Not A Game Anymore (Revamp)

by WurkyWilk358 0w0

Without A Shadow of a Doubt

Chapter 2

“Hit the deck!” Crimson yelped as he and Jet jumped out of the way.

The two Black Arms monsters slashed their weapons at the rock they were hiding behind and destroyed it to pieces.

“What do we do?! We can’t fight these things!” Crimson panicked.

“We run and try to get to safety!” Jet quickly hooked his arm around Crimson's waist and helped him run.

The two friends ran as fast as they could while the Black Arms monsters gave chase.

“Shit! They’re gaining!” Crimson said as they continued to run.

“They wouldn’t be so eager to chase us if I had a weapon too!” Jet grunted then suddenly a beam of light appeared before him, soon after a familiar weapon hovered in front of him. “No way!” The bird mobian said, as he saw the blaster from his favorite show appeared before him. “The Quantum Blaster?!”

“What the?! How’d that-?!” As soon as Crimson said that another beam of light appeared and a familiar-looking tool hovered next to the Quantum Blaster. “Holy crap! Look! It’s the Burst Wispon!”

“Fuck it, I’m not gonna complaining!” Jet snatched the weapon in front of him and turned to aim the gun. “Suck on this!” Jet pulled the trigger and a red blast of energy shot out striking one of the creatures in the head, killing it and falling to the ground. “Boom! Headshot!”

“This is still crazy, but I ain’t dying today!” Crimson said and grabbed the Wispon. He spun around and aimed at the other creature. “Eat flames!”

Crimson pulled the trigger and a torrent of fire burst from the Wispon. The creature screeched in pain as it was burnt to a crisp before finally collapsing to the ground. Both friends breathed heavily from the events that had just transpired before they looked down at their new weapons, and then at each other.

“Did…did that just happen?” Crimson asked.

“Fuck yeah it did! Now we have a fighting chance.” Jet walked Crimson over to a nearby house and helped prop him against it. “Can you stand any better yet?”

“Woah woah woah! Are you nuts?!” Crimson said. “What do you mean a fighting chance?! You’re saying you actually wanna try and fight those things?!”

“I do, as a former soldier I can’t in good faith turn away while innocent lives are in danger.” Jet quickly pointed his blaster towards a creature that was chasing some smaller pony creatures. He pulled the trigger and fired a few rounds at it, killing it. “If you want to leave, I understand, but I can finally do what I love again, saving lives.”

“Now hang on a sec!” Crimson stood back on his feet. “When was the last time you played Shadow the Hedgehog?”

“I don’t know, is that really relevant right now?” Jet continued to fire his newly acquired weapon at any of the evil monsters that came close to them.

“Do you know what kind of enemies you’ll face?” Crimson asked, making Jet think about it. “What about the weapons they use? They’re tactics? Their boss?”

“Look, I’m not worried about that now. This isn’t a game anymore, they aren’t just gonna come at you with pre-programmed movements. Look out!” Jet quickly shoved a Crimson to the found as a laser fired at them.

“All I’m saying is you need an expert with this kind of shit. So, I guess if you’re gonna be fighting, then I’ll have too as well!” Crimson said and blasted some creatures with flames as they were about to get the drop on Jet. “This is the craziest shit I’ve ever done, but I can walk and run again! So, I ain’t gonna let this opportunity go to waste!”

“You couldn’t have just said that from the beginning, you know.” Jet patted his companion on his back and moved so they were back-to-back. “We’re outnumbered, so stay like this and rotate around. You got it?”

“Got it!” Crimson looked down at his Wispson and noticed there was a dial next to the trigger. He curiously turned the dial once and the Wispon suddenly transformed into the Lighting Wispon. “Woah! Check it out! It’s the multi tool Wispon!”

“I figured as much. We look like our characters, and now have our weapons too. I’m not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth.” As the two rotated they continued their attack, eventually luring in the attention of all the evil creatures. “Looks like we became popular.”

“Then let’s sing ‘em a song!” Crimson said and pulled his Wispon’s trigger. A whip made of lightning came out of the Wispon and swung it around, striking multiple creatures.

