Closure

So this was where he now lived. A beautiful mansion that made their former home together all so modest. The sight of the place made the statuesque blonde seethe with rage and as she kept her vigil upon the building, she began to plan her attack. Tonight’s mission was both a job for the guild, as well as a chance for her to finally gain that sense of freedom that she had been seeking for so long. No matter how well she had tried to hide, he had always found her and no matter how far she had gone, he would always discover her again. It could not go on any longer and having had her confidence bolstered by the success of her previous task, Bastila believed that she was ready for this. Yet, her thoughts kept drifting back to the festival that she had attended with Sakura, where she had almost broken down completely when discussing him. There was still that slight sense of doubt within her that her resolve might just leave her at the final moment but it was something that she would simply have to face. After tonight, she would never have to fear for her own or more importantly her daughter’s life again. It would all end.

During her studies of the place, Bastila had managed to pick up a familiar magical aura patrolling the place from time to time. It was one that she knew of incredibly well and just picking it up made her scowl beneath her mask. It was the aura of Miguel, her former husband's lead henchman and a man that she had almost killed during the festival. She would have ended him there and then, if it had not been for Sakura’s influence but her daughter was not here now and the hatred that Bastila bore for the samurai was almost as great as it was for her ex himself. There would be no mercy tonight for either of them, as the statuesque blonde knew Miguel would no doubt seek revenge against her, should she succeed in killing Donovon. That was how he worked, a man fuelled by vengeance and revenge. The saddest part about that? It could be said that Bastila had fallen into that mindset as well. She had been stunned by her own rage during her last couple of encounters and jobs and yet she was almost caught up by its allure. This was surely not the real her. Bastila could hardly believe her own thoughts at times and she would have to admit that there were moments where she frightened herself by her own musings. What had happened to the sweet woman who acted as the mother to all those she met? Was she gone for good or would she finally re-emerge after her mission tonight? She truly hoped so as the takeover mage was beginning to become weary of her own quest for revenge. The elder Kisagami wanted to rest and finally begin to heal properly and what was more important, to finally develop her bond with her daughter properly, without any more deception between them.

Measuring up the building one final time, Bastila would then make her move, leaving her place of safety in the bushes and heading towards the mansion. She already had the sentries, recently hired from what she had heard, patrols well and truly scouted. They moved around the place like clockwork and it was easy for her to find the right moment to approach. Like a shadow, she would sneak up towards the enormous building and find herself up against the large walls of the place. She had no desire nor had been ordered to kill all who lied within and even though it was difficult for her to control her deep seated hatred for all those who worked for Donovon, she was mature enough to be able to control it. Her targets tonight would be Miguel and her ex husband, which would cut off the heads of his organisation. None of the underlings would have the courage to take control of the organisation once they were dead and with any luck, the last chapter of her horror story could close for good.

After a brief glance around her, Bastila would then briefly turn to ash, allowing her to teleport inside the building, without causing any issues or making any noise. The ability only took a moment in order for it to work and soon enough, she would reform within one of the mansions many kitchens, which was thankfully empty. There was hardly a sound that could be heard within the place and without any further delay, the masked mage would begin her trek through the mansion, keeping eyes and ears open to anything that moved. She knew that Miguel would probably be defending Donovon himself and as she pondered about it further, further mused that perhaps that the entire force would be around her ex husband's bedroom, such was his paranoia and fear. It was well founded though, knowing that he had already been beaten rather severely by Sakura previously, not that he knew of it. As far as Bastila knew, Sakura had used one of her many lovely doll bodies in order to disguise her form. It had been an intelligent move although her daughter’s attack had also made Bastila’s own task a little more difficult. His defences were no doubt far stronger now and with the wealth that he had stolen over the years, she suspected that he would be ready for her. She was going to have her hands full with Miguel and his men, let alone anything that he might have hired or bought in order to defend him. Still, it did not matter to her. She had been preparing for this for so long and all that was left to do was to carry out her plan and show Donovon just who the Ember that he had been warned about was. Not that he would live to tell the tale.

