Pandemic: Aftermath

by ASGeek2012

Chapter 26 - The Stage Is Set

Jason still felt bleary when he descended into the common area of the apartment building that Thursday morning. He had gone to bed late the night before, having spent much of his evening sneaking into the pony sector. Unknown to either law enforcement or the military, there was the equivalent of an underground railroad for ponies or humans wanting to pass between the human and pony sectors undetected. Only a very few people from either species knew about it.

Ted Miller was apparently not one of those ponies, but Wildy was. Ted didn't find out until earlier that morning. It had been their loud row in the hallway outside his room that had woken Jason. He sighed as he heard their voices in the hallway behind him.

"Wildy, it could've made things a whole lot easier if you had just told me about that from the start," Ted declared.

"With all the shit that was going on, I had to keep that an absolute secret," Wildy said.

"You've trusted me with secrets before."

Wildy stopped and turned her head towards Jason, narrowing her eyes. "Not when we had the likes of him skulking about. Now you see why I was so upset the other day when he was asking questions?"

"I've officially turned in my skulking card, Miss Springs," Jason said in a formal voice.

Wildy snorted. "The only reason I was convinced to help you was because you became a fugitive."

"So you help only known outlaws," Jason deadpanned. "Got it."

"That's not what I meant. You're at least taking a stand against the crap the feds are trying to do. Or at least I hope you are, and this isn't just another setup."

Normally, Jason would not allow himself to be goaded, but he was in no mood to be charitable that morning. A sizable chunk of his night had been taken up by a dreamwalking Phobia Remedy. His mind was still reeling from the revelations the Dreamwarden had bestowed upon him. It had answered a great many questions but had prompted just as many new ones. As personable as Phobia seemed, she had her limits, and Jason had tested them.

It also had not helped to learn that the Wardens had already been keeping an eye on him. His natural talent of getting others to answer his questions was considered borderline mind magic.

However, he also had things to do that did not include sparring with a died-in-the-woods Shimmerist. "As much as I'd love to expound on how ridiculous a prospect that is, I don't have time for this. You're welcome to stay as far away from me as you wish."

"I intend to," Wildy said. "And Ted should as well, just to be safe."

Jason at least got to see Ted roll his eyes and give Jason a sympathetic look before turning away.

As soon as he stepped into the hall, he spotted the girl at once. She was seated between an older woman to her left who matched the description of Eileen McDermott and an earth pony on her right he recognized as Fire Springs (no apparent relation to Wildy).

Yet he also spotted another familiar though tired face wearing sunglasses to ward off the bright morning sun that filtered into the hall from the tall windows. Midnight met him halfway, where there were no other ponies nearby. He dipped his head slightly and said in a low voice, "Is it safe to assume that you're in-the-know now?"

"Yes," Jason said in a flat voice. "I know all about your keepers, the Dreamwardens."

"So now maybe you won't be so worried about night ponies stepping out of line?"

"Night ponies, maybe. The Wardens? Not so much."

Midnight sighed. "Yeah, I figured you'd find something to nitpick."

"No oversight," said Jason. "No checks and balances on their power. No--"

"Look, they had to take Oaths, too," Midnight pointed out.

"Yes, Phobia mentioned that to me," Jason said sourly. "Now I have to be content that the unfathomable forces of the universe will remain benevolent enough to ..." He trailed off and shook his head. "Alright, never mind, it is what it is, and at least I know what the hell is going on. Even if it means they're the equivalent of despots keeping their subjects in line with mortal fear."

Midnight frowns. "Maybe I should tell you some time what it's like to have no limits imposed on your powers. If we didn't have those 'despots' in place, I could give you nightmares that would have you waking up every morning crying like a little foal."

Jason was rather taken aback by the comment, as it was the first time Midnight showed any hint of aggression when it came to his night pony abilities.

"And I agree, the Wardens all have a screw loose," said Midnight in his more usual congenial voice. "In some cases, several."

"And you're not worried about incurring their wrath talking like that about them?"

Midnight shrugged. "They don't care about the waking world. In the dream realm, yeah, they demand respect and obedience. In the waking world, they'd be more likely to have a beer with you." He considered. "Well, except for Yinyu, she'd probably want to fuck, but that's a whole other story."

Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Anyway, I'm just glad you were willing to compromise."

"Some compromise," Jason muttered. "It leaves them way too much wiggle room to change it. And I can't even tell my own partner most of the pertinent details. Damn this obsessive need for secrecy."

"I happen to think they're too anal about it, too, if that helps any," Midnight said.

"Marginally." Jason looked past him. "I have someone I need to talk to."

"I can guess who. Be easy on her."

"I'll try."

Midnight yawned. "I'm going off to bed. Too many days spent staying up well past my bedtime."

Jason watched him go before heading towards the table. His conversation with Midnight had allowed Wildy and Ted to find their seats, and the former cast a wary look at him as he approached. "Jennifer Tanner?"

The girl looked towards him. "Um, yes, that's me."

"I'm Jason Madsen. Connie likely mentioned me."

"Yes, she did."

"What do you want with her?" the older woman demanded.

"And you must be Eileen McDermott," said Jason.

"Yeah," said Eileen. "Jenny's guardian."

"I need to speak with Jenny for a moment. Preferably alone."

Wildy gasped.

"Anything you can say to her you can say to me," Eileen said.

"What is this about?" Jenny asked.

"I'm relaying a request, one you might already be aware of," Jason explained. "But I don't know how many ears it was intended for, so I'd rather this be a private--"

Wildy rushed up to them. "Don't do it! I'm not sure we can trust him yet!"

"Pipe down, okay?" Eileen said in irritation. "I'm her guardian, not you."

"I'm willing to have one other person accompany us in addition to Ms. McDermott," said Jason.

"Then I want to--" Wildy started.

"Except you."

Wildy frowned. "Well, that's convenient."

"Let's just say I don't want to be hit with any more sticks," Jason said.

Wildy's expression softened. "I'm sorry about that. Maybe I was a little out of line."

"Oh, you think?"

"But I think you're out of line if you don't admit your ability to Jenny before you talk to her."

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "What ability?"

Jason jabbed a hoof towards his cutie mark. "I have a knack for getting people to answer my questions, but this isn't an interrogation, and I don't have the ability to persuade you to do anything outside of that."

Jenny glanced at Eileen.

"This is your decision," said Eileen. "But I still insist on being there when he talks to you."

