Six wishes for six elementsby Malcolm MerlynChaptersJames Raynor Armin Arlert Steve Rogers Slade Wilson Sanya Litvyak The Medic Decision The shipDay 2Chapter 12Chapter 14Chapter 15Canterlot libraryDeathstroke Stars and stripes vs Rainbows One of Cap's friends might be flattered Rainbow Falls Rainbow Falls part 2 Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27Chapter 28Chapter 29Chapter 30Chapter 31Chapter 32Chapter 33Chapter 34Chapter 35Chapter 36Chapter 37Chapter 39Chapter 40Chapter 41Chapter 42Chapter 43Chapter 44Chapter 45Chapter 46Chapter 47Chapter 48Chapter 49Epilogue: Part 1 Epilogue: Part 2 Epilogue: Part 3 Epilogue: part 4 Epilogue: Part 5 Not the end. Prologue The next morning The dragon rises How to learn Dragon Chapter 38Epilogue: Part 6James Raynor James Raynor "Before you start cowboy... or before any of us say anything. Why don't we ask some questions?" Slade asked as he turned to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and eyed them both with mistrust. "Hey sunbutt. Mind explaining how we got here?" "SPEAK MORE POLITELY TO THE PRIN..." "Twilight..." Celestia said as she gazed sternly down at her. "It's okay." "But he's so..." "It's okay. Anyways, my apologies, but I don't know how you got here. It seems only coincidence that you six all arrived at the same time." Celestia replied as she sat back to take a look at all the people she was addressing. "But Mr. Raynor... why don't you fill in on everyone how you got here?" "Well I was about to that ma'am. Before I was RUDELY interrupted..." Raynor said as he shot an eye over to Slade. "Who said that was my only question?" Slade asked once more. "Where the hell are we even?" "Canterlot Castle!" "Yeah. Great. As in... what planet are we on?" Slade said rolling his good eye. "Last I checked, I don't recall any species of talking horse on my world. Unless we happen to be in Narnia. But if that was the case, I expect more things on two legs that talk too." "Well... we are in Equestria... does that answer your question?" Twilight replied as she took a deep breath. This guy... "Good enough..." Slade said as he stopped talking. Finally. "Okay... Mr... Raynor? You can begin." "Alright then." The man said as he took a swig of apple cider. "Now it was a pretty good day for me when this all started. By good day, I meant it meant there weren't any Zerg, lasers, missiles or bullets headed in my general direction... and what made it even better was that my pal Matt got into contact with these black marketers. They were selling some information and research on the Protoss which the ship's scientist, Stetmann would have committed homicide to get his hands on. So we paid off the black marketers, and I went down there to go pick up the goods... what is it?" "What's a Zerg? And what's a Protoss?" Sanya mouthed. "Say that again kid. I can't hear a single word out of you." "What's a Zerg and a Protoss?" "Okay. You ought to speak up more in the future. The Zerg are nasty business. They're like giant bugs that came straight out of hell. They're bent on nothing more than to consume... well just about everything. They really are the worst things that you can run into out there in Koprulu... which I bet no one knows what it is... right?" No one knew. Shocker. "It's just a sector in our galaxy. I can't tell where it is because I don't think this planet was nearby when I crash landed. Which actually gets me to my next point." "So. The black marketers were great and all. Now just because they're probably mercenaries and guys that regularly go off to blow up some guy's house don't mean they're bad people. Typically, it's the poor sucker having his things blown up that is the bad guy. These pals of mine go way back with me. We fight the Dominion together and they promised to help me in whatever way possible. A promise they were honoring." "What's the Dominion?" Rogers asked as he was served a coffee. Something told him they'd be up pretty late. "An oppressive government led by a low-life scum called Mengsk. He founded it when we took down the confederacy and when the Zerg swarm reared their ugly heads. We were still friends then until he showed his true colors." "I assume this government has done many wrong things?" Steve asked. He too had spent a good portion of his life fighting against oppression. Nazi Germany for one. "It has. They do all sorts of bad things but what really worries me is what we discovered some time back. They had some secret labratory in a hidden... place. When we raided the place... the things Mengsk had... it gave this guy called Tosh nightmares for an entire week." "Who's Tosh?" "He's a psionic. A spectre. Probably some of the biggest badasses I've ever met. He hates the Dominion almost as much as me. He's a killer too. A damn good one at that yet whatever it was this lab had, it made the guy terrified. I know why because I was there to see it. The monster... it... it was terrible." He stopped for a moment as memories of the Hybrid began to fill him in again. The monster that had single-handedly destroyed the lab which nothing, not even a prototype warbot could stop. "But... I am straying off topic. When I picked up the goods in my ship, they were nice enough to load them into these boxes. Of course, I had checked them to see if these guys didn't screw me over. They were in there. And that was good. But when I lifted off and was in orbit... weird things were happening to my ship. For a sec, I thought it was cause I forgot to fix the old girl again, but it seems as though it was the shipment... you see... one of the boxes contained these giant purple rocks... they began to glow and I thought that I must've done something stupid. The entire glow was so bright, it covered the entire place! But I got to open my eyes and find out I was still alive... except I was in orbit of another planet and headed straight there... about to crash..." "And I believe this was when we first me you? Right?" Twilight asked almost too eagerly. "It was. What was your friend's name? Jack?" "Applejack..." "Right. So I kinda crashed... and destroyed a section of her farm... and.. sorry... but I oughta thank both of you for helping me get out." "You were in that big... metal... suit.... it was a miracle you could even move!" "Don't mind the power armor. Just mind the rubble. By the way... where did you take my ship?" "It's actually here in Canterlot. We can go have a look in the morning. Story was, it took over a few hundred Pegasi to move that thing." Twilight chuckled. "I can't believe how your people can go into space and fly without wings or magic!" "It's nothing really. We've been doing this for at least a few hundred years now." "How advanced are your people?" Armin asked. At this point really, he didn't even know what half the things Raynor had been talking about. For one, he had been really confused on how a "ship" crashed. It would take some explaining for him to understand that Raynor's ship actually flew and went into space. "I think we, the Terran people are probably the second most advanced species in the entire galaxy. Now I can go off all day about what I think of Vulture speeders, Power Armor and Battlecruisers but let's not go there. Hey... what's your name again?" "Armin." "Just an idea, but why don't you go next for all of us?" "Why?' "Well... you seem to not understand anything about what I was talking about. I take it wherever you're from, you're not exactly used to flying ships and aliens?" "No." Armin said. "I suppose if tell my side of the story, I can be able to fill you in." "Excellent. Why don't you go next Armin?" Princess Celestia said as food and drink was brought to the table. "I am sure we would all be delighted to hear your... oh... pardon me... but I must have duties to attend to. Luna does too. Twilight..." "Yes, Princess." "Thank you." Celestia said as she left the room in an almost frantic dash with Luna leaving behind six people who were scratching their heads and one purple unicorn who had pulled out a few square miles worth of paper to take notes on. A few seconds later, Armin began his story. Author's Note So a few things that I hope to clear up if it wasn't already. Raynor arrives to Equestria by not just having himself transported, but his ship too. Said ship for now has been unspecified as I am still considering what to do with it. The only confirmation at the time will be it's not the Hyperion. (I hope no one actually needed that confirmation.) Slade will mainly have the same gear as he does from Arkham Origins and be a mixture of all his incarnations in terms of personality and skillset (Except for Smallville) while Cap will be more oriented towards the movies. Now that's all good and done. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Any form of constructive criticism will always be appreciated. Armin Arlert Armin Arlert "Before I start with how everything happened and how I almost died by falling down into a river and almost drowning..." Here Armin shot a glare to Slade who brushed it off as if it didn't mean anything to him, which was obviously the case here. "Back in my home, we, humanity live within the confines of three walls. Maria, Rose and Sina. Each wall surrounds a massive area of land and stands about 50 meters tall. The purpose of these walls is to keep humans in and Titans out." "Titans? As in the old gods of greek myth?" Steve asked curiously. "No. The Titans are a race of giants that eat humans." "How big are they?" "They're usually 3 to 15 meters tall." "Then I take it from these walls, they're usually not a problem because it's 50 meters?" "That had been the case for a hundred years..." Armin said as he looked down and remembered that day. The massive head that fixed it's gaze upon the entire Shiganshina district and with one mighty blow, destroyed the gates of the wall letting in hundreds upon hundreds of titans. "5 years ago. A Titan... it's size... it was 60 meters tall." "60 meters?!" Raynor asked with disbelief. Whatever this thing was, it could probably eat ultralisks for breakfast with it's size. "So... what happened then?" Slade asked impatiently as he Armin continued. "The titan destroyed the gate and the other titans came in... it was a massacre then. We were all too powerless to do anything. The military had set up cannons to defend the other gate but it was overrun by an armored Titan which shook off the cannon balls like they were nothing. I've seen those same cannons tear 15 meter classes in two but this... the story was they didn't even scratch it. It destroyed the other gate and it was all over then." Armin paused for a moment as he looked at the table and his cup. He grasped upon it tightly, the wooden thing began to creak and splinter as he grasped it tighter and tighter. "My parents died that day. But that's not the worst of it. A year later, the government decided they needed to take back the land we had lost. In the campaign that followed... it took my grandfather and the lives of 250,000." He wiped his eyes for a moment as the long suppressed memories came back. For a moment, he thought of it all. Until the thought of his friends came to him. "My friends, Eren and Mikasa joined the military. I went with them but that was... I don't know what that was. Because... the colossal Titan, the 60 meter one came back...." The room hushed into silence as everyone displayed a stony silence. Armin didn't need to go any further as he received sympathetic gestures from everyone. "We lost too many people that day... but what was important was... we won... for the first time in history... humanity had won against the titans!" Armin once again stopped talking, this time to allow himself a small repose. "I don't remember what had happened. But after the battle, I was told that I had mail. When I opened the box... there was a purple diamond inside of it... and the next thing I knew, I was here in the forest." "And that's when I guess the two of us come in right?" Slade asked as he took a swig of apple cider. "Indeed. I met these two in the forest when I was being attacked by a giant snake." Armin pointed at Slade and Steve. "The three of us got together and for a while decided on what to do. Unfortunately, those two didn't get along too well and couldn't decide on anything. I think... you..." "Slade." Slade said. "I am surprised you don't remember by name." "I will. I almost died because of you." "Ha." "Anyways... so he had heard about how one of our kind had ended up in the castle. So he wanted to investigate but we first had to go across a bridge. Though..." "Steve." Cap said. The boy hadn't heard his name. "Right. Steve said that the bridge wasn't safe but Slade insisted and said that I should go first to see because I was the lightest. I did and... the bridge broke." "I thought you died." Steve said as he shook his head. "It's a miracle you're alive." "It is. I couldn't swim as I never learned how to, but I managed to get saved by... I don't know what her name was... she had a yellow coat and a pink mane..." "Fluttershy?' "Right. I was saved by Fluttershy. You can image how surprised I was by a talking hor... I mean pony." Armin said. "But she was really nice. She made me supper and nursed my injuries. That afternoon, the military was told of my presence and I was summoned here in Canterlot. I was really worried at first until of course it was just that Princess... um..." "Celestia." "Right. Princess Celestia wanted to see if I was okay. I was fine thanks to Fluttershy and I really have to thank her for pulling me out of the water. I think I may have died if it hadn't been for her." "I am sure you'll get a chance to thank Fluttershy later." Twilight said. "But..." "Hey kid." Slade cut in. "If you have cannons, why is it so hard to kill these giants?" "Because there's only one way to kill them. It's their weak spot at the nape of the neck. Other than that and they'll just grow back. I've seen some Titans that had been snapped in two grow back in just moments. Their regeneration abilities..." "Is fascinating." Medic commented as he wrote this down. "Herr Armin, if possible, I vould like a sample of these... Titans..." "A sample?" "Ja. I vood like blood, skin, bone marrow, organs..." "The problem is, Titan bodies like melt away when they are killed, and having a live one is a really bad idea." "Hiss..." "And I take it because you can't seem to use those swords of yours very well... you have quite some trouble with these titans?" Armin ignored that one for the time being. Bullies. Best not feed them. "So... who would like to speak next?" "How about the doctor?" Slade suggested. "Nein. There's nothing interesting about it save for a problem with my machines... a man of science making mistakes..." "C'mon. I am pretty sure you have things to share." "Nein. I don't... but I do have this really funny story..." "Why don't we hear it?" Slade suggested. "Hold that thought." Twilight said as she turned to Steve. "You were with Armin, why don't you say something?" "I promise you, it's literally the same thing." "Just say it? Please?" "Fine." Steve said as he gave a small sigh. "Can someone get me some more apple cider? I am feeling a bit thirsty. Oh hey. Armin... your things..." "RIGHT!" Armin said. "Twilight... that 3D maneuver gear I had..." "I am sorry Armin. But it was broken... but we still got the swords..." "Give him swords? He'll cut himself most likely." Slade said as he placed his own pair of blades on the table. "You're all talk." Steve dismissed. "You have anything better to do then put other people down?" "Really now?" Slade replied. "The truth hurts some times." "Like how the world's greatest assassin got beat up by a twelve year old?" Lets be frank. Its more of the other way around but frankly, whichever way it went, Slade wouldn't of have been proud of it. "I am actually thirteen..." Sanya mouthed but no words came out. "I don't condone hitting little girls unless they hit me first. But I can tell you, that blow hurt. But you know what? If you think you're better then, you can always fight me any time. Any arena of your choosing and any..." "GUYS! STOP!" Twilight shouted causing both Steve and Slade to put off their argument. "Roger... whatever your name is..." "Steve Rogers..." "Can you please just go?" "Fine..." Steve said grudgingly as he shot a glare at Slade who replied non-verbally with his own death(stroke) glare. Author's Note So as one can probably infer, this does lead up to how Slade and Steve decided they wanted to break into Canterlot. While Armin covered on how the three met, the other two still have to say how they got here and their side of the story, leading up to how the two decided they wanted to break into the castle. So currently if you can't tell, Deathstroke and Captain America probably don't get along too well. Currently, it's just their personalities. Think Iron Man and Captain America in the first Avengers movie when the two first met only to a greater scale. Of course, it's not just going to be two different personalities. It's also going to involve things like how Slade ended up quitting the army, how Captain America still faithfully serves and Slade's current job as a mercenary. That aside, I hope that the personalities of the characters are on cue. OCC is something that gets me every time. Steve Rogers Steve Rogers "I am certain I will surprise many of you when I tell you this, but I am actually 96 years old." Steve said as he begun his story. "It all started I think in 1942 when I tried to enlist in the military. At the time, I was 24 at the time and just your average beanpole with a ton of health problems. As a result, this made it so I couldn't enlist." "Why did you want to fight?" Armin asked. "Similar reasons to you. While the Nazis didn't exactly kill my family or burn my hometown down, my best friend, Bucky had enlisted to the military to go overseas to fight the Germans. Oh... everyone knows who the Nazis are... right?" Sanya didn't. Neither did Armin. "Well to make a long story short, they were people who were attempting to take over the world at the time and committing various atrocities overseas. The price of freedom is high... but it was something we all had to be willing to pay. Thankfully, a great man by the name of Dr. Abraham Erskin wanted to give me a chance to fight. He had devised a serum that would create an army of super-soldiers. I would be the first one." The memories came back now. The clapping, the cheering the congratulations, and the new feeling of stepping in to a powerful body that could lift two tons, run at 30 miles per hour and tear a man in half if he so much as wanted to. And then... "Erskin never got the things he had deserved. The very moment I became enhanced was the same moment he was killed. By a HYDRA agent." "Hydra? As in the monster of ancient greek myth?" Raynor asked. "Yes. That's their... inspiration. If I recall correctly, Hydra is very fond of their phrase "cut off one head, two more shall grow to take it's place". At the time, HYDRA was a SS division that researched weapons for Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Their developments would soon grow to be a threat to the entire world. We had to stop them." He took a shot of hard liquor this time. The memories... the memories... too bad all the liquor in the world wouldn't make them go away. Why are they made of apples anyways? "I don't exactly get PTSD. We may have given HYDRA and the Nazis the boot but it wasn't without losses. I lost many friends along with seventy years of life in the second world war. I was awoken later only to find that there were still more battles to go. My hometown, New York was almost flattened by an alien invasion. Two years after that, I got to find out that HYDRA really did live up to it's name and had seeded itself in SHIELD, the very organization that I had worked for to stop them. But in the end... the price for freedom... it was paid." "Can you tell me more about HYDRA?" Slade asked. "Does it stand for anything?" "It stands for tyranny and oppression. The things that I've sworn to fight." Steve replied. "You... a soldier? Still?" "You can bet your good eye that I am. I'll serve my people and country till my last breath." Slade said nothing as he sat back in his chair, toying with his ballistic staff. "So... how did you get here?" Sanya asked as she bit into an apple. "Well... I can't go into full detail or I'd have to kill all of you, but to make a long story short, I was to help move a shipment of "volatile and dangerous" resources. Of course, they never told me "volatile and dangerous" meant so volatile that me starting the truck would make set them off. I didn't notice the purple light until it was too late, and then I found myself in the forest and heard the shouting and met those two. Armin over there was having some trouble with a snake... this thing was huge! I've seen boas that are really big but this... it took the cake! But anyways, after we killed the snake and gave ourselves some "introductions" Slade told the two of us that he had met the locals or your people... I mean ponies. That aside, he mentioned that he overheard the conversations of two guards about another human being in the castle. Being Mr. Assumption, he assumed that they were holding him or her prisoner or something along those lines." "Well... there wasn't just one human, there was four. Sanya and Jim were here first I believe..." Twilight recalled. "And then Armin and Medic. You two were just late to the party." "The doctor over there is the reason I am not in a wheelchair or on a hospital bed." Jim said as he recalled his diagnosis. Numerous cracked ribs, a minor concussion and a sprained ankle. "Thanks." "Ja... Herr Rogers, can you please continue?" "Of course. Anyways, so we get to the part where Slade thought going across a bridge that was probably older than me was a good idea which ends with Armin almost falling to his death. After that, you can see why it was pretty hard to agree on anything when he made the dumb choice of almost killing someone." "Hey... I actually thought that it would..." "No gives a damn about what you thought. Maybe next time you get to be the testing dummy... anyways... so after that, we did come to the agreement that we should have at least take a look at who was being held at the castle. So we hitched on a train and made our way through the city when it was dark. That was when we broke in and..." "I have to say... how did you manage to take out at least twenty members of the royal guards without anyone noticing?" "We've had plenty of practice." Slade said. "Oh yeah... tell whomever is in charge of the royal guard that I applaud their tactical intelligence of being on par with a potato, and tell whomever trains these warhorses of yours that they are worse than low-budget mall cops and have no business defending anything." "Gee, my brother will definitely be glad to hear that..." Twilight said as she rolled her eyes. "But Steve, you were..." "Oh yes. Right. We checked the dungeons to find that there was no one there so we decided to go check on the upper floors. That was when we ran into Sanya... yeah..." "Sorry kid. I just get a little bit too into my job sometimes." Slade interrupted as he smiled disarmingly. Well. His "disarming" smile looked like the same facial expression of what a shark may have when it finds a lone fish. Said "smile" made Sanya almost want to crawl underneath the nearest place to hide. "It's okay... it didn't hurt..." Sanya lied semi-audibly. In truth, she still felt like she broke every bone in her body. "I hope I didn't hurt you..." "Of course not." Slade lied back. "Though that was a good punch. Shattered the steel chest plate." (And felt like she shattered a rib.) "So that's pretty much how it ends. Oh Slade... if it didn't hurt... why did you hit back?" "I'll call it a few love taps to the head." "And she fell unconscious too... huh..." Steve grinned wolfishly. At this distance, he could almost feel Slade fume. "Yeah...yeah... your outfit is still ridiculous." Slade grumbled back as he took a drink of hard liquor. The only thought on his mind was why the hell everything was made from apples. This comment was of course, coming from the guy who was wearing Kevlar underneath metal and had something that looked almost like a hockey mask. "So... Slade... why don't you go?" "It's really nothing... just another average work day..." "I have a feeling your "average" work day is going to be a lot like my "average" work day." Raynor said. "C'mon pal, my average day involves me making things explode and stealing alien artifacts. What's your average work day?" "Alright. Alright. Well..." Slade Wilson Slade Wilson "So another day of work. This time, the target was a banker at the JP Morgan down in New York. Now for those of you who don't know, I am a mercenary and an assassin. So what happened was that night, I snuck into the bank, found the target and killed him." "You kill people for a living?" Twilight asked with disbelief and a bit of shock. "Why?' "The money is green. Not to mention, most people who are wanted dead normally aren't the nicest guys in town. Most of them normally get busted by a few of my.... acquaintances if I don't get to them... oh that reminds me, did anyone happen to find a blue van in that forest?" "What's a van?" Twilight asked. "Nevermind." Slade said as he saw the shakes of the heads. "Something I had in there. Now where was I? Oh yes. I am a mercenary and an assassin. Something Captain star spangle here can't seem to stand but that's besides the point. Like him, I used to be in the military fighting in the Korean war under the US. later, I was promoted to a Lt. Colonel, experimented on and enhanced and then married a woman called Adeline Kane. We had three children and lived happily ever after. The end... not. So because the military at the time thought and probably still does think that soldiers are soldiers and not human beings. So to make a long story short, I quit. Of course... it doesn't end there. I needed a job of course, and so, I worked as a mercenary and a contract killer but one day... a bunch of thugs came and kidnapped my son Jericho. I went off to rescue him but something went wrong and Jericho ended up alive but with a slit throat. Adeline..." He took a brief pause as he went down memory lane. Not the good memory lane. The bad one which poked around every corner of his life. "Adeline was upset by this. She said it was my fault, which I have to say, wasn't entirely false. To give you an idea how upset... she gave me this." Slade said as he pointed to his eyepatch. "And then left me... oh wait... there's more!" He stopped for a moment as he took another shot of apple liquor. Not like he could drunk either. "So... Grant decides that because a few guys trashed his apartment, he's going to be like his dad and get revenge on the people. This ends badly and he dies which I recall wasting about two years of my life avenging him for something that was his fault. Then my other son Jericho decides he wants to be a hero with the very people Grant swore to kill. Frankly, this doesn't matter. He's fine and that's what's important. Rose on the other hand... also decided she was going to be like her father and her brother. She gouged out her eye just to be like me..." Yikes... He stopped there. There was no more point to continue as for a moment, the most disagreeable person in the room became the one who got everyone's sympathy. "But of course, now about how shot the guy dead in the bank and the other thing I did." And everyone's sympathy just went straight out the window. "So I found the guy. Bank manager. Shot him dead and threw his corpse into a garbage truck that was waiting. I had been paid for in advance but hey... I thought I could use a "little" extra in my pocket. So I found a REALLY big purple diamond and some other things. But I hope everyone can guess what happens with the purple diamond because it was the EXACT SAME THING that had happened to everyone else. But the only difference is, I was still in the van to which I nearly hit a tree and slide off the road down into a cliff. Turns out, that tree had a light coming from it so I decided to go check it out. And you know what? I get attacked by some crazy horse... zebra... thing for... I don't even know why. She was babbling and rhyming about something before that. Frankly, I don't care, I've met a lot of psychos in my life. So... I took care of the problem." "Wait a minute... YOU KILLED ZECORA?!" Twilight almost shrieked. "Killed? No. She'll be waking up in the morning with a splitting headache but nothing more. I assure you, she'll live." For some reason... that wasn't so comforting. "Anyways, so I went back to the van and drove the thing until I met up with another talking horse. Well... I didn't