A loud yawn went across the classroom. Knuckle Duster was told to patiently wait for Magical Girl Sunny or any signal from Sombra, but he didn't realize it was going to take this long. There was only so much snooping around the mostly empty classroom until he ran out of leaflets, message boards (physical, not online) and algebra textbooks to alleviate his boredom. His hostage was useless. A tall but lanky tanned boy with overstylized blonde hair who went into a panicking frenzy when he so much as looked at him, so he just stopped looking altogether and probably wouldn't notice if he disappeared. Which for sure wouldn't happen now that he knew Magical Girl Sunny was almost out of power.
And speaking of which, he suddenly heard her voice coming from his walkie-talkie.
"Sombra! I know you can hear me!"
Sunny Shimmy stood alone on the hallway, a few dozen feet away from the recording room, holding a borrowed walkie-talkie, with no mask, no dress, wearing only a borrowed uniform top.
She didn't wait long for the answer.
"Ah, back from the dead finally?" A familiar voice answered from the PA system. "Can I help you?"
Sunny swallowed, glancing slightly behind her. The doors to the recording room opened and four girls carefully exited it, nodded to her then rushed in the opposite direction. The hallway they went into was masked with fake camera footage, courtesy of Lemon Zest and her mad hacking skills.
Just keep talking to him for five minutes and stay within the security cameras range at all times, she remembered Sunny Flare's instructions. As long as your footage is legitimate, he shouldn't have a reason doubt the other ones.
Sunny took a deep breath. "I have a proposition."
"I'm listening."
"I'm getting tired of this game, so why don't we settle this by ourselves? Just you and I, and if-"
"Yeah, no. That wasn't the deal. I didn't go through all this trouble of making all the rules to just skip the-"
"Geez, at least let me finish!"
"You have nothing more to offer, but by all means..."
She swallowed and looked at her watch. Only a minute had passed. I need to stretch it a bit more. "You know what, maybe you're right. It's not like you need any more power than you already have."
"...excuse me?"
"I was about to offer you a change of rules- if I win, well, I win and nothing changes. But if you win, then atop of whatever you're aiming for, I would tell you where I got my powers!"
There was a longer pause in the conversation. She assumed Sombra turned off the PA to laugh in private, maybe comment to Coco about how he could see through her deception. Yes, she was lying and she knew Sombra knew and she knew exactly what the end results would be. He was still under the impression that it was her earrings that gave her powers and that she was going to use them as her bargaining chip, which he would otherwise obviously just take by himself from her corpse, if he had to. None of this mattered at the moment. She was only buying time for the others as she slowly walked towards her next destination, carefully counting the steps per second so she wouldn't get to her destination too fast.
The PA was turned on again.
"That's a very interesting proposition, if it wasn't full of crap. Do you take me for a fool, Sunny?"
"Is that a rhetorical question or do you want an honest answer?" She deadpanned. "Oh wait, I wasn't supposed to be cynical. Or could I? You made up so many rules I lost track of half of them."
"Oh yes, sure, mock me more. I'm sure it won't backfire in any way."
"Mock? Please, it's just friendly banter between two magical people that want to kill each other. You wanted to be treated as an equal, didn't you?"
Small pause.
"Touche. So, about your proposition?"
"And what am I supposed to tell him?"
Sunny Flare shrugged while drawing a map of Crystal Prep. They were still at the brainstorming phase when this question came up.
"Just make something up. As long as it looks like you're trying to bait him out, you might as well talk about potatoes. Just make sure it takes exactly five minutes and you end up far away from any of us and find a place to leave the school for a few minutes."
"Like where?" Sour Sweet asked. "If she stops responding for even a moment he will start suspecting something!"
"What excuse would warrant a several minutes long absence?" Sugarcoat asked.
As the group tried to think of a place and a good excuse to disappear, it was Lemon Zest who gasped as she had the most brilliant idea.
Sunset spent the rest of the allotted time moving carefully towards her destination, weaving a story for her villain (and by proxy his lackeys) along the way. Knowing that Sombra was more than less convinced of the earrings idea, all she had to do was invent their origins. She steered the conversation as far away from Canterlot High as she possibly could and focused on one place she was aware of that was close and vague enough for the story to work:
Everfree Forest.
Her story was that she was once attending Camp Everfree (she wasn't), which she knew was a thing from local rumors of being a mystical forest of some sorts. Supposedly, during her camping trip she stumbled upon a cave where she found the earrings, along with some ancient texts on the wall that she couldn't decipher. She promised Sombra that if he won, she would show him the place. And if not, she would take this secret to her grave. It sounded about as authentic as she could hope.
As expected, he didn't buy it.
"Which book did you steal this story from? I might actually read it on a slow day."
Sunny rolled her eyes. "Fine, don't believe me!"
Sombra sighed. "Sunny, you're trying too hard. Did you really think you could bait me out with something like this? I mean it's better than previous attempts, but it's still pretty pathetic."
She arrived at her destination just as the five minute mark was approaching. She counted the seconds in her head, while Sombra kept talking.
"I don't know what you're planning, but it's not as funny as you think it is. So unless you go back to MY game, I will start taking out my frustration on miss Po-"
"Hold that thought!" Sunny interrupted him, as she opened the door to the girls room. "I need to take a dump."
