Brucenorris007

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce, apparently having reached some ultimate decision after an internal debate, bent his knees, ready to shift his weight in any direction. The material hovering outside his robe settled and vanished. Momentary relief crossed his face, but betrayed nothing else.
"Then come get me." Bruce said, lowering his platform just above the ground. The wind board still glowed with energy, and Bruce knew it could rocket skyward at blinding speed in fractions of a second.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce's mouth twitched into the briefest grimace at Blup's assessment of the situation- without an effective way to utilize his Ki against the opponent, he was essentially left with the ability to taunt and goad Rajaka into breaking something he wasn't supposed to. And though that seemed like it might turn out to be enough to survive, it was also... unsatisfying.

His introspection was interrupted by Jeff calling to him, and he could sense the surge in power from his platform. Rajaka's Ki continued to intensify. He glanced at the seething giant- his pride refused to believe that he couldn't find some way to strike back, even if the attack proved ineffective. He recalled the lesson he and Ross had finished not hours ago. This was real, and there were bigger things to worry about beyond this fight. Bruce called on his blade, unsheathing and hurling it in a wide arc around and behind Rajaka, outside his Ki antibody radius. The sword landed, blade lodged in the ground.

"I'm ready for that extra boost, Jeff." Bruce said. His robes fluttered, and particles of dirt became visible around his left hand. Where did the material come from? He couldn't have reacted fast enough to bring any with him once Shaidra grabbed them. Yet there it was, and the earth shifted in color, covering his hand like a second skin and darkening. He titled his weight back to aim himself away from Rajaka, setting a trajectory that also brought him away from Jeff- no sense in putting both of them in danger. Almost imperceptibly, he winced as though some process of his actions were causing pain, yet all he did was smirk at their opponent.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce's only visible response to Rajaka's change in tactics was an arched brow. Rather than seeking further assistance from Jeff and risk negating the effort he'd made to rile up the raging giant, he erected two more spears far to either side of Rajaka, outside of his 'Ki antibody' zone. With the spears lodged in his chain network, they remained upright and taut.
Bruce stomped on the back end of his platform so that the front end titled up at a dangerous angle. He bent on his knees to maintain balance while it shifted precariously closer to perpendicular with the ground, and two more chains shot out from beneath his robe, one from each sleeve. They secured themselves around the corresponding spear, and the tension prevented Bruce from falling off. The wind combined with the energy of Rajaka's shockwave blew him backward- he allowed the length of his chains to slacken accordingly as he flew away until the attack subsided.
Yanking upwards on his chains, Bruce brought the platform into a level position again, and he gave Rajaka a smirk.
"Well," Bruce breathed. "That was fun."

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce backpedaled on his platform while Rajaka approached. The display of the giant's use of pure Ki as a pressure reaffirmed Bruce's momentary excitement, though he kept it hidden well. He kept notice of Zelraine's position while he moved, careful to avoid bringing his right hand back into either of the Order members' line of sight.
'Not quite yet.'
Bruce mused, and the small line of sand ceased to fall behind him, both hands back in full view. No obvious change, and Bruce recalled upon another spear at Rajaka's challenge, smirking at him.
Blup's tiny, robotic voice interrupted Bruce's focus, and he tilted his platform further backward to increase the distance between himself and his target.
"Bit difficult to talk at length right now," Bruce said, murmuring in an attempt to keep Blup's presence a secret for at least some period of time. "We've got this under control. If you want to help, try communicating with your other copies back at the base. Tell someone we're alive, and that we'll be back as soon as we can."
Bruce paused, staring past the oncoming yellow giant into the edges of the pocket dimension that served as their arena. He sighed- the quicker they got the big seething mass disqualified, the sooner they could help the others.

"Blup," he said, introducing Rajaka to his groundwork of chains, snapping several strands of it upwards into his immediate path. "If you can manage it without taxing yourself too much, run a quick analysis and tell me what you think our best options are."

