Chronicles of the Warrior Guyver
Disclaimer	The Warrior Guyver Fan Fiction is based on characters created by Yoshiki Takaya and contains violent situations with adult language. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is unintentional and purely coincidental.
Title	Chapter 7: Union of the Guyvers - Part 2
Original Story	Brian O'Sullivan
Rewrite	Michael Cox
Edited	James Diaz
E-Mail Address	CyberGusa@hotmail.com

Sho clenched his hand into a fist under the table and gathered what shreds remained of his patience. “As I have said before, I have been a Guyver for-“

“About two years now, yes, you’ve said that already.” His liaison, though maybe interrogator was a better term, had a gruff, gravelly voice. And also the capacity to make every single syllable he spoke sounds unbelieving. “The problem is we’ve never even heard of you before and now you just conveniently show up at our doorstep just as this so called War Relic is discovered by Chronos.”

Sean turned away from the one-way mirror in disgust. Silently he left the packed observation bay and headed towards the commissary to find some coffee.

He turned to see Jason extricating himself from the bigwigs as well. Together they made their way down to the mostly empty cafeteria on the next floor. Jason grabbed a carafe for them both as Sean found prepackaged Danish that tasted bad enough to be a strategic weapon of deterrence. However the coffee was black and hot and managed to wash the taste out of his mouth.

“You know Jason; I’m really surprised Sho has managed to sit there as long as he has. If it was me, I’d have been busting up the place by now.” Sean managed to tamp down his irritation enough to keep the conversation civil, knowing that Jason had no say in what was standard operating procedure these days.

“I know Sean, and by the look on his face that may indeed be what he ends up doing. I wish things were different. But you’re going to have to be ready to help contain him if things get out of hand in there. We just have to be sure of his intentions and unfortunately this is the only way we can do it in a hurry. And if he’s right about his War Relic then we need to get moving like yesterday.” Jason sighed and shrugged noncommittally. “It’s not the warmest of welcomes, I know. But it’s the safest one.”

“But all he really wants is my help.” Sean said; clearly frustrated by the situation.

“All the more reason to be sure of his intentions, losing you will all but cost us the war.”

“So was Crane, Sean we just have to be sure.” Jason sighed again, “Besides it should be over soon any-“

Yells from the hallway brought them both to their feet, coffee forgotten as they bolted for the door. The hallway was full of people, both military and a few civilians who were brought to a halt by the same shouts that had alerted the two of them. The commotion echoed out of the doorway leading to the stairs. A moment later Sho stormed out of the stairwell and headed away from them. Sean almost called out to him, but hadn’t done more than draw a breath when two armored MP’s burst from the stairwell in pursuit.

“Sir! You must return to the debriefing room!” One of them spoke with a dangerous and forceful tone as the other mumbled into a shoulder radio mike.

“I’ve had it with your debriefings! I’ve had it with your insinuations! I’ve had it with you all!” Sho didn’t even look back as he ignored the weapons pointed not quite at him, but not quite away either. He was however, brought to a halt by the three other marines that suddenly rounded the corner down the hall and blocked his progress.

He remained silent for a moment as he studied the men in front of him. “Get out of my way.” The words were spoken near tonelessly, and with a sense of quiet menace behind them that made the hairs on the back of Sean’s neck stand on end. He started forward. He had to stop this!

A hand closed on his shoulder and pulled him back. The Major who had been interrogating Sho pulled him back and shook his head. His warning glare silently took in both Sean and Jason that they were not to interfere with this. Jason took Sean’s other shoulder and pulled him back another step, motioning for him to be quiet. The look in the agent’s eyes was suddenly guarded and unreadable.

“We can’t do that Sir. Our orders are that you are to be detained until you can be ascertained to be no threat to us.” The marines all went to a higher degree of readiness, weapons brought to the ready, though not yet trained on their target. “Please return to the debriefing room, otherwise we are authorized to use force!”

Sho stepped to the middle of the hallway. The set of his shoulders was that of extreme fury yet his voice, if anything, grew even icier. “Are you people crazy, you do realize I’m a Guyver!?... Fine then your job is done! I’m possibly the greatest threat on this continent right now if you don’t get out of my way! If I’m going to be treated like an enemy, then I’ll have no compunction in defending myself. So your force better be greater than mine, because if you’re not going to take the current threat seriously, then I have to get back to those who will!”

The marines came to full alert, weapons now trained on their target. Sho tensed, ready for instant action.

And then a voice, speaking in fluent Japanese brought Sho around in surprise. The Major that had been questioning him stepped forward, waving the marines to stand down as he continued to speak gravely to the young Japanese man. Sho’s eyes narrowed as he responded shortly in the same language.

Sean had no idea what was being said, but after a few moments of tense discussion he watched Sho slowly begin to relax. The Major then surprised both Sean and Sho by offering a proper Japanese bow of respect before turning, and without another word, departed along with the guards. The other people quietly and quickly dispersed as well, leaving Sho, Sean and Jason as the only occupants of the hall.

“Well Sho, I have both apologies and congratulations to offer I guess.” Jason said as he stepped forward to offer his hand, “Apologies that we had to push you so far and congratulations that you passed the test.”

Jason turned to glance at his friend, and grinned at his expression, “Yes, test… and I’m just glad it worked, considering we had no procedure concerning vetting any Guyvers that suddenly appears. The General made the decision to continue as I had started and see how you reacted. It was a risk but we surmised that a quisling would try to alter his story to be more palatable instead of sticking with it in the face of such suspicion.” He brought his attention back to Sho, still offering his hand.

“You stuck to your story, even when it might have hurt your case. And even when mad enough to scare the crap out of hardened marines, you didn’t really try to harm anyone. Those two points do a lot to reassure us. Again, my apologies, but we had to be sure. And if you’re right about that War Relic we had to be sure fast and this was the quickest way. No hard feelings I hope?”

Sho remained unresponsive for a moment longer, before with a sigh of released breath he took the offered hand. “No, no hard feelings… if I were in your position, I’d probably have had to do the same thing.” He smiled, tight and humorlessly, but it was a start. Jason smiled back and shook hands firmly.

“Welcome to the ACTF Sho, I’m Jason O’Conner. You already know Sean. Since I serve as Liaison between the military and our… Guyver ally, it was decided that I’d serve as yours as well. I’m sure you must have questions, I’ll answer all I can.” He gestured back towards the cafeteria, and ushered his charges, old and new, to the table that they had hastily vacated moments before.

The day was incongruously bright and unseasonably warm as the ACTF finished pulling out of the burned out remains of the facility. The Zoanoid attack had caused too much damage for their limited resources to repair. Also, with the final security checks of the old Chronos facility in Washington DC completed, it was determined to be strategically sound to occupy the facility as being more defensible then the current military bases.

So it was that Sho and Sean watched as the last transport rumbled out the abandoned gate, and they were alone.

“Why exactly are we here, Sho?” Sean asked, “I mean… you said we we’re going to do some sparring, but why did we need an empty base to do that?”

Sho smiled tightly, “There’s a lot more to the Guyver than you think. That’s why we need space. From what you’ve told me, you know about the mega smashers, the vibration blades, and the head laser. But you didn’t know what I meant by pressure cannon or sonic busters. So, we’re here to teach you what you’re missing. Besides it will take a few days for your ACTF to prepare a strike team strong enough to help us go after the War Relic. So it’s best we use the time to help hone your skills for the battle we’re sure to face, otherwise you might not survive your next encounter with a hyper zoanoid.”

Sean nodded in silent agreement, knowing from Sho that the Zerebubuth that had nearly killed him wasn’t even the most dangerous of the Hyper Zoanoids. The two Guyvers then moved apart before activating their units... It was strange for them both when they summoned their units. The twin blast fields revealing similar Guyvers. While both blue, there were a few noticeable differences. Sean was more mottled in shade, his unit seeming more organic than Sho’s, which had cleaner, more defined curves, and was a solid smooth blue.

Sho chuckled, nodding. < It’s me Sean; we can communicate telepathically through the organisms on our backs. >

< This is so weird! Can you hear me? > Sean’s mind voice was tentative but clear.

< I can indeed; this is how I keep in touch with Agito even from this distance. You may not be able to contact him yet, you two haven’t met. But now we’ll be able to keep in touch regardless of distance. >

Sean grinned under his armor, < I talked with a Relic once; it seemed to understand me, is this something similar? >

< Yes, though Relics communicate directly with your control medal. You’ll have to tell me how you ran into a Relic, but that’s for later. Right now, let’s see what else you can do. >

To Sean’s amazement, the other Guyver then floated as casually as could be into the air. “You can fly!?”

< So can you Sean, the orb at your waist controls gravitational forces. Focus on it and think about going up. >

Sean hesitated for a moment before doing as he was told. He twitched as he felt his feet leave the ground and lost his concentration, dropping back to the tarmac. Staggering forward as he tried to right himself, he felt his face warm with embarrassment. Concentrating again, he lifted from the ground, this time maintaining it as he began to grin under his armor.

