AR: Ack! I'm so sorry Darklight-san! I wrote this chapter before you wrote that review, so I totally missed it! Sumimasen! Umm… This chapter is dedicated to you? Heh. Well, actually, let's do that. This chapter is officially dedicated to Darklight-san. And, I'm not the only one who thinks Harpuia is a total sweetheart? YES! XD

Oh, Leviathan-san, since this is an AU fic, I'm just making him 18 anyway. I'm not going to have anything about him sleeping 100 years in here. But, did I not make him seem 18? Sumimasen, if I didn't.

Question for my readers! If anyone knows Harpuia's hair color and length (I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's green), please leave a review telling me! Or e-mail me. Whatever you want. I would just like to know, instead of having to make it up and risk getting yelled at. Actually, I would really like to know so I can easily write the next chapter. No, that wasn't a spoiler! What made you think that? Anyways, arigatou!

And, I lied! Here's the next chapter already. I tricked you, didn't I? Mwahaha… (Actually, FF wouldn't let me on so I could upload the chapter. It was apparently experiencing heavy traffic. Tch, stupid bandwidth limit…)

Disclaimer: Mm… I wish I owned Harpuia… Wait, did I say that out loud?

Chapter 3: Journey

"AAAH!" Zero cried out and shot up in his bed, fully awake in seconds. He started panting heavily and wiped away the cold sweat that trickled down his face. He felt his sheets soaked with sweat and his pillow wet with tears. He cried, truly cried for the first time in many years. "Oh god, oh god…" he whispered shakily, putting his head in his hands, and calmed his breathing down, trying to comprehend what he had just witnessed. He had dreamt something terrible, something that should never have been seen. He had seen true suffering.

First, there was total darkness, like he was just floating in an empty void, and he couldn't see a thing. Two vivid green eyes suddenly appeared in the darkness filled with pain, begging him to save them from whatever torments the owner was going trough. Then, he saw Hell. There were bright, burning fires surrounding him, shedding light on the endless cracks in the ground, the tall cliffs that blocked any view he might have of the horizon, and the high, jagged rocks jutting up from the ground. Heat bore down on him and deep thunder boomed from the black clouds looming overhead, filling him with a deep sense of foreboding. Zero looked around frantically, wanting out of this horrid place, but then became riveted on the spot as he saw the unimaginable. The deadly flames parted in front of him and revealed to him two figures, one standing ominously tall and another crouched in pain at the former's feet. Zero couldn't make out the face on the crouching one, but he could see everything else.

Scars covered the boy's bared back and blood flowed out from each and every new cut that marred his skin. Thin pants dyed a deep crimson from the blood covered whatever other harm there was to the thin figure. His body heaved and trembled, and Zero could tell that the poor creature was sobbing. This boy, this poor boy had gone through unimaginable torture and pain and Zero was now bearing witness to his sufferings. Zero stared in horror at the bleeding wounds, wondering what in the world the boy had ever done to deserve this. He sensed that the boy had done nothing, and he clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and turned to glare at the pitiless beast standing above the injured creature. The beast was filled and covered with darkness and he radiated fear. The boy collapsed; the beast merely cackled. Zero, restrained by some unseen force struggled against it, wanting to go to the boy and save him, but was unable to. He felt pathetic, unable to help someone who was right in front of him. Something drew him to the boy and his rage was all the more fueled because of it. He felt that he had to save the boy; he felt the overwhelming desire to end's the boy's suffering. He watched helplessly and saw the boy take a slow, shaky breath, and then saw and heard him utter a single word.

"Zero…"

Lightning struck. A monolith shattered. The man laughed.

"NOOO!" Zero bellowed, thrashing at the unseen bindings, trying desperately to get to the suffering boy. That was him! That boy was the one who called him! That voice belonged to this beaten boy. That voice filled with pain and sorrow belonged to the creature lying right in front of him. That voice… It was his! Zero cried out desperately, his cries only made more haunting by the beast's terrible laugh. He stopped screaming and panted heavily, glaring at the beast with a mad glint in his eye. That man was the source of the boy's pain. That man must suffer!

The man shimmered, the boy flickered, and Zero's eyes widened. The vision was disappearing. Zero, once again in a hopeless effort thrashed about, trying to free himself of the invisible chains to get to the unconscious boy lying on the ground. "No! Wait!" he yelled out, watching the boy that haunted his mind dissolve. "Don't go! Please, don't go!" He was going to lose him. He was going to lose the one thing that he wanted to save. This was the first time in his life that he ever wanted to truly protect something, and the one thing that he wanted to protect was fading. He cried out again as Hell disappeared, all became black again, and his unconsciousness vanished, leaving him sweaty and frightened from the vision.

