Revelations (17)
I floated silently through the trees of the jungle. The moon's light cast down through the canopy, enough to let me see clearly, despite the foliage. After I woke up, I had to get outside to escape the claustrophobic feel of my room and get some fresh air. Once I was outside, I didn’t have much of a desire to return to my hammock, so I decided to take a midnight stroll through the woods to clear my head. Nothing could go wrong with that.
I swatted away a branch that was in my path. I didn’t really need to, but I got to pretend the branch was Erebus. That left a lot of mutilated branches in my path.
My thoughts swirled inside my mind, trying to make heads or tails of who, or what, Erebus is. This thinking started to go into circle logic and I had to shut my mind down and focus on the scenery before I got a headache. “Nothing makes sense anymore.” I muttered for what seemed like the thousandth time. I’m an engineer. Things had to make sense for it to work, even things like the chaos theory or the butterfly effect, those had their own weird, twisted rules.
I tried to go farther without thinking about it, but it was futile. My mind kept listing the facts and tried to piece them together. ‘I’m stuck in a game where the inhabitants and the scenery are disturbingly real.’ I thought, ‘Virtual reality technology couldn’t have gotten that far so fast. Even if it did, why would they waste it on a political game between these “Gods”? Shouldn’t they be using them for battle simulators or something? How big is this Game? What are the stakes put on the table between the Hosts or whoever runs this damn thing?’
My mind then turned to my host in particular. ‘And Erebus. Who exactly is he? How could he be able to talk so casually about Hitler and Stalin like they were drinking buddies? There’s no way he could have known them and still be alive to talk about it, unless he’s got some sort of voodoo magic that keeps him alive and kicking. How much power does he have to be able to threaten my brother?’ I briefly wondered if Erebus was a Templar from the Assassin’s creed game. It would explain the insane amount of political power he has. Plus, if he had one of the Pieces of Eden, it would explain the illusion of the game. The only problem is that I can’t prove it in here.
I grabbed the nearest tree and smacked my head against it, hoping the force would knock some sense into me. It didn’t, nor could I feel the impact either. So I settled with a very hard facepalm. When my head stopped shaking, I heard a faint sound coming from the trees. It wasn’t a sound you would usually hear from the jungle at night. This one seemed…sad. I kept quiet, hoping to pick up the sound and pin point it back to its origin.
Moving around in order to get a better pick up, I was able to follow it through the trees. I crept closer to the sound, flitting from shadow to shadow, not wanting to scare the source away. The sound grew louder as I came closer and I could now tell that the sound was a song of some sort, a very sad and mournful song. I still couldn’t tell where it was coming from though.
After a few more minutes, I found the origin of the sound in a clearing. I peeked past the bushes and instantly found the source of the song. It was Pearl who was singing. She and her brother were lying next to the corpse of their mother. I could tell it was her because the body was near the ship. Pearl was singing her song as she nuzzled her mother’s withered face. Magnus just laid on the ground, eyes closed. I couldn’t tell if he was sleeping or not.
I looked back at Pearl, and without the distractions of fighting or emotions, I was able to get a good look at her. She was a lot smaller than Magnus, probably small enough to completely hide under his wings. She looked a lot like him, with a triangular snout and sharp claws, everything that made a dragon a dragon. What surprised me was that she didn’t have wings. I didn’t know if that was what she was born with or if she would grow them later on
With nothing better to do, I stayed and listened to the song. It was quite beautiful, almost hauntingly. The song felt like a simple lullaby, but the way Pearl sang...it was so much more.
When she finished, I found myself standing out from the bushes I was hiding in. Since I was already out, I might as well say something. “That was a beautiful song.” I said. Pearl jumped at my voice, clearly not expecting me. I glanced over at Magnus, who stayed where he was but his eyes were now open and locked on me.
“Oh, um thank you…” Pearl blushed at my comment, “It was just a song that my mother had taught me when she…” I could see tears start to spring up in her eyes and she started to sniff. I had to do something. I moved a bit closer and sat on the ground near her, well as close as I could with Magnus’ increasing glare on me.
