"Alright guys, we're about 15 minutes out. Get any last minute preparations done." Haji spoke over their headsets.

Zero could see Two unbuckle from his seat and reach for his suitcase. He snapped open the two locks and opened it up. Zero craned his head a little to see what he was pulling out. It was hard to see in the very dim light they had(and Two's back was to him), but Two was putting something on over his arms.

After a few minutes he turned around completely outfitted.

"Whoa." Zero said in awe.

Two: Aside from One, he is the most tenured member of the team as well as the former ace. Before the implementation of the 'Zero' role, the 'Two' role was the second strongest member on the team and therefore was seen as the one who could make it happen when it counted. His ability, 'Righteous Flames', allows him to generate flames from any pore on his body. Due to this, Two has more pores on his body than a normal person does - he has additional pores on his palms and the soles of his feet.

"What is that?!" Zero yelled out to Two as he stared at the contraptions around his arms.

Two stared at him for a minute, pondering if he should even address him.

"Hm. I suppose if we're going to be working together you need to understand." He stepped closer so that Zero could get a better look.

Around his wrist and forearm(on both arms) were several canisters wrapped completely around like a revolver. He had metal knuckles on each hand as well. There was a sleeve that ran underneath the contraption that separated his skin from the device.

"My ability allows me to generate flames as you've seen. However, when it comes into contact with the oxygen around us they can become a bit wild. Which isn't always a problem, but when working in a team setting it could be. So I had this developed. There's a tiny tube that feeds from under the device directly into my body. I can feed the flames into the canisters through the tubes and shoot them off as explosive projectiles. I always carry extras to reload."

He flexed his hand out. "And the knuckles can be heated up by my flames without melting or hurting myself."

"That's…pretty awesome."

"Hm. The same technology can be applied to other weapons as well." He went back to the suitcase and pulled out a short katana. But it was modified - the blade had a jagged edge with gaps in it and the hilt was riddled with holes.

"All I have to do is grab the hilt and pour my flames into it. Just like the canisters, it's built to withstand even the highest temperature of my flames."

Zero hadn't realized how smart and thoughtful Two really was. He was thinking of the best way to work with his team while also contributing.

"I can't wait to see it in action." Zero said with a smile, hopeful that they could smooth things over finally.

Two turned around and walked back to his seat. "Buckle up. We're about to land."

The helicopter began to descend. Where, they had no idea.

*THUMP* The sudden impact of the helicopter landing on the ground shook them up.

"We're here. Let's go." Haji said.

Both doors slid open and they finally got a look at the outside world. They had landed in open grassy plains. Zero stepped out of the helicopter and took in the sights.

The plains seem to stretch for miles. The grass was high enough that it almost touched his knees. In the distance he could make out some sizable hills that were surrounded by forests. Adjacent to that were some rather large cliffs that had trees lined along their faces.

It's actually beautiful out here, Zero thought to himself.

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Haji came around from the cockpit and approached them as Two exited as well.

"Listen up you two. The last known location of the Reaper pack was about 8 clicks that way," he said as he pointed towards the forest at the base of one of the cliffs.

Two interjected, "8 clicks? Then why drop us so far, Sgt?"

"We have little to no information on this pack. Usually it wouldn't be a problem, but after that variant we ran into I don't wanna take any chances. We don't know what they're capable of so it's better to go in on foot for a quieter approach."

Two nodded.

"Like I was saying, you'll need to head in that direction. You guys have about 3 or 4 more hours of sunlight left. As the leader on this one, Two, I'll leave it to you rather you guys wait till nightfall or not to strike. But no matter what - you are to collect as much data as possible before making a move. Data collection is more important than ever right now."

"Understood." Two and Zero said in unison.

Haji tossed them both an ear piece. "Here, you can keep in touch with each other with these. We'll wait here with the helicopter so I should be able to keep in touch with you for up to 20 klicks. Do you have the map, Two?"

