V.I Hidden Variable

"How have they still not discovered the body yet?"

I whispered to myself as I evaded yet another batch of surprisingly inept guards. The winding hallways of the barracks seemed to stretch on endlessly as I hefted my unconscious cargo on my back. It shouldn't be this easy to evade what was assuredly highly trained soldiers. I mean, I'm far from a trained infiltrator, with my only knowledge of stealth techniques coming from the few stealth games that I played back in the day. So as I bob and weave our way through the sun-kissed hallways of the building, I found myself wondering...

"How the fuck are we not caught yet?" another whisper escaped my lips.

I hid behind another large flower pot as I prepared to round the next corner. I might as well shout it for all of the world to see since these scarecrows masquerading as soldiers don't seem to even notice me and my still knocked-out sister. This shouldn't be possible...

*clink... clink... clonk...*

Footsteps. Judging from the sound of it, probably someone decked out in armor. I found the nearest, darkest shadow beneath the window near another potted plant as I heard the steps getting closer.

*clink Clink CLINK*

I held my breath as a towering figure passed through my position. Another tin can, with the same halberd that the first tin can that I ever saw used. It cast a long shadow against the walls as it slowly made its way deeper into the hall.

*CLInk clink clink....*

Phew. Good thing those helmets never seemed to offer any sort of peripheral vision.

"Mmmhh....." 'Livia? She's awake? "....Whu?"

That's a relief. I was getting kinda tired of lugging her around on my back. Not that I wouldn't do it if the situation called for it, but my knees were practically begging for a reprieve after skulking around crouched throughout the premises for the last few minutes.

"Hey," I whispered to my little sister as I felt her weight slowly disappear from my back. "You okay?"

"Where... where are we?" she mumbled as she slowly regained her bearings, rubbing a tear away from her eye before she suddenly jolted awake. "ARYA-" Shit! "MMMMPPHHHH"

I immediately clamped her mouth shut as she almost gave away our position. My hand vibrated as the brunette seemed to struggle under my grip.

*CLINK*

"Shhhh....." I hushed as my ears picked up on another tin can near our location. "Keep calm."

Olivia calmed down, nodding her head as she now understood the situation. Letting go of her mouth, she quickly assumed her position behind me, sticking to the dark side of the wall as much as possible.

*Clink Clink Clink*

I let out another sigh as the footsteps echoed farther and farther as the seconds passed. At least we didn't get caught somehow.

"Follow my lead."

I scouted ahead, trying to look for an exit strategy as my little sister trailed behind me. Nearing the exit, I spotted another guard blocking the way. I gestured to Olivia to stick close behind me as we hid behind the stone pillar just a ways away from the guard. The tin can didn't seem to be budging from his spot.

Do we have a way to get this idiot out of our way?

"Any ideas?" I whispered to my companion as I gripped the handle on my katana.

"I don't know, sis," the brunette confessed, shaking her head. "A distraction, maybe?"

Distraction... Okay, that could work.

I observed our immediate surroundings, looking for anything that might be of use to achieve such a distraction. My eyes roved around what little amount of the hallway we occupied. Let's see... The chandelier's useless unless we cut it down, which would then only give away our location. There's absolutely nothing in the immediate vicinity that's throwable... Maybe some soil from the pots?

I looked for one of the numerous potted plants in our area, only to find that the nearest one was at least a few meters away from us.

"And it's right behind the guard to boot..." I breathed to myself in dismay.

"Sis," 'Livia tugged at my shirt before taking my attention towards the floor. "How about the rug?"

The rug? Sure, the whole hallway was carpeted like a premiere walkway, but how would that create a distraction?

I glanced towards the red rug on the floor, its length stretching almost as much as the hallways themselves. It seemed to end just at the doorway that we needed to cross... just under the guard's feet.

Huh... That could work. It would blow our cover, but it would give us just enough time to get past the tin can and out of the building.

"'Livia," I addressed her as I unsheathed my katana. "Can you fight?"

We would assuredly have to fight our way out of this dump. While their not on the same caliber as Ma- Arya, their still gonna be good enough in a one-on-one scenario. Our stealth will be our only advantage. If we can get the jump on them, then perhaps maybe-

"Oh who am I kidding..."

I sheathed my katana in resignation. There's no way we can fight our way out of this place. Even if we do somehow beat this guard, if he manages to alert anyone else, we'd be fucked six ways to Sundays. Olivia gave me a determined look as she unsheathed her own shortsword, looking positively battle-ready despite having the wind knocked out of her just a few minutes ago.

"Sis?" She asked, having noticed that I've resheathed my katana. "Are we not gonna fight?"

"No, we can't," I clinically replied. "We're in no way shape or form capable of dealing with trained Numerators."

"But, if that's the case, then what happened to Arya?"

I shook my head as my eyes lingered on her shortsword. "She's dead. That's all that matters."

Olivia seemed to stop at that as she looked at me for guidance. All the while another idea popped into my head.

"Can I borrow your sword, 'Livia?"

The girl merely nodded as she handed me over her sword. With a light swing, I tried to get a handle on my sister's weapon.

It's noticeably shorter than my katana, and it's a double-edged sword. The point seems capable of stabbing through thin sheets of metal on its own, too. It could work.

"Now for the runes..."

I ran my hand through the flat of the blade, feeling out the Runecraft inscribed into its make. Right angles indicate basic hardening, with a tapered curve for rudimentary flexibility. There were also intersecting obtuse angles, signifying increased sharpness. Now looking at it, there's a whole lot more of those intersecting angles than the right ones. Did she forego durability for sharpness?

Might as well find out.

Holding the blade in a reverse-grip, I stepped away from our hiding spot and slowly crept up on the guard's back. If I could just do some sort of stealth-kill, it should possibly eliminate the threat of enemy back-up. Provided of course that nobody sees the act in the first place.

I stopped just behind the tin can, his back blatantly open for the taking. I raised my arm as high as it could possibly go. The armor should be enchanted with hardening as well, so more force should be applied to the act. Thankfully, the sword has more sharpening runes than what was actually necessary, but I hope that it holds its durability as it shreds through enchanted metal.

I took a heavy breath as I readied myself to do the act. I feel like I'm some sort of spy right now, backstabbing people for an insta-kill. The grip on my blade tightened as I brought my hand down with reckless abandon.

Here goes nothing!

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