“Pearl.” I started, “I’m sorry for what happened. I really am. But what’s happened is past and there’s nothing I can do about it. If I could, I would go back and fix a lot of mistakes I made.” Memories started to come back up but I barely made an attempt to keep them at bay this time. “Fate tends to have a cruel sense of humor.” Pearl kept trying to blink back tears unsuccessfully. I continued, “Listen, I understand how you feel right now.”
“You do?” she said between sobs.
I nodded. “Most of my family is dead already.” Pearl gasped and Magnus raised his eyebrow in question. I bet he was wondering how I, as a Night Shade, could have a family. “I felt the same as you do, if not worse since I blame myself for what happened.” The memories I usually kept repressed were breaking free one by one. I braced myself for it as best I could.
“What happened?” Pearl asked.
“Well, first off, I wasn’t always like this.” I gestured to my body, “I was a different species entirely. I was a human.” I could see the impending questions wanting to come out of Pearl’s mouth, “A human is... well, like an oversized monkey minus most the hair and tail.” It was the best I could do. Trying to explain your own species to a different one was a lot harder than I thought it would be. “Basically, more or less what Erebus looked like when you saw him.” Magnus’ eyes hardened even more at the mention of the name, Pearl just stared at me in fascination and wonder.
“Now as for what happened,” I sighed, “I normally wouldn’t talk about this but you two deserve to know.” I steeled myself for the trip down memory lane, “I was with my mom and little sister. It was the first week of summer and my birthday was coming up soon so we were celebrating a bit by playing at the park. My mom was like an angel. She would go out of her way to make me and my siblings happy, even if it meant going behind my dad’s back a few times. My sister…she was a year younger than me. She was full of joy and she always wanted to be outside. The two of us loved to play tag and hide and go seek in the playground a lot.”
I remembered her trying to find me. Always coming close but never quite there, until I started to laugh at her attempts. More memories emerged as I spoke. “It was getting late and we had to go home. The three of us walked to the street corner to cross over. At that moment, I noticed my shoe was untied, so I bent down to tie it again. As I was doing so, my mom and sister decided to cross without me. I tried to hurry up but…” I stopped. The emotions were becoming too much for me to bear.
“You don’t have to keep telling us,” Magnus said, “if it hurts that much.”
“No. I want to get it off my chest. I’ve never really had anyone to talk to about it aside from my brother.” I replied before continuing my tale, “There was a loud noise down the street, I looked to see a huge semi-truck.” Seeing the confusion on their face, I explained, “It’s like a large metal cart used for carrying things. Any ways, I watched the truck come barreling down the street. I saw that my mom and sister hadn’t fully made it across, nor had they noticed the truck. By the time they did, it was too late.”
“What happened?” Pearl asked, mostly out of concern but I could see a hint of curiosity in her eyes.
“Let’s just say that a ton of metal moving at fifty miles an hour is very unforgiving on the flesh.” I said, sparing her the details. She seemed content with that answer. “Later when the police arrived, they discovered that the person driving the truck had died of a heart attack in the middle of the street.” I felt old bitterness and anger rise up like bile. “About a month later, my dad decided to abandon my brother and me by chugging a bottle of whiskey and playing a rigged game of Russian roulette.” I remembered walking into the room seeing the blood splatter on the wall, the gun and bottle in his hands and the faraway look in his dead, glazed eyes.
“Do you know what that does to a kid?” I snapped at them, “To lose two of the closest family you have to fate, and then to lose another because he doesn’t care about us? He didn’t even say goodbye, or even leave a note. He just killed himself while my brother and I were at school.” I calmed myself a little before moving on, “My brother was left to take care of me, despite that we had moved in with our uncle. He almost had to drop out of school and take multiple jobs to even pay for our up bringing since our uncle was only giving us shelter. We almost never had time to be together and play like we used to. Whenever I wasn’t at home or at school, I was with doctors that tried to make me feel better but I didn’t want them.”
