Episode 63: Child Soldiers
Episode 63: Child Soldiers
That day the training was focused upon aerial combat. Especially in the human world it was not uncommon for battles between Quincy and their adversaries to take to the sky. In the living realm it was simply easier to do this than it was in the spirit realm, and with the wide range of powers Soul Reapers and Hollows had it was almost natural for them to seek open areas to make full use of these powers. For Quincy it was equally natural, as the sky’s open, three-dimensional space granted their bows a powerful range advantage. After all the sky had no cover an enemy could use, unless it was an unusually cloudy day.
However air combat was confusing at the best of times specifically because of its three dimensional nature. Certainly attacks could come from above and below during ground combat as well, depending on the terrain, but while in the sky you were vulnerable in a full three dimensional sphere all around you. Hence situational awareness was far more important to develop for such battles in order to keep track of enemy and ally movements, and to always been conscious of where one was aiming one’s bow.
The combat exercises had started early, an hour before sunrise, and had been going with very little in the way of breaks until mid-afternoon. Endurance was another quality being trained in this case, many of the cadets being pushed to the limits of their ability to control their own reishi and that of the reishi around them to keep forming the Hirenkyaku needed to stay in the sky.
Twilight was certainly feeling the strain. Not as much as some, but she was definitely sweat soaked and breathing hard. Her control and sense of her own spiritual energy and the reishi particles around her seemed to jump up every day, and more than a few times when other cadets had seemed too tired to even lift their bows while she continued on she’d heard mutterings of her ‘Pureblood’ talents. After all both of her parents were Sternritters, and most considered her brother a prodigy. Few seemed surprised she was advancing at a rapid rate and leaving several other cadets behind in terms in spirit energy and stamina.
Still, Twilight didn’t feel particularly well prepared for what was coming. Stamina or not she had still not formed a personal bow, and while she was doing well pacing herself with the day’s exercise she was only barely keeping pace in terms of accuracy with her basic Quincy bow.
As was typical of much of her Academy training, her opponents were her fellow cadets. Each of the Academy instructors had taken a group of cadets and grouped them into squads of ten, then set an engagement zone using reishi barriers to generate a massive cube of blue light within which the squads would fight one another. Each instructor threw in their own complications to each match. Spitfire created random storms of fire that needed to be avoided, while Lightning Dust had created several reishi mines that would explode with enough force to send any given unlucky cadet for a dizzying spin. Fleetfoot brought in some of the few remaining caged Hollows from earlier exercises to turn loose during the matches she oversaw, which had left Twilight shuddering. No one was hurt, but it had spooked everyone, hearing those Hollow howls. Fleetfoot had simply shaken her head and told them they needed to get used to it.
Fortunately Twilight’s group had ended up with instructor Soarin for the majority of the day, and his idea of adding complications to the match was to personally participate as a “random element”, which by his standards meant pranks. Out of all the instructors Soarin seemed to have the least strict attitude, reminding Twilight a little of the more laid back teachers at Canterlot High such as Miss Cheerilee. He seemed to keep up a joking smile even when pointing out mistakes, and even his pranks seemed more designed to instruct than distract.
Such as the noxious gas bomb he’d hit Twilight and her squad with, just as they were trying to surround the opposing team. Twilight wasn't certain if this was Quincy alchemy or just good old fashioned chemical science, but the smell was overwhelmingly awful and made both her nose and eyes sting.
“C’mon girls,” Soarin said while Twilight and her squadmates coughed and sputtered, “You never know what kind of powers a Hollow might have or a Soul Reaper’s Zanpaktou might unleash. Gotta react fast to stuff like this or you’ll be in trouble.”
“Ugh, easy for you to say, you’re not the one dealing with this crap!” Indigo Zap groused, flying backwards out of the billowing yellow stink cloud while the rest of the squad followed one by one.
“Guh, I can taste it in the back of my throat!” Sour Sweet spat, and just then Twilight saw a shadow flicker up above the girl.
“Sour, above you!” Twilight called, brining her bow to bear, but someone beat her to it as the rival cadet who’d appeared above Sour Sweet with his bow aimed at her unguarded back was struck by another arrow that knocked him back like a bowling pin.
Sugarcoat, her visor reflecting the afternoon light, calmly stated, “Instructor Soarin is right, we can’t let ourselves get distracted.”
Having been allowed back into the Academy to finish her training, Sugarcoat had been going out of her way to prove her capability despite her handicap, and so far had been showing that Twilight’s visor was doing its job admirably. She’d fallen right back into the natural role of leading the squad, which consisted of all the girls Twilight knew from Crystal Prep. Even Suri Polomare was part of their squad, alongside a few others Twilight wasn’t as familiar with but were holding their own. The opposing team were also all Crystal Prep students, although all of them individuals Twilight had had little to no contact with.
The leader of the opposing squad, Vanity Mane, was a blue skinned lad with a well cut head of black hair in the shape of a pompadour and wore a pair of glasses of a thinner, more rounded cut than Twilight’s. He’d taken full advantage of the stink cloud Soarin had tossed in, having his squad position themselves both above and below the cloud to catch Twilight’s squad as they came out of the cloud. Even as Sugarcoat had taken down the one boy, a hefty hail of arrows started to streak towards them from above just as another volley came from below. Twilight and her squad started to evade and fire back, but she saw one or two of the squad take painful hits in the process.
None of the cadets were using lethal force, of course, and were also making use of Blut Vene to reduce damage further, but enough hits would still knock a person senseless. The instructors worked double time to make safety nets of reishi to catch any cadet that lost consciousness and fell from the sky.
Twilight could see the crossfire they were caught in was going to be hard to break away from if they tried just moving further from the cloud, and quickly had an idea. “Sugarcoat, everyone, hold your breaths and use the cloud!”
Sugarcoat quickly picked up on what Twilight intended, and just nodded. “You heard her, everybody get back into the cloud.”
“Augh, do we have to?” Sunny Flare said, then yelped as an arrow brushed past her, taking a few strands of hair. With a disgusted look she took a deep breath and dove into the stink cloud, and soon Twilight and the others followed suit.
Inside the cloud Twilight’s eyes stung and she could still scent some of the horrible sulfur stink while holding her breath, but they only needed to endure for a few seconds. Obscured by the cloud the other squad’s arrows lost their accuracy, firing more at random now. Twilight, coughing slightly, managed to say, “Hit those above us first. Then take the ones below.”
“Oh, I get it, the dudes downstairs won’t see their buddies getting creamed up top until it's too late. Sweet move, Twi!” Lemon Zest spouted cheerfully, apparently having all but forgotten the injury she’d suffered on Twilight’s first day of training.
“You heard the plan. Wipe the out up top, fast!” Sugarcoat said, managing to only sputter slightly due to the gas. As a group the squad burst upwards and emerged from the top of the stink cloud. From the looks on the faces of the five or six from the rival squad that had taken position up there they hadn’t expected Twilight’s team to use the stink cloud for cover or come after them wholesale like this.
Twilight felt the wind rush past her as she reinforced her whole body with Blut Vene and used a high speed Hirenkyaku to zoom past the opposing Quincy. As she did so she pulled out a pair of ginto tubes and splashed alchemical reishi water out in a curtain above two of the rival Quincy team. She then charged her bow with a smaller arrow, laced with a cluster of reishi shards. She’d been studying a few different Quincy alchemy techniques, and this was her first time trying this one.
”Weise Wespe!” (White Wasp)
The arrow fired into the curtain of prepared reishi water and sparked into a brilliant white web of shocking tendrils. It wouldn’t be fatal, as Twilight hadn’t prepared a charge nearly powerful enough for that, but the rushing fingers of pale light caught the two rival Quincy completely by surprise and made both convulse painfully from the shock of reishi energy they injected. Twilight felt a little bad about the discomfort, but this was a full contact, competitive engagement. Besides she was enjoying learning more alchemic techniques to fortify her skills with, since her bow still needed work.
