Sitting back in his seat after he'd looked at the door, wanting to see if the doctors had come out yet, Kenji leaned his head against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. He was already starting to get bored.
XxXxX
As he arrived back in the Genesis Tower, the seat of command for his Africa Section, Luggnagg de Krumeggnik chuckled to himself. It would be very easy to get Imakarum's little whelp to follow him and Purg'stall to the Pillars of Heaven when they left. All he had to do was to convince the boy that the journey would be far lonelier without him: the boy's own sentimental nature would make him come with them without fail.
It would be particularly simple to draw the three Guyvers to the Pillars of Heaven, and under the cover of an attack by those creatures, it would be equally simple to kill that fool Purg'stall. Also, with Imakarum's whelp in the same vicinity, it would be simplicity itself to make it appear as if the boy had been the one to fire the fatal blast. It would be very interesting to see what Supreme Overlord Alkanphel made of that action. There was some fairly obvious favoritism displayed in the way the child was dealt with—favoritism of the very same kind that was displayed for the boy's father Imakarum, in fact—and it was debatable whether the little Zoalord would be punished for what would seem to be his own transgression at all. The fact that Fried'rich van Purg'stall was one of the closest friends of their Supreme Overlord would undoubtedly be taken into account, however.
It would be very interesting to find out what the boy's ultimate fate was to be when he brought word back to Chronos of little Ingriam Mirabilis' deed. Even Supreme Overlord Alkanphel would not be likely to overlook such a thing—Luggnagg rather doubted that their Supreme Overlord's tolerance of the boy's antics would extend to high treason and murder. If they did, he doubted that even the Supreme Overlord of Chronos would be able to keep control over all of his Zoalords. The fact that their lives were in the hands of a child who had been given power that he was seemingly completely unable to control would doubtless be the catalyst for either the child's execution or a rebellion by most of Supreme Overlord Alkanphel's Zoalords. Either way, things were bound to become quite interesting once he and the boy returned from the Pillars of Heaven.
Luggnagg would truly enjoy seeing what happened once they returned to Cloud Tower.
XxXxX
Once Fried'rich had finished his meeting with Dr. Travers and Dr. Tennyson, a meeting that had involved nothing more than their scheduled and unremarkable reports, he called for Kenji to be sent in. He had a feeling that he knew what Imakarum's son was so eager to discus, but he would let the boy-Zoalord bring it up for himself. Imakarum may have coddled him, but that was his prerogative as the boy's father. Fried'rich was not such, and had never pretended to be.
"Good morning, Kenji."
"Hi, Mr. Fried'rich!" the young Zoalord said, waving and smiling with equal enthusiasm.
"Did you want to talk to me about something?" Fried'rich prompted.
"Well…" For a moment, Kenji seemed to be considering exactly what he was going to say. "Do you really want me to come with you to the Pillars of Heaven? Because Mr. Luggnagg said you did, and he told me that he really wanted me to come. But, do you really want me to come, Mr. Fried'rich?"
Fried'rich considered the boy in front of him. Imakarum's son was quiet and rather soft-spoken, at least when one found him in a calm state of mind. When he was excited, then he was just like any other child of his age. Still, the boy was dedicated to their cause (those parts of it that he understood and was permitted to know), and educating him about the operations of branches other than those that made up the Japan Section would be useful in the long run. With his parentage, the boy was bound to have some sort of high position in Chronos when his mental growth finally matched his physical. It was therefore best that he was fully educated for when he took that position. Now, it only remained to convince Kenji himself to come along.
"Yes, I think I would rather appreciate your presence. Your father has given you permission to come, has he not?"
"Yeah," Kenji confirmed, nodding. "Dad said I could come. He said he'd miss me." The child looked rather downcast as he said that. "But he did say I could come."
"It is only natural for your father to miss you in your absence," Fried'rich stated. Truthfully, I would be worried about you if he did not, Fried'rich mused to himself. "Still, since he has given you permission, I feel no qualms about inviting you along. Now, the only question that remains is if you would like to come with us." It had to be the child's own decision. "Would you like to, Kenji?"
"I- I think I would," the young Zoalord said, sounding more uncertain than Fried'rich would have liked.
He decided to ask again—he wanted to make absolutely certain that this was what the boy actually wanted and that Kenji was not simply volunteering himself because he felt that that was what Fried'rich desired of him.
"Are you really certain that this is what you want, Kenji?"
"Well, Mr. Luggnagg said he really wanted me to come," Kenji said, looking a fair amount more plaintive than Fried'rich would have preferred. "Do you not want me to come, Mr. Fried'rich?"
How to best explain this, Fried'rich wondered to himself. "I do want you to come with us to the Pillars of Heaven, Kenji. It would be a worthwhile learning experience for you, but I want this to be your decision. What do you really want to do? Would you like to come with Luggnagg and me, or would you like to stay here with your father?"
"Mr. Luggnagg said-"
"Kenji!" Fried'rich cut in sharply. "What do you want to do?"
"I- I think I want to come," Kenji said, staring down at his hands in his lap.
"That was really all you needed to say, child," Fried'rich said, making his voice gentle so he wouldn't startle the boy and most likely undo all of his hard work.
