Ten Tasks To Redemption

by dreadbaron

The Arena of Vengeance

Chapter Two: The Arena of Vengeance

Galeforce looked over towards the next portal, and could hear faint screaming coming from inside it. “What’s going on in there?” he muttered to himself, as he inched forward.

“Enter the portal quickly,” Cassim warned his charge. “Crothorr has such grand plans for you, and hates to be kept waiting.”

Galeforce cautiously entered the portal, and found himself standing in what seemed to be the basement at Ahuizotl’s old tavern. “Alright, Crothorr,” he uttered. “Let’s do this.”

“As you wish,” the same voice as before boomed, as the walls started to melt away. This revealed a massive coliseum (similar to the one in Cloudsdale), where scores of villains had gathered to watch the upcoming event. Galeforce looked around the massive pit he was now standing in, and noticed a trembling creature off to his right. He trotted over to it, and then kneeled down next to it. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Are you hurt?”

“Beware, Galeforce,” a familiar voice hissed from the creature. “The fight has just begun.”

“Ahuizotl,” Galeforce growled, for he knew the voice all too well. “How dare you show your face to me!”

Ahuizotl rolled over, and showed the terrible facial scars he had gained since his death. “It’s not me you should be worrying about,” he chuckled cruelly, as he lazily pointed a figure to the left. “It’s them.”

Galeforce turned quickly, and was met with a vision he hadn’t seen in his worst nightmares. There stood his entire Thief Guild, but they did not look the way they had in life: some were in various stages of decomposition, some were a hybrid of pegasus and feline body parts, and some were disfigured beyond all recognition. Each brandished his/her Thiefblade, and each had a serious score to settle.

“My friends,” Galeforce addressed them, with a hint of fear in his voice. “Why are you doing this?”

“You betrayed us, Galeforce,” the entire group answered as one, in an incredibly creepy monotone. “Now, you must die.”

“If that’s the way it must be,” Galeforce uttered, as he drew his Thiefblade, “then so be it. You will not stop me!” He charged towards the group, galloping as fast as his hooves would allow. He swung his blade, and the fight began.

Galeforce’s first blow struck the pegasus at the front across the neck, decapitating him in one swift motion. The other Thieves took great offense to this, and several started swinging their swords at Galeforce’s body. Galeforce effortlessly dodged the weak blows of these zombified ponies, and he started hacking and slashing at their exposed limbs. Soon they were all lying in a pool of blood and hacked body parts at his hooves, and he raised his Thiefblade in triumph.

“Very good, Galeforce,” the booming voice congratulated him. “However, this fight is not over yet.”

Suddenly, a beam of red light shot down from the sky, and it grabbed Ahuizotl like a force field. Ahuizotl started to cackle insanely, as the beam pulled him into the air. Once he had reached the top of the coliseum, the beam stopped for a minute; and then split into two separate paths. The other path shot down towards the remains of the Thieves, and picked them up from under Galeforce’s hooves. The beam carried the body parts towards Ahuizotl, and the two beams collided in a massive ball of light. The beam hit the ground with a craterous crash, and a monster stepped out. The beast had ten arms, a set of six pony limbs with hooves for legs, and two pairs of wings. “Hello, Galeforce,” Ahuizotl hissed, as he flexed his new form.

Galeforce held up his Thiefblade, and stood his ground firmly. “Ahuizotl,” he said with passion, “let this be our final battle.”

“SO BE IT!” Ahuizotl bellowed, as he charged towards Galeforce like a crazed buffalo. He grabbed Galeforce by the throat in mid-stride, and threw him as hard as he could muster into some nearby rocks. Galeforce crumpled in a bloody heap, and Ahuizotl started laughing again. “How does it feel, Galeforce?” he taunted his fallen foe. “After everything you’ve struggled for, how does it feel to know it all ends now?”

“You…tell…me,” Galeforce managed to gasp out, as he pulled himself up on his hooves.

“You insolent fool!” Ahuizotl shouted, as he flew up into the air. “Can you not see that I have already won? I am the most powerful being in Crothorr! I am the living god! I AM….” Suddenly, Ahuizotl’s crazed ranting was cut off by Galeforce approaching him. Ahuizotl dodged the Thiefblade lunging for his heart, and calmly snapped it in two with his bare hands. “Miserable wretch,” he cursed aloud, as he struck Galeforce with three of his fists.

“Hellspawn,” Galeforce insulted his attacker, as he spat out some teeth and blood. He then followed this up with the hardest buck he had ever given in his life, which snapped Ahuizotl’s neck like a twig. Ahuizotl fell to the ground immediately after, and the sickening sound of bones snapping filled the air. “Rest in peace, monster,” Galeforce muttered, as he recovered his strength.

However, the fight was not quite over; as Ahuizotl once again rose to his hooves. He popped his neck back into place with a quick jerk of his hands, and then turned to Galeforce with a sickening smile. “Nice try,” he said with derision. “Now you know the truth: I cannot die here!”

“Is that a challenge?” Galeforce asked, as he flew towards Ahuizotl with the intensity and speed of a nuclear bomb. He can’t die here, he thought to himself as he dove. I guess I’ll just have to take him apart piece by piece then.

“Stop this now!” Ahuizotl bellowed, as he braced himself for impact. Galeforce collided with him in a moment of considerable force, and he could feel the Thief Lord’s teeth digging into one of his arms. The pain that followed afterward was almost unbearable; as Galeforce ripped the arm clean off.

“You might be immortal, but you are not invincible,” Galeforce taunted his bleeding adversary, as he dropped the arm casually onto the floor.

Ahuizotl paused, and then a look of fear flashed over his face for a minute. The pain he was feeling should have been enough to kill him, and only now did he truly understand the curse of immortality. He then turned quickly around, and started to flee. “This is not over!” he shouted, although he knew in his heart it was over.

“Galeforce!” the voice of Crothorr then boomed around the arena. “You have successfully completed the second Fatal Task. Approach the winner’s circle, and claim your prize now.”

Galeforce stepped into the glowing circle that appeared before him, and found himself once again standing beside Cassim in the false Sweet Apple Acres. “I did it,” he wheezed, as he collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.

“Rest, my friend,” Cassim told him. “There are still eight Tasks left before freedom. But for now, a pleasant memory awaits you back at the barn.”

Galeforce trotted up to the barn, and found what seemed to be a ghostly version of himself watching the ghostly Cutie Mark Crusaders. “That’s why I cannot fail,” Galeforce mumbled to himself, as tears welled up in his eyes. “I can’t let those poor fillies die.”
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