Written for Story prompt - Baddassreads - Mission Accomplished - Prompt: Team of Assassins.

_________________________________________________________

Standing before the mirror he touched his fingers to his cheek. Short brown hair, hazel eyes, a face he had never seen before. He didn't know the person staring back at him, and yet there was clarity. His name was Lucas, he was 19 and set to be tested to get his team again today. How did he know all this? What was this team and why was it so important? The world and his body felt foreign but his mind registered and followed along like it was nothing. It was like he had woken up with a new lease on life, a new mindset from a different person. Was he in someone else body? He had to be, this wasn't his life.

A loud banging on the door made him jump. His attention snapped to the odd-looking interior of the dorm-like room he found himself in. He wasn't a student but he was in an academy of some kind. His mind was still foggy on the details, information trickling in slowly from Lucas's mind.

"Lucy time to get up!" A voice he knew all too well rang out on the other side of the door as the pounding of a fist on the wood continued. "Wouldn't want to be late to get your arse handed to you."

Storming over to the door he flung it open to come face-to-face with Jonathan. He had once been friends with the obnoxious blonde-haired blue-eyed boy, that had been the worst mistake of his life. He'd been used, a stepping stone for the asshole to get funding and recognition, they had never really been friends. But in truth, he had believed they had been until the fateful day that Jon had betrayed him.

"Don't you have somewhere better to be?" He responded dryly glaring at the boy.

Jon looked taken aback, blinking up at him with a surprised expression. Lucas didn't seem to have much of a backbone when it came to Jon, he would often cower and bend to Jon's will, doing what he was told to just to get by. Like hell, he wouldn't be doing that anymore.

"Awe, did Lucy get up on the wrong side of the bed?" Jon pouted his bottom lip as he continued to make fun of Lucas.

"Jonathan, stop being an arrogant prick. You're only here because I allowed it to happen. Watch your mouth or I'll have you gone just as easily as I got you in." He leant on the door frame crossing his arms as he carefully watched the reactions around him.

Some people who were passing by had stopped and began giggling as Jon appeared to scowl and grow angry. The situation was slowly drawing a crowd.

"You think you can just talk to me like that! After everything I've done for you!" Jon was practically screaming now.

"What you've done for me?" He raised a brow. "You mean how you stole my team leader from me? How you betrayed me? Let's get the facts straight Jonathan." Pushing himself off the door frame he took a step toward his so-called friend. Lucus stood a good foot taller than Jon when he held himself up straight. His posture and attitude aggressive and dominating. "You and I are not friends, far from it. You better watch yourself today."

The crowd around them erupted with whispers and gasps.

"Is that a threat!?" Jon hissed.

He tilted his head to the side and smirked. "Call it whatever you want, I'm not losing today."

Jon laughed, though he was clearly shaking. "You and what team? You couldn't even summon a proper leader! Bring it!" He stormed off, pushing his way through the crowd and disappearing.

"I never thought  I would see the day that you would talk back to him." A sweet angelic voice spoke from behind him.

He froze, there was a woman in his room, since when? He spun around expecting to come face-to-face with someone... but no one was there.

"Not there silly, down here!" She chimed.

His eyes drifted down to the bedside table, where a small girl sat perched on the edge of the wooden furniture. Her legs swung eagerly out as she hoisted them up onto the surface and stood up. She bent slightly forward placing her hands behind her back and smiled happily at him. "Good morning, Master."

His eyes bulged as he slowly closed the door behind him, best not to let anyone see him in this state. Just in case he was going crazy and actually seeing a tiny imp-sized girl who was speaking to him. He heard the soft clink of the door, the entire time his eyes were trained on the small creature. She had her blue hair tied back in a ponytail and wore a tank top with leggings. Her joints were like that of a child's doll in that they had connections on the wrists, elbows, shoulders and neck. If he hadn't seen her move and speak it would appear as though she were made from plastic.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions." Her soft voice was soothing as though she understood his panic.

That was an understatement. "Are you real!?" He blurted out.

She giggled. "Well of course. But Lucas was never able to awaken me. I'm your team leader."

His heart fell, had he just heard her right? She knew he wasn't Lucas?
"What?" He managed in a disorientated whisper.

She looked up at him slightly confused. "I'm your team leader?" She questioned.

"No, no not that, about Lucas." He corrected.

"Oh..." She appeared to sadden. "I guess you have a right to know." She spun around facing away from him, her hands still behind her back as she toyed with her outstretched leg, gently swinging her foot in front of her. He watched her slowly bring her hand around to point at the other bedside across the room.

