The walk to wherever Heisenberg resided began swiftly. Zero followed nimbly behind him with her arms wrapped around herself. The man seemed to be thinking, so she took the time to do so as well.

First, she wakes up all alone in the middle of a forest. Then some beast man sniffs her all up. Then another man, who just so happens to be able to control metal, abducts her and brings her to some sort of cult like meeting. And finally she is given the temporary name Zero, then put under the wing of her abductor.

Her few hours of memory have been quite interesting, though she supposed terrifying would be a better way to put it.

"So, you really don't remember your real name?" Heisenberg's abrupt inquiry pulled her from her reflection. He glanced over his shoulder at her. Once he saw the shake of her head he looked forward once more.

A passage of silence.

"Do you remember anything at all?" His tone was softer, and his head turned over to Zero again.

She shook her head with wide eyes.

The man stopped then. Zero had almost collided into his chest he had stopped so fast. He looked into her eyes over his glasses like he was trying to find something. She did not know for what, but she began to mirror him looking right through his eyes, as well. Just like she didn't know what he was searching for, she didn't know exactly what she was searching for, either.

Answers, maybe?

This only occurred for a second or two before Heisenberg turned around, grumbling something unintelligible under his breath. He had picked up his pace now, palming the handle of his hammer as he walked forth. This left Zero scrambling after him hastily, trying to keep up.

She guessed he was just as frustrated not knowing anything about her as she was. It seemed like there was something he wanted, just as much as Zero wanted to be able to remember herself. Something he didn't know how to get, let alone wait for.

But he was quiet again, not revealing anything of the sort. She wouldn't even be able to ask either way. Which led her to question more things about him, compiling a list in her head that she hoped to be able to keep somewhere in the recesses of her mind.

When they first met, Heisenberg had looked her over with mild interest, even before he had seen whatever mark she had on her neck. What had made him do that in the first place? She had no idea what her face even looked like to be able to tell if something happened to be wrong with it.

Her hand rose up from her arm, the fingertips brushing above her brow and down over her cheekbone. Her fingers continued across her face as she thought more.

When he said he had to take her to Mother Miranda, he had said it like he absolutely had to do it. Not that he wanted to. Was he disloyal to her? She didn't quite know how to think about this, and of course, these were just speculations. However, she could think of no other reason as to why he would sound so sour about bringing a "present" to someone he was under the command of.

Then she thought about how she, herself, didn't want to be under the command of others. She simply felt like she had no other choice.

Her fingers had made its way to the other side of her face when she bumped into Heisenberg, who had stopped and turned at her. She took a step back, eyes on the ground.

His expression was a little strange when Zero looked up at him. Before she could place any emotion it had changed, his brow furrowing. His glasses hid his eyes.

"Can you walk any faster?" he questioned surly, looking down the brim of his hat. After only a second of Zero gapping up at him did he sigh loudly, turning around and getting on one knee. "Climb on, then. I've had a long night and I'm ready for a drink." He looked over his shoulder expectantly at her. "Come on, then!" he ordered brusquely.

Zero obeyed the second command instantly, awkwardly climbing on his back. He helped her get more leverage by hoisting her up higher on his back, then held onto the back of her legs for support. Her hands began to shake slightly as they rested on his shoulders.

"Put your arms around my neck if you're scared about falling," he suggested, yet he was already beginning to move, causing Zero to grip tighter. He chuckled. "I won't bite you either if you're afraid of that, too."

Zero thought about this for a moment. Logically, he was telling the truth, since it seemed like she was important on some level. This revelation gave her hope, so she slowly moved her hands forward to hold more securely to his neck and upper chest.

"Atta girl," Heisenberg mused softly.

For some reason, this made a rush of heat run up in Zero's cheeks, and she was glad he could not see.

The rest of the way was silent between them, and before she knew it they were past a rather tall fence and in front of a mangled looking factory. He must have put the thing together himself, at least it definitely looked like it.

Before they made it to the entrance, Heisenberg set Zero down carefully so that she could trail behind him through the double doors. He led her through a few open corridors. Tables were scattered here and there with scrap pieces of metal adorning them haphazardly. They laid over sullied blueprints of various different designs that made her think of traps.

Eventually, a regular looking door came into view in front of Heisenberg. He walked right to it, opening it wide. Then he stepped back and held out one arm in a gesture towards the opening.

"Ladies first."