I remembered how my uncle gave me a bunch of video games, mostly to get me to stop crying and being a pest to him, and started my passion and distraction from life. “When we did have time together, he always strove to comfort me and tell me that everything was going to be alright in the end. Eventually, once I was old enough to take care of myself, my brother joined the military to help me pay for my college fees. I haven’t seen him since.”
I felt a sudden tightness around me and looked to see that Pearl was hugging me, though barely due to my current form. I whispered the spell to turn into my Dog form to give her something to hold onto. She hugged me even tighter, still sobbing. I stroked my paw down her scales soothingly. Neither of us spoke, not wanting to break the silence.
“How do you handle it?” Pearl whispered, “The thought of never seeing them again?” She nuzzled her head into my chest as she spoke.
“I couldn't.” I replied, “Not by myself, at least. If it weren't for my brother...I don't even know how I would have ended up.” I brought her face to look at mine, “They may be gone but you still have your brother to take care of you, just as he has you to take care of him. But promise me this, Don't ever forget them. I spent half my life trying to forget what happened. All that's left is a face, a name, and a few memories of them.” Pearl nodded eagerly as she wiped away her tears, trying to put on a brave face.
A second later she had a nervous look, “Um, Gunhaver...would it be okay if...” She trailed off in a mumbe.
“I didn't get that last part.”
She gulped. “...if...I could be your sister?” Her eyes widened, “Not that we're actually related or anything bu-” I stopped her with a finger over her mouth.
“I would love that. Thank you.” I heard a loud cough to the side, I looked up to see Magnus still glaring at me. He jerked his head to the side, signaling that he wanted to be with me, alone. I complied, setting Pearl on the ground, who promptly went over to her mother and curled up to sleep. I allowed myself a small smile at the sight before having to follow Magnus when he gave a grunt to get my attention. When we reached the spot he wanted he immediately pressed me up against a tree, albeit not really effectively seeing as I could easily slide out of his grasp. I half expected this but I let him do as he pleased, not wanting to anger him further.
“I don't like what you're doing.” He growled menacingly, “You may have Pearl fooled but not me. I swear on my parent's grave that if you hurt her, I'l-”
“You'll end me in the most horrific and degrading manner possible.” I interrupted in a sarcastic tone, “Yeah, yeah, I get it. Just skip the fluffy death threats and get to the damn point already. I know you hardly trust me with what's happened and as much as I would love to try to earn it back, I really don't want my time wasted.”
Magnus gave another growl, “What exactly is your connection to Erebus? You said you knew him. How?”
The million dollar question. “I'll tell you but you have to hear me out first before you make a judgment call.” Magnus snorted his displeasure, but agreed with a quick nod. “Good.” I explained to him how I first met Erebus and how he screwed my life over, omitting the Voice. I still wasn't ready to let that cat out of the bag. I'm hoping I can somehow get rid of it quietly. No one would ever have to know about it.
When I was done, Magnus seemed to be letting the new information I told him sink in. About five minutes later, he spoke, “So what exactly is this game you have to play?” he sounded unsure, but he wanted to know more.
“Beats the hell out of me. It's some political game between him and his buddies. I don't even know what I'm supposed to even be doing, except that my orders are to get to the mainland.” I said. “By the way, can you let me down? This is starting to get a bit uncomfortable.” Magnus let go, but he stayed tense, waiting for me to make a move.
“This 'virtual reality', was does that mean?”
I hesitated for a bit. How would a character react if he learned that his life is a product of computer designers? I quickly checked around to see if we were alone, double checking every nook and cranny, before speaking in a whisper, “You can't tell this to anyone. NO ONE must know. Then again, I'm not so sure on it myself but still, this must remain secret. Understand?” Magnus stared at me in confusion, like I had just lost my mind, but he slowly nodded his head. “Okay, A virtual reality is, essentially, an artificial universe, meaning everything here shouldn't be real.”
A series of emotions spread across Magnus' face. Shock, confusion, pondering, and finally, concern. “What do you mean 'shouldn't'?”
“I came into this game assuming everything wasn't real, that I would be fine no matter what happened. But lately, events have me questioning how much of this is virtual.”
“Erebus may have been lying. He did tell my parents that you were hunting them, though you say you weren't.” His tone said that he still didn't really trust me on that. However something he said clicked in my mind.
