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// Tail 19- Crash landing and who called the cops!? 
// Story: Monkey Business 
// by FrostTheWolf 
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Monkey Business- Crash landing and who called the cops!?




Ponyville

        It had been a few days since Hearths Warming and now, life around Ponyville for Sun had been a little more… manageable so to speak. There weren’t any new sightings of other RWBY teams within that timeframe and the people were here were beginning to get used to the locals and the surrounding environments. Construction for Beacon was close to Twenty percent complete and with its goal to be finished sometime early in the spring. On top of that, there wasn’t any new displaced randomly dropping in on Sun and the others since Twilight’s experiment with Asphyxious’ gem caused him to crash land in her bedroom… with dramatic results.

        Right now though, Sun was having a stroll through the park outside of Ponyville. It was only an hour or so after the sun had gone down and now though, he was trying to clear his head a little. Enjoy the surrounding environment. Feel carefree and comfortable while he was walking. However, he was about to get a whole lot of weight on his shoulders.

        Literally… 

        A quick pop sounded as a rather large cardboard box materialized above him and a pair a figures fell free from its depths, both crashing onto the unfortunate faunus. One was human shaped and covered in blood while the other was more canine shaped. The second figure quickly righted itself, dragging its companion away in an instant before standing defensively over her.

        “Identify yourself! Are you with Celestia?!” a synthetic voice erupted from a robotic canine brandishing a revving, red hot chainsaw on the end of its tail. Despite the relatively monotone delivery, the threat was obvious.

        “W-wha-?” The Faunus stumbled forward and shook his head, only startled awake by the sound of the blade. “Woah! Hey!! Can you just calm down for a second?!” He tried to reason with him. “I’m not trying to harm you. In fact, you and your friend fell on me-.” Sun stopped speaking the moment that he saw the state of the other figure behind the canine. “Holy crap, is she alright!?”

        The canine kept its stance, taking quick glances at their surroundings. After a few beats he warily relaxed, though not completely. “She is not.” he answered simply. “If you are able to offer any aid… though I warn I will not hesitate to retaliate against any threat you may decide to pose.”

        “How bad are her injuries?” The Faunus asked. “I can only help if I know how her serious her condition is.” Sun was right when it came to this. He didn’t want to try to help her by picking her up off the ground and unintentionally make this Displaced’s condition even worse. He was one for helping others, not hurting them unintentionally.

        Wolf hesitated before finally stepping back and lifting the human onto his back.

        “I do not know the full extent of her injuries, though I doubt you alone would be able to assist much.” Wolf began, a note of urgency breaking though the even tone “She needs a hospital, the most apparent injuries alone leave us little time for hesitation.”

        The Faunus nodded, looking back at them. “Follow me,” He said as he began to run. “I know the way to the closest hospital.” With it, he used his staff to pole vault himself onto the rooftops, running as fast as he can as he watched the mechanical hound follow suit behind him. It took him five to ten minutes to reach the hospital, but once they were there, the Faunus bolted through the door and was greeted by Nurse Redheart.

        “Redheart, we got an emergency!!”

        The large metal hound bounded in after the tailed displaced, the ponies in the lobby startled by the large metal creature barreling in before them. A couple even dove to take cover. Thankfully the nurse caught sight of the creature clearly in critical condition on it’s back before the shock could set in, immediately calling doctors and surgical staff alike to respond.

        “Sweet Celestia, what a mess…” one doctor muttered as they loaded the unconscious woman onto the gurney before refocusing, his professionalism kicking in “What’re we dealing with?”

        “Where to begin…” Redheart started as they ran through the halls “Well in addition to countless cuts, contusions, fractures and burns; some of the more notable injuries seem to be a serious concussion, a shattered knee, a severed forearm I believe it’s called, but the most pressing injuries are definitely be the large puncture through the chest and the even larger wound through the abdomen… there also seems to be an unprecedented amount of foreign metal and material in the wounds.”

        “The material is not foreign,” Wolf interjected as they reached they reached emergency surgery “She is a cyborg, it is part of her.”

        “A cyborg?!” one surgeon asked, looking down at the pale woman dying on the table “As in part robot?! How the buck do you treat somepony like that?!”

        “I will attempt to offer you guidance,” Wolf informed at he took a place in the group around the critical human “Complete recovery in not a necessity, we just need to stabilize her vitals and triage the worst injuries to keep her from dying. Her systems are designed to prevent her wounds from degrading.”

        “I’ll just wait outside the room,” The Faunus told the mecha beast. “If you need my help, just let me know… Uh… I don’t believe I know your name mister…” Looking at the side of the beast, he then just thought of a few random names before actually hearing the cyborg respond to what he was saying.

        “Blade Wolf” the canine answered simply, focusing on the task at hand. All while Sun waited outside the room. It wasn’t for another few hours that he heard anypony else open the door until he saw one of the doctors trot out of the room. Most of them looking back at Blade Wolf and unaware of the Faunus by the door.

        Wolf followed as they wheeled the cyborg to one the recovery rooms, Sun following suit after them.

        “Well it was certainly touch and go there but she’s finally stable. If what you told us was correct, then she should already be recovering” the doctor informed the pair waiting by the cyborgs bed as she slept “Though I’d still give her a while, it’s a miracle she survived something like that at all.”

        “Thank you doctor.” Wolf returned as the pony bid them good health before walking away, muttering about the opportunity of working on such a unique specimen. The metal canine turned his attention back to the faunus next to him.

        “My apologies for my initial suspicions,” Wolf delivered “We had just left a very… difficult situation. Thank you for your assistance.”

        “No problem. I’m always one for helping others.” He replied, his monkey tail now a little more visible. “Speaking of which, I forgot to introduce myself. Name’s Sun. Sun Wukong.”

        “As I said, my name is Blade Wolf; though you may call me simply ‘Wolf’ if you prefer.” He responded while looking around, his gaze focused mostly on the pony moving past outside in the halls “Am I to assume you are one known as a ‘Displaced’? Your world’s ponies are very different than ours…”

        “You are correct about that,” He said, noticing one pony by the door as he turned around. Only to see Fluttershy trot inside, almost tackling him by how worried she was. Seeing Wolf though, caused her to be a little timid as she was hiding behind Sun’s leg. “It’s alright Shy. Wolf here is a friend.”

