#number zero

The question refused to leave your mind as you studied each of the four figures pooling into your cage one by one with a heedful stare. 

The Big Man. You hadn't seen anyone other than Him for as long as you could remember, giving you little sense of what people look like these days but surely they didn't look like that. The Big Man was unusually broad and you had a feeling it wasn't all the coats.

The man who speaks strangely; he had dark circles around his eyes and words on his hands. You had no clue as to what he was dressed in, they looked like no clothes you had ever seen before. But unlike The Big Man, he seemed... softer. Less threatening. His face was soft despite the baffled frown screwed on. He was the one who had spoken to you–he was the one who came in peace.

There was also a woman–the most dazzling you had ever seen, and also the only. She had a similar look on her face as the man who speaks strangely. She was tall, but not Big Guy tall and you would have described her as stoic if you knew the word. Her earthly brown eyes were refreshingly kind, but they looked scared, and yet you somehow knew it wasn't of you.

But the one you couldn't stop looking at was the one who couldn't stop looking at you. He was dressed in all black like the others; a breath of fresh air compared to the white staining your eyes for the past three decades or so. His eyes were dark too, but only in color. He had a look in his eyes like he was fighting off every emotion at once. Sad was the most prominent, identifiable emotion you would use to describe him. What he had to be sad about was beyond you–could anyone blame you, you weren’t exactly in a sympathetic place at the moment.

He hiked his foot up in an attempt at a cautious step forward but all you saw was The Sad Man waltzing in to do who knows what. But you weren't about to sit around and find out.

"No." It was the first word of your mouth and they all stopped.

The Sad Man in question slowly raised his hands to his sides in (what you didn’t realize to be) surrender. This confused you greatly. You didn't recognize this body language or this behavior. Why was he stopping, and not ignoring your every word? Why did he look at you like you weren't a threat? You were… Weren't you?

That's why you were here, in this place.

The thought alone—just acknowledging the desolation you felt every waking moment—was enough to strengthen your guard. Your anguish was dripping from you and spilling out in the world and grabbing anything it could find to steady itself. It happened slowly and yet all at once; one by one everything not carved from the walls and floor like your bed—anything at all not tethered to the room began to float. It didn't leave much, mainly the door that had been busted down began to hover off the ground with an almost buoyancy.

The man stumbled off the door where his foot had been, allowing it to sink to the ceiling as everything else had. Now, it was hard for him to take his eyes off the floating objects scattered around the room; ranging from the door to the pillows and blankets that levitate off the twin bed in the far right corner.

"Who," you spat through gritted teeth, as threateningly as possible. "are you?"

Your voice tore their eyes away from your grip on the world. Your eyes bore into all four of them, and they withered under your stare. Fear's grip on your chest grew stronger as your patience with these strangers thinned.

"People who can help," answered The Sad Man. His face softens more if at all possible. "...I hope."

Your weary eyes search his, and Diego is sure he's never felt so much all at once. The truth sat before him, shrunken into the corner, livid and scared, and it left his composure splintering. The reality of what his father had done—what his father was really capable of. And to think, all these years he could have helped you, all these years he thought he had it bad. Every miserable second of his childhood was bliss compared to whatever hell you must have gone through. But the question remained... why? Why were you here?

He looks back to the floating debris and Diego ventures a guess. No matter how angry it makes him.

You're still watching him carefully when he looks back at you. Everything about you is calculated and poised, and on guard. One thing was clear, and that was you held no hesitation to bring every single one of them down if it meant your freedom.

Diego had every reason to be scared of you. He didn't know it but you could easily end his life then and there without ever lifting a finger. You were powerful, a scary kind of powerful. And yet, Diego couldn't see anything else other than another innocent soul broken by his father. Your next words only confirmed it.

"Are you with Him?" You eyed each of them for their reactions. They only looked at one another and back at you, the words caught in their throat.

"Who's ‘him’?" Diego asks carefully, only assuming you meant his father. "Do you mean Reginald Hargreeves? An older guy. With a monocle, right?"

