Disclaimer: Bio-Booster Armor Guyver is Copyrighted to Yoshiki Takaya and Tokuma Shoten Publishing Co in Japan and is trade marked to VIZ Communications Inc.. I am using the characters and ideas without permission but am not making any money from this. This fictional work does belong to me.

Special thanks to Drag-5 and YoungGuyver for their helpful suggestions when this fic was still just being created. I hope I haven't made you wait too long. Thanks also to Zero-chan for the support half way through and again for beta checking. Apocalypse and Mecha as well.

Thank you to theguyver (dot) net for hosting!

This is another 'What If?' style fic with the basic question being What if Tetsuro and Sho had been questioned in a slightly different manner right at first by Cronos?

Enjoy

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Not My Life
Jade Tatsu

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This isn't the life I wanted but I don't think anyone gets the life they want but at least they get the life they expect. I never expected to be turned into a monster. I don't think anyone does... well... maybe now they do except they don't really think that a Zoanoid is a monster... not anymore.

I expected to study hard, get a job, get married, have kids, grow old... that sort of thing. I never expected to fight, day after day, to kill more people than I can remember and to know that for me there is no redemption. Death will bring an end but it will not bring peace. I will welcome it though because I will welcome the end.

It all started on the day Tetsuro and I agreed to answer the questions from those two cops... Cops... Humph... Well, they probably were Cops but they were so much more... So much that should not have been possible but I know now what I thought was impossible is actually possible.

They'd done their homework. They knew Tetsuro could be useful to them. Me..? I was just barely acceptable as canon fodder but I was leverage. They played the two of us off in a game we couldn't hope to win and didn't know the rules. I remember begging them to believe us and screaming that we were telling the truth. We didn't know anything about their Guyver Unit. And I remember the agony on Tetsuro's face as he watched what I was becoming. It's funny that, I remember his pain rather than the torture I was going through.

I remember everything right up until the point where I looked down at my hand and saw the claws forming. I think I screamed, I know I went into shock and after that everything went black.

I don't remember much very clearly for a while there... there was a babble of clinical voices, mixed in with a haze of pain. And then I was just hot and fevered and I remember someone making me drink. That's how I woke up actually, to find a large bald man holding me upright, slowly making me drink the almost bitter water.

Dyme. I almost feel sorry for him now with everything he had to put up with from me because it cannot have been easy dealing with a child. You try explaining to someone who has no idea what a Zoanoid is, not only the fact that they are one, but that they are one that is considered inferior, and that the simple respect given even the mass produced Ramotiths would never been known to you. I didn't understand or even care about that last bit though. Not then.

And that's what he tried to explain before he even got around to trying to explain how to transform. I know I screamed then. And I couldn't bring myself to speak with him for at least a week after he gave me a demonstration. I don't think I ate much either...

Aptom eventually worked out what was wrong. To say he was pissed is an understatement. I think he might have killed the supervisor. They had never had to deal with a child before. Other Lost Numbers had been a part of Cronos before processing. They knew what was expected, they knew what was what. They were disappointed with what they were but they weren't scared. Their mind didn't shut down at the thoughts they now entertained.

They were patient though. Solume, Dyme, Aptom. They were very patient, although Aptom was frequently annoyed and Solume really wasn't sure what to do. Dyme helped me so much, through the fear and the sickness and pain. He was always there for me. I am thankful that at least he knew that.

It was at least three months since I had been processed before I could be called stable. Those three months were filled with pain, disbelief and fever. There would be times when I was okay followed by weeks of sickness as I once again considered the situation. I wanted to go home. Gods, how I wanted to go home! I wished it was a dream, twisted sick dream caused by listening too much to Tetsuro's stories.

Eventually though I knew that no matter the life I had to continue. I couldn't go home. It wasn't a dream. I couldn't go back. I could only go forward. That's when the real pain began.

Trial by fire only begins to describe it.

I finally began to understand what Dyme had been trying to tell me right at the beginning. Lost Numbers are expendable.

The others knew I couldn't fight, that I didn't know how. They tried to cover me as much as possible and to teach me in between missions. Weight training, lap running, push-ups, stretches, aerobic exercise, swimming...

It's all blurred into one now. First they pushed my human body to the limits because I could not yet control my transformation. By doing that they were allowing me to become aware of what I could do, and how my body performed. They were forcing me to have the type of knowledge about one's self that only elite athletes or Zoanoids have.

Once I was used to what I could do as a human, Aptom pushed me to transform into the Zoanoid Cronos had made me. He gave me no choice, looming over me, bits of himself invading my body as he tried to take control.

I knocked him out for a week.

I was a Lost Number but unlike the others there had been no plan to my creation. They, Cronos had simply thrown me into the processing tank. Amniotic fluid, a few nutrients, some mild electrical impulses and a small number of generic Zoanoid retro virus' are always in those things. They aren't meant to be enough to process you into a Zoanoid. You are meant to add the exact retro viruses before processing can begin since it is they that allow the DNA code to be re-written. Eh... there were probably a few in there but not enough...

Although, add a teenage human to that mixture and you can get some unusual results. At puberty the human body is undergoing changes anyway, and in an environment that is designed to hasten, enhance and direct change, my body betrayed me. It adsorbed the retro viruses, and with the usual and natural teenage imbalance of hormones they reacted, and thus the Zoanoid process began.

Once it started, Cronos was curious to know what an unguided transformation would create. A lost number obviously... but since I was leverage, they could afford to experiment. What happened was that my DNA literally rewrote itself without guidance and it rewrote itself following the guidelines that have been evolutionarily written into everyone.

Cronos claims that the Zoaform is what is evolutionarily written into all human genetics... this is true, but the base human form is also evolving. That's what my Zoaform is... the evolved form of humanity.

It's not really that much different from human although it has a number of contradictions when compared to a usual Zoanoid transformation. I am both stronger and lighter transformed as opposed to heavier. I have gills so I can breathe in either air or water and my lung capacity is now such that I can survive for 3 hours in vacuum. I did not enjoy the experiment that determined that. The main difference is wings, and claws. The claws I think come from the Zoanoid retro viruses that were left over in that tank... the wings are evolutionary. They change for their environment, feathered in air, web like in water.

While I am stronger than even the most powerful humans, I do not have the overwhelming strength of a muscle type Zoanoid, nor do I have any projectile weapons like a biolaser type. I don't need that... I have something else.

Most Zoanoids are given superior physical abilities. My transformation had given me mental abilities. I have a mental shield from Zoalords. Like Aptom I must wear an amplifier to allow telepathic communication but I can do a few other things which have meant that despite being a Lost Number no Zoanoid has given me grief for years. The thought just never occurs to them.

Of course, I didn't know about any of this when Aptom first pushed me to transform. As my abilities awoke, I did not know what they were and could not control them thus Aptom ended up in a coma for a week and I went back to being the petrified child they had been dumped with.

I don't think Cronos cared then that they had never seen my complete Zoanoid transformation. This was Aptom, as the leader of the Lost Numbers pushing me to advance so that I would not hold them back, and so they would not have to protect me. It would have been easier just to let me die on a mission but the code of the Lost Numbers does not allow that. We are the only family we have and so we must look after our own.

It doesn't matter if it is a scared child, or a mis-processed warrior, we are family and family always looks after its own. After I completed the transformation I was stuck like that for a while. My mind, in an effort to protect itself, after lashing out at Aptom just closed down.

It made it easy for Dyme to care for me, as Solume took care of Aptom. During that time Cronos scientists examined me. They took in only the physical characteristics and focused on my genetic blocking of Zoalord commands. They missed my true power. I didn't care at the time. I did later. I do now. I am thankful that they missed it. They concluded that unfocused processing could produce Zoaforms but that such forms were weak, unreliable and where defined too much by chance and that further experimentation should be avoided.

All of which were conclusions they could have arrived at if they had thought about the situation first. Cronos scientists are allowed too much free rein in their experiments. They seldom question as a normal person would the difference between being able to do something, and if they should do something. I think for the most part they were too tied up with the fact that they were at the extreme cutting edge of science. Ethics doesn't really play a role there.

For the most part Cronos is both ethical and moral... in a brutal, direct and essentially self serving manner. It is individuals who violate some codes, Zoalords usually in the pursuit of power but the code of Cronos is to take care of their own. They produce Lost Numbers, true, and while they are expendable, until combat, their basic requirements are met. Food and shelter. Simple, basic provision but in the wider scheme of humanity, it was highly ethical. Even with X-day this hasn't changed although the paths open to a Lost Number are now wider.

I never had a choice. For me the only route allowing survival was to stay within Cronos. After my processing I couldn't have lived anywhere else. There were the months of sickness, followed by months were I tried to control my abilities. Aptom helped as much as he could, so did the others but they didn't have any where near the depth of mental ability as I do. As much as I hate to say it, I could have benefited from the tuition of a Zoalord then although if any of them had an inkling of my power I would have been dead. Everything I have learnt is self taught, gained through trial and error, or gained painfully through experience, having my mind almost ripped apart in the search for dominance. A few things I have learnt are possible through observation but then I had to teach myself how to do it.

Tetsuro could have helped me a lot and it pains me to admit that it was only after several desperate months of self loathing did I even realise to ask what had become of him. As Lost Numbers it was difficult to find out and in the end our enquiries were useless because I literally bumped into him one day.

He, like me, had been given no choice. He was at that time a junior professor still learning the basics about what should not have been possible. I don't blame him. I have never blamed him. In those days, before X-day, once you knew about Cronos, if you were even given a choice and not destroyed out of hand, there were only two options - join or die. Like me, Tetsuro had chosen the only path he could to survive.

Don't preach to me about any nobility or honour that could have been gained by fighting or through resistance. We never even dreamed that such an organisation could exist and so the choice to fight was not one that ever presented itself. We /could/ have fought but we wouldn't have even taken even one scientist with us. For Tetsuro and I, any resistance would have ended in death. Ignoble and unheeded death.