Sho laughed as the dark blur that was Sean shot upwards passed him at speed. Still chuckling he took off in pursuit. < Well, a game of tag then? > He felt Sean’s elation as an almost palpable thing, and found that he partly shared it. He’d never been able to just fly. And it struck him what an enjoyable thing it was as he spiraled up around Sean into the clear sky. To the left, the Atlantic sparkled in the sun, while all around the vast countryside of New England grew smaller beneath them. They engaged in a playful game of cat and mouse, Sho being the prey as they tore across the sky at ever increasing speed.

Into this Sho began to inject martial arts, as it slowly became more of an aerial sparring match. His impression of Sean’s skills was that they were decent, if unimaginative. Still Sean had quickly become mobile enough to keep himself in one piece once Sho stopped holding his punches. He still had Sean heavily on the defensive when suddenly a vibration blade whined through the air. He dropped back as Sean completed the defensive slash, panting for breath under his armor.

Sho kept his distance, as he made sure he hadn’t been hit. < I still seem to be in one piece, no damage, > He replied wryly.

Sho nodded and signaled for them to land, dropping back towards the landing field. < Don’t worry about it Sean. The Guyver has a certain amount of defensive reflex. I think you were probably a little panicked trying to keep up with my attack and it reacted by activating the weapon automatically. >

Sean touched down a few dozen yards away. < Well, that makes sense, but I could have decapitated you! >

Sho grinned and extended his own blades before he sprinted directly for the other Guyver. < Let’s see! > He called mentally as the distance between him and Sean disappeared. Sean recovered quickly, his other blade extending as they met in a clash of sonic shrieks.

Their battle grew fierce and Sho marveled at Sean’s ability with the blades. He was quick! Coming out with whirling attacks and slashes that Sho was hard pressed to block or avoid. Soon he was panting for breath as he swept Sean’s feet out from under him and dodged back. Sean regained his feet and charged, Sho setting himself for the attack. He dodged the blade that whistled in at his chest.

He grunted as he felt a knee slam into his gut, lifting his feet off of the ground. He sensed the blade coming before he saw it and twisted nimbly aside as it scythed through the space he had just occupied. The blow he landed in the meantime was a lot more solid, the edge of his hand slamming into Sean’s throat. He had the satisfaction of hearing the American gurgle in surprise as Sho’s arm snaked in to wrap around his neck.

Sho heaved, bracing himself as his strength pulled the other Guyver off his feet, flipping him up and over in a carefully balanced throw that flung him down in a heap. Sean tried to roll with the impact and ended up crouched on one knee, panting for breath, poised for defense from any further attack.

But there was no other incoming assault. Sho stood panting as well, feeling quite a few slashes to his armor twinge as they slowly healed. < Time for a breather Sean. . . But wow, you’re good with the swords. Don’t retract your armor; little exertions like this won’t tire you for long. > He watched as Sean relaxed and began to laugh between breaths.

< Well, you’re a lot tougher to hit than anyone I’ve fought before… I mean, Hell! A Guyver Zoanoid wasn’t as hard! >

Sho straightened, “A Guyver Zoanoid? Chronos has a Guyver? And it’s a Zoanoid!”

Sean shook his hand and brushed aside Sho’s sudden concern with a wave. “Nah, they don’t have it anymore... I killed Crane when I kept that relic out of Chronos’ hands. Mega smashed his ass through a mountain, deactivated his control medal and buried it under a couple thousand tons of rubble when I freed the relic.”

Sean stood up and moved to sit against a convenient pile of rubble. “So, how many Guyvers are there?”

Sho came over to stand beside him. It felt so weird to hold a casual conversation in his armor, almost surreal. “Mine was the first unit activated in Japan, as such my codename is Guyver 1. Guyver 2 was an agent for Chronos, and I killed him. Guyver 3 is Agito, who is keeping things going in Japan. Other than that, we know of no other units, save for yours, and as you say, the dead Guyver Zoanoid. Which reminds me, what do you call yourself?”

Sho grinned, such an amusing and thoroughly American response that. “Well, we can’t really call you ‘Sean Barker’ going into battle! You’re a relative unknown, and should stay that way. So, what’s your code name? Guyver 0? Since you’re apparently a little ‘older’ than me? Guyver 4? What do you want to call yourself?”

Sean nodded and leaned back, apparently mulling it over. Then he began to chuckle. “Well, since I’m the only Guyver in the States... Call me Guyver US.”

Sho laughed a weirdly distorted sound through his armor. “Well then, Guyver US. Let’s see what else you can do!”

They continued sparring for most of the afternoon. Sean proved passably adept with the pressure cannon, once he knew how to control it. Though he had difficulty concentrating enough to fly and use it at the same time. He excelled with the sonic busters, and Sho privately thought he might have a greater attack radius with the weapon than he or Guyver 3 did. He surmised that the smaller orbs on either side of Sean’s mouth might be secondary sonic emitters. He found the change from the norm intriguing, much like Agito’s additional blades.

It was shading towards evening when they rested, deactivating their armor for a true breather. Sho told most of his own story, and in return Sean had told him his. Sean had grown increasingly quiet during the last hour, as if coming to some important decision.

Sean remained silent a moment before finally he sighed. “It’s about Cori… She’s way up in the mountains and considering the news you brought; I probably won’t get a chance to see her again for a while. I was wondering… do you think you could cover for me, back at base I mean?”

Sho considered this… and part of him was amused by the way Sean squirmed. But he was too fair-minded to prolong it more then necessary. “How far away is she?” He asked finally.

Sean relaxed a little. “She’s up in the Pocono’s in Northern Pennsylvania, a little over 200 miles away.”

Sho smiled, the soft urgency in Sean’s voice was touching. And in the end, who would it hurt? “You can be there in about an hour then. I’ll keep in touch if we have any problems tonight… and if anything and I mean anything goes wrong, you’ll better be calling me immediately. Agreed?”

Sean readily agreed, having been steeling himself for another ‘it’s really not advisable’ response, just like he got from everyone else. “Thanks Sho… I owe you one for this.”

Sho chuckled as he stood and moved away from the pile of rubble. “I’m sure you’ll repay it soon enough. GUYVER! Now get out of here, though try and be back early enough to avoid awkward questions. I’d rather not end up on the receiving end of a gun again for this.”

The humming crackle of the blast field and the distortion of his unit didn’t mask his words as he slowly lifted off. Behind him, a second flash and crack was followed by the receding presence of Guyver US as he flew off to the North. Guyver 1 returned to the main ACTF base, wondering what Cori was like, and thinking privately, deep inside where no one else could possibly hear, of Mitzuki.

He knew he loved her. He’d had a crush on her, an infatuation, all through school. Her brother had seen right through him of course. Tetsuro had teased him mercilessly about it, but had never tried to put him off; maybe thinking they were a good pair.

Everything had changed when he found the Guyver unit. Suddenly it was as if he wasn’t entirely human anymore. And he killed. He had to, he never wanted to…but he was a killer nonetheless.

He squeezed his eyes shut against the burning tears. And his dream of him and Mitzuki ever sharing a life together had had to die. And as Chronos became more and more powerful, he had tried to divorce their lives from each other, tried to get away from her, to protect her from what he was.

But however he tried, whatever he did, Fate kept throwing them back together, and he was forced to fight to defend her. And in the end, if he ever admitted it to himself, that was the only reason he fought. That was the world he fought for… not for himself, he had already seen too much bloodshed, a lot of it shed by his own hands. He wanted it for Mitzuki, Sweet, innocent, utterly beautiful Mitzuki. He fought to create a world in which she would be safe, and happy. It was the only gift he could hope to give her now.

And he would not rest until that world existed, or he was dead. That was the legacy of the Guyver, unrelenting, no quarter asked or given.

Onward Guyver 1 flew, his resolve hardening again, his momentary weakness bottled up again behind it along with the battered soul of one Sho Fukamachi. Chronos or him, one would die, so the other’s dreams might live…

Jason was not happy with Sho’s explanation of why he returned without Sean. If truth be told, the thought of Sean out there alone brought him close to panic. What if there were more of these so-called hyper-zoanoids out there, just waiting for him?!

Sho had eyed him with something of a blend of amusement and annoyance. What zoanoid could catch a Guyver traveling at close to 300 miles per hour? A Zoalord perhaps, but Zoalords never fronted attacks if they could help it. And they were seemingly not overly concerned with the relatively minor annoyance posed by the ACTF, focused as they were on excavating the War relic they had found. And since Sean had never manifested flight powers before, who would ever be looking ‘up’ for him?

All these were valid points, but it annoyed Jason even more. Part of it was his own stubbornness he knew. But he had worked closely with Sean for months now, and he felt somewhat betrayed that Sean hadn’t thought to check with him about this.

