"Would anyone mind telling me who this guy is?" Ricky asked. "And how does he know Kul'as?"
"Where have you been?!" Terry said. "That's Aaron, the wirewolf who's part of Kul'as' inner circle! No one's a better hunter than him!"
"He can be taught!" Aaron declared. "And guess what, everyone; you're the prey!"
"If you're going to start a dogfight, could you do it outside?" Pixie Dust asked angrily. "I just barely cleaned this place! I even moves some stuff around to remove stress, BUT OBVIOUSLY, IT ISN'T WORKING!"
"Listen, lady, do I look like I care about your feng shui?" Aaron asked. "So please, make like a fly and just buzz off."
"I don't know who you are, but you need to listen to us." Ricky said. "We're working on a way to return from Equestria. You're from there, aren't you? I'd think you'd want to go back as much as we do."
"Then you don't know me as much as you think." Aaron said readying to pounce. "Four against one. I like those odds."
Suddenly, a bright, hot light hit Aaron in the back. He gasped before passing out. Behind him stood another wirewolf cradling bags in his arms. His sudden appearance surprised Ricky and his friends.
"Seriously, PD?" the new wirewolf asked walking over Aaron. "I leave for one hour, and already, you've got Kul'as' watchdogs on your doorstep!"
"Well, maybe, if you had returned sooner, I wouldn't have this mess!" Pixie Dust shouted. "Where were you, Marty?!"
"Stuck in traffic."
"Is that..." Terry said, "...Another wirewolf?"
"Oh, more visitors." the new wirewolf said. "Hi, I'm Marty. Care for a fire?" Suddenly, a fireball formed in his claws and he threw it at the pile of wood in the corner.
"Six wirewolves are standing in a fairy's treehouse, and one of them can shoot fire." Terry said. "I should have stayed home where things made sense."
Ricky looked down at the unconscious Aaron. He watched until the smoke forming from his back disappeared.
"Well, that was a little anticlimactic."
An hour later, Aaron started to come back to his senses. He awoke with his limbs and body strapped down to a table. He tried to pull himself off, but he couldn't. He looked and saw five more wirewolves conversing with each other at the other side of the room.
"Another wirewolf?" He whispered to himself. "Oh, it's a stinkin' epidemic." He then called out getting their attention.
"Oh, you're awake." Ricky said.
"Yes, I'm awake," Aaron replied, "And I demand you liberate me."
"We can't do that!" Joe gasped. "This is a kid's story. Yeesh!"
"No, I mean, free me at once." Aaron said.
"What if we refuse?" Terry asked.
"You're only making things worse for you!" Aaron said. "When Kul'as hears about this, you're in for the most painful moment of your life. Who blindsided me, anyway?"
"I did." Marty called out. "I'm Marty."
"What are you doing here in the first place?" Aaron asked.
"Apparently, this guy accidently broke one of Pixie Dust's vases." Ricky explained. "So, to pay her back, he's her errand boy."
"I am not an errand boy!" Marty shouted. "I prefer the term, 'service worker'."
"I don't care what you like to be called!" Aaron shouted. "If you don't let me out of here, you'll definitely be in for it."
"Be grateful I went easy on you." Marty said. "If I used my full firepower, I'd have to be the one to scrape wirewolf chunks off the walls."
"Speaking of which, how can you do that?" Aaron asked. "Wirewolves can't shoot fire!"
"Well, wirewolves can't shapeshift either, but I fixed that." Pixie Dust said.
"What?" Aaron asked. "You gave them powers?"
"I know a few spells." Pixie Dust said.
"Then give me powers!" Aaron demanded
"I'm not letting you go free!" Pixie Dust shouted. "What makes you think I'll give you powers? I'm not going to let you use them for evil! Why don't you grow a brain in that tangled wire mess in your head and be a good guy for once!"
"Good guy?" Aaron scoffed. "Look around. This is the Neatherealm. In this world, there are no such things as heroes. It's survival of the fittest here, and here, the fittest is with Kul'as."
