The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

by Kamahido

Chapter 5 - Military Manipulation (Part 4)

’Diva’ leads Max and Hugh back to the massive elevator. Heading over to the passenger door of their vehicle she gets in as Max does the same. Hugh opens his door and stops to tie his boot in order to allow Arc time to get in. A few moments later he straightens up and hops inside. Xenos starts the vehicle and drives back onto the elevator. ‘Diva’ motions for the operator to start it and they begin the long ride up. Reaching the top they drive out of the hanger and across the courtyard. As the vehicle nears the bridge the guards on duty, upon seeing the colonel glaring at them, quickly raise the gate. Crossing the bridge Xenos turns onto the main road and grins as he looks to the others.

“I think we did it!”

Arc decloaks between Max and Hugh. “That we did."

Hammer peeks out through the cloak, still the size of a small child.

“Yeah. Um… but could I please get something to wear? Kinda chilly in here.”

Auriel giggles. “Arc could keep you warm.”

Xenos chuckles. “And here we thought you liked being close to him.”

Hugh turns to her. “You could have my coat.”

“Thanks. But that wouldn’t really help my lower…”

Max interrupts and point straight ahead. “LOOK OUT!!!”

They all face forward to see a military Jeep swerving around the corner. Xenos cuts the wheel hard to miss them. While he succeeds in preventing a head on collision, the other vehicle goes off the road and into a tree. Screeching to a stop, Xenos, Hugh, and Max get out and run over to the vehicle. However before they reach it the door flies open and the driver, Stingray, jumps out.

“What the heck were you idiots…?!”

She stops talking as Auriel pokes her head out the window.

“Colonel, I…!”

Frowning, Stingray squints.

“Wait a minute! You’re not…!”

Max interrupts. “GET HER!”

Lunging forward, the trio knock Stingray down and pile on top of her. Grunting, she Blinks off to one side and quickly gets to her feet as she draws her whip.

“Okay, you guys are DEAD!”

Hammer, peeking through the folds of Arc’s robe, calls out.

“Stop it, Stingray!”

Stingray looks all around. “What the…?”

Arc grimaces. “Hammer, what are you…?”

“I gotta try to talk her down.”

Auriel frowns. “We don’t have much choice at this point, Arc.”

Arc sighs. “Fine.”

Hammer calls out again. “They’re with me!”

Stingray looks all around in an attempt to figure out where the voice is coming from. “Where are you, Hammer?! Show yourself!”

Hammer motions for Arc to get out of the vehicle. Doing so, he slowly walks toward her with his face concealed by the hood. Stingray frowns.

“What’s with the getup, Hammer?!”

“I’m not… exactly decent right now.”

Stingray points a finger at her sister. “Drop the disguise!”

“But…!”

“I need to make sure it’s you!”

Sighing, she looks up at Arc and shrugs. Kneeling down, Arc sets Hammer on the pavement feet first. She steps out of the cloak and look up at her sister.

“Happy?”

Stingray gasps. “H-Hammer?!”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“What happened to your clothes?!”

Hammer groans. “It’s a long story. But are you okay?”

“I’m fine! But you’re not going to be!”

“Huh?”

“You need to come with me back to base.”

“What?!”

“We’ll get you some clothes, a shower, and try to figure out how to fix you.”

Hammer grins as she puts her hands on her bare hips. “I kinda like being small though.”

Stingray rolls her eyes. “Your mind, Hammer!”

“What’s wrong with it?!”

“For starters, you betrayed The Organization!”

Hammer clenches a small fist. “They betrayed all of us, Stingray!”

Stingray looks around at the squad.” Well, at the very least it doesn’t look like you’re hanging around with Arc or that freak Hero anymore.”

Arc shrugs. “I’m right here.”

Stingray grits her teeth. “Arc?!”

“Yeah.”

Max turns to him. “Sir? What are you…?”

Stingray grins as she takes up a battle ready stance. “Perfect.”

Xenos calls out. “Sir, watch out for…!”

Without warning, Stingray pushes past both Max and Hugh. Charging headfirst at Arc she prepares to swing a mighty blow. However she finds herself knocked roughly to the side as Hammer plows into her. Rolling along the ground together they come to rest with Hammer on top glaring down at her sister.

“Leave him alone!”

Stingray shoves the miniature woman off of her. “I’m trying to help you, Hammer!”

Hammer jumps to her feet. “And I’m trying to protect my man!”

Stingray groans. “Are you STILL on that?!”

“Why wouldn’t I be?! I love him!”

“Hammer, just LOOK at yourself! You’re three feet tall and NAKED while riding around in the back seat with a bunch of guys!”

“So what?!”

Stingray points to Arc. “He’s sick!”

She looks to Arc and grins wickedly.

“And I’m the cure.”

