When lightning strikes...

by FrostTheWolf

Strike 36- Adept meets Alpha

When Lightning Strikes- Adept Meets Alpha

---

Unknown Location

In the Everfree forest, the Displaced known as the Azure Striker had just arrived in what appeared to be a dark and disturbing forest. At first, he thought that he was back in Lee’s world. But he remembered that he was currently in the War of Shadows, so something like that would be impossible. He remembered seeing forests like this before, but not in the sense which made chills crawl down his spine. What made things more difficult was that even though he had his communicator on him, Aurora wasn’t with him. Instead, he let her be so that was she could get as much rest as possible.

Right now though, the Adept turned around at the sound of growls coming from around him. “Oh come on, seriously?” As he backed up a little, he then noticed what exactly he found himself dealing with. Wolves with a coat of timber and wood. Heh… Timberwolves. Ignoring the mental puns, he cringed a little as more of them soon began to swarm in.

“Well… I guess it’s time I taught you wolves some new tricks,” Lance snarled, drawing out both of his weapons as he switched the clips to Carbine. One of two new clips he recently made. The other being Magnum, which fired off bolts from his weapons like actual handgun bullets. “Trick one, play dead!” With that, he squeezed the trigger and the first few Plasma shot began to ring out and hit the monsters right between the eyes as his electricity also went off as well. At the same time, something else was going on and unknowingly, the Adept would soon get there attention.

---

Meanwhile...

Another simulation battle between red and blue grunts was occurring right under Cloudsdale as Church watched in amusement. “Why do I have to be the one with this happening?” He formed his binary rifle and aimed at the encampment near the edge of the Everfree Forest. The distance from Canterlot would not be enough to stop over 100 thousand years of technology.

A gunshot was heard in the distance, well not really a gunshot but more along the lines of something similar. Curiously, another was heard which sounded almost exactly like a Magnum, but not standard issue, “A source of power has been detected in the Everfree Forest,” Delta said as his transparent form appeared in front of Epsilon, or Church as we know him.

“Source of energy?” Church asked curiously as he looked at the Pelican parked next to him on his sniping post.

“Yes, life force presumably,” Delta said as a waypoint appeared in Church's peripheral vision. He sighed and disassembled the binary rifle before unsealing the hatch and walking in before closing it with the push of a button, “My best plan of attack as of now is to leave Cadence II in the care of Candy Melody and ask the Elements of Harmony if they have noticed anything strange. Rushing headlong into a possible trap is not an option,” Delta said.

“Whatever ya say D,” Church acknowledged as he walked up to the controls and loosened his digital connection to Delta, “You fly us to the RP,” he told the AI as he walked to a panel and looked inside the impossibility before him, “Not going to be needing much…”

A whine was heard as the engines powered on loudly, attracting attention to it for but a moment before it was already over a mile away from its previous location. A moment later the ever familiar view of the Everfree entered the AI’s sight.

A familiar prismatic pegasus latched onto the cockpit and started making hoof gestures to the sky. Delta soon activated a few algorithms from the pelican’s onboard computer and her voice came clearly through the obviously clear reinforced glass, “Church! You have to help! There is lightning striking near the town! The weather company didn't schedule a storm today…” She bemoaned as she slumped down to the ground.

“I'll be there in a second,” He said as he looked at Delta, “Stay here. I am not risking someone getting on this ship,” Church said seriously. Delta just shrugged as Church grabbed his main armory of weapons, A gravity hammer, two SMGs, two energy swords, a UNSC gauss sniper rifle and a bolter pistol, “Open sesame,” He said as the hatch opened and closed behind him.

Rarity and Applejack were talking to Rainbow Dash before they turned to him, “Where did it come from?”

“That’s the thing.” Rainbow Dash retorted, pointing a hoof at the nearby forest, “It came from deep in the Everfree.”

“Wish me good hunting then, I'm going in. Delta, I need you to fly above the forest and track my movements.”

---

For the Adept who had the stones to start attacking a group of Timberwolves that were planning on ambushing him, he was now moving and staying on his feet to keep moving. For a moment, he thought that he saw a Pelican hang above his head, so he used the brief moment he had to latch a tracer bolt of the underbelly of the aircraft. Tracer bolt’s for the Adept were trackers, allowing him to pick up on traces of a trail that it would make. He wasn’t sure if whoever this Displaced that was here was either friend or foe, but the more he stayed hidden, the better.

Back to the chase, he was sending lightning straight at the Timberwolves and causing them to burn to a crisp. However, more kept on appearing from every known possible place in the woods. But that though was not the least of his worries.

“Okay, you pups are really getting on my nerves.” Lance snarled. Looking at his right wrist,m he remembered that he had three skill cards remaining which recharged over time. Once in a clearing deep in the forest, he began to channel all of his power through his body and into the palms of his hands. The electricity around him began to form into massive chains that were released outward in all directions.

One of the Azure Strikers strongest moves in his arsenal that he only used when the situation called for it. The Ability spawned Lightning chains in all directions that shocked all opponents within the vicinity and any other foe within it’s radius. Which through numerous field tests, was almost half of a football field. But the chains also reached out farther when they were released into the air.

