//------------------------------// // JC-4727 // Story: Skylanders X MLP // by Skylander545 //------------------------------//  (Imaginator POV) Darkness...all I could see was darkness… and yet, for some reason, I was aware of it, I even felt it. What is going on? What is this place? Who am I? Before I could figure out what was going on, I felt gravity rushing passed me, like I was falling. That was exactly what was going on with me as I splashed down into a body of water. As I fell, I began having these weird thoughts as several images appeared. They varied between a camp, a cave filled with crystals, a boy with a gauntlet, a girl wearing headphones and a large robot. Eventually, I landed in the middle of the darkness as it started to clear up as I noticed what I was standing on.   It looked like a stained glass mural depicting...a girl with red and yellow striped hair, light green eyes and she looked like she was wielding fire. In all honesty, she was actually quite breathtakingly beautiful, there was something about her, like I’ve seen her before...but I don't know what's going on in this place. Taking my attention away from the girl, I noticed that the mural had six other pictures which I could point out the boy with the gauntlet in one of them since I recognized the spiky green hair until a noiseless, disembodied voice spoke, “Your life is beginning, your journey is beginning as your current form will change to what it will appear.” That caught me by surprise when it said that my ‘life is beginning’ meaning that I was actually on the verge of being born...brought into the real world outside of this mysterious place. All of a sudden, a mirror appeared right in front of me, out of curiosity, I approached it and all I saw was a crystalline figure consumed by light, mimicking my movements. “Is this supposed to be me?” I asked. All of a sudden, the light in the mirror began to change from a figure of crystal and light to a more human appearance. The figure in the mirror wore a suit that had some patches of red on the pant legs and arms. I did point out several pieces of armor from the chest, shoulders, knees and back, which had a device strapped to the lower back. It wore finger-less gloves, a piece of fabric that was wrapped around the neck and a hi-tech helmet with the visor looking like an X as it gave off a blue glow. I looked back at myself and realized that the figure in the mirror was me as I was wearing the same gear as my reflection. Soon as I was looking over my new self, that voice spoke, “This form is what you are, your weapons, your armor are a part of you. The door is waiting for you, your element is awakening within you, for you also have gained a special power. Use your abilities to reach the next station and open the door.” I cautiously looked at the mirror again as it soon turned into a door and flashed towards the nearby pillar or as the voice calls it, a station. There was nothing but a gap between the station I was on and the station the door was on as two walls appeared to bridge the gap on the side, but not the walkway. It wasn't until that voice spoke, “Run the walls to reach your goal, bound between for the bold.” Looking at the walls, I realized that I have to run the walls to get out of here. I took a running jump as I felt myself sticking to the wall as the device on my back kept me up as I began wall running. I noticed the other wall as the device began to wear out on this side, so I jumped from the first wall to the second and continued to run. I repeated this process several times until I reached the next station. It was heart pounding to think about what would happen if I messed up and I would end up falling into darkness again. As I approached the door with caution, I took notice of the ‘station’ that I was on. It was a different image than the first, it had the image of the boy with spiky green hair and a spirit-like creature with the head of a dragon. When I reached my hand towards the door, I had a gut feeling that this was a test of some sort. I opened the door to reveal an obstacle course that has walls, ramps and still enemies as I asked, “Is this a test?”  “Your abilities are strengthened by your element and battle class, Pilot. Do not be afraid, for you see the world differently. Sheer walls will become flanking routes, you will master the art of stealth and deception, even overwhelming odds will be used in your favor. All of those skills are put together in this gauntlet, Pilot.” All of a sudden, a flash of light appeared in my hands as two weapons took their place. The first one was some type of rifle while the other was a pistol, “You have the tools needed for your run. Get through the course, quick and efficient.” So, I ran the course as I took the voice’s advice about who I am. But I couldn't help but think as I ran across a wall and shot the three targets. Element? Battle Class? Pilot? Special Power? What's going on here? How am I alive? Why am I called a Pilot? All of these questions filled my head as I jumped from the wall, slid on my knees and shot at two more targets as I jumped onto another wall and tossed a grenade at a group of targets before continuing on. I continued running, shooting and sliding my way through the gauntlet until I reached the finish line as my time read ‘00:45.1’ and the voice spoke again, “A fast run, efficiency in dispatching foes and speed are a key factor in the power you wield, Pilot.” I looked around again as the gauntlet faded back to a station which showed the picture of a girl with lime green hair wearing a pair of headphones, holding a set of bolas as the green spirit of a fawn circles around her. I was still dumbstruck to this whole thing, but the only way to get out of this place is forward as I began to walk forward. That wasn't until I felt a tingling sensation and I jumped out of the way of an unknown assailant. I managed to double jump, thanks to the device on my back and backflip over the assailant and landed behind him. As I saw the figure turn towards me, I noticed something familiar about him, despite the shadowy appearance and red X visor on the helmet - He looks just like me. “Be warned, the further you go towards the light, the greater your shadow becomes.” My shadow gazed at me before morphing into a shadow giant with a literal heart shaped opening. I knew that this was a fight, so I pulled out my gun and my left hand flashed to reveal a sword. I was confused at first until the giant stomped its way towards me and I dodged it. I fired my gun at the monster’s eyes while landing a couple of slashes with my new sword at its hand. The monster was doing everything possible to stop me as I continued to alternate between the sword and the gun via slashing at the hands or shooting in in the the eyes. It even summoned some smaller dark creatures to stop me, but I managed to slide beneath them and chop them up with the sword. When it looked like I had the big guy on the ropes, it suddenly dropped through the floor as a puddle of darkness attempted to consume me. “Do not be afraid, for you wield the ultimate weapon…” All of a sudden, a bright blue light appeared in my vision as a metallic hand pulled me from the darkness before placing me in what looks to be a cockpit,“As well as the power of Tech. You may now awaken.” “JC…”  “JC...”  I heard voices as I moved a bit as those same voices spoke again before opening my eyes as a blinding light appeared in my vision. It didn't take long for my eyesight to adjust to figure out that I was lying down on some sort of table. I also felt a bit cold since I noticed that I wasn't wearing the gear, instead it was a form fitting bodysuit. While lying down, I noticed that I was in some sort of chamber with two archways and a platform in the center of the chamber. I also took notice of the glass tube behind my prone form and how...familiar it looked.  “JC…” Said a small voice as I looked down to see that I wasn't alone. In the room were eight creatures, the smaller ones were four legged and were hooved while the fourth one was a dragon that walked on two legs. The larger ones were two dragons one purple, one black and the last ones were a dog with a shield and a duck with a stick. The three hooved creatures approached my table with a smile as I asked, “Who are you?” The yellow one with the bow spoke, “Ah’m Applebloom…” She pointed to the white one with a horn, “That's Sweetie Belle…” She pointed to the orange one with the wings, “And Scootaloo! We made you, Jack.” I raised an eyebrow and asked, “Jack? You called me, Jack? Is that my name?” Sweetie Belle stated with a shrug, “Well, we called you ‘JC’ before you were flushed from the tank. Donald and Goofy suggested that we call you Jack since it's in your number.” I asked curiously, “Number?” Scootaloo added, “The number that you were given by the tank behind you was ‘JC-4727’ but we had to give you an actual name since you're a new type of Imaginator with a whole new battle class.” I remembered, “JC-4727, Pilot of the Tech Element.” I slowly sat up from the table and said, “Where am I?” The purple dragon decided to speak, “You're in the Canterlot Portal Chamber, it's the hub of the portal network, linking this world, Equestria to our world, Skylands.” The black dragon spoke with a female voice, “Spyro and I have just finished telling these four of our adventures before you woke up.” The dog realized, “Gawrsh, we