exactly meet up with him, all I did was hide in the back with a VAN and somehow he managed not to notice. Overheard him talking to his buddy about a "two legged thing" that was at the castle. Of course, you know the old phrase. Loose lips sink ships. You all can expect what my next move was. But... instead... I met up with those two while Armin was busy getting strangled by a snake. I am going to be frank, I can't really blame him, that thing was probably heavier than the van I jacked but that aside... we all know how the story goes from there after being filled in by Captain Star Spangles." "That's Captain America to you." Steve grumbled. "So Slade... you're a merc eh?" Raynor asked. "Indeed. If you ever want to hire me, you're going to have to call me Deathstroke by the way." "Heh. You know, if possible, I might just want that. You see... that Mengsk guy I was talking about earlier..." "He needs two bullets in the chest?" "Yeah..." "Well... I could always go to assassinate a dictator of some star empire, but I realize... you probably don't use cash anymore do you now?" "No. All funds are either traded electronically or you barter." "My problem. I don't kill for free and I can't exactly take some money from the future either." "Would you be interested in gold coins?" Twilight shot from almost out of nowhere. "Gold? Sure I guess. I suppose I have to melt them down myself?" Didn't really matter actually. Gold fetched a good price and that would be sufficient payment. Of course... fencing it may be difficult. Then again, the gold is legal... "Yeah. Jewels too if you truly are interested." "Sounds go... wait a minute... why are you telling me this?" "Eh... nothing. Nothing." Twilight said really quickly. "Hey eh... Sanya... how about..." "Answer the question." Slade commanded. Something was off. "Why are you telling me that? Do you have work for me?" "No... no... I don't have work for you... I mean I could always use help around the library and all... but..." He eyed her for a moment. His one good eye burning a hole in Twilight's soul as she felt the beads of sweat form on her coat. Slowly, she managed to turn away from that death(stroke) glare and regain her composure. "Sanya... are you interested in speaking?" Twilight asked as she tried to avoid making eye contact with Slade. "Okay." Sanya began. "But before I do... um... Mr. Wilson?" "Slade is fine." "You're a soldier?" "Was a soldier. I would say I am too old for it, but that's obviously not true." "I was about to say... you seem a bit old to be fighting still..." "Nonsense. Our friend star spangles here is about 100 years old. I am not much younger. But that's not to important. Back there, how did you manage to shatter the chest plate? The thing is solid steel." "Well you see..." She begun her tale. Sanya Litvyak Sanya Litvyak "My full name is Aleksandra Vladimirovna Litvyak, I am 13 and I am from Orussia." Sanya began. "And um..." "Eh. Frau Litvyak, I have a question..." Medic began. "Yes?" "Where is Orussia?" "It's the very big country in eastern Europe that stretches into Asia. It's very cold there during the winters, especially in Stalingrado." "Vait... is zis place Russia?" Medic asked curiously. "No. Orussia. Not Russia." "But zere is a place called Stalingrad!" "No, I said Stalingrado.... um... should I speak up?" "That'd be for the best kid." Slade said. Even with enhanced senses, trying to make out what she was saying is hardly even possible. "Okay. So um, I am 13 years old and I am from Orussia in a small village near Stalingrado which is a big city. My birthday is August 18th 1930..." "You're born in 1930?" Slade asked with disbelief. "Oh right... you're 13...but that'd mean..." "It's 1943 for you..." Rogers said knowing exactly what that'd mean. "And that means..." "Yes. We are in a conflict. The second Neuori war." Imagine the looks on almost everybody's faces when all things considered. Things like how Rogers had personally fought in the war. How Slade and Medic had both lived through it and how Raynor had read before it was the greatest armed conflict in the "olden" days of mankind. Armin on the other hand, had no clue to what she was saying though after noticing the looks on everyone's faces, something was up. "Is.... something wrong?" Sanya asked. "No... I am actually confused. You see... I fought in the war during 1944 and it had been going on since 1939... but... we didn't call it the second Neuori war... wait... does Neuori mean world or something in Russian?" "It doesn't." Slade said. "And it's ORUSSIAN." "Slade is right. The Neuori are a race of aliens who seek to consume the earth. They first attacked in 1914 but we as humanity were defenseless then. Luckily for us about 21 years later, we developed the striker unit which allowed any witch to have her powers amplified. While we have some basic powers we can use such as creating shields and our own token abilities, these striker units allow us to fly, have enhanced strength and amplify our basic powers." "We? Wait a minute... you're a witch?" "Yes." "So that was what that.... thing was back then..." "Yes. My power allows me to hear things from extremely long distances. I can also listen to radio broadcasts or any form of radio based communication. I can also make it so anyone near me can listen to what I am listening. Of course... my ability isn't good without the striker unit but Twilight made me these gloves which allowed me some use. One of them being the enhanced strength." So that's how she broke the steel chestplate... "Ah... now it makes sense." Slade said as he looked back at the shattered armor. "So I take it without this striker unit, you are at a weakened state?" "Yes. I am still immune to some of the effects of the Neuori and can use some powers... but they won't be as effective. Right now, Twilight is trying to make something so I can use them at full power. I still have to thank you for the gloves." "No problem! See if I can't get a better pair sooner or later! But in the meantime Sanya, please continue." "Okay. So I am a flying officer stationed in Britannia against the Neuroi." What Sanya had to say about her friends really didn't match to Steve. It was confirmed. She was a soldier fighting in a war. A war against a race that sought to exterminate humanity and devour the earth. Perhaps that was why she was so silent? Because she may suffer from PTSD? But for some reason... Slade was smiling. That disgusted him. "You're a soldier huh? You seem to be able to handle yourself." Slade commented. "You're 13 now?" "Yes." "I think you do remember, but I was 16 when I became a soldier. How do you like it?" "It's fine... my friends are really nice and all but I am usually on night patrol. I don't like the day. I really don't." "What made you want to be a soldier?" "I was separated from my parents. I just hope that one day, when the war is over, I can see them again. We're separated not only by several thousand kilometers but a Neuori hive as well." "That's harsh." Slade said and perhaps for the first time this night, he actually sounded like he sorta cared about someone else's predicament. "But please, continue." "Anyways. I was on night patrol as usual when I heard a sound... I thought it was the Neuori but when listened for it, there wasn't anything. Just a sweet whispering sound that no Neuroi would ever make. So I thought to check it out." She stopped for a moment to recall the event while everyone listened attentively. "It was pretty hard to find it. I can hear things, but I can't see them. It took a while for me isolate the sound and when I did, I realized it was actually off the coast of Britannia in a small island. More like a large rock if you know what I mean but I found it. That along with this large chest." Sanya took a sip of her drink as she remembered what happened next. "The Neuori appeared then. While was busy trying to find out what the box was the Neuori managed to sneak up. At least I was able to dodge the beam or I may have died then... but what happened was strange. The box was hit along with the island which sank into the ocean, but what was odd was this bright purple light. The next thing I knew, my striker unit was crippled and I was about a few meters in the air and falling into a pond." She smiled for a moment at the memory and at Twilight. "My thanks to your brother. I wasn't a very good swimmer but he managed to get me out of the water through magic. Without him, I may have drowned." "He kept telling me about there was a strange newcomer that was drowning and how he saved her life. Wouldn't shut up about it." "But also, thanks to him I was able to get stay here." "Actually... that'd be the Princesses. You see, from what Princess Celestia told me, you seemed to be new here and when you told us what had happened, about how you magically vanished from where you were, she thought you'd be really confused and probably even scared. By the way, we got that box... thing... from out of the pond. We have it in your room." "That's really nice. Thank you. I may need it again when I get home." "Yeah... about that..." Slade began. "Can we..." "Yes. I know. You want to get out of here ASAP." Twilight said rolling her eyes. "We're trying. Right now, I don't even know." "Well... Sparkler..." "SPARKLE!" "Okay Sparkle... I know how you have no clue how we even got here, but I am going to ask... can you please give me updates?" He said please.... "Okay. Fine... I'll give you what I can get or anything that the Princesses can get. Okay? I know you probably would rather be off killing pon... people and robbing banks or whatever it is you do... and chances are, everyone else probably wants to be home too but it's not like I can just go POOF and make that happen!" "Well... you told me earlier you can use magic..." "But it's not that simple! It's not omnipotent! It's not like I can snap my fingers and... make...things...happen..." "Frau Sparkle? Iz somefing wrong?" "No... not at all... actually... Sanya... are you finished?" "Pretty much. But there's still the part about the room you gave me. It was very comfortable and so was the food." "Glad you liked it." "And then we met." Raynor said. "You know... you think we can find that Striker thing of yours and fix it?" "What makes you say that? We don't even have the tools." "Not right now. But you see, my ship may have the means to do so. And now I dunno, but we can't exactly stay here..." "What do you mean? The Princesses would love to have you all here... well most of you..." "I don't really want to overstay my welcome. Though I appreciate it. Luckily, my ship has enough room for all of us and anything we might need. Hell. We got a bar in there if anyone wants a drink that's not made of apples." "Sounds actually pretty good." Armin spoke up. "Is there space for all of us?" "Son, this thing was made for living in the stars. We have enough room for twice our number. Which is a good thing because something tells me we might need room for someone's van." "Did I neglect the part about the motorcycle?" Steve brought up. "I ditched it in the forest too...." "Okay. I think we should have enough room anyways. There's lots of things in my ship y'all might want to see." "I bet. Everything we have must seem medieval to what you have." "Oh not so bad. This place doesn't even have running water... no offense." "What's running water again?' "Nevermind." "So... may I go now?" Medic asked rather impatiently. "Of course doc! Ready when you are!" Author's Note Who knew that not procrastinating for once can actually yield results? Anyways. So I decided to do this other chapter after realizing all the time I have on my hands. Hope it's good. The Medic The Medic "Okay. So before I talk about how I got here, I got zis really funny story. So a some time ago, I vas a doktor, vell... I guess I am still a doctor today but... zat's beyond the point. So I vorked at this hospital und zere vas this one patient that needed surgery because he had a terminal illness." For some strange reason, he was chuckling really hard, border lining laughing. This was pretty terrifying to just about anyone considering the subject as terminal illness and surgery. "Okay... okay... hehe... anyvays, so zere vas a patient who had a terminal illness... and you know vat? He told me zat I can use any means possible to cure him of zis disease! It vas magnificent! It vas brilliant! My plan! Ha!" He laughed manically for a few moments, lost in the memories. "You see... zis man... zis poor man had zis vile of disease! It was in his bones! AHAHAHAHAHA!" And this was the part where Slade grabbed one of his swords while Raynor held onto his revolver and stared at the mad doctor was leering in Sanya's face. Sanya, who looked extra pale than usual gave a few nervous whimpers and slowly slid down the table, hiding behind her chair. "Now... zen... vhere vas I? Oh ja. He said zat I can use anything! Just make ze pain! Ze pain stop! Ze disease! Just cut ze disease out! HAHAHAHAHA.... so zen... I got out my new... invention.... ze krankenknockenentferner!!" "Eh... doc... for some reason...." Slade began. "That sounds like some kind of medieval torture device..." Steve finished. "Vell.... he vasn't in any pain.... but anyvays... hoho... I am getting to ze funny part. So... I put him through my new invention und it vorks! It actually vorks! But... he didn't wake up for a long... time... nein... not for a long time... but you know vat?" He burst out into hysterical laughter at this as everyone turned their heads into his direction, clueless at what was so funny. "Ven ze patient voke up, his skeleton vas missing und ze doctor vas never heard from again! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!... okay... okay..." He wiped tears from his eyes as he took a breather to calm himself down from his laughter. "Okay.... und zat's how I lost my medical license." "Um... doctor...." Armin suddenly began. "Ja?" "What was it you used to um.... heal me back there?" "Oh nothing. It's my medi-gun. You see... it vas a medical breakthrough I had made! It involved some medicine, a dying teammate and a severed head.... you still have your skeleton...." "Okay.... Okay..." Armin said as he wiped sweat beads off his forehead. Wait a second... just because his skeleton wasn't missing doesn't mean.... "Now then... so I guess it's time I explain how I got here.... ja? Vell you see... mein friend Engineer and I were doing some.... experiments with ze teleporters. You see.... ve found out zat ven we teleported bread... um... ve kinda created a bread monster." Wat. It took some explaining to do. Something about the teleporters made it so that an organism would appear in an all wheat environment... zis type of organism... oh boy! It's a monster! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! You see... we couldn't even kill it with miniguns, rockets, grenades and fire! It was a monster! It was an abomination! It was.... BEAUTIFUL! And it hated me! AHAHAHAHAHA!" "I am scared..." Sanya whimpered as she hid behind Slade and held his hand. "Grow a backbone kid." Slade said as he shoved her firmly away. "Maybe Captain Stars and Stripes might be more interested in using himself as a shield." "No... it's not him... I think I just heard something... some really loud roar... it was scary." "Yeah...yeah... you want me to check underneath your bed for monster tonight?" "You didn't happen to work for a guy called Schmidt have you?" Steve asked suspiciously. "Vat? No. This vas like... yesterday. I do work for a guy called Mann though...." Okay. Not a HYDRA agent. Good. "Anyvays, so after that fiasco, we made a rule. NO MORE TELEPORTING BREAD. But... of course... we could always teleport ourselves. Which I did.... und ended up here un...." There was a loud crash which was audible from the room they were situated in. From the sounds of everything, it had come from the lower levels of the castle. Frankly. It wouldn't of mattered how close by they were when they heard the roar. Hell, the whole world may have heard that one at the massive roar. At that same moment, there was the sounds of glass shattering which came from the upper levels. "What the hell is happening?!" Raynor cried out as glass broke all around him and a section of the wall and stained glass broke into several pieces sending shiny glass and hard rock flying all over the place. There at the mouth of a gaping hole in the mouth, was a massive brown horned lizard. Or a dragon to be exact. In the next instant, an unforgiving heat blanketed the entire room as a massive flame flew towards the people at the table. Luckily for them and more on quick thinking to steve who kicked the table down, they would be mostly shield from the massive inferno that almost consumed them. Besides them, ponies ran and screamed in a panic as members of the royal guard poured in, only to be knocked aside as the massive dragon made it's way in. Sayna listened for a moment. At every fire breath. She thought she could here something. "Yol... Toor...Shul..." What did it mean? Was it the dragon... no. It had to be the dragon. The dragon was speaking every time it sent forth a wave of fire! But... how did that even work? It was approaching a massive door. What this door was for, she did not know but it seemed to hold particular interest to the dragon as it opened it's massive mouth once again. "Fus... Ro... DAH!" The doors straight off. They were magically sealed and therefore had no hinges, but just like that, they literally flew off whatever it was they were connected to and revealed the interior, six beautiful gems sat there.... The dragon... it wanted the gems! But why?! Her thought was cut off as a red and blue blur flew by her and hit the dragon at one it's wings, sending no hidden waves of pain through the lizard as it turned it's head to see the star-spangled man with his shield. He held out his hand which contained a gun and fired two shots, none of which did any form of damage whatsoever. "Hi yin wahl yen midrak zey? Midrak Dovah?! Hi fen biis fah hin duziirah!" The dragon opened it's massive jaws and let out another stream of flame, surprisingly, all it took for Steve to not get burned alive was his shield. That must have been one good shield... The dragon relented the moment the charges hit it on the head, creating fiery explosions that drew it's attention to the one who threw it. The one in a black and orange armor holding up an assault rifle, firing rounds at the dragon's head. All of which would be ineffective. Slade grumbled to himself silently when the gun hardly even managed to poke the monster. No sense in wasting bullets at this point. He dodged aside as a large wave of fire almost hit him. He looked over at the flames that shot over him as he reached for one of his grenades and pulled the pin. "Armin! Here!" Twilight called as she tossed him his swords. If Armin was to be honest to himself, he actually wanted to hide behind a table. But that wasn't an option given the fact Slade and Steve were giving the dragon all that they got... oh! If only he had his maneuver gear! He may have been able to assist somehow! But thankfully, at the time being. He didn't need to the moment Jim came back. Fully clad in his armor and with a big gun and a beam that was washing over him. Behind him, Medic readied himself as his finger strayed towards the "on" button on the kritzkreig. The red bullets that flew at the dragon split open sections of it's hide, sending force chunks of blood and gore causing the beast to roar in it's agony. Turning around, it just had something to say to Raynor and his gun. "Zun...Haal.. Viik!" Without warning, the C-14 rifle flew out of his hands and landed about a few dozen meters away. There would hardly be time as Raynor quickly backed up into Medic, making a shield out of his armor as the protective visor in his helmet came down the moment the huge of flame came flying over. Thankfully, his armor held. "Sanya!" Jim called as he slid a massive metal box towards the small girl. The Fliegerhammer Carefully, she aimed as the dragon grabbed the case containing the jewels. Right when it turned it's body and it's head was facing her, she fired. Time stood to a stand still but she could still hear the words as if they were speaking at an accelerated pace. "Fo... Krah...Diin!" The wave of ice froze the rockets in midair which dropped to the ground harmlessly along with any bullets which had been in the same area. All the while, Armin could only watch in shock as the dragon took off to the gap in the wall, stretched it's wings and flew into the air, trailed by the many bullets that Steve and Slade fired at it. "Damn it!" Slade cursed as he saw the dragon fly away. "What the hell was that?!" "A dragon? What for?" Steve asked.... "Where's Twilight?!" She had left just moments ago. Where? To see the Princesses. But... for what? Author's Note I am more than certain now people know why I was listening to Alduin's voicelines. Decision Decision "Princess Celestia!" Twilight panted as she managed to reach the same room where Luna and Celestia were conferencing in. "A..a dragon... it attacked and... and..." "Calm down Twilight. What happened?" "We were talking and then out of nowhere, this Dragon breaks down the door! It was just too fast for anyone and.... I don't know... I last was running away. The dragon, it... I..." "A dragon? Attacking Canterlot. Sister... you must know what this means then...?" Luna asked rhetorically. "Twilight... may you leave the room?" "Wait... why?" "Just do it. Please. It's very important and it's only between my sister and myself... and..." "YOUR HIGHNESSES!" The guard barged in, almost knocking down the doors. "A dragon... it attacked the castle and... IT TOOK THE ELEMENTS." "What?!" Luna and Celestia asked with disbelief at the same time. The guard repeated his testimony. "This is... this is terrible!" Luna cried out. "Eh... maybe I should leave now..." Twilight chuckled nervously as she sneaked for the door after the guard had left. "No. Twilight. You must stay." Princess Celestia said as her horn lit up. A small gleam of light revealed a hidden... bookshelf, one of which floated out. "What is this?" "I believe... it's the best I can get at an explanation..." Princess Celestia said. "When I was getting reports of dragons attacking towns and villages, I didn't want to believe it. I only thought and wanted to think that ponies were doing some things to provoke the dragons. Now... I see otherwise." "What is it?! Please... tell me!" "Patience. Patience." Luna said as she went over to the book. The arcane text gleamed and glittered as the two began to read. "More than a thousand years ago, Feynaltdrog, the dragon, ruled not just Equestria. But the world itself... and I will say this in advance, but our knowledge on him is... inaccurate at best... wrong at worst." "Feynaltdrog was not just any dragon. Rumors called him the king of dragons, the first dragon, the dragon god and so on." Luna continued. "He was to a dragon, what an alicorn may have been to a pony. Many things separated him from his minions." "To begin, not all dragons are evil. In fact, hardly any of them are. Feynaltdrog was set apart first and foremost with his mastery of magic. A power no dragon should have... yet he was a master of magic and sorcery. His power in both magic and as a dragon was unmatched and wherever he went, he conquered. We don't know what it was that had turned a dragon into evil or what had made a dragon a master of magic. Perhaps it was the vileness within him that gave him magic, or the magic that spawned the darkness within. Whatever it was, it was very powerful." "Can you imagine Twilight, the power it took to corrupt an entire race to evil? To corrupt the dragons into evil tyrants and killers? The power it took to hold the entire world in line and to do his bidding? The power it took to suppress some of the most powerful enemies Equestria has faced so far? During his rise to power, he had amassed an army of dragons that were loyal to him. All other dragons were merely pawns whom he corrupted so that they may terrorize and weaken other kingdoms whilst he and his loyal followers did the real work of subjugating the inhabitants. Those who resisted were destroyed. Those who didn't were enslaved to his rule." "But... I thought that was all just foaltales! I thought that notion of an evil dragon was really something..." "It's not. It's very real. Feynaltdrog is a threat to not just Equestria but to the world! Do you know his power Twilight? His power that even the elements of harmony didn't stop? Or that even Discord, master of chaos was powerless?" "What?!" "I know not how long the list of names go..." Luna began. "But during the final battle... it wasn't just my sister and I. But the aftermath was terrible. We had slain all the dragons that were truly evil along with Feynaltdrog with both the help of the elements and the powers of chaos but in the end, he still won in his own little way. He left one final blight upon the world. Do you know what made Discord use his magic for evil? He wasn't always like that, but in the end, the dragon king corrupted him. Discord made great efforts to resist this corruption, in fact, had he not resisted some of this corruption.... Discord's misdeeds may have been much worse. We see now that his actions were evil and for only his own amusement, but had the corruption went to it's full extent, Discord would have been a ruthless tyrant and murderer instead of an agent of chaotic mischief." "It wasn't only just that." Luna continued. "Changelings had once helped to spread love. It was commonplace for the changelings to warm relations between feuding lovers. In a cruel joke, Feynaltdrog had turned them into the exact opposite." "What else did he do... could he have been truly responsible for all the evils in Equestria?" Twilight asked with disbelief. This couldn't have been possible. How could have one dragon been the architect of all the tragedies and horrors that had afflicted ponykind? No. that had afflicted the world. "He was. We know because before, there was no such things on any scale like it. The aftermath was terrible. Discord, Sombra and the changelings were corrupted to evil. The nightmare forces were born. Starswirl had been slain in the final battle and his actions had even paved way for another lesser evil. Tirek." "Who's Tirek?" "That's not important. All I can tell you is that Tirek was a powerful sorcerer who could have easily held Equestria by it's throat. But even he feared the power of Feynaltdrog... and now without the elements... we are at a disadvantage.... save for one thing." It dawned on Twilight that instant. "The humans! They're here because..." "It was my plan. Yes. When I heard about the dragons, I wanted to make precautions. It seems those precautions have paid off... those humans are our less hope." "But... why them? They can't even use magic!" Twilight said doing little to hide her doubts. "You see... Luna and I looked into the history of humans. We looked not only in one world, but many. The man known as Raynor... where he comes from, humans have the power to destroy entire worlds with their weapons while in the home of Armin, humans have survived for a hundred years against a race of giants that are more powerful than them in every way imaginable. Right now... there is something about humans that make them special... which is why I selected six among them and..." The windows flung themselves open, or rather, were opened by an outside force. A certain outside force referred to as "Deathstroke" as Slade entered the room. Fully armed and armored. "So... I just heard I've been shanghaied." Slade growled menacingly. To his surprise, or rather his discontent, he was given no reply as Twilight could only stare while Luna and Celestia both said nothing. The door to the room opened as Steve made his way in with everyone else. "You know... it would have been nice to get a call first." "I understand." Celestia said. "And in this moment, there is no way I can fully voice my apologies. It wasn't fair to any of you. Knowing what I may drag you into, I can say that..." "No need to talk Princess. I overheard. This Feynaltdrog guy is out here to conquer the world. Or this world." Steve began. "I am going to find this guy... and I will stop him..." "You... really?" Twilight asked. "Of course. The price of freedom is high, but it's one I am willing to pay." Rogers said. "Show me where this guy is... and I promise you... he will regret the day he wished to seize the world." "That's... very generous of you... but you must understand Feynaltdrog is no pushover. There's no possible way..." "I am in." Raynor said. "Now... the thing is... I kinda..." "You want to be paid." Luna said. "We can arrange for that. I did my research and