Chapter 5: Injury

Leon fans are going to get mad at me

Disclaimer: In the first chapter

It was early the next morning. Zero and Leon stood in the training field alone.

"Why did you get me up this early?" Leon asked.

"Because I want you to see the strength of your opponents. During this session…" Zero announced grasping his eye patch, "I'm taking the gloves off." Zero removed his eye patch to show a scar that extended across his right eye. After a pause he suddenly opened this eye to reveal a red iris with symbols carved into it.

"What the?" Leon stammered.

"This is my right eye, it's a robotic porosities imbued with mystic properties," Zero said affixing the gaze of both eyes on Leon. "This allows me glance into the future. It allows me to detect movement and heat. And sense life force if I'm within range. But because of this it drains an unbelievable amount of energy. That's why I had this made," Zero explained showing the underside of the eye patch was inscribed with a magic circle, "This seals the power of the eye so I won't always be tired."

"Wow… Why haven't you shown us this before?" Leon asked.

"Not even the forces of darkness know about this so you must keep it a secret no matter what," Zero explained. "So shall we begin?"

"Right!" Leon said drawing his blade. He charged Zero in a futile effort to slash him across the chest. Zero ducked under the blade and administered several slashes to Leon's stomach.

"Nothing you do can beat me Leon you must know that," Zero smiled.

"What's wrong with you Zero?" Leon gasped gripping his stomach with his left hand and staggering away from Zero.

"Huh?" Zero said stepping back from the wounded warrior.

"You're acting weird I mean you're usually cold but not evil," Leon explained.

"You're probably just imagining it I mean it's really early," Zero explained, "Now lets continue." Leon continued to be beaten mercilessly. Unable to wound Zero he was not able to win. The fight raged on until Leon could no longer stand.

"What's with these wounds," Leon wheezed, "When we usually train they disappear…"

"Oh right that," Zero laughed, "I wanted you to feel the real pain of injury, I'll heal you once we've finished here," Zero explained.

"Hey Leon what are you doing out here?" Zero asked from the border of the field, "And why am I standing over there next to you?" He pointed at the Zero that was still next to Leon.

"Uh oh," The Zero next to Leon muttered. "Well cover's blown now! I'm Borgan, pleased to meet you," He announced changing shape until he was a warrior with a black cape and armor like Scath's.

"This can't be good," Leon muttered. Before Leon could jump away from Borgan he was skewered through the left shoulder with a long and slender blade, causing him to pass out.

"Pitiful boy," Borgan said ripping the sword from his shoulder absolutely destroying it.

"Die you scourge!" Zero shouted drawing his blade and attempting to slash the figure.

"I'm sorry you'll find that quite impossible, you see I still copied your eye so I can predict your movements," Borgan explained.

"Of course you did," Zero said removing his own eye patch. "But a copy is no where near the real thing," Zero shouted dashing the copycat. He and Borgan traded blows not being able to seriously wound each other.

"And now you die!" Borgan shouted bringing his blade down on Zero's right shoulder meeting it with a loud clang. "What the? Did you just clang?" Borgan asked.

"Oh right sorry I forgot you're incompetent," Zero said placing his sword on the ground and lifting Borgan's with his right arm. "You're master should have told you the injury he inflicted on me. He ripped away most of the right half of my torso. Since I still had to battle evil I replaced them with a machine limb," He explained crushing the sword in his bare hand.

"What!?! You're Inhuman!" Borgan shouted.

"Exactly," Zero replied in a very deep voice. Splat and the fight was over. Borgan's body fell to the ground and dissolved away into nothing. "Fool," Zero said smiling putting his eye patch back on. He walked to the unconscious Leon and did some basic healing. Closing some minor wounds. But the major wounds were still open like Leon's nearly detached arm and several slashes across his chest

"Uhhh What hit me?" Leon asked carefully.

"A pitiful imposter," Zero explained lifting the fallen warrior with his left hand.

"Was… that thing he… he said about… your eye true?" Leon asked.

"Yea… When I was younger one of the women I had fallen in love with had been swayed by the power of darkness. She then took my sword and ran it through my head destroying my eye in the process," Zero explained.

"Oh…" Leon mumbled.

"Don't feel bad for me or I'll have to drop you," Zero said glaring at the warrior.

"Sorry…." Leon apologized quickly.

"It's alright I don't really care I just wanted to see you wince," Zero laughed (God I don't even care anymore).

"Good… old Zero," Leon laughed and wheezed. Zero carried Leon over to Serene's house where Serene had woken up and was worried about Leon. When she heard Zero's knock she rushed to the door and opened it.

"Leon!!" Serene shouted helping Zero carry him in, "What happened!?!"

"He got attacked by an imposter," Zero explained.

"Who was the imposter mimicking?" Serene asked.

"Me…" Zero replied.

"Serene… do you…. Do you have any… Bandages…" Leon asked.