The others had taken their training no less seriously and were demonstrating their own prowess.
Small targeting reticles formed from reishi appeared upon each of Sunny Flare’s dart guns, creating small beams of light she used to target the Quincy crosses that the enemy cadets used to form their bows, disarming one with a well placed shot. Indigo Zap turned her bow in a semi-circle, the arrow she held charged there creating multiple stationary balls of electricity that then followed after her arrow like little homing missiles after she fired it, catching one unfortunate rival cadet from all sides and effectively tasering her into submission.
Sugarcoat’s own arrows were as direct and blunt as the girl herself, her own form moving with swift bursts of speed that confounded the last of the enemy squad up top, Vanity Mane, whose own bow looked much like a traditional crossbow save for its unusual drum shaped clip, like some gangster tommy-gun. He was firing rapidly, trying to keep up with Sugarcoat’s movements, but his stream of arrows always seemed a moment behind her. In return she fired careful, precise shots that battered Vanity Mane, although to his credit his Blut Vene kept him in the air and conscious despite taking painful shots to the sternum, head, knees, and back.
Meanwhile Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest, along with Suri and the rest of the squad had taken aim down below, targeting the other half of the enemy squad which was just now realizing what was happening to their comrades up above.
Lemon Zest charged up her bow with two arrows that fired at once to form a corkscrew spiral of reishi that exploded down below like a firework, disorienting the Quincy cadets trying to rush up to help their squad leader. Sour Sweet had set up her massive crossbow, propping it against her shoulder before firing a shotgun-like blast of several dozen reishi arrows at once, catching at least two of the enemy squad. Suri, more alchemically inclined, pulled out her own ginto tube and popped it open. Pouring the reishi water straight down, she touched the stream for a moment and invested her own spirit energy into it while speaking the invocation.
”Seidenfaden.” (Silk Strands)
The reishi water transformed into a spreading cone of razor thin beams of blue light, which when they struck several of the rival cadet squad the light appeared to pierce through their limbs. No damage was visible, nor any obvious pain caused, but the strands of reishi light paralyzed any limb they shot through, effectively immobilizing those they hit. Suri then easily used her own bow to easily knock the caught opponents out with well placed shots.
At that point Vanity Mane was bruised and barely standing, and only a handful of his squad were still conscious. Before anything further could occur a sharp whistle rang out form Soarin, causing all the cadets still conscious to look his way.
The Sternritter instructor was twirling a silver pocket watch in his hands as he walked across the air, observing them all with a critical eye but a relaxed half-smile.
“Calling time on this one, ladies and gents. Everyone pick up a unconscious comrade and take a breather.”
Various grunts and groans sounded out as various cadets stretched out and rubbed sore bruises. Nobody complained about the fight being cut a bit short. This was, after all, just one of dozens they’d already done. There wasn’t a cadet among them who wasn’t sporting some minor wound or another. Even Twilight still felt a nasty bruise on her ribs from a shot she’d taken about two matches ago when she hadn’t been paying enough attention to her blind spots.
Soarin touched the wall of the reishi barrier that encased them for the match and it broke apart like so much dust, with motes of blue light fading downward. In the distance across the sky above the vast forest Twilight could see the faint glowing cubes of other such barriers where other teams still battled. There was another group that looked like they’d just finished up as well, the one being run by Fleetfoot, Twilight thought.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, glancing to see that Sugarcoat had come up to her, expression neutral but somehow softer than usual.
“Good thinking with the cloud. Took a disadvantage and turned it into something we could use.”
“It was nothing. Just seemed the most logical course of action.” Twilight replied, glancing away.
“Whooo, I’m am freakin’ wrecked.” said Lemon Zest, stretching this way and that, “Feelin’ like I went on a weekend bender, only minus waking up next to any cute guys. Also pretty dang hungry. Yo teach, we gettin’ any grub soon or what!?”
Soarin glanced over his shoulder at her, raising an eyebrow. “I keep telling you to call me ‘instructor’, not ‘teach’. Seriously, Zest, this is a military, not a high school. And you guys can eat when Spitfire gives the go ahead. Right now just catch your breath.”
“That sounds just delightful.” Sour Sweet muttered, shouldering her crossbow, “If you consider low grade torture a delight, that is.”
“It's not that bad. They’re just making sure our endurance is up to snuff.” came the eased tone of Indigo Zap as she brushed her uniform off, “It's not like the Hollows are going to give us a lunch break. Once things get hot, it's either win it or you don’t eat ever again. Because of the whole being dead thing.”
“Oh thanks for that cheerful reminder.” Sour Sweet grimaced, scratching at her neck on the side that had been burnt during the Arrancar attack. Her skin was fine now due to the Quincy’s potent medical techniques, but Twilight kept noticing that Sour Sweet kept fidgeting since she’d been wounded, as if she could still feel the burns.
“So does anyone know for sure just what we’ll be doing during this battle that’s coming?” asked Suri, her own nervousness clear in her tone as she idly put away her spent ginto tube back into her alchemy pouch.
“A whole lot of not dying is my plan.” said Lemon Zest, “Besides that, you’re guess is as good as anyone’s, Su.”
“Ideally we won’t be doing anything.” said Sugarcoat plainly, carefully adjusting her visor, which had gotten slightly knocked askew. “But given how such battles, historically speaking, tend to go I’m not putting much hope in that. My suggestion would be for all of us cadets to stick close to each other and be prepared for anything.”
“Does that include getting pummeled repeatedly by someone who doesn’t sit still for two seconds so I can hit them?” inquired Vanity Mane, laboriously cracking his back and grunting in pain. Sugarcoat shrugged at him.
“Do you think the Hollows will go as easy on you as I did?”
To this Vanity Mane opened his mouth, then closed it slowly and with a melancholic look shook his head, looking at the rest of his battered squad. “No. No I don’t. Which is why these exercises are getting under my skin. We were supposed to have much more training before dealing with real battle. Surly I can’t be the only one that thinks we’re not ready for this?”
“Ready or not it's happening, so what’s complaining about it going to accomplish?” Sugarcoat stated firmly.
“Um, well, perhaps I could speak with So...uh, His Majesty?” Twilight said, trying to avoid using Sombra’s name too openly, as it seemed to unnerve her fellow cadets when she did so. “Even if I can’t convince him to remove us from the battle, maybe he’ll at least tell me why we’re being sent with the rest of the Quincy forces.”
Despite the humble tone she tired to keep she still got various looks of incredulousness from the other cadets, who stared at her like she’d just suggested she could talk to the sun and convince it not to rise in the morning. Twilight still didn’t understand why Sombra was treated as if he were unapproachable. She cast a defensive look around her, “What? It's not that crazy a thought, is it?”
Sunny Flare coughed politely, “I don’t imagine anyone here would try to stop you, Twilight, but you have to admit its highly... odd that you can see yourself just so casually approaching our King and asking him to his face to change his plans.”
“I say go for it.” said Indigo Zap with a brash smirk, “I mean the worst he can do is strip you of your Quincy powers and toss you in the dungeons like Principal Cinch.”
Twilight’s eyes flared wide, “Is that what happened to her?”
Indigo Zap shrugged, reaching into a pocket and pulling out some gum to pop into her mouth,”Who knows? Not like anyone’s seen her since the fiasco at Canterlot High. Wouldn’t surprise me if she’s hanging in some dark dungeon in the bottom of the castle somewhere.”
“Duuuude, that’s creepy weird to think about. Like, what if the castle does have secret dungeons and stuff?” said Lemon Zest, staring off at nothing, “That’s be, like, totally screwed up if Cinch was getting tortured and crap right beneath the halls we walk around in. Man, I’m gonna have nightmares over this now.”
Sugarcoat cleared her throat loudly, “Principal Cinch was likely just stripped of her powers and rank and removed from the Sternritters. I doubt anyone, least of all His Majesty, felt the need to waste a dungeon cell on her.”
“Oh, so there are dungeons?” asked Sunny Flare.