"I volunteer to go as well," said Fire. He looked over to Wildy. "That is, if you believe me to be trustworthy enough."

Wildy's gaze flicked between him and Jason. "All right, fine."

"My ability works only one-on-one," said Jason. "Talking to three people at the same time effectively negates it. But then again, you can claim that I can say anything I want, I suppose."

Wildy was about to retort when Ted placed a hoof on her shoulder. She glanced at him, and he gave her a meaningful look in return. Wildy said in a lower voice, "I'm just going to have to trust you."

"Thank you," said Jason. "Now, if there's someplace we can go to talk, I want to do this sooner rather than later, since I have no idea how soon things will start moving this morning."

---

Twilight had immediately cast another privacy spell around her after stepping into her room at MIDROC to take the call from Starlight. "You don't seriously think Trixie actually smuggled in an artifact?!"

"I don't want to believe it," Starlight said. "But from what Sunburst has told me, I have to consider it a possibility."

Twilight face-hoofed. "And we're sure it was a Farhearing Stone and not just something that had the same amount of magic charge?"

"Sunburst is pretty sure that's what it was. He could tell from the magical resonances."

"But what purpose would there be to smuggling in a Farhearing Stone? Ponies from Equestria bring them in all the time to maintain contact with loved ones back home. All she had to do was declare it. There's no reason for secrecy."

"Unless she wanted to give it to someone else," said Starlight.

Twilight frowned. "Who?"

"I don't know, but I can guess. She likely would have passed it to some pony here on Earth."

"Realize what you're saying!" Twilight cried. "That someone in Equestria wanted to make secret contact with someone on Earth!"

"Yes, I know, but remember that letter I received from Celestia informing me about the nobles and the trouble they were stirring up."

"This goes beyond just stirring up political matters. This is interfering with another world. What could anyone on Earth possibly hope to gain from this?"

"Oh, I can think of any number of things," Starlight said. "And as for who might want that interference, you know who I'm thinking of."

Nevertheless, it took Twilight a moment, her mind racing. "The Shimmerists?"

"They would have the most to gain from collusion with the nobles."

Twilight frowned. "The nobles think the mental state of the ponies of Earth is questionable at best. Why would they want to plot some scheme with them? Furthermore, the Shimmerists want the transformation spell. No one in their right mind is going to give them that!"

"They also want protectorate status under the Equestrian crown."

"I know," said Twilight in an irritated voice. "But that's not something the nobles can give them. Only someone of royalty could--" Twilight paused before deadpanning, "Prince Blueblood."

"That's who I was thinking of, too," said Starlight.

"Wait, we're getting ahead of ourselves. Something like this doesn't pop out of a vacuum. If Trixie was in collusion with Blueblood, some sort of meeting would have to be arranged to pass the gem to her, and it couldn't have been very long before your trip to Earth or you might have picked up on the gem's presence."

"That makes sense."

"And you and her were working closely together for weeks before your trip," said Twilight. "She was even staying in the Castle of Friendship. Was there any time she was away for a significant amount of time?"

"No, not ..." Starlight trailed off. "Uh, actually ..."

"What is it?"

"She had a spa appointment the day before we left," Starlight said. "She hadn't told me about it until then, and she was gone a rather long while."

Twilight considered. "That could be completely circumstantial."

"True."

"And Blueblood showing up in Ponyville out of the blue would not go unnoticed."

"Twilight, ponies like him don't dirty their hooves with that sort of work themselves," Starlight said. "They have proxies handle it. And that morning, Rarity informed me that Fancy Pants was in town."

"He could have been there just to visit the Riches," Twilight said in desperation. "They're close friends."

"Yeah, and the Riches are the biggest pains in the ass when it comes to their attitudes towards humans," Starlight said. "And Spoiled Rich visits that spa rather often."

"We need proof. We can't just throw accusations at them and hope they stick."

"We may get it," said Starlight. "The mage who was on customs duty when we arrived will be interviewed. Trixie is also heading to New York right now."

"Huh?" said Twilight. "She is? Why?"

"She claimed a family emergency, as told to her by a message with a Canterlot royal seal on it. She said the nobles took a fancy to her last time she performed in Canterlot."

Twilight frowned. "Dammit, this is not what I needed right now!"

"Tell me about it," said Starlight. "So if Trixie did do anything, we'll find out about it before she has a chance to go through the portal."

"Good," Twilight declared. "If we put a stop to this, it will show we're serious about the security of the portal."

"I hope so."

"It has to! We're being honest and above board. We're not hiding anything. Surely that still has some sort of merit."

Starlight was silent for a long moment. "If it were me, I'd get some advice on this."

"Why?" Twilight said. "Isn't this very straightforward?"

"Not when humans and politics are concerned," said Starlight. "I'd ask Connie about this. She's much more in the know about this sort of thing."

Twilight had not wanted to burden Connie with all her troubles, even as much as she liked talking to the woman. "Do you want to talk to her, too?"

"Er, what?"

"I can link you into the bookwalking spell."

"You can??" Starlight said in a surprised voice.

Twilight smiled. "With as closely as we worked together and the research we were doing into the morphic resonance, I memorized what yours is like, so I was able to imprint an echo of it into the spell so I could call you in if needed."

"Uh, okay."

"Something the matter?"

"Um ... well, memorizing my resonance ... that sounds kindly like a really, well, personal thing, you know?"

Twilight blushed. "Oops! I'm so sorry, I didn't think of that!"

"It's fine, just ... warn me next time," said Starlight.

"I will."

---

Tonya looked over the two crystal ponies who stood before her desk, a red-furred stallion with yellow hair and a green-furred mare with cyan hair. On her computer monitor were their personnel records. She looked over to the stallion and said, "Your name is Sun Rider?"

"Yes, ma'am," said the stallion.

Tonya glanced at the mare. "And you're Verdant Day?"

"Yes, ma'am," said the mare.

Tonya nodded once before saying, "I want to make something very clear. I expect you both to do your duty to the fullest extent of your abilities."

"Of course, ma'am," said Verdant.

"I wouldn't do any less, ma'am," said Sun.

"I've heard the scuttlebutt going around that many agents here think all they need is me," said Tonya. "Relying on any one crystal pony, regardless of their experience or skill, is asking for trouble."

"I tend not to listen to things like that, ma'am," said Verdant.

"I even tried to gently correct one of the agents I overheard saying such a thing, ma'am," said Sun. "He didn't take too well to it."

