No Strings Attatchedby ElectroshloobChaptersParty Time!The BrotherhoodTrainingDefend the Brotherhood!Party Time!(Before you begin, please note that in this Humanised Equestria, the 'Ponies' Cutie Marks are on their arms, in the style of tattoos) It was a peaceful night tonight. The air was calm, the sky was starry, and the town was quiet. Except in one place. The home of Vinyl Scratch was always loud, She made music for a living, and that usually meant that the surrounding area would be loud. Unless, Of-course, you were Octavia. Octavia preferred her music to be quiet, and calm. Regardless of their music tastes, the two were best friends. This night was different, However, Pinkie was throwing a party for EVERYONE at Vinyl's house, and had sent out invites, even to Canterlot, where Octavia was staying, prior to getting the invitation. Applejack supplied the food. Rarity supplied the beautiful drapes, and banners. Pinkie, of-course, supplied most of the party decorations. Twilight kept people entertained, using some novelty magic tricks she'd recently found in a book. EVERYONE was at this party..Well, almost everyone, there's only a certain amount of people you can fit into one building. Vinyl's music filled the air, as usual, as the ponies feasted on Applejacks treats, admired Rarities decorations, and cheered at Twilight's magic tricks. As Octavia walked from the kitchen with some drinks, to Vinyl's DJ booth she couldn't help but smile at it all. "Hey, Scratch, thought you might need a drink." She shouted. Vinyl took the drink from Octavia, smiling. "Thanks, Tavi, i was getting thirsty!" Vinyl yelled over the music Octavia just stood there, for a few minutes, occasionally sipping her drink, and taking it all in. When she happened to spot a hooded figure, just sat in the corner of the room. She decided this was a little odd, and decided to ask Vinyl if she knew who it was. Once she got back to Vinyl, Octavia tapped her on the shoulder. "Scratch, Who's that hooded guy in the corner of the room? Hes just sat there, not doing anything." "Apparently hes some new guy in town, he doesn't talk much" "Huh.." Octavia wasn't usually too nosy in other peoples business, but she decided to ask anyway. "What's his cutie mark?" Vinyl looked puzzled "Why do you wanna know that?" She asked. "Just curious" Octavia replied "I didn't really get a good look at it, but from my angle it looked like a cloak." "Wonder what his special talent is.." "Probly sneaking or something,Tavi. Or, what's more likely, is that he wears hoods and cloaks so much, that its become his special talent." "Hey, no need to go getting sarcastic, i'm just curious!" "Sorry Tavi, its just that its really none of your business." Vinyl replied. Octavia just laughed. "I guess so.." Octavia was about to get another drink when a BANG from behind stopped her in her tracks, she turned around, to see that the door had been kicked open, and that three royal guards had walked in. All of the drunk, by the looks. "Why..Why weren't we..invited to thish party?" on of them said Octavia walked over to the guards. She'd decided to shoo them out. "Uh, sirs, i'm afraid i'm gonna have to ask you to leave..The party is for people with invitations only. "Hey, no one asked you, missy!" Yelled the least drunk of the three "We want in!" By now Vinyl had got up from the DJ booth and ran over. "Hey, get out, this is my house!" "Shut up, i'm getting sick of you annoying girls!" the most drunk one yelled. He grabbed Vinyl, and said to the other two: "Grab the black haired one, we'll take her down to the station and have some fun, shall we?" "GET OFF!" Octavia yelled. "Hey!" "WHAT?!" yelled one of the guards, who turned to look, and see who was talking. "Get off them." It was the hooded figure, from earlier. "Come and make us!" The hooded man drew a sword, that he'd concealed under his cloak. The guards dropped the girls, who then backed off, and drew their swords, to face their new enemy. The guards charged at the hooded man, and swung their own swords at him, which he easily dodged and parried. He kicked one of the guards in the knee, causing a snapping sound, and making the guard scream in pain, the hooded man used this chance to stab the guard in the stomach, coating his sword in blood. The guard fell over, and bled out on the floor. "What the hell is wrong with you!?" said one of the guards, as he swung his weapon. "Nothing" Said the hooded man, easily parrying the attack, and knocking the guard back, giving him an opening. He chopped down on the guards neck, decapitating him. "J..just stay away from me!" Cried the least drunk guard as he ran away. The hooded man, splattered with blood, walked over to Vinyl and Octavia, who were shaking. "Mordecai Ravenheart, at your service. I need you to come with me, you're not safe here." "B..but we don't even k..know you!" "Please..trust me..I'll explain everything once we get to a safe location." The Brotherhood"..I..Guess we could go with you.." "Excellent, please follow me, stay quiet, and stay close, that bastard that got away will probably come back with more of his friends" As they ran through the dark