//------------------------------// // Episode 18: Return Of A Old Foe! The Water Bender; Aqua! // Story: Life of a Wanted Changeling Season 3: Tyrants, Terrorists, and Tiaras, Oh My! // by Down with Chrysalis //------------------------------// Wait until they've pummeled each other, then take them both out. BrownDog's Comment You sit back for a bit and watch to see what she does. She twirls the whip and is about to throw it, but then Braze’s ear twitches. As she throws it, he hops back and the whip strikes the cauldron. As he looks around angrily at the darkness, she slingshots her way towards him using her whip doing a stylized flip in midair. “What is the meaning of this? Do you want me to get pissed?!” “Braze the Shaman! You are wanted for crimes against Equestria, and you are coming with me!” she declares. “Oh is that so? Well how about no?!” he shouts as he sends out a wave of magical flame at her to which she puts up a water shield. “Sorry Bucko, but you’re worth a pretty penny, and mama needs some new shoes,” she chuckles as she sends out an ice blast at him, to which he dodges and sends out a flame wall. “Gotta say, the posters didn’t say anything about you being a Fire Bender,” “You Benders and your narrow view, Fire is but one magic a shaman can do!” he cries out as he throws out a puff of dust, which swirls around her, creating illusions to which she strikes out at. “Oh Gee, smoke monsters, how scary. What is this Lost?” she deadpans as she whips away the illusions, only to be blind sided by Braze as he charges into her and whacks her upside the head with his Shaman Stick. “Do not get sassy with me mare, or to your guts I will rip and tear!” he threatens. She rolls up from the ground and from her water pouches, she wraps water tendrils around her arms and charges at the Zebra. They start brawling and fighting, dodging each other’s attacks while you watch. “Dang, this is a pretty cool fight,” you comment. Indeed, perhaps you should wait till one of them knocks the other out, and swoop in and overtake the weakened victor? “That’s a pretty good plan, I mean I’m sure…umm…what was her name again?” I believe it was Aqua if I remember correctly. “Yeah her, I’m sure she can beat this guy no pro-“ Suddenly, Braze gets the upper hand and strikes her across the horn, causing her magic to sputter, he then throws a clay like substance from one of his bags over her horn, making her not be able to do magic. “Oh come on!” you snarl. “You put up a good fight my friend, but sadly for you, this is the end…” he says as he stalks towards her, fire in one of his hooves. As Aqua tries desperately to get the substance off her horn, she is backed into a corner…and your eyes glow. “Luna Damned Conscience!” you snarl as you rush forth. “The laws of ponies do not affect me, for I am-“ “Interupting Rhyme!” you yell as you Falcon Punch Braze in the side of the face, cutting him off and sending him crashing into his camp. He dizzily looks around as he mutters out, “mushroom…nacho…Free!” and collapses after finishing his rhyme. “Dang, that’s dedication,” you mutter. “Wh-who are you?” comes Aqua’s voice. You turn and look at her. “I’m the Crimson Vengeance Water Bender,” you growl out in your distorted voice. “And that Zebra is my bounty. Sorry you couldn’t handle him,” you smirk before turning around. “WHAT?! No Way! He’s my bounty!” she shouts as she runs in front of you. “I’m the one who just fought him tooth and nail. You can’t just show up and take him after getting one lucky Sucker Punch on him you toothed masked red weirdo!” “I can and I will. Let’s just say it’s payment for saving your life,” you say. “Oh BullSpit! You can’t do this!” “Um, yeah I can, you’re beaten, bruised, and you can’t use your magic…and I’m not,” you chuckle at her as you push her to the side. “So be a good little filly and…” You suddenly hear a loud cracking noise. You look back and see ice around the clay on her horn before it suddenly bursts. She then glares right at you. “…Run along?” you whimper out. “Buck that noise!” she yells as she sends out a water whip which strikes you in the face, sending you flying backwards. As you sit back up, you see her advancing towards you. Perhaps you shouldn’t have gloated so much, Selena suggests. “Yeah…probably shouldn’t have done that.” Kersey's Comment Thinking quickly you jump over to the semi-conscious zebra and hold his body up as