“Sure, why the hell not.” He pressed a button on the side of his blaster shifting it from blaster mode to sword mode and cut down two charging monsters. “This is so crazy.”

Crimson whipped his Wispon around in all directions, electrocuting every creature in sight. Even though his movements were sporadic and uncoordinated, he still managed to take out a good number of them. While he was swinging around his Wispon, some creatures managed to get the jump on Crimson and shoot their blasters at the red wolf. Crimson barely managed to dodge the blasts but one of them grazed his leg. Crimson yelped in pain and was then punched across his face by another creature.

“Shit! There’s too many!” Crimson cried as more creatures began to swarm him no matter how much he tried whipping his Wispon.

Jet fared no better as he was attacked by monsters wielding larger swords, each one swinging their blades at him forcing him to try and block. Yet despite his best efforts he wasn’t able to hold his own and was sent flying back into his companion. “We can't win, we need to get out of here!” Jet said.

Just when the two were about to be overwhelmed, something came speeding in and sent every creature in its path flying. There were multiple Black Arms monsters screeching as they were dispatched with ease. Just when the last of the Black Arms were eliminated, Crimson and Jet looked to see who it was that saved them. A twinge of excitement filled their hearts when it was none other than Shadow standing before them. In one of his hands was a Black Arms sword and in the other was a dying creature.

“Hmph…and who are you two supposed to be?” Shadow asked in an annoyed tone as he cracked the creature’s neck and killed it.

“Two guys who are way out of their own league,” Jet joked as he watched Shadow let the lifeless creature fall to the ground.

Shadow scoffed and marched over to the two friends.

“Hmm…you both look like Mobians,” Shadow said. “But you’re just kids.”

“Hey! I’m eighteen! So, I’m legally an adult!” Crimson said, only to shrink away when Shadow eyed him.

“I’m twenty-seven and fought on the front lines before, asshole!” Jet didn’t look away but felt a sense of respect for the hedgehog.

“I see,” Shadow said, but then more creatures started to advance on their position. “If you both can’t fight anymore, then you better get out of here. I don’t have time to babysit a couple of greenhorns.”

“Greenhorn?!” This fueled a fire in Jet as he picked up his weapon and slowly got to his feet. “They caught me off guard and that’s it, I won’t let that happen twice.”

Shadow stared at Jet just as a creature jumped at him. Without looking, Shadow slashed his blade to the side and decapitated the creature.

“Woah…” Crimson said.

“You wanna prove me wrong?” Shadow snorted. “Then do it. You both handle this part of the town and I’ll go handle the other half. If you’re both still alive, we’ll talk later.”

Jet helped his friend to his feet after ripping some of his shirt to tie around Crimson’s injured leg. “Fine by me,” Jet said.

Shadow nodded and skated off to continue fighting the rest of the Black Arms. Crimson turned the dial on his Wispon and it transformed into the Cube Wispon.

“You think it’s in bad taste to ask him for his autograph later?” Crimson asked.

Pressing the button on the side of his sword, Jet’s weapon returned to gun mode. “Do what you want, just don’t get killed and try not to look like a pussy in front of him,” Jet said.

“I can do that!” Crimson said and slammed his hammer on a creature’s head. The enemy turned into a block and Crimson hit the block with his hammer, sending it flying at more creatures.

“Alright then, let’s not waste getting our legs back.” Together the two moved in unison and killed a good number of dark monsters, watching over each other’s backs.

“Heads up!” Crimson said and hit more creatures, turning them into blocks and kicking them in different directions at the other creatures.

“Head down!” Jet forced his comrade to duck as a blast zoomed past them, before returning fire. “How many more are there?”

“Looks like we’re almost-!” Crimson was about to say.

“Help!”

He spun his head around to see a group of creatures circling one of the townsfolk. She was a female pony person with gray fur and wore a long dress skirt, purple vest, and a white undershirt. The creatures glared at the pony with the intent to kill.