"Shit… Shit…" Zero whispered harshly, tears streaming down his face. He was so close to that boy. So close… Almost close enough to see the boy's face. But, yet again, the boy's identity remained unknown. However, though Zero knew not what the boy looked like, he knew his voice well. Again, the desperate cry resonated in his ears, almost sending another wave of tears falling. Zero, however, choked the tears back and furiously wiped away those that still streaked his face. Thoughts were racing through his head, most of them about how he could save the boy. Zero needed to rescue him, no matter what happened to him in the process. That boy was going to die if this kept going on. Zero, clenching his fists tightly, made up his mind, and started to form a plan. He would rescue that boy even if it were the last thing he ever did. He would rescue him.

About an hour later, Zero was vigorously packing all of the things that he would need for this journey that he had formed in his mind. He rapidly tied his hair back in a ponytail to keep it out of his face, and looked around his room, deciding what it was ne needed to bring. He felt in his heart that it would not take much time for him to at least find the suffering boy, so he merely packed an extra outfit as far as clothes went. He didn't really care about personal hygiene at this point; he merely wanted to rescue the boy as quickly as possible. If he had to go for a few days without clean clothes, so be it.

Knowing that it would take more than his bare fists to defeat this master however, he rummaged through his drawers and pulled out his favorite gun and his sword he had since he was a child. He slammed a new magazine into his unloaded gun, thrust it into the holster he had sewn onto all of his pants, and tossed a few extra magazines into his bag, just in case. With a determined look plastered onto his face, he pulled the sword out of the sheath with a metallic ring, and gracefully swung it, testing its weight and how it handled. He smirked at the familiar whistle it gave off when he swung it and gently ran a finger down the flat edge. This sword had always been true to him, and it would undoubtedly do the same for him on this quest. He flippantly wondered if his future opponent would be ready for such a deadly creature, but that's what he had his gun for. He slid the sword back into its sheath and set next to his bag, deciding to carry it by himself should he run into any enemies on the way. It never hurts to be prepared. However, as he ran over the plan once again in his mind and looked at his supplies, he realized there was a bit of a problem.

"Damn it… How am I going to get food without anyone noticing?" he said softly to himself, wondering how he was going to go about solving his dilemma. He thought of all of the people that he knew here and wondered which one of them he could trust with his secret. Ciel was definitely out of the picture; she would blab about it to the whole mansion, let alone even let him go at all. Who else did he know? "Oh! Cervaeu! He's never let me down before. I'm sure I can trust him with my secret."

Nodding to himself about his decision, he gathered up all of the things that he had packed, hoisted the bag onto his shoulder, and clutched his sword tenderly. All he needed was his food and he would be ready. The soft, sad voice rose in his mind once again and he closed his eyes, bringing up the vision of the broken boy. His heart filled with the great desire to find this boy and rescue him, and he breathed deeply, vigor flowing through his body. His eyes flew open once again, a burning passion making them almost glow, and he walked off to find Cervaeu in hopes that this journey wasn't as impossible as it seemed. He felt in his heart that he would be successful, and he hoped in his mind that he was right. First things first, though…

Zero walked swiftly but quietly down the corridors and took a quick glance at the map placed on the wall. He located Cervaeu's quarters right next to the laboratory, which was no surprise, and quickly walked in the direction the map told him to. Luckily, no one in the mansion had a night-life, so he didn't run into anyone on his way down to meet Cervaeu. He had to keep his footsteps soft as he sped past the dorms however, as there was likely to be some light sleepers here. He glanced around at the rooms and if the map was correct, he was almost there. The strange smell of chemicals and antibacterial cleaners washed over him and he knew that he was close. He quickened his pace a tad and reached Cervaeu's room in a matter of seconds. Trying to stay as quiet as he possibly could, he opened the door gently, slipping in the room without a sound. Cervaeu didn't stir as Zero closed the door silently and walked over to his bedside, probably dreaming about genetic experiments and weapon advancements. Zero, careful not to startle him, placed a hand on his shoulder and lightly shook him, trying to wake him up.

"Cervaeu…" Zero whispered, gently shaking him again. "Hey, Cervaeu. Wake up. I need a favor." He stepped back as Cervaeu moaned and sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to wake up. He was obviously not a morning person.

"Z-Zero? Is that you?" he asked groggily, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "What are you doing here? And, why are you dressed up to go out?"

