Zone Of The Enders Fan Fiction ❯ Zone of the Enders: Triad 2177 ❯ Do The Evolution ( Chapter 24 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

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<CENTER>"Always obey your superiors. If you have any."
 -Mark Twain</CENTER>

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

He had a very peculiar dream that night; one that left him a little shaken when he woke up, but not so much as he thought it would. In it, he was laying face-down in a pool of water; underneath him, waves continually came at him in the exact same rhythm. However, the water was only slightly reflected of an unknown source of dim light from above the center of the pool, where the waves came from. Otherwise, it was black just like the abyss the pool was in all around him. A pool in the pitch darkness, sending waves for as far as the eye could see; for as long as the light could pierce the darkness and illuminate it.

The same feeling as the day before was present, of extra appendages on his back slightly weighing him down. He put his hands into the pool, them sinking only a quarter inch before touching solid nothing so he could stand himself up. Just as he thought, he was in the same goofy robe as before, the wings upon his back. Up ahead, near the epicentre of the pool where the waves came out from, was the child sitting and staring at the light from above.

Miryhn rubbed the side of his head, trying to figure out if this was really a dream or just another "manifest consciousness" moment like when the blob smothered Masamune. Or maybe it was one of those "lucid dreams" Vera had attempted to explain to him once before; however, he didn't understand a lick of it other than you're in control of them to some extent. He moved a foot forward, indicating that he did have some degree of control, so he walked towards the center. The unknown layer of invisible solid substance maintained his path under the water until he reached the child, a few feet away.

Miryhn sighed, the child looking up to meet eyes with his. They were still grey and lifeless as before, but the sad look on his face indicated that he must be okay. "So what's up?" was all he could seem to think of for a greeting.

The child sighed and a wordless reply was sent to his mind. Miryhn looked confused for a moment, scratching his head.

"You feel better now, you've come to accept what you are now?" Miryhn said, explaining the reply the child had somehow sent him.

The child stood up and looked up at Miryhn.

"The name of your soma is 'Masamune' and I'm your Domineus. That's what you're telling me?" Miryhn said, folding his arms.

The child nodded slowly.

"But how can you be telling me this without words? Don't you know how to speak?" Miryhn begged to know. He was getting just a little freaked out by this kid.

The child shook his head and lowered it, sighing.

"You have no grasp over human communication, beings of Metatron and Metatron itself don't know how to communicate any other way?" Miryhn said, confused.

The child nodded slowly.

"Well, that's okay, I guess. It's just, this is all kind of new to me," Miryhn said, shrugging.

The child raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean 'I should have known by now'? How am I suppose to know?" Miryhn replied, irritation in his expression.

The child drew a sad look.

"Hey, hey, calm down, okay? I'm just as confused as you are," Miryhn said, apologizing. "So tell me, what did that big, burning thing do to you anyway?"

The child sighed and pointed to his chestplate.

"It deleted your false consciousness and placed a monolith inside you that made you feel strange?" Miryhn replied, then biting his lip. "So this is the true nature of Orbital Frames? You're living beings, to some extent?"

The child nodded.

"But man places restrictions on you that make you bend to their will. They make you into weapons through A.I. and restrictive control systems. They treat you like machines, harnessing your real power," Miryhn said, a bit sympathetic. "You've been asleep all this time while I've been controlling your body, right?"

The child sighed and nodded again.

Miryhn thought to himself and sighed himself. "So what now? What are we suppose to do?"

The child shuffled his feet around and folded his hands behind his back.

"What? But I can't do that!" Miryhn cried out. "You can't stay with me from now on. As soon as I'm past all this crap that's been going on lately, I was going to abandon you somewhere. Keeping an Orbital Frame is bad news considering today's politics. I'm sorry, but it just isn't possible to stay this way 'forever'."

The child suddenly drew tears, sobbing in a soft voice.

Miryhn sighed and closed his eyes. "I really suck with kids. Come on, Miryhn, don't make him cry," he said to himself. "Well, can you tell me why you want to stay with me? I never knew anyone really gave a damn about what I had to offer."

The child rushed forward and hugged his waist tightly, crying into his stomach.

"I was the first one to ever come in contact with you and when you felt the presence of my will, you knew I had something special, eh?" Miryhn said, laughing and smiling. "Actually, I was in quite a pinch the first time we met. I would have done anything to get out of that idiot's line of fire."

The child then squeezed him tighter.

"I take care of you, I don't abuse you, you think I have a great ambition, and you also think we have some things in common?" Miryhn said, a bit confused. "What do you mean?"

The child paused in his sobs for a moment, then pinched his eyes shut.

"We were both snatched up and forced into a life of violence. That much is true, I'd have to agree. That, and you think we seek the same thing: a sense of purpose," Miryhn said, looking a bit sad. "You know all about me, don't you? I bet you've somehow tapped all my memories, haven't you?"

The child nodded a little, keeping a firm hold on him.

Miryhn sighed and lowered his head. "Mankind has a word for this, it's called 'friendship'. You really seem to admire me and really want to depend on me, don't you?"

