Chapter 6; Battle God's Palm
Zeros cracked his knuckles and blew a little on his fists, before looking up at Zealot, standing on the other side of the ring. Zealot was also looking at Zeros, for once, having a barrier around his thoughts to keep Zeros out. This guy was good at sneaking into his brain for some reason. A silent breeze began brewing, tousling up their hair and clothes. Zeros didn't move an inch, and Zealot waited for the other to attack, as he usually did.
Suddenly, Zeros smirked, and the winds suddenly shifted radically, removing Zealot's hood within the blink of an eye.
"If you don't mind, I'd rather see my opponent's face," Zeros said, and Zealot looked at him oddly.
Instead of the breeze slowing again, it seemed to increase.
"Oh, and Zealot," Zeros said.
Zealot looked up from trying to stay on his feet.
Zeros smirked and said: "Have a nice flight."
Zealot's eyes registered confusion, before he understood.
"WHOA!!!" Zealot cried out as he was shot into the air by a swirling Tornado attack.
However, Zealot was no fool, and he focused his own Psynergy. His golden eyes finally focused on Zeros, who stood, unharmed by the violent winds. Purple electricity sparked at Zealot's hand as Zealot studied the course of the wind.
Finally, the electricity was sent into the swirling typhoon, following the course of the wind, and finally reaching the destined target.
Zeros screamed as a sudden blast of electricity hit him, making him lose his focus. Zealot found himself back on the ground within a few seconds, and stopped the flow of electricity. Zeros dropped to one knee, leaning on his arm. Zealot studied Zeros for awhile, and noticed that he wasn't even panting, or indicating signs of pain. Zeros shook his head once and got back to his feet, dusting himself off. Zeros raised his head slowly.
Zealot was shocked to see the man's eyes shift between sapphire blue and ruby red, and it kept on, until his eyes settled for sapphire blue again.
"So it's true then," Zeros said suddenly, catching everyone off guard.
Zealot blinked, frown not leaving his face.
"What are you babbling about?" Zealot asked.
"I might tell, if you can defeat me!" Zeros said, his voice losing all previous emotions that had been there.
The golden haired teen frowned further, and scoffed.
"Fine then," he said.
Zeros' eyes flickered between blue and red again, but this time, they settled for ruby red. Zeros crouched down, taking on a fighting stance, and Zealot followed shortly after.
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"Uh-oh," Rander, Onyx and Sara said at the same time.
"What is it?" Erica asked.
"Trouble," Onyx whimpered.
"Poor guy," Sara mumbled.
"Yeah, Zeros is in for it now," Cecilia said.
Rander whirled around to face her, shock written all over his face.
"Zeros?! We're talking about Zealot!!"
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Zeros growled lowly at his opponent, and Zealot studied Zeros's movements. Or lack of it. Zeros didn't move an inch, and the wind had completely stopped moments ago. Everyone was deathly silent as the duo stood, facing each other.
When Zeros's eyes suddenly narrowed, Zealot tightened his muscles, right before he had to jump aside to avoid a blast of purple electricity. Zeros followed Zealot's jump with his eyes, and he growled again, before vanishing in a blur. Zealot's jump was cut short when he suddenly got kicked down back to earth.
Zealot crashed into the earth, and managed to roll aside just in time to avoid a kick to his spine that could've shattered it easily. Zeros' foot was instantly buried in the ground, but he simply placed his other foot on the ground, and somehow managed to kick through the ground and hit Zealot to his head, sending him back.
Zealot managed to get a good grip on the ground, and skidded to a halt, before jumping aside to avoid a punch aimed for his head. Zeros whipped his head around and glared at Zealot, who landed calmly quite a few feet away.
'Man! He's fast as well as lethal! I haven't had a challenge like this since I battled Kai!'
Zealot smirked violently.
'This is going to be fun!'
Zealot narrowed his eyes, and ran at Zeros, fist pulled back to strike. Zeros screamed and ran at Zealot with equal speed, pulling his fist back before the two threw their punches forward. The punches didn't hit each other, like everyone had thought.
