The Custodes

Chapter 17 - Zuro Arc Part 1

Zuro
Many, many decades ago, on a planet millions of light years away from Earth two twins were born from parents of a certain race. They were far from human, but numerous millennia of evolution had led to their race developing a second form that was far more human in both appearance and anatomy, albeit with a few differences due to the atmosphere and environments of their planet. This form was significantly weaker than their true form but conserved far more energy, and since the current laws of the planet stated that no one was allowed in their true form while outside of their own home, majority of civilians kept to their human bodies at all times. The planet had one ruler, a king, who all must answer to, though there were many who were envious of the fact that power only came to the members of the royal family, leading to them detesting and rebelling against authority. No force was large enough to overthrow the government however, for they had weapons that far exceeded anything the rebels could muster. Each time they rose up they were pushed back down, and eventually the idea of breaking free from the apparent dictatorship, as so many viewed it, was deemed entirely impossible. There were no more open rebellions or attempts to seize power carried out by the people, however whispers filled with hateful defiance continued to spread across the planet, and in the shadows a growing force with plans to build up and one day shatter the government entirely hid in wait. The twins were named Hadi and Charon, and from birth they were both raised in the capital city of the entire planet. A grand building with large hallways and awe inspiring decor was their home, although this planet's buildings and interiors were far different to that of Earth's. For starters, the material most houses and structures were built out of was a sea blue mineral named Obalk, which was similar to stone though a lot more malleable. Their technology was not extremely advanced compared to Earth, in fact if anything it was further back - as there was nothing even remotely close to cellphones available to people and only one method of transport to get around the entire planet. That was in terms of the general public however, as in certain more specific areas, like mining for example, the planet already had automations and advancements that worked wonders for them. The ores and minerals found in the planet's crust were much different from anything on Earth, leading to a much more varied range of lifestyles on the planet. Regardless of this however, there was no lifestyle, not even criminal, that matched the luxury of royalty. And that's the life Hadi and Charon would have lived, had it not been for one man. The twins' parents were the King and Queen of the planet, but their lives of comfort and peace were stripped away before the boys were even old enough to remember the faces of those who birthed them. The King was attending an overnight meeting, an event that was uncommon but not unheard of in the planet's government. His wife, the Queen, was alone in their bedroom, asleep on the bed with her two twins resting similarly in their cots close by. Slowly and silent the door to the room was pushed open, and the maid standing in the hall peeked her head through to see if the Queen was asleep or not. In seeing that she was the maid stepped inside, leaving the door slightly ajar to let a trickle of light inside. Swiftly and quietly she crossed the room, moving to the cots which held the two sleeping children inside. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny vial, filled with a glittery blue substance, which she hurriedly opened before reaching over the cot and pouring a single drop onto one of the babies' head. The drop stayed there for a second, before seemingly absorbing into the baby's flesh and ensuring that it would remain unconscious for a great deal longer. The maid did the same to the other child, then closed the vial and slipped it back into her pocket. She turned to the sleeping Queen, then from behind her back revealed the faintly shimmering blade she now held in her hand, its appearance seeming almost translucent. It was made of an extremely special and extremely rare type of material, one that was scarily lethal to the inhabitants of the planet. She remembered the man who'd entrusted her with this very mission explaining it to her, telling her how the blade, if a lethal shot is landed, can kill a member of their race even in their human form. It was a terribly destructive weapon despite its elegant beauty, and incredibly useful for a task like this. An assassination. The maid lifted up one of the pillows that lay beside the Queen then hovered it above her sleeping face, pointing the blade down directly at her heart with her other hand. She took a deep breath, composing herself, then stared right ahead at the wall in front of her. "For the resistance." She whispered, before plunging the blade straight through the Queen's chest and stopping her from crying out by using the pillow. Her body stiffened for a second, a horribly nightmarish screech sounding from under the pillow, before she went entirely limp and a deathly aura filled the air. The maid looked down at the dead woman for a second, then gasped as a glowing light emitted from her chest, starting small then slowly growing larger and larger despite the fact she had most definitely moved on to the next life. Once the light had reached its peak it moved away from the Queen's body, bursting out and filling the room for a second before every single speck shot down towards one of the twins, immediately disappearing into him but leaving his sleeping form entirely undisturbed. The maid stared at the baby, trying to process what she'd just seen, but then the realisation of how little time she had to waste hit her and she hurried over to the cots. She rapidly grabbed the sleeping twins, carrying each of them in her arms, before running towards the door and out into the hall. A quick glance around told her the coast was clear, meaning the rest of the resistance members were doing their part in keeping stragglers and passerbyers away. Now all she had to do was make it to the roof. She ran there as fast as she could, keeping both babies held tight against her until in no time at all, and without any trouble, she was up on the roof. Once there she spotted two figures standing in the centre, both men and both with skin that wasn't remotely like a human's. It was bright blue for starters, and, although it wasn't abundantly clear just from looking, it was far, far tougher than a human's skin. The men stood without a single item of clothing on, however where any genitals should've been there was instead just plain skin, no sign of any sort of reproductive feature that a human would have. Their genders were still identifiable however. Women's forms were far more slim and built for more agile and elegant movements, whereas men were all about strength and being built like a tank. The two in front of the woman right now though were a somewhat special case. They had the usual physicality all male true forms had, extremely fit and muscular, but the main feature of their specific blue skinned kind were their wings. Great large, smooth wings spread out to either side of them from their backs, easily seven or eight feet wide, with a touch that was strangely similar to that of a bat's. They were blue like their skin, albeit a far darker shade, and although some true forms with different colours still had wings, they weren't specifically built for flying like these blue ones were. "These are the children?" One of the men asked the maid, looking down at the twins in her arms with pinpointed blue eyes. She glanced up at the two horns protruding from either side of his head, then at the curved semicircle pattern ingrained right underneath his eyes, before locking her gaze with him and giving a small nod of her head. "You know the plan. Our window's growing small, hurry." The other blue winged man said, stepping forward and taking both sound asleep babies as she handed them to him. The one who spoke first said nothing as he wrapped his arms around her, before taking off into the sky with a single flap of his wings while the other followed behind with the twins in his arms. They flew high above the city, leaving the grand mansion behind them, and with it the prosperous future that Charon and Hadi would never get the chance to live out.