Zero Episode 113 The Game of the Hunted and the Hunter

A/N: You read that title and the next time. Someone who hasn't been in over sixty episode is going to return being that I kinda forgot about him in the grand scheme. I tend to do that often because I have a lot of characters and ideas. I could make notebooks and make sure that I do everything right but I'm only human and no one reads these stories. I do this for fun most of all because being a writer is like winning the lottery. You either make it big or just don't.

I rather have a serious career and have writing as my hobby. I won't say that have a desire or dream of becoming a writer is a bad thing but it's a hard field to get into since anyone with a pencil or laptop came become a writer. Anyway, I think we need to address the elephant in the room because he's really big and needs a bath asap. The elephant is the relationship between Rachel and Zane. The next couple of episodes will be them getting together.

You may have noticed that all of Zane's harem have a middle name. The only other characters that have a middle name ,other than Zane, are his family members so having a middle name is very important. The middle name ,in the grand scheme of things, is not important because the middle name isn't very important in fiction. I can only think of one character that has a middle name and that's Ben Ten with his middle name being Kirby.

That's just the truth of the matter. I mean there could be a whole series where the middle names actually mean a dam but I've never seen it. This episode will also bringing back a certain villain was introduced at the start of this year in terms of posts being 2019 and of the story being 2020. We've also past 1 post a month being that the dry spell is hopefully over with. Lets begin in outer space where no one can hear you scream unless you are in Jimmy Neutron.

I mean the one thing that I'll always remember about that show is that the character could breathe and talk in space and whenever the characters question, Carl sings during the explanation. That show will always be one that I'll never forget since well, it was different ,in terms of animation, compared to most nicktoons at the time. I'll say that it's a good nicktoon. Anyway, lets begin before I got a rant about something.

Narrator P.O.V.
In outer space, Basalt's space ship was flying over Saturn's atmosphere. Inside of the ship, there is a room that was completely dark. Lights soon shined from the ceiling revealing four/five figures with none of them looking human. One of them whose entire body is encased in armor which was primarily purple. Her figure looks more feminine compared to the other two humanoid figures being that one of them was an animal.

On her elbows and knees, she has violet colored pads. She has a black belt around her waist. Her head is covered by a helmet with three horizontal black lines that provide her sight and allows her to speak. The armor covering her arms and legs are black with violet outlines. Her chest armor is a light gray color with black outlines. She's currently holding laser pistols. This is the infamous bounty hunter Ballista who is known for her lethal battle tactics.

The next two figures are two familiar figures being that they are Airon and his pet Nether Seeker. If you've forgotten how that is, I don't blame you since it's been over a year and fifty parts since we last seen them. They haven't changed since Zero Episode 40. The reason why he hasn't done anything since then is because Zane defeated the king of Phantoms plus many other things. He says that he's been waiting for the right time but he's scared of Zane straight up and he's lazy.

The next figure is known as Veto. Unlike Ballista's armor which makes her gender obviously, Veto's armor masked the true gender of the person wearing the armor. However, Veto seems to respond to male pronouns so that's what I'm going with for now until the gender is clearly revealed later in this episode and who is under may not be a shock. Veto looked to be the same height as Airon with Ballista being an average height for a human female.

Veto wears a black and gray full body bulky looking armor completely all over his body. He's wearing silver shoulder pads with them glowing with emerald green energy. He has silver metal plating on his black gloves that go up to his shoulders.  He's wearing matching metal boots with small emerald green flames on the bottom. He wears large chest armor that has emerald green energy lines from the abs to the chest.

He wears a dome-like helmet that completely covers his head and it's retractable. According to most people, no one has ever seen Veto's face. To see, there is a single diamond symbol in the center of the helmet which is emerald green. He has a rifle held in a holster strapped to his back and a katana strapped to his right. He also has grenades strapped to his belt with the same diamond symbol working as a belt buckle.

The final figure is Halphas being that he changed in the past two years. He's still very tall being very much taller than the other four figures. He still has pale skin with a slim and muscular figure. He has a very small ,almost flat, nose. His hair is black and up to his shoulder with red-violet streaks. The back of his hair is curled, the top is spiky, and the sides of his hair are shaved off.  His eyes are bluish, gold, and violet. His right ear has a gold earring in it.

His arms and legs are longer than normal being that he make the others around him dwarf. His eyes are very sharp and intense. He now wears a high collared torn crimson trench coat which exposed most of his muscular chest, black gloves, black slacks, and black dress shoes. He ditched the bandages that were around his body being that he still has the steel bands around both of his arms and legs that completely covered his ankles and knees. "Begin." said a voice.

Ballista was the first one to jump onto the scene with her surrounded by several robots that matched the small robots that were created from the Goliath robot. These small robots are the Betas. The girl soon held her blasters with her blasting the drones into pieces before they could fire back. If they did have a chance to fire on her, she dodged them with no problem. One of them was firing at her and she aimed her left wrist at it, revealing a gattling gun like rocket launcher over it.

She fired several missiles at it, destroying it. She spun around ,like a tornado, blasting several robots to pieces. More drones flew toward the woman with Halphas, Seeker, and Airon jumping into battle. Seeker soon made multiple copies of herself as the feline slashed her way through the robotic army while her master fired out Red Nether, making a giant crab claw construct and crunched down onto some robots, throwing the pieces.

Airon turned behind him to see a drone flying toward him being that before he could smash it to pieces, it was soon frozen solid and landed on the ground, breaking it. "You snooze you lose Phantom." said Halphas, with his left arm glowing white like snow. As more drones were released, the girl soon rushed toward them and the robots fired onto her. She easily dodge her by dancing with Halphas rolling his eyes. "Look at her move. It's like watching a dancer." said Halphas.

She soon began running along the walls and jumped onto another drone, using it for a joy ride as she blasted down its comrades. Another drone tried to blast her off but she jumped it, causing her ride to be destroyed. She soon began jumping from drone to drone, with more of them getting destroyed by friendly fire than anything else. She soon fired his own shots at more drones while showing no signs of emotions in the process.

Airon soon crossed his arms as he said,"And here I thought that the rumors of her being an emotionless husk was nothing more than rumors.". He soon created Red Nether missiles, with him blasting down more drones. Ballista soon landed down toward the trio who had been fighting as an door opened in the ceiling. A Goliath ,the giant robot from Zero Episode 108, dropped down. Before the four could attack it, the final figure finally sprung into action.

He soon held an rectangular like device with him pressing down on it. This device soon turned into a hoverboard and flew toward the Goliath. Goliath soon raised its hand and fired a laser at the moving target, creating a huge explosion. "He's dead right?" said Specter. "Nope. Veto isn't one to die by a simple Goliath" said Halphas. The smoke soon cleared, revealing that Veto took no damage from the robot's attack and only his armor was smoking.

Veto soon rushed toward Goliath and soon pulled out his sword. The way that he did it was very much iaijustu which is a Japanese combative quick-draw sword technique. The robot was sliced clean in half as Veto landed on the ground, sheath his blade. He soon returned the hoverboard back to its normal form as a holographic screen appeared in front of them, revealing Basalt. "Well done all of you. You are all hired." said Basalt.

The five looked at him as Airon said,"You never told us what we're doing exactly? Mind telling us this?". "It's simple really. Your objective is to retrieve the Z.E.R.O. Watch. The one who succeeds collects the reward." said Basalt. "Okay but you do know who it's attached to right? I mean this Zero isn't like the other ones." said Halphas. "Yes but I doubt that the best bounty hunters will have trouble with a simple teen on Earth. Enough chit-chat. To your pods." said Basalt.