"It's best you keep your comments to yourself," Tonya said. "Even as well-intentioned as they are. Despite the FCPA being an officially recognized associate body of the FBI, not all human agents are keen on working closely with them."

They appeared surprised, but she doubted it was news to them. Likely they were more shocked that Tonya had dared to say it. Yet where she knew the agents in this operation were all in Fuller's pocket -- and she was starting to believe the picture Heller and Madsen had painted of him -- she thought it best they avoid rocking the boat.

"In any case, I want you both to know that you are not my backup, you are my partners. We will work together. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," both ponies chorused.

Tonya could have wished for more crystal ponies to be assigned to this operation. The more she heard about Jenny's ability, the more she thought she had low-balled Jenny's new PREQUES rating when Fuller pressed her to guess what it was now. "Normally I wouldn't harp on this, as you both have excellent records, but I feel we're under extraordinary conditions. We're going to have more humans around than originally anticipated, and it's vital we--"

She heard the chime on her computer indicating a change on her appointment calendar. She normally would not have interrupted her briefing, but she had not expected any new appointments to come in.

She glanced at it, intending only to pause her speech for a second, but she narrowed her eyes at it when she saw that her briefing with the FBI agents scheduled in another hour had been canceled.

"The hell?" Tonya muttered.

"Something wrong, ma'am?" Verdant asked.

"I just had the pre-operation briefing canceled," Tonya said. "Either of you know anything about this?"

Sun exchanged a confused look with his cohort before saying, "Ma'am, all we know is we were told to report to the departure area as soon as this briefing was done."

Tonya frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Um, didn't you know?"

Tonya hopped out of her chair and trotted around the side of the desk. "No, I didn't. What do you mean by the departure area?"

"Where we'll gather before executing the raid on the targets' location."

"What the hell are you talking about? We're first supposed to fan out to--"

Before she could finish her sentence, an urgent knock came at the door before Agent Handel let himself in. "Apologies, Ms. Jarris, but we're waiting for you and the other crystal ponies."

Tonya stepped up to him. "What's this all about? This operation is not supposed to be launched for another two hours!"

"My apologies, I thought you had been informed," said Handel. "New intelligence came in late yesterday. We've pinpointed the location of the two targets."

"And why was I not informed of this?"

"I don't know, but I'll be sure to investigate this breakdown in communication when the operation is concluded. I can brief you on the way to the departure area."

In all her time working with the bureau, she had never experienced a "breakdown" this bad before, nor saw an agent take it in such stride, as if this were an ordinary occurrence. Either Matthew assigned the worst agents imaginable to this operation, or she was purposely being rushed.

"Go on ahead, and I'll report in five minutes," Tonya said firmly as she turned away.

"Ms. Jarris, time is of the essence," said Handel. "Any delay in the operation--"

"I will take personal responsibility for any issue incurred by this short delay," said Tonya as she returned to her desk. "I refuse to start this operation until I have completed my briefing with these crystal ponies. I will not violate FCPA procedures. If you have a problem with that, take it up with my supervisor in Washington."

"Ma'am, with all due respect, this can be done along the way. Any delay risks the targets of the operation getting a heads-up, allowing them to plan to use Miss Tanner's power against us!"

Tonya heard the strident and almost fearful tone of Handel's voice, but she had little patience to spare. "You're having me go into an operation where I have little to no idea of the logistics. That could put the safety of myself and my crystal pony cohorts at severe risk." Tonya tapped her fore-hoof on the desk near her monitor. "Have the operational plan sent to me immediately. I will brief these two, and then we can commence."

"Mr. Fuller would not like this," said Handel.

"It's not for him to decide. I answer first to the FCPA and second to him. Now get me access to the new operational plan now."

Handel sighed through his nose. "Very well."

After he retreated, Tonya called out softly, "Close the door, please."

Sun nudged it closed with his fore-hoof. "Ma'am, I'm sorry, I realize now I should've questioned this the moment--"

Tonya held up a hoof. "We don't have a lot of time. I'm going to have to trust you two with a some information you may find disturbing, but I need to take you into my confidence if we have any chance of stopping what may be a miscarriage of justice."

The two ponies exchanged an alarmed look, but returned their gaze intently on Tonya.

Tonya slipped her cell phone out of its pouch. "But first, I need to send an urgent message ..."

---

It was the most daring move yet by the intrepid band. Two of the Baron's knights now conspired against their master, having been soured on the corruption that hung over the Baron like a toxic miasma. Yet with everything that has befallen them, could they be blamed for feeling a lingering sense of trepidation? The Baron was proving to be a wily foe, and it would not be beneath him to try even more underhanded tactics to get what he wanted.

And the audacious plan of these knights was even more suspect! To ask that these people, on the run for so long, safe in the shelter provided by their Noble host and his Lady, to simply turn themselves over to these two knights, despite all their claims that they are upholding their solemn duty to justice, made the mind reel.

And now, one of their number, the very daughter of the Countess, was about be asked to do something that could rattle her to her core ...

Jenny shuddered and pushed the Narrative away as she sat down, Eileen and Fire sitting on either side as if to protect her from all sides. She fixed her wary gaze on Jason and folded her arms tightly, as if to create yet another shield. Even as she shifted her focus, she noticed the Narrative continuing to hover at the edge of her perception, as if it were waiting.

"How much do you know about what Princess Luna wishes of you, Jenny?" Jason asked.

"A little," Jenny replied. "Connie relayed it to me last night. Something about wanting to cast a spell on me."

"Uh, what kind of spell?" Eileen asked in a wary voice.

"You're aware of Ryan, I take it?" Jason asked of Jenny.

"He's supposed to be the one who was behind the Village Center incident," said Jenny.

"Yes, and it's very important that we catch him."

"I thought you had already done that," said Eileen. "Wasn't a warrant issued for his arrest?"

"We were told he was indeed arrested, but we can't locate him," said Jason. "We suspect Fuller may have already intercepted him."

"What does this have to do with me?" Jenny demanded.

"We need to know who he really is, and the night ponies are interested in seeing that his powers are held in check before he can be properly brought to trial. They need him linked more fully back to the dream realm, and Princess Luna seems to think you can help with that."

"Twilight never mentioned that to me."

"Yes, well ... she's not all that keen on this."

Eileen frowned. "That should be a sign right there that this is a bad idea."

