Hunters

If there was one place in all of Canterlot that filled Twilight with annoyance it was the train station. That wasn’t to say Twilight wasn’t interested in studying the odd place, it just threatened to give her a headache.

She could hear a multitude of sounds around her; the click and clack of the trains arriving and departing, the hiss of the steam engine revving. The sounds reminded her of Flash’s motorcycle. And just like that bike, the train was outdated, and that irked Twilight.

She pondered why trains would exist in a world where magnificent things as cars did as well. Not only were the trains typically cramped, but a train had a set path. It lacked flexibility. Now that she thought about it, it sounded a lot like Flash.

Both were very stubborn in their mindset. They would do the same thing over and over again, never learning from their mistakes, and both of them were filled with hot air.

Twilight stopped herself. She had been given a mission from the headmistress, and therefore should act like a professional. That meant not letting herself complain like a toddler.

Twilight’s legs hung from a bench. As did her partner’s, who was sitting a foot away from her. Unlike Twilight, he was tapping his feet, and a frown was visible on his face.

“Ugh. This still ticks me off, partner. Why couldn’t headmistress tell us anything about this guy? All this vague crap just burns me!” Flash complained.

“I understand your feelings, but I’m sure she has her reasons for keeping things a secret,” Twilight retorted.

Flash merely huffed, leaning his head back on the bench, “So, what’s the scroll say anyway?”

Twilight turned to him, “Just when and where we’re supposed to meet our escort.”

“That’s it?! No name, gender, age? Just pick-up info?” Flash asked in disbelief.

“Wanna see for yourself?” Twilight took the scroll out and handed it to him.

“Pass. I’ll just take your word for it.” Flash sighed, his face a mask of boredom.

The two waited for another thirty minutes for their target. At around noon, the train pulled into the station.

As people poured out of the train, Flash and Twilight stood back, scanning the crowd. One of the first people who walked out was a thin green haired woman. After her was a rather stocky man with black hair. And then there was a very lean man dressed as a clown.

“So, whoever this person is they’ll just come up to us, right? How are they going to find us anyway?”

“An impatient male with spiky blue hair. A beautiful and proper purple-haired young maiden?” a voice chirped.

“Proper and beautiful?” Twilight asked, cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

“WHO SAID THAT?!” Flash fumed, eyes briefly flickering red.

The pair quickly turned to find a very short young man shrouded in a plain red hood. Gray slacks clung to the hooded boy’s legs, hoping to stay on and slightly failing. An oversized light blue backpack was carried by a single strap on the youth. Flash cocked his head to the side while Twilight simply stared at the boy, who squirmed under her gaze. His hands went to his strap, hoping the rumor of it adding some protection would be true.

“Um, hello,” Twilight greeted.

“Are you-” Flash began.

“My name is Escort. Nice to meet you,” the young man interrupted as he extended his hand to the duo.

Flash stared in confusion. There is no way this kid is our target. Mr. Clawscould probably take him.

“You’re the one we’re supposed to accompany?” Twilight asked.

He nodded, “I am.”

“So, our ‘secret mission’ was to babysit a kid?” Flash asked, dumbfounded.

“Well, I wouldn’t say you’re babysitting me. Didn’t you read the scroll?”

Twilight sent Flash a knowing glance. He returned it with a sharp exhale.

Escort opened his mouth to speak only before a loud roar from his stomach interrupted him,

“Uh, could we discuss this somewhere else? Like a diner perhaps?” Escort suggested, lightly rubbing his stomach.

Twilight giggled, “Sure. I know a place not very far. Come on.”

Twilight began walking towards their destination with Escort in tow. Flash brought up the rear, grumbling all the way.

Unbeknownst to the trio, two mysterious figures stood watch over them, radiating  an aura so fierce, the shadows concealing them trembled. Nodding to one another, they vanished into the darkness.

As the trio stepped into the diner, they took immediate notice at the tables, which were aligned haphazardly throughout the establishment. Some were placed in the corners. Others were left in a diagonal that took up more space than it really required. Still some were tilted as if they were seats on a roller coaster. What was even more bizarre was the fact there were tables that resembled bendy straws. How they managed to create such a sight none of the group could hazard a guess. Well beyond the owner was in need of professional help.

The waiters of the restaurant at first glance seemed to contradict the arrangement of the tables. They wore tailored suits and finely hard pressed. Their hair was well groomed and styled in such a way to reflect professionalism. They all carried themselves with the dignity of a noble. Their last article of clothing brought the entire attire together. The one piece that no one could see but was an invaluable piece of the uniform,the footwear. Roller skates allowed for faster service after all.

Twilight always felt uncomfortable in the odd place. She wished the owner would just listen to her and organize it better. She was sure it would enhance sales by five percent. She did still come for the food so perhaps the owner’s idea of ‘organized chaos’ had some merit. At least when it came to the actual cooking.

Flash shook Twilight from her thoughts, and pointed at a nearby table. It was close to the exit. More importantly it was one of the tables in a corner and not a bendy table. Clearly Flash wanted to leave soon. Twilight didn’t blame him.

The trio sat down at the table. A waiter came by, dropped off a few menus, and left once they placed their orders.

“So, is this how missions typically work?” Escort asked politely, fidgeting in his seat.

“Oh. Um. Well, escort missions tend to work in this manner, ” Twilight said hesitantly.

“Our last mission had us fighting a boar. So, I’d say no,” Flash grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Escort's head perked up, “Oh, there are different kinds of missions?” he asked again, intrigued.

Twilight nodded slowly, “Yes.”

Before another word could be spoken, Escort dug around in his backpack, producing a pen and notebook. He swiftly clicked the top of his pen and eyed Twilight excitedly.

Twilight was taken aback by the boy's enthusiasm, but nonetheless continued, “There are escort missions, such as this one. Rescue missions, civilian missions, delivery missions, and much more.”

Escort was mystified by the violet-haired female's words, scribbling away in his note pad, “Wow. That’s amazing!”

The onslaught of questions surprised Flash. Every other Hunter knew this; why didn't he? It was truly odd, to say the least. Twilight was feeling nostalgic as she recalled her own curiosity which caused her to ask just as many questions at Escort’s age.

The waiter arrived with their orders, and placed them on the table before leaving again. Twilight’s plate consisted of a thick hamburger and fries. Flash had a bowl of tomato soup, and Escort had a simple salad. Each of them had a glass of water with their food.

Twilight took a bite out of her burger, and let out a moan of pleasure as she chewed into her meal. The flavor of the food was so intoxicating. Each bite of the burger only made her more and more ravenous for more. She paid little mind to the grease streaking down both of sides of her mouth.

Flash dipped his spoon into his soup with the delicate precision of a gentleman twice his age. As he lifted his spoonful of soup to his mouth, Flash felt the heat billowing from the utensil, and began to blow on it. After he was content that the spoon had been sufficiently cooled, he took a sip.

Escort looked at the two in amazement; the refined and intelligent Twilight was chomping on her food like a wild animal and the ill tempered and quick to anger Flash was taking great care with each spoonful.

“These two are really something,” the younger teen muttered as he continued to observe the pair.

“Are you okay? You haven’t touched your salad yet,” Twilight asked. Her message was somewhat garbled due to the large chunks of food still in her mouth.