“Oh no you don’t!” Crimson said and turned the dial on his Wispon. The Wispon transformed into the Hover Wispon as Crimson sprinted towards the pony.

Crimson jumped into the air while aiming his Wispon and fired powerful gusts of wind, blowing away all the creatures before landing just in front of the pony.

“You okay, miss?” Crimson asked, not turning his head.

“Wh-What?” The pony said as the creatures tried to gather themselves.

“Relax, just stay behind me!” Crimson said and switched his Wispon back to Lighting mode. Crimson held his Wispon with both hands and swung it as hard as he could. The electric whip struck every creature within its range, and even sent some of the creatures flying.

“Hang on, I’ll be there, man!” Jet was about to aid his friend when he saw another female pony being chased by a large creature with a sword. She had white fur and electric blue mane, and had tinted glasses while wearing a white t-shirt, Jean shirts, and purple leggings. “Hold that thought.”

Jet ran forward, switching his weapon’s mode again, and using it to block one of the monster’s swings, before cutting his head off. “Damn that was close.” He glanced back at the mare. “You alright?” He asked and she nodded. The mare said nothing and could only stare at Jet.

“Jet! The last of them are headed this way!” Crimson called out to his friend. “Let’s go!”

“On my way!” Jet quickly followed the sound of his companion’s voice and switched to gun mode.

The two friends chased the last of the creatures through town, blasting and slashing any they could, until they arrived at what looked like the center of town. They saw Shadow arrive from the other side with dual-wielding plasma blasters.

“Well, well, you survived,” Shadow said. “And you drove the rest of them to the center.”

“Told you we could handle it,” Crimson said.

“Let’s just finish them off, shall we?” Shadow said.

“Fine by us, then I’m expecting some answers on what the hell is going on.” Jet glanced at the hedgehog, still baffled by the events that transpired this day.

Crimson turned the dial and switched to Burst mode. He used his Wispon’s ability to jump high in the air while using the small explosions it fired until he was right above the remaining Black Arms monsters.

“Time for an extra crispy Black Arms buffet!” Crimson said and unleashed a torrent of flames.

Shadow skated in circles around the creatures while unloading his blasters on the horde.

Jet was calm and precise as he fired his blaster at any that tried to break away. “Don’t get carried away and let any slip guys.”

Crimson kept unleashing his Wispon’s flames until the last of the Black Arms crumbled to dust. Crimson landed on his feet and kissed his three fingers.

“That’s a spicy meatball!” Crimson said in a fake Italian accent.

Jet facepalm as he shook his head. “My god, you are cringe, man.”

“Okay, I’ll admit it,” Shadow said as he tossed his empty blasters in the dissipating fire pit. “You have some potential. Despite how sloppy and uncoordinated you two are.”

“Coming from you, that’s the best compliment I’ve ever gotten,” Crimson said, adjusting his glasses back in place.

“I didn’t mean it as a compliment,” Shadow deadpanned.

“Sorry about my friend, he’s a fan. But in all seriousness, what the hell is going around here?” Jet took a moment to glance around the town and its somewhat European rustic look. “Where are we and how are you real?”

Shadow was about to answer when he noticed the townsfolk were starting to gather.

“Not here,” Shadow said and walked away from the town center. “Follow me.”

Crimson and Jet looked at each other and followed Shadow. Crimson looked behind him and saw the townsfolk watch them leave while the fire pit finally snuffed out.

“We’re just leaving? Aren’t we gonna stay and check on these people?” Crimson asked.

“You wanna play the hero or do you want answers?” Shadow asked, not looking behind him.

“We’ll take answers over being heroes,” Jet answered for the two and moved a hand behind Crimson’s back to make sure he didn’t go back.

Shadow led two friends out of sight from the town and stopped just beyond the edge of a wooded area.

“This should be good enough.” Shadow leaned his back against a tree and crossed his arms. “So, let’s start simple. Who are you?”

“Would you believe us when we said that we were once humans on earth, but suddenly were brought to this place as mobians?” Jet bluntly asked.

