Kelly Mathews, Equestria's Landstalker

by Leafwebs

Chapter 10_Displaced RSVPs - Trap Correspondence

Chapter 10_Displaced RSVP’s - Trap Correspondence

A grimy and rusted monitor which is showing a CCTV feed of smog laden sky line suddenly flashes a warning light and displays a text message for a pair of watchers.
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Surveillance Bot ID: A14C2. Security Rank 3.
Transmission Detected…
…
Multi-zone penetrating communication pulse sent from sector 5 quadrant 3.
Set Security Alert Status to stage 2.
Zone Shield Status - Power Up and Standby.
Decrypting transmission 4%…
---

Link had gotten out of the infirmary and was making his way down the wall. Celestia has came by earlier to give him his equipment and was told to head on back to her castle. The hylian had a lot on his mind that he needed to sort, get his life straight and start taking things a little more serious, otherwise this sort of thing was just gonna keep biting him in the behind. “How did the original Link do all of this without getting depressed?” Link asked as he glanced at the glowing triangle on his right hand, his mind going through the memories of how he got here in the first place. Link quickly snapped out of his mental thoughts when a floating A Golden Turtle figurine suddenly appeared in front of his face. Link reaches up and grabs a hold of it, causing a voice to echo in his mind.

”My Ancient’s favor grants me a voice to pierce the Vale and a form by which no detection will prevail. Stalwart survivors of the expanse I am the warrior echo that slips from my enemy’s shadow to sway the fiercest battle. Grant me your aid and be rewarded.”

“Grant you my aid?” Link asked in confusion as he tilted the figurine around. The message he heard didn’t provide much answers other than talking about a fierce battle and survivors. “As much as i’d like to help, I’ve got enough trouble on my hands…” Link said with a sigh. “...Although, this sounds like a reverse summon, how does that even work?” Link said in puzzlement.

As if sensing Link’s plan the token emits a crackle of energy and strong gravity like pull starts up. Link ends up jumping the token in shock, he didn’t even do anything. Link attempt to run, but it was no use, the gravitational pull was too much, he didn’t have time to pull out a hookshot or equip his Iron Boots. As Link falls toward the token, the object itself becomes engulfed in a silvery sphere.

“King dodongo’s fiery breath!” Link exclaimed, then frowned into annoyance at the strange power that forced his foul language into names of Zelda enemies. Link was quickly pulled into the glowing silvery portal.

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Response pings detected.
Zone Shield Activation Command sent.
Waiting…
Set Security Alert Status to Stage 3.
Zone Incursion Detected in sector 5 quadrant 2 and quadrant 4.
Zone Shield Response ping deflections 4.
---

Link is propelled from the silvery sphere. After regaining his bearings, Link finds himself in the middle of a trash strewn, smog choked, city street. Looking to the hazy sky line it is clear the city has been an abandoned ruin for quite some time with the most prominent buildings being an egg shaped skyscraper and some distant towers made visible by their haze piercing lights.

The sound of approaching sirens is heard closing in on his location.

“Where in din’s name did I go?” Link asked as his eyes quickly dart around the area, trying to spot if anypony or anyone has seen him yet. Not wanting to draw anymore attention, Link ran into the alley way.

Landing in the street were a pair of flying mounts from which four armored forms dismounted. The armored forms took up positions on opposite sides of the street and turned on some kind of wrist mounted red light and began sweeping the lights first over the area they landed before heading in opposite direction down the street.

As one pair nears a small alley some garbled sounds were carried on the wind.

“Surveillance Support no contact with anomaly 2, request update on location from aerial monitoring records.” Speaks the armor on the street nearest to the alley way.

A few more flying things were heard and seen passing over head over the next few minutes before the armor speaks again.

“Movement tracked going in current direction before tracking lost due to upper atmospheric storm event.” the armor vocalizes turning its wrist light back on and moving again in the street direction passing the alley way.

The other armors at the opposite end of the street run to and get back on their flying mounts so to join the others.