The PA system made a few muffled noises, as if whoever was holding the microphone just fell on the floor. She was facing the entrance, so no camera registered the satisfied smirk she had on her face as she imagined him falling of the chair. It was the first time she truly caught him off guard. It was far from satisfying her deepest desires, but she was still going to savor it regardless!
Sour Sweet's eyebrow twitched. "Really? A toilet?"
Lemon Zest nodded happily, smiling ear to ear, even though everyone matched Sugarcoat's nonplussed expression. Not for long, because as soon as Sour Sweet tried to say something, she stopped herself to think for a bit.
"That's... actually a good idea!"
"I know, right! The camera inside is pointing at the entrance and sinks, at the angle where you can't see the reflections in the mirrors! And there are no cameras in the stalls. Obviously."
"I don't know about that," Indigo said, scratching her head "he'll suspect something, for sure."
"That's even better!" Sunny Flare said. "He'll definitely send someone to check," she pointed at one of the toilets on the map "it takes at least five minutes to walk there from the gym, so instead of the gym guys, he'll need to send one of the mini-bosses. And we can deal with them!"
"What if he comes by himself?"
"He won't," Sunny Flare smirked "because this has 'ambush' written all over it!"
Coco waited for an opportunity to act ever since she was dragged in the dean's office, but the toilet comment threw her off the balance too, though not enough to actually fall from the chair. Guess I'm a little more used to it. Sombra was a bit less composed than before, at least.
"What the hell...?"
"I've been holding it in for a while now," Sunny's voice came out of the walkie-talkie "so I need to use the toilet, numbers one AND two. As people sometimes do. Yes, even girls."
Sombra's eyebrow twitched. "Are you kiddi-?"
"If I'm gonna die on camera, I'd at least like to do it on an empty bladder, thank you very much!"
Sombra was, for probably the first time since they met, at an actual loss of words. He looked at the camera feed, all of them, expecting some sort of ambush. All the hallways were clear and he had eyes everywhere. Except the nurse's office, where the camera was disabled. It was probably where the Shadowbolts were still waiting, if only because he couldn't see them anywhere else. Not that he was concerned about a bunch of non-powered teenagers.
"I'll be back in a few minutes. Please don't talk to me while I'm sitting on the toilet, you're already creepy enough."
"And what if he actually decides to come by himself?" Sour Sweet asked.
This gave them something to think about, but the answer appeared fast and simple.
Sunny Flare smiled as she announced. "We still have someone who can deal with that!"
"Can Coco still hear me?" Sunset asked through the walkie-talkie. "Be a darling and entertain our guest while I'm away, could you? Thanks." That said, she left the walkie talkie on the ground and entered the toilet, closing the door behind her.
Sombra switched to an inside camera, where she indeed entered one of the stalls and disappeared from his view. He blinked, then turned, completely deadpan, at Coco.
His already sheepish hostage smiled even fakier and shrugged. "She's uh... she's not pretending, actually. That's how she usually acts... it took some time to get used to it."
That sounded like she wanted me to stall. Okay, I'll do my best!
Sombra looked back at the monitors. "I see." After one quick look at the hallway where she left her walkie talkie, he pulled his own and made a call.
As soon as Sunset closed the stall, she sat on the closed toilet seat and reached out inside her borrowed blazer to pull out a second walkie-talkie. Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest grabbed it while they were searching for tools and weapons from her second opponent, the one who was guarding Suri. Leaving her old one at the doors was meant to make Sombra and his lackeys less shy about communicating between each other. And it quickly paid off.
"She's planning something," Sombra's voice came out of the walkie-talkie "someone check out the girl bathroom on the first floor."
"I'm on it!" One of the other voices quickly responded.
She had no idea which one it was or where he was coming from, but it wasn't her problem. And she didn't mean it in a negative way, it was just part of the plan that they all agreed on. She had her job, they had theirs and she trusted them to do their part, just as they trusted her. She checked her watch, but not because she wanted to see what time it was.
Good luck everybody!
She took a deep breath, then teleported out of the school.
After hearing Sombra's order, Knuckle Duster was literally the first person to answer. Even getting smacked in the face by Magical Girl Sunny sounded more entertaining than keeping an eye on a wimp who was on the verge of pissing himself. Attaching his walkie-talkie back to his belt he started making his way to the exit, but only got halfway there when the door opened.
He took guard, but quickly lowered it when it wasn't a Magical Girl of any sorts who greeted him.
"Sup'!"A teal haired girl in track pants and a dirty white t-shirt smiled at him, as she slowly walked toward him. "Sunny had a potty emergency. I'm filling in!"
"What the... who the hell are you? And how did you get here?"
"Indigo's the name and really, I just walked in. It's not like you put a barbed wire around the doors. Anyway, I'm here to save the... the..." she stopped on her tracks. She pointed at the hostage, while her face went a bit more sour. "Seriously? Trenderhoof, of all people?"
Knuckle Duster blinked, then looked back at his hostage, who was a bit calmer now. More than that, he seemed very happy to see the girl, giving off a smile that could be seen despite the gag.
"He's been hitting on me for months now," Indigo explained, using a tone that implied she was holding back some vomit "some crap about how masculine girls make him feel safe. Ugh, great, now he'll pester me even more!" She turned to Trenderhoof, whose eyes were now somehow shaped like hearts. "For the last time, you're not my type!"
"SHUT UP ALREADY!" Knuckle Duster finally exploded in anger, moving his hand toward Indigo. "And if you don't, I will shu-!"
SMACK!
