Chapter 4 - Emergency Trip
A minute later Arc, Ember, and Sereb appear on the sigil in Canterlot Castle. They run down the corridor together as Arc touches his earring.
“Arc to Sunburst! Come in!”
“Sunburst here, sir.”
“I need a portal to Earth right now!”
“But there isn’t a window at the moment.”
Ember frowns. “Well, we need to get there right away!”
Arc grits his teeth. “Right! Get to Princess Celestia’s room!”
“Yes sir.”
A few minutes later the group bursts through the door. Sunburst looks over his gauges as they hurry over to him.
“What do you think?!”
Sunburst shakes his head. “That this isn’t the best time to try this, sir.”
Sereb growls. “Our need is dire.”
Arc nods frantically. “It is! Can you send us there or not?!”
Sunburst sighs. “Yes. But even with all the headway I’ve made into the process, this will be a very rough ride.”
Ember taps her foot impatiently. “So?! Let’s get it over with!”
Arc frowns. “Maybe just I should go.”
“That may be prudent, sir. I can’t guarantee anypony’s safety on this particular trip.”
Ember glares at him. “Hold on now! I’m coming too!”
Arc sighs. “Ember…”
Sereb steps forward. “As am I.”
Arc shakes his head. “Not you too!”
Sereb nods. “Arc, you are there when others have need of you. I wish to be there for you now.”
“Uh… can I talk either of you out of this?”
Ember frowns. “Nope!”
Sereb shakes his head. “I will not go if you order me not to. However, I still wish to come.”
“It’s just…! I…”
Arc sighs and shakes his head as he turns to Sunburst.
“Fire it up.”
“Yes sir.”
He turns to his friends as Sunburst gets to work.
“Thanks you two.”
Ember takes Arc’s hand. “It’s what friends do. Or so I’ve seen from your example anyways.”
Sereb nods. “Indeed.”
A minute later Sunburst looks up to him nervously.
“I’m as ready as I can be, sir.”
“It will have to do. Open the portal.”
Sunburst sighs. “Yes sir.”
Pushing a few buttons, a wormhole opens. Arc and his friends run toward it and vanish. Sunburst frowns.
“Good luck you three.”
A few moments later they fly out the other end. The trio rolls along Arc’s back lawn for a ways before hitting the house’s foundation. They lie there for a few moments dazed. Ember is the first to be able to speak.
“That… wasn’t fun.”
Arc groans. “Agreed. You okay, Sereb?”
“Somehow, yes.”
They slowly get to their feet as Max and company hurry outside.
“Are you three alright?!”
Arc rubs his back. “Yeah, I think we’re fine.”
Hugh winces. “That was quite the crash!”
Viktor nods. “Yes, we heard it all the way in the basement!”
Xenos looks at the side of the house. “At least there isn’t a hole there this time.”
Ember frowns. “Always looking at the bright side, eh Xenos?”
“You know me so well.”
Arc turns to Max. “Any more from Lily?!”
“No sir, nothing.”
Viktor tosses Arc his keys. “You should get over there, sir.”
Hugh shudders. “Yeah. I could hear Lily crying from my spot at the table across the room.”
Arc heads quickly toward the garage. “Thanks for the heads up, guys!”
A few moments later Arc’s Jeep starts and the garage door opens. Xenos turns to Ember and Sereb as the vehicle pulls away.
“I’m surprised you didn’t want to tag along.”
Ember sighs. “Yeah, well… I really did.”
Sereb turns to her, confused. “Oh? Then why didn’t…?”
Ember interrupts him as she heads for the house. “Because Shelly and Lily are Arc’s best friends. And they need HIM right now. Not a third wheel like Sereb and I.”
Meanwhile, Arc quickly makes his way toward his destination as he mutters to himself.
“Shelly… please be okay!”
In short order Arc arrives at the restaurant. The interior is dark except for a single light in the upstairs apartment. Running up the exterior stairs he knocks loudly. A few moments later a voice rings out from the other side.
“Who… who is it?”
“It’s Arc, Lily!”
“Are you alone?”
“Uh… yeah.”
The door opens a crack and Lily peeks out. She looks Arc up and down for a few seconds before opening the door the rest of the way.
“Come in, quick!”
Arc does so as Lily locks the door behind him.
“What’s going on? Max said you were really upset.”
Lily says nothing but takes a moment to look cautiously out a nearby window at the street below.
“Yes, well… does anyone else know you’re here, Arc?”
“Ember and the guys do. Seriously, what’s wrong?”
Lily takes Arc’s hand. “Come with me.”
“Is Shelly okay?”
