I. Reploid
It had been a long time coming as I looked over my handiwork. While I was never that talented at metalwork - it was thanks to one of my uncles who taught me how to do steelwork that I had managed to create something amazing. For years, I had played the X series of the Megaman games with delight and passion, and I found it to be one of my favorites to replay whenever the opportunity presented itself.
“You got everything you need, Johnny boy?” My uncle asked me.
“Yeah, Uncle Claudius! I got everything! Wish I could have made a convincing arm cannon - but the gauntlet hands will have to do instead.” I looked over myself to fully take in my work of months.
During the year I had taken some time in between work shifts in order to forge a helmet - one with the same dimensions and designs as the original blue helmet from X’s first appearance. Of course, I didn’t stop there…
As I finished one thing, I continued to the next - until I got a full set of armor that matched X’s body armor - from his chest plate to the gauntlets and greaves. Naturally, I figured that I could showcase my great costume at the convention I was going to.
For even more realism, I had studded on the helmet a ‘jewel’ which was in fact made from vibrant red glass. I felt proud of my skills, and was glad to take time outside work to make this.
“Before you head out how about we make this a little more complete you crazy fanatic.” Claudius ribbed against me as he pulled out a gift from near one of his forges.
I cautiously took the gift since he sometimes took the chance to prank me whenever I would mess up the creation process he went through… which was a lot. I pulled the lid off with some restraint, noting that in doing so I wasn't doused in water or hit with a pie in the face so I was still in the clear.
Peering inside the box, I saw that inside was a large gauntlet in the shape of an arm cannon with this weird chip near it. I couldn’t help but feel awe at its craftsmanship, as it looked very futuristic for a mere prop. For more detail in the craft, I noticed the wires inside the gauntlet - but in excitement my conscious mind paid no heed to it. Smiling like a fool, I took the moment for gushing like crazy at this gift - removing it at once from the box and placing it on my right arm - as I took off the forged one to put it in place It didn't match my forged armor at all because of both its material and colour, but I had something too awesome not to wear and I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Claudius merely stared at me while I went wild. He shook his head slowly while rubbing one of his temples with his middle finger as he chewed on his tongue to keep any joking comment he wanted to make at the expense of my eagerness from escaping his mouth.
“Found it online from some specialty store, Warren. Funny thing though, is that its logo has that one guy from that resident evil game you played in an attempt to make me wet my pants!” Claudius laughed at me as I posed with the Arm Cannon while wearing the costume to get a feel of it. “I figured it would be appropriate for a zealous fan as you showed with your work, to have something authentic.” Claudius rolled his eyes in mock scorn though the jovial smirk on his face belied all that.
“How did you find something so similar online? I thought the relation you had with computers was similar to a dog with cats!” I joked with a grin at him, only to add with more seriousness, “This prop looks so advanced compared to what I managed to make for this occasion…” I grimaced at thinking about how much it must have costed my uncle, yet felt grateful for my uncle’s generosity to me as I looked upon him and croaked, “Thank you, Uncle.”
“Heh! Don't worry about it and go enjoy your trip!”Uncle replied with a smirk as he waved his cup of coffee. “You did a somewhat decent job making this stuff - So take pride in it! You're an armorsmith now, kid - and one of the best in my opinion... even if people nowadays only want ballistic armor.” Claudius growled the end of the phrase as he drank from his cup.
As he scrunched his face in disgust, I could only think one thing: ‘Yuck, it must have gone cold!’
A few hours later I was well on my way to the convention being held in Nevada. Considering that we were in summer, it meant I had to be much more careful about heat exhaustion because of what I was going to be wearing at the site.
After parking at the site - and taking the box with my costume to the check-up box at the entrance with the guards to gain access - I went off into the con’s building towards the bathroom.
I took advantage of the still empty bathroom and got to work…
And came out of the bathroom with my head held high - only to notice how I drew people’s attention, to the point they actually stopped and felt my armor with awe in their looks. It quickly became reaaaally awkward when several cute girls - both in costume and visitors - approached me to have a… touch with me, heh.
After taking some time off to drink some water from a stall to refresh myself from getting hot, I switched out my right gauntlet for the arm cannon and kept the forged gauntlet attached to my belt. I was feeling myself giddy, having fun with my present until I saw something out of the corner of my eye.
Feeling curious, I focused my attention on a stall being manned by...well, a man costumed in what I believe is the merchant’s trademark look from Resident Evil 4.
When he saw me his eyes instantly lit up. “Hello stranger... Whatcha buying?” The Merchant wheezed slightly in a peculiar fashion as he waved his arms over the spread before him...
To my surprise, I saw that lying in front of him there were several items of interest - including several keyblades, a diversity of models for guns and firearms from various series - and a few specialty objects that looked from various anime series.
“Ooh One Piece stuff. It's nice, but I want something that matches me - something to remember this day for the future.” I muttered more to myself than him.
“A connoisseur for the finer things in life, I see.” The salesman said with a knowing look. “It's something I respect in my line of business - selling to fans of diverse franchises throughout the world who want something to remember their good times. So!” The man whispered in a conspiratorial tone to which I couldn’t help to get closer as he whispered, “How about these particular objects I have for sale?” The Merchant motioned with one arm to a particular box - one which he opened with his usual demeanor of opening his coat without looking down, nor kneeling to open it - as if he were just going through the motions. Of course, all of that was lost on me as I let curiosity guide my next phrase...
