-Full Force-
Elodeus' first strike consisted of a direct bolt of light from the beacon, which homed in on the gang. Fortunately, although they didn't react quick enough to dodge, Aaros stepped between them at the last second, negating the attack with his own opposing aura. The evil wizard glared at the human as he raised his staff.
"You're in the way!"
With one swift motion, Elodeus wrapped the comet behind him in a shroud of his powers, gradually shifting its form and function. Eventually, once the rock was done morphing, it stood as a fifty-foot golem with fists prepared to pummel all resistance into the ground. Its master ordered it to attack Aaros, who was quite frightened by the idea, based on his expression upon seeing the monster charge at him.
Luckily, Jake had something to say about that. He stretched himself into a noodle and wrapped himself around the golem, immobilizing it much to Aaros' relief. However, Elodeus just scoffed and tapped his staff on the ground. Immediately, the golem began to rumble, prompting Aaros to panicky prompt Jake to release the creature.
The magical dog did so, just narrowly avoiding the dozens of protruding spikes the monster suddenly jutted out all over its body. However, it wasn't done there. Startling everyone, the creature fired its actual hand at them, which unfortunately was unavoidable. On the other hand, it also wasn't unstoppable.
Marceline shape-shifted into her grotesque tentacled monster form, using all her newly enhanced strength to grab the fist and halt its assault on her and her friends. Jake took the opportunity to stretch himself around the golem's legs, preventing its movement long enough for Ice King to fly up and throw a heavy concentration of ice magic at the creature. Jake removed his bind on it as the ice creeped down from the monster's chest.
Eventually, a tall block of ice stood, displaying the golem as if it were an exhibit. Stormo and Goliad then activated their third eyes, using the combined effort to lift the incredibly heavy object into the sky before releasing and allowing it to smash into the earth, shattering it into hundreds of pieces. The group cheered, returning their attention to Elodeus, who simply smirked.
The shattered pieces suddenly levitated, then shot themselves straight at Aaros. Ice King instinctually threw up an ice barrier in front of the wizard, while the candy sphinxes countered by stopping the shards in midair. Once again, the evil wizard was unaffected. He nudged his staff forward, instantly overwhelming the sphinxes' hold and puncturing the ice wall. As Aaros let out a cry of pain, the Ooocians panicked and threw on the defensive.
Ice King generated a constant ice wall, while Elodeus blasted away at it with his beacon's power. On the second layer, Jake stretched his body to cover the wall, providing cushioning in the event of a breach. Finally, Stormo and Goliad used their psychic powers to hold the chilling barrier together as best they could.
On the inside of this mighty defense, the remaining group gathered around a fallen Aaros, who was suffering from multiple puncture wounds, some of which still had shards in them. The elderly human coughed up blood soon after, while PB attempted to perform first aid. Unfortunately, she hadn't brought anything that would help. Cursing her own unpreparedness, the candy monarch looked to Marcy, hoping she would have some sort of remedy or skill that could heal the critically wounded wizard. The vampire sadly shook her head.
"Try not to move, alright?" Peebles advised the sputtering man.
Aaros just shook his head.
"It...*cough*... it's no use. I've lost too mu- *cough*... too much blood."
He sighed and looked to the sky.
"Besides that, *cough*, I don't have the strength to survive much longer anyway. That gem had only just enough energy left to take me this far."
The elder gazed at the worried gang around him.
"I'm sorry that I couldn't help as much as I wanted. *cough*. But maybe I can pass on some knowledge."
The others leaned in close, gazing sadly at the fading wizard.
"As the most recent embodiments of true light and false light, the two of us could not use our powers against each other directly, but you all, you have the potential to use true light and end this madness."
Marcy placed a hand on the man's shoulder, concern in her eyes.
"But, how?"
The wizard smiled gently, as his condition continued to deteriorate.
"It is your determination, and your goal to save everything that is dear to you. Once you find your true light, there will be nothing to stop you from eliminating that madman."
His consciousness just about slipped away, as PB moved in closer, still baffled.
"But, Aaros, we don't know how to even begin!"
The elder tried to chuckle heartedly, but just coughed more.
"Just know this. The Arcs may have been influenced by Elodeus' false light, but in their hearts, there was only true light..."
With those final words, Aaros was gone, limp and lifeless in Susan's supportive hold. The group all watched with sorrowful expressions as the old man's body slowly turned grey, before finally blowing away as ashes in the gust generated by the beacon.
A massive impact was heard a moment later, drawing attention to the barrier that had been erected. Goliad and Stormo had been brought to a kneel, clearly becoming exhausted by the constant bombardment of Elodeus' hits. In the meantime, Jake's stretchy form subsided, as the magical dog collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. A major crack appeared on the ice barrier, followed by one last hit, which blasted the shielding apart, forcing everyone to protect their eyes from the debris that followed.
