Chapter 75
Act 3
“Here, ma’am?” the Inquisitor asked as he floated a large box into Strawell’s living room, letting out a grunt as he dropped it onto the ground.
“Yes, Jenkins, that will do nicely,” she replied as she eyed the box, her mouth in a thin line across her face.
“If you don’t mind me asking, Chief,” the stallion began, wiping sweat from his forehead, “but why did you request all the files related to the Bronies captured on the first day?”
“I have a hunch that could lead to a massive arrest,” she answered vaguely, causing him to nod. “It’s probably nothing, but we’re leaving no stone unturned.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You may head back to the station now, Jenkins,” she said as she moved around the box, waiting for him to leave before opening it.
The stallion gave her a salute and took his leave.
Once he was gone, she cracked open the large crate and stared down at all the files that filled the box. While most would see this and be filled with dread at the amount of information they’d have to shift through, she just saw a fun challenge.
Things were not adding up. What she knew of the King and his Apostles was limited, but she’d been convinced of what he was selling. But now, after the most recent encounter she had with the rebels, she wasn’t so convinced now.
She didn’t know if the answers she was seeking were within this box, but it was the best starting place for her.
Grabbing the first file, she felt a sense of dread, hoping her instincts were wrong this time around.
ooo000<^>000ooo
The Next Day
Louie jumped through the portal and spun around to wave goodbye to the Inquisitor's who were chasing him.
“Thanks for the free shit, guys!” he laughed as the portal snapped shut in their faces.
He adjusted the bag on his back and began to head for the main chamber where he knew Nova would be. A few of the others were milling about, either getting ready to head out or just getting back like him.
“Oh shit you got it?” Dude asked as Louie walked by him and Nightstreak talking outside the kitchen area.
“Oh I got it alright,” Louie laughed, giving the bag a little shake. “They practically gave it to me.”
“Right on, bro!” Nightstreak cheered.
The moment Louie stepped into the main chamber of the Enforcer’s Order Hall, he saw Nova and Roxxy going over things by the hologram projector. Nova turned to him as he entered, a wide smile over taking her face as she saw him carrying the bag.
“I presume that’s what I think it is?”
“It is indeed!” he confirmed as he placed the bag down on a table. “It wasn’t easy breaking into the Inquisitor's Evidence Compound, but damn there was some nice shit in there.”
He removed the item as the other two walked up, excited looks on their faces.
“This is a major leap forward for us,” Nova said as Louie placed the item down on the table, smiling proudly.
“It’s encrypted though,” Louie added.
“Nightstreak can break it,” Roxxy assured him, but he shook his head.
“I don’t think so, the Inquisitor's were working on it as well, but there’s a spell on it that’s locking it down. Feels like that witch’s magic.”
“Lilith,” Roxxy muttered, frowning. “That explains why this hasn’t been destroyed yet. If they knew what was on this, they wouldn’t be following Champion.”
“It does raise the question though,” Nova said as she rubbed her chin, “if this is so damning, why would Lilith, his second in command and advisor, place a spell on it? Wouldn’t it be more beneficial to just destroy it?”
“Who knows?” Louie said with a shrug, patting the device. “All that matters is we got it and all we gotta do is break the spell. Then boom, goodbye love and admiration for King dickhead.”
Nova gave a nod, staring at the device. “This device holds all the CCTV footage from the city, I’m sure it caught everything that happened that day.”
“We’re basically holding the nuke that’ll win the war,” Louie chuckled.
“Take this to Twilight, she should be recovered and out of medical by now,” Nova said firmly, “and get Nightstreak as well. They can work together on this.”
Louie gave a salute and put the device back in the bag, taking his leave.
“Looks like we’re getting close to the end, huh?” Roxxy asked, getting a deep sigh out of Nova.
“It would seem that way,” she replied as she turned back to the hologram projector, “Just, is it his end, or ours?”
ooo000<^>000ooo
I sat on the bench, breathing heavily after my morning workout. My Ego wasn’t fully back yet, but I could definitely feel it now. I could at least perform the majority of my abilities now.