The narrow alleyway didn’t go back very far but it was hidden under an overhang of debre. A few spots showed some promise for escape. One was a storm drain where the grating was left broken under a rusted fire escape. The second was the fire escape it was lowered down enough to be reached and a door or two a level up looked to be open. The last option was at the end partially blocked by falling debris was a metal gate where the bottom was bent upwards about a foot or so by the unblocked section.

Elsewhere in the city, hidden inside a long abandoned store front behind dusty furniture and junk kneeled Nigel and Sergeant Spur. They look out at the street they were just in and watch as four dome-headed armored suits march over to the place Nigel had stood.

“Nigel what are those things?” Sumac asks in a whisper.

“S… Swatbots.” Nigel replies with a stuttering whisper. “We can’t stay here.”

“Is there a back door?”Sergeant Spur asks.

Out in the street the searching Swatbots approach a heat source.

“Alien bio-mass detected. Ambient temperature differential…” A Swatbot vocalizes scanning a pile of still warm puke. Standing abruptly it readies its weapon and vocalizes again. “Anomaly present in sector. Reinforcements Required.”

A crash is heard coming from the back of the storefront resulting from Sergeant Spur bucking down a rusted door. As three Swatbots jumped threw the display window to catch the bat pony guard, Nigel manages to pin the advancing machines under a heavy shelf that contained sewing supplies.

One trapped but fortunate Swatbot fires a volley particle beam fire at the retreating Nigel and sends him flying through the freshly open door and into Sergeant Spur’s hooves.

“After them!” The trapped Swatbot orders two reinforcing units.

In the back alley near a hissing pipe Sergeant Spur sets Nigel down.

“We must escape to cover Hound, I can already hear them circling around ahead of us.” Sumac shouts.

Nigel looks around and notices an open manhole and the hissing pipe just as two Swat bots come into view from the door they left. One Swatbot prepares to fire only to be halted by the other at the last moment.

“Hold your fire, hazard present.” The smarter Swatbot vocalizes.

“Down the hole!” Nigel shouts slashing at gas hoping that was the hazard the machine was talking about.

Nigel wanted something to happen that would help them escape and got it with an explosion of fire. His blade did not merely spark a fire in to action by clanking on some metal, but burned on its own as if it was just heated in some furnace.

As Nigel slipped down the manhole the super heated carcass of one Swatbot fell in on itself on the other side of the fire wall.
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Anomaly in quadrant 4 lost.
Anomaly in quadrant 2 identified as 2 hostiles.
First hostile is a humanoid with fire emitting sword and metallic chest armor resistant to standard beam weapon.
Second hostile is an undersized mutant pony with mammalian wings. Hostile is capable of flight despite wingspan limitation. Hostel’s armor covers 85% of its exposed body features with markings consistent with marshal membership and ranking.
3 units destroyed, 1 unit disabled by this contact.
Hostile contact entered sewer. Require increased security at all Sector 5 sewer entryways.
Run revision to program [ Combat_Adapt.protocol ]
---

Link was pretty clueless of where he was, but it wasn’t going to stop him from trying to find some answers. Link quickly reaches into his pouches and pulls out a small, strange, but ugly looking mask made of stone, it quickly grew to its original size as Link quickly put it on, then securely moved his hood over his head. Link had just put on the Stone Mask so that if anyone or anypony looks at his face, they would suddenly feel a lack of interest.

It was about the time the stone mask finished its work that the red wrist light hit Link.

“Nothing here continuing on ahead.” the armor vocalizes continuing down the street on its flying machine.

Link traveled on foot as he kept the Stone Mask on, his blue eyes gazing around for any hint of whom the Displaced of this world is and start questioning on their method and reasoning behind the token. “I hope Trinity hasn’t noticed me gone, I don’t need her worrying.” Link said as he glanced outside of the third alleyway he went through, his red cloak fluttering with his movement.

