//------------------------------//
// Act lV: Zero's Debut 
// Story: Code Geass: Stryker of the Equus Rebellion 
// by Skye Mist 
//------------------------------//

Greymane sat across from Crescent Blade in a prison garb as the interrogation went on. Crescent brought forth a hoof-strap gun in a see-through bag with his red aura.

"Do you know anything about this weapon? Greymane, it was the one used to rob Prince Xirex of his life. The barrel striations leave no doubt, and we've done a little homework on you as well. You're the adopted and only foal of Japone's last acting prime minister, are you not? Your motive here is clear." He narrowed his different-colored eyes at Greymane.

"You're making a mistake! I've never even laid eyes on that gun!" Greymane protested. One changeling soldier knocked him down from his chair with a swift kick.

Crescent scowled. "We've found your hoofprints all over this weapon. You're also suspected of murdering members of the Royal Guard. Come clean now, and you'll be judged as though you were born a Nymphian, not some worthless Eleven."

"You're wrong! I've done nothing!"

He lost consciousness as the soldier kicked him in the head.





"That was Greymane they mentioned on the news, wasn't it?" Moth asked her brother as he tucked her in.

"Yep, it looks like he's still alive." Stryker sighed.

"Yeah, it's been ages. We haven't seen him since the war ended. Even we..." Her voice faded out. "...And Stryker?"

"What is it?" He looked at Moth, feeling her emotions turn.

"It wasn't true what the news said, was it?" She asked, concerned.

"Of course not. Greymane would never do anything like that. They've just made a mistake."

"Yeah... must be." She agreed.

"Right. Well... Goodnight, Moth." Stryker said as he walked away towards the door.





"That's why we should've issued a freaking statement sooner. We could've taken credit for it!" Eclipse ranted as the reporter went on. He stormed out the room, slamming the door in the process.

Rough Boulder sighed. Turning his attention to a picture of him with Sirocco and her sister, he grimaced. 'Aurora, I know you always looked up to me, but I'm not cut out for this, I'm no leader.'





"Is everything in place?" Stryker asked the elderly stallion of whom he'd substituted for in the chess game a few days prior.

The stallion's eyes were tinged red as he answered, "Yes, everything is just as you requested. We have the best in the business working on it. Once the slide system is in order, it's all yours. Once I've erased all of the evidence I should forget this ever happened, right?"





Sirocco and Stryker both stood stoically among the other students, the latter putting his emotion guard up, as the principal addressed all of them. "Truly this is bitterly painful incident for all, the viceroy of Colony 11, our beloved prince Xirex has been lost to us forever. However, we can and will bear the weight of this tragedy, and from this darkest of hours draw strength."





"We've lost the most crucial part of the equation." Gear Spring sighed.

"Can we do it without him?" Azure questioned.

"Don't I wish. The other units never let go of a good pilot. And even if we got one, they'd never match his readings. His operational efficiency clocked at 94 percent. And you wanna replace him?"

Azure frowned. "You should tell them that, perhaps they'll let Greymane go."

"He's an honorary Nymphian, they'd never listen. Ever since General Acadis's disgrace, the purebloods have the military in an iron grip."





"The purebloods what?" Amber asked, eyes wide.

Stryker shrugged. "Well, from what I understand, they're saying that only pureblood Nymphians should be allowed to serve in the military."





Gear stated simply, "Their view is one of their own can never be a criminal. But if the criminal is an Eleven, it paves the way for Margrave Crescent to shut down the practice of granting natives honorary status."

"And what about Greymane?" Azure asked.

"His fate's all but decided, Azure. And there's nothing we can do about it."

Azure grimaced.





Fallout ran up to Stryker's side. "Hey Stryker! You got anything going on later? After all, classes have been cancelled for the day. Folks have been asking for a rematch."

"You're not gambling you guys!" Amber yelled.

"Come on. Don't be such a stick in the mud." Fallout said.

"She's right though. Maybe it's time to quit." Stryker agreed.

