Chapter 2

'Girl you must be retarded' Anvil says as I finally open my eyes again.

"Shut up" I mumble, trying to get the taste of bile off my tongue.

'You awake?' he asks with concern filling his voice.

"Yeah I'm awake!" I say louder.

"Hey! Silence in there!" the guard in front of the door shouts into the cell.

'Siren?' he asks again, the amount of worry in his voice is almost sickening. I look around in my cell and notice what might be wrong.

Garnjiel was missing.

Jumping of the bed I rush at the door.

"Where did you take Garnjiel?" I ask the guard outside furiously.

"Silence!" the guard simply answers, not even looking my way.

'Siren!?' Anvil shouts in my mind.

'What!?' I shout back.

'Finally' he answers, 'you okay?'

My eyes widen as the puzzle starts to put itself together. Garnjiel is not here, the blade can't hear my voice so Anvil isn't able to hear me?

'That's is stupid' I facehoof, 'who's idea was this?'

'Yours!' Anvil answers, 'just charging into a big town with a weapon on your back. Did you actually expect them to just let you pass?'

'What?' I think about a second what he was saying, 'oh no you idiot! I didn't mean that! Sure I didn't expect the town guards to be so much stronger. But I meant that you're not able to hear me when the blade is not in the same room.'

'Of course the blade can't hear you if it's not in the same room, stupid' his voice implies I have to be stupid.

'Buck you' I answer annoyed.

The sound of a key being put into the door stops our fight. The door is pulled open and a big, bulky guard, a unicorn, walks in.

"Don't move" he says as he pulls out hoofcuffs.

"You won't need them" I answer, "I'm not here to fight."

"Oh, I have to" he smirks, "It's a order from the princess. Before she talks to you, you have to be subdued."

The way he said the last word made the hair on my neck stand. I follow the movements of his eyes, as they creep over my body.

I smile myself, "I don't think that she meant this way of subduing" I purr. He walks closer, putting the cuffs closer to my frontlegs.

'Idiot' Anvil says, I could feel a powersurge running through me.

I jump up, doing a somersault, I smash my right back leg onto his shoulder, he buckles, kneeling in front of me. Standing in front of him again I use my left hoof to make him rise his face. His face is grimaced by pain.

"You don't look so good" I say as I slap him across the face, making him turn his face to his left. In a twirl I kick him in his face. Sending him into the unlocked door, making it burst out of it's hinges. The shouts of guards, alarmed by the sound of the fight, come closer.

Running out of the cell I jump out of the path of a spear, flying my way. I click my tongue.

'I don't have time for these small flies' I think annoyed.

'Siren' Anvil sounds tired, 'the power I can give you is limited. You need Garnjiel!'

I nod. The guards close enough to see me raise their brows, unsure of what I just did. Ignoring them I run.

'You know where Garnjiel is?' I ask quickly.

'I know it's position, give me a second' another surge rushes through me and a sudden mental pull shows me Garnjiels position.

'Better hurry, the guards are catching up and I don't have much energy left' he speaks quickly.

'Tsk. I don't need your strength to outrun them!' I answer with a smirk.

I follow the path of stone through what seems to be a dungeon. The guards are slowed down by their armor, making it easy for me to outrun them. It seems like there are not too many guards down in the dungeons. A turn to the right, to the left, a staircase upwards. Another long hallway.

"There!" I gasp.

A thick door comes in sight, channeling my own strength I ram my shoulder right into it, making the door splinter and bent but not breaking. I stumble off, ignoring the bruise on my shoulder I charge the door again. More creaking, more splintering but she was still holding.

"Come on!" I growl. Taking a few more steps back I charge again. Again, the door was still holding. Loud hoofsteps behind me tell me that the guards managed to catch up again.

I gasp and wheeze, closing my eyes I hear Anvil, 'You got weak' he simply states, coldly, 'don't tell me I'm wasting my time with you!'

"Shut up!" I shout, running into the door again. This time it crashes down, a loud crash halls through the hallway.

"The armory!"

"Faster!"

'The guards are approaching' Anvil says, suddenly relaxed, 'you want to fight or run?'

Taking Garnjiels hilt in my mouth I stand there a few seconds, thinking about my options.

'I don't want to hurt them, they're not my enemy! But it looks like I have to fight my way through them.'

Pulling Garnjiel up I turn around, ready to face the guards.

The scenery before me was so very familiar. Also the sound of blades, spears and other weapons hitting my blade were familiar. The scent of blood as I tried to stop them with non-lethal attacks, cracking their bones, cutting through their muscles to immobilize them. It all was so familiar. Even the pain was familiar as one of them managed to cut into my flank.

The battle wasn't long. Maybe two minutes. Two minutes of fighting and my body was ready to fall to the ground. To surrender, to just collapse. The guards that were still conscious around me where crying and whincing, some even screaming.

'I overdid it' regreting some of the injuries I inflicted upon those guards. Especially the one guard who had simply bad luck.