Shadow stared at Jet for about a minute, and then looked at Crimson.

“It’s true,” Crimson shrugged.

“I’m not sure why, but for some reason I believe you,” Shadow said. “Doesn’t mean I trust you, but I suppose you two don’t look like the lying type with this stuff. I’m Shadow, Shadow the Hedgehog.”

“Name’s Crimson, by the way,” Crimson said. “And if I’m gonna introduce myself properly, I’m Crimson the wolf.”

“Well since we are doing an introduction, I’m Jet Stream the bird,” the avian mobian introduced himself.

“To answer your question,” Shadow said, looking at Jet. “I have no idea where we are. I also just recently got here.”

Jet threw his hands up and groaned. “Wow, so you made us walk all the way over here, just to say you don’t know. And you’re talking to us about trust?” He said sarcastically.

“Do either of you know where we are?” Shadow shot back.

“By the looks of it, some kind of magical land of mythical creatures of some kind,” Crimson said.

“I honestly thought this was some part of the mobian planet, given that there are anthropomorphic animals here,” Jet added, glancing back at the town behind them. “So, was that the black hand?”

“Black Arms,” Shadow corrected. “And yes, they were. And there’s plenty more where they came from. No thanks to the comet currently in orbit.” Shadow pointed to the sky. “No doubt their leader is preparing to send more down here.”

“Black Doom?” Crimson said.

“How do you know that?” Shadow asked.

“Now that’s a story you wouldn’t believe no matter how long I take to explain it.” Jet chuckled. “Let’s just say we are well informed and know a good deal of things.”

“Fair enough,” Shadow shrugged. “But yes, Black Doom is the Black Arms leader. I thought I had destroyed him, but it would seem he somehow survived.”

“Survived?” Crimson said, until he remembered something. “But you saved the world after collecting the chaos emeralds.”

“I did,” Shadow nodded, eyeing Crimson. “Before I confronted Black Doom, I had suffered some major amnesia. I didn’t know who or what I was or where I came from. Black Doom tried to manipulate me in order to do his bidding, but I managed to resist the temptation thanks to…a dear friend’s voice.” For a brief moment, Shadow looked sad before going back to his serious expression. “I wasn’t going to let Black Doom get the chaos emeralds nor allow him to control me.”

“Alright, so then how is it you two wound up where here is? And should we be worried about him raising hell?” Jet asked bluntly, trying to desert Shadow’s attention away from Crimson.

“It was a slight miscalculation on my part,” Shadow said. “Black Doom was on the ground and heavily wounded, I had finally collected all the chaos emeralds, and I fulfilled a promise I made a long time ago. However, Black Doom was as stubborn and cunning as they come. Using what little energy, he had left, he made his comet change trajectory straight towards Earth. He disappeared and retreated back to the comet before I could finish him off. The only way to stop the comet from crashing into earth was to use the chaos emeralds with my comrade, Sonic. We both powered up and tried to stop the comet from crashing. Unfortunately, the comet was too strong, and we were being overpowered. So, I did the only thing I could think of, I shoved Sonic out of the way and unleashed all of my chaos control power.” Shadow held up his hands to show the rings he usually wore were no longer on his wrists.

“You took off your suppressors?” Crimson said.

Jet quickly elbowed his companion in the side, making him wince, before shooting him a look that told him to shut up. “And I’m guessing after you did all that, you somehow got sucked into this world with Black Doom?”

“My chaos control power, the power of the chaos emeralds, and Black Doom’s dark power and comet caused an explosion that somehow unleashed a temporal fluctuation, creating a wormhole that swallowed me, Black Doom, and the comet in it. I woke up just outside of that town last night,” Shadow explained.

“So why are the Black Arms attacking like this?” Crimson asked.

“Because apparently the chaos emeralds ended up on this world too,” Shadow answered.

“Oh…that’s not good,” Crimson said nervously.

“Not good? Not good?! Of course, it’s not good! In the wrong hands, those things can wipe a planet out!” Jet was now worried and frustrated. “Tell me you know how to track them?” He asked Shadow.

