Author's Notes:
Firstly, as always, I would like thank all those who favorite, followed or reviewed my story. Your support is really appreciated and pushes me to try harder.
Secondly, I'm actually kind of surprised about the sudden increase in the update speed for this story; I mean, this makes three updates in less than two weeks. It feels as if I'm suddenly overflowing with ideas for side stories and Omakes.
Regardless of this sudden bout of inspiration I hope you like this chapter; I surely found the mental image it gave me highly amusing.
Lastly: I do not own either "HighSchool DxD" or "SwordArtOnline"
Omake: Familiar Mayhem II
Walking alongside the rest of the Peerage trough the moonlit forest, following their debatably insane guide, Kirito couldn't help but muse about how odd the crimson tinted forest really was.
'There are so many strange creatures around here, it's no wonder Satooji is so strange if this is what he has to deal with in a daily basis.' He thought, remembering the Undines, the Spirit Fox and the Sprite Dragon they had found so far.
The fact they had seen all those in little more than an hour only reinforcing his opinion about the oddity that was the Familiar Forest.
But his idle musings were suddenly brought to a halt upon noticing that the Familiar Master had unexpectedly halted his confident stride, body tense and unmoving as dry sweat started to run down his back.
"Everybody stay calm and do as I say!" Satooji quietly said, alarm clear in his tone.
"Quietly backtrack on your footsteps, make no sudden movements or loud noises and above all else remain calm! Follow my lead and everything will be just fine!" He quickly explained; his tone of voice attempting to be reassuring but clearly dipping towards panic, as if he himself didn't really believe in his own words.
A sudden feeling of unease and apprehension taking hold of him, Kirito attempted to see what had caused the sudden change of heart on their guide while silently stepping forward in order to shield Asuna and Koneko if necessary.
After all, something capable of striking fear into someone who thought a Hydra was a nice familiar, or that going after a Dragon-god was a good idea, could only be a truly fearsome beast.
Upon seeing the source of their guide distress, Kirito couldn't help but blink in astonishment. His mind struggling with the concept that what he was seeing truly was what had Satooji so frightened.
A white feathery body no larger than eleven inches, small black eyes, two wings at its sides and a small red comb at the top of its head completing its appearance.
"That's a chicken." Issei pointed out while stepping forward, unknowingly voicing what was on the mind of the entire Peerage.
"That's not a chicken! That's a Cucco!" The Familiar Master hissed in alarm, a frantic look in his eyes.
Giving their odd guide a strange look Issei approached the small, harmless looking, chicken-like being, a small smile appearing on his face.
"After all that talk about capturing monsters and whatnot, I can't believe that you are really afraid of this little guy." He gleefully said, crouching down and moving a hand forward to poke the Cucco.
"Don't…!" The Familiar Master hastily attempted to say; a look of utter doom permeating his features as Issei poked the harmless looking feathery creature.
Clearly annoyed by the action the Cucco threw his head backwards, unleashing a loud crow, the normally ordinary sound echoing through the trees in a foreboding manner.
Looking at the small chicken-like creature as it unleashed its battle cry Kirito's instincts suddenly awakened.
His instincts, instincts born in the fields of battle, honed in countless struggles where the smallest mistake could mean death, instincts that he trusted above everything else, were now literally screaming at him, telling him with absolute certainty that he really didn't want to stay around.
Widening his eyes at the sudden feeling of utter dread and looming danger that had appeared he turned the urgent warning his instincts were telling him into one single word, unintentionally shouting it alongside the now completely panic stricken Familiar Master.
"Run!"
Matching actions to words Kirito darted forward, right hand grabbing Asuna's while his left grabbed Koneko's, ensuring they would follow him before bolting away at the fastest speed he could muster, right after the already fleeing Familiar Master.
Behind him the rest of the Peerage was doing the same, Kiba carrying a confused looking Asia as Akeno and Rias flanked him, worry and apprehension battling with the confusion they were feeling at Kirito and Satooji's sudden actions.
Looking in confusion from his spot right next to the chicken-like being Issei wasted a precious moment wondering what exactly was happening, a moment he simply couldn't afford to lose.
For in that very same moment, appearing as if from nowhere and crowing their wrath, the Cucco horde descended.
Looking at the battered form laying on the ground, wounds covering him from head to toe despite the fact Asia had been healing him for over a minute already, Kirito could honestly say he would never look at a chicken the same way ever again.
The unending horde of Cuccos had descended upon the Peerage's only [Pawn] with a fury no mortal mind could understand.
He had watched in terrified awe alongside the others after escaping the immediate area as the feathery storm descended upon Issei with single minded intensity, attacking him in unending waves and forcing him to activate his Sacred Gear in order to attempt to fight back the onslaught, to no avail.
Uncaring about their own safety, shrugging off blows capable of shattering rocks and uprooting trees as if they had no meaning, they simply kept attacking the unfortunate soul that had unknowingly disturbed one of their kin.
He had stood in transfixed astonishment as the frantic [Pawn] activated the Balance Breaker of his Longinus class Sacred Gear in a final attempt to escape their unrelenting assault.
An escape that was only barely possible due to him firing a fully powered Dragon Shot, backed by no less than seventeen boosts, the gargantuan explosion clearing the area long enough for Kiba to dart forward grab the [Pawn] and run as fast as he could for ten minutes straight until the Cuccos gave up their pursuit, the creatures apparently having survived the gargantuam blast of demonic energy completely unscathed.
"W-what… was that…?" Issei mumbled from the ground, once again giving voice to the thoughts of the entire Peerage.
"As I said before, that was a Cucco." The blank faced familiar master promptly replied in a grave manner.
"A triple S class creature, known for its apparent invulnerability to all known forms of attack, be they magical, mundane, holy or demonic, an extremely poor temper if disturbed and the ability to summon more members of its species with its crow, an ability that is capable of bypassing any shield or ward known to this day."
"There is no known way to fight them when they are angered, the only even vaguely effective way to deal with them is to run fast enough and far enough for them to lose interest." He explained, taking a deep breath in order to recompose himself.
"Bottom line kid is this: If you see a Cucco in your path, leave it the hell alone and go another way." He continued in a matter of fact tone, giving a solemn nod to punctuate that fact.
"Fear the Cucco kid, fear the Cucco…" He finished in a barely audible manner, a faraway look in his eyes, his words receiving the silent agreement of the entire Peerage.
Author's Notes:
This was a truly amusing chapter to write.
The Cucco horde, bane of 'The Legend of Zelda' players worldwide, unstoppable, un-killable, harmless looking beings, that if angered cannot be defeated, escape being the only route left for those who dared defy them.
I found the idea of them appearing as an actual magical creature to be truly amusing, and while thinking about it, and how the Peerage would deal with them, this chapter came into being.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review before leaving.
