Chapter 109: This is the Brotherhood
One week later
High Noon sighed as he sat himself down on one of the bureau’s staircases, too burdened to go all the way back to his room.
Gone. They were really all gone.
Coming back to the bureau, High Noon realized their numbers had really dwindled. Their friends, gone. It felt like a real nightmare, and there was no way to wake up from it.
He didn’t really know what else they could do. The Assassins had fought long and hard, but could they possibly win this war now? With the numbers they had?
He pulled his hood low over his head and sighed again, putting his face in his hands.
“Noon, you okay?”
The cowboy Assassin looked up to see Dewdrop and Velvet Breeze, standing before the staircase, looking up at him.
“Hey, Dewdrop. Hey, kid,” High Noon replied without any strength. “No, I’m not okay, Dew. None of us are. Not after Saddle Arabia.”
“Velvet,” Dewdrop placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go on ahead to my room first? Let me talk to him for a bit.”
“Alright,” the girl nodded and headed down the hallway.
“You know, she just started high school, that Velvet,” Dewdrop told the cowboy as she sat down beside him on the steps. “It’s already been so long since she came here. Since… Since Wolfgang took Satin from us. He’s going to pay dearly, Noon. I’ll be the one to stick a knife through his head.”
“I wish I could think like you, Dewdrop. To feel confident after Saddle Arabia. You never give up. Me? I’m a wimp. Why am I even an Assassin?”
Dewdrop seemed to cool down a little, giving High Noon’s arm a squeeze. “You’re not a wimp, Noon. You stand up for what’s right. That’s admirable, don’t you think?”
The cowboy looked away. “But what good does it do? In the end, we’ve lost everything. Look at how many of us are left, Dew. Doesn’t matter if we’re right. Most of our brothers and sisters are gone…”
“Look at me, Noon.” Dewdrop waited until his pink eyes were fixed on her purple ones. “You’ve always been there for me, even when I despise you for it. This time, just this once, let me be here for you.”
“Dew…”
To his surprise, Dewdrop leaned in and kissed him on the lips, holding it there for a good five seconds before parting.
“Noon…” she breathed in his face. “I’m sorry. That night… I wasn’t drunk. I just needed… I needed…”
“It’s okay, Dewdrop.” The cowboy placed a hand on her smooth pale face, the taste of her lips still on his mouth. “I know. I understand you.”
“And you’re okay with it?”
“I mean… sure… Of course I am.” A tinge of red spread across High Noon’s cheeks. “Y-you’re my friend.”
Dewdrop smiled and moved herself onto his lap. “There’s the Noon I know. Glad I could help.”
“Yeah, thanks Dew. I th-think I better get going now-”
High Noon wasn’t allowed up as Dewdrop leaned in for another kiss, pushing him back against the concrete steps.
He realized that he needed her and that she needed him. Not in the way most people did, but to cope with their losses and problems. High Noon did have feelings for her, that much he knew. He always did, even before Windy had been around.
“Mmm…” Dewdrop broke their lips’ contact and sighed contently. “Do you think… do you think we could ever work something out between us?”
“I… I…” High Noon wanted to say yes. He liked her, but he didn’t know if this was something that would last.
“I know, Noon.” Dewdrop leaned her head on the cowboy’s chest and hugged him tightly. “But perhaps… perhaps this thing between us. It doesn’t have to be so… disconnected. Perhaps… It could be…”
“Yeah, Dew. It could be more. You know, I-I’d very much like that. If it’s something we could achieve.”
“I will always love Satin, Noon. She was ever the only woman for me. But perhaps… you…” Dewdrop looked back up into his eyes. “Come here, cowboy.”
They continued to make out for a good amount of time, enjoying their brief contact and it wasn’t until Velvet Breeze had returned around the corner, wide eyed, did High Noon and Dewdrop stop.
“Oh, Velvet Breeze!” High Noon squirmed under Dewdrop, scratching at his burning cheeks. “Uh… It’s not… I…”
“Umm… I was j-just checking to see if you were still here, Dewdrop.” Velvet’s face went red as well.
“Oh, I’m sorry for taking so long, Velvet.” Dewdrop gently pushed off High Noon and straightened her coat. She turned around and gave the cowboy a pleasant smile before following Velvet back to her room, her fingers lingering on his hand for a moment. “Goodnight, Noon. Thank you.”
High Noon stood up and readjusted his clothes and gear. He placed a finger to his lips, still able to feel Dewdrop’s on his. He was glad he had her to encourage him and to make his moments brighter.
