The Trials

The Fight // Chapter 24

Each floor we scaled, the more nervous I became. The stairs creaked with curiosity, and made me wonder what was happening with Ace and Spade. Apparently they were on the top floor, but were they still there? Did they know we were coming? I gripped my rapier for support, and enduring for any outcome possible. I knew I had to stay smart in this scenario, and be prepared for anything.

"We're almost there" Zoe said in her robotic tone, but at a lower volume. "I can't tell if anyone is above us, but there has been people here recently" She tells us, pausing us before the door to the top floor of the bank. Reyna lightly presses her ear to the door, listening for any sounds or movement on the other side, but she shakes her head.

"Do we enter then?" I ask, whispering. I press my hand to my left ear, and speak in a low voice. "Does anyone have any intel on where the Twins are?"

Cameo responds almost instantly. "No, my group is staking out here at an old cafe, there was movement recently" Okay, so no sign of them on the lower ground levels. Maia speaks to us next, informing us of the same.

"Avalon and I have a great view from up here but no sign of them either. I do believe they're in your building Orion" My gut drops, making me uncomfortable. They must be on the other side of this door.

"Okay, we're going in" Reyna says, whispering and letting the group know. But before we continue in, Miles gives us a quick tip.

"Let Zoe go first, she'll protect you if something happens. Stay safe guys" Miles says, and I grip my weapon. It's time to go in.

Reyna kicks down the door, in a quick motion and it topples over. Zoe zooms ahead, and spins quickly, allowing a green circle to come around her, creating a wide and tall shield blocking us from the attack that is waiting for us. Ace and Spade stand by the window opposite of the door, and Ace shoots his handgun but the shield from Zoe prevents it from hitting us. It sends off a loud bang, and I hide myself behind the door frame as Renya is a little farther ahead, hiding behind a table. She yells into her earpiece relaying the message that the Twins are here at the bank.

"Wow, you could have knocked" Ace says with a grim laugh, sending another shot forward, but Zoe blocks it once again. "It could have at least let us pack up our belongings." He says firing another round of shots, hoping to break down Zoe but it doesn't seem to be working. Reyna stands up, still behind Zoe and flames fill her daggers and hands. I can't sit here and hide any further, I need to do something. I can't get close to them, my weapon is close range. I've got to use my ice otherwise. I turn around the corner and put my rapier in it's sheath, but allowing my hands to become covered in frost.

"What are you doing here?" I spit the words at Ace and he lets off a chuckle as he reloads his gun.

"You wish you could know, but small useless Potentials like you don't deserve to be spoken to regardless" He tells me, but I can see the slight panic in his movements. I quickly scan the room, looking for another exit, but there isn't one. The room is full of books and tables full of vials, but the only way out of the room is the door we're blocking. And the window behind him. He points his gun once more at us, and sends more shots at us, but the shield prevents them from hitting us.

He sighs, gesturing for the girl next to him, Spade, to come closer. She's silent, but her eyes are cold. She stands next to him, and glares at us. "I didn't want to do this, but you've left us with no choice" He puts his gun in his holster and claps his hands together, and they become covered in red hot flames. "Let us leave, or your life will end here"

"Absolutely not" Reyna says, and Zoe starts to hum a little bit. She's becoming weak, but doesn't want to say anything, However, Ace doesn't wait, he sends a stream if fireballs at Zoe and eventually she gets worn down and the shield disappears. She floats behind us, as Reyna catches the fireballs but even that is causing her to be worn down. I have to do something.

I throw my hands up in anger, and thrown a line of spike ice towards Ace and Spade and they hit directly. They topple back and I take the opportunity to attack again. I unsheathe my rapier and run across the room towards Ace, as Spade runs towards Reyna. As Ace is still recovering from the attack, I swing my rapier down at him, but he shoots a hand up, grabbing my weapon with his fire filled hands. He grins, and sends a quick side kick at me, causing me to fall down. He throws a punch at me, and it hits directly. I collapse fully on the ground, searching for air. My rapier is bustling with frost, and I stab it directly in the ground, using it to help me get up. Ace is running towards Reyna and Spade, and towards the door.

"Not on my watch" I mutter, throwing a ball of ice into the air in front of me, and pulling it apart into a ton of tiny ice needles, and thrusting my hand forward as they race at Ace and stab him in the back of his legs. He falls, and yells in pain. Reyna and Spade are struggling as I run towards them.

"Going to need backup" I say as I run, hoping someone heard the message.

"Everyone is on their way" Jack tells me, giving me a sense of hope. Ace gets up and I smash my rapier against his side, causing an explosion of ice to occur, and he yells again but kicks me down and runs towards the door.

"Reyna!" I yell and she understands. She punches Spade with her hands of fire and blocks the door, before Ace gets to it. I grab him by the back of the shirt and thrown him towards the other side of the room. Panting, I run towards him, but Spade beats me to it. She grabs me with her psychic abilities and throws me directly towards Ace as he grabs me by the front of my shirt.

His breath bleeds onto mine as he keeps his face close to mine. He grits his teeth in utter anger and pushes me towards the window, with a death smirk. "Nice try kid" He says, and pushes me against the open window, but I fight back the best I can. Reyna is being held back by Spade's powers. I fight and wiggle and try to get out of his grasp, but my feet are suddenly dangling out of the window, and my entire body is outside the window, ready to be dropped. I feel the wind blow against me, and the ground below me look grimace as I'm almost about to fall to my death. "Sorry it had to end like this, but you can't be getting in my way any longer" Those words fill me with anger, and pain, and as Ace lets go of me, I grab his wrist and pull him down with me.

We're falling, the ground becoming closer and closer. Closer and closer to our deaths, but fate has another idea. Inches away from the ground, a familiar purple aura appears around us and we begin to quickly float towards the roof where Maia and Avalon are.

Maia lets me down slowly next to her, but Ace is aggressively thrown to the pavement at Avalon feet, where he immediately grabs him and punches him swiftly across the face, and he drops again to ground, knocked out. I get up and run towards the edge to see if Reyna was okay, but Maia grabs my shoulder and brings me back.

"Orion, Reyna and Zoe are okay, Cameo is there" She tells me and I sit in the floor and sigh a breath of relief. Blood is scattered across my shirt, and my hands are exhausted and covered in burn marks.

"Nice work Frosty" Avalon says, kneeling next to me, and then it all hits me.

I'm safe. We're safe. We completed the first mission successfully.