Just a few months ago Upper Crust thought the time she believed (wrongly) that Jet Set was cheating on her was the worst day of her life. Then the Friendship Games happened, and she almost witnessed the end of the world as she knew it. All of that was NOTHING when compared to the last few minutes!
The terrorists let most of the students go free during their attack, so they wouldn't be a burden and make the important rest easier to manage. Her heart skipped a beat or two when she was considered one of the 'important' ones. This led her to being gagged and tied to a chair in the Home-Ec classroom, sitting by the wall while a muscled man in all black clothes moved the remaining chairs and tables aside, creating an empty space in the middle. He sat in the middle with his arms crossed, waiting silently and patiently watching the door.
She wasn't sure what was worse: waiting for her fate, or trying to get out. The ropes weren't very tight, the man who tied her told her that he "didn't want to damage the merchandise" and warned her not to try to escape. So she didn't. All she could do was sit tight, wait and hold back the tears. She never wanted to see her parents more. And Jet Set.
I hope he's okay...
The door suddenly opened and Magical Girl Sunny entered the room. Her hair and clothes were a bit disheveled, the twin tails ditched in favor of her usual hairstyle, but otherwise appeared as usual. Upper Crust livened up at her sights and mumbled something through the gag. Sunny acknowledged her existence with a single glance, then concentrated on the guy before her.
"Well, well, well, it looks like I'm the first one. Ain't that an honor!" He cracked his knuckles, stood up and kicked the chair aside. It landed a few feet on the side, making a loud mess.
Sunny didn't say anything. She kept herself relatively composed, breathing heavily while tightening her fists.
"What, cat got your tongue? Last time we met you couldn't stop yourself from quips. I wonder where that wit went?" The terrorist asked, raising his guard up, loosening his stance. "I'm gonna feel bad for the other guys. They were really looking forward to this!" He punched the air a few times. "You know the rules: use any spell on me and the girlie gets it!"
"Yeah. I know the rules." She answered coldly and walked towards the guy.
When she was close enough, the man threw a powerful punch at her, but nothing connected, as she disappeared right before his eyes. Before he recovered from the strike, he felt a hand grabbing the back of his head and pushing it forward. With the combined momentum of his unconnected attack and the girl's feet tripping his legs, he fell face first into the floor! The sound of the impact, taste of blood and sensation of his nose breaking were the last things he registered before passing out.
Sunny kicked the guy to confirm that he was out cold. He wouldn't last five seconds with Indigo. She shrugged and turned to Upper Crust, wide-eyed and awed by the fastest combat she ever saw.
The PA system activated once again. "I believe I gave you a warning..." An ominous voice said.
Sunny looked at the camera in the corner. "The rules never said I couldn't teleport." She announced nonchalantly. "You only said I couldn't use any magic on him. Which I didn't."
There was a long pause.
"Fair enough."
Sunny sighed with relief, then tied the guy's hands and feet with the police supplied flexi-cuffs.
"One down. Five more to go..."
"A game?"
"Yes, a little something all of us could enjoy," Sombra confirmed through the PA system "I'm assuming you played some console games back in the day? There was this one I played when I was little. It was about this guy trying to save the princess. He jumped on some monsters and shot fireballs, hence why I thought about you. It was a simple platformer, where you go through a bunch of stages, reach the castle and beat the boss to save the princess. However, the first few castles didn't have the princess, only some NPC that you didn't give a crap about, saying that she's in another castle. I hated those guys when I was a kid, and the internet seems to agree with me."
"So, those guys I brought along? Most of them were fine with me just offing you and being done with it, but some of them were a bit more... ambitious. You cost them a lot of money and nerves, you sent their friends and family to jail and in general made their lives a looot harder. And they really, really wanted to have a shot at you. Just a shot, a chance to beat you up, nothing more. So I thought, heck, why not? Look at the school map."
Sunny walked towards the giant school map that was displayed just next to the entrance. Six classrooms were circled with a red marker. They were as far apart from each other as possible, on different floors, different wings, at least a few minutes walk from one to another. This school is way too friggin' big!
