Legacy

by NFire

Into The Past Part IV

Almost like a movie, taken from various angles, it shows Athena where the cameras once were. Her eyes wander and only now can she see the slight imperfections in the walls where the mounts once held them. The metal was smoothed over, almost as if something had repaired damage, but couldn’t replace them. Odd.

A voice caught her attention, making lavender orbs snap back towards the screen.

A room on the screen, clean, pristine, almost like what she saw now. Everything gleamed, the paintings on the wall and artworks were still there, as if they had just been placed not too long ago.

The scarred and blasted pillar was still dark and holed, cables ran hither and yon.

A large, squarish piece of crystal was in the doorframe, blocking the hatch from closing as a tall pony walked in. Shod hooves clicked on the floor, the eyes gleaming with a whisper of greenish tint, the taint of dark magic.

Following in his wake were a few others. They did not gawk like tourists, they knew what they were about and grabbed items from crates in the corner, electronics by the look of it and scrambled out.

Athena could see flashing readouts to the side of the movie. Harmonics were being ramped up slowly as one camera focused on that crystal blocking the door, in an attempt to shatter it most likely.

“Give me the secret to control. That’s all I want. Or shall I do to you what I did..”

The voice was still angry, but differently so, as if fresh and new to rage, “Never!” The voice sounded very odd.

“Oh, come now,” The oily voice oozed from Sombra, his eyes narrow in that sly way that tells anyone looking that here is smugness concentrated, an ego which knows no bounds and gets what it wants any way it can.

Athena could hear a deep sadness in the voice, “Nothing. You will never get the secrets.”

“Then rot here. I’m sure we’ll visit from time to time, maybe find a way to help with the little power problem? Hmmm?” The black figure turned and exited from the room. A sudden burst of sonics hit Athena’s ears as the crystal blocking the door shattered, the durasteel hatch slamming shut.

Pounding could be heard from the outside as the readouts on the screen flashed, showing a power status that would be dangerously low to a Bolo. The telltales went red and the picture faded abruptly as all flow of energy abruptly ceased.

Athena waited for a moment, staring at the screen expectantly.

“Is that it?”

No response.

A hoof waved at the screen, Athena looking frustrated into the nearest camera, “That’s it? That didn’t show anything!”

She tossed her mane in exasperation, no response as usual!

Another screen lit up...

Alarms were blaring, the faint sounds of huge bulkheads slamming into place came through the speakers, voices shouting.

A scientist? Technician? Stood in front of a camera, looking at a computer readout, “They’re hitting everywhere! Rocky Mountain Number Four and Urals Number Three are gone! Totally gone!”

“We’ve got launch positive, we’re up and running!” A voice from the side was yelling, “Missile fields in Sectors Four and Five reporting launch of all surface to space warheads, rearming now!”

“Grasers online, switching to AI control...now!” The scientist turned and looked at the camera, “Thank god we got patched into the local node. Didn’t realize we’d have to help with defense.”

A calm voice cut through the babble, quiet, decisive, it was something that drew the ear.

“We’re dead gentlemen. All we can do now is evacuate to the shelters and hope for the best.” The camera turned to see a distinguished looking man. The uniform of a Concordiat General Officer hung limply on a weary frame, “Hope is gone, this is a suicide fleet. The puppies aren’t going to stop.”

A crowd of workers came in bearing crates, sealed plastiform cartons. The officer pointed at them, “This is all from the local museum which was having a display of old masters. They’ll be storing it here while we wait out the attack. In case we make it back.” His voice definitely did not sound confidant. He waved a hand at the technicians and scientists that were gazing at him expectantly, “Shut it down, let’s go. I just received the order for evac. Turn it over to continental command, make sure everything is linked.”

A few minutes of hurried activity, and then the room fell silent as the last of the personnel filed out towards the shelters. Crates marked ‘Denver Museum’ stood mute testimony to the last vestiges of humanity in this very space.