Frowning he walked over picking up the small orange bottle that was open and lying sideways on the surface of the small table. It was a prescription bottle and it was empty. He looked at her with a knowing gaze. "Last night?" he asked.

She nodded grimly. "I-I couldn't stop him. I was stuck, trapped inside a vessel that wouldn't move. I was never intended for him... so I never awoke."

His gaze landed on the bottle once again, his grip tightening. "Is he gone for good? Am I just a temporary visitor, or are we one now?"

"I screamed and fought as hard as I could. My efforts paid off in that I managed to reach you, but... It was already too late for him." She trailed off.

"This isn't your fault." He sat down on the bed as the small creature appeared to be on the verge of tears. "I still feel him, I have his memories, but I'm also someone else."

"I feel I may have done a bad thing by getting you involved." She concluded truthfully. She jumped onto the mattress and steadied her balance before walking over to his side. Her tiny hand gently rested on his finger. "We can look for a way to return you to your rightful body if you like. I would understand if you wanted that."

Her eyes were telling him one story while her mouth another. Where would that leave her? "This world is nothing like the one I come from. You've paired with me, right? That's a big deal here."

"You're not wrong, but I have ripped you away from your life to live in another man's body." She smiled sadly. "It was selfish of me, I'm sorry."

He couldn't help the edge of his lips creeping up into a half smile. This should be terrifying him but with Lucas's knowledge he understood, he knew what she was. The idea of other worlds was a little overwelling to him but he was oddly at peace with it. "Transported to a magical world with tiny creatures that battle one another. All that I'm missing is a magical outfit to match." He joked.

She giggled beside him. "You have a uniform, does that count?"

His head slightly ached as his mind was flooded with images of him and his classmates training. "What's the purpose of all this fighting and training?" He asked while trying to make sense of it all.

"Well, I guess..." She frowned as she thought of the right words. "It's more of an initiation, a raking system to find the best handlers and partners for us Velarions."

He tilted his head meeting her frown with his own, her statement only prompted more questions.

She laughed again. "These vessels-" She glanced down at her own tiny body. "Aren't our true bodies, they only house a fraction of our powers. We need a perfect synergy to access our full potential, once the handler is strong enough to move up the ranks, we can eventually meet and become much more powerful."

"But, not everyone can pair with a Velarion." He commented aloud as more memories came back to him, including the first time Lucas had attempted to summon a team and failed. "Controlling one vessel would be difficult enough, but they want a whole team?"

"It was hard for Lucas yes. His father is head of the academy and paired with the strongest Velarian, he was under a lot of pressure to do the same." She sat down beside his hand looking down at the floor. "On top of that, Jonathan stole his first leader vessel. The Velarion in it is one of our strongest, he then got dumped with me, a much weaker one. But still, we couldn't seem to pair correctly."

The watch he wore buzzed, an alarm had been set as a reminder of his test. He retrieved the uniform from the hangers in his closet and proceeded to get changed out of her pyjamas. "You're going to have to give me a rundown on how to pass this test if we want to have any chance of facing off against that asshole that is."

She shot to her feet beaming with excitement. "Leave it to me!"

The uniform was very similar to a private school uniform, came with a tie and everything. He dressed and combed and styled his hair all the while listening intently to his little teacher. It seemed simple in theory, but in practice... well he would have to find that out himself.

Once he was ready and his time was already running short he walked over to the bed again. Holding his hand out for her she stared up at him confused. "You don't expect me to make you walk all the way there do you?" He asked.

"Well, no. It's just-" She turned to look at the small container that was on the bedside, he'd been curious about that." Normally I'm transported in there."

"I'm not shoving you in a box, come on." He encouraged.

She tentatively climbed onto his hand, kneeling she held on tight as he moved his hand to his shoulder. She repositioned herself to sit on his shoulder holding onto his collar for support. "You're okay with this?" She asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"It could cause unwanted attention. We Velarion are normally in our cases until we are needed in the arena." She pointed out.

"I'm not stuffing a living thing in a box, I wouldn't even do that with a pet."

She giggled. "It's rare for us to awaken like this outside of the arena, so it would be a little strange to carry around a doll in the other's defence."

Reaching for the door, it only just occurred to him that he didn't know her name. "What do I call you?"

"Oh! heavens I didn't even tell you my name." Shaking her head she sighed, "I'm Nyx."

"It's a pleasure, now shall we go get this day started!?"

"Yes!" She pumped her fist in the arm and he couldn't help but think she was cute.

