Protectors- Consequence

Chapter Fifteen: Crimson's Farewell

Noctum was hit in the chest with Damien's coin, and a small chip of the Chrysalis fell off, clattering to the ground. Adam used the opportunity to headbutt Noctum, breaking his nose before he shoved him aside, pointing at the small piece of Chrysalis that lay on the ground,

"Damien!" Adam roared, "no time to waste, grab that thing and absorb it!"

"No fucking way," Damien responded coldly, "I don't need it, and you lost all respect I had for you, so there's no chance I'm doing it for your sake,"

"You idiot!" Adam roared, "It's our only chance, I'm at my limit!"

"Fuck you!"

Noctum hit Adam in the back of the neck, and his head shot forward, his brain shutting down from the force of the impact. But he refused. Adam wheeled around with as much force as his unconsciousness could muster, landing a crippling body shot to Noctum, his building fury taking him back, back in time to fifteen years ago, when he was young, strong, and pissed off. Another brutal body shot, and Noctum was being pushed back, no, he was being forced backwards, struggling to keep up with the rage-filled Adam Oughton. Damien smiled a begrudging smile. His teacher was back, replacing the complacent and weak Adam that had taken over briefly with the brutal vigilante Noctum, the one willing to do anything to destroy evil. Noctum punched back, and their fists collided once more, the shockwave knocking Damien away as the entire block they fought on was instantaneously decimated by the impact. That was when the Chrysalis shard flew into Damien, tossed by a strategically placed vacuum wave. Damien's coin fused with the glowing red thing, and although nothing appeared to have changed, Damien knew that something big was different,

"How about we hit him with a combo attack!" Adam roared, dashing away from Noctum briefly, "I'll set up some vacuums,"

Before Damien could acknowledge the plan, Adam began to zigzag around Noctum, his fists flying and creating vacuum waves, a technique that The Stranger had created called a vacuum infinity. Damien felt his coin, felt the bloodlust that seemed to vibrate deep within the metallic shell that held his power. He flipped it through the vacuums, picking up speed, growing faster and faster. Adam held Noctum in a headlock, gripping him with all of his strength. His flesh peeled off his bones from the power of the Chrysalis and its host, but Adam was not about to lose, he was not about to be defeated by something during his first moment of clarity in a long time. 

That was when the bad memories came pouring back in a deluge, his pain triggering the recollection of things he began to wish he had just forgotten. He remembered the house, surrounded by things in the dark that made even his toughened mind shiver in horror. He remembered being forced into pure bliss by something he still did not know. He recalled the thing in the basement, the horrific thing that was all too familiar to him. Then he remembered the true face of his captor, and froze slightly, a moment of hesitation that was just enough for Noctum to get his hands around to Adam's face and gouge out his eyes. Damien's coin finally hit its mark, the glowing red bursting through the Chrysalis and embedding itself in Adam's chest cavity.

Blood poured from Noctum's open mouth alongside a burning stream of Aura that greatly resembled lava, and the sensation of his internal organs cooking filled his entire body. Adam let out a small grunt of pain before dropping Noctum to the desolate ground. He landed next to Damien, collapsing from his wounds,

"You alright, kid?" Adam asked, his skin raw and his right eye hanging from his socket by a tendon, 

"You don't look good at all," Damien remarked, "but judging from the way you two destroyed the entire fucking city I don't think there's much chance of an ambulance coming to save your ass,"

"I don't need one," Noctum replied, "I just need a moment to talk to the others,"

A strange revving cut the air, and Damien stood up, bloody coin clutched in his hands,