Two Days Ago

Chapter 3

Two Days Ago

"Come on! Please tell me. What's my next mission?" Alistor eagerly asked. "Will I learn a new move today? Or maybe something cool?"

He continues to ramble on while Sairori tries hard to ignore his every word. Enjoying a moment to himself by the table at early morning breakfast. A coffee mug in his hands.

"Ahem…your next task is to secure some work. A local part-time job, one might say."

He stopped his rambling for a brief moment as the master drinks.

"What? How will this help? Monsters are everywhere! And there's no time for that. I need to get stronger so I can take on every monster they got. Some new skill, a move, or maybe something cool that can wipe out an army."

The master whacks him on the head.

"What was that for?"

"Don't get too cocky. You barely even perfected the Star Breaker."

"What! But I totally whooped that Mushogun guy at the last battle. Back at that parking lot, remember? I blasted him away. Even exploding!"

He attempts to use his previous victory as an excuse.

"Nay! You are not ready yet, and that one move is enough." Sairori assured as he tosses a handbook over for him to catch.

Taking a closer look at the papers filled with job openings.

"Are you serious?" He rejected. "Can't I be paid to fight monsters? Like what you are doing? Mathias local army or even a private defense establishment? A sword for hire at least?"

Alistor continues to show disfavor on the master's decision.

"It's not as easy as you think…."

"How so?"

"Trust me; you don't want to bother. Long story short, you'll learn nothing from the local army. I've been there, and it will save you years." He explained. "Anyways, since your school is forever closed, a part-time job may be the next best thing for you. You'll learn way more than you think; now go."

"But…"

"Go! I have other matters to tend to."

Sairori quickly boots him out the doors. Then, with the paper clutched in his hands, he heads out to seek some jobs.

"Look like I'll have to give this a shot then. Hopefully…"

Meanwhile, back with Vilevelious and his forces... General Shellshock makes an announcement for the other minions to hear.

"Two days it has been. Mushogun was small-time, so I present my plan I've cooked up."

"Oh goody! Do tell." The emperor jumped.

The general pressed a button projecting a busy street downtown—a local business with people shopping here and there.

"My newest monster, Decoma, shall take the sky at night. First, by stealing local valuables, my monster will then replace them with duplicates that will drain buyers nonstop."

"And how will Decoma pull this? Sounds quite expensive." He questioned.

"Not to worry! Decoma specializes in replicating any object. May it be plastic, stone, wood, or even clay, it won't cost a single penny. The Whoopers will be there to secure the stolen goods."

"Pure forgery? I like the sound of it so far."

"Yes, imagine the looks on the shoppers' faces when they find their gifts were no more than replicas. A potential of negative energy for the labyrinth." Shellshock assured. "Even better, we get to keep the goods ourselves."

"Very well, begin operation. Deploy Decoma immediately."

Back below, Alistor arrives downtown. Focusing out from the papers, he comes to the front of a local jewelry store as his first stop. The window posted a "Now hiring!" sign.

"Maybe this won't be so bad after all."

Alistor enters the shop, spotting an older woman tending the store.

A couple of hours later….

"Youch! Stop it! Stop it! It was a mistake." Alistor wailed, taking cover.

He was getting whacked by the older woman with a broom.

"You sold that couple the wrong ring. I told you before, the discount section on the third right shelf."

The woman then takes a look at her inventory. She stood frozen in fear for a brief moment before screaming.

"AHHHH! You sorted these gems all wrong. You've been selling my most expensive gems for less. You're fired! OUT! OUT!"

He gets kicked out of the store. A moment later, the papers lead him to an antique shop.

"Maybe this will work out."

Alistor enters without hesitation; a middle-aged man greeted him as he accepted the job offer. Then, in a matter of minutes, he found himself caught in a long lecture.

"I suppose I could use an assistant. As you see, all the items here are precious. I got artifacts from civilizations dated far back during the Alandhite reign. So they are centuries old blah blah blah…."

Alistor quickly finds himself drowsy, leaning back against an object as the man rambles on.

"With me, we'll explore and uncover lots of secrets. Discover the unknowns and learn about ancient pasts. But, of course, these items are fragile, so you have to be very…." The middle-aged man suddenly turns his attention to Alistor. "CAREFUL!!!"

He wakes from the tone of the man's voice as a large vase behind toppled over. It shatters to pieces, leaving the owner completely heartbroken.

"I'm so sorry…."

"Never mind, leave me be." The man cried.

Alistor quietly takes his leave, heading to the next job. But, instead, he finds himself in front of a pizzeria that was now hiring.

