//------------------------------//
// 36- Long time, no see? 
// Story: Bound by Scales 
// by FrostTheWolf 
//------------------------------//


Bound by Scales- Long time, no see?




        The day after we met Grand Pear was when AJ and I were back at the Hollow to be with the kids and see how Tina and the others were doing. Both Applejack and I agreed that right now, it wouldn’t quite be wise to introduce my side of the family to either Granny Smith or Grand Pear right now. Especially with Tina’s… tendencies, my uncle shouting everything he says like it’s normal speech and Moxxi… Well, she and Athena might be a little more reasonable around them, but it was something that I should think about later. After all, Granny Smith and Grand Pear have had enough surprises from us as it is right now.

        Though… speaking of surprises, when I was checking my ECHO later in the afternoon when we were checking on Revaan and everyone else, I got a message from someone that… I honestly did not expect would reach out to me. Well, there are a lot of people that we have met in the last month or so after the events of what happened in the changeling kingdom, but this involved something that was… a little further then that.

        A couple of months ago, I had to take down the Land Aspect, Gol Motaad while also making sure that it did not destroy the town of Appleloosa. While I was fighting the Aspect though, AJ, Shayne and a few others got a rather… unexpected surprise in the form of Hunter. A displaced Doom Marine who… was mute and unable to speak, having to rely on a tablet as a form of communication. It was also during this encounter that we met Guardian, an entity that was created to help Hunter and his brothers. From our conversation, I was lead to believe that there was five of them given how Hunter mentioned that all five of them had Doom Slayer marks, but that was beside the point.

        Right now, the point is that the one who sent the message to my echo… was none other than Hunter himself. Now, at first glance, I was lead to believe that something was up and that they needed my help for something. But after looking at it and carefully reading through it fully, the tone of the message was actually rather… different. It seemed rather warm and inviting, something that I honestly didn’t expect at all. Hey Ken, it's me, Hunter. It might have been some time over in your Universe, but it's been a long time for me and my brothers. Listen, I'd like to thank you for telling me about this whole Displaced situation, so, here's the question; Would you like to come over? You can bring others along if you wish. And don't worry about The Hell Wars, it's over and we won. No need to worry about Hellspawns popping in. If so, reply back with a 'Yes' and we'll have Guardian come over there and pick you up.

        Okay, but where would we exactly be going… Oh wait, there’s more. P.S. We're outside of the Imperial Dragon City, testing out some vehicles before we head towards the city. I would like to give your Dragon partner, Revaan, a gift that the Dragons here use to switch between their Feral and Anthro forms. Your silent friend, The Hunter of Silence.

        Hunh… That was something. When I was reading it though, that happened to catch the attention of Shayne and Aurox as she decided to walk on over.

        “Hey, come on man. You should take a minute to unplug,” She said jokingly for a moment, before noticing the message I got. “Who’s that from?” That caused me to set my ECHO aside and actually get up to face her before speaking.

        “Well… remember when we had Hunter end up here when we had to protect Appleloosa some time ago?” I asked, which in turn had her nod in response as I began to continue from where I left off. “Well, turns out, he’s wanting to invite us over to his world as a way to say thanks for telling him about the Displaced.”

        That… had Shayne fold her arms a bit and look at me with a concerned sigh. “You sure? I mean… wouldn’t they be more occupied with having to kill demons and going to war against them. Their world doesn’t really seem safe to be bringing friends over.”

        “Well, from his message, he mentioned that the ‘Hell Wars’ were over and they won, so there’s no need to be concerned with demons popping up out of nowhere,” I clarified for her. “I was thinking of possibly saying yes… gives us a reason to go outside the hollow and such.”

        “Remember last time though when Hunter mistook Aurox for a demon?” She then told me in response. “Hunter may know that he isn’t, but that may not be the case for his brothers.” That was a valid point, I had to admit. But you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. Perhaps his brothers are… different. Then again, it may be possible that they’re different than that of Hunter and… Oh god, I’m overthinking this again am I?

        “Well, we can’t just ignore him… plus, his brothers might not be entirely the same.” I told her in response… before asking something. “You alright? You seem to have something on your mind.”

        “Yeah… I was just thinking a lot of someone I knew back in the day,” Shayne sighed for a moment before she looked back at me. “It’s… not really important right now. Who do you think should come though besides you, Revaan and us?” That… was a rather good question. And one that I did not immediately have the answer for. I would think that Applejack may want to come since she remembers Hunter from Appleloosa, Twilight is a no since last I heard from her, she was making the final edits on a book she was going to publish… so who else would-?

        “Whatcha talking ‘bout, Kenny?” My heart almost skipped a beat at that because I was not expecting for Tina to pop out of nowhere while Shayne and I were conversating. Though, I wasn’t really sure if this subject was something we should bring up.

        “Well, Shayne and I were talking about something regarding a… friend of ours wanting to invite us to where they are, but we’re still trying to think about how to respond-” That had Tina look at me like I did something in which would embarrass myself, even going as far as swiping my ECHO and trying to type in a response before I could take it back from her. “Tina! What the heck was that for?”

        “Well duh, it’s rude to keep someone waiting,” She pointed out, swaying her arms idly. “So I thought I would speed things along and write a proper response for you.” I looked down at the ECHO… and realized that the message she was trying to write… was anything but ‘proper’ as I facepalmed myself shortly after the seeing the kind of response she was going to send to them.

        “You put down ‘Yes’ four times in all caps, separating each of them with three to four exclamation marks and then top it off by saying that they should… build a jet, build a bigger jet, yell out ‘f*ck the haters!’ and then have everyone be happy for you,” I deadpanned, looking back at her. “Tina, this isn’t a proper reply to a friend at all.”

        “That honestly sounds like you had Orendi make the first part of the response and then added a first draft of a Rick Ross single just for kicks,” Shayne added on before sighing. “Besides, we’re thinking that this is… something for the adults to do.” That seemed rather reasonable actually. After all, with what little we know about Hunter’s world, it doesn’t seem like the ideal place to have Tiny Tina visit… then again, what kind of ideal place should Tiny Tina visit anyways?

        “I am an adult too, you know… just as much as I am a lady…” Tina began to protest… using what Moxxi would call her ‘dressy’ voice to try and convince us… to little effect. Then she tried to prove her point even more… which grossed us out more than convinced us. “I have experienced lots of menopause.”

        I… did not even know where to begin with that. Little more, how the hell did Tina think she knew such a thing. But… the first person to respond to her was not Shayne, nor was it me. It was Aurox instead, who sighed (or sounded like he did) and looked back at Tina. “You don’t know what that means, do you?” Yet, all that Tina did was just respond in the same dressy voice and shrugged it off like it was no big deal. Leaving Shayne and I to wonder… what the f*ck just happened in the last 3 minutes? We’ve talked about meeting Hunter, had Tina try to act like Orendi and then add some lines from what I believe is her own personal rap sheet in order to try to recommend as ‘advice’ to a group of five Doom Marines.

        Thank god I did not let her send that message. Though, it was Shayne who was the next person to say something out of the blue. “You know… it probably would be a good idea for Tina to come with us?” Seriously? A good idea? Many things in history that ended up being crucial incidents started out as good idea’s. “I mean think of it… it would give everypony else here a much needed break from explosions and what not.”

        I sighed for a moment before looking back at her. She did make a valid point. “Okay, but it’s going to be on us in order to keep an eye on her before-” The moment I said that and looked back in Tina’s general direction, she had already left to go grab a suitcase, had Ruby and Magma be on her shoulders and have a backpack with the doll she named ‘Princess Fluffybutt’ sticking out of the back of it.

        “Alright, VACATION TIME!!! LET’S GO!!!!”

        “-that. Before she does that.” I now finish my sentence, sighing a little bit before turning to my ECHO now and finally forming a reply. ‘Hey Hunter. It’s good to hear from you. I’m going to bring AJ, Revaan, Shayne and a few others over, including my cousin. Though… don’t make any sudden movements around her… You’ll see why. -Ken.’ After hitting send, I took the time for us waiting on Guardian to make sure AJ and Revaan were up to speed on what was going on.