Then Sho had outguessed him again and swept his feet out from under him, figuratively speaking. “Would you have let him go if he’d asked?” The younger man had asked point blank. “Or would there have been a lot of evasions and delays, and general ‘if you sit up and eat your peas’ type statements?” Sho had retorted tartly.

Jason resented the sarcasm, but couldn’t help but see the point. Sean was an important individual, but he was also human under all that armor, with a human’s needs. Grudgingly he lost the argument as gracefully as he could.

Sho returned to his assigned quarters, to find an unexpected gift awaiting him. There was no name on the small packet, but it did have a hand written note attached. Opening the package, he was surprised to find a small pouch of green tea leaves, and the familiar scent of Japanese Sencha. He blinked in surprise, curbing his delight as he opened the note. Printed neatly in Japanese was the inscription. ‘For those who do not drink coffee, army bases are dull places.’

Sho found himself grinning as he breathed in the fragrant scent. He had not had a decent cup of tea since coming to this country. He was somewhat startled by how much he found he missed it. How much he missed home. Closing the little packet again, he slipped it into his pocket as he left the room in search of the cafeteria.

Sho sipped at his tea, the taste was still off. These Americans seemed to enjoy only scalding hot, or ice cold beverages! It had taken him awhile to get the temperature he preferred. And a Styrofoam cup only added to the grievance! Still, it was better than nothing and it tasted so good after a long deprivation. He briefly considered attempting to make another cup before a soldier with the rank insignia of Corporal walked up beside his table.

“Can I help you?” Sho asked noncommittally as the soldier saluted smartly. This corporal looked vaguely familiar somehow. His uniform was freshly pressed, the creases looking sharp enough to cut. Grey eyes piercing in their clarity below a newly shaved military haircut, the edges still razor fine. He smiled.

“You already did, my friend.” He dropped onto the table a roll of harness from which the familiar stock of the Zoanoid Buster protruded. “You got us out of a very tight scrape… and I just wanted to thank you for it.”

Sho just stared at the harness, and then up at the man who when last they had met, sported an outrageous Mohawk. The soldier noticed the direction of his gaze and raised a hand to brush over the short bristle of hair still on his head. “Yeah, that was one of the most annoying disguises I’ve ever tried! And in the end, I needn’t have bothered.” He then held out his hand in a civilian handshake.

Sho accepted the offered hand, and the strong grip of the shake. He smiled with genuine pleasure. “Sho Fukamachi, Japanese Resistance.” He replied. He had the pleasure of seeing the officer blink in confusion.

Sho smiled as he began straightening out the harness, checking over the weapon. “No, I’m not.” He was surprised at the condition of the Zoanoid Buster. Despite its heavy use, at least four more shells than he had fired were missing, it was pristine. He glanced up at the Corporal, arching an eyebrow.

The soldier smiled and shrugged. “It’s a habit, I’m a bit OCD, and so I always clean the weapons I use. And may I say that is one fine piece of craftsmanship. I’ve never seen anything like it, even if it does kick like a mule!” Jeff gestured to the seat opposite to Sho, “Mind if I join you for awhile before I have to report?”

They spent another quarter of an hour catching up on events after they had separated. The Corporal had managed to keep the group together and moving. Despite their ragtag looks, they were all highly trained soldiers and had managed to make it to one of the ACTF’s forward sentry posts fairly quickly. It was here that Chronos finally caught up with them and they had helped repel a zoanoid assault force.

Jeff was full of praise for the Zoa-buster. Citing it as the reason they were still breathing. There had been another hyper zoanoid in the attack. From the description it sounded like a Thancrus type. It was busy slicing up an ACTF armored soldier when he blew it away from behind with a well-aimed headshot. The story was a good telling, and it held Sho’s interest because the description was so different to his own experiences. He was realizing just how much trouble even these primitive zoanoids were to normal humans.

Soon enough, Jeff had to report for duty. And Sho, growing tired after the long day, headed to his room. The Zoanoid Buster was snug back into its velvet case until needed as Sho collapsed onto the bed with a sigh, and sank into much needed sleep. He managed to get a reasonably good rest before a marine banging on the door jolted him upright in bed…

Sean shot through the deepening dusk, the wind whistling around him as he skimmed the tops of trees. God! To be flying! He had never thought it possible to experience one’s childhood fantasies. But this was definitely one of them come true! As he traveled he experimented with his mobility, learning how to ‘push’ to change direction. He streaked into a sharp ascent, climbing high into the atmosphere with a crow of exhilaration.

As he leveled out at a couple thousand feet up, he gazed down on the countryside beneath him. Okay, he recognized the road and a few of the landmarks that led to the tiny hiking trail. And the trail went a good 2 or 3 miles up into the hills. He grinned as he got his bearings, dropping rapidly towards the ground as he recognized the little clearing he was looking for.

He took the landing at speed, letting his legs flex to take the impact even as the ground compressed beneath his feet. His hyper sensors came alive with warning as he sensed weapons pointed in his direction.

Four hidden turrets popped out of the ground with auto aiming chain-guns around the cabin’s perimeter, with two quickly locking on his position. This was quickly followed by the appearance of four marines who quickly came into view from their hiding places. One of them carried a M1014 Combat Shotgun; two carried M4A1 Carbine assault riffles equipped with 203 40mm grenade launchers, while the fourth toted a SMAW (Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon) anti-armor rocket launcher. One look at the arsenal pointed at him made Sean’s skin prickle. He had no doubt that that sort of ordnance could damage even him.

“It’s alright! It’s Sean!” Someone from within the cabin yelled to the marines.

A moment later the chain-gun turrets deactivated and returned to their hidden positions. The other marines quickly followed suit and lowered their weapons.

Another Marine soon stepped out of the cabin and yelled, “Sean! When did you become Superman, huh?” It was the same voice that had spoken before and Sean couldn’t help but grin.

“My first day doing it Jake, man… some things have changed since last we had contact!” He closed his eyes, and willed his armor away. Feeling it peeling away, vanishing back into wherever it went when not in use. When Sean opened his eyes, it was just in time for him to set himself ready for the impact.

Cori seemed to almost launch off the rickety porch, the force of her pounce nearly knocking him off his feet, her arms nearly squeezing his breath away. And the rest of the world fled as he lost himself in the feel of her in his arms, his face buried in her hair as he held her just as tight. “Hi.” He murmured quietly.

“Hi stranger,” She murmured back, and he could tell in her voice she was smiling as she said it. “So what’s a guy like you doing out in these boonies?”

He grinned as he kissed her forehead. “Looking for a girl like you, of course,” He glanced over the top of her head and gave Jake a glare for the sappy smile on his face. The marine backed away, hands raised to fend that glare off, though the boyish grin didn’t dissipate one bit.

Cori seemed to remember they weren’t alone either and reluctantly let him go, throwing a glare of her own at the marines who, shouldering their weapons, headed back around the corner of the cabin whistling innocently.

Everything was better up here he mused over dinner, the air, the food, most definitely the company. Cori was telling him all about her work. The research she was doing on artifacts taken from the caves surrounding the relic they had encountered. As his eyes slowly glazed over she gave him an annoyed look. “Are you even listening to me?”

“No, I was looking at you.” He replied, enjoying the sudden delicate flush that crept over her cheeks. He grinned, his egghead of a girlfriend sometimes forgot how drop-dead gorgeous she was. Even in a rustic setting like the cabin, wearing old clothes and no makeup.

“Oh you!” She turned away, not hiding the pleased smile very well. Sean had discovered early on how useful a properly timed complement could be. Washing up from dinner took a minimum of fuss and the crackling of the fire provided the only sound, as Cori lay snuggled against him on the couch. His arms kept her close against him as he nuzzled at the side of her neck.

Sean slipped away from Cori’s sleeping form, tucking the covers around her to keep off the chill. He wished he could stay longer but he knew Sho had probably taken some heat for letting him go in the first place, and he didn’t want to abuse that. He paused as he dressed; taking a moment to just watch Cori as she slept on.

He had told her everything; even those things that he knew would have made Jason rail at him about national security and the need for secrecy. But he had always talked things out with Cori. She was a good sounding board and her insight was oft times able to nudge him back onto the right line of thought if he was too wrapped up in being disgruntled.

This time, she totally agreed with him that he needed to go help Sho, but he had tripped off the argument when he flatly refused her desire to come as well. It wasn’t much of a fight; she had always been able to out-debate him. And she had some very valid points; very few people had her understanding of her father’s work.

Marcus Edwards had been a Chronos Archeologist, and a Zoanoid. But beyond that he had been one of the foremost archeologists on what were now known as Creator artifacts. His notes and journals had provided insight into Creator-era humanity. His work had been scoffed at in mainstream archeology circles. He had been considered a publicity hound and crank. But in the end, the truth turned out to be even more disturbing then he ever made it out to be.

