"Blurred light greeted his bleary eyes as sedatives relinquished their grip on the Zero. Groggy he lifted his head to take his bearing from where he lay sprawled on the floor. Dull points of pain over his body suggested he had been trod upon by other beings, as he could hear the clack of claws from what few remained within earshot. Izaarc's vision began to sharpen to full clarity as a new sound registered nearby.

Faint scratching, several thumps, and muffled tones. His ears twitched slightly, the sounds were nearby. A short turn of the head narrowed it down to the tank next to him, where he could make out weakening activity as a dark figure slumped against the marred glass. Puffs of mist frosted the glass before its snout as the male Zero struggled to his feet to investigate why this one was not outside like he was.

Scrabbling claws alerted him to yet another being still yet inside the building with them. Another Zero stumbled past Izaarc, fixated on the gaping hole on the far wall, it's gloom light showing just enough for him to see. The lights above were either shattered or too far away to throw their halo sufficiently.

He reached out towards the other being, but could not snag limb or yet call out to catch their attention. Izaarc watched them slip out into the mysterious place beyond the light. Behind him the scratching ceased as the trapped Zero sagged further into the remaining liquid at the bottom of her tank, energy spent.

Izaarch whirled, almost tripping over his feet as they slipped on the refuse-strewn floor. Seeing her eyes closing with a slowing breathing rate triggered a sensation of panic in his thoughts, and he lunged towards the tank. Claws screeched against glass, the sound painful in his ears as little more than shallow scratches marred the slick surface.

In his frustration and growing sense of urgency, he did not feel a growing field of buzzing energy forming around his body. His hand jerked as it slipped under his body weight and slammed into a control panel below. Already damaged from an earlier rampage of fleeing Zeros, the fragile unit caved under his claws to where shredded wiring still sparked with electricity seeking a conduit.

The explosion that followed nearly threw him clear of the tank as searing pain ripped through his face. Shrapnel embedded deep into his flesh, forcing one eye to close against the onslaught of blood pouring from the punctures, as other wounds bled where his front was exposed. Hisses of pain barked out from behind clenched teeth as he reeled away from the still sparking wreckage of the former computer.

Fighting against the pain, he opened his uninjured eye to see life beginning to leave the trapped Zero. Spurred by some unknown force, he turned back towards the frozen door.

He had to save the Zero trapped in the tank.

Every fiber in his being and mind were screaming it.

There had to be a way!"

Bit of a forenote, I didn't realize that in their world the tanks were horizontal and set on racks of five per group until well after this piece was finished XP

I don't remember if I ever had a commission where I was asked to draw my own characters. It's quite the interesting experience, to say the least of it.
I had loosely planned some form of comic to depict their story, and how they became as they are. Essentially it kind of leads into an explanation as to why Izaarc himself is a distrustful butt around other Zeros when it comes to him and his 'twin' Nietry. Especially where Nietry is involved, even though she's the older of the two.

Bit of a note for those looking to draw these two, their shoulder markings have changed from what is on their ref sheet. I know you only see half of Nietry's mark, but it is symmetrical! I'll be linking this piece to their ref sheets for those participating in the Zero contest.

This piece was made possible by raven-2007 on DA
Art and Characters (c) Me
Zeros (00X181s) (c) annicron on DA