Dust Fencer followed behind Frigid and Mirror, making sure they couldn’t see him. Earlier, Star Lance had come to him with some disturbing information. Pierce Network had begun tracking a new signal in the bureau, and with further investigation, they had figured it had originated from Mirror Match. She had a Templar’s phone with her. The Mentor had theorized that Mirror wasn’t who she said she was. At first, Dust didn’t want to believe it, but when he had gone to look for Frigid and Mirror, his eagle sense had revealed Mirror with a red hue, instead of her usual blue. Something wasn't right.
Now silently chasing after Frigid and Mirror, he could see that Mirror had a good distance ahead of her partner. The chase soon led him to a construction site, where Frigid had finally caught up and tackled Mirror to the ground, taking the impact as he shielded her from the sand.
Dust hid himself behind a coil of wires, unsure of what he should do. At the moment, the two young Assassins were the same as always, being so in love, that they didn’t care if there were people around. Then Mirror had pulled out her knife and stabbed Frigid.
Dust just couldn’t believe his own eyes. There it was. The Mentor’s suspicions had proven true as Mirror picked Frigid up with one hand, to Dust's disbelief, and carried him towards a pit and chucked him in, along with a gray box. Dust Fencer had seen enough. He hopped up and bolted from his hiding spot, sliding over a pile of planks as he unsheathed his rapier, running straight for Mirror Match.
The female Assassin cocked her head and turned around, facing him with a wide grin. “Ah, Dust Fencer! I thought I smelled you coming. Are you here to try and save Friggy? I’m afraid it’s impossible. You’re welcome to go ahead and try, though. I’ll be taking my leave now.” Mirror Match produced a mocking bow, not once turning her back on Dust Fencer. “Places to be, people to see, all that jazz.” Dust Fencer threw his rapier at her as she fled, but the blade only nicked her hood before Mirror Match was gone in a blur of orange and green.
Dust watched her leave and looked to Frigid, then back at Mirror. Chase her down, or rescue Frigid.
The choice wasn’t too difficult to make as the seasoned Assassin leapt down into the yawning pit, landing heavily in front of Frigid. He rolled to disperse the impact, but it still shook him to the core.
"Frigid!" he called and inspected the Assassin. "Are you alright? Can you get up?" Dust looked at the box, only to notice a timer counting down from forty-five. A bomb.
"I can't move, Dust," the Assassin croaked, tears filling his eyes. "Mirror paralyzed me with something. Just go. Leave me..."
"No can do, Frigid." Dust turned around to inspect the bomb. He was no expert in bomb disposal, but he wasn't going to abandon his friend without trying. "I'm not letting you give up here!"
The Trottingham Assassin pulled at the wires, trying to figure out which one connected to what, unable to understand its anatomy. Whatever Mirror did, she had created a tough bomb, clearly made to confuse anyone trying to disarm it.
Come on, Dust. You have to stop this. You can't let Frigid die. Not here. Not like this.
The timer now read twenty-nine, leaving Dust with even less time to get Frigid out. There was no way he was going to guess which wire to cut, and even if he did cut one at random, it might just set the bomb off early. He looked to the paralyzed Assassin. With his body like that, Frigid wouldn't be able to climb out.
Dust Fencer ran to Frigid and hooked him up under an arm. He looked up the dirt wall and began climbing, using his free hand to lift himself higher. He managed to get two steps up before gravity, Frigid's weight, and the lack of another climbing arm pulled him back down.
"Oof!" Dust let out as his back landed on the hard ground. "No worries, we'll try again."
"We'll never make it, Dust..." Frigid sputtered, some sand mixing in with his tears. "Just leave me. Save yourself. There's nothing left for me..."
"No, Frigid!" Dust raised his voice, startling the younger Assassin. He picked him up under an arm again. "I will not let you die, Frigid! That's final."
He jumped up the wall again, clawing his way up the loose sand and dirt. Dust got a little higher than the last time, but some dirt gave way under his foot, sending him and Frigid crashing back down.
Dust wiped the dirt off his face and looked at the countdown. It now read nine. The Assassin weighed his options. The pit was much too high for even him to toss the bomb out, and he could never dig a hole deep enough to bury the bomb in time. Climbing out also didn't seem to be an option, Frigid still lying close by, unable to move.
The young Assassin caught sight of the timer and widened his eyes as much as he could. "Dust! Go! It's going to explode!"
Dust Fencer gritted his teeth. Frigid was still young, still needing plenty of experience to ever be a good Assassin, but he had the spirit and potential of a good one. Dust knew he was older and he was already at his peak. There was only one thing he could do and there was no second thought as he threw himself over Frigid and covered the Assassin as much as he could.
"Dust! No!"
There was a sudden moment of silence as the countdown stopped, followed by a single, final beep, like that of a heartbeat flatlining. Then there was a blinding flash. Both Assassins instinctively shut their eyes as an intense wave of heat and light washed over them, deafeningly loud. Dirt and loose rivets rained down on top of them and Frigid yelled as his face was ravaged by flying metal shards that cut his exposed clothing and skin to shreds. The explosion seemed to last forever, and then abruptly it was over as soon as it had begun.