Sean slipped out of the bedroom and crept silently to the door. Marcus had been killed trying to protect his daughter from the Zoanoid Crane. Defying his ‘masters’ at the last, to save his ‘little girl’. Sean honored the man’s memory, and had finally had to capitulate enough to agree to bring up the subject of Cori’s inclusion in the mission with General Carter.

He stepped out onto the porch, waving off the guard who appeared to check on the movement. It was the darkest part of night, right before dawn came and he shivered at the chill breeze, his breath fogging. The flash of his unit activating was brief, and hopefully would not wake Cori as he waved to the marines that had come to watch him leave. They saluted smartly, and Sean felt a wry amusement at the accolade. He was a civilian as such they didn’t have to salute.

Quickly he took off, rising up into the overcast blackness of the night sky. The weather was growing chancy, and it looked like perhaps snow would be coming at last he mused. And then Sho replied, and his attention was diverted to things much more important.

< They’ve found a Chronos base; they think it’s the one that fielded the force that attacked the test facility. It’s located downtown in a city named Boston. Do you know it? >

Guyver US increased his speed as he adjusted his course. < Yeah, Boston, Massachusetts, right? >

< That is correct; I’m going with the ground force since I don’t know the way. They’re arranging a full out assault, now that they have a larger force of Blue armors. But they want us to run point. Our ETA is about an hour and a half. Can you meet us there? >

< I’m on my way Sho. Let me know once you get there, I can use you as a reference point to find you. >

He heard Sho’s chuckle even through his mind voice. < You’ve got it, Guyver US. >

Back at the cabin, the guards remained on duty. Unaware that Sean was off to do battle. It was about an hour later when Cori was jolted awake by gunfire and the explosion of a rocket. The bass thrum reports of automatic turret chain-gun weapons and the high rapid reports of machine guns firing at full speed. She felt next to her, and the place where Sean had laid wasn’t warm anymore. He must have left, she realized as she fumbled for her clothes.

Dressing hurriedly she secured the handgun that was kept in her nightstand. Not that she knew more then how to point and shoot, but she did manage not to shoot Jake when he barreled into the room to get her.

“I don’t know what it is, Ms. Edwards. But nothing we throw at it seems to be stopping it. We’ve gotta get you out of here!” He said as he shifted his shotgun to cover the door as suddenly the windows exploded inward. Both instinctively dived to the floor, as suddenly the roar of the chain-guns fell silent. A second later they heard a piercing scream from somewhere outside. Other small arms could still be heard firing sporadically. “Damn it must have got Marks and taken out the perimeter defense guns, quick out the back!” He managed to take a single step before a narrow beam of green light blasted through the side of the cabin, burning through his shoulder and throwing him to the ground. His grunt of pain was swallowed by the sudden loud crackle of a fire starting inside the cabin.

Cori tried to pull him back to his feet as a huge crimson creature loomed in the fire lit doorway. The soldier shoved her back towards the back door as he tried to crawl away from the menacing form. The massive creature strode into the cabin as smoke belched out the doorway it had entered from. An inhuman high-pitched series of almost insectoid sounds came from it as it stalked towards them.

“Go! Get out!” Jake screamed as he rolled onto his back, his one arm useless, covered in blood from the gaping hole in his body armor, though most of the wound had been cauterized by the intense heat of the laser. He growled in pain, bracing the shotgun against his good shoulder as he pointed it at the monster. “You want some of this, hotshot!? Come get some!”

Cori was outside and running when she heard the crash of the shotgun, once, twice, three times… and then an all too human scream. She had just time to register a red blur of motion before she tripped over something in the darkness. She put her hands out to cushion the fall and felt them sink into something soft, and warm, and… and wet. She stared at her hands, in shocked horror. The dark wetness that covered them making her skin crawl as the fire in the cabin leapt high enough to illuminate the ground in front of her.

She struggled back and let out a sobbing shriek as she got a good look at what she had tripped over. It was Marks’ body, torn to pieces, his blood seeping into the frozen ground. She blinked her vision clear of tears as she tried to run, only to be blocked by a large dark shape.

“Ms. Edwards!” She almost wept in relief as the spotlights on the red armored figure flared to life. “Get out of the way!” She dropped to the ground as the armored form trained its weapon on the cabin. This model was armed with the usual auto gun, but currently the weapon was deactivated. Instead it held over its shoulder what looked to be a modified tank barrel! Its hard pounding tread shaking the ground as the soldier moved warily towards the cabin "Is anyone still alive?” The voice coming from the P.A. was wary, and shaken.

Cori tried to find her voice, but she was hyperventilating too hard to speak. She turned to watch as the soldier strode toward the now freely burning structure. Then movement caught her eye as a dark hulk burst out through the side of the cabin, in the smoke and backlight of the fire, she couldn’t make it out too well.

The blast of sound was like a physical blow as the tank gun fired, shaking the dirt. The creature braced for the attack, but the force of the projectile blew it backwards into the burning cabin. The armored marine dropped the smoking cannon and activated his auto gun. The rapid clatter of high velocity slugs from the flashing muzzle tore into the cabin blowing through wood and brick like cheese as the roof, bereft of too many support beams, sagged slowly inward with a groaning crash. The flashes of the weapon lit everything in a surreal strobe yellow as he continued firing into the wreckage.

The weapon fell silent, still smoking as the marine watched the rubble warily. “Ms. Edwards, are you alright?” Slowly he turned towards her, relaxing his vigilance in the face of the silence from the remains of the cabin.

Just as insectoid chittering from behind Cori made her whirl! A strange rush of air washed over her and she turned back in time to see the attack hit its target. One moment the soldier was raising his gun-arm, hesitating because she was between him and his target. A moment later the right shoulder of his armor seemed to buckle, then disintegrate. The trooper was thrown back as he cried out in agony. The metal arm that had attached to that shoulder falling to the ground, it was smoking… and bleeding, the auto-gun firing into the woods and then faltering as it went dead. Dragging himself upright, the severely injured marine groped with his remaining arm for the cannon he had dropped moments before.

Two more soldiers had reached the scene, one had a M82 high powered .50 caliber heavy sniper rifle, and tried to set up for a shot, the other shouldered his assault rifle and began popping away at the shape in the shadows, screaming for Cori to run.

Scrabbling back on the ground away from the monster, Cori raised the gun she held to point shakily at the creature. The sharp reports of the shots seemed so pathetic next to what this thing had already shrugged off, her eyes wide as she got a glimpse of its inhuman armored form in the muted flashes of the weapon.

The creature seemed not to care about the bullets glancing off it as it casually lifted the upper of its two right arms, and calmly pulled its upper right chest plate open. The gun now clicked emptily in her shaking grip as the growing white glow of the inner cell illuminated where she lay. Her eyes growing wide in terror as she realized what it was.

The other soldiers and the armored marine, now with the cannon balanced precariously on his left shoulder as he tried to bring it to bear, saw the intensifying white light and did the only thing they were able to. They kept firing for as long as they could.

The weapon lit up the area like day as Cori’s scream rent the night; it was cut off as the cabin, half the hillside, and a long stretch of New England forest was vaporized by the powerful discharge. And then darkness returned…

Sho leaned against the metal railing, staring out across the black water at the far shore. Lights twinkled and winked at him as the fresh sea breeze ruffled his hair; bringing the tang of salt with it.

The LKA Meridian was so fresh from reconditioning that the acrid stench of drying paint still clung to it. The fresh sea smell was vastly preferable to him.

The whine and groan of the ships many cranes and hoists continued to rumble on as the horizon out on the Atlantic began to turn the most delicate shade of sapphire blue with the coming dawn. Sean had arrived aboard the Meridian two hours ago, and was catching a brief catnap before the assault.

Sho turned toward the holds of the ship, lit like daylight with halogen work lamps as the soldiers readied their equipment.

The infantry combat armor looked unwieldy to him. And he made no secret that he was dubious of its effectiveness. And considering these cocky Americans just grinned at him when he tried to air his concerns, he’d be enjoying bailing them out of whatever pit they stumbled into on shore. They had even laughed when he’d asked why they were called ‘Boomers’ telling him he’d see.

Jeff Morgan had thought he’d seen everything. But this ‘Boomer’ combat suit made him as dubious as Sho. Had he known, he might have felt a little better about it. The unit was mostly exoskeleton. Heavy duty armored boots connecting to an articulated frame that encased the legs and hips. This in turn attached to a hard shell torso piece that had a rather bulky backpack. The arms were unarmored, and the helmet was standard military spec.

He’d asked why there was nothing for the upper body, and had been told that if he wanted a full suit, he should request transfer to one of the Alphas. Boomers weren’t tanks, and if that was his mindset, he’d just become a casualty. Sheer personal pride kept him from backing out then as he checked over the unfamiliar weapons he has been issued.