Fallout blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"I found a better opponent actually." He clarified.

Amber tilted her head. "You did? I don't get it."

"You'll cut me in on the action too, right?" Fallout asked excitedly.

Stryker chuckled. "Better not. It's not really up your alley."

"Aww..." Fallout lowered his head dejectedly.

Stryker chuckled a bit, shaking his head slightly. 'Oh, if only you knew...'





Sirocco walked around Trotyo Tower with Rough Boulder and two changelings, although they kept their distance from each other. Sirocco stopped at a display while the other three went over to the windowed side.

"Nymphia's resounding victory over Japone opened the unenlightened nation's eyes to its true place in today's world order. Since then, the empire and Colony 11 had walked hoof in hoof down the road to revival." Sirocco heard a guide say.

'16 hundred hours at Trotyo Tower. Why here of all places?'

One of the changelings with Boulder, a blue-eyed female, asked, "It was Greymane who contacted us, wasn't it?"

Rough Boulder shrugged. "Hard to say, Syphilis."

Torpid, the other changeling, narrowed his green eyes. "Yeah, but he might have been arrested after his communication with Sirocco."

"Then we're in danger here. We should go." Syphilis said. Rough Boulder and Torpid nodded and turned to leave.

"Attention please. Paging Miss Sirocco Eventide, Tempus Academy. One of your personal effects has been turned in at the kiosk on the observation deck. I repeat..."

Boulder, Syphilis, and Torpid paused. They turned towards where Sirocco was to see her already gone.

The mare at the counter handed Sirocco a phone. "Hi. I'm assuming that this phone is yours, ma'am." Sirocco didn't say anything, only stared at it in confusion. "Uhm, something wrong? It is yours, isn't it?"

Sirocco's head snapped up, and she nodded. "Ah, yeah thank you so much." She walked away towards Rough Boulder and the others.

She overheard Rough Boulder. "Oh yeah, there's no debating. Life is better here thanks to Prince Xirex. I mean it's all due to Nymphia that we can rebuild as quickly as we did. I'm happy about that, but-"

The phone then rang. Sirocco looked at the phone ID. "Zero?" She put the phone behind her ear. "Uhm... Hello?"

Outside Trotyo Tower, Stryker walked away in his thestral guise, a saddlebag on his back. "I want you to board the outbound train on loop line five. ...And bring your friends."

"What?" Sirocco said in bewilderment, glancing at Rough Boulder and the two changelings in the process.





Crescent Blade sat behind a desk with his hooves together as he talked with the mare at the party of whom had scoffed at Prince Xirex's reign. 

"You handled His Highness's memorial program very well, Miss Hazel Dune. A little too weepy from my taste but..."

Hazel said impassively, "Yes, well the masses tend to like tear-jerkers, your excellency."

Crescent smirked. "Spoken like a true TV-mare. Still, I have to acknowledge the finesse you've shown. You did well in the short time you had. One would almost think you were expecting His Highness to meet his untimely end."

Hazel shrugged. "It's quite common for memorial programs to be set in advance for important creatures."

"Does that include me as well?" Crescent asked snidely.

Hazel answered stoically, "Recent events may have bumped you up the list a bit, your excellency."

"I wasn't deemed important enough till now is that it?" He raised an eyebrow, and he said with barely concealed snark, "How forthright of you!"

Hazel inclined her head a little. "I'm afraid so sir."

"Ever thought of enlisting? The army could use more creatures like you."

"I don't think it would be a very good fit. Not really my cup of tea." Hazel declined.

Crescent raised an eyebrow. "You prefer the civil sector, I take it. No matter, I have another favor to ask of you. Tomorrow night, Greymane will be transferred to his court-martial."

"And we should line the road with good patriotic Nymphians." Hazel finished.

Crescent smiled a fanged grin. "Excellent. You catch on quickly, don't you? Be sure the rabble can see his face."

Ember voiced her thoughts from beside the desk. "Lord Crescent, there are those among the Elevens who see private Greymane as a hero. Some might very well make an attempt to free him."