Dewdrop had been able to pound some sense into him. The world wasn’t over, not when he still had people he cared about and people to fight for. He still had Braeburn and his parents back in Appleloosa, Dewdrop, even Frigid Night, and until his last breath, he was never going to turn his back to them. Never again.
It was after midnight when Pierce Network crept down the stairs of the Trottingham Bureau, a pack slung over a shoulder. This was it. There was nothing left for him here. No protection, no assuredness, no point. The Assassins were done. The hacker knew it. After putting everything to calculation, leaving this night was the best option.
Even Red Card seemed down as Pierce sidled past him. He must be feeling like he should’ve been one to go, instead of all the younger Assassins. After all these years, he was still alive, while others had perished.
Two guards stood by the front entrance, one with his shoulders slumped low and the other with her eyes ever watchful. She noticed him immediately and turned with a surprised look on her face.
“You’re leaving?” Morning Blade asked, attracting Frigid Night’s attention as well.
Pierce didn’t bother hiding it. “Of course. It’s time to move on. There is nothing left for us here. The Assassins are finished. I should have seen this day coming, but I just never expected everyone to go up in smoke just like that. I could never imagine what happened back in Saddle Arabia.”
“Traitor!” Morning Blade stood up and unsheathed a hidden blade. “Just because we lost doesn’t give you a reason to pack up and run away!”
“Morning Blade, cool it,” Frigid told his apprentice, but otherwise, did nothing to get up.
“But sir!” Morning turned to face him. “You’ve taught me that an Assassin should never turn their back on their brothers and sisters! This… man is clearly doing so!”
The noise seemed to generate more attention as other Assassins arrived at the top of the staircase, including Mentor Steel Shine. Even young Velvet Breeze stood by Dewdrop near the corner, watching him with shock all over her face.
Great. I wanted a silent departure.
Pierce forgot to account by the book Assassins like Morning Blade to be around. He figured most of them would be too demoralized to stop him.
“Mentor, Pierce is leaving!” Morning Blade complained. “Surely you don’t agree with him!”
Pierce sighed and turned himself to look up the staircase. “Mentor. There is nothing left for us here. Why stay? The Templars might have taken a blow, but they never seem to lack manpower. In my day I killed plenty of Templars, even high profiled ones, but if you cut off one head, two more grow back. They have an unending number. Now with our own numbers decimated, what can we do, Mentor? What can we do?”
“I should kill you, traitor!” Morning Blade snarled and took three steps forward.
“Stop.” Both of them looked up at the Mentor, her left hand raised. “If he wishes to leave, then let him.”
“Mentor!” Morning Blade couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “B-but… Yes, Mentor.”
Frigid Night’s apprentice stowed her blade and returned to her post.
Pierce allowed himself to breathe again. He had never thought the Mentor would just let him go. He nodded to her and proceeded down the remaining steps, joining Morning and Frigid at the bottom. He was almost out when he remembered something.
“Oh, Mentor.” The hacker turned around and returned to the staircase. He dug a hand under his sleeve and unfastened the straps holding his hidden blade in place. He pulled out the weapon and held it out in front of him. “You’ll want this back.”
“Keep it, Pierce Network,” she said, closing her eyes. “May it continue to protect you in your new life.”
“Yes, Mentor. Thank you.” Pierce put it back on his arm and re-slung his pack.
He was about to leave again when he heard the scuffling of feet heading down the steps behind him. Velvet Breeze had pushed her way down with Dewdrop and High Noon following behind her.
“Don’t go, Pierce!” she begged, grabbing his coat. “I’ll miss you.”
He sighed, revealing his front row of teeth. “Velvet, I have to. There is no point staying. What is there left to do? The Templars have won. My Assassin days are over. You just need to accept it. We all once thought the Brotherhood was invincible. Untouchable. We were wrong. Every organization and person can fall. We are no different.”
“What about Mirror Match?” Dewdrop folded her arms and gave him a smug look. “Don’t you think she’ll come after you if you leave?”
Pierce had already thought of that, and he had an answer. “Even if I stay here, do you think you can protect me? We’ve lost a lot of our numbers. Mirror Match will know that. If she wants to kill me, what’s stopping her from walking into the bureau to do so? Actually, it’s better off if I leave. Then none of you will get hurt because of me. That’s a good plan.”
“Where are you going to go?” High Noon asked, putting a hand on Dewdrop’s shoulder to tell her to give up convincing him, but also to reassure her that things were going to be fine with or without Pierce.
“I don’t know yet,” Pierce admitted. He was still looking for a good place to lay low, at least for a few years. “But I spent years learning how to disappear. I can do it. Just give me time and a place, and I’ll learn everything I need to and vanish without a trace. I have my phone after all. These things have seen me through many years, saving me from death many times. I can do it again.”
