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【5】
Into the Snake's Den
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content warning: firearm use
Aurora met the icy gaze of her enemy, staring him down with narrowed eyes.
She was completely surrounded by the six now, her only escape being the door directly behind the serpentine.
Fortunately, Aurora's luck hadn't run its course entirely just yet; her mask had somehow remained intact, even after she'd fallen previously. Her identity was still protected.
Yet she didn't have the upper hand, either. She was sure the group had set off a connection scrambler in the room, rendering her communicator and hidden camera to nothing but static. Aurora knew Gold had taken notice of the development the second it had occurred, meaning her friends would likely be searching for her soon.
All she needed was a little more time.
Aurora's muscles tensed for action, yet she didn't dare to make a move from where she was standing. The serpentine appeared to have the same thought, their thinning pupils trained on her.
There was just a few paces of distance in between them, but the five didn't attempt to close the gap yet. Their eyes repeatedly glanced over to their leader, as though waiting on a command.
Aurora had to give it to him: he'd certainly taken her by surprise. The culprit was far from what she'd expected; looking at him now, Aurora was able to see the features that were once shrouded by his mask.
She came to two, distinct realizations the second she was cornered.
One, he was likely around the same age as she was after all. The dim lighting made it hard to tell, but Aurora was sure that he couldn't have been much older than she was. However, the serpentine that flanked him appeared to be a number of different ages in comparison, and yet they still seemed to willingly listen to him.
Though, Aurora's second realization clarified the reason for that.
The culprit wasn't fully human.
Aurora had been right to question his strange features before. The green color present along his cheeks hadn't been her imagination– it was scales.
That, paired with the obvious, fang-like teeth and slitted pupils, led Aurora to conclude that he'd been bitten by a fangpyre– most likely the very same fangpyre that was standing directly behind him.
"So that's how you got the scar?" Aurora broke the tense silence, crossing her arms. "A fang graze?"
The serpentine hissed in unison at her words, yet the culprit shortly raised a hand to silence them.
"You have a lot of guts for someone who's cornered." He scoffed a laugh. "But don't change the subject now. We're just getting started!"
"I mean, just imagine my reaction when I saw you!" He pressed on. "You, some lady, a part of the organization who has taken down hundreds of my business partners?"
Aurora's muscles tensed at his knowledge. Evidently, she'd drastically underestimated him after all.
Even so, she refused to give up now. She just needed to drag the conversation on until her friends got to her. The culprit was merely celebrating an early victory.
Their fight was far from over.
"That just doesn't add up to me."
The stranger stuffed his hands into his pockets as he continued, as if he'd already solidified his success.
"You didn't think your targets wouldn't start banding together, did you?" He sneered. "It didn't take much convincing to get some of the other gangs in on it. Those grunts you caught? The masks that had been mistakenly discarded right into your hands? All of it was a part of the bigger picture."
"This masquerade was just an elaborate trap to draw you and your group out into the open– and it worked."
"Oh, really?" Aurora raised a brow. "And what makes you so sure?"
"Because I knew you'd come if we baited you properly." He shrugged. "A group of faceless heroes? Obviously, you'd be more inclined to participate in a risky operation if there was a greater challenge. We even made it convenient for you, and had everyone hide their faces for the event."
"This whole time, you thought we were flaunting," his lips curled into a smirk. "But no one really was. It was just a tactic to draw you in and seal the deal."
"But I do have to thank you for falling for it." His lips curled into a smirk. "You've helped us prove that looks are deceiving– rather fitting for the theme, don't you think?"
"Sure, we might've taken a risk by placing our symbol on the masks, but it was more than worth it in the end."
Aurora's eyes shifted to the symbol sown into the serpentine's attires, finally grasping its meaning. The ninjargon letters on the patch translated to the letters "D," "o," and "S," distorted and curled into each other. Before, not even Gold could figure out what they referenced.
Aurora's gaze passed to each of the serpentine before landing on the culprit, the final pieces of the puzzle merging into place.
"Den of Snakes," she read aloud. "So that's what the curling letters were for."
"That's right. You're far smarter than I thought." He grinned, his pointed teeth glistening in the light. "You've just helped us rise above all our rivals. They bet against us finding you first– but they never did look in the right places like we have."
"You have a convoluted view of your targets, don't you? You think criminals don't get along." He lifted his hands into the air, gesturing to the serpentine at his sides. "We might look different, but that doesn't make us enemies. These snakes took me in when I had nothing."
He lowered his arms, stuffing a hand back into his right pocket. The other discreetly dipped behind his back; Aurora watched with narrowing eyes as the fangpyre closest to him passed him something that she couldn't see.
