Neo
The air was thick with tension and fear. All eight of them stood perfectly still; the only sound that emitted was the collected thump of their hearts against their chests. What the hell is happening? Neo had been afraid before. When Zuro first showed up; when he and Synthia were stuck under the hospital; whenever he lay awake at night thinking about the horrors those people at the day-care had experienced , to name a few. But this was something else. It was like something built into his genetics - like he was being forced to be afraid despite already knowing the small chance of survival he'd had going in. Was it something all humans were programmed to do? From the reactions of his friends, Neo would have guessed yes no matter how helpless that answer made him feel. Were humans simply creatures who, when faced with something so many leagues ahead of them, were expected to merely curl up into a ball and beg for mercy? Because in that moment, that's what Neo's body was telling him to do. He wanted to curse his instincts all to hell, but Hector's lessons echoed in his mind. Trust your instincts. For a split second Neo thought that perhaps, Hector had been secretly telling him to surrender all this time. The absurdity of the thought hit him straight after, but it never cleansed his hands from the shakiness that had overtaken them, or his shoulders which sagged as though defeat was inevitable. If Neo couldn't break out of his nerves he had no hope of fighting, so he turned to what he considered as his last resort. Zuro was slowly moving - beginning to stand - and as he did Neo focused on his red, sculpted face and focused on associating all Zuro's horrendous misdeeds with it. The people he killed when he first arrived, the innocent girl who's life he threatened just to get Neo to show himself, everyone in the hospital he tried to torture for his own amusement. And then the big one. The one Neo could recall to a tee; every detail and every drop of blood implanted in his mind as though it was his own doing. He tried to rile himself up, force some of that deep rooted anger out from within him. But all he could see was the helpless, horrified faces of all those people just before they died. All of them had their lives snuffed out in an instant. And there was nothing Neo could do to stop it. What made him think he could stop it now? His knees shook beneath him - threatening to collapse as a wave of overwhelming defeat came crashing down on him. There had been times in the past where Neo questioned if his attempts at taking on Zuro had all been futile child's play - and that the only reason he still lived was for the man's own twisted amusement. He'd never actually taken the time to consider that notion; until today. There was nothing to fight for anymore. Justice was a crude concept - only the strong survive, and Zuro was the epitome of strength. Neo knew that better than anybody. His hope was shattered, his burning anger quelled in its entirety - and that's when Zuro began to speak. "Perhaps now some semblance of a realistic outlook has finally graced you all." The voice was grating, every word travelling to their ears like a fist punching cleanly through a wall. It was far from Zuro at his loudest, but Neo was certain that at his own loudest he wouldn't be heard over Zuro's quietest voice. "Have you realised the futility of your efforts yet? My reserves are long gone, which means that I now hold the fate of this world in the palm of my hand." Zuro stood unbelievably still, but his stance and voice were as firm as each other. He wanted to be heard and acknowledged, so he was making them hear and acknowledge his words. Neo could see Kayla and Synthia in the corner of each eye. He suddenly felt the urge to reach for one of their hands, to provide them both - and himself - with some small element of comfort here at the end. But he held back. For what reason, he didn't know. "I have been touched by your pitiful display of your techniques, so I am offering you this single, final choice." His voice filled with the hints of a dangerous warning, emphasising his threatening manner to the fullest "Lay down and abandon your foolish resistance. Some of you I will grant a peaceful death here and now. Others I shall allow to live on; perhaps as slaves, or perhaps as pets. Whichever suits the world I am going to craft best. Or, alternatively, you can choose to perish. Forgotten; wiped away like the small speck of mould you are. I am not a patient man, especially in this form, so I would advise you make your choices quick." Neo's gaze flickered across the street to Noah and the others. The boy's eyes wouldn't move in his direction; Noah was apparently having the same crushing epiphany that Neo had. All of his friends were practically frozen to the spot - Neo felt like he was the only one with the ability to move his feet. "I do hope your minds haven't broken." Zuro stated tonelessly, regarding each of them with a cold, concealed stare which revealed nothing about what he was thinking. He finally moved, turning to peer behind him at where Noah stood. "I had expected some sort of last ditch effort from you at least." He said, the tiniest hint of a patronising tone coming through his voice "How disappointing. This'll make the next bit far