Imakarum, carrying the bundle of files that he and his
underlings had managed to gather about the ACF – now the ACTF,
or Anti Chronos Task Force rather than Anti Chronos Front – made
his way back to his quarters. The files, while important in and
of themselves, were not as immediate in Imakarum’s mind as
seeing his son again. Lord Alkanphel had informed him that Kenji
had been released from the processing-tank.
It was odd to think of his son, a person who he had once seen
as small and fragile that needed his protection, as a Zoalord.
Zoalords were the most powerful beings in existence, after all.
But Kenji’s mind was still vulnerable. Someone Kenji’s age
couldn’t be expected to have very much in the way of mental
defenses, after all. While it was a fact that Kenji had been
through some very harrowing experiences in his life, his son was
still very young.
Setting the files down on his desk, Imakarum turned and
headed for his bed. He could already see a humanoid figure lying
on his bed. As Imakarum made his way closer, careful to move
quietly so that he wouldn’t wake Kenji since his son would need
a lot of rest to adapt to the changes that his body had gone
through, he caught his first glimpse of Kenji’s human face.
"Miaka," Imakarum breathed.
The angles of the face, the high cheekbones, the shape of the
chin, it was all hers. The only thing to really differentiate
Kenji from Miaka, aside from the obvious of course, was his
hair. Kenji’s hair, while not quite as curly as Imakarum’s own,
was not straight like Miaka’s. Kenji’s body, though, was
obviously modeled on Imakarum’s own.
Kenji was sleeping peacefully, the rising and falling of his
son’s chest clearly visible to Imakarum. Imakarum could also
hear his son’s steady breathing, and beneath that the reassuring
beat of Kenji’s heart. Brushing Kenji’s long fringe away from
his eyes, Imakarum smiled as Kenji’s eyelids moved slightly.
Gently flicking the tip of Kenji’s nose with his pointer finger,
Imakarum chuckled softly as Kenji twitched in his sleep.
Flicking Kenji’s nose again, Imakarum smiled as his son’s
eyelids fluttered again. Kenji might have had the body of a
fully-grown man, but there was no doubt in Imakarum’s mind that
Kenji was still his child. There was a slight feeling of sadness
for the fact that he would never get to watch Kenji grow up, but
overshadowing that was the satisfaction of knowing that his son
was safe. Finally and ultimately safe.
There were few things in this world that could harm a
Zoalord, and Kenji would also have the full might of Chronos to
protect him now. The Zoalords protected their own. There would
be no more running; no more having to stay in some broken-down
out-of-the way place just so that the two of them would not be
found. Kenji would not have a normal life, true, but then Kenji
had been denied that very thing almost from the moment that
Masaki Murakami had been taken by Chronos.
Besides, Kenji still had his father to help guide him and
protect him. As Kenji rolled over on his side, a position that
Imakarum knew his son preferred while sleeping, Imakarum
remembered something. It would have been a small thing to anyone
else, but Imakarum knew that Kenji would appreciate it. Puling
the small plush toy, Kaji as Imakarum recalled, out of his
sub-dimensional storage space Imakarum lifted the edge of
Kenji’s blanket and put the toy within his son’s reach.
Even if there was really nothing practical that he could do
for Kenji until his son’s body had further adjusted to the
aftermath of his processing, it was still heartwarming for
Imakarum to see Kenji almost instinctively curling up with Kaji
in his arms. Bending down, Imakarum lightly kissed Kenji on his
upturned right cheek. Then he turned and headed for his desk.
Even though he would have preferred to wait for Kenji to start
waking up, Imakarum knew that his duties to Chronos took
precedence.
Settling down with the reports that had been found about the
Anti Chronos Task Force, Imakarum was abruptly pulled from his
thoughts by a telepathic summons from Lord Alkanphel.
Teleporting to the indicated destination, Imakarum was only
mildly surprised to find himself back inside the Celestial Hall.
All of the other Zoalords were there as well, and Lord Alkanphel
was glaring rather harshly at Lord Luggnagg.
"While I do appreciate your show of initiative, Luggnagg,"
Lord Alkanphel said, sounding as if he would have liked nothing
more than to blast Lord Luggnagg through several walls. "An
attack of such magnitude is not something to be undertaken
lightly."
"Yes," Lord Luggnagg said solicitously, bowing in a manner
that came just close enough to mocking to put Imakarum slightly
on edge. "I will, of course, endeavor to remember that in the
future."
"See that you do," Lord Alkanphel said, his earlier anger no
longer in evidence.
"My Lord, if I may?"
"Ask, Shin," Lord Alkanphel said calmly.
"What has Lord Krumeggnik done that his displeased you?"
"Luggnagg had the idea to attack the Anti Chronos Task Force
before we had learned more about them," Lord Alkanphel said,
seeming only mildly annoyed this time. "Before we had assessed
their strengths and weaknesses. And, while I do admit that this
was a crude way of doing just that, I would have preferred to
have been spared the loss of soldiers."
"Anti Chronos Task Force, my Lord?" Lord Shin asked,
evidently confused. "Is there yet another faction of humans
arrayed against us?"
"No, Shin," Lord Alkanphel said, seeming mildly amused. "The
Anti Chronos Front is now called the Anti Chronos Task Force.
Imakarum informed me of these changes a short time ago."