beast who then turned invisible, causing her to miss. "What!? AAARRRGGGHHHH!" Catra let out a bloodcurdling scream as she was scratched across the back, leaving bloody gashes. She spun around, eyes darting everywhere, looking for Another Beast.
"I should've stuffed you in a sack and drowned you a long time ago," Another Beast snarled as her voice reverberated everywhere. Catra's eyes were wide with fear but she put on her bravado.
"Why don't you show yourself then? Or are you too scared?" Catra taunted but she suddenly had the wind knocked out of her and grabbed by the throat before she was pinned to the wall. Another Beast reappeared before her, looking her in the eye.
"Time for your punishment, Catra," Another Beast grinned as she prepared to use her claws to rip Catra to shreds. But first, some torture before getting to that. Another Beast blasted Catra with water in the face, leaving the poor catgirl shivering and soaked. She really hated water. It seemed the Another Beast just wanted to prolong her torment.
"Now you will pay for every single bit of humiliation you have brought upon me!" Another Beast roared. "What's the matter, Catra? No witty remarks? Have you got your own tongue?"
Catra looked her in the eye and struggled to grin. All of a sudden, Scorpia came to the rescue and shoulder tackled Another Beast, releasing Catra. She gasped while on all fours, drawing breath.
"Took you...long enough!" Catra coughed.
"Are you okay?" Scorpia asked.
"I'm...I'm fine," Catra admitted. "Just help me take down Shadow Weaver."
"That's Shadow Weaver? Man, she's changed."
"It must be what happened to Kyle," Catra scowled.
"You both think you can harm me?" Another Beast snarled. "I have more power than ever before! Even more than Hordak! In fact, after I'm finished with you two, I'll find him and take power from him myself! Then the Horde will be mine!"
"Not if we beat you first," Catra went into a fighting stance.
"Yeah," Scorpia agreed, even though she had no idea how they were going to do it.
Another Beast lunged for them when Emily suddenly shot an energy at her, knocking her out of the air as it wrapped around her. Another Beast roared and growled as she struggled to break free.
"Catra! I've done it!" Entrapta ran over to return Catra's Force Captain badge to her. Another Beast roared as she broke free and lunged at the three of them. Scorpia immediately caught the Another Rider's hands, holding her at bay.
"I got this! I got this!" Scorpia yelled as Entrapta continued.
"That badge is the key for that belt! Now put it in! It'll do the rest!" Entrapa explained quickly and briefly.
Without asking any questions due to how dire their situation was, Catra inserted the Force Captain badge into the centre of the Driver.
This activated it as it exclaimed:
Roar! Savage! Wild!
The Driver released red and black pixels which merged and spread all over Catra's body, transforming her as she was covered in a black bodysuit. Then red boots and knee pads covered her legs as red gauntlets adorned her forearms. Black armor covered her chest with shoulder pads. Finally, a helmet formed on her head, masking her face.
Kamen Rider Clawz!
With the transformation complete, Catra ran. Her body was moving like a blur as she struck Another Beast and sent her flying. Entrapta was cackling like a madwoman while Scorpia was speechless as she saw Catra's new look.
Catra was in a suit of black and red armor over a flexible protective bodysuit. The gauntlets had clawed that slid out from the wrist and also had shoulderpads modeled after paws with claws sticking up. The Horde's emblem was proudly displayed on the black chestplate, surrounded by the shape of the Horde badge. Finally, the black helmet had a red metal lion's mane surrounding the faceplate and visor which was a pair of heterochromatic eyes; red and yellow like Catra's.
"Catra, is that you?" Scorpia asked.
"Call me 'Clawz'," Clawz responded and then she focused on Another Beast. "Now, time to take out the trash!"
Another Beast made to slash at Clawz as she came at her but the new Rider leaped over the attack then swung her leg to kick Another Beast in the face. She capitalized on her opponent's stunned state to perform a series of kicks that sent her staggering back. Finally, she performed a flip kick that smashed into Another Beast's jaw.
As Another Beast recovered, she flew into the air but Clawz jumped and grabbed her foot before she climbed onto Another Beast's back. The Another Rider tried to throw her off, but Clawz held firm and then used her clawed gauntlets to severe Another Beast's wings. The Another Rider shrieked as she started to plummet but Clawz leaped off and landed on her feet as Another Beast crashed.
"Now, how do I finish her off?" Clawz asked.
"The suit uses a neural interface! Just think and it will do the rest!" Entrapta explained.
"Okay, easy," Clawz replied as she imagined defeating Shadow Weaver. Soon, data was being fed into her mind on how to execute the finisher.
Clawz! Violent Finish!
Clawz lunged at Another Beast as her clawed gauntlets glowed with energy. She delivered a series of brutal slashes, fueled by rage, anger and hatred. One last strike sent Another Beast tumbling before she exploded.
Shadow Weaver was left after she smoke faded. They all failed to notice the Another Ridewatch collapse out of her body and shatter into pieces.
"A successful field test!" Entrapta went to examine her new masterpiece. "How does it feel? Is it comfy or too snug? Whaddya think? Are there any bugs?"
Clawz examined her hand and balled it into a fist as she smirked under her helmet, thinking of what she could do with this new power.
"I think this will be a real game changer, Entrapta. Scorpia, take Shadow Weaver back to her cell."
Scorpia had just slung Shadow Weaver onto her shoulder and gave a salute.
"And we're going back to my lab to do more testing!" Entrapa cheered as she took Clawz by the hand and dragged her back to her lab.
"So, My Princess has gained yet another Ridewatch and made up with her friends. But things are looking dire now that the Horde has their own Kamen Rider. I suspect she'll need all the help she can get to defeat this Clawz. But it seems as though in order to retrieve My Princess' next watch, she'll need to… travel to the future? What could this all mean?" Woz said, shutting his book and smiling. "Perhaps we'll find out soon."
To be continued in… Kamen Rider Zi-O x Kamen Rider Decade: Journey to the Future