"I don't have time to explain right now, Cervaeu," Zero said hastily, wanting to get his food and go on his search. He didn't want to seem rude, but at the moment he was very impatient. "I just need to ask a favor of you. Will you help?"

"Well, sure. I'll help if I can."

"Good, thank you," Zero said, glad that Cervaeu was so trusting. "I really appreciate it. Now, is there any chance you could get me into the kitchen so I could pack some food? I'm going out on a bit of a journey. I won't be gone too long, but I need to pack something to eat."

"Well, I don't know why you're in such a rush, but I can see that it's personal, so I won't pry," Cervaeu said and stood up, rubbing the rest of the sleep out of his eyes. He put his hand on Zero's shoulder squeezed it gently in reassurance. "And, I'll get you your food. But, I think you should bring some extra money, just in case things don't go as planned. I don't want you starving to death…"

"Don't worry, I've already thought of that," Zero said, laughing quietly at Cervaeu's comment. Cervaeu turned to his nightstand and grabbed his keys before setting out, leaving the lights off, just in case. Zero clutched his sword firmly and followed Cervaeu out of the room and to the kitchens, making sure that he didn't make a sound. Luckily, the kitchen wasn't too far off (Zero had no clue why this was; you would think that the presence of deadly chemicals would distance the source of food, but that didn't happen to be the case), so even though the risk of waking someone up was higher, it didn't take the two nearly as long to get to their destination. When they reached the kitchen, Cervaeu tiptoed to the door, carefully unlocked it with his set of keys, and opened his softly, careful not to make it creak. They slipped inside silently, and shut the door behind them, letting out their held breaths as they entered the safe zone. Hopefully, if anyone saw the lights on in the kitchen, they would assume someone was just getting a midnight snack. That was only if they were lucky, however.

"Alright Zero, take what you need," Cervaeu said, standing near the door to keep watch over the hallway. "Make sure you don't take enough to be noticed, though."

"I won't need that much. I don't plan to be gone too long," Zero replied, rummaging through the cupboards filled with food. He grabbed a loaf of bread, a pack of beef jerky, and some other foods that would last a while, packing a little extra food along with the extra money just in case.

"Are you planning on coming back in time for the banquet, though?" Cervaeu asked slyly, a hint of mocking in his voice. "I hear there's a special girl who can't wait for it to come."

"Shut up, Cervaeu. You know how I feel about that," Zero spat back, laughing a bit in spite of his annoyance. "I wouldn't be caught dead on a date with that obsessed female."

"Yeah, yeah… Just you wait though. Someday, she's going to force you into it."

"I look forward to that day," Zero said with false enthusiasm. They both shared a short laugh, and Zero quickly finished rationing his food. As soon as he was finished, he was at the door, about to head out on his journey. Before he stepped out though, he turned back to Cervaeu and they both clasped hands firmly. "Thank you, my friend. I owe you one."

"You bet you do. Good luck on your quest, Zero," Cervaeu said, nodding after him. "I await your return."

"Thanks. Farewell," Zero said, and quickly left Cervaeu to exit the mansion. He took careful steps, positive that no one could hear him, and left through one of the side doors that was always left unlocked. As soon as he was out of the enormous building, he took a deep breath of the fresh, clear air, and broke into a run. Adrenaline pumped through his body and gave him a bit more speed and vigor to his step, making his journey faster. He knew nothing about where he was going, but let his heart do the thinking and his feet do the working. He trusted that he knew where the boy was being kept in his heart, and he trusted that his heart would lead him in the right direction. It was now only a matter of time before he found that boy and fulfilled his desire.

As the wind swept Zero's long hair away from his face, the voice rose again in his mind, filling him with even more passion in his swift run. As he listened again and again to the call, a crazy idea formed in his mind. The boy had sent him this strange message mentally, and though it might have been an accident, it still managed to reach Zero. Perhaps… Well, it was worth a try. Zero, leaving the running to his feet, gathered all of his emotions and thoughts together into one phrase and brought up the memory of the beaten boy in his mind. He focused solely on the boy, and tried the unthinkable. He sent a short message, not knowing if it would work at all, but hoping with all his heart that the boy would hear it. That message may give them both hope.

"I will save you. I'm coming…"

AN: Whew, I am finished with chapter 3. Throw a party for me, will ya? Heh. So, you can start to see my story taking shape, no? Yes, it really is. I'm working my ass off to make this fic good, so I think I deserve some comments. Umm… please? Pwetty pwease with sugar on top? Yaaay. Alright, I certainly don't have much to say this time. Except for…

Thank you for reading, and watch for the next chapter! Arigatou!