Chapter 57 – A Bone to Pick
Time for the 57th chapter! Hard to believe there's still so much left planned. I did some calculations and my estimates are that this story may be roughly 80 chapters. No joke. Please bear with me guys.
Guest: I know. Hey guys, FanFiction is in trouble because of this trans-pacific thing they're making. There's a petition site that you can stop by and add your signature so as to stop it. The link is in a review on my EDventures in Kalos story a fellow guest provided.
Guest Valvrave: No, I don't have a Deviantart account.
Time to finish the extended X791 Arc and begin the Key to the Starry Sky Arc!
To Recap:
Staraptor encounters Raey of Ghoul's Coffin and shows off her aerial and ground combat, easily dispatching him. Sophie soon learns the weakness of Boig's Magic and makes a new spell to finish him. The four then destroy the lacrima towers and meet up in the center of town, where they get a message from Pavo and he tells them of the location of the Zeus Cannon. Pavo betrays Kaulas and uses himself as a decoy while everyone else makes it to the weapon. They all soon reach it, but before they could stop it, Kaulas arrives.
Chapter 57 – A Bone to Pick
A cold chill ran through the huge chamber as Kaulas stared at Nic and his accomplices. The Bone Mage was keeping a calm and very subtle expression, yet anyone could tell that deep within they could feel a killing intent.
"Your Luminous, and I take it that the bird is one of these creatures I've gotten word of." He stated in his quiet and structural voice. "What a surprise, couldn't imagine running into you of all people."
Nic and Staraptor alike kept contemptuous glares. With his sunglasses on his gray V-neck, Nic's eyes showed little to no dimming will. "And are you Ghoul's Coffin's Guild Master, Kaulas, if I'm not mistaken?"
"Guilty is charged. I take it that you are attempting to disable the Zeus Cannon." He didn't sound at all spiteful, but more or less confirming. "It took us a few months to accumulate the Magic necessary; there isn't a possibility as someone like you can stop the cannon."
"What do you hope to gain from this cannon?" Staraptor asked. "What is your objective?"
Kaulas didn't give an immediate response. He stared at his opponents with blank green eyes. In a matter of seconds, he finally spoke. "It's more simple than what you'd imagine."
"What?" Cana asked confused.
"My aim isn't to extinguish life for my own gain. It's all for the cause of the Zeus Cannon." He and everyone else then remembered of the Jupiter Cannon. "You tell me, how did the Jupiter Cannon come around?"
While Nic was keeping his eyes on the enemy, he was mentally debating. He remembered using Mirror Move to counteract the Jupiter Cannon that one time, but that was a long time ago. He also had to recall that everything had its origin; and with that in mind, it was starting to make sense.
"Allow me to debrief you." Kaulas started. "I was an architect, as I was fascinated by Fiore's history. One thing I came across while I was in Dahlias a long time ago was but a single document that was preserved from two centuries ago. There was a civil revolution and many hoped to win this unsettling confrontation. That's when the Zeus Cannon was born."
"A civil war?" Sophie pondered.
"So you've gone and dug back into history just to get a glimpse of this thing's power?" Cana asked.
"Of sorts. Everything derives from its origin. Human spawning is an example. The Zeus Cannon was the first highly destructive weapon achieved, and though it was lost in time, its predecessors such as the Jupiter and Etherion took its place; however, the document did hold some vital intel…"
Nic and everyone's eyes narrowed.
"…there was one Zeus Cannon left, right behind you."
Nic and everyone else's eyes widened and turned around. Shock overcame them as they had just had an epiphany.
"You mean…" Sophie started.
"This is the original and last Zeus Cannon?" Staraptor finished.
"Yes." Kaulas confirmed. "Though it may be the last of its kind. 200 years doesn't falter so easily for a weapon such as this. The lacrima adjusted on its base are still active, meaning it has been gradually gaining energy."
Nic was more or less uneasy with this whole rouse. The idea of an ancient weapon revived brought back some uneasy memories. Memories of the ultimate weapon began to resurface in his mind. This situation was very much familiar, as he remembered witnessing the ultimate weapon's revival. This case was exactly the same. 'This is just like before.'
"I don't wish to abruptly finish the history debriefing, but I'm afraid that I can't have any more stalling. The Zeus Cannon shall fire, and history will finally remember the power that the past had." Kaulas took up a stance, with arms in an 'X' shape and the wrists were loose.
Everyone saw his palms slowly protruding long, pointed bones. The sight was making Cana and Sophie gulp as they never saw such a Magic. They heard of this Magic from Pavo, but seeing it like so was very…unappetizing.
"Oh man." Cana stepped back after the bone sabers were at least three feet long.
"So this is Bone Magic. How very…distinctive." Sophie swallowed one more lump.
Nic spread his legs and Staraptor got into a stance. Both Trainer and Pokémon maintained composures and began with the fight. Nic got a foot behind him and shifted into his Insect Plate Form. In said Plate, the spider web-like coat with sleeves was confined in the middle by a grasshopper green belt with a Net Ball rather than a Poke Ball sign. Everything else was more or less the way it was.
"Enough stalling, that much I agree." Nic crossed his arms, becoming light blue and an 'X' with magenta outlining emerged. "Let's go! Everyone!"
"Right!" Cana and Sophie remained positioned while Nic and Staraptor went dashing after Kaulas. Almost instantly, Nic went for the first strike. "X-Scissor!" His attack met an interception by Kaulas's left palm bone, and Staraptor's Steel Wing was met by the right. All three gave serious vibes as they were in a stalemate, not backing off. Though it soon came to an end when Kaulas swatted his arms back and jumped back, and Nic and Staraptor did the same.
Both Trainer and Pokémon flapped their wings and they ascended into the air above. Nic's flapping gave way to red soundwaves being generated. The soundwaves went shooting down at Kaulas. "Bug Buzz!" The attack easily scored its mark, bombarding Kaulas with a high-pitched soundwave of red. The Bone Mage covered his ears as he was left defenseless.
Staraptor then made her move as fast as lightning. "Aerial Ace!" She swopped down from beside Nic and became a blinding blur. She went in a slant downwards and dove right through, hitting Kaulas and making him skid back as Bug Buzz dialed down.
