The morning leaves rustled outside. Everything was so green out there, so crisp. He sat in the chair slumped, head folded in his arms against the window payne. Sho had been there all night. At first it was the sinking feeling that kept him there. And then the moment just seemed to drag on forever, unable to pull himself away. So peacefull. Sho was emersing himself in the tranquility. The night air flowing on the other side of the glass. The morning dew at sunrise. It brought a sense of subtle happiness to his heart. Contentment.
Slowly, hands slide over his eyes, and his head is gripped from behind! "Guess who?", Mitsuki says.
"Ahhhh!", Sho jumps, startled. "You scared me Mitsuki", he sits up to face his smiling girl freind. It is good to see her smile, to see her cheeks so red with honest warmth. If he can get her parents back, rescue them from Chronos, then maybe her cheeks will be red with happiness forever.
"Everybody's finished breakfast already", Mitsuki says, "We're saying our goodbyes to Shizu before Aptom drives her and I into the city. Are you going to say good bye properly?".
He smiles. It feels like the old days again. Mitsuki's authority like a motherly determination. It feels good to have her this strong, if only for the moment. It wont last, but it's good. Shizu has been a good distraction for her pain. "I'll be right there", Sho says, "I'll just go put a clean shirt on first. I've worn this one all night".
"Yeah", she says holding her nose, "That one kinda stinks". She laughs as she leaves the room. Yes, the old Mitsuki. Perhaps, when the world is safe, she can truly live a happy life afterall.
-----------------------------------------
The room is still dark, the morning light not yet creeping into this side of the mansion. Aptom stands in the doorway, silhoetted by the brightness of the hall. "Natsuki", he says, "we're almost ready to leave".
"I know", she says. Natsuki has her back to him; making herself busy, stuffing things into a duffle bag. "I'm just packing a few extra things for Shizu. I thought she might like some of the cookies Mitsuki baked earlier. I won't be long, I'll be down in a sec".
"Alright", Aptom says. He lingers in the doorway. He feels the pang in his heart; and the guilt. For over the past month the two of them have been avoiding eachother. Hiding eyes since, 'the incident'. It was Alkanphel's telepathy that made her say all those things, the drive and ambition forced upon her. He knows that, yet still. The desire in his beating heart, anything for an end to his lonliness. And then there were his own actions; the action of Evil Aptom. Evil had torn into Natsuki, just before he killed it. When the mind control orb was crushed, the flesh of Evil Aptom had been re-absorbed by Aptom. The creature that slashed at her was now a part of him, including it's memories. The voice from the orb rings in his head, and so does the answer his flesh gave to it. The answer was Evil, and it hurt her. He hurt her. "Natsuki... ", he says, "I was hoping I could talk with you. About what happened".
Her hands don't stop folding things into the duffle bage, they only slow, "About what?"
"I...", anything he can say to her is impossible. "It was about what happened back then. Back when I tried...", to rescue you, he thinks. His new sunglasses are downstairs, so he turns his face to hide his scar. He tries a week laugh and a smile, "It's a lot harder to say, now that I'm trying to say it. The point is, I was just trying to help everyone bring you back to us. That's it, that's all I set out for". His thumbs and fingers begin to cringe, so he stuffs them into the pocket of his new leather jacket. "I never really expected anything, Natsuki. I don't even expect a thanks from any of you for fighting Chronos", oh god, he thinks, how can it be any more difficult to ask something like this? Natsuki's hands stop moving, she listens. "I know you weren't exactly yourself, and that's ok. I know what it's like".
"I think I know where you're going with this", she says. His mouth his wide open, and very dry. She takes a step towards him, yet keeps her arms close to her sides, keeps very distant. "Aptom", she says, "I know I said things back there. Some of them I meant, in a strange sort of way. I don't know, it was all very confusing", his heart flutters violently, hope flying and despair draining him. The hope of what she might be saying, and the despair of the look on her face. "I don't want to lead you on Aptom, but I don't think I'm ready for any sort of relationship with you. Not anything more than freinds", and the despair wins. The sting of her words. "Is that all right?", she asks, "Can we just be freinds?"
He has to force an answer out. Something that will make her happy enough. He forces a smile, "Yeah, no problem. I just wanted to make sure".
She walks up to him with the duffle bag over her shoulder. "Thanks for understanding", she wraps an arm around him in a hug. "I'll be down stairs with the others".