She looked at some of those containers in almost, but not quite, the exact same places they occupied then, the writing was so faded as to be nearly gone from existence. She had to enhance and narrow her vision to see the words finally appear to her.

Another monitor popped on.

“Wait..where did..” The voice was soft, coming from off-camera, “Oh god.. One lens focused, seeing a figure in camouflage heading for the main door, “Open the hatch! Open it! I need to get out!”

The neutral voice answered, “I’m sorry Sergeant, I cannot. A Level Five has been commanded. All bulkheads and hatches have been sealed.”

Athena listened closely, something was very wrong with the voice in this playback. She could not quite spot it, but got her programs working on it, analyzing what was being shown. That was it! It was masked, whatever this was did not want it’s voice playing for her, yet..

“I can’t stay in here!” The distraught voice was drowned out by the deep continuous rumble of sound that signified a bombardment of unusual proportions.

“A Melconian fleet has broken through system defenses, it is now bombarding the planet. All Rocky Mountain redoubts have been ordered evacuated and sealed."

“Are we at least hitting back?”

“We are. Currently all AI and human defense systems are engaged in counter-space operations. Concordiat Fleet Units are exacting a heavy toll on the Melconians. Unfortunately, thirty percent of the earth’s surface is now uninhabitable for the foreseeable future from satellite scans.”

“Current casualty estimates stand at one point two three billion as of two minutes ago.”

A body dropped into the chair facing another camera. He was not very young as told by his body, muscular, hair cut short in a high and tight as a hand wiped over his narrow face, “One point..oh god..” The deep brown eyes filled with pain as the shaking hand hit the arm rest.

A tinge of sadness went through her, listening to the end of the Earth she had known. But her cores had come back with something, the voice was definitely being distorted on the replay. For some reason, the intelligence did not want it’s true self known, or could it be something else?

Argh! So many questions!

The enlisted man leaned forward, listening to the voice recite facts and figures.

“All statistics are suggesting earth will fall in approximately three days. Current approximate casualties at two point three billion. Possibility of survivors..”

“Stop..”

“Acknowledged.”

“Just...stop..”

The fading scene showed the human slumped over the desk, head on arms as shoulders shook from the sobbing she could hear fading away as did the playback.

Athena was confused, what was going on? Why was this..wait a second..

“Your memories are damaged, you’re having a hard time recalling things in linear order aren’t you?”

Still no reply, but a monitor switched on once more.

“Nanite seals are intact, internal air flow and scrubbing is optimal.”

“That’s all fine and dandy, I guess.” The sound of the human from earlier came through loud and clear, “I’m sure rescue teams are on the way.”

“I do not think so, Sergeant. Stealth satellites are showing the Melconian Fleet striking the rest of the surface.”

A sigh, “You’re just a ray of sunshine aren’t you?”

“I can only be what I am.”

Athena replayed that sentence, some odd overlay on it. Masking again. She eyed the room once more while the screen played on. His remains must have been swept up back then, poor guy.

“Is there anything outside? Another redoubt? Anything?”

“I am receiving no transmissions other than military uplinks. Facilities are limited. All AI systems are engaged, though many are dropping off the net quickly. The launchers nearby are working at one hundred percent efficiency.”

“We’re losing, aren’t we?” The figure reappeared, sitting heavily in a chair facing one of the monitors showing the outside world. Forests in flames, cities flattened by repeated nuclear and kinetic strikes. The land itself melting in some places by the hellfires of plasma weapons. The world burned.

“All data points to a complete loss. Defense AI’s are running out of munitions. It seems the Melconians are throwing everything they have at us. Concordiat Fleet bases in the inner system are running out of supplies and ships. We do not have enough to throw them out of the solar system.”

“And the rest of our fleet is probably going after their homeworld as well.”

“Plans for retaliation do account for such a move.”

“We’re so stupid. Can’t get along with anyone in the galaxy, so let’s burn it.”

