A.N. All right, so...it's been ages since I've updated this story. I hope my fans are still out there. Don't give up hope in me! Haha. With all do respect to myself, I would have given up hope in me too by now. But hey; I wrote another chapter. Woohoo! Originally, this was to be chapter four. However! Because I took so dang long to write one (and because this one was fun to write,) I present to you what is probably the best chapter of the story: The fight against Zeno, the Thunder Emperor. My treat to you. You get it far earlier because of my slacking. Now this entire chapter is all fighting, so I understand if you become lost, as it is impossible for a writer to give his readers the exact visual image that he has in his mind as he writes an action scene. Conveying such a message exactly as supposedly intended is, and probably always will be, impossible! I will write more in depth about this chapter in the other author notes at the bottom of the page. I wouldn't want to spoil anything. Oh, and to get the best results, open your mind to all possibilities before reading. Now, with that done...enjoy!
"Shall we get started?"
"You bet!"
With this reply Ted wasted no time and dove in for an attack. He was itching for a fight, and now he got his wish with the honor of fighting Thunder Emperor Zeno—Zatch's brother.
He started with a strong punch that Zeno simply tilted his head to avoid; he threw another jab that Zeno dodged with a simple motion yet again. He tried an uppercut, which made the silver-haired Mamodo jump backwards to evade. All of these were executed with superb speed, and it startled Ted that not a single one connected with the target. He grunted, and then leaped at the still-airborne enemy with a roundhouse kick. But that too failed as Zeno blocked it with almost minimal effort, stopping the kick with the outside of his arm.
"Huh, I expected more." Zeno stated impertinently. Ted sneered at him. Zeno grasped Ted's leg with both of his hands as he landed, and then spun around to gain momentum. He released the leg, tossing the fighter into the air. Zeno extended his hand quickly.
"Zakeruga." He spoke dully as he lined the spell up perfectly with Ted. It would have been a direct hit if Ponygon hadn't leaped into the air and pulled the Mamodo boy to safety.
Zeno frowned, "How bothersome." He lifted left arm up to the opposite shoulder, "Zakeru!" He shouted as he slashed his arm horizontally through the air in front of him. The lightning attack was morphed by the motion, and struck at all four of his opponents like a whip. He lifted his arm again to repeat the attack. "Zakeru!"
Tia recovered and acted quickly, "Giga La Seoshi!"
With her words, a strange bubble-like shield took form around the Thunder Emperor. It was too late for him to stop his attack, however, and as the lightning burst forth from his hand, it ricocheted off of the shield and came back at him. It singed the skin on his extended arm, but he remained standing. He clenched his pain-stricken fist and with a great display of strength, punched the shield that was containing him, shattering it to pieces.
Ponygon was already on him before he had a chance to think. The horse-like creature smashed into him, powered up with his 'Dioemur Shudoruk' spell. He was able to withstand the attack though, and moreover was able to launch a direct counter as he was skidding backwards.
"Zakeru!" Zeno shouted; his hand extended towards the horse-like creature. The spell zapped Ponygon and caused him to fall to his knees momentarily. He quickly regained his stance, however, and dove once more at the Thunder Emperor.
"Zakeru!" He shouted once more. Another crackle of lightning zipped towards Ponygon. The horse-like creature lowered its head slightly before the lightning hit him. His bladed horn split the lightning and caused the attack to diverge around his body, nullifying the damage. It was now too late for Zeno to get out of the way. Ponygon landed in front of him. Zeno braced himself for the oncoming attack. The horse-like creature pushed off of the ground with a great force and rammed himself into Zeno. The two seemed to become one blurry entity that soared through the air to the outside of the palace.
Kolulu suddenly gasped and broke into a run, "Ponygon!" She shouted. The rest of the group followed her to the outside of the palace, where they came to behold the ensuing battle between Ponygon and Zeno.
It seemed that both fighters were on the defensive: Zeno was taking careful measures to keep Ponygon at bay with his Zakeru spell, and Ponygon was encircling his opponent from a distance while dodging the violent bursts of lightning.
Ted sped up, "Come-on! We have to help him!" He stated as he burst from the rest of the group.
Zeno turned his head and caught a glimpse of the approaching Ted. Ponygon saw this as an opening. The horse-like creature broke from his circling path and jumped into the air, aiming to pounce on Zeno. But Zeno was too keen-eyed and saw the attack. He lifted his hand into the air.