"Those are the 'castles', where each of the six 'mini-bosses' wait for you to have an, ehem, honorable duel. Complete all six, in the order of your choosing, and you'll get the honor of a duel with me. And then, princess, Miss Pommel, will be yours... okay, not yours per say, but free and no doubt happy to see you. And before I forget: the mini-bosses each have one 'fake princess' with them. You know, to keep the spirit of the game alive!"
Sunny's eye twitched at the mention of Coco. There were only six places marked on the map and none of them was Sombra's location. She was pretty sure that if she could locate him and deal with him fast enough, the others would give up and release the fake princesses hostages. If only she knew where the PA system was located.
"If I remember correctly, there were some exploits in the original game. You could easily skip some levels, leave those fakes behind and get straight to the real deal. Did you ever wonder what happened to them after the 'happy ending'? Were they let go? Or did they meet a little more... sinister end? They were kept in monster filled castles, after all. Just because the king was dead, it didn't mean his minions just gave up. Or did they? Who knows, I don't know."
For a moment, Sunny contemplated doing exactly what Sombra suggested. Teleport to the most likely place where he was, finish this as soon as possible and hope for the best. The non-powered guys were nothing against her, even with hostages and guns. There was a problem, however: she didn't know where he was. She was pretty sure Dean's office had a PA system, but this school was full of potential places where he could hide. If she teleported into the wrong one, everything would be for naught!
She still remembered the first warning. And she doubted she'd ever get rid of that mental image.
"I'll take the silence as a sign of acceptance, then. As for the actual rules, just give my boys a fair fight. Don't use any magic against them, don't burn them alive. Also, no killing or intentional injuries, you know the deal. They even gave their guns, seeing as they don't work on you anyway. And no cheating the system: don't try interrogating or torturing them. They can take a hit, but they're still people. Once again, the choice is yours: if you break any rules, I might start breaking them as well... by which I mean Miss Pommel or someone else will get hurt because of you, in case I was too subtle."
After securing the first "mini-boss", Sunny went to free Upper Crust. Once free, she tightly hugged Sunny. Taken aback by the sudden display of emotions, Sunny couldn't quite shake her away. Not now, at least.
"Th-thank you! Oh my god, I was s-so scared!" She said with tears in her eyes.
Sunny looked at the rich girl clinging to her. She didn't know Upper Crust personally, only heard that she was from a very rich family, used to be the number five biggest snob in the school (right after the four core Shadowbolts, Lemon Zest aside), a bully to most people including Coco, until the fateful day of Friendship Games. That day changed many lives. Twilight Sparkle learned the value of friendship. She got her powers that took her on a new path. And the Shadowbolts melted their icy demeanor, some more than others.
Sunny managed to smile weakly and pat her head. "It's okay. Nobody will hurt you anymore."
It took a minute, maybe two, for Upper Crust to compose herself and let go. When released, Sunny turned toward the door and started walking.
"The school is surrounded by a barrier," Sunny said "I can't take you outside, so you need to hide somewhere, while I--ugh!"
In the middle of the walk, Sunny suddenly lost her balance and toppled to her right, only barely grabbing the nearby table to stand still.
Upper Crust behind her gasped. "Sunset, are you okay?" She caught up to her to help her stand up.
She wasn't. Her head was spinning and her eyesight darkened before becoming clear again. She experienced something like this before, way back when she was experimenting with her new powers before transferring to Crystal Prep. Her body was fine, a little beaten up and tired, but otherwise healed. The problem was more magical, as she felt her mana being somewhat depleted.
"I-I'm okay. Just... tired."
She wasn't about to collapse just yet, or at least she didn't want to admit it. Unlike in video games, she didn't have a mana meter to keep track of and her body wasn't sending as obvious signals as she'd like. Instead, every other spell she cast risked being the last. It would help if she had some numbers or estimates as to what she was still able to do, or how long it took to replenish even a little bit of it. Sadly, not even Pri-Twi, Sci-Twi and Sunset combined had any concrete answers.
...Sunset?
Her eyes went wide. She slowly turned back to her classmate. Their eyes locked. Upper Crust's eyebrow raised in confusion at first, then her eyes also went wide as a realization hit her. She couldn't quite hide the sweat pouring from her forehead.