The child sucked his lips and began to tear up again.

"But I don't think anyone can depend on me. I'm not exactly someone you can place a lot of stock in. I'm afraid my friends are right, I think too much of myself and my own feelings," Miryhn said, looking down at the top of the child's head.

The child looked up at him and smiled.

"What? You believe in me?" Miryhn said, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

The child smiled brighter.

"You think I can make change in my life if I really tried? You also know how Vera told me about helping others and you...really think I've helped you?" Miryhn said, arching his brow.

The child continued to smile and then hugged him tightly.

Miryhn chuckled and smiled a little. "And that's why you like me so much? You're grateful, aren't you?"

The child gleefully giggled.

Miryhn sighed and rolled his eyes, hugging the child back. "Well, I'll tell you what. Let's not worry about the future any. For now, I'll stay with you and I'll gladly be your Domineus. If that's what you really want, then I'll do it, no problem."

The child began to cry again, overjoyed.

Inwardly, Miryhn was beginning to feel weird being so mushy. But if it made the kid happy, it made him happy. Maybe Vera was right after all? "But I'd really like to know why your real self keeps acting funny. Are we on the same wavelength now or something? I don't get why the Frame acts to whatever I think."

The child let go and skipped backwards. He giggled, continuing to smile.

"You can hear whatever I'm thinking and you just reacted as I wished?" Miryhn said, confused again. "So you're saying I could operate it merely by mind control or something?"

The child rolled his eyes around in thought, then shrugged.

"'Sort of', you say. Well, alright, as long as you do what I say, alright?" Miryhn said, raising his index finger.

The child smiled and nodded.

"Alright, agreed," Miryhn replied. "Well, now that I've got that all straightened out, how do I get out of here? I'd love to chat some more, but I have some reality to go back to."

The child shrugged.

"'Just wake up'? What do you me-" Miryhn began to say, but suddenly he shot up in his bed. He looked down and saw he was in his burrito of covers, headphones playing a trance track on his head, and the cold air of the ship all around him. He was back in reality; it was all a dream. He threw off his headphones and jogged out of the room. Within a moment, he was in the hangar and he ran up to Masamune, stopping in front of it. He panted a few times, then stepped forward and placed a hand on one side of the cockpit, a small Metatron line running up the "vein" after he touched it. He looked up at the head of the Frame and smiled. "Thanks," he said, then turned around and left, going back to bed.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

"I appreciate you taking the time to speak with me so early. Once again, I'm very, very grateful, sir. I'm sure this investment will benefit us both immensely," Norris said, propping his hands on his elbow and folding them together, dropping them onto the desk.

"The agreement will go as planned. I'll send the official papers later, but since you've been so generous, I'll start up the operations here immediately," the man in the white suit replied over the video link.

"Very good, very good. Just give me a call if anything else comes up. But be brief, these inter-planetary calls are a fortune," Norris said, grinning smugly.

The man laughed in reply. "Alright, alright, Contraus. Farewell."

"Yes, farewell," Norris replied, then cut off the screen. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, smiling.

"What was that about, sir?" Lamar said, appearing seemingly out of nowhere as Norris leaned back up from his desk.

Norris was startled, almost falling out of his chair as it leaned back. "Lamar! Don't you know how to knock?" he shouted angrily.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but I didn't want to interrupt and you seemed so distracted by the call that-" Lamar said, trying to apologize.

"Sorry nothing!" Norris roared. He clenched his teeth and dug his fingers into the seat, then reaching into his coat and pulling out his remote. He cut on his music, Beethoven's "Ode To Joy", and then slammed the remote on to his desk. "Damn, this one's worst than the others," he said in a whisper. He yanked open a drawer and took a metal box out, spinning the chair towards the windows behind him. Opening the box, he took a small green pill out of it and dropped it down his throat, swallowing it whole. He twisted his neck back and forth, letting loose the loud sound of muscles popping and twisting. Slouching in his chair, he closed his eyes and turned it back around. He opened his eyes again and smiled smugly. "Don't mind that. Just a medical issue," he said, nodding a little.

Lamar was wide-eyed and completely freaked out. Norris sure was a strange guy, a violent guy too, but what just happened was something entirely new to him. "If you say so, sir," he said, slowly nodding.

"So what did you want to know?" Norris said, raising his voice.

"I was curious as to who you were talking to. What 'operation'?" Lamar replied, curious.

"Well, I guess I never informed you as to where I'm steering this company, have I? Since the wheels of change are already in motion as of that call, you might as well know, shouldn't you?" Norris said, sitting up in the chair. He neatly folded his hands together in front of himself and breathed in and out a deep breath. "The Ryan Corporation has always thrived on rather menial dabblings in the true moneymakers of this age, you know that? While we wallow a distant second from Nereidium in the technology and weaponry industry, they have been wasting time kissing the Space Force's ass," he explained, going into angry crescendos at the mention of Nereidium.

Lamar nodded slowly.