Besides, I didn't know it then but the most damaging rebellions have always come from within.

Tetsuro was gifted. I think Cronos had already known that and so for him being a junior Professor was only so that he could learn about the company. He took naturally to the complexities of biological engineering suggesting alterations to Zoanoid designs that were both innovative and simple. He wasn't quite up to designing whole Zoanoids himself but that was only a matter of time. For Tetsuro, ignoring everything else that Cronos was, for him, it was as if he had come home. It was an opportunity to grow and learn and develop in an environment that both challenged and supported him.

To say I was relieved to see him is an understatement. We were both ecstatic that the other was alive. The changes in both of us meant that we were happy with that and didn't expect anything else. As I was a Lost Number, trapped within the Cronos base it was easy to form a friendship with Tetsuro and his mentors. It is difficult to see from the outside but within Cronos there is friendship and comradery. There is also betrayal, deceit and lies but you can form lasting friendships and know happiness.

Tetsuro helped me refine many of my abilities. Outside of the Lost Numbers he was the only one to have even an inkling of my true abilities. As he developed he worked very closely with us, and in fact, though Valkus is credited with it, it was Tetsuro's work that allowed the Solume form to become a regular Zoanoid.

As soon as we were both settled there was trouble. Tetsuro and I had managed to confirm that Mizuki and my father were safe. Cronos was not interested in them, and they were continuing their lives. They mourned us but there were not hunted. It was reassuring.

The trouble now was around the Guyver Unit. Tetsuro had been able to discover some information about it but it was mostly here-say. All actual records pertaining to the Guyver Unit were classified.

From what we could piece together though, there were three. Rumour had it that one had been returned to Cronos and then activated by some American Supervisor. The other two, despite Cronos' best efforts were still lost. The corporate head of Cronos Japan - Genzo Makishima, who I later discovered was the adoptive father of Makishima Agito, the President of the School Council at our High School - had been demoted to be processed into a Ramotiths.

They, the Units, were important to Cronos. That much was certain. They were important to Reichmann Guyot as well.

It had been about a year or so since Tetsuro and I had been questioned by Cronos when it happened. It was in the dawn of X-day, just as the initial orders were being received, and I believe this event would have actually held off X-day for another three years or so until... until what now was inevitable.

The twelfth Zoalord Guyot made a grab for power.

Tetsuro later told me about the beginning of it, about how the Zoalord had some researchers looking into something called the Remover for him, and how, the culmination of their research had lead to the successful activation of the Remover, and the beginnings of the Zoalords grab for power.

The American Supervisor Lisker had remained in Japan as the Corporate Head of Cronos while Guyot, as a Zoalord had been working as the true head. The Zoalord confronted Lisker in full battle mode. At that stage I guess Guyot was too full of power to care about usual Cronos secrecy.

It was hardly a battle.

Lisker, while a skilled soldier, and accomplished with the Guyver Unit was taken by surprise, and the Unit was ripped from him. After all, no Zoanoid had ever given him problems before, and hyper-Zoanoids had only slowed him down for a few moments longer. A Zoalord, while being more powerful, should have been within Lisker's abilities to defeat but more importantly, shouldn't have been able to remove the Unit itself. It is hardly worth mentioning that battle, save for the fact that the Third Guyver Unit made an aborted attempt to prevent the Second Unit from being taken by the Zoalord.

It was the first time that Guyver had been seen. He was black, with reddish purple lining and it looked like whoever it was had been at least partially aware of what they were doing since their Guyver form was replete with spikes and had more vibroblades than any of the others seen to date.

In the end the disturbance in Tokyo was minimal but the disturbance within Cronos reverberated around the world. By the time the rest of the Zoalords realised what was happening it was too late. Guyot had joined with the Guyver Unit, and had taken direct mental control of most of the Zoanoids within Japan, and more than a few in surrounding countries.

It was his intention to become a supreme being though the union of the ultimate Zoaform and a Guyver. That didn't exactly happen but he did receive a significant power boost.

It was an unusual time.

Neither Aptom or I could hear Guyot's call but Dyme and Solume could. So could Gelpless. As Lost Numbers they didn't have to obey the Zoalord but... when everyone and everything else around you is going in one direction, you tend to follow along. We didn't have to obey but we would have been destroyed if we hadn't of at least pretended to obey.

As Lost Numbers though, we were mostly ignored as Guyot prepared to fight the rest of Cronos.

The other Zoalords were not about to let him rule without a fight. Guyot controlled all of Japan and in a move designed to force Cronos' hand, he took direct control of the country and those surrounds that he could. The other Branches of Cronos had no choice but to initiate X-day early. The world was somewhat prepared for it, given that they had seen monsters take over Japan but were not prepared for the brutality Cronos displayed.

Any civilian unrest was crushed with Zoanoids. They could not afford to have any hint of insurrection against them. It wasn't what they planned but it was what they had been forced to. Once the rest of the world was under Cronos' control, they turned their attention towards the rogue Zoalord fully.

Guyot had used the time Cronos was conquering the rest of the world, those pitiful few days to try to take over a larger area and he had been processing Zoanoids as fast as his facilities would allow. He was aware that to win, he would need to match numbers as best he could. He had been counting too much on the Guyver Armor.

Cronos gathered their armies in China. Masses upon masses of Zoanoids and Hyper Zoanoids packed so tightly that you could barely move. They were lead by five Zoalords including Alkanphel himself. He was not about to let insurrection go unpunished. Guyot countered as best he could, gathering his forces but while he maintained control over his Zoanoids, he could not wrest control of any others from either Khan or Valkus. They remained in complete control of their soldiers. With Alkanphel there Guyot really couldn't hope to control any of them.

Guyot still had the Unit Remover though, he was still confident of victory.

Perhaps too confident.

We Lost Numbers remained at Relic's Point. There wasn't much for us to do and in actual combat against other Zoanoids, the fact that we could not be reliably or easily controlled by a Zoalord was just a confusion that was not needed. We meet what was left of the team that had found the Unit Remover, the team that was working on the Relic. Tetsuro had been transferred there and it was good to see a familiar face.

Then we waited.

Like all of Japan we waited for Cronos to come.

And come they did but in the end it was not the cataclysmic battle Guyot had been hoping for.

He was betrayed.

The one who had become his second in Command betrayed him to Alkanphel. Makishima Agito, a man who had destroyed his own father in the quest for power, now sold out Guyot to Cronos.

It wasn't a simple betrayal. Guyot was too powerful for that and Agito had to fight. It was then that he was revealed to be Guyver III, that Guyver who had tried to keep the Unit from Guyot.

It is ironic and in its own way it is amusing.

We didn't find out about the battle until after it was over. We knew the result long before Cronos loyal Zoanoids poured into Relics Point but we didn't find out the details until later, until we had been once more proven to be as loyal to Cronos as any Lost Number could be.

The Guyver Zoalord Guyot had fought the Zoalord of Zoalords, Alkanphel, who had been backed up by Guyver III, Makishima Agito. The two of them had harnessed enough power to injure Guyot. With the removal of his Zoa crystal, the Guyver armor on him showed its fatal flaw.

When Malmot stole the Unit's he had tried to escape Cronos any way that he could. And so, with retreat cut off and he was cornered, he had killed himself with a grenade he had acquired. This explosion had scattered the Guyver Units. Cronos had retrieved one, the one that went to Oswald Lisker and later to Guyot. One had disappeared, and one was now revealed to be with Makishima Agito.

The one that Cronos had retrieved though, had a damaged control medallion. It was assumed that the damage was only superficial since Lisker had used his Unit many times with no ill effects. The damage though was far worse than expected and the removal of Guyot's Zoa crystal by Alkanphel destabilised the entire Unit and it rejected the control medallion before consuming its host. Cronos played Guyot's final screams to anyone who thought of disobeying, screams that were cut short by the Megasmasher of Guyver III. Screams I heard as if I had been standing next to him when he was miles away.

And with that, what little resistance to Cronos there had been was gone, and the world was truly owned.

Makishima was given a special rank within the new hierarchy. He was not a Zoalord and nor was Cronos about to process him into a Zoaform, not so long as he had a Unit. Guyot had been paranoid about the possibility of someone removing the Unit from him so he had killed the scientist who had researched the Remover for him, and he had destroyed all information pertaining to it before he had destroyed the Remover. Much of this was later revealed to be at Agito's insistence, a tactic he claimed allowed him to get close to Guyot. With the possibility of removing the Unit G from him a null option, Makishima was given a rank similar to the one Lisker had held as a Guyver, a special operative with managerial authority.

All was quiet for many years then. It was a time for routine.

From the human point of view, Cronos at this time wasn't evil. X-day removed all socio-economic barriers that had haunted the world previously. Poverty, hunger and most diseases were wiped out almost over night. In return, all Cronos asked for was to rule and that was something most were prepared to let them do. The environment was protected then by very progressive laws and it seemed like everyone was content. Cronos began several large scale city remodelling projects around the globe but in general life continued calmly.

However with Guyot's rebellion, Cronos was much more aware of the possibility of revolt and so acted swiftly at the slightest hint of insurrection. It did mean that the Lost Numbers were used a lot and while I know there was no choice, I do regret the humans I killed.

Tetsuro continued to work within Cronos and was gaining much notoriety amongst the scientific community. His Zoanoid designs were very efficient and with the elimination of boundaries within the company by the early advent of X-day, they were sought after by many parts of Cronos. He remained in Japan though I think because Mizuki was still there. Or maybe because of Natsuki.

Even with everything that had happened Tetsuro still loved his family. They were thrilled to find out that he was still alive as his supposed death had hit them hard. I did not have such a happy conclusion to the separation from my Father. He had been killed in one of the battles that had ravaged Japan. I don't know which one. It doesn't matter.