After a beat, and failing to see the contents due to the lack of light under that table, I asked with curiosity, “What is it?” while I tried to focus more, closing my eyes and waiting for a few moments before peering again into the box…
And be surprised with what I saw inside.
Inside the box were several metal objects which I had no idea what they were or their purpose. From those I barely recognized, I saw one that looked like Zero’s armor scheme, with another bundle having Axl’s helm protruding over the pack’s tight packing. There were also eight kits that I recognized as belonging to Fefnir, Leviathan, Harpuia, Phantom, Marino, Cinnamon, Massimo and Nana. Blinking once, I couldn’t help but feel that that was really unexpected.
At a side of the box, there was also what looked like a chip which confused me as well… as my subconscious kept trying to draw my attention to something that wasn’t supposed to happen.
Ignoring the nagging feeling, I asked him, “What are these articles it?” before shooting a glance to the guy noticing that he was using his eyes to smile at me.
“Modules of course - with each belonging to a certain character, with a catchphrase that each of them say to activate them... and as for the chip, it is the variable weapons system for your buster there.” I barely noticed, but I could’ve sworn that I saw gears turning in his head as he continued, his stalling almost impossible to tell. Of course, he kept on going in a dramatic fashion “It was part of a set - but somebody bought the buster and the ‘Suffering Heart’ chip online, ignoring the rest of the deal.” He then muttered “damned salesman in training” before continuing as if he hadn’t said anything at all, “As for that ‘Suffering Heart’ chip - don't ask me what it is, ‘cause even I don't know why it was made at all.”
The Merchant shrugged despondently, before raising his hand. “All of this is yours for a hundred bucks.”
A hundred dollars wasn't that big a deal for me, but still I didn't know if it was worth it despite the salesman’s subtle prod that they belonged with my new Buster. However, I looked over them all - and all seemed to be like the armor modules from the ZX series.
I wondered if I could talk him down a bit...
Feigning ignorance, I yawned and said with mild interest, “I don't know... They look nice and all, but I don't know what I would do with them really.” I kept my facade on, but I could see he was intending to call my bluff.
The man wailed in dramatic fashion, feigning offense as he almost screeched in disbelief and outrage, “You would ignore this one-in-a-lifetime offer for what is perhaps one of the most complete sets of mega man memorabilia... just because it couldn't fit with your look?” The Merchant railed on, wailing at this point and drawing the sniggers of many onlookers who stopped to watch the haggling in progress.
I whistled at his showmanship - damn, it must come from years of practice… plus theater course.
Putting a hand over my forehead - going with the drama course in progress, I replied in a defeated fashion to him, “Ugh… oh, fine - you are far too persuasive for your own good, mister.” With that said, I pulled out my wallet and handed over the hundred dollar bill… leaving my poor wallet devoid of contents besides my ID.
This 100-dollar bill was the only one I had, and was supposed to be for something else - like food and drink - but the sweet, sweet, siren call of merchandise was far too strong for me to resist.
“You won't regret it, good sir. Heh, with this at your hands you may as well be at the start of a great adventure in the grand scheme of things... These things will save your life.” The Merchant grinned as he handed over the box to me.
Before I could register the meaning behind his words, I felt off as I grabbed the box but I couldn't place my finger on it as to the why.
Despite the weirdness of that parting phrase, and feeling a bit paranoid after that fact… There was nothing that happened to me as I walked away to put away my purchase into my car…
And despite feeling a sense of dread filling me up, nothing happened to me as I continued traversing the con and see the stalls and activities… with an empty wallet.
A couple hours of random wandering and several moments of being… fondled by overzealous fans of both genders, I decided to finally look over my purchase as I headed to my car before heading to my Uncle’s.
Opening the trunk, I opened the box and took my sweet time in looking into its contents.
As I suspected, the armor modules were very well crafted - looking in style with each of the characters they were based on. As I took them from the box for a closer examination I noticed that they were very light - though even with my rough understanding of metallurgy I could tell that something was off about them.
Perhaps they were all made of titanium, considering that they didn’t budge a bit despite me trying using a steel nut in a part of each case - however, if that were the case then the contents of this box should’ve costed me more than a hundred bucks total.
Interestingly, though - the arm cannon was apparently made of the same material as the ‘modules’, yet felt lighter than it should have been.
As for the chips I got, they were all full of actual circuitry. Had I not been at the con enjoying myself, I would have looked into getting them checked out to see if they really worked out… or if an artist used a graphics card or something to craft them.
Yeah, it must be some kind of new plastic.
My uncle’s gift - The X-Buster - had a slot for both chips on the underside which seemed to be perfect fits - so I placed the chips in place.
Peering further into the slots it had - eight to be precise - I noticed that the small armor modules of the eight also fit on the buster with careful ease. I placed them in their slots too, even though there were warning bells going off in my head.
As soon as I was done placing all of the props on the X-Buster prop - I fell to my knees, feeling really sick and nearly puking out close to my car.
This sudden change in my demeanor warned several people in the parking lot - who came around me trying to help me get into the ambulance waiting for those who suffered heatstroke--
Only for them to get flung back by an unknown power, with me being dragged towards the bright light going off around me.
As I disappeared into whatever was being the source of light, the metal around my body shifted and expanded while I felt it wrap around me - melting and burning into me as I screamed in pain and terror at what was happening to me. The gauntlet hanging on my belt wrapped around my covered arm - as if it were a boiling hot, liquid metal snake - whiles the buster seemed to disappear, melding together.
