57 Minutes Remaining
Neo
"Is he answering?" Neo asked Kayla as the two of them sprinted down the dark streets of Pomona, dressed in whatever clothes were nearest to them when they took that single minute to change in the apartment. "No, Neo, otherwise I would be fucking talking to him." The girl replied, her voice filled with worry as she pulled her phone away from her ear, cursing before calling Noah again. "What if they got to the others before us?" Neo said in a panicked tone, the adrenaline coursing through him doing nothing to help his mind settle down. "No. No, they couldn't have. They specifically said they would move on to the others after you. Which means it had to have been the first place they went to...at least I'm hoping so. God dammit Noah just fucking pick up!" Kayla yelled into her phone, before calling her friend once more. "Kayla, Kayla wait." Neo said, grabbing the girl's arm and pulling her to a halt as she turned to face him "We need to think about what we're doing. We can't gather the others by ourselves, we need Noah. How far away is his place?" "Shit, um...if I run I could be there in...twenty minutes? Maybe longer." She replied, as Neo nodded to himself before meeting her gaze "Right. You get there as soon as possible, calling him all the way. I'm gonna run to Kelsie's and try reach Milo, if I can wake him I'll have him bring Quinn then teleport us all to Hector's. When you're with Noah, teleport to Synthia and Axel's, grab them, then meet us there, alright?" Kayla nodded her head emphatically, as Neo let out an exhale and nodded back "Okay. Great. I'll see you there and we'll figure out some sort of plan. Stay safe." "You too." With that they both turned and ran in opposite directions as fast as they could, both pulling out their phones and dialling their respective friend frantically.
"Neo? It's three in the morning, what-" "Milo! Zuro and Nexus are back, I need you to get Quinn then come to Kelsie's ASAP! We've bought ourselves some time but it isn't a lot, you need to move as quick as possible." Neo practically yelled into the phone, as Milo hurriedly responded - instantly awake if he hadn't already been "Yeah, okay, right, yeah. I can do that. I'll be as fast as I can." He hung up an instant later, leaving Neo to continue running down the street on his way to Kelsie's. His head spun - there was too much to think about at that one moment. What would they do when their hour was up and Zuro and Nexus entered his apartment? Were they even remotely ready to take them on at their current stage? Would Hector have figured out how to work the Zuro Killer in time? Too many variables and too little time to think about them. All Neo could do was act on instinct alone, and he just had to hope that with their group gathered they'd be able to take down the pair.
45 Minutes Remaining
Neo scaled Kelsie's stairs as fast as he could, making it to her door in record time and knocking on it hurriedly. He was so frantic, as well as assuming that she was asleep, that he almost began shouting, but surprisingly the door opened after a few short seconds and revealed Kelsie standing in her lit hallway, staring at Neo with trepidation and hesitance. She looked bad - her face was red around the eyes as though from crying and her hair was an untidied mess, but Neo didn't have the time to consider her appearance or think about why she was awake. "Zuro and Nexus. They're back, they attacked me but Kayla went back in time and now we've only got an hour before they show up." He told her hurriedly, and from the utterly shocked expression that quickly filled her face he assumed it was the last thing she was expecting to hear at that moment. Without even responding she retreated into her home as Neo followed, shut the door, then began pacing across Kelsie's living room as the girl sat on the couch. "What do we do?" She asked, clearly not remotely prepared for a situation like this. Neo understood exactly how she felt. "Well right now we're waiting for Milo to show up with Quinn. After that we're going to Hector's to meet the others, where we'll...hopefully come up with a plan." Neo explained, hating how helplessly dire the situation seemed when put into words. "Okay..." She muttered, looking down in thought before she stood up once again and headed for her kitchen "I'll get hot chocolate." "This is hardly a time for hot chocolate Kelsie!" Neo yelled in objection, only for the girl to suddenly turn on him with an expression containing equal amounts of both anger and downright terror "Well what the fuck else can I do Neo?! You told me we're waiting so we'll wait! I'm way out of my depth here but I'm coming along anyway and I think I'm entitled to enjoy what could quite easily be the last hot chocolate I ever have while I can!" Neo backed up slightly in surprise, staring at the girl who looked at him with fearful and devastated eyes. It was then he realised exactly what this news would do to a person like her. She needed to be there in case something drastic happened, but if Zuro or Nexus turned on her, then what would she do? The girl who'd been there since the start, the soul reason any of them were alive, and who they all relied on to be their fallback if things went south. She was the one most at risk. And now, in the endgame, where Zuro wasn't simply 'testing their skills' or toying with them, she had a right to fear for her life. Neo suddenly understood what she need to hear - what no one had told her even once since they first encountered Zuro. "Kelsie." He reached out and took both her hands, gripping them tight as he stared defiantly into her still shaky, scared eyes "No one is going to lay a hand on you. Not Zuro, not Nexus, not a single other fucking person on the planet while the rest of us are still breathing. Me, Noah, Axel, Synth, Kayla, we're all going to keep you safe. You have nothing to worry about - they'll have to kill every one of us before they even think about touching you, you understand?" Kelsie stared in stunned silence at Neo's firm expression, before after a long pause she gave the tiniest nod of her head to show she understood. And she did. That was all she needed to hear to realise the true extent of her friend's devotion. Instead of fear, there was now a fire in her eyes - however long it took, however tired she got, she would make sure they all stayed alive. That was all she had to do; while they were fighting for their lives, she'd ensure those lives stayed intact. And they were all going to make it out. Every single one of them. Both Kelsie and Neo's thoughts were interrupted as a loud cracking sound filled the living room, causing them to turn around and spot Milo and Quinn now standing there back-to-back, with Milo quickly waving the pair over "Come on, next stop Hector's." They didn't need to be told twice, hurriedly moving to standing at the sides of the duo with their own backs facing them. "What took you so long?" Neo asked Milo as he squeezed his back as close to the others as he could, watching the ice start to crawl up around them from the floor. "Traffic." The man answered sarcastically, before the ice encased the four of them and transported them away from Kelsie's apartment.
