Chapter 33: Lover's Quarrel

Sonnet left the lift in her apartment building and walked towards Chronos Japan. She had noticed, with some surprise, that the Landlady hadn't been there that morning. Sonnet figured she would be there the following day though, since that was the monthly rent payment day. She began to wonder if she would have any official information on the Development Lab attack, and what she would be expected to do during the day. Her other concern was wondering where Kyriu had disappeared to. As Ran had said, it wasn't like him to be late, when he usually went out, he always returned at, or before, the time he said he would.

I'll follow the advice I gave Ran though, She thought, I won't panic unless he hasn't turned up by tonight.

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While Sonnet was wondering about Kyriu, Mizuki was talking with Sho and her brother, Tetsuro, in the Zeus Thunderbolt Base. Agito had gone out on some mission against Chronos, using the armour upgrade. Tetsuro was pressing his sister with questions about Sonnet, her power as Guyver Blue, and Mizuki's own power as Guyver 5. Sho was also curious about these things, and decided to see for himself.

"Mizuki?" He asked.

"Yeah Sho?"

"Feel like a training duel? I want to see how good a fighter you really are."

Mizuki thought about this for a few seconds, before replying:

"OK. Any rules for this fight?"

"Just no removing the control medal. Anything else goes."

"Fine. But I think I should warn you that I'm more agile with the armour. I might be hard to hit."

"That's true of any Guyver, my love. Not just you."

Mizuki blushed slightly at what Sho said.

"Suppose so. Is there a training room here, or do we need to go somewhere else?"

"I think we should go elsewhere," Sho answered, "I don't think Agito would be too happy if we trashed this place."

"OK, any preference?"

Sho didn't answer straight away, but Tetsuro did:

"What about going to the Mojave Desert?"

"Why not," Mizuki answered, noticing Sho nodding at the suggestion, "Want to watch the show Tetsuro?"

"I'd love to," He replied, "I also want to know how good a fighter my little sister is now."

"OK," Mizuki said, "Just give me a few minutes to get changed."

Mizuki had explained to Agito, Tetsuro and Sho the idea about getting special clothes for training duels. It was an idea that Sho liked, and used an old school uniform of his for that purpose. Mizuki went into the room she shared with Sho to change, while Tetsuro discussed the upcoming 'show' with his best friend. A few minutes later, she emerged wearing the baggy green tank top, black shorts, and black slip-on pumps. Sho then went into the room and changed into the old school uniform. Once the two were ready, Mizuki grabbed a hand of both Sho and Tetsuro, and pictured the Mojave Desert in her mind, teleporting the three of them there.

Upon arrival, the three separated, and the Guyver armours were summoned by their hosts. Each combatant moved away from the other until a distance was set, and Tetsuro had also moved a short distance away. Once the distance was reached, the two Guyvers bowed to each other and then began circling each other. Guyver 5 knew that Sho would wait for a few minutes, at most, before attacking her. Sho, on the other hand, figured that Mizuki would want to delay and attack him when he least expected it.

After continuing the circling routine for several minutes, the first move was made by Guyver 1. He fired four beams from the head laser in Guyver 5's direction, while activating his sonic swords. Guyver 5 saw the beams coming, and made use of her enhanced agility to avoid them, not noticing the active swords of her opponent. She back-flipped, resulting in three of the beams sailing past her when she was horizontal in the air. The fourth beam hit her ankle as her momentum put her upside down, but didn't do any heavy damage. As she returned to an upright position, she crouched and jumped into the air as she sensed Guyver 1 running at her. From the air, she fired a few beams from her own head laser, and charged her pressure cannon as she began to descend. The beams hit Guyver 1 in the left arm, one hitting the sonic sword at its base in the forearm and causing it to break off. Guyver 5 noticed and, as she landed and fired her pressure cannon, thought:

I couldn't do that again anytime soon.

Guyver 1 managed to avoid the gravity blast from her pressure cannon, which vaporised a sand dune instead, and fired the sonic disruptor in her direction. Guyver 5 cart wheeled to her right and only felt a slight twinge of pain in the lower part of her right leg as she cleared the area affected by the disruptor. As a counterattack, she activated her own sonic swords and charged at Guyver 1. Guyver 1 managed to do a forward summersault over Guyver 5's head to avoid the blades. As he landed, with his back to his opponent, Guyver 5 kicked him in the back, causing him to stumble away from her. Guyver 5 then decided to try the attack move that Sonnet had mentioned she had used against one of the Enzyme IIs that had 'killed' her. If she managed to execute it, Guyver 1 would be heavily injured, but probably not out of the fight. As he turned back around to face her again, she charged at him, sonic swords still active. She jumped up when she was close enough and attempted to cut his arms off at the shoulders. She missed her target slightly, as Guyver 1 sidestepped to the right, resulting in her successfully cutting off one of his arms as she landed.

Guyver 1 screamed for about five seconds as the pain of losing a limb registered in his body and brain. He then recovered and decided to end the fight. He opened his right chest plate and began charging the mega-smasher underneath it. Guyver 5 sensed the energy build-up from her opponent and prepared herself to jump aside as the cannon fired. She managed to partially clear the blast area, but most of her legs were caught in the beam. Guyver 5 hit the desert floor, and then fell flat on her face as her brain registered the loss of her legs. Refusing to yield, she used her hands to push herself up, so that she was standing upright for a second or two, and then used her gravity orb to float. Using the orb as a boost and balance, she raised herself high above the desert floor and aimed her descent so that she would land near Guyver 1.

Guyver 1 knew she was trying to land near him, so he jumped backwards, hoping that she would miss. Guyver 5 had expected him to do this, and had altered her descent so that she still landed near him. Tetsuro saw her arm move from her side, to in front of her, but he only realised what she had intended to do when he saw Guyver 1 fall to the floor a second later, his legs cut off from his torso. He had to admit he was impressed with the skill and ability his little sister now seemed to have.

"OK, Guyver 5. I yield," Guyver 1 said to her, after the pain had faded from the injury he had sustained, "You've definitely got skill with the Guyver armour."

"I'm impressed," Tetsuro said, "You will be a challenge for Chronos."

"Thank you both," Guyver 5 replied, moving into a sitting position as Guyver 1 attempted to reattach his legs, "I think the combat training with Blue and the others was a big help. Blue did offer to teach me some combat skills that Taron trained her in, but we didn't get the chance."

"You'll have to schedule it for a future visit." Guyver 1 suggested.

Guyver 1 and Tetsuro then noticed that Guyver 5 was missing both her legs from about mid-thigh.

"Was that the mega-smasher?" Guyver 1 asked.

"Yes. I wasn't quick enough to avoid it fully."

"I'm surprised you managed to avoid so much of it, given I was aiming to vaporise you from the shoulders down."

"Blue pointed out that the armour can enhance agility, and I found I was pretty agile when I started learning all those martial arts. Maybe mine can also enhance instincts and reflex too."

"That's possible," Tetsuro said, "I've often thought that whoever created the Guyver Unit tried different features and attributes on them. The units were probably all various experiments, done by different people, so each unit could have been different."

"Then how do you explain the similarities between Guyver 2 and myself?"

"Both of those units could have been made by the same person or species. Murakami did say that it was never discovered if the Creators were a single species or a group of different species."

The three continued talking for a while longer, until Guyver 5 felt she could handle a teleport. She then took them back to the Zeus base.

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Sonnet, meanwhile, had been working on more zoanoid designs. Her day had begun with a summons to Dr Balcus' office. He had learned of the 'attack' on her by Guyver 5 the day before, and wanted to know everything the Guyver had said to her, and if she could provide any clue as to the identity of that Guyver. Sonnet had replied semi-truthfully, by telling Balcus that the Guyver appeared to be female, based on her voice and physical shape, and that she had appeared on the scene from above, which could mean she lived in the nearby area. Balcus had countered that by saying that that suggestion was unlikely since, according to Chronos Intelligence, none of the known Guyver hosts had been seen in that area for months. Sonnet had immediately thought that Balcus was a fool for thinking that, since Chronos probably didn't know the identities of any Guyvers beyond Sho and Agito. She hadn't voiced that thought though. After that, she had gone to her office, and continued working. It was close to 13:00, and Sonnet considered taking a break.

