Teacher looks at VirtueVice curiously and then shakes his head. “SparkuPine seeks to create chaos in the guild. There’s no one more trustworthy than you and he wants our fear to control us to attack you. It’s such an obvious trick. There’s no reason for him to sell out his own ally.” He floats directly up to VirtueVice. “But I’m a teacher first and I absolutely cannot allow my student to be put in danger. I outright refuse to throw away CamOctopus. And if I must fight you to protect her, then so be it.” The black cloak on teacher spreads out as bladed tentacles.

“Even if you somehow manage to kill me, you’ll be executed for treason.”

Teacher’s tentacles bounce as he laughs. “I’ve been dead for so long. Only as a teacher do I feel alive. So, what is your answer?”

“The moment you attack me, I will treat you the same as the traitor who dared to attack our star pupil.” His form sinks into the floor like a shadow.

“Kids, stay back. I’m going to have to give this every drop of my madness.” Teacher’s body contorts to dodge VirtueVice’s sawblade tendril.

I grab hold of BunBun’s hand.

No matter who wins…I lose someone precious to me. There has to be some way to save everyone.

VirtueVice follows Teacher along the ground and becomes paper thin to dodge the sharp blades that drag across the floor.

A separate set of tendrils are making cuts in the air above Virtue Vice.

He must be limiting VirtueVice’s maneuverability options. Can Teacher really win this?

The dark fog around the area closes in, bringing us all dangerously close to the battle.

I touch the fog and it eats away at my fingertip.

VirtueVice knows that Teacher can’t go all out without harming us.

“What difference does one student’s passing make? Is it really worth the loss of a RiftRipper?” Teacher’s tendrils act in tandem and carve out the floor with VirtueVice’s shadow. Rather than follow up by slicing the floor, they slice the air in front of teacher.

“The truth we’ve made can be broken by a single lie.” VirtueVice grows out from the slab and lunges at Teacher, turning his body into blades.

His body is suddenly torn apart by invisible blades.

The tatters of his body become bladed and spin through the air like discs, slicing Teacher to pieces.

I look to StarBorne.

If I attack him, then maybe I could end this battle. Is that really my only option?

Teacher tries to protect himself from the saw discs, but after he deflects each one, it comes back around and cuts into him.

While I try and figure out what to do, CamOctopus rushes ahead. The discs slice her arms as she tries to shield Teacher.

Teacher drops his defense. His tendrils all fall to the ground.

“So you surrender now?” asks VirtueVice.

All of Teacher’s tendrils then shoot into a single sheet of VirtueVice’s body.

They stab into it and then carve out a glowing ball of discordant reddish black energy.

That’s the same color as the drink we took.

The tatters of VirtueVice come together around the glowing ball and carve out a portal while defending the core from Teacher’s assault.

A single tendril then pulls Teacher and CamOctopus inside the portal.

Goopy rushes in after them.

I grab his shirt and pull him out.

Only his hand is in the portal before it closes.

“I could have saved her!” Goopy backhands me with his bleeding stub.

WarWolf pins him down and wraps up his wound.

The fog disperses around us, but it brings us no clarity as to the outcome of the battle.

The students from the other classes make no notice of what we witnessed.

WarWolf cries as she wraps the wound. “I thought I was doing the right thing.”

StarBorne wipes her tears. “Your pure intentions are right no matter the outcome. I should make something clear to you though. VirtueVice is the one who has kept me safe and trained me ever since our first exam. I know beyond any doubt that he isn’t the traitor.”

WarWolf growls at him. “And you’re only telling me this now!”

“Just like you I wanted an opportune time to reveal my slice of truth. The truth that can take a life at one moment can save a life in another moment. As assassins we must use truths carefully.”

A portal appears and Teacher comes out, oozing black goop with only tatters shielding his body and his core exposed.

VirtueVice reemerges. “Tell your truth now.”

The students from all classes gather around to see what happened.

Teacher struggles as he turns to WarWolf. “Your father wasn’t lying when he said VirtueVice was the traitor. I…was the one who told him to tell you that.” Teacher’s tendrils reach out to StarBorne but are sliced by VirtueVice. “I’m the one who sent SparkuPine and those students to kill you.”

BunBun runs toward the sound of his voice and hugs him. “That’s not true! You wouldn’t ever do that!”

I don’t want to believe it either. I refuse to believe it until I can figure out why Teacher is saying this.

Teacher creates arms that fall off, too weak to embrace her. “If StarBorne succeeds then…”

VirtueVice slices off Teacher’s head.

BunBun hears the head fall and goes on her hands and knees, searching for it.

I turn away.

How can I still suffer after all that’s happened? Why aren’t I numb?

Suffering is not an obstacle we can overcome. It is a fuel we must use.

VirtueVice looks at WarWolf. “You’ve helped uncover the true traitor. This deed shall never be forgotten.”