found out humans value things like jewels and gold?" "Very much." "Indeed. Then I assure you, I will supply you a payment that is more than suffice to fund your war efforts." "Thank you. And perhaps some research on "magic"?" "Can easily be arranged for." Celestia replied. "We're being paid?" Slade asked. "I am in. Give me where this dragon is. Just let me keep the skull." "It won't be that easy..." Luna smiled. "But we appreciate your enthusiasm." (What she didn't mention was that one thing that probably wasn't appreciated would be his bloodthirstiness.) "Vell... it seems we're being paid. But... I vould like some other fings in addition!" "What would it be?" "Um... bodies and plants." "What?!" "Medical research! What else." "Oh..." For some reason that never hit Luna and Celestia, everyone else didn't seem too comforted. "What about you two?" Celestia asked Sanya and Armin. "Um... I don't think I can..." "When we send you back, we can actually send you back at the exact same time you were sent away. Back at home too in case you were out." "Okay... but may I have some... of the books regarding magic? I wish to learn a bit on the subject." "OF COURSE!" Twilight said almost jumping on Sanya. "Listen... I own the library and.... sorry." "It's okay Twilight..." "And... um... I just want to see my parents. Just once." Sanya finished as Armin opened his mouth. "I guess I'll stay too." Armin said. "But... what I want is... is things from his world." "Mine? Heh. I am not surprised. Alright kid, we can make the deal. You'll really like some of the things we got if you're dealing with giants." "And what about you?" Luna asked. "You never asked for anything." "I don't want anything." Steve said. "C'mon Cap. We know you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart and all..." Slade began. "But even a soldier needs to eat. How about some money?" "Not interested." "Surely there's something... maybe a way to improve your world?" "No. Because I don't need the money. But I'll take some money regardless." "Huh?" "I don't need it. But other people do. It'll go well into wiping oppression off the face of my planet." "A noble wish." Luna commented. "It will be fulfilled." "Once Feynaltdrog is stopped one way or the other, we will send you home at the best time of convenience. We'll make do with anything we have and make sure it's as comfortable as possible." "Very well.... so where do we start?" Slade asked as his took out staff. "I need another fight." "That's the problem..." "Huh?" "We don't know where the dragon king is." "God damn it." Slade murmured. "Well... how do we start?" "We don't know. That's your job." Luna said. "Do it well. The fate of this world hangs in this balance. And something tells me, it may be bigger than that. But for now, we've provided accommodations. Mr. Raynor, you said you were only to stay this one night?" "Yeah. Have my ship moved.... somewhere. Somewhere where we won't disturb anyone. I got a BIG project ahead." Author's Note Takes place before the season 4 premiere. In case if anyone is wondering, Feynaltdrog means "Bane, Destruction, Lord" in dragon. While his name actually suggests otherwise, he's not here to destroy the world. He wants to conquer it as the characters have referenced. The dragon language is based off the one used in Skyrim mainly because I was to lazy to make my own language/making up languages is pretty damn hard. And that it's probably the most badass fictional language in existence. It's mentioned that Starswirl's death paves way to Tirek. Remember, this is already when Scorpan has met Starswirl and is about to warn the princesses of Tierk's true intentions. The ship"Alright boys and girls, we'll be sleeping in this section of the ship." Raynor said. "Thankfully, this is the one section of the ship that isn't a mess. Not thankfully is the fact that this is debatably the least important part of the ship." There were three rooms for the living quarters. Each with two bunks, a bathroom, a shower and a few other accommodations. "Okay. So see these "beds" here? You can actually adjust how they feel." Raynor said as he waved over to a contraption by the bedside. "We got blankets and such pretty much in every room so don't worry about that. Oh right, the air conditioner is broken so if it's too hot or too cold, tough luck until we can get it fixed." "What else is broken?" Cap asked as he took a look around. "We got water and such, but we lost power to a good section of the ship including engineering which is the one section I want to get fixed ASAP. Power in general is actually the big issue. We don't have any permanent damage that we can't fix, but it's fairly extensive and spreads to many areas of the ship. So far, navigation is down. So is life support, power in some areas and we probably ain't getting the engines repaired any time soon." "Do we have the means to repair this fine machine of yours?" Slade asked as he took a look around. "We do. And it's just so fine for us, that we actually have the materials all over the place." "Really? These... pe.. I mean ponies don't really seem to be the type of people who'd have some technology found in space." Steve commented as he took a look at one of tablets and at that point, he felt like a caveman with a Rubix cube. This of course, was a guy who still couldn't figure out how to use his smartphone. "It's not that. The story is, that long ago, this guy discovered that we can use minerals to be melted down and built into more useful things. Yes. Minerals. Just minerals. Something about their properties which I really don't understand. But you know what this place is chalk full of? Minerals." "Umm... Mr. Raynor... how does this work?" Armin asked as he picked up a tablet. "That kid, is a tablet. We use them to store information." "Store information?" "Think of it like a book... I am assuming you have books wherever you're from, now think that this one thing has a few million of them stored in it's memory." "Memory?" "It's complicated business kid." Slade said. "But how it works is that we can essentially upload... text into this thing that you can use later." "Okay... how does it work?" "I'll show you later." Raynor replied. "Alright guys, this next place, Doc, you'll probably love this." He led them down a round hall to the other end of the ship where sections of damage became more evident. Some times, a wall would have some circuits blown straight out. Other times, a light or a few lights would be out or flickering but to this, no one truly cared. Maybe to the likes of Slade and Cap, they had all seen something along these lines, but still, it was like comparing a calculator to a smartphone. To Medic, it was almost movie like. This is what they got in the 26th century and you know what? He was pretty damn impressed. He REALLY wanted to see the next place. To Sanya, she'd been on many ships, just not the ones that can fly or had things that would make even the most advanced computing deceive in 1943 look like a potato in complexity. Of course, she never said anything about this or even as much as expressed the secret amazement and wonder deep below. She could only take a look at the device that Raynor was carrying, which was rather similar to the devices that both Steve and Slade had in their pockets, just... more advanced. And to Armin. All of a sudden, he wondered just how half this was even possible. Automatic doors weren't a thing in his world. Running water wasn't either. Automatic guns? Nope. Actually, pretty much everything aboard this vessel had no place in his world. He was like a caveman first discovering fire. "Alright everyone, and here's the infirmary. It really ain't much actually... but I am pretty confident doc that you can turn it into something." Yeah.... "Oooh... I can... may I borrow one of your tablets for my research? I vood very much vell need a place to keep my research on SCIENCE." "Alright doc. There's one waiting for you but as I said, I'll show you how the thing works later. Um, sorry about the mess." That was the understatement of the century considering all the broken glass and chemicals all littered in this one room. It was miracle to how one would even step in here without any shoes and not get cut up or slip in a puddle of chemicals. (These chemicals were medicine and therefore "safe" and probably won't burn your foot off.) "Ah... ja. I can clean zis place up. Now zen, if you all excuse me, I got vork to do." With that, he closed the door and the sounds of progress would soon be heard coming from that room. "And this here is the bridge. And this is what I'd call the... um... nav map... except we can use it locally too. Like for this planet." Jim said as he tapped the thing. "And this is the one part where we don't have power to the most important thing on this darn ship. You see, I can get this thing to tell me the layout of the entire planet! Only problem is..." "It's broken." Armin said pointing out the obvious. "Yep. And we oughta fix it. Thankfully, it's not the actual device that's broken or it'd be broken for good as I wouldn't know how to fix it. It's just the power that's cut off in this area. We'll have to fix it, we got the tools, but we don't have the parts. And now, it's probably time to get said parts." "Okay. But first, I still got to get my van." Slade said. "And I think Star-spangled man here is missing his motorcycle." "Alright then. Armin, mind going to town and getting me some of the things we need?" "What? Why me?" "Cause I know I am going to probably need Sanya's help. Here, take this." Raynor said tossing him a small purse containing bits. "The Princesses gave me an... allowance. Just go into town, buy me all the minerals that gets you, and bring it back here." "Here. I'll come and get you." Slade said. "Chances are, if you bring back the big haul, you can load it in the van." "Oh right. Once we can fix this part, we can get to the good stuff." Raynor began as he took a look at his tablet on the ship. "You see, I'll see if we can't get the bar restored." "The bar?" "Yeah. Don't ask why, but there's a bar on this ship. We got plenty of cold drinks for anyone who wants it. By "bar" I mean dining room that a bunch of old pirates turned into a bar but it's a pretty nice place. Let's get that place up next after we fix the power to the whole ship." "So... this computer, power and then bar?" Armin asked. "Yeah. You want a drink not made from apples? Then let's hurry this place up and we can all get some cold beer." Author's Note So the characters because a few people asked. Captain America (Steve Rogers): http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/059/a/1/almost_is_never_enough___steve_rogers_x_reader_by_angelmewmew-d78b3f0.jpg Deathstroke (Slade Wilson): http://www.lightninggamingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Batman-Arkham-Origins-Slade-WilsonDeathstroke-Concept-Art.jpg Jim Raynor: http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130606182156/sky-does-minecraft/images/5/59/Jim_raynor.jpg The Medic: http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/792941212956353235/4E750FF876A5A806B07F230E159758A248BF81F7/ Armin Arlert: http://www.getcartoonwallpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Armin-Arlert2.jpg Sanya V. Litvyak: http://interestsoap.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/78444.jpg Day 2"So Captain, what happened to your ride?" Slade asked as the two trekked through the dark forest. Even in the middle of the day, the shade from the trees made it almost as dark as night out on the paths within the Everfree. Creatures of all shapes and sizes fled at the sight of the pair, or perhaps waited. Waited, for an opportunity. "I didn't have my motorcycle with me when I was still back in where I was supposed to be. I was starting a truck to transport some deadly cargo for the government. Only when I got here did I see my cycle. Thing was just there like it was practically waiting for me." "So I take it the US government sends you to do all their dirty work?" "I am a soldier, Slade. I don't know what you're getting at, but I don't want to hear whatever nonsense you have in your head." "You may deny it Steve, but we're both quite alike. Old men. Fighting men. Suitable for the most dangerous of all tasks." "You're a murderer Slade. It may disappoint you, but we have little in common." "Me? A murderer? I don't deny that. But you Captain America, have probably killed more men than years you lived. How high is the body count? 100? 200? 500? 1000? I can tell you, whatever it may be, it's probably rival to my own." "And what's your point in all of this? That I am just as bad as you are? I fight for freedom and my people. You? You only cared for one person in your entire life. Yourself. It's all about you isn't it? You just care about that you get paid to kill this dragon thing, and then I bet your gone. You never consider what a war may do to other people. You were given a gift and that gift has only benefitted you. The gift I was given is shared." "You think yourself as a hero Cap?" Slade chuckled. "You know what being the best soldier to your government and being a "hero" to your people really is? You're government is just a bunch of con-men and mobsters in fancy suits and nice names. Someone doesn't play their game? They send in you, just their best enforcer in a inspirational getup if the regular thugs in uniforms don't work. And that's why we're no different. I was another thug like you but this time, every time I go kick in someone's teeth, it's not for the control freaks but for myself." "Really now? I recall having to fight my own organization when HYDRA almost took it over." "Still a thug. Just one who liked the old regime better." He gave up then. If this guy just wanted to get underneath his skin, it was working. Conveniently. He shut up the moment he found the van that was sitting by the tree. Now then... The motorcycle shouldn't be too far then... "Sanya, I need a hand with these.... Well. Wow." So. Massive massive metal beams that weigh about 200 pounds each? Moved easily by a skinny silver haired girl in about 20 seconds where it took a big guy in his prime about that much time just to move one. That was quite interesting. "Okay kid, you are a miracle." Jim said with amazement as he saw Sanya move the rest of the mess with little difficulty. He debated mentally whether or not if she was stronger than Findlay. He also imagined what his old pal's reaction might be to hearing that some skinny girl was stronger that he was. "Thanks. Is there anything else?" "A lot actually but I can do the rest myself." Jim said as he looked at the broken wires and power couplings. "Go get some sleep cause you look a mess." "Okay then." "I'll wake you when I am done. When that boy gets back with those other two, we can have a bite to eat and work on the rest. It's a team job from then." "Alright." Sanya said. She could use some sleep due to her utter lack of it the night before. Even if the soul-destroying roar hadn't made her want to hide under a rock, she was the nocturnal sort of person and was more active in the dark. The ship was truly impressive in many regards. In 1943, you didn't exactly have things like power armor, flying ships (unless you were the Neuroi), smartphones and advanced medicine that healed it's patient through a beam. It occurred to her then that her world was the second most behind in terms of scientific advancement, with only Armin's being the most archaic. This ship fascinated her. The only thing that surpassed her amazement in this wonderful craft was Raynor's mention of his other ship. A bigger ship and a better ship. At about 560 meters in length and moving at speeds unfathomable, it truly be a wonder to have in 1943. Enough thinking about what cool things they have in 2504. Right now, she went back to the living quarters, grabbed a blanket and took a bunk. Amazing. She could set the room's temperature down to the hundredth of a degree, the dimness or brightness of the lights or even the softness of her bed and pillows. Here in the wonders of the future, everything was amazing. She would soon find this even more when she found herself staring at a star map of the Korprulu sector that displayed on the ceiling and listening to a soft song. Her eyes slowly closed as she slipped into dreamland. "Grah. Finally." Medic mumbled to himself as he tossed the last bits of glass shards into the trash. Having drained all the chemicals and rearranged the furniture into a more personal touch. He gave mental note to build another healing device of similar design to the one he had in the hospital. As of now, he placed any unbroken jars into the cabinets and counters in a neatly arranged fashion and put any of his belongings in the locker. Taking a look around, he found a data tablet. Poking around for a moment, it was the ship doctor's personal tablet, which now meant he had access to plenty of research. This was going to be fun. But first... Things didn't feel 100% at home. He was missing something. Right. He needed a dismembered, somehow still alive severed head to be placed in the fridge. And a huge flock of doves somewhere to be messing around while he was working. Well. Time to decapitate someone or something. And maybe now would be opportune to go grab some bodies for SCIENCE. Come to think of it, he heard of a pers... pony that had lots of animals. He would pay her a visit tomorrow. "Um... Hi." Armin said awkwardly as he felt a hundred eyeballs lock onto him. To say he felt like a black sheep would be an understatement. He was more like an extra awkward cow in a flock of sheep. Or in this case, horses. "Hi... Um... How may help you?" The vendor replied nervously. Partly because that Armin, being short among humans was still significantly taller than most ponies and that well.... Not a lot of things like him came around here very often. Or at all for that matter. "I'd ummm... Like to buy some minerals..." He said nervously as he looked at all the stares he was getting. Something akin to if a camel walked into a movie and asked to go see Godzilla. "5 bits for a bag!" The vendor said just as nervously. She wondered inwardly if this creature would eat her or something along those lines. "Umm.... Here..." Armin said handing her all his bits. This got him about 6 bags, each the size of a milk carton. Something told him this may not be enough... "Oh man..." Armin mumbled to himself as he walked through the market, now oblivious to the looks of fear and fascination he was getting. "Jim is going to need more... This will be a problem." All problems of a solution. And it was just his luck that a certain white unicorn had taken interest in his uniform and overheard his mumbling to himself. Chapter 12"Here it is..." Rogers said to himself as he pulled up his motorcycle which had been tipped over and had fallen down into a patch of shrubs. Taking a look, his ride was in fine condition and he could now take a spin. Looking back, he saw Slade had gotten his van started up and had pulled up next to him. "I'll meet you back at Raynor's?" "Didn't you say you were going to pick up Armin?" "First, I gotta drop off a few things." Slade said. "See you there." Rolling down the window which was a one-way type of glass. Slade looked into the back and chuckled to himself. He would need a ton of help with unloading this loot. "Umm... hi... so...." Armin had been lost for words. As of now, some unicorn with an accent had walked up to him to speak with him, expressing unfeigned interest in his coat. And then, after some sweet talk, she had made a point of dragging him all the way back to her shop and place of residence. And here he was, sitting on a plush couch and sipping some tea, doing his best to look his best. "Now I say... that coat of yours... it's absolutely marvelous! Where did you get it? And where can I get one?!" "They just handed these out..." Armin said looking at his uniform of the Scout regiment. "I got it for free..." "For free?! Where?!" "On my world... which I don't think is this world..." Armin muttered awkwardly. It would have been strange enough to be living amongst talking and rainbow colored horses but this? This was a bit too much. "My then! In your world... they surely know what to wear!" Rarity continued as she forayed into her babbling about how "dashing" Armin's coat made him look and how much she wanted one. "You know... I actually really don't think I'll be needing the cloak." Armin said looking at the green cape that would be useful in the rain. He wondered for a moment how badly Raynor actually needed his minerals, and perhaps how much he didn't need this green thing he had which he had long forgot the purpose of. Maybe except for "looking dashing" as this horse was describing. "Well... I'd be very happy to buy it!" Rarity offered. "Well then... I think... sure..." Armin said as he inwardly slapped himself across the face. "Hey kid. Wake up." Raynor said. "Slade and Rogers are back." "Okay." Sanya said rubbing her eyes for a bit. That was a quite refreshing rest. Getting up, she followed Raynor to outside. "Where's Medic?" "No idea. Told me he had the place cleaned up but he said he was missing something so he went off. I dunno where he went off to." The two were met by a black van and a sleek black motorcycle. Slade and Steve were there waiting for them. "Back so soon?" Jim asked pleasantly. "How did it go?" "Just fine." Steve said as he left out the part of how he felt about Wilson. "Great. I got a lot of things in the van that actually need unloading." Slade said as he grabbed two large bags and a metallic box. "Mind lending a hand?" "Sure. Go put it in the bar." Raynor said as he went and grabbed a few of the metal boxes. "What's in this? It's heavy." "You'll see." Slade said as he handed Sanya some of the duffel bags. Walking into the ship, he dropped them off on the wreck of a bar that the ship had and went for more. About fifteen minutes later, they were done as plenty of metal boxes and duffel bags lined the almost-broken tables. "And you want to see what's in here?" Slade asked as he grabbed a bag. Unzipping the thing, a literal wave of Benjamins spilled out. Unzipping every other bag would reveal similar contents as a massive green table cloth was poured over every possible table and even spilling over to create a rug for the ground. A count later would reveal the estimated sum of the money to be over 50,000,000 dollars. "Is this money?" Sanya asked as she took a look. "It is." Slade said. "I think it's about over 45,000,000. That's what I was told the estimate was anyways." "And you got all this money... how?" Rogers asked despite already having a good idea of where the money came from. "Bonus for my last job. The guy wouldn't be needing his money anymore so I took it." Slade chuckled to himself as he went over to one of the boxes and put in the combination. He would do this a few dozen times as the contents were laid over the tables. It was enough ordinance to start a war. Assualt rifles, sniper rifles, pistols, grenades, a grenade launcher, you name it. He had it all. "We can't exactly be killing any dragons without the proper tools to do so right?" Slade said as he held up an Assualt rifle. "You mentioned an Engineering bay or sorts on this ship?" "Yes. I can produce all the ammunition you may need." "Great." Slade grinned as he saw Sanya dig into the pile. "The bullets come out of the slim end kid." "I know... I know..." Sanya muttered as she took a look at all the ordinance spilled upon the table. "If you ever need to know how to use them the right way, just talk to me. Other than that, I think I actually have a guy to find." Slade said as he got his car keys. "If you need a gun, go take one." "Yeah... sure..." Rogers mumbled as he saw Raynor taking a look at the virtual armory Slade had amassed. "Slade... wait..." Sanya spoke up as he began to leave. "What is it kid?" "May I come with you?" "It's going to be pretty boring actually." Slade said. "Why?" "I want to see.... well..." "Right. I forgot it's probably your coloring book we happened to have gotten ourselves in. Follow me then." Slade said as Sanya went after him leaving Raynor and Medic along with a pile of weapons enough to start a third world war. "Man... what a jackass." Steve mumbled to himself. "You hate him already?" Raynor asked. "Of course! The guy's a total dirt bag!" Cap said as he took a look at the money. "How do you like that guy anyways?!" "I work with guys like him ALL THE TIME. Want to know the scary thing? We consider them the pleasant guys." Raynor chuckled to himself. Tosh. Selendis. Findlay. "Him? Pleasant?" Rogers asked as he tried to find any possible way that Slade and the word pleasant could even be used in the same sentence. "You know, I know a guy like him. His name is Stark." "Tell me about him." "He's a bit on the disagreeable side, a huge showboat, probably cares about himself the most at the end of the day. But this guy at least gives a damn about other people!" "What's your point?" "Slade? He's just a scumbag. It's people like him that make the world a worse place." "You know... maybe that's how you think of it, but maybe considering what the guys been through..." "Just because his wife shot him, and his son died doesn't exactly give him the right to be a total... well you know." "I know, I know... but like I said, maybe you should meet some of my friends and you'll probably love Slade." "Yeah... yeah... that'd be the day." Rogers said. "You got a drink by the way?" "Eh... I think this is ze place." Medic said to himself as he looked at the cottage and looked around once again. Strange. He was told that the place should have been alive and a buzz with all sorts of animals. Right now, there was nothing but some odd silence that was just... well... odd. He hesitated a moment before knocking. "Hello?" A tiny voice asked. "Hi... eh... I vood like to come in." Medic replied. "I heard you have some... well.. animals. Ja?" "Oh right." Fluttershy said as she opened the door. Imagine her surprise when she saw something that stood on two legs, wearing a white... whatever it was and only having hair on the top of it's head. In sort, a creature that she never had seen before. Ever. "Now zen..." Medic said with some surprising coolness as he stepped into the cottage. "Do you have any doves by chance? Or any other animals?" "Well... oh... You must be looking for a pet!" "Vell.... sorta of... I suppose." Medic said. If it was dove, it's probably going to be a pet. If it was anything else, he was probably going to end up dissecting it. "Now you said you wanted doves?" Fluttershy asked as she looked into the birdhouses. "Ja." "Well... I just got all the doves you might want!" Fluttershy said as she opened one of the houses. In that instant, a literal hurricane of white feathers was unleashed upon the German as dozens of doves enveloped him in their wings. "Zat... zis... JUST VAT I NEED." Medic said as he laughed to himself. "Oh... ja... may I have any other sort of animals zat are... about this big?" He made an approximate shape with hands, about the size of a pig. "Oh sure! There are tons to choose from... hey... eh... where are they?" You know. They say the animals in Equestria could have a hunch to what may happen to them in the near future.... Chapter 14The van pulled up to the golden oaks library and in a fashion that could be described as someone not too much in a hurry, Slade casually stepped out and went to the door, making a few grunts of annoyance to himself as he found himself somewhat tall for the door. Crouching down a bit, he would be able to enter with minor issues. "So... what are you two up..." "SHHHHHHHHHHH!" Twilight hushed as Sanya continued to use her magic. She was listening to something... but to what? "Buld vuldiik los kosil un imaar ont einzuk. Ruz. .. lein fen mah wah un uld." "Nuz zok pahsuleyk gein, fos do verin do dremhah? Dreh nust ni pose rut wah un drun?" "Nust los nid lingrahiik do komeyt." "Lost hin pahsuleyk al lot troz ko un drun?" "Nid, dii zeymah. Orin pruz. Zu'u lost gahrot sogaal. Nust los neben un imaar nu." "It's definitely a dragon." Sanya said to Armin and Slade as she stopped listening. "How do you know?" Armin asked. "When we fought the dragon that had broken into the castle, remember how it managed to well... breath fire and break..." "Yes kid. Lemee guess. This is him again?" "No it's not. When I first heard the dragon again, he was speaking with another..." Sanya continued. "Now... it's that other dragon speaking... I think it's name is Feynaltdrog." "The one we've been assigned to kill." Slade said as he sat down. "Well... what do you make of him?" "I am afraid I can only listen. That's it. I don't understand what language they are speaking in, but it's