Twilight tapped a finger to her chin, thinking. “Maybe I could ask him about that too...” she said to herself, and Sour Sweet groaned.
“Oh come on Twilight! It's not like you can just waltz into the King’s chambers to strike up a game of twenty questions! You’d at least have to wait for a summons, and why in the world would he summon you out nowh-”
Suddenly a Quincy soldat, in full white uniform and cap, appeared nearby from a full speed Hirenkyaku and saluted to Soarin.
“Sternritter Soarin, I bring a request by His Majesty that cadet Twilight Sparkle be sent to the war room immediately.”
All the cadets eyes stared at the soldat for a moment before slowly sliding over towards Sour Sweet. For her part Sour Sweet paused in stark shock for a second, but quickly recovered and looked up at the sky.
“It's not like a million dollars and a oiled up, half naked adonis are going to fall into my lap...” She waited, and after a few moments when nothing happened she sighed, “Damn.”
Soarin glanced at the soldat, then at Twilight Sparkle. “Well our exercises weren’t done for the day, but if it's from His Majesty there’s nothing for it. I’ll send her along ASAP.”
Soarin and the soldat exchanged salutes and the soldat turned to Twilight, “If you’ll follow me, cadet.”
Twilight was extremely self-conscious of the looks she was getting as she started to leave, but before she flew off to follow the soldat, she gave everyone a nervous wave. “See you guys soon. I’ll, uh, see about bringing up what we were talking about.”
Most of the cadets watched her go with various levels of surprise, or worse, unease. As if they were starting to fear her due to this strange connection with Sombra. However at least Sugarcoat seemed steady and gave Twilight a parting nod of encouragement. This eased Twilight’s spirit and made it easier to focus as she used Hirenkyaku to speed off after the soldat, heading for the distant Silburn.
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The war room was neither as large as Twilight’s imagination conjured it to be, nor was it as crowded. In her mind’s eye she’d seen a vast chamber filled with big monitors that would fill the walls, with dozens of operators at consoles relaying commands to units in the field, while perhaps Sombra would stand on some huge overlord's chair on a mechanical swivel mount. She should have expected something simpler, and more in line with medieval architecture of the Silburn, but even this seemed humble by comparison.
The chamber stood no more than perhaps forty feet across at either side, and on one end stood open to a balcony that overlooked the lake beyond the Silburn. No furniture adorned the room’s stone floors, and in moments Twilight understood why. The floor, the walls, and the ceiling itself were carved with maps. Some were maps of the world she knew, but others showed continents and masses of terrain she couldn’t match to any part of the Earth she was familiar with. To her utter fascination these maps shifted in shape, as if the stone that made up the carvings were mere water, at a mere look. It was as if her thoughts shaped the map, for when she thought of Canterlot City one portion of the floor near her shifted into a near perfect representation of the city, making her give a startled yelp and jump.
“Twilight?”
It was her father, Night Light. He stood tall in his blindingly white Sternritter uniform, his cape gently fluttering behind in from a breeze coming in from the balcony. Aside from him, the only other person in the chamber was Sombra himself, who was clad in his dark armor. In his right hand Twilight saw Sombra carried a sword, its blade as smokey dim as his armor. It seemed he’d been using it to point to the maps on the wall he and Night Light stood by, which showed what looked to Twilight to be a vast desert plain with a strange, symmetrically square building with tall cylindrical towers rising from it sitting squarely in the center of the map.
“Um, hi father? Hello Sombra.” she took a hesitant step forward, managing an awkward salute. “I was summoned?”
Sombra turned to her, a knowing yet frustratingly vague smile appearing on his charcoal features. “Yes, I sent for you. My apologies Night Light, I neglected to tell you the guest I was expecting was your daughter.”
Night Light maintained an ever professional air as he inclined his head stiffly, “Apologies are unnecessary, my King. However might I ask why you have summoned her here?”
“A trifling matter, actually.” Sombra said with a dismissive wave, “I’d near forgotten I’d intended to do this today, but time grows short. I wished to give her a... gift, of sorts. Something of use for her future studies. Nothing more.”
“I see.” Night Light said in a voice that suggested he did not. He looked as if he wished to ask more, and Sombra raised a thin eyebrow at him.
“If you have further questions, do speak.”
Night Light’s eyes flickered between Sombra and Twilight, and it seemed to Twilight that her father drew in a deep breath to steady himself before saying, “No, my King. No questions. I merely thought that it has been some time since my family and I were able to share much time together. So instead of a question, I was merely hoping to request that, before the eve of battle, you might grant Twilight a reprieve from her duties at the Academy to spend the evening with her family?”
Sombra’s smile was less vague now, somehow brighter yet still setting Twilight on edge. “An easy boon to grant, given I intended to allow all the cadets a day off before we set out for battle. I hope you and your family enjoy it.”
Night Light bowed deeply, “Thank you, your Majesty.”
“Of course. Now, I believe you need to organize the battle plan further with your detachments. I would enjoy a moment to speak with Twilight alone.”
At Sombra’s words Night Light hesitated a moment, but managed a crisp salute. “As my King wishes. Twilight, I hope to see you soon. And, if I may suggest, please speak with Cadence. I’m not certain what’s gone on between you, but she’s been worrying about you.”
Twilight tried not to look too sour at the memory of Cadence’s confession and said, “I know, dad. I’ll talk to her, once... things settle down.”
Night Light looked at her with no little amount of concern himself, but nodded silently and stroke from the room after giving her arm an affectionate, fatherly squeeze. Twilight suppressed a sigh. She wasn’t sure if she’d look forward to an evening with her family as a chance to break the tension that’d built up between them, or just another awkward way for that tension to increase.
After Night Light was gone, Sombra was looking at her with his eyebrow still raised. “Should I even ask what that was about?”
Twilight almost enjoyed the feeling of having something over on Sombra, even something that was causing her grief. She tried to pull off one of his mysterious smiles of her own, saying, “A trifling matter, actually.”
To this Sombra let out a velvet laugh, waving his free hand, “So be it, I’ll grant you your secrets, Twilight Sparkle, since your attitude is quite refreshing. Planning our battle to come is a necessary task, but any break from it is a moment to savor.”
She found herself sending a roving gaze over the map Sombra and her father had been standing before, unable to fully contain her curiosity. “What is this?”
“Oh this?” Sombra gestured with his sword at the desert map and its large, imposing fortress. “Las Noches, situated in the eastern hemisphere of Hueco Mundo. Or perhaps you were referring to this room in general and its rather useful feature?”
“A little of both.” Twilight said with a sheepish smile, running her hand across the stone. It was strangely warm to the touch, and after a second she instinctively pressed her spiritual senses into it and was surprised to find just how rich in reishi the room was. “There’s... there’s reishi flowing through all of the stone.”
“Is that so surprising? Yes, with spirit particles this whole room can change shape, but it is designed to serve as an ever updating system of maps for strategizing.” Sombra said, gesturing at the map of Las Noches, “Of course it can only show what we have information on, and this is not a current view of Las Noches and its environs, but only what our last intelligence reported on the area. Understandably its difficult to keep regular tabs on the heart of the enemy’s forces without losing valuable scouts.”
With a curious frown at the map Twilight said, “You mentioned Hueco Mundo’s southern hemisphere? Does that mean that world is actually a globe, just like Earth?”
Again that laugh, and she couldn’t tell if Sombra was laughing at her or simply out of genuine mirth. “Yes. Both Hueco Mundo and the Spirit Realm are spheres, just as our world is. If you were to look at Hueco Mundo from a far enough distance it would look like pearl of dead white hanging in even deader blackness.”
“There’s no water there? Its all desert?” Twilight asked.
Sombra’s grin turned coy. “If there is it must hide below the surface, for no lake nor ocean has graced its pale desserts since... well, since a time long before you or I lived.”
Twilight gulped, finding something strangely ominous in the way Sombra had said that. Pushing the thought aside she turned to him and set aside her apprehension, working to school her voice to something resembling calm confidence. “Sombra, I know you summoned me, but I also have been meaning to talk to you. About the battle.”