Everything hurt more than I could ever imagine, and as I was lost to the swirling vortex of light around me…
I finally faltered to the pain and passed out.
The world was still young and teeming with life, as an old pony wearing a star-filled cloak and a wide wizard’s hat walked forward through the forest blissfully lost in his own thoughts.
‘Hmm… pity there aren’t more days that are even better than today.’ Thought the old stallion as he kept on walking in the woods. His lustrous beard shone brightly white in the light as he watched over the world around him.
This stallion was better known by his kind as Star Swirl the Bearded, as he walked at a brisk pace towards his destination - only to feel something weakening him to his very bones, almost falling down on his barrel. Faltering, he probed the source of the shift in the mana filling off the world - and felt that the constant flux that defined this background mana was off in a scale that concerned him due to its wrongness.
‘Hmm’, Star Swirl thought as he gathered back his strength. ‘I believe I’ll require help from the other Pillars of Equestria, to help deal with this problem.’
Star Swirl immediately rushed off galloping over knotted roots and mangled branches that had fallen from their boughs, until he saw a familiarly large building that he and his fellow pillars called home. This was a fortress - one which made certain they were always centralized in the Equestrian territory, to strike out at any threat that attacked them or endangered ponykind. Star Swirl tackled the large door open completely flustered but full of drive to find everypony.
“Stygian! Stygian where are you!” Star Swirl yelled out as he gathered back strength on his hooves.
“Yes Star Swirl?” Stygian slowly cantered up behind him, watching him with a neutral look.
“Where are the pillars!? Danger is at hoof!” Star Swirl cried out as he rushed through their fortress.
“In the main hall, Star Swirl - they are waiting for you to join them. I'll be preparing the other things necessary for later.” Stygian explained in a neutral tone to the bristling mage.
“Yes yes whatever. We shall return later then!” Starswirl dismissively waved off anything other than the pertinent information.
“Right… I'll see you all later then?” Stygian tentatively asked… only to receive no reply, ‘Ah… I guess this is it? The plan will be, then - they don’t care about me at all…’
Blackness surrounded me… until my unconsciousness was knocked away as I fell hard, hitting the ground with force. Groaning, I blinked away the darkness surrounding my brain - only to realize something was really off…
Namely, the indent on the ground I was currently filling out, and the complete lack of any sharp pain that should come from such a strong fall.
As I shifted around I felt… heavy. It wasn't the kind of heavy of carrying furniture or a whole team - it was the heaviness from feeling as though all of my organs were rearranged into something not human… nor alive for that matter.
Checking out, I sighed in relief as I still had hands - but they were covered by white gloves… when the hell did I get white gloves - I was wearing leather gloves painted that stiffened my movement.
Why doesn't it feel like I'm wearing gloves; and why can't I feel like I'm actually… a male. Taking my attention away from my hands, I looked down…
And here I noticed that the armor I had made and was wearing had changed into a completely blue color of two tones, which wasn't what my armor looked like at all. Tracing my hands over my body, I felt up and noticed that my physique had gotten a little more streamlined and my arms were a bit larger than they used to.
Feeling numb, I absentmindedly tapped my arm and noticed the clanging, hollow sound when I did. Touched a panel on my arm, and it opened up to show circuitry and servos.
I blinked once, twice, thrice… and started to panic, chest heaving as I took in the show inside my arm.
I was made of metal. I was made of bloody metal!! And yet…
There was something wrong at work, as despite me spiraling downwards, I could appreciate how my arm - and perhaps whole body - was of the same material as the buster I got from my uncle. With a shift in will and attitude, my arm shifted slightly - changing into the X-Buster.
“Gah!!!” I screeched out, part of my mind going haywire while another one… felt excitement and managed to temper my collapse it into extreme distress rather than a complete breakdown. I tried to feel my shuddering breath but it just came out as an even beat. It was at that point that I took notice of my surroundings - which in fact was a dark forest - probably in the middle of nowhere in time and space…
And the darkness gave way as an indeterminate source of light began to glow, only for me to move my arms around to see where the light was coming - and realizing that my eyes were working as lamps of sorts. Well, now I could see in the dark and subconsciously shifted my arm back into shape - forcing me to wiggle my fingers in numb curiosity, casually noting that they were working well.
I waited until I could feel my heartbeat regain its normal beating… when I noticed how quiet my body actually was. I was breathing - I think - since my chest compressed and expanded as if I was.
I tried to feel that steady beat only for my heart not to act. It didn't beat. It didn't beat. It didn't beat… silence permeated my chest while storms raged in my mind destroying my calm facade as I cried out a silent scream that my entire voice couldn’t channel.
My body didn't have that beat I had grown with... and couldn’t feel my stomach growl or my eyes water from keeping them open for more than five minutes.
There was no feeling and I couldn’t really feel the wind hitting my face and there still wasn’t any sound of a heartbeat leaving me clenching my fists over and over again trying to calm down.
I didn’t feel them crack when I did. They merely clenched forcing me to look even closer at my hands… they weren’t my hands… they weren’t my hands...
I curled up for a bit and wanted to cry but the tears never fell and my voice didn't want to cry out. I just remained quietly in my spot on the cold hard ground grasping at the ground clutching at the dirt to let it slide along my fingers. I couldn’t feel the dirt at all and the dust barely clung to them. As I tried to come to terms with how my body was acting, I came to realize that I wasn't human anymore - and even if I was excited to have a working X-Buster....
