The ‘brat’ in question was perched upon a different roof, aiming her crossbow at the fight ensuing down below. She’d taken care of the scoundrel (the one she found by the way) long ago and had come back in case she could help.

Yeah, and maybe she wanted a glimpse.

Apparently, her partner was a great swordswoman, but she never used her blade! Just her fists and legs, which packed a real punch, granted, but dang it! She wanted to see a sword fight!

And after all the hard work she’d gone through: finding a man, seeing the tattoo and after remembering her partner was looking for somebody with that, had gone through all the trouble to find somebody else with the tattoo.

When she had, she’d presented to her partner and then off they were, on a grand adventure!

That was great and all, but her partner didn’t once talk to her! After all the work she did! She had just stayed there on the roof the entire time, silent and unmoving.

Now, she was definitely moving.

Amber had been in awe at the speed at which the two combatants had clashed. When she saw them in a standoff, she’d aimed for the man, fully prepared to defend her partner if the need arose.

However, she soon realized she could barely see them.

They were a blur, sparks flying with blurs of metal. The sound of metal against metal filled the air, making Amber slightly worry about the chance of the police finding them.

At times, they slowed down and Amber fancied the notion of using the split millisecond to fire. She knew it was an impossible shot though, and wouldn’t be all that shocked if he managed to defend against it.

After all, every one of her partner’s strikes was way faster than her crossbow.

Then, the moment had come. She didn’t recall what happened. Her eyes were glued on the fight below, yet all she knew was one second, they were standing off, then the next, there was blood.

Once she figured out her partner had gotten hurt, she wanted to fire her crossbow. Her instincts, which had been developed in battle, alerted her something was coming.

She glanced up to find a hulking brute making its way towards the opponents. Her partner was too busy!

Now was her chance to shine!

A grin sliding over her face, Amber dropped to the rooftop and aimed her crossbow.

“Let’s go, big guy. You and me!”

She’d scanned the entire alleyway ages ago for the best strategic places to fire her arrows at. The brute was near one of the best.

“Time to die!” Amber fired and a javelin shot out. It cut through a rusted beam holding up a platform with dozens of barrels.

“Yes!” They dropped towards the man and Amber fired off multiple projectiles, pinning the man by his clothes (not that he wore much, barely a pant).

Then the smile dropped off her face.

With a loud grunt, he lashed his arm out and knocked all of the barrels into the sky! Amber’s mouth fell open as her eyes followed the barrel's swoop upward. Eventually, they dissipated beyond the clouds.

Amber wanted to scream. WHAT THE HECK WAS THIS GUY?! But Amber was a professional vigilante. She was cold. She was firm. She was-

NOW HE HAD AN SWORD?!

The weapon was at least as tall as him, which was a dangerous amount considering he was 9 feet tall. The edges were covered with spikes, and the overall design was crude. It was obviously functionality over look.

Amber bit her lips. What could she do? She aimed and fired straight at his eye.

“Wh-wha-what?” Amber gaped as she observed him close his eyes and have the arrow crack against his eyelid.

He wasn't human. There was no way he was human.

A sharp movement caught Amber’s eyes and she turned to find her partner blitzing towards her opponent. Then she saw the brute launching itself towards her.

Amber got a shot off which was repelled by the thick skin and could only watch helplessly as he struck down.

The force of the hit caused a cloud of dust and stone to shoot into the air like a waterfall, rising even higher than where Amber was lying!

For a moment, she simply gazed, entranced. Then it hit her.

One hit. That was all it took. One hit, and a disastrous consequence. Even now, the building she was on swayed.

Amber growled. How could she help? Her projectiles were useless, and the way these people were moving, she wouldn't even be able to get a shot fired.

No, as much as she hated it, she could only observe.

Feeling like a coward and quite disgusted with herself, she watched as her partner seemed to take in the brute. Did she know him?

Or maybe she was just worried about what he could do to her.

The fight began, and they were off.