"From what I've heard, and with all due respect to her, she may not be thinking clearly on this," Jason said.

"If I may," said Fire. "From what I understand, Princess Luna is the expert on anything related to the dream realm. I think we can safely assume that means she would not intentionally cause anypony any harm."

"No, we can't," Eileen said. "What do we really know about her intentions? What if she simply wants to pursue her own goals no matter what?"

"I'm not sure how you can say that."

"Look at what she did at Village Center. She just popped in without so much as a warning and cast a spell over hundreds of people. Yeah, I get it, she needed to stop what was happening, but it shows she may care more about the final result than the people involved."

Jenny sighed and covered her eyes with her hand. The Narrative impinged on her senses, like someone waving from afar to get her attention.

"Let me make my case, and then you can all argue about it at your leisure," said Jason. "Jenny, I know you've been under a ton of stress, but if you can help in any way, both myself and my partner would be grateful."

Jenny lowered her hand. "Is he really that hard to catch?"

"It's not so much catching him as keeping him. He has a dangerous ability, and we need every means we can get to keep him away from the public."

Jenny frowned. "You mean like you and Heller want to do to me and Bev."

"The situation is different," said Jason. "From what I've heard, you've been trying to rein in your powers."

Jenny closed her eyes tightly for a moment. The Narrative continued to vie for her attention. "What is this spell supposed to do?"

"I haven't been given all the details," said Jason.

"That's convenient," Eileen muttered.

"I was told the Princess would explain everything to Jenny and make sure she knew exactly what she was getting into," said Jason. "Suffice it to say, it would help Luna understand how Jenny came to be linked to the dream realm again so she can replicate that with Ryan."

"I can't speak for Jenny, of course," said Fire. "But I trust Princess Luna in this."

"You would," Eileen deadpanned.

"No, it's not because I'm a Lunite," Fire said. "While I do see something of the divine in her, I don't believe her to be infallible. I'm basing most of this on the fact that she and Celestia have been benevolent rulers of Equestria since time out of mind."

"Minus one thousand years."

"We don't know all the details about that yet! It could have been a minor aberration!"

"A millennium of banishment is not usually a punishment given for jaywalking."

"Be that as it may--"

"Will you two shut up?!" Jenny cried.

Both Eileen and Fire fell into stunned silence.

"Just let me think for a moment, okay?" Jenny said in a slightly lower voice.

Eileen placed a hand on Jenny's shoulder and squeezed gently as Fire said in a contrite voice, "We're sorry, Jenny."

"And I'm sorry for having to heap this on you," said Jason. "I've stated my case, and I won't press you any further."

Jenny was barely listening. She had wanted a break to sort out her own feelings in the matter, but the Narrative was being too insistent. It wanted her to take it, like it had something important to tell her.

"I'll need a decision later today, though, likely after you've all been taken into formal custody, so I can make the proper arrangements to allow Princess Luna access to you."

Jenny clenched her teeth, closed her eyes, and seized the Narrative once more.

The game is afoot! The Baron is suddenly and unexpectedly moving in with his own loyal knights! Yet does he suspect that one among his enforcers may be about to turn on him? Even now she struggles to delay the Baron's machinations, attempting to throw his own rules and regulations at him in a bid to gain more time for the intrepid band.

"What's going on?" Jason asked.

"She's in the Narrative again," said Fire.

"Is that the magic I'm sensing? It's not like anything I've ever felt before."

"You have to throw out all the old rules when it comes to rehumanized magic. I don't--"

"We're in danger!" Jenny cried. "Fuller is moving in now!"

"Wait, what? " Eileen cried.

"He know's exactly where we are now!"

"Jenny, how do you--?" Jason began, but cut himself off when something chimed in his saddlebags. He levitated out his cell phone and frowned. "Shit. Shit. I just got a text from Tonya. Jenny's right."

Eileen shot to her feet. "What do we do? We can't stay here!"

"Hang on." Jason manipulated his phone with the stylus.

"Heller here," came Anthony's voice over the speaker.

"We got a problem," Jason said. "Fuller's moving in. Tonya's trying to stall, but she can't for long."

"I'm already on my way," said Anthony. "I should be there in fifteen minutes."

"I may need to start the process now."

"Fuller may have already pulled your authorization as an agent."

"Yeah, but if I don't actually check into that, what I don't know won't hurt me. Can you get here any faster?"

"Not without risking running over ponies," said Anthony. "I'm already in the pony sector."

Fire hopped off the sofa. "I'll go contact the pegasus patrol. They can help get ponies off the road."

"Do it," Jason said as Fire galloped away. "I need a contact in the GVPD. The police need to start moving in. It may give Fuller's agents pause if they get here first."

The rest of the conversation retreated into a vague drone in Jenny's ears as she struggled to understand something very odd she was sensing.

Over the past two days, the Narrative had felt subtly different to her each time she contacted it. She had thought she was just getting used to this power and learning all its nuances, but that wasn't it. Something about the Narrative's nature itself was changing, almost before her very eyes. But was it her attempting to shape the Narrative into something more convenient, or was it reacting to some other circumstance that Jenny could not fathom?

She wasn't sure she was going to like the answer, no matter what it was.

---

While Larry had been around, Sam had become accustomed to talking with his contact in the pony sector -- someone who had identified himself only as "TM" -- when he was outside the apartment so Larry would not overhear. Even with Larry gone, he didn't feel safe contacting TM there. For all he knew, Larry's overlords had him plant a bug in his apartment.

He was also concerned about being followed. He walked along a nature trail which opened up into a wide field where he could see in all directions before he dialed his contact.

"Hi, Sam," came TM's harried voice.

"Listen, there's been a big change at my end," said Sam. "I've ditched my brother Larry, since I think he was up to no good."

"Yes, we know."

Sam stopped walking. "You do?" He looked around. "Are you guys secretly watching me?" He looked up. "Because if you are, you're no better than whoever Larry was really working for."

"It's a long story," said TM. "Suffice it to say, we have some magical means of learning what's been going on outside the pony sector."

Sam was already a little leery of pony magic. Just what the hell were they doing? He didn't even know if his contact was a human or a pony. "The point is, I want to know where Bev is. I want to see her."

"That's not a good idea right now."

"What the hell are you talking about? Fine, you don't want me to know where your hidey-hole for Partials is. I get that. I'm willing to do what you suggested and meet somewhere on your side of town."

