A Long Way to Fall

by Cinders of War

Chapter 14: The Way Forward

“So, this Mirror Match, huh…” Twilight looked over her notes. “This is where their relationship started… And from what I heard, it’s not long before Frigid Night starts losing it, huh?”

“Oh, actually, quite some time,” Morning Blade said. “Things actually seemed to be going well for the Assassins for a while. I guess you could say they weren’t really facing any major problems yet. I just wished that could've carried on all the way, even past the time I joined. That's what we all wish for, huh? For things to go our way all the time...”

“And then Mirror Match happened?”

The ex-Assassin sighed and looked down. “Yeah…”

“Come on, let’s not dwell on this sadness.” Twilight put a hand on Morning’s shoulder, squeezing lightly. “Right now, in the story, this is a happy moment, isn’t it? Why don't we look at that instead? That's a good idea, hmm?”

“In a way, I guess so, Twilight Sparkle.” Morning looked back at her book. Its pages were getting slightly old, but it was fine. She liked old books. “Frigid was certainly happy this day. He didn’t know what was coming yet…”

---

---

It was dark by the time Wolfgang pulled up to the Templar headquarters, the killer parking his sleek black car in the spacious garage and stepping out with a flourish.

He moved to the wall, spreading his hands around to find the secret button. He cursed himself for not remembering its exact location, forcing him to search for it every time. Making a mental note to bring a marker the next time he came here, he eventually felt the difference in the wall and clicked the button. He stepped back and scanned his surroundings, making sure he wasn’t being followed.

Wolfgang scoffed. Who would bother to follow him? Who was brave enough to do so?

He headed right in as soon as the entrance opened, making sure no one was around before heading down into the secret entrance. The room below was specially reserved for the killers and their gear; probably the chairman's way of keeping his men as far as he could from such dangerous people.

It was a simple square room, consisting of a dimly light bulb; the killers’ preference to maintain a dark room. A table sat in the middle, while racks of weapons were mounted to the wall for the killers to leave their things. A small kitchen and bathroom were in two other rooms within their space, allowing them to live longer without starving and to relieve themselves if the need arises.

Wolfgang began to hear the chatter of his associates as made his way down the dark flight of stairs. They were sitting around the table, playing with their favourite weapons.

"I'm hoooome!" he said in a sing-song voice.

"Wolfgang!" Pressure Point called as Smokey Flames turned to the returning killer.

"That's right," he smiled. "Back in town."

She looked around. "Wait. Where's Dagger Wind?"

Wolfgang feinted disappointment, doing his best to look solemn. "He... unfortunately, was taken down by the police when he resisted arrest. I managed to get away, but I couldn't help him. He was… gunned down before I had a chance to do anything."

"That's a shame..." Smokey Flames sighed, flicking a burnt match onto the floor. "I was starting to enjoy his company, that one-eyed gun nut."

"So it's down to three once more, huh?" Pressure Point stated. She threw a knife up into the air and caught it with her other hand. "Guess we're the better killers."

"Yes..." Wolfgang grinned slyly. "Yes we are..." Wolfgang headed for the staircase, the smug look still on his face. "If you'll excuse me, ladies. I've got to give the news to Lumberjack and the chairman. We still have a fugitive at large after all."

---

Frigid Night had waited for Mirror Match outside her room, deciding to have dinner outside for the day, since it always tasted better than the canteen’s food, no offense to the cook. The Assassin had removed his hooded robes in exchange for a blue varsity jacket, which easily concealed his hidden blade, just in case any Templars or killers showed up again. He had also swapped out his combat boots with track shoes to blend in with the rest of the common folk.

He raised his hand to knock, but hesitated for a while before finally doing so. Even though he'd been with her so much for the last year, he'd never felt so nervous around her until now. Soon, she opened the door, smiling as she noticed him. She was still dressed in her usual Assassin garb, probably not ready to go yet.

“Frigid!” she greeted. “What are you doing here so early? Dinner’s not in another half hour. Just couldn’t wait to see me?”

Frigid blushed, his heart beat going up as soon as he saw her. It hadn’t been like this before asking her out. Something had changed. “Umm… I was thinking… d-do you want to… eat out today? I know of t-this restaurant in t-town that has excellent enchiladas. You... know what that is, right?”

“Why didn’t you say so sooner?” she started laughing. “I love enchiladas, but I’m not ready yet. Give me some time to wash up. We can leave as soon as I’m done.”

Frigid almost wanted to hit himself. Of course she wasn’t ready to go yet. He didn’t tell her his intentions until a few seconds ago. “Right. Sorry. Guess I should have thought about it sooner. Take your time. We’re in no hurry.”

“It’s alright, Frigid,” she told him. “I think it’s a much better idea than eating downstairs! We’ll have more… privacy too. You want to come in? I’ll try not to be too long.”