streets of Ponyville, Mordecai came to a halt, at a plain wooden door, and knocked six times, in a sort of beat. The door opened a crack. "Another?" said a voice from inside. "Two, actually." There was a sigh from behind the door, and an armored man, with sword, sheath, and all, opened the door. "Come in then, quickly." He said. He moved aside, and the trio entered, into a dimly lit room, with about 15 or 20 hooded figures inside, all wearing white, all armored, all with weapons. "Welcome back, Captain Mordecai!" Said one of them, pulling his hood down, smiling. His hair was white, with a red streak down the middle. "Good to be back, Okami." "Who are they?" Okami asked. "I believe the blue haired one is Vinyl Scratch, an excellent DJ. And the Black Haired girl is Octavia, one of the best cello players in Canterlot." Replied Mordecai. "I'm Okami, Pleased to meet you both" He said smiling. "I..Um..Pleased to meet you.." Octavia said nervously. "Yea, yea, Pleased to meet you.." "If Captain Mordecai brought you here, he must've seen potential in you." Okami said, still smiling. "Potential for WHAT? And WHERE is HERE? We were attacked by Royal Guards, who were going to rape us, and then this "Mordecai" fella comes and kills them! I want an explanation!" Scratch yelled "He's not allowed to tell you that. Not yet anyway." Said an unfamiliar voice, from behind. Unlike the other people in the room, he wore a black hood and cape, instead of white. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mentor Blackthorn" said the newcomer "There's something you need to be told, Girls." Mordecai said. "And what would that be?" They both said at the same time. "...This might be hard to take in. There is an ancient order of warriors. A secret brotherhood, who protects the innocents, from their nemesis, the Templars. We are that order, We are the Assassins Brotherhood." Scratch gasped at this "What? I thought those tales of Assassins and Templars were just myths!" "Oh a few of them were, We never laid siege to any castles, or razed entire cities. No, we work in the dark." replied Blackthorn "And what's this so called "Potential" We have?" asked Octavia. "Ah, sorry, i meant to get round to that. The way you both walked up to armed guards, and told them to leave, when you had no way of defending yourself striked me as a little bit brave. But then again, a little bit foolish. You see, we Assassins are fighting a losing war. there aren't enough of us. We need people that hold bravery in their hearts, and are willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of others, and i think that sums both of you up" said Mordecai. "What? You want me to join an order of warriors, and get myself killed?" Octavia asked. "No, we want you to train to be one of us." said the Mentor. "What difference will training make?" asked Octavia. "A trained Assassin can get out of almost any situation" Okami cut in. "Indeed they can." Replied Mordecai. "I'm in." said Vinyl suddenly. "What? Just like that!?" Octavia asked, shocked. "Tavi, those men tried to rape us. It'd at least help to be able to defend ourselves." "I guess..." "So are you in with me, or not, Tavi?" Vinyl asked impatiently. "Fine.." Octavia replied. "Excellent!" the Mentor said, beaming. "When do we begin our training?" Vinyl asked. "Tomorrow, under Captain Mordecai." Replied the Mentor. TrainingIt was early morning, and still dark, when Octavia and Vinyl were woken up. "Rise and shine girls, you've got training to do! Especially if you want to defend yourself from those bastard guards!" Said Mordecai in his rough voice. Mordecai turned on a lamp, lighting the room up. It was quite plain. No personal belongings. Just two beds, bed sheets, a table, and a cupboard. The two girls hadn't even bothered to take their clothes off last night, and just laid on top of the covers. "Why are we doing this again..?" Octavia said, moaning. "To defend our selves against those asshole guards, remember?" replied Vinyl. "Oh yeah.." "You can have breakfast, and then its downstairs, to the basement." "Why the basement?" Vinyl asked. "Well, we can't do our training in public, for fear of the Templars getting wind of our operations, so we tunneled around the building, and created a decent training ground there. Don't worry, there's plenty of room, you won't need to crawl." "Alright then.." Octavia said. The two girls got out of bed, and followed Mordecai to the mess hall. There they were served Porridge. Not much of a breakfast, but they took it. Mordecai sat down with them, also with a bowl of porridge. The Mess Hall was pretty loud, and Octavia was surprised people didn't hear the clinking of plates, scraping of cutlery and voices, from outside. So she asked how no one knew about the place. "Well, you see. We guessed the mess hall would be loud, they usually are. So we asked the members if they were any good at DIY. A few of them were, so we got them to add sound proofing to the walls. Not a sound leaves the place unless the door is open. "Ah, clever" Said Vinyl "I should do that to my house." "After breakfast, we need to go find Okami, he'll help us with the