Chapter 4: Operation Partycannon
--------xxxxxxxx--------
It was, to say the least, a long day that had passed for the six displaced soldiers when they got back to Sweet Apple Acres. After the visit to the library and Twilight Sparkle they had dropped by another pegasus' home, a sweet little thing named Fluttershy. Said pegasus had been one of the most adorable figures imaginable, comparable to kittens in her sweet, shy disposition. Apparently she worked with animals, from fluffy bunnies to one surprisingly gentle bear named Harry.
Her personal pet, an ironically titled ‘Angel Bunny’ seemed to have taken offence to them from what Roach had been able to tell, chattering angrily and blocking the way for them as they tried to enter Fluttershy's cabin. One ‘get-out-of-the-way-or-you're-dinner’ glare from Price later they hadn't seen it again though. Fluttershy had been pleasant though, of course she had been. She was so eager to please and not offend that Roach had a feeling she could be pushed to do anything.
He also had a feeling that abusing that trait of hers would make half of Ponyville take up an interest in tying and testing out nooses.
Another interesting encounter had been the other unicorn, “Rarity”, a mare who had instantly made Roach twitch a little. Her behaviour had been almost exactly that of a few snooty young girls he remembered all too well from school, people who had made his trigger finger itch every time they opened their loud, whiny and haughty mouths. Annoyingly enough, however, this unicorn seemed basically all right overall. She had been polite and even gushed a bit over Yuri's coat.
In what had to be the most supreme example ever of unintended context she had extended an offer, on the spot, to design a few outfits for Yuri. Her twinkling eyes, coy smile and burning passion for fashion came over strong enough for the Russian to jump to conclusions about being invited into her home for modeling, and left him somewhat taken back. Whilst Yuri stammered beneath her studious gaze, Roach struggled defiantly to not explode into laughter at how much of a sexual invite it seemed to them. The squad were a dirty minded bunch, military life did that to you. When balancing on the knife's edge you took what chances you could to laugh and if crude jokes was all you had, you made them.
After the visit, however, they were unable to hold back the yawns that started to creep in. The aforementioned fatigue was bit by bit overwhelming them but luckily Applejack was graceful enough to wrap up her business quickly and led them back towards the Sweet Apple Acres. It felt like they hadn't slept in years, so it was no surprise that Roach found himself nodding off a bit as they walked.
They were nearly back at the farm when shadows fell over him that he woke up in surprise. They all did yet when they looked up and saw three shapes flying over their heads.
‘I guess some of us had to do something productive today,’ Roach thought with a grin, watching how Ghost and Gaz both came in for landing. While they landed somewhat unsteadily and moved more like flying cows, they were actually flying.
“Well ain't ye both quick learners,” Soap said to the two stallions, Gaz only grinning while Ghost seemed to be in a state of near bliss
“Occupational hazard, Cap'n,” Gaz told him. “Comes with being the best.” A snort from above made them all look up to see Rainbow Dash lounge on a cloud above with a raised eyebrow.
“Look who's getting cocky,” she drawled with a smirk. “Just so you don't get any ideas, here's how the best do it.” She said, leaping off the cloud and flying straight at them. Accelerating to that kind of insane, cruise-missile like speed she spun around them so sharply that it would have made a jet fighter hide in shame. She even left a rainbow-patterned trail after her, completing what had to be at least twelve laps in a second before she shot up into the sky with tornado almost spawning around them. Gaz had to clamp down on his hat to not lose it. Rainbow Dash only grinned however, giving them a wink as she flew above them. “Think you can pull that off hot-shot? You know where to find me,” she said before flying off, the six former soldiers all looking after her.
“I'd hit that,” Gaz eventually said. “What about you, Ghost, would you hit that?” he asked as he looked to his fellow pegasus.
“...Yep,” Ghost said after a while, Roach having to cover his mouth as Price got that ‘about-to-swallow-his-cigar’ look on his face again. Applejack only rolled her eyes, and Soap grinned a bit at her.
“Colts will be colts,” he said before he yawned and the farmpony shrugged.
“Tell me all 'bout it,” she drawled a bit. “Ah'd recommend ya to not get ya hopes up though,” she told them. “I ain't never seen a mare less interested in stallions than RD. She lives for flyin'.”
“Sweet,” Gaz said, “ A challenge!” A slap over the head from Price, which was rapidly becoming standard operating procedure, shut him up though. Applejack snorted at the remark.