Ice King was thrown to the earth a moment later, in no better condition than Jake or the sphinxes. The rest gazed up in horror as Elodeus casually walked closer, twirling his staff.
"I would say impressive, if I was willing to stoop that low. In truth, a pathetic defensive measure."
The Ooocians gathered themselves, forming up a stance to fight. The wizard was unphased. He then noticed the ashes gliding away into the air.
"At least that irritating human is out of the way. Truly, I am sick of that race."
He gazed directly at Susan, raising the point of his staff at her.
"Let's say we make them fully extinct, once and for all."
A blast of black and white entwined energy erupted from the object, heading right at the scared woman. The others all huddled close, thinking they could protect her, but at the same time knowing there was no chance to stop that shot without being seriously injured.
Amazingly, they didn't have to worry about it.
A massive stream of flames met the strike head on, halting it and eventually overcoming the attack, bursting through it and stunning Elodeus as the inferno neared him. It was too late for him to dodge it. As a result, the explosion immediately following most definitely made contact. So strong was the force of the flames, that the beacon of light was disrupted by the shockwave generated by it.
The wind nearly blew everyone away, if it wasn't for Ice King's quick thinking of freezing the groups' feet to the ground. Finally, after a good few moments of waiting for the raging blaze to settle, the once lush field of grass was now a plot of dark cinders, still burning in the occasional pile of dirt. In the center of the destruction was a shallow crater, which was still smoking profusely, obscuring the view of whatever became of Elodeus.
However attention was soon drawn by a sound from behind. The gang turned to see none other than Flame Princess, hands on her knees, panting heavily, and seeming to be significantly dimmed.
"FP! You're alive!" Jake cheered.
They all ran to assist the fire elemental, who thanked their support as Jake and Marcy held her up. Her skin was just cool enough to not burn them.
"Yeah, thanks for the help."
Peebles stepped forward, a burning question in her mind.
"But how? How did you stop Finn?"
instantly, a pained look came over the fiery girl's features. She had visible liquid building up along her eyes. A few of the gang glared at the candy monarch, who just then realized how insensitive that was.
"I'm sorry, I didn't-"
"It's ok," FP interrupted.
She slowly motioned for Marceline and Jake to let her stand up on her own, to which they hesitantly obliged.
"I haven't given up yet."
before anyone could speak further, the sound of crunching earth echoed from the crater, astonishing the group, who all turned with wide eyes to observe what was emerging.
"How foolish of you, thinking that there's any chance of saving the pitiful humans."
Elodeus stepped out of the smoke, completely unharmed and exhibiting an annoyed look at the Ooocians. What the gang did notice was the spherical aura around his body, which flickered momentarily before disappearing.
"That was your best shot, wasn't it?" he said mockingly to Flame Princess.
The fire elemental bared her teeth at him.
"Sorry to say, but you consumed all your energy for nothing."
While the others all grew nervous looks, PB focused on the evil wizard's attire, which shifted undeterantly from white to black and back again. Noticeably, the pitch dark circle in his chest had changed. A small portion, however insignificant, had been erased from it. Also visible was a trail of white smoke leaking from the area affected. PB's eyes grew wider as she culminated a theory.
Sadly, she didn't have time to analyze further, as the wizard suddenly pointed his staff at her. She gasped, shutting her eyes in bracement for the hit.
"Evil!"
A gigantic fist smashed Elodeus into the ground, setting off a tremor that nearly knocked everyone over. Once the dust settled, they all opened their eyes and looked upon the pink hand retracting itself from the bruise in the earth. Turning their gazes skyward, the figures of the two gumball guardians came into view. The second reached down and opened its palm, motioning for the group to hop on.
"Must get you all to safety."
The towering robot backed away, while its twin looked back at the mark left by its punch. As expected by everyone, Elodeus got to his feet, grumbling in annoyance, but unharmed. His spherical shield flickered again.
"You are really starting to push your luck, insects."
Bubblegum suddenly smirked.
"You think so? What would you say to me figuring out how to beat you?"
The monarch's companions all gasped as they stared at her. Elodeus meanwhile, scoffed.
"Oh really?"
Peebles pointed to the black circle on the wizard's chest.
"That symbol, it's what generates that shield around you, isn't it?"
The vile entity glared at the princess. However, she didn't wait for an answer.
"Gumball guardians! Hit him with everything!"
The two glass heads looked to their creator.
"Everything?"
She nodded.
"EVERYTHING!"
