//------------------------------// // Arc XIX Episode VIII: Arachnomania // Story: Family Begins With You // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// At Canterlot High… Just as the phone call to Wallflower had described, Aidon and the others were all heavily backed up by a swarm of spiders that threatened to consume everything they came in contact with--including people like them. Trees, cars, entire houses--nothing was safe from the pincers of these bug creatures. This was Acida’s plan all along. As he fought them off, Micro Chips was quick to point this out. “They’re trying to convert the natural energy found in all forms of matter into magical energy so they can reshape the world around us!” he shouted in between flinging some nanomachines to eat away at some of the spiders in front of him. “Son of a--we need to keep them from eating us!” Flash yelled as he fired more soundwaves from his fists, constantly turning to shoot more arachnids that came his way. “If that happens, we’re really screwed!” “Then we gotta drop the beat, yo!” Sandbar shouted from his end of the street while punching the air in front of himself, creating giant fists made of sand that gathered the spiders within the mass of coarse rock, and slamming them together, with a heavy clap from those sand hands--disintegrating them in the process. Spike was having a field day with his new werewolf form. He actively chased down groups of spiders and sunk his teeth in them to rip out their abdomens and tear them apart. If his mouth was occupied, his claws were strong enough to squish them into green paste outright. And at the center of it all, Aidon would force ripples into reality itself with a wave of his hand. From these ripples, spikes of darkness would emerge--making them appear seemingly from nowhere as they branched out, and skewered the arachnid pests, deleting them and forcing them to melt into nothingness from his magic. But their efforts wouldn’t last them forever. For every spider they killed, it seemed as if ten more had risen to take their place. It forced Sandbar, Micro Chips, Flash Sentry, and Spike into a corner--or rather a circle where they had no choice but to back up until they reached Aidon. Now, the group was standing in a circle--at the epicenter of an invasion of demonic spiders that threatened to overrun them with all they had. “...There’s too many of ‘em, yo…” Sandbar muttered under his breath, “I don’t think we can do this…” “I can calculate about one thousand…” Micro Chips grit his teeth as he looked at the endless amount of eight-legged beasts that seemed to expand across the horizon and the school building itself. “I won’t give up,” Spike snarled--seemingly unfazed by the enemy’s sheer numbers, “I don’t care if I die--I’m not letting Twilight suffer anymore!” Upon hearing this, Flash’s eyes sparked wide open. “No! No one dies today,” he swore while balling his fist, “There’s nothing we can’t do for the sake of the people waiting for us. We just need to keep fighting. Right, professor?” With one hand on his chin, Aidon had shut his eyes, seemingly lost in thought. “...There’s one way. It just might kill me. But there’s a way.” Interestingly enough, Flash could tell by the look on Aidon’s face what the latter was thinking. “Professor. Professor! Don’t even dare think of sacrificing yourself. We’re all in this together, sir.” Silence from the man of shadows. Eventually, he replied with a small chuckle. “Hm…you read me well, young man.” Flash raised a brow and snarkily replied, “Yeah, well--let’s just say that I know a certain woman at school who’d be sad if you disappeared.” “...Right,” Aidon gave a delayed response, and quickly changed the subject. “Stick together and make use of your magic as best as you can, everyone. Your abilities are rather new, so don’t overdo it.” “Got it, yo!” “Yup!” “Mm-hmm.” The boys gave overlapping replies of agreement as they prepared themselves…and began to fight back. Meanwhile, at the Planetarium… “Listen lady,” Keiji walked out to Acida with his hands bare. “I don’t know who you are, or who must’ve hurt you. But none of this crap is gonna solve your problems.” The large bug woman paused mid-flight out of curiosity. “That’s rich. Just what does he think he’s doing?” Keiji balled his fists and grit his teeth--the strength needed to muster his words was palpable as he stumbled his way through speaking. “I…I know what it’s like to not be loved. My own family--they…they didn’t give a flying shit about me and I was banished from Equestria just like you. But you don’t need to do any of this. Just look at me: I’m in a better place now than I was before.” Acida hovered down to the ground and landed. Having stopped her attacks, was it possible that she was taking the time to listen to him? There was no way to tell… “Now look…I’m not gonna just let you off the hook immediately--you did just kill some innocent people after all. But I know damn well that you’ve got the capability to reset their lives and make things right. Don’t you?” Keiji folded his arms and raised a brow. Silence. Eventually, the swarm of bugs had ceased, and Acida reverted to her human form. Once she did, she asked a simple question. “...Do you truly understand my pain? Someone as young as you…” “I do,” Keiji reiterated bluntly, “This world isn’t perfect, but neither was Equestria. We’re living proof of that shit right now. All you’re doing is being a hypocritical asshole that’s making things worse for the folks living here.” Acida stared down at the ground--her eyes welling up with tears as she started to comprehend her actions up to this point. Was it possible that Keiji had gotten through her layer of insanity? The boy scratched behind his head, unsure of what to do next. “Argh…never good with this…talking stuff. Hopefully she’s willing to cooperate now.” After some quick thinking, he approached her and offered, “Listen. You can make this right--don’t end up in the same spot as Chrysalis, alright? You’re gonna clean yourself up and change for the better. Just like I have.” He reached out and offered his hand to her, “What do you say?” The bug woman stopped sobbing for a moment, looked at the boy’s hand, and looked up at his face--there was a sense of sincerity in his eyes as he stared at her, hoping she’d accept. And you know what? She did. But not in the way you’d expect. “Keiji! Behind you!!” Rumble screamed at the top of his lungs. CHHK! “...” Keiji’s face widened in horror--his mouth opened with his jaw slack, breathing desperate puffs of air. He stared at the woman with dilated pupils, then looked down at himself…to see something sharp jammed into his body.