training." After their breakfast, the trio searched for Okami, who was found sending out contracts to Brotherhood field agents. "...And make sure he gets them this time, okay?" They heard him saying to one of the pigeons, who then flew out of a hole in the roof. "Okami, i need you to help with the training." "Uh..Okay." And with that, they proceeded to the Basement. It wasn't like you'd imagine it to be. From Mordecai's description, they'd expected it to be little more than a wide, high tunnel. It was more like an underground castle.And it was well lit. "Here, you will go through your training. It will take months. And it is not easy. You will learn to be Stealthy. You will learn to be Agile. You will learn to be Speedy, and you will learn to be Efficient." Mordecai walked over to a corner of the room, and grabbed four wooden swords, two of which he gave to the girls, one of which he kept for himself, and the last one he gave to Okami. "Today, you will learn the very basics of combat. Parrying, and Attacking. And perhaps Dodging if you get the hang of parrying." Octavia and Vinyl just stayed silent. Not sure what to do. Though this didn't matter, as Mordecai continued. "Okami and myself will show you the basics. You cannot hold back. But try not to hurt eachother." he said, smiling. Okami went into a defensive stance, and Mordecai lunged at him with the wooden sword. Mordecai missed, as Okami had dodged out of the way just in time. Okami kicked Mordecai in the stomach, winding him, and then brought his sword down on his back, not enough to hurt him, but enough to get the point through that he'd won. "And how do you expect us to do that?" Vinyl said. "You will learn, with time, Vinyl." Mordecai said, still wheezing after being kicked in the stomach. "Now, what i did wrong there, was that i was slow, and clumsy. If i had been fast and agile, then this young recruit wouldn't have stood a chance, Now let me show you." Okami went into a defensive stance once again, But this time, Mordecai didn't lunge with the sword, he sprinted towards Okami, and attacked him with a flurry of blows, each one connecting the sword. Okami dodged out of the way of one, and attacked Mordecai, who easily dodged out of the way, and knocked the wooden sword out of Okami's hand. "Now..you try.." The girls were by no means bad at this. Vinyl went into a defensive stance, just like Okami had and Octavia charged her. But instead of connecting with Vinyl's sword, performed a Feint. Vinyl dodged the wrong way, and Octavia knocked the sword out of her hand. "Excellent! I can see you'll be a MASTER of deception, Octavia!" Mordecai said, smiling once again. Okami however, looked shocked. "She copied my Defensive stance EXACTLY.." "They're Musicians, Okami, they pay attention." replied, laughing. "Now you try defending, Octavia." Mordecai said. So Octavia went into a defensive stance, and Vinyl charged her. They clashed swords, and Vinyl tripped Ocatvia over, who rolled out of the way of Vinyl's wooden sword. Octavia retaliated by lunging at vinyl, who dodged, and knocked the sword out of Octavias hand. "And you Vinyl...I think you'll be a master of agility." And so they continued their training, learning to block and parry. A few months passed, and they had become masters of Deception and Agility. They eventually came to their final test. A test of Stealth. They had learnt a bit of stealth in their previous lessons, but this was the first lesson dedicated to it. They were in another part of the Basement. It was a long room. Make shift huts, and buildings had been created, for this test, ladders, Hay bails, and walls, had been put up to serve as hiding points for the two girls. "There are assassins, stationed around, Hiding. At the end of this room, is a chest, with two feathers in. Both of you must go across, Separately, and bring back one of the feathers, without being caught by the assassins. You shall go first, Octavia." Now, Octavia looked around the room. There were some rocks. Which she walked over to. She picked one up, and kept it in her hand. She climbed a ladder, up to one of the makeshift huts, and creeped around as quietly as she could. She caught sight of one of the assassins, and threw the rock to the opposite side of the room, the assassin went to check, just like she'd hoped. Now she continued sneaking to the box. She arrived at it, and took a feather, and equally as quiet, sneaked back to Mordecai, Vinyl, and Okami. "You really do like to trick people, Don't you, Octavia?" Okami said. "I prefer to be deceptive than violent." "Okay, my turn." Vinyl said suddenly, she jumped onto the roof of one of the makeshift huts, and sprinted across it. Although "Sprinted" Might be the wrong word, as it seems to imply that there was noise. Vinyl was light footed, so, though she sprinted full pelt across the roof of the hut, she barely made a sound. She jumped over a wall, and back flipped to the platform that the box was on. She took a feather, then continued to return to the other three in much the same way, sprinting silently. and jumping over obstacles. Once she arrived back at Mordecai and the others mordecai spoke. "Congratulations, both of you. You have passed every test, and overcome every obstacle. You are now an official part of the Assassins Brotherhood." "That they are, Captain." Said a voice from behind. It was, Of-course, Mentor Blackthorn. He had a habit of showing up at convenient moments. "But we have a problem.." Defend the Brotherhood!"