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In his office, Dr Balcus was again talking with Imakarum Mirabilis via a video link. Balcus had explained to his superior that he was becoming increasingly suspicious of Sonnet. There were now two incidents where a Guyver, or group of Guyvers, had appeared near to her location when Chronos had been conducting an operation. Mirabilis was asking if Balcus had any plans to find out more about her.

"Yes, my lord, I do. We have captured someone she knows, and are converting that person into a spy."

"How will this help?"

"The individual in question will not become a complete zoanoid. We will alter the person's DNA enough so that myself, or any other Zoalord, can access the memories of the spy, and take control of the spy's body if necessary. If we turn the potential spy into a full zoanoid, then one of the Guyvers might be able to detect that, and kill it."

"What makes you think that any of the Guyvers have that ability?"

"The operation that Miss Baji wandered into last night was being carried out by Chronos troops who were in civilian guise. They only transformed into zoanoids when the situation warranted it, which was just before the Guyver appeared."

"That doesn't mean that a Guyver can detect the zoanoid within the human."

"I agree. However, we knew very little about the Guyver units that were stolen from Phoenix. They could have had abilities that the other Guyvers didn't."

"That's speculation, Lord Balcus."

"I know sir, but it is possible."

"I suppose so, since we don't know if the Creators made the units to a standard design, or made a variety of them. Even Guyvers 1 and 2 were different in a few respects, yet they appeared similar at first glance."

There was silence for a few moments, and then Mirabilis said:

"Proceed with your plan, Lord Balcus. I expect you to keep me informed of any results you obtain."

"Of course, my lord."

The communication was then terminated, and Balcus decided to check on the conversion of the spy he had mentioned to Mirabilis.

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Guyver 1, Guyver 5 and Tetsuro reappeared in the room they were having their conversation in before going to combat training. Guyver 5 had to concentrate on keeping herself afloat with her gravity orb, since her legs hadn't fully regenerated. Guyver 1 deactivated his armour, and sat down on the sofa, and Tetsuro quickly sat down too. Mizuki smiled under her armour.

"Don't take up all the room, you two," She said, "I need to sit down as well."

Sho then realised that it was a good thing he had worn old clothes to train in, since one of the arms of the shirt and tunic was missing.

"I'm gonna go and get changed." He said, before getting up and heading for a bathroom, leaving Tetsuro and Guyver 5 alone. Tetsuro didn't waste any time in waiting; he instantly started talking.

"I'm impressed with your skill with the armour, and your abilities. Looks like all those martial arts lessons were worth the risk."

"I think so. I want to take Sonnet up on her offer of learning the martial arts she was taught. It's just a matter of finding the time to visit her now."

"That shouldn't be too difficult," Tetsuro said, "You can both teleport. So, when she isn't working, either she comes here, or you go there."

"True," Guyver 5 conceded, "Teleportation is definitely a timesaver."

Sho came back into the room a few minutes' later, wearing black corduroy trousers and a blue shirt.

"What was that about teleportation?" He asked as he sat down.

"I was saying that it's a timesaver, because it's instantaneous travel."

"Mizuki, I think you've healed now." Tetsuro pointed out.

Guyver 5 looked at her legs, and noticed that her brother was right. She moved the regenerated limbs around a little, testing them, and then deactivated her armour. Mizuki then sat down next to her boyfriend on the sofa. Sho turned to face her, but Mizuki spoke up first:

"Don't even try to apologise for vaporising my legs Sho. We agreed not to hold back."

Sho looked surprised for a second, and then puzzled.

Can you read minds now?" He asked.

"Nope, just your face."

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Sonnet had finished work for the day, and was heading home. As she got off the lift on her floor, she continued down the corridor outside the lift and knocked on Ran's door. Kyriu answered a minute later.

"Hello Sonnet. Checking I'm OK?"

"Yes actually, Ran, Mutaru and I were a little concerned."

"Nothing for you to worry about. I just spent too much time wandering around after doing a little research at the library."

Sonnet smiled and, at the same time, scanned him for any indication that he was a zoanoid. Her scan was negative, which relieved her.

"OK. See you later."

"Bye."

Sonnet then went to her own apartment, and checked her money. She then went down to the Reception Area, and paid her rent to the Landlady, who had been there when she returned to the building.