Escort snapped back to his senses. With a rapid nod, he grabbed his fork and stabbed it into his plate. The loud clang informed him of his error. With a slight amount of embarrassment, he redirected his fork to its correct path. It struck true and he began taking a few bites of his salad. Absentmindedly he reached for his glass of water.

Flash watched the boy tear into his meal, slowly shaking his head. His manners weren’t as awful as Twilight’s, but still fairly poor. Although, that was only a minor grievance.

The hybrid wondered how Escort could have so little information on missions? He was the student of Headmistress Celestia's friend, which meant he should be at least somewhat knowledgeable of Hunters’ rules. These were the basics of the basics, the first things everyone learned when starting their career as Hunters.

Shaking his head, the blue-haired Hunter took another light sip of his soup. Suddenly, an odd aroma pierced his nostrils. He swiftly scanned the area, trying to find the source of the scent. The scent was near by, very near by. Slowly, his eyes locked on to the source: Escort's glass.

As Escort slowly raised the glass to his lips, Flash's arm shot out and clamped on to the younger teen’s.

“Don’t drink that!” he warned, eyes focused solely on the glass.

“O-ow! T-that hurts!” Escort squeaked, trying to pull away.

“Flash! What are you doing?!” Twilight shouted. She reached over to pull his arm away from Escort. Flash took note of Escort's discomfort and loosened his grip.

“Sorry about that, but it's the water, partner,” Flash stated, his voice carrying a great deal of concern. “There’s something wrong with it.”

Twilight cocked a brow in confusion. She looked at the glass and saw the water was slightly fizzy. It reminded Twilight of a baking soda volcano, though less messy.

“That is strange,” Twilight said as she inspected the glass.

“It stinks really bad. Water doesn’t smell like this. There’s definitely something in it,” Flash explained. He handed Twilight the glass of the foul-smelling liquid.

Twilight carefully poured some of the water onto her burger and took a deep breath. Suddenly the bun turned pitch black. The burger followed suit seconds later. Then the cheese, lettuce, tomato, and lastly the bottom bun.

“What does this mean?” Escort asked, slightly frightened.

“Somebody just tried to poison you,” Flash answered promptly.

“And they used a very rare type of poison too. It’s called ‘Black Omen.’ It's extracted from a nearly extinct plant,” Twilight explained.

“I  think you told me about this before, partner. This is one of the few poisons that is fatal to fiends.”

“Fatal? H-how so?” Escort asked with a shaky tone.

“Imagine that”- Flash gestured to the blackened hamburger - “but for five days straight, and to a fiend. Whoever used this poison is highly skilled, and that’s bad for us since you’re their target. Which leaves us with one option.”

Escort gave Flash a puzzled look, “What would that be?”

The azure-eyed half-fiend stood up from the table, grabbing Escort by his hood and placing him over his shoulder.  Twilight followed suit, picking up Escort’s bag.“Strategic withdrawal.”

“Which means?” Escort shuffled trying to find a comfortable position in Flash’s grip. He silently wished Twilight had grabbed him instead. Then he recalled her recently grease-stained lips again and thought maybe Flash was the better option.

“We run away,” Twilight helpfully answered as they exited the diner.

The trio were racing down the road on Flash’s motorcycle. Escort hoped they had managed to evade their pursuers. Twilight and Flash, however, knew that wasn’t the case. If these people were crafty enough to track them to the diner and even swap their food without notice, escaping them wasn’t going to be an easy feat.

 As if the universe wished to confirm their fears, the motorcycle controls began to malfunction.

“Tein!” Flash yelled trying desperately to gain control. He quietly swore to himself; of course these people would tamper with their only method of escape. The fact the neither he nor Twilight had the insight to assume as much was embarrassing.

He sharply looked behind him to make sure Twilight clung onto him and that Escort held onto Twilight. Flash couldn’t blame Escort as he screamed his lungs out. With a sigh, he pulled the two close to his chest and jumped off his bike.

The group rolled on the floor like an excited dog. Escort cursed his luck. He had already had the discomfort of having Flash’s shoulder dig into his chest and now his back and front felt like they had bruises. The only reason he felt he could hold on was because of the hands of Twilight that made him feel that he’d be okay.

Once they had stopped spinning Flash quickly inspected his friends. Surprisingly there was no visible damage to Twilight or Escort. Flash then realized he had forgotten one last important person to look for. He looked at his spiralling motorcycle tumble and fall like a newborn baby. It slid into a building and became engulfed in a wall of bright red flame.

“Um, sorry about your motorcycle,” Escort spoke in a small voice.

“I-it’s fine,” Flash lied, forcing a smile. “I wanted a new bike anyway.” The hybrid hung his head in sorrow, quietly muttering the words “My baby.”  Twilight gave him a light pat on the back.

“There, there, partner,” the mage reassured. “Your baby is in a better place.”

“Not… helping...”

Twilight gave a sheepish grin while Flash made his way over to the scene of the crash with the hope that the damage wasn’t too bad. Perhaps he could get it repaired. Once inside, his eyes fell upon the mess that at one time was his motorcycle. A groan of annoyance and sadness escaped his jaw. Figures. He moaned bitterly, moving closer. Upon further inspection he caught something stuck in the totaled vehicle’s back wheel.

Pulling the object out his eye widened in shock; a kunai, a signature weapon of a ninja. He should’ve known. Ninjas specialized in assassinations.  It was child’s play for them to collect a poison.

“This day just went to crap,”  Flash growled, slipping the kunai in the pocket of his vest. They needed to get as far away as they could. The crash helped in covering their tracks, but they still needed to play it safe until this was over.

“You really should try and make less of a mess, Barrage. This was a stealth mission,” a female voice scolded.

“But they were right there. I haven’t used kunai since that thing back at that farm, and even then I just plunged them into the cow like needles. I didn’t even get to throw them!” another voice complained.

Flash’s blood ran cold. He turned around to find two people standing behind him a mere five feet away.

The first was a man the size of a mountain. His chest was covered by a grey shirt with baggy grey pants to match. Dark grey gloves wrapped around his hands as the long sleeveless, black  hooded coat fluttered in the wind. The shine off his forehead threatened to blind Flash. A scar snaked over his right eye. Looking down at  Flash, a wide grin spread out on his lips.

The other was a slender female with dark short hair. Her light brown eyes scanned Flash, as if she could deduce a weakness by staring at him long enough. Her gaze made Flash uneasy, inadvertently placing a hand on the base of his spear.

Much like her partner she had a shirt that matched her gloves with a pair of equally baggy pants, though her’s were a lighter shade of grey. The boots she wore matched the color of her partner’s coat. In lieu of a coat, however, she bore a flowing, tattered, dark blue scarf that resembled the waves of the ocean as they danced in the wind.

So, these are the ninja who have been chasing us. I was really hoping they were just book smart.

“So,” Flash began, his grip tightening. “Is it safe to assume you’re the ones who’d tried to poison Escort?” The duo shared a grim laugh, their chuckles further unnerving Flash.

“So what if we are?” the larger one spoke in a mocking voice. “What are you gonna do about it-” The mountain of a man became a blur, and stood behind Flash within the blink of an eye “-little man?” Flash could feel the smug satisfaction on the man’s face.