He was suddenly punched right in the face, which made him walk back a few steps, almost making him topple some of the desks behind. As the shock went away, he wiped his nose, which was now a bloody mess. He took another look at the girl, who smiled viciously at him and motioned him to 'Come at her'. This was his first urge- beat up the insufferable broad who cheap-shotted him, but...
She's working with Magical Girl Sunny! He took a step back and tried to discreetly pull out his walkie-talkie. I need to warn the others! He managed to get it right up to his mouth, almost pressed the button, when the device was suddenly roundhouse kicked out of his hand.
"Tsk, tsk, no tattle telling!" Indigo wagged her finger at him, as he massaged his aching hand.
Seeing as the walkie-talkie landed under the pile of desks, way beyond his reach, he decided against getting cheap-shotted for a third time and raised his guard. The two looked each other in the eyes, until he struck first, lunging at the girl with a straight punch. Indigo easily avoided the strike by lightly swaying to the side, letting the fist fly only an inch away from her face. He didn't end it there and quickly followed with his second hand, which met similar fate. Few more punches flew her direction, all missed the target, at best grazed her hair.
He stopped his flurry to take a breather. His eyes went wide with the scary realization that he wasn't just narrowly missing- she was letting him miss by a tiny margin, but no more, using the absolute minimal effort required, saving all her energy. Unlike him.
"That all you got?" She asked, stepping forward. She couldn't help but chuckle when he stumbled backwards in response. "My turn!"
He had no time to dodge, but managed to cover his face, blocking the ensuing punch that would've knocked at least one of tooth out if it connected directly. Before he truly registered the indirect hit, he strongly felt her foot almost burrowing into his stomach, making him not only release the air out of his lungs, but also loosen the guard, separating his hands and creating a gap big enough so a single uppercut slipped right under his chin and sent him flying what felt like into stratosphere, in actuality only few meters away, right on his back.
He was on the verge of losing his conscience, but the impact managed to fuel enough of his anger to keep him awake. He sat down on the floor and looked at his opponent. She wasn't moving from the spot, but had her guard up, swaying light on her feet and awaited his next move. Wishing he had a gun or at least a knife with him he looked around around for anything to use. The only thing within reach were the rows of school desks on his right. He reached to one of them for support while getting up, then quickly grabbed it by the legs, raised it above his head and turned toward the girl.
Indigo didn't move at all and waited, no emotions showing.
That's when he rushed at her, taking a long, mighty swing overhead, aiming straight at her head. She still refused to budge as the object got dangerously fast. Trenderhoof tried to yell something through the gag, but was ignored by both of them.
Just before the impact, she raised her hand above her head, her tightened forearm colliding with the side of the desk, stopping it dangerously close to her face.
For a moment, the two stood in the same place, the hands holding the desk fruitlessly trying to push it, as if hoping it would do anything, into the girl who held it above herself with close to no effort shown. Slowly but surely the bloodlust in Knuckle Duster's eyes weakened, being replaced by the realization of what just was happening at the moment, what happened less than a minute ago and what would most likely happen next. And with that realization came a ton of cold sweat, dread and regret over his poor life choices leading to this moment.
Indigo sighed. "You wouldn't last a minute with Sunny..."
She twisted her arm, grabbed the side of the desk, pulled it out of his very weak grip and tossed the desk behind her, creating an audible crash as it fell.
"...neither of them!"
He only had time to 'meep' and cover his face before the inevitable execution. He didn't see, but felt the next punch, as it hit his hands, sending the leftover impact right into his face. She didn't end there, immediately sending another punch, equally as powerful. And then another. And another. And another. He stopped counting after the fifth one, which was the one that ultimately led to him lowering his hands and exposing his face, which took the rest of the hits. Whether it was ten, twenty or a hundred, he had no idea, because he lost consciousness halfway through, taking the rest of the blows in his sleep.
Eventually, Indigo stopped on her own accord, letting the unconscious body sway for a moment, before collapsing on his back.
Indigo scratched her head and sighed. "Pft, what a drag!"
After making sure her opponent wasn’t getting up and using the plastic cuffs she got from Sunset, she finally went to the part she was looking forward to the least. Trenderhoof was very livid, blushing as he couldn't take his eyes off of her when she moved toward him.
With a heavy sigh, she took off his gag.
"I knew you would come for me, my amazonian goddess! Our fates were connected from the day we first met and destiny will always make us cross pat-MPH!"
Then immediately put it back on.
"Yeah, how about no?"
She grabbed the chair by the back and pulled it after her, with a confused Trenderhoof still roped to it.
I said I will take him to safety, but I never said I will free him.
Fleur de Lis, ranked as the #1 hottest girl in school according to the boys in an online poll (also voted #1 potential trophy wife by the super jealous girls who combined got less than half of her votes) was beyond terrified when this whole thing started and she was bound and gagged in the French classroom to be used as bait. But as time passed, the fear for her own life slowly gave way to fear for Sunset Shimmer, aka Magical Girl Sunny (unless she was wrong about it, but come on!), when she figured she was too valuable alive and unharmed. But right now?
"It was 'That's so Sparrow', right? No? Darn, thought I had it this time."
She was mostly annoyed.
When she was first abducted, she thought the weird stares her captor was giving her were a prelude to something... well, much sinister and disgusting than what it turned out to be. He was right about one thing though: she was a child actress and starred in a very popular sitcom on TV. She even landed a few minor roles in big budget movies, though she missed the chance for the Daring Do movie, much to her chagrin. What he was wrong about, was everything else.