Kaulas grunted, still keeping a calm expression. He saw once again as Staraptor spun in and twirled, bringing her talon around for a kick, but as the kick went ahead, Kaulas's eyes narrowed and pointed arched bones protruded from his rib cages. Staraptor immediately felt surprised and flapped her wings and immediately backed off before her talons could touch them.
She ascended back up in the air, where Kaulas remained composed as his palm bones retracted. Instead, his fingertips jutted out circular bones with flat tips. Swiping both arms, he shot numerous small bones at Staraptor. The avian easily evaded them by twisting her body and pivoting in the air, yet as the bones went on, they penetrated through the hollow pipes above; and this was but the size of bullets.
Cana flashed her cards. "So this guy's entire body is a weapon." She stated,
"Looks like it." Sophie stated, "You saw how he stopped Staraptor. He can jut out bones in any way, shape, and form."
Nic landed in front of them both while Staraptor maintained her elevation. "Yeah, seems the case. Judging by how he fights. He seems to take defensive approaches, and close-range combatants such as myself don't much of a chance." He saw the bones on his abdomen as they were very sharp. "You saw how he handles our physical attacks." He looked up. "Staraptor, maintain a distance until he's caught off."
The Predator Pokémon nodded.
"In the meantime, long-range will have to suffice." Nic's wings spread and vibrated greatly. "Get ready!"
Kaulas thought little as he scoffed. "If you're foolish enough to think that my bones can be overpowered, then it'll be harder than what you'd imagine." He had his wrists loose as he crossed his arms and more bone jutted from his. "Phalanx Bullet!" He swiped both arms in arcs, sending the flat-sided cylindrical bones once more.
"Oh no you don't!" Cana's cards glowed as she shot them at the incoming rapid bullet-like bones. The green cards exploded upon contact, making the area between them erupt in energy and gave Sophie the chance to attack.
"Memory-Make: Mirrors of Cold retribution!" In front of Sophie, icy mirrors materialized and immediately shot green beams at Kaulas. The beams made way towards the Bone Mage, yet he made no attempt at dodging and instead adjusted his stance and his long palm bones jutted out again, albeit with crackling sounds that unnerved everyone.
He crossed his arms and grunted as he slashed in a similar fashion of X-Scissor. Every single green beam of darkness was sliced into, slicing them and deflecting the small beams around and behind.
He looked unimpressed as he looked back up at a shocked Sophie. "Is that all?"
Cana swiped her cards again. "Not one bit! Summoned Lightning!" She swiped her cars again and sent three green lightning bolts at Kaulas.
The Bone Mage extended his arm out with the bone saber at the palm and had it take the lightning. The green beams were conducted into the bone's tip. Cana gasped when her spell was absorbed just like that.
Kaulas didn't seem at all moved as his gaze was still fixated on them. "Perhaps it's best that you take a better look."
Everyone looked and saw that the bone actually grew a little and glistened slightly. This was a large dilemma as they picked up on what was going on.
"Crystals?" Sophie inquired.
"To be more accurate, calcium phosphate." Kaulas explained. "I can absorb electricity and transfer it into energy to grow and thicken my bones. Now…" With his rib cage bones still jutting out, he shot several sharp-tipped bones at Cana. The Card Mage barely escaped with a narrow dodge as she fell to the ground on her side.
She looked back up with annoyance. "Damnit. Those lacrima only helped so much." Her eyes narrowed. "And it feels like I'm still losing power."
Sophie grunted. "Remember what Pavo told us? Those lacrima on the Zeus Cannon draws in Ethernano. It's the same as sapping Magic. We can't do much with the few spells we can cast."
Cana got up. "Well this went downhill."
"Silver Wind!" Nic's wings flashed and unleashed a gust of wind with hard, silver sparkles. The Bug-Type move went shooting off and dealt a forceful blow that caused Kaulas to skid back several feet. This left him to resort to using his palm bones as anchor weights as he drove them into ground, denting them enough to keep a firm hold.
With this as an advantage, Staraptor swooped in to attack. "Steel Wing!" Her wings glowed and she dove in with her gifted speed. With great valiance, she swatted her wind downwards as Silver Wind dialed down. Her attack landed a clean hit on the head, making Kaulas grunt. He quickly ignored it and still kept his collective gaze.
"Can't say that I wasn't expecting that." He admitted. "And likewise in your case." His eyes widened, and his rib bones retracted with crackling sounds while his shoulders jutted spiked bones with quick crackling sounds. Staraptor immediately backed away a few feet in the air and swatted downwards with Steel Wing still in play. Kaulas countered by an interception with one of his palm bone he yanked out of the ground. Both attacks collided with a clang sound. Their eyes meet with fierce expressions and then backed off once again.
With this in mind, Kaulas was so distracted that he didn't see Nic glowing and shifting into his Toxic Plate. With the Toxic Plate, his coat had a solid dark purple with light purple edging. The belt was left as it was, as well as everything else.
Nic fired a Sludge Bomb from his mouth as Kaulas was backing away. The attack made its mark in the abdomen, causing a murky explosion that sent Kaulas skidding backwards and stopping cold.
"Persistent bunch." He said bluntly. "Do you not want history to unfold? Surely you understand what time has to offer. Perhaps persuasion is in order." He crossed his arms again with the wrists loose. "Joint Sable."
His palm bones remained as they were, as did the shoulder bones, but then crackling was heard as the elbows began to protrude bone. Now his arms and shoulders alike were aligned with bone.
"Is it me, or can this guy get any uglier?" Cana asked.
"Save that for later!" Sophie insisted. "Those bones are sharp, but let's see him try this!" She pointed a finger at her forehead. "Memory-Make: Pyro Saucer!" She launched a multitude of saucers comprised of fire, and Kaulas rushed on ahead. With the distance closing in, he spun around and his bones all over his upper body spun with him, slashing through the saucers. He spun several more times and posed with his head down as the saucers were of embers.
Sophie and everyone else saw just what technique it was and was all too impressive. He looked up at the surprised faces. "Is that all you got?"
Nic grunted and pressed his legs and feet alike to the ground. He inhaled and lurched forward. "Acid!" He released a gushing purple liquid at Kaulas. He scrutinized the contents as they sailed at him. He immediately jerked right and dodged the attack that left the ground sizzling. He then rushed in towards Nic.