"Third times a charm."

A few moments later, he found himself biking fast in a pizza boy get up. Completely stressed as he was barely able to make ends meet on time for each delivery. Boxes piled behind his back. He lost control of the bike as it came skidding to the side.

"Oh no!"

In a matter of seconds, he came crashing through a barnyard filled with hay. Pizza is scattered all across as he returns with the bike nearly destroyed. An oversized figure before him confronts him.

"WHAT! Twenty orders behind! Why do you do this?" The fat man yelled.

The manager of the pizza place was scolding Alistor.

"Look, I'm sorry. Just give me another shot. I'll get it right this time." Alistor promised.

The manager lets off a deep breath.

"Look…."He sighed. "You already had four tries, and you delivered them all to the wrong places. So sorry, kid, I'm going to have to let you go."

Alistor walks out of the pizzeria with a long face. Disappointed with no will to look further. He goes and takes a seat by the bench nearby. A while later, he got up, bumping into a significant figure before him. It overshadows him, catching him by surprise.

"Oh, Bamboo? It's you!" He nervously stuttered. "How have things been going?"

A moment of tension and silence between the two. Alistor then takes a few steps back, intimidated by his glare.

"Look…I'm sorry for everything." He bowed. "I know you lost your job. I promise I'll make this up to you. With these monsters around and stuff, the situation is complicated. So no hard feelings?"

Bamboo begins lecturing back.

"Two days ago, monsters came a second time. Two days ago, you dined on my ramen. Two days ago, my kitchen was a battleground. Two days ago, you set my propane on fire. Two days ago, you blew up the whole school a second time. And TWO DAYS AGO, I got fired from my job."

"I'm sorry! So sorry, I didn't mean it to turn out this way." He continued to fuss.

Alistor was down on his knee, begging for forgiveness as he expects the worse yet to come.

"AND! I actually wanted to thank you for that."

Bamboo caught him off by surprise.

"Say what? How so?" Alistor wondered as Bamboo begins explaining himself.

"Two days ago, I nearly lost sight of why I cook. Working at a dead-end job in a cafeteria was not a good way to go. But, seeing you dine with that monster gave me new hope inside—my passion for cooking and the joy of watching others scuffling food. Ever since I got fired, a new flame sparked inside. To follow my dream and finally open a restaurant."

Alistor turned around to notice some lights turn on. Witnessing the grand opening of a new restaurant in town.

"Well, congratulations, I guess... Oh, wait! Are you actually hiring?" He asked.

"Why, of course. Come on in!"

He enters inside with Bamboo to check the new restaurant. Chairs, tables, and fish tanks around. With a complete kitchen and some newly enforced floor tiles giving off a shine. Everything was set and ready for business. The two took a brief moment to converse quite a bit, sinking everything in.

A few minutes later…

"So you're not really mad about the school? How were you able to afford all this?"

"The students there were never really bright." Bamboo personally admits. "How I afforded this? Let's just say I've saved enough. Plus, with some connections on the side. Nothing shady…Ahem!"

Bamboo hands over a uniform. And so he begins training for the job. Commencing through quick lessons from taking customer orders to cleaning dishes and tables for the remainder of the day.

"Now try this!" Bamboo ordered.

"What is that stuff?"

"Grass Jelly! My specialty on the house. Give it a try."

Alistor takes a spoonful in his mouth. A few seconds later, he is seen gasping for air in total disgust. Then, choking as he is unable to bear the taste.

"This stuff is awful….Such foul taste. How can this be a delightful dessert?"

"Everyone's a critic…."Bamboo sighed.

Alistor then returns home after the long day. Utterly exhausted as the master greets him back at the house. A mysterious letter is seen in his hands.

"So, how was your day? Find any good work?"

"I don't want to talk about it ugh…."

He caught a glimpse of the letter he was looking over.

"So, what's that letter for?"

The master puts it away.

"It's none of your concern. Ahem…"

Later that night, downtown…

Shellshock arrives down with a team of Whoopers by the pizza place. Near to the closing time as they approached a truck. He grabs hold of a big man from behind.

"Halt! I'm here to appropriate all the Pizza you got. So surrender!"

The fat manager is seen scared half to death by the general as he attempted to get away in the delivery truck.

"Lock on!"

The general fires a missile at the vehicle causing him to break a fire hydrant and crash into a metal pole. Boxes of Pizza scattered across the streets as the Whoopers began collecting them. Shellshock helps himself to a slice as they took seats by the windows.

"Now to sit back and watch. Decoma, you're up."