The five soon walked toward the pods with Halphas walking next to Veto. "So are you ready to head to Earth buddy? I mean it's pretty nice during the summer and unlike my last visit, I'm getting paid for this job." said Halphas. "You told us to be cautious of Zero but you're acting so carefree. This mission will be completed." said Veto in a deep voice. "Wow. You're all buzz kills." said Halphas. They all soon entered pods ,with the feline heading with her master, to Earth.

On Earth, an alarm clock was going on and the person it was walking up wasn't happy about it. It's Rachel Powell who turned out to be a devil. She begrudgingly opened her eyes and picked herself off her bed to turn off her ear-piercing alarm. She had enhanced hearing ,like Zane but on a lower level compared to his, and the alarm was audio torture to her. She groaned to see that it was only 5 in the morning aka at the crack of dawn.

She collapsed back onto her bed, groaning about getting up at this ungodly hour. "So why the hell am I getting up so early for on a Saturday?" moaned Rachel with her voice muffled by the pillow which had buried her face in. She really had to find the energy to get up with her hearing,"It's because you asked for some training with Zane in both the physical and magical department.". It belonged to her grandma being that Rachel could tell that she was was smiling.

Before retiring due to old age, her grandma worked as a boot instructor and she was rather strict back in the day. She was a terror among devils. Rachel let out another muffled groan being that she forced herself to crawl out of bed and sleepily put on the clothes that would be needed for the training even if she wasn't looking forward to it since she isn't a morning person. Lets got back to the afternoon of yesterday.

Flashback Narrator P.O.V.
Rachel shouted with her voice filled with despair,"What?! Early morning training? I don't mind training but why do I have to do it so early in the morning?!". It had been the end of a long week at Cypress High since the play was beginning practice and despite the main male lead role not being found yet, it was going good. Brad eventually wormed his way into the plat being that he was very much the butt of the joke character but Brad didn't know it.

Rachel herself was currently in Zane's apartment being Team Maelstrom's headquarters due to it being in the best place in the city. Nearby her, Allen and Heidi were playing a game of chess on the coffee table with Wolfram watching them. Zane was currently sitting on the catch with his head in the palms of his hands with his elbows rested on his knees. He was smiling at Rachel with Rachel seeing a certain glint in his eyes that reminded her of her grandma.

Zane said,"It's simple really. Out of everyone on the team, you're still lacking in terms of your full potential. You have the strength and power of a devil which are known for their impressive strength and magic. The latter of which rivals Sorcerers. You seem to have no control over your devil powers and we need to be ready for anything that may come after us. Our first step is improving the physical aspect and then the magical.".

Rachel crossed her arms and grumbled under her breath,"Oh great. That sounds like so much fun Zane.". Zane chuckled at her childish behavior, his smile never leaving his face. "I'll be picking you up in the morning, does 5:30 sound good to you?" said Zane. "Nope. You're sounding even crazier than normal." said Rachel. "I mean I could always make it four in the morning but I rather have some light to work with." said Zane. "That works for me Zane." grumbled Rachel.

Zane smiled as he said,"That's a good guy. I'll see you tomorrow then and get a good night sleep. You will need it when it comes to my training regime.". Rachel felt a shiver go down her spine when she noticed the twinkle in his eyes. She was going to regret having Zane training her. She soon left the apartment with Zane smiling. "So how brutal are you going to be?" said Allen. "Brutal enough to make her stronger. I'll be doing that for all of you." said Zane, causing Allen and Heidi shiver.

Narrator P.O.V.
The barely awake Rachel made her way out of her room being that she looked like a zombie with her leaving her house. Her grandma smiled at this scene being that she had never seen her granddaughter get up this early before and hoped that Zane would be her knight in shining armor. After stepping out of the house, she had to cover her eyes from the early morning sunlight due to it rising above the horizon. "This is such a pain in the ass." muttered a tired Rachel.

She soon shook off the remnant of sleep and made her way to the meeting point that Zane texted her to meet up for their training site. "Who in the nine realms is even up at this time of day anyway? I mean this is just madness I tell you." muttered Rachel as she finally made it the meeting point just on time. She was slightly impressed with herself upon completing this feet being that she didn't have to wait for long to hear someone approaching her from the street behind her.

She turned around and felt her cheeks starting to heat up and redden with embarrassment. She saw Zane walking toward him with Wolfram ,in his normal dog form, by his side. She's wearing a purple jumpsuit with gray stripes. It's extremely tight and form-fitting to her curvy figure, with it hugging her perfectly. Zane was wearing his normal gym wear being that Rachel knew that her friend was very attractive even though she didn't like him romantic or did she?

Zane smiled and said with too much cheer for Rachel's liking,"Morning there sleeping beauty. You ready for training?". He stopped in front of him with Rachel yawning behind her hand as a response being that she was still rather miffed about having to be awake at such an ungodly hour. "Sure. Lets get this over with." said Rachel, yawning once again. "Don't worry. You'll get use to being up this early right Wolfram?" said Zane, earning a bark from Wolfram.

Rachel's eyes widened as she said,'Wait? This is going to be a repeated thing.". "If you do a good job Rae, I won't have to. Lets go. Follow me." said Zane. He soon activated the Z.E.R.O Armor with him only having on the Falcon Board. With that, he floated away and started the training. Rachel groaned again but followed after him with a light jog. "You know that you kinda run like a girl right?" said Zane as he leaned backwards. "That's because I am one!" said Rachel.

Zane shook his head as he said,"Don't be such a prude Rae. I'm doing this for you know. I usually get up earlier but I had to train Wolfram.". The dog barked as Rachel said,"So why are you using the Falcon Board?". "No one is usually up at this hour so I can use it without any problems and quit complaining or else, I'll make it worse. You're a devil so this should be easy to you." said Zane. "I think you know that I was always the worst in gym." said Rachel. "Nah." said Zane.

Later, Rachel really felt that she was going to die. This was just after she completed her fifth marathon without stopping. She wasn't someone who was unfit but Zane is a monster when it comes to training. Everyone in his friend group knows this being that while training with him, Zane made her go to hell and back. She had never experienced anything like this before being that all of this training had been gone for an hour and half.

Zane shouted,"Come on Rae! We're almost done with the first part.". On the hover board, Zane soon rang a gong ,using an app on his phone, and this caused Rachel to stumble and fall onto the ground upon hearing that. "What are you talking about?! This isn't the first part!" wheezed Rachel being that she was trying to keep herself from falling being that if she did, she would be lightly shocked by Zane and the devil was losing the will to live.

Zane smiled with him saying,"Silly girl. This is just the start of our training. Be lucky that we aren't doing mine. You would just die from seeing it.". He soon rang the gong again being that the jog went on for another fifteen minutes. They had reached the park which was the place Zane decided upon for part two of his training regime. Zane soon deactivated the armor being that he turned around to see Rachel, basically a puddle of sweat on the floor.

She was breathing hard, trying to inflate her lungs ,which were on fire, and not passing out. "To be strong, you have to go through hell and back to improve yourself. I learned that the hard way and this training we're going through now is nothing compared to what my masters put me through during my training on the archipelago. They would call me a softie if they saw what I'm putting you through. So for the next part, we need to do some stretches." said Zane.

Wolfram ,who had been keeping up with his master and his special friend, watched the two teen stretching. Zane was leaning on her back as Rachel was trying to reach her toes. "You need to hear that in the Omniverse, most people tend to focus on either smarts or brawn. The best fighter focused on both of them. Got it?" said Zane. "Crystal!" said Rachel. Zane soon got off her back as he said with a smile,"Time for push ups and not stopping until I tell you to okay?".

