The Value of Zero

Chapter 3: The Value of Zero

*2 years ago*

A slightly leaner Zero sat on a metal floor as sweat poured down his face. A guy with spikey black hair down his neck was on all fours across from him, panting loudly and covered in bruises.

This was the training room.

One stood on a balcony that overlooked the room. Haji stood by his side as well as several other soldiers that bore the same uniform.

Haji rubbed his chin slowly while his eyes stayed locked onto Zero.

"Amazing. He's gotten to the point that he can copy new moves in a matter of minutes."

"Yes," One chimed in, "Zero has been polishing this power relentlessly. He's successfully been able to copy most of Team Midnight's abilities."

"Most?"

"He's been unable to copy my nature abilities. Something about the bond to something…so large makes it hard to just copy. Even for Zero."

"Hmmm. I see. I suppose your abilities are rather unique. Even amongst Reapers. Still - I can't help feeling like there's a huge missed opportunity here."

"Sir?"

Haji turned around and leaned up against the balcony railing. "Having such an ability is truly a gift. To him and to us. But there's a limit to what a copy can do and he can only use what he's witnessed fully for a matter of time.But…I think if he could learn to use more than one copied ability at a time the possibilities of what he could do massively increases. He would be BETTER than the original. So why-"

"Because I can't," Zero stood down below the balcony looking up at them.

Haji turned around, "You've attempted this?"

"Yup. It's something that sounds great when talking about it….but it's fundamentally not possible."

"Get to the point, Zero."

"Well…it's like looking left and right at the same time. Or trying to read two different books at the same time while trying to retain information from both. When using a copied ability, it's like drawing from a single knowledge source and ingrained muscle memory. Trying to give 100% focus to two different things would fry my brain."

"Damn!" Haji slapped the railing. "What a waste…..oh well. Call over Three and let's try-"

"Wellllll I guess the better way of putting it is that it WAS impossible."

One perked up suddenly and turned in the direction of Zero's voice. "Wait, was? What did you do, Zero?"

Zero smirked smugly and raised his arms up with his palms facing upwards as if basking in his own glory. "I figured out how to look left and right."

Haji's face creased in a fusion of frustration and excitement, "Are you serious?? Why didn't you just SAY that?!"

"Dramatic effect obviously."

Haji sighed and put his face in his hand, "Just…just tell me what you're talking about."

Zero grinned and ran off to where some of his stuff lay on the ground by the far wall. He rummaged through his inner jacket pockets and pulled out what appeared to be a plain white mask.

He came back up towards the others and shoved the mask skywards so they could look upon it.

Haji stared blankly, "....soooo….?"

Zero lowered the mask. "THIS is the answer Sgt. With this mask I'm able to totally block out all distraction and enter a state of mental zen. While doing this I can split total focus. It's not perfect by any means and some of the abilities do lose a little power….but…

He clenched his fist, "It's doable."

Haji looked pleased with himself while One was lost in thought.

One crossed his arms, "So you can split your total focus between performing two tasks, two abilities, and perform them simultaneously. While incredible, I can think of one potential flaw…."

Haji turned to One, "Flaw? What could possibly be flawed about this?"

Zero sighed and sheepishly smiled. "As always Captain, nothing gets past you."

Haji threw his arms out, "Wait, he's right? You just said it's doable! There's a downside to power that could change the war against the Reapers? Do tell."

"I can do it. But with only one caveat…."

*Present Day*

Zero stands before Azrael in a quiet like daze, his head slightly lowered and his arms dangling by his side. He bore the faceless mask.

One was alert and ready as both his hands were now placed upon the ground.

"Don't worry, Zero. Fulfill your role and leave the rest to me."

Azrael, still crouched low, bore its teeth at Zero. Something was keeping it at bay.

(((((...)))))

Azrael moved it's body slightly forward -

But Zero was already upon him with lightning fast speed. Before Azrael could react, Zero swung upwards with his leg which had increased greatly in muscular growth.

Right before impact, Azrael somehow was able to place its tails between them like a shield. Zero's foot slammed into the tails and sent Azrael flying through the broken down wall behind him.

"...", Zero remained silent and followed in pursuit of where Azrael landed.

Up above, Haji watched the battlefield take shape below them. He had a small grin on his face.