He had no time to mount an offensive. One mistake with a ninja and it’d cost him his life. He had to survive first and foremost. Flash crossed his arms into an X as he turned.  The giant ninja’s leg crashed into him, sending Flash flying until his back, much like his motorcycle, crashed into the side of a building.

Twilight’s head snapped in the direction of the loud crash. Assuming the worst, she sprinted towards the building, only to stop. She turned back to the now frightened Escort. She couldn’t bring the boy into this fight, and leaving him alone was not an option.

“Hey there,” a voice called to the pair. Twilight hastily turned to find the female ninja slowly strutting over towards her and Escort.

“So you going to hand him over?” the woman with a scarf asked. She opened one of her gauntlet-covered palms and gestured at Escort.

Twilight stood in front of Escort taking a defensive fighting stance, right hand moving close to her side. Her eyes burned with fierce determination.

“Of course you aren’t,” the woman sighed, disappointed. “Well I suppose I’ll just have to cut off those pretty little arms of yours.”

Peeking his head from behind the mage, Escort spoke up, “A-at least hers are pretty!”

“Escort!” Twilight looked at the younger teen a steely gaze. Escort took note of the gaze and returned to his original spot behind her. She wished he hadn’t taunted  the ninja, even if it was somewhat funny. A low chuckle from the woman snapped her back to reality.

 “Oh, he’s got a spine. How cute.” As she spoke, Twilight could feel the pure condescending air within it. “I’m going to enjoy examining it as I rip it out.”

“I won’t let you lay one finger on him!” Twilight declared, hand raised as it began to glow a faint violet.

The female let out a slightly louder cackle, gauntlets opened and facing the violet-eyed mage, “Fine by me. Two spines are better than one anyway!”

The large man slammed Flash into the opposite wall. The blue-haired Hunter found himself stuck to what little of the wall remained. Barrage smirked as he backed away to admire his handiwork.

“Hehe. Come on, you baby. I know you're not done yet,” he chuckled mockingly.

Flash pulled himself from the hole. He rolled his left shoulder and quickly scanned the man before him.

Built like a brick house and nearly as fast as me. Great. Flash gave a sigh of annoyance.

“So,-” Flash began, sliding his spear from the holster “-mind if I ask your name?”

The mountain-sized ninja gave a cocky smirk, “Why? I’m gonna kill you. Doesn’t make sense to give my name to a-”

Before he could finish his taunting Flash’s fist connected with his jaw. The force of the blow sent him stumbling back.

“Yovita! What’s your jaw made of, iron? Punching you actually hurt some,”  Flash winced slightly as he lightly shook his right hand.

Barrage held his jaw briefly, blood dripping from it.  Looking straight ahead, he gave Flash a crazed smile.

“Alright then, Spiky. I will tell you my name; It’s Barrage. How bout you return the favor?” Flash glared fiercely at the towering man before him who continued to smile psychotically.

With an irritated growl, the half-fiend complied, “Flash Sentry.”

Barrage tilted his head. Sentry. This name sounds familiar. I’ve heard it somewhere before. But where? Bah. It really doesn’t matter. I’m gonna kill this punk.

“Well now that we got that out of the way, I’m gonna crack your skull open!” without another word Barrage charged at him. Flash quickly leaped over the large man. While in the air Flash kicked the back of his opponent’s head.

Flash’s foot screamed in pain. It felt like he had just kicked it against the side of a house, something he had an intimate knowledge of.

For a brief few seconds Barrage lost his footing, nearly falling forward.  He quickly  recovered, turning around as he grabbed Flash’s leg and slammed him into the ground.  Barrage picked Flash up and did so several more times before hurling him into a nearby wall.

Barrage enthusiastically grabbed Flash’s neck with a single hand. The merciless ninja forcefully pinned Flash up against the wall, a twisted grin painted on his lips.

Flash hacked up a cough, glaring fiercely at the mountain of a man before him. His eyes were so fixed on the man, that he failed to notice Barrage’s fist collide with his face. The flurry of blows continued until the young hybrid’s head fell limp, small droplets of blood fell down from his busted his lip. He assumed the last strike was the cause of it.

Suddenly, he was being raised once more, Barrage grinning like a child in a candy store. The titanic shinobi began to apply pressure to Flash’s throat, forcing him to hack violently.

Flash desperately struggled with his opponent's arm. He scratched at it, but the man’s hand remained. There was nothing he could do to break Barrage’s death grip.

Panic is an understandable and even reasonable reaction when people are faced with their impending demise. It accelerates blood flow, oxygen and adrenaline throughout the body, increasing the chances for fighting or fleeing to succeed. However, there is a downside to panic; the narrowing of one’s vision, the focus on self-preservation at the expense of others. Those who rise above this, however, tend to find a path to escaping their present situation and launch a counterattack. As Flash’s panic rose to staggering heights, a spark of brilliance went off within his mind; he had a plan. One that could very well turn the tides  in his favor.

Removing his hands from Barrage’s arm, they slid to the left and right sides of his vest. Barrage cocked a brow to this. Had the lack of air caused the boy to go mad? He’d no clue what went on in the Hunter’s mind, but he was more than positive it would be a worthless endeavor.

Flash’s right hand returned from the vest’s pocket. The contents gripped in his hand caused him to beam.

Now Barrage was even more baffled. Why is he smiling? The fool was moments away from death and yet he grinned? Barrage didn’t know whether to be insulted or concerned. With a hoarse roar, Flash plunged the object into ninjas shoulder.

Barrage felt a sharp pain hit his shoulder. Veering to the right, his eyes grew in shock. The item embedded in his shoulder was a kunai. His kunai! The ninja’s body began to shake violently. He tossed Flash to to side, trying to remove it.

He gritted his teeth at the pain. He hadn’t been injured in a long time, having forgot the sensation. The sting  of the weapon alone was enough to send him into a frenzy.  Unfortunately, this was merely the beginning of his problems. Without warning a small black sphere struck Barrage in the head, seconds later it exploded into a gray cloud.

Barrage’s vision vanished. The heavy plume of smoke made it near impossible for him to find his target. The damn kid! He used a smoke bomb to hide himself! The shinobi growled.

“Stop hiding and face me like a man!” Barrage received no reply from the hybrid, the sound of footsteps quickly dashing around him only fueled his fury and bloodlust.

The punk’s resorting to stealth tactics. Barrage was mildly impressed, the Hunter wasn't a complete fool.

That, however, did little to temper his fury. Barrage fully intended on snapping his neck as soon as he found the irritating ant.

Without any sort of warning, something struck him in the stomach with great force. Barrage lurched over, arms hastily wrapped around his gut.

Teeth bared, Barrage furiously flung a flurry of shuriken into the gray cloud in a vain hope of hitting Flash. The sound of metal striking rock and lack of a pained yelp shattered said hope.

Instead, what he received was another strike; this time in the back. The onslaught of hidden strikes continued. Flash gave him no room to counter, shooting out of the plume of smoke at a breakneck speed. The ninja roared in anger, a large vein popping on his temple, his blood boiled. Never before had he suffered humiliation nor has anyone pushed him this far. The shinobi’s raged piqued. He would end this now.

