//------------------------------//
// Chapter 20: A Crucial Stab 
// Story: A Long Way to Fall 
// by Cinders of War 
//------------------------------//

"Ah, this next part will sound a little odd, Princess Twilight." Morning Blade put a palm on her journal. "Keep in mind, Frigid wasn't the Assassin he was back then. Sure, he was nicer, but he wasn't as skilled."

"What do you mean?" Twilight Sparkle tilted her head. "You mean he's not that good yet?"

Morning nodded her head. "I had tried to ask him about this incident once, but he didn't want to tell me about it. Though... I had heard parts of it from High Noon when he was still around. There's going to be some surprising magical stuff in this one. Are you ready?"

"I guess." Twilight raised her pen. "Let's hear it."






"There we are..." Dust Fencer pointed down at the moving trucks as they left the Board of Education. "Templars are on the move. Let's go."

Dust Fencer, Trueshot, Rose Petal and Frigid Night leapt along the buildings, following the trucks from above. They made sure to keep clear of the edges, just in case one of the drivers decided to look up. Most people don't run around on rooftops.

"Where are they headed?" Frigid asked as he slid over a condenser.

"That's why we're following them, Frigid," Rose reminded him. "We're going to find out."

“Eagle vision,” Dust told the others.

All four Assassins focused their vision, slowly bringing up the auras of the Templars below. There were no other civilians on the street, and the only vehicles below were highlighted in red. Enemies.

“There’s no one else around…” Dust mused. “Templars must have cordoned off the streets. Smart. Anyone in this area is bound to be one of us.”

"Should we keep following them?" Frigid asked as plans flowed through his head. They wouldn't be able to go undercover, and if any of them were caught, they would be in for some quick trouble.

"We need to know what they're doing," Rose reminded him. "They might be bringing the artifact out for all we know."

"We move on." Dust lead the jump to the next building. The others followed one by one, leaping down to the lower rooftop. "We keep a safe distance. We should be able to see where they've gone with our eagle sense."

"Mine doesn't do that." Frigid followed after the seasoned Assassins. "How can you tell where they're going?"

“Time, Frigid,” Trueshot said after climbing up the wall of the next building, standing three floors higher than the one they were on. “One day, you’ll wake up and realize your eagle vision can show you things you never knew about. Tracks for instance. Right now, we can see where the vehicles have gone, without having to be too close to them.”

Frigid marveled at the three Assassins. They’ve been around long enough to know their work. Soon, they found themselves climbing rooftops and scaling walls as they made their way after invisible lines, eventually watching as the trucks reappeared in view, stopped before a low, rectangular warehouse. The Assassins got behind a water container on the roof and placed themselves low.

“There we go,” Dust smiled as he eyed the transport. “Now we watch. See what they take from that building…”

The soldiers had reappeared outside, carrying large pieces of metal and tubes, putting them into a pile of waiting boxes.

"Parts?" Rose hissed. "What are they building now?"

The Templars continued to pack the parts into large metal containers, carefully padding and sealing them before loading each crate into the back of a truck. After almost half an hour, three truck was packed and ready to go.

"They still have a truck to fill." Frigid pointed out as smoke poured out from the exhaust pipes.

"Yup," Dust nodded and continued watching. "They're not done."

The Assassins looked at each other. This was a key point in the operation. There wasn’t much point in staying here once the trucks started moving, but taking on all those Templars at once wouldn’t end well either.

“Wait, did you see that?” Trueshot called for a stop, quickly slinging off his sniper rifle.

“See what?” Frigid asked, looking around with his eagle vision.

Everything seemed the same as before; the buildings were dark and the vehicles ahead were highlighted in red. Then there was movement. On the building just in front of them, followed by two knives flying towards them. Rose quickly parried one with her armguard while the others dodged out of the way, avoiding the second knife.

“There we go,” Dust grunted as he drew his rapier. “Nothing’s ever this easy.”

“Well, they know we’re here. No point hiding anymore,” Trueshot sighed, going prone and pointing his sniper rifle in front of his body. “Go. I’ll cover you from here.”

Bullets began crackling at the bricks and concrete around them, forcing the Assassins away from the roof edge. The soldiers below stayed out of the trucks, walking with them slowly as they fired at them.

"Wonderful." Dust shook his head. "Let's go. We'll have to jump."

Dust led the run to another side of the building. He quickly glanced down before spreading his arms up and taking a dive. Rose and Frigid followed shortly, landing down in a pile of garbage as they made their way back to the street.

“One day we’re going to land on a bag of rusty knives if we keep doing that,” Frigid muttered, removing a banana peel from his shoulder.

"Never happened to me," Dust laughed, looking around the corner. The soldiers were still firing up at the roof, but one of them suddenly fell as his visor cracked, a small hole in the center of it. "Atta boy, Trueshot."