“P90 lightweight Submachine gun,” a voice from behind him stated, and he turned to see a Marine Captain giving instruction to a rather green looking bunch of privates. “Most of you haven’t seen this one before.” The marine snapped the transparent 50 round clip from the weapon with practiced ease and began stripping it down right before their eyes. Jeff moved closer to get a better view. “Mostly plastic, it’s a bit lighter than your familiar M16. But don’t let that fool you, it packs quite a punch.”

He clicked a round from the clip free, the shiny brass cartridge gleaming in the harsh light. “5.56 mm armor piercing round, brass jacketed in a 50 round magazine. While it takes a lil more know-how to reload it quickly, this weapon shoots as hard and a bit faster then the M16, and does not have the same overheating issues. As you know, AP rounds are effective against most zoanoids, aim center of mass unless you’re sure of a headshot. Either way, use short, controlled bursts as this baby can completely unload a clip before you realize you’re out. Though the round clips are made of semi-clear plastic so you can see exactly how many rounds you have left. It’s also extremely stable so even with full auto you should be able to hit your target with every round, provided of course you can hit the broadside of a barn to begin with.”

He assembled the weapon in nothing flat as he handed it back to the soldier who had relinquished it to him. He grinned as he smacked the soldier on the shoulder and moved on. His eyes caught Jeff’s and he came over to introduce himself.

“Stephen Cain, you must be Corporal Morgan, from Bragg?” The hand he extended had a firm grip, even as he smiled amiably. “Bet you never thought you’d end up here when you left home.”

Jeff saluted before taking the offered hand. “Yes sir, it is a little… different than I expected, Sir.” He candidly agreed.

Stephen grinned. “You can cut the Sir, bit. We’re a new outfit here, and I’m not too much on fancy titles.” He tapped his Lieutenant rank tab. “Out in the field, the only thing this means is I have more training and experience, especially with this equipment. And I want it understood that when I give an order that is what’s talking… not these little bars. Understood?”

“Yes, uh... Yes boss.” Jeff grinned in return as he picked up the word he had heard flung about the cargo hold now and then, and it all clicked. Stephen Cain was simply ‘The Boss’.

Stephen reacted to the name, arching an eyebrow but his smile didn’t slip. “So, I doubt anyone has had time to show you what all this stuff is about. Got any questions for me?” He gestured to the stacked pile of gear, the pile of armor parts, and the weapons and ammo box.

The Corporal shrugged and smiled self-effacingly. “Well, since my main problem is zero info about it. I haven’t been able to think of a good question yet Boss.”

Captain Cain laughed. “Then let’s get you up to speed. This is the Mark II Tactical/Recon/Combat Frame. Better known as a Boomer…”

Dawn

Logan International Airport was a sprawling complex across the river mouth from downtown. The tall silvery spire of the office building Chronos had appropriated was in plain sight. As always, it was the tallest structure in the city, set a block or so from the coast. Sitting in downtown, amidst the civilian buildings, it was placed so that any large-scale combat would cause collateral damage.

The airport proved to be an easy take. The hovercraft came in from three different approaches and disgorged infantry onto the tarmac. A SEAL team had already disconnected hard-line communications from the facility, blunting their ability to call for help. Along with area wide jamming from the Meridian, it took about 15 minutes to secure the facility.

Sho and Sean were not involved in the airport’s taking; they instead were high above watching from a bird’s eye view.

Sho was rather amused to watch a Guyver fiddling with a hand held radio as they both hovered high above the city, their armors providing a nice camouflage in the lightening sky. Guyver 1 kept watched as Guyver US delicately turned up the volume on the blocky device. “Say again Omega, G and I are listening.”

“Repeating, the fox is in the hen house. Dirty birds have been scrubbed. Buzzards are on their way. Copy?“

Jason’s voice was tinny, but understandable, and Sho couldn’t help grinning. The catchphrases in the conversation were another example of idiomatic American. ‘Fox in the hen house’ meant they had the airport. The ‘dirty birds’ were the current personnel who had been captured and detained in case they were not really human, so they were ‘scrubbed’.

Guyver 1’s hyper sensor orbs shifted as he detected something new in the clear morning sky. “And here come the buzzards.” He murmured with a mixture of pride and a slightly savage glee at seeing the plan going smoothly.

“Copy that, Omega. Buzzards are in the chicken run. The coyotes are hitting the farmhouse. Over and out!”

Guyver 1 heard the crunch as Sean stopped being gentle and simply crushed the radio before tossing it away. “Boy that felt good!”

Sho laughed, “It’s not easy working with something made for human hands when you’ve got Guyver strength!” He commented as he eyed the ‘buzzards’. Radio would be useless now anyway, the Meridian would be cranking up its jamming capabilities to blanket the city. Which meant the clock was now ticking.

In they came, in a straight-line formation, four C130 Hercules cargo planes. They passed a few hundred feet above the two Guyvers, but the flight crew flashed their running lights in acknowledgement of the presence of their irregular ‘escort’. Guyver US waved, even though there was little chance anyone could see him, even if they were looking.

Sho chuckled as he bowed to his friend politely. “I believe so, Guyver US. After you!”

“Heh… Don’t mind if I do!” Guyver US flew towards the city, Guyver 1 trailing behind him. By letting Sean go first, Sho was confirming his belief that the US Guyver could handle himself, and he could feel Sean’s pleasure at the compliment.

And if there was one thing the American could give, it was a good show. Sean dropped out of the sky like a meteor, the wind whistling about him as he approached the ground. He used his gravity powers to lessen the force of his impact. But only a little…

The sudden thundering boom and the crack of overstressed concrete as he landed served notice of his arrival, a crater now in the forum right in front of the Chronos building.

“Knock knock, you Chronos bastards!” He yelled as he cupped his hands, a ball of energy that seemed to suck even light into its depths growing between his fingers. He jerked his arms forward, sending the pressure cannon spinning into the glass doors of the building. Glass shattered, steel and aluminum was blown back, an alarm began sounding somewhere within the building and Sean grinned. They’d be coming!

Guyver 1 chuckled as he watched Guyver US make his entrance, running into the smoking ruins of the atrium. Then he concentrated on his part of the plan, which was a little more delicate. He dropped to the roof, a measured slash of his vibration blade defeated the locks on the door, and he disappeared down into the building as well, hearing new alarms sound as his presence was noted.

Jason rushed to help chock the stubby tires of the fourth and final cargo plane. The whine and grumble as the tail ramp lowered to the tarmac was drowned out by the basso thrum as the huge props spun slowly to a stop. And from within the cavernous belly, the higher pitched whine of servos coming online could be heard. The plane shuddered as a clanging metallic tread stomped down the ramp. The beta gleamed in the first light of morning as the wearer put it through its final checks before walking off to join the growing number of assault armors forming into their combat groups.

As Jason strode up into the dim hold; other soldiers were clambering into their armors. Red and Blue armored plates swung into place. In the case of the Alpha armors, they then had to have technicians load the ammo pack. A large metal compartment that clipped onto the back over the hatch; it had to be removed or jettisoned before the wearer could get back out of the suit.

His new Beta didn’t have that problem. Dual ammo packs slid into the back of the ‘waist’ to either side of the pilot compartment. They were integral to the design, a notable difference to the retrofitted Alphas; which had originally been intended to be little more than armored space suits to handle extreme environments.

He climbed into the padded compartment, feeling again the slight claustrophobia of the helmet as a technician assisted him with the buckles and straps. He exhaled as the chest harness tightened, letting it snug firmly against his ribcage before inhaling to make certain it wasn’t too tight. The hissing klatch of the front plate sealing was followed by the staccato rap of a metal tool against it, his signal to start powering up.

As he stomped down out of the plane, he heard the thrumming drone of the hovercraft as they pirouetted gracefully in place, fully loaded with infantry units. He grinned and flicked on the short-wave, tuning it to the infantry com band. The crash of jamming interference met him, but underneath it he heard the sharp voice of Lieutenant “Boss” Cain through the snow.

He thumbed his unit to transmit. “Bravo Lead to Kappa Lead. Hey Boss, Good luck out there.”

The interference grew into complete chaos, and Jason flicked his unit back to his own band. “Alright Bravo company, sound off.”

“Delta to Bravo Lead. We’ve got a jammed tread on Mercy 2. Recommend you move out with Mercy 1 and we’ll join up as soon as we get this fixed. Sorry boss.”

“Roger Delta, we’ll move out now. You catch up as soon as you can. You all know the drill; from this point on its radio blackout. Let’s get to it.”

The pounding tread of some 60 armored feet shook the ground as the ranks filed down the tarmac. Once outside the airport grounds, individual teams broke off from the main groups, each moving to assigned destinations by pre-assigned routes that would have them all in position for any trouble that broke out.

Jason and his core team remained with a massive treaded vehicle that had stenciled on its side, MRRCV 1. Mobile Refuel/Rearm Combat Vehicle One was a massive treaded monstrosity of engineering. The deep bellowing belch of 3 huge diesel engines carried it forward on broad tractor treads. The thickly armored vehicle housed ammunition stores and fuel for the armors. This was its trial run in a combat situation, and already one of them had malfunctioned.

