Elementals

Chapter 44-Alex VS Keith: Part 3-Limitless

"Geo-Smash!" He yelled. I quickly sparked a flame at my feet before dashing out of the area, a trail of fire behind me. Seconds later, I felt the ground shake as Keith made contact with the arena floor. The insentisy threw me off balance for a second and sent me tumbling across the floor before starting myself. I got a quick glimpse of Keith's ears before he made contact with the ground.

They were rabbit ears.

"Rabbit...?" I hummed in thought. "What traits would rabbits have?"

I didn't get to complete that thought as a large rock was sent flying my way. I ducked, then rolled to the side, avoiding a punch. Keith then tried to land a kick, which I jumped over. I formed a fireball and threw it right into Keith's chest, pushing him back. As I landed, a got a better look at his ears, and they were indeed rabbit ears. Keith shook off the attack and turned to me.

"You're not too bad, Alex. You're blocking and dodging my attacks a lot more than I thought you would." Keith said, cracking his knuckles.

"You're not really giving me much room to breathe." I said. He grinned.

"Animal Instinct, Gorilla."

With that, his arms started to glow. His rabbit ears and feet disappeared and his arms instead transformed into thick and muscular arms with large fists, covered in brown fur with darker patterns. I stared in awe.

"I did not know you could do that." I muttered, blushing slightly.

"Oh believe me, this is only the tip of the iceberg."

Keith punched the ground with his huge fist, shaking the ground and throwing me off balance. He then jumped up, raising his fists, ready to slam then down onto me.

"Uh oh." I darted out of the way just his fists slammed into the ground. I dashed away from him to gain some distance, before stopping at the other end of the arena.

"Okay, so he can change his animal form at any time and give himself a massive boost in strength and speed. Not only that, but he can move faster than me if he wanted to. How do I combat that?" I asked myself. I felt the ground tremble again before more jagged rocks spring from the ground. I jumped out of the way before noticing Keith darting towards me.

"Fire force!"

A twisting column of fire rose from the ground around me just as Keith came in close enough to land another punch. The force field expanded, pushing Keith away. That gave me time to think, though not as much as I'd like.

"Okay, so Keith can use long range attacks to get me in a vulnerable position, he can increase his speed and strength by taking on a different animalistic form and the terrain gives him an advantage." I noticed how tired I was getting, sweat dripping down my face, taking in heavier breaths. But when I looked over at Keith, he looked fine.

"Not to mention the fact that I'm getting tired." I groaned. "What do I do? How do I win this fight?"

I thought for a second, then realized something.

"His wolf, rabbit and gorilla forms involved him needing to get in close for his attacks. And sure, Keith can use long ranged attacks like stonage, but he doesn't use them often. Every time he did, I dodged it easily. It's his punches that I had trouble dodging." I thought for a bit more.

"Keith's fighting style is mainly close combat. But if that's the case then that means..." I gasped in realization.

I found a way to beat him.

In a short burst, the force field faded. My palms quickly ignited before I shot off the ground into the air.

'Keith's long range attacks aren't as accurate as mine. So the best way to beat him...'