Chapter 18: Axel vs Jeff Part 2

"PB underestimated you," Jeff said. "You must have just awakened your powers. I don't know what's going on with you but I do know I can't get anywhere close. Luckily I don't have to worry about that!"

Expanding out of Jeff's hand was a long strand of licorice. After swiping his arm, the strand whipped above Lars, barely missing his face before smashing a hole into the tree behind him.

"Holy shit!" Lars yelled falling back. "This guy is strong!"

"Unlike most people I wasn't born with normal hair… I was born with strands of Liquorish! I can expand a single strand into a small piece I can enjoy," he said, sucking on a small strand, "Or I can make thousands of fibers come together to make an Ax to take your head right off your body!"

Lars took a look at the dented tree behind him and then started trembling.

Jeff smiled pleased with Lars's capitulation.

"It's okay if you want to go back! I understand, you're not a fighter after all, I didn't expect you to try."

Lars looked up into Jeff's eyes. He wasn't trembling he was laughing

"What's so funny?" Jeff asked confused

" I can feel power flowing through my body and although it's constantly pulling me in and out in and out. It's like….. I'm alive for the first time!" Lars said.

"What!" Jeff exclaimed.

"I've always spent my time running away from fights or being caught up in them! But for the first time in my life… I'm choosing to fight for something... I feel like….. I… I can stop you! For once I actually have the power to fight! I don't have to run away anymore!"

"Yeh go Axel!" his friends cheered

"Hmph! Don't say I didn't warn you" Jeff retorted

Instantly, another strand of liquorish swept at Lars again which he again swiftly ducked under. But this time, before Lars had time to recover, another liquorish strand was coming from the opposite side.

Having no time to dodge, he lifted his hands against the side of his head to block the attack.

The purple strands slammed into the side of his arm, dragging him across the floor and slammed him into a nearby tree.

"Well your senses didn't help you there did they Ax?" Jeff laughed, retracting the purple strands into his arm.

Lars got back to his feet and dusted off his shoulders.

"Ax!" 6 called to him. "How are you going to fight him! You need a source of water!"

"That's right!" Lars thought, "I can't create water out of thin air! I need a source! Focus Lars focus!"

Lars closed his eyes stretching out his ether strands until they hit something.

"Ok, looks like there is a stream of water running below this cliff! I just need to get the water up here! I can feel it, here but its too far away!"

Before he had time to finish that thought, another strand of Liquorish was flying towards him.

This time, learning from the previous attack, he jumped over it and sure enough a second string came from the other side which he positioned himself in the air to dodge.

Firmly landing on a tree branch, he pushed his arms outward in a karate stance ready for the next onslaught of licorice.

Jeff let out a sigh.

" I honestly hoped I wouldn't have to get serious, I was hoping a couple of attacks would put you in your place, but things are going to have to get messy now!" He said, flowing liquorish out of his hands.

"Liquorish isn't always soft and sticky." he mused

As he spoke small shards of violet appeared on the outside of the skin. They poked out of his skin pores like he coated himself in a set of spikes.

"I called it hard liquor!" He said, pointing his arms at Lars .

The little shards of violet began to grow and flow down his arm like porcupine needles, each of them aiming in Lars's direction.

"These will easily pierce your skin! They are much more deadly than they look, I promise!"

Lars looked to his left and right, struggling to find a place to hide. He had landed on the far end of the tree branch, a foolish mistake! He now stood too far away to scurry behind the tree and take cover. The next closest place was far from arms reach. Anywhere he moved he wouldn't be able to get behind cover in time.

"This is over!" Jeff said dropping his head

"Lithium!" He shouted

The bright strands of licorice begin to shine as they seemingly became charged. His arms lit up with hundreds of shards of neon licorice illuminating a vibrant violet light.

Thrusting his arms to the side, Jeff unleashed an onslaught of little shards towards Lars, flying through the air like tiny pieces of shrapnel exploding from a hand grenade.

Lars fell to his knees covering his face bracing for impact.

"Ax!" He heard his friends cry in the background.

Axel felt the water level rising closer and closer to the top of the cliff. He struggled, reaching out towards the waters edge.

"Damnit!" Axel ground. "Make it in time!"

Meanwhile, somewhere out in the desert, a group of men were drilling into a large iron safe. They were atleast 100 meters underground in some sort of cavern picking away at a safe the size of a multi family house.

"How much longer?" A man with a southern accent said. As he spoke, he pulled down on his top ha covering he rest of his face.

"It looks like we may need some sort of code." The man with the staff said. "If we continue to do this by force, it could take a week." The man said.

"I see" The man said "Sherief, won't to happy about this, we need to break this thing open before the N.H.A starts poking it head in, can I trust you six to look over the place while I deliver the news?"

Within moments 5 other shifters appeared, all bowing before the man with the top hat.

"Yes Guille," The man with the staff answered. "An order from Sherieif is absolute."

"Excellent" Guile said disappearing walking off. "The treasure will soon be ours."