Chapter 27 “Distraction”
As they got closer to the Academy and no one came to stop them Akira began to wonder if perhaps, she would actually reach the building and be able to end this here. Yet then suddenly, she caught sight of several shapes rising from the Academy and making their way towards her.
“Watchers,” Redemption reported. “Steeson can’t be serious, there are only five of them,” he added with a snort. “Either he is an idiot or he has a sense of humor. Either way, I feel insulted, five? I mean seriously, I was expecting something along the lines of an entire army!”
“Ree,” Akira warned as she was able to make out the shapes of the riders dressed in blue and black on the backs of their dragons. “I would rather face fewer than more. Besides,” she eyed the sides of the Watchers where she was sure they had Shockers tucked in their belts, “I sure don’t want to be hit by one of those things.” She shuddered at the memory of the excruciating pain that one went through when hit by the ball of electricity that the Shockers emitted. And that was if one was lucky. For if you were unlucky, then the voltage would be set so high that you died.
“Maybe they aren’t here to attack us but are a peaceful welcoming party,” Redemption suggested. No sooner has he said so than the Watchers each pulled forth a shocker and began to charge them, the blue light of the building electricity clearly in sight.
“Or maybe not,” Redemption thought.
“Some welcoming party,” Akira thought wryly as they drew closer to the Watchers and she could make out their features.
As they got closer one of the Watchers suddenly shot his Shocker and Akira and Redemption were faced with a blue, crackling ball that flew towards them at a tremendously fast rate. Redemption easily anticipated the path of the ball and dipped side wards, avoiding it and causing it to continue flying onwards behind him until it disappeared into the distance.
“How about I take care of this by turning the heat up a bit?” Redemption thought as he calmly dodged another ball and continued on his path.
“No!” Akira protested as she read her dragon’s intentions. “We’re not burning anyone Ree. We don’t know if they are being controlled or not, and even if they are not, Steeson must have deceived them in some way to get them to attack us. We cannot kill them if they are not doing this of their own free will or have been deceived into doing so.”
“Well that sucks,” Redemption thought sulkily, “What’s the point of being able to breathe fire if you can’t burn anything?”
“Don’t tell me you can’t do this the good old fashioned way,” Akira smirked as Redemption suddenly flipped upside down to avoid another ball.
“Is that a challenge?” her dragon thought as he flipped back the right way up.
“Sure,” Akira smiled, a gleam in her eyes. Excitement shivered through her as she anticipated the fight ahead. It had been too long, and now, when they were almost upon the Watchers, she suddenly realized how she had missed the excitement and the adrenalin of these moments.
“Well then,” Redemption thought as he stretched his neck and increased his pace, “How about you sit back and watch me take care of this the old fashioned way then?” Without giving Akira the chance to reply he continued on his path straight towards the Watchers and their dragons.
He dodged one blue ball after the other. Then, when it seemed like he was going to collide with the Watchers he suddenly folded his wings back and dived straight down, missing colliding with the other dragons by a hairs breadth.
He did not go down far when he suddenly spread his wings and doing a half loop, headed right back up, straight onwards the bellies of the surprised dragons above.
The dragons, whose riders were still too surprised by Redemption’s sudden disappearance, were not ready for when the white dragon suddenly barreled straight upwards through their midst.
One dragon turned sharply to avoid Redemption colliding with him and in the process his rider fell off him and dropped his Shocker. And the rider went tumbling to the ground below; his dragon dived after him in order to catch him.
One his way up, Redemption hit another dragon across the face with his tail and stunning him sent the dragon and his rider tumbling through the air who also lost his Shocker in the process.
“Two down, three to go,” Redemption thought gleefully as he made an arc and turned gracefully around to face the remaining three dragons and their riders.
One of the Watchers released another ball from his Shocker and the ball flew right towards them. Redemption was about to dodge but Akira beat him to it by throwing a fireball of her own to meet the blue ball in mid flight and cause it to cease to exist.
“Hey!” Redemption protested.
“I want to join in the fun to,” Akira replied.