On the way to the testing hall, a lot of people stopped to watch him go. Shocked surprised expressions confirming what Nyx had told him. He hadn't seen a single other person with their Valerain outside their box. She continued to explain that since he hadn't passed the test yet he was still with the rookies. The higher ranks often had an awakened Velarion with them since they had a stronger connection, but they were also a lot older than he was as well.

He knew that the old Lucas would have felt out of place and tried to hide her. But not now, he was actually grateful to have her by his side, she was very informative and helpful. She made it easier for him to navigate the halls and get to the testing arena well ahead of time.

"Once you pass the test and we have a team you'll be pushed straight into the first round of battles," Nyx explained in a whisper as she clenched onto his collar as he stood a seat waiting for his name to be called.

"Who says I'm going to pass?" He smirked cheekily as he glanced down at his shoulder.

She giggled. "I know you will! Besides to get to Jon you have no choice."

"When you put it like that I better bring the heat and get the best team."

His name was called and he casually stood up and walked to the centre of the room. A large round table meeting his approach. If he had to describe it, it looked like a high-tech poll table. The table top had a soft green top, the edges were raised to recreate a border around the outside. The side he stood at had a number of lights, buttons and dials. At the centre of the table, hanging from the room were display screens facing all four directions outward, yet to be turned on. This was similar to a battle arena for the mini Valerian's but this table was for configuration rather than battle.

The examiner stepped up beside him, his nose down and his pen scratching at the paper as he filled in the personal details. "Please place your Valerian on the table and summon-" The examiner had looked up to notice that Nyx had stood up on Lucas's shoulder with her hands on her hips. His eyes bulged for a moment, but he returned to his usual calm self in a mere moment.

Nyx jumped from his shoulder, for a little thing she sure was spry. He hadn't expected her to be able to move quite so much, but it looked as though that little form held quite some power behind it. She gracefully landed on the green surface and turned to face the two. "Ready!" She announced.

"Right, Lucas please proceed to connect with your Valerian-"

"Nyx." He corrected. "Her name is Nyx."

The examiner made a note and nodded. "Connect with Nyx and attempt to summon a team for her."

He stepped forward placing his hands on the dials and took a deep slow breath in. He met Nyx's eyes and she smiled up at him. It was now or never. The tables helped to strengthen the connection between the master and fighter, most people at his age and rank could only animate the Valarion doll when it was on the table. In Lucas's case, that was all he had ever managed to do. But as he felt a warmth and clarity enter his body, he knew today was different.

He slammed his hand down onto the right dial, pressing it in the table erupted with lights. Nyx gasped clenching her chest as he felt his energy drain incredibly fast. He watched in complete awe as the mechanisms on the table burst to life and got to work building new doll bodies. It reminded him of a 3D printer. As each one was finished it walked over to Nyx and took a knee. One, then a second, followed by a third. And still, it didn't stop. He was becoming lightheaded and rapidly losing strength. The fourth finished forming and he couldn't hold it any longer he let go of the dial and slumped to the ground exhausted.

"Master!" Nyx called out, she was about to jump out of the arena but he stopped her.

"I'm okay, just a little drained. We're not done yet."

"Incredible!" The examiner could no longer hide his surprise. "Four team members is unheard of." He scribbled down more on his paper as he studied the tabletop.

"But you did it, you can configure them after you rest." She pleaded.

He shook his head. "No, we're taking him down today!" He stood on wobbly legs and leant on the table for a little support.

Nyx clenched her hands in her dress as she scrunched her face up with concern. She looked so cute, he couldn't help but let out a little chuckle.

"You've passed, please take your time to configure your team. Once complete please head to head office to register if you wish to compete today" The examiner shook his hand and walked away.

"So Nyx, what type of team would you like?" He asked.

"That's not for me to decide alone!" She wined still pouting. "What are our options?"

Looking over the small screen that was beside the dials it looked like they had three options of class. Curious he tapped one.

Nyx gasped as her clothing suddenly changed. With a show of flicking lights, a new set of clothing materialized starting from her feet all the way up to her head. The clothing style mimicking that of a detective. Her dress had become a tidy suit, she had a small gun at her hip and her hair was in a bun under a small cap. The four dolls around her also changed in appearance. She toyed with her control of them, making them move around the table and testing them. "hmmm, I'm not sure." She concluded. "Try something else."

He shrugged and tapped the next option. With a small flash of light, the dolls changed again. This time they appeared in more rugged clothing, many had metal pipes as weapons and wore top hats with loosely fitting pin-striped suits.

"A little more cutthroat and deadly... But I'm still not feeling it."