"Acid Armor!" Nic's entire body was coated in clear liquid but for a brief moment, which sharply increased his Defense. Kaulas zoomed in and the two were met with close-range offense. Nic used his fists as he rapidly parried and deflects blows of the bones on Kaulas's body. He parried every swipe possible and slash with his forearms, ascertaining only minor scratches in the process. Of course it wasn't long before Staraptor entered the fray from above. Kaulas still spun about as his bones followed him in a spinning slash, but Nic and Staraptor maneuvered around and engaged in the close-range offense. Quick as lightning their attack rushed left and right, their reflexes outmatching the bone slashes.
Soon they backed off, and Kaulas took a defensive stance with an arm covering him. 'Their combat skills are most formidable. That speed doesn't help me in any way. Seems that I'll have to be weary when engaging those two.' He adjusted his stance as he retracted his bones, giving way back to his skin. 'Perhaps I'll have to be more assertive in my approaches.'
Cana flashed her cards. "He's retracting! That means we got ourselves an opening!"
Before she could swipe her cards again, Sophie grabbed her hand, stopping her. "Hold on. Something isn't right."
Kaulas stood quietly as he readied for his next move. "You're versatile, am I right? Then let's see you keep up." His arm then began to show a disturbing wave of something running right underneath the skin, literally. On each forearms, two foot-long bones jutted outwards and the opposite hand grabbed one.
Before everyone, they saw two bone clubs. They had thick, bulbous end and the other ends were as sharp as needles.
Seeing this, Nic changed his strategy and shifted into his Earth Plate. He eyed Kaulas wearily and had his arms out. He spread them out and made a light green bone that could very well represent Bone Rush.
"I see. An eye for an eye." Kaulas then rushed on ahead. "Cartilage Duel!" He and Nic both let out battlecries as Bone Rush and the two boney clubs made impact. The two-on-one assault resulted in a shockwave that sent winds soaring. Cana and Sophie immediately covered up while Staraptor maintained her position in the air.
Nic's light green bone clashed with Kaulas's bone clubs. Each clash sounding like two Rhyhorn charging into the other. With a spin, Nic swung the object in his hand around and struck the left club. He adjusted quickly so as to stop a downwards club with the left end. It was at that point both were at another standstill with their boney attacks unfazed by the other. Though Nic grunted, Kaulas had no emotion.
"It seems that my bones are stronger." He stated.
Nic grunted in reluctance and widened his eyes. Crackling was heard from the abdomen again and he immediately jumped back to evade the bones that jutted from the ribs. He deactivated Bone Rush and narrowed his eyes as he was formulating yet another ideal strategy.
Staraptor swooped in. "Double Team!" She flashed and made several copies of herself. Her copies all flapped in the air and around a surprised Kaulas as the number astonished him some. He readied his clubs as they all swooped down to attack. One by one, they all vanished when being hit by the sharp end. Kaulas slashed repeatedly in swift motions, but little success as all that was accomplished was the numbers dwindling.
Kaulas swiped endlessly and was getting nowhere fast, and that left him open. The real Staraptor zoomed from behind and struck a talon to Kaulas's back. The shockwave traveled through his whole body and caused his hands to loosen the grip on his double boney clubs, letting them drop to the ground.
"Sand Tomb!" Nic slammed his hands against the ground and sand began materializing around Kaulas while he was still in shock. The sand swirling sand encased Kaulas by the legs and rose to the point where it was a ten-foot mound of sand.
Everyone maintained a cautious guard as they had their enemy trapped under sand. Staraptor hovered high over her trainer as she eyed the sand mound.
"Did we get him?" Sophie wondered.
There was a long silence as they all stared at the mound. The feeling of uneasy dread never ceased as this called for a turn of events. Sure enough it happened.
Magic levels arose and a little sand spurt out. From that point, they saw a hand breach through the Sand Tomb. Nic and Staraptor didn't seem at all surprised as they expected this given the high levels of Magic, yet they were caught slightly surprised as the rest of Kaulas's body pried its way out of the Sand Tomb.
The sheer sight of him was greatly disturbing as parts of his skin was gone, and what was underneath was not blood nor muscles, yet a membrane of pure, solid bone. When he looked up at Nic and everyone, ignoring the patches of bone showing, the side of his cheek had no skin and showed his teeth.
"Well, so much for a good night's sleep after today." Sophie muttered bitterly. "What is this guy?"
"That sure was a surplus of pressure I endured." Kaulas commented, his teeth showing in his cheek moving. "If I hadn't grown a membrane of bone, I would've been incapacitated for an extensive time period."
Nic changed tactics once again. 'I'll have to use a full-scale blow if we're to win and stop the cannon from firing.' As Sand Tomb eroded away into small dust in the brief wind breezing through the ducts, Nic glowed and shifted from his Earth Plate to Splash Plate. In the Splash Plate Form now, he adorned the same water shoes and swim trunks, and remained shirtless, but his coat was a solid dark blue with light blue edging and belt. The belt also had a Dive Ball symbol on it.
Nic's normal blue eyes eyed Kaulas as he grunted.
"How the heck can this guy still be standing?!" Cana exclaimed.
Kaulas ignored her. "I've underestimated you and your reputation, but that's the last time I'll be caught surprised."
Nic spread his legs apart and crouched. He gave a scowl as he clasped his palms together with a loud clap sound. The earth shook beneath as water sprouted in front. Kaulas completely contradicted himself as his eyes widened and he felt a grand pressure. Even Cana and Sophie were surprised. "Surf!" Nic growled. The water level gradually escalated into a massive wave, almost like a tsunami. The earth raged as the wave's tide eroded over Kaulas. Though Kaulas was able to jump back as fast as he possibly could, his skills were no match as Surf slammed down on him. A huge volume of water swamped him and began flooding through the chamber.
While Staraptor flapped in the air above, Cana and Sophie climbed some ladders on the sides of the walls that overlooked the entire chamber and the cannon. They saw Kaulas down below trying to breach and maintain ground, but more water gushed forth and swamped him some more. The entire area was engulfed in five feet of water all around, the waves crashing against the chamber walls.
