He knew the boy too well to ever think
that he would have been capable of such a brutal, ruthless
assault as this. Agito and Akane Makishima, they were the ones
who would have the drive to do something such as this. They were
the ones who would be all too willing to sacrifice the lives of
innocent civilians in their quest for revenge. If the reports
had been of the Dark Gigantic causing this kind of havoc, then
Imakarum would have been willing to give them credence.
But Sho Fukamachi was not a person who
would do such things.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Isis had been returned to her
processing-tank, to be infused with the energy that she would
need to perform her duties as Chronos' auxiliary Zoalord. The
repairs to the Arizona base, while they were proceeding along
nicely were also merely cosmetic in nature. Still, the fact
remained that nothing else had gone wrong and business at this
branch of Chronos was proceeding well.
It was a blessed moment of peace; and
Dr. Balkus was grateful for it.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Waiting for Lord Fried'rich to make the
expected report; that Sho Fukamachi had not been involved in the
attack at all and that some confused citizen had somehow managed
to mistake the Dark Gigantic for his gold counterpart, had
become rather tedious. Still, Imakarum had promised Lord
Fried'rich that he would lend his support in this endeavor, and
if that meant that he would have to stay at Cloud Gate while
Lord Fried'rich was likely dealing with one of the Makishimas,
then he was going to do just that.
Even if the very
idea
of doing such bored him out of his skull.
Rising from his seat to pace the length
of the room again, Imakarum resisted the urge to contact Lord
Fried'rich and request an update. The news would have been
useless, even if he had had any inclination to listen to the
petty views of humans on what one of the Lords of Chronos was
doing. Humans would have not been allowed into the areas where
they would be able to see any of the battle between Lord
Fried'rich and the Dark Gigantic. There would be some pretext
for the restriction, of course. Something the humans would
believe and abide by.
Sitting back in his chair and reading
over the breeding manifests that he had brought for himself,
Imakarum kept his mind open for any contact from Lord
Fried'rich. Even a request for assistance; as unlikely as that
was.
The Zoanoid models being developed in
this Section were fairly standard, nothing particularly notable.
There were precious few Hyper Zoanoids being developed, either
because sufficiently compatible humans had not been found, or
because Lord Fried'rich had not been interested in taking the
time for such advanced Zoaforms to be selected and then
processed. With the increase in the number and ferocity of the
attacks by Guyver III and his counterpart, that would have to
change.
Hyper Zoanoids had a far better chance
of surviving a battle with a Guyver than Standard Zoanoids.
Since Akane never seemed to be the one to wield the power of the
Gigantic Dark in combat, instead relying on the weapons that she
now carried into battle. They seemed to be merely enhanced
versions of the weapons that human soldiers were known to carry
with them. Admittedly useful against mere Standard Zoanoids,
they would doubtless prove to be useless against the enhanced
bodies of Hyper Zoanoids.
Sensing a sudden, powerful energy surge,
Imakarum looked up from the breeding manifest and focused his
mind. It seemed that Lord Fried'rich had decided to transform;
an understandable choice, given the fact that he was most likely
facing Agito Makishima's Dark Gigantic. Lord Fried'rich would
need all the power he could bring to bear to be able to force
Agito Makishima to heel.
Imakarum could feel the distortions and
instabilities in the local weather patterns that had been
created by Lord Fried'rich's power; as he brought gargantuan
lightning bolts crashing down on the head of the Dark Gigantic.
Agito Makishima would rue the day he had ever decided to take up
arms against Chronos.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
In Washington State, on a low hillside
just two miles away from the U.S.A. Third Operations Plant, the
main force of the Zeus Thunderbolt resistance group was waiting.
"This is the headquarters of Chronos;
their 'Pillars of Heaven'," Akane informed the large group of
soldiers that had gathered around her, Agito and Shizu. "Under
which you can see their protectorate: the Third Operations
Plant."
"Our objective here is the
complete and utter destruction of this base!" Agito shouted, his
strong voice carrying over the assembled ranks of their soldiers
in the same way that Akane's own had. "We will show Chronos the
power of the Thunderbolts! Go!"
Their forces charged down the hillside;
men on a mission to destroy the Chronos base that stood in front
of them. Akane, Agito and Shizu watched as their forces ripped
into the defending Zoanoids, scattering them like frightened
mice and killing more than a few.
