Locked Aura

by TundraStanza

Ch. 4: The First of Many Keys

Oh, so this is what he meant.

After running about ten miles worth of distance, the small part of the pack plus Xavier took a break. Xavier was sweating at a few points below his ears. He was also panting for breath. The trip so far had taken about ten minutes. He took some grapes from a nearby wild vine and chewed on them, getting the juice down before swallowing the rest of the fruit.

"Don't tell me you're tired already," said Pharynx, despite also breathing heavily.

Xavier wore a disarming smile. I'll be fine when we're ready to keep moving.

"Well... good... I'm glad." Pharynx turned around to breathe heavily by himself.

Xavier leaned to one side to try and look. You don't sound glad.

Pharynx simply grunted, not dignifying the Lucario with a response. Xavier shrugged and idly rubbed the spike on the back of his left paw. During one of his earliest days since waking up in the changeling hive, he found out that the metal wasn't as piercing as its appearance implied. It just felt like another part of his skin underneath his fur. It was good news that one time Blue decided to hug him after a particularly long training session. Xavier's chest spike hadn't caused any damage other than a minor tickling.

"I guess no-ling told you this was more than just a cardio workout."

Xavier stood up and looked at Pharynx. How's that?

"On our way back, we're going to look at your crash site; see if we can't find anything useful."

Xavier blinked and crossed his paws. Why didn't we do that a week ago?

Pharynx patted a spot on the ground, moving his hoof slightly more to the left as he counted. "You were unconscious at the time, our hive was still green toward group defense, the Maulwurf was still under that general area, and we weren't sure we could identify anything that was specifically important to you."

Xavier's paws slid to his sides. Oh. Those are... good reasons.

Pharynx sighed and shook his head. "Well, I've heard dumber questions from other changeling veterans. I won't hold your lack of intelligence against you this time."

You're a real sweetheart, huh? Xavier smirked sarcastically.

"Why would I want my heart to be sweet?" Pharynx opened one eye slightly more than the other. "That'd just make it easier for enemies to devour."

No, you see that's just a... Xavier paused when he saw the wicked smirk on Pharynx's face. You're being facetious, aren't you?

"Watch out. The dog's learning." Pharynx flew over to address the rest of the group.

Xavier wiped the sweat off his head. Looks like we've become well-acquainted. He smiled as he hopped down a couple of short cliffs to catch up.

---

In a particular patch of the badlands, dirt still hadn't completely straightened itself out. Most of that was damage from the Maulwurf's appearance. However, there was a bit of a crater left behind that looked like the outline of a fallen Lucario. It was around this area that Pharynx brought the group to examine.

There wasn't much to see that was different from how it was a week prior. However, Xavier tried something other than simply looking at the ground. He closed his eyes and breathed in tune with his aura sense. Most of the land looked bluish-black in this vision. Several different colors showed up in the shape of the group's changelings. One thing stood out in a bunker area... a familiar blue aura.

Xavier slid down the thirty-foot arc to the bottom of the hole. He used his paws to shift some loose dirt out of the way. When the object's aura was no longer blurry by the land's lackluster aura, Xavier opened his eyes. He pulled out what looked like a metal pole that was about two-thirds long as he was tall. It had the same shade as his blue fur.

This is my staff. While holding it roughly horizontally, he hopped back up to solid ground outside of the hole. Yet... something seems different about it.

"I see you fetched a stick," commented Pharynx. "Good boy."

Very amusing, Pharynx. Xavier started waving it around. Before he knew it, he was whirling the staff like a spear-fighter straight out of a samurai movie. After the brief display, he held it upright as a cane.

Pharynx tilted his head. "Wouldn't you lose a lot of hitting force, spinning it around like that?"

It's not so much an issue without a blade threatening to fall off one end of it. Xavier held up the staff to point out the flat sides of it.

"Well, whatever." Pharynx's wings hummed as he gained altitude and turned to the rest of the group. "Alright, maggots. We got what we came here for. Let's head straight for the home turf."

A collection of affirmative statements answered in kind. Changelings circled around and moved out. Xavier positioned the staff under his arms and behind his back. He then followed the pack, jogging on his hind paws. It was about this time that the ground started rumbling.

What the...? Is this somebody's Earthquake attack? He hopped along a few mossy rocks.

"Company halt!" Pharynx shouted.

Something crashed through the ground ahead. The changeling squad slowed to an abrupt, midair stop. What the ones in front could see was something massive, magenta, and Maulwurf-shaped. However, this one was much larger than the one they had managed to chase away with a simple "why are you hitting yourself" ruse. Some of the changelings dropped to the ground with stopped wings due to being so terrified.

When Xavier looked up at the big mass of fuzz and claws, he instinctively growled. What is this beast?

"A Maulwurf Gigante." Pharynx hissed.

