//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: It's in the Bag // Story: A Long Way to Fall // by Cinders of War //------------------------------// “That was Frigid’s first mission,” Morning Blade smiled, recounting the past. “He told me about it when he first took me in, but as for the details, I had to get them from Trueshot, um, he’s another Assassin I knew. Frigid wasn’t exactly the most… open Assassin.” Twilight Sparkle nodded, having listened very intently. “Back in Equestria, Captain Frigid Night is a very friendly pegasus. So… whatever happened to him hasn’t happened yet, right? From what you’ve said so far, he still seems nice enough.” “Yeah, he was still new at this point,” Morning chuckled, putting a hand to her eye. “We all changed during our time in the Assassin Brotherhood. Frigid just… changed for the worse, I guess. Though in his last days… yeah, sorry, Twilight Sparkle. That part’s still a little… recent for me.” “I understand, Morning Blade. Please, don’t force yourself. I know it must be hard.” The ex-Assassin looked down. “I’ll-I’ll continue where we stopped. I have a little bit more of this bit…” Morning turned the pages of her book. “Frigid’s report and second mission.” “That’ll be fine, Morning.” “You did fine, Frigid.” That was all the Mentor had said to the young Assassin. “I thought it was going to have more… impact,” Frigid Night told Dust Fencer as they left the office. “I mean, it is my first mission outside and all.” Dust Fencer just smiled. “Well, Mentor doesn’t tend to say much, and I did help you.” Dust was an experienced Assassin, assigned to teach Frigid Night everything he knew about being an Assassin. The blonde haired man wore a thick grey coat over an old-fashioned Trottingham attire, complete with a blue scarf under his chin. His signature weapon, a rapier, was strapped to his side. “I could have handled it.” “Uh huh,” Dust replied. “Although, you have proven that you can make it out there against lower classed enemies, so that’s a start.” “I guess,” Frigid said, excited that he can finally get out there and do some damage. “Good spirit. Well, I have to go do some stuff, so I’ll catch you later. Why don’t you go hang out with the rest?” Frigid nodded and decided to do as he was told. Guess I’ll see you around, Dust. “Hey, initiate!” a voice shouted. He turned to see a familiar pink-skinned woman call him over. She had on a sleeveless white coat over a grey Eastern dress with red outlines and purple arm and leg sleeves. She had her hair tied up into a ponytail, with two needle-like objects sticking out of it. “Hello, Rose Petal,” he said. “Done with your mission?” “Yep!” she smiled, giving the new assassin a whack on the back. “Took me a while, but a trained Assassin such as I could handle it just fine.” “Right.” “Well,” she asked. “How did yours go? Heard Dust Fencer had to pull you out of that mess.” “He did, but I could have handled myself,” Frigid assured. “I’m sure you could, Frigid. Or not.” They talked for a bit, until a grey-skinned man came with a message for Frigid. “Trueshot!” Rose Petal exclaimed. “Good to see you.” “Same,” the man nodded. He turned to Frigid Night. “Mentor sent me. She says it’s high time you got your next contract. Go see Red Card. He’ll get you one.” “Finally!” Frigid shouted, getting the attention of some of the other Assassins around. “Err… I mean… it’s about time. I’ll catch you both later.” “Sure thing, initiate,” Rose Petal smiled. She ruffled his hair before letting him go. “Watch out. Don’t die out there.” Frigid Night arrived down in the lower sector of the Trottingham bureau, heading straight for Red Card’s booth. Red Card was an older Assassin, usually keeping to the bureau and handing out contracts instead of going out there himself. Frigid wasn't sure why he was still here, but he didn't bother to ask, nor did he think he should. Red Card's reasons for staying in the Brotherhood were his own. “Ah, the novice!” he shouted as he saw Frigid Night. “I have something for you.” “It’s initiate now,” Frigid told him. “I finished my first contract.” “Whatever,” the man waved off. “Same difference. Anyway, I have a target for you to take down. Goes by the name, Money Bags. From what I’ve heard, he funds the Templars using money he siphons from his company. It’ll do us some good to see him gone. Think you can handle this? Initiate?” “Sure,” Frigid said confidently. “I’ll prove that I’m a good, capable Assassin!” “Good show!" Red Card pushed the Assassin away from his desk. Now get out there and don’t come back till I hear he’s gone!” Frigid Night stood on one of the tall buildings in Manehattan, overlooking the building his target supposedly worked at. He turned to Trueshot, who was sent to track his progress on this mission. “Are you sure ziplines are the best way in?” “Of course!” he replied, loading his phantom blades with darts. “Have you never used one before?” “Umm… no, actually.” “Well, there’s always a first.” Frigid had always thought Trueshot prepared for way too many scenarios, always carrying at least four different weapons. The Assassin was clean-shaven except for his brown hair. He had stuck to his Stalliongrad Assassin attire, even though it was much warmer down here. Loading the hook of the line into his special silenced sniper rifle, Trueshot took aim and fired, launching the hook straight into the wall above a balcony. “There’s your way in, initiate,” he told Frigid. “Time to show me what you’ve got. I’ll keep an eye on you from here. Remember, Money Bags is in the meeting room on that floor. Just zipline across, find him, take him out. Simple.” “Got it.” Frigid took a deep breath before walking up on the ledge. Hooking on a lock to the zipline, he pushed off, silently