"So why not do what they're obviously too pussy to do? We'll buy a couple of plots of Metatron-rich land on Callisto and build our own Orbital Frames! We have the perfect model of perfection, Ehecatl, sitting right below this building. Why not take the design specs and produce our own Type A's, B's, and hell, why not some C's?" Norris said, slowly smiling brighter.

"But Ehecatl is unsafe for the standard soldier, sir. Your novice Frame Runner can't handle all the systems at once," Lamar replied.

"No, it won't be! We'll be specialists! A company dedicated to the most professional of soldiers and their needs as the most elite Frame Runners in the solar system! Ryan Corporation will become an unstoppable powerhouse of military might! Nothing will want to touch us, not even the Space Force!" Norris proudly announced, raising his hands into the air.

Lamar was stunned. He was always content being the quiet follower to Norris stupid little company and heck, after time he didn't really care about having to do everything for him; in fact, it was like Lamar himself ran the company rather than Norris. But to hear him plan this as the future of the company? "Sir, that's the most rediculous thing I've ever heard!" he said bravely, overcoming his past fears of Norris.

"Whatever do you mean?" Norris said, a bewildered look on his face.

Lamar bit his lip and looked around. "Y-you can't expect to do that! The Space Force has the Anti-Metatron Body Act in place and besides that, we don't have the budget to mass produce models like or even at the bare minimum of Ehecatl. That damn Frame nearly bankrupted us as it is!"

Norris's eyes widened in shock. His jaw dropped open.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I know the investors and stock holders would never condone this. I know them better than you do, after all, I'm the one who actually meets with them! I can't stand for this! You have to abandon the project and leave things as they are!" Lamar said, steel in his voice.

Norris blinked a few times, closing his mouth and sneering. "You ingrate! You think after all this time I'm just going to let this company stay as it is? Don't you think I want us to become on the same level as Nereidium? Don't you think all along I've been out to topple Kapricon and his little empire?"

"That's not the point, sir!" Lamar shouted back in argument. "You're risking more than you think are you by doing this. We have more to loose than if we just remain as we are if you do that. Ryan could actually go under completely or be charged with treason or something like that!"

"You stand to get in my way? You want to ruin my plans, my dreams, after all I've been through and seen this company through?" Norris shouted back, boiling over with sudden anger.

"You are damn well sure I am! I'm going to go inform every single investor and stockholder right now!" Lamar said, turning and charging out of the office.

Norris immediately whipped out one of his revolvers. "I don't think so!" he shouted and shot Lamar in the leg.

Lamar groaned in pain and collapsed on his injured leg. He was immediately regretful of his decision to piss off an armed man.

Norris laughed crazily and jumped on his desk, leaping off of it like a tiger pouncing on his prey. He landed a few feet from Lamar and walked forward, pulling the hammer back on his revolver with his thumb. He kicked Lamar over onto his back and jammed his heel into Lamar's stomach like he was an injured animal in Norris's hunt. "Say goodnight, Mister Rivers," he said, grinning insanely; he lowered his aim to Lamar and pulled the trigger.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Just as the trigger was pulled and the shot sounded, the Verniers on the back of Masamune ignited as three Frames were airborne. Michael in the lead, Masamune and Freya right behind it, they headed east for the Hellas Sea.

"About time you woke up, Miryhn. You were slow as hell this morning," Vera groaned.

"Give me a break, I had a weird night," Miryhn replied, rolling his eyes. As he sat in the cockpit, he had a soda in one hand and a Pop-Tart in the other, Masamune obediently flying itself.

"Miryhn, for the love of gravy, put your hands on the controls. You're really freaking me out," Vera whined.

Judas quietly chuckled.

"You keep your damn mouth shut, alright?" Miryhn said, glaring at Judas's video window.

"So why didn't Nash want to come again? I said he was more than welcome to," Judas asked, grinning a little.

"He said he didn't really care about Metatron, Oribtal Frames, or extremist cults with super-powerful weaponry. He probably just stayed behind to go mope over his girlfriend again," Vera explained.

"And why are you her?" Miryhn said, raising an eyebrow.

"Unlike some people, I actually want to find out as much as I can about Freya if I can. Learning new things can help sometimes in combat," Vera said, winking and giggling.

Miryhn rolled his eyes. "I just want to meet this supposed Frame expert. Seeing Doc again won't help me much," Miryhn said, then taking a bite of his food.

"Well, his loss. Or not, whichever," Judas said, shrugging.

"So we were all suppose to meet Doc at this oxygen plant three years back? What happened that only you were there?" Miryhn asked, curious.

"Well, Doctor Ricdeau told me to leave, so I did. He said he'd get the others out as soon as he could," Judas replied, thinking back.

"But Joker just socked me in the face and left me out in the middle of nowhere. Was that part of Doc's plan too?" Miryhn said, then taking a gulp of his drink.

"That part baffles me. I don't entirely understand why that was," Judas said, looking aside and thinking.

"And what 'blondes' were you talking about earlier that found you there? I'm just curious," Miryhn said, taking another bite of his food.

Judas sighed, looking down as he thought back. "Miryhn, to tell you that would be to explain why I was even in TEMPEST."

