Elementals

Chapter 43-Alex VS Keith: Part 2-Focus

"You think!?"

I heard Damian let out a gasp I'm my mind. 'His fists!'

"His fists?"

I turned back just in time to miss a punch. I ducked another, then blocked a kick. Keith jumped back, his fists lost their glow.

"What about them?"

Keith let out a huff before his fists let off a bright glow once more. Damian's voice rang through my head again.

'There! Look!'

Keith lunged towards me, fist raised. I dodged it easily, even managing to land a kick to his back, sending him stumbling forwards. His fists lost their glow for a second before he turned back to me. Then, they glowed again.

"I'm not sure I see what you're seeing, Damian."

'His fists glow when he goes in for melee attacks.'

"Yeah, and?"

'From what I've seen, Keith is the type of guy who likes to stay on the offensive. So if his fists glow when he's attacking, it gives you an indication of when he's about to throw a punch.'

I dodged another punch and slid underneath him as he delivered a kick high kick. I clenched my fist, trying to catch the spark again.

"So? How does that info help me right now?"

'His defense is weaker than his offense, so when he's not attacking, he's slightly more vulnerable. And if his fists glow when he's on the offensive-'

He swung his fiat at me again. I held my arms up to cover my face and found myself getting pushed back by the punch. As I lowered my arms, I noticed that his fists weren't glowing anymore, and he was standing still for a second. Then it clicked.

"Then when they stop glowing, he's on defense."

His fists glowed again and he darted to me again. But for once I saw his attack coming and moved out of the way with ease. For a second, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. That's when I saw my opportunity to strike.

"And if his fists stop glowing when he's on defense..."

I clenched my fist and pulled back. The glow around Keith's fists faded again. He still had unstable footing, and didn't notice me behind him ready to strike. I felt a crackling sensation all over my palms.

"Then that means..."

My eyes let emitted a bright red glow, and in that moment, my fist ignited, roaring with a bright radiant flame. I threw my fist downwards and landed it right in the center of Keith's back. He met the ground with a devastating crash. Strong gusts of wind flew from the impact in every direction.

I wasn't given much time to think as I was thrown up a few feet from the ground. Then, Keith let out a roar and swung his glowing fists again and sent me flying backwards across the arena. I found myself crashing into the lower walls of the arena, knocking some of the air out of my lungs. But surprisingly, I turned out fine. I knelt down, resting my arm on one knee, letting out short breaths as my vision slowly cleared. When it returned, I suddenly felt the warm sensation across my entire lower arms. My eyes widened.

They were on fire.

I slowly got up and steadied myself, staring down at my hands. "My flames...My powers...They're back!"

I threw my fists in the air in triumph. Finally, after struggling for what felt like forever, I successfully conjured a flame. However, unlike the other times I ignited a flame, this was brighter with small glowing specks of magical orbs floating around the fire. It looked even more, magical than all the ones before. I turned my arm around, feeling the magical energy course through me.

"This feels...strange. Powerful, but strange." I muttered. I was quickly snapped out of my daze when I felt the earth tremble. Keith was rushing towards me, ready to swing his fists at me again. Only this time, it looked like he was packing more power behind it. I summoned my flame shield in a split second, just before Keith had landed his fist. The collision sent out a blast of air in all directions. I felt my body shake, but I held my stance. Keith flashed me a toothy grin.

"I see your powers are back." He smirked. I jumped back, letting my shield and fire fade.

"How'd you get up so quickly?" I asked. Keith lifted his forearm and his skin suddenly became hard and rough and jagged.

"Stone skin." He replied. "Right before you punched me, I hardened my back. I barely took any damage."

"Smart move." I complimented.

'You got your fire back. Took you long enough.'

"Oh shut up."

"What was that?" Keith asked. I realized that I just said that out loud and started to blush out of embarrassment.

"N-Nothing!" I said quickly. Keith shrugged.

"So..." Keith started, cracking his knuckles. "Since your powers are back, I think it's time we start fighting for real."

The earth shook again. Small pieces of rock started to float off the ground, enveloped in a bright brown glow. Some of them started to circle around Keith and his eyes flashed with a feral, animalistic glow.

"And this time..." He bent his knees and got into a low fighting stance. "...no holding back."

I smirked and chuckled to myself, a newfound sense of confidence sparking within me. I held out my hands and snapped my fingers. A flame appeared instantly and quickly spread up to my elbows. I closed my fist and went into a fighting stance.

"Bring it on."

~~~~~

Author's Notes

Hello again. Sorry for the hiatus, I wasn't feeling to well lately and I needed some time off. But I've recovered and I'm back. Now, I'm not sure if I'm entirely happy with this chapter. I mean, I didn't plan it so of coarse it wouldn't necessarily be one of my best, but I've already spent too much time on it and I'm not starting over. Hopefully the next chapter will be easier to write and turn out better than this one.

-BlueBoyHalo14