KingdomDone: Aw sorry

Anon: The darkness will do that to you, good guys go bad. Maybe, the timeline's reset though so maybe technically he didn't kill them in a weird metacontextual way. Nah I would never end the story on such a fucked up note;) Yeah the conversation between Pete and Zero took place whenever Zero decided to leave I think in ch18. Hope you guys enjoy branch B it'll be wild.

Gundam-Knight-Chris: think Pete would take being with Maleficient over Zero any day tbh

Raximus: Maaaaybe

Keybladelight: Mm you actually got some of what I'm planning to do right, kudos


Time doesn't always flow in a single direction

Divergence: Branch B

In the flow of post-cataclysm history, if a unique set of conditions known as "singularities" come together, splits occur in time, resulting in the world divergence phenomenon

It is now March the 1st, 1000 AD, the same day the singularity known as Zero will resume activity.

M3210_E0020_QV: Begin Recording

...

Part II

Blank Slate

When Zero woke up, she was back in her house of all places. "Unless hell got a new makeover, something's not adding up."

Confused, she rolled out of her bed and looked around, her house was still in the dingy state she left it and everything was back in its place as if she'd never touched it. The most damning evidence of all was that her dragon bone sword was fully intact, despite it definitely being melted down last time. "Wait, so did any of that shit actually happen, or was it all just one long dream? ...Was Riku even real?"

While these questions still weighed heavy on her mind, when she left her house and saw Mikhail rolling around in the mud, she couldn't help but be genuinely happy to see him, the real him, after what seemed like forever of him being enslaved by the darkness. She didn't even bother with the whole not saying his name thing and just went straight for it, "Mikhail, it's you! You're not a freak anymore!"

"M-M-Mikhail?! You said my name Zero, you really did! Not 'dummy' or 'idiot' but you said my name for real, I can't believe it I'm so happy!" He danced around in the mud, something that usually would've made Zero scream her head off at him, but instead she smiled along like an idiot with him.

However, what good will Zero had towards Mikhail was all but ruined when she got mud splashed right in her face and the white dragon could already see his life flash before his eyes. Zero started to raise her sword, but she decided against it. "You're...just a kid," She muttered, then she left to wash herself up.

"Whoa...that's not like Zero at all."

Once she was done cleaning up, she returned to Mikhail. "Hey, dragon uh, this is a weird question but do you know who 'Riku' is?"

"Nuh-uh, who's that?"

"Never mind. Forget it. 'I guess it was just a dream after all.'

"Okay. Can I ask you a weird question now?"

"What?"

"What's that black thing over there?"

"Huh?" She looked up and saw a lone shadow creeping around the basin of mud. Panicking, she threw her sword at the heartless and destroyed its physical form. "What the FUCK is going on here?! If the heartless are here then...then did the world just decide to start over or what?!"

"Uhhhh, you okay Zero? You're kinda talking like a crazy person."

Zero hopped on Mikhail's back. "Shut up and get your ass in gear dummy! There's someone I need to find!"

Mikhail lifted up his wings and soared through the skies, there was a distinct lack of soldiers unlike her first playthrough, though she imagined it was from the heartless' doing so she didn't think much of it. She was actually surprised to find Riku relatively quickly along the road, but rather than him fighting off the usual fare of heartless like last time, he was dealing with pirates.

After Mikhail landed on the ground, Zero jumped off and ran up to him. "Riku!"

"I'm in the middle of some- wait!" Riku spun around back to her. "H- How do you know my name?!"

"What do you mean?! Are you trying to fuck with m-" She went quiet, not for a loss of words, she had plenty of those, but from the realization that Riku genuinely had no idea who she was. It seemed as though that despite how easy it was for Zero to find Riku, he was further from her than ever before. "You...really don't remember me?"

"No, sorry, feel like I would've remembered a girl with a flower growing out of her eye. You probably just mixed me up with someone else."

