Guyver Fan Fiction ❯ The Last to Die ❯ The Last to Die ( Chapter 1 )

Note: I'm not sure about the translation for Natsuki's surname. I think it's right... but... My Japanese isn't that good 'cause I managed to get it translated into three or four different things. (Shizu's I took from a webpage, even though I should have taken it from the English translation. I actually translated it as something different. Oh well... You know who I mean.)

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The Last To Die

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It's beautiful you know. Absolute destruction is beautiful, in its own way.

If nothing else it is pure.

Of course, he was pure, the man who has done this to me was the purest of them all. Pure rage, pure love, pure hate, untainted by doubt. His eyes were truly windows to the soul, his soul.

I can remember them all, just like it was yesterday. That's not surprising though. I have lived for two million years. The things that happened a decade ago are still clear, but the things that happened a few months ago are clearer.

His eyes were clear. Just at the end, his eyes were clear, and there was the slightest smile on his face. He wasn't afraid. He knew what he was about to do, and he knew that he had won.

It's funny, isn't it? The only man to never break his word to me was my enemy. And he was the only man who gave me my dream. I have it now. What I wanted has so completely been delivered that even I am shocked. And it was delivered with such purity, such efficiency.

'I'll never forgive you.' He swore that more than once, and the evidence of his hate is still present.

'I will kill you.' He hasn't yet, but it is coming closer. It is so close that I know he has kept his word.

'I will give you your desire.' I wondered why he would swear that to me. Now I know.

I can still hear the words, ground out with force, the blood still bright on his hands and the light in his eyes burning fiercely. 'I will give you your desire.' And he has.

When my masters, the Advents, return, they will find nothing.

Just as I wanted it.

They will find no servants; no one who they can force to fight.

They will find no allies; no one they can bargain with for a fighting force.

They will find no hope. And I expect their enemies to at least thank the unknown force that has given them that.

They will find the broken remains of their experiment.

I wanted them to find the first three, because I wanted us - humanity - to fight them. At least they agreed with me on that. Perhaps that was the only thing we agreed upon, that humans could not become the slaves of the Advents again.

He has guaranteed that. As I said, he gave me my desire because in the end, that was the only thing he had left to give, and one of the last things he could take from me.

Two million years ago, I would never have thought one of my children would kill me. I never thought any of them capable of it. They weren't meant to be capable of it.

They weren't meant to be able to fight either.

I can remember them all.

Zoalord Onuma Shizu. Healer Segawa Mizuki. Field Marshall Taga Natsuki.

Three women of extraordinary strength; three women who formed the foundation upon which their lovers drew strength; without them, I know it would have been different.

Professor Segawa Tetsuro.

A man whose gifts and understanding of biotechnology rivalled Valkus and seemed almost instinctive. His creativity stopped the inevitable for long frustrating years. What an ally he would have made!

Ice Zoanoid Toshiaki Hayami. Hyper Zoanoid Aptom.

Two of my children who should never have been able to fight me but who found the strength within themselves to follow their own hearts. Two who inspired others to foolishly reach for freedom adding to the confusion.

Guyver Makishima Agito.

The traitorous one, to more than just me. The one who cared not for any goal but his own. It was honesty in a way, but it was a way that could not continue forever and eventually he was the one betrayed.

And him.

Guyver Fukamachi Sho.

The pure one. The one, who amongst them all wanted the closest thing to me. Peace. A future where we did not have to fight, a future where we were free. Our views on freedom though differed greatly and he was never one to compromise, not when his mind was made up. A man who remembered the past.

We could have been allies. We should have been friends. We would have been unstoppable.

Their names will not be remembered. Their deeds will not be recorded. I am the last who remembers and I will soon join them.

Or not, as whatever powers that be will decide.

I hope I can talk to them, to him. Once more. I think I'd like that; to be able to talk when there is nothing between us. No lies, no blood, no bodies, no death. When we stand equal with only truth. No broken desires. No destruction...

Absolute destruction.

He never did things by half.

Their names will be forgotten, their deeds unknown, but the results are there for all to see.