less-" Zuro stopped speaking right as a large black beam collided with the side of his face, an attack that could've gone through a solid wall of concrete as easily as a bullet through paper. Every eye turned on Neo. It seemed like no-one could quite believe it, least of all him. But while the other's were in disbelief at the attack itself, Neo's was directed towards the effect it had. Zuro turned, ever so slowly, until his gaze fell straight on Neo; allowing the boy to get a good look at all that his attack had done. Nothing. Not a single thing. There wasn't so much as a drop of blood - the skin wasn't broken in the slightest. Neo was almost convinced the attack had missed, but no; he'd seen it land himself. Was this the true power Zuro had been concealing this whole time? The red-skinned man's mouth twitched ever so slightly, before it opened wide into a full blown grin - putting Zuro's set of jagged, piercing teeth on full display. "Ah. There it is." Neo felt like he should still be scared. He'd just launched as strong an attack as he could muster and it did literally nothing, but an odd calmness had come over him thanks to the little speech Zuro had given. Neo was ready to give up - to run away and hide and let someone else deal with the problem he faced. But then Zuro went and opened his mouth; and Neo was reminded of exactly who he was talking to. True form or human, the man beneath was still the same. The man he knew deeper than any of his friends, who's life he had experienced in the exact same fashion as his own. And in that moment, having achieved this hidden understanding that no-one else could ever gain, it all of a sudden dawned on Neo that he still hated Zuro more than any living person on this planet or another. And that was enough for him to continue fighting. Regardless of how hopeless his resistance was, Neo was going to spend his final breath opposing the sick bastard who'd been the bane of his life since first arriving on their planet. Even if his friends weren't there, he would keep fighting. So that was what he did. His shadow armour solidified on his body and a helmet fell over his face as he shot off from the ground - a burst of shadow from his foot propelling him forward straight towards Zuro. Neo didn't yell a thing; his mind and body was so focused on the goal in front of him that he didn't acknowledge anyone or anything around him. As he neared Zuro he saw him remain perfectly still, his grin still plastered on his face. A screen of shadow emitted from his palm, firing straight into Zuro's eyes as Neo landed, then instantly darted to his side - keeping low as he slammed a shadow-coated fist into the man's ribs. It felt like punching a concrete wall with his bare fist. The red skin didn't shift in the slightest despite all the power behind the blow; nothing seemed to be able to get past it. Neo refused to be deterred - he conjured up a dark spike on the tip of his gauntleted fist, then back stepped back towards Zuro's front to try and deal any sort of damage. Out the corner of his eye he could see Zuro's face, staring blankly down at him as he reeled his fist back, then fired it towards his chest with all his might. The blow didn't even land; Zuro's foot cracked against Neo's side with unparalleled speed and in the next instant the boy was gone - having crashed straight through the wall of one of the nearby buildings. And that was that. "As I was saying." Zuro turned his attention back to the rest of them, who were all still frozen in either fear or shock and watching everything unfold in utter silence "Surrender or death. The time to decide is up." "CHAROOOOON!" Neo burst from the hole in the wall, eyes ablaze with black fire. Zuro's features twitched ever so slightly as a surge of irritation moved through them - though it was impossible to tell whether that was at Neo's interruption or the use of his real name. Neo launched towards the man again, but this time Zuro moved to intercept him. Hatred filled both their gazes as they neared each other, before Zuro claws slashed downwards to skewer Neo where he was. The boy disappeared into his shadows, only to reappear a second later once the slash had gone straight through him. His hands grabbed Zuro's arm, before Neo moved in mid air to swing his leg around and press his feet against Zuro's side and neck. At a sideways angle, Neo used all his strength to push back and yank on Zuro's arm as hard as he possibly could - trying to rip it cleanly out of its socket. The results were exactly as he should've expected. Despite the exertion of what felt like every cell in his body, the only thing Neo actually accomplished was clinging to Zuro's arm. With a snarl the man raised his arm - moving Neo with it - then swung it overhead and smashed the boy straight into the ground. There was enough brute strength behind the move to embed Neo cleanly in the concrete, but the boy's armour served to protect him enough so that he didn't break his spine upon impact. Zuro's foot shot down straight after, but Neo had the sense the put up a sort of shadow-bubble shield just in time. A second later Zuro's claws were tearing through the shield like it was paper, and Neo began rapidly reinforcing it to try and prevent him from being able to reach. With a roar of anger Zuro