a shield. As Aqua attacks you (or rather the zebra your using as a shield) you can't help but scream, "This is my meat shield! There are many like it but this one is mine!" MEANWHILE AT PONYVILLE "Huh..." We see Rarity currently working on a new dress. But she has stopped halfway through it with a strange look adorning her face. She looks over to her cat as she says, "I don't know why Opal, but for some reason I feel extremely jealous for some reason. As if a position I was holding was given to someone else." Opal just ignores her master as she continues to sleep. BACK WITH YOU You've had to stop using the zebra as a meat shield after you heard some cracking coming from his body. Now you're just dodging Aqua's water whips. You've tried to think of someway to get her to stop attacking you without attacking back, but so far you've drawn a blank. As you dodge yet another water whip, you can't help but think, Come on bug brain, think! What can I do to stop her from trying to kill me while still getting me the bounty?! ...*ding* I know! With a new plan in mind, you stop dodging and turn around to face Aqua as you say... DO A ABARRLE ROLL "DO A BARREL ROLL!!!" while pointing directly at her. She stops attacking as a very confused look comes over her face. "Huh? Why? What purpose would that serve?" she asks as she brings her whip back for another strike. "Wait, that's not what I was going to say, stupid video game addled mind, What I meant to say was..." Kropsling's Comment "Dibs" Aqua stops her water whip mid swing as she gains yet another confused look and asks, "What?" You smirk slightly at your plan as you point to the slowly getting up zebra (how he's not completely unconscious yet you have no clue) as you say, "Dibs. I just called dibs on the zebra's bounty. Argo, the my bounty is now mine." Aqua gains a annoyed tick-mark as she says, "No it isn't! I found him first and I was the one who weakened him, so that makes his bounty mine!" You make a 'tisk tisk' sound while shaking your head as you tell Aqua, "Yeah but you didn't call dibs on him. While I, on the other hoof, did call dibs on him. So why don't you be a good mare and get away form bounty, sea pony." "Don't call me sea pony," Aqua replies, "Also you can't call dibs on him. You can only call dibs on something you touch and since you are not touching him you can't call dibs on the bounty." "Oh well in that case," you say before you walk over to where Braze is supposed to be. However you are in for a shock, for he is not there! You look around in a panic as you ask, "Hey where did he go!? He should have been knocked out from all those hits he took, there's no way he could have gotten up and left!" "Looking for something?" You turn around towards Aqua when she says that, and you see that she has the (once again) knocked out zebra in one of her water whips. She grins at you slyly before she pulls the zebra over to her and then places a hoof on him as she says, "Dibs stranger, better luck next time." You gain a annoyed tick-mark as you think, She did that just to mock me didn't she? No, really? I thought she said that because she likes to repeat everything you've said in a condescending manner Selena snarks. Not now Selena! With that thought you glare at Aqua and are about to charge at her...when her whip around the bounty suddenly drops him and lashes out at you. Your eyes widen in surprise and you don't have enough time to react as you are slapped across the face and into a nearby tree. You groan in pain and slowly get up. You turn back over to Aqua and are about to yell at her, when you notice that she is running off...with the bounty in her water whip! Your eyes widen in surprise, which soon turns to anger as you begin to chase after her while yelling, "HEY! GET BACK HERE WITH MY BOUNTY YOU STUPID SEA PONY!" ONE CHASE SCENE LATER After a few minutes of hitting tree branches, tripping over stumps and rocks, and one rabid chipmunk attack, you finally managed to catch up to Aqua and the bounty in front of a river. You glare daggers at the smirking Aqua as you say breathlessly, "The minute...I catch my breath...and nurse a few bruises and bites...I'm so going...to kick your flank into next week!" Aqua just smirks at this as she drops the zebra before saying, "Oh really now, then I guess I'll just have to make sure you don't catch your breath!" With that said Aqua... Kersey's Comment