I survived because of the Ark, because at the last moment, my ever loyal servant, Mirabilis, used the last life he had to ensure my survival, exactly as I had designed him to, exactly as they were all meant to.

A mistake that.

I survived the first death, only to die now because he always keeps his word.

I should never have made Murakami mine.

He told me that. I didn't believe it. I guess I do now.

I know a lot of things now.

Griselda was the first to die. I made sure she was the first. A Zoalord not of my creation could not be allowed to exist. She didn't die easily though. None of them did. They made me fight, they made me struggle, they made me pay in blood for what I wanted, and still they did not give up.

She did not give up. Surrounded by five thousand Zoanoids, commanded by five hundred Hyper Zoanoids, over ruled by five Zoalords, she did not give up. But I was determined that she fall. I could not; Chronos could not afford anything else. Her presence gave the Libertus too much power.

It was an ambush of course. I sacrificed a processing plant and all the Zoanoids within to lure them there, but it worked. Most of the Libertus were destroyed while they were attacking the plant. I was loath to lose it, but to keep her there long enough, to keep Makishima away, I had to lose it. He would only come if she failed, and I did not let her fail until after success had been reported.

Five thousand Zoanoids alone would have caused her problems, through sheer weight of numbers. She was powerful, but she did not have the overwhelming abilities of a pure combat type Zoalord or the advanced weaponry of the Guyver. She had been created as a counter to Valkus, a mental shield for the Libertus against Chronos.

That's why she had to die. While she lived and protected them, Makishima was free to fight, and those who joined his cause knew they could not be controlled.

She fought bravely, the remains of her Libertus force drawn around her. They took one hundred Zoanoids out before she had to fight herself.

It was a blood bath, one that would not be rivalled for years and I learnt the price of killing them.

Half dead - broken ribs, crushed arm, multiple lacerations, smeared with blood - she was still fighting. One thousand of my children were dead by then.

She knew she couldn't win. My children knew she couldn't win. But her pride was strong.

The Zoanoids pulled back then, allowing the Hyper-Zoanoids to come forward. It was a mistake.

Bleeding and cornered, she struck mentally, driving through the presence of the five Zoalords there to take control herself. She only got through to fifty, but fifty was enough to kill one hundred of their compatriots, and two hundred Zoanoids.

And that was when I decided I'd lost enough children. The Zoalords attacked.

It didn't take long. Her injuries were too great but she was determined, and she was fierce, like a tiger defending her cubs. Cornered, desperate, powerful.

In the end she took Kaburaal Haan with her. The two of them turned to stone. I left their bodies where they fell, a warning to those who would oppose me. The bodies did not stay there. Makishima had some loyalty and knew some care.

Her death didn't end it though. I shouldn't have expected it to.

Segawa Tetsuro was not considered a genius, even by Valkus, for nothing.

With their mental shield gone, the Thunderbolts broke apart but Tetsuro was quick. He devised a new shield and their cohesion was restored. I wonder sometimes, what it cost Makishima to make Tetsuro work for him, or if they realised that Chronos was the greater evil and put aside their differences.

Fukamachi would not work with him though. Wise move that.

Hayami was the next.

A Chronos Zoanoid who was free.

He should never have existed... They should never have existed either and perhaps if I had paid more attention, maybe this never would have happened...

But what has gone before has gone and that cannot be changed.

Hayami - the Ice Angel. By the time Tetsuro had finished with him he was both utterly beautiful and ruthless. His wings froze the air so that he was always surrounded by ice crystals.

I know he didn't work for Agito. I guess he must have been working for Natsuki and it was only by chance that he was killed. He was inciting my children against me, causing rebellions, short lived and bloody.

No rebellion ever succeeded. No rebellion could succeed, not when their genetics ensured their loyalty and their minds were moulded to me.

Hayami knew that. He was not stupid after all. His gifts would never match Tetsuro but he was more than competent. Rebellion would not work, but rebellion was distracting. It is hard to maintain peace when your troops question their role.

A Hyper-Zoanoid saw the Ice Angel while he was giving a speech, and while he was slipping from the base, an escort of Aptoms with him, my loyal child struck.

