A Long Way to Fall

by Cinders of War


Chapter 25: Wind on the Water

“Mirror Match and Frigid did… what?” Twilight Sparkle’s face went all red, embarrassing Morning Blade as well.

“Um, well, I-I’m sure they’ve done it more than just this one time.” The ex-Assassin scratched at her cheek. “I-I just happen to have heard this from someone else who happened to walk by… Well, um, you know. Could we continue?”

“Oh, yes, please, continue…” Twilight cleared her throat and pulled at her collar. “What happens next?”

“Well, I’ve got another account of the others next in my book. Here’s what Satin and Dewdrop did…”



Satin Breeze and Dewdrop had been called down to Red Card's little setup, the old Assassin needing someone to clear a contract. They found the grey bearded man by his small tent and table, sorting out some papers.

"Red Card," Satin called as they stopped by his table. "You had something for us to do?"

"Ah, looking for a contract eh?" He fished around his papers until he found what he was looking for, handing it to the Disciple. "Name's Garner Word. She's a by the book, word on the street Templar spy, usually getting information by eavesdropping or recon work."

"How do we find her if she travels around so much?" Dewdrop asked, taking the paper from her teacher.

"You're going to have to look," Red Card told them bluntly. "She usually gathers information down in Manehattan. You'll just have to search for her in the crowds."

"Really? Is that all you know?" Dewdrop turned over the paper, hoping there was more information behind. There wasn't. "...Really?"

"Kid..." Red Card returned his attention to his papers. "You're an Assassin now. You should be able to handle it, and besides, I don't make the contracts. I just hand them out."

Dewdrop grumbled something unintelligible, but Satin directed her away from the table. "Thank you, Red Card. We'll be back when it's done."

Once out of earshot, Dewdrop stopped and muttered some more. "So how the hay do we find this Templar? Just search every person till we happen to find her? Manehattan is the biggest city in the world! This mission is bullsh-"

"It'll be fine, Dewdrop." Satin put a hand on her apprentice’s shoulder. “We’ll handle it like we always do. As Assassins.”

Dewdrop smiled at Satin’s reassuring gesture. “You’re right, sweetheart. Let’s go find this Templar and let her know she joined the wrong side.”


A few hours later, Satin Breeze and Dewdrop found themselves sitting on a park bench, watching people as they moved about the busy city. Between them was a middle aged man in a suit, probably a businessman who had overworked himself and was now sleeping with his head on his chest. Just as they had planned, everyone ignored them, walking past the bench as if they had simply ceased to exist.

"Any sign of Templars yet?" Dewdrop whispered to Satin as both Assassins scanned their surroundings with their eagle vision.

"Everyone's normal so far." Satin continued to eye the civilians, all of them casting off a blue hue, including the sleeping man next to her. "Maybe we need to do something different."

"Do what, exactly?" Dewdrop was unsure of her teacher's plan. "Scour the city for her?"

"What do eavesdroppers enjoy?" Satin raised the corner of her mouth, waiting for Dewdrop's answer.

"Umm... eavesdropping?" Dewdrop shrugged.

"Exactly." Satin snapped her fingers. The man in between them raised his head and blinked twice before going back to sleep. "That's just what we have to do. Spread a little... Rumor. Attract her here."

Dewdrop understood, raising her chin in acknowledgment. "Ah. I see. What information will it take to lure her out?"

Satin looked down at her boots as she thought. What would be something Templars would want to listen to? Soon, she had something, raising her head and giving Dewdrop a silent signal.

"Gee..." Satin put a finger to her cheek. "You know, just this other day, I found something in my apartment."

"Found something?" Dewdrop went along with it. "What was it?"

"I'm not quite sure, but there was a note attached to it. It said, 'use with care. Highly destructive powers lie inside'. I still have no idea what it does."

"Destructive powers?" Dewdrop raised her voice to let other people hear her. "Do you still have it?"

"Yeah."  Satin copied her blue haired apprentice and darted her eyes around, looking out for anyone that remotely looked interested in their conversation. "It's back at my place."

"May I see it? If it's dangerous, I want to know. Imagine what we can do with such power!"

The man between them startled awake and looked at both of the Assassins seated beside him. Satin gave him a innocent wave before he got up and left, grumbling along the way.

"Well, that was weird..." Dewdrop watched him leave. The girls watched as more people began looking at them. Without a third person, their disguise was blown, forcing them to pull up their hoods. Then Dewdrop saw her. A woman with silver-blonde hair and pale purple skin, talking to the man that, just a few seconds ago, was sleeping beside them. "There. Straight ahead."