        “Greetings Miss Fluttershy. Mister Wukong is correct, I intend you no harm” he stated plainly before simply falling silent.

        “Sun is fine, Wolf.” He smiled, before seeing Fluttershy move a little closer. 

        “I-it’s alright. I’ve met some like you before. It’s just… surprising to see you. I never have seen an armored animal before.”

        “Actually Shy…” Sun mentioned. “Wolf is a cyborg. Like his companion… but right now she’s trying to heal.” Turning back to Wolf, he cleared his throat. “I’m going to guess that it may be a while before she wakes up?”

        “I would surmise as much,” Wolf answered “And to be precise, I am actually not a cyborg; I have only synthetic components, no organics.”

        “So like a machine, but with a soul?” The Faunus asked, turning to Fluttershy as the three of them sat down on the floor.

        “That is not an inaccurate description, though whether my sapience is indicative of the presence of a soul or not puts me into a somewhat ‘cloudy area’ as it were. Then again, I suppose the presence of a soul in any being has been philosophized about for millennia.” Wolf rambled, as much as a synthesised voice could ramble at least “If I may ask of you Mister Wu- Mister Sun; Are you a human? From earth?”

        “Well yeah I was, but as of now…” He said, having his tail come into Wolf’s field of vision for him to see. “I’m a bit different. I’m a Faunus now. Humans with animal traits.”

        “Interesting… Maze is the only human I have ever met, and until this event I was not even sure if the existence of the ‘Displaced’ and her claim to be one was legitimate or part of her isolation induced psychosis.”

        “Well, she might be glad to hear that I’m not the only one who was Displaced here. A few of the humans and Faunus that are here, like myself, were Displaced in teams of four.” He explained carefully. “I was displaced with a trio of friends I was with. A few others though, like the blacksmith Raven for example, were displaced on their own. Once your companion has recovered, I can explain it to her as well if you want.”

        “I believe this would be her first encounter with other displaced, so I suspect she would be interested… though her behavior can be hard to predict at times,” Wolf began before noticing a blip on his HUD “My apologies, I had not realized the time; you must be tired.” 

        “Actually, it’s alright.” Sun replied. “I kind of took a nap while your companion was in surgery.” With that, he turned to Fluttershy. “I’m going to stay with Wolf. I’ll be back at the cottage later.”

        “Okay Sun. I’ll tell Blake and Velvet that you’ll be back later.” She replied before unfolding her wings and flying off in the direction of the cottage. The Faunus himself nodded his head as he watched her fly off to the cottage. As he turned back to Wolf, he then was going to suggest something. Until he heard Wolf speak.

        “If it is not an issue I will remain here. You do not have to worry, I require very little in the way of comfort or intake” Wolf suggested “I am also aware that I am not the greatest conversationalist.”

        “I don’t mind. I trust you that you are loyal to your companion. I just never had the chance to talk to someone like you other than Penny.” Sun sighed, getting up a little as he looked back at Wolf. “But I’ll take your advice on the sleep part. I’ll be outside for when your… friend wakes up.”



Next Morning

        The sun had already reached the peak of the sky when a mild groan sounded near Wolf, his charge finally stirring. Her eyes slowly opening only to slam shut against the light.

        “It is a significant relief so see you once more conscious Maze.”

        “Uhg… Heya Wolf…” the heavily bandaged patient mumbled, trying to open her eyes again with no more success “What happened?”

        “The details of your battle with the princess and our subsequent escape are uncertain; but we seem to have arrived in another, much different Equestria. There within we have most fortunately received the aid of one Sun Wukong and his acquaintances.”

        “Wukong? As in the Journey to the West Monkey King Sun Wukong?” Maze finally managed to squint enough to see the blur of her friend, a quizative brow arched. 

        Funny thing was that it wasn’t until she turned around by the windowsill did she see the Faunus that her companion was referring to.



        “Good morning, sleeping beauty.”

        “...Hiya” Maze returned slightly amused “Well, you don’t look like much like the immortal monkey king of myth; so either you're a saiyan, or that one guy from RWBY.”

        “The second one is the correct answer.” He sighed, “I already have Ruby chasing me around sometimes saying that I’m a saiyan and Twilight thought my name was Sun Goku when I first met her.” Taking a moment to hop inside “I also told Wolf that I’m a Displaced… some time after you two crashed on me.”

        “Sorry, I know we’re not exactly the lightest pair. Though I suppose I’m down a few pounds here...” Maze quipped as she examined the bandaged stump just past her left elbow. A small sigh escaped her before she regained her focus “Honestly I’m just glad it worked; The letter I got said you usually had to be summoned first to go anywhere else. Then again, said letter wasn’t very comprehensible to start with, so who knows?” 

        The woman swung her legs over, letting her feet the hang off the side of the bed. She took stock for a moment, studying the extent of her injuries and how much further she had to go. She still had all the wounds, they were just patched up and bypassed at the moment. Shaking her head she stopped being rude and returned her attention to the non-metallic one of her saviors.

        “Name’s Maisie if Wolf didn’t say, though most people just call me Maze. Thanks for the assist, there’s a very good chance I’d be dead right now without it” she offered, a small, mischievous smirk donning her lips as moment later “So did I pop your cherry or is this only my first time?”

        “Depends on what you mean…” He said, the actions of Maze strangely reminding her to that of his cousin Lance’s fiance, Max. “I’ve met a few other Displaced before and the way they are sometimes summoned is… unpredictable. A few of the ones I met are going to be teachers once we finish constructing Beacon-.”

        “Beacon? As in hunter school? You’ve been busy, everything in my Equestria just kind of changed on it’s own after I showed up. Granted it took twelve hundred years to get where it is now but still...” Maze trailed off, going to reach for a glass of water when she realized she was a few phalanges short on that side. She rolled her shoulders as a sudden flurry of glowing particles condensed around her, forming a rig with four anchor points one on her upper back. She adjusted the one to hang more off the side of her left shoulder as more particles created a grey synthetic arm connected on it that grabbed the glass for her.

        “Maze, you really should stay in bed” Wolf began before Maze even started trying to get up, knowing her behavior all too well. 

