Broken Mirrors, Fallen Kings

Tukson drove to a parking garage, left the vehicle in a corner space, and then led them down a stairwell. It opened into a half-flooded basement that stank of mold and other unpleasant things, making Pyrrha rather glad for the bandanna she could pull up over her nose.

Not that it really helped, but at least it made her feel a little better.

There was enough light from a few old bulbs to let her see as they picked their way along a narrow strip of concrete blocks set up as a bridge. It brought them over to a dark section of the wall that looked only a little different from the rest, and it wasn't until Tukson grabbed a protruding bit of rebar and pulled that she realized it was a secret door.

Oh that's rather clever. Just like in a story.

Inside was a dim little room with a kettle, a sleeping bag, and a few boxes of supplies. It didn't look particularly homey or welcoming to her, but then she wasn't on the run from a terrorist organization. Just from her parents. And her responsibilities. And... well, plenty of other things.

"Home sweet home." Tukson grunted as he stepped in. "Safe room from the old, old days. I'd rather have your partner watching for anyone following, if that's all right."

Blake touched Pyrrha's arm gently. "Are you sure you're all right to stand guard?"

"Of course." She rather preferred that idea.

Some part of her really did want to know what was going on, what was really going on, but the rest of her... was ever so aware that she may have made a mistake today. Another mistake. That maybe she should have accepted Blake's offer to merely see each other at night, to spend her days in the hotel until the semester started. That having her company in the evenings would have been enough to ask for advice, to spend time with a new friend.

Now I'm... an accomplice to... something.

Thankfully Blake didn't seem to notice her inner doubts.

Instead she simply gave her a relieved smile and ducked in after Tukson. The big man let her pass, then leaned out long enough to tell her, "Got an alarm ringed whenever a car pulls in above, and another one on the stairs we used. Standard placement, alarm buzzer at the base of the stairs."

Standard what? "Thank you!"

The secret door closed, leaving her standing there.

Her.

Pyrrha Nikos,

The Invincible Girl, Golden Child of Argus... standing in the half-flooded basement of a parking garage in Vale. While she waited for two admitted terrorists to finish having a conversation about their criminal plans. All because the very first person she'd had a real conversation with after running away from home had...

...well, Blake hadn't even really asked her to. She'd actually tried to tell her not to get involved. She'd tried very hard to tell Pyrrha to not get involved, only caving when Pyrrha had admitted she would try to follow her anyway.

"I just kept insisting." She whispered, turning around to start picking her way back. "Oh gods. I really am that dreadfully bad at this, aren't I?"

She'd gone from being so incredibly bored that she'd revealed herself thanks to her own stubborn pride, to being involved in a brawl with terrorists inside of a book store, and now she was... standing guard while two slightly friendlier terrorists talked about something.

How did someone actually stand guard? Did she just... stand? Find a hidden spot to look from?

Typical, that echo of her mother spoke in her mind, The very first person you think you can truly call a friend, and you leap in even after she tells you that she's a terrorist. If you had any sense at all you'd go upstairs, contact the police, and end this now.

The police? The thought of them jogged her memory.

"Oh dear. We forget to call them about those people we locked up." She bit her lip. "Did she forget, or was she never going to call them at all?"

She didn't like having doubts about Blake, and yet was finding herself with all too many of them. Then again, how could she truly have doubts? Doubts implied knowledge and faith. She was showing faith, but knowledge... she hardly knew anything about Blake at all.

As she was so fond of reminding herself, she'd known the other girl for a grand total of two days. Not even consecutive days.

Well... less than two days really. More like a handful of hours. Now that she really thought about it, it was strange that Blake had let her follow along. Maybe she was just as desperate for help as Pyrrha was?

It was a thought. Not a particularly happy one, but a thought all the same.

"I probably should have gone into the safe room, since I've come this far." She realized as she made the last hop over to a little raised section near the stairwell. "Maybe then I'd know what I'm actually helping with, or if I should already be... I don't know. Running to Patch and Signal or calling the police."

Everything was just... just so overwhelming. This couldn't be what life was like for normal people, even huntresses.

But... no. She couldn't walk away. Couldn't just leave.

"Besides, even if I did, I don't have a scroll to call anyone with."

Sighing, Pyrrha elected to find a relatively dry and dark corner near the stairwell to stand in. That seemed the appropriate thing to do for someone standing guard, from what she'd seen in the movies.

