Ah figured it’d be best if we didn’t put any strain on Goose unless we had ta, so from the castle, we walked. As it was now, it was oddly silent in the park. Some of the homeless creatures lived here. Fer there ta be not a single sound around was very strange, but Ah was thankful for it. As we made it further in, the sound was even less. No cars, no buses, no trains, no trolleys. The city looked like a model of itself, completely empty and completely silent. It had been botherin' me since Ah saw her, but Ah couldn't break the silence. In the end, Pinkie was the one who asked.
“So… if nopony is going to, then I have to ask. Twilight, what in the world are you wearing?” At the moment, Twilight looked like she’d walked out of an ancient history book. The guard armor these days was essentially a collection of enchanted long solid plate mail pieces that covered most of the body, but had enough gaps in it to support movement while still makin’ it hard ta pierce the body with somethin’ like a bullet. Twilight however, had fitted hers in such a way that it went with her outfit, which resembled that of an ancient Equuin Centurion. A plume, A Cape, Tassels along her waist, a full face mask that resembled her mother’s face, oddly enough. All she was missin’ was a scutum and a spear and she’d be ready ta make a phalanx.
“W-well… I figure that if everypony else is wearing their costume, I might as well wear mine, right?” She said sheepishly.
“Ya say costume, but this has always just been a way ta hide in plain sight. Ah don’t really care what ya wear as long as it keeps ya alive though. Can ya see outta that mask? It looks a little… restrictive Ah guess.” The conversation was a bit of a nerve easin’ agent at the moment. Still no sounds but our own hooves. Everythin’ about this feels wrong, but this is definitely real. Ah can’t tell if this is worse than it was in the dream or not…
“Of course I can see! The centurion armor was one of the most advanced designs of the age, nothing could rival it. The ponies themselves were the pride of Equuis’ armies, early centurions literally earning their names for leading one hundred soldiers into battle.” Ah looked her over her under that mask, her eyes pretty well visible, save fer the obvious parts that Ah could tell restricted her vision, but she seemed pretty adamant about this.
“Ah see. Any particular reason why though? It seems… Ah don’t know, a little unusual, given the standard ‘hero’ outfit these days is essentially a skin-tight suit and an emblem.” We turned the corner along the side of a buildin’ and Ah stopped. Fer a single second, reality had gone away and all along this road Ah saw rivers of blood. Body parts, destroyed road, smashed buildin’s, the whole horrible scene from the dream came rushin’ back without warnin’. My breath had yet to escape my body when Ah shook my head, and Ah almost thought it was never gonna go.
“Are you okay?” Goose asked as he put a hoof on my shoulder. Ah looked back and everypony else had stopped with me and they all had the same expression on their faces: concern. Ah shook my head again and started up the street.
“It’s nothin’, let’s just keep movin’.” Ah tried ta move on, but Goose held me back.
“No it isn’t, talk to us.” His tone was softer now, but more stern than before. Ah glared at him, but figured he was right. Ah sighed.
“This is the street. The monster shows up two buildin’s in front of the stock exchange, and that electronic billboard is where he makes his announcement.” Seven lanes, splittin’ off in the middle fer the island of offices that segment apartment complexes. This area is a high mix of commercial and non-commercial buildin’s, but almost always has about ten thousand ponies in it at one point and time, regardless of the time of day. Traffic here is the worst it gets in Manehattan, and more bikes are stolen here than anywhere else. In the nightmare, this area was as bustlin’ as it usually is, which is why the death toll was so high in the first place. Ah don’t know who has his ‘object’ or whatever, and Ah don’t know why he decided ta choose the most heavily populated area in Manehattan ta strike first, but the bastard has a reason fer it and Ah wanna know what that reason is. However, these thoughts were distracted by the suddenly high amount of metal, belts, and hooves Ah could feel through my suit on my body.
“It’ll be okay this time. We’re all here with you,” Diamond said. Everypony backed away and Ah just stared at em’, a little more than dumbfounded. What am Ah supposed ta say ta this?