definitely one I've never heard before." "Well... that's not going to do us any good unless anyone here knows dragon... I am certain none of you might have a clue on how to..." The loud door slam that cut him off in mid-sentence irritated him a bit. And for some reason, the voice that called also just sounded flat out... annoying. But when he turned around to meet the speaker, Slade's frown slowly curled into a ghost of a smile. "Twilight! I am home! I got the groceries!" It was a baby dragon. "Und thanks again!" Medic said as all the dozens of doves seemed to crowd him to no end. "No problem! They all like you I see. I am sorry that there were no other animals though!" "Ah... vell zat won't be any problem... but good bye!" "Good bye!" Fluttershy said. "Isn't he such a nice... thing, Angel?" The bunny replied by hiding within Fluttershy's mane until Medic was out of sight. Something about this guy... "Alright. Vell... let's see... I'll name you Archimedes number 2... and you Archimedes number three.... and... zere are just so many Archimedes amongst you! By god! I am in heaven! Archimedes! Don't you understand?! Zis is ze happiest day of all our lives!" Coo. "Ja. I am excited too... now zen... you can all live in ze infirmary and... vat ze heck? Is ze ground moving?" Sure enough. It felt as though there was a small earthquake going on as rocks and pebbles began to shake and rattle. "Oh... please... not now..." Medic muttered as he rolled his eyes. "Alright Archimedes... ve are going home now and... vat ze?" He turned around as the air felt strangely warm for some reason. When he turned around, that's when he saw it. He never ran so fast in his life. "Perfect. They stop talking the moment we got this guy." Slade groaned as the conversation stopped. "Okay Sanya, you got anything?" "I am afraid not." Sanya replied as she took a look at Spike. "Are you a dragon?" "Yes ma'am! But... what are you exactly?" It wouldn't be easy to tell even if Spike knew what a human exactly was. Well. Maybe not OBVIOUSLY, but still EASILY. It's just that regular humans don't exactly have cat ears or tails. "She's a human. Homo Sapien Sapien for Light Sparkler here who fancies herself as a librarian." "But I..." "Anyways." Slade said cutting off Twilight much to the alicorn's great anger. "What's with the..." He made a single hand motion that would could be translated from mime to English as cat ears. "It's what happens when I amplify my magic." Sanya explained. "You see... when a witch uses anything to amplify her magic, you can tell because of her familiar. Mine is the black cat as..." She stopped talking for a moment as she heard something. Only this time, she didn't exactly need her magic. It'd only have been surprising by any standards if someone DIDN'T hear the noise. "What was that?" Spike asked as he dropped his bags in panic. "Is it... a monster?" "No you idiot. Can't you tell the noises your own kind makes?" Slade asked impatiently as he took out his sword. "It's a dragon." "Dragon?" Spike asked. "But dragons don't normally come around..." "They do now." Slade said as he went outside, followed by Armin and Sanya. "HELP!" Medic screamed as the massive dragon chased after him, firing a gust of flame out of it's mouth which licked at the German's coat. Turning around, he saw the thing slowly get closer as he felt his feet getting more tired. Suddenly. He felt hotter than usual. A quick glance behind him and he would see that a section of his coat was on fire which all of a sudden, made him feel like he wasn't tired anymore. "FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!" The doctor screamed in panic as he ran to ponyville. A well, water... just anything! "Stop running!" Captain America said as he popped out of nowhere and tripped the medic and began to beat out the flames. "God damn it doc, don't you know that running only fans the flames!" "I am running from ze dragon you idiot!" Medic retorted as the dragon landed almost on top of them. It's massive mouth opened to say the words. Though Cap had raised his shield and saved both himself and medic from becoming human barbeque, he felt as though that his hand was going to start smelling really good if this continued. Thankfully for him, it didn't as a burst of gun fire diverted the attention of the dragon to Slade. "Think you can use this kid?" Slade asked Sanya as he tossed her the assault rifle. "Where the hell is Armin?!" "I think he's hiding behind... I don't know actually..." Sanya said over the din. Somehow, it was still audible despite her almost silent speech. "Forget that then. That shield of yours! You might want to keep that up." "Why?!" "Cause I want you to get the things attention... don't worry. It'll be dead before anything bad happens. Okay? I promise." "I am still un..." "Just get it's damn attention." Slade said as he fired his grappling claw and landed upon a building. He watched the dragon and crouched, sword at the ready. Waiting for a moment, he saw Steve being thrown against the tree library and sliding down in an almost cartoonlike fashion. Waiting a few more moments would allow him the dragon's back as it turned it's attention to Sanya who continuously fired the assault rifle at the lizard's face. "Sanya!" Twilight cried out as she saw the flames engulf the girl, moving over quickly, she casted her own defensive spell which formed a bubble around Sanya, covering her from the flames that otherwise would have most likely killed or seriously injured her. Something caught her eye. The remote claw served it's purpose as it connected a tightrope between the tree library and another nearby building of considerable height over the dragon. Hanging right above, Slade jumped down, a low-yield explosive in one hand, and his blade in the other. But Twilight's eye caught the dragon's eye and it looked up just in time to move so Slade wouldn't strike a lethal hit. Instead, the blade pinned it's wing down but a headbutt would send the assassin flying, his grenade rolling away... Right into Captain America's hands. As the dragon once again opened it's mouth to unleash an inferno upon the hapless town of ponyville, Steve darted forward with superhuman speeds and punched the dragon in the mouth, causing it to stagger and hesitate. Recovering, the beast opened it's mouth, intent on chewing Captain America in two. It almost happened, but in that moment, Cap found that he was invincible, the dragon's teeth couldn't pierce this new metallic blue sheen that covered his body. He was invincible. But only for a few seconds. Without a moment to lose, Cap pulled the ping and flung the grenade straight into the dragon's mouth and hoped it wouldn't breath on him as the uber wore off. To his luck, a big guy in a suit of power armor jumped right on the dragon's mouth and punched it in the eyes. Holding the giant mouth closed. A single tense moment passed as time went to a standstill before the dragon's body exploded in a shower of blood and gore. They had done it. "Is it over...?" Armin asked as he emerged from wherever he was. "No it's not over!" Twilight replied as she took a look at the nearby buildings which happened to be on fire. Chapter 15"Everyone and every horse alright?" Jim asked as he examined the dragon. With it's stomach area blown to bloody ribbons, there was no doubt the thing was dead. Carefully, he moved away from the massive pool of blood, not wanting to be anywhere near the gore. He was replied with a chorus of "Yes" and nods of heads. Taking a look at the corpse, he bent away and felt the scales. Even with the power armor, it felt hard. Hard as a rock. Another look would find bullets lodged into the flesh, unable to penetrate the deep, armor-like scales. "You okay?" Slade asked Sanya as he took a look over the girl. "I am fine... I think you want this back now." She said as she gave him the assault rifle. "Armin? Are you okay? You look sick." "Armin?" Slade asked to himself. Turning around, he found the boy sitting on a rock and staring at the dragon. "Armin." "Y..yes?" Armin asked nervously as he felt his fear lifting. The dragon was dead. Thank god. You ever seen someone get punched so hard that their socks and shoes came off? That was exactly what happened when Slade swung his fist. The blow sent Armin sprawling a great distance, creating a large trench in the ground as he slid for several feet before resting at a stop against a building. His eyes doing barrel rolls in their sockets as his whole body went numb. A good thing when Slade began to kick him in the stomach. "Worthless... coward.... Where the hell were you when a dragon was attacking?!" Slade shouted over the splats of him kicking in Armin's ribs. A single blow for every syllable delivered. Armin gave no reply. Only cries of agony from the severe beating he received at the hands of Deathstroke. The only thing that stopped was the heavy hand that found itself on Slade's shoulder. "Stop." Steve said firmly, his eyes as dangerous as the word. "Or what?" Slade asked. He was given no answer, but he stopped nevertheless. Whether or not he wanted to was easily answered. "Doctor... I think he's..." "He's fine. It's just a few bruises that vill go away." Medic said. "Now let's see here... I fink here is my saw." "What's he.... oh... oh my..." Sanya said as she looked away. Blood and gore flied in all directions as medic began to dissect the beast, removing bits and pieces of flesh, scales, organs, bones etc and placing them in jars which he seemed to have gotten straight out of nowhere. "It's for mein research." Medic said almost a bit too cheerfully as he filled a few containers with blood, much to the disgust of everyone. "Now ven... if you excuse me... we'll..." "By Celestia!" A pony cried. "What happened here?!" A crowd had gathered. Great. Just great. "Well. A dragon came and attacked this town. And we killed it." Slade replied as he wiped blood off his sword. "Are you all going to stand there gawking or are you going to help move this corpse? It weighs about 12 tons you know." Gawking. Just gawking. And one comment. Well not really a comment but more like a deranged hiss. "Handsssss......" "A dragon attacked ponyville?" Princess Celestia asked as she stood with Luna whilst the guard delivered his message. "It is your highnesses. A dragon had attacked ponyville. No pony was injured within the attack, but there has been a lot of property damage." "The important thing was that no pony got hurt." Celestia said. But what about "nobody?" "Well... you see... it was the um... the humans... they stopped the dragon." The guard said, almost as though he had read what had happened in the tabloids and not first-hand witnessed it. "I see... and I presume this beast has been... well..." "Murdered. Yes." The guard said. "And that concludes my report." "Very well." Luna said as she stepped into deep thought. "Dismissed. The guard gave a bow and left the throne room. "What is it Luna?" Celestia asked her sister who seemed to be... troubled. "Are you really sure these humans are up to it?" She asked. "You have doubts of their methods?" "Not their methods sister. For we know Feynaltdrog is far worse. But I have doubts that they can... well... truly overcome the dragon king." "Where do your doubts stem from? The humans slew the dragon with little difficulty from what the reports say." "That may be true. But this is a single dragon and the second battle. They won the battle, but can they win the war?" Luna asked as her horn glowed and her eyes flashed bright white. "Speak your mind." "I looked, and currently am still looking in their minds. These humans... well..." "I can tell you right now. That boy is worthless." Slade spat out as he walked ahead of everyone else with Cap. "Can you blame him? It was a goddamn dragon we were facing. What we supposed to do huh? Rush in there and die? It's not like he has fire-proof armor or some techno-shield thing." "No. He could have at least struck when there was an opening. Do you know what he did the whole time? He hid behind a rock! What the hell?! A rock! Do you see what Medic was doing? Busy saving your ass. Do you know what Jim was doing? Throwing himself on top of a goddamn explosive so the thing wouldn't spit it right out back at us! Do you know what Sanya was doing? Covering for my act. Do you know what you and I were doing? Something useful! Do you know what he was doing?! NOTHING. nothing." Slade said as rage swam with his blood vessels. "And how can you blame him? How is he supposed to fight a dragon? Do you think he has the strength of ten men? Does he look like someone who would survive a hit you can just shrug off like someone was throwing ping pong balls at you? Do you think he's wearing some kind of fire proof armor or has some kind of shield to save him from getting cooked alive?!" "Last I checked. Sanya's shield wouldn't have saved her, but she still was willing to do what needed to be done." "Let me guess. You told her to get it's attention." "I did." "And that's my problem right here." Cap said throwing up his hands. "You blame Armin for not doing anything but at the same time, you're willing to send people senselessly to their deaths if it so much as suited your needs? Right?" "No. Because she was fine. Armin would have been too. And it's not like I asked him to do anything, it's that, that coward did nothing but hide the entire time." "And what do you do? You ask a young girl to go take the heat for you while you go off wanting to be the hero?" "Hero? I am not a hero. Neither are you especially when we are all doing it so we can get out this goddamn Saturday morning cartoon." Slade retorted. "I am only a loner that's out for himself. As of this moment, you are out for yourself. You're deluded Captain. You think these people really care about this place? They just want to go home. They have more important things to do then saving some world from a bedtime story." "You really are out for yourself in this world aren't you? No. It was like that from the start wasn't it? You even told us all. You destroyed your own family. Your oldest son is dead because of you. Your two other children are permanently scarred because of you, and your wife left you because you wouldn't be man enough to do what it took to protect your own children. You consider yourself a soldier, Slade? You consider yourself a man? A real man would have took the heat by himself, he would have made the sacrifice. You? You're just a monster that feeds off of the sufferings of others. You kill for a living and you don't care who gets in your way or who it might be. They may not be the best of people, but you kill fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters and friends for nothing more so you can get a paycheck. What are you?" "What am I? I am a project from a medical experiment they told me that make me immune to truth serum. They didn't tell me the other parts of course. Right now, I am a mercenary who's just picked up a contract to go kill a dragon. What are you captain? A hero? No. Of course not. You're just a glorified tool that the government uses to bludgeon it's opponents into submission. I could never stand being used like that. But you? You can. You are blind Captain. Blinded by your morals and codes of "honor"." "Just like you are blinded. Blinded by yourself." Steve retorted. "You think Armin is a coward? When have you ever had to face your fears? You look down on him like he's worthless, like he's a ball and chain." "Because he is. He's a weak boy that needs to grow up and be a man." "Do you know what it's like to be weak, Slade? I was once like him. I had almost every medical condition that made it impossible for me to fight in a war. The experiment changed me into something like you. But I bet you were always the neighborhood bully who beat up the poor kid in the alleyway for his lunch money weren't you? And when they made you into something else, you continued being that bully you still are. You are not a man Slade. You are only a monster." "They've been at it for a long time." Raynor commented as the sounds of arguing and raised voices reached them. "What do you think they're talking about?" "I don't really fink I vant to know." Medic replied. "Herr Arlert, are you okay now?" "Yes... thank you, doctor." Armin replied. The beating he had received from Slade... he felt like he had broken all his ribs in just a few blows. As a matter of fact, the first time he was hit by him, he had lost nearly all his upper teeth. "Just whatever they're arguing about... maybe we should do something..." Sanya said as she walked up. Raynor only shrugged for a moment before following her. Canterlot libraryThe late train happened to have been a freight train, which meant that the only available places to stay were on the boxcars. As usual, Sanya made no objection towards the engineer or the conductor when informed of this, only telling them that she just needed to go to Cnaterlot. Rather reluctantly, the two ponies allowed her on, not because of the fact that she was well... a strange creature by Equestrian standards but rather, for reasons like it'd be better for her to get some rest and wait till morning where they'll actually have passenger trains running. And here Sanya was, sitting within the boxcar, the cold air reminding her of home in Orussia, a small town near Stalingrado with it's cold winters which were legendary within all of Europe. She was alone. Something she found herself on almost every cold night back at home. Home. How she missed it. That isn't to say she didn't like Equestria. Only being here for about 2 days, she could easily say to herself that she loved the place. Maybe it had something to do with the fact it was full of colorful horses, maybe because the weather was so nice, or maybe because it was just so peaceful, so joy-filled here. Or just all of the above. There was life everywhere, even in seemingly inanimate objects. On this cold night. She was alone. That hardly bothered her as memories of her home with her parents began to flood her mind. She sung a small tune to herself, dedicated to her by her father. "Sweet song kid." Slade said as he dropped down from out of nowhere to the boxcar right besides Sanya. "Nice view up here." "How...?" "You got your magic. I got mine." Slade replied as he scanned the surrounding area. "ETA 8 minutes. So kid... what was that song anyways?" "What? Oh. It was a song my father wrote for me. He is a musician you see..." "He must be a great man. And a great song writer for that matter." Slade said partially to himself. "Thank you. I miss my parents, and I hope one day, after the war is over, I can find them once again... Slade... do you ever miss your family?" Did he now? His wife who was currently insane and had shot him in the eye. Grant, who though had idolized his father, but in the end destroyed himself. His other son Jericho, hadn't spoken to him for ages over rather obvious reasons, fought on the opposite side. The better side, as some would say. And of course, Rose, which... He stopped thinking about that part. He didn't want to anymore after all these years. It was just another ball and chain that would drag him down like this thing that people called a conscience. It only got in the way. "Slade?" "Yeah? Oh right. Well... I miss my family. Sometimes... we're here." "Well. Looks like this joint is open 24/7." Slade commented as he saw that the library lights were on. "Now that's finally something that's going our way." They'd never actually been in the Canterlot library before. So the two didn't exactly know what to expect. To describe the experience a bit, the library itself can be described as the Library of Congress in the US, only with somewhat more of a "cartoonish" and bright feel to the whole place. The only thing missing was the abundance of people which could be expected because A, there aren't any PEOPLE in Equestria and B it's like 1:00 AM. "How do you know?" Sanya asked as she peeked around. "I read the sign outside. Open 24 hours a day." Slade said as he approached the counter. With no one there, much to his annoyance. He rung the bell once. And.... no one. Even after about four times. Sanya shrugged to herself as she listen to Slade muttering something about "worst library service ever". Taking a look around, it would take time to find the "ancient history" and "foreign language" sections or anything along the lines of getting a decent grip of what Ancient Dragon was. "So... where do you think the horses keep their things about ancient dragon languages?" Slade asked to himself as he took a look around. "And where is a librarian or even just anyone who works here when you need them?" It just so happened to be convenient that right as he turned the corner, he almost walked straight into a pony that was dressed as what could be described as how you'd expect a librarian to be dressed. Well... I guess the ID card was really what gave one the assumption. "Oh finally. I rang that bell like eight times and no one showed up. So anyways, can you show me the section to where I can get a grip on what ancient dragon is?" "I am sorry..." The pony said. "Exactly who or what are you?" "I am the "monster" that everyone or every horse in this case has been talking about in town. The one which broke into the castle and showed to the world that your "royal guard" has no business defending anything. Now then, get me..." "Slade... please." Sanya began. "We're looking for a book on ancient dragon... language? I think... but anyways, if you can find us anything on it, we'd be very grateful." "Oh right... you're a human right?" The librarian asked as she stood up. "Oh right... yeah... right this way..." They walked through the almost maze like foundation, taking a few looks around at the fine work of art. "And then... this is the..." Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Something caught Slade's eye. Was it the janitor's closet? He didn't know. But it looked like some kind of door which had a small room. Either a bathroom or a closet. But that wasn't what was interesting to him. It was the small, almost negligible pool of black liquid. Taking the moment, he went over and knelt besides it, scrutinizing what it was. Definitely a type of bodily fluid. Did the janitor forget to do his job or what? Just for the heck of it, he activated his tactical vision. That's when he saw the unconscious equines within the closet. Turning around, he picked up several more living things around him. Unconscious and active. A closer scrutiny revealed that there may be more than one type of... creature that was within this building. They happened to have taken up the majority of the active bodies within the library. He looked back to Sanya who was speaking with the librarian. Something was wrong. Walking over, he hoped that Orussia's language was still the same as Russian. "Саня, нечто неправильно здесь." An eyebrow went up from the young girl as she stopped speaking with the librarian. "Что не так? И мы можем использовать английский." Thank god. "Нет времени, чтобы объяснить. Существует что-то очень не так. Я знаю это, и вы должны доверять мне. Будьте готовы ко всему." The librarian could only squint at them as she or in this case, it wondered what they were saying and then continued with them. "C'mon, it's just down this way. Through the door." Definitely an ambush. Slade made sure to keep his distance from the librarian as his hands began to stray towards his pistol and swords. Deathstroke Deathstroke The big doors were open, as were Slade's eye as amazement crept it's way into him. The library looked even bigger now that they were on the inside. But this would be no time to be admiring any forms of architectural achievement as he scanned the area with his tactical vision. At least 24 active equine-like lifeforms, but something about them was... not quite the same as the ponies he had met. "And it's done right there." The librarian said, smiling sweetly. The smile resembled more of how an alligator might grin when finding a sitting duck. Turning around, she disappeared behind the doors. Click. "That was lock." Slade hissed into Sanya's ear. "So... what happens then?" "They might try to gas us..." Slade said as he looked around for any potential signs. "If that happens..." "We're dead?" "Just you." Slade replied as he scanned for... Footsteps. "There's something here." Sanya said. " Slade said nothing as he continued to look around as all of a sudden, he began to behave with an eerie air of casualness which boded poorly with Sanya. Perhaps it was just how he literally plopped up a chair and sat down in it and began to act like nothing was about to happen. "Slade?" "Yeah what kid?" "Shouldn't we be..." "Yes... I was getting to that part." Slade replied as he pointed his gun upwards and pulled the trigger. The sound of metal hitting wet meat filled the room as a black body dropped down. "You're pretty awful at this." Slade commented as he picked up the injured changeling by the neck. His bullet had actually severed off one of it's limbs, not surprisingly due to the small size of the creature. Taking the moment, he scrutinized the creature he held in his hand. Looked like a horse, save for the somewhat insectoid features and buggy like blue eyes. It's appearance could be somewhat described as what you'd expect out of a little kid's nightmare. Joke for another time. "There's...more...of...us..." The changeling gasped as a thick, black liquid spilled out of it's mouth and injury. It gave a small gesture of fear as Slade tightened it's grip upon it's neck. The loud snap echoed throughout the massive room. The sounds of several insect like cries and buzzing filled the room after the snap as dozens of changelings appeared out of the shadows, ready to strike at any time. "What do we do?" Sanya asked as she looked at Slade who had put away his gun. "Be sporting." He replied as he charged headlong into the largest group of changelings much to Sanya's dismay. Said dismay vanished almost instantly when the resulting "fight" if you could even call it that, turned out a bit like this. There would be no time to really spectate exactly how much of a beatdown the world's greatest assassin could lay down on anyone however, as a changeling jumped straight on her, it's fangs bared, like a dog ready to maul a smaller animal. Of course, by default, the average human was stronger than your average changeling. But couple that with the enhanced strength of the witch, Sanya hardly put any effort in the small, almost gentle push she gave, which sent the changeling flying several feet, crashing into more of it's comrades. Raising her fist, she sent a blow straight into another changeling, knocking out two of it's fangs, and it's living daylights. Getting up, she readied herself for more, only to find that Slade was in process of turning every remaining changeling inside out, some figuratively, and for the not-so-fortunate, very literally. "Thanks for helping." Slade muttered audibly as he stomped his foot upon a fallen changeling's neck, killing it instantly. "These things are pretty fragile.... Sanya... behind you." There really was no need as the large monster made quite the racket. It was just like the other changelings, only except it was about the size of a truck, had massive flailing tentacles and was drooling I-don't-even-want-to-know-or-describe what all over the floor. The massive creature gave a loud roar that woke the entire city before it rushed at Sanya, it's massive tentacles that protruded from it's back threatening to crush her. Sanya hardly had time to raise her shield, but it was just enough to stop getting crushed beneath the tendrils that slapped down, which would have easily done more than just leave a permanent mark. Enhanced strength was one thing. Enhanced durability was another. While the shield would probably stop Sanya's brains from going anywhere they didn't belong, a long tentacle snaked out and wrapped her by the legs, knocking her off balance, pulling her towards the changeling as it readied it's teeth. Acting quickly, Sanya quickly reached out and got herself a stool and smashed it against her foe's face, stunning it temporarily. There was an angry hum. No one even saw it, except for maybe Slade as his sword buried itself within the changeling's throat. Surprisingly, it continued to function for the time being. For the time being. Moving forward at blurring speeds, Slade readied his other sword, intent on decapitating the monster. A long tentacle lashed out, hitting him across the face. The same blow could have easily incapacitated most fit humans in their prime, all Slade felt was a moment's worth of daze and a whole lot of irritation. Irritation over the fact he had sloppily dropped his sword as though he was an amateur assassin. But