"I know this is probably gonna sound crazy, but just listen to me for a-"

"-Oi that's Zero, ain't it?! Her head's worth twice our weight in gold, let's tie 'er up and bring the lass in!" One of the pirates said.

Zero brandished her sword. "Didn't anyone teach you motherfuckers some manners?! I'm trying to have a conversation here, interrupt me again and I'll have my dragon eat all of you!"

The pirates lowered their cutlasses.

"Yeah!" Mikhail chimed in. "Wait...you're kidding right Zero?!"

Zero turned her attention back to Riku. "Like I was saying, this is gonna sound crazy to you, but then again, you've believed in dumber things..."

"What do you mean?"

"Anyways, long story short, we were friends and traveled Midgard together, then for some reason time went back about a month or two ago and I'm the only one who remembers what happened."

Riku shook his head in confusion. "H...How do I even know you're telling the truth?"

"Why do you think I know your name, dumbass?"

"I don't know, maybe word gets around fast here. Tell me something you only would've known if we were friends."

"...Okay fine. You're a virgin," She said with a smirk.

"Th-That doesn't prove anything! I'm only 18, that's normal for people my age!"

She snorted. "If you say so."

He crossed his arms. "Yeah, pretty sure we weren't friends. I'm out of here."

Zero wished she could've just watched him walk away from her and that be the end of it, but she knew that he would get wrapped up with the Flower one way or another because that's just the type of person he was. And deeper than that, as much as she tried to deny it, Riku meant a lot to her. She still wanted him in her life, even if he didn't remember what they went through together.

"Wait-" Zero grabbed his hand. "I know you're looking for your best friend...I think his name was Sora, you told me as much."

"How do you know about Sora?!"

"We ALREADY met before! How many times do I have to repeat myself?!"

"I'm sorry...this is just... a lot to take in right now. Why did time reset and how come I don't remember anything?"

"No clue."

"That's freaky," One of the pirates said. "You ever heard of anything like that happenin' Paul?"

"Nah, first time."

'The only person I knew who had time manipulation powers was Xehanort, but he's long gone now and I don't think even he could pull off something like this on such a large scale.' Riku went up to Zero. "Since you're the only one who knows what's going on then I guess we should team up. I don't know anything about this place, I just wanna help out as many people as I can and get rid of the heartless...what about you? What're you trying to do?"

Zero thought for a moment. 'What do I want to do?' That answer used to come easily to her, but now such a mundane question was causing her to give pause. 'Why is this so hard suddenly? I'm Zero, I'm supposed to kill the Intoners, that's all I've wanted for the past 2 years, or...maybe that's what I wanted because I didn't think I could want anything more than that. Does that even make sense?'

Growing impatient, Riku waved his hand in front of Zero's face. "Hey, you still there? I didn't ask a complicated question."

"Give me some time to think!" She snapped back.

"What's there to think about? If you don't know what you want to do, then why'd you even leave your house?"

"I left my house to come find you but right now the only thing I want to do is strangle you!"

"I have no idea how we used to be friends."

"Yeah, me neither, but...it's true."

["When I come back here with my friends, I want you to at least be there. I can't tell you how to live your life, but maybe I can show you a little bit of mine and, you can see what you've been missing out on all these years."]

She continued. "So I guess...I mean...I can't believe I'm saying this but I want you to help me save my sisters." 'Not because I care whether they're alive or not but because I still want you to show me that life that you were talking about, even if that means I have to go with your bullshit plan.'

"Save your sisters? I don't trust you and I have a feeling this is a bad idea, but for some reason, my heart's telling me to go along with you."

"I can't believe I'm also gonna say this, but listen to your fucking heart!"

"Yeah, you're right. I think it's more fun to live life that way so I'll help you save your sisters, Zero. Where do we start?"

"Um...I basically have to tell you everything that happened so sit tight, we're gonna be here a while."

"Oi! We ain't sittin' through one of yer bedtime stories! Me and my boys wait'd patiently, now it's time for us to kill you!" Paul the pirate said.

"What the- you guys are still here?!" Riku said.

