Reciprocity: A Metro 2033 and MLP Crossover

by MrSing

Chapter 12: Mice Who Bite Cats

Mice who bite cats

“How’s this?” I held up three fingers in front of the grey eye.

’Uh, I’m not really sure.‘

Holding the flashlight behind my hand I directed it at her face, a pillar of light cut briefly through the star filled sky. “How about now?”

’I think I see some shadows.‘ She was silent for a moment. ’You’re not flipping me the bird? Right? Don’t think I won’t get what it means.‘ A razor sharp grin spread on her face as she opened her good eye.

Despite myself I let out a short laugh. Her grin grew into a smile. “Well, let’s get you ready again.” I got out a freshly cleaned piece of cloth as I spoke. I knotted it behind her head so it fell over her face somewhat like an eye patch. My hope was that rest would allow her eye to heal somewhat, but I knew little of such things.

With a confident look the changeling struck a heroic pose, showing off the bandage in all its makeshift glory. ’Do I still look dashing, master healer?‘

“Knock it off, you goof.”

’ Ah, I shouldn’t expect a creature like you to get what style is. Luckily I’m an expert by trade.‘ She admired herself in the ice of the frozen river we were resting next to. ’Chicks dig eye patches, you know?‘ She flew up in the air and started hovering next to me as we made our way back to our two friends. ’It’s actually pretty disturbing how much ponies and the like think being half blind is attractive. But hey, silver lining and all that.‘ She shrugged.

“You’re pretty upbeat about all this.” I sat down by the fire and gave a quick nod to Dozor and Uchenik, but they seemed to be lost in some kind of serious conversation in a strange language no human knew. It stumped me for a moment to physically hear their actual voices again, but my friend gave me no time to think about it any further.

’Ah, well, glad to still be alive, you know? It’s either laughing or crying. So I have a lot of laughing to do.‘ She smacked me in the back with a roaring laugh as she magically lifted up one of the squirrel-like things we had been cooking over the fire, courtesy of Dozor’s hunting. Digging in she continued, ’Besides, it’s not like I’m blind or anything.‘

“So it really doesn’t bother you?”

She shot up an eye away from her meal. ’Are you trying to make me feel bad?‘

“No, I just used to,” I gestured somewhat awkwardly as I tried to find my words. “Accidents happen often, and I know of a lot of people that have lost an eye or a limb.” I took one of the cups next to the fire and peered in it. Satisfied that the snow had melted enough to drink, I took a sip. “They changed. Some for the worse, few for the better. Most ended up as beggars.” I enjoyed the fresh water, free from dirt and staleness. I almost felt cleaner as it made its way down. “When you have something of yourself taken away. That does something to you.”

’Not to me.‘ The changeling crunched one of her meal’s bones casually between her teeth and started to suck the marrow out. ’You see the Ratatoskr I’m eating right now? This little critter was alive a day ago. Now it’s my meal. You think it saw it coming?‘ She spit out the empty bone and snapped open a fresh one. ’One day you’re on top of the world, and the next you are in the dumps. With no rhyme or reason needed. Life just happens and it’s always changing.‘ She winked at me as a green flame brightened up the camp. In her place was now a dog-like creature with her eyepatch. ’Like us, one day we’re a dog, the next we are a pony.‘ Indeed she burned brightly into one of them. Taking up one of the rodents for myself I took a greedy bite as I listened. The dry meat vaguely reminded me of a rat’s.

’Did you ever believe you would end up on a different planet? Did your people ever believe they would blow up their world?‘ I looked away, that was a low blow. ’Life is just a wild river, we can’t predict it, only ride it out.‘ Again she snapped a fresh bone before turning back into herself. ’Just enjoy it all while you can. Roll with the punches and all that.‘

“Rolling with the punches hasn’t really worked out for my people.” I threw her one of the bones, she caught it deftly out of the air. “It would mean death to us, right now. We have to be out there and do something. Like the four of us are doing now.” I wiped the grease off my hands with some snow. “We’re going out there and save every human and changeling we can. No matter what life thinks about it.”

’I told you to enjoy yourself, kiddo.’ She made a placating gesture while she crushed another bone. ‘Besides, it’s not like I said the universe is out to get you. It just doesn’t care if you win or lose. You might as well try to take all you can, and if it doesn’t happen. Well, that’s just how it is.’ She stared at the small embers dancing into the sky as she talked. ’We are just small things working around stronger and mindless forces as best as we can. Sometimes you do everything right and you still lose. That’s just life.‘ She entangled her hooves and rested her head on them. ’It makes no sense, so doesn’t it make sense to at least try to have a good time?’

“Maybe” I relented. Pizdabol’s view did not leave a lot of room for hope, but judging from what I knew of her, hope would just seem like another amusing concept. I gave the rest of my meal to my friend. I had always hated the taste of rats anyway.

’Now, how about some card games?’ The little changeling clapped her hoofs together excitedly as a green glow produced a pack of cards. ’You’ve got an itching for a rematch, right? If you do well enough I might even teach you a few nifty cheats.‘ She winked at me as the cards shuffled themselves in midair.

“You know, usually the first rule of cheating is not to mention you’re doing it.” I murmured as I took four of them.