“Lets get ya'll tucked in,” she said as they walked up to Sweet Apple Acres and towards the barn. “As I said, ya'll need anything, just come inside.”
“Thank you, Miss Applejack...” Price said patiently and evenly, his exhaustion evident, as he opened the door only to have the entire barn explode in front of him. Or rather, not explode, not quite. There was an explosion true, but it was not of fire and shockwave, but confetti and the sound of party blowers.
“SURPRISE!” the voice of seemingly half of Ponyville called out enthusiastically, the six soldiers having reacted, however, as soldiers tended to do when encountering explosions: they had thrown themselves backward and covered their heads when they landed on the ground. Looking up, they stared wide-eyed into what could only be described as half an army of ponies equipped with confetti, balloons, cakes, cupcakes, punch and various other party essentials. And in the middle of it all a certain pink pony was standing with a giant, radiant smile on her face.
“Welcome to Ponyville!” she cried out enthusiastically. “Were you surprised?” she asked as she seemingly teleported up to them and dragged them all inside within a heartbeat.
'Blooming hay she's enthusiastic' Roach thought. 'Or wait, scratch that, she's on something!'
Pinkie sat them all down and continued to beam at them as she spoke, “I hope you were, I did this for you since you're new in town and...”
“GET OUT!” Price suddenly detonated as he in some unexplained way managed to copy the instantaneous mannerisms of the pink pony and in the next second a pink pony, about a hundred more ponies, punch bowls, trays filled with muffins and cakes, silverware and plates, balloons, confetti and other things as well were sent flying out through the barn doors. Hyperventilating, the captain slammed the door shut and marched straight against the hay in one corner of the barn. “Of all the stupid...” he groused before he flopped straight onto the hay, making himself comfortable and closing his eyes. He was asleep within seconds.
Roach looked to his sleeping captain, then to the others, then to the door, and after a while he turned to head out again. While he was tired as could be, he just knew that this might bite them in the flank later on. He was accompanied by Soap and Gaz in this, the others having joined Price, and stepped out into what looked half like a battlefield with how many twitching, groaning ponies lay everywhere. The pink instigator of all this was sitting with wide eyes outside, a cupcake resting upside down on her head. She was blinking in shock and Roach felt his stomach grow a bit cold at the sight. That was the look of someone about to cry and he hurried up to her in a desperate attempt to salvage the situation.
Right about there, however, the pink pony only fired off a massive grin. “Challenge accepted, Captain Price,” she said, her voice low and eager. Roach found himself stopping dead in his tracks as he stared at her, who looked much like cotton candy from where he stood now. Somehow his instincts were kicking in again, telling him not of danger, but that Price was screwed seven ways to Sunday right now.
“Uhm,” he said as he came up to her. “Sorry about that,” he began, “he's just had a very long day and...” The pink pony looked to him, blinking for a second before she took the cupcake out of her hair and swallowed it in one bite before turning her attention once more to him.
“Hi!” she said, utterly unperturbed by what just had happened. “Were you surprised?” she asked giddily. “I hope you were surprised even if Grumpy Grouchypants wasn't,” she began in a rapid fire, excitable manner. Roach got equally taken aback by her attitude and her nickname for Price, the latter especially giving him a slight sense of vertigo as he imagined just how Price would react to it. “I made this party for you, since you're new in town and just came out of the mountains and all...” She kept rambling, Roach getting the distinct feeling of being caught in a storm of words and cheer.
’What have I done?’ He wondered as the barrage of words kept going.
What followed honestly became a bit hard for the sleep-deprived commando to follow. One of the ponies from earlier, Twilight Sparkle, had managed to catch most of the food and ponies both. This she had done with some kind of force field, which she incidentally seemed to possess the ability to generate, and the party soon got started again. Roach would have dwelled on the forcefield, what with how he all of a sudden found most of his understanding of how physics worked sent for a massive spin, but it sort of faded away as he found himself participating in a conga line with a group of other ponies. He did not even, at that time, manage to find anything overly weird about a group of horses doing the conga.
Soap, meanwhile, had ended up at the refreshment table and was currently doing his best to drown himself in the giant bowl of punch standing there.
“I take it you like the punch?” Twilight Sparkle asked wryly as she came up by the table, Soap looking up from the bowl.