"What... did you call me?"
The yellow girl swallowed, scratching her head as she desperately tried to avoid eye contact.
"Oh, uhm, sorry, slip of a tongue, haha... I meant to say 'Sunny', cause you know... it's your name?"
Sunset blinked. Upper Crust did too, until she sighed heavily.
"Okay, you got me!"
"You know!"
Upper Crust rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I mean you're not really fooling anybody. Most of us met the other Sunset Shimmer. So after you transferred and treated us as if we never met AND a magical girl appeared that looked exactly like her, it was only a matter of time before we connected the dots."
Sunset blinked. Upper Crust blinked too. Sunset let out a long sigh and sat on a nearby desk.
"Who else knows?"
"You mean before that Sombra guy confirmed it to everyone in the school? By that point I think almost everyone did. It's a school for geniuses after all. All my friends know, at the very least."
Sunny pulled her legs up and sat in a fetal position. "I don't know why I'm still bothering with this..." she took her mask off and threw it across the room.
Upper Crust looked at her hero's moment of weakness, before joining her on the desk.
"I... we never told anyone!" She started. "We talked about this a few times, among each other, but we never told anyone outside. I mean, isn't it weird that there aren't any widespread rumors going around the internet? By now someone should've spilled the beans, intentionally or not. But nobody did. Do you know why?" She asked.
Sunny turned to her, looking curiously and tired.
"Because we believe in you! Not just because you saved me today, or because our life depends on it, but because... because we really appreciate what you do for this city! For everybody!" Upper Crust smiled. "Th-that's how I feel, at least. But I'm pretty sure everybody else is the same."
Sunny blinked at Upper Crust. First Indigo Zap and Sunny Flare, now her? Whatever happened to a school for jerks? She smiled weakly and nodded. A tiny whisper almost sounded like a 'thank you'.
"I-I can't do much, but if there's anything I can do to help...?"
Sunny jumped back on the ground and turned to her with a smile. "You already did. But right now I need you somewhere away from the danger. Go to the underground level, it should be safe there."
Upper Crust nodded and went towards the door. She stopped for a moment to look at Sunny one more time, blushed, nodded gratefully and left the classroom. Sunny couldn't help but smile too. Few minutes didn't refill her magic, but she was feeling a bit better.
Before she left to face another challenge, she looked at the fallen mini-boss. He was indeed unarmed, but he did have a small, yellow-black walkie-talkie at the back of his belt, hence why she didn't notice it at first. She carefully examined it. I guess some radio waves aren't blocked in this dome. She shrugged and snapped the device to her belt, thinking it might come in handy at some point.
Unless they can track them too... She looked at the security camera and shrugged. Well, I'm not hiding.
"Oh, already at her limit?" Sombra asked, mostly to himself, though he still harbored some hope that his cute little hostage would finally speak. "And for a moment I was worried that six mini-bosses was too few."
Coco carefully observed Sombra. He made himself comfortable on the leather chair, rarely looking in her direction. He served both of them some tea and biscuits he found in the office. The intensive aroma of an imported black tea filled the room, but it didn't do much to help her relax. And as delicious as the biscuits looked, she didn't have an appetite. All that mattered was finding something she could do, to either free herself or make Sunny's job just a little bit easier. From the looks of it Sombra was completely absorbed in the camera footage from the desktop monitor. The corner she was in only had a few locked drawboards, no doubt full of useless documents, hardly something she could use. But then there was also one thing Sombra missed- a fire extinguisher in the corner, the smaller kind that you would usually fit inside a car. It looked light enough that she could easily lift it, but just heavy enough to cause significant damage if struck directly in the back of the head.
Her breathing got heavier, as she imagined the scene in her head. She could quietly grab it, jump forward and smack right at his skull, maybe even twice. He wouldn't even know what hit him until it was too late
Except he would definitely see it coming from a mile away.
She swallowed heavily. This is too easy. There's no way he'd let me get closer! And if I failed... An image of Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest appeared in her mind, as they fell helplessly on the ground, tied by the shadows. And of Sour Sweet, about to face the punishment...
She shook her head. I can't! She turned towards the teacup next to her, then carefully grabbed it with her shaking hand and sipped a little bit of the warm tea.
