Once outside, I made sure to get away from Fluttershy's house as swiftly as I could, not worrying about tracking Genko just yet. The important thing was to get clear before anyone realized I was gone.
I headed into the woods, in the opposite direction of the town. If these people did have ulterior motives for helping me – and I couldn't rule that out – I wanted to make sure that none of them would see me or know where I had gone.
The forest behind her house was strange, and strange in a different way than everything else in this place was strange. This place was dark and alien, full of plants I had never seen before. I made sure not to touch any of them – this was starting to remind me of the wilds back in my world. I had no idea which of them might be poisonous or carnivorous. Best to be cautious, even of the smallest and most innocent-looking ones.
I traveled far, far into that forest before stopping. I knew that underestimating the residents of this world would be a grave error, and I knew they had many unexplained and unexpected powers. Couldn't be too careful. I stopped when I found a reasonably safe-looking clearing, a forest meadow full of a mix of grasses and wildflowers. There was still no way to know if any of those plants might be dangerous, but touching some plants would be unavoidable. At least when they were all jumbled together like this, I could hope that there wouldn't be too many of any dangerous type to be a threat on its own.
Kneeling in the meadow, I touched the tip of my sword to the ground and began to meditate, seeking out the lines of ki I could feel. There wasn't much, of course. In my world, the most difficult part was to sort through the cacophony of individual strands to find the one I was looking for. Here, though, the most challenging thing was clearing my mind enough to even sense the whispers of ki that had bled through when I arrived.
I found the stones from Genko's tower easily enough ... the same ones I'd been drawing on for healing energy since I arrived. Oddly, I could no longer sense the stranger who had come into Fluttershy's house and healed me, even though his presence had been overwhelming when I was close. All the better, I supposed. Without that massive source to block out, I would be much better off searching for my true quarry... And there it was, one faint red strand that could only be coming from Genko himself. It was shielded now, which would prevent me from drawing on it for power, but I could still sense it.
Without breaking out of my trance, I stood upright and lifted my sword from the ground. The inscribed ki on it still worked, and I let it point me toward the source. When I opened my eyes, I stared down the length of the sword in exactly the direction I'd need to go in order to find Genko.
Also when I opened my eyes, I found three wolf-like things circling me silently. They seemed to be entirely made of old sticks and branches, their eyes glowed green, and their breath stank. Well, this place was looking more and more like the wilds I was familiar with, wasn't it? Well, no matter. Even though I had no idea what the fuck these things were, I knew that I'd probably seen worse in my past.
When the first one lunged at me with a snarl, I sidestepped it easily, slashing along its side as it passed. The thing careened past me and crumpled into a heap, and even as it landed, I sliced the second one's head clean off. The third melted back into the shadows of the trees without making an attempt on me.
I turned toward the one I'd slashed lengthwise – it was crawling away on three legs ... no longer a threat.
So I went back to the one I'd beheaded, examining it more closely. Indeed, there was no living creature inside it, neither animal nor plant. All the way through, it was made of nothing more than bundles of sticks. So bizarre ... ancient stories once told of the golems, spirits animating unliving objects... But even in all my travels, I had never seen anything like one, though this must have been of similar kind.
As I stared at it, some of the parts began to glow green like the creature's eyes had ... and they slowly began weaving themselves back together.
I took that as my cue to leave. There was nothing preventing me from beheading it again – these wooden creatures were no match for my ki-sharpened blade ... but this wasn't my fight, and I had nothing to gain from slaying the thing over and over again. Instead, I headed in the direction my sword had pointed out for me. Unfortunately, that was straight back toward Fluttershy's hometown.
* * *
I hesitated at the edge of the forest, unsure if it was wise to reenter the town, even though I knew Genko must be hiding somewhere inside it. The sun had nearly set, leaving the sky burning orange, and surely my absence would have been noticed by now. If my nagging suspicions about these people happened to be correct, they would be on the lookout for me now, ready to recapture me ... and I would be unlikely to get another chance.
Should I wait for nightfall? They did seem to be more active during the day, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Against many of the creatures in my world, I would have an advantage at night – my night vision was better than most creatures. But if these people were demon-kin they would be able to see with absolute perfection in the darkness. Even if they weren't, their ability to see at night could still be better than my own ... I knew so little about them, really. It put me at a major disadvantage. Of course, they didn't seem to know much about me either.