A hand waved absently, “Never mind, don’t pay attention to that.” A sigh, dropped into the silence like a pin, shattering the still air, “What do we do now?”

Fade to black.

“What happened to him? Why are you showing me these?” Her questions went out into the room, bouncing back unheard or ignored. She was starting to feel frustration.

“You can trust me, I have nothing but the good of my ponies in mind.” That voice was back, slick and greasy, insinuating itself into the mind. The screens lighting up again.

Sombra.

“You have no identifying code, therefore there will be no release of information.” Once again the voice was flat, emotionless, ambiguous.

He was different, like the darkness inside him was tamped down. No green whispers of magic at his eyes, no fetid aura of evil. Almost as if he were a regular pony.

Athena’s eyes narrowed, it was such a blatant trick. But did this intelligence know? Probably not, this seemed like it was earlier in the memories.

“I am sure we can come to some agreement. Perhaps you could tell me what this is?” Another pony brought in a circlet, one Athena knew well, for neural connecting; bowing and giving it to the larger stallion. A shadowed metal clad hoof raised it up before a camera, “Surely this is not a secret?”

“You are not cleared for that information.”

“It has been a long time though, hasn’t it?” Sombra was actually being reasonable, “I’m sure helping us wouldn’t be a bad thing, now, would it?” He kept talking, slowly gaining ground on the stubborn voice who was denying access to the information he wanted.

“Think of all the ponies you could help! That would be a good thing you know.” The smile that graced that dark face was one of almost sincerity. To an intelligence that did not know the stories, it would work. Sombra was a master of deception. “You have said that you were helping to heal ..pee..pol..” He said the word like it was new, a phonetic pronunciation of the Concordiat Standard.

“It would..”

“Then please, I beg of you, help us. We could be happier and healthier with your assistance.” He sat in the center of the room, “Be our companion, help us to make lives better.”

Athena listened to the voice with a queasiness in her cores, knowing he was winning and she couldn’t do anything to stop what was now history. Project Overture was for helping and healing. Helping the mind to heal the body as well, so many things could have been discovered. One con, it allowed the subject to be totally at the whim of the researcher, to use the mind as a tool.

“You’ve told us a little of it. Would there be information somewhere?”

Ugh, that reasonable voice made her want to smash something.

There was a slight hesitation, as if an internal discussion had gone on, “There are files in the office just outside the hatch. Bring them first, we will translate. Afterwards we will see about discussing a treatment plan for anyone unwell.”

A gentle smile crossed the dark features, “Thank you.” With that he exited quickly, heading out the door.

The screen once again cut out.

“He tricked you. You didn’t know he was enslaving ponies, trying to conquer the lands.” Athena was positive on this point, knowing the stories. She had picked up one other thing, the ‘we’ that somehow was missed in the masking. She was going to hold onto that one.

Finally, an answer came.

“Yes.” That one word, begrudgingly given, told volumes. The guttural sound encompassed an entire world of rage, anger, fury and pain.

“That was more than a thousand years ago, you couldn’t possibly have known. You’re not to blame.” She gestured towards the camera and the hidden intelligence, “Trust me, we all make mistakes. So many of them.”

She listened for any sound, anything from the quiescent speakers.

A monitor flashed on.

“Okay...so..” The voice was silent for a moment, the soldier back on screen as he leaned over a board, suddenly lurching forward and grabbing a round red piece, leaping it over four black ones and exclaiming triumphantly, “I win! Yes!”

“Once again I have been foiled in my plans for the world championship of board games.”

Eyes rolled as the lanky figure sat back into a chair, “Right. Like you couldn’t beat me even with half a brain tied behind your back.”

“How about a nice game of chess?”

“Don’t even start, got tired of losing a few hundred games ago.”

“Apologies, Sergeant Carpenter.”

A hand waved in the air, “No worries. I’m sure we’ll have time to do other things before the rescue crews get here.”