Rachel weakly raised her hand to Zane as she said,"Wait. I need a minute for my body to recover Zane!". Her lungs were still on fire. Zane shook his head as he said,"Fine. Enjoy your minute there Rae.". Rachel soon went down onto her back as Wolfram watched. The dog barked as Zane said,"I think I'm being perfectly fine.". After her minute break, she soon saw Zane's mischievous smile on his lips being that she cried a little. 

She soon began her push ups being that despite her appearance saying otherwise, she has impressive upper body strength and could handle something like push-ups easily. Zane noticed this ,around the forty push-up mark, with him just smiling more. He told her to stop for a second being that Zane soon sat on top of her back. "Um. What are you doing?" said Rachel. "Don't worry. I'm really light so get going." said Zane.

She did just that being that she felt some extra weight coming from Zane being that she had to ignore the feeling of Zane's toned body pressing into her back. Her face was heating up already being that she didn't want Zane to tease her but he was going to. "As a devil, your power is connected directly to your strength. The more power you have, nothing can stand in your way." said Zane. "Gotcha." said Rachel with her reaching the ninety range mark.

She soon collapsed onto the ground, looking dead. "Good job today. You passed the first round and by the way, I can read your mind. If I was a more harsh instructor and you were more perverted, lets just say that your training would only get WORSE." said Zane. "Don't worry. I don't think I'm like most devils, mainly female ones." said Rachel. Zane got off her with him patting Rachel's soft yet firm buttocks affectionately.

Rachel didn't care that Zane was doing some sexual misconduct toward her being that she was just done with the day but she knew that it was still going on. She soon gave him a weak thumbs-up gesture before letting it fall limply to the ground. Wolfram licked Rachel's face as she said,"Thanks for that Wolfram.". The dog barked as Zane said,"He says thanks Rae plus those two should be here by now.". "Who else are you going to put through this hell?!" said Rachel.

She soon forced herself to look to see that Heidi was heading toward them with Sly ,currently in her salamander form, on her shoulder and was holding a small basket in the crook of her arms. "Hey you guys! Sorry that I'm late! It won't happen ever again I......" said Heidi. She soon face planted with the ground and Sly shook her head. Just before Heidi fell, she jumped onto Wolfram's back and said with a smile,"And she goes to the gym.".

The two teens ignored the Akostar as Heidi said,"Sorry about that you guys. I'm not normally this clumsy.". She soon recovered with her seeing Rachel lying on the floor and gasping for breath. "So what did you do to her? I thought Allen and Kevin were kidding about you being a mad man when it comes to training." said Heidi with worry in her face. Rachel only respond by raising her hand off the ground slightly and waved it limply before lowering it down, taking deep breaths.

Zane smiled with him saying,"Well with that, I think we'll call it for a day.". He beamed that smile to Rachel being that she was starting to hate that smile. It didn't take away how attractive Zane can be being that his smile is one of his best features according to Roxy. It's often happy, gentle, and genuine. However, it could also mean terror and sadism to a high level much to Rachel's worry in the matter.

With the training finally over for today, Rachel pushed herself along the ground until she reached the nearby tree and began leaning against. She took deep breaths to calm her heart which felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. Heidi came up to her and knelt down on the ground, placing the small basket in front of her. She reached into it and pulled out a flask of tea that she had prepared before hand. "Would you like some?" said Heidi.

Rachel could only nod as a response being that she watched Heidi undo the top of the flask and pour the tea into the cup/lid. Rachel brought it to her lips and started to drink the tea. She let out a gasp of relief as she felt the refreshing liquid slip down her through. "Thanks for being a good friend Heidi unlike our sadist leader." said Rachel with her voice slowly coming back to her. "Thanks Rae. You're too kind." said Heidi.

Rachel soon finished off another cup of tea before saying and having her breath back to normal,"So why are you here Heidi? I mean I don't mind your company but are you going through the rounds with him?". She pointed to Zane who was eating a breakfast muffin. "Zane wanted me here being that he didn't tell me why." said Heidi. She soon returned the flask back into the basket in front of her as she handed Rachel a muffin, who took it.

The two girls turned to look at Zane who wasn't paying attention to them. He looked to be lost in his own little world and oblivious to everything around her. "Hey Zane. Are you okay?" said Rachel as she snapped her fingers. Zane shook his head for a bit and smiled at the two. "Sorry. I was thinking about a new combo using Predator State. What's up?" said Zane. "Of course, you would be thinking about that new power of yours." said Sly, eating a muffin next to Wolfram.

Zane rolled his eyes as he said,"Very funny Sly. Since the group is here, we have somewhere to go before I can release you guys.". "Is it more training?" said Rachel, shivering. "Yes but for little old me instead so you get a break." said Zane. Rachel cheered as Wolfram barked. "So where are we going exactly?" said Heidi. "To my normal training ground. Lets go." said Zane, opening up a portal. The five were soon gone from the park.

The group of Heidi, Rachel, Sly, and Wolfram were soon watching Zane setting up a training course for himself somewhere in the forest. "So are you ready to go Zane?" said Sly, watching a clone of Zane finish tying a rope and disappearing. Zane soon stood in the middle of the course with him saying,"Yep. Just watch and be shocked.". He soon stood into Fulmination Form with him saying to the group,"In battle, the best advice I can give is to think. Muscle don't make right.".

Rachel ,who was holding onto some levels, said,"I know that and I think that the idiom you're looking for is might isn't always right.". "You know what I mean Rae. Leave the sass to the expert of that." said Zane, with Rachel pulling a level. A frying pan soon came up and launched a bunch of soda cans toward Zane. Zane was quickly to react, launching a burst of electricity from his tendrils and blasted them away.  

Rachel soon pulled down a rope, releasing a few targets ,mainly piles of junk and mannequins, out onto the field with Zane turning around and blasting them away with a powerful burst of electricity before they even had a chance. Zane closed his eyes as he heard more cans coming toward him with him being quick to react and aimed electricity toward the cans, blasting them away. He soon made several electricity knives, firing them at some wood ,with faces on them, and into pieces.

Some targets came up from the ground about 100 feet away from Zane with him rolling forward and aimed his arms toward the targets. He soon fired balls of electricity toward them, zipping past the obstacles of the trees and hitting the targets dead on. "And that's how we do it." said Zane. "Didn't you tell me not to get cocky?" said Rachel. Zane shrugged as he fired at more cans, heading toward him. He soon ducked under a tire coming right at him before making an electricity barrier.

This sliced the tire into pieces with a second one going through the same pain. Zane soon deactivated the form with him saying,"And that's how you do it.". Wolfram barked as Heidi said,"You really got good at controlling your electricity Zane.". "Thanks Heidi but like with everything, it takes a whole lot of practice to get at something." said Zane. "Like how you crashed a lot when learning how to use Gravity Drive." said Sly, earning giggles from the girls.

Zane rolled his eyes as he said,"Very funny Sly.". "It is. So I got a question for you." said Sly. The group were soon heading toward Fantasia for some slushies as Zane said,"Shoot.". "Since you're the king of all Phantoms, when do you have to get marry?" said Sly. "Whenever the girls are ready for it Sly. I can wait a long time for marriage being that I want them to accomplish their goals and dreams before I begin mine." said Zane.