It was the cowards way, I will admit, but this was war. Two shots from a distance from a high intensity biolaser; one through the head, and one through the heart. My loyal child took no chances. Hayami never knew what hit him.

Aptom did though. Aptom saw it all.

It was the first time I had to cleanse one of my bases, the first time the order to destroy came from within. The infection was stopped there, contained but Aptom had seen how easy it was and he was never one for modesty. Ten or ten thousand. For him the number meant nothing. They were simply him.

Hayami didn't kill anyone but it still cost me eight thousand troops to kill him and no matter what we tried, that patch of ice at the place where he died would not go away.

With one foundation gone, and one general destroyed, I thought they would crumble. But the remaining foundation was strong, and struck back with Aptom's help. He formed the armies, Natsuki provided the direction since Aptom always was, at best an indifferent General. One on one, he is well nigh invincible but he recognised his own limitations. It is very disconcerting fighting armies of clones, every one bearing the same face, the same over whelming abilities. It is more than disconcerting, it is bloody difficult.

If they were just clones, it would have been a matter of numbers, and I still had more. But one touch and my children, my Zoanoids became theirs. Mizuki was there to ensure that Aptom's DNA had taken. A grim task, one I never thought her cold hearted enough for, but people change. He changed too.

I would have had any of them as an ally in an instant. The only problem was that none of them at first appeared as if they were worth it. They were all children but they all became so much more.

Taga Natsuki... Her organisational skills, her tactics... To fight one hundred thousand with ten thousand, you have to be brilliant. She was beyond that. She was truly a genius in the field of battle. Not personally. Her personal combat experience was... Heh. It's not worth mentioning but give her troops to command, tell her their abilities and let her see the terrain and it became an entirely different matter.

Field Marshall Taga Natsuki. She earnt that title many times over, until it got to the point that unless my Zoanoids were pushed, they would surrender to Aptom's touch. She was a gryphon - quick, strong, supremely intelligent and brave. I can still remember the few times she worked with Makishima or Fukamachi, utilizing both Guyver and Zoanoids to the best of their abilities. It was devastating.

In the end I had no choice, I had to ensure she died. One human. One human that in those days I cursed more than Griselda. A Zoalord I could understand, I could copy, a human though... skills, knowledge, luck. That cannot be copied.

I commanded that battle myself and it was only because I am the first that I won. My children were linked with me, not even Aptom could take them.

I did not expect Mizuki to be there. I think she was called to see why Aptom could not control my children. I almost had her at the beginning of that battle, but she was never unattended, and the Aptom clone took the blow for her. It was the first time I ever saw him willing take a blow for another but I guess even a phoenix recognises the purity of a unicorn and knows that it can not be reborn. After that though she could not retreat and so was with Natsuki when the battle was over.

Natsuki knew. As soon as the battle was joined, she knew what the purpose was. The outcome was not decided until the very end and even then it was close.

I slew them personally. Not out of any sense of desire, not for vengeance but because it was the only mercy I could give them. Quick, painless death. Neither pleaded. Neither begged. Neither fought, struggled or cried. They both said good bye to their lover and Natsuki apologised to Mizuki for dragging her into the situation. The apology was returned. And then they met their end with dignity.

Five minutes later, I was fighting the demon for my life, and I got two of his vows. 'I will never forgive you. I will kill you.' I could hear the tears in his voice. He was crying. Beneath the mask of armor, he was crying but he knew the field was lost and took their two bodies and left.

That was half of them dead but I was still not quite sure of victory. Half dead, but it left the more formidable half alive. They all fought then.

Tetsuro fought with his brain. The results of his studies and knowledge were always interesting. He didn't constantly come up with new Zoanoids and that was a part of what made him so dangerous, his ability to improve upon our designs. If you see a Gregole coming at you, you know what you can expect - 235cm and 150kg of muscle with a bite that shattered rocks and no projectile weapons - but if you see a Segawa Tetsuro Gregole coming at you, you expected anything.