"I'm impressed that you morons actually waited," Zero said, pulling out her sword.

"'Course lass, the amount on your head'll set us for life!"

"Wow, I'm flattered Five thinks I'm worth that much."

"Eh? Five? Our Cap'n took that broad out last week, she's the one who rules the Land of Seas now!"

"What the hell happened?"

"Yeah, lot's happened since you been in hidin', lass! This whole country is pirate's turf now!"

"Again, what the hell happened?!"

"Like we'd tell you anything! Did you forget that we're trying to kill you?!" Paul the pirate pulled out a sword, then charged at Zero only for her to immediately kill him.

"Do the rest of you guys wanna die too or what?"

Riku was taken aback by her excessive violence "I- I can't believe you just killed him like that!"

"But that time was totally in self-defense!" She slapped her hand on her forehead. "Oh right, I forgot how annoying you used to be with the whole no-killing thing, you'll get used to it."

"I'll what?! Okay, I don't know who I was a month ago but the first rule of us traveling together is that we're not killing anyone, not even if they're bad guys."

She begrudgingly put her sword away. "Fine, then do you want my dragon to eat all of you or not?!"

"Not the eating thing again..." Mikhail muttered.

"The no-killing rule applies to your dragon too!"

"You're about to bore them to death anyways with all your nonstop bitching!"

"Drag your feet all you want but that's how we're doing things. Let me show you how it's done-" He approached the pirates. "Hey if y-"

The remaining pirates looked at each other then slowly nodded in agreement. "Enough is enough mate. We don't wanna hear you drone on anymore so if you let us go we'll give you all the information you want... in the form of a shanty!"

"Yeah sure that sounds- wait did you say a shanty?"

"Yep, pirate's shanty!"

"You don't need to-"

"Hit it, Paul! Oh wait... he just..."

"Yeah, that's awkward...he was the music guy too."

"Well, we can still pull through without him. Hit it, Will!"

Will the pirate pulled out a concertina while the other got out a violin and began to play music much to Riku and Zero's shared annoyance.

"I'm not listening to this." Zero turned to walk away only for one of the pirates to stand in front of her.

"Oooooh-"

Now, our story of Cap'n Faris begins as a tale of woe

As a young lass, she was sold off for some dough

Her elven blood made her a beauty

To the 'noble' blood of our society

Aye such a poor fate to such a young lass

...

Locked in the cage for what came to be years

Forced to do acts many would fear

All she wanted was to see the world at last

Then a miracle came by the sound of a blast

...

A crew of pirates, looking to loot,

Had also found Cap'n Faris to boot

They took the elf girl in as their own

Taught her 'bout the world she'd never known

...

Years later, with a motley crew and a twinkle in her eye

She set on the seas under the great blue sky

They called her Lady Luck, yeah, La-dy Luck

'Cause she always helped out men who were stuck

Oh Lady Luck, Lady Luck

Out on the seas our hearts were struck

...

Then one day, not too long ago,

She was down on her luck and the winds were slow

Oh-ho the winds were slow

There was so much more she wanted to steal

So she made a deal, oh, she made a deal

"Who'd she make a deal to?" Mikhail asked.

Now we must tell you while our dear Cap'n is an elf

To dark magic, she'd never lower herself

Then she made a deal with a demon,

And after that, she was no longer a seaman

Zero chuckled. "I'm sure she was in no short supply of other 'seamen'."

Your humor may be crass

But make no mistake about our Cap'n, lass

For she gained demonic magic and a lust for power

Instead of doing good, she pillaged villages by the hour

"That's normal fare for pirates," Riku said.

Regardless of that notion,

Intoners were her next motion

She set sail for the Land of Seas

And brought the lady down to her knees

...

After Five's defeat, her soldier's fleed

And Cap'n Faris' victory was all but guaranteed

Moral of the story, when yer fate is set in stone

You go out and make luck yer own

When their sea shanty finally came to a close, Riku took a moment to interpret the information encoded within the lyrics. "...It sounds like their captain was using the power of darkness. It's a sad story but we have to stop her so she and her pirates won't terrorize this land anymore. As for Five...I guess we were too late to save her, I'm sorry Zero."