The Assassins readied themselves to join the battle when the sound of hissing gas stopped them in their tracks. A orange haired woman turned the corner, holding a big gun with a small lighter in front of it, pointing it straight at them.

"Flamethrower," Rose warned, putting a defensive arm in front of Frigid.

"What's up, Assassins!" the woman yelled. "Ready to burn? Smokey Flames is here to do just that!"

She pressed down on the trigger, sending a jet of gas out the front. As soon as it touched the fire, the gas merged into flames, blasting their way towards the Assassins.

"Back up!" Dust shouted, pushing the others back. He threw a dagger towards the attacker, hoping to distract her. The killer brought her weapon up, deflecting the sharp blade on the metallic surface of the barrel.

The fire spurted all over the garbage bags, setting the weak plastic on fire, a cloud of smoke quickly rising. Smokey still advanced, laughing maniacally as she fanned the flamethrower from left to right.

“Come on!” she joked. “It’s only a little fire! You won’t die! Not immediately anyway!”

“Trueshot, we’re pinned down here!” Dust shouted into his earpiece.

“Sorry,” he grunted back. “Am a bit busy. Could use some help too.”

The Assassins saw no other options and pulled out a few throwing knives each. Smokey had them trapped in a dead-end, the only way out being forward.

“Do it!” Dust ordered, the first to throw a knife. “One’s bound to hit her!”

The three Assassins had thrown two knives each, the short blades spinning as they approached Smokey Flames. She got the message and quickly ducked down, the knives passing over her head. One almost got her in the face, but a block with her flamethrower’s protective armor took care of it. That was the chance the Assassins needed. The three of them quickly ran at her, their weapons drawn. The killer didn’t even bother to stand up, instead smiling at them while spraying fire at them from the ground. Dust and Rose saw their opening and ran along the sides of the alley walls, gaining just enough altitude to leap over the fire, while Frigid quickly ran up the length of the right wall, grabbing on to the fire escape, getting away from the spreading flames.

“Frigid!” Dust called as he landed past the killer. “Go help Trueshot! See what he needs!”

“On it,” Frigid nodded and made his way up the metal staircase.

“Come on!” Smokey groaned. “Come back and get some!”

The killer stood up and aimed her weapon at the two seasoned Assassins, but nothing happened. Smokey raised an eyebrow and looked down at her weapon. Nothing was wrong with it, yet she couldn’t press down on the trigger. Then something gleaming in the light caught her attention. A sharp needle-like object sticking out of her arm.

“What…?” she muttered.

“Throwing needle,” Rose Petal smiled and extended her tonfa blade. “When thrown at the right places, it numbs the nerves, preventing you from using, for this instance, your lower arm.”

Smokey Flames snarled at them, but there was nothing she could do to prevent Rose from smashing her in the chin with the back of the tonfa before sliding the blade through her chest. She bent over, spitting out blood all over Rose Petal’s white robes.

“I’m… not… leaving without… at least dirtying your outfit…” Smokey managed a choked laugh.

“Doesn’t matter,” Rose shook her head, unsheathing her hidden blade. “Your justice has been given.”

“Justice…?” Smokey spat at the Assassin again. “What do you Assassins… know of… justice? You don’t play fair… you go against… the order of things… you’re no better than us…”

“More than you.” Rose sharpened her eyes, raising the elbow past her head. “May you find peace when you move on.” She brought the hidden blade down into the back of Smokey’s neck.

Rose set the killer’s body down, removing her blade and recalling it into its sheath. Dust nodded to her as she stood up, signalling that they had to move on, or risk losing the Templar transport.

“Let’s go,” he told her. He put a hand to his earpiece. “Frigid, Trueshot! We’re going to follow the transport. What’s your status?”



Trueshot leaned out from behind his row of condensers and fired another two shots at Pressure Point.

"Still fighting," he voiced to his companions. "Go after the trucks. I can handle this."

Somehow, she had crept up on him as he fired at the soldiers, and would have managed to kill him if he didn’t have to reload. He had tangled with her for a bit, trying to force her off the roof of the building, but she was smaller and more nimble, eventually pulling away to the other side of the building, using the distance to launch her throwing knives at him. For Trueshot, it was now a battle of timing. They emerged from their pieces of cover every few seconds, trying to get the better of the other with bullets or knives.

“I thought you were supposed to be good at your job?” he heard Pressure Point shout from the other side. “Must be a lie, because I’m still alive! Ha ha!”

The battleground in front was a simple rooftop. Condensers and an elevator block lined the roof, giving the two plenty of cover to hide behind. Trueshot figured staying as far away as he could was his best option. Throwing knives could only fly so far, while his gun obviously had the better range.