After a couple of minutes of tense silence, disturbed only by the distant sound of traffic and close sounds of dripping water, she pulled Milo into her hands began checking it over. That didn't take her nearly as long as she'd have liked, and so she progressed onto doing some light stretching.

She was still loosening up her arms when a quiet chime nearly gave her a heart attack.

Right. A car must have arrived.

Not sure what else to do, she turned Milo over once before clicking the selector. Her dutiful weapon twisted, expanding out into its rifle mode. If more White Fang people were here, then hopefully it would be enough to simply threaten them after how the ones at the book store at reacted.

Then she settled in to wait.

She waited.

Waited.

It was impossible to tell time, but she was certain at least five or six minutes passed before she realized how foolish she was being.

It's a parking garage. Cars are going to come and go.

Sighing again at her own behavior, she went back to stretching. Two more cars came in, one right after the other, and then the little speaker made a double-note that she assumed meant something else. A car leaving maybe?

It seemed a safe enough guess when she didn't hear anyone coming down the stairs.

Well, until the sound of a low buzzer went off a few moments before the sound of heels clicking on concrete began to echo down to her. The distinctive noise had her relaxing almost at once. She may not have known a lot about the White Fang, but she had a very hard time imagining any of them wearing heels.

Sure enough the figure that emerged was about the farthest thing from a terrorist she could think of.

A shockingly petite young woman with brown and pink hair, a stylish suit, knee-high heeled boots, and a closed parasol stopped at the last stair. From the way her tiny nose turned up she wasn't anymore enamored with the smell than Pyrrha was.

Pyrrha considered speaking up, asking her to politely leave, but froze when the girl began to slowly look over the flooded space. Something in the way she was standing was...

She's tense, strong foot braced. Holding the parasol as a weapon, not an accessory.

Her dark corner must have hidden her, because those searching eyes didn't quite seem to reach her. A moment later a man's voice carried down from above. "Any luck Neo?"

Rather than calling back, the girl stomped a boot down twice.

"Damn. All right then, we'll try the other lead."

The girl nodded, glancing around one more time and apparently didn't spot Pyrrha in her little spot. Then she turned around and started back up the stairs, stepping on a piece of glass on her way out.

Well. That was odd... are they hiring young girls now? No, terrorists don't hire. They... recruit, I think.

Still, she should warn Blake and Tukson like a proper guard once the footsteps faded. Maybe they would know what this was about.

Then hopefully we can call the police about the bookstore, and then go back to the hotel. I really must think about all of this. Hopefully-

Cold steel tickled her throat, and for the third time in one day her training kicked in before she could even think about it. An unsubtle push of her semblance hurled back every bit of metal within several yards of her, which... had side effects.

Rebar inside of the walls groaned, rusting car parts shot out from the water to shatter against the concrete, and the same girl she'd seen before abruptly became visible in front of her. Her eyes and mouth were both twisted in surprise and anger while a thin sword was wrenched away from Pyrrha's skin.

Not that it stopped her from whipping the parasol across Pyrrha's face before she could get Milo up, drawing a startled note from her lips.

Her retaliatory kick hit nothing but air when the girl twisted away, almost dancing back to open the distance between them.

"Who are you?" Pyrrha demanded, shifting her weapon over to its sword function.

Semblance of some form. Aura unlocked. Style unknown.

The girl bounced onto one of the concrete dividers, balancing precariously above the stagnant water. Mismatched eyes glared back at her, but she said nothing, merely brought her blade up to a high guard.

Narrowing her own eyes, she brought Milo up across her body, ready to thrust or parry as well. "Who are you?"

"I'm afraid my associate can't answer!" The man she'd heard earlier called from somewhere above them. Her voice must have carried. "She's rather mute, you see. How about we talk about this like civilized monsters, criminal to terrorist, eh?"

Oh dear. They thought she was White Fang too. This was... getting a little out of hand.

"I would be happy to!" Pyrrha called back politely. "What would you like to discuss?"

For some reason that made the girl tilt her head, and the man was silent for a long moment before he jovially replied. "You sound like a sensible young woman, maybe even with brains under your... hair, fur, whatever you've got! How about you leave nice and quiet like, so my associate and I can handle our business?"

"May I ask as to what your business might be?"

