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Zero, Zett, and Z's two mercenary friends have made it back to the land of light where they'll be staying in for the few days. Due to Zett's condition, he cannot be exposed to the plasma spark tower's light for too long, which is why Zero arranged for one of the land of light's emergency bunkers to be temporarily repurposed as Zett's home.
"Hmm, quite spacious for a bunker, I'd say."
Xander walks around, looking at all the furniture and decor that's been transferred here for Zett.
"Pfft."
He finds a table full of Ultraman Zero's merchandise.
"Hey, Ygor, you might like this one."
He points at the table while looking at Ygor, who's been following behind him, also looking around.
"Woahhh... Didn't know Ultraman Zero was that much of a narcissist!"
The two snicker as they look at each figurine, mug, even a pencil sharpener with Zero's face in it!
"Woah, you guys even got my collection here?!"
Zett runs over to the table, the other two making way for him.
"This is your collection, boss?"
Ygor asks, looking at Xander with a bit of skepticism.
"Yeah, this was around the time I just graduated from the space academy and got a job at the space garrison. I was ultra-irresponsible with my money, but hey, they're all still here all these years later."
He grabs an SHF of Zero's basic form.
"I think my investment was worth it."
The two nod in agreement with him awkwardly. They stay close to each other and whisper while Zett busies himself.
"No doubt about it, he really is obsessed with him."
"I'm surprised he can even think of anyone or anything else...."
"Hey! Sorry for the wait, I had to explain the situation to my dad."
Zero comes in on the bunker after a delay. He was supposed to be here to introduce them, but his dad wanted to catch up with the news; Zett's alive, they're repurposing one of the emergency bunkers, and they're letting two non-ultras stay in there.
"Your dad? Uh...."
"Ultraseven, boss!"
"Seven, yeah. Bah, let's not talk about him, how do you guys feel about this? Is it good?"
Xander and Ygor sit on the sofa, unwinding and relaxing their bodies.
"Yeah, pretty good." Xander says as he spreads his wings, hitting Ygor on the other end of the sofa.
"Wh- Hey! Oh, yeah this place is great! This bunker feels like a damn hotel in comparison to our base of operations!"
"Your base of operations?"
"It's on Planet Barossa, master."
"H-huh?! But I thought you were enemies with the Barossas- How come you're even working with one?!"
"Woah, woah woah! Big assumptions there bro! You think every Barossa is the same?!"
Ygor butts in on the conversation from the couch he's sitting on, setting aside the magazine that he was looking at.
"I uh- No, but-"
"Seems pretty discriminatory to me."
"That's not what I was trying to- Tsk, fine, sorry about that."
Realizing what he had said, Zero apologizes without much of a fuzz. Z giggles as they watch them bicker before reassuring his master.
"They like to tease, master, don't think about it much. Besides, you two were acting like I couldn't do some dirty work back then because I was an ultra."
Z crosses his arms, looking at his two friends with a smug expression.
"Well you DID surprise us a lot!"
"Stereotypes are all engraved into our mind it seems. Unfortunate."
But Zero was surprised by his words.
"What do you mean by... dirty work, Zett?"
"..."
Z goes silent, unsure of how to explain to Zero the nature of their work.
"Zett?"
"Oh come one! We're mercenaries, broski! Connect the dots!"
Zero ignores him.
"Zett."
"...What?"
"What did you do?"
"Nothing, I did nothing." He says as he turns his face away.
"Then why are you not looking at me?"
"...I had to survive, okay. We had to survive."
"Survive from what?!"
Zero raised his voice, his blood is boiling. "What did his new friends made him do?", he asks in his mind.
"Ultraman Zero, please give him a chance to explain himself. He-"
Xander stands up, wanting to be the voice of reason in the room.
"Stay out of this!"
"..."
He backs down, not ready to make enemies with an ultra, especially one that Zett's close with. Zett grimaces and apologizes to his two friends with an expression in his face.
"Don't... shout at them, master. They're the reason I'm still even here talking to you."
"Then tell me, what happened to you? What did you have to do to survive?"
"...We're mercenaries, swords for hire. We take hunting jobs for money, and we don't always have a say on what happens on the job."
Zett explains with a frown, as if he's not proud of the words coming out of his mouth.
"...How many have you killed?"
"Huh?"