She snorted. "I doubt Five's actually dead, we're not that lucky."

"Five's not dead at all, least our Cap'n doesn't think so since she's the one who put a bounty on her head," Will the pirate said. "Whole Land of Seas been tearin' up the place lookin' for her but I'm 'fraid there's no sign of her anywhere. Damn good at hiding, that girl."

"There's no point in looking for her, she probably skipped town again like the last time. We'll just go to the Land of Mountains-" Zero could feel Riku eyeing her so she quickly added; "After we save the people here or whatever."

The pirates burst out in laughter.

"Yeah, good luck with that one mates! Our Cap'n's a demon, 'sides you lot'd be lucky to even fight her first mate! That boy'll cut you down in a split second!"

"Why don't you tell us where your captain is and we'll see how much of a 'demon' she is."

"No clue. Prolly out somewhere drinkin' her weight in booze ha ha HA!"

"Yeah, yeah, that's our Cap'n alright!"

Zero shoved both of the pirates to the ground, then walked over them. "Come on let's go, these morons don't know shit else. We're better off looking for their captain ourselves."

As they made their way through the Land of Seas, Riku pointed up to Mikhail who he'd been curious about for some time. "So, who's your dragon friend here?"

"Oh right...you guys don't know each other anymore, he's-"

"-Thought you'd never ask!" Mikhail flew closer to the ground. "I'm Mikhail! Zero's bestest friend in the whole world... and I'm also a dragon that can fly!"

"Yeah, I can see that."

"Well uhh, I can also breathe fire! You wanna see, huh? Huh?"

"I'd save it 'till we're up against some enemies, but that's pretty cool. I'm Riku, by the way, apparently we've already met before though."

"Uh-huh, but I don't remember anything. Hey Zero, hey! I bet me and Riku were best friends too, right?"

"...Something like that."

"Speaking of, I think now's a good time for you to tell us what exactly happened in the past so we don't repeat the same mistakes," Riku said.

"Oh, that's right." And so Zero did just that, sure she might've embellished a few parts or outright omitted some things but for the most part, she gave him the full rundown from their first encounter in the Land of Seas up until her death in the Land of Forests.

"...That's quite a story. So in the span of a month, we became friends, you saved my life multiple times, we hooked up, your sisters all died and you couldn't do anything about it, but you did manage to save puppies, orphan kids and start an orphanage. Am I missing anything else?"

"I think you missed the part where I died trying to save your life."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah how could I forget?"

"Wow! That's amazing Zero, I had no idea how kind and selfless you were in the past! Wish I I coulda seen you in action, do you have any more stories about how awesome you were? Orrrr better yet, how much of an awesome dragon I was?" Mikhail asked.

"Orrrr how about you elaborate on what the Flower did to me exactly? Or the circumstances that led to your death? Kind of glossed over that part...and everything else," Riku said.

She waved it off. "I really don't wanna brag about how amazing I was...or elaborate on any details."

"Ha ha ha! You really don't like answering follow-up questions, Zero!" Mikhail said.

"Because all of that was made up! I think the only part you got right were the names," Riku said.

Zero pretended to act offended over Riku's very reasonable accusation. "Woooow! I'm honestly hurt. Do you know how rude it is to call someone you just met a liar?"

"I'm not an idiot. There's no way me and you ever hooked up."

"Oh THAT was the part I was lying about?!

"Along with everything else! You barely went into any detail of our supposedly month-long adventure together."

"Just because I don't remember every single plot point with perfect clarity makes everything I said a lie?"

Riku let out a sharp sigh, a sign of defeat. "You know what? If that's how it is, then fine. Hopefully, my own memories come back since I can't rely on yours." He went walked ahead of Zero.