Slow footsteps began to sound off in time with his voice. "Oh, you know. Just dealing a bit of a pest problem. Couple of rats poking their noses in places they shouldn't have. Nothing out of the ordinary."

...she'd seen enough crime films to guess that meant they were here to kill Blake and Tukson.

Keeping her voice raised, she hoped the two of them could hear her inside of their safe room. Assuming they'd missed the massive noise her semblance had made. "Could we perhaps simply talk, and avoid fighting?"

"I''m afraid that ship's sailed, burned, exploded, and sank. Pick your metaphor." He drawled as he came into sight.

He was fairly tall, and wore white coat over top of an expensive looking suit. Messy orange hair half hid his features, but the cane in his left hand drew more of her attention. The easy smile he wore reminded her painfully of the 'investors' her mother had occasionally met with before father had stopped her from wasting any more of their money.

"Look, criminal to terrorist, human to animal? I'm not getting paid to remove you, whatever and whoever you are." He leaned on his cane, still smiling despite the rather revolting slur he'd just uttered. "It's not professional to off a bystander, so why don't you just stand by, eh? Easier on everyone that way."

Pyrrha flicked her eyes between them. They're both trained. They're trying to look relaxed, but they have me pinned between them. Ready to rush me from both sides.

A tiny bit of motion behind the girl told her that she at least had help. Shadows moved, barely recognizable as Blake slowly emerged with her own weapon held in both hands.

When fighting two opponents at once, eliminate one as soon as possible. He has the best view of the room. He is the priority.

"I would rather-" She didn't get a chance to finish. Either something in her stance gave them away, or the girl simply heard Blake moving. The tiny woman abruptly whipped around, rushing towards her friend without even a token effort to protect her back.

Pyrrha was a beat slower, but she kicked off with her back foot and charged the man on the stairs, praying that Blake could hold her own for however long it took Pyrrha to deal with him.

His smile remained in place, his cane still lowered and his body language relaxed.

I don't look like Pyrrha Nikos. He's not taking me seriously... his mistake.

She'd just made the leap to get from her concrete block to his stairwell when he shifted his weapon a single degree, pulling a hidden trigger with the cane pointed at the water. Whatever it fired detonated in a plume of rancid steam that she couldn't help but fly into, clenching her eyes shut and yelping against the sudden rush of heat. As it was she barely kept her balance when she landed, her free hand snapping out in panic to grab the railing.

Blind fighting!

A panicked call to her semblance wasn't fast enough to let her feel the first blow until the cane slammed into her temple, only her aura and training letting her roll with the impact. Her free arm got her blade up in time to deflect a thrust at her throat, but her footing was too unbalanced to counter-strike.

Feeling the metal swinging around again, she blocked a slash at the wrist helping to hold her precariously in place, then parried another thrust before risking opening her eyes again.

They burned, but she could see the man staring hard at her as he tried to press his advantage.

"Neat trick, copper-top." He still sounded more amused than anything else.

Coughing to clear her lungs, she had to tighten her grip on the railing when he feinted at her head, then redirected his attack to her sternum. She was quick enough to try to block, but with only one arm she couldn't match his strength.

Her attempt to deflect the attack didn't actually help; instead of her sternum he hit her right breast directly. The startled yelp of pain was out before she could stop it. That pain only got worse when he leaned in, trying to drive her through sheer force off the stairwell and into the water. Even if it wasn't all that deep, it would slow and distract her.

He's unbalanced. Rising Leaf.

Shifting Milo low, she swept it up between them. A deep draw on her semblance yanked her blade up with far more force than her body or stance could have ever managed; and far more than he could have expected.

It was his turn to let out a surprised sound, a rather foul curse when her strike drove his cane up and over their heads as he fell into her. Pyrrha ducked her shoulder at once, felt it slam into his chest, then twisted at her hips to shove him around.

He tried to catch himself, but his side didn't have a railing. One arm windmilled for a second, then he fell with a heavy splash. The water was just deep enough to cover him for a second before he shot up, sputtering and swearing.

Pyrrha was already settling into a proper stance, now with the high ground of the stairwell.

Set. Ready.

Their duel was cut short when Tukson came charging in her direction, leaping over the prone man before he could react. "Time to go!"

She nearly fell when he stormed past her, "What!?"

"Run!" Blake was right behind him, her clothes soaked through, though she slowed just enough to kick their male attacker in the side of the head as she darted past. "Run!"

A Nikos does not retreat!