“Usually, this is where one says thank you.”
Ah wasn’t sure who's voice that was, but the suggestion felt right, so Ah took it.
“Thanks, Ah guess.” Ah scratched my neck. Geez, Ah've never like this before. “Let’s uh… keep goin’ then. Ah’d like ta get a good look at all these buildin’s. Ah think the monster specifically targeted certain ones, so Ah’d like ta try and figure out why.” The girls and Goose nodded and followed me ta the stock exchange buildin’. Everypony made their way up ta the rooftop, and after Twilight awkwardly flew herself up, we moved ta the edge and looked over the road. Now on the right side, the first buildin’ that caught my eye was ‘Argent Holdin’s.’ What the…? Isn’t that where Uncle Blood works? Immediately next ta that was the apartment complex that was first attacked in my dream. It looked normal enough, so… why go after it? Persona said he was lookin’ for his ‘object’ in the first announcement and the in one in my dream. He also addressed somepony in particular durin’ that first announcement too… Ah turned around ta address my ‘flock’ when they asked first.
“So, what’cha thinkin’?” Blur asked. Ah nodded and turned back around.
“This is the first buildin that the monster attacked. It was… oddly precise, as much as it was a pony blender, and none of the debris really went anywhere but inward. It managed ta take down three apartment complexes before it took notice of us, and they all ended up the same way; torn down from the center inward. The more Ah think about it, the more it seems strange that he’d go out of his way ta have the monster kill, but not destroy any more than necessary. Another thin’ that was weird was the fact that he attacks here first.” Ah pointed at the complex next ta Argent Holdin’s. “As far as we believe, Argent himself has ta be behind this since his company is makin’ the mirrors, but where he attacks is likely where most of his staff for this accountin’ buildin’ lives. Ah think it’s safe ta assume he’s after one of his own employees, but doesn’t know where said employee lives.” The five nodded, then Rarity took a step forward.
“That is strange though…” She tilted her head ta one side once, then panned across the area. When she was done, she then turned ta the group. “If he was looking for one of his employees, don’t you think he would have their address in his records? With that in mind, take a look around at the offices here. Just on this little block of buildings, we mostly have law firms, a few big franchise and chain restaurants, the Stock Exchange, and three different accounting firms. They don’t call this road the bit river for no reason after all. Centurio Reginae, who owns the Argent Holdings building?” Diamond asked, not even lookin’ ta see Twilight glare at her.
“The Rossfeller family. They own just about every building around here. You know I don’t appreciate-” Diamond moved close and put a hoof on the muzzle of Twilight’s mask.
“Shut up for a moment, please? Thank you, darling.” She moved into the center of our little circle and continued, “I’m sure you all know that the Rossfeller family is one of the richest families in Equestria, rivaling billionaires like Argent and the Carneighs for who's the top dog in Manehattan. But, do you know that Argent has a particularly nasty history with the Rossfellers? I was told this story when I was young, but when Mr. Argent initially went into business and first started his mining, he appealed to Pursue Manehattan Bank for the loan to buy his equipment, which just so happens to be the bank in which Crude Rossfeller junior owned the most shares of. After a shady deal, he obtained his money, but he would well more than pay for it later. Current head of the Rossfeller family, Petrol Rossfeller, was about the same age as Argent at this time and the CEO of Pursue. Pursue Manehattan has a long history of snowballing as it absorbed more and more banks through history, but when Argent struck gold, (or silver in this case) Petrol wanted to buy his company.
Now, the Argent I grew up hearing about wasn’t quite the power hungry monster he seems to have become. Equestria has laws against monopolies, and that is exactly what Mr. Rossfeller was trying to create. With Argent contributing a majority of Equestria’s silver and Rossfeller controlling the third largest bank in Equestria, he would literally have access and control over almost a third of Equestria’s wealth. As the stories were told, Argent was a very honest Stallion about his business and he did not want anything to do with Rossfeller’s grand scheme. This ended disastrously for Argent because most of the buildings he rented were owned by Rossfeller. Everything he rented went up to astronomical prices and just trying to get out of Rossfeller’s world almost caused Argent Enterprises to go under.