He was charging at me, his blade ready to slice into me. I had my blade up, ready to dodge and throw him backwards, but he slipped. He slipped over the hooves of his comrade, he stumbled forwards, losing the grip of his sword he fell into my blade. Sure I was swinging the blade at him but I never intended to kill him, the blade dived deep into his neck, blood gushing out as he was thrown out of my way, crashing head first into the wall. His exposed-

A bell over me started to ring, interrupting my trail of thoughts.

I knew what the meaning of this was. It meant, 'We are under attack, all battle-ready units to arms' or something like that.

'No time to think' I wheeze and gasp, sheathing the blade on my back. I run the way back to the staircase, following it upwards again I'm suddenly in a completly different part of the, well, I suppose castle. The walls here are no longer made of grey stonebricks, the walls here are made of marble and in a pure white. I feel bad for standing in these hallways in my momentary condition, sweat and blood running down my body, from the few cuts the guards managed to land on me. I may be a very good fighter but even I'm not invincible.

Shaking my head I hear loud hoofsteps approach. Turning my head to the left I see a new brigade coming this way. The commander a mare, clad in black armor. The difference to the ponies, the guards behind her was that her armor was all around her body, she was clad in full plate. Each inch of her body hidden under black steel.

"Commander Skull here, Unit 4!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the halls, "found the intruder on the first floor of the castle." turning her head she pulled a rapier from her side.

"Unit 4!" the guards around her salutating, "move through the halls, cut of the enemies paths and hold your ground. I want her down before the princess even notices the security breach!"

"Yes sir!" the guards shout in unison, running to her left and to her right, the pegasi running at me, jumping over me and cutting of my paths behind me. I look around, I was in the middle of a crossroad, the only place I have now is either retreat into the crammed dungeon area or fight here.

Cursing my bad luck I look at the commander. Her heavy hoofsteps getting louder with each step she takes to get closer to me.

'She's slow' Anvil says coldly.

'Not necessarily' I answer.

'Why do you think so?' he asks curious.

'She uses a rapier' I explain calmly, 'if you want to use a rapier you need to be quick and swift so you can outfight your enemy. She is at an advantage in here where I can't swing my sword with full strength, if I manage to bury my sword too deep into one of the walls, it's over.'

The commander was still approaching slowly.

She stops, 4 meters away from me.

"Surrender" she orders.

"I don't want to fight" I answer.

"Surrender" she orders again, her voice not changing at all.

I pull my sword off my back pointing it at her.

"Make me" I challenge her.

"Engage" she answers.

Something I didn't expect happened. Her armor blasted itself off, the shards stopping in the air as she jumps towards me, now only wearing a tight black leather armor, her blade rushing at my head. I barely managed to dodge the hit, her edge scratching over my edge, cutting into the skin under my right eye as I dive to the side. The very moment her attack is finished the shards start to rush towards her, coating her in the black armor again. She turns to me slowly, holding the rapier in front of her face.

"Surrender, now!" she orders again.

I'm surprised. She's fast, faster than i anticipated, but I also anticipated her to fight in her armor, not blasting it off.

Licking some of the blood that flows down my face, I grin.

"I told you already. Make me!" I turn, bringing my sword in position to ram the tip into her. I tighten my muscles, and jump forward.

A sudden cracking sound distracts me. Her armor was cracking, very small cracks, but nonetheless cracks. A second before my blade was in range to hit the armor it splitted, bursting off again as the commander lunges to the side, the rapier in her mouth cutting through the air on it's way towards me, my throat. Twirling to the side, many of the pieces whirl through the air, thrown through the air by my blade. Her rapier couldn't connect. I feel the tip of the rapier running through my coat but not hurting my skin. We swapped the side this time, and again the shards moved towards her covering her again in the armor.

I wheeze and gasp even more now.

'She's too fast for me' breathing hurts, my sides are stinging.

'True' Anvil answers, 'what are you going to do about that?'

'Think! Think, think, think!' I'm desperate, searching for any weak points.

'She is too fast for me to attack her head on and even if I try she just jumps out of the way and uses my own speed for her to make her attacks connect.' The commander is now staring at me, starting to circle around me. I turn with her, not moving an inch. 'Every bit of room I give to her, makes it easier for her to attack me' my thoughts are getting even desperater now.

"What is wrong?" the commander asks, taunting me, "are you ready to surrender now?"

"You're starting to piss me off!" I answer her, "I told you, make me!"

A sigh.

"Let's finish this" she answers coldly, lunging at me. I dodge her head on attack, deflecting the blow to the side.

'She is still wearing her armor!' I'm stunned, 'why is she still so fast!?' I twirl to the side trying to smash the blade into her side, the cracks appear again, the armor bursts off of her and she jumps over my blade. My misfortune, I was so close to her that the shards blinded me for a second, I used my hooves to keep them from hitting my eyes. Out of balance my blade dives deep into the wall.

'That's bad, so very, very bad' I think looking at the stuck blade.

