Death, Sacrifice, and the man in blue

by MrTyrannousaurusX

Chapter 11: When the dead come knocking

BOOM!

Rainbow Dash almost jumped out of her skin as the door behind her slammed shut, the blaring snare drum sounding noise rang through the corridor as she was plunged into darkness. The only thing lighting her way was the dull moonlight shining through the yellow stained glass windows, transforming the moonshine into a lighter more pleasing color. There were black metal bars on the window that went up and down to make a design similar to a checkers board on the windows. The moon shined down onto them and created two small, rectangular chess boards on the ground a few feet in front of her. The glow lightened the area enough for her to see the coal black bricks that formed the wall and the tall imposing pillars that stood in between and on either sides of the windows.

Rainbow gulped nervously as she scanned her surroundings, at least the ones she could make out in the dark, and found that all around the huge corridor were just pillars lining the walls. A gaping entryway sat in the middle of the right wall like the open mouth of a whale, sitting there ready to swallow anything that stepped through into its darkness. Rainbow whipped her head around in a panic and set her magenta eyes on the maroon door. She galloped over to it in alarm, thrusting her hooves against the door while she shouted “Levi! Twilight! Somepony! Open the door!”

Rainbow’s face was inches away from the maroon painted wood when she suddenly heard and felt a loud thump on the door which echoed through the hall. She jumped back in fright as her hooves once again met the cold stone floor, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.

“FUCK!” a man's voice boomed from the other side of the door, reverberating not only in Dash’s ears but off of the walls around her as well. Through the anger and frustration lacing it, she recognized the voice immediately and realized Levi was the one trying his damndest to get through the maroon door. Before she could react or go back to the door and help the man open it, the unbelievable happened right in front of her eyes, forcing them wider than ever before with shock and astonishment.

Like something you’d see out of a fairytale, the door, the walls, the pillars and windows, everything around her instantaneously vanished all at once. The bricks that once formed the mighty walls were now nothing more than an empty space, replaced by a thick wave of dust that came crashing down onto the pegasus. All she could do was stand there and watch as her only means of escape fell down upon her and swallowed her into its vision-altering abyss of grey. The rainbow pegasus attempted to inhale a breath of oxygen to calm her nerves racing like a derby horse and her mind forming into a screeching cacophony of emotions. Much to her dismay, her esophagus filled with the dense fog that encompassed her, erratic coughing followed for seconds afterwards as her eyes shut tightly instinctively.

Tears formed at the corners of her magenta orbs as she opened them to see the aftermath of the vanishing of everything around her. Her heart plunged into her stomach and her breath quickened at what she saw all around her. As far as the eye could see, a sea of thick grey dust stretched for miles around her and she found herself still trapped in the wave that had crashed down on her just seconds before. The walls were no more. The beautifully constructed pillars were just a distant memory. The intricate windows were gone. All that was left was the frigid stone floor at her hooves, the feeling of icepicks penetrating her feet that she was starting to become used to still there reminding her of her situation.

She wiped her eyes with her hoof, freeing it from the torture of standing on the ground for just a few moments before placing it back down. She blinked rapidly for a few seconds in disbelief, hoping this was just a bad dream or some sort of act put on by Nightmare Moon to stump her and her friends. It would explain the sudden appearance of a very fresh looking door and rug that just so happened to appear in front of them, leading her here. Wherever “here” was. In this vast wasteland of nothingness. Dust all around her that simultaneously clouded her vision and allowed barely anything to be seen in her vision, if there was anything to see at all. As her eyes darted everywhere, questions ran through her mind like a marathon. Was she dead? Was this the afterlife? Is she in another dimension?

“Rainbowwww…” her blood turned cold and her thoughts ceased upon hearing an ominous voice call out her from the grey oblivion. She backed up a few steps, not knowing why considering there was nothing out there to back away from. Nonetheless, she decided to project confidence and a sense of boldness despite how worried she really was to whatever could be out there calling her name.

She stood up on her hind legs and narrowed her eyes, “Show yourself!” she demanded as she threw a few punches in the air, “I’m not afraid of you!”

Her voice echoed through the ocean of smoky grey, hearing her voice with a false sense of confidence be repeated back to her numerous times, like whatever had brought her here was trying to mock her.

“We’ve been looking for the greatest flyer in all of Equestria…” the voice declared. Rainbow landed back onto the sub-zero floor and cocked her head at a random place in the dust. At this statement, Rainbow went from anxious and worried to a lot tense in a few moments, thinking that whoever this pony was may not be as sinister as Rainbow made her out to be.

“Who?”

“Why you of course Rainbow Dash…” the voice answered, “And we can set you free from this place..but on one condition…”

“What’s that?”

“If you join us…” cutting through the silent air was the sound of multiple pairs of hoofsteps running towards her like an energetic race horse. Rainbow took a few cautious steps back as the echoing hoofsteps grew louder as they drew nearer to her.

Her vision cleared as the cloud of dust that sat in front of her was broken, allowing her eyes to see clearly once again. With her now crystal clear sight, Rainbow’s magenta eyes snapped to the ones who broke the cloud who sat on the ground a foot or so in front of her.

“The Shadowbolts!” the ominous voice declared once again with the rainbow haired pegasus now finally seeing who it belonged to as she and two other ponies slid on their knees into view. In the center was the female who had a sky blue coat and dark blue slicked back hair, identical to the two other pegasi who sat on either side of her, all of them with their wings extended to their sides as they puffed their chests out pridefully. A pair of yellow goggles hid there eyes and the black face covering left only their mouths visible. All of them had stone cold serious looks on them excluding the pegasus in the middle who had a grin full of shark teeth displayed on her face. Her black and purple outfit had a yellow lightning bolt on the middle of their neck, the middle of their arms, and the middle of their legs, with all of them looking like a jagged yellow staircase with only three steps.

Rainbow’s eyes moved over to their flanks as she saw a morbid skull with wings of bone as their cutie marks. She looked at them with a confused look as one question bogged her mind. If that was their cutie mark, then what are the Shadowbolts?

She raised an eyebrow at the trio as she waited for them to speak and eventually, the female pegasus’ eerie voice filled her ears once again. “We are the best aerial team in the Everfree Forest, but soon, we will be the best in all Equestria!” she boasted loudly.

She zipped over close to Rainbow’s confused face as her eyes hidden behind her goggles met Rainbow’s. Rainbow saw her bewildered face in the reflection of the pegasus’ shiny golden visors as she continued her offer, “But all we need is a captain” the pegasus crooned as Dash eyed the pony from head to toe. Even though the pegasus’ eyes were hidden behind a shield of yellow, she could still feel her convincing conniving stare burn into her retinas. The blue haired pony began to hover in circles around Rainbow with her shark tooth grin still plastered on her features.

