A few weeks later
“Guys, I’m... I’m sorry, about 56...” I muttered in a depressed tone as I stared through the doorway of our cell.
56 had been called for experimentation around a week ago. And he’d been set up to fight against One... the way he’d gloated as he came to deliver the news, it had been practically instantaneous. We knew 56 had gotten the ability to fool the senses of anypony... or anyone, I guess, that he wanted to. Hell, he practiced it on us on a daily basis since he discovered he could do it. At first, we were pissed as Tartarus, but eventually we’d ask him for special requests. It helped us cope.
The silence that followed made me feel like a complete jackflank for even bringing it up, if you could call the dull whir of machinery and echoing screams silence.
“... Seán.”
“Huh?” I asked confusedly, turning towards 81, who was looking at me with an unreadable expression.
“His name was Seán, not 56, and he is... was, our brother.” He said calmly. “He disappeared a few months before 28, Nathan did. I ‘followed’ about a year after him.” He bent two fingers on each of his hands at the word followed. “Séan was on his way to college, where he studied science, mostly Biology and Chemistry. He was determined to understand everything about them. He said that he’d been stopped by that guy One while he was passing the construction site Nathan worked at.”
He paused for a moment, looking towards ‘Nathan’, who’d turned away from us. “Seán didn’t even get a chance to cry out before One had knocked him unconscious and dragged him through the ‘portal’, as Seán called it. Honestly, I’d describe it as a rip.” 81 shook his head, trying to get back on track. “He said he’d been here for over a year before Nathan ended up getting brought here, and it was over ten before I arrived. The first few months, he’d try to escape, but the guards would just zap him with their horns each time. It happened to all three of us. Eventually, he just opted to sit in the cell and wait. What for, he never actually told us, though I’d hazard a guess that it was a miracle he was waiting for.”
“A miracle? He was waiting for divine intervention?” I asked.
“Pretty much. You can see where it got us.” Nathan suddenly piped up. “He was always the one who chose science over religion. But this place made him turn towards it, and now he’s gone... A cruel man would say he got what he deserved for his lack of faith in God, that it was Karma or something. Me, I say it was just his time, no matter how much Kieran or I wish it hadn’t come when it did.”
“Kieran? That’s your name?” I asked, looking at 81, who simply nodded.
“And me, I w-” Nathan didn’t get a chance to speak before the cell door burst open and three guards walked in, horns glowing menacingly as they glared at us. “28, come with us..”
“Screw you.” Kieran growled, stepping between the guards and his brother, only for Nathan to get up and put a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head slowly.
“It’s fine, 81. Let’s get this over with you assholes.” He said calmly, cracking his neck muscles as he followed the trio out the cell door...
Arena
Nathan didn’t react violently when the guards shoved him to the ground before leaving. He just picked himself up and dusted himself off, muttering “Retards.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” a voice said from the shadows, before an abnormally large, golden-brown diamond dog stepped out, it’s eyes closed, and wolfish snout in a sneer. “Ew, so you’re a ‘Human...’ I must say, I’m not impressed.”
“Yeah, well neither am I. If this is what Diamond Dogs are like, I’m not surprised Knight beat the Auburn one...” Nathan retorted.
The face of the dog twisted into a look of anger, “Tell me... Who is this ‘Knight’?” The voice came out as a growl.
“Subject One Hundred, or Rising Knight, is a Celestial Assassin. He’s also the one whos’ gonna get us out of here, if I have anything to say about it.”
“I see... So subject one hundred killed her...” His eyes opened glowing slightly, “I guess he’s my goal then.”
“Sorry, but if you want him, you’re gonna have to go through me,” Nathan stated, placing his palms on the ground and pulling up a spear.
“Not a problem,” The dog slammed his paws into the ground, and whipped his tail menacingly.
“Is that supposed to scare me?” Nathan asked, slamming a fist in the floor and sending several spikes hurtling towards the dog.
“No, this is.” The dog dodged, and lept into the air, extending the claws on it’s front paws, the ones on the left bursting into flames, and the right crackling with electricity.