53 Minutes Remaining
Quinn
Quinn awoke with a start as a hand roughly shook her shoulder, immediately jolting up as her eyes searched for the cause of her awakening. She settled slightly when she found it was Daigo, but it didn't cease her scepticism or anger at the manner of her awakening. "What the fuck?" She said, roughly pushing his hand off of her as she shot him a dangerous glare "What'd you think y-" "Nexus has made his move. Neo encountered Zuro and him and wants me to take you to Kelsie's, where I'm assuming the others are meeting." He told her in a fairly calm manner, not seeming in the slightest hurry to get her up. "Shit...alright fine, I need to throw clothes on, give me a sec." She said before standing up, moving over to her wardrobe as Daigo stood watching her thoughtfully. Quinn almost started to change, before glancing behind her and seeing the man's gaze remain on her "Turn around." "It's not like I-" "Turn around!" He sighed, before making a show of spinning on one foot and facing the wall, returning to his thoughts as she hurriedly changed out of her pyjamas. When she was done she walked back over, yet he remained turned around. That didn't bother her however, instead she just placed her back against his and let out a sigh "Alright. Let's do this then. Go on." Daigo didn't speak, or move, causing Quinn to grumble before turning around to face him "Daigo, hurry the fuck up and-" "What are we doing here, Quinn?" The man said, causing her to pause with surprise before narrowing her eyes at him "The hell are you talking about?" Daigo slowly turned around, looking at her with a strange neutrality before shaking his head "You know exactly what I'm talking about. What the fuck are we doing? Are we just gonna...walk out there and try kill Nexus? Or are we gonna stand with him and watch him take out the others? Or should we just...run away forever, I don't know. My point is that we need to decide." "I know what I'm doing." Quinn stated firmly, her gazed locked on Daigo's "Do you?" The man didn't reply, glancing away from Quinn for a second before sighing "Do you still love Nexus, Quinn?" The girl seemed to recoil at the question, immediately growing both defensive and sceptical "No. Of course I don't." "He's our friend, regardless. We might still be able to stand with him - like we used to." Daigo looked at her in what she thought was an almost pleading expression, trying to appeal to her the alternative path she should take. "Daigo...have you been in contact with Nexus?" Quinn's eyebrow slowly raised as she looked at him, her expression growing far more sceptical alongside her accusing tone. The way the man was talking to her almost seemed like a plea for her to join Nexus and him, she needed to figure out if his decision had already been made. "No...I haven't spoken to him for just as long as you. Since that day in Kelsie's." Daigo told her, looking right at her to show the sincerity in his voice. Quinn didn't know whether to believe it or not - but if Daigo was lying he was certainly pulling an incredible acting job. "Then why have you still not come clean, Milo?" Quinn said with a scowl, making her distrust of him blatantly obvious. "It's not something I can just come clean about! What would I say? 'Hey, I was planning on betraying you all to Nexus, but I promise I'm not anymore'? I like where I am with them right now, I don't want to cause any discord." Something about what Daigo was saying held an element of truth to it - Quinn could tell. Her concerns about him were someone lessened now; she'd figured that he was simply just weighing up the options he had before they were thrown into the fight. He'd been friends with Nexus for far longer than her, after all. Regardless of her opinion, she knew it couldn't be easy to turn on such a close friend like that. "Okay...and if Nexus asked you to, would you turn on them?" Quinn asked him seriously, testing his loyalties as she stepped closer and stared him firmly in the eye. "Of course not. I just mean...maybe we could leave them to deal with Zuro. And you, Nexus and I could just...go somewhere. Anywhere, I don't know, we'll figure it out." Daigo looked right back at her, his expression uncertain and thoughtful as he spoke. Quinn sighed, shaking her head as she stepped back once again and looked at the man apologetically "Sorry, Daigo. But I meant it when I said I wasn't in love with Nexus anymore. It won't happen, I-...I'll kill him if I have to." Her voice wavered despite her best efforts to sound firm about it. But to make up for it she forced her expression to grow hard and determined, showing Daigo plainly that she was being truthful in what she said. The man watched her, silent, before he suddenly stepped towards her and placed his hands on both her shoulders, staring hard at her "What are you fighting for Quinn? Tell me." She laughed, shaking her head as she tried to pull away from him, only for his grip to hold firm as he showed how serious he was being. "I don't know. Revenge, maybe. I want Nexus to pay for leading me on, and making me-" "Bullshit!" Daigo suddenly shouted, pulling away from her as he grew irritated by what she was saying "Tell me the fucking truth Quinn. You could've left forever, never having to deal with Nexus or anyone ever again but you stayed. Do you still love him? If you do then tell me, cause right now I don't have a clue what I'm gonna do!" Quinn stared at him, mouth slightly open, before her fists tightened by her side and she jabbed a finger hard into Daigo's chest "You are the only one who's still clinging to Nexus! The only one! I'm DONE with him! You asked the reason I'm still fighting, right? I'm fighting so that I never feel the way he made me feel ever again! I thought that...with the two of us, we could take on the world together. That it didn't matter how selfish, or heartless, or...whatever, I was. And that things would work out no matter what; that I'd get what I wanted in the end simply 'cause I wanted it. But that's not how the world works! You get exactly what you put in; if I want happiness, or a good life or...something! Then I need to actually do good, for the sake of doing good. So if you're asking what I'm fighting for...that's it. I'm fighting for the common fucking good, for the first time in my shitty, selfish life." Quinn breathed heavily after her outburst, staring with an almost defiant glare at Daigo, who seemed to be at a complete loss for words at that point. He slowly, carefully, nodded his head, before his sense supposedly came back to him and a tiny smile found its way to his face "Okay...alright. In that case...let's go fight for the common good." Quinn gave a firm nod of her head, before Daigo turned around and the pair moved back to back. A few seconds later they were encased in ice, before they teleported away and reappeared in Kelsie's living room.
