//------------------------------// // 619 - Take a Breather // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// Dark Streak was growing irritated. No, scratch that. She’d passed the point of being irritated when that shapeshifting pony had toyed with her. Now, barely having managed to land on all fours after her painful collision with the giant vat behind her, Dark Streak was pissed. Although she’d tried to plan for as many contingencies as she could, this job was nevertheless turning out to be far more trouble than expected. Bad enough how, even with his powers impaired, Lex Legis had proven to be damnably difficult to kill. But the intervention of an unknown shapechanging pony had been a complete and total surprise, as was the unexpected presence of a seemingly random mare Dark Streak had met back in Canterlot. The barrage of unpleasant surprises made a mockery of the work she’d put into preparing. Now, her quarry was nowhere in sight, while the maid whom she’d kidnapped had been retaken by the unknown duo. Worse, the pair had the Sirens covering them. While Dark Streak wasn’t particularly concerned about facing the enchantresses in battle – the meditation tea she’d downed right as Aria and Sonata had put in their appearance had, in conjunction with the abjuration magic woven into her cloak and her own steely sense of resolve, made it relatively easy to resist whatever mind-control magic the latter Siren had tried to use on her – she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of anxiety. With five ponies standing in plain sight in front of her, it highlighted the absence of the one she’d come here to kill. Where was Lex Legis? I’m losing control of the situation. The thought made Dark Streak swallow both her anger and her concern, shoving them down as she tried to clear her head. I need to figure out what’s going on. Neither Sonata nor Aria seemed eager to continue the battle, instead conversing with the other two mares in low tones, giving Dark Streak a chance to surreptitiously survey the area. Lex wouldn’t have fled; of that she felt certain. While there was a chance that he’d succumbed to his injuries and was unable to fight, Dark Streak couldn’t bring herself to put much stock in that possibility; the last time she’d underestimated Lex’s tenacity, he’d almost caught her in a cage of black crystals. Far better to assume that he was planning something, letting these other ponies act as a distraction while he readied whatever trap he was likely preparing. Which means, decided Dark Streak as she began to stride forward, that if I can take his mares down before he’s ready, I should be able to force him into the open. The glasses-wearing unicorn barked a warning, prompting the Sirens to tell her and her pegasus companion to take the maid and go, that they’d stay behind and cover them. Dark Streak couldn’t have cared less; while she still wanted to interrogate that unicorn about how she’d followed her all the way from Canterlot, that was a minor concern at the moment. So long as she had someone to hold hostage, Lex Legis would have to show his face at some point. All the more so if it was one of his playthings. As the two ponies carrying Feather Duster broke away from the Sirens, sharing one final plea for Sonata and Aria to make it back, Dark Streak charged. Both Sirens gave ground, singing as they did. Like before, they moved away from each other, trying to divide her focus. The predictability of it made Dark Streak snicker. This again? With Aria hiding underneath that annoying blur effect, the assassin moved after Sonata, daggers at the ready. A quick beat of her wings was all it took for Dark Streak to circle behind the songstress, putting Sonata between herself and her sister. That should give me enough cover to avoid whatever she tries to hit me with, decided the griffon as she lashed out with her blades, aiming for the Siren’s face in an attempt to disrupt her spellcasting. To her mild surprise, Sonata stood her ground, managing to raise her forelegs in time to protect her face. Although she took a pair of deep cuts for her trouble, the Siren somehow managed to keep her voice steady, finishing her chant. No sooner had she completed her spell when she threw her head back and let out an ear-piercing scream. Wincing at the high decibel level, Dark Streak found herself regretting not having put in the ear plugs she’d brought with her, feinting to the side in case the magical attack used sonic force the way Sonata’s last spell had. But unlike before, there was no sense of pressure or impact; just a loud shriek that made her feel like her ears were bleeding. She’s not trying to hit me with anything so concentrated this time, realized Dark Streak as the head-splitting shriek came to an end. It’s pure volume, which means there’s nothing to dodge! The good news was that the attack hadn’t deafened her, since she could still hear Aria singing her own spell. The bad news was that even as she realized that, the other Siren finished casting. Immediately, five points of light flew from her blurry image toward the assassin. Swirling around each other, they split apart as