Summons and huge amount of water from the river behind her and starts to shoot it all at you! Your eyes widen in fear as you swear you hear her shout "Hydro Cannon" over the noise of the rushing water. Knowing you don't stand a chance if you dodge it, you relay on a old skill you haven't used in a long time...your Force Shield. You call upon as munch magic as you can and form a bluish-greenish shield around your body to protect you from the attack. As soon as the attack hits you slide a good few feet away as the pressure from the water pushes you. You start to see a few crack begin to form in your shield, and soon you are overpowered as your shield breaks and you get hit with the full force of the water attack. You slam through a few tress before getting embedded into a rock. You can feel yourself getting pushed into the rock from the waters force, but lucky the water finally stops and you fall to the ground in pain. You can't help but groan in slight agony, but you push it aside as you've felt worse. As you slowly get up you notice Aqua walking over to you with a water whip at the ready. You start to panic at this as you blurt out, The Pony Spartan's Comment "Wait!" This surprisingly makes Aqua stop her attack. "What? It's too late to beg for mercy." "Trust me when I say this. You don't want to see me when I get serious." Aqua rolls her eyes at this as she says, "Hmph, I'll know when I regret things." You chuckle slightly at this before you say, "I remember the last time you regretted something. The look on your face was hilarious... well, other than the fact that-" "What do you mean? Never have I regretted making a decision." She interrupts. "That's not what I saw, You Crimson Knight Cultist..." Aqua gains a furious look as she shouts, "I AM NOT CRIMSON KNIGHT!!!" "No? Could've fooled me. Being Buddy Buddy with their founder, helping to blow up Fillydelphia..." "It was just a JOB!!!" she shouts. "I didn't know all that was going to happen! I just got paid to protect a guy and..." "Like you didn't enjoy it! You only bailed when your arm got broken and knew you couldn't win!" you shout back, your own anger mixing in from the memories. "You don't know anything about me! I don't even know you!" "Oh really? Well surprise surprise, I'm the Ho-" Bugze! What? How foolish can you be? About to reveal yourself blatantly like that? Don't you want to see her reaction While I do love to frighten those I despise, she is an exception. Since she can RAT US OUT! Uhh... Exactly. One word from her and your bounty hunter disguise is utterly useless. "Are we still fighting? Don't think stalling will save you. I want my bounty!" Aqua asks. You finally stand up as you say dumbly, "Yeah, just a second." Aqua gains an annoyed tick and says something, but you ignore her as you ask Selena, Well, how do you think I can beat her? We are pretty much beaten or at the very least even! She's got a whole river to use! I-I'll think of something. I'm not perfect you, idiot! Okay.... but if things get any worse I'm pulling out our specialty. Alright. With that quick discussion over with, you quickly charge at a surprised Aqua and attack her. She throws up her arms, but you grab them in your own and engage in test of strength. As the two of you are locked in battle, you hear an intense whisper in your head... BrownDog's Comment “Die…Die…Die…” the whisper says fiercely. You don’t realize it at first, but the words start coming out of your own mouth as your pupils suddenly gain a green glow. But Aqua does take notice of this, and she begins to eye you wearily, "Die? Who the buck are you to say that?! You bucking Psycho!" she screams as she courses water over your legs and pushes you back into a tree. "Ugh..." you moan getting up from that hit, "What are you...?" "You are not going to Kill me nutjob!" she screams as she ups her attacks and sends out a two whips at once at you. One of her attacks manages to hit you pretty good and you let out a pained scream. And to your horror you see Nightshade pop out of The Inventory in worry as she asks you, "Daddy! Are you okay!? I heard you scr-*whip*" Nightshade's sentence is cut off as, to your and Selena's horror, one of Aqua's whips hit her in the side enough to hit her out of The Inventory. “OW!” she screams holding her side as she holds where she is hit. “What the actual Buck?!” she yells in anger towards the startled