perhaps there would be a way to turn this around, the blade was still in the changeling's neck area. Running forward, he punched the changeling in the face, causing it to stagger and walk backwards. Readying his feet, he stomped the hilt of the blade, hoping that his plan would work. It couldn't of actually been better as he drove the blade deeper into the changeling's throat. It was now when the monster began to make choking noises as it began to drown within it's own blood. Retrieving his fallen blade, Slade swung it straight at the changeling's neck, decapitating the creature and retrieving his other sword in the process. This entire process took about 9 seconds to execute. "Quit gawking kid." Slade replied. "If you want to make yourself useful, there's actually a bunch of unconscious horses locked in a few of these closets. Let them out, and then let's get our guide." Sanya nodded as she quickly cleared the area, leaving Slade to rub the small sting he had in his face. Stars and stripes vs Rainbows Stars and stripes vs Rainbows "And... you want to know why I am pissed me off?" Slade asked rhetorically as he took another drink. "They didn't have the book." "Well... I was wondering why you were angry as a hornet's nest." Raynor replied as he poured another one for Slade. He had been in a rather... angry mood to put it lightly for the entire morning, only calming down slightly when he had a cup of coffee and a drink after that. "By the way... where's Sanya?" "Still sleeping. By still sleeping, I mean "just went to bed an hour ago". She's nocturnal." "Well, regardless, we're all going to lose quite some sleep over this job." Raynor replied as he took a cup of coffee. "By the way, where's Captain Star Spangles?" "He left with Armin before you woke up. Must have been tiring for you though." "It's not. I never really get too much sleep anymore, not that it would matter to me as long as I get a good cup of coffee in the morning." "Well... regardless, the Captain's off doing something with Armin. He mentioned something about how they had some work to do in town." "Well then, that's very nice of him." Slade said as he chuckled to himself. "What is it?" "Nothing. Nothing." On most early mornings in ponyville, if Rainbow Dash wasn't up in the skies on weather duty, then she would be down on the ground within the ponyville track which was her common turf for practicing. With her wings, she was legendary. With her feet, she was unmatched save for the fleetest of all ponies on their hooves. Today, would be no different. She practiced a few laps, kicked up a ton of dust on the track, and received much awe from her any onlookers at one of the fastest pegasi in Equestria. However, while today wasn't planned to be different, it inevitably turned out unexpectedly as when she had arrived on the track. There were two strange new, residents in town. One of them wore a tanish coat with two wings upon it's back, while the other wore a blue uniform, engraved with a white star upon the chest piece. Rarity probably endorsed both articles of clothing. The one with the tanish coat happened to have been on the track, sweating and blowing as though he'd been running for days without end, while the one in the blue uniform stood by the sidelines and sipped a cup of coffee. Occasionally, he would yell out a few words, either encouragement or criticism depending on the occasion. Frankly, it should be all criticism. This guy? He moved slower than a tortoise.. sorry Tank. Naturally, now would be the time to showboat. Armin stopped to rest for a moment as his legs began to feel they were encased in a type of hot ice. For the entire morning, he had done nothing but run and now, after nearly an hour of non-stop running, he was at his brink. He felt like he would get a heart attack at this rate. Looking back, he saw the stern look from Steve that told him to keep going on. He could only nod weakly in reply as he began to move again, only this time to be outrun by a bright colorful blur that would be the pony called Rainbow Dash. "See ya!" Rainbow called out mischievously as she left Armin in a cloud of dust. Said scenario would repeat for about two times as Armin found himself too tired to actually attempt to catch up, all the while this newcomer kept lapping him, much to his heavy embarrassment. "Keep going..." Steve said as he walked to Armin on the track. "Did I say you should stop? Ke..." "What's the difference?!" Rainbow called out impudently as she chuckled to herself, lapping Armin once again much to the boy's humiliation. "You keep moving kid." Steve said. "C'mon, you can do it." "No... I can't..." Armin said as he almost collapsed from exhaustion. "What Slade said wasn't entirely..." "What Slade says is bullshit." Cap replied curtly. "He's just out there to get under your skin and make you feel bad. And what for? Just getting a laugh." "Well... it's not a joke. Not this time. I can't do any..." "I don't want to hear it kid... listen... we will make something out of..." "You should probably start by teaching him how to run!" Rainbow Dash called out again as she began to ran by. "I can't even tell if he's moving!" "And what do you know about running?" Rogers asked. "Running? What don't I know about running?!" Rainbow Dash retorted, noting the large crowd that was gathering around them. "Oh...?" Steve asked as he noticed the same crowd. "How about a race?" He got the reaction he wanted as he began to hear the hushed whispers and murmurings amongst the crowd. Looks like this cyan pony was a bit of a hotshot here in ponyville. (That's still the worst name for a town ever.) "You are on!" Rainbow Dash said. "Good. Just on the ground." "Oh I know! It wouldn't be fair if I used my wings." Dash replied. "On your marks... get set... go!" The wind was pleasant when it began. A gentle breeze that blew hard enough to be felt, but just gentle enough to be refreshing. To Rainbow Dash however, none of this mattered as she gave her best. The race would be 36 laps alongside the track, roughly equating to 9 miles. This would be easy. And to her, it seemed so. At the 8 minute mark. Dash was ahead by a hefty amount. 17 to 12. She would humiliate this guy and show him how a you actually got to run. As time dragged on however, perhaps it wouldn't be so easy. At the 15 minute mark, the margin had begun to close. 25 to 23. Towards the end of the race. Rainbow Dash's tongue hung out from her mouth like a flag on it's pole as weariness began to overtake her. Rogers however, kept going strong, almost as though he wasn't tired. It would later occur to every pony that he wasn't in the slightest. And there it was, at the 21 minute mark, the outcome of the race was easily decided by 35 to 29. In just 6 minutes, it Rogers had ran about 2 miles without as much as broken sweat. In a heartbeat, 35 became 36. He had won. The crowd was shocked, as was Armin and Rainbow Dash. "I... I lost..." Rainbow Dash commented as she breathed deeply, greedily sucking in all the air in Equestria. "Of course you did." Rogers said as he grabbed his canteen of water and took a small sip. "Not a bad race horse. I might bet on you the next time there's race around these parts." "Very funny." Rainbow Dash panted. "How?" "How? Years of training and runner's discipline." Steve said. "Learn something Armin." "But you don't even get tired! How would..." "I know that. That's why I wasn't trying." Jaws dropped at that comment. This newcomer? Beaten the resident runner sorely. And to top it all off? He wasn't trying. This got quite the attention. From the press too. "Okay Armin... maybe we should try to practice somewhere else...." Rogers said as he tried to get away from all the ponies that were crowding him. "Yeah..." Armin replied. "C'mon Steve... Jim said he would need help." One of Cap's friends might be flattered One of Cap's friends might be flattered "How was it?" Raynor asked Cap as he came back with Armin who looked like he had just spent a few years running nonstop. "It wasn't bad..." Steve said slowly. Hell, in less that 20 minutes, he covered more ground while he wasn't trying than Armin did in the entire morning. They really had a lot to work on. "Well, that's nice to hear." Jim replied. "You see here? So the Cerestia... Celestia? I dunno. Anyways, so one of the rulers here gave me this here dossier on what we're dealing with. A bit more specific anyways... but disclaimer, they're not TOO accurate." The massive book itself looked like it could be used as bludgeoning tool as Jim had to go grab a table and set it down. The large piece of text was too heavy even for a big guy in his prime. The subject of this huge book that probably weighed enough to beat someone to death with? Dragons. "Alright. So reading from this, I can tell you that the average dragon is about 4 meters tall and 8 meters wide. That's a full body length by the way. But I don't think size actually matters in this case when we finish my um... new toy." Jim said as he gestured at a MASSIVE hole that had been dug in the ground. Courtesy of several high yield "controlled" explosions. "But you see, I think Sanya mentioned it earlier, when dragons breathe fire, they aren't actually breathing fire. They're talking fire." "Can you explain that a bit more in detail?" Cap asked. "Now, this ain't consistent with all dragons, but the ancient dragon language was actually made by Feynaltdrog. So the guy's been around for a pretty damn long time. The story is that he was skilled with magic and being a dragon so managed to put those two together creating an entire language in the process. What happens is that to breath fire, dragons have to say words, along with anything that's magic related on their end. God... this sounds like I am reading a fantasy story book." "It probably is considering the fact we're in a Saturday morning cartoon." Slade commented. "But continue." "So the dragon language is pretty damn complex, and we being mere human cannot learn it. Even if we learn the words, there's no way we can learn the magic behind it. Actually, from anyone's understanding, only dragons can actually learn this language to it's full potential. We can understand it, read it, speak in it and all that, but if I said the words "Yol, toor, shul." I wouldn't be burning anyone alive." "Okay. But enough of that, I want to know about the dragons. Weaknesses we can exploit, the things we need to be aware of." Slade said impatiently. "Then straight to the point. Most dragons are huge as we can tell and are pretty big badasses. They're weaknesses involve magic, something we don't have except in Sanya's case and a whole lot of firepower, which we all have." "Really? Is that the best way?" "Yeah... their scales are armored enough to stop bullets. Your bullets at least." "Just the regular kind." Slade replied. "I do have some alternatives." "Alright then. So I suppose we'll need a ton of explosions to kill a dragon?" Rogers asked. "Not a ton? I think two rockets from that rocket launcher Sanya carries around would rip a dragon in two. But there are some larger variants but nothing that's to big for us to handle. Now, the doctor is going to want this so have a look at it." [1 hour later.] "Archimedes 2! Stop turning ze page! I have to read ze book you know!" Medic cried irritated as he tried to make head and toe of the book. "Ooooh... interesting..." "Is everything okay doctor?" Sanya asked as she glanced over his shoulder. "It's fascinating! I have been in ze wrong profession! I need magic! Tons and tons of magic!" "May I ask why?" "Because... as a man of science... I cannot vaste zis opportunity to improve my machines! Ze medi-gun! Vat could it do vith a little... upgrade?" "So...." "Gah... I vill get it myself though. Zere is a tree not far from here und a zebra... or somefing lives zere. I vill pay her a visit to learn more..." No comment. But whatever he was planning, hopefully "learning more" didn't equate to any bloody messes. Speaking of bloody messes. "28 changelings. Dead, every single one of them received fatal blows that have either shattered their skulls and various bones within their bodies." The doctor said giving an autopsy. "And let me guess..." Twilight frowned. "It's the human called "Slade Wilson" that's behind this?" "They don't call him Deathstroke for no reason." Spike said jokingly, receiving a death glare from Twilight. "Spike, it's not funny." "I know, I know. But the guy is so awesome! He beat up 28 changelings with his bare hands!" "Well. Actually 26." The doctor said as the guards continued to clean up the mess. "26 of them were murdered by him, while one of them died from being thrown against a wall. Due to some... residue... of magic, we can infer it was Litvyak who killed it. Another changeling, a larger variant was killed via decapitation. We bagged the body already however." "By Celestia..." "Look on the bright side, he saved 13 ponies working at the library." Spike said. "They guy can't be all that bad!" "No. He didn't." Luna said as she came out of nowhere, causing Spike to jump. "Sanya did, I was watching. Spike... Slade Wilson is called Deathstroke on his world because he is the most expert assassin and murderer there. He is a killer Spike, not a role model, and definitely not a hero." "Then... why did we bring him over?" "As much as we hate to say this, sometimes, we have to get our hooves dirty. At least Wilson is willing to do that." "So... you want minerals? More minerals?" Slade asked as Raynor came back from storage with a peculiar looking machine. "Yeah. I need a ton. And by a ton, I mean like 40 tons." Raynor replied. "Take that statement literally." "Why so much?" "It'll be quite the BIG surprise." Raynor grinned as he got to work. "It's going to take weeks to finish actually, because we lack the true facilities to build what I am planning. Now, I heard there's this thing called the Rainbow Fall's exchange or something... I dunno. We got a ton of spare parts, so can you please try and get me some minerals?" "Yeah sure. I take it you're building a machine of some kind?" "I am. I am probably going to need a fuel source as well but we'll worry about that later. Right now I need the minerals." "I'll see what I can get you... hey kid. You up now?" Slade asked as Sanya emerged to take a look at the massive hole which Raynor was going in. "What's he doing?" Sanya asked curiously as she watched Raynor descend into the hole with his SCV. "He's building something and he wants me to go and buy some parts for him... I guess I'll do it. I got nothing better to do." "What about trying to get a translator?" Sanya asked. "Don't we still need it after we were listening to..." "Yeah... I'll take a train or something tomorrow. The only other place is like a few days worth of walking." Slade replied as he grabbed the spare parts and threw them into the van. "Jim?" Sanya asked over the din of an SCV beginning to make it's construction. "Yeah what kid?" Raynor asked as he stopped for a moment. "I was wondering... can we get a piano?" "A piano? I guess it wouldn't hurt.. sure. Go with Slade." "Alright then." Sanya said as she walked over to Slade to tell her of her want for a keyboard. The man frowned for a moment, but stopped when Sanya gave him this look. "Alright kid. Let's grab a piano." Slade said as his mouth gave a hint of a grin. "Just play me a piece when we get it, okay?" "Okay. I promise." "Very well then." Slade said. "So... piano, and 40 tons of minerals." He looked back for the moment at all the things he had. A single duffel bag containing about 400,000 dollars, a few hundred pounds of spare parts, and a silver haired girl giving him a pair of puppy eyes that really bothered him more than it should have. Author's Note There is absolutely no foreshadowing in the chapter's name. Rainbow Falls Rainbow Falls "You want to make yourself better? Give me your 110% Armin." Rogers said calmly yet firmly as he watched Armin wear himself out from doing pull-ups. "Four." "Sorry..." Armin mumbled. "I just can't do it..." "You can do it. I survived getting needles stuck in my that were the size of bayonets. You sure as hell can do twenty pull-ups." "But you don't even feel it! They go in you and you'd probably pull them out!" "This was when I had asthma by the way and weighed about 100 pounds." Rogers replied. "Now are you going to do the pull-ups or we are going to get old waiting?" Armin sighed to himself as he got on the bar again. After lunch, the captain had done nothing that drive him like an animal. The training he had done at his final days within the boot camp were slowly coming back to him as he recalled the running and all the form of physical tests he and all the other trainees were put through. The only difference here was that Rogers had yet to put him through any form of combat training. This bothered him enough to where he would ask. "Combat training? First I teach you how to hold a rifle the right way, then we'll see how well you hit the target. Judging by the nature of our enemies, chances are you won't need to aim. I just need to know that when the recoil strikes you, you're prepared for it." "Captain... when we finish... will I truly be stronger?" "If some skinny girl that's thirteen can hold up a rocket launcher and fire it without as much as feeling the recoil, you sure as hell can too." There would be some truth in this statement. Armin was slightly more well-built that Sanya, though only marginally. Whether or not this made a difference, Cap already knew. Whether or not Armin knew it would make a difference, he did not know. It was going to stay that way for a long time as the two would continue their training sessions. "By the way... Captain... when you outran that pony... what were you trying to prove?" "I was trying to prove you shouldn't be discouraged." "How so? All you did show to the world was how much better you were than everyone else... and how much better you were than me." "No... I was once like you. Every aspect. I had asthma, weighed 100 pounds and couldn't fight to save my life. The only thing I had was this thing..." Cap said as sat down. "It's called heart. Heart can drive you to great distances. Great distances. It drove me to lift 1 ton when I had been shot. It drove me to survive a plane crash that would have killed a man three times over and survive encased in ice for over 70 years. That is heart Armin. And I only ask you to do the same for yourself. Because heart is something I cannot give to you or anyone. When I beat that horse? I didn't try because there was no need to. I am here to show you that you can accomplish what I have, not to show to the world how much better I am. Even without any form of super-soldier serum or experiments, Armin, I can promise you that you will go far. Very far." "And we're here..." Slade mumbled as he took a look around. Prudently, he had decided to wear his regular clothes, and by regular clothes, I mean a few layers of Kevlar without the metal bits in the armor. This may have made a difference in how much intimidation he demanded silently, only if he hadn't decided to come with a pistol in it's holster and a sword over his shoulder. Sanya, not surprisingly, decided NOT to bring a rocket launcher that weighed about 70 pounds even without the rockets. Just the gloves, which did stand her out from Slade when we considered most humans didn't exactly have cat ears growing out of their heads or cat tails coming out of their waists. "Well... this reminds me of... turkey." "You've been to turkey?" Sanya asked. "How is it? Is it really warm as they say it..." "Yes. And yes. Quite warm. Rather crowded in the bazaars however... reminds me sorta like this... except you bazaar didn't have rainbow colored falls...." Or talking horses. Or mythical creatures for sale as pets. Or gems the size of someone's head. The list went on. "Hey look! It's you!" A REALLY loud scream came from the mouth of a jumpy, pink pony with a mane that resembled somewhat like a balloon that a clown had it's hands on. As in the good type of clowns, not the one who went took a dip in acid. It took all the self-control and restraint Slade had ever mustered in under the span of two seconds not to murder this new creature by either breaking her or her neck in half when she practically jumped on top of him. Naturally, he wanted to berate her so hard till his mouth grew tired, but something told him it wouldn't work this time. Instead, he didn't speak. Just gave her the cold silence that he commonly gave to anyone who was overly friendly with him. "OH MY GOD.... YOU REALLY DO HAVE HANDS.... AND FEET! OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH!" "Thank you?" Sanya asked a bit nervously. "AND YOU CAN TALK! THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!" "Yes. Of course we can talk." Slade murmured as he rolled his good eye. He took two steps back to go grab some materials from the van before the pink blur showed up in front of him to babble incomprehensibly. Normally, he would have shoved the offender aside or more likely, thrown her aside but this time, any annoyance or impatience that normally would have gripped just wasn't there. What just happened, he didn't even see her move. He just turned his head and she was there. Had he not been so irritated and on a short fuse for the day, he may have smiled, or even laughed at the prospect. That was his trick. HE was the one supposed to be making people's head spin. Not the other way around. Nevertheless, his temper would soon be getting the better of him. "Go away." Slade said coldly as he grabbed some bits of steel. "Go away?! After we just met?! We are going to be the BEST of all friends!" Now it took all the self control and restraint not to club her senseless alongside the dirt road. Also took Sanya tugging on his sleeve to move on and have his attention drawn away so he wouldn't be tempted. Showing more patience than he would normally allow, he ignored Pinkie Pie's senseless yammering. "Do they take Liberion currency here?" "Well, it's USA currency from where I come from." Slade replied. "Who knows, maybe someone might have use for benja..." What was that sound? It sounded analogous to a fire engine or an air raid siren in terms of pitch and annoying. Looking up would reveal a mint colored unicorn with a smile that would probably give Tosh another weeks worth of nightmares. Alongside her was a beige colored earth pony with a look of minor disapproval towards her fellow pony. "Hands....." "Excuse me?" Sanya asked. "Did you just so something about..." "Hands...." "My... hands?" Sanya asked as she scratched her head in confusion. She turned around to where Slade was to shoot him the "I dunno what to do look" only to find that he had pulled another one of his old tricks and left her to contend with this joker. "They're real..." Lyra hissed. A rope of drool dripped form her mouth as her tongue hung out like a dog's. "So... can I help you?" "What's in that bag?!" Lyra asked with such energy that Pinkie Pie may have had a run for her money. "Libe... I mean US currency. It's..." "Oh... oh... it's one of the nations in your world right?!" "Umm... yeah..." Sanya said. Will, Slade's world, but at this point, it didn't matter. "Listen... I'll be right back!" Lyra said as she sped off with speeds that'd give Rainbow Dash a run for her money. Bon Bon only shook her head. "I am terribly sorry for bothering you." Bon Bon apologized. "She's... a bit obsessed." "With what? Hands?" "No. Humans. Lifelong obsession. Always said they existed. Turns out she was right." "So where's so going?" "Off to collect a few from..." The massive sack of bits was thrown with such force upon the table, that it almost broke in half. "Is... ha...is...this...ha...good?" Lyra asked as she gestured from the bulging sack of gold coins to the duffel bag of cash. "Umm... sure." Sanya replied as she took a look around for Slade. He wasn't anywhere in sight, but hopefully, he would be pleased with the massive amount of money that they had just seemingly got out of thin air. Well, it would cost Slade about 400,000 dollars, but hopefully he wouldn't need that. Rummaging through her pockets, Sanya would find two things of varying value. A photo of her parents, and a few kopecks. Rainbow Falls part 2 Rainbow Falls part 2 "Good work." Steve commented as he saw Armin finally do the twentieth pull-up, though he had taken a few breaks in between, the captain was satisfied in the end when all things considered. "Thank you..." Armin breathed as he sat down and reached for a canteen of water, knowing in the back of his head that this break he was getting probably wouldn't last. "Good job anyways, but we'll have more work ahead of us. Now I see that you got these..." Cap said as he handed Armin his blades. "Whatever this steel is, it's pretty good." "Thanks. We made these to kill giants." "In that case, then they might just be able to be useful." Cap replied. "Wait a second, you're not going to have me using swords to fight dragons are you?" "I totally am. That steel is debatably good enough to cut through their scales. I can teach you how to handle yourself close up, but if you want training with the usage of your swords, you know there's only one person you can actually go to." "So... how do we start? Or how are we going to train?" "Well, Sanya and Raynor can take a dragon head on. We on the other hand, don't have fire-proof suits of armor or magical shields that we can just project out of thin air. So... we'll have to hit the thing when it's attention is drawn elsewhere..." "So... just hit it when it's not looking?" "It goes to more than that. While any idiot can probably sneak up on a dragon and stab it in the neck when it's distracted by a rockets and machine gun fire, not every idiot can do it while it's alert and ready for anything. Something tells me that task will actually be pretty difficult. Difficult but not impossible. So that's why I am going to start with the easy things, follow me, the Everfree awaits." "I fink this is ze place?" Medic asked Archimedes... well one of them at least as he looked at the hollowed out tree in front of him. The lights were on, so he could probably make a safe assumption that someone was home. Gingerly, he knocked on the door. After a rather tense pause that shouldn't have been so tense the door's peephole opened revealing a single eye that stared out at Medic. "Is something there, that Zecora hears?" A somewhat African-esque accented voice replied. "Umm... ja." Medic replied awkwardly. "Mein name is Medic, and I vas told that you are a.... vell... chemist of sorts, ja?" "An alchemist and a brewer is what I do. In this case, what about you?" "Vell... I am a doctor." Medic said. "I vould like to find some more vays of... medicine." "Very well then friend. May you come on in, and your search come to an end." The interior of the hut despite having the appearance of a witchdoctor's home as in the movies, was actually unsurprising to the German who had at this point and time, being a man of science, had readied himself not to be surprised by anything. It was already pretty surprising enough when he found himself in a land of talking colorful ponies. "Zis is your home?" Medic asked. He didn't know how to describe it to be honest. Though... something about it always felt oddly familiar to him. Heh. Might as well as say he could imagine himself sitting over a massive pot in the middle of a room to brew some form of... oh wait. "It is my abode. It is also where I keep my load." "I see... ja... vell I heard zat you had a talent for vell.. brewing medicine and potions, so I thought to seek some help for you." "What would you need? Speak, and I can give you a lead." That rhyming was getting PRETTY annoying, though the German doctor made no indication of it. "Now zen, I vould need some... knowledge of all ze plants and animals in ze local area. I need to know of zeir chemical properties as well as any medicinal value." "Well then friend, then your search is at an end. Come with me, and we can take a look at all that you see." "I am back. Is she gone now?" Slade asked as he appeared out of nowhere. He really needed to stop doing that. "She is... she gave us this..." Sanya said gesturing at the huge sack of bits. "For the money...." "Alright." Slade said with surprising calmness that surprised Sanya to a great degree. "Wait... you don't care?" "Of course not. I don't really have use for another 400,000 dollars that I am not going to use." Slade replied as he plopped up a chair and sat down. "But if you get home..." "Still wouldn't have much use for it. I am already set for life." "Then why did you take it?" "Because, it's a good way to remind myself how far I've come." Slade replied. "Hey kid, I spotted a metallurgist somewhere else, see if we can't get rid of all this broken hunks of metal?" "Okay." "You do it. I am a great salesman and all, but you know." Slade said. The last part was obviously sarcastic. "Okay." Sanya replied as she grabbed a duffel bag out of the van and handed Slade the sack of bits who got into the van and drove off. As she walked through Rainbow Falls, it didn't really bother her that she was somewhat of a black sheep, receiving whispers and stares either of amazement, curiosity or perhaps spite in the cases of some less than pleasant individuals. This place was amazing. Almost like a dream in some sense. There was a vibe here, so full of life, and it was so... appealing. On the normal part of the day when she would feel weary and probably required Ellia to carry her around, she all of a sudden felt the newfound strength to carry on throughout the steppe that housed a great view of some rainbow colored falls. Was this place paradise? Did it matter? She loved everything about it. The color of the... world actually. The songs of the birds. The chattering peop... things and whatnot. It was great and she really enjoyed herself here. Stopping by at where Slade had told her to go, she found the metallurgist, a peculiar looking Griffin wearing a suit of chain-mail and a friendly demeanor. "Hiya mate. What can I do for you?" The Griffin asked. "You are buying scrap metal... I think?" Sanya asked. "Indeed I am!" The Griffin replied with a smile that showed his... why does a beaked creature have teeth? (Cartoon logic. Do not question it.) "How much for this?" Sanya asked as she emptied the duffel bags. "Well depends, you want coin for that or do you want other things? I also happen to sell clothing in the back and some jewelry but you don't really strike me as the type that'd be interested. Or that'd really fit really." "I'll take the coin then." "Smart..." The Griffin said before pausing. Said pause was caused by his unfamiliarity with whatever Sanya happened to be. Nevertheless, he handed her a few sacks of bits and smiled pleasantly. "So... permit to ask... what are you?" "What am I?" "Well, you see... I am a Griffin. We got things like pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies, crystal ponies, minotaurs, donkeys, mules, griffins, dogs and whatnot. Just what are you though?" "I am a human." Sanya said. "Perhaps one of the first to have come here." "Then it truly is an honor to meet the first human who set her foot in Equestria." The Griffin replied as his talons shook her hand. He was especially careful in not scratching her. "How about a picture together?" "Sure." Sanya replied with mirrored pleasantries. Slade growled to himself as a bunch of horses blocked the road again. Probably the sixth time that happened. Slightly annoyed, he honked the horn a bit to tell them to hurry the hell up. They cleared in just ten seconds flat at the loud honk much to Slade's relief. He continued through the large spaces, making sure not to run anything over. Not that he really would have cared if he actually hit someone, he just didn't need any more people or things breathing down his neck. He found the gems dealer after getting some directions, and purchased the entire stock much to the delight of it's owner. Much to said owner's surprise, Slade would be gone literally three seconds after he got all the gems and minerals. Something caught his eye as he drove, and he realized what it is. A Mahogany piano. A closer scrutiny would reveal how well built it truly is. For a split second, he considered driving on, though something in the back of his head told him to stop. Getting out of the van, he made a scrutiny of the thing. He may have been no expert in telling how well built any instrument was, but from what he could as much as make out, the thing was pretty damn good. Not surprisingly, it's price tag was more than he had. But... He took a look at the pony who was selling. A fairly shy looking chap. Perhaps he could haggle it a bit down?" He looked back into his sack of coins. ~800. "Hey, you there. How much for the piano?" "Huh... what? Oh right." The dealer said as he jolted up from being half-asleep. "It's um... 1100 bits or any thing of similar value." "Okay, how about a bit lower?" "Well... I can go to 1000." "Hmmmm.... how about... 