"Oh, I know, how about 'Dragon and Jokes'? No, that's not right... hmm, it wasn't 'iStarly', wasn't it? Tsk, I only saw the pilot of that one."
Fleur sighed deeply, shaking her head. I would've told you which one it was, if only to shut you up, if you could TAKE THIS BLOODY GAG OFF OF ME FOR A DARN MINUTE! Unfortunately for her, the thought didn't cross his mind, either because he was too stupid or was under orders to never ever take it off. Which was a smart move in hindsight, because she was really tempted to take any occasion to bite off his finger if it ever got close enough to her mouth. The potential satisfaction was almost worth getting slapped for.
"Oh, I know! It you were Sirely, from 'Lavender and Sirely'!"
Fleur rolled her eyes as hard as she could, make-up be damned. That one stopped airing before I was even BORN!
The neverending game of TV trivia came to an end when the door to the room opened and someone walked inside. Blackjack's (that was his name) heartbeat rose, until he noticed it wasn't who he expected it to be.
"You're not Sunny!" He said.
"Actually, yes I am. But not that one."
Something about the girl seemed oddly familiar. She had short, purple hair with some pink strands and wore a crystal prep uniform except for the blazer. As soon as she entered the room, she put a small purse on the side, then kept looking at him, with both her hands behind her back. She kept a calm and professional demeanor all the way, with her face raised slightly higher and eyes directly at him, giving the impression that she looked down on him. Which she did and she was was not afraid to show it.
It took him a moment, but eventually the dots connected.
"Oh, I see," he smiled, leaving Fleur behind to move slightly closer "you're Sunny Flare! Daughter of Scorched Flare, THE owner of this school and about forty percent of the Canterlot."
Sunny Flare nodded. "It seems like you did your research."
"We have a list of the potential hostages based on their worth in dollars, and yours? Is two times higher than everyone else combined! When we couldn't find you, at first we thought you had skipped class or called in sick. And here I thought we would lose all that sweet, sweet ransom money. How much would your daddy pay for your safety? A million? Two? Five?"
"That's a valid estimate, but I doubt it will come to that. I've come to negotiate the change of terms."
This time it was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "I'm listening."
"I will offer you, and whoever you can convince to join up, a fixed sum of money, in cash, using a trusted courier, on top of dropping all the charges that will inevitably be put against you once this whole thing is over, whether Sombra or Magical Girl Sunny wins. My family lawyers will make sure that you, and any others who defect alongside you, will walk away unscathed. As if you were never here to begin with."
Blackjack blinked. He looked around, wondering if there was an ambush coming from anywhere, but as far as he could tell, the only entrance to the room was the door she had come from. The windows were shut tight and were too sturdy to just kick out, which meant that only Magical Girl Sunny could sneak up on him with magical powers. But if she could, there wouldn't be a point in the distraction in the first place.
He hummed. "How much?"
"Ten thousand dollars. To you and everyone else involved."
At first he held back, but it took only a second for his will to break as he started laughing loudly.
"Buahaha, ten grand? You seriously think you can buy ME for that much?"
"That's all I can offer from my personal savings, on top of dropping all the charges and letting you go. If you insist, I can raise it to-"
"CUT THE CRAP!" He yelled and stomped the ground for emphasis. Sunny Flare took a single step back, but managed to keep her composure. "If I wanted ten grand I would take a normal job!"
Sunny Flare sighed. "That's a no, then?"
Black Jack groaned and started walking toward her. "Tsk, you got a lot of nerve to come here and act all high and mighty, think you can get away with anything just because your daddy is filthy rich!"
"No, that's the other guy. The difference is a few zeroes on their..."
"I don't give a damn!"
He was at hand’s reach away from her, completely ignoring her full composure and lack of any signs of intimidation. He thought that grabbing and shaking her up a little would show her where she belonged, but he never found out. He didn't even notice when she suddenly sidestepped around him, gracefully maneuvering around him and appearing behind him.
While he was taken aback by her surprising agility, his initial surprise paled in comparison to the shock that came from a sudden painful sting.
"ARGH!" He groaned, grabbing his upper right arm. He briefly pulled it away and he noticed his own blood running through his shirt. "What the...?"
A few feet behind him stood Sunny Flare. She stood tall and straight, but relaxed and graceful at the same time, with her hands no longer held behind her back. She was no longer hiding the rapier, instead holding it before her, bloodied tip upwards.
"I figured anyone who would take this job would be either easy to intimidate by anyone with power, or so greedy they will commit the most heinous acts for money," she said, aiming the rapier at him while holding the same pose "I was just hoping you were the former."
Blackjack's eyebrows twitched, as he gnawed his teeth with rage. "You'll pay for this!"
"I was going to. But you declined!"
He lunged at her, fully determined to rip her to shreds and leave only enough pieces to get some ransom money from it. Her first strike was a cheap shot and a complete surprise which he wasn't going to fall for a second time. But before he got close enough to get his hands at her, her stance shifted: legs spread wider, shoulders and head went slightly forward and down, as she gracefully jumped back, then sent not one, but two attacks directly at her opponent, so fast he only saw a blurred hand motion. One hit was to his shoulder and the other was the thigh, making him fall on his knees, bleeding and cursing at her.
