Let's begin a new new mini-arc.

Worthy Present

"So, have you made yourselves comfortable?" asks Narvik as he stands centrally in the room. His field of vision includes all the cells of the many prisoners.

Zero sits silently against the wall, looking at the cold wooden floor. There is also a little girl in his cell, sitting on the bench inside their prison cell with tears in her eyes. "They separated even the mother from her child. Then they don't deserve anything else." thinks the unarmed swordsman.

"I hope not! Have a good time!" laughs a big man holding the keys in his hand. He then leaves the prison room through a heavy steel door that opened from the outside after he knocked several times.

The prisoners are left alone in the large room. Enough light shines in through a barred window on the high ceiling.

Zero stands up without comment and sits down next to the little girl, who can no longer hold back her sobs. He takes off his dark coat and puts it around the girl. "Here, take this one. It's a little cold in here." he says, trying to appear friendly.

"Th-thank you." she sobs surprised. Immediately, she wraps the oversized coat around her body as tightly as she can. "B-but aren't y-you cold?" she asks. She is still partly sobbing, but it has largely subsided.

"No, you need it more. But, what's your name?" asks Zero.

"My name is Lucia... These men at-attacked m-my father..." she sobs quietly. "T-then they c-caught me." Lucia adds, stuttering.

Zero puts a hand on her head with blonde hair. He then begins to gently pet her. "Don't worry, I'll get us out of here." he says in an equally calm voice.

Lucia's sadness almost completely disappears. Only a few traces of tears remain at the edge of her eye. "But how?" she asks, slightly puzzled.

Zero pulls the hood of his coat over her head. "With a little help from the others." he replies, standing up to walk to the bars. "Do you all hear me? I have a plan to get us out of here." shouts the fighter, who continues to hide his blood-red symbol.

A man with a torn, green shirt also comes to the bars of his cell. "How are you going to do that?" he asks incredulously. His hope has been destroyed long ago.

Zero looks to his left to make eye contact. "This isn't hard. We just need to get one of them to open my cell. Then I'll get you guys out too." he says confidently. Lucia and Zero's cell is located opposite the steel door, in the middle of all the other cells.

After the announcement, more people come to the bars to listen in better. "Do you think you can do it?" asks this time the woman who was in the wagon with Zero. Next to her is the teenager Zero has also seen in there.

Lucia, who is now standing next to him, looks up at him, eagerly awaiting his answer. "Overpowering them won't be hard, but first we have to get the door open." says Zero, answering his new friend with a smile. "Do you have any ideas how we could get them to open the door?" asks Zero to the group.

In response, there is just complete silence for some time. "They probably don't really care about us... It has to be something serious." another man interjects. He seems to have been trapped for some time, judging by the state of his body.

"How about unrest?" asks the teenager next to the woman this time. The boy shows that he also wants to actively participate in the escape plan.

Zero recognizes his determination and looks to him accordingly. He also seems quite powerfully built for his age. "What are you thinking about?" he asks. His striking red eyes are on the boy.

"Some kind of noise or we'll destroy something."

"Destruction and noise..." repeats the sinister swordsman, whose sword disappeared in the Night Raid hideout. "The fire would be too dangerous." he thinks as he taps repeatedly on the ground with his boot.

"Wait. They have to open our cell, don't they?" asks Lucia again. Zero responds to her question with a clear nod. "Then can you just pretend to hit me or something?" she says to him. The little girl also looks a little apprehensive about her own idea.

"Not a bad idea." answers Zero, patting her head again to calm her down. "Let's do it that way then." he decides and the others agree by nodding as well.

…

"Help!" scream several loud voices repeatedly. The shouting sounds clearly from the cell room into the tract. The iron door opens after several metallic sounds.

"What's going on?!" a guard shouts angrily as he rushes inside. Beside him are three other armed men.

"The boy is attacking this girl!" the woman shouts in panic. Her face showing clear fear, the boy hides behind her. Her finger pointed at Zero's cell.

"What?!" asks the next guard in shock. When all the guards finally turn to look at the cell, they spot the scary boy and the little blonde girl huddled in the corner. One quickly opens the cell door and points his long spear at Zero. "Stay calm, then maybe you can continue to live!" he shouts angrily, full of energy. Secretly, he's glad he can finally attack someone.

Zero appears unimpressive from behind, but when he turns around the others recognize his murderousness in his vermillion eyes. Without wasting time, he grabs the head of the spear and thrusts the other end into the guard's chest. Breathless, he falls to the ground from the impact.

"What?! Now you're finished!" the other three guards shout, waiting at the cell door.

Zero runs to the now open door, stepping on the defeated man's chest, causing his ribs to crack. The heavy spear lies on the floor as blood begins to run from his mouth. When Zero exits his cell, the men wait, but then rush out at the same time.