All the Timberwolves and a few Manticores around him were now piles of ash. But he did allow a few of the remaining ones a chance to flee. It was the least he could do. He wasn’t a monster, that he knew.

Walking further in, he was beginning to wonder if the nearby town he had a brief glimpse of or the pelican above him would notice all the commotion down below as he trekked further into the forest.

---

“Did you see that, Director?” A higher ranking Lopez bot asked from inside a surveillance room in the pelican, “That wasn't lightning. That was an intentional offensive and systematic elimination of a threat. You have to be careful. You know what will happen if this armor gets in the wrong hands,” Church ignored the bot as he passed red and blue corpses which ended at the edge of the encampment he was advancing from, “Spare me the jargon, Just be prepared to drop reinforcements if things go haywire,” He ordered as a flash was seen in the distance. Church took off at a medium sprint of about 35 mph down the forest, jumping over holes in the ground and severed tree branches.

“We are not dealing with a simple threat, Director. You have-”

“Don't make me override AI instructions,” That shut up the incessant commander. Church saw scraps of wood nearby and scorched earth, “Now… where did you go?” His vision changed from the night vision filter he was using to thermal in a split second. Many readings were found, Manticores, Hydras, and some obscure mythological creatures that did not make sense. But one reading in particular caught his attention. A human shape running through the forest.

Church tapped his coms since he preferred it to just accessing the network like a normal AI would. Though if the need came he would do so.

“This is Epsilon ACN-1982, mission accomplished. The VIP has been found, codename Mike Oscar,” Church said.

It was only after a little bit of adjusting could he hear what the human was saying. “For now you can stay, right here we will play, until somehow you can find a slightly different frame of mind.”

“Tristam and Braken, Frame of Mind?” Church asked himself in confusion. Yes, he could still remember those days back on Terra as he now called the planet where he would just play music such as that while on the computer. Back when life was simple… “Definitely a displaced,” He remarked to himself.

Again, the sound was heard. But Church could also notice that the individuals heart rate was increasing. This person was now going faster than before. “You can lift your head up to the sky, take a deeper breath and give it time, you can walk the path along the lines with your shattered Frame of Mind.”

“Wow. How rude,” Church said with offense.

“What the hell? Who said that!?”

“Who said what?” Church retorted as he cloaked himself with an improved version of the covenant active ammo but it lasted many times longer and did not flicker if he ran.

---

Originally, Lance was trying to calm himself from the mess he had gotten himself into. He was trying to sing the lyrics of a song that he remembered and let the melody of the beat sooth him. That was until some jackass that sounded like Church on Red Vs. Blue had the audacity to interrupt that. In fact, he couldn’t even see who it was.

“I’m talking about what you said, Moron!” He retorted.

“You come into my universe, bringing in slavery and death! And then you have the nerve to insult me?! Nah I’m kidding, you set yourself up for that reference,” the voice he heard replied, cheekily. Lance just sighed a little, trying to observe his surroundings. If this guy was hiding somewhere, then he needed to figure out who he was. For all he knew, his back was against a cliffside and in front of him was forest. Which meant that this guest was hiding in the shrubbery. So… He decided to test a theory. He held out one of his guns in his right hand, while igniting the energy blade he found earlier with his left. If this guy was somehow related to it, then he might recognize it immediately.

“Nice little Type 2 you got there,” The same voice said.

“Heh… still getting accommodated to it.” Lance said. In the pathway in front of him, there was a puddle of water. But one thing looked to be what he called… off. After all, why would it be avoiding a huge section of the ground below the size of a footprint.

Taking his second gun, he switched clips to his Magnum clip and shot at that particular section. Which in turn, caused a loud scream of pain.

“YOU F***ING SH*T!” The voice screamed, as it clutched the foot in pain, revealing Church from Red vs Blue, with one large key difference. He was decked out with weapons…

“You were seriously trying to go on a rambo manhunt after a 16 year old kid and the one thing that gave you away was where you placed your foot?”

“Well excuse me, I didn’t think you would f***ing shoot me!”

“And I didn’t think you would make me think of Handsome Jack!” Lance shot back. “I already had an entire pack of Timberwolves trying to turn me into their chew toy today.”

“Eh, you’re lucky I’m an AI. Otherwise I would be bitching about this until kingdom come,” Church said as he watched his armor stop leaking blood. The Azure Striker was personally surprised by that, but rolled with it.

“So what did you need, before you so kindly announced your presence to this entire universe. Yes, I doubt I was the only one who noticed you,” The blue spartan explained as he pulled up a hologram which showed an entire shipyard of Covenant Assault Carriers near a UNSC firebase with a few ships in orbit above the planet, “Luckily they are mine. Now do you mind telling me what you are doing here? I know it is possible for you to get here on your own.”

“Honestly, I was trying to find out what a energy sword would be doing in the middle of Maretropolis,” The Azure Striker sighed. “Thinking it was a Displaced token, I just opened a rift in the void with my energy and just hopped in.”

