The Custodes

Chapter 23 - Far Apart Yet All At Once

Neo
"That's every single detail. Anything else you wanna know?" Neo was sat alone with Hector in his living room, both drinking tea and sitting propped up in their seats as though partaking in a philosophical debate. Which of course, it felt like they were. Neo had explained practically every element of Zuro's memories in as much detail as possible to Hector, who merely sat and listened intently to it all until he was finished. It was a lot to take in, but Hector's questions had formed relatively quickly in his mind "The Sage. What did he look like?" "Well uh...he wore sort of royal clothing. Garbs, a cloak, dark purple stroked with blue. And he was old; grey hair, donned in jewellery. Looked like he hadn't seen the light of day in a long while." Neo gave as good a description as he could of the man. Thinking back to Zuro's memories was like trying to grasp an event from years prior in his own past, albeit with far more disconnect from the actual thought itself. It was a struggle, despite how recently he'd learned everything, but he was doing his best to try and answer all of Hector's questions. "It may be as I thought...which does not bode well for any of us." Hector grumbled, sipping his tea vigorously as though to vent his anger. "Why not? Who was he?" Neo asked curiously. From what Dolion had told Charon he had almost no idea who the Sage was or what his link to their world was, other than the fact he held the ability to drop the spell. "The Sage was around back when Heimskor first took all the powers from the Dohlkai. Although whether this one is the exact man or a descendant is...unknown. Heimskor trusted him enough to leave him with the only means of accessing the artefact. Whatever Dolion did to get him to drop the concealment, it can't have been pleasant, and the chances are he was disposed of immediately after. You said Dolion got him to drop the spell right before Charon left, yes?" "Pretty much. Maybe an hour or two before he travelled to Earth, but close enough." Neo said with a small nod, trying to figure out what Hector was getting at. "Tell me Neo, when exactly did the artefact spell drop here on Earth?" Hector said, attempting to prompt Neo into figuring the secret out for himself. "I um...I'm not sure." "Yes you are, I've told you myself." Hector locked eyes with Neo, waiting, until suddenly realisation flooded his gaze and Hector nodded slowly. "Twenty years ago." Neo muttered, glancing down, then shaking his head and looking at Hector in confusion "How's that possible? It took Zuro an instant to get to Earth. You're trying to tell me the Sage dropped the spell twenty years before he arrived here?" "Yes. That's exactly what I'm trying to tell you. It took Zuro that length of time to get from his planet to here. Whether that's due to his means of travel or other variables is unknown, but believe it or not its likely this mishap saved our lives." Hector said, as Neo narrowed his eyes slightly "How?" "Well, if Zuro had come here right after the Sage dropped the spell, he simply would've found the artefact and gone back home. Which would've bode ill for every Dohlkai and human alike. It's better that he arrived when the spell had been put up again, and failed his mission entirely." Neo perked up slightly at Hector's words. It was something he'd been sceptical about, but hearing the old man confirm it brought the query to the forefront of his mind. "So...was the spell put back up then?" Neo questioned as Hector glanced at him, his mouth curling into the slightest hint of a smile "By you?" Neo raised his eyebrows and Hector gave a small nod, his smile appearing in full for a second before disappearing once again. "Yes. After I gained my powers I put it back up. I suspected others would be after it, and after what I learned I knew other humans couldn't find it, so I kept it hidden." "And you never went back?" Neo asked curiously, only for a flash of emotion to cross Hector's face. He lifted his cup back to his mouth, though seemed not to drink, instead letting a strange, low growl rumble in his throat. "Once." He murmured into his teacup, as Neo watched incredulously at his actions "And not by choice." Almost as quick as the grim atmosphere fell upon the room it was lifted again, and Hector sipped his tea before looking back at Neo "But that's hardly worth getting into at this time. Let's talk about something more prominent." "How did we all get our powers?" "That is not prominent in the slightest." Hector grumbled and crossed his arms, but Neo refused to be deterred. "Why can't you tell me?" "Because it's nothing you need to know right now! All things will be revealed in time, but if I just tell you everything right to your face how will you ever learn anything?!" Neo paused as