"You're done." thinks Zero with a grin. He creates several glowing sparks that immediately set the men on fire on contact.

"What?! Where did that come from?" the three yell as they frantically try to put out the fire. However, the flames just won't go out. Shortly after, two precise and hard blows follow, each to one of the wardens' faces.

Zero attacks the last man again with his flames. After collapsing on the floor in pain, Zero quickly ends his life.

"You messed with the wrong guy." says Zero as he finishes them off with more punches and kicks. Eventually, all three attackers die because of bleeding from internal bone fractures. "Come on out, Lucia. They're all dead." he says in a soft voice, looking for the guard's keychain.

When Lucia steps out, speechless, Zero has found the keys and opens the cells of the other prisoners one after the other and they step out just as shocked as the little blonde girl. "How did you do that?" asks the man Zero had been talking to earlier, frightened.

"What do you mean exactly?" asks Zero quietly.

"Those flames... Where did they come from? And who are you, exactly?" the man asks again. His curiosity is shared at least as much by the others.

"I should probably tell them that." He grabs his scarf and pulls it off his neck, revealing his symbol. "I am Zero, bearer of a teigu." reveals Zero, shocking everyone even more.

"Teigu? Those powerful magical things? Then how were you captured at all?" asks Lucia, confused. Fear does not show on her at all, unlike the others. Her innocent green eyes fixed on Zero's face.

"I'm here on purpose. Soon-..." replies Zero before falling silent. Some quiet footsteps can be heard and they are getting closer, so Zero prepares himself. "Step back." he orders and the freedmen also obey him immediately without any objections.

After a few seconds, a covered person cautiously steps into the open room. He quickly recognizes the prisoners outside their cells staring at him. "You're outside? Are you all unharmed, too?" he asks unexpectedly in a solicitous voice.

The group doesn't dare to leave their places. "We are good, but who are you?" the man finally asks, anxious and mistrusting. His height stands out, being at least a head taller than anyone else.

"Oh yeah, sorry!" he says, taking off his hood. "I'm Wave from the Jaegers. I'm supposed to watch over you as a secret infiltrator until General Esdeath arrives in a few days." he explains with a warm smile.

Out of nowhere, Zero comes out from behind Wave. He had been hiding on the door and had just jumped down, causing Wave to frantically turn around with his sword. "Good to see you, Wave." says Zero calmly.

Wave first recognizes his partly bloody hands and further traces of blood on his clothes. After that, he can remember his first encounter with him. "The one from the other night. You took out the guards, right?" concludes Wave by this.

"Right. I guess we can work together until Esdeath arrives, right?" replies Zero, extending his hand for a handshake.

"Of course." says Wave, putting Grand Chariot back in its place, as he agrees. "But can I ask who you actually are? That symbol on your neck looks like the General's?" he asks curiously. He noticed the blood red symbol just now.

"My name is Zero, that's all that's needed now." he tells briefly.

"Zero... Black clothes, well in combat..." thinks Wave with a hand on his chin. Meanwhile, he notices the small burn marks on the wooden floor. "Fire."

"What about more attackers?" he asks quickly, making Wave dismiss his thoughts.

"Don't worry, all the people in this prison have been taken out. Besides, you are the only prisoners here in the fortress." Wave reports, good-natured as ever.

"Then we'll barricade ourselves here until the general arrives, got it?" determines Zero in an authoritarian tone. His new followers nod in agreement. "Good, then search the prison for food and other useful stuff. It'll probably be a few tough days. Best take the spears too, better safe than sorry." he suggests. They all look at each other briefly and then walk carefully through the heavy steel door that had held them all prisoner until recently. Three men lead the way with the spears, the fourth spear broken by Zero during the fight.

"What are you doing, Zero?" asks Lucia, who is the only one left with the boy. They are the only prisoners younger than Zero and Wave.

"I'm taking care of the enemies outside with Wave." he answers her. His voice contains an unusual warmth that is contradictory to his rather sinister demeanor. "Call us if something happens, all right?"

"Understood." she replies, slightly puzzled. Zero and Wave then step out of the room and walk together along the long tract.

Zero clearly leads the way. "What are you up to?" Wave simply follows him without objection.

The well-known grin on Zero's face doesn't suggest anything harmless. "How about we make Esdeath a present?" he says. His voice contains something sinister and devious. "I heard she's in a bad mood these days."

"I felt that... But how do you even know that? Are you kind of close to her or something?" the slightly hurt Wave says with a smile as he scratches the back of his head.

This question makes him think a bit before he speaks again. "You could say that... But I haven't been in the palace for a long time." answers Zero honestly.

