Chapter twenty one- Hidden powers

"So, who's your friend, Alibaba?" Judar questioned. He strolled around the area, hand palming the small pile of gems in his pocket. He had made more with the help of Hakuryuu just before, while they were creating their backup plan for their fight with Gyokuen, as well as another safety precaution.

"Nevermind him. He's not a part of this," Alibaba kept his eyes on Judar as he moved.

"Is he not a mage, then?" Judar assumed, looking behind the blond at the tan skinned male.

"He's none if your concern, Judar." Alibaba remained completely serious. His plan was already going wrong. He didn't think they'd run into Judar, and being split up from Saber wasn't good. They were completely vulnerable. The blond glanced backwards at the staircase behind them. If we can get in there safely...

"So, why are you here, Alibaba? Looking for a fight?" Judar changed the subject, his curious gaze remaining on Cassim.

"No, just information."

"On Al-Thamen? Go ahead, I won't stop you." Judar's eyes wandered to the blond again.

Alibaba frowned, "Why not? You're working with them, aren't you?"

Judar shrugged, smirking, "Who knows?"

"Come on, Alibaba, let's just get this over with," Cassim whispered to the blond.

"We need Saber to do that," Alibaba hissed back, glancing over his shoulder at Cassim.

"I screwed your plans up, huh, Alibaba?" Judar continued to smile at the teens. He pulled out a few gems and played with them- tossing them in the air and catching them as he began to pace the small clearing. "You shouldn't need Saber to fight. You're a mage, aren't you?"

"Of course I am. I wouldn't have been able to summon a servant if I wasn't," Alibaba defended himself.

"Then attack me," Judar challenged. "Go ahead, I'll let you get the first hit." He stopped walking and turned to the pair, "Unless you can't."

Alibaba glanced around again, this time searching for a weapon. Nothing. Dammit... He looked down at his hands. He hadn't told anyone this, not Cassim, nor Hakuryuu before the war officially started, but Alibaba barely knew how to use magic. Summoning Saber was the most difficult thing he'd done so far. Besides creating fire in his hands for light or to burn small things, the teen knew nothing. He had no idea what his abilities were beyond that, his father never had the chance to teach him.

Unsure what else he could do, Alibaba raised his right hand and pointed it at Judar. He willed his magic to work with him as he set his hand aflame and attempted to shoot the fire at the black haired master. It worked, surprisingly.

"Woah!" Judar jumped to the side as an unstable ball of fire shot past him. The fire hit a tree behind him, yet it didn't burn. The fire was far too weak to do anything but quickly burn out. "Fire magic, huh?" The teen smirked, "This should be fun against my ice magic!" He crushed the gems in his hand and tossed them at the teens.

Cassim caught one of the shards, looking down at it curiously, "...Ice?"

"Cassim, drop it!" Alibaba lunged at the teen, tearing the gem shard from his hand and throwing it aside. Not even seconds later Judar shouted, 'Thalg Al-Salos!', causing all of the shards to grow into large, sharp, icicles.

Judar laughed as Alibaba and Cassim stood, "You idiot! You clearly aren't a mage if you do something stupid like that!"

"Cassim, don't touch the gem shards," Alibaba advised, keeping his eyes on Judar. "His ice magic is powered by them."

"Yeah, I got that," Cassim nodded, brushing himself off. "So how do we beat him?"

"He'll run out of gems eventually, after that he'll be defenceless."

"And what if I don't run out?" Judar pulled out three more gems and crushed them.

He uses two or three with each attack... Alibaba frowned, why does he use them so carelessly? That many at a time...surely he can't hold many. He readied his right arm with more fire as he watched Judar easily crush the gems.

As Judar tossed the gems in the air with another shout, Alibaba began shooting more fireballs, the opposite elements canceling each other out as they clashed together. Frustrated, Judar pulled out more gems, repeating the process but instead shouting, "Thalg Thalgeyya!"

Several large ice-shaped dragons came from the gem shards and ran at the teens. Alibaba swiftly grabbed Cassim by the wrist, pulling him into the forest for cover. The dragons pursued them, easily dodging the environment, as well as the fireballs Alibaba attempted to shoot at them.

"What the hell are those things?!" Alibaba exclaimed as they ran.