TM sighed, and Sam detected more exasperation than upset in TM's voice. "Things are not good at the moment. Bev can't leave here."

Sam frowned. "Or do you mean you won't let her?"

"I mean, none of us can leave right now! You would be better off staying in the human sector until I contact you again."

"Look, you're the one who suggested I meet her like this!" Sam cried. "Your only requirement was that I come alone. If you think I'm lying to you--"

"I know you're not lying," said TM in a tense voice.

"Then I don't get this. Why can't any of you leave?"

Sam heard a loud female voice in the background that sounded vaguely familiar. "One moment, please," said TM before his voice became distant, arguing with the other voice. He heard the stomp of a hoof and a long sigh. Finally, TM's voice returned, "Sam, please don't tell anyone this. Don't repeat it back. We think the FBI is moving in on us right now."

Sam's eyes widened. "Is that who Larry was working for?"

"Yes."

Sam felt his stomach twist. "I knew Bev was likely wanted, but not that badly."

"There's more to it than that," said TM. "I wish I could tell you more, but I can't speak for the others involved."

"I want to know what's going on. What did Bev get herself mixed up in?"

"I promise to have her talk to you directly when this is over."

"Won't Bev be in custody then?"

TM paused. "It's hard to explain. We're hoping--"

"I'm getting tired of hearing everything is hard to explain," Sam declared. "This should be black and white. Either she's being taken into custody or she's not."

"I asked you not to repeat--"

"To hell with what you want, I want my sister safe," Sam said. "And it's looking like I'm the only one who can do that. Now, I'm coming into the pony sector whether you like it or not."

"Sam, please, be reasonable!"

"If you're so interested in being reasonable, you'll send someone to meet me once I'm in the sector," said Sam. "If not, I'll go house to fucking house if I have to."

Sam hung up. When his phone rang again from the same number as he rushed back to his apartment, he ignored it. He was through with letting others tell him what to do. He was going to find Bev no matter what it took.

---

Ted turned to Wildy. "He's not answering his phone anymore."

"He's an idiot anyway, never mind him," Wildy said.

"This is Bev's brother we're talking about! Don't let her hear you say that."

Wildy looked around. "Where is she anyway?"

"Jenny and Eileen have gone to fetch her," said Ted. "We should tell Jason about this."

"Why? What difference does this make?"

"Tell me what?" came Jason's voice as he approached, his cell phone still levitated before him.

Ted turned towards him. "I just talked to Sam Kelton."

Jason frowned. "What did I say about limiting outside contacts until this is over?"

"Someone's going to have to inform him eventually of what we're doing."

"Yes, when it's over and done," said Jason. "As soon as Eileen and Jenny have Bev down here, I'm going to start reading you all your Miranda rights. Hopefully that will be official enough so that Anthony can just finish it up."

"I still can't believe I got talked into this idea," Wildy muttered.

"You're likely not going to be charged with anything," Jason said. "I already promised I wouldn't press charges for your assault on me."

"I don't mean that! I'm going against everything I stand for in keeping Partials out of the hands of the feds!"

"Fuller's intentions aside, the FBI has no plans to put her in jail," Jason said in a voice of forced patience. "The whole thing with internment camps ended about a month ago."

Wildy's eyebrows rose. "It did?"

"Maybe if you paid more attention to current events outside your little pony world, you'd know that."

"I didn't know that myself," said Ted. "And I consider myself well-versed on current events."

"I guess it was more low key that I thought," said Jason. "In any event, if Anthony and I can get you all processed quickly enough, it will become a matter of public record, and Fuller shouldn't be able to touch any of you after that. Then you should all be given due process of law."

Ted glanced over as Eileen, Jenny, and Bev approached. His eyes glistened as he beheld the fear on Jenny's face that the girl was desperately trying to hide. "What about Jenny? Will she be charged with anything?"

Jenny flinched slightly when Jason looked at her, and Eileen wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Initially, yes, but I imagine they'll be dropped considering the circumstances. I strongly suspect Princess Twilight will put in a good word for her." Jason looked around. "Is this everyone?"

"Fire Springs isn't here," said Ted. "He went to check on the pegasus patrol."

"Hopefully he'll hurry up." Jason drew his cell phone closer to his muzzle. "Still there?"

"Still here," came Anthony's voice.

"Can you hear me clearly?"

"Loud and clear."

"Good, just make sure you pay attention to your driving as well." Jason turned his head at the sound of approaching hooves. "There he is."

Fire rushed up to them. "Sorry, took me longer than I thought. All pegasus wings are out. We have one monitoring the approach of the other FBI agents as well."

"Did you get hold of the GVPD?" asked Anthony.

"Yeah, they got cops on the way here," said Jason. "All right, is everyone ready?"

Ted wasn't sure he ever would be. He doubted he could count on having much of a career in politics anymore after this. Even if he never got charged with anything, this experience had proven to him that he was not cut out for this. Connie didn't really need him as much as she said she did.

Yet this career was all he had. His lack of a cutie mark, however, was perhaps another sign that he had to seek his future elsewhere.

"Ted?" Jason prompted.

"Sorry," Ted murmured, shaking his head. "Ready."

Jason levitated out his FBI badge and showed it to the assembled beings. "I am Agent Jason Madsen with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I am here to take you into custody for the charges of illicit magic use, failure to report magical abilities, evading law enforcement, harboring a fugitive, and resisting arrest. You have the right to remain silent ..."

---

It had been decided that Connie should treat that day as any other so as to allay suspicion that she was working so closely with those who were the target of the FBI operation. Thus she went into the office soon after seeing her daughter head off to school, itself an event that made her apprehensive. All her motherly instincts had told her to keep Christina at home, but that again could look suspicious. It made her feel a little like she was using her own daughter as a pawn.

She had brought the book with her, arranging it on her desk so that the purple tassel would face away from the door and not be immediately visible to anyone else in the room, as its glow was the means by which Twilight indicated that she needed to talk to Connie.

Ellen, her chief of staff, entered the office while Connie was looking over some proposed economic legislation. "Connie, we got a call from chief Hanner of the GVPD. They've been asked to redeploy a little earlier than expected."

Connie had found that she had to take someone in her office into her confidence. She had worked with Ellen even before being elected mayor and felt Ellen could be trusted. However, it still meant having to use code-speak so others would not glean what was happening. "How much earlier?"

"Right now."

"Did he say what the problem was?"

"No, just that a sense of urgency was relayed to him," said Ellen.

