Arc looks to Hammer, confused.
“Why would she go to all that trouble though?”
Hammer shrugs. “Man, I don’t know! She’s crazy sometimes!”
She cracks her knuckles.
“If you really want to find out, just drop me off by our apartment and I’ll have my fist ask her!”
“Let’s not do that. I don’t see that ending well for either of you.”
Hammer grunts. “Whatever. By the way, is your hand okay?”
“It’s fine. Why?”
“Well, it just looked like it hurt when that one fella blocked your fist with his forearm.”
“In all honesty, it certainly didn’t feel good. For either of us I would imagine.”
Hammer laughs. “I don’t think he’ll try doing that again.”
Arc winces. “Yeah. I think I might have broken his arm.”
“Probably. But could you take me back to my little apartment? We can look it over in some better light.”
“Sure.”
A long drive later they park in front of Hammer’s place. Getting out she leads him inside and up the stairs.
“You sure you’re okay, Arc?”
“Y-yeah. Why?”
Hammer rolls her eyes. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you’re walking kinda funny?”
Arc winces. “I guess I am.”
Hammer puts an arm around his back and helps support him. “Come on inside. I’ll take a look at it.”
Opening her apartment door she assists Arc in making his way over to the couch.
“There you go. Now then, let me get the light.”
She flicks a switch which causes a single bulb overhead to spring weakly to life. Hammer kneels down in front of Arc and carefully removes his shoe before looking his foot and ankle over.
“Well… the good news is it doesn’t look broken. I think you just twisted it somehow.”
Arc sighs. “I tripped one of those goons. That must’ve done it.”
“You should be fine in a day or so. Let me get you something to wrap it up with.”
“Oh, you don’t have to…!”
Hammer stands as she grins. “Oh yes I do. It’s a girlfriend’s duty to care for her man’s injuries. Especially since you got hurt trying to help me.”
She walks to her room and closes the door. Cherry calls out to him telepathically.
“That went well.”
Arc sighs. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Don’t you get it? Those thugs did you a real favor.”
“How so?”
“You’ve gained not only her trust, but now Hammer’s respect.”
“I guess so.”
Cherry giggles. “Yes. Now you have to decide what to do with it.”
“Huh?”
“You could probably ask her anything and she’d tell you. Maybe even up to taking you to Princess Celestia.”
Arc frowns. “That might be pushing it. I don’t think she even knows about her though.”
“Oh?”
“Remember, she said over dinner that the research being done wasn’t something she was involved with.”
“I suppose that’s true. Say, what do you suppose is taking her so long to get a bandage?”
“No idea. Maybe she just…”
Arc’s thoughts are interrupted as the door opens and Hammer walks out with a cloth bandage. He notices that she has changed out of her dress and into a tight fitting t-shirt and fairly low cut shorts. Kneeling down in front of him she carefully wraps the ankle.
“That oughta do it.”
“Thanks.”
Leaning forward, she sits down on the couch next to him.
“Give me your hand.”
“Huh?”
“You hit those guys pretty hard without so much as a glove. I just want to make sure they’re not hurt as well.”
“Oh… okay.”
He extends his hand. Hammer takes it and looks over both sides before turning her attention to the other one along with his wrists.
“You look okay, I suppose. Just some minor bruising. You done this before?”
“What? Go out on a date?
Hammer rolls her eyes. “No. Fight.”
“Let’s just say I’m above average in that department. After all, when investigating things situations have a tendency to degrade very quickly. My guys and I have had to defend ourselves on numerous occasions.”
Hammer grins. “Well, you did a really good job of it tonight.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey, I’ve got a bit of a headache. Would you mind if I shut off the light?”
“Go right ahead.”
Reaching up Hammer flicks the switch. The light from the streetlights outside shine weakly through the windows.
“Feeling better?”
Hammer nods. “Much. Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Um… how… how did you get that uniform for Auriel the other day?”
“Oh… um…”
“I don’t recall giving you one.”
“We… found it.”
“Did you now?”
Arc nods. “Yes. There was a shipment of them in the back of the truck we jumped in.”
“Jumped… in?”
“The back, that is. Driver never noticed the two of us hop in when he slowed down to take a sharp curve.”
“Very brave of you two. Boarding a moving vehicle.”
“We did what had to be done to get inside the base. The uniform was just a lucky break to seal the deal.”
Hammer smiles as she narrows her eyes seductively. “That’s very interesting. But I should probably offer you a place to sleep.”
“Sleep?”
“After all, it is getting to be quite late.”
She wiggles her way into his lap and leans in close to his ear.
“My bed is plenty big enough and has clean sheets if you’d like to spend some more time with me.”
“Ah… that’s probably not a good idea.”
Hammer sighs. “You don’t think I’m pretty?”