“Yes. She went to bed early. Fortunately…”
As Lily leads him into the Living Room, Arc is met by a disturbing sight.
“You again?!”
Before him on the sofa sits Snake, Wolf, and Jackal.
“Oh boy… what do you three need now?!”
Snake frowns. “Nice to see you too.”
Wolf glares at him. “Believe me, this wasn’t ideal for us either.”
Jackal looks around. “Hey! Where doggie?!”
“He’s at home.”
Arc turns to Lily as she stands at another window and looks outside.
“What’s going on?”
Lily does not turn around. “They just… kinda showed up.”
Arc folds his arms over his chest. “Great. Start talking.”
Snake purses his lips. “We’ve been visiting the boss in the hospital regularly.”
Wolf nods. “As much as we could anyways.”
Jackal grins. “Right! We been rebuilding!”
Arc folds his arms over his chest. “Your gang?”
Snake nods.. “Yeah. After the whole mine incident, a lot of guys left.”
Wolf sighs. “Can’t say as I blame them. I mean, getting betrayed by pretty much the entire Shard leadership wasn’t something we saw coming.”
“Makes sense. But that doesn’t explain why you three are here.”
Jackal looks to his left and right as he counts on his fingers before shaking his head.
“You mean four!”
Arc raises an eyebrow skeptically. “Uh… is the fourth guy invisible?”
Lily turns back to Arc nervously. “He’s… in my room sleeping.”
Arc turns to her, confused. “I’m sorry, what?”
Snake grins. “It’s true!”
“Who?”
Jackal claps his hands together happily. “Mister Fontaine!”
Arc gasps. “Wait! Frank is HERE?!”
Lily nods soberly. “Yes.”
“So the hospital was able to help him?!”
A voice rings out from the doorway.
“ Not really.”
Arc turns to see Frank leaning heavily on the door frame. He is still wearing a hospital gown and appears weak.
“F-Frank?! What are you…?”
He turns to the Shards on the sofa.
“Did you break him out of the hospital?!”
Snake looks away nervously. “Uh… maybe?”
Jackal nods. “Yeah! They chased us too!”
Wolf shakes his head. “Not our finest moment.”
Sighing, Arc walks over to his old friend.
“Darn it, Frank. Sit down before you fall down.”
Frank chuckles as Arc helps him over to the sofa. “Thank you my friend. But I’ll be fine.”
Arc frowns. “You’ve never been very good at lying.”
“Guilty as charged.”
Arc sits Frank down between Snake and Jackal as he turns to Lily.
“Is that why you keep looking out the window?”
Lily nods. “Yes. I’m half expecting Marshal Raynor to show up asking about him.”
“And the other half?”
Frank grimaces. “Let’s say I have more than just the law searching for me at the moment.”
Arc narrows his eyes. “What did you DO, Frank?!”
“This time I honestly don’t know.”
“Right…”
“It’s the truth!”
Arc thinks for a moment.
“Maybe. But why come here?”
Snake looks sheepishly at Arc. “That was actually my idea.”
Wolf nods. “Snake figured that the boss’ friends would take him in and keep him safe.”
“What about your base?”
Jackal shudders. “We kinda scared go back there with him right now.”
Snake frowns. “Yeah. I mean, who knows if there’s anyone still loyal to the lieutenants there?!”
Frank sighs. “As much as it grieves me to do so, there must be numerous traitors in our midst.”
Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “What makes you say that? Other than Stingray, Hammer, and Mio?”
“I honestly used to think they wanted to see the world changed.”
Wolf shakes his head. “So did we, boss.”
Arc rolls his eyes. “Oh, I believe that.”
“You do?”
Arc nods. “Yes. But change isn’t always a good thing.”
Snake looks to him angrily. “Anything’s better than what we got now!”
Arc folds his arms over his chest. “Oh really? How’d you like to live under Diva’s rule?”
Jackal shakes his head. “She bad lady!”
Frank narrows his eyes. “Dare I ask how you know the name of my kidnapper, Arc?”
“My friends and I helped the Hero of Light track you down to that run-down farmhouse outside of town.”
Frank chuckles. “All that detective know-how finally paid off?”
“Looks like. So how about you fill in some of the blanks for me, Frank?”
Snake glares at Arc. “Go easy on him!”
Wolf clenches a fist. “Yeah! The boss isn’t fully recovered yet!”
Frank sighs. “Thanks boys. But we need to keep this ball rolling.”
He turns to Arc.
“What do you want to know?”
“First of all, who the heck IS Diva?!”
Frank shrugs. “No idea. She’s supposed to be a friend of Stingray’s.”
Jackal nods. “She showed up more after the boss went missing.”
