1-4 Find the Light
Ponies worked through the afternoon to repair what damages were made during the Infected assault, working on cleaning up and supporting buildings that may require a little support until they could be tended to. Almost everypony was busy, be cleaning, crafting, or reinforcing the buildings, even providing those that worked with food while they broke for breaks. Above a street, everypony screamed in fright as a large, twisted monster slammed into the middle of the road with a snarl, only for its legs to fold and propel the beast across to the next building, claws sinking into the brickwork, flinging debris back at the second shadow that pursued it on foot, leaping after it.
"It's getting away!" W growled at herself for allowing this to happen, her whole body burning with perseverance. She leapt from building to building, always a step behind the agile Forsaken as it made strides to widen the gap between itself and the Sarkaz hunting it down.
Cracking its neck around to spot the silverette, Forsaken growled, drawing back its melded crossbow, the purple energy vibrating through its crystalized arm and to the tip of the bow, channeling into a dark amethyst bolt of Arts energy. The bolt was expelled, tearing through the rooftop under W's feet. She tucked and rolled onto the next roof, immediately sprinting despite the few cuts she received, evading to her right of another bolt, this one just grazing her shoulder, the wound burned and hissed, cauterizing the gash in seconds.
"W! Jump!" Looking back, she spotted the now aloft Sora, much as she hated it her toes curled against the edge of the next building, leaping as high as possible, feeling his hands clasp around her right, handing her a metal claw and binder. She gasped, then felt the wind slap across her cheeks. "Go!" With one, wind-powered spiral, Sora flung W like a slingshot toward the beast, giving her enough hang-time to clear the outer wall of Hoofprint alongside the fleeing Infected.
Swinging the binder around, she flicked the bladed claw down at the Forsaken, grunting as her arms felt they'd pop from their sockets the second the hooks embedded themselves in its flesh and fabric, slamming her body into a nearby tree while she was tugged down to the ground, sliding across the dirt as the pair entered the forest, Sora wincing at how the Forskane snarled, maneuvering its body to crash W into every available tree in its path.
"Okay, not quite as I pictured," He winced, rising higher into the air to fly just above the mounds of the trees, spotting the pair through the gaps, and the gleam of a purple bolt as it burned through the treeline, Sora barely left with enough time to evade the strikingly precise attack.
Down in the forest, W grunted as she felt her left side bruise against a tree trunk, her stomach flattened against the dirt. Shaking off the buzzing in her ears, she grabbed the binder tightly in both hands, tugging herself up with enough leverage to hop to the side of a tree, propelling herself forward against the trunks, using the Forsaken's own power and momentum against itself. Her ember orbs widened, spotting Astra's tranquil face bobbing against the fold of the Infected arm. The sight fanned her flames, and with three blades procured off her belt, she flung the tips as they sunk into the beast's vertebrae, verbally provoking the abomination into adjusting its posture to draw the crossbow over Astra's head, the bolt charging up in W's pupils.
"Shit!" Looking around quickly, W had to grit and bear the pain as she threw herself onto the side of a capsized tree, the wooden structure taking the massive blast of energy, dirt, and splinters obscuring her vision, unable to feel her feet snap a longboard of bark off the folded trunk. Skidding out into an open trail, she was pleasantly greeted by the sight of a makeshift board of bark under her feet, no longer trailed across the ground like roadkill peeled along by a car tire.
Kicking with her left leg the front of the board rose, bumping off a rock, granting W enough time to adjust her landing to the right, missing a tree and another bolt while the Forsaken flung its arm wide to the left, blowing the bottom-half of a tree to pieces, capsizing the evergreen to fall in W's wake. Not wanting to finally lose her ground, W fell backward onto the bark, narrowing skimming the top of the falling tree, instantly kick-flipping onto another log, grinding across it while yanking back on the binder, raising her grenade launcher to counter the amethyst bolt mid-trajectory, the two payloads erupting in a purplish-orange halo that billowed the foliage that W ended up crashing through, keeping her feet pressed to the board.
She swiveled to her left and right respectively to avoid being pierced by even just one bolt from Forsaken, itself unable to retaliate completely while carrying Astra. With the trees beginning to close in, W was going to run out of places to move. The Forsaken snarled, leveling its crossbow to the treeline ahead, unleashing several smaller Arts attacks to devastate the terrain, ripping roots and chunks of land from the earth. This ungodly eruption of lilac sent tremors through the earth, trees fell and small brushes were set ablaze while it ran by, leaving it all for W to almost feel her heart shake.
Her eyes narrowed, gripping the binder so tight it cut into her palm. Pulling back, she balanced herself on the back end of the board, drawing the iron-sights of her launcher down just a few feet ahead of her. Not a second more the 'thunk' and puff of smoke smacked her nose and tongue, and the ground blew apart under her, the thermal and kinetic energy throwing her high above the trees, leaving her airborne momentarily.