Your eyebrows knitted together in a weary frown, and Diego is quick to ignore the hint of a flutter in his stomach.

"’Monocle’?" The word was familiar, but it was lost on you in the sudden development. As were most things.

"Yeah, a-a, you know," He gestures to his eye and signs a small circle when the words fail to come. He presses on all the same, careful not to dwell on his returning stutter. "Monocle?"

Your heart drops to your stomach and a glare falls over your face. "Yes." You answer with a voice like sandpaper, and you tense. "The Monocle."

Any of them could tell you were putting on a threatening stance, doing anything you could to protect yourself. But they could still sense your fear. It was laced within in your hardened voice as you slowly repeated your words. "Are you with the Monocle?"

Diego couldn't help the scoff that came out. "Hell no," when he saw your expression, he knew that wasn't enough.

His face went soft again, and he looked over his shoulder at the others who all seemed to hold a similar expression. All but one, at least. Ignoring The Big Man, who looked unsure and hesitant, Diego's softened eyes fell back at you.

"No," he answers, voice now genuine. "We're not with the Monocle." He swallows thickly, scared to frighten you or escalate this situation in any way. But he knew you needed to know.

"But," he pauses, trying to find the right words and that becomes much more difficult under your quizzical stare. "But w-w-we are..." His eyes cast down to the ground for only a moment, looking distant. You could practically see the lurch in his heart. Finally, he clears his throat as if it never happened. "he's our father. But we're not with him, okay? I promise,"

Diego slowly lowers himself to sit in a crouch, closer to your eye level and to appear less threatening. Again, you're surprised by this, unsure what to make of it. Millions of thoughts ran through your head until you felt dizzy.

Diego watches with bated breath as your hardened eyes scour his, looking for any trace of ill intent. You looked stumped and you are. Diego's heart only broke more when it hit him again. The reality of it all was a storm, coming back in powerful waves crashing against him before slinking back out to wind up again. And here and now, as he sat before you looking into the e/c eyes that held such intense pain he would never fathom knowing, another big wave crashed over him and weighed down his heart.

"He can't hurt you anymore," said Diego, his voice delicate like glass. "He's gone."

It was then Diego could see it. A light growing in your eyes. A small spark, once long ago extinguished, now reignited. But like a flame, they had a tendency to flicker. He could tell you were eyeing the door. But he still didn't know what you'd do to get there.

Diego met his gaze with yours, easing your attention away from the door. He knew he had to do this right, they all had to. They couldn’t risk scaring you.

"We're gonna get you out of here, alright? I promise. You can trust us,"

You eyed him curiously. Any one of them could see the gears in your head were turning with no signs of stopping. You were trying to decide if you could believe them. Seeing this, Diego casts a glance over his shoulder at his siblings. They're watching with widened eyes that fall back to you with worry.

"All of us," he says. "But can you help us? To understand?"

No answer was given. Just your studious gaze raking Diego up and down as you debated with yourself on whether or not he was telling the truth. How any of this could possibly be a trap.

"How long have you been here?" Asked the woman with the kind eyes, her voice even more so.

There's another silence and for a moment Diego is positive they aren't getting an answer. But before he could ask another question, your hoarse voice spoke up.

"G.R.E.G.O.R.Y. says years,"

The Woman eases closer; a patient look on her face you felt you could trust.

"Gregory?" She wondered aloud, speaking her siblings' minds. Little did she know the consequences to follow.

Several sparks lit up the already brightened room, showering down from the ceiling to the floors that were dotted with your blood. Loud zaps filled the silence with it, and the black screen on the far right wall began to flicker with static. Most of them had seen it when they first entered but hadn't given it much thought considering you had rightfully stolen most of their attention. In terms of size, it was a bit smaller than a schoolroom whiteboard but looked like a much bigger version of the screen Klaus had found outside your door. And like that small screen, it began to glitch several jagged stripes of static.