"Zakeru." Another burst of lightning emitted from his hands and hit Ponygon, stunning him. His body came crashing down into Zeno's aggressive grip, who then spun and launched Ponygon, like he had thrown Ted earlier. He had thrown Ponygon towards Ted, and like before, he lined his hand up with his airborne target. "Zakeruga!" Zeno shouted. The swirling beam of lightning was headed straight for Ponygon and Ted.
"Ma Seshield!" Tia's voice echoed throughout the air as a large circular shield burst forth from nothingness in front of Ponygon and Ted. The lightning beam collided with the shield and sent cracks throughout it. Ted caught Ponygon and readied to get out of the way, but stopped. Tia's shield had withstood the attack.
Tia sighed and lowered her arms, causing the shield to vanish. She saw Ted smile brightly at her and give her a thumbs-up. She smiled back weakly and gave out a small chuckle.
"You all are very annoying."
The group returned their attention to Zeno who had just spoken.
"I will not allow you to waste any more of my time…" The Thunder Emperor clasped his hands together in front of him, "Let us end this." He lifted his hands above his head as he finished. "Sorudo Zakeruga!"
The group's eyes widened as a ridiculously huge blade of lightning formed in Zeno's hands. Zeno held it there for a moment, and then with a grin, rested it over his shoulder. He released one hand from the blade and extended it towards the group. His grin grew devilish, and he signaled for them to "bring it on" with his extended hand.
Ted and Ponygon retreated back to the rest of the group.
"Wh-what're we going to do?" Kolulu stuttered in panic. She bit her bottom lip.
Ted lowered his head in thought for a moment, "I can take him down in close-combat." He stated as he raised his head, "But I'll need time to prepare…"
Tia quickly glanced over her shoulder to assess the situation; Zeno was still standing quite a distance away with his devilish grin and ridiculously large sword of lightning. She returned her attention to the group and nodded.
"Okay. We'll keep him busy while you get ready, Ted. How long do we have to hold out?" Tia asked hesitantly.
Ted laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head, "Uhm, well…about five minutes or so?" He responded unsure.
Tia sighed heavily, "We have no choice." She glanced at Ponygon and then at Kolulu. "Let's get this over with." She said nervously, and then turned towards her opponent. Kolulu and Ponygon joined her side.
"Meru mei!" Ponygon began swinging his arms and shaking his head frantically, "Meru mei mei meru meru mei!"
Kolulu and Tia looked at the horse-like creature awkwardly, "What is it?" They both asked in unison.
Ted suddenly butted in, "Who knows? But just distract him. Don't try to attack."
Ponygon suddenly nodded repeatedly at Ted's advice, but nobody noticed. The horse-like creature sighed and readied himself. Nervousness overcame the three as they ran towards Zeno. They could hear Ted who stayed back, "Sekan Naguru!" He had powered himself up to "gear" one.
As the three closed in, Zeno grasped his blade with both hands once more and brought it in front of him. Suddenly, he burst forth from his spot towards Tia, Kolulu, and Ponygon. He was surprisingly agile for lugging around such a gigantic weapon. The three gasped simultaneously and dashed off to different sides; Ponygon and Kolulu to the right and Tia to the left. Zeno brought the sword above his head and then slammed the blade against the ground once he was within range. The clash was earth-shattering. The tremors caused the three to lose balance and fall to the ground. It seemed impossible, but Zeno had already lifted the sword out of the ground and was about to bring it down upon Tia. She gasped and her eyes widened, fixated on the large sword coming down onto her.
"Ma Seshield!" She screamed in fear. Her shield appeared above her but shattered instantly upon contact with the blade.
"Ma Seshield!" She screamed the spell again. Once more, the shield appeared. It cracked up contact with the blade, and then shattered again.
"Ma Seshield!" For a third time the panicking girl screamed the spell. Another shield appeared. The sword struck it, but this time the shield withstood the attack.
Tia began to back out from under her shield, which was so close that it was pressing against her body. She managed to squeeze out from under it completely, and then she ran as fast as she could away from Zeno, her heart racing. The shield faded, and Zeno's sword gently landed against the ground.
The Thunder Emperor let out a wicked cackle, "How amusing!"
"Sazu Naguru!" Ted's voice could be heard as he powered himself up to "gear" two.