The giant monster roared and held its claws open to a wide span. The rest of the changelings backed up and spread out as much as they could. When the Gigante slammed its claws down to the ground, the shock wave spread them even further apart both in the sky and along the dirt.

"What the hay does it want with us?" whimpered a mostly green changeling.

Pharynx humphed. "Guess the mother wants payback for chasing off its baby." He quickly looked to the current squad. "Everyone! Regroup and form Attack Pattern Gamma! Xavier, help everyone else!"

He flew up and over the Gigante's eye level. The changelings that weren't completely shaken up swarmed behind him and gathered in what looked like a pattern of curved horns. Some of the changelings on the ground were still dizzy and holding their heads. Xavier hurried over to them and focused his thoughts on his Heal Pulse, distributing health recoveries for every-ling he could.

Pharynx's current group dove in for an assault. The Gigante swiped with one of its giant claws, knocking the entire right side of the attack pattern out of alignment. What was left of the team rammed against the Gigante's face and successfully poked the beast in its right eye. The Gigante howled in pain, reaching up its other claw to try to remove the source of pain. Said source quickly spread out, leaving the beast to swat its already reddened eye, causing more irritation.

The changelings that were freshly healed flew up to assist. Xavier tossed his staff and pulled two of the newly injured changelings away from the fight. The staff landed straight up, behind his tail as he prepared another round of his Heal Pulse. Pharynx's current team circled around, surrounding the Gigante. They all performed dive bomb maneuvers and simultaneously impacted the beast's neck, back, and forehead.

That seemed to elicit a howl from the Gigante. It spun around, performing what looked like a lariat with its big claws. A few changelings managed to move out of the way, but the rest were sent sprawling along the ground in a direction away from the center. Pharynx managed to slide on his hooves instead of falling over, but his heavy breathing indicated he wasn't in tip-top condition.

He turned his head slightly. "Hey Lucario, anytime you want to earn your keep!"

Said Lucario turned around, picked up his staff with one paw, and rushed next to Pharynx. Xavier took a deep breath and cleared his mind. Pharynx charged up a spell in his horns, encouraging the few still conscious changelings to do the same. The Gigante lumbered toward the challengers.

"Fire!"

Pharynx unleashed his spell. So too did the other changelings. Xavier used his Psychic, unleashing the multi-colored squiggly lines. The magic and Psychic seemed to grow when used together, all bombarding against the Gigante's head and shoulder. It even seemed to be lifted off the ground a few inches before sliding back a step. It groaned, but it still stared intently at the opposition.

"Even all our magic put together couldn't tan its hide!" cried 'Green'.

"Don't waste your breath stating the obvious, grunt!" ordered Pharynx.

Xavier looked at his staff. Then, he looked at the roaring Maulwurf Gigante. He looked back at his staff and back at the Gigante a couple times. He sighed and thought, What the heck? It's an option. He sprinted forward.

"What are you doing?" Pharynx stomped his hoof. "Get back here, you idiot!"

The Gigante slammed both of its claws down at the ground. At the last second, Xavier jumped out of the way to his left. He then leapt on top of one of the clawed limbs. He spun his staff around in the grip of both of his paws. Unbeknownst to him, it glowed in a bluish-white light. The staff looked like it was changing shape, gaining a couple curved additions on either end. He swung his staff around into the Gigante's nose. At this point, the staff looked more like a large bone made of a blue laser.

Xavier swung his staff around in a flurry of hits against the Gigante's face. It didn't even have time to roar in pain before the next strike in the chain. Its feet, however, were backing up several steps.

"Ruuuuu-curaaaa!" Xavier performed an upswing against the beast's large chin.

Completely speechless, this last attack sent the Gigante flying head over whatever counted as its heels. Xavier landed back on the ground in what some movie-goers would affectionately call the heroic leap. His staff stopped glowing and returned to its metallic pole shape. At this point, the Gigante stopped flying and bounced along the ground, sending dirt loose all around its points of impact.

Xavier slowly stood up while using the staff as a cane to keep his steady yet tired balance. He saw the downed beast about five hundred feet away. He breathed heavily as he stared ahead.

Pharynx walked up beside him. "Not bad... for a reject Diamond Dog."

Xavier sighed. Think it's getting back up?

"You broke its freaking face in." Pharynx shook his head. "She's not going to be drawing enough air in to survive the night."

That felt... way too natural... for my first real fight. Xavier looked down at his paws resting on his staff.

"You just did what you needed to do to protect the pack." Pharynx patted the Lucario on the head. "Don't regret this."

Hmm, I'm starting to think you're not as bad as some say you are.

"Let's not get carried away." Pharynx surveyed the team's damage. "You're going to need to haul at least five of my soldiers back to the infirmary. There's just too many to lift by ourselves."

Xavier smiled. And there it is. He walked on what was equivalent to three legs as he moved to help the bruised and weary changelings.

