Chapter 26 - Lies and Betrayals
Arc awakens early the next morning to the sound of snow pelting the windows. Looking outside at the murky morning light, he gently strokes the manes of the two mares lying on either side of him. Sighing contentedly, he muses to himself.
“Rarity and Derpy. I was pretty surprised when they told me they wanted to do this. Derpy especially.”
He turns to Rarity before continuing.
“But I suppose even a prim and proper mare like Rarity has certain needs, wants, and desires. Never thought they’d involve some rather... forceful endeavors though.”
Looking to Derpy, he smiles.
“That and I thought it was kinda off that Derpy wanted in on this. But she just wanted to feel like a proper filly should. Loved and cared for.”
Continuing to pet them, the pair wakes up together. Derpy is the first to speak.
“Good morning, Arc.”
“And a good morning to you too.”
Rarity giggles. “It’s so nice waking up next to you, dear.”
“I have to admit, I too like having someone next to me at night.”
Derpy smiles. “We can keep each other warm too.”
Arc nods. “There’s that as well, yes.”
Rarity nuzzles his side. “That and... I am looking forward to us going all the way together, Arc.”
Derpy appears confused. “All the way?”
Arc blushes slightly. “She means us having sex.”
“Ah! Well... I’m looking forward to that too. But I still respect the idea that Rarity should go first.”
Rarity takes Arc’s hand and puts it on her belly. “We could even go right now if you’d like, dear.”
Derpy nods. “I’d be willing to leave the room if you two want to do that.”
Arc smiles at Rarity. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m not ready for that yet.”
“Very well, Arc.”
Derpy stands up. “Well, I should probably be getting over to the orphanage to start breakfast.”
Rarity does the same. “And I need to head over to Sweet Apple Acres to pick up Sweetie Belle and Dinky.”
She turns to Arc before continuing.
“They have a play date set up for today.”
Arc nods as he gets up. “Alright. Can I offer you a portal back to your shop?”
Rarity nods. “Yes, please. Just let me brush my mane before you do.”
Hopping off the bed, Rarity trots into the bathroom as Derpy stands on the bed and looks to Arc.
“Could I get a portal to the orphanage, please?”
“Of course.”
Calling forth his gauntlet, Arc opens a portal. Derpy smiles up at him and wraps her hooves around his neck. Leaning into the embrace she whispers in his ear.
“Thank you for last night. It was absolutely magical.”
Arc smiles. “Thanks for coming.”
Giggling, she kisses his cheek and hurries toward the portal. Before entering though Derpy turns back and waves.
“Goodbye, Arc! I love you!”
Arc waves back. “Love you too, Derpy.”
Stepping through the swirling energies she vanishes from sight. Arc closes the portal as Rarity trots back onto the room. Doing a little twirl she grins.
“Well, how do I look?”
“Great! Not sure how you managed that with just a brush though.”
Rarity giggles. “Practice.”
“Well, thanks for coming.”
“And thank you for hosting us.”
Stepping forward, Arc and Rarity embrace. They kiss each other’s cheeks and hold on tight for a few moments. Eventually Arc let’s go and straightens up.
“Are you ready?”
Rarity nods. “I am, yes.”
Raises his gauntlet again, he opens a portal back to Rarity’s shop. Walking towards it she looks back and puckers her lips seductively.
“Looking forward to next time...”
Swishing her tail a few times, Rarity smiles slyly.
“...and more.”
Vanishing through the portal’s energies, she vanishes from sight. Arc, now alone in his room, looks back to the bed.
“It’s... a strange feeling. Seeing those I care about leave. Wishing they could stay. And even wanting to...”
His earring chirps. Groaning, Arc touches it and speaks.
“Arc here.”
“This is Viktor, sir. We have a bit of a situation over here.”
“What kind of...”
“Please, sir. I’ve been advised that it’s not wise to talk about this sort of thing on the radio.”
“Alright. I’ll head over as quick as I can. Arc out.”
Severing the connection, Arc sighs as he grabs his clothes and quickly dresses.
“Not going to miss stuff like this when I retire.”
Pulling the Rainbow of Light from his ring, Arc opens a portal back to Earth. Stepping out into his parent’s room he heads downstairs. However upon reaching the ground floor he hears a heavy pounding on the front door. Frowning, Arc walks over to answer it. Opening the door he spies a familiar face standing on his front porch.
“Please come in, Marshall.”
“Thanks, kid.”
Stepping inside the warm house, Raynor removes his hat as Arc closes the door behind him.
“It’s a cold one this morning.”