Instead, Zealot managed to hit Zeros' jaw, as well as the other way around. Zeros growled in anger, and slung his leg around, hitting Zealot to his side, which sent him flying to the edge of the ring. Zealot just managed to hang in there.
The teen thought for a moment, then fazed out of view. Zeros' gaze instantly snapped up, and he jumped aside just in time to avoid a kick aimed for his head. Zealot was having his back turned to Zeros, but before the silver haired man could do anything, he whirled around and slammed his fist into Zeros' guts, making the man double over slightly. Zeros seethed in fury, and landed a furious kick where it hurt.
Zealot doubled over completely, and received a punch to his chin, sending him into the air. He couldn't get very high because Zeros punched him to the side again. Zealot rolled back to his feet, and ran back at Zeros. He ducked underneath another punch, and headbutted the man in his guts, sending him to the ground.
Zeros rolled out of the way of a kick, and kicked Zealot's feet away from under him. Zeros jumped up and slammed Zealot to the ground with his heel.
Zealot grunted painfully, and cried out when Zeros managed to keep Zealot down by stomping his foot in his stomach. Zeros raised his foot, but before Zealot could even move, Zeros had rammed his foot down on his ribcage, making the teen scream. Zeros pushed his foot down hard, and Zealot felt more than heard his ribs crack under the large pressure suddenly placed on his poor ribcage. Zeros showed no signs of mercy as he placed more and more weight on the foot on Zealot's chest, increasing the kid's screams.
For Zealot, it looked like there were only two ways to end the battle; one was to just surrender, and the other was to die. But Zealot would never surrender, and there was no way in Hell he was going to die a teenager! Zealot snapped his eyes open and grabbed Zeros by his ankle, before swinging him down to earth. Zeros cried out in shock and surprise, but that was it, because Zealot managed to get Zeros in a headlock, denying Zeros the desperately needed air.
Zeros grasped the boy's arms with his hands, but Zealot's grip was too tight to break. The pressure put on Zealot's chest was almost too much, but he refused to give up! Zeros began gasping for air as Zealot tightened his hold, squeezing shut his windpipe, and nearly cracking the fragile bones in his neck.
"Give up! There's no way you'll be able to win!" Zealot wheezed, feeling the pain of his ribs sting in his chest.
Zeros continued to struggle violently against Zealot's hold, but Zealot would not allow Zeros to rise from the ground. His breaths came out short, and ragged, and his heart rate began to speed up to match the sudden increase in breathing.
As if on a last resort, Zeros released Zealot's arms with one hand, clenched a fist, and began to elbow Zealot in his chest. Zealot gasped at the extra pain added to his chest, but Zeros didn't stop. He kept on, pounding his elbow into Zealot's helpless chest, before the teen was forced to release him.
The silver haired man took the chance to punch Zealot away and retrieve his lost breath. One hand was on his neck, trying to soothe the ache there, while he leaned on the other. Zealot was busy mending to his chest, rubbing over it to estimate the total amount of broken ribs.
'Five at the most… DAMN!!'
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"What in blazes?!?!" Scott exclaimed in horror as he watched the fight progress.
Zealot had never had this much trouble with an enemy, not even Adepts had posed a trouble. The only one capable of seriously hurting Zealot had been Kai! Scott had seen his share of that.
'By Sol… I have a feeling… Zealot is in trouble.'
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Zealot was grasping a rock in his hand, right beside his face, and his face was contorted in anger. The grip of his hand tightened, and he ground the rock into dust, before he punched the ground with a loud slam.
'Damn that bastard!' he hissed into his mind angrily. 'CANYON!!!'
Zealot! Calm down! Don't let your anger get the best of you if you want to live!
'I DON'T CARE!!! I NEED YOUR HELP!! NOW!!!'
Canyon gulped, and nodded inside Zealot's pouch.
Zealot jumped to his feet, and Zeros stumbled to his own feet as well. Zealot was glaring hatefully at the man, and finally released a scream. Canyon burst forth from Zealot's pouch, and dissolved in golden spirals, which were then shot at Zeros.
Zeros saw it coming, and slapped the Djinn aside. Canyon crashed into a wall and lost consciousness within a few seconds.