It was quite a thing to witness.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Imakarum, having long since grown
accustomed to the power fluctuations generated by Lord
Fried'rich's battle with the Dark Gigantic, was continuing to
read up on the Zoanoid models that were being produced by this
branch of Chronos. Lord Fried'rich would contact him if there
was any need of his presence in the battle. Imakarum was certain
of that.
Sitting back in his chair again,
Imakarum sensed a brief flash of apprehension from Lord
Fried'rich. Standing up and focusing, not wanting to contact his
fellow Lord on the chance that he was in a pitched battle and
needed all of his concentration, Imakarum sensed that Lord
Fried'rich was doing rather well in his battle. There was a
distinct air of satisfaction about him; he had not yet won his
battle, but Lord Fried'rich seemed truly confident in his
ability to do so.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
The reports of the attack on Chronos'
Third Operations Plant in Washington state had been rather
disquieting, but the reports that the attack had been made by
Zoanoids was even more disturbing. The visuals of the attack,
with those new Zoanoids crushing the skulls and tearing the
limbs of his own Zoanoids, were rather gruesome. Still, there
was a very simple way to deal with invading Zoanoids.
And such advanced Zoaforms as
these would be very
useful to Chronos' goals.
He was currently in the process of
mollifying the currant base commander for the Third Operations
Plant. The Hyper Zoanoid, who was acting as interim commander
for the Third Operations Plant while Shin was trying to
ascertain the motives of the three Zoalords who had expressed
such an interest in attacking the Gigantic Guyver, was
rightfully worried about the group of new and powerful Zoanoids
that were attacking the Third Operations Plant.
Still, even if they were somehow
resistant to telepathy, these new Zoanoids would not be able to
resist his telepathy once it had been amplified by the equipment
in the basement. This was what he explained to the interim
commander of the Third Operations Plant. And, even now, he was
heading toward the basement.
Those foolish, rebellious Zoanoids would
not be able to continue their senseless rampage for very much
longer.
"Activate the Amplifier!" Dr. Balkus
ordered.
The Zoanoids under his command rushed to
carry out his orders, and soon the Amplifier was activated and
humming. Sitting on the throne in the center of the Generator,
Dr. Balkus focused his mind on the attacking Zoanoids. Tapping
into their minds was proving to be rather difficult, however.
-So you still think to resist my
telepathy, eh? Well not for much longer. You will cease your
senseless violence and kneel!-
There was no reaction from the
attacking Zoanoids, save for the fact that most of them
continued their savage rampage.
-I said you will kneel!-
Still nothing, and now Dr. Balkus could
sense that there was another presence shielding the minds of
these Zoanoids, and presumably commanding them as well. It felt
like there was another Zoalord here now; but that was
impossible. The Council, of which he was a prominent part, were
the only Zoalords in existence, and all of them were loyal to
Chronos.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Fried'rich was honestly shocked at all
the destruction that had been caused, not by his own attacks but
by Sho Fukamachi. All of this was something that he had believed
only Agito or Akane Makishima was capable of doing. But the
swathe of destruction that had been carved through his
protectorate city was obvious evidence to the contrary.
Even in spite of what Imakarum had
said; and now this other had showed up. Aptom; the one who had
been causing so much damage to Chronos, literally
eating
the Zoanoids that they had created. And now he seemed to have
allied himself with the Guyver. Although, his latest words did
make it seem as if he had no real affection for the Guyver named
Sho Fukamachi.
Which made Fried'rich all the more
curious as to why this Lost Number was aiding the Guyver at all.
It was a strange situation, to be sure, but that was not the
foremost thing on Fried'rich's mind at this time. What he was
most concerned about was protecting himself and his people from
the Gigantic Guyver.
The same Gigantic Guyver that had just
told Aptom that he would beat Fried'rich with his bare hands.
"Do not underestimate me, Guyver! I am
far stronger than the Zoanoids you have been murdering so
callously! I will show you my true power, and you will know the
folly of your arrogance!"
Fried'rich fired a powerful blast of
electrical energy from the crystal-emitter set into the center
of his chest. A blast that, unfortunately, both Aptom and the
Gigantic Guyver managed to dodge. Though, in the case of the
Gigantic Guyver, not entirely. Fried'rich was gratified that his
attack had not gone entirely to waste, and so decided to take
further advantage of the situation.