"𝘏-𝘏-𝘏𝘖𝘞 𝘊𝘈𝘕- 𝘏𝘖𝘞 𝘊𝘈𝘕 𝘐 𝘏𝘌𝘓𝘗?" Came a sudden voice, blaring from every square inch of the room.

More sparks went off like sprinklers over their heads, dying out long before they hit the ground and smoke seemed to seep through the walls. It was only then they realized why the walls looked so strange; they seemed to be carved out in millions of tiny hexagonal holes layering some sort of mechanism underneath. A mechanism, in their best guess, was the technology that had been countering whatever you had been doing.

You slowly looked up at the walls, your eyes sunken and puffy. Diego thought he saw a spark of something else in your eyes, but it was gone in less than an instant. Miserably, you slipped your hands over your ears, pouting at the ground at the return of the voice.

"𝘚𝘠𝘚𝘛𝘌-𝘚𝘠𝘚𝘛𝘌-𝘚𝘠𝘚𝘛𝘌-𝘚𝘠𝘚𝘛𝘌-" the seemingly endless loop it was stuck in grated everyone's ears. The voice climbed higher in volume before shutting down altogether. Most eyes had turned to the screen, watching as a thin wispy white line flashed in and out off the black of the screen before it lit up again in red. No one knew what to do, and before anyone could question what had just happened the blaring voice returned in a hurried pitch, making up for the lag. "𝘚𝘠𝘚𝘛𝘌𝘔𝘚𝘊𝘙𝘐𝘛𝘐𝘊𝘈𝘓.𝘊𝘖𝘕𝘛𝘈𝘐𝘕𝘔𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘉𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘊𝘏,"

Eyes returned to you, and slowly your hands slipped from your ears. It's the first time you truly meet their eyes, addressing them fully.

"G.R.E.G.O.R.Y." You say, glancing at the message still scrawled across the screen.

A knowingly look fell over The Big Man's face as he looked between you and the screen. "It's an AI," he mumbles, meeting eyes with The Beautiful Woman. "He must have been watching over her all this time,"

Diego's eyes pull away from his brother, and trail all along the room. The more they do, the more he notices. Several panels in varying sizes covered the walls, each of them a brighter white than the textured. It was because these panels weren't the same hexagonal pattern, but blank slates with hidden compartments built-in. Had they examined them further, they would have found these panels gave way to provide the essentials. Running water, dehydrated food, even a door to a very cramped space not much bigger than an airplane bathroom, complete with all the necessary plumbing.

This place wasn't just a cage, this was the AI. And judging by the interior, it had been meant to sustain life. They shuddered to think how long you had been intended to be kept here.

The Woman takes a step further, her face wrought with worry and sympathy. She meets your eyes and kneels to the ground beside The Sad Man.

"What did... Gregory say?" She asks gently, eyeing the walls. She shakes her head a little like she was trying to find the right words. "Did he say how many years?"

There comes another silence and again they fear you won't speak. You nearly don't, but something about her convinced you. When you finally spoke the answer they all had feared, your voice was as bitter and tired as the look in your eyes.

"Twenty-eight,"

You had enough sense to know that your answer had upset them deeply. It was a shock to them, at least. They looked sick to their stomachs. The man with the weird beard and clothes–The Strange One–covered his mouth with two hands, hiding a gasp, and The Woman stood, turning away as she choked on a teary gasp. You couldn't quite read The Big Man quite right, but he seemed upset enough.

And The Sad One sitting before you... he looked like he was going to be sick. He couldn't look at you anymore, he just looked slowly to the ground while his mouth tried to form words.

All he could do was rise to his feet, running a hand down his face where it rested on his mouth as he wandered a few steps away. You could hear the anxious breaths being smothered into his fingers.

The Strange One began whispering to The Beautiful Woman, his fingers still lingering on his bottom lip. He had heartbreak in his eyes, both of them did but it looked, to you, like they were still struggling to speak.

