> The Time Of Fate
>  by Ultimus Pendragon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue. In Which A New Life Begins.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rite Of Passage.
Detroit, Michigan, 2016.



Try imagining being suckerpunched by a psychopath, then being sent flying into a wall at near the speed of light.

That was how the world and my day ended for me.

Now that I think about it, it could have been a good deal worse.

It should have been worse.

My day consisted of relaxing in the park downtown that was adjacent to the highway. As I stared at the bonsai and cherry blossom trees and benches around me, I admired the significance of my city's geographical setting. The New Center Area of Detroit is at times beautiful. It was a major staple for business and living.

That's another thing. I'm from Detroit. It's always a good place to visit; it has a good and bad reputation. It's The Motor City, The D, Motown, etc. It's the number one technological hub in the world. But enough about that, I was on a important business venture.

I was here to pick up a package to help give our local law enforcement a break. It's a problem, that as of late, is becoming a major issue. I am sure that if left untreated, it will go beyond my city. It could harm all 50 states, beyond.

So I had to be right.

I sat on the bench, chewing on some smoked lamb I picked up from a nearby restaurant. I was getting impatient. If there's one thing I like, it's being punctual.

"What the fuck is taking so long?" I groaned. "Rin ought to know that I hate waiting when I shouldn't have to,'' I huffed, checking my nails for any dirt.

"Ai! Sir, you should be more patient! You wouldn't want to blow a blood vessel!'' a voice sounded from on top my head. 

''Yes, I should, Ai,'' I chuckled, humming a sweet tune. 

''Sir, do not be so brash. Perhaps you should count to 10, that is what you taught us to do,'' another voice scolded, making me scoff, but agree.

''Also noted, Yuu,'' I smirked. ''I forget how much we've rubbed off on each other.''

Thanks to the miracle of my own stubbornness, I was not completely broken by what occurred some years ago. It was that period of time that led me to my greatest friends. But, it was not without sacrificing something.

Most people wouldn't be able to handle it.

I was. . .tortured for 10 consecutive days on end, nonstop due to me standing up for something I believe in by a horrible human being.

The mere word torture pales in comparison to what that person did to me. I was initially starved and deprived of water for a week in a dark boiler room, my mind playing tricks on me as I hallucinated about things I never thought possible, causing a period of hollering at the top of my lungs, my body forcing itself to vomit practically nothing. I was begging for food, but they ignored me, even when I was obviously malnourished and sleep-deprived. 

Afterwards, I had thugs and demented patients assault me with bats, spiked clubs and whips until my back was tanned red. I was stepped on, spat on, and when I finally was able to eat and drink, the food was spiked with pomegranate, a fruit I'm highly allergic to.

It caused massive swelling of my throat. . .and I could barely breathe.

And the water was worse, it had massive amounts of lemon juice in it. I was never given a rest as I was thrown into a pit of rabid, hungry wolves, set to fight against them with meat tied around my body.

Apparently, with their sick games, they sought to play my heartstrings by baiting a trio of innocents along with me in the pit.

Remember how I said Detroit was a major technological place? I failed to mention that it branches out to science. Our top scientists in the industry developed a well-placed system of helpers, companions and conduits for artificial warfare.

The Fairies. A race of miniature genetically engineered girls, that can easily be held in the palm of your hand embedded with the means of how they are vital to warfare: Magical Circuits that code for specific types of genes that allowed for the most basic of functions; healing, pyrokinesis, teleportation, etc. 

In the midst of battle, I spied a duo of wolves ganging up on two Fairies and a smaller helper for The Fairies, called Wisps, unconscious and malnourished with cuts all over their bodies.

In my drugged-fueled rage, I snapped and attacked with what little of the energy that I had and drove the wolves off.

The howling of pain from me and from the Alpha wolf's neck I snapped while stricken with tears, stuck with me, deciding to choose my life over its. By the stroke of God, they backed away after giving me massive cuts and wounds on my arms and legs. As if that was not enough, I was subjected me to water torture, electoral-therapy, poison acupuncture and a whole lot more I'm too scared to talk about...for fear it might happen...again.

After all that, they awoke, albeit slow and they looked confused. When I asked them if they were okay, they confirmed, but after that, they couldn't remember how they got here. Even worse, they lost. . .their memories.

After a while, I was sure that it would come back, but turns out a week of me taking them in was not enough. I felt bad for them and when asked if I would help them get their memories back, I reluctantly accepted, knowing it would be for nothing. But I had to give them names. After debating, I decided on Ai and Yuu, and for the Wisp; Snow. 

But, a year later and I have yet to find any big answers, or regrets.

Back to my business. Rin Akame is a lifelong pal. She, Ai, Yuu and Snow are the only ones who I can call my friends that has not betrayed me. She's my childhood friend of 17 years.

She was, initially, a bit cold to me at first, making me think she was a Tsundere, but she just had a major case of social anxiety and never had any friends. Well, besides me, Ai, Yuu and Snow. 

Rin has a hard-headed, but caring nature, willing to do what she has to, but she has trouble expressing herself, so she often acts distant even though she's not very good at it.

Another thing I'd have to praise Rin for is her unnatural amount of strength, compared to that of 100 bodybuilders. Rin was experimented on when she was 12 and gained the ability to loosen the tendons limiting normal human strength, allowing Rin to use 100% of her full body power, but comes with the drawback of her being tired easy and overexerting herself.

With her time with training, she has been known to be the best person to handle a gun and sword at the same time. So much so, she has been given the nickname Sharpshooter Knight. I would be very concerned for the person who would have to face Rin's wrath when they piss her off.

In return for me wanting to learn sword skills, I taught Rin the art of martial arts,  particularity Taekwondo and Judo which are methods of fighting I highly prefer to get the job done.

Speaking of which, here she is now.

"Oi, Rin; what took you so long, you were supposed to be here 10 minutes ago," I said, miffed.

"Sorry. . .Jamir...but. . .the Dexter Mag-Lev bus was late. . ." Rin huffed.

''Hi, Ms. Rin!~'' Ai waved.



''Hello...Ai.''

''Hello, Rin,'' Yuu greeted, bowing, falling off my head before I caught her with my hand. She then found her way back to my head with Snow on her leg.



''And to you too, Yuu. . .and Snow.''

Rin was a simple girl, with luscious black hair and blood-red eyes. She was panting, holding her hand to her chest before settling herself.

"So. . .were you-"

"Watched?" I asked, making Rin nod. "No, but we shouldn't be here, it might be...hey, are you okay?" I noticed Rin staring into the direction she ran from, a glint of indifference in her eyes.

"Ja-Ja." Rin called me by my nickname. That only happens when she's serious. This was important. Looking at me, her eyes stared into mine, faint petals began falling in front of us as I listened carefully.



"Do you know. . .what today is?"

''Yea...January 12th.''

. . .Wait. 12th? Of J-January?

My eyes began to water, my body beginning to shiver uncontrollably with every growing second. My hands began to sweat and clench. I fell on my rump, choking on my tears in tandem with a growing headache.

"Jamir." Rin said, bending down and wiping my tears off with a handkerchief. "I know that day means a great deal to you and the girls, but-"

"It's okay, Rin. . .I knew this day would come regardless," I sighed, shaking my head. I tried my best to keep myself in check, but still remained with tears dripping to the ground. "But, at the same time, this'll make stopping ‘them’ all the more sweet.”

''Sir, are you okay?'' Ai asked, leaning over my head, frowning.

''I'm. . .fine, Ai. I just had a bad memory resurface, that's all.''

''Are you sure, sir?'' Yuu inquired while Snow licked my ear, making me chuckle. 

''Positive, girls. I would never lie when it comes to you two.'' Rin then looked to me.

"So, what is the plan?" Rin tilted her head, curious.

"'Stealth and Seize on C.A.T. High school. If ‘they’ manages to get control of the grid in that area, there could very well be a standoff with the local police and residents."

"Soooo, what exactly are we going to do?" Rin titled her head. Again.

That would be the hard part. This plan, unlike my previous attempts are twice as likely to fail and have the biggest repercussions if we were to have a misstep. It would go beyond Detroit, spread into other states, or even bleed through to the nation's capital. It has the biggest payout of stopping a tyrant of an entire city for 5 years, but also the pain of knowing that it's. . .

Nevermind.

And this was the last strike for me before the cops would say; fuck it and arrest me.

So I had to be right.

"Come on,-" Rin held her hand out for me to grab. "-We should get going. You can explain the plan on the way."

Central Academy for the advancement of Technology, 1:00 P.M.


"Your plan is what?!" Rin looked ready to grind my bones into paste, that is, after she peeled off all my skin. "Are you that insane?!" Rin yelled, grinding her teeth together.

"Now, I know my plans are, for a lack of words, lacking-"

"Common sense?" Rin whispered from the bushes we were crouched in. ''We're wearing black hoodies, bandannas for masks and cargo pants! We look like robbers! We'd stand out like a flamingo among pelicans!''

Eh, yes.

"Eh, yes. But...have my plans not worked out when we do it like this?"

"Yes," Rin huffed. pouting. "They have."

"So, this plan should be about the same brand of-"

"Jack-assery?”

"Will you stop interrupting me? And will that be a key element? I hope not. Now, focus."

Now that we were here, the plan would be a tad easier. We need to get control of this school before it blows up in our faces.

Like Kermes Fire.

"Hey, you all remember your parts?" I asked, remembering that I have a tendency to ramble.

"Yes. I'll deal with any stragglers while you do the smart thing and go after what's  really important," Rin flashed me a small smile and a thumbs up as she hiked her duffle bag full of tricks over her shoulder and went into the school through a empty classroom window.

''Yes, sir!'' Yuu gushed. ''Me and Snow will do our best to keep intruders at bay for as long as possible!'' Yuu twirled in the air and teleported away, ready to do her job, leaving me and Ai.

''And we'll do the smart thing and go where most wouldn't; the basement,'' I whispered, picking up my own duffle bag before standing up. ''I just hope that I'm right this time.''

''Yes, sir!'' Ai whispered back. ''I have confidence in you!''

At least someone did.


The inside of the school hadn't changed as much as I thought. The floors were outfitted with grayish black pressure plates that respond to movement to help power 10% of the school's electricity. Every other wall had huge 50' inch touch-screens that were central conduits to help navigate the school, call for help and check on the internet.

The ceiling spanned as high as the eye could see before seeing the giant skyroof that led to the 5th floor roof. From where I entered, which was through the cafeteria, I had a clear shot of the small service hallway that would lead to the basement. As I walked by, the mechanical shifting floors with tables, canopies, and a staircase that led to the roof were gone.

''Sir, why is nothing here?'' Ai asked, tilting her head from ontop my head.

''They're under the floor. Helps with space,'' I answered.

Moving cautiously, I shifted my view every few seconds, intent on not getting caught by and of the robotic sentries that patrolled the school while kids were in class. All the 9th to 12th weren't here today because routine maintenance.

So I had time to not be found out. 

Now, when Rin said that to go after what's important, I believed it to be mostly right, but then I thought about it. If I knew anything about this person, it would be that they have a tendency to not go against their 'supposed beliefs.' 

I walked down a long and narrow hallway, decorated with blue paint and tons of wires hooked up to various machines. They looked like the school's wiring system. Further down and a right turn, I saw it.

I frowned.

Before me was a black and red door, the height and width of two people with a fingerprint scanner, keypad, and the school insignia, a Trailblazer.

''Ai, could you get this door open without...making any noise?'' I asked knowing that it would a noticeable enough noise that should anybody be inside, it would reflect bad on me.

''Ai, sir!'' Ai cheered, holding out her hand. Slowly, a green aura surrounded Ai's body before literally stretching out to the door like a type of rope before attaching itself with a small plop as it covered the door. Her pink eyes glowed green and focused. With a small grunt and a tug, the door was silently yanked off the frame, flying into a nearby wall, contacting it with a small tink as the floor rumbled a tad.

''Flawless as ever,'' I complimented, rubbing Ai's head with a finger as she blushed, pursing her lips together. ''Excellent, Ai.''

''Thank you, sir!'' Ai took her place back on my head as I slowly ventured in, eyeing the spacious area, covered with more mechanical floors, the entire room spanning to form a huge circle, two giant supercomputers in the very middle, flanked by a terminal with a computer with four screens. As I walked further in, I couldn't help buy seen something weird to the left  and right of the supercomputers.

. . .Two giant standing pods, adorned with the color gold with black and red that looked to fit a human, with a bit of space to move around in. The glass on it was tinted black as blue lights steadily pulsed like heartbeats.

“Master, what is that?” Ai asked, pointing.

“I think I don't wanna know,” I muttered. As I slowly moved towards it, it must have been a while since somebody was her for there was a bit of dust of the tag plate.

“Hmm, 1st Order,” I read the tag plate.

“Ai! This one says Last Order, Master!” Ai cheered. “What is that?”

I jogged over, and tried and true; it said it. But something felt off. Looming closer, we could see inside, but nobody was in there. What. . .is this place?

“Master, the door is cracked!” Ai pointed to the door, being slightly what. Meaning somebody. . .or thing got loose. Ok, change in plans. I had to regroup with Rin and tell her her. The plan's been compromised. I didn't account for. . .this.

''Let’s go, Ai,'' I ordered, taking hold and putting her in the crook of my hoodie,  throwing up the hood on my black, making Ai feel like a ninja as she went up to my head and giggled. Before I could reach into my cargo pants and reach for my phone, blue sparkling particles began to gather before Snow had appeared in front of us, chirping happily.

''Hey, Snow!~'' Ai waved.

''Sup, Snow? How's the fight going outside?'' I asked, seeing Snow turn and twirl in the air.

''Snow! Snow! BOOM~!'' Snow chirped as he pantomimed somebody getting beat up, then a explosion. 

That's a reason why I named Snow. That's all he really can say. Somehow, Ai and Yuu can understand him perfectly to a T, yet at times, I get the gist of what he wants to say. And other times, I'm about as lost as a kid in a forest.

''So, does Yuu need help, or no?'' I asked.

''Snow!'' Snow shook his head no. ''Snow, Snow!'' 

''Ai! That was a great idea, Snow!'' Ai praised, rubbing his head.

''What now?''

''Oh, Snow said that Yuu cast a sleeping spell on the attackers and had them tied up in the gym,'' Ai said, giggling.

What did she mean by-

Thud!

''Oh, okay. . .guess that Yuu could join-'' I then felt a tap on my shoulder. Looking over, it looked to be Yuu, her outfit slightly dirtied.

''Hello!~'' Yuu hugged my face, making me frown. ''. . .Sir, what's wrong?'' Yuu floated in front of me.

''Yuu. . .'' I spoke calmly, as I began to walk, Ai and Snow taking a seat on top of my hood.

''Yes?''

''Why is your outfit dirty?'' I fought to not get angry.

''I-I. . .I uh. . .kinda...rolled around in the dirt.. .'' Yuu poked her fingers together, looking away from me. She knew she was in trouble.

''And why did you that, young lady?'' I grit my teeth, upset at the lack of manners Yuu seems to hold. Even Snow and Ai are more well-behaved than her. I swear, this girl will use any excuse to get dirty, calling it a 'fun experience', to where I call it a excuse for her to get me involved in her little shenanigans.

''I thought I raised the three of you guys better than this, but you just seem to test my patience, little lady. And why is that?''

''But, sir!~'' Yuu gushed, barely containing her excitement. ''It's so fun!''

Ignoring her excuse, we set out to continue looking for Rin. She had to be close, so I-

''Ja-Ja!~'' a voice managed to them through the basement, though faint.

''That sounds like Ms. Rin!'' Ai said, surprised.

Before her voice stopped yelling, I sped down the hall, pushing past my limits and burning lactic acid in my legs as I sped down the hallway, then up the stairs and past tables. Then up a flight of stairs before I pushed through a pair of double doors and ended up on the roof, the sun shining in my eyes, blinding me as I tripped over the last step and landed on the ground with a thud.

Craning my head ever so slightly, the reinforced gates around the school did bring a sense of relief upon me as whoever was up here with Rin would have a hard time escaping when the gates are laden with sharp crosswires at the top. I saw Rin squared up into a ready stance with her signature weapons; a Desert Eagle pistol with different types of elemental bullets called King and her Ringed Broadsword called Slayer. A few cuts littered her hoodie and cargo pants, thin red lines of blood seeping into her clothing as she lightly panted.

But who she was currently fighting against had me questioning myself.

It was a girl with darkish blue hair, wearing a white collared shirt, a long blue skirt and brown shoes. But her face. . .was really. . .fucked up. I mean, the girl is caked in so much blood that she look like she just came out the womb and had her face massacred by Leatherface. A wicked smile on her face, the fear in Rin's eyes being reflected into the girl's. But from what I saw, she was about four feet tall.



''Hee, hee, hee,~'' the girl laughed, licking the blood from her fingers. ''Well, I see that you are stubborn,'' she uncovered a knife with wicked serrations, resembling chainsaw and spike protrusions. ''Why won't you die?~"

''Yes, well. . .I have. . .been known. . .to be that way. . .'' Rin huffed.

They had yet to notice me, so I slowly crept behind a flower garden and slowly crept behind the mystery girl, holding up to the quiet symbol to Rin, Ai, Yuu, and Snow as I got within reach. I readied a haymaker that would knock her ass out. I cocked back my fist and swung forward, aiming tried and true. I could practically see the imagine the look of pain in her eyes as I clocked her in the head, making her stumble before turning to face me. 

''Heeeyyy, why you'd do that?'' she asked, pouting. ''I was having so much fun with my new friend here!''

''Sorry, but I can't allow that!'' I rushed forward again, my initial assault seemingly doing nothing as she maneuvered through my punches, palm strikes and kicks with the grace of a person with practically no bones. Even when I spit in her face and decked her across the face with a elbow strike, did it not faze her. And damn, are her bones hard as hell.

I felt like I was hitting pure concrete. She was enjoying this by the second, but I was certain that this was going to follow a trend, but the bitch headbutted me, cracking my nose as blood ran down my face, the adrenaline numbing the pain slightly.

Laying on my rump, I spied something around her neck past the blood. A purple metal choker with the engravement. . .

“Last. . .Order,” I narrowed my eyes as the girl suddenly was in front of me, faces touching as we pressed foreheads. I flinched.

“Do you want to be friends?~”
> Fight Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was faced with a weird girl.

No, scratch that; a Crazy Bitch. That much I knew.

‘’Hey, New Friend, are you okay?’’ the Crazy Bitch asked, frowning, blood pooling from her mouth as she did so. ‘’What’s your name?’’

Pushing her off of me was difficult, seeing as she latched onto my neck, waving her massive knife around like a piece of paper. She chuckled like a manic, finding her way on my back and rubbing faces together.

I tensed immediately.

''Ja-Ja! Are you-?''

''Fine, just get her!'' I groaned, sneezing out blood. The second I finished, Crazy Bitch leaped from off of me, sending me on the floor as I groaned. Rin zoomed by, slashing the air with Slayer and shooting off bullets with King, yet CB managed to dodge all of them, all the while laughing.

"Sir, are you okay?" Ai asked, tapping into her Magical Circuits, the circuit lines around her entire body glowing all colors of the rainbow as she healed my broken nose.

"Yes," I winced, my injury readjusting itself. "You guys should hang back."

"Are you sure, sir?" Yuu asked, frowning. "We can help."

"Snow?" Snow chirped.

"Yes, I won't risk that," I decided, not wanting to jeopardize their safety. As shouting, shooting, and grunting of Rin fighting the 'crazy bitch', as I am calling her filled my ears, I held up my left arm and uncovered my sleeve, a small, thin black platform with engravings of two lines at the top and bottom. Along the sides the Roman numerals 1-12 engraved, with a dark green mechanical mesh glove with the stitching of a Dragon cradled around a heart with a sword in its mouth. It was held onto my arm by straps with engravings of Ai's, Yuu's, and Snow's name in Hiragana that glowed a dim blue.

"In you go," I pointed to the Life Drive, the conduit that serves as a resting place for Fairies and Wisps alike. It not only houses them, but repairs their fatigue and heals them whenever they run of energy in their Magic Circuits.

"Ai, but sir, we can help, we-"

Ai was cut off by a fwoosh that she was sucked into the Drive, Yuu and Snow following. The Drive whirred and hummed to life, all three of the symbol color turning white.

Panting a sigh of relief that they were safe, I focused on the fight ahead and Rin was holding her own, though Crazy Bitch was having a blast playing with her, inflicting shallow cuts on her body. I growled and walked forward, then jogged, then blasted forward on my feet, leaping over Crazy Bitch, surprising her and landing on Rin's side.

"Are you alright?" I asked, holding CB at bay with my foot, leaving her to swipe the air with her knife.

"Yes." Rin huffed, wincing. "Little munchkin certainly knows where to-Ouch!. . .strike."

I frowned, hearing CB whine. "Well, if you can do the pleasure of sending her down the staircase?" my leg remained firm as CB cried 'why can't I kill you?!~'

"Gladly," Rin cracked her knuckles, cocking a fist. ''Fly!'' Rin threw a wild uppercut with explosiveness, sending Crazy spinning on her feet before Rin grappled her, launching her over her shoulder tumbling down the staircase as she shouted and groaned when hitting the bottom. Rushing down the stairs, a look of rage was upon Rin's face as she followed close behind, muttering something along the lines of 'gutting the midget.'

This was not good, Rin was getting angry, and you would not like her when she is angry.

Before I could have a chance to offer her comforting and soothing advice that would get her to calm down, Rin instead beat me to the punch by leaping down the stairs and rolling with the momentum as she stopped in front of Crazy.

''Rin, think about what're you're doing here,'' I warned her, making her give me a 'dafuq' look before I could continue. ''She's not worth killing.''

''But. . .she. . .just. . .is a fucking bitch!'' Rin argued. ''She's just so annoying!'' Rin grabbed Crazy's shirt, forcing her dulled over eyes to look at Rin's. ''And you know I hate annoying people!''

''O-O. . .oh,~'' Crazy moaned. ''W-Wha, what. . .happened?''

''Wrong question, you should be asking; 'why did I agitate the wrong people?' That,-'' Rin growled in Crazy's face. ''-that is the correct question you should be asking.''

Trying my best not to interfere with a semi-pissed off Rin, I thought about the situation.

Fucking hell. It would be hard to recover from this. Damn, this whole operation was compromised. We came in somewhat blind, and have more questions than answers. This would to wait for another day, and if I didn’t know any better, I would say that I fell into ‘their’ trap from the start.

''Rin, we have to go, now!'' I said, panicked.

''What?! Are you serious, there's no way falling back is an option for-''

A high pitched screech cut off Rin's ranting, the very sound itself causing the building to vibrate and both of us to fall to our knees. The vibrations rippled throughout my entire body, causing my ears and eyes to go vibrate. Bringing myself to look up, it was Crazy Bitch suddenly on her feet, yelling at the top of her lungs. Finding the strength to stand up, albeit halfway, I took a knee while Rin effortlessly stood up, preparing to charge again when Crazy suddenly charged forward at us, laughing manically.

''Watch out!'' Rin tried to warn, but fell on deaf ears as little miss Bitch decked me in the stomach, sending spit out my mouth and twisting my gut as I was sent flying off my feet and into the nearest wall, the pain feeling like my entire spine was broken into a million pieces. Groaning in pain, little black dots began to fill my vision. The Life Drive began to pulse red, beeping loudly, alerting me that, against my better wishes, Ai, Yuu, and Snow were trying to come out and help. My body ached and shook with the power of a jackhammer.

I could faintly make out yelling and shouting from Crazy Bitch and Rin, hoping that she was winning until a particularity loud wham and shout of pain echoed throughout the cafeteria.

''Ooof!'' Rin grunted, slamming into my stomach, causing me to instantly dry heave until I puked on the floor.

''E-Eww.~'' I winced.

''Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!'' Crazy screamed, running at us, unbridled rage and all. Trying my best to move us out the way, Crazy leaped in the air, launching her fist forward. Before it could connect, a bright white light filled my vision, blinding, cold, and frightening.

I yelped at the top of my lungs, but no sound came out no matter what I did. The last thing I could possibly remember from that moment was the intense feeling of detachment from myself.

. . .Like I was alone. . .





Location: Unknown.





A hot, yet cool breeze filled air was present. The ground felt rough, and pointy. My throat practically felt like sandpaper, and my body refused to move right away. Leaning up, my eyes were once again assaulted by the sun, causing me to wince. Down with her head in my lap, Rin must have been knocked out from. . .whatever the hell happened to us. From a quick once-over, most of her cuts stopped bleeding, but in time they could get infected. My own body was free from any cuts or bruises, but everything ached from Crazy Bitch, especially when she headbutted me. Wait. . .this. . .isn't Central. We were. . .outside. In some type of jungle. A pathway constructed of stone dimly shone upon uprooted or broken stones as the sun illuminated a pathway through the trees on either side. All around us looked to be remnants of some sort of ancient civilization with weathered and aged statues.



''Ooooh, no. Where in the hell are we?'' I asked out loud, looking around to see and hear birds chirping, little insects scurrying about and a peaceful air about doing little to calm me. I heard some shuffling in the nearby bushes and immediately stiffened. I then heard a voice, but it wasn't mine, and Rin was asleep. A figure trailed past the bushes, hopping out and proclaiming;

''Show yourself, Ahuizotl! You can't run forever! I know you have the-what the?''

''The hell?'' I asked, confused. What I was staring at. . .seemed so strange. It. . .was a horse, dressed like an explorer, but even past the fact that it talked, which had me questioning myself for the second time today, I could tell it was angry.



''Who are you?'' it asked.

And my day just took a turn for the worst, or in this case; the weird.
> Imagine Breaker
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words. 

 Philip K. Dick.




Location: unknown.




My day just went from trying to stop my tyrant sister from enslaving the place we called home, to being in a jungle with one angry horse.

I hope I'm not being duped.

My body throbbed with every movement, even the slightest of things, such as blinking hurt. I was in what looked to the ruins of a forest with my childhood friend, Rin Akame. How did we go from fighting a Yandere bitch who obviously has emotional problems, to being punched with such speed and force that it somehow...transported us to another place, apparently where horses talk?

Ugh, my brain is doing donuts right now, I'm that confused. But back to assessing the elephant in the room, or horse in the middle of a jungle ready to blow a gasket before anything else fucked up occurs. She still looked at me with fury in her eyes, yet her body language did not immediately inform me that she was ready to stomp us out if we had so much as breathed wrong. And who the hell was Ahuizotl?

''I'll say it again,-'' the horse spoke, albeit with a noticeable lisp in her voice, but from the voice I could tell it was female.. ''-who and what are you?''

Her speaking roused Rin out of her sleep as she slowly came to, viewing her surroundings before laying her eyes on our guest.

''What the hell is that?'' Rin asked, her voice as hoarse as mine. (pun intended.) ''Is that a hor-''

''Answer the question before I shoot you!" the horse demanded, drawing a small crossbow from her back and aiming it at us. ''What. Are. You?''

''We come in peace, wherever this is, first off,'' I said, slowly raising my hands to show that I was unarmed, making her flinch like a addict.

''Whoa, whoa. Calm down. . .I'm just showing you I have no weapons, neither does my friend here, right Rin?'' I nudged her, hoping she would get the hint.

''Mh-hmm. . .'' Rin understood and did the same as me, gazing at me out the corner of her eye as she growled a tad. ''We're not carrying.''

''G-Good!'' the horse exclaimed happily. ''Now, answer my question.''

''As you wish, we-'' I gestured to myself and Rin. ''-are what you would call, even though you probably wouldn't know; Humans.''

''And w-what species is that?'' the horse had a quiver in her voice.

''The best example we can give you is that our closest living relative. . .is the Chimpanzee,'' Rin said, her eyes boring a hole into the horse's.

''Whoa!'' the horse panicked and ducked behind some fallen stones. ''S-Stay away, I know how strong you guys are, you rip off pony limbs like they're butter, d-don't make me-''

''Easy there, easy there.'' I said, trying to calm her down as me and Rin got up on our feet. ''I'm sure that is a action you would not want to occur, shooting us, I mean,'' I said, making her eyes widen. ''Not that we want to or will hurt you. We're just as confused as you are, but we should be adults about this and talk things out. For instance, we never introduced ourselves. Why don't you start?'' I smiled, making the horse's eyes dilate.

''And why should I do t-that? I'm the one with the crossbow, so I-Aaaah!'' the horse yelped, her crossbow being levitated from her hooves and floating towards me. She must have had an idea of what was happening because she grit her teeth and chased after it, tripping over a uprooted stone and landing on her face. Looking up to face me, I held the weapon in one hand, the silver arrow poised right on her forehead, right underneath her hat as her eyes widened. At the same time, the Life Drive's color interface showed that Yuu's and Snow's pocket storage indicators were white, telling me that they were sealed, but Ai's was green.

''Because I have it now,'' I said, grinning. ''Thanks for the last-minute assist, Ai,'' I rubbed her head, making her blush and gush.

''Ai! You are welcome. sir!~ Anything to protect you!'' Ai giggled, her eyes glowing green, her telekinesis holding the frantic girl in place.

''Don't hurt me!'' the horse begged. ''Please, I was scared and didn't know what to-''

''Stop talking, little one,'' I sternly demanded, crossing my arms, wincing when I touched my stomach, the pain flaring up courtesy of Crazy Bitch socking me there and making me throw up. ''We told you, we don't want to hurt you. It's bad enough we don't know where we are or how or why we got here, but the least you can do is communicate with us, first thing of that being that you should understand that we won't hurt you. Second is that you should at least tell us your name so we discuss this and do this as adults.''

''O-Okay,'' the horse said, nervous. ''My name is Daring Do.''

''Good,'' I said. ''This is my friend, Rin. And I am Jamir. And this is Ai,'' I pointed to Ai somewhat mean-mugging Daring. ''Now, do you mind telling us where exactly we are, Ms. Do?''

''Oh. That's easy,'' Daring said, regaining some confidence as Ai disabled her hold on Daring. I helped her to her feet, lowering the crossbow so that the arrow faced the ground. ''You're in the Avernus Jungle, one of the oldest and most dangerous jungles in Equestria, home to the ancient and earliest descendants to modern day ponies, The Kwail-Lu,'' Daring said confidently, but frowned when we had blank looks on our faces. ''What, you've never heard of that before?''

''Does it look like we're from around here? I mean, look at us,'' I gestured to me and Rin. ''Does it look like we got the brochure when we checked in?''

''Okay, okay. Sarcasm aside, I guess I know now that you're probably not from anywhere around here,'' Daring huffed, sitting on the ground.

''Yea...'' Rin said. ''We had Hoverbikes where we came from,'' her voice was mostly quiet, meaning that she went for her classic 'Bait and Tackle' maneuver, where she would use her powers of manipulation to lure Daring into a false sense of security. It almost always works with anybody else if ever we want to catch someone off-guard, but I'm not so sure we'll need it, I mean, she is just one...well her, and there's five of us, not a good match up if you ask me.

''Wait, what?'' Daring asked. ''What's a 'Hoverbike'?''

''Tell you about it later.'' I dismissed the thought, waving my hand back and forth. ''And what do you mean by dangerous?'' 

''Well, most ponies who come in here don't leave. At all. According to the lore of the jungle, if you come in, the only way you could ever leave is by floating out of here as a spirit!'' Daring said, adding some flair to her voice.

''Ai.'' Ai puffed her cheeks out, mad. ''. . .So then why are you here, then?''

''Because it's lore, nopony today really believes that, especially not me, I'm an explorer extraordinaire! Danger is part of my life,'' Daring clutched her hat in passion. ''It's be a crime to myself to not be a explorer.''

''So, you basically pillage old, cliched temples, ruins, and camps for treasure, narrowly avoiding death and serious injury, while at the same time using extremely 'convoluted and over complicated when it can be simple to escape' methods just to have the thrill and knowledge only a select few could do what you do, only to fail?'' I summed up every Indiana Jones movie ever. 

Sorry Indy, but being chased by a giant stone sphere is not all that appealing for a move or a realistic escape from the The Temple of Doom.

But, I still give him props.

''Basically,'' Daring smirked. ''It's a hard job, but-''

''Bullshit.'' I called, Daring whinnying. ''Not to you, just the things you do. Nowadays, where I come from, treasure hunting isn't as black and white as some of the movies I've watched portrayed it. Something truly hard is being tortured for 10 days on end, being subjected to starvation, hallucinations, severe allergic reactions, being attacked by rabid wolves, or being beat to the point where you can't remember basic facts about yourself. Now that. That...is hard,'' I crushed her hopes of thinking what she does is any more dangerous or horrible than what I went through, it just wasn't as immediate or lasting. ''And I happen to know somebody who is inhumane enough to do so without a second thought,'' I slowly exhaled, balling my hand into a tight fist.

''W-Whoa.'' Daring said, shocked. ''That's a tall order to fill there,'' Daring gulped, rubbing the back of her neck with her forehoof.

''Ai! It is!'' Ai defended me, pointing at Daring. ''So please refrain from mentioning how hard something is to my Master when it pertains to false hardships or complaining.''

''N-Noted.'' Daring chuckled nervously. ''So, why isn't is uhh. . .Rin. Yea, why isn't. . .Rin really talking?'' Daring observed Rin panting lightly.

''Ai! Not really any of your business, Ma'am,'' Ai huffed. 

''So, do you think you mind telling me where we could have some place to help tend to our injuries?'' I asked, propping Rin up on my shoulder as Ai levitated our duffle bags in the air. ''I can imagine it's not wise to do so in a such a enclosed, unfamiliar place.

''Yea, there's a small village a few miles North I can take you to, but I'm not so sure you'll be welcomed,'' Daring took her crossbow off the ground, strapping it to her back.

''Let my Master be the judge of that, please!'' Ai landed on my head, folding her tiny arms in disbelief. 

''Fine,'' Daring huffed, glaring at me and Rin. ''Let's get this show on the road, I guess. . .by the way, I'm sorry for what I did earlier. I panicked when I saw you, I thought you were-''

''Ahuizotl?'' I remembered the name she mentioned as she nodded. ''By the way, who is that? A friend of yours?''

''He is anything but a friend to me,'' Daring growled.

''Okay, I can tell that's a sensitive topic, so I'll leave it alone. And you have no need to apologize, Daring. Me, Rin, Ai, Yuu, or Snow would have done the exact same thing, having being put in your position. I'm just glad you heard us out, I wouldn't want Rin to break every bone in your body,'' I mentioned nonchalantly with a wave of my hand, making Daring flinch and zip up in the air. 

''Wait, what?!'' Daring shrieked at the top of her lungs

''I'm being serious, Rin could have easily broken every bone in your body like a twig, no joke,'' I moved forward with Rin, hearing small snoring sounds, letting me know that she was asleep. 

''H-How do you know that, I'm a Pegasus, I could easily fly away before she had the chance!'' Daring countered.

''Not effective in that regard, either,'' I clicked my tongue.  ''Ai could easily hold you in her levitation field with both eyes closed and she wouldn't need to focus.''

''Well, I could-''

''Ai! Also not effective!'' Ai smiled with her eyes closed. ''For one, Ms. Rin has been reported to be so strong that she once took on 10 full-grown Gorillas and snapped all of their necks when they took her sweets, which she holds a great love for, even when she was a child. They taunted her afterwards, which led to their swift and possibly painless deaths. Furthermore, she has been repeatedly documented to have 10 times the strength of 10 of those Gorillas and is already 1,000 times stronger than the average human and 10 times of that of a professional body builder, making it so that she could easily break one of your limbs as if it was in fact, a twig,'' Ai explained, making Daring shudder.

''W-Well, I said I was sorry, so that makes us friends then, right? I mean, I'm just one pony, what could I hope to do against a-any of you?''

''Ai! It makes us acquaintances! My Master always tells me and my sister that nobody is really your friend until they start sharing more about themselves, so to me; you are still a stranger. And you could do practically nothing, should you have chosen the route to fight!'' Ai said,  sending Daring's hope for regaining pride down the drain.

''So, where is this little village of yours, exactly? I would want to get there before night catches us. Plus, I would really feel more comfortable treating Rin's injuries somewhere I can have cover,'' I trekked forward, still finding it a tad funny how Rin is so light. She weighs about the same as a small dog, like a Corgi. Which is something I tease her about every chance I get.

''Sure, it's this way, but we may have a problem getting you there,'' Daring turned around, preparing to walk.

''Why?''

''There's a kinda of...well...how can I put this? A giant chasm in the way, almost spanning about 100 feet across. The most common ways to get past are by flying or swinging on vines.''

''That's it?'' I asked, raising a eyebrow. ''You do realize that, since we're related pretty closely to the Chimpanzees, climbing trees and swinging across vines should not be too hard, especially for me and Rin. But isn't there a quicker way?''

''If you say so, but I've found it hard at times,'' Daring shrugged. ''But there is one way that we can get there in half an hour, but we're going to have to use The Marshlands.''

''The what?'' Ai asked.

''The Marshlands; a huge bog filled with all kinds of creatures, poisonous plants, and who knows what else. It'll get us there in about 10 minutes if we hustle, but it's seldom used because most think that it's a bottomless pit,'' Daring wiped some dust off her hat. ''Once we head in, we can't go back, okay?''

''Roger that,'' I nodded. Following Daring's pace, I still was very cautious of where exactly we were and found some assurance that our guide at least heard us out before shooting me with an arrow just making Rin all the more angry. I was angry, tired, hurting, lost, confused and only had one thought; 'Get home.' So as we set out past the treeline, clouds slowly gathering overhead, preparing to rain down on us, we came to a clearing with a few more ruins that showed a most beautiful sight ahead.




''Through there-'' Daring pointed to the entrance to the ruins. ''-is what'll get us into The Marshlands. You ready to get this underway?''

''Yea, but before that; I have to ask, what exactly where you hoping to find here?''

''A new treasure, and this is supposedly the biggest one that could top all the others I've found. While the risk is huge, the reward is even sweeter. Some say it even has mystic powers of the Kwail-Lu. I would ask you to join me, but seeing as we got off on the wrong foot, that may not be a real option in the future anytime soon,'' Daring rubbed her neck.

''Wait, mystical powers, you say?'' Ai asked, thinking. Then she smiled after a moment. ''Master, perhaps she can help us find a way back home!''

''Home? Where's that for you?'' Daring turned her head to look at us.

''Somewhere you don't you know.'' I shook my head, sighing.

A different planet called Earth, my darling. Not that she would know that. But Ai is right...if this so called 'treasure' has powers, it could help us get back to Detroit. It's bad enough we left the town in virtually the care of nobody to at least try and stop Junko's plans of assaulting Central, but she might have already succeeded. Shit, I'd rather feel more comfortable with Rin there, at least she could be a big help back home. Just...up and left, gone! And by none other than Crazy Bitch!

''And what is this treasure exactly?'' I brought up a good point, wanting to check her facts on the matter. For all I know, she could just be luring us into a trap to get us to let our guard down, and BAM! She puts arrows in both of our backs. 

''It's the fabled, legendary item of a infamous tyrant, Maria Black. You see, She had a mystic item given to her by a lesser Dragon Lady before she became evil and almost caused the destruction of Equestria. Raza-Tak-Taurus, a fierce General in The Great Dragon War against the Zebras and Equestria. She gave Maria the Alicorn Amulet after Starswirl The Bearded warned her that it would corrupt Maria. But Raza didn't listen, She was one of the few who saw potential in Maria to use her magic for good, even after she turned evil. I was hired by Starswirl's late great niece, Graceful Wind, to get back what her great-grandfather set out to destroy. ''

''Raza-Tak-Taurus?'' I tilted my head.