Jake morphed himself into a ball, gathering up all his friends as the guardian currently holding them drew back its arm. With one swift motion, it hurled the yellow sphere of flesh far into the sky. Once out of range, Jake unfolded himself in an instant, transforming again into a large hot air balloon-like structure that kept them gently sinking back down to Earth.
In the meantime, the gumball guardians surrounded Elodeus, who looked back and forth between the two suspiciously. They then fired off their lasers, which struck hard on the wizard's barrier. The robots held on, pushing in all the damage they could while also blasting fire out of their mouths. As the cruel being was hidden by the blaze, the gang watched from up high.
"I don't get it, how are we stopping him?" Marcy asked.
PB took a holoprism out of her dress, then brought up a reconstructed recording of Elodeus, showing his sphere field.
"He protects himself with this energy barrier, which is powered by the ring on his chest. I noticed that when Flame Princess hit him with her strongest attack, it whittled away part of the circle."
She faced her friends.
"If we can fully deplete his shield, he should be vulnerable to real harm."
The group nodded, understanding. Ice King cracked his knuckles.
"Well then, I'd better contribute."
The icy wizard exited the balloon, hovering in front and charging up his magics. Down below, the gumball guardians had run out of flames, revealing Elodeus holding his barrier. As far as Peebles could see, so far no change had occurred with the black circle.
"Take this, you ninny!"
IK fired dozens of ice lightning projectiles at the enemy, who disregarded them as they harmlessly shattered against his barrier. He looked unamused.
"Pitiful."
With one motion, he unleashed a shockwave from his staff, which threw the guardians off and cancelled their lasers. Taking the opportunity, Elodeus aimed his weapon at the nearest one and fired, effortlessly blowing off the robot's arm. The machine grunted, but stood strong and materialized runes around its head. Its twin did the same. At this, the evil wizard's eyes actually grew slightly wider.
Two lasers flashed across the area where he was standing, followed up by a catastrophic detonation that blew Jake's balloon form a good several hundred feet back. Those aboard hung on so as to not be thrown off their ride. As tons upon tons of loose material finally settled back down to the scarred grasslands, Elodeus' shield came into view. The wizard himself seemed momentarily stunned, but the most satisfying sight was the small piece of his circle that had faded away in the blast.
"Damn you..." he snarled.
Peebles cupped her hands over her mouth.
"Hit him again! NOW!"
The two guardians charged up another rune laser, but were unfortunately too slow. Elodeus threw out both his hands, stunning the gang as he telekinetically grabbed the robots, pulling them off the ground. Thier lasers disengaged, seeing as it was too risky to fire while not stable. Sadly, this proved to be pointless anyway, as the wizard pulled them together at high speeds, smashing the two against one another then casting them aside.
The titanic automatons crackled and fizzled as their damaged tech struggled to keep them running. Large portions of their glass heads were cracked or outright destroyed, making it difficult and dangerous to continue fighting. Elodeus raised his staff, preparing to finish the job. Luckily, before the motion could be carried out, a pillar of solid ice encased the being, leaving him in a frozen expression of shock.
Ice King whooped in midair.
"Yeah! That's what you get for messing with Bubblegum's giant dudes!"
The pillar cracked a hundred times, breaking the old man out of his ridiculous airborne victory dance.
"Uh oh."
The structure disintegrated completely, destroyed by a beam fired right at IK, who screeched in fright, covering his eyes.
"Simon!"
The blast was blocked by Marceline, using her bass as a shield to stop the energy from ending the bumbling royal's life. However, it couldn't hold for long, as the instrument began to crack exponentially. A stretchy arm suddenly wrapped itself around both fliers' waists, pulling them out of the beam's path and back to the balloon. Jake let them off in his basket-shaped belly, where the others all tended to the shaken pair.
After seeing that they were alright, attention was brought back to Elodeus. They all panicked when they saw him aim another shot from his staff directly at them. Without any fast method of travel, they were sitting ducks. The evil wizard grinned maliciously as he charged his attack.
"Goodbye, ants!"
The ground at his feet rumbled.
"What the-"
The earth exploded, sending him flying with a yell that voiced his surprise. The gang from above looked to the spot where he had previously been standing, only to find a slime person poking his head out.
"Hm... is this the right spot, princess?"
The fellow was shoved aside, as Slime princess emerged from the hole, then patted herself off. The greenish royal took a look around, then noticed Elodeus, getting back to his feet. She nodded.
"Yep, definitely the right place. Come on out, boys!"
The ground rumbled again, this time producing a massive drilling machine that opened up a large hole in the ground. The machine moved aside on its treads, paving the way for a seemingly endless stream of tanks to empty out of the ground. The gang watched the spectacle from above, stunned.
"Whoa, talk about fire power." Jake awed.
