Regenerator 228

by Hopefullygoodgrammar

Everfree

REGENERATOR 228

Chapter 2

---

Within the dark depths of the Everfree Forest something stirred.

228 awoke with a low moan, It sat up and began to rub Its bald head, momentarily forgetting the talons on Its hands, 228 hissed when It felt the talons slice cleanly through the skin, I wish the regenerations numbed the pain. It thought as it rose unsteadily to Its feet.

228 looked around, taking in the sight of the dark and gnarled trees, the soft grass, the moss-covered rocks and the small stream that lay nearby for a full minute before the realization sunk in.

I’m not in the laboratory anymore.

Panic set in as 228 began to walk around the clearing, using all of Its enhanced senses to try and find something familiar, anything. But all It heard was the breeze whistling softly through the trees and the faint sounds of animals scurrying through the tall grass, all It saw were more trees and rocks, and all it smelled was fresh plant life and a faint smell that It couldn’t place, though it was familiar.

With a sudden flash the memory attached to the smell came back to It: It was the smell of rainwater.

Then, for a single second, the memory of that smell brought a flurry of other basic memories:: It could now remember the names of the other countries outside of Spain, the names of all of the famous people that It had ever heard of, the number of days in a year and how long a day was.

228 shook Its head in surprise and almost fell to Its knees at the sudden rush of memory, nausea threatened to overwhelm it and the sound of Its heart racing drowned out all others.

It took a few minutes before 228 could make the thundering of Its heart quiet and it took a few minutes more before It could stand up straight.

Why did that happen to me? Is that what it feels like to remember?

228 put both hands to Its head and moaned low in Its throat, pressing Its fingers to Its temples in an attempt to stop the painful headache that was now pounding on the inside of Its skull. 228 briefly wondered if pulling Its head apart would make the pain stop, but 228 decided that it wasn't worth the extra pain.

A loud BOOM!! made 228 forget his headache, the regenerator looked up just as the first drops of rain his Its face, followed by a flash of blue lightning. 228 hissed at the sky, but It knew that there was no way to intimidate something as powerful as a thunderstorm into submission.

I need shelter… I need to hide.

228 turned and walked into the dense thicket of the forest, trying not to let the sound of thunder disturb It.

---

An hour later 228 found Itself at the base of a tall mountain, the regenerator scanned the sheer side of the rocky outcropping where It had taken shelter, Its enhanced vision allowing it to see a few handholds that most might miss.

I could climb that, but the storm, it’s still going on- all that noise and the lights… 228 winced as another bolt of lightning cut through the dark sky, 228 peeked out and craned Its head, trying to see more.

It wasn't long before It spotted the cave, giving the best smile that It could, given the shape and size of Its mouth, 228 crept out from under the outcropping and proceeded to climb up the sheer mountainside with the deftness and agility of a spider, it took a while, but 228 managed to crawl up and into the cave.

The inside of the cave was dark, cold and dry, it was not particularly pleasant, but it was shelter from the thunderstorm and 228 was happy for that. After digging a small pit in the soft sand that made up the floor 228 curled up and fell into a deep sleep.

The sun was bright, the wind was cool, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sound of birds filled the air.

It was, in short, the perfect day for a picnic.

But the beautiful day would not last.

He could see the villagers approaching him, their red eyes reflected in the light of their torches, they were all pale, dirty and they reeked of rotten meat, they chased him down, they threw their rusty farming implements at him and they shouted unspeakable things at him.

He ran to the nearest house, that of Dr. Salvadore, and opened the door, Salvadore was crouched in a pool of blood and viscera, he looked up, the sack covering his face obscured everything but his eyes, which gleamed with madness.

He watched in horror as Dr. Salvadore reached out, picked up the bloody chainsaw and started it, then the masked maniac charged with a yell that didn't sound human…

228 woke up with a gasp, the first thing that came to his mind was: I’m a he?

228 didn't know how long he sat there, mulling over his newly remembered gender and the slew of images that came with it, but the only thing that roused him from his thoughts was the rumble in his stomach.

I need meat. he thought as he rubbed his gut, 228 peeked his head outside the cave and saw, to his relief, that the storm was over, he hadn't even noticed that it had blown over.

The crawl down was just as easy as the crawl up and 228 found himself creeping through the dense woods, as silent as a specter, and it didn't take him long to find some good meat in the form of a large turkey.

228 readied himself and then pounced with the speed of a jaguar, but, incredibly enough, the damned bird hopped out of his path and caused 228 to slam into the ground hard enough to make his fangs click together, the regenerator snarled and tried grabbing the turkey again, this time using his stretching ability, but the stupid animal avoided him yet again.

Meat, I need the meat, so hungry… 228 thought as he lunged after the turkey.

---

228 finally caught the turkey just as it was heading for what he assumed was a clearing, he lunged forwards and stretched his neck out, unhinging his jaw as he did, the stupid bird was dead in an instant and was swallowed bones and all.