''She-'' Daring said, pausing before continuing. ''was the one alongside, a Earth Pony Royal Guard-turned blacksmith known as Iron Hammer who were key assets that helped to stop the war. But the Alicorn Amulet is very dangerous. It corrupts, degrades and causes whoever uses it to go into crazy, destructive rampages that nobody has never come back from. But the power is beyond what something like the Princesses can do. I'm sorry, but that may be the only known way to pull off something like trans-dimensional teleportation easily.''

''Ai! And you know this how?'' Ai asked from uptop my head. ''Aren't you an explorer, Ma'am?''

''Yes, Ai,'' Daring commented as we proceeded in, moving past old cobwebs and the roots of trees. Inhaling some of the stale dust, I started coughing and had no time to see where I was going when I got a face full of some type of viscous, pale green, smelly fluid, Ai whining in discomfort with me. ''But even somepony like me wants to kinda explore outside our respective field from time to time. Mythology and Magic study just happened to be a few of the things that I find as interesting as vital for an explorer.''

''Ewww.~ What the hell. . .is this?'' I asked, dry heaving when I smelled it, the scent reminding me of moldy cheese and chitterlings.

''Oh, that is what you would call some of the building material that held together this old temple. It got the job done, but if it's in this form instead of solid, then it must really speak of how long it's been since the temple was constructed and how much longer it has until it collapses.''

''Oh, that is certainly comforting,'' I groaned. ''But, in response to your other comment, if that is the only way for us to get home, then I will have to take the chance if it means we can get back home and use that amulet.''

''And I'm telling you, that is something you do not want to do,'' Daring argued back, frowning. ''The last pony who used The Alicorn Amulet after Maria had it taken away from her by Starswirl was found in an alley, found skinned of all her fur, her mane and tail gone and shivering. But the worst thing was that she was. . .'' Daring looked forlorn to continue on.

''Was what?'' I wondered, seeing Daring almost lose her lunch at the thought of whatever she was going to say as we traversed the runs.

''She...was literally turned inside out, begging to be killed,'' Daring took her hat off as a sign of respect. ''Nopony should have to die that way. I may have just met you guys, but I'm telling you this as a 'friend'; you don't need to be going after the Alicorn Amulet. Trust me when I say that it cannot be the only way to get you back to wherever your home is. Unlike you, I've seen what it does to ponies, and I would rather swallow an entire salt shaker then even think about using that damn amulet. If you promise to help me find and return the Alicorn Amulet, I will promise to do everything in my power to send you back home, but we cannot go with the route of using the Alicorn Amulet because it's too dangerous. What do you say?'' Daring asked as we came into yet another clearing, but the feeling in the air was...depressing. I mean that in the most honest way possible.

Everything about it just screamed depression. The sky turned a paleish blue as dim lights from the small hovels lit the way. Crude bridges surrounded huge cypress trees that grew out of the ground. The entire atmosphere was unwelcoming, but I was was not any less comfortable if it was the opposite setting.



''Welcome to The Marshlands, Jamir,'' Daring told me, sweeping a hoof in front of the landscape in front of us. ''I just hope you're ready for this.''

''Ready...for what, exactly?'' I asked.

''Not even I can tell you that, but what I can tell you is that even though I just met you and your friends, I hope that this can be a fun adventure for the both of us, granted we don't die from going in The Marshlands,'' Daring re-adjusted her gear.

''Same here, but we can save the bonding and details when I'm certain Rin's been taken care of,'' I said, trudging forward, Ai and Daring right on my heels. Wherever in the hell we are, I can do nothing more than hope that the inhabitants are friendly enough to not 'shoot first, gasp and ask questions' later.



> Bravery In The Face Of Fear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. 

 Sun Tzu.




Avernus Marshlands.




Trudging through a supposed 'bottomless pit' marsh that is also rumored to have creatures of any ilk certainly was something I wanted to do on a Monday.

Said no teenager ever.

It felt like I was walking through a giant vat of jelly, The Marshland waters smearing against my black cargo pants and sticking there as me, Daring and Ai ventured forth, with Rin on my back, most likely tired from her fight with Crazy Bitch back when we were at Central. I've told her one time, I've told her a hundred; she needs to control her anger or she'll burn herself out when I'll really need her in a fight. And thanks to her injuries, she may just be out of commission for a while, leaving me to pick up her slack. Internally grimacing and groaning, I slowly moved forward, checking the canopies of the large Cyprus trees as we passed them by, Ai's emotions being sent out spasmodically through her behavior.

''Ai...Master, I don't like it here,'' Ai whined, tears filling her eyes as she cried. And that's another thing I didn't take into account; Ai's personal fear of dark places. Even I felt a twinge of remembrance of being locked in that boiler room with the temperature cranked up to the max. 

''It's okay, Ai. You can go back inside and rest,-'' I gestured to the Life Drive. ''-I'll take care of the duffle bags. You've done good, Ai, now please...get some rest.''

''Thank you, Master,'' Ai pecked my cheek and hugged my face before she slowly dissolved into particles, being sent back into her containment slot, the indicator turning white. Before I forgot, I caught the two duffle bags in my right hand, my left supporting Rin's body by holding her rear on my forearm.

''Huh,'' Daring looked interested as she floated right above the swamp muck. ''She certainly is the quite the...-''

''Fairy.'' I filled in the blank.

''-To help you as much as she did,'' Daring smirked. ''But who are the other names you mentioned? Snow and Yuu?''

''My other friends, I would bring them out, but the obvious negativity in the air would be bad for their morale,'' I huffed.

''I guess I could see how that would put a damper on their mood,'' Daring shrugged.

''So, since we have the time; who's exactly are in this little village of yours?'' I inquired.

''Just some of my crew that I brought here on my airship. It'll just be the the six of us there,'' Daring moved some loose branches out of the way and hopped over some trees.

''So, there's three other ponies that you brought here with you. And you have a crew?''

''Yea, I mostly do the 'dangerous, death-defying' stunts, but they mostly are my back-up should I ever need it. You see, we came into the Avernus Jungle about 3 weeks ago, and after being in disgusting and inhospitable conditions, we found out where the Alicorn Amulet may be in a hidden temple, but it may be hard to get there,'' Daring explained to me as she observed the skies.

''And how is that a problem?''

''It's protected by a magical barrier that not even the most intellectual of Unicorns can break. We've tried our own hooves at it, but mostly, we've come up with nothing. Before we can even get inside the temple, we need to break that barrier.''

''So what did you have in mind?'' I asked.

''Maybe your...Fairies can be just what we need to help us do just that, or we may just be stumped.'' Daring frowned. As we moved through, the muck got surprisingly easier to pass by, the once putrid smell slowly fading and muck coming off my clothes. After who knows how long, we finally made it past the bog and onto somewhat stable ground. We came out to a cliffside that held a great view of the Avernus Jungle of what we could see of it. The rain poured by down by the bucketfulls, dousing us in the stuff.

''Well, that wasn't so bad,'' I found...no real problem, besides the feeling of being in a giant butter churner. ''I thought you said there were be 'creatures of any kind' here. I guess you were wrong,'' I chuckled. Daring looked to say something, but narrowed her eyes.

''Yea, this seems...a little strange...-Watch out!'' Daring pushed me out of the way as a boulder whizzed past my head and slammed into the marsh behind us, displacing muck and splashing us with goop. Almost slipping and falling on my behind, the quiet was drowned out by a deep-throated growl that made trees shake and the ground rumble. The skies were blanketed in dark stormclouds that blocked out the sun. A huge figure loomed over us like an ant to a to a building. The entire body looked as hard as a tank, yet it...it...was...

''A Hydra!'' Daring yelled, drawing her crossbow. ''Jamir, we have to go now!'' Daring paled at the sight of the monstrosity growling at us with anger and the instinct to kill.



''Ah, crap!'' I yelled, running on down the cliffside, panicked. Hearing the Hydra roar sent a literal chill down my spine as Daring fired off arrows at the beast, doing nothing more than agitate it. My headache from Crazy Bitch began to make my head throb. I nearly slipped and made me and Rin almost fall to our death trying to avoid becoming the Hydra's next meal.

Or worse, the ground.

''Rin, Rin!'' I yelled past the rain splashing in my face. ''I could use you right now!'' I shook her body back and forth, still hearing the soft snoring. ''Wake up, please! I don't care if you're tired, we're going to be in trouble!'' I said, yelping when another rock came awful close to turning us into paste.

Wait! I got it! Jokes! Jokes should be enough to get Rin to wake up. She loves my jokes. I just hope that it works.

''Hey, Rin!'' I said, breathing heavily. ''How do you stop a lawyer from drowning?''

...

''Shoot him before he hits the water!'' 

No response.

''Fuck!'' I cursed. ''Okay, think...think...Oh! Now I got it!'' I realized. This would most definitely wake her up, but I would be getting a mouthful of of Rin when she finds out the truth. I frowned, trying to find the best way to word this without fucking this up.

''Daring, come on!'' I yelled, getting her attention. ''I got this under control!'' I yelled at the top of my lungs, my voice nearly drowned out by the rain picking up and thunder and lightning.

BOOM!...BOOM!...BOOM! 

''A-Are you sure?-Ooof!'' Daring yelled back, firing another arrow, losing her balance on the ground and falling on her stomach.

''Daring!'' I dropped the duffle bags and cursed myself. ''Hold on, I'm coming! Hey, Rin! Someone. Stole. Your. Sweets.''

Fwoooosh!

The second I finished that sentence, from out of nowhere, the winds picked up, sending rocks, mud and leaves in the air as I heard Rin growl with the same intensity of the Hyrda.

''You said what?!" Rin said, getting on her feet. ''Who?!''

''Uh, him,'' I pointed at the Hydra, roaring.

''He took my sweets?! What type?'' Rin's eyes pulsed blood red, rippling waves of tears ready to come out. 

''Um...chocolate cake?'' I hesitantly asked, making Rin's eye twitch. ''Double-layered chocolate cake?''

''Raaaaaaaaaaaaah!'' Rin yelled, her hair covering her face, though Rin winced, probably uncovering a wound that tried to heal.  ''I won't forgive you!~'' Rin crouched, launching off the side of the cliff and cocking a fist at the Hydra who roared in response and charged forward, crushing trees and shaking the ground. Rin soared like a bullet, launching her fist into one head, snapping it back at an unnatural angle, an audible crack resonating with the thunderclaps.

''Oh, buck.'' Daring whispered, her eyes reduced to pinpricks. ''She really is strong.''

''Daring, get over here!'' I demanded, making her fly over to me. ''Rin's got this under control.''

''Are you sure, a Hydra is nothing to take lightly!'' Daring commented as Rin was thrown back over to us, her back hitting the cliff wall. Spit flew out her mouth and blood ran down her face. Rin gasped, her eyes nearly popping out of her head as she landed on her hands and knees, almost coughing up a lung.

''Rin, are you okay?'' I asked.

''Y-Yea,'' Rin spit out blood and smiled, her teeth stained red. ''This little bugger certainly seems tough, but I'm stronger!'' Rin proclaimed, thumping her hand against her chest, the sound echoing. Okay, this was bad. Rin was showing signs of being tired and she would drop like a dead weight, at the worst possible time.

''Rin.'' I said. ''You need to use your Life Drive, you won't last much longer until you at least heal,'' I said, making Rin frown.

''But,-'' Rin groaned, holding her head. ''-You know that I hate bugging them for help.''

''Uh, who's 'them'?'' Daring asked, firing more arrows out of her crossbow. ''More help?''

''You rarely call on Hanabi and Takiko; they really would like it if you fought alongside them instead of ignoring them.'' I assured Rin, patting her shoulder.

''A-Are you sure that they won't be upset with me?''

''Fight first, feel sorry later!'' Daring commented, taking the skies and drawing the Hydra's attention.

''Fine,'' Rin exhaled. She then pulled back her sleeve which showed another Life Drive, but with the words, Fire, Light and Heal on it. ''Life Drive, activate! Hallowed Gates!'' Rin shouted, a commanding tone to her pained voice as all three of her symbols glowed green, the red aura around her body slowly weathering the cliff behind us. Red, yellow and black particles began to form before the collection of red particles zoomed forward, weaving in and out of the falling raindrops before it went charging at the Hydra.

Sknt!

''Raaaaaaaaawar!'' the Hydra roared, toppling to the ground when one of its front legs were cut off, spewing green blood out of its stump.

''What the?'' Daring questioned, looking back and forth between me and Rin.

''Hah! The One-eyed Fire Shogun, Hanabi, has arrived to deal swift justice to those who wishes harm upon my comrades!'' Hanabi proclaimed, with four swords on her person, everything about her just announced fighter in the most obvious way possible.



''Hey, Hanabi! Long time, no see,'' I uncovered my own Life Drive, ready to chip in.

''Hail, Challenger!'' Hanabi called me by my nickname. It's small quirk we have with each other, she wants to fight me, but I've always denied fighting for the fact that she would lecture me half to death about practically anything. Seriously, before even starting the fight, she would find a way to have an hour-long discussion about the simplest of things, like the different variations of battle we could have. She had the personality of a Greek, and lucky for her; I like the Greeks. ''Shall we commence sparring?'' Hanabi unsheathed her sword, pointing it at me.

''Not now, we have a bit of a problem!'' I pointed to the Hydra. ''Rin, could you handle that?

''Gotcha,'' Rin smirked. ''. . .Takiko!'' 

A brilliant yellow light materialized into a Fairy's shape before 5 giant arrows of pure energy zoomed forward, each one nailing each Hydra head in a explosion, sending the Hydra flying into a mountain as the whole ground shook.

''Success!'' Takiko cheered. ''I shot true and landed on target! Oh, hey there, Jamir!'' Takiko smirked at me, launching another barrage of arrows that kept the Hydra at bay as Rin got up close and personal providing a distraction. ''How have you been? It was so long since I last seen you.''



''Same here,'' I said, wiping some of the rain out of my eyes. ''Wait, where's-''

''Ko!~'' a tiny voice mewed, zooming towards the Hydra who still put up quite the fight biting the air where Taiko and Rin were taking turns being up and close with the Hydra, trading blows and launching arrows that further agitated it as I took my duffle bags and ran along the cliffside, narrowly avoiding small gaps in the way and slipping on wet mud, all while attempting to help turn the tide of battle then just standing back, doing nothing.

''So!'' Daring said, panting heavily as we ran. ''What's the plan?''

''You're asking me?'' I pointed to myself, skeptical. ''And how should I know what to do?''

''Well! You do seem to-Whoa!'' Daring almost tripped on her forehooves, but corrected herself. ''You've kinda been a makeshift leader so far in fighting the Hydra, so why not finish strong? Why not summon your Fairies to help out? A fully grown Hydra is quite the challenge to take down, and this one seems particularly mad!''

Great, now I'm the person people are going to for advice? Tell me a better  joke if I've ever heard one. I mean, really; how are we supposed to take this thing down? Hanabi cut off one of its front legs, and it's still coming back with a passion. Man, do I hate overthinking things, but in this case, I may not have a choice to even complain about it in the matter. Let's see, a plan that won't get us killed, a plan that won't get us killed...

I may have just found a way. It's crazy, but most of my plans are, but I'm willing to risk nobody but myself in this regard. 

...I just hope it'll work.

Taking refugee in a small cave alongside the cliffs, me and Daring huddled in.

''Stay here,'' I told her, making her eyes widen. ''I have a plan.''

''Wait, what? Why? I should be out there helping you fight!''

''It's not your place, Daring. I don't mean to insult your fighting spirit, but what it is you think you can do, you probably can't. At least not without us. So I'm telling you, to return the favor; hang back and let me handle this,'' I left no room to argue.

''But-''

''And just to make sure you're staying put, Life Drive; Heart of Valor!'' all three of the containment symbols glowed green, bringing forth Ai, Yuu, and Snow.

''Ai! Master! What variation of assistance do you require from us?'' Ai asked happily.

''Simple; Ai. Hold Daring here in your telekinesis,'' I demanded, making Daring narrow her eyes at me.

''Wai-''

''Ai! Master, it shall be done!'' Ai's eyes glowed green, stopping Daring in her tracks.

''Wait! Wait! I can help!'' Daring struggled and did her best to break away from her binds, to no avail.

''Yea,~'' I said sarcastically said, nodding my head. ''Not happening! Guys, I've got a plan, follow me!'' I ran forward, ignoring the cries of disagreement from Daring. I leaped off the cliff, my entire body soaked to the bone as I began to drop like a stone.

Call it crazy when I know I can't fly, but human nature tells me to do so anyway in spite of the fact that I may get seriously hurt.

''Guys, now!'' I announced, hoping that that they heard what I said, or else splat goes the human.

Like the world's most unappealing pancake.

''Roger that, Master!'' Ai announced, Yuu and Snow right beside her as they went back into the Life Drive, but the containment drives each showed the color of black for all three containment slots. Oh, good. Now I'm working with fire. A feeling of great happiness spread throughout my body, providing me with warmth and confidence. My fatigue and injuries faded, making me feel as light as a feather. The resolve in my heart grew only stronger as I looked up, staring at the Hydra still fighting with Takiko and Hanabi, but Rin was engulfed in a blue mist, being healed by her Wisp, Ko. I suddenly felt the rush of adrenaline pump in my veins and felt the real shock of things when I landed on the hard jungle floor, cracking the stones apart like butter, withstanding no damage to my body. I stared up at the colossal form of the Hydra and cracked a smile, when Ai appeared next to me, though her body was mostly made of mist, a byproduct of Fusion.

Quick info; Fusion is when Fairies and their Master can, temporarily fuse their powers together, the Fairy gaining more potential gene information to build new Magic Circuits, and the host gains access to their Magic Circuits, the duration and use of abilities dependent on how long and to what extent the Master and Fairy has bonded.

''Master, you have full access to all of our Magic Circuits and we are ready to assist in any way possible!~" Ai giggled, then looking to the Hydra. ''What course of action do you want to undertake?''

''Simple,'' I said, the edges of my eyes glowing pink and blue. ''The plan that Hercules used to kill the Hydra. Let's go!'' I yelled, jumping in the air, easily reaching up the height of the Hydra. Underneath my feet, small funnels of Ai's telekinesis field held me in the air as I stared ahead, ready to enact my plan. My blood boiled as I scanned the sky, ready for whatever may come.

''Hanabi, Takiko! Fall back! I got this!'' 

''Wait, what are you talking about?'' Taiko asked, laying down cover fire. ''You have a plan?''

''Challenger, do you mean to say that you can handle the situation yourself?'' Hanabi finished tangling with a Hydra head.

''No, but; I have a plan, but you need to do as I say. When I give the world, Hanabi, make a giant wall of fire, the biggest you can. Takiko, when that happens, fire all of the arrows you can through the fire, Got it?''

''Roger!'' the girls readied themselves. With that, I ran over to Rin, huddled over in a small corner of the cliffside, with Ko healing her.

''Hey, Ko,'' I called to the Wisp, meowing at me with the intention of saying hello.



''Ko!~" Ko licked my face, her tongue feeling like rough sandpaper.

Ugh.

''Guys, I got a plan,'' I said, Rin's eyes widening. Oh, wow, so much for trusting in your teammate.

''What kind of plan?'' 

''Remember how Hercules killed the Hydra?'' I asked, knowing that it would hopefully strike a chord of understanding between us. 

''Yea, it's hard not to forget; Hercules went into cave and had the heads...'' Rin looked to see Takiko and Hanabi in position. ''Ooooh, now I see what you're getting at. But, can it work with all this rain?''

''We can do nothing more than hope,'' I looked to see the Hydra launching one of its many heads at me, but we moved out of the way just in time as it crashed into the cliffside, sending boulders tumbling down and rocking the cliffside. Narrowly avoiding another head trying to chomp down on me, Rin took the liberty to clock the Hydra head in the jaw, sending it sprawling back in pain.

''So what do I do?'' Rin asked as we landed back on the cliffs. ''And where's Daring?''

''No time to worry about her, just know she's safe. In terms of what you could do, you can perform the most important job of them all; you need to lob off all five of its heads so Hanabi and Takiko can seal the wounds. If I'm right, and I hope I am; it should be dead after that.'' 

''That's it?'' Rin tilted her head. ''That's your plan?'' 

''Yea?'' I said and asked.

''Really?'' Rin remained unconvinced.

''Yea, I mean, come on!'' I defended myself. ''I worked really hard to think that up, and it wasn't easy...'' I mumbled, not even flinching when all five of the Hydra heads came at me, using Ai's telekinesis to hold it in place, albeit the look of calmness on my face was merely a farce as I fought to keep the damn thing still without losing my focus to remain in the air, hold the Hydra, and having my confidence shot with a high-powered rifle.

''I'm sorry, Jamir,'' Rin embraced me in a brief hug. ''I guess I've gotten so used to your plans being so crazy it would make The Joker look at you funny. So when a decent plan comes along like this one, you could probably understand my skepticism,'' Rin comforted, patting me on the back.

''Yea...'' I replied lifelessly, ready to go cry in a corner. Then I thrust my palm forward, pushing the Hydra back as it protested. ''Let's just get this over with,'' I took the liberty of summoning her duffle bag that I left with Daring that contained her weapons. ''I'll be the decoy...'' my voice held the same, boring monotone as I air-walked towards imminent danger, not caring what really happened.

''Eh? Jamir, I'm sorry; I should have held more faith in your plan.'' Rin frowned, trying to apologize.

''Uh-huh...'' I said, not really listening.

''I mean it! We all make mistakes, and I'm no exception.''

''Sure...'' I sighed.

''Is there any way I can make it up to you?''

. . .

''At all?'' Rin asked.

. . .

''You're dead to me. . ." I muttered, making Rin's eyes go completely white, a sign that she was was as confused as she was shell-shocked at my words. Sighing as the Hydra got back up again, ready for another round, Yuu appeared in front of me, frowning. 

''Sir, are you okay?'' Yuu worriedly said. ''Would some mud make you feel any better?''

''No, I'm. . .fine,'' I folded my arms, scrunching my face, showing my discomfort. ''But, I have my plan in place. So let's hope my knucklehead brain can make it work!'' I growled, ready to be the best distraction I could possibly be.

''Hey, ugly! Evolution called, they want your fucked-up scales back!'' I joked, formulating the best roast possible, causing the Hydra to look at me funny, then snarl as if it understood my insult.

Aw, great, now it's even more mad.

Seeing it charge at me, I just stood there ready to play chicken with a five-headed lizard that could use my bones as toothpicks, yet on the outside, I was calm, on the inside, I was internally panicking at the rate it limped towards me, and I seemed to be the main target it wanted to chomp down on.

3. . .

Why me?

2. . .

This guy's getting pretty close. . .and I'm not liking it.

1. . .

''Uh, R-Rin?!'' I shouted, my skin rippling. I was about ready to fall back when I covered my arms, ready to wait for whatever would come.

. . .Yet, nothing did.

''Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!'' Rin appeared just in time, launching off the cliffside as she soared and spun like an arrow, cleaving by the heads in one fell swoop like a bullet, causing the hard scales to crumble like mush, spewing a sea of green blood everywhere, the four other heads following in one fluid movement. The power behind her strikes caused the surrounding rain to spread against the cliffs. Each head slumped off and toppled into the trees lower below, causing parts of the cliff to chip and fall off.

''Hanabi, Takiko, now!" I announced, making the pair spring into action.

Hanabi unsheathed two of her swords, holding both in the air before a spark of flames ignited, engulfing all it could as the rain hit against it, hissing and causing steam to rise up in the air, a blazing wall of fire pulsing with colors as the Hydra's stumps began to bubble.

''Takiko!'' I called on the girl who was spacing out.

''R-Roger!'' Takiko responded, launching a barrage of arrows through the fire, being set ablaze as it soared with a purpose.

Fwiiiiiissssh!


Each Hydra stump shook and flailed erratically, Takiko's arrows embedding themselves to the bone as the Hydra staggered back and forth, eventually, buckling underneath its own weight and collapsing in the mess of toppled trees behind it as the ground rumbled one last time.

''W-We did it," Rin breathed, not believing the significance of what we just accomplished. ''W-We really did it. . ."

''Ai! Master!'' Ai gushed, cheering and flipping in the air like a kid in a a candy store. ''Good job, everyone!''

''Same here, sister!'' Yuu responded with the same energy. ''Sir, can I roll around in the mud now as a reward?''

''Snow! Snow!~'' Snow pantomimed us killing the Hydra, then meowing the loudest meow as a victory howl.

''Success, Challenger!"' Hanabi praised, bowing to me. ''I was confident in your abilities.''

''Good job, guys. I didn't think we were going to beat that thing, but we did,'' Takiko put a hand to her chest, exhaling a well-needed breath.

Fist-pumping to myself, we all began to calm down from staring certain death in the face and killing it, heading over to the cave where I left Daring. Even though I know she'll be mad at me, basically restraining and telling her that not that she would be a help to taking down the Hydra, just that she couldn't do much to help because I have more chemistry with my friends as opposed to her. I owe her one for not putting an arrow in both me and Rin's forehead, so I paid her back by saving her from killing herself and fucking up our chemistry, not to say she is inadequate.

Once my feet got settled on the still wet ground, all three of my containment slots glowed purple, indicating that Fusion ended as Ai, Yuu and Snow exited my body, regaining their physical forms.

''Well, now that the Hydra is dead,-'' I sighed, shaking my head. ''-perhaps we can get back to the matter of-''

''U-Um, Jamir?'' Rin asked, stuttering. ''C-Could I talk to you for a second?'' Rin shuffled back and forth, refusing to make eye contact with me.

''Sure, go ahead.'' 

''I just want to apologize for doubting you. I should have had more faith in your plans, crazy or otherwise,'' Rin muttered, blushing. ''I guess I should trust in you more, or else it could cost us one of these days. So. . .do you accept my apology?'' Rin flinched when I raised an eyebrow.

She. . .can't be serious, can she?

''If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me,'' I said, surprising Rin. ''I. . .was selfish. You were hurt and I nagged you to help with the Hydra when I should have done the right thing and handled the problem myself. I'm always asking things of you that must make you feel uncomfortable or even mad at me, and I'm sorry about that. I panicked and I took out my inability to really keep a calm head in situations such as this, and I need to work on that, but-''

''N-No!'' Rin interrupted me, waving her hands erratically. ''It's not that I mind helping you out when you need it, I actually enjoy it. You don't 'nag' me, Jamir; that's what friends are supposed to do for each other; help. I can understand that you didn't really know what to do, and I'm sure nobody here blames you for that. But when you think calling on your friends for is a bad thing, that makes me, our friends, sad,'' Rin frowned. ''Besides, me, Ai, Yuu, Snow, Hanabi, Takiko or even Ko wouldn't let you be eaten up by that Hydra just like that, it just won't happen. I don't want you to feel like you should hesitate, okay?''

Huh, guess it never dawned on me that. . . I was doing that. I always felt some tinge of regret whenever I asked Rin or my friends for help. I know that there are some things that you can't do alone, but who's to say you don't feel a little bad about using your friends for some things you could possibly do yourself. . .I do.

Great, now I've made myself seem like even more of a jackass than usual. Sigh.

''You're. . .half right in that regard. I understand where you're coming from, but I still feel a twinge of sadness when I have to call upon you, Ai, Yuu, or. . .anybody! It just feels. . .wrong to me. This feeling I have won't just die out that easy, but I can't guarantee that I will try to quell it either. It just is one of those things I have to get over with by myself.''

''No, you shall not, Challenger.'' Hanabi said. ''Comrades are not mere chess pieces on a board, nor mindless slaves to be bossed around. We are intelligent beings that can make our own decisions with thought and reason. We would never dream of becoming anything less than ourselves, so we embrace and find joy when a fellow comrade is need of assistance and are happy to help you with anything you may need, including this predicament you claim that can be rectified by only you.''

''Ai, Master! Please do not feel that way!'' Ai pouted, her eyes focused solely on me, her little body shaking as she looked ready to explode if I so much as I breathed wrong. ''A part of being our Master is asking for assistance when you need it and not feeling bad about doing so! We took a oath to be your most loyal helpers and never to listen to any of your silly ideas when you doubt yourself!''

''And who told you that, little miss?'' I asked sourly.

''You, sir!'' Yuu poked my nose with her mud-covered finger, giggling. ''You explicitly told us; 'No matter what I may say or do, never listen to any of my hair-brained schemes when I feel like I may be in a slump, no matter the topic or situation.' Those were your exact words!'' Yuu spun around, spraying me with mud before dropping down into the puddle of mud she already made, making a mud angel, giggling.

. . .Fuck! I gotta stop being so damn specific. I hate how Fairies have almost perfect memory.

Makes for the perfect witness in a crime.

''I still have trouble fully believing that, but we can discuss those things when we get to this village Daring was talking about. Speaking of which,-'' I rubbed the mud off my face. ''Ai, could you let Daring out of your telekinesis field? I have a pretty good feeling she saw us fight the Hydra and she won't be too happy about what I did, but hopefully she can understand.''



> Take A Chance, And Win!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



If you take no risks, you will suffer no defeats. But if you take no risks, you win no victories. 

-Richard M. Nixon.




The trek forward to Daring's little camp was certainly filled with. . .a longing, yet demanding awkwardness after the whole Hydra incident. Namely, her discomfort at me restraining her for her own safety, but even with all our combined efforts, Daring would have done something to get herself or one of us killed. It was a spur of the moment choice that, if given the chance to go back, I would do the exact same thing. As we walked on the ground, still wet from the rain, the faint smell of it raining afterwards made me cringe as me, Daring, Rin, Ai, Yuu, Snow and Rin's Fairies, Hanabi, Takiko and Ko climbed up a hill, observing a row of trees with auburn leaves lined up on either side of us.

''So how much longer do we have before we get there?'' I asked, picking a few loose strands of my black faux-hawk out, curious.

Daring looked at me, frowning, but still spoke as I waited.

''We're almost there, it's just past this row of trees,'' Daring huffed, adjusting her hat. ''Now, when we get there, let me do the talking. I don't need you guys scaring off my crew anymore than you and Rin did me when we first met.''

''Noted,'' Rin nodded. ''We're sorry about that.''

''Hmmm.'' Daring hummed back. ''Just. . .do me a favor and don't tell them I. . .kinda. . .um-''

''Got scared like a little girl at finding out we're related to Chimpanzees and that I am ten times stronger than 10 of them, and I could break every bone in your body like, literally, a twig?'' Rin flashed a toothy grin.

''. . .Um. . .Y-Yea,'' Daring blushed, pulling her hat over her head. ''And I said sorry. . .''

''So, where exactly are we?'' Takiko asked, laying on top of Rin's head.

''In the Avernus Jungle.'' Daring said, not looking back at us. ''One of the deadliest jungles in Equestria.''

''Oh, a jungle; how interesting. Nothing like a good dose of danger to get the veins of battle flowing,'' Hanabi commented, punching the air. ''Perhaps Challenger and myself may commence sparring once we settle into our base of operations.''

''Ko~!'' Ko mewed, licking my forehead along with Snow.

Laughing as I sighed a breath, I eyed our surroundings, attempting to get a visual feel of the land since we could very well be here for who knows how long, and I would hate to make our situation any worse based on the simple thing to do such as forgetting to remember possible landmarks.

Because getting lost is like a disease; nobody wants that.

The sun slowly came back into our lives, providing our wet clothes and bodies with warmth. The clouds lingered in some parts of the sky, providing shadows underneath. The air was warm and inviting, and the leaves rustled as they fell to the ground, engulfing us in a sense of peace.

Looking ahead, we slowly came into a small dip in the ground, leading to a covering that resembled the trees of the jungle, but made of cloth. Walking through, a feeling of a million little needles prodding me assaulted every part of my body, causing me and Rin to almost keel over and barf.

''W-What the h-hell?~" I asked, my brain buzzing. ''What th-''

''Oh, yea. Sorry, I forgot to mention that. It's a protection spell we set up for any intruders. That tingly feeling'll go away after a few minutes,'' Daring shook her head, fighting off a sense of dizziness.

''W-Well, that h-helps,~'' Rin groaned.

Proceeding through, we came upon a wooden bridge that connected in the distance to a few trees as wild vines with massive thorns chocked them. Going further in, we were suspended in the air by rope bridges as a mist flowed in the air, obstructing some of my vision. We must have been pretty far up since we steadily proceeded on an incline, then gradually rose up. Passing through one more dip, we came across. . .nothing.

''This is your camp?'' I asked, scratching my head. ''It. . .certainly brings the whole place together,'' I pursed my lips. ''The whole room.''

''That's just an illusion for any animal that wanders a little too far,'' Daring uncovered a green gem, roughly the size of a baseball and spit on it, causing the gem to hiss and crackle, creating a thin mist that somewhat blinded us as shapes in the background began to form until everything settled and the mist rose into the air, revealing something that was not already there. It was a village, like Daring said, but it was. . .different.




''Whoa.'' I said, awestruck. ''This is. . .amazing!''

''I agree,'' Hanabi looked around, ''It seems these guests of our companion certainly have a flare for 'sprucing up the place', as you say, Jamir.''

''Come on, this way,'' Daring instructed us as we moved forward, moving up to one the houses from a ramp, hearing the small chirps of birds and slow rushing of water from a waterfall. In the distance, I could have sworn I saw a freaking boat held up by a blimp balloon by rope. It was mostly brown, with traces of deep red around the edges. Beautiful craftsmanship was around the ship, though a few noticeable dents and scratches were present. The size was immense, easily being that of a building on its side. The balloon was dark blue, with the symbol of a a golden spyglass.

Rin reached into one of her cargo pockets, pulling out a mushed granola bar, unwrapping it and taking a bite. ''So who exactly are your friends?'' 

''My medic, Grass Song, my assistant navigator, Blank and her little sister and my signalpony, Echo Signal,'' Daring said as we stood right outside the entrance to a house particularly larger than the rest.

''This is the so-called commons for our base of operations, so just wait out here for a second while I break the news to them.''

''Ai! How long will that take?'' Ai asked, swinging from a loose vine like a swing, Yuu, Snow and Ko doing the same as her.

''A few minutes, I mean; you try explaining to your friends that you just came upon some type of new species that is not only intelligent, but looks completely different than what we're normally used to in the ways of calling anything normal. How do you think that'll work the first time around?" I raised a eyebrow, but soon realized what she attempted to get at.

''Okay, okay. You've made you point,'' Rin waved her hands, carefully stretching lest she would have risked tearing open another wound courtesy of Crazy Bitch and the Hydra. ''You have 5 minutes to let them know what's up before we, and by that, I mean Jamir just comes in and introduces himself.'' Rin said as Daring proceeded inside.

''Wait, what?'' I asked, looking dumbstruck. ''Why me?''

''Because. . .'' Rin looked away from me, frowning. ''You know I. . .hate meeting new people.'' Rin forced each word out, gripping her arm gently. ''You're better at talking, anyways. All I really do is punch and kick stuff,'' Rin argued.

''Lie.'' I plainly said, shocking Rin. ''You've been know to step up to the talking plate when it counts the most; like the time you convinced one of our old school teachers that we weren't the ones who pulled the fire alarm when it looked like it was me and you doing it, of which I still to this day cannot figure out how you did that. Anyways, my is point is this; you are a speaker, Rin. You just have a harder time. . .expressing your intentions without your social anxiety kicking in and causing you to freeze up. Don't worry, you'll be fine when you go in and talk first.''

''What?!~''




5 Minutes later...




''Ok, you can come in now, but just. . .be mindful that Echo Signal seems to be a bit scared of you and Rin,'' Daring told us. ''So I told them you wouldn't make any sudden movements and not intimidate them, okay?'' Daring asked us, then remembered something. ''I've done my best to describe. . .you and Jamir to the guys, and it seems like Blank actually wants. . .to meet you. Just. . .take it at their own pace, okay?''

''Gotcha.'' I said, uncovering my Life Drive, looking at Ai, Yuu and Snow. ''Guys, I feel you should. . .hang back for now. If what Daring says is true, then it would be wise to not have you all at out once.''

''Ai, Master!'' Ai saluted. ''We understand, and will do our best!'' Ai went back in the Life Drive, Yuu and Snow following.

''You guy should go in too,'' Rin followed my example, her Life Drive out. 

''Very well, it would not be wise to scare off potential allies. A small waiting period seems the best course of action. Until next time, Challenger,'' Hanabi said, smirking to me as her body dissolved into particles.

''Same here. I'll see you later, Jamir,'' Takiko said, fading out of sight and into the Life Drive.

''Ko!~" Ko mewed, giving my cheek an extra long lick, her tongue slowly disappearing as the feeling receded.

''Okay,'' Daring spoke quietly as the bridges creaked behind us. ''We're going in, don't make a fool of yourself, and by that; I mean me.''

Pushing open the door, the smell of lavender was in the air as we viewed crude furniture, mostly made of wood; consisting of a large couch that looked to be made of trees, vines and sap. A large table with four chairs were in the next room. The walls were painted a dark green and the floor. Following Daring through a few rooms with miscellaneous items, we came upon a room with no door. But after looking around, the door was on the ceiling. Seeing Daring fly up to reach for the handle, she stopped and looked to us.

''This is it,'' Daring said simply, pointing a hoof to me and Rin. ''You guys ready?''

''If we can handle meeting you, I'm pretty sure that meeting three more of you horses, then we can-''

''Equines.'' Daring interrupted Rin. ''We're Equines.''

''Okay.'' I said as Rin looked at me. ''Just roll with it.''

''Let's go,'' Daring said, pulling back the door, revealing a small ramp clanking as it unsheathed. Going up first, the feeling of meeting somebody new began to show in my body language as I darted my eyes back and forth, taking quick breaths and thinking about who I was getting ready to meet would look. I mean, they're Equines, that much I get. But, it's always a bit weird for me to meet new people, human, alien, or otherwise. When I got to the top, I was met with three faces, all of which had surprise showing.

What I did not expect was one of them to 'walk' up to me and act like I was one of their own.

Or to crash into me.

''Ooof!'' I wheezed, being thrown off my feet. ''What the-''

''Hi, there! I'm Grass Song, a Unicorn. But, you probably wouldn't know that from just looking at me. By the way, my favorite color is green, as you can see, my hobbies are healing, reading and being the happiest pony ever!'' Grass Song squealed, right in my face, grinning from ear to ear. ''What about you?''

. . .Huh? Is this girl. . .sane? Oh, why me?~ Tackling is not a good way to make friends!

''Whoa there, Grass Song; I know you're happy to meet our new. . .acquaintances, but you can't keep rushing ponies like that.'' Daring scolded, making Grass Song pout.

''Ugh!~ But why? It's more fun this way, especially with a friend!'' Grass Song rubbed her face up against mine. Her surprisingly soft. . .face. Never mind that, focus. ''Are we friends?''

''Hey, get off of him like that!'' Rin said, yanking Grass off of me. ''He probably wouldn't want that after what you just did!''

''Anyways,-'' Daring took off her hat and set it on a table. ''-Grass Song here is a little. . .over-friendly in terms of certain ponies, or in your case. . .-''

''People.'' I filled in the blank.

''And she is one of the most happy-go lucky ponies who has been known time and time again to keep all our spirits up, no matter what. Besides me, Blank and Echo, she's never shown this amount of affection to nopony else. So you should be counting yourself lucky,'' Daring laughed at my misfortune, clicking her tongue when I glared at her, which I interpreted as form of payback. 

How should I be lucky? I have a Equine who just tackled me out of nowhere, proclaiming that I'm a friend of hers when I only just learned her name. Again, why? I cannot catch a break, if only one. Fuck it, I might as entertain her idea of instant friendship. If only it'll make her stop grinning at me like that. . .it's creepy.

''S-Sure.'' I said, nodding. ''We're friends, I mean, if you want to be,'' I got up, dusting my cargo pants off. 

