//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11: The Kidnapping. 
// Story: The Chronicles Of ARTIMUS: Book One 
// by AlkapwnZ 
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	Twister was glad to see his old friend again.
After six months of on-hoof travel and unfriendly encounters, it was a nice change of pace to sit down, and trade stories with Leo. Apparently, Leo had been visiting a family friend, and was using it as a cover to act as Twister's Appleloosa contact. After telling Leo his encounter with the Gorgons, the griffin laughed.
"Leave it to you to turn losing a wing into getting FOUR mares!" Twister shook his head. Leo was likely one of the most profane creatures he had ever met. "That's not what it's like, and you know it!" The griffin waved his talons dismissively. "Whateva. So, what brings you here to Appleloosa?"
Twister grinned. He was glad to see his friend again, but he didn't want to waste any more time on idle chit-chat. Now he can finally cut to the chase. "Look, these mares....they're innocent. They didn't know what they were getting themselves into, and they followed me into the everfree castle." Leo gave an exaggerated gasp, and he then said," So, you want me to make them disappear and return to them to their homes, without a hair on their pretty little heads touched?"
Twister nodded. "Exactly. Can you do it?" Leo scoffed, and replied with,"Twist, ya know me better than anypony else. HELL YES, I can do it. But it'll take awhile before I can take them back." Twister let out a frustrated growl. "I know I'm probably gonna hate myself for asking, but why is it going to take awhile?" Leo fiddled with his mane, and Twister knew this meant he was going to ask him to do something. "Well.....four ponyville mares and a griffin aren't the most discreet group in the world."
Twister raised an eyebrow. "Meaning...?" Leo grunted, and then replied with, "So I can't safely get ALL of them out at the same time. You'll need to watch some of them while a take one of them to the safehouse at a time." Twister banged his head on the table. Why couldn't anything be easy?
"I can't do that, Leo. My enemies are here, and it's not safe for any of them to be here right now. You have to get them all out." Leo sighed. "Twister, it's not that easy. You, of all ponies, should know that." Twister pulled himself up from the table to speak. "But they can't stay with me any longer! Their lives are at stake here!!" Leo sat down and raised an eyebrow at Twister.
"Are you sure it's that? Or are you worried about another Silver?" Twister's blood somehow managed to run cold and boil at the same time at this remark. After glaring at Leo for a few moments, Twister finally hissed, "THAT'S a low blow." Leo shrugged." Are you sure? I'm just saying, Twister, that.." "NO, Leo. Silver was the only mare I cared about, and that hasn't changed."
Leo raised both eyebrows, showing surprise in his feathered face. "Twister...Silver's gone. I miss her, too, but you can't waste your life on vengeance." Twister growled. "Silver was everything to me, Leo. You, out of anybody else in Equestria, should know that."
Leo looked hurt by this. "Twist, I-" Twister held up a hoof, interrupting the griffin. "This is my decision, Leo, like it or not. Just...just get them out of here." Leo looked at Twister, as if to examine his very soul. After a while, he said, "You saw Nightshade." Twister's blood simply boiled now.
"...yes. And you know what he'll do if he finds out about them, Leo." The griffin nodded, as if to understand Twister's true intentions now. "Alright. I'll do my best, Twister, but listen....when you find him, remember that there's power in forgiveness."
Twister jumped up, yelling at his friend now. "I'LL NEVER FORGIVE HIM!!! HOW CAN YOU EVEN THINK OF FORGIVING HIM, AFTER ALL HE DID TO US?!?!" Leo didn't even flinch at this sudden outburst. "I never said to forgive Nightshade." Twister fell back, realizing what Leo meant.
"J-just...just get them out, before-" Twister was cut off when his heart skipped a beat at a loud BANG that pounded into his ears, and his blood ran cold when he heard Fluttershy scream.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Twister ran out of the room, Leo close behind him. Twister found himself in the same wide hallway he had walked through to get to the room. He turned around a corner in the large corridor, and found himself back in the lobby of the building, where he had left the mares.
Twister saw that the mares were backing away from three bald colts in suits, and one of them wore a strange, silver contraption like a boot on his hoof. But judging from the way he was pointing it at the mares, it was something far worse than a metal shoe.
Twister looked down at the marble floor, and his blood ran cold when he saw the limp body of the cowcolt Leo had been speaking with. The colt simply lay there, his scarlet blood a disturbing contrast to the pale marble floors. Twister scowled at the suited colts, and the fear in Fluttershy's eyes told him all he needed to know.
"Mr. Do. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." The colt in the middle spoke with an eerie, monotone speech pattern that sent chills up Twister's spine. Twister had the impression they were out for blood.