Giving his men the signal to move out, Jason mentally shrugged. Shit happened… all he could hope for, was that it didn’t get any deeper.

Guyver US weaved under a slow clumsy punch from a Lisker. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” His own hard blow to the midriff doubled the creature over, and a knee to the side of the head put it down as he danced away. “Come on, you guys are hardly a challenge anymore!”

The Lisker roared and staggered to its feet, shaking its head before lunging forward, clawed hands reaching to grapple.

The door blew inward as the flying bulk of the Zoanoid slammed through it and into what looked to be a corporate office. The splintered door crashed to the ground as Guyver US kicked his way into the room in pursuit. The Lisker had hauled itself to hands and knees, blood dripping from its snarling mouth as it turned its head towards the threat.

The dull crack of its neck as the snap-kick connected was followed by the hollow, lifeless thud of the corpse to the floor. Guyver US took stock of his surroundings, the office was empty, but from the hallway he could hear the pounding of many boots. He grinned under his armor as he turned back towards the door.

The Chronos trooper that stormed into the room barely had time to register his presence before being blown in two by the pressure cannon volley that Sean aimed at him. The blast continued on through the door, blowing through the other wall. Sean heard growls and snarls in the hallway and leaped through the smoldering hole where the door had been and into his next skirmish.

Guyver 1 was faring about the same but unlike Sean he was taking more care to minimize the damage to the building as he kept physical combat to a minimum and executed most of the zoanoids he encountered with well placed head beam and sonic buster bursts. Fortunately the plan seemed to be working and most of the zoanoid forces had headed down to face off against Guyver US. So Guyver 1 faced minimal resistance as he cleared the top two floors in this manner as he descended, leaving most of the damage to the building being done by the zoanoids who burst their way through walls foolishly thinking they could get a jump on him, before he encountered a squad of Vamores. A quick exchange of laser fire and pressure cannons left sizeable holes throughout the floor, leaving a not too pleased Sho, peaking through one of the more sizeable holes, wondering how many more such encounters the building could take before its integrity were compromised.

Elsewhere an alarm notice was triggered indicating an emergency at the Boston Chronos facility, the flashing red light calling notice to itself from desk in front of a cloaked figure. A moment later the figure casually deactivated the alarm and simply said, “Interesting.”

The bone-vibrating drone of the massive turbines that powered the hovercraft gradually dropped in power to a deep hum as the craft ran aground. The scuffling of sand and gravel beneath its cushion as it came to a halt gave way to the soft whistle of the ocean breeze. Silently, with the minimum of jostling, the remaining fire teams disembarked.

“Bozeman, Rico, Lambert! 6 meter spread. Take your teams out and make sure we’re clear.” Boss Cain’s voice barked out as half the soldiers moved out. “Diaz, you’re on point.”

“Got it Boss!” Diaz and his three-man team moved out, readying their weapons.

Guyver 1 had continued his descent on his way towards the main command center, having cleared three more floors since his first encounter with resistance when suddenly his hyper sensors twitched. He was already in motion as the scarlet laser beam blew through the wall he had been passing and slammed into the armored exterior wall.

Coming lightly to his feet, Guyver 1 slipped through the gaping hole to face down the Vamore who had tried to blast him. “Well, I was wondering when another one of you would show up.” Vamore’s yellow eyes widened as he staggered back a step. “Guyver 1, Y-you can’t be here!” His shoulder pods already open now began to glow and hum as they built a charge.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Sho warned as he extended his vibration blades. “You must know you can’t really hurt me.”

“It hardly matters Guyver, my purpose was to do nothing more then confirm your presence.” The zoanoid seemed to shudder for a second as it relaxed its lasers dimming. “I must admit, I expected Agito to be the one to come looking for the US Guyver. . . Though perhaps I should have considered you being the one to show up.”

Sho’s eyes narrowed... the tone of the voice had changed, no longer as raspy as it had been, sounding more cultured… the word choice and tone familiar. He felt his hands clench into fists. “Imakirum!” He growled in sudden insight.

Vamore grinned, a truly hideous facial expression for the monstrous creature. “How perceptive Sho. I must admit I am impressed. Now… what do you hope to accomplish? Gaining these pathetic guerillas as allies? They are insects. You know that don’t you? Have you finally come around to Agito’s way of thinking? Expendable cannon fodder for your fight?”

Sho took a step forward. “No! You bastard! I’m not like you; I don’t let others fight my battles!” His voice shaking in anger at being taunted so.

“And what about me Guyver… did I not die for you? You were busy playing with your new toy while Guyot tore me apart. Have you forgotten so quickly?” Vamore spread his arms wide; Sho could almost imagine Imakirum in his place, making the same gesture. “And here we are… I have found my place. I now belong. What of you Sho? Where do you fit?”

The silence between them lengthened, broken only by the hissing breath of the zoanoid. Finally Sho shook his head. “I’m not going to play that game.” He answered quietly. “That’s what you’re doing… isn’t it. Delaying me here… now why would you be doing that?” He turned towards the door. “I must be pretty close to the control room… and you must not have immediate access to the destruct sequence.” He paused at the door, his back to the Vamore. “Am I right, Imakirum?”

The warbling hum of the Vamore’s bio-lasers powering up was the only reply. “Thought so,” Sho mused as he pivoted, hand snapping up. The pressure cannon blasting out from his palm reduced the Zoanoid into a steaming pile of remains. “Nice try though, old friend. But I’ve changed as well.” He murmured almost gently before dashing out the door and down the empty hall.

More zoanoids exited a lift at the far end of the corridor. Sho barely spared them a glance. Poorly trained, poorly made… they counted on their inhuman strength, but they were no match for his, and rather than waste time fighting them, he brought his blades back into play. Blood spattered the walls as dying screams reverberated through the empty corridors, descending to silence, save for the soft, almost cheerful chime of the elevator as it carried it’s silent occupant further into the bowels of the complex.

A horde of zoanoids could be seen rushing through the streets towards Jason’s position. He appeared to be a lone Blue Armor as he readied his mini-gun towards the oncoming zoanoids, emerald targeting lasers locking on to the one in the lead.

“Just a little bit closer,” Jason whispered to himself as he carefully eyed his proximity sensors HUD readout. A moment later Jason flicked a switch and a flare was fired from his Armor an instant before he activated his mini-gun and started to mow down the snarling and snapping horde of zoanoids before him, while simultaneously two other armors hover jetted to his side and added their fire to the mix. Another trio of armors came up behind the horde and boxed them in as two squads of Boomers started firing from their positions on top of the buildings on either side of the street and sprayed their deadly crossfire into the horde of zoanoids from above.

Within seconds it was over and they marked another sector clear of zoanoids as other Boomer squads scouted ahead for any other concentrations of zoanoid activity.

Jason smiled, at this rate they’d be done before an hour had passed. But just then a few warning lights started to flash as his HUD display showed he was starting to run low on ammo. <Hmm, better check in and reload before continuing.> Jason thought before he activated his armor’s laser communicator to the other five armors, “Bravo Team, fall back to Mercy 2 and reload, Bravo 2 and 4 take our six, Bravo Lead out.” Jason said over the line of site laser comm. before directing his own armor back to the MRRCV. <I just hope everything is going as smoothly for Sean and Sho> Jason thought before the roar of his hover jets kicked in and his armor started to accelerate.

Meanwhile Team Kappa was progressing on schedule as they scouted through the city, preparing to secure the area around the Chronos building to clear the way for its take over by the ACTF as soon as the Guyvers finished their sweep of the building. Corporal Jeff Morgan had been a bit skeptical, even after Boss Cain had fully briefed him on the capabilities of his equipment but all doubt quickly vanished after his first skirmish with a zoanoid. The Boomers may be no replacement for full powered armors but in a group as a highly coordinated squad it proved to be very effective.

The limited leg and back muscle enhancement powered by a rechargeable highly efficient methanol fuel cell power pack built into the backpack allowed them to carry up to an extra 70 pounds of equipment, allowing each of them to move with ease even while loaded to bear. While throughout the armor there’s a liquid reservoir providing both drinking water on the go and natural heat regulator that helps mask a soldier's body heat so they would not be so easily detectable by zoanoids with infrared vision. Additionally noise cancellation technology is employed to mask the soldier's heartbeat and respiration, along with soft sole boots to reduce a soldier's noise signature as much as possible.

So much of the Boomers design was dedicated to stealth that Jeff couldn’t for the life of him figure out why they were called Boomers but Boss Cain had assured him he’d figure that out quickly once they saw them in action.

The loud report of the RPG as it took out a lone Zoanoid followed by other similar booms as other zoanoids were taken out in various positions almost simultaneously quickly explained the reason they were called boomers.

