"So, I see now. By fusing your cells to
those of another organism and by absorbing the DNA of whatever
you manage to do so to, you create ever more powerful forms out
of the recorded DNA of whatever you fuse with," the pretty
Zoalord chuckled deep in his throat, definitely amused. "You’re
Hamilcal’s work, aren’t you? You certainly are the kind of
creature that he would try to make."
Aptom was seething by now; how
dare this bastard just dismiss him so casually. As if he was
some sort of toy, just something to be laughed off.
Laugh while you can, you blond son of
a bitch. I’ll be feasting on your remains soon enough,
Aptom thought with savage glee. Baring his teeth, Aptom snarled
at his tormentor.
"I’m afraid I can’t let you go so
easily, despite the fact that you are rather fascinating in and
of yourself. Hamilcal should have known better than to let a
dangerous, experimental creature like you run around loose."
When he saw the energy beginning
to collect just above the pretty Zoalord’s gloved palm, Aptom
had the feeling that he was going to have to regenerate yet
another body for himself. As the glowing, pulsing energy bomb
slammed into his midsection and obliterated most of Aptom’s main
body-mass there, Aptom felt his arms snap off of the ruined
remains of his shoulders. Aptom took a moment to be thankful
that he didn’t really need
to breathe anymore, since at the moment he wouldn’t have been
able to anyway.
Laying amid the destroyed remains
of his second body, Aptom swore internally as he heard Elegen
laughing at him. Lifting his head was an effort, but Aptom just
managed to do it in time to see the pretty blond Zoalord turn
and walk away. Well, that
didn’t go anything like I’d planned,
Aptom though sarcastically, since talking was pretty much out of
the question considering his currant lack of lungs.
But this wasn’t over yet, oh no. As
Aptom let his body parts dissolve into their component cells, he
headed for the three Zoanoid corpses that littered the ground
around him. They had just now started to decompose, so Aptom
knew that he would have to be fast if he wanted to create three
new bodies for himself instead of just one or two. Latching onto
the corpses with three separate pseudo-appendages, Aptom began
consuming the cells of the dead Zoanoids and replicating his own
cells to replace them.
It wouldn’t be long now…
XxXxX
Commander Gyou stepped off of the
elevator at the end of the underground levels that were
considered a part of Mt. Minakami. Everything below this level
was designated a part of Relics Point. As he passed the many
empty processing-tanks on this level, Gyou reflected that he
couldn’t have found a much better place for his second little
pet project. Very few of Dr. Balkus’ loyal scientists would be
seen in this area, since this was one of the older laboratories
and hence considered not as prestigious to work in.
Gyou didn’t know just how that line of
reasoning had come into effect, but he wasn’t one to question
something too much when it could be used to his advantage. There
were a few half-completed Zoanoids in the processing-tanks here,
but all of those were closer to the elevator then the area where
he had placed the Murakami boy. As Gyou passed the
processing-tanks, some of them even empty of processing fluid,
he wondered just what he would find when he saw the boy again.
By this time Gyou could see Dr.
Halverson, still faithfully at his post. It was not many
Zoalords who could command this kind of loyalty and respect from
the humans who reported to them. Though Gyou was irked to have
to admit that Dr. Balkus seemed to be able to inspire just that
kind of loyalty in his scientists as well. As Gyou made his way
still closer to where Dr. Halverson stood, he wondered just when
the doctor was going to notice him. The click of his footsteps
on the floor wasn’t that
quiet, after all. And even a human, with their admittedly
inferior senses, should be able to hear them by now.
"I’m very busy right now, Dr.
Sanderson," Dr. Halverson said, without looking over at who was
really standing next to him. "Thank you very much for the
coffee, but this part of the operation is very delicate and I
really can’t be distracted right now."
Gyou nodded to himself and remained
silent. Judging from the quick glimpse of the figure in the
processing-tank that he had gotten, Gyou was at least reasonably
sure that the end stages of the boy’s physical development had
been reached by this time. It would be quite a challenge for any
scientist to arrest that maturation before the boy’s
biostructure passed its peak of physical development and started
to decline. So in this case it would be prudent to show a little
more discretion than he was sometimes wont to.