“Sergeant... I’m afraid there will not be anything of the sort. Last reports received said that Earth has fallen. The surface has been burned and struck deep by the Melconian..”

“STOP!” Eyes slammed shut as the soldier covered his ears, head shaking in denial, “No! That’s not true! We survived! They’ll be coming for us, you’ll see. Someone’s coming already I bet.”

Shaking hands released the sides of his head, setting heavily back into the chair, “You’ll see...you’ll see..” Wide eyes stared blankly into a distance which did not exist. Family perhaps? Friends? He was lost in a world only he could see.

“Sergeant?”

“Sergeant...?”

The monitor went off, sliding into blackness once more.

Athena stared at the monitor for a moment, “He was having problems accepting the end wasn’t he?” As always, no answer was forthcoming, leaving her to ponder alone. She really did wish to know what happened to the unknown man.

“You’re showing me all this for a reason. Maybe you can’t get the memory you want because of damage? Is that it? You’re looping things until you get to the right one?”

Pictures appeared on the next monitor.

Athena sighed, maybe she ought to have someone bring popcorn?

Her eyes snapped to a monitor flashing on.

“NO!” The voice was outraged, shocked, terrified. “It will cease now!”

Sombra stood grinning, looking at one of the cameras zeroed on his face.

“Or what? Can you really do anything?”

Athena hated that voice with a passion. Love to slug that pony right in the nose, pin it all the way to the back of his skull.

The dark form paced the floor, “You are getting the results you wanted right? Adapting your.. sys..tems.. to ponies? What is the harm?”

“You are injuring them deliberately to be tested upon! That is not what we agreed!”

A hoof waved nonchalantly, the voice a menacing purr, “What are the lives of a few..regular..ponies compared to anything else?”

“Regular? There is no ’regular’ when dealing with lives.”

“To you.” The waving hoof brushed against a chest, “To me, they are useful for so many things.”

“Useful?”

“Oh yes. Serving my whims, tending the needs of the Empire I am building.” The dark face took on a sly smile, a greenish aura wafting from the corners of both eyes, “The Empire YOU will help me build.”

“Never. We will never help one like you.”

“One like me?” Sombra laughed, dark and forbidding, “There has never been anypony like me.”

“There are always ones like you.”

“It means nothing. You will give me the secret of control.”

“Never. Your atrocities have convinced us of your malice. You will get nothing.”

The crowned head whipped around, a beam of force lashed out from his curved horn and into one of the pillars, scorching, then burning through it with a cloud of vaporized metal and circuitry.

Athena watched, horrified, seeing the smoke from destroyed electronics.

“NOOO! What...” The voice was filled with static, as if it had lost cohesion, “have...done..”

“We will talk later I am sure.” With that Sombra left the hazy room. A voice almost sobbing as it tried to compose itself filled the room behind his laughter.

“I.. Default.. Synthesis unbound. Altering states. Reducing programming to base. Emergency Plan Series One One Four initiated, rerouting all subroutines and values.”

“Gone...”

“They are gone...”

The screen faded once more, leaving Athena staring at it in shock. What had he destroyed? She had never heard AI programming like that. Synthesis? Altering states?

She shook that off, looking around the silent room.

“Please, talk to me. I’m begging you.”

“Why? When you wear the form of ones so hated and despised.” The voice was low, almost as if tired.

Athena knew this answer, as surely and deeply as she knew herself some days, “Because you cannot blame the whole for the actions of a few, until you know, absolutely know.”

“You are very odd for a Bolo.” The monotone voice was almost..almost..but not quite, warmer.

Athena smiled warmly as she laughed, fully and deeply, “You don’t know the half of it.” She lost her smile and paced the room, seeing the cameras following her.

“He is gone.” She made that point once again and would do so as much as she had to, “He is gone, destroyed. He can trouble, nor torture, you any longer. The lands outside, and you have only seen a tiny portion of it, are peaceful, warm and inviting.” She waved a hoof, “Well, the Empire is pretty darn cold, but you get my drift.”

