Chapter 32
“We can try and hunt down a criminal in this amusement park?” Mallogory offered, but I just sighed and shook my head.
“Not challenging enough, plus I’m sure at least fifty percent of these park goers are criminals in some respect,” I said as I leaned back rubbing my face with my new paw.
“Making our own adventure is stupid,” Mallogory huffed as she crossed her arms.
I looked around, trying to come up with a plan but was coming up blank.
“Do we have to stay here? I know of a few places we could check out,” she offered.
“Hm,” I thought for a moment as I pulled out the communications device. “If we leave, then we’ll be unable to easily return, according to Lance. But if we have a connection here, we can always get the new teleport coordinates.”
She beams at this, “Then let’s go!”
“Want to make it interesting?” I ask, smirking at her as she starts to stand up. This caused her to blink at me in confusion, then slowly return my smirk.
“What ya got in mind?”
Leaning back in my chair, adopting a coy smile, I gesture between us, “How about we do an adventure and NOT use any kinds of powers or our weapons?”
Mallogory slowly sat back down, rubbing her chin, “So basically, we just act like normal ordinary people and can’t even touch our Ego weapons?”
“Yep,” I answered, getting a nod of approval from her. “All we can use is whatever items they have in the area we go to. But nothing special. As basic as possible.”
“What’s the point though?” she questioned.
“Training,” I responded, but then winked, “but also, the first one to break and use an ability or Ego weapon is the loser. And will have to henceforth be referred to as Second Place.”
“Ooo,” she rubbed her clawed hands together. “I love it. I’d like to add that the place we go must be random, so neither of us have an advantage.”
“Excellent,” I say as I clap my hooves together once. “So, rules understood?”
“Yes,” she said with a sharp, excited nod.
“Then let’s go get teleported somewhere random!”
ooo000<^>000ooo
It took some walking, and a few tram rides, but we eventually returned to the teleport hub for this area.
We entered the hub and stepped up to the console.
“I got this,” Mallogory said as she stepped up and pressed a few buttons.
“Please say your command aloud,” the soothing female voice said from around us.
“Teleport to a random location, questionably moral citizens, and a low magic setting,” she said in a plain robotic voice. She then gave me a thumbs up as the lights flashed around us.
“Teleport parameters set, searching,” the voice said as the lights continued to flash.
After a minute, it stopped.
“Location Reached. Thank you.”
“Let’s see what we got,” I said as we walked out of the hub and out into a massive city.
It appeared to be very similar to Manehattan, with crowds walking down the streets and cars flying down the streets. The creatures appeared to be bipedal rats, the same height as a normal human.
“Oh, a rodent filled city,” Mallogory said, a touch of disappointment in her voice. “I was hoping for something a little more… exciting.”
“Well, you never know, they could have some crazy adventures here that can challenge us,” I say as we watch a guy help a old lady across the street.
“I asked for citizens with questionable morals, that’s just a guy being a good citizen,” Mallogory said, looking upset.
“Actually,” I say with a smirk, “You said, and I quote; ‘questionably moral citizens’. Pretty sure that’s the opposite of what you wanted.”
“So they’re all basically good?!” she asked with a look of both disbelief and anger.
“Guess we’ll just have to see,” I say as I start walking towards a street leading away from the teleport hub.
“Can’t we just change locations?” she asked, pointing back at the hub.
I turn my head, smirking, “Sure, but that means you give up.”
“You little bitch,” she said as she narrowed her eyes, but she followed after me anyways.
Pulling out the communicator, I key up Lance.
“Lance, Mallogory and I are in a different location for a bit. We’ll need the new teleport coordinates at some point.”
There was a pause before he replied, “Cool, be safe you two.” I could just hear the smugness in his voice, thinking his plan was going exactly as he wanted.
I just rolled my eyes and put the device away and continued forward.
The two of us walked down the street, weaving through the rodent citizens.
“This place is too normal,” she complains.
“When things are this normal on the outside, then it’s got to have some dark shit on the inside,” I assured her, getting her to smile.
“You sure? Because I’m ready to start kicking ass,” she said as she flexed her arms.
Looking around, I started scanning the shops, but everything around us was just restaurants.
“First up, weapons,” I say as I watch the cars going by.
“Hell yes,” she replied with excitement.
Watching the cars go by, I finally saw what I was looking for. Stepping up to the curb, I started waving my hoof at an approaching car.
A yellow taxi pulled up to us.
“Really?” she asked, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
“Really,” I replied as I jumped in the back of the taxi, followed by Mallogory.
“Where too?” the cab driver asked, not even looking back at us.
I leaned up on the railing that separated us, “Any gun shops or places that just sell weapons?”
This caused him to turn and look at us, frowning as he did so, “Weapons? Why? Planning something?”
“Nope, just like to stay strapped,” I say with a laugh, but only get a grunt in response.
