Neo came sprinting around the last corner of the street, looking dead ahead at where the park Noah mentioned was situated. It was roughly midnight at that point but luckily the light from the nearby lampposts made it fairly easy to see his surroundings. The closer he got to the park the more he realised something was definitely off. For starters there wasn't a single person around - either in the streets or in the park itself - like the place had been completely evacuated in the time it took Neo to get there. Secondly, there didn't seem to be any fighting going on. Noah said he'd been tracking Zuro and knew exactly where he was, but if that were the case then why hadn't they crossed paths yet. As well as the unsettling atmosphere, there was a far more pressing worry at the front of Neo's mind. On his way over he managed to take the time to think about exactly what Noah had said over the phone, and he quickly realised what it was he had implied. He mentioned an orphanage, as well as the fact that Zuro had done something terrible, but Neo was trying extremely hard to think positively and hope to God that what he was suspecting hadn't actually happened. And if it had-...he took a moment to try and compose himself, though he could feel his anger quickly becoming more prominent as his fists tightened. That, coupled with everything that had happened with Kayla, and Neo was sure that this time he wouldn't hold back in the slightest when fighting Zuro this time. He ran through the front gates of the park, eyes darting around rapidly. It was a wide, open stretch of green, with a stone path splitting straight through the centre of it and darting off in numerous different directions. It was a scenic park, Neo had walked through it numerous times out of sheer boredom, so there were lampposts along most of the paths, illuminating all of them. To his right there was a large, vibrant flower bed that had been planted to form a sort of maze, one that kids would no doubt love to run around in. Further up from that was a fairly large pond, however Neo could only see the edges of it in the darkness of the night. He knew that past the pond a vast forest lay, which curved around half of the outer part of the park before making its way towards the centre, and that was the only area that likely didn't have any lights. An actual kids playground was situated at the leftmost side of the park, too far for Neo to see at the moment, but closer to that was a small patch of trees and bushes. That was likely a good enough place to start, so Neo hurriedly took off along the path, eyes scanning the side of the park where he knew it should be. He was tempted to call Noah but decided against it for the time being, choosing instead to search for either him or Zuro. It was entirely possible that they'd left the park, but then where would they have gone? There wasn't any sign of fighting anywhere nearby, nor any sounds of civilians shouting and powers being used. It was somewhat eery to Neo, wandering around the park when a mad man like Zuro could be lurking around any corner. And the severe lack of light didn't help in the slightest. The boy could conjure darkness himself, but that didn't mean he could literally get rid of already existence dark to allow him to see. He reached the patch of shrubbery, moving towards it, but suddenly something sparked loudly behind him and he spun, ready to fight whatever it was. The light from the nearest lamppost managed to illuminate the figure just enough however, and Neo instantly recognised Noah's features, though they were brimmed with worry and uncertainty. "Quick." He said, and before Neo could even open his mouth to speak, placed a hand on his shoulder and teleported them both away. They reappeared on the far side of the park, on the path near the tree line, as Neo quickly looked around, failing to find Zuro, before locking eyes with Noah again "Where is he? What's going on?" "Right there." Noah said, looking past Neo towards the trees, with the boy hurriedly following his gaze. His eyes searched for a while, until to his shock they managed to make out a very faint figure in the darkness sitting calmly against the base of one of the trees. Red eyes glowed ever so faintly on the figures face as he looked right at Neo, and though none of his features were visible the boy knew for a fact that Zuro was smiling. "What the hell is he doing?" Neo asked Noah, eyes not moving from Zuro's despite how frightening the image was. "Waiting. He's done nothing since I got here - I would've wondered if he even knew I was there had his eyes not been boring into me the entire time. There was no way I was gonna try take him alone, and he knew that. I think he also knew I'd bring you, but...I still don't know what he wants." Noah explained, glancing at Zuro uncomfortably as he stood extremely tensely. "You mentioned an orphanage. What