One Shot, One Chance

by SpeederClaw

Chapter 29: Enzo's Night Off (Part 2)

“Masquerade Blade, are you ready yet?”

“...”

“Well then I’ll take that as a yes. You know what you have to do so get it done and don’t screw up. Take Dust Crack and a few of our men to complete the operation.”

“...” Masquerade Blade stared at Sir Cutter X with hollow eyes. The night sky shed little light in the shrouded forest. Small lanterns burned here and there, but darkness masked the group of ponies’ intents.

“Er, hello, sir!” A light brown pegasus hobbled over towards his two superiors. “I-I’m Dust Crack! You called me and my buddies?”

Sir Cutter X nodded. “That’s right. You’ll be conducting an important task I have at hand. Follow Masquerade’s orders and y’all should be fine.”

Dust Crack ruffled his unkempt, coffee brown hair in anticipation. His black eyes wandered around Masquerade Blade’s demeanor. “I’ll do anything you tell me to do, anything! Just say the words and I-we’ll follow your orders!” Two more stallions stationed themselves behind Dust Crack with similar hesitation.

“...”

The three exchanged glances before a whining screech broke the silence. “Wait-wow, hold the baloni. What’s this I hear? A top secret mission for only the best of the best? Boner achieved!”

“Bullet Buster, know’s not the time,” Sir Cutter X stated.

“Not the time? Not the time? But every time, all the time is time for the peening!”

Sir Cutter X sighed. “You will stay here. That is my goddamn order.”

“Can’t order me, tough guy. Cant’ stop the pounding; the bullet penetration.”

“Shut the hell up and stay where you are. Masquerade, take your guys and go.”

Bull It Buster watched with fury as the group vanished into the forest. He glanced at Sir Cutter X with a crazed face before slapping the ground with his two gun hooves. “Balls to that! Burning, crusty nutsacks! Boner lost!”

~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m still angry that I still don’t know anything about Vice or Enzo, what I saw in the forest and how the hay all these things tie together!”

“At least you told me what you could, Mister Blitz. That is valuable information that cannot be passed up,” Clyde said. “The fact that ponies are trying to take Ponyville is enough to make my mustache crawl with vile sickness. The royal guards should arrive within a couple of days and we should have this ordeal straightened out. I’ve also ordered a spreadsheet of all train accidents since your’s, Mister Blitz. We should be able to figure out which trains went missing and which trains were totalled. Mister Vice and Mister Enzo are not to be framed for the crashing of your train, Mister Blitz.”

Twilight’s head poked through and interrupted conversation. “Sorry to stop you, Clyde, but I have some facts on this Doctor Rivet guy. Apparently, according to newspapers from Canterlot about a few months ago, Doctor Rivet was a surgeon and an engineer. He was top quality, the two professions seemed to work hoof and hoof with him. But he was exiled soon after he sought to...improve the pony brain,” Twilight said with a dark tone. “He ended up going missing and was never heard from again until a few days ago, of course.”

“Well at least we know something,” Blitz said bitterly.

“Hey, don’t get so worked up about knowing everything. Even I can’t know everything,” Twilight said. “No matter how many books I get my hooves on, I can’t learn about everything in Equestria. But I do know a fair amount, or should I say almost everything, about Equestria: history, geological layout and-well all the other miscellaneous topics.”

“Yeah, but I feel like I don’t know anything. I’m pretty useless at this point.”

“Hey, what did we say about being positive?”

“Right, I’m working on that.”

“Ahem.” Clyde stepped in again. “How about this Bullet Buster? Any news on him?”

Twilight shook her head. “Not that I could pull up. Zero information total on his background. It’s strange, it's as if he’s nonexistent from Equestria.”

“I guess you could say he’s from another dimension?” Blitz said chuckling. Laughs followed, but Twilight gave a stern face.

“Hey, different dimensions altogether aren’t outside the realm of possibility. I’ve proven, or my other self-no, I proved that there exists multiple dimensions of Equestria.”

“Sure.” Blitz eyed the darkness outside. “I hope Enzo’s doing okay.”