“No, no! It’s just… inappropriate for me to be doing things like that with a client, that’s all!”
Hammer looks hopeful. “So when you finish my case… do you think we could…?”
“Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it.”
He carefully picks her up and sets her aside before reaching for his shoes. Hammer frowns.
“That’s it?! You’re just going to leave?!”
“I probably should. Like you said, it’s late. That and Daisy will get worried if I’m gone too long.”
Hammer sighs as he stands up and follows him to the door.
“I understand. Sorry for being so forward.”
“It’s okay. I’ll see what I can do to figure your case out. Just be aware that it’ll probably take some time.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. But feel free to call me anytime.”
“Sure. In any case, thanks for tonight. It was certainly eventful.”
Hammer grins. “That it was.”
“Good night.”
As Arc reaches for the doorknob Hammer grabs him, wraps her arms around his neck, and plants her lips on his. The moment seems to go on forever before she pulls back and smiles at him.
“Now it was a perfect night.”
“I… uh… yeah! I’ll definitely be in touch with you.”
Grabbing the doorknob he turns it and gently eases out of Hammer’s grasp. Locking it behind him she leans against the door and slides down it to the floor. She sits there as the sound of Arc’s Jeep starting can be heard and grins broadly.
“You are without a doubt the total package, Arc! I can’t wait for my case to be completed now!”
Meanwhile, Arc drives down the road. He grips the steering wheel tightly and shakes his head.
“Of all the brainless things to do!”
Cherry calls out to him. “Arc?”
Viktor’s voice fills his ear. “Sir? Is everything alright over there?”
“No! Everything is just… WRONG!”
Rose bows her head. “You sound upset, Arc. Come home and we’ll figure this out together.”
“I… I just… look, I need some time to think. Everyone get some sleep. Arc out.”
He touches his earring, severing the connection. Cherry is silent as Arc continues driving. Eventually they reach the town limits.
“Where are you going, Arc?”
“No idea.”
“How about a nice quiet place to sit? I see a little diner up ahead.”
Arc sighs. “Sure. Why not.”
Turning into the parking lot he shuts off the engine and walks inside. A familiar face sits in the first both.
“Good evening, Arc.”
Wiseman gestures to the seat in front of him. A slice of pie and glass of milk are waiting.
“Have a seat.”
“I just… okay.”
Sitting down, Arc picks at the pie.
“So how are things with Hammer?”
Arc glances up. “I get the feeling you already know.”
Wiseman nods. “That I do.”
“Are you here to tell me ‘I told you so’?”
“In a sense.”
Arc sighs. “Go ahead.”
“You sought to use a woman’s feelings to get ahead in your mission.”
“It sounded like a good idea at the time.”
“And now?”
“I just feel like slime. Am I really any different than Decimus at this point? Manipulating a woman to get what I want?”
“Or General Mustang?”
Arc gasps. “So he IS controlling Stingray and Mio?!”
Wiseman nods as Arc clenches his fist.
“I knew it!”
“Yes. However the difference is that unlike you he feels no remorse for such actions.”
Arc nods soberly. “So what do I do? Dump Hammer?”
Wiseman shakes his head. “That would be… unwise. As much as she loves you, should you chose to hurt her in such a way, well… it’s not likely you’d walk away from such an encounter.”
“Yeah. I got that feeling earlier. So I’m stuck, huh?”
“Not necessarily.”
“You have an idea that won’t get me clobbered? I mean… I guess I deserve that.”
“I do.”
“Then let’s hear it.”
“Tell her the complete and total truth.”
Arc frowns. “Is that mask cutting off the blood flow to your brain?! She’d never believe that and you know it!”
“Hammer is quite a strong-willed woman. But she can tell when someone’s being honest with her.”
Arc sighs. “I wish she knew when I had been lying.”
“But you weren’t.”
“How so?”
“Everything you’ve told her has been at least mostly true. You do want, and technically have, a job investigating things. The squad really are your employees in a manner of speaking. Dinky is your adopted daughter. How am I doing so far?”
“It still feels dishonest.”
“That’s because it is.”
“Great. Words of wisdom?”
Wiseman shrugs. “Just the truth.”
“I could use some real guidance here.”
“Very well. Here is my advice.”
Wiseman clears his throat before continuing.
“Remember this in all things. The truth will set you free. Always.”
“I don’t see how that will help me now. As it stands, I’ve already betrayed Hammer.”
“So tell her. Confess your transgressions and she may yet forgive you. However, should you continue to lead her on as you are now, your relationship may be damaged beyond any hope of repair.”
He looks Arc straight in the eye.
“What do you think that will do to her? After she gave you her heart… and offered you so much more just a short time ago.”