Tia collapsed to her knees and clenched her hand over her heart. Her eyes closed tightly as tears escaped them. She tried her hardest to calm herself. She let out loud gasps and sobs, and then stood and regained her composure the best she could. She opened her eyes only to see Zeno charging at her yet again. She broke into a panicked run and screamed.
Zeno brought his sword down upon her again. She dove and just barely got out of the sword's range. As the sword hit the ground, the red-haired Mamodo girl was sent tumbling from the shockwave.
In an attempt to rescue the Mamodo girl, Ponygon neglected his own advice and launched an attack against the Thunder Emperor. Like before, he jumped into the air, aiming to pounce on Zeno; and like before, Zeno's keen eyes saw the attack. With one hand, Zeno lifted the sword from the ground, spun around, and slashed it into the air behind him. The sword struck the horse-like creature, zapping him with electricity. Zeno followed through with his attack, continuing the swing all the way to the ground, smashing Ponygon beneath the electrified blade. The horse-like creature lay motionless, and his power-up spell faded from him.
"Forusu Naguru!" Ted's voice could be heard again as he powered himself up to "gear" three.
"P-Ponygon!" Tia screamed.
Zeno laughed as he pulled back on the sword, the blade dragging against Ponygon's body. "Now we're getting somewhere," He stated.
Tia was helped up by Kolulu, and both Mamodo girls fixated their hateful eyes onto Zeno. The Thunder Emperor removed his sword from the horse-like creature's body and rested the blade against his shoulder with one hand. He then turned his head to the side to see the two Mamodo girls glaring at him. He smirked.
"Such nasty scowls." He said dully. He began to approach the two.
Tia began to tug on Kolulu's sleeve, "What are we going to do!" She asked in a panicked tone. Kolulu seemed calm, however; her eyes were closed, her head tilted down, and her hands placed on her heart.
"Shin…" Kolulu began.
Zeno suddenly froze and his eyes widened.
A 'Shin' level spell?
The Thunder Emperor burst forth towards the pair at an incredible speed and readied his sword to strike.
"…Raifojio!" Kolulu finished. A strange aura engulfed both of the Mamodo girls completely.
Zeno brought down his sword upon Kolulu.
Tia snapped her eyes shut.
There was a loud clashing noise.
Followed by a long silence.
The red-haired Mamodo girl slowly opened her eyes, which revealed to her an astonishing sight: Kolulu stood firm with the Thunder Emperor's sword against her forehead. She was completely unscathed.
Zeno grunted and retreated back from the pair.
Tia turned to Kolulu, "How did you…?" Tia asked in awe. But before she received an answer, Kolulu's body gave out on her, and the girl collapsed. She had covered not one, but two with her strongest spell. She had exceeded her limit.
"Kolulu!" Tia cried the Mamodo girl's name as she kneeled next to her. Tia did not receive any answer—Kolulu's eyes were shut and her body relaxed in a peaceful rest.
Tia rose and fixated her eyes unto the Thunder Emperor once again. He grinned sinisterly at her, and then started to charge at her, his ridiculously large sword gripped with both hands.
"Fifisu Naguru!" Ted's voice was heard once more as he powered himself up to "gear" four.
Zeno pulled his sword back and then began to slash it horizontally at the red-haired Mamodo girl…
…But he was cut-off. A gust of wind seemed to hit the Thunder Emperor, followed by a sharp pain in his gut. All he could see as his head fell limp was a black jacket. Zeno lost his grip on his sword and his body was sent hurdling backwards through the air. He skidded against the ground quite a ways before coming to a stop, his body twitching from the great pain in his stomach. His sword still held the momentum from his attempted attack, and it soared towards Tia. She collapsed to the ground and placed her hands on the back of her head as the sword passed over her body, missing her by just a hair. The blade hit the ground, skidded, and then dissipated into crackles of electricity that rose into the air quickly before vanishing completely.
Zeno coughed up blood as he rose. His stance faltered, and he fell to one knee. He spat on the ground, painting a small spot red with bloody saliva. He stared at it momentarily. Anger was swelling inside of him at the view of his own blood. He lifted his head up to see a firmly-standing Ted a few yards away. Ted's appearance had been greatly changed by his power-up spells. His hair was standing on end, and strange, misty, yellow energies seemed to be twisting around his body.