        “Relax Wolf, it’s a good thing to get up and moving after surgery.” Maze chuckled and waved a consoling hand as a pair of mechanical tentacles appeared on the lower anchor points. One wrapped around her leg to support her busted knee while the other helped to hold the rest of her up.

        “I also come with tweezers, a knife set and can make julienne fries!” Maze winked at Sun watching the display of her nano magic. She pulled herself up as her old tactical suit appeared under her hospital gown, the IV stand creaking in protest as she leaned upon it and let out a tired sigh “I don’t suppose any of this school’s teachers can unlock an aura like in the show, can they? My nano machines may be efficient but a healing force field would be pretty nice right about now.”

        “I see. And with what I was saying about Beacon, it’s going to be more than a huntsman school. I’m making it an academy for Displaced so those who get Displaced and are not familiar with anything at all could meet others who are in the same situation they are. Some Displaced are even going to be teachers.” He explained, stretching out both of his arms. “Also, for Aura’s, I think we could give that a try once you feel ready. Rather not push it too far when you are still recovering.”

        “You’d be surprised what I can pull off during recovery. Besides, wouldn’t it help speed up said recovery?” She retorted.

        “You make a valid point… Hang on a second.” He said, facing her for a moment. From what he could recall, someone who had an aura like himself could be able to unlock someone else’s Aura. He just needed to focus and concentrate… hoping that Wolf would not take his actions as a threat to his companion. He placed his hand on her shoulder and closed his eyes, focusing on his strength as it flowed from his hands into Maze. It took a short while, but when he reopened his eyes again, he had the suspicion that it worked out properly because some of the scratches and cuts on Maze were healing themselves. Like in the show, Aura is able to heal minor wounds depending on how serious they are. And this was exactly the case for Maze.

        “Interesting sensation…” Maze muttered, rolling her shoulders “And you didn’t even need to do Pyrrha’s little chant.”

        “Yeah. More likely because I was focusing on making sure it paid off. Oh and be careful on mentioning that… There’s actually a Team JNPR here… along with RWBY, CFVY and the rest of my guys for SSSN.” The Monkey Faunus commented. “Not to mention Penny, but she spends most of her time with Ruby near the Everfree.”

        “They don’t know about the show then? Do your ponies know about theirs?”

        “Oh trust me, they know about the show, but I suggest it to avoid confusion.” He replied. “Besides, you should’ve seen my Marefriend Fluttershy when she first saw Wolf earlier. She was shaking behind me in fear until Wolf told her that he wasn’t going to harm her.”

        “Yeah he can be a little imposing. Though if yours can get as pissed off as ours can, she wouldn’t have anything to worry about!” Maze laughed “Interesting that you’ve told your ponies about the show; all the one’s I told in my either didn’t believe me or had existential crises. I found it best to just keep it to myself after a while.”

        “When I meant show, I meant the Displaced. I wasn’t referring to the ponies… Though, I did hear Pinkie mention a few times as something being a plot device.” He sighed, turning around a little. “Please excuse me, I got a curious Twilight coming in who looks like she wants to know about last night's panic. Especially with when they brought you into the ER.”

        With that, he took a couple of minutes to talk to the pony outside the open door to Maze’s room. However, the conversation that insisted was something that Maze did not expect. 

        “So let me get this straight… You were going on a late night walk near the Everfree…” The Alicorn began to speak, only for the faunus to add onto it.

        “Yes.”

        “Had a Displaced crash on top of you…” The pony added.

        “Hurt’s like hell.” Sun groaned, scratching the back of her head.

        “And you helped a big-”

        “-big synthetic robo-canine! Yes, like I haven’t already said that already!” The Faunus sighed. “Now if you would excuse me… I have things to do.”

        “What things? You don’t-.” The princess was cut off the second she laid eyes on Maze and Wolf in the nearby room. “Oh…”

        Maze stood wide eyed, staring back at Twilight as Wolf took a few steps back as a small twitch tugged at the corner of the cyborgs lips. An instant later she disappeared in a familiar violet flash, reappearing next to the purple princess and hefting her with her still good arm-

        “YOUR PONIES ARE ACTUALLY PONIES!” Maze screamed, hugging the struggling princess ‘AND THEY’RE ADORABLE!’

        “Yeah… Twilight, I think I should’ve said that this is her first time seeing another Displaced.” The Faunus added on while Twilight just stared at him.

        “That… could’ve helped.” She sighed, trying to move her wings a little. “If only your friend could’ve actually hurried up and was with me right now, he would try to pry us loose.”

        “Oh?” Sun asked, “Which one-?”

        “Twilight, next time please warn me before you try to-.” A familiar voice said, Sun turning around to see a familiar blue haired teen looking at Maze snuggling Twilight like she was a teddy bear. “Okay, that you don’t see everyday.”

        “Hey Neptune.” The Faunus added on. “Glad you came.”

        “My apologies Miss Sparkle, I am afraid after her confinement Maze has forgotten certain social etiquettes” Wolf joined them in the hall before shocking Maze with the end of his tail. The cyborg jumped, dropping the princess “One being the concept of personal boundaries.”

        Maze just pouted and stuck her tongue out at the Fenrir before turning to Twilight.

        “Sorry, you’re just very cute and I got excited.” Maze offered.

        “It’s alright. The same thing happened with Nora once she met Pinkie Pie.” Twilight commented.

“So you go by your character name too then? Is than normal for displaced?” Maze turned her attention to the blue hair individual.

        “Well, it’s either that or Nathan and I thought I would just roll with it.” Neptune replied. “Sun has met other Displaced where they take on the character names while others just kept their own. Personally though, this was a first for seeing another Displaced.” The one thing that Maze could notice was that he was looking around and his cheeks were a little red. “And you… look quite… shocking. No pun intended.”

        “Well when a princess beats the ever living crap out you, it tends to leave a mark.” Maze quipped, well aware of her vaguely mummy like appearance of blood stained bandages. A beat passed and another mischievous smile graced her  “Or were you trying to flirt with me?”

        “That depends really.” He said. “But in all seriousness, I was going to go back to check on Sage and Scarlet. Catch you later Twilight!” He said, rushing off. Sun himself though, chuckled a little as he looked back at Maze.

        “Typical… Anytime someone figures out what he’s trying to do, he rushes off.” Sun laughed. “You really got him that time.”