"I was going to keep my end of the bargain, just so you know," she said as she started circling around her immobilized foe "honestly, when you said you did some research on me, I thought you knew all of the details. Including the fact that I've been practicing fencing for half of my life and have won multiple gold medals back in middle school. I retired inhigh school because I started to dedicate more time for my studies and student council work, and to keep at least a few hours a week for social life and friends. Good to know I didn't get rusty."
Blackjack kept quiet, now that the immediate pain was being followed by the first signs of dizziness. His wounds were quite deep, she probably struck a few vital points as he bled more than he should have. Jumping at her in this state was synonymous with getting stabbed even more. He understood that part now, which is why he waited until she moved to a spot where she wouldn't notice him reaching for the walkie-talkie at his belt. All he had to do was to push one button and everyone else, Sombra included, would be notified and rush to his aid. His hand moved closer, until she suddenly stabbed his hand.
"OWW!"
He yelled, dropping the device. With one more swift move, Sunny Flare caught the strap with her rapier and brought the device towards her.
"When this whole thing started, I felt helpless," she said, casually clipping the walkie-talkie to her skirt "not only was I useless in a fight without a weapon, but even if I had it there was nothing I could've done. Those shadowcats were something else. They have no mind of their own, barely husks of magic programmed to do their job. They don't feel pain. They don't bleed. And most importantly, they don't fear death."
She put her rapier’s tip to his face, delicately pricking his nose and giving him a good view of his own blood that was still dripping from it.
"Do you?"
Her gaze was cold, but honest. Blackjack swallowed. "Y-you wouldn't!"
"Wouldn't I? How many skeletons in their closets do you think my family accumulated while climbing for the power over generations? Mine is still empty, but I am their firstborn, I will get some eventually. So by all means, try me. Find out just how much sympathy I have for common criminals who mess with my territory," the rapier went a little further into his nose "see how far I can go when I'm protecting my friends!"
He couldn't even look her in the eyes without feeling that he was already defeated. All he could do is lower his head and try to leave with the last shreds of dignity he had left. Seeing the battle had been won, she pulled back the rapier and went back to the purse she left at the entrance and tossed all its content at his feet: rolls of bandages and boxes of band-aids.
"Patch yourself. I want you to live long enough to tell everyone how much you regret messing with Crystal Prep, Magical Girl Sunny and especially the Flare Clan," she said while going past him, again showing no signs of hesitation "and be glad you didn't run into any of my friends. I had discipline taught to me since I could walk, I know how to hold back. My friends? Probably not. I'm pretty sure at least one of them is enjoying it far too much."
By the time Sunny Flare reached Fleur and started freeing her, Blackjack's will to fight was broken to the point of no return. With only survival instinct left, he started bandaging his wounds, though he still quietly muttered some bad intentions.
Fleur took off the gag off her mouth, hugged her savior and turned to her kidnapper. "It was 'Day Grassy High'! I played Celestial Snowflake the for first two seasons. Before they killed me off to boost the ratings, that is!"
"Yeah, I remember that," Sunny Flare winced "that's when the show jumped the shark and everyone stopped watching."
Blackjack glanced at her, nodded, then turned away.
"I knew that..."
Ripe Napper yawned loudly. The first twenty minutes of waiting and guarding his hostage were quite stressful and he was waiting for any opportunity to jump into action. Now that almost an hour has passed, he was just bored. He couldn't bring his phone with him and his hostage's phone was blocked by a password that he didn't feel like asking for, so he couldn't even pass the time with a few rounds of solitaire. His hostage, a gray skinned, dark grey haired boy with small glasses, seemed like the type who might scream like a girl if given the chance, so he didn't take it. All he could do was sit at the table where he could see the entrance, cross his arms and hum some catchy songs to pass the time.
Ar first, Jet Set wanted to run, scream and beg for mercy. Now he wanted to die and only fear for Upper Crust and desire to apologize and make up with her kept him sane (even if it was all her fault, but he was more than willing to let it go at this point). But even worse, he would never hear a Countess Coloratura song without getting a PTSD reaction.
Razzle dazzle... glitz and glare... something something... it's a spectacle...
Unfortunately his kidnapper didn't know any other lyrics, but that didn't stop him from trying.
He was about to ruin a Songbird Serenade song next (and the remainder of Jet Set's sanity) when the door to the classroom opened. Jet Set and Ripe Napper quickly perked up and watched at the... nothing that entered the room.
"The hell?" Ripe Napper raised an eyebrow as he slowly, carefully moved towards the door. He only got halfway there, when something flew inside the room. None of them had time to react, as a small glass vial shattered on the ground. Whatever liquid was inside, it exploded in a sudden flash of light.
"ARGH!" Ripe Napper grunted, as he and his hostage were blinded. His hands went to his eyes, rubbing the blindness away. It was only a few seconds of distraction, but that was more than enough for everything to change.
"UGH!" He grunted, as he felt something sharp piercing through his right shoulder. He quickly grabbed it and felt his blood flowing from the hole made by a foreign object that stuck there. It took a while for his eyes and mind to focus just enough to realize what it was.
It was an arrow.
"This one's from Magical Girl Sunny," a young girl's voice announced in a sweet, cheerful voice, then added in a more volatile, hissy one "the rest are from me!"
Blinking the blindness away, Ripe Napper finally got a better look at the silhouette by the entrance. It was a female Crystal Prep student, this one with long pink ponytail. More importantly, she was holding an actual bow in her right hand, aimed straight at him, while her left hand hovered over a quiver full of arrows strapped at her belt.