Upon saying this, Rachel's usually normal chill and happy demeanor changed into sadness being that Zane felt it within seconds. He gotten pretty good at sensing emotions as he heard her mutter,"You only have that when you're lucky.". Before Zane could talk with her about it, Heidi said,"So why haven't you used your powers irresponsibly yet?". "Oh I have but it was mainly for pranks toward Braddy. I try to stay on my game no matter what enemy I could face." said Zane.     

Back in the forest, Veto was looking at a tracing device in front of Zane's training ground. He soon aimed the device toward the structure with him saying,"This is where the watch was last activated and we can't sense him by his power.". He soon walked over to the other three with Halphas saying to Specter,"So has your feline smelt him yet?". "Not yet but she will. It seems that this place has been abandoned recently though. There is a faint trace of electricity in the air." said Specter.

Ballista was walking around the course with her looking at her own tracking device. She stopped and looked down. She saw a can with traces of electricity around it and was about to reach and pick it up but it was soon grabbed by Airon who grabbed using a red Nether hook. Airon looked at the can but it was soon blasted away by Ballista. "Stay out of our way you two. We may have to work with you two but the feeling isn't mutual." said Veto.

Halphas said from behind Veto,"And here I thought that you would be the cool and collected one but in all reality, you aren't!". "You'll be punished if you try and impede my progress. Got it you dam Enigma?" said Veto, getting up and close with Specter. This earned a roar from Seeker with Airon saying,"You two may be partners but we'll be the ones to claim this bounty.". The two soon flew off with the person named after a demon talking a breath. "Man, that was intense." said Halphas.

The duo of Ballista and Veto soon walked away with Halphas shrugging. He soon flew off as well with the two armored beings walking away. As they were walking away, the female triggered a rope trap that was hiding in the ground. Several wooden planks popped up behind him with Veto aiming his hand at the training course. It soon erupted in sharp, emerald green energy crystals as the two were gone as well with Ballista flying away thanks to her suit and Veto on his board.

Back in town, the group joined by Allen were enjoying slushies at Fantasia. "So I guess things are pretty peaceful today huh? No crime." said Allen. "Yeah. I kinda miss it though." said Zane. "You probably scared them into not committing crimes in broad daylight." said Heidi. "Nope. Criminals are like cockroaches. They are never truly dead but look the part." said Zane. Rachel was quite being that she had been for a while now, much to the worry of Wolfram and Zane.

Zane waved his hand in front of Rachel as he said,"Hey Rae. Anyone in there or did it melt during our training today?". He snapped his fingers in front of her with her attention back to normal. "No it didn't Zane and how could you put a poor girl like me go through such training?" said Rachel. "It wasn't that bad to be honest with you. I could have made you run up a mountain or maybe through a pit of rapid dogs." said Zane.

He began listing off training ideas with Rachel's face getting white by the second. "Quit scaring the poor girl idiot." said Courtney who walked up to them. Zane dodged her swipe with Sly saying,"I doubt that he's going to stop that anytime soon. I really like these slushies.". "Yeah. I mean he hasn't changed since he was around Atem's age except he's a normal teenage boy and a strong love toward breasts than anything else." said Courtney.

Wolfram tilted his head as Zane said,"What are you talking about? I like all parts of the female body mainly the brain!". "Come on Zane. Do you really think I didn't noticed that every girlfriend of yours is very curvy. You have a type and our red-head fills the bid doesn't she?" said Courtney. Rachel soon smiled brightly as she said,"Yes I certainly do. So how about you see how mine compare to others you've touched?".

Zane's face lit up like a Christmas tree with him saying,"No! I won't cheating on them plus I haven't grab their funbags yet!". Heidi blushed as Allen said,"And here I thought that you were more of a gentleman.". "I'll let you grab them if you help me with a favor." said Rachel. "I'll help you Rae but you don't need to bribe me to do it with something so perverted. You're my friend and an Alvarez always helps out their friends when they need it." said Zane.

Rachel smiled as she said,"Okay. My grandma has asked me to get two people together and I need the help of Cypress High's very own cupid to do it. You in?". "Sure. Hey Courtney, mind dropping off Sly and Wolfram back at my place for me?" said Zane. "Sure. Have fun you two." said Courtney as the dog waved goodbye to Rachel and Zane. "So are you sure those two aren't dating?" said Heidi as she turned to Allen and Courtney.

Allen looked at Courtney who said,"Ever since I've known them, they've been pretty close ever since Zane saved Rachel from being bulled by Sam back in the day. Danny helped too but Zane was her knight in shining armor. I could tell being that when I met her, she held onto Zane's hand. She thought that I would steal him away from her.". "So to answer your question, who knows? Whatever could happen to them, we'll support them." said Allen as Wolfram nodded and Sly enjoyed her drink.

The duo of Rachel and Zane ,both in their casual outfits, were soon in a traditional Japanese-style dojo and Rachel said,"So we are here.". She turned to Zane who was puking his guts out ,in the bushes outside, as she said,"Sorry about that Zane. Totally forgot that you suck when it comes to portals not created by you.". Zane soon recovered as he said,"No. You did that on purpose.". Rachel whistled as Zane said,"I'll remind this Rae so why are we here?".

He noted the various weapons and decorations scattered along the walls. "I feel like I'm back in Noble Haven except without the giant beasts roaming around." said Zane. He soon began admiring the various sets of katanas, admiring the beautiful craftsmanship. "So Zane, where is the rest of Team Legion Zero? I haven't seen you hit your watch all day." said Rachel. "Athena and Cole are working on a program, Lucifer is fighting with Kane and Sivarth, and Twilight is resting." said Zane.

He was looking a complete set of samurai armor, looking it was kneeling down in meditation. "This is cool. It's a full set of samurai armor too." said Zane. He slowly made his way toward it to get a better look at it. Crisis Judgement went off as the suit of armor suddenly stood up. "Huh. Don't see that every day." said Zane. "Um, hello." said the armor in a timid, yet distinctly feminine voice. Zane soon noticed the green curly hair dangling from behind the armored helmet.

The armor said,"Are you two the devils right?". "Nope. I'm just her carrier once she's all done since she can't...." said Zane, earning a punch to the gut. "Ignore him. Mind telling us our your name?" said Rachel. The armor seem to calm down a bit being that she always did feel more comfortable with other girls than boys. "Hello. My name is Lynda." said Lynda. "Hello there Lynda. My name is Rachel and this idiot here is Zane. So why did you ask for the devils?" said Rachel.

Zane crossed his arms and he said,"So are you a Tsukumogami?". "Yep. Even though I'm in this strong samurai armor, I still get scared really easy." said Lynda. "And how did you know that?" said Rachel. "You do know that I'm half Japanese right?" said Zane. Rachel whistled as Lynda said,"You two seem like such a cute couple. If you weren't, I would have to slice you two up for lying!". She pulled out her sword as Rachel and Zane thought,"Don't tell her that we're not a couple.".

A bit later, the three were talking as Zane said,"So what's up?". Lynda covered her face with her hands as she said,"Well, the thing is that my family's mineshaft has been acting strange and I need you to go take a look and see if it's haunted.". "That's it? I totally thought there would be more to this whole devil service." said Zane. "It's really scary in there! My uncle once went in there and got lost for an entire week." said Lynda.

Zane shook his head as Rachel said,"Is there anything you need from us? This idiot here can handle your request since he's really strong.". "Well, it's about a guy." said Lynda. "So what is he like? Is he like the idiot?" said Rachel. "I'm right here you know." said Zane. The two ignored him as Lynda said,"Well, he's a Tsukumogami like me but he's really cool and confident while I'm not. I can't talk to him at all.".