"They actually taught me one of the most valuable lessons in life," he smirked. "One that you can surely relate to."
In one, swift movement, he jolted his arm from hiding. Aurora's muscles froze in apprehension as he raised a pistol into the light, aimed right for her.
"You don't need fangs to be dangerous."
Aurora's heartbeat accelerated at the sudden threat, pounding against her chest. A fresh wave of adrenaline shot through her veins like lighting, screaming for her to act. Yet she didn't dare to flinch, knowing full well that even the slightest wrong move could be deadly.
Instead, Aurora silently forced a steady exhale through her nose, urging her body to still.
Won't be long now. Just a little bit more.
"So, although we are surrounded by snakes," the culprit went on. "I'm still the most dangerous person in this room."
"Really? That again?" Aurora scoffed distastefully. "You've forgotten the words that just came out of your mouth."
"You don't think I'm dangerous just because I'm a woman?" She huffed a dry laugh. "Well, why don't you put that away and face me in a real fight? Then we'll see how true your assumption is."
Aurora's words caused a choking silence to flow through the air. For a long while, she and the culprit locked eyes, unmoving from their positions. He glared her down with spite, and Aurora reflected that very same hostility in her darkening gaze.
Yet the frown on the culprit's lips didn't remain for long. It was quick to contort into a widening grin, and he barked a loud laugh that only raised in volume. Aurora's frown deepened into a snarl as the serpentine joined in.
These BASTARDS–!
The gang's leader guffawed boisterously, lowering his weapon. He planted a hand on his chest as he regained his breathing, wiping a tear from his eye as his laughter subsided.
"Are you joking? Your pathetic excuse for a punch was just a lucky shot before, but now you're seriously trying to intimidate me?" He stuffed his pistol back into his pocket. "That's cute, but I don't think I'll engage in a fight with you just yet."
"You're like a Snakelet, all talk and no bite when they're cornered." He sneered. "I'm sure the same can be said for your little friends, too."
"It won't be long now. They'll surely come looking for you, and then we'll claim our rightful place above all the other criminals in this world."
"So it's all about yourselves, isn't it?" Aurora growled. "If I've learned anything, it's that you shouldn't underestimate your enemies. I guess you'll learn that soon enough."
"Oh, will I?" He challenged. "Then I guess I better start learning by evening the odds."
He lifted his arm back into the air, except this time he didn't brandish a weapon. Instead, he positioned his fingers to snap; Aurora didn't miss the way the serpentine's eyes sparked at the gesture, immediately recognizing what was about to commence.
"Let's see the pretty face behind the mask."
The room exploded into chaos.
Aurora barely had time to react as the serpentine charged for her. She reeled backwards, spinning on her heel to place as much distance between them as she could. Her eyes darted frantically around the room as she ran, searching for something to use, but she hadn't taken a good look at her surroundings before.
Unfortunately, she wasn't given the chance to now, either. A constrictai was the first to reach her, lunging forwards with a roar. Aurora knew better than to keep herself within arm's reach of him; using her speed to her advantage, she ducked under his outstretched arms, skidding to his opposite side before he could ensnare her in his vice-grip.
Yet one of the serpentine had been expecting it. The fangpyre hybrid leapt in her path with a furious snarl, striking her with his tail. Aurora cursed as she was sent flying back, taken off guard by his hidden strength. Evidently, he was part constrictai, too.
Aurora struck a wall back-first. Seeing his chance, the hybrid rushed to pin her down, but Aurora had calculated his move that time. As he shot his tail forwards, aiming for her torso, she mirrored his speed, raising an arm. Using her momentum, she jabbed her elbow directly in the middle of his neck. Taken by surprise, he grabbed his throat in his hands, coughing. It was enough of a distraction for Aurora to duck aside, swerving away from him.
Why'd I have to listen to the rules, for once?! Why didn't I sneak something in, too?!
Aurora cursed at herself in her head, wishing she would have ignored the masquerade's strict "no-weapons" policy.
A pocket knife would be GREAT right about now!
Aurora eluded the next two serpentine to attack her, barely avoiding their synchronous maneuvers. She knew she wouldn't stand much of a chance if the fight went on like this– she was already at a significant disadvantage, and she could only dodge for so long. Eventually, her luck would run out.
Aurora dove out of the way of a venomari's extended tail, her heart nearly leaping out of her chest. Her mask had almost slipped off of her face at the movement, but luckily she'd managed to catch it before it flew off. She fixed it back into place as she broke away from the serpentine, catching her breath.