Aqua. “NIGHTSHADE!!!”you and Selena yell out. “What the…Why is there a kid in your bags?!” Aqua shouts surprised and shocked by what just happened as her water whips unform. "That's my room you dingbat!" Nightshade snarls as she stands up clenching her teeth at Aqua. “Oh my gosh kid, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to…” she starts to say before her eyes widen in fear. Nightshade looks behind herself at you, and her anger turns to worry. "Oh no..." "Wh-what is that?" Aqua whimpers. "YOU HURT MY CHILD!" you roar out as your cloak begins to form, and your eyes blaze orange. “N-No Daddy! I’m fine! Don’t!” Nightshade screams, but it’s too late as you rush forth in your anger. Aqua barley manages to dodge out of the way of one of your tails slamming into where she used to be. "N-No! It can't be!" she shouts as you lash out again. "It's not possible!" she says as she dodges another tail while you roar. "Daddy Wait!" Nightshade cries out as she is left behind in the chaos. This goes on for awhile of her dodging, and as it does you can see the fear slowly raising in Aqua's eyes as she gets better glimpses of you. She eventually slingshots her way out of your grasp using her water bending, and finally takes in your full form in the moonlight. The Pony Spartan's Comment "Y-...You!" She looks at your nightmare tails. "Those tails." She stares at your glowing orange eyes. "Those eyes...please Celestia no..." she whimpers as she backs up further from you. You smirk at her fear. "Subtlety is over. As I was trying to say earlier, surprise surprise, I'm the Hooded Offender! We meet again," You pause dramatically. "...Aqua!" You can only think that she's getting flashbacks of your past fight, how you turned the tables and defeated all four element benders. How you broke her bones. "No... No! I-I'm not ready to fight you yet...not yet..." she squeaks. "Like I said before, you don't want to see me when I get serious. AND YOU MADE THE MISTAKE OF HITTING MY DAUGHTER!" She takes a step back. "Not yet... Not yet!" she whimpers "What do you mean "not yet"? You can never defeat me." I think you broke her. Selena states. Good, cause there's a lot more pain coming for her! Agreed With that thought you charge at Aqua with pure rage! Kersey's Comment Kichi's Comment Even though Aqua is clearly backing away in fear, you and Selena are not only pissed at how Aqua was basically owning your flank earlier, but now she made the suicidal mistake of harming your baby. Aqua attempts to waterbend as she backs up and you lunge forward, but a small crystal juts out of the ground just behind her back hoof causing her to stumble which gives you the opportunity to lash your single Nightmare Tail forward, grab Aqua in a crushing grip, and start violently smashing her into every tree and large rock in the area. "YOU *smash* NEVER *smash* EVER *smash* EVER *smash* EVER *smash* HARM *smash* MY *smash* BABY!!! *CRACK*" the both of you shout. As you get a little more lost in this frenzy and start smashing the mercenary harder and faster into more trees you unconsciously hear a dark familiar voice say, Drown the rat...lose yourself... You smile and bring the battered mercenary in front of your face. She looks at you in pain and fear at your Glowing orange eyes and green pupils. "Sea ponies don't deserve to be on land...let's send you home..." you maliciously say as you wrap your tail tightly around her horn, to which she cries out at. Chuckling at her pain, you dunk her into the river, pushing her down against the bottom. Unable to use bending, she flails around trying to get loose, but to no avail. "Die...Die...Die...DIE!!!" you start chanting complying with this dark urge, as she starts moving less and the bubbles start to cease when, "DADDY STOP IT!!!" Suddenly a flaming hoof hits you in the side and knocks you over. Your vision swimming a bit, you shake your head. "Wh...what hit me? What was I doing? I was trying to..." you say as you look around before you gasp at what you see. You see Nightshade dragging a limp Aqua back onto shore. Seeing her not moving and so badly battered causes you to snap out of it in horror, "No... Not again..." Oh me, what have you- we done? Nightshade is crying slightly as she shakes the mare. "Come on Gorramit! Breathe Lady! BREATHE!!!" she screams as she hits the mare in the stomach. Water shoots out of Aqua's mouth as her eyes open and