//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 // Story: An Angel and her Soldier // by Midnight Words //------------------------------// Chapter 11 ------------------------------ "Roland!" Angel yelled as the soldier did a barrel roll to the right. "What the hell are these things!?!" Roland yelled and fired his sawed-off shotgun. "They're like Pegasi or something." "They're not ponies. Those things are huge. They're more like a Dragon." Angel said and fired one of the cannons. "Too small to be Dragons, more like a hybrid." Roland said as a sharp claw broke through his shields and knocked him back. The Dragon-Pony smiled at the injured soldier and dive-bombed Roland. "Nice try." Roland muttered and dodged the hybrid and jumped on its back. Roland easily steered it into the other hybrids and he jumped off and caught the railings of the ship. "Pull me up!" Roland yelled to the Siren. Angel hopped off the cannon and grabbed Roland's hand and pulled the muscular human up. She looked up and saw another wave of those things coming in for another round. "Incoming!" "More? Damn." Roland pulled up his shotgun and reloaded. The hybrids all attacked at once and blinded the two humans. Roland fired his shotgun and emptied the chambers, taking out a lot of the hybrids. The hybrids broke off and flew away. Some flipped their middle claw up at the two humans. "At least that's over." Angel said and sat down on the wooden floor. Roland sat down beside her. "Yeah, you alright, Firecracker?" Roland yelled and saw that the Unicorn was not on the deck. "Cracker? Hey Cracker!" Angel yelled and stood up, she scanned the deck for any signs of the Unicorn. "Shit, I mean, crap." ------------------------------ The hybrids were called Pega-Drakes. They had sharp claws of a Dragon and had large powerful wings. They were shaped like ponies but had extremly tough scales. The herd of Pega-Drakes that attacked the S.S Firestorm was the Red Wings, the best of the best... and now they were dwindled down to only five squads. "Lionheart is going to be pissed." A young Pega-Drake said, his large beady eyes were wet with worry. "You'll be fine, he doesn't blame the newbies... but for the leaders like us..." An older Pega-Drake said and shuddered. "Shut up and make sure that crazy thing doesn't wake up and roast us." A much larger Pega-Drake bellowed at the two. "Yes sir. Sir Bigwing, sir!" The two saluted and slowed down to meet up with the others who were carrying their dangerous cargo. The younger one whispered to the one carrying the Unicorn. "Hey. What are we going to do if she wakes up?" He gave a pat on the younger one's head. "We can stand being on the Sun for a day, what can she possibly do to us?" The one known as Bigwing flew down next to them. The others tensed up and saluted. "You bunch of sissies want to know what she can do?" He bellowed and pointed to the Unicorn. The rest of them nodded. "She killed five Dragons... ON. HER.OWN. Using fire, a lot of fire." Bigwing shuddered, which was a incredibly rare sight for the Captain of the Red Wings. "Five fully grown Dragons, burned to a smoldering crisp." The others flew silently and stared at Firecracker. The youngest one gave a hearty huff. "She doesn't look so tough." Bigwing stared at the young member of the Red Wings. "Have you ever fought a Scorpio Major or an Ursa Major." "Yeah, big red and stabby and the blue starry bear." "Those were MINORS!" He said and pointed to the Unicorn. "And you had a team to back you up. That thing, that pony, took down an Ursa Major, alone. Sure it was injured but still..." The young member swallowed a lump in his throat. "M-Minors! Those things took out most of the squad!" "That's right, and she took down a Major." "I-I don't believe this! She can't possibly take down a Major. Heck, it took an entire division to take down a Minor." "I don't care if you believe it or not." Bigwing shuddered. "But remember, don't give her a reason to kill you. She will do it, even if you lock her up, chain her magic and bound her legs, she will find a way." Bigwing turned around and flew farther away from the group. "She always has." ------------------------------ "The Red Wings are on their way, sir." Critical sipped his coffee with a serious look on his face. "Tell them to keep her alive." "Sir? Alive?" "Yes, alive." Critical threw the empty cup of coffee to the wall. "But tell them to be as rough as possible." "Understood, sir." The pony left Critical's Chambers went out to inform the Red Wings Critical locked the doors and went over to the dresser. "My little firebug." He said and pulled out a picture of Firecracker with her mane tied up into a ponytail. "How I’ve missed you." "All the times I've waited for you and still you choose my insolent little brother!" He said and threw the picture at the wall, shattering the glass. "No, not today. I will make you love me. One way or the other." A quick memory flashed through his eyes. "Boom! Wait up!" "Come on, Heady, we got our target." "Boom, Headshot! Wait up!" Critical brushed off the memory. "I will get back what is rightfully ours." He said and brushed back his mane. "This I swear." ------------------------------ "Storm... You are CRAZY!" Altair said to the gun-metal grey Pegasus "What else is new?" She asked sarcastically. "You barely got out alive and now you're risking going back in! Storm, I thought you