"Go on."

"Well, it wasn't long after Antillia was attacked by BAHRAM. Me and Trent were scared shitless during and even a little ways after the attack. His mother and sister were killed quite brutally and so was his girlfriend, to whom he was planning to engage eventually. These two men, in brown coats and long, slightly spikey hair and matching sunglasses came up to us and one of them smiled. He offered his hand and was like 'tell me, do you wish to seek retribution for your loss?' Trent snarled and said that he damn well would and then the second one smiled and they offered us positions in a special group that was working for Martian independence outside of BAHRAM."

"TEMPEST?" Miryhn chimed in.

"Yep, TEMPEST," Judas replied. "Trent stayed with it, fueled by anger. He became pretty deadly, even though TEMPEST didn't do much except make us trained killing machines. Myself, I was too scared to take another life, so I wallowed behind while he quickly moved up the ranks. Soon they said he was selected to do something else and then he left for two years. Then TEMPEST collapsed and I went to the oxygen plant, and standing right there were those two blonde men, ready to drag me back into it all. But when they said I would be working with Trent again, I automatically agreed, so I joined the Seraphs," he explained.

"Wait a minute," Miryhn said to himself, thinking back. Memories of his time in the TEMPEST base began to come back to him. "They were called 'Yans'," he said softly.

"The who?" Judas asked.

"Those blonde men. They're called 'Yans'. They were pretty strange, never spoke unless spoken to and always had a stick up their asses. I wonder if they were the ones that kidnapped me?" Miryhn replied softly.

Vera, who had been quietly listening, sighed. "Oh, Miryhn," she said sympathetically in a whisper.

Judas sighed and sat up in his seat. "You know what? Let's not worry too much about that. Wouldn't you agree that the here and now is more important?" he said, smiling again.

"I guess you're right. No use trying to figure out anything about back then," Miryhn said, then yawning.

"Yeah, what he said," Vera suddenly spoke up with.

"Then just sit back and relax then. We'll be there in no time," Judas said, taking a deep breath and slouching a bit.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

"You sure that kid wasn't just jerking your chain, Dingo?" Ken asked, Ardjet close behind Durandal.

"What other leads do we have to go on?" Dingo replied, shifting in his seat. "Damn, I have to say, this seat isn't that great. But at least it wasn't rock-solid like the one in my Viper was. Then again, how did that Warren guy stand it? This thing is so sunk-in."

"He knows these guys who live in an oxygen plant in the middle of the Hellas Sea? Sounds like a bad gay porn flick to me," Ken said, rolling her eyes.

Dingo sighed. "I'd really appreciate it if you didn't contribute so much cynicism. We have nothing better to do, right? We haven't had a call in forever," he said.

"And what about Leo? Why didn't he come?" Ken asked, just for the hell of it.

"Wasting money calling Celvice again. He wanted to go rant about how nice it is to have his over-grown toy back," Dingo replied.

"Oh, come on, it's kind of sweet. Jehuty is an important part of his life," Ken said, smiling a bit.

"You weren't saying that when you practically strapped me in it," Dingo said, a bit spiteful.

"Hey, come on, I didn't even know who Leo was back then. The situation was entirely different. Besides, you did real good bringing it back to him in one piece," Ken said, replying with the same spite and sarcasm at the end.

"I had no control over that! I was staring oblivion in the face and-" Dingo began to shout.

"Save it, you told every single talk show host on Mars the same story. 'I was staring oblivion in the face and I knew I had to do something and blah blah blah blah blah'," Ken said, mocking his voice.

"That's it. Keep that up and I'll put my cold feet on you tonight," Dingo said, smirking.

Ken's eyes widened and she made a pouting face. "You wouldn't do that to me, would you?"

Dingo drew a devilish look. "You better believe it!"

Ken sighed and lowered her head. "Fine, you win."

"A winner is me," Dingo said, chuckling.

"Save your 'yatta's' for later, we're coming up on the target," Ken said, looking down at her console.

"Special prizes bring true happiness!" Dingo shouted, laughing.

"Argh! Don't start! I hate that stupid Flash movie. You'd think it would have died out over a century ago, but no, people kept having to find it funny!" Ken growled.

"Yat-ta! Yat-ta! Yat-ta!" Dingo said, laughing.

Ken growled, infuriated, as the two Frames landed on the large deck of the oxygen plant. The deck was covered in pipes and cables, leading to and from the large red-orange steel structure. Dingo and Ken climbed out of their cockpits and met one another midway between Durandal and Ardjet. "I'd smack you right now if we weren't in such an important situation. You know I hate that word."

"What? 'Yatta'?" Dingo replied, smiling and chuckling.

Ken gave him a stern look and stomped towards the structure.

"Sheesh, that woman of mine," Dingo said to himself, sighing.

Dingo heard something coming in the distance, the sound of Vernier thrusters was all to familiar to him. Turning around, he watched as Michael, Masamune, and Freya landed at the far corner of the deck. Their respective Runners climbed out and approached.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Miryhn said he got within earshot of Dingo.

