The Ibis Gazes also into You (Archer, Trog, and Death)

Gwharr looked onto the pair of elemental creatures standing in front of him, totally involved in their own conversation, seemingly unaware that he was once again involved, and strangely enough The Thuggish, Thickheaded Throwback felt as though he no longer understood what was going on. Aurora may be his friend and he was certain that he loved her, but in some ways she was as different to him as the sun was from a particurlarly moist sponge. He understood now that her and Ibis where both of the same kind, both where children of the earth itself, and even though he considered himself closer to earth than most of his rather dissapointing 'descendants' that spent their sad, short lives in this concrete prison, bound by strange, unnatural rules and utilizing arcane perversions of nature calle science, he had a gnawing feeling in his gut, that whatever he thought about the humans, they in turn thought about him. Compared to them, he was as wayward as the humans were when compared to him. Who was he to interfere in their discussion?

"Ibis! You touch Aurora, Gwharr kill you'se in the face! To go away now, if go, to promise not follow. To stop hunt-hunt. For Aurora Gwharr do even that. To even be honorless coward for her. " he said in his primitive, bestial voice, seemingly forcing the words out of his throat. He had hated the rock-monster known as Ibis for too long to make saying this easy. He had loathed him ever since they had first met, when Ibis had ripped him apart and thrown him across half the country. It had hurt so much, and he had been so scared. Ibis had also killed innocents and children, not to mention his companion, Project Death. Honor dictated that he should avenge his fallen pack-mate, but for Aurora, he would give up his honor. For her, he would be a coward

Even though he had made a promise to his best friend that he would do his best to vanquish the ferocious, Collossal enemy in that now front of them, but maybe it would work just as well if Ibis merely gave up, so that they could take him away from the battle untill it was all over. Wouldn't his removal from the battlefield have the same purpose wether it was done by removing him from the tapestry of life itself, or merely dragging him out of the battlefield and leaving him in a desert for a few hours. Aurora seemed to think there was good in him, and if he was truly honest with himself he could feel that he would not be able to kill someone who was obviously so dear to her as this gargantuan genocidal rockman seemed to be. There was enough misery in the world, without him cursing the woman he loved with it.

Looming over the one he once loved, knowing full well that their paths were going in opposite directions, that they would never see eye to eye. Ibis knew in his heart that she would never back down, that she would stand up and fight for the brother he once was to her, try and save him from the darkness that had consumed him so completely. But Ibis hoped that he could convince her to leave, that she'd stay away for his sake, the one that still loved her deep down inside. But in the end, it wasn't meant to be. He would have to deal with her, but not now.

"Very well sister, you have made your choice, and I must make mine. But before I deal with you, I must deal with the nuisance behind you" Ibis said, raising his head towards the raging Gwharr "The human spawn has been a thorn in my side for too long, it's time we settle our dispute"

As he began to walk towards the monstrous humanoid, Ibis halted as Aurora blocked his path. Despite his demonic gaze, the denizen of the earth didn't give in to his imposing presence. Growing with anger, Ibis raised his hand, but still the girl didn't back down.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!" Ibis roared as he brought his arm swiftly towards her abdomen, picking her up, in a way similar to how he once did, but instead had a further purpose. Lobbing her away from the battle, into an adjacent building, Ibis made sure that she wouldn't be a nuisance until later. Looking back towards Gwharr, Ibis let loose a roar of defiance, of challenge. "This is it Neanderthal... its time to see which of us is better"

Pushing off from the ground, leaving a massive trail of debris in his wake, Ibis burst off towards the primitive ancestor of humanity. Before, Ibis defeated the caveman easily, but he could see that the being had grown stronger since long ago, defeating creatures that should have been his equal. As Ibis approached, he knew he was the better, he knew he would never lose. Bringing out his arm like a massive bar, Ibis moved to the side of the creature in hopes to smash his arm against the caveman's neck.

"NOW WE END THIS!!!"

The Gargantuan, Gruesome, Grunting, Great Giant was not exactly heartbroken that Ibis had not taken his offer and ran walked away from here. Gwharr rarely handed out such boons for one simple reason, ad fittingly this simple reason was simplicity itself. A dead enemy does not plot against you, nor does he return with allies to destroy you later on. A dead foe had no way to hurt you, and thus Gwharr preferred to kill his enemies, and whilst he had little trouble dispensing mercy to those whom he had fought only by chance, or those that had worked with another, greater adversary, he would not suffer someone like Ibis or his beloved Doctor Necroguy to live without very good reason, because it seemed that people like these were like yo-yos. They came back again and again and again unless you cut the string. Even though he was savage and stupid, Gwharr was quite the pragmatist when it came to combat.