35 Minutes Remaining
Kayla
Kayla's lungs burned in her chest as she rounded the corner to Noah's street. Trust him to live in an apartment on pretty much the opposite side of the fucking city. Cardio had never been her strong suit - she'd even considered sending her body back to refresh her energy reserves - but she resigned herself to her fate as she reached the final stretch of the journey. That apartment complex better have an elevator. She entered without a second's hesitation, knowing that they were all against the clock. Neo had called her not too long ago, letting her know that him and the others were at Hector's, but she knew she was going to be a decent while later. They attempted to have Milo teleport to her and pick her up, but the boy needed to at least have an idea of where he was going for the teleportation to work - and it was absolutely peachy that he had never been on this side of town. Luckily there was in fact a lift in the building, which let Kayla catch her breath as it ascended up to Noah's floor. If it had been such a dire situation she would've killed the boy for making her run so far, but for the time being she would have to settle on rain checking it. When the doors opened she took off in a sprint once more, heading down the hall to find the right apartment and pounding on the door straight away. When no answer came she suddenly realised something; Noah might not actually be at home. He could be anywhere, although the most likely place would be Rose's, which she was pretty sure none of them knew how to get to. That would be a big fucking problem, but for now she had at least focus on getting inside his apartment. She looked around, hoping and praying that Noah would leave a spare key somewhere. There didn't seem any real reason to, considering he could teleport inside, but Noah had always been a needlessly cautious person. There was a plant pot sitting in the hall, one she hurriedly lifted only to find nothing, before she began scouring where the carpet met the wall in hopes of finding something. Her heart leapt with overjoyed relief when she found that a piece of the carpet was loose right next to Noah's door, revealing a small door key when she lifted it up. No doubt she would've kissed the object, if it hadn't been in such an unsanitary spot. Without a second's wait she shoved it in the door, turning it and throwing the door open before running inside. She'd been in Noah's apartment before, a long while ago, but she knew where his bedroom was at least. Kayla burst inside, instantly shouting to wake up the sleeping figure in the bed "Noah get the FUCK up, we need to get Axel and Synthia NOW!" Imagine her surprise when the figure she'd been screaming at awoken with a full head of black hair, and wide, pretty blue eyes. Rose. Why hadn't she fucking guessed. Thankfully, Noah sat up beside her, turning on a light as he looked at Kayla with utter shock "What the-...Kayla, why are you here?" "You fucking dipshit! Zuro is back, he tried to kill Neo in his sleep! Where the FUCK is your phone?!" Kayla yelled at him, all her anger from having to run to the apartment coming out at once. "It's-...it's in my pants. Which are in the living room...wait, wait, wait, Zuro?!" "Get. Up!" Kayla moved to his side of the bed, dragging him out by the arm despite him only being in boxers before pushing him roughly in the direction of his wardrobe "Clothes - on. Now." Kayla turned to look at Rose right as Noah got moving, spotting the girl now sitting wide awake as she looked from her boyfriend to Kayla. "Hey sweetie. Sorry about this, but we are all in a very big panic and I've just had to run for God knows how many blocks to wake Noah up." Kayla said far more softly to Rose, flashing the girl a forced smile before she responded with a quick nod of her head "I understand. What's happening with Zuro? Is Neo okay?" "I managed to go back in time an hour, so Neo is fine, but that does not leave us with a lot of time before Zuro and Nexus figure out we're onto them." Kayla explained, catching Noah's utterly stunned expression right as he pulled a shirt on - already in his pants, thankfully. She understood perfectly what was going through his head - the exact same thing that was likely going through every one of their heads. The disbelieving realisation that this was happening now. They'd all been training for months, knowing that Zuro would return, but it'd been so long that perhaps, even just a little, they had started to convince themselves that he was never coming back. And now they were all right back in the fray. "Where are we going then?" Noah asked, sitting on the bed as he hurriedly pulled socks, then shoes over his feet. "To get Axel and Synthia. Then Hector's - as quick as possible. Neo and the others are already there." Kayla said, as Noah quickly stood up and nodded, only to pause as he noticed Rose shoot out of bed and hurriedly start putting on her discarded clothes. "Rose, what-" "I'm coming with you. Don't ask questions." "I won't ask questions. The answer's no. Kayla, come on." Noah took the girl's hand, but Rose quickly spoke up in defiance once again before he disappeared "I'll just follow you anyway! There isn't time to argue, you're taking me." In about thirty seconds she was donned in jeans, shoes, and a brown jacket which she zipped up to cover her frilly, blousy, pyjama-y thing that Kayla thought actually looked really good on her. She then moved and grabbed Noah's hand, staring him firmly in the eyes for a second, before the boy sighed in exasperation and teleported them away.
