Chapter Twenty-Nine: Hearts Aflame
Moving day.
The SMAL had taken care of everything while they slept, Toxic and Gelliana waking up to their emergency packs and an extra ration pack being all that was left in their temporary shelter. The entity had made a disturbing report; the gas had arrived twice during the night but dissipated just as quickly. Each detection was roughly two hours apart; but that had been four hours ago. Nothing else was detected, but it was clear that if there was a time to move, this was definitely the proper one.
Their nerves were nearly palpable, and after the SMAL appeared to inform them that both the coast, and air, was clear, it was time to head off.
“Are you ready, sir?” SMAL asked, Toxic nodding once as he took a few deep breaths. It was a looming burden, knowing the next weeks were going to be an absolute nightmare…
A soft nudge on his shoulder made a lump rise in the stallion’s throat.
I’m not alone in all of this.
And what would I be willing to go through, for her?
The answer made the pony’s eyes narrow, Toxic nodding to SMAL.
“Do it.”
The spell was nothing more than a simple flash, the entity then nodding once.
“Spell completed. Symptoms are suspended for twelve hours,” SMAL reported. “I will initiate the concealment spell around you both as you leave the shelter. It will last for two hours, and I will return to renew it.”
“Good. Please maintain as large of a perimeter around us as you can after clearing the area. Inform us of any gasses or incoming threats.”
“Orders confirmed. I will direct you via your communications earpieces. The frequency range is minimal, so no outside detection is likely, if even possible. And you have the map.”
“That is true. We will find our way regardless. Thank you, SMAL,” Toxic said, the entity nodding and promptly walking out through a wall to establish the perimeter. “How are you holding up?” he asked the uncharacteristically quiet gryphoness.
“Just nervous,” she admitted, “I just want to get to the new shelter as soon as we can.”
Toxic nodded, hefting his pack as she did the same.
“I know. This place started to feel a bit like a home. But the next area is much more fortified, and farther away from that mountain. Even if it’s only for a few miles.”
Gelliana managed a smile, following Toxic out of their cave. After spending so long cooped up inside, seeing all the greenery and fresh air couldn’t help but make her almost laugh.
Toxic couldn’t help but have a wide grin on his face, for more reasons than one. He had taken some personal time to talk things over with SMAL the night before after Gelliana was asleep. One of those topics was disturbing on many levels, but the other made his heart soar.
“So, there’s that one bridge farther down, but apparently another crossing upstream of this huge ravine,” Toxic explained as they walked. “We can take that land crossing; apparently solid stone that is untouched, unless by a few badgers.”
“Sounds good.”
As they trotted along, it was easy to forget they were in hostile territory, even with SMAL checking in every five minutes with a status update of ‘all clear’.
They simply took in the beautiful scenery, rocks and conifer trees blending in together as the distant sound of water reached their ears.
Toxic caught himself glancing over to Gelliana a few times more often than not, her curious eyes looking back at him. She could probably tell something was up.
Even with all this, I can’t forget what’s important. And this detour doesn’t increase our danger or time spent exposed by any significant amount, not with SMAL orbiting everywhere. Even with the gas moving at three times the speed of the highest measured dispersal, we’ll have over five minutes to put on our masks if needs be.
Best enjoy this while we can.
They walked down the rocks, eventually coming to the massive canyon, greenery visible at the bottom as a large rock bridge spanned the expanse. Easily large enough to fit two carriages side-by-side, it was just as thick. The granite was weathered and rounded by the waterfall that surged from a high cliff above them, having cut through the rock over hundreds of generations.
Toxic heard a gasp of wonder from Gelliana, the stallion looking over and seeing nothing but childlike joy in her violet eyes.
“It’s gorgeous,” she whispered, following Toxic as he reached over to give her claws a squeeze.
“Shall we take a closer look?”
She nodded, the pair walking out onto the sturdy stone bridge. It was covered with a thin layer of dirt and moss, providing a surprisingly sturdy path under hoof and claw.
Toxic stopped in the center of the bridge, the massive waterfall above them and sending water cascading to the depths below, and the canyon spreading out behind the pair.
“SMAL? Suspend status updates unless there is a change from all clear. Set time stamp for twenty minutes unless otherwise directed,” Toxic instructed, Gelliana looking at him in surprise.
“Order confirmed, Director,” SMAL relayed to both of them in their earpieces.
Toxic shrugged off his pack, setting it aside and sitting down.
“Care to join me?” he asked, Gelliana immediately doing so, alibi a bit cautiously.
“What is all of this about, Toxic?” she asked, the stallion letting out a soft huff.
“Just something that is necessary,” he replied, heart thudding in his ears. For a moment, Toxic had the urge to just forget it all; make up an excuse…
If anyone deserves the truth, it’s her.
Wouldn’t I?