“Aye,” he said, “Was a long time since I had something like this. It's lacking bit o' a punch though,” he added thoughtfully, blinking and looking back when he heard Pinkie yell ‘Ironically!’ over by the conga line. Twilight only shook her head.
“Pinkie,” she offered as an explanation and Soap looked to her again, eventually shrugging.
“Aye, she's one of a kind, that lass,” he said, before taking another swig of the punch. He could have murdered for some liquor in this though, that would have been the piece de la resistance. He wondered if these ponies had alcohol and wasn't sure he could ask.
“I...” Twilight began and Soap looked to her. He noticed how she seemed uncertain, hesitant. “I hope I'm not offending you, Mister Soap,” she began, “But when you came by I couldn't help but notice your flanks.” Soap had taken a final swig of the punch and with that last word the liquid ended up taking a wrong turn in his throat, deciding to grace his lungs with their presence. Bursting into a loud cough and splutter, he raised a hoof to his mouth and stared at Twilight, only barely avoiding a spit take that would have drenched her.
“Bloomin' hay lass, yeh ain't wastin' yer time are ye?” he asked with a sly grin. ‘Is this really happening?’ Was this librarian filly coming onto him? A memory about Gaz calling him the ‘Scottish Sex Machine’ flashed by in his head as he looked at Twilight, whose face turned bright red.
“No!” she exclaimed, her face showing pure horror as she backed off several steps, shaking her head furiously. “No! Celestia, I didn't mean it like... I-I am so sorry, I didn't mean to...” she stammered, too embarrassed to finish a sentence. Soap blinked, feeling his pulse slow down a little as he managed to recover. Grinning at her, he offered her a glass of punch, which she quickly accepted with cheeks still burning bright red.
“Sorry 'bout that,” he told her. “So what did ye mean?” Twilight cleared her throat, taking a sip of the punch and then speaking up.
“I meant the fact that you're... blank,” she said after an awkward pause, speaking the word almost like she had called them on being midgets or something. She sounded like it took a lot to say it. Soap, however, didn't get what she was on about.
“Blank?” he asked flatly, Twilight nodding.
“Your flanks,” she reiterated, Soap looking to his flank. Indeed it seemed quite blank, nothing special there. It was then that the lightning bolt of realization struck him however. Among the ponies around him, all of them carried marks on their flanks. All bar him, Roach, Gaz, Price, Yuri and Ghost who didn't have those either. Was it some kind of traditional marking for something? Each of the marks were personalized, looking pretty much like well made tattoos.
“Aye well,” he began, wetting his lips. “Strangers in a strange land, Miss Twilight.” That would have to do to deflect the question. They should look into getting some tattoos done soon probably, though.
“But, you're still ponies,” Twilight said, her face showing her disbelief. “Everyone develops their Cutie Marks before they become adults, there's not been a single case in the history of Equestria that a pony's Cutie Mark didn't manifest before adulthood and none of you have them. It's... it shouldn't be possible.” Soap blinked. He had been way off in his first guess, apparently these... Cutie Marks... were something natural to these folks. Thinking quickly, he answered after a few seconds.
“It was a long way here, Miss Twilight... and nae all distances count in miles...” he added mysteriously before turning away. “We lost a lot comin' here, not all things we can talk about,” he finished before noticing the large bowl of crisps nearby and walked up to them. Digging in, he silently made a note about running this story past the others as well.
“But I...” Twilight began, Soap looking to her.
“Hope ye dinnae mind,” he added, nailing her in place with those words. For all her eagerness, she was a socially awkward bookworm. She wouldn't be able to keep going without seeming mean, something she wouldn't be able to do if he had pegged her correctly. Twilight didn't push it, but backed off with an awkward look on her face. Soap couldn't help but feel a mite assholish but as he looked around at the absurd little sweet fantasy realm he was in, he thought to himself that if these ponies knew what he had done, what all of them had done, they'd have run in fear.
“Gaz!” he yelled out, watching how Gaz at the moment was leaning back under a tree with a mare under each arm. 'How did he get to that point so fast?' He wondered as the man came up towards him. “No fraternizing,” he muttered into the man's ears.
Gaz began to object, “Oh come on, Soap,” he said but Soap knocked him between the eyes lightly with one hoof.
“Want me to tell Price?” he asked, Gaz sighing and raising one hoof in a gesture that, if he had still had access to fingers, would have been very rude. “Off ye go,” Soap told the man and turned back to Twilight. “So, yer a wizard?” he asked , clarifying after a second. “That telekinesis thing,” he said.
