A Long Way to Fall

by Cinders of War

Chapter 35: On the Right Track

"It's just... huh..." Twilight Sparkle sighed incredibly deeply. "You know, if things could've turned out differently here."

"I know, Princess Twilight, I know." Morning Blade thought longer about it.

What happened if Mirror Match hadn't betrayed them? Would the Assassins still be strong and thriving today? Would all her brothers and sisters have perished over in Saddle Arabia? There were many different outcomes to consider if Mirror Match had been on their side, but in the end, what was done was done. She had betrayed the Assassins and Frigid back then and there was no changing that.

Perhaps Frigid Night might've even been the Assassin she admired so much. Perhaps he would've actually taught her how to be an actually skilled Assassin.

Morning Blade smiled at the thought.

"Yes, if things turned out differently, huh, princess? But okay, I guess it's time we get back to the story. There's much more to cover besides just my old teacher."

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Satin Breeze and Dewdrop sat on a bench along a small Manehattan street, busily looking out for any signs of Templar activity. A man and woman on Satin's right side paid them no attention, both talking about their plans for the evening. Dewdrop wanted to smack her face with her palm after hearing about going bowling for the fifth time in three minutes.

"I'm going to kill them, Satin..." Dewdrop said through gritted teeth.

"Patience, Dew." Satin eyed the road, trying to avoid listening to the other two people. "We just need to be here until we find out where the Templars are. It should be in this immediate vicinity, according to Pierce."

Dewdrop squinted her eyes and made it perfectly clear that she was bored and irritated, both originating from having to wait and having to listen to the couple next to them.

Pierce had sent them out on a recon mission to a possible place where the Templars might be keeping their world-changing machine. According to him, it was in the downtown area of Manehattan, but it's exact location, he couldn't determine.

“There…” Satin interrupted Dewdrop’s thoughts of the boring man. Dewdrop followed Satin’s finger to a van pulling out from a garage door and heading out. With a quick swap to eagle vision, both Assassins watched the glowing red truck drive away down the street, likely towards the Board building.

"Let's check that building out," Satin motioned, getting off the bench.

Dewdrop couldn't agree more, finally leaving the couple to talk about bowling all they want.

The building seemed to be an office of some kind, with a garage door leading down into an underground carpark. The two Assassins pulled their hoods low over their eyes and headed in, making sure the coast was clear.

"Looks deserted," Satin said after panning her head across the carpark. "Everyone must be in the office."

"Is that a good thing?"

The walk through the carpark would be a breeze if it was empty, but that meant that they would have a harder time when they got to the office block. The two Assassins soon found a door on the left, next to a vending machine, and conveniently, a map of the building.

"Perfect!" Dewdrop smiled when she saw the schematics. "So where do we start?"

"Labs..." Satin read as she pointed at a block on the map. "You think so?"

"Perhaps..." Dewdrop mused. It made sense for the Templars to keep their machine in their lab, but there was also a chance it was somewhere else in the building. "If anything that's where we'll be checking first."

Satin nodded and pushed open the door to the stairwell. The labs were on the third floor, above the lobby and canteen of the building. Satin and Dewdrop soon found themselves crouching behind the third floor's door. Looking through the glass window, Dewdrop watched as a woman filled a cup of water at a nearby water dispenser. When it was done, so put the cup to her mouth and drained its contents before filling it again.

They waited, but she didn't seem to be moving away anytime soon. Above them, the sudden slam of a door and footsteps drew their attention to the stairs. Someone was on their way down.

"Well... this is great. Just great..." Dewdrop impatiently willed the woman outside to get lost.

The footsteps grew louder as the person got closer. Dewdrop looked to her teacher for advice. Satin simply motioned to the door and nodded. Dewdrop understood and got the door open as quietly as she could. Both girls silently slipped out through the door while the woman poured yet another cup of water, apparently very thirsty.

They swooped down pass a few office cubicles before arriving outside a large glass door, the word 'LABS' printed on a thin sheet of metal above the entrance. A card reader was placed on the right of the door.

"Great," Satin sighed. "We can't pick this lock. We'll need the key."

"Or..." Dewdrop quickly pulled Satin into the nearest cubicle, which, thankfully, was empty at the moment.

They crouched down around the corner as a man in a lab coat and red shirt emerged from the stairwell, heading straight in their direction. Dewdrop watched as he passed their cubicle and pulled out a keycard with a small logo on it. It was the shape of the Templar cross, but modified to look more technological, each tip separated into four segments, criss-crossing in the center. Probably a cover, but also to remind these people who they worked for.

As the glass door slid open, Dewdrop and Satin emerged from their hiding spot and followed the man in from a safe distance, squeezing through just as the door returned to its original position.

The scientist paid them little to no attention, instead walking over to a table with a stack of papers. Satin hung back behind one of the tables to spy on him while Dewdrop had quietly made her way to a different section of the lab. She watched as different scientists sat at their tables, doing all kinds of computer work. One of them had a hand-held laser, scorching it into a piece of metal, sending sparks flying out at his face. They would've blinded him if he wasn't wearing a welding mask.