"Yes, sir." He patted one of his utility pouches.

"Good. Track them as far as you need to, but be VERY mindful of your location. There's a black out zone out there. Don't get caught in it. Once the mission is complete just send up a flare and we'll come get you. Now get started."

"Sir." Two tightened his backpack and began walking towards the base of the cliff in the distance. "Come on." He said to Zero without turning around.

"Ok." Zero followed behind. He then remembered the necklace Five gave him that was still in his pocket. He pulled it out and placed it around his neck, tucking the pendant in his shirt out of view.

"Keep in mind that if a period of 48 hours pass with zero contact I will be coming in after you!" Haji yelled after them.

They had been walking for about 30 minutes.

And neither one of them had said a word.

This is getting uncomfortable, thought Zero. He looked at Two's back which he had been staring at the whole time. Two was keeping a steady pace several feet away from Zero and hadn't once turned to check on him.

Zero looked around the tall grassy plain. Even without them talking, it was so quiet.

"It's strange that there aren't any animals around." Zero said, breaking the silence.

No response.

"I mean, there should at least be some birds flying overhead or something."

No response.

This might be the hardest part of the mission, thought Zero.

Another 20 minutes passed by and the cliff had started to become a little more than a dot in the distance. But they still had a walk ahead of them. It might not be so bad if Two would actually talk to him - but the silence made him feel every passing second.

"You know.." Zero started. "I could get us there almost immediately with Chronos Trigger."

"...shut up…."

"You would just have to either jump on my back or hold my hand so that-"

"Shut up!" Two's voice echoed through the empty field. Zero was stunned.

Two finally stopped walking and turned to face Zero. "Can you not take a hint? Is it that hard for you to understand?"

Zero was a little shaken. "Understand what?"

Two stepped closer to Zero so he was only inches from him. "I. Don't. Like. You."

He didn't know how to respond. It wasn't like he didn't know that, but to hear him say it out loud…

"You annoy me. You being on this team annoys me. Your very EXISTENCE has become an annoyance to me!"

Two's emotional outburst had taken Zero by surprise. Usually he was very quiet, sullen, or just blunt. But it wasn't often that he displayed high levels of emotions. However Zero could see that there was rage behind his eyes. Rage that had probably been simmering ever since he arrived.

But Zero was starting to reach his breaking point too.

"But why?! I never did anything to you. You barely even know me!" Zero took a step towards Two not backing down.

"I don't WANT to get to know you. There's not a damn thing I wanna know about you. If you weren't forced on me, you wouldn't even be here with me right now. I don't need you."

"What is your deal exactly? Ever since I got here you've just treated me like shit. You're the only one that hasn't even tried to like me! I don't even understand-"

Two reached out and grabbed Zero by his shirt collar. "YOU FUCKING KILLED MY BEST FRIEND!"

Zero's eyes widened. Best friend? They…were best friends?

Two's eyes were starting to gloss over. "I begged him…I begged Sadiki to let me go on the mission with Zero and One to deal with YOU. But they wouldn't let me. Said that it was 'essential' for me to stay behind in case something happened to Alpha while they were gone. Well something did happen. But it wasn't at Alpha."

He lightly shoved Zero away, releasing his grip on him.

"I'll never forgive you. The others might try to like you. They may even try to forget what you did. But I never will. If I get the chance to, I'll gladly leave you to die out here."

Those words hung in the air as Two and Zero stared each other down.

Deep down Zero knew Two's hatred was justified. By all rights the other Zero only died because of him. But, he was tired of being the target of people's hatred. He could feel the fury he felt when he found out about Nora rising up inside him.

He recomposed himself and took a few steps towards Two so that he was right at him. He looked up into his fiery eyes.

"Just fucking try it."

Two was a bit surprised by Zero's defiance but refused to give in to it. He simply turned and continued walking towards the cliff.

They didn't speak another word to each other the whole way.