they swerved around Sonata, twisting as they converged toward Dark Streak. The assassin ducked to her left, only for the glowing projectiles to follow her unerringly, and she had just enough time to realize that they couldn’t be dodged before they struck home, slamming into her chest one after another. Individually, none of the hits were very painful. The sensation was akin to being struck with a small rock fired from a slingshot. But together they made her hiss in pain, stumbling backward from the series of impacts. “Woo hoo!” cheered Sonata. “Got her!” “Celebrate after we’ve won!” snarled Aria. “Keep casting!” Both Sirens’ voices immediately began singing again, but this time Dark Streak was done playing around. Sucking in a deep breath of air, she dropped the dagger in her right talon, reaching for another of the metal vials lining her bandoliers. Flicking the cap open, she tossed it into the center of the clearing where they’d been fighting. She didn’t have to wait very long. Both Sirens moved away from the metal container, as though worried it would explode as it hit the ground. But the vial simply clattered to the ground, empty, and Dark Streak saw Sonata glance at Aria uncertainly as the two of them kept singing, clearly not sure what to expect. The answer came when both sisters’ voices suddenly faltered, their singing trailing off into ragged gasps. Dark Streak grinned inwardly as she watched both of them waver, Sonata’s hoof going to her throat as her eyes widened in alarm. Although it was tough to tell what Aria was doing behind her blurring effect, it wasn’t hard to imagine that she was reacting much the same. The sight was immensely gratifying Sixty seconds, Dark Streak laughed to herself as she picked up her discarded dagger, making sure to hold her breath as Sonata and Aria began to flail, panicking. For the next sixty seconds, you’re not going to be able to get any air in your lungs. After that, the dead air that had been compacted into that vial would dissipate, and they’d be able to breathe normally – and cast their spells – again. But Dark Streak had every intention of making sure that they’d be in no condition to do so. Seeing her approach, Sonata stumbled backward, but Dark Streak easily outpaced her. Darting forward, she reversed her grip on her dagger, bringing the pommel down sharply against the side of Sonata’s head. The mare’s mouth opened in a silent cry of pain, and she raised a hoof reflexively. That was all the opening Dark Streak needed, lashing out with a kick that caught the mare right in the stomach, almost doubling her over as she sank to her knees, eyes bulging as she tried to suck in air that wouldn’t come. Off to the side, Aria’s blurry form sprang forward suddenly, causing Dark Streak to tense. But instead of coming at her, Aria instead descended on the metal vial that she’d thrown, the heavy sound of stomping ringing out as she brought her hoof down on it. The sight almost made Dark Streak laugh. Like that’ll do you any good now. Since Aria’s spell made it difficult to target her with any precision, Dark Streak went for the next best thing. As Aria continued stomping on the empty vial in useless desperation, Dark Streak casually swept a leg out, disabling Aria’s balance enough that she toppled over. Aiming at the center of her indistinct form, Dark Streak stamped her back leg down, mimicking the motion that Aria had been doing a moment earlier, and was gratified to feel her paw coming down on something soft and yielding, a strangled gurgle coming from Aria as shuddered and curled in on herself. Too bad your pegasus friend abandoned you, smirked Dark Streak triumphantly. If she’d used her wings, she might have been able to make enough of a breeze to dissipate this stuff. As it is, even if you knew any wind spells, you can’t cast them when you’re in this state. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sonata starting to start to drag herself along the ground, and she immediately turned. The dead air would spread out about twenty feet in every direction from where she’d opened the vial, so if either of them got further away than that… But Sonata wasn’t crawling away from her. Instead, she was moving toward her. The sight was unexpected enough that Dark Streak raised a brow, watching as the breathless Siren – one bloody hoof clenched around her middle – pulled herself forward…and placed herself in front of Aria protectively, turning a defiant gaze toward the griffon. Dark Streak had to fight to keep from laughing out loud at the useless gesture. Punching outward, the knuckles of her talon connected solidly with Sonata’s nose, sending the Siren sprawling. Are you seeing this, Lex Legis? mused Dark Streak as she turned to scan the area again, idly throwing another kick at the pair, feeling it strike one or the other of them; it didn’t really matter which. Your harlots are in trouble. Are you just going to let them suffer while you keep hiding? Keeping her eyes on her surroundings, Dark Streak threw another kick at the downed pair. Then another. Then a third. They were barely fighting back now, and were probably only half-conscious by this