"Gravity propulsion for instant speed combined with enhanced muscular growth. You truly are a wonder, Zero."

Azrael dug its claws into the ground to come to a skidding halt. Just in time for Zero to catch up and wrap his hand around its throat. Flames erupted from within his grasp and Azrael was swallowed up in the inferno.

The pilot of the aircraft was also watching the fight unfold below them. "A-amazing..I didn't know Zero could move like that. Wait-!"

Azrael had appeared above Zero ready to strike him down with its razor sharp claws.

"How did he manage to get out of that?!" The pilot said dumbfounded. "Well, Zero has more than enough speed now to avoid it."

"Not quite."

Azrael was bearing down quickly on Zero. But…Zero was making no attempt to avoid the attack as his hand was still outstretched where Azrael was once thought to be.

A rush of vines tore through the ground below them and pushed around Zero and slammed into the airborne Azrael.

"RAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Azrael was sent further upwards, before the vines wrapped around it's limbs and retracted down at high speed causing him to slam into the ground near Zero.

Haji got on the comms, "Good save, One."

The pilot looked dumbfounded. "I don't understand…why did One step in? Why didn't Zero do anything?"

"Simple. He couldn't."

"What?"

"Mindless trance. Zero's biggest trump card as well as his biggest weakness. He was able to solve the puzzle of how to look right and left at the same time. However…he became blinded to every other direction around him in that state."

"I'm sorry sir….I don't quite understand."

"Hm. To put it simply, he is much more unaware of other things happening around him beyond using his abilities. Think of it as a last ditch full offensive maneuver. As of now, Zero is only able to attack relentlessly. He has no spare focus for defense."

The pilot's eyes grew wide and shaky. "That's….that's suicide, sir! How can this be a trump card if he could simply be stabbed in the back and be done with?"

"Exactly. Which is why he can only use it when One is with him. One will be his guardian angel. With his sight beyond sight."

One has his eyes closed and his hands are still firmly pressed against the ground. He is watching every movement through the impact they have on their surroundings.

"Focus. Focus. Anticipate. Watch every angle. Zero needs me. With hardly any nature out in this desert, the vines are my main lifeline."

On the aircraft, Haji walks up and puts his hand on the pilot's shoulder. "Watch carefully. This is how you slay an S-class Reaper."

******

Azrael lept around the battlefield with almost unrivaled speed.

Almost…because Zero was right on his tail at every point. Inch by inch he was catching up.

Azrael went airborne with a giant leap in order to create distance by grabbing the high ground upon an intact part of the military base.

(((((...)))))

Zero paused right below the structure instead of giving chase. Right as Azrael was about to land, Zero clenched his fist and each vein in that arm began to bulge. He reached back and thrust his fist through the wall; cracks ran rampant from the point of impact throughout the structure.

ZZZZZZZTTTTT.

Currents of electricity poured out of the cracks and quickly climbed upwards. Azrael looked down at the incoming danger. It quickly jumped upwards to avoid the electricity as well as the now collapsing structure.

As if by invisible strings, Azrael was violently yanked out of the air and was being pulled towards the ground. "GAHHHHHHH!", it snarled in disgust.

Through the dust from the collapsing structure, Zero could be seen with his left hand out and his fingers motioned towards himself. He was using gravitational pull to yank Azrael back down to the battlefield.

Zero's right arm combusted into a wild flame as he reared it back in preparation. The same arm began to squirm and bulge once more as the muscle enlarged.

Further away, One sat on the ground with his hands pressed against it in order to monitor the battle and intervene when necessary. But his face bore one of surprise and worry.

"Gravitational pull + enhanced muscle growth + righteous flames….Zero is going beyond what even I thought him capable of..".

Azrael was being pulled down with great force. It sped towards a head on collision with Zero who stood at the ready to deliver what could be the defining blow. Since Zero had made a move while Azrael was still in the air, he was unable to maneuver out of it. With no solid ground to stand on, its trademark speed seemed to be useless here.

Zero shot his fist forward to sync up perfectly with Azrael when he arrived within range.

"End it, Zero!!" One shouted into the sky.

Azrael's multiple eyes grew wide as Zero's blazing fist was about to devour him. Zero flung his whole weight behind his fist and -

Azrael disappeared.