“Y-yes,” Twilight said, perking up a little. “I'm the disciple of Princess Celestia actually,” she said with a slightly proud look on her face. Soap raised an eyebrow now. Celestia as in the ruler? ‘Now THAT’s interestin’’. A protégé of a demigod ruler that ostensibly raised and lowered the sun around here?
“Really now?” he said, “So yer the best wizard around here then?” he asked, deciding to stroke her ego a bit. Twilight's reaction was to look to the side, a slight blush on her face.
“I wouldn't say I'm THAT good,” she said bashfully before she was interrupted again.
“Hel-lo!” Rainbow Dash said as she came up. The mare seemed intent on the punch but stopped to speak now. “So defeating an Ursa Minor isn't good?” she asked. “Don't listen to the egghead, Soap,” she told him as she moved her hoof in a circle by her temple. “She's the best in Ponyville and probably more too, she just doesn't get that you're allowed to brag when you're awesome.”
“Like ye?” Soap asked dryly. Rainbow Dash preened and grinned.
“Of course!” she said and got a glass of punch which she downed. Soap smiled. After the brash mare's help with Ghost and Gaz she had racked up quite a few points with him. Her attitude wasn't uncommon at all among the people he had worked with. He remembered one guy, Ozone, who had been convinced he was God's gift to man. She could back her talk with action so he didn't have any real reason to hate her as it was. Fact was, he liked her. Twilight, meanwhile, was still grimacing.
“I just don't like to brag,” she said. “Besides, your captain was remarkably skilled as well. Throwing us all out like that is something only few unicorns could hope to do,” she said, levitating a small glass to get some punch. “Would you mind telling me where he was taught? I'm sure there must be some references to an unicorn that powerful.” Soap though this over quickly, trying to come up with something.
“Well, Price ain't too keen on discussin' his past,” he said eventually, deciding to deflect the question. “Dunno fer sure if he even was taught,” he shrugged, instantly regretting having opened his mouth as Twilight blinked.
“That... makes a lot of sense actually,” she said with a small furrow on her brow. Rubbing a hoof against her cheek, she looked towards the barn. “The discharge in there was massive, if it was a surge then it'd be more reasonable. Mister Soap, if he isn't willing to tell you, can you at least tell him that he should learn to control his magic if he doesn't already know. If that was a surge he's very powerful, and if he bottles up his magic it might be dangerous.” Soap pursed his lips thoughtfully, glancing at the young unicorn mare.
“Would the protégé of her majesty be willin' tae help out with that?” he asked her smoothly, Twilight blinking.
“Well,” she said, “I suppose I could, I'm not sure I would be the best teacher but...”
“Oi,” Soap interrupted her now. “Don't play coy with me here,” he smirked. “All I'm hearin' suggests yer tha best at what ye do. Humility's one thing but when yer tha best ye should admit that. When the situation calls fer the best, ye shouldn't be scared tae step up. People might get hurt if ye don't.” He told her, giving her a small pat on the shoulder. “I'll tell Price yer willin' tae help out,” he grinned at the furiously blushing pony, thinking 'Heh, cute' to himself. The next second he chastised himself. Starting to run after little girls, or rather fillies now, at his age wasn't okay. That was one of those moral lines he'd always been adamant about never crossing and overall enforcing with a bayonet if that was what it took. Besides, no fraternizing as he had told Gaz.
Suddenly a bolt of light shot right over their heads, Soap ducking with a curse as his entire body kicked into combat-mode. Turning towards the source with wide eyes, he saw how Roach was standing wide-eyed with his horn smoking.
“Sorry!” The youngest member of Task Force 141 exclaimed, shock in his voice. “I haven't gotten the hang of this thing yet,” he excused himself hurriedly. “Blooming hay,” he told Pinkie, who was standing right next to him. “Thanks a lot you pink tosser, Soap's gonna kill me now!”
“Ooops,” Pinkie said awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck as she grinned in an attempt to defuse the situation. “Just tried to teach Roachie how to pop balloons, Soapy, my bad.” Soap took a deep breath, his entire body trembling with excess energy.
“Barn,” he said atonally to Roach. The good mood was gone for him and he was in full battle-mood. “Now. Tomorrow yer gonna learn tae control that thing under Twilight here, is that clear?” he asked. His voice was calm but to Roach it would be evident just what kind of calm it was. It wasn't a relaxed calm at all, it was the calm before the storm, a storm that would erupt if Roach didn't obey instantly.