"He's losing too much blood," Zero said pointing out the now red couch.

"Will he be alright?" Serene asked.

"He won't unless you get the bandages," Zero remarked.

"Right!" Serene said running into the other room.

"How's… My left arm… Zero…" Leon whispered.

"Not so great… Borgan really did a number on it its only hanging on by a muscle and some skin. Even with all the healing power in the world I don't think we could reattach it…" Zero explained. Leon looked grimly at Zero, showing him his now almost white face.

"Here Zero," Serene said handing him a bunch of bandages.

"I'll start bandaging him up, Go to Fia and Lina's place and see if you can get more bandages," Zero commanded, "Hold that thought I think we should take Leon there, They will have better supplies." Serene nodded and helped Zero carry Leon to Ein's house.

"What happened!?!" Ein shouted as he opened the door.

"No time! He was almost dead from blood loss five minutes ago!" Zero said placing him on the table. "Bandages!" Zero shouted.

"I have some herbs that might help him," Fia said going through her cabinets.

"I have a spell that will replenish his blood," Cierra said.

"Save that one until we patch him up," Zero said applying a large bandage to the side of Leon's chest to the reopened wound Scath had inflicted on him. "On second thought cast that blood spell before he dies," Zero ordered.

"Right," Cierra said casting the spell. The new blood started to flow out of the several holes in his chest and his nearly severed arm.

"We need to amputate that arm, which won't be very hard considering," Zero explained. "Kazé get a clamp!"

"Right!" Kazé replied running out of the house to the tents.

"I need those herbs Fia," Zero said.

"Here!" She said handing him the bowl of crushed herbs. Zero took this and poured some of his healing solution in it and then poured some in Leon's wounds.

"This should help stop the bleeding…" Zero explained.

"Here's the clamp!" Kazé said returning with a metal circle that looked like a pie crust that was shiny and metal with screws at the edges.

"You got the screwdriver?" Zero asked taking the clamp.

"Here," Kazé said handing it to him. Zero used his knife and cut the remaining tendon of Leon's arm and applied the clamp to the stump.

"That will take care of that…" Zero said. "Does anyone have a needle and thread for the stitches?" Zero asked.

"Here," Lina said handing him the needle and thread.

"Thanks," Zero replied. Zero stitched some of the slashes on Leon's chest together. "I need his arm measurements so I can make a porosities for him," Zero commented continuing to sow the injuries closed.

"Right," Ledah said grabbing the measuring tape.

"Save that for after he stabilizes," Zero replied, "Now we just need to wrap him up." Zero took the sheets of bandages that Serene had brought and started to apply pressure and wrap around Leon's body. Using the bandages he wrapped his entire chest area, the stump area. His right leg wounds and his right arm, as well as his head.

"We should probably let him rest for now, we'll take the measurements later," Zero said taking off his bloody gloves.

"Leon…" Serene said standing at his side.

"Lets go Kazé," Zero said walking out the door. Kazé met the troubled Zero in front of the house.

"What's up?" Kazé asked

"They're interrupting the training so he won't get stronger…" Zero explained.

"I noticed. And they tore him up something fierce," Kazé grimaced.

"Is the base ready?" Zero asked.

"Almost why?" Kazé asked.

"I'm going to start training him there… In fact I'm going to start training all of them there," Zero explained.

"Not counting today its two more days from completion," Kazé explained.

"The day after tomorrow?" Zero asked.

"Yea," Kazé confirmed.

"Well until then we need to keep a close watch on them," Zero said.

"What about Leon's arm?" Kazé asked.

"I'll make him a mech-arm like mine," Zero replied.

"That's why you need the measurements," Kazé stated.

"Then he needs to learn how to use it," Zero added.

"A long process," Kazé grimaced.

"Not necessarily I mean I completed the mechanical porosities training in 1 day," Zero remembered.

"Yea but you're you and Leon isn't you so it will probably take him longer than you," Kazé commented.

"We'll see," Zero said looking at the sky, "We'll see…"

"Zero get in here he's waking up!" Ledah yelled from inside the house.

"That was fast!" Kazé stammered as the two rushed inside.

"Where'd my arm go?" Leon asked feeling the stub with right arm.

"We had to amputate it. You'll live. I'm having a mechanical arm made for you so you can still fight," Zero explained.

"Oh joy," Leon laughed.

"Be careful with laughing you might open up your wounds," Zero said pointing at the slight reddening of Leon's shirt.

"That and shouting, moving, talking, breathing and blinking will open up various wounds," Kazé laughed.

"That's not really funny," Leon said angrily.

"Just kidding Leon," Kazé said, "But that will really open up your wounds so you need to be more careful. In fact everyone needs to be more careful around him…"

"This sucks," Leon groaned.

"I know how you feel," Zero laughed.

"I'd laugh with you but it will open my wounds," Leon said.