Aurora's attention shifted back to her surroundings, hectically looking for a makeshift weapon. But the room didn't have any of the glass sculptures or hazardous, intricate artworks that Aurora was hoping to see; instead, they were surrounded by random objects, ranging from stacks of metal, foldable chairs to boxes of party decorations.
A storage room?! Are you KIDDING ME?!
Aurora groaned under her breath as the serpentine regained their footing, charging for her a second time.
Well, looks like I'll have to get creative.
Another fangpyre hybrid pounced for her, his claws digging into the skin of her arm. Aurora kicked him square in the chest before he could grab her mask, sending him staggering backwards. She dodged out of his way, skidding over towards the closest stack of chairs.
Aurora hauled one of the chairs over her head just as a constrictai bolted towards her. His eyes widened as he recognized what she was doing, dragging his heels against the ground to slow his movement, but it was already too late. She threw the furniture with all her might at his head, and it struck with a rather loud THUNK. He landed in a heap on the floor, dazed.
Another constrictai hybrid rushed to his ally's aid, but Aurora still had plenty of ammo left. She pulled another chair from the pile, slamming it over the hybrid's tail as it attempted to seize her. He shrieked in pain at the contact, but Aurora didn't let him attempt a counter-attack. She slammed the same chair into his side, sending him reeling back like the constrictai. He fell onto his ally just as he'd started to get back to his feet, and they both shouted in alarm. Aurora threw her makeshift weapon on top of them for good measure, giving herself some more time.
The same fangpyre hybrid from before jumped for her, enraged. Aurora grabbed another chair a split second before he could strike, shielding herself from the serpentine's thrashing claws. He tore a hole in the furniture's cushioning, scattering cotton everywhere.
In retaliation, Aurora kicked out at the nearest stack of chairs, sending them toppling over to block his next move. The hybrid yelped as the furniture crashed over him, leaving him trapped.
Aurora darted for the next object she could find, spotting a lone box of decorations sitting in the corner. She didn't bother to come up with a clever way to use it; when the next venomari approached her, baring his poisonous fangs, she immediately flung it at him. Streamers and banners spilled out over his face, blocking his vision. Aurora sprung far from his grasp as he pelted forwards, knocking his head right against the wall.
That was when a sudden flash of movement erupted into her peripheral vision. Aurora veered around to react, but she was already too late.
The culprit's firm grip latched around her tie, pulling her backwards. Time seemed to come to a standstill as his opposing arm lifted for her mask, his fingers wrapping firmly around the decoration before freezing altogether. Aurora had no choice but to stop; any sudden movement would surely cause her mask to fall, helping him achieve his goal.
Instead, Aurora didn't try. She glared at the culprit's slitted pupils, his snake-like grasp tightening around her tie.
"You lasted longer than I thought, I'll give you that. But you still forgot your own rule, just like all our other opponents." He smiled, showing his pointed teeth. "Everyone's brains are so preoccupied with survival when fighting a bunch of serpentine, every fight always ends the same for us."
"You were so focused on their weaknesses that you forgot to watch for me."
Aurora's throat ran dry as his smile suddenly raised into a vicious grin.
"But that'll be the last mistake you ever make." He spat. "It's time to stop playing the faceless hero."
His fingers tightened around her mask, intent on yanking it off then and there. Aurora raised a hand to stop him, more than prepared to fight.
Yet that was when an abrupt BANG sounded from across the room, immediately catching the collective group's attention. Aurora turned around just as the door was flung off of its hinges, rocketing towards a trio of the serpentine. It crashed heavily against them, throwing them back with its immense speed.
The culprit's gaze furiously snapped over to the newcomer, providing Aurora all the time she needed to free herself. Placing a reinforcing hand against her mask, she struck her free elbow heavily against his nose as he looked away. As anticipated, the action was much more satisfying the second time around.
The culprit erupted into a shouting, cussing fit as Aurora bolted for the door. She skidded around the corner at the side of her ally, sending a final look over her shoulder as they ran for it. When she was sure they weren't being immediately followed, she turned to see who had found her.
Aurora's frown lifted into a beaming smile as she recognized Akiri, who was effortlessly matching her pace at her side.
"You look like you had a bad date!" She joked.
"Yeah, that's an understatement!" Aurora huffed a laugh as they sped towards the stairway. "I'll tell you all about it, but first let's just get the hell out of here!"
Meanwhile, Aurora's "date" in question staggered back to his feet, his hand clutched firmly around his bleeding nose.
"What are you DOING?!" He screamed at the downed serpentine. "Get UP!"
"YOU TWO." He jabbed a finger towards his other allies, seething. "Beat them to the exit and block them off, NOW."
His eyes fixed on the open doorway where his enemies had escaped, blazing with a deranged fury.
"Don't let them leave alive!"