“Sorry, but I have no intention of abandoning my family!” Nathan yelled, tossing the spear upwards, even as he created several smaller weapons; Kunai, shuriken, throwing knives, etc. “I’VE ALREADY LOST ONE BROTHER! I AM NOT LEAVING THE OTHER!”
The dog held up the burning claws, the spear burning to ash as it touched the flame, “You keep believing that.” He said coldly, before throwing a bolt of lightning with his right claw, completely destroying the nearby weapons, creating a clear path between them. “Maybe you’ll meet the one you lost on the other side.”
“So, who was she to you?” Nathan asked, rolling to the side and creating a spiked gauntlet on his left hand.
“... We’ve talked enough.” Was all the dog said, before throwing fire on Nathan, completely covering him before bolting behind, and stabbing the electric claws into his shoulder, “Die.”
“AHHHHHHHHHHH!” Nathan screamed, trying to pull away. “You FUCKER!”
The dog just grunted, and made the electricity flow increase, killing Nathan off with one last scream. “May you find your lost brother on the other side.”
Cell
“It’s only been a few minutes Kieran, calm the fuck down.” I ordered, but to no avail, as Kieran just kept pacing around the cell in a panicked state. “Luna dammit. Storm, WAKE THE FUCK UP AND TALK SOME SENSE INTO KIERAN!”
Storm merely continued to snore. Though why I expected any other reaction was a mystery. He slept through the talk, the guards taking Nathan away. He even slept through them zapping him at full strength when it was his turn to fight.
“Come on, where the hell is he? He should be back by now... come on, come on, come on, com-”
I was spared from hearing Kieran repeat the same two words over and over for the next two hours by the merciful opening of the cell door... or that’s what I thought, before I noticed the lack of a certain human. I actually felt my blood freeze.
No... oh please, no...
One of the guards smiled evilly, "What's wrong? Expecting somebody else?"
Kieran shot the guard a glare and grabbed him by the throat. “Where. Is. He?”
The guard just zapped him off, "A delivery for you, 81." He reached behind himself, and pulled out a pure white box, tossing in casually. As said box hit the floor, it opened... and a singed head rolled out.
Kieran just stared at the head for what seemed like hours... Before turning to the guards with absolute fury in his eyes. “YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!” And, with a speed I couldn’t even comprehend, he rushed the guards and slammed a knee into one of their guts. By the time he hit the ground, Kieran was already driving his interlocked fists down onto another Guard’s skull, a sickening crack sounding out as the head caved in.
Before the third could react Kieran was out the door and running with no direction in mind.
“KIERAN! Luna dammit... STORM, I’M GOING TO DO SOMETHING THAT MIGHT GET ME KILLED, HAVE FUN!” I yelled, following Kieran out the door, but not before driving my horn through the final Guard’s exposed throat.
First rule of being part of the Celestial Assassins. No hostile witnesses.
It only took me a few minutes to pick up his trail. Dust clouds are definitely more useful than I gave them credit for. Even so, I was still far behind him, and at this rate, I’d never catch up.
“Dammit, where is he?” I muttered as I passed by yet another cell. This one with a single golden-brown diamond dog, who, when he saw me, glared daggers, and growled, reaching through the gap between the bars, and pulled me against his cell wall.
The dog sneered at me, "Let me tell you this now, 'Rising Knight,' I'm the one who just went up against 28, and you're next on my list."
“Shut up... You killed the only family Kieran had left... You’re no better than One.” I spat.
The diamond dog’s eyes began to glow a sickly green"You speak like you're any better, after what you did to her."
“I have a little sister to get back to. And as much as I don’t want to admit it, I can’t stand killing. And I’m guessing the auburn dog was ‘her’. If you think I take pleasure in the fact that I killed her, you’re wrong. To revel in death is to become a monster. Death may be a necessary part of life, but t---”
"SHUT UP! You speak as though you're better than the rest of us. Do you want to know why she wanted to live so badly? She was pregnant. You didn't just kill my mate. You killed my unborn offspring. For that, I will murder you."
I didn’t say anything for a while. I just looked him in the eyes. “... Then you’ll dishonor her memory. Killing me will not bring her back, but rather it will leave her soul in eternal torment knowing you killed for revenge. Is that what you want?” I asked in a flat tone.