Gyou could hear the clicking of keys on
the computer console that told him Dr. Halverson was indeed
working on arresting the boy’s maturation. Looking over at the
Murakami boy, Gyou had to admit that Dr. Halverson had done fine
work on him. He looked to be about twenty-five years old now,
the perfect age for someone to undergo Zoalord processing and
survive. Though Gyou remembered that he himself had been thirty
when Dr. Balkus had put him though that process.
As the clicking of keys and the punching
of buttons came to an end, Gyou turned his attention back to Dr.
Halverson.
"Now, what was it that you…"
Gyou firmly quashed his urge to chuckle,
and instead turned an appraising look on both Dr. Halverson and
the console in front of him.
"I take it that the preliminary stages
of our little project have been completed satisfactorily,
doctor?"
"Yes sir, Commander Gyou," Dr. Halverson
nodded. "I would say that it is safe to say that this… project
is ready to be moved into the second stage."
"Good," Gyou nodded, pleased with Dr.
Halverson’s progress so far.
Walking over to the processing-tank that
held Murakami’s son in a sleep-like state of stasis, Gyou laid
his hand against the Plexiglas of the processing-tank’s shell.
He didn’t really know or care anymore just what a human would be
able to see, through the mild distortion of the processing
fluid, but Gyou could see the Murakami boy’s new form perfectly.
The boy was now just as tall and muscular as his annoying
father, but the facial features were subtly different.
The boy’s jawline was much smoother and
more rounded than his father’s, making the head itself a bit
more egg-shaped. Gyou, who had always had an eye for physical
beauty, noticed that the younger Murakami’s chin was also
slightly more pointed than his father’s. The hair-color was
identical of course, as it had been even when the boy was small.
But the hair itself would now have fallen to just above the
center of the shoulder blades if it hadn’t been floating in the
processing fluid. The face itself was just a shade narrower than
his father’s was, and the cheekbones higher and more
delicate-looking.
As Gyou moved his hand to rest on the
area where the Murakami boy’s lips would have been if he was
outside of the processing-tank rather than inside it, he
reflected on the last of the physical changes that he had
noticed. The fuller lips, added to the other features, did
almost make him look feminine. But as far as Gyou was concerned,
the boy’s new appearance could easily be used to his own
advantage. After all, many of the other people who worked for
Chronos tended to associate physical beauty with weakness.
Of course those few who had had the
severe misfortune to mention that opinion to Rienzi, Caerleon,
or Purg’stall tended to die quickly. Perhaps in time the rest of
the Chronos staff, what was left of them after those loyal to
the old order had been purged, would learn not to underestimate
the boy.
"How would you like to proceed from this
point, Commander?" Dr. Halverson asked. "There are some basic
Zoalord designs that I could probably adapt to suit his form."
"No," Gyou shook his head, firmly
dismissing the idea.
"What did you have in mind then,
Commander?" Dr. Halverson asked. "Are you going to get Dr.
Balkus to design his form for you?"
At that suggestion, Gyou couldn’t help
but laugh. "Of course not," he managed to get out. Then, when he
had finally regained his composure, Gyou elaborated. "I said
that I wanted to have this done quietly."
"I see," Dr. Halverson nodded
calmly. "I suppose that it
would defeat the whole purpose
of keeping this boy’s existence a secret if you asked Dr. Balkus
to create his Zoalord form. But then, who are you going to have
develop it for you?"
"I think I will take that task for
myself," Gyou said calmly. "I have a few ideas in mind."
"You, sir? But have you ever designed a
Zoalord? I thought you had only designed Zoanoids in the past,"
Dr. Halverson said.
"I think I will be able to handle this,"
Gyou gave Dr. Halverson a sidelong smile. "I thank you for all
the work you have done on this project so far."
Gyou turned away from the
processing-tank, heading back to the elevator. He was already
starting to consider just what the boy’s Zoalord form would look
like. Oh he had already had a few ideas on that front, but
seeing the Murakami boy’s fully developed form had been
interesting if nothing else. And at least it had given him
something else to work with.
Now, all that remained was to begin the
second stage of his plan. Gyou laughed to himself, with both the
Unit Remover and Murakami’s son, Alkanphel and all of the others
who were a part of the old order would be all the more easily
eliminated.