“Gells, I wanted to talk about two things with you. The first is not so happy a topic,” he admitted. “I talked to SMAL last night…” the stallion shook his head, Gelliana scooting a bit closer as some of the cool mist from the waterfall blew their way.
“About what’s going to happen?” she surmised, Toxic nodding.
“It’s going to be bad, Gells,” the stallion whispered. “Really bad. Even with her medical knowledge, SMAL couldn’t give me a clear answer other than listing the symptoms at their potentially most severe forms. I might not even recognize you. Might say things, horrible, nightmarish words. Without you or SMAL’s help, I might not…”
The unsaid implications made Gelliana’s side shake as she drew in a breath, her clears reaching over to hold Toxic’s hoof tightly.
“That’s why we’re here,” Toxic explained, a slight smile returning to his face.
“I, um, don’t really follow?” Gelliana admitted, her special-somepony turning to face her, still holding her claws tightly. His other hoof reached up to rest against her cheek; and that’s when Gelliana’s eyes widened, starting to at least suspect what was going on as he scooted a bit closer, leaning his forehead on the gryphoness’s.
“There is something I want to make sure you know before all of that happened,” Toxic whispered, unique voice husky with emotion, “No matter what I say, no matter what I claim or scream when I’m sick, I want you to never doubt one thing.”
Drawing back slightly, Toxic smoothly reached down and gave Gelliana a simple, loving kiss, the surprised gryphoness’s eyes widening in shock. For how sharp gryphon’s beaks appeared, the flexible portion felt surprisingly close to lips, warm, soft, but a bit firmer. He could feel her claws start to shake, and even before Toxic had pulled back fully, Gelliana wrapped her arms around him and returned the kiss, pulling her stallion as close as she could.
When they finally had to breathe again, Toxic couldn’t keep a dopey grin from plastering itself on his face, Gelliana’s eyes brimming with tears.
“I love you, Gelliana,” Toxic whispered, resting his forehead against hers, “Time of stress or not, you deserve to know that. I don’t know if I could have kept it to myself much longer regardless.”
There wasn’t an immediate reply, one of Gelliana’s clawed hands reached up to toy with Toxic’s chest fur as she sniffled, tears running down her cheeks.
“I love you too, Toxic,” she finally whispered, “S-so much…” The gryphoness looked up slightly, now seeming a bit hesitant. Such hesitation vanished as Toxic leaned down and gave her another kiss, the gesture being eagerly returned.
They stayed in each other’s arms for a long while, taking a brief moment of comfort amid the soothing roar of the waterfalls and the warmth of the other’s presence.
“That’s what I learned, you know,” Gelliana whispered. “I knew it, but I was afraid to admit it to myself. I was just scared of what it meant.”
“It meant admitting you want to tread down that path with someone,” Toxic replied, gently nuzzling her cheek with his. “I was scared too. But after all of this? There’s nocreature else I’d rather set sail with on that journey,” he let out a soft chuckle at that. “I know I said not wanting to cross huge milestones during this stressful time, but I couldn’t bear it anymore.”
“I’m glad,” Gelliana said softly, relaxing a bit more into Toxic’s embrace, ears flicking towards him, listening to a familiar heartbeat. “I don’t know when I would have been able to say it. I didn’t know if…” she let out a soft laugh, “it seems silly and obvious, but I was scared. But now? I’ve never felt so safe. You make me feel safe, even amid all of this.”
Still having a grin on his face, Toxic couldn’t help but sigh happily, nuzzling closer to his special somegriff.
“Of many things, you deserve to feel safe, Gells,” he replied.
She paused at that, and Toxic felt his hoof gripped a bit tighter.
“And you deserve to not endure all of this alone,” Gelliana said, the fierceness in her tone surprisingly the gryphoness. “And Tox? Can you promise me to not forget something, just like I won’t forget this moment?”
“Of course,” was his immediate reply.
Gelliana pulled back, making sure to look her curious stallion in the eyes, her claws shivering with emotional tension.
“I love you, Tox,” she whispered, voice starting to hitch, “and I want to be with you. I want countless more moments like this.” The gryphoness scooted a bit closer, even as two green eyes now brimmed with tears at the pointed emphasis. “I love, and want you. Everyone deserves to feel loved, and you’ve been through so much pain…” she reached up and pressed her claws against his chest, heartbeat thudding through. “It needs to be balanced, and I want so much to do that as best as I can. To see that smile, to hear that voice of yours; I want that so much. To see you happy, to not have to bear your burdens alone ever again. I can’t do your job, but I want to at least be there for you.”
Tears ran undeterred down Toxic’s cheeks, the stallion hanging his head as sobs began to shake his frame, a certain phrase rising to Gelliana’s remembrance.
“Who is your shield, Toxic?” she whispered, the gryphoness’s breast feeling like a furnace as Toxic leaned forward and let her hug him close. “You might have it as your last name, and act like one to the world against all that nasty stuff…but who gets to protect you when things look horrible?” she paused, rocking her special somepony back and forth.
