Jagara and Mumm-Rana entered into a corrirdor of polished metal whose air smelled fresh unlike the stone sewers they had traversed on their seemingly endless trip down. They both paused on entering, marvelling at how the lights and environmental systems still functioned.

"They really built this place to last," Jagara said as they looked about. "How far down do you think we are?"

"Far enough," Mumm-Rana answered. The priestess had found traces of energy in the sewers and had used it to lead them to this strange place. "To think that such structures could be built so far below ground. I suppose later generations really did learn from my own people."

"This place has its own power source," Jagara said. "If the lights are on, then security must be, too."

"I agree. Our quest only grows more dangerous from here."

"At least the trip down was easy enough."

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It was not intelligent. Nor was it fully functional. No system designed by man coud last forever and, without proper maintenance, not long at all. Even so, it was a testament to hardware and software engineering that it even functioned at all much less at its current capacity.

It had detected the two intruders immediately and began security protocols. Or, at least, it tried to. Further investigation revealed degredation on a massive scale. Over the countless years, several natural parasites and life forms had crept into once-secure systems. Connections shorted and burned as it tried to access vital systems. Security measures put in place failed to activate or even acknowledge the order to do so.

It ran a diagnostic and dicovered numerous faults in its systems. Auto security was irretrivably lost. Power and life support were hanging on. Frozen storage was still nearly at full, having been designed with the most redundancies, but even that was fading. It checked Centrral, and the readout was alarming. Seventy percent of climate control had failed. While what remained was enough, another critical threshold was passed with no remedial procedures available. Too much time had passed.

Then came another failure.

A long-neglected circuit finally blew. In the space of a few seconds, it knew that catastrophic failure was unavoidable. Redundant systems would keep basic functions operating for several days, but higher guidance was within seconds of termination. In the final picoseconds of its functionality it checked the bio-security measures and found that ninety-five percent of the specimens were dead. It activated and accelerated the awakening procedures on what was left just before winking out forever. Another lifeless Kronos ruin far below the surface.

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"Something is wrong." Jagara and Mumm-Rana continued their charge down the metal corridor as the lights dimmed and the sounds of machinery faded. Whatever contraption which had brought breathable air down this deep had apparently malfunctioned.

"We still have time," Mumm-Rana said as they charged around another bend in the hall. The lighting had dimmed and shifted into a red glow which they could only hope was a backup power setting for the apparent failure of the main source of electricity. The corridor straightened and revealed a startling sight.

A nude man stood in their path. The sudden strangeness of the sight nearly brought them to a halt. His nude body was hairless from head to toe, his face lacking any sort of expression. He was covered in the remnants of a strange fluid that clung to his body. The pair resumed their charge, preparing spells to blast him into oblivion, as he was joined by three others who were idnetical in every way.

That sameness changed in an instant. The leading male's body suddenly expanded, his skin taking a green tint complete with scales. Twin rows of spikes adorned the sides of what might have been a neck with a single wicked horn atop its head. Two in the rear made equally impossible changes in size, covered in purple fur with massive claw-tipped hands and feet. Bat-like ears framed faces complete with crimson eyes and mouths lined with teeth to make a Great White Shark despair. Behind them all, though, was a thin being whose shoulders bulged with seemingly impossible mass on both sides of a reptillian \face at the end of a thick and elongated neck. Its flesh was bronze in tone and the growths on its shoulders snapped open to reveal strange organic devices within what had actually been pods. Crimson lights began to gather before them as the other three charged. Mumm-Rana and Jagara began gathering energy for a counter just before the three hulking brutes hit the floor. Twin crimson bursts erupted from the rear monster's shoulders to impact their shields with murderous force. The feet slid back from the first onslaught and futher from the second. The other three rose up and resumed their charge when the fourth stopped firing, obviously recharging for another barrage.

Jagara charged forward with a yell as twin blades of quicksilver coalesced in her hands. She slashed crosswise in front of her as the green one neared, severing its arms at the elbows before a swipe with the blade in her right hand bit deep enough into a major artery to unleash a torrent of blood. Jagara leapt back and to her left and crossed the blades at her chest just as the two bat-like monsters closed. Mumm-Rana's burst of power danced over her blades before being reflected into the red eyes of the creatures. They reeled backward, blinded and in pain just as Jagara danced in to sever their throats. Though the wounds were deep, the two monsters pressed on in their death throes until twin cobalt tendrils of energy ripped into them and tore their bodies asunder. They hit the floor in a heap of limbs that were already in the process of dissolving just before the last monster fired again. Neither Jagara nor Mumm-Rana had the chance to fully erect shields. The impact against their hastily prepared defenses launched them both backward to land on their backs before skidding several feet to a painful stop. They struggled to rise as the bronze skinned creature drew nearer and the pods that were its shoulders began to glow yet again. It was at that moment that Mumm-Rana leapt to her feet and thrust her arms out before her. A glacial wind howled before her hands and thick ice encased the creature's laser pods. It turned its head as best it could, staring in shock at the frozen weapons before screaming in pain. Its flesh dissolved from within, corroded from the power it had stored in order to kill them. It fell to a heap of charred and vanishing meat in moments.

