As Yukari was jolted out of her reminiscence by a sharp pain in her head, she woke to find Ms. Murakami- no, Hikari Mirabilis' claws just starting to tear out her Control Medal. Turning her arms inward, pressing her retracted Vibration Blades against the Zoalord's flanks, Yukari closed her eyes. I'm sorry... Then she extended both blades.

XxXxXxXxX

Hikari screamed, as both of Yukari's arm-mounted Vibration Blades suddenly drove themselves deep into her sides and neatly impaled the female Zoalord. When the blades were ripped out of her, taking a fair amount of her blood and entrails with them, Hikari had only a moment to recover from the pain, before she heard Yukari calling the Gigantic Guyver.

She dodged backwards, wounds healing even as she watched the two Gigantic cocoons plunge into the sea. Imakarum slipped his left arm around her waist, and Hikari leaned into his support as she healed.

"Are they so stupid as to think that they can hide from us merely by diving underwater?" Hikari scoffed.

"Apparently they are still deluded enough to believe that we will not carry out the orders that Lord Alkanphel has given us."

"Either that, or they still believe that we will betray our glorious cause."

"They are fools, then," Imakarum sneered. "My Lady, do you think you would be able to fly on your own now?"

"Yes, my body seems to have recovered from the damage. Thank you, my Lord."

When Imakarum released her, Hikari only fell a few centimeters before she steadied herself. She and Imakarum both fired their Spiral Crushers at the surface of the ocean beneath them, sending up two huge jets of water.

"They will not be able to resist a shockwave this powerful," Imakarum said with certainty.

"No, my Lord, I do not think they will."

On the ocean floor, revealed for a moment by the absence of water in that area, was a scene that neither Zoalord had been expecting to see at all: The two Gigantic Guyvers, protected by some kind of a barrier and standing over the fallen forms of Guyver III, Aptom and Guyver III's plural. The Gigantics each had one chestplate open, and both Zoalords could clearly see the glow of the Hyper-Smasher as it charged up.

"What on- Do you think they honestly intend to fire, my Lord?"

"I'm not certain, my Lady. Neither of them seemed particularly willing to do us such harm before."

"Perhaps-"

The rest of Hikari's intended statement was cut off as the twin hyper-particle beams burned the air scant centimeters in front of the two Zoalords. Imakarum screamed; Hikari gasped, and both of the Zoalords closed their inner eyelids before the terrible light could blind them. The unleashed energies of what amounted to a single full Hyper-Smasher blast caused a large storm in the area of Tokyo bay. Kicking up large waves and starting a ferocious downpour.

Both Zoalords were soon soaked to the skin.

Their eyes closed, since they had not managed to fully avoid the effects of the Hyper-Smasher's blinding light, they were nevertheless still able to hear and feel and smell the hard, pounding rain all around them.

"They created this tempest merely to cover their own escape," Hikari sneered. "It would be impressive, it if weren't so utterly pathetic."

"They did make one fatal mistake, though," Imakarum chuckled darkly, winding his arms around Hikari's waist.

"Yes: they deliberately missed," Hikari said maliciously, smiling as she caressed his hand.

The Zoalords quickly transformed back into their human forms, feeling the rain and wind all the more clearly against their skin while still being unaffected by the cold.

"We will make them regret that," Imakarum promised, resting his left cheek against Hikari's hair. "It will not be long before we face them again."

The howling wind whipped their long curtains of black hair into the air, mingling the now-soaking strands. Imakarum and Hikari stayed for a few moments, listening to the rain as it fell, before they both teleported back to Chronos Japan's Cloud Gate.

XxXxXxXxX

Still numb with shock as he was, Sho didn't really notice the way that Yukari clung to his arm, using his body to support herself as they both came stumbling in to the apartment where the rest of their friends were staying. He didn't notice her head resting on his shoulder; didn't notice the way that Yukari was using him to support a fair amount of her weight.