Mizuki had only grown more beautiful as she had matured, and with the new paths allowed to Zoanoids by X-day, I was allowed to remain with her. Adjusting was difficult... I never thought I'd miss the Lost Numbers but they had become my family and I found that I did. I loved the time I spent with Mizuki. I loved the son Tetsuro's science allowed us to have. Lost Numbers are sterile but that does not mean we can't have children. It just means that it is far more complicated that normal but it is possible to merge the cells of man and woman together to create life.

I loved my wife, I loved my son but in the end, it was not to be.

Too much within me had changed. Too much with her had changed. Too much of the world had changed. We'd grown apart without the other.

It was an amicable parting but an irrevocable sign that my life was not how it should have been. Years ago I would have killed, I would have died to escape Cronos, back when I was first turned into this thing, now I voluntarily returned because I could not live outside.

As I said, things were quiet for years but not everyone was happy with Cronos and there came rumours of a group who was fighting equally with Cronos Zoanoids, a group that had their own Zoanoids and Zoalords.

They would strike, destroy their target then melt into thin air like mist. They never stayed in one place long enough for Cronos to track them properly. As each Zoalord had their own dominion, the task of tracking them down was assigned to Makishima Agito as he was the only person within Cronos with enough authority and power to cut across the boundaries of Zoalord jurisdiction.

They called themselves Liberty after the name of their main troops, the Libertus, a Zoanoid of ferocious ability. At first the reports weren't believed because it didn't seem possible for a Zoanoid to be that powerful and what the Libertus had done was attributed to the Zoalord's who lead them - Griselda and Aloysius - but in time it became certain that while they were powerful, the Libertus was also very powerful.

Agito tracked them down, and he fought with Aloysius a number of times but he wasn't able to bring in either of the Zoalords. The battles were fierce though and he did manage to bring in several Libertus samples.

Mind you, so did we.

Despite questioning from the Cronos Zoalords the Libertus did not reveal anything. They couldn't. The orders their Zoalords had given them held against the mental probing of Cronos. It was definitely cruel but this was war. With the power of the Libertus, Liberty was taken seriously, especially with Makishima's running battles but it wasn't until Aloysius killed a Zoalord that they were considered a serious threat.

The destruction of bases is disruptive and while it did challenge Cronos' superiority it wasn't anything special since it did not embody the hope that Cronos could be defeated. Instigating the death of a Cronos Lord though, that brought the attention of the world.

Makishima had been present but had not been able to prevent Rienzi's death. He reported though that it took both Griselda and Aloysius to kill Rienzi.

After the death of Rienzi the Lost Numbers were assigned to Agito. I don't know why. One thing within Cronos had not changed with X-day and that was that they never told you anything you needed to know. Probably we were assigned because we had no fixed Unit.

It was interesting.

Obviously I knew who Agito was but it was remarkable to see just how far the Chairman of the Student Council had risen. When you're that age, you don't really think of the future, except in the vaguest terms... Well, I know I didn't. Maybe that was the difference between us, Agito had probably always known what he wanted. He recognised me but we did not speak of the past. What was there to say? I had been forcibly drafted into Cronos and the boy he knew was not there. I was simply a soldier now. At least, that's all I was to him.

I didn't serve under him long and he didn't seem to like using the Lost Numbers. I know why now but we didn't at the time.

Perhaps it was one mission too many failed, perhaps Agito acted too loyally, perhaps it was any number of things but there was a suspicion cast upon the Guyver. He was portrayed as the human face of Cronos, a family man and they took advantage of that. There was a function, a minor event, more like a media photo opportunity to relate information on the battle against the group calling themselves Liberty. Agito and his wife Shizu were to appear but it was not Shizu who appeared with him. It was Gelpess, a Lost Number. One of our companions who could change his human form at will.

I don't know what was said of what was done but in front of the entire crowd, Gelpess transformed and attacked Agito. The special ranked Cronos Guyver called his Unit and neatly split Gelpess in two before flying off. He was met by Griselda and Aloysius and all suspicion was confirmed.

Fried'rich von Purg'stall took control of the meeting then explaining how they had come to suspect their formally loyal Commander and to reveal a new type of Hyper Zoanoid: Enzyme.

Tetsuro was on hand to display Enzyme's new features, explaining that it had been created specifically to counter both the Libertus and Guyver III, although he then confirmed that there was still another plan in play. Enzyme was noted as the first Hyper Zoanoid type to be mass produced, a feat previously considered impossible but one made possible by Segawa's efficient design.

At the time, we didn't care. The Lost Numbers did not care about any plan or scheme or new Zoanoid. We only cared that Gelpess was dead. One of our family had been taken from us, one of our family who shouldn't have had to die. At least our desire for vengeance was heeded.

Tetsuro personally reprocessed Aptom and myself. Apparently we were already a part of the back up plan. Aptom was given many of the abilities of the Enzyme Hyper Zoanoid as well as as many more as Tetsuro could work in from other Hyper Zoanoids. He simply enhanced Aptom's chameleonic ability. Tetsuro stabilised my Zoanoid form as much as he could and I was given the basic properties of an Enzyme – blood that could be injected through my claws to eat away at the Guyver armor. For me, it wasn't so much as a reprocessing as I was processed correctly for the first time. I did feel more... comfortable once he was finished. Sly friend that he was, he simply said he thought that would be the case.

Tetsuro was always one to play the deeper game, always one to bide his time.

Aptom and I were sent out as a team. It was a new experience for me as I had been used to working with Dyme. The Lost Numbers take care of their own. That is one thing that is truth. The Lost Numbers always get the job done. That is another truth other Unit's don't like to admit it but it is completely and utterly true. We always get the job done.

It was a source of pride for us. Dyme and I for example had worked as a capture team and we had the highest success rate. Dyme would trap them while I would knock them out. No physical damage whether they be human or Zoanoid and they were returned to Cronos. Dyme and Lost Number Solume were assigned now as bodyguards to Tetsuro since it was assumed Agito would target him because he developed the Enzyme Hyper Zoanoid. Aptom and I though, with our ability to ignore Zoalords were now commanded to hunt the leaders of Liberty: Griselda, Aloysius and as Agito now called himself, Zeus.

It was one of those things that shouldn't have happened but did. Tetsuro and Hekkering met. The designers of the two Zoanoids used now by each side who should have only confronted each other through their designs on the battle field had the chance to speak. I'm sure it was an fascinating conversation.

It is amusing to note that Valkus is said to have had two disciples - Hekkering and Segawa - two brilliant minds that he imparted the wisdom of ages and Zoanoids to. I find it even more interesting to note that both disciples agree that it was Valkus who leeched their brilliance. Tetsuro's contemporaries knew the truth and he remained within Cronos while Hekkering chose the path of the Rebel, siding with Agito and developing the Libertus so that in the end, it was the Hekkering developed Libertus versus Tetsuro's developed Enzyme and Aptom. No sign of Valkus anywhere.

Tetsuro escaped but it cost Dyme his life, killed by Zeus by the Guyver who should have been loyal. I was angry enough at hearing that he had died, the Lost Numbers are a family but he had been my father and had always been there for me, that I would have struck Makishima but when I heard the details... of how the Guyver had boiled Dyme alive... Aptom and I went hunting. We caught Zeus in the act of raiding a processing plant, killing those who had no chance to fight.

Aptom showed the true reason he'd been reprocessed as he took over the Enzymes that had been loosing the battle against the Libertus. He had been reprocessed to become their central mind. He was not a Zoalord because he could not control any Zoanoid but the Enzyme design.

It worked very well and even when the Enzyme's sacrificed another it was always for the greater good. Aptom always enjoyed battles where he could take over Enzymes. He came away calmer, almost content with a smile on his face that said he knew more than he should and he did but he was good at keeping secrets, especially when they were worth his life.

That left me to fight Agito. I couldn't quite match his speed or his strength but I was a match for him. I could hear his thoughts. I knew where he was going to attack and that made up for my physical deficiencies. Usually I would have attacked mentally myself but I was so angry and I so much wanted to inflict vengeance with my own hands that I did not think of such. Aptom, Dyme and Solume had all trained me well and I inflicted as much damage as I took. I dodged his vibration swords and resonance shielded from his sonics. The laser hurt, as did the pressure cannon and Zeus' megasmasher took half of one of my wings off when I couldn't dodge fast enough but Agito's armor looked like it was bleeding from the cuts and scratches I made. They weren't shallow but were deep and even a Guyver Unit needs time to heal that. I'd concentrated on his joints and tendons, where the armor was weakest.

I ripped out his guts and the blood that poured through his face armor was pleasing but he healed, as I knew he would but healing cost him energy and bought me time and when Agito realised it was already too late.

The Enzymes linked through Aptom had defeated the Libertus and had surrounded the wounded Guyver. Neither Aptom or I cared to wait or hesitate, or drag him back to Cronos alive and so in the end, such as it was, it came quickly to Makishima Agito and he was ripped apart with all the facility a bunch of very angry and controlled Hyper Zoanoid's could muster. We did take a trophy though, his control medallion, before we sprayed everything with enzymic fluid, reducing the blood and bioboosted material that had splattered around the facility to its component molecules. And then we pulled back, victorious but under heavy fire from a somewhat stoic Aloysius and an enraged Griselda.

We didn't get to keep our trophy of course, we didn't expect to. It would be enough for Dyme and Gelpess to know that we had avenged them.

It seems obvious now, but it wasn't at the time what happened then. The Control Medallion was taken back to the lab with no more than usual security. The Control Medallion is the central part of any Unit so there was a great deal of interest in it. Cronos scientists were lining up around the world to study it but when Tetsuro was asked he shook his head and simply said he preferred to work on the source material. A wise choice or one that showed that perhaps he already knew what was to come. Valkus was still tied up with something else, something that was elusive but was consuming him. No one knew what it was though. The Zoalord never spoke about it.