He tapped the final option and smiled as he watched the team change. This was the one. The doll's clothing appeared to be tight-fitting and black. Masks covered their faces and a multitude of weapons lined their backs and hips. He watched as Nyx tested his abilities, sending the team members against one another. Each doll throwing a flurry of punches and kicks.

"This is the one!" She concluded.

He couldn't agree more. He had his own team of assassins, it was perfect. Nyx leapt from the table and into Lucas's hands. The dolls still on the table collapsed in a lifeless heap as she left the special arena behind, severing her connection with them. He retrieved the dolls and headed for the head office, there was no time to waste.

He was stopped by a fierce hand on his shoulder as he was about to enter the building that led to the head office. Looking up and over his shoulder he felt his blood run cold. It was an automatic response that he couldn't shake being in Luca's body. The man staring down at him with a stern look had a chiselled jawline, he was a large man with well-defined muscles and held a presence about him that distilled fear.

"F-Father!?" He couldn't help but stutter at the sudden surprise.

"I've signed you up for the tournament." The man's voice was deep and commanding.

"What?"

"Your first match starts in 10 minutes, against that boy that has dishonoured our family." His father glared at him with knowing eyes as he spoke with venom.

Lucas clenched his fists as his jaw twitched. "I was going to register myself, I don't need a free pass!"

His dad frowned down at the boy as though he was surprised by the backlash. That made sense as Lucas would normally cower away from his father and just nod and do as he was told. "It's not a free pass."

"Could have fooled me."

The man let out a laugh. "Your examiner was the one that informed all the higher-ups of the fact that you have a five-member team."

Nyx peeked her little head around the side to stare up at the giant man. "Is that really that unheard of?" She questioned sweetly.

The man blinked down at her, his mouth slightly agape in surprise. "It is quite rare, especially since you are not the original Valarion to be summoned by my son."

Lucas shimmered the man's hand off his shoulder and turned to face him. "Orginal or not, she's strong. We don't need your help or charity, we're going to become even stronger than you!"

His father smirked, a pleased expression emerging. "Very well." He stepped aside and watched as Lucas stormed past him and headed to the other side of campus.

His heart was racing in his chest as he sped off as fast as he could. His adrenaline was high well before he reached the tournament grounds. He caught sight of Jon straight away but ignored him and headed to the sign-in station. As his father had mentioned, he was already registered so signing in was smooth and simple. He could hear Jon taunting him as he approached the arena he was set to play against him.

"This has certainly escalated quickly," Nyx commented as the ignored Jon appeared to get infuriated on the other side of the table. "Are you sure you're up for this? You haven't had a chance to rest from the exam."

Touched by her concern he reached up, gently cupping her in his hands and brought her around so they could see eye to eye.

"I'm fine, you have nothing to worry about." He told her.

"I have everything to worry about!" She protested.

"You think you're all that now coz your doll is animated outside of the ring-" Jon was yelling in the background.

"We can do this." He reassured her.

Placing her down on the edge of the table he waited for the announcer to call out their titles and rank. Of course, he was currently at the lowest, thankfully so was Jon, though he had managed to rake up a few points from previous battles he was yet to progress to the next league. That was good for them. Squeezing the small dolls in his palm, he never thought he would be one to ever play with dolls again, this day had certainly been interesting.

He threw the dolls onto the table as Nyx stepped over the threshold of the arena platform. They burst to life twisting in the air and landing around her in a posed display. Nyx had primary control over the team, but he could also move them if needed. But all her commands to the team used energy, his energy. That was the point of the pairing, he was her battery.

Nyx retrieved a whip that was wrapped around her waist, which the flick of her wrist she cracked it, the loud sound taking Jon clearly by surprise. "Let's get this over with quickly, my Master needs to recharge." Her stern glare threw daggers his way.

He followed suit throwing his own dolls onto the tabletop, though their animation wasn't anywhere near as elegant as Lucas's had been. His team leader moved in a slightly jarred motion like the doll's body was protesting. As light appeared in her eyes she blinked over at Nyx in complete shock. "Nyx! Is that you!?" The little voice exclaimed.

"Hi, Amira." She responded.

Amira looked up at Lucas with a sad expression, it was easy to see that she was hurt seeing her replacement. He felt a twinge of guilt but had to remind himself that even if he did get Amira back he would have no connection with her, not like Nyx. But it was also clear that Amira and Jon didn't have a strong connection either.

The opposing team jittered to life and moved to stand around Amira. It was three against five and Lucas and Nyx liked those odds.

"Wait is that fair!" Jon protested as he noticed just how outnumbered he was.

The referee rolled his eyes. "This is a battle to determine who has the stronger team, if one opponent has more team members than the other that is not my concern." He was basically saying Jon was going to lose.

