Adventures in the TARDIS

by Scroll

Part 20: The Price for Power

Since the door is now too damaged and misshapen because of it, Doctor Caballeron and I both knew we can't open the door the normal way anymore. As a result, Doctor Caballeron reverses their tactics by proceeding to bash on the door from our end as well. Cracks spread and deepen as a result of his first attempt, but it looks like his effort hurt him. He backs his left hoof from the door and shakes it for two seconds along with a painful wince.

During this time, I can't help but notice the efforts to bash the door from the other end suddenly stopped. I can now imagine them standing there and blinking at each other in confusion, each wondering what that recent noise was and what it could mean.

In a grunt of determined effort, Doctor Caballeron smashes the door harder the second time. Cracks spread and deepen even more, but he hurt himself to a greater degree. This time he squints his face tightly shut and hisses through the pain.

Ever since Doctor Caballeron put on the Alicorn Amulet, I have been observing him very carefully physically and psychologically. Physically not much seems to have changed about him. I had wondered if he'd suddenly get a lot bulkier and whatnot, but no. That is not what happened. Instead, the only visible side effects of wearing the Amulet seems to be a very faint reddish aura glow around his body. As for psychological, he doesn't appear that much different yet.

During the short pause, after Doctor Caballeron recovers somewhat (which I happen to notice is pretty fast), he blinks at the door and it is then that he also realizes that the assault from the other side of the door has halted. Upon noticing that, he glances over his shoulder at me and gives a curious blink. He probably realizes at this moment, just as I did, that they have temporarily stopped their assault against the door but there is no other way we can see to open it anymore. Either we, or they, have to resume the attack against the door.

Looking back at the door with a renewed grunt of determination, Doctor Caballeron changes his strategy somewhat. He backs off about fifteen feet then paws at the ground in preparation to charge. During that time, I see him narrow his eyes and give a horsey snort. While he did that, I see the faint red aura around him intensify a little bit.

When I see that, a startling revelation occurs to me. Until that moment, I had assumed the Alicorn Amulet gradually augments/corrupts the user over time constantly, but I just observed something that counters that theory. Now it looks like, instead of that, the Alicorn Amulet actually does nothing much until the wearer willingly channels the Amulet's power.

This may be a very important observation. I dearly hope I get a chance to write it down later.

Doctor Caballeron suddenly charges at the door. When he hits, he slams the entire forward half of his body against it. Fortunately for us, that did the trick. The rest of the door shatters with him charging through it a few steps more.

I do not hold back any longer. As per his request, I kept myself back from the door at first so that the more magically augmented one among us seizes their focus fire first, but I knew there is a few problems beyond the door that might quickly overwhelm Doctor Caballeron and it just so happens I have a counter for that. A mere second after he charges through the door, I quickly meet up near him and start flapping my wings hard in a forward direction. Doing so quickly builds up a gust of wind which blows back and scatters the hallway that is otherwise filled with a whole bunch of either charmed or magically summoned/controlled snakes. I also keep a sharp eye out for any of the Naga who places a blowpipe to their lips in preparation to blow another tiny needle. If they do, I'll redirect the gust of wind to knock those projectiles off course. Doctor Caballeron may be physically enhanced right now, but a continuous build up of poison raining down on him from various bites of snakes and poison darts may quickly counter our efforts. For this reason, I'll do my best to protect him in the back lines.

As it turns out, Doctor Caballeron and I get a brief reprieve from their assault for two reasons. Initially it was because of their shock at seeing us suddenly charge out of the adjacent room after one of us finally shatters the door. The second reason they hesitate nervously is they notice Doctor Caballeron is currently wearing the Amulet. I see the Naga nervously glance at each other but also with an edge of uncertainty. The way I figure it, they aren't accustomed to the pony race at all, let alone our individual breeds. As a result, they hardly have any idea how the Alicorn Amulet would enhance any one of us. They just saw him burst through a damaged stone door but, in their heads, they might be thinking he could be enhanced in other ways too.

I think the battle remained paused for a total of nine seconds. After that, the Naga reach a new decision. They remain nervous, but I also see them steel their resolve and ready their weapons. They knew there is only two ways to remove the Alicorn Amulet from anypony who wears it. One is that wearer willingly takes it off, or two, the wearer dies. It looks like they are opting to resort to the latter strategy, especially since we don't share a common language for negotiation anyway.

“Stay bahck ond keep thah snakes ond darts off o' me,” Doctor Caballeron quietly orders me over his right shoulder without tearing his gaze away from the threats ahead of us. “I'll take care of thah rest. Also, if we ev'ah see an opening through thah enemy lines, we charge through. Got it? Ond I'll be relying on your guidance af'tah that. You know the layout of this place bet'ah than I do.”

“Right,” I confirm in a very serious tone.