Zeno began to stand, and the second he started to move, Ted began to rush him. Zeno caught glimpse of it and threw his body off to the side to try and escape his grasp. But it was futile. Ted began to skid to a stop as Zeno threw himself to the side. The fighter stopped just a foot past the Thunder Emperor, and while he was still off-guard, delivered a devastating roundhouse kick to the Thunder Emperor's chest, sending him hurdling through the air once again.
He hit the ground hard and his body went into a tumble. He quickly regained his stance with a strenuous effort, however, and stood. He held his hands together above his head.
"Sorudo Zakeruga!" The Thunder Emperor summoned his ridiculously large sword again and held it pointing to the sky. Ted began to instantly rush him once more.
"Rauzaruk!" Zeno called out a second spell just as Ted pulled back his fist to strike. A rainbow-colored aura shot down from the sky like a lightning bolt and struck Zeno, and as Ted threw his punch, he hit nothing.
Ted blinked dumbfounded. Zeno has vanished!
"Wh-wha—" Ted's surprised statement was halted as he was nailed in the side of the head by Zeno's sword. The blow decked the fighter unto the ground, where the other side of his head was dealt a hard blow by the ground.
Being so far powered-up allowed him to stand almost immediately. Pains surged through his skull, but he did his best to ignore them. The fighter jumped back a few times to put distance between him and his opponent. He examined the Thunder Emperor.
So he has strengthening spells too…uh-oh, here he comes!
Ted snapped out of his thoughts and readied himself for the fast approaching Zeno, whose sword was ready to strike.
"Chaziru Seoshidon!" As Tia's spell was cast and the large goddess's shield was summoned in front of Ted, he felt something inside him 'click.'
The sword landed against the shield, cracking even one of Tia's strongest defences. Ted stood motionless for a moment. He clenched his fists and smirked.
"Aw, hell yeah!" The fighter screamed at the top of his lungs as fire filled his eyes, "Doragunon Dionaguru!"
An explosion of pure energy blew out from Ted's body. It shattered Tia's shield completely and sent Zeno flying backwards yet again. The yellow energy that had surrounded Ted's body had multiplied by the double-digits. It now swelled and engulfed his entire body. His muscles had expanded, and the ground beneath his feet had become cratered.
He lowered his stance into that of a track athlete preparing to run, "It's go time, baby!" He shouted. He exploded into a physic-defying dash towards the Thunder Emperor. The land around him was torn apart as he zipped towards his opponent. Zeno didn't even have time to think—his stomach was hit with another brutal punch that sent him skyward. Before he could feel the pain, his back was hit with another attack. As he plummeted towards the ground, the side of his chest was pounded by a strong kick. The pain of the first punch that hit his stomach just began to set in when another blow struck his body.
The red-haired Mamodo girl watched from afar with her jaw agape. The sight was…it was unreal. There was no sign of Ted anywhere, just pulsating disturbances in the air each time Zeno's body was sent hurdling a different direction. Zeno was airborne and trapped in what Tia made out to be a sort of sphere after a few moments: a sphere of consecutive physical attacks that were executed with such superb and unreal speed that the eye could not follow. The insanity continued for an entire minute before the sphere was broken with a smashing blow that sent Zeno crashing into the ground like a meteor that sent larges cracks through the earth all around him.
Ted was finally visible again as he seemed to almost teleport right beside the fallen Thunder Emperor. The fighter pried the sword from Zeno's limp hand, lifted Zeno into the air, tossed him up, and with both hands gripping the blade tightly, slammed it into the underside of Zeno's chin, sending him airborne for a final time.
"That's a homerun!" Ted shouted enthusiastically. He placed his hands over his eyebrows and squinted to give more realism to his ploy.
When the Thunder Emperor's body hit the ground some forty yards away, the sword in Ted's hands dissipated like before. Ted's power-ups faded and he fell backwards onto the ground. He spread his body out and relaxed. Tia came running to the fighter's side.
"That was incredible!" Tia screamed excitedly, "Was that really you doing all that?" She asked with a bright smile on her face.
Ted chuckled and smiled back, "You betcha'," he replied. "I really don't think he'll be getting up any time so—"
"Jigadirasu Uruzakeruga!"
Ted immediately sat up, and both his and Tia's eyes became filled with horror as a large celestial being blotted out the sky.
Ted scooted back and bumped against Tia's skirt, "There's no freakin' way he could still…!" The fighter was unable to comprehend how—after such a beating—that Zeno could still cast a spell. Tia clung tightly to Ted's arm.