Wave suddenly stops in the middle of the tract. "Wait, wait, wait... You know the general personally?!" Zero also stops and turns back to look at his companion. "Black clothes, considerable strength and a special skill with fire... It all fits together." he mumbles unintelligibly and quietly to himself.

"Wave?" asks Zero, slightly confused. His hands are each in a pocket of his black pants.

A sudden shock hits the usually blue-haired boy. "Why didn't I notice this before! You must be that Zero that General Esdeath-"

Zero quickly puts a hand over his mouth, causing Wave to fall silent. "Shhh... This better stay between us, you hear me? I don't want the others to know about this before it's necessary." he whispers. His devilish-looking red gazes deep into Wave's sea-blue eyes, perfectly reflecting his seriousness.

He nods curtly and Zero lets go of him again. "Understood, but why are you even here and not with the General? She is looking for you all the time." he says now in a quiet voice, so that only the two of them can hear.

"Before I face her again, I want to give her a good gift with the fortress here." Zero tells as they begin their walk again. "She has everything she needs anyway. That's why I thought relieving her of some stress would be the best thing." he says dreamily. His loving and thoughtful intentions are clear from his appearance.

"That he goes that far for her... I guess I have to work harder at it too!" They both arrive together at the front door, where they also stop for a moment. "I'll be happy to help you with that then! As long as it's for the General!" he says, highly motivated.

"I'm glad to hear that. But then we all follow my plans until she arrives."

"I don't see any problem with it." answers Wave modestly. At the same time with the good-natured intention of gaining a new friend.

"Good, I think I know why Esdeath likes you so much." Zero laughs amicably. He too thinks he could gain a valuable partner here. Besides, Wave seems so familiar to him, as if they've known each other for a long time. "Let's do some eavesdropping today to find out their defense plans and then come back here." he determines. Immediately after, they both step out the door with a final nod.

"We are all ready, General!" reports Gallius to Esdeath. He is dressed as usual in his uniform, which is partly based on Esdeath's uniform.

"Good. Run, you take command of the Jaegers while I'm gone." she orders with her usual authority, though her familiarity with her partners can still be clearly seen.

"Understood, General." replies Run with a smile. After a short bow, all Jaegers take their leave and Esdeath continues on her way.

After a few steps, they arrive at the palace courtyard, where Esdeath's army is waiting for them, ready packed. Some of them are standing next to the strong horses that will carry either the few wagons or the high ranked members of the army, most of the soldiers will walk. All of them are equipped with a wide variety of weapons.

Everyone lines up with their backs straight and properly structured as they see Esdeath and Gallius. "We're going to hit the road right away. The sooner we finish with the fortress, the sooner we can get back." Esdeath speaks in front of everyone. The soldiers respond together with euphoric cheers.

Quickly, everyone gathers and heads for the opening gate at the palace's outermost wall, intending to wait there until it is fully raised, but Esdeath suddenly storms out of the gate halfway up on her horse. "I have a feeling we'll meet again." she thinks as she rides through the city, cheered by shouts from the townspeople.

Her army follows with a slight delay, trying to close the gap as quickly as possible. "Why is the general in such a hurry?" the soldiers ask each other, also spurred on by the people. Unlike Esdeath, some of them take some time to at least wave back to the villagers.

One of the large mass of people unobtrusively moves away from there and runs into a secluded side alley. "Our Esdeath is really in a hurry, huh?" the person says quietly before revealing herself to be Chelsea.

She puts another lollipop in her mouth and waits in place. Shortly after, Mine and Lubbock appear. "So, any new info?" asks Lubbock, almost bored. He's covered in a brown coat and a hat, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

"Well, at least some. First, Najenda's suspicions have been confirmed, the Jaegers are not at her side. Also, she herself is in a hurry, I don't know why." reports Chelsea. Her orange hair flies a bit in the shallow wind, making her hold it back with one hand.

"That means the Jaegers and Wild Hunt are in the palace..." comments Lubbock. "Means no attack again." he whines, disappointed with a hanging head.

"Who knows what Najenda is planning?" questions Mine, biased by Najenda's unpredictable plans.

The basically green boy frowns questioningly. "What do you mean?" asks Lubbock, both curious and confused.

"Maybe Najenda will order an attack, but on who? Maybe on the palace, maybe directly on Esdeath?" answers Chelsea with her usual cheeky undertone. Lubbock is shocked by this idea at first, as the thought hadn't crossed his mind.

"Anyway, let's hurry back now." says Mine impatiently and is the first to disappear from the alley. Shortly after, both of her friends follow her.

Author's Note:

Again, I don't have anything special to announce. I hope you stay tuned!

I don't know why, but the new year started with a big increase of views. Thank you all!