Rachel said,"So do you want us to make him fall in love with you right?". "No. Love that's created that way is always fleeting and not organic. I want him to fall in love with me on his own." said Lynda. "Have you tried opening up to him and telling him how you feel? In my experience, that's the best way to get started." said Zane. "Oh. No I couldn't! I don't know where to even start with this kind of stuff!" said Lynda, waving her hands back and forth with a blush on her face.

Zane smiled as he said,"Why not a letter? I would go with an email or text but since I doubt you have his number. We'll have to go the old fashioned way. It's also how my parents communicated before my aunt kicked them into dating. A love letter is the best way of expressing yourself if you can't do it due to fear or something else.". "That's a great idea Zane. A love letter just might work." said Rachel as Lynda got ready.

The two soon watch Lynda writing a letter with a pen and paper and started writing. "So what should I say?" said Lynda, with the pen hovering over the paper. "Just speak from the heart and sound sincere about your feelings." said Zane. "You do know that some people have trouble with that kind of stuff right? It's real hard but good." said Rachel. Zane looked at his friend with him noticing that the look in her face and before he could say anything, Lynda shouted,"Finished!".

She quickly ran to the open window with her holding a bow. "So you're sending it that way? Pretty cool Lynda." said Zane. She soon tied her message in her hand to the shaft and pulled back in the bowstring. She aimed the arrow out of her window with her taking a deep breath. She fired off the arrow, sending it flying through and into the distance. "Now! To the park!" said Lynda. She was gone as Rachel said,"She seems hyper.". "A bit too much but love makes you do weird things." said Zane.

About thirty minutes later, the trio were soon standing in the central plaza of the park. It was in the middle of the day, with the sun coming down on them. "I still can't believe that we're in a different part of Terrarune. The Supernatural district is pretty cool." said Zane. Lynda sat down in the middle of the park in a chair that she brought from home as the two teens sat by her side. "And I still can't believe that you're in college Lynda. I thought that you were our age." said Rachel.

It didn't take long for another armored figure to appear with Zane noticing that inside of Eastern style armor, he looked to western armor being straight from the days of King Arthur. Zane also noticed the arrow in the side of his helmet with him saying,"Well, that's a way to get him to notice you if you ask me.". "Yeah. I have really good aim." said Lynda, blushing. The knight soon stood in front of Lynda with her whimpering in fear.

Rachel and Zane stood to the sides of them as Zane said,"So does this count as an East vs West battle to the death?". "Yes and shush." said Rachel. "I've read through your letter my lady and my heart has been shot. My head isn't not hurt!" said the knight. Lynda squealed in joy as the knight said,"To think that someone of my power would be caught off guard like this, I'm truly in love with the woman who did that and that's you Lynda.".

Lynda grasped her hands together as she said,"Of course I am the same with you Elmer. My knight in shining armor.". Zane shook his head back and forth with him saying,"And this is an example of how love can't be defined.". "If you would have me, I would be honored to be your knight in shining love!" said Elmer, holding Lynda's hands. "Oh Elmer!" said Lynda. Elmer hugged him as the two flirted with Rachel smiling.

The two teen were soon walking over to the mineshaft with Rachel saying,"Those two belong to each other don't they Zane?". "Yeah." said Zane. "So what do you really think?" said Rachel with a hint of sadness in her voice. "About what Rae? I think about a lot of things." said Zane, noticing the sadness in her. "About being together with the people who you love the most." said Rachel, looking in front of her with a wistful smile on her face.

Zane smiled as he said,"It's one of life's greatest treasure. You really should have a chance to find the person who you want to spend your entire life with. In my case, I'll be finding love a lot since I'm immortal and not dying any time soon. You should fight for the one you love rather than someone you don't really care for.". Rachel looked lost in thought with her saying,"And here is the honest guy that's my best friend. You always get me the right answer that comes straight from the Essence.".

She looked sad with Zane saying,"So are you okay Rae? You've been acting sad lately and I worry about you.". "I'm fine Zane. I think your girlfriends should have the full attention of you and not just your best friend." said Rachel. Zane hugged her as she blushed. "You're more than just my best friend Rae. You hold a special place in my Essence and know that I'll fight for you no matter what you say or do to stop me. Got it?" said Zane.

Rachel nodded as she said,"You know that we're still on the job right?". "Yeah but we're almost there so don't worry okay?" said Zane. "Okay I won't but can you let me go? People are staring at us." said Rachel. Zane let go as he said,"We're here.". The two soon walking into a building with broken mine tracks, leading into it. "Wow. This place is straight from the gold rush." said Zane. "You do know that we have to find the Phantoms right?" said Rachel.

Zane said,"And convince them to leave. I can do that with ease.". "Whatever." said Rachel. The two walked deeper inside as Zane transformed into Canine Form, making a glowing sphere of purple energy appear and it lit up the cavern. "Why did you do that?" said Rachel. "Because I remind how scared of the dark you are Rae." thought Zane. "That was a long time ago." said Rachel, blushing at how he remember that. "Yeah but I don't forget." thought Zane.

Meanwhile with Ballista, she was flying through the air with Veto by her side. A device on her arm soon started beeping being that it was a tracking device. There was a glowing purple beeping on the device and flew in the direction. Veto followed her being that the two soon entered a portal to the dimension known as Terrarune. Back in the cave, Rachel stood there as she said,"So do you sense anything Zane?".

Zane ,who had explored the cavern, thought,"Nope. There aren't any Phantoms here. It's just typical horror movie stuff. I guess this place being abandoned made it seem like there would be Phantoms.". Crisis Judgement went off as the ground soon began to rumble. Rachel soon noticed that something big was burrowing in the ground right toward them. Zane rushed over to Rachel and pushed her out of the way.

The burrowing creature then hit one of the mine cars that had been left behind and it soon came out of the ground, revealing Seeker. The feline headed toward them as Zane thought,"Get somewhere safe Rae. I'll handle him. Everyone has a role to play in a fight and sometimes, it can be a safe distance away.". Zane soon made an energy sphere and threw it toward the feline, who jumped away from it.

The two teens soon heard,"If you hand over the Z.E.R.O. watch your highness, I promise to give you a special place in my trophy room.". The two soon saw Airon appear from the ground as Rachel said from a crate in the other side of the room,"So who is this guy Zane? He knows you.". "It seems that my reputation as Terrarune's best hunter has even reached your ears devil. My name is Airon and this beast is Nether Seeker." said Airon.

Zane thought,"Never heard of you before but me and the watch are kinda close friends so I'm not giving you them.". "Your care toward your friends will be your weakness you know that right?" said Specter. "Yeah I know. I'm real sure that you know who I am and what I can do right?" thought Zane. "Same." said Specter. "Really? I guess you don't know that it's rather rude to talk with your mouth full." thought Zane.

Before Airon could do anything, Zane turned into Nitro Form. He soon trapped the two Phantoms in wax and blasting them with the grenades on his arms, knocking them into the wax. "It seems that your arrogance is the truth." said Specter. As he was trying to get out of the wax, Zane soon turned into Terrapin Form and blasting him and his pet with a powerful burst of wind, slamming them up into the cavern.

Seeker soon began multiplying herself with the felines rushing toward Rachel. Before they could reach her, they were soon shocked by a giant burst of thunder. Zane smiled as he said,"Time for you to leave. Hang onto something Rae!". Rachel nodded as Zane soon made a giant burst of wind, with it sending the duo of Phantoms deeper into the caverns. "We better get some distance from those two and hopefully, a place where it won't collapsed on us." said Rachel.

