[IC] A Hero Tale {Complete}

[Necrophage]

Oz dove to the right, narrowly dodging the beam as he rolled with his staff of energy tightly held in his hands. Geode's form of energy was barely registering to their attacks. The heroes needed something better and fast. Otherwise they would wind up holier than the golem deity himself - and he was a god.

[Jensoman]

Jenso flew low to the ground quickly and further to the left to avoid the purple beam, while still channeling Ki in his right hand. He would fly near Oz and extended his left arm with his palm open towards his foe. The flames from the flame wall behind Geode suddenly united into one large white flame ball. He pulled his left arm back and clenched his left fist shut. The flames solidified and launched at Geode's back like a powerfully focused white meteor. "Meteor...!" He muttered.

He created a sphere made out of powerful Ki, the Ki that he'd been building up earlier, and it levitated in place near Oz as he flew past him with his right hand. Oz could control and fuse it with one of his own attacks. "Use this...give him hell." He whispered to Oz in the brief moment that he sped past him, before flying towards Geode's left side. He wanted to distract Geode and give Oz the time he needed if he wanted their combo attack to work. He followed up after his meteor technique, launching an impact punch, another Ki fist image, at the side of Geode's head with his left fist.

[tex]

Jenso's plans followed one after another. Unfortunately for him, Geode didn't just sit there. When the meteor formed, Geode dashed out of its path, towards Jenso, immediately consuming and destroying the sphere of Ki he released from his body with a thin beam of energy before Jenso had the chance to initiate his next attack.

"Incredible hearing, the ability to calculate information faster than a computer," Geode taunted, while firing another laser at Jenso and turning his back to Oz, "I take it back! You've been downgraded from rodent, to amoeba." Where the meteor struck, debris flew up and across the uneven obsidian battlefield, scattering indiscriminately. "You cannot hurt me with your silly mortal magic."

[Necrophage]

Oz took his staff in both hands, holding it forward from near the ends where it rested on his thumbs. He drew it closer together and it formed a growing ball of energy near the center until he took both ends and forced it inward. It floated between his hands. The thing was an unstable mass of force energy to begin with but condensing it made it ever more chaotic. It churned with purple and white energy, never truly mixing but constantly moving. "Reality check, Geode; Silly mortal magic is what put you away to begin with." Oz stated. The energy hummed between his hands, eager to find a way out. Instead of immediately using it, Oz reeled back, keeping it close so Geode couldn't disrupt it. He didn't want to hit Jenso with this after all.

Geode would no doubt take another opportunity for exposition soon. Bad guys of his intensity loved exposition. That would be his chance to strike. Don't die on me yet Jenso, we're getting closer.

[Jensoman]

Jenso glared at Geode as the beam headed for him. He flew low and further to the right this time to avoid the blast, and flew up higher into the air afterwards. He took note of what Oz was doing. There was no doubt that he was preparing an attack of some sort. "You sure like the sound of your own voice, huh?" Jenso taunted to Geode, while still flying up higher. Oz needed an opening, and he wanted to make sure he got Geode's full attention.

"Well, I think that's enough for me. My friend's going to pick me up, so I'll be leaving. See ya!" Jenso shouted cheerfully at Geode, casually lowering his hands for a moment before waving goodbye to him as he slowly began to fly away backwards while remaining focused on his foe. He pulled out his cellphone for a brief moment and pushed a button. "Get the hovercraft ready, I'm coming back." He spoke quickly, pushing the button again as he put it in his pocket again. If Geode had observed the battle with Prisma long enough, he would have known of his cellphone at the end and would hopefully believe that he was truly talking to someone.

He launched a beam of Ki at Geode with both hands, to make it look like he wanted to keep him on a distance. He wanted it to look as realistic as possible.

Jenso hoped that Geode's potential loss of his 'Golden Hero' Golem would make him act rash and try to follow after him. Or at the very least, get him to focus mainly on him. He hoped that Oz didn't truly believe that he was leaving him behind. Jenso was unsure if this would even work, but it was certainly worth a shot.

As Jenso lowered his hands in a casual manner earlier while he tried to distract Geode, the flames on the left and right sides of the battlefield began to sink within the crevices of the ground in a quick and silent manner, now spreading throughout the ground while hidden from plain sight. They did not do anything right away and kept moving around and changing their positioning and direction like two snakes made out of white flames to make themselves hard to hit in case Geode would fire at them.

[tex]

Geode glared at Oz after being mocked. His eyes vibrated, in a display of what might've been anger, but who could tell? The little rotating vortexes spun slightly faster, and as they did, the ground they stood on began to spin faster as well. It was subtle, but the battlefield they were standing on was rotating the whole time, in tandem with the entire citadel. The helix above them was attached to nothing now, however, hanging in place from the stone archways that covered the central area.