"I told him I had a potential lead and-or at least a good information source. He was interested, so I gave him the location and told him we'd visit today," Judas explained, walking past.

Vera glanced at Dingo as she walked by, but Miryhn stopped in front of him, glaring a bit.

"What? Something on my face?" Dingo said, raising an eyebrow.

"Your interest in this issue is profound and I think you're the better man for dealing with it, but you should know that you have yet to command any respect from me," Miryhn explained. "You still haven't proven anything to me except that you're really lame in an LEV."

Dingo sneered. "And you won't get any from me until you stop hiding your greed behind those false pretenses," he replied, heading after the others.

"Yeah? Well, the hell with you too!" Miryhn shouted. He sighed and watched as the others headed up a staircase to the mid-level. Cursing to himself, he jogged after them.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

"So you think moving ahead will do the trick?" Lloyd said, moving his bishop ahead three spaces.

"We have no other choice. We've been debating the possibilities for what seems like ages, Lloyd. We have to take what we have and go with it," Ricdeau replied, sipping at a cup of herbal tea.

Lloyd looked up at Ricdeau, staring into his eyes. "I don't want to sound forward, but it just seems as if we're rushing. Remember, this is about strategy, not speed. This game we play, the pieces we move, the characters we control, we can't get them back if we mess up. There is no restarting the game console or setting the game back up, Kaguya," he explained.

Ricdeau sighed, adjusting his spectacles a bit. "You make this sound like one of those 'strategy RPGs' where you move people around and have them fight one another," he said, smiling a bit.

"Ironically, it fits, doesn't it?" Lloyd replied.

A knock sounded, scaring both men half to death. Ricdeau laughed lightly, standing up. "Now, who could that be?"

"Don't answer it," Lloyd whispered, hurrying up and into the hallway. He ducked into a side room and looked up at a security monitor. He saw the small group, Judas in the lead, crowded around the door. Raising an eyebrow, he continued to stare, dumbstruck.

Ricdeau joined him and looked up, smiling brightly. "Well, looks like our 'Fortress of Solitude' has been found," he said with a chuckle.

"Are you sure this is it?" Ken asked impatiently. In the background, Vera raked her fingers through her hair a few times and Dingo was vigorously scratching his ass, mumbling to himself.

"This has to be it. I remember it exactly!" Judas replied.

"Like kids visiting their grandparents, eh?" Ricdeau said, stepping back into the hallway.

Lloyd sighed and headed back to his seat at the chess table.

The door opened with a hiss and Ricdeau stood in view of the group. "Well, look like you found the 'Bat Cave', kids. Sorry, but you call can't be Robin," he said with a laugh.

Miryhn glared from the back, everyone else just stared blankly.

"Nevermind, come in, come in!" Ricdeau shouted, waving for them to come in.

"Um, Doctor Ricdeau, we came to ask you a few things if you don't mind," Judas said, following behind Ricdeau unassured.

"Anybody want some refreshments? A snack perhaps?" Ricdeau said, strolling slowly in front of them and leading them down the hallway.

Lloyd sighed and rolled his eyes. "Stop acting like an old man, Kaguya," he said with a bit more volume than his raspy voice usually had.

Dingo flinched at the sound of the voice. He sneered and pushed his way through the group, hurrying around the corner. He charged into the large room and the color left his face at the sight of Lloyd.

"You!" Dingo said in a loud whisper.

"Indeed," Lloyd said, nodding.

"Now, now, I'm only old in mind, not body. Then again, I'm not even that old in mind," Ricdeau said with another light chuckle as he lead the others in. He walked up beside Dingo and had a look at his face. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Either that, or you need some more sun."

Ken had one look at Lloyd and her eyes widened. Then, for some reason, she began to snicker to herself.

"You're suppose to be dead! Ken told me you died!" Dingo said, shaking his index finger at Lloyd.

"That's exactly how I wanted it to remain. However, circumstances lead you here for whatever reason and now you see the truth," Lloyd said, nodding.

"But how?" Dingo begged.

Ken walked forward and put a hand on Dingo's shoulder. "Oh, calm down. That's how he wanted it to be."

"What? Huh?" Dingo said, completely puzzled.

"Alright, look, here's what happened. After you put down Lloyd and I helped send Zero Shift, Nohman and Anubis showed up, right? While you were busy being a complete idiot trying to hit him, I ducked into the cockpit of Inhert with Lloyd here. He insisted he die there because he betrayed Nohman, but I yanked him out of his restraints and told him to shut the hell up," Ken explained.

"Then I quickly used Decoy to push you out of the lab. I kept it going as long as I could, obviously getting you to safety, but Nohman landed Anubis and grabbed the head of Inhert. Ken here grabbed me and leapt out, from there we hid in the rubble while Nohman crushed Inhert's head. A few moments later, Ken surfaced to see if Anubis was gone, but Nohman caught her. She was about to be taken away before I crawled out as well and confronted Nohman. Sadly, he accosted me as well and we were both taken prisoner," Lloyd continued for her.