did-" Before Neo could finish his sentence, Zuro's voice cut him off from his spot by the tree "Neo. I've been waiting for quite a while." He slowly pushed himself up, beginning to make his way slowly and menacingly towards the pair. Both of them stayed silent, watching as the man moved through the darkness until light slowly began to shine on him ever so slightly. Neo inhaled sharply as he saw Zuro fully for the first time, and how horribly stained his clothes and bare arms were with darkly, sickly blood. Most of it had dried up, but there were streaks across his face and neck, and a number of splatters over his torso and trousers. Neo placed a hand to his mouth, struggling not to gag as the smell reached him and Noah, despite Zuro still being a good distance away. Noah simply stared, almost in disbelief at what he was seeing, since despite having tracked Zuro since the orphanage he hadn't actually gotten a good view of him. "That's far enough." Neo said, struggling to sound confident as he choked down his disgust and glared at the man, who halted his stride. The blood was starting to confirm what Neo suspected, bringing his rage right back up to the surface as he clenched his teeth and fists hard. "What did you do Zuro...?" Noah questioned hesitantly, almost scared to ask as he watched the man cautiously. "Just a little something for Neo to enjoy. Don't worry, I'll get to yours later." Zuro said with a wide grin, not so much as glancing down to examine the blood he was soaked in. "What the hell are you talking about?" Neo asked, fighting the urge to attack Zuro right away. He wasn't sure Noah and him would be as lucky as last time, but a fight was starting to seem inevitable. It was simply a matter of who would strike first. "You know what...I think it'd be far better if I just showed you." Zuro suddenly sprung into action, bolting right at the pair and reaching out as though trying to grab a hold of Neo. The boy only had a split second to react, darting to the left to narrowly avoid Zuro's hand. That wasn't right. Why the held would Zuro grab at him instead of just going for a punch? He was up to something, Neo knew it, and whatever it was did not bode well for him and Noah. Using Zuro's own momentum against him, Noah tried to swing a charged fist into the man's abdomen, but he had already darted clean out of the way and was lunging for Neo again. He moved so quick that Neo hadn't even righted himself after dodging the first grab before Zuro's hands seized his torso, pulling him off the ground. Neo cursed and reared a fist back, coating it in darkness before sending it straight at Zuro's face. In a flash the man's hand was in front of the fist, catching it and gripping it tight as Neo struggled to pull it free. Before he had the chance to swing again with his other hand, red tendrils began to slither out from Zuro's palms, travelling up Neo's body incredibly quickly. Almost instantly the tendrils wrapped all the way around him, slipping up past his shoulders and circling around his arms, then suddenly locking them in place as though they had paralysed any part of his body they were touching. Zuro dropped his grip on Neo, leaving him suspended by some of the tendrils that had attached themselves to the ground, then turned to deal with Noah who was trying his best to counterattack him. It seemed Zuro had cranked his abilities up to a hundred since their last fight however, as the man rapidly dodged every one of Noah's punches without so much as breaking a sweat, then sent a kick right into his stomach and caused him to immediately fly all the way backwards past the tree line. Neo gritted his teeth as he watched, kicking his feet to struggle in any way he could as he hoped desperately for Noah to be okay. Zuro grinned, then turned back to Neo and began walking towards him casually "Now, it's about time we get to the only reason I wanted you here. I don't plan on sticking around; I just really, really want to hear you scream after I'm finished." He stopped about a foot away from Neo, grinning wider as he reached out towards the boy's face. Neo continued to kick, wanting to shout out and fight back, but it felt like even his powers were being constrained by the tendrils. Zuro pointed his finger at Neo's temple as a red glow appeared right at the tip, slowly getting closer and closer until, just when it was a centimetre away from making contact, a huge red beam fired straight past Neo's face, completely obscuring his view of Zuro's arm for just a second. When he could see it again, he saw that Zuro's hand was badly burned, clearly being caught by the blast as he tried to pull away. The flesh had all but completely melted off, with Zuro cursing loudly as he looked at it. His eyes and Neo's darted in the direction the beam came from, both of them spotting Axel sprinting across the grass towards them, each hand already charging