He nodded, and the sword in his hand went to his side, where Twilight saw the blade literally merge with the shadows clinging to the folds of his cloak. Then, dusting his hands off as if he’d just put away a broom instead of a blade, he gestured towards the balcony. “Come, let us take in some sun while we talk. I do wish to see your reaction to your gift, but if you have concerns to bring to me let us be done with that business first.”
With at first a few tentative steps, but then with greater confidence Twilight joined Sombra at the balcony. Admittedly the view was magnificent, with the late afternoon sunlight turning the lake waters beyond the castle into a gleaming field of gold. She’d have enjoyed the scenery more if her mind wasn’t already turning towards what to say to Sombra and the dire topic of the looming battle with the Hollows. Clearly sensing her unease, Sombra leaned against the balcony rail and hands resting upon it casually, and spoke in an inviting and disarming voice. “Go ahead and speak your mind. I can already guess at what this is about, but I’d like to hear it from you.”
“If you already know I’ll be to the point then; why are we cadets being sent into this battle and would you be willing to let those that aren’t ready stay behind?” Twilight said in as quick and pointed a manner as she could while still feeling quite nervous.
Sombra responded with an understanding nod, but closed his eyes and shook his head. “To the request I must say ‘no’, I require every cadet be on the field when we enact our plan against Las Noches.” He quickly raised a hand to forestall a protest already forming on her lips, “Before you say anything further, allow me to answer your first question.”
Opening his eyes with a grave look, he gestured at the surrounding landscape beyond the balcony. “For a long time the defensive wards and barriers I’ve placed on this territory has kept it safe from Hollow attack. However the raid on the Academy has proven those wards are now ineffective, at least to the powers of the one Espada capable of pushing the Hollow’s Garganta portals to such new heights of versatility. That means these lands, even this opulent fortress, are no longer safe from incursion. Even the half of the Silburn in Hueco Mundo may be compromised. Until that Espada is dead, no Quincy holding is entirely safe, and hence there is no safe place for the Academy’s cadets to be housed until we eliminate the Espada in question.”
His hand pointed with one black finger towards the map depicting Las Noches, “Except for where there will be the most Quincy present to guard them. Ironic, perhaps, that the safest place will be amidst a battle, but I can not guarantee forces to guard them in any other location where ambush might not lie in wait. If I left them here, with a few Sternritter to guard them, then Tirek might seize the chance to launch another raid while the bulk of our own forces are tied up engaging his. Any of our other holdings across the world could be just as easily compromised. The only place I can be absolutely sure you cadets are well protected by a large number of Quincy is if I take you into the battle with me.”
“But... but couldn’t we wait in the Hueco Mundo half of the Silburn?” Twilight asked, trying to find any holes in Sombra’s logic.
“And what if Tirek is already aware of that half’s location and when I engage with the bulk of the Quincy army, he sends one or two Espada there to crush it? An empty building can be reconstructed, but if it was you cadets alone, with but a few Sternritter or soldats to guard you, would you last against the might of an Espada? However if you are with the majority of our army at the battle, I can personally ensure each Espada is present, countered by one or more of my own Sternritter, and that you cadets are kept safely towards the rear of the action.”
Twilight chewed her lip, thinking. It seemed logical, yet also paranoid. Surely this Tirek fellow couldn’t possibly guess at where Sombra might hide the cadets, and might not even care about wiping them out if he had the rest of the Quincy army to deal with. Eyeing Sombra, she ventured to say, “That appears like sound logic, but I feel like there’s more you’re not telling me. The odds that we cadets would get caught in some kind of ambush seem very low versus the odds of us getting caught up in unexpected fighting in the middle of such a large battle.”
Sombra’s expression turned still for a moment, then he chuckled, shaking his head. “Your mind is as sharp as your father’s. Sharper, I would venture. I am not lying, Twilight, but as you suspect I have additional motives for wanting you cadets involved in the battle.”
He held out his hand and placed it on her shoulder. “The truth is nothing sinister. It is simply this; you cadets are ready. Normally the graduation from cadet to an anointed soldat involves tests set by the Academy’s Master or Mistress, but there is no need in this case. While some perished in the raid, many more survived against the Hollows and Arrancar that came to bleed us dry. Twilight, such is proof to me that despite what fears you may have, you and your fellow cadets are as prepared as you can be made to face our foes in open battle. I still fully intend to keep you as far from the worst fighting as possible, and ensure at least two Sternritter are present to guard you, but it is time for those wearing the mantle of cadets to cast off the raiments of children and don the title of ‘soldier’. That is all I intend. No grand scheme, no deception, only a final test; the only one that matters in war. Battle.”
Twilight quieted for a moment, looking forlorn as she thought on his words. She didn’t sense any lie in them. Indeed Sombra’s voice was clad in sincerity like the armor he wore. Did it hide something beneath, or could she trust that earnest look of his? Again, aside from a nagging fear that she and her fellow cadets weren’t as ready as Sombra thought, she couldn’t really find any gaping holes in his logic. They’d been training to fight Hollows. It only made sense that at some point that training would end and be put the final test. She had only been training a short time, but the others had been at it longer than her, and if anything the skirmishes in today’s exercises showed most of them knew all and more of the basics for Quincy powers and techniques.
What else could she say?
“I see...” she said finally, “I don’t know if I feel as confident as you do, but you’ve answered my questions and I can’t ask much more than that, can I?”
“You can always ask me anything you want, Twilight, at any time. I wish more would.”
“Why don’t they?” Twilight suddenly asked with interest. “Everyone treats you with fear, but you’ve been so... reasonable with me.”
Sombra’s laugh was a light one, somehow made dour with a note of self-mockery. “My own fault, of course. I am far older than I look, young Twilight, and in my ‘youth’ I was not as restrained as I am now. Sadly I earned the fear and the respect shown me, in equal measure, by having a quick temper and an impulsive mindset back then. The deference my Quincy show me is something I all but hammered into them, long ago, and even though it's been generations the legend of ‘His Majesty’s Wrath’ remains one of many shadows I bear. Not... entirely without some modern reinforcement. I may not strike off the heads of those who displeased me as I once did, but I am not one who takes disobedience or incompetence lightly.”
That reminded Twilight of the other question she’d been curious to ask, and with a hesitant gulp she said, “I’ve been meaning to ask, but what did happen to Principal Cinch. She was a Quincy, wasn’t she?”
Sombra’s eyes went dark, and for a moment Twilight felt exactly why her father, her mother, and every other Quincy still treated Sombra with such fearful yet reverent deference. For just that instant she saw a spark of pure, unimaginable rage hiding in Sombra’s dark eyes, like staring into a frothing abyss that could crush her to atoms in an instant. She felt like she could drown in shadows, like sinking into the depths of the darkest ocean, and still not feel as trapped or helpless as catching a glimpse of what she saw in Sombra’s eyes in that instant.
The moment passed as quickly as a breath, and Sombra’s eyes were back to normal. Just the eyes of a man, albeit one who still looked somewhat disgruntled as he sighed. “Yes, Cinch. You could say she is a prime example of the kind of person whose head would have decorated my castle wall, during my more impetuous and youthful days. The manner in which she brazenly disregarded my instructions to not interfere with any magical happenings at Canterlot High earned her the stripping of her title as Sternritter, the removal of the Schrift I granted her, and a very simple choice; exile or joining the Strafbattalion.”
“Strafbattalion?” Twilight echoed, her mind giving her a gentle tickle. She’d heard that term before somewhere in school. History wasn’t her greatest subject, compared to the sciences at least, but she devoured books like few could and had an almost encyclopedic memory of the knowledge she’d absorbed. That term, clearly German, was tied to the Second World War. What was it in reference to...?
Suddenly her eyes widened, “The penal companies the Germans used in World War Two?”