800?" "Eh.... I gotta eat too you know... I mean..." "Here..." Slade said as he walked into the tent a bit, making sure he was out of view, the pistol came out in a flash. "How about I give you the 800, and you don't regret anything later?" "Okay... no need to get upset!" The dealer almost cried. "Please... take it!" "Good..." Slade chuckled to himself as the deal was made. Getting into the van with the hefty cargo, it was a miracle it could move. He quickly went off to find Sanya. Let's just say when he found her, he walked in onto a drunken brawl. "Really? Please don't tell me you drink." Slade said as he watched the Griffin and the Minotaur duke it out. The talons of the bird was quite the issue for the larger creature who found him a bit too fast. "What?! No!" Sanya "screamed". By screamed, I mean spoke at slightly below room volume. "I..." "Then what's in the bag?" "It's... it's a gift... for..." "Hey... you there..." A pony whose shades made him look like a con-man. Or con-horse in this case. "I bet you that you can't knock down my friend..." "Beat it. I am not interested. And if I wanted to fight him, I'd bury him." That caused quite the uproar. Careful mates, we have a badass over here. "Fine... then why don't you let him hit you for free?" The pony asked as a burly minotaur made his way over, tossing the two other patrons away as if they were both rag dolls. "That's more like it." Slade replied as he handed Sanya his pistol and sword. "Sanya hold this for me." "Why? He's going to use that club of his..." The pony replied. "You probably want to..." "If I did, this fight would already be horrendously boring." Chapter 23The average minotaur was roughly around the height of 6 feet 8 inches. Slade being tall when compared to his average man, was 6 feet 5 inches making him noticeably shorter than his foe. Would it have mattered, their height difference? No pony knew. All there would be were bets being made as the minotaur got it's club and Slade tossed away his weapons. "I dunno... that... whatever he is looks pretty tough." "He ain't so big... okay... maybe bigger than me but still..." "Oh just got on with it! I wanna see who wins!" "You get first shot." Slade said to his foe as he readied his club. "You sure about that? Big talk for such a small guy." A few chuckles here and there. "Really now? That club of yours? Quite large isn't it? It's not compensating for anything now is it?" This brought a hefty ripple of laughter from anyone who wasn't drunk enough not to understand the joke. "Okay. Enough talk." The minotaur grumbled as he lacked any sufficient wisecrack. "Let's fight!" He swung his massive club straight at Slade who just craned his body to the side and went back to his previous position. He hit him once. Once. This minotaur was about 6 feet 8 inches, and weighed about 400 pounds. One blow, and he went straight down like he was made of grain. This caused the entire room, (or tent in this case) that was normally full of rowdy creatures who had a bit too much to drink to go deathly still. The minotaur groaned and muttered to himself as he nursed a bloody nose. This continued for like a few minutes. Until he got up, and began to laugh. A genuine jovial laugh that caused everyone else to laugh. "That was really good... I hadn't been hit so hard since... ever!" He cried as he continued to laugh. "Whoever you are, whatever you are, you're pretty good." "Well... thanks." Slade said. He was accustomed to flattery, but rather unaccustomed to any genuine compliments. The only one he remembered was being called "the scariest badass on the planet" by the local police force and even then, that wasn't exactly used in the most positive of all fashions. All of a sudden, he felt like a Viking sitting in the local bar. "Tell you what, we take a few shots together? They're not Equestrian, so they're not made from apples." "That's fine but I got to get going... but if you're ever here again, get me some. I've been dying for a drink that doesn't taste like applejuice." "Take care friend." The minotaur smiled as he handed him a small necklace made of "gold". "I think you deserve this. By the way, my name is Mas." "Slade Wilson." Slade said as he back off slowly and dragged Sanya off with him. "Okay. What the hell is in that paper bag?" Slade asked sternly. He wanted to make a joke about Russians and vodka, but this... wait. Why isn't this the time? And why the hell does he even care that she drinks? It's none of his business anyways... it's just that... Inwardly, he sighed to himself. He hated it. Ever since they came here, he felt as though he's been doing things that he normally shouldn't have. Agreeing to stay here and help fight some dragon that probably won't be worth some time was just the start and the first offense but... "It's actually for you..." Sanya said nervously. "You mentioned the other day you needed a drink. So I got you one." For the first time in his life. He felt like a bad person. This deserved a facepalm. "Sorry. What is it?" Reaching into the bag, the girl pulled out a large glass bottle of wine. Rich red that had been aged for about 16 years. It was the stuff. "I.. hope you like it..." Sanya stammered nervously as Slade scrutinized it further. His reaction surprised her a bit as he chuckled slightly. "I probably will. Later though. Thanks." "Okay." Sanya said to herself as she reached into her pocket and took out the photo of her parents. Like most pictures back in the 30s, it was in black and white. "How did you get the money though?" Slade asked. "I paid him a kopeck. Bronze seems to be a rarity here so he agreed to make the deal." "Alright then." Slade said as he drove on. His mind racing like a certain guy he knew. Why was he concerned if she drank? She was Russian after all. Well, Orussian but that was just a name. He wasn't one to make racial stereotypes but if he knew them well, then he knew that Russians drank alcohol like it was water. Hell... why the hell did he care for anyone? Wasn't this all so he could rich? The only reason he agreed was that he could get enough money to be set for life?... again.... Why did he even care again that Sanya may have been drinking? It was her life, she could do what she wanted with it, and why the hell should he give a bent penny about her sake? Perhaps it occurred to her then he may have cared. Perhaps enough to tell her not to do something her personally may have believed as "not good for her health" but why? What the hell made her so special? Was it because of her age? Armin wasn't too much older and Slade had no trouble smashing his face in. Perhaps it was because she was a girl? That didn't stop him in the past. Let's see... like 16 of his assassinations, his own daughter, a few (hundred) female security guards... Whatever it was, not knowing bothered him. And it would for a long time. "So... how did your session go?" Jim asked Cap as he passed him some buttered biscuits. "Pretty well." Cap replied. "We got like 12 miles in. Not bad kid." "Thanks..." Armin replied weakly as he took a sip of iced water. "I also can gladly tell you all about how I almost got eaten by a bunch of wolves made out of wood." "Yeah... that's true. We were on the run and then some wooden wolves come out of nowhere and try to eat Armin alive." "And I take it the star-spangled man had a plan?" Slade joked. "You bet your other eye he did! Turned them into firewood." Rogers shot back as he grabbed a biscuit and swallowed the thing in one bite. "Okay. So Medic, I heard you mentioned something about going into the forest too. I didn't see you, so what were you up to?" "Vell... you see herr captain, I vas out in ze forest to get some ingredients for SCIENCE!" "Uh huh... like what?" "Dead bodies... poisonous plants, viper venom..." And this is why everyone didn't trust Medic to do heart related surgery when he asked. Something about that it makes the medi-gun "more efficient". Whether or not this may be true, or he was bull-shitting them so he could probably get his hands on someone's hearts, probably Steve, Slade's or Sanya's no one really wanted to find out. Suspiciously however... those three seemed to be at the top of his list... coincidentally on top of that, he wanted blood samples from all of them. This was probably good enough to have Steve's hand straying for his pistol every time Medic was within a two feet radius of him, Slade always keeping an eye on him and Sanya slipping out like a cat whenever he seemed to want something from her. "So Jim, what was your day like?" "Pretty boring. I always thought the grease monkeys who worked in SCVs had it easy. Turned out they had the most thankless and boring job in the entire korprulu sector. And I am certain no one here still knows where that is." Nope. "Anyways, what about you Slade? All you did was go get my shopping done." "Pretty boring too. All I can remember is having to pull a single fast one because a bunch of lunatics wouldn't leave me alone." Slade said. "I got this pink blur that was screaming incomprehensibly all the time and wouldn't shut up, and then there was some other joker who had a fetish for hands." "Well... I thought the pink one was pretty nice... she actually showed me around the place and gave me tips..." Sanya muttered almost inaudibly. "I think her name is Pinkie Pie." "Sounds like the flavor of an ice cream brand." Slade commented. "You telling me?" Steve asked. "I met this race pony called "Rainbow Dash". Tell me that doesn't sound like the name of an ice cream brand." "That aside however... I hope you liked the minerals." Slade said to Jim as he dug into some "chicken". "Yeah... yeah... it was great." Jim said. "I can get some more work done tomorrow. But Sanya... can you play us a piece on the piano we got?" "Yes." Sanya smiled as she took her spot behind the keyboard and began to play. [At ~~Mount Doom~~ I mean the huge terrifying volcano which someone had neglected to name. Either due to the fact that no one really wanted to go in an 100 mile radius of the thing or because that the guy writing this neglected to find a cool name. Take your pick.] Had anyone brave (or foolish) soul managed to climb the treacherous peaks of this mountain and managed to as much as camp here, they would know for one that though this may be hell, hell wasn't always hot. In fact, at this given moment, hell was cold enough to freeze smaller creatures solid in just moments. Down below, the fiery river Acheron became a path of ice and snow. Of course, if you were a nine meter long and four meter tall dragon, none of this really mattered to you. naturally, it didn't matter to the large brass dragon who flew over his brethren and against the howling wind with relative easy. He perched upon the tallest peak, which was also the throne of an even larger black dragon, Feynaltdrog. "Od key rahn zeim het. Un brothuz nahkip niist skerah ol nust nok niist kiir do od ahrk iiz voknau himdah." "Nid trun. Mu fen das velaaz voknau niin fod tiid meyz, nii fen kos nust wo los gein wah kos naak. Hi drey ni bo wah fun zey baarkei, fah daar lost bo nau fah ziin iilah." "Vrah dii drog. Fah giriik amongst daar ulfah. .. daar jul. .. tul sum. Nust vis gir wah fos mu saag voth vopent ahrk lost nid suleyk midrak nii." "Ruz dreh atruk do nii. Zu'u vis unstiid tii nau dii zeymah wah siiv lusvaan." "Ol hi smaal." Sanya couldn't sleep. Nothing out of the norm considering the circumstances, she considered taking some of the sleeping pills Medic had recommended, but recalled that the crazy doctor would probably take the opportunity to get at her heart. It was however, the voices that she heard once again that would stop her from getting any sleep. The same voice. The one called Feynaltdrog kept speaking. If only she could understand what he said, it would be of use to her companions. The problem wasn't any different as of last time. SHE DIDN'T SPEAK ANCIENT DRAGON. Author's Note So I think I should probably write this down somewhere. Six characters... six elements... mane six.... right? So the main idea here is to have a counterpart of each character to one of the man six. For example... Jim Raynor is the group's "Pinkie Pie". While he isn't a hyperactive person with limitless energy, he can get along with everyone because they all have something in common. For example Jim is... A mercenary (Slade) A freedom fighter (Cap) Fights against monsters that wants to omnomnom everything that's edible (Armin) Fights against an advanced race of aliens (Sanya) Is from a world where they are more advanced than anyone else's world (Medic) Sanya is the group's Fluttershy. Hope this wasn't too hard to get at. Slade can be seen as the group's Rainbow Dash. Highly skilled at what he does, is perhaps even the best at what he does. Though it a showboat and also the team troll. What separates him from most of the other characters is that he's the only character who's background puts him as the "bad guy" Cap is the group's Applejack. Hardworking, honest and honorable. Willing to help out others and seek help from others. Medic is the "Rarity". Has a huge sense of what his occupation is, though has a tendency to get overly obsessive which usually ends badly. Armin is the group's Twilight. While he isn't a main protagonist, he has to rely more on his head than his actual fighting skills for reasons that involve a distinct lack of power armor, enhanced strength and durability, magic etc. Chapter 24"Get up." Steve said firmly as he practically threw Armin out of the bed who could only rub his eyes. "What time is it?" Armin groaned as he tried to get up. His exhaustion stuck onto him like glue. "Time to get up. Grab a bite to eat and probably a coffee because we got a lot of work ahead of us." "Oh dear..." Armin mumbled as quickly gathered everything he would be needing. Judging from how Cap was treating this, he wouldn't be surprised at all if he wanted him to do a few hundred laps around the track. Speaking of which... "Alright Armin. So we did only a few miles yesterday. Today, I want you to run, and run, and run until physically, you cannot go any more. I want your everything. Your 110%. Understand?" "Yes..." Armin muttered as he grabbed his things and got ready. He looked back at Steve who had his shield like usual, and had a few strange sacks of flour slung over his shoulder. Whatever the reason, he didn't know. All he did know was that this would be one hell of a day for him. [Ponyville track 7:30 AM] "Did you hear about the new guy in town?" Pipsqueak asked a friend as they walked to through town. "No, tell me about it." Archer asked. "He beat Rainbow Dash in a footrace. Can you believe it?! She's one of the best runners in... in Equestria! And she was beaten by this... I actually don't know what he was... all they say was that he walked on two legs and was wearing some blue jacket thing that..." "Like that?" Archer asked as she pointed at the main with the shield and several sacks of flour. "Oh my gosh... this is so cool! Do you think we can get an autograph or something?! Maybe he can teach us how to run and..." "What's going on here?" Scootaloo asked as she passed by the two foals. "What's up?" "You know that guy who beat Rainbow Dash in a footrace?" "What?! Someone beat Rainbow Dash in a foot race?! That's impossible! No one is faster than her! On the ground or in the skies!" "Well looks like someone is faster on the ground now." The colt said as he stared at Cap in awe. "He sure is a big guy." "He beat Rainbow Dash? I don't believe it." "Well he did. And you should believe it.... I think Featherweight should have taken a picture or something... maybe?" Behind them, the bushes rustled a bit as a camera's flash went off. So probably... yes. Of course, there really wouldn't be any need for assumptions being tossed around as Featherweight himself emerged from the bushes in which he was ~~stalking~~ hiding in. "So... yes... Rainbow Dash did get beat. Pretty badly too actually." Featherweight said as he looked through the pictures he had took. "And I was there actually at the end of it all, the guy said he wasn't trying." "No way. More like Rainbow Dash wasn't trying!" Scootaloo replied as he watched the newcomer arrive at the track and found a tree. Making a hand gesture to his shorter companion to begin running while he hung one of the sacks of flour a top the tree. "What do you think he's doing?" Archer asked as she watched Cap find a strong spot upon said tree. He took a position behind it and held his... hooves? Hands? Up and curled them. Taking ready, he swung a swing at the sack. "Is he punching a sack of flour?" Pipsqueak asked shaking his head. "The guys just a total weirdo. C'mon guys, let's get out of here... guys?" No one moved. They were all watching as Cap swung at the sack for a few times, swinging a barrage of one-inch punches. After a few moments of this, he put his fist back a few miles and hit the sack once. Not only did the chains break, but the tree did too, the sheer force of the blow sending the sack of flour straight into the tree, snapping it in half like it was a twig. "Whoa..." Featherweight awed as he took a quick picture and began scribbling down notes. "He's strong..." "C'mon, we should see this..." Archer exclaimed as she took a closer look at Cap, who was taking a look around for a sturdier tree to practice on. "Hey mister..." "Yeah what?" The man replied nonchalantly, as though he wasn't talking to a bunch of small, rainbow colored foals. "How did you do that?" "Do what?" "Knock a tree down!" Scootaloo exclaimed impatiently. "How did you do that?" "Practice." Cap replied as he found his other tree and hung the sack of flour and tested it. Hopefully this one wouldn't break. "To be honest, I wasn't trying to knock the tree down." "Well.. how did you?" "Lacking a bit of discipline." Cap replied as he took more hits at the flour, careful not to break the sack lest it snows him with the grain within. "I don't normally try to break things." "May I ask... what are you?" Pipsqueak began, careful not to offend the big guy. "Just a human." Rogers replied as he took another hit. This time, when he swung the finishing blow, the chains of the sack broke, but the tree did not. Good. Taking the moment, he hung up his last sack and moved a few feet back and took out his shield. "Why are you here?" Scootaloo asked a bit hostilely. "They involve a big dragon the other day tried burning this place down. Anymore of it's kind come here then I'll be....." The roar made his blood turn into ice as he looked up into the sky. There was no mistaking of it. Up in the clouds, was the shape of a large dragon. "Oh no..." Cap said to himself as he grabbed his shield and his pistol from it's holster. There was no doubt that it had saw him, as he saw the head turn straight for him as it readied to dive bomb like a Stuka fighter finding it's target. "Run..." "What? Why? It's just a..." "DO AS I SAY." Cap yelled like a pissed off drill sergeant. The foals scattered in less than ten seconds flat as the dragon closed it's gap. "ARMIN!" He saw it too, and was busy trying to do... get... something... he hadn't come armed. This wasn't good. Cap hoped that the dragon's attention would only be on him. Crouching down, he raised his shield up and pointed his gun. Sweat beads formed off his head as he got himself ready for the massive wave of fire that came shooting towards him. Even with his bracing and preparation, the sheer heat of the flames engulfed the shield and the area around it, licking at his more exposed areas. Kevlar, while being ample protection against bullets and such, would do little to stop the flames from giving him burns. The flames stopped and he saw the dragon flying away, as though finding new interest within the local town. He would have to do something about this as a single building was set on fire. Sprinting after the beast, Cap fired his gun, hoping that he'd at least draw it's attention back to him. Unfortunately for him, 9mm rounds didn't exactly do much against the armored hide of a dragon. He could only try to catch up and hope that no one would be roasted alive. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Armin running for a certain building... "Where's the royal guard?!" Mayor Mare panicked over the sound of the din as she saw the large dragon crush an unfortunate wagon, to her horror, she saw the massive jaws of the lizard clasp around it's owner who was too slow to get away, and for every horrible moment, witnessed the dragon devour the pony whole, the screaming... the screaming... "We don't know! They probably don't even know what's going on!" Her assistant sobbed as she watched the dragon set fire to another building. The plaza was full of ponies and buildings, many would be trapped by the rubble and the chaos with no feasible way out lest they get scorched or eaten. Perhaps then when various pieces of a broken cart was throne straight at the dragon's head, it couldn't have been better timed. The Mayor watched as the human referred to as "Steve Rogers" bolted through. The dragon's attention diverted. "Come Mayor! Now's our chance!" Her assistant called as she dragged her boss away, the mayor never once taking her eyes off of Cap rushing the dragon, armed with nothing but a pistol and a shield. The flames threatening to swallow him whole as he pressed onward. Something caught the Captain's eye over the massive inferno of the flames... movement. Up on the houses... to his surprise, it was Armin. But it wasn't just that, he had with him a massive bundle of colorful cloth and was hauling it straight to where the dragon was. He gave it a single push. Cloth in Equestria, like pretty much everywhere else, was highly flammable. Multi-colored cloth was also vision impairing for rather obvious reasons when thrown over one's head. You can probably imagine the predicament the dragon found itself in when it was not only blinded, but bathed it's own head in it's own flames. Of course, being a dragon, it was resistant to such things as flames, but the sheer intensity of the flames blinded it temporality, most likely what Armin was counting on because he had started shouting things that from the distance, was incomprehensible to Cap. Nevertheless, he knew what to do. Charging forward, the captain jumped straight onto one of the wings, with a mighty blow form his shield, the sound of bone splitting echoed throughout ponyville plaza. Hopefully that would keep it down. Kicking away the burning cloth (which was a far more difficult and tedious task than it sounded), Steve would have a clear shot straight at the dragon's head as jumped right on and raised his shield, the first blow creating a massive echo throughout the entire plaza. The second would yield him the sound of scales breaking apart and an agonized roar. It was then when the dragon attempted to chance flying to get it's tormentor off it's head, it's injured wing would only aid in it's own torture as it refused to flap correctly, after only a few feet in the air, the monster collapsed from exhaustion and from pain. Steve would only need one blow. Wiping off brains and blood from himself, the captain took a moment to look around at the awed and frightened stares. But as the adrenaline rush faded and the numbing subsided, it would be replaced by some scorching pain coming off from various areas of his body. He needed to rest for a moment. Perhaps comically, he pulled himself down on the nearest bench and just simply sat down, as if he was a jogger who had just finished a really long run. That was when the cheering started. Author's Note I have just come to the conclusion that my photoshopping skills are so bad, that they should be a crime against humanity. That being said, I realized I might need a guy to design a new cover because it just totally SUCKS. Anyways, if anyone could point me in the right direction, that'd be really appreciated. Chapter 25"I can't believe his wounds are already gone." Nurse Redheart exclaimed as she looked over Rogers. Just a few minutes ago, Cap had several ugly burns and scrapes all over his body, mostly on his arm, leg and shoulder areas. Now? They were all gone, well, mostly all gone as the angry red burns were replaced by a layer of new skin already. "So, would it be okay for me to go now?" Steve asked as he took a look out the window as the Ponyville fire crew brought several rainclouds to quench the flames. Controlling weather? Now that was something that was actually pretty neat about this place. He'll have to tell Thor about this the next time they meet. Maybe the Thunder