A Long Way to Fall

by Cinders of War

Chapter 83: Back to the Safehouse

Timber, Test Tube, and Quantum sat around a round wooden table, waiting for the Assassin that sent them to this small safehouse to arrive. There were two more Assassins in the room, one standing in front of them while another one, wearing glasses, stood over to their left by the door. They hadn’t looked too pleased that Templars had arrived at one of their secret safehouses.

“Will she be here?” Test Tube mumbled as he twiddled his fingers. “Seems like a trap to me… What if she only sent us here to kill us?”

“Everything will be fine, Test Tube,” Timber assured. “We have information they want. Besides, they want to get rid of Sombra as much as we do.”

“Well, you better hope you do,” the male Assassin in front of them grunted. “You’ve seen one of our secret hideouts, and obviously, we can’t let you leave alive if you don’t help us.”

The three of them had already been sitting about for at least two hours already, still waiting for the Assassin that met them at the cafe to arrive. Timber hoped that Mirror Match didn’t get her. The Assassin had said she would deal with Mirror Match if she followed them, and that might’ve been the case.

“You’ve got to send someone to look for her!” Timber quickly stood up but was pushed back down by the Assassin. “Mirror Match might have gotten her! Someone’s gotta go check!”

“Quiet,” the woman at the back said almost like a whisper. “You’re too loud. But you’re right. I’ll call her to make sure she’s safe.”

The bespectacled Assassin whipped out a phone and put it to her ear after pushing a few buttons.

Timber and the other scientists waited anxiously as the silence dragged on. Whatever it was, the other Assassin was not picking up the call.

“Come on, Spectral…” the Assassin muttered as she made a few more attempts to get through.

After a few more minutes, her eyes suddenly went wide as someone on the other end picked up.

“Spectral? It’s Silent,” she began and turned around to face the door. “Where are you? Yeah, they’re here. What? Are you alright? Oh. Well… Alright. See you soon. Take care.”

The Assassin pocketed the phone and looked at the Templars. “She’s fine. She just ran into a little complication. She went back to the bureau to change her clothes before making her way here.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Timber nodded as sincerely as he could. He didn’t want to seem like he wanted her to die.

“She should be here shortly,” the one called Silent replied.

“That’s good.”

The mood thickened noticeably. “So why are you here, exactly?” the Assassin leaned against the back of a chair. “Why are you betraying your brother?”

“I’m not betraying my brother. Not at all,” Timber continued, much to the confusion of both Assassins. “The new Grand Master has corrupted him. Mahogany has been waiting all his life for someone like him. Sombra’s goals are not the same as ours, but all my brother wants is to follow someone who can use the artifact to do what he never could. He can’t see that Sombra is bringing them down a path that doesn’t lead to peace.”

“To be honest, I don’t think you’d be on the road to peace even if this Sombra wasn’t around,” the Assassin in the shadows muttered.

“But we were!” Test Tube protested, leaning forward. “With the artifact, we would unite the world! No more wars, no more fighting, no more disagreements! A perfect world for everyone.”

The man in the shadows rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever. You still haven’t told us what you want.”

“We want you to stop Sombra,” Timber finished for his associate. “I want to free my brother from that… monster. He didn’t give us a choice to serve him. I don’t know if my brother is willingly following him or not, but the madman has to be stopped. That’s why I’ve come to you for help. You’re the only people I know who are capable of standing against him.”

The two Assassins exchanged dubious glances before retreating into a corner and whispering rapidly.

Timber sat on the chair and watched them uneasily. Did they believe him? Did they think it was all a trap? He didn’t know, nor could he hear them, so he played it cool. He was a scientist after all. Scientists did research before deciding if something was real or not.

“What do we do now?” Test Tube asked the other Templars. “Where do we go from here?”

“Already did the math. There’s three of us, and only two of them, meaning we outnumber them if it comes to a fight,” Quantum muttered under his breath. “But taking into account that each of us can’t even crush a soda can without straining ourselves, I think we’d best stay sitting down.”