Sombra nodded gravely, “The idea of it, at least. Those damnable wars were a mess for us Quincy. You have no idea how much two different world wars, within mere decades of each other, caused a population explosion among the Hollows. It was one of the few times in history Quincy and Soul Reapers were able to set aside our own war to focus on dealing with the sheer number of new Hollows born from so many horrific deaths. We of course still stayed out of each other’s way, and there were still skirmishes, but for the most part all were busy fighting legions of new Hollows. As for the Strafbattalion, while I take no pleasure lifting an idea from that time period, honestly the notion of penal companies existed far earlier, as far back as Napoleon’s time.”
“But isn’t it a bit... amoral to force convicted criminals into battle?” Twilight asked with a leery look.
“Considering that the alternatives I used in the past were various forms of execution, I think I’m being rather progressive.” Sombra said simply, “It is a choice I offer, and only as the ultimate punishment to those who failed as completely as Cinch did. The condemned can either accept exile, in which they are stripped of their Quincy powers completely and sent to live in a guarded colony... or they can attempt to redeem themselves by joining the Strafbattalion. Four years of service there earns them freedom to rejoin the Quincy ranks properly. In truth I am far gentler with the Strafbattalion than such units have been used historically. Normally such condemned soldiers would be sent into suicide situations, but I tend to give them tasks that while difficult and dangerous are still quite within their capabilities. Still, some consider exile preferable.”
“So, did Cinch...?”
“Choose exile? No. Despite her failures, the woman doesn't lack for ambition or stubbornness. She joined the Strafbattalion, and who knows, perhaps in four years time she’ll earn her way back into my good graces.”
From his tone of voice Twilight wasn’t so sure that would ever happen. Shaking her head as if to dismiss any more thoughts for her former principal, Twilight took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Whatever she’d seen in Sombra’s eyes was long gone now, but she still felt rattled by it. She’d known this man was dangerous, but she was starting to believe she had no idea just how dangerous he really was. Or even what he really was. Suddenly the caution other Quincy showed him seemed entirely within reason.
Still, she wasn’t about to start acting the scared mouse. Summoning up her courage, she kept her voice steady and said, “Well I think that covers what I wanted to ask. So what is it you wanted to give me? You said it was something to help with my studies?”
With the swiftness of a rising dawn Sombra’s demeanor quickly brightened, an almost mischievous look flooding his features. Compared to the dark mood of moments before this contrast nearly gave Twilight mental whiplash. It seemed he could shift gears in an instant, and looked near giddy as he reached into the shadows of his cloak to draw forth a humble, rectangular box with a silver latch. Twilight gave his cloak a curious look, feeling as if she could see the shadows there moving on their own accord.
“I confess I had not intended to give you anything like this until you had developed more, but after hearing of your accomplishment with young Sugarcoat’s eyes I reassessed my plans.” Sombra said, holding the box towards her.
Remembering seeing Sombra’s sword vanish there, she glanced at him with frank curiosity, not yet taking the box. “First, I have to ask, just what is going on with your cloak?”
He seemed genuinely surprised for a moment, blinking at her in honest confusion a second before looking down at his cloak as if he was only now recalling he wore one. “Oh. I suppose I’m so used to everyone else not paying it any mind it never occurred to me you’d find it strange. There’s nothing special about my cloak. This is merely an aspect of my powers. What you’re seeing aren’t even really shadows so much as...hmm, call them ‘byproducts’ of how my personal Schrift affects the space around me.”
“Okay, but what is it exactly? In fact I’m not wholly clear on what Schrifts are and where they come from, as they seem separate from normal Quincy powers-” Twilight started to rev up into a bit of a rant of scientific inquiry, but Sombra, in a move she didn’t expect at all, placed one finger gently on her lips. She went silent immediately.
Sombra smiled and took his finger away. “All questions in their proper time and place, Twilight. You’ll learn of Schrifts when you earn the title of Sternritter.”
“You mean if I earn the title of Sternritter. I’m barely a cadet as it is.”
“Well, as I said, all things in their proper time and place. Now then, enough of making me wait, open your gift already.” Sombra said with a boyish chuckle, pushing the box towards her. Somewhat reluctantly she took it. The box was cold to the touch, and with a careful, deft hand she opened the silver latch and swung the lid up.
Inside was black velvet cushioning a single, pale white glove, long enough to nearly go up to her elbow. The glove was strange in that its surface was covered in dark blue lines, one down the center of the arm that then split into a cross at the wrist, and a twin fork at the back of the hand, extending further to the point of the index finger and the ring finger. The thumb and index finger both were also dyed blue, in contrast to the rest of the glove’s white coloring. Upon closer examination she saw that at the center of the cross of blue lines was a small silver ring, embedded in the cloth.
She looked up at Sombra with a quizzical tilt of her head. “What is this?”
“It’s called a ‘Sanrei Glove’. A relic of a bygone age for the Quincy. One part training tool, one part last gambit, these gloves could help Quincy refine their skills through forcing them to exert more reishi control, almost like a training weight. However the gloves also built up a powerful feedback loop of gathered reishi, and could act as an outlet to vent a great deal of spiritual energy from its host if the glove was ever removed. Such an explosion of power created what was called, in that long gone time, the ‘Letzt Stil’.”
“The Last Style?” she said, trying to translate the German.
Sombra nodded, “Yes, although due to the transformation’s particular drawback it also came to be known as the ‘Final Form’ of the Quincy. Final, because any Quincy that used it might enjoy a brief burst of incredible power, capable of defeating a Soul Reaper Captain with a single blow, but after using such power their abilities as a Quincy would be burned out completely, rendering them permanently powerless.”
Twilight looked back at the glove with wider eyes filled with more respect and appreciation for what she was holding, but also no small lack of apprehension mixed with a hungry curiosity. “This glove could do all that? Incredible. How does it work? Can I take it apart and find out?”
“I should think so, that’s why I’m giving it to you.” Sombra said with a flash of a smile, “I don’t intend for you to actually use this old thing. If you put it on you couldn’t remove it without burning out your Quincy powers, and we certainly can’t have that. However since I heard you were having trouble with manifesting a personal bow I thought you might benefit from studying the construction of the Sanrei Gloves, since once upon a time they were utilized for rapidly training Quincy and were good at focusing reishi into just such improved bows. Given how swiftly you managed to construct a very impressive visor for Sugarcoat I imagine you might develop a similar device to aid your bowmanship using this glove as a base.”
“I’m shocked the Quincy haven’t already developed something to remove or at least lessen the glove’s drawback.” Twilight said, and Sombra laughed once more.
“We have, in fact. Most recently.” He held a finger up to his mouth, “Shh, it's a secret I’ve been keeping from our enemies. Another reason I’m confident of confronting Tireks’ forces in open battle; my Sternritter will reveal a power the Espada will not be expecting. But let’s just keep that between us, shall we? In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your gift. Study it, take it apart if you wish. Use what knowledge you can from it. Just... don’t put it on, alright?”
He gently closed the box’s lid for her and re-latched it, but patted the top of the box as she held it and his smiling expression waned as he glanced at the sun, now dipped further in the sky. “Now, I’m afraid we’ve likely spent as much time as we can talking. I have my own preparations to continue making for the battle, and you’d best return to Spitfire before she starts to make that moniker a reality.”
“Oh, right. I hope the rest of the girls have been doing alright without me.” Twilight said, wondering if Soarin had forced the rest of her team to continue training short one member while she’d been gone. As she turned to leave she paused a few steps away, glancing over her shoulder at Sombra, clutching the box in her hands. “Um, thank you, for the gift. I’m sure it’ll help.”
“That was the idea.”
She paused, considering, then looked him in the eyes. She found a bit harder to do now, seeing what could lie in wait in those dark orbs, but she refused to let fear keep her from being as open with this man as she could and equally honest with herself. “I know a cadet shouldn’t make demands of the King, especially after being given a gift, but can I ask a promise from you?”
He crossed his arms, armor gently clinking as he raised a charcoal black eyebrow at her, “I’m finding myself in a magnanimous mood today, so go on.”