Redemption did not respond as he flew straight at the remaining three Watchers and their dragons. This time there were no blue balls of electricity to greet them as the Watchers rushed to first re-charge their Shockers. Redemption reached them in moments and before they could react he swung his tail around in mid flight and sent two dragons spiraling through the air while grabbing the third in his claws and hurling him some distance away.
“Too easy,” Redemption sighed as he watched the dragons turn tail and seem to retreat.
“Um Ree?” Akira said carefully as she stared at the Academy, “I’m thinking that this was only the beginning.
Redemption turned to see what his rider meant. The seven new approaching Watchers from the Academy caught his eyes and he watched them for a moment.
“No problem,” he thought.
“I know,” Akira replied, “But I’m a bit worried of the ones coming up behind us.”
Redemption dipped his wings and turned his head to glance behind him only to see a mix of Watchers and Night Riders approaching from behind.
“Oh boy,” he thought.
The Watchers and Night Riders disappeared just like that. It was as though someone suddenly called them away. The streets outside filled up almost immediately and Dominique stood at the door, glancing back and forth just in case there were still any Watchers lurking about.
“All clear,” he announced as he turned around.
“I hope Akira is alright,” Anita murmured.
No one replied as Dominique stood, still peering out of the door. Seeming satisfied that there were no more Watchers and the streets were filling up again, he turned to Seth and gave him a nod.
“Alright,” Seth turned to the other three. “Tresus, take Savannah and Anita to this Red Dragon place, Dominique and I…”
“Whoa, wait a minute!” Anita exclaimed. When the man behind the desk of the store table shot her a look she quickly lowered her voice. “Why in the Lands are you telling us to go back there when we have work to do in the Grand Tower?”
Seth shot her a patient look, “Because Anita, two of us going into the Grand Tower will attract a lot less attention than five of us.”
“And by two you mean you and Dominique?” Anita asked dryly. “Why can’t I come along? Or why can’t we at least stay down here and keep an eye out in case those Watchers come back?”
Seth pointing turned his eyes on to Savannah and Anita followed his gaze to see her terrified friend huddled up against a book shelf as she hugged herself with her own arms, as though trying to give herself some comfort.
“I think its best that you go to the Red Dragon,” Dominique spoke softly as he grabbed Anita’s arm and turned her to face him, unaware of Anita’s wide eyes or the blush that seemed to spread across her face as she stared at his hand that held her. “If the Watchers were to come back suddenly it would be safer you weren’t around,” he continued, shooting Seth a look, “Seth and I will take care of Jack and all the rest. You and Tresus just concentrate on getting your dragons and then getting safely to the Red Dragon and seeing if the others are already there. Trust me when I say getting there unnoticed may not be as easy as it sounds.”
Anita nodded without a word of protest, her eyes large as she stared at Dominique with something in her eyes that he didn’t quite recognize. Seth watched in understanding, wondering how Dominique could not see what was right in front of him. Shaking his head he turned to Tresus and shot him a questioning look. When he nodded in agreement Seth let out a sigh of relief at the other boy’s cooperation. At least he wouldn’t have to persuade him on going ahead with the plan meaning they could move ahead faster.
“Savannah,” Tresus turned his attention to the blond girl. “We’re going to the Red Dragon,” he told her softly.
Relief at once crossed Savannah’s face as she nodded.
“Let’s get going,” Seth spoke as he made his way to the door. He ignored the old man behind the table who was by now staring at the small group with narrowed eyes, seeming to have realized that they were not in the store to buy anything.
Dominique stepped aside and let Seth step through the door first before he proceeded to follow.
“Dominique!” Anita’s voice stopped him. Surprised Dominique faced to turn her, wondering what was wrong.
“Yeah?” he asked.
Anita looked like she was about to say something and yet something seemed to suddenly change her mind. “Never mind just…” she reached a hand into her pocket and pulled out a fistful of gold Dracos. “You might need these,” she told him handing them over. It was her share of the Dracos they had found in the lake. Dominique took them with a grateful smile.
“Thanks,” he told her as he quickly stuffed the Dracos into his pocket, out of sight of the suspicious old man behind the desk who looked like he was about to come over.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Anita suddenly added, “You two don’t kill each other when you’re alone, okay?” she told him as she nodded after Seth.