"Can't you do more than just shoot fire?!" Cassim asked urgently.

Alibaba shook his head, "No, well, I don't know."

"Well try something!"

"Ok! Ok!" Alibaba tried to think, but his thoughts were scattered. He couldn't help but think of what could happen if he messed up. Or how if this went their way he'd have to kill Judar. If, that is. So far, the odds were not in their favor.

As the pair continued to run from the relentless ice dragons, Alibaba tried to remember reading about his type of magic in the book his father had left him. He could vaguely recall learning how to make objects from different elements, like weapons made of water or flames. He could try and perform the magic, but it wasn't sure to work. He wasn't even sure if he had enough mana to do so.

He took a deep breath, and concentrated on his magic circuits. He tried to imagine the magic flowing through him, to imagine the shape of a sword in his hands. Alibaba slowed his pace and coated both hands in fire, "Amol Saiqa!"

"Alibaba, what are you doing?" Cassim slowed his own pace, the dragons approaching quickly.

The blond teen ignored him and continued to will his magic to work, the fire in his palms building and beginning to change form. The orange flames began forming into a short, curved, sword, to the amazement of the two teens. "It worked!" Alibaba marveled at his new weapon, but his victory was short-lived as he was reminded of the ice dragons just mere feet away from them, closing in fast.

"Alibaba..." Cassim reminded him of the impending danger, only causing the teen to panic more.

"U-Uhm... Honō no Kabe!" Alibaba raised the sword and swung it across the ground in front of them, a large wall of fire sprouting from where the sword touched. The ice dragons were helpless against it, all of them barreling into the wall unknowingly and melting instantly.

"Oh, wow!" Judar marveled, strolling over with his hands in his sweat-pant's pockets. "That's impressive! Did you finally learn how to use magic, Ali-baby?" As he approached the fire wall diminished, leaving a trail of ash in it's wake.

Alibaba hesitantly raised his magic sword to the teen, "Judar, I don't want to fight you."

"Why not? Afraid you'll lose?" Judar taunted, pulling out two more gems. I don't have many left... He knew he was being reckless with them, but he didn't care. For the first time he was having fun using magic, despite the pain it brought him. It was agonizing, having Hyde activated as well as using magic. He could feel Berserker slipping from his grip; soon he wouldn't be able to control him without doubling over in pain. He couldn't let Hyde take over completely, meaning Judar needed to finish Alibaba off as soon as possible.

"Come on, Ali-baby! Play with me more!" The black haired master teased more, hoping to anger the blond. It worked.

"Is that all this is to you? A game?!" Alibaba tightened his grip, the flames responding by growing hotter and bigger. Judar did nothing but smirk at him. "Hey, answer me, Judar! What's your intent for the Grail?!"

Judar shrugged, "Who cares? Come on, fight me!"

"He's like a child," Cassim muttered, growing annoyed. "Kick is ass already, Alibaba."

"I-I know..." Alibaba answered, glancing around quickly. He looked Judar over; he was wide open. The blond readied his sword, Now!

Alibaba kicked off the ground and sprinted towards Judar, the flames surrounding his hands growing with every step. As he drew closer, Judar crushed the gems he held and prepared to throw them. Alibaba saw this, and adjusted his position accordingly. Judar smirked, and just before Alibaba struck him, he threw the gems around the blond, the name of the spell being cut of as Alibaba's sword slashed across his chest, "Thalg Al-Sal-!!"

As if in slow-motion, Judar fell to the ground, bleeding profusely, while Alibaba whipped around just in time to see several shards of ice impale themselves into Cassim's torso and limbs. "C-Cassim!" The blond gasped, the magic vanishing from his hands as he ran over to his friend. The ice melted as Cassim fell, Alibaba catching him just before he hit the ground. "Cassim, hang on!"

Judar pulled himself up slightly, dragging himself backward until he was leaning against a tree trunk. He tried to hold his wound shut, but it was useless. It went diagonally across his chest, luckily missing any vitals. Breathing hard, he tried to mentally contact Berserker, "Jekyll, now! Stop Hyde!"

~

Author's Note-

so I made a second 'opening' too but I'm not risking youtube copyright so link is in the external link thing if it's not working or you can't find it comment that you can't and I'll give you the link c: