It's been four hours since her first contact with Subject Zero. Audible Range sat in the chair, numb as her superior officer bellowed at her. Her mind was numb from the previous events. It- he, was afraid of me. No pony has ever been afraid of me, ever.
"Range........Range! RANGE!"
The tan mare looked up at her captain, blinking . "Sir?"
Pinching the bridge of his nose between his hooves the captain sighed. "Look, only two people were in that room; you and subject Zero. I don't know what happened in there and I need to make sure that it wasn't your fault. So once again, what happened?"
"I-I don't know sir. Everything was going fine, or at least I thought it was. He was calm the entire time I was there, but when I teleported... Oh..."
"Oh what?"
"He freaked out. By that I mean he tried using the tray to fend me off" She bit her hoof, and stared at the wall for a moment before continuing. "The way it was swinging it makes me think that it was trying to defend itself from harm. I don't think he likes magic sir."
"His response was to become violent? Well that seems like all the more reason for us to put him under! I will not risk the safety of my-"
"Sir, he was afraid. True, he did appear to be slightly hostile when we first met but I think that he needs another chance. Not to mention the fact that you would be hard pressed to find anypony willing to end a life."
Shining Armor snorted and slammed a hoof on his desk. "I don't care what you think. We need to look out for what is best for our people. We have no idea what Subject zero is capable of! He could have some backup plan to kill us all. If him being perpetually unconscious means that they will stay safe then so be it. I personally will end his life if I have to."
"Really captain, is that how you feel?" He jumped at the gentle voice of Celestia. "I selected you for this job knowing that you would put the safety of Equestria before anything else, but to take the life of somepony who only wanted to protect himself and leave them in a vegetative state? As for him having a backup plan, I highly doubt it. When I spoke to him there was nothing but confusion in his eyes. I sensed no ill will coming from him at all." Celestia stepped into the room and smiled gently at Audi before turning her eyes to the captain. "However, I also agree with you captain, he may have abilities that we know nothing about. Though I am curious, has anyone done a scan on him?"
"Yes princess," Shining replied quietly.
"Not a standard medical scan, a Swirl scan. Has anyone actually taken the time to do a proper examination his physiology ? We don't need him to talk just yet, that would be great but is not what we need." Her violet eyes narrowed as she began to think. "Captain, you have my permission to take a small group into his room, no more than five ponies and at that no more than two unicorns. If that is not possible, can we have him brought to the lab? Only so we can do a full scale analysis of his form."
Shining Armor nodded his head. "That's a rather sound plan," he murmured before turning to Audi. "Do what you can to examine him. But here's the thing; how would you want to transport him? I would rather not risk using magic on him until we have a proper reading of his body, not to mention he's too big for one pony to carry. Finally let's not forget that we are in the middle of the castle. If you can figure out how to get it done without upsetting him too much then go ahead and move him. I want a copy of the lab reports when you complete it."
Audi saluted and turned to leave but Shining held her back once again. "Remember Range, you screw up... It's your flank, I wont be able to overlook anything again." With that final warning he let his subordinate go, watching her walk away with narrowed eyes. Why is it that I feel like this is all going to go to tartarus?
"Captain, a word if I may?" Celestia said gently.
"Princess?"
Celestia closed the door with a gentle burst of magic, and began to pace the room slowly. "I do not trust that creature. There is something about him that is off. I could see it in his eyes when he looked at me. There is a certain emptiness that is quite disturbing."
The captain flicked an ear as his face took an apprehensive look. "What do you mean?"
The princess stopped pacing and looked at him with dark eyes. "Captain Armor, I hereby invoke Standing Order 66. If, and only if, this creature is proven to be a danger to this country or its ponies, it is to be eradicated with extreme prejudice. Do you understand?"
Shining Armor stood still, eyes never leaving his never leaving hers. O-order 66? That has only been issued twice in the past 1500 years. She must really be paranoid about this thing to issue this. Can it really be that disturbing to her? Swallowing he opened his mouth and tried to speak, only for his answer to come out as a weak and feeble "yes". Clearing his throat he tried again. "Yes princess, I understand. Under Royal Order 66, this creature is to be terminated if, and only if, it has been deemed a hazard to Equestria or its citizens."
Nodding to herself Celestia summoned a large chair and sat in it. "I do not want to harm this creature, but he seems so empty. Dangerously so."
"Empty? In what way?"
"They say the eyes are a window to the soul, and looking into his soul I saw nothing. Naught but emptiness and sorrow. There is a disturbing lack of life in him and yet he walks around unaffected." Her voice was quiet, almost worried in a way.
"Is it possible that he is a construct of some sort? Or a creature of the underworld escaped? Maybe even a dead being forced into life by some cruel necromancer?"
"Those are possibilities, but I cannot draw a conclusion until the paperwork is given to me. At this point all I can assume is that he is a hollow shell of what he once was. That vital spark of life that he held is now gone, leaving him alive, but at the same time not living." Her voice became a whisper.
