WickedSishi: Huge thanks to Fxluvforever, you are frickin' awesome! Dunno what I would do without your editing this time :3 Some of you might have noted that most of the other chapters are already at 80-100% and yes, they are. I just need to edit them and then I can probably post once a day or something like that. Six chapters after this so I'll give it 2 weeks top until the last chapter comes out :D And without further ado, chapter 25!

Tiffany struck fast; her movements unparalleled as she closed the gap between the three girls in front of her. The hallway was not to her advantage—with the walls being too close together for her to swing freely, but that did not deter her as much as she'd thought it would. Her attacks flowed effortlessly into the next. Withdrawing with poised grace and whipping out in calm, relentless . Fast. True. Unyielding. She had thought about it, freeing herself from all emotions, and came to the conclusion that Jessica had a reason. The ice princess always acted with a reason, and she was willing to bet her life on the line that Jessica did not mean what she said—or did.

Her blade struck Nicole's serrated dagger, driving the girl back towards her comrades. Tiffany seized the opportunity and drove her knee into the younger girl's midriff. Nicole crumpled forward, gasping for breath as she fell onto her knees. Instantly, all hell broke loose. Hara fired off accurate rounds aimed at her head and simultaneously, Hyuna dashed forward and let loose kicks and punches and knees and elbows that skinned Tiffany whenever she neglected her surroundings.

Tiffany had her work cut out for her. She warded off Hyuna's kicks and punches with her own vicious strikes, however, the girl, true to her skill, evaded each attack with precise ease. Although Tiffany saw plenty of openings, Hara's bullet saw to it that she could not commit for a knock-out blow. As Nicole got back onto her feet, Tiffany found herself cornered as kicks and punches, bullets, and steel daggers came at her without remorse.

Then came a split second decision--a moment's hesitation from the three girls, and a window of opportunity for her. She twisted inside Nicole's quick slashes, parrying those that would have done more than just nip her skin, and slammed her blade's into Nicole’s chest. She heard a dry grasp escape the younger girl's lips, but she could care less if her blow had damaged a lung or two, and sidestepped Nicole as she fell. 

Hara's deft fingers moved quick and punched in a magazine, clumsiness now would only bring them closer to defeat, and took aim.

A shot was fired, but Tiffany saw to it that it would never hit its target. She kicked out with powerful legs, and the gap between them became none-existent. Her blade slammed into the handgun as Hara drew up in defense. Metallic sparks flew in all directions as steel and steel collided. Shots were fired as a sign of desperation, hoping that a stray would hit. When none did, Tiffany overwhelmed Hara within seconds, making room for her quick, precise strikes and unrelenting blows that pushed Hara back further and further. 

Hara snapped down as Tiffany swung her sword horizontally, and pressed her handgun tight against Tiffany's stomach.

What. The. .

A meticulous grin adorned the younger's lips.

Tiffany's eyes went wide in anxiety and she waited, blade raised above her head, held mid-swing. A thought came then, of how, if she struck fast enough--faster than Hara's finger pressing down on the trigger--she could continue onto Hyuna without a gaping hole through her stomach. 

Click!

Tiffany grinned. 

"No bullets?" she asked coyly, and without waiting for a reply, came down hard with her sword, the flat of the blade slamming against flesh and bone. Broken shoulder? Perhaps that wasn't enough, but it would do for now. As Hara slumped forward into a heap, Tiffany continued down the hallway, dragging her blade along the floor, leaving a jagged line on the white surface that was now littered with bits of tiles and wallpaper that came in the way of bullets and steel. She threw one glance at Hyuna as she slowly approached, and that was all it took to subdue the girl.

“I expected better from you, Hyuna, from all of you, actually,” Tiffany said while glaring at the cowering girl. “We trusted you...completely. Yet, you come at us with blades and guns. All of us treated the four of you like precious dongsaengs and still you hunted us. Well, I guess you chose the wrong side."

Suddenly, the door at the end of the hallway opened and a balding man stepped out cautiously. Tiffany watched the man without breaking contact until he realized he was being watched. Their eyes met, and his went wide.

"Lee ing SooMan," Tiffany screamed and sprinted forward as he fled down the hallway. Their legs pushed against the floor as hard as they could to gain any friction--one running after the other while the latter tried to flee. Lee SooMan suddenly twisted around, a handgun materializing in his hand, and shot at her. Lazy and inaccurate shots; how could someone who founded such a powerful organization lack the skills that the place was built for? Without breaking a sweat, Tiffany pushed herself on after him, stepping left and right to hamper his shots. 

Time wasted from turning, Tiffany slowly, but surely, began to catch up to him. As he ran up the stairs, she sprinted after him; pushing herself to go even faster. His legs barely made it to the top. Lee SooMan crashed through the door, rolling forward to keep from losing balance. Helicopter, he thought. Where is it? Where? His heart skipped a beat when he realized the rooftop was bare of any metallic object that was supposed to fly him the hell out of here. 

A few seconds later, Tiffany came through the door, huffing and panting; her brows her creased in an angry manner as she stalked up to him. 

"G-Get back, Tiffany!" he warned her. It was an empty threat. She had counted the bullets he fired. Twelve in total, he was spent. 

"I'm going to enjoy this..." Tiffany mumbled and stepped over to him.

Slowly...slowly...closer...closer...closer...

Out of nowhere, a vociferous gale and the acceleration of propellers flooded the air. From behind Lee SooMan came a giant metallic black monster; a helicopter armed and ready. It turned to its side and the door ripped open from the inside. A man popped out with a sniper rifle in hand, aimed at her, while another reached out for LeeSooMan’s hand.

Tiffany feinted forward and sidestepped the bullet, her eyes never leaving the nozzle of the sniper rifle. Dodging a bullet was simple. She could do it without breaking a sweat. The trick...it wasn't a trick at all—just simple intuition. One had to simply look at the sniper's finger, feel his intent, and calculate the angle of projection. A bullet travels in a straight line. Adjust your body by an inch and it would never hit. 

A second bullet sped at her and she stepped it once again. However, her concentration had become her undoing--a perfect distraction for Lee SooMan to enter the helicopter without a hindrance.

“So long, Tiffany!" he gleefully bade her farewell from the open door of the helicopter. Before the door closed, Tiffany caught a meticulous grin adorned on his smug face. He gestured below, and then disappeared from sight.

As the helicopter sailed away, quickly fading from view, Tiffany pressed down on the side of her ear. 

"Tell Yuri to shoot the helicopter down," she said through the earpiece. She made her way to the railing and peered over. Her eyes immediately went wide, and without hesitation, placed her hand on the railing and pushed herself off and over the edge of the sixty-story building.

***

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