’Ah, so we’ve got a fellow expert on lying in our midst.‘ She laughed as she threw her first card down, a joker. ’But now the question remains, can you catch me doing it?‘

It was an entire different game like this. She never once betrayed a trick, but I watched with different eyes now. Small changes, like how the deck sometimes had moved just a tiny bit, or how cards seemed to pop up when she needed them the most. Things you wouldn’t notice unless you were looking out for them. Still, after several games that went extraordinarily poorly, I had never once actually caught her.

It was challenging.

“So, what happened in the cave?” I asked as I threw down a two. “I asked Dozor, but she brushed me off.”

’I uh, I don’t really remember. One moment we were talking and then BOOM!‘ she threw out her wings in demonstration. ’Out like a light. Next thing I know I woke up.‘ She put down a joker in retaliation.

Grumbling I picked up seven cards. Each one more worthless than the last. After a moment I decided to lay down my last two of spades, more out of spite than any strategic insight. With the way things were going, getting her to pick up cards for once would be a personal victory. My standards for such things dropped amazingly fast in the face of constant defeat.

’Well, there was one thing. Now that I think about it. I felt like something was standing over me. Or inside of me.‘ Her ears fell flat on her head as she focused on some point in front of me. ’Yeah, I do remember feeling something. It was a sad, pathetic feeling. It burrowed inside of my body and thoughts. A misery so deep it felt like I was choking on it.‘

She held up her wings in a shrug as her ears perked up in tandem. ’It sucked. Kinda like your card playing skills!‘ With a grin she threw up another joker.

“Hey! You already played a joker twice! They are out of the game.”

’Did I, though?‘ She smiled an insufferable smirk as I turned over the deck of played cards. There were no jokers to be found. Pizdabol left no traces of her trickery. ’It’s okay, human. You must have thought of the ninth game that I won or maybe it was the fifteenth?‘ She put a hoof against her chin as she pretended to be lost in thought. ’I honestly can’t remember myself. All these sweet, sweet victories start to blend together after a while.‘

We put down a few more cards, but it was just a formality, within three rounds she laid down her last card and the game was over for me. Grumbling some obscenities under my breath I started to reshuffle the deck. I had quickly learned that Pizdabol couldn’t be trusted with that. At least we weren’t playing for bullets or anything, another lesson I had picked up fast after a few games.

“So, do you guys have a lot of stuff like that cave thing in this world?” I flicked the changeling her cards.

’Eh, I wouldn’t know about that. You should ask my Brother.‘ She said as she arranged her hand.

“Not Dozor?” My face fell as I saw the pathetic excuse of cards I had.

’You should leave that drone to herself sometimes.’ the infiltrator jokingly berated me. ’Spend some time with me and little Brother for a change. We’re your friends too, right?‘ She almost looked like an excited puppy as she stared up to me. All she missed was a wagging tail. She laid down another joker.

“Man, fuck your jokers!” She just laughed as I threw my cards down and fumed.

’Oh, I would call you a sore loser, but honestly I’m impressed.‘ With an acrobatic jump she landed next to me and gave me a pat on the back. ’Thirty lost games and only now you’ve called it quits, that takes a really thick skull. I can appreciate a good thick skull, I’m a conmisseur of sorts.‘

’Connoisseur. It’s connoisseur,‘ Uchenik interrupted. ’Honestly, Sister, how you can manage to mispronounce words telepathically is beyond me, yes?‘

The infiltrator gave her brother a dirty look. ’Anyway!’ she huffed. ’Before my very most dearest special best Brother decided to rudely interrupt me.‘ Uchenik was already ignoring her in favor for his conversation with Dozor, whom was laughing behind her hoof. ’Never let anyone take that away from you. It will serve you well in this life.‘

“My skull?”

’Cherish it.‘ She laid a hoof on my shoulder in what she probably imagined was a meaningful gesture. ’Now, pick some cards and I’ll learn you something neat.‘

I complied and picked a few cards at random, holding them so that she couldn’t see them.

The infiltrator looked at me for a second. ’An ace, a king, a jack, and a joker. Not the worst hand. Not the best one either, mind you.’ She flashed me a smile as she saw the confusion on my face.

“Okay, now I have no idea how you did that. Did you mark them or something?” I looked the cards over from the back. But they were just normal, everyday cards.

’Ah, human, think of the worst most unfair cheats you can imagine and you’ll figure it out. I know you have it in you.‘ She looked at me in what was probably the most serious way she could muster. However, she didn’t manage to get much further than “slightly amused”.

I thought about it for a second. The cards weren’t marked, so she had definitely seen them. There was however nothing but the sky and snow behind me, and Dozor and Uchenik couldn’t see my cards either. So, how could she see my hand? Slowly it dawned on me. I sighed deeply as I laid down the cards. “You were watching through my eyes, right?”

With a flourish she bowed. ’Class dismissed.‘ I could swear she actually looked a bit proud. ’You know, not many creatures would have thought of that. They are too innocent, or not cunning enough.‘ She slapped my back again. ’But you. You have the heart of a liar, that’s something you can’t learn. Something you are born with. Humans will make for fine allies with those skills. Or at least good card players.‘ She let out a roaring laugh that her joke in no way deserved, making Uchenik try to shush her. She only laughed harder.