I wasn't me anymore.
“Are you certain it is out here Star Swirl?” Somnambula asked as she a Rockhoof looked around for any sign of a disturbance.
“I'm certain Sonambula. There was a sudden shift in the mana of the world and something is wrong out here.” Star Swirl chided.
“We've been looking for hours now though… it seems as though we aren't going to find it tonight.” Rockhoof surmised in short.
“I can't feel the flow of life through here either.” Mistmane lit her horn looking around for any sign of where the disturbance came from.
“Whatever appeared probably has moved on and I can't see any tracks at all in the dark.” Flash Magnus called out as they flew overhead.
“Whatever is out there might be scared. Manticore like to keep within this particular forest alongside flyders and twittermites somewhere in there.” Meadowbrook replied.
Annoyed - but out of ideas - Star Swirl agreed. “Fine… let’s just head back for now then...”
WIth that said, the group retreated from the forest and back to their fortress.
Had they walked a few more feet they would have come across the fetal form of a young man who had been transformed into a robot silently sobbing into his hands as he was unable to understand what was happening to him.
I stopped the pity party eventually as the moon finally rose into the sky. So, with a grunt that came more from custom than actual effort, I rose from my fetal position and actually took in the moon and the night sky.
Yeah, it was nice to look at - but I needed to get up and see what was going on regarding my situation. To my pile of things that would cause another emotional meltdown in the future I added the fact that I still didn't feel hungry; there was still no heartbeat to help tell me about the passage of time; and to top it all off... I was still worried that I had no biological compunctions in mind either or body either.
I groped my groin - touching only cool metal with my hands and realized…
‘Oh hell no.’ I thought to myself as I began distressing myself in ways different than earlier. Even then…
‘No. Don’t think about it. Don’t even acknowledge it until you get your bearings - damn it all and even then keep ignoring it until you can make sense of things.’
Shrugging it off, I walked through the forest at a quick pace - and somehow walked right through this large swarm of flies, or I think they were flies, and though when they tried to bite me I noted: ‘Wait what? Flying spiders?’ as I took in the details that mattered -
- Like the eight legs, several eyes, and big fat ass floating as one on buzzing wings. Warning bells went off as I looked at the mutated insects - taking a couple steps back, only to note that all their bites did absolutely nothing to me.
The skin on my face didn't react to their efforts - even sometimes snapping the jaw of one of those abomination spiders off when they tried to bite too hard. Those insects must have been at least a bit intelligent, since they changed strategy when they realized that their biting didn't work - since they tried to wrap me up in silk, swarming around me. Taking a moment to let them think they were done with me, I broke the snare the moment I flexed a limb. The swarm became alarmed at this sight, and flew off before I did anything towards them.
Ignoring those spider things, it I kept walking through the shadowy woods - undeterred by my situation as I worked out how to get home... though I had no real idea where home was in fact.
The growling coming all around me while inside this forest because I was disregarding it's sanctity - if it had any for starters, judging by those spider-flies - but I was somehow turned into a robot at this point, and I was probably strong enough to not die to anything that these woods could throw at me...
At least, I hoped I was strong enough to not die like a dog to anything this woods could throw at me. I'm certain uncle Claudius would certainly be making fun of me for freaking out so much…
I need a better parental figure than Uncle Claudius.
At this moment, my mind took a turn down memory lane…
The day was hot, and even hotter inside that diner… before several gasps of shock broke the silence that occurred as a figure dressed in leather and metal spikes and chains fell to the floor - covered in what must have been a pint of his own blood - before another resounding thwack broke the gasps from that audience.
Thwack, thwack, thwack…
That was the loudest sound echoing through the place as a short figure of a man dressed in a formerly crisp black business suit and cracked glasses straddled a very large man dressed in several leather accoutrements covered in spikes and more chains - who tried desperately to whimper and crawl away from the tiny menace - before said tiny menace rose his fist and began pounding him to the ground again..
Thwack… thwack… thwack…
It took several more minutes before that straitlaced figured finally relaxed his eyes and stepped off the now unconscious figure. He quietly shook his hand of the blood that was still clinging to it.
Then he finally took in what he did and promptly began freaking out in the diner.
“Gaaahhhh!!!!”
I did a mental shrug, and continued on my path outside this forest of ugly things.
I’m beginning to think that my dad would most certainly go around, punching everything he saw making him funny faces if something like this happened to him - more out of panic than anything else, but I learned something in that day…
Never mess with a tiny man with a balding head who wears glasses, nor mock his receding hairline.
As the pillars returned to their home Stygian was nowhere to be found - which was uncharacteristic of the orderly stallion who waited on them. They looked over the perimeter of the fortress’s borders and even searched all the rooms inside.
All they noticed was that their prized possessions were gone. Without words, they nodded to each other and raced around searching for Stygian, finding nothing but echoes and dust inside the deserted fortress.
“Stygian! Stygian! Come out now!” Starswirl screamed out.
Realizing that the missing Stygian was nowhere to be found, the group raced out towards the next best place to search for their missing ‘friend’, deep into the night: their special spot - a focusing ground for their magic - where he stood with each of their artifacts ready to perform what spell he had in mind.
The pillars burst onto the scene stopping the ritual Stygian was trying to enact with their properties at hand.