Barrage clasp his hands together, rapidly using hand seals as faint green aura covered his body. A low wind steadily began to whirl around him. The light breeze picked up speed, turning into violent spiral. Barrage howled with laughter, the high speed of his personal hurricane drowning it out.

Sporting an enormous, twisted grin, Barrage extended his arm forward and with one bellowing scream:

“Gale Arte: Violent Blowout!”

The hurricane exploded with tremendous force, dispersing the smoke screen and blasting Flash backward, smashing him into the far-off wall.

Barrage examined the destruction wrought by his own hand. With a grin of pride, he strutted over towards the beaten half-fiend.

Flash pulled himself out of the hole only to fall on his knees. Lifting his head, he saw Barrage striding towards him, hand clutching his bloodied shoulder.  Standing once more, he pulled his spear from its holster and pointed its head at the shinobi.

“Credit where it's due, kid. That smoke bomb trick was clever,” the ninja gave a mocking grin accompanied with an equally mocking applause.  Once the applause ceased his hand returned to it's original location, fingers gripping the kunai.

"But all it did" - Barrage tore the kunai from his shoulder, blood oozing down his sleeve as he pointed the dagger at Flash with a look filled with rage and contempt - "was piss me off."

Flash saw the fury built up in Barrage’s eyes.  He was out for blood.

“Tein,” Flash mumbled.  Barrage charged him, a green aura forming around his fist.  He swung at Flash, who raised up his hand at the incoming strike. In his grasp were two black balls.

Barrage roared, helpless to stop his attack from cracking open the mist-filled spheres. They obscured his vision once more, but still his hearing remained untarnished. Flash knew without a shadow of doubt that Barrage’s hearing would lead him out of the haze.

Within a few seconds he was proven right. He could hear the monstrous giant’s footsteps hot on his tail, and swore he could smell the stench of neglected teeth. Then again, Flash may have caught wind of his own breath for an instant. Regardless of the smell’s origin, he knew he had to act quickly.

Barrage followed the quick, sharp breaths of his prey.If there was one thing he hated more than cowards it was runners, and the fact that Flash acted like both fanned his flames of irritation. That is until he happened upon the image his target standing in front of him. The boy was still, his confidence exploding out of him like a supernova.

“Got you! Now we’re gonna settle this-”

In an instant Barrage stood before the Hunter, cutting off the rest of his foolish words. He had been given a second chance at crushing a skull, and he wasn’t too keen on wasting it. Flash’s appearance didn’t change for the next instant as Barrage plunged a kunai deep into his victim’s head. He felt it fitting to finish Flash off with the weapon that had pulled him into such a protracted, pathetic, and unwanted game of cat-and-mouse. The sound of glass shattering caught Barrage by surprise. Urgently he turned around to confront the source.

Barrage found the Hunter now wielding a mighty spear. It was a weapon he knew very well, through his numerous years of experience, could penetrate his thick skin. However the idiot had failed to remain silent until the final blow was struck. Barrage bent down and pushed himself forward to the charging youth.

In most cases, a person running towards a spear would try to dodge it altogether.  Barrage, however, was unlike these people. Instead he moved slightly to the side of the spear.

The spear dug into his side. Barrage exhaled sharply, gritting his teeth.  The pain was intense, but he paid it no mind. He had zero intent on dying today.

Flash stared in horror at the man who had plunged himself into his spear. It was now clear to him Barrage no longer cared for his well-being. The ninja had one sole objective; Flash.

This action caused Flash to freeze up, his thoughts slowing to a crawl. He had no other ideas or strategies he could implement.

Barrage’s lips curled into psychotic grin. Taking full advantage of his confusion, he coated his left arm in a familiar green aura and punched Flash to the ground with an inhuman amount of power. The force of the blow caused Flash’s head to bounce off the ground.

Barrage’s side was a bloody mess. He grabbed the right side of his chest, breathing heavily, doing his best to ignore the pain. Weakly, he chuckled at the pain. It was like reuniting with an old friend.

Flash’s body trembled uncontrollably. He was completely disoriented, the entire room was spinning. Coughing violently, he tried desperately to push himself up, only to slip and hit the ground a second time.

Flash cast a look of pure rage at the shinobi. How could one human be this strong? Was this ninja even human? In either case he’d have to get away for now.

Steadily did he attempt to crawl away only for Barrage to grab his leg once again.

“Now, where do you think you're going, little man?” Barrage grinned like a madman as he flung Flash backward. The blue-haired teen crashed into the wall, coughing up even more blood.

Barrage cackled devilishly as he slowly strolled over to the downed hybrid.

T-tein. I can’t... I can’t beat him. Flash struggled to push himself up, but his body refused to move. He was in a daze, his vision blurred, head was pounding, he could feel blood dripping down the side of his skull.

Flash looked up at Barrage. The man looked more fiend than human. Gritting his teeth, he let out a low growl, eyes quickly flashing red. His breathing grew labored, his heart rate increased, beads of sweat fell from his forehead.

The large man gave Flash a mocking wave and the hybrid loathed it; The wave, that smug grin, and attitude, but there was one thing  he hated more...

The feeling of helplessness.

“Well, this has been a fun game of cat and mouse, but” - Barrage smiled devilishly, cracking his knuckles - “the game’s over.”

Flash swore under his breath as he punched the ground, causing it to crack slightly.  He was still far too dazed to move his legs or fight back. He was at the mercy of Barrage. With this revelation, a new, far more terrifying thought  appeared within his mind;

Am I going to die?

You Weakling. A voice rung in Flash’s mind. The voice carried with a  cold, apathetic tone. The type of voice that could strike fear into the hearts of even the most courageous of Hunters

His eyes shot open in horror. He knew this voice, it’s presence was never a good thing. Flash’s heart beat increased, his breathing all but stopped.

Oh no. Please no!

Why are you so weak?  Why can’t you take him without using my power?

Shut up.

Too weak to live on your own. You need a human to help you.

Shut up!

You're pathetic.

Shut the hell up!!

Stand aside, boy. The time for fighting as a human has passed…

At that moment the air became thin, nearly suffocating as an ominous crimson aura formed around Flash followed with a thunderous, inhuman roar erupting from Flash’s mouth, forcing Barrage to take a few cautious steps back. Flash slowly picked himself up all the while staring daggers at Barrage.

Flash felt a familiar sensation over take him; a rage he hadn’t felt in years. His formerly blue eyes changed in a furious blood red, pupils fading. His fangs doubled in their normal size with the rest of his teeth taking on a similar appearance. His fingernails grew and curved into claws nearly a foot long, giving them the appearance of a wild beast.

Barrage was awestruck as he witnessed the transformation before him. Though dumbfounded by the sight, he managed to eke out a few words.

“W-what… what… are you?” Barrage’s throat went dry.What was once Flash Sentry looked at his prey, a light growl rumbling from his throat.

Instinctively, Barrage backed away carefully, hands trembling, breathing increased, sweat falling from every pore in his body.  Barrage recognized this feeling. A sensation he hadn't felt in almost ten years. An emotion he thought was long since repressed.

Barrage was afraid.

“What's wrong, shinobi?” Flash spoke in an eerily low and dark tone, a devilish smile slowly taking shape on his lips. “Are you… scared?”