"Nice move," Jagara said as she regained her feet.

"I noticed that it didn't charge those blasts for long," Mumm-Rana replied. "There had to be a reason why." Jagara waved the stench of burnt meat away. "It appears I was correct."

"Whatever power it drew on, its body couldn't handle it for long," Jagara said as the two women made their way past the dissolving remains. "Y'know, the last time four identical naked men greeted me, things went far differently." Jagara laughed as Mimm-Rana's head snapped toward her. "Come on. I'm a sorceress, not a saint."

"I... see..."

"Carpe diem," Jagara said as the corridor took another bend. "Seize the day."

"You only live once, then?"

"I think we've both disproven that one."

"Point," Mumm-Rana said as they continued their trek. "There is no telling what else might be waiting for us down here." The quicksilver blades re-appeared in Jagara's hands.

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Siberias sat alone in the darkened laboratory area of the Medical Wing with a mug if hot coffee in his hands and data scrolling upward on the monitor before him. He watched idly as his mind pored over the details. Pumyra was with Bengali and Darin, enjoying time as a mother rather than as a medical professional. Though she had a gift for research, her greatest talent was in practical medicine. Siberias, on the other hand, had spent the majority of his career in labs. On the one hand he despaired at what Pumyra had to work with in regards to medicines, but on the other he had to congratulate her for making such great use of what she had available. He took a sip and restarted the data display. Pumyra was definitely on to something with this. He called up a display on the cross section of a G Cell. Much of the genetic material within its nucleus was beyond description. He stared up at the display and her logic began to make more sense. So long as Sho's DNA was the controlling influence, then the G Cells would not work for anyone but him. The solution seemed obvious, yet Siberias knew it was anything but. Simply replacing Sho's DNA with that of another seemed the obvious solution yet there was so much about the actual mechanics of the G Cells that was not known. Siberias took another sip and called up the files on their proposed experiments.

The simple fact was that the infrastructure needed for thorough scientific study simply did not exist on Third Earth. What many did not understand was that scientific progress depended on numerous factors, not the least of which was resource exploitation. One exasperating example was that while the colony would have the resources to mine asteroids for materials soon, "soon" was a relative term. When "soon" was used in terms of years or even decades...

Siberias closed his eyes, warning himself against one of the greatest temptations of science. Progress should not... must not... be rushed for any reason. The next experiment was planned and ready, yet there was nothing beyond it if this proved fruitless. Even so, within a day or so, they would try it.

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What had begun as a girl's night out had become a small party. Leah sat in the center of the other Thunderian women on a collection of every cushion her adoptive parents owned. She held Darin in her arms as WilyKit applied paint to the claws on her toes and placed balls of cotton between them. She looked down at the riot of rainbow colors adorning her toes, then up at the smiling faces of the women around her. The hiccups began just before she felt Myrlha's arms encircle her from behind.

"I know, sweetie," she said as the sobs started. "I know you miss them." The tears soon followed as she felt Myrlha kiss her atop her head and embrace her tighter. "Let it out." Leah's sobs grew as she recalled her birth parents, the crash on that hellish world, the knowledge that they were gone from her life forever... Then survival, then the attack and their imprisonment on the Vertis, then Sho's attack to free them... Leah cried as she thought on the parents she'd hardly known and the hole their theft had rended in her. Myrlha's arms encircled her even tighter and she leaned back into the loving embrace. "No one is ever gonna take their place," Myrlha said before kissing her atop her head. "No one is ever gonna try. But, you're not alone any more."

"We're all here for you," Pumyra said as she cradled Darin. Leah cast her gaze over Pumuyra and WilyKit, both clad in pajamas as she and Myrlha were.

"They died in the crash," Leah began in a halting voice. "They put me in an escape pod, they said they'd find me on the ground... but..." Myrlha's arms encircled her tighter as she shuddered from the memories. "A lot of people took care of me here and there, but..."

"It's not your fault," Myrlha said in a soothing tone. "None of what happened was." She released Leah, turning her about to sit in her lap. "Your mom and dad had to make a hard choice."