Without giving him a chance to explain, the Pillars cast Stygian out into the world, Stygian not sharing any words on what he hoped to accomplish with the ritual and the stealing of all their artifacts to perform it, as the glares of his former friends shut him up as he walked away from the scene in shame.
Stygian was left to wander the world, alone.
‘Faust help me… I’ve bucked this up…’ Stygian trotted off in a slow gait incapable of turning to look back at his former friends while the sun set on his soon to be former life.
I tried thinking of anything but my current situation, since every time I did I would freak out because of all the implications concerning my current state - from the complexities of interdimensional travel and the fragility of the space time continuum down to the fact that yep, the crazy guys with aluminum foil hats were right for once - we aren’t alone in this universe.
To add to the whole ‘stress-filled day’ I had, I was forced to confront that I was in another dimension or planet, assisted by the unfriendly encounter I had with a thing that attacked me - only this time it was by a giant lion with bat wings and a scorpion tail.
Already I thought I was insane - right until the bastard slammed into me and tried to stick the stinger in my throat.
The resounding ting sound made it stop its effort to maul me and wound up looking at the stinger... It had bent and caved in on itself, leaving by a little nub where the tip would be.
I looked at the ugly thing in the eye, almost raising an eyebrow at it - only for the creature to get offended - swiping its claws at me in rage… only for the scratching sound to cease and be replaced by rubbing.
When the beast looked at its claws, wondering why it hadn’t ripped me to shreds like it wanted to - they were worn down to the paw.
At this point the creature looked nervous, daring to look at me with its ears splayed as I laid there under it, pinned down completely… and uninjured from its assault which it tried to resume half-heartedly.
Slowly it backed up once it tried to take a reluctant bite at where my neck was… and began to back off, attempting to look apologetic. Of course, I took the chance to rise back on my feet while keeping my eyes on the beast… and stared it down. It noticed my unblinking eyes and instantly ran off crying out in terror as I watched it go with its tail in between its hind legs, wings flapping every now and then when it jumped an obstacle into the bushes.
Despite everything that happened that would make regular people freak out at the least, I didn’t feel overly aggressive - besides little thoughts of wanting to fight back that tried to worm their way to the forefront of my brain. However, I didn't really know much about my body just yet. In an attempt to calm my mind - as my body was permanently in the ‘zen’ state - I closed my eyes…
And felt really strange jolts of electricity coursing through my joints and inner circuitry. The loss of blood and organs was disorientating enough, but now I was fully taking in the changes - being powered by something else entirely instead of blood for one.
Whenever the sun was still out I felt stronger and more alive than anything else - whereas while the moon was out I felt an unknown power gathering in my Buster, only for it to be vented out in a safety release measure. I’m beginning to understand its purpose - but without the means to test my thought out safely, it would be best for it to remain a thought for the future me.
When I opened my eyes again a holographic display opened up in my viewpoint, showcasing the Weapons Archive of the entire X series. Several tutorials started to play in my head - with my mind being flooded with tech-based warnings; the nature of my modular armor; every weapon I was carrying; and which version of the body I had.
Apparently I was version three equipped with built in dash functionality which meant I could air dash from the get-go…
If I could get the hang of it, without killing myself in the attempt.
While I was fully armed, I still had no idea how to take advantage of that fact - so I made the choice to stop and figure out how my ‘new’ body worked.
First, I jumped into the air… and went quiet the moment I landed - stunned at just by how high I reached with one leap. The next step would be figuring out how to perform the air dash - but every time I tried to play with my sensations to attempt to trigger it to reach a particular place, I would rush into that direction… somehow.
When I landed on my face after the eleventh attempt at dashing, I could hear the grinding of servos and hydraulics working in tandem to get me back up again to my feet despite the abrupt motions and changes in posture and gravity center - making things even more confusing at just how much of me changed besides the obvious.
After several failed attempts, and me landing on my head each time, I thought to myself: ‘Maybe I should have figured out how to do it on the ground first’. I didn't berate myself though - blaming it on my building anxiousness to learn anything that could allow me to survive what hell the salesman had in store for me here. So taking a few moments - and a few false starts - I slid around on the ground getting decent at at moving faster from a standing position.
After around half an hour of practice, I felt that I get it, and realized that the stabilizers and shock absorbers in my legs were self-adjusting to my senses as I practiced. Several numbers were running at the lower left part of my sight, changing as I slightly felt how I accommodate to this body, managing to jump into the air after a regular dash and…
‘Oh god!’ I thought to myself as I let out a really manly scream as the air-dash kicked in finally, letting me go airborne for an instance and moving in the direction I wanted to go, which I knew from experience in front of the T.V. that it had to be where I faced.
Naturally, my good spirit went down the drain when I face-planted at the end of the trip provided by my air-dash. Grumbling, but at least feeling more confident, I continued practicing it until I got it right.
The sun started setting as I practiced, and after I got it right several more times, I landed and stood still to ‘rest’...
And that’s when I heard this odd clapping… It didn’t sound like the clapping of a human, it was… stranger and without rhythm. My ‘oh-so-helpful O.S. Assistant - which I didn’t know worked by itself - let me know in a direct way what it was: the sound was of clapping with claws against pads. That alone was a frame of reference I had no idea of knowing I knew what that sound was like.
I felt this little tickle in my brain… which wasn’t exactly flesh and blood anymore, and noticed for the first time that I actually had a proximity sensor - only it was minimized.