In the end, I did decide to wait for darkness. It would be night soon anyway, with whatever advantages and disadvantages that brought. At least by starting at night, I'd only be dealing with one set of advantages and disadvantages, rather than worrying about whether or not the so-called ponies would have an edge over me in the failing sunlight.
It didn't take long. I set out as soon as the western sky's glow simmered down to a deep purple.
I moved as if I were just another of the lengthening shadows of the trees, dashing silently from cover to cover and around the corners of buildings. There were still some people milling about in the town, but none of them seemed particularly on-guard or alert. They didn't seem as if they were looking for someone. I managed to remain unseen as I penetrated deeper and deeper into the sleepy village.
The sense of Genko's ki still tugged at the tip of my sword, and I followed it carefully. It eventually led me straight to the very center – the town square.
Quite a few people still lingered there, so I stayed on the outskirts as the darkness slowly deepened and the crowd gradually dwindled. I'd found a convenient bush near the corner of one building, and I wiggled my way slowly into it. From inside its leafy concealment, I could watch the townspeople slowly filter back into their homes. Finally, finally, the last few left and the square was empty.
Still being careful, I edged my way out of the bush and followed my sword again.
Even as I circled the square, it always wanted to point directly at the center – at the building Fluttershy had called Town Hall. So was that where Genko was hiding, then? It seemed far too obvious, far too easily seen ... but then it hit me. Of course he'd go for the tallest building in town. That fucking demon did have a perverse fascination with being as high up as possible, didn't he? So that must be it. And as tiresomely predictable as demons always were ... he was probably in the very top of it, wasn't he?
After one last check to make sure no one was watching, I rushed up to big wooden double doors on the front of the building and sliced through their latch, just as I'd sliced through the latch of Genko's fortress. Things do have a queer way of repeating themselves sometimes, don't they? But this time, I wasn't going to let him drag us both into another world. This time, I would end it.
Inside, everything seemed perfectly normal. A big empty room greeted me, echoing slightly as the doors swung shut behind me. The light was dim and the air smelled stale. If it wasn't for the trail of ki leading me, I would be sure that Genko wasn't here.
As things stood, though, I was fairly sure I knew where to find that fat bastard. He'd be up in the highest chamber ... I only needed to find out how to get there.
It turned out to be much less straightforward than things had been at Genko's fortress. He had obviously designed his own home to accommodate his tastes, but in this place ... in this place, the highest room was largely ornamental, and I had to search through a half-dozen back corridors and storage rooms behind the main stage before I finally found a trap door in the ceiling of a dusty hallway. After going up through there, I discovered a narrow and disused wooden staircase that spiraled up around the back of the building's domed roof.
At the end of that stairway, I came to a small wooden door that – while definitely locked – was quite flimsy and would be no challenge to get through. I paused there, steeling myself for the fight that I would doubtless find on the other side of it. I was almost entirely bereft of my ki powers, but by all rights, Genko should be similarly powerless. It would be down to a purely physical struggle, and I had already proven once to be the master of him in that. Not to mention, I had been miraculously healed of all my injuries, and with any luck, Genko would still be suffering from many of the blows I'd dealt him. This could be an easy victory for me if he was still hurt ... and even if he had found some way to heal himself as easily as I had, I should still be able to take him. I was faster, more agile ... but just as tough when it came down to it. I could do this, even without most of my ki.
After one deep breath to calm my nerves, I slashed the wooden door and burst into the chamber inside ... only to find it completely empty. The room was tiny, a circular chamber that I could cross in just a handful of strides, and it was completely empty, so there was nowhere to hide. The walls here weren't nicely finished and decorated as they were elsewhere; the woodwork was purely utilitarian. The walls had slatted vents in them, providing somewhat of a view of the deepening evening outside. But with nowhere to hide, where was Genko?
I let my sword guide my hand again, and this time it pointed me upward, toward the flat ceiling.
Of course! This must not be the absolute highest room. I remembered seeing the pointed roof of this building from outside. I knew there must be some kind of attic above this room, but as I searched for it, I couldn't for the life of me find any sign of a door leading upward. I did find footprints in the dust on the floor, but even those didn't help me find the way up.
In the end, I just gave up and made my decision. Fuck the element of surprise – it was time for me to kill Genko, and I wasn't going to let the lack of a door stop me.
A few well-placed slashes of my sword cut through the ceiling above easily, opening a triangular hole just big enough for me. I leapt up and managed to grip the edge of it, then pulled myself up through it, springing up into combat readiness as quickly as I could once I was up there.
