[center][b][h3]Zer0[/h3][/b] [b]Level 3:[/b] 11/30 (+3 for post, -1 for Friend Heart) [b]Location[/b] Moat – Various [b]Word Count: 1,233[/b][/center] [hr] Zer0 disappeared halfway to Gaige, the girl's fierce expression turning to one of surprise for just a moment before she took a defensive stance. Calling Deathtrap back to her, the robot almost made it before Zer0 reappeared, not behind Gaige as the teenager had been expecting, but slightly to her side. With her between him and the robot, Zer0 swung his sword. Gaige, for her part, reacted faster than one might expect, barely getting her mechanical arm up to block the attack. A clang of metal, not unlike the sound of Zer0's blade connecting with Deathtrap's body, rang out before the assassin disappeared again. Deathtrap moved to cover the girl with the bulk of his hulking mass, attempting to provide her a defense against the unseen assailant. Zer0, however, had worked with the duo for a rather long amount of time, fighting through all kinds of hordes together as they tackled challenges and enemies. As much as they knew him, he knew them. The difference was that, since being revived by Kirby's Friend Heart, Zer0 had had a chance to grow past his default state. While these two were buffed to three times their base abilities, they were still at their base level. Or so Zer0 figured, anyways. That pistol, and her mechanical arm, were all Gaige actually had in terms of abilities to attack him directly, and Deathtrap was limited to his enhanced movement and melee strikes. While those were all formidable, made even worse by the buff, Zer0 was a master in close range combat. Zer0 had noticed that advantage. And he was going to take advantage of it, abuse it, and win. So far he had only engaged the pair in melee combat, making them be on guard for a close range sneak attack, in particular. He had played them on their field, and while he had the superior skills, they had each other and enhanced power. An assassination attempt, really, with a sudden reappearance and a quick strike for a vital spot. Zer0 had, instead, immediately backed off after his last attack, using his own enhanced movement speed to gain some distance before launching himself into the air as high as he could. He reappeared, above the sight of both Gaige and Deathtrap who were looking around instead of up, and took aim with the sniper and unleashed a series of shots, expending the entire clip. Six bullets shot out, ripping their way through Deathtrap's bulk, and clipping into relatively non-vital areas on Gaige herself. While the robot took all six, only three had managed to clip Gaige. She cried out in pain while Zer0 activated his air jump, reloading as he came safely back to the earth. He rolled, moving fluidly into a run as he holstered the gun, aiming to put some distance between himself and the incoming Deathtrap. His shots seemed to have had an effect on the bot, it's flight seeming to be slightly off-kilter as the light of it's eye dimmed. As Zer0 made a course for Gaige, the girl unloaded the rest of her pistol's clip at him, her aim slightly off. Still, a bullet ripped through his left shoulder, knocking him off balance and to the ground while another one punched into his left hip. While he recovered quickly, it wasn't quick enough to avoid the swipe by the death bot. Zer0 went flying, deep claw marks in his back, barely managing to activate his stealth ability as he rolled and bounced across the ground. As his visor settled on Gaige, who had been moving closer to finish him off, he settled into a crouch as she came within range. [b][i]Assassinate.[/i][/b] [i]Whoosh![/i] The air rushed past him as he dashed, faster even than he could normally, unsheathing his blade as the distance closed rapidly. He struck out, hard, his momentum carrying him past Gaige as he uncloaked and skidded to a halt. The girl stood still for a moment, her mouth open in an almost comical O, before collapsing to her knees and then the ground. A hole had been opened up in her side. Zer0 turned, sheathing his sword as Deathtrap dematerialized, making his way as quickly as he could to Gaige. Flipping her over, he noted that she was still alive. He bent down bringing out a Friend Heart carefully. From what he had gathered, from watching the Courier earlier and listening to the Master of Masters, this would revive her. He could save her. He could have one of his teammates back. He would be one step closer to being able to put all this craziness back to how it was supposed to be. He could fix things with a proper team. There was no hesitation as he put the Heart into her chest. He watched on, intrigued, as the color returned to her. He fired off his sniper, into the sky, before pressing the heated barrel against the wound he had inflicted upon her. Cauterizing the wound, while helpful, wouldn't be enough. He needed to get her to Blazermate. Hell, he needed to get himself there. He watched, mildly intrigued as the girl opened her eyes slowly, hissing in pain. “What the hell, Zer0?” She grumbled, accepting the hand he held out for her. He pulled her up slowly, giving a slight pat against her back. [i][b]“The Light is banished, My friend is herself again, Let us rampage, yes?”[/b][/i] She snorted in reply, punching his shoulder with her metal arm. “Good old Zer0, haven't changed a bit.” Zer0 pointed back towards the others, leading Gaige so that they could find Blasermate. The odd robot would be able to fix them up. If they were any lesser creatures instead of the mighty Vault Hunters that they were, they might have killed each other. But Vault Hunters weren't that easy to kill. “You got some...interesting legs there, Zer0,” Gaige commented as they walked, slowly, towards their destination. He shrugged in reply, not offering an explanation. Typical. “Noticed you got some fancy color and additions to your helmet. The hell happened? You getting upgrades without including me and DT?” Zer0 shook his head. [i][b]“Spirits absorbed, give Buffs. Broken for loot. Or save For a new summon.”[/b][/i] It was one of the most straightforward answers he had ever given. Gaige's eyebrows furrowed at that as they supported each other, her mind running through the possibilities. Blazermate, noticing them, made her way to meet them halfway, on the edge of the moat, and promptly began healing Zer0. As that was happening, he pointed at Gaige to indicate that she too needed healing, which Blazermate was happy to provide. Gaige, meanwhile, was carefully inspecting the medibot. “So, what are you? You're really high tech, but it's not like anything I've seen before. Definitely better than anything those Hyperion bootlickers could make. What are you, Atlas?” she jabbered out in excitement, completely missing the mention of Galeem. Zer0 looked over the battlefield, as more and more of the individual fights wrapped up or were already over, looking to see if there was anything that he could do. A challenge, some loot, whatever. It didn't seem like much, other than the big Bowser who had entered the castle. Though if that aura of his didn't turn off....Now there was a challenge.