god could give him an explanation, or if Steve was in more of a mood to speak with multi-colored ponies, he could just ask himself. "Where's Armin?" Cap asked as he wrapped himself in a blanket. He would have to repair his uniform and possibly find a way to make it fireproof in addition to bullet proof. The problem here now was that there weren't any clothes that would be his size, nor would make any sense for him to wear since he didn't exactly walk on all fours. "I think he's at carousel boutique.... I am surprised Rarity isn't angry with him over all the cloth he dumped. Story is that it's pretty expensive." "Well, in the face of danger and a massive dragon, I really don't think cloth and money mean too much when it's our lives that are at stake." Steve replied as he grabbed his shield. "Thanks for the free healthcare." "No problem." Nurse Redheart replied. "You see, I don't know about where you come from, but you don't pay your doctors in Equestria." "You don't?" "It's considered a government post, so they normally come out of your taxes." Nurse Redheart replied. "This is because some can't afford treatment back in the day, so the Princesses decided a health reform." "Maybe my government should try that..." Rogers said as his memory began to work. Something about the current president and his healthcare reforms. "Well... if you need anything, feel free to come back any time, though I don't think you would if your injuries really go away that fast." "Yeah... thanks for the checkup." Steve replied as he got up and left Ponyville general. Taking a moment, he went off to help a trapped pony out of some rubble. He would have much work to do before he decided to finally take a break. "Now zen..." "Doctor... please... I'd rather not have some form of heart surgery which I have no idea to what it does." Sanya protested as she sat down on the infirmary bed. "Nein... who said anything about heart surgery?" "Didn't you say that you needed my heart or something?" "Nein...nein... it's not zat. Vell... I still vould like your heart but I promise I'll give it back!" "I'd rather not..." Sanya replied. "But what's the other reason for me being here?" "Vell... first off... ze cat ears and tail... may I have a... um... sample?" "Sample?" "Ja. I fink I'd like a hair or somefing. Perhaps you can also give me a blood sample?" "Well... okay... I mean why..." Before she could finish her sentence or say anything to that matter. The door the infirmary opened and an armored figure entered, Slade was back. "I hope this was worth it because I just spent three hours up in a tree and then had to go take a swim so you can have your specimen." On the table, a crocodile that was made of rock was thrown upon it, the dead beast was missing several teeth and had an eye poked out. Further scrutiny would reveal that the rocks at it's "rib" areas had been all shattered, indicating that it's back had been broken. "Ja! Zis is very gut! Danke!" "What happened?" Sanya asked as she took a look at Slade. He was covered from head to toe in all sorts of muck that was completely unidentifiable, almost as though he had taken a bath in a swamp. "I swam in a swamp." Slade said as he went to the fridge. He gave a small gesture of disgust for a single moment, before grabbing some water and taking a long drink. "All so I could catch that damn lizard." "Why did you want it?" Sanya asked as Medic turned his attention to the lizard. Grabbing a MASSIVE bone saw, he cut straight into the rock. All that happened was his saw breaking in two. "Equestria has some particular creatures, kind. Some of zem like ze timbervolves and ze cragidiles are made from vat seems like non-organic matter. Vell... just ze cragidiles. But I fink that ze timberwolves are rather strange... zey lack any form of "regular" tissue as most animals." "Oh by the way doctor, you still can not have my blood. Or my heart." Slade said as he grabbed another water bottle. "Sanya, please tell me he's not asking for your heart either." "He actually just was." Sanya replied sheepishly. "He also wants my hair... as in the ears..." She made a gesture to the car ears that practically grew out of her head every time she used her magic. Almost randomly, a small black cat leapt into her lap, purring quietly. "Well... you probably don't want to give him your heart, he may not give it back." Slade joked. Though some of this was rather serious. Medic always seemed to have a screw loose. "Ja...ja...ja... so are you going to give me your blood or vat?" "Alright then. I am ready." "Gut." Medic replied smiling nastily. The long over sized needle raised quite a few eyebrows in the room. Two dragon attacks over the course of three days. It was a complete miracle that ponyville actually looked 80% alright. Perhaps it would be the hard work of the weather team that kept the fires from going out of control, or the high population of industrious earth ponies ready to help their neighbors at an earshot. While there have been many injuries, no fatalities as so far reported. Twilight thought of this as she sat within her room in golden oaks library with her friends. On the table, was a large map each marked with all the major cities within Equestria. Any city that had been hit, or had any of it's surrounding areas attacked by dragons was marked with red ink. "Eh Twilight... I don't wanna be rude or nothing, but what does that map exactly tell us... besides of the obvious of course..." "Well, you see Applejack, I was actually getting all sorts of these reports in from... well... everywhere. Dragon activity seemed to have increased ever since a few days ago and this is because of..." "Yeah...yeah... some evil dragon king who wants to go take over the world." Rainbow Dash said rolling her eyes. "You told us already." "I know that, but can you at least take it seriously?!" Twilight retorted. "The fate of not just Equestria but maybe the entire world rests in the balance!" "This is like the... um... fourth... fifth... sixth time now?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It's okay Twilight! We got this! All we need is the elements." "Yeah... about that...." Simplified version of how everypony reacted to the elements being stolen by a dragon. "Wait... what?" Rainbow Dash asked once again as Twilight recounted what had happened. "Yeah... we don't have the elements." "So... what can we do then?" Fluttershy asked. "Surely Princess Celestia doesn't mean for US to go fight dragons now... right?" "No... but it's they who are going to fight." Twilight said as Spike rolled up a projector. Six "cards" popped up, identifying the people within. "Slade Wilson, Deathstroke. Former military from his world, subject of a medical experiment from his world." Twilight began as she gave Spike the word to continue. "He's... a mercenary and an assassin..." "Wait a second... as in... those guys who get paid to killed people?" Applejack asked with disbelief. "Yep. You got that right." Twilight said. "Who in tarnation thought of having a maniac like him here?!" Applejack continued. She would have went on a ranting spree, if it wasn't for Twilight's gestures of urgency. "Steve Rogers, Captain America. Military from his world, and a war hero. Sworn to fight injustice and oppression." "That guy? He doesn't look so cool." Rainbow Dash said, the events of their race still hadn't exactly left her mind. "Well... he's kinda like Slade. Also subject of a medical experiment, though he doesn't exactly kill people for money but we have to move on. There are more people." Such as. "The Medic. A former doctor who had lost his medical license. Now a mercenary and a gun for hire." "How did he do that?" Fluttershy asked. "Story is, he removed his patients bones?" Twilight asked as she tried remembering the events of when they met. It had been something along those lines. "Highly intelligent, though with a few screws loose. Next up, Jim Raynor." The projector went from the picture of Medic to the picture of Jim. "James Raynor. He comes from a place where his people own not just one world, but many worlds. I do know that he's like the others in the sense he's a mercenary, but he has no tolerance for injustice and oppression. That's unfortunately, ALL I really know because where he comes from, things are rather... complicated. Twilight not understanding something? Whatever this was, it must be pretty hardcore than. But regardless, she was moving on already. Not much like to be in such a rush. "Aleksandra Litvyak. Also military, fighting against a race of aliens known as the Neuori. Is a "witch" from where she's from. Essentially making her the only human we know about that can use magic." Let's be honest here. No one actually thought that humans existed until right about now when they've essentially be strutting all over the place. Humans were in Equestria until now, supposedly an oldwives' tale. Depending on where you're from, humans were something akin to what we may think of "big foot" or something that would be more akin to the slenderman of legend. Demons that haunted dark corners of the world, seeking to spread fear and bloodshed. "Armin Arl...." "Okay. Yeah. It's slowpoke." Rainbow Dash cut off as she shoved Spike out of the way. "Twilight, I appreciate you showing us this and all, but what is the point of it?" "The point of it is that these guys are going to be the people we are counting on to get us the elements back!" "These guys? I dunno Twi, what you said about Mr. Death... whatever his name is didn't sound too nice. And the doctor seemed a bit crazy to me." "Oh pish-posh! Armin is truly a gentleman! Did you know, he and his friend Steve saved ponyville from a dragon?" "We were all there..." Fluttershy said. "And I do remember finding it's big dead body right in the streets!" "Sanya seemed alright!" Pinkie Pie said. "But Mr. Wilson seemed like a total party pooper to me! I told Lyra about him, but all I know is that he hid or something." "Captain... whatever is just a showoff." "Like you aren't?" Rarity shot back. "He truly is a hero of fashion! His uniform! It's so tragic it was damaged in his fight! What a valiant... whatever he is again..." "GIRLS!" Twilight shouted over the din of argument. "The point of us here is not to argue over whether or not these people are friendly or not, it's that they are the only ones who might be able to get us back the elements! Do you know what that means?!" No. "It means that we need to get to know them... we're all in together on this... remember?" OH GOD. That would be the reaction of a few ponies and Slade when they all heard this. Chapter 26"Alright guys. So... I am not sure... but I think I may have a clue to getting our hands on a dragon to English translator." Raynor said as he set down a large map of Equestria atop the table which had several places marked out for him. "Anyways, I borrowed this map from Twilight, so please ignore the ink and such." "It's in that place they call the Crystal Empire isn't it?" Slade asked as he took a look at the map, wondering for a moment what the large red circles meant. "Yep. So here's the thing... normally if we were to take train, it'd take I'd say about 6 hours. Not too painful. The thing is... we got no train. Why? Because some goddamn flying lizards burned it up." "Well... that's awfully convenient." Rogers began. "Of course it is. It's basic warfare. They are doing the old "divide and conquer". If Equestria can't as much as unite or hold any sizable force in one place, not that it really matters in my opinion, than whatever resistance, no matter how weak to begin with, will essentially be nothing." "If you haven't forgotten, I know that." Rogers glared at Slade. Seriously, what a smartass. He's just like Tony, only about a few thousand times worse. "So... what do we do then?" Armin asked. "You're not saying we can walk there.... right?" "That's actually what I kinda had in mind..." Raynor began. "By my estimation, it'd be about 3 days for us to walk there. Well, that's assuming we can walk nonstop. So in that case, I'd give it 6 days." "I don't fink it'll be a problem. Ja?" "Doesn't strike me as it would be." Cap replied. "Though just in case, I think we should actually arm ourselves and be prepared for anything. Just in case. The last thing we need is to be caught by another fire-breathing lizard without as much as a rusty fork to defend ourselves with." "And that is why I actually the things down at engineering produce more ammunition for all of us." Raynor replied. "Now then, you all think we should start tomorrow?" A chorus of yes followed by various nodding. It would be settled then. Tomorrow morning. "So... how long do you think it'll take with this route? Specifics at least." Rogers asked as he walked with the map. The previous night, he had repaired his uniform though he'd probably have to make a flame-retardant version later. As of now however, it would be fine assuming he wouldn't have to bear the full-brunt of another wall of fire. "Hmmm..." Raynor said to himself as his heavy armor left dull thuds within the ground they walked. His armor's HUD giving them an approximate of a time. "Yeah. 6 days sounds pretty reasonable if you count in things like sleeping and the fact that we all need to take a break sometime. I dunno anything about super-soldiers or magical witches, but I can at least assume we all have to rest some time." "Yeah. By the way Raynor, the first day we met, you mentioned you were a freedom fighter." "Part time. We kinda run on cold feet, so I am also a mercenary so I can get some money to fund my war." "Yeah. Is this... Terran Dominion as oppressive as it sounds?" "Perhaps not, but they're pretty bad. The Emperor called Mengsk is a total scumbag who's lies and exploits the very people he's sworn to protect. He only cares about power that one and as of now, I am kinda out of ways to show the people the truth or to topple him." "The price of freedom is high, Jim. But it's one I hope you're willing to pay." "I'll fight to my last breath Captain, you bet your shield and your shiny outfit on that one." Jim smiled as they continued to move. "So... tell me about zes titans Armin. Zeir regeneration capabilities?" "Formidable. We blow their heads off with a cannon and they just grow one straight back." "Oh... fascinating. Truly fascinating. Tell me, have your scientists gotten opportunity to study any of zese Titans? I am certain zey wood make many medical advancements." "Part of the problem Doctor. Titan corpses have a tendency of just evaporating into thin air." "Zen that must be quite ze problem. I assume zat capturing zem alive must not be an option?" "We did it the moment we won the battle I was in... it's a long story and all, but it was pretty difficult in capturing those two titans. And they were the smaller variants." "I see..." Medic continued. "So Armin... vat is your reason for staying?" "Staying? I... well... you know with all this magic stuff right?" "Ja?" "I think it might be a way to help in our war against the titans. And even without that, imagine all the good things like controlled weather may be. The potential is limitless!" "I see... vell... as you probably do know, I am here to advance my medical research. Imagine all the breakthroughs I'll be making! It's fantastic! Wunderbar!" "Alright doctor... but with that machine you have... don't you think further advancement is almost... like impossible at where you are?" "Vat ever do you mean?" "You literally heal people with nothing but a beam of light! How is that even possible." "Science my dear boy... science! But zere are always things to improve. One breakthrough for example is vat I call ze kritzkrieg. Using some advanced science, I vas able to build a machine that could store enough energy and transfer zem to it's patient, but mostly ze patient's weapon. Imagine... bullets traveling at 3 times zeir normal velocity! Rockets with ze same explosive radius but ze force of somefing 3 times greater! Zen, zeir is ze quick fix! And ze vaccinator! I am a genius!" "I would doubt that medic. But can I have a question?" "Sure." "You wanted I think hearts. Particularly Slade's, Steve's and Sanya's?" "Yes... vell... not just hearts... DNA samples, blood, etc. You see... Slade and Steve are both vat we'd call ubermensch... or supermen. Zey have much strength within zem and have tapped into ze power of ze gods! Imagine what I could do... if I was to replicate ze serums zat made them zis way. We could be gods!" "Become gods? I can see how you may make humanity a bit... stronger but becoming gods?" "How do I know zat? Elementary Armin. Can you explain how Steve stayed alive after being frozen for 70 years? Or how at age 80, Slade still is as fit as a kind? It's simple... zey must be immortal! Or perhaps... just long lived... it'd be better if it was the first one by ze way..." "But what about Sanya? Why does she interest you?" "She is a witch! Vhere does magic come from? Zis certainly isn't because of devil worship or black magic rituals isn't it now? It's merely science! Science zat some of us may not understand... and zat some lesser men may never have the capability to understand. But I intend to unravel it's secrets! YES!" Did we mention he had a screw loose and was perhaps a bit too obsessed with his line of work? "I think the good doctor maybe a little bit excited with his work..." "Yeah... he's not coming near me. If he does, I'll cut his hands off, that's for sure." Slade commented as he picked up a small splinter. He flicked the tidbit of wood, and chuckled to himself as he watched it slice a grasshopper in half. 80 years old, and he still hadn't lost his touch. Perhaps what medic was right. Even he didn't know the true capabilities of the experiments that had been done to him. Was he immortal? Most likely not. But is he still fighting at the same pace, if not at even greater than he was when he was only about 20 years old and ready for the experiment? Could he make the assumption, that from the fact he was 80 years old and had still yet to feel the symptoms of old age, that he could be very, very long lived? Most certainly. Of course, enough about him. He had his own questions. "So tell me about being a witch anyways. Do they all start as young as you do?" "At around 12, most witches find their powers to emerge. This is when they are at their best. From about 12 to 20." Yikes. And they thought he was too young when he started at 16. "And how old do MEN start?" "I think 18 is the minimum... I think there are such things as male witches, they're either rare or legendary. Rumor has it that Karlsland has some kind of secret research team that makes male witches? The details are just rumors and fairly unreliable." "Tell me." "Okay. I think their organization's name is like... um... I think it's called HYDRA?" Wait. What? Author's Note Disclaimer: HYDRA does not exist within the Strike Witches' universe and is a product of marvel, and marvel ONLY. Though... who said I couldn't crack a parallel universe joke? Chapter 27"I hate this forest." Slade said as he almost went leg high in swamp water as a weak section of earth gave way, revealing the massive stretch of muddy water. "So... around or through?" Armin asked as he took a look. He could see the other side, though he wondered how long this entire place stretched. Pretty damn long from what he could gather. "Through." Captain America said as he tried to spot a way to go around. "Just stick to the drier paths and we can go through without taking mud all the way to our knees. Sanya's catlike ears perked up as they began to step one by one on the dry yet still muddy path. She could hear it, the swishing of water and the deep breaths. Something was out there. As the water around them stirred and bubbled, the mud and the dirt would soon be the least of their problems. "They're gone?" Twilight asked with disbelief as Spike hurried back. "Back... to where?" "I dunno." Spike said rather hopelessly. "It's not like they said anything or as much as left a clue!" "Great... just great! So how can we..." "Does it REEEALLLY matter?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I mean, why can't we just find the elements ourselves?" "I mean... they're probably going off to find something them..." "Rainbow Dash... hold on a second..." Twilight said as the last part of the sentence began to sink in to her. "What did you just say?" "They're probably going off to find..." "OH MY GOSH! That's it!" Twilight said as she almost jumped up and down with excitement. "They're going to the crystal empire!" "Wait... what... how do you know that?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked at all the other ponies who wear similar masks of confusion. "Oh... right... I should have told you girls, Slade and Sanya came the other day asking for a book on Dragon to Equestrian translation. Or English... that's what they call it anyways. But what happened was, I didn't have the book, and neither did Canterlot library when they went to go grab it... but there's just one place which may have anything about ancient dragons... a place just as old!" "The crystal empire! Of course!" Spike said. "Should I get our things packed?" "No Spike... because we're walking. Didn't you hear the news? The train station and a good portion of the tracks was destroyed by a dragon. Seems almost as though they're on to us..." "What if they are?!" Spike asked. "Don't be silly Spike!" Rarity cut in. "How can those brutes ever know what we're planning? It's not like they're telepathic or anything!" "Well... you gotta a point there... but what if..." "Besides... how could they listen without us noticing? I know there's a lot of spells and all, but I should easily be able to detect them if they were using magic to listen on us!" To the three eavesdroppers on this conversation, they all just burst out in deep, muffled laughter at the sound of this. Hundreds of miles away, perched upon a once again burning mountain, were three dragons. As the noise of conversation dinned down once again, one dragon opened up it's massive mouth and said the words. "Zul..gir..stirn!" They were all gods once. Rulers of the world, all corners of the earth were bent to their will and their words were law. Their power was invincible. The feeling was perhaps what many of the dragons of the old missed. Perhaps none missed it more than the dragon king himself, Feynaltdrog, bane of the world, destroyer of nations. As of now, he would go on a stroll to memory lane as he flew high above the skies, circling Manehattan, one of the largest and most populous cities in all of Equestria. He looked down at the city, the many ponies and buildings looked like ants to him from this high above, his mouths would open in wicked anticipation before he called force his self-restraint. He hadn't eaten in so long, but for now, he wanted to conquer. And conquer so he shall. Readying himself, the massive jaws opened to say the word. "Dovah! Hah! Kroved!" His words, were not said, rather roared as a bright aurora filled the sky, invisible to all but the king of dragons himself as he watched the wave spread far and wide. It stopped at three points, a dragon sunbathing on a rock at the coast of the sea, a sleeping dragon within it's cave, and yet another dragon on the flight. Something within them... whispered. Power. Wealth. Godhood. All merely at the price of allegiance to a master, and the domination of all "lower orders". Power and wealth seduced a dragon as easily as a hoard of hive of honey seduced a bear. They fell right under his spell as they flew to their new king, eager to serve. Addressing him as though in the ancient dragon tongue. A language that had been lost to them until now. "Mu kriist nuk wah aam. Ofan mii hin suleyk ahrk hin faraan." "Pruzah. .. pruzah. .. daar hiim. .. ag nii wah kii." The warcry of a dragon could be heard from miles away, and still be enough to cause the lesser creature to lose their hearing for the better part of the day. Imagine how the thousands upon thousands of ponies felt when they were so close, many of them would lose their hearing from that day forward as the three dragons plunged down onto their city. Fire burning away at the buildings, sending screams and shouts across the streets as buildings erupted to fiery deaths. Many of the inhabitants would share similar fates to their homes as they were burned instantly, the dragon fire flaying their flesh straight off their bones. High above, the dragon king looked into the fires and laughed to himself. Amusing how such weak creatures attempt to resist him, attempt to defy him. Why haven't they surrendered already? When the hungry changelings bent knee at the sound of his voice? Or how the minotaurs practically threw themselves at their feet when they landed in their cities, surrendering without a fight? Whatever the cause he didn't care. As of now, he was enjoying himself as he saw a mare try to carry her foal away from a huge fiery explosion. "Twi... this is a VERY bad idea... just saying... no offense..." Applejack began as they began their journey through the everfree forest. "C'mon girls! I know what I am doing! Just because we don't know where they are doesn't mean it's hopeless!" "Of course not! But why do we need them anyways? Why can't we just waltz into Feyn... oh brother, how do you even say his name? Why can't we just waltz up that mountain and take the elements back rather than let some petty thief keep them?" "Because A... dragons are quite big and ferocious creatures! With the exception of Spike..." Rarity began. "Oh come on..." Spike muttered to himself as he rolled his eyes. "And B... because these humans... oh... they're such heroes! Heroes of fashion! And probably heroes... in general. Except for that Slade Wilson... his ARMOR! Such a crime against fashion!" "You probably shouldn't say that!" Pinkie Pie said as she hopped around energetically. "He might be VERY upset." "Oh come on! Surely the man can take a bit of criticism!" "He can! But he doesn't like that! And you all know what happens to things he doesn't like!" Wat? "I... don't understand..." "Oh you're so silly Rarity!" Pinkie Pie said as she began to do this. "You all know what I am talking about? Right? Right? RIGHT?!" "Get a move on Pinkie..." Rainbow Dash said impatiently as she waved her forward. "Who are you looking at anyways?" "Nothing! Just the people who are reading this!" "What? Who's reading what?" "You know... the people reading this? Duhhhh...." And this is what most ponies would call Pinkie just being Pinkie. Chapter 28"Good job." Slade said sarcastically as he saw Armin go waist-up in swampwater. Grabbing him by the collar, he yanked him straight out of the water, his clothes dripping with the brackish water. "Oh... that's... not good..." Sanya said almost inaudibly as she took a look at Armin's clothes. "He'll live. We can't stop now though." Slade said as Armin's predicament began to attract attention. Agreeing grudgingly and silently, Steve nodded his head. Raynor had no comment on the matter. Everything here would be Armin's misfortune, he would have to go like that for probably the better parts of the day until... "Did you hear that?" Sanya asked, again as her cat-like ears perked up and her tail went puffed up like a nervous cat. "Hear wha..." If the massive roar didn't practically broadcast to everyone what was going on, then the fact that there was a massive stone crocodile that leapt out of the water sure did. Fortunately for everyone, no one had actually been grabbed or that would have meant some really bad things. "What the hell are these things?!" Raynor thought to himself out loud as he began to fire his rifle into the water wherever his suit's HUD detected movement. Whether or not they hit... no one could probably tell. The density of the water and it's darkness made it difficult even for Slade's tactical vision to go down very far, and that was a piece of equipment eons ahead of it's time period. All they could was... "JESUS CHRIST!" Steve cried out as a crocodile or in this case (cragidile) practically flew out of the water in an attempt to get a chomp on him. All it really did was get fed a knuckle sandwich straight into the face, causing it to shatter and crack. The same of course happened to a Cap's hand, which he found to be a bloody mess later. "DUCK!" Slade yelled over the sounds of heavy gunfire and random incomprehensible screaming. Seeing as the boy wasn't going to duck, or maybe just didn't hear him, he quickly went over and tackled Armin to the ground, the monster missing a chance at his throat by centimeters. "IDIOT... RUN RUN!" In a scattered and most undignified fashion, the six people quickly sprinted their way out, weary of the large monsters that lurked within the pool, opting to devour them whole. "Sweet mother of god..." Raynor