"I said... give-" Her fist tightened the binding. "-her-" Blades began to form around her body, sharpening the glare in her eyes. "-BACK!!!"
Even from a distance, the Forsaken had no time to react, W yanking on the binder with inhuman strength, practically firing herself like a human missile that drove the soles of her boots through crystals and down against its marred, cracked skin, finally tumbling against the Forsaken as it roared angrily, lashing out to scratch and kick at the woman's assault, feeling her own teeth sink deep against its bicep, her left hand's finger prying deep into its throat in an attempt to gouge it out.
Neither could stop themselves from rolling down a slope, and over the edge of a forest ravine that scored through the earth, leaving them weightless. With one kick to the stomach, W wrenched Astra from its gnarled hand, even as that same crooked mass of flesh dug deep into her leg, drawing blood. W screamed in rage and agony, teeth knitted, her own face a twisted form of animalistic hatred while shoving the barrel of her launcher against the monster's chest, ready to blow it to pieces.
*Thud!*
From seemingly the sun itself, Sora swooped down in a wide arc, wrapping his left arm around W's waist, his right cleaving through the Forsaken's claws with his silver blade, freeing the girls and allowing the abomination to plummet with a howl into the dark ravine. W almost didn't realize who had caught her, ready to pull the trigger had a hand not run down to stop her fingers with his own.
W blinked, eyes readjusting to the world filled with color to find a nervous smile adorning the Aasimar that held her closely, a filly groaning in discomfort between them, though she remained unconscious still. "S-Sora?" Hesitant but unable to fly herself, W let him carry her across the roof of the forest, both finally able to lower their guards until they arrived back at Hoofprint. "..." Her eyes closed, wanting to look elsewhere but at his face.
"W?" She didn't respond, and he felt he knew why. It was his fault for never saying anything from the get-go, she's been hurt far more than him, he could rely on the ponies around him everyday, she had nothing but a little girl and her own thoughts for a good majority of her time in Equestria.
"'A girl fled from the consequence of a choice, having never learned from her mistake she only succeeded in spreading it'"
That story festered in W's head again, why now? She passed it off as a mere way of bridging understanding between the two of them but... now she realized she was doing the same thing, letting distrust dictate her choice. He helped her get Astra back, that fact felt personal. Her arm secured itself around the filly between them tightly, almost afraid to let her go at all. Even her tail curled up between them, supporting the little pony's lower body.
"Does Celestia think the same way as Twilight?" She broke the stale silence, not bothering to look his way, but he did admire how the golden sky contrasted her silvery hair and solemn gaze. "Is she out to cage me too?"
Her tone was flat but not her face, lost and conflicted. "No," Sora answered softly, facing forward. "She's only ever wondered if you're like me until the reports of your 'attacks' reached her, then she viewed you as an invader of sorts," He didn't sugarcoat it, nor was it possible to sway his Adopted mother's view until she could see W personally, which only succeeded in spreading the fearful idea W was a monster. Sora sighed, then nudged her temple with his forehead. "Hey, I know... I should've told you, but-"
"It's fine." Quick and direct, and he almost didn't want to accept that, despite how irritated she may become. "Trust is... a risk - guess I didn't want to play so close to the chest this time." He could almost hear her dry wit.
"Then I hope it's a risk you can take on me again." Finally, her face turned to meet his, smiling slightly at his dorky he was with his wording, but it was a nice change of pace. Their silent stare lasted a while until Sora's wings flickered, almost losing his focus while shakily facing forward, stammering while a tint of pink dusted his face. "W-well! Let's just, um, g-get back to town and rest! Yeah, just relax!"
"His arms are tense..." W blinked once, tilting her head while she stared, then left her picking thoughts for later, resting her head against his shoulder while facing the direction of the ravine, only to see a sea of emerald green stretch out ahead of her toward a mountain range striking the horizon. "That's Canterlot huh...?"
The girl fell down a sharp slope, rolling through the damp mud and leaves, coughing once she tumbled to flatter terrain. She gasped, hearing the huff and sharp growl drawing closer. "I don't... want to die... Mama!"
Blood and sinew clung to white teeth, a breath that made her insides turn horribly at the acrid stench of rotten flesh. Two beady, burning yellowish-red eyes swam with hunger, the long tongue hanging out the corner of its armored mouth. The girl's body was shaking, silver eyes staring back in the reflection in the large, wolf's orbs. Now, she was pinned between a rock and its large, white claws while it sniffed out her terror.
Tears stained her face as she held her ears, trying to block out the sickening growls and noises that the monster made, it thrashed against her eardrums, just as badly as its roar split the sky. "...mama... help me...!"
