Setting: Bramble Chasm
Deep in the ravine, the one-sided battle began. Countless assassins of the Parliament jumped and ran toward Ebony and her Champion All their movements were silent, making the atmosphere devastatingly sinister.
Ebony inhaled sharply then exhaled with a command. "Zinnia!"
"I know!" the Paragon replied while stepping in front of her teammates. She extended her whip-sword and activated Armaments to cloak it with her aura.
A wide sweep of her arm sent the segmented blade to her wave of opponents in front of her. Armaments increased her weapon's blade to four times its length along with its width and power. The long blade struck many assassins as they tried to advance and continued to swing through their ranks, following Zinnia's movements as she swung around her party to strike every direction.
Members of the Parliament were falling from the air like rain after being hit. Some recovered by landing on nearby bramble branches though some weren't fortunate to find a foothold and fell further into the chasm. Zinnia kept her eyes on her weapon as it followed her movement, making sure to retract it as soon as it's done to recede her aura. A battle with this many enemies was going to be a long one. Using her aura springingly was paramount.
Ebony glanced at Alexandrite who had no weapon to fight with nor aura to protect her. Concern crossed her face before returning to steely resolve. She lifted Trois Reines and moved it in front of Alexandrite who looked at her in confusion.
"Just take it. We don't have time to discuss it. They're coming," Ebony told her, placing her sword in her Champion's hands, then grabbed her scabbard and changed it to its shotgun mode.
Not a word escaped Alexandrite's lips. There was no reason to defy the gesture. All she did was change Trois Reines from sword to spear to get some similarity to her halberd. She wanted to battle properly. A smile formed on her face where despair should've been.
Zinnia retracted her blade as the assassins entered their space. Many were taken down, but more were still coming. It was time for a close-quarter confrontation. The first attack came in the form of knives thrown their way from every direction.
The one to act was Zinnia who extended her blade and grabbed a segment of it barehanded. She began spinning around herself and the others like an untied lasso, deflecting and incoming blades with her fast-spinning whip.
Alexandrite deflected any that were in Zinnia's blindspot or got through her defenses. Each swing came with a swiftness she didn't expect, parrying blows faster than she had ever done before. The astonishment was replaced by realization when she remembered she was wielding Trois Reines. The weapon was much lighter than her halberd, giving her more deft. It lacked power but it was better than fighting with nothing.
Alexandrite made a mental note to thank Ebony if they survive.
Dozens of daggers, throwing stars, and small bladed weapons were littered across this bramble branch they stood on. The horde of enemies landed on it to surround them and they did. There were masked assassins from one side to the next, overwhelming the three-woman team with numbers alone. Ebony scanned the battlefield and knew it was grim, but knew they needed to stick together to survive or at least last longer. If so many picked them off one by one, each of them would die.
The nervous sweat began to drip from her forehead and her brow furrowed in agitation, feeling the use of Alexandrite semblance to be very useful if she had any aura left. Ebony blinked hard, chastising herself for thinking about what-ifs in the middle of a life and death battle. She needed to focus to survive. "Stay together," she told the others "We're stronger united."
The assassins charged for them to end this with numbers. Ebony locked eyes with Zinnia then flicked them to all the knives on the ground. It seemed her hint was enough for Zinnia to understand because she picked up three knives and cloaked them in Armaments, increasing their length and power. Armaments wasn't her semblance, but Ebony had a fair understanding of its mechanics.
The Paragon held all three knives in her hand with her aura cloaking them, giving them the length of shortswords. Her skills with throwing blades may not be on par with Violet's, but she was confident in her abilities. Zinnia threw all of them at the group of assassins coming from her front and the knives flew at them like small missiles until each struck an assassin. Their aura kept them safe from the lethality of the knives, but the power boost from Armaments was enough to send the assassins flying backward when struck and the force pushed the other assassins behind them. Many of them were knocked back but more were still coming.
There were more knives around her and Zinnia quickly put her whip-sword away and focused on throwing them all at the incoming enemies. She kept many at bay, but more were getting through, weaving away from the flying blades and entering their space.
Ebony had her gaze fixed on all the assassins closest to her with the barrel of her shotgun scabbard at the ground behind her. She pulled the trigger and fired a powerful round that propelled her toward the enemy ranks. The momentum from her propulsion gave her enough force as she swung her scabbard at several assassins, knocking them off the bramble and falling. She didn't care what happened to them if it meant her group lived. After the first strike, Ebony swiftly danced around the rest of the surrounding assassins who tried to engage her. With the need to survive taking priority in her mind, Ebony instincts took full control as she evaded and blocked all attacks that came her way. All her actions were on evasion then countering as she gradually moved back to her original position with the others.