'I'm sorry, Riku, but it's not like I can just tell you all the ways I fucked your life over when we just met. I'll tell them both when the time's right.'

Trust issues aside, the most pressing matter was finding Captain Faris. Zero assumed she took residence at Five's shrine and that's where they were heading initially, but the pirates did mention that she was the tavern-frequenting type and she was feeling hungry. She reasoned that since Captain Faris's location would be much harder than usual to pin down, their best source of information would be at a tavern, villagers loved to talk, especially when they had something to drink.

On their way to the shrine, they were approaching a village and Zero wanted to try her luck there. "Let's stop by here, I think there's a tavern in this village that can give us more leads on Faris."

"You sure it's a good idea to go to a place with a lot of people? You have a high bounty on your head," Riku said.

"They'll all probably be too drunk to realize who I am. So you coming or not? Or do you want to dragon sit for me?"

"I guess I have no choice so you don't get into any trouble."

"Awwww, so I have to be the only one who stays out here? But I wanna go to the village too!"

"And do what? I think you forget just how big you are sometimes, you'd crush the whole village," Zero said.

"Yeah that's true, well, be sure to get me lots of meat to make up for it then!"

"I'll see what I can do."

Zero and Riku ventured into the village, it was an unremarkable location, but all that mattered was whether there was a tavern or not and they were in luck. They found what appeared to be a well-trodden tavern and when they went inside, Zero could already see wanted posters of both her and Five plastered against the wall.

"So what's your plan? I already don't like the looks of this place," Riku asked.

"We ask around and get the information that way or I go with plan B."

"What's plan B?"

"The B stands for beat everyone up until I get what I want."

"So...you didn't think this through at all."

"Just you watch, it'll work out."

Things seemed to be going smoothly...for about a minute until she was approached by a young blonde-haired woman clad in armor. "Well, well thank the gods of Midgard that you stopped by here. I've been looking all over the place for you, Rose."

"Who's calling me R-" Zero immediately recognized the armored woman, though she'd changed considerably, those striking indigo-colored eyes gave it all away. Of all the people entangled in her past, she could never forget her old childhood friend who taught her the way the world worked and she responded with the same hostility she gave her all those years ago. "It's you! Fuck, time for plan B, Riku!"

The armored woman simply chuckled then whisked them away to the bar. "Don't worry, I'm not here for your bounty. I'm actually looking for your help if you can believe it."

She scoffed. "That's a first."

"Uh... do you two know each other?" Riku asked.

"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Indigo, I'm one of the best bounty hunters in Midgard, at least I was until the Intoners came into power...anyways, me and Rose used to be friends back in the day. Ah, those were some good times, weren't they?"

"For you maybe, but you sold my ass out. Fuck you for that, by the way."

"I told you it was no hard feelings. You know how it is in this world, it was either me or you, and you would've done the same thing if you were in my position." She knocked on the bar counter. "Barkeep, how about a round of beers for the three of us!"

"No beer for me, water's just fine," Riku said.

"Ha ha, ain't that cute!" Indigo elbowed Zero. "I didn't think you had it in you to actually settle down with a man, let alone a half-decent looking one!"

"It's not like that, we just travel together."

"Is that so? Well, I wouldn't be surprised if the roads aren't the only places you want to explore at night~"

"Heh, don't threaten me with a good time. Anyways...you wanted to ask for my help, didn't you?"

"That's right, I know you're trying to kill your sister Five, well so am I. Get this, just yesterday I was hired by a so-called priest of all people to kill her."

"Not surprised. Never met a priest that actually practiced what he preached."

"Yeah, ain't that the truth. Apparently, Five's went into hiding as a nun and that's why it was impossible for anyone to find her, I would've captured her myself by now but I know what the deal is with you Intoners. Now, usually I don't take bounties I can't fulfill but money's been tight lately and he was offering 3 million gold for her head."

"3 million?! That's way more than what those posters on the wall are offering!"

"The priest who hired me is some dickhead pervert who has a personal vendetta against her. I'm willing to bet the only 'crime' she committed against him was being a woman but I honestly don't care."