Trueshot leaned out again, aiming down his scope as he waited for the killer to show herself. She had a whole row of condensers, just like he did. It was like playing a game at a carnival. Shoot the alien and win a prize. Trueshot stilled himself, waiting for the right moment. Then he saw it. Something white on the left side of the roof. He pointed his gun and fired, hearing a muffled gasp as two knives flew towards him from the front, almost catching the Assassin off guard.

What? Trueshot blocked one knife off of one of his gauntlets before getting back behind cover. The second one had missed him, embedding itself in one of the fans above him. Beside him, a hooded figure flattened himself against the next condenser.

“What was that?!” Frigid Night shouted, showing Trueshot a clean bullet hole in his chest pouch. “If I was a split second slower, you would’ve got me right in the heart!”

Trueshot realized his mistake and slapped a hand against the side of his head. “Izvinite, Frigid. I didn’t know you were up here. Did you see her? Pressure Point? She’s on the other side.” Trueshot pointed at the nearby dagger.

"Oh, no." Frigid shook his head. "Was too busy thinking how close I was to getting shot."

"Right..." Trueshot loaded a new clip into his rifle. "Here's what I'll do. I'll provide cover fire and a distraction while you get close. When you see your chance, take her down, but watch out. She's a sneaky one."

"Let's go, already!" Pressure Point shouted across from her position. "Only one of us will be walking away and it's going to be me!"

"Go," Trueshot hissed before leaning over the condenser to fire two warning shots.

A knife flew in his direction, but he dodged back behind his cover, leaning out from another point and fired back, almost hitting the killer in the head.

“Hey, hey!” Pressure Point warned, but started laughing instead. “Almost got me there! What are you, Falseshot! Come on! At least try and hit me!”

“I’m just getting started!” Trueshot countered, taking a few more shots over his condenser. Frigid should be close to her by now. Any minute now and it would all be over for the killer.

Trueshot heard a scuffle, bringing him out from his hiding place and towards the killer’s. He slid over the second and third row of condensers, carefully turning the corner where Pressure Point was hiding. Instead of finding a downed killer, he found a downed Assassin, the killer leaping away over the next rooftop and down a roof staircase.

“Frigid!” Trueshot put his sniper rifle down and inspected the young Assassin. He had a thin, serrated knife sticking out of his abdomen, blood already pooling the inside of his shirt. “What happened?”

Frigid gave him a faint smile and shook his head. “I was careless... Let her get a surprise dagger in... She got away. I think I at least got her in the arm.”

“Nevermind that, I gotta tend to you first.” Trueshot gripped the handle of the dagger. “You ready? I’m pulling this out.”

Frigid nodded and clenched his teeth as the Stalliongrad Assassin pulled quickly, yanking out the length of the blade, more blood following it. He tossed it down and pulled out a set of pads and bandages, wrapping as much as he could around Frigid’s abdomen.

“Dust,” Trueshot contacted over the radio. “Frigid’s been stabbed. I don’t think we’ll be catching up with you. I’m taking him back to Patch.”

"Is he alright?" Rose's voice quickly came on.

"It's not looking too good." Trueshot shook his head, even though the other two Assassins couldn't see him. "I'll get him back as quick as I can."

“Roger,” the other Assassin replied. “Stay safe. We’ll continue after the transport.”

Trueshot picked Frigid up and walked over to the elevator and called for it. He hadn't be in an elevator in a long time, but there was no way Frigid would be getting down otherwise.

"I'm sorry..." Frigid groaned from the pain.

"I told you, forget about it," Trueshot shook his head and watched the elevator number decrease. "Worry about yourself. We've got to get you back fast, otherwise you'll bleed out. So... How much do you know about stealing cars?"



“Good work, Satin,” Mirror nodded her approval to the new Assassin as she jumped down from the wall climbing obstacle. “Keep it up and perhaps you’ll get to go outside soon. I mean, besides your home.”

“Thank you, Mirror.” Satin dusted dirt off her pale pink sleeves. “But I couldn’t have done it so well without you.”

“Well, thanks,” she smiled at her apprentice. “I did learn from a good teacher.”

“How long have you known Frigid Night?” Satin asked, wanting to know more about her teacher.

Mirror walked over to the vaulting obstacle and motioned for Satin to begin. The novice walked up to the flight of steps, walking up towards the different chest high blocks. “I’ve actually known Frigid for almost six years now. He was my instructor when I first arrived. Don’t tell anyone, but I had taken a liking to him right there.”

“Sounds wonderful,” Satin chuckled as she launched herself over the first barricade. “I wish someone thought of me like that besides my sister… My parents weren’t exactly the good, loving type.”

“That’s why you left, right?” Mirror asked as she inspected her pupil’s movement and methods.

“Yeah…” Satin sighed, hauling herself over the next block. “It wasn’t a good environment for Velvet. There was shouting everyday, and sometimes even violence. I figured it was time to go, so I took her and left. I couldn’t let them harm her.”