        “I try,” Maze grinned with a shrug and started hobbling down the hall. A loud pop echoed as she stumbled a bit. She dismissed the tendril around her leg in a flurry of particles and tested the joint, finding it already realigned properly “Perks of a cyborg.”

        “Good point.” Sun replied, noticing Twilight ruffle her feathers a little as she used her teleportation spell to leave before anyone tried crashing into her again. “Now I’m just a little bit curious on some things… You are feeling better healing wise right?”

        “I’m functional if that’s what you’re asking. I have pain inhibitors that take the edge off and learned I’ve been designed to keep fighting with the worst of injuries,” Maze explained while they walked “So yeah, as well as someone with two large holes in their body and a severed arm can be… relatively speaking at least.”

        “Okay, I was just curious,” He said, looking to notice something. “How do you fight though? It wouldn’t be right for me to assume that you would fight only using hand to hand combat. Because you look to be someone who could be skilled with a blade.”

        “I’m actually pretty good at hand to hand; though yes, I prefer to have a weapon…” Maze started, a trio of muted flashes strobing as she spoke. The other anchors now had synthetic arms like the first, one holding a large glowing blade and the other with a staff made of said arms. Finally a complex sheath appeared, out of which she drew a very battered looking HF katana “I use to have another blade too, but good old Tia took care of that… and now my first here doesn’t look like it’ll last another fight.”

        Maze dismissed the weapons before she started scaring passersby, her gaze a bit distant in remembrance… or regret.

        “Well, guess our first stop may be with Raven so she can fix up your sword for you. Gotta have it be ready for another fight if you want to be prepared.” He suggested, a gust of wind blowing up the backside of his shirt as Maze saw the weapons on his back.

        “Can’t reforge a sword and expect it to maintain its strength unfortunately, pretty much just gotta get a new one at that point… I got the other two weapons though, I’ll survive.” Maze delivered solemnly “Thanks for the offer though, really. Maybe she’ll have something I can convert… Nice gun-chucks by the way.”

        “An unorthodox design to say the least” Wolf added.

        “Unorthodox is the name of the game when it comes to hunter weapons Wolf” Maze smiled.

        “You mean huntsmen.” Sun clarified. “And yes Wolf, some may be unorthodox, but they’re suppose to be combination weapons.” Taking a moment, Sun brought out both of his Gunchaku to demonstrate. “In one form, Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang are a pair of shotgun nunchaku…” He then linked all four parts to where it stretched out to form a bo staff. “In it’s second form, it’s a bo staff. The common phrase being that with most weapons… it’s also a gun.”

        “It seems somewhat counter intuitive to-” Wolf stated before Maze cut him off.

        “It’s the Rule of Cool Wolf; The cooler it is, the more powerful it is. The show practically runs off the concept, it’s how a scythe could actually be a practical weapon here” she pointed out “I’m pretty sure it’s why my goofy arm staff works at all too.”

        “Trust me. There’s a lot of combinations when you have a look at it.” Sun explained as both of them turned around a corner in front of a shop with a hammer and anvil sign above their heads, “Maybe it’ll be best to show you than tell you.” Going through the front of the door, the three of them could here a series of clashes. The sound of steel against steel as they found Raven near the back of the forge. She was using her own sword to test the durability of another weapon that she was making. Only to notice Sun, Maze and Wolf as they entered the Forge.

        “Hello Sun… I’m going to take a guess that the other two are friends?” She asked, sheathing her blade as the dust crystals in the scabbard of the sword whirled around a bit. What took Raven by surprise was the mechanical canine next to Maze. “Wow… that’s one big dog.”

        Maze sashayed up and lifted the raven-haired beauty’s hand, trying to seem smooth.

        “Well hello there beautiful, I do so love a woman that…” Maze paused, glancing at an anvil “knows how to give a good pounding.”

        Raven blinked a couple of times, surprised by the forward movements. “Yeah… my ex-husband is a crazed killer and I’m trying to patch up my relationship with one of my daughters. I got a lot on my plate…” Turning to Sun, she then cleared her throat. “So, what brings you here?”

        “Maze needs one of her blades reforged. It’s in very bad shape.” The Faunus replied, looking back at the cyborg. “Care to show her, Maze?”

        “Like I said Sun, there’s not much point. Reforging isn’t really an option, plus I doubt our lovely smith here has much experience with HF blades. No insult to you skill of course” Maze added quickly, before glancing about the room “There’s some really gorgeous pieces in here though… and I’m not just talking about it’s occupants.”

        Maze finished with a small smirk at the smith before wondering off to browse.

        “My apologies for her behavior” Wolf offered the pair.

        “No worries, Wolf.” Sun replied. “I met another Displaced that has a similar personality. And she’s my cousin’s Fiance.” Then, he looked back at Wolf, curious about something. “Wolf… How do HF blades work? Just out of curiosity…”

        “A High-frequency blade is reinforced by a powerful alternating current and resonated at extremely high frequencies. This oscillation weakens the molecular bonds of anything it strikes, thereby increasing its cutting ability. Technically any edged weapon can be converted into a High frequency weapon; in fact the higher quality the base weapon is, the more pronounced the conversion effect has.” Wolf delivered very technically “The addition of magical reinforcement also adds a great deal to the process.”

        “Basically it’s kind of a like an enchantment that uses technology instead of magic to cut better and not break. Then, since Equestira has it unlike back on earth, we can add magic to make it even better.” Maze called back to simplify “Ooooooh, now this is interesting.”

        Maze stopped at a long curved blade on the wall, it’s metal a distinct crimson “Familiar... but unique all the same too.”

        “Just finished that a couple of days ago,” Raven commented. “Wanted to try some new things, so I used a fire dust shard to allow the weapon to channel high frequencies of heat. Based off of how my weapon has different properties depending on the dust shards I used.”

        “May I?” Maze gestured to the blade, she knew better than to just grab a smith’s art without permission.

        “By all means, go ahead.”

        Maze lifted the blade off it’s stand, feeling the balance and admiring the craftsmanship.

        “Well I don’t know anything about dust as we don’t have it where I’m from, but I do know that she is just gorgeous!” Maze complimented. She wanted this blade, it was that simple. It looked like it could be pretty easily converted too. Only problem was, she didn’t have any money “... I don’t suppose you’d be interested in a trade?”

