Outsmarted

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Summary: Opposition is smart. He can be a celebrated comic drawer and a secret murderer at the same time. But he gets outsmarted by someone whom he outsmarted and -- seems twisted, right? Well, I hope you enjoy it! (I recommend reading the "At A Glance" section of the character page Opposition before proceeding.)
Notice: The red truths and blue truths are inspired by a MLP fanfic, The Heart of an Author, it can be found on fimfiction.net.
#The First Letter (783 words)
#Torch's Birthday
#The Second Letter
#The Jade Mountain Mystery
#The Battle of Red and Blue
Opposition jumped when he heard the thud on his apartment door.
Reaching for his pistol, he twisted around and pointed it at the door. The thud didn't repeat; instead, an arrowhead was poking through the wood, sharp and silver. Feeling the blobs on his scales bouncing and breaking into twos with his pounding heartbeat, he turned the doorknob and stuck out the pistol.
The hallway was empty. His neighbors' doors were closed as usual. He looked at the elevators. One of them was at floor 1, while the other was at the top. Whoever shot the arrow was far gone now, either out on the ground or flying away.
The arrow was stuck into his door, with an envelope impaled on it. Opposition carefully sniffed the letter. No sign of toxic compound. He wriggled the arrow out of his door, went back in his apartment and locked it.
The envelope seemed to be just an ordinary letter, but Opposition wasn't about to drop his alarm. Holding it as far away as possible, he tore it open.
And, down slid, a... letter. Folded into a perfect square. Opposition picked it up and unfolded it, flattening it on his desk. It was printed-out, which was a quite luxurious way of sending a letter. But maybe whoever sent it didn't want Opposition to recognize his talonwriting.
To Opposition:
I know what you did. The comics. The murder. I know about it all.
You killed seven dragons. A MudWing on Monday. A SandWing on Tuesday the following week. A SkyWing on Wednesday the week after that. A SeaWing on Thursday. A RainWing on Friday. An IceWing on Saturday. A NightWing on Sunday.
You blended into the darkness, keeping your glowing scales unilluminated, and shot their hearts with a crossbow. And now I'm holding a crossbow in my talons and waiting for you.
Knight, the SkyWing who worked on your case, didn't figure out the truth. But I can tell him.
How do you prevent me from doing that? Follow my instruction and don't put a claw out of line until you receive my next letter. Tell one of your best friends about this. Tell him/her that one of your secrets had been spoiled to a stranger, and it may put you in danger. But say it in a way that leaves no mark -- like face-to-face or letters that burn. Memorize his/her reply.
Your life is in my talons. Take care.
And that's it. No more.
Fortunately, Opposition had just the friend to talk to.
Opposition lived in Possibility.
Possibility was a massive city full of sky-rocketing buildings and apartments. But the place where the Five-Tail River met the sea was covered in greenery. That's where he'd find Torch.
Opposition had met Torch back when they were in Jade Mountain Academy. They were a perfect match. Opposition was Night-Ice-Rain-Sea, while Torch was Sand-Mud-Sky. They remained best friends (and Opposition's only friend), even until now.
He took the elevator to the top of the apartment. It was a big, flat square with no fences to keep young dragonets from falling over the edge. That's why none of them were allowed there. Opposition leaped northward, and found Torch in his usual place near the coast.
"Hi," he said, turning his head as Opposition got near, as if he was expecting him, "Great view, huh?"
"You say that every day," Opposition barked a laugh. But Torch's red and gold scales did look marvelous in the setting sun.
Torch didn't reply.
"Uh, here's a thing," said Opposition, "One of my secrets had been spoiled to a stranger, and it may put me in danger."
Torch turned around, eyes wide, "Really? Do I know about this secret?"
"N... no," Opposition said hesitantly, "I know we're BFFs and all, but this is just way too personal. I believe you have secrets like that, too," he added hastily.
"Yes..." Torch said thoughtfully, "How did it get spilled? What kind of danger are you in?"
"I'm not sure, but I may be thrown in jail or even killed."
"I... I need to think about this," typical Torch, needing to think about everything. He wasn't as decisive as Opposition was.
"Alright," he replied. He was about to go when Torch called out, "Hey! What do you know about tomorrow?"
"Um... Sunday?" Opposition said.
Torch looked disappointed. "It's my birthday! Don't tell me you forgot!"
"Oh! Oh... Um..." Opposition stammered.
"Ugh, I'll forgive you this year. You've got other things on your mind, I see. Meet me at the archery place on Sunday, alright? No need to bring presents. Just pay for me. And I'll tell you about my opinion on this spoiled secret."
"Okay!" Opposition promised.
Opposition didn't feel like eating that night, so he ate some random junk food. He also didn't feel like drawing either, so he opened up oppositioncomix.fandom.com (not a real website) to put up a hiatus notice.
There was a message on the little bell at the bottom-left of the screen. A user called "FireGrenade" had left a message on his wall.
Opposition gave a jolt. Had the letter sender told dragons on Fandom already? He realized that he hadn't felt the blobs on his scales for a long time. They had been changing around so much that his feelings had gone numb. Today was an emotional day.
Trying to keep calm, he typed a reply: "Of course not. Where did you hear that?"
Then he made an announcement of a 1-week hiatus. Feeling uneasy, he went to sleep without taking a shower.
His dreams were filled with hundreds of dragons looking like Knight piling into his home, waving those police cards around and snapping taloncuffs on him. When he woke up, he was even more tired than usual.
But he'd made a promise to Torch. So he took some scales and went to the archery place.
It was a big flat field with a shed on one side and targets on the other. It was empty of dragons except Archer, the manager, who greeted them.
"Welcome!" she said with a smile, "20 scales each dragon each hour, but 50% off if it's your birthday."
"It's my birthday!" Torch said happily, "Opposition's with me. Can he get a discount too?"
"No," Archer said firmly, "30 scales, no less." Opposition paid and went to the shed. He grabbed a beginner's compound bow for himself. Torch did the same, "I'm not that good at archery," he explained, "but I like it."
Opposition stationed himself in front of a target, and Torch did the same. "You go first," he said to Torch, "it's your birthday after all."
Torch locked an arrow on the bow in one swift motion, then dropped it and picked it up again, saying "Oops!" At last he held the bow and arrow ready, pulled back hard and let go. The pullies on both ends of the bow gane a little jerk, and the string viberated into a little semi-transparent oval, as if applauding for his perfect shot. However, on the other end of the field, the arrow was nowhere to be found.
"Uh-oh," said Torch, talons on his chin, "Did I get the target?"
"No," Archer rolled her eyes.
Opposition readied his bow, trying hard not to look like a lopsided scavenger, and let go. The arrow landed on the target alright, but bounced right back into the grass.
Torch was giggling, "Your scales never fail to tickle my funny bone! The ones on your right arm burst like fireworks when you let go, and bounced all thw way up your arm!"
Oppisition smiled too. Hia scales are fascinating, but they make Aquatic a little painful, as he had to make them stay in the right place to talk underwater.
They shot badly until their hour was up. Opposition was getting ready to say goodbye when Torch dragged him back. "We're having lunch together! At Clay's!"
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete)
Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon)
Category:Genre (Mystery)
Category:Mature Content