31 Minutes Remaining
The trio reappeared right in the main hall of Synthia and Axel's house, spotting almost immediately that the lights in the living room were still on. Noah moved towards the couch, but before he could get any sort of word out Axel was standing up from it, turning to look at them with an instantly infuriated glare. "You have some fucking nerve showing up here." His eyes were locked right on Noah as he spoke, but his gaze shifted to Kayla for a split second with an equally hateful look. It was then the girl remembered that both his and Noah's minds had been wiped from what happened at Kelsie's apartment, which meant they only had their conflict beforehand to focus on. "Listen, that's unimportant now. Zuro and Nexus are back, we need to get to Hector's and meet Neo and the oth-" "You think I'm gonna fight alongside you, and Neo, after all that?" Axel said coldly, his fists squeezed tight as his baleful gaze remained on Noah. The boy was suddenly quiet, not quite comprehending the words he was hearing at that moment. "Axel...this isn't about me, or you, or Neo. The fate of this city is depending on us, and you-" "Well you better stop wasting your time here and go save it then. Cause me and Synthia are having nothing to do with any of you." Axel was holding firm about what he was saying, but Kayla still believed that some of his anger was getting to his head. Regardless, that didn't do them much good. If they couldn't calm him down in the next few minutes, there was no way they could get him to come along. Noah grew silent again, and Kayla thought he was just too surprised to talk, but suddenly, in a single instant, he was across the room and throwing Axel towards a wall, before grabbing him and pushing him against it. "Noah stop!" Kayla shouted, knowing full well that this was the exact opposite way they should've been trying to fix the situation. "You traitorous piece of shit!" Noah roared in the man's face, beyond infuriated with him "I defended you, and you're saying you won't fight Zuro right when we fucking need you?!" Axel scowled right back at the man, gripping his arms and doing his very best to break his grip on him, but Noah held strong. Kayla realised why the boy was reacting in such a way; Axel's words had confirmed, at least for Noah, every single suspicion Neo held for him. If he wouldn't fight Zuro he had to be on his side - there was no other conclusion for him. "Noah get off of him!" Another voice yelled, which is when Synthia jumped up from the couch and tried to drag the boy back. Her and Axel's combined strength broke his grip, throwing him back as Synthia hurriedly moved between them to stop her brother from throwing a punch. "Please, just go!" She begged Noah, pushing his chest back as her eyes welled up with tears. Noah caught her hand, trying to look her straight in the eye only for her to turn her head away from him and squeeze her eyes shut "Synthia. Synthia, come on, this is insane. Neo didn't leave you for Kayla, just bloody hurry up and realise it and come with us. Lives are depending on us!" The boy begged her pleadingly, but Synthia shook her head rapidly as tears began to fall down her face "Please...I just...don't want involved anymore. Go...go, please..." The girl let out a half sob as she spoke, prompting Kayla to move over to Noah and start trying to pull him away by his arm "Noah. I think we need to leave...there's nothing else to do, and we still don't have any sort of plan. Come on." "No! No, you two can't be fucking serious! After everything - all that training, all the deaths he's caused, and you won't even-" Noah's words were cut off by a sudden suction sound, as all eyes turned to see Axel's arm begin to light up with a bright red glow. Synthia inhaled sharply, quickly prying herself out of Noah's grip as she moved to grab both her brother's arms, holding them down by his sides. "You threw it all away! ALL OF IT! You and Neo; not us! You hear me Noah?!" Axel bellowed, with Noah trying to go for him again only to suddenly feel an incredibly powerful blow hit him in the chest as Kayla's eyes flashed green. He flew back, completely winded by the blow, as Rose quickly caught him from where she'd remained standing since they first arrived. "Noah, take us to Hector's now." Kayla instructed with a chilling calmness as she walked over to him and Rose, catching his still defiant look even as he struggled to catch his breath "But-" "NOW!" She yelled, placing a hand on one of his shoulders before he quickly teleported them into Hector's alleyway. Kayla stepped away from Noah once in the alleyway, letting out a deep sigh and running a hand through her hair as she tried not to think about the scene she'd just witnessed. "Kayla..." Noah said, finally sucking in a breath as he pulled himself to his feet, with some assistance from Rose "...they've lost their minds. We can't do this without them, you know that." "Well what do you want me to fucking do about it Noah?!" Kayla snapped, turning on him angrily and getting right in his face "They've already convinced themselves! All we can do is hope they come to their senses..." "They won't." Noah said with a shake of his head, scowling deeply as he thought back to the siblings' attitudes "Not unless we do something to convince them." "In that case...we'll just have to do it without them. Simple as." Kayla said solemnly, before the three of them were suddenly transported into the hallway of Hector's house. Quinn stood in Hector's study, looking through the doorway at them "Hurry up, we need to head downstairs. Hold on, where are the others?" "Not coming." Kayla said bluntly as she moved through the hallway, with Noah and Rose following behind her "It's just us." "You have got to be fucking-...whatever, let's just go." Quinn turned and headed down the set of stairs leading to the training area, allowing the others to follow and go on to face the rest of the group.