“I..I can’t…I have to get back to my friends” The hovering pegasus suddenly landed sharply in front of her, catching the rainbow haired pegasus off guard. “You’re ‘friends’,” she replied with a snicker, “If they were really your friends they wouldn’t have abandoned you here now would they? They would’ve saved you by now”

Before Rainbow could rebut her outrageous claim, the blue haired pony stepped forward and leaned her mouth close to her perked up cyan ear and whispered “But if you join us, we can save you”

Feeling her personal space invaded, Rainbow bounced back a few steps away from the penetrating scheming eyes of the trio. “I can’t!” she refuted louder than she expected, “I can’t just leave them behind! They’re coming for me, I know It-” “But do you?” her voice, now poison to Rainbow’s ears, interrupted sharply as she took a few steps closer towards her. The two stallions marched closely behind her like bodyguards almost immediately after.

“Yes I-” “Look around you Rainbow Dash. Your friends can’t help you now, only I can” she interrupted again with an insistent tone. The cyan pegasus took a quick look around her, being met with the derisive glare of the ocean of dust that surrounded her and the trio. She looked at one of the waves of dust that raised up a few inches above the surface before crashing back down, causing the dust to splash and behave exactly like water. It was at this moment that Rainbow knew she was nowhere near Equestria now. In fact, she couldn’t even begin to comprehend where she might be at all. The Shadowbolt may be right. She and her posse may very well be the only key to Dash’s freedom, and her rejecting their offer may be her sealing her fate. Dooming herself to sit on the cold stone, alone, watching the moor of grey splash around around her as she waited for death.

But, in that moment, something inside of her heart had ignited. Something fierce, untamed, a burning desire that could only be met by one thing. Getting back to her friends. The loyalty that burned in her chest like a bonfire wouldn’t allow her to accept the Shadowbolts offer, everything inside of her revolted at the idea of giving into these connivers in front of her.

The pegasus’ voice, now more persuasive than ever before, suddenly cut into Rainbow’s thoughts like a sword and asked “So..what’s it gonna be Rainbow Dash?”

She took one last look at the sea of dust around her as waves danced soundlessly, giving Dash an uncanny feeling. She looked at the blue haired pony deep in her eyes shielded by gold goggles and knitted her eyebrows as her heart slammed in her chest at what she planned to do. Nervousness and anticipation churned inside of her, creating an indescribable feeling that felt like excitement to the pony but was anything but.

With her magenta orbs still transfixed on the Shadowbolt, she spat “No!”

Rainbow could see her eyebrows raise behind her visors. “I have to get back to my friends and nothing you can say can change that!” Dash could see the anger building up on her face with her bodyguards mirroring her emotions, Rainbow watched in satisfaction at her small win against the Shadowbolts.

“Find another captain” she hissed towards the Shadowbolt, her face now twisted with rage as she watched Rainbow turn around and began galloping towards the edge of the platform. Dash could hear her loud growl over the sound of her heartbeat in her ears and her hooves pounding against the stone floor.

“CATCH HER!” she bellowed, hearing the sound of two pairs of wings whistling through the air behind her, quickly followed by a third. The female pegasus lunged forward in the air at the back of the rainbow haired pony’s legs, the sound of her hoof making a sharp sound through the air as she swung it. She was a second too late as Rainbow’s back hoof went straight up in the air as her body went vertical and, much to the trio’s disbelief, watched her dive headfirst into the grey smoky abyss below. The two stallions and the mare landed with sudden unexpected calmness on the edge of the stone floor, looking down perpexly as they saw a cyan blur disappear underneath the waves of dust. As far as they were concerned, never to remerge again. Without warning, the trio abruptly evaporated into a blue sparkling smoke that all combined into one glittery mass swirling and contorting in the air above the platform. The blob resonated with frustration as it disappeared into thin air, ready to torment whoever it came into contact with next.

THUD!

Rainbow hit the ground hard, finally being free from the prison of dust she was trapped in just seconds before. When she pushed herself up and rubbed her head before opening her eyes, she was met by the taunting gaze of the stone floor staring her in the face. She felt dread overtake her as she jumped in a panic and whipped her head around like a madman with wide eyes. Much to her relief, the sight of the beautifully crafted pillars in between the equally as gorgeous windows sent a wave of relief washing over her. With the horrible emotions now having run its course, Rainbow could now calmly look around at the walls with solace as she could now fully focus on catching her breath. Her once racing heart from the adrenaline of her plummet down slowed to a more tranquil pace.

With the Shadowbolts and her entrapment now becoming nothing more than a bad memory, she allowed a small grin to overtake her face, partly of triumph and partly of relief. She had done it. She won against the Shadowbolts. Her loyalty prevailed. She felt immensely proud of herself at that moment. She knew she had done some very, very impressive things through the years, she knew for sure this one takes the cake. Out of all of her accomplishments, none of them came close to essentially swallowing her eagerness to show ponies how awesome she was and save herself. She took the peaceful solitude of the moment to think back and reminisce on all of her past feats and achievements. She felt nostalgia creep there way into her when she thought about how she had beat the bullies at her flying school and came first place.

In a weird way as she thought about it, something inside of her longed for that sense of freedom and excitement she got from putting those bullies in their place and winning. It was odd due to the fact that that’s practically how she lives everyday, rushing through the sky and bursting the clouds satiated her desire for that excitement while flying. The wind blowing her hair every which way. The breeze gliding over her feathers. The satisfying whistle that filled the ears of every pony below her as they looked up at her in astonishment. Then proceeding to shower her with compliments when she touched the ground with her racing heart. She loved it. The exact opposite of how this journey was going for her. Being stuck in some weird wasteland of dust, being attacked by a manticore, being scared senseless by transformed trees, it all just didn’t sit right with her. She wanted to just live the life she’s been living, calm and laid back with a good Daring Do book resting in her hooves as she fell asleep on a soft cloud above Ponyville. The town she loved with all her heart. The town she was most loyal too.

What she and the rest of the group were doing that night though was anything but that, it was stuff they’d assume Princess Celestia would handle. Not them. A country pony who worked on a farm and a booksmart unicorn seemed like a recipe for failure and looked like the start of a bad joke but somehow, it worked. As she stared at a wall with a blank stare completely zoned out, the thunderous sound of someone’s foot slamming into a door angrily ripped her out of her trance. Rainbow was able to blink a few times before the kicking began again, causing the pegasus to almost jump out of her skin. She directed her eyes over to the maroon door which threatened to bend inwards with every blow. The doorknob rattled with a faint jingling sound like a christmas bell as the next bash came.

The ear-splitting booms against the door echoed through the hall, snapping the pegasus back to reality from her trip down memory lane. She unfolded her wings and instinctively bent her knees like second nature to boost herself into a hover. The very second she did that, she heard two very distinct footsteps behind her that made her blood run cold. She could tell for sure they belonged to a human from hearing Levi’s similar sounding ones all night. These however were starkly different. They sounded heavier than Levi’s like he was wearing boots made of solid wood, clacking against the ground like cowboy shoes everywhere he walked. Before she could whip her head around and confront whoever stood there, she felt a strong calloused hand forcefully cover her mouth and yank her towards him.