WarWolf wipes her eyes. “Then please spare CamOctopus.”

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“Not possible.” VirtueVice looks at the crowd around him. “Disperse!”

The students run off in terror.

Goopy stands his ground. “What do you mean it’s not possible? Please, I’ll do anything.”

“She was sliced apart trying to defend the traitor. All I can do now is bury that truth. Her honor won’t be tarnished. That’s…all I can do now.”

Goopy whips out his knife. “You caused this! Fix it!”

VirtueVice’s head arches all the way back and frowns, giving Goopy a smile. “Use that misery to become a powerful RiftRipper.” His head snaps back into place. “I’m taking this traitor away. You’re all assassins now. Your woes have only begun.”

BunBun runs to stop VirtueVice, accidentally tripping on Teacher’s severed head. “Please don’t kill him.”

“I assure you he won’t be killed until he’s told us every detail of his plans.”

I grab BunBun’s hand and hold it firmly. “Why would…a traitor tell us he’s a traitor?”

VirtueVice carves a portal. “Even RiftRippers are not beyond fear. When our core is exposed, we do everything in our power to keep ourselves alive. Our subconscious spills our truths.”

BunBun grabs my knife and holds it to her throat. “Take him and I’ll kill myself.”

“Such a shame to lose such a talented Assassin.” VirtueVice pulls Teacher into the portal and vanishes.

I grab BunBun’s hand and take my dagger away from her.

“Why did you stop me?” She punches me in tears with her soft hands.

I kiss her but she bites my lip.

“No! No more love. Just leave me alone!” She rushes off and StarBorne stops me from following.

“She needs her space.” StarBorne hugs me with his strong arms in a gentle embrace. “We all need time to recover.”

Another department head teleported into the room. “Congratulations to everyone here. For those of you who don’t know me, I am SoulHook You have all passed the test. The next five years will transform you in ways you cannot begin to imagine. There is no escaping this fate. This school is a prison and only the strongest among you will emerge. Sharpen your truths with your misery and together we shall carve the path for a new future.”

We all follow SoulHook into a portal and arrive in a dark damp forest.

Water crawls up the tall trees, moves through the branches and then falls down upon our heads.

“This is where the guild was founded. Several assassins decided to come together to defend the villagers from their oppressive government.” He leads us into a dark cave and uses his hook tendrils to scare off the ShadowPups who are guarding it.

“To creatures who feed on misery, we must be like a walking buffet,” WarWolf says as we go in deeper.

SoulHook stops when we arrive at a smooth rock wall. “This is where the name of every assassin the guild has ever known lives.”

WarWolf searches the wall.

Must be searching for her father’s signature.

SoulHook gestures to the wall. “It is time for all of you to leave your mark on history.”

Goopy starts to cut but stops. He turns to StarBorne. “If CamOctopus isn’t worthy, then how can I be?”

StarBorne places her hands on Goopy’s chest. “Seems to me she has already left her mark.”

Goopy smiles and together with StarBorne, they carve their names.

BunBun carves her name into her leg instead of the wall and the RiftRipper pulls her aside to console her.

WarWolf looks up at me. “Notice how some of the names are scratched out. My parents aren’t here. Damn fools. I’ll make my own legacy.” I lift her up and she carves her name above StarBorne’s.

I grab my dagger and start to carve my name in.

I have to write the new chapter of my story. Of how…I killed the ones who raised me. For now I’ll just write about this moment. The moment my name is inscribed among every assassin that ever lived.

I take out my notebook and grab my pencil.

My mother’s screams echo in my mind and I drop the murder weapon.

I grab my notebook and sob.

I can’t do it. Writing and being an assassin are my two favorite things. They were joined and polluted. Now…I don’t know if I can do either ever again.

WarWolf grabs my shaky hands and together we inscribe my name into the slab with the dagger that killed her aunt and my father.

After the ceremony, each class was split up for lessons. Every student was paired with a teacher and only the best of us were paired with a RiftRipper. The students only meet up to eat together in the lunch hall. BunBun didn’t speak at all for the next four weeks. She refused to train under VirtueVice which gave me more time alone with him.

VirtueVice would never tell me anything about Teacher’s fate, but he did explain that the skill Teacher used on him was called the Time Slicer. By harnessing his misery, Teacher was able to create cuts that existed until they were found. The slices were like mines that could be placed anywhere. Such a technique was difficult to master, but it was also the perfect skill to use to end someone’s life without any evidence.

StarBorne, who is sitting cross-legged next to me, looks at VirtueVice. “Teacher could have killed me during the battle. Why didn’t he even try?”

“It has been four years since the incident. My theory is that you students changed him. He knew that killing you would put the class in great chaos. He only struck down BladEagle after the boy discovered his secret I presume. When he fought me it was to save CamOctopus. He fought as a teacher not a traitor.”