“Ah, you better not have ripped a hole or anything, Loki would be angry about being called back this early. Relatively speaking.”

“Hang on… You know Loki?” The Adept asked. “The Displaced Draconequus. God of Balance and what not? I saw him only a month or so ago.”

“It started when he came to another Displaced’s universe while holding my token. I was summoned while I was driving a warthog with my daughter and then nearly crashed into three different displaced… Who apparently all inhabit the same universe. Apparently, Loki clicked send on a phone that looked like a Samsung Galaxy Note and appeared there. Anyway he came to my universe to… hehehe… Fix the warp. I may have interacted with a few Warhammer Displaced…”

“Hang on a minute… Daughter?” Lance asked, remembering about his own family. “I’m guessing she’s adopted or something?”

“It is complicated. I wiped her memories and de-aged her so that she could restart her life. She had nothing but depression and hatred left. If I had left her… She would have ended up as a sacrifice for a dark god…”

“Sorry to hear that… I hope the best for her and you then,” Lance nodded, looking back at Church. “You aren’t the only one who is in the role of father right now. In fact, I already have some children.”

“I… I have a confession to make. My daughter's name is Mi Amore Cadenza.”

“Who? That sounds like a French Actress.” Lance retorted. “Besides, not to one up you or anything like that, but the family I now started might make Tucker jealous.”

“No. I mean… She was the former princess of Love. And oh, well Tucker was never lucky.”

“I’m guessing you need details?” The Adept asked. “You probably wouldn’t believe me unless I told you.”

“I don't really want to know. I recently learned I have at least a few million years to live. It's depressing.”

“You sure? One of the fillies I’m raising is Rainbow Dash.”

“Oh wow,” Church pulled up a picture of Cadence II as a filly and showed him, “This is my daughter.” Lance had a look at the photo, smiling a little as he saw her. It really reminded him of his own daughters back home.

“Nice. I think Max and Seph would really like to see her one day,” He replied back, handing the photograph back to Church.

“It could easily happen right now… She isn't in a school after all. But… that is up to you.”

“Ehh, I rather not freak her out. Besides, If you were Displaced as Church, wouldn’t you have Delta be her teacher?” The Adept asked. He remembered that in the webseries, Church, or as he was known as The Alpha, was made up of numerous other AI that represent numerous pieces of the Alpha as a whole. Delta represented Alpha’s knowledge, while other AI like Gamma, Omega and Theta represented other pieces of him.

“I am logic, not emotion, nor am I anything but logic. I am only able to help with technological or logical matters.” Delta said through Church’s voice command mic.

“Right… Aurora would be thrilled to meet you guys. However, I left her back in my world so she could recuperate.”

“There is something you should know. You know how I am Epsilon-Church?” The question from the Spartan had Lance nod his head in understanding as he waited on Church’s answer. “I am memory. Now take that literally.” A holographic projection of Lance appeared next to Church.

“Hello, I am you in Epsilon’s memory.”

“Well, I’ll be damned. Aurora would be jealous if she was seeing this right now.” The Adept replied, looking back at his bracer where his communication device was. This however, did not go unnoticed by Delta as it was the second time the Displaced had mentioned her.

“You seem to be worried about something. Are you in need of something?” Delta asked.

“Not quite something… more like someone.” Lance told them, adjusting his shoulders.

“Is my assumption that you can go back but you don't want us in your universe correct?”

“No no, it’s nothing like that… You see, I probably mentioned my partner Aurora twice already and it’s because she’s my helper back home in my world. She’s what you may call a ghost and is stuck in her soul form. The only way I can talk to her is through my communications device. Her powers allow her to possess objects and machines, but she feels safe with me. It’s a spirit that acts like an AI. Only difference is that she has emotions and feeling like a pony… because she is one.” Lance paused for a moment to let that sink in before continuing. “However, two weeks ago, when we defeated a villain named Equilis, his was able to get inside where Aurora was when he died. He calls himself Equinox and he’s the opposite of everything Aurora is and is forcing her to see nightmares of herself. Now the filly is haunted by her own self and the place she used to call her haven. I want to help her…… I just don’t know where to start.”

“That is… it is… So what you are saying… How simple yet complicated. What were your approaches?”

“One thought was to find a way to split Aurora and Equinox, but I’m not sure about some of the circumstances.”

“You said she was like an artificial intelligence. We are able to split. When an AI was forcibly taken-.” Delta was interrupted.

“This has nothing to do with an AI. I’m talking about an actual soul.” Lance interjected. “She is a soul that has been separated from her body.”

“Yeah… about that… unlike what you may think. I don't actually have a soul.” Church said. Lance sighed, nodding his head in understanding. “How do you think I am able to do things that even other smart AI can't? They have a piece of a soul. I guess… I could never understand.” Church sighed in defeat. Lance though, walked over and put his hand on his shoulder. Church removed his helmet revealing a human face, “You see this? This isn't even mine. I don't even have my own physical form.”

