I'm too sleepy to embarrass myself with a silly author's note. This chapter contains Harlock having an obvious man-crush and Zero further abusing children. Woo!


How many times did Harlock need to tell everyone to always go out with a communicator? This was starting to become less irritating and more worrisome.

"Sorry, Captain," Kei sighed through her own communicator. At least she was reliable. "I can't find either of them."

"Have you asked around town?" Harlock frowned. They'd already been looking for three hours, but Rebi and Tadashi had apparently just dropped off the map. Sure the two had a habit of disappearing, but usually not for this long.

"I did," Kei answered. "And a few people said they'd seen them, but no one knows where they went."

The men on the bridge looked to their captain expectantly until he gave in with an inaudible sigh. "I suppose we'll all need to go out and search."

A few stifled groans as they all shuffled out toward the dusty town. It could have been a trap to lure them out, but the captain didn't care. He would get his youngest crewmen back.

There wasn't much to search though, no obvious trails or signs. He knew they'd gone to the market district while he and Tochiro had looked into a few repairs, but they hadn't communicated since parting ways hours before.

This planet had short revolution, and it was already night as they scanned the mostly-empty streets. Maybe it would have been better if a kidnapper had left a trail, because Harlock was simply at a loss as to where to search.

Luckily, he didn't need to bother. A small bundle of fur darted past his feet and raced down an alley. "I thought maybe Mi-kun would be able to find Rebi for us," Dr. Ban shrugged as he stepped up behind the captain.

Harlock didn't need further prompting, and he briskly took off after the feline. Something felt horribly wrong about the whole ordeal. His chest was itching with an anxiety that even seeing Emeraldas kneeling in front of the lost girl couldn't ease.

"Rebi," he called before adding a slow "Emeraldas?" He hadn't known she'd been in this area, and there was an odd anger to her eyes. She didn't seem to be comforting the young girl. It looked more like an interrogation.

"Harlock," the red-head snapped in greeting. Rebi ran to him, taking hold of his hand and hiding herself behind his leg. Before he could ask any questions, Emeraldas continued sharply. "He's already gone. I told you this would happen, Harlock. I told you not to leave him there."

"You're not talking about Tadashi," he frowned.

"Brother!" Rebi wailed.

"No," the female captain hissed. "I'm referring to Zero."

What was going on? Harlock hadn't seen Zero in over three years. Not since he'd taken the older man back to Earth.

"Would you mind giving me an explanation before you start making accusations?" he demanded. "I don't understand what you're so upset about. Where's Tadashi?"

She crossed her arms over her chest, attempting to stare the other captain down. "I don't know where he is, but I know who he's with."

"…Zero?" Harlock inferred. "You're not making any sense."

"You remember, don't you? You dropped him off on Earth, left him to the government, but he wasn't well. There was something very off with him – I told you there was. I told you to put him in an asylum at the very least."

Of course Harlock remembered that. They'd nearly gone to blows over the subject. Probably would have if Tochiro hadn't stopped them.

Zero deserved better than being locked in a sanitized prison, but there was no one on Earth to take care of him. There was no one left for him. The best Harlock could do for the quiet, broken man was to leave him in the hands of the government he'd defended for so long. Then again, maybe it would have been better to kill him, but it wouldn't have been right.

"So what happened?" he questioned, feeling tired.

"He's completely lost it," she growled. "I've been trying to track him for weeks since he took Maetel."

The itch in his chest grew into a hollow pain. "Took?" he echoed

"The conductor told me. He knocked her out with something and just took her away. Barely left a trace, so I can't find him. I expected him to be somewhere in this area, so I stuck around and caught a sign of a little firefly ship that I put a tracking signal on. Of course it disappeared not too long after he landed here."

"But Zero would never hurt her. Maybe he just needed her help."

"He kidnapped Maetel and another passenger aboard the 999. Now he's taken one of your crew. Don't kid yourself, Harlock. I dug out his medical reports. He's labeled as unstable and dangerous."

That was news to Harlock. Zero really hadn't recovered? It just didn't seem possible, none of it. "You're so sure it was him?" the male asked slowly.