“I… I don’t…”
Wiseman narrows his eyes. “Don’t lie to me, Arc. You know exactly what would happen.”
“She’d… close her heart to anyone else for… a very long time. Kinda like I did when Cherry…”
His voice trails off. Wiseman nods soberly.
“You felt as if the ground had vanished under you. That you couldn’t love again, didn’t you?”
“I did, yes.”
“How did you like that?”
“Not at all!”
“So do not inflict it upon another, you fool! The way I see it, you have two choice right now. One, tell Hammer the absolute truth. Or two… rescue Princess Celestia, return her to Equestria, and never return.”
Arc gasps. “What?”
“Your rescue mission will be quite the spectacle, after all. Hammer may be led to believe you were killed in the skirmish. While such a path would be hard for her to walk, she would still have her memories of the time you two spent together to give her hope.”
“Tell the truth or fake my own death?! What about Shelly and Lily?!”
“For that question I have the same advice. Tell the truth, or do not return. The choice, as always, falls to you.”
Wiseman looks out the window at the moon before turning again to Arc.
“Enjoy your pie.”
The robed figure slowly fades away. Arc puts his face in his hands.
“I… I can’t do either!”
Cherry calls out to him telepathically. “Yes, you can! I have faith in you!”
“Well, which should I do?! Both will lead to pain for everyone! I… I never should have done this!”
Cherry sighs. “This is my fault too, Arc. Remember, I justified the ends with the means.”
“Same as me.”
“Yes.”
“What do you think I should do?”
“I honestly have no idea. Both of Wiseman’s suggestions would be very dangerous and painful for all concerned.”
Arc looks out the window and sighs.
“I guess I have a lot to think about.”
He sits in the booth for some time, thinking. Eventually, looking down at the table, Arc spots the bill. Frowning, he pulls some money from his pocket and places it on the table before walking to his Jeep.
“Wiseman… leave it to him to skip out on paying his share of the bill.”
Cherry sighs. “Well, yours certainly cost more. All he had was coffee.”
“Yeah, well… maybe he was trying to show me a little of what it feels like to get stuck with someone else’s problems.”
“Or he’s just cheap.”
“That’s also a possibility.”
“So… what are you thinking, Arc?”
“I’m going to do my best to get Princess Celestia out of there and back to Equestria as soon as possible. No matter what it takes.”
“What about Hammer?”
Arc thinks for a moment. “I… I could come back afterwards. Tell her the whole story.”
“But will you?”
“Truthfully?”
“Always.”
“Right now… I don’t know.”
Making his way home, Arc parks and steps out of the Jeep. Frowning he walks up the steps and through the back door. Ember and Auriel are sitting at the table waiting for him. Ember is the first to speak.
“You okay now, Arc?”
“I don’t know.”
Auriel appears worried. “You sounded very upset on the radio.”
Arc nods as he closes the door behind him. “I was. Still am, I suppose. Is Dinky in bed?”
Ember nods. “Yes. We put her down shortly after dark.”
“She wanted to wait up for you to say goodnight. But we convinced her you wouldn’t want her to stay up past her bedtime.”
“Thanks. I… think I’ll go check on her.”
He heads for the stairs. Auriel and Ember turn to one another, clearly confused. Arc quietly enters the guest room which Dinky shares with Ember. Casting a very small Flame Spell he approaches her bed. Reaching out he covers her up. Dinky stirs ever so slightly and opens her eyes partway.
“Sorry to wake you, sweetheart.”
Dinky smiles up at him sleepily. “Hey, dad. How was your date?”
“It was… okay. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.”
She nods with a weak smile before turning over and going back to sleep. Leaning down Arc kisses the top of her head before slowly backing out of the room and closing the door. He stands there for a time just staring at the wood. Eventually Arc feels a hand on each shoulder. Turning, he sees Auriel and Ember smiling at him. They each take a hand and lead him back to his parent’s room. Sitting down on the bed together Ember speaks.
“Seriously. What’s bothering you, Arc?”
Auriel nods. “Yes, you signed off so quickly.”
Arc looks down at his hands and sighs.
“I think… no… I KNOW I’ve made a terrible mistake!”
Ember chuckles. “Not taking Hammer up on her offer?”
Auriel gasps. “Ember!”
Arc forces a small smile. “No, that I’m sure I handled well.”
Ember sighs. “Then what?”
“What I’m doing to Hammer… it’s… it’s just plain wrong.”
Ember raises an eyebrow. “Come again?”
“She’s fallen for me.”
Auriel smiles. “We do understand that, Arc.”
“Yeah. Auriel and I totally love you! Hammer’s just… Hammer.”
“Oh? You should’ve seen her face when I turned down her invitation to the bedroom. And when she kissed me.”
Ember grits her teeth. “She did WHAT?!”