A collection of six armors were crouched and firing on a group of three. One looked like an elf adventurer who must have been the displaced of the world. With him was a night guard pony firing arrows and a black wing fairy throwing ball lightning at their attackers.

The arrows did little damage beyond jamming a limb joint until some ball lightning hit the arrow destroying the afflicted armor, Link notices.

The side hatch of a ship near Link’s position opens and three armors rush out firing a volley of particle beams.

One shot hits the night guard and the rest forced the fairy to hide behind some rubble. The two front armors charge the elf’s position as another ship begins to land behind the group. After pushing the guard behind the rubble the elf swings his sword setting one advancing armor ablaze but gets punched out by the second.

“Hound wake up!” The fairy cries out as she transforms a small sprig of red berries into a ball of magical light and hurls it at the elf. Hound gets up having healed some and pushes the armor off him, but can’t move from cover or risk getting shot.

The armors now nearly upon Hound’s location as they formed two columns. They were ready to approach and shoot them using the front line as cover for the rest of the armors. The armors to Hound’s rear take a knee and ready themselves to attack from behind.

Link slowly backed away into the alleyway so that his body was hidden in the darkness. Link reaches into his pouch to pull out the ocarina of time, he places the tip to his mouth, channeling his magic into the instrument itself. Link started to play the Song Of Storms as cloudy wind began to quickly circle around him. When he finished the song, the sky quickly darken as clouds were moved by the song’s enchanted magic, simulating a very quick version but still unnatural weather Everfree Forest. Everything would not be blacken in a much darker night as rain started to pour from the heavens. Link was serving as a minor distraction and to provide shadows for the three that were currently pinned down.

Hound was also thoroughly blinded by the sudden storm but his fairy had keen instincts for moving in poor vision situations and helped Hound sneak to the eye of the storm.
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Transmission incoming…
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Intruders lost due to severe storm. Advise.- Swatbot 629
Processing Response...
…
Order Override ********** - Robotnik Verification Command *** ****** **
Surveillance Support weather event and severity conforms to no known models or predictions for Robotropolice forecast. Storm eye suspiciously close to intruder contact point. Recommend track further weather events outside model as artificial constructs until further notice. Despatch ground units to support patrols in tracking and send division to my current sector at 2975 cycles.- Robotnik *** ****** **
…
Orders Acknowledged. Dispatching reinforcements to ground detection.
…
Swatbot loadout change authorised to include movement restriction model and anti-air model loadout. Anti-personnel Badnik to despatch to Robotnik sector. Lock down command of infrastructure sensitive assets to stage 4 security.
…
Transmission end…
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Safely away from the Swatbot ambush and hidden, Link readies himself for some answers and introductions choosing to ignore a faint tingling sensation. Hound, as the fairy called him; seems to be the place to start.

“I’ll get Spur healed up Hound.” The fair whispers to Hound before glancing at Link. “You need to meet with that rival and arrange compensation for our rescue. Also hold off on your twitching its a sign of weakness.”

“Are you or your friend the creator of this?” Link asked as he pulled out the golden turtle figurine.

“A gold turtle… I remember seeing something like it falling out of Mayor Bitch Viel after she tried to kill us.” The elf replies before reaching into his backpack. “Did it fall into my things?”

The pony guard finds the token on himself however unsticking it from an armor joint near his left wing.

“No, I didn’t create this. I already feel bad for displacing Sumac here when my costume’s Friday doll fell off and got lost. I should have kept it in my pack instead of dropping it from a roof like a fool.” The elf continues mournfully pointing at his fairy. “I go by Nigel and my fairy friend is Sumac a timber wolf and lastly is my sword instructor Sergeant Spur.”

“Looking at this now worries me. I’ve played Eternal Darkness and these runes are for the bind creature spell. Maybe the Mayor was a victim of…” Nigel adds turning the Turtle token over in his hand.

