Under The Great Inland Sea, light shone down and lit up the ocean floor brightly. The water was cold and the fish roamed the sea together. Eels hid in piles of rocks as they waited for any prey that would swim too close. Kelp forests flowed majestically in the sea. Things were peaceful in these waters. But, that peace was disturbed as a large figure swam nearby. The fish immediately began to swim away, crabs hid in their shells and eels hid in their rocks. They were startled by Junior as he swam in his dragon-like form. His gills flapped every time that he breathed in. His eyes searched the area as he prowled about the sea. He then suddenly decided to hide in the forest of kelp as his nose picked up a familiar scent.
Junior's eyes carefully scanned the sea as the kelp shrouded him. He was lying at the bottom, his rough scales and dorsal plates gave the illusion of jagged rocks. Junior furrowed his brows as he spotted his target. A group of five colorful Sirens prowled the sea. He recognized the black haired woman among them. Junior has been at this mission for two weeks. He would spend the days scaring off any Siren that would come near the boats that fished in the Great Inland Sea. The first week, the Sirens had not returned. But, they began to start appearing more now. They must be really desperate for killing these men. Junior slowly swam out of the forest of kelp. He began to approach the sirens from behind as quietly as he could. He stalked them like a shark, slowly picking up speed. As he got closer, one of the Sirens glanced behind herself. She then gave a terrified scream as she pointed at Junior. The rest of the Sirens looked back and their eyes widened in horror at Junior. The Transmutant began to pick up speed as he bellowed at them. The Sirens began to swim faster, splitting up. Junior chased after the black haired Siren, growling at her as she swam for life. Junior gave a muffled roar as he pursued the Siren. She then began to take sharp turns and performed corkscrew spins as she tried to out swim Junior. The Transmutant was too large to be able to make turns as fast as she did, but his tail and body was strong enough to allow him to swim faster. He continued to chase her, getting closer to her tail. Suddenly, he felt something latch onto his neck. Junior growled in agitation as one of the Sirens had latched herself onto him. The Siren held a bony sawfish's snout that was wrapped to a wooden handle. She then began to saw at Junior's neck. He growled in irritation as he felt the pointed bone rub against his scales. Junior began to shake his head as he tried to get the Siren off of himself. The Siren then noticed the gills on Junior's neck. She swung the sharp bone at one of the flaps, causing Junior's eyes to widen. He screeched in pain as he convulsed, forcing the Siren off of him. He clutched his gill flap as it bled and left a small cloud of blood in the water. He turned and glared at the Siren, who stared at him fearfully. Junior then released his neck and then grabbed the Siren. She screamed as Junior dragged her down to the ocean floor. Junior reared his arm back and threw the Siren to the bottom of the ocean floor. She tucked and rolled as she tried to slow her descent. She rolled along the sand and then slightly floated above the floor. She gasped as she saw Junior approaching. The Siren turned away and began to swim. But, she then realized that she was close to a large rock. She turned and found Junior already too close for her to make a break for it. She then backed up to the rock wall, sitting on her tail as she held her hands over her face and clenched her eyes and teeth. Junior slowed his approach, stopping a couple of feet in front of the Siren as she coward before him.
"P-p-please don't kill me! I don't want to die!" begged the Siren. Junior growled at her as she continued to avoid his gaze. He suddenly stopped as he heard the girl breaking into a sob. His eyes lost their glare and instead widened in surprise. The Siren placed her hands over eyes as she continued to give a pitiful sob. Junior couldn't see any tears since they were under water, but that doesn't stop the Siren from crying. Junior groaned.
‘You have got to be freaking kidding me.' thought Junior. He couldn't stand the sight or sound of girls crying. He began to back away from the girl, keeping a neutral expression.
"Stop crying." Junior said in a deep voice. The girl gasped as she heard Junior spoke. She cautiously removed her hands from her eyes and slightly peaked.
"D-did you just...speak Equish?" questioned the girl.
"Yes." replied Junior. She looked on in surprise as she saw his jaws open and close as he spoke.
"I-I...I never knew dragons could talk like we do." said the Siren. Junior began to notice how young she looked. She appeared to be in her mid-teens.
"They do. But I'm not exactly a dragon. I'm a Transmutant." said Junior. The girl tilted her head in confusion.
"Trans...mutant? What's that?" asked the Siren. Junior looked to her in surprise.
"You don't know?" Junior then shook his head. He then sent a glare back to the Siren. "Never mind. I better not catch you or your friends coming near these boats ever again."
"W-wait. You're not going to eat me?" asked the Siren. Junior snorted in response.