"Why you little bi-"
"Come on, finish that sentence!" She said cheerfully, pulling out an arrow and twirling it in her hand. "I dare you!"
Ripe Napper grit his teeth and looked at the arrow sticking out of his shoulder. He took a deep breath and grabbed it by the shaft.
"I wouldn't do that if I-"
"ARGH!"
Sour Sweet cringed as she looked at her opponent quickly pull out the arrow and toss it away as if it was nothing.
"Oookay, that was actually pretty badass!" She admitted cheerfully, then added sourly. "Less so when you fall unconscious due to blood loss!"
He didn't say anything in response and rushed at her immediately, arms outstretched, his wound seemingly not bothering him at all. Sour reacted immediately, instantly pulling and releasing the arrow she held, sending an arrow right into his other shoulder. It didn't stop his charge, but it slowed him down just enough to give her enough time to dodge to his right, pull out one more arrow and shoot it again at the shoulder, but this time from behind. He stumbled a bit and fell on his knee, but instantly stood up and glared at her.
Sour Sweet couldn't help but whistle. "A for effort... E for effect."
He growled yet again, louder than ever before, as he pulled out both arrows, one after another, while only cursing quietly to himself, withholding all the pain like a true man. Sour nodded with approval, glad that she wasn't paired up with a complete wimp at the very least. I wish Indigo got this one. He seems like her type.
Round two started just like the first one: charge in full speed, which Sour responded in kind by once again shooting an arrow directly at his upper body. This time he knew what to expect and sidestepped to the right, avoiding taking an arrow that passed right by his side. He smiled viciously at his prey and resumed the charge.
What he didn't expect, was that the arrow ricocheted from the blackboard upwards, where it found its way to the metal dish-shaped lamp and bounced off of it at just the right angle, that it went straight into Ripe Napper’s back. The sheer surprise made him stumble on his feet, giving Sour Sweet more than enough room to maneuver and move right past him, tripping him on the way, making him almost fall on his face.
It wasn't as deep as the ones before, but the fact it was there to begin with filled him with very conflicting feelings. Most of all, confusion. He pulled it out easily and stared at it wide-eyed.
"H-how the hell?"
"A+ in Advanced Trigonometry," she said, smiling from ear to ear "also gold medal in national high school archery competition, twice in a row. Although I never shot at a human before, so thanks for that experience. It's quite exhilarating!" She giggled, clearly enjoying it way more than a teenage girl should have.
He groaned at the arrow and threw it to the side. "I'll get you for this, you little piece of tra-AGH!"
He stopped to moan, as another arrow shot at him while he was distracted. He looked down at his legs, where his right knee now had an arrow sticking out of it.
"Lemme guess, you used to be an adventurer once," she said nicely, pulled out another arrow from the quiver and aimed it at him, switching the tone to the more hostile "until you were beaten by a girl with a bow!"
"F#$k yo-AGHH!"
She shot an arrow again, this time at his right ankle, making him yell again, kneeling in pain. His anger unquenched, he was about to say something once again, not noticing when Sour Sweet slowly just walked toward him and KICKED him right in the face, sending him tumbling on his back. As he yelled out in pain (he fell on the wounded shoulder), she stomped on his chest and pointed a pulled arrow at his face.
"Before you open your mouth again, ask yourself two very important questions. One: did I accidentally miss your vitals or was I avoiding them on purpose?"
She pulled the arrow a bit further, then quickly changed her aim and shot it straight in Jet Set's direction. His panic was short lived, as the arrow went between his upper arm and torso, through the chair and finally stopped when it impaled on a bookshelf behind him. A second after that, the ropes holding Jet Set harmlessly fell off him, freeing his hands without even scratching him or his uniform.
Ripe Napper swallowed heavily as Sour Sweet pulled another arrow.
"Two: will I stop shooting if you give up?" Her smile became more vicious. "The answer to the second question is..."
The doubt has disappeared. The madness in her eyes wasn't a theory anymore.
"...maybe?"
Drill Bit sat quietly on the desk in the back, patiently waiting for his turn or for any other orders. His days as a marine soldier taught him enough discipline to avoid any distractions. Careful about his surroundings, but not curious about them, neither about his hostage, a dark blue skinned boy in fluffy, heavily stylized white-blue hair. If Magical Girl Sunny planned something weird, and he was certain she was, he was going to be the one prepared, though he couldn't say the same about his comrades. If anyone was going to screw up, it wasn't him or Sombra, but...
His train of thought was interrupted by the sudden opening of the door. He perked up, only to discover it was one of the other guys instead of Sunny. He didn't catch his name, but he recognized him as one of the other mini-bosses.
"Hey, man, I, uh, I need some help..." he said, leaning out of the door frame, but didn't enter inside.
Drill Bit sighed heavily and stood up, moving a few steps forward.
"With what? You're supposed to guard one of those kids, get back to your po-"
"Y-yeah, that's the thing, I uh... I lost her!"
Drill Bit blinked. "You did what?!"
"Hey, it's not my fault! Here I was, doing my job, then I look away for a few seconds, and she's gone! The chair is empty, ropes cut and she's nowhere to be found!"