The two soon left the building, not seeing that Veto was watching them leave on his hoverboard. "I want you to keep an eye on them. Don't leave them a moment to hesitate." said Veto. Ballista ,who was behind him, nodded as she was gone. "So do you know that guy?" said Rachel. She was currently riding on the back of Zane's shell as he said,"Kinda. Bane mentions that he's a better hunter than Wraith and apparently has claimed me as his prey two years ago.".

Rachel said,"So why hasn't he done anything until now?". "Who knows and I really don't want to find out." said Zane. Crisis Judgement went off as Zane soon evade a giant burst of bluish white ice that appeared from the ground. "Okay. I'm sure that isn't Nether." said Rachel. She turned around to see Halphas standing on a building with her saying,"Hey Zane. Remember that one human who worked with Malik.". "Yeah." said Zane. "Well, I think he's back for revenge." said Rachel.

Zane soon nodded as he deactivated Terrapin Form and then going into Tombstone Form. He caught Rachel ,bridal style, as she said,"Next time, warn me!". "Gotcha." said Zane. He soon aimed his hand toward Halphas, causing several stone spikes to come up from the ground, launching Halphas into the air. He soon landed in front of the teens as he said,"So we meet again you two and this time, you're much stronger than before.".

Rachel soon made her staff appear with her saying,"Yeah and this time, we're going to make sure that you go to jail where you belong.". "Hey Halphas. I wanted to say this to you after I heard about what happened to your homeworld and species. I'm sorry for what Darth made you do." said Zane. Halphas sighed as he said,"Thanks but it's been a long time. I want to make that Vordlarin but it won't bring the Enigma.".

Rachel looked at Zane who said,"You do know that he's trying to kill us right?". "Yeah but a man respect his enemies." said Zane. "Wise words. I'll be taking you to the boss and I hope that you don't make this easy for me." said Halphas. He soon made a giant burst of ice toward them with Zane soon blocking it with a massive and giant stone wall. He soon molded the wall to head toward Halphas and it captured him. "Wow. That's one powerful wall." said Rachel.

Halphas looked around as he said,"Wow kid. You've gotten really good with the Emperor Spells. I think your Chaos Emperor Terminal Bastion is on the same level as Barroth's.". "You've actually meet Barroth? How old are you?" said Zane. "Don't ask a man his age because we stop caring after a while kid." said Halphas. He sprouted several ice spikes from his body, piercing the wall and he broke out of it.

Rachel soon looked at the ice as she said,"Wait. I thought you could only use fire and Animus.". "I didn't need to use my ice back then." said Halphas, stretching his neck. He soon fired a wave of ice at Zane with him blocking it with a wave of stone. The two elements clashes, caused a smoke screen as the two teens waited for Halphas's next attack. Crisis Judgement went off as Zane soon dodged several lasers bullets coming from the sky.

Ballista was trying to hit Zane being that she dodged a bolt of lightning. Rachel clenched her teeth as she held her staff. "I'll handle her and you'll handle him." said Rachel. Zane nodded as he turned into Teleport Form and teleported away. Halphas watched Ballista evading lightning bolts with him saying to himself,"Man. She's really good with the weather isn't she?". He soon blocked a saber coming from Zane with him saying,"Yeah. She has great potential.".

Halphas sighed as he said,"True but she isn't accessing it.". "Yeah. I don't blame her since she has immense magic power like me but she has trouble controlling it. Without the staff of her, she would be missing most of those attacks. She also has trouble controlling how strong an attack is and how much power to use but for right now, we're focus on her physical strength." said Zane as he dodged several icicles.

Halphas dodged several energy bullets with him saying,"Are you sure that you should be talking about that with me?". "I could be lying to you and I don't you see an enemy." said Zane. Halphas soon blocked Zane's saber with his right steel band. "Yeah but who really knows." said Halphas. The two clashed once again being that Zane could feel Airon and Seeker's Nether getting close. "Time for our fight to be put on hold." said Zane. He was soon gone as Halphas sighed.

Ballista was getting sick of dodging the lightning bolts being that she soon rushed toward Rachel with her making two energy swords. She sliced Rachel, revealing that it was a mirage. She landed with her hearing,"Ballista. She tricked you by changing the air density, creating a mirage. How stupid you look.". She turned to see Airon with his pet by his side as Halphas said,"Well, who'll find them first?". This earned him a stare from all three bounty hunters present. 

Inside of the mineshaft from earlier, Zane ,out of Teleport Form, soon reappeared with Rachel. "So do we lose them or what?" said Rachel. "I don't sense them coming so we should be good for now." said Zane. "We should probably call the others." said Rachel. "I think we only have Allen and Heidi since Danny, Gwen, and Kevin are studying for their alliance exams. Unlike me, they have to go through the traditional fashion." said Zane. Rachel nodded as Crisis Judgement went off.

The ground soon burst open, revealing Seeker as she roared. "So did you want to call them or should I?" said Rachel. "Give me the watch and I'll let you live with some flesh wounds Zero plus his female friend." said Seeker. "Wait. You can talk?" said Zane, earning a slap from Rachel. She soon went toward them with Zane soon grabbed a piece of metal that was near him. He soon threw it toward Seeker who bit it into it, destroying it.

She was soon smacked by a powerful yet invisible shockwave with Zane just standing there. "Thank you Concealed Strike." said Zane. The feline disappeared with Rachel and Zane soon going down a different hallway. Zane could hear more footsteps coming behind them and he looked in front of him to see that they were heading to a three-way fork. "Zenith Duplication!" said Zane. The real Rachel and Zane ran down the center pathway as their clones ran down the different paths.

The real Rachel and Zane soon left the mine shaft, finding themselves in the center of the mine which has a large canyon in the middle. "So what's next?" said Rachel. "We take a ride." said Zane, with him pointing to a lift. The two soon headed toward the cart as Zane felt the clones being destroyed by Airon and a group of Nether Seekers. Rachel and Zane entered the cart as Zane pulled a level that was nearby using his telekinesis.

The cart started to move away with them seeing Airon along with a group of Seekers. "Did they seriously think that they could escape like this?!" said Specter. He soon made a Red Nether pair of scissors before getting blasted by flames. He fell to the ground with the feline roaring at Ballista who soon flew after the duo still in the cart. Ballista fired lasers at them with Zane blocking them using his telekinesis. "So do these guys have any weaknesses?" said Rachel.

Zane nodded as he said,"Everything has a weakness Rae. You just need to be smart enough to see and since they want the watch, lets give it to them!". He turned into Gadget Form being that it was one of the forms that got an upgrade thanks to the Zenith Core. He grew to 8 feet tall and looked more muscular. His body looks to be humanoid with a metallic sheen with it being primarily black with six crimson red circuitry like patterns etched across his arms, chest, and legs. 

His chest has the symbol LZ in the middle of it and glows crimson red. He has five fingers and toes. His head is in the shape of a dome and it’s a black color. It looks like a space helmet with a crimson red dot in the center of his head. This dot acts as his eyes and face. He has a longhorn ,with it being like a Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle, sticking out of his head. He has two crest-like shapes on his shoulders. He wears noticeable gauntlets on him which goes from his wrists to halfway up his elbows.

He has two cannons on his back which don't mess with his two beetle like wings. "Rae. I won't let you die. I promise." said Zane with his very robotic voice and the red eye glowed when he talks. He jumped out of the cart and sprouted a jet pack, rushing toward Ballista with the two clashing in the air. Zane soon kicked Ballista which made her lose balance and sent flying right into a wall. The cart that was carrying Rachel entered another mineshaft with her looking at Zane. 