“You heard me.”
Ember clenches a fist angrily. “Next time she does that, I’ll rip her lips off!”
Auriel appears surprised. “Why, Ember? She’s done nothing wrong.”
Arc sighs. “That’s not entirely true. Hammer was working with the Shards and now our real enemy, General Mustang.”
Ember nods fervently. “Right. She deserves what she gets!”
Auriel looks to Ember. “What will she get?”
Arc groans. “A broken heart as it stands.”
Ember shrugs. “I’m remembering all the trouble she gave us in the past. Not seeing how a little heartache’s a bad thing.”
Arc shakes his head. “Wiseman was right.”
Ember scoffs. “No way! That guy has a lot of nerve trying to tell you how to run a mission!”
“I mean tonight.”
“On your date?”
Arc sighs. “No. After I left.”
Cherry calls out to them. “Arc and I went to a little diner. He was there waiting for us.”
“Right.”
Ember rolls her eyes. “What was his terrible advice this time?”
“That I should do one of two things. Either tell Hammer the complete truth, or…”
He looks down at the floor before continuing.
“…or get Princess Celestia and… never return to Earth.”
Auriel gasps. “Never?”
Arc nods as Ember seethes.
“What about Shelly and Lily?!”
“I… I just don’t know what to do?”
Auriel looks to him, hopeful. “Can’t you do both?”
“Huh?”
“Rescue the princess and then tell Hammer what you were really up to.”
Arc groans. “I already thought of that.”
Cherry sighs. “It does make the most sense. After all, once the princess is safely home Arc won’t really need a cover story or secret identity.”
Ember shrugs. “Makes sense.”
“She’ll still be mad and hurt though.”
Auriel takes his hand. “Whatever you chose to do, know that I believe in you. I know you won’t let her down.”
“Like I’m letting Hammer down?”
Auriel looks him in the eye and smiles.
“Arc, you were willing to take in a prisoner of Tartarus. A demon, no less! Even though the princesses were against it, you convinced them to let me stay. I’ll always believe in the courage of your heart and the wisdom in your decisions.”
Ember nods. “Auriel’s right. You need to have more faith in yourself. I know you. If there’s something you want to see changed, you’ll find a way to make that happen. I just know it.”
“Thanks. I hope… I hope there’s a way to make everything right.”
Ember gestures to the pillows. “Why don’t you sleep on it?”
Auriel nods. “Right. Things may look better in the morning.”
“I’ll try.”
He stands and heads for the dresser.
“First I need to get out of this suit though.”
Auriel smiles at him. “Take a quick shower. It’ll help wash away the troubles of the day.”
Ember raises an eyebrow, skeptically. “Really?”
Auriel nods. “That’s what Twilight and I do after a hard day of experiments. Well… when we remember to. And have the energy.”
“Thanks. I think I’ll try that. Why don’t you two head to bed? I… kinda want to be alone tonight.”
Grabbing some clean clothes Arc heads for the bathroom. Stepping into the shower he turns the water on and lathers up as Cherry calls out to him.
“Arc? Is everything okay?”
“Not really. Why do you ask?”
“You’re scrubbing yourself unusually hard.”
Arc sighs. “I guess I am.”
“Why?”
“Trying to wash the slime off.”
“Slime?”
Arc nods. “Yeah. After the way I’ve been handling my relationship with Hammer… I just feel like total garbage.”
“Please stop talking about yourself that way, Arc. Even you can’t always be right.”
“Well, that was beyond wrong.”
“You forget that I went along with your plan, Arc.”
“True. But I made the final choice to implement it.”
Stepping out of the shower and dressing Arc returns to his parent’s room. Closing the door behind him he finds Ember and Auriel still waiting for him.
“I thought I said I wanted to be alone tonight.”
Ember nods soberly. “We heard you, yes.”
“Then would you two please…”
Auriel interrupts him. “Arc, you shouldn’t be alone right now.”
“I’m perfectly capable of…”
Ember steps forward and takes his hand. “Listen to me, Arc. There’s been several times in the past where I was in trouble and you helped me through it. When my father wanted me to pick a mate I didn’t love. When I was ill in Ponyville Hospital. And when… after my mother… well… I didn’t want to keep living after that. But you stuck with me through it all.”
Auriel nods as she takes his other hand. “Yes, Arc. When I had no one else to turn to, you took me in. Thanks to you I have a new life and a future in Equestria. You’re hurting and need someone to be there for you. We won’t leave you now.”
The pair gently pull him over to the bed. Arc rests his head on the pillow as they take their places on either side of him. Still holding his hands, they snuggle up to him and close their eyes.
“Good night, Arc.”
“Pleasant dreams.”
Arc sighs and cracks a smile. “Thanks.”