’You know what, human?’ she said when she had finally calmed down. ‘It’s nice talking to you. Real nice. It’s… freeing. Maybe even a little too freeing.‘ She shot out her weird serpentine tongue. ’Oops. I might have said too much. Again. You’re way too good at this.’ I honestly didn’t get her, but she only seemed to be more amused by that. ’You do really remind me of the small grubs, sometimes.’

“I’m not a kid.” She laughed and nodded.

’Sure. Sure kiddo. But one thing first.‘ With a leap she was flying next to my shoulder, before I could react she had put her front leg around my neck, pulling me close to her face. I could see myself reflected in her good eye. ’Human, we’re friends, right?‘ I nodded. ’Well, I wanted to talk to you about our scout.‘ She whispered as she leaned in even closer. The smell of her meal was heavy on her breath.

’You see, our dear scout went through a really rough time. And she’s pretty delicate right now.‘ I looked over towards Dozor as she was right in the middle of a meal. She tore one of the squirrels in half with her teeth. ’I know you’re good friends and all, and that’s great, but,‘ she leaned in even closer.

Too close for comfort.

I wanted to back up, but a pressure started building in my head. Her words constricted around me, around my thoughts. A dull pain build around every place where her words tried to engrave themselves on my soul. ’S h e r e a l l y n e e d s h e r f a m i l y r i g h t n o w.‘ The world dissolved around me. All that there was left was a faint green glow right in front of me. ’S o y o u s h o u l d r e a l l y l e a v e h e r a l o n e .‘ With an agonizing pop the world returned.

After a few moments I realized I had been just staring ahead of me. Pizdabol looked at me with a strange expression, almost frustrated. Had she asked me something? “Oh, sorry, I must have tuned out for a moment.” I laughed, but a dull pain shot through my head. “Urgh, I think the cold is getting to me,” I said as I pressed my hands against my head. “What were we talking about again?”

She flashed a smile. ’Nothing important, human.’ She mock punched me. ’Sometimes I just get a little… upset when others don’t listen to me. Don’t pain your brain over it.‘

We both laughed it off and sat at the fire. I leaned back for a moment and saw the stars stretch to infinity. They spiraled endlessly as precious specks of beauty in the void. Briefly I wondered if my own sun was among them.

No, that wasn’t right. The sun hadn’t been ours for a long time. Waves of nostalgia, home sickness, and beauty clashed into me. Mixing with my receding headache into a strange feeling. The sensation wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it felt essential.

Uchenik called out to us. He and Dozor had finished their talk and it was time for us to go. He explained that our first destination wasn’t very far from here and we intended to reach it before morning hit.

With the campfire buried, my weapons cleaned, and a few other businesses arranged we followed the white changeling’s directions.

A few thin clouds flew by, looking like finger smudges on the surface of the moon. The snow crunched beneath us in a steady pattern as we trudged along. Small dots of light betrayed the eyes of woodland critters as they observed us passing through their territory, waiting anxiously for these strange intruders to leave.

As I walked past trees, inhaled fresh air, and saw the stars break through the ceiling of leafs once again, I felt the strange feeling from before settle. It was something that had been wrong in my life for so long that I had simply gotten used to it, but now it finally settled like it should have.

I now understood the old generation more. Why they looked at the tunnel that protected them from the poison of the surface with hate and despair in their eyes. Those feelings had been there my entire life inside me, but I had never been able to place it. They were so common I had accepted them as a part of who I was, a deformity from birth. Here on the outside I finally understood it. Mankind was meant to be free. To explore the sky, climb mountains, to descend to the depths of the ocean, to walk on the moon. We were not meant to be constricted by the safety of tunnels. Our sky had been stolen, and every look at the concrete ceiling caused some internal friction of the spirit.

Outside here, where I could walk and stand wherever I desired I felt a great peace descend upon me. A human needed more than food and water to survive.

In a few steps we went from a thick forest to some sort of grassland, the progression too sudden to be natural. Observing the landscape before us as best as I could I saw a valley lying between hills, with one of them being noticeably larger. It looked like something some might have called a mountain, but everything seemed huge outside to me. At the summit of this mountain dots of lights were scattered and dark rectangular shapes of houses could be seen. I looked at Dozor and she nodded. We had found our destination.

With three flashes of green my companions had donned their disguises. Three cuddly beige dogs that stood on their hind legs stared at me with yellow eyes. With some difficulty I fought the urge to pet them. “Looks good?” I offered, but they did not care for my opinion and wandered past me.

As we made our way to the settlement I could make it out in greater detail. The town was indeed hugging the mountain and was surround by a semi-circular wall that closed it off from attacks where the mountain did not protect. The wall itself was not all that impressive, only half again my size and illuminated at regular intervals by torches.