The next few moments is a tight explosion of action. Doctor Caballeron and at least a dozen Naga charge at each other. He weaves, punches and bucks his way through the crowding lines of limbs and sword swings. Meanwhile I hold my promise by carefully observing any snakes or dart fire aiming at either of us. For the moment, they all seem to be targeting him exclusively because they desperately want to take him down fast and get the Amulet back because they know that, until they do, he remains an escalating dire threat against them. Also they really need that Amulet back in order to finish their plans.

I almost don't mind them ignoring me because I don't feel nearly so prepared to face them, but I am also really worried about so much focus fire against my ally. If they take him down then not only do I have to deal with the guilt of his defeat, not only do they get the Amulet back and might even use it, but I know their next target will be me for those of them who remain uninjured enough to resume the fight. I won't stand much of a chance after that.

The other issues that really concerns me is the effects of the Amulet itself on him.

On the one hoof, it hasn't augmented him much yet so holding the line against so many Naga is a strain for him. I suspect they are aware of that as well which is why they are trying to tear him down as quickly as they can before he gets any stronger.

On the other hoof, if the tide changes in his favor, it may come at a dire cost to his soul. If that happens, I have to question if death may just be a more preferable if it weren't for the threat of them getting the Amulet afterwards and what they ultimately plan to do with it.

Either way, I know we got our backs pressed against the wall.

As this battle goes on, there is a temporary stalemate on both sides of the conflict. Doctor Caballeron suffers a few licks but they do too. Either way they don't take each other out yet. One against twelve or more is already a heroic effort on his part even with what little augments he is getting, but it's not enough to take any of them down yet. He hits some of them and even launches a few away as a result, but they endure his blows and get back up. With so many limbs and weapons swinging at him though, most of his efforts is actually defensive and he's still failing a little bit. He doesn't seem to notice the pain against him as much right now but I can still see red bloody lines gradually being traced all across his hide.

As for me, my efforts are far more successful. With nobody targeting me, I'm able to assist my ally with impunity for now. The snakes just can't approach him because of me.

Unfortunately this stalemate eventually ends and not in our favor. Doctor Caballeron suffers a vicious slash across his chest. The pain of that blow makes him hesitate as he flinches in pain. Because of that, three more really good hits score against him before he is backhanded away, spinning thrice in mid air, then tumbles on the ground closer towards me.

“Doctor C!” I cry out in alarm then almost take a step to charge at him.

“Stay BACK!” Doctor Caballeron insists with a demanding roar as he painfully starts crawling back up. He is shivering in pain but also in anger. As that continues, I see the red aura around him getting stronger. The shiver seems to be more in pain at first but then he glares at the rest of the Naga as if channeling all of his hatred and blame at them for this pain. The shivers start to ebb as we all grow startled to notice Doctor Caballeron's wounds shrinking as if he's slowly gaining his wounds in reversed time.

I am in awe but also horrified by this sight because I know why this is happening and what this is costing him. If this trend continues unabated, he may eventually target me next with all of that raw hatred and sudden lust for cruelty.

Then I peer ahead of him at the rest of the Naga. Once again I notice all of them hesitate as they take in this new piece of information. They didn't know precisely how the Amulet would augment him, but they are learning that now. With horror, they are watching all of their hard won efforts against Caballeron shrinking away. Efforts that costed them in return and they are not recovering nearly so quickly. None of them are defeated yet, but now it looks like battle damage in this war of attrition can only swing against them in the long run. Their surprise at this sight also alerts me to the fact that they might not have ever seen results of the Amulet like this before. Previously it seemed worth it for them to injure Caballeron in any way they could with the desperate assumption that those results will hold and accumulate, but now it looks to them that they are effectively fighting an immortal being whose strength and toughness is continually getting stronger to boot.

I see the Naga glance among each other as if each of them is hoping one of them has a new idea how to counter this recent threat against them. After all, if it turns out they simply can't kill Caballeron while he's augmented by the Amulet, nor convince him to take it off, then it is now they who are backed into a corner.

“Don't draw anywhere near them,” Doctor Caballeron growls as he crawls back onto his hooves. His stance is shaking at first but he quickly gets more steady. “I already told you . . . I'll take care of them. You juz do your part.”

I hear the anger in his voice, see it in his stance and see the red aura around him grow thicker and darker like crimson blood drying into black crust, yet what he just told me clearly signifies where his priorities remain. He hasn't lost himself to the darkness enough to turn on me yet. How long will that remain true?

There is also a little part of me that feels flattered. If he's protecting his own morals this strongly for my sake, it indicates how much he genuinely cares for me.

Suddenly I hear a loud hiss that almost sounds like a screech from one of the Naga as that individual dramatically points directly at me. It is in that moment I suddenly realize what their new strategy will be in this battle going forward.

“Oh no you DON'T!” Caballeron fiercely insists. “You're only target here is ME!!!”