"Do you not want to kill One in revenge? As I said before, you're not as different as you think."
“I do not want to kill him for revenge. I’m angry at him, but I refuse to insult my parents by pursuing the double-edged blade that is vengeance. I want to kill him because as long as he is alive, others will die.”
"For a 'celestial assassin', you know surprisingly little about diamond dog culture." the dog said with a low growl, "To not avenge her would mean I didn't care enough to do so.
“I never got the chance to learn about it before being brought to this place. I am only 13 after all.” I retorted. “And if you want to avenge her so badly, then pursue the one responsible for us being here in the first place. If not for him, I would be training with my family, and you would still be with her. He and One are the ones to blame. He set all these events in motion with his schemes...”
The dog huffed, and pushed me away, "You're just as much my enemy as he is." The dog's ears picked up, "Sounds like number One found your friend, by the way. Might want to go back to your cell."
I raised an eyebrow, before shooting him a grin and slamming a hoof on the ground defiantly. “... Sorry, but I don’t abandon my friends.” I exclaimed before shooting off after Kieran.
"... Idiot," the d-dog muttered, before sitting back down.
“KIERAN!” I yelled, rushing past cell after cell, listening for any sound that might give me his position. “Luna dammit, where is that human... KIERAN?!”
“Looking for something, Triple Digits?” A voice asked from behind me. I wheeled around, only to be slammed into the wall by a sudden kick from One. “Oh, don’t worry, he’s alive. For now, anyway.”
“Bastard...” I muttered, coughing up blood.
One shot me an annoyed look. “... You know, I was going to just send you back to your cell with a few bruises, maybe a broken bone or two. But now? Now, I think I’ll make an example of you. HEY, WARDEN!” He yelled.
A well-dressed unicorn stallion with a golden coat and a red mane and tail came sprinting around the corner, stopping in front of one and snapping off a salute, all in the space of a single second. “Yes, sir?”
“Go get 69. I want to see how Triple Digits does against her.” One stated, before walking up to me, and slamming a hoof into my face. My last conscious sight was his sadistic smile.
“Dammit... How many times is that bastard gonna knock me out...” I asked as I returned to consciousness and stood up
“Depends, how many times are you gonna piss him off?” A somewhat annoying voice answered me, and I turned to see a changeling, wings buzzing agitatedly as it glared at me. “Seriously, what the buck is wrong with you? I was sleeping, when suddenly, three guards burst in and grab me with a collar and leash, like I’m a bucking pet. They drag me here, toss me in, and a few minutes later, you’re tossed in, completely unconscious. You ruined my beauty sleep!”
“Well, sorry I tried to help my friend. Not that you’d understand...”
It shot me a dirty look. “I resent that. I just so happen to understand quite well what the need to help someling you care about is like.” The last part was so quiet I almost didn’t hear it.
“COME ON, GET TO THE MURDERING EACH OTHER ALREADY!” Somepony called from above us. It was, you guessed it, One, on the balcony, glaring at us impatiently.
“Screw you! I have no intention of killing anyling!” The changeling stated defiantly, buzzing its wings so fast that it rose a few inches off the ground.
One simply shook his head and walked out, pausing only to deliver one more line. “Fine, then I guess you can both fall together.”
We barely had any time to react before the floor suddenly collapsed around us. The changeling managed to get airborne before gravity could take effect. I wasn’t so lucky.
FUCK!
So, you probably know that I had to do balance training right? Well, I treated this as a variation of the exercise, or I would have, if I hadn’t looked down.
“SPIKES?! BUCKING SPIKES?!” I yelled out to nopony in particular, closing my eyes and waiting for the inevitable killing blow.
It’s times like this I wish I had wings...
...
...
... WHY THE BUCK HAVEN’T I BEEN SKEWERED YET?!
“... Uh, are ponies supposed to switch horns for wings?”
...
...
... WHAT?! I mentally screamed, my eyes snapping open and immediately falling on the pair of flapping wings at my sides, while one hoof went straight to my head, resulting in two things. One, I gave myself a massive headache and dropped a few inches, the rest of my hooves literally scraping off the tips of the spikes. Two, I confirmed what the changeling had said. I had indeed swapped my horn for the pair of wings I found myself with.
