The Assassin’s Adventure - Chapter 5

It was bright. Way too bright to see at first. Slowly a painted scene revealed itself before the Assassin. Clouds rolling past him, golden light shining through and around them. 'If im not dead then what were those mushrooms i ate earlier?' The Assassin pondered while surveying his surroundings. The Assassin heard a rumbling laughter and spun on a dime to come face to face with a white bearded man. The man, robed in white silk with gold hemming, was old in appearance but still had a youthful spark in his eyes. He stroked his long white beard as the Assassin stared at him. "Where am I?" Interrogated the Assassin. The man chortled again, a warm and comforting sound compared to his enemy's shrill cackle. "Welcome to the afterlife." The man in white finally responded. The Assassin looked around, bewildered. "So it worked then? I was able to save her?" The old man's eyes gleamed with curiosity and knowledge. "Of course, you saved her at the cost of your own life. Do you truly think that what you did saved her though?" The old man waved his hand out in front of him in a sweeping motion, clearing some clouds and revealing the scene that was left behind. The Thief was laying across the Assassin's lifeless body, weeping senselessly and begging for him to not be taken from her. The Assassin flinched, still not used to the affection and feelings she had for him. He watched in horror as his enemy slowly walked over to the girl draped across his lifeless body. "No." The Assassin said quietly. She grabbed the Assassin's dagger that was nearby firmly and held it out in front of her. The enemy simply laughed and kept walking. "No." The Assassin said, louder this time. He spun to face the old man, "Send me back!" He yelled, desperation in his eyes betraying his murderous demeanor. The old man simply looked at him, "I cannot, thats against the laws of nature, you've died, almost nothing can bring you back now." The Assassin spun again to watch the scene unfold. The enemy now just a few feet from the Thief. She was backing up slowly with his dagger outstretched, trying to keep the enemy away. The enemy grinned with evil delight as he slowly approached his helpless victim. The Assassin, now noticing that the Thief's other hand was behind her back, holding what looked like an explosive of some sort. The enemy lunged at her, a bloodcurdling scream escaping his lips. She countered his blade and sent him sprawling as she lit the fuse and lobbed it, perfectly landing at the enemy's feet. The enemy recoiled but the blast caught him in his chest and flung him back against the wall, landing hard and knocking the wind out of him. She got up and ran back to his body, flinging herself on top of him, begging and begging with the gods to let him come back. The Assassin turned on the old man again, flame in his eyes. "Let me go back, ill give anything just send me back." He demanded through gritted teeth. The old man stood for a moment, thinking. Finally he responded. "Its possible, it will cost you but its possible." The Assassin lunged foreword and grabbed the old man, "Anything, just let me save her, please!" The old man looked grim for a moment and then reached from the Assassin's grip and touched his left arm. In a moment, it was gone. The Assassin howled in pain and lurched back, glaring at the old man with disdain and pain while grabbing the nub that was now his left shoulder. "Now, i have a part of you, once you go back you will never be whole again, are you still willing to go back?" The Assassin stood, with some difficulty, "You're wrong. I was never whole by myself, but she, she completes me, she makes me more than i was, even if im missing part of myself." The look of determination flared in the Assassin's eyes and the old man slimed gently. "Good answer, now go save her. I give you my blessing." The Assassin's vision brightened until he had to shield his eyes with his right arm. Meanwhile the Enemy approached the Thief. "You cant get away and you cant defeat me, why not just give up already? Its bound to happen anyways, especially after your poor beloved sacrificed himself for you." He walked over and hit her, sending her flying across the room, as she flew though she threw a few knives with deadly accuracy at him. He deflected all of them but just as he had, another explosive hit him and knocked him to the ground. "Insufferable bitch!" He screamed. "I was going to play with you more but now im going to rip your heart out!" He charged at her and she braced for the impact. Just as she assumed he would hit her, she heard a clang of metal clashing. There, in front of her, was the Assassin, standing with one dagger blocking the enemy's attack and his left sleeve flapping in the breeze. He parried the attack and bounced back with the Thief. She started to tear up and went to throw her arms around him but he stopped her. "We dont have time to embrace right now, we need to kill that bastard." They stood back to back, the Assassin holding his dagger and the Thief holding her knives and traps. All stood still until suddenly the Assassin was gone, appearing in front of the enemy in a flash, swinging with all might. The enemy blocked his attack with hardly any effort but as soon as he went to counter-attack, the Assassin had vanished. He heard a noise behind him and spun, spotting the Thief behind him somehow, lighting another explosive. The blow jarred the enemy across the room and right into the Assassin that slashed across his back, making him yell in pain. The enemy regained his footing quickly and slashed down at the Assassin but he was already gone, another sharp pain told the enemy that he was behind him again. He spun and managed to swing down just in time to hit something, a hard, metallic item. It exploded sending him careening again. Enraged he yelled and slammed his sword into the floor, breaking it and sending cracks all around. The Assassin staggered for a moment and the enemy took his chance, bounding at the Assassin but was stopped by hundreds of knives being flung from the shadows. The Assassin then took his chance and swung down on the enemy, striking a fatal blow across his chest. The enemy crumpled, defeated. "You are disgusting. You arent nearly the man you used to be you wretch." The enemy gasped out. "No." The Assassin said, "Since she found me, ive been twice the man i ever was before and a hundred times a man like you." Then the enemy gurgled out one last curse as he faded away. The Assassin stumbled back and almost fell out of exhaustion. He was hit suddenly by the Thief planting her face in his chest. He stumbled again but then smiled and put his hand on her head. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, "I thought you had left me." She managed to get through gasps of breath. "Id never leave you, i still havnt gotten my reward from your job now have I?" She blushed and put her face back into his chest. Then she noticed his empty sleeve and looked back up at him with worry and concern in her eyes. "Its ok, it was what i had to pay to be able to be with you." She touched where it had been before, "Why would you give up your whole arm for me though..." he looked her in her green eyes and said, "Id give anything to be with you, my arms, my legs, any of my possessions. You mean more to me than any of that." She smiled slightly and then pulled him along by his hand, past the body, out the door and back out into the forest as their laughs and giggles faded off into the dense trees.