Still, the fact that the boy had
managed to wound him rather severely with that gravity-enhanced
punch of his - in spite of the fact that most of the force of
the blow had been diluted by his own attack - was disconcerting
to the Zoalord of Lightning. There was a chance that he would
not be able to finish this battle alone. Still, Lord Imakarum
had volunteered to act as his backup for this mission. There was
a comfort to be found in the presence of the Zoalord of Gravity,
even if it was only in
potentia.
"You will not escape your crimes so
lightly, Guyver," Fried'rich growled, enraged all over again
that he had been so easily deceived by Sho Fukamachi's facade of
gentleness and docility. "If you continue to attack me, I will
electrocute you!"
The Lost Number, Aptom, warned the
Gigantic Guyver of his impending attack. Fried'rich was able to
sense the boy's retaliatory attack and then to deflect and
absorb the infrared laser with the lower half of his right arm.
Then he was forced to raise his force-shield quickly to
intercept a sudden thrust by the Gigantic Guyver's elongated
Vibration Blade. The Gigantic Guyver seemed rather surprised by
this action, despite the fact that Fried'rich knew the boy had
faced Imakarum and Hikari Mirabilis several times before.
Fried'rich fired his Crystal Laser,
shearing off the Vibration Blades on both arms of the Gigantic
Guyver. This action provoked the Gigantic into a foolish,
reckless charge directly at him. And that gave him the
opportunity to reinforce his shield to withstand any further
attacks that the Gigantic Guyver might try to launch against
him.
Especially given his obviously weakened
condition.
When the Gigantic Guyver slammed his
fist into Fried'rich's force-shield, the energy of it crackling
and sparking against his knuckles, Fried'rich watched as the
small orbs on the Gigantic Guyver's knuckles were severely
damaged by the energy that had been channeled through them.
"Now you are not only unable to utilize
your barrier, but that right arm of yours is useless as well,"
Fried'rich said, his arms still crossed in front of his chest to
maintain the necessary circuit for the force-shield that he was
using to defend himself. "In your present condition you will not
ever be able to destroy my force-shield, Guyver."
"I may not be able to use my right
arm for any attacks, but it still
works!"
Sho Fukamachi shouted, diving at him with his right fist
outstretched as if to strike. "And you can't use your lightning
attack if you're busy defending yourself with that barrier!"
The crackle of energy against the
Gigantic Guyver's fist as the boy slammed his damaged hand
further into Fried'rich's barrier was a disconcerting thing for
the Zoalord of Lightning to witness. It was as if the boy had no
care for his own physical health anymore.
"I said that you would not be able
to destroy my force-shield with your bare hands; and yet you
continue to try. Have you no
sense? You cannot destroy my
force-shield with mere physical attacks!"
"At least- I can try," the Guyver
panted, large jets of steam shooting from the facial vents in
his helmet. "It's all I can do, after you slaughtered so many
innocent people just to lure me here!"
"What?"
Fried'rich was taken aback.
The anger that the boy was displaying
seemed genuine; more than that, all of the reports on Sho
Fukamachi that he had been privileged to read - including the
psychological evaluations - indicated that the boy was not one
to take the killing of innocent civilians lightly. So perhaps
there was more to this situation than Fried'rich had at first
suspected. Still, there would be time to find out later, when he
was not involved in a struggle for his life.
"I can
never
forgive you for what you did! I'll kill you with my bare hands
if I have to!"
So saying, Sho slammed his fist into
Fried'rich's force-shield. And, as Fried'rich watched in
horrified astonishment, he tore through it entirely. What was
this boy, that he could break a Zoalord's defenses even with as
much damage as he had taken?
And what was he, that he could still
fight on in spite of his damaged state?
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Dr. Balkus gritted his teeth in
annoyance. These new Zoanoids; still attacking in spite of the
fact that he had just commanded them to stop; in spite of the
fact that he was Chronos' second most powerful telepath; in
spite of the fact that the Amplifier in Chronos Arizona made his
telepathic powers strong enough to fully control even a mere
human, were thoroughly infuriating him. He had thought briefly
of having Isis transported to Washington so that she would be
able to participate in the battle, but by the time she arrived,
it would more than likely be over. Still, he might perhaps have
a use for Chronos' auxiliary Zoalord.