"I didn't want him to die like all the others who betrayed Nohman. We were in the same boat, I was sympathetic of him," Ken said, nodding at Lloyd.

Lloyd nodded back and smiled. "But those days are ended," he said, resuming a more serious look. "Nohman perished, Anubis is gone, and Project Aumaan is no more. My ties to BAHRAM are over with. I now spend my days counseling and planning alongside my friend Kaguya here."

"But how did you end up here? Why didn't Nohman kill you himself? I mean, you're missing the story in between then and now," Dingo said, spreading his hands.

"That story is for another day. For now, I wish only to attend to your business and then see you off. We have much more to discuss, but we can take the time to speak with you all and no more," Lloyd said sternly.

Dingo sneered a little and stepped back. "Fine then."

"If that's the case, then go ahead, any of you!" Ricdeau said, sitting in his chair and smiling at them all.

"Alright, let's begin with the most pressing matter at hand. Know anything about a giant blob of Metatron and something called 'Merkava'?" Dingo spoke up.

Lloyd sighed and looked at Ricdeau.

Ricdeau thought to himself, then smiled and nodded in reply.

"Project Deus. A failed experimentation in anti-Aumaan weaponry. One of my own sideprojects," Lloyd said bluntly.

Dingo raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what? That thing was meant to counter-act Aumaan? And it's a failed experiement?"

"Project Deus was begun alongside Project Aumaan, however, no one, not even Rikoah Hardiman knew about it. I kept it tightly under wraps, hiding it just in case the instance that Aumaan would fall into the wrong hands. The problem is, it did fall into the wrong hands and I was powerless to stop it. So I moved on to working on Aumaan instead," Lloyd explained, tapping the game board.

"But what else? Can't you tell me anything else about this thing?" Dingo pleaded.

"What else would you like to know?"

"Where did it come from? Why did it come back? What exactly is it?" Dingo shouted.

"It came from the hand of God himself," Lloyd said, turning his gaze back to the group. "And no one would dare go against the will of God, right? Thus is why it is named 'Deus', it is the patron deity of Metatron itself."

Dingo sneered. "Start making sense, you old fool!"

"That's just it, it doesn't make any sense. It has a will of its own, something I or Kaguya here could never entirely understand. Deus is God, and God is God, right? No one can possibly understand the machinations of God himself," Lloyd explained.

Dingo growled, tightening a fist. "You know that isn't what I mean!"

"And what do the Seraphs have to do with it? How did they find out about it?" Judas interjected, voice raised as to change topics.

"That is something we had no hand in," Ricdeau said, moving a knight across the board and taking a pawn.

Lloyd looked at the chessboard and then at Ricdeau, raising an eyebrow. Ricdeau nodded a little.

"So let me get this straight, they're using failed weaponry for whatever strange goal they're out to accomplish?" Dingo asked.

"Whatever they're up to, it won't work so long as Deus remains in it's Infant stage," Lloyd explained. "That 'blob' means it hasn't fully formed. It can't become a true Orbital Frame until the right means have been met."

"And how come they know about Merkava?" Judas said, sloping his brow.

Lloyd didn't even flinch. He turned to the chessboard and moved a rook forward. Ricdeau smirked a little and turned his gaze to Judas.

"They must have aquired information on it somehow," Ricdeau said, shrugging.

From the back of the room, Miryhn was leaned against the wall with his arms folded. He noticed the interaction between the two men and thinned his eyes.

"Have any ideas on how to fight back against 'Infant' Deus and these people?" Dingo asked calmly.

"Nothing can stand up to Deus. Nothing, at this point and time, anyway," Lloyd said, turning his head back to the group.

"But there has to be something!" Vera suddenly chimed in with. "You built the damn thing, why won't you tell us anymore about it?"

"Orbital Frames of standard nature are powerless agaisnt it. Only Orbital Frames of especially unique or 'ascended' caliber can stand up to it. Anything else is folly," Lloyd replied.

"And how do go about obtaining those?" Dingo said, remaining as patient as he could. Something was very wrong here, he just couldn't tell what.

"It's impossible. They test the limits of normal human beings and are potentially lethal. Nobody is capable of piloting a Frame that can fight Deus," Lloyd replied, moving a pawn ahead on the chessboard.

Judas raised an eyebrow. Suddenly, his knowledge of chess plays began to flood back into his memory.

"I'm damn well willing to try!" Dingo said, steel in his voice.

"Are you sure?"

"You'd better fucking believe it!" Dingo shouted, part angry and part amtitious.

"My, isn't he fired up?" Ricdeau said, smiling.

"Tell me, though," Lloyd said, looking back up from the chessboard. "Exactly what did you witness it do as of recently?"

"It attacked the Ryan Corporation," Vera commented.

Lloyd paused and thought to himself. "Has Ryan suddenly been experimenting with Metatron?"

"The president, Norris Contraus, built an Orbital Frame recently," Dingo replied. "I fought it with Miryhn. It's remarkable, it even stood up to this other Frame that we were chasing."