Sophie's eyes were wide. 'Whoa. Nic is changing the terrain all by himself.'
"Now…" With Nic swaying in the water, he swiped his arms in opposite arcs, clearing out the water at his feet and was around a field of water. "HRAH!" He thrust his arms out and the entire aquatic area pushed out by Nic's control. The waves of water expanded out and a unison crash echoed as every drop crashed into the walls all around.
Nic remained silent as he eyed the dwindling water that began to fade away by the Splash Plate's powers. "Is he still wanting to fight?" His voice hinted disbelief with a mixture of annoyance.
"What?" Cana said in disbelief. "You mean that guy's still wanting to fight?"
Staraptor's sharp eyes caught a strange figure against a chamber wall. She knew something was wrong as the figure had a completely different shape. 'Whatever's happening, it's going to be very bad for us.'
Sure enough what they saw was just as Staraptor thought. As the water was gone, Nic grunted with some shock as he eyed something that was completely unorthodox. "What the…"
Cana, Sophie, and Staraptor's eyes all widened some as they saw the water drip from a very demonic figure. The skin was darker, and the shoulders and entire back protruded long bone spines. He had a long, boney tail. The eyes were black sclera and bone-white irises. The rib cage was covered in yet another rib cage like boney armor. His hair was also gray. His arms, legs, and neck were all lined with some sort of skeleton that was joined up by the shoulders, hips, and spines.
"What…what in the world…?" Sophie slid down with Cana and the two had no words to describe what they were seeing.
"That guy just…transformed." Cana remarked in disbelief.
Kaulas's eyes narrowed. "I never thought that I'd be using this in battle after such a long time." He was hunched over with the bone spines on his back and wagged his tail. "Ultimate Defense – Reaper's Carcass."
Everyone eyed him wearily as their nerves itched with anticipation from the sheer Magic Power flowing through the air, all coming from the skeleton and bones on his body. This man's Magic pulsed wildly that the bones encasing him seemingly defined his raw power.
"More bones. Whatever this Magic is, it's getting sick by the minute." Cana remarked. "And having Magic sapped with each spell won't have us do any good."
"If there was any word to describe that guy, it's that he's a mifletzat (monster)." Sophie commented. "If we couldn't handle him before, we're better off handling the weapon."
Staraptor heard her and looked out. "If so, then Nic and I can handle him while you try and disarm the weapon."
Cana and Sophie both nodded and turn towards the weapon. They saw the pink lacrima on the huge black cannon shining ever so brilliantly, and not in a good way.
Kaulas growled as he eyed his enemies all gathering a plan. Nic and Staraptor began closing the distance very quickly, and Kaulas rushed in as well, his boney body and form making him slower. As he charged onwards, Nic skid to a stop halfway and pressed his hands against the ground.
"Water Pledge!" His attack led to columns of water rising in a series towards Kaulas. Much to their shock, Staraptor and Nic saw how the boney creature darted through all of the water columns without letting up for even a seconds. This led to Nic getting smacked by the skeletal tail and sail back into a skid on his feet.
Kaulas kept his charge as he darted on forward. Staraptor was next in line as she fiercely flew down at an angle with Aerial Ace. Her blurry form rushed in and crashed right into Kaulas's abdomen, making a crackling sound as his skin was as hard as bone. He skidded backwards on all fours and rebounded by lashing forth his tail. Staraptor swatted the tail away with one wing and maintained her course as she went back in to attack.
"Steel Wing!" Staraptor's wings glowed the same metal-gray coating once more and she swatted both at once. Kaulas covered up with his forearms that were lined with arm bones for armor. The Steel-Type move made contact and a loud wind lashed out in all directions. Kaulas grunted but a little before he swatted his arms in arcs, making Staraptor ascended backwards back into the air.
"Crabhammer!" Nic held out his right arms, which then began to materialize spiraling water in the shape of a crab claw. He darted ahead and let out a battlecry as the distance closed drastically.
Kaulas growled back as he then brought his forearms forward, the boney armor on them morphing with crackling sounds. Nic didn't let up on his advance despite seeing how the bones became thick gauntlets.
Both bone gauntlets and Crabhammer made contact, and the impact's sound rivaled that of a dynamite blast. The power palpitating aggressively through the air was enough for Staraptor to forcibly descend and grip her talons to the ground. The shockwave raged on for a few more seconds and the ground cracked beneath Nic and Kaulas. It cracked so much that the ground beneath gave in and created a five-foot crater to cover their distance. Both backed off and skidded back some feet.
"Your prowess is uncanny." Kaulas stated. "I never imagined my altered bone structure being parried by water as dense as that."
"I can say the same uncanny prowess behind your Bone Magic. How is it that you could change your form like that? Is it some cell mutation when increasing your Magic Power?" Nic countered while keeping sharp eyes all around.
"To be more accurate, this Magic is particularly a lost kind of Magic. Bone Magic was always so rare because there are many who become unstable." He said irritably. His eyes narrowed. "However you're not far from the truth. It is indeed a cell structure-type of transformation, as well as Magic."
"I see."
Kaulas then dilated his eyes as he showed impatience. "I'm tired of stalling. Nic Pularis, you are indeed impressive, so how's about we up the ammo?"
Nic raised a brow, as did Staraptor. They were both rather confused by what he meant, but they knew that it would mean more bone.
Cana and Sophie were both looking around the humungous weapon but had no luck. "Found anything?" Cana called out.
Sophie shook her head. "No, I can't seem to find a switch, and these lacrima don't seem to budge." With things looking grim, Sophie looked back at what Kaulas was doing. "Wait, what is he…"
Both Cana and Sophie looked back at the very disturbing scene ahead. Nic and Staraptor both had lumps stuck in their throats as Kaulas reached for his back, where a small protrusion was lurking underneath. Crackling went about as a rod of bone jutted out, long enough for Kaulas to grasp his hand around. With a gradual yank, he pulled it out of himself. Everyone saw the ridges of the rod wave through the skin as it was pulled out, making them shudder with a sick vibe. The entire four-foot rod was pulled out and held like a sword.
Staraptor showed no cowardice, but even she felt appalled. "His spine."