He narrowed his eyes. "I'll be there personally aboard my Sutherland. If anyone even thinks of causing trouble, they will be executed on the spot."





Sirocco, Boulder, Syphilis, and Torpid stood aboard the outbound train on loop line five. 

"Attention all passengers if you become aware of any suspicious items on board, please alert metro personnel by using the nearest inter-telephone."

The phone went off again. Sirocco picked up and questioned, "What now?"

"Face forward and look to your right." She looked. "What do you see?"

Sirocco scowled as she looked at the shining, pristine skyscrapers. "The Nymphian city. It was stolen away from us and built on our sacrifice."

"And on the left?" Zero asked.

"I see our city. Remnants of the desiccated city after the Nymphians sucked it dry." She said, watching the crumbled, unrestored buildings.

"Good answer. Now make your way to the front of the train."

Nodding to the other three, Sirocco made her way to the front of the train. They pushed their way through a large crowd as they neared the front. No one payed any mind to them though as their red-tinged eyes remained focused on an invisible horizon.

"The next stop is Okubo. Okubo is next. Those wishing to transfer to the Chuo-Soubu line should exit at the next stop. Okubo will be next. Once again. Those wishing to transfer to the Chuo-Soubu line should exit at the next stop."

In the next car, one lone figure in a gold-fringed black cloak was faced away from them.

"Was it you? On the phone?" Sirocco asked. The figure didn't give a response.

Torpid and Syphilis could sense a sense of eerie calmness within the figure. Torpid contacted Syphilis through their hivemind. "Do you think it's a trap?"

Syphilis didn't answer; she only narrowed her eyes at the figure.

Sirocco asked again, "Well, was that you in Shineighku? Was that ceasefire your doing?"

Still the figure didn't show any sign of hearing them.

Torpid, tired of the silence, yelled, "Hey, we're talking to you!"

The figure then whipped around as the train went into a tunnel, revealing to them a equine-shaped creature, presumably a thestral, wearing a black and indigo mask with an odd bird-like symbol along the bottom and five spikes along the top. 

Their eyes widened in surprise and slight confusion. 

The figure wore a dark-purple, golden-striped suit with light-purple, gold embroidery cuffs, and the inside of the cloak was a crimson red. He had a brilliant white handkerchief tied around his neck as well. The only parts of the figure they could see were the very end of his hooves, which were a dark-gray hue, and his leathery dusk-blue wings, which were folded back to hold the cloak in place.

"What do you think of my tour of the settlement?" He asked, his voice echoing off the inside of his mask.

Rough Boulder questioned, "Your tour?"

Torpid exclaimed, "Come on, there is no way it was this joker!"

The figure, Zero, raised a hoof. "I wanted you to fully grasp the two, the settlement-" He gestured his hoof to the right side. "-and the ghetto." He gestured to the left side.

Boulder said bitterly, "Yeah, we know. There is a difference between us and them. A very harsh one. And that's why we resist them."

"You're wrong." Zero proclaimed. The four widened their eyes in confusion. "Nymphia will not fall to terrorism."

"Fall?" Boulder frowned.

"It's nothing more than foalish nuisance." Zero said.

Torpid fumed. "What was that?! You call us a bunch of foals?!"

Unfazed, Zero continued. "You should know your enemy. It is not the creatures, but Nymphia itself." The four gaped. "It is a war you must wage, but not on the innocent. Take up your sword! Fight for justice!"

Sirocco scowled and mocked, "Oh please. That's all easy enough to say, isn't it? Hiding behind that mask... why should we even trust you?!"

"She's right! Lose the mask!" Torpid said, narrowing his eyes.

Rough Boulder agreed. "Right. Are you going to show us your face or not?"

Zero inclined his head slightly. "Very well, I'll show you. But rather than my face, bear witness to my power. If I deliver to you the impossible, then I might have earned your trust. ...And besides, you might never know my true face..."

They frowned in confusion. What did he mean by that? He already wore a mask.