“I’ll try to keep that in mind,” Dominique grinned before he turned and bounded after Seth who was already making his way to the Grand Tower.
“We had better work fast, we have no idea how long Akira can keep those Watchers and Night Riders occupied,” Seth spoke as he walked.
“The faster the better,” Dominique agreed as he fell into step beside Seth. He lowered his head slightly to hide his face from the growing crowd of people around, just in case someone he knew was about and would recognize him.
They reached the Grand Tower in no time and Seth followed Dominique who confidently pulled the door open.
“Twenty third floor huh?” Seth asked as he skeptically eyed the staircase that stood to one side of the room. “Don’t they have a lift?” he asked raising an eyebrow.
“Probably, but we would more likely be noticed if we went up that way,” Dominique replied sensibly.
“Guess that means we have to start climbing then,” Seth sighed as he headed for the stairs.
Dominique followed a smile on his face which lasted only until he took a step up the first step and gazed up. His eyes widened at the countless stairs he saw twisting upwards.
“This might take a while,” he muttered.
“Akira, if you refuse to use full force Akira then we really don’t stand a chance,” Redemption thought as he gracefully avoided another shocker and hit a green dragon full force, sending him tumbling towards the ground a way before he could recover.
Akira frowned but yet didn’t respond. The number of Watchers and Night Riders around her had grown to a ridiculous amount. She and Redemption had given up trying to go for the Academy and yet still, more Night Riders and Watchers came. The weird thing was that out of the large mass of riders she only spotted a few with black rings around their eyes to show that they were being controlled. What had her confused was that those that did not have the rings, and so were obviously not under Steeson’s mind control, had dragons that were all the normal light shade of a dragon and not darker, meaning that they had not joined Steeson knowing who he really was. What confused her even further, was that not one Watcher or Night Rider went for a killing blow.
“Maybe they just haven’t had the chance, maybe they’re hesitating, who cares?” Redemption snapped Akira out of her thoughts. “The point here is if we don’t do something fast we are about to get massacred. At this rate we might as well run for it!” he twisted, narrowly avoiding colliding with another dragon.
“Run for it huh?” Akira asked as an idea suddenly popped into her mind, “Ree, how about a run through the city?”
“And risk innocents getting injured?” Redemption asked skeptically.
“Not if we make it to an area where there won’t be any around,” Akira replied as she threw a fireball to intercept a blue Shocker ball.
“Now does such an area even exist?” Redemption asked confused.
“Oh yeah, at least if we’re in luck it’s still around,” Akira replied.
“Alright then,” Redemption turned sharply and suddenly began to dive, heading straight for the city below. “I sure hope you know what you’re doing,” he commented as behind them all the Watchers and Night Riders paused only for a moment before they suddenly followed.
Akira did not reply to her dragon as she guided him in the direction she wanted him to go with her mind. Though her memory was vague she was sure that she could find the place she wanted Redemption to go. It was a place Dominique had shown her before, a special area where only certain dragons and riders were allowed.
Redemption reached the first buildings and dived amongst them, dipping to the right just in time to avoid colliding into an especially tall one. His wing just brushed against the edge before he was past it. He dipped to the left and dived further down, avoiding a blue Shocker ball just in time and causing it to smash into a building nearby.
Akira turned slightly in her seat to see that there were a bunch of Night Riders hot on Redemption’s tail. The Watchers in the mean time seemed to have fallen back to allow the Night Riders some space.
Turning her attention back to what lay ahead Akira clung onto the saddle bellow her, twisting with her dragon on every turn. She watched as buildings seemed to flash by in a blur and surprised Dragons and Riders stared after them as they barged by them.
Ignoring them all Akira tried to make out any familiar land marks to help her guide Redemption where she wanted to go.
Yet they were too far up for her to make out much. “Go lower Ree,” Akira told her dragon.
“Okay, just remember, it was your idea,” Redemption told her as he dived once more.
He kept going, only pulling up when they had almost reached the ground level. He leveled out, just above the dragons and riders walking around below. Startled gazes turned up as the white dragon and rider, followed by a crowd of Night Riders, shot overhead, yet neither Akira nor Redemption noticed.