PB however, was concerned.
"Where in Glob's name did they get all that weaponry?"
The magical dog rubbed the back of his neck.
"Um, it's a long story."
The candy monarch huffed, but decided she'd deal with it later. She looked back down to the assembling lines of military armaments along with her companions. Elodeus studied the metal machines, obviously confused as to what they were, figuring he had last been on earth many centuries before such contraptions existed. Regardless, he scoffed once again.
"Mortals and their toys."
All of the Slime Kingdom's cannons were now trained on the wizard, who darted his eyes from one to the other, trying to figure out what they were for. It wasn't until Slime Princess shouted 'fire!' that he realized the truth.
A hundred slime shells detonated as they impacted dead center of where the vile being was standing. SP ordered the men to hold fire, waiting to see if their attack had any effect. being slime-based, the projectiles' mucus-based residue was able to physically touch Elodeus, causing him to gripe in disgust as he stood up and used his powers to blast the goo off of him. PB saw that the combined force had chipped away only a sliver of the black circle.
"AAARRRGGGHHH!"
The wizard took off, hovering into the sky and surrounding himself in his powerful energies. With a swift hand gesture, he sent an arc of white light that battered aside several dozen tanks, prompting Slime Princess to order a resume fire. The shots had little impression now that their area-of-effect damage was vastly cut down. Elodeus continued to bash the machines, until an unfamiliar blast of fire threw off his concentration.
"What now!?" he snarled.
Flame Princess smiled thankfully as she saw countless fire streaks approaching from the horizon. A few of them were fire elementals, the rare individuals that knew how to levitate, while the vast majority were blazing catapult munitions hurling at Elodeus. The inflamed rocks struck him hard, making it difficult to focus, while the slime army refused to let up their assault. The airborne fire beings let loose their streams of elemental might, doing their best to fry off the shielding.
Goliad and Stormo turned to PB.
"We're going in too," the pink sphinx declared.
Bubblegum nodded.
"Alright. Be careful."
Her creations nodded back, then bounded out of the balloon, which was now close enough to the ground to warrant a safe landing for the powerful candy beings. Both siblings unveiled their third eyes, adding in their psi-beams to the unrelenting onslaught delivered to the destructive wizard above. Elodeus could barely see anything through the countless means of attack bashing his barrier.
The entity's frustration peaked, giving him the rage to send out a flyswatter-shaped energy object with which he proceeded to smack numerous fire elementals out of the sky, along with the fireballs constantly being thrown at him. However, he failed to notice the hundreds more catapults emerging on the horizon, each cluster manned by a different kingdom of Ooo.
The dark clouds above suddenly became disrupted, followed by a giant hairy head floating down from it. The being bared his sharp teeth and growled.
"Dude, your stupid clouds are bumming out our party, bro!"
Party God opened his mouth, howling and setting off a blast of his power that exploded around Elodeus. He brushed away the resulting smoke, only to grow wide-eyed as dozens more magical attacks zeroed in on him. The wizard darted to the right, avoiding the concentrated magics.
Everyone turned to see a shocking sight. The sky was filled with a swarm of magic carpets, each one hosting a wizard, his or her powers armed and ready. The Grand Master Wizard himself sat upon a giant flying seat cushion, pointing his staff at Elodeus.
"Show this jerk who the real wizards are!"
The populous of Wizard City let out a primal yell, unleashing more and more spells and incantations on Elodeus, who struggled greatly to dodge them all. Several more hit his barrier, along with the multitude of other attacks coming from the inhabitants of Ooo. he finally caught enough of a break to glance over at the gang, who were almost at the ground and giving the wizard a determined look. PB raised a tightened fist at the twisted being.
"You threaten our home, you deal with everyone willing to protect it!"
The wizard stared dumbfounded at the resolute and able faces of each of Finn's friends. His time slot was up, as the next barrage of missiles, spells, lasers, flames, and other offensive means closed in on him. His circle was slowly deteriorating, nearly halfway faded. Meanwhile, Princess Bubblegum continued to speak as the collective voice of everyone who had gathered to save their beloved Ooo.
"You were the fool! Thinking that a single being could fend off the strength of a unified land!"
A/N: Well, I can't say much about the season premiere, other than that my biggest sadness is Prismo's fate. Poor guy got barely any screen time and they already gave him the boot. Not cool.
DJ Rodriguez: Haha, you saw for yourself how it affected them.
invisibleredhead: Glad to hear it. I hope I can get the last ones out faster.
I am The7: Not exactly, but you'll see coming up.
TheMentalAdventurer: Darn, was really hoping for a tear-jerker there. Jk.
Fiery Crusader: I love that fight! Especially the smack talk.