’So this was this place’s secret, yes?‘ Uchenik spoke, he took the questioning look on my face as an invitation to continue. ’This settlement serves as a small military outpost for the Minotaurs. Now that’s nothing strange, correct?‘ I nodded, some of the larger stations’ communities liked to use their neighbors as a buffer zone against attack too. ’Well, there has been peace between ponies and Minotaurs for centuries and never once did this outpost shrink or grow in size. In fact,‘ he clasped his paws together. ’This station has never fallen outside of Minotaur control. Ever. Even when this land and its surroundings were occupied by enemy forces.‘ Uchenik smiled as he saw my raised eyebrows. ’In fact, this “military outpost” has never once send a single soldier out to fight, no? They just sit here, and do nothing but run courses, train, and man the walls. We Brothers have wondered long why this would be.‘

“They must be guarding something.” I slammed my fist into my open hand as it clicked in my head.

’Correct. That was our assumption too,‘ Uchenik answered.

’But that’s not all,‘ Dozor chimed in. ’if they are guarding something, than why would no one take the outpost from them, even in war?‘

’All the races around here are in cahoots with each other,‘ Pizdabol raised her paws in a conspiratorial gesture as she winked.

Dozor stared hard at the town’s wall. ’Or they are guarding something dangerous. Something that supersedes war and diplomacy.‘

“Like the wish granter?” I put my hands in my pockets as we continued to approach the wall. I could finally make out a thick wooden door we were heading towards. “I would think everyone would be fighting for a thing like that. Who wouldn’t want their wishes to be granted?”

’What if someone wished their enemies away,‘ Dozor offered. A chill ran down my spine at that thought. To suddenly stop existing because someone else commanded it. That sounded all too familiar.

’Ah, the other races are being huge cowards like usual,‘ Pizdabol laughed. She put on a deep voice as she made exaggerated gestures. ’Power corrupts my dear citizens. Just let us hide the answer to all our problems inside this mountain, someone might get hurt.‘ She let out another giggle. ’I bet they’re letting the Minotaurs guard it on the honor system. Adorable, really.’

’Well, whatever may be the case, we’ll get what we require.‘ Uchenik waved one arm in the air as he called out to the wall. After a few moments I could see a hulking figure climb on the wall. Its fur had a blueish hue and bizarrely enough its head resembled that of a bull. At least, as far as I could remember from pictures in books. It called out in a surprisingly clear and professional tone, clashing with its beastly appearance.

With no time wasted, Pizdabol stepped forward and struck up what seemed to be a friendly conversation with the sentry. The guard’s bored expression quickly became more animated as they talked. I could empathize with him, having stood many long hours as a guard in the tunnels myself. I knew how mind numbing it could be. There were always intense moments of fear and paranoia at who or what could be out there, but for the most part it consisted of endless hours of fighting against boredom.

I was, however, surprised when the guard disappeared from view and the door started to open. “Did she just talk our way into a military base?” I whispered to Dozor.

’Barely,‘ she said as we shuffled inside. When we pasted the gates I could see what she meant. We entered a small stone area with blank and windowless walls. On the other side was a small but sturdy looking door that was guarded by two mountains of creatures. They eyed us calmly, but I could see their hands on their spears and towering shields. This was not so much a waiting room as a death trap for those unwise enough to provoke the guards.

A polite cough turned my attention to the right. One of the creatures stood behind a simple desk with his hands clasped behind his back. This one far less intimidating and wearing an outfit that reminded me of a clerk. The Minotaur could have almost passed for a tall human, if it wasn’t for its more bizarre features.

Uchenik walked in front of his desks and pushed some of the administrative papers that were neatly stacked onto the floor, to the annoyance of the creature behind the desk. With the utmost care he put down the guide. The thin clerk glanced briefly at the ancient tome and glanced up at the changeling with an incredulous smirk. With a chuckle he said something to the guards, who bumped each other’s shoulders as they cracked a pair of smiles. Somehow I felt we weren’t being taken seriously.

Uchenik lightly tapped the guide with his paw as he spoke with what even I understood to be barely hidden contempt. With a shrug the clerk nonchalantly opened the book, slamming the cover carelessly on the table. Uchenik visibly cringed as the dull thud was heard. As the Minotaur looked inside I had the rare pleasure of seeing an alien’s face going from smug to ashen in a few seconds.

With slumped shoulders and avoiding the Brother’s eyes he took a pair of immaculate gloves from a drawer and started to leaf through the book with almost reverent care. Whatever the clerk was looking for, he apparently found it.

He bent down and leafed through the papers that Uchenik had dumped on the ground and put one on the desk. Producing a quill and bottle of ink he handed over the feather and pointed at some empty spots on the document. We signed the document without further ado. The clerk did look confused for a second at the clearly foreign letters I had used to sign my name, but for whatever reason he decided it wasn’t a problem.

With a quick order from the minotaur the two guards stepped away from the door in unison, clearing the way. And just like that, we were in.

---

Breathing the cool night air in I stretched in my new disguise. I had always harbored a particular dislike for Diamond Dogs before the ponies seized the distinguishing honor of being my number one most hated prey. They had dog hands unfit for anything but digging the earth for precious gems. A useless commodity for anyone but dragons. And dragons weren’t the type to exchange anything but a healthy dose of fire for their food. What a waste of a species.

At least the base we were in was designed more sensible. Thick stone walls embraced us to stop ground charges, hiding two rows of archers and ballista to create a wall of arrows against the flying sort. Rows upon rows of neatly placed wooden barracks surrounded us on all sides, separated only by the occasional training ground. Everything was systematic, clear, and placed with a purpose. There was no useless fat weighing this place down. And like any good military base there were plenty of patrols and lights to expose any infiltrators and saboteurs hiding in the shadows.

