//------------------------------// // Breaking Bad: Side A // Story: Subject 27 // by Phyrexian //------------------------------// Chapter 64 - Breaking Bad: Side A         “Friend, what’s happening to me? Why did it feel like I was losing myself when I was feasting upon that girl?” The meager soul that I partially devoured has started to process of closing up the fractures in my own soul; slowly but surely. There’s a cost though, I can feel myself already twisting into something... Evil.         “You’re turning into me Lad! Well not me, but a demon; well not a demon. But something else entirely.” Friend sets upon his throne of skulls and souls the brim of his top hat tipped, and his cane resting on his lap. Fade is sleeping on a kingsize bed next to the jukebox.         “What aren't you telling me Friend?” Friend slouches in his throne. I hear Fade rolling over in the bed, I would like to join her but this takes proprietary.         “You know exactly what I’m talking about Lad. You dined on an innocent soul, tasty wasn't it?” I try to hide my emotions but fail; Friend cracks a smile of his own.         “See, I knew it! I knew you would enjoy the more decadent things of life; now that you’ve had a taste, you’ll be wanting more.” He’s right, I want more; I want to gorge myself on a buffet of souls.         “I can smell it on you Lad, like you’ve bathed in bad cologne. Come on, go find another soul; drink them up tell they’re no more. And after that’s all done, do it again!” His hysterical laughter resonates in the Darkness; Fade, to my surprise is still a sleep.         “Once you’ve taken... I don’t know, two? Let’s go with two, once you’ve taken two innocent souls for your own; then you can use my power to it’s fullest!” I’ve barely tapped into Friend’s power as is, taking two innocent souls wouldn’t be too bad, right?         “Just two more souls? I think I can manage th -.” An icy chill runs down my back, an all too familiar chill, Fade awkwardly hugs me like she normally does.         “Don’t lose your humanity 27. If you do, then you’ll no longer be the man I love, but instead an imposter.” Her words aren't filled with their normal seductiveness, but replaced with sorrow.         “Don’t listen to that old she-devil Lad! Listen to me, the one true friend you’ve had since you were just a wee lad yourself!” I’m torn here, I have an angel on my shoulders and a devil at my door; one offering power for the price of my humanity and the other offering endless love. The things I could do with more power, I would be unmatched; nothing would stand in my way.         “You’ve gotta be kidding me 27. You’re actually contemplating about this, aren’t you?!” Fade removes herself from me, forcibly turning me around to face her. “Let me make this perfectly clear, if you lose, no, if you throw away your humanity for some petty power; then I’m leaving you.” I’m floored by this, utterly speechless from this... This threat from Fade; and it doesn’t feel hollowed either.         “Good! Leave, we don’t need you!” Fade shoots Friend a look that sends him packing, he ducks and takes cover behind the jukebox.         “Now, as for you 27; I’m sorry that I’ve been so... Emotional lately. I don’t know where to begin, but I would like to make it up to you.” Still shell shocked from the bomb that Fade dropped on me early; she takes my hand and leads me over to the bed. “Come to bed with me 27.” Fade shoots another nasty look towards Friend; he scurries out from behind the jukebox and behind the stove.         “Yeah, I’m just going to... Yeah...” He awkwardly stands there.         “Friend, I know how comfortable you feel around intimacy. Why don’t you take control?” Fade says before crawling into the bed, pulling me along with her.         “Peace.” Last thing he says before he vanishes from the Darkness, leaving me alone with the slightly larger Fade.         With Friend in control while I’m spending some “quality” time with Fade, the only thing I can say for the poor soul who happens to stumble in this room, well, it’s obvious that it’s your time. I jump to my feet flawlessly, snap of my fingers summons Friend’s trusty skull cane. “Well tar and feather me and call me your granny, because I must be in Chinatown!” Strolling over to the open window, twirling the cane between my dexterous fingers. The twilight hour is upon us, the sky colorful hues swirl together; creating a majestic sunset. I look down to see variation of creatures, ponies off all shape and sizes, manticore and a few I haven’t seen yet walking into the palace’s grounds chained together.         “Nope, still in boring Equestria land, Oh w -.” Lighting Charmer shifts around inside me; Friend notices this sudden discomfort. “Who the actual fuck are you? No literally, who the actual fuck are you?!” Lighting Charmer stops, Friend unsheathed my jagged claws and presses them against my sternum.         “Horror, what’s gotten into you?” My claws penetrate into me with ease, my ichor-like blood oozing out of me, dripping down onto my pants; staining them.         “Come on out you little bugger!” Lighting Charmer taps into my nervous system; paralyzing me.         “You’re an imposter, who are you?” The self-induced pain only brings me ecstasy, my claws are just a few inches into my abdomen. Lighting Charmer manipulates my body even more, his tentacles slithers out of my from my gash, wrapping them around my arm and pulling it out of me.         “Aren't you clever? So, you’re that thingy that stuffed the Lad, aye?” Thread like tentacles jump between my flesh, over the gash, stitching the wound close.         “Oh oh oh oh! I know! I shall call thee Baby Swiss! HAHAAHA!” Friend’s insane laughter bellows out through the open window, sending a flock of birds fleeing from a nearby tree.         “So Baby Swiss, riddle me this, what’s tiny and full of holes? Give up? Good, because I do too.” The threads sew up my self inflicted wound, droplets of blood still escape from my makeshift stitches and onto my bloodstained pants.         “The answer is me, isn’t it?” The corners of my mouth curl up into a wide grin, excited that he answered the riddle I jump into the air and kick my heels together.         “That’s fine! Just fine! Good work Baby Swiss!” Triumphantly I beat my fist against my chest with great force; rattling both my bones and Lighting Charmer.         “Don’t do that.”         “Don’t do what, this?” Lighting creates more tentacles from my pecs, ensnaring my arm.         “Yes, that. Don’t do that.” Friend doesn’t struggle against Lighting. My grin grows even larger, revealing my pearly whites.         “So Baby Swiss, please, pray tell, how much have you’ve lost to my kidneys?” Lighting Charmer twiddles the tip of his tentacles together, Friend pounds my fist against my chest again while Lighting is distracted.         “Come on now Baby Swiss, don’t be ashamed of your losses, I myself have lost a great deal of fortunes in my vast lifetime.”         “More than I liked to. Your liver on the other hoof cheats and your intestine have the poorest excuse of a poker face I’ve ever seen.” Friend takes cane in hand, tapping it against the ground while I strut towards the door. The door suddenly slides open with a furious looking Silver blocking my path.         “Who are you talking to Hor -.” She quickly notices that it’s not 27 who's in control; but an old friend that she hasn’t seen in a long, long while. “It’s you...” She bluntly adds, closing the door behind her.         “Aww, what gave it away? Is it my devilish smile? Or perhaps it’s the cane? Or is it that I’m just that much better looking then the Lad?”         “It’s your eyes, their normally much kinder looking; but now they’re not. They’re more dangerous looking. They look full of cruelty and a lust for wanton violence”         “Very smart, very smart indeed. I can see wh -.” Friend sniffs the air around him, my nose eventually pointing towards Silver. “Oh, oh! Oh my, the plot thickens, and I’m not talking about your thighs, or am I?” Lighting Charmer uses my lungs to facepalm. Silver’s wings erects with a ‘poof!’ “W-What are you implying?” Friend takes a step closer, Tail entangles around my feet, tripping him successfully.         “I thought we’d gotten past this feud of ours Tail, do you still not like me?” Tail shakes his tip in agreement. “Very well Tail, you have my word that I shall not harm a feather on this meatbag’s head.”  Tail unbinds my feet, Friend jumps back up on my feet, dusting himself off before leaning into whisper something to Silver.         “H-How can you te -?” Friend taps my nose, Silver falls down onto her hindquarters. Tail tries to comfort her by giving her a weak hug.         “I can smell it meatbag; that smell is just...sickening.” Silver returns the hug, wrapping herself in Tail.         “Oh, oh! This is just juicy, so very, very juicy. You’re keeping this from the Lad, aren't you? I love secrets! You know that the Lad is keeping one, well, many from you?”         “Don’t.” Lighting Charmer says firmly.         “Don’t what?”         “Don’t let her know that I’m in here.”         “Oh I wasn’t, I was going to tell her the one thing that you’ve been keeping from the Lad.”         “Tit for a tat meatbag, tit for a tat. I’ll let you know what lays beneath the surface; if you wish it to be so.” Silver looks up to me with a confused look, still wrapped up with Tail; holding him very tight.         “W-What are you talking about?”         “He’s dying, both body and soul. Haven't you noticed it yet? Extensive time needed for minor wounds to heal, always tired, less vigor in the sack; any of these ring a bell?” Friend’s words ring true, sinking deep into her.         “Y-You’re wrong! 27 can’t die, I won’t allow it!” She tries to deny the fact, but her face tells a different story; a story of already knowing.         “You remember Nyuel? Of course you do, why wouldn’t you? She gave the Lad a warning, a warning of the future; she was spot on with it too.” Clearing my throat as Friend prepares to tell the prophecy that Nyuel told. “They whispered that you’re going to be put through a gauntlet: an old foe, great despair, a troubled past makes itself known, and an execution.” He mimics her voice flawlessly. “An old foe: Colt. Great despair, well then, that, my fine feathered meatbag, involves your father and the Lad. A troubled past makes itself known, even I don’t know what this might entail. Last, but not least, an execution, I love good ol’ fashioned executions; brings back the fondest of memories.” Friend happily sighs while he reminisces.         “What does he have to do with anything?!” She frees herself of Tail, charging me, knocking me down in the process.         “Friction my dear, friction. Both of them are plate tectonics grinding against each other. Soon enough the tension will be too grand to ignore and BOOM! Someone is going to die in a bloody heap!”  She wraps her left claws around my throat and brings her free talons up to eyesight.         “You’re lying!” She tightens her hold on me, the tip of her claws tearing at my skin. “Oh honey, you’re getting me all hot and bothered.” I scrape up against my zipper, with the pinging pain in my neck mixed with the close proximities of our bodies causes my natural instincts to kick in. “Where’s my Horror at?!” She squeaks again. “Let’s just say he’s... A little preoccupied with someone right now.” Her grip tightens even more, nearly choking me.         “Running Buffalo, the tent is pitched, shall I send smoke signals to Weeping Eye?” Silver looks down to see my erected member being shielded by my pants. “Ta-Tah meatbag!” Friend relinquish his control, I take the steering wheel in a rather awkward moment.         “No! Don’t you dare leave!” She squeaks in my face. The first thing I see is Silver pinning me to the floor, her on top of my body and a very tight sensation coming from my nether regions. What did I miss? What were Friend and Silver doing while Fade and I making love? Why am I being scraped to death by my zipper?!         “S-Silver? W-Why are you choking me?” With Silver’s tight grip around my throat it’s becoming increasingly difficult to breath.         The door to Silver’s room slides open, standing on the other side is Razor. He looks down at me, then back up to his sister; I helplessly lay there standing at full attention with Silver standing dangerously close to me. “R-Razor! It’s not what it looks like!” I wonder what it looks like from his position? From mine, it looks like we’re about to do the deed.         “Indeed it doesn’t. For your sake, let’s hope father stays ignorant about this, don’t you agree younger sister?” Silver timidly nods before getting off of me. I roll over onto all fours, it will be hard to work while packing, but I’ll be able to manage.         “Horror, come. The livestock have arrived, we need to secure and catalog them for tonight’s event.” Razor takes his leave, before I am able to, Silver grabs the end of Tail; stopping me from following. “Horror, be careful tonight. Something feels...wrong.” I heed her warning, keeping it in the front most parts of my mind. I scurry down the steps, which is weird and really difficult to do crawling on all fours, a feat in itself that I accomplish without falling face first down the staircase from hell.         I crawl out into the night sky, just remnants of the day still linger at the very edge of the horizon. I crawl up next to Razor who’s looking over the ‘livestock’ that arrived, eleven total coward before us: three ponies: two female and the other male, all of them look young enough to be teenagers, two zebras; one male and other female; also young, two dog like humanoids; they look female but I’m not quite sure, some kind of chicken/whelping hybrid with a blindfold on, a manticore with a bloody maw; it had a smaller build than the other two I’ve encountered during my travels, most likely female, the tenth and eleventh one seem more...unique than the others.         The tenth, is a female unicorn, dark teal coat with a short red mane with slim orange highlights. She’s beaten up pretty badly: bloodstained bandages covering the majority of her head, her muzzle chained shut, four metal rings with nails sticking out of them screwed into her long horn, the fur on her neck has been rubbed off, her skin bruised and raw from the metal collar around it, a large vertical dark blue, almost black, scar traveling from her left shoulder down across her chest; not faded like the majority of my scars; but fresh, minor, black scars plague her left side, like someone splattered her with boiling oil. Her left bloodshot eye fixates on me, I can see anguish in her dull, lifeless yellow eye. There’s something about her, something that I can’t quite put my finger on. It feels as if I know this mare; like our fates have been intertwined by an unseen hand..         