“I’m sure Mister Enzo is getting some well deserved rest,” Clyde said joining Blitz in the sightseeing.

~~~~~~~~~~

‘The Letter.’ That was all Enzo thought about. ‘What did Gray Patch mean by explain all the answers?’ He reached for the seal. ‘Could he be with Cutter X and his gang?’ He opened the letter and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. ‘Is this really happening? Have I really been followed here?’ Unfolding the paper, he started to read the fancy writing:

Yo, yo, wassup? Heya, hiya! How ya doing?

Enzo stopped. “Really?” He kept reading:

Enzo,

Terribly sorry for that. I thought you might like a little humor to lighten up the mood. Now, I understand you know me by the name of Gray Patch. You would be wrong. That is my alias of this world, Equestria. The minute I saw you, the red scarf and peculiar wrist band, it was clear. I recognized you instantly; we know each other from the past, a different life.

“What?” Enzo stopped reading again and hesitated to read any further. “Gray Patch. Gray...Patch?” He shook his head before continuing with concern:

Did I strike you as just slightly odd or out of the ordinary? The eyepatch, the top hat, almost every inch of my body covered in clothing. Is it really that hard to piece together? It is me, Gray Shark-

A bump startled Enzo and distracted his reading once more. ‘The window-’ Enzo ducked as a giant flying blade spun horizontally right in his direction. The wood behind him splintered and he found himself sprawling on the ground.

“...” Standing before Enzo was a black pegasus holding two rotary blades and three other ponies holding knives.

‘How did they-’

“He says don’t scream, basically,” a brown pegasus said. “Not bad advice since you don’t want to be attracting any innocent civilians in here. It would be ugly.”

Enzo took note of what the pony said and kept quiet. ‘He’s right. I can’t risk anyone else getting hurt.’

“See? I’m smart. I’m pretty good for a henchman!”

“...”

“Oh and he says you’re mince meat!”

Masquerade Blade glared at Dust Crack and shook his head. Enzo tried to get up, but was intercepted by a green pony. He tapped his hoof and his blade shot out. Swiping it across the pony’s chest, he fidgeted as he pulled himself too far. He collapsed and the other pony fell back. His wound reopened and the other pony bled as well. The floor slowly stained a black red.

“Aw crap! Green Mist, get back!” Dust Crack said as he pulled his comrade away from Enzo. “You’re gonna get yourself killed doing things like that!”

“...” Masquerade Blade disregarded everything around him and raised his blades toward Enzo. He launched one and Enzo barely managed to swipe it away with his extended blade. However, he was left open as he pushed too far and another blade was hurtling close.

‘Shit.’

Enzo raised his leg and a hard metal against metal clang erupted. The blade bounced back and landed at Masquerade Blade’s feet. More blood spilled as Enzo’s leg was torn. But, Masquerade did not stop there. He soon refilled the thrown blades and was aiming at Enzo again.

“C’mon, you’re supposed to be an otherworldly being! Kill him already!” one of the bystanding thugs said. Enzo looked at him and his eyes dropped. Standing behind the pony was another pony shrouded in clothing. It’s crimson red eye locked with Enzo’s own red eyes. In an instant, a golden hoof and a regular, light gray hoof wrapped themselves around the thug’s head. A quick snap was heard and the lifeless body fell.

Dust Crack noticed the falling body and screamed in terror. “He just-Cloud Top!” All attention turned to the dead pony. Within seconds, the assassin turned towards Masquerade Blade and charged head first.

‘Is that...the masked pony? Or is that-’ Enzo watched as the so-called masked pony unsheathed a long sword from its golden hoof. Metal struck against metal as Masquerade defended himself with his round saws. The masked pony struck with elegance, jabbing and slashing, feigning and drop cutting. It changed its technique, managing to scratch Masquerade Blade here and there. The black pegasus flew back and unleashed his blades.

The masked pony dodged with ease and even deflected a few to the side. Masquerade Blade managed to hurl rotary blades as fast as the masked pony could stop to deflect and dodge. Blades flew everywhere as the masked pony jumped, ducked and dived; raising its sword to block occasionally. The stalemate lasted until Masquerade faltered and flew farther back. He had only a few hanging blades left and the masked pony advanced with surging speed.

Enzo kept watching in his helpless state as the masked pony gained the upper hand. Masquerade Blade hesitated before reaching for his last few remaining saw blades. That hesitation led to Masquerade being kicked and pinned to the floor before he could react fast enough. The masked pony stood towering ahead and aimed its sword straight for Masquerade’s head. As he lunged, the masked pony was tackled by another entity.

The two struggled, but the masked pony easily gained higher ground. It jumped to its feet and quickly stabbed the pony through the chest area before turning to its next opponents. However, Masquerade Blade and Dust Crack had fled the scene. All that remained were two corpses and a dying Enzo.

“Well, that was a nuisance,” the masked pony said as it wiped the blood off its sword on the body of Green Mist. “But, you should be safe for the time being.”