"They wanted you to live on," WilyKit said. "No matter what the cost would be. They loved you that much."

"It's a hard thing to understand," Pumyra added, "and a hard thing to explain. But you have to remember that they loved you more than anything. That's why they made the choice they did."

"There's no easy way of understanding it," Myrlha said. "We've all lost people we loved. I know it's hard to understand why, but that'll come with time." Myrlha embraced her again, tears stinging her own eyes as she felt Leah's through her top an her silent sobs. "But, we're here now. We'll listen. We'll understand. And we will never abandon you." Myrlha eased back and Leah looked up at her with swimming, hopeful eyes. Myrlha leaned down and kissed away her tears then backed away to smile down at her new daughter. "I promise."

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Sho awoke suddenly, his breath catching in his chest as the traces of the dream faded yet again. Night was in full bloom, the sounds of nocturnal insects filling the air beyond his blanket on the ground.

It had been the same as before, the ovoid shape looming in the darkness with indecipherable whispers racing past his ears. The dream had become more frequent of late, having started after his return from the alternate future in which Grune had become a Guyver and destroyed Third Earth. Sho cast his gaze about, the light from the dying fire dim, and saw only WilyKat asleep beneath his blanket in the chill air. He seached his mind, frantically searching for any connection to the vision in his dream only to be disappointed once again. What the hell is it, and what's keeping me from it? he asked himself. Even stanger had been the vision of a Guyver Unit overlaying the image of the strange object and the mixed feelings it stirred. He looked up through the spaces in the canopy of leaves and wondered at the meaning of what he had seen. He remembered what had awakened him, a feeling of something stirring in the vast distance. Something forgotten laid alongside something to come. Whatever it had been, it was fading into his mind. Sho rose and readied the coffeepot, knowing he would not sleep any longer this night and wishing Myrlha were there to soothe his abraded nerves.

He hung the pot over the fire which he had re-stoked and focused inward as the water slowly came to a boil. Sho stiffened, reaching into his boot for the thin throwing knife and drawing it clear. The sound came again and Sho sailed the leaf blade into the brush to the sound of a squeal. He rose and walked over to the brush to find a hare speared through the neck. He plucked the dead animal from the earth and walked over to the fire. Half way through skinning the animal for breakfast, he wondered where in the hell that shot had come from. He felt hidden memories stirring beneath the surface of his mind and shoved them aside as he prepared the carcass. The next day would be his encounter with Lisker.

"Nice shot," WilyKat said from his bedroll. Sho glanced over to see him propped up on one arm and staring at him.

"Thanks," he replied as he placed the offal onto a cloth for burial then speared a length of green wood through the dressed carcass. He took the coffee from the fire and set it on ground before spearing the carcass with the spit and placing it over the fire. "Too bad Snarf didn't donate his spice rack to the cause." WilyKat rose and poured two steaming mugs of coffee, correctly assuming that the day was starting regardless of the hour.

"I'd settle for some sugar," WilyKat said. "We're out."

"We can pick some up tomorrow." Sho slowly rotated the carcass of the hare over the renewed flames.

"Where did you learn this stuff?" WilyKat asked. Sho winced, hoping he wouldn't and wondering the same.

"I guess some more memories are returning," he said as he took the mug from WilyKat. "Thanks." He took a sip of the black beverage and tried not to think of the various ways to improve its taste. He recalled that drinking it straight had been called "taking it like a man". Sho briefly wondered what man could be that masochistic. Still, enduring it naked granted the benefit of a full rush of caffeine at the detriment of taste.

"If Grune's taken over this Clutch group," WilyKat began, "then where in the hell are they?" The pair had passed numerous caravans and single wagons on their route to Watershed despite the fact that they had been travelling on secondary routes. Logic dictated that those would be ideal for raiders, yet nothing had happened. "None of this makes sense."

"We don't have the information we need," Sho replied as he turned their breakfast. "I know this looks like a total clusterfuck, but there has to be a pattern. We just can't see it yet."

"You get the feeling we won't until it's about to slap us in the face?"

"Not the first time I've had to deal with that," Sho replied. "The problem is that the bad guys always seem to have the initiative."

"We have to break that pattern."

"Easier said than done." The pair sat in silence, drinking their coffee as Sho rotated the hare over the fire. Grease began to pop from the cooking flesh, falling into the flames as the scent reached their noses.

WilyKat remained silent as he watched the hare cook. Constantly bombarding Sho with questions would do no good, he knew. The next morning would see them in Watershed and their unscheduled meeting with Lisker. Guyver Two, he thought. WilyKat wondered what he coulde safely ask the other Guyver about the units. Not much, he reckoned.