“You better find this area soon or I’m going back up,” Redemption warned as he dodged another blue ball by turning sharply to the right. The blue ball smashed into a wooden market stall which promptly collapsed, its angry owner shaking his fists and shouting insults after the Night Riders that flew past.
“Just a little longer,” Akira muttered as her eyes tried to take in the buildings and roads that darted past.
“Akira,” Redemption warned as he ducked to the right, avoiding a Night Rider’s dragon’s outstretched claws.
“Got it!” Akira replied as her eyes caught sight of a bridge. “Ree, straight down,” she told him, “below that bridge, see that wide road?”
“I see it,” Redemption replied as he headed right for it.
“Land on it and run,” Akira told him.
“What?” Redemption asked.
“Flying is something our pursuers will expect, if you run then I’m sure we’ll confused them for a short while. And besides, if I remember correctly this road has a lot of things that will distract them even more,” Akira told Redemption as he dived under the bridge. As his soon as his paws touched the ground he began to run.
“What is it?” Redemption asked, not getting a clear answer from searching through Akira’s mind on his own.
“It’s a racetrack,” Akira replied as she remembered when Dominique had first shown her the city and she had seen part of a race in which two dragons were forced to run against each other. If she remembered correctly, this track had certain obstacles along the way, which was why she had chosen it as a rout to run through, it would help distracting the Watchers.
“A race track?” Redemption thought in disbelief as picked up his pace and bounded down the track, his paws slapping against the hard grey stone below.
“Yes. Dragons were raced for entertainment on it. I only saw part of it but if we’re lucky it goes all throughout the city,” as she spoke Akira turned slightly in her saddle only to see that the Night Riders seemed to have paused in confusion, their dragons hovering as their riders tried to decide what to do. Just as she hoped, moments later a few of them dropped onto the abandoned track and began to follow Redemption’s lead.
“Keep an eye out for certain things,” Akira warned Redemption as she turned her attention back ahead only to see that the road ahead suddenly twisted sharply to the left.
“What things?” her dragon thought.
Akira did not have to reply for as they rounded the corner both dragon and rider spotted large wooden boards looming ahead of them with sharp, metal spikes sticking out.
“Are you serious?” Redemption asked as the road suddenly narrowed making the only way past the spikes either through, or over them. Yet if a dragon decided to weave through then even one wrong move would see him embedded by a spike.
Akira shivered as she remembered that the dragons that had been forced to race here had had their wings strapped down and so had no choice but to wave through.
“Fly over it?” Redemption suggested.
Just then a Night Rider and his dragon appeared above them, his shocker fully charged and pointing.
“I guess it’s through then,” Redemption thought dryly as he picked up his pace. He dodged to the side just as a blue ball of electricity whizzed by from behind.
Akira shot a look back at the following Night Riders to see that they weren’t slowing down in the least but were following Redemption’s every move.
“Let’s see if we can even the odds Ree,” Akira thought as she turned back to the front and leaned low on her dragon’s neck.
“With pleasure,” Redemption grunted.
Moments later he reached the boards with spikes. Quick as a flash he began to weave through them, avoiding the sharp pointy ends by a hairs breadth. Once or twice blue balls smashed into boards beside them, yet the Night Riders following were too busy concentrating on the danger of the spikes to aim right and the ones above could not get a good look at their target as Redemption flashed in and out of the different boards.
Once Redemption passed so close that a spike even scratched him, yet he did not flinch, continuing on his way without breaking his stride once. At one point Akira could not help but wonder if he dragon would make it, and yet suddenly, they broke free of the maze of spikes.
“I’m guessing keeping the racing dragons alive wasn’t really a goal,” Redemption thought sarcastically as he lengthened his stride.
Akira did not reply as a blue ball whizzed over her head. She turned slightly to see the Night Riders from behind had also broken free of the boards with spikes. In the meantime, more dragons from above had landed on the racetrack, preferring to chase their target from there than in the air, yet still a few remained above.
“Keep an eye out for any more surprised Ree,” Akira warned as she noted how the Night Riders seemed to suddenly slow down slightly, moving more cautiously.
“There’s more?” Redemption asked.
“I’m not sure,” was Akira’s response.