        “Actually, take it. It’s not for sale, but I’ll let you have it since you are a friend of Sun’s… Also, a quick trick. If you see the trigger near the hilt, pushing that in and holding it firmly activates the dust.” Raven explained to her. “You seem to need a good blade and I appreciate anyone who takes their time to inspect one’s craftsmanship. And for that, I respect you.”

        “Oh no-no-no-no” Maze rambled “You don’t just give away a sword like this.”

        The anchor points on her back flared again as a trio of the tendrils appeared, only now with a chainsaw on the end of each. Snapping each of the power tools off,  she set them on the counter “Wolf, do you got a spare-”

        “Yes” the canine answered simply, handing over a small cube with his tail.

        “These, while not terribly graceful weapons, have the same HF conversion Wolf explained earlier, But, this is the real prize!” Maze clicked the little cube, a small holographic display popping out above it “It’s a basic description of that process. Even if don’t want them as weapons or tools, you can still strip them down for parts to use for converting others.”

        “Well, I am quite surprised… If you insist on the trade, then I guess this is a good trade then.” Raven replied, taking the cube and then taking the weapons to the back. “Thanks Maze. Enjoy the rest of your stay here.”

        “No thank you” She returned, smiling at her new blade “Does the dust need recharging  or restocking or anything like that? Like I said, we don’t have it where I’m from.”

        “Nah. How it works is that you may use it as much as you want. However, use it too much and it’ll overheat, causing a backlash on your hand if you aren’t careful.” She advised her as they were walking out of the shop. “Come back again sometime!”

        “Oh count on it,” Maze shot back with a sly grin and a wink. She summoned her old sheath for the blade and resumed following her guide “So now what? Should I get out of your hair and head home?”

        “Actually, you can stay for a while if you want.” Sun offered, “I was going to check on Fluttershy back at her cottage if you wanted to come along.”

        “It would be nice to sit somewhere quiet for a few days and recover. I know I shouldn’t stay away long but…” Maze sighed “I guess I wouldn’t be as much use if I went back as I am now anyway.”

        “You don’t need to stay for too long. Just as long as you’re comfortable with it.” Sun replied as they soon arrived at the cottage. “Fluttershy, I’m back!”

        “Welcome back Sun. Hello Wolf-.” She said, stopping upon looking at Maze, her cheeks looking a little red as she noticed Maze. “W-who are you?”

        “Maisie, friends call me Maze; it was my blood your boy here was covered with last night.” Fluttershy’s blush increased a little as Sun chuckled.

        “It’s alright now, Shy… Where’s Blake and Velvet?”

        “Oh they went to catch up with Yang and Yatsuhashi at the market. Chrysalis is resting upstairs and Discord is having morning Tea with Celestia and Luna.” The pegasus replied, “Please, come inside. Is there anything I can get for you, Ms. Maze?”

        “Some water would be great if you would, thanks” she said before leaning in to whisper to Sun “Has everything gone according to the show here? Other than your presence of course. In mine, things aren’t always guaranteed to work out or even in the right order…”

        “Well, that depends.” He said, sitting down on a nearby chair. “We’ve had a few things come up and because Adam Taurus has basically placed a siege on Chrysalis’ swarm, he left him for dead. Not to mention that there was Double Diamond and his group that had to evacuate their homes when some bastard burned them to the ground and also saved Starlight from a Grimm attack.”

        “Ah alright, I thought I heard her say Chrysalis” Maze said “Nice to know it’s not just my Equestria that’s gone off track...”



Few days later…

        In the time that passed, Maze was able to rest and recover a good deal more than she could have hoped. Not only that, but she was also able to test her sword in multiple training exercises with the monkey faunus that helped her. She also helped Raven go over some of the finer points of High Frequency conversion, walking her through the process with her new blade. It let her get a lot more flirting in too. Presently, Sun was with his Twilight as he looked back at Maze and Wolf. They had spent enough time in his world and were needed elsewhere.

        “Well, like all great things, this must come to an end,” Sun sighed, tossing Maze a copy of the golden medallion that was his coin. “Here’s my token. You’re welcome to come visit anytime. Hell, if you want, I can have you enroll as a student at Beacon once we’re open.”

        “Oh right, tokens! Let’s see here…” Maze fumbled for through her pockets and pulled out a folded down cardboard box about the size of a playing card “Here ya go, it changes size and the outer appearance will shift if you tap the side. Don’t underestimate it, seriously; It’s saved my ass more than once.” Maze smiled “Now as for going back to school? I’m not sure how regular I can make these visits if at all, but I’ll keep the offer in mind. If you ever need a guest lecturer or something though, just give me a call!”

        “I’ll make sure to do so.” He said, as he pocketed the box though, he turned his head to look behind Twilight and notice the guest standing there. “Hey Twilight?”

        “Yes Sun?”

        “Did Celestia ever tell you about her possibly dropping by?” He asked. “Because she’s right behind you.” This caused her wings to spring open as she turned around quickly. Caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her teacher.

        “Hey Celly! I’m hoping you not here to beat the crap out of me again.” Maze called to the solar monarch.

        Celestia just raised an eyebrow. “Ex… cuse you?”

        “Don’t mind Maze, Celestia,” Sun replied. “She’s a Displaced that’s been here for a short while.”

        “Sorry princess, couldn’t resist,” Maze giggled “Your counterpart isn’t exactly herself right now and nearly killed me.”

        “Different worlds Tia… Different worlds.” Sun sighed. “Well, better not keep you around for too long. Seems like we're all good here Maze. Stay safe!” With the last comment, he waved her goodbye as the two of them began to return home. However, as Wolf climbed into the box that was now much deeper than it should be and Maze held it above her, she had one last thing to say to them.

        “Thanks for the helping hand ‘all! I’m off to kick your ass now, Tia! Wish me luck!” Maze cheered and dropped the box, disappearing into it’s depths with a laugh.

        All Celestia could do was stare dumbfounded as she tried to say something. “Well… I think everything here is alright. Take care you two.” With it, she used her teleportation spell and left both the Alicorn and the Faunus to go their own separate ways… For the time being. For Sun though, one thing was stuck on his mind

        Do not underestimate the box.