Over night though, while the discussion about which team should study it was still happening, Agito regenerated and he was not pleased.

The destruction of the base would have been worse if Griselda and Aloysius hadn't have been on hand to subdue Zeus. As it was, they were heading in as he was heading out and after a brief scuffle they all retreated.

I didn't know about his until afterwards because I was being rewarded by having my wing regenerated immediately instead of having to wait for tank time as a Lost Number usually would.

The fact that Agito appeared to be unkillable was of significant interest within Cronos and also to the media. Dramatists that they are they played up this hither to unknown Guyver feature and essentially forced Cronos' hand.

Hm... no, that's wrong. It wasn't so much that the Media forced Cronos' hand but more they were forced to act with speed they did not wish. But with Agito playing up his image he had to be taken down quickly. Cronos could have controlled the media, true, they could have completely suppressed the story but they could only have gotten the official story. They could have had a good shot at getting the unofficial one as well but they wouldn't have got everything. It wasn't like they hadn't had practice at that after all but in the end, they couldn't deny that someone had killed a Zoalord.

Agito was targeting other Zoalords. That much was easy to determine. If he could kill another he would destabilise the world and that was probably what he was aiming for. Aloysius and Griselda were too, although more frequently Griselda was seen with Zeus, destroying the myth that the two Zoalords were mated. Not that Cronos truly cared but it would have provided them with a psychological attack angle.

Instead to counter the Libertus and the threat of attack all Zoalords were accompanies by Enzymes controlled by an Aptom. The original though for the moment, like me was not let out of Relic's Point.

A trap was finally set though, Enzyme's versus Libertus, Zoalords versus Zoalords and the Lost Numbers versus Zeus, since we had a proven record against him and the desire to see Gelpess and Dyme avenged. It is one thing to rip Agito apart and we had but to avenge our family only his true death would suffice.

Before the battle, Tetsuro, with his body guard of Hyper Zoanoids came to see me. I remember the conversation clearly because it made so much sense later. He was trying to tell me everything that he couldn't tell me before. He'd been working on Zoanoids who could hear Makishima's thoughts since the Unit protected him. He smiled then, mocking himself.

He'd succeeded. It was easy. You just take a portion of a Zoalord and adapt the frequency of mental energy they could hear. So Cronos knew what Agito thought. But every Zoanoid who had then used that information in battle had been destroyed. The Unit reacted and struck at them, protecting its host. But I could hear his thoughts. I pointed that out to Tetsuro who shrugged and said I'd never tried to influence Zeus. That was the difference. He asked me then if I remembered that day.

How could I forget that day? I wanted to but there was no way in this life that I would ever forget.

Tetsuro smiled again at that, that smile that said he was confident of what was to come and then he told me to go and to fight, to use the abilities I had to fight Guyver III. He wasn't worried.

He wasn't worried about Agito. He said as much in a tone that was not bravado. He really wasn't worried about Zeus. With Hyper Zoanoids listening he couldn't say much. But he did say that he was worried about his mentor. Valkus had been hunting for something for a long time, off and on. Something very elusive but if the notes Tetsuro had seen were correct, it was something very powerful. He didn't like it, not knowing but there was nothing he could do. Valkus didn't tell him everything.

My oldest friend smiled at me then, confident and as he walked away, his bodyguards surrounding him once again, he gave me the clear instructions, 'Take out Makishima, Sho. It's too early and there is nothing more I can do.'

I thought he meant there was nothing further he could do to combat Zeus. He meant something different. But what he meant had to be hidden from all, even me, and I went into the final battle with Zeus buoyed by the knowledge that Tetsuro was confident of the outcome.

Cronos had more troops but due to a warning from Valkus, who was still pursing his own project they did not trust him and so only the original was with me, fighting the troops that were with Zeus. This left the Enzymes to fight without guidance and their inexperience showed. The only reason they won was because there were more of them but it was a slaughter that should never have been allowed.

The battle between Zoalords was a different story. Aloysius and Griselda were both very strong, in fact Aloysius was stronger than most other Zoalords but in combat against though they could not control with no back up forthcoming, their deficiencies became apparent.

Griselda was a short range only fighter who had been created to control large numbers of Libertus. Her mental strength was formidable but her role was like Aptom's without the his close combat ability which had been given to him by Tetsuro. Fighting Zoalords, her equals the fact that she could not snipe back at them from a distance and the fact she was unskilled at close combat became a damaging problem for her. Eventually Edward Caerleon and Tuaha De Galenos closed with her, subduing the female.

Aloysius was far more dangerous and it quickly became apparent that his form had been based on Guyot's but it had been augmented. He was smaller, lighter but just as dangerous and he managed to surprise the Cronos Lords. He wasn't going down without a fight and he wasn't going to be captured. Cronos expected him to try to save Griselda but he surprised them again by not even flinching in her direction. Aloysius knew when to push his advantage and when to pull back. There was a maturity in his battle style that spoke of experience. Eventually he went down though, driven to his limits by superior numbers but when Sin Rubeo Amniculus and Fried'rich von Purg'stall moved in for the capture he struck again in a desperation strike that used the last of his energy but killed Sin Rubeo Amniculus and severely injured Fried'rich von Purg'stall.

The back lash of pain woke Alkanphel and the supreme Zoalord teleported into combat to see Aloysius fall and Griselda thrown to her knees before him.

While the Enzymes and the Zoalords were fighting so were the Lost Numbers against Zeus and his escort. Both Aptom and I had agreed that Solume should hold back and snipe glue at the most opportune times. It short of worked but we knew, though the production model Solume's that the guyver and the Libertus were strong enough to break through the glue. Hence Solume's main weapon was only of limited use. Even so, it took time to break the glue and if we could cause Zeus a misstep, that was an opportunity for us to attack. It wasn't planned but Aptom and Solume took on the Libertus, while I was occupied against Zeus.

I'd been training since my previous encounter with Zeus. Living within Cronos as a Lost Number, there wasn't much else I could do and to remain alive against any opponent I could only rely on myself. The other Lost Numbers would help as they could but they are my family, I wanted to protect them, not need them to always protect me.

Agito though was faster than I remembered him and maybe stronger. His dark Unit appeared altered. It was subtle but in close combat it was obvious. I could still hear his thoughts though and the fact that I could still remain the proverbial one step ahead of him was frustrating for the black Guyver. I could feel that as well.

However this time I couldn't settle for a draw. Neither could he. This was a fight to the death.

Historians might make this out to be a fight between two High School friends. I'm not that dramatic. I barely knew Makishima in High School and this was now simply a fight between Guyver III and a Zoanoid.

Nothing more, nothing less. There was no sad sense of loss that one friend should betray another, emotion beyond Agito's frustration that he couldn't land a blow and my hatred of him for killing Dyme did not play a part.

Even though I'd trained, the changes in Zeus' armor became apparent and eventually he was able to match me. He wasn't as tired as before. Healing himself did not seem to require as much energy as it had. I don't really know because all I knew was that it was becoming harder to dodge in time and almost impossible to avoid all damage.

With Tetsuro's warning fresh in my mind, I didn't want to risk attempting to influence his thoughts. Though I doubted Agito could mentally attack me because he would have used such abilities in the past against Zoanoids, even the pause cased by a miss guided thought would be damaging on my part. But Tetsuro had said to kill him and had said that with a smile that indicated that he had no doubt in the outcome.

In the heat of battle not everything becomes clear. In fact some things become even more complicated and I struggled with Tetsuro's instructions and his warnings and his questions and everything else my friend had said. I could hear Agito's thoughts, which was apparently something special, so did he want me to influence those thoughts, forcing the Guyver to pause in combat so I could move in for the kill? But every Zoanoid who had tried had died... And Tetsuro had said nothing to say if they had also been able to hear Zeus' thoughts...

Use the abilities I have...

I froze when I realised what he meant. He thought I could do it.

Agito closed and in the face of certain death I knew I had no choice. I had to risk it.

I'd done this before but mostly only with those who knew what I was doing, or with those we needed information from. Mostly it was passive but what I was about to do was force Makishima's hand and then rip him apart while he could not defend. Forcing your opponents body to move to the pattern you determine is not honourable but that was not my concern.

I could not control him outright. There was a warning tickle in my mind that said his Unit would defend him if I tried that but I could limit his movements to the point where we were equal. I limited his strength and I slowed him down just enough that I could match his power blow for blow.

Makishima was very surprised when I clashed with him as an equal. He was angry but he recognised my power even if he didn't know how I was doing it. He just assumed I'd been holding back. He spoke of alliance but the memory of Dyme would not allow that. He spoke of many things but I did not care.

I could not care.

A life in Cronos had taken my regard for the world and left me a much simpler person. I cared for Tetsuro. Even though we weren't together, I cared for Mizuki and our son, Fumio. I cared for the Lost Numbers. I cared for nothing else. I did not care for Cronos but for the fact they held power over those I did care about and that meant I had to defeat Zeus any way I could.

In the end Agito had nothing to barter with, nothing to distract me and was forced to truly fight for one of the only times in his life. As a Guyver not many could stand as his equal and he was used to dominating.

In a battle of equals it comes down to training, it comes down to skill, it comes down to experience. It came down to a number of things.

Zeus was very skilled and very experienced he just wasn't experienced in fighting an equal. He was used to being able to correct any mistakes in battle. He could not afford that against me.

I had been trained by one of the most ruthless organisations ever known. I had also been, for years, used in combat where my return was not assured and not a consideration in battle. I was used to fighting desperate battles, against vastly superior numbers, used to fighting in situations where one miss step would be my death. Makishima wasn't and in the end that's all the difference I needed.

The training of the Lost Numbers paid off. I told him their names as I broke each limb - Aptom, Solume, Gelpess and Dyme.