“Not sure?” Redemption snorted. “That is just so…” he never got further as the road before them seemed to suddenly disappear. “Seriously?” Redemption thought as he charged straight for the gap.
He was upon it in moments and launched into the air, spreading his wings to help him glide across the large gap in the road. Upon reaching the other side he folded his wings right back up and continued on his way.
Akira shot a glance behind her to see that the Night Riders’ dragons easily followed and yet suddenly they seemed to slow down drastically. Frowning Akira turned her attention back ahead.
“Something’s not right Ree,” she warned.
“Whatever makes you say that?” Redemption asked sarcastically.
Before Akira had a chance Redemption seemed to suddenly loose his balance and go flying through the air. Akira was catapulted from the saddle and Redemption just missed crushing her as he went tumbling over her. He landed on his side and skidded some way before he came to a halt.
“Ouch,” he moaned.
Akira did not respond. She just lay where she had fallen, trying to make sense of the buildings that towered into the sky above that seemed to be spinning endlessly around. She heard the rushing of dragons’ feet and felt the ground beneath her shudder, and yet as she lay there it all didn’t make sense.
“Why put a stupid rope across a racetrack?,” she heard Redemption mutter, “I didn’t even see it, then again, I probably wasn’t supposed to.”
The ground began to shake harder and the pounding sound became louder.
“Akira?” Redemption asked. When he got no response panic began to fill him. “Akira!” he yelled, his loud voice in her mind giving Akira a headache. The pain made everything suddenly rush back to Akira.
“I’m fine,” she muttered as she slowly sat up. She winced at the pain that shot through her elbow and her entire right side which had taken most of the force from the fall. While she was sure that nothing had been damaged in any major way she was sure she was going to have a bunch of bruises the next morning.
Looking up her eyes widened as she suddenly realized that the Night Riders and their dragons were almost upon her. She stared at the paws of the dragons, the paws under which she would be crushed at any moment.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Redemption scolded at the same time as Akira felt herself suddenly being lifted off the ground. She had just enough time to grab the saddle on her dragon’s back as he tossed her into it, before he had turned and was running down the track once again.
“You sure you still want to go this way?” he asked skeptically as his paws ate up the ground. A blue ball whizzed by him, yet Redemption did not seem bothered in the least by the attempted attack.
“What do you think?” Akira replied as she shook her head, trying to clear it while ignoring the throbbing pain in her side.
“It doesn’t matter right now,” Redemption thought grimly, “because it looks like there’s no other way.”
Wondering what her dragon meant Akira looking ahead only to see that they were approaching what looked like the entrance of a tunnel. There was no way around, the road narrowing so that the tunnel was the only way along the road. Shooting a glance behind Akira saw that the Night Riders were too close for Redemption to turn back.
“Up is not an option either,” Redemption thought.
To see what her dragon meant Akira shot a look up only to see that the few Night Riders in the air had been joined by a few Watchers. They were right above, too close for Redemption to go that way, and besides that, they were each charging their Shockers.
“Through it is then,” Akira thought.
Redemption responded by picking up his pace. Moments later they went through the entrance of the tunnel and were plunged into utter darkness.
“Okay, maybe this wasn’t such a great idea,” Redemption thought.
Akira didn’t reply as she leaned closer down to her dragon’s neck. She closed her eyes and listened to the wind rushing by. From what they had faced so far she was sure that this tunnel was not without its traps.
While Redemption coordinated his way through the dark and around corners Akira listened. Behind them she could hear the sound of the Night Riders in close pursuit and yet she tried to filter them out, listening for anything that could indicate danger.
She was rewarded moments later when she heard a click which was followed by a creak and a swishing sound.
“Ree stop!” Akira warned as her eyes flew open.
Redemption at once responded by digging his paws into the ground. Yet instead of coming to a halt he seemed to continue on his way, skidding along. At the same time a blue ball of electricity whizzed by dangerously close. In its light Akira caught sight of the ground below which seemed to shimmer in an unnatural color.
“I can’t stop!” Redemption warned as he continued to skid
“What the…?” Akira began. Letting her fist burst into flame she leaned over Redemption’s side and held her hand down. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of the ground below. “Its ice,” Akira murmured in disbelief, “the ground is covered in ice!”