"That's why you're working for him?" Ricky asked. "Listen, there's a chance we can go home. The Edgeless Atlas is leading us to something that can get us back to Equestria. If you come with us, you can..."
"I can get myself obliterated!" Aaron interrupted. "Trust me; Kul'as doesn't play around. He's pure evil."
"That doesn't mean you have to be just like him." Pixie Dust said. "If all you care about is surviving, you're not living. Listen...
"Open your eyes
You don't even realize
You have every opportuinity to shake from your lies
Listen here
You can't get far with the path of fear
Stop being blind, and it will all be crystal clear
You're living in your own
Alone
Cold as bone
Never home
Fantasy
Here's the realityyyyyyyyyy
This is your chance
Your chance
Break out of the dark
Deep inside, you know you have a heart
Take a sec to look inside
And you'll see what feelings can provide
All right. All right
Break out of the dark
So you're a wirewolf. So you're a Kul'as knave
That doesn't mean you're too far for anyone to save
It's true, you're a little scary, but it's only skin-deep
You can deny all you want, but you're basically asleep
But you can wake
Wake up
And break out of the dark"
"Stop being such a crazy fart" Joe sang.
"Don't forget your inner-pony," Pixie Dust sang,
"Then, you'll never again feel so lonely
Oh, gee
Oh, gee
Break out of the dark
When the dust has settled, when they end the strife
How exactly do you plan to live out your life
You make your own destiny. You write your own story
Don't you hide the fact
Stay intact
Claim your own glory
This is your chaaaaaaaaance
Your chance
To break out of the dark
There's another path you should embark
No matter how hard you try
You're falling for your own lie
Good-bye. Good-bye
Break out of the dark
NOW'S YOU'RE CHANCE
YOUR CHANCE
TO BREAK OUT OF THE DARK
DEEP INSIDE, YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A HEART
YOU'RE IN FOR A WILD RIDE
YOU CAN RUN, BUT NOT HIDE
TAKE A SEC TO LOOK INSIDE
AND YOU'LL SEE WHAT FEELINGS CAN PROVIIIIIIIIIDE
ALL RIGHT! ALL RIGHT
BREAK OUT OF THE...
BREAK OUT OF THE DARK"
"Cute. Catchy. Didn't work." Aaron criticized. "On the bright side, you did cure me."
"Of evil?" Marty asked.
"No, insomnia." Aaron shot out.
The wirewolves and Pixie Dust groaned. The fairy pinched the space between her eyes. They knew this would go on for a while. But they had no idea of what was going on in Kul'as' castle.
"Well, Creeper?" Kul'as asked following his minion down the hallways. "Is Tartus as good as I've heard?"
"He's a little hard to understand, sir." Creeper said. "At first, he seemed to be a frightening man. Then, his personality changes and he starts acting like a grown man who's visited a carnival for the first time. However, his inventions and minions do compensate for his unusual behavior. Of course, he can't hold a candle to your brilliance, Lord Kul'as. After all, it was your brilliant idea to bring in a brilliant scientist."
"Don't patronize me, Creeper." Kul'as growled.
They then made it to a door where they heard angry ranting on the other side.
"Well, this is where Tartus has set up his lab." Creeper said. "Do you think it's a bad time?"
"If it's a bad time, I should have started it." Kul'as said twisting the doorknob.
The door creaked open and the two looked inside. They expected to see someone in torture, but they were surprised by what they saw instead. Tartus and his son, Scimitar, were in the middle of an argument. Tartus held a game console in his metal hand and kept it from his son's reach.
"Dad, this is not fair!" Scimitar shouted.
"What's not fair is what you give to me!" Tartus said. "I patent these evil inventions to put food in your belly. And how do you repay me? You ignore me, give me the silent treatment, and play your silly game while I'm presenting you with the next big idea!"
"Maybe I'd pay more attention if you started acting like a father toward me!" Scimitar shouted. "You won't even let me go out and make friends."
"Okay, uno: this is the Neatherealm. There's no chance you'll make any buddies in this dump." Tartus said. "Dos: no one says the f-word in my presence. And tres: isn't Greengear enough? They're utterly convenient."