fired a beam at the shield - and the blast was so powerful that it shattered instantly, charring the ground around it black with the sheer heat. The shield fell away to reveal that Neo was gone, but as the boy reappeared behind Zuro the man was already turning - a clawed hand shooting out right towards Neo's throat. The boy could only see the gleaming tips of each finger moving right in front of his eyes, but he knew the slash was coming so fast that it would be impossible to avoid. Panic filled him as he waited for the searing pain to fill his throat, but all that he received was a sharp cut across his neck before the hand fell away. It took him a second to realise that Zuro had moved; the man was nowhere to be seen, swept away by some immense force that Neo felt brush past him. He looked to his right in the direction the blast had come from, finding Kayla standing with anxious eyes - though when they saw Neo unscathed they brightened with relief. Without a word Neo's head flicked back in the opposite direction, finding Zuro halfway across the street and pinned under a car. He didn't remain there for long. Zuro tossed the car aside like a human would a thin blanket, before standing back up and flexing his wings once again. "Time girl." His eyes landed on Kayla and Neo grew immediately tense, waiting to intercept any attack he tried "You will die alongside him. I have no place in my new world for foolish children." Kayla didn't say anything, but just like Neo her resolve seemed to be steeled by Zuro's taunting words. The man bent his knees very slightly, before he pushed cleanly off the ground and flew straight towards her with a flap of his wings. Neo waved his hand, conjuring a wall of black, but Zuro tore through it like it was nothing and continued unperturbed. Neo watched in horror as he neared the defenceless Kayla, but at the very last second a flickering figure appeared beside the girl before both vanished with a faint hiss. Neo's mind was moving at a mile a minute. He didn't waste time trying to figure out what happened, instead his eyes scanned the street, finding Noah and Kayla safely out of harm's way, before he took off running at Zuro ready to fight again. Another hiss sounded to his right, drawing Neo's attention to where Quinn and Milo had just appeared mid-run with him, before another sounded to his left as Axel, Synthia and Noah all materialised in the exact same fashion. A surge of relieved adrenaline filled him in seeing them all released from their stupor, but he didn't linger on the fact for long as his gaze returned to the unmoving Zuro. Upon missing his attack on Kayla he merely stood in place in the centre of the road, his giant wings hiding most of his form as he faced the other way. Neo was sure they'd be able to do something now that all of them were together, he just had to ensure they didn't-
His thought was interrupted a second later as a mass of red tendrils erupted from every inch of Zuro, rushing towards them like elongated crimson bullets. There wasn't anything any of them could do - even Noah wasn't fast enough to compete as the tendrils wrapped around each of them simultaneously. Before he knew it one was constricting around Neo's throat, and he only got the chance to see Zuro turn around before another strung around his head and blocked his vision entirely. A strangled, choking sound emitted from his throat, but as he tried to cut himself free with his shadows he found that his arm were completely immobilised by the tendrils that had made his way there. He was about to meet a dark and grisly death, but just when he felt his consciousness begin to slip a gust of air flew past his face and every tendril attached to him fell completely loose. Neo sucked in a raspy breath and opened his eyes, watching as every nearby tendril dissipated away after being severed cleanly in half. His curious confusion got the better of him, and he looked in the direction of the mysterious gust of wind to find Kayla standing next to a car with a conspicuously missing front door. A growl of annoyance quickly turned his thoughts back to the real danger at hand however, as Zuro pushed off the ground once more and used the flap of his wings to propel him through the air. With all of them free, the group were more than ready to take on their foe - a sentiment immediately exemplified through the attacks that each and every one of them fired. Noah's electricity struck one of Zuro's wings, however it wasn't enough to immobilise him; Axel's beam provoked Zuro into spinning slightly in mid-air to allow it to narrowly fire past; Quinn and Milo's unfortunately missed their mark; and Zuro let Neo and Synthia's beam and spear hit him dead on without so much as halting him. It was impossible to tell who Zuro was aiming for as he approached, but that problem quickly solved itself as a certain bystander shouted out. "MILO, AXEL - DUCK!" Both boys did so without hesitation, right as two red beams shot from Zuro's palms and skimmed over the top of their heads. Neo only had time to register that Kayla's voice had come from right behind him before her hands had grabbed his shirt and yanked him straight to the floor with her. Zuro's claws had struck out the second before, slashing for the boy and narrowly missing as he flew