Guyver III didn't die as slowly as I wanted him to but he did die. Enzymic fluid from my claws ate away his armor as I sank my hand into his head around the control medallion to rip it out. It wouldn't be like last time though, and even as I destroyed the remains of his body, I drove one claw through the centre of the medallion, puncturing it. There was a scream in my mind which in the greater scheme of things was important but to me seemed just random noise.

I could not allow Guyver III to regenerate and Cronos could no longer use the medallion. It was a small price to pay but it did mean that now there was only one Guyver somewhere in the world.

Exhausted then, I fell completely from my Zoanoid form becoming my natural form because I did not have the energy to force my body into human shape. I very slowly flew back to where I could sense the ending battles, the control medallion trailing from my hand. In our battle, Makishima and I had travelled far, the distance unheeded as we had sought to dominate the other but it did mean that there had been no witnesses to Zeus' final demise.

No one knew how I had killed Makishima although many asked how it was that I could come back relatively unscathed. I simply told them, no matter who was asking - Zoalord or human - that I had not wanted to die. And that desire, combined with Agito's over confidence in his own abilities when facing a Lost Number, had been what enabled me to win. Tetsuro knew though, and I'm sure Aptom suspected the truth but we all have our secrets. Nothing could be proven.

When I got back I knew there was something... not wrong but unusual. A warning look from Aptom was all I needed to know to be careful. The reason became clear very quickly.

Alkanphel was there. I was somewhat surprised to see the Supreme Lord of Cronos present since Agito was never officially that important. It made me wary though since Alkanphel did not like Lost Numbers. We weren't meant to be and he could not control us so we shouldn't exist. To him we were dangerous but he tolerated our presence because we were controlled and we were useful. I understood why he was there when got a look around but then I was doubly wary.

Sin Rubeo Amniculus appeared to be dead with Aloysius lying beside him probably dead as well but Luggnagg de Krumeggnic was standing over the Liberty Zoalord tense and ready for action just in case. Fried'rich von Purg'stall was surrounded by doctors with various leads and tubes criss crossing his body like some maze. The fact that he was still alive was remarkable although there were grim expressions all round. Griselda was still struggling weakly in Tuaha De Galenos' grip and he looked like he'd like nothing better than to snap her neck but right at the moment Cronos needed answers and she was the only one who could provide them.

I landed and went to my knees before Alkanphel, the gesture somewhat awkward because this was the first time I truly had to bow to any Zoalord but self preservation does wonders for one's humility. He didn't notice me for a moment although the others did because they knew who I had been fighting and the punctured control medallion laid on the ground almost as an offering spoke volumes.

I don't know if Griselda was the first to see it but she was the first to react screaming Agito's name as she broke free of Tuaha De Galenos. She radiated power as she attacked. Alkanphel was surprised but still casually assured of his own power. I was exhausted but there is a saying in the Lost Numbers - if you can walk, you aren't exhausted - and so I scrambled back out of her way, avoiding the slashes of her hair blades that seemed to have a greater range than they should.

I didn't have to fight her and as she continued to lash out Alkanphel lost his amusement with the situation and while still in human form he closed with her to rip out and crush her Zoacrystal before he blasted a neat hole through her chest. He wasn't in the mood for a futile struggle or a last strike that would kill more Zoanoids.

It seemed that even before Griselda's body hit the ground Alkanphel was examining the broken control medallion. His lips were pursed and his eyes intent as he ran his fingers over the edges of the puncture and rubbed along the fragile neural receptors that had embedded themselves in Agito's brain.

I did the only thing a Lost Number could do in that situation. I kept my head down, once again taking a posture of supplication and I remained quiet as the Zoalords began talking. Aptom and Solume took position with me and we waited.

Valkus was there. Given that Tetsuro had said he was preoccupied that was a little surprising but not completely unexpected. What was unexpected and completely insulting was his claim to Alkanphel that he had created both Aptom and myself. He wasn't so foolish to actually claim to have spent time creating us, but he reported that he had given Tetsuro the knowledge.

Alkanphel didn't care but there was an odd smile on his face as he collected the Zoacrystals of the fallen. I don't think he believed Valkus but couldn't be bothered correcting the other Zoalord. He had more important things to do. The biggest surprise was that he left Aloysius alone. He did not remove the crystal from the fallen Zoalord, instead he took the body with him.

That just left the clean up of Liberty. It was fairly standard with only point worth mentioning being Hekkering's execution. He was captured easily and the death sentence had already been approved. Cronos was not going to make use of his skills so there was no hope for reprieve, not that he wanted it. I think he was insane but at his execution he laughed and gave Cronos a warning. 'You are not safe Cronos. The last Guyver remains and it's only a matter of time.' That was all he said before he was killed.

With Liberty destroyed there was no further resistance to Cronos beyond a few individuals who were very quickly hunted down and destroyed. Human's shouldn't try to fight. They cannot win. I don't know why they tried. Zoanoids as well don't have much hope.

There was one small Rebellion of note. Small... It was large but it was crushed with an efficiency that almost defied description.

Three Zoalord's formed an alliance with each other. They should have been more dangerous than Guyot except maybe there was already suspicion and Cronos was ready, or maybe they were simply unlucky. Jearvill Bun Hiyern, Luggnagg de Krumeggnic and Cablarl Khan formed the alliance. It was probably based off their long standing friendship and I don't know what their goal was. Domination, perhaps.

They killed Fried'rich von Purg'stall but that was about as far as they got. I think they were expecting Alkanphel to be in hibernation. He was, but he was ready to fight them. He sent the newest Zoalord after them, a man who introduced himself as Imakarum Mirabilis.

Imakarum took all three of them on at once in a move they probably thought was bravado.

Right up until he ripped them apart. His abilities though were similar to Guyot's and Aloysius and it was later revealed that he was Aloysius reborn as Alkanphel's loyalist and most powerful follower. He took the three Zoacrystals back to Silha and was only seen from time to time relaying messages from Alkanphel to his Lords.

The rebellion was so quickly dealt with that it barely caused a ripple within Cronos but for the redistribution of commands. There were six Zoalord's dead then. Imakarum and Alkanphel did not have areas to command. Valkus ran his mostly remotely and the others divided the world between them. Cronos always said that it would replace the Zoalords who had been lost but while the physical process to make a Lord is fairly simple, finding the right candidate... that was time consuming, especially with the Rebellion just passed. Alkanphel did not want to be killing his leaders every few years.

I do not like Cronos. I live within them because I have no choice, I have never had any choice but I will grant that they provide stability for most people. Their rule means that people don't need to worry about war, famine or most disease. That is an assurance that most governments could never make to their people. Cronos can though but the cost is freedom.

I might have sided with the various rebels if I thought they could have provided stability for the people and for the Lost Numbers. But inheritant in all their actions was their own desire for power. Guyot didn't care beyond his own power and Agito, though he may once have desired to care about the people he would rule, as the battle had progressed he too had become obsessed with power. The change was subtle and slow but it had been there. The greatness he had perhaps once sought had been swallowed.

With Cronos ruling all now without even a hint of defiance, most were happy.

Aptom, Solume and myself were stationed at Relic's Point with Tetsuro who was studying the only living Relic that was known. Time had passed though and Solume was tired. In terms of a life span for a regular Zoanoid, he died young but for a Lost Number he had lived for a very long time. It was a peaceful passing. For that I am thankful. We marked a grave for him in the forest.

It was nice being able to see Tetsuro so often and while his research continued the years passed peacefully. There were moments of worry though, moments when things seemed wrong. Tetsuro didn't say much but I know he was still worried about Valkus and what ever it was that the Cronos Lord was pursuing. The few times the ancient Zoalord visited Relic's Point his frustration was evident.

But for the most part, the study on the Ark, which had been launched just before Agito's defeat and on the Relic was consuming almost everyone within Cronos. There were still secret's they didn't know, things about biotechnology that they had to find out.

They still needed those they'd captured before X-day. As a Lost Number that really didn't bother me and I was content to serve as I could. I already knew I could not live outside Cronos. Even with Zoanoids being accepted in the general populace, I couldn't and so, even though I was not a scientist, Aptom and I both took positions as assistants because there was literally nothing better to do.

Of course, I didn't see the true face of Cronos. Cronos has one of the best transportation systems ever devised. They needed it to move their troops and equipment both before and after X-day. It is very efficient. The cities of Geneva, Moscow, Beijing, Canberra, Houston, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Cairo and Bangui were transformed into little more than Processing Plants for Zoanoids. There were a few other facilities of course – the Dead Sea Plant was still working on the second Ark, but most humans were processed in the facility that best located for them. Cronos took care of your transportation.

I didn't know of this. Inside you can't see the view from the outside so there were many things I never learnt until later. And by then, it was almost too late.

But as many people have said, it is never too late to try.

There had to be a spark though, a reason and for the moment there was none. If everything had been left as it was, there never would have been a reason but Cronos can never leave anything alone.

I already knew that from their experimentation.

I was surprised when Tetsuro asked me to meet him one night, late in front of the Relic. Aptom was there and Hayami, one of Tetsuro's fellow Professors. They were excited about something but at the same time they were edgy. I soon learnt why.

They knew far more about the Relic than they had been reporting.

They knew far more about everything than they should have.

But such discussions were best conducted in private.

Although within a Cronos base there is very little privacy. It's funny how these things work.

Though I knew the reason it was still with some trepidation that I entered the Relic. It wasn't like anything I had expected, I don't think it was like anything anyone expected. But at least it was private and the last place Cronos would think to look.

Inside the Relic, time didn't seem to move in the same way and so we felt comfortable resting for a while. The nervous tension which had pervaded the outside base seemed to melt away from Tetsuro and Hayami and they lost the narrow eyed and almost constant glancing at the surroundings. Even I could tell that within the Relic a weight had lifted off their shoulders.

After we rested we ate a bit from the supplies we bought with us, joking at how bad it was before the conversation turned serious. It wasn't that long ago and I remember it word for word because it was the most important conversation of our lives.

"Are you happy Sho?"