As Ibis booming voice proclaimed that he had made his choice, and that choice included the death of Gwharr by Ibis own hands A multitude of feelings surged through Gwharr, but most of them were not negative, they where a sort of an anticipation for the battle to come. Ibis had been stronger than him once, much stronger, and since they last met he had grown even stronger than that, but Gwharr had also gained strength since their last fatefull meeting. He had learned so much since then too. He was also, paradoxaly enough feeling gratitude to the big lump of rock. Gratitude that he had declined his offer of mercy and trucy. He had made tha promis for Auroras sake, and he would have kept it if Ibis would have taken the option, but by declining it, he had basically allowed Gwharr to fight him without feeling guilty for Auroras sake. He had offered the creature mercy, and he had decided not to take it.

"To not be human spawn. To be here before they came!" Gwharr answered Ibis taunt, and even though his booming voice was loud and inhumanly deep as always, it did not yet contain the blind fury and bloodlust that was so characteristic fo the great humanoid. As Ibis rushed off towards him only one thing had time to appear in Gwharrs rather dense mind. Since then had te son of the Earth been so fast? He had been as slow and sluggish as Gwharr himself when they last met, but now he moved witha speed unheard of, especially for a giant such as himself.

Gwharr barely had time to reach before Ibis brought a massive fist down towards gwharr, smashing him over the face and neck with a massive fist, sending him flying through the air like a massive, hairy ragdoll, bounching. He could feel a few of his teeth being broken and bleeding in his mouth, and his neck had almost been broken by the devastating blow. Blood was flowing from a slight tear in his sin running from his cheek down his neck and ending just before it reached his shoulder. He was quite calm however, Despite the pain, he could feel the muscles in his kneck knitting themselves back together,and the teeth that had been broken had already grown back.

He quickly got back onto his feet to see that Aurora stood in front of him, sending her vines and plants towards the giant made of rock and evil. Despite the pain, he could not help but to smile as she protected him from Ibis onslaught. If the old saying "Unlucky at cards, lucky in love" was true, then Gwharr figured he would never ever set a foot within twenty yards of a poker-table.

The Brash, Brainless, Brawny Brute quickly decided that he aught to push his advantage, whilst Aurora was covering him, do as much damage as quickly as possible to Ibis. Gwharr was well aware that he could not finnish the giant in one blow, and that he had to reduce his offensive capabilities before he could deal a final blow to him. He was too fast to be hit easily, so that was what he needed to change first. Gwharr leapt towards Ibis whilst he was busy with the vines, trying to land an extraordinarily powerfull, doublehanded smash on the rock-mans knee. Common sense told him that a big thing such as Ibis would move twice as slowly with only one knee to propell his feet forward.

Ibis grunted with satisfaction as he managed to make in his attack, but he knew from experience that Gwharr could take more than that before dying. The caveman was a being strong as Ibis himself in the physical factor, a being that could take on the world and still survive. If Ibis truly wished to finish this fight, he would have to unleash his true power upon the creature, power beyond the world. But even with Ibis' power, even he had limits, and that limit was numbers. Standing in his way once again was the dryad, curdling Ibis' rage into a mix of sorrow and pure blind fury, a mix that tempered his senses into a deadly calm. As the vines crashed through the concrete and towards him, Ibis remained absolutely still, waiting for the opportune moment. Once the distance had closed to just short of a meter, Ibis moved like a wraith, unnatural for his size. Grabbing the plants from below, Ibis ripped them off their connections, fashioning them into weapons which he used to fling straight towards Aurora. Even though his first attack hadn't even gotten close to hitting their mark, Ibis began his charge towards his two opponents.

Letting out another roar, Ibis summoned scores of his clones to hold off the elemental vines of the dryad, he knew that he couldn't give the daughter of the Earth the cold shoulder. Various forms of Ibis moved to block off Aurora's direct attempts at Ibis, making sure that he and Gwharr were completely alone in their fights. The scuffle between Aurora and Ibis' clones had created a perfect arena for the two to finally finish their dispute, and with that, Ibis would finally prove that he was the strongest there is. So, with the stage set, Ibis advanced, just in time to catch the attack of Gwharr. The attempt was for a crippling blow, one that would take away Ibis' advantage of speed, but that same advantage gave Ibis the opportunity to move things into his favor. Using his leg as leverage, Ibis ducked from Gwharr's attack and proceeded to use the force to send the colossal humanoid flying. Once Gwharr began his flight, Ibis was greeted with a vine to his face, one that sent him toppling over from his awkward position and back to the ground.