You ever have one of those days where nothing seems to go right? Yeah, that's been the way I felt since I have woken up here in fucking horse land...
I sat up groaning. My head felt like I had been hit by Floyd Mayweather or some crap like that. Shrugging it off as best I could I walked over to the sink and began running a bit of water to wipe my face with when I heard the door open. I stopped the water and slowly looked over my shoulder, and was surprised to see five ponies walking into my room, well 3 actual ponies and 2 unicorns. I immediately put myself on guard. I saw the little mare that was with me earlier in the group and relaxed just a bit. I smiled slightly when we met eyes, but she grimaced and looked away.
Ok, so what the fuck is about to happen here? Five versus one, 2 that can warp reality and 3 that just look tanky. This isnt going to go well at al-
My thoughts were cut off when a large strip of white cloth flew at my head, making me duck and swat it away. The moment I moved the three regular ponies struck- they rushed at me, trying to back me into a corner. I jumped back a bit to avoid their movements, my eyes switching from target to target. Thank god for Dark Souls or else I wouldn't have seen them moving when I ducked. Speaking of ducking, I swatted the strip of cloth again, only it wrapped itself around my arm and slowly began to slide up towards my neck like some sort of possessed two dimensional snake.
I began to frantically paw at the cloth, attempting to remove it while keeping my eyes on the ponies in front of me. It wasn't coming off! I began to bite at the fabric, hoping to tear it off my face, but the moment that my mouth connected with it, it wrapped itself around my neck and over my mouth in an almost liquid fashion. My screams were muffled as my hands scrambled around the cloth like large brown spiders.
There's no seam! This is just one solid piece of cloth! Nope. Nah, y'all can't just roll up an do this shit and think that you're going to get away with it. My hands clenched at it, pulling and yanking but it wasn't coming off. Releasing the fabric, I stood crouched over slightly, panting from the exherstion. My eyes frantically looked all over the room, searching for a way out. If I can just take out the two in the back then I'll be fine. I hope. Cracking my neck and fingers I stood up to my full height and slowly raised my right fist.
"Come on you lousy sons of bitches. I ain't going down without a fight," I said, but it came out more as a muffled growl. Raising my other fist up I began to slowly shake my left hand, a trick that I learned keeps your opponents focus on the constant movement so they are caught off guard by the punches. I kept that pose until one of them leapt at me, hooves outstretched. I quickly sidestepped the obvious move and kicked at them with ann my might, my foot making a loud thunk as it connected with their rib cage. The winded pony slid to the ground behind me, wheezing. I turned to the others and smiled at them, my eyes narrowed slightly. They looked at each other and rushed at me at the same time.
This is where it gets weird. As they stepped toward me I noticed that they were moving slower than the other guy. I had enough time to vault over the first pony, land on my feet and slide under the second one and shoulder my way between the two unicorns guarding the door before they knew what happened. Looking around the hall frantically I spotted a glass window about forty feet down that lead to what looked like a small garden. Nodding quickly I began to run towards it, the sounds of shouts and clopping hooves not far behind me and gaining.
Thirty feet. A set of hooves wrapped around my waist, prompting an elbow to the muzzle and the immediate release of my body.
Twenty feet. The little unicorn appeared before me, her horn glowing slightly. I jumped over her, realizing that I was at least three times higher than I normally would be. I hit the ground running.
Ten feet. So close.
Five feet. Four feet. Three, two, one..
I jumped again, curling into a ball as I hit the glass. I uncurled myself the moment I cleared the edge of the building, aiming for a soft landing. Thankfully I was only on the first floor. I hit the ground hard enough to make me lose my balance and roll to a stop on my stomach, not before landing in a patch of glass. Gasping for breath I tried to pull myself into a sitting position, only to cry out in pain as a lance of pain shot up my right wrist. Looking down I moaned in shock at the twisted mass of flesh and bone that was my arm and hand. A large gash ran from my inner wrist to my outer elbow and my whole hand was cut to pieces.
I heard shouting above me, causing me to look up and see eyes staring at me from all the available windows. Clutching my bleeding appendage I staggered to my feet and looked around for somewhere I could try to hide. Spotting a small alcove, I painfully limped over to it, wincing as my shredded soles touched the sharp blades of grass. After what seemed like an eternity I reached a small bench and collapsed. Leaning against the wall I exhaled slowly before biting my left shirt sleeve and pulling it until my arm was free. Bracing myself for the more painful part, I slipped my torso out and with a yank ripped the shirt off of my mutilated arm.
Tears ran down my face as the open wound was rubbed by the rough fabric. Goddamnit. I can't do this. Its hurts too much. Tilting my tearstained face towards the sky, I silently began to pray to whichever god was listening. Jesus, Buddha, Zeus, it didn't matter. All that matteres was having the strength to wrap this wound up and trying not to pass out. Setting my jaw I sniffed a bit to clear my nostril and looked at the shredded remains of my shirt. Gripping it between my teeth and my left hand I tore it into strips and began the slow and painful process of wrapping my arm and putting it in a sling. I was about halfway done before the sound of hoofbeats gained my attention. Looking up slowly my eyes met the horrified looks of the ponied that were in the room with me. One of the unicorns, the little one who seemed to always be near me, barked out what seemed like a few orders, causing the group to advance on me. I grimaced weakly before blacking out.