"So you're just gonna kill her even though that priest is clearly a bad dude?" Riku asked.

"Money's money, kid, that's how it is in the business and I wouldn't be strapped for cash if it weren't for the Intoners meddling in everyone's affairs, so call it returning the favor. You guys were already off to kill her anyways so why not help me out? There's a cut in the profit if you do, so it's a win-win situation where everybody leaves happy, what do you say?"

"We weren't going to kill Five, we were going to save her! Right Zero?"

"...So how much of a cut are you talking about? 50-50? Or maybe 70-30 for-"

"Zero! Come on, we need to discuss this!"

"Ugh, fine."

Riku dragged her outside the tavern. "...You're not actually serious about working with that woman, are you?!"

"Look, I can't explain anything to you right now, just trust me on this."

"Just 'trust you'?! You haven't told me the truth since we met so what makes you think I'll trust you? I wouldn't be surprised if you just want Five dead so you can take the money and make life easier for yourself!"

Zero rolled her eye, then leaned over to him. "...Listen to me, no matter what happens in there, it'll all work out in the end. Even if you don't trust me, I trust you."

"Okay...fine. I guess I'll see where this leads."

She smiled then slapped him on the back. "Glad to hear it. Now let's go talk negotiations." They went back inside the tavern and found Indigo downing a beer.

"Hey, we decided to accept your offer as long as we at least get a 50-50 cut on the profits."

"As you wish. On the condition that your partner isn't in the picture."

Zero raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with him tagging along? He's in on it too."

Indigo took one good look at him, then shook her head. "Nah, I can tell his heart's not in it and I can't have him screwing up this bounty. 3 million's on the line here, Rose."

Before Zero could open her mouth, Riku spoke up for her instead, "Then the deal is off because you're obviously up to something and Zero isn't gonna take your dirty money!"

'FUCK! This dumbass just couldn't keep his fucking mouth closed! What the hell do I say now? I guess I'll have to play it by ear.'

Indigo drummed her fingers along the counter. "Mm hm, and what makes you say that?"

"I haven't known Zero for long, but she's definitely the lesser of two evils between you two!"

Zero rubbed the back of her head. "Aw, you're embarrassing me."

"That isn't a compliment, whore! Especially not when you've obviously lied to him about who you really are." She turned to Riku. "If you knew who Rose really was, you wouldn't be calling the person who slaughtered an entire family the 'lesser of two evils'."

"Wh- What're you talking about?" Riku asked.

"Guess she didn't tell you the reason why she had a bounty in the first place. Let me tell you, it wasn't because she was a saint!"

Zero slammed her hands on the counter and got right up in Indigo's face. "Shut the fuck up! You're only bringing that shit up because you're bitter and washed up! I'm not like that anymore!"

"Like what? Is this why you didn't want to tell me what happened in the past?!" Riku pressed further.

Indigo cracked a small smile. "That's exactly why. She's clearly taken a liking to you, so why would she ever tell you that she was a ruthless killer?"

"...Is that true Zero?"

"..."

Indigo's smile broke out into a wide grin. "Her silence should speak for itself. Lend me your ear and I'll share Rose's past with you, kid. Bounty hunter's honor that it's all true."

Riku looked over to Zero, who couldn't even face him, then back to Indigo. "...If this is the only way for me to know the truth about her, then I want to hear it."

"Good choice. A few years back when she was just a young teenager, Rose was known as the 'witch with eyes of rose' and for good reason too. She was a merciless killer, didn't matter if you were a man, woman, or child, if you got in her way she'd kill you without a second thought. Official reports say she murdered no more than a couple dozen but that was just to save face." Indigo reached out to Zero and crept her hand up her cheek, her fingers brushing against the petals sprouting out of her eye. "Her death toll was somewhere close to the triple digits, if not breaching it."

