Imakarum, carrying the bundle of files that he and his underlings had managed to gather about the ACF – now the ACTF, or Anti Chronos Task Force rather than Anti Chronos Front – made his way back to his quarters. The files, while important in and of themselves, were not as immediate in Imakarum’s mind as seeing his son again. Lord Alkanphel had informed him that Kenji had been released from the processing-tank.

It was odd to think of his son, a person who he had once seen as small and fragile that needed his protection, as a Zoalord. Zoalords were the most powerful beings in existence, after all. But Kenji’s mind was still vulnerable. Someone Kenji’s age couldn’t be expected to have very much in the way of mental defenses, after all. While it was a fact that Kenji had been through some very harrowing experiences in his life, his son was still very young.

Setting the files down on his desk, Imakarum turned and headed for his bed. He could already see a humanoid figure lying on his bed. As Imakarum made his way closer, careful to move quietly so that he wouldn’t wake Kenji since his son would need a lot of rest to adapt to the changes that his body had gone through, he caught his first glimpse of Kenji’s human face.

"Miaka," Imakarum breathed.

The angles of the face, the high cheekbones, the shape of the chin, it was all hers. The only thing to really differentiate Kenji from Miaka, aside from the obvious of course, was his hair. Kenji’s hair, while not quite as curly as Imakarum’s own, was not straight like Miaka’s. Kenji’s body, though, was obviously modeled on Imakarum’s own.

Kenji was sleeping peacefully, the rising and falling of his son’s chest clearly visible to Imakarum. Imakarum could also hear his son’s steady breathing, and beneath that the reassuring beat of Kenji’s heart. Brushing Kenji’s long fringe away from his eyes, Imakarum smiled as Kenji’s eyelids moved slightly. Gently flicking the tip of Kenji’s nose with his pointer finger, Imakarum chuckled softly as Kenji twitched in his sleep.

Flicking Kenji’s nose again, Imakarum smiled as his son’s eyelids fluttered again. Kenji might have had the body of a fully-grown man, but there was no doubt in Imakarum’s mind that Kenji was still his child. There was a slight feeling of sadness for the fact that he would never get to watch Kenji grow up, but overshadowing that was the satisfaction of knowing that his son was safe. Finally and ultimately safe.

There were few things in this world that could harm a Zoalord, and Kenji would also have the full might of Chronos to protect him now. The Zoalords protected their own. There would be no more running; no more having to stay in some broken-down out-of-the way place just so that the two of them would not be found. Kenji would not have a normal life, true, but then Kenji had been denied that very thing almost from the moment that Masaki Murakami had been taken by Chronos.

Besides, Kenji still had his father to help guide him and protect him. As Kenji rolled over on his side, a position that Imakarum knew his son preferred while sleeping, Imakarum remembered something. It would have been a small thing to anyone else, but Imakarum knew that Kenji would appreciate it. Puling the small plush toy, Kaji as Imakarum recalled, out of his sub-dimensional storage space Imakarum lifted the edge of Kenji’s blanket and put the toy within his son’s reach.

Even if there was really nothing practical that he could do for Kenji until his son’s body had further adjusted to the aftermath of his processing, it was still heartwarming for Imakarum to see Kenji almost instinctively curling up with Kaji in his arms. Bending down, Imakarum lightly kissed Kenji on his upturned right cheek. Then he turned and headed for his desk. Even though he would have preferred to wait for Kenji to start waking up, Imakarum knew that his duties to Chronos took precedence.

Settling down with the reports that had been found about the Anti Chronos Task Force, Imakarum was abruptly pulled from his thoughts by a telepathic summons from Lord Alkanphel. Teleporting to the indicated destination, Imakarum was only mildly surprised to find himself back inside the Celestial Hall. All of the other Zoalords were there as well, and Lord Alkanphel was glaring rather harshly at Lord Luggnagg.

"While I do appreciate your show of initiative, Luggnagg," Lord Alkanphel said, sounding as if he would have liked nothing more than to blast Lord Luggnagg through several walls. "An attack of such magnitude is not something to be undertaken lightly."

"Yes," Lord Luggnagg said solicitously, bowing in a manner that came just close enough to mocking to put Imakarum slightly on edge. "I will, of course, endeavor to remember that in the future."

"See that you do," Lord Alkanphel said, his earlier anger no longer in evidence.

"My Lord, if I may?"

"Ask, Shin," Lord Alkanphel said calmly.

"What has Lord Krumeggnik done that his displeased you?"

"Luggnagg had the idea to attack the Anti Chronos Task Force before we had learned more about them," Lord Alkanphel said, seeming only mildly annoyed this time. "Before we had assessed their strengths and weaknesses. And, while I do admit that this was a crude way of doing just that, I would have preferred to have been spared the loss of soldiers."

"Anti Chronos Task Force, my Lord?" Lord Shin asked, evidently confused. "Is there yet another faction of humans arrayed against us?"

"No, Shin," Lord Alkanphel said, seeming mildly amused. "The Anti Chronos Front is now called the Anti Chronos Task Force. Imakarum informed me of these changes a short time ago."