another beam, with Synthia and Kelsie not far behind. "Damn, I was aiming for the entire arm. Guess I'll just send one straight through your skull instead!" Axel shouted as he fired his next beam at Zuro, but the man was far more prepared his time and darted out of the way. Neo knew that in a one on one Zuro had much more up his sleeve than Axel, and that if he tried take him on like that then he would definitely lose. But it soon dawned on him that Axel wasn't trying to win. He shot his next beam at Zuro, causing him to jump back as he clutched his injured hand. He was far enough away from Neo now for someone to free him, and that's exactly what Axel wanted. "Neo!" Synthia said worriedly as she appeared in front of him, quickly starting the tear the tendrils off of him with some assistance from her metal powers. In no time at all Neo fell free, able to move again, and landed in Synthia's arms "Thank you. But we need to help your brother - now." At that moment Zuro was simply watching Axel, each of them waiting for the other to strike. Neo realised that Zuro was actually intimidated by Axel, that's why he was keeping his distance. If he closed the gap between them then Axel would have a much easier time landing another hit on him - almost losing his hand certainly did a number on his confidence. Kelsie was soon beside Neo, looking as concerned as always "You're not badly hurt are you?" "No. But Noah is over there by the trees somewhere, he took a nasty hit from Zuro." Neo answered immediately, pointing in the direction Noah was blasted in. Kelsie nodded, not saying another word before she ran off towards the trees. "Come on, lets beat the shit out of this fucker." Synthia said, moving to let Neo stand on his own as they both looked at Zuro. Synthia fired two beams of metal at him, though it was more like shooting a sharp pillar of metal out of her palms, then took off running across the grassy field. Zuro's head darted to the side, letting one zoom past him as he shot his own red beam straight at the other and caused it to explode completely, sending pieces of shrapnel in all directions. Neo quickly threw up a dark barrier to block the shrapnel, dismissing it again once it'd taken the blow before starting to run at Zuro, Synthia doing the same a little bit behind him. Neo swung a fist, with Zuro easily ducking backwards out the way, only for it to be followed up by a slash from Synthia, her arm from the wrist up completely becoming a metal blade. Zuro's uninjured hand came up, causing Synthia's blade to slam straight into his palm without so much as scratching it as he gripped it tight. She let out a gasp, unable to tear her hand free, but Neo was there before Zuro even had the chance to attack Synthia. The boy pulled his fist back, coating it in darkness, then sent it straight at Zuro's wrist with all his might, connecting with a loud bang. The man's arm snapped to the side, much to his surprise, releasing his grip on Synthia's arm as she immediately moved to hit him in his moment of shock. Suddenly her hand was coated in metal, then the rest of her arm to reinforce the attack as she smashed her fist into Zuro's chest. He let out a half-choked exhale as he skidded back across the ground, stumbling but remaining upright. Just then another one of Axel's beams flew through the air, but unfortunately Zuro was far less off guard and backed away just in time, almost seeming to hover rather than take an actual step. The beam blasted harmlessly past and then ceased, but the second it was out of view Neo was emerging from the sea of red, his arm coated in a sharp, javelin-shaped darkness which he sent plunging straight at Zuro's side. The man quickly caught the very tip of the javelin, holding it back as Neo put all his strength into pushing it closer. Zuro instantly started to force him away as the boy used his other hand to put even more strength into it, but alone he was no match for Zuro. Suddenly Synthia was by his side, grabbing his dark coated arm and using all her might to push it forward as well, metal coating her feet and locking them tight into the ground as she pushed. Slowly Zuro began to be forced back, his feet scraping against the ground and leaving a deep trench in their wake as Neo and Synthia stepped forward with him, still trying to break the grip his arm had on the javelin. Just when it looked like they weren't going to achieve it, one of Axel's red beams smashed into Zuro's arm, causing him to actively shout out in both pain and anger as he lost his stance, allowing the javelin to drive straight forward with enough momentum to completely obliterate Zuro's side, tearing into the flesh and plunging clean through and out the other side. Zuro let out a gargled cry, clutching his side as Neo retracted his hand, before hurriedly backing away as he glared at the trio. "Piece of shit...that actually hurt." He