Zane shouted,"Call Allen and Heidi when you stop Rae. I'll hold them off until then.". Zane dodged Specter's swipe. "Don't lie to her kid. You'll make your pals sad but after I show them your carcass and that will break their poor little hearts." said Airon with Ballista recovering. She shook her head as Seeker jumped toward Zane. She was blasted away by a plasma cannon which came from Zane's back and back into the canyon.

Airon grabbed her with Ballista walking toward Zane. She was stopped by Airon who said,"Easy. He's mine.". Ballista didn't say anything with Airon said,"I know that you think that being quiet and mute is cute but it really isn't. It's really annoying honestly.". The two began arguing with Zane blinking as he said,"This is sad. I mean one of them isn't even talking so is this really arguing? I mean I'm just going to count it as that.".

He soon threw a sphere toward the two of them, revealing a cloud of smoke and causing the three bounty hunters to be blinded. They were soon blasted by three plasma shots and sent flying toward the other side of the crater, falling deep into it. Zane smiled as he said,"Suckers.". He soon flew after Rachel with him not noticing the watching Veto on his hoverboard. Veto shook his head as he said with a sigh,"She may be a good hunter but wow, she's quite petty despite not talking.".

He soon flew down and after Zane being that Zane could send him coming. Zane soon flew above Veto, firing his plasma cannon down onto him. Veto was sent flying into the side of a minecart with him saying,"And here I thought those rumors about this Zero being nothing more than a teenager weren't true. You were able to make my apprentice and that Phantom look stupid.". Zane soon make rocket launches appear from his collarbones alongside a staff with a glowing red sawblade end.

Zane said,"Talk now or else. My missiles can easily break the sound barrier plus my staff really hurts.". He soon held the staff in front of Veto with Veto saying,"It seems that Gadget Form is only powerful depending on how many weapons that you absorbed with this form or have the ability to create things.". Zane moved the staff closer to him with him saying,"Say whatever you want but I really don't care. I'm going after my friend so stay there if you want to live.".

Crisis Judgement went off as Rodin threw a punch toward Zane. Zane dodged it being that he soon slammed the staff into the suit wearing bounty hunter, sending him flying back. Zane soon changed into Shredding Form with him soon creating a massive coffin of sand, trapping Veto but leaving out his feet and hands. The device that made his hoverboard was gone. "Interesting. You don't use your physical strength to win but strategy. If I break out, you have a way to stop me right?" said Veto.

Zane nodded as he said,"Yeah. This watch isn't a toy but a powerful weapon. Parker has told me this a billion plus times plus if I play around, someone could die.". "That sounds like Parker to me. So do you think I'm your side or what?" said Veto. "I do but is she? If you come any closer girlie, I'll kill him." said Zane. Veto saw Ballista standing there with him saying,"Put down your weapons. I can't die here.".

Ballista nodded as Veto said,"We were hired to retrieve the Z.E.R.O. watch at any cost. You and the watch are connected so I'll be bringing it back for its removal.". "You're cute if you think that I'll be going with you two." said Zane. "I doubt you have a choice or chance in stopping me boy." said Veto, breaking the sand. "You always have a choice." said Zane. He turned into sand as Veto slashed him with his energy sword and Zane disappeared from their vision.

The two looked around for Zane as they heard,"I promised my family that I wouldn't die because if I do that, they'll be sad and I can't have that. I'm putting myself in constant danger, lie to people I care, and making sure that the innocent is protected. When I became Zero, I have to be there to protect those who can't protect. I'm not leaving this plane of existence until I kill Skull Plague so bring it on!".

The two soon saw that they were soon surrounded by an army of Sound Form with Veto thinking to himself,"I may have just met him but I can tell that he's serious about this.". He took a deep breath as he said,"Easy down Zero. We surrender.". He soon folded back his mask with Zane noticing that he wasn't an disgusting looking alien or human but just a normal looking human with an air of royalty to him.

He has long, messy and spiky emerald green hair with his bangs brushed to the right and had strong looking navy blue eyes. He has an emerald green diamond symbol in the center of his forehead. He has white bandages that cover his head from his nose downwards, looking like a mask and had an opening for his mouth. "Wow. I totally thought you were a disgusting alien but you're actually not that." said Zane.

Veto looked for the Prime clone with him saying,"I know that you're around here child. Yes, I may not be a disgusting alien but I'm a noble warrior who makes good on his promises. We've wasted enough time playing around.". His eyes glowed as Ballista soon saw all of the Sound Form clones disappearing, leaving nothing behind. Veto sighed as he said,"Al of them were clones. He's real good with those powers of his unlike the last couple of Zeroes.".

Before he could go look for Zane, he heard,"You can't go after him without this.". Veto soon turned to see Airon holding the hoverboard with the Phantom saying,"You won't be leaving this dimension without it so tell me where the kid went.". "Sorry but we don't see out our own kind plus you know that in this section of Terrarune, Phantoms aren't allowed here due to the agreement made from the past." said Veto.

Airon soon chuckled with him saying,"Do you honestly think I don't know that? For two long years, I've studied his movements or more specifically, the movements of his friends. In a fight between the two of us, I would lose. However, this Zero has a fatal flaw that no other Zeros has had.". Ballista soon saw Halphas holding Rachel with her saying,"Let me go before I kick you in the sacred jewels again.". "Again?" said Veto.

Halphas looked away as he said,"She caught me off guard.". "Anyway, we decided to work today in order to claim the reward. I honestly don't care about the money. I just want Zero's head over my fireplace." said Specter. "Seriously? Zero isn't like the animals that you hunt. He's a smart man with both brain and brawn. I guess that criminals like you two can bond together over money which is a sin." said Veto, with a cocky smirk.

Airon growled as he said,"I don't need to hear this. Goodbye.". He soon fired a Nether blast at Veto who blocked it using his back. He soon ran in the opposite direction as Airon fired more bullets at Veto who dodged it. Halphas looked at Ballista who said,"So are you going to do anything or what?". Veto soon burst through into an old building and sighed. Airon was firing Nether at him with Halphas said,"So do you want to hold the girl or what?".

Airon looked at him with him saying,"Shut up! I'm the Omniverse's greatest hunter and you're nothing more than the final member of a species long since dead. If I wasn't hunting my king right now, I would be hunting you.". Veto looked through a hole to see that Airon and Halphas were arguing much to the annoyance of Rachel and Seeker. "So are you going to show your face or what kid?" said Veto.

Zane ,in Nano Form, appeared with him saying,"Yeah and why isn't she doing anything to fight them? We need to save Rae right now.". Veto grabbed him as he said,"I don't care about Ballista at all. She's just a highly advanced robot and we're leaving now.". "Sorry but I have to disagree with you heavily. Rachel is one of my closest friends and I promised myself to never give up if I can do something. If you don't want to help, just leave. I'll handle them by myself." said Zane.

Veto looked at Zane with him saying,"You can't always save them. Even if you have the powers of a god, you can and will be overpowered and captured by them. Cockiness can only go so far in this world. The obvious plan is for me to retrieve my hoverboard so that we can leave this dimension. I doubt those two could shoot the broadside of a barn but they'll do it eventually.". "Let me provide cover fire." said Zane. "No you stay here." said Veto.

He soon ran outside with him jumping through a smoke screen that was created thanks to one of Specter's shots and proceeded to shoot emerald green balls of energy from his right hand. The balls soon transformed into fists, punching Halphas and releasing Rachel. "Thanks." said Rachel. "Don't thank me. Press the button on the back of the Ballista Unit. Your friend short circuited her using your shrinking form. I'll handle them until then." said Veto.