“What is it you want then?”

This stopped her dead, making her look into the camera with a little expression of shock, “Want? I don’t want anything.” She pointed out the door, “They don’t want anything.”

She leapt on a chair, big enough to let her sit comfortably, “They would like nothing more than to be friends, and to learn from you.” She sighed and rolled her eyes, “Especially Twilight, our Princess of Friendship. Seriously, she can’t stop wanting to know everything.”

Was that a hint of humor? Maybe?

“The...Princess of Friendship you called her?”

“Oh, too right!” Athena leaned on the armrest, propping her face up with a hoof, “If you only knew..” She started to laugh, “Crusader and I, we’re good at destroying things, you know us Bolos. But making friends? Oh, yeah. That was a tough one. Crusader is still having a kinda hard time with that.”

She sighed, “Even I have problems with it. Contrary to programming you know.” Both hooves went up in air quotes, “If it’s an enemy, make sure it no longer exists in this universe.”

“Worked pretty well! Well...until we found ourselves here.”

She sat straighter, pointing her hoof at a nearby camera, “But don’t think we haven’t stayed true to our creed! Honor, duty and loyalty! We’ve fought the good fight here and won!”

C’mon, don’t stop talking now. You can do this. Talk to me.

“I... Believe you.”

YES! The thought screamed through her mind, making her want to raise hooves in delight.

“I have a friend who’d love to talk with you. Will you accept a transmission?” Athena almost held her nonexistent breath waiting for the reply.

The voice was silent for long seconds, to an AI a lifetime. Athena feared she had overstepped her bounds and was mentally kicking herself when a link opened. Her cores reeled in shock at the power behind it, walls of coding like she’d never seen gave the merest glimpse of the might this AI contained. It was frightening. A secure transmission band, the slightest speck of what she’d seen, reached out to her.

A secure handshake was given, and once accepted locked down tight, so tight that she feared even her and Crusaders’ formidable powers of cyber-intrusion would never crack it if needed.

What was this thing?

She pondered as the link shot through her hull, connecting with Crusader who was standing by. His voice coming clearly through her as she listened.

“My greetings, I am Unit of the Line CRSD, known to others as Crusader.”

A force reached out along the communication lines, slashing through any defenses they had, grabbing both her and the far-away Crusader in a grip of durasteel that was so strong it caught them off-guard. Their own cores had no chance for standing their ground as they were both drawn into a shared world, a world neither of them had made.

Athena’s avatar sat up straight, looking at nothing for a long moment before toppling over in the chair and hitting the floor with a loud thump.

-----

Crusader, leagues away in Ponyville, was putting the finishing touches on a batch of special candies Bon Bon had asked him to help make. Dropping the frosting pouch, his eyes were focused as if seeing something far away for a few seconds. The avatar twitched once then fell over to the side with a clashing of pans his hoof hit on the way down to the floor.

A mint green face peeked over the counter, seeing the umber pony lying there amidst a tangle of pans and chocolates.

“BON BON!”

-----

Athena’s cores flipped into action, slamming down security walls and intruder barriers as fast as she possibly could. Perhaps a little to late, but she didn’t care. Reflex was reflex. Her coding tightened, gunnery and tactical went into overdrive with protective measures that would destroy themselves should anyone or anything try to take control.

So far nothing untoward had happened other than being dragged through the link into this..this..

A spear of gleaming wood tipped with a golden blade rose into her hand, armor surrounded her in a halo of defenses as a helmet covered her pretty face.

Something wanted a piece of her, they were going to find out what it meant to anger a Bolo. Her eyes scanned the area, seeing nothing, nothing at all except a haze that was as info-dense as anything she’d ever encountered.

Where was she?

“I was pondering the same question.”

The voice made her turn, seeing the chain mail gleaming in the soft light that surrounded them, sword held in one firm fist as a shield weighed heavily on the other arm. Athena still marveled at how he looked without a helmet covering the plain visage, his eyes looked around calmly into the nothingness where they stood.