Any retort Barrage may have had vanished, only a measly squeak was all he could muster.

Flash’s smile broke into a full-on grin. Lowering himself on all fours, he charged the ninja at a blinding speed.

Barrage completely froze. His legs refused to budge an inch. All he could do was stare as Flash leaped at him claws and fangs bared.

As the hybrid pounced the ninja, a spark went off in Barrage’s mind.

Sentry… Iremember now.  I remember where I heard it before… he’s-

And with that, the final sound which came from the abandoned building were the cries of a man and the deranged roar of a beast

Twilight couldn’t comprehend how things had gotten to this point. Flash had yet to return from the crash site and now this woman was slowly strutting towards her and Escort. It was child’s play to assume she was the one who tried to poison Escort and was most likely behind their crash too.

Now she not only had to deal with the woman with a scarf but also keep Escort safe and out of the women’s clutches. Twilight’s eyes darted from the woman, to Escort, and a nearby forest. It would serve as  a decent battle ground or a hiding spot.

“Escort, go hide in those bushes until I finish this,” Twilight whispered to the younger male.

Escort nodded rapidly, making a mad dash to the haven that were the bushes. However, the earth between him and bushes suddenly grew, shifting into a solid wall.With a yelp of shock, Escort came to a screeching halt, nearly crashing  head first  into the newly formed wall. Escort gazed at the wall in both amazement and fear.

“M-miss Twilight!” Escort cried out. His plea caused Twilight to hastily turn around. The sight of the stone wall before the younger teen left her in shock.

“Like my handy work?” the female ninja snickered.

Twilight gave no rebuttal, merely a piercing glare.

“In all the books I’ve read on ninja, they never said anything about them using Geo Techs,” Twilight said.

The ninja gave a shrug, “What can I say? I enjoy breaking stereotypes.”

“How?”

"How did I break the stereotype?" she asked, holding her chin as she pondered. "Just because I'm human, I suppose."

"That's not what I meant," Twilight said. "How can you use Geo Techs? They're not in the average ninja's pocket."

"I might just be that bad of a ninja. Being found by an idiot can have embarrassing results," she replied with a mocking frown. Try as she might, she couldn't stop the frown's transformation into a smile, dancing around the question like a skilled ballerina. "Looks like you'll just have to die to keep my secret."

Twilight’s glare intensified on the ninja’s mocking grin. The fact that she saw this as nothing more than a game annoyed the Hunter.

“Why are you after Escort?” Twilight asked with a forceful tone.

“It’s nothing personal. We were hired to grab the kid,” the ninja replied, her tone unchanged.

Twilight’s brow rose, head tilting to the side. Grab? They intended on taking him from Flash and I?"

Her words contradicted the actions of the duo. If Escort had been their target, why would they attempt to poison him?

“You have a funny way of pulling off a kidnapping!” Twilight shot back.

This time it was the ninja’s turn to cock a brow in confusion, “The hell are you talking about?”

“You tried to poison Escort!”

The elder female’s eye rose slightly, “Whoa, what? We did not! The poison was meant for either you or the blue-haired kid.”

“Well, it ended up in Escort’s cup!” Twilight countered.  The ninja paused, lost in deep thought.  Several seconds passed before her eyes shot open, her brow lowering in frustration.

“Goddammit… Barrage,” she muttered bitterly, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Twilight stared at the ninja as she stewed in her annoyance. The mage hastily turned to Escort, who was still frozen with shock in front of the stone wall.

The temptation to grab the teen and make a run towards Flash and flee was a strong one. However, she quickly realized how much of a moot point it was. If they managed to keep up with them while aided by a motorcycle going at twelve miles per hour, chasing them on foot would be child’s play. Fighting seemed to be the only way to resolve the matter.

Twilight’s hands moved in a circular motions, the aura emitting from her hands forming a purple arcane circle. Thrusting her hand forward, a blast of purple energy shot out of the circle directly at the ninja.

The woman sidestepped the blast with the grace and speed of a cat, jumping to the right and allowing the beam to fire off into the distance.

“Well, that was rude,” the ninja spoke with obvious sarcasm. “You didn’t even ask my name.”

“I apologize, but I also don’t have time for banter,” the circle glowed once more and like before, a beam of energy shot from it.

Again the ninja dodged the attack with a jump to the right, as her grin returned.

“The name is Ko, by the way. Style Ko,”  she said.

Twilight paid no attention to her words as she launched a group of small purple arrows towards the shinobi.

The woman moved through the blasts, elegant as a ballet dancer.

“Well?” Ko asked once again, her taunting tone unchanged.

“Are you still on about that?!” Twilight shouted in disbelief.

Ko simply nodded.

Twilight clapped a hand to her forehead in exasperation, a moan following suit, “Fine. It’s Twilight Sparkle.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Twilight. Now, die,” Ko gave a ridiculing smile as she launched a large shuriken at the mage.

Twilight raised her hand and declared, “Shell Tech: Chrome Wall!” A wall of light gray energy formed in front of Twilight. The shuriken harmlessly bounced off it.

Ko grunted in annoyance; fighting against mages was such a pain. She sprinted on the right side of the wall, whipping out two kunai and throwing them near Twilight’s feet. Escort yelped in fear while Twilight stared in confusion.

“I think you missed!” Twilight hastily turned around, firing another beam of energy at Ko.

“And I thought you were the smart one,” Ko’s grin grew as she effortlessly dodged the beam with a backflip, and pulled two thin wires tied to the kunai.

“What are those gonna do?!” Escort queried, voice laced with panic.

Ko shot the panicked male a menacing smile, “This. Geo Arte: Terra Plate!”

The ground under Twilight abruptly rose, as she and Escort lost their balance, narrowly falling off the plate.

Twilight glared daggers at Ko. She was far more dangerous and intelligent the Hunter had first assumed.

Ko beamed before performing several hand signs, “Geo Arte: Terra Spike!”

A low rumble alerted Twilight and Escort. Casting a gaze downward, their eyes widened in horror. A multitude of large triangular spikes protruded out of the ground, pointing at the duo. Escort desperately backed away from the spikes, only to be met with the edge of the plate.

Twilight gritted her teeth, as the pair grew closer to the spikes. Taking a deep breath, she stretched out her left hand, which now bore a bright purple aura. Chanting an incantation, another arcane circle appeared before her. With a forceful shout, she thrust the circle at the spikes. Said spikes crashed into the circle, blocking them from advancing towards the pair any further.

The display of intelligence, skill and timing shocked Escort, his jaw hanging open.

“A-amazing, Miss Twilight,” Escort commended the mage. A small grin popped on Twilight’s face.

Ko gazed lazily at the pair, unfazed by Twilight’s tactic.

“Nice trick you pulled there,” Ko mocked, accompanied with an equally mocking applause. “Too bad it’s all for naught.”

The spikes began to transform into columns. The top of the columns stretched upward with great force, shattering Twilight’s seal. With the seal gone, Twilight and Escort fell to the ground below. The columns then circled the pair, the very top of them merging into a solid, flat surface.

“And that, boys and girls, is my Geo Arte: Terra Prison,” Ko cackled. “What do ya think?”