Later that afternoon…

        As the day began to wind down, the faunus himself decided to lay down under the tree outside of Fluttershy’s cottage as he was beginning to think through the events of the day. Over the past few days, he had been thinking about possible Displaced that could serve as teacher. Asphyxious, Jack and Jen were the only ones that actually confirmed to be teachers and Maze was a possible guest speaker. It was a long way to go before he could make any significant progress, but he had time since Beacon was planned to open in the spring. All he could do right now was rest his head and relax… For a short while though. He had a bad feeling that something was going to happen to him.

        All of a sudden, a small portal opened up in front of him, dropping a small silver badge into his lap. Picking it up, he heard a wise sounding voice speak. ‘I am Anubis Cruger, the Shadow Ranger. If you require my aid, or merely my counsel, call on me. But be warned, you, as well as your foes, shall face my judgement.’

        “Well… That’s surprising…” He said, the first part of his name making him think of the egyptian god of the dead. “I wonder if I can see him right now? He sounds like a wise one, so maybe I could have someone like that for the Academy.” He shifted the badge into one of his pockets, unaware that what he was thinking was causing the token to glow. And what happened next the Faunus was unable to see coming.

        Behind him, a large portal appeared. Out of it barreled a group of vehicles. First an ATV barely missed him, then a motorcycle clipped him, knocking him down. A pair of more futuristic looking managed to avoid running him over, a large jeep on the other hand…

        “Ah sh-!” The faunus managed to avoid the tires from crushing his limbs, but in the confusion he forgot that he now had a tail. “OWW!! SON OF A B*TCH, THAT HURTS!!”

        “Pearl, Night,” called the figure on the ATV, “What part of ‘keep an eye out for civilians’ did you not seem to get?”

        “Sorry chief,” called the driver of the jeep as she jumped out, “but I couldn’t see him lying there.”

        “You’re lucky he appears to be alright,” said the first figure, “we’ll discuss what to do with you two when we get back.” The figure walked towards Sun, “You doing ok bud?”

        “Yeah, but it could’ve been worse,” Sun replied, taking out the weapons that he had on his back as he put them on his shoulders. “If you ran over my back, you would’ve crushed more than my spine.”

        “Sorry,” the figure asked, “First time driving into a new verse.” He stuck out his hand, “Anubis Cruger, SPD Shadow Ranger Displaced, no hard feelings?”

        “Guess so,” he sighed. “Sun Wukong. Faunus.” He soon shook his hand as he had both pairs of weapons collapse down into his staff and held it in one hand while shaking with the other.

        “So,” said the guy on the motorcycle, “Why the weapon?”

        “Watch it Night,” said the passenger in the jeep, “you remember what happened last time.”

        Night just huffed, “Well excuse me if I’d like to know if we run a risk of being attacked.”

        “I’m not going to attack you guys… Besides, how else are you suppose to protect yourself from Grimm?” He asked, having his weapons be Gunchaku again. “Besides, like with almost all weapons here, it’s also a gun.”

        Cruger frowned, “That sounds familiar, where have I… oh yeah! Death Battle, Tifa from Fantasy vs Yang from RWBY, I assume your base is from the latter?”

        “Yeah, a lot of the Displaced here are from RWBY. You have Ruby with a Scythe/Combat action sniper Rifle, Her sister with shotgun gauntlets, and some others just to name a few. One girl even has a handbag that turns into a freaking minigun.” He explained. “Mine is a bo-staff and nunchaku that are also shotguns…” Turning to look at the group, he chuckled a little. “What brings you to this neck of the woods?”

        Cruger shrugged, “You called us, these jokers just happened to be nearby when I got your call and they wanted to come along. By the way, that’s Evil Breaker, Hammer Fist, and Rainbow Dash, the ones who ran you over are Night Stalker and Pearl Spark.” As he said their names, Cruger pointed at each of the ponies with him in turn. It was during this thought that Sun turned his head to notice onepony he knew coming out of the cottage.

        “Sun, what’s with all the-.” Fluttershy spoke, only to see the mass amount of ponies and strange vehicles while she was trotting over. “-noise…”

        “Wow,” said Dash, “four legged Flutters, kinda weird.”

        “It’s alright, Shy. They’re friends…” The Faunus said, turning to Cruger’s Rainbow Dash, “And she’s my Marefriend.”

        “Huh,” was all Dash could say.

        “Putting cross-species relationships aside for the moment,” Cruger interjected, “Mind if we continue this somewhere else? I don’t know about you but I prefer talking shop with other Displaced over lunch.”

        “Sure,” Sun Wukong told him. “We can go to Beacon, but it’s still under construction… One thing first.” He then raised one of his weapons, firing it once as a beowolf Grimm dropped from the trees above them. Fading as it hit the ground with a hard THUD! “Stay too long out here and the Grimm would want to get you for a meal.”

        Cruger sighed, “Of course, as soon as I meet a new Displaced these days, we go straight into the fighting. Might as well make the most of it.” Cruger mounted his ATV, “Mount up! Sun, Flutters, in the jeep, time for some vehicular combat practice.”

        “Tempting… Weren’t we planning to talk at Beacon…?” He asked, springing himself over the top of the trees and using his weapon to pole vault himself upward.

        “We’re not talking right now,” Cruger said as he gunned the engine, “right now we’re headed to Beacon, and smacking down any beasties that lie between here and there.”

        “Yeah… Grimm attacks don’t happen often. They’re only attracted by negative emotions such as sadness, pain and rage. One of the other Displaced, Fox, was out scouting earlier and there were no signs so far in the Everfree.” He said, “The one above me was probably from when Pearl ran over my tail.”

        “I said it was an accident!”

        “Well, no sense in getting hyped up to do nothing,” Cruger said before turning to Rainbow, “Thinking what I’m thinking?”

        “Race?” she asked expectantly.

        “Race,” Cruger replied before turning back to Sun, “So, you in?”

        That was when Cruger heard Fluttershy speak up. “Actually… he just got a head start with the… Spectrobe I think it was called, that two other displaced let him have.” When the rest of them turned around, they saw the Faunus speeding down the hill with his Torgazar as he was going around Ponyville. “You might want to catch up with him.”

        “That’s it, let’s show him why cheaters never prosper,” Cruger said before they all raced along after him, causing Fluttershy to start screaming. 

