The mountainous, snow-covered terrain
stared back at him as Agito Makashima attempted to regain his
bearings. He had no real idea how long he had been… indisposed,
trapped inside the cocoon that now sat placidly behind him,
standing even taller than he did at his full height, even if
only just. The reaction from his Guyver’s hyper-sensors pulled
Agito from pondering what to do with it.
The one that Fukamachi was doubtless
still inside.
Hiding himself with speed born of long
experience and aided by the Guyver, Agito decided to wait and
see just who had found him and Fukamachi in this isolated place.
"I still can’t believe we were
getting readings from this
abandoned snow-hole," a voice, obviously male and annoyed, piped
up.
"At least you have that nice,
shaggy fur coat. It’s not like the cold’s gonna get to
you
under all that."
"S’not my fault the docs figured you
were best suited to be a giant lizard."
Just then, the speakers came into view,
and Agito had to bite back an urge to start cursing in several
different languages. The foremost figure resembled nothing more
than a humanoid snow leopard, even down to the long, twitching
tail that hung poised just a few inches off of the ground and
helped to balance the creature when it was running at high
speeds. A white Chaltu—a Zoanoid.
Walking up beside him was a Gregole, the
most common type of Zoanoid in the Japan Section, and it did
indeed resemble a large, humanoid reptile of indeterminate
species. Once the Zoanoids—there were four of them—had
surrounded the cocoon, Agito had a moment to wonder just how one
of the brown Chaltu had managed to produce an actual whistle
with the mouthful of flesh-ripping teeth that all of its kind
were equipped with.
"All right, enough gawking," the white
Chaltu—evidently the leader of their group—said. "Dr. Balkus
says he wants this for study, and we all know that what Dr.
Balkus wants, Dr. Balkus gets."
The other three Zoanoids nodded quickly,
and the four of them crouched and lifted the cocoon up to their
shoulders.
"What the hell? How many
cinderblocks are in
this thing?" the Gregole demanded, sounding more annoyed.
"Wuss," one of the brown Chaltu said.
"Thing’s not that heavy."
The Gregole’s only response was a stream
of incoherent grumbling, and Agito, waiting until the Zoanoids
had passed out of earshot, moved away from the large boulder
that he had been hiding behind. It would be somewhat troublesome
for him to uncover the secrets of that cocoon now that Chronos
had managed to lay its hands on it, which was all very
aggravating, but the fact remained that those Zoanoids could
have very easily called for help.
And Agito had not been in the mood for a
confrontation.
There were other, more important things
that took precedence in the Dark Guyver’s mind. It would still
be possible for someone like him to recover the cocoon from
Chronos, even more so than normal, considering the forces he had
been gathering. Turning away from the empty area where the
cocoon had once stood, Agito activated his gravity controller
and flew stealthily away from the frozen mountains.
XxXxX
Perched on top of a fairly high wall,
the figure crouching in the shadows sniffed the air for signs of
his enemies. His long ears twitched, catching the sound of large
creatures coming his way, and their scents confirmed that they
were his enemies. Growling, he leapt down from the wall and
landed with a silence that belied his size.
The first of his opponents, a Gregole,
didn’t even see him coming, but the Gregole’s death alerted the
other Zoanoids to his presence, and he knew the battle was about
to get harder. Sinking his fangs into a Ramochis’ head, he used
his whiplike, bladed tail to slice the throat of another
Gregole. The three Zoanoids that he had killed dissolved
quickly, leaving their three comrades to face him.
"The hell?! You’re a—" A hand through
the Gregole’s throat shut him up.
The two remaining Zoanoids made a brief
attempt to escape, but he caught them quickly. Crushing both
their skulls in his fists, he lifted his long muzzle and sniffed
the air again, hoping that he wouldn’t have to fight any more
Zoanoids. This had been a good enough test of his abilities, and
there were more important things he had to do back home.
He almost laughed at himself then,
thinking of that place as his home. Still, it was the only
really place he could stay, especially now, and the fact
remained that he had someone waiting for him there. Without
looking back at the remains of the Zoanoids he’d fought, he
leapt lightly back up onto the wall and disappeared into the
darkness.