...But we have a problem" said the Mentor. "And what would that be?" Mordecai asked "The Templars intercepted a message to us from a field agent, they know where we are." "WHAT?! We have to defend!" "That was my first thought, Captain, but if they come, their numbers will be too much for us. Evacuation is the only option. Though some Assassins will have to stay behind to cover our retreat. And so far, You, Octavia, Vinyl, and Okami look to be the perfect people for the job." "We'll go get geared up. These two have earned their robes." Mordecai said. So with that, they rushed to the armory. Once they arrived, Mordecai opened a wooden chest, and out of it he took two white and red robes. "These, are the robes of the Assassin order. Wear them proudly." Once they had got changed, he opened another box, and from it he took two swords, plain, but sharp, two daggers, and twenty throwing knives, which he split between Vinyl and Octavia. They geared up, Swords and daggers in sheaths, knives on belts. And pulled their hoods up, so they wouldn't be identified by the Templars. They ran back to the Mentor, through the maze of underground tunnels. "Whats the plan, Sir?" Mordecai asked. "I will lead the recruits and anyone else who comes with me out through a secret tunnel in the Basement, We've been planning for this day for years. A few of the other recruits demanded to stay here, and hold back the templars with you, so you'll have their aid." the Mentor said. "Whatever happens, get out if you can. That was that. Okami, Vinyl, Octavia and Mordecai met up with the recruits that volunteered to stay behind, and they waited, Hiding in the shadows, and on the beams holding up the ceiling. They sat there. Silently, for about an hour nothing happened. And then...BOOM the door flew open and Templars poured in. The Assassins sat there, waiting for them to pass before making their move. The Templars moved on to the next room, and the assassins jumped out from their hiding places. "Hey!" came a voice from behind. "Dammit!" yelled Vinyl as she turned around. More Templars had come through the door. The Assassins unsheathed their swords, and charged the Templars. Vinyl jumped at one of them, slicing his throat in mid air, blood pouring all over the floor. Mordecai kicked one in the knee, and sliced their head off, just like he had at the party. Octavia Feinted an attack to the right, causing a templar to dodge the wrong way. She sliced the Templars hand off, and stabbed him in the stomach, coating her sword in his blood. Okami, however, hadn't unsheathed his sword. Instead, he had thrown knives into the chests of three Templars, and unsheathed his dagger. A Templar swung at Octavia who easily dodged out of the way, and stabbed them in the back. "STOP THE ASSASSIN'S!" came a voice from outside and more Templars rushed in. "We have to get out of here!" Vinyl yelled, kicking a Templar back. "Just a little bit longer!" Mordecai shouted back. "We cant hold out much longer!" Octavia said. One of the Assassin Recruits had gone down. Stabbed in the chest. "We need to get out of here, Mordecai!" yelled Octavia, as she decapitated one of the soldiers. "...Everyone make for the basement!" Mordecai shouted over the clashing of swords. Vinyl slashed a templar in the chest, and kicked him into his friends, knocking them over. The assassins ran through the narrow corridors, towards the basement. A crossbow bolt flew over their heads, narrowly missing. "Dammit they have crossbows!" Okami turned around and threw the last of his knives into the chests of templars, and ran back off after his friends The templars continued to chase them to the basement, where the assassins had barricaded the door after Okami got in. "Okami, find that secret tunnel!" Mordecai said. BANG the door was rammed. "Hurry up, Okami!" BANG the door was rammed again. "A few more bangs and this door isn't gonna hold!" "I've found it!" Okami yelled at last. BANG the door flew open, knocking Mordecai to the ground. "Mordecai!" Vinyl yelled running to help him Vinyl helped Mordecai to his feet. "We have to go! Now!" She yelled. As they ran for the trap door, a crossbow bolt flew through the door way, hitting Mordecai in the back. "NO!" A templar jumped down from the doorway, with a battleaxe, and once he landed, charged Mordecai, swinging his axe into Mordecai's neck, severing his head. "NOO! GOD DAMMIT, NO!" Vinyl yelled. As Mordecai's blood covered body fell to the ground, Vinyl took five of her throwing knives from her belt, and threw them at the templar. Each one hit their mark, and the templar fell ontop of Mordecai. "VINYL! We have to go! Now! We cant stay here! Leave him!" Octavia yelled to Vinyl. Vinyl paused for a second, and then ran after Octavia. They dissapeared down the tunnel, and ran as fast as they could in hopes of getting to the Mentor.