A hard smack to as assassin's ribs and a large jump backward created some distance between Ebony and the enemy horde. The rush of wind flying by her body sent a shiver down her spine as she found more knives coated in Armaments, striking down more assassin members. Over a dozen knives flitted past her as more assassins fell were injured.
Something else entered Ebony's space, but she could tell it wasn't another knife. It was too big and its presence was strong. Alexandrite rushed past her with Trois Reines and reeled the weapon back. A tremendous swing from the Bedazzled Behemoth left Ebony in surprising awe. So many assassins were blown off the bramble by her strength alone. Seeing such an act left Ebony impressed with Alexandrite's abilities but worried over her recklessness and lack of aura.
One horde was taken down, but another filled its place immediately. More members of the Parliament jumped down on the branch their brothers and sister fell to take over. There seemed to be no end to them. Three of them jumped off a branch from above and tried to Alexandrite. She knew they were there but refused to look their way, knowing taking her eyes off the silent foes in front of her was even more dangerous. Then a shotgun blast filled her ears followed by the sound of an impact and another shotgun blast. Three assassins fell before her with Ebony landing in front of her with her scabbard.
"We can't fight them off like this. I have an idea," she whispered to Alexandrite who was curious about her plan but she deemed it was in her best interest to listen.
Ebony wasn't entirely sure of herself as she usually was when it came to her plans, but felt the reward was worth the risk. She quickly grabbed Alexandrite's arm and dragged her away from the enemy, going back to their original position where Zinnia was keeping the enemies from the other side at bay all on her own.
The title Paragon suited Zinnia very well. Who else could hold back a virtual tidal wave of assassins all on her own with nothing but throwing blades at her feet? She threw them all in her right hand while having her whip-sword in her left, deflecting incoming attacks and refilling her supply of throwing weapons. Anytime a large group tried to approach and overwhelm her, Zinnia lashed out with her whip-sword's blade, cutting them down in seconds. This was working out, but that seemed problematic to her.
So many assassins yet they were attacking only in a mob-like fashion. This was nothing like her encounter with the duo several days ago. It was confusing, but Zinnia believed they viewed this as a battle of attrition that they will win so any sense of technique could be abandoned for the reliance of numbers. Perplexing as it was, she didn't complain about it since that mentality kept her alive, for now. It was only a matter of time before something gave way and she believes she and the others will soon.
"Zinnia!" Her thoughts of the others were interrupted by the real thing. She found Ebony and Alexandrite retreating which made her believe they were finally at wit's end. "Bring the house down!"
A raised eyebrow was what Ebony was met with, but it appeared her message got through to the Paragon. She was glad Zinnia knew what she wanted to do as she watched her shoot her whip-sword out with Armaments to increase the length and power. The aura imbued blade reached above them to strike a bramble branch above them. She cut into one end of the branch that was rooted in the chasm wall and it began to crumble. The deep cut ravaged the roots embedded in the cliff and the weight of the bramble was too much for them to bear. She did the same thing to the same bramble but on the other end.
It was going to come crashing down.
Zinnia shot out her whip-sword at another bramble and kept it lodged in. She quickly gave the hilt of her weapon to Alexandrite then grabbed hold of her left side. Ebony was on her right and wrapped her hands around her waist. The Bedazzled Behemoth took a deep breath then jumped off the bramble before the assassins could close in on them. The bramble branch above began to fall and it was going to land on all of them.
How could Zinnia swing around and jump down such heights and make it look easy? Alexandrite's heart was throbbing with anxiety as she swung over the deep gorge with her teammates around her. The thought of falling to such a depth made her hold onto the sword tighter. There was a bramble branch with no assassins on it but was deeper in the chasm. It would've been better in her mind if they could climb out this hole, but too many enemies waited for them and she doubted they let them go by so easily. Alexandrite landed on the bramble branch where more laid beside it, above, and even more below.
Ebony let go of Alexandrite and took in her surroundings. She observed everything before saying, " This is a narrower spot than the last one. It'll be easier to bottleneck their advances."
