3

Ready, Get Set, Fight: Hunters vs. Birds

Alijah glared at the two boys. It was all their fault that he had to waste time straying away rather than staying by that old bastard's side. Especially while he was out there with a map to unimaginable treasures, leaving him and Iilane to do the dirty work. 'Slimy git', he gritted his teeth as his glare intensified.

"Whoa, he looks pissed." Rockie said.

"You don't say," K.O retorted sarcastically.

"I wouldn't have said it if i didn't mean it."

K.O growled, temple visibly throbbing. "Do you really want to pick a fight right now, idiot?"

"Who you calling idiot, dumbass?" Rockie snapped, turning to his companion.

"I'm dumb, says the boy who don't know what sarcasm sounds like."

Alijah stared dumbly at them as the two argued back and forth with each other. 'Idiots the both of them' he chuckled under his breath.

"Ey, what you laughing at?" Rockie turned his attention to Alijah.

Alijah stretched his arms out to his sides, "You seriously challenge me? I hope you bugs know what you are getting yourselves into." His shadow began to stretch and morph under his feet into shadow tentacles that swivelled along the ground. The shadows then lifted from the ground and darted at the boys with great speed.

K.O raised both his arms and cupped his palms. They glowed a white hue. A air blast shot from him and crashed into the tentacles sending up dust clouds.

Suddenly two shadows slithered through and wrapped around both their ankles and pulled them up in the air. It spun them then let the boys go, sending them slamming head first into each other. They dropped to the ground.

"Dammit slick. Watch where you're going." Rockie groaned rubbing his sore face.

"I'll remember that next time we're dangling ten feet from a black octopus." K.O shot back, looking over at Alijah, who stood calm with a huge grin.

"Octopus? Oh bug, you insult me." He feigned hurt. "What? Giving up already?" He cackled, his shadows slithering at his feet. "I must admit that I am glad you kids aren't non-magic. That would be too easy…"

"Shut your face old man." K.O said getting to his feet and dusting himself off. He pulled out a red sucker and popped it in his mouth. Then he pulled his suspenders over his shoulders. "We're just getting started."

"Good." Alijah grinned. His shadow tentacles doubled in numbers and lifted up. With sharp tips, they shot at the boys.

Rockie jumped to the side while K.O jumped up and landed right on top of the tentacles and started running towards Alijah. He was surprised he didn't fall right through.

He started to attack but the shadows suddenly wrapped around him and sent K.O spiraling through the sky like a spinner. K.O stopped himself midair and faced the ground.

"Ariel" he clapped his hands together and a gust of wind drilled from him and aimed at Alijah, cutting through the shadows that headed his way. However, it crashed into a shadow wall before it could hit the shadow man.

'What the hell,' K.O's eyes widened as more shadows rushed up and caught him, then yanked him down at neck breaking speed. A mushroom of dust rose up.

Rockie ran at Alijah's side with his hands in a prayer motion.

"Powerline" he swung his hands outwards and a horizontal line of electricity flew at Alijah.

Alijah saw the boy coming and summoned another wall, blocking that attack, but Rockie jumped over it. Still in the air, Rockie threw a lightning bolt at him and Alijah barely jumped back to summon a wall in time. The bolt exploded on against the wall. A kick in Alijah's back sent him tumbling across the ground. He lifted his head with a cough, and looked over to where he was standing.

K.O stood battered and bruised, with blood running down the left side of his face. His chest stuttering with each deep breath his took.

"I know… you didn't... forget 'bout me," He grinned at the shadow man and spat blood on the ground.

Alijah chuckled, shaking his head as he got to his feet. "How could I forget you? I was wondering where you'd disappeared to. Where were we?"

"Aaahhh," Rockie yelled, running at Alijah and punching at him with an electric fist. Alijah quickly leaned back. Rockie keep swinging, right then left, but Alijah was quickly dodging them.

Rockie managed to get a punch and kicked at the monster but it blocked it with his arm.

Alijah caught one of Rockie's wrist and kneed him hard in the stomach, his knee digging right under the ginger's ribcage. Rockie was winded and coughed up blood. Releasing the boy, a shadow wrapped around his neck and drugged him in the air and twisted him.

"Dammit Rockie," K.O growled, realizing that he was trying to break Rockies' neck and ran to help. He blast away a few shadows, but they were coming more in numbers and faster.

K.O jumped to a handstand and spun around. Air gathered around him forming a tornado.

"S Wave" sharp winds rippled towards Alijah, cutting away all of his shadows.

Alijah slid backwards and lifted his arm to block his eyes. The wind made a small cut on his cheek.

K.O saw Rockie falling and he sprinted to him. When he was close enough, he did a spin kick. A ball of air shot from his foot and hit Rockie square in his back and sent him flying at Alijah.

'Did he just kick him?', Alijah thought in shock.

"Rockies' Badass Missile" electricity engulfed Rockie and he twisted like a bullet into the shadow man's torso.

The man twirled backwards through the air, crashing through a few rocks, and skipped across the dirt before landing head first into a giant rock.

Rockie tumbled to a stop and laid on his back. After catching his breath, he sat up and glared at K.O. "What the hell is wrong with you? Next time you wanna kick me, let me know ahead of time."

"I was just going with the flow and it worked, so shut up." K.O replied, breathing in as his sore body started to heal.

"If it didn't, I'd be kicking your ass right now." Rockie stood up rubbing blood from his forehead and looked over at Alijah's still form.