Nic clenched his fists. "So he can copy other bone structures and use them as weapons." He saw how the spine rod was still fresh and crackled some more. "How corrosive."
Sophie's mouth hung open before she lurched to her side, trying to keep herself from gagging. "I think I'm going to be sick."
"Well there goes my appetite for today." Cana remarked.
Kaulas looked unfazed as he slowly looked at Nic again. "Spine Mace." The ridges on his spine rod then crackled and elongated to a very gradual level, reaching two feet on each side. The spine itself thickened to support the long, sharp bone spokes. "Now, prepare to die." His words definitely had a level of spite hidden within and he stood hunched over and rushed on in to attack, using but one hand to drag the long mace along the ground, making a trail as it traveled towards Nic and Staraptor.
Nic grunted once again and charged on ahead. His right arm let out another Crabhammer and he let out another cry as his attack and the mace met up. The dense bone collided with the dense water in the shape of a crab claw. The attacks parried the other repeatedly, each individual strike as heavy as a wrecking ball. The force with each collision made the walls crack, and the floor was beginning to become like the moon's surface. They both grunted as their assaults led to the mace being swung downwards like an axe with Nic intercepting with his Crabhammer. Soon they were back to parrying more blows, which soon led to both getting hit at the exact same time.
The mace's spiny spokes struck Nic's left shoulder while Crabhammer struck Kaulas's face. The two assaults were strong enough to send both contenders sailing back, though a heavy grunt came from Nic as he skidded back with his shoulder bleeding.
"Nic!" Staraptor immediately went in to attack while Kaulas was skidding back. "GRAH! Close Combat!" Staraptor viciously descended at the speed of sound and crashed into Kaulas talon first. She let out a battlecry as she relentlessly assaulted him with no mercy as her wing strikes and talons relentlessly assaulted him. In the midst of the Close Combat, Kaulas used the mace as a defense, and Staraptor's assaults were pounding away as the mace didn't move.
With one harsh cry, she swatted her wing horizontally, breaking apart the spokes on one side of the mace.
This definitely shocked Kaulas as his eyes were wide. 'She…she penetrated through the bone. Her muscles are so strong!'
Staraptor thrusted her talons ahead and struck the center of the spine. The entire thing echoed as her unison kick cracked the center. The whole thing fell unbalanced as Staraptor brought her wing back and jabbed it forward in the same spot as before, this time jabbing it so hard that it broke the mace at its center, splitting the upper half off.
Time slowed down gradually as Kaulas was filled his shock. "She shattered the mace…how?"
"HRAH!" Staraptor swatted Kaulas with his mind still off guard. Her wing strike was like taking a train, and the Bone Mage skidded backwards on the bones on his back, crashing into the wall with a thunderous echo.
She then looked back at Nic. Though knowing he would be okay, she still worried as that spiky blow did seem deep.
Nic grunted as he was on a knee and slowing getting up, albeit slowly due to the shoulder injury. He clenched his shoulder as pain went right through all its nerves. "Damn you…" He muttered, ignoring the little bit of blood.
Staraptor positioned herself with her wings spread out in front of Nic. "I'll provide cover! Try and leave this to me while you recover!" She then flapped and ascended a few feet and went back into the fray like a speeding fighter jet.
"Thanks Staraptor." Nic said. He grunted and began to shift back into himself. In his normal self, he looked back to see Staraptor using Steel Wing to block a boney fist. A few more shots were exchanged and blocked, but otherwise Staraptor was deflecting every tail slam and bone possible.
Nic closed his eyes to think as he glowed and used Recover, his shoulder wound beginning to regenerate and not showed. 'This isn't getting us anywhere. Ni matter what we do, he can but duplicate and alter his bone structure at will. Even with Staraptor's Close Combat, there's still little options at the moment.'
The glow faded and Nic no longer had the shoulder injury, but he was still weary from that attack. If anything he was a little dizzy, but he had to do his best to ascertain focus. Taking two of Ghoul's Coffin's elites and then a Guild Master with Bone Magic can lead to a tired state if pressed too hard on a normal Mage, but it didn't seem to slow him down in the slightest. His training he did all the time has maxed his durability and endurance, so this was nothing.
Standing back up, he stood with legs spread out. 'If we drag out this battle long enough, perhaps he'll run out of Magic Power, but the downside is that he may very well power the Zeus Cannon. We have to make this next attack count!' He adjusted and hunched forward. "Extreme Speed!" A shockwave rippled at that moment, and Staraptor immediately turned to get away as the next thing that happened was that Kaulas remained still one moment and the next thing that happened was that Nic appeared in front with a shattered trail from the blinding speed. And that didn't even take a second. He struck his entire body and hit the chest region. A shockwave sent winds shredding about and Kaulas gagged before the attack's force caught up to him and he crashed into the wall again, this time in a crater.
"He just won't stay down." Staraptor stated.
"He's very durable, that's certain enough." Nic noted, seeing Kaulas dislodge himself. "What sort of Magic can have a human being become such a thing?"
Cana looked around as she was getting frustrated. Nothing was working. The Ethernano was still charging the cannon, and if she used Magic, it'd be like adding fuel to the fire.
"Damnit! Can't this thing stop in any way?!" She exclaimed.
Sophie jumped to her right and looked just as frustrated, despite her calm expression. "I know how you feel. This is very troubling." She looked back as Nic and Staraptor engaged in battle some more. "We're too exhausted from our previous fights, and our Magic doesn't seem to be replete with his cannon."
Cana turned towards her. "Just what are we supposed to do?"
Sophie looked back at her. "I don't know, okay! Listen, everything has a weakness, we just need to remember and stay calm and take in every factor possible! Geography. Weather. Material. Structure. Anything that'll help out!"
Cana's eyes widened. "Wait! You said something about weather and temperature, right?"
Sophie raised a brow in confusion. "Yeah?" She said slowly. "I actually said Geography and Weather, but…"
"Tell me." Cana's voice sounded rushed somewhat. "Have you noticed that when he came in here compared to outside, that it's slightly hotter?"
"Uh…" Sophie took notice just now and looked around. "Now that you mention it, the temperature outside was pretty pleasant, compared to here, it's rather…stuffy." Sophie's eyes then widened. "…Oh."