Aptom of course fought in multitudes and he was never alone. Before then Fukamachi had held back, only acting when he felt there was no other choice. Now though, he was everywhere. Right at first his skill was raw, but then he was covered by Aptom. The Zoanoid protected him always, but soon enough Fukamachi learnt combat and became professional, became a demon.

Makishima fought still with the Thunderbolts, although their numbers were declining. He struck surgically, his battles well planned, his targets and goals always well defined. Despite his losses though, he was still arrogant and that drove the others away.

And in the end, that is what allowed us to kill him.

It wasn't that they didn't trust him, it's just that... Makishima Agito was never one to see others as his equal. It is understandable, at first, but mission after mission, when you are his equal, or his better, you cannot forgive the attitude that you will be sacrificed for him. Makishima was not one who truly knew what it meant to be a team and it showed.

As it was with his mate, it was an ambush. Guyver III had made enemies though, they all had, but he had made personal enemies, and I had requests from my children to see to his downfall. I acceded to them. It suited my purpose after all.

I made the target large. I made the target dangerous. I wanted all the Thunderbolts there and I think I might have come close.

The Thunderbolts and their leader were met by three of my children.

They fought well. Agito's forces were all Libertus and they were well trained together, moving smoothly as one unit, protecting Zeus. But well trained does not compare to mind linked. They died.

They took out equal numbers but they died, leaving Guyver III to fight.

Unlike the demon, Agito has actually had some training. He knew what injuries to take so that he could inflict the maximum amount of damage. He knew how to fight, and how to plan. Zoanoids, even Hyper-Zoanoids were not enough to take him down. The Enzyme III's tried, but they died. Waves of them all died. Their blood ate away at his armor but he renewed it each time. I don't like to think how much energy it took, but this was a battle for his life, and the serpent knew it, the energy was well used.

Eventually my children closed with him. He fought well, the Giga Unit answered his call but not even it could prevent the inevitable.

He tired.

And as he tired, he faltered and the Giga Unit retreated.

They were brutal then and ripped into him. Blood flowed freely but none made a move towards his control medallion, or his brain. All my children did was cut his body, seeking in some way to avenge all the Zoanoids he had killed.

Sometime during the beating he snapped. The man known as Makishima Agito admitted defeat and his death. He was a true warrior though, admitting defeat was simultaneous with action, and he would not go alone.

I was not there, at the time, I did not know what he did.

The place of his death was marked with a crater one hundred miles wide.

All his energy, all his life force, released at once. It was contained destruction, at the last moment, he called the Giga Unit and that shielded much of the energy. I'm not sure if that's what he wanted of if that was a result of his rising bioenergy but the results were devastating.

He did not go alone. All my children died, destroyed as if they had never been. The city of Beijing was vaporised down to the bedrock and I had the proof of what I have always known, not the ultimate proof, that was to come later, but proof, that the energy harnessed by living beings is stronger than anything else. The only other thing that could come close to the destruction caused by Makishima's death was a meteor strike.

That's how we explained it to the humans.

Despite all evidence to the contrary, they choose to believe it. I guess it was preferable to choose that delusion than to embrace the knowledge that every human could potentially harness that destructive power.

The others - Aptom, Tetsuro and Sho - knew the truth. If it's one thing they have always been proud of is that when they can know the truth, when there is no secret being hidden from them, they are not afraid to embrace it, to accept the truth, with all its pain. He did it after all, he accepted the truth that he killed his father, even though it was not him, not really, so accepting the truth that Agito, with his death had killed not only three Zoalords but ten million innocent civilians was not that hard.

He had been a serpent after all.

Segawa Tetsuro was the next to step forward.

Hmm... I make it sound like they were all independent. They were not. Each one of them worked with the others, each attack was coordinated and each reflected on the goals and aims. They were all leaders of the Rebellion. They were all equally important, it's just at times, Chronos' focus was on one but not the others. We tend to focus on those causing us the most pain, but that is not to say that while Natsuki was directing the Aptom clones, Agito and Tetsuro were doing nothing. No, it was only that at that time, their efforts were less disruptive than Natsuki's.

Their efforts were not always one continuous fight, but they did try to work together, to appear to be whole in their battle against us.

