The Silent Guardian

by AvalonAva

NightWatcher

The Silent Guardian

Chapter 1

NightWatcher

Every hero has a story. Some are well known, the ones that have saved millions of lives, stopped an impending doom. Others, not so much. Some pass by, their deeds not remembered. Only when such a crisis that seems to have no positive outcome, these heroes return. And save the innocent people once more. But what happens when an outside force, acting for its own will, invades the world this hero lives in, and wreaks havoc? Of this, my friends, is this hero's story.

NightWatcher was a thing from legend. A tall savior, dark blue cape, black hat (like General Cross's hat in D. Gray Man) with a light blue feather, two great swords, and twin .50 handguns with similar properties to that of Dante's. Speaking of Dante, he often aided NightWatcher in pressing matters. A few years back, a madman created an army of mechanical monsters. These maniacal machines swarmed the city, and took hold of all the exits. NightWatcher, teaming up with Dante, took on this terror. They finally stopped the machines when both fired a barrage of bullets into the main computer. They shut down, and the madman apprehended. Peace was restored.

XXXX

A van came to a screeching halt outside a seemingly abandoned office building. The large back doors opened, and five heavily armed troops disembarked from the vehicle. They took defensive positions around the building's door, and the team leader went in. The others followed suit, and scanned the area. They moved upstairs, sweeping the hallways. Coming to a closed door, the team leader halted. He then kicked open the door stepped inside, and look around. He then let out a sigh.

"There you are." He said. The other four moved into the room, locking it down. A person sat at a wooden desk, feet propped up. He was eating an apple, and looked at the team leader.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" He said, returning to the apple.

"Reports have come in about machines. The ones you and Dante stopped three years ago." He spoke. There was no reaction to these words.

"Sounds exciting. It's been way too long since I've had a job to do." Finishing the apple, he tossed it behind him. It sailed, and hit the trash can. It spun around the edge, and slowly fell inside. NightWatcher pulled his legs back, and almost clockwork, something burst through the wall. He kicked the desk, and it skidded over and slammed into the unknown assailant. Drawing Angst and Misery, a fury storm of bullets rained down upon the desk, and to a further extent, the poor soul trapped by the fine carved wood. Splinters and sparks exploded from the mess. Spinning the handguns, Night returned them to their holsters.

"Alright, the show's about to start." He said with a smile on his face. Before he could get up out of the chair though, a large metal hand burst from the window and grabbed Night into a tight grip, and pulled him from the office building. The behemoth stood a good 100 feet in the air. Unable to pull himself free from the vice grip, he reached back. In a flash of light, a great sword appeared in his right hand. Slashing at the steel hand, it loosened it's grip in surprise. That gave him just enough time to slip from the giant's steely grip. Running up the arm, and jumping onto the head, he stabbed his sword into the CPU housing. The metallic monstrosity began to flail, frantically grabbing for its head. NightWatcher jumped as the beast grabbed a hold of it’s own head. In the panicked frenzy, it accidentally tore its head clean off. The machine stopped moving, and slowly fell towards the ground. The ex-robot made contact with the ground right next to Night. As he removed his sword from the metal monstrosity's cranium, the troop leader came to a halt nearby.

"We need to get moving sir. There are more of them terrorizing the city." He looked onward at two more giant machines, ones that had yet to spot the two.

"We won't get anywhere by destroying them all one by one, albeit I enjoy it. No, we've got to find the source. Someone is controlling them. Either powerful or smart, I can't say. I'll search the old tower in the city center. Have adequate forces applied to the most crucial areas." NightWatcher ordered. The leader nodded, and Night took off towards the Lone tower.

XXXX

The Lone Tower got its name from the last war against the machines. It was the brain and nervous system for all the mechanical creatures. But last time, Night and Dante destroyed the motherboard, and the mad scientist along with it. During the battle outside, all of the nearby buildings collapsed due to concussions, explosions, or machines just falling into them. The one tower stood, and was aptly named the Lone Tower.

XXXX

After NightWatcher's short sprint to the tower, he came to a halt at the base. Looking at the door, it seemed as if it hadn't been touched for ages.

"Hmm. I doubt someone entered through the door. Maybe the motherboard revived itself somehow." He glanced upwards, and a glint caught his eye. "Or maybe they came from the roof." Jumping up, he grabbed ahold of a small ledge. Luckily, the entire side of the building had copious amounts of ledges to allow NightWatcher access to the roof. As he climbed, bits and pieces crumbled from his weight. Dirt and grime covered his fingers and palms while he progressed up the side. Nearing the top, whatever was glinting had moved. With a few more grabs, he pulled himself upwards and landed crouched, pistols unholstered. Just a few feet away from him, a man with a large grey and teal coat had his back turned to him. A gear was on his head, angled from the left down to the right. He had sea foam colored hair, which was somewhat on the wild side.

"So, you've come. I've been expecting your arrival." The unnamed person spoke, as if NightWatcher was an old friend. Raising an eyebrow, Night replied back.