“I know of one nearby,” he said as he turned back to the front and pulled off of the curb.
As we sat there, the scenery outside flying by, I looked to Mallogory, “So, weapons, then we’ll look around for adventure.”
“Just… look around for it? Seems like a waste of time,” she said as she crossed her arms.
“Unless you know of something better?”
She smirked, “I may have an idea.”
The driver suddenly turned on the radio, blaring very loud music throughout the car.
Rude rat…
We remained silent the rest of the drive, the extremely loud music reverberating around us.
The taxi slowly came to a stop next to a section of buildings, most looking to be clothing stores. But right between a women's clothing store and a childs toy store, was a simple gun shop.
“Here you go, as requested,” the cab driver said in a bored voice as he tapped a button, causing an orb to raise up between us. “Pay first then the doors will unlock.”
I simply paid the price, whatever the total amount of souls it cost, and we stepped out. Without a word, the taxi lurched forward and rejoined traffic.
“What a lovely man, probably has a loving wife and kids at home waiting for him,” Mallogory said, getting a chuckle out of me.
Stepping into the gun store, I was delighted to see it was indeed just a simple no frills gun shop. With basic firearms lining the walls and display cases.
“Oh… this is exactly what I was hoping for!” I said with excitement as I rushed to a display case, looking at all the handguns within.
“These are… fun looking?” she said, not sure how to feel about the basic weapons before her.
A rat man walked out of the back and quickly came to the case before me. “See anything you like, missy?”
I scanned the firearms before me, not seeing any hoof mounted options. Then my eyes widened as I looked at my new prosthetic, flexing my paw. Could I?
“Let me see… that one,” I said as I pointed to a blocky semi-automatic pistol.
“Ah, Block 17. Good reliable gun, used by the police of this fine city,” the rat said as he pulled it out and handed it over to me.
I took the pistol in my left paw, happy to see that I could indeed hold and manipulate the pistol with my new appendage. This just opened up SO many opportunities!
Pulling the slide back with my hoof, I let out a little squeal.
“Liking the feel?” he asked.
Giving the handle a squeeze, I smiled. “I’m not sure.” I looked through the case some more, seeing a few more I wanted to hold. “Let’s try a few more?”
“Sure,” he said as he took the pistol back and pulled out the next one I pointed at.
As I was gushing about the guns, another younger rat was helping Mallogory pick out one for herself.
After handling almost every pistol in the shop, I sat down on my flank, four laying on the table before me.
“I can’t decide,” I mumbled, staring at each one.
“If you want my help,” the rat said, leaning on one arm on the counter, “I always say; choose the one that fits in your hand the best and you are the most comfortable with. Don’t go off looks or all that mess.”
I nod, looking them over again. Finally, I lifted up a silver plated one with black grips. “This one seems to be the best fit for my paw.”
The rat smiled as he put the others away. “Ah, the Ratta 92FS. A great choice, ma’am. First shot is double action while all follow ups are single action. Full metal construction with a seventeen round magazine. This one is a simple 9mm, but I do have a special edition that is a fifteen round 10mm if you’re interested.”
“10mm?” I ask, hearing my favorite caliber from my time working with Echo. “Yes please!”
Handing the gun back, he walked away and returned with a slightly bigger version of the pistol I’d just been holding.
Taking it in my paw, I was extremely pleased to find it fit perfectly.
Raising it, I took great joy in looking down its sights. I’m not used to using a gun like this, but hopefully the concept of hoof mounted will transition over. I’m extremely proficient at point shooting, since that’s the only way to shoot a hoof mounted pistol.
“Now, it’s a bit expensive,” he started, but I waved him off.
“Don’t worry about that. I need as many mags as you have, and ammo,” I said as I continued to manipulate the pistol.
“Of course! May I recommend a belt and pouches?” he asked as he went about grabbing what I requested.
“No, I’m good,” I said, already planning to use my pocket dimension as both a holster and a mag holder. It was the best option for me, seeing as I can’t just grab any of it and still hold the gun, easily at least. Plus, pocket dimensions aren’t against the rules.
I looked over to Mallogory as she held a large revolver in her hand, looking very pleased with whatever the shop employee was telling her.
The employee helping me came back with a box of magazines and plenty of loose ammo.
“I have thirty magazines in stock, and I’ve brought enough ammo to fill them, plus a little extra,” he said as he looked at me playing with the gun.
“Perfect,” I say with a grin as I put the gun next to the other items. “I’m ready to check out.”
“Yes, ma’am!” he said with a happy twitch of his long snout. “This way, please.”
We moved down the counter to an orb, where he entered in all the item prices. Once he was done, he presented it to me.
Not even checking the price, I slapped it, transferring the necessary souls. This seemed to excite him even more as he bowed to me a few times.
“Thank you so much, ma’am!”