Not now... Her eyes once again went toward her kidnapper. He was still looking at the monitor, nibbling on a cookie while playing around with some object in his hand. She raised an eyebrow at the small, golden necklace he held on a small chain around his neck. She hadn't noticed it until now, he probably had it hidden all this time.
Odd, this seems a bit out of place. Was it always there?
"Oh, here comes round two!" Sombra suddenly said as he turned to her.
She managed to avert her eyes right before he saw her. Luckily, the teacup she held at mouth's level masked the surprised expression.
"You don't want to miss this!"
Coco took a deep breath and looked at the video on the screen. The grip on the teacup tightened as she watched her friend approach the next challenge.
Sunny stopped just before the door to the next classroom. I'm almost out of magic and there's still at least five more to go! She looked at her hands, tightening them into fists. Nothing good will come when I face him on an empty tank. I need to do this the hard way!
She took a deep breath and opened the door.
The view behind the frame was very similar to how the last room looked. All desks moved aside to create an arena for the next battle. The kidnapped, panicking student tied and gagged on a chair in the corner. Except this time it was someone she was a little more familiar with.
Sally. She thought to herself, her eyes narrowing at Suri Polomare, who struggled a bit when she noticed her savior. Despite the animosity between the two of them, Suri seemed glad to see her. The feeling wasn't mutual, but as much as she despised her, she wasn't about to leave her like this.
Right next to her was another one of the bad guys, though this one also looked a bit familiar. Sunny tilted her head and examined his face. Easily seven feet tall, dark red skinned, heavily muscled and bald. Like dozens of others she encountered before. Did I beat this guy before or what?
"Hey there, precious," the guy said, as he walked toward her "remember me?"
"Nope."
"But I remember you all too well. And what you did to me."
Sunny rolled her eyes. "Oh boy, here we go..."
"We'd been preparing for that heist for months! We had everything- guns, plans, cars, the best people for the job, but then all was ruined before it even started!"
Sunny raised an eyebrow. "Oh, the raid where I was interrupted by the police?" And first met Captain Shining Armor.
"And then, instead of coming back with the loot, I had to look my pops in the eyes as he bailed me out, all because you butted in!"
"No, I'm pretty sure the SWAT team would've done it even if I wasn't there."
"I promised pops I'd pay him back for all the years he took care of me, but instead? He had to save my ass, because I was beaten by a girl!"
"Yeah, sure, ignore me..."
"Well, I'm gonna make it up to him by getting rid of you with my own two ha-"
SMACK!
He couldn't finish the sentence because as soon as he looked away, a fist slammed right into his nose, breaking it on the spot and sending the guy back a few feet. Unlike most people hit like this, he quickly regained his footing. He didn't get time to react when another strike hit him, this time a roundhouse kick to the side of his face, sending him even further back, slamming him into the pile of desks that stopped him from falling on the ground. He shook his head and raised his arms to block the incoming jump kick. After the third strike failed, Sunny bounced back and landed a few feet away, surprised that the fight wasn't already over.
Her opponent wiped the blood from his nose, straightened it with a twist of his finger making an audible 'crunch' (ouch!), all the while looking at Sunny with eyes filled with hostility.
"You !@#$, that was a cheap shot!"
"What, were you waiting for a gong?"
The guy spat some blood (and probably a tooth, too) and raised his hands into a guard.
"I will enjoy breaking every bone in your body!"
"You can try!"
And tried he did, as mere seconds later he rushed at Sunny, sending his right punch in her direction. Sunny quickly stepped back, away from the obviously telegraphed attack, only to be surprised when he spun around himself and used the momentum to throw a kick right at her stomach, sending her flying back. Unlike him, she really felt the strike and barely stood her ground (though it was still not as bad as when Indigo did a similar move). She held back the coughing to avoid the next few strikes from her opponent, this time being a lot more careful about what she perceived was a predictable, obvious, telegraphed movement. And she was right to pay more attention, as in between the usual one-two punches he threw some surprises, like a low kick or an elbow strike right after missed punch.
