//------------------------------// // Chapter: Ten // Story: BookHoppers: Exiled from Home // by Ace of Blackjack //------------------------------// Elizabeth sat at the front desk with the med-kit open, first aid manual on the table as she looked at the intercom. The mist had played a weird trick on her, pretending to change her gender? A distraction surely, but it was supposed to show fear. It didn't matter, because Frazzle was alive. Due to about sixteen different combat drugs from her suit and med gel applied viscously onto her by Elizabeth. But alive being alive and being able to move is a different thing, her back still hurts from carrying Frazzle in her damaged heavy suit. But she looked at the intercom, the desk had all she needed for plan B. Get help. And save the day. Her plan B sounded better in her head. But she licked her lips. And breathed in.  “This is Elizabeth, you mist fucks, I am at the front desk, and guess what I found underneath the desk counter!” She racked the 12ga futuristic furniture fitted pump shotgun off the counter as she sat in the swivel chair. The shotgun had a rather futuristic design, but she knew what the gun was underneath all the tech, you can kill the stallion but you can't kill the knowledge they held on guns. She knew the inner workings of a Trench Shotgun more than interpersonal relationships. She didn't expect anything. She sat there, she had expected them to storm her, something. But she sat and grinned. Then she heard it. The sound of hoof steps. Multiple pairs of them. The battle saddle attachment for the shotgun was meant for actual armour. But she didn't need the mount, the side pistol grip worked perfectly enough, it felt uncomfortable, meant for a unicorn. But she rested the pump on the edge of the desk. She looked in the direction of the steps, they came at her as she felt something inside her change. Not changed, that's the wrong wording. She felt something unlocked.  “Echoin! Ralph! Get to the portal, and I- Is that a dress?” Elizabeth smacked the Battlelogger book off the desk at a rather quick speed, letting it sail off the desk. Echoin caught the book with his head as he stumbled and quickly scrambled at the Holo-post-it note filled Battleloggers book. Ralph was lagging behind badly, and Elizabeth could tell the moment she saw it, she could see the exact leg muscular structure she's seen so many times in medical textbooks, just this time in the flesh. Igor soared overhead, dropping the last thing she expected at her hoofs. Loose 12ga shells. She nodded as she placed them on their sides on the desk. Echoin passed the book to Ralph, and turned to walk towards the front desk. Elizabeth threw him a glance as she looked forward. Where's Grima? “Grima?” Elizabeth asked, watching for them. The metal grip of the shotgun was not designed to actually be used, but here she is. Echoin looked at her before shaking his head. “I didn't see her. And her magic trail is the same as these mist creatures. I am not leaving here without her, she may be a zebra, but she's the only one I actually like.” Echoin looked around, he found no others. He barely found Ralph shivering in the bathroom. Igor was hiding in a potted plant. “Do you think they got her?” Elizabeth said slowly turning towards something in the darkness approaching. Echoin knew what it was as he screamed. Then he went deaf. Elizabeth's aim was true as the lobotomite drone pony exploded in an explosion of goo and rubber, the oddly Echoin shape rendered useless. She ran the gun forward racking the pump forward on the desk, she fluttered into the air, grabbing it by the pump. She flickered her head around letting it rack forward.  She added on top the desk as the creature thing she just killed faded away into mist. An indescribable feeling of something entered her mind. And with a loud pop she ducked down. As she saw, a mist creature racking it's own shotgun off the corner of a bookshelf. It was her shaped, stupid slightly blocky head and all. She groaned and waited.  