Oh boy, this is late! I meant to get this out last week, but finishing a commission project was my priority. Its prologue is out, by the way, which you could have seen if you're in my second tier, and you will see it…tomorrow .

With this chapter, I saw it as a bit of a palette cleanser of sorts. Again, Bakugan as a franchise isn't that deep, which, at times, is hard to work with, but as long as I have fun with the fights and characters, I've done a good job, at least when I read over it.

Chapter 08: Taste of Defeat

Getting to the bridge, they found she was already present and close to the windows. It was clear why, as outside, they saw an aircraft flying around them. Each time it got close, it shook the ship, its engines sounding like a jet's thrust concentrated.

"That's a Vexos ship whose colors mean it belongs to." Ace's frown grew larger as the ship finally came to a stop before them. From its cockpit, Volt rose, glaring down at them, arms crossed like a demi-God about to smite them.

"The Bakugan Resistance, and I bet you picked up a new member, haven't they, Alban?" Volt called out, spotting the group in the windows, including the one he was sent to handle.

It was his lucky day, as he could deal another blow to the nuisance and resistance and get some data on this Alban character. Still, his scowl didn't shift as he hoped this would be at least entertaining. "Well, this won't be like yesterday. They won't be any running, so get out here and show me what you're made of."

Getting out, they met Volt outside, the Haos brawler being just as large as Zero had heard. "Well, I hoped you would ditch the silly disguise," Volt stated, looking Zero over as he approached, a battle gauntlet already strapped to his forearm.

Zero let out a contemplative hum. "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you on that. The same way I'll disappoint you if you think I'll be an easy mark."

"Please, I don't waste my time on such." Volt shot back, as he had come here for one reason and one reason only, and he would succeed.

"Be careful, Zero. He's not like any opponent you've faced." Mira called out to their masked compatriot.

"He's like one of the toughest guys out there!" Baron yelled as he wanted to be the one to face off against the Vexos member, but Zero volunteered and marched out to meet him, the rest having followed suit.

Volt listened to them talk, raising an eyebrow in slight intrigue and disappointment. "Zero? That's your little superhero name; how adorable."

"Superhero? I can assure you," Zero chuckled, seemingly taking no offense to his command as he watched his opponent pull out his gauntlet and strap it. Why would he do that when the idea that he would be one was such a joke? "I'm by no means righteous enough to claim such a title."

Both reached for their battle cards and inserted them into their gauntlets, allowing the bright light of Aquos and Haos to shine from them as he held them up. "Gauntlet, power strike!"

"I'll set the speed of things, gate card, set!" Volt declared, pulling out a gate card and throwing it to the center, allowing it to expand to cover the entire field. "Bakugan, Brawl!" That done, the large, brawny brawler pulled out his Bakugan and threw it into play.

"Bakugo, stand! Haos Brontes!" The Bakugan opened up, revealing one that none of the resistance or Zero had seen before as the Bakugan took its proper form, a long and slender Bakugan with elongated shoulders closer to cylinders with its equally slim and long arms connected at the very ends. The smiling clown, like Bakugan, let a disturbing laugh as he towered over them and their mobile base. Covered in white and purple armor that reminded Zero a little too much of that damned Lancelot and its stubborn pilot.

"Oh, peekaboo, I see you!" Brontes sang as it fully formed on the field, Zero looking at his power gauntlet to read a read on his power.

"500G?" Zero sounded like he had known the Vexos would be powerful, but this was insane. It really was like the days of fighting Suzaku's Lancelot.

"That is incredible." Baron sounded off, hearing Zero statement.

"And dangerous; be wary, Zero," Mira warned as she worried for him. They struggled to fight the Vexos, and Volt was far from the weakest of them to boot.

"Believe me, I know. Bakugan, brawl!" Zero replied, keeping a cool head as he reached for a new addition to his team. "Bakugan, stand! Rise from your ocean, throne, Aquos Sirenoid!" A power sprout formed on the battlefield, allowing the elegant mermaid, Sirenoid, to form and float, ready for battle with her lyre held in her firm hands.