We probably should have gone after Tetsuro sooner. I know Valkus would have liked that but we couldn't. Tetsuro was too well protected. The Rebellion did know how important he was.

We did not go after him with any finesse. We went after him as if he was a dragon in its lair for by that stage, Segawa Tetsuro had made himself a formidable base. It was deep underground, surrounded by conventional traps and Zoanoids - his Zoanoids. They were all original creations, highly dangerous and unpredictable.

The plan was straight forward, simple and devastatingly effective. We bombed his base from a distance, destroying anything that emerged.

Hyper Zoanoid Gaster types were used, along with long range bio-blasters. They were used in waves. The Gaster types would reduce the rock and reinforcing to rubble before the bio-blasters would vaporise it.

Tetsuro knew the plan almost immediately. He just ordered his forces to buy him more time. He was working on something. Inch by inch though, we buried deeper, and the hole got larger. Then we hit his actual base.

It was more than just reinforced concrete. It combined biological material with rock and metal. It was both solid and impenetrable. Nothing the Gasters threw at it so much as made a scratch and nothing any of the bio-blasters did phased it either. I doubt even a blast from a Mega Smasher would have damaged the outer layer of his base. He was a genius after all.

In the end we cracked it with a shot from the Ark. But it took three of my children to give that blast enough power.

He still was not concerned, even as the Gaster types and bio-blasters continued, his orders to his forces remained the same. 'Give me time.'

Slowly we whittled him down and just before we reached the core, his sent one last broad sent transmission.

It was to Fukamachi, unencoded and it was deceptively simple. He was happy though. I could see it in his eyes, despite the blood and dirt on his face, despite the destruction of his base, somehow, Tetsuro knew what was to come and was content. We did not understand the message. Sho did though.

'You cannot doubt, you cannot regret and you must hold it for longer than he did. Give Alkanphel his desire. Sho... I'm sorry. It's down to you now.'

A simple message that ended with his final destruction. Nothing classified. Nothing that might tip the balance. Nothing, unless you already knew what Tetsuro had been working on.

That was perhaps the greatest regret with killing him the way we did. There was no opportunity to download his computers, to gain at least some of his knowledge. But if we had of tried that, it would have cost far too many lives, and even then I doubt we would have learnt much. Even Valkus agreed on that. Tetsuro's information was stored within. That dragon was not so foolish as to leave his treasure where it could be stolen, he carried his treasure with him and would have killed himself before we could breach his mind.

With Tetsuro gone, that left Aptom and Fukamachi. Both were well known, Aptom especially and with the proper backing they would have continued to fight, they could have continued.

I will not say that they could have won, not even I can determine that, but with the right backing, they could have, at the least, dragged the war on for much longer.

But then, those two who had always served were betrayed. What remained of the independent world governments capitulated to me. I'm not sure why they chose then. I certainly wasn't seeking it, and hadn't offered anything new but they all surrendered, declaring Fukamachi, Aptom and whoever supported them outcast.

I had won.

Mirabilis had a brief fight with Fukamachi at the ceremonial signing of the papers. Papers that meant nothing to us. They were simply a show. The boy wasn't seriously trying to stop it, he knew he couldn't but he wanted to give me a message. And that's when I got it, his third promise and his understanding of the dragon's final will - 'I will give you what you desire.'

But I already had that then. I had unquestioned control of the world and I could begin to prepare humanity for the fight. Imakarum told him as much, but Sho had shook his head and said that Chronos only had the hope to fight, they could not guarantee victory against the Advents. He promised me victory and then he left, teleporting away.

For the next few months, Aptom and Fukamachi fought together, before vanishing again. They gathered a few followers. Some were not so overwhelmed that they would give up their freedom. For six months there was a constant fear of lightning fast attacks. And then nothing.

They disappeared. For another six months there was nothing. I wasn't sure what worried me the most, the never ending threat of attack at the most awkward times and places, or the anticipation of attacks that never came.

Then they appeared.

They appeared on an outcropping near Chronos Arizona Head Quarters and waited; just the two of them. They had some supplies, enough to last several weeks, and they seemed content just to wait.