Her heartbeat quickened from fright but her fight or flight quickly made itself known, attempting to kick the man in his knees before her legs were lifted from the ground. Her hooves thrashed wildly in the free air under her in a panic. Her rapid alarmed breathing was forced in and out of her nose from his iron grip tightening around her mouth. Her cheeks stung in pain as the man laughed while pulling her closer, feeling the buttons on his shirt press firmly against her back. Through her wild almost animalistic kicking of her legs, she felt her hoof make contact with the man’s thigh bone as a pained grunt followed. He leaned down to the right for just a split second before recovering, now angry at the rainbow haired pony who was at his mercy and his alone.

“Listen to me bitch!” he growled with his mouth inches away from her ear, resentment lacing his voice. “Sit still and be quiet!” demanded the man in his malicious tone.

“Nightmare Moon has plans for you.”

BAM!
The wood finally gave out after one final blow. The maroon painted door broke free from its hinges and clattered loudly to the ground. The sound echoed off the walls of the empty hall, filling Levi with an intense worry as soon as he noticed.

“RAINBOW!” he called out, “RAINBOW DASH!”

His eyes darted all over the beautifully lit room like the vibrant colored pegasus would just jump out in front of him and they could continue forward. Instead, he was only met with eerie silence aside from the sound of the ponies walking in behind him. They too looked frantically around the room looking for the cyan pony but finding nothing. Not even a hint of where she could’ve gone. Levi stopped and stared at where the moonlight shone on the desolate floor, trying to imagine in his mind that the rainbow haired pegasus was sitting right there safe and sound in an attempt to comfort himself. The guilt that raged in his heart was ruthless, attacking him for allowing whatever took Dash to take her.

The room suddenly exploded with light thanks to the lilac unicorn standing next to him. The first thing his green orbs snapped onto was the behemoth of an entryway in the right wall, filled with seemingly impassable darkness. Twilight followed his eyes to the hole with her light moving her with her . It illuminated a small portion of the dark inside, revealing a wedge of the coal black bricks that formed the wall. Not finding anything worth looking at, she immediately lost interest in the passage as her purple eyes moved from it and looked ahead of her. A few feet in front of her, a maroon door exactly like the one that was knocked down seconds before sat between them and finding their friend. The wood seemed to taunt them as her light revealed its features. The chocolate bar-like design with four squares on each corner pushed out surrounded by a thin border. The golden doorknob which reflected Twilight’s light back at her and the rest of the group who had shifted their attention over to it. Without a second thought, the group ran towards the maroon door with purpose in their step.

As they all dashed past the entryway in the wall with an exhausted Levi lagging behind, a chilling voice rang out from the darkness and stopped him dead in his tracks. Skidding to a sudden stop as the ponies' hooves clacked and echoed on the ground, Levi turned his head towards the mouth in the wall and stared into the dark. He didn’t know what to make of what he had just heard, whether to be excited or worried or relieved. He didn’t know. On one hand, it’s entirely likely the man he heard could be there. On the other hand, it was very unlikely considering how far he and the group had to travel to get here and the obstacles they overcame. As much as he loved his best friend, there was no way he could encounter a Manticore and escape with his life. Right?

“Leeeeviiiiii…” the voice with a country twang repeated, a very familiar and oddly calming twang. Even though he instantly recognized the voice and knew it like the back of his hand, something was off about the way it sounded. It was spoken in a way like his best friend was trying to beckon him towards the hall full of nothing. Could Alan be here? That question swirled through his mind as the hole of darkness gained his full attention at the snap of a finger.

His heartbeat quickened at the voice he was all too familiar with calling his name, all of the worrying and nights where he would wake up and just stare at the ceiling in thought about him. Alan. The name was like candy to his worried mind, but at the same time, he had no idea if he could trust this or not considering the circumstances.

“Come here brother! I’m watin’ for ya!” Alan’s voice spoke as it echoed through the tunnel it came out of. He felt his legs course with adrenaline as it began to pump through him, making Levi standing still a monumental task, forcing him to nervously bounce on his heels in place. As much as he wanted to and as much as he wanted to take that chance and find his brother, Levi’s gut twisted uncomfortably and screamed for him not too. Trying to make the risk of it apparent to the man but his brain sang him a different tune. His mind told him yes, his body told him no, but his legs still yearned to run into the inky blackness. To fly with the wind all the way to Alan.

“Levi?” Twilight’s voice cut through his thoughts as he directed his attention to her, seeing she was being followed by the rest of the group as they approached him worriedly. “Are you alright? You look nervous?”

He couldn’t conjure any words to say how he was feeling to her. The confusing stew of emotions brewing inside of his heart were beginning to feel overwhelming for Levi. He felt like he needed to take the chance. He also felt like he needed to help the group at the door. He couldn’t decide. His breath quickened to match his racing heart, each thump he heard in his ears growing the tension significantly. He shifted his eyes from Twilight’s to the hole. Twilight. Hole. Twilight. Hole. He shut his eyes tighter than ever as he felt a bullet of sweat roll down his face. He felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders and it was in a way, at least this world. Equestria’s fate rested in his hands. Something deep inside told him the ponies needed him and he believed it, why else would the Princess of Equestria send him to Twilight specifically if there wasn’t a greater purpose? His mind had no room left for any other insignificant thoughts at that moment, the only thing he could think about was the choice between his newfound friends or his brother.

“Levi?” Rarity’s soothing voice chimed in, mirroring the concern from her lilac comrade.

He took one last look at the group of ponies he befriended over this treacherous journey, all the memories he had made with them flashing before his very eyes. Some good, some bad, some downright horrifying. Nonetheless, they were still precious memories to the man. Fluttershy taking him in, meeting Twilight for the very first time, trying his best to protect them from the Manticore. He looked into Twilight’s big eyes one last time and, as much as he didn’t want to admit it, he knew very well that this could be a trap set up brilliantly by Nightmare Moon to lure him away. With how upset he was by his best friend's loss, he was willing to take the chance to find him or not, even if it lead to his death. After looking down at the ground for a second with his constant bouncing slowing down, he then shifted his eyes into the shadow in the entryway in front of him. He knitted his eyebrows together and dug his heels into the floor as he bent his knee.

“Twilight…” he paused to think about how to say his potential final goodbye to the unicorn who was, to him, one of his closest friends out of the group. He imagined how betrayed she might feel. How upset she might become. His journey to begin with when he first went to Ponyville was to find Alan but instead he was led on this wild ride, the exact opposite of what he wanted. As much as he wanted to stay, finding Alan was the only thing that clouded his judgment in that very moment.

“I’m…I’m sorry.”

He launched himself into a sprint in the blink of an eye. The group watched in utter dismay as their friend ran blindly into the dusk, seeing him disappear into its pitch black clutches before they even had time to convince him otherwise.