--------------------------------
Mitsuki, Natsuki, Aptom, and Shizu drive off. Dr. Hayami and Sho wave them off. The smiles are still on their faces when the van rounds over the hill. "I don't think we'll be seeing them till supper time", Tetsuo says. "Come on Dr. Hayami, we'd better get started on those samples".
"You two will be in the woods all day?", Sho asks.
"Yes, there's a drainage pond in the far northern end", Hayami says.
"If we're ever going to reverse the zoalord mind control on normal people, we have to start with the cause of the problem itself". Tetsuo smiles, and hoists a pack of equipment over his shoulder, "If there's an antidote to this poison, I intend to find it". The two of them turn for the wooded path before Hayami stops.
"You go on ahead Tetsuo, I still have to grab my jacket from the house".
And Sho is left alone in the courtyard. A bright, sunny morning. The leaves that are packed into the ground are damp with morning dew moisture. The fresh scent of green brush wafts through the air. Sho closes his eyes, and takes all of this in. 'What if I didn't fight Chronos anymore?', he asks himself. 'What if Chronos never finds us? What if we could hide here forever? Just let Chronos have the rest of the world. Mitsuki could be happy, happy enough at least.' "A normal life"
"No it isn't", the voice startles him.
His eyes shoot open, startled! "Who said that?", Sho shouts. "Come out and show yourself".
"It isn't a normal life though", the gruff voice speaks again, "To kill hundreds of trained soldiers. To live in the shadows. To turn yourself into a goulish monster at will". The face of the voice steps out from behind a tree, "To murder your own father. Definetly not a normal life".
Sho clenches his sweating fists. His face is white with shock, but at the same time almost rage. The man stands there in his trench coat, with white bandages dangling from it in the breeze. In earlier times, this man's hair would be combed back over his head; but in his bandaged disheveled state, the blonde lockes hang over his eyes. The eyes, unforgetably ruthless, and inhuman. "Guyot", is all Sho needs to say. "You were dead".
"Be gentle boy. I still have a bit of healing left to do". Guyot takes a small step forward, and Sho begins to back away for the house. "You and your freinds hurt me very much, and there is so much that I wish to pay back in return. But until that time, I will settle for one thing..." Guyot is far enough to be standing at the other end of a large room, but even that is still too close. Sho's feet back into the stepping stones of the front door. "...For now I will settle for one thing; tell me where I can find Makishima".
The front door opens, "Hey Sho have you seen...", Hayami stops.
"A freind?", Guyot smiles, "How nice. Perhaps he can tell me".
"You leave him out of this", Sho commands. "You leave everyone out of this! You were dead, Leave forever and don't come back!"
"Tsk tsk. I am on a schedule, and don't really have time for this", Guyot reaches into the pocket of his trench coat and pulls a revolver. He points it at Sho, "Someone will end up with a hole in their chest if I don't get what I want right now. Now tell me, where is Agito Makishima? Or would you rather me use that silly name, Zeus?" The gun is pointed at Sho, and an angry growl is all he replies. Both Hayami and Fukimachi are frozen at the end of the barrel, waiting for Guyot to make a mistake. BLAM! The shot fires over Sho's head! "My deadline is approaching! Answer me now Fukimachi!" Guyot's thumb cocks the revolver hammer, and his finger presses again against the trigger...
"Guyveeeer!", Sho screams! The blast of energy envelopes him, and the bullet whizzes right past! The tendrils of armor wrap around Sho, making him Guyver 1. The bullet had gone past him completely... didn't even touch the shield of energy. Sho turns to see what had been it's target. Hayami is frozen, half way into his BioFreezer zoanoid form. Hayami clutches his chest, thin lines of satin red streaming down from the gap over his heart. The scientist's eyes look upon his own wound, and back into the eyes of Sho. "Hayami", Sho whispers. "Hayami, you'll be ok..." Hayami falls forward, eyes wide open, onto the ground.
"Nooooo!!!", Sho screams! It would be enough for the force of his fist to kill a man, but never enough for a monster! His fist clenches, and the sword pierces from the buldge of his forarm, piercing to it's full leangth, singing it's deadly sharp song. His scream echoes into the air as he lunges at Guyot! The head of a monster is his target, and he flies toward it!
Suddenly the scream stops. All the rage is still there, burning, but Guyot's fingers clench tightly into the base of Sho's armored neck. The tubes that let him breathe are being squeezed, the human hand of Guyot holds him in mid air, before finally throwing him toward the trees. "Stop wasting my time, and tell me now!", Guyot demands.
