//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Scratchback // by FightorFlyT //------------------------------// Scratchback Written by FightorFlyT with support from FreelancerZENA …............................................................................. Chapter 1         I am never drinking again... Ever.         Those were my first thoughts as I woke up. How did I wake up, you might ask?         By feeling the wind whipping past my face as I free-fell from the freaking sky!         My first words?         “What the- WATCH OUT!!!-” KA-BOOOSH!         Priceless.         I didn't see who I crashed into until I, well, crashed into them. Pain wracked my skull, and I bounced off, shrieking as I did so.         When I stopped bouncing around, I just laid there. I could hear whispering around me.         “Do you think he's dead?”         “Where'd he come from?”         “Did you just see that?!”         I really, really didn't want to stand up. My head ached, my arms and legs felt like rubber, and I thought I was going to hurl. Probably the results of last night...         Wait. What happened last night, anyways? I was so wasted, I really couldn't remember much. There was a lot of dubstep, booze (of course), and then... Everything went black. Figures. That had been happening way too much recently.         Still, why had I been falling? And more importantly, why did I feel like I was laying on a warm pillow? A warm, fuzzy, soft-yet-firm pillow, mind you, but still! Slowly, I opened my eyes.         And found them locked to a set of cerise eyes. A set of angry cerise eyes. A set of angry cerise eyes that were glaring into the depths of my soul. And in the reflection of the angry cerise eyes that were glaring into the depths of my soul, I saw a surprised pony.         … Yep, I was drunk.         “So, you gonna get off of me anytime soon or are you just going to admire the sights?” An angry voice sounded from beneath the set of eyes. They sounded rather feminine, with quite a bite to them. I assumed they were associated with the eyes.         “Huh? Oh, sorry...” I muttered awkwardly, and tried to push myself up. Yeah, there's one thing about this situation I wasn't comfortable with... I was laying atop a girl who I'd never met before in my life. Being a broken-condom baby, I was a little sensitive to these types of situations.         I tried pushing myself up, only to find that my arms didn't want to move the way I wanted them to. I glanced back and them, and that's when it hit me.         I was DEFINITELY drunk.         My arms weren't mine. I mean, they were mine, but they weren't... oh, you know what I mean! They were shorter, stubbier, and ended in a stumpy end that just screamed to be called a hoof!         It was when this all clicked in that I suddenly found the ability to fling myself backwards and snap out my wings, landing on all four of my hooves.         Why? Cuz that's what I did- wait... WINGS?!         I spun and twirled, looking every bit as crazy as I felt. I swear I saw just about every patch of my body in detail that day.         I was an equine of some sort, a pony as it felt. I had a coat of deep electric blue, and my... mane, I guess... was a monotone dark gray with a few bright streaks of blazing orange in it. My wings were... well, wings. Not much more to describe about them. My tail was long but tapered sharply at the end, and I counted (one, two, three) three similar orange streaks in the dark gray hair.         I was, without a doubt, a pony.         'And would you look at that,' I thought to myself as I stretched out a hoof, 'I even have a light gray outline! Brilliant!' I continued studying myself over for what felt like hours, until I felt someone tap me on my shoulder.         Well, actually she punched me. I think she was aiming for my face, but me falling on her must have messed with her depth perception a little bit.         “What was that all about!!” The cerise-eyed mare screamed as she stumbled after me, gathering even more odd looks towards us. I now saw her coat was almost pure white, but it had a tinge of yellow to it... A shade of butter, perhaps? Her mane was obviously that of a DJ or similar, and was two shades of bright blue and an icier tone. Her tail had a similar, except longer, vibe to it.         While I was taking this all in, she had obviously taken the moment to regain her bearing, and I found myself at the receiving end of her two back hooves, neck pinned to a wall. She held me there, and it wasn't until she took a few steps back that I noticed she had a horn that was glowing a vivid pulse. I could only assume that force was what was holding me up, choking against a wall.         Huh, well what do you FREAKING know, I've pissed off a unicorn!         “I can- hnnng- explahn!” Geez, I barely was able to choke those words out!         She just continued glaring at me.         “Oh really?” she chortled.         “Yeah!” Or at least, that was what I was trying to say, but I think it only came out as a garbled wad of phlegm.         