Alijah slowly shifted his body around, cackling to himself. "Yes, yes. This. Is. It." He shakily stood to his feet. "Real competition. The power between them two, did you see?" He asked himself as he focused on the boys, a creepy smile stretched across his face with wide, crazed eyes. "Finally, worthy opponents to unless my full extent on. My full extent!" He exclaimed.

"H-he's still up?" Rockie stammered, stepping back.

'What is he?', K.O thought.

"Ka ka ka," Alijah laughed maniacally as his pupils receded into small dots, barely there. "Rise my shadows and let's show these pest true power." He stated as a shadow layer slowly covered him, morphing his body into something not human. His arms grew longer and claws sprouted from his fingers and toes.

"Now," monster Alijah snarled, voice sounding growly. "Let the fun commence."

Elsewhere on the mountain...

Daniel stumbled around the mountain, glancing from his map to his surroundings. 'It should be near here', he thought as he continued searching. His foot twisted as he stumbled on a rock and he cursed under his breath then looked up. That's when he saw it. A hole in the ground. He grinned. 'Finally found it. That egg will be mine.'

...

Monster Alijah's mouth split wide as he roared then stomped toward them.

K.O lifted his palm. "Ariel" Wind drilled at Alijah, but he just ran straight through and head butted K.O. K.O barreled back through a few rocks as Alijah continued storming at him.

Five lightning bolts formed in front of Rockie and started spinning in a circle. "I wish you would" he punched a fist and the bolts took off flying at the shadow monster's back. Three hit him, two bolts landing in both his shoulders and one in his butt cheek.

"Rraaaaa," Alijah roared in pain as the bolts shocked him. He turned, raging eyes searching for the source of his pain. Spotting Rockie, he ran at him instead, his feet and hands beating against the ground as he ran.

Rockie threw more bolts at him until the monster was close and then stomped his foot. "Terrain foot light" The ground a mile around him ignited in electricity.

The shadow monster flipped high over the attack and drove down for Rockie. Debris flew everywhere and the arithe around Alijah was broken in chunks, leaving him crated a few feet in.

Rockie dodged it in time, but the current knocked him back into the mountain wall. A rock chunk slammed into his right leg. Crack.

"Fuuuckkk," Rockie cried out, feeling his bone break. He quickly rolled to his side as monster Alijah plowed into the wall, knocking more rock pieces away, then looked around for the ginger.

Rockie stumbled away, pain radiating with each step, never letting his eyes stray from the creature. Alijah pushed himself from the wall and ran once again at Rockie. Rockie threw more bolts, but the shocks only seemed to spur the shadow monster on more.

The air around the monster became strong as a current started to slow him down.

"Leave him alone," K.O yelled from his perch on a tall rock peak. A white aura flowed around him and wind circled his feet. "Ariel the hunter" wind gathered together forming an air bow which he grabbed. Then four giant wind arrows lined the string. He pulled the string back and took aim, but the monster was still moving too much.

"Rockie, you need to get him down." K.O yelled out.

Rockie nodded his head then grinned. "Alright leg, don't fail me now. Rockie level 5" His golden aura exploded sparking everywhere. He crouched down then shot off, blurring before Alijah's eyes.

Rockie appeared at his nose. "Hey," He waved, then he turned and elbowed the monster in his left shoulder. Crack. The electricity ricocheted along his arm, crushing his bones.

"RAAAHHHH," the monster cried out.

Rockie then used that arm to swing around and kicked the back of Alijah's right arm, shattering that one too. He flipped up and grabbed onto the monster's head doing a handstand.

Alijah's pupils shook as he stared up in fear at the kid, "Satan?"

"No," Rockie's face scrunched in confusion, "I'm Rockie."

He swung his body down and kicked the monster in his chest. Crack crack. Then flipped the monster down on his back. The monster withered on the ground. 'His... power. Where was he hiding it?'.

Rockie jumped out of the way.

K.O took aim and released the arrows, which flew into the sky and fell landing in both the monster's arms and legs holding him down.

He flipped into the air until he was hovering 20 feet over the monster. Pointing his palms down, a white magic circle formed below him. "Pacious Pain" Strong wind rain down from the circle on the monster, slowly driving him into the ground. The pressure was too much, and Alijah screamed as some of his shadow layer started to peal away.

Rockie slyly limped towards the winds with a sneaky grin on his face. He eyed the wind up and down, and then stuck a finger inside. "Hehehe, oops." The wind lit up with electric energy.

"RRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH"

...

Rockie and K.O were laid out on their backs, heavy gasps leaving their mouth as they tried to catch their breath.

"That was crazy." K.O huffed, letting his body heal as he rested his eyes.

"I know right. Ace owe us big time for this one." Rockie huffed back with a chuckle.

K.O looked over at the ginger for a second, and then sat up. "Come on. We got a mission to finish." He got to his feet, then looked over at the black smug in the ground that once was Alijah. The guild had a rule against killing their enemy, if it could be avoided try not to. Though this was unavoidable, because Alijah was crazy, it still rubbed him wrong to actually take a life.

"Damn kid," he sighed and shook his head.

Rockie looked over at the spot too.

Then the ground shook violently like a earthquake and a roar thundered loud.

"The hell was that?" Rockie said as he sat up.

K.O turned towards the mountain, and his eyes widen when he looked up.

"Holy shit."