"You've ruined my life", Sho gasps, "You killed my father. You take everything away from me. Even this!" Rising from the ground, not even waiting to stand fully erect, the sword of his other arm extends as he charges! Swing after swing nearly misses the heart of his target. Guyot dodges each by takeing single step backwards after single step. Each slice Sho tries to make is dodged as if Guyot floats out of its way. The frustration builds in Sho.
Finally Guyot grabs the guyver again, and throws him into the wall of the house! In a shattering of rock, Sho falls into a puddle of muddied blood. He lay aside the dieing Hayami. He can hear the faint breathing, and realizes there is still hope to save him. Though every second wasted brings the doctor to death. Sho rises. "I too am on a deadline", he says. "I'm tired of zoanoids coming after my friends. Tired of zoalords threatening the ones I love. And Tired of being powerless to do anything about it!" It only takes a moment to choose a power from the arsenal the armor provides him. A power that this 'once zoalord' monster can't dodge, or strongarm. Concentration is what he needs, to focus on his target.
The string of light shoots from over Sho's eyes! Three strings straight at Guyot's center. Guyot jumps back from the laser head beams, his legs pushing him into the air as if he were swimming. Amid the unfurling of his treanchcoat and bandages the strings of laser miss completely. Gently Guyot floats back to the ground, a sharp toothed grin on his face. "Do better boy"
If Sho's face were not covered in armor, it would be expresionless. No words are wasted, his hands immedietly focus, wrapping around an unseen ball before him. The ball of gravity forms in an almost unvisible swirl. It's charge complete, Sho can only think one thing, 'Choke on your former power', and the pressure canon launches itself at it's target!
The pressure canon throws Guyot backwards before even hitting him! His hands struggle to grasp around it, trying to fight it's explosive release. His sharp teeth clench, his fingers driving into the gravity ball's event horizon, struggling to control an element he once knew so well. The air electrifies, sending tiny sparks from between his fingers to shoot past his shoulders. Dust and wind blows so strongly into the etheric weapon, it's almost as if being charged stronger! Guyot hovers in the air, amidst the growing maelstrom in his hands. Lightening surges past him, and finally the pressure canon is destroyed! The air calms, and Guyot grins before finally returning to the ground.
"Impossible...", Sho breathes. "We saw Alkanphel rip the zoacrystal out of you!"
Guyot's grin grows even deeper, just as the smooth stone rises from the skin in his forhead. "My friends and I have been busy", he says, " ...very busy". The crystal stone rises even further, thin blue veins spidering from it as it glows. The once zoalord is transforming again, letting the bandages rip as he retakes his old form. Putrifying skin swelling as muscle buldges, bones snapping as they stretch. The gurgle of his deep, demonic laugh. Guyot, is a zoalord once more.
Sho stands huffing, desparetly trying to build the power to destroy this monster. No time can be wasted, he realizes that. His hands grip the center of his chest, and rip it open. The megasmasher, his one true weapon. Every ounce of everything he can gather he focuses into the gelatinous orbs that his chest is forming. He charges the white light. In a single gestures, as if to mock Sho's attempt, Guyot raises his hand and lets a river of lightening shoot right into Sho's heart! The guyver screams in agony, dropping to his knees. The power gathered explodes on itself, burning out, and leaves Sho's chest smouldering as he hunches over in agony.
"It's a pity", Guyot comments, "My body was made to channel gravity, yet my new crystal tries to form my will into electric. It would be nice to be fully integrated, to be at my maximum power and potential". He shrugs it off, "but I am alive. And I suppose in some small way, I have you to thank for the death of Purgstall. It's his crystal I'm using now, you see. You are part of the reason I have recovered".
Between coughs of charred blood, Sho wants to throw everything back at him. Everything Sho tries is in vein, to simply slit this monster's throat isn't enough; any single easy action just doesn't seem to be enough. No drop in the bucket is worth it to destroy a monster that keeps coming back. Just one final orchestra, one grandious attack, something to truly rid the world of this vile... thing! Sho coughs blood as his chest smoulders.
The monster's smile disappears, "I said I was on a timetable, didn't I?" Sho looks up to see him pointing into the woods. It would be a man the Guyot gestures too, a man that appears to hover forward. But no man is so smooth, like an egg streatched to the leangth of a leg. From the woods the device hovers, moving slowly towards Guyot's gesture. Sho's eyes widen in terror! The smooth device rotates at the end of the monster's hand, before snapping open at the one end. The remover!