“LEVI!” The man heard echo behind him through the passage combined with several pairs of hoofsteps following her but stopping at the entrance. Twilight’s horn expelled the darkness and allowed her to see into where the man was dashing towards. All she saw was the back of his vibrant blue shirt before he vanished into the blackness once again, the padded sounds of his footsteps fading away as they grew more and more distant. “COME BACK!” She yelled in vain to the now far away man as he ran further and further away from them.

“We have to go after him! Come on girls!” Exclaimed the unicorn as she began to charge recklessly into the darkness after her friend.

“Wait up!” Applejack called out, running into the shadow after Twilight, her blonde ponytail twirling in the air behind her as her hooves carried her. Begrudgingly, Rarity groaned as she began to run after the duo too. After Fluttershy, Pinkie was the only one left standing there and, like usual, a huge smile was plastered on her face. She saw this whole adventure as one big game to her child-like mind and as such didn’t take Levi’s sudden bail as anything to worry about.

“Ooooohh I like this game!” Her squeaky voice declared. Setting her eyes on the blue and purple lights dimming as they moved further and further from her, she began to prance down the gloomy hall with Twilight’s worried voice echoing off the walls like she was yelling through a megaphone.

“Keep going Levi,” the voice beckoned as it rang in his ears “You’re almost there.”

Twilight and the others noticed the ghostly sounding voice calling his name and one pony crossed her mind the second she heard it. Nightmare Moon. She knew it was a ruse to bring the man right where she wanted him to be, away from them. She already threw everything she could at the group to stop them in vain, but nothing worked. This was her final resort and if this didn’t work, Nightmare may’ve been out of options completely, but Levi was falling right into her spider web of a scheme. She also thought about Rainbow’s sudden disappearance as she ran and how that might be tied into her master plan to sabotage them all. Twilight’s mind kept racing as Levi continued to ignore her and Applejack calling out to him, trying their best to reason and get him to stop, Twilight doing it a lot more desperately. She knew he didn’t have a clue about what he was throwing himself into.

“Yes Levi..keep going..don’t let them stop you brother!” Twilight began to grow angry at the voice ordering her friend that spoke from thin air. She saw straight through the mask that Nightmare attempted to keep up, not caring at all for what the unicorn shouted at her in vexation. The group followed the man as he whipped around a corner, almost immediately coming face to face with an armor stand sporting shiny golden chain mail. His eyes widened as the hard alloy collided with his already aching body.

The head of the stand collided with his side, tripping him up severely and causing him to almost tumble to the floor. His feet kicked up high into the air behind him and he struggled to regain his balance. The stand however was not so lucky, crashing to the floor as the beautifully welded together armor crashed to the floor like an army of dinner plates hitting the ground. Clattering and clanging together like an orchestra of very unpleasant sounds. Combined with the echoey hall they were storming through, it made the sound almost ear-splitting. She shut her eyes tight at the abominable almost screech like sound but fought through the pain in her eardrums, shooting them back open wide and setting her sights on the man in blue.

The bricks that formed the walls around them changed to a more pleasing stone grey color. Chandeliers holding dead halfway melted candles hung from the ceiling. Several paintings that Twilight couldn’t make out dotted the walls. The hallway felt a lot less dreary then the rest of the castle they had explored but still made Twilight all the more tense on what could be hiding in the shadows as she ran.

Her narrowed eyes continued to stay lazer focused to him like a hawk but left him briefly as he swung around a corner messily. A loud bang and a crash following it rang through the hall, accompanied by a disgruntled exclamation. 10s of what sounded like dinner plates all crashed to the ground loudly, some of them being muffled by the carpet they landed on and others were not so fortunate. Twilight and Applejack rounded the corner swiftly and they were met with the sight of a toppled over armor stand formerly holding beautiful golden chain mail, now on the ground in ruins. Several of the armor plates on the outside were broken off and laid on the ground. The helmet of the stand landed a short distance away from where the rest of the armor landed, still rolling after the collision even as Levi continued to run further with his hand clasping his side.

“You’re almost there broth-” “Quiet Nightmare Moon!” The unicorn interrupted sharply, “I know what you’re doing! You won’t get away with this!”

Despite having clearly heard what Twilight had said, Levi continued to run down utenated hallway, feeling himself pass the point of no return more and more each time his foot hit the ground. A sharp pain awakened in his kidneys. His breaths became deeper and deeper. His calves burned calves and thighs burned like they were being held above a fire and the impact zone on his side throbbed. Levi couldn’t care less. He had become tunnel visioned on the idea of finding his brother in this dark, dank castle, and he wouldn’t let anybody stop him now. Not even the ponies frantically bolting after him, excluding Pinkie, who casually bounced behind them like it was no big deal.

“LEVI STOP!” Applejack cried out, “YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GETTING INTO!”

Levi’s ears picked up the blonde ponies' pleads after having subconsciously tuned them out. At the same time, a set of tall coal black old looking doors appeared in his vision at the end of the hallway. This was it. The final decision. It was either he ran in there blindly and hoped that Nightmare had not planned for something to kill him on the other side, or he stopped and apologized and went back to the door. The damned maroon door. Right before his eyes, he saw all the memories both good and bad with Alan flickering in front of him like a broken TV. Everything they had accomplished together ever since they had met. All the good times. While bad ones weren’t excluded and were scattered here and there, the good outweighed the bad in every way. In an unusual way, Levi felt slightly peaceful about reuniting with his friend once again because he knew the two were now free from the shackles of bills and taxes. No need to cook drugs and sell them to helpless people just to keep the lights on. No need to risk their lives every time they went to a deal. They could just…live. Something they hadn’t been able to do for who knows how long. As he came closer and closer to the door and the deadline rapidly approached, he shifted his body and curled his arm around him and aimed his shoulder in the center of the right door. Levi shut his eyes tight and braced for impact as Twilight’s desperate cries continued to pang his ears, causing his heart to sting in guilt for what he was doing, but he couldn’t turn back now.

“LEVI PLEASE!” Twilight screamed, her voice exponentially more desperate than before as her friend bomb through the door in horror. The door flew open and slammed against the stone wall with a sharp cracking sound, sending small fragments of rock clattered to the ground. Twilight got a peek inside of the room for the few seconds it was open and was shocked at what she saw. A thick fog engulfed the entire room, not even leaving an inch spared from its ruthless invasion of the hall. She saw her friend's bright colored shirt disappear into the impenetrable grey as he tripped from his collision. The last thing she heard was squeaking of shoes against the ground and an echoey thud before the door was slammed shut by sparkling blue magic. Her heart thronged with an intense dread, instinctively running as fast as her hooves could carry her the rest of the way to the door which sported a glittery blue and black border, courtesy of Nightmare Moon. Her subsequent pounding on the door and her pleas fell on deaf ears as Levi realized all too late that Twilight was right.