He knows I killed BladEagle. He must be trying to protect me still.

“Whose to say others won’t follow in his footsteps?” I ask.

If Teacher hates the guild, I understand. They took away my parents, my classmate and my teacher. But what beyond sabotage was his goal?

Such a conundrum.

I shook my head to dispel the voice and then stood up. “It’s getting late. I should visit her. Can I be excused?”

VirtueVice nods. He carves me a portal to the medical facility.

WarWolf looks up at me from the bed and smiles. “You’ve came to visit me every day.”

“And I’ll continue to do so.” I hold her hand.

She shakes her head. WarWolf slides off the bed and stands on her own. “Back up.”

I take of few steps back.

Legs of rusty metal support her as she steps toward me. She grabs my hands and smiles. “A month of recovery, just like last time.” She leans in and kisses my lips.

I blush but gently break the kiss. “What’s that about? I’m just here to support you…as a friend.”

“I…talked to BunBun. She’s afraid of falling in love. I guess her fear of losing you has…well, made her lose you. She still cares about you though. She wants you happy. That kiss was her idea. But it’s what you deserve. You took care of me just like you promised my father.” She grabs my hand and pulls me into another kiss.

So warm, but I can’t do this.

This time I shove her off.

WarWolf nearly topples over but her mechanical talons dig into the ground to keep her steady.

“It doesn’t matter what she and your father want. If you don’t want to kiss me, then don’t. If it’s not what you want, then what’s the point.”

WarWolf sprints up and tackles me to the floor. “Of course it’s what I want. I’m just shy. You know I love you.” She punches my chest.

I roll over so we’re side by side and I kiss her deeply.

The fear and dread…it feels so far away when we’re this close.

“So, now that I’m back in action, are you finally going to tell me how you convinced VirtueVice to gather the funding for these incredible legs?” WarWolf jumps to her feet and kicks the air.

“I just…talked to him. About you and how I feel about you.”

A voice comes from above us. “Telling her our little secret, are you?”

I smile at VirtueVice. “I don’t get why you want it to be a secret.”

VirueVice falls from the ceiling onto my shoulder, weighing me down. “Perhaps I was just testing you.”

I scratch my head. “Whoops. I guess I failed then.”

“Not all tests are so black and white.”

WarWolf looks up at him. “Thanks for helping me get past this. I know even the smallest slab of metal is incredibly expensive.”

“But no price can be put on the future of a gifted child. Your parents gave you the perfect upbringing.”

WarWolf smiles. “Yeah, they did. And thanks to mom, I’m faster and stronger than ever.” She runs in place.

VirtueVice splits to face each of us. “There’s something I want to share with the two of you. And only you two. Is that clear?”

“I can tell StarBorne, right?” I ask.

Teacher stares at me.

I step back. “Yeah. Understood. Just between the two of us.”

“Teacher is dead.”

I grab WarWolf’s hand, though more for my own support than hers.

It doesn’t seem real.

“I won’t tell a soul,” I say, my voice like a whisper.

WarWolf nods. “Did he reveal anything?”

VirtueVice pulls himself back together. “Nothing. The rebellion died with him.”

“What did he fight for?” I ask.

“Such questions are very dangerous.” The room darkens as VirtueVice turns to me.

WarWolf slugs me. “It doesn’t matter. Stop being so curious all the time.”

VirtueVice’s upper body circles around us as his lower body goes counterclockwise in the same circle. “There are still traitors among us. I will need the two of you to act as my spies. You will be interning with different teachers in the coming months. Help me weed out the traitors as only you can.”

“I knew these legs didn’t come without a price,” says WarWolf with a smirk.

“They are the price I pay to make sure my spies are well equipped for their mission.” VirtueVice pulls us into his grasp. “Every day from here on will be a struggle against the darkness. Your memories will be eaten along with your skills. You must fight to survive. Your greatest enemy is yourself. You are your own assassin. Be wary of your thoughts. Stay focused. Together the three of us can end this rebellion.”

WarWolf looks up at him. “Why can’t StarBorne help us?”

“It’s too dangerous to put our star pupil in danger. StarBorne will remain with me.”

“When we find out who the traitors are, what do we do?”

“You’re assassins. You know the answer.”

WarWolf nods without doubt.

I nod with hesitation.

If I find a traitor, I’m going to get the truth from them. And from there…I’ll decide where I stand. My parents were loyal assassins. WarWolf’s father was a traitor. Both were truly great assassins who gave everything for what they believed in. I’m going to be a great assassin too…no matter what.

I look at VitrueVice.

If I decide to be loyal to the guild, then I’ll be a legendary assassin that will inspire all who come after.

I turn and smile at WarWolf.

If I decide upon being a traitor, then I’ll be a legendary traitor who makes sure that no more have to suffer as I have.