As for what was the Proximity Sensor was warning me of… apparently it was in front of me… but nothing was there on sight.
“Looks like you can sense me despite my presence being unnoticeable by ponies... I must be losing my touch. So! Mr. Unknown...? you certainly have decent movement speed, but why oh why do I sense so much order coming off of you? It wouldn’t be so bad, if I didn’t sense a shard of chaos as well within you. It’s still not time for me to come out on stage just yet - but for you I can’t sense a better chance.” A voice rang out around me. “Still! I must wait ‘till they do what they were planning, and he goes all the way.”
“Um… who’s there? I’m warning you - I’m more than willing to fight back.” I announced nervously - or as nervous as a machine simulating emotions from a human origin can be - while taking a boxing stance. Up to this point it hadn’t occurred to me to that I would be forced to fight, but now I could keep appearances in order to have a boon when dealing with the unknown...
Of course, intimidation is all about appearing to be much harder to deal with than it would be for other people. But… I am not exactly sure that this would work with what most certainly isn’t a human being - if I can’t see him even though he’s right in front of me if the proximity sensor in my head is anything to go by, beeping loudly while pointing out in my eyesight where it is..
Then I felt it - something trying to worm its way into my mind. The words don’t make it justice - it felt as something was taking over my very essence while keeping enough intact to let me be my own spectator.
While I was dumbly trying to process what the hell was going on, my body took only a few seconds before the suffering circuit took effect - knocking back whatever was trying to possess me. By reflex, I rolled out of the way and my X-Buster materialized in replacement of my right arm.
Without thinking - only letting the instincts flow - I took my stance and aimed it at the direction I felt the finger was coming from.
What I saw changed what I was planning to do now that I knew what lived here as I batted away the finger pressed on my forehead by the ugly being with my left hand in panic...
The figure touching me grimaced in pure annoyance as it glared in my direction while floating away by means unknown. It was tall and made up of several animal parts. I’m sure he had a lizard leg but it looked to be much too sharp for any known lizard I’ve ever seen. But even through the eagle claw, lion paw, snake body, and horse-like head gave me shivers due to it being completely out of sense and mind of any real creature, it was the eyes that made me stop for an instant. Instead of normal sclera, the thing had icterus or jaundice, a sick shade of yellow of some sort… with piercing red irises that showed me all I needed to know about this creature. The thing snorted slightly and from the sound of its frustrated tone it also sounded male.
“That… that wasn’t supposed to happen.” He growled out in animalistic fury to no one in particular.
I don’t know what possessed me to try to figure how my X-Buster worked, but as I felt the need to charge my buster to the maximum - my body reacted as I instantly started glowing in a deep green color… then blue as several sensors told me what I knew was ready for him.
This being watched me in rapt attention as my charging drew his attention, apparently realizing that I was capable indeed to fight back way more than just his more than likely mind control ability. At the very least I felt like it was that since it seemed to try and possess my soul.
Thinking quickly, I aimed the buster towards the figure in front of me - and released a large blast of plasma that raced out towards the mishmash of animals. This thing realized too late what the beam was as it hit him squarely in the chest - sending him flying back to a tree that he broke on impact from the force of the blast.
As I stood there watching, I saw him slowly rise back up from his landing spot - chest smoking a little from where the plasma burst hit him. As he ignored me, eyes wide and unbelieving he lowered a talon down his burnt chest…
And saw that he was bleeding slightly from the burnt mark on his chest. His eyes widened in surprise before he slowly ran his talon over the wound sealing it up.“We’ll see about that…” He growled while scowling at me before snapping his talons and teleporting away.
There I was, alone and now being watched by a thing that apparently hated not being able to do whatever it was going to do to my mind… or the large scorch mark I left on him.
When I reviewed what I saw when I hit him - because apparently my brain can record video data now - I made a small three inch wound on his body with a fully charged shot.
‘So… already have an enemy against me for not letting it do to me what it wanted. Didn’t even learn his name either.’ I mused as I decided maybe it was time to take stock of what I was capable of. At this point I knew what I could actually do since I played the series so much but I had no idea how to actually use said abilities. Strangely, the use of the X Buster seemed intuitive enough to figure out - as it reacted with a desire to defend or protect rather than when wanting to run for my life.
Basically it was very much a point arm at something and the X Buster will transfigure itself out of my arm - with a bit of will added to the mix. When I wanted to charge a shot I found out that there were files in my brain that detailed how long each charge would take which unfortunately wasn’t editable as it was hardwired or something. A class on coding in C++ wasn’t anywhere close to how detailed these files were, and I didn’t trust myself not to fuck up my own mind by editing things that I didn’t know what they did. There were also several more functions which seemed locked up as well within the coding structure. The entire weapons archive was sealed with conditional statements which seemed nonsensical to me.
‘What the hell does it mean I need to find Archive Pod X-SWRI#1. What does that even mean… why is another file being brought up… Sigma War Reploid Invasion Number One Package… What?’ I opened my eyes and allowed the proximity sensor to ping as far as it possibly could. I didn’t know the dimensions of one screen within the game world but I figured it wouldn’t be too bad. The scan checked fifty meters in a concentric circle around me…
When I looked over the data within my head - the freak-outs from how different I was getting less and less intense as I learned new things about myself - I noted that there were no entities around me.