"Oh, you're a pretty lady, wanna hear a joke?" Brontes asked her as Volt saw that his opponent only had a power level of 400G, setting things in his favor.

"I'm looking at one." Sirenoid retorted, but Brontes merely laughed off the insult as Zero pulled out two cards.

"Double Ability activate! Forcing Wave and Dive Mirage!" Using both, Zero gave Sirenoid a much-needed power boost. He allowed her to dive into the ground, behaving like a deep ocean they all happened to stand on. The add-on that Volt couldn't activate his Gate Card, whatever it was also appreciated as Sirenoid went on the attack. Leaping out of the water, her lyre was held ready. Still, with an equal power level, Brontes suffered minor damage, and his counters did a similar amount of damage when they could hit the evasive mermaid.

Strangely, Volt didn't react for a moment. Instead, the Haos brawler's dark cobalt eyes watched the two Bakugan doing battle. Mira especially found that strange, as Volt wasn't someone who battled like this, drawing out moments like this like, say, Shadow would. What was his game?

After Brontes was knocked back, it seemed that Volt finally decided to do something. "Cute, but that won't save you. Ability Activate: Maniactus Magical!" With that call, the area around Brontes started to shine as if golden light was piercing through the dark depths Sirenoid was swimming through; Sirenoid was blinded by the light before being thrown out of the water, having a hard landing on solid ground.

"What?" Zero asked as Sirenoid got back up, looking and seeing that Sirenoid's power had not only dropped back to base, but Brontes had gained an additional 200Gs, putting the power difference at 300Gs.

"Say goodbye to your ability card." Volt stated as Brontes leaped into the air, his long, spindly limbs seemingly boneless.

"Looks like the joke," Brontes started as he whipped back a kick, sending it crashing into Sirenoid's chest and sending her flying. "On you!" He sang as Sirenoid grunted from the blow, hitting on her back, and the impact of her landing kicked up dust and wind, which had the resistance members blocking their eyes. At the same time, Zero's mask kept him safe from such, leaving only his cape to flutter in the wind before it settled.

"That had to hurt." Ace frowned as Sirenoid was slower to get up, but she did as Zero pulled out another card.

"We're not out of the race yet! Ability Activate! Ripple Shield!" Water formed around Sirenoid, forming a sphere with here at its center. Sirenoid breathed fresh seawater as that bubble started rippling, drawing in power from Brontes, who let out a yelp as he felt weaker. Volt glanced at his gauntlet and frowned, seeing his Bakugan losing 400Gs, giving Sirenoid the advantage.

"Allow me to repay the favor, Brontes," Sirenoid called as she strung her lyre. Her fingers imparted a sort of energy to it, causing the instrument to glow before she charged him. Her first hit found its mark as Brontes was knocked back and then again. As she went for the third, Volt intervened.

"Not bad, but you'll need more than that to fight me; ability activate! Darkus Scythe!" Hearing that, Zero couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice.

"Darkus?" Zero repeated.

"But how?" Mira called as Brontes giggled as a darkus-styled scythe formed in his clawed hands.

"Oh, you're a doll, but I'm the comedian here!" Brontes called out as he swung the weapon, slashing through Sirenoid, who gasped. The first strike was draining her of 200Gs, while a second strike did her in.

"I'm sorry…" Sirenoid gasped as she fell, returning to the ball and falling at Zero's feet.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Sirenoid." Zero told her, kneeling to pick her up.

"Was that all you have? I don't know why I was expecting more." Volt called out, their first round having already seen Zero lose 200 life points.

Zero hummed. "Well, I don't want to disappoint. Gate card, set!" He tossed a gate card onto the field, allowing its blue squared light to spread before holding up Sirenoid.

"Bakugan, brawl!" Zero threw her into the field. "Bakugan, stand! Let's give them a show, Aquos Sirenoid!" Sirenoid formed once more, eager to make up for their failure.