cleanly over him. Neo spun just in time to see Zuro kill his momentum with a backwards flap from his wings, before he lunged for him once again. Kayla's assistance wasn't necessary the second time. Neo ducked swiftly under Zuro's incredible rapid slash, then slammed his shadow-buffed fist into his side once again. Just like before it seemed to do next to nothing to the man, and as the next slash came from the opposite hand Neo was able to swivel under it once again before slamming his elbow into Zuro's jaw with an explosion of shadow. He had secretly been hoping that his face would've been his weakness, but the skin seemed just as solidified there as anywhere else. Neo jumped back - his movements elevated by his powers - in order to get a safe distance away, and that was when the others finally joined in. Axel sent a short but powerful beam towards Zuro's face, but it was quickly blocked by an arm. This allowed an opening for Synthia to reinforce her arm with metal and ram her fist into Zuro's ribs, but all that was accomplished was that the spikes lining her knuckles snapped straight off on impact. Milo conjured a huge attack from the ground up - sending a wave of sharp, solid crystal directly up towards Zuro's torso - but the villain disregarded it by clasping both hands together and slamming straight down and through it. Quinn shouted a spell and summoned a strong, purple chain which quickly bound Zuro's neck and tried to drag him towards the ground. As this happened Noah grabbed Neo and teleported him above the man, dropping him so that he could send a powerful kick straight into the back of Zuro's head with yet another blast of darkness. The attack landed, but before Noah could teleport him away Zuro grabbed the both by his ankle and swung him straight down on top of Quinn - cancelling her spell and sending them both to the ground in a heap. Zuro leapt swiftly backwards, avoiding a punch from Milo, and grinned as he lunged forward again with his teeth bared and his claws poised for the kill.
Kayla
Death. There was so, so much of it. Kayla thought she'd already experienced enough death for a hundred lifetimes. If that was true, then it would be more like a million by the end of this.
It started as soon as Zuro entered his true form. They'd all expected that to be the case, of course, but not one of them would have guessed it would be to this extent. Maybe them destroying his true form was a wake-up call to Zuro. It seemed that was when he began to view them as a possible threat - he realised that they were actually more than just children to be toyed with. Or maybe he just grew tired of toying with them. God knew his fucking goals were ever changing. First it was finding some artefact, then it was torturing Neo, and now it's...what? World domination? Well, regardless of his aspirations, Kayla still wasn't going to let him win. It was her life or his. Race to the finish line.
The disgustingly huge difference in power wasn't what ailed Kayla about Zuro entering his true form. What caused her trouble - caused all of them trouble - was his newfound willingness to put an end to them. Every encounter with Zuro in the past had been a game; a farce; an idiotic 'how hard can you hit' test of strength. This right now was a real fight. People out to kill one another - no shred of mercy being spent on either side. Milo's throat had been slashed open and Synthia's chest had split apart by a red beam. Kayla's eyes flashed green and she was back a few seconds; Zuro jumped back to feign retreat for a single instant before darting forward as quick as ever. She was already running when she'd gone back, allowing her to get there just in time as she outstretched her hand to push Synthia with all her might before dragging Milo out of the kill zone. Axel hit Zuro dead-on with a beam and did absolutely nothing to him. Neo had gotten back up - leaving Quinn on the ground - and conjured a wall of black from the ground up to slam into Zuro. The man stepped backwards just in time to avoid it, concealing himself from Neo with the boy's own barrier - only for a red beam to cut straight through it a second later and blast a hole through Neo's stomach. Kayla didn't even have time to sigh. She was back in the next instant, running for Neo as Axel's beam collided with Zuro. Neo was so focused on conjured his barrier that he didn't see Kayla coming, so he was undoubtedly surprised when she practically body slammed him out of the way of the beam. "Thank-" Neo took one look at Kayla's face, and whatever was on it had stunned him to the point of not even finishing his thank you. He was back in the fray a moment later, but his moment of pause had made Kayla stop to think. She was tired. He must've been able to see it in her eyes. She wasn't exerting herself to the extent they were, but mentally she'd gone through more strain than their bodies ever could. How much longer do I have to do this? The thought made her scowl at herself. She was trying to save people's lives - not only her friends but everyone who Zuro planned to hurt if he ended up winning. She didn't have the luxury to complain about how much she wanted to rest. Maybe if I go back far enough I can stop him from ever coming here. And lose more years off her life? The thought didn't appeal to her