Amber had to strain her eyes to the fullest to even catch a glimpse of what was going on, the speed at which they were clashing beyond human.

Her partner avoided a strike from the hammer and kicked the brute in the face, actually abusing him to stumble back. Amber wasn't sure how to feel about the fact a kick did more damage than her strongest arrow.

Her partner leaped over the smaller guy’s head and the dance of blades ensured before her partner managed to catch his wrist. She threw him at the monster and Amber wanted the giant to whack him into the nearest building.

Instead, he held onto him and barreled ahead.

Her partner met him, raising her sword against his.

CLANG!!

The gusts of wind from the blow reached even Amber, sending her hair flying out of its hair tail. Still, Amber couldn’t fathom how she was fighting back.

Her partner suddenly gave out and Amber let out a little shriek, worried this was the end. Instead, she pivoted her sword down and let the hammer edge its way into the ground. The giant began to lift it out before her partner smashed her foot down on top of the weapon, sending it deeper into the ground.

“Yes!” Amber whispered, getting excited. Maybe she could win!

The giant moved the man clutched in his hand towards her partner, and he began fighting once more. But maybe it was because his feet were off the ground, or he was exhausted, or his partner was manhandling him.

It could have been any of those things but all that mattered was that her partner managed to disarm, and made for a killing move.

At that moment, Amber could feel a chill down her spine. Sure, she’d killed once or twice, but never with such deadliness. Never without remorse or hesitation.

Out here, Amber could still see her sword. And she knew her partner didn't have any qualms about taking his life.

The giant, once again demonstrating impossible speed, caught the weapon in his huge hands. With a roar, his first sound (Amber thought it suited him quite nicely) he forced her sword away.

The giant did several backflips, before kicking her partner in the stomach and sending her into the sky! Not for the first time the day, Amber couldn’t believe her eyes.

She couldn’t believe any of this!

The giant threw his partner up after her and managed to come out on top. As Amber watched, horrified, she struck her down as well, sending her into the ground without anything to stop her.

Amber knew she was dead. No one could survive a fall from that height, especially not if she had been hit down as well.

Only-

The giant somersaulted through the air (another image that made Amber want to check her contact lenses), and delivered a might axe kick.

The dust cloud dispersed from the incoming kick, and Amber’s eyes widened.

Her partner was still alive, and looking relatively fine at that! Other than a few scuffs and split ends in her clothing, she was unharmed! And somehow, she’d managed to retain hold over her sword.

Currently, she used her blade as a barrier, protecting her from the kick. There was a pause, and Amber frowned. She went to her crossbow and looked through the scope.

Ah. There. Her partner was talking, her mouth moving. Amber directed her focus to a nearby lamppost, where the other guy stood on top.

Amber cursed. She had no way of knowing what they were talking about!

All too soon, the giant began forcing his way down once more. Her partner stood still for a moment before twisting her blade upward sharply.

The giant let out a roar of pain as blood dripped from its ankles, courtesy of Amber’s sword cutting its Achilles Heel. It grunted, the sound audible, and grabbed his hammer once more.

Again, her partner’s mouth moved, and again, the lamp guy responded, most likely a condensing one judging from his sneer.

Her partner’s jaw set, and she lunged forward, cutting where the man had been a split second earlier. However, even as he soared through the sky, he wasn’t in the clear yet. She grabbed him by his ankle and dragged him back down until he hit his head upon her pommel.

The giant had enough because he made his move again. He ran forward, heaving his weapon high before dragging it in a horizontal slash.

Her partner easily avoided it but the buildings behind her didn’t. Amber was terrified to see the buildings get shredded through so easily, even if it was by a huge weapon. The structural integrity began to collapse, along with the buildings themselves.

Amber hoped nobody had been inside.

While in midair, her partner threw her weapon at the giant’s feet!

Amber wanted to pull out her hair. What was she doing?! Throwing her weapon!? Did she have a death wish or w-

Oh.