To be fair, though, Yukari herself wasn't in any better shape than Sho was. Her dark eyes were hollow as she stared at the floor in front of her feet. Akane and Agito, though they were depressed by the loss of powerful allies like the two Murakamis, were both far more trained in concealing their emotions than Sho and Yukari would probably ever be.

"Sho! Yukari! Everyone, Sho and Yukari are... What's wrong?" Tetsuro asked, as he finally noticed the near-identical expressions of pained dejection on Yukari and Sho's faces.

Yukari moaned slightly, hugging Sho's arm tighter, even as Sho himself slouched and tried to unobtrusively make his way past Tetsuro and get to his room. He was distantly grateful to Yukari for being there for him, but he was really trying not to feel anything at all. If he let himself feel anything, Sho was sure he would break apart.

Mr. Murakami... Mr. Murakami is- Sho bit his tongue, determinedly not thinking about what Mr. Murakami was. Thinking instead about what had nearly happened to Yukari; Sho was glad that she had managed to avoid having her Control Medal ripped out, since he wouldn't have been able to do anything for her, because he was...

Sho, finding himself starting to think about Mr. Murakami again, quickly stopped. Leaning his cheek against the top of Yukari's head, Sho reached over and gently stroked her left shoulder. Tetsuro was just concerned about them, Sho knew, but at the moment he just wished his old friend would leave him alone.

"Agito? Akane? Do either of you know what's wrong with Sho and Yukari?"

One of them probably answered, because the expression on Tetsuro's face changed from one of honest excitement to concern, and then to shock and sorrow.

"What?! You mean Murakami- both of them?! How could this have happened?!"

Sho just shook his head, still trying not to think or feel. He couldn't yet bring himself to walk away, though. Yukari didn't seem to be any better off, with the way she had started sniffling.

"Brother... brother they're showing the Guyvers on TV," Mizuki said, shaken and trying to find anything that would take her mind off of what she had just heard.

On the small screen, images of Akane, Agito, Sho and Yukari were being displayed for all the world to see. The newscaster was also giving an account of what had happened; one with Chronos' own professional spin on it, of course.

"These four people are the ones responsible for the recent terrorist actions against Chronos bases in this area; we have been informed by sources within Chronos that the second pair of terrorists, previously unseen, had been running an underground war before they joined up with their fellow terrorists in this battle." The burning Cloud Gate building was shown, and the newscaster went on. "At 21:30 last night, these four attacked and severely damaged Chronos Japan's Cloud Gate facility. Even a task force made up of their best Zoanoids proved to be no match for the four."

Here, the image on the screen changed to one that Tetsuro and the others recognized. These were the white Zoanoids that had been fighting the Guyvers. "Fortunately, the four terrorists were quickly overpowered by His Excellency Imakarum Mirabilis as well as his sister, Her Excellency Hikari Mirabilis. Both siblings were recently dispatched from Chronos headquarters; however, they were unable to stop the four from escaping. Her Excellency Hikari Mirabilis was injured during the battle, but she was able to recover." The TV showed a recording of Yukari, elbows turned inward, extending her blades directly into Hikari's midsection.

"One of the members of Chronos' ruling Council of Twelve, His Excellency Purg'stall, volunteered to make a statement for us."

The image on the screen changed to that of a middle-aged looking man with pale silver hair and pointed ears. "As I am very sure you all have realized by now, these Guyvers are not ordinary terrorists. Nor are they Zoanoids, despite what some of you may have been led to believe. These Guyvers are highly dangerous and very resourceful creatures; they conspire to prevent the scientific progress of this world and its people. In fact, the Guyvers are not of this world at all; what we are dealing with now is the advance force of a hostile extraterrestrial species. Their intent is to weaken us and make this world easier for them to conquer when their man force arrives. They have even gone so far as to enlist the aid of humans."

Pictures of Akane, looking alternately fierce and sly, appeared on the screen even as Purg'stall continued its narration. "This woman is Akane Makishima, a collaborator with the extraterrestrials." Next, a picture of Yukari was shown. This one, in direct contrast to the pictures of Akane that had been shown, of Yukari was one that had been taken at school. In it, Yukari was smiling and waving to someone off camera. "This unfortunate young woman is Yukari Fukamachi; we have been able to ascertain that she was kidnapped and brainwashed by these hostile forces."