"I'm sorry, have we met before? Your tone sounds oddly familiar." The stranger laughed.

"Met? You killed me. But it was such a long time ago that you've forgotten. A reincarnation, the ghost of Christmas past." He turned around, and grinned at Night. "It is I, the one and only GearMaster!" At these words the crouching hero had a face of astonishment. He stood up, his guard dropped slightly.

"What?? How could you be? You were slain hundreds upon thousands of years ago."

"Might I ask you the same question? The Old Universe was at its end. How did someone like you survive that? Unless...ah! I see! Your friend's brother was always paranoid about the end. He must have caused a temporal anomaly."

"But how are you here? You were killed." Night interjected. GearMaster sighed.

"Because, my body was dead, but not my spirit. It possessed some poor soul a long time ago. He was too weak to fight it, and mine consumed his. Now I walk among the living once more." He raised his hand, and a broad sword burst out of the floor, and he caught it. A gear was fixated on the tip of the sword. "I think we've had enough talk." Night returned his pistols to his sides and grabbed a hold of his swords.

"Let’s. This time I'll make sure I destroy you, body and soul." And almost instantly, both clashed against one another. Sparks flew from the metal grinding against metal. Night then kicked GearMaster, and the fiend stumbled. He ran towards the stunned assailant and slammed into him. Losing his balance, he fell off the tower. But he grabbed a hold of Night's arm tightly, and pulled him off with him. As they were falling, Night kicked GearMaster again. He whipped out his pistols and fired a volley into the falling enemy's body. Retaliating, he brought his sword up and slashed at the hero. His face was grazed, and NightWatcher returned one of the pistols to counter Gear with his own blade. Their swords met a few more times, and the ground was nearing. Thinking fast, Night shoved his sword into the building. It managed to slow him down, and then he came take an abrupt stop, only about 20 feet away from the ground. Hanging there, he watched GearMaster fall. He wasn't as fortunate. A massive cloud of dust and debris shrouded the Master. He pulled the sword from the building, and dropped down into the dust cloud. As the cloud settled, there was an impact crater. But the Master’s body was nowhere to be found. Then a shadow came over NightWatcher.

"I'm sorry we didn't have the chance to reminisce on old times!! But now you die!" Gear said, swinging his sword down at Night. But what should have been the sickening soft sound of blade on flesh was instead metal on metal. Someone saved the hero.

"Damn Night, we've gotta stop meeting like this." The savior had a red coat and white hair. He pushed back on GearMaster's blade, causing the Master to stumble, and blasted him back with a flurry of bullets. The white haired man smiled. "That was easier than I expected." He turned to NightWatcher.

"I was wondering when you would decide to show up."

"Hey! I wouldn't miss a party for the world." The two looked at GearMaster, who started to laugh. Dante sneered. "Shut up old timer." Both raised their guns and opened fire. Among their shots, a large stone pillar rose, with Gear on top.

"Take this, you overgrown parasites! Gear Storm!" And out of the pillar gears blasted out from the stone, randomly spraying the area. NightWatcher and Dante dogged around most of them, getting grazed and brushed once or twice. Night then raised his hand towards the fiend.

"Aura Blast!" A bright blue beam of light escaped from his hand and hit the top of the pillar, causing it to explode. As the dust cloud expanded, Gear jumped out of it.

"I may not be able to kill you two, but I can still screw you over!" He had a weird looking sphere in his hand, and threw it down towards the ground. It sat still for a few moments. Then it exploded. It began to suck the air inside it. A sphere of black engulfed the spot, and it began to pull more into its radius. Night and Dante both used their swords to gain leverage on the ground. GearMaster fell into the black sphere.

"See you fools later!!" He said, cackling as he disappeared. Dante grunted.

"We can't just let him run away!" He said, beginning to lose his grip. Night was in the same situation.

"Well, if we can't fight it, let's go and meet it!" He said, pulling his sword out. Dante followed suit.

"Let's not screw around then. This party is just getting started!!" He said as both ran into the sphere, and the black engulfed their bodies. It then disappeared as if it never existed.

XXXX

Darkness ensued. Everything was in a blur, blending in with one another. NightWatcher felt as if he was in free fall. Then, a massive jolt passed through his body like he hit something hard. He lay where he "landed", the breath knocked out of his body. He slowly sat up, dazed from the sudden change of scenery. Instead of it being daytime, night was present. He was surrounded by trees. Many trees. He felt an odd presence in the forest, like an old power still lingered and thrived in the plant life. The air was also charged with that same feeling.