"Hell no. I don't eat humans, even if they are half-fish." said Junior. He then sent his snout closer to the girl, who backed up to the rock again. His muzzle was close to her face as his eyes locked with hers.
"I will not hesitate to kill any of you evil creatures if I catch you attacking these humans again." said Junior in a cold tone. The girl gave him an offended look.
"Wha- We're not evil! We're just-" the Siren was interrupted as Junior bared his teeth at her, silencing her.
"Beat it, kid! You bother me!" said Junior in a harsh tone. The Siren immediately swam away from Junior. He chuckled in response, feeling accomplished. Mosura will be happy to know that he didn't have to hurt any of them today.
Later...
"So, you made her cry?" asked Mosura. Junior nodded in response as he ate a loaf of bread. Junior and Mosura sat together alone at their camp. Mosura sat on her knees as she listened to the story of Junior's morning.
"Yep. She just burst into tears and sobbed. Well, she would have burst into tears that I could see if we weren't underwater." said Junior nonchalantly. He then took another bite of his bread. Mosura sighed in response.
"You're so mean." said Mosura. Junior gave her an offended look.
"No I'm not! I mean...not on purpose! I can be nice, thank you!" said Junior. Mosura giggled at Junior's flustered state. He looked away in embarrassment.
"It's...not like I killed or seriously hurt her or something. I actually let her go when she started crying." said Junior.
"Aaaw~" said Mosura with a smile. Junior's brow twitched in annoyance.
"What?" asked Junior.
"Did her crying make you feel bad? You're so sensitive!" cooed Mosura. Junior scoffed in response.
"Am not!" retorted Junior. Mosura laughed.
"You are so! I remember when you promised to protect Fluttershy back on Nightmare night. That was so sweet of you!" said Mosura. Junior looked away.
"Don't...make such a big deal out of it. That's what friends do, right?" asked Junior. Mosura nodded in response.
"Yeah, but I feel like that you're insecure about your masculinity." teased Mosura. Junior rolled his eyes.
"But still, it's nice to know that you have that side to you." said Mosura. Junior nodded in response. The two continued to sit as they watched the environment around them. The sun was high in the sky, shining over the mountains and dunes. The lizards scurried along the dirt. A mouse hid inside of a burrow and the sound of chirping insects can be heard.
"I guess the desert isn't so bad. I mean, I wouldn't want to live in it forever but it does have its own ecosystem where creatures can thrive. It also has its moments of scenery." said Junior. Mosura nodded in agreement.
"Yes, the world is a beautiful and diverse place." said Mosura. She then looked over towards the village and the kingdom outside of their camp.
"Hey, Goji? Would you mind being my escort into town?" asked Mosura. Junior looked to her curiously.
"What for?" asked Junior.
"Well, I can't go into town alone since it's against the law for women to travel without a man. Plus, we don't hang out enough. I think it'd be nice to spend time together when we aren't running or fighting for our lives." Mosura said with an amused smile. Junior responded with a chuckle.
"Well, when you put it like that I guess sightseeing would be fun." said Junior. Mosura smiled brightly in response. The two stood up to their feet.
"I'll just leave a note for Angirasu and Rodan that we're going to be gone." said Mosura. She then gasped, remembering something important. She immediately rushed over to a bag that sat on the ground and began to dig through it. She mumbled to herself as she looked through the items.
"Aha! Here it is!" Mosura pulled out an orange abaya. Junior raised a brow. Mosura turns back to him and began to usher him away.
"Hey! What are you doing?" asked Junior as Mosura ushered him from the camp.
"I need to change! I'll meet you at the bottom of the plateau!" said Mosura. Junior sighed as he proceeded to walk away.
"Alright, alright, I get it." Junior left the camp and traveled just below the plateau. He waited several minutes with his arms crossed as he looked around the sandy environment. He then heard footsteps approaching from behind. He turned and found Mosura adorning the orange abaya. It's brightness stood out the most, bringing out Mosura's fit figure. She wore a white hood that hid her hair and head, revealing her face. The abaya hugged her body and held a long gown that reached her toes. Mosura did a quick twirl with a bright smile.
"Well, what do you think?" asked Mosura. Junior wore a puzzled expression.
"Wait, when did you have time to get that?" asked Junior.
"I asked Angirasu to find one my size. Poor guy was embarrassed to be the only man in the shop without a woman with him." said Mosura. She then gave Junior an annoyed expression.
"Hey, you didn't answer my question!"
"Oh! Um...It's *ahem* nice." said Junior, avoiding eye contact. Mosura wore a coy smile as she got closer to the flushing man.
"Oh? Are you sure that you don't want to give me a full compliment?" asked Mosura. She then pressed her index finger into Junior's cheek.
