Any person that he had actually managed
to keep out of the battles between him and Chronos? He hadn't
managed to save Tetsuro and Mizuki; the only reason they were
staying in this isolated place was because his enemies had tried
to hurt them for what they meant to him. Hurt them for being
close to him.
As he collapsed in Tetsuro's arms, the
worried voices of those closest to him fading out as he lost
consciousness, Sho wondered if he would ever be able to keep the
remaining people he was close to safe.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
As the last part of the wound that
would have likely ended Lord Fried'rich's life sealed itself
closed with Isis' help, Imakarum considered again what he had
seen. The large wound - an
exit wound; he was sure of it
- could not have been made by anyone who had been standing in
front of the Zoalord of Lightning. That only left those who had
been standing behind.
Was such a thing even
possible?
"Lord Shin, what was the condition of
Lord Fried'rich when you found him?"
"He was lying on his back, covered in
blood," Lord Shin paused for a moment, seemingly overcome.
"There was a large hole in his chest; which you must have seen
when you rescued him."
"Was there anyone standing directly
behind him?" Imakarum pressed, even as Isis laid her hand on the
small gash that was all that was left of Lord Fried'rich's wound
and closed it with a last application of energy.
"Why do you ask?" Lord Shin sounded
shocked, and Imakarum didn't blame him for being so affected.
He himself could hardly believe
that he was making these accusations in reference to another
Zoalord. Still, if what he had observed when Isis had started
healing Lord Fried'rich turned out to be what he suspected it
was - what he was almost
certain it was - then there
was yet another traitor among the ranks of the Twelve Zoalords.
"If you two will excuse me for a
moment," Imakarum turned; Lord Hamilcal was wearing a mildly
annoyed expression. "I must see to the repairs of this facility.
Imakarum, be sure to take Isis back to the processing-tank when
you finish with her."
"Of course, Lord Hamilcal," Imakarum
said, inclining his head respectfully. "I will see to it that
Isis is taken care of."
Lord Hamilcal turned away without
another word after that, leaving Imakarum alone with Isis, Lord
Shin and the now-peacefully sleeping Lord Fried'rich. "I would
like to thank you, Lady Isis, for all that you have done for
Chronos," Lord Shin said. "And for myself." Imakarum looked over
to where Lord Shin stood, trying apparently to speak to Isis.
"Imakarum, is there something wrong with Lady Isis? She doesn't
seem to be able to understand what I am saying."
"I rather doubt she has the mental
capacity to understand anything right now," Imakarum said,
stepping over to lay his left hand on Isis' shoulder as he
started to lead her away.
"What?"
"Lord Hamilcal was forced to make
extensive modifications to her mind," Imakarum said, wincing
imperceptibly as he remembered what Lord Hamilcal had done to
the girl. It had been necessary, yes, but it was still rather
unpleasant to remember. He had come in on the end of the
process; hearing Yukari's screams as her mind was telepathically
cored out. Perhaps even
physically cored out; Imakarum
hadn't taken the time to learn the specifics of what had been
done to the girl.
It was enough for him to know that she
was not going to cause any more trouble for Chronos. Although,
he had heard from Lord Hamilcal later that the girl would be
restored to full consciousness once Lord Alkanphel was well
enough to fully reshape her mind. That would be a good day; when
Yukari Fukamachi was fully welcomed into Chronos as a Zoalord.
Rather, when Isis Mirabilis was.
Still, for the moment Isis was little
more than a vegetable, and for the moment he had to treat her
like one. He had already given Isis a command to walk, and this
she was doing with a steady, unchanging rhythm. He would have to
put her back in the processing-tank; put all of the sensors back
on her so that Lord Hamilcal could monitor her health and add
the proper nutrients that her comatose form would need.
Though Lord Shin still seemed to be
rather at a loss.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
As he left the Arizona Headquarters,
Shin could not help but think back to what Imakarum had said
about Isis Mirabilis. If she truly had no mind of her own, that
was rather saddening. True, the girl had been an enemy of
Chronos, but having one's entire mind erased simply to keep them
docile and passive was not something that he felt entirely
comfortable with. Still, the fact that the situation was
discomforting for him on a personal level had no bearing on the
situation.
Dr. Balkus had done this some time ago,
judging by the fact that Yukari Fukamachi was a fully processed
Zoalord. Those took a great deal of time to create; especially
one so obviously specialized as Isis Mirabilis was. Zoalords
were not generally capable of healing others of their kind; for
a moment, Shin wondered what Dr. Balkus had done with the
prototype Zoalords that had been used to develop and test the
modifications made to Yukari Fukamachi's body while she was
being processed.