"But-!"

Blake grabbed her arm and yanked her into motion as she moved past, her own opponent furiously kicking up sprays of water as she tried to get back to the make-shift bridge. Pyrrha's enemy recovered while she was distracted trying to both keep her balance and tug free of Blake's grip, got his cane back up, and pulled the trigger just as the two of them started stumbling up a step or two.

She tried to divert it on instinct with her semblance, but didn't have enough time to even be startled before it slammed into her side regardless.

The explosion was painfully loud, her chest slamming into Blake's back. Her aura sparked madly, holding, but it had to have taken a significant hit. For her part, Blake staggered but stayed upright, keeping a strong grip on Pyrrha's wrist as she kept dragging her up. Catching herself, she managed to find her footing as they reached the top of the short flight, and started accelerating as they turned around the corner.

"Why are we running!?" She finally got the question out, "And who are they!?"

"Hunters!" Blake shouted back, "Come on!"

But why are we running!?

Tukson was slamming the door shut on his car just as they made the top of the stairs, engine roaring to life. They'd hardly started to start moving that way before he'd thrown it into reverse, nearly clipped a pillar holding the ceiling up, and then shifted into forward motion.

For a moment Pyrrha thought he was going to roar right past them, but he slammed on the breaks at the last moment.

Blake had hardly finished climbing in, and Pyrrha was only halfway when he floored it anyway. Both of them yelped at the sudden motion, her arm burning when Blake yanked hard to get her the rest of the way in. Then it was just Blake yelping when most of Pyrrha's weight landed directly on top of her, the back door still wide open as Tukson drove.

Well, at least until the impact with a wall ripped it clean off the car.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha spat out bits of Blake's hair as she tried to get off of her firend in a way that didn't pitch her out of the car. "Could you slow down a bit!?"

"Hell no! That was Torchwick!"

Anything she could have said in reply was cut off when he took a corner at speed, driving her head-first into the remaining door. "Ouch!"

He went on ignoring them as they slowly managed to get disentangled. Prolonged contact had left Pyrrha's clothes as wet as Blake's, and she couldn't help but note that now both of them smelled rather like molding garbage.

Lovely.

"Um..." She hesitantly spoke up once she'd gotten the central seat belt around her waist. "Where are we going?"

"Few more blocks." Tukson replied without looking back. "I'll drop you off there."

Pyrrah glanced to Blake, who looked even more exhausted than she had this morning. "And... then?"

"Our place." The other girl mumbled. "Showering, again. Going over what Tukson knew. Figuring out what our next move will be."

Oh. That was good. She'd... well, gone from being dreadfully bored to having had quite enough excitement for one day. "May I ask who those people were?"

"Tukson?" Blake prodded. "I'd kind of like to know that too."

"Roman Torchwick and Neopolitan. Criminals, some of the most dangerous in the city."

Blake frowned. "Human?"

"Yeah."

"What are they doing hunting you down?"

Pyrrha cleared her throat, "Um, I think he was after you both. From what it sounded like."

"Probably was." Tukson's voice was still tense. "No idea why, but you know how I told you my old cell members started vanishing a month ago? Pretty sure he was responsible. No idea why your old friend is contracting out his dirty work, but that seems to be what's happening."

"Then," Pyrrha asked, "Why did we run? We could have arrested them."

The man barked out a rather unstable laugh. "He's a fully trained huntsman, and I saw a recording of that little girl killing five men in as many seconds. You want to fight them? Go for it, but I'll be in another city."

Oh.

He hadn't quite seemed all that tough to her, but then they'd only exchanged a few blows. Perhaps he'd simply underestimated her since she hardly looked like... well, herself.

And the girl's semblance... teleportation? Invisibility?

Either one was quite dangerous. Less so to her, but still rather threatening. "We could-"

"Petra." Blake had allowed her head to fall back against the rest. One hand rose, tiredly pulling the bow off of her ears. "I'd have liked to fight them too. Tukson doesn't have his aura unlocked; we had to run."

Oh. That put things in an entirely different light. Their priority should have been to get the nearly defenseless man out before a single stray bullet harmed him.

"I understand. I apologize."

Tukson may have grunted something in reply, but Blake merely twitched her head in a tiny nod. "Don't worry about it. Let's just get back safely, then figure out what we're doing next."

"That... sounds grand."

Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."

Thanks, Kat