"Um...It's pretty. But, it hides most of you. I think a kimono would look better on you." said Junior with a blush. Mosura smiled at him.
"You think so?" asked Mosura. Junior nodded to her. Mosura giggled.
"You're so fun to embarrass." said Mosura. Junior looked away with a scowl. Mosura then took Junior's arm with her own and began to walk with him towards the village
"Thanks for the compliment." said Mosura.
"You're welcome." replied Junior.
Meanwhile in Canterlot, Equestria...
Summer was approaching. Citizens were looking forward towards the upcoming Summer Sun celebration. This year, it was to be held in Mustangia. The humans of Canterlot went about their daily lives. Celestia sat on her throne with a couple of guards, an Elf woman and an Earthbound man in black uniform. Celestia held a hard stare towards the man.
"No. Out of the question." said Celestia. The man held a neutral expression.
"I don't think you understand. We are dealing with a dangerous Transmutant. Lucky Dragon is one of the worst." said the man. Celestia hardened her stare.
"You will not station anymore soldiers in my nation. You also will not pursue Lucky Dragon, I will handle him." said Celestia.
"You? You're not qualified to handle a Transmutant." mocked the man. The guards glared at the man, infuriated. Celestia shook her head.
"I won't handle him with violence. I will handle him peacefully. Something that your organization does not seem to want to do." said Celestia. She then looks to the man with a glare.
"Why is it that a few of my subjects have claimed that when Lucky Dragon and three other Transmutants surrendered, one of your soldiers attempted to kill him?" demanded Celestia. The man's eyes widened.
"I..." the man couldn't answer. This was serious. Celestia stood from her throne and slowly descended down from it.
"I had set up terms for MONARCH to allow them to occupy Equestrian territory. They were very specific terms. One of them, you broke. You were supposed to spare any Transmutant that willingly surrendered!" said Celestia, her tone rising. The man gulped in response.
"Years ago, when MONARCH had turned into an international organization dedicated in serving and protecting, nations gathered and passed laws to limit MONARCH's power, especially during the rise of Transmutant terrorists. MONARCH is not allowed to racial profile the citizens of whatever nation they were in. MONARCH will answer to the leader of whatever nation that they are occupying and they are to be outside of any civilian settlements." Celestia stalked closer to the man in uniform, her eyes cold and hard. The man nervously stood by as the Avatar approached him.
"MONARCH has violated a major term that I have set. You were going to kill an innocent that surrendered willingly. Never have I heard MONARCH abuse its power and do anything as dishonorable as this. You even neglected to mention that Lucky Dragon was a child!" said Celestia, her tone infuriated.
"Yes, he was a child. We only intended to eliminate Alpha. We were going to spare the boy. But that's changed now that he has grown. He's displayed symptoms of psychosis." said the man. Celestia's eyes hardened her glare.
"I have raised him since he was just a little boy. He may have suffered from depression, but he never displayed a psychotic episode." said Celestia, her voice low. The man's eyes widened in shock.
"You knew. All this time, you had him?!" demanded the man. The guards rose their spears at the man. He immediately calmed himself. Celestia held her glare.
"I only found out recently that he was a Transmutant. I did take him in and raise him as if he were my own. And I am glad that I did." said Celestia. She then turned around and made her way towards her throne. "MONARCH's services will no longer be needed. I want all of your forces out of my country."
"You can't do this!" said the man. Celestia turned back to him.
"The law says, 'if MONARCH were to violate the terms set by a nation's ruler, they will no longer have a right to be within said nation. The ruler may remove MONARCH's influence. If MONARCH refuses to pull out of a nation, they will face persecution.' You would be wise not to violate Equestria's sovereignty, for there will be dire consequences." said Celestia. The man held a hard stare at the Diarch.
"He's clouding your judgment, your majesty. If you remove us from your nation, you run the risk of being defenseless against the Transmutants." warned the man. Although he rather not have MONARCH in a fire pit roasting in front of several other nations allied with Equestria, he had to convince her to allow them to remain in Equestrian territory.
"We can stand on our own without you. Leave." commanded Celestia. The man turned and made his way towards the exit of the throne room.
"Princess, unless you have Lucky Dragon in your presence, he is not safe from us. We have orders to eliminate him, no matter what. We will find him." said the man as he continued moving towards the exit. Celestia sat on her throne, glaring towards the man.
"Not if I find him first." said Celestia. The man stopped, looking towards Celestia with a smirk.
"Hmph. 'If' you find him." with that, the man turned back and left. Celestia sighed. This was only the beginning. With MONARCH leaving, people may begin to question her motives. Her guards will need to be prepared in case of these attacks were to continue in Equestria. The elf woman that was in the room stood by nervously.
