If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?
For I must be traveling on, now,
There's too many places I haven't seen
And if I stayed here with you, now
Things just wouldn't be the same
Well I'm as free as a bird now,
And a bird you can not change.
Lord knows I can't change…
Bye, bye, it's been a sweet love.
And though this feeling I can't change.
Please don't take it badly,
The Lord knows I'm to blame.
And, if I stayed here with you now
Things just wouldn't be the same.
For I'm as free as a bird now,
And this bird you'll never change.
And the bird you can not change.
Lord knows, I can't change.
Lord help me, I can't change.
Won't you fly on, Free Bird, yeah!
Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
He opened his eyes just as the final strum of the electric guitar rolled off the speakers. That was the most calming piece of music he had ever heard in his existence and he always kept going back to it. He switched over to another version of Free Bird, this one preformed by the Charlie Daniels Band. He could not get enough of that song. He never knew where this love came from, but it was there. This was a song he definitely wanted to twirl Maria Vasquez around with as well, but he had a feeling those old fossils at the fund raiser probably would not allow it. He stared at himself in the mirror, looking over the ensemble he downloaded to fit his human avatar form. He went through several tuxedoes, trying to get one with a slight different style, but not too outlandish that people would be talking down about it later on. After all, he was going as Gordon Knight's most trusted financial advisor. And he thanked the day he actually went through the course in order to get a true certificate stating that he was. It was an online course of course, and the teacher never saw his face. Though, it was the first time he actually brought up the courage in order to use his real name Kiryuu Knight in the school roster. The other students did mention how interesting the name sounded. One of the students mentioned he knew a friend Kiryuu Watanabe and asked if Kiryuu Knight was Japanese. It shocked Kiryuu a little to find that there were other beings out there with his name. Though there were many different 'Kiryuu's', there was only one of him. And he was more than happy to have it that way.
Kiryuu stood before the mirror, his avatar in its human shape. He was a Japanese man, with rather common looking features. The only thing that stuck out and set him apart from any other Asian looking human was his eyes. They were golden, like glistening pools of liquid, with the black pupils cutting the metallic like a knife. He was in the men's bathroom, looking at the full body mirror before him. Making sure no one else was in the room, Kiryuu glanced back at the mirror, watching as his human form melted before him. Now a biomechanical dinosaur dressed in the tux he picked out stood before him in the reflection of the mirror. His tux was black with a silky, dark blue waistcoat and matching tie. He even wore white gloves. Kiryuu flipped his dreads back, striking a slight pose, with a satisfied smirk on his holographic face. He looked good, even in the avatar of his true form. He just had this look about him, this look of suave, dashing, charming, and intelligent debonair. He was going to dance with Maria, that is if he could steal himself away from Gordon's chats with the old fossils long enough to do so. He was glad that Katsura had given her ticket to Maria. She had more important things to do than go to the fundraiser.
Kiryuu turned slightly as he heard the sound of someone walking in.
"Ah, I must comment on the attire," began an unfamiliar, Spanish-accented voice. "Bueno. You look like you are about to take on the world, mi amigo."
Kiryuu turned around, his eyes wide when he spotted a mocha-skinned, tall man with a goatee and shoulder-length, jet-black hair.
"Who are you?" Kiryuu asked, shocked that this man has invaded his privacy, and even more so because Kiryuu's image was not human. But this man was not even upset about it.
"Lo siento," he began. "I am Soñador Malcho."
"The CEO of Omak-Argon Industries?" Kiryuu asked.
"And the creator of your shields," Malcho said.
"You—know…about me?"
"Of course I do," Malcho chuckled. "I've known all the time. I have to in order to know who I'm making these shields for."
"From what I am reading, you are not shocked," Kiryuu said.
"No, amigo," Malcho rumbled. "I am not. I am more than thrilled about who you are and what you are. But enough of that. I wanted to see you before I left. I'm afraid I would have to cut it short here. Give Gordon my regards."
"How did you—find me?" Kiryuu asked.
