Warriors: The New Era.
Chapter Nineteen: The Reunions.
This chapter, the gang will all come together. And...another interaction with the Assassin. You are free to guess his identity.
Forrestlake was surviving.
The country had begun picking the pieces up, not long after American Troops were sent to restore order. A world wide manhunt had taken place in search for Jay's Wing.
The search had been fruitless.
People from all across the world had came to help Forrestlake get back on her feet. Rebuilding, renovating, hunting, all in order to restore peace and order to the proud country.
Hawkfrost was impressed.
He was proud of the citizens for coming together in this time of need. The anarchists had either been caught, or fled. Any one who still served under Scourge's freedom cry, was under arrest by the new Chief of Police.
His own Brother.
Bramblestar had stepped up, and certainly took the job with great honor. When Hawkfrost fled from Rock's betrayal, the only person he could turn to was his brother. His Father was dead (not that he would have gone to him anyway), his mentor was shot by some assassin, his mother was serving two life terms in the underground maximum security prison in Thrundrair city.
And everyone else was dead.
In reality, or dead to him, it made no difference.
"What do you think, Doctor or Soldier?" Hawkfrost asked.
Bramblestar shrugged, sitting across from him at the coffeetable. The two had rented out an apartment until Brambletsar's first Captain's Check came in "Uh, Doctor. Less recognizable that way. Remember, you're still a wanted man."
"Don't remind us," Hawkfrost scowled.
"So, what's it like now? Who am I speaking to? Hawk, or Hawkfrost?" Bramblestar asked.
Hawkfrost shrugged, his pupiless white eyes showing little to no emotion "I guess it is both of us. Using meditative methods Sol taught us, we were able to conjoin. If I go without meditating for more then two days, we will separate again."
"Cool," Bramblestar nodded.
"Yes...Cool."
Breezepelt and Berrynose waited as the elevator went lower and lower underground.
The Prison Guard turned to stare directly at the two, eyes boring through them "Maintain a distance of three feet away from the prisoner.. Any closer, and we WILL arrest you. If you refuse to comply, we will shoot. Understand? We've had too many psychiatrists thinking they could handle it, and couldn't. If you become a risk, we will take the risk out of the equation."
Berrynose nodded "I'm cool. It's him you gotta worry about."
Breezepelt scoffed "Wow, thanks for having my back man."
The elevator opened, revealing a long lit hallway, leading to a room of which the did not want to enter.
Breezepelt gulped "Lead the way sir."
The guard huffed, taking the lead as the two followed him. Camera's moved along in their direction, maintaining focus on the college kids.
The guard opened the door, and remained in the hallway "Her last request was strange. Allow herself a full private conversation with you two. But she wouldn't change it. Have a good time. We will be watching."
The two men entered the room.
Inside was a middle-aged woman, with long orange and white hair. Her eyes glowed a beautiful amber, and her facial features were beautiful.
She was in a straightjacket, and to top it all off, she was standing upright in a holding device that had strong metal bars, clamped down on her waist, and shoulders, allowing only her neck to move.
She grinned "Hello boys..."
"Mapleshade," Breezepelt snarled.
Mapleshade stood unblinking, her psychotic nature glowing "If I had to guess. I'd say you want something from me."
Breezepelt pulled out his phone, and showed Mapleshade a clip of the assassin, killing all in the radio tower "This man...fought Scourge. We were hoping you could identify him."
"What makes you think that?" Mapleshade tilted her head.
Berrynose stepped forward "Because you had been in contact with him for God knows how long, and you know how many enemies he has."
"Oh, buckets full of lists of names," Mapleshade nodded "Like Poppyfrost."
"It wasn't her," Breezepelt scoffed "She has an alibi."
Mapleshade continued "Sasha, Hawkfrost, his mother-"
"Mother?" Berrynose asked.
"Quince Andora. Born in Australia, and left her children with their father, in search of a better husband. Scourge never quite got over it."
"Children? He has siblings?" Berrynose asked, not liking where this was going.
Thankfully, Mapleshade seemed to understand the concern, and shook her head laughing "No, they are nothing like him. At least I don't think they are. He didn't talk about them."
Breezepelt raised a brow "Why would a mother leave her child, then all of a sudden come back to kill him? Doesn't make sense, any other enemies? I know he has more."
"Well sure he had more, but most of them are DEAD!" Mapleshade roared that last part, laughing like a hyena "Tigerstar, Bluestar, General Topal, That new Nancy Boy in Jay's Wing's place, All Music in general, The Thief Twins-"
"The who?" Berrynose asked.