So, why does this building have Argent’s name on it you ask? Well, that’s simple. It’s not really his. Stannum Argent’s sheer hatred for Petrol Rossfeller occasionally has the two of them trying to destroy each other within Manehattan when they can. The company that rents this building originally belonged to physician Glider Rossfeller and managed accounts for Healers of Creation, the non-profit that sends doctors all over the world. Whether it was out of spite, or because he appreciated what Healers did, Argent donated heavily to this facility and the foundation. Glider sold this building two years before his death three years ago to Argent, but never managed to get the title to him. As it stands now, Glider Rossfeller is technically still the owner the building, and the company that resides within it. Since nopony can find the titles Glider left behind, the building remains in Argent’s ‘custody,’ but at the same time, he’s not allowed to the documents of the workers here. Essentially, if somepony wanted to stay close to Argent, but still out of reach from him, this would be the place to go.” The rest of us sat on that until Goose brought up an important point.
“So, this guy clearly has no problems breaking laws, why wouldn’t he just steal the records?” Diamond nodded.
“Because he doesn’t know where they are or how to access them. For a couple years, this company did belong to Glider Rossfeller and as such, their data was stored in Rossfeller servers. And that means…”
“He would really start a war if he tried to go after it…” Twilight finished.
“And so Centurio Reginae figured it out.” Diamond finished. Twilight glared at her, then rolled her eyes.
“An all out war between Argent and Rossfeller would wreak havoc on the economy and likely destroy both in the process. As much as they might hate each other, Equestria as a whole would be at a huge disadvantage in the world market if we lost either. Goddess knows that Argent is the only reason we have good ties to Zvyr at all,” Centurio Reginae continued. Damn it, now she’s got me sayin’ it. Huh… Ah kinda like it though.
“S-so, I get that all this money talk is o-over my head, b-but why would he just search at random? And… k-kill so many in the process…” Target asked from her imaginary corner. Even with the mask and the hat and the coat and the gun, she still somehow manages ta be completely not intimidatin’ when she opens her mouth. Still, the question was valid. If he has the power ta make his monster follow specific instruction, why all the death?
“Hmm… That I can’t say. While educated, this is all still conjecture. We can’t know anything until we hear it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.” She was about ta open her mouth again when the clock tower bell started ta ring. Everypony froze and we waited. One… two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight… nine… ten… eleven… twelve. On queue, a bolt of bright orange lightnin’ shot from an alleyway just a buildin’ away from us. Black ooze spilled out like oil and filled the road like a swimmin’ pool. The ooze began ta collect itself in two pools, and then the monster from my nightmare started ta form itself from the ground up. The monster let out a low gravely metallic moan and began ta look around. Finally, it settled on us, and from an electronic billboard on a completely different buildin’ that we could see, Persona appeared.
“Well, well, well! It looks like somepony took my warning seriously! And what a unique group you are… An Equuin Centurion, Diamond the heroine, A Lunar guard, an Assassin of some sort… Mmm, I don’t know the pink one, and of course, Red Hoof’s successor. I’m honestly surprised there aren’t more of you here. I suppose one can beat a raid boss with a small party, but that usually isn’t the smartest decision. Very well then. This is Sachiel, the first of my Kaiju. In a test to recreate my lost object, he was the first success, but the price for this success was much of his mind. Defeat Sachiel and the round is yours. Fall to Sachiel and you will all die, losing your homes, your city, and possibly the world in the process until my object is found. Win the round and I will answer one question of your choice, save for anything I cannot say, such as my identity or my location. True heroes rise when the odds are stacked against them! Go beyond! Begin, Sachiel!” Persona finished, and with his words the monster started ta move. Raisin’ it’s claw back, Ah remembered the where the top of it’s arc was, and just as it hit it, Ah called my first order.