"He's a fine one to talk about brainwashing, with what Chronos did to Murakami," Akane scoffed.

A grainy video clip showing Yukari and Tetsuro, in a very familiar abandoned warehouse, appeared on the screen. "This footage, recovered from the site of the girl's first disappearance, will give you at least some idea of her currant situation."

The video showed Yukari and Tetsuro, surrounded by some kind of vague, shadowy shapes that Sho, Yukari and Tetsuro could clearly remember being a group of Ramochis. The footage had obviously been altered, but only someone who had been there would know it. Chronos had been very thoughrough. Sho, remembering how bad a time he'd had with the Ramochis who'd tried to interrogate him, was curious about just what Yukari had gone through.

Yukari was dressed in a school uniform, a girl's one of course, and she was looking around in fearful confusion. One of the shadowy forms sprang forward, grabbing the collar of Yukari's shirt and tearing it off entirely. Yukari dodged behind Tetsuro, frantically trying to hold her ruined shirt together. The hulking shapes, which those who had been there recognized as Ramochis advanced with a distinctly menacing attitude- and the video cut off suddenly.

"This was all we were able to recover-"

"What?!" Yukari shrieked, cutting off the rest of whatever Purg'stall was going to say. "Those lying bastards! Tetsuro and I were attacked by Zoanoids in that warehouse!"

"Yukari, calm down," Tetsuro said, slidling up next to her to put his hand on her shoulder. "I had a feeling that Chronos would try something like this, but I have to admit that I wasn't expecting them to make up something like that."

"How can you be so calm about this, brother?" Mizuki asked. "Weren't we going to tell the world about what Chronos is trying to do? How can we even go to anyone now, with how badly Chronos has made us out to be."

As Purg'stall started speaking again, Tetsuro hushed his sister. He was curious to know just what the Zoalord was going to say.

"Therefore, if by chance any of you happen to encounter Ms Yukari Fukamachi, we of Chronos kindly ask that you report this to the nearest Chronos operative. Do not attempt to speak with the girl; the reconditioning that the extraterrestrials performed on her mind was quite extensive, and she is likely to resist any attempts to aid her."

Akane scoffed, but Yukari - whose mind was now back on what had been done to Ms. Murakami - didn't even notice.

Sho wrapped his arms around Yukari, holding her close even as he remembered what Mr. Murakami had said to him. She was really the only person who could understand what he was going through; she'd had to fight Ms. Murakami at the very same time that he'd been fighting Mr. Murakami.

Why? Why did we have to end up fighting our friends? Sho wondered sadly. It was bad enough when we were forced to kill father, and now... I don't know what to do; father, help me; help us. What is the right thing to do?

Mizuki, remembering that Tetsuro had been about to tell them all how he thought Yukari, Akane and Ms. Murakami had ended up here; when Sho, Agito and Mr. Murakami were all already here. Looking over at her brother, unasked questions plain in her expression, Mizuki saw her brother shake his head firmly. Turning to watch as Sho, his arm draped around Yukari's shoulders, walked away; Mizuki understood what her brother was trying to convey.

It probably wasn't a good time to bring up things like that.

XxXxXxXxX

Far away, though still close enough that he would have been able to help if there was any real trouble with his erstwhile allies, Aptom was brooding. At least, he was brooding when he could forget what had actually happened. When he remembered that; remembered the sheer weirdness of confronting both Guyver Is, then he laughed his ass off.

This has got to be the weirdest thing that has ever happened in the history of everything, Aptom chuckled. I come out to save Sho's - or maybe if was Yukari's, oh who the hell cares - ass from a Zoalord, and then I end up having to baby-sit two Guyvers. One little bastard who killed my only friends, and one little bitch who did just the same thing. Aptom chuckled again. I can't decide if this is good luck or bad luck; hell, it's probably my luck. But then, that's not really the issue here.