Toxic couldn’t stop the tears, the stallion reveling in the embrace of somecreature who wanted to be there with him, one who didn’t judge the rivers running down his cheeks.
“I know what I want the answer to be to that question, more than anything,” she admitted, “but time will tell, I guess.”
“I know what I want the answer to be too.”
Toxic’s barely-audible reply just made Gelliana hug him all the tighter. In that moment, she didn’t care if even Tartarus itself rose up and tried to take Toxic from her; she’d tear it apart without a second thought.
“I promise to remember that, Gells,” Toxic finally said after another long few moments, pulling back to still lean against Gelliana’s shoulder, the gryphoness returning the posture.
After a brief moment of quiet, Gelliana couldn’t help but giggle, Toxic turning to look at her curiously.
“Only you.”
His head tilted adorably in confusion, the stallion blinking as the very-fluffy gryphoness gestured around them.
“Only you could come up with the sweetest way to tell me you loved me while we’re being chased by some crazy enemy!” Gelliana said, “and I love you even more for that.”
She would never get tired of the dopey grin that immediately slid onto Toxic’s face. An innocent, unsullied expression of joy in which nothing else mattered; all that shone in his green eyes was joy and affection at her words.
“And for never kissing someone with a beak…you’re a natural.”
The bright blush on her stallion’s cheeks made Gelliana’s heart soar even higher. Despite being in a tough situation, today was definitely a good day.
Even SMAL checking in with their reminder failed to dampen their spirits as they continued onwards; their journey not marred by any unexpected developments. Even the new location seemed a bit brighter, despite being more densely hidden amid rocks and trees.
As they began to unpack their supplies, Gelliana quickly realized there was a side of Toxic he had been keeping in check slightly, as the stallion had promptly trotted over to wrap her up in a tight hug. As a proclaimed ‘not huggy’ type, the fact that Gelliana’s returning hug and kiss made the stallion melt made her nearly squeak with joy. Apparently, the ‘not huggy’ statement only applied to everycreature else, and Gelliana didn’t mind that one bit, even if her feathers seemed permanently stuck in full-fluffing mode.
As they returned to unpacking, neither of them noticed two soft glows near the entrance where their packs had been stowed.
Two breastplates shone brightly underneath the thick material, a familiar mare appearing for a brief moment before vanishing with a kind, and slightly apologetic smile.
Pick shield stood on the docking platform, a determined smirk on his crystal-like face. In the distance, a dozen glimmering dots neared the island in the setting sun.
Second trip of dozens, and stuffed to the brim.
The newly appointed Fleet Commander trotted off back into the main complex where the first group was completing the mountain of paperwork to begin their enrollment process. When Nacreous had said a lot of his subjects had been interested in the organization and abroad, he had not been joking in the slightest.
Thousands upon thousands.
Walking by one of the enrollment areas, Pick couldn’t help but smile at hearing an exchange between Varti and an ex-guard, the pony being fitted for a prosthetic. The incredulous tone of the pony had been a common one this past day. The idea of regaining a part of their life without any cost…
“What do you mean I can keep it?” the stallion asked, Varti tapping a crystal tablet with a hoof to activate the artificial limb.
“Just as the contract states. Even if you stop the enrollment process, you can keep the prosthetic limb that is fitted for you. Any future maintenance will be charged; something that won’t be more than the cost of a trip to the marketplace though,” Varti explained, the burly stallion staring at the limb that linked up to the rest of his body.
“How can I feel this?” he whispered; the Yak only grinning. “And why aren’t you charging for it? Won’t that just cause creatures to abandon the enrollment?”
“The Last Light Organization plans on selling these prosthetics at nearly manufacturing costs. You’re just getting it a few months before others,” Nacreous explained, stepping in from another room, his subjects immediately straightening before he waved a set of claws at them, “I’m not here as your Emperor, only as a friend of this Organization. And I right, Varti?”
“Correct, Highness. There. The limb is now calibrated to your magical signature and nervous system. You can feel some sensation; about ninety-percent of previous. Any pain is to prevent you from damaging the device.”
The stallion could only stare, grabbing his stack of paperwork with a firm magical grip.
“You all give away things such as this?” he whispered, “a piece of my life back and ask for so little in return? Nobody does that…”
“Now they do,” Nacreous said softly, the stallion trotting off with a shocked but sincere grin.
Pick walked in, Varti nodding as another veteran soldier took his place in front of the yak; two large crystals activating and beginning to scan the pony.
“I am already in the works talking with other prosthetic-producing companies. Layoffs in their sectors should be at a minimum,” Varti said to both Nacreous and Pick, casually fitting the shocked Pegasus with an artificial wing. “We hold the patents on the materials and the magic, and we can subsidize their workforce. We’re growing at a rate I never thought possible, and thankfully all of our safeguards are in place.”