“Jump!” Ah yelled just as the claw shot forward like a missile. Twilight and Fluttershy took ta the sky while the rest of us bounded away ta different buildin’s. The creature seemed stuck somehow in what remained of the Stock Exchange. Is it… slower than Ah remember? Somethin’ is… different… Ah decided ta test its skin while it was preoccupied. From my initial jump, Ah shot at the ground toward its opposite foot and loaded a normal, but powerful punch with my right. When Ah collided with the monster’s ankle, it was almost like the jello-esque skin absorbed all the force Ah’d put into it. It didn’t break and my hoof traveled in and out like it was water, makin’ an oozy black spray follow me ta the ground. A shiver ran up my foreleg. Why am Ah suddenly so cold?
“Guys, this is different. Its skin is even less solid than Ah remember and it don’t care too much whether or not Ah punch it. Target, take an AP shot at its skin and its mask. Centurio, do the same with whatever attack magic ya can think of, but if ya can, Ah think lightnin’ might be our best bet here. Go from at least a 45 degree of the monster and shoot at the same time. Everypony else, play distraction.” Directly across from each other, two buildin’s apart from the destroyed one, Target began ta line up her shot and Twilight started ta charge her magic. Goose and Ah aimed fer the same ankle and dove straight in fer a punch on either side of Sachiel. It finally managed ta free its claw from the ruined buildin’ and made a quick step back ta avoid us.
At the same time, its balance looked ta be slightly off and Target called ta fire. The first round struck true, the spinnin’ bullet pushed away the liquid skin of the creature and pierced deep inta its main body below, but it didn’t look ta do much damage. Just as quickly as the hole was made, it was closed up and hidden underneath a darker, more solid lookin’ ooze. Fer Twilight’s attack, it didn’t seem ta do hardly anythin’ at all. The bright violet tesla coil strike just spread through the monster. The jolt seemed ta make it faster though, which wasn’t really helpful. Its leg pulled back further and it looked like it was about ta try and punt Goose and Ah. The two of us bounded separate ways just as the foot reached the top of it’s arc. The whole creature angled and the spindly giant point dug through the ground like sand, kickin’ up blacktop and concrete in the air like dust. The poor Stock Exchange buildin’ was all but completely demolished now, pieces of road juttin’ out of its remains and the apartments behind it had new spikes of concrete stickin’ out of ‘em.
“No more magic on the skin. Aim fer the mask now. Twilight, try ta shoot a barrier at it. Ah think this thin’ might be capable of stealin’ energy. Best not ta test the theory. If yer rounds don’t do anythin’, Goose we need ta make an effort ta try and break it.”
“Yes ma’am!” they responded. Just as we started ta get inta formation, the creature squatted and spread it’s claws ta either side of it’s body.
“Never mind! Target, Centurio, get outta the way!” Just as they started ta move, the monster shot inta the air in an arc with claws out stretched and ready ta crush my two snipers.
“ZA WARUDO!”
When Ah blinked, Goose and Blur had Centurio and Target respectively, not too far from me as the monster landed on a now flattened apartment buildin’. The creature let out a low metallic growl as it stood back up and turned toward us.
“Target, Centurio, fire!” Much like the first time, Centurio’s magic didn’t do anythin’ visibly, and Target’s bullet made a crack in the mask. Or so we thought. As the creature took a step forward, the visible cracks in its mask started ta seal up with hardened black ooze. Damn… it’s gonna be one or none with this… wait a minute. What is it lookin’ at? Rather than the five of us, the creature’s mask was facin’ slightly away, like it was focused on somethin’. “Diamond, where are ya?”
“In the alley between the two apartment complexes across from Argent Holdings. Where is it going?” That’s a good question…
“Target, follow it and keep firin’ at the mask. Everypony else, keep yer distance and watch fer now.” Target continued ta fire at the monster as it traveled seemin’ly aimlessly. Ten new cracks all filled with ooze before we ran out.