Aptom leaned back against the support structure of the transmitter tower he was sitting on, tucking his arms behind his head as he considered his next move. The real issue, the one he'd been trying to avoid by thinking about the recent strangeness, was what he was going to do next. It's strange, how they think of me as one of their own now; all I did was give their little buddies some help. I guess that was all it took, though; it's kind of nice to have friends again.

Aptom looked back into the center of the city again; back toward the massive form of Cloud Gate that towered over the surrounding area. Then again, we all do have a common enemy. And it isn't like I couldn't use the help. Aptom glared at the huge Chronos building. Bastards. They're the ones responsible for all of this. Without Chronos, there never would have been any Guyvers; any Lost Units. I'd have been leading a normal life, maybe with my family. If I have any, that is.

Throwing one last glare at the still-standing Chronos building, it was really too bad that even four Guyvers hadn't been able to demolish that eyesore, Aptom turned his thoughts inward again. I guess I can't change what I am, though. This drive to fight, to make myself stronger; it's a part of me. I have to be the strongest; the most powerful. It's the only way that I can satisfy my hunger. I'll be strong enough to beat Chronos and the Guyver... someday. For the memory of my comrades, and for myself.

Aptom smirked, looking back at Cloud Gate. Now, there's only the matter of which Guyver's head I'm going to bash in when I evolve to that point. Sho's the one I have a real beef with, or is that Yukari? Damn, this is getting surreal. Huffing, Aptom turned to stare at the empty sky again. Okay, let's start again: Yukari was the one who- no that was Sho-AAARRRRRGGGHHH!! One more time! Aptom, on the verge of screaming, settled back down to think. First time I met up with Sho was in that forest, after Chronos and their goons had hauled Akane in to- FUCK!

Aptom, beating his head against the support strut, finally calmed down to the point where he was able to think rationally again. Screw this; I'm going to go munch on some Zoanoids. I'll figure something out; I always do.

XxXxXxXxX

It was just starting to get really dark in the house where they were all staying, and Mizuki was dozing. Sho and Yukari had been silent and withdrawn all day, though Mizuki didn't really blame them for being like that. She hadn't really been all that sociable herself today, either. Still, she hoped Yukari would be okay; Mizuki was always sad when Yukari got hurt.

Wait, what am I thinking about? I didn't even know about Yukari until today, Mizuki pondered. But the memories she had of Yukari were just as clear as those she had of Sho; they all seemed just as real. And she was just as worried about Sho as she was about Yukari.

Getting up, Mizuki left her room and went out into the living room. Catching sight of Yukari, Mizuki followed the other girl. It turned out that she was just getting a glass of water; she still looked shell-shocked over the whole ordeal with the two Murakamis, and so Mizuki decided to try and comfort her.

"Yu-Yukari?"

"Mizuki? I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, I was having trouble getting to sleep anyway," Mizuki said honestly.

"Sho and I are having the same problem," Yukari said, hanging her head. "He'll start remembering, or I'll start remembering, and then we end up waking ourselves up. I just don't know what we're going to be able to do."

The raw agony in Yukari's tone just about broke Mizuki's heart, and before she knew what she was doing Mizuki had wrapped her arms around Yukari's chest and enfolded the older girl in a warm embrace. Pressing her lips against Yukari's, Mizuki lost herself in the feel of the other girl's skin. Yukari was hurt, and she was sad, and she was lonely; but Yukari was also beautiful, and kind, and strong.

Mizuki just wanted to remind Yukari that she was still all of these things; even though she was having a bad time. Even though bad things had happened to her, that didn't change who Yukari was; Mizuki just wanted to remind her of that, and that was why she was... she was... She was kissing Yukari!

Mizuki's eyes snapped open, looking into the confused face of Yukari Fukamachi.

"I'm- I'm so sorry, Yukari!" Mizuki said, bowing hurriedly as she let go and jumped backwards. "Sorry!"