Dr. Balkus could not possibly have
been foolish enough not to make certain that all of the
prototype Zoalords that had been used in the creation of Yukari-
rather Isis Mirabilis' Zoalord body had been properly disposed
of. It would not do to have another woman like Sayuri Murakami
causing trouble. Though her grievances
had
been legitimate, that woman had caused far too much trouble for
Chronos.
And now, just as Sayuri Murakami had
been, Yukari Fukamachi had been forcibly recruited to serve in
Chronos' ranks. Shin was not precisely certain how he should
feel about that.
As he was leaving the Arizona
Headquarters, one of the many Zoanoid staff came rushing up to
him.
"I apologize for my abruptness, Your
Excellency," the Zoanoid – a Brelimos – said, as he bowed to
Shin. "But, the Pillars of Heaven have been seriously damaged by
an attack made by the resistance force calling itself Zeus
Thunderbolt."
"What?" Shin gasped, shocked that one of
the largest and most well defended bases of Chronos could be
destroyed so easily.
"That's what happened, Your Excellency,"
the Brelimos said, nodding in what Shin knew was a respectful
manner. "There is also a great deal of damage that has been done
to the Third Operations Plant, also by the Thunderbolts."
"How could this happen?" Shin was
appalled; that mere humans would be ruthless enough to kill so
many innocents simply to damage Chronos' largest and most
visible facilities.
Truly, the humans who served under Agito
and Akane Makishima were some of the most violent and dangerous
of their kind.
"I will return to Washington to oversee
the repairs," Shin said, knowing that it would be best for a
Zoalord to be present, to act as both an organizing force and as
a reassurance that Chronos would take care of it's own.
"Thank you, Your Excellency," the
Brelimos said, bowing with an expression of relieved gratitude
on his face. "There were also some odd reports of another
Zoaform that seemed to be commanding the Libertus. Something
like the Zoalords command us Zoanoids."
Shin, already heading for the Heliport,
nearly stopped dead in his tracks at that pronouncement. "What
did the reports say about this new Zoaform?"
"It was reported that this new Zoaform
was female, Your Excellency."
"Curious," Shin said, thinking back to
his encounter with Isis Mirabilis. He wondered what the girl
would be like, once she had been restored to consciousness by
Lord Alkanphel. "Will you accompany me to Washington to assess
the damages and oversee the repairs?"
"Yes, Excellency. I would be honored."
Nodding to himself, Shin kept walking.
This newest attack, lead as it was by what seemed to be the
Libertus' analogue to a Zoalord, was very troubling to him.
Also, there was the matter of Lord Imakarum's seeming suspicions
about the other members of the Zoalord Council. Shin was
starting to have his own suspicions about the three Zoalords who
had been gathered around what, if not for young Isis Mirabilis,
would have been Fried'rich's corpse.
They had seemed rather too eager to
dismiss the healing abilities that Isis Mirabilis had
demonstrated; too eager to let Fried'rich lay in the middle of
the street to die. Such was not the activity of a loyal Zoalord.
It was very worrisome to Shin; he would have to speak with
Fried'rich when he got the chance.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Hikari felt more than ready to leave her
resting-place; however, there was still the matter of her being
completely unable to move, a situation that she hated with a
fierce passion. She could not serve Lord Alkanphel while she was
incapacitated in this way; would not be able to fight by the
side of her counterpart if he needed her. It was most
aggravating, this weakness that she was subject to.
This strange feeling that I have,
what is it? Hikari wondered,
trying in vain to move her neck or open her eyes. The strange,
fragmented resonance that she felt, while it was somewhat
familiar to her in its intensity, was unlike anything that
Hikari had ever felt before.
What is this? This signal that is calling me, I think I
recognize it. Could it be him?
It was a plausible assumption, that Lord
Alkanphel would be calling to her even in this state. He had to
know that she was still aware, even in spite of her comatose
state. Imakarum seemed to know that fact, since he had been
speaking to her as if she were still awake. Her counterpart had
said that there were things, both good and ill, going on within
the ranks of the Twelve Zoalords.
Lords Luggnagg, Jabir and Kablarl had
evidently tried and failed to murder Lord Fried'rich. They would
no doubt be dealt with once Lord Alkanphel regained his full
strength. A sudden feeling of energy, as if all of her nerves
had been tapped with an electrified wire, surged through Hikari
then. There was a slight pain in every one of her muscles as
they were restored to mobility by the energy flowing into her.