"This is almost too easy, Bakugan, brawl!" Volt's frown didn't change as he followed suit, sending Brontes back onto the field. "Bakugan, stand! Bakugo, stand! Haos Brontes!"

"Oh, back for another joke, pretty lady? I have plenty more where, and let me tell yeh, they're real killers." Brontes' joker-like tone took a dark turn near the end.

"We'll see which of us is the better performer, clown!" Sirenoid wouldn't let that scare her. She was fighting for herself and her people and wouldn't let herself be bested, not without a fight.

She shared That feeling with her human, who pulled out an ability card and slotted it into his gauntlet. "Ability activate: Depth Tornado!" With that, Sirenoid's power went up, higher than it would have gone with Juggernoid as she gained 200Gs, not just matching but surpassing Brontes

Volt scoffed at the move, but he would admit that Zero wasn't acting like someone who didn't know what they were doing. Or, at least, he could present a calm persona. Either way, it wouldn't be enough to defeat him. "What an amateur, Ability Activate! Darkus Howl Trigger!"

"Another Darkus ability?" Ace asked, wondering just how this was possible. He had heard that some Bakugan could change attitudes, but Brontes hadn't done that.

"Just how many does he have?" Baron asked as Brontes' power remained the same. Still, Sirenoid suffered. He dropped 200Gs, returning it to what he had been from the start. This allowed Brontes to start attacking Sirenoid, forcing her to evade. However, he proved to be stronger than her, landing several blows, his last knocking her into a nearby tree, toppling it.

Brontes, all the while, crackled and laughed. "What, haven't you ever heard of a dark joke?"

"Zero," Sirenoid called out, as she didn't like getting thrown around like this.

Zero nodded. "We have him, Sirenoid. Gate card, open! Level down!" The field started glowing. Sirenoid left unaffected, but Brontes felt weaker.

"What? Where's my Mojo?" Brontes asked as his next attack didn't do anything against Sirenoid, who caught his hand and threw him back with a surprised cry, landing in a pile of limbs like a doll.

"Level down, a gate card that strips 100Gs from any opposing Bakugan with a power lover of 400 or more." Zero stated that Volt saw Brontes level decrease to Sirenoid's level, but Zero wasn't done.

"And to make up for your earlier attack, double ability activate! Vital Neptune and Wate Refrain!" Zero called out, holding his gauntlet out, letting the power of his dual abilities shine as Sirenoid's body not only started glowing, emitting a deep blue pulse, but she started to see, her beautiful voice a pleasure for all of them to hear, Zero's geass reacting to it, same as it did when he first heard her during his battle with Shalta.

This didn't go unnoticed as Volt's gauntlet pinged, though he didn't have time to look at it; being affected by her singing left him feeling dizzy. Brontes getting the worst of it, the self-proclaimed clown feeling light on his feet, and not in a funny way, as Sirenoid gained 200Gs

"Brontes!" Volt yelled as if summoned by her singing. A tidal wave formed behind Sirenoid, rushing towards Brontes and washing him away.

"Oh, that really smarts, and no banana to boot…." Brontes cried out as he was engulfed in the wave, the force being too great for him as he was defeated. He washed up at Volt's feet, his life gauge dropping incredibly low with that one victory, down to just a fifth of its total.

"He did it!" Baron yelled, jumping for joy as Zero caught Sirenoid, the round having gone to him.

"That's how it's done!" Ace cheered along with him, even though he wasn't as excited as his younger teammate.

Mira was also excited, but she knew they weren't out of the woods yet. Watching Volt, he didn't seem upset about his loss to such a greenhorn. Instead, he focused on his gauntlet, reading through something, his eyes widening in what appeared to be surprised at what he was seeing before they narrowed, landing squarely on Zero. Only then did he pick up Brontes to get ready for the next round.