The answer to that should have been evident. I have never been happy within Cronos. I have accepted it because that is the only life I can live but I have never been happy. Tetsuro already knew that though. I think the question was to give him a place to start.

"Do you remember then, a conversation we had... it would have been nineteen years ago now. The one about what I feared, the one about what I hoped would never happen."

"I remember."

"It's started. Now that there is no opposition, now that they feel safe, they have started because there is nothing to remind them of the truth. When von Purg'stall and Sin Rubeo Amniculus died, they took the humanity within Cronos with them.

"It was subtle at first but they've pushed too far now, they've gone too fast. They are forcing Zoanoid processing now. It helps if you volunteer but if you don't, there is no longer any choice."

"It was only a matter of time," Hayami murmured.

"I know," Tetsuro said sadly, "but to accompany that, there are too many failed processings. They haven't admitted this outright yet, but they will have to soon. They are cleaning the gene pool. Anyone with defective Zoanoid genes somehow fails to survive the processing. There will be no more Lost Numbers, there will be no more humans, there will only be Zoanoids."

"There's something else though, isn't there? You knew this was going to happen, you knew this nineteen years ago, Tetsuro, so what else is it?"

I felt bad for pushing him a moment later, when Tetsuro looked away, his face grim. But what I had said was the truth exactly how my oldest friend had reminded me it would be. He knew all this nineteen years ago because he was not a fool, and he was not duped by Cronos, no matter that he worked within them. There was something else though that was making him angry, something else that had caused the stress he had felt.

"With Cronos, there is always something else," Hayami said softly.

"Valkus found what he was looking for," Tetsuro said equally softly after a moment. He reached into his pocket and drew out three crumpled letters, futilely running his palm over them in an effort to remove some of the creases before he handed them to me.

With the seal of Cronos on the letterhead I knew I didn't want to read them.

One sentence into the first and I did not need to read further. I did not want to read the rest.

'Your wife, Taga Natsuki, has been found guilty of crimes against Cronos and was killed resisting arrest...'

One sentence into the second and I could feel the bile in my throat, a reaction, a humanity I thought I could no longer feel.

'Your sister, Segawa Mizuki, has been found guilty of crimes against Cronos and was killed resisting arrest...'

One sentence into the third and it was only because the last remains of my family were there that I did not seek to die.

'Your nephew, Segawa Fumio, has been found guilty of high treason against Cronos and was killed resisting arrest...'

Aptom was beside me, Aptom was ready to contain me as best he could, Aptom was already whispering in my ear everything that could be done to those that killed family as I read. Aptom reminded me of the task and honour of the Lost Numbers and Aptom assured me that Cronos itself would be made to pay because to the Lost Numbers family is everything and no one gets away with killing family.

"Why? High Treason? Why, how?"

"Because he, like you Sho, was the advanced form of humanity. He didn't need to tranform to fight the Zoanoid's who came for him. He could do that alone. He got half the legion and one of Valkus' eyes before they got him Sho. He fought really hard but against that many he couldn't win."

"Sho, Cronos fears two things, anyone with the advanced form of humanity and the remaining Guyver, both because they are not bound to obey them."

"Now imagine if we could combine the two," Hayami said with a sly but still sad smile.

"But no one knows where the last Guyver Unit is."

"I do, Sho. You do as well," Tetsuro said seriously. "I've known for the last twenty years where it is. I can tell you exactly how many days it's been since I knew but that number doesn't matter beyond the fact that it's too high."

"But a Guyver can't defeat them. We've seen that twice."

Aptom snorted at that. "Guyot came close though, Guyot came very close, Agito too. They both came very close but neither of them had enough power."

"An evolved human with a Unit though would have more than enough power and an evolved human with the addition we're going to create for the Unit..."

"That will be something God fears."

"Especially if accompanied by a Zoalord more powerful than Aloysius with Griselda's mental control over Enzymes."

"What of the rest of the world? What of the innocents who will suffer in the confusion when Cronos falls? Tetsuro, we were innocent once, we can't inflict that upon another."

"There are other rebellions, Sho, biding their time. They will take up the challenge of guiding the new world. They must. They just can't free the world themselves. They will not be like Agito." Tetsuro looked away for a moment, considering before he continued. "I'm sorry Sho. We were innocent once and I do want to protect them but right at the moment, that could be asking from more than can be given. If we don't stop them now, there will be no innocence. Our lives are not our own Sho, they were taken from us and this is the only way we can take them back."

"It's not the millions which bother me, not the Zoanoids. I will regret but it's the three who have died and the two who are going to have to die for this to work that concern me more..."

"Sho..."

"No... Don't say anymore. Just tell me what you need me to do, because the decision has already been made and there is no turning back."

There was silence for a few minutes then before Tetsuro smiled. "Thank you. For now, we rest, then Hayami and I need to complete a few things and then... and then it will be over."

The next few days were fairly quiet, although it is amusing looking out into a Cronos base where one of the chief researchers has vanished into thin air. The scrambling and seeming futility of the outside efforts seemed to epitomize Cronos. There was a lot of motion but there didn't seem to be a lot of purpose. At least that's what it seemed like from the outside looking in. I'm sure from the inside it was different.

Aptom spent the time in a processing tank and it became apparent that Hayami, Tetsuro and he had been planning things for quite a while. Hayami and Tetsuro at least had definitely been inside the Relic before. Tetsuro shrugged and said it had been easy to work out the key since it was just enzymes and pheromones than the Relic responded to. If you had the right combination it wouldn't activate its defences.

I felt rather superfluous while they worked, Aptom's glowing tank on one side of the large opening, an egg like object taller than myself on the other. I didn't know what it was but there was a hum within me every time I got close to it. I guess I mourned in that time because I remember when it came the day that all the preparations were complete I felt calm and I could look at the three letters without trembling. Perhaps it was merely the knowledge that I would avenge my family, perhaps it was not, but I was ready.

When they were ready though, we rested again for a short period since once we started who knew how long it would be before we would have the chance.

And then we began. I'll give Cronos one thing, when they train you properly in the methodology of passing a mission to the troops, it is done properly so that each soldier knows their tasks and their responsibilities. This was no different save for the fact that the final mission layout had not been planned. That would be determined by Cronos but I knew their strengths and I knew their weaknesses as I knew my own. I knew who I was to fight and who Aptom would take on. I knew what it would take to win. Tetsuro and Hayami were very thorough.

But when Tetsuro said we would have to kill millions he hadn't been lying, and he had gone about planning it in the most efficient manner. There is a ruthlessness in my friend that was not often sparked but is terrible to behold. I'm fairly sure Cronos has only seen the fringes of it in the past, well, they were about to see it all.

The opening statement was grand and dramatic, the destruction of the Relic's Point base through the launching of the Relic. We didn't stop until we had settled into the safety of Earth's orbit. I don't need to imagine the surprise that was felt throughout the world, I know what it was like from the launching of the Ark. This would have been similar but we had no time to contemplate.

Once in orbit we closed quickly on the Ark's position and before any announcement, threat or warning was given, Aptom and I sortied, demonstrating our superiority in a brief but predictable battle against the few Zoanoid guards Cronos had stationed on the Ark before we pulled back and blasted it into oblivion. Cronos had never expected to be challenged from space that's why the defences were so low and there was no Zoalord stationed there.

There is something about human nature that is scared by the unknown. That is why natural disasters are so tragic. We want to know, we like to think that there was something that could be done. With a warning there is some thought of prevention. With warning we are mentally prepared for the worst and it never seems as bad. We did not give a warning because we wanted the unknown to last as long as it could. Tetsuro knew the human psyche well. He played it as much as he could.

With the destruction of the Ark and the brilliant shower of shooting stars the debris created on Earth we could no longer hide our presence. The destruction of Relic's Point of course was not a secret but the opening of this battle came down to how fast you could move, and we, with surprise on our side, moved faster.

Of course once the fear of the unknown has set in, then a new fear needs to be introduced. It was time to tell the world who we were. Now that they feared the unknown, let them fear the known and know that there is nothing they can do.

Aptom transformed into the full Zoalord he had become, allowing his Zoacrystal to be prominent although he made use of his chameleonic abilities and made a few changes to his outward structure so that he would appear far more menacing. The differences between him and other Cronos Lords and even Proto Zoalord would be apparent immediately.

I went for a more understated transformation. Aptom and I hadn't transformed fully when we sortied against the Ark, we hadn't needed to. I had simply been as perhaps I should have been, a Guyver. Now though changes were necessary. I transformed into my Zoanoid form, the form my son had been killed for and then called the Unit I had for so long denied having. I became what Guyot wanted to be because my form is not really that of a Zoanoid but what the Creators would have made humans to look like eventually. I am the evolved form of humanity, while Zoaniods are the activated form of humanity. Because of this the Unit could work with me as Guyot had hoped it would for him. It wasn't that much different from Agito but I knew, I could feel that the power flows were different. From the looks the other's were giving me, they could feel it as well.

Tetsuro then addressed the world, to explain to them why so many were going to die, why Cronos was going to fall and to give them a new thing to fear. Of course he was also telling those Rebellions he had mentioned earlier that now was the time to act. He didn't let people see him then though, the inside of the Relic was dark and all most heard was his voice.

"People of Earth, the time has come. 7125 days ago, I started planning for this day, on the day I was forcibly made a part of Cronos. This is not the day I wanted though but this is the day that must be.

"I will not see the end but I will see the beginning. I've wanted to be free and all this time I couldn't but I was content so long as they were alive. So long as something remained free. I cannot continue.

"There has been three deaths too many. It should have been me. My penance, my punishment for allowing this to be. Not theirs.

"I am not Guyot. I do not control power from within Cronos. I am not Zeus. I do not have armies vast. I have what Cronos fears. That is all I need.