“Somewhat,” Shadow said with a shrug.

“The hell do you mean somewhat?!” Crimson said. “Can’t you find them like last time as fast as possible?”

“I would, if my power wasn’t tapped,” Shadow said.

“Oh god, please tell me you’re joking,” Crimson said with a frown. “You were kicking as much Black Arms ass as we were back there!”

“I may know how to fight but you should know that those creatures we eliminated were merely underlings,” Shadow said. “Under normal circumstances I would’ve easily destroyed those creatures and the rest of their ilk and made sure to finish off Black Doom once and for all. However, I can barely feel my chaos control power within me. My last act of stopping the comet nearly drained me of all I had. I can barely sense the chaos emeralds’ power as it is, and even then, I can’t pinpoint their exact locations.”

“At least tell us that Black Doom is equally blind when it comes to having the means to find the emeralds too?” Jet pleaded, sounding more nervous by the second.

“As a matter of fact, he’s still gravely injured and can’t do much right now due to our battle,” Shadow said, looking up at the sky. “I know him, and I know he wants the chaos emeralds even more than he did on earth. I’d imagine he wants them in order to recover faster and take over this world.”

“Typical villain stereotype,” Crimson muttered to Jet.

“Well, now we have a reason to work together.” Jet nudged his companion. “We want to get back home, and back to being human, and we don’t want to die. If Black Doom gets the emeralds, then we’re fucked. So, what do you say, Shadow, willing to let us help?” Jet asked, holding out his hand.

Shadow stared at his hand and looked at Jet in the eye.

“And why should I?” Shadow scoffed.

“Hey, all due respect man? But I don’t think you’re in any position to act tough,” Crimson pointed out.

“I may be temporarily powerless, but I can still beat you both down without even trying,” Shadow pointed out. “You two haven’t even tapped into your natural speed yet.”

“Uh…” Crimson looked at Jet to see if he knew what Shadow meant.

“Be that as it may, we know as much as you do, which means you don’t have to worry about us messing up.” Jet helped up his blaster with pride. “Before, I was a proud member of the army of my country for nine years. I’m skilled in hand-to-hand combat, firearms, and technological advances. How about you?” The bird mobian said with a cocky smile.

“I see, then that explains your experience,” Shadow said then looked at Crimson. “And you?”

“I’m a gamer?” Crimson shrugged, making Jet bonk him on the head.

“He’s a gamer, but he also has a great deal of information on the enemy, such as battle tactics and weaknesses. With a bit of training, he’ll be a valuable asset to the team,” Jet quickly added as he patted his friend's back. “And if you can teach us how to truly harness our speed, then we will be worth double your efforts to collect the emeralds.”

Shadow looked like he was considering his options as he scratched his chin. On one hand, he could just flat out refuse to allow Crimson and Jet to help Shadow against Black Doom and try to go solo. But on the other hand, much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was pretty useless at the moment. The Black Arms would most likely have the advantage over Shadow if they ganged up on him in his current state. These two had potential, true, and they may have the means to fight back, but they were still as green as they come in most areas.

“I suppose I don’t have a choice,” Shadow muttered to himself. “Fine. For now, we’ll have a temporary alliance.”

“Sweet!” Crimson cheered.

“But!” Shadow said, holding his hand out at the two young mobians. “If I’m gonna agree to this, you two have to follow my orders to the letter.”

“Uh, come again?” Crimson said.

“It’s as I said before,” Shadow said. “You both haven’t even tapped into your natural speed. That will be a major detriment to the mission. So, until you’re both properly whipped into shape, I’ll be calling the shots from here on out. Got it?”

“I see no issues with that.” Jet quickly answered, getting a look of shock from his companion. “What? Look, we’re not only getting used to walking again, but we’re in a possible hostile area and our best chance of survival is the hedgehog, who knows how to get us at our full potential in these bodies. That alone should be a good enough reason to let him take the wheel.”

“I see your point,” Crimson nodded, then looked back at the town. “I feel like we should at least go check on them.”