        And by the time I finished, was when Guardian decided to arrive. But before I could say anything… Tina beat me to it. “Hot DAMN!! Never knew you knew friends that look just as good as Moxxi, Kenny!” Oh god, why did she do that?

         “Well, looks like Runner won that bet on it being Tina.” Guardian said with a sigh. “Anyway, is everyone ready to go, or do you still need time to pack a few things? Just a reminder, pack your wallets.” Okay… I had several questions regarding what she just said go through my head. One… who is Runner? Two, why were they betting and three, why would we need our wallets? Please don’t tell me they’re like what Rainbow Dash said about the Griffons in Griffonstone. “Ken, calm down. It’s just in case you see something you want to buy in the City. And no, Dragon’s over there are not like the Griffons here, nor the Griffons over there either. Really, you have nothing to worry about.” She assured me.

        Which lead to me facepalming myself… those were internal questions that I did not want to openly say out loud, yet it happened anyways. “Please warn me before you read my mind,” I asked politely, before looking back at her. “We’ll see if there’s anything we need to get-” That was also when I noticed the kids joining up with Applejack just as I was about to excuse myself for a moment. And when Ruby then asked something while pointing at Guardian.

        “Who’s dis, Mama?”

          “Oh! Are these your children?” Guardian asked me.

        I nodded my head in response as I looked back at her. “Yeah, that’s one’s Ruby while that’s her brother, Magma.” It was after I finished that sentence that Ruby tried to correct me, saying that Magma’s name was ‘Dork Face’. Which, I blamed Tina for since that was what she originally called Aaron after trying to come up with a nickname she could remember him by… strangely enough, she likes being with them and I think she’s becoming an influence on them. “I think I’ll just grab a spare set of clothes and I should be ready.”

          She nodded before giving Ruby a stern look, at least, I think she was. It’s hard to tell since she was still wearing her hood, covering her face. “Little missy, you don’t call your brother such a name. Apologize to him, now.” She said in a motherly tone, which made Ruby look down in shame, before she actually apologised to Magma. Holy crap… that actually was something I did not expect from either of them. Normally, the kids don’t listen to anyone that isn’t Applejack or I because they get really nervous around those they don’t know, but this was… something different.

        I still tried to wrap my head around it while I was trying to get a couple of extra clothes together before meeting back up with everyone. Which, from the looks of things, everyone was accounted for and we had everything that we needed right now. I guess it was time to get the show on the road then.

         “Okay, before I take you, I must advise you all that there are currently only three Doom Marines active, and that they’re searching for the last two. That’s all for now.” Hearing that made me wonder who exactly were the other two that she mentioned, but I think that was a question they were going to answer later when we got there.

           Opening up a portal for us, she lead us through it and we found ourselves staring out into the wastelands. Once she closed the portal, I looked around to see one of the three Doom Marines walking up to us. One, in which, seemed a little more recognizable than the other two. “Hunter?” I asked, just to make sure that the one who was approaching us was Hunter and wasn’t Runner or the one other brother that happened to be with him… whoever they happened to be.

           He nodded his head and showed me that Sniper Rifle he uses. “Hello, Ken. Nice to see you again.” He texted me on my ECHO device. “And I see Borderlands is now in your space.” He stated, pointing towards Tina.

        “That’s my cousin.” I deadpanned in response, while Tina just looked at him with a curious glance on his face as she looked around a bit. Before anything could happen, something or someone ran straight for Tina, really fast, grabbed her and started running circles around us. Tina didn’t seemed to mind much, since she was laughing along with whoever that was carrying her on his shoulders. But… based on the fact that this… guy… was a LOT faster than when we were approached by Hunter, I assumed this was Runner… Again, just an assumption based on what I have seen.

        “So who was that guy?” Shayne then decided to speak up as she, Aurox, Revaan and AJ joined up with me and noticed Tina on the back of this guy’s shoulders. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tina used the chance to throw dynamite at people while she was riding piggyback on this guy, almost like how Brick described it in Borderlands 2.

           “That’s my brother, Deaths Runner.” Hunter texted me the answer to Shayne’s question… and made me personally shout ‘CALLED IT!’ inside my head. “He’s the insane one.” Huh… no wonder I thought of him like Brick. Although, the third one with a sword on his back, came walking up to us. But before he reached us, he purposefully tripped Runner up and sent him rag dolling away from us. Guardian was quick enough to teleport Tina into my arms, as we heard Runner cursing and swearing as he hit and bounced off the ground, before skidding to a stop...face first, no less.

        Okay… What the hell was that all about!? The guy just tripped up his own brother! Already, within a short span of time being here, crazy sh*t hits the fans! Even Hunter seemed to agree with me on this, as he shook his head before texting. “Really?”

        “At least it wasn’t with a Grenade this time.” The guy replied with a shrug, but that sort of answer made all of us stare at him, with wide eyes, in shock. I mean, tripping him was one thing… but tripping him with a grenade? That… just seems uncalled for… Matter of fact, who the hell was that guy then? Because right now, all that we know is that Brick/Runner here likes Tina, Hunter doesn’t have a voice but agrees with me when something is taken too far and this guy just doesn’t really seem to give a lot of attention to things.

        Although… I don’t know why, but looking back at Revaan and Applejack, those two seemed on edge as soon as this one came up to us. Which, of course, seemed odd at first, but it was then that I also felt a small shiver over my dragon arm, noticed Aurox being a little antsy and the kids wanting to be with AJ while they looked like they were shaking nervously. So whatever the story is with this third guy, first impressions left him as rather intimidating.

        It was also around this time that I heard from someone that I had not heard from in quite some time. “Ken, where are you guys?”

        It had been a while since I last heard from Coryena, but I wasn’t sure that right now was especially the best time for me to be talking with her. Especially with Guardian and her possibly being able to read my mind. “Coryena, we’re just visiting a friend of ours from a while ago-.”

        “I get that, but let me remind you that one of those ‘friends’ seems to be something that you rather not piss off,” She reminded me, which made me assume that it was the guy that had tripped Runner earlier. “Despite his appearance, I’m feeling a presence similar to that of a Dragon Lord coming from him. Like that from Torch or Ember. Plus, the amount of power they have is insane! Just be careful around them…” Oh so that was what I felt earlier… Now, who exactly was this guy-?

        “Ow, Berserker, what the fu-!?” We heard Runner shout… shortly before Tina freed herself from my arms, picked up a rock on the ground and threw it as his head.

        “LANGUAGE!!” She snapped. “You need to learn some MANNERS!! We have kids here!” That was shortly before I watched her race over there and try to hop on the back of Runner again. Which caused me to facepalm myself before looking back in Hunter’s direction. Though, it was Revaan that asked the next question instead of me.

        “Is this kind of behavior amongst your kin… normal, in a sense, Hunter?” He asked, even though I think the evidence itself has proven that the answer is an obvious ‘yes’. I mean, from what I was told about having siblings (since I don’t really have any), brothers tend to get on each others nerves just as much as they tend to support each other. But I highly doubt Berserker’s method of ‘support’ was justified in this instance.

            “Trust me, those two just love to do it, for the sake of it.” Hunter texted. “Anyway, let us show you to our vehicles.” He stated, pointing over towards their vehicles. There seems to be three types of them; one for speed, another for transportation of many things like Cargo, and the last ones were tanks. Not something I would honestly expect, especially since he told us that the war was over.

        “Wait… Why the hell would you need tanks?” Shayne then asked, noticing the vehicles now. “I thought you guys weren’t fighting anything.”

         “The Hell Wars are over. But now there’s another war going on, with the Changelings.” Berserker spoke up, explaining why they were building vehicles. “And no, it’s not with Chrysalis, but her sister, Cocoon.” He stated, pointing towards their versions of the Mane Six, Princess Cadence, and Queen Chrysalis. That surprised us... Mostly because of the fact that Chrysalis for us never had a sister, every one of their ponies were anthropomorphic and on two legs and I think they were just as surprised as seeing me, Revaan, Applejack, Tina, the kids and Shayne & Aurox as we were of seeing them.