Eventually, after a few seconds of being on the defensive, she reached the end of the classroom and bumped into the blackboard behind her. She almost panicked pre-emptively, as flashbacks of her Indigo fight reminded her of how her skull was almost crushed, before she teleported away from a powerful high school girl punch. Similar to the one her current opponent was throwing her way. Teleporting would've been her first instinct, but somehow, she managed to stop herself from using magic and instead ducked slightly to her side. The fist missed her by a hair, literally, passing just next to her shoulder and head and making a huge dent in the blackboard behind her. She felt the tremors on the wall on the back of her head.
The next second slowed down: he stood right before her, not even a feet away, his right fist slammed into the blackboard, the left one outstretched away and preparing for another strike, legs slightly crouched. She kept herself down, left shoulder right below his arm, looking up, staring him in the eyes. Given a second and a half to react, she did the first thing that came to her mind.
She uppercutted him with all her strength!
He flew for a few straight seconds, before landing on his back several feet away from her.
She kept breathing heavily, hunched over a wall next to a dent that wasn't what was left of her face. Despite having an aching stomach and swollen hand and red knuckles from the last punch, she was glad she managed to end the fight without using her magic, even if her opponent was a bit tougher then she-
And then he got up.
Sunny's eyes went wide, as she saw the man suddenly wake up, slowly get back on his feet and massage his jaw while looking at her with murder in his eyes.
Oh come the hell on!
She stood back up and prepared for another round. She expected him to rush toward her again. He didn't, because this time he went to the pile of desks on the side, grabbed the first one in one hand and tossed it violently right at her!
"GYAH!"
She barely jumped away, as a wooden chair with metal frames smashed itself on the blackboard with a loud smack, then another flew right at her, which she narrowly rolled away from and preemptively jumped away again, which turned out to be a good call, when another one crashed next to her. She landed right behind the teacher's desk, the only one that was bolted to the floor and couldn't be moved away. In between heavy breathing she took a look to her right, to see three mangled, misshapen chairs lying right under an even more dented blackboard, no longer able to fulfill its original teaching purposes.
Well, now I've seen everything! She thought, as sweat poured from her forehead.
The enemy waited for a moment, dual wielding chairs (a funny view, until he aimed them straight at you) and waiting for his target to get out of hiding. A few moments in, after realizing it wouldn't be happening, he slowly walked forward, ready to strike or throw one at any moment. He carefully approached the desk, then once he was close enough, he jumped in front of it and raised his hand to strike his hiding target... except she wasn't there!
"Huh? Where'd she go?"
Asking himself loudly proved detrimental, as his own voice drowned out the sound of steps running toward him. It wasn't until the last moment, when he pulled his eyes away from the floor under the desk, that he noticed Magical Girl Sunny running from the opposite end of the room, jumping on the desk and using it to spring herself toward him at maximum speed, with her outstretched knee flying straight at his face! He had a second to react, but he didn't: Sunny's knee landed straight between his eyes, smashing his nose (again) and sending him back at the poor blackboard, smashing the back of his skull into the wall with a huge crash. His entire body gave in, as he dropped both chairs while feeling down on the ground, with Sunny on top of him accelerating the already painful fall.
He was already unconscious when he fell, but it didn't stop Sunny from grabbing his collar with one hand and pulling back her other hand, ready to punch him if he so much as squealed the wrong way. She sat atop of him, breathing through her teeth until she confirmed that there wasn't going to be a round three. She sighed with heavy relief as she got up and sat on the teacher's desk, trying to catch a breath.
So much for not using magic...
After a moment to regain her breath, she proceed to secure the defeated opponent with flexicuffs, as well as improvised rope made out of his shirt around his arms, just to be on the safe side. Only then she finally went to free... her.
Unlike Upper Crust, Suri Polomare was a bit more composed when released. Even though she was still just as scared and glad to be free, she only managed a single "thank you" toward her rescuer. While neither said it out loud, both were aware that Suri knew the secret, even before today. She was probably the first one to find out, for many reasons. And while she was grateful for the save, it didn't change much in their relationship, so the two stood before each other in relative silence, awkwardly avoiding eye contact.
Suri was the first one to break it.
"Hey, are you...?"
"Fine?" Sunset asked coldly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Top shape, never been better. Do I look fine?!"