"We should have..."

"How could we have known?"

"I don't know, but-"

Their conversation dwindles out of your attention span when The Big Man takes a few steps towards you.

"Can you tell us what you remember? The last time you weren't..."

"Abducted?"

He clears his throat and nods. "Yeah,"

Luther could see it in your eyes. You were thinking hard, trying so desperately to hold onto something that was slipping away. He wasn't exactly surprised, none of them were. But maybe, if they could just get some piece of information–maybe someone or something from your short-lived past life. Someone would be looking for you. Maybe.

But no words came from your mouth.

"Y-you don't have to tell us, it's okay," The Strange One tried, hesitantly inching forward a step. His hands fiddled together and you thought you caught words inscribed into his palm. He seems to ignore the whispered disagreement from The Big One, and shoots you a nervous, but friendly smile. He looked like he wanted to say more, but his instincts recognized you were overwhelmed.

You looked again at the open doorway, watching frozen with a beating heart as red light streamed inside in flashes. You thought of darting through the door, but who's to say these people wouldn't stop you.

Your mind raced from there. Would they really let you go? What would be left, and where would you go if you did? Would they really even let you? All of them, even The Big Man who seemed the most unsure was ready to help. But you couldn't bring yourself to accept what was right in front of you.

The Woman was still teary-eyed but looked as if she was trying to stifle it. She took a sharp deep breath and swallowed the lump in her throat as she hugged her arms. And then she offered you a sad smile.

"We won't stop you," she said, seeming to read your thoughts. "But we can help you. If you let us,"

■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■

A pain settles on your heart and your breathing picks up.

So badly you wanted to believe it. God, you wanted to believe it. You had dreamt of this day every night, your entire life, but it was always just a dream. 

That's when you realized… that’s all this is. All it could be.

You shook your head, refusing to take the bait. "No." Beads of tears pooled in your eyes, but you managed to keep them at bay. "Not true. Not real."

Hugging your knees tighter, you dropped your face into your arms and sniffled, successfully breaking everyone's hearts further. The door twirled faster in the air, and the Hargreeves siblings even felt a little lighter like any wrong move would suspend them in air.

Diego returned his gaze to your form, huddled in the corner as you buried your sniffles in the shelter of your knees and arms. It reminded him so much of his youth. He had been broken down like that before. They all had. All too well he remembers the occasional attack Klaus would have after his nights locked in the mausoleum. Diego had a few of his own, and they were hell.

Before he knew what he was doing, Diego crept further than he ever had towards you, and lowered himself back down to your side.

"Hey..." he reassures, wanting so badly to grab your hand and ground you but he knew better. "Hey, it-- "

He sighs, head cast down to the floor where his heart lay shattered. How would he even begin, Diego didn't know.

Luther, on the other hand...

"Can you tell us--" The Big Man took a few sudden steps forward and you flinched back further into your corner.

Diego looked over his shoulder at his brother, motioning him to step back. Reluctantly, Luther did.

"You know, sometimes..." Diego begins after a moment. His voice was so gentle it was nearly a whisper. "Sometimes when I was younger, I'd get really scared."

Your sniffles began to quiet, but you hardly moved. But Diego could recognize you were listening and he continued.

"And my mom... she would tell me to count to ten. She said I could get through anything if I just took it ten seconds at a time,"

Diego was relieved to see you slowly pick your head up from your knees, looking up at him through puffy lids.

"I think you can, too," he says. "And in those next ten seconds, that door will still be open. And it still will be, ten seconds after that. And then ten more, and ten more,"

His siblings watched in silent admiration as your breathing began to slow. It was hardly noticeable, but it did. You looked into Diego's eyes as you did so, looking at him as if he would disappear if you were to look away. But he was right. You made it through the next ten seconds and as he said, they were all still there as so was your exit.

■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■●■

Slowly, the pressure in their ears subsided and the items suspended in the air began to sink back to the floor inch by inch. You hadn't let your grip go, but it was clear it had loosened.