Lightning began to seep from five particular points on the celestial being. The lightning crawled through the air slowly like snakes and eventually converged into one focal point that grew larger by the second.
Tia suddenly gasped as her mind flashed back to when Kolulu took Zeno's sword to the forehead and was unharmed. She thought hard about that moment and about the spell that Kolulu had cast prior to it. She remembered that she too was effected by the spell. She peered down at her hands and saw the faint aura still looming around them.
"That's it!" Tia shouted as she let go of Ted's arm and stood up.
"What's what?" Ted asked panicked, his eyes glued to the impending doom in the sky.
Tia pointed at the entity in the sky while looking down at Ted. Her face was filled with confidence. "Throw me at that…thing!" She demanded.
Ted's eyes drifted to hers, and he looked at her with an expression that clearly said 'idiot.'
"Are you crazy?" Ted screamed at her. Tia started to become frustrated and began strangling the fighter.
"Just do it!" She hollered at him. She released him and he robbed his neck. He then stood.
"Whatever…if you say so." He told her.
He grasped her arm tightly and began to swirl her around him to gain momentum. The red-haired Mamodo girl felt like her arm was being torn off. They picked up speed, and her pain increased. Finally, with one last twirl, Ted released her into the air at the celestial being. She was lined up perfectly with the ever-growing focal point.
She soared towards it. She began to doubt her sloppy plan, but it was too late for her to go back now. She closed her eyes and began to think of Zatch. If she was going to die, she wanted him to be the last thing she thought about.
The focal point exploded into a magnificent and overwhelmingly large beam of lighting that swallowed up Tia's body. Ted swallowed hard and watched anxiously as the beam approached him. It drew closer and closer and closer…
…but then it suddenly stopped and drew further and further and further away. It was as if it was being sucked back into the focal point. As the beam shrunk, Tia could be seen again. The aura that surrounded her body was absorbing the lightning at a tremendous rate. Soon it was gone, as was the aura, and the celestial being.
Her body still held momentum from the throw, however she was now descending. She peered down below her and saw Zeno beginning to stand. Her descent was perfectly lined up with him.
She grinned, "It's over!" She shouted.
The Thunder Emperor looked up to see Tia with her fist pulled back just mere feet above him. He couldn't move. His body was beaten and torn and exhausted. He watched helplessly as she delivered a punch to his forehead. She followed through with the punch and smashed his head into the ground as she landed on top of him.
The Thunder Emperor had been defeated.
Tia rose and brushed herself off. She took in a deep breath and peered down at the unconscious Zeno. She exhaled and then looked around her at the devastation. The land was cracked, torn, or excavated in numerous places. In some it was all three. She caught glimpse of Ponygon who was beginning to stir. She sighed in relief at that. Her gaze moved to Ted who was now at Kolulu's side. He was holding her tenderly and stroking her hair softly. She smiled softly at the only peaceful sight amidst this devastation. She slowly began to approach Ted and Kolulu, as did Ponygon.
"It's finally over…" Ted murmured as he continued to stroke Kolulu's hair. His eyes were locked on her peaceful face. "I'm glad we all made it out alive." He quickly added.
"Yeah…" Tia replied quietly. A silence befell the group. Suddenly, Ted gasped.
"Brago!" Ted shouted in dismay.
"Brago?" Tia repeated.
Ted looked up at the red-haired Mamodo girl and nodded, "Yes! Brago! He was with Zeno, but went on further into the palace. He must be after—"
"Zatch!" Tia interrupted Ted, and then broke into a run towards the castle.
Please Zatch, please be all right!
A.N. Okay, so this fight is rather long in my opinion. My word count without these author notes is at 4,000+ words. That's a lot of action. Anyways, I guess I'll take a few moments to explain some of this battle. Originally, none of this was intended beyond the part where Ponygon knocked Zeno out of the palace. I had everything before that point written about a year ago. Everything beyond that point is fresh and within the last few days. I had an entirely different plan for this fight back then, but sadly I forgot how it went. So I made up a new one. Er, actually I made a few key points and filled in between them with senseless beatings. The first of the key points was Ponygon knocking Zeno outside of the palace. The second was Zeno summoning his sword. There were about six or seven of these key points that I mapped out. I must say, making key points in a battle makes writing it a whole lot easier then just going with the flow. This is the first time I've done such a thing, so let me know if it turned out good or not. I hope you enjoyed. The original chapter three, er, four now, will be posted...eventually. Until then, see ya'!