“Why? They have nothing to do with our mission,” Shadow said.

“Oh, come on, don’t play the tough guy act when you basically risked your ass fighting those monsters after you just told us how nerfed you are,” Crimson said. “You still care about the well-being of others, just like you did for the people of earth. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have bothered stepping in and saving those people.”

“What’s your point?” Shadow asked.

“My point is that we’re just three mobians on an unfamiliar world that’s currently being invaded by the Black Arms. Wouldn’t it be more beneficial if we at least introduced ourselves and possibly got them to help us?” Crimson asked, then looked at Jet. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You’re not wrong. As of now, neither of us has a home base, resources, or a network to gather information. If we can befriend the locals, we could open up more avenues to help us stay ahead of the enemy,” Jet assessed and gave his take on the situation.

“Then you two go ahead and do that,” Shadow said and started to walk away.

“Where’re you going?” Crimson asked.

“To locate a chaos emerald,” Shadow said. “It’ll probably take a week or two to pinpoint the exact location. I’ll return with the location and then we’ll start properly preparing for the impending battle. In the meantime, try and get as much info about this world as you can.”

The two friends watched Shadow walk away until he was out of hearing range.

“Guess that settles that, huh?” Crimson said.

“For the most part. Could have at least taught us something about our speed.” Jet shrugged before making his weapon disappear. “Okay, leave the talking to me. I’ve been trained in establishing friendly relationships between people in different countries.” He led Crimson out from the trees and back to the town.

“You think it’ll be okay? Us walking into what is essentially an alien town?” Crimson asked.

“Well, what else can we do?” Jet sighed while rubbing under his lower beak. “We have to establish a friendly relationship if we want to live in this world. Besides, we aren’t demanding a house or money, we are going to try and talk to them and show we mean no harm.”

“Aw, it’ll be okay! Everypony is welcome in Ponyville!”

“Well, that’s reassuring,” Crimson said.

“Yeah! And there’ll be a party!”

“A party? Is it invite only, we’d hate to intrude, we don’t have anything to offer either if we need to bring something?” Jet asked, thinking of what they could give to the party should they be allowed in.

“Everypony’s invited! Especially since it’s for new friends like you!”

“I could be down for a party,” Crimson said with a smirk. “I used to bust a move like no other, now that I can walk again.”

“Dancing is one of my favorite party activities!”

“I’m not sure if I’ll be much of a dancer myself, back in the military we didn't have many parties,” Jet sighed, slightly embarrassed.

“Can’t you sing?”

“Yeah, Jet, you’re a bird. So technically, you’d be a good singer,” Crimson quipped.

“I don’t know if that’s racist or speciesist, but I kinda can sing. It doesn’t mean I’ll be a rockstar because I’m a…wait a minute.” Jet stopped in his tracks. “Who are we even talking to?”

Crimson stopped as well, and the two friends looked at each other. They then slowly turned their heads to look behind them to see there was a third amongst them.

She was another one of the pony folk. Her fur was bright pink, and her hair and tail were curly and darker pink. Her eyes were baby blue, and stared back at them with curiosity and brightness that matched her big smile. The mare wore a light blue t-shirt with a cupcake on it and light blue Jean shorts. The two friends blinked simultaneously as they stood frozen in place.

“Hi!” The mare chirped. “I’m Pinkie Pie!”

“Uh…” Crimson muttered.

Many things ran through Jet’s mind, but he could only think of one quote to say. “Hello there.”

Author's Note:

An alliance with the Ultimate Lifeform himself. What will this entail for our new heroes?

Hope you enjoyed!

~WurkyWilk has left the building…

Comments

[burner181]

Jet helped his friend to his feet after ripping some of her shirt to tie around Crimson’s injured leg. “Fine by me,” Jet said.

um, wrong pronoun or did i miss something somewhere?

[WurkyWilk358 0w0]

11596159
Typo…

[Fluffy-Boi]

Ooooooooooooo!!!! This was badass!

[bonberjean]

Great Pinkie intro