All she could think or feel was Death looming over her, she couldn't even scream anymore. Then, the deafening silence was interrupted, and she peeked out to see the jaws widen, shrouding her in darkness, drowning one final scream.
"Waaah, stop, stop, stop!!" The sudden wail from Astra shook W from her trance while tinkering with one of her plastic explosives, eyes wide as the filly sobbed in her bed. She cupped her ears with her hooves, eyes jammed shut as if the shadows were about to swallow her, "Mama!"
"Hey, hey, Astra, what's-!" W was cut short upon approaching the filly's trembling side, the charcoal bundle burying her face into the woman's shirt, sobbing loudly through the fabric. On instinct, W put her arms around her, keeping her wrapped safely. She ignored the door opening, focusing all her attention on the terrified pony in her arms. "Shh, it's okay, kid... it's just a nightmare, shh..." Rocking her back and forth gently, W's heart almost shot to her stomach, as if the Forsaken had come back.
"Mama's dead... they all died... s-s-she killed them...!" Astra hiccuped, afraid to lift her face from the warmth enveloping her. It wasn't a nightmare, it was one of the last things Astra could remember at all. "She hurt them, she killed my Mama...!"
Leaning her head down, W kept her hold on Astra while she whispered. "She won't hurt you, kid, I promise, shh, it's okay now, I'm still here, I'm not letting you go this time." She be damned if she allowed it.
"W?" Sora spoke up, worry crossing his features while he watched the Sarkaz rock the frightened child carefully. W met his eyes once, nodding with a tired smile. "...l-let me know if you need anything, okay?" He added quickly.
"Sure," With that, the door closed over, leaving only W and Astra illuminated by the lantern on the desk where W worked, though she could hardly prioritize that now, not until Astra was okay. "Astra... who killed your Mom?" Painful and rude as it might be, W wasn't good with this and that was all that was on her mind. Astra couldn't recall anything until now.
"*Sniff* b-bad l-l-lady, h-her *hic* h-hands burned e-every *hic* t-thing..." Her head shook against W's damp shirt, not that it mattered. "Mama..."
"Shh... it's okay," Hugging Astra tightly, W's gaze fell to her neutral glare. "She's like us too... the Merchant stole her away but her memories must've suffered in the process... but where did she come from?" Looking down at the filly, her fingers combed her snow-white mane, now cleaned of dirt and grime from the day, no longer needing to use rivers and ponds to clean for the time being. "Whatever happens, kid, she won't hurt you, I'll blow all your fears to ashes."
That gauged a small gasp from the pony, her silver eyes bloodshot from crying, tears still rolling down her muzzle. "B-but *hic*." Then, her snout crinkled from W tapping two fingers to her nose, smirking to reveal a fang.
"May get beaten, burned, cut, and so on, but I will, everything you're scared of? I'll blow it all away," W was sure of it, more than ever before. "I promise."
"B-but *sniff* I-I yelled a-at you..." That's what was eating at her too? W raised a brow, then chuckled, ruffling her mane as she got comfortable against the bed's headboard.
"And? I... should have considered why he wanted to keep that to himself - heck, I'm no better," W felt a little embarrassed thinking back to it. That only melted to pride when Astra snapped at her, she wasn't trying to throw some kind of tantrum, she just spat the words W refused to reason with. "I dunno what's to come of this, with Sora... but you're right, kid - so if you ever need to yell at me again," W saw her eyes staring up at her while she grinned. "You have my permission to curse me out too - but only when I'm being a total dumbass."
"Mmhm," Astra sniffled, nuzzling back into W's chest, and the Sarkaz relaxed back against the pillow, her own eyes beginning to feel heavy. Today had really tired her out in every aspect, but so long as Astra was safe, she'd do it again.
The next day, W was busy sitting out in the sun with nothing but her sports bra on to cover her chest, a bandana tied around her forehead to keep her bangs clear as she worked on making a few thin, wire grapples that she could swing like the one Sora gave her to tag the Forsaken. It was tricky but the ponies were nice enough to give her the wire she needed to thread together. It was tricky but she already had one complete, though not perfect it was something useful, even as a tripwire.
"W-W-W-W-" Sora had his mouth plugged by her tail's tip, only for her to immediately retract it after a strange sensation shivered through her body.
"Uwah, okay, what the hell is it now?" W asked bluntly, placing the threaded wire down to take in the frightened look in his eyes, Astra galloping up beside him, their bags in toe. "Uh, what's-" Her antenna flicked and she quickly swiped the materials she had into her duffle bag, snatching up her shirt and jacket from the chair. "You've got to be kidding me..."
Once the three were hidden in an alley nearest the rebuilding of the market. W's blood boiled, Sora looked nervous, hand tense against the wall with Astra peeking between W's legs with worried eyes. Standing at the front of a small platoon was the red unicorn with the stupid blonde mane. Cliffheart. Neither missed how a red aura began to bubble across W at the sight, Astra didn't bother checking her emotions, it was painfully obvious.