Levi placed a hand on his throbbing shoulder as he stood, turning his head every which way and studying his surroundings, or at least what he could make out through the barrier of fog. The only two things he could really see were the lighter colored stone grey bricks and an old, chipped pillar that stood a foot or so in front of him. The pillar was gorgeously constructed, the many spirals that ran up the aged stone slithered around it grey snakes. It was in surprisingly good shape considering how long it had been left here to rot, or Nightmare could’ve created the illusion it was old. Levi had no idea what to think at that point. The only thing he was focused on was finding a way out and finding Rainbow Dash.

Levi walked through the mist like a blind man without his walking stick, cautious and anxious at what could be hiding just out of sight. Anything was on the table considering Nightmare had already thrown Manticores at them and collapsed cliffs to try and stop them from getting here. And now that there here, she was fumbling for one last trick up her sleeve, and Levi had fallen right into the trap she had sloppily set up. Just for him. The only sound in the entire hall was Levi’s deep breathing and his heart beating out of his throat in anxiety. The silence was almost penetrating, it was like someone was waiting to jump out at him and Levi knew it but had no idea when or what. A sense of impending doom began to loom over him with each inch that he gained closer to what he hoped was an exit, the same doom in the hallway after he had examined the painting of the Grim Reaper but worse. Since this time, doom may just be another step ahead. Water particles from the air made their way onto Levi, making his already damp clothes even more soaked then he already was. A cold gust of air ran right on the back of his neck as shivers ran down his spine. Stopping dead in his tracks, a very out of place smell suddenly traveled into his nostrils. Very confused, he cocked his head and took a few more sniffs to make sure his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him. Mixed in with the pungent smell of dew was the oddly comforting scent of…exhaust? An unwarranted noise occupied the silence of the hall which gradually got louder and louder. The sound annexing his ears was a soothing and almost therapeutic sound of the calm hum of a car engine. He was overcome with confusion more than anything else, wracking his brain for any possible reasonable answer for what he was hearing.

The first thing his mind jumped to was this was all some ruse put up by Nightmare to get some form of reaction out of him but he didn’t know what. He also thought of the possibility that the noise may not be what he thought he heard, but the fragrance of exhaust fumes quickly ruled out that theory. All of his answers would hit him like a truck in the worst way possible when another sound came to life from behind the wall of fog in front of him. A terrible buzzing noise like an army of cicadas arose from the once comfortable sound. Levi winced at not only the atrocious sound that invaded his ears, but the two beams of blinding white light that shot straight into his retinas, somehow cutting through the fog like two spears. A loud exclamation of discomfort escaped his lungs. He threw his arm over his eyes to protect them from the merciless blaze that attacked them, the dampness of his sleeve soothing some of the pain that was growing in his eyeballs.

Bravely, he lowered his forearm just barely to get a glimpse of what could be the cause of the onslaught on his pupils. He squinted to mitigate the irritation in his eyes while he slowly lowered his forearm to his side. The fog around him leisurely dispersed and with it slowly revealed what the shafts of light belonged to. His vision finally began to clear after what felt like hours since he had seen clearly. As the fog continued to take its time leaving the air and his eyes remained trained on the center of the two beams, the first thing he noticed was a silver grill staring menacingly right at him. His eyes went wide at what he saw but the light forced them back to a squint. More and more of the airspace began to be free of the pesky mist, revealing more and more of the vehicle along with it. The matte black, shiny hood came into view. The almost pristine rugged tires came after. The two dirty and smudged headlights reared their ugly heads afterwards. Before the fog fully unveiled it, the center of the grill held the word ‘GMC’ in metallic bold red letters with a single black border around the logo.

The windshield and windows were all tinted as black as they could be, allowing nothing to be seen inside. His right side view mirror hung limply against the driver's side door, hanging on by a red, green, and white wire that were left exposed. The fog was almost completely gone at this point but a thin smoky grey smoke shield still prohibited Levi’s view from seeing the back of the truck. The unrelenting headlights were suddenly flicked off, much to the pleasure of Levi. High above him on the ceiling, a black metal chandelier with half melted candles in each of its arms. Each of the candles flickered to life with a satisfying popping sound like a campfire as each of the wicks ignited to life. Levi jerked his head up curiously and watched the candles resurrect after who knows how many years they had been left up there to collect dust. With the newfound candlelight, it revealed years worth of dust and grime covering each arm leaving only a sliver of the black metal to be seen on the bottom.

Levi couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the spectacle he was witnessing. Watching in amazement as each formerly lifeless candle flickered to existence once again and made the joyless corridor just a little bit more lively. Little by little the candles brought some much needed light into the room, illuminating the hall and rejuvenating from the dark and gloomy state it was just seconds before. Shadows from the candelabra formed and danced on the wall like a puppet show. The elongated dark shapes looked like puppet shows on the grey bricks, some of them wrapping around a pillar that stood high and mighty above the man. The sudden sound of a car door swinging open pulled him from his trance and gained all of his attention. A set of boots hit the ground and echoed off the walls, walking a few steps away from the seat he bounced out of.

An intense sense of anxiety overwhelmed him at that very moment, every part of his body screaming at him to run, but his legs completely betrayed him and only allowed him to take a single step back before they planted into the ground once again. He was forced still like a statue, a terrified, anxious mess of a statue. His heartbeat began to speed up faster and faster and his breathing became deep. His mind raced with possibilities on what possibly could wait for him behind the curtain of fog in front of him and he had no intention of finding out any time soon, but the entity orchestrating her trap had other ideas. He could almost feel Nightmare's satisfaction in the tense air around him, satisfied that her plan to do whatever it is she was going to do was coming to pass. Her bone chilling cackle at the Summer Sun celebration repeated in his mind, the images of those armored ponies being struck down mercilessly, left to lie there on the ground helpless. The man behind the car door was nothing more than a silhouette behind the wall of grey but despite that, he still felt his piercing stare through it as he laid his eyes on the man.

“Heya there, Levi!” A voice tainted with arrogance proclaimed, slamming the car door shut loudly as he walked a few steps forward closer to him. The mere sound of his footsteps bouncing off the walls filled him with fear as he felt like an insect under the slightly taller man's gaze.

“Long time no see!” The fog was finally completely gone, revealing the man who stood just a foot away from the brown haired man. As soon as he laid his eyes on the male, they grew wider than dinner plates as they overflowed with fear and dread, mixing together to form an awful concoction of emotions.

He had a turquoise short sleeve dress shirt on with the top two buttons left undone, revealing a white tank top underneath with a disgusting bullet hole right in the center of his chest. The crimson crater was bordered by dried blood and had a red streak and ran down his tank and disappeared underneath the rest of his shirt. He had stone grey work pants with a few patches and holes. His old brown boots were worn and looked as though they’d fall apart if his foot hit anything other than the ground. He had piercing amber eyes and jet black hair that was just long enough to not be considered a buzz cut with a coal black stubble to top it all off. His heart sank into a bottomless pit as the realization of who he was looking at hit him like a freight train.

“Gary…” His mouth fell agape as he felt years of trauma buried deep down in his mind resurface as the black haired man flashed a shark tooth grin at him.

“The one and only,” his eyes looked him up and down with his grin not leaving his face, “Jeez, you look like shit.” he scoffed.