However, there would be time for such
things as he was considering after these defiant Zoanoids had
been subdued. And subduing them would entail finding out just
who was protecting these Zoanoids from his telepathic power. And
there had to be someone, Dr. Balkus knew, even Lost Numbers
would have been bowing before his will with the amount of power
he was using.
-You! Who the devil are you?!-
-I am Griselda.-
-Griselda?! How could another Zoalord
have been created without my knowing about it?!-
-You don't know everything that goes on
in this world. I command these Libertus – Zoanoids free from any
of your controls – in the name of Gigantic Dark and Guyver III.
They are the ones who will rule this world. Not you; and not
Chronos.-
Dr. Balkus hissed in frustration, taking
firm hold of Isis Mirabilis' mind and forcing her to teleport to
his location. Grasping Isis' head firmly in both his hands as
she knelt in front of his seat, Dr. Balkus activated her
telepathic powers and used them to boost his own. This was
something that was possible only because Isis currently had no
thoughts, no will, of her own.
That enabled him to use Isis as an
extension of the Amplifier; using her telepathic powers to
further assault this 'Griselda' who was causing him so much
trouble. It almost made Dr. Balkus regret that Isis was
eventually going to be restored to consciousness when Lord
Alkanphel returned to full health.
Isis was almost more useful this way.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Fried'rich knew that it was only a
matter of time before his barrier collapsed; he knew that his
own energy would only hold out for a short time. The Gigantic
Guyver, damaged though it was, did not seem to be overly
concerned with the damage done to it. Fried'rich now knew that
Sho Fukamachi was operating out of a very strong, if misplaced,
sense of rage.
Still, when the Gigantic Guyver crashed
through his force-shield, and beyond that when the boy managed
to knock him over, Fried'rich was shocked. Not so much by the
Gigantic Guyver's ferocity, but by the fact that the boy had
managed to destroy his force-shield.
But, as the crushing blow slammed into
his gut, Fried'rich found that he had no more time to think
about things like that. Fried'rich spasmed, feeling more pain
than could have come from simply being punched by the weakened
Gigantic Guyver. As he gagged, coughing up some of his own
blood, Fried'rich realized that this damage had been done a
while ago.
It had most likely been when both he and
the Gigantic Guyver fired at one another simotainiously.
Fried'rich had seen his own lightning bolt connect with the
Gigantic Guyver, but he had thought that the boy's retaliatory
attack had been deflected. Apparently not.
"I had thought to avoid this,"
Fried'rich said, coughing as more blood bubbled up in his
throat. "Still, I will not resign myself to defeat so easily,
Guyver."
"Give up, Purg'stall! You can't win in
that state! You might have tried to lure me here with that Hyper
Zoanoid disguised as a fake Gigantic, but you're not going to
get away with it!"
A fake Gigantic?
"That was not any plan of mine," Fried'rich panted, the pain of
his injuries starting to make him light-headed.
"Don't
lie
to me! I know that only Chronos would have the resources to make
a Hyper Zoanoid that could imitate the Gigantic! And only
Chronos would be evil enough to kill all those innocent people
just to lure me out here!"
A Hyper Zoanoid designed to look like
the Gigantic Guyver? Then... could this have all been set up to
lure the both of us to this place? But why?
When Fried'rich saw Aptom collapse, a
rather large hole blown through his torso, Fried'rich wondered
just who it was that had come to his aid.
"You seem to be in quite a difficult
situation, Brother."
The voice was one that Fried'rich
recognized very quickly; it was the voice of Luggnagg De
Krumeggnik. What was he doing here? Were he and his three fellow
Lords truly here to offer their assistance? And if so, why had
they not deigned to show themselves at the beginning rather than
the end of this battle?
"Kablarl? Luggnagg? Jabir? Why have you
three come here?"
"What kind of silly question is that?"
Jabir asked, tilting his head slightly in the manner reminiscent
of a bird. "Do you think that you even need ask for help from
your fellow Lords after that disaster at Yokohama?"
"I suppose that your assistance would be
beneficial-"
"Then the matter is settled,"
Kablarl said firmly. "Rest yourself, Lord Purg'stall; you've
fought bravely, now let us
finish this Guyver."
"Listen to me, Guyver Gigantic,"
Luggnagg said forcefully, pointing at the injured boy. "Now that
the three of us have arrived, you have no chance of winning this
battle! Prepare to die, Guyver Gigantic!"