''Awesome!'' Grass Song cheered, hopping up and down, the other two Equines, Blank and Echo looked on curiously. ''So what's your name?'' Grass Song smiled at me.

''Jamir.'' I plainly said, gesturing to Rin afterwards. ''And this is my friend, Rin.''

''Hi! Nice to meet both of you!'' Grass Song chuckled, making a small smile come onto to my face at how much she reminded me of Ai's silliness. 




''Well, now that we've established it's possible for Grass Song to make another friend besides us,-'' Daring feigned the most dramatic voice ever. ''-we can introduce you next, Blank,'' Daring gestured to the Equine in dark blue and gray armor with the symbol of an eye for the chestplate. She was about the same height as Daring, coming right up to my kneecaps of my 5'12 frame, with a light gray coat and a dark blue mane and tail that resembled the Equine equivalency of a punk. Her build was slightly athletic, yet her most interesting feature had to be her yellow cateyes, boring a hole into my chest as she advanced towards me slowly. I was worried that, with the sudden death glare, she might attack out of the blue. Out of habit, I clutched my left hand into a fist tightly. It happens as a result of me feeling threatened. 

What I did not expect was a hoof to be held out and a smile, showing her enlarged f-fangs? Ooooh, that's. . .definitely not what I expected to see.

''Hey there, first name's Blank. Blank Signal. Nice to meet you, . . .um. . .what was your name, again? I forgot,'' Blank whispered to me in a tomboyish voice.

Huh, who would have thought; so far, there's a Unicorn who instantly befriended me and a. . .bat Equine who has trouble remembering names. This is not what I expected at all. At all.

''Jamir,'' I whispered back as I shook her hoof. ''And you are?''

''Oh! I'm a Batpony,'' Blank said to me, puffing her chest out in pride. ''Pretty sweet, huh? Check these out.'' Blank unfurled her black wings, styled after a bat's; thin, ribbed and leathery as they flapped without a care in the world. ''So, even though Daring told all she could about you, what mysterious creature are you?'' Blank poked my leg, eyeing Grass Song and Rin talking on the bridge a few feet away from us, laughing about who knows what.



''Human.''

Blank looked on until she held her chin in contemplation. ''E-Eh. . .what?''

Sigh. Only me, huh? What can't Rin do all the talking for once? It's hard being the sole spokesperson for yourself, a second opinion would help.

''Think Chimpanzees, but more intelligence , not as strong, with next to no hair.'' I said, making Blank have a miniature realization.

''Okay, I think I got it now,'' Blank took a moment to contemplate my words. ''So, how'd you get here?''

''Believe me,'' I sniffed the the air, the faint smell of rainwater, the earthy smell making me cringe. ''You would not understand the basics even if I told you.''

''You wanna bet?'' Blank asked.

''Maybe later, Blank,'' Daring interrupted. ''You could do all the bonding and stuff we want later, we kinda have move things along here. And this here-'' Daring gestured to the other Batpony who was smaller than Blank, void of armour with a lighter coat of gray, darker blue wings, pale orange cateyes and a simple mane and tail who cowered behind a chair. ''is Echo Signal.''

''Eeeeep!'' Echo Signal disappeared behind the chair, Daring groaning as she walked over, frowning. 

''C-Come on, E-Echo!~'' Daring struggled to push the Batpony out of her hiding place. ''I-I know. . .you're s-scared of meeting new ponies, b-but these guys. . .may b-be the key t-to helping us. . .get into The Black. . .Sun Temple!'' Daring bellowed, pushing Echo out of her spot and right in front of my feet.

''R-Really?. . .'' Echo stared up at me, her eyes filled with fear and tears as her lips quivered and her body shook uncontrollably. ''T-T-They c-can...-''

''Help us.'' Daring cooed, rubbing Echo's back. She looked sick with herself for forcing Echo out of her hiding place. ''I'm sorry for forcing you into new situations that I know that you don't like, but please. . .be strong for me, okay? They could be just what we need to finally be able to leave out of here and get Graceful Wind back the Alicorn Amulet. You're the strongest mare I know, and meeting a few new ponies is nothing that can't keep you down. So will you please help us?''

''B-But!~'' Echo cried, burying her head in her hooves. ''T-They look weird!'' Echo blubbered. ''I-I-''

''Sis, please?'' Blank asked, bending down to Echo's level. ''I almost never ask you for anything, but this one time; will be you be strong for me? For yourself? For Daring and Grass Song? For us?''

Echo sat there crying, but slowly began to die down as she brought her head up, masked with tears and snot. I felt sorry for her, and did what I thought was right, be it that if I was in her situation.

''Hey there, it's okay,'' I wiped away her tears with the sleeve of my hoodie, Echo shivering at my touch. ''I know what it's like to be put in a situation where you have to do things you don't like, but that's what friends are for.'' Echo looked at me surprisingly.

''R-Really?'' 

''Yep.'' I said. ''And from I see, you have friends that genuinely care for you and want nothing more from you than for you to do your best and be strong. I'm sorry that we have to meet like this, but we don't have to be friends right away if you don't want to,'' I backed away, hoping I didn't make the situation worse.

''N-No.'' Echo said, getting up. ''I-I c-can b-be friends w-with you, it's just. . .how Daring described you r-reminded me of Ahuizotl. . .''

''And who is that?'' Rin asked, petting Grass Song's head. ''A friend of yours?''

''An abomination that wants nothing than to see me die and The Avernus Jungle under his command. He oozes bad news, which is why I didn't want to talk about him,'' Daring gritted her teeth. ''He's nothing more than a bad egg.''

''But why? What could he want here?'' I asked.

''The secrets of the Kwail-Lu. You see, based on what I've seen in the ancient text of the Kwail-Lu, it talked about a mysterious, abandoned orphan being welcomed into their fold, so different from them in every way. It took a few tries to figure out, but it was Ahuizotl. He was the abandoned orphan that the tribe's leader adopted him as his son, though it was out of pity. It told of how peaceful it was back then, until he was exiled for using dark magic in the hope that Ahuizotl could make his adoptive father proud after hearing false promises of inheriting the throne, but ending having his name spread throughout the entire jungle as everypony knew him as a traitor. My best guess would be that he wants to reclaim his 'throne' and hold an iron rule.''

''Damn. . .being exiled, I kinda get, but; being adopted out of pity is too low, even for me.'' I leaned against the railing, folding my arms in disbelief.

''But, there is another reason why we're trying to get the Alicorn Amulet back to Graceful Wind; if Ahuizotol gets the Alicorn Amulet. . .well, I don't want to imagine that possibility,'' Daring shook her head a number of times, going into a chest nearby and unlocking it with a key. Having that stuck to the back of my mind, I refocused on Echo. 

''Echo.'' I grabbed her attention. ''There's no rush to be friends. I'm sorry if we intimidated you off the bat, but there is something more important happening here. But first, I want you to take this at your pace. We don't have to be friends if you don't want to, at least not right away; so don't feel pressured to make it happen out of the blue okay?''

''O-Okay,'' Echo looked down to the floor, circling the wood with a hoof.

''And don't you worry, me and Jamir are the nicest and probably the only 'people' you'll meet, so when the time comes, we'll all be great friends,'' Rin rubbed Echo's mane, making her sigh a bit. ''I just hope that it's not too much to ask you to do your best.''

''O-Okay.'' Echo stood to her full height, staring up at me and Rin with a smile. ''I-I think. . .I can d-do that.''



''Well, now that we've all met for the time being, it's about time we get down to actual business,'' Daring looked to us. ''Getting you home is not going to be no easy feat, and like I told you before, Jamir; the Alicorn Amulet is not the way to make that happen. Maybe after we find the Amulet, we can head to some places like Canterlot, the Crystal Empire, or Jaypan and ask around for anyways or anypony who can help you guys out. So whadda say, you two feel like joining me and my crew on a treasure hunt?''

''I guess we could find some time in our schedule, seeing we're going to be here for a while, we might as well.'' I shook Daring's hoof, smirking. 

''Same here.'' Rin said. ''Plus I kinda want to see what else this 'Equestria' has to offer.''

''Ok then,'' Daring unlocked the chest, taking something out of it and placing it on the circular table beside us. ''It's time for an adventure!''








> Exploration
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



Exploring the unknown requires tolerating uncertainty. 

-Brian Greene.

The peaceful quiet was accented by the gentle cross breeze as me and Rin ventured through the Avernus Jungle with Daring's crew.

We proceeded forward at a steady pace, ducking and slipping past trees that either too low or tall for our frames. The ground sunk beneath my black sneakers easily, smushing saplings and insects alike. Daring led the charge in a line as Blank followed close on her hooves, Grass Song behind her, Echo behind her and Rin in front of me. I sighed, feeling constricted at my hoodie, so I took it off and tied it around my waist, showing my plain white tee shirt. The sun bore down on me with the least intensity as everyone else seemed to be sweltering as I was content with the heat. Sweat poured down their foreheads as they panted like rapid dogs looking for a drink. How can they be like this when it's only been 10 minutes since we set out?

Maybe I was just too stubborn for the heat to affect me. Or because of the fact I was thrown into a 120 degree boiler room for a week.

''Man!~'' Grass Song complained, her tongue lolling out of her mouth. ''Why is it so hot?!~'' Grass then craned her head back to me. ''Jamir, how come you're not hot?''

''I just don't really get affected by the heat; it could be since I'm African or some thing or other,'' I answered nonchalantly, making Grass Song scrunch her nose up in confusion at me.

''E-Eh. . .what? What's an African?'' Grass Song asked.

''It's a term to define where Jamir's ancestors came from a place back on our world called Africa and the color of his skin tone, which probably is why he's not affected by the heat as much as us,'' Rin explained, furthering making Grass confused.

''But why is it called that?'' Grass tilted her head.

''I guess you can call it a case of mistaken identity,'' I said, chiming in. ''While what I know about the history of it is limited, Africa was named after a man named Scipio Africanus. I can't remember much after that, but he was a General and he gave Africa its name.''

''Oh! Well, that sounds fun.'' Grass hummed a sweet tune, wiping sweat from her forehead.

''Trust me; it was anything but for my people,'' I frowned.

''And why is that?'' Blank asked.

''Because. . .'' I mumbled under my breath. ''My people. . .were slaves.'' I bluntly said, gaining shocked looks from everyone but Rin.

''Oh, my. . .goodness.'' Echo said, gasping. ''T-That's-''

''Immoral, unthinkable, cruel and embarrassing to every one of my people who know the truth about us. We were beaten, hung, shot, poisoned,  betrayed and a whole lot more because we were. . .just being ourselves and that 'they' saw us as animals; incapable of thought and reason, whose only purpose is to holler, live up to stereotypes, and inevitably kill ourselves in senseless violence while putting money in our oppressor's pocket by picking cotton and living in fear,'' I growled, staring down the ground with a fierce passion. ''We were, in their eyes, the lowest of the low, rather going so far to demean us by thinking a wild hog has more human nature and sanity than us!'' I yelled, spit flying out of my mouth as I shook violently. ''T-They j-just wanted to live their lives out in peace, but nooooo!~ We couldn't even be left alone! At all!'' Everyone stopped and looked at me.

''Always abandoned, always striving to do our best in her eyes, but no matter what, she wouldn't accept it or love us for it! We try and understand her, but she always fucking shooed. . .me. . .AWAY!!!" I roared, launching my fist into a nearby tree with enough force to put a dent in the wood as I struck it. Then again. And a third time. And a fourth. By the fifth time, my left fist was bloody and stinging, possibly a knuckle broken from ignoring the pain. I went to strike it one last time, ready to delve all my anger into a strike I hoped would snap that tree in half and give me some relief of the situation. I roared at the top of my lungs, my voice cracking and sending frightened birds flying. 

Yet, nothing came.

My fist was inches away from the tree, my veins pulsing and hand shaking. Rin's hand firmly held mine in a death grip, her eyes obstructed by her hair.

''Rin,'' I said, my voice taking on the deepest baritone. ''Let. Me. Go.'' I commanded. When I tried to pull back, my fist wouldn't budge an inch. Trying it again, the same result. Oh, she doesn't want to listen, eh? Fine.

Cocking my free hand back, I prepared to launch it forward in the hopes that-

''Do not hit me!'' Rin brought her face up to mine, her red eyes brimming with energy. Her eyes bored a hole into my very soul. A commanding aura made every part of my body shudder.

And it scared me.

''Aaah!'' I yelped, Rin's grip increasing as she wormed her arm around my back and forced me up against the tree, my forehead hitting the bark. ''Let me-''

''No!'' Rin bellowed, twisting my arm even tighter, everyone looked in shock. ''How many times do we have to go through this, Jamir? I told you that you need to get your emotions in check! How dare you be a hypocrite and tell me not to get angry, but it's okay for you? No, it's not okay. If you're angry about what Junko did to you, then talk to me! You know that you can talk to me about anything, and yet you never do! You're playing into Junko's trap again, and she's not even here! And what's even worse is that you know how s-sad it makes me when you do this to yourself, so please. . .confide in me. . .I'm your best friend,'' Rin cried, her tears running down my shirt. No longer trying to break free, Rin released her grip on me as I held my head against the tree, breathing heavily.

I sighed, cursing myself at my own stubbornness. 

''Uh, guys?'' Grass Song looked stricken with sadness. ''I'm sorry that I asked. It was rude of me.''

''No, Grass Song; It's okay. I'm. . .sorry for losing control like that for a moment. It's just something I remembered. . .back where me and Rin came from, I'm fine.'' I cleaned myself up, staring down at the ground as I hear Rin sniffle.

''You sure you don't need a minute? Daring asked, helping Rin off the ground. ''It must be something deep for you to kinda change course all of a sudden. I'm sorry if we asked the wrong question, but maybe you need to get this off your chest,'' Daring offered.

''I'm fine, guys, really.'' I waved off Daring's offer. Then I saw Rin's face laden with tears as she huffed and puffed like The Big Bad Wolf, shaking and I remembered what she said a minute ago. I. . .didn't want to make my friend angry at me, at least not any more than she already was. I would be going against my own morals of not listening to a friend's advice when I know I need it.

My arms trembled as my head pounded like a drum from overthinking. I was torn between saying no and moving on, or saying yes and giving Rin and myself a piece of mind when I confront why this is eating me up inside.

''Okay. I guess if we're going to work together. . .then there are some things that you should know me and Rin. . .or at least me if we're going to putting out trust in one another.'' 

''How about this, then? You can tell us on the way to the temple. It's about an hour and a half walk to get there, so we should have enough time to hear your story,'' Daring looked at a map, nodding when she had an eyeful. ''We can kinda share back and forth if you want. It's better to know the bare basics about somepony than to talk to a complete stranger.''

''Alright, then. I guess I should start from a neutral point where you could all understand.'' I said. This would the part that I've found hard to tell my Fairies. For years, I've kept this bottled inside of me, never to let it out for the possibility that it could be used against me. But, with time, I've realized that friends are as Superman's weakness is to him; hard to be rid of and always lurking no matter where you look. After a minute of collecting my thoughts, I spoke.

''I guess,-'' I said as we moved past vines and fell trees. ''-what I can tell you that kinda started this whole thing between my sister and me had to be when I was 5 and Junko was 6 years old. It was summer and I can say with certainty, that summer was probably the start of why things are so complicated with my sister. Even though it was so long ago, I can remember it so vividly like it was just yesterday. . .'' I began to remember, the sunlight beaming down on everyone else as they tried their own methods to keep cool. 

This was it.




Flashback, 11 years ago, Detroit.




The air held a longing silence that cascaded over the calm aura the city of Detroit always seemed to maintain. In its early stages of technological influx and support from wealthy men and women, significant strides have not been made with failure or compromise. The journey forward for engineers, scientists, lawmakers, mathematicians and the like was met with force equal to that of their determination, bearing down with a fierce passion. As another day drew to a close, the sights and sounds of birds taking flight, Hovercars and Mag-Lev buses filled the air upon an apartment balcony. The sun was slowly setting, providing all those who would look upon it with a glorious sight.



''Whoa!~" a young girl's voice gushed with mirth. ''We're really high up!'' the joy in the girl's voice bursted out of her.

''Careful, sis,'' a boy's voice scolded. ''You don't want to fall off the bed, so stop jumping up and down.''

The atmosphere in the air suddenly grew cold as ice.

''What do you want?'' the girl asked harshly, making the male wince. ''Why are you here?''

''E-Eh?'' the boy asked, stuttering. ''Whaddya mean? We live here, and I'm your brother,'' the male argued, feeling shock that his own sister would put up a farce, and a good one at that. He would commend her for that one. Such a good joke.

''Brother?'' the girl asked, confused. Her vision faltered for a moment due to the medical patch on her left eye, leaving her with a loss of depth perception and to her other eye blurring. It was thanks to her knuckle-headed brother for not being quick enough to save both of them from getting them lost in a forest away from their parents at the time which led to her getting cuts on her legs from falling, a slight burn from the fire her brother started and temporarily causing her to lose sight in her left eye from accidentally pushing her into a particularly thick tree branch. In all, it was a horrid trip to the woods. ''I have no brother.'' the girl said from her place on her bed, hugging her purple plush bunny.



''Come on, Junko; it was funny at first, but now you're starting to creep me out. . .'' the boy chuckled nervously, but stopped when Junko's cold, calculating gaze hit him. 

''You're not my brother. . .anymore!'' Junko yelled, pouting. ''Jamir? Who's that? I have no brother, I'm an only child!~'' Junko said, drowning out her non-existent brother by humming, singing out loud, or just plain ignoring him.

''C-Come on, sis!'' Jamir argued. ''I'm really sorry that I hurt you, but you can't keep shutting me out like this. We're supposed to be siblings! We never really talk and you don't really care about me, so-''

''I'm doing all of this because you wanted-Ouch!-wanted me to!'' Junko pointed a finger at Jamir, wincing when she stood up. She then hopped off the bed and walked towards her brother angrily. As she drew closer, Junko socked her brother in the face, knocking him to the floor. Tears streamed down her face as Jamir looked on in confusion, his jaw aching. Oof, she must have knocked a tooth loose.

''I'm only doing this to make you happy! That's what you wanted, isn't it? For things to change, for our life to go back to the way it used to be? For me to back off of you and give you your space, that's what you wanted, right?! You wanted big sister to make the world a better place for you, then that's what big sister'll do! I did say I would do anything for you, because that's what we promised each other! So big sister will make everything bad go away!''

Jamir sat there shell-shocked. He certainly didn't expect this reaction. But then again, it was a trend that Junko followed. Every so often she would treat her brother like a plastic bag in a landfill, not even acknowledging that his presence was real. And other times, she would cling to him like the single most important thing in life, intent on never letting go, going so far as to apologize about acting such the way she did without explaining why. It always happened, around the same time; every day of every week; without fail. Junko would do things, very mean things like trip Jamir, put rocks in his shoes, spit in his cereal, offer to play fight him when she would really put him in a sleeper hold and knock him out, pants him, talk about him to their parents, the works. Then on good days, she would wait hand and foot on him, ask about his day, praise and idolize him. 

It was all so confusing. Down one road, his big sister could be an Angel, waiting to guide her younger brother, or at other times. . .a Demon, waiting to exploit and crush what little hope of humanity the maggot somehow related to her had.

''Junko, it's me; Jamir! Your games are funny, but this is a little too much. . .you've never said I wasn't your brother before. . .so what's wrong?'' Jamir walked toward his sister in an attempt to make her understand. ''I know Mom and Dad taught us about tough love, but-''

WHAM!

''I don't,-'' Junko kicked her brother in the face, giving him a nose bleed. ''-love you,'' Junko walked over to the balcony, dragging her plush bunny with her. ''. . .And you're not. . .my brother. . .''




''Man,'' Blank said, frowning and folding her ears. ''I've heard some bad words be thrown back and forth between ponies, but saying that you're not somepony's brother or that you never loved them; that's. . .something else. I get that you may have caused her injuries by accident, but just turning on you more than a spinning wheel is a bit harsh, especially when its family.''

''Y-Yea,'' I said, clutching my nose in reminder of when Junko kicked me there, a phantom feeling beginning to form. ''It certainly was. . .a scary experience. I really thought she had no idea that I was her brother. . .and I hoped I never did find out the answer. It would have scared me too much,'' I shuddered.

''Jamir. . .'' Rin said, holding her hands in from of her mouth. ''I never knew. . .''

''Because I didn't want you to know. . .I. . .was ashamed of telling you, which is why I made up that lie about the time I came into school with a bloody nose. How do you think you would take knowing that kind of information right off the bat? Who would believe my story that my 6-year old sister somehow gained the mindset of a grown woman and was able to make rational decisions, while at the same time being known to change in a instant and inflict all of her pain on her brother with nobody to for him to trust? That kinda mental pressure could have been my downfall, which is why I kept it in for as long as I could, which is why I despise Junko as much as I love her; I can't hold one feeling more over the other. . .''

''But, can't you just let it go?'' Grass Song asked, everyone around us taking a seat, determined to hear my answer. ''Can't you forget what happened?''

''I. . .uh. . .'' my breath hitched in my throat, causing me to go silent. I felt ganged up on, and it wasn't a comforting feeling. They all act like it's so easy to forget the easiest of things, but letting something heavy and personal go is. . .it's. . .

''I've wondered about that, too,'' Rin said. ''In all of the missions we've pulled off to try and stop Junko from taking over Detroit, you've always played both sides of the game with her. You oppose, but support her. You disapprove, but see the light in her ideals, and when you have her right where you want her, you just. . .let her go.'' Rin looked confused. ''It can't be because; 'She's my sister, and I love her.', so what is it really chipping away at you? You've told me you want to stop Junko and take back our home, but it's more to it than that, so wha-''

''I just,-'' I interrupted, casting my hand to the sky under the sun, closing it into a fist as if claiming the fiery giant as my own. ''-want to see that justice is delivered. You can all call me messed up in the head for still wanting to side with my sister after all she's done, and that little recollection was just from one summer; Junko's done even worse things and the same cycle of apologizing and not meaning it to groveling and begging for 'mercy' still happens. I just cannot bring myself to hate or love my sister without doing both, at least not until I gain the clarity and swift and harsh deliverance of justice that my sister deserves. Until that day,'' I smiled, but in a bittersweet fashion. ''I will do my best to support Junko in what she does, even though I know its wrong, but when the chips are down and she succumbs to her own devices, I will be right there to stop her myself and even. . .do what I must, should the need arise.''

''. . .But how long. . will you be able to hold on to that i-ideal, Jamir?'' Rin asked, tilting her head as tears slowly streamed down her face. ''That you can stop your sister on your own? It's not that simple. We've both seen first-hand, the type of stuff she is capable of doing and it is not pretty. But if a giant fight breaks out between the two of you, I worry for who'll lose and fall. . .permanently.''

''Hopefully, it wont have to come to that,'' Blank said, frowning. ''We may not really know you guys like that yet, but when you're me, you pick up on when someone has the wrath of a God's influence inside of them and is willing to do what others won't to see their goal through. . .even when it means killing. So, hopefully when we find the Alicorn Amulet, get it back to Starswirl's niece, and we can find a solid way to get you back home, I'll. . .help you in any way I can so that maybe you won't have to lose your sister.'' Blank patted my back. ''Or your own life.''

''Same here, it's not a good thing to have to go against your family, so I'll help too!'' Grass Song agreed, clapping her hooves together. ''Besides, I wanna get to know more about you, plus I can't let a friend fight a fight by themselves.''

''S-Same here.'' Echo said, looking away from us. ''It's not r-right, or fair. . .''

What, what are they talking about? They. . .want to help me? Me? Of all people?

''Welp, I guess since my crew's in agreement, I may as well be too.'' Daring smirked, flying in front of me.

''Wait, why?'' I asked, exhausted from recollection. ''Why help when you barely know anything about us? Or me, for that matter? We haven't been here less than a day, and you already want to help. Why?''

Daring smirked.

''Because, there's a certain saying me and my crew have that we've established ever since our first big mission together,'' Daring said.

''We are a family, and family helps out no matter what. We always protect and hold each other dear in bad times. But, most importantly; family never breaks their promises to each other and we never leave one of our behind, no matter what.''


 ''And like it or not, you and Rin and your Fairy friends are a part of our family, and that creed sticks to you now.''

''Does this little 'family' of ours have a name?'' Rin asked, as I beckoned her to come to me, wiping her tears as she embraced me in a tight hug, though she was careful not to snap me in half, whispering 'I'm sorry' in my ear.

''Well, yes and no,'' Grass replied, thinking. ''We've went through so many names, that none of them really stick, but maybe with you guys here, maybe we can settle on a permanent name, but until then, I guess we're The Nameless Crew.''

''Ok, then; when you put that way. . .how can we say no?'' Rin asked rhetorically. ''What are your thoughts, Jamir?''

Breaking the hug for a moment, I gathered my thoughts and spoke. 

''Let's get our treasure hunt underway.''





> A Lesson Before Treasure Hunting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let it be said that, through the actions of a wise man can yield better results than that of a fool's errand. It was a metaphor me and Rin came up with together whenever one of us had messed up. Big time. 

And I got the full extent of a mouthing off, thanks to Rin. With me, in all my grace, I chose to let one of the key things that provided me with a shred of sanity when it came to dealing with my sister, Junko, out to Daring and her crew and Rin to hear about one of the many painful and surreal memories of my childhood where Junko would be the source of my pain. After thinking they would criticize and call me insane, an idiot or worse; nothing of the sort came. Instead, I was showered, or in my case told that they would all help me. That was only furthered reinforced by a creed about family. Is it cheesy? Yes. But, does it have a weight to it? Also yes.

To think, one summer and accidentally crippling my sister, who has suddenly changed on me would lead. . .to being in a place called Equestria. 

Or in Rin's case, and mine: Horse Land.

Everything around us was moving so fast, from almost, 'though not really' being shot with arrows at a Pegasus that was scared out of her wits at us to heading to her camp to regain our thoughts and talk about where we were and how to get back home, only to have to fight a legend of human Mythology, then to meet some new faces and be inducted into Daring's crew, The Nameless Crew. In all, you'd think that would be too much with almost being killed more than 3 times over, but we as humans have our best quality constantly in play; to adapt to anything, not to say it was not a cakewalk. 

But, the nature of getting home would be a whole different nut to crack. First off, with not knowing exactly we were, that left the question if we could even have a means of getting back to our own home, perhaps Time Travel could be a real thing, aaaaand I'm going to be quiet now, because that's probably not even real here. It certainly wasn't back home, but the closest thing was actually physically transporting a molecule to another place, so we 'kinda' have it available, but we don't know how to work it. With my proposed idea of using this Alicorn Amulet, seeing as it was the only thing mentioned that could have the power to send us home first, I pegged to use it, but Daring told me that it was very dangerous and would corrupt any who would wear it. Down one road, we go along with Daring's plan, get the Amulet, deliver to who'll put it away for good, and possibly spend weeks looking for a pony or spell that could send us home, or we yank the Alicorn Amulet from her and go home ourselves. Sounds selfish and impulsive, but when your home's in danger, what would you do?

Though, after hearing the last pony who used it was skinned to the flesh and bone and begged to be killed kinda put a pit in my stomach the size of Texas. I know that Daring is only looking out for me since me, Rin and our Fairies are part of her crew now, but what if there isn't another way to get back beside that? And it's important that we get back to Detroit as soon as possible, as our town's left at the mercy of my tyrant sister and there's nobody there strong enough to stop her, only to live in fear of her. I'd feel more at ease with me there, since I'm the only one can even have any chance of stopping her.

Ugh, I'm conflicted.

''So,-'' Rin said, stretching her arms and sighing. ''-how bad is this barrier problem of yours?''

Daring frowned.

''It's something that not a lot of Unicorns would have wanted to their hooves at. It's really been a challenge for some of  the few of Canterlot's greatest to accomplish, given they know no more about the thing then we do. The barrier's one of their biggest problems to solve, and they couldn't. No matter whether its Distortion magic, Weathering magic or whatever; they just couldn't do it. We've kinda been at our wits end being out here for so long," Daring groaned. "But, I've been known to be stubborn, so I wouldn't give up. But when I saw you and Jamir, I kinda figured; 'why not, what else. . .do we have to lose?' and I hoped maybe with your unnatural strength, you could shatter the barrier or at least provide a window for Grass Song to try and pry the rest of the barrier open for us to get in," Daring said as she hopped over a small log.

''Really?'' I asked, unconvinced. ''It's that strong?'' my thoughts were hazy from thinking about too many things at once.

''Yea, it kinda is.'' Blank said, smiling. ''But, from what Daring told us from the Hydra you guys fought, which was awesome by the way,'' Blank congratulated, patting my leg. ''Wish I was there; boy would I have laid down the hurt. . . Anyways, my point is that with you two and your. . .little helpers, maybe we can finally get out of this accursed jungle.''

Pushing past some more vines and hopping over felled trees, the air began to get collectively thicker. At first, I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me, but as the time went by, I found myself having a hard time to breath when it felt like inhaling stale, stinky jelly.

I hacked and gasped for clean air, but I was soon able to adjust thanks to putting my shirt over my nose and mouth, giving what little, if any comfort. The ground began to dip, leading to a crumbling stone trail that led to some ruins below us, wild vines growing everywhere over the weathered architecture.





''Welcome to the entrance of the Black Sun Temple,'' Daring swept a hoof in front of us, hopping down and flying up to a open crevice. ''Get the lead out of your ears and let's go!'' Daring called, Blank and Echo following her lead and waiting for us.

''Wait, how are you going to get up there?'' I asked Grass Song. 

''Pssssh!'' Grass Song waved her hoof dismissively. ''Watch this,'' her horn took on a dirt green color and a flash of light filled my vision. Poof! 

''How about you?'' Grass asked, with everyone else behind her.

''Easy.'' Rin said. ''Like this,'' I was gripped around my waist with one of Rin's arms as the other settled on the back of my neck so I wouldn't get whiplash. Before I could utter a response, Rin leaped forward, soaring in the sky for a few brief seconds before everyone moved out of the way as the ground mushed beneath us.

''That's how,'' Rin smirked, making Grass pout.

''Anyways, before we go any further, I should note that in the game of treasure hunting, it never pays to have too many eyes watching your back and surroundings for traps,'' Daring said, gaining my attention. ''So, I'd advise you and Rin to stay behind me as we go along in here. Grass Song, you're with us. Blank, Echo; you're on watch duty. If anypony or anything comes our way-''

''Rip 'em to shreds. Got it.'' Blank smiled, licking her fangs. ''Good luck in there, Boss.''

''You know I won't need it,'' Daring said as we walked further in. ''I've got two new members and my medic to back me up.''




As we traversed in, the slivers of darkness and light were balanced out. The air, like outside was stale and crude. Depictions of animals, strange letters and astrology symbols littered the wall. A present, but depressing feeling nipped at the back of my mind. The thoughts in my mind lingered, ranging from the perception of being in a jungle, who knows how many miles or dimensions apart I am from my home to what could the significance of letting a dangerous artifact that can posses, corrupt and deteriorate its user while also granting them destructive power do to get us back home.

Again, said no teenager ever.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts so much, but then I was pushed back off my feet and on the ground, Rin following as I groaned.

''What the-''

''We're here.'' Daring announced. When we looked up, a sight before unlike no other when we first arrived here was as breath-taking.





''Whoa. . .this is so cool. . .'' Rin awed at the sight, picking herself up. ''So where's this little barrier problem of yours?"

Fwiiisssh!

''Right here,'' Daring pointed a hoof forward, only for it to it act like jelly in the air, a thin white layer shifting back and forth. ''We've tried everything we could without letting nopony really know where this is at, and we have consistently come to a impasse.''

''Really?'' I hopped up, touching the barrier. It had the feeling of plastic and shifted to every touch of my hand. It surrounded the entire temple, no matter where we went. I tried firmly pushing against it, only to meet the equivalent of a brick wall on steroids.

''Yea!'' Grass Song trotted forward, poking the barrier with a hoof. ''But, maybe Rin can help!''

''So, you just want me to punch the ever-loving crap out of this barrier?''

''Yep.'' Daring and Grass nodded.

''. . .But I've never been asked to destroy stuff without some kind of consequence. Jamir. . .what do you think?'' Rin looked at me, twiddling her fingers nervously.

She's asking me that question? It sounds like a good deal unlike none before. She can let loose a little bit, and nobody wouldn't care.

''Go right ahead.'' I smiled. ''The quicker we get through this is how much quicker we can get home, so go all out if you want.''

When I finished talking, Rin smiled, no visible trace of her nervousness present.

''My question is, can you really do this? Grass Song is the best Unicorn that I've known whose broken some barriers before, but this one stumps her.'' Daring said, unconvinced of Rin's power. If only she seen exactly how the Hydra was killed.

''You seem to forget,-'' Rin walked back, crouching. Then she took off sprinting. ''I'm strong enough to break it!'' Rin bellowed, launching her fist into the barrier with a dull slam of against it, sending pebbles and dust flying in the air. The force behind her punch was so great, that the ground shook a tad as stones loosened. The damage done was a sick crack running up the middle of the barrier. Rin looked absolutely ecstatic, but when she drew her fist back, the space was barely enough to fit a fist.

''Whoa, Rin.'' Grass chuckled, backing away. ''Think you can do that again? It may just be just what I need to get us inside.'' her horn lit up.

''I can do you one even better,'' Rin uncovered her Life Drive. 

''Wait, what's that?'' Grass asked, here focus on Rin.

''You'll see.'' I told her.

''Alright!'' Rin proclaimed, her fist in the air. ''Life Drive; Hallowed Gates!  Fusion!'' the Life Drive's slots turned green, Hanabi, Takiko and Ko appearing before returning, the slots turning black, Rin's hands emitting a red, yellow and black aura around them and Magic Circuits glowing all around her body. The energy in the room increased to the point where Rin's body was literally vibrating. Rin smiled as she struck the barrier again, the result was much more destructive. Me, Daring and Grass Song were pushed off our feet, and on our backs slamming into the hard ground as a high-pitched sound assaulted our ears. The massive barrier shattered like glass, making the entire ground rumble even harder than before, sending quake after monstrous quake of the ground for what seemed like forever until it finally died down. Just like at Central, I'm shocked and relived that my ears were intact.

''That good enough for you?'' Rin asked Daring, who held onto her hat in a death grip.

''Yea, I'd say that's. . .more t-than what we n-needed. . .'' Daring said, shaking. ''We should get going.''

I second that.

''Grass, are you ok?'' I observed her stock still, facing Rin's direction with her eye reduced to pinpricks. I tapped her on the shoulder and she wobbled to the side a bit. ''Hello?~'' I asked, concerned. I flicked her ear and it twitched in response, making me hope she retained her hearing. Her eyes very faintly tracked my finger waving back and forth, but nothing more than that. She was barely breathing as her mouth was agape. I poked her on the nose, hoping it would do something.

Nothing.

Okay, this was officially starting to get weird. I was getting scared for a second, and Rin and Daring already were some paces ahead, out of earshot and I was left on the sea on a giant rock with no life jacket. I was preparing to pick her up like a rag doll when she spoke.

''S-S-S-S-he broke it. . .so easily. . .'' Grass Song said almost to a whisper. ''The entire thing. . .just gone. Like that. . .'' Grass hung her head low. 

Oh, that's what she was so shell-shocked about. But, then again; so are most people when they see the amount of destruction Rin could do from first glance. I certainly know I was the time she she was upset that I was being bullied by this group of girls and didn't fight back because I knew they would eventually tire or pick somebody else, so she took her rage of that out by leveling a small abandoned apartment complex with just one hit and taking the liberty to break the arms and legs of the girls who bulled me. I would have took that as a sign to talk to her, but instead I did the exact opposite as observed by the Hydra fight earlier. Like Daring, for example. I could understand her fascination (or fear) at initially meeting me and Rin.

Not to say that we both know easily that she is still scared, even if it is a little.

''It's. . .certainly one of her better perks,'' I told my new companion as we walked ahead, rubbing our ears. ''But, now that we've gotten past that, do you guys know anything more about this temple?''

''Not really, the only thing we know is that the Alicorn Amulet is definitely in here somewhere.''

I dug in my pocket, pulling out a smushed pack of cherry bubblegum and unwrapped a piece, popping it in my mouth. I hummed in content. 

''Exactly how do you know that?''

''I can track the aura pretty easy thanks to Graceful Wind. But that's where all our information ends; from this point on, we don't know what may lie in this place, so we should be on our guard.''

Comforting advice.

The walls around us were not as. . .I expected them to be. With that barrier in place, the average person, or in this case; Equine would infer dust, cobwebs and aged, crumbling statues and foundations. Instead, the place looked relatively well-kept, with unlit torches on stands as far down as we could see. The air felt not as chocking as outside, and the many passages leading to who knows where were in the same condition. Seeing Daring and Rin paused and turned back at us. 

''Grass Song!~" Daring yelled. ''Which way?''

Concentrating her horn with magic, Grass yelled back: ''Straight ahead! It's strongest there!'' Grass said. Then she looked back to me as we continued on. 

''So, I have a question,'' Grass Song said we continued on, while I was wary to see if we would set off any traps.

''. . .Shoot.'' I half-listened, looking around for anything out of place.

''Actually,-'' Grass twiddled her hair with a hoof. ''I have a few. Like first off, what was-''

''That thing Rin used?'' Grass Song nodded. ''That was a Life Drive. And what that is pretty much is what your horn is to you. Rin's Life Drive is The Hallowed Gates. Each Life Drive is unique to the user, so no two are the same. In Rin's case, she has a Tank, which takes the majority of damage in a fight, but in the case of a Fairy, or those little people you saw can turn that into her attack power. By herself, Hanabi is a feisty little firecracker. Then there's Takiko, her Long-range. She hangs back, covering from a distance. She can fire any kind of arrow imaginable, but comes with low defense; one good hit and she's out. And Ko. She's the healer, like you but also can provide backup.''

''But, how were they born?''

''My species artificially created them. Bred in the laboratory, a combination and miracle of science and technology. Most are helpers that perform basic tasks for my people.''

''So, where and when were they born exactly?'' Grass asked a question which answer is all too familiar with me.

''It was in my hometown of Detroit. On March 8th, 2014. They were our way of saying Detroit Vs Everybody in the world. Especially since we were and are the only ones who created The Fairies. Nobody could claim that right from us. But, the thing was. . .not everyone could get or have one.'' I smiled, but in a solemn manner.

''Why?'' Grass asked as we came to the edge, viewing a city down below, laden with buildings, statues, dirt paved roads and the like. Further down, the longest pairs of stairs spanned down, Daring and Rin still paces ahead of us, talking and looking around. ''Not enough money?''

''Well, for one, The Life Drives were very expensive to make and even more to buy since it houses, heals and helps The Fairies evolve. We've managed to create a Hammer-space, or a black hole which houses Fairies, their personal items and any other items that their Master may want to store. Each Hammer-space in The Life Drive is unique but is connected in that one Life Drive, making for easy communication and transference of items. The asking price for the latest model is about 900,000 dollars.'' I said, making Grass Song tilt her head at me.

''Uh. . .dollars?'' Grass asked, hesitant.

''900,000 of whatever your currency is.''

''Oh!'' Grass realized as we walked down the stairs.

...

''THAT'S BUCKING RIDICULOUS!~'' Grass Song bellowed, her voice echoing.

Ouch. My ears.

Though I can understand why she would be so shocked. Again.

''That's how it goes. The asking price for Fairies can be four times as much. A piece. . .''

''How did you guys get yours, then? You'd have to be a millionaire or more than that!''

''Well, Rin's mother actually was one of the key scientists who helped make The Fairies, or Project Daylight possible, so she had a team of scientists special make her Life Drive and Fairies for her.''