she starts retching and gasping for air. A sense of relief passes over you, Selena and Nightshade. "That's it, that's it Lady, you're going to be alright..." Nightshade says as she holds Aqua's head. "Sh-She's alive..." you sigh. Selena lets out a sigh as well before asking, Bugze...what happened? I-I don't know...I've never lost it this quickly. W-we were chanting die... We were...but why were we...oh...Oh you filthy retch! Selena suddenly yells. What, what is it? you ask. Suddenly you hear a male voice screaming in pain. AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! You do not influence me or my bug you filth! she screams. You are not going to jail me forever whorse! Just watch me! Nooooooo.... Sombra's voice fades. What happened? What did Sombra do? you ask. That son of a b!&$# tried to usurp us that's what! she snarls. He did what?! you think, your anger coming back, But how? I thought that he was- "DAAAAADDYY!!! you are interrupted. You look over and see Nightshade standing in front of Aqua looking at you in rage, her eyes glowing white. "You promised!" she yells, "You promised me you wouldn't become that monster, I told you I didn't want you hurting ponies because of m-" "NOT NOW NIGHTSHADE!" you bark at the filly causing her to recoil, "I know what I promised, but I can't afford even the slightest risk of losing you! My number one and only priority is keeping you alive and I will burn down half of Equestria to keep you safe regardless of what I promised!" you yell. Bugze... Nightshade's eyes begin to water as her eyes unglow, but she still looks at you in determination. "You...promised..." she whimpers out as she shakes. Seeing Nightshade looking at you in horror with teary eyes causes you to calm down out of guilt. "Oh...Nigthshade..." you say as you put your head down in shame. "I'm sorry baby..." you say as you reach out for her. She shudders at first, but then lets you hug her. "I'm sorry baby...I'm so sorry..." "You...promised..." she whimpers back. *sigh* I know. I didn't mean to honey... I'm sorry I yelled at you. Look... Sweetie, Daddy's got A LOT to deal with right now. You're my baby girl and I and your mother love you very much. But that's why we get so violent when you're in danger. Just go back to your room, watch some movies, and stay out of trouble..." She pushes out of the hug and looks at you crossly, still standing between you and Aqua. "You're not going to hurt her anymore?" With another sigh you can't help but say, The Pony Spartan's Comment "Listen Nightshade... You... don't know that mare. I-I do..." "Who is she? Is she friends with the deadly six?!" Nightshade asks. "No, she's... a past enemy. Someone I fought while you were with the deadly six as B.S.T's daughter." "Oh..." You sigh again. "I'm sorry for hurting her." If she knew the truth she would probably understand. Our daughter is kind-hearted. She would even defend an angered Luna about to send her to the... gallows. You can't help but sigh knowing that what she is saying is the truth before you say to Nightshade, "She's dangerous Nightshade, but... I PROMISE I won't hurt her anymore. Just please don't get out of The Inventory until I say so. I don't want you getting hurt." "...Okay," she says as she starts walking towards you. She stops before she enters though and says, "I don't care what the situation is Daddy, you better keep your promises to me...or I might have to break some of my own..." With that said Nightshade climbs back into The Inventory, leaving you with a damaged Aqua and a knocked out zebra shaman. "*Sigh* great, now I've gone and gotten her all huffy at me." I for one do not blame her after what you said. "I didn't mean for it to come out like that, I was angry..." you protest. It matters not. Bugze, don't you ever, EVER yell at her like that again...do you understand me? Selena threatens in slow venomous voice "Y-yeah...I understand..." you whimper out. After that there is but a bit of awkward silence, so you break it. "So *cough* what was the deal with Sombra?" Kersey's Comment Well, it seems that worm managed to get some influence through his cage when we were...angered... Well I figured that much, but how exactly? It seems that losing control emotionally...can weaken his prison. Enough for influence. I shudder to think what would happen should he escape. Well dang, the first moment he's awake, and we don't get to try