“It may not be yours, but the decisions and choices you make are… Besides… I have a thought on the physical form part… You remember in season 2 when the red team had the robot kits?”

“Yes.”

“And you can possess machines right?” Lance added on.

“... I have to show you something.” Church waited until suddenly, his pelican landed. He was about to show Lance just how much the laws of reality didn't apply to him. As he got on board the aircraft, he noticed that the complete interior of the vehicle was way different than the ones he had seen numerous times before. Thinking there was a reason behind it, he waited for Church to explain everything to him.

“You are going to flip out but… You need to know this. The ship goes on for over 10 miles.” Church said with a laugh. He looked at a panel and put a palm on it which caused the floor and ceiling to start descending. When it stopped, they were in a cafeteria. “Need anything to eat?”

“More likely drink. Running from beasts that were trying to kill me makes me thirsty.”

“Hey! Bartender! One four liter bottle of sprite for the teen!” Church teased. A mare behind a counter rolled her eyes at his antics and went behind a door before returning with a jug of sprite which she floated to Lance. The Adept was first surprised by the service… and the size of the drink itself. He grinned though, opening it up and pouring a drink. He wasn’t going to finish the entire thing. After all, he was only thinking about having a small drink. Not a massive one such as this.

“So the inside of the pelican basically turns into anything you picture in your head?” Lance replied. “That is quite awesome.”

“Basically the most overpowered thing ever. Though I obviously won't spawn Galactus or anything like that…” Church somehow shuddered, making Lance chuckle a little.

“Yet, it’s bound to only the inside of your pelican… Or am I missing something?” He asked, wanting to make sure he understood the AI.

“...Uh… Heheh… about that… Where do you think I got these weapons?”

“Armory. UNSC. Standard issued equipment… You took something from the Chief, did you?”

“No… I may have spawned some of them. Lopez bots helped develop some of the custom variants though.” The last part though caught Lance’s attention. Lopez was what you would say at the misunderstood one. Everyone on Red vs. Blue thought they could understand what he was saying, only to have it backfire. In turn, this provided some comical moments as well, but Lance honestly did not think the spanish speaking droid was actually here with them.

“Doubtful?” Church chuckled. In spanish, the AI soon made a request that Lance couldn’t understand. “I need twenty LBs in the cafeteria,” The doors opened and the exact twenty Lopez bots entered and were armed to the teeth with miniguns, gravity hammers and Hydra MLSR.

“What do you need?” A Lopez bot that wore blue EOD gen 2 armor instead of the brown MJOLNIR gen 2 like the rest asked.

“Guard that door.” Church pointed to the doors they came in from. They nodded, taking position by the door like they were ordered.

“That… is impressive.” Lance replied. “However, how does this relate to you getting a body?”

“You'll see.” You could practically hear the smirk in his tone. “Now… do you have any phobias or anything I should know about?”

“Not really… Why are you asking this?” Lance asked, puzzled a little. “Should I be concerned?”

“I'm going to be blunt here. Yes. Yes, you probably should.” Church said without any humor evident. He nodded at the Lopez bots to follow the duo before walking in front of another panel door. “Are you sure you don't have any fears? Visceral anyways.”

“Not exactly… But I can think of something.” The Adept replied. After a couple of minutes, he then thought of something. “Okay, got it.”

“Hmm?”

“You familiar with Dragon Ball Z Abridged? Then I have two words… Mr. Popo.”

Church did not say anything, he just reached for his smg and expended the magazine on the wall. He then, ejected it and inserted a new one and just held it. Soon, something began to emerge from the shadows on the wall as it began to take form behind Church. It soon smiled widely as it looked over Church. Turning around, he was now looking at the same being Lance was thinking of.

“……Hi.” Church stared at Lance before slowly tapping his fingers on the wall which confused everyone. After a few seconds, a hole opened up and before anyone could even begin to blink, he snatched two boltshot pistols and waited for the being to make a move. Only for him to disappear a few moments later. But when he was gone, a couple of the Lopez Bots were also missing. When one of the bots asked where they were and where they would possibly be, Lance had only one thing to say as he sighed.

“I’ll tell you what they’re not…… safe.”

“Eh. I have a few million more where that came from. And remember that Lopez and Delta both always made backups of themselves a ridiculous amount of times?”

“Good point.” Lance replied. “So, where exactly are we headed?”

“To the… Biochamber.” Right as he said that, the wall in front of Lance slid open. Revealing a horrifying sight. Bodies belonging to every species you could think of were being preserved in what looked kind of like Bacta tanks from Star Wars.

“Well… that’s a thing. What are you then? A collector?” He asked. Church and the Biochamber strangely reminded him of The Collector from the Marvel universe.

“... I think the previous owner might have been a void dweller or something. Or it was one of the Elders from Marvel.”

“That I agree with. What I mean is where is the pelican headed. Not us.”

“We are currently in the Andromeda Galaxy.” Church lazily showed Lance a projection of the shop and its location. “We don't really have a destination.”