grinned, but it was intertwined with a slight wince as Neo and Synthia panted heavily, their eyes watching Zuro to wait for his next move. Rather than attack however, he simply stood up straighter and closed his eyes. As the two watched, Zuro's pierced flesh and charred skin began to pull itself together, and even through all the blood they could see the self repair plain and clean. It seemed he was focusing on his arm and side at the moment, where he'd been hit with Axel's beam and Neo's spear respectively, since they were healing fastest, but his next to destroyed hand was going at a much slower pace. "Don't let him heal that hand!" Axel shouted as he ran towards Zuro, charging up his beams "Its our best advantage, we'll barely stand a chance if he gets it back!" Neo immediately nodded and ran alongside Axel, but before he even made it a couple of feet, Zuro's red tendrils came flying from his arms and grabbed hold of him and Axel, holding them back. "Bastard!" Axel shouted, his arms being forced to point at the ground so he couldn't shoot at Zuro, though that didn't stop him from struggling hard. Neo was doing the same but he knew there was no way to get free of the tendrils, especially if they managed to paralyse you. Luckily, Synthia was already on the move, hurriedly slashing both Neo and Axel free from the tendrils before another set could go for her. Zuro remained completely silent, though his eyes were now open and watching the three intently. Axel fired his beams immediately, though Zuro managed to dart sideways rapidly, easily avoiding the first and then the second before continuing to heal. Neo ran at him as more tendrils came flying towards him, trying to grab a hold as he hurriedly slashed and shot them into nothing. Just as he was about to reach Zuro one of the tendrils grabbed a hold of his ankle, tripping him up as he let out a shout and hit the ground, hard. He glanced up only to see Synthia sprint straight past him, both her hands becoming razor sharp metal blades as she elegantly severed practically all the tendrils, even the one that held Neo's leg. They all dissipated into nothing as they were cut, and Neo watched in mesmerised awe as Synthia got closer and closer to Zuro, until it suddenly dawned on him that she was actually close enough to deal real damage now, and Zuro was still in the middle of his healing. Synthia swung her blade down right on Zuro's head, about to slice it clean off, until in a single instant it wasn't there anymore. The man's body leapt into action, bolting to Synthia's side - safely avoiding her swing and suddenly now close enough for him to deal damage of his own. "Synthia!" Neo cried out, watching in horror as Zuro's half healed hand flashed red and a beam was sent right into the girl's stomach. She flew backwards, right past Neo, tumbling along the ground until she stopped face down a few metres away, not moving as a pool of blood slowly started to form around her. Neo clenched his fists tight and sprinted at Zuro, shouting out as his eyes burned with fury. The man's two main injuries were done healing now, with only the rest of his tattered arm to go before he was back at full health. Neo watched as the fresh skin slowly climbed up his arm, coating the burnt flesh in a completely new layer as it moved closer and closer to his hand. Tendrils erupted from his arms again and slammed into Neo, completely immobilising him as he tried with all his might to break through and get to Zuro. The tendrils became more and more layered, securely holding Neo still as he watched the man's healed skin get closer and closer to his wrist, about to reach it until suddenly-
-his hand was no longer there. There was a sudden flash as Zuro's charred hand fell to the ground, blood spurting from his severed arm which looked to be extremely cleanly cut. Zuro shouted in rage, clutching his stump as his eyes darted around, locking on a figure who was suddenly over by Neo, his sparking blue blade slicing through all the tendrils binding him and destroying them in mere seconds. Neo landed unsteadily on his feet, but Noah's hand on his shoulder kept him from falling. The two shared a split second glance at each other before turning to Zuro, watching as he placed his palm to his stump and cauterised it with his powers in one quick motion, before glaring daggers at the pair of them. Neo spared a glance in Synthia's direction, watching as Axel hurriedly pulled her further away from Zuro just as Kelsie came running over, almost immediately dropping down beside her to start healing her. He turned his gaze back to the red eyed man, clenching his fists as darkness swirled around them threateningly. "We'll kill you Zuro." He said, surprisingly calmly, as the man in front of him took a defensive stance, his good arm readied in front of him "You can't take all of us." "Now that's where you're wrong." A grin was