Cana nodded. "Yeah. You think the temperature may be involved with sensitivity?"
Sophie looked back at the Zeus Cannon. "Only one way to find out."
Back with Nic and Staraptor, Nic barrel rolled and dodged Phalanx Bullet and the attack plowed through more empty pipes of fresh air. He rolled back up to his feet and darted ahead. "Dizzy Punch!" His fist became a multitude of colors and he drove his fist into Kaulas, making him step back.
The Bone Mage growled at Nic and clasped his palms in front of the other. "I've have it up to here with you. You and your little friends can forget about the ground from where you stand." A large Magic pressure let a small magnitude erode through the earth. Nic and Staraptor alike were both antsy as they maintained their ground.
Kaulas then pressed his hands on the ground. "Boneyard!"
The ground began jutting out so many bones that was similar to Precipice Blades. The attack jutted out of the ground with bones with pointed ends. They jutted out madly, and when they reached Nic and Staraptor, the Predator Pokémon grabbed her trainer's arm with one talon and ascended with great speed, evading the small forest of bone sprouting up.
Cana and Sophie alike saw the attack heading their way and immediately took action. They snapped out of their shock and jumped for the nearest ladders. Latching on they watched the bones jut out from the ground, engulfing everything underneath in a ten-foot tall forest of pure bone.
Nic was surprised to say the least. "He made bone from the very earth?"
Staraptor looked at the scene under her as well. "Yeah, and it looks ugly."
"You'd be surprised." Nic and Staraptor's eyes shot wide and they immediately ascended as fast as a Quick Attack. They barely evaded a long bone shot at them with a pointed tip, embedding into the chamber wall. Turning around, they saw Kaulas merged with a bone spike. His upper body stuck out as he eyed Nic and Saraptor.
"Your accomplices are of no match for me, so they're of no threat. You and your bird, however, are starting to wear me down. I hate to say it, but it seems that my Magic Power is running a tad low."
Nic's eyes narrowed.
"But…the Zeus Cannon has accumulated the Magic Power from Boneyard, and from those constant release of Magic pressure. Game over." Sure enough Kaulas wasn't far off as the lacrima around the Zeus Cannon were beginning to get brighter and brighter. "It was at 75% capacity when I first discovered it. The lacrima in the city gathered up an extra 20% fast, leaving the 5% for the Magic exerted throughout your time here."
Nic and Staraptor grunted as they looked back down at the Zeus Cannon as they could hear and feel the Magic generating inside the black cannon at a drastic caliber. Of course this shocking turn of events left them open for Kaulas. His tail sprouted from the bone spike he was merged with and it swatted away at Nic.
Nic looked back only to receive the tail slam on his right side. The attack's boney ridges dug their way through Nic and his mouth gawked as the ridged tail hit his giant scar that was over his right abdomen. The giant claw-like scar under his attire stung in all the wrong ways, and Nic went numb from the insult to injury. The impact swatted him out of Staraptor's hold and he sailed and slammed into a bone spike's side, hitting it with a thud on his back.
"Nic!" Staraptor, Cana, and Sophie shouted in shock. They all gaped their mouths as they saw Nic going numb as he slid down to the ground. He thudded and coughed as his giant scar was like getting slashed at all over again, but on a lesser scale.
Kaulas turned towards Nic to attack, but his eyes caught the blur that was Staraptor. The Predator Pokémon swooped in with Aerial Ace and crashed into Kaulas, but Kaulas didn't so much as budge as his boney armor sustained the impact.
"Impudent pest!" He drove a fist back that was covered in a boney gauntlet and drove it into Staraptor. The Normal and Flying-Type used her left wing to block but the impact was still strong enough to send her back against another bone spike.
Sophie grunted. "Hurry, Cana!"
"Yeah! I'm on it!" Cana flashed her cards. "Now, let's test his theory out! Icicle!" She sent her attack full of giant icicles at the Zeus Cannon's base, where the shining lacrima were. The icicles all crashed into the cannon's base, covering it in cold ice, but not a single scratch was dealt.
Kaulas looked back to find the Zeus Cannon under attack. "Stay away." He growled. His left arm began to crackle greatly. "The power generated from the cannon at its full state may end up destroying half of Fiore. The thought of a Magic level for an Abyss Break is too weak." His arm began to protrude and grow bones and began to mold over his entire arm and forearm. The entire thin was similar to a spiral drill.
"Skeleton Thruster." He announced. "This bone is by far my strongest. Not only is it comprised by the bone material in one's teeth, but it's enough to bore right through any defense."
His lower body had begun to reached out as his entire body was balanced over the spike. "Now, who will be the first?"
Just when things were looking bad for Cana and Sophie, they heard a cough from a familiar individual. Turning their heads, everyone took notice of Nic stumbling back up to his feet, his left arm gripping his right side.
He looked frustrated at Kaulas. "Don't you dare." His eyes sharpened. "I'm still standing."
Kaulas scoffed with a frown. "Luminous, how durable are you?" He turned his body and jumped off the ten-foot bone spike and landed on the little ground available.
He eyed Nic with his bone-white irises. "Very well, but know that no defense can stop this."
He then charged at Nic, the Skeleton Thruster went first. The entire attack was like a drill going through soft dirt. The bones in the way were shattered and chipped by the impending force of the attack. Bone flew everywhere as the attack and Kaulas traveled towards Nic.
Still uneasy, Nic winced before thinking. 'I'm still battered from that scar, and that attack left me a little numb. I can't move too well. I'll have to make this next move count.' He glowed and he began to shift into another Plate, the next one being the Icicle Plate. Everything about his attire was the same, but now the coat he had on was a solid crystal blue with ice-colored edging and belt.
He saw the distance close quickly and inhaled as much air as he possible could and exhaled. "Blizzard!"
The attack violently made way and swallowed up everything in front in a maelstrom of rapid-speeding snow and frost. The onslaught of chilling air zoomed on as Kaulas made way, his eyes widened with sheer shock as he didn't account for Nic to use something related to cold.
The distance was getting smaller and Kaulas ran slowly through the Blizzard, but for some reason, all of the bones on his body were beginning to quiver violently, as if feeling cold themselves.
