The Custodes

Chapter 34 - True Feelings And True Forms

Noah
Noah materialised on the roof of the building they'd been in, his eyes immediately searching for any sign of Zuro and the others. It didn't take long - a red beam had just come firing down the street, and a little further up Noah could see a mix of powers all clashing with one figure's red ones. He teleported again, appearing directly in the middle of the fight and only having a second to compose himself before everything kicked off. Zuro was standing opposite him, hand slashing outwards to obliterate a white-crystalline attack, but then he was gone the next instant. Noah saw only a faint flicker of him as he moved, but his eyes caught enough of the man to watch as a flurry of red tendrils escaped his palm and flew straight towards where Axel stood. Noah shifted his footing - about to move to help the boy - except Axel had already thrust his arm out and released a wide, powerful beam to incinerate each and every tendril at once. Despite this Zuro was undeterred, and Noah realised it a second too late when the man sidestepped to avoid the beam, then continued moving for Axel. He blitzed over as fast as he could, but by the time he was by Axel's side Zuro was long gone - replaced by a slender arm attached to a very fed-up brunette. "Rejy!" Quinn's blast hit the tyrant full on, propelling him backwards at an incredible speed straight through the wall of a health centre - and taking a few nearby cars with him. "You healed quick." The girl chimed in a way that showed she knew there was something more to it. "Kayla helped." Noah answered quickly, eyes only glancing at Quinn before turning back to where Zuro was. "And where is she now?" She asked sceptically, though it was obvious she was more interested in dealing with Zuro than discussing their friend's whereabouts. "With Neo. I think. Maybe. I don't-...listen, they'll be with us soon. What's our plan here?" Noah asked, head nodding towards Zuro right as Synthia and Milo appeared beside Axel. "Plan?" Milo said with a small laugh, a sentiment that was mirrored by Quinn's slightly amused expression. "Plan is to hit him till he doesn't get back up. And try not to die while doing it." Quinn said, shaking her head as she watched the building Zuro was inside with caution. "That might be harder than you think...I don't know if we stand much of a chance guys." Noah told them, though the determination in his voice seemed to speak for itself. "We wouldn't be here if we weren't prepared to die fighting this prick." Came a reply from Synthia, who flashed Noah the slightest of smirks "Plus, we're the Custodes and all that shit, right? Fucking god-awful name but I like what it stands for." Noah exhaled quietly through his nose, nodding his head with a small smile "Yeah. I guess-" "WATCH OUT!" Something small and red came flying straight out of the hole Zuro made in the wall, zooming towards the group with incredible speed. Luckily, Milo was fast enough to fire a short beam of ice from his palm that collided with the orb - but what he hadn't anticipated was the enormous explosion that it would trigger an instant later. Noah had only managed to raise his arms in a futile attempt to protect himself before a sound louder than anything he'd ever heard emitted from the heart of the blast - deafening him and the others instantaneously. His eyes squeezed shut as a wall of devastating, fiery heat slammed straight into him, only to disappear a second later. The skin covering his arms and face still tingled from their brush with what felt like the sun itself, but as he opened his eyes he found himself entirely unscathed - thanks to the large purple dome in front of him. Upon peering past its see-through interior, Noah was able to make out the form of Zuro himself emerging from the building, before two more orbs fired from his hand and collided with the dome. Noah jumped at the impact, the explosion shaking the ground but being mostly held at bay by Quinn's shield - which also silenced it completely. Someone grabbed Noah's arm right as the second explosion hit, yanking him so violently that it caused him to spin all the way around; coming face to face with Quinn's panicked features. Her mouth was moving - screaming at him - but Noah couldn't make out a single word. "What are you saying?!" He tried to yell back, not even hearing his own words leave his mouth. Quinn spoke a single word, and suddenly Noah's hearing was back in an instant - and the noise of the explosion right outside was filling his ears. "I'm telling you to fucking MOVE! It's about to break!" Noah took a single glance back at the dome, noticing for the first time the enormous cracks beginning to form along its surface due to the force of Zuro's blast. His head snapped back around to Quinn, though his eyes were looking past her at the backs of his other three friends, all sprinting out of a small opening formed in the back of the dome. "Shit!" He shouted, realising how oblivious he had been to all around him, before he grabbed Quinn and teleported both of them in front of the trio. As soon as they appeared the dome behind them shattered, and a wave of heat