Doctor Caballeron leaps so strongly that that effort alone spread cracks on the spot he once stood on. His trajectory carries him in a short U shape arc where he lands among them like a cannon ball. That effort alone blow some of them away like bowling pins getting struck by a bowling ball. From there he savagely kicks, punches, and now bites at his target as he tears at them to crash into each other further, thus keeping them off balance. Now the injuries are really stacking against the Naga, and soon some of them won't be able to get back up. Perhaps not ever.

I shake my head to clear it. I need to get my head out of the clouds. The snakes and the Naga are now targeting my ally much more desperately than before, but if they are not too busy attacking Caballeron or busy being too injured or dead, then some of them start to turn to look at me with a wicked gleam in their eyes.

I firm my stance as I glare back at them. I flap my wings to blow the snakes crawling at either me or Caballeron away. Some of the Naga lift blow pipes to their lips with the obvious intention to target me next, but the gust I'm projecting forces them to wince then cover their face with their arms. As long as they are doing that, there is no way they can attack me.

I see one of the Naga punched away from Caballeron with a new dislocated jaw. That Naga lands on the ground hard and presses a clawed hand to his face, but then he sees me above him and upside down from his initial perspective. Grinning with evil triumph despite the injury he just suffered, he flips about and was about to crawl his way to me, but then Caballeron bites savagely into the tip of the Naga's tail and painfully drags that serpent back into the fray. The Naga's evil grin suddenly transforms into desperate alarm. He claws at the ground to avoid being dragged back, but to no avail.

Meanwhile I see the the dark red aura around Caballeron getting stronger and stronger. Another indication of his corruption is his voice is starting to sound monstrously multi-tonal. I also see some desperate sword swings and clawed hands swipe at Caballeron, but at this point Caballeron is now fearlessly ignoring those attacks. The Naga are having a harder and harder time inflicting any injury at all against Caballeron as if Caballeron's hide is getting thicker and tougher, yet no actual visible change to his hide is taking place, nor is his muscles getting bulkier despite his ever ascending strength. This thereby proves to me that all of these changes on him are entirely from a supernatural source.

Another thing that is noteworthy is the few blows that are managing to pierce his hide, which is harder and harder to score against him as time goes on, are also healing faster and faster.

All of this combined really does make Doctor Caballeron an unstoppable juggernaut right now. Bottom line is the angrier he gets, the more powerful he is, but the greater the cost against him is as well.

In the end, none of the Naga or snakes ever manage to approach me, but to be fair, that's also because of my own efforts too. They tried to get to me but they either got blown away by me or savagely beat down by Caballeron. When more then half their forces seems obviously incapable of getting up anymore, perhaps ever, the rest finally decide they are way over matched right now and they need to retreat, regroup, and restrategize.

At first I widen my eyes in triumph. Because of the Naga and snakes retreat, we gained the opening we need to charge through. However, I pause in shock when I notice Doctor Caballeron leap after them instead to make sure none of them escape alive. He lands on one of them with a crashing downward stab of a hoof and flattens that one to the ground. I both see and hear him laugh maniacally as he pauses to savor the last drops of life of the victim he is on top of before resuming to batter his way on the Naga. The next blow crushes the Naga's head halfway flat. Doctor Caballeron just keeps beating on this corpse seemingly for fun right now.

I know this is an extreme risk against my life at this point, but I have to intervene now. This has clearly gone too far. Besides, we have the opening we needed.

“DOCTOR C, STOP!!” I cry out as I desperately leap upon him. I wrap all four of my hooves and both of my wings to restrain him in a hug. In response, I hear him monstrously roar in his multi-tonal voice before leaning his head forward then suddenly backing it to headbutt my face. This disorients me. After that he bucks me off then backhooves me spinning away and crash into the wall of this hallway. From there I slide to the floor in a heap. I can't see out of my left eye anymore, but the right keeps staring at him with tears in my eyes.

At first Doctor Caballeron gazes upon me as if he had something very insidious in mind, but then he recognizes me which quickly cools off his reaction. In that brief moment of calm, he has a chance to inwardly reflect at himself and what he's doing. He then looks down at the corpse below him which is well past the point of being a threat. This is literally overkill.

Next, I see him squint his face hard and shake his head as he tries to regain his sanity. I notice him struggling with that quite a bit at first, but it's already a relief to me to see him trying. That means he's not lost to me yet.

Finally he sighs as the red glow around his body dims significantly. He then looks at me with remorse in his eyes as he says, “Apologies, Mademoiselle, and thank you for snapping me back to my senses.” When he said that, I notice that his voice returned to normal which is a relieving sign.

As I crawl back up to my hooves, I flinch in pain when I notice my left wing is now too injured to be useful to me now after I crashed against the wall with so much force earlier. I then look at him as I say, “Never mind that right now. We have the opening we needed so lets hurry and get back to our friends before they regroup. The sooner we do that, the sooner you can take that cursed Amulet off before you lose your senses to it again.”

Doctor Caballeron nods as he says, “Indeed, a good plahn. Let's move.”