suddenly plastered across Zuro's face as he stared straight at Neo, not even looking at Axel as the boy came to stand next to him "I'm just getting warmed up. Only using one hand makes it a little more challenging." "Enough talk." Axel said, firing a relatively weak beam at Zuro's shoulder, leading to him simply turning to the side to let it skid past harmlessly. The one shot was all it took for the trio to spring into action, with Neo and Noah darting forward while Axel hung back to charge more beams. Neo swung a dark fist at Zuro's head but he raised his arm and caught Neo's forearm against it, blocking it before forcing his fist back. Noah aimed a jab at Zuro's abdomen with his sword, but a tendril wrapping around his wrist stopped him from seeing it through. He sent a quick, burning shock up his arm which disintegrated the tendril, then swung his sword at Zuro's neck rapidly. The man caught it with ease, then with a flick of his wrist snapped it clean in half, gripping the blade half as he dodged another of Neo's punches before spinning completely around the boy and slamming the blade straight at the back of his shoulder. Just in time Neo coated his shoulder in darkness, strong enough to minimise the damage but not enough to completely deflect it. Zuro's momentum caused the blade to pierce right through the dark barrier, cracking it apart as two inches of the blade sunk into Neo's shoulder and caused the boy to shout out in pain. A large red beam flew from Axel's palm right at Zuro, but he managed to jump back and leave Neo with the blade sticking out of his shoulder, instead turning his attention over to Kelsie, who was still kneeling beside Synthia as she healed her. "Don't you d-" Axel started to shout at Zuro, but the man was already bolting towards the girls. He flicked his wrist as he rapidly approached, sending a beam of his own at Kelsie as she still focused solely on healing her friend. The girl looked up at the last second, eyes widening as the beam came right for her, until suddenly a figure was in front of her and taking the hit clean on, negating it completely. Noah's side erupted with blood as the beam practically obliterated it, but the boy barely even cried out as he was hit, instead just gritting his teeth tight as he clutched his injury. When he pulled his hand away a tightly woven electrical net was in place over the wound, sealing it closed as well as it could and stopping any more blood from spilling out. "I don't think so." Noah muttered, before his hands suddenly lit up with electrical energy and he lunged at Zuro. He punched with incredible speed, aiming for the man's head, then ribs, then chin, each hit being dodged, blocked and dodged again respectively. Noah refused to let up, charging his feet with electricity as well as he began mixing up his attacks with kicks and knees too. Zuro was keeping up with him almost effortlessly, not throwing a single attack of his own as he watched with amusement at Noah's attempts to land a hit. He was being pushed back however, constantly having to step in different directions to narrowly avoid one of the swings, and before he even knew it he was a long distance away from Kelsie and Synthia. It was then Zuro realised that he was now back next to Neo and Axel, but before he could get a glimpse of either boy one of Neo's dark fists smashed into the back of his head. He cursed as his entire body lurched forward at the sheer force of the hit, only for him to be hit with a brutal electrical punch in the abdomen from Noah. He fell backwards past Neo, rolling once before landing on one knee as he shook his head, quickly brushing off the attacks that certainly would've killed any normal person. He silently reprimanded himself for not realising what Noah was doing - deliberately forcing him back rather than trying to actually deal damage in order to both keep him away from the girls and allow Neo to get a hit in. A beam came flying at him from the side but he rapidly jumped up above it, hovering himself in mid air as he remained floating relatively high above the three boys. Neo glanced at Noah and Axel to check they were both still good to fight, then looked up at Zuro, scowling. "Get the fuck back down here." He said, firing two black beams at him. The man raised his hand and blocked both of them at once with extreme ease, looking at Neo with boredom "You've gotten better, but I'm quickly getting tired of this. You don't really think you'll be able to do anything, do you? I don't believe you understand how little damage you've actually done." "Then why are you hiding out of reach?" Neo fired back, causing Noah to look at him with an uncertain expression "Neo, I think-" "Fine! If you don't want me to give you a breather, I'll just up the ante." Zuro said with a grin, before his hovering trick ceased to be and he fell to the ground, landing on his feet. "Much