Mizuki dashed out of the room, her cheeks feeling like they were on fire. She didn't look back, not wanting to see the expression of disgust that she was sure Yukari had on her face. Mizuki didn't know just what she'd been thinking, kissing Yukari that way, but she knew that it hadn't been good that she did that.

Sho liked her, and she was starting to feel like that about him, too. Now that she'd had a chance to get over her crush on Agito. And if he ever saw her kissing Yukari... well, Mizuki didn't want to think about what would happen then. Closing her door and leaning against it, Mizuki tried not to think about the feel of Yukari's soft lips on her own. This was silly!

She didn't really feel anything for Yukari besides friendship, right? But, when Mizuki tried to remember her - well, the other her - relationship with Yukari, she found that it was a lot like the one she'd had with Agito when they'd been in school together. Only that had been a lot stronger than the crush she had once had on Agito. And, it had only become more pronounced the longer she and Yukari had been together.

Seeing Yukari fight against Chronos; seeing the way she was willing to do so much to save people that she didn't even know had only made Mizuki more fond of her.

But, then there was still the matter of her feelings for Sho. And his feelings for her, too. She couldn't just throw away what she and Sho were starting to build together, even though she wasn't really quite sure what that was. Mizuki sighed; she'd have to think more about this tomorrow.

Lying back down on her futon, Mizuki fell asleep.

XxXxXxXxX

When she woke up, Shizu had a bit of a dilemma. On the one hand, she usually got up to make breakfast for Master Agito at this hour; then again, there was the fact that Mistress Akane was also here and she would be wanting food as well. Shizu quickly made up her mind that she would make breakfast for both of them. She could sort out her feelings later.

Leaving her room, Shizu headed unerringly for the mansion's large kitchen. It was very kind of Professor Odagiri to have left this place to them; Shizu was always mindful to recite a prayer of gratitude to the Professor for all that he had done just before she went to sleep each night. It was only fitting, after all.

Once she had made it to the kitchen, Shizu set about making a double-batch of breakfast. She thought that it was a little strange that Mistress Akane would have the same favorite foods as Master Agito, but then they were both essentially the same person. The differences were only details, really.

XxXxXxXxX

When Sho woke up, Yukari's head still nestled against his shoulder, he tried not to think about the nightmares he'd been having. He didn't want to remember; not ever again. Watching Yukari sleep helped him calm down a bit; but only a bit, since it seemed like she'd been having nightmares herself. Sho knew that Yukari wouldn't want to talk about what she had gone through during the night.

Sho himself didn't, and he had come to appreciate just how similar Yukari was to him over the time that he had spent with her. As Yukari started to wake up, Sho turned away and left the futon. He figured that he might as well get cleaned up first, so that he would be done by the time she got out of their room.

He and Yukari were the only ones who had doubled-up on sleeping arrangements. Akane and Agito had each found their own rooms to stay in, and Sho hadn't heard anything about them for the rest of the night. They were probably all right; Sho knew enough about Agito - and by extension Akane - to know that the other Guyvers would have dealt with whatever feelings they'd had about dealing with... what had happened on their own.

When Sho was just about finished washing up, he heard someone knocking on the door.

"I'll be out in just a minute, Yukari!"

"Thanks, Sho!"

Finishing up, Sho left the bathroom and let Yukari in to use it herself. He knew that Mizuki and Shizu were probably in the kitchen getting breakfast ready, at least judging by the wonderful smells that were coming from that area of the house. Sho was grateful to both of them for taking the time to do these kinds of things.

Cooking was one of the just one of the many things that Sho was grateful to have Mizuki for. The foremost thing being the way he felt about her, of course. Once Yukari had finished up in the bathroom, Sho took her hand and led her to the kitchen. Yukari probably knew her way around the house; Sho wasn't really sure, since the two of them hadn't reached that point in their conversation before they'd gotten tired enough to be able to fall asleep without dreaming.

Well, mostly without dreaming.

He and Yukari, after they were awakened by the first bout of nightmares, had stayed up talking about all of the things that were different between their lives. Sho already knew most of the similarities from the conversation they'd had when they had first met on the roof of the building overlooking Cloud Gate.