point. Fortunately for her, she felt fine, the deep breath she’d taken being more than enough to keep her going as she kicked her leg out again- Only for it to be caught by Aria. Having been reared up on her hind legs, with her attention directed outward in anticipation of an incoming attack, Dark Streak couldn’t reorient her balance as Aria yanked hard on her trapped leg, causing the assassin to fall. Immediately, Sonata threw herself on top of her, her fat flank coming down hard on Dark Streak’s middle. The sudden weight dropping onto her stomach was enough to make the griffon jackknife in place, the air she’d made sure to keep in her lungs suddenly rushing outward as her upper body jerked forward- Which was when Sonata kissed her. For a moment Dark Streak couldn’t figure out what was happening. But as the Siren pressed her lips against the end of her beak – her hooves coming up to cover the sides of it in the same motion – she heard Sonata inhale heavily, and suddenly realized what was going on. Despite being trapped in an area where no respiration was possible, the two mares had managed to find a single source of breathable air. Her lungs. Yanking her head away from Sonata, Dark Streak brought her daggers around in quick swipes. But her positioning was awkward, unable to put any power behind the strikes, and she did little more than leave shallow cuts across Sonata’s chest as the pony rolled off of her, flopping onto her side awkwardly. Dark Streak immediately moved to pursue, only to find that Aria – who should have been on the verge of passing out by now – was still hanging on to her back leg, preventing her from moving. Snarling, her empty lungs already starting to burn, Dark Streak prepared to stab down at the blurry Siren. But the sound of singing made her stop. Her eyes widening as she turned back toward Sonata, Dark Streak realized too late that the pony hadn’t stolen her last breath of air merely to relieve her suffocation. She was using it to cast a spell! Even as the words left her lips in a rasping wheeze, Dark Streak could see the Siren hurrying to finish it before she ran out of breath. Shifting her grip on her dagger in order to throw it, the griffon wasn’t able to complete the motion before Sonata croaked out the last syllable. An instant later, Dark Streak found herself frozen in place, unable to move. Feeling her spell work, Sonata’s first instinct was to sigh in relief. When that didn’t work, she somehow managed to get her hooves under her, stumbling toward where Aria was. It was hard to get a grip on her while she was still all blur-ified, but somehow she managed to wrap her hooves around her, dragging her away from the frozen griffon. She had no idea how long her spell would hold, or if they’d be able to breathe if they got far enough away from her, but she had to try- Suddenly, as they moved between the two vats that marked the edge of the clearing, Sonata felt fresh air flow into her lungs again, collapsing as she drew in a deep breath. Next to her, she heard Aria do the same, her sister gasping raggedly as she could finally breathe again. “A-Aria,” she coughed. “You okay?” It took her sister two tries to answer her. “Y-yeah,” she groaned, before grunting a lyrical note. Instantly, the blurring around her faded, letting Sonata see the bruises that were already forming from where Dark Streak had kicked her. “You?” “Totes,” muttered Sonata, lying back and staring upward blankly. Everything hurt, from where the assassin’s dagger had cut her foreleg to where she’d been kicked to the burning ache in her chest, though thankfully the latter feeling was already beginning to fade. “I’m just glad you figured out what I was trying to tell you.” “It wasn’t that hard, since you were looking right at me and mouthing ‘grab her’ while she was kicking us,” grunted Aria. “But I didn’t think you were going to kiss her.” Sonata managed a shrug. “I thought I could do like in the movies, where someone will be drowning, and the hero kisses them and breathes into their mouth. Just, you know, in reverse.” Turning her head to look at Aria, she managed a grin. “What do you think? Was that a plan Lex would be proud of or what?” Aria made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a snort. “You’re an idiot.” But the words came as she reached a hoof out and curled it around Sonata’s, gripping it tightly for a moment before letting go, grimacing as Lex’s curse kicked in. Sonata giggled, taking the affectionate gesture for what it was before her expression turned serious and she sat up with a groan, looking at the paralyzed griffon. “We’ve still gotta, like, put her down for the count.” “What’re you talking about?” huffed Aria as she picked herself up. “She’s paralyzed, right? You got her. Now let her choke to death the way we almost did.” But Sonata shook her head. “I don’t know if my spell will hold. I mean, I figured I could use my stand-still enchantment because she was all, like, surprised and distracted and stuff, but she could shake it off at any moment. Like with how that freaky fish guy you were with almost did, remember?” Aria frowned, recalling how Sonata had