"He killed a prince of Nymphia. Greymane should be treated as a hero."

"Yeah, but he's an honorary Nymphian."

"The prime minister was his father!"

"So what? The bastard gave up Japone, and creatures don't know that about him." A lieutenant retorted.

"The whole Shineighku business was the work of Boulder's group, wasn't it?" One general spoke up.

"Yes, sir. They're being led by a earth pony stallion named Rough Boulder at present."

"Taiyang, what are your thoughts?" The general turned to a golden kirin. Taiyang focused his dragon-like blue eyes on the general as his tail swished and his claws tapped on the stone.

"We should not become involved in this public execution."

"Granted, I'm not exactly thrilled with rescuing your misled ex-pupil, but isn't that cowardly? You're Taiyang, the miracle worker, right? And wouldn't you like to stir up some trouble with the Nymphians?" The lieutenant questioned.

He grimaced. "You're right. I'd love to cause some mischief among the Nymphians, Arset, but there's a difference between miracles and foolhardiness."





"Congratulations! Those two you asked me about weren't on the list of casualties." Gear said as he conversed with Greymane through a see-through cell where Greymane was being kept.

Greymane let out a sigh. "That's good to hear..."

"Not much luck on your end though. You may be getting a trial, but no one is pulling for you for sure."

"But the courts are where the truth comes to light." Greymane frowned.

Gear sighed. "I expect there'll be more smoke and mirrors than anything. The truth is scarce of late."

Greymane nodded. "If that's how the world works, then so be it. I've no regret."





"Any moment. Any moment now. It's a sight to see. The throngs lining the route, all of them waiting on bated breath. Waiting for the accused murderer of Prince Xirex to pass by. An honorary Nymphian and former Eleven, Greymane."

Hazel stood inside the TV van, where she monitored the cameras with a few others as the broadcast went on. "Camera 5 is a little slow." She talked through an earpiece. "Talk to me, Cycer, your team been deployed yet? ...What? The studio? Let them wait. Nothing has been pushed back." She cut off the communication and looked back to the cameras. "Everything is going according to plan. Here we go."

"I-I can see them! They have the suspect! Greymane is headed this way!" The TV reporter exclaimed as many Knight-Mares came into view with Greymane situated at the transport in the center.

Hazel scoffed. 'Like clockwork. Huh, what a circus this is. And I'm as corrupt as any of them...'

Azure frowned. "This is insane. We know that Greymane is innocent."

"The court deemed our testimony inadmissible. There is nothing we can do." Gear said, shrugging.

"Yes, but..."

"Is that altruism or humanitarianism?" He asked her.

"This isn't a time for a game of semantics!" She exclaimed.

"Not much else to do though, eh? We both know where this case is headed, don't we? We couldn't reach him at the summit. All we can do is cut our losses, really."

Moth listened to the radio as the reporter continued on. 

"Voices of scorn growing ever louder. Voices bearing testament to the creatures' love of their prince. Raining their judgement down on a terrorist."

"Greymane!" She exclaimed in anguish.

"Margrave Crescent, integral in settling this case, will be presiding over the trial as acting consul."

Eclipse scoffed as Torpid and Syphilis joined him in watching the news. "No way the three of them can pull this off on their own."

Awaiting near the route the Knight-Mares were on was Rough Boulder as he waited for Zero's signal. 'He told us. He said he'd make the impossible possible. He gave us his word to save Greymane.'

Stryker, or more correctly, Zero, thought to himself, 'Right. No need to turn back. The die is cast...'

Crescent received a message through his earpiece. "Acting consul Crescent."

"What is it?" He asked.

"Vehicle approaching the main highway from third. We just let it through as you instructed but-"

"Do you believe the target could be a terrorist's vehicle?"

"Well sir, it's Prince Xirex's car."

Crescent raised an eyebrow. "The prince's car? Well, looks like we've got ourselves a comedian. Don't worry about it. Just let them through to us." He cut the line, and commanded the other Knight-Mares, "All forces hold here!"