"Princess, how will you find him without any leads?" questioned the woman. Celestia looked over to her.
"We have to welcome Transmutants into our kingdom. Doing so may encourage Junior to return." answered Celestia. The woman looked to her in shock.
"Pardon me, Princess. Is that really a wise decision? We can't possibly trust every single Transmutant and let them come in willy nilly!" said the woman. Celestia gave her an amused smile.
"No, but we can find some that may be trustworthy." said Celestia. The woman gave her a raised brow.
"Trustworthy?" asked the woman. Celestia nodded.
"There have been rumors of a group of vigilantes with superior physical abilities that has recently appeared in Equestria. They have been said to help the innocent in need and in danger." said Celestia.
"I have never heard of them. Where are they?" asked the woman.
"Somewhere near Mustangia. My cousin lives there and came to visit a couple of weeks ago and said that he saw a man and some woman fight off a group of seven to ten diamond dogs by themselves. Those creatures were part of a clan that has been harassing anyone that strayed far from the town." said one of the guards. He then went stiff as he caught Celestia giving him a stare. He mentally scolded himself for breaking his silence and discipline. Celestia gave him a smile and looked back towards the woman.
"Exactly! I suspect that this group may be a small group of Transmutants! Their physical abilities and feats are beyond what an ordinary Earthbound can perform! They even leave a symbol behind everywhere they visit!" said Celestia. She then raises her hand as it was engulfed in a golden aura and levitates a quill and parchment. She dips the quill into a small jar of ink and began to scribble something down on the parchment. The woman watched curiously, wondering what sort of symbol these alleged Transmutants would leave. Celestia then sets the quill down and levitates the parchment down. The woman eyed the symbol with a raised eyebrow. It was a set of characters that she recognized to be from one of the Eastern nations.
保護者
"What does it mean?" asked the woman. Celestia smiled in response.
"It comes from the Neighponese language. It says, 'Hogo-sha'. Which translates to, 'Guardian'.” answered Celestia. The woman continued to stare at the characters. She was awed by how much meaning can these characters hold and their stylistic appearance. Her eyes then widened in surprise.
"I had no idea that you knew Neighponese, your highness." said the woman. Celestia smiled as she lied back on her throne.
"Well, when you make a friend in another country, you might get curious and would want to learn more about their language and culture." said Celestia as she fondly recalled the days that she had spent with Junior's father. She then shook her head, remembering to get back on topic.
"I want to give these Transmutants an opportunity to be able to show my subjects that there is more to them than they realize. I plan to invite them to this coming Summer Sun Celebration." said Celestia.
"But how will you find them? Surely they are smart enough to avoid humans even if they do protect them lest they risk MONARCH finding them." said the woman, not feeling confident in the benevolent Diarchy's plan.
"We will have to find a way to encourage them that I welcome them. We can have some specialists observe Mustangia and interview the citizens on this group. If we can get word out that there is a group of Transmutants risking their lives to protect people, then people might want to give them the chance to prove themselves. Thus, helping the Transmutants to grow more comfortable." said Celestia.
"And, we may also be able to get young Takeshi to return." said the woman. Celestia smiled at how fast one of her staff had caught on.
"Indeed. I will even have my sister visit him in his dreams again for an invite to this year's Summer Sun Celebration."
Meanwhile back in Saddle Arabia...
Junior and Mosura stood close by as they walked through the village. As usual, it was bustling with its busy day. The sun's heat bathed the citizens and Transmutants. Junior sighed as he wiped his brow. He then looks to Mosura.
"Hey, aren't you hot in that?" asked Junior.
"A little. But the fabric on this allows a nice breeze to flow in. Plus, I changed into shorts and a t-shirt before I put this on." answered Mosura.
"Fascinating." said Junior. The pair continued to walk into the village. They found street performers doing their usual routine. They had decided to sit and watch as a man walked on needles, much to their horror. They questioned the sanity of the man and if he even felt pain. They watched a man play music as a small monkey danced. Mosura's eyes stared at the primate with large eyes that twinkled at the sight of the creature. She even pulled out a coin and held it out to the monkey, who took it gratefully. The pair had later left the area, continuing on.
"That monkey was so adorable!" cried Mosura.
"Meh. I guess." said Junior. Mosura gave him a raised brow.
"You don't like monkeys?" asked Mosura.
"More like primates in general. I'm not a fan of animals that fling their poop around." said Junior in disgust. "But, I guess I would prefer to be around monkeys instead of apes."