"RAAAAAGH!!!" Ibis roared as he connected with the earth, the impact wasn't painful at all, but it was an annoyance to have to deal with all the attacks at once, while his incompetent clones couldn't hold them back. Ibis looked around to see that none of his clones were winning their fight against Aurora, all overwhelmed by the constant growth. If Ibis wanted to win, he would have to defeat Aurora, the weakest before the strongest. Grabbing the vine that attempted to hold him down, Ibis transformed it into a sling, one that would allow him to launch every single one of his clones. With a extension of his powerful limb, Ibis launched a score (10) clones towards Gwharr, different in shapes and sizes. Steeling himself for what he was about to do, Ibis roared her name "AURORA!!!!"

Raising his arm in the air, Ibis tugged on the vine connected to him, using it as a pulley as he launched himself towards the elemental of the Earth. Moving with unnatural speed, Ibis ripped through everything in his path, using the vine as his connection, his bread crumb trail to its source. Letting down his arm like a godly hammer, Ibis unleashed all his might on the one he once loved. Doctor Necrodium was a cruel being, one who cared only for himself, one of true conviction. Because no clear minded, no moralistic man would ever force one like Ibis to do what he was about to do. With that, Ibis' arm came down, the final blow to Ibis' once peaceful heart.

Gwharr roared loudly as Ibis swatted him aside, utilizing the force of his leap to send him hurtling in the wrong direction. Even though Ibis had punched him, it did not hurt all that much. It had only been a comparatively soft tap, compared to what the monstrous "Son of Earth" was truly capable of. Gwharr despererately flapped his arms and waved his legs around, trying to slow his rather impressive flight-speed, before he crashed into the ground, smashing a rather nasty-looking hole in the asphalt, bouncing like a football, creating a seiries of holes as he bounded along, before finally sliding into a stop on the side-walk, the asphalt behind him broken up as if some comet had crashed there. Gwharr got up to his feet, and despite for his favourite coat being shreeded, he was Completely unhurt. He was just about to leap into combat with Ibis again when three of the giant mostrosities lesser copies emerged from the ground. They looked as Ibis had done when they had first done battle all those months ago. Like smaller versions of his scorpion-self.

One of them scuttled out of a manhole, utilizing his claws to enlarge the hole a bit for him to get through, the other two literally crawled out from a hole in the wall, scuttling down along the facade of an office-building looking somewhat remniscent of a pair gigantic cockroaches made of rock. Even though they where far away when gwharr first saw them, they where closing the distance fast, moving at an unnatural pace for something so big. Our caveman hero quickly slammed a fist into the asphalt, causing it to crack, ripping out a great chunk of it, hurling it against one of the two that approached from the office-building. It collided with the monstrosity with such force that the beasts shell cracked, and something that looked disturbingly like magma started to pour through. Ghwarr wondered if that was what they bled, and if this would be the blood of their progenitor as well.

The caveman roared loudly, as the remaining two creatures approached him, when he heard a loud noise, something akin to a disturbing mix between a growl and a yowl. The great sabertooth cat had attacked yet another scorpion-Ibis-creature that had seemingly managed to sneak up on him from behind. The caveman soon regretted turning to look at the creature, since it bought one of the other clones enough time to catch neck in its massive pincer. Ghwarr tried to roar, but the only thing that came out was a wheezing cough. He tried to grab ahold of it with his arm, but all it got caught in the creatures other pincer. However, this did not deter the Great, Gruesomely Grunting, Guy. With great effort he managed to pull his arm free, scuffing it slightly around the wrist, but for a regenerator, that was barely noteworth at all. With both of his arms free he grabbed ahold of the claw behind his neck, pryingi t apart with a nigh-irresistable force.

With a loud cracking-sound the claw broke and he was free. He quickly spun around and brought both his fist down on the creatures body, causing it to burst like a ripe pimple in a teenagers face, spraying goo and magma everywhere. The two other Monstrosities hissed menacingly and charge forward, but gwharr heaved up the corpse of their former ally and brought it down upon the first of them, causing the two monsters to shatter into a great big pile of magma and scorpion-bits. The third one took the moment, and jabbed a disturbingly sharp pincer into the cavemans gut, just like its ancestor had done so long ago. . . But Gwharr was much stronger now than he had been then, and the clone did not have its progenitors strength. Even though it drew blood, it was nowhere near strong enough to tear through Gwharr's stomach-muscles, and so with a confused chirp it retracted its claw, but did little else, due to Gwharr literally punching its head in.

