Disclaimer:I don't own Guyver, and the concept of the Anti Chronos Task Force in general belongs to the people at Warrior Guyver. However, the plot of this story, and the characters of Ryan Crouger, Ingriam Mirabilis, Drake Shepherd, Samarubu, and most of the ACTF soldiers - save for Colonel Atkins himself - belong to me. Please note, this is a war story, so their will be combat casualties, and injuries; this story has never really been for the faint of heart, but this installment in particular is pretty brutal.
Days of Fire and Thunder
Ryan landed on the coast of Japan well before sunrise, still in Hypertime. Elegen was conked out in the back of his mind, having taken his turn to fly while Ryan himself "slept" a while ago. His short break over, Ryan lifted off into the air and flew off in the direction of Agitos latest safehouse.
XxXxX
The sun rose, as it had done since before there were sentient creatures to bear witness to it. However, the new day this particular sunrise heralded would witness both a death and a rebirth. Silha, the hidden island in the Atlantic Ocean that was home to Alkanphel and the last refuge of the Advents' failed experiments, was, in fact, the second place to receive the light of the newly-breaking day.
However, since all of the main players in this new game were waiting on their leader's signal, that didn't count for much.
Alkanphel, watching from the highest point of his temple as the light of the new dawn bled pinks and golden yellows into the clouds on the far edge of the horizon, closed his eyes just as the sun's light reached him. Stretching out with his telepathic power, Chronos' Supreme Overlord reached into the minds of his eleven children. The message he sent was a deceptively simple one:
-It begins today, my Zoalords. I know that you will not disappoint me.-
XxXxX
Fried'rich van Purg'stall, who had just begun his daily routine at Chronos Japan Section's Cloud Tower, heard the message his Lord sent with mingled anticipation and trepidation. Plucking a small, plastic keycard from a holder secreted at the back of his largest desk drawer, he rose from his desk at last. His long, white robe whispered over the floor as Fried'rich made his way to the express elevator that served his office.
Hitting the call button, he stepped into the elevator and hit the button that would close the doors; he did not have the luxury of waiting for them, not on this day of days. Inserting his keycard into the reader, Fried'rich pressed the button that would take him to the lowest level of Cloud Tower's extensive sub-basement. A level that even the most loyal of his subordinates were strictly prohibited from entering.
The doors closed, sealing Fried'rich within the elevator car, and he felt the deep, comforting thrumming of the elevator's motor in his feet, legs, and back as he descended. Reaching out with his own telepathic powers, Fried'rich contacted Lord Alkanphel.
-I hear your words, my Lord Alkanphel. All will be done as you command.-
XxXxX
In one of the mid-level processing laboratories of Cloud Tower's sub-basement, Imakarum Mirabilis also received the telepathic orders of his Lord. Standing in front of a row of five processing tanks, Imakarum smirked slightly. This was what he had been born for. As Masaki Murakami's sole purpose in life had been to cause harm and destruction to Chronos, so Imakarum's was to protect Chronos' interests.
And to annihilate Chronos' enemies: these five newly processed Zoanoids standing before him would contribute nicely to that goal.
XxXxX
Shin Rubeo Amniculus, who had been transferred back to the North American Section when Dr. Balkus had been called away to oversee the development and implementation of certain facets of the Ark project, also received his Lord Alkanphel's orders. Striding out of his darkened room, Shin removed his keycard from the top drawer of his desk.
Continuing onward to his own private elevator, Shin proceeded to repeat the steps that his old friend Fried'rich van Purg'stall had performed within Cloud Tower.
-I have heard your words, my Lord Alkanphel. I will proceed according to your instructions.-
XxXxX
In the main office of the Paradise Valley Health Spa in Brazil, behind a door labeled "Office of Walter Daniels, CEO", the Zoalord Waferdanos had just received his orders and was making ready to carry them out. His keycard already in hand, Waferdanos entered his own private elevator and pressed the button that would take him to Chronos Brazil's lowest level. As the elevator descended, Waferdanos reflected on how very pleased he would be not to have the humans referring to him by an assumed name anymore.
"Walter Daniels", after all, was simply a convenient fiction. A comforting lie he told those who were not yet ready to know him for who and what he truly was. He was more than happy to give up such ridiculous pretenses.
-I have heard your orders, Lord Alkanphel. X-Day will not fail, I promise you.-
XxXxX
In his room at the Genesis Tower, main base of Chronos' Genesis Foundation, the sleeping form of Ingriam Mirabilis was awakened suddenly by Alkanphel's telepathic summons. Blinking in the pre-dawn darkness, Ingriam rubbed at his closed eyes with the back of his right hand. Yawning, he crawled out from under the covers and made his way to the end of the bed.
He was careful not to wake big brother Zektor - or at least he thought he was - but the Hyper Zoanoid sat up and blinked at him when he got out from under the covers.
"Good not-quite-morning, kidlet," Zektor said. "What's got you up at this godawful hour?"
"It's today," he said, practically bouncing out of bed on the way to change into his battle uniform; Alkanphel had said that he was supposed to wear it from now on.
As he went over to his closet to get his uniform and put his pajamas in the hamper, Ingriam heard Zektor call out to him.
"Are you feeling all right? You were having nightmares pretty badly last night before you asked me to stay here with you while you slept."
"I'm okay," he said.
He really wished Dad hadn't gone away, since they had always spent the night together, and he was getting lonely. Tonight was the first night he'd had to ask big brother Zektor to come and sleep with him.
Once he'd gotten the main part of his uniform on - the part that looked like pajamas but weren't - Ingriam started to pull on his boots. Big brother Zektor came up behind him and zipped up the back of his uniform without him even having to ask, so that was nice. The stand with his armor on it wasn't very far from the closet, so he closed the door and headed over to it.
Big brother Zektor was waiting for him there. "Want me to help you with this?"
"Thanks!" he said.
"So," Zektor said, as Ingriam held his arms out for his big brother. "Care to tell me whats got you up at this hour? Youre not usually one for getting up before you have to, kidlet."
"It's X-Day today!"
Zektor whistled; he had a really cool whistle. "Big day, then. You'd better get going."
Ingriam smiled, turning away from his armor stand and heading for his office. He could hear big brother Zektor's heavy footfalls behind him, and he was happy to know that his big brother was there; biting his lip, he wished his dad was with him. This was a really important day for Chronos, Alkanphel had told him so.
Hurrying over to his desk, he took out his keycard. Mr. Luggnagg's had already been shredded, and Mr. Dr. Balkus had told him their individual key cards were tied to them. He hadn't really understood how, but both Dad and Mr. Dr. Balkus had said it was for the best that he have a new one. Then he headed over to the back of his office where big brother Zektor had shown him the elevator that only he could use.
Well, Mr. Luggnagg could have used it, too, but he was dead so he didn't count.
XxXxX
"Good luck down there, kidlet," he said as the elevator's soft chime rang and the doors opened smoothly. "Don't stretch yourself too far."
"I won't," their little Overlord said, smiling at him even as the elevator doors closed and sealed him inside.
Shaking off the melancholy that had briefly settled over him, Zektor determinedly left the room. He had troops to rally, same as the kid.