'Oh no!' His running slowed into a walk as his entire body was beginning to quiver from the Blizzard. He was helpless as his entire boney attack shook unsteadily-like and collapsed on itself. The attack directed its course into the ground in front, creating a large crater and Kaulas was left to quiver violently. 'It's so cold! I was too careless!'
Nic closed his mouth and stopped Blizzard. His eyes took notice of Kaulas quivering as the air around was still freezing cold.
"Now I see." He stated. "I should've known from the start. Bones are sensitive to cold. You said that your Magic works similar to cells, right?" He began to advance slowly. "Cells spread out and cluster together depending on the temperature, and with you constantly applying bone all around your body you have to continuously expand the cells to make more bone, but adding too much can lead to vulnerability to cold temperatures."
Kaulas grunted as the frost on his bones made him quiver even more. "…more or less. Now you understand why many who have used Bone Magic in the past went unstable. It's all true; cold temperatures keeps the bone structure vulnerable, hence why human teeth chatter when it's cold."
At that instant, they heard a crackling sound. Nic and a quivering Kaulas looked over and the latter's eyes widened as they looked past the bones and saw the lacrima covered in ice from Cana's attack begin cracking.
Cana smirked victoriously. "Hook, line, and sinker. I was right."
Kaulas shook even more with a gaping mouth. "You…"
Sophie smirked as well. "We had a feeling why it was stuffy down here. The lacrima down here are as sensitive to cold as are bones. No wonder it's been underground in this chamber; the trapped heat keeps from getting the machine cooled."
Cana added on. "And what happens when you add cold to the mixture? You get quivering bones and a weapon with no power source."
Staraptor ascended over Nic and glared at Kaulas. "Now we got you where we want you."
"You'll try, but I'll go ahead and start firing now!" He shot his hand to his side, and at the weapon's base, a panel opened up in response to him. The panel was blue and had fingerprints on it, presuming his. He darted right at the panel and away from Nic. They all looked surprised as the enemy was making way.
"Oh no you don't!" Sophie put a finger to her forehead. "Memory-Make: Piercing Frigid Darkness!"
From in front, a frigid cold spear of darkness with swirling ice around it was materialized and shot with the speed of lightning. The attack zoomed on as Kaulas was about to reach for the panel. The attack struck the panel the second Kaulas touched it with the tip of his fingers. A bright light flashed before an explosion of darkness and cold engulfed everything at the base of the cannon. Cana, Staraptor, and Nic all covered up as a gust of frigid cold bypassed them.
The flash and explosion began to subside, and it revealed Kaulas still in his carcass armor, but barely even able to maneuver as he quivered in place and the panel was destroyed, just as it turned red.
Through it all, Kaulas smirked. "Now, it's begun…"
The weapon's lacrima went from a bright pink to a dark red as the weapon sounded like an engine charging up to maximum power. Nic and everyone's eyes widened as the red brightness flashed through the cold ice, and the cannon's top began to shine a dark red.
Kaulas's smirk increased. "Now to rid all who has forgotten of history."
Everyone felt a foreboding Magic swell, but as things were beginning to escalate, cracks began to swell the lacrima, unnerving Kaulas as he sharply turned to find them all covered in ice. The temperature in the room was cold, and he could only stay still as his boney form quivered uncontrollably.
"No! The cannon will-!"
He was cut off when one of the several lacrima shattered into fragments in the slot. Immediately, the engine sound of the Zeus Cannon began to dwindle down. The bright red began to diminish as the charge was decreased.
"Now! While we still can!" Nic shouted.
Kaulas turned around to see a blur. He received a harsh kick by Staraptor, making him grunt as he shakily stumbled backwards. He retaliated with his tail, but the swing was very weak compared to before. Staraptor easily swatted it away and her wings glowed again. "Steel Wing!" Her attack struck the rib armor of Kaulas's abdomen, cracking profusely after that one blow.
"N-No!" He shouted.
"Alright we got him!" Cana shouted.
"Nic, bring it home!" Sophie shouted. Personally she wished to help in the final blow, but that last spell drained the rest of her and Cana's Magic.
Nic spread his legs out and opened his mouth. He let out a cry as he gathered as much power he could possibly ascertain. The inside of his mouth glowed light blue as his mouth began to draw in light blue, spiraling energy currents segmented by frost and snow.
Finally, Nic let loose the power. "Sheer Cold!" Nic let loose a light blue, icy beam of energy with snowflake-like sparkles all around it. As the beam traveled the clear way towards Kaulas, the ground shot up ice pillars. The beam and the pillars headed way and Kaulas screamed violently as all he saw was a flash of icy blue.
At that instant, everything in the chamber erupted in numbing ice. Cana, Sophie, and Staraptor all felt a catastrophic chill hit them and they all lost footing and altitude and fell to the ground as everything was but a blinding cold.
When their eyes opened after the flash, they felt the room temperature being exceedingly cold and Cana shivered the most given all she had on her upper body was her blue bra. Staraptor and Sophie shook their heads to get any ice residue off and they looked back at the scene before tem.
One side of the Zeus Cannon was covered in thick frost, and as the frost went to the base, there was ice that got thicker, showing shattered lacrima pieces inside. At the base itself was Kaulas, stuck to the cannon's base with his entire body frozen and pale. The bone armor on him was completely chipped and shattered from the absolute zero blast, leaving him to revert to himself. His eyes were deprived of pupils as he was unconscious and probably unable to move his limbs.
Nic kept a straight face while Cana and Sophie smirked victoriously, and Staraptor shared the same musings as her trainer. All four looked around at the other, grinning in victory over the fight and the Zeus Cannon's destruction.
So many things happened later on that day. The entire city was overran by Rune Knights who went to apprehend Ghoul's Coffin and it's unconscious elites. The whole guild was taken into custody, and Kaulas and the Zeus Cannon was uncovered.
Nic and his accomplices of course had to answer questions as to what they knew, given what they were told. Though Nic despised doing these things, he'd rather not put up with anymore Magic Council bullcrap. The Zeus Cannon was apprehended and a frozen Kaulas was captured. After the whole skirmish was settled and the Rune Knights got what they came for, that just left Nic and friends to get their reward money.