“I was asking because I thought that with what happened earlier and seeing this as your domain, don’t you think some of the ponies you would know would want an explanation on what happened earlier? Unless of course, you don’t want to share about getting shot in the foot.” The Adept mentioned at the end, chuckling a little.

“Three words, Men in Black. Two more words. Flashy stick. A few more words, memory go beddy bye.” Church removed his helmet revealing… MLG sunglasses… As he looked at Lance innocently in the same way Discord would.

“ … Are you sure you want to try any memory based tricks. You might not find what you’re looking for inside my head… unless you want to scare yourself Sh*tless.”

Now Church looked at Lance in confusion, “Wait, what made you think I would use it on you?”

“You said memory go beddy bye… Which only assumes that you might want to erase my memory. Truth is, unless you want a trojan horse of a certain someone making you quiver for the next five nights, I don’t recommend it.”

“I was talking about the ponies.” Church said with a facepalm, “This is getting boring, want to go to Earth?”

“Actually, I was thinking about getting back to my universe soon.” The Adept had to inform him. “I don’t mean to crash the party, but I have responsibilities that I can’t ignore. How about if I need advice or anything, I’ll just stop by to come see you?”

Church though, stared at Lance in horror, “Responsibility…” He started glitching out like Roland did in Spartan Ops, repeating it like when Dr Halsey said Undid Iridium.

“Church…? God dammit, I broke him. Look, I’m sorry about that… I probably didn’t mention that I’m on the power ponies. I’ve should’ve said it sooner. People count on me to help them whenever I can and I have a family to protect as well.” Lance tried to tell him. “I have three daughters, a son and two wives to look over. If they get hurt, I will only blame myself for not being there sooner-.”

“UNSC AI override enabled.” Church was ejected out of his armor and into his holographic form. “Give me your token. Now.” He sounded like an officer. Lance complied, taking out his token of the hairpin at the end of his braid that resembled a pair of open wings as he left it for him in front of him.

“Scan complete,” A feminine electronic voice that sounded like Sheila said, “Destination: Unknown multiverse sector 9284-A7B.”

“Umm… I thank you for all of this, but you guys don’t have too.” The Adept insisted, “I rather not be preventing you guys from completing things in your world.”

“We're already here.”

“Oh… well, thanks guys. It was nice getting the chance to meet all of you.” The Adept replied as he used his own token to tear open a hole in the void. “I’m definitely going to remember you guys. Memory is the key after all.” With that, the Adept leaped inside the rift as the hole slowly closed shut behind him. Leaving Sheila, Lopez, Delta and Church inside the pelican.

“I was going to give him a departing gift. Oh. Portal still has a location.” Church threw a care package that held a bunch of UNSC weapons and Forerunner gadgets into the portal. “He's going to love infinite ammo.”

---

When Lance woke up again, the Adept found himself not in Maretropolis, but in a wasteland desert that expanded for miles. There was almost no signs of life around him and a dry breeze was felt all around him. The Azure Striker though, felt like he had been here before. Everything about this place seemed… familiar.

It was only a few moments later though that when he turned around, he found a wooden shack right behind him with a metal roof and holes in the walls. Now he was getting a sense of Deja’ vu as he approached the door, knocking on the front of it, but not too hard to where it would have the door be pulled off of it’s hinges.

There was a yell on the other side that sounded familiar. A female voice grumbled, “Alright already! I’m coming!” The old door opened to reveal Silver Spanner, one of the banished Power Ponies, wearing some kind of power armour and pointing a shotgun in Lance’s face, “I’m currently pissed about Time, what do you want?”

“Sorry to disturb you, Spanner. I somehow ended up here when trying to get home,” Lance told the mare. “Is Time out hunting? If so, I can wait.”

“Yeah, she’s hunting down a moron who shot Entropy in the shoulder along with her ‘son’. Come on in.” The weapon disappeared as the mare trotted towards a couch, “What possessed you to throw Time’s eye in my face?”

“Wait, it landed on your face?” The Adept retorted. “That was not what I expected honestly.”

“Any message to Time goes through me. She get’s… Busy a lot. Sylar, one of Spinner’s ‘guns’ takes care of difficult situations, Entropy takes care of watching over our Displaced, and Jubilee takes care of those pesky interferences like Killjoy.” Silver said, levitating a can of Nuka-Cola over towards herself.

“Well, I had a message for Time in the eye I sent. A lot of things have been happening back in Maretropolis and a lot of them relate to you guys before you were banished. So I wanted to see what advice he had. Should I bring you up to speed?”

“Sure. Time told me that Aurora’s back, glad to hear, but that’s it. How’s my old team and my replacement?” Silver said, taking a sip of her drink.

“Doing well actually, but there’s been some… hiccups. You familiar with the Marionettes?” Lance asked.

“Yeah, Purple broke my horn and Equilis helped the killers of my sister. What of them?”

“They’re dead. But… Equilis is in the same place where Aurora is. He’s now become a second half of her and refers to himself as Equinox. Not to mention he told me who created the project.”