He now turned to the one true Ibis, roaring like a wild animal, rabbing the corpse of the creature he had just defeated and hurling it at the massive monster, before leaping towards it himself, hoping that it would serve as a distraction. This time he was aiming for the shoulder of the great beast, hoping to get a good enough punch to dislocate or break one of its massive arms.

Caught off guard by the sneak attack by Aurora, Ibis was flung around like a ragdoll as his old friend sent him flailing in the air, smashing him around against building after building. Though Ibis wasn't in any real pain, it angered him that the dryad was being more of a nuisance that he would prefer. Once he finally regained his balance, Ibis began to rip around the vines that wrapped around him, clawing at them like a possessed animal. Managing to break free, Ibis tumbled onto the concrete, leaving a crater where he made impact. It was frustrating that even though they were separated, both Aurora and Gwharr could be such an annoyance. Just as he was distracted with that thought, Gwharr connected a blow to Ibis' shoulder, sending the massive elemental flying into a nearby pile of debris.

Ibis looked at his shoulder to assess the damage, seeing past the falling debris that his arm was still workable, managing to roll with the punch to avoid too much damage. Though Ibis was given greater intelligence and control than he originally had, but still his rage remained, and with the constant irritants, Ibis was losing the hold he had on his near boundless rage. Erupting from the debris with a roar of fury, Ibis' veins burned with intense light, extending to his eyes and throat, letting out a brilliant orange light. Not only that, but more of his clones came to his side as his resounding roar echoed throughout the city.

"RAAAAAAARGH!!! ENOUGH!!!" Ibis raged as he stomped his feet onto the Earth, causing the street to rumble and crack underneath his soles. Though he lost his connect to Mother Earth, he still retained the strength of an Earth Elemental, and his rage, like an active volcano was reaching its peak. As the sound echoed, Ibis' thrall added their own chorus of roars and bellows, encouraging their leader to let loose his rage upon those who dared challenge him. "YOU TWO have been a thorn in my side for LONG ENOUGH, it is time I rip you away from the Mother Earth you love so much. RAAAAAAAAAAAARRGH!!!!"

Grabbing the concrete in front of him, Ibis wretched the the road from the sidewalk, transforming it into a wavy whip in hopes of knocking his opponents into the air. Rubble and debris began launching into the air from the wave of concrete, flowing as if it were made of water, but shooting with force akin to a train. Ibis was growing tired of the games, if Doctor Necrodium's plans were to be realized, he had to finish it soon. With roaring encouragement, Ibis sent another massive wave down the length of road, carrying his thrall (13 clones) to attack his friend and his rival.

Gwharr felt stone cracking and crumbling beneath his fist as his punch connected with Ibis shoulder! Finally he had managed to cause some damage to the great, gruesome beast. He felt a wave of triumph rush through him as the great beast actually seemed to lose his balance and stumbled away. Even though the caveman had not nearly caused as much damage to the oversized bruiser as he had hoped to, he had still managed to scratch the monstrosity, wich proved once and for all that he could now do what he had never succeeded in doing that time long ago when he and Ibis had faced of in the ruins of a small-town somewhere near New York. The caveman roared and triumphantly bestially at his opponent, his deafeningly loud warcry echoing between the towering, empty buildings that surrounded them. He was just about to move in to see if he could follow up on his earlier success and land another blow when he was unexpectedly pushed to the ground by aurora, and just in time, since Ibis had managed to stomp the ground in such a manner as to send something that was best described as a tidal-wave of concrete towards the pair. Gwharr coughed slightly as the wave narrowly missed the pair and caused a billowing cloud of dust and sand to surround them.

"To be thankfull, beautiful daughter of the earth." Gwharr told the treelike woman, who in his eyes was the most beautiful, pure thing that existed in this world right now. He would gladly leave this city and his kingdom to be with her at whatever place she desired. Even if she wanted them to live in the arctic, he would gladly stay there for an eternity if it meant he would be closer to her.
However his silly thoughts were interrupted by yet another wave of concrete sent towards them, this time carrying a squadron of his lesser children, the scorpion creatures that had viciously fought the trio as they had ventured forwards toward Ibis. As their master roared like a monstrous beast, so did they, like a monstrous, otherworldly pack of wolves.