"Ah, you must be the one stationed as the captain here, correct?" Cliffheart waved to the same stallion that W saved, and the one that thanked her with Bits too.
"Yes, sir," He gave a salute. "What do we owe this visit from the Royal Guards for?"
Cliffheart looked around at the devastation still in need of repairs. "Well, I heard word that some strange monsters had attacked the town, I'd have come myself but the report said the matter was quickly dealt with by a 'Mercenary'." W facepalmed alongside Sora, Astra bobbing her head between them while looking at her own hoof.
"Why did I say that?" "Why did she say that?" "Why are they doing that?"
The Hoofprint guard looked a little taken back before nodding, he had no clue so W couldn't hold him for it. "Ah, right - a traveling mercenary had stopped by to gather supplies and offered their assistance - believe me, not much of Hoofprint would be left I'm afraid if not for their help." He was... defending her? Again, W didn't have the words to gauge a real reply, it was odd having ponies back her up.
Cliffheart's orange eyes narrowed a little, clearly racking his brain for the words. "And this... mercenary, anything odd about them? Weapons? Appearance? A name?" He was really trying to squeeze whatever juice he could from the guard, and W felt her fingers reside on her launcher, only for Sora's hand to press to her dainty hand, lifting a strange look from the woman, but she ultimately backed down, easing her fingers off the trigger. "We're busy tracking what's named the 'Monster/Beast of the Everfree', heard any rumors of it?"
The guard looked lost, then his eyes widened with a surprised face. "The monster of... ah, yes, a few new adventurers were supposedly off to try and capture this beast - heard they ran into trouble along the way with another monster, however," Then the guard shook his head. "I'm afraid this mercenary looked nothing like what many have described, only thing odd I can say was that they refused the compensation we offered as a 'thank you'," His hoof waved dismissively, but W caught it, his left eye passed over her location, he smiled. "Sadly if you wanted to chat with this hired pony yourself you'd have to track them down among Hoofprint's forests, no telling when they'll return."
"Think that's our window, come on," Sora nudged W's arm, and the Sarkaz quickly wrapped Astra into her arm, picking up her own bag to quickly escape into the alleyway. She hated to bail on Mir but once he saw who was currently paying a lovely visit he'd understand. "So, where to now?" Sora asked, hopping out into the street once the coast was clear.
"Where else, Wing-Boy?" She huffed, grinning ahead. "We've got a Dealer to catch."
To Be Continued...
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10777425
The story itself is done very well, I think Veo is referring to the bad guys. You really haven't delved into the background or the "why" of the situation. Without playing the game, all we know is that there slugs of some type. The filly asking questions, or a flashback from the game characters point of view could offer the opportunity to sprinkle in a bit of "Bad guy" info. It works better by sprinkling a bit of game lore here and there rather than a Wikipedia style info dump
All in all, I like this story and personally haven't been lost at all even though Ive never heard of the game. Its well-thought-out and the pacing is solid. The descriptions are clear, in my opinion. I very much am looking forward to more.
Hell, seeing this chapter update made me smile.
Again, the only thing that could be improved on is game lore. The "games' hero character background, or why the player liked the character. A little bad guy lore. But also some bad guy character development if you intend to introduce a boss down the road. Its often better to build up character development on bad guys several chapters before dropping them into the story.
The Monk
"I understand killin’ but I sure as hell don't understand you sheltered bastards.” -ThePhoton
Yeah I’m calling it now, there’s no way that forsaken is dead... again
10779580
Let's be fair, that thing probably can take a tank shell to the face and survive 0_0
10779571
Okay, that's alot to digest, but thanks I sorta feel like that's where I have fallen short (As I am already working on the last six chapters). The villain himself isn't given alot to 'screen time, in all honest the matter of the enemies appearing is explained next thanks to Sora if that helps, I hope. As for why Aoi likes W that... also kinda explained in the upcoming chapters. I'm not really good at pacing out explanations as I don't like info dumps unless they're more than just one big block of text without visual representation, like a flashback.
Still, I will improve where I can and I'm really glad you're enjoying this. Arknights isn't as well-known so that's why anything to do with its lore isn't mentioned as most would again be lore-dumps or redundant to the story.
I look forward to entertaining you with what's to come!
bruh, this is one of the most well thought out Displaced fic ever, most Displaced fics don't have a good plot or decent character development as much as yours do
10782888
Um, thanks I really wanted to try and make things a little different with the character basically stuck in the middle of good/bad with their choices. I'm really happy you think it's good ^_^
10782888
Its not just good it's high tier its actually given effort 🤩
10782916
Hehehe, I appreciate that, thank you
Very cool
10784166
Thank you