Using the Gravity Controller to lower himself back to the ground, Ryan blasted a Ramochis that had been charging headlong at one of the ACTF's gun emplacements. Then, once the thing's attention was fully fixed on him, he sprang forward and impaled the thing on his wrist-mounted Vibration Blades.
+Hey, Sean?+
+What is it, Ryan?+
+Is this the kind of opposition you usually face from Chronos over here?+
+Yeah, this is pretty much how they operate,+ Sean paused. +At least as far as I ever knew. I get the feeling that things are a bit different on your side of the war.+
+You'd be right about that, Sean,+ he said, smashing a Gregole's head, then turning to bisect a retreating Ramochis from crown to crotch. +In fact, this is the only time that I haven't lost at least a limb, or a few pints of blood, after I've been tangling with Zoanoids,+ he continued, all the while using both his eyes and the Guyver's hyper-sensors to search for any remaining Zoanoids.
+It's like that, huh?+
+Yeah, Sean, it's like that.+
)You're still not used to the Zoanoids here actually running away from you, are you, kid?( Elegen asked, evidently picking up on Ryan's uneasiness.
)No, I'm not,( Ryan sent. )Something doesn't smell right here. This is all way too easy.(
)Hate to have to agree with that one, kid.( Elegen seemed to sigh. )But when you're right, you're right. I've never known Chronos to pass up an opportunity to pound their enemies into submission with Hyper Zoanoids, and besides that pair of armored birdbrains we took out, I haven't seen a one.(
)Wait, you mean those things were Hyper Zoanoids? How could you tell?(
)All Hyper Zoanoids have a certain look to them; they're always made better than their Standard counterparts. Those weird-colored Valvatos definitely fit the bill. I could see they had some kind of armor, even if I couldn't tell you just what it was they were meant to do.(
Ryan sighed aloud. )Not a blip on the sensors, either. Normally I'd be grateful not to have to spend extra time in the armor regrowing my arms and legs, but this whole thing just isn't sitting right.(
)I know what you mean. Chronos has got to be up to something; they're just not this clumsy,( Elegen gave the impression that he would have been nodding if he'd been in control of their body at the moment.
The ACTF had pretty well finished mopping up the remaining Zoanoids by the time he and Sean met back up again. He was looking around, still tense and waiting for an ambush.
)Do you think we should tell him about this, kid?(
)No,( he said, with a mental shake of his head, dismissing his Guyver a few seconds after Sean had done the same. )You heard him. And, I don't know, maybe this really is how Chronos operates in this part of the world.(
)C'mon kid, you can't really believe that.(
)I guess not,( he responded, sighing softly as Sean started towards him. )But for his sake, I might pretend to.(
)Why's that?(
)Well, look at him. He looks so… happy. He doesn't have the constant possibility of another Chronos attack hanging over his head.(
)You're planning to take the weight for him the way you do for Fukamachi.( It wasn't a question, but Elegen answered it anyway. )You're a good kid, but don't overdo it. Even with the Guyver, you can't be everywhere at once.(
)No. But with the Giga, I can come pretty close,( he said, with a mental chuckle.
XxXxX
"Ryan! Hey, Ryan!" Jogging up to the younger boy – his fellow Guyver – he grinned; it had been a total rout and slaughter, even in spite of the fact that he'd been worried about the role those new Zoanoids were likely to play. "Come on, the rest of the guys have dinner ready for us."
"Coming," Ryan said, with a startled sort of nod.
"Is something wrong? You looked a bit spacey back there," he said, as the redhead fell into step next to him.
"Nothing's wrong," Ryan said, rolling his shoulders and stretching a bit as they made their way back to the compound. "I was just talking to myself."
"What were you and Elegen talking about?" he asked, having already gotten used to Ryan's euphemistic way of speaking when it came to what he was now.
"Nothing in particular," Ryan said, shrugging. "We were just shooting the breeze."
Ryan, who was looking toward the compound, clearly missed the look Sean gave him. There was something in the way Ryan had been speaking that made him feel as if the younger boy hadn't been entirely truthful. Turning his own attention back to where they were headed, Sean resolved to reserve judgment and keep his guard up.
Once they had returned to the ACTF's temporary base of operations, he and Ryan were greeted by cheers and thunderous applause. More than a few backslaps were dealt out, and Ryan was even given a kiss on the cheek from Tara Weston, who'd been manning one of the gun emplacements. When they finally made it to the mess hall, Sean found himself being greeted very enthusiastically by Cori.
"Well, if it isn't the men of the hour," Falman called jovially. "Come on over here and check out this spread. You two must be famished."
"Thanks, Falman," Ryan said, with no trace of the earlier maybe-insincerity he'd displayed earlier. "It all looks great."
A fair number of the huge tables in the mess hall had been laid out buffet-style. ACTF soldiers and technicians—those who weren't currently on duty somewhere else—were lining up around them to serve themselves. No one there was stupid enough to believe that this was anything more than a temporary victory, especially after the things Ryan had told them.
But with the younger Guyver on their side, Sean could at least believe that there was an end to the battle, like a light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
XxXxX
Back at the Chronos L.A. building, Edward Caerleon was just emerging from a state that most Zoalords referred to as an "observing trance". It was a state that all but the most powerful telepaths – that is, Dr. Balkus and Lord Alkanphel – had to endure to some greater or lesser degree when they commanded large numbers of Zoanoids in battle, especially Sleeper Units in any form. Those types needed to be controlled remotely to prevent them from deserting.
Edward breathed deeply, bringing his awareness fully back to his own body. It was somewhat disorienting for him to inhabit the mind of a Zoanoid when it was killed, more so when it happened multiple times.
Looking up, Edward saw that Waferdanos had entered the room.
"So, is it finished?" the ancient Zoalord asked.
"Yes," he said, turning his full attention on the hirsute form of the Third Zoalord. "Every one of the Zoanoids sent has been killed."
"Good," Waferdanos said.
Edward himself would not have used that particular word to describe this battle, since it had cost them a fair amount of their Sleeper Units in the area. Given that the forces inside this base were brainless cannon fodder at best, Edward did not think that the loss of the Sleeper Units was any great thing.
"Was it your idea to bring Sleeper Units into that battle?"
"Yes," Waferdanos rumbled. "I wanted to see how the humans would react if they were forced to fight those that they considered innocent."
"I was not made aware of that," Edward said, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"I would have thought that the boy would have already told you, Edward," Waferdanos said, sounding mildly confused. "I gave the boy all the information he would need."
Edward, while he was of the opinion that Ingriam Mirabilis was as loyal as his father, was fully aware that the child was somewhat uneasy around him. He did not fully understand why, but in the end, Edward decided to simply disregard that piece of information. Ingriam would have to learn to cope with such things on his own, and the sooner the better.
"I will have to speak with the child about his propensity for disregarding orders from his superiors," he muttered.
"Don't be too hard on the boy, Edward," Waferdanos entreated. "Even you yourself must admit that you can be rather intimidating, especially to someone Ingriam's age."
It was not truly his concern whether Ingriam found him intimidating or not. However, as Waferdanos seemed to be rather fond of Chronos' new Ninth Zoalord, he would not pursue the matter any farther.