//------------------------------// // Chapter 21 - Inability // Story: The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds // by Kamahido //------------------------------// Sometime later Ember and Sereb return. They slowly walk up the stairs together but stop outside the door. “I don’t really want to tell him this, Sereb.” “Nor do I.” “Together then?” “Very well.” Ember takes a deep breath and slowly opens the door. She looks toward the bed to see Rose and Arc curled up together. Sereb raises an eyebrow. “This is a surprise.” Ember shrugs. “A bit I guess. But let’s not put this off.” She walks over to the bed and gently shakes Arc. “Arc? Sereb and I are back.” He slowly opens his eyes as Rose does the same. The android looks up at Ember sheepishly. “Um… hi, Ember.” “Hey Rose. Feeling better?” “I’m not sick.” Arc chuckles and responds in a raspy voice. “She means your injuries.” “Oh. I’m doing okay. Thank you for asking.” Arc tries very hard to clear his throat. “Any… any luck you two?” Sereb shakes his head. “We… no.” Ember sighs. “That’s not completely true, Sereb.” She turns back to Arc. “We went back to Minerva’s office, but found the lights off and the door locked.” Rose looks confused. “How did you get in then?” “Ember Blinked us inside.” “Yeah. And it took a LOT out of me!” Sereb frowns. “I wondered why you were out of breath when we reappeared.” “Dragon Magic isn’t very good at Alteration Spells.” “Don’t you mean you aren’t very good at such spells?” Arc raises an eyebrow. “Wow, Sereb. That was kinda cold of you.” Ember frowns. “Yeah, what the heck?!” “It was merely an observation. You seldom use your magic for anything other than fire breath, fireballs, the occasional telekinesis, and putting individuals to sleep.” Ember shrugs. “That’s what dragons are good at. The same could be said for Unicorn Magic. It’s not very good for offensive spells.” Arc nods. “I can attest to that. Twilight was out of breath one time just trying to light the wood in the fireplace. Uh… let’s just keep that to ourselves though, okay?” Sereb turns to Ember. “My apologies. I was not aware of this.” “Yes, well… let’s get back to our findings.” “Agreed.” Ember sighs. “As I said, the office was empty. Sereb also didn’t sense that anyone had been in there that day either.” “All the scents in there were lingering one’s. Including yours and Ember’s.” Arc nods. “From our own visit to the office, huh?” Ember shrugs. “Minerva must have left shortly thereafter.” “We decided to see if she was somewhere else in the building.” Arc looks hopeful. “Any luck with that?” Ember nods. “Kinda. We did find a schedule posted on the wall. It looks like she’s working from home today.” “Sadly we couldn’t find an address for her listed on the page.” Rose puts a hand to her chin. “It’s probably written down somewhere in the building.” Arc sighs. “True. But there must be a hundred offices and desks in there. And even more filing cabinets.” Ember sighs. “Yeah. We tried to open a few but there were people everywhere.” “I did not smell your helmet anywhere in the building though, Arc.” Arc thinks for a moment. “Probably she never returned to the office last night.” Rose looks confused. “Where do you suppose she went then?” Sereb sighs. “It was quite late. Probably home.” Ember frowns. “Yeah. Wherever that is.” Arc turns to Sereb. “When is she scheduled to be back in the office?” “Tomorrow afternoon.” Ember nods. “She has an interview with the mayor at Town Hall.” Rose turns to Arc. “Should we approach her there?” “No. She certainly wouldn’t have my helmet with her. And we don’t want to alert her to our…” Arc doubles over coughing. Rose puts a hand on his back. “Arc, there are significant amounts of mucus in your throat.” “Yeah, I can feel it.” Ember looks worried. “What can we do?!” “Unknown. Sunburst is currently analyzing that grenade from yesterday to see if its contents are somehow affecting Arc’s condition.” Arc nods. “I sure hope not. This just feels like a really bad cold though.” Sereb frowns. “What about Minerva.” “I’ll handle her myself.” Ember glares at him. “You’re not going out in your condition, Arc!” Sereb puts his paws on the side of the bed. “Perhaps we can find a way to cure him.” Arc shakes his head. “There’s no known cure for a cold, Sereb. I wish there was, but…” His earring chirps. Rose appears hopeful. “It sounds like Sunburst has found something.” “I sure hope he did.” He touches his earring and clears his throat. “Arc here.” “Sir, I’ve completed my analysis of that grenade.” Ember appears relieved. “Good. We need answers.” “The residue on the canister would suggest that it’s a modified steroid.” Rose tilts her head to one side. “Can you elaborate on what you mean by ‘modified’?” “Once inhaled, the substance enters the bloodstream and quickly makes its way around the body. It stimulates nearly every bodily system to operate well over the normal 100% capacity!” Sereb frowns. “How is this possible?” “My preliminary tests have