“Oh great,” Redemption thought. At the same time he extended his claws, trying to get a grip on the slippery ground below.
Akira didn’t reply. Leaving her hand on fire she turned her attention back ahead. The noise she had heard earlier worried her more than the ice below. Ice by itself was not that dangerous, so it had to be there for a reason. Leaning forward she narrowed her eyes as she realized that the swishing sound had gotten louder.
At the same time another blue ball zapped past dangerously close. Akira ignored it, though she knew that her pursuers could see her whereabouts clearly now with the fire to guide them, she didn’t bother putting her fist out. No she needed it, at least a moment longer; at least until she knew what exactly lay ahead.
“Akira,” Redemption warned as he continued to slip, his claws not finding a grip in the surface below.
Akira did not reply as she peered ahead. Realizing that she did not see far enough ahead for her liking she shot a fireball from her hand forward. As it flew and light up the path ahead her jaw dropped.
“Oh great,” Redemption thought as he too caught sight of what lay ahead.
What looking like large round metal balls on chains were swinging back and forth at different times, were ahead. They looked heavy enough to break a good few bones if they hit a dragon. To make matters more complicated, in the spaces between the swinging balls were obstacles such as low wooden beams and even boards with spikes like they had faced before.
“Not good,” Redemption thought in panic as he slipped towards the obstacles ahead with absolutely no control.
Akira frowned as her mind raced. There was no way Redemption would be able to stop in time therefore once again the only way past the obstacle was through. Yet Redemption was currently sliding completely out of control, so how in the Lands were they supposed to dodge the swinging balls and the other obstacles safely?
As a sudden idea hit her Akira felt hope rise within.
“Ree,” she told her dragon, excited at the possibility that her plan could possibly work out, “Stop trying to stop!”
“What?” Redemption thought.
“Stop trying to stop!” Akira repeated.
“Are you crazy?” Redemption asked.
“No Ree, just listen to me!” Akira replied frantically as the obstacles ahead loomed closer. “Start running again. Don’t try to slow down.”
“How does that make sense?” Redemption asked.
“If you run you’ll at least have more control of where you’re going that if you try to stop and continue to skid!” Akira told him, eyeing the metal balls as they grew even closer. Another blue ball whizzed by her and crashed right into one of them, making the entire ball light up for a moment and crackle with a blue light before it went out.
“I sure hope this works,” Redemption thought as he stopped trying to dig is claws into the ground and instead resumed trying to run once more. Almost at once he seemed to regain some control of what he was doing and not a moment too soon, for they were upon the danger ahead.
Redemption dodged the first swinging metal ball and skidded the side, just avoiding the second as another blue ball of electricity suddenly flashed past him.
“Akira, the light please I don’t want to get zapped!” Redemption thought as he awkwardly jumped over a low beam of wood.
“You sure you can do this in the dark?” Akira asked.
“Try me,” was her dragon’s cocky response.
In reply Akira let the flame on her fist go out, hoping that Redemption knew what he was doing.
She felt wind rushing by her and more than once thought that she felt something brush past her face, yet somehow Redemption managed to maneuver through and around the obstacles. The attacks form their pursuers ceased and at one point Akira wondered if they were even still behind them.
“I see light,” Redemption thought at the same time as the large circle of light seemed to appear ahead. He dodged another metal ball by a hairs breadth and jumped over a large spike before he suddenly burst out of the tunnel and back into the light.
Akira let out a sigh of relief as the familiar sight of the city came into her view.
“We made it,” she breathed.
“Don’t speak too soon,” Redemption thought just as Akira caught sight of something out of the corner of her eyes.
She turned her head to see a Night Rider and his dragon right beside her, matching Redemption’s every stride. The Rider had turned his head and stared right at Akira, yet he made no move to charge the Shocker in his hands.
“What’s he doing?” Akira thought as the Night Rider’s dragon kept pace with Redemption and yet did nothing to attack.
“He’s boxing us out,” Redemption thought grimly.