"The Thief twins. Sparkpelt and Alderheart.
Dead silence.
"Alderheart is in the Pinewood Sanatorium, under a catatonic coma, after what YOU did to him," Breezepelt muttered, rage boiling up "And I didn't know Sparkpelt was his sister."
"The two were notable enemies of Scourge," Mapleshade nodded "They snuck in his forces, and sabotaged his army, stole supplies and did all under the guise of Bloodclan Loyalists. Scouge never caught them."
Breezepelt noticed something, and while Berrynose was busy discussing, Breezepelt was plotting. Berrynose scoffed "Do you or do you not know, who this man is?"
"No, but if I had a guess, someone with a deep vendetta against Scourge. Scourge should have kept his enemies closer."
Breezepelt grinned "Should have?"
Mapleshade nodded "Of course. If he did, this problem wouldn't exist."
Berrynose caught on "Did? Who said anything about him being dead?"
"Well you two-"
"No we didn't," Breezepelt smirked "We referred to him in present tense, while you continued in past tense. You knew he was dead."
Mapleshade's lip twitched, and her eyes bored into Breezepelt's "You bastar-"
"The Assassin was here," Berrynose concluded "And he asked you for information. And you gave it to him? Why?"
"Beacause that Assassin is my key to getting out of here," Mapleshade said, monotone.
Breezepelt tilted his head "Why would you tell us this? We can tell the guard over there, and then this whole place will be on lockdown. No way in or out."
Mapleshade smirked "Because he will return. I know he will."
"Tell us who the assassin is!" Breezepelt scowled, fists clenched.
Mapleshade shook her head "No. I don't think I will. But you do have the right to know that he will stop at nothing to get to his prey. To get to me."
Berrynose gasped "He's not coming back to free you! He's coming back to kill you!"
"And destroy all evidence," Mapleshade grinned "He's like a dog with a bone. He will never stop. The grandest armies of heaven cannot stall him. The deepest and hottest circle's of hell cannot make him sweat. The most painful torture you can imagine is just a decimal of what he can take. He is a walking Terminator. He cannot be bargained with, cannot be reasoned with. He doesn't feel pity, or remorse. All he does, is hunt. Hunt those who wronged him. And when he's done with me, he's coming for you."
Breezepelt grinned "So he's not only Scourge's enemy, but ours as well?"
"Correct," Mapleshade nodded.
Berrynose winced "I don't like the sound of this."
"It doesn't matter!" Breezepelt scowled "He'll never get to you! This place is a fucking fortress! Guarded by five thousand men, all for seven hundred prisoners."
"Just five thousand? Oh he'll have a field day."
"You telling us that five thousand men against him is a no-win situation for us?" Berrynose scowled.
"You send that many guards, you better have one thing," Mapleshade grinned.
"And what is that?!" Breezepelt snarled.
Mapleshade leaned her head closer to them, eyes glowing pink with raw magic power.
"A good supply of Body Bags."
"What did she mean?" Berrynose asked, hands on the wheel of his van. The two practically ran out of the prison after warning the prison guard "Who is this guy? Is it possible that he is as good as she says?"
Breezepelt shrugged "It's hard to say. He did kill Scourge."
Berrynose sighed "Sometimes I wonder if we're all gonna make it out of this alive."
"Don't talk like that," Breezepelt shook his head "Of course we will. We did so before didn't we?"
"That was different!" Berrynose pointed out "We had the three on our side."
"We still do," Breezepelt countered.
"No we have two," Berrynose took a moment to glare at Breezepelt, before setting his eyes back on the rode.
Breezepelt sighed "I know what you're talking about, but-"
"Jayfeather isn't himself!" Berrynose exclaimed "I know you've noticed! Something is eating him from the inside out. He doesn't trust Fernsong, he's still locked up in the basement."
"Of his own volition," Breezepelt countered "He could break out at any time."
"Can he though? He would be untrusted like a heartbeat," Berrynose snapped.
Breezepelt stayed silent, as Berrynose continued "He's erratic! He stopped trusting us! Remember when we got back from the college party? He hasn't acted like THAT Jayfearther since then! He's not himself!"
Breezepelt nodded "Yeah...he is acting strange alright, but it's just the stress. Ever since we found those copycat three, he has had a reason to panic. We tried so hard to get out of that cult war, and now we ended up back in again?"