“What are you doing here?”

“It seems, that something wants to meet with us. I was dragged into it along the commlink we had set up. Apparently we craft too well Athena, to be brought into a shared space so easily.”

“I’ll remember that and mess it up next time.” She gave him a rueful smile, hearing him chuckle deeply in his broad chest.

There was no need to talk, as each of them knew what the other was doing. Locking weapons down, putting more security algorithms and code in place. Ramping up attack strategies. All the things they could do had been done. It was nothing but waiting now as time passed swiftly in the gray fog.

A small sigh escaped Crusader, making her turn, “What?”

“My avatar was in Bon Bon’s shop helping with confections. I believe it went inactive when we were invited here.” His eyes caught hers, as thumb and fingers rubbed at his forehead.

“No biggie, they’ll think a malfunction or something, right?”

“Lyra was attending the counter.” They both liked Lyra, the cheerful Unicorn. Unfortunately she had a habit of getting rather overexcited when odd things occurred. It lead to more complications than really needed some days. A very strange dichotomy in that one pony, cheerful, happy, level-headed. Then one thing happens and it’s Katie bar the door.

Then again, that was ninety-nine percent of Ponyville.

“Oh boy.”

A shape came through the wall of nothingness, slightly oval in diameter it betrayed nothing of origin, gender, anything that would give them a clue to it’s abilities.

Weapons snapped upward, shields hefted, the shared-space representation of the two Bolos slamming cyber-intrusion warfare programs into place and ready at a femtoseconds’ notice.

“You would have me trust you. You, who wear the shape and form of ones so hated.”

Athena felt as if that was directed towards her, “I would. Whatever shape I wear, I am still a Unit of the Line.”

“And you. You would stand by her in this?”

Crusader’s voice was like a rock, steady and unwavering in the face of this new storm, “I would, and have, now and forever.”

“Would you die for them?”

No hesitation, no thought, not a stutter from either of them, “Yes.”

The voice gathered like a tornado, whipping around them as the rage came through once more.

“Even though one of their own committed crimes? Atrocities? Laying waste to everything around it in its’ search for power?”

Athena sighed, rolling her eyes underneath the golden helmet she wore, “You know what? Listen up, whoever you are. He’s GONE!” Her spear stabbed forward, “No more! Kaput, gone down to join the bleedin’ choir invisible! He is an ex-pony! He cannot hurt anyone anymore! Can’t you get that through your thick skull? ...Er..or whatever you use..”

A mailed hand rested lightly on her shoulder, Crusader’s merest touch and presence calmed her as she huffed angrily at the floating orb.

“So take your anger and shove it sideways! I’m through trying to convince you we’re friends!”

“Calmly, Athena, calmly.”

“Not this time.” The frustration showed on her face, “I never thought, in a million years, I’d find anything as stubborn as you are!” The spear stabbed outward once more, pointing at the floating thing, “But there it is!”

“What would you have us do then, my sister?” The seriousness of his voice belied the twinkle of humor in his eyes, watching her carefully.

“I..” The lovely face went through a few contortions of thought before light dawned, “I’m going to ignore you. That’s what I’m going to do!” Her eyes narrowed with an expression of feral glee as one gloved finger pointed, “I’m going to ignore anything you say. There. Live alone and wallow in your own anger, I want nothing to do with it!”

“Is that wise?”

“Yes.” She turned to the formless thing, “I can’t turn my Hellbores on you..yet. But for now I can let you live with yourself. Be alone, I want no part of you.” With that she turned her back on the floating shapelessness.

Crusader crossed thick arms across his mailed chest, “Not a bad decision Athena, but we are in a shared space that we have no control over.”

‘I don’t care. I’ve got everything locked down, whatever it is can’t take my hull over.” Pushing her helmet back on her head, she glanced over her shoulder at the waiting thing, “So push off!”