out his rehab yet. I still don't like that plan...but no, he's being punished for his little stint until he can learn that HE is the prisoner and that WE give the orders. Yeah...so what'd you do to him? I sent him to a room within the Subconscious, there he is having to deal with one of your worst experiences ever. Nooooo! Not even my icy dungeons are this horrid!!!. And what is that? you ask hearing the distant voice. Watching the live action adaptation of The Last SpellBender she smirks. "Oh Dear Sweet Luna!" you shout in fear. Ha ha, she chuckles. But on a more serious note, this recent breach shows that even when I'm back, there are still perils to using the cloak. Yeah...dang it, why does the easy button always come with a catch? You two do decide to show more restraint and rely more on your moves (Shoryuken, Falcon Punch, Psycho Crusher, and No Shadow Kick), Power Glove (setting targets on fire with "Incinerate!", shooting lightning with "Electro Bolt", freezing targets, unleashing a small hive of bees, and helplessly suspending targets in air with "Bucking Bronco"), and Boomstick in the future. Above all else, we should avoid losing ourselves to anger...wow, can't believe I just said that... I know...but it's too dang hard. Every time someone so much as sneezes in Nightshade's direction, I get mad. Hmm...then perhaps then we should only use the cloak for 2 reasons. 1 as a last ditch effort should our lives absolutely rely upon it...and 2 if Nightshade is in extreme peril. Extreme peril? When there is no other choice. We both know she is tough, but should she absolutely beyond a doubt be in peril...then we must use it. Yeah, but even then, we have to make sure we don't Overuse it and let HIM run free, or strain you. Indeed. I do propose an idea. Should the need arise, whether our daughter be in danger, or ourselves, I shall start a timer. A timer? No matter how mad you get, I will hold back the cloak. But if we need it, I will start a Countdown from 5. If the situation can be salvaged before the limit, then we will not unleash it...but after those five seconds it will be unleashed. That...sounds like a plan. Also, it should give me time to change back into the Hooded Offender cloak so that Crimson Vengeance isn't outed. But yeah...only when it's necessary...and we can't go overboard like how we just did...I did promise... Speaking of... Our recent... outburst has left us with one loose end... You turn your head to see Aqua coughing and waking back up. She groans in pain. Letting out a sigh, you take a Healing Potion out of you Inventory and start walking towards her. She sees you approaching and tries to scuttle back. "N-no please don't! I'm sorry! Please don't kill me Offender! PLEASE!" she pleads, causing you to wince in guilt. "Hey hey, calm down, I'm not going to kill ya," you tell her as you hold your arms up in a calming gesture. "*cough* Oh really? *cough* could have fooled me!" she says as she still scuttles away, wincing. "I-I'm sorry," you tell her. She stops moving and looks at you in confusion at that. "I'm sorry about what I just did to you...I lost control. You hurt my daughter and I just..." you trail off. "Look, I'm sorry about the kid...I didn't mean to hit her. I didn't even know she was there!" "I know, I know...look, things happened, I let it get out of control, and I want to fix this..." you say as you hold up the potion. "Wh-what is that?" she asks. "It's a healing potion, it'll heal whatever I broke." At that, she looks to the bottle. "R-really?" "Do I look like I'm lying?" you snark. "I don't know, that creepy smile is all I see," she says. You then press the button that slides the sheets over your teeth. "Better?" you ask. "..." she looks at you still suspicious. "Look, I want to make this right. Let me heal you. Please?" She looks at you for a moment in contemplation before she nods and says. "Ok...go ahead," You nod and walk over to her, holding the bottle up. "Now, before I give this to you, I need two things from you," "Oh I knew it. There's always a catch..." she moans. "Oh don't worry, they're very simple. Firstly I need you to promise...no, PINKIE promise me that you will never harm my daughter ever again," you growl. "I won't, I swear. I don't want to hurt kids. Where even is she? Is she OK?" "She is fine, and secondly, you will never, EVER, tell anyone who I am." "I won't, I swear on the Pinkman