"Civilians, unarmed people, peaceful monsters. How many?"
"...I don't know, I don't remember."
A statement of truth that comes across as apathy to his master. To Zett, it's all a blur in his mind; the missions, the targets, the victims. He wants to remember them, he wants to respect those lives, but in his current condition, as an ultraman who has to live in the dark, his weakened body and mind won't let him remember.
"..."
"What HAPPENED to you? This isn't- This isn't the Zett I knew, the Zett that I trained."
Zero looks away, closing his eyes and sighing. He can't help but feel disappointment, pity, anger, and mourning for the Zett he used to know. The Zett he knew wouldn't hesitate to risk himself to save just one life, as insignificant it may be to the universe.
He looks back to him with a furious look, as if he's looking at a stranger.
"This isn't the same Zett that proposed to be my partner."
"... I know."
These words hit him like knives. That day... He proposed for Zero to be his partner, the same day that they were ambushed, the same day that Zett was taken away.
"Hold on hold on- You never told us that part, boss?!"
"Er, I didn't really have to tell you about my private life."
"He's right, Ygor. And Ultraman Zero, please don't make wild assumptions. We may be mercenaries, but we still have some morals. We still choose what jobs we'll do, it's just that these jobs are often given to us without much context, or things go wrong and we have to make hard decisions."
"...Fine, I'll trust your word in that, but that doesn't mean it excuses whatever lives you've sacrificed for your job. And even if he didn't sacrifice anybody—he's still associated with you people."
"'You people'?! You little-"
Ygor stands and raises his voice.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!"
"Ygor, don't-"
Xander holds Ygor back, preventing him from hurting Zero. Zett instinctively tries to protect his master.
"You think we have a choice on how we can survive?! You think we chose to have to kill or be killed?!"
Zero stays silent.
"It's easier for you land of light freaks to be morally good because everything is handed to you! You don't have to worry about not having food for tomorrow, you don't have to worry about constantly being hunted down by monsters, you don't even have to worry about DYING for gods sake!"
"Ygor, please don't start a-"
"Do you not care that they're trampling on us, Xander?! Don't you care that he's judging us without seeing the whole story, boss?!"
"Ygor..."
Ygor is at the verge of tears. All those years of being friends with Zett, just for them to be ridiculed by his master that they've barely met. Zett sighs, glancing at Zero in disappointment. Zero looks back at him with dejected eyes.
"Please don't take what Zero said to heart, Ygor. I've never been ashamed of being with you two. I'll explain everything to Zero, please make yourselves at home, we'll be staying here for a while."
"Alright, you heard the boss, Ygor, let's go."
"Tch!"
Xander finally lets go of Ygor, who stomps his way back to their room.
"Zett, I-"
"I've never realized how much racism was such a prevalent issue in our society until I met those two."
"...Sorry about what I said."
Zero lowers his head. Zett doesn't reassure him that it's alright, but he acknowledges his apology.
"Just be sure to do better next time. It doesn't have to be immediate, it took me a while to stop seeing Ygor as just another space pirate myself."
"That must've been tough, given your history with the Barossas."
"My first reaction upon seeing Ygor was punching him because I thought he was gonna steal something from me. It was ultra-embarassing, considering that he and Xander were the ones who patched me up..."
"That sounds just like you."
Zero snickers.
"Hey, don't laugh!"
"Anyway, I should tell you everything. I won't ask you to forgive me about what we had to do, but I at least want you to understand where they- where we're coming from."
"Alright, I'll trust whatever you have to say."
The two sit on the sofa, ready for a long discussion, for a long story to tell.
"I have one request before I talk, master."
"...What is it?"
"Can we hold hands?"
A common thing for Zett to ask.
"Pfft."
"What?"
"Some things about you are still the same. Here, why don't we just..."
Zero gets up from the sofa and sits in-between Zett's legs, surprising him in the process.
"Ah-"
He grabs the others arms and wraps them around his body, making Zett hug him. He takes time to adjust before finally relaxing his hands on Zero's body.
"Been a while, huh?"
"...Yeah..."
Zero closes his eyes as he feels Zett's... warmth?
"You're cold."
"Yeah... That's why I wanted to hold your hand, master."
"Then I guess this is better?"
"Mhm..."
