It had been three months; three months
of waiting, of preparation, of research, of working in shifts
with Hikari Mirabilis, but now the Ark had been completed at
last. It was gratifying to know that his counterpart in the
alternate universe that Hikari had originated from had been just
as diligent in the female Murakami's mental reconditioning as he
himself had been with the male Murakami. Hikari was equally as
dedicated to the success of the Ark project and the triumph of
Chronos as Imakarum. Lacking any real duties of her own at the
time, Hikari had taken to assisting Dr. Balkus with his
research.
He was still not any closer to finding
out just why or how female doubles of Imakarum, Guyver I and
Guyver III had appeared when it was very obvious that none of
them belonged there. It was an aggravating situation for Dr.
Balkus, the fact that he did not know just how these doubles had
come to exist in the same place and time as their originals.
Still, having Hikari to assist with the Ark project was very
useful.
Now, with all of the Lords of Chronos -
and one Lady of Chronos - gathering at the top of the
pyramid-shaped Dead Sea Plant main building, was not the time to
consider things besides how to best infuse the Ark with the
energy it would need to take its intended place in orbit. Lord
Alkanphel would likely know how to do this, but he and Imakarum
had not arrived as yet; only eleven of the thirteen Zoalords
stood atop the south-western platform of the Dead Sea Plant's
main building.
"What is the status?"
"We are at seventy percent, we will at
least be able to run some tests."
"They're coming," Hikari said, smiling
calmly as she looked out at the horizon. "They're going to be
here soon. I should go, he wants me to meet with him."
Inclining her head slightly to him, a
gesture of respect that Dr. Balkus had become quite familiar
with, Hikari flew off into the sky.
"Now where does that woman think she's
going?" Luggnagg de Krumeggnik asked. "For that matter, where is
that that counterpart of hers?"
"He didn't come to meet me as I had been
expecting," Fried'rich van Purg'stall stated. "Perhaps he is
with Lord Alkanphel. Hikari seems to be certain that they will
be arriving soon."
When the three figures emerged from the
bulding, Lord Alkanphel in the lead with the two, nearly
identical forms of Imakarum and Hikari Mirabilis striding along
behind him as an honor guard. The remaining ten Zoalords bowed
to their master as he stepped forward into the front of their
group.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
With Masaki and Sayuri keeping pace
behind him as he walked, Alkanphel walked into the center of the
group of his Zoalords as they bowed to him. As he made his way
to the forefront of the group, Alkanphel smiled. Soon his Ark
would be complete, and it would take its place among the stars.
Then he would be able to find the Advents themselves and demand
an explanation for their treatment of him.
He
would
have his answers.
"We begin now! Krumeggnik!"
Alkanphel, after hearing Luggnagg's
acknowledgement, could literally feel the energy radiating from
the Zoacrystal of his Zoalord of Wind. The slight answering
rumble from under the water let the Supreme Zoalord know that
his Ark had accepted the energy that was being offered.
"Kablarl!" Alkanphel called, and again
he felt the energy spike and his Ark rumbling in response.
"Caerleon! Jarvil! Waferdanos!"
-Masaki, Sayuri, which one of you would
like to take the duty of supplying energy to part of the Ark?-
"Galenos! Li Yentsui!"
-If Imakarum wishes to take that task on
himself, then I will leave him to do it.-
"Purg'stall!"
-Sayuri has made her preference
clear, Masaki,- Alkanphel
said, despite the fact that his only female child had not
exactly done so. -What is
yours?- "Shin! Balkus!"
-I will abide by your decision, my lord
Alkanphel.-
Resisting the urge to smile - his last
children were so very loyal - Alkanphel turned his attention
back to the Ark. His Ark. "Imakarum!"
The thrumming of the Zoacrystals as they
resonated with energy, and the answering rumble from the Ark was
very satisfying, letting Alkanphel know that the energy they
were infusing into the Ark was being accepted. Hamilcal had done
very fine work indeed.
"And now it comes to me. Alkanphel!"
The resonance was even more powerful now
that the Supreme Zoalord himself was participating in the
infusion process, and Alkanphel was starting to see flickering
lights in the water. That, combined with the increased amount of
rumbling that he could hear coming from under the water, as well
as the ripples he could see spreading across the water, let
Alkanphel know that his plans for the Ark were one step closer
to fruition.
The once-ripples on the surface of the
Dead Sea had become large waves, and the rumbling had become
much louder by this time. Alkanphel knew that his Ark, imbued
with the energies of his Zoalords, was almost prepared to rise
above the waves. When his spaceship burst triumphantly out from
under the waters of the Dead Sea, Alkanphel grinned proudly.
"And now behold, this great life! My
Ark!"