"Huh?" Greymane looked around in confusion as the group stopped.

Torpid gaped. "Hey, they stopped. They really did!"

Eclipse scoffed. "It's just a coincidence."

Syphilis commented, "Yeah, but he said Crescent would try to hog all the limelight, make some sort of stand about it."

"Coincidence!" Eclipse still stuck to his answer.

"This is not a scheduled stop. Could there have been some sort of accident? This is site 5. There is a vehicle approaching them." 

Crescent blinked at the vehicle; it really did have a likeness to His Highness's personal transport. "Huh?"

"It's- it's Prince Xirex's personal transport! And it's heading straight for the cavalcade!"

Rough Boulder's eyes widened. "What the- He's coming straight at them. What's he planning?"

Sirocco bit her lip as she drove the transport. 'Hope they can't tell it's a fake.'

She remembered back to when they'd discussed it with Zero.





Sirocco and Rough Boulder stood before Zero in a scrapyard. "I see. Just you two then."

Rough Boulder frowned. "I'm sorry. We just need a little more time. If more creatures understood what we-"

"No, the two of you will do just fine." Zero cut off.

"Huh? Come on! That's ridiculous! There will be too many of them!" Sirocco exclaimed, stepping forward with a frown.

"With your help, clearing the task at hand will be foal's play." He gestured beneath his hooves at what he stood on. "I'll need this by tomorrow. All that matters is the exterior."





Sirocco snapped back to the present, halting the car as Crescent glared at them. "You dare desecrate His Highness's transport? Come out of there!"

Zero used his hidden magic to burn away the curtain hiding him, making for a rather flashy entrance. All the cameras panned in on him as he stood there.

Crescent and the purebloods were confused. "Huh?"

He cast a voice enhancing spell discreetly. 

"I... am Zero." He projected.

Ember narrowed her eyes from within her Sutherland. "Zero?"

Across the radio and TVs, the reporter asked, "Who is this creature? This pony calling himself Zero, standing before a full military convoy?"

"What is all this?" Fallout asked as the student council crowded around the clubhouse TV.

"What the bloody Tartarus does he think he's doing?!" Eclipse asked, astonished.

"Who is this pony calling himself Zero?" The reporter repeated.

Hazel raised an eyebrow. "Zero? What do you mean, like 'nothing'?"

"Are we gazing on a terrorist? Certainly not the wisest if such is the case."

'Is he an Eleven?' Greymane thought.

'Now to return the favor, Greymane.' Zero, or rather Stryker in that moment, thought as his gaze fell upon a disheveled Greymane.

Crescent gnashed his teeth together. "I've seen enough, Zero. This little show of yours is over." He fired his gun into the air. Several Sutherlands dropped down and surrounded the fake transport. Sirocco gazed at them with a panicked look. "First things first. Why don't you lose that mask?"

Zero raised a hoof to his mask, but instead of removing his mask, he stamped it back down. The box-like structure behind him dismembered, revealing a gas capsule. The very capsule that'd been used to hold that mysterious alicorn mare.

"What in the...!?" Crescent exclaimed.

Ember opened her hatch and called out, "Crescent, be careful, he's got the..."

Stryker smirked from behind the mask of Zero. 'Yes, Crescent. You never saw inside this thing. So you assume it holds poison gas.'

A spark of recognition flickered in Greymane's eyes as he remembered the capsule. "Wait. You don't underst- Ah!" The shock collar around his neck prevented him from saying anything further.

"Can all of you watching at home see this? It's some sort of device, although its purpose is unclear. Stay with us and we'll see if this so-called terrorist has anything to say." The reporter said in a slightly quicker tone.

"You bastard!" Crescent gnashed his fangs together in frustration. 'He's taken every Nymphian here hostage, and he's done it without them even knowing it!'

The Sutherlands surrounding the fake transport aimed their guns.

"You intend to shoot? I think you know full well what will happen if you do." Zero said.