“Uh yeah, sure thing, bud,” I replied as I placed the items in my pocket dimension and stepped over to Mallogory, who’d also just bought her own firearm and gear.
She turned to face me, holding open her cloak to show to bandoliers strapped across her chest and even a belt with more bullet holders running along it. Even a holster for her new revolver. The bullets themselves seemed a bit large.
“What’d you get exactly?” I asked, looking at the large revolver on her hip.
“Something called a 45-70 Gov. revolver, and from what I’ve been told, it has way more power than that little thing you bought over there,” she said as she patted the holstered gun.
“It’s not the size that makes a good weapon,” I say with a little smirk, “it’s how you use it.”
She just rolled her eyes, “you say that now, but wait till we see just how much more power I have than you.”
We step out of the shop, leaving the two celebrating rats behind us.
“The commission alone will pay my rent!” one said as they jumped around each other.
Leaving them to their celebration, we step back out onto the street.
“So, you have an idea?” I ask, referring to her earlier comment.
With a little flair, she pointed to herself, “I do, because I’m actually street smart. All we gotta do is find a charity based homeless shelter, and we’ll for sure find some connection to an underground crime ring.”
“Sounds like a stretch,” I say, but I had to admit it sounded about right. We had similar things happen back in Manehattan. Some ‘good doers’ would open a homeless shelter, or something similar, and host ponies in need. But on the side, they were taking all the donations and using the homeless population for their own needs. Usually labor or as mulls.
Awesome to know that’s a common problem that transcends dimensions.
“Trust me,” she replied, winking at me.
“Guess we’ll use another taxi,” I say as we flag down one that was passing.
Once we were inside, this cab driver seemed a bit nicer.
“Where you two heading?”
“Nearest homeless shelter, preferably one run by a charity,” Mallogory stated, getting a sympathetic look from the female rat.
“You poor things,” she said in a sad voice as she pulled the taxi into the street. “It’s not easy for non-rodents to make it in this city. So much racism is running rampant these days. But I’m not racist! I have a lot of non-rodent friends!”
We looked at each other and chuckled quietly.
“It’s okay, I didn’t think you were racist,” I say, trying not to laugh.
“Good, because I’m not!” she assured us as we drove along. “I personally would never date or marry a non-rodent, I want to keep my family line pure. Don’t want it to get tainted.”
Holding in more repressed laughter, we watched as her eyes widened once she realized what she’d said.
“Now I don’t think that makes me a racist! It’s just-”
I began to ignore her as she went off on a defiantly racist rant about how she is not racist.
Questionably moral citizens indeed.
I took the time to start loading my magazines.
ooo000<^>000ooo
Upon stepping out of the taxi, it sped off quickly, leaving us standing before a building in a run down part of the city.
The building had a banner across the doorway that read ‘All Welcome! Saints and Sinners!’.
“I’m for sure the latter,” Mallogory snickered as we looked around the building.
A few rats sat out front, most adults, but a few kids hung around.
“Now that’s just sad. Homeless adults, sure, but homeless kids? That actually pulls at the ol’ heartstrings,” I say, watching three kids play near us.
“I guess, I don’t trust ‘em,” Mallogory said, eyeing them suspiciously.
“Oh trust me, I don’t trust these little shits at all. Still can feel bad for them,” I say as one runs up to us, looking me over with wide eyes. “Hey little guy, how you doing?”
“You’re ugly as fuck, lady. You fall in a grease trap or something?” the kid asked in a smug tone, causing my smile to fall into a frown.
“How sweet,” I deadpanned.
“Get lost, ya little fucker,” Mallogory said as she shooed him away with her claws.
The kid hissed at us and scampered back to his friends, all laughing.
“I take it back, I do NOT feel bad for them at all. I’m happy they’re homeless and I hope they continue to be miserable,” I say, getting a laugh out of Mallogory.
“Now we’re on the same page. Fuck them kids,” she laughed as we looked back to the building. “So, heading in?”
“Of course,” I say as I pull out the communicator. “But first, we should update Lance just in case something weird happens in there.”
“Sure,” was her only response as she walked forward a bit, her back now to me as she looked the building up and down.
Clearing my throat, I raised the communicator up to my face and began to speak, “Lance, we’re checking on a possible crime boss's hideout. If you don’t hear from us in five hours, assume the worst. Sending coordinates.”
“For real, be safe you two. I don’t know if we’d be able to actually help if something goes wrong,” he replied back as I sent our current coordinates for the teleport hub and this building.
“We got this,” I say as I lower the device, preparing to put it back in my pocket dimension.
As I tossed it towards the little portal opening, a little blur shot past. A small tail wrapped around the device and yanked it from the air.
I blinked as I watched one of the kids from the group rush past us, now holding our communicator.
“Did he just…” Mallogry asked as she turned to see what happened.