“Hm… Me and Time tried to keep the Projects hidden as best we could… What they do is beyond the crimes of Roach. Have you killed Cupcake yet?”

“Equinox thinks Cupcake is dead, but he’s unsure.” The Adept told her. “That’s only the tip of the iceberg though. Remember the Zero Zone?”

“Oh buck… Don’t tell me… It took us three years to capture all of them!” Silver growled, “I hate when my work is undone…”

“Not all of them are out though. Only a major portion. Strangely though, when given the chance, Roach stayed behind. He didn’t escape with the others.” Lance told her. “Not to mention the fact that the clones are also out, but Blaster just lost her memory because of Anti-Zapp.”

“Anti? Damn, this is getting way too complex… You know who she is, right? And why she’s named Anti-Zapp?”

“I have a feeling. Dash’s sister? Opposite of everything she is?”

“Close. Dash’s little sister, and her ability is draining and redirecting power. She was caught in the same incident as her sister, but is messed with her brain unlike Dash. Anti tried to reform with Blaster, but I heard Clayton arrested her a week before the banishment along with her team, but some died.” Silver stated.

“Yeah… something about that seemed off to me. Zapp told me that Blaster told her that she and her team were framed. By who, I don’t know. But I have a theory since she did mention Clayton.” the Adept then took a deep breath before speaking again. “Are you familiar with The Puppeteer?”

“Not sure. My memory isn’t what it used to be.”

“Well, Twilight told me about him. He’s a villain with the ability to possess and control somepony to do something against their will. He did this to my friend Cody and I’m starting to think that the same thing happened to Blaster and them. Clayton does seem like an Opportunist if you ask me.”

“Clayton’s a bastard, and I never trusted him. Once, he tried to arrest Time’s daughters Aurora and Entropy. The others thought it was justified because he didn’t know they were friends of the group, and later hunted Time when the terrorists threatened to blow up city hall if they didn’t turn him in. He’s no good.”

“Good thing I don’t trust him,” Lance sighed. “I need to look into it a little more, but I think I’m on to something.” The Adept soon adjusted himself in his seat as he looked back at Silver Spanner. “On another note though, you might not believe who I found yesterday.”

“I can believe anything. Try me.”

“Reaper.”

Silver stayed quiet for a bit until, “Yeah? Is that it? Fleshcolts not that rare of a sight, you should have smelled that brain eater before Time enchanted him. Reaper’s not surprising.”

Lance sighed before looking back at Silver. “Actually, he left after you guys were banished and when I found him, he was straight up crazy.”

“Guessing Echo left to… Dang, I really miss everypony there…” Silver sighed. “Who’s in the group now? Because if that yellow mare and Breezie are a part, then I’m so sorry I got banished…”

“Solaria and Lumen are there, Twilight and the Girls are there, Humdrum as well, plus I’ve been training a new filly called Ash. But before I continue, you might want to listen to this. It’s an audio snippet of Reaper.” With that, Lance pressed play on his communicator and the clip began to commence.

“Death comes to all. Whether we like it or not… Hehe… Stopwatch taught me that! Twilight’s gonna die! Everypony will die and I won’t!!”

Silver winced, “And I shipped Twi and him… This is the same thing that happened to the other Undead ponies… There was a program that was designed to extend the life of the rich, and Reaper was an experiment.”

“I feel bad for him. He’s stable now, but he really questions his existence.” Lance explained. Soon though, he heard a yawning sound as a small Breezie began to emerge from his hair. To Silver’s surprise, it was Lumen.

“Dear Luna, that was a great nap-.” She stopped speaking the moment her eyes laid on Silver. “S-silver!?!”

“Glad to know I’m liked,” Silver rolled her eyes in sarcasm, “At least you remember me.”

“H-how is this happening right now?” Lumen asked, looking at Lance.

“We’re in the world Time was banished to.” The Adept told the Breezie briefly before Lumen floated over to Silver and tried to hug her around the ears. To the Breezie, this was what she called an emotional reunion.

Silver sighed, “Cute.”

Before they could continue, the door burst open to reveal a female… Time Spinner?

“Ow! I hate this!” She yelled, falling over while holding her stomach.

“The hell happened to you?” Lance asked. “Did you get shot or something?”

Silver blushed, “Worse… When we were banished, Time… was separated from his original self, meaning his pony heritage… And his gender…”

“I SHIFT INTO A WOMAN ONCE A YEAR!!!” Time screamed on the ground.

“Well, twice. One for your period, and the other for heat… Stuff…” Silver looked away, “I bucking hate you…” With that, Lance soon remembered what he needed to give Time as he grabbed the eye from off the table and walked over to her.

“Need some help?”

“I got it…” The Displacer groaned as she got up shakily, “This is the only downside to being me…”

“Well… maybe this can help a little.” The Adept told her, opening his hand to reveal the eye that had been stolen from him by Roach.

“My eye… How… Generous…” She took the body part, “It’s useless though. I can’t attach it anymore.” She groaned, “I’m sorry, this is a bad time… How about I just leave and come back after this using my time powers, okay?”