“... WINGS?! BUCKING WINGS?!” I yelled, staring at the new appendages flapping of their own accord, as if I was a newborn or something.
The changeling whacked me on the head with one hoof, using the other to try and cover both its ear holes at once. “Ow, please don’t scream when I’m right next to you. Changeling hearing is sensitive.” She complained. Neither of us noticed the room slowly getting darker.
“Well, sorry f-”
*SLAM*
...
...
“... Ok, who turned out the lights?”
Have you ever tried to facehoof in the dark? It’s surprisingly more difficult than you’d think it would be. I failed to cover my eye before my hoof came into contact with it, for example.
“OW! My eye!” I exclaimed.
“Oh, for the love of... shut up and help me figure out what happened...” The changeling retorted angrily, before buzzing in what I assumed was the direction of the ‘ceiling’.
*CLANG CLANG*
“Ah, Queen Dammit... Solid metal. They created a solid metal floor, or ceiling, in our case... We’re trapped, at least until we’re too tired to fly. Then, SPLAT!” It exclaimed.
I had no idea what to do... What, I’d never been given a ‘Sudden Change of Pony Species and entrapment in a pitfall’ training course. I was winging it at this point, and winging it was definitely not a good option, given the situation...
“HEY! EQUESTRIA TO DUMBFLANK!”
“WHAT?!” I yelled back, snapped out of my thinking phase, only to place my hooves over my eyes as a bright light blinded me. The changeling had bucking blinded me.
“You were so focused on whatever your thoughts were, you didn’t even notice when I shone the light from my horn in your eyes.... What are you thinking so hard about?”
I shot her a dirty look, or at least I think I did. Kinda hard to tell where I’m aiming when I can’t see...
“Hey, you alright? You look like you’re having a panic attack. You afraid of the shadows or something?” It asked. I could swear it was actually concerned. Wait...
Shadows... shadows...
“... THAT’S IT!” I suddenly yelled, freaking out the changeling and causing it to drop, almost impaling itself on a spike. It glared at me as it regained its altitude.
“AGH, watch it! You almost scared me to death... Wait, what’s it?” It asked.
“SHADOWS! Hey, 69, can you figure out where the wall is, and shine your light off it while I make my way over to it? Make sure you’re close enough to me that I can grab you if my idea works.” I explained.
It looked at me suspiciously, but nodded and did as I asked and flew up to the wall, her horn glowing a pale green. It was dim, but workable.
“Ok, now... uh, how do I move around? It’s not like I’ve ever flown before... actually, how am I even flying?”
It facehoofed. “Are you bucking kidding me?” It asked in an extremely annoyed tone. “Ugh, fine, I’ll push you over too.. Oh, and by the way, it’s not 69. If you have to call me something, make it up. Just make sure it’s something a female would go by.”
As I prepared to respond, it... she, grabbed me and tossed me right into the wall. I’m honestly glad I had quick reflexes, or I would’ve faceplanted instead of landing against it hooves first, my wings, mercifully, still flapping, by luck or instinct, I never figured out.
“Oh thanks, I so enjoyed being thrown into the wall...” I muttered as she shined her light on me, revealing exactly what I... we, needed to escape. “Ok, on 3?”
“Sure....” She replied, still confused.
“1... 2...” She got ready to grab me.
“... 3!” I reached out one hoof even as I started to sink into my shadow, much to her shock. The look on her face... priceless. Try crossing Jason Voorhees with Mr. Rogers. See that face you just made? That’s hers.
It took a lot longer than normal for me to go through the whole Shadow Step thing, but that’s to be expected with a passenger. Actually, she was surprisingly calm the entire time. Anyway, it took a few minutes, but I managed to get the both of us out of that death trap and into my cell. She was against it, at first, but eventually relented when I said there was no way I was leaving her alone and at risk of being offed by One or Whatshisname. Kieran and Storm (Yeah, Kieran got caught and was returned to the cell, in bad shape, I might add. And Storm woke up while I was gone, Kieran summarised everything that happened for him.) had to be convinced about her, but they agreed too. So now, we have a new cellmate.
I just hope we can survive long enough to find a way out of this hell hole. All of us.