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Any hopes for her to have a rather simple and swift path to her quarry were rather quickly dashed for Bastila was unable to even reach the first floor before running into an opponent. One of Miguel’s men no doubt and judging from how eager he was to try and call for help, it seemed that the place was indeed well defended. Not letting him call, however, Bastila would swiftly be upon him, shoulder barging the man into the wall behind him and slamming her fist into his liver. It was a powerful blow and the guard simply crumbled, falling down in front of her. Swiftly, she would then strike him in the face with her foot, knocking him out and leaving him laying. Time was of the essence and she had no time for long drawn out fights tonight.

Sprinting up the staircase, she would swiftly move on, her senses at their peak as she kept her eyes and ears piqued for any further opposition. Yet, as she sprinted through the building, she could not help but find her eyes being drawn to the portraits on the walls, saddened by what she saw. They were all showing the same thing. Donovon, with what appeared to be another family. Him, a lovely brunette woman who she assumed was his wife and two children, a boy and a girl. It was like a dagger to her heart and beneath the mask, a few tears would begin to fall from her eyes, old wounds opening once again, her pain coming back in full force. She had been nothing but a conquest to him, a plaything that he had discarded when it suited him. The blonde had known that already and the realisation had dawned on her long ago but there was just something about seeing it visually that brought it all back. He had abandoned both her and their young daughter without a moment of doubt and hesitation. Oh, the hatred that had always been there was growing again and although she was able to focus it upon her foes. She did briefly wonder if she truly was emotionally ready for this. Would she hesitate when the moment came?

Her inner musings were interrupted as one of the doors she ran by opened and a sword wielding figure came charging towards her, seemingly not to care about the lovely decor around them. His swings were wild and erratic and the hidden blade mage briefly was on the defensive, having to evade his reckless attacks. She could not see much of him, given that he was wearing the uniform that all of Miguel’s men wore but the wild battle cries that he was letting loose with clearly gave his gender away. Forced into activating one of her partial takeovers, Bastila would start striking back against him, her flaming talons strong enough to meet his blade in combat. The fight was short and violent with neither giving anything but their full effort behind their attacks but the result was never in any real doubt. The man was no mage and the flames of the phoenix soon overwhelmed him, so much so that his blade eventually melted, leaving him open to a brutal blazing upp cut from her talons that knocked his head upwards, followed by a second punch that caught him flush in the face. He was not getting up from that combination and he sank to the floor, beaten.

It was all beginning to become a little overwhelming for the statuesque blonde and as she resumed her pursuit, she vigorously shook her head, trying to shut out her pain. There was only so much that she could control and after having kept it inside for so many years, it was difficult to keep under control. She wanted to be free of her pain and the mage knew that Donovon’s death was the only way to do that but what she had not considered was what it might do to those around him. By killing him, was she going to put his new family in the same position that she had been in back then? It was a horribly unpleasant thought and for a moment, she was blinded by her own indecision. Not now, not when she was so close.

Her footsteps would come to a sudden stop as she picked up on a familiar magical aura and she looked up to find herself staring down her own foe, Miguel. Dressed in his samurai gear, flaming sword unsheathed and ready for battle. Without a thought, Bastila would unleash her full takeover, causing the entire corridor to burst into flame, the sheer heat pulsing from her enough to cause the flowers on the cabinets to burn. The two flame mages would approach each other until they face to face or mask to mask in their case.

“He managed to get you out of prison then,” Bastila grimly stated, her voice distorted by her outfit.

“You knew that Donovon was not going to stand for us staying in prison,” he replied, “You made a grave mistake in coming here, Bastila. There is no point in trying to deceive me, your magic is unmistakable. I have no idea why you have come here wearing that but it will not protect you from me.”

“You do not have Sakura pleading for you to be taken in alive this time,” the blonde retorted, “I am going to leave you as a smouldering corpse and your master will share the same fate. This ends tonight, Miguel.”

“It will not end until you hand the girl over. He has made it incredibly clear that he desperately wants Sakura although he certainly could not care less about you. Tell me, Bastila. How does it feel to have been left to rust like an old car and replaced by a newer and far younger model?” He sneered.

The woman’s reply was a plume of flame that blew the glass out of the nearby windows and a flame enhanced punch that sent the samurai smashing up against the doors of his masters room. The fight to the death had begun.