The entire forest was devoid of even the most basic of animal life. Still, with that… thing around I needed to find out what exactly counted as a sapient being around here. Without any of the special weapons I could potentially use I was at the bare minimum of my capabilities… so, if I were to survive this whole ordeal, I’d need to search in this world where were these capsules hidden.
Deciding I was tired of the forest and with the moon rising already, I dashed off through the forest looking for any sign of civilization. As I realized now, I didn’t need sleep - without any visible detriment on my self - and there was something off when I was exposed to sunlight.
I wasn’t exactly sure on the how, but I was somehow generating energy during the day self healing… which might explain why neither of the things that attacked me managed to do anything substantial at all while under the sun.
Stygian walked back to the remains of Hollow Shade. After the Sirens’ attacks several ponies had moved off for the Everfree Castle, to live in general peace since the Siren’s banishment. He looked over the town and slowly wept as he looked around the remains. Cleaning himself up he waited near the remains of the first house that they saved where the crowds cheered on the pillars… only to not receive any recognition for the contributions that he had done in getting the pillars. He knew that that wasn’t the case but every mission left him more and more aware of how superfluous he really was.
“Poor child… one who can’t be more than he is… Perhaps you need to be more than you are before others will take you seriously. Would you like some help?”
“Who’s there?” Stygian stepped up and fumbled around. He had no powerful magic to shield him and his fri-... No there were no friends. Shaking at his powerless, whether from fear or anger was unknown, he just looked down and waited for his end which didn’t come.
“I will not harm you. You require a helping hoof. Should you allow me, I shall be able to help you earn the respect you deserve. You have worked hard to be seen as an equal. All that I require…. Is your permission.”
Stygian looked at his hoof seeing the scrawniness that hid within it. The powerlessness consumed him. “How do I know you are being truthful…?” A simple question… but one that needed to be quelled. Consideration basked in the glory that was coming.
“Because your opinion matters. What kind of being would I be if I didn’t hear you out. Unlike your friends I shall make sure to be there for you.”
Stygian felt the tears run down his face… he didn’t need anymore convincing. With a nod of his head and the consequent lowering head, he acknowledged whatever was speaking to him. Within seconds the thing that spoke to him entered his mind. The inner twisting of his limbs as new appendages sprung from his back while he grew larger. He felt stronger… more complete. He could tower over the world.
“You may use my powers as you see fit. Just remember… we are in this together.”
“Of course. Thank you… Who are you though?” Stygian honestly asked, finally feeling worthy for the first time.
“I am nopony of consequence. But together... I would suggest you call us the Pony of Shadows…”
Stygian merely nodded in acquiescence… before exploding in laughter at the amusement he felt due to the stronger title. With a little experimentation and shifting of will on his part, he began to explore just how his powers now worked. Even with the shift in his priorities he could feel that same need to help others… but it would be his way.
His way only. And no one would think of him as being irrelevant.
My fears are becoming real - I cannot sleep. And even though I tried what was an in-build ‘sleep mode’ as an alternative... and it did nothing for me nor my mind concerning this whole mess.
My trek took me out of the forest towards the largest mountain of the mountain range I could see in the surroundings, as I still didn’t have any direction nor sense of bearing of this place at all.
There was in that mountain I had my sights on nothing but sheer rock wall at almost a complete vertical line. A deserted, empty expanse of a mountain with nothing other than the peak to look forward to.
I could only stare at the wall in front of me, as I furiously thought how to achieve it - I knew for certain that I could scale walls… I just didn’t exactly have a frame of reference for it.
So… in an experimental mood I made my jump towards that wall - and found myself clinging to it using my hand and feeling power go to my feet. The feeling was weird because even while I was being stung by the flyders and the manticore I didn’t feel anything. Even on the synthetic skin that made up my face I could feel nothing. Yet here I could feel the power generated by my feet and the coarseness of the wall while I slid down… plus more power gathering at my back for an unknown reason.
“That’s so weird…” I said to myself before shrugging this off and tried jumping up while grappling the wall - only to realize that something pushed me back towards the wall as I jumped upwards, letting me actually scale the wall a bit. Dumbfounded, all I could think of was, ‘How was I pushed back towards the wall?’ before trying it a few more times until I got the hang of it.
“Hm… okay, I think I get it.”
So, for the next three days I slowly climbed this mountain, making my way towards the very peak of the tallest mountain of the range which seemed to be in the very center of the continent.
There were some touch and go moments, like how whenever I let my mind wander from the task of climbing to my encounter with the chimeric creature that tried to mind-control me, I missed my jump and fell down to the nearest platform I was left at.
Once I reached the ledge, I took in the measurement of height from before to now going off in my head - and I was stunned at how far I fell and how fast I went. The first time I fell I was over seven thousand feet high and fell for over a thousand. When I hit the ground I left a large impact crater in the ledge and fell another five hundred feet until I finally clung to the wall to slow down my fall - the same thrust pushing me towards the wall instead of doing cartwheels due to my weight.
It took several hours before I reached another serviceable ledge to rest on. While rest in itself wasn’t required by this body, my mind was overworked due to the focus it required to keep on climbing without losing the rhythm to do so.
While resting, in an act of curiosity, I took a look over my legs’ covering... only to find out that they were undamaged from the sudden fall. When I looked closer I noticed that there were minor scuffing and lots of dirt hidden along the edges of my leg armor… greaves? I didn’t know exactly what my legs were now since I was made mostly of metal.
