Velvet Breeze moved her eyes to Mirror Match as she began laughing, soft at first, but slowly increasing in volume.
“Look at you, Dewdrop,” Mirror said as she stood, almost as if she wasn’t injured. “Thought you’d won? Thought you’d finally killed Mirror Match?” She resumed her laughter.
“But… how?” Dewdrop said through gritted teeth. The pain in her side seemed to increase with every beat of her heart. “I cut you… I felt my sword hit you…”
“Certainly you did,” Mirror smirked. “But still, you never had a chance. Behold!”
Mirror swept in front of Dewdrop and Velvet, showing off the cut section of her kimono. Behind the thin silk, tinkling in the lamplight, was a thick layer of chainmail. The steel links had held strong against Dewdrop’s attack, with not even a scratch on the armor to show.
“You’ve ruined a perfectly good kimono, but I suppose I can forgive you. After all, you’ve not much longer to live.”
“What do you mean…?” Dewdrop staggered upright and looked down at the cut in her side. It was small, barely two inches long, but something about it was sapping her strength, making her weak.
Mirror laughed, her hand reaching into the depths of her kimono and pulling out a short, jagged dagger with a black blade. “Anta wa mou shinderu yo.”
Dewdrop’s eyes grew wider as she stared at the blade. “That blade…”
“Oh, you recognize this dagger, I see,” Mirror lifted it higher to for them to see. “I’m sure you remember your friends who have fallen to this weapon of mine?”
Dewdrop knew the deadliness of that small dagger Mirror Match had. A few Assassins had suffered under the poison of that blade; it was coated in a deadly toxin that would kill the afflicted within three days, keeping them alive as much as it could until then. And now she had been cut by that same weapon. She knew the outcome.
Dewdrop slumped to her knees, holding her side, her sword clattering to the floor. “Couldn’t beat me in a fair fight? Is that it…? Nnngh…” She fell to her face, both hands on her wound now.
“Dewdrop!” Velvet called out, straining with all her might against Mirror’s paralytic poison.
Mirror fluffed her hair like a model. “I don’t believe in fair fights. Oh, I believe a song is in order for celebration, wouldn’t you agree, Velvet dear?”
Velvet continued to struggle, trying to break free of Mirror’s poison. She could feel her fingers starting to wiggle, but that was all she could do for the moment.
Come on! You gotta go help Dewdrop! Fight it. Fight the witch’s poison!
The Witch of Manehattan stowed her black dagger back within her kimono and paced over to the cherry tree.
“This day has gone just perfect,
So very well that there’s no room for much more growth,
Templars and Assassins fight,
Over what they think is right,
What they don’t know is that I have played them both!”
“What are you… talking about, witch?” Dewdrop pushed herself up to her knees. “I should… kill you. Come here so I can stick my sword in you…”
“Oh, there’s no need for that,” Mirror clucked her tongue as she walked in a circle around the table. “You can barely stand, I don’t want you straining yourself.”
“Please, Mirror,” Velvet teared at the sight of her weakened friend. “She doesn’t deserve this. You have a cure, don’t you? Please, let her live. I’ll do what you want.”
Mirror ignored Velvet’s pleas, instead stalking to Dewdrop’s side, her katana glimmering in her hand.
“Still, I see no reason why you should suffer,” Mirror mused to herself. “After all, you’ve not been marked up for execution.”
Mirror ran a finger along her katana’s blade, then held it to Dewdrop’s neck.
Dewdrop groaned and looked up defiantly at the Templar’s eyes. “Get it over with…”
“No!” Velvet yelled. She willed herself to move, to run over to save her friend, but her body still failed to respond to her demands.
Then she remembered the shard in her pocket. Her hand was on her lap, close to her coat pocket. If she could get the shard to work, maybe she had a chance of saving Dewdrop.
Trying with all her might, Velvet Breeze moved her hand towards her coat, watching it inch a centimeter forward, then stop again.
You have to save Dewdrop! Please, move!
“So I shall release you now,” Mirror whispered, her eyes shining with excitement. “It has been a long time since I’ve been able to kill someone like this, but you know what they say, it’s like riding a horse. You never forget.”