Well, except for us of course.

I wondered for a moment how infiltration would work in Yuri’s world. He had told me they had steel gates closing them of from attacks from the outside. The tunnels connecting the stations were few and an even smaller number was traversable. All leading to closed knitted communities where people were rarely alone or out of sight of others. I tried to imagine approaching such a defended tunnel. Seeing the large barricades with armored humans hiding behind terrible weapons that could spew death into the narrow tunnels.

Strategies came floating up from the maelstrom of my mind. Crashing and breaking on defenses, or seeping away in their clever mazes. Without the trust we were building up with our prey; feeding off them would be a task even the most skilled of deceivers and infiltrators would reconsider.

Looking at my slack jawed human staring at the minotaurs and buildings around us I couldn’t help but feel that my prey would do so much better than what I saw around me.

The hairs in my neck rose in revulsion as I felt one of our two minotaur escorts rest his hand on my shoulder. Only my experience made me manage to turn my disgusted expression into a sheepish smile. “Yes? What is it?”

“Sergeant Muddock wants to see all visitors.” He pointed us to a small wooden house, almost a shed, not too far from us. “He’s over there.”

“You too, calf,” the other guard said as he patted Yuri on his helmet. At least until the human swatted the offending hand away, much to the minotaur’s amusement.

“What’s with these creatures?” If the guards were surprised at the human’s foreign language, they didn’t show it.

’Well, now that I’ve put some thought into it, you do seem to share some shallow characteristics with a young minotaur,‘ Brother theorized. ’It would not be implausible that you are evoking some paternal instincts, yes?‘

“Great, that’s just great.” Yuri buried his hands deep into his pockets as he slummed his shoulders. “Typical.”

’Aw, don’t be sour,‘ the Infiltrator offered. ’Being cute isn’t all that bad.‘ She smirked as Yuri cringed. Taking advantage of the tallness her disguise granted her she swung an arm around the human and nuzzled his cheeks. ’Why, I bet they could just eat you up, cutie pie.‘

My Sister’s poor attempts at holding back her laughter completely failed as the human wrestled himself free with amazing speed while giving her more than a few choice words.

’At least it’s better than being respected or loathed,‘ I found myself saying as we reached the door. ’That’s when others have their guard up around you. But if you’re dismissed. Well, ‘ I stopped for a moment to shake of the snow. ’You won’t believe how open some let themselves be. Remember to take advantage of that, Yuri.‘

One of our “friends” hit the oaken doors three times. A muffled: “It’s open,” followed the knocking and we entered.

The interior of the house did little to dissuade me from thinking we had indeed entered a shed instead of an office. The place was littered with shovels, brooms, and other assorted tools in every corner. The light of the moon, supported by a candle, illuminated the sparse furniture that could be found. Dominating the room was a large desk that had mess of several papers, maps, and writing equipment on it. Dark inkblots were liberally sprinkled over the desk and its contents. Behind the desk I could just make out a simple bed with thick furs. A small unlit furnace with a kettle on it stood to the side.

“Hm. You dogs never heard of sleeping?” From the mess of papers emerged, what I presumed to be, sergeant Muddock. He had the build of a minotaur who once had been very strong, but old age and desk work had worn him down. Grey had seeped into his once blueish fur and his well-kept short beard. He watched over us all with eyes that had not suffered under the strain of time, but had only grown fiercer. More or less a typical career soldier, I concluded.

As the guard explained our situation Muddock appraised us with those eyes in the way that military officers often did with things they didn’t like. When he rested his gaze on Yuri however, something made him stop. With a sudden hand gesture the guard shut up mid-sentence.

“You are one of them, those outsiders,” the minotaur stated. Yuri stared ahead for a moment before he noticed that suddenly all eyes were on him. With a sheepish smile he shrugged.

I sighed as I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t built to be a translator, but it looked like I had to step up to a foreign role once again. It was probably in our favor that minotaurs weren’t known for their great telepaths who could listen in on us. The human looked gratefully at me as I enlightened him on the situation.

“So, you’ve seen others like me? Are they still here? What station did they come from? Could I talk to them?” Yuri was basically jumping as he unleashed the wave of questions. A grunt escaped me as he prattled on and on. Still, I prepared to do the best I could. A changeling should always do their job to the best of their abilities after all.

It turned out I shouldn’t have bothered. After only the first question the minotaur leaned back, granting us a view of the window behind him. Three wooden poles stood in a row, each adorned with a helmet much like Yuri’s and some miscellaneous items at the bottom.

“Not much left to be buried though. They were burned to a crisp when they appeared. DOA.” The beast sniffed his nose. “They reeked something fierce. The bulls couldn’t stomach meat for two days." He patted one of the administrative pillars that littered his desk. “Security was a nightmare for weeks. We’re still busy filing away the reports.”

The human stared at the graves outside as his smile died on his face. He only stole a glance at the sergeant before he continued staring in the distance. “I don’t know how this happened, sir. I swear it.” Yuri almost whispered the words as he seemed pinned to the ground.