"As if these dunces are good enough to play games with." Scimitar said.
"All right, son." Tartus groaned. "How's about this? I give you a father-son day, and you'll show some appreciation for my work. Is that okay?"
"Counter-proposal." Scimitar said. "I give you two thumbs down, and you'll give me my game back. Besides, you wouldn't want to look bad in front of your new boss on your first day, would you, Dad?"
Scimitar pointed at the door and Tartus followed. He was shocked and embarrassed to see Kul'as and Creeper watching the argument.
"How long were you watching?" Tartus asked.
"Long enough to regret coming in." Kul'as said. "Suddenly, this is one bad time I don't want to be a part of."
"All right, son." Tartus said nervously. He dropped the game back into Scimitar's hands. "You win. Now, run along. Daddy's got work to do." He shoved Scimitar out of the room before turning back to Kul'as. "Teenagers, am I right?"
"Rrrrrright." Kul'as said. "Anyway, Tartus, I am..."
"Oh, I know who you are, Lord Kul'as." Tartus said. "Legends of your mayhem and carnage run high and low. Though, I see, they don't do you justice."
"HEY!" Creeper shouted. "Kissing up is my shtick! You start failing simple jobs, and I'll sue!"
"Calm down, Creeper." Kul'as said. "Anyway, I've come here to see what you've got in your inventory so far."
"All right!" Tartus said. He reached down and picked up a giant gun from the table. "This is my EMPC."
"What?" Kul'as asked.
"Electromagnetic pulse cannon." Tartus said. "Guaranteed to shut down any electronic in front of you. Just be sure not to fire from the side of a cliff; the force of the blast will knock you back a few feet."
"Why do we need that?" Creeper asked.
"For the wirewolves, of course." Tartus said. "I've heard about how they were giving Lord Kul'as a few setbacks, and I thought I could help."
"Thanks, but not necessary." Kul'as said. "I've already sent my wirewolf, Aaron, to hunt them down and bring me my map. He should be done by the end of the night."
"Nope." Tartus replied.
"I beg your pardon." Kul'as said.
"Nope." Tartus repeated. "I don't mean any disrespect, Lord Kul'as, but you overestimate your wirewolf. He'll fail. I know it."
"How could you know?" Creeper asked. "You never even met him."
"Trust me, it won't work." Tartus said. "Aaron is going to break out of the dark."
"Well then, what do you suggest?" Kul'as asked.
"I happen to have something that could mean the end of those machines for good." Tartus said. "Follow me."
"Uh, Lord Kul'as," Creeper whispered, "Are you sure you trust him?"
"Of course." Kul'as said. "After all, if what he said is true, we don't have much choice left."
Tartus stopped when he approached a large, glass box. Kul'as looked inside the box and widened his eyes.
"What... is... that?" Kul'as asked.
"It looks like... living, black mud." Creeper said. "Why is it moving like a wild animal."
"I call it Phantom." Tartus said. "I've built this organic monstrosity to hunt down any electronic I want it to hunt! I've just finished the thing's construction, so I have no idea what it does to them in the end. This may prove to be a better hunter than Dusk."
"Who?" Kul'as asked.
"Aaron!" Tartus said quickly. "I said Aaron!"
Kul'as threw a suspicious look at his new scientist. "Tartus, are you telling me everything?"
"Lord, Kul'as, why would I steer you wrong?"
Kul'as drew this attention back at the Phantom. He watched the slime thrash around savagely. "You really think this thing can get me my map."
"I guarantee it." Tartus said.
"That's all I needed to hear. Unleash it. Have it hunt down the Shadow Blot and tear him and his friends apart!"
Tartus grew a smile and approached the Phantom. "I thought you'd never ask."
After an hour of preparation, Tartus released the Phantom out into the Neatherealm. As it was leaving, the skinny enigma leaned his head to Jade. "Be my eyes and ears. Follow the Phantom." The leader of Greengear obeyed and followed the Phantom into the wild hunting its prey.