At first we weren't sure that it was them. It was too easy. During the months of attacks, no one and no tracking system had been able to find them when they weren't in combat, just the same as we had not been able to find them when they were hiding, so why should they just appear now. They just waited. They didn't snipe at the reconnaissance Zoanoids. They didn't even seem to mind. The only Zoanoid they killed was one who fired on them first.

A few of their followers joined them, and the little camp grew.

And still they waited.

And then I understood.

It was so totally unlike them that I doubted but then I realised it was the only thing they could do.

Final stand.

To defeat Chronos they would have to fight. But they could fight Zoanoids forever and the result would be the same. They had come into the open to draw us, to draw me into the open and from there they could finish it.

I called my children, my Zoalords to me, had them meet in India, far from their waiting stance. I could not just ignore them, no matter how tempting that would be. I had to follow their wishes and destroy them then. And I gave the orders.

Only the best would fight, only the most powerful. Against both Fukamachi and Aptom only the best would have a chance. Zoalord's would fight as well.

I killed Reichmann Gyro.

The tiger Onuma Shizu had killed Kaburaal Haan.

The serpent Makishima Agito had killed Fried'rich van Purg'stall, Jearvill Bun Hiyern and Tuarhan De Galenos.

Five lost, and only one replaced.

Eight Zoalords to fight two. It hardly seemed fair but I did not exist to be fair.

We gathered at the Arizona base. They knew we were coming and were content to wait. By now of course, there were watchers. Media. They knew the power they were watching and stayed well away but they were present all the same.

Four Zoalords would attack, three would wait, exchanging places as necessary. I would direct, since I alone had the will to dominate a Zoalord. Even Valkus had to fight. There was no choice. Once Fukamachi and Aptom were gone there would be no question about Chronos' reign. There would be no further distractions and there would be nothing standing in my way in preparing for the return of the Advents.

It was a cataclysmic battle. After all, how could it not be? It was the final battle.

Zoalords were supported by Zoanoids and Hyper Zoanoids, controlled by my mind, integrated as one.

It was a slaughter. Aptom and Fukamachi were experienced and it showed. Their followers fell easily but the two of them continued to fight.

They drove back the Zoalords every time they came close, injuring them, and forcing them to retreat. There was no hesitation in their movements. Any sentimentality Fukamachi felt for Imakarum was gone. He fought my last child with such strength, even though he was only using his basic Guyver Unit.

Since Makishima's death we had not seen the Giga Unit. Valkus had studied the records of his destruction and had concluded that the Giga Unit had been there when he died and it too had likely been destroyed. Fukamachi's fighting since seemed to prove that.

He didn't need the Giga Unit though. He had come a long way since the boy who mistakenly and timidly took up arms against Chronos. The child was gone, leaving only a trim, dangerous warrior, who knew the price of freedom and was prepared to pay it.

Waferdanos was the first to die. His hair had spread everywhere, controlling the landscape, giving neither Fukamachi or Aptom as safe place to land. But they needed that, so Aptom covered the Guyver while he attacked. They didn't even discuss the movement, I guess it was something they had done before.

Sin Rubeo Amniculus and Luggnagg de Krumeggnic were next. The two almost hated each other with a passion and if things had gone differently, I think their factions would have caused rifts within the Zoalords as they sought to gain my favour. But as it was, they died together, cut down by the team work of Fukamachi and Aptom. They did however, get in a final blow to the Hyper Zoanoid.

Five of us remained and after their deaths we took stock of the situation, pulling back slightly, leaving Sho to cover Aptom while he healed himself as best he could. They were tired by then. The battle had lasted for hours but the phoenix did rise again.

Edward Caerleon, Hamilcar Valkus and Rienzi stepped forward then. They focused on Aptom. I think that was Valkus' desire. He could never really forgive himself for not seeing how useful the Hyper Zoanoid's abilities could have been, and if he couldn't of harnessed them, he should have destroyed him, when Aptom did not know the true extend of his power. I should have destroyed him.