Zinnia made the same observations and said, "The branches around her are close by. We'll have more space to move about." Her gaze turned to Alexandrite with concern. It wasn't lost on the Bedazzled Behemoth. "Can you keep this up?"
Being asked that question was very insulting, but she did her best to keep her irritation under wraps. "Yeah," she replied dryly. Alexandrite reached for Trois Reines but felt something in her pocket and she remembered what it was. Alexandrite finally assessed her aura and realized a little bit of it was restored. A good sign, but with this thing in her pocket…and Zinnia's question running in her head on repeat...
"They're coming," Zinnia informed the others and they looked
The assassins leaped down from branch to branch like a swarm of locust to reach their location. Zinnia noticed many of them were holding knives yet none of them threw it like before, believing they must've learned she could use them to her advantage. They were prepared to rush them in close quarters.
"All of them are coming from above. Meaning…" Zinnia didn't finish her thought as she put it into action. She shot out her whip-sword sending the extended blade to the enemy forces then twirled the hilt around so the blade would follow. The whip began to rotate in a spiral fashion similar to a ribbon baton. The maneuver was the right call for her to make as she and the others watched as the spinning blade ripped through so many enemies who had no choice but to come down to their level.
Ebony knew Zinnia was the key to surviving this ordeal without Alexandrite's semblance. Her ranged attacks were superior and her creativity made even more potent, but it wouldn't last forever. She braced herself for the eventual close combat. Her eyes were on the enemy falling from above. All enemies that were ripped apart by Zinnia's blade fell down the chasm around them. If she counted correctly...or guessed correctly, they've taken out over fifty assassins, but there were still so many left.
"Are we making a dent in their numbers?" she wondered, doubting their efforts were making any leeway.
Those doubts and hesitations stiffened her body and that uncertainty she felt came to pass. Not sure how it slipped past her or why she didn't think of it sooner, but a hand took a fierce grip around her right ankle. A strong pull toppled her footing and dragged her off the branch. Ebony was falling with an assassin pulling her into the abyss. Their current location wasn't too deep in the ravine, but being separated from the others was dangerous and Ebony could see what awaited her beneath. More enemies, perched upon bramble branches.
Ebony aimed her scabbard shotgun at the face of the assassin holding her and fired. The blow blasted the enemy away and left her to fall. She found very few branches her way and reached out to the first one she'd fall by and managed to grab a root growing from the side. She climbed onto the isolated branch then found the assassin was coming to pounce on her. She held her scabbard defensively.
The sound alerted Alexandrite and Zinnia of what was happening. Alexandrite rushed to the side of the branch and found the predicament Ebony was in. Zinnia was too occupied keeping the assassins above at bay to do anything about the ones below. Alexandrite knew that. She also knew Zinnia would be safe on her own for now, but Ebony wasn't as fortunate while Alexandrite held half of the Vantablack's weapon. Would she do any better if she
"Can you keep this up?"
"Why are those words coming up now?" she wondered in irritation.
Alexandrite gritted her teeth then leaped off the branch. The height of the jump was great to her but the little aura she had should be enough to protect her from harm. The assassins were coming from the distance and she knew they wouldn't be able to combat such an onslaught.
The story. Their story. It shouldn't end like this. Not by the hands of assassins. Dying against a horde was not how Alexandrite wanted to die. Her death was not something she gave much thought about despite seeking battle to satisfy her need for strength. More words echoed through her mind.
"People like her always show in Mistral and they all share the same ending: a pointless death."
"A warrior seeking nothing but conflict will never be satisfied and perish needlessly. Is that the kind of life you want?"
Alexandrite landed on the bramble branch a few feet in front of Ebony. The assassins were homing in on their position. So many jumping toward them with swords and daggers. They had more than enough numbers to eradicate them. No...
"I am not going to die… I refuse to die here! We're going to make it out of here, no matter what it takes!"
Ebony heard her Alexandrite's words and she agreed, but that was as far as it went. She watched as the Behemoth reached into her pocket and pulled out a syringe. Supernova.
Alexandrite injected herself before Ebony could stop her.
It's safe to assume Alexandrite is going through some inner turmoil just like Ebony. Her original resolve of battling strong opponents is being shaken by external elements in Mistral, namely interactions with others. Gaining strength for no other reason than to fight has always been her desire, but now she's not sure what she wants.
The assassin group being compared to the Court of Owls was a happy accident. I used only one member in the core story and thought its semblance was terrifying. What if there were more of them?