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A Hero Tale {Complete}

Geode landed nearby, and his form shrank down to a human-like size. He looked at Oz and grunted angrily. "It's not over," he barked, "Once Jenso's life leaves him, I'll simply.. Simply..." Geode looked over to Jenso and his eyes widened. The once-spinning galaxies had stopped, and changed to hollow black spheres. Jenso's body quickly began to heal, and Geode felt his soul return to normal in mere seconds.

"No.."

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Geode felt the mass of their attack strike his body. His entire body. The entire citadel shook, and cracked, getting pushed down by the meteor despite its sheer size. Geode's form buckled, but his barrier held strong against their attack.

"Not yet!" Geode shouted, "You can't maintain that attack forever!" His barrier flashed brightly and pushed back against Jenso and Oswald. But the momentum from their attack began to bend the fabric of his shield. Soon, cracks began to form at every angle of the citadel. Gears fell and crashed into one another. Orbs and domes crumbled. The giant net of stone between the heroes and Geode shattered, and the triple helix fell to pieces. Geode clenched his fists, but his barrier finally shattered into a million pieces, and the two heroes crashed into him, launching his body into the platform below. The impact caused it to fall faster, but Geode's form was mostly unharmed. He floated above the two of them as they landed, his energy flickering. "Impudent little wretches. You cannot.." Geode paused and his body began to sink towards them. The entire citadel was beginning to crash down. That was his true body. Without a host, he could not maintain such impressive strength. His power was fading fast.

But the citadel was going to crash into them as well.

Kokotha: Old Magic, New World

Michael Kelthas

@Jensoman@Patches

---

Mikey narrowed his eyes and Jenso for a few moments, waiting for him to show any sign of weakness or dishonesty. Mikey was awfully good at reading people, after all, even if it didn't serve him all that well in the past. Something about this guy just rang absolute trust though, as if they'd met in another life as friends! It was perturbing, but Mikey was in the market for a new caster assistant. One that wouldn't blow up another one of his machines. He nodded and offered a shy smile. "Eh, if you're so sure about it, I suppose you could assist me... But my research isn't really all that exciting, man," Mikey said, turning back to Gossick, "and from the perspective of most mages, it may sound like something outright impossible. You absolutely sure about that?" Mikey reached into his pocket and pulled out a fair amount of money, slapping it onto the table in front of Gossick. "This enough for one of each?" He asked, referring to the batteries he'd asked for earlier.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Jenso's attacks pierced the surrounding golems one after another, destroying them before they could react. With all of their lasers on cool down after blocking Jenso's earlier attack, they were sitting ducks. In a very short amount of time, they were all reduced to ash. Geode grit his non-existent teeth, contorting the ethereal mass around where his jaw would've been and aiming up at the sphere that overlooked the battlefield.

"This isn't what you were meant for! Your existence is no coincidence!" Geode roared, conjuring a giant barrier around the sphere and Helix and quickly moved to envelope the entirety of the upper citadel, spreading to wrap every inch of the white, crisscrossing stone arches. "It must be fate! You are here to become my new body, as a final repentance for Gaia's wrongdoings! For the wrongdoings of my golems!" The shattered remains of Gol-Ira, through to Gol-Ino were barely visible, scattered among the rubble all around Geode. Each impact punch, individually, could not harm Geode's barrier. His essence flickered, maintaining itself through severe difficulty. He was struggling to project his barrier, but it moved to surround him as well, moments afterwards. A long tube of dark energies surrounding Geode, and the platform he stood on, giving up a small foothold as he coated the entire citadel in dark energies. The sheer size of the barrier was astounding, how could he manage to defend his entire stronghold with one barrier?

"I'll wait," Geode grunted, "I'll wait until your form withers, and your body falls limp!" Oz approached from below, but now the barrier was tightly fastened. Fastened, but not ethereal. Geode had given them something to hit. But Jenso's energy quickly began to dither. His wings faded and reformed, struggling to maintain themselves. One moment he was full power, the next, he was falling from the sky. Was Pij at her limit? Geode laughed aloud as Jenso's form began to fall apart. "Not much longer now!" He said victoriously, "I did not account for this. I did account for your power, but this is fine! I had every other angle covered, I can adapt to everything you have to throw at me! I understand your stolen powers completely, Jenso!"

A Hero Tale {Complete}

~ 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"

A Hero Tale {Complete}

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 ~

A Hero Tale {Complete}

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"

Kokotha: Old Magic, New World

Nino The 'Kitty'

@Yomojo@Afro Samurai@patches

---

Nino glanced at Quinn quizzically. "The technology of humanity never ceases to baffle me. But I was speaking of the dark man," Nino explained briefly, looking back towards Tetu with a scowl. When he heard Lucille mention the drink, his tongue curled. "No, and I do not plan on partaking in that filth. Alcohol dulls the senses and turns perfectly decent humans into buffoonish animals," He grunted, "I can't imagine why one would sacrifice their common sense for a short-lived spurt of barbaric bliss. I suppose animals differ from humans far too much, even when gifted with intellect." Nino looked around and narrowed his eyes. "Though I must admit, I wish I could understand this camaraderie that plagues you humans. You group yourselves into factions, the Drek-Drek the shiny teeth the goldie-men... I've never felt that I fit in anywhere with the humans."

A Hero Tale {Complete}

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!"

Kokotha: Old Magic, New World

Nino The 'Kitty'

@Yomojo@Afro Samurai@patches

---

"Curiosity cannot kill, Lucille. It is an emotional prospect, and wields no weapons," Nino barked, padding alongside Lucille, aloof to the dangers that might've lurked all around him. He jumped upon the table that separated Lucille and Quinn, patiently waiting for his order to arrive. Lucille's brief introduction of Quinn's character raised no red flags, and did little to change his first impression of the half-mechanised man. He glanced in his direction as Lucille introduced him in advance and nodded silently.

"Charmed, Sir toaster," He quipped, "I would prefer that you refrain from referring to me as a cat, lest you crave to stroke my fur the wrong way." Nino yawned and licked his lips, closing his eyes slowly in contentment. He opened them again and shot Quinn a threatening glance. "And please, keep your appendages away from me. I've no desire for pets from the likes of machinery," Nino wretched, still disgusted by Tetu's earlier treatment. The cat's eyes slung towards the aforementioned 'gentlemen' to witness his lyrical talents for a moment before his eyes met the table's surface.

"That one is indecent," He mewled quietly.