“So either this Viel character made it or someone else did. The thing forced me here after I picked it up to inspect it…” Link asked in puzzlement, then sighed. “I find it a little annoying since I had my token have a failsafe if the Summoner in questioning was to be trusted or not, but low and behold I got dragged away by something else. Hey, maybe you recognize its message?” Link asked before repeating the message afterwards word per word of what it said.

“I don’t recognise the message. If it was linked to Mayor bitch, it would explain why she kidnapped so many back on my host world for use to make her an Alicorn. I almost ended up just another battery for her plan whatever it was.” Nigel replies wanting to yell but keeping it down. “We got caught in a fight against her before ending up here so hopefully Princess Trixie found out more.”

“Nigel, do you know where we are?” Sergeant Spur asks feeling more awake.

“If that cartoon from the 90’s was right, we are in Robotropolis” Nigel replies.

“Robotr-” Link stopped in the middle of the word. “...Are you serious, we’re in THEE Robotropolis? By Din, I feel old for even remembering it…” Link said with a shake of his head. “But of course, multiverse theory might make it different. So, is there a Sonic, Manic and Sonia?

“With all the trouble that has gone down, we should have seen signs of someone; but all I’ve found are the killer trash can Swatbots.” Nigel Replies disturbed. ”Did this worlds Freedom Fighters get killed off?”

“Either that, or Robotnic succeeded in robotizing them in this universe…” Link said as he rubbed the back of his head. Link was trying hard to remember such an old cartoon, it was times like this he wishes he had access to the internet.

Nigel froze up for a moment at the term Robotization and his eyes glazed over before Sumac slapped him.

“Just don’t… think about being a robot.” Nigel sputters out coming to his senses. “Could the one who called us be someone displaced as a Sonic or one of his friends?”

“Possible, we won’t know till we find one..i’m having trouble remembering, I think their secret hideout had something to do with a door? On second thought, think it’d be better if we look around for it instead of me guessing on blurry memories.” Link suggested as he reached into his pouch to pull out a strange purple handle with a red slanted eye.

It was then that a noise from an old intercom speaker was heard.

“Attention intruders, this game of cat and mouse is no longer amusing. Wherever you are I am ordering you to show up at the location I light up for a meeting. You have 679 cycles to arrive. Do not keep me waiting.” The voice of Robotnik crackles over the intercom before repeating once.

Lights all over the city began shutting down as a different set was turned on near the city’s edge by one a few large towers lining the border.

“How much do you guys know?” Link asked the duo as he counted his options carefully. “If he’s a Displaced, there might be more to him that I know and I’d rather not take wild guesses.” Link said as he glanced in the direction of the city’ edge.

“We are in severe danger here. Many of the cannon Robotniks have and can travel between different multiverse worlds easily.” Nigel replies looking at his left arm that has a contraption on it saying error no connection. “Damn still no signal!”

“So there is a chance it might be a displaced robotnik, or this man figured out how to use void energy.” Link guessed as he counted the seconds down.

“My world recently discovered how to do it! Deloris LaClaire put her proof on the internet before the Merchant decided to drop by for me.” Nigel replies with a hint of venom in his words.

“Typical you’re from a world that knows it, they’re fools when they mess with void energy; paradoxical chaotic energy is unpredictable in it’s use.” Link explained to Nigel.

“My world was not all for what she recklessly did, but it is thanks to her I have a chance to be free of this.” Nigel protested. “This displaced crap almost cost me my life, I’m glad some responsible people were able to use her tech to at least link me with home and protect my sister.”

“All you can do is adapt despite what had happened so far and create a new life in another world for now. I had to do the same for ten years.” Link said he glanced around the corner. “Anyways, we’ve got two choices; go to the doctor, or try to find the freedom fighters, both choices yield bad results. Fall into a possible trap, or become his enemy.” Link said as he looked around through the Len’s eye, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary within the alleyway.

“My group has had bad luck so far avoiding the patrols.” Nigel replies in a whisper as his group stick close behind him.