'It was only one round, though; it's no small feat to take a victory over any member of the Vexos.' Mira could only hope that they could pull out a victory here.

"Not bad, not bad at all, Alban. But that just means I have all the more reason to crush you." Volt stated that as he was starting to see why this nobody brawler could embarrass someone like Shalta, Lync's old partner. "Gate card, set!" He threw another card down.

"Bakugan, brawl!" Quickly followed by his Bakugan. "Bakugan, stand! Haos Brontes!"

Taking to the field once more, Brontes wasn't about to let them make him the butt of the joke; that was his job, thank you very much! "Let's finish this performance with this last bit, shall we?"

"I've never been a fan of comedy; it's far too upbeat for my taste." Zero retorted, holding out Sirenoid before throwing her into the field, having used a little spin so that she would land to the side. "Bakugan, brawl! Bakugan, stand! Aquos Sirenoid!"

"It seems that we can agree on that, Brontes," Sirenoid called out as Volt got ready to end things, drawing two cards and slotting them into his gauntlet.

"Double Ability activate: Ghost Cell and Darkus Scythe!" Volt called out, as Brontes laughed, yellow mist forming around him before they turned into ghost-like masses that attacked Sirenoid. The mermaid tried to bat them away, but their gaseous forms made that impossible as they harassed her, her power level lowering a 100Gs. Not done with her, Brontes created a familiar weapon and, with her distracted with the ghosts, slashed her from head to tail, Sirenoid screaming in pain as her power dropped again.

"Go, Brontes, show the resistance what it means to play with the big boys," Volt called out, seeing their chance to end this battle.

"Normally, I keep violence out of my routine, but there's a joy to be found in pummelling someone with a fish," Brontes charges, his long, seemingly boneless arms striking with whip-like speeds. Sirenoid's attempts to block proved futile as each hit seemed to hurt worse than the last. "Or, in this case, beating the fish." With one large hit, she was sent tumbling back, Zero needing to jump to the side to avoid being crushed by her.

Getting up, Zero saw that Sirenoid was down but not out. She found the strength to rise, but it was clear it was taking a toll on her. "Oh no, they're in a tough spot!" Baron called out, and the rest were just as worried as him.

Zero took a breath, keeping his cool because he had to. He couldn't be like Suzaku, gifted enough to never need to think. He wasn't Todhoh, who was a disciplined and mature warrior. And he certainly couldn't be Kallen, whose passion could burn even fire and has the skills to see her goals done.

He was him, and he had to play to his strengths: analysis and battlefield management. "Tough spots don't mean unwinnable. Let's demonstrate that, Sirenoid. Double Ability Activate: Ripple Shield and Watersprout" He held his gauntlet like it was a shield, his geass flashing in his head along with the power of the two ability cards, which drained Brontes of most of his power, while dousing Sirenoid, granting her some.

That difference in power meant that Brontes' attempt to finish her off was halted when she caught his wrist in a grip stronger than the pressure of the deep ocean depths. His attempts to pull the pack proved just as fruitless, as her hand didn't move as he got up.

"You'll do well to remember how dangerous the ocean is, clown." Sirenoid bashed Brontes aside with a tail swipe, the clown yelping as he tripped and fell with a pained groan, but while she was stronger, she wasn't the only one who could get up after a hard hit.

"I admit, you've got some moves on you, real moxie!" Brontes complimented her, his arms swaying in the wind while his gaze remained fixed on his foe, who strung her lyre. From it, a blast of aqueous energy fired toward the Haos Bakugan.

"If this is all you have, you should go home, Alban. Gate Card, open! Haos reactor!" Volt activated the battle card, bathing the area in bright light with star-like orbs forming around Brontes, pushing his power by 200Gs, giving him the power advantage to 100Gs with Sirenoid sitting at a much weaker 200Gs.

"Oh, yeah, it's much better to tell jokes with the spotlight on you." Brontes danced about, Sirenoid going on the defensive now that he had the stronger attacks, evading the clown. Still, Volt wasn't about to let things lay.

