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(10/15)


Salte's presence seemed to evaporate as she was gone as soon as the warning was given. Once back inside the door she slammed it shut. She leaned against the door. "Holy moly, that was terrifying!" She squeaked. She sat leaning against the door, she hoped she would be safe in here, the power being unleashed was acutely intense. She shivered, the power of the four inside was unreal.

---

Back inside, neither noticed Salte leave. Battle was all that mattered. Defeat the enemy, combat at its most pure. Arbutus smirked, even though his mask remained mostly impassive, the wooden face only moved slightly in reaction to the wearers facial motions.

Arbutus tucked one leg to his chest, and crossed his arms twisting sideways, like some martial arts variation, his arms like a pair of scissors. As Marta Nicole attacked from the front wither her cero charged daggers, he leaned in her direction to meet her and swept his arms across each other like the shears he normally carried. The air rippled at the force of the scissor manuver. The old man was not pulling his punches, the armored limbs would rip Marta Nicole in twain is she stayed where she was. Arbutus was displaying a fighting style that was similar to his previous state, but had become faster and more elegant, like a kung fu master, his body had become a weapon.

What bothered him was that his armor held some secret other than simply protection. Battle would provide the answer.He twisted into a low stance, whipped up his arms lashing out with ceros at each of the flying men. So far he had not witnessed what this new ability of theirs was offering. He had not been in control of himself when he had last seen it. but multiple opponents was going to be an enjoyable fight. His new form was far quicker than before, his body felt younger and more limber, like a sapling fighting the wind.

(11/15)


As the three individuals boxed him in, the old man readied himself. It would appear that they were linked in some way. Sharing sensory input. This would explaine the exceptional coordination. A fact he would not have picked up on had he himself not been released. The shout that came a second later confirmed it.

He could feel the armor he wore acelerating his movements to speeds he could not easily obtain. Not the fastest to be certain, but faster than almost any would expect of him. Not wanting to experiance a cero go off internaly, he lashed foward, the plates that made up his armor shifting to cover his arm tightly, and gripped the wrist of the Golden Adan and with a savage yank he pulled the boy into the path of the Diosa's blades, shifting into the place the Silver Zyne waited for.

Again the plates shifted to cover as Arbutus swept an arm to block the silver sword as it flashed at his midsection instantly. The metal rang as it clashed with the armor. Arbutus narrowed his eyes, not at the attack, which he had expected, but at how the accelerating field around him shifted to the object that struck him. the silver blade darkened where it struck with a black tarnish, as if it had been left in the rain. His mind was quickly putting his ability together, his armor was accelerating time! it was making him move faster, but was likely aging him too, which meant little to an immortal hollow. In addition it seemed to be aging whatever struck it as well.

With a grin that made it to his mask, Arbutus went on the offensive again. Lashing out with a swift kick to Zyne's midsection, the wicked spike on his boot aiming for the same place the boy had attempted to strike him.

(13/15)


Inside the Ternary's refuge, Salte was having to hop around to keep her balance as two superpowers went at it in the training area. Windmilling her arms she managed to stay upright through the barrage of Cero the old man had let loose. Deciding to move further away from them was the best idea she explored some of the rooms further from the training area. Pleasantly, the walls were sturdy enough that the explosions were less noticeable the farther one got.

Most of the doors were closed and locked somehow, as they didnt open when she got close like the front door had, and none opened when she tried them. One door was open however and she peeked inside. Here eyes sparkled as she took in the greenery in the room. Curios was an understatement for Salte. Sneaking catlike in she slinked to the planters and crouched near one of the plants. Her big liquid eyes gazed in wonder at the little green things, plucked from the land of the living. She didn't dare touch them, Grandpa got cranky when she touched his plants and those ones were a lot less frail than these.
---

In the training area the battle raged on. The rain of cero was only partialy effective, several hit their targets, but only delayed them. They rebounded and returned almost instantly. Marta Nicole managed to close in on him and slam a cero punch into his side before being plucked away by her boys. Grunting in pain despite the armor locking into a perfect defense. He countered but they were too nimble and were out of reach.

This was a poor position to be in, they would keep up the strikes and beat him into submission at this rate, a flaw had been found and was being exploited to its fullest. It was critical he found a way to counter this tactic. Abutus was not content with being the Quinta's punching bag, he needed to overcome this flaw.

Ready this time for their assault, he centered himself. Just before the punch flew, he used his mirage sonido. The old man shimmered and split into three bodies. the punch sailed right through one of the copies leaving Marta Nicole open for a fraction of a second. Rearing back, Arbutus thrust his leg in a side ckick knocking Marta Nicole back while grabbing Zyne and slamming him into the sand seperating the two. With a fluid movement he swung his outstretched foot down on top of the silver winged boy.