        Cue the awkwardness in three… two… one.

        “Whoa nelly.” Both Applejacks said at the same time.

        “JINX!!” Tina then shouted.

        “Even though we’ve been to another Equestria that it’s Equestrians are also Feral, that’s still trippy as f*ck.” Berserker stated, making us flinch when he swore.

        “Trust me… there are some key differences between both of them,” I sighed, allowing for the kids to be with me now as I looked back at Hunter for a moment. “Trust me, Hunter knows.”

         “We know, Hunter told us a little bit about you and your Equestria. Either way, it’s still f*cking trippy. But enough of that, how about you lot introduce yourselves to ours. And I told Twi to be on her best behaviour, so she won’t go overboard.” He told us, as the three of them lead us over to their Mane 6… what? Spike told me that’s what Discord calls Twilight and the Girls sometimes when he’s lazy or bored. Sue me.

        “If Hunter told a bit about us already, then what there is more to say?” Shayne replied. “Though, to be fair, Hunter came around before Ken almost got killed by his own mother.” Dammit Shayne, that’s not exactly a moment I wanted to disclose here!

        “How the Hell did Ken’s mother get Displaced?” Berserker asked before looking back on Tina, who was piggyback riding on Runner again. “Come to think of it, if your cousin’s here, same with your mother, are there anymore relatives of yours?” He asked me.

        “More than you might think,” I sighed, looking back at him now as I began to explain to him. “It first started with me. Then, after a couple of months, I ran into Aaron, who got displaced as Kilik from Soul Eater… MUCH later though, I find out that I had been gone for almost a year back on earth and that my family thought that a way to try and remember my disappearance was going to a convention together. Can’t remember exactly all the people, but from what I do know, my mother is Athena, my cousin is Tiny Tina, my Uncle is Mr. Torgue-”

        “-High Five FLEXINGTON!!” Tina tried to finish my sentence, which just caused Twilight and the others from Hunters world to look at her for a moment before looking at me with the same confused gaze.

        “… And there’s my aunt… You’re not going to believe who she arrived as.” I sighed, trying to keep it brief while we were walking.

        “It’s Moxxi, isn’t it?” Runner guessed, and even though I can’t see his face, I get the feeling he was smiling underneath that helmet.

        “You hit the nail right on the head with that one,” Shayne then spoke up as she walked alongside AJ and Tina. “Has her own bar in Manehattan and speaks in innuendo’s every few sentences. Though we haven’t had the chance to hear from them in a while. They’re probably busy with something important.”

        “I can already tell the sex quotes have caused a few to go blue-balls.” Berserker commented, making Runner snicker. “Also, if you see other humans in advanced Templar armour, they’re not Displaced, and they’re our soldiers. They’re known as Night Sentinels.” He added, pointing towards a group of them running checks on the vehicles. That surprised us immensely. Mostly because we didn’t expect any other humans being here, especially for a world that was literally fighting against Hell itself.

        We continued to walk, passing the Templar-looking Night Sentinels that were doing maintenance on the vehicles as we were taking in the view. Even though we had to keep a tight leash on Tina when were passing through what looked like the weapons and explosives department, just as Shayne mentioned something on Berserker’s earlier comment. “You should’ve hear Tina voicing her when Ken was doing Bunkers and Badasses with Spike, Big Mac and Discord. She even sounded like Moxxi when she was in character.”

        “She could sound like anything when she’s in character,” My AJ deadpanned for a moment. “Remember, Tina also voiced Athena and such… and I still don’t get what you people were talking about when you were slapping that one guy.”

        “Oh you mean the douchey prince that Tina did on Blueblood?” Seriously, Shayne? Did you have to say that… in front of Celestia and Luna no less. I have a feeling that we should stop the conversation before- “That was good… I’m surprised that you actually got Twilight into Game of Thrones.” Oh my god, someone just MAKE this stop before I feel like I need to abort the conversation right now.

           “You won’t have to worry about Blueballs anymore, since he’s dead.” Berserker told us, dropping a massive bombshell when he said that. “Can you guess who killed him?” Should I even… I mean, you’re talking about the Princesses nephew… within the same vicinity of the freaking princess. How is that a good idea?

        “Ooh! OOH!!! Did you do it? Did you make him explode to where you MAKE IT RAIN with his blood!?! Princess Fluffybutt wants to know!” Woah woah woah, Tina. Take it down a few notches, you’re now sounding like Orendi back in Asphyxious’ world.

         “Yes, I did kill him.” He answered, making us trip ourselves and falling down. Seriously!? He killed Blueblood!? I mean, I might have heard about how much of a jackass he was from, but do you honestly- “And yes, I made his head disappear, before the rest of him, spraying his blood where I made him kiss the ground right before his death. With my Super Shotgun.”

        “Make Dorky disappear!” I heard Ruby shout as she was pointing at her brother before they messed with one another on their back.

        “Ruby, that’s not how you treat your brother…” I said to them, just as Magma decided to hide behind my neck and on my shoulders because of his sister being mean to him. Though… that was when I realize that I wasn’t sure if the fact that I had kids was disclosed to everyone else.

          “No. Shut up.” Berserker told her off, making Ruby squeak before hiding herself behind Applejack… again, my Applejack. “I don’t kill children, and I’ve already seen enough of that from Demons.” He growled, which managed to send chills throughout us all.

        “They’re still learning about everything, so please go easy on them,” I heard my AJ speak once again as we continued walking. It didn’t seem like they understood the fact that both Ruby and Magma were my kids… until of course, there was Ruby’s next sentence.

        “Sowwy, Mama…”

        “So they are your children? My bad.” Berserker said, sounding a little surprised. “Hunter did told us your AJ can turn into a Dragon, and that would make sense on where they came from.” He explained. “Again, I’m sorry.”

        “It’s alright, sugarcube,” My AJ replied back, before looking at some of the other ponies. “Now before you ask, ah show ya what we can do once we get to where we need to go… so how much more walking are we doing?”

        “You’re already here, silly!” We heard Pinkie said, as we were standing in front of the Anthro ponies. Yup, just like the Pinkie back home.

         “Alright girls, go easy on them.” Berserker said and they nodded. “Twi, where are Spike and Barb?”

            “They’re waiting for you to drive them around in those Light Armoured Hover Vehicles.” She answered him, pointing towards one of the vehicles that had a Teenage Spike in it, with… I think his twin sister? Either that or a reverse gender doppelganger of himself.

        “Well, as long as Spike isn’t speeding off to their deaths. Runner, let’s race!” He said as the two Doom Marines went towards the twins, leaving me and the others with their Twilight and that.

        Soon Twilight spoke to me. “Hi there. I’m pretty sure you know who I am, along with everyone else, since your Applejack is your partner. Well, if you know what I mean?” She greeted me.

        “Indeed… though, who was the one next to Spike,” Revaan then asked then. “I’m rather… curious to know.” Oh right. Well, I wasn’t sure if we told Hunter about Spike, but I guess we’re telling them now.

        “Back in our world, Revaan’s the last of his kind, the Onyx dragons while Spike in our world is his son.” I mentioned, which drew a few surprised looks and gasps from them before they bombarded me with questions.

        Yet… who came to our rescue in this instance was… honestly the last kind of person I expected to actually interject in the conversation. “Girls!” Chrysalis shouted out. “Berserker just told us to NOT overwhelm them with questions!” She remarked, making them winced as they backed off. That… surprised even me… while also telling me a couple of things. One, this Chrysalis must’ve been trusted to the point where Twilight and the others would actually listen to her… and second, she must be close with Berserker and them… either that or she strictly enforces anything he says.

        “Sorry.” They all apologized. To which, was accepted their apology shortly after they said it.