"Is Heller on his way?" Connie asked.

"Yes, he left twenty minutes ago. He should be there soon." Ellen considered. "Shall I put the word out to the press yet?"

"Hold off on that a little longer," said Connie. "The plan was to wait until we got word from Agent Heller that the others are in custody. Then we can have the press be at the Broomfield office to witness them actually arriving there."

"We're assuming nothing will happen between here and Broomfield."

Connie caught a purple light out of the corner of her eye. She glanced at the glowing tassel of the bookmark. "I've already been in contact with other police departments in the Denver area. They'll be watching for those vehicles." She lay her hand on the book. "I, um, have a call I need to take."

Ellen nodded. "Got it. I'll see that you're not disturbed."

Connie waited until Ellen had closed the door before opening the book. The familiar stylized drawing of Twilight smiled up at her, though she had stepped over more towards the left of her space than she had before. "Good morning, Connie."

"Good morning, Twilight," Connie said.

"I've brought someone with me," said Twilight, gesturing to the side.

Connie glanced at the empty space. "Um, you did?"

Twilight glanced over. "Starlight! Where are you?"

"You tell me," came a disembodied voice. "I'm literally in the dark here."

"Oh, you got a bit displaced. Step over to the left."

"Um, okay."

Connie heard some very faint hoofsteps and then a thunk.

"Ouch!" the voice cried.

"Sorry," Twilight said sheepishly. "Try the right."

Finally, a new drawing stumbled into view, styled in the same manner as Twilight. The Starlight avatar looked down at her stick-like legs. "Okay, this is weirding me out a bit."

"It's not that bad," said Twilight.

Starlight looked up. "Twilight, you're the most powerful magic user I know short of the Diarchy, but you can't draw worth crap."

Connie had to stifle a laugh.

"Never mind that!" said Twilight, blushing faintly. "Anyway, Connie, I first wanted to know if you heard anything about how things are going with our friends."

Even here Twilight felt the need to be roundabout, Connie realized. "Nothing yet, other than things seem to be going a little faster than anticipated."

"That might be good."

"I'm trying not to read too much into it until I hear something more concrete from the police."

"Probably a good idea." Twilight glanced at her cohort. "We have a potential situation here that my colleague Starlight Glimmer wanted me to seek your advice on. I thought the path was clear, but Starlight was unsure."

Connie listened as Twilight explained about Trixie, how she may have smuggled in an artifact, and her potential collusion with Equestrian nobility. At first she thought she was glad that she was not in a higher position of government where she would have to make these sorts of calls, until it became apparent that this was exactly what they were seeking.

"So my stand is that if we do catch Trixie and her potential co-conspirator on this side of the portal, we should report it immediately and publicly," said Twilight. "It will show we're being honest about portal security. Starlight, however, was uneasy about this approach."

"I feel like it will do us worse in the end," said Starlight. "I mean, yeah, we can't let Trixie get away with this, but this is like a grenade ready to go off."

"Twilight, there's something you should know," said Connie. "Agent Heller thinks that Ryan may have compromised people in Washington."

"Yes, I'm aware of this, though it's speculation at this point."

"Be that as it may, he could be partially responsible for keeping our government wary of ponies. Regardless of how it came about, Fuller is playing to that."

"I know," said Twilight in a somber voice. "It seems like he's the main force behind driving a wedge between humans and ponies. We could've made more progress with the western ponies by now if it weren't for him."

"If you're right about Trixie, this would just give him more ammunition at the federal level," said Connie. "It would be just what he needs to keep pushing his agenda."

"But if we stop him today--!" Twilight began.

"Things don't work that fast on Earth," said Starlight. "I've told you that time and time again."

"Starlight's right," Connie said. "You've told me yourself you're used to resolving things quickly back home. Here, there's a time and a place for everything."

Twilight frowned. "You're asking me to cover up Trixie's collusion, aren't you?"

"Not permanently, no. Just until the matter with Fuller is resolved. Even if we get Fuller removed from his position soon, it will be a while before he can be properly held accountable for his crimes. If he gets a hold of that information too soon, he could use it to keep holding up any progress concerning relations between ponies and humans."

"We can't ignore it," Twilight insisted. "She can't be allowed to continue doing this."

"We can stop her on the Equestria side of the portal," said Starlight.

"And just spirit her away somehow like Fuller wants to do with Jenny and Bev?"

"Relative to Earth, for now, yeah."

Twilight sighed.

"It sounds like you're not sure who all the players are," said Connie. "Maybe letting her think she got away with it is what you need to find her contacts."

"I had thought of that, yes," said Twilight in a low voice. "But the moment we catch her in the lie on this side of the portal, it will be run up to UNPOC, and they'll likely go public with it. I refuse to lie to them."

"Twilight, we had a situation here on a smaller scale two years ago," Connie explained. "We had someone here who embezzling money from the city treasury. We discovered it in an audit and had enough evidence to both terminate him and press charges, but we noticed not all the money was going into his personal accounts. So we worked covertly and eventually discovered his connection to organized crime. It led to a much wider number of people charged and ended a much larger scheme to defraud the city. If we had gone public with what we knew -- which was technically required by city law -- we would have missed out on the larger issue."

"I think I get it," said Twilight. "You want me to talk to UNPOC officials ahead of time and get them to agree to keep this quiet for now."

"The only other option would be to lie to them," said Connie.

"Which I refuse to do."

"And I don't advocate it, either." Connie leaned back in her chair. "I know this sounds like political expediency to you, but sometimes that's necessary. Also, if you keep them up to date on what's happening on the Equestria side, that would be honoring your sense of honesty."

Twilight considered for a long moment. "I can't guarantee that UNPOC will agree to this."

"Can we tell them about our suspicions concerning compromised officials in Washington?" Starlight asked.

"Yes, we could! That might--"

"Absolutely not," said Connie.

Twilight blinked. "Wait, what??"

Connie hesitated as she realized what she was doing. She was a lowly mayor of a small city overshadowed by a larger metropolitan area trying to give advice on something that had world-spanning geopolitical repercussions. By all rights, she should be referring Twilight to someone far more experienced with this sort of thing, but they literally had no one else.

"Twilight, the world is rather unstable right now, perhaps more than you understand," said Connie in a somber voice. "Governments are wary of how other nations might try to add magic to their arsenal at best, or be influenced or controlled by those who wield magic at worst."

"They don't need to be suspicious of magic!" Twilight cried.