“I-I’m down to two rounds left. W-what do you want me to do?” Target asked. Damn. Why can’t this be a video game and we just pick up more ammo off the ground? Where the hell is this thin’ even goin’ anyway?
“Ah don’t know what it’s doin’, but we can’t just stand around and let it do whatever. Goose and Ah are gonna circle around and try ta break its mask the rest of the way now that it’s weak. Diamond, stay near, and the rest of y’all figure out what we still have and what might damage it. It absorbs magic as far as Ah can tell and it don’t really care too much fer blunt force either. If we can’t get through the mask with what we’ve got, then we’re kinda screwed”
“Nice confidence there Major, real inspiring,” Blur replied sarcastically.
“Talk ta me when ya figure out how ta fight this thin’.” Damn pessimist. Go be snarky when Ah don't need yer ass.
“Uh… guys? I think I figured out what it’s after,” Goose said.
“Mind sharing with the class?” Diamond asked.
“Well, it absorbed the lightning and got faster right?”
“Yeah. What’s yer point?”
“Isn’t there a big substation around this area?”
“Oh shit.” The rest of us said. Just as Goose finished, the sound of a thousand chirpin’ birds shot through the air and jagged bright blue-white streaks pierced the sky. Sachiel had made it ta its goal before we even figured out what it was doin’. The oozy creature was vibratin’ with blue sparks all along its now movin’ liquid skin, and with unsettlin’ speed, it turned back around ta face us. Mixed in with the whine and shriek of lightnin’ was a low metallic moan. Deep inside the mask’s eye holes two bright blue-white lights appeared and settled on us.
“Everypony, scatter!” In a mere second, the monster jumped from its position and landed right in front of us with a claw pulled back ready ta punch the hell out of its target. When Ah turned ta get out of the way myself, Ah saw the most unfortunate thin’ that coulda happened at that moment. Goose and Blur had made it away with Diamond and Target, but poor Centurio had gotten one of her wings crushed under some of the rubble from the monster’s landin’. Goddess damn it, this is gonna hurt if it doesn’t kill me. As quick as Ah could, Ah ran and destroyed the rubble underneath Centurio’s screamin’. With no other options, Ah punted her away hopin’ somepony would catch her. Ah felt the wind bein' pushed away behind me and Ah turned just in time ta see the shape the monster’s fist had taken. The pointed claw, the same one that had speared my friends in my dream, was meters away from me.
“TOKI WO TOMARE!”
“ZA WARUDO!”
When Ah blinked, Ah was on top of a buildin’ away from the monster and in Goose’s hooves. The stallion let out a breath in relief and turned ta me.
“Good goddess, that was close. Please don’t do that again. I don’t think I could live with it if I had to watch you die.” Ah stared at him dumbfounded fer a second before Ah shook myself out of it and got back ta the ground. Ah can’t believe Ah let that happen twice. Thank Goddess fer Diamond, this woulda ended up the same way without her.
“Guys, I have an idea!” Blur called out. The creature, clearly not bein’ the smartest thin’ around, had gotten itself stuck again. This time however, it was havin’ a much harder time removin’ itself from the ground.
“What is it? Did somepony catch Centurio?” Ah asked.
“I-I did. Her wing is s-shattered though… I-I’ve done what I can, b-but she passed out from the pain…” Target responded.
“Well wake her ass up, we need her for this!” Blur exclaimed.
“Need her for what darling? You haven’t told us what your plan is,” Diamond pointed out.
“Okay, so, you know how my knives have a real deadly poison in them? Well, as it turns out, that poison is magically concentrated acid. This shit will kill a pony in a few seconds, but the reason it does so is because it steals calcium out of the body. It might not melt a whole body, but it will turn bone to mush in a few seconds.”
“That’s great Blur, but how does it help?” Ah asked.
