This chapter contains eye trauma, graphic depictions of violence, chest trauma, weapons and possession. Let me know if anything needs to be up here in the warnings.

Being the leader of all Dark Matter ever, Zero was stronger than all other Dark Matter. even in its weakest state, it was strong enough to have an entire army on their knees,
given that it was approached without either of the three weapons that could defeat it. At full power, it could swallow entire planets whole in darkness. If it ever possessed
someone, it was virtually impossible to force it from someone's body.
So naturally, the problem Ribbon faced was so much worse than she had expected.

The inside of the palace was a mess, to say the least. Black acid dripped from the ceiling and walls and melted any brick it came into contact with. Shattered glass was
scattered across the ground from windows that had suffered Zero's wrath. Bits of the wall and floor were charred from energy blasts, and clouds of darkness floated about.

In the middle of all this was a boy who could be no older than eighteen.
His appearance reminded Ribbon of a spider, as six hands floated at his sides. His white hair was messy and two orange, mandible like horns protruded from the sides of his
head. He wore desaturated shades of green, and a scarf rested around his neck. Another set of eyes rested on his forehead, which had turned blood red from possession. A halo
floated over his head and Zero Two's wings jutted out from his back. An area of his chest was bandaged, and she wondered what happened to it. His first set of eyes were closed in sleep, and it was abundantly clear that Zero had taken over.

Zero's eyes flickered to her.

"So we meet again, Your Highness." It said softly. Its speech was layered with two people's voices, one high pitched and childlike, and one deeper. She charged her crystal
gun.

"Leave him." She thundered. It made her blood boil to see someone's body being used by this thing. Zero frowned.

"I already made him a promise. Once I have all my power back, I will return his body to him. And now I will promise the same thing to you, dear Ribbon." Zero said softly. She huffed. Did this thing take pleasure from other's suffering?

"I'm only giving you once chance to surrender. If you refuse, we'll have a repeat of last time." She hissed. Its face fell.

"I'm so sorry. I can't." Her eyes narrowed.

"Fine! So be it!" She charged a shot and fired at its chest. It effortlessly floated out of the way and summoned an array of bullets and fired. She cartwheeled and slid to a
stop, firing several smaller crystals aimed at its eye, It wrapped its wings around itself and blocked them, though it winced on contact with them. Her attention turned to a
nearby window, and she leapt through it.
The glass shattered around her and fell to the ground in a shining array. She took to the skies and looked over her shoulder.

An energy blast knocked out a wall and Zero rose from the smoke, soaring after her in hot pursuit. She stopped high above the palace and split the crystal into several guns. With a motion of her hand, a volley of shards bombarded the demon in a glowing barrage. Zero folded it's wings and dodged most of the bullets, though one clipped its wing. It stopped at equal height from her, and darkness began to gather around its arms. It reached for the sky and muttered something, and shadowy bullets began to form in a pattern around it. Energy balls began to form too, and completed the pattern. It was just as lovely as it was terrifying. It swung its arm down, and the storm of bullets fired at her at full speed. She drew a deep breath and sped
toward them, with her shard guns in tow.

She maneuvered through the hailstorm and shot any bullets in her way out of the sky with her shard guns. Zero drifted back and began to summon a new bombardment. Ribbon formed
the shard guns into one and fired a single charged shot. Zero quickly darted to the left, but it lost concentration and the barrage disappeared. Seeing her chance, she split the
shard guns into many again and opened fire.
Zero curled up into a ball and once again let its wings take the fall. However, this left its wings nearly destroyed, and it plummeted to the ground. She charged another shot
and fired into its chest.
The glowing ball of light pierced Zero and sent it flying, and it crashed through the palace's roof in its landing. A trail of smoke stained the otherwise pure night. She followed it to where it landed. She landed gently on the ground.

Dust had gathered in the room, making it impossible to see what had happened. She beat her wings.

It had landed in what seemed to be the throne room. A torn red carpet paved the middle of the room, and paintings of past rulers hung from the walls. Behind the throne was a gilded mirror that had long since been broken. In the center of the room, Zero struggled to stand. She stood in front of it.
A spot on Zero's chest glowed blue from where she hit it. It clutched at its wound and quaked in pain. Zero crackled with dark energy.

In that moment, it looked up at her.
Zero's eyes were now white, and the second set of eyes seemed to have gone back to normal. they glowed a soft orange. It seemed that Zero had momentarily lost control.

"Who are you?" He choked out.

Ribbon's heart leapt. She swallowed hard.

"Listen to me!" She shouted. She wasn't sure if calling out would work, but it was worth a try. "You and Zero are not the same! You don't have to be it's puppet anymore! If
you try hard enough, you might be able to break free!" The boy stared at the ground. His hands curled into fists and something streamed down his face.

"A puppet, huh?" He smiled. Why was he smiling? She took a step back.

"Isn't that funny?" He chuckled. Ribbon was absolutely baffled at why he would be smiling.

"Look, you even hit me in the same place." His hands fell down to the glowing spot on his chest. He turned to her.

"What's your name?" His voice was filled with pain, but not the physical sort.

"Ribbon..." She said slowly. He nodded.

"Listen to me, Ribbon." He trembled in pain, but he still seemed to be fighting for control.

"There is someone in the lower world. His name is Kirby. Leave and seek him out. He'll know what to do. Just, please don't be a fool and sacrifice yourself for no reason!" His eyes started to flicker red again. And then she was transported back in time, on Pop Star. Back to when her eyes were
filled with tears and she held a tiny shard in her hands. Even when everything seemed hopeless, someone was always at her side. She squeezed the crystal gun.

Now it seemed to be her turn.

"No! Absolutely not! I'm not going to let you suffer by yourself here! Hang on, okay? I promise I'll save you!" Hot tears rolled down her cheeks and slid down her chin, and she couldn't stop no matter how hard she tried. The boy seemed very surprised, but all too soon control was seized from him again. He stumbled and went limp, and then stood up straight.

"You just don't give up, do you?"

Something sparkled on Zero's cheek.

"Wow, what a lucky person."