The monster arrives, swooping through the air. Pouncing down at the top of the very first store it sets sight on. Decoma materialized through the Jewelry store in liquid form. Moist and clay build-up across the room as the power gets disabled. Finally, the monster sets sight on the inventory of gems displayed across.

"Finders Keepers!"

Decoma's arm stretched out, encasing every gem in the display. Covered in a thick matter of goo as the stones are replaced with a duplicate. Finally, commander Shellshock arrives backdoors with the Whoopers.

"Good! Excellent performance! Next, we'll hit that gift shop nearby and follow by that expensive antique store."

"My pleasure, commander."

The following day…

Lines full of customers wait as Bamboo's doors opened. Tables packed in a matter of seconds as loads of work piled for Alistor. Bamboo is seen busy preparing various dishes in the kitchen while he carried them out. Meals from hot bowls of noodles with seafood are served across the tables.

"This is a lot of work. You need to hire a couple more workers." Alistor suggested.

"I'll put that into consideration." Bamboo noted. "Now hurry with this one."

Bamboo hands over an oversized seafood platter for him to carry out. Barely able to handle its mass as he stumbled on out. He then overhears some customers bragging by the table.

"Have you heard the pizza place got hit last night?" Some woman brought up.

"Yeah, I also heard my friend's boyfriend made a regrettable purchase today. His hard-earned money wasted on a fake engagement ring."

Alistor then overhears a riot happening outside. A mob of shoppers across the street of another store with receipts. A store manager seen refusing as a no return policy gets posted.

"Looks like everyone's demanding a refund."

"Much counterfeit stuff has been circulating the market today, and the merchant owners have no explanation for this."

"How so?" Alistor asked. "Can't they tell if it's fake through common sense?"

The customers inside continued to explain.

"Not from what I've heard. When her boyfriend first saw that ring. It looked so real and was authentic when he held it in his hands. It wasn't until after purchase, minutes later, the ring magically turned to mud."

Speculation and theories begin making their way across the next couple of days. But, unfortunately, they could only watch as the other businesses fall victim.

"This is simply a matter of forgery." Bamboo stated.

"Forgery?"

"Yep!" Bamboo nodded. "Someone overnight simply replaced everything with an exact duplicate with such precision and accuracy."

Later that night, Bamboo was busy counting cash as the store got to closing hour. But, unfortunately, Alistor remained after an hour.

"You're done for the day." Bamboo reminded.

"I know…but somehow it doesn't feel right. So I'm gonna go take a look around."

"Suit yourself."

He heads into the back of the kitchen to grab a quick drink. He suddenly hears a sound coming from the back corridor.

"It's coming from the storage room."

He goes to check the back, opening the doors quietly as he spots a robed figure taking leave through a back window.

"No way am I letting you get away."

Alistor pulls out his blade quietly, leaving from the back as he pursues the mysterious figure. He makes his way through the alley and past down the street, keeping a distance.

Somewhere outside of the town perimeter. A marksman waits in the middle of a narrow path—some bags of goods on the ground.

"Dammit, Auroa. What's taking you so long? I'm tired of waiting."

Alistor continues to follow the robed figure making his way through some shallow woods. Finally, he comes to a halt taking cover.

"Another one…so there's two of them."

The robed figure approached the waiting marksman.

"Well, about time! What took you so long? So you got the goods?"

"All here, Maigashi."

"Good! Now let's get out."

The two begin to leave as Alistor continues to follow their trail quietly. A slight breeze of wind passed by.

"Hey, Auroa…"

"I know…"

The two came to a stop as Auroa suddenly appears right behind Alistor, catching him off by surprise.

"Peekaboo!"

Alistor reacted, jumping far back as he attempts to gain some ground.

"So you're the fiends who been stealing all those goods. Making forgeries for unsuspecting victims. Such low lives."

"We did no such thing?" Maigashi argued. "If we wanted something, we would have taken it normally."

He pulled his sword towards them.

"I don't believe any of you. Two days ago, the pizza joint got hit. And overnight, someone stole everything."

"Hey! Two days ago, we minded our own business."

Auroa suddenly stepped in the middle of their arguing.

"I knew you were following back in town."

"What you actually knew?" Alistor stumbled.

"Of course! Think I wanted to attract attention? I can assure you we are not the foe you seek."

"I'm not buying it. Bring it!"

Alistor begins charging at both of them.

"Looks like this runt wants to play. He's even younger than us." Maigashi teased.

Alistor takes a swing but missed. The two easily dodged his next set of oncoming attacks.

