Chapter 63
Polo
“You are NOT nice! You are NOT nice!”
Ken frantically scrambled back from the sweeping, earth-shaking strikes.
He squinted against the dirt pelting him in the face.
It must sense how many trees I've burned.
Only way to explain this mindless aggression.
He turned and ran, the calamity thundering behind.
Ent strode deceptively fast — trees swaying out of its path.
Ken ping-ponged off trunks, getting tripped up constantly, writhing vines and roots grasping at his fleeting boots.
“I never littered!”
His Core twisted and shuddered, as he wrung all the speed from his body he could.
Eventually, the world started to shake a little less.
The thudding steps slowed, and stopped.
He spared a glance over his shoulder, to see it standing motionless, still staring.
Ken stopped and stared right back.
“Hey... fuck you!” He yelled between panting breaths.
Showing no care to the taunt, the Tree Man straightened, towering over the maples, casting wide shadows.
Groaning wood marked its plodding way back to the heart of the valley.
There is trouble in the forest,
The creatures all have fled.
“I don't think so buddy," Ken ramped his Momentum up to eleven, and charged.
A deranged smile plastered on his face, limbs a blur, the ground quaked with his explosive steps.
Tree Man got a half turn back, the bark contorting around its glowing orbs, before Ken's shoulder smashed into its … knee?
Ken reeled back from the impact, in a shower of wood and bark.
A knot opened, and the monstrosity gave off a deafening bellow.
His hands lurched to protect his ears.
Damn, this guy's a ten foot tall subwoofer.
Unfortunately it wasn't fazed long before it sent a kick his way, tearing up a wave of sod.
Ken juked back from the kick, getting pelted by dirt, and drove right back in.
He threw a quick one-two to the damaged limb, wood and skin splitting, then dove past it.
Narrowly avoiding a descending branch, and being driven into the ground like a nail.
Rolling to his feet, he spun, to deliver a powerful kick to the back of the weak spot.
There was a groaning crack as the limb buckled, the tower of wood starting to fall.
Ken's grin of victory was cut short when he got caught by a flailing limb.
CRACK
The partial block may have saved his life.
It did not save his arms.
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As he slammed into a thankfully normal tree, clarity slammed home.
Both your arms are broken.
Only one way you live through this is to get that chi.
Get to work.
Mind and body numb, Ken lurched forward.
Ken barely registered the shaking earth as, with bent legs, his chi surged.
When the Deranged Foliage was directly above him, he sprang.
This time, he used his head.
Literally.
Body a meat missile, driving the top of his skull into the weak point.
He blew through with an explosion of timber shards.
Dazed and vision white with pain, he stumbled back to his feet, swiping at the splinters sticking out of his forehead.
The Green Giant slowly toppled, thundering to the ground.
“Aww poor Plant Man.. Kim would want to make you into a houseplant!”
He wobbled, gathering his rattled thoughts.
The mouth of the giant opened wide, the ground shook, but emitted no sound.
That's weird… Oh, nevermind.
He felt something running down the sides of his head.
The bass ruptured my ear drums.
The cycling never stopped, the flow of power cutting through the haze.
The Ent started collecting itself, swaying upright, leaning on its stub.
He charged, boots tearing up the soft soil.
Returning to his roots, he launched, landing a flying knee to its shining right eye.
He spun off with the force, moving right on past, long gone before the return strikes whiffed.
Jumping, planting both feet to a trunk, he sprang back.
The Tree man was turning, trying to gather itself when he delivered a powerful left kick to its other eye.
He bounced off, bounding out of range, turning and analyzing his foe.
Both eyes cracked and flickering, it struggled to get back to its one foot.
As he watched, the forest became alive with a green glow
The cracks in the shining orbs started to grow back together.
Its right leg stump started to elongate..
Oh, fuck you!
Unknown barriers in his mind shattered.
Fears, doubts, pain, it all fell away.
He spun his Core up until it started pumping pure pain.
He couldn't move his arms, he was bleeding from multiple places, his head was throbbing.
It didn't matter.
He was one with Momentum.
Joints straining, he closed the distance, easily outpacing the grasping vines.
He got within range before its giant arms could close the gap, leaping and planting both feet into its face.
It snapped back, falling and tangling with nearby branches.
He landed on one knee, arms dangling uselessly at his sides, watching the silent scene play out.
The trees swayed, helping untangle the living wood.
It reacts slowly.
Never let it recover.
He lurched forward with pure grit, skin slicked with blood.
Starting a looping run, never stopping, building speed.
Each kick or knee was even more devastating than the last.
He picked his shots carefully, flashing in at every perceived opening.
Heavy blows rocked its trunk.
A green glow emanated from the cracks, regeneration fighting a constant struggle of supremacy.
It swung its limbs, trying to keep the stinging gnat at bay.
Mistakes were made, and paid for.
Poor timing forced him to kick off life ending swipes, sending him crashing to the earth with bone-jarring force.
Each time, he struggled back upright.
Forced to regain his speed, rebuild his Momentum.
A little more broken, a little more concussed.
A little more insane.
He smiled as he regained his feet, feeling the grit in his teeth, he spat to the side.
The Oppressive Oak was shaking on unfelt wind, green shining through the slowly reforming cracks, as it struggled to shift its position.
Blood and sap rained onto fallen leaves.
Ken started running a wobbling circle, battered and screaming legs struggling to obey.
Wind whipping faster and faster, he closed.
Focusing all of his force, he left the ground, his head lowered.
Wood shattered, his mind flashing a blinding white..
Ken tumbled to the ground, in a shower of mulch.
A smile split the bloody mask, as consciousness fled.
I headbutted a tree to death.