"7125 days ago Cronos asked me where is the Guyver Unit. I did not know but 7124 days ago I determined its location. All this time I have kept that secret. Cronos doesn't fear a Guyver though, I know, I worked on the plans for the Remover, something I couldn't complete, not even when I had Agito as a test specimen. But Cronos fears him.

"Six days ago, Valkus you were injured by a child defending his mother and aunt, a child who was the evolved form of humanity. A child who's paternity you are eager to determine because you know the mother was only human. Pity you never spoke to me of these things, Valkus. I could have saved you a lot of time and I could have saved my sister, my lover and my nephew.

"But their blood has sealed the future.

"Cronos will fall.

"Allow me to introduce to you that child's father, Guyver I."

We'd scripted it somewhat so that now I stepped into the line of sight. In the darkness that pervaded the Advent, my teal armor appeared darker, and with the added menace of the aura I generated simply by being, that was enough. By merely seeing me, Cronos knew I was more powerful than Guyot and Agito and that I was the Guyver they should have hunted. They still didn't know who was within though.

"Don't smile yet, Valkus," Hayami took up the thread of the broadcast, a new voice coming from the darkness. "It is the peculiar thing about humans, that when something is hidden from us or forbidden to us, we yearn for it all the more. Twenty four years ago Valkus I asked you how I could save a friend. You didn't give me that information and he died. The shell of a man that exists now is not him. I wanted it though, that information, I have wanted it ever since.

"I have it now though that information which was forbidden to humans.

"Against Cronos a Guyver's greatest weakness is that they can't control Zoanoids. They can kill and fight and destroy them but they cannot control them and fight with them. Guyot surmounted this because he was a Zoalord. Zeus by having Zoalord's loyal to him.

"Twenty four years ago Valkus you should have told me how to stabilise a Zoacrystal so I could save him, then I wouldn't have had to create this one."

Aptom stepped into view then. If a shiver passed through Cronos at the sight of me, they must have been positively quaking at the sight of the Zoalord Aptom. Even his Zoalord form had done away with a human face, so it was hard to tell if he was laughing but I know he was. He looked like an Enzyme that had been augmented with black beatle armor. That is the simplistic view of course, and he like me screamed of power.

"You will never understand Cronos that I can be more than a weapon, and I don't intend to show you how. What I will show you is how much of a perfect weapon I can be and how much you have squandered what was once within your control.

"I will grant Cronos that you have given me the chance to avenge my family, those that were taken from me but they were those who should not have been taken. This isn't their vengeance though, this is ours, for we must extract our own."

Tetsuro and Hayami stepped forward now, properly into the light. The both wore the same soft sad smile but it was an expression that spoke of victory. "Don't bother reaching for that controller Valkus, we're not going to let that happen. We will not see the end but we have seen the beginning. We are prepared, Cronos, we are ready.

"Are you?"

This was the bit I didn't like, but this was the bit that was necessary for a number of reasons. Cronos wouldn't understand them probably but the rest of the world would. It would show the depth of devotion and the certainty Hayami and Tetsuro had of their success but this was necessary for humanitarian reasons. Yamamura had pushed the boundaries but Hekkering's betrayal had been the last straw. All Cronos scientists, no matter how loyal were given a poison. There was no choice about it, not if you wanted to remain a human within Cronos. Each day, they were given the antidote. Holiday's and such were allowed of course, and you could be buffered against the poison for a few weeks to facilitate this but if you didn't take the antidote...

The poison was designed to kill slowly and painfully. You suffered for weeks and death came as a mercy. Hayami and Tetsuro were both brilliant biochemists but they could not synthesis it. I don't think they wanted to.

I did not want to do this.

I had to do this.

We killed them.

In front of the world we killed them and Aptom held his blood covered fist up as a gesture the world would see "Cronos will fall."

I arranged their bodies peacefully because that was the only regard we had time to give them before we left the Relic in orbit and took to space. Before we descended to Earth, Aptom and I had work to do.

We took up orbit ourselves, focusing our senses on Earth. The super city processing plants were best destroyed from space. The only question though would be if we could destroy them before the Zoalord's reacted. Aptom took the orbital path of Geneva, Moscow, Houston and Bangui. I took Canberra, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Cairo and Beijing.

We didn't get them all. Not on the first pass. I got Canberra and Mexico City, while Aptom got Geneva, Moscow and took a shot at Beijing. Against an orbital strike there wasn't much they could do to defend. Millions died. Maybe billions and we had not finished yet.

Imakarum reacted faster than the others and came to call. He'd probably already been on his way but no matter how fast you are, it does take time to get into orbit, and it does take time to find two specks around the planet, no matter how powerful they are. He knocked me out of alignment for the strike on Buenos Aires and then energy was fired into space.

Maybe he expected me to be angry but since I'd expected to be interrupted, I wasn't concerned at his approach. Of course, now I would find out how truly powerful I was since he was more powerful than anyone I had ever faced.

The opening moves were tentative. We both were curious about the other's power although Imakarum was confident, I think I probably came across as being inexperienced. I was of course, very inexperienced with the Unit but not with combat. I'm sure the dichotomy was confusing for him. He was though very eager to find out who I was beneath the armor. With the destruction of Relic's Point through the launching of the Relic, I'm guessing rumours were flying thick and fast as to who could possibly be trusted enough by one of the chief Cronos' scientists to be with him in a rebellion. Not to mention, the questions about who was in Relic's Point in the first place.

I wasn't answering though.

If they thought about it as humans they would know.

Cronos couldn't think as humans. That was part of their problem.

Imakarum and I danced around the other until the almost simultaneous arrival of Aptom, Edward Caerleon and Tuaha De Galenos. Three to two their favour. They didn't expect surrender, but they did not expect retreat.

Aptom and I had always intended to take the battle to the ground. At least for a while. We'd already inflicted a large amount of damage upon the Earth, we had to be careful that we didn't destroy everything in destroying Cronos.

We were both faster than Caerleon and De Galenos but Imakarum appeared to have been made to mimic Alkanphel. He was faster and stronger than all other Cronos Lords and while we never saw Valkus and Imakarum compete with each other for control of Zoanoids, I think it would have been interesting. On our approach to Earth, Aptom and I split up. I fired a few shots at the Zoalord's following us to make them attack me. It worked, I think because they expected Valkus and Waferdanos to take care of Aptom.

That was something I would have laughed at, if the situation had of been different, if the blood from Tetsuro was not still frozen on my hands, and I almost wish I could have seen Valkus' surprise when Aptom took over his Zoanoids.

We were worried about Alkanphel though. The Supreme Zoalord had been very quiet but perhaps it would take more than the destruction of the Ark to draw his attention. It did make us slightly jittery though. At least I know it did for me.

Caerleon and De Galenos took Imakarum's lead in attacking me. De Galenos was a defensive Zoalord, almost like a rock, while Caerleon was an all rounder. Imakarum was powerful both in defence and attack.

I showed them though what a Guyver more powerful than Guyot could do although not even I am immune to pain but I will admit that the regeneration abilities of the Unit was very welcome. It stung as my wing reformed but the pain I felt I knew was nothing compared with the pain the world had felt. And it did give me a sense of satisfaction to watch the well concealed surprise on the Zoalord's faces as they realised that there was only one way to defeat me and that it would not be easy. Perhaps they had forgotten the regenerative capacity of a Guyver, or perhaps my regeneration was faster than the others.

It was interesting. I could partially hear their thoughts. I don't think they knew that. At least not at first. I couldn't hear everything because unlike normal Zoanoids they knew how to shield and they knew the importance of keeping their mental presence shielded against the others, even if they didn't know if anyone could attack. But I could hear enough to know that I was going to win.

I pushed the advantage when I felt Aptom's presence surge. He was still fighting but he was confident of the outcome. Caerleon pulled back fast enough. De Galenos caught the brunt of my attack. He might have been a defensive type Zoalord but there is a limit to defence. My claws cut into him, and the blasts of energy from the Head Beam ate into his rock like skin. Close range I slammed a Pressure Cannon into his Zoacrystal, slashing at it along the fracture lines that had formed and then as Imakarum readied a telekinetic attack I jumped back and watched as the Zoalord's body was cut apart by wind scythes not of my making.

Alkanphel's Zoalord though wasn't upset that he had killed a fellow Lord. Most of us would pause at least for a moment with the knowledge that we had finished one of our allies, he simply turned, cat like eyes narrowing as he considered the situation. He knew then. He knew that I could hear him. He knew that I could hear enough of his thoughts that I could use his attacks against him. It was different from hearing Agito's. When I could hear Zeus' thoughts I could dodge his attacks but against Zoalord's I could not dodge much but I could prepare defences. They weren't used to fighting against someone who could defend successfully and consistently. It is a complacency that is subtle but telling in battle.

With the range of attacks Imakarum could perform, while I did want to defeat him, I had to deal with Caerleon because he was not allowing my full attention and abilities to be brought to bear against Mirabilis. Caerleon had control of fire. Great sheets of it swept across the battlefield consuming everything and leaving only bare ground in its wake. It would have been nice if we were fighting near the ocean but we weren't and there was no ready water supply on hand to quench his flame. Still, there is the hard way and the easy way of doing things. I just had to revert to the hard way.

Battles between Zoalord's usually take place in the air because it means that all angles are open to attack. It really means that the combatants must pay attention to everything and if needs be any ground based support units can be destroyed easily. I decided to take the weaker position and landed. I could feel their surprise but they attacked anyway, Caerleon with fire, Imakarum with a ubiquitous energy beam. It didn't matter.

The fire formed a ring, naturally drawing the air out of the centre so it was a simple thing to form a spiral. A spiral that spun and twisted and wove and turned and leapt into the sky as a tornado of fire. With the dust and the dirt intermingled with the flames that were in the sky it formed an admiral cover. Caerleon saw me, only when it was too late and my blade cut through him like butter as my other hand reached out to crush his Zoacrystal.