---

The rest of the afternoon and evening was a busy one. For the first time in a while, the hive's infirmary ward had a long line while the bunk beds were fully occupied. Xavier leaned back against a rocky wall while pressing down on his staff with both of his front paws to stay upright. He panted in his exhausted state. As he was, he was out of Heal Pulses for the time being.

To keep up with the condition of all the injured and weary changelings, Thorax ran around and saw to some of the diagnoses himself. This of course included his brother. Pharynx insisted that the rest of his squad took precedence and that he could heal fine on his own. Thorax, however, was hearing none of it, reminding his older brother that there were other changelings that doubled as doctors. Besides, he needed to make sure everyone was going to be okay, not just a majority.

"Do you really need to apply the tape in an X-shape?" wondered Pharynx with a grunt.

"It's just a little assurance that the cut will be covered while the rubbing alcohol does its job." Thorax floated the roll of medical tape back into a small kit at his side. "Now, don't move around too much. I'll be back later."

As Thorax cantered off to the next patient, Pharynx exhaled and lowered his head, chin flat against the mattress.

...

The elder changeling lifted his head and found himself in some expanding cavern. Without even moving any of his limbs, he moved through the hallway's altering entrance. He couldn't remember how he got here, nor did the question of "how" seem relevant enough to ruminate. He caught sight of the not-Diamond Dog standing in front of a burned corpse monster with a red-striped shirt, a hat, and a rake for claws. It was a pleasant sight compared to some things.

The only thing I could really show as precious to me would probably be this staff, thought Xavier loud and clear.

"Yeah sure, that'll be just fine." The burned creature ran its rake hand over the staff. He then proceeded to form something in the space next to him. It appeared to be a small pile of several staffs of the same blue color. However, these were much smaller in length. Whatever they were, they vanished into the corpse's inventory. "I'll spread 'em around. See if you can't get hooked up with some dimensions that'll be mutually beneficial. ... Oh! Speaking of which, here. I'll give you this one before I forget."

Xavier accepted the travel-sized trading card onto his paw. Anything else I should know?

"Not exactly." The burned victim looked aside. "This next question's more of a circumstantial response rather than actual skill." He pointed his half-melted hand. "Who is that and how did he get here?"

Huh? The Lucario turned around. Pharynx!

Pharynx squinted at the stranger. "Is this some new form Luna decided to make to spy on us?"

"Ha! I wish I were that lucky." The biped crossed his arms and shook his head. "I go by Freddy Krueger. I'm a Displaced... like your anthro jackal here."

Xavier turned back to the other guy. And you said there's hundreds of other people and creatures that have been thrown into other variations of Equestria?

"At least three digits." Freddy held up the three claws on his rake hand. He then held out a thumb on his opposite hand. "Possibly four or five digits by now. All of them have different powers and circumstances. Some don't even get the luxury of a form that can move. In my case, I'm limited to existing while somebody dreams."

Pharynx's horns glowed. "Why should we believe you?"

"You think it's an accident that your friend fell into your life?" Krueger ran a finger across the brim of his hat.

Pharynx sighed and his horns stopped channeling magic for the moment. "How many gods are behind this mess?"

Freddy held his arms open and shrugged. "Hell if I know. Whoever they are, they must be pretty confident in their own positions to distribute so many people with god-like powers in addition to all of us mortal beings."

"You travel dreams and yet you still count yourself among mortals?" Pharynx tilted his head.

You said that Luna can travel dreams as well. Xavier put the trading card in his fur inventory. Is she a goddess?

"Hmm... point taken." Pharynx looked back at Freddy.

"Anyway Xavier, I'm sure you'll get a chance to either entertain extra visitors or go to these other Equestrian worlds fairly soon. I don't know when and I don't know for how long. As far as I can tell, the duration of visiting another Displaced is randomized for each case. So... good luck with that." Freddy tipped his hat and turned around before vanishing from sight. "Later!"

...

Pharynx opened his eyes and shuffled back about an inch. When his body reminded him how hurt he was, he winced and held a hoof up to his face. He looked around at the familiar walls of the infirmary.

"What kind of stupid dream was that?" He muttered.

A shared lucid dream, it seems. Xavier stepped into the room, using his staff as an old person would their third leg.

"You had it too?"

Yes. Xavier pulled out his new card given to him by Freddy Krueger.

"Wait, are we still dreaming?"

No, my fatigue from the Gigante fight is still fresh. Xavier sat down next to the bed. Speaking of which... I think I'm going back to sleep.

In less than a minute, the Lucario was snoring in his awkward sitting posture. Pharynx looked away before turning over on the bed. For a while, he just looked up.
---

Author's Note:

Xavier learned Bone Rush! ... kind of.

Item(s) obtained:
1x Riley's Staff
1x Blank trading card - CFV