Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Zero knew this was bad. More so than the others, Two seemed to hold something deeper against him.

And he was about to use his face as an outlet.

"W-Wait, I'm not ready!" Zero held his hands out towards Two in protest.

Two said nothing in return. Instead he dashed forward, quickly trying to close the space between them. The closer he got, the higher the temperature seemed to rise. Zero had to create distance and fast. Zero jumped backwards, but Two was right on him. He didn't realize how imposing his figure was until he was only inches away. Two did a short pull back of his right fist and aimed right for Zero's head.

"Gah!" Zero dove to the side as Two swung through the air, barely missing him. Zero stumbled a bit as he tried to recover.

One was right - Azrael was faster than any opponent they came across. Even the one who eventually brought them down. If he had any ability locked away, Zero knew it had to be speed.

I can't compete with this guy, thought Zero. But if I'm faster….I can grab the advantage. Somehow.

Zero regained his composure just as Two started in his direction.

"Here goes nothing!" Zero said, clenching his teeth and launching forward in the opposite direction of Two. Please work!! Zero thought as he focused as hard as he possibly could, shutting his eyes in anticipation.

Two's mouth went agape - "This…".

The others looked on in surprise as well. "He's so-" Three started.

Zero opened his eyes to see if it worked, but the only thing he saw was Two = standing right in front of him.

"You're so…SLOW!" Two rushed forward with his arm outstretched and clotheslined Zero; *BAM* his feet flew off the ground from the force and Two immediately slammed him downward into the ground.

*THUD!*

"Guuuh…guhhh…", Zero fought for air as pain flooded his body. He quickly turned over on all fours and started violently coughing.

Two stood over him with a disapproving look. "So. This is the speed that you're known for huh. This is the speed…that killed Zero."

He violently kicked Zero in the side and sent him flying across the room, tumbling several times before sliding to a stop.

I..I can't breathe, thought Zero. He laid on the ground as he feared getting up. It felt like at least 2 of his ribs were broken or cracked from the kick. And his throat felt…oddly hot. He put his hand up to his throat and it felt like his skin was on fire.

Why didn't it work?? He thought just focusing and wanting it would make it manifest. But Two was not only able to catch up to him…he passed him entirely.

Just then, he felt a strong hand yank him up in the air. Two held him by the collar with his feet dangling above the ground. "Zero told me it was going to be a quick job. But for who, I wonder..".

Two released his grip on Zero. Just before his feet hit the ground, an uppercut connected with his chin sending him flipping backwards. *BAM*

"Ahhh!" Zero screamed out in pain. His chin now felt the same sensation as his throat. Beyond the searing pain was an intense burning. His flesh felt like someone had just rubbed a lit match against it.

Zero slammed into the ground face first. He could feel a warm liquid beginning to run down his face. Zero knew he had to get up before Two could get to him again.

Zero tried to stand but fell right back to the ground. His limbs felt like noodles and everything seemed to be spinning.

Three watched with a serious look on her face. "Two rattled his brain with that uppercut. I don't know if he'll be able to keep going like this…"

"He doesn't have a choice but to." One said softly.

Zero was able to get to his feet, but staying upright was proving to be a challenge.

I can't…..I can barely even think right now, Zero thought to himself. Azrael was the monster. The one who could break a person within seconds. He…was nothing. Just a voice that was inside that body. He had no special training. No special weapons. Just a flesh and bone body that was starting to come apart.

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Two approached the off balanced Zero and stood in front of him. Zero looked up at him and clenched his teeth.

I fucking hate this guy, he thought. Zero finally got completely upright and attempted to raise his arms to fight back. But, Two wasn't interested in giving him a chance to.

He decked Zero with a right, sending him leaning backwards - however Two snatched his collar once more to prevent him from falling. That's when the beating truly began.

Jab.

Jab.

Hook.

Jab.

Uppercut.

Blood. Pain. Burning. So much burning. Zero was starting to lose consciousness.

Five watched on with a fixed glare as Two beat Zero senseless.

Two's punches are far from normal, Five thought. He increases his body temperature past what is considered safe for the common person. Everything he touches is burned by his sheer body heat. If he wanted to….he could go much further than this.

Five tightened both of his fists. "Make him pay, Two."

Two connected punch after punch with Zero's face. Blood splattered on his own clothes.

*CRACK*

There went his nose. But he wasn't going to stop. He didn't want to. Zero was going to have to make him stop.

Zero was fading fast. He could see just enough to make out a fist and then all was dark again.

Haji watched the beating from afar. "Hmm. This might not last much longer."