were crazy before but..." Altair tried to talk the crippled Pegasus out of her resolve. "Oh? I believe, you had a death wish earlier in life. What was it again? Jumping into a lake filled with electric eels." She said with a smile. "That was different, I dropped my coin pouch." Altair said with a shrug. There was a large rumbling coming from Storm's stomach. "Food. Buy me food." "...No..." Storm grabbed Altair by the neck and started to slowly choke him. "Food..." "...Never..." He wheezed. "... Unless I want to be in debt for a few decades..." He chocked. She dropped the Assassin. "just a few cupcakes." She said with big puppy dog eyes. "If I said 'no' you would kill me. Just a few cupcakes, alright?" Altair pushed her wheelchair as they began to make their way towards the restaurant. "Did I mention their cupcakes are delish!" Storm said as they went into the restaurant. "Huh, really?" Altair didn't really care and just examined the large red room they were in. He always had a habit of making a plan to escape or kill. Right now, he was trying not to get killed if he chose to run away. "One Strawberry blast cupcake please." Storm said, her eyes began to water and she licked her lips in anticipation. "Right away, ma'am." The pony behind the counter said and went back inside the kitchen. She turned her attention to the young Assassin who was looking out the window. "Did I mention that they have great service here?" "No. Just how good are they?" He said and really didn't care. He started to wonder if he could jump out the window. "Here's your cupcake ma'am" The pony handed over a rather large strawberry red cupcake. She quickly ate the large cupcake. Altair stared blankly at her, he wasn't sure if it was a large cupcake or a small cake. Storm gave a big and obnoxious burp. "That was good." She said and sighed. "Did I also mention that they charge a fortune?" The pony behind the counter smile. Ms. Storm always brings in more saps to take money from. "That would be about three hundred bits, sir." Altair stared at the two of them, both having wide grins on their faces, he then turns to the window and back to the duo. "Let me guess, the windows are bullet-proof." "Yup." "And the doors are dead-locked." "Yup." "And I'm going to have to pay, aren't I?" "You got it, Alty." "I hate you." ------------------------------ Slenderpony walked through the streets of Manehatten. A few ponies stared at the once demi-god. He paid them no mind. He needed info on his target, his prey, and he never loses his prey, NEVER. "Ex-excuse me, sir." A young Earth-pony, grabbed his long black suit. "Umm... Do you know where, uhhh, Mane street is?" Slender raised his brow in confusion. "Mane street? Why would you want to go there, child?" He said in a voice that most children would trust without a second thought. This child however, as soon as he heard his voice, he backed away. "Uh. No reason, just finding some things to do. Uh, bye!" He stared to run away but Slender quickly stepped in front of him. Honestly, he was intrigued by this young colt. "Why are you running?" He said and stepped closer and closer. The young colt stepped back to match the ex-Demi-god. "Do you know who I am?" The colt soon ran his back to a wall with no escape. "Are you afraid?" "I-I'm not a-afraid of you..." He said, his voice was shaking as he tried to find a way out. Slender just noticed his hoof-band and necklace. Both of them stared to glow and several spikes came out of the walls and the ground and blocked Slender's field of vision. Slender stepped back with a smile on his face. "Now this is a rare treat." He said as he saw the young colt run away like his life, which it was, depended on it. Slender's tentacles pushed him over the spikes and gently placed him on the other side. "Now, I got to be careful with this." He said and started following the young colt. "I'm not immortal anymore, I'm strong and regular fire-arms won't kill me but a powerful mage might." He sighed as he found the colt at a dead-end. "Sadly, food's not all powerful." He said and a single tentacle lunged at the young colt. The colt shielded his eyes and waited for the final blow... but it never came. He didn't dare open his eyes in fear. Slender stared at shock at the blue force field that surrounded the colt. A single old Unicorn with blue eyes and a great white beard sneered at Slender. An trio of shooting stars adorned his flank. "It's been a long time." He said in an old voice. "It has." Slender replied. "Tell me, how has Slender Jr. fared these long years?" "He's dead." "I see..." Slender stared at the young colt cowering behind the old Unicorn. "You've taken him under your wing, metaphorically of course." Slender said with a sarcastic smile. "The years haven't been kind, old friend!" "And you look like you did all those years ago, centauries now, I believe." The old unicorn stared at Slender with malice. "It's been a while, Shade." "Yes, it has." He said and pushed through the shield and pinned the two of them on the wall. "It has been far too long, Starswirl." "Maybe..." Starswirl said, his horn glowing a bright blue as both him and the young colt dissolved into the wall. "...Not long enough." Shade was left alone in the dark alley of Manehatten, a few traces of magic swirled through the air. "Loyalty can wait. I have personal bussines to take care of." Shade couldn't care less