"I have my ways," Malcho replied. "I hope when this is all over you and I can contact each other more often. There are some things I wish to discuss with you—business relations. I wanted to deal directly with the new CEO of the Utah Foundation."
"Of course," Kiryuu nodded. "Unfortunately I am not the CEO yet."
"But you will be," said Malcho. "I wanted to make sure you know who I am when that happens and you are left with the company."
"I shall make a note of you," said Kiryuu. "For future reference."
"Come to me if you need assistance with managing this company," Malcho stated. "My line is open. Call me anytime. Even if you are having an issue with the shields. Day, night. I am here to help. Adios."
He handed Kiryuu a card and then walked out of the room. Kiryuu chuckled and tucked the card into a drawer in the room. Then, he heard the sound of another set of feet walking up to him. He turned back around once more. It was Gordon, also dressed in his full tux.
"Well, I see you're all set," began Gordon, skimming over his creation's dressings. "Except you need to get rid of that reptile look. I can't have you going out there looking like that."
"Someday, I will," Kiryuu began.
"Someday," Gordon nodded. "But that is a long way off. Well, we've got guests to tend to. Best not keep them waiting for long."
"Compliance," Kiryuu sighed as his image shifted back to human again.
"Maria's waiting," Gordon winked. "And she looks absolutely beautiful in that dress you bought her."
"She picked it out," said Kiryuu. "I just gave her the money."
"Well, come along now," said Gordon.
Kiryuu nodded as he snapped his fingers, shutting off the music inside the bathroom. He followed Gordon out.
"You know if one of our guests had walked in there with you playing that song and looking the way you were…"
"I would have known it before they even stepped in," Kiryuu interrupted.
"I just thought I'd remind you, Kiryuu," Gordon began.
"I know, Gordon," Kiryuu nodded. They walked out to the ballroom. The room was dark and a glass ball turned suspended from the ceiling and cascading a myriad of lights onto the floor. They had a DJ there, playing soft jazz tunes and what would be considered elevator music. Kiryuu was a fan of jazz, but he often got bored of it once he heard it too often. One thing he never could get bored of and that was classic rock. He loved playing it. Especially Free Bird. Kiryuu sighed a bit as Gordon led him over to one of his gracious and most generous givers. As Kiryuu walked across the floor, he scanned for Maria, trying to make sure she made it on time. She was not there, like Gordon had said.
"Tanaka-san," began Gordon, using Kiryuu's secret identity. "You remember Mr. Fitzgerald from New Hampshire?"
Kiryuu quickly turned his attention to the roly-poly looking-elderly man before him. He was your typical looking, rich fat guy, puffing on an expensive Cuban cigar.
"Good evening, Mr. Tanaka," began Fitzgerald. Kiryuu bowed politely.
"Konbanwa, Fitzgerald-san," Kiryuu promptly began using his best Japanese accent to disguise his voice. He set his voice in a pitch slightly higher than normal, making sure that Mr. Fitzgerald would not identify with it being Gordon's sampled voice. "And how are you?"
"Just lovely," he replied. "I've heard good things again about your financial prowess for Mr. Knight's company. Once more, I have to hire you for my own institutions."
"I am sorry," Kiryuu began. "But my services are not for sale outside the Foundation."
"A pity," Fitzgerald sighed. "But I can always try again next year."
"I would consider it most hurtful if you didn't, Fitzgerald-san," Kiryuu began.
"Isn't it polite that I ask more than once in the Japanese culture?" he asked.
"Hai," Kiryuu replied. "It is. And you may ask as many times as you want. But my answer will still be no. I work only for Mr. Knight, and no other. I mean no offense."
"So loyal," Gordon chuckled. "Try as you may, you can never take Tanaka away from me."
"He's a hard one to catch," Fitzgerald chuckled. "More and more, I envy you, Gordon."
Gordon's grin grew even more, which told Kiryuu that he was proud again for creating such a brilliant AI. And this made Kiryuu smile slightly, but not overly so. He did not want Mr. Fitzgerald to get the wrong ideas. He turned away for a moment when he saw Maria step onto the dance floor. Kiryuu smiled, sighing with relief that she was there.