“Actually, I wanted to get the chance to talk a little. I told Silver a few things about what was going on and I thought it might be appropriate that you would know as well.” The Adept told him. “To summarize, Equilis and Purple Mare are dead, a portion of the villains in the Zero Zone have escaped, but Roach stayed behind. Reaper’s went off the deep end and Blaster’s memory has hit the reset button. Now Silver and I were saying that Clayton might’ve framed them for something they didn’t do… and that was before you came in.”

“S-sorry about that, it get’s hard to control myself… When this happens. That sounds like you’re making progress. What do I need to do?”

“Well… there’s something up with Aurora though that you need to know.” Lance sighed. “She’s not herself now. That bastard Equilis is now residing in the spirit domain where Aurora would be. Now he calls himself Equinox and he’s the opposite of what Aurora is. Almost like he possessed her.”

Time sighed, “Okay… Okay, I can help with this.” She used her powers to summon a salt shaker, “This should help with keeping them separate for the most part. You’re planning on getting her a new body, right? Well sprinkle this on her new body and it’ll separate them completely. Equinox will be forced to help you as your new spirit, and the changes to Aurora will be reversed.” She squeezed her old eye, turning it into a memory card, “Install this into your communicator and the next time she’s in it, she’ll be unaffected by the soul merge.” Lance nodded his head, inputting the memory card and letting it sync with his glove before it chirped a little to say that it was recognized.

“Alright, perfect. It’s in.” Lance told her, noticing the sun go down in the distance as Day turned into night. “Thanks for your help Time. Mind if I stay here a bit though? I’m kind of exhausted after what I was doing earlier.”

“I… Okay. I’ve got a spare bed, just… Nevermind. Uh… S-Silver? Mind showing Lance and Lumen to the guest room?” Time asked the brown mare.

“Sure,” Silver nodded as she trotted towards another door and opened it, “Hey, get out b*tch!”

Inside was another Trixie, “I am great and power-” But before she could finish, the bed ate her and proceeded to spit her through the room.

“And stay out!” Silver yelled before sighing, “I hate that mare. She keeps coming in here to ruin my tech… Okay, that’s your bed. If you need me, I’ll be downstairs in my workshop… Can I ask you something?”

Lance looked at Silver before letting Lumen rest on the bed. “Sure, what is it? Is it about Time?”

“No, it’s about the team back home… Is my replacement… Better than me? I know you don’t know my work, but I’m asking if they like his stuff better than… Mine, when I was around…”

Lance sighed, walking to where the Mare was and closing the door, allowing Lumen to get some rest. “Humdrum is… okay at best. He said once though that his work was nothing like yours. He even saw you as an idol. I think he wanted to be your student until… you know… the banishing?”

“R-really? I had it in my head that I’d been fully replaced… Thanks. Maybe I can give you a souvenir to give Humdrum.” Silver shrugged, “Maybe something I made for myself that got pulled with me that might help him.”

“I think he would like that a lot.” Lance smiled, looking back at her. “However though, right now, I’m a little concerned with Time. I know that she’s trying to toughen it out but… I just feel like she needs help.”

“Lance… Time’s a big… Thing. She’s gone through this three million times, it’s her heat. She’s gone this far a virgin, so I’m not afraid.” Silver giggled, “She’s been waiting for Pinkie. I think it’s sweet.”

“Yeah… I think she’s been waiting for him to… hey… I just thought of something…” The Adept then realized. “Remember how Lumen came with me here? Do you think Pinkie can come too? She’s been waiting too long for Time to come back to where I honestly think she cries herself to sleep. Maybe this could give her hope again?”

“You think she’s ready? I’m not sure you told her, from how Time’s been acting.”

“I told her about Time. It’s a little complex on the details, but she and Twilight know about Time. I told them and they believed me.” He explained. “I just thought that it would be best for the two of them since they’ve been separated from each other for so long… Heck, I think it’s worth a shot.”

“Hmm… I have a better idea. I know this guy who’s pretty strong, and he may be able to make a body for Time to control in Maretropolis. Give her a date at Sugarcube Corner and all. It won’t last long and Time will be weak after, maybe even sick, but I know he’d love it.”

“That may sound like a good plan in theory, but I’m concerned about the control part. Time’s already tired as it is and I don’t want him to feel sick just to see the mare of his life again… Gimme a second.” With his token out, Lance used it to conjure what appeared to be a two way portal. But in reality, it was a link to the dimensional mirror back at his base. On the other side, he could see Filli-second just returning home and looking at the mirror. The moment she looked at Lance though, with Silver Spanner behind him, she ran and leaped through the semi solid mirror, knocking Lance to the floor and tackling Silver in a Pinkie Pie death hug.

“Gah! Buckedybuckbuck!!!” Silver screamed in surprise.

“SILVY!!! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!!! I can’t believe it’s you!!!” Pinkie squealed, helping Silver off of the floor. The one thing Silver noticed though was a small amount of tears in her eyes. “I’ve missed you so much… Time too……”

“Sorry for the… For making you sad. It is good seeing you again though.” Silver said. She scratched the back of her head, “I’ll… I’ll get Time. She- he doesn’t know you’re here. He’s… Different. Kind of scary-looking, and… Not right…”

“Not to worry!” Filli-Second cheered. “No matter what he looks like, he’s still Stopy Woppy to me.”