She leaned in closer, eye-to-eye with me. “Then stick it to me! What-”         -She poked my bare chest with a rather pointy hoof-         “Gives?”         I was in a bind. Why? Cuz I COULDN'T explain! WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED?! Twenty or so seconds ago, I woke up falling from the sky! No reason, no lead-up, just BOOM!         BOOM!         … I swear, that wasn't me.         Another BOOM racked through the night (hey, it WAS dark out!), shaking the world around us. I saw random ponies who must have been watching the scene unfolding before them dart away, and from far off I heard the tell-tale tinkling of breaking glass. Probably from a window, I assumed.         BOOM!         Again, we were jolted around. The unicorn's light cobalt magic slipped from around my neck and dissipated as she teetered backwards. I fell to the ground, the earth shaking beneath my hooves.         I looked around me, finally paying attention to where we were. I was on the sidewalk(trot?) of a narrow alleyway between what I could only assume were commercial buildings, probably leased as clubs or the like. As I turned around, taking in my surroundings, which I was just now noticing was a huge city, my back hoof nudged something that skittered behind me. I looked down to find a pair of deep violet-red glasses, which had huge lenses. Well, I guess they weren't really huge for a pony's face, they were probably just... large.         I picked them up clumsily in my hoof, having to try a couple of times (and with an earthquake happening, no doubt!) before I finally managed to lift them from the ground. They were light, and as I glanced through the glass I saw they weren't even polarized. They were simply for show, nothing more.         “Hey-” I heard the mare from seconds before call, probably to me. I spun to face her, propped up against a wall. “Those are- ahh!” She fell to the side as another huge tremor rolled out, knocking us both across the lane. Seriously, what gives?!         “Those are mine!” she yelled.         “Oh,” I responded rather casually, not really betraying how weirded out I was by the situation.         Suddenly, something big and dark crashed into the pavement a few... paces, away from us. Now, I might not be the brightest bulb out there (that's a lie, I'm a freaking genius when I feel like it), but even basic training had placed enough paranoia in me that when something crashes into the ground next to you, it's either:         A.) A mortar, so run;         B.) Something equally dangerous, still run; or         C.) A and B, run like Hell.         Naturally, I assumed the worst. I could see the flashing 'X' prompt in front of me, begging to be button-mashed. I gladly cooperated.         I leaped over to the strange mare and swung one of my front legs under her barrel. I still didn't know how to use this body well, so I kind of body-slammed her with my entire weight. Whoops.         “WHAT was that for?!” she screamed, but oddly enough she simply grabbed onto me as I jumped back onto my hooves, one holding her against my chest.         “Quiet,” I hissed. Aw yeah, I was zoned in.         I gathered my rear legs under me, and did something I assumed was very un-pony-ish: I ran. On two legs.         I am quite aware I probably looked like a retarded chicken as I raced down to street, but as I passed by numerous surprised and scared ponies I was pleased to see I was still faster than them, even with the added weight of... whoever this was. That's right, I'm fast. Tends to help when you've run from the po-po as often as I have.         I could feel the thing that had crashed by us chasing after me. Not good. If that thing was after me, then things would get very ugly. Why? Because I'm ME, fools.         I banked right, tucking into a clean roll and popping back running the opposite direction down a side alley, even more narrow than the last street. I heard the beast behind me crash into the wall, then continue the mad dash after me. I really didn't like the sound of that. Taking a brick wall like a boss was usually the first sign of dedication. Horseapples.         Wait, I thought as I jumped and twisted around litter and garbage cans dotting the lane, did I seriously just think Horseapples!? This place was already starting to mess with my mind- I should have thought of a colorfully vulgar word, not something so... colorfully un-vulgar. Totally weak.         A quick glance over my shoulder showed the creature gaining on me. Dang, that sucker was FAST!         “W-what's g-going-g on-n?!” I heard the unicorn cry out, face plastered to my hide.         “We have company,” I growled, then darted between two dumpsters, spinning into the connecting alley between them and slamming my free front hoof and one of my rear hooves into the sides of them and crashing them together as I swung backwards, clear of the SLAM of them crashing together.         … I could get used to suddenly being bad-ass enough to do that!         “I think we lost it... for now, at least,” I stated as I fell to my haunches, letting the mare go from my grasp. Surprisingly, she didn't even nudge, just hung on for dear life to me. “We stopped,” I alerted her. She groaned in relief and slumped down, hugging the ground like a long-lost friend.         “What was that thing, anyways...” I voiced. As if the cosmos were just waiting for me to say that, the dark shape shot over the dumpsters, crashing and rolling down the street between the mare and I. An audible snap could be heard when it hit the ground.         “OW!!!” It yelled, voice young and childish.         The unicorn was on her feet immediately, prepared to beat hoof. “Ah!” was her unique form of acknowledgment.         I was about to follow suit, but then something struck me. That thing had just cried out in what sounded like honest shock and pain. I looked at the form that had been tracking us.         It had a similar body shape to the mare, having a long skinny horn on it's head and having a generally pony-shaped body. However, it was immediately clear to me that this was no piny. It's coat was all black, and numerous holes seemed to be punched randomly in it. It's eyes were a glowing green, with no pupil. The fangs on this bug was short but sharp, and there were so many sharp angles on it that it looked almost like a ponified Decepticon, but in the flesh.         “That's a changeling!” the bright mare yelled out, already backing away. “This is bad! If there's one, that just means-”         “NO!” The changeling suddenly spoke up, it's face grimacing in pain. “It's just me!” I instantly likened it's voice to a young male.         “What? That's impossible! Changelings always travel in swarms!” unicorn mare spat. Dang, I really needed to learn her name.         “I swear, it's only me. For now, at least! If we hurry, it might stay that way!” he cried, struggling to get top his hooves. I instantly saw one of his hooves had snapped at a narrow part, right at the skinniest section of one of the punches. His back right hoof was useless.         “No way! I saw what you did at the Royal Wedding,” blue-mane said coldly. “I can't even think of helping something like you.”         “I wasn't a part of that! Which is why I need to get out of here now!”         “Why are you even here, anyways?” This time it was me who spoke up. I had no idea what their conversation had been about, but it seemed this unicorn had a beef with the... 'Changelings'. This guy, however, seemed to not follow suit with the other changelings, as evident by him trying to get away from them and wanting to leave before they arrived. But if he was trying to run away, then why...         “Why were you following us?” I asked him directly. He turned his pleading (I guess...) eyes on me.         “I saw you fall from the sky, and our queen had sudden interest in you. She spoke of the time arising, and then we set out after you. I traveled ahead of the others, but they'll be here soon!” Again, he struggled to get to his hooves, only to collapse from the effort.         “Why was she interested in me?” I asked, suddenly engaged with this creature. “What does she know?”         “I... uh- AH!” He suddenly screamed as a larger changling with blue eyes smashed into him. I instinctively flared my wings, but the unicorn mare surprised me. Her icy cobalt magic enveloped the new changeling and threw him against a nearby wall.         “Fine. You want to help him, then do it. Now. We need to move!” She turned to face the deep buzzing sound that had snuck up on us. I could only assume it was the changeling swarm.         I rose to my feet- er, hooves. “Brace yourself,” I warned the green-eyed changeling.         “T-thank you-” he began, but I interrupted him.         “After this, I want answers,” I said sternly. He nodded.         I slowly hefted him up, and tossed him across my back. I turned to the unicorn, and then it finally hit me.         “How're we going to get out of here?! I can't run with BOTH of you, I only have two hoofs-” I glanced at all four of my hooves-. “You know what I mean!” I cried.         She looked at me with a face of pure pity. “A pegasus who can't fly? Sad.” - - - - - - - - - -         Turns out, flying is a lot easier to do when it's just to spite somepony.         “Where do you want me to land?!” I called out as we passed by the last of the large complexes, soaring across a wide stream on the outskirts of the town. A sheer cliff-side was coming into view not far ahead.         “Up there!” the unicorn yelled back.         I swept my wings down and shot towards the sky. I was holding the unicorn under her front shoulders, her legs dangling beneath her. She gasped very loudly as we put on the altitude. The changeling on my back held on for dear life with his good hooves.         I barreled over the top of the bluff, and attempted to land on the grassy cliff top. Big mistake.         I think I might have been able to land if I wasn't carrying cargo. Heck, I probably would have landed good if I'd ever had practice before!         We crashed. Hard.         Three loud OOF!'s cried across the bluff as we all simultaneously ate dirt. Oddly enough, it didn't actually taste as bad as I'd thought it would. It still tasted like dirt, though. Rather... dirty.         “You really need to work on that,” the mare whined as she pulled herself up to her hooves.         “Yeah, I probably should...” I grunted, following suit. Glancing around, I saw we had an excellent view of the city, and there was a forest's edge behind us, not too far from the edge of the cliff. But it was the city itself that really took my breath away.         It looked like a swarm of gnats had dropped down on it. A thick cloud of darkness coursed throughout the streets, and I could hear sirens of public service teams being choked out through the sheer mass infesting the city. Crazy, right?         “I didn't even get to pull my rave...” the unicorn whined, again. Okay, this was getting ridiculous not having names for my two new travel buddies.         “Okay, this is getting ridiculous, not having names for you two.” What? I'm a verbal guy.         “I'm Vinyl Scratch,” Vinyl said while running a hoof through her thick, forward-blown mane, “but my stage name is DJ PON-3.” She pronounced it D-J Pon-three. I now noticed she had slipped her shades back on, probably nabbing them from me sometime in the past few minutes of insanity.         “Alright-”         “WOAH! Dude, What's that on your back?” Vinyl interrupted me, rushing to my side.         I arched an eyebrow, craning my neck to see what she was talking about. I cracked a grin when I saw what she had noticed.         I had a thick patch of icy blue fur, lighter than the bright patches of her hair, running down my spine. It started where my mane left off, and ended at the base of my wings. Cool!         “I would garner a guess that it's fur,” I said sarcastically. Honestly, though, it was pretty cool. It was actually kind of wolf-like, in truth. Nice.         “So, how about you?” I asked the changeling, turning my gaze to him. “You got a name?”         “Yes, I do, but-” he began. Vinyl Scratch cut him off.         “No 'but's. Tell us now.” Her voice was still cold with him. Oddly enough, I didn't sense any of that when she had addressed me. Must be a severe case of racism.         “Well, we changelings have names that may seem strange to you ponyfolk, so-”         “Don't care,” I quipped. “Just spill it.”         “... Fine,” he breathed giving in. “I'm referred to as... Contradiction.”         Vinyl Scratch and I stayed silent. Silence. More silence... A little bit more..... Just a tad-         “BWAHAHAHAHA!!!” Both of us fell backwards, bursting into laughter.         “What kind of name is that?!” Vinyl questioned as she rolled on the ground.         I don't know why, but it was just so funny! I just thought that he'd have had a more... well, a better name than that! I mean, seriously?! Contradiction?! What kind of name is THAT?!         “It's mine, actually,” Contradiction moped. I slowly stopped laughing, not finding it any less funnier but running out of breath. I love a good laugh.         “Ah, okay...” I inhaled deeply, re-inflating my lungs.         “So, you said you would explain stuff when we stopped. We stopped. Start explaining.”         Contradiction sighed. “Very well,” he said.         His horn lit up a bright green, and he levitated some rocks into a circle in the middle of us. Some sticks soon followed suit. A spark lit up, and we had a small fire going.         “Might as well make yourself comfortable, because we're going to be here for a while.”         “Is this really going to take THAT long to explain yourself?” Vinyl growled.         “No,” Contradiction replied, “but we need to stay put. As soon as the Royal Empire of Equestria is alerted as to what happened here, it would be best to be out of their way. I've seen what they do to citizens who just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. It's not pretty.” Sorrow gleamed in his eye momentarily.         “Okay,” I began. “First question, why is there a changeling swarm her in... in...” I glanced at Vinyl, who seemed to understand my confusion.         “Fillydelphia,” she assisted.         “Fillydelphia,” I repeated. Where the buck is that? No, where the buck was I?! Better yet, why was everything I thought being censored?! This place was weird. I blame booze.         “Our swarm was drifting. We just moved out of the badlands, and was following the east coast. We heard that there was a large storm over the city you called Baltimare, and storms hurt our feeding sources. SO we skipped around it and ended up here in Fillydelphia.”         “So you just... attacked?” I fished.         “No, actually,” he responded. “We were going to wait a few days, but then a huge anomaly occurred. A huge rift appeared over the town, and from that came, well...”         “Me,” I finished for him. Contradiction nodded.         “Speaking of which, where are you from anyways... uh...?” Vinyl asked, and I knew she was waiting for me to tell her my name. From what I could tell simply from their names, my name would have been too odd for the area. Plus (well, the main reason), I HATED my name.         I thought for a second, then remembered a nickname some of my drinking buddies called me when I went animal on a bottle of everclear. I glanced back at the patch of fur, adopting a fanged grin. I had the perfect name.         “Lycii,” I responded. Note: it's pronounced “Lie-psy”.         “Lycii?” Vinyl asked. “Weird name,” she commented.         “Yeah, I get that a lot,” I completely bull-chitted her (again with the censoring).         “And I'm not from around here,” I added. I made it a point to sound a little stubborn with that, like I wouldn't explain any further. I wouldn't.         “A-huh...” she thought aloud, and I know she was giving me the creeper-eye from beneath her shades.         “ANYWAYS,” I said loudly as I shifted the topic back to Contradiction, “that leads me to another thought. You said you were running from them, or something like that-”         “I never said I was running from them-” he tried to interrupt, but to no avail.         “SO, why? What made you want to get away from them?”         I stared him down, and he eventually gave in.         “Well... this is why.”         His horn sparked up, and a wave of green magic washed over him, starting at his horn and ending at his tail. I was now looking at a pale red unicorn stallion, complete with a mess of dark chestnut mane and tail. His eyes now looked normal, although the irises still glowed a menacing, sickly green.         “I don't get it,” I stated bluntly. Contradiction sighed again.         “It's more for metaphoric emphasis. I was socially cast out of my swarm for having sympathy for the ponies we feed on. My queen cursed me with this form, making it so my transformation abilities only allow me to shift to this.” He sighed again, sad. “I'm an outcast.         “But then, you fell from the sky! The queen, she showed interest in you, she seemed almost afraid of you! So I knew I had to find you, to take down my queen-”         “Wait, what?!” Vinyl suddenly yelled, surprised as a horse. Wait a second...         “You mean you want to STOP your queen?! Isn't that a bit treacherous, even for a changeling?” Jeez, she really needed to loosen up on this guy. I could feel for him, at least a little.         “Our swarm queen is heartless,” Contradiction explained, looking dejected. “She does not care if we run our hosts dry. She simply craves the power to grow strong enough to stand above all other swarm queens. I cannot sit by and allow that to happen.”         Contradiction met Vinyl's gaze. “I'm not the heartless beast she is. I never will be.”         Something clicked inside Vinyl right then. I think she finally got over her discrimination issues, or maybe she saw the truth in Contradiction's words. Whatever the case, I could feel the tension disappear from her. She might not have fully trusted the changeling yet, but she wasn't about to slit his throat in his sleep now, either. At least, I hoped not.         “So how do I play into all of this?” I asked Contradiction. “You said your queen was scared of me. Why?”         “Quite honestly,” Contradiction began, “... I have absolutely no idea.”         … Figures.         “But,” he continued, “I might, actually. You see, our queen is very sensitive to the power of those around her. She can feel when there is somepony very weak standing before her, or somepony much more powerful than her in her path. I think you may have fallen into that extreme.”         “So... I'm what, a God now?” I muttered aloud.         “To her, you just might be,” Contradiction said, surprising me.         “What?”         “She seemed very eager to find you. Coupled with her fear, you might just be powerful enough to defeat her-” His eyes suddenly lit up.         “Say, can you help me take her down?! If she is as afraid of you as I suspect, then you must be immensely powerful! You could end her tyranny!” He was very excited. A little too excited, actually. Especially for what I was about to tell him.         “Do I have to fight her to make her stop?” I asked, my voice wavering.         “Yes, and slay her.”         “Then no.”         Both Contradiction and Vinyl raised an eyebrow to this.         “But... why? Contradiction asked, his voice distraught.         “Well, it's just...” I started. Should I tell him? It would only make matters worse if I tried to lie about this... Fine. I took a deep breath.         “I don't fight. I can't fight.” I set my jaw. “I'm a pacifist.”         I waited for the draw of breaths, then the laughter that would ensue. I prepared myself for the jeers, the insults that would follow. I braced myself for the sucker punches I'd grown accustomed to. I readied myself for all of these, but I wasn't expecting what happened next.         “Ah. That's a shame.”         My eyebrows shot up so fast I thought they'd ripped off my head.         “Wait- you aren't mad? You don't find that stupid, so foolish, so-” Wait, he wasn't in the Air Force with me. All the responses I'd had to deal with weren't what I should expect from here. In fact, judging by his reaction, it sounded as though pacifism was a relatively common thing here.         “No, I should have seen this coming-”         Suddenly, a loud thunderclap cracked through the sky in the middle of the city. Contradiction laid flat against the ground, petrified.         “She's angry that she couldn't find you...” he whimpered. “I can feel her rage.”         I glanced at Vinyl, who stared sadly at Fillydelphia.         “Hey Contradiction, how long are they gonna be there for?” she asked.         “Depends. If the queen is intent on finding Lycii, then it could be weeks. If she simply feeds, then I would assume only a few days.”         “Is there something-” I began, but she interrupted me.         “Mix Beat is still down there,” she stated. “He works with me, he was setting up the equipment for our gig tonight wen... when...” she shuddered.         “If he is down there, then he is already lost,” Contradiction said solemnly.         “Excuse me?” I questioned suddenly.         “As I said, my queen is merciless. Once she finds a feeding ground, she drains it of all happiness and love. I'm afraid that anypony trapped down there will soon be a walking shell of the pony they once were.”         “No...” Vinyl whimpered. “NO!” she cried again, and I knew what she was about to do before she did it.         I leaped over at her and barely managed to catch her around her chest before she jumped down the cliff side, determined to charge in and find this guy. I may have barely known her, but she was one of the only two peopl- er, ponies, I knew here. I needed her.         “MIIIX!!!” she wailed, clawing at my leg. I held firm. “MIX!” she cried again, and I felt her go limp. Her body went limp.         I gently pulled her next ot the fire, and when I let go of her she curled up in a tight ball next to it.         I looked at her, then at Contradiction's tired face. We needed to rest.         “We'll discuss this more in the morning,” I told them. “For now, we sleep.”         Contradiction nodded and curled up where he lay, and I could hear his breathing deepen as he settled into a deep sleep almost instantly. Poor guy, he must have been exhausted from trying to outrun his own family.         I laid down next to Vinyl, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going on with her. Why was she still with me? She could have ditched me back when we first picked up Contradiction, but it had actually been her idea that we move on. Together. Did that mean I had somepony I could trust, even if only for a short time?         And speaking of trust, could I trust Contradiction? Sure, he seemed like a scared kid who'd been kicked out by his own kin, but it could have all been a ploy. He could be trying let us loosen our guard, then drain us to death in our sleeps as he planned to do.         No, I doubted he would do that. I could feel his sorrow. I could relate to having no family. He was where I had once been. That wasn't his aim, at leas that wasn't all of it.         Thinking like this wasn't going to help me sleep, I finally decided. I laid my head down on the ground and rolled onto my back, staring up at the stars. They were so mysterious.         I'd done this many times, gazed at the heavens in the night sky, but this time it was different. These weren't the stars I was familiar with. I couldn't pick out any constellations, I couldn't name any of the brighter stars, I couldn't feel comfortable with them. They were alien to me.         “I'm going back in tomorrow, whether you're with me or not.”         I turned my head to Vinyl, who had adopted a pose similar to mine.         “Excuse me?”         “I'm finding Mix Beat. I can't leave him there. I won't.”         I saw her grimace. “I couldn't live with myself if I left him there.”         I cracked a soft grin.         “Then we can head in before sunrise. Most of the changeling will probably be asleep then, so we can sneak in and sneak out without too much problem.”         Vinyl turned her head slightly to face me, lifting her shades to show me her eyes.         “Why do you want to help me,” she asked.         “Why are you still with me?” I asked in reply.         “Heh, touche,” she chuckled. “Guess I just need somepony next to me to convince me this is all real.”         Something made me guess she was referring to more than just the changeling swarm.         “So this Mix Beat, is he your...” I ventured on a guess.         “Coltfriend,” she finished. Assumption confirmed.         “Wow, rather open are we?” I joked.         “More like scared,” she admitted. “We aren't exactly the closest, really. I like him a lot, I do, but he's always been a little... I dunno, really. I just don't want to loose him.”         “You won't,” I assured her. “We'll find him, just you wait.”         “We better,” Vinyl responded, turning on her side and facing away from me. “And if we don't, I'm blaming you,” she added jokingly.         At least, I think it was jokingly.         I chuckled nervously to myself, then glanced back up at the stars. Today had been short, random, and strangely enough, nice. I'd learned to fly, I'd... well I'd... Huh, guess that's all I'd really done today. Well, besides meet Vinyl and Contradiction.         I closed my eyes, letting sleep take me.         Tomorrow was going to suck. Gut feeling. -END CHAPTER 1-