about the Element of Loyalty right now, he goal was to find and kill Starswirl the Bearded and his little apprentice. He first needed to find information about them however. And, much to his anger, the only place to find information about a target would be a bar. Shade cursed inwardly as he walked into the disgusting hole of an establishment he has ever seen, and to top it off, it was playing his most hated song in all of time. "Gimmie twenty bits! Gimmie twenty bits!" A few drunk colts sang along with the music. If he could, he would kill them right now. He walked towards the counter and took a seat on one of the stools. "What can I get for you, lad?" The old green maned bartender said to the disgruntled abomination. "Info about an old Unicorn, long beard, shooting stars for a Cutie-mark." Shade said in mild annoyance. "A Unicorn? I know a lot of Unicorns, maybe some bits could help clear my mind." He said with an untrustworthy smile. Shade grabbed the bartender by the throat. "Or I could beat the living shit out of you." The rest of the bar stared at Shade, most had broken bottles or short knives ready to cut him down. "Get 'em, lads!" The bartender yelled and several of the drunks rushed in. Shade side-stepped and grabbed a simple brown bottle and smacked them across the face, he didn't need to bother to show his real powers. A few more rushed in and slashed away at Shade. Shade dodged easily and stifled a yawn. "Is that all you got?" He said in a mocking gesture. He mentally cursed himself. He spent too much time with his son and now he's starting to act like him. Shade dodged and countered with a strike from his broken bottle. A pony dropped to the ground, his knife clattering on the hard wooden ground. Shade picked it up and it felt... nice? He never bothered with such emotions before. Shade stabbed the pony with the knife and he smiled a sadistic grin. It felt better than using his real powers, to connect to the flesh, blood gushing out, he felt... alive. The other patrons stepped back as Shade removed the knife and licked the blunt part of the blade. He liked the taste of the blood, a sort of tangy metallic taste, he was familiar with draining the life of foals and adults alike but never drank the blood before. He gave a sadistic grin to the others who all stared with disgust. A few ponies started to stallion-up. "Hey! Get off of my buddy!" One of them said and attacked Shade with a hard wooden chair. Shade was to focused on the blood on his suit, for some reason it irritated him, and he didn't notice the wooded object smacking him in the face. "Take that!" The stallion yelled in triumph. Shade frowned, as cuts covered his face but were quickly healed by his over-worldly powers. The others noticed this and some of them began to whisper among themselves. "What are you?" "DeAtH." ------------------------------ Starswirl silently made it back to an old safe-house with the young colt on his back. The colt was sleeping soundly on the old Unicorn's back. Shame. He thought. A young child being forced into this war that has been fought for centuries. He carefully placed the colt on a soft bed. The colt snored lightly. He white coat was slightly dirty with splotches here and there. Starswirl turned around and turned off the lights. He looked back to the colt, still soundly sleeping. "Rest well, young Blueblood." He said and left the room. His horn glowed blue and the door glowed, and with a locking sound, the door was completely cannot be opened from the outside. Starswirl made his way outside, he felt a slight disturbance near one of the old bars in town. He quickly teleported a few blocks away from said bar. He quickly made his way to the bar, the smell of blood wafted through the air. Several guards have blocked off the area. "Sorry, sir. No trespassing." The guard said stoically. "Captain Starlight, FBI." Starswirl said and showed a blank piece of paper to the guard. The guard examined the piece of paper with a critical eye. "Sorry, sir. Go on inside." Starswirl went inside and saw all the blood and dead bodies. Some were pinned on the walls and others completely mutilated. "Huh, not your average bar brawl, eh? Spines?" He said and his beard began to rustle and a small red-eyed salamander poked his head out and stared blankly at the gore. "I know, I won't be sleeping anytime soon too." Star said to the small lizard as if it was talking. Spines stared at the old Unicorn with an expressionless face. "I'm not an old scaredy cat. You're a scaredy cat." Spines dug back down to his beard. "Yeah, scaredy cat." Starswirl walked through the destroyed bar. Looking through the mutilated bodies. A few guards saluted to him. "Sir, we got a live one." A guard said with a salute. "Alive? Looks like his some of his son rubbed off on him." Starswirl said and walked pass the slightly confused guard. The stallion in question was the bartender, shivering and covered in blood. "The monster... DON'T LET IT GET ME!" He yelled. Starswirl has spent years with ponies that need to calm down and he knew exactly what this stallion needs. "CALM." He said and slapped him across the face. "THE." He slapped him after each word. "FUCK. DOWN!" The stallion really did calm down but his breathing was still erratic and was covered in blood. "I-I'm calm." He said. "Now, tell me what happened." Starswirl said and placed his hoof on his