''And you?'' 

Me? Well that's. . .um. . .I don't want her to know that. . .I don't think her happy go lucky attitude could take it. Great, now I have to lie, to somebody I just met, nonetheless. Yea, that makes for building trust.

''The same as Rin.'' I said. ''Her mother was nice enough to give me my own Life Drive and Fairies, too.''

''But why don't a lot of your. . .people?'' Grass asked. I nodded. ''Have them?''

And there's the million dollar question.

''Well, a surprising 1,000 out of 7,000,000,000 people in the world from where I come from actually have Fairies that are equipped for combat, me and Rin being two of them.'' I explained as we came across a huge Colosseum, seemingly untouched by time with three spiked gates at different entry points that resembled a triangle. The gray bricks gave off a depressing feel and the surrounding architecture gave the whole underground the feel of the Roman era. Daring and Rin were still ahead of us, not caring to look back to see if we were okay. They were looking around, wary of their surroundings. The wind whistled through cracks in the walls as we followed Daring and Rin towards the Colosseum.

''And why not the rest?''

''Well, maturity issues, for one,'' I stretched my arms. ''Most people are perverts, morons, extremists, or just plain trolls who would abuse the Fairies that are genetically equipped for leisure and that would end up in rape, murder, small scale wars and a whole lot worse. The Fairies were one of mankind's greatest achievements, but the majority of people cannot handle having one for those reasons and more. Plus, just like Evolution and Natural Selection, there are those Fairies whose personalities are reflected in the eyes of those with special needs, and thanks to that small percentage, that was only furthered to keep Fairies away from the more dangerous and unstable people back on my world. For War Fairies, or the type Rin and myself have are all-purpose, are well versed in combat, strategy, espionage, hacking, you name it. But they're not alone; The Wisps are helpers for The Fairies, and together, they make a force equal to that of all my world's military at once.'' 

We came in front of the the gate that was half-raised, possibly telling me that somebody was here at one point. . .

Or could have just got here.

''I don't like this. KA-CHING!'' Rin uncovered her pistol, loading the chamber with a bullet. ''Stay alert.''

''I second that,'' Daring whispered, pointing her crossbow forward. Uncovering My Life Drive, I listened for any strange noises. The wind faintly whistled and I tensed, putting my body in front of Grass Song's. My muscles relaxed, waiting for anything. We slowly moved forward, crouching underneath the gate, looking up and around for anything out of place. What we found was a large cylindrical stand with a black tarp covering it.

''. . .Who goes there?!'' my voice echoed, hoping to scare whatever lurked around here. Instead, what I received was quiet.

Thwack! Daring hit my leg. ''Why did you do that?!"

''To see if anyone was here, and it looks like I was right,'' I walked forward, my Life Drive faintly glowing the lightest of reds, telling me that something was up. As I got closer to the stand, the stronger the color got. 

. . .Something was seriously wrong.

''Get ready,'' I whispered back, everybody nodding. When I pulled back the cover, the last thing I expected to see was a glass case with. . .some kind of-

''Oh my bucking goodness!'' Daring yelled, making me almost drop the case as I picked it up. ''You cannot be serious!''

''What is it?'' Rin asked. 

''It's. . .the Alicorn Amulet.''

Really?

''Really?'' I asked. 

''Look at it for yourself,'' Grass Song nodded in my direction. 








Oh, I guess I can kinda. . .see that. 

''So that's it?'' Rin wondered, walking up to me and observing the amulet. 

''Yes. . .'' Daring's ears folded. She trotted up to us, her eyes downcast. ''That's. . .it alright.''

''Hey, Daring. Are you okay?'' I asked, giving her the case.

''Yea, I just-'' Daring held her breath for a moment, then exhaled. ''I just. . .expected some danger or something! But this. . .was-''

''Easy, not full of danger and mostly quiet? Yea, I kinda like it like that,'' I folded my arms. ''You're kinda like those people back on my world who expects too much out of dangerous situations. Sometimes, the best treasure hunts are the ones where you get in and get out. If this is the Alicorn Amulet, you've just saved yourself a few more weeks in this place as opposed to be looking for a danger rush. . .so what do we do now?''

''We get out of here and get this to Graceful Wind,'' Daring tossed the case to Grass Song who enveloped it in her magic. 

''And where is that?'' Rin jogged ahead for the exit.

''Somewhere cold and a place that neither of you know. Grass Song, if you could do us the honor?''

''Of what?'' I asked.

Poof! A white flash of light filled my vision.




When the light died down seconds later, we were at the entrance, with Echo and Blank looking at us curiously.

''You find it?'' Blank asked. 

''Does this answer your question?'' Grass Song showed the case to the pair, both of their eyes widening.

''. . .Well, I'll be bucked,'' Blank chuckled. ''So does that mean?''

''Yep.'' Daring replied, popping the p. ''And it was thanks to our newest member, Rin and her freakish strength that shattered the barrier and let us waltz in and find the Alicorn Amulet.''

Shaking my head, I groaned, feeling light-headed. ''So, where are we going now? You said somewhere cold.''

Walking in front of all of us and pointing her hoof forward into the forest, Daring smirked and readjusted her hat. 

''Crew! Our mission is almost complete! Next stop: to deliver the Alicorn Amulet to Graceful Wind in the Crystal Empire!" Daring then flew in the air, the sun being behind her at the right time as she pointed at all of us. ''Dechrau!''

''Huh?'' Rin asked.

''It's a word Daring learned from somepony on one of our expeditions,'' Grass Song whispered to us. ''It means start.''

Oh, a small quirk, but I am certainly not going to complain about it. 

''Dechrau!'' we all repeated with power, holding our hands and hooves in the air.



> A Small Issue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The air was hot, and acrid. Rays of sunlight beamed across my face as I walked up the stairs of Daring's airship. We set out after securing the Alicorn Amulet, which for Daring and her crew was a godsend for being in a crazy jungle for almost a month. Turns out I was not blind when we first arrived in Daring's makeshift camp, as I did see a giant boat. Daring sailed the ship like an expert, barely having her hooves and eyes on the controls as she looked over a map of what I assumed to be the rest of our new place, Equestria.

The ship was called The S.S. Optiquest. It was a soothing mahogany, with two dark air balloons attached by rope and pulleys. No expense was spared as the lower level had all the necessities of a hospital, kitchen and armory underneath. Up top, guard rails spanned around the sides of the ships, the captain's helm on a raised platform by stairs on either side. With two cannons on the front, back and six on the left and right, it made our vessel look rather fierce.

Grass Song and Echo were chatting on the upper level while Blank was talking with Rin, Hanabi, Takiko and Ko down below. I went over and sat down against the nearest railing, thinking about all that happened. Last night was the first time me and Rin slept in this new land, and it was anything but relaxing for me. I kept turning and tossing, not riddled with insomnia per say, but the fact that no matter how the thread was spun, I left. I left Detroit, my city; abandoned. And with my psychotic sister to enact her plans.

That made for a horrible dream turned reality.

Now, I was left with my friends to explore this new place, trying to get home.
But, at what cost? I don't even know if the flow of time is the same here as on Earth. I was screwed even more then when Junko lied to our parents about me being the one who burned down our mom's spice garden when Junko lit a match to get revenge at me. It was because I ratted her out for planning to set off commercial grade explosives at our old school when the administrators refused to put her in the yearbook because she constantly played pranks on the school and me.

My punishment was like my mom's spice garden; up in flames and never to be mentioned again.

I was once again up against the ropes of confusion. But, the bigger issue is and would be that we have no idea on how this world functions or how long we'd be here or the most important thing of all. . .

Does a way back home even seem possible?

''Master,'' Yuu said, pouting as she slowly played in her mud puddle on the deck, splashing my leg. ''When can we go home?''

''I'm sorry, sweetheart,'' I rubbed her head, making her eyes dull over. Yuu's body slumped over to the side as she whimpered. ''I don't have the answer to that question. I know that behind your bubbly attitude; you're scared. Ai, Snow, me and especially you, Yuu-'' I paused, wiping her small tears away, her light pink eyes staring at me. "-I know we're all scared at this new place, but I need you guys to be strong for me, okay? These are times where you have to band together, have confidence, and take that fear and beat it with a stick,'' I smiled as Yuu walked up my leg, laying her head on my stomach.

''B-But!~'' Yuu cried, staining her outfit even more. ''I-I d-don't like being here!~ It's not h-home!~''

''Ai. . .'' Ai agreed. ''I m-miss home!'' Ai stomped her tiny feet on the deck, wiping tears out her eyes. ''I wish that our assailant did not send us here! Ms. Junko is certain to take full advantage of the situation! And we can do nothing about it!''

''Snow,'' Snow sadly chirped.

I exhaled.

''I know, but we have no way of knowing when. Hopefully this lead to 'The Crystal Empire' will be just what we just need to get home," I smiled once again, though it was bittersweet this time around. I was at a loss, and there was not nobody to blame. . .except my she-devil of a sister. And I have every confidence that she is just laughing her ass off, possibly calling this off as 'simply delicious.'

Oh, how the urge to deck myself in the face comes so easily, only to vanish.

''Don't worry, guys.'' I said, gaining their attention. ''I've always tried my best to not let you down, and I promise to do my best to do just that,'' I hummed, relaxing a tad. My entire body was calm, every muscle relaxed. My head was full of soothing thoughts, as the whole ride was steady. The constant faint hissing began to urk me, however.

Wait, hissing?

I raised my eyebrow, and slowly turned around, viewing the blue skies moving by without rest, the clouds near the horizon line. A draft of wind carried a few leaves past my sight. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, at least from what I considered to be normal. It must just be my imagination playing tricks on me.

Or, it would have been, if not for the sudden change in gravity.

"Oof!'' I grunted, the Optiquest rocking to the side as I slid down, tossing  Ai, Yuu and Snow out of harm's way as I slammed against the other guard rail, barely managing to latch on with one hand as I flipped over, hanging on by a thread. The skies began to change in color, stormclouds beginning to swallow the peaceful sun. Thunder began to rumble and Daring's ship began repeatedly rocking back and forth, knocking my brain against my skull.

''Jamir!'' Grass Song rushed over to me, Echo following. She reached a hoof out and I met her in the middle with my hand, though I brushed up against it as I missed and the concept of time seemingly slowed down to where I felt my heartbeat across every inch of my being.

I felt weightlessness in the air, hands erratically flailing about. The wind against my face forced my eyes to close as I felt a thud against my back, the feeling akin to my entire spinal cord breaking. I wheezed and fought to turn over, The Life Drive blaring like a siren. I was prepared to get up with haste and see the individual or individuals who would-

"Ahhhhhhh, turn that Tartarus-forksaken alarm off!"

"My ears are screaming!~"

"The noise is too much, it is!"

Fuck, my ears!~

I had counted myself lucky.

You see, The Life Drive has a built-in feature to alert the user when its Fairies are out of range when not synced{which is how they were able to roam freely without being captured) to their pocket dimensions. Any further apart then. . .about 500 feet, and the Life Drive sounds and the Fairies are almost instantly teleported back in.

I fought the pain coursing through my entire body, looking up to see further inhabitants of Equestria, but I felt a twinge of being punked at the mere sight of their clothes. I mean, they look like, oh, what's the word. . .hmm. . .douchebags. It was more so of a weebooish feeling, you know? Imagine. . .well, whatever you would see a weeaboo wearing, and you basically got what I laid my eyes upon.

Paying the slew of lights blinking in and out of my sight, I came face to face with four individuals, equine in shape that thrashed and turned around on the deck of what I guess to be their ship. Shaking my head to get a better view, I was immediately met with a equine with a dark gray coat, a charcoal black scarf around their neck that looked to be constricting the life of the wearer as an end was being pulled to choke the poor sap by their leg.

''What the?'' I whispered, crawling back, gritting my teeth as I looked down to see a giant sized bite mark on my pants, spying a bit of blood dripping from the tear in the fabric.

The unknown guest shook back and forth, managing to free themselves from scarf suicide, their short, dark blue mane whipping around to reveal a more broad and narrow face, a small amount of peach fuzz covering his chin, and a white headband with the name Fall in dark red letters, all leading me to deduce a male as his dark blue eyes widened upon seeing me.

. . .

“Uh. . .” I started, paying complete attention. “. . .Hi?”

“Heathen!” the male shouted, pointing a hoof at me. “Die!” he charged forward blindly, his eyes closed and teeth gritted.

“Aww, the hell with this!” I thought, my body aching and tensing as I rose up, bending my legs low to the ground, checking The Life Drive to hear that-

“Life Drive Sync function re-established. . .Safety disengaged, Life Drive ready for use. . .” the Life Drive's Artificial Intelligence sounded inside my head as the color orange flashed twice 3 times, my hand extended, with my first two fingers outward to guide my attack.

“Ai, t-telekinetic push!” I commanded and gritted my teeth from falling, the stallion stopping short to look confused as Ai appeared in a flash of pink energy.

“What the?-”

“Ai, Master!” Ai smiled, copying the same gesture. A massive thrum sounded, pushing the poor sap into his comrades with a massive thud that rocked the small ship back. I sighed for a mere second before a massive screech cut me off. Looking for the source, I spied a massive tropical parrot, flapping its wings erratically, the red, yellow and blue plumage highlighting the deep blue eyes.

It was a majestic bird, but it was making too much noise.

“Uh, Yuu, could you fix the noise?!” I yelled, clamping my ears together.

“Yes, sir!” Yuu saluted, her fingers laced with with purple mist as she drew an imaginary speaker with a x over it before snapping her tiny fingers and instantly silencing the bird, though it still made the motions.

“What was that all about?” I kept wary, looking at the pile of unconscious bodies.

“Maybe Polly really wanted a cracker!~” Grass Song yelled from above, apparently seeing the whole event, Rin, Blank and Echo staring too.

. . .Not the time for jokes. Or is it?. . .

“Jamir!” Rin jumped down, landing gracefully like a cat before accidentally tripping and falling on top of me, causing me to groan. “Are you hurt anywhere?” she patted around my body, checking.

Ha, it's funny how she worries about me like a little puppy. I would say that out loud, but I'm not trying to get slapped with the force of a small car.

“Besides this small bite mark and killing thousand or maybe millions of cells, I'm fine. But Rin?” I smiled, devising a plan.

“Yes?”

I cupped her face gently in one hand, the other pushing some of her hair out of the way, Rin blushing like a rose and sweating bullets as her body shivered with anticipation.

“Have I ever told you. . .how beautiful you look?” I cooed in her ear, blowing lightly, causing her hands to tear out small chunks of the ship's deck. “Like a diamond in the rust.”

“MMMMPPPH!” Rin swallowed a gallon of spit, her head literally steaming as she shifted back and forth quickly. She looked ready to explode, but like I expected-

“NOOOOO!~” Rin shook her head back and forth, resigning to leap back up to The Optiquest in a one huge jump, mostly likely going below deck to overload. I. . .can’t keep a straight face when it comes to teasing her. I almost want to make a comedy skit out of it because she falls for it every time, not to say I don't get backlash in some form.

“Master, good one!” Ai held her sides as she chuckled, kicking her tiny feet in the air from on top of my head as I got up. “HAHAHAHA!~”

“Wait, sir,” Yuu stopped playing with a mud puddle she suddenly created out of nowhere. “Why did she leave like that?”

“It's a little more complex than you think," I chuckled, yawning a little. “But we should see about these guys,” I pointed to the fallen Equines as I went to inspect the rest of the ship and it's design. First thing I noticed was the lack of a sail to give the ship speed. Peering over the side, I saw a trio of large oars coming out of the ship's port and starboard side, decorated with circular grooves, and I questioned if you could use gigantic oars to soar in the skies. Next, was the presence of a intimidation factor in the form of a giant metal blade protruding from the base of the ship’s front. The whole ship was moderate sized, not spacing out the Optiquest, but enough to where there is space to walk.

I looked over at our ‘guests’ to see that they still were in a pile, most likely knocked out from the frequency of the Life Drive’s sound which is tuned to be within a certain distance outside of myself without causing my ears to bleed.

‘’Sir, should we prepare the perpetrators for questioning?’’ Ai asked, her eyes lit up green, her telekinesis already to so much as blow them off the ship and to their deaths at so much of a blink of my eye.

‘’I second that!’’ Yuu pumped her fist in the air, a few sparks of purple electricity sparking around her hair. ‘’Nobody hurts my Master and is allowed to get away with it!’’

I chuckled, but narrowed my eyes. This would not go unpunished.

‘’Yep, and I think I know who exactly who to play the part of interrogator,’’ I smiled, walking over to get answers.


5 minutes later. . . 

SPLASH!

‘’Acck!’’

‘’Fuck!’’

Nooooo!~’’

‘’Oh, it got into my mouth!~’’

Our guests had awoken. Well, mostly thanks to Yuu slinging a huge bucketfull of mud at them, against her best wishes, with some asking from me. Me, Rin, and the rest of The Nameless Crew stood in front of our attackers as they stirred, their blurry, bloodshot, and panicking eyes set on me first, of all people. . .or ponies in this case.

‘’It’s him!’’ a pony cried out in a female voice, wearing what looked to be a oversized black and red poncho. Her bright red mane and tail could be closely resembled to a Jheri Curl with a long grey streak hanging down in front of her face. Her coat was a deep red, like blood as her hooves were decorated with four huge rings. I can all but practically feel the fear in her dull grey eyes.

‘’Hey, stop struggling!’’ the stallion with the scarf complained, thrashing back and forth equally as frantic to get her to stop. ‘’We get nowhere by messing this up anymore than we already did, besides maybe, oh I don’t know; our lives taken if you don’t stop!’’

‘’Speak for yourself,’’ a another male spoke up, only he was much more calm about the situation from what I could see. He wore a auburn set of armour, mostly with the design of engraved scales, stripes and flames, positioned at parts to where he wouldn’t hinder his movement. He had a helmet shaped exactly like a tiger’s head, with teeth. A double-edged sword hung at one side while a very small 4-shot pistol was on the other side.

Patches of his brown coat could be seen as he shifted to try and get the ropes out of the free spaces in his armour. His mane was a bit different from the rest. It was in two tight braids that hung loosely down the his back as his tail was folded up like paper. ‘’I have shamed myself by allowing myself to be caught off guard,’’ the male clicked his tongue,closing his brown eyes slowly before slumping in his chair.

‘’Hey, where’s your resolve, guys?’’ another female asked shocked. She was the one who I would say was the most normal looking, well, I wouldn’t know what would pass for normal in this world, but I am reserving judgement until all the facts are present. Her getup was like that of a person who was more a person, or pony in this case who I would call an environmental person. Her entire getup had to be inspired by the forest, lest I be wrong.

Her hair was all in shambles, basically the equivalent a major-ass bedhead. The second thing I had noticed was her garbs. It was the whole forest, and then some. From vines, to Roses, Dandelions, to freaking Venus Fly Traps, to Pitcher Plants, and the like. Next was her eyes. They. . .were two different color; green and purple, which was about as interesting as the rest of them, yet I felt something else while having the chance to see exactly what was the exact reason behind them attacking.

“Start speaking,” I narrowed my eyes as Daring spoke at the same time. I looked at her as she looked at me. I motioned for her to continue.

“Who are you? And don’t say a ragtag group of explorers. Because if you are, then how are you this far into the sticks?”

The male with the scarf smacked his lips, seeming to not be affected by the glare Daring was giving him. I would check his surroundings again if I were him. Seeing that nobody spoke, Daring began to circle around the group, frowning and giving them a stern eye.

“Still not gonna talk, huh?” Daring smiled, coming face to face with the leader. “I got ways of making you talk; so what do you pick? The easy way or the Daring way?"

What was the Daring-

"Hey, you stupid mare, you're crazy!" Daring smirked as she brought out a giant block of salt?! Or was it sugar? "You trying to kill us?"

"Well, not really?" Grass Song brought a medical kit out. "It wouldn't do that, but that amount of sugar would wreak havoc on your body. Daring's way of things often lead to a lot of medical work right away."

"Isn't that a little extreme?" Rin asked, taking the time to pick up the block. "What about the easy way?"

Blank flew over Rin, taking the block back and handing it to Daring. I had a feeling that this was the-

"Either way is the Daring way. It makes us no difference. We've done this for years, and it gets results. So start talking!" Blank hovered over the group menacingly.

"Fine, fine!" the male with scarf relented awful easily. "We're poachers! But we're not very good at it. We heard about this place from this one guy who said there could be some rare animals for the taking. When we saw your ship leaving, we. . .well, I panicked." 

Seriously? Poachers? I'm no animal wrangler, but I think even the least harmful thing would give these guys a run for their money. But, on as a side note, this was delaying us finding a way home, and every second here is one more that my pyschopath of a sister has to do whatever she wants.

"Ai! Poaching is immoral. Why you want to capture poor, defenseless, creatures?" Ai floated over, folding her tiny arms.

"What the heck is that?" the armoured pony inquired, straining to turn his head. "Think we could sell it?"

Snatching Ai out of the air and putting her on my head, I began to fume at the thought of them suggesting that. That is a bad thing to do to get me angry.

"You're not selling my family, pal," I walked over and took hold of his head, forcing him to look into my eyes. "But you all can do is tell me your names and why we shouldn't throw you out into the jungle to be eaten, understand?" I flicked in his eye, causing him to hiss in pain, and blindly try to chomp down on my finger. 

"Well, what do we do?" the pony with the walking habitat asked. The male with the scarf sighed, seeming to let out years of dissapointment and lies. He looked at us with tired eyes, but he seemed to make his mind up.

"My name is Fan Crey, the leader of this little group."

"Alici Rave," the mare with the rings spoke with her head low. "The voice."

"Log Envi, the chill person of the group. Well, most of the time."

"You cannot be suggesting that I tell these weirdos my name, do you?" Fan clicked his tongue at the last male. "Don't we have morals?" 

"Just do it, it's not we have any room to do anything else." Fan said. "Who knows, maybe we can find something else to do once we get out of this."

Grunting, he relented. "Lance Way. The fighter of the team. And what do you guys want with us?"

He had a point; what did we want with them? I mean they are poachers, and maybe not even good ones, and It's not we can be cops in a foreign land.

I looked to Blank as she shrugged and spoke; "Your move, Boss."

"Let em' go, we don't have time for a problem like this, I'll ler you off with a little warning and a piece of advice; try something else than this, and should we have to see you again, then I really will-" Daring broke off a chunk of the block. "-have to go the Daring way." 

"Really?" Log asked, bewildered. "Just like that?"

"Just like that," Blank said for Daring. She then bared her fangs. "But given I have a pretty good sense of smell, I can always track you down if I feel you're near. So stay away and we should be golden."

Wow, so much for an interrogation.

"So we're going to the Crystal Empire, now, right?" Rin aided Echo in untying the four.

"Yep!" Grass Song smiled, putting her kit back. "And I didn't have to do any operations!"

"But, that easily? What if they come-"

Daring walked over to me, standing on her hind legs to drape a hoof around my waist. "Never look a gift horse in the mouth, it's bad luck. We probably got set back maybe an hour, but if we can get the lead out, I'm sure we can get there in time for the crepe vendors to open."

You know, I didn't want to argue for once. This just. . .happened.
> The Crystal Empire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daring had The Optiquest on full speed after running into the reject poachers. Our ship only sustained some minor damage on the right side, by the cannons, so we would have to get that fixed as soon as possible. Secondly, the fact that Daring had someone on her tail began to unnerve me; surely as an explorer, I would think the list of people with the urge to want to kill you is low. And then there was the elephant in the room; the uncertainty of getting back to Detroit.

And stop my tyrant of a sister.

The skies were clear as far as we could see, Rin and Echo looking out on the front of the ship, talking and smiling. Blank was talking to Yuu and Hanabi while Grass Song wa showing Ai, Snow, Takiko and Ko how certain parts of the ship works.

And I stood by Daring, the cold wind on my face forcing me to stay as still as possible as not make it any worse.

"So, h-how much longer until we g-get there?" I asked, Daring looking at me to frown.

"Pansy." Daring said. "Not much longer, the bulk of the trip is over with, but we should be seeing the outskirts any second now. And, you may want to go below deck for some furs."

"Furs?" I asked. I looked at Daring and she was pretty much covered from head to hoof in furs, even the brim of her hat was covered in brown and white shaggy fur, blowing with the cold wind. "I'd rather not look like a puff pastry," I joked, chuckling.

Daring clicked her tongue, going so far as to walk away from the wheel and nudge me to the side of the ship and give me a unamused look as the sights whizzed by without a care in the world.

"Look to your right," Daring said, sitting down. "Tell me what you see."

I did, fighting the wind pushing my eyes to see what looked to be The Crystal Empire, along with what looked to be s-snow?

Wait. I'm not ready for this.~

"So, uh," I began looking at Daring frowning at me. "About dem furs-"

"No deal, do not pass go, do not collect 200 bits or any of my safely procured furs," Daring trotted away, leaving me hanging.

"Come on, Daring; you gotta understand from my side. I have no hair, no protection, and I can't speak for myself but-" I was cut off again.

"I understand you are a heathen," Daring spoke in a low tone, showing a small smile. "But, you're a part of my crew now, so I gotta take care of you. Head down there, rookie. . .I think we have something that can fit you."

I did just that, Snow appearing by my side as I took the brown, reinforced stairs. 

"Hey there, Snow," I greeted, the little Wisp nipping at my ear as I immediately spied an open chest with what looked to be furs sticking out besides a folding table by the kitchen area.

"Snow!~" Snow helped me rummage through the chest, his efforts turning hats and leg warmers that were way too small for me. "Snow, Snow!" Snow frowned, his small white ears folding as he shook his head.

"I hear ya, buddy," I pulled out a purple fur hat, rejecting it. "None of these really do it for me, putting the color aside. But maybe they'll have something when we touch down."

Snow and I continued to go through the spacious trunk, discarding furs that were either too small to for me or would clash in a bad way. I had almost given up when I spied a piece of the bottom of the chest sticking up. Working my fingers to get a good grip, I pulled, the wood taking it's time to peel off until I lost my grip and got slung back a little, hitting my back.

"Damn," I cursed, feeling my fingers to feel that I got a small cut on my ring finger. "Maybe that was a bad idea."

"Snow!~ Snow chirped, sounding happy that I managed to hurt myself. And here I though we were friends. 

"You little munchkin," I commented, ignoring the long black fur coat that looked to almost fit me to a t. "I should. . .wait,'' I got up and walked over, picking the coat up, feeling how smooth the fur ran against my fingers, smiling. ''Well, I guess found just what I needed. . .I wonder why it was put away like it was, though,'' I wondered, looking around the bottom of the ship until I heard Daring's voice call out for me.

''Hey, Jamir; you might wanna come up here now, or you're gonna miss the best part!''

''Let's go,'' I said to Snow as I jogged forward to the stairs, slipping on my new coat, the fit being just right as the length stopped a little bit past my knees and the sleeves came right to my hands. Being down there for the few minutes that I was certainly was enjoyable because of the heat, however the cold outside wasn't that bad with my coat on.

''What's going on?'' I asked, Daring smiling as she motioned behind her.

''Look for yourself,'' Daring said, The Crystal Empire finally coming into view. And in a way, it was worth the small wait to see.






''Whoa,'' Rin said, her eyes wide and smile wider than a mile. ''This place is awesome.~ So how long are we going to be here?''

''Not that long; just long enough that we can talk to Graceful Wind, giver her the Alicorn Amulet, possibly find somepony who help us help you and Jamir get back home,'' Blank began to sort some supplies on the deck.

''Make sense.'' I said, rubbing my sleeves, Rin eyeing my coat. "So would it be ok for us to come with you?"

"Yea, because the quicker that Graceful sees the two of you, the better," Grass Song levitated the walking plank over as The Optiquest began to settle down onto the ground, a slight rumble of the ship following.

"So i'm guessing it's always cold here?'' Rin asked as we began our walk off the ship, seeing the oddly shaped houses and road that looked to be made of crystal.

''Yea, this is one of the more colder places, well here and Yak-Yakistan,'' Blank flew, carrying the amulet in its case with her hooves. ''It almost was never known about at all until more recently.''

''Why?'' I asked. 

''The Crystal Empire was enslaved by a tyrant, and it was saved by the power of 6 ponies and the power of friendship.'' Blank frowned, giving a look of knowing. The power of friendship? I highly doubt that your friends embracing the fact that you're all friends can stop somebody from controlling your life. But then again, I was in a world with talking animals, so just maybe something around that can be possible. ''I can tell by your lack of interest you don't believe me.''

''You're right, I don't, '' I frowned. ''But depending on long we're here, I can be proven wrong.

''So what's with the shine with everybody, and why aren't you guys the same way?'' Rin looked confused, pointing fingers between our crew and the few ponies walking the streets.

''Since the Crystal Empire is a place founded on the basis of how magic is today, they found a way to unite together and use that as power, which brought the Crystal Heart. However, a fallback of that was bringing the snow and nearly making all of their hard work seem like nothing,'' Daring commented, gesturing some ponies passing by. ''The heart reflected that back, and you get Crystal Ponies.''

We continued on, looking at the giant castle in the dead center with a kind of large dome building behind it as we ventured down one street with numerous amounts of carts and vendors, some with some kind of food and others offering clothes, but as we passed by, the hustle and bustle by the ponies that were already here began to die down as we approached a bookstore.

''And why are we here, to buy books or something?'' Rin wondered, her eyes wide with interest. Daring and the rest of the girls continued on, ignoring our questions except Grass Song, who as usual was nice enough to tell us something with some weight.

''This is where Graceful Wind lives. Or really, where you can find her most of the time. So we should be in and out with a way to get you guys back home.'' Grass Song skipped inside, smiling.

''You sure you believe that?'' Rin asked me, halting me from going inside until I said something. She hung her face low, the possibility of being stuck here beginning to dawn on her. And to be honest, it did with me, too. ''Really think this is the best way to go about it; and with them?''

I pushed her arm off my chest with a little bit of force, Rin looking surprised. I spoke in a low tone, looking her dead in her eyes. ''It's our only option, Red,'' I called her nickname, the shock seeming to go even further. ''Either we go with this, or the bloodshed back home will be worse than we can ever imagine. . .and coming from shadows when it's all said and done is not my style. You may not still trust them, but one of us has to,'' I walked forward, frowning as well. ''It's time.''

Rin closed her eyes and sighed, walking with me. ''Okay.''



> A Gentle Right Arm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I walked down the stairs with Rin, the faint smell of ink growing as we traversed down the staircase. Daring and her crew waited for us at the bottom, Blank holding the Alicorn Amulet in her hooves. I was still a bit skeptic about the power of this thing, but if it was something passed down through the times about what it could do, then I wouldn't wait to see how the story would fully unfold; not with finding out what happened to the last user.

''You guys ready?'' Daring asked us, Rin frowning and getting some dust off her hoodie. ''Graceful would be more than willing to help out, seeing that this is more or less her life's work, trying to extract the exact secret about what makes that thing tick,'' I gave a nod, hoping to put all of this craziness behind us. It was definitely a journey, but on this side of the spectrum, I was faced with fighting in another world just to get back to mine.

The battle was far from over, and the war was certain to be a lot more than just a walk in the park.

''I guess so,'' Rin held open a door laden with mosaic tiles and strange looking letters, which I assumed to be their writing. The wear and tear on it was very obvious, along a few dark lines and indentations, maybe from a confrontation or. . .something, I don't know, it's a door.

Doors can't talk back.  

''Let's get this over,'' I said with determination, Grass Song coming over and taking my hand in her mouth, the feeling not full of teeth as I would have thought. She was careful to purse her lips and have a gentle, but firm grip as she pulled me inside, and I immediately saw one of the few things that gave Graceful Wind her namesake. Past the door, it was immaculate, the floor polished to a degree that we could clearly see our reflection and, to my surprise, not a imperfection that I could see, besides us. 

The ceiling was adorned with varying scribbles of their language, covered by dark blue lines and what looked to be numbers, engraved deep into the structure itself , but in the middle of that, I sensed a type of deeper meaning to it, as to say there was a very specific reason for all of that to be there, and my suspicions must have been outweighed by Rin's by a split second. 

"Why is the thing shaking?'' my friend asked, getting in front of me when it began to gravitate more towards a particular corner of the room, where I just happened to be the line of sight of. ''Is it trying to-''

''Oh, sorry, that's only the wards that I put in place,'' a voice called from within the room, only it sounded like it was right by all of us, Daring and everyone else looking as nonchalant as ever as me and Rin instantly got KingSlayer out, passing me King as I loaded a round and stood back to back.

Daring looked ready to smack one, or both of us. ''What are you-''

''Show yourself!'' Rin proclaimed, her eyes darting back and forth around the room. ''Where's Graceful Wind?''

''She's-'' Blank tried to calm us down after us being a tad bit scared. ''Invisible.''

I paused, taking the time to consider that possibility. But how it would apply in this case had me curious. I asked, though a bit hesitant. ''Magic?''

''Magic,'' Daring nodded to us, trotting over to a table with charts and graphs and throwing her hat towards me. ''watch this,'' the hat flew in my direction , but stopped short as it caught on something sideways. ''Say hello, Grace.''

''Oh, ok,'' a raspy, quiet voice agreed, the shape of a pony coming out of nowhere. ''Sorry about the minor scare, I just wanted to poke a little fun at you, but I guess that I didn't really think about your feelings.'' 

''It's ok,'' Grass Song smiled, patting the unicorn on the back. ''They didn't seem so bad to be affected by you joking them.''

Graceful snickered, but gave an understanding smile. ''I know, but I still want to apologize for spooking you if I did,'' Graceful offered an apology.



''I can tell that you're sorry, but we don't have time for all that,'' Daring walked back over to me and Rin. ''You've met everyone on my crew except these two. Meet Rin and Jamir, they're humans from another world. Introduce yourselves.''

''Hi there, it's nice to meet you./Hello,'' Rin and I spoke at the same time. ''Nice to meet you.''

''Hello!~'' Graceful bowed a little. ''It's nice to meet you, though I wasn't expecting you to pick up some new crew members on your way back from securing the Alicorn Amulet.''

''True, but when they fell out of the sky, I didn't have much of a choice besides almost having the jump on them when we first met,'' Daring chuckled, I would peg the fact that she knew what really went on when we first met, but I didn't want to really embarrass her anymore then she already did. ''But they did help with actually getting the darn force field.''

''Really?'' Graceful gasped, walking over to the tables and consulting a few notes. ''That shield was really powerful, not even someone like me or Captain Shining Armour could try and put a dent in there.''

Thank Rin's unnatural strength for that, well the Life Drive a little too.

''We managed, but putting aside getting stopped by some poachers, fighting a Hydra and not really having a plan gave me a result that I liked at least,'' Daring boasted, giving us all a big smile. ''Good job, crew.''  

''We appreciate that,'' Rin spoke up, gesturing to the tarped case. ''But can we talk about trying to find us a way home? We do have our own responsibilities on Earth, and the sooner that we get back is the better.'' I had to second her thoughts, least we leave the city as we know now to be reduced to ash, and then, the whole world could be next if we're late. ''Daring said something about not being to able to use it, even though from what I heard; it's pretty powerful.''

Graceful uncovered the tarp with her magic, seeing the amulet spar jiggle and shake a tad as the gem in the center glowed red. ''She was right, and for a very good reason. This amulet, based on the finding that were made by the last few known users as well as my great-grandfather before his passing, basically equates to it being very dangerous. The Alicon Amulet's origin's are sketchy at best there are some things I can confirm, and none of it good.''

''H-How bad?'' Echo asked. ''I-Is it something that we s-should all be worried a-about?''  I watched as Graceful clicked her tongue and channeled some of her magic and experimented with the case and seeing if something would change. 

''Well, see. . .if this was to come into come into contact with somepony, it could extract the negative intentions and use that to fuel its own power to be even more of a thorn in my side,'' the hum of her magic began to fizzle once she tried to infuse it with the amulet. ''Daring here saved you guys from possibly going mad.''

''So, we got you the amulet, so now what? How do we make sure that this thing is put down as a bad part of our history?'' Daring wondered, genuinely sounding drained. It could be from all the time that was spent looking for this one thing, and who knows exactly what they really had to go through to lead them to this point.

Graceful began to ponder that as she brought forth a book and began looking through before she found a page and scanned it for a few minutes, her eyes sometimes widening and narrowing at certain points in time before blowing a raspberry with her tongue. ''There's something that might help us, but if this book is any indication on how we should go about it, we'd be better off trying to consult a higher power like Celestia or Luna,'' my interest was piqued at those names, and how they sounded like overcompensation.

''Just tell us,'' Blank said outright. ''The quicker is the quicker we all can put this all behind us, and me and Echo can reap the reward.''

''So you're just doing this for yourself and your sister, is that it?'' Graceful looked a tad surprised. ''What about the mission about making sure that this never infects another living being and causes nothing but death and sorrow?'' Blank snorted for a second and brought her little sister closer to her.

''Yea, there is that, and I would like for that to not be a reality, however, some things are just a little more important, like making sure we can be here long enough to be do that. So we should really be more along than this, right?''

Graceful pushed Blank back a tad, looking like she just swallowed lemon juice. ''Daring, did you know about this? I thought we were all in this together,'' the unicorn said as she looked at Daring, taking off her hat and steeling herself for what she said next.

''Yea, I did, and that was something that I had to take into account for all us when we came into this line of work.'' Daring said. ''Blank and Echo made it clear that while making sure that the Alicorn Amulet can't be used for evil again, the prospect of getting paid was something that they wanted.'' Rin and Graceful looked a little upset at what Daring said. ''We all know why Grass is in this, but I can't speak for Rin and Jamir.''

Graceful held her look of what I looked at to be a mixture of disappointment and sadness. Maybe she really treated Daring like family. I wonder if it would be our place to speak.

''Well, I guess since you guys are new to all of this, I should be courteous and ask if you guys what you're trying to get out of this. Is it money too?'' Graceful asked.

With not a second to spare, Rin spoke for us. ''We need to get home, there's some bad people that need to be dealt with. We were hoping before you told us about it, we could maybe try the Alicorn Amulet to get back.''

Graceful laughed, trying her best to not spit at our thought. But, the more she tried, the worse it got. So I spoke. ''Why does it seem so out of the ordinary? I mean, beside Daring telling us she would try and help us get home, it's looking like the Alicorn Amulet is something to lean on,'' I scoffed, Rin, laying her hand on my shoulder and squeezing very lightly, reminding me to not step out of line. ''It's just. . .I guess I would be willing to take what would come with it if it meant we could get back.''

''And that's just why we had to make sure that this would be taken care of before something like that could happen to somepony else, and between you, me and the crystal floor, it's not gonna happen.'' Graceful said, taking the amulet in its case and putting it inside of a chest before locking with a puzzle lock. ''The easy part is over now that I have it here, but keeping this buried will be the hard thing,'' Blank and Echo looked on, seeming to look at something that we didn't see, but I  bet this would be the wrong time to interrupt. ''Once again, I thank you, Daring, and your crew for helping me out with this, and-''

''It's no problem, just doing my job, and also helping to do some good, so it wasn't nothing,'' Daring patted the unicorn on the back. ''Now there's the matter of us getting paid and we should be on our way unless there was something else you needed to be done.''

Closing her mouth and trotting away, Graceful sat in a seat after securing the chest with talismans and what looked like magic circles, she went to looking at some documents. 

''Grace?'' Daring asked. ''You there, what's the sitrep on our pay?''

No response. 

''Okay, this isn't funny, what's going on with our money?'' Blank walked forward, laying her hoof all over the table. ''Talk,'' her yellows eyes narrowed into slits and wings fluttering, displacing papers. I was wary that a fight would break out but our friend here sighed and handed Daring a paper, our captain looking at it and instantly yelling and cursing.