Twilight growled lightly, not amused by the ninja’s taunting. She backed away from the bars and began chanting another incantation. An aura formed around her right hand. Hand now glowing, Twilight chopped at the stone bars. Her attempts at freeing them earned a slight giggle from Ko.

“Something funny?” the violet-haired mage hissed.

“Yeah, you. Sorry to say, but that that's not going to do much,” Ko explained. “Those bars are strong enough to withstand blows from B level fiends. No way a little girl and her mana knife are cutting through that.”

Twilight looked down at the bar she desperately hacked at only to find them unscathed. Her pupils shrank as her hands shook with rage.

“Hehe. You know, I like you, Sparkle. You’re determined. That’s a pretty rare trait these days.” Slowly Ko moseyed her way to the trapped duo. “So, because of that, I’ll make a deal with you.”

Twilight looked at female before her. Her nose scrunched up at the sight.

“If you surrender the kid, I’ll drop the cage and let you and that worthless partner of yours go.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed at Ko’s offer. “What makes you think I’d even consider such a deal?”

“What? “ Ko placed a hand on her chest, feigning offence. “It’s a pretty good deal, if I say so myself,”

“For you, maybe,” Twilight corrected, giving Ko the sourest expression she could muster.

“I wonder what’s taking Barrage so long? He should’ve already snapped the neck of that twig of a partner you have,” Ko stated nonchalantly, ignoring Twilight’s retort altogether.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Twilight said. Her grip on the stone bars tightened.  “He won’t lose to someone like your friend.”

Ko casually stared at Twilight, eyes rolling, “Hey, Sparkle? Mind if I ask something?”

“As a matter of fact I do.”

Ko shrugged, “I’ll ask anyway. Why him? Why out of all of the students in that sun-brain’s school did you pick him? Why did you pick such a useless guy?”

Twilight’s eyes widened, “Sun-brain? You mean Headmistress Celestia?” Twilight’s grip tightened even more on the bars. She could practically feel her hand gain an added shade of red. “How dare you insult our mistress!”

Ko nodded, “Of course. Who else would take weaklings like you two in? Even together two weaklings are still weak.”

“You should really read a thesaurus,” Twilight quipped.

“Whatever,” Ko said as she rolled her eyes. “Now you gonna tell me why you picked him?”

“I didn’t,” Twilight blurted out.

“Oh?” Ko asked, another grin taking form on her lips. “My condolences.”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” A frustrated groan left the jaw of the Hunter before she answered, “Headmistress Celestia put us together. She said we had potential as a team.”

“Ah. I see,” Ko said, content.

“Do you mind if I ask you something now?” Twilight questioned.

“Barrage and I are from the same clan. We were raised to work efficiently together since birth,” Ko stated abruptly.

“It wasn’t about you and your partner. I don’t care about that,” Twilight replied, brow raised. “Why did you suddenly take an interest in Flash and me?”

“You seem like a pretty mismatched pair is all. He definitely isn’t the kind of guy I see a girl like you pairing up with. Though…” Ko paused, a sly smile growing on her lips. “Now that I think about it, maybe I can. No wonder you decide to walk behind him. It’s for the view.”

Twilight gave the ninja a bemused look.  Her blunt comment about the spearman made her feel slightly uncomfortable. While she could admit Flash was to some degree attractive Twilight was well aware of Flash’s eccentric (and often grating) personality quirks. She could barely stand them herself and prayed for the poor girl he'd show any interest in.

“So, are you two shacking up?” Ko blurted out.

The ninja’s words forced a blush to the mage’s checks. Hastily, Twilight turned away from Ko to hide her flustered face. The insinuation was absurd. Flash was a friend and nothing more. Still Twilight didn’t do well under pressure.

“Uh… Miss Twilight? Are you okay?” Escort asked, puzzled, scratching the side of his head.

Ko turned to find Twilight hiding her face. The second she caught the red on Twilight’s cheeks, she howled in laughter at the sight.

“O-o-our relationship is purely platonic!” Twilight squeaked, her face becoming redder.

“Calm down, princess, I’m kiddin’,” Ko’s laughter died down, wiping the tears from her eyes. “So, what about my offer?”

In an instant, Twilight's face regained its original coloring, her brows lowering and her face scrunching into a frown. “I already gave you the answer but I’ll be blunt. I refuse.”

 Ko shook her head, a sigh of disappointment leaving her mouth, “I tried.” Clasping her hands, the bars of the cage began rapidly moving closer to the middle, Ko smiling devilishly all the while.

Escort screamed as the space between them and bars decreased, “What are we gonna do?!”

Twilight tried once more to slice through the bar with her mana knife, to no avail. She bit down on her lip, grunting bitterly as the bars closed in. She needed to free them somehow.

The space was too cramped to use any of her higher level spells. A simple magical beam could cause the cage to collapse on top of them, which meant there was just one other option available left to her. An option she really did not wish to use.

Twilight took several deep breaths before she summoned her weapon, a knightly sword. From it a faint purple energy  began to surrounded the blade. The energy from the blade grew brighter, nearly fully encompassing the cage.

The light caught Escort’s attention and he turned to the mage. He watched Twilight with intrigue and confusion, the light from her sword nearly blinding him.

“Uh? Miss Twilight? What are you-”

Twilight extended her free hand, shoving it in Escort’s direction. “Please be quiet. I need to focus.”

Escort nodded slowly as the aura around her sword darkened.  The energy radiating off her sword caused Ko’s brow to slightly raise. Clenching her teeth, she gripped her hands tighter, increasing the speed of the bars.

With the energy leaking from the sword, Twilight tightly gripped the hilt and with a shout of confidence, slashed several of the bars clean in half, a faint arc of energy flowing off it with each slash.

 The bars flew off in multiple directions, Ko’s face becoming totally pale. She slowly sent a gaze at the mage before her. Twilight returned her gaze with one of her own, the two females becoming briefly locked in a intense staring match. Ko snarled, whipping out six kunai, wielding three in between her fingers on both hands and rushed the pair.

Grabbing Escort, Twilight jumped out of the cage and fired another beam at Ko.

Ko sidestepped the blow, and scoffed at Twilight’s attempt. Twilight smirked. As she swung her sword at Ko, the ninja's eyes widened at the sight.

Despite her previous assault, the blade was still overflowing with magic, to the point it oozed mana. When Twilight swung the blade, a mighty wave of magic was launched.

Coating her kunai in a dark blue aura, the ninja tossed them vertically at the arc of energy. Taking on another hand sign, a thin blue line formed between the six kunai’s rings. Soon after, six small arcs of blue energy shot out of the gaps in between the kunai, forming a makeshift shield.

“August Fin!” Ko shouted.

The arc of violet energy clashed with the kunai-shield, the two forces pushing against each other. Twilight gasped. She never assumed this woman, Style Ko, could create a defense in such a short time. Twilight would have been impressed if her and Escort’s lives weren’t at risk.

“You’ve got skill, I’ll give you that,” Ko grinned, pushing Twilight forward. “But, I have been doing this for years! Sorry to say, princess, but you are outmatched!”

Twilight grunted, the arc of energy pushing back. The mage’s knees buckled, the arc slightly shrinking in size, her breath slowly became ragged.