“Of course,” Mirror agreed. “Living around hate is bad for you. I prefer a warm, loving environment myself.”

“What about you?” Satin turned her head as she slid over another block. “How’d you end up here?”

“Mainly?” Mirror folded her arms and put her weight on one foot. “I’m looking for someone important. We… split up long ago, and I’ve been searching since. Secondly, why not do some good while I’m at it?”

“Looking for someone?” Satin asked as she took a break before the next obstacle, which was a higher wall for her to try out her wall running skill. “So you must have been traveling a lot before joining the Assassins, huh?”

"You might say that, yes."

Satin proceeded to run up the next wall, when Mirror heard someone behind her. "Uhh... Mirror?"

She turned around to see High Noon enter the dojo, carefully walking towards her. "High Noon. Yes. What can I do for you?"

"I don't know how to put this lightly... but..." He started playing with his hat. "Frigid got stabbed. Badly. Trueshot’s down with him in the infirmary but-"

Mirror's eyes widened upon hearing Frigid's name and she hissed, immediately pushing past the cowboy and heading out the doors. Satin saw the commotion and climbed down the side, approaching High Noon as he stood there scratching his beard.

"High Noon?" Satin called softly, getting his attention. "Did something happen? Is Mirror Match okay?"

“Mirror Match? I’m not sure,” High Noon replied after some thought. “Frigid’s injured. That’s why she took off so fast.”

Satin understood. “We should go too.” She pointed, following High Noon as he started for the door. “Is it bad?”

“I’m hoping it’s not too bad, but yes,” High Noon looked down at his feet as they made their way out. “It’s bad. He lost a lot of blood.”

“Is he a good friend of yours?” Satin asked, noticing that High Noon seemed especially worn out. Injured Assassins weren’t anything out of the ordinary, but the cowboy seemed close to breaking down.

“Definitely.” High Noon directed his rosy eyes at Satin. “If it weren’t for him, who knows where I’d be today. Even if he didn’t do it on purpose, he showed me how wrong I was to have joined the Templars.”

“You were a Templar?”

“Yes. At first, I hated him. How he had messed up my life,” High Noon shut his eyes, recounting his painful experience. “Then I realized what I was doing was wrong, so I switched sides. It wasn’t easy, but here I am.”

“Sounds like you have quite the story to tell,” Satin laughed.

“Oh, you can be sure of that.” High Noon joined her as they passed the lobby. “It’s been a rough road, and it’s still rough, but at least there’s a better reward at the end of it. Come. We are almost to the infirmary.”

Satin gained new respect for High Noon as she followed him through the white, plastic doors, looking at a crowd of other Assassins around one of the beds. The two walked over and merged with the crowd, Satin getting closer to the front to see what had happened.

Mirror Match sat beside Frigid Night, holding on to his hand, tears rolling down her cheeks. Frigid's abdomen was wrapped in bandages, all stained red from the blood.

"It's not that bad, is it?" Frigid asked his partner. He looked around at all the others. "And why are there so many people here to see me?"

"Oh, we didn't have to come." Spectral Rim raised a hand and flexed her fingers. "But you know... We wanted to see how you're doing."

Dr. Patch walked over with her clipboard, a pencil over one ear. She looked surprised to see so many people around Frigid's bed.

"Doctor!" Mirror Match implored. "How is Frigid?"

The pink haired doctor shook her head. "The knife damaged some of his internal organs, and there was a lot of internal bleeding. I won’t go into all the details, but bottom line is, Frigid won’t be going anywhere soon. He’s lucky Trueshot got him back here so fast, or the injuries might have been far worse for him."

"It's alright, Mirror." Frigid gave her a firm squeeze. "It's not like I'm going to die or anything."

"Well, Frigid needs his space before I operate, so if you would all kindly step away," Patch said as she pulled the curtains around the bed.

Mirror quickly bent down and gave Frigid a small hug before heading away with the other Assassins.

"Don't worry, Mirror," Trueshot said after a shot of vodka. "Patch said he'll be fine."

"I know..." She wiped at her eyes. "But... to see him like this… I can’t..." Mirror Match abruptly sprinted off, seemingly unable to bear the presence of so many people any longer.

"Is she going to be alright?" Satin asked as she watched Mirror push open the doors and leave. "She seems really upset."

“It’s alright.” High Noon walked up beside her. “She’ll need time on her own. She’s a lot closer to the fella than I am, and I already don’t feel myself. For her… I don’t know, nor do I want to feel it.”

“He’s going to make it right? Frigid?” Satin looked back at the curtains.

High Noon sighed and put his thumbs in his belt as he turned around to look. “I have no doubt that he'll pull through. That Frigid’s a strong guy. From what I know about him, he doesn't give up easy, so you can be sure he'll be back, better than ever."