"Excuse me for a moment," he bowed again. "I must—attend to the other guests."
Gordon chuckled just as he watched the hologram slide away, slowly walking over to Maria. Kiryuu walked up to her, tapping her softly on the shoulder.
"Kiryuu…" she breathed, her heart leaping for a moment. "You surprised me."
"Where were you?" Kiryuu asked. "Gordon said you were out here. When I found you weren't, I was once more approached by Mr. Fitzgerald. He tries again every year to employ me. I was hoping…"
"You were hoping that I'd step in and save you?" Maria asked.
"Well, to give me another reason than 'pardon me, but I must use the bathroom' bit," Kiryuu sighed, holding out his hand. "May I have this dance?"
He took her in his arms and they swept onto the floor, moving to the beat.
"Did I ever tell you how wonderful you look in that dress?" he asked.
"Not yet," she replied with a giggle. "Keep talking."
"You look ravishing," Kiryuu purred.
"And you look better as your normal self," Maria grinned back. "I don't think I can get used to the 'human' you."
"And why is that?" Kiryuu asked, amused.
"Your expressions don't match up with your whole persona in your human avatar," she replied. "It's just not you."
"As much as I'd want to," Kiryuu began. "I can't change out."
He spun her around again and she giggled. She brought him close and leaned up, kissing him on the lips. Gordon smiled as he watched the couple dance. In some ways it reminded him of the relationship he once had with his wife. But as the years went by, the two became more distant. Gordon was glad he could see the young love again, and to relive those memories he had.
"They are a lovely couple," said Fitzgerald. "Though, last time I saw Mr. Tanaka, Dr. Yugami was his bell of the ball."
"I'm afraid they've parted ways since then," said Gordon. "Tanaka is seeing my other lead scientist Dr. Vasquez."
The music came to a slight halt just as the lights began to flicker around the ballroom. The dancers slowed to a stand still as the floor itself began to vibrate. Gordon glanced down and then up, seeing the chandeliers tremble above. Then, he glanced over at Kiryuu's human avatar. The image began to flicker, filling with snow and particle pieces. Kiryuu looked up and then back to Maria as his image flickered about.
"What's happening?" he asked. He glanced down just as his human disguise faded away, replaced by the image of his true form.
"Kiryuu?" Maria asked as she watched his image flicker again.
"Kiryuu!" Gordon cried when he saw the change in avatar.
Kiryuu barred his fangs when the guests saw him, flinging his green dreads back. His image continued to flicker as well as the lights. Gordon glanced down at his cell phone, seeing that even it was acting strange. The lights around the dial pad flickered and the screen looked scrambled. He glanced back at Kiryuu, seeing that the mecha was struggling to keep his image hole, but the avatar flickered violently. Lines of code phased about Kiryuu's hologram, scrolling up and down. Maria could even see error messages in the image as Kiryuu struggled to keep him self there.
"Kiryuu!" Maria cried as the image of the true form of Mechagodzilla suddenly disappeared and the ballroom was flung into darkness.
"What the hell?" Gordon asked, looking around in the blackness.
"What was all that about?" Fitzgerald asked. "I saw Tanaka standing with Dr. Vasquez, and then the strangest thing happened. I saw your Mechagodzilla right afterwards."
"Uh, a trick on the lights perhaps," Gordon scratched his head. "Don't worry about it. Right now, I want to know what happened to the lights."
Maria ran up towards Gordon, pulling him away from Fitzgerald.
"What happened to Kiryuu?" she asked.
"I don't know," he whispered back. "When the power went out, so did the holo-projector."
She glanced around, noticing that not even the emergency lights were on.
"Where's the emergency lights?" she asked. Gordon glanced back at his phone.
"My phone is out too," he replied. "Uh, Mr. Fitzgerald, how is your cell phone?"
"Completely dead, old friend," he replied. "What a strange night we're having. Do you know what could have done this?"
Gordon turned away and glanced back at Maria: "Dr. Vasquez, I need to talk to you for a moment. Excuse me, Mr. Fitzgerald."
"Of course," he nodded. Gordon slowly led Maria away.