The siblings couldn't tell from where they were standing but Diego sent you a small, reassuring smile. Another moment passed as you slowly but surely collected yourself and Diego's voice returned.

"Now," he began, softly. "We just want to understand things a little better. So that we can help you."

You nodded, and he returned to his feet. You watched, perplexed as he offered his hand out for you to take.

Surprising all of them, your eyes flickered to each of them in turn, distrustfully, and then stood to your feet. You remained in the corner, arms tucked at your sides. Saddened, but understanding, Diego let his hand drop back to his side and brushed it off.

The man finally gestures to himself. "My name is Diego," he reveals, and there's a pause. One that asks for your name.

There's still hesitancy laced within every look, every shift of your feet but you do eventually break your silence.

"Y/n,"

The corners of his lips threaten to twitch up, but more than anything he seems relieved to hear an answer.

"Nice to meet you, Y/n,"

You nearly found yourself smiling. Nearly. Everything was still a mess, as it most likely would be for the rest of your life. But at this moment, you allowed yourself to enjoy the sound of your name for the first time in decades.

Your name. Not Number Zero, as The Monocle or G.R.E.G.O.R.Y. had taken to calling you. But one that you had clung so desperately to all these years, the one remaining piece of you you hadn't let go of. The name your mother had given to you.

You found your eyes suddenly locked with The Big Man, and cautiously he tried again, taking a step forward. You didn't do anything, but you were positive he could see by the look in your eyes you were watching his actions carefully.

"Our dad," he says, Licking his drying lips nervously. "Have you... seen him recently? Has he visited you, I mean,"

Several eyes darted to his and back like they were nervous about what he was saying. Nothing about this made sense to you, but judging by his impatient, shifty behavior and the responses of the others, it wasn't good. Needless to say, you weren’t itching to place your faith in him.

"Did he say why he did this to you?"

"Luther," Warned The Woman.

"What? Don't you think we should know?"

The man named Diego flashed a tired and grated look at the floor before turning to gawk at the man.

"Watch it, Luther," he all but growls.

"It's a valid question!" The Big Man, Luther, you realized, argued.

Diego scoffs, fully turning to face Luther now.

"Not when you ask it."

"Oh, yeah?" He asked, beginning to grow stern. "Why's that?"

"Well, gee, let's think. Who here has been a paranoid jackass who just accused his siblings of murdering their father just cause he misplaced some stupid piece of eyewear?" Diego hissed, never taking a breath.

The Strange Man sighed, sharing a tired look with The Woman and an empty spot to his left. Luther and Diego were now feet apart, absorbed completely by their rising anger at one another.

"Yeah? And who here has the biggest motive?" He hissed right back.

Diego shoved Luther, all his previous anger for his father and Luther colliding violently with the fresh anger he felt for you. This was only proof he had been right all along; their father was an irredeemable monster. Not only had he neglected and abused the several children he had 'adopted' but he also went as far as to steal an innocent child and any semblance of a life. It was enough for Diego to wish he had killed his father.

"You're seriously still defending him?!"

-"Guys,"

"You're seriously dismissing this?!"

-"Guys, enough!"

"He fucking kidnapped her Luther! Or have you just been too far up Dad's asshole to notice?"

Strange One laughed a little and The Kind One strode towards them, looking far less kind since arriving.

"Screw you!"

"Screw you!"

-"Enough!” She yelled, trying to place herself in between them. “This has to stop!"

"I'll stop when he backs off,"

"I'll stop when he starts seeing reason,"

"Oh, knock it off with that pretentious, holier than thou horse shit!"

Klaus, who had been watching the heated exchange unfold reluctantly joined in Allison's efforts of calming them down. But Diego and Luther had years worth of differences that were beginning to fuse in with their newest grievance. All their voices began to melt together, growing louder and louder as everyone tried to make themselves heard. It was chaos.