"CANYON!!!" Zealot screamed, but he couldn't run over because the Djinni was out of ring.
Zealot growled and turned to Zeros, who was still panting slightly. Zeros finally growled and screamed out, and all Adepts gasped when pitch black spirals shot up around him, making his hair fly upward in a frenzy.
"ATRA!!!" Zeros hollered, and from seemingly nowhere, a Djinni burst forth.
The Djinni had blood red eyes, nine whips with spikes at the end for tails, a midnight black body, small clawed hands, and the normal feet for a Djinni. With a cry of pure fury, the Djinni dissolved into sparks and shot forward.
It ducked under Zealot's punches, and shot into the earth beneath Zealot's feet. Zealot looked down in horror as the earth turned black beneath him, and gave away, sucking him up before he could do anything about it.
The ground turned back to normal, and closed up. The black sparks shot up in the sky, and formed a large portal. Zealot tumbled out of it, falling onto the ground loudly with his clothing shredded. And because he landed on his arm, it snapped on impact with the ground, making him scream. The portal closed, and things returned to normal.
The teen stumbled to his feet, holding his fractured arm. Luckily it wasn't his sword arm or he'd be in real trouble. However, with but one arm at your command, you're pretty much screwed already.
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Anthony winced as if that had been him down there, and Brett gasped audibly.
"By Luna and Sol!" Eve exclaimed.
"No way is that possible!!" Cecilia said, one hand in front of her mouth.
Erica watched with wide eyes, feeling as something had stabbed her when she saw him crash into the earth. Problem was, she had no idea why!!
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Zealot grasped his arm tightly, feeling the pain surge through his body, burning every fiber of his being.
'Well,' Zealot thought, 'at least I still have my hand.'
"I don't see what your hand has to do with this!" Zeros suddenly called out, voice void of emotions.
Zealot sighed and put the barrier back up.
"For your information," Zealot hissed angrily, "I lost my hand during the battle with my brother!!"
Zeros quirked one eyebrow.
"If you fought Kai, I'm surprised you were able to tell the tale."
Zealot had nearly screamed out, when it registered in his mind what Zeros had said.
"What did you say?!!?" Zealot demanded.
Zeros seemed to think, and suddenly slapped his hand to his face.
"Stupid!!!" he hissed.
Zeros finally looked back at him.
"Enough talk! NOW FIGHT!!!" he screamed, and shot a blast of pure purple energy at Zealot.
The teen gasped and began avoiding the blasts as they soared past, barely missing him.
'It's not much, but it might break his concentration,' Zealot thought, forming something in his hand.
The knife in his hand was small and pure gold, but Zeros didn't notice as he continued to fire away.
'Please make this hit,' Zealot pleaded to whatever was up there, and sent the knife soaring.
An explosion followed as the knife hit, and a scream of pain was heard as the flurry of blasts stopped. Zealot hurriedly refocused his Psynergy, and sent a large bolt of electricity at the silver haired man. Zeros screamed out in horror, and suddenly, something shot through Zealot's head.
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"Please let go of me…you're hurting me…"
"Shut up shut up shut up SHUT UP!!"
"Stop! Please stop! NO!!!"
"I SAID SHUT UP!!!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
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"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Zealot screamed, grasping his head and stopping the current of electricity.
'Pain… it hurts! Gods… it hurts!' was the only thought running through Zealot's head.
Zeros dropped to the ground, landing on his knees, grasping his upper arms and shaking violently.
"Pain… it hurts! Gods… it hurts!" Zeros whimpered, mimicking Zealot's thoughts.
No one seemed to have heard though. And Zealot thought it'd be for the best.
Zealot frowned, and pulled out his blade, causing Zeros to look up. Something flashed before his eyes, before it was gone, and they sparked with fury. His hand reached behind his back, under his cape, and pulled out a large double-edged axe, drenched red, and a glowing purple pommelstone on it. There were four gems on the axe, each a different color, and all shone brightly.
Purple, blue, red, and gold.
Exactly like his dagger, only shaped like an axe, and forged by Demons. Zealot's grip on his sword tightened.