Frigid Night walked into the room, looking at the inside of it. It was just about the same as every Assassin bedroom, only Mirror Match’s room had a small circular table with two folding chairs placed next to it. A dresser stood next to the bed, decorated with only a lamp and three books. It was by by far the most desolate and least personal room Frigid had ever seen. Assassin rooms had no windows for protective measures, so the only way to see was with lights, and Mirror only had the one small lamp, dimly illuminating the place.

“I won’t take long, alright?” She faced her back to him, heading to the bathroom to clean up for their date.

Frigid sat on her bed and waited, looking at her room walls and floor. She kept her room in a much cleaner state than he did. The young Assassin made a note to dust up his floor when he had the time.

He looked up when the bathroom door opened, his heart skipping a beat. Mirror Match walked out, dressed in a maroon dress and a short coat. He just couldn’t take his eyes off her, earning a smile and a giggle from his copycat friend.

“Well?” she asked as she walked up to him. “Like what you see?”

Frigid realized he was staring and averted his eyes, the red rising to his cheeks again. “Err… yes. It’s… very nice. Actually… you look very nice.”

“Just nice?” Mirror Match arched an eyebrow. She paused, giving Frigid a frown and a squint, as if expecting something.

Frigid’s heart raced faster as he mentally hit himself for his blunder. “No, no, no, of course not! I mean, you look great! Really good.”

“That’s better,” Mirror Match grinned and waltzed up up to the Assassin, so close that he could smell her perfume. “Now where are we going?”

Frigid led her out of the room, heading to the exit of their bureau. He looked at himself and Mirror. He just had his simple jacket over his usual outfit, while she had gone all out, getting a nice dress and everything. He looked out of place being around such a beautiful girl.

They had met Trueshot on the way down, the Stalliongrad Assassin giving them a thumbs up as soon as he saw them. “Well… it’s about time.” He pulled his hood up as he headed past them.

Mirror Match inched closer and took his hand, startling the grey haired Assassin. Soon, they were out of the front doors, heading for the restaurant that Frigid had told her about.

They got a table for two, the waiter handing them the menu before walking off. Frigid ordered enchiladas for both of them, explaining to Mirror why these ones were so good. She raised her eyebrows and nodded, chuckling at his explanation. It startled Frigid just how different she acted now that she wasn’t in her Assassin robes, almost as if she were an entirely different person.

They talked about their pasts for a bit, Mirror telling him about her adventures around the world before finally settling down in Trottingham. She had been searching for an old associate. A friend that she had when she was younger, but she never did find them.

“That’s rough,” Frigid sympathized. “I never really had any special friends until I joined the Assassins.”

“You’ve got your whole life ahead of you,” Mirror reasoned. “You’ll make lots of friends eventually.”

“I’ve been happy here, though,” Frigid nodded. “I have Dust, Rose, Trueshot… and you.”

“How nice of you, Frigid.” The female Assassin blushed, happy to hear those simple words from her friend.

The waiter returned with their dinner, setting in down in front of them. Soon the two Assassins started on their dinner, busily chomping down on the wraps of meat.

“This is quite good,” Mirror told Frigid as she finished up her last piece. “Thanks for bringing me here.”

After paying with money that they had looted from the Silver Smile, they soon headed on towards the theater to catch a movie. Mirror Match had wanted to watch a horror movie, titled 'The Mare in the Moon', which was about a horse from the moon, who tried to turn everyone into zombies.

"Sounds freaky," Frigid said after reviewing the summary.

They headed into the dark room, finding their seats as the movie began. To be honest, the movie was pretty cheesy and the special effects were outdated, but at least that made it good to laugh at. Mirror put as little distance as she could between the two of them, resting her head on his shoulder. Frigid blushed again, but enjoyed the moment, eventually resting his arm around her.

Not too long later, they left the theater, still laughing at the cheap tricks that the director had used to make the zombies.

“That plot twist was terrible,” Mirror Match giggled as she skipped ahead. “I mean, the mare in the moon was the princess the whole time? That’s so predictable.”

"I was still surprised that she wanted to turn everyone into zombies," Frigid mused as he caught up to her. "Good thing the hero had an antidote."

"Well, I'm still glad I got to spend the evening with you," she replied, taking his hand. "It doesn't matter how bad the movie was."

"Same here," Frigid Night smiled at her. "I'm lucky to have you as my partner and friend."

“Shall we head back?”

“Yeah…” Frigid said, a little disappointment in his voice that their date was just about done. “I guess we should.”

They held each other's hands as they continued back to the bureau, both enjoying the simple pleasure of a moment's peace with a friend before returning to their line of work.

---

Pierce Network sat in his little cramped office, tapping away on his phone, switching to the many different cameras on his huge display of monitors. An alert had popped up on his phone not too long ago, indicating a tracking device he had placed on a Templar had returned to Trottingham. He swiped through the thousands of cameras he had, searching each one for the man he was looking for.

“What’s his name again?” Pierce asked himself. “Noon Time… Showdown… Afternoon... something like that. Bah. Who cares about petty things like that? His name doesn’t matter. He’s a Templar. Eventually, I’ll find you all and you’ll find out what it means to be a Templar with a knife in his back. Now, where are you hiding?”