“Did I ask you something, calf?” the sergeant stood up and towered over his desk. “One look at you and I can tell you barely know how to keep your nose clean.” He swept his hand in our direction as he dropped himself back into his chair. “Unlike your friends who look like they could piss on your leg and make you think they did you a favor.”

I didn’t translate that last part. As a matter of fact, I was getting sick playing the part of the translator. With three quick strides I was at the desk. I slammed my paws down on the wood and endured the stare that followed as I looked up at the old soldier. “We didn’t walk across half the country in the freezing cold to have you insult us, Sergeant.”

“If only.” The minotaur leaned forward until he was inches away from my face. His putrid breath assaulted my senses as he continued to speak. “You are here because you have more guts than brains and somehow managed to stumble upon something that doesn’t belong to you. You want to go inside the cave and march straight into your grave because stories of treasure and power have rotten your brains.” He leaned back, but never broke eye contact. “Do you think you’re the first ones that ever stumbled to my desk? This week even?”

“We have a right to-“

“Rights?” The sergeant let out a harsh laugh. “You’re a genuine comedian, lady. This is my fort. I have soldiers under me. Loyal soldiers. You have no rights but the ones I feel like giving you! And I’m not in a giving mood. Funny how that works.” The bull stood up once again and signaled the guards behind us. “Give them a room for the night and a meal. Post two guards at the door and throw this rabble out in the morning.” His stare tried to pin me down, but I had endured worse in my time. “If you all really want to die so much, go outside and lie in the snow. It would save us a whole lot of paperwork.”

“Listen here you old bull!” The choked cough I heard coming from my Sister behind me did little to quench the fire in my stomach as I pounded the desk again. “I don’t care if you have to cut down every tree in your backyard to get the paper to let us through. We are going in that cave!”

A mocking smile spread on Muddock’s face. “Oh, is this the part where you make meaningless threats so I can just throw you out? It must be my birthday already!” He readied himself to stand up.

I crossed my arms. “Hardly.” The soldier stopped as he looked at me vaguely bemused. “I propose a bull’s honorable agreement. You haven’t gone senile enough to forget what honor is, right?” I smiled ever so sweetly as the sergeant narrowed his eyes.

“A duel? With you runts against my soldiers?” He scoffed. “Okay, okay. We’ll officially kick your ass according to tradition if it means that much to you. We’ll even give you little certificates.” Muddock scratched his beard as he contemplated it for a few seconds. “All right. Till first blood, both parties get to choose their own weapons. That good enough for you, pipsqueak?” I slowly nodded. “I’ll give you all five minutes to do your hair and polish your nails. The bulls will escort you to the place. Shake on it.” I spat on my paw and extended it, Muddock did the same. One gross handshake later it was official.

The sergeant let himself fall back into his chair as he started to rummage around in a drawer. “Now get out of my office! I have more,” he sighed as he held his head in his hands. “I have more paperwork to do,” we heard him say as we were pushed outside in the cold again.

’You uh, sure have a way with words, baby Sister,‘ the Infiltrator said as she swung an arm around me. ’Not what I would have done, but if something crazy works it wasn’t that crazy in the first place, right?‘

’It didn’t work Sister,‘ Brother chimed in sourly. ’In case you forgot, we still have to actually win a fight against a trained minotaur warrior, yes? And I feel that the fact that were are not trained in combat, two meters tall, or bulging with muscles might hamper us somewhat.‘

’Oh, little Brother, you worry too much,‘ the changeling shook her head as she shared a conspiratory smile with me. ’We’ll win how we always win.‘

’We got this,‘ I said brightly as I winked at him.

After a light walk during which I explained Yuri our situation we encountered something that could be given the name “arena”, if one would feel charitable enough to do so. A large rough shape of a rectangle was dug about twice Yuri’s height in the ground, spanning a length and width were two barracks could have neatly fit in. The sight of shovels and tired, sweaty soldiers next to it led me to believe this was merely a training exercise or punishment that had been jury rigged into something useful.

It also seemed the soldiers were desperate for some entertainment as our guards loudly exclaimed why there were strangers in the camp. A chorus of voices and excited whispers rose into the air as dozens of minotaurs climbed from the hole and threw aside their tools. Rows of eyes were appraising us, a few of the more bold ones pointed at us, apparently gauging our chances for success. I could see the glimmer of golden bits in the pale moonlight as they changed eager hands.

We were granted a front row view of the pit as the guards held off the majority of the soldiers around us. As time passed whispers grew into excited shouts and the air almost got that electric charge it has before a storm. The minotaurs got into an almost frenzy-like state as more and more curious soldiers got out of the barracks to feed the rows that were growing around the arena. A few who’d had the foresight to bring candles and oil lamps were given places closer to the edge, casting everything in a yellowish light.

A commanding shout cut through the air, and as if by magic the crowd calmed greatly. Muddock had arrived and had brought with him a piece of mountain that had been reborn as a minotuar. The giant stood nearly three times my disguise’s height with muscles I would have trouble to get my arms around. He stared straight ahead, expressionless, almost bored.

The sergeant must have been more annoyed with us than I had thought.