“Promise me that you will do everything in your power to protect my fellow cadets during this battle.”
Searching his face for any trace of deception, she watched him nod solemnly, not a hint of anything less than total sincerity in either those eyes or his voice.
“You have my word, the oath of your King, that I shall do all that I can to ensure every Quincy cadet returns alive and well.”
She believed him. The only question that remained in her mind was if even such a promise would make a difference in what was to come.
----------
That night Twilight sat awake at a workbench she’d pulled up next to her bed. Spike lay in her lap, sound asleep, while she continued to go over data as it streamed into her computer from several monitoring devices she’d hooked up to the Sanrei Glove.
As far as she could tell the glove was an insanely complex construct of densely packed reishi particles arranged within a very thin layer of cloth treated with an alchemical concoction that for all intents and purposes made it as strong as steel while remaining flexible. Pulling reishi in through the glove to form a bow would be an incredible strain on the Quincy wearing it, yet the glove generated even more powerfully charged particles once they were taken in by the glove and then regulated them through the Quincy’s body and any bow they’d form. The Quincy not only got a form of reishi gathering exercise that would eventually boost their ability to acquire such particles, but it also refined the particles into a higher grade form that would enhance all Quincy abilities.
She’d already more or less grasped how the “Letzt Stil” worked, as use of the glove continuously packed in ever more potent reishi into the Quincy, but if the glove was taken off all of those particles would be vented outward, along with whatever spiritual energies the Quincy naturally had. For a few minutes the Quincy would have access to more reishi than ever before possible, easily in the range of ten to twenty times more, if not greater. Yet once it was open, the vent wouldn’t stop. There was no way to prevent one’s reiatsu from being drained completely. Not fatal, but certainly problematic.
She wondered how Sombra and the Quincy had fixed this issue? Some kind of built in stop-gap? But how would you make one strong enough to prevent that level of venting? Furthermore even if you could, wouldn’t that cripple the power of the transformation and render it useless for combat?
The problem nagged at her, but it wasn’t what she needed to be considering right now anyway and while tantalizing it was a distracting tangent. Her real focus needed to be on how to utilize the structure of the glove to assist with her bow.
Or perhaps with controlling magic?
The thought stuck in her mind as she stared at the scrolling lines of data. Could the gloves same principles be applied to magic energy, instead of reishi? If she could do that it might give her an avenue to train herself to control the magic, the same way the glove was meant to boost a Quincy’s control of reishi. Or perhaps... if she used the Letzt Stil, converted to venting magic instead of reishi, could she rid herself of the magic inside her? Permanently?
No more Midnight Sparkle. No more reason to be afraid of what was inside her.
But clearly Sombra wanted her to learn to control magic, not merely remove it from herself. And didn’t she need to have an understanding of magic to be better able to help her friends back in Canterlot City?
So absorbed was she in her thoughts she didn’t hear the window to her room opening, but Spike did. Even asleep the dog’s keen ears picked up the unusual noise of Twilight’s window being unlatched and swung open, and he cracked his eyes open, ears perking up. He saw a pale shadow in the window, and he didn’t need to sniff it to sense its malicious intent.
He barked, loud as he could, “Twilight, watch out!”
Despite being a small dog by most standards, he still leapted up and pounced on Twilight’s chest, knocking her backward’s in her chair just in time for her to avoid a blue reishi arrow that smashed into the wall beside where her head had been.
Startled and shocked, Twilight fell to the floor but all of the recent training with her fellow cadets had given her much faster reflexes and combat instincts than she’d ever had in her life. Without questioning what was happening she immediately rolled to her feet and dove over her bed, seeking cover while holding tightly to Spike. Just in time as it turned out, for her unknown assailant sent another arrow of blue light towards her, missing by scant inches as it blasted a hole in her bed.
She’d caught only a brief glimpse of the person attacking her as she went over her bed. A slim figure, bundled in white robes and cloak, with a face covered by a wrapping like some desert assassin. The eyes had been covered by a pair of black goggles, and no hair showed either from under the cloth wrappings covering the figure’s head. No clue to their identity at all, not even if they were male or female, as the robes were too baggy to tell. Even the assassin’s bow was just a normal, plain bow of pure blue energy, much like the one Twilight summoned, or indeed any Quincy with basic training. Was that because they were another cadet!? Or was that because they were merely trying to further conceal who they were by revealing no clues, such as a personalized bow?
Whoever they were they were either very smart, very brazen, or both. But why were they trying to kill her!?
There was hardly any time to think about that, and she doubted her would-be killer was up to answering questions. Her mind worked quickly, assessing what needed to be done in the fraction of time it took for her to get behind the bed. Spike was still in her hands, and she had to set him down to summon her bow. The dog was shaken, eyes wide as she said, “Spike, run for the door, now!”
Confusion might have kept him rooted in place, but Spike was nothing if not a loyal breed and while Twilight rarely used a commanding tone with him, when she did it triggered deep rooted and trained reflexes. He obeyed, and started to rush for the door, despite it still being closed.
In the same instant Twilight rolled onto her back, her bow of pale blue light snapping into form in her hands. Power rushed into her legs as she activated Blut Arterie, enhancing her strength. She kicked the bed, and despite her frail form the power of the reishi flowing her limbs gave the strike superhuman force and the bed catapulted up like it’d been flung by a charging rhino. A split second later Twilight fired her bow in an arc, blasting several holes through her bed while sending one final arrow to her door, splintering it.
Feathers exploded out of her bed along with shards of wood, and she heard her assailant let out a grunt. Twilight was already leaping to her feet and sprinting for her shattered door as a hail of arrows sliced through the remains of her bed. Fortunately the fact that she’d already blasted it first had created enough cover that the assassin’s shots struck where Twilight had been an eyeblink earlier rather than catching her.
Spike and Twilight got through the remains of her door and out into the hallway beyond. Spike, ears flat and eyes fearful, looked to Twilight for further instructions. She only had one to give.
“Run!”
All they had to do was find help. Twilight wasn’t about to try to stand toe to toe with an assailant whose abilities she wasn’t sure of. If this wasn’t a fellow cadet then whoever they were would almost certainly have superior skills to her. And even if she felt confident of winning, Spike was here, and she didn’t want to risk him getting hurt.
Heading deeper into the castle Twilight headed left, sprinting down the hall with Spike keeping pace behind her. She heard the faint buzz of noise behind her followed by a spike of spiritual energy. The assassin had used Hirenkyaku to flicker out into the hall and give chase, their own bow already aiming for her back. Twilight threw herself to the side while aiming her bow backwards, firing a desperate volley.
Her arrows didn’t hit their mark, but they served to throw off the assassin’s aim ever so slightly, enough that their own arrow grazed a painful trail past Twilight’s shoulder, cutting flesh but not embedding itself as it might have. She gasped at the pain but didn’t lose her focus, continuing down the hall and nearly skidding along the carpeted floor as the hall bent to the right towards a flight of stairs that went both up and down.
“Somebody help!” she managed to shut, despite being low on breath. She didn’t know how many people actually lived in this wing of the castle, but at this point anyone showing up might deter the assassin.
She considered using Hirenkyaku, but the problem was that she’d end up leaving Spike behind. She couldn’t carry him and use that high-speed power, because Spike would have no Blut Vene to protect him from the breakneck momentum of the technique. She’d just have to keep running and hope to run into someone before-
With a rush of wind the assassin appeared next to her, not at all burdened by anything that kept them from using Hirenkyaku to its fullest. Twilight spun to react but was too slow to avoid taking a kick straight to her gut that was strong enough to smash her into the wall with enough force to crack the plaster. Fortunately her training reflexes had kicked in enough enough that she’d been able to activate Blut Vene to absorb some of the blow. A good thing, too, given the assassin had clearly been using Blut Arterie to boost the strength of their blow, and if Twilight hadn’t similarly enhanced herself for defense she’d probably have several ruptured organs instead of just some painful bruising.