"Gordon, what's this all about," Maria asked.
"Maria, the only thing that could have shut down cell phones, lights, and holo-projectors is an electromagnetic disturbance," he whispered.
"Electromagnetic?" she asked. "How do you know?"
"Remember my EMP dish at Yokohama?" Gordon asked. "The thing that shut down Kiryuu twice when we were in Japan? That's how."
"Is there an emitter?"
"No," he whispered. "There isn't. And I can't contact the base with the phone down."
"What do we do?" Maria asked.
"Well, tomorrow, I'm calling the electric company to get my house rewired," Gordon sighed. "Because if that was an EMP, then everything electronic has just been fried. Just stay here until we find out what happened."
"What the hell—what the hell—what the hell…" Will breathed as tried to get some response from the computers. Every screen was black. The lights were off, but the emergency lights were on. Will glanced up through the bay window and saw Mechagodzilla. Kiryuu's head was slumped down, his body limp against the brace behind him. It almost seemed like there was no life in him and that frightened Will. If Kiryuu was some how shut down then that meant that Katsura might be lying in the floor somewhere in the base.
"Kat…" he breathed. "Kiryuu? Come on, pal, wake up! Wake up, pal!"
There was no response.
"Kiryuu!" cried Will. "Up and at 'em, pal! Come on!"
Will sighed as he leaned against his chair, staring back at the mecha. He shook his head in grief, growling deeply.
"Great, he's knocked out," he sighed.
"Will!" cried a voice from behind him. Will glanced back to see Tochi and Mike run through the control room door.
"Yo, Will!" cried Tochi. "What happened?"
Mike glanced up at Kiryuu: "What's up with him?"
"Out like a light," Will sighed.
"Wasn't he at the Foundation fancy party?" asked Mike.
"When the power went out," said Will. "It cut Kiryuu's connection. I can't get anything back on, not even Kiryuu. Which is odd, because even if we have a power outage, he has his own power pack that would still be able to power him. Only an EMP can shut down Kiryuu like this."
"If an EMP happened, our emergency lights wouldn't be on," said Mike.
"Then why isn't Kiryuu responding?" Tochi asked.
"I don't know," Will sighed. "It doesn't make sense. Have you seen Katsura?"
"Last time I checked she was with Io," replied Mike.
"If Kiryuu is out like a light, that means Katsura is too," Will began. "Go find them. Io must be scared."
"Uh, I don't speak Japanese that well, boss," Mike shrugged.
"But I do," Tochi shook his head. "Come on, Mike."
Will glanced back when he felt the control room tremble. He saw the immense form of Kiryuu jerk for a moment, his head bobbing up and down.
"What the hell?" he asked. "Kiryuu?"
The body jerked up again and settled back down, but Kiryuu still did not awaken.
"Go find Katsura, you two," Will ordered, his voice grating through his teeth. "Now!"
Will sighed just as the other two technicians darted back out the door. He ran his hand through his blond hair, shaking his head as he saw Kiryuu jerk his head up again. There was something going on inside the mecha that caused him to do this. Something was happening to Kiryuu that Will did not like.
"Hang in there, pal," he began. "Just hang in there."
Tochi and Mike ran down the hall towards Katsura's office. They remembered that Katsura and Io were there. She was going over some last minute files with Io helping her out. Io Shinoda, the daughter of Yugi Shinoda and an old college sweetheart of Katsura, had come into the care of Katsura just recently. Though Io was very intelligent and she knew a lot about biology thanks to her father, she knew very little English. So, Katsura made sure that she stuck by her. Tochi figured Io might be very scared right now, especially if Katsura was unconscious thanks to the mental link between she and Kiryuu. Hopefully Io stayed with Katsura. They sped up their pace as they made their way to Katsura's office. When they opened the door they found Io and Katsura. Katsura was holding her head, but she was not unconscious.
"Kat!" Mike cried. "Oh, thank God you're okay."
"I'm fine," she sighed. "What happened?"
