Chapter 35: Another Alleyway

Alice Morgan.

That was the name of the woman sitting opposite of Zero right now. She was the second person that called him Robert– he could have probably ignored it if it was just the old woman, but now, even this red-haired woman was calling him by that name.

Charlotte has also been bringing out photos of her son to try and prove that Zero and he were the same– but somehow, it was doing the opposite. Andrea, who was also still there for some reason, was retracting her statement every now and then with each photo Charlotte shows.

Was it possible, that he was actually related to these people when he was still human?

[Reader of Fate: Dark God Erebus, says it is possible. But now, Zero is a child of darkness– far above these puny mortals.]

[Readers of Fate: Kieran Ilner, Frank, The Hidden Dragon agrees with Dark God Erebus.]

[Reader of Fate: Doge Blade, asks Zero to just end them.]

"..." What are the Readers of Fate saying now? Are they telling him that he might be the old woman's son? Or are they telling him no?

[Some of the Readers of Fate are telling you it's all just coincidence. They are messing with your head.]

It didn't help that Alice has been staring at him for more than an hour now. Zero recognizes that stare anywhere– it was the same stare he used whenever he was stalking a human. To think he would actually encounter someone like her here, of all places.

In fact, she was the only reason Zero chose to stay– he could smell the scent of a Slayer from her. Well, that was what he thought. But now that they were all quietly sitting at a table, the scent… faded.

It was stronger when she suddenly embraced her at the door, but now it was almost completely gone. The scent could change, sure– like with Natalia Woods; she sometimes emits a scent powerful enough to cause Zero to freeze, but then it would turn gentle a few moments after.

But with Alice… It was weird. The scent was also somewhat… spunky.

Now that she was sitting, all Zero could smell in the room were normal humans.

"Robert clearly has memory issues, Charlotte."

And finally, after a few more moments of Andrea just shuffling the photos; Alice, whose stares were already penetrating Zero's head finally spoke up again,

"...And are we all just ignoring the elephant in the room?"

"You?" Andrea instinctively whispered as she continued to shuffle through the photos. But after a few seconds, she realized what she just said as she turned her back; quietly shuffling again like she didn't just blurt out something weird,

"I… I don't know, guys. They're starting to look like different people more and more."

"...He's a slayer," Alice only sighed; ignoring Andrea's words as she pointed at the halberd leaning on the wall behind Zero.

"What!?" Charlotte quickly stood up from her seat, "You… you became a slayer!?"

"...Yes," Zero was finally presented with a question he could answer.

"H… how!?" Charlotte's eyes widened, "Wait… is… is that how you survived out there? Did you encounter a Power Bubble? You… you've been fighting for your life out there all these months?"

"...No?"

"Alice! You said he was dead!" Charlotte then slammed her palm on the table.

"I… I'm sorry," and almost instantly, tears started trailing on Alice's cheek, "But… we all thought he was dead. He… he pushed me away from harm and then… just… a horde came."

"..." Seeing Alice suddenly shriveling, Charlotte could really only sit back down as her sighs covered the small apartment, "I… I know."

"W… what about this," Alice then wiped the tears off her face, "I'll… I'll try bringing Zero to the lab, maybe he will remember something if he sees Brad and the others."

"...You're bringing him to his friends when his own mother and girlfriend couldn't even stimulate his memories?" Andrea once again blurted out her thoughts.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Alice could no longer help herself as she stood up and stared down at Andrea, "You've been sitting there like this actually involves you."

"W… well–"

And before Andrea could say anything, Zero also suddenly stood up; his eyes, now focusing on Alice. There it is again, the scent of a slayer. It was much weaker than before, but Zero could finally smell it again.

"Wait… are the two of you really going at this time?" Charlotte, thinking that Zero wanted to go with Alice to the office since he stood up, once again grabbed Zero's cloak, "M… maybe I should go with you?"

"Don't worry, Charlotte," Alice then let out a small chuckle as she rushed towards Charlotte and gestured to her to sit down,

"We won't be long, you don't have to worry. This time, I promise to bring him back. Let's go!" And without even waiting for Charlotte to say another word, Alice suddenly grabbed Zero by the wrist and dragged him out of the apartment. Charlotte wanted to chase after them, but Andrea stopped her.

"I…" Andrea then said as she finally placed the photos on the table,

"I don't think he's your son."

***

"Want to eat something while we walk?"

"...Yes?"

In the streets of Concretespire Safe Zone, Alice's slayer scent was completely drowned away. He was still following her since he was still curious as to how Alice was doing it– after all, if he was able to learn it, it might help him in the long run.

Zero wasn't interested in devouring normal humans– maybe he would meet someone like him in the future… so masking his scent would be a crucial skill.

"...My halberd," Zero then uttered as he realized he left his weapon back in Charlotte's house– his outfit was not complete without it, after all.

"Relax, Robb," Alice then slowed down her steps as she leaned her head on Zero's arm, "You're not fighting for your life anymore. We're just going to the lab."

"...Lab?"

"You… don't really remember anything, do you?" Alice once again let out a sigh as she tried to wrap her arms around Zero's arm, but was unable to do so because of his double cloak,

"You're a doctor. Well… more like a scientist, really. We both are."

"I'm… a slayer."

"Pft," Alice giggled as she heard Zero's words, "You did say you wanted to be one– you couldn't stop talking about it. How you were going to harness the power of the Bubbles, becoming the strongest slayer there is. The others just laugh at you, of course."

"..."

"Do… you remember this?" Alice then raised her hand, the ring on her finger; reflecting the bright lights of the streets, "You gave this to me before we went out to the Safe Zone… before you… before you died."

"...I don't remember it, Alice."

"Hm… We're getting near the lab, I know a shortcut."

And suddenly, the scent coming from Alice grew stronger as they stepped onto an alleyway. Getting stronger and stronger the deeper they got,

"It's just here."

No. The scent was no longer coming from Alice…

…it was coming from behi–

"R... Robb!?"

And before Zero could even finish his thoughts, a blade suddenly poked straight through his chest.