"They're not suspicious of magic itself but how other humans might use it to their advantage. Look at China. Their government has started to embrace their pony population, and already the red flags have gone up in Washington."

"Twilight, look at the backlash from the incident at Village Center," said Starlight. "Already people are starting to worry about magic being used to mess with their heads."

"If another nation believed that the American government was mentally compromised, it could lead to some harsh political or even military moves," said Connie. "We need to get a handle on exactly what's happened, how widespread it is, and how to fix it first."

"All I keep being told is how much of the truth I have to withhold," Twilight lamented. "But, yes, I see your point."

"It's not forever," said Connie. "Just until we get a handle on everything."

"Yes, I understand," Twilight said in a softer voice. "Thank you for talking to me, even if you had to tell me things I didn't want to hear. Sometimes I just want things to be assured and not so much in flux."

"I can tell you one thing you can count on," said Starlight in a dry voice.

"What's that?" said Twilight.

"When Celestia hears about all this, she's going to be pissed."

---

"We're closing on the target location now, sir." said Danton's voice over the speaker phone in Matthew's office.

"Can you speak freely?" asked Matthew.

"Yes, Ms. Jarris is riding with Handel."

"Is she on board with this operation?"

"As far as I can tell, yes. Her earlier delay seemed to be one of protocol rather than any intentional stalling tactic."

Matthew leaned back in his seat and steepled his fingers. "ETA?"

"Ten minutes, but I have to mention that there is an increasing police presence the further we go in. If they've been tipped off to the exact location of the acquisitions, we're going to have a hard time keeping this under wraps."

"Recommendation?" Matthew asked.

"That we abort the operation and wait for the police presence to lessen. Mayor Morgan can't justify their continued presence here if our operation never happens."

Matthew touched the tips of his fingers to his chin and let out a long sigh through his nose. "Kelsey, any word on Heller?"

Kelsey turned his mouth away from his cell phone long enough to say, "That's what I'm following up on now, sir. I do know he hasn't been in the Broomfield office for two days now."

Matthew frowned. "What did they tell you when you called his office?"

"Just that he was out on 'field work,' but they were vague about what he's actually doing."

"And what's the status of Ryan?"

"On his way to MIDROC," said Kelsey. "He should be here within an hour."

"It's absolutely imperative that he remain inconspicuous," Matthew said. "Despite the reassurances I have been given regarding the limits of Princess Twilight's abilities, I don't want to take a chance."

"Shall I have a crystal pony assigned to him?"

"Negative, none of the ones assigned to this facility are in my confidence yet. I've brought in some new ones late yesterday and still need to brief their supervisor. Even then, I doubt I could come up with some explanation that would sit well with Ms. Jarris when she returns."

"Matt, I'll need a go or no-go on this ASAP," said Danton.

Matthew could not afford another delay, yet discovery this late in the game would be a disaster. He had contingencies he could employ, but they were risky. He had a delicate balancing act: on the one hand, it could be said he was acting too soon, before Twilight had left the facility; on the other, the longer he delayed meant more time for his plans to be uncovered. "Do we have an update on the Princess' schedule?"

"One of our agents reported seeing her packing her luggage," said Kelsey. "The Senate has scheduled her appearance for tomorrow afternoon, so she would have to be on a plane for Washington no later than early tomorrow morning. She wouldn't give any firm time, however, when she was--" He stopped short and turned his attention back to his phone.

"Then a delay of a day might be in order," said Matthew.

"Then this is a no-go?" said Danton.

"I think it would be most prudent if--"

"Sir!" Kelsey suddenly exclaimed. "I found Heller!"

"Where is he?" Matthew demanded.

"He was seen early this morning in Greenwood Village, and -- hang on." Kelsey listened intently to his phone. "He was heading by car into the pony sector."

Matthew leaned forward. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, sir. He's probably nearing or has crossed the border."

Matthew clenched his teeth.

"Matt, what does that mean?" Danton asked.

"It means Heller is trying to beat us to the punch," Matthew said. "The operation is a go. All contingencies are authorized at your discretion."

"Sir, I ..." Kelsey started.

Matthew frowned. "What is it now?"

Kelsey paused as if in need to collect his thoughts, unusual for a man whom Matthew was accustomed to being a quick thinker, one of the main reasons he had been brought on board. "Sir, we have all these police to deal with. Even with our contingencies, we need some sort of hole in their screen to get our acquisitions out of there without observation."

"Leave it to me," said Matthew. "If Heller has chosen to abandon his office where he was supposedly fighting terrorism, then we can use that to our advantage and discredit him at the same time. Execute the distraction measure we spoke about before. Target one of the schools in the area, preferably a grammar or pre-school, as that will amp up the reaction." He considered. "In fact, find out which school Mayor Morgan's daughter attends. Target that one. If Mayor Morgan is in collusion with Heller, it might make her think twice about her involvement."

"Yes, sir," said Kelsey.

"What about Heller, Matt?" Danton asked. "He may get there first since he's not concerned about whether anyone sees him or not."

"Can you spare a few agents?" Matthew asked.

"I can give you two."

"Then give me those two. Have them stop Heller."

"Stop him? How?"

"By any means necessary."

Kelsey's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Matthew.

Danton paused. "Are you authorizing the use of force?"

"By any means necessary, Danton," said Matthew.

"Very well."

Comments

[Sunset_Shimmer83]

I was just thinking it would be cool to read a side story centered on Sunsets funeral after her real death

[DDDDDDDDD23]

So bev will have to live amish for at least a while.

[Malory]

"Stop him? How?"

"By any means necessary."

Kelsey's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Matthew.

Danton paused. "Are you authorizing the use of force?"

"By any means necessary, Danton," said Matthew.

Oopsie doopsie Fuller, you better hope they don't bring that up later because you'd be hanging yourself with your own rope.

[keroko]

The pressure's building and Matthew is making irrational moves. This... could go several ways, depending on how the ponies and police react to this. Putting aside staging an attack on a school (seriously Matthew, what the fuck?), Heller's operatives might have to take lethal action against ponies, and by extension the police, which is going to blow up his entire 'keep things under wraps' plan.

Meanwhile in Equestria, informing Celestia that Blueblood is scheming behind her back is going to end badly for him. Equestria does not have earth's red tape to slow her down, so she can call him to answer pretty much immediately.

[Eroraf86]

Shit, meet fan. Fan, meet shit. I'm sure you'll get along like a house on fire.