or whatever you said," "Pinkie, and to ensure it, I need you to say and do these actions: Cross My Heart and Hope to Fly, Stick a Cupcake in my eye," you say as you do the actions. Aqua, very much confused, repeats your words and actions. "There, now you are locked in," you say as you pour the liquid over her. You watch as the bruises and cuts begin to heal, and even hear the snaps of bones mending. After her body starts looking alright again, she stands up and moves her limbs about. "You were telling the truth," she says in amazement looking at you in a new light. "Well yeah, I didn't mean to hurt you so badly, only a little bit..." you snark. "B-but...you broke my arm back in Fillydelphia...and you laughed," she says. You sigh and look down at that. "Yeah...look Fillydelphia was a low point in my life. Don't take it personally, you were just an obstacle in a whole mess of madness." She still looks at you funny and you hear her stomach growl. "Hungry? I got some snacks if you want some," you say as you pull out a box of Orange BuffoBombs. She hesitantly takes the box from you before tasting some of the cereal and digging in. You smile as you back of from her and walk over to the still passed out Zebra. You take out your duct tape and wrap him up in it, before putting him on his back. You then walk over to her. "Hey, uh...it's kind of cold out, and his camp had a big fire..." you trail off. She nods and follows you to Brazes camp, where you both sit around his campfire, next to his cauldron of spilled soup. After a long awkward silence between the two of you, you decide to break it. "So uh...are you feeling better? You look better. My Grandbu-father always said that when it comes down to it, food, warmth and company were the key to a healthy lifestyle...and then he said that Mares, Cigars and Booze were just toppings on the cake." She chuckles slightly before looking back up at you. "Y-you're grandfather said that?" she asks. "Yeah, the old guy raised me since I was larv-errr-Colt! It's funny, I always remember his wisdom in the most awkward of situations." "Heh, I know what you mean. Mine helped my mother raise me. Sometimes I'll remember something my Grampy taught me while in the middle of the fight." Shen then makes her voice deeper, "Remember Aqua, determination is key, and if that fails, sand in the eye works just as well." You both then chuckle at that. "Wow, that reminds me about the time Grandpa and I were at the beach..." You both then start telling stories about your Grandfathers...and that they seem to come from the same cut of cloth. "Heh, wow, sounds like our Granddads would've gotten along," you say. "Yeah...Grampy taught me all he knew about Water Manipulation...I miss him," she says sadly as she puts her head down. "I-I'm sorry," you comfort. She nods and looks at you, "Is your Grandpa still around?" she asks. You put your head down, "No...we got separated years ago. I know he's probably still out there but...I haven't seen him in so long...Nightshade never even met him." "Is that your daughter?" she asks. "Yeah...everything I do...I do because of her...no matter what," you say mysteriously. She looks down and nods. She gives a sigh before looking back towards you. The Pony Spartan's Comment "Hey." You look at Aqua. "You know, I always hated and feared you ever since... Hearths Warming. I thought of you as a monster," she says holding up her leg. You see the scars and stitches from where you broke it. You nod in understanding and guilt wells up. "But now, after talking with you...and after you spared me, I see that... you're not a monster." "I'm not?" you ask surprised. She shakes her head. "You're anger may cause you to change into a...beast. But when you're not angered, you're very nice," she says with a smile. You slightly smile at this. "Thanks...I know you and I haven't met at the best of times, like right now and back in...Fillydelphia," You both sigh at the bad memory. "But anyways," you start, "Maybe we can... start over? I mean, you did say that it was just your job, and nothing was personal back at our last fight. So...what do you say?" "Maybe..." she suddenly glares at you, "But don't think that we're friends or anything..." You smile warmly at her, to which she can tell due to your cheeks rising. She stops her glare and smiles back. "Alright, what the heck. Hello, My name is Aqua...and I have no idea