When Zero seemingly made no attempt to fight back, Indigo figured she had her in her grasp like the strings of a marionette. "You see kid, she may be putting on this good girl facade for you right now, but on the inside, this rose has thorns. If you know what's good for you, you'll stay far away from her, she's nothing more than a cold-blooded killer and that's why she'll help me kill Five instead of wasting her time trying to be someone she's not."

Right at that moment, Zero had to make a gamble on which course of action she'd take next. 'Indigo's put me in a tight spot, but I can't give up on my plan when I'm so close. I just have to trust in Riku even when he's only seen the worst of me.' Sticking to her guns, she went through with her plan and turned against Riku. "Ha ha ha... you got me, can't get anything past you, huh Indigo? Of course, I'm still that same bastard I was before, I was just using this virgin to get what I want. Come on, let's go find Five and talk about my payment."

"Now THAT'S the girl I remember!" Indigo put her arm around Zero. "You had me worried there for a second."

"I didn't know you were a coward too, Zero," Riku said.

["No, you've already shown me exactly the type of person who you are. You're a coward and your heart is full of cracks!"]

"...I've heard that one before." Zero punched Indigo in the face so hard that even in all of her heavy armor, she flew back into the tables behind her. While she was down, Zero snatched a small booklet from her person, then waved it in her face. "...Dumbass, like I had any intention of working with you, this is what I was after from the beginning."

"Wait, what's that? What's going on?" Riku asked.

"I'll explain later."

"Heh heh, you think you're clever, huh, Rose? Well don't think you're the only one with tricks up their sleeves! Hey boys, let's teach them a lesson they won't forget."

The patrons of the tavern crowded around Zero, pulling out daggers and breaking glass wine bottles against the table. Fortunately, her gamble had paid off big time because Riku had already sprung into action at the first sign of trouble to fight alongside her.

"...Not sure what to make of you," Riku said.

"You'll figure it out soon enough, now let's kick some ass!"

As Indigo's goons were charging at them, Riku kicked an entire table in their direction, knocking out most of them, then he threw bar chairs at the stragglers.

"Decent goons are so hard to come by these days," Indigo said, standing herself up.

Riku kicked another table at Indigo but she unsheathed her claymore and cut the table in two with one fast strike.

Acknowledging her strength, Riku summoned his keyblade but Zero stepped in front of him with her sword. "Stay back, she's mine."

"Heh, about time we settle this old score, Rose." The power Indigo unleashed when she collided with Zero was so overwhelming that it made her fly back and crash into the wall of alcohol bottles behind the bar counter.

Before Zero could even stand herself back up, Indigo landed on the counter and attempted to stab her on the ground but she rolled out of the way just in time. Though Zero was profusely bleeding from the shards of glass tearing her skin apart, it was actually to her advantage because she could go into Intoner mode.

Verse 8

I must continue to sing the black flower's song

Until that foretold day comes, when the ending has begun

After Zero had tapped into her Intoner powers, she didn't even need to use her sword anymore, she just started wailing on Indigo with her fists in an explosion of pent-up anger. "This is for selling me out at the brothel! This is for trying to set me up! And this is for thinking I was dumb enough to ever trust you AGAIN!" With her powers beginning to fade away, she summoned the rest of her strength to pick Indigo up and throw her against the front wall of the tavern.

Seeing as Indigo was making no attempt to get back up this time, Zero dragged her sword over to her old friend, then held it to her neck.

"Heh, you... gonna kill me now like I...hah... tried to do with you ...all those years ago? Like I said... once a killer... always a... killer."

For as much as Zero wanted to see Indigo's vibrant colored eyes fade away, even more important to her than repaying a debt in blood was her friendship to Riku. So she did the unthinkable and thrust her sword into the tavern wall, actually letting Indigo live. "Your blood would filthy my sword. If you know what's good for you, then you'll leave and never show your face to me again."

Indigo used her claymore to stand herself up. "Wrong move...I'll... ha...ha...I'll kill Five one way or another and ... see that you suffer a nice long death, Rose."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Riku said.