"It was, Captain," Rebi sniffled, wiping the messy tears from her face. "H-he took Brother."

"Did you see him?"

"I-I didn't see him take Brother, but I did see him. I thought he was sick because he was all white and shaking. I asked him if he was okay. I guess he didn't hear me cause he didn't answer, but he kept looking at Brother. I-it's all my-my fault!"

She began to sob again, racking her small frame with each gasping breath. Her cat wormed back and forth across her legs as though trying to distract her. "You shouldn't talk to strangers, Rebi," Harlock scolded lightly. Luckily Dr. Ban arrived to gather the crying girl up. Tochiro followed at his heels.

"Emeraldas?" the short man gawked.

"Something's come up," Harlock interrupted. "We won't be leaving this area yet."

"Huh? What is it?" He glanced around. "Did we find Tadashi?"

No one answered. The captain's thoughts were lost to the past, to the last time he'd seen the Independent. Of course there'd been something wrong with Zero. After all he'd been through, it only made sense. He'd been off, but Harlock had been assured it was just a bad case of PTSD that would fade soon enough.

The older captain had been murmuring to himself while on the Death Shadow, but when they arrived at the government's offices he'd spoken clearly, his eyes still dull. "Harlock," he'd smiled. "Since we're on Earth, would you like to meet my wife?"

They sat together in the government's massive lobby. The area felt secluded and empty despite the dozens of other people scurrying around it. The lighting and walls were a blinding, stale white that only further brought out the raw disturbances in the elder captain's face.

"Zero…" The pirate was at a loss for words.

"Or maybe that's a bad idea. She'd probably get onto me for not telling her beforehand. Always likes to have things ready for company." He laughed softly. "I'm sure she'd like you though. She's always been fond of the people that keep me out of trouble. But you wouldn't want to deal with me just fawning over the baby."

"Zero!" Harlock snapped him from his daze. "Don't give up on reality. Look at me."

"W-what?" Zero blinked as his hand began twitching unnaturally. "Oh…I-I…" He brought the other up to hold it in place. "Damn, I'm sorry. I just keep spacing out."

The pirate hid a sigh. "You're going to be fine. You know those government brats love you. I bet they'll even fix your ship up."

The Independent's gaze fell. "I don't…want my ship. I want them. I just want them back. I want to be happy."

"Would you like for me to lie to you?" Harlock offered. There was simply no way to comfort him with the truth.

"What sort of lie?"

"That it's going to be alright. It'll stop hurting."

Zero wheezed a dark laugh. "My chest hurts so much that it's painful to breathe. I've been through this before, but I don't think I can do it again. There's no one left. They just…left me behind."

"I'm sorry." There was nothing more the pirate could think to say. He stood. It was time he left. There was nothing more he could do for his friend. "Don't fight the people that try to help you. You can't get anywhere if you give up completely."

He turned to leave, but a hand gripping his wrist stopped him. Looking back, he saw Zero staring lifelessly at the floor. "You're leaving me too," the elder whispered. "But that's good. Live, Harlock."

"Be happy, Zero." It was obvious that the elder man holding back tears, trying to keep himself composed so that Harlock wouldn't see him break down. He wanted to keep his pride, to still be that strong, respected rival. The pirate had to turn away away, certain that Zero was now crying behind him.

It just didn't feel right.

"You're leaving me too."

Yes, he was, and there was nothing good about it.


Tadashi wasn't sure what became of Maetel, and that scared him even more. Zero undid the chain and took him to a bedroom that he was told was his. It was a simple windowless room. The door was firmly bolted. Of course there would be no escape.

Like the living room, the tan walls of his room held blotches of white and blue paint. He thought of Maetel's blood, splattered against the floor and walls. It was no wonder then.

Without much else to do, he cleaned off the drying blood in the small bathroom. His skin felt chilled, and he couldn't keep his hands from shaking. He wanted to throw up, and he wanted to cry. But his stomach was empty. He'd run out of tears. He curled up in the neat little bed and tried to stop the gory scene from playing over and over again in his head.