“He’s what?” Akira thought. Yet just then she caught sight of what lay ahead.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the large pit ahead. It was filled with sharp standing up metal spikes. While the road lead right to it, the road narrowed in a way that right at the pit there were two walls, so close to each other that there was not enough space face a dragon to even unfold his wings. In the middle of the pit though, there was a narrow bridge leading safely over it, yet it was wide enough for only one dragon. The rest of the pit was too wide for any dragon to jump safely in one straight leap.
“Oh great,” Akira muttered as what Redemption had said made sense.
The Night Rider and his dragon were racing Akira and Redemption for the bridge. If they got ahead they would be able to take the bridge safely across first and so force Redemption to slow down, allowing time for the other Night Riders to catch up.
“Can we bail?” Akira asked. Yet one glance skywards told her the answer. There were Watchers and Night Riders right above. Letting out a frustrated sigh Akira turned her attention back to the approaching pit of doom. She had hoped that this racetrack would help them loose some of her pursuers and yet instead it was turning out not only to do the exact opposite but it was also putting her and Redemption into only more danger.
“At least we’re succeeding in distracting them. Hopefully the others will use this time wisely,” Redemption thought as he picked up his pace. Yet the dragon beside him did the same, keeping up with ease.
“Okay, new plan,” Redemption thought as he continued straight towards the pit ahead, seeming unconcerned that only one dragon could cross the bridge ahead and right now there were two heading for it.
“Ree…” Akira began to protest, yet as he dragon’s plan flashed through her mind she couldn’t help but agree with it. “If you think it’ll work,” she told him.
“Oh it will. They won’t be expecting it. In the moment they’re surprised we’ll bail from this race track,” Redemption thought as the dragon beside him raced along.
The two dragons ran on and for a moment Akira could not help but feel the irony of the situation, as to how the race track was currently being used for two dragons that were actually racing.
“Ready?” Redemption asked as the pit loomed right before them.
In response Akira tightened her grip on the saddle.
Redemption and the other dragon raced neck on neck as they approached the bride. They were right in front of it when Redemption suddenly veered to the left. Without pausing he jumped. For a moment he was airborne and in that moment he turned ever so slightly side wards. His paws touched the wall just as planned and he ran a good amount of steps along it before he made another leap.
As he landed on the other side, right next to the dragon and Night Rider who had used the bridge, Akira could not help but turn slightly in the saddle and shoot a look at the Night Rider who was staring at her and Redemption with wide eyes, shocked at what they had just done and confused that his plan had not worked out.
“Bye bye,” Redemption thought as the road widened once more and he jumped into the air and spread his wings.
The Watchers and Night Riders that had been following above had all slowed down somewhat, having expected Akira and Redemption to do the same, and so the sky above was clear for Redemption as he soared upwards.
“Suckers,” Redemption thought smugly as he continued to glide straight upwards.
Akira smiled and yet when something caught the corner of her eye the smile disappeared. She opened her mouth to warn Redemption of the approaching object and yet was too late.
As a giant net slammed right into them Akira felt the world begin to spin. Redemption went tumbling through the air from the force of the impact and his wings were useless as they were tangled up in the net.
“Crap,” was his last thought before Akira felt a giant shudder and heard a loud bang as Redemption crashed straight into a tall building.
In the chaos Akira somehow got untangled from the net and rolled some distance before coming to a stop. Dust flew about her and somewhere there was the sound of objects falling.
“Oh great,” Akira groaned as she rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling above. Frowning she sat up only to see that Redemption had smashed right through the wall of the building and there was now a large gaping hole in it. She was lying on the ground in a room where a man, a woman and two children sat around a table, seeming to be eating a meal. They all looked frozen as they stared at Akira in disbelief.
When their gazes turned behind her Akira turned to see Redemption lying on the floor, struggling to untangle himself from the net. He had broken another wall that looked like it led into a bedroom.
“You okay Ree?” Akira asked as she got up and brushed the dust from her clothes.
“That was not cool,” Redemption thought grumpily as he crawled out from under the net.
“Touché,” Akira replied. “And where did that net come from in the first place?”
“Once of the Night Riders, he had something that looked like a Shocker but it shot this darn thing instead,” Redemption grumbled as he glared at the offending net. “Guess they do have more weapons than just their annoying Shockers.”
