A Long Way to Fall

by Cinders of War


Chapter 66: Hope is a Sad Thing

“Pierce! What are you doing?” Spectral Rim ran along behind the Assassin’s top hacker as he headed for the front door. “You can’t go out! That’s exactly what Mirror Match wants!”

“What she said,” Silent Frame whispered from behind a book. “You’ll end up like the others.”

“No I won’t.” Pierce stopped and faced them, though his eyes remained on his phone. “Mirror Match thought she was going to have it easy, waiting for her targets to leave the bureau before stalking them and finishing them off with her clever weapon. Not this time. I’ve prepared myself, created different routes and methods in either taking her down or getting away without dying. I’ve also been researching her plans and attack patterns and even that toxic weapon of hers. Her weapon is like a living thing of its own, capable of-”

“Whatever, Pierce.” Spectral pushed past his wall of text. “How are you planning on not getting poisoned? That’s what I want to hear.”

High Noon and Windy Sails, drawn in by the sudden shouting, walked over to see what it was all about. Windy’s face turned into something from a horror movie when she heard he was going out there to challenge Mirror.

“Y-you can’t go out there, P-Pierce,” Windy mumbled, partially behind her teacher as always. “She’s d-dangerous.”

“And we’re not letting you sacrifice yourself like that either,” High Noon replied as firmly as he could, though inside, he was shaking. “If y-you’re going out there, we-we’re going with you.”

“High Noon is right,” Spectral nodded. “The others only had two bodyguards each, and they weren’t enough. If you plan on going out there to defeat her, we’re coming too.”

“I’m with the others.” Silent Frame put her book down and nodded. “We’re going with you, Pierce.”

The hacker looked like he wanted to complain, to tell them how ridiculous of an idea it was. But then he remembered he was about to go out there on his own to do the same.

“Fine. The more the merrier as some people say. Though, as you know, I don’t believe in that saying. I think more people help you mess up sometimes. People think they’re helping, but sometimes, they just make it worse. If we’re leaving, then we’re leaving now.”

The Assassins began moving with Pierce to head out. Windy took another few steps forward before Noon threw a hand in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.

“Noon?”

He looked down at her with a more serious expression. One the apprentice had never seen before. “You’re not coming, Windy. It’s far too dangerous.”

“B-but… Noon…”

“I don’t want you to get hurt, Windy. Mirror Match is no simple Templar.”

Instead of turning back and listening to whatever he told her like always, Windy stood her ground. “Y-you always tell me that I shouldn’t be so afraid. That sometimes I just h-have to do what’s right. Don’t ask me to stay this time. L-let me go w-with you, Noon. I want to protect Pierce, and… y-you.”

“Windy…”

“If you’re going, then I am.”

Unable to change his apprentice’s mind, High Noon shrugged and gave her a smile. She had learnt well from him. Maybe a little too well.

“Alright, Windy,” he replied. “But at first sight of trouble; if we are unable to go according to plan, I want you to run. Alright?”

“Thanks, Noon.” Windy nodded her thanks and headed off behind Spectral Rim and Silent Frame.

High Noon hopped that he had made the right choice, but he told himself he was going to do everything in his power to keep her safe. He wasn’t going to let Mirror hurt Windy.

The Assassins headed to the nearby parking lot and got into Pierce Network’s van. High Noon got into the driver’s seat with Pierce sitting next to him, while the others got in the back.

“So what’s the plan?” the cowboy asked as he started the engine. “How are we beating Mirror?”

Pierce’s eyes remained on his phone. “I’m planning an ambush. I’ve linked up my phone to some of the city’s traffic and security cameras and uploaded a facial recognition program as well as a speed tracker. Mirror seems to like going fast; the camera will pick up anything man-sized that’s going faster than usual and alert us, giving us the advantage,” he tapped the dashboard, where a sonar like display had been installed. “There’s also a proximity-based motion tracker built into the van.”

“That’s great and all that we know where she’ll be.” Spectral leaned forward, placing her head between the two in front. “But how are we going to beat her?”

“I’ve found a spot in town where a few devices have been linked together.” Pierce turned around and showed them a map on his phone. “You’ve got steam pipes, circuit boxes, and even a garage door, just in case.”

“Wait…” Spectral raised an eyebrow. “Why can your phone control all that?”

“Well, it’s actually a rather complicated process. You see, I-”

“Okay, okay, nevermind.” Spectral returned to her seat and put the seatbelt on. “The less I know the better.”

“Also, these.” The hacker reached under the dashboard and passed around some gas masks. “In case of a smoke bomb or worse.”