Raynor nods as he stomps the snow off of his boots. “That it is, Arc.”
He motions to Arc’s wrinkled clothes and disheveled hair.
“Sorry for coming here so early and waking you up.”
“It’s alright, Jim. I was actually already up. Just hadn’t had time to make myself presentable yet.”
“Yes, well... I’ve got a big problem on my hands and was hoping you could help me with it.”
“What do you need?”
“Can you tell me the last time you saw your friend, Frank?”
Arc puts a hand to his chin. “It’s been a while, but I believe that would be when I stopped to Shelly’s Kitchen for a takeout order. Why?”
Raynor sighs. “Because there’s been an incident.”
“Oh?”
“I got a call that a man at the local hospital had attacked the staff there. He was gone by the time I got there, but I was able to see his face from the security footage.”
“And it was... Frank?”
Raynor nods. “Right.”
“Are you sure?”
“One-hundred percent, yes. He was wearing that red suit he loves so much and had his cane.”
“Kinda stands out in that outfit, yes. But why would he go after the staff?”
Raynor shrugs. “They had no idea. Witnesses say that he was babbling incoherently about ‘wanting answers’.”
“And the staff wouldn’t give him any?”
“At least not the ones he wanted, no. So he started using that weird power of his and breaking things.”
Arc groans. “Great.”
“When that didn’t work he started going after the staff. Guess he heard the sirens outside though because the video footage showed him suddenly vanish in a flash of light.”
“And that’s why you’re here.”
“Yup. You and him go way back. I wanted to know if he had come here looking for help.”
Arc shakes his head. “No, sir. Like I said, I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“A shame. We all thought he’d gone legit too.”
“I’m sure he had a good reason.”
“Well, I have a bunch of eyewitness reports that say otherwise. So I need to find him as quickly as possible.”
“Could this have anything to do with Shelly’s treatments?”
Raynor shrugs. “No idea. While I was there I tried to visit her to see if she knew anything. But I was told by her doctor that she had been moved to an isolation room due to her condition. No non-medical visitors allowed.”
“What about Lily?”
“I asked about her as well. Apparently her physician was a nicer guy than I originally thought, as he told me that she had been allowed to accompany Shelly to isolation. The only catch was that she couldn’t leave.”
Arc frowns. “They must be at the end of their treatment options then.”
“Guess so. He couldn’t tell me much more than that due to the doctor/patient confidentiality laws in place though.”
Raynor bows his head as he continues.
“At least she won’t be alone at the end.”
“That’s... good.”
Raynor puts a hand on Arc’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about this, Arc.”
Arc nods sadly. “Yes, well... we all knew it was coming. If you see that doctor again please thank him for allowing Lily to stay with her to the end.”
“I will. But please... if you see or hear from Frank, tell him to just call me and peacefully turn himself in.”
“Yes, I’ll do that. Can I ask you something though, Jim?”
“What is it, Arc?”
“How did this happen? I mean... Frank has a really checkered past, of course. However, this... I just thought we were past...”
“He had a relapse, Arc. Guy seems to be doing okay. Gets a job, starts living honest. But it only takes one little thing to push them back into their old habits. I hate to say it, but I’ve seen this a million times.”
Arc sighs. “I suppose you’re right.”
“Well, just deliver my message if you run into him or if he calls you please.”
“Yes sir.”
“I don’t know if it’s because of the situation with Shelly, or maybe the stress of running the diner, or whatever. But he can’t just go around hurting people because of it.”
“Agreed. I’m sure you’ll get to the bottom of it though.”
Escorting the Marshal to the front door he opens it and Raynor steps outside. Turning back to Arc he sighs.
“Sorry this happened. All of it really.”
Arc nods soberly. “It’s not your fault, Jim. Frank made his choices and we all knew what was coming with Shelly.”
“Take care.”
Sighing, Arc closes the door. Turning, he heads back to the couch and sits down heavily.
“Frank... why...?”
Sitting there for a few moments to think, Arc gasps.
“Crap! I forgot the whole reason I came over here in the first place!”
Heading for the basement stairs, Arc hurries down them to find his squad huddled around the table. Arc looks to Max.
“Sorry for the delay. I had to answer the door. What’s going on?”
Max frowns. “This is a pretty serious situation, sir.”
Arc folds his arms over his chest. “That didn’t really tell me anything.”
A voice rings out nearby.
“Perhaps I could explain better.”
Arc turns around. His eyes grow wide.
“Frank?!”
Frank smiles sadly. “Hello, old friend.”