"Thank you for letting me know," Geode said loudly, "Jenso!" He rose one of his ghost-like appendages up towards Jenso and clenched his fingers. "I'll have him shot down before he gets anywhere near our battle." Geode's hand opened wide moments after, but he said nothing, and conjured nothing.

Then, along the entire bridge surrounding their floating rubble field, hundreds of Prisma-Class golems surrounded their fight, each charging their weapons and aiming for Jenso. "Prisma's core served well to improve my golem tech."

One after another, beams of arcano ultima flew through the air towards Jenso, aiming to shoot him right out of the sky. As expected, they were fast, and came in great numbers, aimed to cut off all of Jenso's escapes. Geode ignored Oz for the most part, fairly confident that none of his attacks were capable of harming his ethereal body.

Then again, Jenso's attacked seemed equally harmless, as they continued to pass through him, one after another, with little to no effect on his energy or cores.

[Necrophage]

As Oz held on to the orb of energy he pondered how he could get around Geode's ethereal nature. It brought to mind the nature of ki and how it didn't have much form of its own until it was directed to. Oz's training to counter Zel could be used here, albeit in a different way. Oz knew for sure he was not as good at Zelriane when it came to injecting ki into another being. Thankfully he didn't need to be as good in order to take advantage of a huge weakness, or at least what looked like a huge weakness. He knew what he would do, he would pollute Geode's completely exposed energy with his own. It would be like Zelriane's own technique but there were no physical boundaries around Geode to keep what was there safe and collected. Unless Geode could expel Oz's energy, the fallen god would be at his mercy.

The energy in the concentrated ki ball thrummed and snapped as the surface tension was broken by Oz's hands. He pressed them together and coated it across his hands and forearms. He hoped it worked, otherwise he would be backing off with an extra hole in his body from a counter attack. Oz sprinted forward to dig his hands into Geode's metaphysical body and release his ki. If it worked he would use the chance to directly go after the void focus with his own hand while Geode's body was disrupted.

[Jensoman]

Jenso glared at the Arcano Ultima beams that headed his way, but remained calm. The situation didn't look good at all, but it was as he'd wanted. Geode still considered him his primary goal, and had his full focus on him. He needed to play the part, and made sure that it looked like he was panicing. Of course, he was still in a very dangerous predicament and he realised this all too well. He took note of Oz's approach at Geode, and soared downwards to the battlefield while using the gravity to his aid to avoid the first volley of Arcane Ultimas. He began to use his great speed to weave through the Arcano Ultima beams. He kept moving around in random and erratic patterns as he moved downwards, constantly changing his angles of flight as he moved. He was constantly firing beams of Ki of his own with both hands as he did this, focusing closely on the Arcano Ultimas that came to close in order to deflect them.

Jenso aimed the palm of his left hand down at Geode for a brief moment, and rose it upwards. But nothing seemed to happen, as he continued to move downwards in erratic and random patterns.

The two white snakes below ground suddenly united together under Oz's location, and fused together into a small, powerful sphere of condensed white Phoenix flames. As Oz attempted to disrupt Geode's body, the sphere shot out of the ground at top speeds, aiming to enter through the area that Oz was disrupting. Jenso snapped his fingers, and the sphere expanded violently in a large explosion of white flames.

He hoped that, even if Geode did notice it, the power and size of the explosion would catch him off guard. After all, he hadn't seen the ability with it's proper use yet, only seeing it briefly once where it simply ended up evaporating. The white flames would not hurt Oz, as Jenso's Ki was still mixed within which would stop any harm to his ally.

[tex]

Geode, turning towards the incoming Oz, did what most might have thought to be an impractical, darin strategy.

He moved.

His body jumped over Oz and began to float in midair, allowing Jenso's sphere to fly towards where he was standing moments earlier and explode. Geode's vision was disrupted momentarily by the flash of light, but he was largely unharmed by either attack.

Meanwhile, the beams the flew after Jenso continued, constantly. there enough golems around them to keep up the assault without pause.

[Jensoman]

Jenso glared at Geode as their attempts failed. He was still blinded momentarily however, and Jenso managed to make it further down while he was still dodging beams. He flicked his left wrist, and the last remaining flame wall sunk into the crevices below. It emerged from the crevice near Geode and expanded around Geode's body like a powerful solidified orb of white Phoenix Flames that began to get smaller to crush him and block his view. 'Flame Prison..' Jenso thought. Oz would still be able to move his hands through, however. The move was intended to limit Geode's range of movement, and allow Oz to touch him. Assuming Geode couldn't just float through, that was.