better." "Neo wait!" Noah tried to shout to him but the boy was already running towards Zuro, too close to back up now. Neo immediately jabbed at Zuro's face once within reach, but the man ducked under it and sent a swing of his own at the boy's rib cage. Neo staggered backwards as it connected, clutching his ribs as he wheezed slightly and glaring at Zuro. He most definitely held back with his hit, but it was still enough to completely wind Neo and cause his ribs to ache intensely. The man returned to his position, a patronising smirk on his face but not following up the attack, which frustrated Neo by itself. Before the boy himself could attack Noah was rushing past him, two electrical weapons in his hands which Neo couldn't quite make out. He flicked his right hand and the whip-like spark he was holding flew out from his hand, wrapping around Zuro's wrist as the man simply watched, unmoving. In his left hand Noah had a gauntlet of lightning coating most of his arm, and right on the knuckles was a single sharp yet short blade. The whip suddenly pulsed greatly, causing Zuro to flinch as he was hit with an electric shock, and in that moment Noah swung his bladed fist towards the man's side. Just as the tip met with his torso, Zuro grabbed Noah's arm, managing to completely overpower the hold the whip had on him. Noah only had time to gasp before Zuro dragged him past his side, then smash his kneecap into his abdomen. A gargled cry of pain filled the air as Noah crumbled to the ground, before being kicked to the side by Zuro. Neo cursed, flicking his wrist and sending a wall of darkness right into Zuro, who turned rapidly and punched right into its centre, breaking through it easily. It was enough of a distraction though, since as soon as he emerged from the darkness a red beam came flying straight into him. Zuro had a split second to raise his hand, catching the beam head on before it dissipated, leaving his palm slightly singed. "How the hell did he just catch it?" Axel said from behind Neo, sounding both shocked and infuriated. "You were lucky to catch my hand in your attack earlier. It won't happen again." Zuro said, before rushing towards Neo. He sent a punch at the boy's face, leading to him instinctively darting to the side, but as he did a tendril caught his feet and sent him falling backwards towards the ground. Before he'd even landed however, Zuro's foot came crashing down on top of his chest, slamming with incredible might and practically burying him in the dirt. Neo coughed up blood immediately, his vision going blurry as he tried to focus on the dark sky above. As he lay there he heard Axel firing more beams, none of them connecting, until they were cut off by him screaming out in horrified agony. He knew he had to get up, but the pain in his chest was like nothing he'd ever felt before, as though his bones were crushing his organs. There was a sudden spark and Noah was beside him, having teleported across the grass field to assist him. He reached down and wrapped one of Neo's arms around his neck, trying to heave him up with all his might "Get up...you need to...get the hell up...Axel, he-...we're going to die...if you don't-..." Neo used his other hand to push himself up along with Noah's assistance, glancing over in to the direction he'd last heard Zuro. He was currently in the middle of a fight with someone - Synthia's vague figure was starting to come into view - and from the looks of things, she was fighting with everything she had. Zuro wasn't fighting back mind you, simply dodging and blocking her furious flurry of attacks, but at least he was being kept busy. Over on the ground near the pair was Axel, laying on his back and still conscious by the looks of things, one hand placed against the opposite shoulder as he clutched-
-a stump. Axel's left arm was gone - entirely gone - and all that was left was a horrible, uneven, nasty gash of skin and bone which was gushing with blood, as though the entire limb had been ripped off. Kelsie screamed his name as she sprinted over, but even though she was moving as fast as she could she was blatantly stumbling with most steps. Her healing was starting to take a tole on her, and if that were the case then it was very unlikely she had enough energy to fix Axel's severed arm, never mind any extra injuries Neo and Noah accumulated while trying to stay alive. Their chances were looking slim, extremely so, but regardless of that there was no way Neo would give up. "We need to help her." He said, pointing at Synthia as he did all he could to ignore the horrible suffocating feeling in his chest. Noah simply nodded, making sure Neo could stand on his own two feet before wasting no time to hurry after Synthia and rejoin the feet. Neo took another second to regain his senses, then sprinted after the boy, coating his fists in darkness yet again as he approached Zuro. Noah