"You must be a student from that closed school. How adorable." Auroa giggled.

"Shut up! And fight!"

A sudden gust of wind pushed him back, bringing him to a brief stop.

"Calm down; we're really not the ones you truly seek. You misunderstand!" Auroa repeated.

Alistor begins focusing his blade, building some energy around.

"Don't underestimate me!"

"What! An energy user?" Auroa halted as Alistor attempts to strike.

"Give me a break." Maigashi nodded. "Enough games!"

The marksman quickly pulls out his bow, firing an electrical blast at his blade, canceling his technique. Alistor stood stunned as Maigashi knocks him back. He falls flat on his back.

A brief moment later...

Auroa is seen tending his minor wound as they reasoned out their differences. Finally, Alistor filled them both in on everything that happened so far.

"What? Do you mean you're not the real forgers? Why are you even helping me?"

Maigashi reveals the contents of the goods to him. Nothing but food and some leftover scraps from Bamboo's restaurant.

"A little kindness goes far." Auroa cheerfully said.

They suddenly hear the sound of an explosion.

"What was that?"

"That must be the culprit." Maigashi pointed.

Alistor immediately got right back up, rushing to the scene.

"Wait! You must rest!" Auroa hollered.

"No time! I must hurry back."

He leaves the two behind, making his way downtown. Commander Shellshock is seen blowing up the pizza joint a second time. The fat manager is seen popping from under the counter.

"Now, what do you want?" The fat man whined.

"I have a big order to make, and the emperor requests EXTRA CHEESE!" The general ordered. "Now get to work."

The man follows the Whoopers into the back kitchen.

"Stop right there!"

Shellshock turned around as Alistor appeared before his very eyes.

"So you're the little runt who bested Mushogun."

"What! A machine?" Alistor hesitated for a brief moment.

"Yeah! That's right! Straight from Aggerona's Aerial division! Mach 79, fully revved up and ready for battle. I'm the next demon general to run things, and Shellshock's the name."

He fires a small rocket at Alistor, forcing him to jump out of the store. The two made their way outside as the general began taking flight. Alistor had his blade gripped tight and ready.

"We'll see about that. Come on! Give me your best shot." He provoked.

Shellshock takes a dive swooping down at high speed. Alistor loses balance as the general glides past him.

"Hah! Never handled an opponent in the air before?"

Alistor begins charging his blade once again. Focusing as an aura begins to emit around, but the general immediately took him by surprise. A chain came bursting from Shellshocks chest, wrapping him.

"What! You pop chains from your chest?" Alistor cried.

The general begins to haul him around like a yo-yo. Alistor lands hard on his bottom as the general laughs away.

"Ha! And to think Mushogun lost so easily. I can finish you right now if I want. In fact, maybe I will."

A Whooper grunt suddenly interrupts the battle.

"Oh, the pizza is actually ready?"

Commander Shellshock releases Alistor from the chain. Loads of pizza boxes are seen carried out from each Whooper as the general checks over the order.

"You're not even worth my time. I'll have my monster finish you. Decoma, you're up!"

A monster swoops into the fray as Shellshock, and the soldiers teleport away. The fat manager is seen catching his breath, relieved.

"That's it! I can't take this abuse." He cried. "Too many monster attacks. I'm closing!"

Alistor got up, facing the new monster taking the sky. Decoma swoops down while he attempts to make a swing but misses.

"Gah!"

"Hahaha! Let's twist things up." Decoma chuckled.

Decoma begins flapping his wings hard. A dust storm begins encasing the entire battle concealing the monster from sight.

"What? A dust storm? I can't even see."

The monster continues to swoop down. Alistor gets knocked back and forth, taking every hit as he blindly struggles to figure something.

"Damn! I don't know what to do." Alistor pounded. "He has a complete advantage while I'm a sitting duck. And to think I prefer fighting plants instead."

Decoma knocks him down once more. Pinned to the ground as he couldn't get up. The monster took pity.

"Tell you what? I'll make this quick and painless ha ha ha."

Just before Decoma had the chance to dive, he gets hit by two elemental blasts behind. The monster falls, crashing to the ground as Auroa pulls Alistor out from the battle. The two rogues take a stand against Decoma, recovering in the nick of time.

"Hey? Who do you think you are?"

Decoma takes the sky once more, creating another storm at high speed. The dust begins to quickly collect the air while the two remained stationary without any hesitation. Alistor could only cover his eyes as the current escalates into a dust storm.

"Auroa, you ready? Let's show them how it's really done." Maigashi said.

Decoma swoops in close for the strike.

"Now I got you!"