in the slightest. If they stood any chance of beating Zuro she would need to find the correct path here and now. She'd find it soon enough, she just hoped it would show itself while she still had a decent number of years left in her life. My life is forfeit. Well...she'd learned that a long time ago, hadn't she? Her gaze returned to the fight in front of her. Noah sent bolts of electricity into Zuro's chest, to no avail. Quinn tried to drive a purple spear through his heart, which was grabbed and sent right back through her own. Milo shouted out in anger and lunged for Zuro, crystallised fists hammering rapidly against him. To the boy's credit Zuro saw it as enough of a threat to actually block and dodge his swings, but a second later he'd ducked under one and carved four huge gashes in Milo's stomach with practised ease. Synthia and Neo attacked simultaneously, their anger fuelling them as they tried to strike any part of his body that Zuro left open. Noah joined in, but at the first possible chance Zuro grabbed Synthia's arm, then dragged her towards him to send a beam through her face. Noah teleported once, but the instant he reappeared Zuro had dashed a claw past his throat and slit it easily open. Axel was crying in rage as he fired off a beam huge enough to level a building, but all Zuro did was grab Neo in a hold and let the attack wash over them both. When it had ceased Neo was no longer a living, breathing human. He more closely resembled a charred piece of steak, whereas Zuro's skin wasn't the least bit singed - still glistening perfectly red and pristine. At that point Kayla stopped paying attention. She looked at the floor - taking steady, calm breaths as she tried to focus her vision. This isn't working. That had to be the understatement of the century. Of course it wasn't working - drawing a similarity between them and ants when situated next to Zuro was a flattering understatement. Pulling them out of harms way over and over again wouldn't help them kill Zuro - they needed something more. Maybe she could spark something inside them to unlock some hidden potential. Or maybe Neo could go back and actually activate the sword he left behind. Something - anything - to allow them to win. But deep down she knew there was nothing. Kayla noticed the beam heading towards her much too late. She was so caught up in the hopelessness of the scene before her that she'd forgotten where she was. It was too late - the beam struck her through the heart before her eyes had the chance to flash their familiar green. It was over. She was dead. The light left her eyes the same way her spirit left her body, and her lifeless corpse flopped flimsily to the ground never to arise again.
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"Come on, Pyegc. That one was so easily avoidable." Kayla's eyes opened at the sound of the soft yet unimpressed voice coming from the spot in front of her. The first thing her gaze locked onto was the solemn face of the young man who had spoken, and the second was the smooth, emerald hilltop peering at her from over the man's shoulder. "I wasn't paying attention." She answered simplemindedly, taking a lone step to the right of the figure in order to gain a better view of her surroundings. Despite not recognising where she was, a peculiar sense of comfort filled her as her eyes scanned the vast field in front of her, littered with flowers and tuffs of grass and not a lot else. A cluster of trees were situated off to her left, and running past them was a shallow river with small, undisturbed grey stones lining the banks. Kayla felt herself drawn to the rushing stream, wanting to walk directly towards it and forget about whatever the man had to say. She had to actively hold herself back, though she was sure he wouldn't mind if she decided to take off exploring. It was only the two of them there after all, no doubt she would be easy to find. The faint trickle of the water and the gentle hush of the wind blowing through the trees slowed Kayla's heart to an easy rhymth, and all she wanted to do was simply lay down, close her eyes, and take it all in. She'd never seen a place so serene before, and even though the man had told her exaclty what it was she couldn't help but feel like it was real. When all was said and done, she was going to make it her mission to find it out in the real world. As a small sigh escaped her lips she turned her attention back to the man, peering at his strange white robes with the purple strips running down from each shoulder. He looked like a priest, she thought, but all the priests she'd ever seen were old men. This person couldn't have been more than twenty years old, however the strange, yellow symbols in the centre of either purple stripe made her think he must've belonged to some sort of sect or cult. She looked up at his face, though she knew exactly what she would find there. He looked remarkably unremarkable. Like if she was asked to draw the most average face she could, Kayla had no doubt it would be the face before her that would find its way onto the paper. Nothing struck her as odd about him, yet he wasn't someone she would dub as attractive either. For his featurs, that was. His eyes told another story. Kayla always thought eyes were a weird thing; someone had