Soon, Pierce found him. The orange-skinned Templar that young Frigid Night had caught that one time. The signal had vanished quite some time ago, meaning he had left the cities, away from Pierce’s radio towers, but now he was back, appearing to be looking for something, or someone. Maybe a Templar contact. But why Trottingham and not Manehattan?

“Haven’t seen you in a long time, pal…” Pierce muttered to himself, typing on his keyboard. “Where’ve you been hiding? Why hasn’t my tracker picked you up until now? What secrets do you have on you? It’ll only be a matter of time before I figure it out. You can run, you can hide, but you can never hide from Pierce Network.”

---

High Noon paced down the streets of Trottingham, still looking around for anyone that could possibly resemble an Assassin. He had yet to even find one person with a hood; everyone else was wearing jackets or just plain old civilian clothes. He rubbed his eyes, still tired from the long journey and the last hour of walking around town.

Maybe I should find a place to sleep for the day...

He headed in the direction of the nearest hotel, deciding to find a place to rest his figure and his mind. His brain was still contemplating whether finding the people who tried to kill him was such a good idea. He really didn’t want to get a knife in his back, or for that matter, even his front. He just had to make them see reason before they had the chance to kill him.

He entered the hotel lobby, still hoping to find someone in a hood, but he couldn’t see one. There was a bearded man with a beanie, but that didn’t quite fit the description very well. High Noon stood still, deciding what he should do, until someone accidentally bumped into him. High Noon turned around to see a man, his eyes glued to his phone, looking up to see the deputy in front of him.

“Sorry,” High Noon apologized, even though it wasn’t his fault.

“No, no need to be sorry just yet,” the man replied, his voice sounding like a robot-like monotonous sound.

He wore a cap with a strange wi-fi picture on it, and a long brown coat. It was then High Noon noticed the hood at the back of the man’s coat. The cowboy was just about to open his mouth when the man hit a button on his phone. The whole area suddenly blacked out, plunging the whole hotel into darkness.

High Noon was stunned by the moment, unable to react in time when the man grabbed him and shoved him in another direction. It was too dark for High Noon to see, but he knew what was about to happen. He steadied his heartbeat, keeping himself from panicking like he usually did. He thought back to why he had even left Appleloosa all those years ago. He wasn’t cut out for this kind of work, unable to handle pressure and tense moments like the rest of his colleagues and adversaries.

Soon, he felt the cement of a wall rush up to his face as he was planted against it. He grimaced at the pain, but he’d suffered worse before.

“What are you doing back here…?” the man demand behind him. He held an arm to the back of Noon’s neck and grappled his right arm behind his back. “...And what’s your name again?”

“High Noon...” the cowboy grunted, half his face still pressed against the wall. “I’m not here to spy or kill you Assassins… I’m h-here to talk.”

“Talk?” the man repeated. High Noon did his best to nod. “Why would the Grand Master send you all the way to us just to talk? Does he want a deal with the Assassins? Does he take us for fools? I know how the Templars operate, son. I’ve been throwing planks in their gears for the last few years.”

“No, no...” High Noon had to convince him. “I’m not with the Templars anymore. I left them. I’ve come to learn that they were the wrong choice. They tried to kill me, my friends, my family. I don’t want that happening. I need your help. Please. Let me help you take them down.”

“What makes you so sure I’ll trust you?” the man grumbled. “You could be a spy, trying to take our ranks down from the inside. I’ve dealt with those before. Don’t you think I won’t know a spy when I see one.”

High Noon took a few deeper breaths to slow his fear from taking over, but he didn't do a good job at stopping his body from shivering. "I-I've got nothing left besides my hometown. Chairman Wood probably has a bounty on my head for leaving the Order. He even sent the killers after me. Please... let me help. I need to correct the wrongs I've done."

He could feel the Assassin's eyes stabbing daggers at his back, but eventually, the arm on his neck loosened, allowing him to turn around.

"You never heard me say this, but... I believe you," the man said. "I've been down that road before. I've been down every road before. And I must admit... you're definitely not cut out to be a Templar, much less an Assassin."

"So you'll let me join?" High Noon asked, excitement almost in his voice.

"Not for me to decide, kid." Pierce tapped on his phone again, reactivating the power in the general area. "I'll make a call, but the one who ultimately decides if you join or not, is the Mentor. Take heed. If you are not accepted, we'll have to kill you. You'll know too much."

High Noon took a long slow gulp. This was one of the endings he had imagined on his way to this city and he really didn't want it to happen. He would just have to hope his reasons to join would be enough.

Comments

[Jaxxon Markus Citadel]

And here we finally have High Noon joining the Assassins. About time. Was Ebony Wings in the movie, by any chance?

[Sonata Eternal]

Pierce sure was active in the day. A thing I like about these stories is that they all take place at different times, but we get to see the same characters.

Also, Frigid and Mirror are so normal now. Wow.