Jeff couldn’t help but grin as everything snapped in place and he stealthily moved on to find his next target. As long as they avoided detection the boom would be all the zoanoid ever heard. But even if they were detected, they made sure to stay close enough together to quickly take out any zoanoid with their combined firepower. It looks like he was definitely going to enjoy this detail much more than he had predicted. . .

Crouched on a rooftop, Asu watched the convoy approach. The huge mobile refueling platform rumbled and ground it’s way along, leaving deep grooves in the asphalt as it advanced, flanked by its squads of protectors.

The asian’s eyes narrowed as he studied the armored suits below him. They looked like something out of a Manga, and a clumsy attempt at that. But he had been briefed on the capabilities of the red models already encountered, surprisingly, a human in such a suit could contend with a basic zoanoid toe to toe. And the armament gave them enough range to make a melee unnecessary. Their effectiveness was impressive.

Interspersed amongst the red armors were those of a new design. Here and there were blue mecha that gave a more clean, humanoid look. They looked dangerous, and capable, and moved with more grace then their smaller red brethren. Asu couldn’t help but grin in anticipation. He lived for challenges, the bigger the better, and he always won. With a chuckle he settled back, waiting until the signal was given, a feral and very unpleasant grin on his face.

Finally the big machine passed the invisible line that had been set as the point of no return, and from the tops of the two building on opposite sides of the street, two hulking forms leapt into the air, out into the expanse directly over the convoy, twin roars of challenge as the pale white shapes plummeted towards the sudden chaos below them.

The marines responded quickly, the fire teams scattering to make more difficult targets, here and there the flash and rapid whine of automatic weapons fire lit the buildings as heavy armor piercing shells lanced skyward.

Asu growled as a round slammed hard into his chest, leaving a dent in the dense armor that covered him. He spotted the armor that had drawn a bead on him and roared his challenge, landing with a concrete shattering impact, he was already on the move, sprinting faster than something of his bulk had any right to be capable of as he brought his heavily spiked forearm around in a full roundhouse. He made sure his arm was not in position to penetrate, instead landing a crushing blow against the armor’s midriff.

The force of the blow lifted the marine off his feet and knocked him backward through a storefront window. The shattering of the glass lost in the drowning drone of multiple weapons firing nonstop. Asu leapt, carrying himself high into the air as AP rounds chewed up the pavement where he had been standing. The Danaplus hyperzoanoid was designed to combat Guyvers. Heavily armored, massively built, yet with enough agility to match the speed of its main prey.

Against the armors, his attributes and those of his twin were devastating. He shoulder checked one armor, feeling his heavy spines penetrate the thick armor. Warm blood ran down his shoulder from the gaping wound as he tore the dying soldier free and hurled him at a comrade, the heavy armor knocking the other to the ground. He then quickly followed with his spiked fist driving through the fishbowl faceplate in a meaty crunch. Withdrawing his bloodied fist, he drove it in again at the chest, blow after blow following as he pulverized armor, shattered bone and shredded flesh.

Asu found himself laughing as he reveled in the carnage, his body responding instinctively, brutally to any threat. He so lost himself in the blood haze, that when a blue armor shod fist decked him, he was stunned. The armor was battered, bloody, but already had its minigun facing the threat and spinning up, emerald lasers targeted the zoanoid as the armor unleashed the full barrage his weapon was capable of.

Asu had a moment to regain his feet and present a massive shoulder to the sudden intense onslaught. He howled in pain as the heavier fire of the weapon tore into his armor, shredding it and snapping off spines with equal facility. The Danaplus couldn’t dodge, curled around to protect his more vulnerable torso, a bullet slammed into his thigh, almost taking his leg out from under him, tearing into the thick armor and through the thick slab of muscle as he strove to weather the barrage.

Blood ran down his side from the gaping wounds that pocked his humped shoulder plate. Blood pulsed sluggishly from his leg as the rapid thrum of weapons fire dropped to the high pitched whine of an electric barrel rotating with no more ammo to expend. Asu grunted through the pain and then began to chuckle, out of bullets.

The sounds of gunfire were dwindling, the ground littered with armored bodies as Asu glanced around, seeing his partner tearing the armored door off the massive vehicle, the high pitched reports of small arms fire from within made him chuckle… the screams made him cackle with manic joy through the throbbing ache of his wounds.

The clatter of the mini-gun dropping to the ground caught his attention, the armor before him standing erect, and no longer in combat stance as he plucked something from his side, a metallic cylinder sized for his metal shod fingers.

The armor’s thumb pressed down on the activation stud just as Asu’s hand closed over it and squeezed. The shriek of tortured metal was beautiful as he crushed the hand around the device, preventing the stud from being released. With a wrenching jerk he tore the hand from the armor and tossed it and it’s contents away, his other hand slammed up into the head of the blue armor, crushing it down into the torso of the suit, the gurgling from within disappointed him… he should have given him time to scream at least.

As the Danaplus proceeded to cave the armored chest in, cackling once more with glee, the hand he had tossed away had rolled beneath the front end of the now impotent Mercy 2. The refueling vehicle had taken damage, a stray bullet had nicked one of the diesel fuel tanks, spilling flammable diesel down one of the treads to pool on the ground.

As the hand rolled to a stop beside the rapidly expanding pool of gas, some final partial signal from the shredded control circuits caused the ruined hand to go slack. A soft, triple tone chirp of warning followed the click of the stud snapping back out as the device went active. This went unnoticed by the two zoanoids who were gleefully absorbed in their tasks. The next noise the device made was much much more noticeable.

Hydrogen fuel, pressurized, super cool liquid hydrogen fuel. That is what the huge triple walled insulated tanks of the MRRCV held. When the grenade detonated with a powerful but hollow sounding crump the first thing it did was nearly blow the treads off the vehicle. In the process the diesel spill caught fire.

The second effect was to drive a splintered shard of the underbelly armor up into the main storage tank with crushing force. The belly armor had not been designed to take such a point blank explosion, and it shredded. The internal members that ribbed the tanks had not been designed to handle such an impact either. They were twisted and bent aside. The torn fragments dented the heavy metal of the internal tank, and in one place, pierced it.

The explosion had surprised the two zoanoids, jolting them from reveling in their slaughter. Asu watched as a pale blue, almost invisible plume of fire jetted out from the undercarriage of the damaged vehicle, engulfing his partner.

The other zoanoid roared in shock and pain. While not as vulnerable to fire as a human would be, he was far from fireproof. He staggered clear of the flames smoking, one clawed hand clutching at the side of his scalded face.

The eerie blue fire intensified, the metal around the rupture heating from the assault, groaning as the internal pressure stressed it further before finally cracking under the strain. A long ribbon of flammable fuel erupted from the gaping tear. And with an earthshaking detonation, Mercy 2 spontaneously transformed herself into a brilliant bloom of expanding blue fire and shrapnel.

At the Chronos building

The corridor was silent and empty when Guyver US made his entrance, an expanse of floor blowing upwards in a shower of broken masonry and dust. When Sean’s armored feet crunched across the resulting debris, the corridor now resembled the floor below it, and the floor below that. The lights shattered or flickering wildly, one or two hanging lose and swinging crazily.

With a sudden nudge from his senses, he located Sho in the next room and sprinted to a thick armored door, drawing his fist back to ‘knock’ just as the door hummed open smoothly, revealing Guyver 1 standing over the corpses of the command staff, holding a section of torn out console that could only be the building’s self-destruct.

“Well Guyver US… I hope you left enough of the lower floors intact that the building doesn’t fall over.”

Sean panted, glaring at his erstwhile partner. “Hey, I was the decoy remember?”

Sho laughed, tossing the mangled components to Guyver US. “So you were, well, lets get out of here and help the…”

Both Guyvers tensed as they suddenly sensed the coming shockwave even as the hallway lit up with an unearthly blue light, and a moment later the floor beneath them shuddered with the shockwave of a massive explosion.

Guyvers One and US sprinted out of the room and down the hall towards a bank of exterior windows, the latter tossing the shattered destruct panel aside.

And the windows before them shattered as two armored figures took to flight towards the rapidly fading fireball and the rising, billowing column of smoke and dust that marked the final resting place of Mercy 2.

What they found when they arrived was carnage. Barely mindful of the roaring flames, Sho dove into the inferno that surrounded the wrecked hulk of the refueling vessel and began searching for survivors. Sean a step behind him, amazed at how little the heat affected him.

Guyver One grunted as he lifted a massive plinth of shattered girder off of the crushed remains of an armored trooper. “It takes a lot of heat to harm us, like Zerebubuth lasers. The Vamore model I fought in the headquarters can barely scratch us with theirs. At least for short term, we’ll be unharmed here.” He sighed softly, “Unlike these people.” He finished quietly.

Both of them made a sweep of the area before admitting defeat. No one had survived. But the evidence that Sho did find only fueled his impotent rage. From the crushed and mangled corpses, the dents and marks on the armors, and the massive foot prints, this was caused by zoanoids.