Auroa immediately opens his eyes for a brief moment dispelling the entire storm. Decoma finds himself suddenly frozen in place.

"What? My storm! How is this possible?" The monster questioned.

Maigashi begins chuckling for a brief moment before explaining.

"My buddy here's a wind channeler. You rely on keeping a far distance against your opponents, but it's just not your lucky day. We happen to specialize in distance combat, and your little dust storm is of no threat to us."

"No! I'm not done yet."

Decoma forced himself further back, attempting to create another storm, but gets a wing pierced by an electrical dagger thrown by Maigashi. The monster stood completely stunned in midair. Then, Auroa creates a whip from thin air. Lashing out from under his long dark hair as it left Alistor speechless.

"Wind Whip Slash!"

"NOOOOO!"

A strong force of air pierced through Decoma's heart, delivering the final blow to the chest. His body begins to crumble like clay before his very eyes. Finally, the monster came crashing down, creating a massive explosion on impact.

A while later…

"There! We're even now." Maigashi said.

Just before the two parted ways with Alistor, they sensed something behind a bush.

"Bamboo?"

"Have you been watching this whole time?" Alistor asked.

Bamboo had a proposition to make.

"I'd like to hire you both. Come and work at my new restaurant." Bamboo offered.

Alistor's jaw dropped for a brief moment. Unable to believe what he just heard as he attempts to reason out with Bamboo.

"What? No! Are you serious? You're seriously going to hire these low lives?"

"Hey! Who are you calling low." Maigashi raged as he pulls Alistor up from his neck collar.

"But they're criminals."

Bamboo remained chill as a cucumber as Alistor broke out of his grasp.

"I'm heartbroken." Auroa sarcastically nodded.

"I know…" Bamboo admitted.

"Then why? Give me one good reason." He shouted.

Bamboo then whacks Alistor over the head with a frying pan. A smile cracked from the other two as they watched.

"Listen for one brief second." Bamboo explained. "They may be thieves, but they're not your everyday criminals. They both worked together in harmony, and you could learn something from this. In fact, I can see you all working together."

"Give me a break." Alistor glared back at the two.

"It's a gut feeling, but I'm going with it. Plus, they're both around your age range. It's perfect!" Bamboo nodded.

The other two begin to converse privately.

"You think this is worth our time?" Maigashi whispered.

"Well…we do have nowhere else to go. But, unfortunately, food is scarce at the moment." Auroa shrugged.

"You'll be paid, of course." Bamboo mentioned.

Maigashi immediately accepts the offer sealing the deal as handshakes passed around. Leaving Alistor completely dumbfounded with two new members following back.

"No hard feelings. I'm sure in due time we'll get along once you get to know us. We'll do our very best to help. " Auroa smiled.

Alistor felt anxious for a moment, trying to distance himself away from the two. Maigashi suddenly reached out to give him a noogie from behind.

"Yeah! You'll be just like an annoying little brother we never had."

"Get off me!"

He pulled away from his grasp as his hair was getting messed up.

A moment later, the party arrives back at the restaurant. Bamboo serves up a round of grass jelly for everyone, leaving Alistor once again in utter disgust. Auroa and Maigashi simply helped themselves to the treat as he stood by.

"You guys can actually stomach that stuff?" He questioned.

"Are you kidding? This stuff is good." Maigashi pestered back.

"I've had worse," Auroa said.

"My gut was right." Bamboo wept as he happily watches.

The very next day later... Breaking news was in store for Alistor as Sairori came to the restaurant early morning with a sudden announcement. The mysterious letter from before clutched in his very hand.

"There is a dire situation happening down in Lavendhite. Another great threat has emerged, and I'm needed elsewhere." The master said.

"Lavendhite? Where is that? And what is this other great threat?" Alistor hastily asked.

"It's a region halfway across the world," Auroa answered. "Surrounded by the Violet seas. I heard it also consisted of three islands protecting a legendary pillar."

The master begins to take leave, but Alistor immediately got up, refusing to accept his decision.

"You can't leave now. There's so much I need to learn. I only know one move."

"The Star Breaker is enough," Sairori assured.

"But can't I come? And what is this new threat?"

"No! That other threat is not of your concern. You must stay here and fight off the current threat in this land." He reminded. "Vilevelious has yet to make his appearance, and four demon generals remain."

A slight look of worry was on Alistor's eyes as the master stepped out. Completely unsure of himself while the rest bid him farewell. The master then takes a pause.

"Don't worry…You are in good hands."

Sairori last words uplift his mood before disappearing into the sunrise.