Dewdrop looked out for anything that would vaguely resemble a machine, crouching carefully around, crushing herself into corners and under tables when people walked by. In the end, she found nothing and slowly made her way back to Satin.

"Find anything?" Satin whispered over, still watching the man.

"No," Dewdrop shook her head. "I don't think it's here."

"Shoot." Satin turned to the door as another man with brown hair entered. "Well, should we check the rest of the building?"

Dewdrop was about to answer when the scientist from before acknowledged the one that just entered, forcing Satin and Dewdrop lower behind their table.

"Sir," the first man greeted. "Everything is in order."

"Good," the brown haired man nodded. "I've seen to adjusting the parameters for the voltage. With luck, the Eye'll finally do what it was made to do."

"I hope so, sir."

Dewdrop looked at Satin and understanding flashed between them. These men knew where the machine was.

"Should we take them?" Dewdrop eyed the brown haired scientist. He seemed to be the one in charge. Satin raised a hand, silently asking Dewdrop to wait.

“Has the van relocated our project?” the one in a red shirt asked.

“Of course, Test Tube. We can’t have the Assassins finding it now after we’re so close. Mirror Match taught us how an Assassin thinks. We’ve made sure to send it somewhere they’ll never look.”

Satin looked down at the mention of her former master, bringing a flare of anger to Dewdrop’s eyes. She didn’t like how that backstabber made everyone unhappy, especially Satin. If she ever saw Mirror Match again, she was going to give her a dagger to the back, just like how she left them just like that.

“We should leave,” Satin finally said after watching the two men.

“What?” Dewdrop thought she had heard her master wrong. “We’re not capturing even one of them?”

“That’ll draw attention to us, and that’s not what we want right now. We know the machine isn’t here. That’s our mission.”

Dewdrop could see the logic in Satin’s words, but she had really hoped to grab one of the Templars and get out, maybe ending it with a high-speed chase, but then again, that wasn’t a very good idea. She nodded her agreement to Satin as both of them headed back to the glass door. Thankfully, there was a button from the inside that let them get out, but as soon as they touch it, all eyes would focus on the door, meaning they would probably be seen trying to get out.

“How’re we going to do this?” Dewdrop whispered as she scanned the surroundings to make sure she knew where all the scientists were.

“No choice…” Satin looked at the scientists, then to the door. “We’re going to have to go fast. Ready, Dew?”

“Always.”

Satin led the way forward, pressing a finger on the button, open the doors from the inside. As soon as there was enough space, both Assassins squeezed through the door and headed for the stairwell as some of the scientists inside turned to see who had entered the labs.

“What was that?” Dewdrop heard one of the men say as Satin held the door to the stairs open for her.

She headed down the stairs two steps at a time, turning around occasionally to check that Satin was following her. Dewdrop had lived on the streets since a young age, learning to fight and kill just to survive. Her senses had been honed, better than that of an average joe, able to see and hear things in better detail. Listening as the door below began opening, Dewdrop put up a hand to stop her master, signaling for them to get out through the first floor door.

They ran out into the vast lobby of the building. White panels outlined the floors, the sun rays shining through the glass walls, igniting the area into a white, dazzling room. Dewdrop led the way forward, both girls acting as normal as they could to not draw any attention to themselves, though a few people looked at them. Everyone around them wore either suits or a uniform, nothing like the robes and boots the Assassins had.

“Do you two have passes?” a guard with a white cap stopped them. He must have been new, because he didn't seem to notice their hoods.

Dewdrop and Satin looked at each other before pushing past the man and blasting off at full sprint.

“Hey!” he shouted after them as he brought a walkie-talkie to his mouth.

“Keep going!” Satin yelled as they leapt over the turnstiles at the front door, heading out into the open streets.

Both of them pushed past a group of Eastern tourists, a few of them stopping to take pictures of the escaping Assassins. They ran along the pavements, pushing past more people or hopping out of their way, moving as fast as they could to an isolated position.

"We lose them?" Satin asked as she turned around to look out at the opening of an alley, panting from the long run.

"I think so." Dewdrop, still having more strength in her, walked to the entrance to peer outside, using her eagle vision to make sure they weren't followed. "We're in the clear."

“Alright,” Satin sighed with relief as she leaned her back against the nearby brick wall. “Shall we start heading back? We’ve got some important information… I think.”

Satin looked hopefully to the sky as she and Dewdrop began scaling the building. If their information was worth it, they were one step closer to finding that machine. All the Templars’ hopes were put on that machine. Satin knew it, and the Assassins were going to make sure it never becomes operational.

Comments

[Jaxxon Markus Citadel]

It all leads up to that machine, doesn't it. The Assassins are going to have to try really hard if they're going to steal or sabotage it, it's bound to have heaps of security.

[Marcthelightspark2004]

Both of them pushed past a group of Eastern tourists, a few of them stopping to take pictures of the escaping Assassins. They ran along the pavements, pushing past more people or hopping out of their way, moving as fast as they could to an isolated position.

Those tourists’ll be a problem.

[Marcthelightspark2004]

Another bloody brilliant master piece, Cinders.

[MoonlightRift]

🤔