24 Minutes Remaining
Neo turned around from where the group had all been standing - with Hector now having joined them - to see Kayla, Noah, Quinn, and Rose all entering the training chamber. "Hey...where's-" "Synthia and Axel refused to come." Kayla said, quickly moving to Neo and holding both his arms, flashing him a gentle look as she met his gaze "I'm sorry. We tried, but...they aren't joining us." Neo looked like he'd been hit with a truck in receiving this news. His gaze grew distant, and his shoulders tensed under Kayla's grip - for a second she thought he would react in anger. But then his shoulders fell, and his features grew sullen with shame "It's my fault..." "No it isn't. Hey, hey...look at me..." Kayla raised a hand up to his cheek as he tried to turn away, making him face her once again as she stared firmly into his eyes "No it isn't." Neo bit his cheek, refusing to speak, before he closed his eyes and gave the tiniest of nods to Kayla. She brushed his cheek with her thumb, before pulling away from him and looking at the rest of the group "Alright. What sort of plan have we got so far?" "Not a very good one. Without Axel and Synthia our chances have slimmed, and without this bloody weapon working either..." Hector gave the Zuro Killer a spiteful shake, grumbling as he looked at the lifeless blade. "You haven't figured out a way for it to work yet?" Kayla asked, with Hector giving a grim shake of his head "No. It's impossible for any normal human to activate it, we're just all...flawed from birth. I had been banking on Neo due to his...ancestry, but it seems that too has failed us." Kayla glanced at Neo as Hector said this, but the boy was caught up in a conversation with Noah at that moment. Ancestry? What could Hector mean by that? She bit her tongue for the time being, asking something more relevant to the topic at hand. "Isn't there something we can do? Like a set of steps Neo has to complete?" She urged, refusing to believe that the weapon would stay entirely useless for the duration of the fight. "None that we have the time or means to identify. I'm sorry, but it's down to all of you. Now, a plan." Hector said the last bit a little louder, gathering the attention of the others as he set the sword down on the floor. "We need to separate Nexus and Zuro." Noah said, his conversation with Neo having clearly been about this "They're too strong together, and we know they have each other's back now." "And not only that, we need to keep Zuro away from the city. And civilians." Neo added, knowing exactly what sort of damage could be caused if they fought out in the streets. "And judging from your phrasing, I assume you have some idea how to do this?" Hector enquired, as both Neo and Noah nodded their heads yes. "We have...one idea. As for how good it is...we're trying to work with what we've got. But what we've got isn't much." Neo confessed, still visibly distraught to some extent about Axel and Synthia's abandonment. "Just tell us. It's probably a lot more of a plan than we've got." Kelsie said from her small group of her, Milo, Quinn and Rose. "Alright. Basically, Noah and I will wait in my apartment for Zuro and Nexus while everyone else heads to the forest area of the next town over. We should be able to get there in time if we use Noah or Milo's teleportation." Neo explained to the group, as everyone's attention remained firmly on him "As soon as they arrive, Noah will grab Zuro and teleport him over to where you're all waiting. Do everything you can to end things there and then. I'll deal with Nexus in the meantime, and contact Noah when I'm done to bring me to Zuro." Everyone remained silent when Neo finished talking. It was impossible to tell what was on their minds - whether they thought it was a good plan or an utterly futile one. "Hector, anything to add?" Neo asked the old man, who had served well to be their guide through all their training and encounters with Zuro since they'd met him. Hector seemed to think for a second, before he grabbed the sword and dragged it up from the ground, offering it to Noah "Keep this with you through it all. There may still be a chance it'll work, we just have to hope." Noah gave a nod as he took the sword, with the rest of the room returning to silence once Hector stopped speaking. "Neo." Quinn said, the first to actually give any sort of input out of the group "Are you sure you can take Nexus?" The boy nodded almost immediately, filled with resolve as he looked at Quinn "Yes. I can, I know I can. But Quinn I-...I can't guarantee I'll let him live." Kayla looked at Neo's eyes and saw that in that very