I felt Yuri’s nervous hand squeezing down hard on my shoulder. “You’re going to fight that thing?” he said as his eyes darted wild between all of the strange creatures. He moved almost mechanically and his other hand seemed glued to his gun.

’Better, I’m going to win against that thing,‘ I replied with a grin. Whirls of concern were already pouring from the human and I accepted them gladly. Sleep and tiredness were washed away by the waves of energy coming from the human. My heart pounded like a hammer against my chest and my whole body was screaming and itching for a fight. I shook myself as I jumped down on the arena under the howling of the crowd.

“Listen, and listen well,” I shouted in their crude language. “My name is Dozor! Remember that name when I beat your champion into the dust!” The soldiers exploded into jeers and vile gestures were thrown my way. I took it in with a smile, some part of me even wished I could openly challenge them as myself. So their even louder shouts would shut up when I proved the strength of the Hive. It was intoxicating.

“All right, all right, showboat!” Muddock spoke as he silenced the crowd again. “Pick your poison.” The giant behind him took of a backpack he was carrying, revealing dozens of shields and weapons of all types. The casualness with which he had carried that weight did not fail to evoke some concern in me.

“I spit on your weapons.” I looked the champion straight into his hard eyes. For the first time he looked at me. A flicker of something broke through his stoic gaze.

“A showboat and stupid. And here I was hoping that you-“ the sergeant stopped as the giant put a hand on his shoulder.

“No weapons,” his voice was raspy and quiet, like he didn’t use it all that much. He nodded at me.

I suppressed a smile. He had taken the bait, with a sword or a spear he would’ve won for sure. Now I stood half a chance.

Muddock shrugged in resignation before he slapped the soldier on his back. “Go get ‘em, Bongard.” With a large thud the giant landed in the pit. “All right calves; don’t aim for the eyes or the soft bits. Duel is over at first blood of forfeiting.” The sergeant laughed. “And don’t forget to have fun!”

I filled my lungs with the cold night air as I stared at my opponent. He had the calmness of someone who was used to fighting and could keep his cool. There was really only one way I could win, he was expecting to fight a Diamond Dog, and so I would have to surprise him. I let the energy I had leached from Yuri build inside my chest and let it fly into my limbs. I felt strong enough to lift a mountain.

He had raised his hands slightly, looking to get ready to grab me was we slowly started to circle each other. With every step I poured more and more in my hind legs. Every time I touched the ground I could almost feel a spark flying.

He set a step in my direction. I dashed forward, faster than any Dog could, like only a changeling would. The world slowed down and shrunk to a pinprick as I jumped up, and aimed my horn at his torso.

Something rather peculiar happened next. I tasted dirt in my mouth and the world had gone dark. Dazed I blinked my eyes as sand poured into them. I pulled my head from the wall and shook myself in a daze. ’Jump left! Now!‘ The words of my Sister cut through the confusion and I dashed away. I felt something brush right by my side as I stumbled back as fast as I could.

Slowly the sounds of the crowd filled my ears again as my wits came back. Where I had just stood was now a pillar of blue-grey fur embedded in the wall. Slowly the minotaur retracted his arm and turned to me.

My blood turned to ice as I realized what had happened. He had blocked me and flung me against the wall. I quickly patted my face and held my paws before me. No blood. I sighed in relief.

A grunt of pain entered my ears like music as I focused on my opponent again. Triumph coursed through me as I saw his right arm dangling besides him, bent at strange and painful angles. The bone had not penetrated the skin, however, and no blood had been drawn.

“Never seen a Dog that fast,” the giant spoke with an impressive even tone, but his heavy breathing betrayed him. “What tribe are you from?”

’He’s stalling for time, Sister! Press the attack!‘ Following Brother’s advice I dashed forward and jumped to his right. As he spun around to face me his broken arm flung wildly around, causing another grunt of pain to fly through the air. For just a fraction of a second the minotaur’s good arm moved to hold the broken one, before he could suppress the reflex.

That moment of defenselessness was enough. I launched myself at him and sunk my teeth deep into his left arm. Sweet blood and victory poured into my mouth and I was smiling even as the giant threw me roughly to the ground.

With the warm blood still dripping from me I let out a laugh. Throwing up my arms I basked in the jeers of the crowd. As I turned around I saw my Siblings and Yuri jump down in the pit. I let out a small yelp as the human picked me up for a hug, but I quickly returned it.

“I can’t believe you beat that thing! That was amazing!”

’Well, what did you expect?‘ Sister nudged Yuri. ’Changelings are just great like that.‘

’We got lucky,‘ Brother sourly interjected over the jeers of the crowd. ’But it was a good fight, yes?‘

“Well, well,” we suddenly heard the Sergeant speaking behind us. “It looks like you vagabonds might actually be up to snuff. Bit of an anticlimactic fight though.” He walked to the dirt wall next to us and started cleaning his bloodied hands with sand. Apparently he had taken some part in lifting out my former opponent from the pit for medical attention. Most of the disgruntled soldiers at the edge of the pit were walking away. The fun was over and duty or sleep called. Only a few stayed to eavesdrop none too subtly.

“I’ll walk you through what you’ll need for your little cave expedition tomorrow evening. Day or night doesn’t matter much in that place and I have a gut feeling that you three will want to go as soon as you’re rested, right?”

