"Three!"
Ember and Theodore glared at eachother during this moment, though Ember's brows would raise slightly at the bitter scowl on Theodore's lip. It seemed that the snow haired pilot's annoyance had transcended into a contained rage that was about to unleash.
"Two!"
Ember smirked, revving his engine before flipping a switch on his panel. Suddenly, the wings expanded their reach, flapping rapidly like a hummingbird in flight. Motors spinned underneath, allowing the craft to maintain its stillness approximately three feet above the ground. The plane's wings still continued their rapid flight, occasionally darting the craft three feet upwards to the left and then to the right, the vehicle seemingly excited to begin.
"One!"
Alec was on the otherside of Ember, observing the ashy haired pilots craft as it lifted into the air with ease, wings flapping with a certain life never before seen from an airplane. Alec could only mutter under his breath two and a half words,
"What the f-"
"GO!"
Ember's plane immediately shot off like a bullet, Enzo and Theodore right behind. Alec however, watched for a moment, his mouth agape before shaking his head and deciding to speed off to the right to gain some distance, hoping to make up for his lost time.
Ember meanwhile, was soaring a circle a good mile out around the city's glowing skyline. The subtle sounds of Hornet's wings flicking against eachother would be the only thing that filled the quiet night.
He watched the high rise skyscrapers, blinks of reds and blues glittering alongside the lit windows of people's homes and buisnesses. The city was a large imposing figure, held up in the sky by compiles of dirt and roots that extended to nearly double the city's length. Stars filled its surrounding scape, allowing Ember to get lost in the unique scene. His plane glided along, the man still daydreaming until he heard a beeping coming from the craft's interface.
"Ember, your minute has passed. Ember, your minute has passed. Ember, your minute has-"
"Got it, Tindel."
His watch had been expertly placed in a small empty panel within the board of controls, giving his AI friend access to Hornet. Ember reached down, eyes now focused on the expanse of dark sky as he pulled out his gun with one gloved hand, keeping the other on his yoke so he could still steer.
Ember scanned his periphery, making sure to focus on what could be flying ahead rather than the unexplored below on Earth's surface. However, this attempt on a one track mind would fall short, the pilot catching the sight of something... odd.
"What the hell?"
The ash haired man narrowed his gaze, leaning over his door as he set his plane still, the craft hovering in the air as it's wings flapped rhytmically. Ember would stare into the brush that covered earth, brows furrowed as he noticed two flickers of light on the ground floor. He could barely make it out, Earth being so far below, but it seemed as though the two dots of lights were moving.
Ember's lips would part, lost in thought as his upper body would lean even farther out of the plane, his head leaning down just as a shot of black paint soared right over him, knocking the hat off from Ember's head and sending it on a long journey down to Earth's crust. He shot up, eyes wide as he turned to find Alec aiming his gun just a mere fifty feet away. Ember grabbed his own weapon, quickly raising it and taking aim. He wasted no time pulling the trigger, shooting a ball of black ink right into his fellow pilot's face.
"Ow!" Alec yelped, collapsing back into his seat with a whine.
"Nice try, asshole." Ember smirked, blowing the wisp of smoke floating from his gun's barrel.
Alec pouted, palming his cheek to feel the ink that already begun staining his face.
"You didn't have to shoot me in the face!"
"Well, you didn't have to make fun of Hornet either. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get your buddy Theodore." Ember decided, sitting back into his seat and placing a hand on the yoke.
"Yeah good luck, he already got Enzo" Alec looked down, examining the ink that stained his palm.
"God damn it! How the hell am I gonna go to inauguration looking like this, you prick!" Alec called out.
"You heard Enzo, just say it was a prank." Ember laughed before speeding off, however his gaze couldn't help but flicker down to the foliage below, biting his inner cheek as he saw the lights had disappeared.
Ember sighed, staring back ahead to focus on where he was going. He scanned the area, hoping to find his new rival but to no avail. He cursed under his breath, beginning to grow frustrated as minutes passed with nothing of interest. He once again came to a halt, the grey haired pilot lifting his gun as he once again peered around and took in his surroundings.
He felt the silence that permeated the air, his plane's fluttering wings being the only noise that was made. It only made him feel more uneasy, eyes darting left to right as he began to pick up on the most subtle of buzzing in the distance. However, he still couldn't see anything. That is, until his eyes landed on distorted lights flickering straight ahead of himself. Ember's eyes widened, the bullet like plane breaking out of it's electronic camouflage to reveal not just Theodore, but his shit eating grin.
Ember could already see into the barrel of Theodore's gun as his opponent's craft flew head on. The smokey haired pilot quickly pulled his yoke upwards, his plane shooting straight above to reveal its underside to Theodore just as a ball of black ink hit one of Hornet's motors. Ember felt the plane rattle just a tad, the boy releasing an exasperated sigh as he wiped beads of sweat from his forehead. He looked down to find Theodore halting below where Ember had just been.
"What the hell! You could've just killed us!"
"Killed you." Theodore corrected non-chalantly, a smirk still on his lips as he aimed his gun up at Ember.
Ember growled, keeping his plane stationed in the air before impulsively jumping out, landing right on the hood of Theodore's aircraft. Theodore was now the one shocked, eyes wide as he wasted no time attempting to whip his rival with the hilt of his gun. Ember got striked by this swing just as he tried to climb into the cockpit, causing him to stumble back, nearly falling off the plane. He held his now bleeding lip, his other hand raising his gun to fire a shot at Theodore.
Theodore ducked, just barely dodging the bullet before taking a shot of his own. But just as he did so, Ember jumped over Theodore's windshield, firing three more shots. One hit Theodore's chest, causing him to gasp as the wind got knocked out of his chest. The second hit his shoulder, causing Theodore to stumble backwards into his seat before the final bullet hit his face, staining both his cheek and a section of his snowy bangs.
"Ha! Got you-" Ember was about to celebrate, only for Theodore to growl. He tackled Ember, smashing the plane's windshield in the process. Ember yelled in pain, glass slicing his arms and back as he was pinned atop the hood of Theodore's plane. Theodore growled, smearing Ember's blood across the hood of his plane as he grabbed the pilot by his collar.
"You cheating, arrogant piece of shit! I'll kill you!" Theodore screamed. Ember was taken aback, eyes shocked and pupils shaking from the sudden violence, fear swelling up within him as Theodore began pushing his body off the plane.
"W-What the hell, man! It's just a game!" Ember pleaded, feeling his upper body begin to hang off of the vehicle, the boy feeling himself starting to lose his leverage. He would look down at the long expanse of sky that possibly awaited him below, his breaths increasing, growing shakier by the second.
"Let him go!" Enzo cried out suddenly, his onyx plane entering Ember's vision. Ember looked into Enzo's eyes, seeing the man's same fear of uncertainty behind what Theodore would do next. He then glanced back up at Theodore, wincing as he stared up at the snowball of rage.
"Why do you hate me so much?" Ember finally confronted, a frown on his lips as he felt his despair get replaced with hurt.
Theodore wouldn't respond, a fierce burning flame of spite still clear in his glare as he kept his grip tight on the collar of Ember's shirt. A moment of grim silence filled the air as the two stared eachother down, Enzo anxiously watching from above with unprecedented worry.
Theodore suddenly yanked Ember up, tossing the other towards his plane's cockpit. Ember would clumsily take a few steps forward, nearly tripping over himself as he was allowed his freedom. He stood facing away from Theodore, the grey haired pilot visibly shaking as he panted, catching his breath. He looked up at Enzo with unsettled eyes, the two sharing a level of unease they haven't felt before.