Chapter 2

The morning brought little news of Kizna's condition.  Once Dr. Croford had regained control of the hospital ward, she'd unceremoniously (and literally) booted everyone out.  To Zero, that only meant everyone but him had seen Kizna, at least for a while…including Hiead.  Zero still couldn't figure why his rival would have any interest in Kizna's health.  It was far more likely he was trying to injure her further, but Zero knew that Hiead preferred direct confrontations to sneaking around.  Which wasn't to say that he wouldn't do it, just that it was unlikely.

As promised, Azuma had scheduled an early morning simulation.  These had become less and less interesting for Zero with Erts gone, and he won many with little or no effort.  Battle was the last thing he wanted to think about with Kizna constantly on his mind, but it was either participate or risk endangering his rank.  Of course, if anything would drag Kizna out of unconsciousness in a heartbeat, it would be him throwing away everything they'd worked so hard for.  Reaching GIS wasn't just his dream, after all.

While Azuma explained the details of the practice to the newer boys, someone prodded Zero in the back.  It was Saki, Clay's former Repairer.  She slipped a note into his hand and quickly left the room.

Zero unfolded the note. 

I'm volunteering in the hospital ward.  Will tell you if anything changes.

He tucked the note into his pocket and looked up just as someone else entered the room.  Zero began to turn away, and then did a double-take.  "Rome?"

To his surprise, Rome walked right up to him.  "Hi, Zero.  They say I'm supposed to be your Repairer for today…"

If it had been anyone else, Zero would've flatly refused.  But Rome had been Erts's Repairer before he got promoted, and anyone that was good enough for his best friend was good enough for Zero…or so he thought.

As it turned out, there was a very good reason why Rome hadn't accompanied Erts: she wasn't the best of partners, and certainly nowhere near Kizna's level.  Aside from that, she wasn't used to working with Zero, and nearly got him trashed in the simulation.

"I'm so sorry, Zero," she kept apologizing afterwards.  "I know you've got enough to worry about, after what happened to Kizna."  Rome paused.  "How is she, by the way?  Any improvements?"

"I have no idea," he admitted.  "They won't let me in to see her."

"That's terrible!  Why not?!"

Zero shrugged.  "Something about security.  Funny how everyone else can get in, though…"

Rome was livid.  "That doesn't make any sense!  You're her partner!  If anyone should be allowed in there, it's you!"

"I already tried, and Azuma nearly took my head off.  Anyway, if Kizna woke up and found out I lost a rank trying to see her, she'd put ME in a hospital bed."

"But there has to be SOME way we can get you in there," Rome insisted.  "Maybe if you faked an injury?"

Zero shook his head.  "Dr. Croford will be expecting something like that.  She knows me too well."

"Then…what if I faked an injury?"

He looked mildly interested then.  "Keep talking…"

* * * * *

In the end, choosing Wrecka had been a stroke of genius on Zero's part.  She was already dramatic enough, and could convince anyone with half a brain that she'd never lied in her entire life.  Personally, Zero found the fact that she had this effect even on two nurses of the same gender terribly fascinating (and mildly disturbing).  Wrecka was willing to put aside her differences with Kizna, especially when Zero said he'd consider it a personal favor.  Owing Wrecka was not something many people wanted to do, and Zero was among them, but he was now officially desperate.

Rome's part was much simpler: all she had to do was walk behind Wrecka (fairly easy, thanks to the tomato sauce "blood trail") and scream her head off about how poor Wrecka simply had to be dying of blood loss.

As they'd planned, the tomato sauce was so noticeable that no one thought to ask exactly how Wrecka had been wounded.  And seeing how it was Wrecka in the first place, any explanation would probably take up a good thirty minutes, complete with re-enactments and intermissions.

In all the excitement, Zero slipped past virtually unnoticed.

Much to his surprise, there were no security measures that he could see to keep anyone else from getting infected.  In fact, when he found Kizna, Saki was feeling her forehead…without any protective gloves.

"I wondered when you'd find a way down here," Saki said quietly. 

"Should…you be touching her?" Zero asked…before remembering Azuma's orders not to discuss Kizna's true condition.

"Hmm?  Oh, don't worry.  She doesn't have a concussion or anything, the fall just knocked her out."

"So why isn't she awake yet?"

Saki shot him a look.  "Maybe they train you guys to tumble around without feeling pain, but us girls can actually get seriously hurt."

Zero was about to point out that Kizna was tougher than half the boys he knew, then decided against it.  While his Repairer would definitely take it as a compliment, Saki might not.  "Then she'll be okay?"

She seemed to sense the concern in his tone and stopped frowning.  "I think so.  I hope so."  Then she smiled.  "You're so sweet to worry about her, Zero…"

"No, I'm not," he replied at once.  "I'd even worry if Hiead got hurt."

"Really?  Why?"

"Because that would mean someone was good enough to get HIM, and that I'd have some serious competition."

Saki frowned.  "That's twisted logic."

"Is not.  He hasn't been down here, has he?"

Saki looked worried.  "Actually, twice today…"

His eyes widened in disbelief.  "You didn't STOP him?!"

She gave him a blank look.  "You name ONE Repairer that could STOP Hiead Gnr."

Zero started to answer…and suddenly remembered that Kizna was unconscious.  "Oh.  Sorry."

"Anyway, he didn't do anything.  Just stood there and glared at her, like she was less than nothing.  Basically, what he does to everyone else."

"But he was still here.  Twice!  It's got to mean something, Saki."

She smirked.  "Well, I guess you could always just ASK him…"

"You know, I think I will," Zero said faintly. 

* * * * *

Hiead Gnr didn't really consider himself a complex person; he merely saw everyone else as being too simple-minded to have a clue about him.  His name was a perfect example.