"Oh-okay..."
"I'm exhausted, I broke my record of almost dying in a single day, I'm out of magical or physical power and I'm not even halfway finished with those bozos and I still have to beat a guy with magical powers, except he didn't need to waste them on a bunch of thugs or a regular nigh-superhuman highschool girl!"
"So you did fight Indigo."
"And if I try to do something other than play his stupid game the one who will pay the price won't be me, but... but..."
Suri didn't say anything. She crossed her arms and looked away.
"...it's not fair!" Sunny started tearing up. "I was going to apologize! Everything was going to go back to normal, but... now I don't know anymore...."
The two fell silent for a moment, standing right next to each other, arms crossed, stressed and tired, one more than the other.
"Uhm, your sleeve's kinda messed up." Suri said suddenly.
Sunny blinked and examined herself. Right sleeve was fine, but the left one was badly ripped, with parts of it hanging out awkwardly.
"Ugh, when did this happen?"
After watching Sunny for a few seconds, Suri sighed and pulled out a small case out of her front pocket.
"May I?"
Sunny looked at the other girl, in particular at the small black box she was holding. She recognized it easily, since Coco had a similar one. It was the emergency sewing kit, which contained several sets of threads, needles, scissors and other materials needed to quickly fix a clothing damage.
"Sure." As much as she hated getting any help from Sally, especially fixing a dress made by her ex-slavefriend, she was a little too tired to push away any assistance.
The purple girl pulled out a yellow thread and put it on a single needle and started reattaching the sleeve back to its place. While it wasn't the first time her combat dress was fixed by someone who knew what she was doing, the difference was that her tailor didn't need to stand on a stool to have her arm at eye level. And she wasn't even a bit interested at looking at her during the work. Nor was she interested in seeing her adorable look of embarrassment when someone she fancied closely watched her moving hands.
"This dress," Suri said in the middle of work "it looks really great on you. She really put her entire heart into it, even more than the usual."
Sunny didn't say anything in response.
"When I first met her, she was barely able to hold a needle properly and constantly made mistakes. But she was a fast learner and she mastered everything that I and other girls at the club showed her. Her skills grew up fast. So fast she almost caught up to everyone in the club. She definitely caught up to me. And I hated it more than anything!" She took a deep breath. "But you knew about that the day we met. Everyone knew. They were just nice enough to never point it out."
WIth one last cut, the sleeve was repaired. Sunny moved her arm a few times and confirmed that it was almost as good as new. Suri wasn't half the tailor Coco was, but even half a Coco was a master at her craft. The thread was a different shade of yellow than the original, though. A detail she would've never noticed if she hadn’t lived with Coco for so long.
"I thought she was like this by default. You know, shy, scared of everybody, a complete pushover. I didn't think much about it back then. But when I started seeing you two together, that was the first time I saw her... happy."
She finally earned Sunny's proper attention. The two exchanged glares, until Suri looked away and blushed.
"It... put some new perspective on things."
Sunny blinked. She always wondered if Suri never tried to bother Coco after that day because she was afraid of her, or because she actually had a genuine change of heart.
"Thanks," Sunny finally said "for fixing the dress."
Suri blinked, surprised, but still managed a tiny smile. "Sure. And thanks again for the save."
The two looked away from each other, until Sunny started walking away. Before she left the room, Suri called one last time.
"If... when you see her, could you... could you tell her... that I'm sorry?"
Sunset stopped on her tracks and waited in the middle of the door frame for a few seconds.
"I could've made your life a living hell," Sunny said coldly "I had all the reasons, desire and power to do so, but I never did. Do you know why?" She asked. Suri didn't say it, but they both knew the answer. "Because after all you did to her, all this time being treated like garbage and all the animosity she felt toward you, she still asked, almost begged, me to leave you alone. So to answer your question- no, I won't tell her that," she walked out of the room, but Suri could still hear the the last part "do it yourself!"
Suri nodded to herself. "Yeah, didn't think so either."