paralyzed Monitor back when they’d fought back in Vanhoover. The creature had started to overcome the paralysis quickly, almost breaking free before Sonata had finished the creature off. If that happened now… A hateful grin worked its way across Aria’s face then. “I’ve got this.” Taking another deep breath of sweet, delicious air, she began to sing a spell, hoping that the assassin was still conscious. She wanted her to feel every second of what was about to happen… Then she finished her spell, and a blazing ring of fire sprang up around the frozen griffon, rising twenty feet into the air and obscuring her from view. Sonata yelped, stumbling backwards and almost falling over, but Aria didn’t move. “Relax,” she drawled. “The fire made by this spell only radiates heat in one direction, and in this case it’s all concentrated inside the circle.” Smirking at the thought of the assassin not being able to move as she was burned, Aria gave her pigtails a toss. “Normally I have to concentrate to keep that going, but it’ll last for a minute or so without me doing anything. And I’m betting that’ll be more than enough time to fry her to the bone.” “Normally, I’d say that was super harsh, but she totes deserved it,” sighed Sonata. “She was, like, the worst, so I’m fine if that griffon’s goose gets cooked.” Aria rolled her eyes at the terrible joke. “I think you’re the worst, Sonata.” Smiling at the insult-turned-in-joke, Sonata stuck her tongue out at her sister. “Well I think you’re worser than wo-” She didn’t have a chance to finish as her eyes suddenly widened, her head snapping around to look at the pillar of fire. “It’s worn off!” she blurted. Aria’s brow furrowed. “Wh-” Then Dark Streak came leaping through the flames. Blazing, with smoke rising from her body, the griffon didn’t stop moving even as she reached the edge of the dead air zone, ramming into Sonata full-tilt. Dark Streak didn’t break her momentum as she took a breath of much-needed air, barreling forward into Sonata, carrying her back and slamming her into the side of the vat. The Siren’s head hit the metal container with a heavy crack, and she slumped down with a groan, stunned. Off to her side, Aria stepped back, her eyes wide with horror at her reappearance. For a moment she couldn’t seem to speak, her mouth hanging open, before she managed to start belting out a quick tune. Holding out a hoof, a burst of kaleidoscopic light shot out from the end of it, flashing with a cascade of colors so brilliant it was almost blinding. Dark Streak barely noticed it, gripping her daggers so tightly it was almost painful as she threw herself at the pigtailed mare. Aria tried to sing another spell, but found herself unable to do so as Dark Streak’s dagger was suddenly pressed between her teeth, the edge of the blade pressed painfully against her tongue. “We’ll see how well you can sing after I’ve cut your voice out!” she hissed, fully aware of just who was responsible for trying to burn her to death. Apparently, her threat was even more intimidating than she realized, because the blood immediately drained from Aria’s face. Shaking all over, she backed away, pulling her head free of the blade and shaking it wildly. “No!” she shrieked, a look of fear spreading across her features. “NO! NOT AGAIN!” Not knowing what the Siren was talking about, Dark Streak couldn’t bring herself to care, raising her dagger high, intent on making good on her threat. Only to stop as she caught sight of something glittering out of the corner of her vision, back at the edge of the clearing. Standing there, his floating gemstones glittering in the light of the ring of fire Aria had raised, Lex Legis stared straight at her. Dark Streak froze, her entire body going tense as she waited for him to make his move. And then he did. Slowly, with visible effort, he reared up on his back legs, spreading his forelegs out wide in a clear, unmistakable gesture: Come and get me. For a second Dark Streak hesitated. This had to be a trap of some sort. An illusion or another imposter or something else. But unlike the last Lex she'd seen, this one was covered in wounds, including one eye being rent. Nor were his eyes or horn glowing. He was just standing there, daring her to attack him. Despite knowing that he was provoking her, Dark Streak suddenly couldn't bring herself to care. She'd been through too much aggravation, expended too much effort, and experienced too much pain. It was time to bring this job to a close. Whatever he had planned for her didn't matter. She'd go right through it, and then through him. Bringing her daggers up, she ignored the frightened cries of the Sirens as she flapped her wings, flying towards Lex, intent on burying the blades in his skull. It was only when she got to within five feet of him that his horn lit up, and she saw him lift something in his telekinetic aura, tossing it at her. Snarling, she batted it away...only to belatedly realize that it was the storage bag he'd cut off of her belt the last time they'd fought. Then, before she had a chance to react, he opened his mouth and blew the poison powder she'd been keeping in there right in her face.