Zoalords

Chapter 7

Kenji

The Council was gathered once again. Ten Zoalords sat at the conference table in grand meeting hall aboard The Ark. Lords Archanfel and Mirabilis were noticeably absent, but this was not unusual, Archanfel kept his own time. Mirabilis, however, was almost obsessively punctual.

Lord Czyvek was dressed in his black beetle armor. Alone among the Zoalords, he did not wear a cloak, he felt it got in the way, and he couldn't use his wings while wearing one. His hair was noticeably shorter, it had been shaven to allow surgery to remove the telepathic inhibitor. He was still a bit dazed from the experience. The sudden influx of psionic signals that had accompanied the removal of the telepathic inhibitor had left him somewhat dazed. Much to his chagrin, he had to rely upon help from the other Zoalords to make the transition to true telepathy.

They were discussing various matters, both mundane and vital. Lord Amniculus was excited by the new Hyper-Zoanoid Ghul, which was designed specifically to combat the Libertus threat in the U.S. and Japan. Lord Vorsted was consolidating his power in central Europe and Lord Nguyen was showing Lord Waferdanos the progress of their work on the Unit Remover Type Zoanoid. Suddenly, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned toward the chamber door. Several recognized, even knew, the source of the odd telepathic signals emanating from outside the chamber,
but most were mystified. Archanfel entered the chamber, resplendent in his white robes, and all knelt before him. Once they had risen and taken their seats, The Supreme Zoalord began to speak.

"I am glad that all of you could come. It is time that all of you know of this. It is a long story, and one which I should relate to avoid any confusion on your part. There is another Zoalord, one most of you have not yet met." He sighed, "Many of you know little, if anything, of the life of Murakami Masaki, the man who became Imakarum Mirabilis. Even Lord Czyvek, head of CHRONOS intelligence, knew nothing of what I am about to tell you until very recently. Murakami had a wife and a child, a son. After he escaped our Arizona facility, Murakami went into hiding. In order to draw him out, overzealous and misguided agents burnt down his home. Murakami's wife was killed. His son, Kenji, escaped. Though he tried to feign the boy's death, ultimately he was captured by the traitor Richard Guyot. Though he was but a child of seven, Guyot had him processed into a Proto-Zoalord."

There was an audible gasp of shock on the part of Lord Amniculus, and a look of horror crossed Lord Nguyen's face. "What kind of monster . . ."
Archanfel held up his hand. "What is done is done. I was able to save the boy following the battle at Relic's Point, and I completed his transformation into a Zoalord."

"A child Zoalord?" Lord de Galenos' voice registered shock.

"Yes. With his father and several members members of The Council, I have been preparing him for this day. The day in which he could take his rightful place among The Divine Twelve."

"At nine years of age . . . ?"

"He is competent, well-trained and as powerful as his father." He paused for a moment, cat-like eyes scanning the room, "There is yet more. The process was not meant for a child's body, so Murakami Kenji was artificially aged. He has the physical form of a man approximately twenty-five years of age."

After a moment of murmuring, Archanfel continued, "He is very . . . Precious to me, and to those of us who know him. I have every faith in his ability to serve his position with dignity and honor."

At that moment, the chamber doors opened, and two figures stepped through. One was familiar to all, the other . . ."Allow me to introduce to you Lord Ingriam Mirabilis."

Zoalord Ingriam Mirabilis stepped forward, and gave a polite bow. He was beautiful to the point of femininity, almost as beautiful as Archanfel himself. He was dressed in armor identical to that of Imakarum Mirabilis, and stood close beside his father. "I'm pleased to meet you." He said simply.

His father had prepared him for this day, but he was still nervous. He knew Doctor Barcus. Waferdanos and Edward Caerleon were like family to him. But he did not know the others. He knew their names, of course. Their faces. Their strengths and weaknesses. But looking at a picture of someone is different than actually facing them. He noticed that Mr. Czyvek's hair had been cut, but he could still recognize him. His dad had said he'd had some kind of surgery on his brain, so he figured they had cut his hair for that. Mr. de Galenos was taller than he'd thought, but he'd seen much bigger Zoanoids. He had skin like The Thing from The Fantastic Four, and that was cool.

Lord Amniculus stood and extended a hand, "Welcome to The Council of Twelve, Lord Ingriam Mirabilis." Ingriam smiled and shook his hand. "Thank you, sir." He might be a child, but if Archanfel had faith in him, there was nothing to worry about.

Ingriam Mirabilis took his turn with each of the Zoalords he didn't already know, Most of them didn't know what to think, a nine year old boy in the body of a god . . . Some were curious, others feigned indifference, but none questioned Archanfel's judgement.

The Council were not the only ones with questions, as they soon found their new colleague very curious indeed.

Ingriam walked over to Czyvek. He was taller than the older Zoalord.
"Mr. Czyvek, dad says you want to protect the Guyver. Why?"

The question caught Czyvek off guard. How do you explain it? Trying to save someone who is, technically, your enemy, who has actually killed
some of your friends? He thought of Kenishiro, AKA Gelpess, slain trying to take Sho into custody. How he used to take Barcus' form for laughs, he was such a prankster, Ken . . . Neither had a choice, Kenishiro had to obey his masters, and he would have killed Sho if Sho had not Bio-Boosted and vaporized him . . .

"Are you alright, Mr. Czyvek?"

The Zoalord realized that his mind had been drifting, "I'm fine, Lord . . . uhm . . . By what name should I address you?"

"Ingriam."

"Lord Ingriam, I'm alright. Thank you. I was just thinking of someone I once knew." He rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Why do I want to help Sho? Because this isn't his fault. He didn't want this. Agito wanted to become a Guyver, he wanted to destroy us. Sho just wants a normal life.
If he hadn't found the Guyver by accident, he'd be a happy, loyal subject of CHRONOS."

Doctor Barcus chuckled and Imakarum Mirabilis laughed outright.

Ingriam didn't get the joke.

"Besides," Czyvek reddened a bit, "A Guyver can regrow it's host. It's impossible to kill Sho without destroying the Guyver, unless we have a Remover, which we don't, yet."

"The Unit Remover Zoanoids?" Ingriam asked, "Dad showed me the designs. They look kind of like Grimmels. Bio-Blasters, a good choice."

"You know your Zoanoids, my friend." Czyvek was impressed. He should have realized Imakarum would have familiarized his son with every facet of life within CHRONOS. He might just be facing his replacement as head of CHRONOS Intelligence. He wondered what Ishi would think of Ingriam, or what Ingriam would think of Ishi.

"I especially like the Bonga. I'm glad you brought them back."

Czyvek smiled, "So am I." Bonga was a big dinosaur of a Zoanoid, a T-Rex with humanoid arms. They certainly appealed to the dino-lover in everyone. In fact, one was the main character on a children's show, "Bonga and Friends."

Imakarum Mirabilis was a propaganda genius.

Ingriam still didn't really understand why Czyvek cared about Sho. Maybe his dad was right, and Czyvek was just crazy. But he didn't talk to him like a little kid like a lot of other people he knew. He seemed like a nice person.

"I'll bet your father told you some interesting stories about me."Czyvek smiled, "Sad thing is, they're probably true." Ingriam knew it would be rude to say some of the things his father had said, so he decided against it.

Suddenly Czyvek's eyes widened in shock. Ingriam could feel it too. They all could.

Guyver III was in Japan.

To be continued . . .

Murakami Kenji/Ingriam Mirabilis belongs to CybladeSilver and is used with permission.

If I remember correctly 'Ghul' is an Arabic word meaning 'demon' and the origin of the English word Ghoul.