Ko gritted her teeth, pushing the shield further to its breaking point. With each strike of her devastating magic the defense of the Hunter before her grew more and more absurd. Ko watched with glee as the shield shrank to that of a size barely able to protect a single hand. She could just continue her assault and slowly destroy it or she could focus all of her energy into one glorious attack to demolish the pathetic accessory. It had been so long since she last did it and she missed the old technique.

Twilight watched as Ko jumped back a few feet. This shield of hers was about to die. At the longest it would last a minute maybe two. Then after that she’d be easy to take down. Was that what Ko was planning?

Ko’s hands became “I hope you feel honored. You will get to see my most powerful attack! August Fin: Maximum!”

Twilight grimaced. She was barely able to defend herself against the average August Fin. She needed a plan and needed it fast. It was clear her shield would dissipate and she had no more magic to spend to increase its strength but she could change one thing. Twilight focused upon her shield once more stretching it out. This time it reached even further than the size the shield was previously. One could even mistake it for a parasol rather than a shield.

“I see so you decided to create a more encompassing defense. Oh but there’s a price to pay, isn’t there?” Ko smirked. She moved one of her fingers back and forth. “Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You spread yourself too thin. Now this won’t be any fun for me. You’re so selfish.”

“If that’s all you see then you’ve already lost,” Twilight shot back. She narrowed her eyes at Ko. She watched as Ko simply chuckled.

“Have it your way,”Ko said. Her mana changed color to a more violent red. “August Fin: Maximum!” She sent a surprisingly small blast Twilight’s way. It was far smaller than what had come before. The other arcs seemed to attack Twilight’s entire body but this barely could come at her torso which was why Ko specifically targeted it.

Twilight felt beads of sweat cover her brow. This was it. This would be the time of her victory or of her crushing defeat. Twilight took a deep breath as she once again focused upon her shield. Now she had to undo what she had done.She moved her magic closer and closer until it was the size of a small golf ball.

Ko smirked. The inexperienced Hunter would pay for her mistake. “Even if you had an opportunity to throw that last attack of yours I’d just dodge it.”

“You’re wrong,” Twilight replied.

Ko watched as her attack collided with the golf ball, which caused the little sphere to spin. The rest of her attack struck the Hunter, sending her to her knees from the sheer amount of force behind it. But even as she knelt, panting on the floor, the golf ball remained, blocking a small portion of the ninja's attack. As its final act the ball spun, sending the attack back to its source.

Twilight shakily got to her feet, face pale and arms wrapped around her stomach. "It wasn't an attack. It was just a shield the whole time!"

Ko roared defiantly as her own energy raced to her, but was sent flying far into the distance. Twilight's legs gave out, bringing her knees to the grassy floor with an uncomfortable thud. She sucked in a quick hiss of pain before continuing to pant, thankful that the exhaustion and bruised knees were signs she was still alive.

“M-miss Twilight!” Escort ran over to the tired mage, offering his hand to her.  “Are you alright?! That attack looked powerful.”

“I’m.Fine.Just.Tired.” she huffed.

“Partner!” Flash called out stumbling over to the two, hand clutching the left side of his head “You both alright?”

“Yeah,” Twilight said as she weakly picked herself up. Standing to face her partner, she noticed his present state.  “Are you okay?”

The hybrid nodded. “Yeah. That Barrage guy got a lucky shot in is all.”

“Uh… speaking of, where is he?” Escort chimed in. Flash opened his mouth to respond, only for his mind to go blank. The teen wracked his brain, trying desperately to recall the events of their battle. Try as he might, the ending of his battle with Barrage remained a mystery.

“I… I don't know,” spoke Flash. “The last thing I remember was Barrage smacking me to the ground and passing out. When I came to, he was gone.”

His answer caused a great deal of concern for Twilight and Escort. Without any information on Barrage’s whereabouts, Twilight was extremely hesitant about making any further progress, lest the shinobi attack them again.

Twilight sighed, "We'll need to be careful, but that aside we're all safe and that's what matters most."

Flash and Escort nodded in agreement. “Right.”

"With that said, Escort, -" the mage turned to the timid teen "- where are we going?"

“I can’t believe it,” Twilight said, all the life draining from her.

“What kinda joke is this?!” Flash asked angrily, a vein popping on the right side of his temple.

Escort gave the pair a look of confusion. “What? It’s just a school,”

“Yeah. Our school!” Flash screamed, even more irritated.

“Oh? I had no idea,” Escort chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his elbow.

Does this kid know anything?! Flash angrily eyed the front of the school. Part of him was tempted to punch the doors open so hard the deaf students in Mr. Turner's class would hear the crash. Hell,  he’d try for the entire world.

However, just as Flash’s punch was about to connect with the door, it opened revealing a giant of a man. A giant man he had just punched in the face. His hair was wild, unkempt and did a good job of resembling a lion’s mane. The muscles covering his body were a bodybuilder’s dream come true.

 Flash wondered how the big man would move. Before his fight with Barrage Flash assumed he'd have an advantage in speed, especially against larger opponents. Now, he quietly prayed the frightening man was merciful.The large man lightly tapped Flash’s arm. Flash moved his fist, revealing his face and gasped at what he saw. The man had the eyes of a fiend, but he still had the nose and mouth of a human.

 "Oh. I think you just hurt my disguise, young man," he said as he slowly rubbed his jaw. A loud clang came from his chest after tapping it softly. "Well at least my armor is intact."

Flash examined what the man wore. He’d hardly call it armor. It looked more like tin foil than something that could actually protect anything. And his entire body was covered in it.

“Um. S-sorry, sir,” Flash squeaked, slowly backing away. Stepping out from behind the hulk of a man was their headmistress.

“Ah, Flash! Twilight! Welcome back.” She greeted them with a warm smile. “And you must be the escort.”

Escort nodded, bowing to the pair. “H-h-hello, miss. H-hello headmaster.”

The two Hunters blinked, their gazes shifting from Escort to Celestia and her friend.

“Did he just say…”

“Headmaster?”

Once more, Escort nodded. “Mister Scorpan here is my headmaster.”

 Twilight's jaw fell open as Flash ran both hands through his spiky hair. Managing to somewhat compose herself first, Twilight stuttered out, "S-scorpan? The one who opened a school specifically for fiends? That Scorpan?!"

The aforementioned headmaster nodded with a sheepish grin.“The very same.”

Both Hunters simply stood there in total silence. In an instant, their minds were flooded with a myriad of questions;  why was Scorpan here of all places? How did he know their headmistress? And just who was Escort?

 "How?! What?! HOW?!" Flash felt a strong need to sit down, dizzy from the swarm of thoughts too large to take in all at once.

Trying to regain her composure, Twilight turned to Celestia. “So I assume this was that friend of yours. The one who gave us the mission?”

"You were right. She's very smart -" Scorpan laughed heartily "- and an excellent choice."

Celestia gave a small chuckle. “Thank you, Scorpan. Twilight is one of the school's best students.”

Twilight blushed at Celestia’s praise. Flash beamed at the well-deserved praises his friend received. Placing a hand on her shoulder he gave the violet-eyed mage a warm smile. Though in the back of his mind he couldn’t help but feel somewhat bitter, wondering if his presence was even needed.