Hearing a whimper Akira turned away from Redemption and back to the man the lady and the two kids who were still staring at her in shock.
“Um, hey,” Akira smiled cautiously at them. “Sorry, we’re just ah…passing through,” she told them.
“Come on kiddo!” Redemption told her impatiently as he shock pieces of furniture off him. “This isn’t the time to make friends!”
“Right,” Akira nodded. She paused a moment, staring at the damage around her. “Yikes,” she muttered.
“Akira!” Redemption told her as he walked over to the hold he had made to peer out.
“Here,” remembering something Akira reached into her pockets and pulled out a handful of golden Dracos which she had kept from the lake. She hurried over to the table that the man and his family sat around and quickly dropped the coins on it. “I hope it’s enough,” she told them. Without waiting for a response she turned and hurried over to Redemption.
“What’s the status?” she asked as she peered out of the hold they had made.
“They’re coming,” Redemption replied as his eyes were glued on the mass of approaching Watchers and Night Riders.
“Then let’s go,” Akira told him as she swung herself onto her dragon’s back.
“Yes, let’s go,” Redemption sighed as he jumped from the room, leaving one very stunned family behind.
“Why is she not using her full strength?” Steeson muttered as he stared at the screen before him. He had watched since Akira had attempted to come the Academy. Since he had had Argos notify the Watchers and Night Riders that Akira was a fake Rider of Legend who had come to cause chaos.
He had watched her and Redemption first fight off their attackers before they lead them to the race track through which they had skillfully maneuvered only to end up smashing into a building. They were facing more Watchers and Night Riders every moment and yet still, both Akira and Redemption were holding back.
“It seems that she does not want to harm her attackers,” Steeson muttered, “How sweet, she does not want to harm them in case they are not quite themselves,” he shook his head, “Commendable, but sadly, also one of her greatest weaknesses.”
Turning around he glanced around the room he was in. Like before, it was not the large room where he usually hung out with Deception by his side, but it was another, smaller room, filled with bottles that contained colored liquids.
In the middle of the room stood a table at which an elderly man seemed to be working.
Steeson watched him for a moment before he casually strolled over to stand beside him. “Do you have all the information you need or do you need me to make her a bit more…aggressive?” he asked curiously as he stared down at the small, flat like object that lay on the table and the older man was working on with seeming intense concentration.
“No, no need for that,” the older man spoke as he gently worked on the object, as though the slightest wrong move could break it. “I finally have all I need to make it work.”
“You sure?” Steeson asked narrowing his eyes.
“Positive,” the man replied without looking up. Steeson’s presence seemed to not affect him in the least.
“Good,” Steeson nodded as a pleased smile lit up his face. “How long until you can complete it?” he asked.
The old man’s hands paused and he seemed to consider this. “Two, maybe three days at the most,” he finally replied. “I only have a few finishing touches left and with the information you have now given me it should not take longer.”
“Perfect,” Steeson smiled as he turned his eyes back to the screen. “Things are moving forward sooner than planned.” He watched as on the screen the white dragon skillfully dodged Watchers and Night Riders alike. On his back Akira responded by intercepting any electrical balls shot at her dragon with her own fireballs. “Such a skill,” Steeson spoke wistfully as he stared at his own palm, “It would be so useful.”
Somewhere behind him a door opened. Steeson turned to lay eyes on the intruder only to see a large bulky man dressed in the uniform of a Night Rider standing there. The black ring around each of his eyes made Steeson smile.
“We have the imposter and her dragon surrounded. Shall we move in on them with full force and deal with them?” the Night Rider asked, his voice lacking any emotion.
Steeson did not reply for a moment as he turned to stare at the screen once more with a frown on his face. “Three days at the most,” he murmured, “I have three days.” Abruptly he turned to the Night Watcher. “There’s been a change of plan,” he told him. “Send some Watchers back to the Grand Tower and find those friends that came with the imposter.”
“Should we bring them in sir?” the Night Rider asked while the older man working at the table looked up with interest in his eyes.
“No,” Steeson replied with a smile, “That wouldn’t be enough to get the reaction I want. No, don’t bring them in. Find them, and then kill them.”