He soon jumped toward Airon being that the Phantom tried to strike Veto but he missed and went for his hoverboard. He grabbed it, activated it, and soon flew off. He soon dodged fireballs coming from Halphas. "You want me? You got me." said Veto. He soon rushed toward Halphas and then jumped toward him, punching him. The area around the two was covered in smoke as Rachel soon took Ballista behind a mine cart.   

Veto soon punched Halphas in the gut and delivered a strong right hook to his face. Halphas soon fired a giant ball of ice at Veto who blocked it by an emerald green energy shield. Airon and Seeker soon jumped behind and in front ,respectively, of Veto. The humanoid Phantom tried to strike down Veto but was grabbed and was thrown over his shoulder and into Seeker. Zane ,who had long since got deactivated Nano Form, watched the fight.

Zane knew that he had to help being that he was thinking of a plan. He didn't noticed that Airon had recovered and watched the teen sneaked back into the building. He soon turned to see Veto fighting against Halphas, equally. He soon walked into the building and looked around. Zane ,who was currently intangible, smiled as he said,"It's time to Power up.". Airon soon smashed a table and he shouted,"I know you're here Alvarez! Come and face me!".

Unknown to Airon, Zane ,who is a form, was currently hiding up in the ceiling. He flew toward Airon, releasing a pink dust.  Airon noticed this being that he soon said,"Don't think that this will stop me! It's just dust.". The dust soon turned into a fist with Zane's voice saying,"Don't mess with the power of dust.". Airon was soon punched out of the house and was asleep thanks to the dust having the ability to knock out people.

Zane stood there in Fairy Form being that it was one of the forms that got an upgrade thanks to the Zenith Core. This form is now six feet tall and clearly takes advantage with his androgynous design with his new appearance. It’s also because of Zane being an Eazairvian due to him not being male and female aka being bigender. Zane doesn’t mind it too much being that he’s still Zane and that won’t change with his gender.

He uses male pronouns while in Fairy Form despite being clearly female much to the confusion of others. His body looks to be made out of crystal or ice with it being a steel gray color. His body is slender yet muscular figure and has a hourglass figure. His height is shown with his long arms and legs. He has five fingers and toes. He still has blond hair being that it got a serious haircut being that he now has a pixie cut with purple tips.

His face is thin and delicate, formed out of the same smooth crystal like ice body. His sapphire blue eyes are almond shaped with them glowing. He has highly feminine eyelashes, purple skull shaped markings on his cheeks, and his lips are covered by sapphire blue with glitter. His eyes are covered black mascara that looked demonic. He has pointed elf like ears with both of them having skull shaped earrings danging from them.

He still has his purple fairy-like wings sticking out of his back being that they’re now bigger, fitting his new size. He wears a sleeveless black leather studded vest with a red long sleeved one strap shirt, exposing his right shoulder and black bra strap. Part of his chest is shown. He wears black jeans with them looking ripped and worn out with two silver chains danging from the sides. The rips in his jeans exposes the fishnet stockings underneath them.

He wears two black spiked wristbands around his wrists and black heavy combat boots with two white belt like straps to them. Zane flew out with him saying with a cheeky British accent,"One down.". Seeker was about to bite down on him being that her attack was dodged and she was blasted by Zane's laser beams. She was knocked out with Zane soon looking at the two Phantoms. He grinned as Halphas tried to burn Veto.

However like every attack that he tried to hit the armored bounty hunter with, he dodged and strike back. Halphas soon released a powerful burst of ice from his body, trapping Veto inside of it. The bounty hunter smiled as he said,"To think that I would have a chance to kill the last of a species just like me. This is going to be good.". He soon got blasted in the back by red Nether and Halphas turned to see both Airon and Seeker behind him. "So are you two betray me or what?" said Halphas.

Seeker soon multiplied as Halphas noticed that her eyes were pink. "Ah. Mind control. I guess Zero must have gotten to you." said Halphas. He soon undid one of his steel bands, releasing a powerful burst of fire from his hand. The felines were all burned being that Halphas soon had Airon on his back, causing him to lose his balance. "Do it now Rae!" shouted Zane's voice. Airon and Halphas were soon blasted by Ballista's energy pistol with the ice prison was gone.

It had melted by Zane's laser vision. Veto turned to see Rachel and Zane with the bounty hunter saying,"I told you to stay away.". Zane rolled his eyes as he said,"And you were doing such a such good job at it .". "Yeah. I mean you were going to lose in due time anyway. Let us help. We can fight I promise" said Rachel. Veto looked at Ballista who was soon blasted by both fire and ice, causing an explosion and swallowed her. "Fine." said Veto.

Zane pointed to a nearby water tower as he said,"Okay then Veto. So that energy of yours, can it cut things?". Veto nodded as he jumped toward the tower. Rachel looked at Zane with her saying,"So what are you going to do Princess?". Zane fired an energy blast nearby her as he said with his eyes glowing,"Make your training much WORSE if you call me princess again Rae. Just stay safe and blast those two with your strongest attack if they wake up.".

She nodded as she held her staff with Zane saying,"Okay. Time to begin.". He flew toward the two bounty hunters and slammed them into where Seeker was sent flying earlier. "Now Veto!" shouted Zane. The bounty hunter nodded as he broke the stilts that was holding the tower and it landed on the trio of bounty hunters. The water tower soon exploded with Zane releasing a powerful breath of ice, freezing the water and hunters inside of the ice.

Veto smiled as he said,"That was an interesting plan Zero. Time to take these three to serve their time in prison.". He soon pulled a gun like device with a twelve sided dice inside of it as Zane said,"That's an Alliance capture device and dimension hoping device. It's pretty hard to get since the Alliance keeps up locked up. How did you get that?". Veto smiled as he said,"Lets just say that I know your brother and you're just as good in the field as he is. You and your team are good.".

The dice soon went toward the trio and during its travel, it expanded in size. It soon swallowed them up and trapping the trio inside of it. The dice soon shrink back to normal as Zane deactivated Fairy Form. The dice was placed in an compartment on his belt as Veto said,"I guess Parker was right about the watch being made for you and you alone. I thought he was kidding but who know what goes through his head sometimes".

Rachel smiled as she said,"Yeah. Parker wanted to make sure this Zero didn't die and don't worry so much. He's in good hands.". She punched Zane in the stomach with him saying,"Thanks Rae and since you're so supportive, I'll only add fifty push-ups to your training.". Rachel's eyes widened as Veto laughed. "Just like your grandmother. She's a real sadist when it comes to training. Take this for now and do what you will with it." said Veto.

He soon handed Rachel his hoverboard with her saying,"Thanks. I know that you said that you need this to get off the planet but I'm guessing that you were lying.". "You really can't keep a secret from telepaths. Zero told you this right?" said Veto. "Yep but we're loyal." said Zane. The two males shook hands as Veto put on his helmet, disappearing in a green light along with Ballista. "So do you think that we'll ever get a normal day in Cypress Park?" said Rachel. "Probably not." said Zane, shrugging.

Above the planet, Basalt watched the whole thing. He growled as he said,"I was betray by the duo of Ballista and Veto. Zero, we'll face off real soon.". A new screen soon appeared near him with him saying,"This time, I'll be using another person to see if you're worth my time. You are stronger than the previous Zeroes before you but nothing will stop me when I'm serious.". He laughed manically as his healing was going smoothly.

Next Time,
Who is the next person that Basalt is going to use to test Zane? Do we know this person? Is it friend or foe? What is up with Rachel? Is she hiding something? And why is Zane being a sadist when it comes to training? This and more next time on Zero!