“What the heck, man! Marshal Raynor was just here looking for you!”
“Thank you for not turning me in.”
“How could I?! I didn’t even know you were here!”
Frank clears his throat. “Yes, well... either way the thought is appreciated.”
Arc folds his arms over his chest. “Start talking, Frank. How much of what happened at the hospital is true?”
“That depends how much you know.”
“Marshal Raynor told me everything.”
Frank sighs. “All of it.”
Arc frowns. “So you admit that you attacked hospital staff?!”
“I had no choice, Arc.”
“Is this about Shelly being put into isolation?!”
The blood drains from Max’s face.
“She was?!”
He hurries over to the computer and switches it on. Pressing a few keys he gasps and turns around.
“Her room is empty, sir!”
Arc nods sadly. “I was told that she was transferred to an isolation room. Guessing her immune system went down.”
Frank frowns. “Who told you that?!”
“Marshal Raynor.”
“When?!”
“Just now. Why?”
Hugh clears his throat. “Maybe we’d better let Frank tell his side of the story, sir.”
Xenos nods. “Yeah. We aren’t really getting anywhere at this rate.”
“Very well.”
Walking over to the table everyone sits down. Arc turns to Frank.
“Start at the beginning.”
“Well... this morning I went to visit Shelly in the hospital as I normally do.”
Viktor raises an eyebrow. “That early?!”
Frank nods. “It gives me a chance to see her and Lily before the restaurant opens. They’re typically early risers anyways due to years of getting up for that exact purpose.”
Hugh frowns. “But shouldn’t Shelly be allowed to sleep in?!”
“If she’s tired she won’t wake up anyways. It also allows Lily to go and get some breakfast from the Cafeteria. That way Shelly isn’t alone.”
Max grimaces. “Makes sense.”
Arc nods. “Continue, Frank.”
“Anyways... today I went there as I normally do. However, this time Shelly’s room was empty.”
Viktor shrugs. “Did you consider that idea that they might have just transferred her to a different room?”
“Believe me, that thought did cross my mind. The problem arose when I went up to the nurse’s station to inquire.”
Hugh grimaces. “Please tell us you asked nicely.”
“That I did. However there were less than cooperative.”
Arc groans. “Frank... you can’t go around hurting people just because they don’t help you.”
Viktor frowns. “Did they not want to tell you where Shelly was?”
Frank clenches a fist. “No. The nurse at the desk said that no such patient existed.”
Max gasps. “WHAT?!”
Arc grits his teeth. “That doesn’t make any sense. I mean, Shelly’s been in that room for quite some time now.”
Xenos looks to Frank. “Yeah. Could it have just been a mistake? I mean, maybe they were new to the department, or something?”
Frank shakes his head. “She HAD to know of a patient whom had been there as long, and often, as Shelly though.”
Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “This makes no sense. Why wouldn’t they know about such a transfer? I mean, pretty much everyone in town at least knows Shelly’s name.”
Hugh frowns. “Especially a patient that’s been there so long. They’d have to see her name on paperwork and whatnot.”
Arc looks to Frank. “Are you sure she didn’t just mean that Shelly was no longer in Intensive Care Unit?”
“Very. She was most adamant that there was no patient with that name in the hospital.”
Max appears hopeful. “Did you ask her to look it up?”
“Naturally. She even turned her screen to show me where it said ‘no record found’.”
Arc sighs. “What happened next?”
“I... may have reached across the desk and grabbed her.”
Viktor groans. “Physically?”
“Yes. Then I may have slammed her against the wall to try and get her to confess.”
Max appears hopeful. “Did she?”
“No. Security ran over to try and stop me, but I pushed them against another wall and held them there while I continued my interrogation of the nurse. A few moments later I heard sirens approaching the building.”
Xenos nods. “So you came here?”
“Precisely. I Blinked out of there to gather my thoughts. While I didn’t know if you were in town or not, Arc, I did figure you would have someone here. Or at the very least a way of calling Equestria.”
Arc sighs. “And that brings us to the present.”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t get it. Why would the hospital move her and not make a note of it?”
Max shrugs. “Maybe Frank got there before the system updated, or something?”
“It’s possible.”
Arc turns to Viktor before continuing.
“Do we still have that backdoor into the hospital’s systems?”
Viktor nods. “We should, yes.”
“Hack into their systems and see if you can locate Shelly.”
“Yes sir.”
Walking quickly over to the computer, Viktor gets to work. A few moments later he calls out.
“I’m in!”
Arc grins as the others follow him over. “That was fast.”
“
.
Just like turning a key, sir.”