Jenso began to gather Ki within his hands, coating his wings with a powerful Layer of Ki. He flew downwards at Geode at top speeds, and spun around rapidly like a drill. White flames erupted violently from his feet at the same time. Along with the gravity, he was now a fast-moving blur that moved at Geode's chest where the orbs were located, while he was still blinded by the light and hopefully had his vision obscured by the cage. 'Rocket Drill..' He thought. The move was similar to his Phoenix Drill, but it was far faster which increased it's damaging capabilities severely. He aimed to drill straight through Geode's chest.

The Ki layer around his wings was made in order to counter the Arcano Ultima as he sped downwards. It would be unable to stop the beams completely but would create a shockwaves of Ki at the slightest touches, designed to deflect the beams away from Jenso's body. He was constantly moving at top speeds and not directly towards any of the golems after all, which avoided him from taking the full brunt of the blasts. 'Alright Oz...I'm counting on you to mess up the composition of his chest..!' He thought.

[Necrophage]

Though it wasn't meant to hurt Oz, Jenso's orb nonetheless caught him off guard and an explosion is still an explosion. He went sailing backwards and tumbled across the ground until he finally stopped himself with his energy-sheathed hands. He did his best to shake it off, but immediately after that blast to the face he was having trouble seeing. Oz's grapple had failed to connect. Whether or not Geode actually knew what Oz was doing wasn't immediately clear so he still hoped to use it. He shook his head clear of the bleariness and crouched down.

Emulating classic sprinter form Oz dug in his toes and leaned forward. He cleared his mind and drew the energy he had conjured across his arms into the palm of his right hand. He predictably sprinted forwards, dragging his right hand behind him so Geode wouldn't try the direct method of disrupting energy that had been so showcased. As he got closer he jumped through the air to try and land his blow on Geode. The impact would almost look like someone being slapped by a water balloon filled with glowing purple liquid. It would spread as predictably - if Geode didn't dodge.

[tex]

Alas, like he'd done with nearly every other attack Jenso had thrown at him, Geode floated through the prison and began his descent towards the ground. And again, as Jenso approached him, he flew straight through his being harmlessly. All brute attacks had become useless against him. Beam after beam of Arcano Ultimate grazed his body as they chipped away at his wings, relentless in their approach. Geode chuckled audibly, his voice echoing through the air like a shock wave of terror.

"Why?" He asked, "Why do you keep attacking me without rhyme or reason? If one attack in that form won't work, none of them will, clearly." Geode took time to gloat as he spun around to face Oz. "And alike, your abilities cannot harm this ethereal form of-"

A small splash of energy, and Geode's form faded, back to its completely translucent cage. Suddenly, the three orbs in his chest froze for a moment, and he fell to the ground, vibrating and emitting a strange sound before he crashed into the ground.

The entire citadel quaked to a halt, but as the smoke cleared, it spun once more. When its motion continued, Geode stood again, regaining his form. He laughed, louder and louder, in disdain. "Disrupting my energy, boy? You're a thousand years too young for such a feat! Though I will admit your attempt was admirable! I was nearly paralysed outright!" Geode admitted, laughing again. "My my! Such a powerful technique, where did you learn such Ki control? Never-mind, it doesn't matter! Your only chance had been wasted!"

[Jensoman]

Jenso spun around to face Geode again, and glared at him. His wings regenerated themselves, and he began to gather a lot of Ki within his hands. He took note of what happened to the citadel when Oz's attack struck. It was clear that Geode was using his Ki or some other way that allowed the citadel to keep spinning. But perhaps it was also the very thing that maintained his ethereal form? He kept moving around to avoid the Arcano Ultima while Geode was talking to Oz, and launched a large beam of well-focused Ki straight downwards into the very center of the ground of the battlefield that they'd been fighting upon. 'Let's see if this does something..!' He thought, aiming for it to pierce deep through the battlefield's foundations. If it did nothing, the helix above him would likely be his next target.

[Necrophage]

As Oz landed on the other side of Geode he caught sight of the effects. It worked. But it only worked temporarily. Geode quickly corrected it and expelled the corruption. He was no pushover as he kept proving. Unfortunately they were at a loss as to how to defeat him. Geode's defenses were impeccable.

It seemed like Jenso was on to something. He was trying to destroy the very place they fought upon. That's it! The citadel! It must be acting as a sort of broadcasting device for the golems. If they couldn't find a way to subdue Geode then at least they could remove the means by which he could launch his invasions and mass spells. They could buy the world that much more time.

Right now as it were Jenso needed to be bought some time. He wasn't invincible so the more beams that peppered him the narrower their chances stood. Maybe Oz had the position to alleviate him? What happened next wouldn't likely be expected by Jenso or Geode. Oz ran and dove off the side of the orb.