moment, even he had no clue whether he'd put Nexus down for good or not. In the case of this final fight, there was a lot of things that would no doubt be decided the moment they arose. "No...no." Quinn said as she looked at the floor, before she shook her head and walked towards Neo, moving right in front of him to make herself be heard loud and clear "I want your guarantee that if you get the chance, you'll kill him. We won't win this fight with him on Zuro's side. During that fight, when the moment comes...end him." Neo stared at the girl - no doubt feeling the same surprise as everyone else in the room at Quinn's cold, somewhat sadistic outburst - before he gave a nod of his head. "Promise me Neo." She said immediately after, clearly pushing him due to his unsatisfactory answer "Someone else will do it if you can't. Promise me." "Okay, Quinn, alright." Neo said, nodding his head firmer now as he sucked in a breath "I promise. I'll do it if the opportunity arises." Kayla's fists tightened by her sides. Making someone promise they'll kill their own brother was a heavy and sick thing. She didn't like the way Quinn handled it, but at the back of her mind she couldn't help but acknowledge the fact that she agreed with her. Nexus was too dangerous to let him live - he'd chosen his side, if they had to kill him to benefit themselves then so be it. Plus, Neo had resigned himself to his fate by offering to fight Nexus alone. If he said he'd do it, he would. "I like the plan." Milo said, nodding to Neo as he addressed the rest of the group "I'm happy to follow it." "Me too." Kelsie agreed, leaving only Kayla as the person who hadn't agreed. "I'll agree to it only if I'm with you in the apartment." She said, watching Neo furrow his brow at what she was saying "If things go south...I'll be able to go back and fix them. But I need to be there in order to prevent it." Neo looked at Noah, who shrugged impartially, before sighing and looking back at Kayla "Okay. Yeah, we'll do that, but you stay close to Noah the entire time. Soon as Zuro shows up he's teleporting all three of you away, so we need to time that right." "I won't mess it up. Don't worry." Kayla said with a nod, flashing a quick smile to Neo which appeared to relax the boy. "Alright. If we're all in agreement then, let's-" "What about me?" Neo was cut off by a slightly quiet voice, as practically all heads spun to look at Rose, who stood slightly timidly outside of the circle of the group. "You are heading home." Noah answered, moving over to Rose and taking her hand "Come on, I can take you there quickly." "No!" She said objectively, hurriedly yanking her hand out of his grip "I'm not leaving, I-" "Rose what have I told you before? This is not your fight, and I am not going to be responsible for you getting hurt." Noah was refusing to take no for an answer this time, moving towards Rose again only for her to hurriedly back away "I'm not just being stubborn! If things go badly with Neo you'll need someone who's around to tell you! I'll stay near the apartment, outside, and I'll go home once everything is done okay?" "No, Rose, it's too risky. Don't you understand that you could die?" "So could all of you! What just because I-...I-I don't have powers, or I haven't been all 'specially chosen' to fight Zuro I'm not allowed to play a part? If you're all risking your lives to do something good then why can't I?!" Noah stopped where he was, allowing Rose to stop backing up and stand up straight, showing just how much she believed in the cause. He sighed and looked back at the others, almost to see what their opinion was, and in seeing Neo and Kayla shrug and the rest remain impartial he turned back to Rose "Okay...fine, you can be a lookout just to make sure Neo's side of things goes okay. That's it." A grin found its way to Rose's face, almost immediately making Noah regret his decision, but as she moved to plant a quick kiss on his lips he put it to the back of his mind. "Thank you." She said, before moving to rejoin the rest of the group "Neo, I'll make sure you'll have backup if you need it." "Alright, just...stay safe, Rose. Make keeping yourself unharmed your main priority." Neo said to her, unsure whether the decision to let her stick around was a good one or not, as she nodded and saluted to him in understanding. "I hate to have to remind everyone, but we're on a fairly strict time limit." Milo said, as everyone immediately started to get prepared to leave. "Hang on just a second, I have something to give you all." Hector told them, before he moved towards the stairs and climbed them as quick as his old body allowed.