The giant tripped over the sword and nearly fell over. Her partner used this golden opportunity to grab him by his oversized head and bash it into her knee.

Amber wasn’t sure how, but it seemed to make the giant hurt. At least, he staggered back. Apparently, her knee was harder than Amber’s weapons. She wasn't quite sure how to feel about that.

Focus! She thought. She had time to talk with her later!

Her partner grabbed her weapon and plunged it straight through the heart of the giant. Amber waited, for what, she wasn't sure. It just felt like the right move at the time.

The giant's body twitched and then fell over as if shut down. Only her partner's supporting him by her sword kept him from tumbling to the ground.

Amber used her scope to watch her partner and the man argue before getting into a fighting stance again. This wasn't good. There was no way her partner could last much longer!

There was a groan and Amber froze. No way. Not possible.

She focused her scope on the prone body of the giant; only to find out it was prone no longer. It reached over its head, no doubt planning on bringing the full weight of the weapon down.

Amber opened her mouth to warn her partner. Sure, it would attract unwanted attention, but she wasn't thinking straight!

Her partner slashed behind her and Amber could only think this was insane as blood spluttered from the space where the giant's eyes had been located only seconds earlier.

The other man readied himself and attacked.

Hundreds of his blades were replicated, each one in the same pose, each one aimed for her partner.

Amber’s blood ran cold. She didn't know what to do. Her partner would die, skewered by a thousand weapons, and then the man would come after her next.

She gulped, curling up into a ball as flashes of memories appeared. That was why she almost missed it.

Without skipping a beat, her partner lunged forward and locked blades with a single sword.

Amber blinked and all the other swords vanished, leaving the man in the air, his sword aimed for her partner’s head.

Chest heaving, Amber tried to think about what happened without going into full-blown panic. There had been so many. So many weapons.

Yet-

Was it possible they were all illusions? And her partner somehow found the right one among all of them?

It was ludicrous, to say the least, but what about this night was normal?

Her partner said something and the man's face changed into a snarl, showing true hatred. He leaped backward, now in a defensive position. Whatever she said affected him more than any attack she gave.

Suddenly, the man lowered his stance and said something to her, before touching his giant friend and vanishing in a flash of light. Amber rubbed her eyes furiously. They were gone? Just like that?

No, she refused to believe after everything they’d done, they would just disappear. It must have been a trick, to force them to lower their guards. Well, she wasn't stupid enough to fall for that and neither was-

Why is her partner sheathing her sword!?

She beckoned Amber onto the ground, and after a brief moment of hesitation, she obliged, sprinting down the staircase and bursting out the door.

“What the heck?! We should be on guard! We should-“ Amber ranted the instant she was out.

Her partner stopped her. “No, they have well and truly left this place. We are safe.”

Amber gaped at her. Was she serious? “Safe? Safe! Look all around you! Is this safe?!”

Buildings tore down, huge craters, lampposts warped. This place was unrecognizable.

“We are lucky no more casualties were suffered,” her partner stated cooly.

Amber glared. “Okay, now you’re going to tell me what just happened or-“

“No. You will go back to your home, content with the choice you made and will be able to live your life out in peace.”

Amber almost did so, the charisma in her partner’s voice overwhelming. Then she found her footing.

“I said tell me!”

“No.” And with that, her partner began walking away.

“This isn’t fair! I witnessed this! I was a part of this! I deserve to-“

“What you believe you deserve and what you require are two very different things,” her partner said.

Amber frowned. “And you know so well?”

Her partner didn’t hesitate as she replied, “Yes.” She began walking out the alleyway.

“Look! I just want to know, all right? I just want to-“ A light flickered out and Amber smacked it. “Dang lamp. Anyway, part-partner? Partner?!”

Amber spun around, making sure. Her partner had left her.

“That dolt!” she hissed. She felt something in her palm and eagerly opened her hand.

Inside was a small candy, with a note that read, “Thanks, but this is the best for you.”

Amber’s jaw twitched.

“DAMN YOU!”