"no", Sho coughs. The guyver quickly tries to stand, tries to do anything and fumbles back onto his knees.
"Do you suppose the armor has healed you enough to survive without it?", he asks. The remover slides onto Guyot's hand, and is pointed towards it's guyverian target. Like the speading of slimed wings, the remover control metal is unveiled. The monster wears no smile this time. This is personal. This is determination. "The guyver was to be mine from the very begining", he says, "Now it's time to correct that small mistake". The control metal of the remover, and the control metal of the guyver. From one light ring to another, a connection is made. Sho screams in defiance, and Guyot roars back with all his will! The control metal lights are blinding. "Mine", Guyot roars, "Mine!" and a tendril unfurls...
The armor is gone.
A gentle breeze passes between the trees. The morning air of the mansion has a faint scent of smoke. Sho is gasping on his knees; the chest of his shirt torn, but whole and human. Guyot lowers his arm, and lets the remover slide off. The unit-g, the seed of the guyver armor lay between them. Guyot steps forth, and with one hand picks it up. In his other hand, he steps forward again and clutches Sho by the collar.
"What I asked was simple, boy", Guyot holds Sho to the sky, to the trees and to the sun. "A simple answer was all that I wanted". Sho chokes between Guyot's fingers. "I will give you one last chance. Tell me where Agito Makishima is, and I will let you live!"
"... i... ", the young man rasps, " ..i.. don't.. know"
"A pitty. I thought you truly knew". The monster fingers slowly tighten, and slowly cut off both blood and air.
Suddenly Guyot feels the burning sensation rush up his leg! The burning fire of cold that slides under his very skin! "Aaaaauuuuggghhh", he let's out! In Shock he drops Sho and stumbles backward. Each step crackles, and tinges of blood peer through his joints. His skin is frozen in one thick layer of ice, frozen from the foot that Hayami had grabbed!
"That ice is under your skin", Hayami rasps, "I suggest you wrap it up, before it thaws". He lay there on the ground, struggling for breath, and for life, but his outstreatched hand stands as if to ward the monster off. "Leave the boy, or I'll finish what I've started".
The ice is halfway up his neck, and Guyot can feel the burning pain. The unit-g is already in his hand. He glares at the middle aged man, and turns for the forest. "I have a schedule", he says, "and my time is running thin". Guyot is quickly staggering back into the trees, and Hayami almost lets out a sigh of relief that his bluff is working. Guyot turns, and with one flash of light sends the unit remover burning on the ground where it lay! With a sneer, Guyot is gone. Hayami's arm drops with exaustion.
--------------------------------
The boat is still in the harbor, and all the bribes have been paid. Shizu walks down the narrow corridor, almost pressed against the thin walls. This ship is 'grubby', dirty and almost falling apart. But the men at sea are trustworthy. Trustworthy enough to be cut off from any Chronos water supply, to be free of zoalord telepathy. Still, it meens the hulking men are free from 'her' control as well. No matter though, she can handle them rough.
The uniformed zoanoid in the loading docks was easier though. Shizu had said her goodbyes to everyone in the alley before that, then made the soldier think she was nothing more than a common shipmate. Three months on the ship to return home, but better than wasting her energy by flying herself.
She walks down the dark corridor, when from behind her a hand wraps over her mouth. "Sshhh, be silent", the gruff voice says. The hand holds a chloraform cloth against her nose! Instantly her eyes force shut, and she tries to convince his mind to free her. Nothing there, he is no zoanoid. No, something, but so distant her mind can just barely feel it. Her eyes open, and his physical voice talks to her again, "I have little time, and I need your help." Her eyes close again, and her own mind turns to nothingness.
---------------------------------
Shizu's eyes open, and she finds herself laying in an almost empty room. It looks like a slum, except the air is thin, as if in a tall building, and the sounds of traffic beneath her agree. She turns her head, the man is standing before her, still holding the cloth. His bleeding face she recognizes.
"I'm sorry", Guyot says, "I have little choice. Time is running out, and I desparetly need your help". His trench coat looks as if it has been stretched to it's limits. Blood has stained it, and fresh blood trickles from his neck to his knee.
"Why should I help a dead man", Shizu glares. "Why should I help someone who's tried to kill both me, and Agito"
He gestures his hand forward in peace, "Because the appocolypse is at hand, and you don't have enough power to stand alone and face it. Join me, and together we can stop the horrable monster that is Alkanphel. Together we can take down the man that would see every human turned into his canon fodder". The air humms, as if a storm is coming.