228 had closed his eyes when he was chewing, but after he had finished he opened them to find himself staring at a winding dirt road, 228 looked at the road for a second before deciding to venture out, his natural curiosity was piqued and, with incredible speed, 228 leaped out from the trees, crossed the road and hid among the tall reeds on the other side, he waited and listened for what seemed like an eternity before he began to creep in the reeds, moving along the road, but staying out of sight.

As he walked he began to think: What if the road leads to a bay near the…. what was it called? The sea? Yes! What if this road leads to the sea? Will I have to go back? What about other Unpurified? They’ll try to kill me if they see me and I can’t kill ALL of them… can I?

228 was so deep in thought that he didn't notice the not-so-subtle change in the scenery until a drop of something brown hit the back of his hand, 228 cocked his head and brought his hand up to his face, he sniffed the drop, the slits that served as his nose flared open and he took in a rich and very familiar scent.

Chocolate? No… chocolate-milk? Yes! It’s chocolate milk- where did it come fr-

His thought was cut off by several more cold drops landing on his head, 228 looked up and found himself looking at a large, pink cloud that was hovering above him, 228 could see the chocolate milk raining from its bottom, the regenerator stared at the pink cloud for a few moments before stepping onto the road to avoid it.

There is an old saying in Equestria: “Those who are unnatural can sense the unnatural.”.

228 was definitely not natural and he could sense the strange and chaotic energies that were being given off by the cloud, 228 wasn't exactly pleased by the feeling and moved away from it.

Of course, had he been paying attention to where he was going 228 would've seen that the roads were now made of bubbly soap, so 228 fell on his misshapen ass the second he applied pressure to his leg. the next three and a half minutes were spent trying to gain a proper footing by standing up until 228 realized that he could just move back off the road.

Soon he came upon a turn in the road that was partially obscured by a large, sloping hill, despite the size of the hill he could still make out several shapes of various buildings, all of whom were cast in a pink light by the pink clouds that hung in the sky, all of which were raining chocolate milk.

228 wondered if this was all some part of Saddler’s design, but then he turned the bend and immediately left all of those thoughts behind.

The soap road continued into the town, where it merged with the checkerboard ground (Why did the people tile the grass?), the buildings were… in an odd condition to say the least, as those that weren't upside down were floating in midair like those puppets with strings that 228 couldn't remember the names of, only there were no strings that he could see.

228 prowled into the town, the smell of chaos putting him on edge.

The checkerboard ground make squeaking noises when his left foot hit it and emitted raspberry sounds when his right foot made contact, which erased any hope of stealth that he might have had. As each noisy step brought him nearer to the town’s center 228 began to notice more odd things: like the lack of villagers, the odd way that the tiles changed colors every few seconds and the fact that, although it was day out, he couldn't see the sun.

Suddenly 228 heard the found of many footfalls approaching him, he turned and sprang out of the way just in time to avoid being trampled by a herd of…. long-legged bunny rabbits?

228 watched as the bunny stampede rounded a corner and disappeared with rapt fascination, Where those mutations? But, if they were, then they weren't made with Plagas, I would have been able to smell them. 228 heaved an exasperated sigh at the new questions which were already adding to the ever-growing mountain in his head, he continued on his way, occasionally looking through open windows to see only darkness and the dim shapes of furniture.

Soon 228 began to grow hungry again, he wished that he could find that herd of bunnies again, their legs may have been bony, but the rest of them looked plump enough to be filling.

No sooner had the thought left his mind when he turned the corner and beheld something was was far bigger than a bunny.

It was a large, purple horse walking down the road with its head hung low.

Finally thought 228, beginning to drool,

FOOD...

Author's Note:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW7Op86ox9g

Comments

[Paladin Redflare]

Stay back! I will kill you, if you touch her! DON'T THINK I CAN?!

[Cryptic Psyche]

4234898 I'm with you. There must be SOME way to kill that thing. I'd bet even it can't regenerate from nothing but ashes.
fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/259/c/0/tf2_pyro_spray_by_arienne_keith-d5ewugg.jpg

[Lab]

4235444 If you kill the attached plagas, a regenerator will explode, but that's easier said than done unless you have a way to see in infrared.

[Blackwisp15]

4236773 or freeze it solid then shatter it.

[Dragon Turtle]

There is an old saying in Equestria: “Those who are unnatural can sense the unnatural.”.

228 was definitely not natural and he could sense the strange and chaotic energies that were being given off by the cloud, 228 wasn't exactly pleased by the feeling and moved away from it.

This is a really cool line, and that Discord was chosen to hunt Tirek in the finale actually cannonizes this! But then you have:

228 prowled into the town, the smell of chaos was more prevalent than ever and it drew him like a moth to a flame.

...Do you see how these would seem contradictory? I suppose that "moth to a flame" comparison could be suggesting something morbid, but more indication is needed that while driven by curiosity, 228 should still have any inner sense of distrust (although not one of fear; seriously, what would this guy be scared of?).

[Dirty Bit]

Ah, so this takes place at the start of Season 2. Too bad Twilight's too depressed to notice she's being targeted

[Dustchu]

Oh my, Poor Twily... what will happen?
CUE FLUTTERSHY!

Nicely done.