Dust Fencer had been lifted into the air by the force of the blast and thrown over Frigid, his entire back on fire and bleeding profusely. Through sheer force of will and determination he remained conscious, but even the tiniest movement threatened to make him black out.
Dust Fencer couldn’t see, couldn’t hear anything. Only an incessant ringing in his ears and the unspeakable pain that wracked his body still confirmed that he was still alive. He spat out a mouthful of dirt and blood and gave a laugh which quickly turned into a cough. That had been some bomb.
"Fri...gid..." Dust weakly crawled towards the other Assassin, still lying where he had been. "Are you... Alright...?"
Frigid turned over on his side, apparently getting back some control of his body after the explosion. His face was bleeding from several cuts and his clothes torn in some places, but it was nothing compared to what would have happened if Dust hadn’t intervened. "Not so much... But why, Dust...? Why did you protect me? You… could have... "
Dust let out a feeble laugh. "You know... me, Frigid. I’ll never… leave any… one… behind.” He put a hand to his chest, only to find blood dripping from a wound, just under his collar bone. Evidently, a piece of shrapnel had torn right through his back and out the front, probably damaging a lung in the process. Unfortunately, only one had penetrated all the way through him, the rest embedding themselves inside or in his back, though it didn’t change much. Dust knew he was critically wounded and he didn’t have much time.
“You can’t die, Dust…” Frigid forced himself closer to the grey-skinned Assassin. “You’re one of the best...”
“Frigid…” Dust gasped as he made it to his old pupil. “You’ve… got to… take Mirror… down. Take the Templars... down. I believe… you… can do it.”
Dust reached for his gauntlets and unclasped them with trembling hands, growing weaker by the second. “Y’know, I always planned… to give you... these.” The older man groaned with the effort as he stripped his hidden blades from this wrists. “Didn’t... think it would be… so soon.”
Frigid could only lie there in muted horror as his mentor held out both of his most trusted weapons out for him. Giving up one’s hidden blades was a gesture an Assassin only performed when he was retiring… or dying.
“No! I can’t!” Frigid didn’t want to take them. That would make it final, irreversible.
But Dust Fencer, the man who had been with him from the very beginning, simply looked at Frigid and said ever so softly, “You’ve got to.”
Dust heard Frigid calling his name as his attention started drifting away. He smiled to himself as he rested his head on his right arm. He’s had a good life for an Assassin, ending with him giving his life so another could live. Yeah. This has been a good run. Time to move on.
He had dedicated his life to help others, even if that had meant working from the shadows as an Assassin, to work around the law and to do what had to be done to protect others. This moment, this very moment, it was who he was. He did what he had to to protect Frigid Night, even if that meant giving up his own life. At least, he would die regretting nothing.
Then the Assassin, Dust Fencer shut his eyes and did not move again. In the blurry cloud that had overtaken his vision, Frigid numbly watched as Dust’s aura changed from blue, to white, and finally to gray. He was gone.
The sun had already set in Trottingham, as Rose Petal and Trueshot stood by the entrance to the bureau, waiting for Dust Fencer’s return.
“It’s been too long,” Trueshot said, putting down his phone. “And he’s not picking up.”
“But…” Worry was clear in Rose’s eyes. “He’s Dust Fencer. He couldn’t be… you know... Right?”
Trueshot shook his head, unsure of what had happened, but he knew Dust. That man was a tough one, and he couldn’t possibly lose, could he? “Let’s go. We can follow his trail.”
Rose didn’t need to be told twice to look for her friend. She quickly followed Trueshot out, both of them activating their eagle vision, immediately picking up the trail of Dust Fencer.
“There,” she pointed and took off. “Quickly! Dust might need us.”
Trueshot nodded, unseen to Rose, but followed closely behind, occasionally sidestepping the passing civilian. Dust had set off to find Mirror Match and Frigid Night, the Mentor suspecting something was wrong with Mirror. Trueshot and Rose didn’t see any reason to follow after Dust, until now, when he didn’t return.
Please be safe, Dust.
The two Assassins arrived at the construction site, Rose reaching the sandy grounds first, with Trueshot entering a few seconds later. Dust’s trail had led to a pit near the center of the construction site, where Rose was already standing. Trueshot expected the worst when Rose Petal suddenly fell to her knees at the edge of the pit. He made his way over and looked in, soon wishing he hadn’t.
Frigid and Dust lay inside the pit, both unmoving, though Dust’s body was burnt almost all over. The fire had already died out, but parts of his face and body were charred. Both Assassins had several cuts across their body, but Frigid seemed to have significantly less injuries. Dust Fencer’s gauntlets and hidden blades were placed in front of Frigid’s face.
“No…” Rose whispered as her mind tried to take in what she was seeing.
Trueshot squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want to remember this event, nor did he ever want to see it again, but they were Assassins. Accidents happen, lives are lost. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed the bureau. “This is True… Trueshot. We’ve found Frigid Night and Dust Fencer. Requesting… Requesting immediate medical support.”