Party Time!(Before you begin, please note that in this Humanised Equestria, the 'Ponies' Cutie Marks are on their arms, in the style of tattoos) It was a peaceful night tonight. The air was calm, the sky was starry, and the town was quiet. Except in one place. The home of Vinyl Scratch was always loud, She made music for a living, and that usually meant that the surrounding area would be loud. Unless, Of-course, you were Octavia. Octavia preferred her music to be quiet, and calm. Regardless of their music tastes, the two were best friends. This night was different, However, Pinkie was throwing a party for EVERYONE at Vinyl's house, and had sent out invites, even to Canterlot, where Octavia was staying, prior to getting the invitation. Applejack supplied the food. Rarity supplied the beautiful drapes, and banners. Pinkie, of-course, supplied most of the party decorations. Twilight kept people entertained, using some novelty magic tricks she'd recently found in a book. EVERYONE was at this party..Well, almost everyone, there's only a certain amount of people you can fit into one building. Vinyl's music filled the air, as usual, as the ponies feasted on Applejacks treats, admired Rarities decorations, and cheered at Twilight's magic tricks. As Octavia walked from the kitchen with some drinks, to Vinyl's DJ booth she couldn't help but smile at it all. "Hey, Scratch, thought you might need a drink." She shouted. Vinyl took the drink from Octavia, smiling. "Thanks, Tavi, i was getting thirsty!" Vinyl yelled over the music Octavia just stood there, for a few minutes, occasionally sipping her drink, and taking it all in. When she happened to spot a hooded figure, just sat in the corner of the room. She decided this was a little odd, and decided to ask Vinyl if she knew who it was. Once she got back to Vinyl, Octavia tapped her on the shoulder. "Scratch, Who's that hooded guy in the corner of the room? Hes just sat there, not doing anything." "Apparently hes some new guy in town, he doesn't talk much" "Huh.." Octavia wasn't usually too nosy in other peoples business, but she decided to ask anyway. "What's his cutie mark?" Vinyl looked puzzled "Why do you wanna know that?" She asked. "Just curious" Octavia replied "I didn't really get a good look at it, but from my angle it looked like a cloak." "Wonder what his special talent is.." "Probly sneaking or something,Tavi. Or, what's more likely, is that he wears hoods and cloaks so much, that its become his special talent." "Hey, no need to go getting sarcastic, i'm just curious!" "Sorry Tavi, its just that its really none of your business." Vinyl replied. Octavia just laughed. "I guess so.." Octavia was about to get another drink when a BANG from behind stopped her in her tracks, she turned around, to see that the door had been kicked open, and that three royal guards had walked in. All of the drunk, by the looks. "Why..Why weren't we..invited to thish party?" on of them said Octavia walked over to the guards. She'd decided to shoo them out. "Uh, sirs, i'm afraid i'm gonna have to ask you to leave..The party is for people with invitations only. "Hey, no one asked you, missy!" Yelled the least drunk of the three "We want in!" By now Vinyl had got up from the DJ booth and ran over. "Hey, get out, this is my house!" "Shut up, i'm getting sick of you annoying girls!" the most drunk one yelled. He grabbed Vinyl, and said to the other two: "Grab the black haired one, we'll take her down to the station and have some fun, shall we?" "GET OFF!" Octavia yelled. "Hey!" "WHAT?!" yelled one of the guards, who turned to look, and see who was talking. "Get off them." It was the hooded figure, from earlier. "Come and make us!" The hooded man drew a sword, that he'd concealed under his cloak. The guards dropped the girls, who then backed off, and drew their swords, to face their new enemy. The guards charged at the hooded man, and swung their own swords at him, which he easily dodged and parried. He kicked one of the guards in the knee, causing a snapping sound, and making the guard scream in pain, the hooded man used this chance to stab the guard in the stomach, coating his sword in blood. The guard fell over, and bled out on the floor. "What the hell is wrong with you!?" said one of the guards, as he swung his weapon. "Nothing" Said the hooded man, easily parrying the attack, and knocking the guard back, giving him an opening. He chopped down on the guards neck, decapitating him. "J..just stay away from me!" Cried the least drunk guard as he ran away. The hooded man, splattered with blood, walked over to Vinyl and Octavia, who were shaking. "Mordecai Ravenheart, at your service. I need you to come with me, you're not safe here." "B..but we don't even k..know you!" "Please..trust me..I'll explain everything once we get to a safe location."