"What do you want?" Twister glanced at the mares with a look that said Let me handle this. Twilight stared at the colts, frozen with shock, as if she couldn't believe what just happened, Rainbow's muscles tensed up as if she was going pounce on the suited colts, and Twister swore he could see tears forming in the corner of Applejack's eyes.
The suited colt lowered his hoof, using the metal weapon as a boot, like it appeared to be. "We simply wish to take you to our employers. Our company requires your services."  Twister stared daggers into them. "I only serve myself." Twister knew this sounded selfish, but it was true; he was searching for The Artimus and the Key Shards on his own accord. He wasn't doing it because it was Daring's final wish, but because it was his final purpose.
"We are willing to use force to get you to cooperate, Mr. Do. Do not make the same mistake as Mr. Braeburn." The suited colt tipped his head to the limp cowcolt, and Twister realized upon looking back at him that...what was he called? Braeburn? He saw that Braeburn was still breathing, but his breaths were frighteningly shallow.
Twister looked back up at the colts, giving them his usual defiant glare. "Alright then." Twister sat on his rump, stretching his hooves into the air as if he was surrendering. The colt grinned, his first sign of any emotion, and he gestured to his companions as they approached. Twister tensed his wing, waiting for when they got close enough.....
As if on cue, Leo soared across the room, over Twister's head, and before he could react, Leo had tackled and pinned the colt with the silver weapon. Taking the chance, Twister struck out at one colt with his wing, knocking him aside, and then tackled the second. He struggled, but Twister had him firmly pinned down. Twister lifted one of his hooves and twisted the colt's neck, without mercy.
Twister grimaced, and as he turned around, the other colt he had been fighting struck him in the head with that metal weapon. HARD. Stumbling back, Twister blinked the stars out of his eyes, fighting to keep his footing. Shaking his head, Twister's vision returned as he leapt at the colt.
The colt dodged Twister, and before he could react, he bludgeoned him with the metal-boot-weapon again. Twister fell to his knees, fighting to remain conscious. Those blows to his head HURT. Growling, Twister spung around before he was ready and fell over.
Scrambling back onto his hooves, Twister let out a short, frustrated growl at his sudden double-vision. The colt he had been fighting had lost interest in him, and was approaching the mares, his metal weapon pointed at them. Why don't they DO something?! Twister leaped at the colt, hoping to surprise him.
He didn't even get close when the colt spun around, and Twister heard that same loud bang he heard from the other room. Screaming, Twister fell back to the floor, feeling a near-invisible projectile pierce a hole through his wing.
With his vision clouded, and his ears deafened from the bang, Twister didn't know what to do. His wing was badly injured, and he could see his own blood pooling around him. Fighting back onto his hooves, Twister tried to blink the blurriness away, dragging himself back towards the colt.
Twister collapsed; he couldn't move. Struggling to remain conscious, Twister saw the corpse of the colt he had killed, and realized he had a silver weapon in his jacket, halfway pulled out. Dragging himself towards the corpse, he bared his teeth and tried to ignore the pain in his wing.
Only a few feet away from the dead colt, Twister turned his head and could barely make out through his blurred vision that the colt with the weapon had grip on Fluttershy. At least, he thought it was Fluttershy. None of the others had a pink mane, so it was the only logical assumption.
Twister kept dragging himself towards the colt, and finally grabbed the silver weapon. Strapping it onto his right hoof like a boot, Twister could barely feel a trigger within it. Pointing it at the colt, Twister tried to blink away the blurriness. He was finding it harder and harder to make out who was who in his watery range of vision.
Twister couldn't gamble their lives on this. He couldn't fire until he was sure of his surroundings. As Twister shook his head to clear his vision, he noticed his hearing was slowly coming back, as he could start to hear the mares voices more clearly. Using the colt's corpse as support, Twister lifted himself onto his rump, still trying to blink away the blurriness.
Twister's vision cleared up more, and finally, he was able to see clearly. The colt had a grip on Fluttershy, like he had assumed, and was using her as a pony shield. He was pointing the weapon at Leo and the mares, forcing them to stay back, and Twister lifted his own weapon to fire.
The colt suddenly whipped his head around to face Twister. He aimed the silver contraption at Fluttershy's head, and he spoke with that same, creepy monotone speech pattern. "Mr. Do. We wish to have the next Key Shard to come into our possession. If you wish to see this mare alive again," He pressed the contraption on Fluttershy's tear-ridden cheek. "You'll bring us the next Key Shard to us in three days time. Good day."
Suddenly, the suited colt and Fluttershy disappeared in a flash of blue light. Twister threw off his weapon, yelling in anger and frustration. Dammit, Twister! Why didn't you see this coming?! Twister forced himself to calm down; the cowcolt was still injured, and the mares were panicking.
