Macha nodded and set the gun down, long white hair sweeping down in front of her face as she bent over to swap her battered pistol for a shiny new revolver. She looked at Amber. "You should probably have a back-up weapon, though.", she replied, pulling what looked to be a short golden arrow with a bone-white tip out of he pouch hanging from her waist. She raised it into the air, and the farther up she lifted it, the longer it grew downwards, until she was holding a tall golden spear. The spear seamed to glow threateningly in the musty gloom, and its infinitely sharp tip glinted menacingly. "This is Rimeriden, the spear from my homeland." The spear gleamed brighter, as if recognizing its name. Then, Macha pressed a bead on the harlequin bracelet second-closest to her elbow, and several grating sounds, like stone against stone, sounded from outside. A few moments later, seven gargoyles zipped straight through the brick and landed in front of Macha, each perched on a pile of weapons. After speaking to them in a hushed voice, she looked up at Ace, Amber, and Rhea. "These 7 are the leaders of all 105 gargoyles following me. Their job in this fight is to create diversions." The gargoyles shot back into the night.
Ace spoke up. "You said earlier that the bracelet was the one thing connecting you to those spies." Macha nodded. "It was made for me by a friend. We had been best friends, and had been the subjects of multiple attempted murders by the R.A.C., although we didn't know that yet. To guard us and our families, my friend Fae made 105 gargoyles out of clay with her own two hands, and gave me his bracelet so that I could communicate with them. Her power was bringing clay figures to life…" Macha trailed off sadly as the image of Fae's countless clay dragons flared to life in her head. "I saw her be tortured to death by them, I heard her screams as they sawed her wings off. I couldn't save her in time." Tears began to roll down her cheeks again. "After I found out who had killed her, I began using the gargoyles to spy on the R.A.C., to learn the names on their hit list and get whoever was on heir out of this miserable city. It's the only reason I stayed." Macha pushed the hair out of her face and continued. "It was stupid of me to go back for this like that. It's my fault that Peter and Sky are in the hospital." She looked up at the pair's faces. "But I couldn't let five years of work go to waste." Macha began loading a big bag with weaponry. "You might be wondering about how my hideout is invisible to the outside world." She paused and looked at Rhea. "That was Rhea's brother.", she continued softly. Ace looked on in wonder at the sight of the majestic pegasus bowing her head to cry. "He was an illusionist.", she whispered, fingering the third bracelet from her elbow, a shifting green design.
"But— But then Rhea is…", Ace stuttered. Macha looked him dead in the eye. "Have you ever heard of a shapeshifter who couldn't turn back?" Rhea nickered gently and came to stand by Macha. "That was the R.A.C.'s doing as well, after they killed Jason." Macha wrapped her arms tightly around her friend. "I have a bag of weapons and shields for whoever's fighting out there. Chose yours, and let's go help.", she smiled wickedly. Finally, her mind whispered. She wasn't going down without a fight.