Two sent one more powerful right that caused Zero's shirt to rip where Two was holding on. Zero was sent flying several feet away, landing on his back.

He wasn't moving aside from his body twitching.

"P-p…lease…s-sto-p.." Zero gasped out. His face was mostly swollen and was decorated with his own blood. There were various burn marks all over his body.

*Tmp* *Tmp* *Tmp* *Tmp*

Two's footsteps could be heard as he walked over to the fallen, battered Zero. He looked down upon his handy work, but showed no change in emotion. He didn't seem happy nor did he seem upset. It was like he was just carrying out a job.

"Zero was the core of our team. He was the best of us. Now he's gone."

Two knelled down by Zero. "How will you atone for this?"

Zero didn't know how to answer. Partly because of all the pain, but also because he truly didn't know. How can someone possibly pay for all the suffering he's caused as Azrael?

Two stayed silent looking at Zero for a moment. When there was no answer, he finally stood back up.

*BAM!* Two drove his foot in Zero's gut as he laid on the ground.

Zero's mouth shot open, but no sound could come out. All the air had just been kicked out of him.

*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*

Zero felt something else crack after the last kick. There was intense pain radiating from inside him. Did he puncture something?

This wasn't fair, he thought. Why even save me if they're just going to publicly me to death?? Enough. Did they ever think what it was like to ride backseat to all of that? What it felt like to be helpless to stop your body from ripping apart innocent people.

*BAM!*

Enough. That's..enough.

*BAM!*

"Enough!!" Zero threw his hands out and pushed against the incoming boot, causing Two to stumble backwards away from him.

Zero rolled over and managed to get to his knees, supporting his body by placing one hand on the ground.

"G-g-et…*wheeze*...*wheeze*....the hell off…*wheeze*..me."

Two was a bit surprised. He hadn't expected Zero to have the strength left to do even that much.

But it didn't change anything.

One had a frown on his face as he watched the fight begin to come to what appeared to be the closing act. His thoughts reflected back to Zero before his moment of death. Was there nothing he could have done back then to save him? He figured Zero had control of the situation. As he usually did. But….clearly he didn't. None of them did. He may have failed Zero as a Captain…as a friend…but, he wasn't going to fail this one too.

"So," One called out, "is this really the value of Zero?"

Zero slowly glanced in One's direction. One oddly had a half smile on his face.

"You're not done yet. Right?"

Zero didn't understand what One's angle was here. But he did know one thing.

He didn't want to die. Not yet. He was given a second chance at life and he wanted to help make up for all that he is responsible for. He wanted to know if he still had a family out there somewhere. He….wanted to feel what it's like to be a human again.

Zero looked up at the looming Two that stood only inches from him. Zero only had one thought as he looked into his eyes.

He wasn't going to let Two take that away from him. No matter what.

Two saw the look of defiance that was beginning to form on Zero's mess of a face. He didn't care.

"You can have your wants. Zero had them too. But, once you're dead none of that really matters anymore. Does it?"

Two held out two fingers pointed at Zero. He could visibly see the heat forming under the skin of his outstretched fingers.

Three suddenly yelled out, "Two, wait! Don't go that far!!"

Two ignored her.

"Melting point." A small stream of fire erupted out of the top of his fingers at high speed like a laser and was aimed at Zero's forehead. Dodging at this range would be impossible.

I'm dead, was Zero's final thought.

...…

Except, it wasn't. Zero's eyes were wide open as he watched the beam of fire coming at him. But, it was coming towards him at an alarmingly SLOW speed. It was as if the entire world had just slowed down.

Whatever it was, he didn't have time to stay and find out. He mustered up what little strength he had and threw himself to the side to roll out of the way.

*PSSSSTTTTT!*

The flame beam shot through the ground cleanly, leaving a deep hole where Zero once was.

Two blinked a few times and his face finally lit up with an emotion - shock. "Wait, where-"

He glanced around and his eyes landed on Zero on the ground several feet away. He was on one knee, staring down Two.

The others looked just as shocked.

Haji's eyebrows raised. "How did he dodge that? They were literally inches apart. Was that…really speed?"

Three was perplexed, "That makes no sense. I was watching the entire time. It's like he-"

"Vanished." One said as if he was speaking to the air. With his sight he could feel the vibrations of feet moving. Right when Two did his attack, he felt a very familiar sensation.

"One? What is it? And…", Three looked around to One's face, "why are you…shaking?"

It had finally clicked. The vanishing. The reappearing. Not being able to track him in crucial moments during the last fight.

One grinned. "Because it's all too clear to me now, Three."

"What is?"

"Zero's ability. We were completely off base. His actual power was never speed."