It fired a round-off, the mist hitting the desk just as hard as the slug from her gun. She lined up the blue glowing tech sights of the gun and breathed in. Click. She ducked down as the most creature fired a shot at the desk again, Elizabeth's eyes darted on the desk as she searched the ground for where those shells Igor dropped had gone. Then she held the gun close to her, she couldn't find it. She crossed her heart with a hoof and whimpered, her friends will be safe. Elizabeth opened her eyes suddenly feeling the airflow around her. She threw her wings open and glided to the ground. Kissing muzzles with Grima. “Wow I know you're happy to see me, but I'm not looking for a relationship.” Grima fluttered her trench coat. Her sword floating beside her caked in goo. All she could smile about was the fact she was here. Elizabeth backed up stumbling. And turned to look at Frazzle standing there for a second before slumping straight to the ground. Grima turned to them and then to Elizabeth.  “I figured she did it, because I didn't.” Grima moved over to their sister to check them over. Elizabeth looked around, Echoin was petting a shaking Ralph and Igor was sitting on a filing cabinet. But Elizabeth moved towards Grima. “She was out cold, I thought you did it!” She stood next to Frazzle. Grima made sure to flop their body about to check every little gap of the incredibly damaged armour. Before looking at Echoin. “Echoin, explain why I'm correct on my new theory.” Grima looked at the mortar and pestle bowl before opening a filing cabinet and pulling out Mint. She stumbled towards Frazzle, looking at the mint stick. And placed it against one of Frazzles cut. “Grima doesn't have magic, she has a responder in her head for their sword, the clouds of monsters there not fog or mist there, whatever she called them.” Grima jumped back holding the mint stick up. The stick was writhing and wriggling of it's own control. But it stopped and the goo fell off the mint stick. “Their from Ewquine’ decent, dimensional invaders, called Botainai, they fight you to the death if they want. Or you get this strand, meant as therapy, to show you what you want. But it doesn’t work like that, sometimes it does. It can alter and rearrange matter,but it can only do that properly after gaining energy from attacking and causing fear, like it did to us earlier.” Grima said, they scraped back their bangs with the handle of their blade. Revealing a little scar on their head, a surgery scar, Elizabeth didn't have to guess . They let their bangs fall back. “That name is familiar, it was on the cover of a book earlier!”  Elizabeth said stomping a hoof trying to hide the obvious pain in their voice with overacting. They stepped sideways dodging the attempt at a hug from Grima. But failed to dodge the hug from Echoin. “Eep!” Elizabeth sat down as Echoin hugged them, smiling brightly. Grima piled onto them as they looked around. But thought nothing of the noise they heard. “What's bothering you, we should get group therapy, I wonder if the therapist I had as a kid is still around.” Grima hugged harder at the mentioning of that. Echoin blinked. Before groaning and looking at Grima. “What's a ‘therapy’, is it like confession?” Echoin asked a blush underneath his fur. Grima shifted her hug and Echoin yelped. He threw his hoof up towards his bad wing and groaned. “You say what's been bothering you, but we don't need a therapist. Because we got all the time in the world to talk it over, as I didn't grab the battery.” Elizabeth sighed looking down. Grima placed her hoof on Elizabeth's left shoulder they grunted at the cut there. Grima quickly switched shoulders and looked them in their eyes. “You got my sister, that's more important than some battery. Plus I have enough snack food to last us at least two weeks if we ration the chips and soda to a sip every few hours.” Grima said pulling finally out of the hug as they looked at them. Echoin went over to Ralph and petted them, gently and calmly, experience shown in each stroke of their mane. But Elizabeth sighed turning away from that and looking at Grima. On a command only she did a wavy haze of a force field around them, a little thicker than average and less transparent. But Grima held her breath before taking a step towards Elizabeth. And stumbling the rest of the way forward into their chest as a bawling mess. “Im sorry about earlier, I apologise, I see now what my sister saw in you, a stubbornness. Stubborn like me. I, the Botainai, the devilish machines we fought. They did this to me, and the way your acting I figure they did something familiar.” Grima hesitantly sits down unbuckling the strap keeping her trench coat from becoming a cape when running. She extends her back leg with a whimper. Elizabeth suppresses a gasp as she reaches out to