Lloyd's eyes widened. "Wait, just how powerful were these two Frames?"

"Well, the one we were chasing caused something like a mini-nuke Burst Shot within a sphere in Vascilia. And the one Norris has, it shredded my Vic Viper royally. It seemed almost even in power, though, to the first one I mentioned," Dingo explained. "However, after I got back to the ship, I checked over the detection log to see if I could find a unique source code to pin his Frame with. Problem was, I never detected anything. All there was were heat sources and Metatron reactions from the cockpit to the Frame. No A.I., no control system interactions, no nothing!"

Lloyd suddenly burst into the most shocked face his old, leathery skin could muster. Ricdeau's eyes simply widened.

"It couldn't be! It just can't be him, not after all this time!" Lloyd shot at Ricdeau.

Ricdeau returned the gaze and sighed. "Calm down, Lloyd. We can't be certain."

"But nobody knows about that except us and him!" Lloyd said, voice raised in panic.

Ricdeau put his finger to his lips and "shh'ed" Lloyd, nodding at the five Runners.

"Kaguya, this is a pressing matter! He can't be allowed to continue whatever he's doing. If Deus would go so far as to break its restraints, undo the seal, and move about freely, then he must have stumbled across something that you never meant to tell him about. Not only that, but-" Lloyd whispered to Ricdeau. He suddenly stopped and dropped his head, sighing.

Ricdeau looked at the others. They were all watching patiently, waiting for a response. "I'm afraid Lloyd is right," he said, standing up, folding his hands behind his back and assuming a serious look. "There is something much more important that needs to be done first before confronting anything else."

"We're listening," Dingo said, nodding slowly.

"Norris Contraus must be stopped. By death, if it means so," Ricdeau said, nodding once.

Silence fell over the room. Miryhn raised an eyebrow, Dingo sneered, and Vera gasped.

There was a long pause, but Ken decided to break it. "So you want us to...assasinate him?"

"I now regret what I did to that young man, and the things I told him. It's lead him down a dark path, and now his plans could spell the machinations of a crazed and demonic mind. To build an Orbital Frame such as that...for what could he use it for?" Ricdeau explained.

"But why? What will happen if we don't?" Dingo shouted.

"Then Deus will simply return and attack again. It will eliminate any number of people if it can just get to and destroy Norris and-or his Frame," Ricdeau replied. "Plus, there's no telling what he has planned with such a powerful Orbital Frame. He's not of sound mind to do such a thing and it must end now!" he said with intensity, slamming his hand on the table.

"Why us?" Miryhn finally spoke up.

Every head turned to him.

"Why not go there and do it yourself? You're deadlier then all of us combined, Doc," Miryhn said, approaching.

"None of us should go!" Vera begged. "Ryan Corporation may be a joke compared to most companies, but they still have security up the ass and out again! We could all be killed!"

"And still, I don't see why we should even bother! I don't see what the big deal is with this guy. Just leave Contraus alone and let Deus come back, the Space Force can blow it to bloody hell!" Miryhn said loudly, an angry look on his face.

"But this means lives, Miryhn! This isn't just our lives on the line, this the lives of the population of Mars itself!" Vera shouted back.

"And what's the point of dying to a couple of rent-a-cops, huh?" Miryhn replied angrily.

"Would you all just shut the fuck up?" Dingo suddenly roared.

Everyone froze, then looked to Dingo. He was wearing a scowl, a look of murder in his eyes.

"Look, the man says that lives are on the line. That's reason enough for me to do something about it. The job I chose, the role I play, is a defender of the lives of Mars, no matter where they come from!" Dingo growled, then sighed and returned to a normal tone. "So I'm going. I'm going to put down this supposed 'maniac' for the good of Mars. It might not be an official order by the military, and I don't care that it isn't, but things are quickly going beyond 'good' and 'evil' around here. It's all about what people want and desire, not what side they sit on. And if this guy wants something so badly he'd fuck with giant weapons system and construct a mad machina, then he has to be stopped before anyone else gets hurt!"

Ken smiled and nodded. "Dingo is exactly right! There's no sense just sitting around knowing what we know and not doing anything about it. I'm going too!"

"And as for both of you," Dingo said, looking at Ricdeau to Miryhn,"the old man can pussy out if he wants, but hearing you won't do anything benevolent for once isn't a surprise, coming from you Troxel. Either that, or you're just a coward."

"There's a difference between being brave and being stupid!" Miryhn shouted in reply.

"And there's also a difference between watching out for your own ass and saving a couple thousand others!" Dingo said plainly. "I don't do things for any other reason than the fact that I can. I knew I could mow down any enemy that stood up to me, I knew I could kill Nohman and stop Aumaan, and I did it. It's as simple as that! 'Use power for the right things, or at least the things you believe in' and all that."

Miryhn sighed and dropped his gaze, an angry look still on his face.

"Go ahead and keep thinking of yourself. Meanwhile, I'm going to go and save your and every other person's ass on this rust-ball from the plans of a depraved lunatic. You can send me an 'I.O.U.'," Dingo said sternly.