If he wasn't careful, he could possibly be dead the second that thing was embedded in his flesh.
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Zeros rose to his feet clutching the axe in one hand, fury written on his face, yet his mind was not as murderous as his face.
No murderous intentions, no death, rang through his mind, and he kept at it.
He cried out and ran at the teen, who ran over as well, sword in hand. Weapons clashed, sparks were sent flying, and the combatants glared at each other with hateful glances, before lashing out again.
Surprisingly, Zealot could handle himself fine without his other arm, and fended off just fine.
Zeros lashed out at Zealot's head, but the teen ducked under the blow, and lashed out at Zeros' legs, but he managed to block. Zeros slashed upward, but Zealot jumped back to avoid it.
Zealot slashed downward, but Zeros jumped aside, and blocked the sideways slash aimed at his torso. Zeros scoffed and swung out at Zealot again, but the teen managed to flip away easily.
Metal clashed wildly, and Zeros managed to get a few minor hits in, while Zealot got some bigger cuts through Zeros' defenses. Zeros winced as he received another slash across his axe arm, making blood flow down his arm. Zeros growled in anger and jumped aside.
Furious red flames suddenly encircled Zeros' hand, which he then flung at Zealot. The fiery blast was enough to throw Zealot of guard, and the orb hit him square in the chest, eating away at his clothes and skin. The flames lasted only a moment, and had succeeded in knocking Zealot to the ground, his scarred chest exposed. Zealot grunted and sat up clumsily, seeing as he had only one arm left to work with.
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Erica gasped when she saw the scars, shocked to see so many of them. While at the same time, she admired his good physique, before shaking her head violently.
'The Hell am I thinking?! Bad thoughts! Bad thoughts!' she thought, hoping to get it from her mind.
Onyx looked at Erica and said: "There's nothing wrong with it at all, if you feel that way," before turning back to the fight.
Erica looked at the girl in shock, until she realized.
'Oh great! She's a Jupiter Adept!'
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The wound on his chest burned violently, but Zealot had no way of soothing it at the moment. The fight was becoming too violent itself to be able to cast Psynergy. Weapons continued to clash wildly, and Zealot was starting to grow weary.
His arm was slowly losing strength, and the wounds only made it worse. His arm burned with intense pain, and it became hard to move the limb.
After awhile, Zealot decided that he really needed to do something to heal himself, so he did the only thing he could. He ducked under Zeros' swing, and threw himself at the man with his shoulder, sending him a few feet away. Zealot immediately jumped back for some extra space, wincing at the evident pain in his shoulder.
However, Zeros recovered faster than Zealot would've liked, as he jumped up and shook his head to clear the cobwebs. Purple energy gathered as Zeros' weapon released what sounded like a furious howl. The energy then shot at the purple pommelstone of his weapon. Everything was soon shrouded in a purple hue, and Zeros grasped the weapon tightly in his clutches.
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"That's not good!!!" Rander exclaimed in horror.
Onyx shook her head and whimpered: "Zealot's done for!"
Sara looked at them in confusion and asked: "Why? What's wrong?"
Rander simply nodded at the fight, and said: "Watch."
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"REIGN OF JUPITER!!!!" Zeros screamed on top of his lungs, aimed his axe at Zealot, and released the energy.
The blast of purple plasma was sent through the air straight at the unsuspecting teen. Before Zealot could even register what was happening, the plasma hit him head-on, sending him away.
As well as out of ring.
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Zeros placed his axe away as his eyes returned to sapphire blue, and calmly walked over to the downed teen. The boy was down for the count, and didn't seem to be able to get up soon.
"Shine, give me a hand here," Zeros murmured, and the Saturn Djinni poked its head out.
"Okidokie!" Shine said enthusiastically.
He leaped out and vanished in a trail of white sparks.
The sparks touched Zealot, and spread across his entire body, healing wounds, including his snapped arm and broken ribs, and he fixed his clothes as well. Once Shine had done his job, he found his way back into Zeros's pouch.
Zealot groggily opened his eyes, and was a little surprised to see Zeros looking down at him.