Shizu rises to her feet. "And so I should help a dead man to take his place?", she sneers. "You died once trying to kill Agito and the rest of us. And it looks like you're bleeding enough to die again. I don't believe you have any interest in 'joining' the rest of us. Why don't you just finish dieing once and for all". The humming of the sky grows louder, rumbling in a way the thunder never could.
"You don't believe me", Guyot frowns. "It doesn't matter if you don't. I just have to show you my proof". With one leg limping he walks to the wall, and pulls away the curtain. The room they are in is a shack atop a tall building, but the view of the sky before them, is the view of Cloud Gate tower. This would be no proof of anything. But, in the sky hovers the hulking mass of the organic Chronos space ship. The Ark!
"Allkanphel is coming here", Guyot says. "So I once again ask for your help. Heal me, unless you think you can stand against twelve zoalords at once?"
Shizu stares at it with a wide mouth. The Ark itself, with thin arms stretching to grip it around the top of Cloud Gate tower. She regains herself. "If I do this... ", she says, " ...if I do this, you must help us fight until the end".
Guyot smiles as she reveals her zoalord form. As she reveals her abilty to heal in a single embrace.
-----------------------------------
The wind blows between his flapping cloak, and he smiles as his plan finally fullfills itself. The breeze suggests clouds floating above them, and an endless sky around them. The endlessness does not exist. The Ark, the organic star ship the size of a small city floats above their heads. Ten times has the Ark landed, ten times has it touched the roof of a Chronos tower. This is the eleventh, the last tower possible. The six great arms of the Ark's rear now wrap around the dome of the Cloud Gate tower, gripping it like crab legs to the ocean floor. Alkanphel smiles, the greatest of zoanoids are rising from the gates, and will be carried into the stars aboard the Ark.
"Sir", a scientist approaches Barcus, "we have one third of the Cloud Gate hyper zoanoids loaded into the Ark".
"Very good", Barcus says. The eleven zoalords have gathered, and look upon the proceedings. Men, both dressed in blue uniforms and nude in zoanoid form emerge from the roof hatches. The scientists, in white smocks, herd the genetically engineered creatures abord the enormous bio-ship. Soldier after soldier climbs the moist organic steps into the bio ship.
"With the loss of the Arizona base, sir", the scientist continues, "We have room for three thousand more candidates". Barcus looks under his eyes at the scientist still filling his report. The old zoalord ignores half of what the petty human recites. "This model I'm particularly proud of, I engineered most of it myself. It's designed specifically for zero-g environments". The nervousness in the young scientist was annoying, and Barcus treated it with silence. But the human continues on, growing more impetuous, more brave, with every word. "The difficulty was morphing the cellular tissue of the lips into a single surface. We've done cellular interlacing before, but never over bone and muscle structures that are usually so prominant in both human and zoa form". The scientist's face is red, beaming with pride over his own accomplishment! Impetuous. Barcus witholds a growl, 'not in front of the others', he tells himself. The human has duties to attend to, but still he goes on. "Growing air tanks was easy enough, it was basically reinforced blowfish. The nozzles throughout his body were tricky though; we wanted to give him air jets so he could move around in zero-g, but getting each nostril to seal perfectly was almost impossible..."
"Shut Up!", His mind screams. Hamical Barcus has had enough! How dare a human try to 'show him up' in scientific skill. How dare he in front of any zoa! His thought screams across into the single human head. No one else to hear, no one to know.
"Jealousy doesn't suit you Barcus", Alkanphel places a hand on the old man's shoulder. The other zoalords look confused, but Alkanphel's eyes just sparkle with that 'all knowing' grin. The human instantly disappears, thankfully. "He is an insect, my old friend. And you have made many more angels than he could ever hope for in his pitiful life. You have nothing to fear. Not pride, nor justification. Just look around you, look at what you have done, and what we are about to do right now. Four hundred years ago, I asked you to recreate the power of my former masters. You have done that now Barcus. Everything we do today, everything we are now able to do, is because of what you achieved".
Pink touches the cheeks of the old man. "Thank you my Lord". To be praised by his god, he almost drops to his knees, just as he once did.
Alkanphel turns away to the edge of the Cloud Gate dome. He faces the city scape before him. "This is what we leave behind". His gaze down on them, down on the buildings is as if gazing down upon all of humanity, "No more pitiful beings". His cat eyes glisten as he takes in the last of the world he was born to. The last of his home.