Thinking of himself; the thought hit hard, considering what Vera told him before. Miryhn wasn't entirely sure what he was afraid of; Vera was right, the risk of death was high. But what could he stand to benefit by doing this? A sense of pride? Admiration from no one in particular? No one would ever commend him for this, so why bother? He cursed himself for thinking this way and quickly shoved it aside. There wasn't anything to be afraid of, after all, since when did it matter if he died or not? He wouldn't stand to let Dingo call him a 'coward' after all; not now and not ever.

"Enough!" Miryhn spat back. "I'll go! I'll kill the bastard myself if I have to, if for no other reason than to prove you wrong, Dingo! I'm not like that at all, and I'll make it damn well clear!"

Vera was a bit surprised. "Miryhn? Are you sure? I mean, are you really sure?"

Miryhn bit his lip and relaxed his expression. "Yeah, I'm sure. Like he said...lives are on the line," he replied. "And like you said, I need to stop putting myself first," he added in a lower voice.

"Then I'm going too!" Vera cheered.

Judas sighed. "And I'm not going to let you throw yourself in harm's way that easily, Miryhn. I'm going to join the party as well," he said, smiling at Miryhn.

Dingo was a little surprised as how much this rivalry meant to Miryhn. For Miryhn to suddenly bend his principles just to compete with him was something he didn't expect. "Then it settled. We're all going and we'll take this guy out no problem."

"But these three aren't trained soldiers like these two are," Lloyd added.

"Oh, it's okay, I'm an ex-cop. I know how to handle myself," Vera said happily.

"Ex-assassin," Miryhn chimed in.

"And ex-Seraph," Judas said, chuckling to himself.

"What a motley crew, indeed!" Ricdeau said, laughing. "Well then, let's not waste anymore time. I'll transport you all there and even provide the weaponry. We can't afford to go stock up or pick up anything, this must be done as soon as possible," he commanded.

"What about the Frames?" Ken asked.

"Just leave them here. I want to have a look at them anyway. It's been far too long since I've worked with an Orbital Frame," Lloyd said, standing up.

"I'll grab the boat, you all wait on the deck," Ricdeau said, then hurried out of the room and down the hallway.

"Damn, that reminds me! I wanted to ask about-" Miryhn began to say.

"There's no time! Come on!" Dingo interrupted, jogging out of the room with Ken in tow.

Miryhn sighed and followed behind Judas and Vera as they began to walk out. He suddenly stopped and turned to Lloyd,"I have something I want to talk to you about later. It's about my Orbital Frame."

"So be it," Lloyd said, nodding. "Now hurry off!"

Miryhn nodded and caught up to Judas and Vera.

"You know, they weren't telling us everything," Judas commented.

"How do you know that?" Vera asked, curious.

"While we were talking, before they answered a question, they moved a chess piece. In my studies of the game, the moves they were making are a good strategy for keeping what you really have planned hidden," Judas said, sloping his brow.

Miryhn kept silent, going over the situation in his head. It would be simple; pop a few guards in the head, make sure no one gets hurt, and come back alive. But even if he died, it didn't make much difference. It might even be the most appropirate death for someone like him; a person with so much personal weight on his shoulders that he'd never stand up to anything or anyone again. He gagged at his metaphor and really wished he had eaten a little more before he left.

<CENTER>-----------------------------</CENTE R>

Norris leaned against the windows at the back of his office, licking blood off his fingers with an insane grin on his face. His bloody pistol was laid on his desk, fresh with the blood drawn from his mailroom clerk; the young man laid dead on the floor. Nobody would get in his way, nobody would ever raise a voice or hand against him, not when he was so close.

"Nobody can stop me. Nothing! Nobody! And you know why? It's evolution, baby!" Norris shouted, first at the window, then to the dead body of the mailroom clerk. "I'm the first mammal to crawl, to think, to create! God gifted me with these things, know why? Because I deserve it!"

He leapt up on his desk, spreading his arms wide. "Admire me! Admire every single thing I own! Admire me and praise me, for I'm the highest state of evolution itself! I'm rich, powerful, and I carry a dream like no other!" Next he leapt to the floor and leaned over the corpse. "Nobody has anything on me! I'm unstoppable! Know why? It's evolution, baby!"

He headed back to the window, watching as snow began to fall outside. "It's me who is the highest born and bred creature of all time! I'm the man, the Big Boss, the ruler! I'll be a god among men, the epitome of evolution itself! Nothing can stop me, and nobody can either! Not even God can stop me, why? Because I'm beyond 'God', I'm beyond mankind, I'm a whole new species itself! And now I'll subjugate all the pathetic runts that waste away this world mankind has created! Why? It's evolution, baby!"

And then insane laughter echoed from the office. All those years of working there had finally got to him, and now nothing would halt his ambition. No degree of medication, no sessions of Tai-Chi, and certainly no Lamar-lectures would stop him. He'd see his vision, his dream, come to life; his eyes were wide open, looking to the future. His future. The future of mankind. And what was there to stop him?

Nothing. Nobody. Not even God himself.

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