“Take care, Pierce...” High Noon said solemnly and looked down. Dewdrop placed a hand on top of his, reassuring him as well. He nodded his thanks to her as she gave his fingers a firm squeeze.
Pierce looked down to Velvet one last time and nodded to her. “Take care, kid. It’s been a pleasure teaching you. I can’t remember the last time I trained someone, or the last time I had fun training someone. You’re a good kid, Velvet. Don’t change that. Don’t become like us, cold and distant. Be a light in this dark place.”
The high schooler walked up to him and gave him a hug. “Be safe, Pierce.”
“You too, kid.” He looked up to the others. “All of you, stay safe. If you ever need me, you know how to find me.”
Then the hacker turned around and headed out into the moonlit streets, towards his van. His life of being an Assassin was over. He wondered to himself, what was next?
“Please, please, please!” Velvet Breeze blocked the Mentor’s path, trying to get her point across.
“I cannot, Velvet Breeze.” Steel Shine turned her head away. “You are too young… And this is not a life for you. I only agreed to let you train so that you have skills to defend yourself, not so that you can become one of us.”
“But you need more people!” Velvet pointed out. “I want to help, Mentor. I can help. Just give me a chance.”
Dewdrop and the others didn’t say anything, but Steel Shine knew they were against this idea as well. Frigid Night stood away from the group, looking outside the bureau. He didn’t seem bothered by what Velvet wanted to do.
“Velvet Breeze, I cannot. This is the Brotherhood, not some school club. There are many dangers.”
“I can make a difference, Mentor. Just give me a chance!” Courage shone in Velvet’s eyes as she tried to convince the Mentor. “I’ll work to my best ability to make sure you win!”
Steel Shine couldn’t think of more words. She didn’t want to let the child join, but she saw no way to stop her. “You must adhere to our every rule, Velvet Breeze. Our Creed. Are you willing to do that?”
“Of course!” Velvet nodded furiously. “I’ll do my best!”
There was a long silence before the Mentor spoke again. “Then welcome to the Brotherhood, Velvet Breeze.”
Mentor Steel Shine sat alone in her office, still not used to it being so empty. She sighed and touched an old ring she had taken out of her desk drawer.
Star Lance had always been with her, every step of her life. Being children of the Mentor and lieutenant, the two of them had worked hard to be as good as their mothers had been and if it weren’t for the fact that they were so close, maybe the Assassins would’ve crumbled long ago.
Silver Spear, Star Lance’s mother, had served Shine’s mother faithfully until a fateful accident, where she lost her life, ensuring the Templars lost their hold over the presidential election. Shine’s mother, Steel Glance, was always the person she looked up to, trying to follow in her mother’s footsteps to lead the Assassin Brotherhood to victory over the Templars. She had passed years ago when she sacrificed herself to protect the Assassins, channeling too deeply into the artifact. Star Lance and herself did what was expected of them after her mother’s passing, working on their weak points together, growing stronger.
Star Lance was the fighter, while Steel Shine had been the thinker. Together, they put brain and brawn together and found ways to make things work, but now, Star Lance was gone.
Steel Shine continued to stare at the ring, a precious gift Star Lance had given her so many years ago. A gift to signify that they would be together always, until death.
Now, that had come to pass. Steel Shine was alone and she missed him dearly.
She wanted to break down. To just let it all out, but she knew as Assassin Mentor, she couldn’t. The others looked up to her, like how she looked up to her mother. Now wasn’t the time to show weakness, to show defeat. Now, more than ever, she had to show that she was strong and that the Brotherhood wasn’t dead.
As Mentor, Steel Shine had a duty to perform and no matter how sad and defeated she felt, she wasn’t going to give up until she breathed her last breath. The war was far from over and there was still more to be done.
Rest easy, Star Lance. You’ve earned your rest. I will take it from here and when it’s all over, I will see you again and we will be together for the rest of time.
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This isn't really a happy kind of ending is it? Everything's gone to hell and the Mentor has to resort to recruiting children. I guess we have to treat this like a part 1 to Leap of Faith's part 2 where everything works out well in the end.
HAIL HYDRA!
Teaching.
9051363
I guess. But it still says incomplete.
Requiast en pace. 10/10.
9052303
That and eventually getting killed by a kid of all things. I'm reminded of something Fakelestia told the real one.
9052538
Yeah.
Goodbye Pierce. I know he abandoned thrm, but I still respect him. He did so much for them.
Oh Velvet. You'll do great things but fuck will you have to go through a ton of shit.