“How the hell are you still alive!” Levi demanded with a quivering jaw, ignoring his observatory insult. “Alan killed you! I watched you die!”

“Alan? That sumbitch is still kicking?” He replied with a sinister chuckle that shot anger through Levi’s body like an arrow. His anger was overshadowed by his much stronger dread, the most intense dread of his entire life as he felt the weight of years of trauma dropping straight onto his heart. He couldn’t understand. How was he alive? It was impossible. He watched with his own two eyes as the man in front of him left the Earth. He remembered the news. He remembered the very second when…it was better if he didn’t think about it.

“Admit it, you missed me.” He asked with his signature toothy grin on his face. The anger in the other man’s heart burned like a raging fire at how nonchalant he was acting. Levi wanted nothing more than to run over and strangle him, watch the life drain from his eyes as he knocks him off his high horse. However, Levi’s body disagreed, still not allowing his legs to move. A small sense of fear still lingered inside him despite the fury overshadowing it, keeping his legs locked in place like a statue.

“How are you alive?” Demanded Levi angrily, “How! You died, I saw it! You’re DEAD!”

“Now just calm down, Levi,” He shot back, holding his palms out dismissively in front of him before one of his hands snaked around his back. He grabbed ahold of something that Levi couldn’t see but, judging on the person, it was probably the furthest thing from good. “Here, I got you a little somethin’ to cheer you up!” He finished while backing up towards the seat behind the driver with his hand still gripping whatever he held in the back of his pants.

The door swung open, his hand grabbed onto a squirming and feisty creature confined in the back seat of his coal black truck. Veins jutted out of his arm like small green snakes hiding under his skin as he struggled to pull out whatever was in there. For a brief moment, amidst the chaos unseen by Levi in the back of his car, the sliver of a cyan hoof could be seen in the crack between the car door and the frame of the vehicle. A very familiarly colored cyan hoof. Levi refused to believe what he saw at first glance, but when the pony letting out angry muffled screams was pulled a little further out of the car, more and more of her cyan coat could be seen. Rage and dread replaced all other emotions inside of him in the blink of an eye. His body finally released his legs from the internal shackles it had put on them, giving him every opportunity to run over and wrap his hands around the throat of the black-haired devil in disguise. He unwillingly went still as a statue once more when his bruised hand reappeared from behind his back. He was brandishing a midnight black flawless pistol that blended in with the door he stood in front of, lightning bolts of fear shot through his body as his eyes went wider than ever before.

His legs fought to be free like chained up angry dogs, trying their damndest to dash towards Gary and send him back to hell where he belonged but Levi refused. He knew he was one wrong move away from a bullet to the brain. It took every ounce of self-control he had in his body to resist the urge to sprint at him, but he allowed his face to display the sheer resentment building up inside him like a volcano ready to explode. He watched with furrowed brows and a wrathful snarl as Gary fully yanked the pony from the clutches of his truck and dropped her on the ground like she wasn’t even a person, just a piece of garbage left to rot on the side of the road. The car door boomed and echoed off the walls after he slammed it, a smirk displayed on his face that only had one emotion behind it. Pure evil. On the ground bound with rope and white duct tape was a mortified rainbow haired pegasus, she kicked and squirmed while on the stone-cold floor while simultaneously screaming unintelligible words at her captor, who only stood above her with a wicked toothy grin. Her frantic eyes caught onto Levi, growing wide as dinner plates in the blink of an eye. She began thrashing and wiggling around erratically, her saucer-like eyes begging him to come and save her.

He flung the door shut and placed his boot down on the back of Rainbow's neck, sending panic coursing through her body faster than her own blood. The hard rubber on the bottom of his shoes dug into her skin like gravel being pressed down mercilessly, feeling a dumbbell was suddenly dropped down onto the side of her neck as she continued to scream unintelligible yet scornfully at her tormentor. Her pleading eyes still trained on Levi as he battled with himself on whether or not he should help the pegasus. The question wasn’t if he should. The question was how would he. If he did, he risked catching a bullet between his eyes no questions asked. If he didn’t, he risked watching his friend get executed in front of him. Begging for help in her final moments and watching in agony as he didn’t help her. His heart wretched at the thought.

Her cries became less like screams and more like stifled whines from an injured animal, her magenta eyes becoming more and more desperate for him to help her. The urge to run became stronger and stronger by the second. His index finger and his thumb tapped together fast like they were trying to give morse code, but it was anything but that. His jaw clenched. A fire ignited in his eyes. His already singed heart was enveloped in a roaring fire in pure fury.

“Is this your friend, Levi? Thought she would be tougher than this!” His utterly pompous comment only added fuel to the fire burning in his chest as the bottle of emotions inside him filled more and more. The cork at the top was ready to pop at a moment's notice. The volcano of wrath in him was reaching its limit. Their eyes locked on to each other, green met amber, as Gary lifted his foot from her neck and bent down next to her. He jabbed the barrel of the gun against the pony’s temple, her heart skipped a beat as she began to thrash around and her whines turned to screams once more. Her wings, once bound with a single old-looking rope, snapped free with a satisfying popping sound. Her soft feathers invaded Gary’s face, the absolute worst time to annoy the black-haired man. He grabbed a hold of her wing and slammed it painfully onto the cold ground, her cyan feathers poking out from the space between his fingers like small weeds on a sidewalk.

Rainbow flinched and let out a pitiful muffled wince which made the magma in Levi’s heart bubble and stir. Gary was the polar opposite of Levi at that moment. A big, goofy grin plastered across his features like a brightly colored painting on a wall of black, but in anything but a good way. As he looked deep into his eyes, almost being able to feel the dudgeon swirling inside of him like a furious dragon, he dropped a bombshell that Levi didn’t think was the truth at first, but he had never been more wrong.

“You know, when Nightmare Moon brought me back from whatever hole I was buried in to come and stop you and your friends, I didn’t think it was really you. Maybe a different ‘Levi Cronell’ from another place, but it really is you!” He ended his sentence with a chuckle. Levi and Rainbow couldn’t believe their ears. Twilight was right all along. This was the trap that Nightmare Moon had set up just for him and Rainbow Dash, the most evil thing she could come up with, bringing this monster back to the land of the living. A place he never should’ve been to begin with. It seemed Hell didn’t even want him. Fitting.

“But you know, all good things come to an end,” He pushed the barrel harder against her skull as if to cement the fact that she was as good as dead further into her panicked mind. “just like this.” His finger slid into the trigger guard, fitting like a glove, as his finger rested on the trigger. It was now or never. Levi knew if he didn’t act now, he and Rainbow were goners. He took one glance at the pony forced against the ground before he angrily spat at the man in the turquoise shirt, “Put down the gun!”

He raised an eyebrow at the man. “Come again?”