“They’ll see our reason,” Timber looked to the bright side. “After all, we have information that can help them. It’ll be fine.”

It was at that moment that there was a pounding on the door. Both Assassins’ weapons immediately jumped into their hands and flattening themselves on either side of the door frame.

“Get down!” the female Assassin hissed to Timber and his men.

The Templars did as she said, crouching down beside the table. Timber’s heart beat harder in his chest as he began playing the possibilities in his head. It could’ve been anyone outside.

“Who is it?” the male Assassin said in as casual of a tone as he could muster.

“It’s me.”

Timber perked up a bit. He recognized that voice. The Assassins seemed to as well, because they slid the bolts from the door and ushered in the female Assassin from earlier. She did not look good. The woman’s eyes seemed hollower, there was white dust crusted around her nose and upper lip, and there was what appeared to be a oval shaped bruise on her neck, like a love bite.

“Spectral!” The female Assassin immediately ran to support her as the male closed the door. “What happened to you? What’s that all over your face? Are you alright?”

“Have… have you been taking drugs?” The male Assassin stepped closer and squinted at the white grains on Spectral’s face.

“It’s just creamer…” she replied with little energy. “And I’ll be fine. Just let me sit down for a bit…”

Silent led her friend over to a couch by the corner and placed her there. The one who first met them, Spectral, leaned back and closed her eyes while the other two Assassins stood close by her.

“So?” Silent prompted after a good five minutes. “What happened?”

Spectral breathed in and crossed her arm with a sigh that didn’t sound all that upset.

“I ran into Mirror Match.”

“She didn’t hurt you did she?” Timber heard concern in Silent’s voice. They must know each other well.

“No…” Spectral twirled a lock of her hair around a finger. “No, she didn’t hurt me.”

Timber and the other two visibly relaxed once they saw it wasn’t Mirror Match who walked through the door. The man stood up and clapped the Assassin on the shoulder.

“And you said you couldn’t take her,” he said with a nod. “So she’s dead?”

“Er, no,” Spectral said quickly, suddenly very interested in her boots. “Mirror got away.”

“That’s a shame…” The male Assassin spun around and sighed. “So she’s still out there, waiting… Did you at least wound her?”

“You, hmm, could say that. She left her mark on me.” Spectral pointed out the bruise on her neck. “Bit me then ran.”

“Looks like a hickey,” Silent commented.

“It does not!” Spectral’s face blushed a deep crimson. “Anyway,” she switched subjects before anyone else could object. “What’s the verdict for these three?”

Silent pushed her glasses closer to her face and looked at the Templar scientists. “I would say they’re telling the truth. “They’re not red.”

“Yeah,” the male one nodded. “They want to get rid of their new Grand Master as much as we do.”

“That’s right,” Timber joined in the conversation. “Sombra is stronger and scarier than even Mirror Match. If he gets what he wants, I don’t know how long we’re all going to survive. We need you to stop him.”

Spectral put a hand to her head and groaned. The other Assassins looked at her but she waved away their concern.

“I think we could use their help. They’re scientists, and they’ve worked in the Templars’ inner circle. As the Mentor says, intelligence is everything in our line of work.”

“Yeah, that and a sharp blade,” the male added. “So what is he planning?”

Timber took a deep breath to steady himself. “Sombra plans on finding more artifacts in Saddle Arabia to destroy his opposition, mainly, you. From what I can gather, he doesn’t plan to bring peace. Only war, but… there’s something more to it. I’ve seen the way he speaks and the way he keeps staring off into a certain direction. There’s more to his plan than he’s letting on. I’m sure of it. I just don’t know what, exactly.”

“Well, if anything, he must be sure of his plans,” Spectral spoke up. “The Templars have never dared to take such a big step in Saddle Arabia until now. Either that, or he’s just not using his brains.”

