[IC] A Hero Tale {Complete}

[Brucenorris007]

Bruce leaned his head back against a wall. He couldn't fault Mikey for whatever his choice may be, but without him, that left the group one fewer member in their plans. There was still the issue of Ada even before any of them encountered Rajaka. The idea to break into teams, which still remained the assumed strategy for contending with her, at least if she was, indeed, the first one they ran into, made separation that much more likely the deeper into the castle they ventured. There would be little means of guaranteeing finding one another again once they split up.
Bruce rolled his eyes toward Jeff, pushing himself off the wall and whispering to the inventor.
"I know time is short, but I have a favor to ask you." Bruce said in a low voice. "Keep it a secret. If you can create a tiny bomb capable of destroying a body that's activated by being digested, please get it to me before the week is over."
Bruce walked past Jeff once he'd made his request to avoid inviting the curiosity of the others.

[SuperFlash]

Jeff upon hearing his request said nothing for a moment as he was rather surprised to get such a request, especially from Bruce of all people, which only added to his interest. Responding quietly to Bruce, Jeff said back in a low voice, "Sure, something like that should be easy enough, talk to me after the meeting about specifics for it."

The eager inventor really wanted to ask for details now, but figured if Bruce wanted to stay low key about it, then perhaps he should hold his tongue for now.

[Necrophage]

Oz lingered after the others left and approached Geode. "So tell me, how much more would you be able to do with a stronger vessel? I'm weighing all our options here and it feels like we'll be relying on luck and the Order's pride to keep them from grouping up. If it so happens they do group up then we definitely stand little to no chance at surviving. If you had a body as strong as ours would you be able to challenge them on their level?" Oz asked. It was a dangerous idea thinking about empowering a recent enemy but they needed everything they could get in their favor, even if it meant creating a problem they would need to solve later.

[SuperFlash]

"I've considered the idea of constructing him one or going with another option.. which I'm not entirely sure is a great idea either yet. The biggest problem would be creating a core and yet another new element or alloy that would the let the core and body resonate with each other... with my research team and I focussing on it, it would be doable... its just.." Jeff hesitated for a moment, still feeling very unsure of this though at the same time understanding its necessity. "We need to know you wont go stabbing us in the back during or after all this."

[tex]

Geode turned to face Oz as he approached him. "The prospect of giving me a capable body is otherworldly, Oswald. Not only would such a venture require advanced knowledge of arcane theory, beyond anything your universe could manage, but if I were given a level of power similar to yours after nearly succeeding in exterminating your entire race, what makes you think I would not immediately take that opportunity to plea for a spot among the order, myself? Or kill you off, when the chance arises?" Geode warned, "Your naive nature is not welcome, even if your intents are pure. Do not be mistaken. I am not your friend, nor have my morals been afflicted by your diseased race." Geode paused and turned to Jeff, who seemed to linger behind. "Do not overestimate the limits of your poultry technology. I heard it from Luke as well, you think your creations to be much more capable than they are. If you hold on to such beliefs, you will die before the rest of us." Geode cringed at the thought. Humans reaching anything comparable to his godlike understanding of arcane energy? Preposterous. His nerves struck, he waved the two out of his room with a violent motion. "Get out. I need time to think about our viable options further. Not your idiotic fairy-tales and childish notions of metal and stone."

---

~ End Of Chapter 143 ~

[tex]

~ Chapter 144 ~

_{Day Three}

Bruce and Jenso were pulled into the training room, where they had been before. The levitating circle was floating, once again, and Luke was standing on top of it, running some martial art drills. He spotted Bruce and Jenso entering the facility in the nick of time, though, and beckoned them over with a friendly wave. "Glad you guys could make it!" He cheered. "Sorry I couldn't be at this morning's meeting. I hear Mikey switched up the schedule pretty significantly though. Jeff was given the entire day to work with his people on a few projects, right? No idea what that's about, but I'm glad I've got ya guys for the afternoon."

[Brucenorris007]

Bruce's finger twitched at the mention of Jeff's projects, but he refrained from any other telling reaction. He nodded at Luke, glad to be working with his old friend again, despite his last encounter with this room being tainted by the memory of what had befallen Alvios.
He pulled his focus back, wondering at the purpose of whatever training called for assigning both himself and Jenso to Luke's instruction.

[Jensoman]

Jenso waved back at his father immediately. "Hey Luke!" He shouted cheerfully. "What'll we learn now?" He asked, curious to see what Luke had in store for them. They didn't exactly have time on their side, so he was determined to learn as much as he could.

[tex]

"Rarin' as ever, good! Today's gonna be all about readin' body language," Luke answered. He continued to wave them forwards. "Get up here, and get ready for a brawl."

[Jensoman]

Jenso nodded at Luke, as a burst of flames erupted from under his feet. He landed on top of the platform. "Alright! Let's do this!!" Jenso screamed in Luke's ear, his voice echoeing throughout the chamber. "So...will I be sparring against Bruce, then? Or will you take me on?" Jenso asked him. He was aware that Luke had unlocked his Ki, and he hadn't seen the man go all-out yet after that moment. It was possible that he had a lot more strength now.

[tex]

"Each other, o'course. I aint about to get my block knocked off for any level of teachin' by the likes of you guys," Luke spat, slightly surprised that Jenso even suggested the idea of a battle between them. "But it's gonna be melee only, no weapons, no magic, no Ki."

[Jensoman]

Jenso nodded at Luke, and got in a combat stance. He waited for Bruce to get onto the platform and prepare himself. 'I'm used to hand-to-hand combat, but Bruce is a lot better at balancing his attacks than I am. This might get intense..' He thought.