Zett rests his head on Zero's shoulder, indulging on their embrace, feeling his master's heat warm his own body. His mind goes blank, not wanting to think about anything else, the past, the future... It all doesn't matter right now, it's just him and his master, reunited, finally together after all these years.
"I missed you, master."
"I can tell."
Zero lets out a faint giggle, feeling Zett's hands tighten on him, showing no signs of letting him go.
"Aren't you gonna say it back?"
"Zett, you know I-"
Zett kisses him on the shoulder.
"Z-Zett!!"
"Hehe, so you do miss me."
"Tch..."
The two stay silent for a while. They stay close to each other peacefully, hugging and feeling their breathes.
"I always thought about you, master."
His hug loosens.
"The entire time I was imprisoned at The Kingdom, the entire time I was... experimented with, thinking about you, thinking about seeing you again made it all bearable."
Zero runs his hands at Zett's hands and arms, feeling the rough texture, feeling the wounds he was given.
"Zett I... I should've saved you..."
"It's fine, ambushing The Kingdom just for me would've made things worst for our people. I don't want them to suffer for my sake."
Zett lets Zero go, who looks back at him with a sad look.
"But you... you said you've done 'dirty' work."
Zett looks away, looking at the hanged photo frame of them when Zero gave Zett his mantle.
"The outside world is harsh, master. Harsher than anything we've face here, or on Earth. I was lucky that Ygor and Xander have good morals, they're quite empathetic when it comes to the innocent, but..."
He looks back to Zero.
"We don't always get the outcome that we want."
Zero holds his hands, he can feel them shaking.
"Have you killed the innocent?"
"I... I don't know, I really don't remember."
"...What happened to your memory?"
"Ever since I've lived through the power of darkness, remembering faces has been hard for me. You're the only one I can remember from the land of light."
Zero's eyes widen. He's lost his memories? Is that why... he never contacted us all these years?
"You don't remember anybody else? Ultraman? My dad—Ultraseven? Ace, your godfather?"
They're all names familiar to him, but his heart does not resonate with them, nor does his mind pictures their faces.
"...No. Their names are familiar, but I can't... remember who they are."
"God."
Zero's face darkens as he realizes the severity of Zett's condition. He can't be exposed to the plasma spark tower's light and he can't remember anyone that he's formed bonds with... It's a recipe to make the perfect evil ultra, and yet... Zett is still Zett, despite it all.
"Let's just... Do your friends always accompany you in your job?"
"Yeah."
"I'll ask them."
"I'll go with you."
"Okay."
The two stand up, walking to the two's room while holding hands.
"Oh, Zero?"
Xander greets him by the door.
"Hey, Zett's memory is a little foggy, so I was wondering if you guys-"
"Yeah, I overheard your conversation. Sorry about that, my ears are naturally used to eavesdropping."
Ygor interrupts him, he's calmed down but is still a little mad at Zero.
"Let's start by clearing your doubts. No, we do not 'kill' innocent people—at least not willingly."
Ygor looks over to Xander.
"We do our best to do background checks before accepting a job, specifically for hunting jobs. Whether it'd be the client or the target, we like to know more about them before getting blood on our hands."
"Whenever we find out that the client has had controversies in the past, or that the target has no criminal record, we decline the offer."
Zero listens in on them fully.
"But... we don't always get the right info. We don't always have the full picture. And we can't always refuse when we're being threatened."
"You can guess where this is going, master."
Ygor looks down, playing with his fingers.
"We're not proud of it, we just want to live."
Ygor lowers his head and holds his rough hands together, a sad look can be seen through his body language.
Zero sighs.
"...Sorry for what I said earlier, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."
"It's fine, we get that a lot."
Zero doesn't feel reassured from the statement, he feels worst even.
"You mean a lot to our boss, Zero. You're the only person he could remember when we found him. I'm a little jealous that he loves you that much, honestly."
Ygor stands up and cups his hands over Zero's.
"Please take good care of him for us."
He looks at the barossa's eyes. It sparkles just like Zett's.
"I will... But I'm not taking him away from you two, if that's what you think."
"Oh, we know. I meant it in a different way."
"Different way...?"
Ygor grins as he sees Zero's face turn red.
"W-we're not even together!!"
"Sure you aren't~"
He feels Zett rest his chin on his shoulder once again.
"Please take good care of me, master."
"Oi!!"