got here too late to hear it.” The duck sighed, “Cheer up Goofy, there's always another time.” I didn't know what to do when I took my first steps after getting off the table. I was a bit wobbly at first, but I managed to get used to walking before running since I was doing plenty of it in the awakening. I also felt myself looking at the walls that had stained glass windows that shown that history of how this chamber and the portals came to be. But it wasn't until I noticed one of the arch portals displaying a familiar sight, acting on instinct, I dashed from the table, jumping over the dragons and sliding through Goofy's legs as he yelped in surprise. I stopped at the portal and took in what was being shown - the camp from my dreams. I turned to group who were surprised by my sudden reaction, “I...I remember seeing that place before...in a dream before I woke up.” That caught everyone by surprise with what I said as Goofy asked, “This dream...what was it about actually?” I described it as best I could, from the stations, the voice, the pilot's gauntlet, fighting my dark side to a metal hand saving me from the darkness. I could tell by the looks on Donald and Goofy's faces that they've heard about this before. I don't know if they experienced it or someone they know had gone through it, but they definitely heard of this before.  “Hmm...that is interesting.” Said a voice as a new pony entered the room, he had a blue coat, white mane and beard. He had both a horn and wings as he wore a cloak with a sash that had the symbols of all ten elements. His blue eyes had shown wisdom as he said, “Greetings young Imaginator, I am Eon and I have to say that you are more different than the regular Imaginators that go from crystal to life. As I recall correctly, you entered a dreamscape during your creation?” I nodded before saying, “I did and it somehow showed the camp in the portal behind me.” Eon gazed at the portal and then back at me, “That is a mystery, isn't it? Whatever dream you had, might mean that you are supposed to go there.” I turned back to the portal and back the big pony and asked, “Something tells me that I can't go yet.” “Indeed, considering that you are fresh out of the tank, we’ll need to run a few tests with your element before assigning you to a Sensei and that's a tricky one.” “There aren't any Pilot Senseis?” “It wasn't until the Pilot Class was discovered until the children created you. But if what you said about the camp is true, we would be more than happy to assign a member of the air team, Echo Squadron to the rank of Sensei.” I was confused, “Wait, what do you mean?” Eon stated, “You are going to begin your Pilot training under the leader of Echo Squadron, who would also be given the rank of Sensei. The whole squadron is through the portal, fixing up the summer camp and bringing it back to its old self.” I looked back at the portal as the image of the camp was just begging for me to step through. But I was still fresh out of the tank, I still needed to know what makes me an Imaginator and find some answers to the mystery of the dreamscape. I turned back to the group and said, “I don't know what all of it meant during my awakening, but I've only been alive for 5 minutes. I still need to learn more about my new life if I am to live my life.” “That's a great opportunity for you.” He turned toward the four children, “Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, Smolder, would you be so kind to lead Jack to the infirmary?” The three fillies approached me as Applebloom said, “Don't worry, Jack. We do this with every Imaginator that we create. You just need to get yourself looked at by a doctor.” I looked at them and nodded before asking, “Since you three made me from a crystal, do you think you can craft the suit I was wearing in the dream?” Sweetie Belle said, “We just need to know what it looks like. But we'll figure it out after you see the doctor.” (Normal POV)  After a lengthy examination of the new Imaginator ‘JC-4727’ or as the CMC named him, ‘Jack’ the medical staff had concluded that Jack was physically healthy, but the doctor noted some unusual brain activity, how Jack remembered seeing Camp Everfree in his dreamscape before his awakening and how these stations showed stained glass images of Trap Ranger Spike, Sunset Shimmer and Lemon Zest as Eon had identified from Jack’s descriptions. Eon noted that Jack felt like he's seen her before in the dreamscape, long before his creation. He made a mental note to ask the CMC of what they did to make him. As for the CMC, they used the Imaginite chunks and thanks to the imagination and the sketch of Jack’s suit from that dream, they were able to craft the pieces of the