Frank frowns. “Did she now? I’m amazed she found the time, what with all the attention she gave me back then.”
Lily looks worried. “What did she do?”
“Sleep deprivation, starvation, poking and prodding mostly. In all honesty, I thought she would be the end of me. But tell me… what of the Shards?”
Snake sighs. “Diva tried to bury the whole gang.”
“WHAT?! HOW?!”
Wolf sighs. “By collapsing the underground factory.”
Frank raises an eyebrow. “What factory?!”
Jackal frowns. “The one she had us working in, boss.”
Lily looks to Arc. “I don’t think she told Frank about it.”
Frank grimaces. “They most certainly did not!”
Arc thinks for a moment before continuing.
“What about the other two buildings the Hero of Light found them in? The warehouse and the abandoned factory?”
“We used that factory for storing… things.”
Lily appears apprehensive. “What kind of things, Frank?”
“Goods to sell to those whom could appreciate them.”
“Drugs?”
Frank frowns. “No, Arc. I thought you knew me better than that.”
“Well, that’s what was being made in that old mine.”
Snake sighs. “I think he’s right, boss.”
Wolf nods. “Yeah. It was some kinda chemical in syringes and bottles mostly.”
Jackal yawns. “Work was hard!”
Frank clenches his fist angrily. “And none of you questioned that?!”
Wolf shrugs. “Diva wasn’t much for critics, sir.”
Snake nods. “Yes, well… nothing much to do about that now. The mine’s gone.”
Frank grits his teeth. “Are you certain?!”
Arc looks to Frank. “The Hero mentioned that much. He said Diva wanted to bring the place down on them. They were loose ends to her”
A look of pure fury crosses Frank’s face.
“I’ll make her pay for that! She won’t take us lightly again!”
He brings a hand to his forehead as Lily hurries to his side.
“Easy there, Frank. You’re still pretty weak.”
Arc sighs. “You should listen to Lily. Let’s just continue with the questions, okay?”
“Very well.”
“Was it Diva who kidnapped you?”
Frank nods. “Yes, that much I do remember.”
Lily gasps. “But why?”
“She never told me.”
Snake clenches a fist. “We’ll get her back for you, boss.”
Wolf nods angrily. “Yeah. And the lieutenants too!”
Arc clears his throat loudly. “Can you tell me what exactly they were hoping to accomplish?”
Frank puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “They did mention something when they thought I was unconscious.”
Lily appears relieved. “Good! A clue!”
“Diva was talking with someone about being very close to a breakthrough in my ‘treatments’.”
“Treatments?”
Frank nods. “Sadly, I’m not sure what that meant.”
Lily gasps. “Did they drug you, or something, Frank?!”
Frank sighs. “I… don’t know. They probably did, as things are still kinda fuzzy.”
Arc turns to the others.
“Why’d you take him out of the hospital anyways?”
Lily nods. “Yes. They were trying to help him.”
Snake frowns. “I’m not so sure.”
Arc narrows his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“At one point I took a look at the boss’ chart. Nowhere did it say anything about administering any kinds of drugs.”
Lily looks confused. “Really? But I thought he was still hooked up to IVs.”
Wolf nods. “He was, yes.”
Snake shakes his head and sighs. “It just didn’t seem right. That and the bottles weren’t labeled.”
Arc frowns. “What?!”
Jackal nods. “It true.”
Snake grimaces. “Yeah. I pulled out the IVs and we waited. After an hour or so the boss looked like he was about to have one of his gibberish sessions. But instead, he was somewhat coherent.”
Frank smiles at them. “Those were my first, albeit fuzzy, memories since I was taken.”
Arc turns to Wolf. “I don’t suppose you took any of the bottles from the hospital.”
“Nah. The boss needed to get away from that stuff. Why would we take it with us?”
Lily looks to Frank. “We could have had Marshal Raynor send it to the lab. After all, what happened to you was certainly a crime, Frank.”
“It certainly was. But going to Raynor now would just land me in a jail cell at best, or back in the hospital at worst.”
Arc sighs. “Probably.”
Lily looks to her friend. “Arc, where should we go from here?”
Frank shakes his head. “There is no ‘we’, Lily. I need to get out of here though, as I’m certain the police are looking for me even as we speak.”
Lily turns to look back out the window. “They’ve driven past a couple times now. But where would you go?”
“I… hadn’t actually thought of that.”
Jackal looks confused. “Why not go back to base?”
Arc sighs. “Because that’s the first place Diva and the authorities will look for him.”
Frank hangs his head. “He’s right.”
Lily smiles nervously. “You can stay here if you want, Frank.”