[Brucenorris007]

Bruce's hand involuntarily moved toward his empty sheath at hearing that weapons were disallowed. He blinked, then smirked, pulling it up from around his waist with not insignificant hesitance.
'Seems I'll be at a slight disadvantage in experience from the outset.' Bruce thought.
He'd been sifting through his Ki at odd hours the past days in hopes of better mastering it. Returning the output to zero combined with the somewhat vulnerable feeling of having no weapons but his own body caused a similar reaction to when his powers had been robbed by magic, though this was more artificial. He ascended onto the platform, keeping his eyes on Jenso throughout his short walk to a position opposite him, keen to observe his style. Bruce slid one foot slightly back, angled perpendicular to his forward foot, knees slightly bent, ready to pivot his weight in almost any direction. He reached out with one hand that could either attack first or receive one from Jenso, his other arm relaxed at his side with palm downward.

[Jensoman]

Jenso observed Bruce's stance, not seeming surprised. He seemed relatively calm. 'I expected that he'd force me on the offensive, since I seem to have the advantage here. But...one wrong move, and he might end up taking me down before I know it.' He thought. He aimed a punch with his right fist at Bruce's stomach, not lunging forwards too much as he did. As such, the punch wasn't as strong as it could be, despite that it was still strong. However, this way, his stance was more balanced as he attacked. 'I can't take him lightly...' He thought, observing closely to see Bruce's response. He kept his left arm relaxed beside his body, calmly waiting to see what he would do.

[Brucenorris007]

Bruce noted Jenso's form. Anything that might reasonably be construed as a tell or a habit, he'd make sure to memorize, in case the fight went on for any length of time.
'Given his style, he'll quickly use more energy.'
Bruce slid to Jenso's right, parrying the oncoming fist toward Jenso's left. Lifting up on the toes of his forward foot, Bruce swung his body around, bringing his other hand around in a swift circle, aiming for Jenso's head in the brief interval that his right side was open.
'But he'll never yield because of that.'

[Jensoman]

Jenso kept a close eye on Bruce's movements, as his foe moved towards his right and parried his fist. His parry stopped Jenso from countering quickly with his right, so he quickly twisted his body sideways in a quick motion in order to face Bruce again with his front. He quickly clashed against the side of Bruce's fist with his left fist instead, deflecting the blow that was aimed for his head to Bruce's left. As he did, he readied his right hand shortly afterwards, aiming a quick forward thrust with his right arm at Bruce's face.

[Brucenorris007]

'He's moving in with more force this time.' Bruce thought, noting also that Jenso tended to lead with his right hand when attacking.
Bruce ducked just under the oncoming fist, snapping his left hand back up from beneath Jenso's outstretched arm and gripping it above the elbow. He made sure to keep his grasp tight enough to momentarily restrain Jenso's arm, but not so tight that they were locked together. The risk was that Jenso could likely break away with enough effort, but Jenso had the advantage in close quarters hand-to-hand. If it came to a downright clash of in-fighting, Bruce couldn't expect to keep up for long. Bruce dug in with his forward foot and jutted up the knee of his other leg toward Jenso's stomach, bringing his right hand back in front of him, palm open, in case Jenso chose to counter offensively rather than retreat.

[Jensoman]

Jenso took note of Bruce grabbing his arm from below, and frowned as he thrusted his knee at his stomach. This was going to be difficult to handle, but Bruce's maneuver with his knee would surely give him less overall balance in his stance. He took one step back with his right foot, pulling his own entire body, along with his right arm further back violently in an attempt to escape Bruce's grasp and get some more distance between them, and thrusted the palm of his left hand forwards in order to clash with Bruce's knee to cushion the blow and stop it from striking his stomach. If Bruce managed to hold on to his right arm and decided to keep doing so, he hoped that Bruce's balance would be broken by the violent pull as he was only supporting his full body weight, or at least most of it, on one foot.

Jenso followed up immediately after managing to stop Bruce's knee, feigning to prepare and charge at Bruce to throw a quick, less powerful punch at Bruce's face with his left. Instead, he ducked low towards the ground as he aimed a horizontal, low sweeping kick at Bruce's other foot that was still on the ground with his left foot, which came in from Bruce's right side in an attempt to knock him over.

[Brucenorris007]

Bruce's grip on Jenso's arm caught on his wrist as he pulled back, forcing a change in Bruce's balance so that he leaned forward toward Jenso. His right hand started to move to intercept Jenso's feint, but the split-second of being off-balance actually aided him in avoiding Jenso's sweeping kick. He latched onto Jenso's left shoulder with his right hand, released his grip on his wrist, and using the momentum of the forward fall, he kicked off the ground such that he flipped over Jenso's head and landing behind him.
'If I give him too much freedom to move, he'll just get more aggressive.' Bruce thought. 'I'd prefer to create some distance, but then I run the risk that I won't be able to grapple him again before he's managed a decisive strike.'
Bruce whirled around to face Jenso's back once he touched down, bringing up his right arm under Jenso's shoulder in an attempt to get it in a lock.

[Jensoman]

Jenso took note of Bruce grappling onto his left shoulder, and moving over him as he grabbed his shoulder while Jenso pulled his left foot back. 'He's faster than me like I expected...He'll disable me if I'm not careful, but...' He thought, attempting to quickly grab ahold of Bruce's arm with his right hand and his right arm entirely in order to make sure that Bruce's arm was even more secured around Jenso's left shoulder with all his might, while aiming a quick backwards kick at Bruce's feet as he landed with his right foot in order to knock him off-balance. He lunged his upper body forwards quickly at the same time as he kicked while supporting on his left foot, aiming to throw Bruce over his back and slam him into the ground on his back.