Chapter 18: Fate Awaits
Akaitora closed his eyes. It was hopeless to try to escape now. Bloodstain would certainly live up to his name, leaving a large pool surrounding Kai's broken body, and there was naught he could do to stop it. His luck had run out. The world seemed to slow around him. He could hear the air rushing around his assaulter's hooves as they barreled through the air toward him.
Out of nowhere, a loud crack was heard, similar to the sound of stone shattering. Akaitora's eyes burst open, and he observed his surroundings. Bloodstain was now in front of him, but was looking the other direction. beneath his forehooves, there were two spiderweb cracks, radiating from the point of impact directly below his feet. Just as he was contemplating exactly what had happened, a pale copper body landed in front of him, turned, and grabbed him off the ground, rushing back out of the alley and into the street.
"Start flying. His pride is too great; he'll chase you. Climb as high as you can, I'l bring him down," said Usutora under his breath.
"What of the other two?" he asked in response.
"Tundra's useless without his spells, and Frost'll never get that collar off."
"What of my cape? It has the key!"
"Held by a close friend of mine, I'll get you there later. Take off NOW!"
Akaitora took off, and Usu hid in the shadows.As predicted, as soon as Bloodstain had figured out where they went, he took off after Kai, so far the greatest threat to him in his entire life. He chased Akaitora, is peed being greater, after years of practice.
Kai, on the other hand, was having trouble. With almost his entire concentration on moving his wings, he couldn't focus any spells. He may have been a brilliant spellcaster, but his stamina was sub-par without his pieces to back him up. More than once he faltered, sometimes gratefully, as Bloodstain lunged at him causing him to need to regain his flight pattern.
Akaitora climbed higher and higher, losing energy and breathing heavily as the air grew ever thinner. It was more than a chore, now, it was a full-on battle of his willpower against the winds. Bloodstain carged once more, when suddenly, Akaitora received an epiphany that most pegasi already knew. In the nick of time, he spread his wings out, and let the wind carry him out of the way mere moments before the collision, allowing him enough time to concentrate just enough energy into one spell. He made a quick wish for luck, then cast the spell from his horn. A small ball of very dim light sped through the air, straight to his foe, now yards away, as Akaitora's body began to glow with the same dim light.
Usutora Looked up to check on his brother's progress. He was seemingly floating in the air, not flapping, but not falling, either. a dim light surrounded him, as another sped through the air away from him. For a moment, he felt extatic, that they just might make it out alive without the reinforcements. This didn't last long, though, as another light, sparking and red, leaving a thin, wispy trail behind it, sped toward his brother. "No!" he cried, releasing his own spell, sending it toward the missile hurtling through the air toward Kai.
Kai's pell successfully connected, and low required minimal concentration to keep it active. a red and orange Tendril burst from Bloodstains body, pointed directly at Kai. He accepted the Tendril, and could feel energy returning to his body. It may have been stolen energy, being a gift from his foe, but it was necessary. With renewed vigor, he flapped hard, gaining a few feet of air, when a loud whooshing sound seemed to come from beneath him, he looked town, straining to hold his own spell, to seean upside-down flame, sending small bouts of fire from the sky. he assumed it had been the handiwork of two spells colliding, he had seen it many times before when he was younger. In fact, he had caused it several times when he was younger. Not the same effects, but he hadn't tried every combination.
He turned his attention to Bloodstain, who flew now with the intent of removing all life and record of this blue alicorn that plagued him. It wasn't possible, in his mind for anyone so small and insignificant as Akaitora could be such a powerful threat to his plans. It was unspeakable, to have a great beast as Bloodstain defeated by a dainty spell-slinger. He roared, speeding through the air, aiming all of his hatred at his quarry.
Akaitora recognized the red mass speeding through the air toward him was a serious threat, and tried to move out of the way, but to no avail. Though his energy was being sapped, Bloodstain still had enough to grab hold of Akaitora's tail, and throw him, hurtling, toward the ground. Akaitora spiraled, unable to regain control of himself,and landed at a slant on one of the buildings. Thinking quickly, he pulled his legs out from underneath him and galloped across the roof, using primarily the force of Bloodstain's throw, but also using his own legs to propel himself a mere fraction of his previous height into the air. he glanced back, and saw what he had been intended to hit: a dumpster full of broken glass.
Bloodstain himself landed right next to it, drawing out a rather large, sharp piece, and holding it between his teeth, before flying once more at Akaitora, who hung in the air, holding on his face the second most fearful expression he had ever held. Only once before had he ever felt more fear than he had now, and this time, he had nothing to calm that fear. His mind raced to come up with some solution, some way he could survive this predicament, but none came to him.
Akaitora turned away, and flew as fast as he could, away from the murderous pegasus tailing him, and closing fast. He heard a grunt, and some hair from his tail was cut off, he flapped his wings ever harder, and the next swipe caught his leg, leaving a few shards inside as the glass pane broke a bit more. He was drawing out Bloodstains strength, but it wasn't enough. He saw his predator, flying alongside him, about to throw what would be a killing strike, should it hit.
At just the perfect moment, though, Akaitora banked to the left, and the pane only just clipped his neck. A few drips of his blood ran down the side, stopping when they reached Bloodstains lips. A blaze burned infernally behind his eyes, but he flashed a smile. He quickly drew it back in when he realized he had torn his own lips open. This gave Akaitora an idea. He pulled back as hard as he could, coming to a swift stop, hovering in the air. Bloodstain came to a stop a few yards down, hovering at the same height, glaring daggers at Akaitora.
'Dear Celestia, I hope this works' He sped toward his foe, trying to look brave, but his eyes revealed his fear. Bloodstain also began a headlong rush, pulling his weapon to the ready. They closed in on each other. Thre yards now, two, one... At the last second, Akaitora pulled himself into a momentary nosedive, just as Bloodstain swung. With a swift kick to Bloodstain's jaw, the glass pane between his teeth shattered, spraying shards throughout Bloodstain's mouth. More shards rained down on Akaitora, but most simply glanced off at the moment of contact.
Bloodstain began to contemplate the efficiency of carrying glass between his teeth as he spat out what few shards he could. most were embedded in his lips and tongue, but some had fled down his throat. Stories of Attila, a Cossack from ages passed, entered his mind. He knew at that moment the closeness and efficiency of his death. He would never again see the sun, he was bleeding into his lungs, with no way to stop it.
"Then I'll take you to hell with me!" he shouted, spraying blood over Akaitora with every word. With a bolt of speed, Akaitora burst into the sky, as fast as he could muster. He climbed higher and higher, amazed at Bloodstain's stamina. His energy was being drawn out, and yet he still had plenty to spare.