“Yep,” I replied as we looked at each other in disbelief.
Then we took off sprinting after the kid.
But I had to give it to him, he was a fast little shit! He weaved through the few rodents walking the streets expertly while the two of us just blew through them, sending people to the ground instead of dodging them.
“Help! They’re trying to mug me!” the kid screamed as we rushed after him.
A few people the kid had run by turned to us and tried to get in our way.
Bad day for them as we just plowed through them, breaking a few bones as we did so.
As we left the screaming good samaritans behind, we slowly began to catch up to the kid.
When he noticed us gaining on him, he turned down a different street and then sprinted straight into a building.
Luckily, we were right on his heels and only lost sight of him for a few moments as we slammed into the door he’d slammed in our faces. Flying ahead, I slammed into the door, taking it off its hinges in one hit.
I slammed into the ground on the other side of the door as Mallogory jumped over me and continued after the kid. As I scrambled to my feet, I saw a scared, one eyed male rat smiling at me from a doorway.
“Chasing kids?” he asked in a smug tone.
Ignoring him, I continued after Mallogory and the kid.
Sprinting through the building, I saw them run past a window up ahead. So I did the only thing I could, I spun forward and plowed through that window as well.
Landing on the outside, I was now only a few yards behind Mallogory. Flapping my wings, I flew after them, catching up quickly. I neared the kid, reaching out to grab him.
But just as I reached him, he zipped left down an alleyway, laughing like he was winning.
“Fuck this,” I say as I propel myself hard towards the kid and slam my head into his back, sending him flying into a large trash bin.
He yelped as I landed before him and pulled out my pistol, slapping him across the face as he tried to jump up and run again. “Stay down.”
Mallogory ran up beside me, drawing her own revolver and pointing it at the now bleeding kid. “You… making me run like that!”
“Give me my property back, right now,” I say in a calm and low voice, pistol trained on his little face.
He just smirked up at us as he lay on his back and held up his hands and tail, revealing them to be empty. “Don’t got it, never did have it either!”
“Hey, don’t play that game with us,” Mallogory said as she shook the pistol at him. “Tell us where it is, NOW!”
“Nah, don’t know what you mean, ma’am,” he said in a fake innocent voice.
“You little runt!” Mallogory said as she started to take a step towards him.
“I got this, okay?” I say to her, giving her a wink as she looks at me. This caused her to smirk and nod in response.
I cocked the hammer on my gun and slammed the barrel into his face, causing his eyes to go wide as I drew a bit more blood. “Hey kid, ever hear of good cop bad cop?”
He nodded slowly in response.
“This is going to go like that, except its going to be good cop, I’m going to fucking murder you cop,” I say in a very sinsiter tone, smiling the entire time.
His little eyes widened even more as the smirk finally fell from his face. I moved my finger onto the trigger of the gun.
“Are… you… going to kill me?” he asked as he started to cry real tears of terror.
I just smirked at him, “Yep.”
He let out a scream of horror as he curled up in a ball, “I’m sorry! I just do what I’m told! Please, most people just give up and let us run away! Why are you doing this?!”
“Where is the item you stole from me,” I say darkly, not wavering at all.
“I gave it to my handler!” he yelled in a panic, eyes on the barrel in his face.
“When? Who?” I ask slowly.
“When we got in that building back there! He was standing at the door waiting for me!”
My eyes widened as I realized it had to be the man I saw. “One eyed rat fuck?”
“Yes, him!” the kid screeched, crying loudly now.
I frown as I look at Mallogory, she just shrugged in response.
“Where is his base of operations? Is it the building?”
“He lives at 53009 Fish Tack Ave! Apartment 828!” the kid yelled, giving us his exact address.
“Sweet,” Mallogory said from behind me.
Looking back at the kid, I pull the gun from his face and give him a rough kick. “Get outta here, go to school or something.”
He quickly took the hint and got up, running towards the end of the alleyway. Once he reached it, he turned and flipped us off.
“Fags!” then ran out of sight.
“Oh what lovely children in this city,” Mallogory murmured, then chuckled to herself.
“Just perfect Angel’s,” I reply as I look back to the building we just came from. “How much you want to bet that isn’t the building he was referring to?”
“It definitely is not. It’s probably somewhere else in this damn city,” she replied, putting her gun away.
As we began to walk back the way we came, I smiled up at her.
“What?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Found an adventure.”
She just rolled her eyes and gave me a shove, “Sure, an adventure involving our only form of communication with the others. AND the only way to get back to them.”
“We got this,” I say with confidence.
“Oh, we one hundred percent do,” she agreed, smirking. “So many people are going to die, aren’t they?”
“Only if they play stupid games and get stupid prizes,” I answer.
“Fuck yeah,” she said as we slammed fist together.
The two of us strolled down the side road, heading for the building. Time to catch a rat.