The tornado faded then and Imakarum was once again nonplussed about the death of another Lord. In fact he almost seemed relieved and I did catch a thought that involved Alkanphel and something like a flood.

The next time he came at me, I knew he'd been holding back. It was frustrating for me but exhilarating. His thoughts moved so quickly and so chaotically that it was impossible to follow them and he moved such a liquid grace that it almost didn't seem like he was fighting.

We were just beginning to get serious about the battle when we were interrupted by a wave of Zoanoids. The battle between Aptom and Valkus had reached us. The older Zoalord looked tired. Aptom didn't appear much different from when I had last seen him but there were a number of scratches on him, proof that he was tired as well. Enzymes surged around him, while a motley collection of other Zoanoid types surrounded Valkus.

Imakarum almost seemed amused at Valkus' pain.

I wasn't entirely sure what to do. There was nothing I could do for Aptom and for the moment we just faced off with the Cronos Lords although while both sides took stock of the situation Aptom told me that it had started. The other Rebellions that Tetsuro had spoken of. They had begun. I couldn't be happy with that, not with the deaths, and not with the fighting just begun. We still had those cities to destroy.

"Are you ready?"

The question was easy, the answer wasn't.

"Enough!"

A blast from the sky cut through the Cronos forces and vaporised Valkus.

It was our turn to tremble at power.

Alkanphel.

"I wanted to start a new," he said by way of introduction. "I thank you for the opportunity."

The Zoanoids around their supreme leader shifted uncertainly but displayed no other reaction.

Aptom was as cocky as always and laughed. "We thought the humans deserved that chance," he replied to Alkanphel, shifting his weight carefully as I'm sure he reassessed his mental control over the Enzymes. I wasn't concerned about that. Tetsuro had created the Enzyme type to be controlled by Aptom in the first place, his processing into a Zoalord would merely have heightened that ability.

"The humans? The humans were created to become Zoanoids, they should follow where they are lead. No... I wanted to start anew with my Zoalords. The previous one's were too enamoured of their power. They could not serve with what is to come..."

"The answer is no."

"The answer?"

"We do not wish to serve you."

"You Guyver, could never serve me anyway, nor can you defeat me."

Aptom looked at me then and before I could say anything he reminded me to continue the plan. He would take care of everything else, I just had to take care of Alkanphel.

"We will see then, Lord of Lords, whether strength lies in humanity or Zoanoids. But I would suggest that the two of us at least do not fight here. The world could not support that."

He seemed confused for a moment, his mind quiet. I think he was surprised that I would care for the world. Most only cared for such things when it was too late. He was confident though, as well he should have been because even I could feel that he was more powerful than me. That's why Tetsuro had made the second thing, because he never left anything to chance.

Imakarum and Aptom fought on Earth, Alkanphel and I in space and it seemed that the universe held its breath.

I can only imagine how the waves of Zoanoids crashed against each other on the ground while their two leaders meet in combat above. That would have been chaotic and swift, the tide moving back and forth as the turns of battle progressed.

I couldn't help Aptom, he probably wouldn't have wanted it either but I was so consumed with fighting Alkanphel that I could not help my fellow Lost Number. We knew it was going to be a fight for our lives, for the life of the planet, but I had hoped we would be able to back each other up. All that mattered now though was victory. It wouldn't justify the deaths, but it would provide an avenue for the future.

I had thought Imakarum was graceful in battle. Alkanphel eclipsed him and I found myself in a defensive position. Imakarum's thoughts had been too fast to read, Alkanphel's were just too well shielded. He was used to mental communication, far more than the other Zoalords, or maybe it was his natural defence but he was better than them all in concealing his thoughts. The quiet in the battle was almost calming then but our fight was still dangerous. I learnt that the hard way, a wing shattered beneath his grip.

He laughed at me then because he felt secure in his superiority. But I wanted him to feel that, I wanted him to believe that so that when I struck he would know that everything was wrong. I didn't hate Alkanphel, not the way I hated Zeus, because he was merely the symbol of the company. It was not him who had done everything to me and the others, he had simply laid the path and others had taken up the tasks. I didn't want to kill him but I didn't not want to kill him. It was something that had to happen.

We clashed again and I knew Alkanphel was coming for the kill. At least he would have, if the events below had been different.

Two mental screams reverberated across our senses. Two screams of death. The screams of Zoanoids was one thing, we both heard them every day, but the screams of Zoalords are different. I'd known that since I'd heard Guyot. Both of them were gone - Imakarum and Aptom. Each had killed the other after both armies had been reduced to nothing.

But something was still on Earth and was out of control. From orbit I couldn't see much but I could tell it was growing. Something that churned and seemed to be consuming everything, something that couldn't be controlled. Alkanphel recognised it. I don't really know how but he knew what it was and his expression was grim.

It's too big.

I heard the thought clearly as my sensors finally gave me a good image.

A black hole.

Spinning, spiralling, twisting and turning. It was growing larger. With everything that it consumed, it was growing larger. It had not yet touched ground but once it did...

I could feel Alkanphel's concern for the Earth. He was sad about the death of his loyal follower but he was concerned for those who would now die in the aftermath of what was obviously a final attack.

"Stay."

I don't know why I said that as I began re-entry again.

I guess I just wanted him to see the end that was of his creation, to face the consequences of what his orders had forced to be. As I got closer, I could see how it was formed, and I could how it could be destroyed.

It had to be done from within.

A nice analogy for the circumstances my life had been lived in. It had to be destroyed from within by something that was strong enough to survive long enough to get close enough to strike. I could do that.

I let it pull me in, ignoring the rock, the sand and the grit that pounded against me. Within the pounding was worse since all direction was lost. At least on the outside, the pull was all to the centre. Now everything was chaotic, with nothing to define a singular path. That was okay though because all I had to do was destroy the spinning orbs at the centre. Once they were gone, the weight of the material within would force it to fall apart.

A single blast from the Mega-smasher sufficed. A simple death for a complicated structure. As everything fell around me I turned my attention back to Alkanphel. He was still waiting in orbit and I knew that battle had to be finished as well.

There was no more time to wait.

My lingering reluctance could no longer hinder me.

It was unusual. I had never hesitated in the past but I was now. The excuse that in the past I was protecting something is not valid. That has never mattered. In fact all that should matter now was vengeance for Aptom, the last of my family. Or vengeance for Tetsuro, Fumio, Mizuki and Natsuki... Vengeance for the path we had been forced to take.

But death, death and more death was all that awaited and I guess I was still human enough to resist it.

The debris that had been sucked into the black hole fell around me and all paths and excuses were over.

I summoned it.

The extra thing Tetsuro had created for the Guyver, the thing that increased its power.

I am the evolved form of humanity because on that day I did not become a Zoanoid. It is called a Zoanoid but isn't really a zoaform.

The Guyver Unit does for me what Guyot was hoping it would do for him.

There are things that should not exist, powers that are not needed. I am one of them but I could no longer hesitate.

Alkanphel blocked the energy blasts as I closed with him but the whip like vibroblades were something else. I didn't like the extra bulk that it gave me but my movement was just as smooth and the power was necessary for taking on Alkanphel. He might have been underestimating me before but I was not about to give him the chance to recover from that mistake. For the first time in centuries, maybe even eons, blood was drawn from the Supreme Lord of Cronos.

That brought out a primal reaction in him, and anger and he pushed himself and his power harder. Again and again we clashed, each time drawing blood from the other, each time my wounds healed while Alkanphel's only sealed themselves against the vacuum of space. He tired as well, so did I but I was in better condition. Two decades of fighting for my life ensured that.

I think he knew he was going to lose but he didn't, he couldn't give up the battle easily.

We paused, just for a moment before our final clash. There was no need for us to speak, instead it was just to gather our full power.

Alkanphel got a blade through my heart but I had his crystal, the centre of his power. It shattered into powder in my hands and Alkanphel died although there was an almost content expression on his face.

I vaporised the remains of the crystal but still arranged his body in rest.

In death there is no enemy. It's not the usual thought but there had been too much today. There was about to be more.

The task Aptom and I had started before we had fought the Zoalords still needed to be completed. I took up a stationary orbit again focusing my senses on the world below. I could sense the fighting that was still occurring. I could see the battles already won and lost. Thankfully more had been won that those lost. A simple death to a complicated arrangement.

The Zoalords were dead but the majority of the Zoanoids in processing had to follow. There was no need for such a military force to exist.

Beijing was first, although Aptom had done a fairly good job previously. There was now no time or thought to regret.

Cairo.

Buenos Aires.

Houston.

Bangui.

Attacks they could not hope to defend again, that vaporised everything. At least they would have felt no pain. But 1 billion more deaths is a billion more lives lost. 1 billion more who shouldn't have had to die.

When it was done though I had one more task.

"People of Earth. Cronos is fallen. Their Lords are no more, their facilities destroyed. The world is once again free to choose its own path. Humans need not be turned into monsters, children need not die for nothing.

"Do not forgive the actions we have taken today for there are some things that should not be condoned.

"Do not forget the fallen. Do not forget any of them.

"And from the ashes of those who have gone before rise again stronger for that is the human way.

"People of Earth, I give you back your future."

I'm drifting now because I have no home and no one to return to. No one will mourn my passing. This is the better way. If I go back they will probably make me rule it all and eventually that would bring regret and resent. That is not what I was trying for. I do not deserve to rest with Tetsuro. For what I have done, for what I have become the waste of space is all that I am good for.

It is better this way. This is the only way for everyone to be free and this is now the path I chose. The Lost Numbers are never given a choice. But I chose this.

This isn't the life I wanted. This isn't the life I expected. We don't get a choice. Not really. Not on the things that count but most can accept what comes to them. I have done what I had to, not what I should have and now I can rest.

I will sleep.

For the first time, I think it's the right decision. Other decisions have been necessary which does not make them right.

There is nothing to be afraid of.

They're waiting.

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