once told her that your eyes don't grow from the time when you're a baby to when you're old and grey. A classmate or teacher maybe, she didn't care to remember. The only reason that thought came to her now, was because she'd come to realise how utterly wrong it was. Maybe they don't grow, but this man's eyes were undoutedbly the oldest pair she'd ever seen. They looked wizened beyond their supposed twenty years, filled with a wisdom only uncovered by those who had been alive to see things no one ever has. There wasn't a single person alive who came close to comparing to the knowledge-burdened gaze that fell on her every time they spoke. It would be easy to get lost in eyes like that - precious minutes spent wondering exactly what sort of things had been witnessed by them; what beauties and horrors they'd faced in all their time. That was why Kayla preferred focusing on the rest of the man's features. Like his hair, for example. It was a deep brown - similar to Noah's - except it was long and smooth; not a single hair disobeying its assigned position beside the others. Two thick, wide locks fell down to cover the sides of the man's face, but the rest tumbled behind him. A knot was tied at the back, forcing the velvet mane to converge into one tight, single stream once it had reached the man's shoulders. Kayla often found herself staring at either of the straight, rectangular locks either side of his face, but this time she forced herself to look into his eyes for as long as she could stand to bear. "Why do I only remember you here, and not when I go back into the real world?" Kayla asked bluntly, examining the man's gaze as he regarded her silently. His eyes gave nothing away. Or maybe they did, but there was just so much in there to sift through that she would never find it even if she tried. "It is not my doing. Perhaps it is your own mind fixing itself so to save you from the trauma of experiencing death." Words seemed to trickle from the man's mouth in the same smooth, rhythmic fashion as the stream. There was a strange ease to the way he spoke, like every word was already there on his tongue. Waiting to spill out. "That's a load of shit. My memories are intact right now and I'm not breaking down or convulsing on the floor or anything. This is your doing, I know it is." Kayla spoke back, keeping her tone even and relaxed as she did. For someone as quick to anger as her, she found it intriguing how dreamily calm her emotions were here. Maybe it was the environment, or maybe emotions just didn't exist where they are. "Fine. It is my doing. But I only want to spare you from a great deal of unnecesary confusion. You'll ask questions which no one will have answers to. I imagine that would be quite frustrating for you, Pyegc." Kayla let another sigh brush past her lips as she looked out towards the river again. Further downstream, past the stunningly green-leaved trees, was a short wooden bridge to allow people to cross. Kayla remembered seeing it one of the past times she was here, and it resulted in a few rapid-fire questions cropping up in her mind. "No one but you, you mean. If that's the case, why not answer my questions now? At least that way the next time I come here I'll have more of a clue." Kayla raised an eyebrow alongside her challenge, and watched as a faint smile brushed the man's lips. "Very well." He said smoothly, waving a hand and conjuring two simple wooden chairs right in the middle of the field for both him and Kayla to sit on "I will answer your questions. Though I won't let you keep your memories when you eventually leave." He lowered himself down to the chair, letting his gaze drift elsewhere as Kayla followed in suit. "Alright, I can live with that. Tell me right off the bat though, what is this place?" Kayla looked around at the field surrounding them, waving a hand in the air for emphasis on what she meant. "You asked me this before, remember?" The man's features remained entirely neutral as he spoke, something Kayla would usually be wary of if it wasn't for the current situation. If he wanted to hurt her or something he would've done it by now. Each time Kayla had come here she'd gotten to know him better and better, and he really did just seem like an especially mellow guy. "Right right, I get that we're in my subconscious and all. What I meant more was...what is this place to me? I don't even recognise it, why would my subconscious take the form of something I'm not even familiar with?" She made her confusion obvious to him, hoping he would be able to provide some background to the peculiar countryside-esc environment. "I will be honest, I do not know. From my knowledge of mindscape navigation my best bet is that it's a place that has some deep emotion attachment to you - most likely something from your future, given you don't recognise it. That, or it could merely be something your mind has conjured up. If you have negative thoughts and feelings towards your time spent roaming and living in the city, perhaps it has gone to the length of crafting an enivronment that is the exact opposite in order to put you at ease. Whatever it is, I highly doubt that is the most pressing question on your mind at this current moment." "Not by a long shot but I thought we'd start out easy." Another faint smiled