        Sun himself though, had a reason for starting ahead as he was approaching Beacon. “Hey Twilight! We got some guests coming.”

        “Guests? Who-?” She stopped speaking, her eyes widening at the sight of Cruger and his crew.

        “Those guys. We’re going to need a big parking lot to fit all of those.” He said, looking back at the Princess. Who now just stared in shock… “And you might not want to stand in the road.”

        Quickly, she ducked for cover as Cruger and the others rolled into town as Sun dismissed Torgazar, looking back at the Shadow Ranger as he and the others soon slid to a screeching halt. “Sorry about that. Needed to make sure that Princess Sparkle here prepared for your arrival so you don’t cause a panic.”

        Cruger’s frown softened slightly, “Fine, I suppose that make sense. By the way,” Cruger tapped the prizmod on his own wrist, “I believe we share a common acquaintance.”

        “Looks like you met Jack and Jen,” The Faunus chuckled, showing his own prizmod on his gauntlet as he smiled a little at Cruger. “Those two will be teachers at Beacon here once this place is open in the spring. Since it’s going to be an academy for the ponies here and also Displaced.”

        Cruger whistled, “Sounds like a worthy enterprise, if you don’t mind I have a little proposal for you.”

        “I’m listening.” The Faunus replied as they began to walk to where Twilight’s Castle was. Where most of the construction was taking place.

        “Well, I’m a founder of a multi displaced group called Truth. The primary goal of this group is to learn as much as we can about Displacement, but we also provide various forms of support to one another, whether in expertise, supplies, equipment, you get the idea. Anyway, my proposal has three main parts, first I’d like to extend an invitation to you, and any other Displaced you may know, to join Truth.”

        “Sounds interesting. I have family that have been Displaced that might be up for that,” The Faunus replied. “What about the other two?”

        Cruger chuckled, “Patience, I was getting to them. Well, second, I wouldn’t mind teaching here as well, when I’m not busy fighting crime back home of course. To be honest, my SPD is so efficient that I have a lot of spare time on my hands.”

        “Welcome aboard,” Sun chuckled. “Remind me to introduce you to Asphyxious next time you're here. He’s a lich who is also a teacher here and a Displaced.”

        “I might take you up on that,” Cruger said. “Now that the stuff that I was fairly certain you’d agree to out of the way, I think it’s time to move to the one that isn’t. To be honest, when I heard that you were building a school that had Displaced as teachers, I thought that it might make an excellent semi-official headquarters for Truth. I’m not saying that you have to be a part of Truth to be a student or teacher here, but it would be nice for us to have a place where we could swap notes or just hang out with other members.”

        Sun scratched his chin for a minute, but was soon grinning. “That actually sounds like a good idea. I like the way you think.”

        Cruger grinned, “Thanks, now, if you don’t mind, I need to take a peek at the blueprints. My first contribution to you will be to outfit Beacon with some of the latest SPD tech, including a Mark 5 Mana Reactor, an Armor III Shield Generator, a Biblos Computer Core, and a few other minor things.”

        “Sure thing. Might want to take to Sage on that-,” Sun replied, turning around to notice his partner and friend. “Speak of the devil, there he is.”

        “Sun?” He said, noticing Cruger. “Who’re these guys?”

        “Commander Cruger, SPD,” Cruger said, “You’re Sage right? I’ve got a few improvements to Beacon that I want to run by you. Dash, this is gonna get technical and boring, take the Rangers and test out the exercise yards.”

        Dash chuckled, “No problem chief, come on gang, time for some fun.”

        “I can go with them if you want to talk with Sage, Cruger.” Sun offered.

        “Sounds good,” Cruger replied, “this is going to get really boring for anyone without an engineering degree.” The Faunus chuckled, watching him follow Sage as he went to catch up with Dash and the others.

        “Cruger’s kind of awesome, don’t you think?” Rainbow commented, “He’s a total egghead when it comes to machines, but he can kick some major butt.”

        “I can tell. You guys see him as a good leader,” Sun replied. “Trust me though when I say that a lot of the Displaced here have a bunch of tricks up their sleeves… Which makes me wonder… have you encountered anything that’s like Androids or Synthetics?”

        “We drive a giant robot, and have a pet robotic dog that turns into a cannon,” Dash replied, “Does that count?”

        “Yup. That does.” Sun replied as he followed them. “So, what’s the first step in the training exercise?”

        Dash laughed, “You thought he was gonna make us do actual training? Cruger can be a bit strict when he’s teaching, but he’s not that strict. Telling us to test out the exercise yard was him telling us to have some fun without losing the whole ‘I’m the boss, respect my authority’ thing he’s got going on.”

        “Well that’s something I wasn’t aware of.” Sun scratched the back of his head as he looked back at them. “So, what is it that you plan to do for fun then?”

        “Well, I was thinking we could shoot some hoops,” said Evil Breaker.

        “Sounds good to me,” Dash replied as the others nodded in agreement, “and with Sun here, we can have some 3v3.”

        “I’m up for it.” The Faunus replied, looking back at them. “It’s been too long since I’ve done that.”

        “Just a quick warning,” Breaker said, “We’re the best of the best back home, and we tend to get a little intense during sports.”

        “Heh. I’ll still be up for it. It’ll be a nice change of pace.” He replied.

        “Good,” Breaker replied, “So, where can a group of mighty warriors find a basketball court around here?”

        “Mighty warriors huh, so I guess you’ll be sitting this one out eh Breaker?” joked Hammer Fist.

        “Laugh it up,” Breaker replied, “we’ll see who’s laughing when you lose.” Breaker then turned to Sun, “Seriously though, where’s the court?”

        “Honestly, the only court I remember is the one by the playground where Cheerilee’s school is,” Sun shrugged. “Unless you want to think of a way to improvise?”

        “Leave that to me,” said Rainbow Dash. Before anyone could say anything, she flew off and returned with two small clouds, which she shaped into hoops. “Yo Pearl, got a ball?”

        “Not a problem,” Pearl said before opening a small portal and pulling out a basketball, “Sure am glad Cruger doesn’t mind sharing a few of his tricks.”

        “No kidding,” Dash replied, “sure wish I could carry a bunch of stuff with me wherever I go, I’d never run out of pens to sign stuff with.” It was then though that she heard something else zip around in the air and the next comment that Sun said had Rainbow look up… to stare at her pony counterpart.