[tex]

The platform that supported their battle began to crack and crumble as Jenso's Ki rushed through it and tore it clean in half. One half started to sink, while the other half rose, with several pillars of unstable rock floating and sinking at random intervals as the platform attempted to keep itself together. Geode stood upon the rising rock, and began to fly up.

"Destroying the battlefield?" Geode grunted, "I can fly, you silly boy! What have you to gain from removing your friend's foothold? He.." And then Oz bailed, before Geode could even finish his sentence. Was he mental!? That was a straight drop into the Ocean! Geode assumed the worst. Were they planning something? Was Jenso's ally coming from below? How could he have not though about that? The golems surrounding the wide open hole at the center of the citadel where their battlefield floated all neared the edges and aimed down, looking for Oz and charging their weapons as they caught sight of him. Geode himself, rose his hands towards Jenso and began channelling magic. There was only one way for him to drop Jenso from the sky at this rate.

"Vacuum pocket"

[Jensoman]

Jenso's eyes widened as Oz jumped down. The man had made a very risky move to buy him time, and he wasn't going to let the effort go to waste. As Geode rose his hands towards him and spoke, it was clear that Geode was going to remove the oxygen near Jenso and by extension, extinguish the flames around his body. Jenso flew further to the right at top speeds to avoid being targetted directly by Geode's hands. He made sure to keep a lot of distance from his foe and to avoid being in the direction of where his hands had been pointed at, not standing still for even a moment. It seemed like destroying the battlefield was ineffective. Jenso rose both hands towards the helix above him, and launched another large beam of Ki, aimed to strike the catalyst that the Helix was connected too or to attempt to simply disrupt the Helix's beams.

[tex]

Geode clenched his fist and looked up at Jenso's beams. Attacking the Helix now? "That won't do," Geode grunted. In unison, the golems surrounding them fired at Jenso's beam, overwhelming it with their combined might before it could reach the helix, or the orb it was connected to, above them. Geode opened has hand again, "Vacuum Pocket" and the air around Jenso thinned out, faster this time. The flames surrounding his form faded quickly as the technique manifested and Geode attempted to seal it shut. But Jenso was too quick, escaping it before it could seal him in. Geode didn't seem to care though.

"You think you're strong, don't you? Dodging all of my abilities without heed, but you are abusing energies you do not understand," Geode shouted, "You've already been in that form for far too long. If you dispell it now..." He laughed out loud and rose his other hand, readying another spell.

"You'll die!"

---

~ End Of Chapter 129 ~

[tex]

~ Chapter 130 ~

_{Hat Trick}

"Don't worry," Geode bellowed, "I won't let your body go to waste. The moment that one with nature overwhelms your Ki, I'll possess you myself." Geode rose his hands over and over, trying to seal Jenso in a vacuum pocket, but couldn't keep up with his speed. How long had it been since he'd engaged one with nature Ultima? One with nature on its own posed severe risks if overused, but with Pij injured so many times, and his overcharge of Arki, what would happen when he powered down?

"It'll be perfect, unlike what happened with your father. This time I will fully assume your being. With your affinity to energy, I may just yet restore myself at long last." Geode rose both his hands and clenched them. "Vacuum Pit"

[Jensoman]

Jenso grit his teeth as Geode spoke. He had a point, he would most likely die once his form would run out. "You may be right...but.." Jenso muttered, flying up higher to increase his distance between himself and Geode and to try to avoid being pulled in by his technique. He flew above what remained of the battlefield in circles rapidly, and smirked. "If I'm going to die anyways, I've got nothing to lose!" He roared, launching a barrage of pure Ki image impact punches at the Helix and the orb it was attached too from several different angles with both fists as he moved. Jenso had found the weak point, and he wasn't going to let up on his assaults.

A large flurry of thin lasers erupted from his wings, one half moving clockwise around the battlefield to strike the golems while the other half went counter-clockwise. He hoped the golems wouldn't be smart enough to evade the attacks while they were focused on Jenso as the lasers attacked them from two different angles and were aimed to directly pierce their cores.

[Necrophage]

Oz plummeted head first. He tucked his arms in and zipped down toward the ocean. It was beautiful from here but also seemed empty and under a giant fortress' shadow it felt a little menacing. Oz hit maximum drop velocity, he could feel the wind rushing by him and pummeling him. This was it. I really hate this part.

Drawing his arms up to himself he began the task of summoning the correct arcane spell for the job. He willed his shield around himself, all ki until it was adorned the signature arcane symbols around the outside. Gravity and force manipulation was his thing. Now he was about to emulate personal flight even if it was mostly fake. The arcane spell warped the gravity around him in the direction of his choosing. Now the worst part. The G's from natural gravity ripped at him as he distorted it and used the momentum to speed underneath the orb and whip back upwards. "I'm coming Jenso."