"Hey Dante! You around?" He shouted, looking for his friend. No response was made. Sighing, NightWatcher started to walk. Tree among tree he passed, coming across a pond every now and then. Animal life seems to be scarce, but they may have been just hiding. As he walked, Night came across what looked like the crashed remnants of a Warthog. "This looks out of place, but it may be a sign of civilization." He inspected the ground, and saw that two sets of footprints led off to the northwest. He decided to follow the footsteps, certain that they would lead him to something helpful. He pushed past overgrown shrubbery and brush. Up ahead, light was faintly visible. His pace quickened as the light became more vibrant and bright. Twigs and leaves crunched underneath his feet, and he came to the forest's edge. A town was settled not too far from the forest. He looked down at the footprints, and saw that they led to a shed off in the distance, or at least he thought. "Maybe there's a local that could help me." He said, disregarding the footprints. He approached the town, and came under one of the streetlight that lined a road he now tread. Being nighttime, the town was seemingly empty. He now began to pass the first houses. Some lights remained on; maybe some residents were enjoying each other's company, or a good book. Other houses were dark, their owners lost in dreams. NightWatcher came to an abrupt stop. There, infront of him, stood something. The being wasn't tall or intimidating, but small and possibly seductive. It was maybe around 4 feet tall, had a teal colored body, with hair a few shades of green darker, along with some white. "A...pony?" He said, staring at her. The pony stared right back at him, gaping.

"Are you a human?" She asked quietly.

"Kind of...I'm more of like a precursor to humans, but we’re in the same boat." After he said this, the pony squeed and jumped at Night, tackling him to the ground.

"Oh my gosh!! A real life person! What's it like having hands? I bet it's amazing! You can do all sorts of things! Can I have a look?" She looked at one of his hands. "They really do have thumbs! Why is it different from the rest? Who cares, you're a person!" She said in a frenzied excitement. Night got back off the ground and took a step back from the pony.

"And you're a pony, and a unicorn one by the looks of it." He said. The unicorn nodded.

"Yep. My name's Lyra!" She suddenly had a look on her face like she remembered something dire. "Oh crap, I forgot! I was told to bring wandering beings like yourself to the base if we ever come across them!" An aura of magic appeared on her horn, and also on NightWatcher's hand. "Please, follow me."

XXXX

The two came to the same old abandoned shed the footprints led to. She opened the door, and allowed NightWatcher to enter. He stepped inside, and had to crouch slightly since the shed was a little bit on the small side.

"So what are we doing in this cramped shed?" He asked. Lyra made her way over to the other side, and opened a panel. She put her hoof on it, and it scanned it. There was also a retinal scanner, which scanned her eye.

"~Welcome, Agent Heartstrings. ~" An automated voice said.

"Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times!" She said. Then the floor began to sink. NightWatcher smiled.

"So, there's more to this place than meets the eye. Tell me, where does this lead us to?" A small chink of light appeared above the floor.

"The secret headquarters of the Ponies in Black. We've come across people like you before. You're just the only that's looks just like a human." As the lift descended, the base came into full view. They caught the attention of few, while most focused on their work. The lift came to a stop, and Lyra disembarked. "Well come on! You need to see the Commander!" NightWatcher walked off of the lift, and it began to return to the abandoned shed above. He strode across the room, following Lyra. She stopped at a pony wearing an eye patch.

"Lyra, what have you brought into the base?" She asked in a concerning tone.

"What? You and Quin requested that anyone similar to who've we dealt before be taken straight to the base as soon as we meet them." She said, almost offended.

"I assumed in that situation the agent would contact us first before bringing them into our midst. What if he isn't friendly?"

"I have a good feeling about him." Lyra said.

"You always have a good feeling about people." The Commander said.

"But this one is different! He just wandered into town, and he has no idea where he is Derpy! That's enough for me to trust him." She said. Derpy sighed.

"Ok, fine. But if he causes any trouble it's your ass, not mine." Derpy said. The pony squeed again and took off.

"I see you around!" She said as she left. Derpy sighed, and shook her head.

"That girl acts more scattered than I pretend to be. So, what's your name?" She asked the tall man.

"I'm NightWatcher. I was formerly a guardian of a city, but someone brought me here."

"Does this someone have a name?" She asked with a curious tone.

"Yes, he does. It's GearMaster." As he said this a look of shock came over Derpy. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm just surprised to find that you know him. We've been getting reports about this guy for a while now. He's been working in the dark, but it seems like he is getting ready to strike. We seem lucky, since two more similar to you came by just a few days ago." Night raised an eyebrow.

"Two more? Like what exactly?"

"One had a full suit of armor. Another had a katana and white hair. They helped a friend and I take out a shipyard that threatened out peaceful lands."

"The one sounds familiar. Can I meet them?"

"Not today. They work out of Canterlot now. You can see them in a few days travel. Until then, you should rest. You look like hell." Derpy said.

"I feel like hell." NightWatcher replied. Derpy whistled, and a pony in a black suit walked up to them.

"Show our guest to his room. And make sure it's a fairly sizable one too." The pony took Night and showed him the way to his room. Derpy stood there, and looked at the ground. "This is a strange turn of events. I have the sickening feeling something bad is coming to Equestria, whether we like it or not."