Chapter Seventeen: The Battle (Part II)

It was Shōhei. Shōhei with his dumb bandana and stupid whip.

"You said he was trapped," Shōhei said, more to himself than to Ittetsu, who just shrug and said: "well, he was".

But their words, their whole conversation, it was just noise to me. I was busy calming myself, focusing on my way out of this mess. My hand tightened around my sword's hilt, feeling the heat coming off Rapidash's mane like waves of summer air.

"Okay, Rapidash," I whispered, so quiet I wasn't even sure I said it. "Flare Blitz."

Rapidash reared up, a sound like fire crackling escaping from its throat. And we charged, moving as one, a comet streaking across a night sky, every hoofbeat a spark flying into the darkness. The gap between us and them shrank, every second drawing us closer to the inevitable clash.

When we finally reached Ittetsu, my sword was already blazing through the air, aiming straight for the heart of the beast. The blade, it felt like part of me, an extension of my will. But when it struck… nothing. No grand explosion, no cleaving through flesh and bone. Just a jarring shock up my arm, almost ripping the sword from my hand. The rest of the collision went on, Rapidash collided with the giant, a burst of flames enveloping the scene. The heat was unbearable, searing even through my protective gear. Ittetsu roared, an earth-shaking sound that vibrated through my very bones.

Then came the recoil. It struck without mercy, a backlash of our own devastating power. I was thrown from Rapidash's back, the world spinning wildly. I hit the ground hard, rolling to try to dissipate the impact, my vision spinning.

I struggled myself up, every muscle screamed in protest, my head still spinning.

Just as I regained my balance, a prickling sensation crawled up my spine—a warning. An attack from behind. Instinctively, I swung my sword up to block.

But a whip isn't like a sword; it doesn't clash with a clang or a thud. It moves like a serpent, fast and unpredictable. And so, as I braced for a block, the whip lashed out, curling around my sword, rendering my defense useless. In a flash, it struck – a sharp, searing pain across my shoulder. I gasped, the pain radiating like fire through my body.

Shōhei, relentless, didn't pause. His next attack came swift, missing me by a hair. I tried to remember all the exercises drilled into my head, the hints and tricks, but Shōhei was a whirlwind, and I was left stumbling, barely keeping off the floor. Every strike, every lash, it was like being hit with a hammer. My arms, they might as well have been dead.

Then, my ankle gave in, crumbling me to the side. Shōhei, ready to finish me, raised his whip. But out of nowhere, like a hero from legend, Rapidash charged in and kicked Shōhei in the head.

"Rapidash", (Get up, the battle is not over yet).

I staggered up, my ankle screaming beneath me, each movement a jab of pain sharper than a knife's edge. But that pain, it was nothing, a child's scrape, compared to the terror that clutched my heart as I saw it. The wave of wild, untamed energy barreling towards us, towards Rapidash, with its mane of fire now just flickers in the wind of our impending doom.

"Rapidash!" I hollered, my voice tearing at the edges, desperate to warn him, to save him. But it was like yelling at a storm to stop.

Then it hit, like a giant's fist, a force of nature unrestrained. We were caught in it, me and Rapidash, flung about like ragdolls. I could hear him, neighing, a sound so full of pain it cut through the chaos. The ground itself seemed to rage against us, tossing me about without a care for bone or blood.

When it finally, blessedly stopped, I was left sprawled, battered, my mind a whirl of confusion. What was that? Fuck. My ankle was a fire. I dragged myself, inch by fucking inch, towards Rapidash, If he was down there would not be any hope for us.

Through eyes gritty with dust, I saw Rapidash, trying to rise, his once brilliant flames dimmed under a heavy shroud of earth and ruin.

"Rapidash,", I yelled, my voice raspy with desperation. "Rapidash, Morning Sun, now."

Rapidash, that proud beast, raised his head. He was more shadow than horse now, his mane barely a flicker. But then, something stirred. The air twisted, shimmered, like the first light of a dawn that had no right to be there. A golden light, soft and warm, began to seep from his skin, weaving around him like threads of hope.

I stood there, my heart hammering in my chest, as that light grew stronger, bolder. It was like watching the sun claw its way out of the night, determined, unyielding. His wounds, those ugly marks of battle, they just… faded. The fire in his mane, it came back to life, blazing with a fury that told the world he wasn't beaten. Not yet. Not by a long shot.

Then, the stench hit me, sharp and vile, a slap right across my face. I squinted into the gloom, desperate to understand. Then it came, the sludge, blacker than the darkest night, oozing with oil, crashing over us like the fury of a vengeful sea. It had to be Ittetsu's doing. The black tide hit Rapidash, snuffing out his flames in a heartbeat, a cruel and bitter jest. Seeing him, once so majestic, now drenched in that muck, it twisted my insides more than the burning in my chest.