“No!”
And then Velvet felt a familiar warmness radiating from her coat pocket. It was almost like a piece of coal recently taken from a fireplace.
And then she was enveloped in a blinding bright light, the space in front of her disappearing into a golden void.
Dewdrop watched from her spot as Velvet Breeze stood up, her eyes like glowing lights, focusing on Mirror Match. Her ears had somehow shifted to the top of her head, kind of like a horse’s ears, and her short teal and grey hair had extended into a long ponytail, ending at her knees.
What caught Dewdrop’s attention the most were the pair of luminous glowing wings, jutting from Velvet’s back like an angel. They seemed to be made of golden light, the same as Velvet’s glowing eyes.
“This can’t be…” Mirror Match lowered her blade from Dewdrop’s neck. “That’s impossible.”
Then Velvet Breeze lifted a hand, her palm facing up. Mirror Match was lifted into the air, her katana falling to the wooden floor with a clatter.
“No… How are you doing this?” Mirror squirmed in her invisible grasp.
Before she could say anything else, the Templar agent was smashed to the wooden floor below, breaking a portion of the wooden floorboards, before she was dragged across it and flung to the other side of the room, against one of the glass panels surrounding the spacial room. She impacted into it with a loud thud, but it didn’t shatter.
Dewdrop guessed it was made with some very strong material; the force at which Velvet flung her looked really powerful.
Then she was lifted again, continuously smashed against the glass, which finally began to crack from the force.
Mirror coughed, blood running from the corner of her mouth. “This can’t be… Sunset Shimmer is the heir, not you.”
Pulling back again, Velvet slammed the Templar against the glass, turning her around so that her face was turned to the cracking glass.
“N-No… Emerald… I-It’s me. You promised…” Mirror gasped, her voice shifting to a cultured Canterlot accent while green flames escaped her mouth. “You promised me…”
Dewdrop, who had been silently cheering Velvet on, watched in confusion as the young Assassin released her grip on Mirror, allowing her to fall back to the wooden floor. The Templar crawled forward and breathed deeply, clutching at her chest as she coughed up blood on the planks below.
“Psi… Thyra…?” Velvet asked in a voice that sounded like two people were speaking, her own and that of an older woman.
“Ye-es…” Mirror Match nodded, down on all fours. “It’s me, old friend...”
Dewdrop wasn’t believing what she was seeing. She wanted Velvet to keep it up.
“Don’t listen to her, Velvet!” she yelled over, the strain hurting her side. “She’s trying to trick you! You’ve got to take her down, now!”
Velvet shook her head like a dog coming out of the water.
“Yes, that’s the way, Emerald…” Mirror said, inching closer to her katana. “You remember, you promised not to ever use the artifacts against me or my family. I’m so glad you-”
Mirror’s speech was cut off as Velvet surrounded the Templar agent in a soft golden aura, picking her up off the ground.
“Wait!” Mirror cried out. “You can’t do this, Emerald!”
Velvet stared at Mirror, her eyes burning like golden flames.
“My name is Velvet Breeze, and I made no such promise.”
And with that, Velvet whipped her hand down, launching Mirror Match over the edge of the balcony where she disappeared with a frightful scream.
There was silence for a few seconds, maybe minutes. Dewdrop didn’t keep track of the time. She had pushed up to her feet with as much strength as she could muster and slowly staggered over to Velvet, who was now reeling back, like she had been punched in the gut.
“Velvet?” Dewdrop called out as the girl fell to a knee, the glow in her eyes fading, her hair and ears returning to normal. “Velvet, are you okay?”
The blue-skinned girl shook her head a few times and placed a hand over one eye. “I-I’m… I don’t know, Dewdrop.”
Dewdrop tried to smile, but the poison turned it into a grimace. “You did it, Velvet. You killed Mirror Match.”
“A-Are you sure?” Velvet said weakly. She felt as if she had spent the day hiking over the Canterpathian Mountains, and could barely muster the energy to stay standing.