Drill Bit rolled his eyes as he got slightly closer. "That sounds like your fault to me," he grabbed the walkie-talkie "we need to warn everyo-"
"NO! Do you really want to call that psycho kid and tell him I failed doing the "ONE JOB"? Hell no, he creeps me out and I don't want to find out what he does to those who fail him! No way, we need to do this quietly!"
"We? I didn't agree to anything, you screwed up, you fix it!"
"Look, just..." he took a few deep breaths "...I know where she is, but the room has two exits. If I get close, she'll just run away, so I need someone to cover it. Come on, help me a little! It'll be two minutes and Sombra doesn't need to know!"
Drill Bit rolled his eyes. There are cameras everywhere so Sombra knew, but probably didn't think it was important to bother with. Still, he knew better than to let hostages roam around and complicate their plans. Sombra was just a kid who could ignore the details and pretend his powers will solve all problems, but he was well aware that those were often the cause of bigger issues.
He sighed as he walked to him. "Let's get this over with."
"Oh man, you're a bro! I owe you one!" The other guy said, moving away from the door into the corridor. "Sorry for all, man."
"Whatever. Better come clean and ask for help then hide and risk jeopardi-"
BZZT!
He couldn't end the sentence, because as soon as he crossed the door frame, something touched the side of his ribcage. He turned his head sideways and only managed to see a head with three light blue pigtails and a pair of glasses, when all of a sudden a massive electrical current went straight into his ribs and throughout his entire body. He didn't even yell when all of his muscles, tongue included, were paralyzed. Unable to move or think, his limp body fell flat on his back, with stray sparks still going over his body, making his body convulse uncontrollably for a moment.
Hustle Fuss only swallowed as he looked at his companion, a true bro in fact, fall due to his treachery. It was still a better option than saying no to the six girls who forced him to it. Magical Girl Sunny who broke his jaw in a humiliating fashion was NOTHING compared to the sour and sweet girl (whatever her name was) who enjoyed hitting him in the most vulnerable places even he wasn't aware of. But even beyond her, was the one who just downed his comrade.
Sugarcoat stood right next to the doors, lightly kicking the fallen terrorist to make sure the job was done. In one hand she held Batson 3K, the world's most powerful taser that could be bought with money. She was gifted it by her parents after she was mugged once. It was a simple snatch and run, she wasn't hurt in any way and she lost only a purse with some cosmetics, a bit of cash and a phone, all collectively worth less than a hundred dollars, so she wasn't bothered by it. Her parents were a different story- they went into a panicked frenzy, called police, private detectives and grounded her for a week, worried the mugger would come back to finish the job. Once they cooled off a bit, they still held a tight leash over her life, but eventually let go and went back to just being concerned parents of a middle schooler living in a big city.
As soon as she graduated middle school and was going to live abroad in Crystal Prep dorms to escape their leash, the parental fear came back, hence why her room was full of self-defense tools hidden in her shelves. Pepper spray, retractable batons, warning whistles and a few tasers too. She kept this one and even tinkered with it on a slow day, increasing iits already impressive output to a new high. She hadn't had an opportunity to try it on humans or other living beings (because she wasn't a monster, contrary to some rumors), until now.
Hustle Fuss was slightly concerned about the taser, but not nearly as much as the fact that she was holding an actual GUN! This entire time, from leaving the studio, walking the corridors to right now, her right hand carried a small six-shooter, constantly aimed straight at him at all times, finger hugging the trigger. The thought of overpowering the girl crossed his mind a few times. He could've assaulted her on the way here, or warn Drill Bit about it, or do something. Even with all his wounds after the fight and torture he was sure he could have mustered just enough to beat her. But there was one more thing about her that couldn't give him a peace of mind.
Her eyes. They were devoid of all emotions. No movement, no tells, barely blinking. Not when she issued an order, nor when she told him she would pull the trigger if he made any funny moves. The lack of emotions on her face scared him the most, even more than the two girls who used actual violence on him (and he totally didn't deserve most of it!). He knew a lot of cruel people in his life, both friend and foe alike. But someone who didn't emote at all? That was new.
New was unknown.
And unknown was scary.
"Get him into the classroom." She coldly issued yet another order.
He had yet another opportunity to attack her. Jump at her, take away her gun and pin her to the ground. He was able to do it... but he didn't. Not when those emotionless eyes stared right into him. He had no idea if she was going to shoot or not. And worst of all, he couldn't even begin to guess what her thought process was. Instead, he swallowed and did as asked, walking towards Drill Bit, grabbing him by his shoulder (after getting shocked by static electricity) and dragged him inside. He was taking no chances with a girl who may or may not shoot an actual gun at him. He had no idea where she got it from, as it was nothing like the semi-automatic sidearms that they were using.
"Cuff him." She said, throwing a fw flexi-cuffs on the floor.
He obediently did as asked, wary of the bullet that would pierce his skull if he defied her.
"Now turn around and get on your knees."
Reluctantly, he did as asked, losing the pigtailed girl from his view. He could hear her slow steps, as she was probably approaching him.
"Y-you won't shoot me, right?" He asked, genuinely not sure if he was correct or not. "Y-you're one of the good girls, after all! You want to save the school, so there's.... there's no way you would..." he swallowed, feeling something metal touching his back "...th-think about it, i-if you shoot me right here, y-you'll be a murderer! A-and there will be no turning ba-back from that, do-doesn't matter if you did it in self-defense or... or..."
"I'm not going to shoot you."
Hustle Fuss's sighed with heavy relief.
"This isn't even a real gun. It's just a prop used by Film Club."