Instead, he let himself review the shot Sho had taken which had procured their breakfast. He knew Panthro hadn't taught him that. Was there another in New Thundera who know how to use such blades? Was Sho right, and it was the result of memories beginning to surface? If so, then Sho possessed skills that no one had anticipated.

WilyKat dismissed those thoughts. They were unimportant. His mission was fixed and immutable. The new Guyver would be him.

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"Your Majesty," Corman said formally as he bowed at the waist before King Lion-O's throne. The throne to his left was absent. His queen was currently nursing their newborn, the CONTROL officer recalled. "Thank you for agreeing to this audience." He kept his tone and body language formal, not wanting to appear ingratiating. WilyKit, having done her due dilligence, took her leave with a pair of guards stationed on either side of their soverign. The eyes of the guards were flat yet still focused on him. Corman had no illusions of what would happen if they suddenly thought him a threat.

"I know why you're here," Lion-O said curtly. "Sho."

"Yes, Sire."

"I regret to inform you that he's on assignment at the moment, and I'm not certain when he will return."

"That's unfortunate," Corman said, keeping his diplomatic mein firmly in place.

"It is, but he is currently dealing with affairs critical to New Thundera." Lion-O, atop his throne, crossed one leg over the other. His face was wore a mein of boredom. "I would be interested in entertaining notions of of an alliance with the Pan-Galactic Federation, though."

"I apologize, Your Highness, but I do not have the authority to speak on behalf of the PGF Central Council."

"Perhaps they will send an envoy to discuss such matters. I trust you have enjoyed your stay on Third Earth?"

"I have no complaints."

"Excellent. Your ship has been refulled and is ready for takeoff."

"I understand, Your Eminence." With that, Corman saluted smartly and turned to make his exit from the Royal Hall. As far as dismissals went, it had been unequivocal. Corman remained silent as he exited Cat's Lair. Hours later, he was back in the cockpit of his ship and reviewing final preparations for takeoff. Again, he found himself against a blank wall. Thorson had to have known that this would not bear any fruit. He had to have known that Corman's mission would bear no fruit...

Unless that had been the point?

There was a thought. The landing gear retracted as the repulsor systems powered up. Could this trip have been a way for Thorson to cover his ass for something? If so, what? A blue light on his console blinked into life as he cleared the ground and plotted a course westward to take advantage of the planet's orbit to assist in achieving escape velocity.

CONTROL had kept secrets that even the military had not uncovered. Secrets that he had gained access to. Corman took a deep breath as he confirmed the source of the clandestine transmission. He was now active. Any orders he had received from CONTROL or the PGF military were now null and void and he was now an official unperson. He allowed himself a small chuckle. If only Seres Mandora had known. As his ship reached the upper atmosphere of Third Earth, he sent a mission statement to Thorson before selecting a comm frequency memorized long ago and never used in living memory. Then again, the one to whom he reported had been alive since long before living memory. Corman felt a sense of deep relief. He could at last stop pretending, stop living lies on top of lies. He activated the secure comm unit given to him twenty years before, disguised in the badge he had won so long ago. It was a series of signal noises never written down by anyone even in the Order. Corman transmitted a reply, piggybacked atop a navigation interrogation.

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He leaned back in the overstuffed chair behind the anachronistic desk. It had been made of actual wood and even had an actual oscillating fan sitting upon it. The room was pitch black, yet his single cybernetic eye could perceive the space as clear as day. The Trojan Horses he had placed in the backdoors of the PGF's systems had finally borne fruit and awakened him.

He had known such an event would come to pass, that the monster would not be contained forever. He snorted to himself at the foolishness prevalent in the fledgling PGF at the time. They could not kill the beast, so the tried to sweep him under the rug. The fucking idiots. They had created him in a time of reckless science, using research on human DNA that only one group had dared to look into before. The Forebearers. Kronos.

He had sacrificed everything. His family, his life, ninety percent of his original body. Setting it all up had required dealings with those he'd once chased, making inroads for criminal organizations. But this was the vindication. He'd been right all along. He activated the worms present in the command systems of CONTROL and the PGF military for decades and was rewarded immediately. CONTROL was under military control thanks to the idiocy of a disgraced commissar.

He glanced down at the golden metal of his exposed cybernetic arm just as his signal was answered. God, how long it had been. Who had recruited this one? He searched the file on this Corman... Good. He'd known the man's father's father's father. He had been careful when recruiting the first ones and the chain was unbroken.

He input the necessary commands to bring the forgotten Hawk Haven fully online while tracking the progress of the new models. He would have a ship meet Corman to bring him clandestinely to the forgotten asteroid base.