        Now though, our attention was on the Changeling. Sighing, Chrysalis looked towards me and said. “Sorry about that. Seeing another Displaced and hearing new possibilities tends to… peak just about anyone’s curiosity.” She told us. “We’ve met a couple of them, although our first introduction was during when we were...under attack from my sister’s Hive, again.”

        We looked at one another for a moment, trying to process all of this before I looked back towards Chrysalis. “Actually, not that recently, I had to have a talk with Chrysalis…… Did Hunter recall what I told him about Aspects and how it lead to a giant golem trying to attack Appleloosa?” I asked, curious to see how much did Hunter disclose about us.

        “He did made a mention of that, saying that these Aspects are souls from ancient times, forced and molded by Nightmare Moon’s lingering powers to wreak havoc. At least, that’s how he describes it to be.” She answered.

        “He’s mostly correct,” I replied back. “However, these aspects can control either people or objects that form into something else. The first one was a fire aspect that killed Garble and took his body for his own, while proceeding to kill Torch. Second, there was the Land Aspect, which Hunter was there for, that was the size of a mountain… but the third one was different…” I took a deep breath at that, trying to compose myself before looking back at her. “For our Chrysalis, she wanted revenge after what happened at the Canterlot Wedding. So, she proceeded to try and kidnapped everypony in Equestria and replace them with Changelings. However, her plan was foiled because of us, a reformed Discord, Trixie and Twilight’s student… Starlight Glimmer… however, how the third aspect came into play was after all of this.”

        Now, here comes the kicker. “The third aspect went to try and take over my Chrysalis… and it was successful… to an extent. She resisted, but in doing so, she fell into a coma for a month and just woke up yesterday.” At that point, I felt like I have said enough to where I needed to catch my breath.

        That made her shiver, along with the others. “That’s just creepy.” She commented.

        “Yeah… she also kind of opened up afterwards, saying that she had a mother who was a queen, but died under unknown circumstances… and how she hated the fact that she was doing everything for her people and they were suffering while Celestia and Cadence were doing the same amount of work and they were thriving.” That… had me look at Shayne with a raised eyebrow as I was going to ask how she knew that. “What? Aurox and I were outside the Obsidian Hollow’s hospital when you were talking and we just overheard it.”

        “It was Shayne’s idea to listen.” Aurox grumbled, much to Shayne’s dismay.

        “Sorry for intruding, but is he some sort of spirit?” Asked Cadence, pointing towards Aurox. That had Shayne looking back at the princess for a moment before she folded her arms and looked back at her.

        “You haven’t seen a Djinn before?” She asked out of curiosity. That, unfortunately, earned her a karate chop on the head, from Hunter. “Oww… My bad, geez… To keep it simple, Aurox is a djinn who’s my companion… we’re a tag team, so to speak.”

        “So your tag team consists of a rebellious rogue teen and an omnidimensional horror?” I asked, jokingly… which, only lead to one of her boomerangs narrowly missing my head. “Come on, I was kidding!”

        “Sure you were… but yeah, it’s like that… though, you should’ve seen what happened when Hunter pissed him off.” The teen chuckled, while Aurox rolled his eyes for a moment. This also caused Applejack, Revaan and I to collectively sigh in response. All while Cadence was trying to form a reply to Shayne.

        “He beaten Aurox up, didn’t he?” She asked, all the while smiling at her. “I wouldn’t blame him. For a magical genie, he looks more like a demon. No offense.” Okay, so they do know what a Djinn is and what it means.

        “Some taken,” Aurox grumbled in response for a minute. “Honestly, I thought that being tethered to this punk ass kid’s torso would make it a little more obvious.”

        “Yeah yeah, I thought the same thing,” Shayne replied. “I’m just glad that Orendi isn't with us, trying to cause trouble.” That… personally made me wonder about how she and Asphyxious were doing… but I could talk to them later.

        “I’m not sure if I want to meet her.” Cadence said, before sighing and looking...sad? Wait a minute, where is Shining Armor? Usually he would be right beside her at all times. Well, to be fair, I only met him a couple of times, but normally, they would be inseparable. So why-?

        Oh…… OH… Oh god, I just realized why. Dear god, that’s just horrible. Shayne herself though, just shrugged. “Eh, you would be right for thinking that. Think Tina, but as a chaotic vampimorph with chaos magic and a habit of setting things on fire.”

        “Geez, that must suck.” Rainbow Dash commented with a wince.

        “Ehh, it depends. Haven’t seen her in a while, so yeah,” Shayne commented, before realizing something. “So, are we just waiting on some knight in Shining Armor to escort us or-” Dammit, Shayne. Why did you HAVE to say it like that?

        They all froze up at the mention of his name, before looking down in sadness. “My husband… Shining Armor’s dead.” Cadence told us, a few tears shedding from hers, Twilight and Chrysalis’ eyes.

        “Oh… Sh*t, I didn’t mean to say anything like that. I’m sorry.” Shayne then apologized quickly. “I…” Before I let her continue to try and dig her a deeper hole, I decided to go over to Cadence and try to help comfort her. Give her a shoulder to cry on.

        “At least his death was avenged...” She said with a sniffle, hugging me back. “I only wish he didn’t had to suffer throughout our capture. He didn’t had to go out that way.”

        “At least he can rest in peace,” I said, looking back at her. “Did you do something to honor him?”

        She wiped away her tears before nodding. “Yes. Berserker made a Memorial Stone for him, and our Fallen.” She told us. “He literally saved both Canterlot and the Crystal Empire, all in one day.” Hearing that made us surprised. I mean, seriously, saving two cities in one day, by himself? That’s unheard of. Well, of course, there are many things that are unheard of, but I personally was still trying to wrap my head around this.

        “Stop overthinking things.” Hunter texted to me. “You’ll fry your brain before the answer comes to you.” That’s honestly easier said than done. You may say you do one thing, but in practice… that’s a whole other story.

        Looking back at Berserker and Runner, they were already racing each other, practically neck-and-neck when they were coming back around. It was pretty close, but somehow Runner won that. The twins were laughing throughout the whole thing, though a little weak in the legs as they stumbled out.

        “Oh, yeah! I still got the moves, motherf*ckers!” Runner shouted out, both arms raised to the air. Berserker groaned, shaking his head before chuckling. “Still though, that was pretty f*cking close! Racing has to become a thing!”

        “Oh, I’m sure we can make it a thing.” Berserker replied as they got out of their vehicles. “All-in-all, these are going as fast they were designed for. Now let’s see how the rest will fare.” He said as they went over to the other ones. Surprisingly enough, one of the truck size transports were holding a platoon of Royal Guards, but their armors theme tells me that they serve as Luna’s personal guard. There were also Changelings along with them, so they must be Chrysalis’ own guard… I think. I wasn’t sure if there was any noticeable differences between this… Cocoon and Chrysalis, so it was hard to tell who’s good and who’s bad.

      “Is something wrong?” Chrysalis asked me. “You seem to be over thinking about something again?”

        “No, it’s alright-.” I assured her, looking back at them. I was going to say something else, but that’s when Applejack soon spoke up instead.

        “Hey uh… Not to sound rude or anything, how are we suppose to tell the difference between your changelings and the ones from your sister?” Applejack asked Chrysalis as she now stood next to me. “Are they somehow different in appearance?”

        “Well, instead of this green and blue colour I and my Hive have, she’s red.” She answered, using her Mane as an example. “Although, we haven’t met any form of confrontation with her in a while.” She told us.

        “Ah just thought ah would ask, just to be on the safe side.” She smiled, having the kids with her as they got on the transport. Meanwhile, I was walking to Revaan.

        “So I guess we’re going to follow you then?” I then asked as my partner stretched his wings and prepared himself for when he was going to get off the ground.

        “Yeah. Stay close and watch out. The skies are usually busy around this time.” Berserker told us before we saw a Dragon flying towards us. Upon landing, the body began to change into a Anthro form, revealing to be a female Dragon. “Anjiliza, I guess she said yes.” He spoke up.