''What the hell?!!'' Daring's ears went down as she slammed her head on the table, a loud thud making her friends wince as she hit the floor, rolling around and growling. ''Damn table!''

''What's wrong?'' I asked, worried about what could be wrong this time, or in this case, what else. Blank went over and looked at the paper, doing the same as Daring.

''We're not getting paid!'' Blank yelled. ''Grace, you got some answering to do!'' she bared her fangs. ''Messing with my money is like messing with my emotions, and you just seen what we talked about-''

''Wait, wait!'' Graceful teleported to the far end of the room, looking scared for her life. ''I. . .can't actually pay you, but I do know somebody who can.''

''And who might that be?'' Daring asked. I too was curious, if only because should this impede our own mission to get home, I would like to know now so we can plan accordingly.

Graceful looked a bit sheepish and almost wanted to cry. It seemed like she didn't want to lie to her friends, but seeing as it was something that she needed to do get the Alicorn Amulet, a means to an end, I would say. And yet it still doesn't make what she did right just to get a certain result.

''I guess one thing that I could do is send you to somepony who might be able to solve both of your problems of money and getting you two guys back home,'' Graceful said, giving us the rundown. Apparently, we would have to go and see a Starlight Glimmer, according to Graceful, her magic was much more focused and vast while she may have some money that she would be willing to part with in exchange for a few favors from us.

''That's not what we agreed on, Graceful, you told us that we would be paid upon completion,'' Daring looked to see Graceful backing further away. ''I don't like being lied to,'' Daring let Grass inspect her as Blank looked livid, Echo scared as usual, and Rin and myself wondering.

''But it was the only way that I knew you guys would be sure to help,'' Graceful's point was in one way, valid, yet if these were her friends, they shouldn't have a problem with helping out, but they also don't need to be lied to. ''For what it's worth, I'm sorry, but I wasn't gonna take a chance to let this get away from any longer. . .I hope with time you can understand.''

''You know, I don't think so,'' Rin said, speaking her mind. ''We risked our butts for you, for a whole lot of ponies apparently, and they can't be given their due? I mean, who is gonna know about this besides the people in this room and maybe a few others? I don't get a sense of accomplishment from having what I did be made public, but just knowing that it was the right thing to do and it was done the right way should be made clear.'' I couldn't disagree on everything besides the result factor; as long as it gets done, then it should be no problem really.

''Ok, ok, I can see we're all a little surprised on what's happening but I can assure you that you can be given just due when you go and talk to Starlight and tell her I sent you.'' Daring looked not amused at the words of her friend. ''If you just head East, you'll be at the edge of the Crystal Mountains, which will lead you to where you can find Starlight's settlement, right here,'' Graceful showed us a map in her magic, circling a place that looked like a desert, yet Rin still tried to push her point forward.

''You sure we're supposed to go there?'' I asked, looking at the map we were provided with. From what I saw, it seemed as if we would be going to a desert. ''I don't know the distance really well, but we may be going a small distance to talk to this friend of yours.''

Graceful tapped the map a few times, catching my attention. ''I would go with, really I would, but my hooves are tied here. Do you trust Daring?'' she asked me.

''I mean, to a degree, but what does that have to do with what I asked you-''

''Daring, against what anypony else might think, does trust me a lot, and I have made it a point to not abuse that trust.'' Graceful said. 

''Except this one time,'' Blank muttered, giving her friend a cold look.

''Regardless of that, she's a smart pony, so if you just trust in her, then everything should work itself out for the most part,'' we were all looking to Daring to get her input on the matter.

''Well,'' Daring looked to weigh two different things, hovering in the air a little. ''When life sets you back, you need to set up for a comeback, one example being now. Things changed, guys but our respective missions haven't. We still have to go back to the Avernus Jungle to see if we can handle what we originally came for in the first place before helping out Graceful,'' she looked to her crew, then to us, smiling a bit. ''And we can't forget helping out our new friends and trying to see if a way home for them is here, I know it, so we're gonna have to split time and effort.''

''So we're going to see this Starlight?'' Blank asked, smacking her lips. ''That'll put us off schedule.''

''Blank, a lot of things has,'' Grass said, siding with our leader. ''We all gotta adapt to change, and if we wanna get paid and help Rin and Jamir get home, it looks like we'll have to be off schedule for a minute.''

''S-She's right sis,'' Echo said, standing with Grass. ''We'll be okay with for a little bit helping other our friends.''

''So we're in agreement, then?'' I asked, going towards the door.

''It would seem that way,'' Daring eyed her friend one last time before just walking off and putting her hat on, her face hardened and her wings spread out as we walked out with the ma. ''Decrahu, guys; the sooner the better.''
> A Welcome Welcome
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

''P-Please.~'' a voice begged. ''No more. . .'' the sound of a whip cracking against skin sounded again and again. 

Crack! Crack! Crack!

''I-I didn't mean to, i-it was an accident!'' another lash came, only towards the face, ripping flesh apart and giving a wicked cut that would leave a heavy scar. The tone of the room save for the sound of crying, the whip being struck was full of malice.

''Now,'' a another voice came into the fray, sounded nonetheless pleased that this was going on, but maintained a strict tone as a parent would. ''I don't think you've learned your lesson, Last Order, but I am willing to give you a chance to explain what exactly it is that you did wrong and how you plan to fix it,'' the voice sighed and waited for a explanation.

''Well, you see,'' Last Order stood up from her place on the floor, the cold, dirty floor made her shiver. ''I only wanted some new friends to play with, and I-I was having fun, but. . .'' Last Order looked back to the floor in shame. 

''But what?'' the other voice demanded. ''Look at me when you speak to me, or I'll make this a whole lot worse than what it needs to be.''

Last Order flinched, scrambling to not burst into tears, but managed to look her master in the face. ''I-I kinda used that one thing that you told me not to touch, and it w-went sideways,''

Crack! Last Order was struck in the throat, instantly screaming at the force of the whip slashing a cut and almost knocking her back as she tried to find air, when only barely any would come. The sound of high heels coming towards her forced her to try and crawl backwards to avoid anymore punishment, but it was too late as she was grabbed by her hair and dragged over into a room with a single light-bulb providing light and the presence of flies and the most horrible of smells.

''No! No! NO! NO! NO!~ N-MMMPH!'' Last Order's head was forced into a toilet, her eyes and cuts on her face and throat instantly burning. Her vision began to blur as she struggled to not breathe in any of the foreign and disgusting things. She thought it was over when she was brought up for air, hacking and crying.

''I will ask this one more time, and I expect a good answer.  Where. Did. He. Go?'' the figure holding her down held her head back, forcing her to look at the ceiling and barely see the illumination of the light, and the sight of eyes that could bore a hole in her skull. ''Take a moment to think it over before I come to my own conclusion.''

Last Order could barely breathe, her tears running down her face as she tried and tried to get away, only to end up being shook back and forth to stop. She had to think of something quick, or she would be dead. But she didn't have a clue where, or even  what exactly happened.

''U-Um. . .I-I. . .''

''Yes?''

''D-Don't know!~'' Last Order yelled as best she could, her voice hoarse and beginning to fade. ''P-Please, have mercy on me!''

The figure closed their eyes, sighing and letting Last Order go. Did it work? She's gonna be spared?

''I hoped you would be a more reliable source of entertainment, but I guess not,'' shackles were attached to her legs and arms as she was forced in a sitting position. ''But, when you find out something of value, I'll know where you'll be. Enjoy your appointment.~''

''Wait. . .~'' Last Order weakly said, groaning as her throat was shackled. ''W-Why are you d-doing this?''

''Because-'' Last Order was forced back into the toilet to the very bottom, small wisps of her voice yelling being heard as she struggled, though it was pointless. ''-I need to find him before he becomes too much for even me to deal with.'' the door and light was shut and turned off as a sliding door unfurled and covered the door, seeming as if it was never there. 

The streets began to beckon as the night began to wind down. The rain came in light sprinkles as the once busy streets of this certain stretch of Chinatown was quiet.



''Hmmph. Good help is so hard to come by, isn't it?'' another voice crawled out of the darkness, a simple sword being drawn to the new figure's throat. ''Whoa there, it's just me, Lady Junko,'' the female chuckled, pointing the tip of the weapon away. 

''Oh, it is you, Chloe,'' Junko said, sheathing her weapon and continuing her walk. ''And what are you doing here?''

Chloe laughed, pulling out a red and black umbrella and her black and red biker jacket embroidered with the Abysmal's name, offering it to Junko as they walked down the street. Chloe was a woman of simple principle and living, from how she dressed to how she talked. The look of mirth in her green eyes was questionable to Junko. She wondered what she could want. 

''You know how it is for us, One; you should know we'd never let you be by yourself even if you can handle yourself, that and I've been doing some looking into those matters like you instructed me to do,'' Chloe smiled, handing Junko a few photographs.

''Good work, your hardwork is to be commended.'' Junko said, stuffing the photos in her pocket, feeling the wetness of the rain on her white hair. ''I like the rain, you know.''

''And what is that, my lady?'' 

Junko strolled from under the umbrella, walking right into the small torrent of rain on her clothes and face. ''It, like few things are free form, so we as humans only really have a small grip on how to control it. Mankind tries to control everything and that which they strive to understand down to the simplest form.'' Junko said, looking at her follower just smiling that same smile and waiting for her to continue.

''Let me ask you a question, and be 100% honest. . .Do you approve of what it is we. . .or really, what I do? Is it wrong in your eyes? And don't worry about sparing my feelings, this is a honest question.''

Chloe thought about it for a good while, kicking her feet and then humming to herself before speaking. ''Of course not, my lady; if anything everyone else is wrong for not seeing things the way you do. Greatness to the degree your passions is is almost blinding that we that are beneath you are not fit to be breathing the same air as you!~'' Chloe skipped over, giving a indication to give Junko a hug, which she accepted. ''You saved my life, so why wouldn't I ever not follow you to the end of the universe itself?''

Hmm, hearing that display of admiration and conviction peaked Junko's interest for a second, but only just.

If only he could see things that way.

''Hmm. . .well thank you for your honesty, Chloe, I appreciate it, and know that it is for a good reason why I asked you. I may have gained a little bit of a insight on what those not of us may or may not feel, but I do have one thing that I will say.'' Junko said, rubbing a hand through Chloe's brown hair.

''Yes, my lady?'' Chloe asked, bouncing from toe to toe. 

''Stop with being simple. . .the time for expression is now, and wearing the exact same clothes and having your hair in the same style is lackluster.'' Junko said, Chloe looking shocked. 

''Lady Junko, how could you say that? This is the way you presented me when you saved my life all those years ago! I have even made sure to try not to get it dirty at all throughout the 3 years of me being bonded to this!~'' 

Junko shook her head, clutching the jacket around her to try and keep her checkered shirt clean. This was something that she  wouldn't fully be able to understand, though she well had more than enough power and influence to force someone to help her understand, it wouldn't yield the result she truly wanted. But more than anything, in this world; power is absolute and he who controls those with the most power will be closer to having exactly whatever their heart could desire.

However, this burning feeling in her chest just refuses to be quenched by any normal means. Something needed to be done, and needed to be done now.

'As long as I control everything, in time, I will have what it is that I want. . .even if nobody else is willing to see my vision, they will help make it come true.' Junko thought to herself, and the first step of that would be to track down the one person she knows can help, and he will, whether it is of his own choice or not.
> Starlight, Starbright.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The more that I think about it. . .

WHAM!  Daring and I hit the ground at the same time, both of us groaning.

Trying to fight Rin and the rest of Daring's crew certainly is a bad idea, even for us.

''Guys, come on!'' Daring hopped up to avoid Blank trying to cave her skull in with her hooves. ''This ain't you, and while I love the fire in your eyes, I'd appreciate it be directed somewhere else!'' the look of fear was genuine in my leader as we dodged onslaughts of punches, kicks, bites and attacks from the local town as we ran to the Optiquest.

''Where's that bitch?!'' I cursed, skipping back and forth on my feet, weaving in and out as best I could of Rin's punches and kicks. Charging at me, she leaped in the air, spinning before throwing a punch and two quick spinning kicks in almost a fraction of a second, the force pushing me back as I blocked with both my arms. My arms were stinging, even when she's not serious, Rin can cause some damage. ''Red, snap out of it!'' I shook my head, meeting her in the middle with a few punches; torso, head, arm, repeat, though she landed more than me before I reeled back and threw a decent hay-maker, the smirk on her face making me frown as she easily dodged it and socked me dead in the gut as I flew back, clutching my stomach in pain.

I slid back a bit, panting, and beginning to see red in my eyes, damn she must have burst a blood vessel. I don't think I can win, even with the element of surprise. I pushed past my body yelling no and ran back again, throwing my own spinning kick that she ducked low behind and caught with my leg with one hand, her hand on my chest as she hurled me to the ground quick.

''. . .Ouch,' I whined, Rin looking at me at the ground as she smiled even more, channeling her own Life Drive and starting Fusion.

Oh shit.




48 Hours Earlier. . . 




After going through the trouble of Daring and the girls not being paid, we had just landed the Optiquest again, our eyes were set upon a desert town, filled with nothing but rocks, cacti, and the blazing hot sun. What did stand out that we were all informed of ahead of time was the town that would be there where this Starlight resided. According to Graceful, she's probably the only one who is available that can help with us getting paid and me and Rin heading home. And even though it's past us now, I still wonder about the Alicorn Amulet as a way out. . .

I don't know anymore. I just want to get home. 

And this was not just my own conflict to deal with, I'm sure of it.

I looked at the guys walking off board the ship, Rin, as usual, taking her time as she told Daring she wanted us to talk before we headed into town, but I was curious if we could have the time to ourselves with nobody listening, and I'm talking about Blank.

But I wonder if she's actually ok, but I'm sure it would be dumb to not ask after all this time.

''Hey, you ok?'' I asked, her stopping and looking at me, a glint of something in her bright red eyes, yet I couldn't quite tell what it was. Now that we had a second, I looked at us, being that our clothes were crude, barely looking like they were before we left Central. Our hoodies were tattered, the hood on Rin's pretty much gone now, both were littered with patches of of mud, grass stains and blood. Her hair was in shambles, but knowing the kind of girl she is, Rin doesn't really care. We needed some new clothes. ''If you're not ok. . .you can tell me, you know? Just wanna make sure you're-''

Rin smiled, giving me a hug and burying her head in my neck before I finished.

''-straight.'' I said, not rejecting the friendly gesture. ''What''s up? You ok?''

''Yea,'' Rin chuckled a little, rubbing my back a little and sighing. ''It's just a little different then what we deal with. But as long as we got each other, we'll be ok. We'll be ok and go back to Detroit before we know it,'' Rin somewhat assured me with the tone in her voice, but even I could tell that she was playing herself just to a degree. She kept the smile on her face as she let me go and walked towards everyone else. ''Not to say this place is bad, but I know we both would rather not be here if we could help it.''

And isn't that preaching to the choir on that, Red?

In any case, we had to be quick about this, and hopefully, we can find something worth our journey here, or I was going to be mad.

''This doesn't look like the brochure,'' Rin joked, Echo giggling a little bit, seeming to be a little more comfortable with us being with us. Well, we did kinda help these guys out and even talked to them about us a little, I never would have thought you could find some sort of humanity in someone. . .not human. A lot has happened when we got here, so my mind is open to a few things seeming more close to home then I thought. ''So what part of this is gonna happen again before we go on another chase for something else, and so on?'' Rin asked, kicking a few rocks out of her way.

Daring stopped flying and dropped to the ground, turning around and stomping her hoof. ''It won't happen again, Rin, cause if it does, then. . .I will. . .I. . .-''

''How bout you eat your hat?'' Grass offered, me looking at her like a crazy person. ''I mean, we have had a pretty shotty track record, and we've all be looking like sitting ducks, so why not? Plus you'd be setting a good example for all of us as a leader.'' Daring chuckled, backing away from Grass who seemed serious about her offer. I didn't know if I wanted to help or help her see it through.

You can see my predicament. See someone eat a hat and laugh about it, or see someone eat a hat and laugh about it. I think I know what I'm gonna pick.

''I second that,'' as we stopped and looked at each other. ''I give it to the end of this day before we're somehow running back to the ship. maybe less than that.'' I said as Daring looked a bit miffed at me.

''Well I say the opposite,'' Rin stood with Daring, her smirk making mine turn into a frown. ''Oh really? What happened to being on my side, Red?'' I asked in a snarky way, nudging her in the chest, the glint in her eyes and teeth showing let me know what I wanted.

''Well, how about this?'' Rin asked, looking at Blank and Echo and asking their side, and when Blank came to see things my way but Echo come to her, she huffed and summoned Hanabi, Ko, and Taki. ''It's you, Blank and Grass so far, bring out Ai, Yuu and Snow and let's get their opinions,'' Rin said, looking at our Fairies appear in a fantastic display of light and energy.

''AI! Master, how can we assist you?/Ma'am, how can we help?'' Ai and Takiko asked at the same time, me and Rin smirking and folding our arms.

''Well,'' I said, catching all of their attention. ''Rin here seems to think that we won't be chased out of this here town looking for Starlight by day's end. I say we will, cause even before coming here, we've had our share of being chased when things went south, but we're all putting it to a vote,'' I smiled, Ai raising her hand and speaking once I called on her.

''Master, how?''

''Well, me, Echo and Daring so far think that it won't happen, but that's why we need you guys, to make it fair since Jamir has Blank and Grass Song.'' Rin said. ''So you guys can pick a side.''

''Will we get into trouble if we pick the wrong side?'' Yuu asked, looking legitimately worried.

''No, Yuu,'' Daring said, coming over and rubbing her hair to which she meowed like a kitten. ''This is all in fun. Kinda stupid if you ask me, but still in fun.''

''So what will it be, guys?'' Grass asked, eager to hear the answers.

''We always will side with our Master!~'' Ai and Yuu cheered.

''Snow!'' Snow chirped, sounding like a yes to me.

''That's 6 to 3 so far, Red, time for you guys,'' I looked to Taki, Ko and Hanabi.

''I will never abandon Lady Rin,'' Hanabi proclaimed, drawing her sword in the air and holding it high, laughing a mighty laugh. ''I know my comrade Ko feels the same, do you not?''

''Ko!~'' Ko seemed to agree. 

''That's 5 to 6, all that's left is Takiko,'' I said, looking at her deep in thought and her eyes closed as she floated in the air, quiet as the wind. Could she. . .actually be thinking about thinking seeing it my way? Not to say she would be wrong, but to me this just doesn't seem all that right.

But it would be all the more sweeter if she did.

Taki fumbled with the bottom of her skirt, worry in her blue eyes and her face crinkling and contorting every which way before she settled down and slowly floated over to me and rested on my shoulder. Wow. . .she really didn't side with Rin, even over something so small.

I'm shocked.

''Sorry, Ma'am, but I think Jamir's right. . .for once.''

''Hey!'' my pride was somehow able to be hurt by a Fairy, but this was in a joking way. ''That settles it, Red. And since you and your group seems so sure about this being a cakewalk, you all can eat from Daring's hat when we get safely in the sky from running for our lives after finding out what we need to here.'' I said, continuing my walk as Blank took the initiative and blasted ahead of us, sending sand, dirt and rocks in our faces.

Ugh.

''You say that as if it'll happen in the next hour or something,'' Rin frowned and stormed off to the town with Blank and Grass Song.

''Well, what do you think will happen this time?'' Daring asked, flying lazily in the air. ''I know Graceful enough to know she wouldn't lead us astray, but I wonder why this Starlight decided to be all the way out here away from any real civilization.''

I had the same thought in the back of my mind, too, they've already been duped once, and a second time would make anyone sour. 

But the time for guessing was over as we entered the small town in a few minutes, the buildings following the same almost to a dull shade of grey yellow with the same height and devoid of any trinkets. The only remote thing to stand out was a small church at the end.

"Anybody notice the look of. . .well, stuff here?" Rin asked, her walk getting slower. "And also if you think about it, the way these buildings are setup, don't it look like a equal sign?'

Blank and I agreed after looking at it from a different perspective. "Maybe they wanted to save money." Daring and Rin looked unimpressed. "Or maybe it was already this way when they got here," Blank chuckled nervously.

We continued on for another minute or so, the crunch of the dry land beneath our feet being the only sound until we approached the stairs of the church, me and Rin staring with a curious eye. I wondy what higher power they believe in.

I have the feeling I'll find out sooner or later.

"So who's knocking?" I whispered. Everyone else had still faces, barely any emotion in their flat smile, to the even neutral look of their eyes. They looked at each other, then to me, then back to themselves, then back to me with their hooves pointed at me. Oh wow what a great idea, have the new guy do it. "Great, why not?" I muttered, knocking six times before stopping and waiting.

"Coming!~" a female voice sung with glee before hearing the clip clop of hooves approach. No going back now. The door swung open with a field of magic. "Can I help you?~"

Oh. My. Goodness.




Detroit, Michigan.

The sun beamed today, covering the entire city with warmth and peace. It was a very nice day for pretty much anything.  The vibration of the road echoed back barely into the cabin of the car as it sped along the highway.

The paint stood out just like the sun, both were hot and bright. The red and black stripes called out to the road as the car, low to the ground and somewhat noisy curved around a bend, his speed increasing from 55 to 70. The wind whipped into the cabin, almost slapping the drivers face as he weaved in and out of traffic, intent of being seen as the best.

Another shift of the gears and a tap on the gas brought the engine to life, buildings and people only a blur as the noise outclassed that of a police siren. It was a shame everyone couldn't have a Lamborghini, but-

Boom!

A loud explosion rocked the downtown area, windows shattering, cars screening and people taking cover as plumes of smoke rose in the sky. The sound was too close for comfort for anyone not to have their ears ringing.

Before anyone could gather their bearings, small buildings began to fall and implode, dust and the pained screams of people lighting off like firecrackers. The sky began to darken with the smoke, ambulance, police and firefighters began to swarm with the addition of medical drones.

The car dropped its speed down to 40 and began to maneuver through the traffic, glass and people unfortunate enough to be fairly close to death. The world around was shaking and falling apart faster than anyone could have forseen.

Swerve to the left, swerve to the right, hard brake, peel out, try not to fishtail, glass, metal, missing mirror, tires screeching.

And then. . .THUMP! A person landed on the windshield, forcing the car to brake and turn sharp, the wheels and axles straining from the constant abuse. The body flew a few hundred feet, head first, then rolling and thumping, bits of blood and skin coming off as the person stopped in a patch of grass.

His heart was pounding, never ending, the feeling was in the air, as well as the smell, the numbers would only increase.

A second wave of explosions came and rumbled, the city being as loud as it's ever been.

The car was put in park, the butterfly door opened, almost with hesitation before out stepped a man, roughly in his 30's with dark curly hair and skin of bronze, he was frightened, confused, looking for answers as to why this happened but instead he found a bullet lodged in his chest from a man with a black and red suit with a black trenchcoat and glasses holding a pistol.

"W-W-Why?~"the man groaned and clutched his white shirt, now stained with dust and dirt and his own blood. He stumbled back, hitting the door of his car before somehow managing to put the car in drive and creep a few feet away before the car hit a concrete border and the blared, male more than likely hitting his head on the steering wheel from dying from the gunshot.

The other man with the gun simply walked on, picking off anyone wasn't already dead, the lack of remorse not even able to be seen in his eyes due to his shades. "This is what Lady Junko commands of us, it is as she says; we are merely an extension of her very will."

The city continued to fall, bit by bit. In the air, the blades of a helicopter spun, providing lift and a bird's eye view of the carnage below.

"Things are going according to your plan, Ma' am," Chloe announced, smiling and observing from her place, right beside Junko. She felt so excited to be this close.
"What are your orders now?"

"Instruct squads 1, 5, 7, and 9 to divert their efforts to The Witch Hunt. We need to find those two before they try anything. . . especially him. Either he will serve will me as my equal," Chloe grit her teeth at that thought. The brat was not going to take her spot as Right Hand anytime soon, or at all. "Or he will be my loyal slave, who sits and wait for me to guide him."

"My lady?" Chloe looked confused, Junko undoing her seatbelt, standing up and straighting out her white and blue trimmed dress and overly sized hat.

"I'm going for a closer look. Don't wait up," Junko swan dove out after opening the door and soaring down to the city below, Chloe catching a glimpse of her white lace panties before her departure. She didn't mean to look, it was just there.

Her face a little flush, the pilot asked for the next place to head, when she told him he was relieved for the day, she followed suit, the wind forcing her eyes shut for a moment. Putting on some googles, her vision improved to see the downtown rapidly approaching.

'Let the Witch Hunt begin,' Chloe thought.



> A Day In The Life
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Enter Starlight Glimmer, who from first glance didn't seem as bad as I initially thought.

It was worse.

Graceful Wind told us that there if were to be someone who could help me and Rin get home, it may as well be her, and that possibility could only be realized if we had to do some more grunt work than was already being done, so yay to that. And also that we were not told of how. . .expressive she is.

If you had reason to doubt me, then check this out.

''Well, well, well; what do we have here?'' Starlight Glimmer asked in a sickeningly sweet tone, sizing us up and down as we explained why we decided to grace her little. . .town with our presence. After me and Daring explaining who we were and the mutual friend we had, or at least I hoped it was mutual so we would not be on yet another quest to derail all of us. 

''If you were sent by a pony like Graceful Wind, then I am more than sure that I should be able to help you folk with whatever you may need,'' Starlight said, inviting us inside her little home, though the rest of it was just like the town; devoid of anything that really made it stand out, which was another flag in my books that maybe there could be more to this town than meets the eye. Couple that with an intermediate response of surprise at me and Rin, and that just brews up something for later. "The very first order of business I can see that you would want would be to pay for all of your hard work up to this point. Fortunately enough; bits are not an issue for me as we have all we could possibly want in our little town.''

I don't buy it.

Grass Song and Blank looked around at what they could see as me and Daring, Rin and Echo helped to count the 900 bits that Starlight brought from a sack that was in a brown and gold chest. We talked for about 15 or so minutes about some of the things that our crew did, and the mission that I and Rin had to see through. At first, Starlight seemed to be sympathetic to our cause, highlighting some of the wrongs that were seen in the work of Junko, as well as my shortcomings as opportunistic chances were presented to me. Something I noticed that began to fuel more of my idea of us being chased out of the village was her tone and ideology at unity and being an individual. And while that was riveting, it was her phrasing of unity meaning all as of one entity that made me stop in my tracks.

''Why does that seem so much as a problem to you? From what I hear, it sounds like too many heads doing too many things at once led to this situation, in the first place.'' Starlight said, sat in the middle of the room with us in a circle after moving some stuff around and the talks began to gain a little more ground. Her being standoffish at the hardships of the people before us and the people who currently had to deal with the long fight ahead. ''If they were all in the exact same frame of mind when they did this, then perhaps this wouldn't have had to happen, but that's merely just my own personal philosophy.''

''And where is this 'grand' philosophy of yours coming from?'' Rin asked, leaning against the window, calling Starlight out on her bluff of unified faith. ''What makes what you believe so right that everyone else here is doing it too?''

Starlight chuckled and began to list off her reasons. ''Why, less ponies get hurt and worry about less when things are done this way. Being the exact same makes it to where nopony will feel more or less important than the other. It brings a sense of. . .complete order when the same thought is the one that makes the most sense, then where is the fault in that?''

Daring narrowed her eyes and sat down, pointing a hoof at Starlight as she retorted. ''Of course, you don't see it, because you're the one making the choices for everypony in this village, it only makes sense that nothing decided by the pony in charge would seem almost perfect. When you don't give the option for a different choice, then it always falls to just what you want; that's the shortfall.'' Starlight chuckled at our leader's statement. ''Has anything in this village been decided by anypony else besides you And what about the Cutie Marks? Why are they all the same?''

''Of course, it has, I merely suggest, and everypony else merely sees the logic in my reasoning and just agrees. . .I'm sure that you have seen those kinds of things occur in your own world, or am I wrong?''

''Well, it's not like it is here, where nobody has no choice at all, people back home have the ability to make whatever choice they want and to voice their opinion on why they feel that way. However, I can guess that's not the case here if you become judge, jury, and executioner.'' Rin said, countering Starlight's words. I felt the same as well. 

Even though a lot of people's choices or wishes aren't taken into consideration as much, they still have the conscience to make that choice versus it being made for them. ''What about those Cutie Marks that Daring was talking about? We saw a few ponies with the exact same one, does that mean that-''

''Everypony who has come here has been shown that the Cutie Mark that they were given was, in fact the wrong one. Thanks to the help of everyone in our village, we have helped others see that the way to go is to be the same; equality in every sense of the word!'' Starlight proclaimed proudly, throwing us for a loop. ''Why, when you think about it, it makes sense. If we are all the same, then there is nothing to argue or dispute.''

Rin scoffed and began to counter Starlight with her understanding of the situation, flaring her nostrils. ''Not having variety can be the downfall of a country, a state, even the world, if there's not a fallback option in cause your one way, does not work. There's a saying that I hope is the same for you which is; if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. You can't tell me that there has yet to be any problems or issues with your single, headstrong, dictator bullshit!" Rin smashed a hand on the window sill, splintering the wood.

Starlight stepped back a tad, as did Daring and everyone else but me. 

I know Rin was just being passionate about one of her ideals.

Starlight cleared her throat. ''Well, I can see that my way of doing things is not something that you agree with-''

''-I don't.'' Rin harshly responded back with a small growly undertone. ''But continue.''

''R-Rin.'' Blank said, everyone looking at her for the moment. ''Are you sure you're. . .okay?''

Rin deflated a tad at the question, knowing she could have handled the situation better. ''Yea, sorry; I just. . .want to hear her side of this debate is all. It's no worry.''

''Yes, Blank, it's only a friendly conversation, but you have to remember that this. . .is not your place to say any of this. I appreciate your concern, but I am more than certain anypony else would agree with the way that things are, I assure you,'' Starlight trotted towards the door, stopping to throw Rin a small look of knowing. ''I know you know this, as well. What I can tell you is that everypony who has come through to our little town has come to understand our ways, and I hope you may come to feel the same as well one day.''

''And why do you say that?'' I asked.

''Well,'' Starlight hummed and smiled, saying her next sentence as if it was merely facts. ''Pretty much anypony who has come to our town has never wanted to leave; well that and they all have seen how much better it is to be part of the community that we've built over the years.'' Starlight said, paying a look of appreciation to the ponies that were going to and fro to their houses. ''Even with the current issue that they both of you are going through, I would hope when it gets resolved that maybe you would be willing to be a part of our quaint little home.''

''Don't count your chickens before they hatch,'' I said, personally getting tired of being thrown around like a merry-go-round. Granted, this. . .village has its own set of issues dealing with the seemingly sensible pony being a dictator to those under her, but we currently have different priorities. ''Graceful said you could be the one who can help us find a way back home, now is that true or not?''

Starlight proudly stood tall and touched a hoof to her chest as she responded. ''Why, of course! Not to toot my own horn, but I am pretty adept at magic. There's not much that I can't do when it comes to the way of Unicorn magic, but I will need some time to peruse my spellbooks to see what exactly I may need to do, I hope that won't be a problem.''

''Wellll, not really.'' Grass Song said, chuckling nervously. ''We would just hope for the earliest that you could so we can help our friends is all, but-'' Daring interjected into the conversation.

''-But, we also want you to get things right so there's no risk. I think we should take a break and settle down for a few. What says you, Rin and Jamir?'' our leader looked at us with a small smile on her face.

Hmmm.

''Fine,'' I said, shrugging and waving my arm in an uncaring motion. ''Rin?'' I called, seeing her still a bit miffed at what Starlight said earlier. Her arms were folded and she threw a predatory gaze, the red in her eyes beginning to brighten some. Underneath her hoodie sleeves, I could faintly see her muscles bulging a tad, though it never went past that. ''Red, focus. We're gonna have to take a break anyways, so let's just, I don't know; sleep?''

''Grrrgh,~'' Rin quickly breathed out before going silent, standing up from the wall and walking over to me, her attitude beginning to waver when she saw the look of no-nonsense that I had. Rin held a small staring contest with Starlight, who only smiled a bit and went over to one of her chests and began to rummage through it. ''. . .Fine. But only because you said so; I'm not the biggest fan of her ideal of one hive, one mind.''

''We could tell,'' Daring said, walking next to us. ''But honestly, it doesn't matter. We just need to be here long enough to get the two of you back home.''

''Yea, the quicker, the better,'' I said, running a hand through my hair. This day was only going to get worse and worse, I was more than sure of it.

Starlight uncovered a few books and began to sort them out. "Well, it's looking like I may just be up during the whole night, but I can assure you I will do everything in my power to help you. I only ask that you give me a little bit of time. In the meantime, I can have Double Diamond show you where we can put you folks up for the night,'' a surge of her magic went through her horn for a few moments before dispersing. A few minutes later, a knock on the door alerted us.

''Come in!~" Starlight's voice called out. Inside walked a stallion with a white coat, mane and tail, cut short with the bleakest of grey pupils reflecting back to our eyes as he walked in. There was that exact same Cutie Mark that we saw everypony else with, but the standout of his entire being here had to be the mile-wide smile on his face. He trotted in, past us and beelined towards Starlight before turning to face all of us.

''Oh my, Starlight. Do we have new friends coming here in to live in our wonderful village?'' Double Diamond asked, sizing us up and down. Then he pointed at us. ''I don't mean to be rude, but who are you two? you look very different from a pony.  Could you be related to us, somehow?''

''No, no Double Diamond. At least I would hope that they are our friends. As to the matter of them being related us, I would say no,'' Starlight Chuckled, then put a hoof on Double Diamond's back. ''Would you mind showing our guests to their rooms for the night? I need to be left alone for a few to find out what I have in my tomes and spellbook to get these folks back to their own world.''

''Absolutely,'' Double Diamond grinned from ear to ear, showing off all of his teeth and further creeping me out. We were escorted to our rooms, but not before being stopped by a few of the locals, and being questioned for a few minutes before we were taken to our rooms to recover for the night.

But something just did not budge with me, or Rin for that matter.




''This is complete bullshit,'' Rin huffed as she paced back and forth in our room, looking out the window to view the quiet night of the town. Daring and Blank came over from the house adjacent to ours while Grass and Echo was sleep. The chirping of crickets and the tap of Rin's boots was all I heard before everyone got settled in. Rin called this meeting to say something that I know can only be for one reason. ''Am I the only who thinks that this Starlight is literally the pony version of Hitler in a way?''

''First off, they don't know him, so that reference is lost on them. and two; you're right, but you can't approach this the wrong way, Rin.'' I said, Daring nodding while Blank looked to agree with Rin. ''Nothing really seems that much out of the ordinary, but where would we start?''

''That's where we come in,'' Blank said, grinning. ''Me and Rin can do a little snooping. See what's on the up and up, unless they really are just here because they saw her 'ideals' for what they are like you guys say.''

Daring and I looked to each other and looked over what the two of them looked as a plan; they were going to go spy on Starlight and see what how much of her grand philosophy was actually real. The only problem with that was that we had no proof to go on, and if we were wrong, that would look pretty bad on us accusing someone who offered to help us get back home. Yet, I agreed with the initial suspicion of something not being right since when we landed here.

The entire vibe of the town, Starlight included, felt completely off. Almost like it was entirely scripted. And how did all of these ponies just come to the conclusion that whatever made them special was actually wrong? Being the exact same as the person next to you only breeds a recipe for problems down the road, and something tells me that Starlight knows that, but is only using this ruse as a means to do something bigger, but what?

''True as that may be, it still seems like we could be wrong if we approach this; I don't know if you noticed, but we've been watched since we got in here,'' Daring said, gesturing to the window, only I didn't see anything from where I looked. ''That's right, I forgot, you're not as gifted with perfect sight, like Blank is.''

Blank growled, her pale yellow eyes glowing like a cat's as she stared out said window for a few seconds, her pupils darting up and down for a few seconds before narrowing. ''Yep, I see two ponies ontop of the mountain that we came from, and another two watching the back of the house based on the smells I picked up before coming in here,'' Blank growled and sat down. ''It's likely for security reasons; a quick alarm system for Starlight if we try anything. And what about the Optiquest? Why did we just leave her to just sit out there?''

I chuckled a bit, and Blank took that as a lack of caring from me before I quickly explained. ''We didn't; I had Ai, Yuu and Snow pull security there, just in case,'' I said, pulling my sleeve up to show that my Life Drive was not on my arm. ''But if what you say is true, there's probably more of those clowns watching everything we're doing in here down to the smallest movement, so we have to approach this differently.''

Rin groaned and pulled on some of her hair, looking ready to punt something with the lack of action. ''So what do you suggest we do?''

''I suggest that we just wait until the morning. In the darkness, who knows what else she got set up for us. And this isn't our home turf, we'd be going in blind if we just up and did something.'' Daring said, taking her hat off and thinking for a moment before nodding to herself. ''That's probably the best thing we can do to help ourselves in this situation.''

Her logic was not lost on me; personally, even though I am more than sure that we could take this village and Starlight easily, I don't want jinx anything, not if I could help.

''Are you being serious right now, Boss? We can do this,'' Blank argued. it's probably 4 ponies on the lookout right now, max. If we cause a diversion and distract them, maybe we could-''

''-we could seriously get bucked if something goes wrong. I'm staying firm on this, this isn't like other ponies or average crooks we've put behind bars. I think. . .she's controlling them. Taken away their free will, tricked them; something. I don't like this one bit, and I don't want to risk it.''

Blank hmmmped and retorted. ''Even though you risk your life almost everyday?''

''Yea.'' Daring whispered harshly. ''Mine. Not yours. Not Echo. Not Grass Song, Graceful or even Rin or Jamir even though they just came into this world. Me. I'm always the one doing the dangerous stuff because I choose to put myself in danger instead of having my entire family, which makes all the more sense. I'd rather it just be me getting hurt than you, and you know that.'' Daring poked her friend in the chest with a hood sharply. Blank pushed her away, baring her teeth. Blank shouted a tad as she got closer into Daring's face.

''How the buck is this any different? And who gave you that choice to make for yourself?''

''Cause I'm the boss, and what I say goes!'' Daring whispered in rage. ''You chose to follow me, which means you play by my rules, and I'm not gonna have any more discussion on this. . .this is an order; we move in the morning. End of conversation.''

''But-'' Blank tried to retaliate.

''-That's final.'' Daring simply said and walked towards the door. ''And that goes for you too, Rin.''

Rin backpedaled and began to stalk towards Daring. ''I don't take orders from you, Daring. If I want to-'' I cleared my throat as she looked at me.

''-But you do from me. Red, we're going with her plan. It's better to wait. I don't want to chance shit either.''

''Are you fucking serious?!'' Rin looked at me as if I just smushed her favorite cake in her face before she had a chance to eat it. Then her eyes narrowed at me. ''We can do this with or without you.'' Rin said, then she did something that surprised me. ''Unless you think you can stop me from going.'' I felt her forehead against mine as she clenched her fists. ''We need to help these ponies and put a stop to her bullshit.''

''And I agree,'' not disagreeing, but also making sure that I stood my ground. ''But this is not the way to go about it, and I know that you know that,'' Rin scoffed at what I said, but she knew I was right. ''I'm sorry.'' I turned around.

''Yea. . .so are we.'' was I heard before I felt something thump the back of my head and my body go limp like a wet towel. Managing to crane my head, I looked to see Blank biting Daring in the neck as she thrashed about before falling to the ground.

My only thought at that?