crashed over all five of them - thankfully not hot enough to do any real damage. "We need to stop those explosions!" Axel shouted, looking over in their direction just as they began to die down, revealed Zuro standing perfectly still behind them. "Close the distance! Don't let him fire them and we should be alright." Milo yelled in return, receiving a nod from Axel before both of them attempted to run forward. They were halted in their tracks by Synthia, who had grabbed each of their collars to hold them back, before she immediately started to reprimand them "Are you two stupid?! You run at him and you'll get blown to all hell! We need a plan!" "Shit, there's another one coming!" Quinn's warning brought all their attention back to the immediate danger: a small, harmless orb that sped through the air. Noah's hand shot out rapidly, hitting the orb with a blast of electricity dead on and triggering the explosion that took up the full width of the street, allowing Quinn to mutter "Cifa." and conjure another dome. "Everyone on me, grab each other's shoulders!" Noah ordered, a command which everyone immediately obeyed. A second later they were off the street, insead on the roof of one of the nearby buildings right beside where the explosion had gone off. "Synthia's right. Hitting Zuro a bunch of times isn't going to win us this fight." Noah said as soon as they had the chance to breathe, though he was sure the moment wouldn't last for long "We need a plan." "Do you have one?" Milo asked, looking at Noah expectantly while Quinn took cautious glances over the edge of the building. "I have-...sort of. Yes." Noah answered, running a hand through his hair as he tried to tie together the parts of his plan "Zuro's skin is tough, even in his human form, but Axel fired that blast clean through his chest, right?" "Speed it up Noah, he doesn't look happy." Quinn chimed, keeping her gaze locked on Zuro from atop the building. "Okay, basically, I'm going to try to immobilise him so that someone can get a good hit in. Synthia, you need to try and get some sort of metal bar or something - anything that will stay in place and conduct - inside the wound on his chest. I'll strike it with electricity and hopefully force his muscles to contract for a few short seconds. Axel, while he's stuck you take a shot. I'd suggest the head, but if you go for that then Milo will need to use his crystal to hold Zuro's neck in place - since I'll be prioritising his limbs. After that...we can figure something out. Maybe run some of the drills we learned at Hector's depending on whether he changes form or not. Quinn, throughout all of this I need you to support us. Keep Zuro's attacks at bay all you can - you're best suited for that sort of thing. Everyone understand?" Before anyone could so much as nod, Quinn had spun around and grabbed both Milo and Synthia by their arms - practically throwing herself and them towards Noah "TIME'S UP, GET US OUT OF HERE!" Noah didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed Axel's shoulder, then Synthia's hand, and the next instant the five of them were back down at street level - just as the rooftop they'd been standing on was obliterated by one of Zuro's explosions. "Noah we're going with your plan." Synthia said immediately, peering down the street at where Zuro stood "I might need help getting that bar into his chest though..." "We'll be right beside you. Let's go." Noah said, not waiting for anyone else's confirmation before he took off running down the street. Synthia was right behind him, having ran off almost as soon as he had, and it didn't take the other three very long to gather their wits and do the same. As Noah ran he watched a smirk appear on Zuro's face, right as one of his signature orbs formed in his palm. The street was far too narrow to provide them with any cover; unless they happened to come across an alleyway at the very moment Zuro attacked. There was no guarantee of that though - which left them with little more than their powers to deal with it. The orb fired from Zuro's hand, zooming towards Noah who already had his arm raised to fire an attack straight at it. "Leave it!" Quinn's voice came from behind him, and without even thinking he listened and lowered his arm. "Jabuka." A purple bolt shot past Noah's head, striking the orb full on and causing it to completely dissipate into thin air. Noah's surprise was plain on his face, but Zuro wasn't one to be remotely hindered by such a thing. More orbs were already being conjured, and as Noah and Synthia drew closer and closer to the man it left a much smaller margin for Quinn to successfully contain them. "Strike the ones he's holding! If they leave his palm, I'll get them!" She instructed, with Noah and Synthia each firing their own attack at their respective orb not a second later. Zuro repositioned his hands as soon as any attack grew near, the orbs seeming to stick to his palms and avoiding any potential blasts with ease. As soon as the orbs had grown to their full size they launched themselves from Zuro's hands, only to be hit with a wave of purple and disintegrated away as Quinn shouted "Jabuka!" once more. "Now!" She yelled