Bruce swerved hard to the left, aiming to trip up Rajaka while giving Blup a little time to work.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce's eyebrows lifted, his attention captured by the immense pressure exuded by Rajaka's sheer Ki.
"So it is possible..." Bruce murmured, an almost childlike grin flashing across his face before vanishing again, his focus returned to the fight.
Bruce erected a spear of Ki from an intersection of his network of chains running along the ground to Rajaka's left, steering his platform of air in a wide arc around that same side. A length of chain shot out from beneath his robe to latch to the spear while Bruce leapt and swung in an equivalent arc to Rajaka's right, meeting back up with Jeff's wind vehicle at a midpoint behind him. Swirling around, Bruce dissolved the base of the spear that was stuck in the ground and retracted his chain to bring it into his hand. Using the momentum of a spin on his platform, he hurled it at the back of Rajaka's head with his left hand, aiming for where he knew the giant's eye would be.
Meanwhile, he held his right hand to one side at an angle that kept it invisible to either Zelraine or Rajaka, should he turn to face him again. Tiny, virtually imperceptible granules fell to the ground.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

"Bark, and your master says heel."
Bruce's chain, still pinned in the ground, retracted and yanked both him and his platform downward, though the energy from Zelriane's attack still singed his robe at the shoulder. He stomped forward as the chain loosened again, kicking up a blast of Jeff's wind behind him where Zelriane had been as he moved toward Rajaka, though Bruce still didn't really regard him.
"You heel, and your master says attack."
Bruce tilted the platform, performing a U-turn in midair. He sheathed his blade, his right hand hovering just millimeters from the hilt.
"You attack, and your master says whimper."
Bruce's gravelly voice had dropped in volume, just loud enough for Rajaka to hear, but his tone came off as though he were muttering to himself.

For half an instant, the gleam of his blade was visible as he gripped the hilt. Another strand of chain shot up from the network lining the ground, leading Bruce's path such that when he was immediately above it, it multiplied into dozens more that formed a spinning sphere around him. With another burst from his platform, he narrowly missed being snagged by it. Once he was through, he swiveled, slashing in an arc that covered a full 180 degrees.
"Iai."

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce noticed that Zelriane had caught on to their strategy. He bent down further on his platform to avoid falling off as a consequence of Zelriane's disruption. He saw that Jeff had intentions on both of them, but he snaked the chains nearest Rajaka upward toward Zelriane regardless, attempting to restrain the impossibly fast fighter.
Although he'd cut off Rajaka's hearing and possibly talked some sense into him, Bruce knew a couple things that could still work in favor of their strategy. In his sage form, his voice became deep enough that its vibrations carried through whatever material nearest him, whether it was earth he could manipulate or not. He also knew how to enunciate such that Rajaka could piece together what he said even if he couldn't hear it.
"You-are-just-a-dog, then?" Bruce mouthed in full view of the raging yellow Order member. "And-he-holds-your-leash. Well, if-it-stops-you-barking..."
Bruce hovered in place, his feet poised on either side of his platform to steer it at a moment's notice. He emulated a condescending, vaguely feral glee with a dark grin spreading onto his face. His skin changed in color and tone as it hardened into stone, the rumbling of his voice reverberating through the air and the ground, echoes of it creeping into Rajaka's ears.
"I hear you lost a couple arms once before." Bruce said, raising his voice. "Since that didn't stick-" Bruce slowly lifted his blade, the razor edge of it radiating sharpened, focused Ki flow. "How about a leg?"

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce still couldn't follow Zelriane's movement, though he now knew that he couldn't expect a reprieve simply because he was in midair. While his platform shot upward outside of the shockwave's range, Bruce stomped on the outer edge of it, bending his knees to maintain balance despite the sudden angle change. The upward movement continued but also to one side, then back again when Bruce stomped on the opposite edge.
"Now, there's no need for a tantrum. I'd hate it if your chaperone were forced to take you home because you can't behave." Bruce said, still speaking in a dismissive tone.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce took note of where the energy pooled beneath the ground before the pillars erupted out, spiking one of his chains into the black material to steer his new platform clear of the onslaught.
"I'll play with you in a minute, yellow." Bruce said, keeping his attention directed toward Zelriane and Jeff. Bruce made a network of chains span out from the origin point of where his had dug into the ground, keeping the distinct signatures of Ki apart in his mind so that he didn't unintentionally snag Jeff with them.
"The grown-ups are in the middle of something."

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce couldn't see, but could still sense Zelraine behind him. His eyes flickered around the battlefield, pinpointing areas that Rajaka's energy wasn't immediately affecting. He bent his knees, anticipating an intervention from Jeff. He instinctively pulled his left arm forward, flipping his blade in his hand such that the dull end ran up along his arm with the razor edge facing outward.
"Jeff, if you could make me fly for a second..." Bruce said, leaving his request hanging at the end.