sent an electrical punch right at his side but he dodged forward, meeting with Synthia who was trying to drive her spearheaded fist into his chest. He caught it with his free hand and drove her backwards, spinning to catch one of Neo's fists then dragging him forward to throw off his second swing. He sent a knee right into the boy's ribs as he did this, letting him stumble to the side as Noah began jabbing rapidly with sparking punches, missing all the ones aimed at Zuro's head due to his repeated dodged and hitting only his one remaining palm whenever he went for body shots. Eventually he decided to slam a kick into the side of his kneecap, but Zuro simply raised his leg and took the hit clean on. As it landed he swung a punch of his own, connecting brutally with Noah's face with such a force that he fell to the ground, then ducking as a metal blade slashed narrowly over his head. Synthia went for another attack with the blade but Zuro was prepared this time and grabbed it, snapping the blade right off the hilt and causing it to fall to the ground. Before the girl could conjure any more weapons, Zuro grabbed her by the throat, hesitating only to turn and send a lethal straight kick into Neo's face right as he was about to attack, destroying every bone in his nose immediately and causing him to fall backwards. Synthia struggled in his grip, punching his arm and kicking wildly as all the oxygen in her lungs began to leave her, but Zuro's grip only tightened. Noah lunged at him from behind, attempting to stick him in the neck with an electrical knife, but Zuro's stump arm shot backwards and hit the boy in the chin with his elbow, sending his jaw cracking sideways as he cried out in pain, only for Zuro's foot to slam backwards into his kneecap, snapping his entire leg in half in a brutal manner before kicking him back across the field. He turned back to Synthia just as her eyes started to roll up, but noticed Neo sprinting at him out the corner of his eye. He sighed and turned to him, effortlessly raising the girl's limp body before bringing it crashing down into Neo, sending both of them right into the ground. Synthia ended up on top of Neo, only barely conscious, and as the boy looked up past her he saw Zuro with the discarded metal blade in his hand, raising it above the pair bringing it screaming down towards them. Neo only had a split second to think, but with the last of his energy he threw Synthia off of him, the blade only just scraping her shoulder before it plunged straight into Neo's chest. He cried out, pain suddenly burning through every cell in his body as he looked up into Zuro's features, the man's face twisting into a cruel smile before suddenly his body froze in a single instant. Neo stared at him, watching as his face stayed completely still, not even breathing as though he'd been paralysed entirely. The boy hardly had time to process what had happened however, crying out again as the blade was now firmly stuck inside of him. He gripped it tight, trying to force it back, but Zuro's strengthened grip lead to it barely even budging as he continued to stay perfectly still. Just as he was about the cry out again, deep hazel eyes filled his vision as Kayla knelt down beside him. "Stay still." She instructed sternly as he stared up at her, before turning his gaze to watch as she placed two fingers against the metal blade, her eyes glowing green for a second before the blade disintegrated into nothingness before his eyes. "This could be risky. Bear with me." She said as she placed her hand against his shoulder for a second, her eyes flashing yet again before she removed her hand and suddenly ran off towards someone else. In the split second she'd touched him Neo's chest wound had somehow sealed completely, reverting back into exactly how it was before he'd been stabbed. It wasn't like Kelsie's healing where the injury had slowly healed until it was as good as new - this was more like the injury had never happened in his first place, and from what he knew of her powers Neo could only guess that Kayla had sent his body back in time to the moment before the stab, judging by the fact that every other injury Zuro had inflicted was still extremely prominent. It wasn't enough to keep him down however, and despite the strain on his body he managed to make it to his feet and look around at everyone nearby, only sparing a glance at Zuro, who was still perfectly frozen in place and looking like he wasn't going to move anytime soon. Noah's body was a mangled heap far across the grass field but from what Neo could see he was still alive, and over by Axel's now unconscious body Kelsie herself lay completely passed out right beside him as Kayla hurriedly made her way over to them. Right beside him Synthia lay, clutching her neck as tears spilled down her cheeks, her breath hasty and desperate as she inhaled rapidly through her