Zero only stared at him for a moment before she walked through the door. The man followed after her, though he ended up having to walk past her, as she had stopped in the middle of the room to take it all in. First, she followed his figure to the right corner of the room where a table stood that had various kinds of alcohol making their home there, along with a few empty glasses. Beside it was a worn out leather chair with an ashtray sitting on one of the arms. A half smoked cigar balancing on the side.

Heisenberg poured himself a drink, and took a swig of it before he plopped down in the chair, sighing lightly. "Please, Zero, make yourself at home. Take a seat anywhere," his voice seemed more relaxed than she had heard it yet, but that didn't take away from the roughness he carried.

This prompted Zero to look away from the man and around the room to find a place to sit. There was a couch to the right of the entrance against the wall with a few dusty looking quilts draped over it. On the right side of that was another table, but this one held a dimly lit lamp.

On the left side of the room was an even larger table that was pushed up against the wall. This one looked similar to the ones in the previous part of the factory; decorated with metal and blueprints. A wooden chair with a pillow was pushed under it. On the right side of the table was a closed door.

"Or you could sit on my lap."

Apparently, she was taking a while to get comfortable. His sudden teasing words caused her to take in a sharp breath through her mouth, almost sounding like a gasp. She willed her legs to move her over to the couch, taking a cautious seat. Her cheeks began to heat again, and she stared at the carpet.

Heisenberg let a muted laugh rumble through his chest as he lit up the half smoked cigar. "I'm just messing with you, hope you know that. You're lucky. Normally I mess with people in a different way."

Zero shivered, still staring at the carpet, which made him laugh a bit louder this time.

"Look, sweetie, I'm not going to hurt you. In fact, I want to help you."

This piece of new information made her head snap towards him. It tilted slightly, her eyes questioning him.

"That's right. I want to help you, but in order for me to do that I need you to help me," he took a long puff from the cigar. "We're gonna have to help each other. Now, are you ready to do that?"

Her eyes drilled into him. These words were phrased as options, not commands. Did she really have a choice, though? Would he let her? What did he want help with? What did she want help with?

"Look, are you sure you can't speak?" Heisenberg pressed, leaning forward now to rest his elbows on his knees.

He stayed quiet as he watched her hands went up to the base of her throat. Opening her mouth, she tried her best to push air through what she thought was her vocal cords, but it was in vain. Only a raspy breath came out. She wanted so desperately to talk to him; to be able to get answers so that she could make her mind up about something, anything. She looked at him dejectedly, her eyes beginning to sting and water.

"Hey, hey, look now! Don't you start crying on me!" He had sat down the cigar to hold his hand up in protest.

Was that what this was? Was she about to cry?

"Look. Hey. Listen, just sit tight," he was up now, setting his drink down. "I'll be right back, just hold your horses. Don't even try to think about talking" In a few steps he was across the room and through the door next to the big table.

Not even a minute later, Heisenberg came back with a glass of water in one hand and a messy sandwich in the other. "Let's try something else," he said insistently, offering her the food and drink.

Zero slowly reached up to take them. She looked between them in her hands. When Heisenberg spoke next, her eyes rose to find that he had resumed his position on the leather chair.

"I realize this might be a bit too much for you. We'll take this slow, then," why was he being so much more kinder than when they first met. Not that he was exactly horrible, but the pain in her tail end reminded her that he didn't seem like the time to care about comfortability.

Maybe it was just because of the order from Mother Miranda.

"So how about this," the man continued, picking up his drink once more to take a sip. "Tonight, you eat and rest. Take it all in," his hand holding the cigar waved around in a circle, as if he could capture her whole experience in it. "I'll even talk your ear off about some things you probably don't know while you eat," he smiled at her like this was a treat.

Which it was a treat. She felt more hunger for information than she did for the sandwich.

"In exchange, I get to help you try to learn how to speak tomorrow," he was leaning on his knees again. "Deal?"

Zero didn't have to think very long about this one. She nodded fervently, instantly taking a bite of the sandwich to start chewing.

It seemed like he was amused by her enthusiasm. He laughed, the liquid in his glass sloshing around a bit. Smoke shot from his nose softly as he looked over his glasses. Was there a new light?

"Good girl. Where shall I begin, hmm?"

Notes

I was screaming internally while writing this, I swear.

Thank you for all of the interactions, they fueled me to crank out another part as fast as I could. 3

I also have the songs I want for the playlist all ready, I just need to make something that looks pretty on a screen /.\

I hope you enjoyed :) I'm going to work on the next part right now 3