The Brotherhood"..I..Guess we could go with you.." "Excellent, please follow me, stay quiet, and stay close, that bastard that got away will probably come back with more of his friends" As they ran through the dark streets of Ponyville, Mordecai came to a halt, at a plain wooden door, and knocked six times, in a sort of beat. The door opened a crack. "Another?" said a voice from inside. "Two, actually." There was a sigh from behind the door, and an armored man, with sword, sheath, and all, opened the door. "Come in then, quickly." He said. He moved aside, and the trio entered, into a dimly lit room, with about 15 or 20 hooded figures inside, all wearing white, all armored, all with weapons. "Welcome back, Captain Mordecai!" Said one of them, pulling his hood down, smiling. His hair was white, with a red streak down the middle. "Good to be back, Okami." "Who are they?" Okami asked. "I believe the blue haired one is Vinyl Scratch, an excellent DJ. And the Black Haired girl is Octavia, one of the best cello players in Canterlot." Replied Mordecai. "I'm Okami, Pleased to meet you both" He said smiling. "I..Um..Pleased to meet you.." Octavia said nervously. "Yea, yea, Pleased to meet you.." "If Captain Mordecai brought you here, he must've seen potential in you." Okami said, still smiling. "Potential for WHAT? And WHERE is HERE? We were attacked by Royal Guards, who were going to rape us, and then this "Mordecai" fella comes and kills them! I want an explanation!" Scratch yelled "He's not allowed to tell you that. Not yet anyway." Said an unfamiliar voice, from behind. Unlike the other people in the room, he wore a black hood and cape, instead of white. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mentor Blackthorn" said the newcomer "There's something you need to be told, Girls." Mordecai said. "And what would that be?" They both said at the same time. "...This might be hard to take in. There is an ancient order of warriors. A secret brotherhood, who protects the innocents, from their nemesis, the Templars. We are that order, We are the Assassins Brotherhood." Scratch gasped at this "What? I thought those tales of Assassins and Templars were just myths!" "Oh a few of them were, We never laid siege to any castles, or razed entire cities. No, we work in the dark." replied Blackthorn "And what's this so called "Potential" We have?" asked Octavia. "Ah, sorry, i meant to get round to that. The way you both walked up to armed guards, and told them to leave, when you had no way of defending yourself striked me as a little bit brave. But then again, a little bit foolish. You see, we Assassins are fighting a losing war. there aren't enough of us. We need people that hold bravery in their hearts, and are willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of others, and i think that sums both of you up" said Mordecai. "What? You want me to join an order of warriors, and get myself killed?" Octavia asked. "No, we want you to train to be one of us." said the Mentor. "What difference will training make?" asked Octavia. "A trained Assassin can get out of almost any situation" Okami cut in. "Indeed they can." Replied Mordecai. "I'm in." said Vinyl suddenly. "What? Just like that!?" Octavia asked, shocked. "Tavi, those men tried to rape us. It'd at least help to be able to defend ourselves." "I guess..." "So are you in with me, or not, Tavi?" Vinyl asked impatiently. "Fine.." Octavia replied. "Excellent!" the Mentor said, beaming. "When do we begin our training?" Vinyl asked. "Tomorrow, under Captain Mordecai." Replied the Mentor.
TrainingIt was early morning, and still dark, when Octavia and Vinyl were woken up. "Rise and shine girls, you've got training to do! Especially if you want to defend yourself from those bastard guards!" Said Mordecai in his rough voice. Mordecai turned on a lamp, lighting the room up. It was quite plain. No personal belongings. Just two beds, bed sheets, a table, and a cupboard. The two girls hadn't even bothered to take their clothes off last night, and just laid on top of the covers. "Why are we doing this again..?" Octavia said, moaning. "To defend our selves against those asshole guards, remember?" replied Vinyl. "Oh yeah.." "You can have breakfast, and then its downstairs, to the basement." "Why the basement?" Vinyl asked. "Well, we can't do our training in public, for fear of the Templars getting wind of our operations, so we tunneled around the building, and created a decent training ground there. Don't worry, there's plenty of room, you won't need to crawl." "Alright then.." Octavia said. The two girls got out of bed, and followed Mordecai to the mess hall. There they were served Porridge. Not much of a breakfast, but they took it. Mordecai sat down with them, also with a bowl of porridge. The Mess Hall was pretty loud, and Octavia was surprised people didn't hear the clinking of plates, scraping of cutlery and voices, from outside. So she asked how no one knew about the place. "Well, you see. We guessed the mess hall would be loud, they usually are. So we asked the members if they were any good at DIY. A few of them were, so we got them to add sound proofing to the walls. Not a sound leaves the place unless the door is open. "Ah, clever" Said Vinyl "I should do that to my house." "After breakfast, we need to go find Okami, he'll help us with the training." After their breakfast, the trio searched for