The timer was counting down from 20, the match was soon to start. 

Lucas smirked. "Not backing out of a fight now are you?" He called from across the table.

Jon whipped his head back and snarled in his direction. "I'm still going to beat your ass into the ground."

Lucas turned to the referee. "I request a relinquishment battle."

Amira's eyes widened and Nyx laughed. It was what had happened to him during training. Jon had tricked him into agreeing to the battle and had lost Amira upon losing the match.

Jon's manic laughter filled the air. "You're a sucker for punishment I see, I accept."

Good, He was going to take everything away from Jon just as he had gone to Lucas in the past.

"Very well." The referee typed a few things on the console near him and the timer started again from 20.

A small crowd gathered as the screens above the table lit up showing the two teams ready to strike. The counter hit zero and the tiny girls flew into action. Cheers erupted from the crowd around them but Lucas had to block it out and focus on the battle.

A dull ache had set into his temple, he was already running low on steam. But Nyx knew this, she was careful in the amount of dolls she moved. Two were left standing by his side of the table while the other two collided with Jon's team. Lucas focused on the backup, fending off and occupying the extras while Nyx headed straight for Amira.

The little assassin's body flung into action, the opposing samurai team had drawn its sword and was lunging forward in an attack. The assassin, with artful style, parried the attack with her dagger before grabbing hold of the assailant's arm and flinging herself high into the air. With a quick swift motion the assassin's body twisted in the air, her legs hammered into the back of the samurai sending it plummeting to the ground with a heavy crack. One down, one to go, he moved his attention to the other assassin that was locked in battle. The rest was up to Nyx.

Nyx wasn't holding back. She had charged straight for Amira. Wrapping her whip around the outstretched arm that held a sword, she yanked hard. Amira gasped as she was propelled forward and directly into Nyx's knee. The doll stumbled back a few steps the impact damaging her slightly but not enough to have her down for the count. Amira was quick to retaliate, she took a tight grip on the whip that was still latched onto her arm. Spinning on the spot she thrust the sword toward Nyx. It barely managed to slice into her shoulder as Nyx dodged out of the way but had to give up her whip in doing so. 

The Valarian couldn't feel pain in these bodies so the only way to win the battles was to immobilise the other, most of the time that meant destroying or breaking the small doll's body.

Nyx retrieved a short sword and a dagger from her back. The wound on her shoulder made it a little harder to move her arm efficiently. Her opponent, though not matched with the best master, was still a force to be reckoned with. Amira was on the assault slashing her weapon relentlessly in an attempt to stop Nyx from making any sort of advance.

But it wasn't long until Amira was the last doll standing on Jon's side and Lucas could lend a hand by providing backup. On the next attack, Amira made one of the other assassins swoop in colliding with the weapon and blocking the attack. This left Nyx open for a counter, which she gladly took. She slid under the assassin's wide stance and attacked Amira's legs. 

Amira saw it coming and jumped back in retreat. However Lucas was waiting, the second assassin took a firm hold of Amira's arms forcing her to drop her weapon. Nyx lunged, the blade of her short sword landing inches away from Amira's neck. "Yield!" She called.

Amira cringed, clearly her master would not allow her to. She threw her head back headbutting the doll that was restraining her. With the loosening grip, she kicked Nyx away from her and sumasulted over the assassin behind her. Her intent was to steal some weapons and go on the offensive again.

Nyx stood tall as all four of her assassin team quickly and efficiently subdued and pinned Amira to the ground. The battle was clearly over.

"No!" Screamed Jon. "Get up you useless piece of crap!"

Lucas looked to the referee and he made the call, Lucas and Nyx were declared the winner while Jon continued to scream at his Valarion. Lucas shook his head as the screens and the lights of the arena shut off. As the table powered down to be cleared for the next match all but Nyx collapsed to lifeless dolls again.

Jon reached out to retrieve Amira but he was stopped. "You can't be serious! This match was so unfair, I demand a rematch."

"It was pretty clear that the power difference between you two is quite large, and you agreed to relinquishment." The referee pointed out.

"I didn't mean it!" He protested. "I'm the best in the league, you can't do this to me!"

Lucas walked to the other side of the table and retrieved his dolls. He looked down at Amira with a sad half-smile. "How do you think she would feel if we made her a team member?" He asked Nyx ignoring the crybaby behind him.

Nyx beamed. "Oh, I think that would make us unstoppable!"

There were a lot more battles to be had to get to where they wanted to be, and he was ready for it. He could see this being the beginning of a beautiful friendship.