Twilight turned seeing Flash lost in deep thought, his smile having all but faded. “You okay, partner?”

Her voice brought the hybrid back to reality. He saw the look of concern painted on his partner’s face. “Oh, yeah. Sorry. Just thinking.”

Twilight stared at the half-fiend momentarily, her expression unchanged.

“So, why did the headmistress choose us for the mission?” Flash asked without thinking.

“Flash!” Twilight chastised in a hushed voice, swiftly jabbing his ribs.

"I asked for Celestia's best students. She personally sent you two, -" Scorpan grinned "-and you both performed admirably."

Hearing the man's words caused Flash's spirits to rise just a touch as a small grin returned to his lips. Twilight spoke up, "If you don't mind, headmaster Scorpan, may I ask you something?"

The elder fiend nodded. “Go ahead, young miss.”

“Why did you want us to escort… uh… accompany Escort specifically?”

“Well, as a bit of a learning exercise.”

Flash cocked a brow.“For Escort?” Scorpan nodded.

“But why? Don’t you run a school for fiends?” Flash began. “So, that would mean...”

“Escort is a fiend!?” Twilight gasped.

Another chuckle rumbled from the fiend’s gut. “Almost. He’s a half-fiend.” Twilight and Flash  slowly turned to Escort, who removed his hood revealing a pair of horns sticking out from his messy brown hair

“Sorry I didn’t tell you before,” he apologized, offering the two a bow.

“So is that why I was brought along?” Flash wondered.

“Indeed,” Celestia stated. “Scorpan thought it would do Escort some good to be around another half-fiend.”

"And it did, in a way," Escort chimed in. "I was a bit worried at first, since Flash seemed like a pretty scary guy. But he saved my life, so he can't be all that bad. I kind of wish I'd had more time to get to know him, as well as miss Twilight." Flash just stood there, and blinked once, twice, thrice. He'd expected Escort to think poorly of him, if not outright hate him for his less-than-friendly introduction.

“Uh… thanks, Escort,” Flash said, his cheeks turning a faint shade of crimson.

.

“Maybe next time the three of us could grab a bite again,” Twilight offered.

With a huge grin, Escort nodded joyfully. “I would like that.”

"You may want to postpone that," Scorpan said, quickly scanning the two Hunters. Twilight and Flash looked at each other, and realized the sense in Scorpan's words as they noticed the bruises, cuts, and scrapes covering their bodies. Their exhaustion kicked in a moment later like an angry mule.

Flash cracked his neck. "Yeah, I'm sore all over thanks to that Barrage guy."

"And I'm still drained from that attack," Twilight yawned.

 “I think it’s about time you two go home. It looks like you need some rest,” Scorpan said, with Celestia nodding in agreement. "Come to my office tomorrow and I’ll have your payment for the mission.” The duo nodded, giving each headmaster a bow.

Scorpan lightly motioned Escort to walk forward, before waving at the pair with a smile as his student stood beside him. “Thank you for helping me train my new student.”

“I’ll see you both later!” Escort shouted, copying his headmaster’s gestures. Twilight returned the waves with one of her own as Flash bobbed his head. With the goodbyes over, the pair began walking on the long road home. As the reached the bottom of the stairs, Twilight started to chuckle.

“What are you laughing about?” Flash asked, as he tilted his head.

“The irony of our present situation,” she answered in between laughs.

Flash merely gazed at the tittering girl before him, and scratched his head as he spoke up.“Irony?”

“Remember yesterday when I questioned your decision in buying another motorcycle?” Flash nodded slowly.  “Well, now we kind of need a new one.”

Flash slapped his forehead. Of course! How could I forget? Thanks to those ninja my baby's a pile of flaming scrap.

“Good thing I started saving up,” he sighed, before his eyes shot open wide. “So... until I get another motorcycle... does that mean-”

“Yes. We’re going to be doing a lot of walking."

A groan of annoyance flew from the jaw of the half-fiend. “Yovita.”

The last thing Style Ko remembered was being blasted backwards by her own attack, flying through the air like some giant ragdoll before her flight was rudely interrupted by an inconvenient tree. Her body hurt all over, her vision still partially blurred, and the slightest noise was like a jackhammer that sent her entire head pulsing. Suddenly she felt a jolt, which shocked her awake. Groaning lightly, she quickly moved her eyes all around, and noticed the sun had vanished from the sky.

 “Yo. You finally awake?” A voice whispered. Though it tried to be soft, it still sent a stinging throb through her skull.

She had to blink several times before her vision cleared, allowing her to cast a gaze downward where she was met with a familiar black cloak.

“Barrage?”

“Yeah?”

“W-what happened?” she mumbled.

“We failed our mission. The Escort kid got away,” Barrage growled through clenched teeth.

“Dammit!” Ko swore, biting down on her lower lip. ”Our employer is gonna be pissed.”

“He’s not the only one. Rain’s not gonna be happy either,”

“Shit, I nearly forgot! He trusted us with this and we let him down.” Ko shrank in on herself, letting her head bow limply against Barrage's massive chest. Despite all the cuts, bruises and broken bones, her heart hurt more than all of them put together.

“Don't’ feel too bad about it, Ko. I don’t think Rain’ll be too upset.”

“He trusted us, Barrage!” Ko's hands curled into tight fists around the front of Barrage’s cloak, as she clenched her teeth with an audible grind. “With everything going on right now with the clan, Rain needed one, just one victory, and we couldn't even do that for him!”

As Barrage heard a few light sobs slip out of his partner's trembling form, a pit slowly took shape in his stomach. The rare sight of his partner so brokenhearted filled him with the resolve to work harder, as to never see it again.

“Hey Ko?”

“Hmm?” She sniffled. “W-what?”

“You know what kid I fought?”

Ko peeked over Barrage’s shoulder. “Yeah? What about him?”

“His name was Flash Sentry.”

Ko’s eye’s grew in size, her face turning pale. “S-sentry? Like… that Sentry?”

As Barrage nodded, Ko went silent, torn between extreme relief and soul-crushing fear. Of all the things we prepared for, encountering a Sentry was definitely not on the list.

“There was something else,” Barrage paused briefly, his movements slowing. “I don’t think he was human. No, I’m sure of it.”  Images of his fight with the feral half-fiend quickly flashed by in Barrage’s mind, a chill traveling down his spine at the memories.

“So, at least we have some good new for Rain,” Ko sighed in relief as Barrage nodded again. "The sooner we get back to the hideout, the better. There’s one more thing I wanna ask, though. Are you alright? You're moving slower than normal. And why are you carrying me with just one arm?”

Her questions froze him in place, the sudden stop almost forcing Ko off of Barrage’s back.

He answered hastily, “I... I’m still a bit sore from the fight. And that brat broke my arm, too.”

Ko thought she noticed a slight hesitation in his answer. However, she couldn't be sure as his face was obscured in the moonlight. What she was sure of, however, was that Twilight Sparkle was far stronger than the Hunter's petite form would suggest.

Her blood boiled at the memory of her defeat, making her shake with rage as she softly mumbled, “Next time... next time I’ll crush her.”

Barrage sluggishly nodded once more, his gaze locked on the road before them. “Yeah... Next time.”