Shoving past Hammer she again charges at Arc. However before she can reach him Auriel jumps out of the vehicle and moves to position herself between them.

“You’re not getting him!”

Stingray moves to punch Auriel in the face. However she grabs her fist and effortlessly stops it. Swinging her other hand, Auriel grabs that one too. Grimacing, she looks the young uniformed woman over.

“I know you’re not her! But you have her strength AND looks! However let’s see what you do about THIS!”

Pulling down a limb from overhead with her magic, Stingray throws it at Auriel. Holding out a hand, the young woman effortlessly stops it, effectively holding the wood in place with a wave of her hand.

“Believe me, I’m more than a match for YOU!”

Stingray grits her teeth angrily. “How is this POSSIBLE?!”

Arc steps forward and puts a hand on Auriel’s shoulder. Pulling her gently back he speaks.

“Everyone stand down. It’s me she wants.”

Hammer frowns. “Arc, what are you…?”

“Just let me handle this, Hammer.”

Stepping toward the furious young woman, Arc stops a few feet in front of her before removing his cloak and speaking again.

“You wanna take me on, Stingray. That’s fine. Just leave the others alone.”

Stingray grins. “Gladly.”

Not taking his eyes off of Stingray, Arc tosses the cloak to Hammer as he points to his chin.

“Right here.”

Stingray raises an eyebrow. “What?”

“I want you to hit me.”

“Are you nuts?!”

Xenos grimaces. “Sir, given how strong she is this is not a good idea!”

Max nods. “Right! She could really hurt you!”

Hugh steps forward. “Please let us…!”

Arc interrupts him. “No. She’s mad at me. I’ll take the blame and the blows for it.”

Looking Stingray in the eye, he gestures to his chin again.

“You get the first one.”

“Again, are you nuts?!”

“Think of it like a free shot.”

Stingray grins as she winds up. “If you’re giving it, I’ll take it!”

Throwing her punch, she is amazed as Arc effortlessly stops it with his hand.

“H-how?!”

Hammer smirks. “Don’t underestimate him, sis!”

Arc narrows his eyes. “Now then, I suggest that you turn around and walk away.”

“Not happening!”

Arc sighs. “Very well.”

Throwing her fist back to her, Arc stands before Stingray awaiting her next attack. He doesn’t have to wait long though, as his opponent lets loose her whip. Wrapping it around Arc’s wrist, she is about to throw him when she feels a tug on the line. Pulling her in with a quick motion of his wrist Arc punches Stingray in the face and toward Auriel. Auriel socks her in the gut knocking the wind from her. She staggers back into Max and Hugh whom shove her roughly toward Xenos. Putting his shoulder into her, the large man hefts her into the air to land on her back in front of Hammer. She looks down at Stingray and shakes her head.

“And let that be a lesson to you.”

Stingray grunts. “...what?”

“We’re done here.”

“But... but aren’t you supposed to finish me off, or something?!”

Auriel shakes her head. “That wouldn’t be very nice of us.”

Arc smirks. “Right. Now then we’re going to leave you with a few parting bits of advice.”

Max grits his teeth. “Don’t get in our way!”

Hugh chuckles. “We’ll always beat you as a team!”

Xenos makes a fist. “Yeah! And you should listen to your sisters!”

Hammer grins. “Right!”

Stingray smiles weakly as she looks up at Hammer holding Arc’s oversized cloak to her chest. “You know... I can’t really take you seriously when you look like that.

Hammer shrugs.” Then I guess I DO need to teach you a lesson.”

Punching Stingray in the face, she goes limp as the young woman loses consciousness. Hammer turns back to Arc as she walks toward the vehicle.

“Let’s go.”

Arc points to the unconscious woman lying on the ground. “Sure. But what about... her?”

Hammer shrugs. “Stingray will be fine.”

She tosses the robe back to Arc before continuing.

“Here you go.”

Arc sighs. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be... uncovered like that though, Hammer.”

Hugh chuckles as he blushes slightly. “You are a bit distracting like that.”

Xenos looks away nervously. “Yeah. And you’ll catch a cold in this weather.”

Hammer chuckles as she grabs Arc’s hand. “Nah. I kinda like the feeling of Arc’s leg on my bare...”

Auriel groans. “Let’s just get going.”

Hammer grins as they get back in the vehicle. “Jealous, Auriel?”

“Very.”

Moving on, they soon arrive back to town. The sun has set by then and the streetlights have long since come on. Parking in a back alley near the police station, Xenos gets out with the others and tosses the keys to Max.

“Be sure to tell them were it is.”

“Will do.”

Hugh chuckles as Max leaves. “They’d never find it back here.”

Auriel looks the vehicle over. “I’m just glad we could return it in decent shape.”

Xenos frowns. “Yeah. But I thought for sure Stingray was going to be harder to beat.”

Hammer sighs. “She was holding back.”

Arc sighs. “Figures.”

“That’s a good thing though. I didn’t really want to hurt her.”

Auriel raises an eyebrow. “But you punched her in the...”

Hammer cuts her off. “She’s fine.”

Max returns a short time later. Giving Arc a thumbs up, the young man watches as a portal opens. Stepping through they find themselves back in Arc’s basement. Returning Hammer to her normal size, Arc turns to the others and grins as Viktor walks over to them.

“Good work back there everyone.”

Viktor looks them over. “Anyone hurt?!”

Auriel giggles. “Just Stingray. But she’ll be okay.”

Arc nods as he turns to the others. “Right. Now then, Max I want you to order some pizza and have it delivered.”

“Yes sir.”

“Take some time to rest in front of the television, or something.”

Xenos appears hopeful. “Can we watch a movie, sir?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Hugh grins as they head for the stairs. “Let’s watch an action flick!”

Max nods. “I’ll join you guys as soon as I get off the phone.”

Auriel smiles. “That does sound nice. Would you like to join us, Hammer?”

“I, uh... think I just want to take a long shower. That mission was really gross for me.”

Arc nods soberly. “Understandable. Take all the time you need.”

Auriel looks to Arc as Hammer leaves. “Um... can I talk to you alone?”

“Sure.”

He motions for the squad to leave and turns to Auriel.

“What’s up?”

“How much of what was done to Hammer did you see?”

“Bits and pieces of it. I was kinda busy watching the status bar on the computer screen.”

“Then I should probably bring you up to speed on what Rieper did to Hammer.”

Arc sighs. “No need to. I could hear what was going on pretty well.”

“Hammer took it really well. But I think you should go talk to her. After all, being touched like that isn’t exactly what I would be comfortable with. Heck, it was hard enough to just watch.”

“Sure, I was planning to do that anyways.”

“Thanks. Shall I call you when the food gets here?”

Arc shakes his head. “Nah. I’ll hear the door.”

They head up the stairs together and part ways at the Living Room. Auriel sits down with the squad as Arc heads up to the second floor. Hearing the shower going already he frowns.

“She got in there fast.”

Knocking lightly, Arc listens as Hammer calls out.

“It’s unlocked!”

Opening the door he steps inside. Taking a deep breath Arc calls out to Hammer as he closes the door behind him.

“It’s me.”

“Hey.”

“Um... I just wanted to... apologize.”

“What for?”

Arc sits down on the toilet lid and sighs. “For what happened to you in Rieper’s lab.”

Hammer sounds suddenly nervous. “I, uh... actually wanted to apologize too.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “You want to apologize?”

“Yeah.”

“Um...”

“Look, this is really hard for me to say. So can we just keep this between us?”

“Okay.”

“Thanks. But... could you please wait for me in your room? I want to be alone right now.”

Arc stands and heads for the door. “Sure, Hammer. Take your time.”

Heading to his room, Arc leaves the door open and sits down on the bed to wait. A few minutes later Hammer enters wrapped in a towel. Sheepishly she smiles at him as she closes the door.

“I swear I didn’t do this on purpose, but I didn’t think to grab some clothes before going in there.”

“It’s fine, Hammer. How about I give you blanket though? You look cold.”

Hammer shivers slightly. “Thanks. Um... but could we get under the covers together instead?”

“Sure.”

Pulling back the blankets for her, Hammer hops into the bed. Arc follows behind her as he covers them both as she snuggles up to him.

“Much better.”

Arc puts his arms around her. “Why don’t you just lie there and warm up before we talk?”

“You go first then.”

“First?”

“You came into the bathroom to say something, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So go ahead.”

“Well... like I said before, I wanted to apologize to you for what happened back there.”

“It’s okay, Arc.”

“No it really wasn’t. You went through a lot to make that mission work. That and then we beat up your sister.”

Hammer frowns. “That was actually an improvement to the situation.”

“I should have done something to prevent it though.”

“Which part?”

“All of it really.”

“I knew what he was planning to do though.”

“You did?”

Hammer nods. “Yup. It’s standard procedure.”

“Then why did you agree to the plan?”

“To help your friend.”

“Shelly?”

Hammer nods. “She’s important to you if you’re willing to break into Damocles Base to help her.”

“That she is. But I shouldn’t have let you get groped like that for her sake.”

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

“The tone of your voice says that it was.”

“Well, I didn’t... um...”

“Didn’t what, Hammer?”

“I... I need to say something, Arc. Can I make my apology now?”

“Uh... sure.”

“Okay. Here goes.”

She takes a deep breath and lets it out before continuing.

“Several of the herdies have told everyone during meetings that they’ve propositioned you to have sex with them.”

Arc nods. “Yes, that’s true.”

“But you’ve always told them that you weren’t ready yet.”

“Also true.”

“That’s what I need to apologize for.”