        “Yes, my Lord. The Empress awaits your arrival. But we can tour around the city, if you wish to familiarize yourself with it, and its citizens again.” She said as she got on board the transport.

        “Thanks.” He said before looking at his soldiers. “That’s it for today, have everything taken back to Canterlot. This was a success.” He told him as they nodded and began packing things up. “Sorry, Tina. You guys were a little late when we started testing the Tanks first.” He said before starting up the transport. I used my dragon arm to pull myself up onto Revaan as he took off the ground and was in the air above the transport, but not too far up to where it was a roadblock with everything else in the sky as we began to follow them shortly after they began to leave the area.

        Looking ahead, I saw the Imperial Dragon City, and I have to say, it could practically rival that of Canterlot based on sheer size alone. It was actually similar to the Obsidian Hollow, but unlike the hollow, it was primarily outdoors and not stationed alongside that of a wall in the Badlands. Save for that volcano. As for colors, well, it looked like the perfect gem, creating this sort of rainbow like effect over the entire city… The perfect example of what I’m talking about would be similar to that of the cover for Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ album. With light coming in and the rainbow like spectrum of color coming out.

         The transport came to a halt just outside the city walls, stopping at a large gate as Berserker got out. He waved us down as the guards immediately started opening up the gates for him, prompting for us to land and join up with the others down below. By the time my feet were on the ground, AJ and the others got off the transport as the gates were almost open.

          “Runner, take a couple of the Legionnaires and park this at the palace.” Berserker said to him before picking out a couple of the Dragons to hop on. Giving a short salute, he started driving through before taking a left turn, as the rest of us walked on through. Well, guess it’s as good time as any in order to see the inside of the city. Though…… first things first.

        “Hunter, didn’t you say that you had something for Revaan once we got here?” I asked him as he turned towards us.

         “Yes, but we’ll have to go to the Imperial Palace to get it. I asked Berserker to acquire it for you.” He texted his answer.

        I was going to mention something, but that was when I noticed something from Revaan as he began to decrease in size. I remembered that he could lower his size to easily navigate throughout the hollow. It’s just been so long since he last used it that I almost forgot about it. Though, that still won’t quite fit the bill… so I guess we’ll need to wait for Berserker then.

        While we were walking through the busy streets, I was actually surprised that there were others living in the city, besides Dragons. I saw Ponies, Griffins, a few Zebras and Minotaurs. More than that though, were how the locals were reacting to Berserker, giving short bows to him and whispering about him. More so than that, the Dragons here wore many different attires. While I think the majority are from the city itself, the rest seem to be from outside the city. As for Berserker, all he did was give a nod of acknowledgement or wave at them, nothing beyond that. But his next sentence threw another wrench in my thought process, again.

        “It’s been over ten thousand years since I’ve last been here. It certainly has grown.” He stated, making me and my group trip up again, while everyone else watched us. Looking back at us, he asked. “What the hell happened to you lot?”

        “Wait… You’ve been here before?” Shayne asked, looking rather surprised.

        “And ten thousand years ago… wouldn’t that make you…” Applejack added on. Unfortunately, before she could be able to finish her sentence, it was when Tina interjected.

        “Daaaaaamn, you’re just as old and fine as Princess Sunny!! You both got it going on all up in here!!” That… made me groan to myself again as everypony was now staring at directly at Tina as she was swaying from side to side idly.

        “You don’t even know what that means, do you?” Revaan then asked Tina.

        “Hmm, quite.” Was her only response to the question as it got Shayne, Applejack and even me to collectively sigh in response.

        “Tina, shut up.” Berserker said while shaking his head. “There isn’t anything going on between us...I think?” Okay, that raised a few eyebrows. “Let’s just get some food, before we head over to the Palace.” He said as we moved towards the food stands. While the food smells great, not to mention that the prices weren’t too bad, much more affordable and plenty, I can’t help but feel that Berserker was either trying to dodge that question, or he can’t really tell if there’s even a thing going on. But in all honesty, I can’t picture him being in a relationship with… anyone.

        Anyway, once we all bought ourselves some food, we found a spot to sit and started eating. Both Doom Marines removed their helmets completely, showing us their faces. I was surprised that their hair and eye colour were the same, silvery white hair and blood red eyes. However, there were still some differences between them that were noticeable. One was the amount of scars on Berserker, while a rare few were on Hunter.

        “Did you guys look like this when you were Displaced?” Shayne asked them, and they shook their heads.

         “No, we didn’t look like this.” Berserker answered.

        “Huh. Alright then.” She said as she folded her arms. “When Hunter said you guys were brothers, I thought he meant siblings. But seeing your faces…”

        “You don’t always have to be related by Blood.” Berserker told her, taking a bite out of his kebabs. “We just call each other brothers because all of the crazy sh*t we do together. Fighting in The Hell Wars made it more apparent, but even then, the ponies we’ve been saving look down on us as freaks, or the cause of the problem.”

        “So it’s more like the term ‘brothers in arms’,” I then asked, looking back at them. “You fight alongside each other no matter the opponent or the obstacle?”

        “Pretty much.” He answered before saying. “I wonder if Runner raided the Royal Cellar?” That question made me and everyone else look towards him, save for Hunter. While the populace that heard him say that, snickered quietly. Why did they find that funny?

        Unexpectedly, Guardian answered that question for me. “They’re laughing because Berserker did that once. He was a little desperate and found the cellar, and once he started drinking Dragon Ale, he was already addicted to it.” All of our jaws hung open as we stared at the guy, as he continues to eat his food. Seriously!? He raided the Royal Cellars, just to get drunk!?

        He gave a dark chuckle, which was actually bone chilling, because it sounded like an evil villain’s one, before he spoke up. “Let me tell ya, it was so f*cking worth it. Everyone was so surprised I even managed to pull it off.” Berserker told us with a smirk. “If Runner hasn’t raided it yet, I’ll do it again. For old time sakes!” He stated, making the Dragons and everyone else around laughing up a storm.

        “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. He’s unbelievable!” Coryena exclaimed in utter disbelief and I’m in agreement with her on this one.

        “My Lord… Please… Don’t do that again…” Anjiliza said between laughs. “They might place… A restraining order on you.”

        Berserker scoffed at this before replying. “As if some sh*tty-ass paperwork is gonna stop me.” He retorted, which made her and the crowd laugh even louder. How is any of what he says is funny? Is it because he literally means it, and they know he’ll go through with it? I mean, I know he’s the serious type and all, but really? I’m not sure if this is some kind of thing with dragons in this world, but there seems to be something here that I’m not understanding.

        “His brutal honesty is one of the few things that earn him a reputation around here. They still have records of him.” Guardian told me.

        “Let’s finish up here and leg it over to the Palace.” Berserker said as he and Hunter finished off the last of their meals, before putting their helmets back on. I finished what was left of mine around the same time that Tina was done with her food… and also messing around.

        Once everyone was done, we started moving again as we moved deeper into the city. The scenery changed from the modest and simple, to the highly detailed and glamorous. It was basically something akin to a Noble status, but the Nobility around here seemed more friendly around here. Even the buildings were somewhat getting taller and looked more beautiful. But even then, when we reached the Palace, it alone just put the rest of the city to shame. It was even next to a Coliseum. Although Berserker, Hunter, Anjiliza and Guardian didn’t stand around gawking at it, as they went up the stairs.

        Snapping out of it and catching up with them, Runner was up here waiting by the door. “Well, took your damn sweet-ass time. Anyway, she’s waiting.” He said as we walked inside. The hallways of this place was a even more massive than the hollow, so Revaan went back to his full size as we navigated our way towards the Throne room. We didn’t have much time to look at everything as we approached what looked to be the Throne room’s doors.

        Once the Guard saw us, they wordlessly opened up the doors and saw a beautiful red Dragoness, clad in Royal attires and jewellery, sitting upon her throne. She looked much different to that of Ember, that was for sure. Walking on through, we made it to her as she stood up from her throne and came down to us. Well, more like coming down to Berserker, as he took off his helmet again and they looked at each other.