“Put. Down. The gun. Fight me like a man, Gary!” The gun wielding man was taken aback by Levi’s sudden proclamation. Easing the force he pushed against Dash’s head, he was quick to snap back at the man with fire in his bones. “‘Fight you like a man’ huh? Like how your buddy Al ‘fought me like a man’?”

Fear and displeasure came back in droves as she felt the force of the barrel dig painfully into the back of her head once again, a small whine escaping her lips unwillingly. “Do you see where I am right now? Your little friend’s life is in my hands, and you wanna fight me?” Gary received no response, only his blazing green eyes staring daggers at the man who had shifted his stance to a more open one.

Gary got the memo Levi was wordlessly expressing. He wanted a fight and so did Gary. After all, Nightmare didn’t bring him back from the dead for nothing. He kept his eyes locked with Levi’s as he eased the barrel from Rainbow’s head, slowly moving his hand back and was in the process of lifting up the back flap of his shirt before Levi interrupted. “No guns!” With a scoff, he stood up and rested his arm on his side and shot back ”As you wish”

He took wide steps over the shivering body of the pegasus and walked over to the hood of his car with long, menacing strides. A barely audible thunk was heard as he begrudgingly placed the weapon down onto the metal, amazed how it stayed in one spot without sliding down. His hard boots made his footsteps known as he walked over to the man with veins threatening to pop in his forehead. They stood inches away from each other, the air so thick it could be sliced with a knife, as their tense standoff commenced. Both of them waited for the other to strike and kick off their battle to the death. They stared deep into each other's eyes like they were studying their souls, Gary’s eyes cocky and pretentious with Levi’s filled with sheer rage towards the man like lava pooling in his irises.

However, somewhere underneath the burning wrath coagulating in his heart, fear rested there dormant. An intense fear overshadowed by the anger towards the treatment of his rainbow-haired friend, a fear that was buried deep in his mind to the point where he had blocked out Gary’s actions that were burned into his memory. Years of intense therapy had been the dirt shoveled into the grave where his trauma laid, seemingly forever. But seeing the one who had caused months and months of night terrors, sleepless nights, and everything in between was extremely surreal. Levi’s mind jumped back in time to the moment when Gary had scarred him. The moment Gary changed he and Alan’s lives for the absolute worst. He thought back to all the nightmares he had had all those years ago, when Gary somehow resurrected and was back for revenge. Now, those nightmares were seconds away from becoming a reality, and the gravity of the situation was coming down onto him all at once. Underneath all of the bubbling and boiling anger in his green orbs, Gary could see the foreboding look he was trying in vain to hide, bringing a smile to the sadistic man’s face.

That smile was the straw that broke the camel's back for the brown-haired man. The cork had popped. The volcano erupted. He drew his head back and smashed it into the man’s nose like a bat to a pumpkin. He let out a loud scream as he stumbled back into the front of his car, slamming his hand thunderingly on his shining hood to stop himself from falling. His free hand was clasping his nose that was leaking crimson liquid like a faucet, spilling out from in between his fingers and running down his face as the pain became almost unbearable. Red drops dotted his shirt as the blood refused to cease, continuing to pour out of shattered nose without any sign of stopping.

He removed his hand from his gushing nostrils as it ran down his face, creating crimson lines like a macabre maze from the nose down, some of it trailing beyond his upper lip and into his mouth. Spitting it out, he gritted his teeth and glared with the most malicious look at Levi, noticing the morbid mess of his blood splattered on the center of his forehead.

“This is what you wanted, shitbird!” He boomed, “I’m gonna break your FUCKING neck!”

Levi watched as Gary propelled himself off the hood and began to charge towards him in a tackle run. Before he could react, he found himself wrapped in Gary’s crushing grip as he was lifted up in the air and slammed onto the ground back first. Lightning bolts of pain shot down Levi's spine, letting out a guttural scream from the searing pain that echoed through his body. When he opened his eyes, he looked up and saw the wrathful man’s boot lifted high above his face, ready to deliver a fatal crush onto his skull. In a panic, he bit the bullet and fought through the pain in his back and rolled to safety. His foot came crashing down onto the already cracked stone.

Levi scurried to his feet and readied himself, holding his fists in front of him like a lion ready to pounce on a gazelle. Gary however was not so willing to settle this like a civilized fight, he was ready to put an end to Levi’s life no matter what. No one hurt him in such a way and lived to see the end of the day. He dashed towards Levi like an angry primate and drew his fast back and launched a devastating punch like a rocket right to Levi's face. He managed to duck and dodge the right hook at the very last second, hearing the wind whistle above his head as his wrathful fist soared through the air. He delivered a punch dead center on Gary’s gut, causing a pained grunt to escape his lips as he stumbled back a few steps. While he was recovering from the punch, Levi took this as an opportunity to unleash all of his fury onto Rainbow Dash’s tormentor.

He lunged forward and his fist collided with the man’s already demolished nose that was barely recognizable as a nose anymore, more like a gnarled root protruding from his face. He felt the soft mush of his cartilage on his knuckles as Gary howled in pain, hitting the ground with both of his hands covering his nostrils which began to spurt crimson like a grotesque fountain. As much as this went against all of Levi’s morals, he felt Gary needed an exception. For all the pain he’s caused not only to him, but to the people around him in Tuscaloosa, Gary deserved this. The furious brown haired man straddled him like a horse and just as Gary moved his hands from his now blood splattered face, Levi brought his stained fists down onto him.

Hit after hit. Blow after blow. Lev wailed on the black haired man below him. His cheeks began to grow more and more purple with every punch. His teeth threatened to break from his gums. Blood entered his mouth. Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end, as Gary delivered a devastating blow to Levi’s face and sent him careening off the man and landing a few inches away from him. He groaned in pain while lying on his side on the cold, unforgiving floor. His fingers and knuckles were polluted with his crimson liquid and they pulsated in pain from the force he was hitting him with. The moment he heard the alarming sound of Gary’s boots scraping against the ground as he stood, Levi was quick to jump to his feet and continue to lock horns with the monster.

When Gary was kneeling on one knee and was in the process of standing, Levi rushed over like a ram and his foot connected to Gary’s side, shooting him into the front of his truck. A metallic thunk was heard as the man collided with his beloved vehicle, and another more concerning noise was heard right after. The soft sliding sound from the pistol sliding off its spot on the hood of the car and clattering to the ground inches behind Gary.

Levi looked at the gun.

Gary looked at the gun.

Then they looked at each other. Moments felt like hours as time seemed to slow around them. This was it. The final move. If Gary grabbed the gun, Levi’s life was over. If Levi grabbed the gun, Gary’s life was over. The tension was like a shaken up soda bottle, ready to pop and explode at a moment's notice. Neither one of them moved, Gary leaned his head against the tortuous headlight and scowled at the man. Levi stood with small drops of blood dripping from his fist like an hourglass, a look with a lot more resentment set directly on Gary’s badly beaten face. Levi never thought of himself as that much of a strong guy, but looking at the black haired man’s sanguinary mug, his opinion changed.