(14/15)


Arbutus did not expect any less from his grandchildren, the fact that he could trade blows with them at full strength was quite a rush. What did the rankings measure he wondered. He did not wonder long as after a compliment, they struck as one, three cero infused fists from three angles. Like a swarm of hawks they swarmed him at a blistering speed. Boxed in nicely he thought furiously how to counter this and turn the tide of the battle. It would be quite messy to get struck full tilt from multiple directions.

It struck him that during their battle that while the Ternary multiplied their strength by three, and fought with a solid connection and coordination, his own style was able to incorporate moves that used the opponents as weapons. He had not had to fight in such a manner since his early days in the stones. Which was the obvious origin to his style.

Pulling back both fists he charged his own punches with a cero, and met the boys attacks fist to fist. His move had countered the boys, but Marta Nicole was still open and her fist right for his mask. With a tremendous strain, plates reinforced his neck and torso. Something changed about the aura of the old man, by drawing more plates to a single area, the acceleration field became more intense at the cost of armor on the lower portion of his body. With his arms locked fist to fist with the boys, angry swirls of competing cero energy lashing them all, Marta Nicole's fist came in range and the cero went out entirely just before her fist made contact. A tremendous crack echoed through the training area, audible even to salte in the observatory, who looked back in worry.

For a second Marta Nicole's fist pressed against the man's mask, before he was launched backwards and against the wall. The impact embedded the old man a large crater that sent cracks spidering up the wall. The old man hung there for a moment before he fell to his knees. The plates of armor slowly returned to their place, only half had made it to protect against the impact with the wall. A slow chuckle filled the quiet area, blossuming into full laughter. Rolling back on his heels Arbutus sat in the sand, a crack ran the length of his mask, bits o his face showing beneath.

"That almost did me in, had the cero not been cancled." He said getting to his feet with a stretch. Bones and muscles popped back into place with a rather nasty sound. "Yow, going to feel that in the mornin' " he chuckled again. The plates of his armor rippled, "I think I have the hang of this new suit," he said. With that he was off again, launching back into the thick of the three.

(15/15) Segunda Etapa Mastered


The three were sharp, Arbutus was glad to see. Trying new tactics, but using what worked, adapting with the battle. He was proud of their progress. But their cero fist attacks were being charged before they flew, which gave the old man plenty warning they were coming. Now that he could counter the effects of the cero, he could fight properly again. A lesser arrancar would be ash in minutes trying to fight either of the espada in this state. His only advantage in this bout was experience, the fury of three synced fighters was intense. He wished his own discovery of his ability had allowed him to see them grow into Segunda Etapa.

Lunging forward into a bracing stance he thrust his hands right into the cero infused fists of the boys, rather than meet blow for blow he clamped down on their hands, the plates negating the ceros. The force was still enough t to push the tall man back, digging trenches in the sand. His arms ached at the impacts, but he had snared the boys and the effects of the armor withering their hands.

Arbutus got only a moment to register that Marta Nicole was on the move too and got halfway into swatting her with one of the boys when she planted a punch in the small of his back. He reflexively let go of the boys as the sudden change in direction snapped him forward, causing great pain as his spine was forcefully realigned. The old man staggered away from the three, his regeneration working on the damage. Turning, he saw what they had sacrificed to land such a blow on him, Marta Nicole's arm was as withered as the boys hands.

With a noise that was particularly unsettling, Arbutus realigned his back, biting out a curse in a ancient tongue. He readied himself for a new assault, breathing a bit labored at the painful experience and bruising that was still busy healing.

"Shall we continue?" He studied the effects his armor had on the three, it had aged their bodies by mere contact so far the limbs had grown old while the body was still young. The passive regeneration of arrancars would take quite some time to fix that, but Salte's healing abilities should be able to reverse such effects with significantly less time. It would be a good test of her skill. He did not wish to make his grandchildren appear weak to any of the cunning vipers in this palace.

Arbutus sealed his segunda and exploded into his massive form once more. The drop in pressure made all present feel a bit lighter. He nodded his antler crowned head at Marta Nicole as she left. Predictably, the boys were at each others throats as soon as Marta Nicole was absent. Whipping his limbs at the boys he snared their ankles and held them upside down, They continued to swipe their swords at each other however. With a solid shake he got their attention. "Boys, We can visit both places. Both of you are striding towards fields of study that are outlandish in this realm," Arbutus dropped them both and reverted back to his sealed form.

"And to that pursuit, I say Bravo." He said, his eyes twinkling. "Now lets go, Salte can see to your arms." The old man studied their arms, still aged but not as bad as before. Salte should have no trouble healing them, or his aching back. The little sprout was a bundle of energy, but her healing abilities were a rare treat. With Hollows able to regenerate, granted at varying speeds, it was almost a worthless skill. But Salte could undo wounds that were too severe to regenerate, leech out poisons and parasites and even reattach limbs.