Shit.
> Stealth For Power
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rin's POV:




''Are you sure about this?'' Blank asked me as we dragged Jamir and Daring to their beds. We just set them down and contemplated tying them up, but what we had planned wouldn't take long. I know I should feel bad and a little sick with myself for attacking my friend and best friend, but I didn't have time to worry about that, not with this Starlight chick going all Adolf Hitler on these poor ponies. ''We need to be quick about this, so we can deal with getting chewed out all the quicker,'' Blank snickered but also frowned a tad when she thought about hurting her friend.

''Yea,'' I said, making sure my shoelaces were tight so I wouldn't trip and putting my hair into a ponytail. Jamir will understand later, he and I just had different ideas at the moment, and I knew that he actually was right on waiting, but waiting has only gotten us fucked since Detroit, and I wouldn't let that stop us from getting back home and stopping his crazy ass sister. ''Grass and Echo fast asleep?''

''Yep, they both can be out like a light, so we don't have to worry about them anytime soon.'' Blank looked out the window and narrowed her eyes again. The only issue would be to get those lookouts out of the way so we can move out. Luckily, Hanabi can help with that.

''Yes, Lady Rin?'' Hanabi appeared in a flash of pink and red particles, unsheathing one of her swords.

''Need you to cause a distraction. There are 2 ponies out there, about 45 to 50 meters away, keeping a lookout,'' I had hope that she was able to do this without causing a problem, or without anyone who didn't need to get hurt. ''Non-lethal, if possible.''

''Say less, Lady Rin. I will follow your instructions to the letter.'' Hanabi smirked and phased away, the ponies on the ridge soon falling to the ground a few moments later. 

''Helpful little scout,'' Blank commented, but then remembered something. ''We forget about the other-''

THUMP!

''No, she didn't.'' I smiled, spying out the back window to see the other two guards be knocked out cold. This was going to be too easy. ''Let's go.'' Blank and I slowly and carefully went outside the front door and crept along the backs of the houses, being careful to stay low under the windows and step lightly over the rocks and small impressions in the ground. The moon was a small comfort throughout our little operation and faintly illuminated our way house past house.

We chose not to speak until we knew the coast was clear enough for that. The entire time, I kept thinking about what that bitch would accomplish if she was let to run around and mess up the lives of those around us. I mean, how could she just decide the fate of all of these ponies around her like they were just puppets?

The thought put a very, very bad taste in my mouth.

Time, and time again, we as humans have constantly went to war and aruged over pretty much any possible thing, and it always results in death and destruction. It has never went such a way that everyone benefited, and that lack of care or understanding that certain people hold is the most annoying thing to me.

And Starlight was one such pony to push her agenda on others that didn't want it.

We came to the front of her house, scooting over to peer at the corner of the window. Inside was Starlight Glimmer, in all her bullshit glory. How easy it would be to just go over and knock her head loose and send it halfway across this planet?

If only I could get that chance.

''What is she doing?'' Blank asked, looking to see Starlight opening a long wooden box with her magic, looking over her shoulder and producing a wooden staff intertwined with leaves and gems, the staff resembling more of a club at the top. Out the corner of our eyes, we saw one of the ponies that came into her house the other day, Double Diamond, I think.

''I don't know, but something tells me that staff is probably how she's turning everyone in the village. Like, nobody smiles that hard and is just that happy all the time. I definitely sense something along the lines of mind control.'' I checked around us every few seconds. Starlight talked to Double Diamond, who looked absouletuy estatic to hear anything she had to say.

''Are our 'guests' fast asleep?'' 

''Yes, they are,'' Double Diamond replied with a mile-long grin. ''Are we going to help them see the ways of our little town?''

That did not sound right.

''Yes, we will. . .I do find it sad that they are unwilling to be a part of our humble town so far, but we need only give them just a bit of motivation. In the morning, we will help them to see the charm and magic here,'' the staff in Starlight's magic twirled around. Then she smiled and look to one of the other windows. ''I will have you return soon.''

''We need to strike, now,'' Blank whispered to me, beginning to go around to the other side of the door, baring her fangs. ''Get him away from her, and follow her to where she's going.''

Easier done than said. And I know that's not the way that saying goes, but when you're me; almost anything is that way. ''Hanabi, can you take care of him?''

My Fairy saluted as she told Blank to provide a distraction once he got far enough away from the house so we could question him. We remained on the sides of the house, out of his perhiphal vision until he was far enough away. We would rush him, and take it from there. This would be something that would need spilt second decscions. We didn't want any more violence that was needed.

''I shall be back, Starlight,'' Double Diamond said, walking towards the door. ''Should I alert the guards?''

''Hmm. . .no. Just make sure that they are doing their job, I want no distractions until morning. If there are any, I will hold you accountable and suggest you for 'corrective' training. Is that understood?''

''Y-Yes, Starlight.'' Double Diamond opened the door and proceeded outward, a look of fear on his face as he walked off, toward the direction of our houses. Once we were sure he was far enough, Hanabi floated close to the pony, as Blank clicked her hooves together just loud enough for him to hear as he turned around to see my Fairy press the tip of her sword to his forehead.

''Wha?-''

''-Worry not, you will be only knocked out for 4 hours. You will remember next to nothing.'' Hanabi chuckled as Double Diamond slowly fell to the ground.

''Knockout,'' Blank commented, taking the knocked out Double Diamond and storing him in a nearby outhouse, and securing it with a sturdy enough looking branch. ''We need to just wait for her leave.''

''And what exactly are we hoping to accomplish?'' Blank asked, though I was sure she had the same idea as me to help these ponies be liberated from her tyranny. For all the grand talk of being together and the same ideal, it sure doesn't seem like it. I only wondered how long she has been doing this, and for what purpose; to build an army, to make a statement, to. . .I don't know.

I just knew it wasn't right, whatever it was.

''Stop this charade and free this town,'' I replied, inching closer to the door with Blank, but something came up that I had to think about for the moment. ''What if this is your only chance to get home?''

Home. . .Detroit.

I hadn't thought about that. I mean, The Alicorn Amulet is something that we could attempt to try and use to get back, but it could backfire on us. Graceful seems like she may be smart enough to help, but that doesn't seem like it would hold water. But these ponies need help, we can't just abandon them. That's not what we do, especially Jamir.

''We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, our priority is making sure that Starlight isn't left to do whatever the hell she is now when we do end up leaving.'' I said, taking control of this situation. It was a little messed up to have to choose something like this, but it's better to do something than nothing.

''Lady Rin,'' Hanabi called out to me in a whisper. ''Are you certain you want to do this? This may just be our only chance to return home,'' I bit my lip as she folded her arms. ''I understand the situation in front of us is nothing either of us wants to be confronted with, but we must think of the greater good here.''

''What are you talking about?'' I asked, narrowing my eyes, normally Hanabi is the first and last person I can rely on besides Jamir. And for her to suggest going against what we both knew to be the lesser of two evils was. . .unsettling. ''Are you actually on Jamir's side of this versus taking the fight to this asshole? We need to-'' I was cut off by Hanabi's hand.

''-What we need to is to play this the only way the only person with any amount of sense knows how; Lady Rin, we do not belong here, and the problems of this world are even lesser of that statement. Try as we might, we are only making a bigger target on our back. Daring and the rest of The Nameless Crew can handle this to the best of their ability,'' Hanabi poked my nose before continuing, a look of passive annoyance on her face. ''We need to secure a way home and then; only then can we consider helping.''

But. . .we. . .

''And if I seem to recall, you had the same thought process when we were in the jungle; what happened with that?'' my eyes narrowed and my hands began to shake.

''Uh, guys,'' Blank called to us.

''That was different!'' I hissed quietly. ''We didn't know that-''

''-We, and by that definition, you didn't know that there are multiple problems anywhere you go, and there is nothing that can stop every single one. The second you realized that, your entire demeanor changed. Just like with Challenger, you both are weak-willed when it comes to matters personal,'' fire began to slowly flicker and which around her form, the anger in her eyes only becoming more apparent. ''If we are careless in this world, then we may not have one to return to and stop the corruption there.''

''Guys. . .'' Blank slowly backed up past us, her head hung low to the ground and her posture seeming tense. Ugh, whatever, Hanabi's little tirade is a little more important.

''So you want us to just lay down and take this as is?'' I asked, poking my Fairy in her armour as she floated back a tad and hovered closer to my face, landing her feet on my waiting hand. ''You, of all people! Aren't you all about justice and fairness and doing what is right?''

''Yes, Lady Rin, but at a certain point playing the hero will only cause more harm than good if you do not take stock of your true issues versus trying to save the masses. Do you not realize that if we allow Challenger's sister to take hold of our home, that we are essentially dooming Amercia?'' Hanabi threw her hands out and let them slap to her sides before folding her arms back. She can't honestly think-

''-Her reach will only grow until it is in every house, in every block, of every street, of every city, town, state, country and conteitent on Earth. And who's to say she will stop there?'' Hanabi closed her eyes and sighed. ''If left unchecked, she will fester like a disease and it will be too late to adminster a cure if we do not make the difficult choices now, and I-SHING! refuse to let everything we, and those before us be for nothing. On my pride, I swear.'' I looked to see the tip of one of her sword prod my nose. If she felt so strongly about this, why not get a second opinion?

''Takiko and Ko; what about them? Do they feel the same?'' I whispered and grit my teeth. I couldn't be alone in this.

''When it comes to them; I am. . .unsure. You will have to ask them yourself.'' my Fairy simply replied. ''But, we need to-Look out!'' Hanabi called as she was smacked with something black and blue, the speed of it dazing her as she was pulled forward and smacked again, but being sent flying over the outhouse where we put Double Diamond. I managed to turn around to see Blank jump back from a swing of Starlight's staff before charging, a wall of rocks being erected to stop her before the staff came around to me before I lifted my arm to block.

Diving forward and throwing my leg out for a side kick, that damn staff was there again to block. ''What the?'' I questioned, the power of my kick being stopped somehow. ''Oof!'' the staff came to my face to blind me for a second. Blank hopped over the wall to fly towards the Unicorn as she rolled over and sung the staff around again to graze Blank as she dropped to the ground in a instant, falling face first into the dirt. ''Blank!'' I reached for my side for King, but another whack from that staff made my arm go limp for a moment.

WHAM! The staff hit my head, causing me to kell over the same as Blank. What the fuck is that staff made of?

''You bitch!'' I cursed, trying to get up, but barely managing to rise my head a few inches before Starlight chuckled and looked back to me. ''What are you doing to these ponies?!''

''. . .Well, nothing really,'' Starlight smiled, her look of satisfaction in her eyes pissing me off all the more. ''I just helped to see the little charm of our town. And now that you saw too much, I'll have no choice but to help the two of you see that our town is the best thing for you, and once I take care of Equestria, I will expand my reach beyond and to this so called 'Earth' of yours. . .'' The gems on the staff began to change to the color red, zapping Blank with it along with a stream of her own magic, her screams being muffled by a sack that Starlight put in her mouth.

I could smell fur and flesh being singed a bit, and her whines as her body convulsed and breathed up and down rapidly. Her eyes began to shrink and dart over the place before being swallowed up by the glow of her magic. When she got done, Blank stopping moving as I looked to see her Cutie Mark being lifted off her flank and floating over to Starlight.

''What did you do to her?!''

''Just made her a good citizen of town, now. She will be an excellent addition to the town, and so shall you,'' Starlight soon trotted over and stared me down. ''And worry not, I will take care of your friends.''

Before I remember being zapped, the only two things I could think of was;

Jamir's gonna be pissed. And Hanabi may have been right after all.



> Attack From Within
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jamir's Pov.

Something didn't sit right with me. Not with how the night ended. Rin and Blank didn't want to give up their idea of confronting Starlight about what this little operation of her really sat behind. I agreed with them, but I had to let them know that there was certainly a different way to handle the problem with the exclusion of brute force. I didn't want her to think that I was at all against her from the sound of my tone.

Being in Detroit, maybe I would side with her more is that we both knew mostly the ins and out of how things worked there and what people we would talk to if anything was off. Equestria had a whole different set of rules, and Daring and the girls were the best things we had to experts on this world. Then came the very small possibility that we could be wrong and maybe these ponies really did come of their own will and wanted their Cutie Marks changed and just wanted to be part of something bigger than any one of them.

At any rate, we had to take care of the true business here, which would be securing a way back to Detroit so we can stop my sister from taking over the place we call home and we get labeled public enemy number one.

''How'd it get so bad, Red?'' I asked under my breath, trying to get up, only to fall over at the last second. Damn, she got me good. ''I knew being in Japan fucked you up, but I didn't think it'd make you do something like this,'' I said as I flashed back to her telling me about her 'exploits' in Japan that she always asked me to forget about, but I couldn't.

It's thanks to-

''-Jamir, we have to get the lead out!'' Daring cut me off as she slowly came to and hopped out of bed, realizing what happened prior. The sun was rising, and the time we were put to sleep was beyond me as I felt a different atmosphere, even with being inside of a small house. We walked to the window and looked out of it, hoping that whatever the two of them did, it wouldn't be as bad as either of us thought. ''Something's wrong. . .''

I began to open the door, looking left and right to see all of the other houses, just the same as when we came into town, but every door was open and eyes stared back at us with a wave of almost soulless anger. 

Yet they didn't move.

''What the hell?'' I asked, Daring staring with me as the quiet overtook every sound for a few moments. Those eyes, unblinking as the next thing that I knew, the sound of rumbling filled our ears and an almost inhumane pair of screams sounded with two shapes flew in the air towards us, the air whistling as they crashed down, depressing the ground in front of us and sending rocks and dirt our way as we shielded ourselves as best as we could.

''AHAHAHAHAHAHA!'' a voice cut through the air, sending our attention to the building in the center as we spied Starlight on top of the building, holding her staff and one of her spellbooks. ''How easily those two fell to my magic! And you will be next!~''

We looked to our new arrivals to be-

''Rin?/Blank?'' I asked at the same time as Daring, seeing our friends stand up our from the crater they made and raise their heads to us, only to see the changes, and none of them good. ''What did you do to our friends?'' Daring pointed a hoof to Starlight, who merely teleported over to us by a few feet.

''Nothing too bad, they just attempted to intervene into my attrition of the town, is all. So I resolved the issue by making them citizens; now they serve the collective.'' Starlight said with a tongue full of venom. ''You know, if you had just left me to my own devices, you'd be home and not stuck in this world forever.''

Does that mean that she was able to find a way back? We could go home?

''That's all well and good, but you can't convert our friends into your slave labor crap!'' Daring failed to relent with her words and seeing the state of our friends almost prompted me to do the same, if not for trying to find a different way to approach her treachery. How was she able to convert our friends into. . .whatever they were so easy, and does she honestly think that she was going to get away with?

I attempted to move towards the unicorn, only to be blocked by Rin thrusting an arm out and lightly shoving me back with that same murderous glare in her eyes as I looked back at my friend. ''Rin, snap out of it! You know better!''

That only served to make her angrier as she growled and took out Slayer, pointing it at me, the glint of the blade shining in the sun's light. Rin's eyes narrowed as she spoke but in a way different tone; deeper and more mature sounding. ''I am not who you think I am, boy. My name. . .is Nir!''

What the fuck?

''What the hell do you hope to accomplish from this?'' I asked, the blade awfully close but never moving past 2 inches from touching the neck. ''You know we'll-''

''-You will do nothing once you submit to my will; just as easily as I have ensnared your friends, I will do the same to you, only after they have pushed forth my message of punishment. Nir, if you would take care of your enemy, as well as you too, Vague.'' Starlight took a seat and motioned for the two of them to do whatever it was that they were going to do.

Nir? Vague? What the hell?

''Hah!'' Rin leaped forward, sweeping Slayer in an arc under her left armpit, the sword missing me by a hair's width as I stumbled back. That failed to stop her as she took the sword in two hands and thrusted forward, the blade impaling itself into the wood of the house before I rolled over and grit my teeth. Crap. Fighting Rin, even as a light sparring would be difficult in itself, and with her whole mind supposed changed, her restraint may be less than before. ''Stay still, vermin!'' Rin slashed downward as I dodged the strike, somehow reading my movements before I knew what I wanted to do, delivering a brutal kick that sent me into the dirt.

''Blank, it's me! You don't attack your boss!'' Daring was rushed by her friend, pushing her neck up against the wall. A sickly grin was on her face as she flashed her tongue and attempted to bite Daring's neck, a forehoof cutting her from doing until the pair ended up on the ground, tussling and trying to restrain the other as Rin charged forward, grabbing me by the neck and launching me into the door of the house next to us, the wood splintering easily and whacking my back with stinging pain.

''Damn. . .'' I cursed, groaning, and attempting to get up as I coughed from inhaling the first and wood dust. ''This'd be a good time for the girls and Snow, if only they weren't at the ship-COUGH! COUGH!''

My vision danced all over the place, the brunt of getting thrown so quickly not registering with my brain right away. Slowly getting up and fighting the throbbing, I began to think of how exactly I was going to handle this situation. And wipe the smug look off of her face.

''Jamir?'' a voice called out to me on my right. Turning my head over and observing, it was Grass and Echo. ''What's going on out there?''

Oh, glad they weren't at least converted into this bullshit.

''Um. . .let's just say that Rin and Blank-WHOA!'' I was grabbed by my leg and dragged outside as Rin spun me and threw me out to the entrance of town, the feeling of hitting the ground feeling like my arms were broken as I fought to recover in a roll at the last second, my forehead scraping the ground as I breathed out painfully. Trying to talk it out would do no good, so there was only one thing to do; fight.

Limping for a moment before running back to Rin, I focused on her standing there looking smug as I stopped and began to strafe, keeping my arms up as she turned her head until I was behind her and she turned her body to face me at every chance before I chose to go in and throw a feint with my feet, drawing her attention away just enough away to throw a strong right hook to her temple, pushing her face back a second as I reached for Slayer, managing to get it out of her hands and chuck it as far away as I could before I was kneed in my stomach.

''You dare touch me, vermin?'' Rin growled, rubbing the spot where I struck her, looking even more enraged. ''And you dare to touch my Suffering?'' the blue hue of her eyes began to glow even brighter as she roared, her hair going every which way before settling into spikes. Her skin began to darken, even more than my own tone until she turned to ash black, her voice reverberating as she howled and pushed me back again, though not with quite as much power, her groans and whimpers possibly telling me that Rin was fighting to gain control. ''That's right, Red; fight it! This isn't you!'' I shouted, seeing Daring be launched by Blank close to me, a disoriented look on her face as Blank raced forward with her wings, pushing her onto her back as she curved up into the sky and came back, hovering alongside Rin who still struggled to gain control. ''You good, Daring?''

''D-Define. . .good,'' Daring chuckled, the side of her forehead bleeding as her hat was somehow still on her head after all of that. ''What about G-Grass and Echo?''

''Tried to explain before I got slung outside. They don't seem to be under the same curse or whatever.'' I said, paying attention to our friends who just stood there, staring us down. "Rin, come on! You can-''

''-I told you. My. Name. Is. NIR!'' Rin charged forward, her mind seemingly mind up as she went and ran with Blank, who appeared the same as Rin, only her wings grew larger and her coat seemed to get lighter, almost like a light. The pair ran towards us, a shout of a command that came from Starlight as the townsfolk began to come in waves, chasing after their self supposed leaders. 

I and Daring braced ourselves, attempting to take their attacks head-on if it meant we could have a chance of getting through to them. ''We'll get you guys straight, don't worry,'' I crouched down low, spaced my feet out, and said a silent prayer.

For Starlight.




''Tell me,'' Nir approached me, the Life Drive's symbols turning black, as the familiar Magical Circuits began to trailed over her body, the ones stopping short of her eyes glowing the brightest as she clenched her fist and chuckled. ''How much stronger am I in this form? Obviously more than you, but I would like to know the gap if you are able to provide one.''

I remained silent, trying to think of how best to deal with an enraged, Fusion-boosted, and identify stricken Rin. The look of non-compliance I gave her made her instantly frown and grab me up by the collar, the sickly look of sadism and curiosity in her eyes as she lifted me off my feet. ''Answer me, swine! Or this will be your last moments!'' I clutched at her hands, and in no way were they going to move unless she wanted to.

I grunted, deciding to speak; maybe I can turn this in my favor.

''Very much so, you could probably lift 1000 tons easily if you really wanted to. I've seen no real limit to your strength besides your body being the limiting factor,'' I grunted, the slightest pressure she increased constricting my neck.

''Hmm. . .I will have to test that theory; after I get done killing you!'' Nir laughed in my face, the tone of her voice doing little to comfort me. Whatever this spell was, it changed her entire mind.

''Jamir!'' Daring scrambled up and attempted to come to my aid, only for Vague to tackle her back to the ground and wrestle back and forth before chasing her in the air as they both took flight.

The situation was not looking good, but I had to resist; had to fight to get my friend back and stop this clown from causing any more pain. I-

''AHHH!'' a voice called out in the distance, a small projectile soaring through the air behind Nir, catching her attention before striking her in the head as her grip loosened and I was fell on my feet. Smoke began to form around her face and her hiss of pain filled my ears. Who-

''Challenger! Get back to The Optiquest!'' Hanabi called, unsheathing two of her swords and dragging her swords against each other, causing an explosion that sent Nir reeling back. Not missing a beat, she aimed one of her swords and sent a blast of fire to Vague, causing her to swoop out of the way and into Daring who managed to tackle her down to the ground again. ''I will hold the line!'' a shout of power echoed out as she planted her swords in the ground, causing an explosion that sent the majority of the town and Starlight back.

I got up and ran, my legs becoming a blur as I rounded around a large boulder and spied the ship, probably about a mile away. Why did we have to park so far?!

The shouts of the town began to die down some as another explosion sounded, the ground shaking a tad and a wave of heat followed. The side of the ship began to appear bigger as I braced myself to climb up on the ship, hopping on top of one of the cannons and clutching tightly onto the railing as I almost slipped and ended up on the deck after pushing myself up. Going to the shrouds, I spied the crate that I put my Life Drive in, fitting the gauntlet on my arm, hearing the A.I. system boot up from power-down mode as it authenticated my DNA signature.

''Ai! Master, you were not due for another 3 hours!'' Ai's voice sounded as I rushed towards the figurehead, turning my head to see one of the houses be toppled by Nir as fire flew down from the sky, presumably from Hanabi. ''What do you require?''

Simple.

''Yuu, Electrical Boost!'' I shouted, leaping off the ship, the feeling of being in the air giving me a nice feeling for the moment until I refocused. ''Ai, I need a platform!'' I felt the surge of electrical current flow through my legs and arms as I landed on an invisible platform, crouching down and leaping high into the air. ''Let's do this!'' I said, twisting my body and bracing my feet against another platform as I kicked off again from an angle, soaring back to the battle as I managed to catch Vague at the last second in the air from her escape of Daring.

''W-What?! Unhand me!'' Vague hissed, trying to bite me as I put her in a tight headlock.

''That's a big no!'' I yelled over the wind, not knowing if she really heard me or not. ''We're going down!'' I shoved her face in front, letting the somewhat soft ground crash into her face and drag her a few hundred feet before we stopped and I fought with her as she bucked, thwacking her hooves against my back as I increased the pressure of my hold and fighting to stay on the ground before I pressed harder than ever before, the breaths becoming far and few before she relented and slumped to the ground.

Seeing Nir fly back into one of the rock walls, Hanabi flew over to me, covered with dust and panting, one of her swords covered in blood. Her eyes were shaking like crazy, and she wobbled in the air until I let her rest for a moment in my hand. ''Challenger; whatever Starlight did, we must undo before things get worse!'' Hanabi grunted and attempted to stand up, only to fall back on her behind and breath heavily. 

''You're right, but you're in no shape to fight. You look pretty beat up; where were you when this happened?'' I asked.

Hanabi pointed to the mare who was fighting off a pack of wolves created from Hanabi's fire. ''She ambushed us when Lady Rin and I were having a dialogue. I was hit and knocked out. I only recently came to when I heard the sounds of battle.'' I scrunched my nose and thought about what she said. 

Then that means. . .

''Get in,'' I gestured to The Life Drive. ''I don't know exactly how long you've been away from Rin's, but you need to heal and recover, it's not up for discussion.'' I stared down the Fairy as she looked to say something but relented when she Rin slowly crawl out of the hole and regain her bearings. 

''Very well, Challenger; I shall trust your judgment, just be sure to call on your comrades if you need them,'' Hanabi began to be surrounded by a wave of blue, pink, and purple energy and into The Life Drive after I gave the emergency override command.

''That's the thing,'' I cracked my neck, looking back at Daring as she stood with me, facing off against Rin as Starlight ran into the church, hopping into a hole that was covered by one of the pews. ''I need Rin, just as much as she needs me right now.''

''Feel the wrath of NIR!'' Nir charged forward, her hands covered in red, black, and gold energy. The faster she ran, the crazier she became.

''Yea, keep thinking that.'' I laughed, my eyes taking on a blue and pink hue as slivers of purple mist flowed out from my hands.



> Nemesis Of All
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

''Come on, come on, come on!'' Nir never let her assault stop as she swung wildly, mixing in powerful kicks and hammer fists as she reveled in the power of Fusion. And boy, even without fully understanding what she was doing, she still was kicking my ass no matter how you looked at it. Each punch that I managed to deflect to a degree made my hands feel like they were being blown to bits before losing the feeling for a few moments. My eyes darted back and forth between her legs and hands as she switched up every few seconds. ''Rah!'' Nir yelled, the sound piercing the air with a guttural growl and hacking spit in my direction before she caught me with a quick chop to the side of my neck, causing me to keel to the ground in pain as she stared at me down on the ground.

''Jamir! Are you-'' Daring tried to speak but I managed to yell back a response amidst the pain.

''-G-Go after Starlig-ght!~'' I grunted, slamming my free palm to the ground as an upward force of Ai's telekinetic powers forced Nir in the air long enough for Daring to make her escape into the church. ''B-Be care-OOF!~'' I felt the force of Nir hurling a small rock into my direction and knocking me off my feet. Growling, I willed myself to jump back from the foot stomp that was sure to turn my head into a paste if I failed to move in time. Clutching my fist and channeling some of Yuu's electricity, I thrust my hand forward, the purple plasma bolt rocketing to Nir quicker than she could react as her body spasmed and nearly caused her to fall to her knees if not for her yelling through the energy and throwing another rock at me.

''Man, she doesn't give up!'' I said out loud as Yuu's voice sounded out to me in mild worry.

''Master, perhaps you should crank up the power,'' Yuu said, her body comprised of mist as she spied Nir working to get her muscles to respond. She stomped, slapped, and held parts of her body that refused to cooperate. ''She seems to have decent resistance to the current level.''

''Not trying to kill her, you know. That's still our friend.'' I said, putting some more space in between us as I thought of a plan. ''Plus you know I don't have the best eye when it comes to adjusting the exact amount needed, that's why I leave it up to you,'' I said, Yuu, cupping her chin and thinking for a moment before snapping her fingers, though no sound was made due to her being made of mist.

''I have an idea, Master, it may be risky. But I predict a decent chance of success.'' Yuu channeled a bit of her lighting before closing her hand. ''It will probably require you to get close to her.''

I frowned, having a bad feeling about what she was going to say next. ''Just how close?''

''You're gonna have to kiss her,'' Yuu lazily floated in front of me. ''I think with the shock of me hitting her with enough electricity and you kissing her will probably force her out of her state, but I must inform you that we may only get the one chance before she becomes wise to our plans.''

What? Kiss Rin? I couldn't do that; she was my friend. And granted we were very close, I had never thought about her in that way before. Plus why would I have to kiss her? What does that accomplish besides her possibly knocking me out once she returns to her normal self.

''Ai! Master, I agree with my sister! I am confident that ensnaring Ms. Rin in a kiss will be just the thing that she needs to break Starlight's hold on her,'' Ai also appeared next to me as mist. ''We will just need to get her in the position where she cannot reach you long enough for my sister to do her part.'' Ai made some sense in what she said, but who was to say that this would be absolutely the best option for us? 

''Well, what about Daring? She's dealing with Starlight.'' I spied Nir walking towards one of the houses once she had heard a sound. It looked like where. . .''Screw that, Grass and Echo!'' I yelled, using Yuu's electricity to jump forward, throwing a hammerfist as I rocketed towards Nir, the block of her instantly stopping the force before she craned her head at me and smirked.

''Thought I forgot our 'friends?' After I get done skewering them, I will be coming for you, dear friend!'' Nir grabbed my hand before lifting me over her head, slamming me back onto the ground as spit flew out of my mouth and the breath I thought I owned went flying out of my lungs. ''Fly and-EEUUGH!'' Yuu struck Nir with her lighting as Ai used her telekinesis to force her back before she punched at the ground, sending rocks our way before Ai's powers blocked any debris from reaching me.

We had to worry about Nir and Starlight. But I couldn't be in two places at once, but we had to quell the situation before it got worse.

''Master, what about sending Snow?'' Yuu asked, bracing for another possible attack. ''He could provide the backup that Daring needs!''

''If you think that'll help,'' I grunted as I stood up, channeling my thoughts into Snow's containment unit, the hairs on the back of my neck standing as I felt a pull of sorts echo from my forehead and heart. In a bright blue flash of light, Snow appeared as his powers were separated from the Fusion process. "Snow, go after Daring! Make sure she's safe and take care of Starlight if you think you can handle her.'' I said to the Wisp, the look of complete of childish attention on his face as he floated in the air. His ears perked up as he nodded and zoomed over to the church, avoiding Rin crashing into us.

''Die, you vermin! You dare to attempt to save your life from my wrath!'' Nir's next attack nearly connected before Yuu zapped her and forced her to lose the power behind it. Nir growled as she continued to shake off the effects and she began to overreach and her attacks were uncoordinated. A little longer and we would possibly have her, but we wouldn't know if the effects would still be there; we'd have to shock her mind so much that it would hopefully snap her out it without breaking her mind.

''Do it now, Master!'' Yuu shouted as she adjusted the output of her power. I gathered the ball of energy in my hands before I released the beam, the current flowing out through my pointer finger and zapping Rin again as she began to howl in pain and fight to control her muscles spazzing, to no avail. She looked to fight the pain before I jumped towards her again, intent on ending this as quick as possible. Tackling her on the ground and laying all of my possible weight on top of her, she shook like crazy before managing to speak in pained breaths.

“W-What are y-y. . .you doi-“ I cut her off by grasping both sides of her head with my hands as she stopped and gasped.

“-You can hate me later, Red but I need you to come back!” I leaned forward and captured her lips. The shock of what I did registered a second later as she fought to pull away but Yuu’s follow up that made her seize up like a board gave me just the chance I needed. I pressed firmly and breathed out through my nose as I actually enjoyed the feeling. Her lips were delicate and soft like marshmallows and the contact brought a shiver to my spine.

I was testing my luck, but I wanted to make sure whatever I did in that moment would snap her out of it. I opened my mouth some and probed her lips with my tongue, the action almost seemingly like knocking on a door. With a few seconds and a breath coming from out her nose, she allowed me in. Our tongues danced around each other slowly, covering each other’s mouth parts with our saliva. Nir began to whimper some as I sped up my assault and bit her lower lip.

Caressing her smooth face, I drove it home by giving one last kiss on her lips with some pressure as I looked into her eyes full of shock and wonder. I had hoped I had done it. “Rin? Are you in there?”

She hesitated, but slowly began to make sense of what was happening before she blushed like the reddest of tomatoes and responded. “Y-Yes.” Rin’s voice was almost unheard as she stared back at me like a lost child. “W-What happened? Did I do something?”

So she doesn’t remember. So that really wasn’t her when she was was transformed. Speaking of which, her hair and skin tone when back to normal slowly. Her body was still trembling and shaking from the effects of Yuu’s electrical attack and she looked a bit scuffed up, but nothing as bad as how I was.

“Did we. . .kiss?” Rin asked, knowing that something had happened, but not entirely sure of what is was.

I didn’t want to lie to her but I had to tell her what was going on. It was certainly a very strange time to explain exactly what happened. “Yea, we did. I can explain it to you after what we stop Starlight,” I had got up from her and helped her to her feet. She wobbled around and almost fell back down if not for me swooping her up. During our fight, I had noticed that the townsfolk seemed to disappear.

Unless they were providing Starlight with backup, we had to get the lead out. Echo and Grass Song came up after the commotion died down and went to tend to Blank. I doubt what worked on Rin would work on her, but-

“-There, she’s back to normal.” Grass Song said as she used her magic to dispel whatever was controlling our friend. “She’s gonna have some hard headaches however.”

I can live with that, at least we managed to get them back with no real trouble. The town was in shambles but we made out relatively fine. All of the craters and destroyed house sure made this town seem more ghost than what it already was.

“What’s the plan?” Rin asked as she ended her Fusion. Once she did, Hanabi appeared out of my Life Drive, appearing with a frowned look at Rin. I figured they would probably need to talk to each other after what I was able to hear.

“We need to stop Starlight before she does anything else to make things worse. She’s too dangerous to be left alone,” I looked at our friends as they looked at me with the utmost attention. The growl in my voice was very evident. “She manipulated this town long before we came here, presented us with a fake set of ideas, and even turned own our friends against us. . .as far as I am concerned? She needs to die.” I narrowed my eyes, everyone besides Rin looking at me with some degree of mild shock.

“Are you sure about that, Challenger?” Hanabi asked as she floated over to Rin.

“Yes and no. But something needs to be done. We can talk about this later, Daring and Snow are by themselves and we need to get to them before that crazy mare does anything else,” I used Ai’s power to bring Slayer over to my waiting hand as I handed it back to Rin as she continued to blush and look down to the ground. “LET’S GO!” I yelled, turning back to the church and steeling myself. Echo and Grass slowly brought Blank with us, who regained her bearings and questioned what happened as I ran forward, paying the pain I was feeling no mind.



> Loose Ends
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

''Oh, give me a break, will you?!'' Daring shouted as she barely managed to avoid the onslaught of Starlight Glimmer's attacks. Ducking behind another rock and loading another arrow into her crossbow, she cursed herself. This was becoming more and more of a problem. Sweat caked her brow as she huffed and puffed, trying to find air. She would have to use everything that she knew in order to survive. ''Rah!''

FWISH! Starlight dodged the arrow, smirking all the while. While she was toying with the adventurer, she did find it to be amusing that she would be so hard-pressed to defend herself so vigorously. While the introduction of Jamir and Rin threw a bigger wrench into the plans than it just being Daring and her crew here, she would have to improvise. ''Is that the best you can do? I don't know if I should be more surprised or offended that you came down to these caves all by yourself.'' Starlight said, hovering in the air as her magic surrounded and kept her afloat.

Daring zoomed forward after leaping over the small boulder, a fire in her eyes and a hoof cocked back as she tried her best to land a hit on the tyrant. Suddenly obstructing her view with a flash of magic made her veer off course, crashing into a nearby wall as spit flew out her mouth and Starlight's magic suddenly dragged her in front of her attacker.

''Bite me. I can't let you-'' Starlight smacked Daring across her dirt covered face, her hat somehow managing to stay on her head, only to crook to the side slightly.

''-Let me do what? Change these ponies, and their miserable lives? Give them something worth actually fighting for? Being a hero to all? Well, congratulations; you have succeeded in making sure that does not go smoothly,'' Starlight grimaced, every word coming out as a growl.

Starlight fumed, staring down her foe. ''You, Daring Do, are too simple-minded to even have anything remotely close to an idea of what it is like to think big, how to make the sacrifices to help those less fortunate than you, and to ask for nothing in return.'' Daring groaned and attempted to fight off her restraints, to no avail. ''I will admit; having you traipse about certainly was an oversight on my part, but luckily for me; I was able to turn your most powerful ally against you.''

Daring wanted to call this mare out on so much crap that it wouldn't even be funny. How could she sit here and defend her case of enslaving ponies and taking their Cutie Marks? What good does that do for anypony? And turning Rin and Blank against her and Jamir was the wrong move to make. She would have yet to openly admit it for fear of sounding too sappy, but Daring genuinely liked the pair who came into her crew. And even though their time may or may not have been limited, she wanted to resign herself to use that time wisely; to help get them back home, to help them understand as much about this world as they would need to until they left.

And to be a true friend. Starlight was the current issue preventing any of that, and it would be up to her to do her best to make things right. She only hoped she could be more use this time than with The Hydra. ''You're the one who's simple-minded; who hurt you enough to where you would want to do this like this on this kind of scale? It's not right, and I think you know-''

''-SILENCE! YOU KNOW NOTHING!'' Starlight roared, bring Daring nose to nose as she spied the crazed look of anger in her dilated pupils. Daring shut her eyes on instinct, but Starlight's magic forced them open and stay open. She would make her look at her during every second of this. ''I had everything I could have wanted; everything here I built from the ground up, and for you to come along and take it away from me so inconceivably wrong, I can't even start on what or who to fix first!''

Starlight's voice traveled through the spacious underground tunnel, echoing throughout small tunnels, the force of her shouts knocking a few loose rocks away as she continued to spasm in further anger, her mane frazzled and numerous surface veins bulging violently. She merely wanted everything to just wash away the pain and damage they caused.

All of it.

''You should have just stuck to wherever you were at! You came to the wrong town!'' Starlight gripped Daring in her magic tightly and slammed against the dark walls, shoving the Pegasus against the wall with every pronunciation of the word, the subtle glow in her eyes giving her the appearance of a creature in the night going after her prey. ''Leave. My. Town!'' Daring was slammed into the rock harder on the last push, splintering the rock and seating her inside of it as she was sure her back was broken.

''Mmmm. . .'' Daring whined, feeling light-headed at the attack, trying her hardest to cling onto consciousness. Was this. . .the end? So easily defeated?

''I see I may have been a bit rough on you,'' Starlight chuckled to herself, not exactly caring what she felt; it would all be erased soon enough once she would be under her spell. ''But, I will change that attitude of yours. You won't ever-'' Starlight was suddenly blindsided by something, nearly knocking her to the ground, the follow-up assault keeping her down. ''What the buck?!''

A small, blue spec began to zoom towards Starlight, making her grit her teeth and brace against the next onslaught of blue ice spikes that threatened to skewer her if not for her shield barely deflecting the projectile, cracking and chipping the surface. A pause gave her enough time to sigh before the looming shadow of a giant ice fist rocketed forward, sending her into the closest wall with a shattering rumble.

''Huh?'' Daring managed to look up amidst the black splotches in her eyes to see. . .on of Jamir's Fairies? ''Which o-one are you?''

''Snow!~'' Snow chirped, smiling and looking at her. Daring managed to crack a small smile in relief; help, even small, had come. ''Snow, Snow!''

''I know, y-you already said your name,'' Daring said, groaning and attempting to get herself out of the rock. ''Can you help me out with her?'' Daring nudged a bit into Starlight's direction, seeing Snow playfully looked in said direction before nodding, his ears flopping about. ''Snow!'' Starlight was unable to defend against the large-scale attack of Snow opening his mouth and breathing out a mist of cool breath, beginning to form ice spikes that jutted forward, keeping Starlight on the defensive long enough for Daring to shimmy her way out of the rock as she fell down onto the ground in a huff of pain.

''Ugh. . .'' Daring coughed up dust, her chest feeling like it had been caved in. Was this the power of The Fairies? 

''What in the name of Equestria?!'' Starlight roared back, using her staff to attack the intruder, who zoomed in and out of its reach, hurling more of the blue spikes her way.

''Snow!~'' Snow used the air around him to condense his body onto a ball of ice, zooming forward and slamming into Starlight's shield, fracting the light blue projection further.

Daring limped forward a bit, her head swimming with the intensity of a drum. Her vision blurred and the air grew colder by the second, and in the underground space, air was limited. She had to do something; even if it was a little bit. Snow's attack was relentless, only being yielded for the moment by an intense fire spell that melted some of his ice projectiles. ''I-I can't. . .sit here. . .''