Hazel spoke into her earpiece. "Unit 6, bring up the sound and get that camera right in his face!"

"Ma'am, it's too hairy out here."

Hazel let out a frustrated growl and grabbed a spare camera herself. "Damned amateurs!"

Crescent reluctantly lowered his gun and signaled for the others to do the same. "Fine, what are your demands?"

"An exchange. This, for Greymane." Zero said coolly.

"Like Tartarus! He's charged with high treason for murdering a prince. I can't just hoof him over." Crescent said, glancing back at Greymane.

Hazel ran up with the camera as Zero said, "No. You're mistaken, Crescent. He's no murderer. The one who killed Xirex-" He looked into the camera as she zoomed in. "-was myself!"

The crowd and everyone listening to the report let out gasps of disbelief. Hazel grinned. "Ah-ha..."

Greymane's muzzle hung open, no sound coming out.

Azure exclaimed in astonishment, "Unbelievable!"

Gear settled with a surprised half-smirk. "The real culprit comes forward..."

The student council gasped, but it was Shadow Aura who was the most shocked.

And if Moth could widen her eyes, she would've.

The reporter exclaimed, "What? What does this mean? This masked pony called Zero - no, we can’t be sure who he is - but in any case, he claims to be the real assassin! So where does this leave the current suspect, Private Greymane?"

"Ah, crap! There's no way out of this!" Rough Boulder exclaimed through clenched teeth.

"We are so screwed." Sirocco said in a hushed voice.

"For a single Eleven, you'll save scores of precious Nymphians. I find that to be a bargain." Zero continued as if nothing had happened.

Hazel chuckled to herself, 'This is all just one big performance to him.'

Crescent yelled to his comrades, "He is mad, I tell you! Disguising this truck as His Highness’s! He’ll pay the price for mocking the crown!"

"Careful. You don't wish the public to learn of Calico, do you?" Zero asked Crescent.

"Calico? What's he talking about?" One of the soldiers guarding Greymane asked.

"I don't know." The other shrugged.

Zero tapped a hoof on the transport. It moved forward towards Crescent slowly.

Zero continued, "If I die, it'll all go public. If you don't want that to happen..."

"What are you talking about? What is this?" Crescent demanded.

A small section of the left side of Zero's mask suddenly slid down, revealing his eye, which held the bird-like symbol of which he'd used before. With his, currently, dragon-like slitted eye, Zero said, "...You'll do everything in your power to let us go, your prisoner as well."

As the power took its effect, Crescent replied, "Right, understood." He turned to the transport and pointed at one of the soldiers. "You there, release the prisoner."

The purebloods, soldiers, and Sirocco were all shocked. "Eh!?"

Ember yelled, "What on Equus are you doing, my lord?!"

"Get that colt over here." Crescent growled.

"Huh?" Ember blinked in confusion.

One soldier frowned. "Should we?"

"But-"

"Hoof him over. Nobody gets in his way." Crescent ordered.

"No! What are you thinking? You can't do this!" One of the purebloods opened his hatch to face Crescent.

"Lord Kiquy, this is an order!" Crescent yelled. Greymane began to walk towards Zero, who met him halfway with Sirocco. The latter wore a visor that covered most of her face and a white suit that covered her cutie mark.  

"It's hard to tell what's happening from here, but it seems that Greymane's release has been brokered!" The reporter stated.

"So, who the heck are you?" Greymane asked before the collar stunned him into silence again.

'As I thought, they didn't allow you to speak.' Stryker narrowed his eyes from behind the mask.

"If they get away, we'll lose everything!" Ember exclaimed.

"It's time to go, Zero." Sirocco said.

"Well then, till next time." Zero said before pressing a remote attached to his forehoof with his magic, though to anyone else, it was voice-activated. It released gas from the capsule. The crowds panicked and fled from it.

"Why, you cowardly Eleven!" Ember yelled, going after them. Her Sutherland was intercepted by Crescent's. "Lord Crescent, what're you-?"

"You heard me! Stand down now!"