Okami, who was found sending out contracts to Brotherhood field agents. "...And make sure he gets them this time, okay?" They heard him saying to one of the pigeons, who then flew out of a hole in the roof. "Okami, i need you to help with the training." "Uh..Okay." And with that, they proceeded to the Basement. It wasn't like you'd imagine it to be. From Mordecai's description, they'd expected it to be little more than a wide, high tunnel. It was more like an underground castle.And it was well lit. "Here, you will go through your training. It will take months. And it is not easy. You will learn to be Stealthy. You will learn to be Agile. You will learn to be Speedy, and you will learn to be Efficient." Mordecai walked over to a corner of the room, and grabbed four wooden swords, two of which he gave to the girls, one of which he kept for himself, and the last one he gave to Okami. "Today, you will learn the very basics of combat. Parrying, and Attacking. And perhaps Dodging if you get the hang of parrying." Octavia and Vinyl just stayed silent. Not sure what to do. Though this didn't matter, as Mordecai continued. "Okami and myself will show you the basics. You cannot hold back. But try not to hurt eachother." he said, smiling. Okami went into a defensive stance, and Mordecai lunged at him with the wooden sword. Mordecai missed, as Okami had dodged out of the way just in time. Okami kicked Mordecai in the stomach, winding him, and then brought his sword down on his back, not enough to hurt him, but enough to get the point through that he'd won. "And how do you expect us to do that?" Vinyl said. "You will learn, with time, Vinyl." Mordecai said, still wheezing after being kicked in the stomach. "Now, what i did wrong there, was that i was slow, and clumsy. If i had been fast and agile, then this young recruit wouldn't have stood a chance, Now let me show you." Okami went into a defensive stance once again, But this time, Mordecai didn't lunge with the sword, he sprinted towards Okami, and attacked him with a flurry of blows, each one connecting the sword. Okami dodged out of the way of one, and attacked Mordecai, who easily dodged out of the way, and knocked the wooden sword out of Okami's hand. "Now..you try.." The girls were by no means bad at this. Vinyl went into a defensive stance, just like Okami had and Octavia charged her. But instead of connecting with Vinyl's sword, performed a Feint. Vinyl dodged the wrong way, and Octavia knocked the sword out of her hand. "Excellent! I can see you'll be a MASTER of deception, Octavia!" Mordecai said, smiling once again. Okami however, looked shocked. "She copied my Defensive stance EXACTLY.." "They're Musicians, Okami, they pay attention." replied, laughing. "Now you try defending, Octavia." Mordecai said. So Octavia went into a defensive stance, and Vinyl charged her. They clashed swords, and Vinyl tripped Ocatvia over, who rolled out of the way of Vinyl's wooden sword. Octavia retaliated by lunging at vinyl, who dodged, and knocked the sword out of Octavias hand. "And you Vinyl...I think you'll be a master of agility." And so they continued their training, learning to block and parry. A few months passed, and they had become masters of Deception and Agility. They eventually came to their final test. A test of Stealth. They had learnt a bit of stealth in their previous lessons, but this was the first lesson dedicated to it. They were in another part of the Basement. It was a long room. Make shift huts, and buildings had been created, for this test, ladders, Hay bails, and walls, had been put up to serve as hiding points for the two girls. "There are assassins, stationed around, Hiding. At the end of this room, is a chest, with two feathers in. Both of you must go across, Separately, and bring back one of the feathers, without being caught by the assassins. You shall go first, Octavia." Now, Octavia looked around the room. There were some rocks. Which she walked over to. She picked one up, and kept it in her hand. She climbed a ladder, up to one of the makeshift huts, and creeped around as quietly as she could. She caught sight of one of the assassins, and threw the rock to the opposite side of the room, the assassin went to check, just like she'd hoped. Now she continued sneaking to the box. She arrived at it, and took a feather, and equally as quiet, sneaked back to Mordecai, Vinyl, and Okami. "You really do like to trick people, Don't you, Octavia?" Okami said. "I prefer to be deceptive than violent." "Okay, my turn." Vinyl said suddenly, she jumped onto the roof of one of the makeshift huts, and sprinted across it. Although "Sprinted" Might be the wrong word, as it seems to imply that there was noise. Vinyl was light footed, so, though she sprinted full pelt across the roof of the hut, she barely made a sound. She jumped over a wall, and back flipped to the platform that the box was on. She took a feather, then continued to return to the other three in much the same way, sprinting silently. and jumping over obstacles. Once she arrived back at Mordecai and the others mordecai spoke. "Congratulations, both of you. You have passed every test, and overcome every obstacle. You are now an official part of the Assassins Brotherhood." "That they are, Captain." Said a voice from behind. It was, Of-course, Mentor Blackthorn. He had a habit of showing up at convenient moments. "But we have a problem.."