"I'm not done! Ability activate! Lighting Tornado!" The skies darkened above before bright golden lightning struck Brontes, but it didn't hurt him. Instead, the laughing Bakugan acted as the epicenter for a tornado of bright lightning forming around him, increasing his impressive speed even higher.

"Oh, this feels great; why don't you come here and feel it yourself." He seemed to teleport, getting close to Sirenoid, where he kneed her in the gut, lifting her high as she didn't even have time to scream in pain as the lightning surrounded Brontes all targeted her, electrocuting her.

"Sirenoid!" Dammit, this was getting bad, Zero reached for another card. "Ability activate: Devora Anthemusa!" Through the pain of what felt like tens of millions of electricity coursing through her, Sirenoid found the strength to sing. Her voice unaffected by the attack. Through her angelic singing, the lighting that was trying to engulf her dissipated, and she felt power coursing through her as her power level rose from 200 to 500Gs.

"Oh, that voice, it would be annoying if it wasn't so darn soothing," Brontes noted as she kept on singing for a moment before finally, she ceased, but by then, even battered, she was still in the fight, and now it was the one in trouble.

"Then I shall sing till you lay defeated before us." Sirenoid started to sing once more, playing her harp with delicate yet practiced and firm fingers. The sound alone proved to be damaging to Brontes, who held his head, hearing it pierce his ears and seemingly bounce around his head. Volt wasn't untouched by it, though he kept his cool.

"He's holding his own quite well," Mira noted as the fight continued.

"What do you mean? He's cleaning their clocks!" Baron seemed confused. Zero clearly had the advantage; he even had a larger portion of his life gauge filled. He wouldn't even need a big win to take the match.

Ace could see what Mira was concerned about, and if he was honest, he was worried about it. "Baron, the battle's not over yet."

"You should listen to them, little man," Volt pulled out a card to deal with this musical performance. "I'm done messing around; let's end this. Ability activate: Maniactus Magical!" With that, Brontes did a little twirl, the sound of a clown's horn going off as the field started shining more, silencing Sirenoid, whose power dropped lower than her foe.

"Sorry, darling, but we gotta put the kibosh on your little music recital," Brontes stated.

"Our ability." Zero looked at the screen, seeing that Devora Anthemusa's effect had been canceled out with that move, leaving them the weaker of the two.

"That's been nullified." Volt finished the thought as Brontes charged.

"We're not out of the running yet, Zero." Sirenoid held her lyre at the ready.

"Of course, Sirenoid. Double Ability Activate! Dive Mirage and Vital Neptune!" Zero called out as Sirenoid jumped over the charging Brontes and dived head-first into the light-emitting ground, sinking in as she would a lake. Moments later, Volt's gate card lost its effect now that it was essentially liquid. "Let's get rid of all this light." Brontes was in serious trouble, his power dropping to a mere 100Gs, 200 below Sirenoid.

"Impressive, you even managed to remove my Gate card, but if you're so against the light, try the dark." Volt started, drawing two cards to finish the battle. "Double Ability activate: Desert Pyhthon and Aurora Dimension!" With that, the skies above darkened as what seemed to be an inverse of the northern lights Lelouch had heard of descended, but they didn't get any wonder or are from this, only dread.

'What the heck is this?' Ace asked himself, as that ability card gave him a sick feeling in his gut.

"I'm getting the creeps." Baron shivered as he was used to darkus thanks to battling with Ace, but this was a whole other level. It wasn't just the absence of light but the presence of malice.

'It's like this each time I battle; I'm just left in awe of their power.' Zero thought to himself as he spied Brontes, the ever-smiling Bakugan laughing as a glowing ring formed in his hands, which he tossed at Sirenoid. She evaded it, but they didn't stop as the ring flew back for her; even when she dived into the card, the ring pierced through and followed her like a hungry shark. All this made everything scarier for them as Brontes' power lever was 100Gs higher now.