"Should we descend over Silha before we leave orbit", Imakarum asks?
Silha, the island of creatures from the time of Alkanphel's birth. The last place on Earth that is his alone, untouched by human kind. "No", he whispers, "we are traveling to alien worlds, not memories of the past. I'll return one day, I can visit Silha then". One final thought to send to all of humanity. His mind reaches out, and he feels those around him... one, two, three for Imakarum.... six, seven, eight for Waferdonas... and even ten for Rienzi, barely breathing aboard the Ark. His mind reaches out into the sky below them, to let his presence be known to the people surrounding cloud gate.... Thirteen! His eyes snap open, and he peels the layers of his vision for the 'source' of the thirteenth zoacrystal!
"What is it my Lord?", Khan asks. The frail, crinlky short man floats in the air with his legs crossed, "What could possibly be troubling you?"
Immedietly Alkanphel's eyes burn with seriousness. "Luggnagg, Jearvill", he points towards a rooftop, "There is a zoalord down there. Bring him to me". He glares at them with suspicion, his eyes oozing a warning for the conciquences of failure.
"Yes my lord", Luggnagg says. A single step is taken, as if leaping from the building. The two of them fly.
"I should follow too", Khan says, "The young often have difficulty with even the simplist of tasks. And a fellow zoalord..." The old man's reasurance does little to quell the dark eyes of both Alkanphel and Barcus.
Luggnagg de Krumeggnic glides through the air, as if all of his flight were the power of one leg; standing on the back of an eagle. The three of them glide through gentle wind. Angelic is the only way to describe the grace of their descent, as if the roof top comes to them, at their bidding. The first toe taps it as Luggnagg lands, with Jearvill lowering aside him. "This should prove interesting", Jearvill says. Jearvill Bun Hiyern, sinister with his scraggly goatee, and black turbin raised over his forhead to show to all the world his pearl of zoacrystal.
"Yes", Luggnagg smiles, "very interesting". His dark skin is wrapped cleanly around his solid, tall frame. He is a strong man, made more so by the white lines that trace around the mound of crystal over his eyes. There is nothing sinister about his body, except the look he gives from his eyes. "Very interesting indeed", he says, just as Cablarl Khan takes his place at the other man's shoulders. They open the door to the roof top shack.
Her pink smooth skin is like armor, yet her curves are hidden by the trench coat she wears. Guyot is in her arms, embraced without her touching him. The flaps of skin, the wings that stretch from the base of her skull wrap around him also. She is glowing in her embrace, floating off the ground as she shares the warmth with him. His scars are now nothing more than a thin line that disappears as the doors close behind them. Her eyes open with panic!
"It seems the four horsemen are reunited", Jearvill exclaims. "So tell us, just where exactly is your guyver unit?"
"I've hidden it", Guyot says. He pulls the tattered coat from him and reaches for a new from the corner. "I wanted to be at 'full' power before I bonded with it", his grin turns to Shizu herself, "and I didn't want to raise her suspicions". With the four of them surrounding her, Shizu looks as a frightened squirrel caught by savage cats. "Remember dear, we still have an alliance. You promised to help me take down Alkanphel".
"you..", she stutters, " ...you were'nt alone. I thought you were a rogue!"
"Like Aptom?", Khan asks. He folds his knuckles together as if meditating. "Does that meen that you regret helping him, now that you know who his true friends are? Your choice is simple. Join our alliance, or you may oppose us right here".
She is a zoalord, but they are of the same power as her. Even in human form, they surround her. They call themselves the horsemen, yet they are seething rats, waiting for her answer. She could unleash her immense power in a single attack, but it is zoalord she faces. She looks at Guyot, the man she just healed, and brought back to full power. "You wanted me to help take down Alkanphel, and I thought Chronos. Instead, you just wanted to replace him". He decieved her. "I don't have a choice, I will help you kill him".
"Excellent", Jearvill says, "Then the plan is simple. Guyot will leave for his new unit, and we will bring Alkanphel the zoalord he asked for". Jearvill's sinister eyes burn into her, "And when all eyes are focused on you, then we will see something truly unexpected".
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The only thing missing are the manacles around her wrists and neck. For all intents and purposes, she is their prisoner. Her face is again human, and she wonders if she should drop to her knees as well.
"Griselda", Barcus scowls. "She is the one that attacked us in Washington. She led the Libertus zoanoid against us, and even overpowered my own telepathy, in Arizona turned OUR zoanoids against us! She is a dangerous weapon my lord! She is a pawn of Agito Makishima!"