'Wait a minute.' I thought, 'Why would Erebus need to physically go and talk to the dragons? Why didn't he just have programmed them in the first place? Unless...he couldn't program them in the first place. The only reason he couldn't be able to do that would be if..they were real.' I growled in frustration, clawing at my head for answers. “Why is nothing ever easy?” I muttered to myself.
“Is there no way for you to find out?” Magnus said. For a second there, it seemed like he was genuinely concerned about me. But, that's too much to ask for.
“How would you test to see if your world is real?” I deadpanned, “It's not like I can try to wake myself up from a dream when I'm already awake.” I rubbed my face, attempting to take the mental strain away. I looked up at the night sky, hoping that the answer to all my problems could be deciphered from the stars.
I blinked once. Twice. Then I shook my head from the pain of the massive face palm I performed.
“...wat.” Magnus stared at me as if I had gone completely bonkers. If I wasn't in so much pain, I would have to agree.
“I'm an idiot! I can't believe I forgot about the ceiling!” I said. Every game has a “ceiling” or the limit to how high a person can go. If there was no ceiling...there was only one way to find out. I grabbed a rock about as big as my head and handed it to Magnus. “Take this and follow me. Trans Form Harpy.” I quickly shape shifted and rocketed off into the sky, leaving Magnus to catch up. The two of us rose up high into the night sky, racing to the stars. As we went up into the higher altitudes, I was surprised to find that I couldn't feel the normal cold winds associated with this altitude. But Magnus and I had to stop eventually because the air was starting to get thin, and I didn't want either of us passing out so I cast “Ventus” to keep us supplied with fresh air as we stayed up here.
“Okay, Magnus, I want you to point that rock at the sky and use the spell I taught you. Try to make it a big one.” He nodded and took time to concentrate while I kept the fresh air coming. As he was doing so, I looked down to try to get an estimate of how high up we were. The island below was a small speck, only visible by the moonlight and the camp fires below. I did some quick calculations with a few rough estimates and was shocked at our potential altitude. We were about three miles, if not more, high in the air. If this wasn't the ceiling, then I don't know what is.
After about ten minutes or so, Magnus lifted the rock above his head and yelled “Depulso!” The result was a projectile skyrocketing at what seemed to be mach speed. The two of us watched it dissappear into the inky blackness of the night sky. A minute later, we both caught sight of a small shooting star. Magnus gave me an expectant look “Soooo....”
“Honestly, I don't even know.” I said, “I was hoping for something but, now that I think about it, missiles aren't exactly the best testing equipment, since they can pass the ceiling.”
Magnus gave me a flat look, “So we just wasted our time up here?”
“Not entirely,” I said, starting to make my desent, “I did find out that the ceiling at least three miles high. So there's still the possibility of it not existing, or being higher than we can reach.”
“Is there no way for you to know?”
I pondered the thought for a few seconds. “Erebus said that some of his cohorts are in this world as well. He said they would be gods and goddesses here. If I can find them, maybe I can get an answer.”
The two of us continued dropping to the island below. I passed the time by thinking. “Assuming this world is real, which I'm still having trouble believing,” I said, voicing my thoughts aloud, “Then how the hell did Erebus take me from my world to my own?”
“Maybe he has some godly powers?” Magnus said jokingly.
The gears in my head turned, processing this possibility. I could have sworn my mind went ding when it was done. “No way.” I said, “Humans don't have magic or powers of any kind.” As I said that, the possibility still lingered in my mind.
But as this information buzzed in my head, one question remained. “What was I going to do?” But I already had the answer as soon as it was asked. It was the only way I could get to him on my terms.
I'm going to win this Game of his and I will have my revenge.
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This chap took a while to write because of the feels it induced
On a side note, would you guys care to donate to the Fund for Cute and Orphaned Dragonlings.
This fund was started for the recent influx of orphaned dragonlings *cough*Griffin*cough*
Please help these Dragons find a home today.
Insta feature is insta (not that it's bad) but otherwise nice chapter dude. Here, have a pinkie
Also, DEM FEELS! ALL OF THEM!