"Nowhere to run, nowhere where to run, not from Auroa Dimension." Volt declared as Sirenoid evaded the rings, but it came time for what seemed like the sky itself to join the fight as the inversed northern lights came crashing down.

"Are you afraid? You should be as I'm the clown under your bed." Brontes laughed as the auroa pierced the card, leaving Sirenoid nowhere to run.

"Oh no!" Mira called out.

"Sirenoid!" Zero pulled out another card, a gamble. "Ability-!"

"Too late," Volt told him as his ability came crashing down onto Sirenoid, who tried to resist. The force of it and her battle damage proved too much, and with a scream, she was defeated. The force knocked Zero off his feet, the masked brawler tumbling a couple of times before he came to a stop. He lay on his stomach, feeling some bruises from that as Sirenoid's ball rolled up next to him, his life gauge dropping to nothing.

"Zero!" Baron and Mira were the first to help him up. "Are you okay?"

He didn't answer them, leaving their grasp to fall to his knees and gently pick up the defeated Sirenoid, holding her to his helmet. "Sirenoid…I'm sorry, I failed you as your brawler."

"Rise your head, Zero." Volt's rough voice cut through their mood, the resistance seeing the Haos brawler standing tall with his arms crossed. However, there was something different about him now; a level of respect could be seen in his eyes. "You weren't as weak as I thought you'd be. You got skills."

"You think we're done?" Ace asked, pulling out his gauntlet to make up for Zero's loss. Volt turned to leave, jumping onto his jet, which started up without him ever needing to touch the controls. As it started to hover and ascend, Volt turned to look at them, or more accurately, his gaze remained on his defeated masked opponent.

"Yes, we are. I don't have the time to waste." With that said, he got inside his jet and left.

"Well, I wasn't expecting a call so soon, Volt. I trust you have good news." Spectre started the meeting; not too long ago, they had all been gathered to hear about their findings and assign someone to look into it. It was a pleasant surprise when Volt contacted him about having something to share, something good, he hoped, as his Highness wasn't pleased with that little bombing in Beta City.

Volt, as always, was unshakable as he addressed the gathered members of the Vexos. "It took a while, but I managed to find and battle this Zero character."

"You're referring to Alban?" Gus asked for clarity's sake, as nothing in their files about their target having a second name and such an odd one.

"He goes by Zero; I don't really know why," Volt replied, to which Shadow laughed as he looked around as if this Zero was hiding somewhere in the room.

"Well, where is he? Don't tell me he beat you." As always, the darkus brawler's attempts to prod a reaction out of his opponent attribute brawler proved fruitless.

"Not even. I defeated him as is expected of a member of the Vexos," Volt told them, though Mylene couldn't help but dig into him.

"And yet you were unable to capture him. Was that not what was expected of you as a member of the Vexos?" she questioned, as the man returned after not even two days and without the target, unless, of course, he had already handed him over to their forces to be shipped to Professor Clay for study.

"I didn't think it would be possible, he's got skill. But I didn't leave empty-handed." Volt pulled out a small data drive and tossed it to Spectre, who quickly caught it; looking it over, no markings could say what it was or contained. "That's my battle data and info my ship managed to collect. You were right about that energy, but it wasn't coming from his Bakugan but from him and flowing into his Bakugan."

"Interesting…" Spectre mused, smiling as he should have expected something like that from Volt. His no-nonsense attitude tends to make one forget he was no fool. "Excellent job, Volt. I was right to trust you for this task. It might not be our suspect, but I'm sure the professor can infer plenty from this." He pocketed the drive to hand over the data later…after he looked through it himself.

Lync stretched his arms over his head, his interest in this growing as it wasn't every day that Volt couldn't complete a mission. "Maybe I should try it next time, I bet I could capture him."

"Not now, kid. He's linked up with the resistance." Volt shut that down, drawing some attention as they had no idea they were linked. Or rather, as Volt said, the target had been solo till recently.