Apparently, Yukari had been the Vice President of the Student Council, and Mizuki had been Secretary. Akane had still been President, somehow, and Sho still wasn't completely clear about how that had been worked out. Still, there were enough similarities between their lives that Sho felt like he knew her already. It was also nice to have someone to talk about things that he couldn't really discuss with Mizuki or Tetsuro.

Things that only another Guyver would be able to truly understand.

The two of them had soon arrived in the kitchen, where Shizu and Mizuki were setting out the freshly cooked meal.

"Good morning, you two," Tetsuro greeted. "Did you sleep well?"

"We managed to eventually, thanks for your concern, Tetsuro," Yukari said.

"We spent a lot of time talking," Sho said, stifling a yawn. "But we did manage to get at least some sleep last night."

"That's good," Tetsuro said, grinning. "After all, I wouldn't want either of you to fall asleep while I'm talking."

"What are you going to be talking about, Tetsuro?" Sho asked.

"I think I have at least some idea of how Yukari and Akane got here; well, a theory at least," Tetsuro said.

"What would that theory be, Tetsuro?" Akane asked, looking his way.

"I'll tell you all after we've finished eating," Tetsuro said, smiling. "No sense letting all this great food go to waste."

Akane sighed inaudibly; alternate reality or not, Tetsuro would always be the same. The rest of the meal was finished in relative silence, and then Sho and Yukari helped to clear off the table and wash the dishes. The four of them soon finished with that chore and joined the rest of their friends in the living room.

"So, Tetsuro, what was this theory you had?" Yukari asked.

"You know how I've sometimes talked about parallel universes?" Tetsuro asked, wanting to be sure that his friends had at least some grounding in what he was going to be talking about before he started getting in too deep.

"I remember you used to write about them when Natsuki asked you to write an article for the Sci-Fi Club's newsletter," Yukari said.

"That's good, at least," Tetsuro commented. "How about the rest of you?"

"Yes, we've heard about them," Agito said, seeming slightly impatient. "Now, tell us your theory."

"All right; here's what I think happened: somehow - don't ask me how; that's the one part I'm not sure of - our two parallel universes were able to get to a point where they merged. I think that's why some of us have two sets of memories: the other set is from our counterparts in the other reality. I think this is also why Yukari, Akane, and- that other woman showed up, too: it would have been impossible to merge them without causing... unpleasant consequences."

"Yes," Akane concurred. "I have no desire at all to experience life as a hermaphrodite."

Sho and Yukari shivered, and even Agito looked disgusted by the idea of such a thing.

"And that's how you think things happened?" Yukari asked, Tetsuro nodded. "Would there be any way to reverse it, do you think?"

"I don't know," Tetsuro shrugged. "I'm not sure if something like this even can be reversed; much less how any of us would go about doing it."

"I see," Akane said calmly.

XxXxXxXxX

It was just before lunch when Shizu managed to find both Master Agito and Mistress Akane, fortunately together and speaking about something. The thought that either of them could have ended up like... that, wasn't something that Shizu liked to think about. Though the currant situation did present it's own problems.

"Shizu," Mistress Akane greeted cordially.

"Is there something you wanted to discuss?" Master Agito asked, seeing the expression on her face.

"I'd just like to ask for a little more time."

"Time for what, Shizu?" Mistress Akane asked.

"Time, before I have to decide which of you I'll go with."

"Ah, so that's it," Master Agito said, nodding to indicate his understanding. "We do intend to stay at this place when circumstances permit, so that should give you ample time to decide things for yourself."

"Thank you," Shizu said. "Mistress Akane?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry, Mistress, but I- I care for..."

"Yes, I thought that might be the case," Mistress Akane said, picking up where Shizu had trailed off. "I must admit, I do make a rather handsome man."

Shizu laughed, but only a little. Even Master Agito seemed to be amused; Shizu was happy to see the two of them getting along so well. Maybe she would not be forced to choose, after all.