[IC] A Hero Tale {Complete}

[tex]

The leg headed for Jenso crashed into the stone, through to the other side, and released a pulse of electrical energy, destroying the pillar that Jenso launched himself off of in a spectacle of rock and dust. The other leg continued to chase Bruce until it reached it maximum Length, pulled back by the force of Jenso's fist striking the central Orb.But Jenso's attack did not break the beast's core. It clung both of the claws that it had sent indoors into the ground, latching all 8 to the temple, and using its strength to pull itself indoors, launching Jenso back into the temple, and pulling itself into the doorway. Five of its claws were now inside, and it began to retrieve its other two, slowly recomposing itself for another attack.

Close inspection would reveal a small crack where Jenso struck its core, but the result didn't seem very damaging, overall.

[Brucenorris007]

Bruce touched down, taking in a breath, and then shifting more of the earth from the floor to break it down into gravel and sand, letting billions of particles of the material crawl up the legs that were in contact with the floor, covering up the lower portion of the legs. He zigzagged toward the center, leaping up toward the center, aiming the sharpened peak of his blade toward the little crack Jenso had managed to create.
"Jenso," he said. "Time your attack to strike its underside when I strike!"

[Jensoman]

"Right!" Jenso called out, landing on the ground again. He frowned as his attack did minimal damage, but he had no intention of giving up. He slammed his fists together, and a shockwave of Ki erupted from them in order to distort the electric legs of the creature for a moment in an attempt to knock it off-balance. He dashed towards it's underside immediately afterwards, launching another flame dragon punch at it's center so Bruce could follow up.

[tex]

Arch-Mon pulled its feet from the encasing earth as quickly as it could, but it was too slow to enact any effective countermeasures against Bruce or Jenso. Instead, it tensed each and every leg until they were taut, bending them all at strange angles, and gathering a fair amount of electricity around its core.

[Brucenorris007]

Bruce noticed the shift in the golem's movement, but he didn't have much means for changing his course. He poured more of his ki into his blade until its form almost radiated with it, stabbing downward into the crevice Jenso had left behind. He grit his teeth and worked to bury it as deep as possible. He kept one foot hiked up on his toes to jump back once he felt Jenso make his move.

[Jensoman]

Jenso took note of Bruce still continueing his attack, and smirked at him. 'Heh...If that's how it is, I'll come through too!' Jenso thought, launching his flame dragon punch at the spider's underside as they had planned.

[tex]

Bruce's blade pierced through the crevice just as planned, stopped half an inch into the golem's hyper dense body. But as Jenso's full force Dragon punch struck from below, the blade was forced even deeper, until it split the entirety of the golem's body in half. In an instant, four of the legs fell limp, losing their glow and crashing to the ground, whilst the other four pulled half of the spherical body to safety. About 60% of its body remained, and now, although obscured by its angle, a small glowing orange stone was revealed to be nestled within the dense metal. Arach-Mon didn't wait, and sent two of its legs after Jenso and Bruce again, using one of its remaining two to wrap around its body and protect it core, while the last leg bent and supported it body.

All of the energy it had charged up seemed to have vanished when the golem's body was snapped in half, unable to go off in what would have been an explosive manner. But the two legs headed for Bruce and Jenso were now bathed in electricity. With less of its body to power, the golem now had energy to spare. Why not use it to toast heroes?

[Brucenorris007]

"Jenso, be ready!" Bruce said, jumping back to the floor of the chamber. He let out a long breath and then focused hard, shifting the ground beneath the one leg Arch-Mon had supporting itself to tilt the floor up at a steep angle, trying to force the golem to use at least two of its other legs to keep from falling over.
"Go!"

[Jensoman]

Jenso dashed further to the left to avoid the incoming electric legs and nodded at Bruce. He took aim with his right hand and launched a flame saw at the spider's core, aiming it so it's core would either fall or stagger right into the flame saw, so it would pierce and strike the glowing orange stone that it was protecting.