"Well get some rest Leon," Kazé commented.

"On a table?" Leon said angrily.

"Right lets move him to the couch," Zero said lifting the warrior and putting him on the couch.

"Thanks Zero," Leon said dozing off.

"Poor guy," Ledah commented.

"Ledah, Ein, come out here for a minute," Zero ordered. The two grim angels and Kazé followed him outside the house.

"I'm going to continue your training later today alright. Meet us in the usual field," Zero explained to the group.

"Why?" Ein asked.

"Because you need to get stronger," Zero pointed out.

"That's pretty strait forward," Ledah laughed.

"This is no laughing matter. For the moment the forces of darkness are only focusing on Leon but soon they'll start targeting all of us," Zero explained.

"Oh…" Ein muttered.

"Starting now, Come with me," Zero said guiding them to the training field. "Are we ready to begin?"

"I guess," Ledah said drawing his lance.

"This wont be a regular sparing match, I'm going to teach you both some special attacks. I'm going to teach Ledah phoenix strike and I'm going to teach Ein Judgment," Zero explained.

"Alright," The two grim angels exclaimed.

"I'm going to show you how to use Phoenix strike and then you try it," Zero said. He drew his blade and summoned flames to encircle it. He then concentrated them around the blade tightly and shouted, "Phoenix strike!" Sending a phoenix shaped blast of fire from the end of his blade with a thrust. "Now you try," Zero said

"Ok…" Ledah stood next to Zero and called the flames to his lance copying what Zero had done. "Phoenix strike!" He said like Zero firing the blast from the end of his lance. "Wait… I have a better idea," Ledah mumbled. He called the fire yet again and shouted, "Phoenix burst!" Shooting several phoenix shaped fireballs from the end of his lance.

"Good good!" Zero complemented, "And now for you Ein… I'm going to show you Judgment." Zero raised his blade which started to glow a bright white light. "Judgment!" Zero dashed towards a rock next to him and brought his blade down and shattered the rock as well as the ground around it. Ein mimicked Zero's actions and brought his blade down on a different rock seemingly evaporating the top half of the rock and disintegrating the other half. "Excellent. Why don't you guys go practice for a bit," Zero suggested. And with that the group disbanded and went their separate ways.

Back at the house with Leon… Leon just sat on the couch, unable to move because of the possibility of opening up his wounds.

"Hey Leon," Serene smiled sitting down next to him.

"Hey Serene," Leon said, "Nice day isn't it."

"Not really," Serene laughed leaning on Leon.

"I'd wrap my arm around you but I don't have it anymore," Leon said sadly.

"Leon…" Serene muttered. Serene felt something drip on her head and when she looked up at Leon she saw a tear had slid from his eye.

"I've never felt this vulnerable, this useless before… That thing stripped me of every strip of dignity I had and a limb…" Leon muttered with a heavy tone of depression.

"You're not useless Leon. Not to me," Serene said placing her hand on his shoulder and meeting his lips.

"I knew something was going on between you two!" Rose shouted from the other end of the room.

"Huh?" Serene said breaking the kiss quickly.

"Fess up. How long have you two been love birds," Rose said putting her nose where it didn't belong.

"Not now Rose…" Leon muttered.

"Rose…" Serene stood.

"Well?" Rose asked.

"Not… now…" Leon breathed heavily.

"Leon and I…" Serene started.

"I need cough new bandages…" Leon coughed up blood. The bandages on Leon's chest had all turned red and started dripping.

"Oh my god!" Rose shouted rushing into the kitchen to get some more bandages.

"Leon when?..." Serene asked.

"A second ago… All of them opened up," Leon said coughing up blood.

"What's wrong?" Zero asked as he entered the house seeing Leon on the couch.

"His wounds just opened up!" Serene shouted. Zero picked up Leon and put him back on the table removing his bandages.

"Damn it! I should have known," Zero said pulling a small vial out of his pocket.

"What?" Serene asked.

"Borgan's blade was coated in a poison that damages flesh and hinders any attempt at repair. Luckily after several infections I developed an antidote," Zero explained grabbing a cup of water and mixing the antidote in it. Zero made Leon, who was choking on it, drink the antidote to the poison. "I know it tastes bad but it will keep you from dieing," Zero murmured. "You should be fine now… why don't you rest for a while," Zero suggested. And with that Leon fell asleep. A side effect of the antidote was almost instantaneous drowsiness.

Poor Leon... And Rose is a nosy one huh? Sorry for not being realistic but I can't just let Leon bleed to death? Well I can but I don't want to. Sorry for not including everyone this chapter doesn't have any elsewheres that I can use to include themThanks for all my reviewers. Reviewers as in plural! YAY!

Next time in Chapter 6

I... I don't really know why it's turning out this way but it did so I'm sorry please don't kill me!

Leon is recovering and two new people come to town