Indigo only smirked at him in response then made her escape from the tavern. With nothing else, Zero and Riku left as well and began their long walk out of the village.

Zero showed the booklet she stole from Indigo to Riku. "This is the log she uses to keep track of her bounty, I saw her write in it when we first entered the tavern. There's definitely information on Five in here and we'll use it to track her down."

"Ah, now that makes our lives easier. I'm guessing your plan was to trick Indigo into thinking you were on her side so you could steal that booklet from her, but I don't know why you had to keep me in the dark about it."

"I couldn't trust you to keep up an act like that. She'd see right through you."

"But you trusted me enough to not bail on you...you know, a sane person would've just left after hearing that the person they just met was a mass murderer, but you already knew I wasn't just gonna leave you like that, huh?"

"No, I already know the type of person you are. No matter what, you always used to see the best in me, even when I really didn't deserve it...and now I'm realizing how much of a paranoid asshole I was being for keeping the truth from you and Mikhail."

"Oh yeah, big time."

"I'll make it up to both of you. Hopefully, the butcher doesn't wanna claim my bounty too, but you should come with me just in case."

"Sure." He slipped his hands inside his pockets. "By the way so, uh, your real name is Rose then?"

"That's just the name I gave myself, it's not like my mother ever gave me one. When I became an Intoner, I called myself Zero."

"So what do you want me to call you?"

"Zero's fine. I can't imagine you calling me Rose, it'd be weird. Though I'd make an exception if we were sleeping together and that was your way of getting me in the mood~"

"So Zero from now on? Got it."

Later that night when the campfire had been pitched and everyone had settled down, Zero was in the middle of cooking up a gourmet meal for her friends, something she hadn't done in a long while.

"Zeroooo, come on, when's the food gonna be done? It smells super yummy and I'm super hungry!" Mikhail whined.

"Keep asking me and you won't get any dinner! Riku, come over here and ta- oh right, that bastard's probably off brooding somewhere by himself."

"I can be your taste tester!"

"No way in hell! You think rotten meat is a gourmet meal, I'll just try it myself." Zero cut up a small slice of the steak she was preparing, then tasted it. 'This is good. It's just like how he would've liked it.' After fixing everyone's plates, she searched around for Riku, eventually finding him at a cliffside overlooking the coast. "I forgot how much of a loner you used to be," She said, joining him.

"I'm still taking in the whole time loop situation we're in. I mean... what makes you think we aren't just stuck like this forever? Forced to repeat the same month over and over again..."

She shrugged. "I don't know. There's probably some sick reason behind all of this, but worrying about it isn't gonna change anything. You should join us for dinner and put some food in your stomach."

"Yeah...guess you're right."

He followed Zero back down to the campsite where the three of them enjoyed the meal she prepared.

"Oh wow! This is so yummy, Zero, waaaaay better than eating grubs and worms!" Mikhail exclaimed.

"How is saying my food is better than eating dirt a compliment?"

"Heh, well coming from someone who doesn't eat dirt, this is really good. I would've never guessed you were a good cook," Riku said.

"Helps when you've had a lot of practice." As she watched them scarf down their food, Zero could feel herself getting caught up in the moment. 'I could get used to being stuck in a time loop forever if I could spend every day with them just like this. They're both alive and not in any pain or suffering, that's good enough for me. Even so, I still have to tell them about what happened in the past, as much as it sucks, or all of that bullshit's bound to just happen again.'

After some time of sitting in silence, Zero propped herself up and faced Riku and Mikhail. "I guess...now is as good a time as any to actually tell you guys the truth about everything you've forgotten."

Mikhail gasped. "Wait- wait- wait, so you saving orphans and puppies wasn't true?!"

"No...?"

No matter what name the Intoner takes on,

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Even as the world of Midgard begins anew,

Zero is the one constant that remains in the world.

Flowers for the Dead


A/N: Happy holidays, happy new year aaaand happy three-year anniversary of Kingdom Hearts 3 being released! I think I got everything I missed lol