The Rush of Air

The rush of air had always been a comfort to Elena. The freedom of flying through the sky, the freedom of movement, with nothing to stop her except the fatigue of Nin over use. The peace she had felt soaring above the buildings, birds dancing around her. 

Now, the rush of air brought danger as the Shadows moved through it, invaders to her space of freedom. They moved quicker than she could see, appearing and disappearing with the blink of an eye. It took every thing she had to avoid their attacks when she would only have a split second to react. 

Elena flipped through the air, landing a top a building and sprinting across the rooftop. The sword Shadow appeared, swinging his blade. Elena barely dodged, the blade cutting her arm as she slid under the attack, falling off the roof to the ground below. She plummeted, softly landing on the ground before taking off with a Gale Sprint. She rolled, dodging another spear attack. 

Astra ran down the street parallel to her, dodging a sword attack, flipping through the air and hurling Air Pushed knives at the sword Shadow. it blocked them just as the spear user appeared. 

"Astra!" Elena screamed. 

Astra flipped around, parrying the spear strike with one of her knives, using another to stab the Shadow. The knife harmlessly bounced off the spear Shadow's barrier. 

Astra clicked her tongue, flipping and dodging a follow up strike from the sword Shadow. 

"Damn..." Astra gasped. 

The two Sisters met up, Gale Sprinting down the roadway. Elena looked to Astra, meeting her eyes for a split second before they were forced to dodge again. That look said it all. They couldn't keep this up, they were getting exhausted. 

They rounded a corner, only for one of the Shadow to leap out from it, knocking Elena to the ground. The Shadow raised its spear, ready to strike her down. The sword Shadow engaged Astra, preventing her from helping. 

"Damn..." Elena cursed. The Shadow had its foot pressed firmly on her stomach, holding her down. 

The Shadow raised its weapon, a deep growl bellowing from underneath the faceless metal helmet it wore. 

"I said..." The Reaper appeared, leaning into the Shadow's ear. "That I would deal with her." 

The Shadow growled fiercely, the spear quivering in its hands. 

"Very well." The Reaper sighed. 

The Shadow raised its weapon, violently driving the spear tip down on Elena's head. 

A crimson blade pierced the Shadow's chest. With a flick, the Reaper tugged the blade out. It cut through the Shadow like paper. The spear fell near Elena's head as the Shadow evaporated into a cloud of ash. 

"These ones are always so troublesome. They have too much loyalty to the Lord of Thorns. Not even the influence of an Overlord can change their nature." The Reaper huffed. 

He turned and walked away, completely ignoring Elena as he lazily dragged the tip of his blade along the ground. 

Elena shot to her feet, ready to strike. Astra let out a pained gasp, causing Elena to turn towards her. 

"Astra!" Elena cried. She turned back towards the Reaper for a split second, only to find he had disappeared. 

Astra hit the concrete, bloodied and exhausted. Most of her knives had been used up, leaving her with three or four left. The Shadow raised its weapon, swinging at her with a killing blow. Elena leapt forward with Wind Nin, spinning and parrying the attack aside, creating an opening. Astra shot a knife, only for it to clatter against a nearly broken barrier. 

Elena landed, surging a massive amount of Wind Nin. With a grunt, she pushed it outwards, blasting the Shadow with a gust that sent it sliding backwards several feet. 

"Astra, are you okay?" Elena asked, breathing heavily. She was injured just as badly, with cuts and scraps across her body. 

"Yeah." She huffed getting to her feet. "It's barrier is nearly broken." 

"Maybe a few more hits?" Elena asked. 

"Do we have a few more hits in us?" Astra chuckled, forcing herself to her feet, wiping stray blood from her mouth. 

"We can...make some..." Elena gasped, legs shaking from exhaustion. 

"Ready?" Astra asked. 

Elena shrugged. 

Astra launched the last of her knives towards the creature. One actually broke through the barrier, grazing the side of the Shadow. It howled, before Shadow Sprinting towards them at great speed. Elena cranked her arm back, before chucking one of her swords. It spun through the air with great speed. Elena forced Wind Nin against it, copying Astra's knife technique. 

The blade clattered against the spider webbed cracked barrier. Elena Gale Sprinted, planting her foot against the bottom of the blade before Air Pushing off of it. The blade smashed into the Shadow's chest, digging deeply into it. Elena landed, swinging her other sword and decapitating the Shadow. Its body fell over, evaporating as it fell. 

Elena felt the rush of the air as the breeze blew past her. She looked to Astra. The younger Sister looked at Elena with awe at her feet.

"Big Sis..." Astra muttered. 

Elena could barely hear her. She turned. Several Shadows approached them the distance. The fight was far from over. 

"Big Sis!" Astra yelled. 

Elena snapped back to reality. The wolves charged them. Elena screamed, crouching down and readying her swords as the first one lunged at her. 

A bullet flew through the air, hitting the wolf with an explosion of fire. Elena smirked. 

"Took you guys long enough..." She laughed. 

"That one was impressive." The Reaper noted, watching the battle unfold in the distance. He was standing atop an old water tower. "Well, that was all I could do. The rest is up to you my friend." The Reaper spoke, gaze affixed into the distance.