what to call you," she says as she holds out her hoof. You reach out and shake it. "Hello Aqua, you can call me The Crimson Vengeance...or CV for short." "Alright...CV..." she chuckles. Ugh...You hear Selena groan in frustration at that. You both then break the hoofshake. "So now that that's out of the way, I gotta ask. What's up with the mask?" "Well, aside from being the most kickflank thing ever, I still got to hide my identity. I can't openly wear my Hooded Offender cloak all willy nilly anymore." "Makes sense I guess," she says. You then look over to the (still) unconscious zebra shaman as you ask, "So were you hired to capture this guy or what? Cause if you do I'll (regrettably) let you have the bounty since it was your job...and since I was such a jerk earlier." Aqua shakes her head as she says, "Nah, I was camping nearby when I came across this sucker. I remembered seeing his wanted poster back at the last town, so I figured I'd capture him for some easy cash." You nod your head at this as Selena says, Muranuse's Comment Pentakill Apocalypse's Comment Huh, so she is out-of work like us... You nod your head at this as you think, Yeah your right...wait a minute! You suddenly gain a sly smirk as you say to Aqua, "I hope you remembered your bounty-hunter license." The water bender gives you a flat look. "My what?" Internally, you snigger, Oh, this is too good! "Yeah, you know, your Bounty Hunting License that lets you claim the reward and do this job legally?" "..." "..." "..." "You don't have one do you?" you say as you tap your hoof. "I...uh...no..." she says defeated. "Well I'm sorry girl, but without a license, you can't legally get the reward, otherwise that'd be advocating Vigilantism." Wait, are you repeating what the sheriff told you? Yup! Selena sighs as you hear her slam her face into something with annoyance. You can't help but feel like it's a desk as she says I can't believe you... You ignore Selena as you say, "Well since the nearest place that hands one out is at Baltimare, how about we go together? We can keep a better eye on this idiot while we're there if there's two of us watching him. Plus once we get our license we can cash in this jerk and split the money 50-50. What do ya say?" Aqua puts her head down in a thinking pose before she says, "Well...I don't see why not. Two heads are better then one after all. But don't think I'll stick around after that! As soon as we cash this guy in we go our own ways, understood?" You nod your head as you say, "Crystal!" TIME SKIP, AT BALTIMARE You and Aqua finally arrive at the entrance of Baltimare the next day. And oh how long those hours walking to it were. The whole walk there was nothing but awkward silence as the two of you barely spoke to each other at all! Well...there was one conversation you both had... FLASHBACK TIME! The Pony Spartan's Comment "So..." she starts. "Yeah?" "What happened to Flag Burner? Never got my money from that job and I'd like to know what jail they took him to." This makes a chill run up your spine. You stop dead in your tracks as a depressed look crosses your face. "Huh? Hey! What's wrong?" Aqua asked. "Flag Burner... is dead." Aqua gasped. "I...I killed him." She stares at you in shock. "Hey, you can't look at me like that after you tried to kill me twice!" you mutter. She shook herself out of it. "S-sorry...I...I just wasn't expecting that." "Yeah...well anyways, he's dead...and I've been trying to move on from it since...but I don't think I ever will..." FLASHBACK OVER! After that, things went from quiet to deathly quiet. The only sound that was ever made was the mad shamans ramblings of sacrifice, voodoo's, and how he was gonna have the spirit of the annoying Jerry haunt the both of you (his ramblings stopped when you used the ever useful shutting up device that is duct tape on him). Anyway, the two of you enter Baltimare. Looking around, you see that it is a fairly large city, not nearly as big as Manehattan, but still big, and it sits on the shoreline. The traffic and cabs are pretty busy as well. But as soon as you two enter, all activity on the street you are on kind of slows down as everyling begins to stare at the both of you walking with the tied up Zebra on your back. You start to get nervous from all the stares as you think, Not the bucking stares again! And from so many ponies at once! Oh Luna what should I do?!? What do you do?