Breathing slowly and deeply to take his
mind off of his injuries, even as he could feel his body working
to heal them, Fried'rich began to see a most unusual sight; the
Gigantic Guyver seemed to be struggling with something. It was
as if he could no longer hold himself together, or maybe as if
he could no loner hold himself upright?
When the armor of the Gigantic literally
burst off, reforming into an empty husk and then disappearing
inside a cocoon behind the boy who had once been wearing it,
Fried'rich was honestly shocked. What had happened, that Sho
Fukamachi had not been able to keep control of the Gigantic?
Judging by his body language, this was not something that the
boy had intended to happen at all.
"Now all that remains is for us to
decide how to kill this boy," Kablarl practically cackled.
Aptom, though he was still obviously
injured and exhausted by the battle, stepped in front of Sho to
protect him. Something that Fried'rich had not been expecting;
certainly not with the animosity that the Lost Number had been
displaying earlier. It was an odd situation, to be sure.
His fellow Lords obviously thought the
same, judging by the expressions on their faces. Of course now
that Aptom, injured as he was, was trying to stand in defence of
Guyver I things were liable to become more complicated. Aptom
and Sho Fukamachi were speaking in low tones to one another, low
enough that Fried'rich couldn't hear what they were saying.
"And what do you two think you're
doing?" Jabir mocked. "Praying for salvation, maybe?"
"I got your
salvation
right here, bastard!"
Even as the Lost Number said this,
Fried'rich could see that his entire biomass was starting to
undergo a startling change. Aptom seemed to be transmuting
himself into a massive collection of biomissles.
"They're being created from every part
of his body!"
For a moment, Luggnagg sounded as
unnerved as Fried'rich himself felt. Then Jabir spoke, his voice
calm and assured as it always seemed to be.
"It will be a simple matter to maintain
our shields, even with this nuisance assaulting us."
Indeed, all of the missiles at Aptom had
created were detonating against the force-shield that his three
fellow Lords were maintaining. Fried'rich himself was still too
weak from his earlier exertion to be of any use in helping to
maintain the shield, but that did not mean that he was blind. He
could see Aptom's body slowly coming apart, disintegrating as he
used his remaining physical mass to generate a seemingly
unending barrage of biological missiles.
Fried'rich could hear the derision in
the voices of his fellow Lords as they spoke, but he himself was
far more preoccupied with astonishment at the fact that Aptom -
one who had seemed to have no real affection for the boy named
Sho Fukamachi - would sacrifice his own existence to protect
that very person. It did not make any sense at all. When Aptom
vanished, his entire physical form consumed by the physical
transmutation he had forced on himself, Fried'rich stared in
shock at the devastation left behind.
"This is not possible!" Jabir exclaimed.
"The missiles were a part of his own body! How could he have
escaped while he was firing them at us?! And without leaving a
trace behind?!"
Fried'rich suspected that he knew the
answer to that, but it was not something that he felt he could
explain to the others in his weakened condition. He sensed it
when Kablarl left, though, and he wondered what had drawn the
other Zoalord away. Guyver I had disappeared by now as well,
though Fried'rich had seen him tunneling into the ground and so
he knew how the boy had managed to escape.
Time would tell if Aptom was dead or had
truly managed to escape somehow.
"I captured Aptom," Kablarl said, as he
floated serenely back down to where the three of them were
gathered.
Perhaps less time than I thought,
Fried'rich mused, catching sight of the stone statue that had
once been Aptom.
"It troubles me that we were unable to
capture Guyver I," Luggnagg said, looking to the sky despite the
fact that Fried'rich had seen Sho escape underground.
Perhaps Luggnagg had not seen that due
to all the dust.
"His escape is of very little
consequence," Kablarl said calmly, displaying the frozen form of
Aptom like a trophy. "We will be able to lure him back with more
attractive bait."
Lure him? the way you thought to
lure him to this place with a Hyper Zoanoid disguised as the
Gigantic? Fried'rich tried
very hard not to make any sudden moves, as an abrupt and very
unpleasant suspicion burst forth in his mind.
Perhaps the Guyver boy was not the
only target of their manipulation.
"You would think to use the corpse of
someone that boy considers a friend to lure him to his death?"
There was no reaction from any of the three. "Would you also
think to lure me here as well?!"