As I continued to calm my mind, the files in my head were dispensing more cursory knowledge which made it much harder to actually rest or concentrate. This accumulated to the point where that by the third day I was three quarters of the way up and needed to stop and collate everything inside my mind or fall down the mountain due to my mind slipping away with a distraction.
Finally my self-restraint gave way, and I began to fully feel the uncertainty and soul crushing despair coming from the fact that I was missing all my organs and could no longer trying to deny everything I looked over what I had going for me. To not be able to eat, drink, sleep… all those things that at one point one takes for granted, or wish to not have to allow one to focus in one’s obligations now feel like family that died in front of me. Trying to change the focus of my thoughts, I checked upon an aspect that I hadn’t evaluated since arriving in this world…
My actual status. The moment I cued it in to show me made me wish that I didn’t do that from the first line onwards.
=Secondary Armor Modules currently installed - hardware missing from Core for testing=
- Helmet Attachments Missing Modules 1-7
- Body Armor Missing Modules
- Light Armor : INCOMPLETE
- Giga Armor : INCOMPLETE
- Max Armor: INCOMPLETE
- Force Armor : INCOMPLETE
- Falcon Armor : INCOMPLETE
- Gaea Armor : INCOMPLETE
- Blade Armor : INCOMPLETE
- Shadow Armor : INCOMPLETE
- Glide Armor : INCOMPLETE
- Icarus Armor : INCOMPLETE
- Hermes Armor : INCOMPLETE
- Buster Upgrades Missing Modules 1-8
- Leg Upgrades Missing Modules 1-3
=Basic Capabilities Enabled=
=Weapon Archive Disabled=
=Searching world for sealed capsules... Reception insufficient.=
“Reception…? Why do I need reception?” I muttered out before continuing my climb once I felt that my mind wouldn’t get off track. The sun and moon passed two more times in succession as I kept on wall-climbing before I managed to reach the highest point on the highest mountain. I looked over the land and nearly fell to my knees in utter confusion and despair at the sight in front of me.
To the north was a large frozen tundra and with my robotic eyes managing to magnify some of the farther things I could see a large crystal looking city. To the west were several smoky mountains that seemed to encapsulate a large mountain as well, though something told me that it was very flimsy. To the east was a large ocean and if my eyes weren’t deceiving me some islands of various sizes. Finally, to the south was several rolling plains and deserts that it made me uncertain about what exactly I was looking at. I was nowhere near any known place on Earth. That figure that attacked me, in a sense, was not just a hallucination. I’m trapped in a place where I have no way to escape…
For the first time in my life I screamed from the bottom of my now nonexistent heart as all the stress finally got to me.
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Okay, this story shows promise.
I personally suggest you give the main character a deeper backstory, to prevent the whole 'eww, he's nothing but a cardboard character' that assails most displaced fics.
Besides some minor editing that would polish this story further, I have to say 'congratulations' and 'I hope to read more out of your hand'.
Will track this story down.
8501301
Thank you for the vote of confidence. I'll admit I haven't fully thought out his back story just yet. I mean if I look back at all the other displaced stories I've looked through there are usually only two switches for them. Confident bad@sses or emotional wrecks. And usually there is a hard disconnect after a time.
I'll need to look through again to find any typos or weird phrases. Thanks for the track.
8501528
If you're interested, I can share with you a character sheet so you can develop further your main character. After all, characters are what make or break a story.
TVTropes characterization sites can also be of help to you.
PM if you want a link for that character sheet for story development.
Cinnamon too OP. Please Nerf Cat Claws.
8504348
Hell no XD Gonna be OP AF. XD
8504394
She's a bruiser and your new best friend! Literally the only reason I beat nine tails.
8504531
Pretty much. Though I will admit to spamming both Absolute Zero and Ultimate Armor X
I am keeping good close watch on this. From a big fellow X fan. Question. Will the zero chip have access to the mmxzero weapon systems? Or x series only? I think the first one due to pulling on the four guardians.
Also as for why X breathes... I imagined it to be a heatsink system. To keep his power core cooler than it would be otherwise. That could be a minor plotpoint you can use.
This is a very good first entry in the story. Backstory for "X" will most likely come out in conversation with others rather than just exposition if at all.
8505283
Now that is the big question isn't it. I've thought long and hard about it and though I'm keeping secret what it does I do have it planned out for something for all those modules.
The problem with that are all the water levels you go through. If you idle in Launch Octopus's stage X will still "breathe". Though it would make sense to be in tandem with the heating system.
Thanks.
8505177
Oh naturally.
8506338
When it came to Rafflesia and the Duckbill Brothers it was always fall back on these two things
8506346
Especially Rafflesia. Have Axl soak up the damage while Zero got down with the beat down.
8506366
That fight was a pain especially with the problems behind making sure you had enough time to kill them.
8506371
Of course the real question was always: Who do I kill first, the back-up dancers or the main attraction?
8506764
I'm pretty sure if I remember right you should kill the back up first. They heal the main up every turn if I remember right
My philosophy is utterly alien to the distress this character is experiencing. The body is a platform for the mind, if the mind is intact and able to function, the body only determines capabilities of the mind. Ergo, to me, he is bitching over being in a new situation andn othing more. Though admittedly I'd probably be irked by the inability to eat (even if the original megaman series, or at least the cartoon, suggests thath e's perfeclty capable of such).
I think you meant this:
Hehehehehehehe!^_^
*Thumbs up* Way to go dude! *Smiles happily*