The roof of Cloud Gate is quiet. Everything has stopped simply for her. All the zoalords stand circling her, the three presenting her as a sacrificial lamb. Alkanphel himself stands to recieve her. His standing over her already makes it seem as if she is on her knees. "A thirteenth zoacrystal?", he asks. "You only grew eleven from my body. I must give Barcus' former assistant credit". His reaction to her is confusing. It is not anger, or even malice towards her, but indifferance. "I was not expecting to bring another zoalord with me on my journey. But with the wounds Rienzi has suffered, perhaps it would be best if you took his place".
"My Lord!", Barcus interupts, "She killed..."
Alkanphel raises a hand to silence the old man. "The Ark was meant to be piloted by twelve zoalords. There are ten under my power, and one of those has suffered a mortal wound. It will be difficult enough to bring my city ship into hyper space, do not question me".
The old man lowers his eyes as he bows away.
"Griselda is it?", Alkanphel asks her.
"Shizu", she says. "Griselda is the name of my zoalord form". She tries to answer meekly. This 'young man' before her just does not seem to be the enemy that she has long been expecting. He doesn't seem angry, he hasn't ordered her tortured or executed, he hasn't even asked about Agito. He doesn't seem to be an enemy at all; yet still she fears him.
"Shizu then", he says in disgust. "Shizu, the human remade zoalord by nothing more than another human", the very idea leaves distaste in his mouth. "I wonder what you think of the idea, Shizu. Of leaving the world of your birth, and finding new worlds to create zoaforms. Each world under my power". He has turned away from her to look out into the endless horizon of the Tokyo city. "Yet one world itself is fickle without my control. When I slept millions of years ago, humanity veered into any path it's toe stumbled onto", a purpose then grows in his eyes, and he looks into her, "I am taking the best of the zoaforms to implant other worlds, but I want humanity -here- to continue on the path that I have set. I have come to believe that I must leave a zoalord in my absence".
He is looking at her expectingly. How should she respond? What should she say? Does this young man blindly trust her? Even after she helped destroy his Arizona headquarters?
He says, "Perhaps the twelveth zoacrystal would suffice". She gasps, and the three behind her almost catch their breath as well. Does Alkanphel already know about Guyot? "Don't be so surprised", he continues, "I can sense all the zoacrystals around me. But I suppose trusting the person who holds it, whomever that may be, would be too dangerous without even meeting with him". At first his gaze burns, then Shizu realises that it is flowing right past her, to the three zoalords that brought her forth. "Should I choose you, Imakarum? Would you stay on Earth for me?"
"Me my lord?", the black haired man asks. "I would gladly stay, if you asked it of me. Just as I would gladly take my place at your side". The man with hair as black as Alkanphel's is gold. Though opposite every strand of their hair, his dark glasses cover cat like eyes every bit the same. Shizu would shed a tear any other day; and on other days she already has. Imakarum was once the friend she knew as Murakami. Was he an enemy? He killed her grandfather, or at least had it done. Yet now he seems as peacefull as Alkanphel, as though the two are twins in spirit.
His fingertips caress Imakarum's cheak, "My Mirabilis, would I not take you by my side?". Shizu's mind is spinning. Alkanphel is playing games, leaning one way, and then that. Leading every which way before finally comeing to the real point of what he wants. Playing with his power. "Then would you stay Shizu? It is a simple choice to make. You can be a mother to a countless new race of zoa on the journey ahead, or you can be the new mother of the zoa of Earth. Which do you choose?" His face is to her, empty, and waiting for her answer.
"I... ", she tries to think. This can't be possible. There is no way he would just let her stay like this! They are enemies, she is trying to kill him! Agito is trying to kill him! This has to be some kind of trick, " ...I.. ". But to stay, and await for Agito's return.
Hamical Barcus is burning acid on the end of his tongue. Suddenly the old man turns back to face her, "Kill Guyver one". Every thought in her head stops in this instant. "Prove you would serve Alkanphel. Kill all of the rebels, right now! Do the next best thing, at least, by telling us exactly where they are".
"No!", Shizu flares, "There is no way that I'm going to kill them! You'll have to find someone else to do your dirtywork!"
Imakarum laughs. "Tut tut, I think she still believes she has options left". His long black hair reaches to his long black cloak, and he steps forward to raise her chin so he can look her in the eye. His inhuman, dispicable eyes that killed her grandfather. She wants to spit at him, if only she weren't better than that! "I think she still loves her pathetic human friends. I think she still loves her precious 'Agito'. She would never betray them now, would she?".