Berrynose shrugged "Yeah, well I'll tell you one thing. I can't just sit on the sidelines anymore under the three's protection."
"What are you saying?" Breezepelt asked.
"Dude! Everyone here can fend for themselves except me! Poppyfrost has an army, Ivypool has magic and is a badass, Lionblaze has strength, Jayfeather has telekinesis and telepathy, Foxleap is a tech genius, Icecloud took judo and hapkido in middle school, Cinderheart can shoot a gun, Fallen Leaves took boxing lessons when he was twelve, Half Moon wouldn't dare be touched out of fear of Jayfeather, and YOU have brass knuckles and the initiative to use them! And me? I'm useless. I'm pathetic!"
"No you're not," Breezepelt argued "You definitely...you..."
"SEE?! Not even you see it!" Berrynose screamed "I am useless! I'm an idiot, a moron, and I have huge rage issues. I'm a sitting duck."
Breezepelt laughed "Man, you're underestimating yourself. Who tanked a shot from Slash? Who refused plastic surgery and insisted on showing everyone at school his new scar? Who out of all of us has had a girlfriend the longest? Who was the first line of defense when Brokenstar's men sacked the house?"
"I died in that timeline," Berrynose muttered.
"SO? You've got courage, you've got heart, you've got FIRE!" Breezepelt smirked "Berrynose, I can teach you how to fight, but you already are a fighter! You see what I'm saying?"
"I...I guess," Berrynose asked, as he pulled into the driveway.
Breezepelt hopped out of the van when it was parked, and went inside, as Berrynose contemplated what he said.
"I'm a fighter. I AM a fighter."
"WHAT THE SHITFUCK?! BERRYNOSE, GET YOUR ASS IN HERE, NOW!"
Berrynose bolted out the door, and burst into the house.
There stood his sister, Hazeltail, bright as daylight.
Jack stood behind her, his black hair short, with a growing goatee.
Midnight grinned "Miss us?"
Berrynose fainted.
Mapleshade waited.
She waited for years.
The footsteps made her look up.
There he was.
An Assassin. Black metallic mechanical armor across his limbs, all connecting to the chest and back piece. Each movement, made the armor come alive with robotic noises. A tube came out from the back of his head, sending clear liquid down across his shoulder and into where his heart should have been. The suit left no skin seeable, and covered up all features that could recognize him.
The mask was bulletproof, and on one side a filtration fan sucked oxyegn in silently, while a fan from his left abdominals sucked air out. He was as machine as he was a man.
"I knew you'd come back to finish the job," Mapleshade smirked.
"What did you tell them?" The Assassin asked, his voice coming out in a deep warbled voice.
Mapleshade tried to shrug, but her movement was severely limited "Whatever came to my mind. Your name was not one of them. How'd you get in, anyway?"
"I killed whoever stood in my way. And they are still looking for me. What information did you give them."
"That you were an enemy of Scourge," Mapleshade nodded "Which is true."
"Was true."
"Apologies, WAS."
The Assassin pulled a long smooth knife, and the mask hid his emotional features. The Assassin walked closer to her "This isn't just to hide my identity. I was hired. By A man you know."
"Rock...?"
"No. Sol."
"Sol is dead."
"So is his and my contract, meaning I get no reward for your death. Your disappearance is all that is necessary."
"So you ARE freeing me?"
Mapleshade raised a brow, as The Assassin pulled a smooth globe like object. He tossed it to the ground, and instantly, the electronic locks holding her in place deactivated.
She was free at last.
She took a deep breath (The restrictions kept her from breathing deeply) and her eyes glowed pink.
"Thank you."
"Do what must be done to kill the children. Do NOT toy with them this time!"
Mapleshade nodded, and bolted. Her super speed activated and she launched herself away.
She passed all the guards flooding the hallway, and ran across the entire underground prison, freeing the captives, giving them the chance to escape.
Mapleshade bolted through all the prison gates, and before she knew it, she was above ground, racing out of Thrundrair City.
I have reunited several good characters.
Oh an Uh, Mapleshade is back. Surprise.
Honestly, you should have expected this. Without Scourge, I have ONE psychopath that everyone hates. And she is it. She's is not going to be a throwaway villain, and will serve purpose.
I'm surprised no one had caught on with the Assassin's identity. I want to hear your thoughts. And out of the goodness of my heart, you get a hint! Here it is!
Don't assume someone is dead just because of one scene.
Adios