head. "Nice and slow." The bartender took a deep breath. "It was just earlier today, I was at bar talking with one of my regular, Luna bless his soul, and this snow-white stallion with a short black mane took a seat on one of those bar stools." "Tell me, did you see his Cutie-mark?" "No, it was covered by his long suit, it looked a bit too long for him though." The bartender said and took another deep breath. "He asked about an old Unicorn with shooting stars and a long beard." He said and his eyes went wide as he examined the old Unicorn. Starswirl shushed him and told the guards to leave the room. "He's hunting me." Starswirl said. "And I am hunting him. That stallion is serial killer and a psychopath, he killed his own son recently and what makes it worse for me was he was my childhood friend." Starswirl whispered to avoid eavesdropping guards. "I need to kill him before he takes another life." The bartender was about to believe the story but a thought came into his head. "You said he was a childhood friend, but he looked like he was only twenty-five at best." Starswirl sighed. "Yes, he takes the youth of children and adds more years to his life." Starswirl lied. "I see. After he... did those things to my friends... He decided to spare me if I told him where an old stallion with a white beard lived. There is one that right in the middle of Mane street. I hope you kill that bastard who killed my friends." The bartender said with angry eyes. The old Unicorn nodded and went away. Outside the bar, he saw something stuck on trunk of a tree. "He will never change, will he?" He went to the tree and tore the note off. "Find me? eh? You're getting less creative, Shade." ------------------------------ "Crap! Crap! Crap!" Roland repeated over and over again. "How the hell could we let this happen!?! We got our friend kidnapped!" "Shut up! Roland!" Angel yelled, which was a sight Roland has never experienced before. "First, we find Headshot and then we find Firecracker." She said and tapped her ECHO device. "Right. Calm down." He said to himself and tapped his ECHO as well. "Roland, Angel. Where are you guys? We've been waiting for a while now." Headshot said through the ECHO. "We're arriving in port now and..." Roland trailed off. "Firecracker's been kidnapped." Angel said bluntly. "WHAT!" Headshot yelled. "No use pussyfooting it. We got attacked by these weird half-pony-dragon things." Angel said without hesitation. Headshot felt a headache come on. "Agh. Did they have any emblems or mark on their armor?" "Red feathers." Roland said. "I was afraid of this. I'll meet you at port." He said and his ECHO switched off. Firecracker was one of her first actual friends and she WILL NOT lose her. "Roland tell how was it like losing your entire squad." Roland was taken aback by this question. "You saw what happened, you were keeping close tabs on us when we got to Pandora." "I'm not asking about what happened. I am asking on how you felt." She said without looking at him. Roland felt like he was being talked down by his CO again, and his CO was a bitch. "Angry. I wanted to avenge them. I wanted to tell them that they were the greatest teammates I could ever ask for." "Would you trade them for you new friends?" Roland didn't answer right away and stared at the passing clouds. "If I could bring them back without hurting my new friends then I would gladly give up my life for them." "I'm not asking that. I am asking if you would kill your friends to get your old ones back." Angel stared at Roland, waiting for an answer. "No..." "No?" "No, you can't make me choose between friends, Angel." Roland said. "Friends are special, each and every one of them are different and I could never choose between them." Angel was quiet for a moment and Roland wiped a few tears away. "Huh? This is embarrassing. Here I am crying for my dead squad next to girl." He said and chuckled weakly. Friends are special? Each of them are different, and I would never trade my friends... Angel though to herself. I'll save her... The S.S Firestorm docked and they were met with a few ponies wearing white hoods, each of them were surprised by the two humans. "Roland! Angel!" Headshot yelled from the back row. "Over here!" "Master, discretion..." "Whatever. I got some good news." Headshot said and flew towards them. "I know exactly where they're taking Firecracker." Angel's eyes lit up. "Where?" "I got more news. I already sent my top agent there. We just need to update his mission." Headshot said and a short pony came forward, wings outstreached and ready for action. "Send word to Altair, tell him that Firecracker was kidnapped by the Red Wings, rescue her, this is his top priority." The pony bowed and took off to the air. "Now, we sit back and relax." Headshot said and resting on a nearby cloud. Angel was furious at the metallic Pegasus. "You're not going to help her!?! She's your friend and you're putting her life in the hand of one of your agents!" Headshot flew down to eye level. "I trust Altair with my life, he has proven to me that he is ready to become a Master and he has also proven that he is a friend that can be trusted to do the job, quickly and efficiently. I trust him completely." Trust... the word that hurts Angel every time she hears it. She betrayed the Vault Hunters' trust, and she regrets it every time. She wished that she could have done something.