[random reader]

I don't want this story to end yet! It feels like we're getting close to the big climactic finale, though.

[Streamline]

Getting arrested by the FBI to avoid getting arrested by the FBI. Absolutely brilliant. I'm interested to see how Mathew is going to try and deal with that.

[DDDDDDDDD23]

The problem is that luna does not give a shit about what humans think.

[TikiBat]

This just keeps getting more and more interesting each week!

[Pio286]

"By any means necessary, Danton,"

Well....
S**t....

[JayTheAgent]

A pity the president isn't an impatient guy - the mayhem of him being at the AO because he wanted to see the pony sector STAT on top of all the shenanigans already about to go down... oh well. This situation is about to go the Chernobyl way, so let's put those first row seat tickets to use and watch this awesomely stuffed powder-keg go boom in the most spectacular fashion!

[Advent Link]

"By any means necessary, Danton," said Matthew.

Dun Dun Duuuun!

i was waiting for this line, if you want something bad enough then anything is fair game i suppose.
so many things will be broken. hopefully something better will replace them.

[Von Snootingham]

owever, he also had things to do that did not include sparring with a died-in-the-woods Shimmerist.

Ha ha, I think you mean "dyed-in-the-wool".

[Halira]

"Negative, none of the ones assigned to this facility are in my confidence yet. I've brought in some new ones late yesterday and still need to brief their supervisor. Even then, I I doubt I could come up with some explanation that would sit well with Ms. Jarris when she returns."

This only caught my eye because I'm knee deep in edits myself right now. But have a duplicate "I" here.

[ASGeek2012]

9475130
That what happens when you think you've finished editing something, go to post it, and make last minute changes right on the submission form.

Thanks. Fixed.

[Boltstrike58]

Now we just wait for the you know what to hit the fan.

[DesiArcy]

His natural talent of getting others to answer his questions was considered borderline mind magic.

Yep, that confirms it. The Wardens are utterly corrupt, power-hungry, and define their jurisdiction as whatever they please. Completely mundane social skills? It's mind magic if we say it is.

[keroko]

9475386
Remember that cutie marks magically reinforce talents, so one can actually argue that it's mind magic. Just not mind control magic. The problem is that this means any cutie mark in social skills becomes 'borderline mind magic' under that qualifier.

[Amarna]

9475537

I hadn't even thought about how Jason's ability qualified as mind magic till it was mentioned, but it is true. In the most recent story Phobia had said it came up far more often that they had anticipated. Makes me wonder how common it actually is. Sounds like something that very quickly could turn into a logicistical nightmare for the Dreamwardens. Jason they likely knew about because he used his ability to try to question night ponies and they got wind of it that way, but that is random chance. Their one major weakness is they don't automatically know what's going on in the waking world. We have several characters in this story that can do mind magic and aside from the Dreamwardens only one of them is a night pony. If it is that wide spread and they are determined to regulate it at all costs that leaves them with one of two options: clamp down on everyone including the night ponies, or stop what their currently doing and compromise with the governments to help regulate it.

[keroko]

9475721
The biggest problem the Dreamwardens have is that their zero tolerance policy clamps down on any and all mind magic. This is a bad thing, as it turns anyone with an ability that touches on the mind into a 'threat', making the Dreamwardens little better than the government's blanket ban on unicorn magic.

Frankly, the rules on all mind magic being severely hamstrung was going overboard to begin with, and yet one more sign Luna didn't think the Dreamwardens through. Equestria has very loose rules and a fairly lenient attitude on the use of mind magic. Both Twilight and Starlight -and even the CMC with their love potion- blundered around with mind magic in ways that, had they done so on earth, would have seen them severely and agonizingly punished by the Dreamwardens, potentially permanently. Whatever lessons Luna tried to impart on the Dreamwardens regarding mind magic, they clearly took them way too far.

Another problem is that by their own words, the Dreamwardens' jurisdiction is in the dream realm, and they claim not to care about the waking world. Yet they are getting more and more involved with the waking world's politics, and are now claiming governmental rights over all ponies, and even rehumanized humans depending on their magic. That's not stuff you can handwave with 'its just night pony business' anymore.

[Raistlin]

"So now maybe you won't be so worried about night ponies stepping out of line?"

"Night ponies, maybe. The Wardens? Not so much."

Incorrect. The Wardens never step out of line, for they decide where is the line.

[DesiArcy]

9476266

Well no, it's more like the Wardens entire existence is stepping out of line, since they have no legitimate authority whatsoever.

[random reader]

9476277
They do have authority over the dream realm because no one else has claimed authority there. It's uncontested territory.

[Joural]

This is officially beyond his ability to try and cover up. A terrorist attack tied to an fbi opperation while authorizing use of lethal force on another agent? Not happening.

[DesiArcy]

9476449

I said they had no legitimate authority, not that they had no authority. But hopefully they face consequences at some point.

[keroko]

9477621
Define "legitimate" authority in the dream realm. The very vast majority of night ponies acknowledge their authority, many with gusto. Is that not legitimate authority?

[Honey Lavender]

Fuller's done for. Let's just hope nobody/nopony other than him and his goons pays the price for his crimes...

[harts fire]

it is time for the humans to find out what Luna's real name is.
Celestia is the shield.
Luna is the sword.

[Raistlin]

9474695

The problem is some non cooperatives authorities on Earth have caught wind of this, and Blueblood was stupid enough not to using a proxy when dealing with the Shimmerist leader. Strong Hooves could easily identify his "benefactor" during interrogation.
Blueblood is a member of Equestrian nobility, related to the Regal Sisters. This is gonna be ugly

[Alondro]

Feh, time to stop playing and have some 'business associates' take care of Fuller.

[Georg]

9474664 Verbal order given with no physical record. Any Fed worth his salt knows *exactly* what that means. Danton can rest assured that if he is stupid enough to shoot *anything* including a tin can on the basis of that thin reed, his career is over. And if you're going to argue "But there are witnesses!" then you've never dealt with a bureaucracy. Those 'friendly' eyewitnesses that you depend on can suddenly develop amnesia or testify in exactly the other direction at the flick of public opinion, leaving you high and dry behind bars.

[Fistfire]

i wanr Matthew DEAD!

[Zubric]

This chapter was stellar as always you are a really good writer. You always know how to write it just enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.

[Zanec]

breakdown in communication

Fractal.