barely open mouth. From the sounds of things her windpipe was all but completely crushed, and Neo hurriedly knelt beside her as he wondered why Kayla didn't take the time to heal her as well. Synthia's eyes looked up at his, filled with fear and worry, but it seemed like she was almost scared to try and form a word. "Don't worry okay, don't worry." Neo cupped her hand in both of his, doing his very best to try and seem reassuring "We'll get you to Kelsie and then you'll be fine. I promise." He slipped his arms under her, pulling her against him, before exhaustingly pushing himself up to a standing position as he carried her bridal style. She closed her eyes, trying to slow her breathing so not to hyperventilate as Neo began making his way to Kelsie and the others as fast as he could. He watched as Kayla dropped down beside her and Axel, reaching over to tap Kelsie before the girl almost immediately came to life. She sat up quickly, eyes wide as she looked from Kayla to their surroundings, then down at Axel. It appeared that she'd managed to heal a decent portion of his arm before she presumably passed out with exhaustion, but now that she was somehow reenergised she went back to healing him right away. Neo made it to the trio and gently lay Synthia down beside Axel, looking over at Kayla and Kelsie, neither of whom making any sort of motion to indicate they'd noticed his presence. "What did you do to me?" Kelsie asked Kayla, her eyes focused solely on Axel as she healed his arm. "I sent your body back fifteen minutes, so any energy you'd spent in that time has come back." Kayla answered, glancing at Synthia with a sorrowful expression as she reached over and held her hand, her eyes flashing green again "I'm sorry Synth, I didn't realise how bad it was. I was trying to minimise who I sent back cause-" She paused, not noticing Neo's accusing look from the other side of Synthia. "Cause it steals away you life, even though it's not you going back." He finished, his gaze watching her as she turned her head away "Kayla, there was no need-" "Don't. Even." She said, the coldness in her voice surprising Neo into silence despite the fact she wasn't even looking at him "I get to choose what I use it on. You aren't allowed a say." Neo stared at her, close to retorting, then bit his tongue and looked away. Synthia continued to hold Kayla's hand in hers, giving it a small squeeze as she looked at her gratefully. "Thank you..." She croaked, her voice still coarse by nowhere near as damaged as before. Kayla simply smiled, though it was clear she was putting it on for the girl. "Can someone bring Noah over please...?" Kelsie said quietly, glancing over in Noah's direction to see him now sitting up on the ground. "Shit, yeah, I'll help him." Neo said, pushing himself to his feet before hurriedly jogging over to Noah. As he approached he immediately saw how injured the boy was; his jaw was in his hand as he tried his best to stop it from hanging loosely and his leg was horribly mangled, bleeding profusely with a bone protruding straight through the torn flesh. Noah looked up at him as he approached and, although he couldn't see his mouth, Neo knew the boy was demonstrating his everlasting collectedness through a smile. "Lets get you to Kelsie." Neo said, not expecting a response from Noah as he moved to his side, wrapping his arm around his neck like the boy had done for him earlier before pulling him up to a standing position. Noah's leg fell limply, dragging against the ground, and Neo could only imagine what horrible pain he was going through in that moment. Slowly but steadily they began to make their way back over to the group - Noah's free arm holding tightly onto Neo as his other remained on his jaw, all while he hopped alongside the boy on his good leg. Kelsie was so focused on Axel that she didn't notice the pair until Neo had set Noah down beside Synthia, leading to her letting out a shocked gasp when she glanced up "Noah! Oh my god..." She dropped her healing on Axel immediately, revealing that his arm had been repaired all the way down to just below his wrist, and rushed over to Noah's side to work on his leg. His features brightened as soon as Kelsie took notice of him, and remained as they were all through her healing despite the fact that his bones moving back into place must've been more than uncomfortable for him. She held his hand once his leg was fixed and she'd moved onto his jaw, and Neo guessed that even if Kelsie hadn't healed a thing, the hand holding alone would've had Noah rearing to fight again in no time. The group slowly descended into a moment of peaceful silence as Kelsie moved from person to person, healing everyone's injuries and receiving a few boosts from Kayla on occasion all while Zuro remained frozen perfectly in time, not harming so much as a fly as they each relished in their much needed breather.