“I have six of these knives, and they each have about two ounces of acid in them. Less than that is enough to kill more than a score of ponies, and you said the white parts are all bone right? If that’s the case, then what do you think will happen if we stabbed it’s mask with one of the knives?” Nopony needed any more than that.
“Target, wake up Centurio, Blur, test the theory! If it works, we can do this! The mirror was just under its eyes in the center of its body! Come here and Ah’ll give ya a lift!” Target started ta dig through her medicine and Ah got in position ta throw a javelin. Not a second passed after Ah reached the bottom of my arc before Blur was on my hoof.
“Fire!” she yelled, and with everythin’ Ah could, Ah tossed her at the monster. Two knives extended, the blades both glowin’ a sickly green, she landed in the monster’s mask and slowly started ta carve out a hole in it. Sachiel took notice of his new occupant and finally managed ta rip himself out of the ground. Blur staggered and fell off the monster as it jumped back and started ta claw at its mask, the new wound steamin' as the acid ate away at it. The monster screeched another low hiss and began its assault.
“It don’t seem too happy about what ya did! Get out and fall back!” As fast as the monster was now, even Blur was havin’ a hard time avoidin’ its attacks. At one point, it looked like it was gonna bash her inta nothin’ and Ah made the choice ta intercept. Unlike it’s ankel, its fist was very much just as hard as it’s mask seems ta be. There was so much force in the punch that my forelegs almost gave out, but just as Ah was about ta lose it, the fist pulled back. What the? Is it… weaker? Come ta think of it, it was stuck the second time fer a while wasn’t it?
“Marevelous, I can see the mirror! Check the mask again!” Diamond reported. As quick as Ah could, Ah doubled back and bounded away from the monster, who was currently… shakin’ his fist in pain? Just like Diamond has said, the mirror was visible where the mask had melted off, but just underneath a layer of ooze.
“Target, take the shot!” Ah yelled. The black clad pegasus quickly dropped her medicines and picked up her rifle. Sachiel however, was too quick. The moment Target pulled her trigger, he raised his claw to cover the wound. The round put a crack in his fist and nohin’ more. It locked its eyes on Target, and now she was his target.
“Shit. Goose, get his attention! Blur, grab Centurio and fall back! Diamond, do ya have any more time left?” Goose and Ah jumped in and we both went after the mask, only ta be batted away like flies.
“I’ve got a few seconds with anypony other than myself. Do you have a plan?” Ah removed myself from the rubble of the once standin’ apartment floor and made my way back out ta see what had happened. Goose has warped ta avoid getting hit and was now playin’ the part of the mole in whack-a-mole with Sachiel, narrowly avoidin’ gettin’ smashed by warpin’ ever so slightly as he was attacked. Ah sighed and felt all the aches in my body. Goddess, am Ah gonna be sore tomorrow. Just one more push…
“Yeah Ah do. We need ta regroup and get set up just like we did with Knots. Target is gonna shoot one of Blur’s knives and Centurio is gonna protect it. If all of that fails, Goose and Ah will be right behind the knife ta smash the mirror. Everypony get that?”
“Y-yes, but Centurio hasn’t…” Target began.
“I’m up…” Centurio moaned.
“N-nevermind.”
“Good. Get in position! When Ah give the signal, cast the spell and fire!” While Goose was playin’ distraction, Ah snuck up from under the monster and tried ta aim at it’s mask. Just as quickly, the monster pulled its arm across its chest and got ready ta swat me away. Ah cued Goose, and he took hold of the monster’s other claw. Ah looked the monster in the eyes, and it looked at me. The game was won, and Ah couldn’t help but smile.
“TOKI” The monster’s claw at the edge of its arc.
“WO” The monster’s claw about ta collide with me.
“TOMARE!” The monster’s claw about ta launch me away, mirror exposed.
“ZA WARUDO!”