This time, the only reaction
Fried'rich received was a smirk from Luggnagg. That was not
something that reassured him. And then Luggnagg was
moving,
and firing-
-Imakarum! I need--
but the pain was too much for him to form and transmit the rest
of his thought.
He would only have to hope that Imakarum
would come...
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Imakarum stood, swiftly enough that he
almost knocked the chair he had been sitting in sprawling across
the room. He had been given all of the information that he
needed. Lord Fried'rich had been in enough distress that
Imakarum was able to track his mental signal and teleport to his
location.
When he arrived at the scene, Imakarum
saw Lord Fried'rich lying in a pool of his own blood, a large
hole blown in his mid-chest area. Lords Shin, Kablarl, Luggnagg
and Jabir were gathered around the body, although none of them
seemed to be at their best. Imakarum was rather shocked at the
sight himself; if it had not been for the fact that Imakarum
could sense the fact that Lord Fried'rich was very close to
losing his life, Imakarum would have probably been there in
shock with his fellow Lords.
"Excuse me," he said calmly, moving to
pick up the insensate form of Lord Fried'rich.
"What are you doing, Imakarum?" Lord
Shin asked, sounding startled and disapproving in equal
measures.
"I'm taking Lord Fried’rich to the
Arizona Headquarters. Lord Hamilcal has," here Imakarum paused
for a moment, considering his choice of words carefully. "A
special treatment that will restore him to full health in a very
short time."
"Now Imakarum, there is no need to try
and offer false hope to our dear Shin," Jabir said, sounding
slightly uncomfortable.
With Lord Fried'rich settled in his
arms, Imakarum was eager to be on his way. "It's not false," he
muttered absently, as he focused and teleported both himself and
his precious cargo to the Arizona Headquarters.
-Lord Hamilcal, bring Isis!-
Imakarum called, as he teleported to the Arizona Headquarters.
-Lord Fried'rich is badly injured,-
Imakarum turned in mid-thought, sensing the arrival of two more
Zoalords in the room with him.
"Yes, I sensed that you were in a great
deal of distress," Lord Hamilcal said, sounding rather
distressed himself. "In any case, this is what Isis was
developed for; it is time she proved her worth."
The blank, staring eyes of Isis
Mirabilis showed no reaction as Lord Hamilcal moved her into
position, taking hold of her hands and setting them down on the
sides of Lord Fried'rich's grievous wound. Isis' Zoacrystal, and
then her entire body, began to pulse with energy; and as
Imakarum stepped forward to watch, the wound began to close.
"His lifesigns are stable," Imakarum
said calmly, checking the readings of the monitors he had
attached to Lord Fried'rich. "And his wound is healing rather
quickly. Good work, Doctor; your creation is performing
incredibly well."
"I suspected she would perform as such,"
Lord Hamilcal said, as Imakarum continued to watch the wound. "I
put a great deal of work into this latest creation. It is
gratifying to see that the work I put into her is paying off so
well."
Imakarum nodded, already more focused on
Lord Fried'rich's wound than on anything else. It was strange-
the Guyver would have doubtless been facing Lord Fried'rich from
the front. But the wound on the chest of the Zoalord of
Lightning was very odd; it almost looked like an exit wound. And
Lord Fried'rich was not one who would turn his back on any enemy
as dangerous as a Guyver.
But the wound was clearly an exit
wound. An exit wound on the
front of his body. That could
only mean- The arrival of another Zoalord temporarily distracted
Imakarum from his pondering, and he turned to see that Lord Shin
was the one who had distracted him.
"Imakarum I- who is he? And what is he
doing to Fried'rich?"
"She
is healing his wounds," Imakarum said calmly. "It will take some
time for her to restore Lord Fried'rich to full heath, but he
will be quite well when she finishes."
"She?"
"Yes," Imakarum nodded, turning to look
over his shoulder at Lord Shin as his fellow Lord came to stand
at Lord Fried'rich's side with him. "Her name is Isis
Mirabilis."
"Mirabilis?" The surprise in Lord Shin's
voice was very understandable. "Is she your daughter?"
"In a manner of speaking," Imakarum
smiled, gently resting his hand on Isis' left shoulder. "She was
Yukari Fukamachi, at one time. But that was before Lady Hikari
managed to bring her to Chronos. Now she is Isis Mirabilis,
Chronos' youngest Zoalord."