“Come on,” Dewdrop arrived by her side, using the side of her knee to support the girl up. “You tossed her off the balcony, not to mention you probably broke her bones and all. There’s no way anyone could survive that. You’re the hero once again, Velvet. I owe it to you…” Dewdrop grabbed her side again, her legs threatening to give way.
“What’s going to happen to you, Dewdrop?” Velvet looked up at the older Assassin. “I remember what happened to the others, or at least you’ve told me the stories. I don’t want you to go, Dewdrop. Is there a cure we could find?”
“Nng… If there is a cure, then it probably died with Mirror Match. She’s the only one who’d have the antidote.”
“Maybe it’s in the penthouse somewhere-”
The pair’s conversation was interrupted by the crackling of a radio, one which Mirror Match had left under the tea table.
“Mirror Match, it’s Wolfgang. The crew and I are on our way up.”
Velvet’s eyes widened with concern. “It’s Wolfgang. He’s coming, Dewdrop. We’re in no shape to fight him…”
“Then we’ll have to… we’ll have to leave,” Dewdrop held an arm to her side, while her other one helped Velvet up, placing it under her arm to support her. “Come on. Maybe there’s a way down from that balcony.”
“But what about the cure?”
“We’ll worry about that later. Now, focus on getting out of here.”
The rest of the balcony was plain and nondescript, without any ornamentation or decoration, only a smooth wall separating them from open space. There was a small hook on the wall, and next to that was placed a long, rifle-like device with a length of rope attached to it.
“Hey, Mirror Match has one of those too,” Velvet pointed to the sleek black gun. “Do you… Do you think we could use that to get down?”
“Maybe… we can use this...” Dewdrop picked up the gun, but winced when she tried to hold it against her shoulder.
“Let me, Dewdrop,” Velvet gently took the gun from the blue haired Assassin’s hands and aimed it at one of the adjacent buildings, all of which were lower in elevation. As she aimed, she looked down. There were what looked like police cars gathering around the base of Match Mansions. They had to get going, and soon.
Picking the closest building Velvet fired the grapple gun, a length of high-tensile rope uncoiling after the grappling hook, flying way over to the building before latching against what looked like a roof extension.
“I think it’s secure,” Velvet said quickly, giving the rope a tug. “Can you hold on, Dewdrop?”
“I don’t think it’ll hold both of us,” Dewdrop pointed out. “You go first. I’ll follow.”
“I want to make sure you’re safe, Dewdrop,” Velvet placed a hand on the older Assassin’s arm. “You got poisoned by that thing. I want to make sure you’ll be able to get across alright. You go first.”
“No, Velvet. You go first,” Dewdrop insisted.
“B-But-”
“No buts, Velvet,” Dewdrop looked into her orange eyes. “I promised I would look after you. That’s what I’m doing.”
“But Dewdrop-”
“No, Velvet,” Dewdrop wrapped her arms around Velvet, trying her best to ignore the pain for the moment. “You’re like a sister I never could have. You’re just about as important to me as your sister was and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, so you go first.”
“Al-alright…” Velvet conceded and picked up one of the glides that was kept next to the grapple gun and hooked it over the rope. She glanced down and her stomach did a flip flop. Velvet took one last deep breath and kicked off from the balcony, the glide effortlessly transporting her across the length of rope and depositing her onto the rooftop.
The blue haired Assassin sighed with relief as Velvet Breeze waved back to her, arriving at the other rooftop without a problem.
Dewdrop was about to follow when she heard footsteps on the planks behind her, back in the room. She turned to see Wolfgang and five other men walk into view. Wolfgang was armed with only his cane, but his cohorts all hefted assault rifles.
“Assassin…” Wolfgang snarled, unsheathing his cane’s outer layer to reveal a sword blade. “Where’s Mirror Match? What have you done with her?”
Looking back down to the young Assassin, Dewdrop smiled calmly, unsure if Velvet would be able to see or not. Not wasting another second, she unsheathed a hidden blade and cut the line before tossing the gun off the balcony, quickly dodging to the side, against the glass wall as gunfire pelted the concrete wall of the balcony where she had been standing.