he looked at Hector, who tried to drink his tea again only to find it empty - and immediately standing to get more. "That doesn't make the least bit of sense. What can you tell me about our powers? And about the artefact? And about those two men who discovered it with you?" Neo stood up as well and moved beside Hector as the man poured himself another cup of tea, refusing to meet the boy's gaze. "Alright Neo." He muttered, strangely almost to himself despite the mention of the boy's name "I released the powers from the artefact the second time I encountered it." The old man turned away from the counter, moving back to his seat as Neo hesitantly but intently followed "I don't know what has become of the two who discovered it with me." He took a large gulp of tea - Neo was surprised he didn't choke on it - before inhaling deeply and looking straight at the boy "And the artefact will never be touched by anyone else so long as I have something to say about it." There was a moment of quiet as Neo watched Hector with surprise, until the tension in the room evaporated and the old man let out a sigh "Do you understand? I do not keep things from you to spare the bother of telling you, these are things that would only serve to complicate an already stressful situation." Neo didn't say anything, but gave a firm nod of his head before placing his tea cup on the table. "Alright. Now, shall we return to the topic at hand?" "Actually, there's something else I um...well..." Neo scratched the back of his neck. A slightly guilty expression crossed his face at whatever he was going to say, but with a strong resolve he looked back up to meet Hector's eyes. "Axel. You won't train him, why? And don't sell me what you did last time. You know something; his powers being the same as Zuro's. Tell me." Neo didn't break eye contact as he spoke, and Hector merely seemed to be soaking up his words as he thought rather than trying to out-gaze him. "Noah. He told me all of your group members' powers. I recognised them, considering I freed them from the artefact but-...his I didn't. Them being Zuro's I...didn't know. But that makes things a lot more interesting..." He stared blankly in thought, but Neo was quick to snap him back to the conversation "Is he trustworthy?" "You tell me. You know him far better than I do." "I thought he was. Zuro ripped his arm off for God's sake, and then Axel nearly killed him in one of his blasts. It didn't seem the least bit likely they'd be working together." Neo shook his head. Even as he spoke he was convincing himself that Axel wasn't against them, but still. That small nagging at the back of his head remained. "And what of Zuro's memories? If they were working together wouldn't those have revealed it?" Hector asked, more considerate than sceptical as he watched Neo's internal struggle. "Exactly. Zuro realised he lost a section of his powers, but he didn't know how. And he'd never even met Axel before he encountered the group." Neo shook his head, seemingly set on a final conclusion "There's no way. I'm thinking too into it, Axel would give his life for-" "You're seemingly set on the idea that everything in Zuro's memories was fact." Hector stated wisely and cryptically, though his face was particularly serious as he watched Neo "We don't know everything about how this memory link works, remember. It's entirely possible he altered some of them. In order to protect his inside man." Neo's face seemed to widen in realisation, and his fist was quick to tighten by his side "But!" Hector began quickly, before the boy's own imagination pushed him towards doing something rash "There could also be an entirely logical explanation that doesn't involve your close friend being a traitor. Don't jump to conclusions. Everything so far is mere scepticism, so don't dare act on anything that pops into your head, you here me?" Neo remained stiff for a minute, before slowly exhaling and unclenching his fist "Yeah, whatever. I'll keep an eye on him though." "Fine by me." Hector said, flashing a smile before leaning back happily in his chair. Neo followed suit, only to feel a vibration in his pocket and pull out his phone. He stood up quickly, staring at the screen before glancing at the door, then Hector. "What it is?" "It's Axel and Kelsie, they're worried sick. Apparently Synthia never made it home. Sorry, but I really need to-" "Just get going kiddo. We've discussed almost everything there is to discuss." Hector said with a wave of his hand, just as Neo gave him a grateful nod before heading out the living room, rapidly messaging back to his friends "We'll get started on the training soon. I'll bring the others once I've filled them in. Bye!" Neo shouted before leaving the house and entering the alleyway, leaving Hector to drink his tea alone in his living room.