Zero's fist swung through empty air and he immediately lost his balance. He tumbled to the ground and his empowered fist impacted the ground.

BOOM!

Zero was swallowed up by an explosion of fire and dust.

Back up in the sky, Haji had stark disbelief sketched upon his face.

"What the hell…how did Zero miss him??"

"Sgt. Sadiki!"One chimed in urgently through the ear piece.

"One, you better have some kind of explanation. Zero was mere inches away from it and fucked it all up!"

"No sir. Zero's aim was spot on. I could feel the swing of his arm and Azrael's body moving through the air….he had it lined up perfectly."

"Then what-"

"I-it….vanished."

"Vanished?"

"Yes. If I had been watching with mere eyesight I don't think I would've caught it. But right before impact, Azrael somehow just…disappeared."

"Damn it all!" Haji slammed his fist into the dashboard of the monitor. "We were so close! Does this demon's speed know no bounds?"

"I'm not so sure, Sgt. This is the same feeling I had earlier. If it was just speed I would still be able to follow it. But this is different. It's like it's just vanishing and reappearing at pivotal points."

"This doesn't make sense. Our reports show that the only ability it's ever demonstrated is enhanced speed. And Zero has been able to keep up with even that. So what freaking magic is this thing pulling. Speaking of, do you have any read on Zero? The heat from the flames is blocking our thermal view."

"Yes. But I have some bad news.."

****

The dust began to clear but was overtaken by smoke from the flames that have latched on to the surrounding area. In the middle of it all sat a battered Zero who was knelt on one knee.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Pieces of his mask was dropping bit by bit onto the ground. His face, now visible, had clear frustration. His breath was ragged. And he had broken his own trance.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!" A dribble of blood dripped down his chin as he bit down on his lip.

"Zero, respond." Haji's voice came through his ear piece.

Zero slowly picked himself off the ground. His jacket had been seared away in the flames which revealed a gray fitted shirt with black running up the sides. On the shoulder was his number, '0'.

"Anybody mind….*cough* *cough*...telling me what happened?"

"Well you went for the big KO and fucked it up." Haji bluntly stated.

"But HOW? I don't remember all the details when I'm in the trance, but I do know that I had all 3 moves perfectly in tandem and -"

"This will have to wait, Zero", One spoke up. "I'm picking up Azrael not far from you. Just know that he may have an additional ability to his speed that is allowing him to disappear."

"But Captain, Faceless Trance is my ultimate move. How am I supposed to take this thing down? Not to mention my mask was shattered in the explosion."

"I know. But right now-"

There was a loud THUD as Azrael kicked off and was speeding towards Zero.

A thick wall of vines shot up in front of Zero and almost immediately Azrael ran into it, rebounded, and then shot off again.

"Captain!" Zero said in surprisement.

"I can barely keep up with its movements so it's only a matter of time before he gets around my defenses. Listen Zero. What is the one thing you ALWAYS say since you joined the team as 'Zero'?"

"This one's gonna hurt?"

"NO. The other thing. The thing that means the most to you."

"....heh." Zero smirked.

(((((.....)))))

Zero flung his arms out to both sides and sent out a force of air pressure that shot away all the surrounding debris and snuffed out the flames.

"I'm going to show you the value of Zero."

One smiled to himself, "That's more like it. Now let's quickly regroup-"

Shuck!

Zero's face went from cocky to confused. "Uh…"

He looked down and saw a pair of sharp claws protruding through his chest. Azrael stood behind him with a snarl on its face as drool dripped down from its mouth.

"Zero!!!!" One yelled in fear as he tried to quickly call upon any surrounding nature to intervene.

But it was too late.

"C-cap…-"

"RAAAAAHHHHHH!" Azrael lifted Zero up into the air as his face twisted with pain.

"AHH!!...bastar-d.. I'll KILL you!!"

Azrael began expanding his arms outwards which was creating a hole in Zero's chest.

"Captain! Haji! Gurgg..please…."

Haji stood staring at the monitor. His mouth was slightly agape as he couldn't find the words.

Fissures began to appear underneath Azrael as One was splitting the ground in a last ditch attempt. "Hold on Zero! I'm-"

Azrael did one final push and flung his arms out wide as he split Zero completely in half. Blood rained down upon it as it soaked in the pleasure of its kill and ended the life of its most worthy opponent.