Dewdrop placed a hand at her side while she drew a sword. Velvet had made it out and that was all the Assassin cared about. She had let revenge and hatred for Wolfgang consume her, eat at her on the inside, but not anymore. Dewdrop realized her folly and revenge had only endangered Velvet further.
“I’m sorry, Velvet,” Dewdrop muttered. “I’m sorry for putting you through all this… I’m sorry Satin, High Noon.”
Knowing she had to buy time for Velvet, Dewdrop looked through the glass, watching two men approach her position, while Wolfgang hung back, smiling devilishly from ear to ear.
If I am to go down, I’ll take as many of you as I can.
“If you did take down Mirror Match, Assassin, you’ve got some skill!” Wolfgang shouted to her. “If not for you, I would’ve killed her one day myself after everything she’s done to me!”
“Ngh… Not a very organized group, are you Templars?”
Wolfgang shrugged. “Maybe not, but from what I hear, neither are you Assassins. The last few of you hiding somewhere after we burned out your hive, eh? I bet Grand Master Sombra would love to know where the rest of you are. Cuff her, boys! I want her alive, at least for now.”
One of the guards drew out a pair of handcuffs, putting down his rifle and edging closer to the Assassin. The rest of the guards closed in, with Wolfgang remaining at a safe distance.
“No funny business now,” Wolfgang said. “Or these fine men will shoot your legs full of lead. You won’t need them where you’re going.”
“You won’t need it where you’re going,” Dewdrop suddenly leaned out and cut the man’s hand off, then running him through with her sword as he screamed in pain. “If you’re taking me, Wolfgang, then you’re not taking me alive.”
Dewdrop tossed the man’s body down as bullets shot around her feet, forcing her back behind the glass panel she was using. She winced and reached a hand down at her side, Mirror Match’s blade wound still sapping away at her strength.
Four of the remaining guards turned the corner, firing their assault rifles. Perhaps yesterday’s Dewdrop would have been able to get out of the way, but today’s Dewdrop had deadly poison coursing through her veins, and she was too slow to avoid a volley of bullets piercing her left leg and arm. She stumbled and fell over onto her face, clutching at her injuries.
“How feeble…” Wolfgang said from inside the room, shaking his head with a smirk on his face. “What did I tell you? Now, someone, cuff her.”
Three guards kept their weapons on Dewdrop as one reached for another pair of cuffs behind him. Dewdrop crawled away from him, weakly holding a sword. She threw the weapon at the guard, who sidestepped it.
“Looks like you’re all out of weapons,” Wolfgang said, spinning his cane sword at his side.
“Not quite,” Dewdrop said, splaying her hand and extending her hidden blade.
Wolfgang looked amused. “And what do you plan on doing with that puny thing? In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve got you surrounded, and you’re in no shape to fight us. Give up, and I promise I won’t toy with you long after Grand Master Sombra is through with you.”
“There’s one thing I can still do…” Dewdrop said quietly. She took her hidden blade and pointed it under her chin.
Wolfgang’s eyes bulged as he realized what she was about to do.
“Stop her!” the killer shouted, but he was a hair too slow.
Dewdrop’s thumb brushed the release for her hidden blade, sending the entire length shooting up into her skull. The Assassin swayed, then fell onto her back, lifeless.
Wolfgang and his men looked down at the dead Assassin.
“Damn,” Wolfgang said eventually. “Oh well. You four, clean up this mess and help the cops. Me, I’m going to get some more champagne.”
Velvet Breeze stumbled down a wall, falling to her knees as she struggled to hide.
She was lightly sobbing, the strength taken up by that little effort, as she unsteadily ran through an alleyway.
Dewdrop had smiled at her before cutting the rope. She knew she wasn’t going to follow behind Velvet. She knew.
Velvet placed herself behind two trashcans and sat down, wiping at her eyes as she fought to keep quiet. Dewdrop had meant a lot to her, not just as a friend, but as family. She was there for her all the time after Satin had passed, but now, now Velvet didn’t know what had happened, but she assumed the worst.
Lying down on the dirty concrete, Velvet closed her eyes and cried herself to sleep.