And there he was, Genko, sitting at the other side of the little chamber. He rose when he saw me and grabbed the remains of his battle axe ... which now was little more than a steel pole with a few pointy bits of metal on one end. “I've been waiting for you.”
I stared him down. “Ready to die yet, fucker?”
“Not today.” He came at me, swinging the broken axe, and I barely managed to dodge it. If he was still injured, he didn't show it.
It wasn't easy this time. The chamber was very small, with walls that angled up toward a shadowy and distant peak of the roof ... there was very little room to maneuver, which largely negated my advantage in agility. Thankfully, though, Genko's initial lunge and show of strength had been largely for show. The longer we fought, the more evident it was the he still suffered from his injuries. He limped with his left leg, and was always slow to dodge or attack if it meant he had to move in that direction. He didn't seem to be able to lift his right arm higher than his shoulder, and I discovered that there was something wrong with his right eye, since he seemed to have a huge blind spot.
Still, I owed my life to the fact that his broken axe could no longer lacerate – I had bruises and nasty scrapes from it, maybe even a broken rib or two, but he had not managed to cleave me in two as he'd clearly intended. Once I noticed his injuries ... once I learned his weaknesses, I was able to press my advantage methodically, and I brought his fat ass down once again.
This time, I didn't hesitate. I plunged my blade down toward his bloated neck, ready to end it once and for all, but my arm suddenly stopped, held in place by incredibly sticky green goo that shot down from above.
What the fuck? What was going on? I quickly tossed my sword into my off hand and made to strike him again, but another strand shot out of the dim crevice of the roof above and halted me again.
Whatever or whoever was doing this apparently wasn't something I could afford to ignore until after I killed Genko. I stared up into the dark recess above and yelled out, “Who's there? If you interfere, I'll have to kill you, too!”
A deep feminine chuckle came from above, and I heard the sound of enormous insectoid wings beating furiously. A jet-black woman descended from the ceiling; she wore a shimmering bluish dress, which matched the color of her limp-hanging hair. She had strange, sickly-looking holes in her arms and legs, and her fingernails came to wicked points.
“After what happened last time, you didn't think I'd face you again without reinforcements, did you?” Genko laughed from below me, though blood clogged his throat and made it more of a choking sound. He looked up toward the mysterious new woman. “Took you long enough.”
She smirked. “Well, you did tell me to give you a chance to kill the bitch yourself before I intervened. I suppose I had more faith in your abilities than was warranted.”
“If I had my ki powers, I'd have your ass on the rack in my dungeon for that kind of talk.”
She flung a bit of green goo from her fingertips across Genko's mouth, shutting him up. “Only in your perverted little fantasies. If you forget who's in charge here, I'll be forced to—”
I took advantage of their squabbling distraction, dropping my sword again and kicking the hilt as it fell. The woman caught it just a moment before its tip jutted into her face, and it stopped in midair, surrounded by a bright green glow. Only then did I notice the crooked black horn on her forehead.
She cast my sword aside. “The bitch has mettle, I'll give her that. She will make a fine contribution to my hive.” Before I could do anything else, she hit me with a massive wave of green glue, enveloping my entire body and plastering me against the wall of the chamber.
I gasped in a deep breath before the next blast of it hit me in the face, but that only delayed the inevitable. I couldn't move any of my limbs, and I couldn't breathe. Thanks to my adrenaline-soaked body and my exertions from fighting Genko, I was soon desperate for breath, my lungs aching for air. But even when I lost self control and started gasping for air, nothing could make it past the thick membrane of green slime across my nose and mouth. I spasmed for a short time, writhing in agony and desperation ... and then my vision slowly went dark.
* * *
When I woke, it was to an intensely throbbing headache and a diffuse green light all around me. I was floating in some kind of thick gel. My first reaction was to thrash violently, panicking at the thought of drowning in this stuff ... but after a moment of struggling in vain against the thick slime and scraping my nails against something leathery and smooth just at the limits of my reach, I slowly began to calm down.
Somehow, I wasn't suffocating, despite my inability to breathe. Something about this stuff was keeping me alive – I was being held captive, not being murdered.
It wasn't much consolation. I reached forlornly for the hilt of my sword, but of course the scabbard was empty. The fluid I was suspended in was translucent, and the casing around it must have been as well, because I could see a little bit of light filtering through it. By pressing against one side with my legs, I could push myself close to the other side. My view became clearer, but the light was still dim, and I was limited to seeing a couple of blurry silhouettes, one huge and rotund, the other slim. They moved as if arguing with each other, but I couldn't hear their words as anything more than a muffled humming.