Satin knew what her apprentice was just about to do, but failed to catch her coat as she stood up and headed towards them. The Templar spy immediately recognized the threat, turned around, and sprinted out of the park. Satin left the bench as the man earlier whipped out a small pistol from his jacket and fired at Dewdrop. There were too many civilians around, so killing was not an option out here. Dewdrop quickly sidestepped as the bullet left the gun, the metal missing her face by inches. She slid in towards the man, grabbed his pistol arm and threw him over her back, slamming him hard into the pavement. The apprentice kicked his gun away before giving chase to the escaping Templar.

Satin willed her legs to travel faster as she tried to keep up with Dewdrop. Her apprentice had grown up on the streets, honing her skills since her younger days, able to run faster and longer than Satin ever could.

The Templar had left the edge of the park, heading down towards the west side of the city, Dewdrop getting closer as they traveled. Satin tried to keep up, watching as the two turned a corner ahead. When she got around the bend, the Templar spy and her apprentice were nowhere in sight.

"Dewdrop," Satin called over the earpiece as she looked for her. "Where are you?"

"Look up, Satin."

Satin raised her head to the rooftops just in time to see Dewdrop make a big leap, jumping from one building over to a taller building. She missed the ledge, but managed to grab onto a windowsill and haul herself back up to the roof. Satin let out a sigh of relief before making her way into an alleyway to climb.

Don't want people to think I'm a lunatic.

She hopped up onto a dumpster before running up the brick wall, pushing off at the last moment to grab onto a pipe. The Assassin shimmied along the pipe's length before kicking off the bottom part of the wall to grab a ledge just under a window. The rest of the climb was straightforward as she grabbed what she could to ascend up the side of the building.

Satin soon saw her apprentice chasing after Garner Word, leaping over chest-high walls and roof machinery. Not wasting anymore time, Sati gave chase, trying to catch up to both of them. She leapt to the right and ran along another building, trying to get ahead to cut Garner off.

"I'm taking a detour, Dew!" Satin voiced her plans as she leapt off to the next building. She landed with a roll before continuing her sprint, trying to stay hidden from the Templar as long as she could.

Satin cursed under her breath as she watched her plan fail. Garner didn't turn to her direction, instead throwing herself down to a fire escape and started making her way back to the streets.

"Satin, she's headed down."

"Yeah I see that." Satin turned and headed towards her apprentice, just behind Dewdrop as she jumped down, grabbing on to a pole. Satin did the same, both Assassins swinging themselves down to a ladder before dropping into another alleyway. Garner Word kept running, eventually leading the two girls to the docks of Manehattan. There was a single white yacht ahead, with no other vessels in the immediate area.

"Dewdrop, wait!" Satin hissed as she tried to stop her pupil. Everything in her mind said it was a trap.

Dewdrop didn't seem to hear her and kept going, running down a steep wooden ramp to catch up. The Templar spy headed straight to the yacht, leaping on board the sleek, white vessel as six armed men with rifles filed out, pointing their guns at the pale coloured Assassin. Satin hopped down to the pier and squashed her back against some crates.

"Freeze! Hands up!" Satin heard one of the guards bark at her apprentice.

She peeked over the wooden crates, watching Dewdrop comply, raising her hands to the sky. Satin knew she had to do something, or Dewdrop was definitely going to have a hole in her head.

What do you have, Satin? Come on...

There was only one thing she could do. Give Dewdrop an opening. She pulled out two throwing knives while putting her other hand to her earpiece. "Get ready, Dew. Help's on the way."

Satin raised herself over the crates and threw the knives in two different directions, one flying high and the other spinning straight. The straight one caught one of the guards right in the chest, sending him tumbling backwards into the water with a shout of surprise.

Dewdrop caught the second knife as it started falling back down and with a quick spin, she stabbed a guard in the shoulder and yanked him between herself and the remaining four guards as they pulled on their triggers, pumping their friend with bullets.

The blue haired assassin pulled the knife out and in quick succession, cut the strap of the man's rifle and stabbed the knife into the side of his head, letting the momentum push his body down.

Satin watched as Dewdrop fired away, cutting down the remaining guards with a swarm of bullets, dropping her empty rifle as their four bodies fell.

"Good job, Satin." Dewdrop straightened her attire and pulled the knife out of the guard's head. "Didn't think you were going to hit that guard, though."

"Nice to know you trust my skills," Satin said sarcastically. She widened her eyes as she noticed something on Dewdrop's face. "Dewdrop! You're hurt." Satin put her hands on Dewdrop's cheek and inspected the cut, probably scraped by one of the bullets.

"Just a flesh wound, Satin." Dewdrop told her.