"No", Alkanphel simply says, "She wouldn't". The leader of all zoalords is able to make quiet in the highest rage of any storm. Imakarum backs away from her. "She would never do as I ask, it seems. You may be right Imakarum, she may indeed have far too much love for her friends for her to help us. That is why she will have to come to love us instead".
"What are you talking about?", Shizu growls.
Pain shoots through her! Piercing pain so strong that she can't even scream! The crystal under the skin of Alkanphel's forhead glows with the intensity of sunlight, and the pain has her knees vibrating like reeds! "Into her mind Imakarum, and show her who she truly loves".
Into her mind? The telepathy of a zoalord is used to inflict his will on others. Shizu's crystal glows in defiance. The pain, she can feel Hamical Barcus behind her, tunneling his way into her brain. The pain, and she can feel Waferdonas struggling to dig past her mental wall. The zoalord surround her, each of them trying to burn into synapses that were never meant for them to enter. Pain! The three traitors behind her! It is them that she is trying to help kill Alkanphel, and they too strike into her. All of them attack, and she tries to fight them out of her mind. It is like holding eleven snapping vipers in her arms, and with only two hands to keep the fangs away from her throat! One coils and snaps, while the other slips from her fingers to attack again.
She remembers the processing tank that turned her into a zoalord, It gave her the power to resist this. No! Stay focused! Her eyes water as she almost feels her skull crack! Every zoacrystal glows brightly around her, glows into her. It was a bright sunny day when she and Mitsuki baked the cookies, Khan was sitting on the kitchen counter laughing with them. No! She ties the false memory up and throws it back at him, all the while her head feeling like it's splitting. Her watering eyes shed tears. Shizu was shedding tears when Imakarum killed her grandfather. She cries heavily. "Onuma", she says, "grandfather". The gaping hole is in his chest, and she holds the dieing Barcus in her arms for comfort. "Noooo!", she screams, "Get out of my head!"
"Why do you fight us", Imakarum asks, "your precious Agito isn't coming back. When the Arizona base was destroyed, he left you while he flew off in the relic. He cast you off like used cigarettes. Why don't you just give in?"
"No", Shizu holds back the tears. Her head burns, her own zoacrystal burns, as she constantly struggles to fight them off. 'I love you Shizu', Agito tells her. That was long ago, when they were both still human. No monster can take that away from her. Her tears become renewed vengance! They dare try to question her love for him? She was there when he was a boy, when he was taken away from his family by Genzo Makishima. She saw how fragile he was, she heard him crying. 'I hate them Shizu, I hate them all!' Yes, the pain echoes through her again and again, and she knows the hatred that he feels! Barcus, the most powerful of telepaths, is walking down the steps to the rebel mansion. It was Agito that helped them find that mansion, and she burns Barcus from it! Agito, where are you? Where are you when I need you most? The slime of Jearvill slides down her spine. Burn him, burn them all! She remembers her first night with Agito, her first time held in his arms. It was dark, and he felt so warm pressed against his skin. Her fingers run through his long black hair, and she kisses him. I love you Muraka... she pulls away to look into his eyes. 'I love you too', Agito's voice says. Agito's voice, with a face her fingers trace in the darkness. He kisses her again, and again; and soon the voice belongs to the face.
Shizu stands there frozen. The beads of sweat slide down her temples. She is frozen as if a fever has gripped her. "I... I am sorry... Agito". The zoalords smile as they surround her. Her mind is broken, and with her will to fight drained they can enter and rewrite anything they wish.
One by one the hairs on her head raise. Luggnagg raises a questioning eyebrow, "what is she doing". Imakarum stares straight into her eyes, and breaks away as he feels the tingle running through him. "What's going on here?" The tingle extends to all of them, all hairs standing on end.
Alkanphel looks to the horizon, out to the ocean to a distant bird. It is no bird he sees. From distant parting clouds emerges a shape none of them have seen before. If the Ark is the size of a small city, then what flies towards them with great speed would be the size of a small mountain. Olympus, the mass of flesh brought into orbit by Gigantic Dark. The dead relic that Agito Makishima had stolen in the destruction of the Arizona base. Alkanphel looks to the horizon, to the open breast plate of the alien bird, and to the glowing of the ultra-smasher aimed directly at them. The Olympus fires!