The feeling of cold steel on my neck tells me that I lost.

"Last chance" the commander says, the shards of her armor still in the air, "surrender or die!"

I turn to glare at her.

"As you wish!" she says as she pulls the blade up, ready to sink the blade into my neck.

'Weakling!' Anvil shouts, the rune on the sword recolouring itself red.

I smile, 'shut up' a hard glare in my eyes.

Her blade rushes down...

and hits the floor, as I take a quick step to the side, lifting both my fronthooves.

"You really think, this is all I have?" I say coldly, ramming my hooves into her ribs, feeling atleast one of them crack. The commander cries out but manages to stand as she slides over the polished floor. She is now wheezing too.

"How dare you" she whinces, "how dare-"

"You didn't notice?" I ask loud. Her face is priceless, I point up to the shards in the air, "It didn't return."

Her eyes widen as the realisation hits her.

"I had a crazy Idea" I look at my sword, buried to atleast a third in the marble, "If one of your shards can't follow your assemble call, can the others also not? And if they can, will the part that can't, make a hole into your armor?"

Her eyes widen even further.

"Impossible" she states, "you're saying that one of my shards is in that wall, together with your sword?"

I nod, "not only one. But three of them are buried together with my sword."

"So what?" she answers angrily, "you disarmed yourself and that only to get through my armor. I have won this way."

'She is right' Anvil states, 'you lost your weapon for such a small reason.'

'I told you to shut up' I answer Anvil and grin at the commander.

Lifting my hooves back up and getting in a fighting stance, "I won't need a blade for you anymore" I blare at her.

"So naive" shaking her head she goes back to her fighting stance... or atleast tried, lifting her sword she growls and lowers the blade again, gasping even more now.

"Oh and by the by" I explain with a mischievous smile, "I just didn't aim at your ribs to hurt you. In a fight with a rapier the upper body movement is one of the most important parts, so what will happen if, I don't know, one of your ribs get's cracked?"

Lifting her rapier again she tries to stay in fighting stance but fails again after a few second, trembling and gasping she drops the weapon. Walking closer to her I see her eyes widen, this time in fear.

"Surrender" I order.

"You have to kill me for that" she answers.

Shaking my head I lean down closer to hear ear and whisper, "I'm not here to kill" I ram my left fronthoof in her gut. Coughing, wheezing and gasping she falls to the ground, trying to catch some air.

I turn around and walk back to my blade, pulling it easily out of the marble. The moment the shards are freed from my blade all of the shards fall to the ground.

"So.... easy..." the commander coughs, "you were... able to ....pull the blade..... out of the marble all... the time?"

"Of course" I answer, "do you really think I would be such an amateur and bury my blade too deep for me to pull it out again?" I shake my head, "please, I was trained to be able to pull my blade out of almost everything."

Her coughs get louder and heavier, worry wells up in me.

'Did the broken rib pierce her lung?'

'What if so? She tried to kill you!' Anvil answers.

'I killed enough ponies today' thinking back at the guard downstairs.

'You only killed one' he answers still coldly.

'One too many.'

'You got soft' his voice was starting to annoy me.

'Buck you.'

"Commander!" I turn around, lifting the blade back onto my back. One of the guards, a young one too, has walked closer his eyes filled wih worry. Walking straight at him, he tries to toughen up, but a few steps before I reach him he closes his eyes, biting his lip.

"Bring her to the infirmary" I tell him, "she might have a pierced lung."

He turns his head, looking at me. I was already in his back.

"Why?" he asks, his voice trembling.

"As I said" I start to walk away, "I'm not here to kill anypony."

I walk down the hallway straight at a group of guards. None of them look like they have the will to fight but they're not moving either.

I sigh, "If none of you has the will to fight you should get out of my way."

From the five guards three were nodding, starting to make movements to back away.

"We won't move!" one of the other two shouts.

"Right!" the other also shouts.

With another sigh I pull the blade and smash the ground between the two, burying the blade 10 cm deep into the ground. Their eyes widen.

"Next time" I state coldly, "your skull will be under my blade" The left guard faints, the right gulps and backs away. I pull my blade back up, sheathing it on my back. "Thanks" I whisper as I walk past them. After a few meter a thought crosses my mind.

I stop. Turning around and walking back to them I grab one of them at the armor surrounding his neck, lifting him up.

"Huh?" he looks at me with watery eyes. He was ready to cry right now.

"Don't wet yourself" I tell him, "just have a question" he nods, "good boy" I lower him back to the ground and pat his head.

"Now, tell me. Where do I find princess Celestia?" I ask him with a warm smile.

Author's Note

Tell me what do you think of the fight between the Commander and Siren. And the reason why none of the other guards even tried to fought Siren was simply that Unit 4 is a bunch of rookies and youngsters. The only tough thing they have is their commander.

And yes, even she is still considered a rookie.

Tell me what do you think of this chapter....

And no, Unit 4 does not symbolise the 4th Division from Bleach.