        “You look a lot like her. Did anyone ever told you that?” He spoke to her, as she lifts a hand up to his face. Touching it and tracing some of his scars.

        “You could say that, seeing as she’s my great great great grandmother.” She replied before sighing. “Even if you have left us, renouncing your Lordship as you did, we could never replace you… as The Imperial Dragon Lord.” As soon as she said that, Revaan was the first to ask her, albeit from shock.

        “Forgive me for sounding rather… bold, but how is that exactly possible? From where I’m from, one must have the Bloodstone Scepter in order to be seen as a dragon lord.” He mentioned, recalling the Gauntlet of Fire from a few months back. “Are the customs here somewhat different?”

         “Somewhat different, but all the same. It’s just that at the time, long ago, things were grim.” She answered us.

        “So did Berserker go through the Gauntlet of Fire then?” I added onto it.

        “Yes, but here, we call it the Imperial’s Flame. The Gauntlet of Fire belongs to Torch’s clan, since they live in another territory.” She told us. “Although, before he could enter the Trials, he had to learn of our history and language. He can’t exactly speak it, but he can read it.”

        “That was just brain melting, but I survived somehow.” Berserker said with a groan. “Anyway, let’s get Revaan his enchanted jewelry.”

        “Wait. If that’s true, then where’s the Scepter?” I asked him.

        “Don’t need it.” He answered, which left us confused.

        “How exactly do you not need something that you probably should need?” Shayne then questioned, a little more puzzled than the rest of us, which caused Berserker to growl a bit. “I’m just confused.”

        “B*tch, if I needed it, I would be using it as a beating stick!” Woah woah now… no need to get angry with us. It was just a question. “Besides, it’s useless without the Bloodstone sitting on it, because I destroyed it and absorbed its powers.” Wait, what?

        “You have to admit, that makes sense dawg.” Okay, really? Tina’s now trying to sound like the logical one… with a bit of gangster slang? What has this world (and my brain for that matter) come too?

        “The only reason why is because it was corrupted by Hell Energy. Should a Dragon try to pick it up, they would’ve become puppets to the Demons and enslave the entire Dragon race. Now tell me, does that sound like a pretty good? A legitimate reason to do what I did?”

        I scratched my chin for a moment before deciding to speak up. “Well yeah it does. Though, when the question was asked originally, we didn’t know those details.”

        “I did,” Oh come on, Tina. I know you didn’t. “I know all the details… And the word on the street!” Ignoring that now… Berserker’s reasons for his actions were rather good in hindsight now that he explained everything. It was also around this time that they finally got the jewelry over that Revaan was going to wear so he was the same size as everyone else.

        “Ah! Excellent.” The Empress smiled as it was presented to Revaan. “This one carries one of our rarest gems, even more so as an enchanted one. And I do hope you like this one.” She said, as the gem within it was purple, with green sparkling inside it, almost giving this impression that there was fire lit within it. Rather impressive if I do say so myself.

        “Why thank you, Empress,” Revaan told her formally as he took a moment to place it on himself. Soon, the gems effects began to kick in, bringing him down to the same level as the rest of us, but also portraying him as wearing a sage’s robe as he looked back at the rest of us. Only for Tina to jump on the back of him the first chance she got.

        “Well, you may be the last Onyx, but daaaaaaaamn, do you look tight!!” I heard Tina speak, which caused Shayne to chuckle to herself as I took off the jacket I was wearing and began to stretch my arms. Though, it was my dragon arm that happened to catch the attention of the Empress… and also Hunter’s brothers.

        “What happened to his arm?” The Empress asked.

        “He’s a Scalebound. Both he and Revaan’s souls are bonded together, so he gets some abilities with that arm of his.” Berserker explained to her.

        “Yeah, but there are some other things too,” I added on as Revaan walked over to me and had Tina hop on Runner’s back instead. “With our souls being bonded, it means that anything we feel is split between us. If I get hurt, so does Revaan. If I die, so does he. There are a few other things in the category of abilities that are helpful too, but I rather not be going on a tangent here.”

        “Yeah, we saw some of the gameplay of Scalebound. Not to mention that Runner explained how it’s somewhat like the movie, Dragonheart, but not a lot. Instead of the Heart, it’s the Soul, meaning that the bond, or pact, runs far more deeper. You both grow together, becoming stronger, learn something new and the like. So he based it on the other Dragon movie called Eragon. At least, loosely so, since it seemed closer to some of the aspects you possess.” Berserker explained to me. Okay, I wasn’t sure what the hell they meant by ‘gameplay’ of any kind, but I rather not question it. “Too bad it was also rumoured to being cancelled before it was released. But even we don’t know if it happened or not.”

        “Aside from that, though, how does your new body feel, Revaan?” Runner asked him. “If you want, we can head on over to the Training Grounds so you can get a real feel for it.” He suggested, which the Empress nodded in agreement.

        “I like the sounds of that.” Revaan replied, looking to me as he said that. Though, that was when Shayne also spoke up.

        “Hey… is it just me or does the arm on Revaan’s right side look different in that form than before?” That… had me look back at him for a moment, noticing that the sleeve was longer… and unlike his left side, I couldn’t visibly see his hands.

        “Revaan, what the Hell’s going on with your right arm?” Berserker questioned him, as we all looked towards the Onyx Dragon. “You trying to hide something from us?” He asked as he placed his helmet back him again. He shook his head, saying that he was unsure what they were talking about, even though something about it did not feel… normal in a sense. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the effects of the jewel or something else.

        By the time we actually got to the training grounds though, that’s when Tina decided to take matters into her own hands. Almost like she was training the kids, she had Magma breath a bit of fire around the shoulder level before she yanked the sleeve off. However, what we saw was something that I honestly was not prepared for.

        Revaan’s right arm in this form… looked exactly like my original right arm before I was displaced. And even he was surprised by it. “What in the name of the ancestors is this!?”

        “What the hell?!” I cursed in response.

        “PLOT TWIST!!!” Dammit, Tina. Not NOW!!

        “NO SH*T!” Not you too, Runner!

        Before it could get any worse, Berserker was the one to stop it. “CAN EVERYONE JUST SHUT THE F*CK UP!!!!!” He growled out loudly, getting us all to stop.

        Well… almost all of us. “This menopause moment has been brought to you by-”

        “Tina, ah think that’s enough.” Oh thank god, at least someone’s getting her under control.

        The Empress came over to inspect his arm, before inspecting the gem. “Strange… This never happened before, and the gem is working fine. So it must be that bond you share with the boy causing this effect.” She said with a hum, which to me seems like the most logical reason why. “I mean, isn’t that how he got his right arm to turn into a Dragon one?” That actually got us thinking straight now. And when you think about it, it made sense.

        “Well, that’s as better of an answer than none.” Berserker said with a shrug, before turning to Revaan. “Let’s test that arm of yours out, see if it can still throw a punch.” He said before pointing towards one of the training dummies. “Try it out on those suckers.” Revaan did so, punching one of the dummies for a moment before drawing it back. But even though that was successful… there’s possibly no single way in order for you to wrap your head around this whole thing. But, from the sound of things, Berserker doesn’t sound or seem like the type of guy to give a damn.

       “So, feel any differences when you punched that dummy?” Runner asked him, while Hunter kept an eye on Tina and the kids with my Applejack.

        “Not necessarily, no.” Revaan answered. “Then again, if I had to fight in combat, I would mostly rely on my claws. The change in form may require for me to make a change in tactics.”

        “Well, you have all the time you need to figure something out.” Berserker told him. “So think on how you’ll tackle this.” And so, Revaan began his own training on the dummies, figuring out on what to do and what not to do. After a while, Shayne lets out a sigh of boredom before Runner spoke up.

        “What’s wrong? If you want to train, go get some dummies.” He told her.