19 Minutes Remaining
Hector returned not more than twenty seconds later, except this time he held a small wooden box in his hands. He returned to the group and quickly placed it on the ground, kneeling and opening it before he started to hand out tiny metal devices to the rest of the group. There was enough for every one of them, and by looking at the shape they could already guess what they would be used for. "Earpieces." Kayla said, examining hers in her hand. There wasn't anything particularly fancy about them - they had one main, large button on the side with two smaller ones above and below, and the speaker part seemed to fit snugly in place in their ears. "Yes. Nothing particularly magical, but these will be necessary for you all if you end up separated in this fight. Very simple; hold the button to talk and everyone else will hear. Now, off you go. We don't have any time to lose - pick a spot and stay there, as far from any civilisation as you can get." Hector said, mainly instructing Noah while he said this. The boy nodded, before starting to instruct all those he was taking with him to move so he could teleport them all away, still holding the oversized sword in his hand - which didn't seem to cause him as much trouble lifting it as it did Hector. Rose decided to go with them, simply for the sake of it, until before long they'd all disappeared from the chamber and left Neo, Kayla, and Hector alone. "Kayla my dear, I think we are due to have a conversation about exactly what you plan to do going forward." Hector said somewhat cryptically, as Kayla nodded in understanding while Neo raised an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean?" The boy asked, as Hector gave Kayla a look that questioned whether they should go somewhere private to talk about it. "No, he can stay." Kayla said openly to the man, glancing at Neo who simply looked back at her in confusion "I want him to hear this." "Alright. You must be careful this time, I mean it." Hector somewhat scolded, as Kayla let out a tiny sigh like they'd had this conversation plenty of times "Give me your hand." Hector held out his hand, as Kayla slightly hesitantly placed the back of her own in his palm. Green light swirled up her arm, and she was briefly aware of Neo watching her intently from the side, before Hector's mahogany light rose to meet hers. They both slowly simmered away after a second, leaving the old man with an unreadable expression as he glanced fleetingly towards Neo. "Are you sure? You haven't yet asked me to do this, but I feel you need to hear it; however I can still keep it secret from him." Hector said, not so subtly asking once more if she wanted Neo to hear what she was about to. She shook her head, sticking by her choice, though took a step back to stand beside Neo as she slipped her hand into his. He looked at it in surprise for a second, not sure what he was about to hear, before he held it tight and looked back at Hector, who sucked in a breath before speaking "Ten years."
Neo
"Ten-" Neo's breath seemed to catch in his throat as he tried to repeat the number, simply standing with wide eyes as Kayla squeezed his hand a single time, continuing to hold it tight. "Eight, then...okay...okay, that's not so bad." She said, taking slightly deeper breaths as she seemingly focused on keeping herself calm. Eventually her grip on Neo's hand started to fall away, and she nodded her head with a sense of resolve before dropping it completely "That's fine." "It's-...that's-...it's not fine, Kayla..." Neo's voice was quiet, but he thankfully wasn't taking this as bad as Kayla thought he would've "You told me you went back ten times. Three months, ten times, that doesn't add up to eight years." "I told you that the times varied. And maybe I...underestimated..? Okay fine, I lied! But listen, I didn't want you to freak out over it. I chose to go back every single one of those times, so the ten years were taken off by me and me alone." Kayla said firmly, but even Neo could tell her heart wasn't in it like it used to be when she pulled the 'it's my choice' argument. No doubt after all those tries, her finally giving up made her feel like utter shit about it. The fact that those years were spent trying to prevent something that ended up happening anyway must've been crushing. But there was something else that was prominent in Neo's mind, something he couldn't possible bring himself to say. How with each second wasted away from Kayla's life she was also dragging their happy ending together further and further out of reach. When everything was over - when Zuro was dead, and the world was at peace, and they were all able to go on with their not-so-normal lives - he wanted to be with her. That was when he planned to tell her how he felt; when they all made it out of this okay. And at that point, if she felt the same as him, they could go on and live their lives together. Except...they couldn't. Not happily at least. The longer things went on, the closer and more at risk Kayla would be - until eventually all her time caught up with her and she was ripped away from him. And then what would he do? With this great big heavy debt she'd accumulated, Neo saw only two things happening. Either he lost her before his dream with her could be complete, worrying about that day up until it inevitably arrived, or he never had her in the first place. The dream he had held on to, the one where he had her and everything was fine, was stretching thinner and thinner every time she went back. And he knew she wouldn't stop there - the only thing she could do is expand her debt even further. Neo didn't know if he could bring himself to live like that, but he knew full well how much it hurt his heart every time they talked about the lost years of her life. "There's another thing." Hector said, breaking Neo out of his thoughts as Kayla looked at the old man - ignorant to the boy's focus on his eternally doomed make-belief future. "I knew I would have to tell you this the next time Zuro came along. Kayla, you need to understand that just because you have these years off your life does not mean you're invincible." Hector continued, causing an inquisitive look to cross the girl's face as Neo remained silently listening "I explained before how the years you accumulated would be taken off from the day you're destined to die, but what I hadn't understood back then was how your time meddling would mess with that day itself. The best I can do is give you an example. Say, during this fight with Zuro, you watch Neo die and go back in time to save him - which I have no doubt you would most definitely do. If the only way for you to save him was to jump in front of him and die in his place, then you most definitely would die. You wouldn't die ten years before that point, you would just die. The timeline