As they scuttled down towards the Carless, Crude, Caveman and the Delightfull, Daring Dryad they hissed and growled menacingly, their great size making the noises all but unbearable. However, this sort of batlte fitted Gwharr perfectly. Lots of enemies, tightly packed with little place to dodge. Gwharr could almost just swing his arms and hit something. He dashed forwards, bringing one Melonsized fist down straight into the head of one of the scorpions, crushing it viciously and instantly killing it. He quickly grabbed ahold of the creature with both hands and effortlessly heaved it into the air, only to bring it down upon one of the other Mini-Ibis, crushing both into paste. He then spread his arms wide and rushed forward, catching as many of the scorpions into his arms as he could before crushing them with a devastating bearhug.

That was when he noticed that Leo had decided to assault Ibis for some reason, and even though the great kitty was brave and fierce, it would not stand a chance against a creature such as Ibis for long. He glanced back at Aurora who seemed to have caught quite a few of the attacking clones into one of her flowers, and even though a few of them where still scuttling around them, he had no doubt that she could handle them.

"Leo fight Ibis. To need to aid he! To be carefull, love! To no get hurt!" Gwhar grunted before charging off towards the great rocky beast once again, raising his massive fists into the air, throwing punch after punch at the great beast, each of wich would be enough to demolish a small bunker. He was hoping that the great son of earth's distraction with the great cat would prevent him from dodging them as easily as he might have done usually

Ibis roared in frustration, his thralls were falling like flies and his attacks were being evaded to the point that such efforts seemed to be futile. Ibis' rage and frustration were causing him to boil to his cap, unable to accept his lack of effectiveness. As his frustration grew, so did Ibis' older self begin to arise from the changes made to him by Doctor Necrodium, his roars beginning to shake the earth even more than he did before. Ibis thought that his connection with the stone and dirt had been severed when he was transformed, apparently his rage was restoring his lost connection, personifying himself as the Rage of the Earth. With a stamp of his foot, Ibis caused the earth to quake just as he once did, the ground crackling around him as if it were water, sending debris in every which direction. With another roar Ibis began to encircle earth around him as if it were a tornado of debris. But soon the debris began to recede, as if the wind was being sucked away, straight into Ibis' opening maw. Once he collected all the materials he needed, Ibis' chest heaved, looking as if he was taking a deep breath. But before he could release, Ibis was sent toppling over by the timely strike of Leo.

On top of Ibis, Leo began to claw at the earth elemental's face, gouging his bright eyes and kicking at his obsidian head. Ibis continued to fight against the massive prehistoric cat, attempting to wrench him off before he actually began to cause damage. Distracted with Leo, Ibis did not see Gwharr wind up a punch that even Ibis could feel. The impact was like a tap, the force so strong that even the sound couldn't keep up, Ibis' mouth open, not able to unleash his attack. Soon an explosion of pressure was released, sending the massive earth elemental flying through the air and into a building far off into the distance. The impact was nothing, the flight was inconvenient, but the very punch itself, the entirety of Gwharr's strength, had managed to crack Ibis' invincible body. Ibis' worries didn't last long, as his thoughts were broken by another barrage of swipes from the paws of Leo. The prehistoric cat knew he was outmatched, but still he persisted to fight against the one who gave his life for him.

The battle was short, one might not even call it a battle. Leo's attacks were fast, his attacks came from every conceivable angle, striking at Ibis' open weak spot. After repeated attacks, Ibis felt to a knee, the concentration on his widening crack took out his energy reserves, or so Leo thought. After managing to attack Ibis so many times, even bringing him to his knees, Leo lunged with confidence, thinking that he would deliver the finishing blow, and finally free his friend from the prison that was his body. But as the claw came, so did Ibis' fist, crushing the bones in his paw. Without a beat, Ibis gripped the broken paw, extracting a yelp of agony from the massive cat. With a mere movement of his giant arm, Ibis pulled Leo into the air and carried him towards the opening of the building they had crashed into, in the plain sight of those who could see. Suspending Leo hundreds of feet in the air, gravity did its work as it yanked at the tiger's broken limb, beckoning roars and cries of pain and agony, feeble clawing at the hands that once held him so gently.