The mayor was obliged to compensate for the completed job. Nobody had any idea that the Zeus Cannon would destroy half of Fiore at full power. This would've been S-Class if this were the case, but for compensation, the mayor doubled the reward money. Although, a fraction of said sum was taken out to repair the city, a large area destroyed by a certain someone who was on a drunken rampage. But this didn't deter the group in the slightest. Just because 8 million Jewels was cut out doesn't mean that they couldn't enjoy the rest.
After the events, the group began to make way home. The sun was setting and the sky was dark orange. They made way into the forest again, facing away from the sunset in the west.
Cana nonchalantly had hands on the back of her head. "Well that was something."
"No kidding. That had to be one of the most riveting missions I've had so far." Sophie didn't at all exaggerate given her memory. "I never knew the Zeus Cannon was the first ever cannon to be used. To think that the weapon was vulnerable to cold temperatures."
Nic walked in front as they made it in front, with his Staraptor safely in her Poke Ball after some long, hard battles. He remained silent with amusement as Cana and Sophie chatted behind him.
"So what are you gonna do with the money?"
Cana looked away in a casual manner. "Well my share's gonna be for my rent for Fairy Hills."
Sophie almost screeched to a halt in shock. It took her almost several seconds to compose before she darted right back to Cana's side. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What?! Last I checked, you'd be using that cash to put booze down your throat!"
Cana twisted her expression into a more quizzical one. "Well that's what the leftover Jewel is for. Though I have to say I'm just as shocked as you." She eyed Nic wearily. "But that thinking stopped after seeing those bones and…well, you know."
Sophie raised a brow and looked back at Nic, whose sunglasses reflected the dimming sun rays on the sides. "…oh, right. I really wished that didn't happen."
Nic glanced back at them. "What?"
"Oh~, nothing." Sophie chimed. "Still, are you sure you just want 2 million of the share?"
"Yeah. You make us look like the bad guys. I know the reward was doubled to 30 million, but are you sure about this?" Cana added.
Nic reached into his pockets. "Yeah, I'm sure." He pulled out his phone and earbuds. "I was told that I was accountable for that…incident, so I'd best take responsibility." That was Nic or sure. He was never one for extravagance, nor could he care less about money in general. Sure a lot would be nice, but Nic survives in the mountains and forests with his Pokémon. If he cared about money, he'd be caring about his social status, to which he never cared for.
Cana and Sophie alike didn't feel like pressing the matter since they understood Nic and shrugged it off. Each had 10 million of their own, that left roughly 6 million or so on their rents, leaving 4 million each; for Cana's case, it'd be for downing booze to get over the disgusting bones she saw and the drunken rampage that was Nic.
"So we'll be back by tomorrow, right?" Sophie asked.
Nic nodded. "Yeah. We should get some sleep while we still can. After today we'll need as much strength we can get."
The three made way inside the deep forest trail, where Nic put his earbuds into his ears and soon found a tree and climbed so as to crawl and jump all the way until the three decided to rest until the morning sun arose.
24 hours later
The members of Fairy Tail were trying to recuperate after the Legion Platoon had launched an attack. Kinana was swabbing Macao's forehead with Romeo supervising. The rest of Fairy Tail was trying to process what just happened.
"Both Lucy and Michelle took off." Levy told. "Natsu and Happy went in pursuit awhile back."
Elfman crossed his arms. "This is sad. We're pathetic."
Vanessa looked down. "Even with my Aura Magic wasn't enough."
"You weren't that experienced; besides, that woman with the conducting stick took control of all of us." Lisanna mentioned. "Still…"
Mira narrowed her serious gaze. "This won't be the last time, that's for sure.
"Can you sniff her out?" Happy asked. He was currently carrying Natsu through the air.
Natsu scrunched his face. "Naw, there's a funky smell that keeps getting in the way." His eyes widened. "Wait, hold on. That's gotta be that old object!"
A sudden torrent of green slime shot up from underneath, in which the two dodged and watched it descend. Now having their attention, Happy and Natsu looked down at the ground.
"Natsu, look!"
"Sugarboy."
Unlike the Edolas Sugarboy, Earthland Sugarboy had a mic and a white cowboy outfit. He had what appeared to be green slime all around him.
"Hmmm~, hmm~. Gotcha now, Spice-Boy." He hummed into his mic.
"Bring it!" Natsu shouted. Happy descended so as to get close to the ground. "Hope you're ready for earlier, you big jerk!"
"Hm, no need Spice-Boy. I don't converse with sweet food nor sweet people!" Sugarboy hummed.
"Talk about being ironic?" Happy noted.
Out of the blue, the ground shook violently as something humungous landed not too far from everyone. What they all saw was a giant octopus-like creature with spikes on the side of its huge head. The several tentacles on its sides were finished with Corphish-like pincers. On top was a shady man.
"Sugerboy, do not waste your time." He stated. "Remember the task at hand."
Natsu raised a brow as his face was stricken with shock. "Whoa, where'd that thing come from?" He asked nervously.
Lucy and Michelle huffed as they tried catching their breath. As they were, Lucy was handling the huge stick in cloth with care. "Just…what is…going on?" Lucy huffed. "We get back from a job…only to be attacked…by these guys."
Michelle looked towards her. "Can you still summon your Spirits?"
Lucy looked down. "No, and I can't seem to understand why. Even my Fleuve d'etoiles wont-"
"There you are." The voice got their attention as they both looked up a small cliff to find Mary Hughes with her goblin-like control stick in hand, a devious smirk on her face. "Just as Samuel calculated."
"Hughes!" Lucy said surprised.
She pointed her stick at Lucy and Michelle. "Now the fun keeps going on."
So what was your opinion on the extended X791 Arc? I also decided to start fairly deep into the Key to the Starry Sky Arc.
I forgot to answer this from before. The reason I am doing the OCxCana story after either story is finished is because that would slow the progress down in general, plus I still need to gather ideas. I still plan on doing it given the poll. Thank you guys by the way! Cana deserves some love!
You'll find the reason why Lucy can't summon her Spirits later on.
Please Favorite, Follow, & Review this story and/or chapter if this is entertaining!
Next Time: Holy and Unholy