shown it really shouldn’t be.” Arc sighs. “I saw it in action. It turned a group of thugs into unfeeling zombies.” “Hmmm… perhaps it reacts differently once inside the body’s cells.” Ember frowns. “Well don’t go testing it out on yourself now.” “Not to worry. The amounts I garnished from the canister aren’t enough to do me or anypony else any harm.” Arc nods. “Anything we can do to aid your research?” “A blood sample of somepony who was affected would help immensely.” Ember turns to Arc. “What about the other guy?” Sereb nods. “Bloodletter became something entirely different.” “Right. One of them was injected with something that turned him into a raving beast.” “Can you tell me more about his physical changes, sir?” “He grew a LOT, sprouted claws, grew a lot of body hair, and went crazy.” “Any chance I could examine the syringe?” Sereb shakes his head. “We were unable to recover it.” “A blood sample of the victim would be of great help. Perhaps I can isolate the cause of these changes.” Arc sighs. “I hope so. Those grenades could cause a LOT of trouble on a larger scale.” Ember raises an eyebrow. “How?” Rose turns to Ember. “Imagine a larger device being dropped on a city. Every inhabitant zombified like we saw last night.” “Okay, that IS scary!” Arc nods. “Agreed. He turned back to his normal human form when we beat him though.” “How long did it take for the changes to take effect?” “Seconds.” “This certainly warrants further study.” Ember appears antsy. “All of us inhaled some of that stuff! Are we going to be okay?!” “Uncertain. How long ago were you exposed?” Arc looks Ember and Sereb over. “Almost twenty-four hours ago.” “How are you feeling, sir?” “Cold-like symptoms at the moment. My squad is the same.” “And you, Ember?” “I was sick earlier. Sereb turned me back into my dragon form and that fixed the problem.” “Understandable. Dragon’s bodies metabolize substances differently. Much more efficient and durable than a pony or a human from what I understand.” Arc nods. “So can we change her back?” “I wouldn’t advise doing so. The toxin is most likely still in her body.” Ember frowns. “You mean if I were to change back I would just get sick again?” “Most likely. I’ll send over a blood drawing kit though. Take a sample from yourself and your entire group.” Arc sighs. “I understand. But I don’t think anyone here knows how to draw blood.” Rose turns to him. “I do.” “Really?” “Yes. Mother programed me with a variety of medical journals. I’ll see to it the samples are taken.” “Alright. We’ll get back with you, Sunburst.” “Thank you sir. Send me the samples and I’ll analyze them right away.” “Good. I’ll send Sereb outside to retrieve it. Arc out.” He touches his earring and turns to Sereb who heads immediately for the door. “I will return.” Ember turns to Arc as Sereb leaves the room. “At least now we have an idea of what to do.” Rose sighs. “Yes. But Arc and the others still need help.” Arc lies back down. “We have to start somewhere.” Meanwhile, across town, Minerva sits at her desk writing. “This interview has to go perfectly! I…” A slight tapping can be heard from her bedroom. Minerva huffily stands up and walks over to the vanity drawer. She opens it to see the helmet inside vibrating. “Hey! Trying to work here!” The helmet continues to jiggle. Minerva looks around her room for a moment before grabbing one of her pillows and stuffing it in the drawer. She stands up smugly. “There! Let’s see you move now!” Looking down she sees the helmet move ever so slightly. However the pillow pressing it against the wall of the drawer holds it securely in place. Happy with the results of her idea Minerva kicks the drawer shut and walks back to her desk. “Now maybe I can get some work done.” She sits back down and continues brainstorming ideas for interview questions. An hour or so later she sits back, frowning. “ARGH! This interview is going to go HORRIBLY! I haven’t got a single question here that hasn’t been asked a hundred times!” She stands and begins pacing the floor. “Okay… I can get through this. I’m the best and brightest at Channel Seven. I’m the best! I’m the…” Minerva stops talking and listens intently. “What… is that?” She looks around for a few moments before sticking her head out the front door of the apartment and listening intently. “Someone’s television? No, everyone who lives around here is at work.” Minerva closes the door and walks over to her radio. “Did I leave this thing on?” Checking the dial she sees it is in the ‘OFF’ position. Frowning, she looks around. “Well, it’s got to be coming from SOMEWHERE!” Minerva slowly walks the apartment before turning toward her bedroom. “It’s coming from in here. Strange.” Looking all around, Minerva’s eyes eventually fall on the vanity drawer. She slowly kneels down and puts an ear to the drawer. A moment later she draws back in confusion. “But… it CAN’T be coming from here! Can it?” Minerva slowly opens the drawer and peeks in. The soft sound of weeping comes