The eleventh piece livestock is a male unicorn, older than the others, young adult maybe? His coat is red-orangish, straight and even purple mane, lighter purple eyes, and no butt tattoo; strange. Someone’s eyes are the portals to their very soul, and his, his tell a very dark, all too familiar story, I can see only dark desires twisting in his light purple eyes, those desires for power, and vengeance twist and turn like a vortex. The other slaves, excluding the tenth, stand as far away from eleven as their shackles allow them to.         “Razor, Celestia’s special force is here, sir!” We turn to see six ponies, an earth pony standing in front of the group who’s wearing black plated armor and a helm shape like a dragon’s head with red, glowing eyes. Three pegasi flanking the earth pony in the air, they’re wearing black, studded, leather armor; with a snake like head covering their tails. And two unicorns in the back of the group, one wearing a wizard robe and hat, and the other wearing heavy plated armor, her horn warped and twisted, engraved with black gems that occasionally give off a small electrical discharge.         “Welcome my honored guests, you here to ‘sample’ the new merchandise?” Razor greets them with a warm welcome, first time I’ve seen him actually tempting to be welcoming for once.         “Celesta herself gave us orders to arrest you and everypony who’s working for your organization if we find anything illegal. But this is not the case, we don’t see anything illegal, do we?” The tank announces, every word he speaks causes red smoke to billow out from the mouth of his helm.         “We don’t, only some fun!” The three pegasi say in unison, their serpent like tails playful strike at one another while they hover there in the air.         The battle mage’s gems glow a dark purple, the sparks chaotically fly off her horn. “My sister only sees ponies standing before us. I agree with her.” The robed mage speaks, her words followed by a quiet echo of her own words. After she finishes, the sparks from the battle mage’s gem die back down to small discharges.         Metal shards are sent flying like shrapnel as one of the unicorns breaks free from his chains, Razor calmly stands there watching the young unicorn flee. “Horror, fetch.” He orders. I switch over to my jagged claws, I’m going to need all the traction I can get hunting down my pray. My Horror instincts takes over, halting me before I give chase and giving him false hope before I hunt him down. “Horror, I said fetch.” My power veins pulse with new energy, my spiked elbows pull out, readying my pylons. “Hor -.” I explode right out of the gate, charging on all fours is second nature to me now. There’s no better feeling than the thrill of the chase; adrenaline pumping, heart pounding, tunnel vision; I never want this feeling to end.         I catch up to him in seconds, he barely makes it to the gates of the estate before I catch up. Lunging at him, I wrap my right hand around the back of his neck, slamming him down onto the ground then pinning him to it with my pylons. He doesn’t fight against me, just lays there weeping. Tail wraps around his entire body, pleased with my catch I stand up and strut back over to Razor’s side.         “Let this be a warning to all of you who even thinks of escaping. Horror, kill.” I can’t disobey his orders, nor can I take an innocent’s life; can I? Surely Fade will understand, I’ll still retain some of my humanity. Friend said I’ll need two innocent souls to turn into something more like him. “I can’t.” I say shamefully.         “You can’t? Or won’t? I know what you did in the kitchen, now do it again and finish the job.” Tail unravels around the colt’s neck,the poor thing limply lays there in Tail’s grasps. “May you find peace in the Abyss.” I plunge my fangs into his furry neck, drinking in the bitter taste of his soul, my humanity slips away along with his life. Tail throws the empty husk of pony in front of the other slaves, his warm blood leaking out from the corner of my mouth turns cold as it runs down scaly chin and onto the scales of my chest.         “Are you sure sister?” The robed mage speaks again.         “What is Static saying, Shock?” More red smoke pours from the tank’s mask.         “Static is adamant that she’s seen this creature you call Horror before.” Alarms go off in my head, I’ve never seen this pony before but if this team is working for Celestia they might’ve seen me while I was in Canterlot.         “Yeah, yeah I -.” “Think you’re right Static -.” “I think I’ve seen you before too.” Cute, when the three pegasi aren't speaking in unison, they’re finishing each other’s sentences.          