It worked though. Aptom was nearly exhausted and with me controlling my children he could not gain strength by taking over another. But Aptom covered Fukamachi. The Hyper Zoanoid never let any of them get close enough to the Guyver to truly damage him. I'd almost say it was love, except I know it was simply good sense. No matter what Aptom may have wished, he knew Fukamachi was stronger and could carry the battle on for longer. Covering him was ensuring maximum damage to my children.

Rienzi threw the broken body at Fukamachi's feet as the three of them gathered around the Guyver. He did not appear to pay any attention.

Aptom coughed blood and said it was time.

It was the first time I'd ever seen him like that. Beaten, bloodied and broken, but content and accepting. He knew what Fukamachi was about to do and that is why he had covered the Guyver.

Sho didn't even look at the Zoalords, instead he asked the Hyper Zoanoid if he was ready. The question was returned, and I was reminded of the gryphon and unicorn. It was a premonition, and I knew then that the phoenix and demon would die but I did not yet know how.

Fukamachi nodded, and brought his hands together, forming what appeared to be a gravity sphere. A shield appeared around them. It was surprising, since a shield was only possible with the Giga Unit, but as soon as that realisation was voiced, the Giga Unit appeared, settling around the boy. The sphere in his hands grew larger and my children began attacking the sphere. Nothing they did worked.

Mirabilis helped as well but it was solid and it did extend below the surface, as was revealed when the rock they were on was vaporised by a combined blast from my children. Fukamachi just looked up at them, and for the first time addressed the Zoalords attacking him. 'Be patient.'

He didn't quite laugh. That would not have been appropriate but there was an admonishing tone in his voice.

I was not patient. I had killed him once, at Mount Minakami, I would kill him again.

My children scattered. They knew what was to come but Fukamachi did nothing. He could not dodge, not with that shield and the energy he was gathering. He barely spared me a glance as my blast struck them.

When it faded, I expected to see nothing, but what I saw was the shield still remained, and Fukamachi was still gathering energy in his hands. Aptom had found the strength to raise himself slightly and had reinforced the shield somewhat but they had been in no danger.

'Patience, Alkanphel. I will give you your dream.' Fukamachi's voice was quiet.

And with that, he dismissed his armor, but the impossible remained. The shield and the energy gathering in his hands stayed.

I knew what he was about to do then. Mirabilis realised as well. We'd only seen the results of this once before but it was enough.

Imakarum gave up attacking and swung in front of me, generating his own defensive shields. My other children followed suit.

Fukamachi smiled as Aptom laughed. 'It's too late.' The Zoanoid was happy as their defensive shield dropped. Sho looked at me, his brown eyes were clear. He knew the destruction he was about to cause and he knew he had won.

'I will give you your desire.' Murmured words, just before the end and he smiled.

Then everything went white.

I do not know how long it was before I awoke. I did not expect to awaken but I did and the air held only the slightest smell of burning. I was on the Ark, I could feel it since artificial gravity isn't quite the same as a planet's. I heard Mirabilis' voice, whispering to me. 'Live, Master. Live.' And I knew what he had done.

It was hours before I could move. My energy was gone but when I did, I almost wished I hadn't as I looked out upon the Earth.

I think I screamed and for long moments I did not understand, but then I remembered, and then I knew.

Fukamachi had done that. The last strike of a demon to fulfil his promise.

When the Advents come, they will know I have won.

They will find no servants.

They will find no allies.

They will find no hope.

They will find the broken remains of a planet. Water, debris, blood, bone, steel - all frozen in space, drifting in a rough orbit. It will never support life; will never be a whole planet again. There is nothing left but death.

In taking his victory, he gave me mine. I lie here now, looking upon it, with nothing but the cold knowledge that I have won. That he won. Who knew, all those years ago that we were creating a demon. Who knew that all it would take was one human, one child, one guyver, one demon.

Fukamachi Sho. The only man who has never lied to me and the only being I consider my equal.

It is ironic, is it not..? His victory is to me confirmation of everything the Advent's taught me and the proof that I could have won.

Humans are, were, the most destructive force ever known but they will pass into memory with me.

I am the Alpha.

      The first human created.

And the Omega.

      And the last to die.

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