“Yes, sir,” Roach said meekly, scurrying off towards the barn without another word. Soap grunted with narrowed eyes as the young man left, feeling like a stern father at the moment. He supposed he was. Roach was in many ways his protégé. Where Ghost always had been something of a lone wolf even if he was as reliable and skilled as could be, Roach was a team-player of the highest order. He and Soap had always simply 'clicked', able to work together almost without words. That bond had made Roach special to him, the bond and his age both. A snot-nosed little kid, with more raw talent than experience, who had gotten to try out for the SAS the very same day he became eligible, passing with flying colours and getting into Task Force 141 on his twenty-third birthday. Soap, who neared forty now, could very well have been his dad age-wise. It wasn't a strange thought to him, many of his childhood peers had gotten kids before they reached eighteen back in Glasgow.
'Celestia my childhood's a mess innit?' he thought to himself, adding 'Wait, what?' when he realized what name he had thought of. Also, a small giggle made him blink and look to Twilight. “Aye?” he asked as the mare was holding a hoof to cover her mouth.
“Sorry,” she said, “It's like watching my brother and father. Shining Armor once was practising his aim using some old clay pots he found in the basement. They turned out to be part of our father's inheritance though,” she said. Soap burst out laughing.
“Ouch,” he said, imagining just how angry his dad would have been for something like that.
“Yes, father had the exact same look on his face when he sent Shining to his room.” Twilight said.
“What's yer brother daein fer a livin'?” Soap asked, taking some more punch to settle his nerves.
“He's captain of the royal guard,” Twilight said proudly, Soap raising an eyebrow. So even this place had an active military? If the ruler could control the sun it made sense to guard her. “One of Princess Celestia's closest advisers and probably the best with a shield spell in all of Equestria.” There was a titbit that made Soap very interested. So the sister was the princess' protégé and the brother captain of the Royal Guard? That sounded like a very powerful family if they could snag positions like that. They'd have to play nice with this mare, that much was certain.
Abruptly, Soap found himself running on fumes, and he felt a wave exhaustion crash over him. It came all in one go, probably due to the adrenaline settling after Roach's stunt. Soap shook his head to clear it, putting down the cup he had been somehow holding in one hoof.
“Right.” he said, “That's it fer me. Thank ye kindly everypony!” he yelled, getting the attention of most, if not all, of the ponies around. “Ye sure know how tae make a man feel right welcome,” he began, getting a lot of approving sounds and gestures. “But now I've been awake fer over 48 hours straight, so if ye'd all kindly take a hike now an' we can go back tae bein' friendly and welcoming tae each other when I've gotten tae sleep that'd be alright! Cheers!” He said, picking up the cup again and draining it in one swig. The ponies around him responded enthusiastically, emptying their cups as well.
“Gaz,” he added when he was done, “Saddle up, we're goin' tae bed. Now!” he added with some emphasis after a while. It was funny in way, seeing how Gaz had been in the SAS for over a year when Soap showed up but it was Soap who had taken the role of the mature one between them. Grousing a bit, Gaz nevertheless said goodbye to the ponies he had been talking to and accompanied Soap back to the barn, where Roach already had laid down to sleep as well.
“Are you done with that blooming tea party now?” Price muttered from the pile of hay where he was lying as they closed the door.
“Aye, Sir,” Soap yawned, “Also, yer goin' back tae school tomorrow, Price.”
“What?” Price asked, the edge in his voice clear in the darkness.
“Yer horn's magical,” Soap said as he laid down in the hay as well. “If ye dinnae learn tae control it ye'll blow yer head off in the end. Class starts tomorrow with that librarian lass, she's the protégé of the princess, one o’ the best mages in Equestria. Good night sir,” he finished, beginning to relax and stretch on his bale of hay. Finally, after the longest day of his life, he was granted the blessing of sleep. He drifted away to dreamland, joining his comrades in blissful sleep. Their troubles and concerns could wait until morning, now, in this clearly safe place, they treated themselves to the most precious thing they knew: sleep.
--------xxxxxxxx--------
Price let his SMG roar and watched the two soldiers fall to the ground, both of them dead. Advancing with the gun gripped firmly in his hands, he scanned the sandstone buildings around him with expert ease, picking out at least three more hostiles in the immediate area. Getting into cover, he reloaded and reached for the earpiece.