After almost an entire day of fighting, Sunny was exhausted both physically and magically, but thanks to Suri she added mentally to that list as well. She was way past the point of hiding it, as every step she took toward another classroom felt like eternity, as she trudged on, one hand supported by the wall. The last teleport wasn't enough to send her down, but it moved her dangerously close to the breaking point. She wasn't sure if going even slower would make a difference, but she grew past being reckless. Not when the worst was still before her.
"Could you move on a bit faster?" Sombra's voice suddenly called out. "Some of us have things to do today! There's a good movie on TV today, you know. I think, I don't watch much TV. Internet is way better."
Sunny stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked at the damned security camera and a speaker just nearby. Her eyebrow twitched, she knew the only reason she didn't blow it up on the spot was to conserve energy. She sighed heavily and looked directly at the camera and asked.
"What's the point of this stupid game, anyway?"
There was a short pause in the speaker activity, no doubt he turned the microphone off to laugh it off.
"The point of this game is to have fun! Duh! I went to all this trouble to arrange it just for you, and you give up not even halfway in? This hurts, right here... oh wait, you can't see me. I'm pointing at my chest."
Sunny was too tired and angry to roll her eyes. "This is between the two of us! If you want me, that's fine, but leave everyone else out of it!"
"We've been through this, Sunny. Without the hostages there's nothing holding you back from breaking the rules."
"UGH, just... if you want to kill me so much, then come here and do it yourself already! Enough with hiding behind your thugs, let's finish this right here, right now! Come on, are you so afraid of me you won't even show yourself? Huh?"
As expected, there wasn't an immediate answer. Whether he was ignoring her, laughing his ass off or preparing for answer, she didn't know until almost a minute later.
"Afraid isn't the word I would use," he answered "I just wanted for your play experience to follow a nice arc, ending with a well earned victory or a crushing, but heroic, defeat. But since you insist..."
The speakers suddenly turned off. All of a sudden Sunny got a bad, ominous feeling, as if she had said a few words too many. Other than her heartbeats and flickering of the halogen lamps, there were no sounds. She slowly turned back and her eyes narrowed.
He was there. From the other end of the hallway, Sombra was slowly walking toward her, with both hands in his pockets, smiling smugly.
She breathed heavily through her exposed, clenched teeth. The previously cold, damp air around her started heating up with every step he took.
"SOOOOMBRAAAAAA!"
She moved forward, her fists tightening on the way. Sombra took his hands out of his pockets and conjured two shadowy sets of giant claws on each hand and started running at her. He attacked first, flashing diagonally with his right hand, which Sunny easily sidestepped and attempted to punch him from the side. He quickly moved forward and out of her way, then turned back and struck again, missing once more.
They went back and forth for a while, avoiding each other's attacks, until Sunny noticed that with all this avoiding, her back was getting dangerously closer to the wall. Except after all those fights, she learned to use this to her advantage. She leaned on the wall on purpose, knowing full well that her opponent wouldn't miss a chance to strike, which Sombra did. A moment before it connected, she blinked out of the way and appeared right behind his back. She watched the shadow claw graze the wall and didn't waste the opportunity to strike him right at the back of his head, before he knew what was going on!
A fraction of a second before her fist connected, however, his entire body turned into a dark mist, which her fist went right through and hit the wall she was just leaning on a moment ago.
"Huh?" She looked shocked at the dent she just made. H-he vanished? Where did he-
"ARGH!"
She yelled suddenly, as she felt an immeasurable pain coming from a long cut at her back. Without trying to identify it, she just turned back and shot a blast of fire in front of her, directly hitting Sombra with the explosion! He didn't avoid, block or shield himself in any way before the explosion and smoke blinded her from seeing anything else. That's when the pain from her back reminded of itself and made her cringe and fall to her knees. Her back was hot in a bad way, she was pretty sure she felt blood dripping from it, but she didn't want to lose the sight in front of her. She wanted to see what happened to Sombra. Was he defeated? Did he escape? Or else...
The smoke evaporated in a matter of seconds and what was left, was nothing. No dark mist, no body, no ashes or other remains, nothing at all. And then it hit her.
"A-a clone!"
"What, you thought calling me a coward was enough to lure me out?" His smug voice came out, as always, from the speaker. "I am so disappointed in you... Sunny!"