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Sprinting forward, Bastila would instantly take the advantage by unleashing a flaming kick that sent the recovering samurai flying a second time, striking the first wall that he made contact with. It was a powerful blow and staggered him briefly but he was able to get out of the way of the blonde’s next physical strike, rolling out of the way and drawing his sword. There was no need for further words and as the two fire mages engaged in battle, anything that was said was enveloped by the noise that came from their flames. Bastila unleashed all of her pent up emotions, allowing them to increase the power of her own attacks, as well as her ferocity. In truth, the fight was rather similar to what happened during the festival. The samurai would start out well but eventually become overwhelmed by the woman. His attacks were precise and accurate but he just lacked the magical power to combat Bastila’s more aggressive approach. She pushed him further and further back down the corridor. Forgoing her usual style of combat and instead just delivering a physical beat down of her foe. Relentless and merciless, she became more and more aggressive until she broke through his defences with a bone crunching combination of flame filled punches, obliterating through his armour and sending him tumbling to the ground. Delivering a powerful kick to the side of his head, Bastila would then dive upon and brutally beat him until there was almost nothing left of him but ashes. His cries were shut out by the sound of her flames and by the time she was finally finished, there was little of the corridor left. Everything burned.

Breathing deeply, the phoenix would then turn around and head towards the large doors at the end of the corridor and pushed them firmly open. It was a beautiful looking bedroom which only increased her anger. Just how many women had Donovon been with in this room? A question that made her physically sick to her stomach. Her gaze would then turn to the corner of the room, where the coward himself was hiding. His brown hair wild and eyes full of fear. He looked at her, completely petrified of her and as Bastila approached him, he almost curled up in a ball. The coward was showing his true colours, now that his time had come.

“Donovon,” she hissed, her voice altered by her outfit, “Together again at last. I see that you have recovered from your injuries.”

“What do you want?” He squealed, trying to scurry away like a mouse, “I already told your associate that I have no idea what you are after. Why can you not just leave me alone?”

“Why could you not just leave our daughter alone?” Bastila replied, cutting through all of the rhetoric in one single sentence.

His eyes would widen in shock, the cogs inside his head slowly putting two and two together. “I can take care of her better than you can. That is why. I have the money and resources to cure her of her condition.”

“You lying bastard!” The blonde roared, “You have never given a damn about her welfare! Where were you when we needed you the most?! You abandoned us when things got tough because you are a cowardly piece of street trash. I have raised her for the past 18 years alone without a single word from you. No. I know the truth. You decided to run away and start another family. Tell me, Marcus. How many other women have you been with?!”

“Dozens,” he snapped, seeming to realise that his innocent act had failed, “That honest enough for you? Here, there, wherever I found someone who looked sexy enough. You were just a conquest, Bastila, a lovely little piece of eye candy who was wrapped around my little finger. I never loved you, I just used you, like I use everyone. I got bored of you Bastila and so I moved on. You never could do anything right anyway. Look at the daughter that you produced. Sickly and weak, just like you. The reason why I want Sakura? It is not out of love but because I want to be the one to kill her myself, as I should have done when her sickness was discovered.”

“You!” Bastila screamed, unleashing all of her anger and rage in a single blast of flame. The building shook, the room burst into flames and as her ex husband began to burn, she would remember what her daughter had said about her own own meeting with the scumbag. “Before you become purified by my flames, know this. Snow White is your daughter, Marcus. Our daughter has grown to become an incredibly powerful mage and I could not be any more proud of her. That young woman who beat you to a pulp was Sakura. She despises you as much as I do and she would never have willingly gone with you anywhere. I raised her to be better than that. I am Ember, a name that I am sure should be known to you. The reason that Sakura did not kill you was because that job has fallen to me. I will not have your blood on her hands. Goodbye, Marcus.”

Bathing in the flames of her own attack, her vision would briefly be clouded by her own attack. When it finally returned, the entire room was black, burned to a crisp. In the corner would be her ex husband's corpse, little more than a charred husk. It was over, finally.

Taking a deep breath, Bastila would turn on her heel and leave, an almighty weight lifted from her shoulders. She no longer needed to hide and neither did her daughter. They were both finally free from the shackles of their past.

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