//------------------------------// // Chapter 38: Knowing What's Best // Story: A Long Way to Fall // by Cinders of War //------------------------------// "Welcome to the Board, Citrus," Mahogany greeted, shaking the young girl's hand. Citrus Drops wore a pink shirt with fur along the collar, a purple skirt, and a grey beret, along with a purple scarf around her neck as she sat in Mahogany Wood’s office. She had just graduated high school, finally able to join the people that her father had worked with. She had been longing to work with her father, the man who had raised her to be the woman she was today. But he was taken from her, killed by criminals, from what Chairman Wood had told her. She had gone into a week of depression after that. Why was her father killed weeks before she was to join him at his workplace. In their family, she was closer to her father, while her sister was to their mother, and now he was gone. "Glad to be here, chairman," she feigned a smile. True, she still wanted to work here, but without her father, there seemed to be something missing in her life. "Again, I'm sorry about Cough Drops, dear. He was a great man," Mahogany told her solemnly. "I hope to bring justice to the ones that took him from you." "Thank you, chairman." Citrus' vision began to blur from the man's words. She too wanted to see the criminals locked behind bars, but she didn't know what she could do. Her father had raised her and her sister without violence in the family. Cough always told them that violence is unnecessary. If the world could abandon violence, everything would work out for the better. “Your father had an interesting ideology,” Mahogany said as he walked back behind his desk and gazed out the window. “Something I adopted into our cause. He believed that if people loved each other, if people didn’t fight, if everyone was of the same mind… then the world would be a better place. That is exactly what we aim to do, Citrus. Now, your father, he was our media relations worker. Without him, I’m afraid we’re not able to… ‘deal’ with the media. I was hoping you could fill his shoes. We’ll be willing to pay you more than your father as well. Cough asked me to take care of you when you joined us. We never suspected that he would be gone…” “Of course...” Citrus wiped at her eyes, trying to remain strong for her family. “Thank you for having him while he was here, and thank you for accepting me into this business. I’ll do my best to make him proud.” “If you ever need anything, just ask,” Mahogany told her with a softer tone. “Crescent Wing here, is more than capable enough to aid you with your tasks.” “It will be my pleasure,” Crescent said, giving her a bow. Before long, the doors to Mahogany’s office burst open, a big burly man in an army coat walking in, a stern look on his face. “Chairman, I’ve got some news.” “Ah, well, Citrus, as you can see, I have other business to attend to,” Mahogany returned to his desk and straightened his suit. “You may go. Take the rest of the day off. I will see you tomorrow.” “Thank you again, chairman. For everything.” Citrus nodded to both chairman and his bodyguard before walking past the bigger man. She felt his intimidation as she made her way past him, trying to avoid eye contact. She closed the office doors behind her and made her way to the elevator. I’ll make you proud, dad. I’ll do what you never could do for these people, and I will find out who was responsible for your death and make sure they receive their justice. “This… is a lot of data,” Pierce said as he scanned through the stacks of paper. He wasn’t a mechanic, so he left the parts by the door, unsure of what to make of them. “Satin Breeze and Dewdrop had also done a little recon. They found the machine’s previous location. With all… this, and their information, I should be able to pinpoint its likely position. Templars. They’re not as careful as they once thought they were. Mistakes, all over the place, not covering their tracks well, letting information slip by. This is too good of a chance to miss.” “Finally, we’re getting somewhere.” Frigid put both hands on his head and smoothed out his hair. He’d waited a good month to finally get closer to finding Mirror Match. This was his chance. The machine was going to be guarded by the best. If Mirror had already proven herself, she would be there, waiting for the Assassins to try and destroy their machine. “Frigid,” Pierce called without taking his eyes away from his computer screens. “I might not agree with your recent methods and behaviour, but at least you brought back results. Imagine if you didn’t. The Mentor, everyone would condemn your actions. Anger isn’t a good emotion to hold on to. I’m sure you can find something else down there. When I was younger-” “Right, okay, that’s good, Pierce.” Frigid quickly backed out of the room before the hacker could drone on about the past. Again. “See what you can find. I’m going to get some rest.” Frigid headed towards his room. He’d been away for the last three days, sleeping on the hard