In the streets a new type of robot was seen. It had a large head with a camera like irise and a directional microphone in its chest. It was helping the other robots search. Alongside it in the street were Swatbots with large tanks on their backs and chemical sprayers and another type with miniature a pair of Buzz Bombers on its back to mix with the normal searchers.

“The best I can think of is use the Song Of Time, it will draw attention at first, but afterwards we’ll be moving too fast.” Link explained as he turned to look at Nigel. “You said there was a rescue team, how we do we get in contact?” Link asked.

An interesting plan it would have been by Link for escape if not for two problems.

The first being Nigel’s Planer Trans-locator was being jammed by the local shield system of Robotnik. It could maybe be used to track any non-resident signal it is tuned to across the city map but it was blocked from contacting anyone outside this city or world. Nigel just had no time to change its display to tracking mode from planer passive radar.

The second problem was the recent patrol deployment by hover unit in the street they were just about to cross. From around the corner a trio of Swatbots with chemical sprayers began painting the intersection with mega-muck supervised by a Surveillance Bot. Mega-muck a mixture of petroleum, quicksand and clay mud known for it properties of trapping anything trying to move through it most notably super fast hedgehogs.

Link, leaning further around the corner than he planned; plants an unlucky foot right inside the freshly laid glue trap. The electronic squeal of the Surveillance Bot would be only advanced warning the group would get that something went wrong. As Link’s foot starts to go down, Nigel, Sergeant Spur and Sumac double their pace in hopes of catching him.

Not far off and in the air, a Hover unit’s navigation screen lights up with the message. ‘Intruder contact reestablished. Changing coarse to intercept. Reinforcements ordered to location.’

The ocarina Link had been pulling out is jolted from his hand as his planted foot fails to come off roadway. All around him were enemy robots on the ground and in the air turning from what they had been doing to heed the capture call of the Surveillance Bot.

“Din’s fiery wrath.” Link cussed under his breath as he quickly reached out to grab the instrument. The ocarina of time was very precious to him; losing it would spell disaster for the Hylian as he needs it if he ever wants to use his enchanted songs.

“Surrender Intruder!” One of the near Swat bot demands only to get set ablaze by Nigel.

Sergeant Spur goes around behind Link and tries to pull him up out of the muck. Sumac snatching the ocarina before it could splash down in the muck.

Link start mumbling under his breath of the events that lead to here; transported into another world without a summoner there to greet him, lost in a city that he knows nothing about, trespassing somewhere he never intended to be. “Grab onto my arm everyone!” Link demanded as wind magic started to gather in his right hand.

“Gotta go Sumac.” Nigel says as he pulls the fairy to his chest and reaches for the nearby Link while trying to avoid getting hit by bot lasers. He just so close to the outstretched right hand. Robots only a few paces away.

A shadow of something big falls to Link’s left side. A bright flash hits Nigel and a metal fist rushes to meet Link. Due to there being an enemy already too close for comfort, Link had to cancel his current spell as he quickly reached back to pull out his Hylian Shield, blocking the incoming metallic fist.

“Why this… Brings back memories.” Dr. Julian Robotnik calmly says as he pushes his weight into the shield. His eyes burn an unnatural red highlighting faint circuitry over the pupal, as he glares at Link. The hylian blinked in surprise.

“You look exactly as I remember the original Robotnik…” Link commented as he held the shield firmly in his arm, his other hand reaching down to pull out the Ordon Sword. “Never expected for you to come here personally to get your hands dirty.” Link said as he kept his eyes on the famous villain himself.

“So my counterparts are famous, but flattery won’t help you.” Robotnik replies eye twitching as his metal hand releases a mighty shock. “Sometimes you must do things personally to get them right.”

The blast of electric was not natural as it bypassed the hylian’s shield resistance before traveling along the hylian’s body, causing Link to let out a scream of pain that became too much to bare, causing him to suddenly black out.

Next time Link comes to he finds himself shackled and in a narrow hall like room sprayers look like they are going to be used to wash off the group before being moved to some kind of containment area. Robotnik is on the other side watching from a control room.