//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 // Story: Linkin Pony - Recharge: Revamped // by Kaciekk //------------------------------// It had been almost four weeks since Hyper had been gone from the camp. Team Xero continued to work as if all was normal. Jet and Ash had made their place in the camp, and worked on the interiors of the homes. Ash reported EchoBeat of a ‘pest problem’ in one of the houses. After assessing it, Echo marched off to find assistance. “Blazing,” EchoBeat demanded. “Can you help me? Those raccoons still haven’t left.” “What? I thought we got rid of them weeks ago?” BlazingFlair questioned. “They came back!” Echo exclaimed. “And I can’t make them budge.” Blazing followed Echo to the house where the raccoons were at. They found them hiding inside of cupboards. Echo started pounding on the side of it with a hoof. Two juvenile raccoons raced out into the open. Blazing started escorting them, along with their mother. Finally they made it outside. There, Blazing continued to urge them along. CharmingRhythm, who was scraping off old paint from the side of a house, heard the squeaks. He turned to see the raccoons lined up in front of Blazing. Rhythm gaped, surprised at how well they were cooperating. He began to laugh at the scene, as ridiculous as it was. “Alright, shoo!” Blazing waved a hoof as the raccoons shuffled into the woods.  “Thanks, Blaze,” Echo said. “I have no idea why they listen to you. I’m an Earth Pony too! Shouldn’t I be able to work with animals?”  “I dunno,” Blazing replied with a shrug. “You seem like a plant pony.” Blazing cast his green eyes to the tops of the trees. Up in the branches, there was a bright orange bird perched. It turned its head to meet Blazing’s eyes and sang.  “Hey Echo, look!” Blazing called as he pointed with a hoof. “What?” Echo peered around until he saw the phoenix sitting in the tree. At that moment, the phoenix took flight.  “That’s good luck!” Blazing exclaimed. “Hopefully for the raccoons not to come back! And hopefully for whatever is in the woods not to eat them…” He added darkly. Echo craned his head to look at the south horizon. Something was flying there. It was so small in the sky, but Echo could see that it had a wide wingspan. As it came closer, the shape became more obvious. It was a Pegasus, with two different wing shapes. “Blazing, Blazing!” Echo frantically patted on his friend’s shoulder to get his attention. “Look!”  “What? Another bird?” Blazing narrowed his eyes. “Oh, that’s not a bird. That’s-” Blazing’s face lit up just as Echo’s did.  “The phoenix was good luck!” Blazing exclaimed as they dashed off towards the village. The two of them hollered for Rhythm as they ran past him. He twisted around and followed them with his eyes. His gaze slowly floated upward, to where he saw the shape in the sky. Rhythm leapt onto all four hooves and sprinted after them. A yell broke out from across the skies. While unintelligible, it was remarkably unmistakable as the voice of HyperBlitz. FeatherTune had heard the call too, and flew over to where his friends were gathering. The ponies’ beaming faces followed Hyper as he drew closer. He brandished a brand new, bat-like wing. Several meters above them, HyperBlitz sped by, leaving a trail of wind. He curved his path and circled around the camp to decrease his speed. On his last lap, he made eye contact with the staring ponies. Hyper returned them a devilish grin. His wings angled so he could catch the air, slowing his descent. Red hooves skipped across the dirt, and finally skidded to a halt. With the stallions gathering around, HyperBlitz readied for his hugs. Blazing ran at him and squeezed him in his forelegs. After Blazing, Rhythm gave Hyper an embrace. “You actually flew!” Rhythm smiled in astonishment.  “I told you I would!” Hyper replied, looking brighter than ever.  The rest of them gave him hugs as Spinning trotted his way from the base. “Well, well, look who it is!” The Unicorn called out.  “Look at that wing!” Feather gawked. “It looks like a dragon’s!”  Hyper extended his new wing. “Yep, it even matches my armor! I’d like to get some flames painted between here,” He referred to the dark blue material between the appendages. “That is if the paint actually stays. This material is kinda stretchy.” Hyper showed by moving the appendages  “Wow, and you have full control of it!” Echo said in awe.  “It’s not my original wing, but it’s still pretty cool,” Hyper admitted.  “We’re so happy to have you back, buddy,” Rhythm expressed as he gave Hyper another hug. “Happy to be back!”  “This must be HyperBlitz,” Jet said as he stepped out from the row of houses.  “New recruit?” Hyper shot a glance at Rhythm. “Yep. This is Jet,” Rhythm introduced.  HyperBlitz stepped forward and offered his foreleg to shake. “Glad to have you on board.” “We have another one,” Spinning spoke up. “Where’s Ash?” “I have no idea,” Jet replied while hanging his head low. “I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to meet them,” Hyper said. He turned back to Rhythm. “Actually, I had something to report.” Rhythm raised a brow as Hyper continued. “I saw a couple Hybrids back that way. I think around where the node used to be.” Rhythm threw his head back and groaned in annoyance. Hyper laughed at him, and Rhythm glared back at Hyper with a smirk. “It’s only two. I’m sure we can handle them,” Hyper reassured. After a pause, Hyper bumped his hoof on Rhythm’s shoulder. “I missed you,” He added. “We missed you too.” Rhythm gave an appreciative expression. “Should we go get those Hybrids now?” Spinning wondered. “I suppose,” Rhythm answered. “Are you up for it? I know you just got your wing.” He noted that Hyper did have his EPD with him. “That’s not going to stop me. I’d love to get back to fighting with you guys,” Hyper assured. “We’re going to stay back,” Feather announced, with his head pointing to Echo. “If that’s fine.” “Yeah. I think the four of us should be more than capable,” Rhythm told them. “C’mon guys.” “We got revenge on the Hybrid that cut off your wing,” Blazing reported as they trotted off. “We finished it off with fiery passion,” Blazing claimed with a raised hoof. He eyed Hyper. “Just as you would have.” “Thanks, guys…” Hyper said, somewhat proud, somewhat awkward. “Actually I impaled it with a piece of metal,” Spinning corrected with almost no emotion. “That’s pretty cool too,” Hyper commented. “Sounds like… you guys did fine without me.” Hyper was staring downward. “Hey,” Rhythm bumped his shoulder. “The team wouldn’t be the same without you. And it wasn’t the same without you. I promise.” Hyper only replied with a smile as they pressed on. “They must be coming from the camp in the gorge,” Rhythm theorized. “We have to do something about that at some point.” “Maybe they’re out looking for the other Hybrids we killed,” Spinning thought aloud. Hybrids often scouted for their fallen allies. They would take them back, for who knows what reason, possibly to save mechanical parts. Rhythm recalled how there were no Hybrid bodies when they had gone to disable the node, despite them killing a few earlier. “Hmm, I don’t know,” Rhythm considered. “It’s been a bit too long since then.” They neared the Hybrids and took a good look at them. One was an Earth Pony with two red eyes. The other was a Pegasus, but it appeared to be land bound.  “Let’s circle around them,” Rhythm commanded.  Hyper nodded and flew to the opposite side of the Hybrids. The four teammates surrounded their enemies and began firing. It felt good to be back out on a mission, Hyper thought. He wished he could get revenge on the Hybrid that did him wrong, but these Hybrids would do. One Hybrid crawled closer to Blazing. It lifted up a claw as swiped at him. The Earth Pony bounced backwards, dodging. He flung fire energy into its face, which lit up its mane. A blue streak pierced the Hybrid’s back, an attack from Hyper. It screamed in agony, but they didn’t show any mercy. Another claw Hybrid made its way around Spinning. With a swing of a foreleg, it left a gash in the Unicorn’s foreleg. Ignoring the laceration, Spinning bashed his protected foreleg into  Bright cyan and red lit the battlefield. The four of them swiftly took care of the cyborgs. Hyper was ecstatic to deliver the finishing blow on the one who had attacked Spinning, but that satisfaction did not last long. He felt as if he had not done enough. “Should we bury them, or let them get taken?” Spinning asked. “I see no point in dragging them back to camp,” Rhythm said with a huff. “Let’s put them over there.” He pointed to where the ground sloped downward.  Both he and Spinning pulled the Hybrids over with their magic. The gaited to the two other stallions and headed back to camp.  Hyper was happy to be with his team, and friends, again. There was still an emptiness inside of him, a wound that wouldn’t heal. He recalled a conversation with Slate, who told him that he would never be the same, even after he got a new wing. There was no way to completely replace what was lost. Hyper knew that was true. Though his emotions dared to drag him down, Hyper did not want to worry his friends. I have to power through it. They’re counting on me.