Defend the Brotherhood!"...But we have a problem" said the Mentor. "And what would that be?" Mordecai asked "The Templars intercepted a message to us from a field agent, they know where we are." "WHAT?! We have to defend!" "That was my first thought, Captain, but if they come, their numbers will be too much for us. Evacuation is the only option. Though some Assassins will have to stay behind to cover our retreat. And so far, You, Octavia, Vinyl, and Okami look to be the perfect people for the job." "We'll go get geared up. These two have earned their robes." Mordecai said. So with that, they rushed to the armory. Once they arrived, Mordecai opened a wooden chest, and out of it he took two white and red robes. "These, are the robes of the Assassin order. Wear them proudly." Once they had got changed, he opened another box, and from it he took two swords, plain, but sharp, two daggers, and twenty throwing knives, which he split between Vinyl and Octavia. They geared up, Swords and daggers in sheaths, knives on belts. And pulled their hoods up, so they wouldn't be identified by the Templars. They ran back to the Mentor, through the maze of underground tunnels. "Whats the plan, Sir?" Mordecai asked. "I will lead the recruits and anyone else who comes with me out through a secret tunnel in the Basement, We've been planning for this day for years. A few of the other recruits demanded to stay here, and hold back the templars with you, so you'll have their aid." the Mentor said. "Whatever happens, get out if you can. That was that. Okami, Vinyl, Octavia and Mordecai met up with the recruits that volunteered to stay behind, and they waited, Hiding in the shadows, and on the beams holding up the ceiling. They sat there. Silently, for about an hour nothing happened. And then...BOOM the door flew open and Templars poured in. The Assassins sat there, waiting for them to pass before making their move. The Templars moved on to the next room, and the assassins jumped out from their hiding places. "Hey!" came a voice from behind. "Dammit!" yelled Vinyl as she turned around. More Templars had come through the door. The Assassins unsheathed their swords, and charged the Templars. Vinyl jumped at one of them, slicing his throat in mid air, blood pouring all over the floor. Mordecai kicked one in the knee, and sliced their head off, just like he had at the party. Octavia Feinted an attack to the right, causing a templar to dodge the wrong way. She sliced the Templars hand off, and stabbed him in the stomach, coating her sword in his blood. Okami, however, hadn't unsheathed his sword. Instead, he had thrown knives into the chests of three Templars, and unsheathed his dagger. A Templar swung at Octavia who easily dodged out of the way, and stabbed them in the back. "STOP THE ASSASSIN'S!" came a voice from outside and more Templars rushed in. "We have to get out of here!" Vinyl yelled, kicking a Templar back. "Just a little bit longer!" Mordecai shouted back. "We cant hold out much longer!" Octavia said. One of the Assassin Recruits had gone down. Stabbed in the chest. "We need to get out of here, Mordecai!" yelled Octavia, as she decapitated one of the soldiers. "...Everyone make for the basement!" Mordecai shouted over the clashing of swords. Vinyl slashed a templar in the chest, and kicked him into his friends, knocking them over. The assassins ran through the narrow corridors, towards the basement. A crossbow bolt flew over their heads, narrowly missing. "Dammit they have crossbows!" Okami turned around and threw the last of his knives into the chests of templars, and ran back off after his friends The templars continued to chase them to the basement, where the assassins had barricaded the door after Okami got in. "Okami, find that secret tunnel!" Mordecai said. BANG the door was rammed. "Hurry up, Okami!" BANG the door was rammed again. "A few more bangs and this door isn't gonna hold!" "I've found it!" Okami yelled at last. BANG the door flew open, knocking Mordecai to the ground. "Mordecai!" Vinyl yelled running to help him Vinyl helped Mordecai to his feet. "We have to go! Now!" She yelled. As they ran for the trap door, a crossbow bolt flew through the door way, hitting Mordecai in the back. "NO!" A templar jumped down from the doorway, with a battleaxe, and once he landed, charged Mordecai, swinging his axe into Mordecai's neck, severing his head. "NOO! GOD DAMMIT, NO!" Vinyl yelled. As Mordecai's blood covered body fell to the ground, Vinyl took five of her throwing knives from her belt, and threw them at the templar. Each one hit their mark, and the templar fell ontop of Mordecai. "VINYL! We have to go! Now! We cant stay here! Leave him!" Octavia yelled to Vinyl. Vinyl paused for a second, and then ran after Octavia. They dissapeared down the tunnel, and ran as fast as they could in hopes of getting to the Mentor.