        “Yeah, but that just wouldn’t feel the same as fighting someone else.” She replied with a shrug. “And honestly, I’m kinda curious about how you three fight.” I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. I mean, she’s talking to ancient beings here, that have fought more battles and killed many Demons...even I wouldn’t think about taking them on.

        “Really now?” Runner asked her. “What made you think of doing this?”

        “Because other than seeing Hunter cut a golem elemental in half with a chainsaw and seeing the other data on you guys from Ken’s ECHO, that only portrays one side of the story,” I heard her say in response. “We don’t mind watching… mostly because Aurox still hasn’t personally forgiven Hunter for bashing his head into the dirt at Appleloosa.”

        “Don’t remind me…” The Djinn groaned.

        “Too bad the f*cktart looks like a Demon.” We heard Berserker spoke, making us cringe away from that. Jeez, Guardian wasn’t kidding about his brutal honesty. But, seriously, he needs to tone it down. As for Aurox, well, he just grumbled to himself. “Although, if you really want to, pick between Hunter or Runner. I can’t spar with you.” That caught our attention.

        “Aww… But we wanted to see you go beserk!!”

        “No… we don’t.” I told Tina in response, which just lead to her pouting in response.

        “Just hurry up and pick.” Berserker told Shayne, ignoring Tina’s plead while also flipping her the bird.

        “Hmm… Ken and Runner then.” Wait, what now?

        “Yay! This is gonna be AWESOME!!” Tina, that’s not helping right now. Neither is the look on Runner’s face as he now turned to me, even though I can’t see it, I can tell he was smiling at me. Well… I guess we’re doing this then.

        “Well, if you insist Shayne.” Runner said with a shrug as we got into positions. “Okay, rules are simple: No guns, just hand-to-hand combat and/or melee weapons only. And no, I won’t use my Chainsaw on you.” He stated the rules, which were pretty simple and fair enough. And I’m glad he wasn’t going to use his Chainsaw on Shayne and Aurox. “So, any objections or suggestions?” He asked us.

        “Oh right… You do realize when I said Ken and you… I mean Ken versus you.” Shayne told him, pointing at me now. “So you should ask him instead of me.”

        Ah what the hell? You only live once anyways. “Works for me,” I said, cracking my knuckles before stretching my hands a bit. “FYI though… I got a LOT of hand to hand combat weapons. Some of them from after the time we met Hunter.”

        “Don’t forget your abilities either,” Applejack added on… that was, until she recalled something from a while ago when we last saw Connor. “One of his blades that he formed with his energy was strong enough to cut a mountain in half.”

        “Oh right… haven’t used that in a while actually,” I chuckled, before looking back at Runner, who looked like he was having second thoughts… at least, that’s what I thought. “You still up for this?”

        “More than you could imagine. Just don’t disappoint me.” He told me gleefully, pulling out two Kunai knives. “Ready when you are.” He said as he distanced himself from me. This guy… definitely had no idea what he was getting into if he thought that a pair of knives used commonly by ninjas was going to protect him from me.

        So… I started with something simple. A pair of swords to complement that of the weapons he had. Though, one of the first things I did was go on the offensive before he could see me coming at him. It was a test to see if he could be able to easily respond to not just my speed, but also see how durable those weapons of his really were. Apparently, he did respond accordingly, and his knives somehow withheld the strength of my blades. But before I could do anything else, he repelled me off of him, but he sent me skidding back from him with a couple of kicks to the guts. I held my stomach briefly, partially thankful that I was using my earth pulse with my arm for extra defense in case if things really were painful. And personally… that hurt like a b*tch.

        So… guess it’s not time to play around anymore. With a new plan in place, I took both swords and charged at him. But… partway through, I took the blades I did make and threw them at him, allowing for me the chance to conjure both Norok and Ruvaak Iiz as the two sets of dragon arms allowed for me to give Hunter a little surprise. Especially since he wasn’t expecting the sudden change in weapons.

        “Oh~ Nice toys.” Runner with a chuckle, throwing both of his knives at my swords, cancelling each other out as they stabbed into the ground. I wasn’t sure if he noticed my two blades disappearing into thin air as he looked back at me, but I’m pretty sure that I may have got his attention. Especially since he was more focused on the weapons than me… or the fact that I intentionally missed a downward punch. Just so I can hit the ground and use Norok’s strength to have a molten fist surge from the ground and give him a very painful gut check.

        Just as went to return the favour from earlier, I managed to land the hit, hearing him grunt and gasp, while he was catching his breath, he was...laughing? Looking down, I failed to realise that he managed to just block my attack. “Well, kid, I gotta say, nice punch.” He commented before pushing my fist away from him. “However, that sort wasn’t anywhere near as powerful as a Hell Knight’s or Baron of Hell’s punch.” Yeah, this isn’t going to end well. “Hell, it’s nothing compared to Berserker’s punches!” He said before he let loose a barrage of punches at me. That forced me to try and block him, but he still managed to get me and I had to pull away from him before I take anymore damage from him. Any more and I would be forced to use my dragon form-

        Don’t hold yourself back

        Okay… What the hell was that? That definitely did not sound like Revaan, nor did it sound like Coryena. Who the hell is in my head this time?

         “Do what he says, Ken.” Okay, now I know that was Guardian’s voice that time. “Trust us, Runner can take it.” Wait, so she knows who that was? “You may want to duck now.”

        Before I could question that, I soon found my answer and barely dodged the punch Runner threw at me. Which, I found what happened next inside my head surprising.

        Who said you get to be in here?! GET OUT!!!

        For a moment, I thought I heard Guardian say something… but then for a moment, she was severed from speaking to me. Something that even I found surprising. Yet, as this went on, I found it much more difficult to keep up with things going on inside my head… and what was going on against Runner as I was having to ward him off from pushing me into a corner. Only to be unsuccessful.

        Well… I guess there was no other option at this rate. Letting the scales from my arm shift over me, I took on my dragon armor form. But… the new guy in my head… was not fully satisfied.

        Draw forth all your power… and set me free.

        Again… What? Though, I have to admit, fighting against Runner now provided me with more energy than before… but it felt like the first of something else that was going to happen rather shortly.




Point of View: Applejack




        For a moment, the fight between both Ken and Runner seemed rather alright. Ah myself was watching from the nearby stands with Tina, Shayne and the kids while Revaan was finishing up his training with the dummies. However… the moment that we saw him change into his dragon armor form… something seemed off. Like different from normal. Ah had seen him take on this form several times before… but something about this didn’t settle right with me. And ah think that Hunter’s Guardian seemed to notice too.

        “Damnable thing…” I heard her mutter under her breath, shaking her head.

        “Is Ken still in control, or not?” Berserker asked her.

        “I’m not sure. But what I am certain of is that something inside him, lying in wait, wants out. I thought that was his Displacer, but that was my mistake. Let’s hope Ken doesn’t lose himself to this new form.” Guardian replied.

        Around now was when Revaan was coming over… and could tell exactly what was going on as he now looked towards us. “Is everything alright?”

        “It might not be.” We heard Runner said as he was now dodging Ken’s attacks. Although, Ken seem to be getting faster, but Runner was still faster than him. “I’m not sure if Ken even realise this or not.” However, as the fight dragged on, Revaan seemed to be shocked by what was going on to the point that even he couldn’t believe what was happening… but for a different reason.

        “This strength… It can’t be…” Okay, just what the hay did he mean by that?

        “Revaan… Please tell me that isn’t what I think it is?” Guardian asked him, before jerking her head back and placing a hand on her head. “Yes… What? But how!?... Okay, I’ll tell him.” I don’t know who or what she was talking to, but it didn’t sound good. “Revaan, bad news, it is.” She told him, making him gasp in shock.

        “Can someone please explain what the hell is going on?” I heard Shayne ask. That was… before Revaan began to speak.

        “When my bloodline first began… there was only one dragon that was able to control the pure amount of energy that’s pooling around Ken now…” He explained, before looking at me. “And it’s the same one that he originally named the hoard branch off of.” That… caught my attention rather quickly.