"Do you see now Aurora?! Do you see how foolish it is to fight against me?! I am Ibis!! I am the Son of the Earth! The Shard of Kaluoshen! And for your insolence and feeble attempts at stopping Doctor Necrodium's goals. You will pay THE ULTIMATE PRICE!!!" Ibis roared, his voice booming above the chaos of Bronx. With a powerful gesture of his hand, Ibis raised Leo above his head, the giant tiger unable to do anything but stay limp in the massive elemental's hands. Releasing his grip on Leo's leg, Ibis moved his hands to Leo's waist and neck, the preparation was obvious, the result imminent. With a slow tug of his arms, Ibis began to move Leo in opposite directions in his hands. Ibis could have made it fast, made it painless, but that wasn't in his nature now. As Ibis' arms began to grow further and further apart, Leo's screams began to resonate, echoing throughout the city. Ibis watched one of the few things he cared about die in his own hands, and despite how much his soul was crying, his body showed no emotion. Ibis was a tool, a puppet on a string for Doctor Necrodium's plans.

After what seemed like a lifetime of pain and suffering, Leo's cries were finally silenced as Ibis ripped him apart into two separate halves. Without even looking down again, Ibis tossed the pieces aside, not even bothering to recognized what he had just done. Doctor Necrodium was indeed a monster, for only a true monster could allow Ibis to do what he did, to kill one of the most important things in his entire existence, and toss him aside like a broken toy. With a cold gaze of solidified anger, Ibis looked down at Aurora and Gwharr.

"THAT is what you get for defying my masters, for thinking that you could even try and stop ME!!" Ibis roared from atop his man-made perch, looking down with a powerful form, his black visage cracked with a seeping wound that oozed the glowing lava that resided within Ibis. Though cracked, it seemed as if Ibis truly was invincible, unbeatable. Ibis was the image of power, the power to destroy all that which resided around him. "Now it is time you join him"

Jumping down from his perch, Ibis' descent was like watching an atomic bomb. Though massive, Ibis' height paled in comparison to that of a skyscraper, but as he descended, something appeared to build up around him, a form of energy. It was as if Ibis was preparing a shield of energy around himself, an aura of protection. When he finally connected with the ground, the earth erupted with a massive impulse of energy. An explosion followed, sending massive amounts of dirt flying off into the distance, smashing into everything and anything that was within its path. When the dust cleared, Ibis emerged from a massive crater, seeping off energy that was almost unnatural, like an oozing mist that radiated off of his massive body. As he approached Gwharr and Aurora, Ibis' eyes hardened into a cold stare.

"Now we end this..."

(Ibis' has now evolved into a stronger version of himself and has been granted the power of Tectonic Energy Manipulation, a more advanced form of Geokinesis. Though now as slow as he used to be, Ibis has become more deadly in terms of exchanging blows.)

The Harebrained, Hilariously Humungous Hyperstrong Harsh Highlander snarled lowly as he flew through the air, his teeth gritted slowly to aid in his concentration. He would not roar or howl before his fists had reached their target this time. Leo was barely managing to keep the beasts attention as it was. Normally he was not the type that would employ stealth in a battle such as this, but when you where hunting witha sabertooth cat, you hunted as a sabertooth cat would. They could not change their way, but Gwharr and his kind could,wich is why it was they who had to adapt when in the company of their primitive brethren. It was the way it was and it was the way it had always been, for as long as he had been alive, longer even. It was the way of the anestors that had first managed to domesticate the wolf.

However, when he felt his fist collide with the hard, nigh-impenetrable rocky hide-shell of Ibis he felt a wave of triumph wash over him. and he gave out a loud howl to celebrate. He felt even more joyous when hefelt the shell actually cracked beneath his fists and gav way. The vile liquid that passed for the son-of-the-earths blood poured out of the wound, and pieces of living rock fell to the ground, chipped from the very body of this child of the eart. A small part of Gwharr felt as if he was committing sacrilige, that he was fighting a part of the very force that kept life going and moving, and it filled him with a slight sadness. However, he quickly brushed those feelings aside, and focused on the battle. He knew he was doig the right thing. Ibis was corrupted and beyond rescue, even from his sister, Aurora, the woman he adored, and hoped would be his wife one day. If she could not reach him, then what chance did he have? No, Ibis had to be destroyed. If not for himself, then for his fallen comrade 'Skeletor' , AKA Death. For the people he had slaughtered in the town when they had first met, and finally, for all the people he and his many minions were doubtlessly responsible for here and now, in new york.

Gwharr's mind popped back into the real world, noticing that somehow time seemed to have slowed down for him. Ibis had left the ground, flying into the air, somewhat akin to a footage of a meteor crashing into the earth played backwards. However, even though it looked impressive, even our Brainless, Brash, Brawny Brute knew that the Rock-giants journey and subsequent crash into the earth would probably not injure it. The caveman knew this because he had suffered the same fate and got out of it with nary an elbow scuffed. The Two Troublesome Terrible Titans were simply tougher than almost known any material on earth, and therefor it would give way before they did. Thus the caveman knew that the only damage done to his opponent would be from where his punch connected, and even though it was a mighty impressive punch, it was definately not enough to put the creature down for good.