Although it wasn't really a name, now that he thought about it.  Just a clever acronym he'd thought up as a child.

Hateful.  Intelligent.  Efficient.  Armed.  Destined (to destroy/overshadow Zero and/or fly the White Goddess).

More than anything else, though, Hiead concerned himself with his priorities.

Kizna Towryk, for example, was an aide of The Rival, and therefore immediately a threat to his own Ascension.  Add in the fact that she was undoubtedly clever, a skilled Repairer, and as stubborn as her partner, and it was clear that Kizna was one to be watched.

And Hiead had, whenever the opportunity presented itself.  He'd watched her alone, with Zero, and with the other Repairers.  He had come to the conclusion that she was so like Zero it was unnerving.

Then, probably without even meaning to, Kizna had gone and made herself even more interesting to Hiead: she had been tainted by the Victim.

Hiead was no scientist, but he had the mind of one.  There would probably never be another chance to study Victim this closely until he reached GIS—and by then, assuming it even DID happen in the first place, it would be far too late.  He would already need to know the innermost workings of the Victim before he became a Pilot.  How else would he make the name of Teela seem like less than a faded memory?

Granted, this obsession with Victim wouldn't have been considered healthy, and although it was hidden beneath what seemed to be a fascination with Kizna (nothing could've been farther from the truth), Hiead couldn't have cared less what people thought.  Once he became the Top, only his thoughts would be of any significance.  He rather looked forward to that.

* * * * *

It was decidedly, surprisingly easy to catch Hiead in the act.  Zero had thought it might take weeks of effort, and it really only took one night.  He'd gone straight to the hospital ward after every training session, with little or no argument from Azuma.  Zero was far too focused on Kizna's health and Hiead's actions to notice, anyway.

Shortly after dinner, Hiead appeared.  He paused at the foot of the bed, as if listening for something or someone.  Then he went forward and bent over Kizna, his ear just above her heart.  After ten long minutes, he stood up, turned around…and came face to face with Zero.

"What were you doing?!" Zero demanded.

Hiead stared at him, remaining silent.

Zero grabbed him by the collar.  "Answer me!"

"You let them take her."

Zero froze.  "What…?"

Hiead shoved him away.  "You'll never be a Pilot now.  You've ruined the Perfection."

"What are you talking about, Hiead?  You come down here to visit Kizna-"

Hiead spat at his feet.  "You think I came here for her?!  IDIOT!"  He sneered at Zero.  "That's why you're a failure.  You're so worried about everyone else, you never focus on bettering yourself.  By tomorrow, there will only be one Top in Third Troop, and it won't be you."

"I think you're forgetting something, Hiead.  Much as I hate to admit it, we do the exact same thing on every single test.  There's no way you're going to pass me now." 

Hiead smiled.  It was not a smile of joy, but of malice and scorn.  "Did you know…that the current Top has more than one EX?"

"What's that got to do with you?"

Hiead's grin widened a bit, making him look absolutely twisted.  He raised his palm until it was just under Zero's chin.  "Let there be light."

Zero felt the warmth before he actually saw anything, and then it began to hurt.  He backed away just before Hiead's hand literally burst into flames.  They were a bright, neon blue, and though the flames clearly engulfed Hiead's hand, he didn't seem to be affected at all.

"I don't even feel it," Hiead whispered, his eyes glowing violet as he stared into the flames.  "But you do, don't you?"  He jerked his hand forward.

Zero moved, but Hiead's fingers grazed his cheek, and he could feel the searing heat.

Hiead laughed triumphantly.  "Once they see I have another EX—under control—you will be less than nothing to them.  And without your Repairer…you're already doomed to fail."

"Kizna isn't dead!" Zero snapped.

"No," Hiead agreed softly, the flames sinking back into his hand.  "She isn't."  He moved to the door, then paused to glare over his shoulder.  "But she isn't exactly alive, either."

* * * * *

Kizzie was waiting under the tree when Zero arrived.  Without saying a word, she grabbed his hand and dragged him off.

Zero had quickly accepted that this was the only Kizna he'd be able to talk to for a while.  While it didn't do much to help her, it certainly made him feel better.  It felt…normal…to have Kizna at his side again.  He'd been unbalanced ever since her accident, and the disastrous performance with Rome was proof of how valuable Kizna was to his becoming a Pilot.  It would've been nice to have Erts's telepathy, so he could at least tell her that he hadn't forgotten about her…or why he was in GOA in the first place.  Yes, he was concerned about his partner, but he wouldn't jeopardize all their hard work because of it.

Kizzie suddenly stopped and pointed.  "Look!  It's Clayface!"

And so it was.

Before them stood a huge, granite statue of Zero's old friend.  But the normally bespectacled boy was no longer bespectacled, and he wore formal robes.  His hair was slicked back, and he almost looked like a different person…probably a person Saki would've gladly drooled over upon meeting him.

The plaque on the statue's pedestal read, "FORTRAN THE OBSERVANT: The Mind Behind GOA."

Kizzie squealed happily.  "Whiskers!"

A small, white cat emerged from behind the pedestal, its long tail waving.  The cat curled around Kizzie's ankles, purring loudly.

"Is he yours?" Zero asked as Kizzie picked up the cat.

"Oh, yes!  Whiskers, say hi to Rei!"  She stuck the cat in Zero's face.

Whiskers purred and licked Zero's nose.

"He likes you!  Isn't he precious?"  Kizzie tickled the cat's belly.

Zero looked back at the statue.  "When's the last time you saw Clay?"

Kizzie seemed puzzled.  "Well, no one I know has ever SEEN him.  We just assume that's what he looks like.  He's so mysterious, never wanting to leave his office or something.  But they say he's the smartest guy alive."

Zero reached over to pat Whiskers on the head.  "So, where do you live again?"