"Yeah, the poo flinging is a downside to them. But, I still think they're cute animals." said Mosura. The two continued to walk and came across a restaurant.
"Let's stop here and eat." said Mosura.
"Sounds good." The pair made their way into the building, feeling the cool air wash over them. Junior and Mosura sighed as they felt the cold air. The restaurant was small, filled with only a few people. The stone walls were perfectly carved, creating a large room where tables lied. The pair was led by a man to one of the tables. After they had arrived at their provided table, they sat and began to look over the menu for their meal.
Later...
Junior and Mosura sat across from each other. Their plates were filled with food that had nearly been cleaned of food. Only few bits of their meals remained. The two sat as they laughed.
"OK, so Rodan had this 'brilliant' idea to try and come up with this new sauce made from stuff such as ketchup, hot sauce, fish oil and a few other stuff that I can't remember; It comes out as this goopy brown gunk that gave off a disgusting stench." said Mosura as she calmed herself. Junior held a grin with light chuckles escaping his throat.
"Gross! So what happened?"
"Get this, he looks to me and Angirasu and asks, 'So, who wants to try some?' We both looked at him with our jaws dropped at how nonchalant he was about it. So I say to him, 'Are you kidding me? That stuff smells like something died!' Rodan then gets offended and responds, 'Fine! More for me!' Then dinner time came around." Mosura said as began to giggle. Junior kept his laugh in.
"Oh...Pfft! Oh, no." said Junior.
"So, we sat in the kitchen and began to eat with laundry pins on our noses as Rodan began to put that awful stuff on his food. He takes a bite, and I swear that I saw him nearly burst into tears after he took that bite. Then, he swallows it!" said Mosura. Junior gagged at the thought of somebody consuming something hazardous as this 'sauce'.
"So, the next hour he ended up getting sick from food poisoning. I was actually surprised that he got sick with him being...you know. But I guess that it was something that absolutely did not agree with his stomach." said Mosura as she took a bite out of a tomato slice that sat on her plate.
"My god, I can actually see him doing something like that. He even had weird horror story ideas. It's no surprise that he would come up with a horrible sauce." said Junior with a chuckle.
"Well, he doesn't make the wisest decisions with his ideas, but I encourage him since I like that he has creativity. I just need to make sure that he doesn't try something like that incident years ago when we were first in the Everfree." said Mosura. Junior took a bite out of his beef steak, taking slow chews as he thought back to Ponyville. He hadn't thought of it since last week. He was happy to know that Celestia still accepted him and that Luna was kind enough to help him deliver a couple of messages to her. But, he still couldn't shake the disappointment that his Ponyville friends rejected him. He swallowed his food and then sighed.
"I miss that forest." said Junior. Mosura nodded in agreement.
"Me too." said Mosura. The two sat in silence for several seconds. They then continued to finish their meal.
Junior and Mosura walked through the village. The sun was high in the afternoon. It was the afternoon and the streets were less busy. The pair walked over towards an area with few people. Mosura looked to Junior with questioning eyes.
"Goji, do you hate yourself?" asked Mosura. Junior looks to her briefly and then looks away.
"Don't bother lying. I just found my answer." said Mosura. Junior sighed. She then looks to him with a frown. "Why are you always so hard on yourself?"
"I don't know. I guess...I just feel like that I am just destined to fail. I mean, I look at my dad and he always seemed like a winner. He was a great warrior! Here I am as a wanted fugitive. How can I amount to that?"
"Goji, you can't compare yourself to your father. You're an individual; you make your own decisions and claim your own victories. Look, you will have times where you will fail, but you must rise above that! Don't live in your father's shadow!" said Mosura. Junior looks up to the sky as he processed her words.
"Do you think... MONARCH is evil?" asked Junior. Mosura's eyes widened in surprise. But, she began to understand what he meant.
"You mean, do I think the soldiers are evil or anyone associated with them?" asked Mosura. Junior nodded.
"I don't think that they are evil. At least, not all of them. They're people just like us. I do think that the organization is corrupt." said Mosura.
"Right." said Junior with a sigh. The pair stopped and sat and watched the crowds beginning to lessen. The two sat in silence as they watched the streets grow less crowded and the area began to grow quieter.
"Mosu, I want to thank you." said Junior. Mosura looks to him curiously.
"For what?"
"For being there for me when I was lost. I don't think I would be able to handle being the only Transmutant with no other that I could trust. I don't regret meeting you and the others." answered Junior. Mosura smiled to him.
"Well, we Transmutants have to stick together!" said Mosura. Junior looks to her with his own smile.
"No, friends have to stick together." said Junior. Mosura lightly giggled in response.
"Of course."