Frank sighs. “I frequented this place in the past, and everyone in town knows it. This would probably be the second place someone would look.”
Lily appears nearly frantic. “That may be. But you have to go SOMEWHERE!”
“Agreed. Perhaps Arc has some ideas.”
“My house is kind of… uh… full right now. But I do know a rather… secluded place where you’ll be safe.”
Frank nods. “I’m listening.”
Sometime later that evening Arc and company drive up to an old house on the outskirts of town. Frank chuckles.
“I had forgotten about this place.”
Snake looks out the window. “Where are we, boss?”
“The original Shard hideout.”
Arc frowns. “Yeah.”
Wolf turns to Frank. “But why wouldn’t Diva think to look here?”
“She wasn’t a member when we still used this place, so there’s no way she’d know about it.”
Jackal claps his hands. “I like it! This be like camping!”
Arc nods as he turns off the Jeep. “That it will be. Mostly because there’s no electricity, running water, heat, or working plumbing.”
Snake squirms. “This doesn’t sound like much fun to me, Jackal.”
Frank sighs. “If you boys want to head back to town with Arc, I understand.”
“No way, boss.”
“We’re with you!”
Snake sighs. “Yeah.”
They walk toward the house as Arc shines a flashlight at the door.
“This way.”
Leading the group, they walk into the darkened house. Heading deeper inside they come to the master bedroom. Frank chuckles.
“This used to be my room long ago.”
Arc sighs. “Not as long as you think, Frank.”
Jackal points. “Why there strange looking blanket on bed?”
Frank smiles as he walks over to the bed. “The last thing I did before leaving was to make the bed and put this tarp over it. I did that just in case it was needed again. Guess it was a good thing.”
Snake and Wolf roll back the tarp exposing clean sheets and a blanket. Jackal helps Frank down onto the bed.
“There you go, boss. Comfy?”
“The bed was always a bit lumpy, but otherwise yes. We should turn in now.”
Wolf looks around. “What about us, boss?”
“There should be some old blankets around to make things a bit more comfortable for you three.”
Arc turns around. “I’ll head back to the Jeep. There’s a couple blankets and some emergency rations in there.”
Snake raises an eyebrow. “Do you always carry around stuff like that?”
“Yup.”
Wolf frowns. “Why?”
Arc shrugs. “One never knows when they’ll get stranded in the middle of nowhere.”
Frank nods. “Very wise, Arc.”
“Be right back.”
Arc leaves the room, plunging it back into darkness. Snake calls out.
“Boss?”
“Hm?”
“Where did you find this guy?!”
Frank chuckles. “That’s a bit of a long story. But I suppose we don’t have much else to do, so sit down and I’ll tell you.”
The three Shards do so. Frank begins the story of his life at the Farburg Orphanage, and how he, Arc, Shelly, and Lily grew up together. Arc enters with the box of emergency supplies and listens.
“And that’s about all there was to it.”
Snake turns to look Arc up and down. “So HE was your lieutenant?!”
Wolf scoffs. “Not much to look at in that regard.”
Jackal shrugs. “I dunno. He smart as Stingray.”
Frank nods. “Yes. I daresay he could probably out-plan even her.”
Arc chuckles. “Thanks… I think.”
Snake sighs as he turns to Arc. “So why’d you leave?”
“A difference in opinion with Frank’s methodology.”
Jackal scratches his head. “Wut?”
Wolf rolls his eyes. “He didn’t agree with the boss.”
“Why he not say that then?”
“But I did.”
Frank nods. “So… why are you helping me now, Arc? I was under the impression you and I were done.”
Arc shakes his head. “You and I go way back. Childhood friendships aren’t something easily tossed away.”
“I see. So we’re allies again?”
“We never truly stopped being friends. Just because I don’t agree with what you’re doing anymore doesn’t change that.”
“Thank you, my friend. It is good to know I can still count on you.”
“Yes, well… I should probably get home now. Tomorrow I’ll head to the store for some groceries and other things you’ll probably need.”
Snake puts a hand on his stomach. “Need a hand with that?”
“Nah. I’ll load up and be here around noon. Then we can talk more.”
Wolf looks to Arc warily. “What about?”
Arc tosses Wolf the flashlight. “Where to go from here.”
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Well that was an intresting alternate possibility folding back in from a few chapters back.
10635353
Agreed. This volume's focus is on the Shards and what really happened to Frank. The truth may surprise you
those 3 shard's deserve a promotion :D
10635636
Well, I'm sure Frank's looking for replacements for Stingray, Hammer, and Mio.
They really are loyal. After all, Frank wasn't always the easiest person to get along with.