As Hikari's body began to respond to her
commands again, she began to feel the bubbles of oxygen that
were sliding across her skin. There were more of them than she
had seen in a normal processing-tank, but that was most likely
because Lord Alkanphel's lifepod was being infused with energy.
Energy that Hikari was taking in and using to restore herself to
consciousness.
Even as more and more bubbles spiraled
up across her body, Hikari felt the lifepod shuddering as she
transformed into her larger, stronger battleform. Hikari's eyes
snapped open, she gasped for the oxygen that was being created
by the pod as her Zoacrystal and the clarity of thought that
came with it was restored at last. Hikari could see the cracks
forming in the skin of Lord Alkanphel's lifepod, and for a
moment she mourned its impending destruction.
Still, Hikari was far more eager to
leave this lonely island and rejoin the ranks of her fellow
Overlords than she was worried about the lifepod that she
currently resided in. It would most likely grow back anyway,
this being the remains of a living ship. As the lifepod burst
open, scattering the amniotic fluid and allowing her to step out
into the open air once more, Hikari breathed freely for the
first time in what felt like an eternity.
There was just one more thing that she
needed to do now; now that she was awake and in full control of
her body once again. Hikari could feel a strong, energetic
presence in the lower atmosphere. It felt almost like the Ark,
but that was not possible, since Lord Alkanphel had told her
that the Ark was gathering solar energy to sustain itself.
This part of the world was turned away
from the sun, and so the Ark would not have come to this part of
the world. It felt almost as if Lord Alkanphel was with her
again; his comforting presence surrounding her and infusing her
body with new life and energy. Hikari knew that her master had
little of that to spare, and so it was her duty to find him and
bring her master back to the sanctuary of his temple before his
remaining energy failed him.
Stepping out onto the remains of the
lifepod that Lord Alkanphel had set her in, Hikari noticed that
her body felt much more... exposed than it had when she had
originally stepped out of Lord Alkanphel's lifepod. looking
down, Hikari found that she had involuntarily returned to her
human form while she had been exiting the remains of Lord
Alkanphel's lifepod.
Of course, whether she was in her human
or Zoalord form was unimportant for the task that she had to
accomplish now. Crossing to the area where her clothes and armor
had been stored, Hikari swiftly began to dress, feeling Lord
Alkanphel's steadily declining energy levels even as she did.
Running out of the temple, Hikari leaped up and flew into the
sky.
As it turned out, Lord Alkanphel had
indeed taken the Ark from its position in the upper regions of
Earth's atmosphere. As Hikari flew up to meet Chronos' great
ship, she wondered what condition she would find Lord Alkanphel
in when she finally found him. She could sense that her Lord
still lived; he merely felt much weaker than she had ever sensed
him being before.
Landing aboard the Ark again, Hikari
swiftly made her way to the main control center of the living
ship. She found Lord Alkanphel at the controls of the Ark.
Slumped in the chair, rather, looking for all the world as if he
were merely asleep. The fact that her Lord's fingers were locked
in a death-grip around the control-orbs gave the lie to that
appearance, though.
Gently prying Lord Alkanphel's fingers
loose from the orbs, Hikari was rather surprised when her Lord's
golden eyes opened slightly and the fingers of his left hand
curled weakly around her right hand.
"Sayuri, you've awakened. Are you
feeling better?"
"Yes, my Lord, I am," here Hikari
paused, uncertain if she should be so presumptuous as to ask the
question that was on her mind. Still, she was very concerned for
her Lord's health. Perhaps it was not presumption, then? "Why
did you use the Ark on your own, my Lord? You had to know that
it would damage your health. You would have been slipping in and
out of consciousness all of the time that you were here; I do
not know what the other members of the Council would do if they
saw you in this state. Why would you try to do something like
this?"
To Hikari's eternal surprise, Lord
Alkanphel chuckled softly. "I could not allow you to remain in
that weak, injured state, my Sayuri. I would not have been able
to sleep comfortably if I knew that you were vulnerable. Masaki
would try to protect you, I think," Lord Alkanphel gently traced
her lower lip with the fingers of his right hand. "Still, I
would prefer that you are able to defend yourself if the need
arose, Sayuri."
"I thank you, Lord Alkanphel."
"I can rest now, knowing that you will
be able to protect yourself if any farther threats arise.
Please, Sayuri, take me back to my sanctuary on Silha."