Satin wore a look of worry on her face, but Dewdrop was right. After further inspection, Satin noticed the cut barely broke the skin. Nothing a little time couldn't heal. "Anyway, Dew. That was reckless! Running off like that! What if you got more than just this little cut? What if you... what if you died?"

Dewdrop quickly wrapped an arm around her teacher before turning her attention to the yacht. "That's life, Satin. Don't worry. I've had more serious injuries. Let's find that Templar and finish this."

The Assassins unsheathed their hidden blades and stepped onto the yacht, careful not to lose their balance and fall into the water. The wooden panels on the floor were neatly polished; Satin could see her translucent form on them. They continued through the yacht, listening for signs of movement or voices. At first, they heard nothing, but as they approached the cabins, a soft whimpering was heard from behind the second door.

"Is that her?" Dewdrop whispered as she quietly stepped against the door.

"Could be." Satin grabbed the handle and waited. As soon as Dewdrop was ready, Satin yanked open the door and both Assassins hopped in.

Garner Word was inside, but the whimpering wasn't coming from her. It was coming from a blonde haired girl with a gun to her head.

"Stay back!" Garner warned, pressing her firearm closer against the hostage's head. "I'll shoot if I have to!"

"P-please..." the girl began to cry. "I d-don't want any trouble... Please let me go..."

"Quiet!" the Templar barked.

Satin stopped, not wanted to risk an innocent life, but Dewdrop didn't seem to buy it. The blue haired Apprentice slowly took a step forward, challenging the Templar spy.

"Isn't this a Templar vessel?" Dewdrop narrowed her eyes, ready for anything. "Why are you holding one of your own at gunpoint?"

"T-Templar?" the girl muttered.

"Quiet!" Garner shouted again, scaring the hostage back down. "Doesn't matter who's side she's on. You Assassins are not going to let her die, are you?"

"That's the thing," Dewdrop said cooly, continuing to stalk forward. "I don't think you'll pull the trigger."

"Back, Assassin!" Garner took a few steps back, dragging the hostage with her, then gun still to her head. "I will shoot!"

"Will you?"

Dewdrop seemed to have the Templar cornered and all the attention was on her. Garner Word completely turned away from Satin, giving her an opportunity to chuck a throwing knife straight at her. The Templar turned her head as she noticed the blade flying, but she could do nothing as it lodged into her forehead, knocking her head back. Her grip on the blonde girl loosened, allowing the girl to jumped forward, throwing herself to the floor as the Templar fell backwards against the wall, blood dripping from her head wound.

"Good distraction, Dew!" Satin congratulated as she moved to check on the hostage. The girl was still shaking and sobbing, but at least she was free.

"Distraction?" Dewdrop questioned as she inspected the dead Templar for a pulse. "What distraction?"

Satin shook her head while she helped the girl stand up. "It's alright. You're safe now. She can't hurt you anymore."

"W-what was she...?" the girl wiped at her eyes. "I t-thought I was only working for the Board of Education."

"They're a secret organization bent on taking control of the world," Satin explained. "We believe the whole Board are Templars."

"W-what about you?"

"We're Assassins," Satin decided to tell her after a moment’s deliberation. "We fight to stop the Templars from succeeding." The gray-skinned Assassin reached a hand out to the girl. "Join us. You can help us in our fight."

"B-but..." the blonde haired girl said, unsure of what to do. "I can't manage violence..."

"We've had a few of your type," Satin chuckled. "Don't worry. You'll do fine. It'll just take time. What's your name?"

"W-Windy Sails..." the girl whispered as she took Satin's hand with one hand and pushed some hair out of her face.

"That's a nice name," Satin smiled. "You'll fit in just fine. We've had another guy who used to work for the wrong team, and he's doing great now."

"Great?" Dewdrop held back a laugh. "Yeah. He's doing a little too good, I think."

“Hmmm?” Satin started to ask but changed her mind. She decided that she’ll find out later. “Come with us, Windy. We’ll take you to a much better place.”

“Is it really, b-better?” Windy put her hands together and bent herself slightly. “I mean, I would like to help out, but… I don’t want to be a bother if I can’t fight…”

“We’ll get you sorted, Windy.” Dewdrop walked over and patted her on the back, earning a squeak from the girl. “Although, to tell you the truth, if you don’t learn to fight, you might not last too long.”

Windy Sails began to shiver, but Satin put a reassuring hand on her shoulder to still her. “It’s okay. Dewdrop’s just messing with you.” She pulled out her phone and contacted the bureau, ignoring the muttered ‘No, I’m not’. “This is Satin Breeze. Dewdrop and I are on the way back with a special guest. Contract completed.”