        “You don’t mean…”

        “Yes… I do. What we’re feeling right now is not just Ken… but the first ever Onyx.” He said… and at the rate that Ken was going, I could tell that all the strength he had was bound to reach a boiling point.

        “Chroma.”




Point of View: Ken




        As the fight continued on, more and more of the energy from my pulse began to charge up to the point where I felt as if it was going to overflow. Not to mention that the voice in my head… was not being patient at all.

        It is time… Bring me out…

        Just who the hell are you though?

        You will know who I am… once this fight ends… and we are the only ones that remain.

        Following what he said, I did what I thought was right, releasing my strength in full as the heavy parts of my armor detached from the rest of me as I got on all fours. My helmet now actually resembled more of a dragon’s head with a movable jaw line now as one of the first things that happened shortly after becoming lighter was push Runner back… with a FREAKING fire breath.

        Okay, if this is sacrificing the armor part of it to be more dragon like, then I’m sold… matter of fact, what happened to my- WOAH!

        As I turned around, I now looked to see that most of my armor… was now a floating effigy of a dragon as it roared at Runner in response before having flames surge across the battlefield. Which… made me realize the pros and cons of what was going on. Pros? It was now a 2 vs 1 fight, I was a lot faster and now had more dragon like features. Cons? I had less protection against incoming attacks, this was probably only going to last a short while and-

        WHAT ARE YOU DOING STANDING AROUND!? BEAT YOUR OPPONENT TO A PULP ALREADY!!!

        … And that. Definitely that.

        Runner kept on dodging my attacks, somehow becoming a lot more agile than earlier. He didn’t seem to want to attack me, but more likely outlast me. Something that I would expect from that of his position… but then again, there were a couple of things I picked up on that would now be good to demonstrate. So… I now replaced my gauntlets and greaves from before… and this time brought out Velstrun. Having both glaives charge up as I threw them at him. Originally, he thought that dodging them once was enough in order to protect him.

        He didn’t expect them, however, to come back around and hit them around on the back side of the head, knocking him forward and falling towards me just as I was about to hit him with a jab kick to the chest… though, with him falling forward, it soon became a jab kick to right below his belt line.

        Um… whoops?

        “Owww… Why, Ken? Why are you trying to do things what Berserker did to me? You piece of sh*t.” He groaned out, holding his crotch as he kneeled.

        “Gravity’s a stuck up B*TCH!!” Really Tina? Now of all times?

        Your opponent’s too weak to fight… I grow weary of this battle drawing out. Just as soon as it happened… it was over. And from it, I felt all the energy from me drain rapidly. Causing me to fall forward onto the training grounds floor… and black out.




Point of View: Applejack




        The instant Ken hit the floor was the moment I ran out of the stands and rushed over to him, hoping that he was alright. He was breathing, that was one thing… But he just looked rather dried up.

        Guardian came to him and looked him over. Hunter picked his downed brother up, while Berserker clenched his hands into fists, finding myself shivering in fear as I actually felt his anger rising up. I wasn’t sure if he’s angry at Ken or whatever that things was, all I know is that he’s angry. Soon Guardian conjured up those Mana Crystals, crushing it and applying the energy stored in it to Ken’s body, making him look a little more lively.

        “He’s beyond exhausted at this point. I’ll have to take you all back home.” Guardian told me.

        “You can’t be serious!? Not with that f*cker inside of him!” Berserker growled out in rage. “I don’t trust that damn thing, rip him out of Ken and be done with it!”

        “Berserker, by the Void, this is beyond us!” She snapped back at him, angrily so, as she glared at him. “This is something they’ll have to solve on their own. We cannot help them, and even if I could do that, I’ll end up killing Ken and Revaan in the process! We can’t do anything about it.” With that said, Berserker let out one final growl before agreeing with her begrudgingly.

        “Fine!” He snarled out. As he walked away though, Tina looked sort of… happy?

        “Oooh! We saw him go berserk! Do it again, do it again!” Uh… no. Just no. Before that guy could even do anything, Guardian took us back to Obsidian Hollow as I carried Ken on my back and had the kids right next to me. Shayne decided to keep an eye on Tina while we took the chance to bring Ken back inside the temple and into the main room where our bed was. Setting him down as Guardian had the chance now to look him over.

        “Is Papa going to be ok?” I heard Magma ask us as he and Ruby were now next to Ken… concerned for him. I didn’t know what to tell him, but I was hoping that he could recover rather quickly. Though, I did not want to assume anything.

        “Hmm…” Guardian hummed for a moment before answering. “He’ll be fine, for now. But I’m still a little concern for him.” She told us with a sigh. “Honestly, I was not expecting that to happen. I even almost mistaken it to be a parasite, until I looked properly.”

        “With what happened earlier, you aren’t the only one who’s rather concerned.” I added, looking back at her as Revaan changed back to normal and went to his quarters. “Is there something we can do? Anything at all?”

        “It’s hard to say at this point. But, unfortunately, if Ken wishes to control and master Chroma’s powers, he would need to first understand how the first Onyx Dragon came to be.” Guardian explained to me. “It’s all on him now. There isn’t much any of us can do.”

        Even though she said that… I had a feeling that it wasn’t exactly that. “Okay… I’m just going to stay here with him… You can go back to the others now. I would be worried about what Berserker would want to do with all that pent up rage from earlier.”

        “Alright then. Take care of him, and if you need, ask Revaan about Chroma.” She told me with a nod. “I would leave my Doom Marines’ token with you, but with what happened, it wouldn’t be wise since it’s a little different.” She said before teleporting away, leaving me a little confused...and worried. 

        “I’m sorry for what happened, Applejack… Even it caught me by surprise,” I lifted my head up in response, only to see a dragon like spirit right next to me. “Oh… I don’t believe we’ve met before. My name’s Coryena.”

        “You’re… Revaan’s companion right?” I asked.

        “Former companion, yes…” She told me. “I may be gone, but I have still been helping Ken with understanding his powers and abilities, including speaking to you mentally when he had to liberate you from the changeling kingdom. But this… this even caught me off guard. Someone who’s stronger than I… and that in itself almost sounds impossible. Who would be able to do that?”

        Now… I wonder something. “Have you heard of the name Chroma before?” That… caused her eyes to widen like saucers as she stared at me. Which told me that this fella must be rather important for some reason.

        “B-but that sounds impossible… how-?” Before she could finish her statement, and before I could say anything, both of us felt the warm energy that was the same one from earlier. But this time… it was different as it went off with a flash, blinding both Coryena and I.




Point of View: Ken




        Ugh… My head. It was only a few moments ago that I had been fighting Runner and passed out, but when I woke up, it was in the similar mindscape that Coryena had called me to a few times before. But… I was just as surprised as I looked around, only to find Applejack and Coryena show up a few seconds later. Causing me to look back at her and instantly think that she called us here.

        Only to realize how surprised she was as the female dragoness looked back at me, wanting to know what just happened. Then… We heard something that caught our collective attention.

        “Oh good… More guests…” We all turned collectively to see who it was… and who I originally saw was something that gave me mixed emotions.

        It was the same guy who sold me the band back on earth. The guy that looked like Hideo Kojima. “Oh hell no…”

        “You know this guy, Ken?” Applejack asked me, in which I looked back at both of them before gritting my teeth.

        “Know him? This jackass was the one who had me end up here in the first place!” I growled, which only caused him to look back at me and sigh.

        “Do you even know who you are talking to, boy?” He growled, the same kind of energy I felt surround me earlier forming around him in MASSIVE amounts as he looked back at me. “Yes… I was the one who brought you here… but think of it… without you…” As the energy formed, he was now growing in size to the point where he was now a dragon that was easily bigger than Revaan himself as he glared at me. “The Onyx Kin would’ve been gone… You are their beacon of hope only because I made it happen.”

        I… just stared at him as we looked back at him. But, we all had one question in that mind. “Who are you?”

        “I… am Chroma,” He told us as he looked back at me. “And I am the first of the Onyx.”




End Chapter 36