"Yes, my Lord," Hikari bowed, before she
gently took Lord Alkanphel's body into her arms and cradled him.
Kissing the top of her Lord's head,
Hikari climbed back onto the platform that had taken her into
the main room of the Ark. Once she had made it back into the
main embarkation room of the great ship - Chronos' living
battle-equipped transport - Hikari stepped off of the platform
and leaped lightly into the air.
Surrounding herself with her forcefield,
Hikari flew back down into the atmosphere; back down to the
sanctuary of her Lord on the hidden island of Silha. The Ark
would presumably be returned to its place in orbit, gathering
energy for itself from the unfiltered solar power present in
outer space.
Hikari now knew just why Lord Alkanphel
had created the Ark; he wanted to find the Advents, the ones who
had created all life on this planet in the first place, to find
them and to demand an accounting for the abandonment and the
attempt at murder that he had suffered at their hands. Hikari
would make certain that her Lord was able to find the answers
that he deserved from the beings that had meant so much to him.
Settling Lord Alkanphel back into
his stone bed, Hikari stroked his pale hair for one final time
before she left the temple under her own power. There were many
things that she needed to do, now that she had been restored to
consciousness and full mobility.
Still...
Hikari shook her head; there was
no time for personal thoughts on this matter. What was important
were the goals and desires of Lord Alkanphel.
...still...
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Imakarum paused, looking up as he
felt the approach of another Zoalord; a Zoalord that felt
particularly familiar to him. A Zoalord that felt very much
like... Hikari!
Leaving his table in Cloud Gate's main
eating area, Imakarum swiftly made his way down into the main
concourse of Cloud Gate's ground level.
-My Lady, I am glad to know that you
have returned.-
-Thank you, my Lord,-
Hikari said, seeming slightly flustered and annoyed by
something.
-Are you not feeling completely well, my
Lady?-
-I am well, my Lord.-
And that was the last he heard
from Hikari. Hurrying down to Cloud Gate's ground level,
Imakarum soon came upon Hikari, and presumably upon the thing
that was distressing her.
Things, rather.
Lords Jabir and Luggnagg were gathered
around Hikari, Lord Jabir was hugging her. Hikari was stiff and
ridged within Lord Jabir's embrace, most likely because she was
not prepared for such an enthusiastic greeting from her fellow
Overlords.
"Lord Jabir," Hikari said, her voice and
posture both radiating discomfort. "I would appreciate it if you
would remove your hand from that area."
"In due time, my dear," Lord Jabir said,
even as he kissed Hikari on the left cheek and released her.
However, no sooner had Lord Jabir
released Hikari, than Lord Luggnagg stepped forward and wrapped
his own arms around her. For a moment, Hikari seemed more
relaxed, and then she tensed in the same manner that she had
when Lord Jabir had embraced her. Closing with them, even as
Lord Luggnagg kissed Hikari on the right cheek and released her
with his own words of welcome, Imakarum watched to see if hikari
would need his help.
"Lord Jabir, if you would-"
Before Hikari could finish her intended
sentence, Lord Jabir pressed her chestplate into her hands.
Hikari thanked him, then proceeded to reattach her armor. She
strode calmly over to him as Lords Jabir and Luggnagg left the
room.
"Was there something troubling you, my
Lady?" Imakarum asked.
"No, my Lord," Hikari shook her head.
"It was not anything important."
Nodding, trusting that Hikari would
inform him if there was a situation that she felt she could not
handle on her own, Imakarum proceeded to inform his counterpart
of the changes that had happened in Chronos while she had been
recovering. Especially a certain event that Imakarum was quite
certain would please her on various levels.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
As Kablarl herded Isis into the waiting
processing-tank, he had already had the girl stripped of her
clothes in preparation for this plan of theirs, he wondered just
how bad a reaction the girl's counterpart would have to seeing
her in this situation. There could be no doubt that the boy knew
what processing-tanks were used for, and to see his own
counterpart inside one...
Perhaps he would ask Jabir about the
boy's reaction; he was the one who would be controlling the
girl, after all.
Turning his attention back to Isis, now
sitting obediently in the tank and awaiting further
instructions, he ordered her to attach the medical monitors to
herself. Looking back up to the ceiling, where some of the
Zoanoids, under his command had placed the frozen form of Aptom,
Kablarl felt a sense of satisfaction. Looking back down at the
girl, Kablarl chuckled aloud.
There was simply no chance that Sho
Fukamachi would ever be able to resist this kind of bait.