cement of different roofs, keeping a watchful eye and ear out just in case the Templars had found their sleeping spot. A soft bed would do nicely after all that time in the field. “Frigid! You’re back!” Frigid turned around as Rose Petal threw her arms around him and squeezed. “You’re gone so long these days. We miss you. You’re not still out on your revenge streak are you?” “O-of course not, Rose,” Frigid quickly lied. “I’m back to normal missions. Anything I can find on Mirror is a bonus.” “Well… good for you then,” she replied. Frigid wasn’t sure if she suspected he wasn’t telling the truth, but she seemed to let it slide. “Trueshot and I are planning to get some training done. Want to join us? Like old times.” “You go on ahead, Rose. I gotta get some sleep.” Frigid emphasized it with a wide yawn. “Hope you get some good rest there!” she said as she headed in the opposite direction. Frigid arrived at his room, opening the door and stepping inside, throwing his coat onto the chair near his bed. He flopped himself on the soft mattress, leaning back against the comfortable pillows. His thoughts went back to Mirror Match and the Templars. Would she be with the machine? Would they even be able to find it? That was all Frigid could think about, even now. His former partner, Mirror Match. You gotta go through with this, Frigid. You've got to make her pay. They couldn't let the Templars use their machine successfully. If they could find someone out there that could wield the artifact, then the Assassins were in for some serious trouble. Frigid turned to his side and closed his eyes. He would be ready, no matter what he thought, no matter what he felt. "Pierce?" Star Lance opened the office door and looked at the hacker. "It's late. What do you need?" "I think I might have found something," the Chicoltgo Assassin started, bringing up his phone. He turned the screen to Star Lance. "I've been monitoring Templar movements. From the descriptions the others have gotten for me, about the change of location, the needed parts, the paperwork, and even Templar sightings, I think I've determined where the machine is." "Wait, really?" Star Lance shook off his sleepiness. Could it be they finally have a chance to cripple the Templars? "Give me the details." "The Templars would want it close, so I thought it would most likely be in Manehattan. Somewhere close to their main building. Satin Breeze and Dewdrop found a lab near them, but the machine had already moved when they got there. After additional-" "Okay, forget the details..." Star Lance rubbed at his head. The boring man was going to put him back to sleep at this rate. "Just tell me where the machine is." "Here," Pierce Network said after zooming in on his phone screen. "It's close to their Board building. In the power plant, right there." "Good work, Pierce." Star Lance gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Go get some sleep. I'll let Mentor know and we'll make our move tomorrow. This is it. We're close. Make sure you find out everything on that building tomorrow." "Will do," Pierce nodded and headed back down the steps. "Goodnight, Star Lance." "You too." Star Lance closed the door and headed back to where the Mentor was sleeping. He sat down on her bed and gently put a hand on her arm. "Steel Shine?" She opened her glimmering pink eyes and turned them in his direction. "Star Lance? Did something happen?" "Everything's fine..." he gave her a reassuring rub on the arm. "It's the machine. Pierce found it. It's in a Manehattan power plant." "They found the machine..." the Mentor repeated, sitting herself up. "That's big news, Lance. We've got to start planning, start recon." "Yes, of course, but it's still dark out. Finish your rest, Steel Shine. We should start tomorrow." "How do you expect me to rest after telling me the big news?" She gave him a smile before resting her head on his back. "I'll keep you company." "Sounds good to me," Star Lance said and turned to let her rest against his chest, while putting an arm around her. He felt her heartbeat, a pace faster than his. She must've been more excited than she had shown. Star Lance knew it too. This was the breakthrough they had been waiting for. Now it was only a matter of time to plan their next move and stop the Templars. "Should we let Frigid Night go?" Star Lance decided to ask. Lately, the kid wasn't himself, bending the rules whenever it suited him, all because of that girl that betrayed him. "He'll want to go. Says Mirror Match will definitely be there." "Normally I would say yes, but... Frigid's changed..." Steel Shine sighed. "He's not the Assassin he once was. He's lost his ideals." "So he's not going?" "I will ask him tomorrow," she decided. "If he really wants to go, then so be it. Perhaps ending Mirror Match is what he needs to return to his old self." "You know what's best, Steel Shine. You always do." "I have to, Lance. I must live up to her legacy." The Mentor put a hand to her chest, where her heart was. "We'll change things tomorrow. For the better, I hope."