A flip switched simultaneously in both of the men's heads as their primal instinct to survive kicked into high gear. They both leapt for the pistol like leopards to an injured antelope, adrenaline flowing through their veins like blood. Both of their hands met on the coal black grip. Their eyes locked together. In the blink of an eye, Levi went from dead still to bashing Gary’s already battered hand against the car door. His aching knuckles took the brunt of the assault, jolts of pain shot through his hand like he was being electrocuted. Eventually, the iron grip he had on his gun was beaten out of him, causing it to drop to the floor and almost immediately be snatched by his attacker. His shoes slid on the floor like he was walking on ice as he scurried to his feet, setting Gary’s forehead right in his crosshairs as they shook. The almost drum-like thumping pain in his hand persisted and caused his teeth to grit in an attempt to mitigate it.

The rage in Gary’s face dissipated and was replaced by a look of sinister arrogance. A sick smile grew on his face as he spat blood from his mouth onto the floor, struggling to stand and leaning against his freshly dented car door for support, leaving a faint bloody handprint on his car window.

“I didn’t think you had it in you,” He piped up, spitting another loogie of crimson onto the ground, “I thought you were the same old pussy back then. Boy, was I wrong.”

He stood on his own two feet and leaned his body up against the car door, his hand gripping his love handle as it stung in pain like a thousand bees. Even with a gun aimed straight at his face, Gary kept the same look of conceit on his face. Dark patches of purple plagued his cheeks and face. Lines of blood streaked down from his obliterated nose like a gruesome work of art. His lip bottom lip looked almost identical to a split open piece of raw steak, blood continuing to dribble down his chin. Levi looked in satisfaction, knowing good and well that this is what the bastard deserved for everything he did, and Levi was finally gonna be the one to put him down. For good.

“The hell are you waiting for? Shoot me, Levi! Return me to whatever grave that alicorn dug me out of!” Levi couldn’t wait. The anticipation became almost overwhelming. He managed to steady his trembling hands enough to focus his sights right between his eyes, ready to send the demon back to hell where he belongs. A small triumphant smirk appeared on his face as he finally pulled the trigger.

There was no bullet. No bang. No nothing. In fact, the trigger met resistance as he pulled it, or tried in vain to pull it. His heart sank to the pit of his stomach at the realization he failed to make as soon as he grabbed it. The safety was on, and an enraged Gary was still alive.

“You dumb sumbitch!” Gary bellowed like a foghorn, “Safety's off!” he reiterated to Levi as if to mock him for his failed attempt on his life. Knowing Gary, he probably was.

Levi's thumb began to shake like an earthquake while he fumbled in panic for the safety, but was interrupted by a devastating blow from the black-haired man. He flew to the side like a ragdoll blown by the wind, the gun clattering to the ground as it fell from his now limp hands. He slid on his side on the floor and collided with one of the pillars to his right. Before he could even think about standing, he felt two strong hands grip onto his collar and the back of his jeans and toss him through the air a ways away from the pillar. He hit the ground hard shoulder first. Pain simultaneously exploded in his arm and rocketed through the rest of his body. He let out a loud scream as Gary’s smile grew wider, marching over to the pistol on the floor and switching off the safety. Each step Levi heard was like a reminder of his impending demise. He flipped over on his hands and knees, albeit painfully, and tried his damndest to stand up before the monster got to him first. He heard a menacing laugh fill his ears and stabbing dread into his heart like a knife.

“You’re not going anywhere!” His foot smashed into his gut like a baseball bat, sending him back down onto his side, the cold floor only amplifying his suffering. Gary watched as he struggled to get on his hands and knees once more like an injured dog with Gary being the one ready to euthanize it. His stomach felt like he had been shot with a shotgun as the pain only got worse. He shut his eyes tight and gritted his teeth so hard he feared they might crack under the pressure. His jaw grew sore from the constant force. However, the thing he felt the most was the most intense dread of his life as he felt the cold metal of the pistol's barrel be pushed against his head, his hair being the only thing protecting him from the stinging cold of the metal.

Another hearty yet piercing laugh struck fear in his heart as his venomous voice followed it, “And here I thought you weren’t a pussy anymore!”

His voice made his blood boil. His hands curled against the ground and his fingernails dug into the soft skin on his palms. His breathing became deep and labored, pain erupting in his gut every time he inhaled. The click of the hammer being drawn back cut through his thoughts like a sword, pulling him back to the situation at hand. He wanted nothing more than to put Gary back in the ground but he knew he couldn’t. He was as good as dead. His eyes snapped back over to his rainbow haired friend still lying on her side with her wings folded awkwardly against her side. She looked up at him remorsefully but still kept the pleading look that had ignited Levi’s fighting spirit to begin with.

Suddenly, a brand new never-before-felt feeling caused his heart to race like a derby horse. Coursing through his veins was not adrenaline or strop or anything of the sort, it made Levi feel like he was on top of the world. It was unexplainable and confusing, but Levi had no time to try and decipher whatever was coursing through him. He had, maybe, only a few seconds to decide what he was going to do before Gary painted the floor with his blood. Time seemed to slow, but this beyond comprehensible feeling only sped up through his arteries. It made his heart slam in his chest a million miles a minute. Slowly, he felt all the pain and ailments on and in his body caused by Gary slowly dissipate, leaving a brand new more elevating feeling in its wake. Sheer power.

He understood now. It was crystal clear to him what this once unexplainable feeling is. It was like it’s been with him his whole life. An energy. A force of nature. Intense vigor. No matter what he used to describe it, one thing he knew for certain was that if Gary didn’t back away in the next few seconds. Something was going to happen, he could feel it in his bones. Gary was going to die.

“Gary..” Levi growled in between deep breaths like his lungs increased their capacity, “Let. Her. Go.”

“Mhmmmm...how about no,” Rebutted Gary.

He felt the barrel dig into his scalp like a shovel to dirt, only amplifying the feeling even more and filling Levi with this new powerful God-like feeling.

“Any last words, Levi?” The feeling got more and more intense. His heart sped to unimaginable levels. It felt like he was gonna have a heart attack at any given moment. The power. The unfathomable feeling he couldn’t decipher. He felt like…a God. As it reached its peak, its climax, he lifted his hands above the ground as they trembled uncontrollably by the powerful feeling. Gary’s finger slid into the trigger guard and placed it against the trigger as he slowly began to squeeze, wanting to savor the moment up until the bullet took his life. When Gary was moments away from killing the man, Levi let out a primal, guttural roar from deep inside of him as he slammed his closed fists onto the ground. A brilliant white flame trailed off each of his fingertips like strings on a puppet. The very instant they made contact with the ground, an ear-splitting explosion felt like it would split his head in two. Gary’s life flashed before his eyes as he yanked the trigger in a panic but it was too late. Unpredictable. Unbelievable. Unfathomable. He didn’t know how to describe it but he knew one thing for certain…no one could prepare for it.

BOOM!

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[Starlight Nova]

After a failed cook,

What do you mean by that?

[MrTyrannousaurusX]

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