And then it struck me. The wave crashed into me with such force I nearly crumbled. Pain, raw and brutal, surged through me, starting from my already shattered ankle, spreading like a rampant blaze. I thought I'd known pain, but this, this was a monster of a different breed.

I clawed the filth from my eyes, my vision clearing just enough.

"Rapidash!" My voice, surprisingly steady, sliced through the pain. "Wild Charge!"

My command was like spark to reignite his inner flame. Rapidash's muscles coiled, a sight to behold—a mix of raw power and deadly elegance. He wasn't just a horse now, he was vengeance incarnate, a streak of pure lightning. His mane, a fiery banner, blazed with renewed vigor, a challenge to the sun itself.

With a battle cry that'd make the gods take notice, he lunged. The air itself seemed to scream in protest, crackling with the raw energy that surged through him, a torrential river of fury and power.

Ittetsu, the poor bastard, barely had time to widen its eyes in shock. Our assault was a thunderclap, a tempest made flesh. Rapidash, a living storm of energy, collided with Ittetsu like an avalanche. The ground shook, threatening to tear apart under the might of our onslaught.

Ittetsu was hurled back, its massive form tumbling across the forest like a puppet devoid of strings.

Shōhei picked that moment to strike. The world went all slow, like time was dragging its feet, and I spotted the glint of his whip coming for me. In that heartbeat, I threw myself aside, dodging death by a whisker.

I lunged at him, fast and hard, one-two-three, then a strike. He let it go past, just giving it room. It was like a dance, a grim dance of death. I kept right on his heels, mirroring his every move. Each step, each swing of my sword, it was all instinct, like bits of a puzzle snapping together, perfect and fatal.

With every strike and parry, I read him, predicting his next move. The pain coursing through me had become an ally, sharpening my senses, fueling my rage, my focus.

In a flicker of his arm, I saw his entire plan. I blocked that nasty whip of his, making it coil around my blade. Gave him just enough hope to think he had me. When he pulled, trying to disarm me, that's when I pushed forward, using his own force against him, striking true. And there went his hand, the one holding the whip, chopped clean off.

I stopped, my breath ragged, staring at the bloodied blade, at the hand now separate from its master. I raised my sword…

"Rapidash", (Jump away, now).

I heeded the warning, leaping back just as a tail lashed where my torso had been, a whisper away from death.

As I landed, my back against the cold bark of a tree, I barely had a moment to register my narrow escape. The air was thick with the metallic tang of blood and the stench of fear – not just his, but mine too. I could hear my heart thundering in my ears, a drumbeat urging me on. The world around me seemed to slow, each second stretching out endlessly.

There was Ittetsu, standing like death's own sentinel, blocking our path to Shōhei. His body was tensed, ready to spring.

No, you don't. I ran towards him.

"Now!" I shouted, my voice cutting through everything. "Flare Blitz!"

Rapidash, understanding the urgency in my tone, burst into flames, its body becoming a living torch. It charged, a fiery comet passing by my side. The air itself seemed to part, scorched by the sheer intensity of the attack.

As the two forces collided, there was a moment of sheer, incandescent brilliance, a blinding flash of light searing the eyes of everyone watching. But I didn't need my eyes to know what was coming next.

Shōhei was sent flying, a broken doll, slamming into a tree with a sickening crunch. I didn't pause, not for a heartbeat. I leapt at him, my sword an echo of something broken inside me.

The blade drove into him, pinning him to the tree like a damned artwork.

Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I heard and felt a large puff of air. But I didn't care.

I yank my sword back, only to drive it in again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again.

Rapidash whinnied, a sound of panic and alarm. I paid it no mind, lost in my own storm. My blade struck relentlessly, but now it was the tree that took the brunt, the man before me barely more than a carcass.

Rapidash surged forward, a force of nature, shoving me back.

"Rapidash", (It's dead).

"Leave me be!" I swung the sword erratically, nearly catching Rapidash, but she dodged with ease and came at me, nudging me so forcefully that I tumbled to the ground, the wind knocked out of me.

I tried to get up, but Rapidash dropped himself on top of me, pinning me down.

I closed my eyes, felling my strength go… When I reopened my eyes, the world had shifted. I found myself clinging to Rapidash's neck, feeling the warmth of her body mingling with the trickle of my own blood as we galloped away. I closed my eyes once more..

When they opened again, a wooden ceiling loomed above. Was I laid in hey? I allowed my eyes to shut again, letting the darkness claim me.

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Rapidash Information:

Nature: Hardy

Ability: Flame Body

Move Set:

- Flare Blitz

- Wild Charge

- High Horsepower

- Morning Sun