-It is beautiful, my lord Alkanphel.-
-Thank you, Sayuri.-
As his Ark rose farther above the
waters, Alkanphel felt the thrumming from the Zoacrystals of his
Zoalords - twelve of them, at least - grow stronger as the Ark
shed the last of its watery coating and powered its way into the
sky. Even then, his twelve Zoalords continued to feed their
energy into the Ark until it had the needed reserves to achieve
orbit, where it would then sustain itself on solar energy.
Alkanphel was satisfied.
"I think we're being watched, my Lord,"
Masaki said respectfully, looking over his right shoulder.
"Yes," Sayuri concurred. "I sensed them
as well. Would you like us to dispose of them, Lord Alkanphel?"
"No, let them be," Alkanphel said,
smiling calmly. "For now, they are of very little consequence to
us. Far greater things are now at hand."
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Shit. That this has to be the size
of a small island, at least. And if that's a battleship... Shit.
"We're going to have to inform the bosses about this," Nathan
Prescott, field commander for one of the larger Zeus Thunderbolt
Tac-Ops groups, said grimly.
"That's for damn sure," Jacob Haller,
the closest thing that the Thunderbolts had to a grizzled
veteran, grumbled. "They'd definitely want to know about that...
flying continent."
"Well, let's get back to the base and
then we can brief them on what we saw here," John Tyler said,
turning away from the still swiftly rising Ark.
Above their heads, the ship continued to
rise into the sky. Eventually, it disappeared from human sight
entirely.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Breakfast had proceeded as normal in the
mansion that they all shared, with Yukari and Shizu setting out
the food then Sho and Mizuki offering to help them wash the
dishes once the food was all gone. After the dishes had all been
washed, dried and put away, the majority of the mansion's
occupants had gathered in the main room to relax for a while.
"Hey, guys!" Natsuki called cheerfully.
"The paper was just delivered. I know you guys can't go out and
find these kinds of things out for yourselves, like you'd
probably want to do, but at least we can keep ourselves informed
about what Chronos has been doing late... What?!"
"What's wrong, Natsuki?" Tetsuro asked,
as all of the people in the room turned to look at the girl
holding the newspaper.
"You guys, Chronos just unveiled
something... really big. I think you should all come and see
this."
Since they knew that Natsuki wasn't one
to overreact, not to something so serious as what Chronos was
trying to do. That was why all of the people in the living room
were gathered around the chair where Natsuki was sitting.
+Well, it seems like we might have
a more difficult time getting to the Ark than I had first
anticipated,+ Akane said.
+With the Gigantics, however, it might
be possible for us to board the Ark and take control of it. We
would be required to deal with the Zoanoids in place on the Ark,
but that would most likely be substantially less difficult than
invading Chronos' Dead Sea Plant and attempting to take the
vessel by force.+
+Perhaps a great deal easier. Look
at this,+ Akane pointed to a
passage in the article that their companions hadn't come to yet.
+It seems that Chronos hasn't
even selected a crew for the Ark yet. And, given the fact that
they are drawing from a pool of civilian volunteers, there would
be very little chance that any of them would have the necessary
combat experience to repel an attack by two Gigantics.+
+Yes, I think you're right.+
"What I'd like to know is why Chronos
went to all the trouble of constructing this huge Ark of theirs
in the first place," Tetsuro said, continuing the conversation
that had gone on even as Agito and Akane had been discussing
their own strategy. "They can't really be telling the truth
about humanity's future being among the stars."
"Think about it, Segawa," Agito said.
"They are most definitely not going to be carrying any
unprocessed humans with them, so who do suppose will be leaving
on board the Ark?"
He waited for an answer, but all he
heard were the confused noises of people attempting to think and
all he saw were expressions of incomprehension.
"The twelve Zoalords, or thirteen as
things stand now, would be the ones in command of the Ark,"
Akane said, when no one else seemed to be able to figure that
out. "They would also be bringing along an army of Zoanoids, who
would of course be genetically-engineered to be loyal to them
alone. It seems quite obvious to me that this Ark is intended to
be a warship."
+And that will make it all the
more useful to us, once we have control of it,+
Agito said.
+Indeed it will.+
"But what would they be fighting against
in outer space? Who would be out there that Chronos considers
its enemies?"
"I'm not entirely certain," Akane said,
pausing to collect her thoughts. "This is only a hypothesis, but
Chronos could be planning to find the Advents that left this
planet millions of years ago. For what reasons they would want
to attempt something like that, I don't think any of us would be
able to understand."
"They want to find the Advents?" Tetsuro
asked, looking at the still-confused expressions on the faces of
his friends and fellow refugee rebels.
"As I said, it was only a hypothesis."