“My simulations will conclude in one week,” Pick replied, knowing that they couldn’t say too much in public. “And by then we’ll be in a different place.”
Varti nodded, a bit of fire entering the Yak’s usually placid gaze.
Pick nodded respectfully to Nacreous, waved to Varti, and then began to meander back to the lab. His mind immediately being preoccupied once again. The simulations…
That’s right, you shadowy piece of filth. If I’m right, I just found out how to hurt you, and combat that blasted mutagenic compound. They are one and the same.
The unicorn casually called up a surveillance spell, specifically one overseeing some of the hidden docks on the island for re-fitting the airships. The five vessels in question were being diligently overhauled by an army of golems and current employees; the larger of the five even more so.
Unlike the passenger fleet or the emergency response ships, these vessels were being stocked with munitions. Heavy plating was being polished and triple-checked, powerful shielding crystals locked into their receptacles.
You kept this part of the Organization so hidden, Toxic. And I can see why. But now it can serve a purpose that no other nation can right now.
We’ll get you out even if we have to blast that mountain to smithereens!
Under a shield of dark magic, an eager maw parted and issued a simple order. The fog that poured from mechanical and magical creation alike rolled down the mountainside.
“Claim our kingdom. Those who are loyal are within these walls. Leave no-one else alive!”
Shapes shrouded in the foul fog dashed down the near-vertical cliffs, claws and talons digging into the raw stone as yelps and howls echoed throughout the night. The King of Shadows was now enforcing his domain; and the guards had been released to secure the borders.
However, unlike the mortals and near-mortals within the mountain fortress, the creatures that tore through the forest breathed the fog as a fish did water. Their many eyes lit up the night with red, malevolent glows.
It's about time you two! 
Just as a heads up readers, updates will be slower due to RL responsibilities. So I'm not going to put a time on them anymore. However, this fic is not going to be abandoned. =) Maybe shorter chapters (like today)/longer updates, but better that than burnout! Don't think I'll leave you hanging.
-RB
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Haha I didn’t realize how much I looked forward to these updates every 2 weeks until I didn’t have them anymore. Glad you updated! Also the kissed and said I love you! Omg so excited! And can’t wait to see what the King of Shadows just did.
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I wish I could keep up the previous pace of updates, but there's other projects/Graduate work that are sucking away my attention. I'd rather slow down than start to hate writing =)
I look forward to future chapters.
Good luck on your RL duties!
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=)
Thank you!
Considering his background, anything.
HE SAID IIIIIIT!
Oh yeah! I forgot they hadn't shared a kiss yet.
The fluffs will never end!
You instead of your.
If only the real world were this kind.
Yes! Make that shadowy bastard pay.
Also, blasted.
Oh dear. That's not good.
Pretty good chapter, for a moment I thought you had a writer's block moment. A whole month without a new chapter? It felt like I was sitting next to the phone waiting on someone to call. Glad to see a new chapter.
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As always, thank you for the feedback!
(Corrections made)
I did put in the end notes that the update schedule is now a month+, simply because I have RL stuff that takes priority. I am not going to abandon the fic by far, but just finish it at my own ease without the pressure of a regular schedule.
ALL THE HAPPY FLUFFY MOMENTS!
Their romance is probably the slowest I've written yet. so it's about darn time!
And the real world is much more complicated. But then again, the Organization has been in planing for years.
Well fu**.... Now i have nothing to read..... Maybe i will check more of your other stories even though i read some already.
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I mean, that's not the WORST problem to have. Glad to hear you've enjoyed it thus far! I wish I could update this more often, but my main goal is to finish it, and that requires pacing/not burning out.
A phrase used when a woman marries a man is that she 'takes up' his last name. So, when Gells and Toxic eventually get married, she will be taking up his Shield.
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Oh.
My.
Gosh.
Somehow I inadvertently made it even more adorable! HUZZAH! (Thank you for pointing that out....I could say I 100% intended it...)
... That brought me to tears. Quiet, wistful ones. We need our world to be like this, so bad. What the fuck is our species doing, i can't...
Wonderful writing, radbunny.
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Why thank you!
I'd say we'll get there. Remember...most of the societies in popular science-fiction where people have it really well off? It all came after a struggle.
I don't think the second comma is needed.
"prostatic"?
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Thank you!
.....dangit
THEY SAID THE THING!!
I got like a dozen of those insulin shots like 5 chapters ago. Already ran out, lol. It was really nice seeing them have this moment before Toxic will be forced to face the effects of the poison in his system. Hopefully it doesn't end up being quite as bad as the prognosis states.
I've also been really liking Pick Shield. He's a fun character.
This moment from a few chapters ago still makes me laugh.
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And Pick was a really fun character to develop!