sailing down the line, the wind blowing in his face. He wanted to shout out, but managed to silence himself as he went on. After ten seconds, he arrived above the balcony. He quickly surveyed the area before detaching the lock, dropping down to the balcony without much noise. “That wasn’t so bad was it?” Trueshot’s voice came on his earpiece. “Guess not,” Frigid Night whispered before checking out the glass doors. It was locked, so he whipped out his lockpicks and got to work on the mechanism. “You better hurry,” Trueshot’s voice came on again, with more urgency. “You’ve got a guard coming. About twenty seconds before he sees you.” Frigid nodded and quickly worked the lock again. Sweat poured down his face as he tried to break through, eventually hearing a satisfying click as he turned the pick. He quickly pushed the door open and dashed inside, careful not to stomp too loudly on the ground. “Good,” Trueshot said again. “He didn’t see you. Keep going though. He’s headed your way. Get out of that hallway.” Frigid scanned the hallway for a way out of sight. He tested the doors. All locked. Without any other choice, he whipped out his lockpicks again and picked away at the closest door. Soon unlocking the door, the assassin quickly swooped in and silently shut it. “Good job, initiate,” Trueshot congratulated. “The guard’s right outside now. I’ll take care of him, but you’ve got to take care of the body.” Frigid was wondering what he meant until he heard a thud outside. He opened the door to see the guard on the ground, dead. Frigid searched his body, finding a bullet hole in the back of the guard’s head. He quickly wasted no time in hiding the guard’s body, putting it behind a desk in the office he opened. Leaving the room, he proceeded down the hall, looking for the meeting room he was supposed to infiltrate. Another guard almost saw him, but he ducked back into the hall and waited for the guard to pass. He was about to go on when Trueshot spoke again. “Alright, initiate. I’m going to relocate myself, so you’ll be in the dark for a while. Think you can manage on your own till I’m in position?” “Of course!” Frigid assured. “That’s what I signed up for.” “Good attitude,” Trueshot laughed. “Alright. Stay safe.” Frigid continued down the next hall, walking as silently as he could. He could hear laughter and voices down the hall. “Trueshot, I think I’m near the meeting room.” “Alright. Go on without me. I’ll let you know when I get to my next vantage point.” Frigid sneaked closer, trying to identify how many people were in the room. “There must be more we can find out about the items,” a voice said inside. “Yes. The Grand Master will want as much as we can find about their powers,” another voice replied. By the sound of their voices, there were about six of them. He stopped and contemplated. One person would be easy, but having six people in there, that was a problem. “Ever try smoke bombs, Frigid?” Trueshot asked. “They sure make your job a lot easier.” “Hmmm…” Frigid said, checking his pouches. He had two smoke bombs in one of them. “I have used it in training, but not out in the field.” “Now’s a good time to try it.” Frigid put his hand into his pouch and whipped out one of the smoke bombs. Taking a good breath before opening the door and throwing it, he had a good amount of air to protect himself from the smoke when the bomb went off. He could hear the coughs of the Templars inside as he charged in, his sword and hidden blade ready. He found one of them in the smoke immediately, quickly taking him down with a stab of his hidden blade. One of the other men had whipped out a pistol, but shot it blindly as he stood in the smoke. Frigid easily dodged his first bullets and finished him with a downward slash of his sword. Two more tried to make it for the door, but before Frigid could take them down, they fell dead first. Must have been Trueshot. Continuing on forward, Frigid found his target. Money Bags, one of the men supplying the Templars with funds and information. He approached the Templar with a run. Money Bags saw him a second too late as he jumped up, throwing his body weight down on the man, pushing him to the ground. With a quick motion up, Frigid Night brought his arm down quickly, digging his hidden blade into the side of Money Bag’s neck. As Money Bags, lay dying, he looked into Frigid’s eyes with fierce anger. “Foolish Assassin!” he gurgled. “You haven’t yet realized what you’ve done!” “What?” Frigid asked, confused at what the man was trying to say. “There is more to this than you can imagine! I am but a low-class member, funding their research with my company’s money! When they discover what it can do, it will be the end for you Assassins. See what you are able to do then!” With everything off his chest, Money Bags turned away and stopped breathing. “Rest now,” Frigid pushed off the Templar’s chest and looked at his now lifeless body. “Good job, Frigid Night,” Trueshot congratulated in his earpiece. “You didn’t really need much of my help.” “Yeah…” Frigid replied, still thinking about what Money Bags had said. He dug through the pockets of the dead Templar, searching for anything that might give them a hint of what the Templars were trying to do. After searching, he had found a flash drive in Money Bags’ pockets, along with a bundle of money which he probably meant to hand over to the other Templars. “Trueshot,” Frigid said, standing up. “I found a flash drive. Maybe we can find out who he’s funding and take them down.” “Good move,” the sniper said. “Get back here, and we can head back to the bureau.” The Assassin looked around the room a bit more before leaving the doors to meet with Trueshot. He hoped he would find the answers in the flash drive he found.