Zero to Infinity

In the Meeting Hall with the Matriarch and the three councilman, November spoke forth. November paced back and forth in the study, deep in thought. They had to come up with a plan. Connor was right, they couldn’t let Jenny marry Gordon. But what could they do?

Finally, he came up with an idea. “Zero, I think I know how we can stop the wedding.”

Zero frowned. “How?”

“We’ll kidnap Jenny and take her to a faraway place where he’ll never find her,” November said.

“And then what?“, asked the Matriarch.

“We stall... until we can grab all the Earth Theorians back and head to the next planet”, finished November.

Connor and Jacob looked at each other, uncertain.

This all sounded very risky but they knew that November was right. They had to try.

Jacob nodded in agreement.

November continued. “Jacob, you will stay here with Connor and the Matriarch. Connor, he’s going to need some swift training. Zero. You and I are going to kill Gordon.”

“Kill?” asked Zero. It wasn’t like them to kill anyone, let alone one of their own.

“We have to, Zero. Look, I know you two were close, but he’s not the Gordon you knew anymore.” November was the main Councilman, and with the Matriarch’s approval, they had to trusted his judgement.

“I don’t know, November. I just don’t know.” Zero looked away, trying to hold back the tears.

November watched Zero for a few moments, then walked away.

“He’s an amazing shifter. How do we get close enough to do that?“, asked Zero.

“Jenny,” November adds.

“We are not using Jenny as bait”, urged Zero.

Jenny was the future heir and his bride. Zero didn’t want to put her in danger, but they knew they needed to find a way to get close to the shifter.

Zero had an idea. “What if we use me as bait?“, he asked. November was hesitant but was sure he could handle it.

“Okay then”′ he mocked. “What do you propose?”

“Well, I could distract Gordon with a fight for Jenny’s hand”

“But she’s already chosen him. Why would she allow it?”

“She wouldn’t”, replied Zero. “But Gordon wouldn’t give up on a chance to fight. To prove himself to be top dog”, Zero explained. “Once we’re deep in action, you could rush in, grab Jenny, and take her away.”

“And what about you?“, asked Connor.

“What if he gets the drop on you?“, asked November.

“I just have to be better than he is”.

“It’s worth a shot.” November agreed. “But be careful. We know what Gordon is capable of.”

The two went off to prepare for battle.

Zero arrived in the dark of the night with the stars only to brighten the playing field, waiting. He heard a noise and tightened his grip on his sword. Out of the darkness stepped Gordon.

“You’re going to have to do better than that,” Gordon taunted. “I don’t fight with weaponry”. Zero dropped his sword and ran forward into an attack. Shifting from bear to serpent, octopi, and bee, Zero shifted so quickly and so much, that Gordon struggled to predict his next move.

Zero attacked, but Gordon was too quick. He dodged and countered, wounding Zero, but he never backed down. The battle raged on for hours.

“You are a worthy opponent,” Zero said, gasping for breath. “But, I will never salute you.”

“The honor is mine. Still using my old moves, are you?” Gordon said.

Zero fought back, but Gordon was too strong. He clawed Zero’s chest, causing him to stumble back. Zero was losing blood fast. He knew he had to end this quickly. He gathered all his strength and charged at Gordon. Gordon tried to dodge, but Zero moved faster to the left, forcing Gordon to follow left, and then quickly turned around, slipping past Gordon’s defenses. He jammed his claws into Gordon’s chest. Gordon felt the sharp pain as Zero’s claws ripped through his flesh. He grabbed Zero’s arms, trying to pull them away, but Zero was too strong. He sank his claws in deeper, ripping Gordon’s flesh. Gordon cried out in pain as Zero ruthlessly tore into him. He felt his strength fading and knew he was going to die. But then, suddenly, Zero was pulled away from him.

Looking up, Gordon saw Jenny standing there, her eyes filled with determination. She grabbed Zero’s arms and yanked them away from Gordon. Gordon collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. He felt the blood oozing from his chest, staining his shirt red. He knew he was going to die, but he was glad Jenny had saved him.

“She actually does love me”, Gordon said as he flopped to unconsciousness.

Zero lay in a heap on the ground, his body battered and bruised, next to a limped Gordon. November ran over to Zero.

“You did it,” he said.

Zero smiled weakly. “I’m not done yet.” He took a few steps forward and then collapsed. Leaving Gordon’s body on the ground, November grabbed up Zero.

“Let’s go, Jenny!” he yelled back toward her.

“Okay”, replied Jenny.

November carried Zero to Mount Pioneer with Jenny in pursuit.