“Yeah, don’t want to get knocked out like the last time, eh Silent?” High Noon chuckled from the front. With these, no chloroform was going to stop them.

“Since you’re all here as well, we can set up a point of attack.” Pierce tapped on his screen and zoomed in with his fingers. He pointed at two separate buildings. “If you can split up into twos, we can ambush her from above. I’ll be below while you four wait for my signal. Then we strike Mirror all at once, and perhaps we’ll be able to take her down. Without her, the Templars are nothing again. We’ll be able to take them down like we used to. They go back to hiding from us with their establishments and simple thugs.”

High Noon thought about it as he drove on. It all sounded just a bit too easy. He’d seen Mirror take down Assassins with ease, though back when she had infiltrated the bureau, she didn’t take on Silent Frame and the others. Maybe she couldn’t deal with strength in numbers. Noon held on to that thought. He hoped that was the case.

Pierce started directing High Noon as they approached the main part of the city, the sun already sinking below the cityline. The rest of the journey was short as Noon backed the white van into an alley before cutting the engine. He left the keys in.

“Okay, two of you up there.” Pierce pointed to the building next to them. “And two there.” He pointed to the one on the opposite side of the road. “I’ll lure her out to the center. Right in the middle of the junction.”

“Umm… Are you s-sure people won’t b-be coming down this way?” Windy began fiddling with her thumbs. “And what about the buildings? What if s-someone sees us?”

“I’ve changed all the traffic lights,” Pierce said calmly. “There won’t be a car in sight until I change them back. As for the buildings, there aren’t any that close by. If we’re lucky, they won’t get a clear look at us. I’ve also jammed all communications. They won’t be calling for the cops anytime soon.”

“Sounds good and all, but what if it fails?” Silent Frame asked as she checked the bullets in her pistol. “What if she beats us anyway? Do you have an escape plan?”

“I’ll just use the van,” Pierce pointed a thumb back to the vehicle. “I’m a pro when it comes to evading pursuit.”

Riiiight… High Noon thought. But if the plan failed, it would be better for him to stay back and hold Mirror off while Pierce got away.

Finalizing the rest of the plan, High Noon headed up the nearer building with Windy, while Spectral and Silent took the other one. High Noon watched his apprentice climb as he did so himself, though he made sure to avoid looking up her skirt. She was already pretty good at the movement. It seemed that it was only her combat she needed to work on.

“Windy,” High Noon called as he pulled himself up behind her. “We need to talk.”

“Yes, Noon?” she asked, turning to face him.

“When it comes down to the fight… Please, stay here.”

“B-b-but you said-”

“I said trouble,” High Noon reminded. “If we get into a fight, I think that counts. I won’t let you get injured, Windy.” High Noon felt his pulse rise as he looked into her eyes. “Windy, I… I…”

Assassins,” Pierce called on their earpieces. “Something fast just tripped one of the speed cameras. I can’t even see what it is. It must be her. Get ready.

Windy patted High Noon on the arm. “You can tell me later. Right now, we’ve got a Templar to stop.”

“Windy, really. Please, stay up here. For me.” High Noon headed to the edge of the roof and crouched down. He took his hat off and pulled up his hood, ready for what was coming; all the other Assassins did the same.

A pinging sound originating from the van could be heard, growing faster by the second. It was Pierce’s motion tracker. Something was coming fast, or someone.

Deep breaths, everyone,” Spectral said on the radio. “Here we go.

The tracker’s sound grew faster and faster until… Nothing. The sound just abruptly stopped.



"They wanted to... to what?" Twilight Sparkle almost fell off her chair. "They wanted to confront her? Even after everything that happened?"

Morning Blade nodded sadly, her mind elsewhere. "Yes. Things happened, Twilight. Before I joined. I had no say in any of these. But after learning of this part, I had hoped things would turn out differently. Hope..." she chuckled to herself. "Hope is such a sad thing, isn't it? Sometimes... hoping just isn't enough."

Twilight chewed on the end of her pencil. "What happened?"

Morning Blade wore a stern expression. "Twilight, from the point after destroying the Templar's Eye, things just started getting bad for the Assassin Brotherhood. I don't think there was another high point after Mirror Match started executing Assassins. I guess... I guess the Brotherhood just never recovered after that. This part... This would just be another moment where things don't go exactly as planned, huh?"

"Huh... But I disagree, Morning. Hope is a strong thing. Hope is what gets us to keep trying. To keep going when things look bleak."

"I wish I could be as optimistic as you, princess. Maybe now I can, now that everything's over." Morning looked up at the ceiling. "But here in the story, things are far from it."