as soon as they were gone, spurring Noah and Synthia into moving straight for the man. Noah shot as big a blast as he could right off the bat, aiming straight for Zuro's chest and missing completely as the man easily sidestepped out of the way. Synthia was on him, an array of sharp shards of metal forming around her head before all shooting towards Zuro in a flash. There was far too many for him to avoid entirely, but that resulted in them being too weak to do much damage. He raised his arm to protect his face, the rapid pace he was moving at already carrying him out of harm's way, and a few lodged themselves in his skin - though most skidded harmlessly off or missed completely. A chunk of crystal attempted to connect his foot to the ground, but the limb was torn free before it could grow strong enough to hold him, allowing Zuro to leap backwards as a powerful red beam shot straight past him. "Synthia, you remember Hector's drills?" Noah asked the girl, keeping his eyes on Zuro as Axel, Milo and Quinn continued trying to hit him. "Yeah, most of them I think." She replied with a nod. "Good. Let's try a four alright? If we can weaken him enough it'll make getting that bar in his chest a lot easier." Noah instructed, watching as Zuro ducked under another one of Axel's beams, then punched straight through one of Milo's blasts of crystal. Right now the only reason they were surviving was because Zuro wasn't attacking them. That seemed to be a common theme with the man, Noah realised; getting a feel for the sort of attacks his opponents were throwing before trying anything himself. In basic combat it was clear he was leagues ahead of them - but that was why Noah decided to start pulling off some tricks. Synthia and him ran forward, entering the fray again, with the girl conjuring as many spears and shards of metal as she could above her head. "Axel, Milo, get back a little!" Noah shouted at them, knowing he needed an opening for what he was trying to pull off. The two men heard and obeyed, still firing off shots to keep Zuro at bay but backing up enough for Synthia's attack. "Synth, now!" As Noah shouted he spun and fired a beam of electricity right into one of the metal spears hovering above Synthia's head. The second it hit it spread across the entire length of the metal, then lunged outwards in a hundred different strings to strike every other piece the girl had conjured. Once they had all been infused with Noah's electricity, Synthia threw her hands forward and sent her entire array of weapons right at Zuro. As expected the man moved as far out of the way as he could, avoiding the brunt of the attack and remaining unbothered by anything that wouldn't severely harm him. Noah watched as the majority of spears and spikes flew aimlessly past Zuro, then stopped himself in his tracks and closed his eyes. His senses sprung to life, the electricity held within Synthia's weapons guiding him and latching on to his subconsciousness. Then, with more instinct than thought, Noah began to move them. The weapons disappeared into thin air with the faintest crackle of electricity, materializing all around Zuro in the next instant. The man's surprise was evident by the way he stopped completely in his tracks, but his combat-ready mind didn't let that surprise linger for more than a second. Zuro rapidly began to dodge and twist his body every which way: his head darted sideways to narrowly avoid a sharp, metal spear; at the same time he pushed off with one leg to jump out of the way of a school of speeding shards; his hand moved like a flash through the air, knocking the weapons to the side with just enough force so that they missed striking anything vital. By the end of the first attack, his body was littered with shards of shrapnel, but not one attack had hit him deep enough to incapacitate him. Luckily for Noah, he had predicted just that, and every weapon that Zuro avoided teleported once more to attack from a different direction. Zuro continued to dodge, but even he knew it would be impossible to keep up for any longer than a few seconds. His eyes scanned his surroundings once over, and as soon as they had his palm shot out to fire one of his red beams right at Noah. This single move resulted in a few things happening; Zuro was struck by a long, crude shard of metal clean through his only working arm, and then again by a perfectly crafted spear through the back of his right calf, but his attempt at knocking Noah's focus had succeeded. The boy's eyes shot open as he hurriedly sidestepped away - resulting in the beam colliding with a car behind him and melting a hole straight through the middle. Zuro masterfully slipped past the last few weapons, which flew for much further before ultimately being stopped by whichever objects ended up in their path. No one said a word - they didn't need to, of course. Zuro was still breathing, and that fact alone made their objective inescapably clear. They weren't going to let him catch his breath - the second he had cleared the hurdle of Synthia and Noah's combined attack, they were on him once again - like a herd of sheep doing all they could to overthrow a menacing, murderous wolf.