"Power outage," replied Tochi. "And Kiryuu's completely knocked out. But…you're not…"
"No, I'm not," she said. Katsura pulled her long hair away from her neck to reveal her data-jack. There in the jack was a rubber plug, the same plug Kiryuu gave her in order to block their link. "It must have shielded me from Kiryuu's shut down. So, that's why I'm not unconscious."
"That's good," sighed Tochi with some relief. "We need you back at the control room. Kiryuu's going through spasms."
"Spasms?" Katsura asked. She turned to Io. "Come on."
"Hai," Io nodded. They rushed back towards the control room finding Will at wits end. The computer programmer stared blackly at Kiryuu as the mecha continued to spasm and jerk about. Katsura shook her head, dumbfounded as to why it was happening.
"Kat!" Will cried. "You're awake!"
"The plug Kiryuu gave me even protects me from things like this," she said. "What's wrong?"
"See for yourself," began Will said as he led her out on the catwalk. Katsura watched as Kiryuu's form jerked around, and then fell silent after that.
"Kiryuu…" she breathed. Katsura closed her eyes as she removed the plug from her data-jack. Kiryuu, wake up! Kiryuu! What's the matter?
There was still no answer.
"I can't contact him," she said. "Will…"
Will glanced back at the control room seeing if the computer was coming back on. He shook his head.
"He's doing something," he said. "I just don't know what."
Katsura shook her head and knelt down to the floor, running her hands through her hair. Io walked up to her and laid her hand on Katsura's back.
"Katsura, what's happening to Kiryuu?" she asked.
"I don't know," Katsura replied. "I just don't know."
Kiryuu breathed slowly as he felt around his surroundings. The floor was hard and slick like glass, but covered in some sort of strange liquid. He could not see anything around him. His eyes were closed but he could not open them no matter how hard he tried. Kiryuu felt droplets of the strange liquid splash down upon his face. It was warm. His sensors in his mouth tasted the liquid. It had an iron taste to it. Kiryuu tried to lift himself up, but the liquid made the floor he laid on too slippery. As he raised himself up, he flopped back down onto the floor, splashing around in the liquid.
Kiryuu…breathed a voice to him. He recognized it somewhere back in deep within his processors. Kiryuu, give me your hand…
Kiryuu raised a claw up into the air, feeling around where the voice was coming from. He could not tell where he was. The last thing he remembered was that he was at the fund raiser, dancing with the lovely Maria Vasquez. Then, some how his mind was flung from that to this darkness. A part of him knew that he was trapped in his CPU again, but he wanted to know how it came about. He also wanted to know why he could not see. Kiryuu rolled over to his back and sighed, his lips curling up in frustration.
Kiryuu…the voice began again.
"I can't see!" he roared. "I can't come to you. You'll have to come to me."
Kiryuu…
Kiryuu's eyes suddenly cleared and he glanced around.
"Who said that?!" he swung his head around at the sound of the voice coming from the darkness. He was at that party, he knew that he was there. He had to know how he got here.
You're not there anymore, Kiryuu, the voice teased with a laugh.
The void he stood in seemed strangely familiar. Kiryuu knelt down and breathed, touching the solid blackness beneath him.
"If I'm not there," Kiryuu began. "Then, where am I?"
Where do you think?
Kiryuu's head dipped and his eyes became downcast. He knew where he was and he became distraught about it.
"Erika," he growled. "Is this your idea of a sick joke?"
Just as he spoke her name, her massive, but bound form appeared. The great reptilian plant gripped her cage with massive grasping claws. Her long, wedge-like snout curled up into a fiendish grin, showing every glistening fang in her pale gums. Her dark eyes gleamed with mischievous deliberation and her expression conveyed the look that she knew something was about to happen, something that Kiryuu could never anticipate—no matter the computing capacity of his processors. And the look upon her face mocked him with that hidden knowledge. Kiryuu's face wrinkled and twisted with heated resentment. And all Biollante could do was snicker.
Oh, Kiryuu! She scoffed with a giggle. You look so cute when you're threatening me!
"Shut up!" Kiryuu barked. "Why am I here?"
I didn't bring you here, Biollante shrugged. I can't do anything from this horrible prison you locked me in.