passed the man's lips, one Kayla mirrored as she leaned back into her chair "Straight onto the next, then. The big one; who are you?" The man's unimpressive face remained as it was, not giving the slightest hint that he'd even heard the question. Through the silence Kayla was beginning to wonder if he had heard it, but that answer made itself apparent as soon as he began to speak. "Why don't we preface that with what you know of me already. My answer may be slightly more complicated than you think." What aspect of her life wasn't complicated at that point? Kayla could live with a few more complications if it meant she found her answers somewhere. "Well...I know you apparently reside inside my subconsciousness - or at least in some part of me where you have access to my subconscious - and that you've been saving me from death but wiping my memories each time you do. So, making the best educated guess I can at the moment, I'd have to say you're linked to my powers in some way. Maybe you came with them, maybe you materialised after they'd become a part of me - I don't know." The man's lips upturned ever so slightly; the first time an actual smile had graced his face instead of just the ghost of one "You are clever, Pyegc." "Thank you. I've had plenty of time to sharpen my wits." Kayla replied, her eyes drifting off towards the river as the thought of how many mental years she'd lived entered her mind. "You are correct. I am indeed linked to the power that resides inside you." The man said bluntly, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together as he spoke "Who I am is too complicated a question. Who I was however, that may be a tad bit simpler - if you are willing to indulge me." "I asked the question. And like I said; I've got all the time in the world." Kayla's focus was now back on the man in front of her. In all the other times she'd been here, he'd never been this willing to openly answer whatever questions she had for him. She could only guess that he was taking the time to examine exactly how she would act around him before he got comfortable. It wasn't like it'd do much good anyway. Kayla was only asking on the off-chance that he would let her retain her memory when she left, and there really wasn't a very high chance of that happening. "Tell me Pyegc, does the name Heimskor hold any particular weight to you?" The man asked, his voice containing what was very close to curiosity. "In a way. I know about him, Neo told me. He was like...a god or something? And on the planet Zuro comes from; he stole everyone's powers, shoved them in an artefact, then brought that artefact here - to Earth. That's also how we got those powers...somehow." Kayla said, giving a small shrug of her shoulders. She didn't exactly share Neo's enthusiasm on the subject, though she had to admit starting to fill in the gaps on how they came to be where they are provided her with a certain satisfaction. "You are well informed, Pyegc, though there are certain gaps in your knowledge." "Yeah well I wasn't really around when they learned all this. Also, I'm guessing this is the part where you tell me that you were someone who had their powers stolen, but somehow your spirit or-" She gestured up and down the man's figure as she spoke "-whatever this is stayed attached, and now that I have your powers you're stuck inside me. In a...less weird way than how I just phrased it." The man's smile found its way to his face again, and he slowly inclined his head in a nod as he looked at Kayla "Very well done. When did you piece that together?" "About ten seconds ago honestly. So was I right?" She didn't like how much hopeful glee was present in her voice, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't get a rush from managing to impress probably the wisest-looking person she'd ever seen. "You were close. What you said about Heimskor. In a way, I suppose he was a God to many - however he wasn't as immaculate or immortal as you might typically think. He was leagues ahead of any normal Dohlkai or human, that is certain, yet in the end he was defeated by the same thing any normal man, woman, or child can fall victim to." The man's expression didn't change in the slightest as he spoke, though his eyes grew somewhat distant - like the story itself was being extracted from their depths. "What was it?" The question left Kayla's mouth before it had even entered her mind, but she found herself teetering on the edge of her seat - suddenly engrossed in the story. "The same thing that ails you, Pyegc." The man's gaze locked with Kayla's once more, and despite his lack of expression she found herself knowing exactly what the next word out his mouth would be "Love." It took a second for her to register it. The word bounced around her mind like it was ricocheting off the inside of her skull over and over again. "Love." She repeated, hating the way it soured her taste buds "That has got to be the cheesiest shit I have ever fucking heard." The man smiled sincerely, before leaning back in his chair and letting a faint sigh escape him "'Cheesy' or not, that is what happened. I was his friend, and I watched him give up all his power and newfound godly appraisal for a single woman. A human woman, no less. His lifespan far surpassed hers, but in the end he let