He never found sleep completely, though he reached the fleeting edge of it. Zero returned then, freshly bathed and looking closer to a natural happiness. "How are you feeling, little one?" he questioned. "You didn't eat much."

Tadashi simply stared at him as he knelt beside the bed. What was going on in this psychopaths head? Did he even remember what had happened?

The small pirate flinched away as Zero's hand came up. Even with how gentle the touch was, he still stayed tensed under it. But the madman simply brushed his bangs from his face and felt his forehead. "You don't seem sick," he offered. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Y-yeah," Tadashi managed. He had to do like Maetel had said. He had to at least not go against Zero. Otherwise her death would have been for nothing.

"Then just tell me if you decide you want something to eat. I'll be in my room."

Each time the pirate attempted to speak, it caught in his throat. It wasn't until Zero was at the door that he finally stuttered his question. "H-how can I get you if the door's locked?"

"Oh, I'll leave it unlocked for you," Zero smiled. "Go ahead and get yourself something from the kitchen if you'd like." He nodded and left to go down the hall.

Tadashi waited for the sound of a door closing before he moved. His heart was hammering in his ears. There would be knives in the kitchen. There might even be a gun somewhere around the house. If he just waited until Zero was asleep. If he could just be quiet enough.

He tried to keep his breathing quiet as he moved out into the house. He was too scared to try the front door. There could have been an alarm, and it wasn't as though he had anywhere to escape to. He wasn't even sure where he was.

The back door was sliding glass, leading out into a small backyard. This door could have had an alarm too, and even if it didn't, there was a massive black beast of a dog on the other side to keep him from even hoping. It looked more wolf than dog, and a thick collar was set in its bristly fur, chaining it to a post in the ground. He swallowed his breath, terrified that it would wake up and break through the glass doors to get to him.

As it turned out, the living room he'd called a living room was actually the dining room. The real living room was a bit larger and sparsely furnished like the rest of the house. The door to the dining room itself was closed. When his eyes set on it, he felt himself growing dizzy. A morbid curiosity told him to check and see if Maetel was still there, but he pushed it from his mind and rushed into the kitchen.

It was a nice, cozy area. There wasn't anything particularly special about it, and it wasn't nearly as well stocked as his station back on the Arcadia, but there was a knife drawer. He couldn't decide which size to take. A large one would be easy to grab and knock from his hand. A small one wouldn't do much damage.

But even a small knife to the throat would be enough, just like with Maetel. Tadashi tried not to think about the act itself. Even with Zero, even with a person who truly deserved to die, killing a human seemed wrong. But he had to. He'd have to use a brutal medieval weapon and feel the blood on his hands. There was simply no other choice.

He put the handle of the knife in his pocket and raced back to his room. After hiding the weapon under his mattress, he curled up under the covers and tried to feel warm.

He waited, forcing himself to stay awake even as he began to feel exhaustion creeping up. There was no way to judge the time from his room. When he'd looked outside before, it had been dusk. Now he had no windows or clocks, and he was too scared to leave early.

He lay there, trying to steady his breathing and heartbeat. He'd never been more nervous. There was no one to come to his rescue, no one to back him up. Even when he'd faced Harlock on his own, he hadn't been this afraid. The captain was at least sane. Zero was unpredictable.

Finally, when he was sure he would burst from the pressure, he blanked his mind. If he didn't think, he couldn't be scared. Pushing himself on, he grabbed the knife and slipped out into the hall. Every tiny noise seemed deafening in his ears. Zero was bound to walk out of his room at any time, and he'd somehow manage to spot the knife hidden in the pirate's back pocket.

All the lights in the house were still on, but it was so dark out that Tadashi couldn't see the dog in the backyard. As he reached the insane man's door, he almost burst into nervous laughter. What if the door was locked? What if he'd gone through all this for nothing? With the hopeful thought in mind, he tried the doorknob.

It turned, and the door drifted inward.

He had to keep his hand over his mouth to keep his wheezing from being too loud. It was difficult to see any details of the room with the absence of light, but what did spill in from the doorway illuminated Zero's sleeping form.