Well, I was alive. That was good ... probably. But why were they keeping me alive? I knew that Genko would never have willingly kept me alive unless it was to torture me to death. He was probably smart enough to not even risk that. He would know that no matter the restraints or the security, there was always a small chance I would escape and hunt him down ... and for all his flaws, he wasn't the vindictive type, nor was he as sadistic as most demons. He would have killed me with his usual brutish pragmatism.
So it must have been that woman who had insisted on keeping me alive. It was probably what they were arguing about at that very moment. I hoped vaguely that she'd win the argument and go on keeping me alive. To be honest, though, I wasn't sure I should be grateful. There are fates worse than death, and I had no idea what that woman's plans for me were. She'd said something about me contributing to her hive... That could mean anything from mind-controlled servitude to being a fresh meal for her minions. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't think of any plan she might have for me that would be at all appealing.
Could I escape? I scratched at the tough membrane around me with my claw-like fingernails, but they just scraped smoothly over the tough, flexible surface without resistance, not damaging it at all. I even tried to bite at it, but I couldn't manage to pinch it enough to get a fold of it between my teeth, and the gel around me tasted vile. Unfortunately, there was no way to get that taste out of my mouth. I checked my boot sheath for the spare knife that should be in there, but Genko and the woman must have found it, because that sheath was also empty. I was out of options.
So ... nothing remained but for me to wait and find out what fate that woman had planned out for me. Should I have seen this coming? How was I to know that Genko would find allies here? Perhaps I should have known. I found friends here, after all.
And I hadn't even considered asking for their help in this.
Was that my fatal mistake? Should I have gone to Fluttershy for help in my assault on Genko's lair? I wasn't sure what that waif of a girl could do against the likes of Genko and his lady friend, but Fluttershy did have her own powerful friends. The purple one, Twilight, could probably have dominated this fight easily. But I couldn't trust them, could I? Well, come to think of it, how could my situation possibly be any more fucked up if I did trust them? On the other side, I could definitely think of ways my situation might have been improved if I'd had their help. Damn ... I should have thought about all of this before I set out. But I had gone out impulsively, sure that doing it right that moment, going alone, was the only way. One of these days, I'd have to learn to think things through in detail before I took action. That was, if I wasn't going to end up as a mind-slave to that insectoid woman.
From the way the dim light gradually increased, I surmised that it was morning ... sunrise. How long would they keep me in here before revealing my ultimate fate? I didn't know how long I could stand the uncertainty before my sanity would begin to slip. Maybe that was part of that woman's mind-control strategy, a way to weaken my mental defenses before raping my very soul? Shit. I hated being captured, especially when I didn't know my captors' intentions!
Out of nowhere, there came a flash. I was back in Fluttershy's cottage, flopping down onto the carpeted wooden floor with a wet splat. I coughed and puked green slime into her carpet until my throat was finally clear enough to take a breath of sweet, sweet air.
“There,” the mysterious gentleman from last night said. “See, she's perfectly fine. I didn't do anything untoward to her.”
I gasped on the floor, clutching at myself and still struggling to recover and understand what had just happened to me.
Fluttershy held her arms akimbo and stared down her new house guest. “She doesn't look perfectly fine, Discord. Where did you send her? What did you do to her?”
“I didn't send her anywhere! I simply healed her injuries so she'd move off the couch, and then she left with hardly any 'thank you' at all.”
Fluttershy's eyes narrowed, but her body relaxed significantly, and one hand dropped away from her hips. “You're sure you didn't do anything to her? I still remember what you did to Angel Bunny when he wouldn’t give up the couch.”
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” he said, miming out the actions with an actual cupcake that conveniently appeared out of nowhere and actually flying up off the couch for a moment.
Seemingly satisfied, Fluttershy turned to me, squatting down next to me. Once again, I had to avert my eyes from her skirt. “What happened?” she asked. “If you don't mind telling me... Where did you go, and how did you end up covered in, um ... that?”
“I—” I coughed again, spitting up a little more slime, then decided to ignore her questions for the time being. It was time for me to swallow my pride and take the plunge of trusting her completely. “I need your help ... you and your friends.”
She seemed not to hear me, instead staring at the puddle of green ooze. After a moment, her eyes widened and her hand darted up to cover her mouth. “It's Queen Chrysalis, isn't it? She's back!”