“Do a general search for Shelly.”
Viktor begins typing. Frowning, he shakes his head.
“Nothing, sir.”
Hugh looks over his shoulder. “What the hay’s going on here?!”
Max grits his teeth. “Someone’s trying to pull a fast one!”
Xenos clenches a fist. “Yeah! But who?!”
“Viktor, expand your search to the entire hospital.”
The sound of keys clacking rings out in the otherwise silent room. Again Viktor shakes his head.
“Nothing.”
Max taps the monitor. “No discharge orders either?”
“Nope.”
Frank rubs his chin thoughtfully. “This is maddening! Someone over there must remember her being there!”
Hugh sighs. “Well, they can’t tell us through the computer screen.”
Arc snaps his fingers. “Maybe they can.”
Xenos appears confused. “Sir?”
“Viktor, do a search for ‘patient zero’.”
Max frowns. “What would that do?”
“It looks like someone intentionally went through and removed any record of Shelly being there. They could have just done a search for her name to figure out what needed to be deleted. That’s why we need to search for the data a different way.”
Frank nods approvingly. “Very smart. After all, it’s not every day the hospital gets a patient with an unknown disease.”
Viktor gets to work typing. After pressing ‘Enter’ they wait. Grinning, he turns back to Arc.
“Found something!”
“Good! What is it?!”
“Her charts and other medical data.”
Frank frowns. “Nothing else?”
Viktor shakes his head. “Doesn’t look like it, no. Frankly I’m confused why this isn’t labeled properly.”
Hugh raises an eyebrow. “Labeled?”
Viktor taps the screen. “Right. It’s just recorded as Patient Zero along with Shelly’s initials.”
Max looks over his shoulder. “Where was the file located?”
“The Long Term Data Storage section of the system.”
Frank clenches a fist angrily. “They were trying to bury all knowledge of her existence?!”
Xenos groans. “Looks like it.”
Max looks to Arc. “This doesn’t really help us though.”
“Maybe it does.”
Hugh frowns. “Sir?”
“Viktor, open up those charts and sort them chronologically.”
Nodding, he presses few keys. Looking to Arc, he speaks.
“What are we hoping to find, sir?”
“Just a hunch. Show me the most recent report.”
“Yes, sir.”
Scrolling to the final entry on the page Viktor opens the last file. Frank sighs.
“It appears like any other report. Blood pressure, respiration, temperature, and whatnot.”
Arc puts a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Let me in there, Viktor.”
Viktor stands aside and allows Arc to take his place. Scrolling through the medical data, he stops near the end and begins to read.
“Here we go.”
Max raises an eyebrow. The notes section!”
Arc nods. “Maybe there’s a clue in...”
He stops speaking suddenly. Grabbing the screen, Arc picks it up and looks closer.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me?!”
Frank gasps. “What is it, my friend!”
“There IS a note here near the bottom from the nurse whom took the report! They say that the patient is being transferred!”
Max raises an eyebrow. “But we already knew that, sir.”
“Right! But take a look at the name of the doctor whom ordered the transfer!”
Putting the screen back in its place Arc draws back to allow the others to see it. Xenos clenches a fist angrily.
“Why that no-good, dirty, low down...!”
Max seethes. “Rieper!”
Hugh gasps. “He’s her doctor?!”
Viktor sighs. “So it would seem.”
Frank grits his teeth. “We need to find out where she was taken! Another hospital perhaps!”
Arc shakes his head. “No need.”
Max frowns. “Sir?”
“I already know where Shelly is.”
Frank gasps. “Where?!”
“Damocles Base.”
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I suspected those snakes were connected to her illness. This proves it because why else would they care about her.
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But wait! It gets worse!
Shelly is now full of Equestrian Midichlorians and other information that her mind has recorded, and any nano bugs inserted into her body as well. especially given the intrsting timing of some of her symptoms while in Equestria.
shelly has been on a high magic iron diet and General Magneto Mustang is Very interested in whats emmiting from her?
Arc is a dumbass among dumbasses in this chapter. Someone I consider family is missing with no traces of her anywhere even we spoke just a few days ago, who I just found out is the biological daughter of one my biggest pains in the ass for various reason the pain is also a doctor in the same hospital I go to like every damn month and have had to rescue people from multiple times already. Oh yea let’s not forget the small detail that my other sister who was with her is missing to and this is all coming from someone I consider a brother and who has actually been trying to do better and was always backing said sisters.
time get that so call'd no good doctor rieper introduced with a ripper
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The wife wants me to kill him off too.