touch it. “The fuckkkk.” She looks at the section of Grima’s back right leg that appears to be yellow and black rubber in material, and blends completely with the rest of her leg. She reaches out and runs it, much to the weird looks from Grima. Elizabeth sits down and pats that weird leg section twice. “I’m not a doctor, but I don’t think that’s- “My brother created monsters, ponies who were broken, minds rendered useless to follow orders, a technological lobotomy. Their bodies rendered to, that, entire body! The pony lived, it had feelings at a certain point. They weren’t criminals or inhumane monsters, or, or, civilians who wandered to far at night, once on the cutting board they were subjects, play things.” Grima visibly shook. Elizabeth looked at them before looking down at themselves. And they grumbled, a lie now to help, a truth later that will hurt. Elizabeth chocked on her words as she looked at them. Their shaking self as bad memories went through Grima's mind. And Elizabeth changed her approach. “You didn’t just stumble upon this didn’t you, you had to find out the hard way.” Elizabeth stood up, just so they can sit beside Grima. They felt their rapid breathing as they sat there. Her eyes drooped down as they already knew the answer. “He said as I was token, that the brave could last two weeks. That the weak barely last three days. It was hell, overstimulation to the mind one sec, the nothing, not even feel for an hour. On repeat over and over. All an attempt to make mindless little drones of rubber.” Grima stood up the field failing as they looked out at Frazzle awkwardly trying to stand up. Their horn glowed and sparkles showing something that Grima immediately feared. “STOP- Frazzles horns shattered as they stood there, blood dripping from their horn. The battery unceremoniously popped into existence in front of them. Her suit seized as she stood there, no magic conduit to power her suit, no movement. Grima stood their looking at her sister. Elizabeth breathing increased as she looked at the shard of horn directly stuck on top of her muzzle. Ralph looked at Frazzle and then at the battery. “What in THE-WALLY-FUCKING-A-KANGAROO-BEHIND-A-MACKIES-WITH-A-DIGGIRDOO-JUST-HAPPENED” Ralph shouted shaking a horn fragment off his hoof. Frazzled stood their breathing heavily as she whispered to herself. Her armour disappeared in a flash of horrid grey and blue light leaving her exposed showing off wounds that the armour hid, unlike the attacks earlier. The armour had dug into Frazzke leaving gashes and cuts of various severity.  She slumped forward knocking the battery into a roll that hit the petrified Grima. They stared fear stuck at the place where Frazzle’s horn should be. Echoin was the only one to move. They went for the battery, Elizabeth went to move but stepped on a horn fragment smashing the damaged chunk into equally more damaged parts. Echoin took the book from Ralph, who had it underneath the Ushanka that rested beside him. Igor fluttered onto Ralphs's head, playing with their mane. Grima stumbled next to their sister and laid down. Echoin sighed as he opened the panel for the battery. He read which was negative and positive off the shade of energy trail it left behind. He slammed the battery in with a jerk. Elizabeth moved towards the portal. Ralph went to the portal and sat down in front if it, his silent tears suddenly becoming a bawl. Echoin turned towards Elizabeth his ears flat. Before he cleared his throat. “Back home when a battle mage lost their horn they took the big part and encased it in a clear substance, it preserved it so they could keep it for many years past themselves. But when it shattered from a blow not cleanly separating it, and then overextending the horn to a point of blow out.  What we did is move on, collect pieces bag them and move on.” Echoin said inserting the book into the slot. He looked at the power before turning towards Ralph and Igor. And clearing his throat. “Ralph, collect the medical supply pile back into the kit. Igor I need you to search for useful items in the supply cabinet and filing cabinets on both sides.” Echoin spun towards Elizabeth. “Collect the items Igor gets into those Saddlebags underneath Grima's desk, three bags, three friends. And makes sure you get the snack food. I'll guard the door.” “And I'm sorry for earlier, for a lot of things. Also, the dress thing was just a bad coincidence.”