himself wither away - content to die beside her. I should have seen it coming, I suppose. I held the ability to gaze into the future whenever I wished, and yet I forgot to check if things would ever work out at the end of his great venture." Kayla watched the man with curious trepidation. There was no sadness on his face, nor in his eyes, nor in the way he spoke. To him, everything was fact and truth - whatever his opinion, it held no relevance in the given topic. "Why tell me all this?" She asked, puzzled both by the obscurity of the story and with her own investment in it. "Because it may matter in the future. And because you asked. Now, I think we have spent long enough here. One more question Pyegc, then I think it should be time you return to your current task." The man watched her patiently, as Kayla took the time to consider her next question. The thought of asking him how to beat Zuro - or something of the like - came to the forefront of her mind, only to leave again once she reminded herself that she wouldn't remember a single detail of the conversation. With that in mind, she asked the only other relevant question she could think of. "Why do you keep saving me? It can't be as simple as you wanting to protect yourself; I've been told these powers can just pass on to someone else if I die. So what is it?" The man didn't even need a second to think. "You are correct, that is not the reason; however the truth is of equal simplicity. I have access to your powers while inside you, Kayla Lennings, and as I said before I can gaze into the future at will. The truth as to why I am preventing you from facing death is because you play much too big a part further on in the story. That is all." Kayla really didn't know what to make of that, but she figured she'd just have to accept that answer for now. Or...for however long it takes her to remember it again. "Now, if that will be all-" The man's chair faded into nothing as he stood up from it, but Kayla wasn't ready for him to send her back just yet "Wait, wait, wait! Just...listen for a second. If you send me out there and erase my memory again, I don't think I'll be able to go on fighting. You don't know what it's like seeing your friends die over and over again and trying to work out the perfect way to save them. I can't keep doing it. At least leave me with something to let me know it will all work out in the end. That's all I'm asking for." The man silently regarded her for a moment, before tipping his head forward in one of his signature slow nods once again "As you wish. But first, I must ask. Things are not going to end the way you want them to. There will be certain sacrifices to be made, and only you will be able make them. Knowing this, are you still prepared to go on as you have been?" Is he telling me I'll die? Kayla felt herself tense slightly, even as she took in her serene surroundings. Why do I feel like this every time? I thought I was ready to give my life for this. The answer came without question, but the confirmation of the one thing she'd feared sent an ache through her heart and a roiling churn through her stomach "Yes. Always." The man sent her another soft half-smile, as though he could read her thoughts perfectly. "Then, I will leave you with four key things and send you on your way. Determination. Resilience. Willpower. These three I will let you keep when you leave this place. What you do with them is not up to me; my role is to guide, not to lead." Kayla almost felt the need to write these things down. Every word out the man's mouth was like Shakespeare to her. But the fact he was helping her made her forget about her inevitable death for the time being. It was one more person backing their cause, and maybe that one would be the difference between victory and failure. "What was the fourth thing?" She asked, suddenly realising she was still sat in her chair and quickly standing up. "A word of advice. This I will also let you keep, though I doubt you will remember that it came from me. So far you have focused on preventing your friend's deaths through whichever means possible. You will never win like this. Your friends have the power to defeat Zuro, Hector made sure of this." Kayla's brow furrowed at the seemingly random mention of the old man, but she tried not to think too hard about it. "You must make them realise this power. If you do so, they will be able to prevent their deaths all by themselves. Think of every possible scenario; use everything you possibly can to your advantage. Do this and you can never fail." Kayla stared at the man for a second, soaking up every ounce of advice from him, before giving a firm nod of her head. "Now. It really is time for you to go back." The man didn't move a muscle, but Kayla still got the feeling that he was getting ready to send her back. "Thank you, um...whatever your name is. Thanks for your help." "You need not thank me, Pyegc." The man said, before a smile more full and defined than all the others appeared on his face "You are letting me stay here, after all." Kayla watched as the man's eyes flashed a bright green; then, from the distance nearing in, her hills, trees, bridge and river all disappeared as darkness washed over them - leaving her alone in the centre of it until she too was consumed.