“Four,” I replied as Yuri set me down. A tingling feeling at the back of my neck told me the old bull wasn’t quite done with us.

“No, no,” Murdock smiled. “You can call me a lot of things, and most bulls have done so with good reason, but I’m not a calf murderer. He pointed at my human, “That calf wouldn’t last an hour in there and I won’t have it.” Yuri looked at me in confusion, but I ignored him for the moment.

’Well, do we really need him?‘ Sister piped up. She was careful to exclude the human from our chat. ’He’ll slow us down anyway. He isn’t a changeling like us,‘ she gave him a meaningful look. ’Maybe we’d all be better of leaving him behind.‘

’We can’t go without the human!‘ I blurted out.

’Well, why not?‘ My Sister left me scrambling for an answer. I looked at Yuri who was staring at us a bit dumbfounded.

’I see your point, Infiltrator. He’ll be a burden in those caverns, yes?‘ I felt my stomach tightening as I avoided staring at my Siblings. ’But carrying a sword or water is also a burden, right? The prey is a powerful energy source which will be essential in completing our mission, agreed? Leaving it behind would be unwise.‘ I felt a wave of relief washing over me as I heard those words. Relief soon turned into disturbance however. This had bothered me too much for my own comfort.

My Sister seemed to mull it over for a second before she simply shrugged. ’Alright, dear Brother.‘ She flashed a bright smile at the both of us.

“Are you weirdos done staring at each other?” The Sergeant interrupted us. “You’re freaking me out. Anyway, don’t worry about your little friend.” He pointed at Yuri, who for his part finally seemed to get something was wrong. “We’ll set up a nice little crèche, read him stories before bed time, maybe make him peel potatoes so he can earn his keep. He’ll love it.”

“Yeah, we can’t do that,” the infiltrator answered, leaning against the dirt wall. “You see, this creature here is in fact our bodyguard. The very best fighter bits could buy.” The sergeant stared blankly at my Sister, the human, and then back at my Sister.

’Yuri, do something to impress this stubborn old fool,‘ I snapped at the human.

’Huh?‘ he thought eloquently. ’You want me to do a handstand or something?‘ Yuri scratched his head.

“You see, the reason we didn’t send our bodyguard in to guard our bodies during the match was,” Sister paused as she sized up Yuri. “Well, he’s just so damn deadly. He can’t hold back. It’s terrifying, really.”

“Is she high?” the minotaur looked at Brother. “It is illegal to be high in this fort.” Brother shrugged as he shot a glance in our direction.

With a sigh I ran my paws down my face as I approached my human. Tightly grabbing his shoulder I managed to force a smile. ’Just shoot something and look mean. If you feel extra merciful, you can just shoot me.‘

Without further ado Yuri took out what I understood to be his revolver. Nonchalantly he pointed it at the closest pit wall and for a second the world exploded in light and sound. I shielded my face as dirt flew everywhere. The few minotaurs that were left stepped back in trepidation, but they were too well trained to panic.

The sergeant stood there with an unreadable expression as part of the wall started to collapse in on itself. Somewhere in the distance an alarm went off.

“Am I correct in assuming this was a sufficient demonstration of our guard’s combat prowess?” Brother smiled politely as he wiped some earth of his fur. “We are all allowed access into the cave now, yes?”

“Sure, sure, do whatever you want,” the Sergeant looked somewhat flabbergasted as he spoke. “Don’t let me stop you from using your magical calf mercenary. It’s not like I’ve devoted my entire life to protect the world from this place.” With the help of some minotaurs that were brave enough to peek over the edge of the pit the old bull got out. “Why don’t you come over to my office and take my salary while you’re at it?”

The crescent moon stood behind the Sergeant as he gazed at us, obscuring his features into a dark silhouette. “One of the guards will escort you to a bed and in the morrow to the cave. Stock up on supplies if you must, but you will leave at sundown. Pray to whatever gods you worship that you’ll die fighting.” The bull turned around and briskly walked away. “And someone shut down that damn alarm!”

Comments

[JohnIsOffline]

I haven't checked this place in such a long time. Coming back, things are exactly the same as before, no wonder I forgot about it.

[Redemption]

I want more.

[MrSing]

7364983
They packed some supplies and went on their way while the changelings had a little chat about what the plan was. I didn't think including this part was good for the story, since I already have a very slow place and it wouldn't really have added anything to the story itself.
So I skipped ahead a fair bit.

[the other sans]

I wiped the grease of my hands with
We’re going out there and safe every human
each other’s shoulders as the cracked a pair
He bend down and leafed through the
closed knitted communities were people were rarely
feeding of them would be
win against that thing,]‘
My hearth pounded like a hammer
dangling besides him, bend at strange

1. Off.
2. Save.
3. They.
4. Bent.
5. Where.
6. Off.
7. Extra... I forgot what this was called.
8. Heart.
9. Bent.

[MrSing]

7366991
Thanks a million!

[LegacyMine]

7369164 It's not a bad story. I shall hope for quick updates.

[A Tin Can]

7648962 Nah, it's cool bruh.

[LinktheLazy]

Well I can't wait to see where this is going. I hope you aren't dead or anything. That'd suck.