forth from the helmet. “H-hello?” The sound suddenly stops as the helmet again begins to vibrate slightly. Minerva continues. “I… uh… can you hear me?” Hearing nothing more Minerva slowly reaches for the helmet. As her fingers touch its cool surface she again feels small vibrations. Carefully picking the helmet up she carries it carefully to her desk and sits down. Holding the helmet up to look it in the faceplate, she continues her attempts. “Can you understand me?” Cherry’s voice softly speaks. “Y… yes.” Minerva throws the helmet and falls backwards in her chair. It takes her a few moments of heavy breathing to work up the courage to peek out around her fallen swivel chair. She looks at the helmet lying on the floor across the room. “Are you… there whatever you are?!” “I… I am.” Minerva stands and walks slowly toward the helmet. “Can you… say something?” “H-hi?” She picks up the helmet again and sets it back on the desk before kneeling down in front of it. “Helmet? Are you… alive?” “K…kinda.” “Was that you crying?” “…yes.” “What’s wrong? Is it because I put you in that drawer?” “I… no. Sort of.” “Then why…?” “I miss my friend.” “Who? The Hero of Light?” “Yes. He’s… very special to me.” “I, uh… what’s your name?” “Ch-Cherry.” Minerva makes a face. “Odd name for a helmet.” “What’s yours?” “Minerva. Minerva Moore.” “And that’s normal here?” “I suppose. Um… are you… hungry?” “No. I don’t need to eat.” Minerva chuckles. “I suppose not. You’re a helmet after all.” “If you have to, go right ahead.” “I’ll pass for now.” “Um… can you do something for me?” “What is it?” “I really want to go home. Can you take me there?” “I might be able to. Where is home?” Cherry is silent for a time. Eventually Minerva speaks up. “Are you still there?” “Yes. It’s just… I just realized I don’t know where home is!” “Oh! I have an idea!” Minerva picks the helmet up and walks toward the window. She holds it up to the glass. “Do you see your home?” “…no.” Minerva walks back to her desk. “Well, it was worth a shot I guess.” Cherry sighs. “Yes. I suppose so.” Minerva stops suddenly. “Wait! The interview! I asked if he was from another planet! Are you from elsewhere?!” “Kinda, I guess.” Minerva grins and holds the helmet up. “So you’re an alien?!” “N-no. At least I don’t think I am.” “Were you born here on Earth?!” “I was not.” Minerva giggles happily. “Then you’re what we call an ‘alien’!” She puts the helmet back on her desk and sets her chair back up as she grabs her notebook. “I have to interview you!” “Me?” “Yes! I’ll be famous! The first person to do a real interview with an extraterrestrial!” “A what?” “Someone from another world! An outsider!” Cherry sounds suddenly sad. “Outsider?” “Yes! I can’t wait to show you off to the world! You and I will be FAMOUS!” “But… but I don’t WANT to be famous!” “Oh, come on! We’ll have enough money to be able to buy ANYTHING we want! You have to want SOMETHING!” “There’s only one thing I’d like.” “Yes?!” “My friend.” Minerva laughs. “With our fame and fortune we’ll have any number of friends!” Cherry begins to cry again. “He’s the only one I want though.” “You have a crush on him or something?” Cherry is suddenly angry. “Not a crush! I absolutely LOVE him!” Minerva stops laughing and takes a step back. “A… helmet… is in love?” “YES!” “How?!” Cherry snorts. “I don’t expect a greedy, money-loving, self-centered human to understand what motivates somepo… someone’s feelings!” “Wait! A self-centered what?” “Um… self-centered… woman!” “No. You said HUMAN!” “I…” “You ARE an alien!” “Call me what you want! I’m not helping you become rich and famous!” “Maybe you will someday then.” Minerva sits back down and looks at her notebook. “For now, I should get back to writing up these questions.” Cherry growls. “I’m not answering anything else!” “Not for you. I’m supposed to interview the mayor tomorrow.” Cherry sighs. “How wonderful for you.” “Normally, yes. He doesn’t give many interviews.” “So what’s the problem?” “All I can come up with is the same old stale political questions. I need something fresh. Something NEW!” Cherry shakes to move close to the paper. “What do you have?” “Care to see?” “I suppose.” Minerva holds the paper up for her. Cherry reads them over. “This sounds fine to me. What’s wrong with them?” “They’re just overused. Everyone who interviews him asks these questions. It’ll make my interview filler material at best.” “You need something that pops, huh? To grab attention?” “Exactly!” “How about a deal then?” Minerva grins. “Sure! You help me do this, and I’ll split the profits from my fame with you down the middle. 