Not allowing the cobwebs filling her head from the blow to keep her still she immediately ducked, one arrow from the assassin passing right over her head as she did so. Kneeling she fired a trio of shots straight ahead, forcing the white clad mystery killer to evade with Hirenkyaku’s speed. She’d anticipated this, and had already aimed her bow for the ceiling where she calculated her foe would appear and unleashing several arrows. The assassin flashed into view again, bow at the ready, but Twilight’s arrows were already striking the ceiling and blasting out a shower of stone and plaster chunks that rained down on the cloaked person.
Several chunks hit the individual, and Twilight heard a muffled, and possibly feminine grunt, but it didn’t slow the assassin down much and even as Twilight made a leap for the stairwell heading down she felt an arrow pierce her left leg. She let out a short, sharp scream, tucking into a roll down the stairs that battered her, although Blut Vene kept that from doing any real harm. Her leg, however, burned with intense pain and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to put weight on it.
She turned, bracing herself against the wall, and tried to raise her bow in time to target the assassin. She could see she wouldn’t be fast enough. The assassin had already reached the top of the stairs before she’d even turned around, and as Twilight raised her bow the other Quincy already had theirs trained on her for a shot that would likely pierce right to her heart.
“Twilight!” Spike jumped from the side, growling as his bit into the assassin’s arm. The arrow meant for Twilight’s heart instead hit the wall beside her head while the assassin let out a frustrated, if still muffled, howl and flung Spike hard down the stairs. Twilight gasped as she saw him smack into the wall beside her and crumple to the floor.
“Spike!”
Now ignoring the pain, she forced herself up and her bow seemed to flare with teal light. She could feel magic boiling up inside her now, her eyes taking on a darker purple hue as flickers of teal magic trailed around them like flame.
“How dare you!?” she screamed, her bow blasting out a powerful arrow wreathed in an aura of flaring magic. The assassin used their own bow to block the arrow, which burst like a ball of witchfire. Her attacker seemed taken aback by this, staggering back and brushing off the embers clinging to their robes. Twilight managed to stand now, despite her bleeding leg, and aimed another magic engorged arrow.
However now the assassin reached behind them and withdrew something from their robes, some sort of slim and flattened silver tube with a square hook on the end. As this was drawn out in their left hand a beam of deep blue light shot from the open end of the tube. To Twilight’s surprise this light formed a slim blade of light.
When Twilight fired her next arrow the assassin used this light blade to slash the arrow out of the air, the reishi particles of the arrow seeming to be cut apart and lose their cohesiveness. What in the world was this!? She thought Quincy didn’t use swords, only ranged weapons?
Well, her answer shortly came as the assassin spun the blade in their hand and actually notched it in their bow, pulling back to turn the seeming sword into a rather large and imposing arrow as several jets of light appeared from the tube to form the ‘feathers’ of the arrow.
Twilight’s anger was only matched by a sudden realization that she couldn't block or avoid this next shot. So she resolved to take her killer with her, preparing to fire her own arrow and gladly invite the boiling dark magic inside her to lend her hand in striking vengeance on whoever this person was that had attacked her for no reason and hurt her best friend!
Suddenly arrows flew in from above, fired from the upper stairwell, one a potent and focused bolt, two more a twisting pair of twins that moved at odd angles. The assassin was forced to dodge backwards from the shots, abandoning the shot at Twilight and instead using that strange blade-like arrow to cut down the arrows coming at them. Up above Twilight saw Sugarcoat leap over the stairwell’s banister and land on the hallway, already firing another arrow at the assassin while another girl, Lemon Zest, waved to Twilight from the next floor of stairs.
“Hey Twi, s’up? You having some late night sparring or what?”
“Lemon, cut the small talk and get down here!” Sugarcoat said sharply as she kept up a steady stream of shots at the assassin, who was still deflecting them with that unusual blade of light but was now also slowly backing down the hallway. Lemon Zest zipped down down, vaulting over the stairs to land beside Sugarcoat and add her own bow’s power to the attack.
Twilight, still surging with dark emotions from the magic inside her, started to go up the stairs, but even the cold focus of that anger didn’t allow her to ignore how injured her leg was and she stumbled to her knees. Her mind now narrowing to a black tunnel of focus and logical thought dedicated to destroying the enemy that attacked her in her home, she instinctively yanked on her reiatsu, bringing out strands of reishi from her body and attaching them to her wounded leg like puppet strings. Despite the horrible pain, which her mind kept trying to refuse to acknowledge, she now used the reishi strings to pull her leg along and stiffly walk up the stairs.
However by the time she got up there the assassin had apparently had enough of Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest. Still blocking the cadets’ arrows with the shining blade of reishi, the assassin dismissed their bow with their other hand and pulled out a ginto tube from the fold of their robes. Tossing the tube, the assassin cut it with the reishi blade and scattered its alchemic water into the air. The water then reacted with the air, charged with reishi to burst into a field of dense grayish blue smoke that billowed out into the hallway.
Twilight growled and fired a arrow of teal magic fire into the smoke, but it seemed to only burst harmlessly against the end of the hall. When the smoke cleared a few moments later the assassin was nowhere to be seen.
She was not interested in allowing an enemy that had tried to kill her to walk free. Destroying such distractions was a necessity. She stepped forward but felt hands on her shoulder. She turned cold eyes towards Sugarcoat, ready to brush this new distraction aside, but Sugarcoat’s voice reached in past the black tunnel with pointed words that snapped Twilight right back to reality.
“Twilight, Spike needs help!”
Spike. Much as had been the case on that dark day at Canterlot High, the thought of her oldest and closest friend tore right through the chill fingers of the magic that gripped her mind. Teal fire faded from her eyes and she all but tripped over herself trying to get back down the stairs to Spike. She forgot how she was even using the reishi strings she’d formed to control her wounded leg, having to now grip the banister to keep from falling. Sugarcoat was at her side instantly, wrapping Twilight’s arm around her shoulder to help her down the stairs to where Spike still lay.
Twilight dropped to her knees beside the still canine, very careful not to shake him. Depending on his injuries any movement might make things much worse. She instead very gently checked him for breathing and a pulse. Finding both she sighed in relief, but only briefly. He could still be suffering from any number of internal injuries. She didn’t see any blood, but her breath caught as she saw his front left paw was twisted at an angle that clearly showed the bone was broken.
As she examined Spike, Sugarcoat glanced back up the stairs. “Lemon Zest, any sign of the attacker?”
Lemon Zest, bow still out and pointed down the hallway, shook her head while blowing a bubble with her bubblegum, afterwards saying, “Nope. Can’t even feel a trace of them. Either they’re waaaaay long gone, or are, like, crazy good at masking themselves.”
By now there were distant shouts coming from both above and below, as more people had woken up to the noise and were investigating. Sugarcoat stood, “I’ll go get medical help. You two stay put and don’t move. Lemon Zest, keep watch.”
“Can do!” Lemon Zest replied with a somewhat lazy version of a Quincy salute.
Sugarcoat sighed, giving Twilight’s shoulder a brief squeez, “I’ll be back with help soon.”
As Sugarcoat left Twilight just remained by Spike, not able to do much more than very tenderly stroke his head.
In an alternate universe Sci-Twi just learns that this whole "assassination" business is just a complex form of Quincy hazing. Here, though, probably indicative of something more serious. Also, don't mess with a girl's dog. It never ends well.
While I didn't name drop it, for those curious about about the lightsaber the assassin had, here's another nifty Bleach video showcasing it:
As always folks thank you all for reading, and by all means leave me any comments, questions or critiques you happen to have for me. 'Till next time!
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Okay.... I'm attempting to come into this fresh as I can be.... but then I notice the Sombra tag and it gets me eager and worried.... I might've spoiled myself by looking at the TvTropes but they're bare minimum in discussing his overall character. So can someone tell me if Sombra's outright evil or if it's simply a case of he's just a really powerful Quincy and not that much caring about how he talks to people? Cause..... I'm not really a big fan of Yhwach. He just..... he was just a super powerful villain with bare motivations and purpose other then just give Bleach a really epic final fight, which granted it does deliver but the point stands.