[tex]

Arch-Mon began to wobble on its single leg, sending its main body forwards. Its first leg struck Bruce, but not before Jenso's flame saw cut directly though it's make-shift barrier, and struck the Golem's core dead-on. Before Bruce sustained any major damage, the leg fell limp, letting out a brief jolt of electricity into Bruce's body. The golem fell to the ground, completely deactivated, along with the rest of its body.

[Brucenorris007]

Bruce grit his teeth against the electric shock, embracing the jolt of pain for the brief moment before it faded and left his appendages tingling. He sighed and suppressed his ki, allowing his blade to dissipate. He allowed a brief one-sided smile at the small victory before he began pacing toward the exit.

[Jensoman]

"YEAH!!! WE DID IT!!!" Jenso roared, as his voice echoed throughout the temple. He dashed after Bruce, checking up on his companion's injuries. They didn't seem serious at all, and he let out a sigh of relief. "That was some amazing teamwork, man!" He added.

[Brucenorris007]

Bruce blinked at Jenso's outburst before he smiled again. He couldn't help but feel that the doubts of the other divers were misplaced about him.
"Yes," he said. "A good collaboration."

[tex]

---

~ End Of Chapter 89 ~

[tex]

~ Chapter 90 ~

_{The Temple Of Flames: Volcanic Hazards}

Returning to Diver's paradise with the second amulet brought a twinkle of hope to Luke and his Divers. It wasn't long before the entire paradise was up in arms over Jenso and Bruce's success. Of course, the night was creeping forward, leaving little time to press towards the second temple. At least, in theory. Luke was eager for the two of them to leave immediately, but not out of impatience. It turned out that the only route to the temple of flames was accessible during the night, and no other time.

The tunnel leading to the second temple was shorter, this time around. But the further Bruce and Jenso walked, the higher the temperature climbed, until they finally reached the other end of the cavern.

The path ahead was clear, a giant blackened bridge of dried lava, barely jutting out above a giant lake of molten rock. In the center, there stood a dome, with a single massive entrance, and a staircase therein. Why was this only accessible at night? Who knew, but the path forward was lain bare for them to proceed.

[Jensoman]

Jenso felt the temperature rise, but he didn't seem bothered by it at all. He was easily able to handle the heat due to possessing flame powers. "Here we are.." He muttered to Bruce as he overlooked the area. He began walking over the bridge. He did the same as he had done before however, slowly moving step by step and testing each foothold. He was unsure just how sturdy the bridge was, and he certainly didn't want to fall into the lava.

[Brucenorris007]

Bruce edged his way behind Jenso in single file along the bridge's center, careful to avoid any unnecessary deviation to either side. He made brief sweeping glances around the cavern, looking to see if there were any other means of getting out. He found none. Any damage to the bridge now or at any point would make leaving that much more difficult, since he wasn't sure if his powers to manipulate earth extended to dried lava.

[Jensoman]

"You're really strong, Bruce...Have you always lived in Diver's Paradise?" Jenso asked, as they managed to reach the end of the bridge. He continued on towards the temple.

[Brucenorris007]

Bruce kept his eyes on the staircase ahead, answering Jenso's question almost distractedly.
"No," he said, "I haven't lived anywhere on a permanent basis for years."
Bruce snapped his gaze back to Jenso once he registered what he'd revealed. He could count on one hand how many people knew any personal details of his past. Jenso's earnest personality seemed to disarm his usual reserved attitude. Bruce cleared his throat.
"What drives you?" he asked.

[Jensoman]

Jenso frowned at Bruce. "The people from my hometown, Arcadia, were all killed by a crazy psychopath named Prisma. He's also a member from the Order of Chaos. I nearly died right there. Technically I did but...Nexus revived me. He's another member from the Order of Chaos. Yzeira, their leader, seems unaware about it and I'd like to keep it that way...for his sake." Jenso replied to Bruce, and took a deep sigh. "I guess the thing that drives me now is to help and protect those in need and stop the Order of Chaos from causing any more harm." Jenso added. "Even if I have to resort to killing people...but I try to avoid doing that unless it's absolutely nessecary."