Kiryuu crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow up at her in query. "Then, why was I brought here? Who shut me down?"
Biollante shrank back from the metal bars and crossed her arms in another mock expression, emulating Kiryuu.
I'm not going to tell you, her head turned away from him and gave a sniff.
"Erika…" Kiryuu gnashed his fangs together.
You're being an old grouch!
"Tell me!" Kiryuu roared, his lips pulled back across his many racks of piercing, jagged incisors.
Hello, Kiryuu, hissed a voice from behind him. Kiryuu's face turned to stone and his form froze. Biollante turned back to him and a leering smirk appeared on her face when she saw his frozen expression of both recall and haunting dread. He knew that voice. It was a voice he had not heard in many years. He broke off in mid crisis of conflicting and baleful thoughts, daring a peek at who spoke. Kiryuu slowly turned his head and faced the demon who brought out so much terror inside of him. He wanted to run, he wanted to hide, but he was too frightened to move.
It's been a long time, Kiryuu, the voice continued. Such a long time. I thought I had gotten all of you.
"You missed one," Kiryuu's expression of fear changed to composed defiance, obscuring any fear he had away.
There, standing before him in all his golden majesty was King Ghidorah. His fanned wings spread wide and his three necks arched back. The dragon lifted his center head back and let loose a powerful cackle. The two outer heads were adorned differently than the center head. The center head, showing its dominance over the other two held a crown of antler-like, branched horns. Though all three heads were adorned with wispy whiskers and a flowing mane of sunshine. The whole body of King Ghidorah glowed, wrapped in the beams of a thousand suns. Even to the most advanced civilizations King Ghidorah appeared to be a creature of divine stature and holy power. And Kiryuu, with all his infinite knowledge, superior intellect, and immortal essence, could not hold a candle to the godly visage of King Ghidorah. With that thought, Kiryuu literally felt compelled to prostrate before the magnificent space dragon.
The bio-mechanical Godzilla felt his leg fold in underneath him as he knelt down before the dragon. Biollante's dark eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped in disbelief. Kiryuu, in all his belligerent defiance towards him human overseers, bowed for the first time to the one being that could easily through him into Oblivion with a mere thought. She could sense his fear and for the firs time in her existence she felt afraid. This was not the Kiryuu she had grown to love and torment out of pleasure because of that love. It was his strength, his insufferable disobedience to his creators, his dark, savoir-faire charms, and his sinister demeanor. All of that melted away at the sight of King Ghidorah, leaving behind a mere shell of his former self. And she was afraid of this.
Kiryuu! She howled. Kiryuu! What are you doing?!
Kiryuu glanced up just as King Ghidorah knelt down to him. The dragon's broad wings enveloped the bio-mecha in them. The two outer heads opened their maws and latched themselves onto Kiryuu's shoulders.
Now, Kiryuu, King Ghidorah began. You will give me what I want. The planet's most destructive weapons, I want full control over them.
Kiryuu's wagged: "I can't."
And why?
Kiryuu's mind suddenly took a regressive turn as his face drew upon a blank appearance.
"I cannot comply with your request for that piece of information is not within my databanks," he replied in a computerized tone. His voice lacked flavor, vigor, or even emotion. King Ghidorah relaxed his grip and leaned down closer to Kiryuu.
Can you find that information for me? He asked. Can you give me the codes I seek?
"Negative," Kiryuu replied, his tone still dry. He sounded more like a machine than a living being. "That information is not available on any national or military grid. The codes used in launching any nuclear missile, tactical or otherwise is not kept on any electronic file. Such information is too volatile to kept record of, and because of the number of randomness the code continuously changes to, there is no sure way to say that one code is the same. Also, in order to fire any military nuclear device, such ability cannot be done remotely from any facility. Firing missiles is done by the turning of two keys held by two acting high ranking officers at the base. Both keys must be turned simultaneously in order for the missile to be fired. Therefore, I have no such information in order to fire a nuclear missile, nor do I possess the ability to do so."
King Ghidorah was not pleased by this answer.