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
The scent of warm, tropical air was one
that Hikari would have enjoyed a great deal more under other
circumstances. As it was now, she was far more concerned with
the welfare of her Lord than with taking note of something as
mundane as her surroundings. No matter how tranquil or beautiful
they were to her senses.
Imakarum was with her, and between the
two of them they supported the frail, failing form of their
beloved Lord Alkanphel. There was obviously something wrong with
him, something that he did not want the other Zoalords to know
about, else they would not have been standing alone at the
summit of this lonely mountain in the shadow of an empty temple.
The echoes of the stone made it very clear that there were no
residents aside from plantlife inside the temple that they stood
in front of.
"Not even Fried'rich or Shin know
anything about this island. Only Hamilcal and I have ever set
foot on this secret island of mine. Until now."
Imakarum's hold on Lord Alkanphel's
waist was slackening, and after she felt a quick tug on her own
arm, Hikari loosed her grip as well. Lord Alkanphel slowly
pulled away from the warm comfort of their arms, moving forward
to stand on his own. Still close enough to them to be supported
if he faltered, but far enough that he showed some independence.
"I would like to thank you, Masaki,
Sayuri, for coming here with me."
"Of course, my Lord," Imakarum said.
"We could do no less for you, Lord
Alkanphel," Hikari added.
"Of course," Lord Alkanphel said,
sounding wistful as he continued to stare out at the vast
expanse of jungle surrounding his temple.
And then, without a single warning sign,
Lord Alkanphel collapsed. Both of them rushed forward, but it
was Imakarum that kept their Lord from falling to the hard stone
floor of the temple. All that Hikari was left to do was to
stroke Lord Alkanphel's pure white hair and murmur soothing
words into his pointed ear.
"I will need to rest again soon," Lord
Alkanphel said, gently brushing Hikari's fingers with his own
and then closing his hand around hers. "My hibernation period is
very near."
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
As Imakarum lifted Lord Alkanphel into
his arms, he watched as Hikari settled into step just beside
him. She really had no other choice; Lord Alkanphel's right hand
was still firmly clasped around her left, and even if she'd been
able to free herself, Hikari would not have left his side. He
knew his counterpart as well as he knew his own mind; she was
loyal without question.
"The last time I was indisposed this
way, Guyot rebelled," Imakarum watched as Lord Alkanphel
enfolded Hikari's left hand between both of his own, and was
momentarily grateful that the hallway and the staircase they
were all approaching was wide enough for both of them to walk
abreast. "I don't know what could happen this time. Deal with
the situation, Masaki. Let Sayuri help you; obtain the unit-G at
any cost. Do it quickly, before my hibernation becomes
permanent."
"Of course, Lord Alkanphel," Hikari
said, bowing her head slightly in respect and submission. "We
will do exactly as you order."
"Good. That's why you both were
recreated to be true Zoalords; devoted to me and me alone. My
faithful servants." -Beloved
son and daughter.-
Imakarum found that he had to smile at
the obvious warmth and affection in Lord Alkanphel's statement,
and beside him he saw that Hikari was doing so as well. Right up
until she teleported away. About to demand just where the woman
thought she was going, Imakarum watched as she returned.
There was a decently sized bundle of
cloth in her arms, and for a moment Imakarum wondered what
Hikari was thinking of doing. Then she began to spread the cloth
over Lord Alkanphel's stone bed, and Imakarum realized that the
cloth was in actuality a blanket. A very soft blanket, from the
look of the fabric, and Imakarum found himself smiling once more
as she gently laid it out over Lord Alkanphel's stone bed.
Lady Hikari could really be quite...
maternal at times.
"You can rely on us, Lord Alkanphel,"
Imakarum stated, even as Hikari placed a gentle kiss on Lord
Alkanphel's brow.
"Rest well," Hikari said, rising
from her crouch to stand beside him once again. "We
will
find a way to acquire a Guyver unit for you."
Turning away from the sleeping form of
Lord Alkanphel, Imakarum proceeded Hikari out of the temple. The
sharp clack of the stone doors as they closed allowed Imakarum
to put Lord Alkanphel's condition out of the forefront of his
mind, though he would never and could never forget his Lord's
condition.
-So, what would you suggest that we do
to obtain the Guyver unit, my Lord? And who would you suggest we
take it from?-
-Yukari seems to be the obvious
candidate, given the fact that she still seems to harbor some
attachment to you, my Lady. Still, Sho could be useful as well.-
-What are we going to do about the two
Makishimas, my Lord?-
-We are going to kill them, of course.-
-I know that, of course. But those two
are very capable in battle. It might be somewhat difficult for
us to overcome them, my Lord.-
-Yes, they are both very skilled,-
Imakarum considered the matter of the two Third Guyvers.
-We will simply have to find a way to
deal with them, in whatever form they appear before us, my
Lady.-
-We will indeed.-