        “Well then… Dash meets Dash.”

        “What the hay-?”

        “This is a bit surreal,” Cruger’s Dash said, “Ah man, just remembered.”

        “Remembered what?” Sun’s Rainbow Dash asked her. “Better yet, why do you sound like me?”

        “Cause I’m you from a different universe,” Cruger’s Dash said, “And now we gotta figure out nicknames for us so that we don’t get confused when someone says our name.”

        “Actually, I was just about to head home,” The Pegasus replied. “See you tomorrow Sun.” With that, the pegasus took off into the sky, almost sounding like she cracked the sound barrier as she zoomed through the air.

        Dash grinned, “Glad to see I’m fast in any universe, so ready to go?”

        “Whenever you are.” Sun replied, cracking his knuckles.

        The next hour passed pleasantly for all involved. There were several bruises from players colliding with each other, but they were shrugged off within seconds. By the end of it, they were sweaty, and had no idea who won since none of them had bothered to keep score, but smiling after a game well played.

        “Well… I highly doubt at this rate anyone would want to call it a tie.” He said, gasping for air a little.

        “We should have brought Twilight,” Rainbow said, drinking a bottle of water, “she would’ve kept score.”

        “I agree on that one.” He sighed, looking back at the others for a brief moment.

        “You know,” panted Pearl Spark, “we could have… asked… this Twilight.”

        Rainbow facepalmed, “Aw man.”

        “She’s probably busy with something going on right now. Not only is she a princess but once we hit the ground running, she’ll be Beacon’s Headmaster.” Sun sighed. “Even though I haven’t… actually told her yet.”

        Rainbow chuckled, “Man, that is gonna be one epic freak out.”

        “Let’s save that for another day. You think Cruger might be finished with Sage?” He asked, looking back towards where they once were.

        Before his eyes a portal opened and Sage and Cruger stepped out, discussing something on a piece of paper. “The tricky thing about Mana Reactors is that they’re dependant on ambient magic, you gotta factor the position of nearby ley lines if you want to put one in a building,” said Cruger  “I’m telling you we’ve got to put it in the southeast tower.”

        “Where it may be open to sabotage? Doubt it. Basement is better in my opinion.” Sage replied as everyone now noticed the huge broadsword on his back.

        “And limit it to 78% efficiency?” countered Cruger, “If we put it in the tower, the shield can prevent destruction by bombardment, and if a saboteur can get in the tower, they can get in the basement. Putting it in the tower would also prevent them from being able to tunnel in.”

        “If that’s the case, then how do you propose securing it?”

        Sun rolled his eyes, seeing this. “Here we go…”

        Cruger pointed to something on the paper, “The support beams here run straight down to the foundation, we can secure the reactor to that. If you mean security, we put it in this room, no windows, thick walls, and that tower was going to be a low traffic area anyway. Mana reactors are light weight anyway, it won’t fall through the floor.” The Faunus was surprised to see that Sage was having to keep up with him on an intellectual level without getting utterly confused.

        “Is this normal?” He asked Dash.

        “When he’s working on a project,” Dash answered, “told ya he was an egghead.”

        “I heard that,” Cruger said without taking his eyes off the paper. Soon though, it seemed like Sage was nodding his head at one of his proposed suggestions. 

        “I think you got yourself a deal-.”

        “Hey Sage. I noticed the ATV outside. What’s with the-.” Everyone turned to see Neptune walk in on the group as they were talking. “Sage, please don’t tell me you called the cops… I have Ruby causing trouble all over town with that robot girl Penny and now I come back to find you guys. Please don’t tell me these guys have a warrant to search this place.”

        “Search it?” Cruger said, “I’m helping redesign it. Anubis Cruger, Displaced. What’s this about a robot girl causing trouble?”

        “Don’t worry, that’s normal for Penny.” Sun sighed. “She really can catch you off guard at times. She’s a displaced as well, but is a Synthetic with an actual living soul.”

        “Might like to meet her next time,” Cruger said before turning to Sage, “So, anything else we need to iron out?”

        “From the looks of it, we covered everything… Unless there was anything your companions needed to remind you about.” Sage replied, looking over in Sun’s direction.

        “Don’t look at me,” Rainbow said, “I just catch crooks.” The other Rangers nodded in agreement.

        “Well, guess it’s time to go,” Cruger said as they headed back to their vehicles, “Now let’s head ba…”

        Rainbow Dash started laughing, with the others quickly joining in. Fluttershy was still on the jeep, and holding one of the roll bars in a death grip.

        “Okay, what did you do to Shy?” Sun asked. “It looks like you killed a puppy in front of her.”

        Cruger managed to stop chuckling, “Sorry, guess we went a little too fast for her, she’s probably never been in a car before.” Cruger snapped his fingers in front of her face, breaking her out of her trance. In doing so, She fell into the Faunus’ arms and instead, held onto him as she shivered a little. Looking at her, Sun chuckled as she curled up in his arms like a young filly.

        “Dude, you scored.” Neptune stated, causing Sage to facepalm himself as he groaned while Sun just rolled his eyes and looked back at them.

        Cruger chuckled as he mounted his ATV, “Why do I get the feeling that he gets smacked on a regular basis?”

        “Not always… Just once in awhile. Ruby here is really the one with the low IQ. She thought that I was a saiyan upon first glance.” Sun told Cruger as the rest of the squad returned to their own vehicles. “I’m going to guess that this is goodbye?”

        “Of course not,” Cruger said, “This is a see ya later. I’m coming back to teach at the very least, plus I’ve got to make sure Sage put the designs I gave him together right.”

        Sage just nodded his head, giving a fake salute with one of his hands.

        Cruger returned it before turning back to Sun, “Well, if you don’t mind?”

        “Oh yeah,” He said, taking a deep sigh. “Cruger, our contract is complete. Have a safe trip home.”

        Cruger nodded as a portal opened up in front of the convoy, “Take care of yourself monkey boy, and don’t forget to give my offer to everyone else.” He then turned to his team, “Alright gang, let’s roll out.”

        The faunus watched as they went back through the portal, making sure that he couldn’t get run over. He chuckled a little, watching as they disappeared with the portal that closed as each one of them went on their separate ways.




End Tail 19