“The Assassins there say he can use the shadows against them,” Silent told the others. “Saddle Arabian Assassins are known for their skill in shadow walking. Your new Grand Master easily took that away from them. I doubt that’s an artifact power.”

“Well, someone more powerful than Mirror Match is powerful indeed…” the male Assassin mused.

“So what are you saying?” Spectral asked her friend. “That this Sombra is… not human? Is that even possible?”

“Well, I doubt Mirror Match is a human too,” Silent folded her arms. “Don’t you think so? After everything you’ve seen?”

“Uhh… Well… I…” The blue-skinned Assassin’s face maintained a solid shade of red as she tried to find the right words to use. “I, you know… If you say so, Silent.”

“Are you alright, Spectral?” her friend asked. “Your face is all red.”

“I said I’m f-fine!” Spectral bend down and buried her face in her lap.

It didn’t take learning psychology for Timber to know she was hiding something. Something had happened earlier; something she was afraid of sharing.

Silent seemed to be adamant in getting her to talk. “No, Spectral. You’re not. What’s wrong? What happened.”

“I-I don’t want to… Silent…” Spectral shook her head. “It’s not important.”

“Spectral,” Silent said more sternly. She walked over and put a hand on the other Assassin’s shoulder. “You’re my best friend. You can tell me anything.”

The teal haired Assassin looked up at the others, her face still flushed. “N-not in front of t-them…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Timber quickly interrupted. This secret she was holding was definitely more delicate than he had first thought. “You don’t have to tell us here. You two can talk later, alone.”

“Very well,” Silent nodded. “You can tell me later back at the bureau, Spectral.”

Spectral nodded her thanks for the Templar scientist and leaned back again. “I believe they’re telling the truth, guys. They want this Sombra gone as much as we do.”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend, huh?” the male Assassin crossed his arms and tapped a foot. “Well, I think they’re alright. Silent Frame?”

“They deserve a chance,” the bespectacled woman said. “Besides, we could use some information.”

“We won’t disappoint you,” Test Tube stood up and saluted like he was standing before a general. “We’ll do all we can to help you stop Sombra.”

“What he said,” Quantum stood up and stretched an arm out. “By the way, name’s Quantum. The young one is Test Tube. I’m sure you already know Timber? A member of the esteemed Wood family.”

“Of course,” Silent nodded and pushed up her spectacles. “I’m Silent Frame. These are Spectral Rim and Harrier.”

“Thanks, Spectral,” Timber said again. “For getting us here and for dealing with Mirror Match. I know it’s dangerous so, I want you to know we appreciate it.”

“Ri-right, yes.”

Timber realized throughout the conversation that the Assassin, Spectral Rim, would start blushing whenever someone mentions Mirror Match’s name. Something did happen between them, and Timber had sort of an idea what might have went down.

Part of him wanted to question the Assassin about it, but he knew it wasn’t his place to ask, so he held back. He didn’t want to make them think he was a weirdo.

Harrier walked to a nearby refrigerator and opened it. “Well, you three can stay here for the time being. We’ll make sure to stock up the fridge for you when we get back. Make yourselves at home.”

Silent placed a hand on Spectral’s forehead before quickly drawing back. “You’re running a fever, Spectral.” She scooped her friend from behind and hauled her up. “I’m taking Spectral back to Dr. Patch. I’ll see you guys later.”

“Well, I should get back to my mission then,” Harrier acknowledged and opened the door for them. Then looked back to the scientists one more time and waved. “Take care of yourselves.”

Comments

[Jaxxon Markus Citadel]

“To be honest, I don’t think you’d be on the road to peace even if this Sombra wasn’t around,” the Assassin in the shadows muttered.

Ain't that the truth.

I wonder what the scientists will bring to the table. As far as I know, Sombra didn't tell them of any weaknesses he has. We shall just have to wait and see then.

[Marcthelightspark2004]

8956485
Agreed. But, they have worked with the artifact and Timber was in the inner circle. Something tells me these guys die though.

[MoonlightRift]

They're gonna die lmfaoo 💀