>>5296669You meditate to manage your Ki for a bit, but keep an eye on Maple. She’ll jump in as soon as she’s recovered her energy. And you need to keep supporting Izzy while you’ve got the chance. She’s taking the lead here, but maybe you can pull off something to help her out? You find your hand moving to the Hakkero- …no. Not yet. But that does give you a bit of an idea. You’ll try that when you see an opening.
Pantea brings out her Spirit Bits again, moving them to her hips and syncing her aura with them once more, dashing back quickly and firing out beams from those Spirit Bits that dad struggles to avoid. He slams his hands on the ground and lets out a pulse through the ring, then lifts his hands up and turns it into a geyser of energy that blasts upward. Pantea blitzes through it, though, and manages to grab Acer and toss him into the air. With the enhanced Spirit Bits at her hips, her others surround her as she brings her hands together, making twin gun shapes with them. “TAKE THIS! FULL BURST!”
You jump into the ring, knowing Maple’s about to do the same, and share your Ki with Pantea to give her that extra boost. But to your surprise, Maple does the unexpected. She actually just teleports to dad with Instant Transmission, and then to you just as quickly, avoiding the attack all together. You leap back, materializing a little surprise in your hand. “That’s not working this time! TAKE THIS!” You hold out an octagonal object, energy flowing through it… and Maple stops it before you can use it, causing it to pop in your hand with telekinesis. Glitter flutters to the ground. “…Ah. Aheh.” Crap. Crap crap crap crap.
Maple and Acer then high-five… and she shares her energy with dad, boosting his power as she grants him an armored up form, with dad saying but one thing with a smirk on his face. “HENSHIN.” Just like you did with Pantea, though dad’s seems even more elaborate. Chest and waist armor, gauntlets, pauldrons, greaves, and even a scarf. It… almost reminds you of something out of a tokusatsu show. He and Maple strike a pose, their auras blazing around them.
And Pantea leaps in once again, not deterred by this in the slightest, forming wing-like energy shields around her forearms. You don’t skip a beat, jumping in with her and empowering the shields with Wind Magic, with Pantea using the boost to block the expected combined attack from Maple and Acer. She next swings them away and uses that combined power from your boost and her own energy to try something a bit new. “Izzy! Keep up that boost!” she requests, telepathically adding, ‘Add in Light if you can!’, and you comply! Pantea adds in Lightning Magic to the wings as you keep up the Wind boost, and pump it up more with Light Magic!
‘Can you manage it?’ you ask with concern.
(cont.)