As Sirocco and Zero, with Greymane in the latter's grip, jumped off the side of the bridge, Kiquy yelled out, "They're not alone at all! They jumped right off!"

The Knight-Mare Boulder piloted shot a net across where Greymane would land and fall into a transport. Sirocco and Zero used their wings to dive into the transport as well, the later gliding rather than flying, per say.

Rough Boulder grinned. "It worked! Now we can-"

The getaway was halted by Kiquy's Sutherland. Kiquy bared his fangs. "You imbecile! There’s nowhere for you to run!"

"Lord Kiquy!" Crescent yelled.

"Huh!?" Kiquy exclaimed before Crescent's Sutherland pointed a gun at point blank, ready to fire.

"Are you going to follow orders or not?! And believe me, there will be repercussions. All units, do I make myself clear? Do everything in your power to help them get away!"





"Damn, I didn't really think he could do it." Syphilis said with a smirk.

"Yeah, who is this pony?" Torpid asked.

"That's crap! How many times can a bluff like that work, anyway?" Eclipse said.

"You gotta give the guy some credit though." Boulder said.

"Huh?"

Boulder shrugged. "Gotta admit it; nobody else could’ve pulled that off. Not the Japonese Liberation Front, certainly not me. We’ve always thought that a full-on war with Nymphia wasn’t a possibility at all. But maybe with him, it is."

Sirocco looked in the direction of where Zero currently was.

Zero and Greymane stood amongst the rubbish of the abandoned building. 

Zero commented, "It looks like they treated you rather roughly. Now you know what they're really like, Greymane. Nymphia is rotten." Greymane flattened his brow. "If you wish to bring change to this world, then join me."

"So, is it true? Are you really the one who killed Prince Xirex?" Greymane asked.

"This is war. Why wouldn't I kill an enemy commander?"

"And the gas?! Those were civilians out there!" Greymane exclaimed.

"A bluff to help things along. The result, not a single death." Zero explained.

Greymane looked away. "The result? That's all that matters to you, I suppose. Hmph..."

"Come join me. The Nymphia you serve is a worthless dominion." Zero said, extending a hoof.

Greymane sighed. "Maybe that's true, but... this nation, it can be changed for the better, and from within."

"Changed?" Zero whispered.

"And any ends gained through contemptible means aren't worth anything." Greymane turned and began to walk away.

"Wait. Where are you going?"

"My court-martial begins in an hour." Greymane replied, stopping.

"Damn, are you mad?! The only reason they're giving you a trial is to find you guilty. The judge, the prosecution, and defense!" Zero exclaimed.

"Rules are rules. And if I don't go, they'll start cracking down on Elevens and honorary Nymphians."

"But you'll die!"

Greymane shrugged. "I don't mind."

"Don't be an idiot!"

Greymane chuckled and faced Zero again. "An old friend of mine always used to tell me that. He'd say I was a fool." Behind the mask, Stryker gaped. "It's my weakness, I guess. I'd try to bring you in, but you'd just end up killing me. And If I'm going to die, it'll be in the service of the creatures. Even so, I thank you... for saving me."

He turned and walked away. Zero watched him until he was nothing more than a speck in the distance. He clenched his jaw.

"You fool."

'So naive. I was so sure Greymane would understand. "Change the system from within?" Bullshit! The system will just swallow him up; it'll eat him alive! Well, I won't take their charity. Not as long as I have the power to bend it to my will.'





"Yes, apparently. Private Greymane has made contact with the authorities. It would seem that Zero has released him. However, now that the original charges against him have been thrown into question, it's very possible Greymane would be found innocent and acquitted."

"Thank goodness." Moth let out a breath of relief as she heard the reporter.

"For legal perspective on all of this, we now turn to our legal analyst..."

Moth's ears pricked up as she heard the door open. "Miss Raven?"

Instead of the denim-blue unicorn however, it was a ocean-blue coated alicorn standing in the shadows. Her cerulean dragon-like eyes caught the light and shined with an unearthly glow.