Using my Virtue Sight, I could see everyone around me doing their own thing. We had left the city far behind and gone to the one place I knew was safe. Raffy’s house.
To my surprise he was very welcoming of all of us after I explained what’d happened since we’d last seen one another. So now we had a safe place to just sit around and wait at. Of course, this shit was killing me.
I’d rather fight Leem again rather than just sit around for an unknown amount of time waiting for a lockdown to life. Bleh.
“Shayla,” Rosemary suddenly said as she appeared before me, startling me.
“Rosemary!” I yelped, a massive goofy smile sliding onto my face, “I’ve missed the shit out of-”
“Get him out,” she said sternly, “put the Watcher back in his vial. I will not share the same space as him.”
Well shit.
“Erm… can’t you just get along with him?” I asked lamely, causing her to scoff.
“You may be able to forgive him for his heinous crimes, but not me,” she growled as the Watcher chuckled in my mind.
“Come now, Rosey, we can get along, can’t we?” he mocked, causing her to rage even more as she clenched her fist.
“He is responsible for untold deaths, Shayla! He values life as much as a cat values a mouse! Put him back in the vial, now!”
“But,” I muttered, grimacing, “he’s the one who figured out how to kill Leem… I couldn’t have done it without him.”
“Yes, very cool,” she snapped harshly, “but that does NOT absolve him of his past sins!”
“People change,” I countered.
“Not him,” she replied coldly.
“She is right, I’m still the same being I was when I was defeated,” the Watcher chuckled. “My views have not changed.”
I rubbed my face, not wanting to deal with this, “Rosemary, he’s not going back in the vial. And Watcher, be nice.”
“Impossible,” she muttered as she crossed her arms. “He is literally telling you he’s unchanged and will not change. How can you still treat him this way?”
“Because,” I started, not actually sure myself, “he might change?”
“Very optimistic,” he commented, clearly entertained by all this.
I started to say something, but an idea hit me, “know what? We’re changing your name.”
“We are not,” he said firmly.
“Your name is now…” I began to rack my brain, thinking hard.
“If we’re changing my name, let ANYONE else name me. Not you,” he deadpanned, but I ignored him.
A lot of good names went through my head; TimTam, BillcoMop, LookyMan, or even Blinky. But I decided to fall back on something a bit more fitting for him, “you’re a lot like a cool villain from Dragon Ball Z, so from now on, you’re Buu.”
“Buu? You’re naming me after a fat blob?” he asked as Rosemary laughed.
“Yeah!” I exclaimed proudly, “he goes from being the big evil guy to being a friendly guy who loves puppies!”
“I absolutely hate puppies,” he deadpanned.
“I know you’ll come around, Buu,” I said with a wide smile.
"Existence is torture,” he muttered, much to Rosemary’s enjoyment.
I gasped as I realized something, “that would make me Mr. Satan! Fuck yeah!”
“You are Satan, I will not argue that,” he said as I stood up, pumping my fist.
“She’s not smart enough to realize that is an insult,” Rosemary commented, shaking her head.
“Now!” I began, “you two will get along, just like Buu and Goku.”
“Does she really use this ‘Dragon Ball Z’ as the main reference point for her life?” the Watcher, now Buu, asked.
“Yep, if I’m stuck with you, then you’re going to have to get used to it,” Rosemary answered, shaking her head.
Smiling proudly, I opened my menu, wanting to see what had happened while…
My eyes went wide as I saw that not only had I leveled up, I’d gained a LOT of skill points. But even more shocking was how much excess Ego I had.
Level: 18
Ego power: 6
Excess Ego: ∞
Unused Points: 245
“Fuck me…” I muttered in complete shock.
“Leem was a Milestone quest, and not only that he had more excess Ego within him than I believe anyone in existence. He was known as the Dimension Eater after all,” Rosemary explained.
“That’s… fucking badass,” I said, unsure of how to spend my points.