“Bravo Six to Bravo Team, come in,” he said lowly, looking towards the corner behind which he was hiding. The gun was raised and at the ready. The response he waited for didn't come however. “Bravo Team, come in!” he hissed. ‘Why aren’t they responding?!’ he thought worriedly, his mind high on adrenaline. Angry shouts could be heard, the sound of the enemy approaching rapidly. With no response, Price had to spin around the corner, firing several short bursts to drive the attackers back.
“Come in Bravo Team, where are you?” he asked as he darted into cover again, just in time to avoid a swarm of AK-47 bullets.
As he reached for the headset he felt his fingers refuse to grab it and push the button. Teeth gritted, he looked to his hand to see in horror how it was no longer a hand, but a hoof. Shock and horror filled him as he looked down, realizing that he had been transformed. He was no longer human but a horse, and he stood naked, unarmed and helpless in the dusty alleyway, his enemies soon rounding the corner. Shock was in their eyes as they gawked at him, but Price gritted his teeth and charged. Going on instinct, he slammed into one of them, burying his horn completely inside the man's gut. Trying to pull out, he swore only to have his curse warped into some strange pony pun as he realized he was stuck. The other man yelled something in another language, raising his gun and Price, still stuck inside the first man, saw the muzzle flash, realizing he was done for.
Closing his eyes, he tried to pull out one more time and this time he succeeded. Instinctively, he back-pedalled and ended up scrambling to the side, away from his attacker. It took him a second to realize that the man was gone however. So was the one he had stabbed. In fact, looking around, Price realized that the street was completely deserted. There was no one here, he was alone.
“Such violence,” a voice said behind him, a deep, melodious female voice. He spun around with adrenaline still pumping in him, coming face to face with another horse. This one was different to the ones he had seen before. Her fur was deep blue and its mane and tail both billowing in some unseen wind. What more, her mane seemed like the very night sky with the stars shining in the deep darkness of space. She was bigger than him and had a horn as well as wings. Her eyes, meanwhile, carried a weight to them that was unlike anything Price had seen before. A weight of age, experience, pain and resolve. It was the gaze he saw every time he looked into a mirror. Still tense, Price found himself frozen between fight and flight. Whoever this newcomer was, she wasn't some average pony. “'Tis truly a strange place thou calleth home, Captain Price.” She spoke and Price startled at the mention of his name.
“Who are you?” he growled, ready to attack at the least sign of hostility.
“Be at ease,” the figure said, standing her ground and making no attempt to move in any direction. “For we bear thee no ill will. We art Luna, the Princess of the night. Thou art in our domain, the dream world, and we were drawn by the screams of violence, more potent than we have felt in centuries. Thou and thy companions art not native to this realm, that much is clear, and this strange realm whence thee cometh art not a place we recognize.”
“It's called Earth, now get out of my head,” Price told her. The figure only shook her head however.
“Neigh,” she said, “Thou came to us, not the other way around. Our little ponies cometh hither in their sleeping hours and we watch over them. Whatever ails them in their waking hours is reflected here, and we cometh here to offer balm for these pains.”
“I don't need your balms,” Price told her heatedly. “If you want to help me then show me the fastest way out of this obscene fantasy world. I'm not going to stay here one second more than I have to and believe me, you don't want me here either.”
“Is that so?” the mare said, Price feeling more and more like a child in front of her. There was something to her, something... old. No, more than old, ancient even. He had a feeling that this entity, whatever and whoever it was, played in the same league as that Princess Celestia the cowpony had talked about. “Thou bestoweth judgement swiftly, Captain” she said, slowly beginning to walk towards him, “Yet beware thy rage, for whilst thou findeth strength therein, thou findeth also thine worst enemy, thyself.”
“Stay back!” Price snarled, readying himself to charge. The mare only smiled at him though, smiling like he was an unruly child which only further enraged him.
“Of course, 'twas not our intent to provoke. Be at peace tonight, Captain Price, thine journey hath not yet come to an end, yet if thou hath the courage to open the eyes thou closed a long time ago, then there is hope. There is always hope, even for thee,” she said, beginning to slowly fade away and with it, the alleyway he stood in as well. Price looked around, seeing how the dream fell apart and how he eventually was enveloped in a soothing, empty darkness, a darkness that embraced him for the rest of the night.