Edit: And if what I'm asking if involves major spoilers then please tell me so. It'll help out at least a little. Thank you.
Man, you just keep these crazy twists coming, don't ya? I honestly have no idea who this assassin could be, as Starlight's crew doesn't know or care about Human Twilight, and Cinch is too smart and self-serving to give herself over to vengeance and risk losing what little she has left.
8696530 I'm not even convinced he's evil at all and this new chapter all but confirmed it for me. Despite his pessimistic outlook on Twilight's chances of finding a way to end the war, he doesn't discourage it, flatout telling Twilight she can leave once her training is done. All he asked was she not fight Quincies which is fair. He punishes incompetence or insubordination severely (not as harsh as his younger years which is why the non-Twilight Quincy fear him so much, to his annoyance) but is generally pretty reasonable when someone is willing to approach him.
He's now up there with Adagio as one of my favorite characters in this story and, aside from both being Quincy kings and having (I'm assuming) similar origins, the furthest thing from Yhwach as you can get.
8696813
Alright.... I shall tab this as ready later cause holy GOD in heaven there's a lot of chapters.
Great chapter as always Vex.
So this mystery assailant. I'm going to go ahead and say Cinch is too obvious and a cadet wouldn't be fast enough or good enough at hiding their reiatsu to get away that easily. Likely it's a higher ranked Quincy (possibly a Sternritter but one of the weaker ones if so) upset that Twilight seems to get along with Sombra so well. It's a female so that narrows down the suspects but I can't make any predictions right now. This may be Twilight's chance to get an up close demonstration of why her fellows fear Sombra when he gives this attacker their just rewards.
So Twilight's going to remodel the glove to work with magic, cool should be a nice boost along with finally getting that bow of hers. More importantly, VOLLSTANDINGS ON THE WAY, THE HYPE IS REAL!
Now I'm even more excited for the Quincy invasion of Hueco Mundo, can't wait.
One of the things I love about this is you took the basic bleach, and made it pretty much all grey. No one side seems to have anything inherently 'evil' about them. They've all done bad things, they all have their driven people, but they also all seem... decent outside of it. For the most part anyway.
I still like this Sombra. Still the base but chill about it. And very realistic in being the head.
But a random assassin... I'm not sure what they hoped to accomplish here... Kill someone who has the king's ear? Unbalance politics? Keep Twilight's family from getting yet another powerful representative in the overall power structure? Hmm...
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Once you start reading, you won't be able to stop.
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Likely at the very least it's to keep the war going. SOMEONE wants this war to escalate and kill both sides.
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Maybe it was the chick that swore vengeance on Twilight and rest of the gang back when Canterlot was attacked, Fleur de Lis?
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I admit, I forgot everything about her XD SO much has happened since then!
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But yeah, this story is epic in scope, so I wouldn't be surprised if I've forgotten a few things anyway.
Advantage of having only started reading a few months ago?
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Yeah, the thing I like about this story is that it's not a copy paste bleach crossover, the only things that stay the same are the mechanics of the world. Other than that there are very few similarities between these characters and actual Bleach characters.
Twilight wasn't certain of this was Quincy alchemy or just good old fashioned chemical science
and made both her nose and eyes sting. .
that Twilight’s visor was doing it’s job admirably
Principal Cinch was likely just striped of her powers and rank
Inside was black velvet cushioning a single, pale white clove, long enough to nearly go up to her elbow
The them and index finger both were also dyed blue
Fortunately her training reflexes had kicked enough enough that she’d been able to activate
1. If.
2. Extra fullstop.
3. Its.
4. Stripped.
5. Glove.
6. Thumb? I think?
7. In.
And then Spike undergoes a reishi infused operation and becomes a living hybrid form of energy and becomes a huge asset to Twilight that acts like a Soul Reapers Zanpaktou and then she taps into hollow powers as well and becomes insane with the rush.
...
Ok, I think I've had too much cheese popcorn for a bit, gonna have to lie down...
For a little while there, I thought this would be the chapter Twilight gets her bow, much like how Adagio became a Vasto Lorde last chapter. Still, the seeds for the upgrade have been planted and we learn a little bit more about Sombra.
And as for this assassin, something tells me this assassin is Starlight’s quincy companion. I mean, she has a soul reaper (Platnium), a hollow (Chrysalis), a full-bringer (Firefly) and even a bount in Trixie. Only thing she’s missing is a quincy, and I bet I know who it is. After all, it’s not like we got answers on someone who’s been absent from this story until now, right?
Poor Spike!
Then again, I hurt him too...
Anyway, I don't know what to think of Sombra here. He's certainly not the evil dark lord he is in the show, but he's certainly not as reformed as he appears in the comics. Honestly, that makes him whole lot more interesting and terrifying.
And the assassin! You do just love opening up all new mysteries, don't you? And I have no idea who they are or what their motives could be, so I'm not even going to guess.
Anyway, great chapter.
Sombra will perform a bullshit powerup that makes him super powerful but will destroy his mind. That seems to be what happened in equestria when he went all crystttttals.
8698114 Or he just wasn't fully recovered from his timeout in the ice.
The Sombra in this story is clearly taking more from the comics than the show and whatever "evil/dictator" phase he may have had has (just like shopkeeper Discord) already happened. I doubt Sombra is going to go full " CRYSTALS" in this story.
Excellent chapter. I'm still not convinced Sombra isn't up to some shit, just because he's been charming and somewhat forthright. At the very least i do believe he has the quincy's best interest in mind, however that kind of motivation could still take him down the path of the Big Bad. As for the assassin? Cinch seems like the obvious culprit to me. In EQG she had a covetous desire for SciTwi to recklessly use magic for those silly friendship games. Translated to this story, that motivation seems to align with Starlight's end goal of reaching Equestria to presumably drain the world dry of magic, at least to my mind. Can't wait for more!
Another great chapter.
Unlike seemingly everyone else, the big question about Sombra for me isn't if he's good or bad. It's why he wears all black and the Quincy wear all white? Why is no one asking that!?
Please, Twilight, get your priorities straight! 
I really can't get a beat on if Sombra's on the level. He most likely has ties to the Spirit Queen/King like Yhwach but the only way to know the truth of his motives is if we learn why he founded the Quincy or the story of his millennia long life. He once had a Vlad Tepes management style and was that it was because he was stupid evil like Yhwach or he was an extremist like Yamamoto? Did he found the Quincies for selfish motives and later became disillusioned with his own evil and reform himself, or did he just realize that you can catch for flies with honey rather than enslavement and head explosions?
Still, as I've noted before the Bleach/Equestria Girls cross is being used to go deeper into the setting alternate universe cross beyond the ponies just being humans in high school. Quincy King Sombra parallels Princess Celestia just as much as Captain Celestia does. Both are the royal leaders of a race of supernatural beings for over a thousand years who are seen as the greatest of their race having their subjects respect and worship much to their own chagrin and both have gained a playful, mischievous streak because of it and have acquired a version of Twilight to act as their apprentice and confidant.
Really, beyond all that's been done to make Bleach an invigorating and deep world my favorite part of Friendship Souls is how the alternate universe premise is used far more to see how certain characters could have ended up differently in some way.
nicely done; also:
as a certain farmer would say, "It doesn't work that way."
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You should add starlight glimmer please
I swear I don’t know why I let myself be intimidated into delaying reading chapters because of their length is beyond me. It was bad enough I didn’t read Adagio’s amp immediately, but this as well.
With me being as behind as I am there is probably no point in predicting, but I am going to go against the grain of what everyone else thinks and say that I think Cadance is the assassin. She’s done this kind of bull
before to get Twilight to advance quicker so I see no reason why she wouldn’t create this situation to try to force Twilight into using magic or form her bow.
Well, she is a genius, right?
She is about to go John wick on them