“But now you need to get to level twenty,” she advised, “because you’ll gain access to a part of the Gear Shop that has Egonetic upgrades in it.”
“Okay, but why does that matter?” I asked, shrugging at her.
“... because,” she said after a moment of silence, “you can get Optical Implants, which will replace your lost eyes.”
“Oh…” I said sheepishly. “Guess I just gotta wait till we get home to complete that milestone quest, huh?”
“Yes, so just relax till then,” she said, but I just smiled as I saw my mother at the edge of my vision doing her own training with Spark.
“Nah, not my style,” I said as I jumped up and began to walk towards them, planning to join their training sessions.
ooo000<^>000ooo
A low hum sounded through the large room, filled with rows of cocoons made of red energy. Each one had a pony within it, unconscious. The cocoons seemed to be slowly siphoning energy out of the ponies within them, sending it all to the center of the room where a semi-large cube sat.
It pulsated every few seconds as energy was pumped into it.
Lilith stood next to the cube, watching it intently.
There was a pop as a portal opened, followed by Richard stepping into the chamber, hands behind his back.
“Yes, Mr. Bourdages?” Lilith said with a sigh as she turned to him as he strolled towards her.
“Champion has begun to go off plan,” he said flatly as he came to a stop right before her.
“I knew he would eventually,” she said, seeming unfazed, “how exactly is he going off plan?”
“He’s stopped focusing on gathering Bronies, and instead is focusing on playing King,” he answered as he looked at the cube, feeling the power pulsating off of it.
“There was no avoiding that,” she muttered, reaching out and patting the cube. “As long as those Inquisitors keep doing their job, then it doesn’t matter. Champion can play his games, as long as he does not interfere with the gathering.”
“And if he stops playing and starts interfering?”
She looked at him, smiling as she tapped her horn, “then he’ll get to spend an eternity in a special little place, made just for him.”
ooo000<^>000ooo
Champion strolled down his palace hallway, head held high as his Royal assistant struggled to keep up with him.
“Griffonstone and Yakyakistan have both declined your offer to join your glorious kingdom,” the slightly terrified pony said as he ran alongside the strong and opposing Alicorn.
“A mistake on their part, I will speak to them directly,” Champion said casually, clearly not upset with this news. He knew they’d fall in line very soon, just as everyone else will.
“Very good, my lord,” the stallion replied, flipping his notes around, “we also have a few Hippogriff dignitaries coming from Seaquestria in two days.”
“Excellent,” Champion said with a firm nod, “make sure everything is set up.”
“Yes, my lord,” the stallion said as he gave a bow, then quickly chased after the King.
Champion gave him a hard stare, stopping him in his tracks, “now.”
The stallion’s eyes went wide as he came to a stop and gave another bow, “my fault, my lord!” He then took off running for another part of the palace, leaving Champion alone.
Grumbling to himself, he continued on his way, heading for his personal chambers.
Upon stepping into the room, his beloved wife and Queen rushed to him, wrapping her legs around his neck.
“My love!” Azure Moon exclaimed, kissing at his cheek, “I hope your day has been great!”
“It just started,” he said coldly back, but she just kept hugging and kissing him.
“Do you need me to do anything, my love?” she asked, when he didn’t respond, she gave a nod. “Bed?”
“No, once a day,” he answered, stepping out of her embrace and heading to his wardrobe, planning to change into a different attire. “Stay,” he commanded as she tried to follow him.
She came to a halt, waiting patiently for him to tell her what to do next.
As he started to undress, he looked at his wife, eying her up and down. Maybe he did have time for…
He stopped as his eyes and senses picked up something within her body, causing him to stop what he was doing and turn to her fully.
“Yes, my love?” she asked excitedly.
“You’re pregnant,” he said with no emotion.
“Are we happy about that?” she asked, cocking her head. “Or are we aborting?”
He frowned at the straight forwardness of her words, but he sighed. “I am undecided. Do not mention it till I say otherwise.”
“Yes, my love!”
With that, he went back to changing, his mind focusing on the Hippogriff dignitaries and how to woo them.