The man twitched every few seconds as though fighting a bad dream. He lay on his stomach, seeming to sigh with each slow breath. He looked harmless enough as he slept, and Tadashi was tempted to just rush forward and plunge the knife without further thought. He wanted to kill Zero. He did, but…

He crept forward, unsure why his eyes were blurring with tears. The knife found its way to his trembling hand. Slowly, he brought it level with the exposed front of the man's neck. He couldn't keep a soft whimper from escaping him as he plunged the knife forward. Unable to look, he shut his eyes and turned away.

Maybe it was the adrenaline that kept him from feeling anything. He heard a sickening snap. That couldn't have been the right noise, he thought, prying his eyes open.

A stifled scream left his throat, startling the owner of the eyes boring into him. Zero blinked back into his reality, confused.

The knife fell silently to the carpet. Zero hadn't even seen it. He was too concerned with the unnatural way Tadashi's arm was bending at the elbow. The boy too was rather concerned with it, and he suddenly felt as though his legs were going to drop out from under him.

"Oh, no, not again," Zero gasped, grabbing the pirate before he could faint to the floor. "Come here, little one. Oh, I'm sure that hurts. I'm so sorry." He hauled the boy up and laid him down on the pillows. "That was one of those things they taught us at the academy, and I guess I was dreaming about it or something. I did the same thing to Marina once. Oh, I'm so sorry. How stupid of me. Don't look at it, alright? You're going to be okay. I've got you, little one."

He was fretting and rambling, trying desperately to soothe the shaking boy. Tadashi hadn't felt any pain until he'd looked at the arm. Then the sharp agony had begun, increasing due to the unending trembling of his limbs.

Zero rushed from the room then flicked on the lights as he returned a minute later. He placed something warm and soft by Tadashi's nose before sitting back on the bed to search through his first aid kit. "I thought one of the pups might help take your mind off things," the man smiled, looking somewhat embarrassed. "It's still sleeping though. They're lazy little things, just like their dad."

Tadashi slowly realized the fluff ball in front of his face was a dog that couldn't have been more than a month old. It was a soft gray color, somewhat bristly like the dog outside had been. He brought his good hand up and began petting the sleeping form. "There are…puppies here?"

"Hm? Of course – Black and Domino's pups. I told you about them. They've just been a bit too young up til now to leave the shed, and you…" Zero's words faded as he tried to piece something together. Finally he gave up, shaking his head. "But you should try naming them. You know I'm awful with names."

Oh, the shed. He'd seen it out back, but he hadn't thought much of it. So there were more dogs than the one in the yard. "Did you name Black and Domino?" he asked. If he kept Zero occupied with questions, maybe he wouldn't ask about why Tadashi had been in his room with a knife. And maybe the boy could forget about the agony pulsing out from his splintered limb.

"No…you named them… You must be feeling pretty bad. I'm so sorry."

"I'm-" He cut off with a sharp breath of pain as his arm was moved. The little gray dog turned and began groggily biting the boy's nose.

"Oh, sorry. I just needed to get the painkiller injected. Just give it a second." He offered a shy smile. "Hm, I think that one likes you."

Tadashi wasn't sure what to think at this point. Zero was back to being completely nonthreatening, but his delusions were still intact. He could still snap at any moment. Maetel had said as long as Tadashi went along with being Zero's kid, he'd be fine. And if he kept it up for long enough, maybe the captain still could find him. Maybe.

He searched for another question as he scratched behind the pup's pointed ear, while the dog simply continued to chew lightly on his nose. By this point the painkiller had kicked in, and his entire right arm was numb. "Hey, who's Marina?" he asked finally.

"Who?"

"I dunno - Marina. You said something earlier about how you'd done this to her too."

"Are you sure? I don't know anyone with that name."

Tadashi noticed the odd twitching returning to Zero's hands as he pulled out some bandages. Maybe it was best not to go any further into this subject. "I guess I just misheard you then."

"I guess so."

The knife lay on the floor beneath them, having been kicked under the bed as Zero had run from the room. He hadn't seen it. He was just happy his boy finally seemed willing to talk to him. Maybe things were looking up. Now he just needed to find out where his wife had disappeared to.


You can't have a story about a murderous sociopath without cute animals!