would've been so altered that the years wouldn't even be accounted for, and that would be that. Do you understand?" "Yeah. I can still die if my death is in some way deliberate or involved in an adaption of the timeline. I think I've got it." Kayla said in a fairly blazè manner, which seriously turned Neo's mood sour fast. "You better not do it." The boy said to her, trying his best not to seem as bothered as he was - and ultimately failing "What?" "You better not. Give your life to save mine, or something like that." Kayla met his gaze for a long moment, before she turned her head slightly so not to reveal her expression "If I did it would be my choice. And you'd have to accept that." Neo had no clue what to say to that. The take away he'd gotten was that it boiled down to whether he thought Kayla would give her life for him. And at that moment in time, he really wasn't sure. Suddenly an almost unnoticeable sizzling sound could be heard from behind the trio, causing them to turn around to see Noah and Rose standing there. "What the hell took you so long?!" Hector asked, only now realising the time it'd taken the boy to return. "Slight navigational issues in finding the forest. But we're sorted now; everyone else is in position. Right?" Noah pressed a finger to his ear at that last bit, though the delay was so unnoticeable that both Neo and Kayla didn't realise they'd heard him through their ears. "Right." Three other voices came through almost right away, as Quinn, Kelsie, and Milo responded from the forest. "In that case, you all need to hurry to the apartment. Kayla, how long left?" "Thirteen minutes, give or take." The girl said as she quickly checked her phone, causing Hector to nod before ushering them on. Kayla and Neo moved next to Noah, with three of them reaching out to touch him so that he could teleport them all in one go. "Kayla, a final word of advice." Hector said, looking at the girl as he stood in front of the four of them "If you keep going back, as I have a feeling you will, and nothing can be done to defeat Zuro...give up. Try to save everyone through whatever means necessary and get them all out of there. Don't waste your life away trying to win a battle that can't be won." "Alright, Hec. I'll keep that in mind." Kayla said with a nod, as Hector's gaze moved across every one of them, addressing them all "All of you. Do your very best; this is the end, whether we win or lose. Put all your training to work, and give everything you have. And most importantly...stay alive. That's all I wish for." Neo looked at Hector, meeting his gaze with a determined stare of his own, before they both exchanged a nod of understanding. "Alright, in that case..." Noah said, getting ready to teleport to the apartment "...we'll see you on the other side, Hector." The old man raised his hand in goodbye, which was the last thing the group saw before they teleported away with a buzz of electricity.
2 Minutes Remaining
Everyone was in position. Neo was on the mattress on the ground - a last minute plan so not to arouse immediate suspicion when Zuro and Nexus arrived - facing the wall as his body lay tense with anticipation. This was it. Everything was banking on this - he just had to focus on what he had to do and hope everyone else managed to give their all. Noah and Kayla were near the front door, standing close together in the corner as they kept their breathing as shallow as possible. Noah held the Zuro Killer in one hand, gripping the hilt tight as his other reached out readily, waiting to grab Zuro the instant the man appeared. Kayla had her arms wrapped tightly around his arm - the one holding the weapon - so to allow him to teleport her alongside Zuro when he needed to. When they'd arrived at the apartment Noah had teleported Rose outside, leaving her on the street with a view of the apartment just so she was nearby if Neo needed to call backup - since they had all largely accepted that his brawl with Nexus would likely spiral out into the street. "Everyone prepared?" Neo said quietly as he held the button on his ear, not fully sure why he was next to whispering but doing so anyway. "Yeah. The second Noah gets here we'll be ready." Quinn replied, filling Neo with determination as he let out an exhale "Kayla how long we got?" "A minute. Get ready." She replied through the comm, her voice similarly quiet despite being across the room. There seemed to be a collective feeling of anxious anticipation from everyone - not just those in the apartment - with all of them just as nervous as the other about what was to come. This was hell - having to wait for an enemy they knew was going to show up. Neo just had to hope that it was the edge they needed; that catching Nexus and Zuro off guard would allow them to come out victorious. Hope. That was all any of them could do.
0 Minutes Remaining
They were three quarters of the way through 4:38, the exact minute Nexus and Zuro were meant to show up. Before the alarm clock had even changed to 4:39, Kayla was speaking up through the earpieces "Something's wrong." The air filled with tension. No one in the apartment knew what to do, instead they all stared at the alarm clock waiting for the signal that would tell them something in their plan had gone horrifically wrong. The digital clock changed, the final 8 in the number becoming a 9 in an instant, before Milo's yells suddenly came through everyone's earpiece "Neo! Noah! Nexus is here! He's here! At the forest! He knew - God, I don't know how, but he knew!" "What?" All three of those in the apartment shouted into the earpiece at once, each one sounding panicked at the realisation of what had just transcended. "Milo, we're coming there right now!" Neo said as he held the button on his comm, hurriedly pushing himself up from the mattress and moving to Kayla and Noah. "No, no, Quinn and I can take him!" Milo shouted once more, his voice sounding just as distraught as the others "He knew our plan somehow, you need to be on the lookout for Zuro. We'll come to you when we've dealt with him, just stay alive till we do!" Neo met Noah's gaze, then Kayla's, taking a single second to figure out what they needed to do now that their plan had been jeopardised. Before he could speak, however, Rose's panicked voice came through the comm "Guys I think-...there's a weird man here. He's doing something to a car, he-...oh my God he just picked it up! He's looking at the apartment, get out of there! Get ou-!" Neo was already making a break for Noah and Kayla, but Zuro had acted much quicker than him. Suddenly the opposite wall exploded with an incredible force, sending concrete flying in every direction and colliding with the trio - hitting them all directly and causing them to fall straight to the floor. Everything soon went dark, and silence fell over the comms.