“...Gray Shark?”

“I assume you just read my letter. Yes, it’s me, Gray Shark,” the pony known as Gray Shark said with calmness.

The two stared at each other for a long moment where silence took initiative. Enzo analyzed the pony from all angles and verified that it was who he addressed. The pony wore full bluish black clothing under his gold gilded black jacket. His hind legs were covered in the same bluish black, but in bandages of that color. His left hoof shined a solid gold color, seemingly attached by nothing but directly to the wrist. The bluish black clothing underneath stretched up the neck and over the mouth, ending at the nose.

Despite the cover, Gray Shark spoke with clarity. “Shocking, isn’t it?” He addressed Enzo with a shift of his black cowboy-like hat, marked with a white skull. “I hope you still remember all the fun times we spent together...in situations like this.”

Enzo finally noted the eye patch resting on Gray Shark’s left eye and how three tufts of dark gray hair managed to slide themselves perfectly under the pony’s hat. “You still have the same outfit...but, what are you doing here?”

Gray Shark’s crimson eye gleamed with delight. “I came to see you!” he said raising his hooves in playful defense. “Well, for the most part.”

“You didn’t have to kill those two,” Enzo blurted out.

Gray Shark shrugged. “Enzo, I am not afraid to kill. I did so in order to protect you.”

“No, you could’ve knocked them out or something. You didn’t have to take their lives.”

“A necessary resolve to a delicate situation. Had I tried to simply knock them out, I’d be dealing with four opponents instead of one. The sheer shock that the two received was enough for me to get rid of the threat you were facing. The last one was to be dealt with quickly as I had no awareness of my surroundings. I’m not going to risk my own life to spare another if their intent if corrupt.”

“It’s wrong.”

“I understand that it is morally incorrect to kill. However, you must understand this: those who intend to perform immoral actions must be dealt with immorally. Wrong defeats wrong, but it does not make it right. That is why I killed them; to ensure you are not wronged upon.” Gray Shark paused at Enzo’s broken spirit.

“So, you’re Gray Patch then?” Enzo said with defeat.

“You know you’re, uh, leg’s split open and you’re sides are still bleeding.”

“Please just tell me what I need to know.”

“Just trying to help. Anyway, yes it’s me, Gray Patch. I like the name Gray Shark better though, but I don’t think the locals would particularly like a pony named Gray Shark.”

“Impossible.”

“That’s what I said when I saw you. Here, we don’t have a lot of time and surely the whole hospital is awake by now. I can’t say for sure that you, let alone I, can explain logically what happened here. So, let me-”

“Let them see my wounds and what happened here.”

“Um excuse me? Enzo, I’m not sure what happened to you in that forest, but I thought you would’ve sworn to secrecy. It’s been three and a half years since we arrived. Are you sure you want to throw away all that you’ve hidden?”

“Yes. I have to. This is the only way; they have to see the damage. They have to...understand. Better now than later.”

Gray Shark put his golden hoof to his head and brushed his three tufts of hair. “You know I can’t be pulled into this. I’ve been accustomed to this new life already. I can’t just...give it up that easily.”

“You don’t have to. It’s just Vice and I, you don’t need to be dragged in.”

Gray Shark pondered the thought. “I’m removing the bodies. You and I both know they don’t need to see them. If you’re prepared to tell the truth, then so be it. I shall leave all the evidence of an assault and resume my current persona as Gray Patch. Try not to get too excited the next time you see me.”

“When will you tell everyone else who you really are?”

Gray Shark paused as he went to pick up the lying body. “I’ll leave it to fate to decide. I’m not really in the mindset of revealing myself so suddenly.” The body was hauled to the window and thrown out. A soft thump was heard before Gray Shark approached the other corpse. “Maybe. Maybe I’ll give in, but for now I need to leave you as is like you requested. I’ll see you very soon.”

Enzo lay askew on the ground, his leg still cut open to the bone and his side still spewing blood. He negated the feelings as Gray Shark made his departure through the window and analyzed the room while he waited. Rotary blades dug into each wall and the ground was mixed with scratches and other blood. The light, however, still survived the chaos and gave Enzo some hope of relief. The red door swung open and a nurse walked in.

She eyed the room before gasping in terror at the bleeding stallion sitting admist destruction. Enzo hushed her wails with a faint cry for help. By the pink mane and familiar concerned look, Enzo spoke softly. “Nurse Redheart, I can explain. I will explain...once I’m not bleeding my insides out anymore. Could you call a doctor, please?”

Comments

[Bronze Statue]

SOO CLOSE to actually getting all the answers. Well, I hope. The last two chapters had quite a few spelling/grammar errors (especially mixed-up homophones), but the story is progressing wonderfully.

[SpeederClaw]

2203682 Can't say anything about the story other then thanks for the comment and the heads up about some mistakes!