The Black Panther

Leaving the scene of Ayuka's confrontation, Codey and Elliott headed to their assigned territory, the caves hidden in the mountains. There was a waterfall flowing from the top, and the area appeared to be surrounded by trees.

"I don't complain when I'm seeking, but why would a little girl cherish her plans to enter these mountains? It's far to dangerous for someone like her..."

"Neither of us can be sure, Elliott. This area seems overly silent and it doesn't seem right for the girl to be here, but we should continue. For all we know the girl could've had a reason to come here, but we can't be certain unless we find her."

"Even if we don't find her we should believe in others. They could find her and if they do I assume they'll inform us over the watch."

"Keep in mind that our watches may not have a signal for us to communicate. We are in the middle of an island without any proper station. Still keep on looking around the mountains, they aren't too big for us to investigate it."

Both of the boys agreed with each other. They sprinted forward deeper into the mountains and would check every cave they came across.

The sounds of sharp metals clashing continued in the biomes of the forest, syncing with the blowing winds. Ayuka and her opponent who took on the appearance of a black panther, had been moving through the battlefield at outstanding speed.

In the rush to eliminate Ayuka as soon as possible the panther prepared for Ayuka to strike. He had been sliding through the leaves which flew from the ground into the air. Ayuka popped out of the high-speed movement in the blink of an eye as she thumped her sole into the ground in the direction of the panther and raised the combined sword above her head. When Ayuka sliced her blade in the shape of a wheel, it slammed into the blade of her opponent, who defended the attack by pushing the sword closer so that she could withstand the earth-shattering Shockwave that pummeled her back in the distance.

While she was trying to get her footing, the panther rammed his foot into the ground and disappeared from the scene. However, he appeared in front of Ayuka, who held the sword in front of her chest and squatted. To force the panther to lose balance, she ducked for the blade to cut over her head. She then pressed her weight on her right knee and spun her left leg on the ground to force the panther to lose balance. As he fell backwards, Ayuka grabbed the floor behind her near her bottom to begin a roll, which she shifted into a handstand, and from there bounced in a form of a flip, which she then rotated to the side to land on both of her feet.

The panther fell to the floor and hit his back. Ayuka took this opportunity to launch herself high above the panther and raise her right leg far above her head. After descending at a rapid pace, she planned to crash her footing into the panther's stomach, but failed due to the panther's quick recovery and sudden disappearance. Before he would get crushed by her foot, he fled, and the force of the strike caused the leaves, dirt, and dust to cover her area, causing a larger crack.

Ayuka was observing the surroundings for the panther when an invisible cut swept through the air, causing Ayuka to react instantly. While she managed to avoid a potentially lethal contact, she had only been cut in the chest and from there leaped into a swirl to distance herself away from where the panther struck. She caught her balance in a squat and used her left palm to support her body to avoid slipping and falling.

In the distance, the panther stared unaffectedly at her, holding the sword in his hands. Upon confirming that the wound on her chest wasn't too severe, she glanced back at the panther.

"For Half Animal and Half Human you seem to know your way around combat and not just that, you still haven't told me your name, panther."

"I am Tandaji the Black Panther and the only legitimate resistance who can defend this island from the Jawjack's Army. I urge you to surrender so that I may swiftly execute you before the Jawjack Army returns to the island."

"You just don't listen, do you? I have told you before...I am only here to provide assistance while searching for the girl. You could say that Elder Rai assigned us to be reinforcements."

"Your deceptions won't work on me. I do not believe a stranger so easily and because you're one of a kind humans to ever set foot on the islands without a proper title, you are a prey for me that must fall before my feet!"

"Why are you so stubborn and ignorant? If I say I'm here to help..."

Ayuka slowly moved her right arm behind her back and released the full force of the cold mist. The mist spread like a wildfire without any control. While doing so, she rotated her right foot so that she could surround her legs with ice spikes to strengthen her balance, turning her palms to face the sky.

Her glare was ominous, confident, and serious. It didn't show any hints of anxiety, yet it was cool as ice. She moved her arm behind her back slowly and released fast ice spikes that grew behind her back and penetrated a tree and at the final moment, she swooped her arm forward in the motion of lifting it above her head, with it releasing a high-defense ice that expanded through the terrain like a gigantic tsunami.

Tandaji's eyes witnessed terror and shock and he was helpless to resist it. The ice blasted through the trees and froze Tandaji inside. Those who watched from a distance witnessed a massive, and some might even call it a horrific, incident. The forest, town, mountains, and even a lake, but that was not all there was not all there was. While sailing across the sea, a pirate ship noticed the massive iceberg.

"Captain Jawjack! We just came in view of Pelwick Island and there is a massive iceberg on top if it at the beaches!"

Jawjack, a pirate who had been sailing for a few days, suddenly showed up in the distance of Pelwick Island with its massive metal jaw opened as he laughed.

"I suppose we've got guests! Speed up the ship, we're saying hello to these newcomers!"

"Understood captain!".

Ayuka came out victorious, and approached Tandaji who had managed to escape the ice with only his head. He looked at her with fury and disappointment.

"I've seen some strong pirates, but you're not ordinary. We can't control the ice. Why didn't you use your ability sooner? You wouldn't need to receive that cut."

Due to her arm being covered by the ice that she used to trap Tandaji, she reached for her pockets and quickly put on the fingerless glove. This covered her arm. She blew a warm breath and then put her arm in her pocket with the sword dangling above her bottom.

"When I use so much ice, it completely freezes my arm, so it becomes immobile for a couple of hours. I could've used weaker attacks, but didn't want to kill you."

"You didn't want to kill me? Then what's all of this? You've covered half of this terrain with this iceberg, freezing me in the process."

"If I wanted to kill you, I would freeze your entire body so you would suffocate, but since you weren't a member of Jawjack Army's crew, I believed you might be able to help."

"I was Jawjack's First Mate, but after I avoided killing one of the civilians for no reason, I was expelled from the ship. That's why I'm stranded here in the wild, avoiding the town as much as possible before the residents begin to perceive me as a threat."

"I understand that you feel guilty and worried, but we're also here as guests. We aren't pirates nor are we evil thugs planning to destroy this place. We've been warned about Jawjack's Army, but we were requested to help the scouting team search for a missing girl. I caught up with you by accident when I chased someone down, but you attempted to kill me the moment I stopped moving."

"I guess you really aren't here to cause trouble. I apologize for the commotion I have caused, but can you free me of this ice?"

Tandaji thought Ayuka would kill him when she grabbed the sword's hilt behind her back. Nevertheless, by drawing her sword quickly, she shattered the ice into small pieces and freed Tandaji from the cold.

"Thank you."

"Now please, were you telling the truth about never seeing a girl? If you did, please tell me so that I can go look for her."

"Honestly, I did not see much, but someone was running toward the mountains. I couldn't see who they were because I was resting, so I only saw a shadow, and I didn't want to chase them."

"My friends are searching in the mountains, so if it really is the girl, we don't need to worry. Let's just hope that the Jawjack Army doesn't show up before that."

But in response to her worried a sudden horn sounded in the distance. Ayuka and Tandaji both stared in surprise.

"You've said it too soon, now the devils have showed up. The Jawjack Pirates..."

To be continued...