When the dust had settled and Ibis rose from the rubble that had recently been a building, Gwharr gave a gasp of horror as he saw Leo, caught in the death-grip of the monster. one of the cats leg hung limply at an unnatrual angle, and the other where giving only token resistance. It was obvious that the poor creature was on its last ounce of strength, clinging to life by a hair. Gwharr whined as the giant made a show out of literally pulling the cat apart, and even though Gwharr had done the same thing, he had never done it like that. He had always provided a quick clean death forhis opponent, not the agonizing torture of what Ibis was doing. As he carelessly dropped the remains of the cat to tthe ground, Gwharr quckly leaped forward and caught them before they hit the ground. He did not know why he did this, as he knew that Leowas dead and would not feel his body being subjected to more atrocities, but he simply could not let the poor cat that had given his life for theirs to end in such an indignified manner. He quickly moved back, carefully putting the body auroras departed friend onto the ground, carefully closing the eyes Formerly Ferocious, Fallen Feline. Despite what had happened, the great cat looked strangely at peace. as if sleeping.

Gwharr whined sympathetically as Aurora fell to her knees before her fallen freind. She cried and sobbed, and the Great, Grunting Gruesome yet Gently Grieving Guy put a thrashcan-lid-sized hands on her shoulder, although due to the difference in size, it covered most of her back as well. He contemplated saying something, but he knew that nothing he could say would make it any easier. He knelt down next to her, putting his other hand on hers and simultaneously covering leos body. her grief pained him. It even caused his eye to well up with tears that ran down his cheeks and into his beard/mane, cleaning away some of the dust and swat that had accumulated on his skin over the course of the battle. He felt as something broke inside of him. how unwelcome sorrow welled forth, not only for Leo, but also for Aurora, who was in pain. He wanted to help her so badly, to make it all better, but his great strength and immortality could not help her here. The great Gwharr was helpless.

Gwharr watched in amazement as the beautifull dryad rose to her feet, like some sort ofangel, tears still staining her eyes. She seemingly swallowed her sorrow, and her once compassionate, gentle blue orbs turned ferocious and angry. when they where calm her eyes had been like the sea, with the sun sparkling on the surface, but now in her fury she still had eyes like the sea, only this time, the sea was in a storm, wild, untamed, hungry and oh so ferocious. His own rage paled in comparison. Her small, almost frail-looking dainty hands turned into small, balled up fists, and even though she was as an ant before the rock-man she stood tall (metaphorically speaking) and cursed the son of the earth, even if he had heard worse curses, he was convinced that aurora had the power to do what she threatnened wih, and that her normally gentle, soft demeanour would be replaced by steel whilst she did it. There was no mercy to be asked, no hope for clemency. Aurora wanted Ibis to die and suffer, and she intended to make it happen.

Ghwarr rose from the corpse of his fallen comrade and stepped forward, standing next to Aurora, placing a gargantuan hand on her shoulder to show his support. He loved her, and her fight was his, her vengance was his to implement and her battles his to fight.

"To fight and die for you, Aurora, daughter of nature and sun of my world. To aid you, wether you want it or not!" The caveman said boldly, his words somewhat muddled by the surge of emotions going through him.

Ibis looked down at Aurora, his face emotionless and showing no sort of response to Aurora's vocal abuse. In the past, Ibis might have showed some sort of pain from hurting Aurora so, upsetting her would have been one of the worst things he could possibly do. But here, Ibis couldn't even be bothered to be affected by her measly attacks and curses, as if he truly were just made out of stone. But as her abuse continued, Ibis' rage soon took over, not because of her, but because the real Ibis within began to bang and rage inside Ibis' mind. When the slap came, Ibis' soon found his peak again. Grabbing Aurora's arm and yanking her towards him, away from Gwharr and those who would dare challenge him. With a glare that could ignite those it lay upon, Ibis looked down at Aurora.