''What the hell are you?!'' Starlight roared, gritting her teeth and fleeing to her chamber where she held the town's Cutie Marks. They couldn't be allowed to get there; she worked too hard for them; everything she built, she worked hard for! This troublesome little freak came with a passion, harmlessly deflecting the attacks from her staff with shields made of ice. Starlight would have to show some of her power in order for her to get away. ''Confus Doleo!'' Starlight's horn shot off a light red wave of magic that upon contacting him, causing him to shake his head and fight off the effects.

Snow sneezed, which made his next attack go off course. What was that? ''S-Snow?'' Snow chirped, looking around to see Starlight use her magic once again to erect a wall of earth blanketed in her magic to cover the entrance to her small cave that held her prize. Snow attempted to launch another volley of ice attacks, only serving to bounce away from the wall with no damage as Starlight continued to hurl magical blasts at him from behind the wall. ''Snow!'' Snow looked a bit worried as he didn’t know what she was going to do. Starlight grinned and used her magic to sense Daring as she limped and held her head down, but pressed on, unaware of what was truly going on.

''Let's see if you can protect her, too!'' Starlight shouted out as another spell left her horn, only this time it did nothing at first; only contacting Snow in a mist through the rock that pulled at his body before he disappeared, ending up in the spot where Starlight was, darkness covering his vision.

''What's. . .happen-ning?~'' Daring asked, managing to crane her head upwards enough to see a hoof strike her in the face. Starlight laughed, seeing the look of pain on her face as she fell back to the ground. She would enjoy this to the fullest. ''S-Snow?''

''Hehehehe. . .no. I am not that little freak; I am the worst job you've ever had to do.'' Starlight said, tapping a hoof on her chin in childlike glee. Reaching down in front of her face, the small twinkle of light in her eyes seemingly beginning to die out some. ''I want you to know that I am going to kill you.''

Daring hmmphed, fighting to crawl away from her, only for Starlight to walk alongside her and click her tongue in dissatisfaction. She would have to do her best to fight; to survive. And to not be useless.

''I thought you should just how much I hate you, and what you guys have done so far is causing a major problem for me, and that I will make for sure that I get all of my revenge that is needed for me to forget the humiliation you've given me,'' Starlight narrowed her eyes and began to flare her nostrils, the look of pure rage plastered on her face as Daring fought for air in Starlight's magical choke.

''N-n-n. . .gh.~'' Daring weakly threw a hoof in protest, only for it to be smacked away. Where were Jamir and the others?

Snow chirped, trying his best to get past the rock and magic, his ice spikes doing little but breaking on impact. He had to be quick, to do something before his master's friend was hurt any more than she already was, or worse. A part of him told him that his master would be against him doing something like this, and it would end up hurting him more than possibly anybody else, but it would have to be done to save Daring in time.

Clearing his small throat and sitting on the cold, hard ground; he focused on his breathing. He only would have one chance at this, and at best, 15 seconds. Taking a low and slow breath, the ice mist slowly raised above him, blanketing his small body as parts began to solidify. His paws began to grow larger and form claws covered in ice, his ears grew longer and his body morphed into a shape he hasn't taken on for a minute.



“M-M-Master can be mad later; save Daring first.” Snow said in a distorted voice, shaking off the effects of his bones reshaping to this current form. His next breath would be his last in this form, and he would have to make it count. “Sleet Storm. . .” 

FWOOOSH! 

“I hope you’re ready to be-“ Starlight was cut off by the sound of the magic-enhanced wall behind her crumbling. A second passed between her attempting to enact her revenge and the oversized paw that reached out to her in the blink of an eye, causing her magic to drop Daring and to send her flying into the nearest wall with a slam.

Daring managed to look up past her blurred vision, to see what appeared to be Starlight being tossed about by something large, though it kept shifting colors. Starlight’s pained screams did little for the creature as is roared, only serving it to be more wild in its attacks, the air getting to near sub-zero temperatures.

SLASH! “Auuuugh!” Starlight cried out, her left eye being struck by the thing’s paw, causing her to see complete darkness and feel the pain of having a salt shaker dumped in her eye. She shivered and tried to get distance, using another stun spell. The creature picked her up in it maw as the teeth nearly crushed her windpipe. “Y-You beast!”

Slamming against another wall, and hearing the charging of its paws, she had to act fast, or this thing may end up killing her. She never retreated, she always made her prey leave from her, and she. . .

“Die!” the beast shouted out, the bloodlust in its eyes telling her all of what she needed to know; she would have to flee, this time. It pained her to do this, but she would thank herself later.

“I-I-I’ll be back! You won’t see it c-coming!” Starlight nearly keeled over from the bitter cold air getting to her, but she remained strong. Channeling all of her magic into the teleportation spell, her heart skipped a beat as the creature came within an inch of biting her head off, and she was sure it managed to graze her as she finished her spell and she was gone.

“Nnngh!” Snow huffed, unable to strike down the villain, but at least she left the area and Daring was safe, that’s what mattered the most. Paying a look of worry to her, she managed to crane her head to see him, and attempted to speak out before slumping on the ground. “Sorry, Daring, I don’t want you to be see this form; or anyone for that matter. . .it’s for the best.” Snow said, his features slowly returning as he hovered in the air weakly, only to fall down on the ground as he dispelled the cold air so Daring wouldn’t catch hypothermia. “Snow. . .”

“Come on, this way!” Snow heard the sound of his master echo throughout the chamber as he closed his eyes. Even from here, he could feel The Life Drive calling out to him instinctively to return and heal, which sounded like paradise to him. “Found them; come on guys!”



> Another Delay
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mood for the entire ride from Starlight's little cult place was, as I thought so, quiet.

From what I was able to gather once the rest of us came to backup Daring and Snow, it seemed that Starlight left in the midst of our friends fighting her off. We came to the conclusion that I did to a degree once we touched down in her village.

Starlight was fucking crazy.

The actions of Rin and Blank going against the mission was also something that had to be taken into account as we worked to set things rights before we left.

A few of the books that were left in Starlight's house failed to explain what she used to basically enslave the town, but the only natural thing I could think of was to use Yuu's electricity as a mass spread to shock the residents back to their former selves. It certainly was a miracle that it worked, but we still had to find some way to improve the situation we were in.

And that little hat bet was thrown out of the way once we got back on the ship.

''And the last thing I remember, that wench knocked me with her staff before I blacked out,'' Rin recounted the events of what she and Blank attempted to do, only for the both of them to be changed and put under Starlight's control. It seemed that this different personality, Nir, was entirely a fabricated personally formed from the spell that Starlight made from her more primal than anything. 

''Same here,'' Blank nodded as she nursed her headache, looking to see the clouds pass us by. Daring and Echo coordinated where we would go next, which they honestly did not have the smallest idea of where to go, and even what to do if they had such an idea. ''But glad you guys were able to bring us to our senses before anything too bad happened.''

''I would not go so far as to say that, but we were vigilant in our mission to free you and these fellow ponies from the grip of corruption,'' Hanabi commented as she still shot a bit of a sour look to Rin for their little disagreement on that night. I completely understood, seeing as Rin and her emotions always had a way to complicate certain matters that may have required a bit of finesse. Hanabi, however, smiled once she relished in the thought of battle. ''The thrill of the fight has replaced this sour feeling in my heart of hearts.''

''But where did Starlight go? Are you sure that we can just let her go when she might do this again?'' Grass Song asked, worried about Starlight escaping; there wasn't much to be done when it came to finding out her next move. And we did have a mission to get back home to Detroit versus anything else.

This world may be in a bit of a pickle, but it's not like we can just take this fight on two fronts.

''We need to find something; otherwise, this will be all for nothing,'' I said, gripping the railing with a passion. The thought of Junko, and whatever the hell her plan for the city began to stir within my mind.

''Ai! Master, the local police and even the military may be able to hold her off for the moment, but we should still make it out priority to make it back as soon as possible!”

“Indeed, Ai,” Hanabi agreed, her face scrunched in thought. “But how what means would we be able to use from this world to return to our own?”

That I didn’t have the slightest clue about; I only hoped that something would happen that would be beneficial to us in some way, no matter how small.





Detroit. . .


The sound of various machines beeping in the background did little to deter Junko’s current thought process.

Chloe and the rest of her followers made it a point to secure some of her ‘assets’ in the midst of the retaliation of the city. Detroit was certainly a beautiful city that offered a great many things, and that in itself made it a target for the rest of the world, if not within the borders of America itself.

Some may call her ideals. . .different and unthinkable, but she cared not for any information or concerns that did not provide a postive side of events. Before long, her control on the city would be finished, and any resistance outside or in would be at her mercy.

“Ma’am,” a scientist walked over to her as she looked upon the testing area before her covered by thick plexiglass and military-grade barricades that provided the utmost protection if anything unaccounted for happened. That, paired with hard light shields and inertia dampers made for a safe environment. “We are ready to begin on your command.”

“Excellent, please see to it that everything happens with the utmost caution and attention; I do not want to have a reason to make my day more difficult if need be, understand?” Junko looked to the doctor who nearly wet himself in fear at the piercing gaze she laid upon him.

Those cold, blue eyes that seemed to breach the way to a never ending pool of soul reaping torment and shame.

“Yes, of course. Start the process!”

Junko walked over to console that displayed the information about Last Order as she was finished being checked over by workers before leaving the room. What were they intending to do with her? Why was she strapped down? Why was she fitted with an IV? And why did everything feel so wrong?
“M-Master?”

“I need results, Last Order,” Junko spoke into the intercom, folding her arms as she needed to have some semblance of control when it came to achieving her true goal.

Finding him.

“W-What can I do?” Last Order whimpered, almost being on the verge of crying once again as the head strap was pulled rather tightly and making her forehead raw from all the moving around. The giant helmet clamps that encompassed her neck, chin, behind her ears and on top of her head felt cold and lifeless.

“You claim to not know where you sent the two of them, and I do not believe that for a second,” Junko simply said, knowing the scope of Last Order’s memory for her remember on her own to be shoddy from time to time, but this process would eliminate all of that headache. “We need to ascertain the coordinates by peering directly into your mind.”

Last Order began to cry, pulling and tugging at her restraints, she knew enough of what her master was saying to know what was going to come next. It. . .always hurt, and made her feel weird afterwards. “N-No!~ Please; anything but that!”

Junko ignored her protests, waving her hand to the doctor who went over to dim the light on the wall, slowly dimming the view until darkness engulfed Last Order’s view of them, but not vice versa.

“It will be over before you know it.” Junko gripped a fighter jet style lever, slowly pulling it back as the machine behind Last Order came to life, whirring and clicking before her shouts were heard, the purest sound of agony and suffering as the information came in spades. “Your powers of opening into space and time is often a tricky situation when you fail to think, but we will rectify this,” Junko rapped her fingers against her leg.

“Vitals are spiking for the moment, obtaining the brainwave signals, rerouting into the translation system, progress is at 50, going on 65%.” Junko cracked a small smile, knowing her prize would soon be in her grasp. “Retrieving destination coordinates. . .locked on.”

“Open the portal,” Junko said as the doctor pressed a few buttons, a almost defeaning whoosh of wind sounding from behind the wall, flanked only by the chiming of the sensors of the room alerting them of the small time limit. “Open up the second door, and prepare for the jump.”

“Lady Junko, we are ready,” a voice chirped through her earpiece com. “What are your orders?”

Junko only wanted one thing, and one thing only; anybody else were of no consequence.

“Capture my brother and bring him back by any means necessary; everything else in your path is irrelevant.”

“A-And Akame, Ma’am?” another meek, though raspy voice asked.

That was indeed a good point, Akame would be a cog thrown in the wheel she did not expect, so she should be taken care of.

“Order of precedence; if you can capture, do so. If not, kill, and leave no trace.” Junko said.

“Worry not, your grace. We will take care of everything.” Junko hmmed at the last voice who chipped in, sounding assured and excited. “Question; is Chloe not coming with?”

Chloe would be possibly the most pivotal part of all, she merely had yet to be there.

“She will join once you all make contact; we will only be to communicate when the portal is open, so stand by until she gets there after you touch down first. We have no information about where you will be, only that Lady Junko’s brother and Rin Akame will be there, so it would be beneficial to hold nothing back,” the scientist chimed in, running a check of the systems at the last moment.

“Worry not, mucker. We are the best of the best. Redeye and the brother will be no problem for us.”



> Vagari Ignis
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rin, Daring, and Blank sat around the kitchen of the ship as me, Grass, and Echo came back from the nearby stream with water that we filtered. Daring made a point for us to stop and take a small break after the whole Starlight incident and get some food in our bellies.

One thing I had never really thought much about with everything that occurred since we got here was eating. Drinking water here and there was fine, but we really didn't need much in terms of food as quickly as our friends thought.

Living the life that we did back home, as well as our respective training made food a lower priority. 

"So," Daring cleared her throat, going over to the stove that stood barren of any flames before grabbing a match with her wing as she tossed it into the wood, making sure the smoke funnel was sealed and directing it outside the ship. "What's on the menu for you guys?”

Rin stretched her arms out to her sides, sounding a bit relieved as her muscles were slowly relaxed. A small yawn followed as she begun to spin the yarn in her mind about what she wanted to eat. “Dunno; not that picky of an eater, really. If I had a choice, it’d be something sweet.”

“Not so much for me; just something small, I guess.” I said, setting the bucket down and leaning on the table next to Rin. I really hadn’t worked up an appetite, but I was somewhat sure that they wouldn’t just settle for us not eating with everything going on. “I guess some pork or beef would be good,” my mouth began to water a bit at the idea of a good burger, especially with some chipotle Mayo, a fried egg, and mushrooms.

“So you guys are carnivores,” Grass figured as she thought about a few of the things that I told her about us. “Explains why you have those sharp teeth.”

“Canines, and we can eat plants and meat; omnivores. But I’ve been trying to make it a point to balance it out.” Rin said, twirling her hair as she knew that her eating habits whenever she did eat was less than ideal, what with inhaling the equivalent of a bakery every other week back home, only for her to gain no weight.

“I’ve wondered about eating meat; how is it? Do you have any certainty rituals you guys have to do for you to eat it?” Blank asked, pointing a hoof at us as she munched on some celery sticks. “I’m sure you have to cook it and all, but are there some meats you can’t eat?”

That did spark a bit of curiosity in me on the prospect of the different things we could and couldn’t eat. There were a lot of things that as far as I knew, that we could eat if prepared correctly, and the slightest mistake could kill something.

“Well, there’s not a lot that I can tell off the top of my head, but I’m sure that I know something who can,” I uncovered my Life Drive, signaling for Ai to come out in a flourish of pink particles, appearing with a smile on her face.

“Ai! Master, how may I assist you?” Ai asked, her cute arms folded behind her back as she waited for my orders.

“Can you tell our friends here about a few of the different kinds of food Humans can’t eat at all or only can eat when certainly conditions are met?” I clasped my hands together, knowing that Ai had any kind of information on that topic, or any other taken care of once she consulted any story material in her Hammer-Space.

Giggling as another miniature explosion of pink particles formed, the specks conforming to the shape of a book that comically looked to heavy for my Fairy to lift, but her telekinesis made the feat easy. “Ai! There are plenty of foods that Master and other Humans like him cannot eat or cannot eat without the utmost preparation. For example; the seeds of a cherry, poisonous pufferfish, and grass. The components of each of those items either do not meet the requirements for human digestion or contains elements that if not diluted sufficiently will result in death.”

“Jeez, really? You can’t eat grass?” Grass Song asked, shaking her head, treating the information like a foreign word. 

“Yep, not at all, so we gotta be careful about what we eat, or we could end up dead.” I said, shrugging my shoulders as Daring looked at us, waiting.

“So, are you guys hungry? Anything you can eat that ponies can too?”

“Ai! Dandelions, so long they are not sprayed with any fertilizer and the entire plant has the bitterness cooked out would make an excellent alternative!” Ai said, beginning to list off the various dishes while me and Rin had a talk.

I had wanted to make sure she was ok after the whole. . .Nir incident.

“Hey, are you doing ok?” I gently asked, Rin looking at me with a small glint in her eyes. I wasn’t able to identify it right away, but I ventured what Starlight did to her may have scared her a bit. “You can talk about it if you-“

“-No, it’s fine. I just. . .I. . .ugh. I don’t know; it felt weird, wrong, and I can’t put it into words, but something’s missing,” Rin ruffled her own hair, displacing some dirt and dust from our earlier spat. Her voice had almost gone quiet, as if she was scared. Rin never was scared. Of anything. “I don’t remember what really happened, and I hurt you and our friends. I even argued with Hanabi before I hurt her, too.” I watched as Rin rubbed her shoulders, seemingly disgusted of the thought.

I had to reasssure her. It wasn’t her fault, even if her and Blank did knock us out. Their hearts were in the right place, and the end result of it seemed to be more than enough punishment.

“It’s fine, Rin. You didn’t hurt us really, and it wasn’t really your fault. Starlight-“

“-Played us like a fool from the very beginning. And I told you guys that I didn’t like her from the beginning, but you wanted to play it safe,” Rin bitterly mentioned, casting a look to Daring as a vein on her neck began to pulse, only for her to calm down and sigh in defeat. “But, I did let my anger get the best of me, too,” Rin admitted.

“Why, though? You sounded like Starlight did something to you personally, or you had experienced something like that before,” Grass ventured a guess, making Rin tense a bit before turning her head the other direction. “You have?”

Rin refused to answer Grass’s question, and as much as I wanted it to be known for the sake of conversation, this was Rin’s internal turmoil, and nobody but her could be the true victor.

“Let’s save the questions for later; we already established what happened back there was unfortunate, and Blank and Rin feel bad about it, but we need to focus on what exactly we’re going to do about getting back home,” I said, trying to get the main goal back on track. “Since Starlight left, is there anything else that we could do to help us?” I asked Daring, her face scrunched into thought as she maintained the fire with a bellow.

Echo walked over, tapping my leg as I looked at her, as she begun to shy away from a moment when I stared at her a bit intensely. “I-I might k-know something we can use,”

“Wait, what?” Blank asked, what her sister said catching her for a loop as she flew over to her saddlebag and brought out a old, chipped parchment. “What do you mean, sis?”

Echo unfurled the parchment, most of the words unfamiliar to me as I had never heard been said before. It mentioned something about some item called El Oro De Dios.

“What is that?” Rin asked, looking over the parchment with me. Something called out to me why this looked some kind of familiar. It sounded Spanish, but I never took the time to learn the language to know what the words mean.

“It’s something I-I heard a few p-ponies talking about in a tavern, and a stallion d-dropped this, so I managed to t-take it without them finding out.” Echo said, looking over the rest of the document to find more information out for us. “They said it could have m-mystical powers, but I-I wasn’t so sure.”

“How come you never thought to bring this up, Echo?” Grass asked, observing the parchment for herself. “Any lead we could get to them Rin and Jamir home would be a big help, but we got to figure out what the word means.”

“Ai! The phrase is in Spanish, Ms. Grass Song!” Ai cheered with her boundless energy, floating over to the parchment, looking it over as her eyes glowed a brighter pink than normal for a second before speaking again. “It means The Gold of God! But what exactly that talks about in the form is unclear! Does it not say what the phrase represents?”

“Hmmm, nope. Just that it has been given different names in the past, and that it’s been highly revered,” Grass turned the parchment around and around to see any possible different angles. “It mentions one name over and over though; Seaquestria.”

“Then that must be a good a place as any to start, but there’s only one problem; none of us can swim deep enough if we have to go down deep,” Daring said, bringing the idea out in the open. A valid point point as we couldn’t go that deep anyways without needing air in less than 5 minutes. “We’ll need to overcome that hurdle, first.”

“Then we’ll need to get some information. Check the map; where’s this Seaquestria and what places are near it?” Blank asked. 

Pulling the large map out of her saddlebags, Daring looked over it for the moment before locating the place in question, only to frown and look downtrodden.

“What’s wrong?” I walked over, seeing what the fuss was about. Daring sighed and tapped the map with a hoof.

“We’re going to have to go beyond Equestria, where not a lot of ponies have gone, and from the looks of it, it will take a little while to get there.”



> For The Sake Of Others
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A swoosh of cerulean blue crisscrossed before stabilizing, forming a portal that resembled a Torii gate, the pale white resembling the columns and tie beam. A small mix of thumping and clinking sounded before 4 figures emerged out of it, their figures shadowed before they stopped just short of the blades of grass that moved every which way due to the change in air pressure. A small depression in the ground led to a clearing where bits and pieces of rock and pillars sat untouched.

''A-Are these the right coordinates?'' a meek voice called out, clutching her sleeves the longer she viewed the area which she had yet fo fully look over and map out. Lady Junko told them of their mission, and more importantly the. . .grace that had to be taken to make sure her brother was returned with as little a struggle as possible. Having him be injured in any way, even with the aid of Fairies would still be tantamount to walking through Hell barefoot.

So care had to be taken with maximum delicacy.

''Those lousy scientists aren't daft, so the least they could do is get us inside a half-mile to where Redeye and the brother are,'' another voice sounded with his thick accent, swirling the toothpick in his mouth around before it rested on his lips, burying his hands in his pockets and adjusting the brim of his hat so the sunlight wouldn't blind him. ''I do say, being in another place versus Detroit will be a little bit of a different approach than, what we normally do.''

''Lady Junko is never wrong; if she feels as those we would be the best to take care of retrieving her brother and taking care of Redeye, then that is what we will do,'' another, more masculine voice sounded, unwavering in the words and ideals of his leader. Being loyal to one such as his lady was the utmost honor, and it took a certain kind of skillset to even be qualified for consideration. Pure and strong, the devotion to the cause of peace was a road few take, and even fewer are able to come back from. ''We are to standby for Chloe; she is the one leading us on this expedition, so what she says goes.''

''And who 'ere died and made her the leader? I can take care of this little ragtag group of munchkins by meself; no sweat.''

''The person who died, or in this case; should die to make her leader, should be you; Aero.'' another female voice chimed, annoyed that every word out of Aero's mouth was pure garbage. ''Chloe has been the one by her grace's side since the beginning.''

''If you don't count her brother, the little deserter. Why in the hell should we really even be doing this? What harm can he do to Junko's plans?'' Aero asked, adjusting his bandolier, making sure he had all of his bullets for the fun to come. ''I don't see-''

A thumping sounded from the portal as a shape walked through it, quieting the group as Chloe walked out with a mile-wide smile on her face, dressed in military combat garb, the tan carrier vest containing her canteens dangling about as it was unzipped. Her colors nearly blended in with the surrounding terrain of green and mud brown as she held her helmet in one hand, the other carrying a rather large silver two-handed sword adorned with serrated teeth that looked to be on part of a track that was partially covered by the guard, images of different kanji characters and an etched portrait of Junko on both sides. ''Did I miss anything, everyone? Or was Aero being cranky again, Chie?''

The girl in question bowed a tad, making sure her posture was straight and her hands crossed over the stomach, just below her belly button. Her posture would never be compromised, even in a place that may have not to be chartered by their own forces. . .or their beliefs enforced for the natural order of things. ''Of course, Chloe; I merely informed our comrade in arms of his options, should he choose to pursue a different line of work.''

Chie as a girl was of a very sound mind, and even more sound body as she never let the littlest thing make her faith waver. Her devotion to Junko, as well as God was unmatched by others. Being the daughter of one of the most esteemed businessmen involved in the retail industry, with a fear of God to boot groomed her for the life of the most prestigious and beautiful shrine in all of Detroit, shining like a beacon in the darkness to all others. Her devotion to the Shinto belief and quest to become a Priestess from that of the most devoted Miko was something that her lady's wishes would have to come second, but only just.

''I figured as much,'' Chie adjusted her hakama and ensured her hair was tied firmly behind her. ''But the time to bulling around is not now. Lady Junko has given us a mission, and it is our responsibility to see it through to the letter,'' Chloe provided a no-nonsense tone as she looked to the rest of her team. ''Nemea; are you well?'' Chloe looked at the genetically cloned and modified Sabertooth Tiger given life due to the science of the present day. Being 8,500 years old and the last of his clan brought into the present day was a very jarring experience to get used to versus the constant flow of battle with man of old.

Nemea nodded, a barely audible purr coming from his mouth as he scanned the lush jungle before him, the heat beginning to pierce through his beige coat. ''I am fine; I only wish to embark on this mission with every resource at our disposal. How is our information about our current location?''

''Not much, we were dropped off within a half-mile of their first known location based on the signals from their Life Drives.'' Chloe shrugged, walking a bit more forward to inspect the downed pillars and seeing a small depression in the ground. Tilting her head and taking out her own Life Drive, a light emanating from it as it scanned the ground, piecing together the information as a ping sounded. ''Yes. . .they were here a few days ago. See? Over there, Akame was laying on his lap and he was sitting upright. And then. . .ahead of them, something had come towards them, and they might have killed it or escaped with these draglines.''

Nemea, walked over to the spot, sniffing the ground and lifting his head in a direction, he had their scent.

''S-So, how are we doing this?'' the last of the group spoke up, walking over to the spot and looking to Chloe who merely rubbed her small head and assured her everything would be ok.

''Simply put, apprehend, or kill Akame if need be, but the capture of her grace's brother is the utmost priority, Delta-1,'' Chie said, only settling for the most favorable result from this mission with the skillsets of each of them, though she would have a bit of a tough time knowing how Delta-1 one typically behaves. ''We merely need you to provide us support, as you will have the most important task of all.''

''R-really?'' Delta-1 asked in astonishment, her systems registering her friend's words with the semblance of elation. Ever since her accident, and subsequent surgery; she had a difficult time getting used to the fact that she became a cyborg. With 75% of her body enhanced or replaced by cybernetics, it proved to be difficult at first to gauge her power at times, and the disconnect at times with emotion, seeing that parts of her brain had been replaced. The white antenna on her head resembling satellite dishes perked up. ''I can help with this one?''

''Well, you are here, love; so of course, you are. Strike Team is one of the most efficient squads that her grace has had in years, so it only can be natural you are the line between communication while we venture out.'' Aero smirked, clutching his hat and laughing. ''We ready to set out?''

Chloe finished taking notes, as she nodded, Delta-1 touching the side of her face as her eyes lit up, producing a whir as another shadow began to move out of the portal, revealing 3 hoverbikes, the dark red and black flaring minimal as the thrusters quieted down to an idle, coming over to Chie, Aero, and Chloe.

''Nemea, Delta-1. You two will stay here at the portal, relaying information. When we find our prey, we will contact you to contact base and receive further instructions,'' Chloe took to a running start, Chie and Aero following after as their bikes zoomed after, a nearby cliff appearing to be the best takeoff point as they each leaped off, their bikes catching their fall as they zoomed ahead, following the path that Chloe's Life Drive plotted out.

''You figure the brother's gotten any stronger?'' Aero asked, crossing his arms as the bikes continued on auto-pilot. ''Would love another crack at the mucker.''

Chie hummed, taking off the Shamisen she held on her back as she strummed along, absorbing the flow of the wind as she played a soothing song to help her mind focus. ''My only focus is trouncing the Akame girl and showing her the true meaning of what it means to be a true Japanese.''

''And I just wish to please my lady and bring home that which is hers,'' Chloe said, twirling her sword before pointing to the distance.



> Battle Of Mind By The Sea
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

''Boss,'' Daring heard Blank call her name as she looked over the beautiful view of her ship in all its lightly mangled glory. At the speed they were currently traveling, they would reach their destination, Seaquestria, in a few minutes. They had traveled throughout the night, Daring, Blank, and occasionally Echo with the assistance of Ai directing in different shifts to keep The Optiquest on the correct course according to the map. ''This place. . .it's-'' Daring hummed in agreement.

It was certainly different than Equestria, though the name Seaquesria would normally imply otherwise. Going by the scare information they were able to secure from The Crystal Empire after dropping off the Alicorn Amulet, this region was known to be a haven of sorts from a land above to the one below where the unfortunate, and needed past of the denizens were laid bare for all to see and judge. The glorious mountain's peak containing what appeared to be a village exuded a sense of sadness the closer they approached, even if the clear, blue water was something to behold in itself. ''-Different. And because of that, I already don't like it here, but then again; when does my opinion matter to a place that can't respond?''

Grass and Yuu walked over, observing the parchment with an intense glare, trying to decipher what The Gold of God could be a code word for or if it was indeed a literal object that would need protection or destruction. ''I don't know, Yuu. This could be some kind of medicine, and not something to use to get dirty with. Or. . .it just represents an idea.''

Yuu shook her head, convinced it could be something that she could use for something towards her own purposes of what she loved to do. That, or it could lead her to what she may have wanted. ''I'm sure my Master would disagree, but we need to find it first,'' Yuu commented lazily floating about until she decided to plop down on Grass's mane, resting on her horn as she examined the parchment still.

''Well, we're here, so we should try splitting up to cover more ground to look for this thing,'' Rin said as she walked over, the stains of blood, dust, dirt, and everything else in between making her appear as a wild attempt at a painting that had no idea of what the theme should be. Daring, Grass, and Blank all shied a bit away at Rin who quirked a brow at the actions of her teammates. ''What?''

Daring looked at her medic and navigator, wondering out of the two of them, who would tell-

''-You stink, Ms. Rin.'' Yuu simply said, the trio plus Rin looking shocked at the directness of the statement as the Fairy sounded completely uncaring of the tone of voice used to convey a sensitive topic, let alone to a member of different species that held sentience. ''We have been in this world for under a month, and you or my Master has failed to practice proper hygiene.''

Taking a step back and shaking her head as she almost said something out of instinct in retaliation, Rin did. . .care about the issue, just not with the same intensity as everypony else and Yuu may have. She had an excuse! They've been fighting for their lives in this new world and for pretty much nonstop, and constantly moving somewhat made putting time aside to practice something like hygiene somewhat unneeded. ''Well, out of all of us, I don't really think you have much room to talk, little Ms. Likes To Get Dirty. You literally play in the mud, and you're trying to lecture me?'' Rin stalked over to the Fairy, Grass's nose not able to take the scent so up close so she opted for stepping back and levitating Yuu over to Rin's waiting hand when she scoffed at the motion. ''What's your excuse?''

Yuu simply stood up, straightening out her dress and looking up to Rin with a bemused expression, her lips curled up deviously like a cat who got away with knocking a vase over as she folded her arms, watching the glint in Rin's eyes challenge her own as she wondered how someone like Ms. Akame was unable to tell the reason why she frolicked in the mud, and so very proud, but have been given nary a complaint from anyone. ''I simply purify the surrounding air so the combined smell of certain chemicals or naturally occurring scents do not interfere with the nasal receptors of other lifeforms,'' Yuu said, her tone a bit cheeky as Rin brought her closer and motioned for her half-hearted explanation to continue. ''I do remain dirty, but I do not at least smell dirty.''

Rin growled as Daring and Blank focused their attention back on piloting the ship as Grass took back to looking over the parchment, each of their glares to Rin getting to her as she took Yuu down towards the figurehead of the ship, passing by Echo and Hanabi as the both of them stopped their conversation to look at the Fairy and Human walk by, the look of mild surprise making them forget their topic of conversation to question the smell of. . .sweat, dirt and regret? 

''Well, you think you're so without fault, don't you?'' Rin asked, spying her best friend at the top of the ship, at the crow's nest as he looked to be doing something as Ai and Snow were assisting him. Instead of taking her time climbing the rope, Rin eyeballed the distance and accordingly held back shattering the wood beneath her foot as she leaped up, the wind making her hair flow about every which way.

Yuu remained unfazed with the small smirk on her face as the wind did the same thing to before the forces of gravity began to bring the both of them back down, Ai noticing the arrival of her Master's friend as she stuck her hand out, eyes green as Rin's body was levitated over the edge of the nest, her feet landing neatly on the edge as she looked at her friend wiping a hand over his body that was covered in a mixture of what looked to be steadily forming water that looked just about ready to begin steaming as a purple substance was flowing in the middle before spreading out to cover the area of Jamir's body that it touched before returning to it somewhat circular form inside the mixture. ''W-What are you doing?'' Rin asked, noticing her friend dressed down in nothing but his grey and black boxers as he looked to see his friend behind him.

''Sup. Trying this new cleaning material that I heard might work from some of the books that I ended up reading on the ship, and after Ai confirmed it's not hazardous to Humans, I thought it might help to be a quicker way to get clean, and so far,'' Jamir commented in a positive tone, liking that it pretty got almost any grime and stain out without having to alter the formula to make the substance made it for the most promising thing they could use in a pinch. He then noticed the. . .he wanted to say, dour expression Rin had while Yuu was grinning a mile wide. ''Let me guess; Yuu's bluntness that you stink? Been there, done that.''

''N-No,'' Rin said, blushing, Yuu giggling like a kid in a candy store at the display. ''Anyways, what the hell is this miracle cleaner? Bleach mixed with baking soda or something?'' Ai nudged Snow, who created a baseball-sized piece of ice before willing it to melt into water and willing the molecules to get a bit more excited as the water nearly created steam before Ai used her powers to bring a flower with purple leaves over and crush the plant in a pestle and mortar before mixing into the water as said water was put into a small bowl with a simple cloth rag. ''It smells like-''

''-Lavender? Yea, it's I guess a byproduct of crushing it up and the oils being released, but it's pretty effective, and it even goes in deep to clear anything just under the skin.'' Jamir said, relishing the feeling and being happy that he could finally have the chance to get clean to some degree, though a good shower would be so much better. ''Any luck with the parchment?''

''No, Master. We still cannot find out what is going on pertaining to El Oro De Dios. Me and Grass Song have thought about it perhaps being a cipher of sorts that may contain what the item in question could actually be, but I believe that we may have our answers when we dock,'' Yuu said, a bit saddened that she, her sister, or any of the crew could uncover the parchment's meaning past the name. Echo's lead of where she found the parchment would be another lead they would undertake, but the ferocity she spoke of it made going to the place in question to secure whatever it took a bit more precedence.

Shaking his head and putting on a fresh set of clothes, a black shirt wore underneath a  tan jacket and black cargo pants once again as it was easy to have simple clothes that would require very little thought as long as it was practical for the mission ahead. ''Hopefully, we can get a step closer to getting home, God knows what my deranged sister is up to, and how many people she's hurt,'' Jamir said, looking to the land in the distance, noting how they began to come to a stop towards the nearby shore, the crisp sea-salt air blowing in his face the entire time. ''I have no idea of what we're gonna see when we go back.''

''Snow, Snow!'' Snow chirped, Ai and Jamir preparing to offboard the ship.

''Go get cleaned up, and meet us down there, we'll set up a perimeter so we don't get ambushed like last time. Yuu; stay here and keep Rin comfortable,'' Jamir used his Life Drive to disconnect Yuu from the Life Drive temporarily as to not get sucked in when he got too far as a part of the security measure. ''And trust me, that stuff will work. Let's go!'' Jamir hopped out of the crow's nest, letting gravity drop him down towards the white sand just before Ai caught him as he slowed his descent down to the ground as Daring, Blank, Echo, and Grass with Hanabi went off of the ship, admiring the sight around them as Rin got to cleaning herself up once she stripped down to just her underwear.

''Don't want to hear it,'' Rin said, eyeing Yuu staring at her in a joking manner, eating up the less than stellar expression she had as she washed herself up, her eyes closing as she let the stress of the situation around her and their Fairies sink In with her own personal emotions. Rin was. . .fed up. Tired. Angry. Every emotion and them some if she could give it a name. Detroit. America. Their home.

In trouble. And they were not there to do anything. She herself did not have the best of assurance that her city could defend itself very well without some proper defenses. The police, military, and even the subset of both that held users that had Fairies equipped for combat would pale in comparison to Junko and her Strike Force team, easily able to contend with the like of most Life Drive users. The principle that they were not there still stuck with her. Both of them tried to defend their town, city, state, and even the world that everyone lived in from those who would harm it, for the sake of peace. ''I hate this. That bitch of a tyrant needs to be taken down, once and for all.''

''My Master won't let you do that, you know,'' Yuu said, not disagreeing with her, but also not being foolish enough to go blindly with the idea of killing another without the correct moral and literal circumstances to enact such an action without repercussions of any kind. Junko was always a troubled child, from what Rin could tell, and her rise to power made her quite the adversary for those not experienced at all or well-enough versed to where most actions would be able to be predicted, but it mattered little to Jamir as he practiced temperance versus an aggressive nature where it needed to be counted. ''He's unable.''

Rin huffed, and course she know she didn't mean literally, but he chose not to in favor of their bond as siblings and what they grew up together with, the memories, and his own moral compass convincing him of his belief in change for the one who would need it the most versus ending it all. So many tears, so much blood, the expenses.

All for nothing, as far as Rin would come to know over the years of fighting a scaled-down war before it went global if it hadn't already when they were gone. ''I don't care. Somebody has to. This loss of life can't keep going on,'' Rin sighed, holding the lukewarm rag in her grasp as she finished washing all the gunk and crud out of her hair, the faint smell of the lavender oil from the flower tickling her nose as she stared down at her feet and floor, her mind in a haze. ''I follow your Master because he inspires. He's. . .strong, psychically but more emotionally and he understands me. He understands my flaws, takes them in stride. M-My past in Japan doesn't matter to him, me being as important as I was. . .or still am to some is like a spec of salt to him.'' Yuu nodded along as she heard Rin pour out her emotions, her body shaking a tad from the cold air, but she also had the notion that she wanted to cry if she hadn't already. 

Rin would never lie to herself that it was hard being strong; even if she was one of the literal strongest. To be socially competent. To have had, and possibly still have the weight of a small country and its people on her mind made her life transition to Detroit. . .difficult at first. ''But now. . .I don't think even what I'm doing now is worth anything, at least not if we can't at least be in the place where our efforts would actually matter the most versus here.''

Yuu hovered around, taking all the information from Rin in kind and equating it to her own experience with Junko. She would never tell another soul as her sister and Snow knew well-enough, and though her Master did understand enough, it had to be Junko herself to break down truly why she had done everything that led up to the point that the two of them were left in. Two halves of one whole, broken apart by the notion, outside influence, and any other factors that played a part in the two of them being essentially at war due to clashing ideas.

Among the other things that happened in their childhood.

''Well, Ms. Rin, I can't say much on how may be feeling, but I do know that can say that whatever course of action you decide to take, that my Master would come to accept it. You made the choice to follow him and be his friend when he held little of those in regard because of his character, and for that; me, my sister, and Snow will forever be in your debt for giving our Master a friend.'' Yuu bowed, the action surprising Rin and even more so what she said. She was pretty sure the three of them were friends with Jamir, right?

''But you're his first few friends, right? It would make more sense for you to be friends versus-'' Yuu held a tiny hand up to stop Rin as she expressed her own look of contemplation. Her tiny hands clenched as she willed a bit of electricity to spawn around her, small bolts arching in the air with no clear direction except for away from the pair. The glare Yuu gave Rin made her question her own poker face as the intensity was that great, the message behind those orbs that what she thought was probably wrong.

''We live for our Master. Anything that he may need, that if we are able, we will provide him with anything that he may have the slightest want for. We are his sword and shield, his gun and bullets, his eyes and ears. He has provided the absolute best care for us and though we ask for almost nothing, he provides everything that he is able.'' Yuu said, her tone unwavering and the words she used helping her to convey exactly how she felt to Rin. ''He is, unironically the only one we would follow to the end of the universe itself, and he could be wrong. He could be the cause of it all, and still, we would follow.''

Rin couldn't believe that, even for a second. Anything he did? Even if he started a war? Killed thousands? Doomed the world itself? Or if no matter what he did, they would continue to follow, even with the notion that any of his ideas could or would be seen as completely crazy? ''That sounds like slavery in a way.''