Taking a deep breath, Twister ran towards the limp body of Braeburn, and he had a better look at his injuries; the cowcolt had been hit full on the chest by watever the hell that weapon hit him with. The injuries were pretty serious; Braeburn could die if he didn't act NOW!
"Leo! Go get help!" Twister shouted over his shoulder to his friend, and the griffin followed his orders. Twister gestured to Twilight, and the lavender unicorn ran to him. "Twi, I need you to use your magic to try and help him. Ease the pain, or better yet, fix his injuries. Anything within your power that can help would be appreciated!" Twilight nodded, and she bent over the injured cowcolt as her horn gained it's purple hue.
Applejack suddenly ran to Twister, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Why could'nja stop 'em?! Why could'nja have DONE somethin' to keep 'em from gettin' Fluttershy?!" The cowfilly was panicking, and Twister knew he had to calm her.
"He'll be fine, and we'll get Fluttershy back, but I need you to calm down! I have to focus!" Twister turned to Rainbow Dash. "See if you can find Fluttershy and that colt! They could'v been using smoke and mirrors, for all we know!" The cyan pegasus nodded, still shocked by what had just happened, and flew through the doors and out of the building.
Twister took several deep breaths while he waited for Twilight's report on Braeburn; he needed to stay calm, for AJ's sake. The lavender unicorn pulled herself away from Braeburn and turned to Twister. The grim look on her face told him he wasn't going to like what he was going to hear.
"He's alive, but barely. Whatever that colt used on him, it must'v been powerful. Especially if one shot is enough to put him in critical condition." Twister took another breath to calm himself. "Can you help him?" Twilight gave him a brisk nod. "I can, but..." "JUST DO IT!!" Twister hadn't meant to yell at the unicorn, but he was panicking himself. He was failing to hide it, and Twilight quickly returned to Braeburn after his outburst.
Applejack had come to Braeburn's side, and she was fighting her tears back to talk to the cowcolt. "Don'cha worry; Twilight...Twi'll fix ya up real good, yeh'll see! Ya'll gonna be fine!" Twister lowered his head. Applejack sounded like she was trying to convince herself, rather than Braeburn. Just like I did.... Twister shook himself back to reality. He couldn't think about Silver right now; he had to focus on the present!
The doors burst open, and Leo returned with the Appleloosa paramedics. Twister stepped aside, letting the ponies do their job. Twilight moved away from Braeburn's limp body, and she pulled Applejack away so that the paramedics could do their job. AJ was crying on Twilight's shoulder, and Twister ran to Leo amidst the chaos. 
"Go help Rainbow Dash find that colt! I want to make sure he didn't just run outside, rather than use magic!" Leo nodded, and he turned to leave, but quickly turned back to Twister. "Rainbow Dash is the one with the rainbow mane, right?" Twister let out a frustrated growl. "NO SHIT!!! JUST DO IT!!" Leo backed away, surprised by Twister's outburst, and flew off to find the cyan pegasus.
"W-what do we do now?" Twister was surprised by Twilight's sudden appearance. She was still trying to comfort AJ, but she had a look of uncertainty of her own. Twister sighed and pulled off his hat. "I.....don't know." Twister admitted. He didn't have a Key Shard on him, and Fluttershy's life depended on it.
Twilight briefly left Applejack and moved to Twister. "Your wing.." Twister pushed the unicorn back. "I'm fine." Twister lied. His wing hurt like hell, but the fact that Fluttershy had just been kidnapped had made him forget. Until Twi had reminded him of it.
Twister suddenly fell to his knees, the fatique from his battle getting the better of him. Twilight quickly lit up her horn, leaning to Twister's wing to repair the gruesome hole, but he pushed her away. "Not now." Twilight looked like she was going to protest, but shut her mouth when she decided against it.
Twister put his hat back on, and he glanced back at the silver weapon he had recovered from the dead colt. Twister pulled himself up and limped towards it. Twister noticed Twilight flinching everytime he groaned, but stopped when she returned to comforting her friend. Twister looked away and trained his eyes on the weapon.
Twister finally reached it, and strapped the mettalic weapon onto his right hoof again. Twister turned back to the mares, finally deciding exactly what he was going to have to do.
"They want a Key Shard. We're gonna give it to 'em."

--Sorry for short chapter, guys! Got some bad news....School is restarting for me, so because of homework and everything, my chapters won't be published as frequently as I'd like to. Instead of the usual every 3-5 days, chapters will take every 7 days. At the end of each week, I PROMISE I'll have a new chapter up! Sorry. :( --