Walking out from behind his desk, Fried'rich gently embraced Kenji—the boy had always seemed to be more comfortable with physical reassurances in addition to verbal. -I am very proud of you, little one. I know how much work it took for you to admit something like that.-
-Um, thanks, Mr. Fried'rich.-
Letting go, Fried'rich laid a hand on Kenji's right shoulder. "I am certain that you will enjoy your time at the Pillars of Heaven with us, child. Why don't you go tell Imakarum your decision?"
"Okay, Mr. Fried'rich," Kenji said, nodding but still sounding uncertain. -Do you think he's going to be mad at me for going away?-
"No, Kenji. I honestly think Imakarum will be proud of you for showing some independence," Fried'rich said, though he was not sure that that would be the case.
Though Imakarum might wish to think differently, the Twelfth Zoalord did honestly seem to prefer that Kenji depend on him for any and all things. It was not an especially healthy relationship, but then Kenji was still very young. Perhaps children did depend more on their parents in these modern times; Fried'rich would have been the first to admit that he had not had the chance to become acquainted with any parents from this era.
XxXxX
Imakarum, having finished his work – with only three executions having to be performed on the traitors hidden among Chronos' loyal scientists – and made his way back to his room in the absence of a new task to complete, sat on his bed and waited for Kenji. From the thoughts of his son inevitably came thoughts about what Kenji might be doing in two days. There was a chance that he would still be at Cloud Tower and they could go about their normal routine. There was also the chance that Kenji would decide to travel to the Pillars of Heaven with Lords Fried'rich and Luggnagg. Imakarum had already promised himself that he would not attempt to stop Kenji from traveling if it was what his son truly wanted. The fact that he would miss Kenji notwithstanding, his son would be safe in the company of even one of the other Chronos Overlords; two would be more than ample protection. Besides, Imakarum was certain that there would be tasks that he could immerse himself in while Kenji was away. Things that would take his mind off how much he would miss his son if Kenji decided to leave.
The sound of someone at the door, combined with the quick, excited tread that he had come to know so well, let Imakarum know that Kenji had returned at last. Now it was time to find out just what his son had decided to do…
"It's good to see you again, Kenji-chan," Imakarum said, watching as his son stepped into their room and closed the door behind him.
-Daddy?-
-What's wrong, Kenji?-
-I don't want you to be mad, but-but I said that I'd go with Mr. Fried'rich and Mr. Luggnagg to the Pillars of Heaven.-
-I see,- Imakarum said, standing up and walking over to where Kenji stood, still in the doorway and looking down at his feet. -I could never be angry with you, my Kenji-chan. In fact, I'm pleased that you chose to take this opportunity to learn more about how Chronos is operated.-
-You mean you're not mad?-
-Of course not,- Imakarum said, gently steering Kenji over to their bed and helping him settle down on it. -You're going to be working for Chronos someday, after all. It's only fitting that you learn as much about the company as possible now. Going to the Pillars of Heaven is a very good way for you to start; just remember to ask Lords Fried'rich or Luggnagg about anything that you don't understand.-
-I will, Dad.-
-Good boy. Now, would you like to do anything special? We have a whole two days to spend together.-
-But don't you have work to do?-
-I could take the day off to be with you if I wanted to,- Imakarum explained gently. -Lord Hamilcal did ask me to take on these tasks for him, but it was more like a favor than something I'd be required to do.-
-Oh. But I thought you worked for Mr. Balkus.-
-Lord Hamilcal is technically several ranks above me, but I serve Lord Alkanphel more directly. That gives me more latitude than I would have otherwise had.-
-What does that mean?-
-It means I can do more things than I normally could.-
-Oh.-
-Now, would you like to do something special for the two days that we're going to have together before you leave, or would you just like to just spend them normally?-
-Can we go to the park and play?-
The park. Imakarum paused, looking at Kenji's eager, innocent expression. He didn't want to disappoint his son, not during the little time they would have together before Kenji departed for the Pillars of Heaven, but he also knew that there was a great deal of danger for his son outside the walls of Chronos—from the Guyvers of course, but mostly from Aptom. The Lost Number had tried to devour Kenji alive twice by now. Both times he'd gotten close had been because no one – or at least no one competent; the thought of those witless Zoanoids made Imakarum grit his teeth even now – had been there to protect Kenji. Still, the fact that Kenji would be under the direct protection of two Zoalords did a great deal to ease his mind about sending Kenji out to America without him. Still, that didn't mean he would be as blasé about his son's safety as he had been last time.
-I suppose that I could find a place that we could play,- he said, still rather dubious about the idea but not wanting to disappoint Kenji if it could be at all avoided. -Will you wait here for me?-
-Sure, Dad,- Kenji said, nodding and smiling in that cute way he had.
-Good boy,- he said, reaching out to pat Kenji on the head.
Turning to leave, Imakarum took a last look back at Kenji. He saw that his son had climbed back into their bed and settled himself in it, playing with the Game Boy that he'd gotten for his belated sixth birthday. Smiling at the image, Imakarum left the room in search of a suitable place for himself and Kenji to play.