I have to think of something quick before my cover is blown. “I know who you are, you’re Subject 27 aren't you?” A female’s voice booms into my head. “The Princesses would be appalled if they knew you’re working for the Black Talons.” My eyes lock onto the battle mage’s; the gems embedded in her horn engulf in purple electricity. “Princess Luna has me working undercover, if you blow my cover we’re all in trouble.” “I was right then, you are the Lunar Knight I’ve read in the papers defeating the ex-Celestial Knight in Ponyville.” “Jesus, you ponies are undermining my operation at every turn... Who’s the idiot that published the paper?” If I get out of here alive, I’ll string up the imbecile that thought it was a good idea to published a paper about the incident that inspired when I return back to Equestria. “Ex-Celestial Knight himself did.” I mentally face-palmed myself, hard. I’m going to murder Colt the next time I see him. “Follow my lead, and forgive me, Lunar Knight.” A dark, purple void swirls around her horn, the ground beneath my feet quakes before the earth itself erupts into a spire. The spire grazes my chest as I narrowly dodge it; leaving a jagged, vertical laceration that surely will scar.         “Sister! Wh -... You!” Her own voice becomes the echo as the previous echo becomes the dominant one. “You are a disgrace to this land! I shall take pleasure in wiping you off the face of this beautiful land!” I retaliate by kicking the stone spire, sending it rocketing towards the battle mage. She too encumbered by her armor to dodge the projectile, the impact of it shattering against her armor send her flying in the opposite direction.         “Another scar to add to my collection, another battle I surely will win!” I use my own black blood to create my ice armor. There’s a large dent where the rock impacted on her armor, the mage stands back up, the void around her horn only grows as she channels another spell. Three small spheres of dense purple energy materialize in front of her, the spheres circle in front of her before firing off a large spiraling laser beam at me. I dodge the beam with ease, or so I thought. The huge beam whizzes past me, splitting up into three smaller beams before turning and striking my backside.         My scales absorb the brunt of the blow before melting into a pile of goo on my back. The orbs split into their own units, each one firing off a barrage of beams at me. I duck and weave between the beams, closing the gap between us as I do. Forcing all off Friend’s power into my right arm I aim to end this fight in a single blow. The pylons in my right arm cock further back than they’re originally designed to, retreating back into my skin. I see the ground in front of me start to tremble, there isn’t enough time for me to dodge this spire, slamming my right hand onto the ground I use my stored up power to send me skyward.         A spire is sent rocketing out of the ground, Tail is too slow to block this attack nor can I avoid it in mid flight without wings. The shard pierces through both layers of my armor, sinking into the left side of my hip. The orbs wrap me in a bubble of their own before slamming me down into the ground. The impact knocks the air from me, I struggle to move with the mage already charging up another spell. I churn the contents of my stomach, spitting a ball of bile at her. Her orbs moves to intercept the attack but the dissolve into nothingness and the bile attack splatters onto her breastplate.         Her spell fizzles, giving me a brief window of opportunity. I charge at her on all fours, she tries to charge up for another attack but I’m already in striking distance for Tail; he slashes at her muzzle with his spikes, cutting her deep. She rears up in pain and I tackle her to the ground, wrapping my left hand around her twisted horn and squeezing it. She cringes in pain as I apply more pressure to her horn; her gems radiate with intense heat; ignore the searing pain in my hand I squeeze even harder. “I yield!” Her sister cries out.         “I take no prisoners!” I yell out. “Horror, that’s enough!” Razor’s orders override my actions. My over-compress pylons punch through her thick plate armor with ease, I stop them in time before they can rip through her barrel. The acid burnt a baseball size hole in her breastplate, revealing her light green fur that hides behind her black armor. She got off lucky, she came out of this little squabble of ours almost unscathed; were I on the other have been severely tenderized, an impressive scar and an impression of a gem burnt into the palm of my left hand.         “Are you well Lunar Knight?” Her voice peers into my mind again.         “I was about to ask you the same thing.” Her soft laughter floats through my mind like a gentle breeze.         “Just a few scratches; didn’t expect your tail to be so...vicious.”         “Here’s a notch to add to your bedpost, you’ve wounded me greatly, you’ve almost shattered my hip with that last spire; very clever if I do say so myself. And those damn orbs, annoying little buggers.” This earns me another soft giggle from her.         “At least let me buy you dinner to make up for it.” She’s flirting with me, isn’t she? I’m flattered, but I doubt Mister Silver Wing is the sharing type, hell I don’t even know if Fade or Cloud are; I should probably ask them when I get the chance, but I might loose my head if I do.         “Your advances are noted my dear, but this is not the time nor place for us to get to know each other better. If I see you in Canterlot I’ll buy you an Apple Bomb or two.” Just a little harmless flirting, that is all. Nothing bad could come of it, right?         “I’ll hold you to that stranger.”         I roll off from on top of Static, the pain that plagues my body is soothed by Fade’s cold touch. The silence that follows the battle’s wake is broken by murmurs and enchanting coming from the eleventh slave. “Do it Long Sunset!” The tenth slave whispers in a hush tone. Shadowy claws are birthed from the shadows around the eleventh slave, the claws slice through the chains that binds them both like they were made from paper. Shortly after, both of them are consumed by the shadow, vanishing from sight.         “Find those two! Don’t let them escape!” Razor barks, the few guards standing next to the slaves salute him before flying off.         “My guests, I am terribly sorry for the events that aspired tonight; please help yourselves to whatever you see fit. If you’ll excuse me I have an urgent matter to attend to.”  Razor’s eyes dangerously narrow at me, his gaze is sharp enough to slice through the toughest of metals. “Horror, you’re with me. The Don will be very disappointed in your actions to night.” Razor takes the lead in at a quicken pace, forcing me to limp after him faster than I care for. We entire the main chamber where the Don’s scribbling away on parchment.         “Sir, I’m sor -.” The Don sets down his quill, immediately Razor stops talking.         “Horror, you’ve shamed this Family with your arrogant ways; you did not heed the warning that I gave you. For this my judgment shall we swift.”         “Sir, I believe Horror still might have a few more uses for us, why don’t we throw him in the mines?”         “Livestock, is that your primary means of generating an income?”  Just mentioning of incomes gives away his tell; a slight twitch in his upper left wing.         “No, what do you take me f -.”         “I take you as a man who’s always looking for much better ways to extend his empire. Your ignorance pains me. Here I stand before you, a Horror who lived in Unyasi for the majority of his long life; a country that’s notorious for alchemy and herbalism; didn’t you take into consideration that I myself might know a trick or two?” Everything has a tell, no matter how good of a poker face they have, you’ve just got to poke the right button to find it.         “I know of a renewable resource where all you have to do is create it. If you make it they will come. Just one taste, that’s all is needed for the consumer to be addicted to it. The first taste will be the strongest and they’ll do anything to get that initial high again; that’s the bright side of it, they won't be able to. I’m talking about a special kind of drug that I can create for you, then teach it to one of your people so only you know how it’s created; think about it, you’ll have the entire monopoly on the drug trade.” Another twitch from his wing, I stand there grinning from ear to ear knowing that I struck a nerve.         “If I decided to invest in what you speak of, how long will it take you to create such a thing?”         “I’ll need a sterile lab, a vast assortment of herbs, plants, fungi, things of that nature. The higher the grade of materials you provide, the purer and stronger my creation will be. For the equipment I’ll need will be: empty vats, large ovens, burners, beekers, rubber tubing, so on and so forth. When I finish with it, I’ll need a few test subjects to see if my experiment was successful. But, no longer than a week to create the product.”         “You’ll start at dawn, you will stay in the labs until you have finish; everything will be provided for you.”         “You won’t regret this.” The Don leans forward in his seat, pointing an index talon at me.         “I better not, now off with you.” I take my leave. I limp my way through the hallways, the only thing keeping me going this late at night is the thought of finding myself in a warm comfy bed next to Silver. I stand before my nemesis, the never ending staircase. It’s going to take me all night to climb these damn stairs with my bum leg. “Know what? Forget it. I’ll just sleep down here on the floor tonight.” And I do just that, carefully I lay down on the cold, hardwood flooring; using Tail as a pillow I shift around on my back trying to find a comfortable position. After a few painfully awkward positions, I give up and I’m content for sleeping on my back. Credits Editor frieD195