“Sean, we’ve got a problem.. to do this kind of damage, especially against these soldiers, there’d have to be a few hyper-zoanoids around here Doesn’t look like Zerebubuth...” He murmured to himself, examining one of the crushed imprints in the pavement. “I’m not familiar with this one… but.” He followed the shallow dig marks away from the wreckage, where it joined a second, both moving out of the area, one at least trailing blood.

“We have to find them, and wherever they’re heading for... before they set up another ambush like this!”

Asu growled as he staggered down the crumbling, unlit hallway, half carrying his partner. The other zoanoid was naked, having reverted to human form. Both were bleeding from at least a half dozen wounds, his own shoulder bleeding freely, but the other had been damaged worse, half of his face blackened and charred, he might even have lost the eye.

Such was life. Grunting he all but threw the other zoanoid forward the final few steps to their destination, pushing open the door as they staggered into the makeshift command center, harsh halogen lighting bathed the area as a technician ran up to check their status as coldly as if he was a mechanic. Not that either of them noticed as they received basic first aid and injections of stabilizers. Not that they even cared.

Asu felt the harsh drugs enter his bloodstream, revving up his metabolism as a pack of liquid nourishment was slapped into his clawed hand, tearing open the package, he poured the bitter, acidic contents down his almost insectoid maw. His body burning through the nutrients painfully as it cannibalized parts of his unique physical structure to repair the damage done to him. He stood there, teeth gritted against the searing pain as his heart hammered in his chest, his wounds bleeding freely for a few moments longer, before they slowed to a sluggish dripping, and then finally stopped. Healing could only be accelerated so much, the technician informed him needlessly. His next foray against the enemy would have to be shortened, and he would be going alone.

He glanced down at the seizing body of his onetime partner. His body had been too weakened to accept the stabilizer. Even as he watched, the seizures grew worse, a horrible rattling gasp escaping his foaming mouth, before he went slack. A moment later, and the corpse began to dissolve away as Asu watched impassively, already adjusting his prepared tactics to operating solo. A brief, incongruous thought impinged on his concentration as he wondered as to the corpse’s name. He pushed the thought away. The other had died a Danaplus. No other name was important . . .

The Boston Insulated Wire and Cable Company… So the faded, peeling sign over the gate read. Sho felt a small part of his attention ponder that name, but his attention to it was fleeting as he turned it back to the task at hand.

The factory was a wreck… A massive monstrosity of brick, iron and slate. Parts of it had burned down, leaving the interior open and naked to the elements like raw wounds. The silence of decades hung about it; a relic of a bygone era, waiting for its final dismantling.

The mechanism of its ultimate fate was very much in evidence, scattered about the building were cranes, bulldozers, and other heavy machinery. This building had been slated for demolition before X-day had given it a tenuous reprieve. When Chronos took over, large corporations were assimilated, smaller agencies and businesses ceased to exist. Starved for profits in a sudden, wartime economy, or going underground if their business might draw too much scrutiny from the new Overlords.

Whether the company who had inaugurated this demolition effort was the former, or the latter, was irrelevant. The fact was, they were gone, leaving equipment moldering in the elements, and no one had taken notice of the factory since.

The door that Sho approached, was not the main entrance, it was not even one of the sub-entrances to the three-story building. Sho waved Sean to a halt as he peered in through the shattered door of the loading dock. He couldn’t see anything, but something about this place was making him very nervous.

Guyver US crept up beside him, crouching next to a crumbling section of masonry. “Now that you mention it, yeah. This place just feels creepy, I don’t know why.” He straightened, still staying as inconspicuous as possible to anything watching them from inside. “What’s the plan?”

Guyver 1 sighed shortly, the sound nasal and metallic through his unit. “We have to find out why they are here. If this is cover for a backup base we need to take it out before they can rally for a counter attack.” Sho felt himself slipping into a role he had never been comfortable with. “We go in as a pair, no joking around, alright? Watch each other’s backs, and no risks.”

Sean simply nodded, his usual humor subdued by the strange unease of this place. He remembered all the horror movies he had watched about houses haunted by the spirits of the dead and cursed his memory for dredging those up right now. The LAST thing he needed was to start imagining ghosts in here. “You got it, Sho. You lead, I’ll follow.”

The two Guyvers slipped silently into the gutted remains of a storage warehouse that abutted the main factory. Its roof had collapsed long ago, leaving the bright morning sunlight to create a crisscross of shadows over the debris-strewn floor. Their footsteps scuffling over gravel, shattered slate, and wooden support members that had long ago given up on supporting anything.

They made there way to the inner door, which despite their efforts wouldn’t budge to normal strength means of opening. Finally, to save time at the cost of silence, Sho kicked it open, the splintering crack as the door not only gave way, but busted right off it’s hinges was followed by the hollow clatter of the various pieces against the concrete floor. A moment later, and the two Guyvers had disappeared into the shadows of the main factory.

It was dark inside, that in and of itself was not so startling. Sho had been in the dark before, but never had it seemed to wrap around him so thickly. He could literally hear the pounding of his heart. The scuffling of footsteps behind him spoke of Sean, following him down the long corridor they found themselves in. Here and there a hazy shaft of sunlight pierced a broken window, or a cracked wall, but these did little to penetrate the blackness in between them.

Approaching a closed doorway, Sho tried to sense what was on the other side, and got nothing. Not an empty room, or a stairwell, or a room full of Oni ready to rend him limb from limb, he squelched that thought mercilessly, and he got… nothing. Sho narrowed his eyes, giving his head a shake. Then he took a sharp breath as something dawned on him. He ignored what his eyes saw, what his ears heard... he concentrated instead on those senses the Guyver imparted... its own hyper senses.

The rational world flowed away from his consciousness in its place a new perception presented itself. Wood, brick and mortar became transparent; it was as if the world around him faded to nothing but air, at least for a meter or so. In a realization that sent a cold trickle of fear down his spine, he realized that his hypers enses faded into blackness barely three paces from where he stood.

A sense behind him, entering his sphere of perception was resolved in his mind into a presence, that of Guyver US. “Sean, we may be in trouble. What are you getting from your senses… can you see beyond this wall?”

Sean stepped up beside him, and he could almost imagine the American narrowing his eyes in the same way, trying the same experiment he had just tried. Then Guyver US jerked. “Uhhhh… Sho… I can’t see shit!” The sudden tremor in Sean’s voice matched the leaden lump of ice that settled into his own belly.

Sho gritted his teeth and let out a sharp breath to calm himself, “Alright, the obvious answer is that Chronos has something here that’s scrambling our hyper senses. That’s bad, but we know what’s happening now, and can adapt… we just have to be careful.”

He really, really, wished he was as confident as he hoped that sounded. But they had a job to do, and people’s lives were riding on it. He tried the knob and it turned with a squeak, letting the door push open. He could have done without the long slow creak the door let loose as it swung back to the wall.

The room beyond was pitch black, and every instinct he had told him he really didn’t want to go in there. Ignoring it, he plunged into the inky blackness and crept slowly beyond. Sean following a step behind him, muttering softly to himself with a long string of words almost too soft to hear, but even in the darkness, the monologue made Sho grin.

Sean continued to curse a rather impressive array of things, starting with the moron who had been mugged by a flashlight and wanted nothing to do with lights in here, and then began describing some colorful, athletically difficult, and physically impossible things he was going to do to the zoanoids who made him come in here.

Together they cleared the room, and crept to the next, and the next, finding offices, storerooms and even a lavatory… All in shambles, all old and forgotten. The creak of floorboards and the settling of dust the only sounds that accompanied them. Finally they reached the end of the hall, and the last door, a heavy duty steel door that must lead out into the factory.

“Hey Sho, I’m getting sick of all this cloak and dagger stuff, and don’t want to be in here all day… can we do this one my way?” Guyver US crouched next to Guyver 1, who shrugged. “We need to hurry, so go ahead.”

Guyver 1 came to a secondary combat position back away from the door and Sean grinned. “Alright! Time to do some damage!” The impact of his kick tore the door from its track with a twisted shriek of rending metal, the hollow boom as the door crashed to the ground with Sean on top of it echoed alarmingly through the vast open space they found themselves in.

“Awwww hell.” Sean groaned. And as Sho slipped forward to join him, he had to agree. The factory was huge; three stories tall and packed with the remains of the machinery that had once earned its keep here.

“We can’t search this all! It’ll take weeks!” Sean stepped off the torn remnants of the door. “We’re gonna have to split up Sho, if we expect to do this quickly.” Guyver 1 shook his head. “That’s not a good idea Sean, we’re more tempting targets singly.”

“Look, we still have our telepathy, the chances of them being able to beat us both down at the same time is slim. One of us gets in trouble; we yell for help, the other can be there in seconds.” Sean shrugged. “You’re call man, but this is our best chance of shutting them down fast.”