"W-wait, wha-"
BZZZT!
That was all he managed to say before a strong electrical current went through his spine. He, just like Drill Bit, woke up several hours later with minimal damage to their body (earlier beatings notwithstanding). Sugarcoat watched her victim fall on his face, unconscious. She kicked him a few times to make sure he was out, then holstered the fake gun in her blazer and took out a pair of rubber gloves, looted from chemistry class along with materials for the hand-crafted flashbang for Sour Sweet.
She looked towards Royal Pin, her fellow Shadowbolt, looking at her with one eyebrow raised.
"What?" She shrugged, putting the gloves on her hands, then pulling out a few more flexicuffs. "It's for safety. I don't want to get electrocuted by accident."
Sombra shuffled nervously. Less than a minute had passed after he lost Magical Girl Sunny from the camera view and sent one of his guys to check up on her. He knew she was planning something, but couldn't put his finger on it, looking at the live footage of the school. The classroom that his lackey (what's his face) was supposed to guard was empty save for the unguarded, tied up student, but none of the other corridors showed him moving there at all. He looked from one feed to another, but couldn't quite locate him. Then again, the interface of the software used for the security in the school wasn't the most comfortable to use, so he resisted the urge to call his men again. He definitely wasn't going to make anyone, enemy or ally, think that he wasn't in complete control.
Coco was a different story. The talkative and smug Sombra she knew from before was now much more perplexed, masking his nerves very well, to the point that most people wouldn't have noticed, but she saw right through him. The throwaway line Sunny left her with couldn't be insignificant- it was an order for her action, one she was going to follow no matter what.
"So, back to our earlier conversation," she started again, this time way calmer "you mentioned your mother in passing. Is she..."
The clicking on the keyboard suddenly came to a halt. Her confidence was short lived after all, now that his gaze turned back to her, but this time a lot more hostile than before. I knew it, there is more to this story. "Uhm, I mean, I don't want to pry..." I REALLY want to pry!
Sombra had his deadly gaze aimed at her for a few seconds, before sighing. "Yes, she's... gone." He said weakly.
Coco swallowed. "I'm sorry..." She said genuinely.
"He didn't do it, if that's what you're asking. He would never hurt her, or me. I still believe that. But that doesn't change anything... it was all his fault," his palms turned to fists "and I will never forgive him!"
Coco looked at him, clearly struck at his weakness. She wanted to know. And he seemed like he wanted to tell her.
"What exactly happened?"
Unbeknownst to both of them, there was one more person watching them at the moment. Crystal Prep was heavily surveilled, almost every room had at least one security camera installed, including the Dean's office.
And sitting on a chair in the studio, with a borrowed laptop on her lap, Lemon Zest could see every second of it. She couldn't hear what Sombra and Coco were now talking about, but she was glad she understood the message and was going according to plan.
Lemon Zest was no fighter, everyone knew that. But she had a lot of talents to offer and hacking into the security system was just one of them, courtesy of her family connections. She knew the software used for this school like the back of her hand. She was one of the developer interns, mostly dedicated to testing the code she knew the source code inside and out and used that knowledge to design her own little virus. It was something she made in case she would ever need to quickly modify the footage if she wanted to skip school to go to some party, date or whatever else would come up. Sadly, that 'whatever' turned out to be a terrorist attack, but what could she do about it?
She named the program 'lemonade.exe' (working name) and with it was able to easily apply a looped footage to any camera. That coupled with some some quick editing jobs and after-effects that made Film Club buy her a lifetime supply of candy bars (In hindsight, I should've asked for something less caloric, like movie tickets) allowed her to send Sombra exactly what she wanted him to see, without raising any suspicion. It was only a temporary measure, she knew that. Any time now he was going to figure out something wasn't right, but those kind of revelations take time.
And I'll buy as much time as I possibly can! Coco and I, that is!
She looked aside to the leftover of the duffle bags. Her secret weapon was still lying there, obediently waiting for the right moment.
Sorry Coco, she sighed but it's easier to ask for forgiveness later than permission now.
"Woah!"
Sunset Shimmer, the magical girl from Crystal Prep, yelped as she fell on the hard roof of a small apartment building. She landed safely from a few feet above and stumbled, but ultimately held her balance despite her nearly depleted magic. She closed her eyes, and took a few breaths, confirming that she was still conscious enough to stand, walk and possibly more. Her batteries were almost gone, but almost didn't mean nothing. Not yet.
She looked around the empty roof. Five stories high, surrounded from two sides by two apartment buildings about the same size as the one she was on top of size, with deserted streets around. She leaned over the ledge and looked around, scouting a large, black dome, where her school once was. Even though she was almost a mile away, the crowds outside grew to the size that she could see them even from this far. She didn't pay any of it much mind, instead looking around for an address anywhere to confirm that she was at the right location. Below her, a few stories down, was Dean Cadence, held hostage to be used against her.
Hang in there, Dean Cadence, I'll be right there!
She took a few more breaths and looked at her bare hands, no longer covered by the gloves she usually had when fighting crime.
I can't use magic for this one.
Her gaze went slightly to the right, looking at the her new watch. A proof that she was no longer just a kid, no longer just a magical girl either. She was a Shadowbolt now. She didn't need to prove anything to anyone.
But she wanted to!
Her hands formed into fists and she smacked them into each other, Indigo Zap's style.
Guess I'm doing this one the old fashioned way!