“Hammer, you didn’t do anything they haven’t...”

“You don’t understand, Arc!”

“What are you...?”

Hammer cuts him off. “Look... I may fantasize about certain things, but at the same time I respect your wishes.”

“And I do appreciate that.”

“But when Rieper was taking that last sample, I... almost went over the edge.”

“That’s a normal thing to happen when stimulated though.”

“I was... blocking out what happened back there by convincing myself that it was you doing that to me. Same as I did when Rieper took the sample from my bum.”

“What’s wrong with...?”

“I just feel like I betrayed you by doing that. You said you weren’t ready for intimacy and I was almost getting off on pretending it was you doing everything. Especially in the back if I’m being totally honest here.”

“You mean...?”

Hammer looks away and blushes. “Yeah. I’ve... kinda got a thing for being restrained and... back door fun, I guess. Not that I didn’t get stimulated from the frontal examination, of course. But if I’m being completely honest, the back was hitting all my buttons.”

“Hammer...”

“Look, I’m sorry if that sounds hella gross. But it’s how I honestly feel.”

“I’m fine with you fantasizing, Hammer. About anything, that is.”

“You mean... you’re not mad?”

“No. Why would I be though?”

Hammer sighs. “I... I guess... I guess I don’t really know. Sorry, but I just felt I needed to say all that.”

“And I do appreciate the honesty.”

“Do you accept my apology though?”

“I do if you accept mine.”

Hammer grins. “Sure then. But I don’t think we should have me undertake any more missions like that.”

“We won’t. I know it must’ve been hard to be stripped like you were and violated.”

Hammer smiles nervously. “I... kinda liked that part. Again, I imagined it was you doing it instead of Rieper though. Guess I have a bit of a fetish for bondage. And... um... I guess now you know about the backside fetish now too.”

“Well, I won’t tell anyone about that. And, while I’m sure Auriel won’t either, I’ll have a talk with her to keep what happened in that room a secret too.”

“Thanks. But if you ever want to do ANY of that stuff to me I’m totally ready for you, Arc.”

Arc groans. “Hammer...”

“Huh?”

“Can we please not talk about that part anymore?”

“If it bothers you, sure. I just wanted to make sure you understood my position on it.”

“That part was crystal clear.”

Hammer giggles and snuggles up to him. They lie there in silence for a time. Eventually Hammer speaks.

“Um... you don’t think I hit Stingray too hard, do you?”

“You tell me.”

“I wasn’t too happy with her back there. And she totally deserved it for what she tried to do to you and the others. But I’m questioning if I should have done that differently.”

“She attacked and we defended ourselves. What else could have been done?”

“But she hasn’t seen the light like Mio and I have. Stingray’s still looking at the world through rose colored glasses here.”

“Not sure what else we could do though.”

“I think I do.”

“Oh?”

“She needs to hear the truth from me AND Mio together.”

“But Mio doesn’t know...”

Hammer interrupts him. “You need to come clean with her too then.”

“Tell her who the Hero really is?”

“Yup.”

“What do you think she’ll do?”

“Be really mad.”

“Um...”

“But if what you say is logical and truthful then she’ll come around.”

“When we get back I’ll have to schedule some alone time with her.”

Hammer grins slyly at him. “Looking to get my sister in bed too, Arc?”

Arc blushes. “I meant...!”

Hammer laughs. “I’m just messing with you!”

“In any case, I need to spend some time with her in order to soften the blow.”

“Need some help with that?”

“It might be wise, yes.”

“So we try a three-way?”

Arc groans. “Hammer!”

“I actually didn’t mean it that way!”

Arc rolls his eyes. “Right.”

“Really. I meant that the three of us should go out together and do something.”

“Like what?”

Hammer shrugs. “No idea. But I’ll think of something.”

“Thanks. I think.”

“Don’t worry. Mio acts timid sometimes, but she can handle more than you know.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Hammer grins. “Just turn on the charm and she’ll be eating out of your hand in no time.”

“That actually makes it sound worse.”

“Well, look at me. We started out as enemies and now I’m fantasizing about us getting it on.”

“That’s one way to put it.”

Hammer hops on top of Arc and presses her body against his. “Just give me the word and I’ll give you whatever you want.”

Arc rolls his eyes. “Thanks.”

Hammer chuckles as she leans down to kiss him. “Anytime.”

Comments

[Kamahido]

11435532
"We all make choices. But in the end our choices... make... US!"

[Theresa]

Hopefully soon they can help Shelly and Celestia will get off her high horse and actually learn to trust because right now after what she tried to get happen to Applejack she disgust me.

[Booster Spice]

Mustang: I take it you planted the tracker in an unexpected place, Stingray?

[Kamahido]

11436308
Considering that Mustang seems to know every time Arc enters Damocles Base I'm sure he knows Arc's address.