In all that time, you had gradually returned to the corner, growing nervous. You had been used to years of isolation and the sudden sound of group bickering had become too much. You had asked for them to stop, but your voice was drowning in theirs. Your breathing picked up as panic returned and something within you snapped when Luther laid his first hand on Diego.

Your stomach lurches and the four strangers become prisoners of your own.

Their shouting voices went quicker than their feet leaving the ground. They didn't quite understand what was going on when it happened, and yet they did. It was worse than what happened to the gravity when the last earthquake shook the academy—more specifically it was what happened after it came back. All at once their bodies collectively fell unceremoniously to what they first believed to be the ground. They had to crane their necks up above their bodies to see you standing there over their heads when it all clicked.

The reason for your capture had been easy to spot but seeing you here now—standing tall rooted to the spot on the floors they had just left with Earth's true pull. The truth shot up to the surface for them to face; you were one of them—you had a gift, like them.

The gift of gravity. It belonged to you, and you alone to wield.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

You never thought it possible for things to change so quickly. Then again, long ago you had reached a point where you never thought escape was possible. And yet, here you were. Drawing in a deep breath as you stepped across the threshold to have bound you so long ago.

It had taken a great deal to coax you down. But in the end, a few words from Diego and The Woman—Allison, you learned her name was—brought everyone back down to their feet.

The others knew better by now to give you space, but even as they tread slowly behind you and Diego down the long hall, just feet behind you, you could still hear the strained voice of Klaus (The Strange Man). You couldn't be too sure if he was trying to mask his voice to keep out of earshot from you or not but you could barely hear a snippet of his conversation with someone.

"I just can't wrap my head around it. I mean, being away from the world that long. All that she's missed, all those backward fads I know we all miss dearly. The Backstreet Boys, see-through landlines... Skirts over jeans, Gangnam Style! Oh, my-! For Christ's sake, she missed the Cup Song!" He let out a whine, and you could barely hear the sound of his quiet sigh. "That poor thing,"

"Klaus," It was Allison, and she seemed tired with him. "So not appropriate right now,"

You realized your eyebrows were stuck in a frown, having been trying so desperately to understand the jumble of words he had just thrown out. Diego picks his head up when you bring your head to look over your shoulder.

"Gangnam Style?"

Klaus seemed happily surprised you were talking to him.

"Oh! Uh, yeah... Yeah, it was a dance," he nods solemnly. Like someone had mentioned the passing of an old friend, not a trendy dance from the 2010s. "Well, sort of-- I don't know, there were horses, it was a whole thing." He quickly finishes, giving a dismissive wave.

The word 'oh,' returned to your mouth, but it never made it louder than a thoughtful whisper and you returned your sights ahead. That's when you came to a stop. Diego stopped with you, eyes cautiously flickering over you to gauge a reaction.

He subtly cleared his throat. "What's wrong?"

Your breathing grew heavier and more frequent the longer you stared at the elevator doors and what they meant. You were getting out. So long you had dreamed of the other side and what it would look like, you never stopped to think what you might do or what you might see.

Was the world the same from what little half-formed fragments you could remember, or had it all changed? Would you find such things as Klaus had mentioned, like skirts over jeans or... Or would you somehow find yourself in a situation where you were expected to dance this Gangnam Style? How could you ever get on the horse, you never even met one!

It was then Diego's words rang in your head again, reassuring you and calming your spiraling thoughts.

...Eight. Nine. Ten.

You were ready. You could do this.

Tearing your eyes away from the confined space that lay beyond the gated threshold, your eyes landed on Diego. He was still watching you carefully with that look you couldn't quite place. It was almost enough to draw a grateful smile on your lips but nothing you tried came close. All you could do was nod, composing yourself and taking in a deep breath.

Diego stepped forward and pressed a little button. Suddenly, the gates slid to the side and out of the way and that was it. There was nothing else to do but cross the threshold and let it lift you to your freedom—nothing or no one holding you back any longer.

And with your heart hammering in your chest, you stepped inside.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

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