Color evaporated from the world and the remainin’ momentum from Sachiel’s arm faded as Ah fell ta the ground. The gunshot went off and echoed through the frozen time. A bright violet cone formed around the knife just as Goose and Ah made it just meters from the mirror. In a rush of wind and sound, the world was filled with color again. The bright violet cone zipped across the sky and inta the hole, piercing deep, but bein’ stopped just short. Goose and Ah launched, but the only part of Sachiel fast enough ta keep up with us were his eyes.
“This is our city, and nopony is gonna take it from us!” The magic filled my hooves, and in tandem, Goose and Ah struck the knife lodged just in front of the mirror. The blade continued on its path and deep inta the ground, along with shattered pieces of the monster’s whole torso. Sachiel fell, and as he did his form began ta change back inta what it had originally been. When all was said and done, there was a pony in front of us, missin’ a piece of his chest and coughin’ up blood. It was weak and quiet, but just as we came close enough, Sachiel spoke.
“My… congratulations… heroes… but, know this… I… am the… weakest…” He hacked once more in his puddle of blood, and then, he stopped movin’.
“Well. So much for that,” Goose said through a sigh. “I can’t believe we managed that. Are you okay?” Ah shrugged.
“Somehow. Ah doubt Ah won’t be bruised ta hell and back tomorrow though, provided nothin’ is broken. How is everypony else? Y’all okay back there?”
“I’m fine, I was only caught by some unfortunate debris in the beginning,” Diamond answered.
“I can’t feel my right side, and that is probably a good thing. All my feathers are broken, and I’m surprised my wing is still attached at all at this point,” Centurio said.
“N-no problems here,” Target responded.
“Also that,” Blur finished. Ah took a deep breath and let it out slowly. One down, but we’ve still got five more of these thin’s… The sound of static caught all of our attention. When we all turned toward the source, the big screen on a buildin’ completely untouched by Sachiel’s destruction lit up. As promised, the mask returned.
“Color me impressed, heroes. You may not have saved the structures of the city, but only one pony died here today, and none of them you.” Ah walked toward the screen and the mask seemed ta track me as Ah did. It was almost like he was lookin’ at me through it.
“Yeah yeah, yer damn monster destroyed thousands of homes and did millions of bits worth of property damage. What in the hell is it yer after? Why would ya make somethin’ so destructive? Do ya know how many ponies that thin’ coulda killed!?” Ah was yelin' at him, but it just made Persona laugh.
“I’ll answer one of those questions, as that was your promised reward, but for free, I will tell you that lives are simply part of the collateral. How many could Sachiel kill? Any number of ponies, especially those who didn’t expect him. And when the next of my kaiju come, they too will have the power to end lives in the blink of an eye. But that is for next week and the future ahead of us. For now, you may ask. One question; barring my identity or location. You have until twelve forty-five to decide.” A part of me was furious and wanted ta scream at him more. The stronger part of me said ta cool down and think.
“Son of a bitch. One minute ta figure it out. Y’all hear that?”
“Yeah.” Ah got back.
“Any ideas?”
“I don’t think I’m all the way here yet, but I think the schedule of the monsters arriving would be the first thing to ask. If he wants this to be like a game, and he’s clearly watching it, does he plan to do it at the same time every week?” Centurio said with a strange drunken canter ta her voice. Ah looked ta Goose, and after gettin’ a nod, Ah asked her question.
“When are these monsters gonna show up? And Ah mean at what time of what day will each monster show up?” The mask seemed ta bounce with excitement, and after a little more laughter from the strange, augmented voice, it tilted at me.
“Again, you impress me. You do not ask for yourselves, but for your city. You six are exemplary. When the clock strikes noon on the day the goddess rested, my kaiju will make their grand entrances, followed by an announcement from yours truly. I will proceed any battle and appear every time you win to answer one more question. Well done, heroes. Until we meet again~” Persona finished and the screen cut out with him. Ah gritted my teeth. Seven more days ta prepare and this starts all over again with a brand new monster. And we have no idea what’s comin’ next…