“Yeah… I’ll get him and get myself out of this power armor. Be right back, or not.” Silver said before leaving the room. It only took a few moments though for Time to hear the commotion that was going on as Lance was waiting with Pinkie Pie.

“P-Pinkie?” Time’s feminine voice called out, “What- No, you can’t see me like this…”

“S-stopy?” Before Lance could act, Pinkie used her powers to bolt into the same room that Time was in. “STOPY!!” She hollered, lunging herself onto Time as she hugged her the same was she hugged Silver. Not paying attention to the fact that Time was not the same as she once was.

The Displacer was beyond stunned. She seemed scared, surprised, paralyzed, and above all… Heartbroken. Lance saw it in her eyes.

“I’ve missed you for so long, Stopy…” Pinkie told Time, eyes closed and not easing up on her grip. “I-i…” Tears soon began to fall down her face as she hugged the Displacer while crying. “I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE GONE FOREVER!!!”

“I… I…” Time’s one eye teared up as well, and she hugged the pink mare, “I’m so sorry… I shouldn’t have gone after Roach…” Soon, the mare snuggled next to Time and tried to ease her tensions.

“I-it’s okay… We’re here now… If it weren’t for Lancie, I would’ve lost hope… He helped me believe again…” Pinkie told Time, catching her attention.

“He told you? I… I didn’t want to hurt you again… I still can’t come h-home…” Time Spinner held her marefriend closer.

“I-i know… but he promised me that he’ll do whatever he can to help make sure you come home… but now… I want to stay with you… just for now…” Pinkie told her, kissing Time. “I love you, Stopy.”

Time stood up wobbly again, “Kay. Let me explain a bit before we continu-ue.” Time moaned in pain and set Pinkie down, “My new appearance is temporary. This place is my home, as well as Silver’s, but she stay’s in the basement with… And Entropy sleeps in her own realm.” The earth pony soon opened her eyes, seeing the mare that Time was now. Yet, she wasn’t scared… or put off at all. In fact… she was smiling.

“Oh Stopy… you look amazing.” She cooed, rubbing her nose against Times.

“Y-you really like it...?” Time asked, blushing beet red.

“I think we should give them some space… they deserve it.” Silver whispered to Lance and Lumen.

“Yeah. It seems like it.” Lance replied, closing the door behind them. Not before Pinkie said something that both Lance and Silver could hear.

“I love you, honey. I can’t wait any longer… I need you, Stopy.”

“Yup, definitely needed the space.” The Adept said, moving away from the door and to where Silver was. “Well, at least Time can be happy now.”

Silver’s face was burning as her aura surrounded the door. “Just to be safe… Anything you need? I can make something, or answer any questions.”

“Maybe just something to eat and what not. I want to get some sleep soon, so maybe I’ll sleep on a full stomach.”

“I heard it makes you sleepy… Okay, I’ll make you something. Anything specific?” The Adept just shook his head, telling her that he wasn’t planning on having anything huge. Just a small snack before getting some sleep. Leaving the choice of the item to her.

She teleported away, and a few seconds later returned with Doritos and a small Burrito, “Will these do?”

“I think the Burrito would do fine. I can save the Doritos for when I get back.” he told Silver as he sat down at the table. “What kind of Burrito is it?”

“I think it’s a… Beef.” Silver said and turned to Lumen, “And you?”

“Oh, it’s okay…” Lumen said, eyeing on the chips before darting towards them. “Mine!”

Silver almost burst out laughing, but kept it under control. “Like I said, I’ll be in the basement. Time probably moved to the master bedroom, so it should be okay. If you haven’t gone down there by tomorrow, I suggest you do.”

“Okay, thanks.” Lance replied, turning his attention back to eating before he heard Silver trot out of the room. The Adept soon finished his meal, returning to his bedroom as he took off his jacket and shirt before falling asleep.

---

When Lance was starting to wake up, it was the early morning and he could still see the moon glowing in the night sky. It was peaceful… until he heard some giggling going on right next to him. That was when Lance turned around to see both Pinkie and Time laying right next to him and the lock on the door meddled with. “What the Fu-!?”

---

End Strike 36

Author's Note:

Crossover with LostFaith and his Displaced story "The Alpha"

Next chapter, we hit the ground running.

Comments

[ShadedTz]

Hahaha.... Oh god the last part.... I ship it. Lol

[FrostTheWolf]

6617067 xD. Things are just going to get more crazier for Lance. But not in a humorous crazy though

[ironwar]

HA know it, I so called it.... in my head,

[FrostTheWolf]

6617141 xD

[The Slending Angel]

6646157 Hooray!

[Starlight Nova]

Will there be any more gory scenes and sexual humor?

[FrostTheWolf]

6770470 There will be. Wait for the next strike