"Nice battle out there," Zeros said with a smile, and held out his hand to Zealot.
The boy hesitated, but Zeros seemed to have no more intention to fight, so he reached up and managed to grab a hold of Zeros' hand. Zeros easily pulled the boy to his feet, without much trouble at all.
But, Zealot could tell instantly, there was something wrong with his hand. It was like Zeros' hands were somehow, different, from what they were supposed to be. Zeros released Zealot's hand once he was back to his feet, gave the teen a nod, and left the ring.
Zealot waited for a moment, not quite understanding Zeros' motives, before pulling his hood over his head, and leaving to get Canyon, and then left the ring as well.
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Compared to the battle with Zealot and Zeros, the battle between Rander and Brett was a quick one. Brett came out as the victor, but Rander didn't quite bother with it. Rander had been more experienced, but Brett had proven himself to be more ingenious. Now Brett only had one more worry on his mind.
Brett looked over at Zeros, who stood by the window, gazing out at the setting sun. Zealot had staid to watch the battle, unlike Ray, who had left right after he was beaten.
Zeros was deadly calm, and probably mentally preparing for the upcoming battle. Unlike others, Zeros never underestimated his enemies, like Brett had seen with so many. Brett also knew he'd have his hands full with Zeros if he managed to beat Zealot like it was hardly anything.
Eve watched Zeros as well and asked: "What kind of Adept is that guy?"
Brett shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what else to say or do.
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Zeros was all but preparing for the battle ahead. Painful memories had resurfaced when Zealot had thrown that electric blast at him, memories he had spent years on trying to forget. Now they had resurfaced and were haunting him once again.
Grey eyes sparking with utmost fury, black hair that seemed too smooth to be natural. Those eyes were the worst, because all that fury had been aimed his way, which made the pain that always followed worse. It burned, it always did, and in the end, he was always left alone, naked and bleeding.
He mentally shook his head, trying desperately to banish the thoughts. No use though. Once those memories were back, it was almost impossible to get rid off them. It would take at least a few hours to get them out of his head. But time was something he didn't have here.
'Just great! Just perfect!'
Against his will, his mind reeled backwards, back to that day.
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"Katana, this kid will stay with us for awhile, do you mind?"
"Not at all! Kai could really use a friend!"
"Who's Kai??"
"Kai's our son. Hang on a second. KAI!! GET DOWN HERE!!!"
"YES FATHER!!!"
"Kai, this is Zeros. Zeros, this is our son, Kai."
"Like, WHATEVER!!"
"Kai! Behave yourself and say hi!"
"Ugh! Yes mother! Hellohowdoyoudo?"
"Huh??"
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"Listen up, punk! I have no use for friends, so, if you want to stay on my good side, STAY AWAY FROM ME! UNDERSTOOD?!"
"Y-y-y-yes sir."
"Good! Now GET MOVING!!"
"AI!!"
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"Kai, I don't want you threatening Zeros again! Is that understood?!"
"Yes, mother. I'm sorry, mother."
"Don't apologize to me! Apologize to Zeros! NOW!!"
"Fine. Sorry Zeros."
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"Why are you doing this?!"
"Because I can do whatever I want!"
"OW! Stop it already! You're hurting me!"
"I don't listen to anybody! Especially to you!! You filthy BITCH!!!"
"AYA!!"
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Zeros winced as he remembered the pain of his fist connecting to his temple. It had hurt, like hell. And he hadn't stopped there. Oh no, he sure as Hell hadn't.
Every punch and kick had roughly connected with his still sensitive skin, bruising him up beyond recognition. But the worst wounds he'd ever gotten were the whip lashes on his back, and even the cutting of his flesh by the guy's sword.
All scars were safely hidden, but it still hurt to look at them, because every time he was reminded of what that guy did to him.
He heard people scream from outside, and the announcer finally called out what he had feared.
The final round was ready to begin.
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Oh my God!! I actually broke my own record!!! Longest fighting I ever wrote was less than three pages. This one's over four! WHOHOO!!
Ahem. Anyway, final round!
ZEROS VS. BRETT