//------------------------------// // Document 3 // Story: Fragments of Another Story // by Angelgrace //------------------------------// It’s been days since you lost Astarielle. Your first rescue mission, a complete failure. Micheal has barely been out of his lab since, and you have no idea where Tyler is half the time. And you? You often envied the humans; the slightest taste of alcohol made you violently ill, so you can’t drown your anger and sorrow in a bottle. At least they had an escape, even if Micheal chose not to take it. He was obsessed with some project, but you didn’t see the point. Master had won. If you couldn’t save one damn girl, what was the point of- “Cobalt Hills. Come in here a moment.” You trotted into the lab, looking over at the hospital bed that still rested there. Shaking your head, you looked up at Micheal; he was holding a silver bracelet in his gloved hand. “I solved it.” “Solved what?” you ask, curious despite yourself. “How he’s doing it. It’s incredible, years ahead of our time. He’s created a virus.” “What?!” You leap unto the table, looking at Micheals equipment and back at him. A virus? This was worse than you thought. “You mean he can spread this through the air?!” “He could, but he’s chosen not to.” He turns back to his computer; a model of the virus is on the screen. “It’s inert; it has to be activated by the DNA of a living being, and then it can only alter that one being. It’s incredible.” He shook his head, clearly impressed against his will. “You said he’s chosen not to. What do you mean by that?” you ask, calming down a bit now that you weren’t looking at a fullscale epidemic. Micheal looks at you, thoughtful. “He turned off the parts of virus that allow it to pass from one person to the next. Like I said, he can chose which people it affects. This…this could change everything we know about modern medicine. We could tailor vaccines to individuals! And more!” “And create strains of diseases that only affect certain races…not to mention, you know. Ponies. So is there an antiviral agent?” you asked evenly. Micheal shakes his head. “No. I can’t simply undo the effects of the virus. If I understood the work a little better, I might be able to recreate it to mutate you back, but…” “I understand.” You could see why Micheal wouldn’t want to mess with this mad scientist stuff; that’s why you liked him so much. Tyler was bold, and he got stuff done, but he skirted what could be considered moral. Micheal was a Doctor…no, a healer, even. You’ve never met a more altruistic person, and you’re a pony. Speaking of Tyler…you two could hear the truck starting up in the driveway. Micheal looked down at you for a moment, and then rushed to the door with you on his heels. Tyler was behind the wheel, and leaned his head out the window when he saw you two. “Come on! We’re busting into that warehouse, right now!” He’s lost his mind. That’s the only explanation for this. Tyler has completely lost his marbles. “Yeah, and when we do that, he’ll totally make us all into pet ponies” you call out. Micheal scoops you up suddenly, putting you in the backseat. “Look, we have to do something. And now that I have this new information, it just might be time to face this guy.” Micheal whispers. You sigh, then nod, and he closes the door, getting in front. The ride to the warehouse is sane enough, but all of a sudden, Tyler yanks the wheel to the right, headed right for the wall of the warehouse. “Get out!” he cries. Micheal shoots him a look. “Can’t we just-“ In response, Tyler punches the gas for a few seconds; that wall is getting awful close. Micheal throws the door open, jumping out and rolling away from the car; you leap over the seat and follow him. Tyler guns the truck, then jumps out himself; the truck slams into the side of the warehouse, making a pretty good sized bang. Smoke rolled out from the truck as the engine died, and you cough, trying to get the smoke out of your lungs. Once the smoke cleared, you look up, and the first thing you see is Master. Trying to ignore the odd jump in your heart, you look around through the sizable hole the truck made. There’s this other guy, about twice as old as Master and wearing a suit…crazy. Behind Master, you spot a white pegasus with a long green mane. “Astarielle?” you ask, stepping closer. She shakes her head, hiding behind Master shyly. Was she wearing a collar? You’ve never seen Master do that before. The man in the suit turns around to face the three of you. “Two of them, huh?” he says, his tone cold. “You haven’t been selling on the side, have you?” Master stepped forward suddenly, shaking his head. “N-no!” You’ve never heard him so…scared. What was going on here? “Cobalt Hills is a classic example of what I was telling you about. The mental conditioning didn’t take! And Angel Grace…” he looked over his shoulder at the pegasus. Woah. You have never, ever seen that look on his face before. Master always seemed to you like the guy who played everyone else, had it all together, and thought he was the top of the food chain. But the way he looked at that pony made you realize Master wasn’t afraid for himself. He cared about this Angel Grace; he loved her. Something had happened since your escape. “Angel Grace is…my prototype. The first successful transformation. I wanted to run a few more tests to be sure; she hasn’t been awake very long.” He looked at the suited man. “You promised me I could keep the prototype. She’s going to be the foundation for the rest of the transformations. Give me two weeks, and you can keep my cut of the first…ten sales!” Master was doing a very good job of hiding it, but there was a pleading expression on his face. “How about this, Doctor.” He leaned his head to the side a bit, whispering. After a moment, he went on. “I’ll take this Cobalt Hills, and see if we can’t tame him. If you don’t have another pet pony ready for me in two weeks, I’ll take miss Angel Grace, as well.” Footsteps sounded behind you, and you, Tyler, and Micheal turned to see three burly men step into view. Your eyes widened as you realized why they were here. Tyler and Micheal moved to protect you, but Master surprised you again. “No!” he pulled a syringe from his pocket, charging down the suited man. One of the bodyguards intercepted him, and the two struggled for a bit, Master trying to stick the needle in the guys arm. The tables were turned, through, and the man wrestled the needle away, the tip plunging into Masters arm. “Argh!” he cried out, stumbling back and holding his arm. The man grinned, and turned around… To see Tyler holding the suited guy, his two friends glaring at him. “See, here’s how this is going to go down. You four are going to leave us alone, got it? Get back in your little Suburban and I’ll let moneybags go.” He tightened his grip around the suits neck. Micheal stepped closer to Tyler protectively, and the three goons backed off, headed back the way they came. Tyler followed them, still holding his hostage, and Micheal rushed to Masters side, pulling the empty syringe out. The pegasus hopped up on Masters lap, licking his arm. “Are you alright, Master?” she asked, her eyes filled with concern. Master nodded, managing a kind smile as he stroked her mane. “Of course I am, Angel Grace…you’re safe.” He winced, looking at Micheal. “I knew you were an okay guy…” Micheal shook his head, holding up the syringe. “What was in this?” “A gift I’d been saving for him.” Master replied, grinning wryly. “He wanted a more viral strain…I was going to let him experience it firsthand.”