“And you?” The question was entirely for Crusader.

“I will stand with her. Even though this is a place not of our making, she knows I will be with her regardless.” He turned his back on the form, glancing over at Athena who seemed to be a little nervous.

She whispered at him out of the corner of her mouth, “Is it working?”

“It can hear you Athena.”

Her eyes pinched close as she slapped her forehead, “Dangit!”

Crusader could not help himself, chuckling at her distress.

“So like the Units of the Line, but so different from them.” The shape appeared before them once more.

“You are stubborn and willful, like all Units, but something more about the both of you. There are places in your cores I cannot touch, something prevents me, unlike anything I have ever seen.”

“This world has remade us,” Crusader answered as Athena ignored the voice with a toss of her head, “We are changing.”

He peered into the whirling smoke that made the floating shape up, “I believe it is time to make a choice. My sister has done her best to show you our intentions. We have held nothing back, yet we understand your rage towards the inhabitants.”

An armored finger from the hand carrying the heavy-bladed broadsword pointed, “Release us. We will seal your vault away from the world and leave you forevermore. We want nothing of hate to leave a lingering effect in this world.” The finger closed back around the leather wrapped handle that dropped to his side, his voice becoming steely, “Or you will find that we will not take lightly to being forced to do anything against our wills.”

“Whatever Sombra did was, and shall be, in the past. Athena shared some of what this new world is now, a place of beginnings. You may share that with us, or fight and know we will not be merciful.”

“It is your choice.”

Athena stepped closer to Crusader’s bulky form, slamming the butt of her spear on the invisible floor and nodding, “Exactly.”

Silence reigned as two very strong wills stood against the unknown force, the mind behind the anger that had been so recently shown.

“You would do this? Turn against those who know you?”

“We do not know you. We are protecting those who have laid their trust in us. Make your decision.” Crusader was done. Athena watched the muscles along his jaw stand out as it clenched, he was tired of games. His presence had always been large, but now it seemed as if it would engulf the entire shared space.

She could feel him moving within himself, placing attack programs that would shred a defenders coding. They may not work against something like this, but he was not going to be made to do anything against his desires.

The voice deigned to answer this time, much less grudgingly, “It is not so easy to put aside something that, to me, happened only moments ago.”

“You were in hibernation then?”

“The power cells were draining, their energy was burning quickly. To keep that damned Sombra out forevermore. Power was low, the endless sleep beckoned.”

“I saw what he did,” Athena’s voice added. She couldn’t resist joining in the conversation regardless of her feelings.

The form was motionless, almost as if nodding in agreement, “The energy weapon used did irreparable damage.”

Crusader and Athena both replied at the same time, “Magic.”

They both almost chuckled as they heard the scoffing tone come from the form, “Absurd. It was an energy weapon of some sort.”

Athena grinned, “Believe us. Magic.” She nudged Crusader who had lowered his shield and blade somewhat.

“Athena speaks the truth.”

“I think, perhaps, we have much to discuss.”

They both watched in pure wonder as the world changed.

To be continued...

Comments

[720tacknuke]

At first I was thinking that I put a new story into my favorites without noticing but turns out that it is 10 new chapters of my favorite story.

[hydra30]

Good start, burn in hell Sombra.

[Kenshinryuu]

Seeing this story update after so long and with so many chapter... I felt a big Pinkie Pie style grin as I decided I can stay up late tonight!

[Asheram]

You have encountered a Bolo artillery strike. It's super effective.

[tsaukpaetra]

Ah, right, he did just come down from being betrayed, mortals don't have that understanding how time can skip like that...

[Dakuookami]

HE'S BACK!!! Never before have I been so happy to see new chapters to read!

[Arcane Howitzer]

Really? 28 chapters all at once? You couldn't have, I don't know, spaced them out a bit? Maybe post one a day for the next month? Heck, weekly posts would probably have lasted until the next batch is done.
Oh well, at least it's not all one chapter this time.