Once Lord Imakarum had teleported out, Zektor looked back down at the plush toy that he'd been handed. He didn't really know why Lord Ingriam would want to have some beat-up old stuffed toy, but then again he hadn't known Lord Ingriam for all that long. Heck, last he'd known, the Genesis Foundation had been commanded by Lord Luggnagg De Krumeggnik. Ingriam Mirabilis hadn't even been mentioned to him.

Then again, it wasn't all that often that the Zoalords actually told him what was going on among their ranks. He hadn't even known that Lord Purg'stall had taken over the running of the Japan Section in Commander Gyou's absence. There'd also been the slightly strange situation that no one actually seemed to know just where the Commander had run off to, or they just didn't want to tell him if they did. It wasn't a situation that Zektor liked in the slightest, but it was one he had to deal with.

"So what do we do now?" Elegen asked.

"You guys make yourselves comfortable for the night," Zektor said. "I've got something to deliver."

As the other members of Team Five nodded and left, Zektor made his way to Lord Mirabilis' sleeping quarters. Lord Imakarum had already given him the information he needed to find it—which had made him feel rather dizzy for a minute but he still didn't know why he was being asked to deliver a stuffed toy to the new commander of the Africa Section.

The thing looked pretty ragged, like it had been either badly beat up or was just really old. Again, Zektor had to wonder just what Lord Imakarum was having him do, delivering something this ratty-looking to the new ruler of the Genesis Foundation. Still, it wasn't like he had a real choice in the matter. Lord Imakarum had made it damn well clear just how much he wanted Lord Mirabilis to have that toy. Whatever the Twelfth Zoalord's reasons were, it was Zektor's job to make sure that Lord Ingriam Mirabilis had what he needed, though why Lord Imakarum thought that one of those things included a beat up old stuffed toy…

Zektor shrugged. It really wasn't any of his business what the Zoalords were thinking, and trying to do that was pretty much begging for either a severe headache or a really painful mental bitchslapping, both of which he hoped to avoid. Sighing as he stepped inside the elevator that would take him up to the top of the towering skyscraper, Zektor hit the top button and then leaned back against the far wall.

The ride was long and boring, since the building was eighty stories tall – and that wasn't even counting the underground levels – and Zektor had started out on the bottom level. The one thing the Hyper Zoanoid was grateful for was the complete absence of any elevator music: he'd hated that stuff ever since he'd first been exposed to it at one of the other Chronos bases. He couldn't really remember which, but the fact remained that he couldn't stand it. He liked having some peace and quiet for once, short-lived as it was probably going to be.

Once the elevator had reached the top of the building and the Zoalord waiting there, Zektor stepped off the elevator and into the room where he could sense Lord Mirabilis' presence. The sounds inside the room made it clear that their new Zoalord overseer was sleeping, and pretty deeply given the fact that he hadn't woken up when Zektor came in. The Hyper Zoanoid hadn't even been trying to keep quiet. No doubt about it, this guy slept like the dead.

In Zektor's experience, guys who slept like that were really pissy when they got woken up too early for their tastes. He didn't even want to imagine what it would be like to have to deal with a pissy Chronos Overlord, so he just left the stuffed toy on the nightstand by the guy's bed and slipped quietly out of the room. He wondered what kind of guy this new Zoalord overseer of theirs was. Kinda strange, if he really wanted that stuffed toy on his nightstand.

Still, most of the Zoalords Zektor knew had their quirks. So what if this guy – their new boss – had an old stuffed animal that he kept with him. It couldn't be much weirder than what he'd heard about Lord Waferdanos and his obsession with plants. That kind of quirkiness was the stuff of legends as far as Zektor was concerned. Looking over his shoulder at Lord Mirabilis again, Zektor smiled slightly: the guy was kind of cute when he was sleeping. Time would tell if that kind of cuteness would last through the day, though.

Once he was outside the door, Zektor loosed a jaw-cracking yawn. It was time to go find a place to sleep for the night, which meant kicking some poor slob – whether a Standard Zoanoid or a human he didn't really care – out of his quarters, since all the choicest spots were probably taken by now. Yawning again, Zektor headed off to find himself a place to sleep.

The leader of Team Five knew that he could always room with Elegen— the other Hyper Zoanoid would be more than happy to have him there—but Zektor wasn't in the mood for sex as much as he was in the mood for a good, uninterrupted sleep. He could always check in on Elegen later. That thought made Zektor smile for a minute, and so did the sight of one of the doors opening and a Standard Zoanoid being bodily thrown out into the hallway.

Darzerb had probably done that one, since he was the only one strong enough to toss them hard enough that they bounced off the opposite wall, which was exactly what this guy had just finished doing. He, probably a Ramochis judging by his build, was getting up and heading back to Darzerb's new room.

"Scram, peon," Zektor snapped, smirking as he smacked the Standard Zoanoid upside the head.

It made a rude, extremely obscene gesture at Zektor before the Hyper Zoanoid had turned away, so Zektor considered himself well within his rights to punch the little bastard hard enough that he smacked headfirst into the wall again. Turning away from the Ramochis, Zektor headed over to Darzerb's door and knocked twice.

"It's me," Zektor said, and then yawned. "Open up; I've got a question for you."

The door slid into the wall, letting Zektor get a good look at his fellow Hyper Zoanoid. Darzerb slouched lazily in the doorway, his shirt and suit jacket off, evidently getting ready for bed. "What is it?"

"Are there any empty rooms left?"

"Yeah," the large, dark-skinned Hyper Zoanoid said, smirking. "There's one right next to my room, in fact."

"Good. I was hoping to get some shut-eye before we have to go meet the new boss tomorrow."

"Speaking of which, you didn't really give him that stuffed toy, did you?"

"What, and have the Twelfth Zoalord come over here and bash my skull in?" Zektor scoffed. "Of course I gave it to him. If he doesn't like it, he can take it up with that guy. I'm not getting in on that little spat if there even is one. I'm just doing my job here."

"That's a good plan," Darzerb said.

"I know," Zektor grinned. "That's why I thought of it."

Darzerb rolled his eyes as he closed the door, leaving Zektor free to walk up to the next room over. It wasn't locked, of course, since Standard Zoanoid's weren't allowed to lock their doors. With the Guyvers around, there was always a chance that they'd be called into combat at a moment's notice. The same was most certainly not true for Hyper Zoanoids: they were the elite of Chronos' forces, not just cannon fodder who were sent out on any old mission.

When the door slid open, Zektor took a look at his new room. It was nice—no wonder the other guys had picked out these rooms for themselves. The Standard Zoanoid, a Galma this time, was just starting to turn around when Zektor marched into the room, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and threw him out. Not in the mood to deal with another annoying Standard Zoanoid, Zektor closed the door and locked it quickly.

There was some random crap in the room—probably personal effects or something—and Zektor tossed it in the trash on his way to the bed. It was a nice, soft-looking twin bed, and he threw himself down on it with complete and utter relish. This one was one of the good, springy beds that only the upper-level rooms came furnished with. Just as he was starting to settle himself for a nice, restful sleep, he heard the Galma start to pound on the door. Ignoring the noise, Zektor rolled over and fell asleep.