Audible Range sat at a small table surrounded by four other guards explaining her plan to move Subject Zero from his room to the lab, which was three floors below in the basement and on the other side of the castle.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait a second. So you're telling me that you just want to let it wander aimlessly around until he reaches the Lab? No. I say we cuff and muzzle it, and lead it to the lab by leash and go from there," Stone Cutter growled, slamming her obsidian hoof on the table.There was a round of muted agreement as she finished her statement. "Less risk. Simpler than that whole convoluted plan you had Range." Cutter sneered, her silver eyes narrowing in a patronizing fashion.
Audi blushed and looked down before nodding in agreement. "I didn't mean for it to be convoluted but it just kind of happened. Anyways, if we do this Jax and I will have to be the ones to get the muzzle and leash on him. But due to his shape, I think it would be best if we were to use minotaur restraints on him. Well aside from his face. I think a standard straitjacket and leg restraints couples with a wheelchair would be the best things to move him with. Agreed?" Several nods were all she was met with. "Ok, so we get the restraints, go to the room, Cutter and Swirl will hold him while Jax and I put the restraints on him."
Fifteen minutes later Range and her associates found themselves outside of the room containing Subject Zero. Turning to Jax Audi spoke to him in a low voice. "I really dont want to hurt him, so try to be gentle when we restrain him, okay?" Jax grinned, his smile giving her all the conformation she needed. Opening the door, the group slowly entered, watching as the creature slowly stiffened. It turned, water dripping off of its face and looked at them, its eyes narrowing for a moment before settling on Audi. She had to look away, its gaze was so intense that she felt a flash of fear. Jax took advantage of its momentary lapse in concentration to fling a piece of polymorphic fabric at it, making it duck and swat it away.
The three earth ponies slowly crowded in on him, trying to push him back into a corner. While they did that Jax moved the fabric towards him again, making it land on its arm. The fiber flowed up its arm like water before latching on its mouth and wrapping around the back of its head to form a single unbreakable piece of cloth. Panicking it began to viciously claw at its face trying to remove the enchanted item. Subject Zero stopped struggling after a moment and looked at them, determination in its eyes. It spoke, but the words were muffled, as it did it raised its arm and began to gently shake one of its hands. Stone Cutter and Iron Hoof readied themselves to move, but Swirl launched himself at it, smiling viciously. The creature sidestepped it easily and kicked at him, its foot connecting with his side with a rather painful sound, making him wheeze and collapse.
Cutter and Iron looked at each other and nodded before rushing at it. Subject Zero lurched forward, placing its hands on Stones muzzle and pushing itself over her, and did a sliding dive under Iron. Hoping on its feet a split second later it shouldered through Audi and Jax, leaving them dumbfounded at its sudden burst of speed and dexterity. Their confusion only lasted a few seconds before they were chasing after it. Stone cutter was the first to reach it and latched onto its abdomen, only for it to strike her in the face hard enough to break her nose with a sickening crack and loosening her grip enough for it to slip away.
We cannot let him get out of here and outside. Audi ran as hard as she could but she knew she wouldn't be able to catch up to him so reaching into her mind she accessed the aether and using it pulled herself out of existence, only to reappear a few feet in front of him. "Stop! Please!" Her cries were ignored as Zero continued to run, and when he was right in front of her he jumped. His form easily cleared her four foot frame, easily going an additional six feet over her head. His landed on the ground with a loud thwap and moments later the sound of breaking glass sounded throughout the castle. Spinning, she rushed to the window and her eyes were met with a horrifying sight; Subject Zero was on the ground bleeding and there were eyes at every window trying to see what caused the commotion.
"Jax! Teleport to the captain and fill him in on what just happened. Cutter, you and Iron take Swirl to the infirmary and bring back three medics, also get your nose fixed. After you do that I'll need you to run damage control Jax, Find any and everypony that saw this and wipe it out of their minds. We can't have a repeat of the Rainbow incident. I'll be in the courtyard trying to keep him from losing too much blood." Audi didn't wait for an answer before leaping out of the window and slowly creeping up to him. By the time she had gotten close to him, the three medics were right behind her, ready to step in at a moments notice to heal him. She noted that his arm was wrapped in what looked like his shirt, stopping most of the bleeding. He looked at her weakly as he raised his left arm and extending the second digit on it before passing out.
Nodding to the Medic, Audi stepped back and allowed them to bring out a large gurney and gently put him on it. The group talked amongst themselves quietly, debating on what would be the best course of action. "Take him down to the lab. I want a blood, stool, and urine sample. If possible try to be as non invasive as you can. I'll be explaining this to the boss. Again." Sighing she shook her head and slowly trudged back into the castle, leaving the mess for the eraser crew that was standing by. Why can't it ever be easy?