Her mind went blank. She wasted a lot of her precious magic power on a shadow. She sat on her knees, trying to muster up some energy to get up, when her back once again sent a painful message to her head. It was only now that she reached with her hand and touched her back, then quickly recoiled from pain. She checked her hand and sure enough, there was blood on it. She took a deep breath and touched her back again, a little more carefully. She felt three long cuts just below her shoulder level. They weren't as deep as she was afraid, but it still stung like hell. The bleeding wasn't severe either, it made more mess than actual harm. And speaking of mess, she also felt three long cuts across her dress. She couldn't see it, but it made her wonder if the blood sticking her clothes to her body was what prevented it from falling apart in the first place.
"It might've been my jovial tone and carefree attitude that threw you off guard," Sombra said "so let's make one thing clear: I create the rules here! I gave you a fighting chance to save your friends and school, but I never said it will be fair. You just might be the only super powered being in this world and the only one standing in my way. I could kill you, right here, right now. I could've killed you before in more ways than one. And that would've made my life a lot easier. The reason why I'm sparing you, for now, is that on the off-chance there won't be anyone else with powers after you, I want my last one to be more interesting than a simple assassination... also, in case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm recording everything you're doing, so I can then sell it to the highest bidder. You've made a lot of powerful enemies, I'm sure they will pay a lot of money to see you suffer and die. So just to spite them, show them you're not a pushover, okay? Okay."
She wanted to say something. A simple 'shut up' would've been enough, but she couldn't open her mouth wide enough to make a sound. She didn't have the energy to stand up either. And despite her never-waning desire to save Coco and the others, her will to fight was fading away.
"Tell you what, I'm not going anywhere for awhile, and my boys and the hostages can wait a little longer. Take a break, drink some water, patch yourself up. After all, nobody likes a curbstomp."
Sunny didn't move. She couldn't move. All she could do was sit on her knees, curse her weakness and cry.
Coco's fists around her skirt couldn't get any tighter if she tried. She was barely holding her own tears, having to watch Sunny suffer, wounded and alone. The only thing stopping her from throwing herself on Sombra was, once again, the fear of failure and the price they'd pay for it. She turned to Sombra, who at this point was also holding himself back, not from crying, but laughing. Sweat poured from his forehead, as he breathed slowly, heavily, through a huge grin on his face.
"Holy crap..." he said, shaking "I know I shouldn't... I know I should end this as soon as possible... I know I'm tempting the fate, but..."
He turned to Coco, smiling ear to ear.
"...I've never had so much fun in my life!"
Coco turned away from the giggling villain and silently prayed for a miracle.
Sunny sat where she was for a long time. Tired, wounded, with broken clothes and no energy to do anything magical anymore. She pondered on what else could be done, but despite getting some extra time, she knew there was no way she could fight four more people and the real Sombra, no doubt a lot more powerful than his clone. But Sombra was wrong on a few accounts. There was one more thing she could've done. Nobody wanted her to do it, not even the bad guys.
Coco was only held prisoner because of her. If it wasn't for her, there wouldn't be a need for Coco and she'd be let go. All she had to do, was...
She couldn't finish the thought, when she felt something soft and warm envelop her back. She turned her head back, afraid for a moment... until she noticed who it was.
"I would ask how you're feeling, but..."
It was Sunny Flare, wearing the uniform she'd seen her in last time, except without the blouse. It was on the other Sunny now, sending a pleasant warmth through her body. Right next to her was Indigo Zap, in the same messed up, slightly burned and bloodied white shirt and jersey pants. The other three were right behind them. Lemon Zest and Sour Sweet were exactly as she remembered them, but Sugarcoat had some small cuts and bruises on her face.
"Can you stand up on your own?" Indigo asked.
Sunny opened her mouth, but then closed it and turned away. Indigo sighed deeply and crouched next to Sunset, put her hand over her shoulder and helped her stand up. Sunset wasn't resisting at all. Or reacting in any other way.
"Cool, the gang is all here at last," Sour Sweet said sweetly, then soured and added "now we can all die together!"
Sunny Flare smirked. "We survived one calamity before, we'll get through this one too!"
The Shadowbolts looked at each other and nodded. Sunny, the magical one, didn't.