80/20.” “That’s not down the middle! Not even close!” Minerva rolls her eyes. “Fine. 75/25 then.” “How about a different kind of deal? I’ll help you with your article if you help me get back to my friend.” “Fine. If you can help me, which I doubt, I’ll tell your Hero friend where he can find you if I see him. Deal?” “Deal!” Minerva reaches forward to shake hands, but upon realizing her mistake pulls it back. “Um… okay then.” “Let’s get started!” Meanwhile, Arc and Ember lie on his bed together. “You know, you don’t have to do this, Ember.” “Do what?” “Keep me warm.” “Rose got to earlier!” Arc sighs. “That’s because I had the chills.” “So? Now it’s my turn.” “Fine.” Rose enters the room and sits down on the edge of the bed next to Arc. “Sunburst has the samples he requested.” Ember appears impressed. “How did you get to the hospital and back so fast anyways, Rose?” “Arc opened a portal there for me. I simply had to ride Sereb back when I finished.” “You took a sample from some of The Riders?” Rose nods. “Most of them had already been discharged. A few of them had complications from broken legs though and were still there.” Arc frowns. “What about Bloodletter?” “Yes. He was still unconscious though. I’m not sure why they called him that silly name.” Ember raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean? That’s his name, isn’t it?” “No, it’s not.” Arc looks confused. “Then what is it?” “John Smith.” “Really?!” “Is that a bad name?” Arc shakes his head. “No. Just really… generic.” His earring chirps “Arc here.” “Sir, I’ve completed my analysis of the samples.” Ember grins. “That was fast.” “Yeah. How’d you do it so quickly?” “There’s a machine in my lab that analyzes substances. It’s a simple process to put a sample on a slide and feed it through.” Ember frowns. “Why didn’t you just do that for that bolt Arc sent you then?!” “I did. However it came back as an unknown substance.” “Some machine, huh?” Arc turns to Ember. “That would be like me asking you something you didn’t understand, and expecting an answer.” “That’s just not reasonable, Arc.” Arc looks at Ember for a long moment. “Touché.” “In any case, about the samples, Sunburst?” “Yes sir. I started with the blood from the human gang members.” Sereb frowns. “The ones who became possessed?” Arc nods. “Right.” “There appeared to be elevated levels of pseudo-adrenaline in their systems.” Ember looks confused. “What… is that?!” “The best way I can described it is an artificial adrenaline. There were also several other compounds present. Simple in their atomic structure, but otherwise inert.” Arc sighs. “Anything else in there?” “There were very low levels of a strange substance.” Rose raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean by ‘strange’?” “It appeared to be almost magical in nature. I was unable to make any headway on it until running the one you call Bloodletter’s sample.” Sereb growls. “He certainly changed for the worse.” Arc nods. “Yeah! That was scary.” “His sample possessed MUCH higher levels of this mysterious substance.” Rose puts a hand to her chin. “Was there anything else different about his blood?” “Yes. Some of the substance was still active.” “Active?” “I’ve run some tests, and believe this substance greatly increases every one of the body’s functions. It’s chemically very similar to the residue from the canister you sent me earlier.” Arc frowns. “Okay. But how did that change him into a beast?” “Unknown. I can only assume the other components worked with it in concert to achieve the results you witnessed.” Rose turns to Arc’s earring. “Could the other compounds simply be byproducts of metabolization?” “That is a possibility, yes. However without a sample of the substance in question, prior to administration or course, that theory cannot be verified.” Arc clenches his fist. “If I run into Hammer again I’ll ask her about it. Now what about my squad’s condition?” “I found trace amounts of the substance in their blood, sir.” Rose gasps. “Will they recover?!” “Yes. It should pass similarly to a cold, as the amount present in their samples were negligible at most.” Ember appears nervous. “And Arc?!” “He appeared to have significantly more in his blood.” Sereb frowns. “Will he turn?!” “No. There isn’t enough in his system to affect him as radically as the other humans were.” Rose sighs. “My scans of Arc’s condition show that he is not getting any better.” Ember gasps. “WHAT?!” “That is disconcerting. I’ll see if I can concoct an antidote of some kind in my lab. Arc puts a hand to his forehead. “What about Ember? She was there when that grenade went off too.” “Her levels are significantly lower than yours, Arc. I can only assume her dragon physiology is capable of filtering them out.” Sereb frowns. “But a human cannot?” “That would seem to be the case from the data at hoof.” Rose takes Arc’s hand. “What should we do in the meantime?” Ember takes his other hand. “Yeah! Arc can’t keep going like this!” “I will do my best to come up with a suitable treatment. However, he should be monitored closely, as his condition will most likely not improve on its own.” Ember grits her teeth. “Are you saying this might kill him?!” “Not if I can help it, no. Rest assured I’ll do everything I can.” Arc nods soberly. “You keep researching this stuff, Sunburst. I think I might have an idea on how to counter this. Arc out.”