Unclassified; Zero and Still Standing

Yesu carried her boots in one hand as she walked barefoot along the edge of the stream.

Cold water rushed around her ankles comfortingly.

She closed her eyes for a moment.

The feeling stirred something.

Not a thought.

Not exactly a memory.

Fragments.

Places she had never consciously seen.

Voices she couldn’t hear.

Faces she couldn’t recognize.

They drifted through her mind like reflections beneath disturbed water, disappearing before she could hold onto them.

She opened her eyes again.

The sensation vanished.

Squad 11-D continued upstream, following the current toward D-4.

The lively conversations that had accompanied them from Base had gradually faded.

The closer they came to their destination, the quieter everyone became.

A few students stole glances at Yesu.

She looked peaceful, completely unlike the rest of them.

"How can she be so relaxed knowing what’s ahead for us?" Someone whispered.

Nobody answered.

No one even attempted to. They had far more pressing concerns.

Then—

"Stop."

Soraya’s voice cut through the silence.

The entire squad halted immediately.

Soraya was already staring at the ground ahead.

Broken cracks spread across the rocky earth.

She stepped forward and knelt.

Isaiah joined her almost immediately.

"What do you think?" Soraya asked. "Was it an Earth User playing around or was there a fight?"

Isaiah crouched beside her.

His eyes followed the cracks as they snaked across the ground.

They all converged toward a patch of fine black sand beside the stream.

He frowned. Then leaned closer. His fingers traced one of the fractures.

After several quiet moments, he slowly shook his head.

"I don’t think this was an Earth User, Soraya."

Soraya glanced at him.

"The fractures are too irregular." He continued examining them. "They don’t look controlled."

His gaze travelled from crack to crack.

"This resembles a natural phenomenon." He hesitated. "Like an earthquake."

Several nearby students exchanged uncertain looks.

Isaiah frowned even deeper.

"The strange part..." he murmured, "...is that every crack leads toward the same place."

He pointed at the black sand.

"Which makes absolutely no sense. Sand couldn’t have caused this."

Soraya studied the sand in silence.

By now, the rest of the squad had gathered around them.

Curiosity replaced caution. Everyone wanted to know what they had found.

A shoulder bumped into Yesu from behind.

"Oh—sorry."

She stumbled sideways.

Her name tag slipped from her pocket.

Plop.

It disappeared into the shallow water.

She instinctively reached for the nearest rock to steady herself.

Then paused.

Something else rested on the rock beside it.

A notebook.

Yesu dropped her boots beside the rock. She stepped over and picked up the book.

A folded sheet protruded from somewhere near the middle.

Curious, she opened it.

Her breath caught.

It was a drawing. A landscape.

The stream.

The trees.

The rocks.

Even the smallest bends in the water had been captured with astonishing precision.

Yesu slowly raised the notebook.

She compared the sketch with the scenery before her.

Her eyes moved from the page to the stream.

Then back again.

It was almost identical.

Every shadow.

Every branch.

Every ripple.

She had never cared much about art. In truth, she had never had the chance, given that life in Zero districts relied mostly on hard labor.

No one had the time or resources for art. So she was basically uninformed.

But even she could tell—

This was beautiful.

Her fingers gently brushed the page.

How long had someone spent drawing something like this?

Around her, the discussion about the cracked earth continued.

Yesu barely heard any of it. She remained completely absorbed by the sketch.

Then Soraya’s voice echoed across the group.

"Let’s get moving."

Everyone responded immediately.

The discussion ended. Students began filing back onto the trail.

Yesu reluctantly placed the notebook carefully back on the rock, exactly where she had found it.

Leaving the page open.

Then she hurriedly slipped her boots back on and ran after the others.

***

Squad 11-A stood in a tight circle beneath the trees. Their discussion had come to an end.

The plan was simple.

Separate the main target.

And capture.

"Alright," Seth said. "Any more questions before we begin?"

Silence.

He nodded.

"Good. Then—"

"Excuse me." Kristen raised a hand. "I have a question."

"Of course you do." Mahirah muttered under her breath.

Seth looked more weary than irritated.

"Go on."

Kristen smiled mischievously.

"How exactly are we so certain the Academy would place the highest bounty on a Zero?"

Her eyes drifted deliberately toward Mahirah.

"Isn’t it a little absurd that we’re putting all our hopes on one of Corvane’s theories?"

Mahirah shot her a cold glare.

Seth answered before she could.

"Like Corvane elaborated, Kaelitha is obviously the last person anyone would want to try to capture. That alone makes her valuable."

"And besides," he continued, "we’re capturing other members too."

His voice hardened.

"Kaelitha is simply our priority."

Kristen gave a quiet snort.

"So it’s... placing the highest worth on the worthless?"

Seth frowned at the remark.

"Probably." One of the squad members answered with a shrug.

Apollo slowly raised a hand.

"Question."

Every head turned. All surprised that he had spoken.

Mahirah narrowed her eyes.

Apollo ignored her completely.

"What happens," he asked calmly, "if we’re wrong?"

A brief pause.

"What if the Zero is simply the Zero?"

Seth straightened.

"Then," he replied evenly, "we’ll find out when the points are released."

***

Squad 11-D gathered beneath the forest canopy in a close circle.

"So," Soraya began, her eyes moving from face to face, "I trust everyone understands the plan."

Several heads nodded.

None was convincing. Every face still carried traces of unease.

Soraya frowned.

"Oh, come on, guys." She sighed. "Give me something to work with here."

Nobody replied.

"How are we supposed to survive this if you won’t even give yourselves a chance?"

A few students straightened instinctively.

Isaiah cleared his throat.

Soraya seized the moment.

"Let’s try again." She leaned lower. "What is the plan?"

"Find the Scale carrier," someone answered.

"Or carriers," another corrected.

"Like we did the day before yesterday."

Soraya nodded. "And?"

More voices followed.

"Separate."

"Isolate."

"Kidnap."

"Bring them back to Base."

"Good." Soraya could already hear more confidence. "And why are we targeting the Scale carrier?"

"Because it’ll probably be the weakest?"

She nodded. "Maybe."

"Because we’d die trying to capture anyone else?"

She frowned. "No."

Another hand went up.

"Because if they’re carrying the Scales..." the student said carefully, "...they can use them to bargain for their release?"

Soraya smiled faintly.

"Finally." She nodded. "Exactly."

Her gaze swept across the circle once more.

"Any questions?"

Most of the squad exchanged glances before shaking their heads.

Then Reggie slowly raised a hand.

Soraya closed her eyes briefly.

"Yes?"

"What if we all get captured before we reach the Scale carrier?"

Soraya slowly pressed a hand against her forehead in complete disappointment.

"Which," she said with measured patience, "is exactly why I left our Scales back at Base."

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