"Them? Oh, like they're all that good to begin with." Shadow waved them off.

"They're little more than pests." Mylene scoffed.

"And yet, they've managed to escape us on numerous occasions. In fact, have they not eluded all of you?" Gus asked them, the two in question glaring at him but not refuting the claim.

Spectre still spoke up before one or both decided now was a good time to get into another argument with his right-hand man. "Gus is right. We might be the superior brawlers, but it would be ill-advised to just dismiss them. They're a problem and could grow bigger should they realize what this…Zero has in him. He could prove to be a means to find the remaining 3 Legendary Bakugan and ensure we never capture them."

"Then, that's all the more reason to locate and capture him!" Mylene stated.

"Patience, Mylene. We shall move when we better understand the situation. In the meantime, you'll dismissed. I need to make a report for His Highness." Though realistically, Specter told them he suspected she wouldn't listen and find some means to do as she pleased. Well, it was of no concern; in fact…that might be a better outcome as he just knew that this Zero would make things a lot more interesting. He might just be the type of person he was looking for.

Back with the resistance, Zero remained on his knees, his mask making it impossible to tell what he was feeling. Still, the three other resistance members could bet that it was frustration over his loss. "Zero…"

"It's not so bad, Zero, I mean, you put up a good fight." Baron tried to cheer him up, as he did better than he would have and never lost his cool.

"The fact you lasted as long as you did is an accomplishment, " Mira said, as while she was disappointed in his loss, she couldn't fault him when he was still so new to their ways of fighting.

"Yeah, even I would have had issues beating that guy." Ace pitched in his own way as Zero finally replied, and it wasn't how they expected it to be.

"Calm yourselves, I'm not upset. Or rather, I'm not so upset that I need to be cheered up. I had doubts that I would win." Zero stated as he stood up, reminding them that he was the tallest one there, and it wasn't even close.

Mira frowned. "Then why did you volunteer?"

In response, Zero turned to her, his facelessness peering into her. "If I'm to be your ally…if I'm to make any meaningful progress to free the Bakugan. I need to learn about our enemies, know where I stand in comparison to them plan for the future, and train to gain the strength needed to win." He stated.

"That's a good way of thinking about it." She smiled, worried that it had been ego, but it had been the opposite.

"It's not as if I've never known defeat. It's a bitter taste but a familiar one to me. But it makes victory all the sweeter." Again, he recalled Suzaku and how many times she got in his way and ruined his carefully laid plans. Not even him; his first defeat was solely because of arrogance.

Lifting Sirenoid, Zero directed his question to her: "Sirenoid, can I continue to count on your support?"

She opened up in his palm, facing him. "As if you have to ask, Zero. Till our goals have been reached, we're partners." She told him, firm in her words, with Lelouch smiling under the mask. No matter what, it was always helpful to have something he could count on.

"Come on, we should get going before someone else shows up, " Mira said. Volt might have left, but he was sure to report this, and the last thing they needed was someone like Gus or Spectre showing up; then they would be in serious trouble.

At her word, they turned to return to their base with plans to put as much distance between here and them as possible, but Zero halted and looked back the way Volt had flown. Contemplating what he had witnessed in that fight.

'Volt…there was something off about him; he was watching like studying me, but why?' He couldn't get answers to his questions, at least not now. But he would need to focus on gaining experience. He had mainly gone up against weaklings up till now, and it showed. Through experience, he would also gain strength, something badly needed if Volt was what the typical Vexos was, then he wouldn't be of much help outside buying time.

I can already tell some of you must have been really angry that I had Lelouch loss, but well? He's not Dan, nor is he one of the 6 Legendary Brawlers; he's good, make no mistake, and he's a fast learner, but when his strongest foe was Shalta, and even then he struggled, well, he bested any of the Vexos would come off as real forced. Even Dan lost to Gus in their first fight and nearly lost to him in their second if not for Shun coming in with a steel chair.

The next chapter will be out March 27th

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