suit, the armor, the thruster pack, the suit and the helmet. But they added some extra attachments to it, Scootaloo added a grappling hook to his left wrist for escaping danger or pulling an enemy towards him. Applebloom added an emergency cloak in order for him to sneak around and slip away. Sweetie Belle added a holo-decoy that would either stand idle or run towards the direction he was facing, it's mainly used for distracting enemies. Smolder decided to pitch in and added her creation to the suit; because of witnessing the grublins use of ranged attacks, she used the Imaginite to create a shield wall to protect him, should he ever engage in combat. These four attachments as well as the suit were placed inside a suitcase as the new Imaginator, now in Camp Everfree clothes stood at the portal. He would definitely stand out amongst the others since his skin was pale with a tan, he had dark brown hair and his build is that of a human teenager who spent a lot of time with a track team. Master Eon looked at the Imaginator and said, “I have already sent word to the team and news of Spy’s promotion to Sensei. Although all six members are skilled, he will teach you everything you need to know on what it means to be in the Pilot class and perhaps more that you could find out yourself. He would also tell you to not be afraid to ask the others for additional training, Dro is an excellent machinist and would do well for your Element Training aside from your Pilot Training.” Jack nodded, “Thank you, Master Eon. I'm glad to have been brought into the world and now it feels like my adventure in life begins.” Goofy spoke, “Oh and before you go, we kinda figured out that dream of yours.” “What was it, Goofy?” “Well, it's called ‘The Dive to Heart’, King Mickey went through it before and our friend, Sora had gone through it several times.” Donald spoke, “In some cases, a Dive to Heart could mean one thing.” Jack caught on, “The ultimate weapon?” This caught them by surprise as the human imaginator remembered what the voice said. “You really are on your way to getting it.”  “What are you saying, Donald?” Goofy spoke, “We wish we could tell you more, but all you need to know is to trust your heart and the hearts of your friends. For your friends are the power which the key can sense.” Jack asked, “Is this a riddle?” Eon sighed, “I suppose it means that you have to trust yourself and your new friends at Camp Everfree. The Echo Team is more than a squadron, it's a family as well.” Jack nodded, “I guess Jack-4727 is going to Camp Everfree.” Scootaloo spoke, “Um...Jack, the girls and I were thinking about your name and figured, every first name should have a last name. You can't keep going by Jack-4727 for the rest of your life like a product number.” “My first name marks the J in the number...C could have my last name start with it.” Applebloom asked, “If yer looking for a last name to start with C, how about Carter?” Jack shook his head as Sweetie Belle guessed, “Cedar?” He shook his head as Scootaloo guessed, “Crasher?” Jack sighed, “None of those would do. I need a name that could define who I am.” That's when Smolder asked, “How about Cooper?” The CMC looked at the dragon as Sweetie Belle asked, “What gave you the idea for name?” “I thought about the names you chose for him, he doesn't seem to be fond of them. He needed a name that would make him stand out from the rest of the Imaginators. You said it yourself, he's a new type of Imaginator, one that's fully human with superpowers.” The Imaginator thought about this, “Cooper? Pilot Imaginator Jack Cooper? Hmm...that's actually a fitting name. It will do.” Scootaloo smiled, “You seem to like your full name.” Jack nodded, “It makes me feel like I'm ready for anything.” Applebloom looked at Smolder, “Nice work on giving him a full name. You might have what it takes to become an imagineer.” The dragon nodded at this as Eon chuckled, “Well now, Jack Cooper, your journey with the Echo Squad is just beginning.” Jack bid everyone farewell as he walked into the portal. At that moment, the Alicorn turned portal master had a grim look as Goofy noticed, “Is there something wrong?” Eon sighed, “I've been having premonitions regarding an evil that's been haunting me for years and I fear that he will return and we will be too occupied to deal with this.” Donald assured, “Whatever he is, we have to rely on the Echo Squad as well as Jack to deal with this. We should focus on Malefor and figure out how to take back Mount Aris and yes, we’ve heard about it.” Eon nodded as the CMC cleared out as he prepared to leave with Donald and Goofy before turning his head back to the portal before thinking, “It's been 16 years already, Brother?”