"Your curses mean little to me, they aren't anything more than prattle, I was cursed long ago when I fell into this wretched and corrupt planet. You say that I'm a monster? I am, I am a monster that has been on this rock before your kind even began to walk on it, I fell from the sky like a meteor, extinguishing life wherever I may be. You may think you know something about me, but you don't Aurora. I'm not a member of Earth, nor will I ever be, and once Doctor Necrodium liberated me, I knew what I must do. You think me abandoned by Mother Earth?" Ibis preached, but his rage tempered into stinging words that he would never have used when he was still alive. Now reborn his anger, jealousy, any sort of negative feeling just poured out. Now holding Aurora's hand, he raised her up and pulled her into the air so she could look at him face to face. "My Mother Earth abandoned me a long time ago"

With a simple movement of his arm, Ibis tossed her effortlessly back into Gwharr's arms, letting the two of them share a moment together before he would exact his moments of triumph. Ibis was confident that with his returned powers, he would be able to best any being that would oppose him. Staring at them with cold, yet blazing eyes, Ibis' body crackled with intense energy, energy so dense that it was practically tangible. Without a word, movement, or sound, Ibis commanded the Earth to crack and crumble around him, fissures created to entrap Aurora and Gwharr, rocks and earth flying around as if caught in a twister. Ibis' influence over the Earth itself caused the buildings to lose their foundations, crumbling down onto the streets.

In the midst of all the chaos, Ibis stood like a statue, content in sitting there as everything was destroyed around him. The Earth practically screaming with pain as Ibis forced it to split apart, to destroy everything that it supported, to cause everything made by humanity to crumble before Ibis' newfound influence. Ibis' imitations roared in content with how much Ibis had matured and increased in power, seeing that their leader was strong enough to take on the world if he had to. But their roars soon turned into cries as Ibis ripped them apart for their bodies made of earth and stone, adding their corpses to the maelstrom of rock, earth and stone. As he controlled his vast power, Ibis concentrated the materials like a ball around him for an instant, before causing his influence to shoot it out in every way possible. The resulting force sent massive chunks of Earth flying in every which direction, causing large portions of skyscrapers to fall down and smash into each other. As the rest of the city fell, Ibis stood amongst the wreckage unscathed, his glowing glare piercing through the gas and dust filling the air.

"Come now, we've taken too long as it is. Let's finish this up"

Agile like a monkey, but at the smae time slow and ponderous, Gwharr lurched forward, his eyes still wet from the emotional turmoil within him as well as the dust that whirled around him, He roared at Ibis as the Growling, Gruesome Giant held Aurora, as if she was a ragdoll, talking at her in that menacing, deep voice that had oddly enough sounded like rocks grinding together. However, now he thought it sounded rather more like a bubbling pit of lava. Gwharr was too filled up with fear of what the monster might do with Aurora to properly listen to his speech, though. There was something about abandoning mother earth, but it clearly had little to do with him.

Gwharr instead roared louder, trying to distract him from Aurora. He did not want the monster to hurt his beloved. He stomped the ground and beat his chest, a challenge that was far older than humanity itself. He was rather unprepared for Ibis to hurl Aurora back to him, barely having enough wits about him to react to the incomming, adorable Earth-elemental. He leapt forward, catching her with one massive arm, cradling her as if she was nothing but a lost child. Despite everything that had happened, Despite the Death of Skeletor and Leo Gwharr could not help but to smile at how small she was. Barely bigger than a child, and in his massive arms she looked even smaller.

The heart of the caveman took a great joyfull leap as Aurora turned to him, her doe-like, sparkling eyes gazing into his. Gwharr was almost hypnotized by them as she moved closer and kissed him. her soft, yet bark-like skin against his coarse and hairy hide. He concentrated on the sensation, how smooth her skin was and how soft her hair was as he held her tightly. He wanted to feel her, smell her and keep the sensation with him, because even though Gwharr was notorious for his stupidity, even he had an omnious feeling that this would be the last time he would hold his beloved. He wanted to brush it aside as nothing, as the mere terror of a caveman head-over-heels in love, but he could not. The way she thanked him even worsened this feeling, and the great caveman felt helpless. However, he would not surrender! He would fight for his happy ending.

As Ibis started hurling chunks of eart htowards them, Gwharr leapt between his beloved and the oncomming avalanche of rubble, and viciously punched the first oncomming waves of earth aside, but it was pointless. He could only buy them time. The earth would swallow them, like the stormy sea swallows ships. However, suddenly, the oncomming avalanche of rubble halted! Aurora somehow kept it back. Gwharr smiled at her, the tears still gleaming in his brutish, ugly pig-like face. He heard her whisper, and by all the gods he intended to finish it. Yes indeed!. He leapt at Ibis, howling in rage, trying to pummel the great monster repeatedly, doing his best to punch the beast appart