A million things happened at once, and Zero was frozen- literally. Well, not at first. At first he was frozen theoretically, his sunbeam eyes painfully wide as Mesec - his friend - turned around. But it wasn't Mesec, not really, not at all. When Isopia had changed her shape, she was still visible, still smiling and curious and Iso behind the eyes of a great black bird. Zero had been fascinated and delighted by the change. He hadn't been afraid. He was never afraid, not with his friends, not when he had someone he loved by his side.

Except for right now.

The smart thing would have been to run. To run as fast as he could, because the monster (not Mesec) who stared at him was bigger, and faster, and dangerous. The smart thing would be to get himself and his single wing and his metal side as far away as possible. That would have been smart. But here's the thing you have to know about Zèklè: he wasn't smart. I mean- he wasn't stupid, obviously. But when it came to street-sense, to thinking with your head and not your heart, Zero was not smart - he was loyal. So even though his brain was screaming that this was not Mesec and we should probably definitely run, the boy's heart held him fast, hope bright in his eyes that maybe, if he waited long enough, this would all be a bad dream and Mesec would calm the fuck down.

Then the afore-mentioned million things happened, and Zero and Mesec both snapped from their moment, each turning to face the onslaught of family which ran to the boy's rescue. Gaucho was a force of nature, the fire of his wings reflecting a sudden understanding in the boy's wide eyes. "WAIT!" the lighting child screamed, but it was too late: a wave of flame was flying at his friend, and there was nothing he could do, because at the same time he was flying away from the monster, his hooves scraping powerlessly at the ground as he tried and failed to maintain his position, fighting the power that pulled him back. Not fast enough- the edge of the fire caught his outstretched wing, singing the primary feathers (not that he was using them, anyway) and leaving a horrible stench in the air.

"WAIT! DON'T HURT HIM!" Zero cried again, teary and desperate as his Ma dragged him away- but Mesec was gone, vanished like a shadow from the onslaught of flame, and now Zero spun around, desperately seeking Ma and help. But Ma was busy with the girls, who for some reason had come running toward the chaos- and now Zero was trapped, torn between his sisters and his friend, because both of them needed him and he didn't know what to do. Mesec had swept in when Zero'd been hurt, taking damage and standing by his side. But Zero was older now, and a brother, and he had an obligation to his sisters- one that trumped his friend.

Zero stopped resisting his mother's pull, sprinting toward where his small family stood. As he did he turned pleading eyes to Ampere, his voice cracked with terrified tears : "That's Mesec, Ma, I know it is, you gotta save him, PLEASE!" Because if anyone could save Mesec, it was her: which meant that if someone had to save the twins, it was him. Maybe this was what being a big brother meant: choosing family above your friends, because now you had someone who needed you. Because right now, his family needed him.

Zero turned to his sisters, yelling their names and pushing them back, trying to direct them far from the fray. "Tae! Grusha! COME WITH ME RIGHT NOW!" the boy called, a rarely-seen ferocity in his youthful face. He glared at the girls, daring them to defy him (nevermind that they were ghosts and skeletons- seriously, why were they so weird?). He was leading (herding) them toward the turtle and the tree, out of the way of the fighting, his faith in his Ma's ability to rectify the situation absolute, because otherwise, what else did he have?

---

OOC;; idfk. Zero's dragged back, screaming, by Ampere's magic. He then tries to get the twins away from the action like the good big brother he is.