Yuu shook her head, tiny tears dropping to the floor by Rin's feet as she smiled, wiping the emotional outburst away. Her Master would be sad if she was, she would be strong. No matter what it took. ''Yes. . .if we choose to let it be. If we got nothing out of the arrangement. And if we knew our Master held any shred of evil in his heart, then it would be,'' Yuu said, giving Rin a bit of a different perspective when it came to the relationship that he held with his Fairies, and even so with her own as well. It did seem unfair at times, but Rin began to feel a sense of sadness grow from her mind and heart. ''If you open yourself to those ideas, and consult your own Fairies, you may find some fashion of catharsis.''

The talk that she did not know that she needed was very welcome when she stopped being inside her own thoughts and allowed herself to see those of another.

Perhaps she should try.



> A Number Marked
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

ZOOM! ZOOM! ZOOM!

''Come on, 'en; let's push it to the redline!'' Aero exclaimed, rolling the throttle on the hoverbike to the limit, the torque nearly causing his gaucho hat to fall off at the speed of going nearly 80mph. Chie and Chloe followed close behind, the pair displaying their own brand of indifference. ''Don't tell me this is the best you muckers can do!''

Chie hummed, wanting to cut off Aero's voice over their communicators, but even she knew that would be a tad counterproductive if the idea of a threat was present in a new land. The fact that Ms. Junko chose the five of them to venture forth into this unknown world rather than the common fodder spoke to the severity of the situation relating to her brother. ''Your arrogance is showing, Aero.'' Chie clearly said, slinging her instrument on her back and securing it as she disabled the autopilot.

''Whaddya mean?'' the growl of her engine sounded before Chie zoomed ahead, clutching her body close to the frame, narrowly avoiding the curved trees and branches before pressing a button on the touchpad, launching a small projectile that met head-on with the large wildcat that attempted to leap out at the trio, Chie falling back into the group as Aero grimaced. ''Nevermind.''

''Focus, you two.~'' Chloe said in a sing-song tone, checking her Life Drive as it pinged. Her lady would have what she wanted, and the. . .teamwork of her two allies would need to be in sync, or Chloe would have to get it in sync for them. The brother and Akame would surely be an issue if they were alerted to their presence beforehand, especially with their Fairies. ''Once we make contact with those two, you can bicker as much as you want later, but my lady and her needs come first, are we clear?''

Chie and Aero shared a small look, one of belayed confidence, and the other of mild annoyance. They knew it would be a death wish to challenge Junko, and nearly the same aspect was attributed to digging a ditch with a plastic spoon if one were to deal with Chloe. One of the few things that the two were unable to see was where in the world how Chloe was able to be so. . .her.

Clutching his hat a bit tighter, Aero dared himself to bring up the better question; what would they have to do to bring back Akame without the surrounding area being reduced to atoms. Another roll of the throttle from the bikes propelled the trio forward, the hot jungle air being drawn into the intake and roaring louder than the biggest lion. From their vantage point, the spacious, though eerie vibe of the path ahead of them slowly gave to a narrow clearing located on the other side of a trench, revealing what appeared to be a wall of vines.

''Hmmm,'' Chie hummed as she stepped off her bike, slowly waving her hand about, the weight of what was in front of her coming to light the longer she stood there, maintaining her breathing until a blast of air surged forth from her hand, causing the foliage to separate. ''This certainly seems to be a recent place where they may have been.''

Bright pink eyes widened a tad before calming. Slow and steady would be what won Lady Junko this race against brother, but too much being taken would be bad. Chloe walked forward, slinging her gargantuan sword on her back as she and Aero walked along the rotting, and possibly soon-to-be non-existent rope bridge with little care. The misshapen and somewhat poorly camouflaged village house had seen better days, from its copious amounts of moss and slathered mud to the smell akin to excrement. ''Bloody 'ell,'' Aero grimaced, his left foot giving way to the board he lightly stepped on, gripping the rope handles above him in an unamused manner.

''Do you require help, Aero?'' Chie asked with a tongue of venom, glaring at the cowboy who merely leaped found his grip, and pulled himself back up, taking a cloth from his vest's pocket and wiping it against his boot as if acid had been dropped on his shoewear. 

''No, no, love; not at all. These are only a pair of 13,000 Baron American Alligator skin boots, of course, I won't require any help at all, you narrow-eyed-''

''-Aero, focus.'' Chloe chimed in, easily lifting the man up with one hand as the other pulled one of his revolvers from its pouch and aimed it towards the direction they were aiming, the pale cherry red grip's design embossed with dollar signs and waves of fire shining as she twirled it in her hand, pulling the hammer back. ''We have guests.''

''Just my luck, eh; coming or going?'' Aero asked, drawing the other weapon in preparation.

Chie took a pair of binoculars from her bike's saddle, focusing the lens to see a few shapes move as if unaware of the three of them. Even at 300 meters, it still proved difficult to directly ascertain what the potential threat was with the fog and foiliage. Taking her best guess, she opted for the former of the two options. ''I would say coming, they do not seem privy to us being here just yet, so the route of surprise would be the best course of action to take for this particular situation.''

Nodding to her subordinate, Chloe agreed, catching who or whatever that was soon to come there would provide some kind of information, however small. Nemea and Delta-1 would be standing by to receive an update in the next minutes, so the trio would need to be quick.

''Very well; Aero will provide an overlook from that ridge to our right, you and I will give our guests a warm welcome once Aero gives us the signal to go ahead. Afterward, report our findings to Delta-1. And we all know she will be doing her absolute best to make sure the mission stays what it is unless further notified of what to do otherwise.'' Chloe handed the gun back to Aero, the satisfying click of the hammer being pulled back sounding like music to Aero's ears.

''I do wonder whatever went on in that mind of Last Order for her to pick a place such as this?'' Chie asked, keeping a watchful eye over their immediate surroundings as Aero snuck over to the nearby ridge to set up post. Other places, some far and few in between came, but rarely one so. . .different.

Chloe agreed, only able to see that the result of the situation was due to an error. An error of not listening to her lady about what was to be expected. Time, and time again, Last Order's ability to open gates in time and space often came too little too late; rather than being controlled and used for more practical purposes. The things that she did with the power gifted to her often resulted in 'issues' that would have to be fixed by her and her comrades. ''Yes, though I would assume it was something that was against Lady Junko's ideals, and the punishment she received was merely a fraction of what she really should receive.''

Chie and Chloe walked on the narrow bridge path, the creaking and cracking of the wood filling the air. The door next to the pair was smaller than expected, leading the two to duck a bit to get in to reveal a spacious living area complete with a makeshift rug for the floor, surrounded by hanging vines and wooden shapes resembling crude furniture. Chie pointed a finger upward, leading to an opening of sorts on the ceiling passable by a row of steps off to the side. Chloe's Life Drive began to ping a bit more, the scanners cycling through various wavelengths before shining a blue light on the ground, revealing two sets of shoeprints.

A nod to each other led to the slow traversal around the balcony, the sounds of their guests being heard more clearly.

''And you're sure this is where they came from? It seems abandoned.'' a male's voice sounded unimpressed. A hum came from Chie as she assumed the 'they' in this case could have been Akame and the brother. But they would require more to be sure. ''Never let it be said that I was the one completely on board with doing this.''

''You're the leader, you're supposed to know these things better than us, or was that little spiel you gave us a joke?'' a female's voice chimed in, the clacking and jangling of their gear filling the quiet air.

Chloe inched closer to the edge, hugging the ground as she low-crawled where she hoped she would be able to attain a better angle to see what or who exactly they had yet to engage, or if the effort to engage would even be there. Another scoot gave Chloe enough room to see over the edge without hopefully being spotted. A glint came from her peripheral, the orange glow of Aero's rifle scope giving her comfort as her communicator sounded in her ear.

''Oi, love; from what I see 'ere, it looks like we're dealing with. . .horses?'' Aero questioned, racking a round in his rifle and steadying his breathing. ''Not the weirdest thing we've dealt with. . .but call it.'' Chloe tilted her head, trying to decide how she would respond. ''One finger for go; two for no.''

Horses? That's what Last Order had in mind? Horses? Why. . .was the question the second in command to Lady Junko could not understand; let alone those that are capable of speech. While not groundbreaking in terms of interest, it was something that Lady Junko would want a report on, nonetheless.

To further her own agenda. Chloe raised two fingers before clutching her fist, choosing to let them pass in favor of gathering more information. The pair stood up slowly and quietly, watching their surrondings as Chloe began to signal to Aero again. Dragging a outward palm facing hand down her face before clutching it at her chin, Aero dug himself deeper into cover, using the vegatation around him as Chie uncovered a wooden prayer stick, breathing a breath onto it before touching the tip to her and Chloe's forehead, their forms soon turning invisible as the pair moved away from the door just in time to see their would be discoverers.

''But I am still a bit pissed we couldn't get hold of that little floating. . .talking thing; even if it did have that high pitched voice.''

Chloe grinned, knowing exactly what they were talking about. Chie shuffled behind the group, taking out another wooden stick and cracking to catch their attention.



> Above The Ridicule and Hate
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Tactical Response and Enforcement Estate headquarters, Lansing, MI.. .


"Director, please!" A young secretary urged the Enforcement Director to calm his already erratic nerves. Since the news broke, understandably, no one was able to rest for the smallest thing; sleep, food, and even personal hygiene were off the table for some until the threat could be contained, or better yet, neutralized permanently.

A strong emphasis was placed on the word "if."

"I can’t calm down at a time like this, damn it! This is a principle-level situation we are dealing with, and sitting around with our thumbs up our asses would be worse than just giving that terrorizing menace exactly what she wants!'' Director Kerr slammed a gloved fist into the desk, where mountains of paperwork lay before a pile scattered onto the floor. "We need to have some sort of plan, and we need to have it now if we have any hope to avoid this reaching ears that it shouldn’t!"

"I understand, sir, truly I do," the young woman said, her thick British accent coming out the more and more nervous she became at the idea of the director having a possible vessel in his brain burst. Detroit’s police did their best to enforce the law and quell what they thought was a simple demonstration of a petty criminal with too much power. "But the situation is being handled as we speak."

How easily she managed to lie in her boss’s face was beyond her, to begin with.

"That's what she wants us to think; for the past few years—" another fist on the desk skewed around papers, only adding to the young woman's grip on her clipboard."She’s had her followers break into almost each one of our research facilities, not to mention all of the other times that she’s publicly released sensitive documents and audio recordings, and with the number of bugs on the most insignificant staff!" Director Kerr slumped on the table, not even considering why his assistant had initially come into his office to ask him about their annoyance. Taking a page from her life coach’s book, she read off the report she managed. "Make it make sense, Jessica!"

She would try.

“Junko Johnson's full name is Junko Hattori-Sae Johnson; female, 23 years old, of Japanese-African heritage. The family home of 15 years is still standing. It was built by Tsumika Hattori and Dante Johnson, ages 39 and 46, respectively. Mother was born in Asakusa, Japan; father is a lifelong Detroiter with Japanese ancestors on his grandparents' side." Jessica stated, clearing her throat once again to finish the next set of new information before being cut off.

"And what in hell will that do for us?"

A slight smirk came over Jessica’s face at the question she was waiting on. "It won't; but this piece of information from previously blacklisted archives on any forum or government with the highest clearance; the only person who could even hope to get this is at the president's level."

WHOOSH!

"How?" Director Kerr’s speed would have surprised her if it hadn’t scared her silly, seeing the near-crazed look in his eyes tempered only by his semi-professional attitude for the moment. "Better, what? What did we miss that we can use against her?"

Jessica was not as sure that telling him would do more harm than good due to the lack of importance conceptually, but she knew it was always a case of something better than nothing, and in this case, they had nothing.

She announced the news while keeping her eyes level and her voice steady. "She has a brother." A raised eyebrow was as good as a nonverbal command to say more. "21, nearly 22 this year. Same parents and everything, the only difference being that he seems not to share his sister’s lust for power and mayhem. We weren’t even informed of him because he was that unimportant in the grand scheme of things, and his last few years were level 2 blacklisted, meaning only about 3 people knew of him and chose to say nothing.''

Taking the time to quell his breathing to the point where he could hear himself think, Director Kerr referred back to his previous encounters with the tyrant woman, only for her to openly mock the seasoned SWAT retiree. The thought of her having any other family that could potentially be on her side by coercion or of free will would not be tolerated while the iron, in a manner of speaking, was hot. "The brother. Find him." A sigh followed. "Whatever it takes. Once we have him, we could have a chance."

"Sir?" Jessica inquired, nervously combing a hair through her auburn hair, when her boss chuckled, her brow nearly unmoving except for his eyes narrowing at the report Jessica handed him."What are you planning on doing?"

That was on a need-to-know basis. They already risked a potential breach, though certain measures were taken to ensure the highest level of privacy and information limitation possible. "What I must, Jessica. Being given a budget is useless if we fail to actually use what our patriotic and law-abiding citizens pay their taxes for.'' Director Kerr chuckled to himself briefly, understanding much more about the kind of angle she was approaching from. If it had been a snake, it would have long since bitten him, but the recent development of the brother entering the picture may work in their favor.

Knowing that little else would deter her boss from going down a rabbit hole from which he might not be able to return only served to serve her exit the room to go and gather the necessary materials and personnel required to do whatever lay in wait for the future. "I don't get paid enough for this."





Grand Rapids, Spectrum Health Cancer Center. . .


The light came with an almost unrelenting heat; the subtle clicks and clacks of a keyboard were offset by the beeping of the heart monitor. Every day, it never failed to sound off. It engrained itself into memory, being the only "constant" that could be accounted for. Sterilized and cool air gently came across her skin, the goosebumps being another reminder of being alive, as subjective as that could be for some. The only escape from the harsh reality had to be the TV in the corner, displaying the news that continually broadcast the same carefully planned story.

To control the minds of the masses, no doubt.

''And here again, at the top of the hour, we are providing the city with updates on the situation, about which we are still unclear,'' A spokeswoman gave their "honest" opinion, the soulless look in her amber eyes reflecting from her eyes down to her black and red suit.  The thought of those who were foolish enough to listen and actually take it at face value made her laugh. ''We urge the good citizens of Detroit to remain calm in this time of unrest; our teams are on the ground, in the air, and even on the sea doing their best to quell the unrest of the citizens affected by the breach of the Dearborn Heights Chemical Factory leak.'' The distant sounds of gunfire, sporadic shouting, and blaring police sirens drowned most of the reporter's words out as the seconds passed. ''We ask that the public cooperates with your local authorities at this time or there may be repercussions, so I would plead with the. . .'' The volume was reduced, and the doctor's voice chimed in as the results came in, noting the same factors.

Results.

Multiple reports, tests, and appointments from specialists from distant countries that no one dared to hear of or question their medical practices came in on a regular basis, poking, prodding, taking samples, and whispering in the dark when a conclusion could not be reached. It. . .sickened her soul; it made her want to smash the nearest blunt object against the person's head who thought it was a good idea to all but demonize her when she had done nothing wrong where she did not force a submission by holding a gun or a knife to one's head.

Being labeled with death more than once was a recipe for disaster; add to that not being allowed to live even once. Her body aches and chills were like having a cooler of ice water dumped on her, and the harsh winds at her back. The staff would look at her with judgment in their eyes as rumors spread throughout the facility.

She was cursed.

She fostered the machinations of a modern-day dictator.

She was an enemy of the state.

And what did they truly know? Nothing. And she only knew the more she spoke, even in defense, the worse it would be.

''And good morning to you, on this fine day.'' The voice of the doctor in charge greeted her with a lack of care, with next to no amount of true professionalism because she was confident that if it weren't for his position and the orders from above to have someone treat her, she would be the nail in the coffin for his career, so the next best thing would be to embrace the opportunity with some baseline of conduct. His aging, slightly portly face fell into a neutral line, the hairs of his long salt and pepper mustache rustling in the air as he exhaled. "Another day, and not much else to report, I am afraid. Perhaps if you answered our questions truthfully, we could-''

SLAM! A fist smashed on the rail, sending a wave of tear-jerking pain through her hand, but she stood firm. A migraine, loss of sleep, and a slew of mental issues only served to make her next set of words all the more impactful, and she did her best to make them see. The extent of her anger only outweighed their need for answers, and by any means needed. The news reports made it clear that, according to their own agenda, anyone associated with Detroit might as well be better off dead by their own hand rather than let the proper authorities acknowledge the wrongdoing and follow the trail of blood. "I have nothing else to tell you about coughing that you already do not know! Day in and day out, the same questions come, and you all expect different COUGH! answers. I am-'' Tsumika's coughing fit was interrupted by the doctor, who had an unamused look on his face as he made his point.

"-the mother of a tyrant, of which most of us are aware, so you should be able to see firsthand the kind of unspeakable, immoral, and unforgivable damage that your daughter has caused in pursuit of whatever higher goal she has convinced herself of." The doctor's words cut deeper than she would have thought possible. Whether it was the bluntness of the statement or its monotony, both seemed to be a blow to her mind.

Tsumika sighed, wondering how far the game of theirs would go and how many more restless nights, poking, and prodding would have to be done before they would just stop and she could be free.

And free would she be to mourn.

The door to her room opened, and the sliding of the bearings on the door alerted her to her assigned nurse and the tray of breakfast for the morning. Tsumika could easily obtain it, but the staff felt it was in their best interests if she remained in her room unless accompanied, no doubt to quell any potential uproar at her someone laying eyes on her and slandering her with all amounts of slander, betrayal, or physical retaliation to pay any amount of cold blood due to Junko's crusade.

"Your breakfast, please enjoy!" was her favorite nurse, whose overly cheery and aloof attitude made her question why she never seemed to have an off day or any inkling to treat her with any shred of hatred. Her bright smile and constant pep in her step brought a weak smile to Tsumika's face as the lid opened, revealing the freshly made plate of steak and potato hash with perfectly cooked sunny-side-up eggs with a side of avocado toast, juice, and yogurt that nearly made her eyes water. "Aww, Ms. Hattori, don't cry! Don't be a downer; you need to eat!'' Kimmy's light-green eyes revealed no malice, only a harmless and eagerly curious nature that could never be replicated. Her short blonde bob certainly fit her image of purity, as the symmetry of her face was a touch different from the beauty mark near her left eye.

''SNIFF! "Thank you, Kimmy," Tsumika said, admiring the young girl and smiling as she noted the few stains on her scrubs. Kimmy's thousand-mile grin nearly threatened to reduce the older woman to a pile of mush each time. She once held that strength, that raw determination to pass on the love and care to whoever needed it the most without asking for anything in return. "You're too pure for this world." Tsumika ignored the glare of the doctor as he finished looking over the instruments hooked up to her, and when it seemed that he was satisfied, he left with a curt, half-hearted nod in her direction before directing Kimmy not to stay too long. The door closed, the dull click acting as a final call for that silent conversation to end.

She needed a few moments to be sure.

"I think Dr. Mathers is gone," Kimmy whispered cheerfully, sitting at the edge of Tsumika's bed as she waited to start eating; it wouldn't be right to try and talk to someone when they were trying to eat, and she wasn't about to be rude to her friend.

''T-hank COUGH! you. I really appreciate it; I only wish I could repay your kindness after all this time,'' Tsumika said, taking a spoonful of the hash into her mouth, slowly savoring the meat's juicy, almost butterlike texture as the subtle taste of pepper tickled her nostrils. The food was a small comfort in a place that she knew would have nothing to do with her, but with all other places rejecting the notion, this facility so far from her home was the one to draw the short end of the stick. If the sickness within her did not kill her first, then the atmosphere would definitely do her in before long.

A few minutes passed by without much else being said. Tsumika was enjoying her food, though it always took longer in the mornings, while Kimmy tidied up her room and waited patiently for her friend to get done so they could have their daily conversation. Kimmy made a point to try and learn something new about her friend each day, no matter how small; that way, no two days could ever be considered the same, and in the type of environment her friend was in, the addition of new stimuli would only help her own process before she could get out of here. Setting her utensils down after finishing off the last of the yogurt, Kimmy looked at Tsumika and spoke with her boundless enthusiasm. "So when do you think you'll be getting out of here?" I know the doctor didn't have much to say today, but I think it's getting better, don't you?

"Not anytime soon, and COUGH! if I did, it would be the same; I just wouldn't have as much time. Tsumika looked down at her hands, the pale yellow color decorating her skin, and felt the weight of her body nearly sagging into itself, the curtain of sleep deprivation slowly worming its way around again as the temperature flared. "I might as well die."

Shaking her head and laying a comforting hand on her shoulder, Kimmy looked into Tsumika's eyes with a warm, comforting determination. She rarely had these moments of doubt, and whenever she did, Kimmy always found it best to reassure her that as long as she never stopped fighting, things would find a way to work themselves out. Only Debbie Downers give up at the start, and it would be that much harder to come back and make a change. ''I know it's hard, but you have a reason to fight; you have things here in this life you have yet to do, and I can see in your eyes that you're tired. But that's when you really have to put on your pants, one leg at a time, and look out at the world and take whatever it throws at you and-''

''-hurl it back, yes. But. . .I'm not sure anything that I do will have any impact to change anyone's mind; I've been written off from society, and the only legitimate reason I'm even allowed to be here is that they believe that I hold information on the situation in Detroit, and the second they find no use for me, I may as well be on the chopping block to be erased from the history books as a bad memory.''

Kimmy knew. Not much is known about the entire incident, but from what Tsumika told her and the reports from the news, someone was obviously bending the truth about the true motives and the cover stories to make people think that things were handled. Even though she was aware that a parent's role has a significant influence on how children think and act, the decision to do certain things ultimately fell on the child. "Why not try and set the record straight? Or try to contact your daughter?

Tsumika laughed, rubbing some of her skin. It was too late for that. She and Junko never agreed on anything for very long. One of the few things that could be agreed upon was the need for change in high places, and how Tsumika always tried. ''I don't think she would want my input on anything. She was the one to have me admitted here and for my "safety," but I knew it was just a convenient excuse to get me out of her hair and as far away as possible so I wouldn't be a thorn in her side.''

''But you're her mom; why shouldn't she listen to you?''

"Freedom, rebellion, and a COUGH! need to be right; the list goes on and on.'' Tsumika sighed frowning and staring at her lap, recalling the simpler times when she raised her family with the purest of intentions and without judgment. The pure, carefree laughter and wonderment on her and her brother's faces were what Tsumika needed to keep going and be the greater motivation for them in their later years and beyond.

Those days seem like almost a millennium ago.

''At this point, I don't think even I could get through to her, at least not on my own. How would I even start that conversation with my daughter? 'I know that you are a terrorist, wanted by every high-ranking official, but I COUGH!" I still want you to know that I love you despite the things you've done.' I. . .would only make things worse,'' Tsumika stared into her handheld mirror, noting the faint crow's line in her face as she tried to make herself smile for the moment, though it didn't last long the longer she thought about her situation. Her hair long began to gray, coming in streaks in odd places, and her hazel eyes nearly watering when Kimmy gave her a gentle hug as she tried her best to hold it in, to tell herself that she did no wrong.

That she did the best that she could and that nobody could rob her of her day in court to set the record straight. Tsuimka's body writhed and shook her Kimmy's grasp, the small whispers of reassurance being the final straw for her tears to flow out, her wild and uncontrolled breathing being the product of years of repressed emotion laid out in one small frame of time. Tsumika's cries drowned out the tv, the heart monitor, and even some of the outside noise going on by her window, the only thing the pair could truly hear was each other's heartbeats and the synced rhythm being a message of strength to transcend talking. ''It's m-my fault. A-Am I. . .a bad m-mother?~''

Kimmy frowned, not really liking the way she heard that statement but kind of understanding what she meant by it. She just figured that since she was her mother, she could do more good than what everyone else was doing. She hadn't known the feeling of raising a child and longed to see how the life of a parent went and what kind of information she could impart, what kind of individual they would be, and what kind of impact they would have on the world at large. ''No. . .you did the best you could, and nobody can take that away from you,'' Kimmy whispered tenderly, rubbing small circles in her friend's back. With all the talk of one child, she nearly forgot the other. One that she was sure got dealt possibly the second worst hand of the game of life. ''What about your son, his name's Jamir, right?'' Tsumika nodded.

''My baby boy, and he probably has it just as worse as me. I-I would talk about him, but. . .-''

''Shhh, shhh.'' Kimmy shook her head, knowing going through 2 emotional roller coasters in one day would be two too many. They would talk about him another day when she would have more strength to do so. But in the same thought, the young nurse wondered how it would be for a parent. To see how she could impart her wisdom and see what kind of member of society she would help create.

And if they would ever be to the magnitude of Junko Hattori-Sae Johnson, the girl who single-handedly started civil unrest seemingly without rhyme or reason.



> The Beauty Of Terror
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

''And how are we doing this again?'' Grass Song asked, swimming about in the waters of Seaquestria. Usually, a water-breathing spell would need time to be set up, and it would only last for so long before it had to be recast, but from what Yuu and Ai were able to be together made that seem like foal's play. ''This seems a little funny.''

''Ai!'' the smile on Ai's face was grossly contagious. With a bit of help from her sister, they were able to fashion a better way of breathing in underwater environments. She breathed out, the carbon dioxide sent out of her OX-Mask as the fresh air was brought in automatically. The process made for much greater ease of access in leisure and military environments. ''We  merely isolated the process in which fish use to breathe and recreated that in an automatic process in the form of wear that frees any potential manual error!''

''Gotta admit,'' Daring marveled at the vibrant and serene sights that dwelled a few hundred feet down in perfect clarity. Jellyfish, swordfish, and even fish she didn't know existed roamed around the aquatic Sunderland, the coral reefs, and the reflection of the sun on the surface essentially riding the gap between the two very different worlds. And her hat stayed on too during all of this. ''This is different than the regular diving we normally do and way more efficient,'' Daring swiftly maneuvered around the coral reefs, the flippers giving her greater ease of direction.

The depths of the Seaquestrian Sea were a hidden gem in its own right but also laden with its own set of underlying threats in pursuit of an artifact that could help in their quest.  So far, little in the way to find Jamir and Rin a way back home was essentially shrouded in mystery from the few books that Graceful Wind was able to provide to the crew before leaving the Crystal Empire. Luckily for Daring, she craved adventure and a change of scenery from the Avernus Jungle, and this would be just the thing she needed. 

''So, while we may have forgotten to bring the books from the ship, what makes you so sure this artifact is even here?'' Rin kept her head on a swivel while taking in the bright and vibrant sights of the deep, slowly beginning to understand the fascination her family and other avid people swore by deep sea diving. Initially, learning to navigate the waters with the flippers and wrapping her head around not having a hand stop of any kind took less time. ''And I'm pretty sure the book mentioned something about the Seaponies.''

Jamir hummed in agreement, the bright and clear blue of the water beginning to dim as Yuu conjured up a light source for the group to use the further down they went, a narrow alcove filled with underwater caves soon came into view. ''They weren't mentioned in the book to be hostile, just more reclusive; which I can understand after what happened to them above land.''

''Regardless, if we get in and out, we won't have to be leaving Blank and Echo, and Rin's Fairies topside for too long, so let's focus up,'' Daring said, narrowly squeezing into the entry point to the cave, the rough shapes of the carved-out rock tugging and pulling against her wetsuit. Slowly managing to squeeze through the cracks, the sight that lay before them was something only few could put into words.



''Whoa,'' Grass Song commented, slowly performing a sweep of the area and its splendor, wanting so badly to capture the moment as a picture. If the Seaponies retreated to this from the mainland, then she could understand what they held to gain from a place where their natural biology would always provide them the edge against any intruders. The lack of seeing any, even scouts or sentries this far down was curious. ''This is amazing.''

''But it makes you wonder if we manage to get this far without seeing trouble, that we may be able to make this a quick expedition,'' Daring said, resting near a rock to give herself a break to reassess the situation about the valued treasure of the Seaponies that she was sure did just more than provide the means to escape the wrath of the Storm King. ''I don't think it references the pearl, but the actual treasure has to be down here somewhere.''

Rin huffed, casting a look to Jamir as he used his Life Drive to scan the surrounding coral and rock formations, the scrunch of mild disappointment on his face speaking volumes to their situation. She wondered just how much longer the two of them could go before the other ended up snapping and doing something rash in retaliation for being in a wholly different world than their own.

Time itself could be accelerated, or slowed down, and even frozen back in their own world; all of which panned out its own separate set of repercussions. 

But, she had a more pressing issue to attend to, courtesy of Yuu.

''Hey, you ok?'' Rin keyed into her earpiece, the private channel and secondary function of the OX-Mask essentially silencing their conversation with the rest of their group. ''I know that look.''

''. . .I'm fine, we just need to focus on this Gold of God thing,'' Jamir continued to scan, the pale white light emanating from his Life Drive showing all manner of small marine life and structures. ''Even though I'd wager on the other thing we have a better idea that works somewhat.''

''I know, but we don't know the full extent of what it can do,'' Rin argued.

''And like they do?'' Jamir turned his head to face his partner. Rin's challenging look failed to convince him otherwise. ''The only thing they know is that of second-hand talk, who's to say Maria just didn't use it the wrong way? Maybe we could-'' 

''-That's a strong maybe, and even if we end up using our Fairies to dissect the problem, we still can't be 100% it'll work.''

''It'd be a chance if nothing else. Besides, I see this going one of two ways; either we find it, or we don't, and it's back to square one with no real idea of what to do next. This Gold of God could only be a fake, to throw whoever chose to look for it off the trail.'' Rin's gaze softened a bit at his words. ''And afterwards; then what? It'll just be an endless chase.'' Jamir sighed, pausing his search to stop and look at the cave's surroundings. Daring and Grass Song floated a bit further ahead, leaving the pair to their conversation. ''We didn't find jack squat in that little village of Starlight's, and who knows where she ran off to?''

Rin shivered at the mention of her name; even after the entire event passed, the feeling of being possessed never truly seemed to go away, no matter how many times she tried. Starlight didn't seem like a major player in the game to get back home, but from Daring and Blank's accounts, she was a pony who definitely went past the left and rightmost limits of magic and its morality. If they met again, as Snow claimed they would, then a touch of interrogation for all the knowledge she held would be precious in the grander scheme of things. ''Don't remind me.''

''Hey, uh, guys! Check this out!'' Grass Song's nervous tone roused the pair out of their thoughts. Further down, the underwater cave gave way to a deeper passage where a slew of colorful lights were presented. Quickly swimming over and further down, the source of the request soon made itself known in the form of the blip of what looked to be a great empire.

Or rather the remains of it.

Colorful, bright, and in quick succession were the barrages onto the majority of the kingdom's defenses. Numerous schools of sharks were mounted by what appeared to be bipedal goat-like creatures. Dressed in tight wetsuits, and spears and with magic bubbles around their head supplying them with air, they swam in organized formations the sharks opening their wide maws to chomp down and dissect the Seaponies that attempted their defense. Towards the center of the dome-like kingdom situated in the middle of the infighting looked to hanging on by the strength of a thread. In the midst of the death and chaos, swam a Seapony, larger, more focused, and angrier than the others that looked to be slowly pushing the invasion back, though only just. 

Those not disemboweled were captured, 

''Is that?'' Grass Song asked, huddling close to a rock for cover. Rin and Jamir peered over the ridge that led down towards the fighting. 

''Ai! From the written texts, as well as Ms. Daring Do's words, that would appear to be Queen Novo of the Seaponies, also known as the Hippogriffs based on their ability to switch their body types from land to aquatic!'' Ai answered her question, the green glow in her eyes from essentially zooming to get a better look from afar. ''Her and her subjects look to require our assistance, Master!''

The blood. Guts. The pained expression on their faces and the glee in the eyes of the sharks only served to bring Jamir into a temporary state of dullness, the sounds, and sensations around him being drowned out by. . .

Pain.




His throat hurt from the constant shouting, the tendons in his legs long pushed to their limits. Breathing was a constant challenge, not to mention the incessant humming of machines in the background that only seemed to get louder and louder with each passing second. He hated it. He wanted it so badly to end.

SNAP! SNAP! THUD! 

Another lash came from above, causing him to fall onto his stomach and groan. The cold of the floor clung to his skin, essentially becoming part of him after so long. The light from above never once turned off, along with the everpresent, looming probes soon turned his mind on its head.

''Come now, brother; surely you can do this? I just know you will,'' Junko's voice echoed right in his ear as he was hoisted up to a standing position. That cold, blank gaze that registered whatever twisted machinations in her mind was only tempered by what her mind, voice, and body could implement. It never failed. He. . .would comply. ''There we go, all you needed was a little tough love; that's all this is,'' Junko cooed, laughing slightly at her brother. ''I just want you to know how much I love you for being so strong; I need you to get stronger, stronger in ways others can't. My mission will be completed, and you are the key to it all.~''

Did he dare talk? She. . .sounded pleased. Maybe, just. ''W-When?'' Jamir whispered, his head down.

''Hmm?'' Junko brought her ear closer. This, she wanted to hear. 

''When. . .will it end? We've been doing this for. . .god knows how long. This 'promised land' you keep talking about doesn't- MMMPH!'' Junko jammed a cloth into her brother's mouth, silencing his words of blasphemy. Still not ready to heat the full message.

''So close, brother; looks like you will need some more training, after all.'' Junko pursed her lips, facing away from Jamir before fishing her facemask from the waist belt where her two swords lay, carefully clipping the ends to the rest of her bodysuit, the auxiliary lights coming to life. Beginning the walk out of the facility, she suddenly thought of something, a possible more efficient way to accelerate his results in the small amount of time they had. ''Choe and Aero should be more than enough for you to handle at this stage, at least until I return. I will be expecting nothing but the best of reports.'' Junko looked one last time at her brother for the next few weeks, that was.



''Why?'' Jamir asked, still prying for an answer. One that held more substance than the other, more non-persuasive responses of late.

''Because,'' Junko turned, the clinking and jumbling of her gear as she walked away filling the air. ''This was your wish and your fault.''




''Master/Master!/Jamir!'' the feeling of being shoved and pulled out of the way brought him back to the present moment. Seeing what nearly did him caused him to grit his teeth. It took one look at Ai and Yuu for the message to get across. Using Ai's power to hold the shark that attempted to eat him still, he summoned Snow out of the Life Drive.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! Rin's sword made quick work of the shark as its blood filled the cave. Daring and Grass Song took cover, the former only able to make quick work of one shark by way of the natural environment and using the spear of one of the goat creatures against it. ''You back in the game?'' Rin asked, turning around to spy a few stray sharks and their riders heading toward their position. 

Engaging Fusion, the edges of Jamir's eyes filled with blue, pink, and purple, his hands forming claws as he adopted a sick grin on his face. ''I am now, and I got some frustrations to vent.''



> Movement
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

''Let me rephrase the question,'' Chloe asked, slowly walking her way back and forth in the small. . .hovel this group of miscreants called home. ''Do you wish to be strung up by your ears outside, from a height of 5,000 feet; where your only option is to die a horrible and gruesome death face first, with your eyes wired open, or do you want to be good ponies, and tell me what I want to know?''

Shaking in terror at the severity of her words, the group before the trio only tried to shoo themselves back into the corner, only to be held in place by Chie. ''Given how scared they appear to be, I would not expect answers.''

Aero felt the same, gnawing away at his toothpick. The idea of multiple worlds being real was the wet fever dreams of conspiracy theorists and extremists alike. But to bear witness was just. . .different. ''And that means diddly when it comes to Chloe; she always gets her answers.'' with another flourish of his revolver, the group froze up.

''We told you already, we didn't see anything!'' Fan yelled, his wounds beginning to flare up once again from the nigh-hour-long 'talk' this Chloe. . .thing said they were going to have. A wave of greyish-yellow flew out from his mouth and onto the floor as he tried to fight the response. ''Ugh; Celestia.~''

''If that is your God, then I would refrain from naming them in my presence,'' Chie sharply stated her already tight grip on one of her fans nearly splitting the wood in two. ''There is only one true God that all should follow to receive love and grace.'' A pause followed, then a glint of something passed through her eyes before fading. ''That, and The Second Coming, who is my mistress.''

''Huh? What the buck are you talking about?'' Lance grunted, his vision blurring for a second. A quick pulling sensation led his face to the floor underneath Chie's feet who looked down on him with the utmost look of disgust on her face. ''N-Nevermind.~''

''Ya know, dealing with Chloe as a comrade isn't nearly as bad when you're a target. You've done away with me first warning as we came in, you openly disrespected a member our team and her beliefs, and now we're on the third strike. For your health, just tell her before she lets loose.'' Aero huffed, already seeing the situation's conclusion a mile away as he sat down in the nearest chair. He lazily waved his hand back and forth. ''Last chance.''

''. . .Well, what's in it for us?'' Alici's side eye to Chloe made the rest of the group do a double take. 

Almost on cue, Chloe smiled even wider than before, lightly flicking her wrist downward, and planting the edge of her sword into the wooden floor. ''For one, your lives. That is always the best option in any situation. As for the second,'' Chloe gestured to Chie, who nodded. ''We can offer you power. Power beyond what your little minds can comprehend. This for that, if you will.''

''Exchanging power. It could be what we need to make a name for ourselves.'' Log replied to Chloe's offer, beginning to look back on the different times their lot was essentially put to and through the edge, only to be reaffirmed of how little they mattered in the grand scheme of things. Maybe, just maybe, could this offer of hers be just the thing for them to have some sort of respect and influence over the higher powers that be? ''But the million-bit question is what exactly do you want us to do?'' 

Even for being a different species, the look of knowing seemed to be universal. Tell them. 

''Okay, okay. We saw them. But what can you do with that info? We only barely docked after getting our tails handed to them. And if that wasn't bad enough, we missed out on a good chance to make a quick buck with those little things they had with them.'' Fan muttered the last part mostly to himself. 

''So that confirms at least they brought their Fairies with 'em.'' Aero bumped his head from side to side. ''Reckon you don't know what direction they went, so the best thing to do would be to retrace your steps. 

''Think you'll be able to find them? They got a good start on you.'' Fan replied, not entirely approving of the look that the three gave each other. 

''You don't worry your sweet little head about that,'' Chloe's mind began to race with possibilities, some clear, while others were not. If the two biggest nuisances to her lady were here in this world, traipsing about, then it would only be time before enough of an uprising would prove to be an issue for her lady herself to intervene. 

And that would not happen. Hands on her hips and leaning to one side, Chloe spoke.

''Accept my offer and we all win; otherwise, you would just end up being destroyed for trying to resist.'' A flicker of excitement crossed her eyes before settling; no need to start early. ''It is. . .the nature of lesser beings, in the end.''

Slumping to the ground, each word that came from Lance's mouth next only served to make him all the quiet when he realized that they were essentially trapped. ''Not like we have a choice, do we?''

Satisfied with what seemed to be the consensus of the group, Chloe looked to Chie once again. ''Signal Delta-1. Tell her to send 4 Evo-Pods; Aero with me.'' Chloe's sword was wiggled out of the ground into her waiting hand with a snap of her fingers. 

The duo walked up the upper levels of the hovel, feeling the damp, almost unbeatable air as they walked to the nearest clearing, far away from the eyes and ears of their newest 'acquisitions'. ''You're not actually considering giving those prats  what I think you are, right?''

''Of course not,'' Chloe waved his concern off with a wave of her own hand. Already, she began to envision the inevitable betrayal that would come with being given what most would ultimately be great power. ''Our lady would not approve of us being reckless in that regard. However, with the addition of those 4, one of us will need to stay behind and monitor, while one goes to receive the pods, and while the other goes ahead in pursuit.''

Aero could tell what that meant from a mile away. They would have to change their tactics. ''Time for the past to come into the future, eh?''