Never liked that rule in games that the missiles can go over the roof, if it's the roof then everything should stop, if it doesn't then it's not the roof.
This chapter, I like it.
media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7iiezqYoa1r13yt6.gif
I woke up and had this waiting for me!
In the words of a very wise man..."MURDEEEEEEEEER!!!"
1637887
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1637998 I'm going to have to disagree with you sir. Gunhaver only explained his problem to Magnus and Pearl because it relates to them the most. He's never going to tell this to the others (He didn't even talk to Rum Runner about it). As for OP, Gun's just really efficient. (you'll see why next chap
) And besides, who in this Chess game isn't a little OP?
1638298 the cow.
1638323 well you may be right as i haven't read that fic. but my point more or less still stands.
1637440
try: left trigger, right trigger, left bumper, right bumper, select, start
its a master reset for most game consoles
Loving your fic, but this last chapter leaves me with doubts. I just don't see two kids getting all chummy with the creature that just killed their parents. I could probably understand them not going all homicidal on them due to their parents being lied to, but from a psychological standpoint shouldn't they want to distance themselves from their parents murderer. Or at the very least, not ask if he would be their brother?
If there's a reason behind this, or its for the plot, sorry for mentioning it.
1639572 didn't you see the description for Pearl? She's young, like at the age where she's still full of innocence and oblivious to most things. So she probably doesn't really know what she's actually doing, especially with all those feels inside her.
Magnus is going to have a talk with her later probably.
As for Magnus, Gun's still on thin ice around him. The helping thing at the end was partially out of curiousity about Gun and Erebus, and partially to keep an eye on Gun.
1639671 Gotcha, thanks for the clarification. I was under the impression Magnus was an elder teenager, while pearl was an adolescent just short of getting her wings. If she's that young then her response would be more accurate.
1639685 Well, you got the Magnus impression right. So that means i'm doing something right.
but yes that is the impression I was supposed to give out about Pearl...I should probably mention that later.
1638337 i know i am just sad that the only sorry excuse of a human being in Equestria, is that zebra Ivan, i just think this verse should have more villains, and less horny,overly idealistic, and overachieving, teenagers. i want to see some NTR not just vanilla cupcakes for fucks sake... and well you should see this is not related to the argument at hand it is just me bitching.
1639984 I know that feel bro. That's why I strictly didn't put a Romance tag on this fic (amongst other reasons
).
And don't worry about the villany...all i can say is: Soon.
also. NTR?
So, how long is this story going to be, if you don't mind me asking? Like Diaries Of a Madman length, or shorter?
I'm really liking it so far. I hope you answer my question, and I hope you update soon. ;)
1640057
NTR is a hentai thing. Netorare... not a morally good thing, haha.
1638323
1638337
Missy may not be physically imposing, but she's certainly done the most real research into the Latin magic, she's practically gotten Celly and Lulu into her back pocket (even moreso than Knightmare has Celly), and she recently cast a "Peace, Love, and Happiness" spell using Ursa bones instead of gems (sky-beast bones are to regular gems as weapons-grade plutonium is to dynamite); incidentally, she used that spell against an OC Chesspiece (not a crossover) who also thinks he's in a video game. The discussion in the comments revealed that DataPackRat had no idea this fic existed, which is how I got here in the first place.
Where a lot of Chesspieces have OP bodies or special powers, Missy's got an OP brain. Even when her poor little cow brain got a bit atrophied after using so much magic outside of Equestria's borders.
1637440 Here, have all of the money. All of it.
That song was a good song, that scene was a cute scene, this was fun chapter, is this gonna be like Ponyfall or something where they all get together and solve all their problems? I should follow up on the other stories if the characters don't blow.
1637732
And indeed you received, because I've still got over 10 chapters to read through! Praise be to God!
I spy a God of War reference.
I must protest--- evil is a matter of conscious intent. Gun only acted to defend his ship and his people. He did not go out seeking an innocent being to destroy. He did not even instigate the fight! He is innocent.
2664319 Your name truly suits your comment.