commented as he looked at Captain's fist. "You got yourself knocked up pretty badly there." "It'll be gone in an hour... I think." Captain America said dismissively as he put his gloves back on. Truth be told, his hand hurt like hell which was a good thing Medic was on it. "Or with the help of Medic, in just a few seconds... So... hear anything Sanya?" "I think we're good for now..." Sanya replied as she checked the bottom of her boots for mud. Tons. "Can... we... rest... here... now?" Armin asked as he came back from taking water from the stream. Before Slade could say anything, Steve had already nodded his approval. "Just for the moment. We continue until 0900 hours." "And that's... when?" "In like about three hours. Alright people, take five minutes. Get a bite to eat, get a sip, do whatever, we get going then... understand?" Cap said as he took a break himself and opened a canteen of water and took a sip whilst Armin was bent over a stream and drinking in the whole thing. Slade checked his smartphone again. To be fair "smart" would probably be the biggest understatement of the century since it was more like a super-computer than anything. Like how that guy in the batsuit had his detective vision rigged to some computers in his secret hideout, Slade had his tactical vision rigged to his smartphone. Of course, that was just the beginning, it could scan maps of the local area, tell him wind speeds and calculate bullet trajectories, all that good stuff. It also gave him a connection to many contractors who would have jobs for him... of course, as of now, it didn't have a connection to any of said contractors, though it did have all his opened mail. One of them caught his interest. It was from Amanda Waller. He only scanned the letter the first time, never actually read it, just say at the end what the payment would be and was fairly disinterested. But now that he saw it again, he felt as though he should read it when he finally gets the chance. As of now, he turned back to everyone else and sat down with them. Be at a "campfire" something he hadn't done since Korea. That was about 60 years ago. "Alright fellas. Listen up, from my estimate, I'd say we got a nice, leisurely walk up ahead. You see, once we get out of this forest, it's just grasslands and trees... don't forget the colorful horses too..." "So... a little girl's coloring book?" Slade chuckled. "Pretty much... right Sanya?" "Huh?" "Nothing. I am just messing with ya." Raynor chuckled as he stood up. "You ready people?" Steve asked as he came back. Shield in hand. "Those crocodile things are getting rather unpleasant. "Aye aye Cap'n. Let's go." Raynor replied. "This... it's horrible!" Princess Celestia said as she read the paper. "Is it true?" "Everything about it..." The messenger said as he lowered his head sadly. "Manehattan was decimated by dragons. Similar reports have come in from Fillyadelphia, Trottingham, Baltimare and Las Pegasus. Equestria is under attack. "Casualties are within the thousands." "Then at this moment..." Luna began. "Equestria is at war." "Not just Equestria my sister..." Celestia began. "Feynaltdrog would not discriminate. He threatens the entire world with his hunger for power. He must be stopped at all costs! Tell the royal guard to prepare, and send emissaries to every nearby land available. We must defeat the dragon king or the whole world will be at risk!" Dismissing the messenger, the Princesses sat down a moment to think upon the situation. Feynaltdrog, the dragon king. Bane of the world had now just declared war upon it. Everyone and everything would have to be thrown at him. Even then, without the elements, they could only hope to keep him from conquering the world, it would be highly doubtful for them to actually defeat the dragon king without them. "We must get the elements back then." Luna said as she and Celestia discussed this over. "What do you propose then? We don't even know where Feynaltdrog is! We never even knew what hell he spawned out from... it'd be impossible to fight him when we don't even know anything about him! All we do know is that he can conquer the world and in a very short time if we do not react quickly!" Meanwhile in the skies of ponyville, a lone black dragon flew high in the skies, its eyes were peeled gleefully for any prey that would happen to chance into it's eyesight. As of now, there were plenty, but nothing intrigued him more than the baby dragon that was down there, just a few miles away. He would have to raze the town later. A few moments of flight, and he would find his dragon. The group of ponies had stopped at another town, which pleased Feynaltdrog. His wanting for some excitement would be savored at this point when the dragon went beserk. Opening his mouth, he readied his roar. "Dovah! Hah! Kroved!" "Why'd you stop kid?" Slade asked as he bumped into Sanya. Her ears once again stood up like an alert cat, she had heard something. "I heard something..." Sanya said as she looked into the distance. It came from about over there... "What is it this time?" Steve asked as he took out his gun and prepared for trouble. "I think it was a dragon!" "Then I think we should keep a low profile then... the last we need is to be caught..." "No... there's... screaming! Someone's in trouble!" Sanya said as she listened deeper. "We need to do something! I think there's a dragon attacking a town or something!" "We need to help..." Rogers said. "There's..." "We can't do that!" Slade shot at him, not wanting the Captain to finish his sentence. "You want to become barbeque Captain? Because that is not a good plan." "And what do you say we do? Huh? Hide and run like a bunch of frightened children? I say that we..." "I hate to say this... but Slade might have a point..." Jim began. "I don't like leaving anyone behind one bit, but we are not equipped to deal with any giant fire breathing lizards. The most we can do is..." "We have to do something! We can't just leave peo... ponies to die!" Armin began. "I am going..." "HOLD O... idiot..." Slade grumbled as he saw Armin bolting off. He turned his head to see that the Captain had begun to follow. "To hell with it... let's go!" Chapter 29"WHAT'S HAPPENED TO SPIKE?!" Rarity screamed over the din as the big purple dragon began to breathe fire all over the town, scorching down entire buildings and sending ponies running in all directions. "He just turned huge!" Applejack screamed back as Spike sent a typhoon of fire that turned a wooden house into ash in ten seconds flat. "What's gotten into him?!" "SPIKE!" Twilight screamed over the din. "What are you doing?!" No answer. Only a mindless, senseless roar of an animal in uncontrollable rage. Spike was beyond her then as he sent another wave of fire down that would have consumed Twilight had she not gotten out of the way just in time. "Spike... okay... you... I am sorry..." She said to herself as she charged up her horn. The blast flew straight towards at Spike's face, hitting him right between the eyes. He didn't even blink, only turned towards Twilight. If he'd been mad before, he was now even madder (which had actually struck many witnesses as impossible until this moment). The dragon opened it's mouth once again to say the words. The words that were only replaced with a pained grunt as a spinning shield struck him right in the face. The dragon turned a moment to face his attacker, only to get shot twice in the face again, causing him to roar in senseless anger. Steve threw himself down as he retrieved his shield, the scorching flames missing him by less than a hair as they flew right above him. His cover, a large rock had it's entire frontal area turned into an angry red, anymore and it may not have been surprising to anyone if it melted. He was in a bad spot when he heard the massive footfalls that got closer and closer. He couldn't really run, his shield wouldn't be able to provide the ample protection. He could hope for the fact that Armin was already in... Another pained grunt, but this time, the heavy gunfire indicated that it was something else. A quick scan would reveal Jim approaching quickly, firing his C-14 rifle in at Spike, intent on filling the dragon with lead. "Please... don't kill him!" Twilight cried over the sounds of gunfire as Jim hid behind a building. "You crazy?! He's going to make us all into barbeque if we don't!" Jim replied as he shot a few more rounds at Spike, the dragon sending another wave of fire down at them. "He's my friend... please... just... do something... anything... but don't kill him! Okay!" "I'll see what we can do then..." A voice replied from behind her. Slade's. This wouldn't be good. "Wha...you... how...." "Nothing to it." Slade said as he grabbed his staff and took a scan of the area. He spied Armin on the top of one of the buildings, ready to strike with his swords. Looks like he didn't get the.... Spike's tail went straight into the building, knocking Armin straight off. Oh brother. It didn't help the fact that Armin had ended up stabbing Spike in the tail, doing no real harm in the process and only pissing Spike off to the point where he diverted his attention to Armin. "Idiot deserves what's coming..." Slade muttered underneath his breath as he saw the dragon about to go upon Armin. The only thing that saved him from getting chewed up was a well placed sniper rifle bullet on Slade's part and a bit of machine gun fire on Raynor's part. "Sanya..." Slade said as he went next to the girl. "Do you have a weapon?" "Umm... no..." Sanya replied sheepishly as she watched Armin run away from getting Spike. "I can..." "Doesn't matter for now... take this..." Slade said as he handed her the grenade launcher. "Hope you can point it the right way at least.... give me a distraction..." "Wait... why me?" "Just pull a magic trick, and I'll pull one of mine, okay?" Leaning over, he whispered a few directions in her ear. "Okay then..." Sanya said as she found a good place... It actually was a pretty awful place, to put this into perspective, the blast ended up knocking her straight for a few feet, anyone else besides Raynor who happened to have been in a 15 foot radius had a similar conundrum as they were launched several feet back. Evidently, it had been extra, extra high yield grenades that Slade had been using. Surprisingly, the blast hadn't killed Spike. Only stunned him. Had Sanya been aiming for Spike, it would have been easy to say that he would have been ripped in two. This was all Slade needed, from the smoke a figure in black and orange jumped off a building, landing on the dragons head. Grabbing a strange canister, he slapped it straight onto the dragon, a mysterious orange gas filling Spike's nostrils. Slowly, his actions began to die down as he lost consciousness. "And that's how you do it." Slade said as he jumped off the unconscious dragon. "Nobody hurt?" "You have at least told us there would be a blast that big." Cap said as he got up. His body had left a massive imprint in the ground. "Why didn't you anyways?! You wanted people to die or something?" "No one died. This thing tactical vision confirms that, but as of now, there would be no way in hell anyone was willing to fire that thing if I told them about the size of the explosion." Slade said as he passed the ponies who had their mouths agape in surprise. "Alright then... so... what do we do now?" "Is... it over?" Armin asked as he poked his head out from behind cover. His mistake as Slade grabbed him by the collar, the mercenary who had been somewhat good humored in the last second just turned dead serious. "Where the hell were you this time? Hiding to save yourself from what we were throwing our skins in front of?!" Slade snarled as he gripped Armin tightly, partially intent on choking the life from him. "Uh...uh...eh..." Knowing that everyone was watching, he leaned close to Armin's ear, every word meaning it. "Listen kid... I am a master of accidents... if you compromise ANYONE, ANYONE or if are something worse... if you are a coward.... if you contribute nothing... if you are nothing but a ball and chain... then I will kill you... do you understand me?" Armin nodded, though... what did he do again? Except for I don't know.... NOT GET BURNED ALIVE?! Throwing the boy down, Slade turned back to Twilight, who MIGHT of had an idea on how to change Spike back to his original size and temperament. From the distance, a lone dragon flew overhead, perhaps rather surprised at how these creatures performed and having witnessed firsthand. Perhaps they were truly indeed a threat to him. Should he attack now while they were weary and licking their wounds? Probably not. He was in a bad position and if he came down on them, they'd spot them quickly. No, some other time. The dragon king looked at the sight again, and flew back to his mountain where he would plan his next schemes. Chapter 30"So... what do we do with this thing?" Slade gestured over to Spike. "If he regains consciousness, I don't have enough gas to keep him down." "I don't think that'll actually be necessary..." Twilight said. "I am working on a spell." "Alright Sparkler, but know this, if he wakes up and he's still as he was when he was awake, I am putting him down. Permanently." Slade said with the utmost degree of seriousness as he walked away, bumping straight into Rainbow Dash. "What do you want?" "And who gives you the right to just "put spike down"? And another thing... what's up with you and killing people anyways?! Do you enjoy doing that or something?!" "I don't enjoy it." Slade replied. "But if you favor getting barbequed alive and getting eaten, I suppose I'll just let him if that's what you want." "And hold just a second... who said WE need your help anyways?!" Rainbow Dash asked indignantly. "I can handle myself!" "Really now? I recall that Captain Star Spangle beat you in a footrace. You call yourself a race horse, skittles?" "Well that's cause he cheats! He doesn't even get tired! And what kind of name is skittles?" "Steve cheats? That's a good one." Slade said as he walked away. "Listen horsey, you probably shouldn't be acting so uppity lest you really want bad things to happen. Just a warning, just a warning." "Bad things to happen? I bet I can take you down Mr. "world's greatest assassin"." "Let's see it then." Slade said. No sooner did those words leave his mouth, Rainbow Dash flew at him like a multi-colored lightning bolt. Slade merely sidestepped to one side, causing the Pegasus to crash in a pile of rubble. "Fast on the wings eh? Not so fast in the head though." "So... about Spike... how long is this going to take?" Steve asked Twilight as he watched Rainbow Dash hit a pile of rubble. Serves her right. "I dunno... and that's what scares me.... what if he gets up? He may try to eat all of us or burn us all down again!" "I think Slade would probably blow his head off before that happens." Steve said, though something about that sentence wasn't really so reassuring. Perhaps it involved Spike losing his head... or maybe it was because a guy called Deathstroke was just involved to begin with. "Twilight... I have a question..." Steve began after a long pause. "Yeah... sure." "Why did you follow us?" "What?" "Why did you follow us? We were walking all the way to that... crystal empire or whatever it's called and yeah... it's going to take at least 6 days for us to get there. So why did you follow us?" "Because we thought you needed help. And that... well... maybe it'd be nice to get to know you... most of you at least..." Twilight said tentatively taking a look at Slade who was sharpening one of his swords. "So... you're a soldier and all... but don't you have problems of your own back at home?" That was true... and for that moment... Cap didn't know how to answer. He just stared at the ground awkwardly. "I... uh... yeah.... um... well you see... I've dedicated my whole life to fighting oppression and tyrants. If that's really true, then I got to do it not just back home, but here as well." "I see..." Twilight said as she continued to cast her spell. "So how is everyone?" "Well... Raynor is a great man. He's one of the most decent men I've ever met on that note." Cap said. "I worry about Armin and Sanya though." "Why?" "They're children Twilight. And yet, they're both soldiers in wherever they come from. One of them fights giants with nothing but swords while the other has to fight an advanced race of aliens. What the hell? Just how desperate are their people to start sending in their own children to fight?" "Well... I heard from Sanya that only the very young can use magic." "Regardless... it's just messed up! I... I... I kinda almost want to go over to help... if only I could... if I only I had a clue on what to do." "Well... that's very kind of you Steve... but what could you do? Perhaps you may not know it, but those two probably have the same skill as you do. At least, when it comes to fighting giants or aliens." "True... true..." Steve said. "Though Slade would disagree about Armin. Man, he hates that kid." "How so?" "He thinks he's useless. Calls him a coward, calls him a ball and chain, all sorts of things." Steve said. "Maybe he should just go off and pick a fight with someone who can actually hit back." His hands curled into two fists. It really didn't take a genius to spot out the dislike between the captain and the mercenary. "Slade really isn't the most pleasant of all things I had to deal with..." Twilight said in agreement. "But he's pretty skilled..." "Skilled? Of course. He's one of the best assassins in his world which puts him at an apex level. And he's a great fighter, but I'll be damned if someone calls him a great soldier. He's not a soldier. Soldiers work together, being a soldier means to be apart a family. Slade? He destroyed his own family, he fights for himself, and doesn't give a damn about the rest of us. If we all died, and he just made it out, I am certain he'll come out straight without any regrets. Hope he dies in a fire or something." He caught the mercenary stealing a glance off him. naturally, he scowled straight at the smirking assassin. "Twilight... perhaps we can move without you? I don't like the idea but..." "I would actually suggest you do... it's going to take a long time....." "Okay then. We can stay for five more minutes, if it's not done then, we get going. Okay?" "Okay." "And you see... every Witch has her own special ability. Mine for example, I can listen great distances." Sanya said as the magical antennas popped out. "For example..." The sounds of the woodland creatures chattering was more than enough to bring a smile on Fluttershy's kind face as she began to speak. "That's amazing! You see... everypony has their own special talent too... mine for example is with animals! I can talk to them." "Talk to animals?" Sanya asked with a bit of curiosity. "How so?" "I can understand what they want to say. And that's really useful since I take care of so many of them." "I like animals... especially cats." Sanya said. Hopefully the cat tail and ears didn't give it away... "I can get you one... or many..." Fluttershy offered. "Oh... really? I can keep them?" "Of course! There's plenty of creatures who would love to become a pet to anyp... anyone!" "Wow... thanks..." Sanya said. "But of course... that's when we get back... right?" "Yes." "Okay then." Sanya said. Their conversation continued, naturally going over to the subject of their companions. Sanya's opinion? "I think everyone I've met in my life was pretty nice and all... I have this friend, Eila... she's like an older sister to me." Sanya said as she thought of the rest of her squadmates back at home. "What about you?" "Oh my friends are just lovely! They're so kind... and so good to be with! But... I have a question. About the people you're with... what do you think of them?" "Well... Jim is very nice... he does get along with everyone... but I think Steve and Slade are rather... well..." She smiled for a moment. "They remind me of Shirley and Barkhorn... two friends of mine... they never get along... and probably never will... I do worry about Armin though... It seems as though Slade doesn't like him very much." "I see... I understand when friends fight a lot... but Slade... he's very scary." Oh I dunno whatever made you feel that way. The eyepatch? The swords? The fact that he's killed like a few hundred people? Yeah... "I don't think Steve and Slade call even be called friends..." Sanya began. She would say a few things about Medic... but the guy scared her and probably everyone else to the point that they wouldn't let him within 5 feet of them unless they were given a guarantee he was going to heal them with the medigun. That guy. There wouldn't be anymore time to talk however, as five minutes came up. As Steve came to everyone telling them to get up, Spike still hadn't returned to his normal form. Though many would express their concerns, Twilight assured them it was fine... "fine". Whatever the cause, they had to go. Every moment they dragged on what be another moment Feynaltdrog would use in his conquest on the world. Speaking of which... if anyone in Canterlot happened to have been using the observatory or on any high balcony... well... Chapter 31Total chaos. That's what it was. Just total chaos. Even if Discord somehow managed to get back from his vacation in the eight dimension and decided he wanted to get himself "Un-reformed", there would have been no way in hell for him to have set a standard so high for himself. The shield that had once protected Canterlot and held it's own against the full force of a changeling army was about as much protection as tissue paper against a flamethrower the moment the first dragon came dive-bombing down upon Canterlot. It smashed through the shield and crashed into several buildings, sowing destruction and death in it's wake. The royal guard were mobilized in less time than one could say "blitzkrieg" the only problem was, the offensive spells that were everyday to the average unicorn guard would do little more than throwing ping pong balls against a dragon, the pegasi found themselves at a similar disadvantage, the only difference would be that they won't have time to react against an angry dragon if they zapped it with a bolt of lightning from the nearest cloud. "Al daar hiim! Aldol nii wah golt!" Feynaltdrog cried over the sweet melody of destruction as he watched a pony get devoured in a bloody mess by a dragon. Cackling manically the dragon king readied himself, for the first time in 1,000 years, he had the time to try the spell. "Suldaan! Meyz veyl!" The call of the apocalypse. The coming of the event would not come until perhaps the literal end of time. (Duh.) It was merely what one would call... a preview of what the actual thing may be like. The ground split open and molten lava poured straight out of the holes, the skies blackened themselves, not from the hundreds of dark wings that obscured the moon itself but from the dark clouds of ill omen as a literal eye of terror opened it's up where the moon should be, everything else obscured by the darkness. Fire and brimstone rained down upon the hapless city of canterlot, as though it hadn't been ravaged enough by the marauding dragons that made their point of burning down the city, everywhere the balls of fire crashed into the ground of Canterlot, it's citizens would find themselves at the most perilous of all situations as death sprang from both beneath and above them. From her tower, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna watched the destruction unfold. The mad king of dragons relishing in the ruin he caused. Looking at each other, the pair took to the skies, making a beeline straight for the dragon king, coming face to face with the massive black dragon who acknowledged their presence with a smile. "Dii wuth paal. Vir pruzah los nii fah mii wah grind ont einzuk? Vir lingrah lost nii kosaan? Fah ton eruvos, Zu'u lost kosaan ni nuz bruzah, dii sil krent kotin malur naal hin veistul luh. Vir gluuskei fah zey, hi nid lingrahiik posses grik zun wah kod midrak zey." "You deserved your sentence Feynaltdrog, king of dragons. For the world suffered and trembled beneath your claws." Luna said as she readied her horn, her elder sister preparing herself. "Ful saag gein wo unt wah frit lein ko unahzaal vulom. Lost hi vodahmin hin siifur dren? Tol hi los med zey? Hi laan lein ahst hin fren? Hi skem zey. Pah do hin eylok dreh. Hi yolskein mii vokulin tul duzrah hin siifur dren. Tol los fahvos lein qaariv wah kos neben dii fren. Zu'u los vahzah siifuriik do daar lein. Nunon zok suleykaar fen alun vorliz." "Then if only the powerful may rule, then we'll let you see who just may be!" Celestia replied as the golden beam shot out of her horn, straight at the dragon king who had readied his voice, the moment the words escaped his mouth, the bright blue shield covered his front as the power of the sun hit it with all it's might. The shield buckled and cracked, but did not break as the dragon king readied himself for the counter attack. "How... much... further?" Sanya whispered into Cap's ear over the sounds of crickets. "Not much more kid. We'll stop in five minutes... okay?" Steve replied as he took a drink from his canteen. "Okay..." Sanya said as she continued moving. "Steve... I think I heard something..." "What is it?" Cap asked as he took out his pistol, getting ready for any trouble. Likewise, swords and guns were all drawn the moment Sanya said this, much to the Orussian's annoyance. "No... as in far away... like really far away..." "Okay... so tell me about it." "There were... screams... just like that. Screams. I think..." "Kid... I don't want to be that guy, but we can't really just go off and get sidetracked every time some poor sap accidently steps on a set of legos." Slade said. "Whatever it is, it's probably some horse who scraped his knee or something." "No... I think it was many of them. And there was just SO many of them... I think... we need to hurry." "Well... that's the talk." Raynor said as they kept going on. "You still tired?" "No." Sanya lied as moved with them, in truth, having not gotten a good night's sleep in quite the long time, she felt like she could fall asleep right then and there. "Well... regardless, whether you're a witch, super soldier or crazy doctor... I think we all need to sleep some time." Raynor said. "This place looks good. What do you say Cap?" "Looks good to me." Steve said he took a look at the outside of the cave. "If there's anything in there, we can take care of it." "My pleasure." Slade chuckled nastily as he readied his assault rifle and activated his tactical vision. Indeed, there was a faint trace of a creature within. "Let's have some fun Cap." Let's just say... a certain Apex predator in Equestria was REALLY big. Like big enough to probably omnomnom on Killer Croc without a problem. The only thing was... it was kinda see-through and had a strange, almost magical physiology that made it so that it blended in albeit too perfectly in terms of temperature with it's surroundings. It was really big. I can give you that. And you know what else it had? Gunshots were pretty much mosquito bites to it, and the massive size of it all meant that it could probably turn even Jim Raynor in a full suit of power armor into pudding in just a few seconds with little to no effort. When Slade and Cap went into the cave. They stumbled straight into a sleeping Ursa. As usual, because of the darkness of the place, no one really bothered to actually take out a flashlight and see what they were dealing with. All Slade knew was something was in front of him and it was probably a wild animal. Thinking of clearing up some space and probably having breakfast, the mercenary fired a few rounds of his assault rifle straight into it's face. Only then did he realize the error of his mistake once he heard the low rumble that resembled that of an earthquake. The two must have broken records in an attempt to get out of that cave. Chapter 32The instant they heard the literal earthquakes of footfalls, everyone that hadn't gone into the cave knew something was horribly wrong. Especially when Slade and Cap both came tearing out of the cave, almost tripping over one another in the most undignified scramble ever to get out. When it poked it's head out, no one moved a muscle. A few jaws dropped, eyes widened, and although no one would admit it, it wouldn't have been surprising if someone had actually done the number one, though no one would ever admit to this for rather obvious reasons. What could be admitted to easily was that everyone was scared shitless. Everyone. So... when the Ursa Major gave out it's loud roar, everyone stopped playing statues and ran like hell. Frankly, pissing off an 16 meter tall bear was probably one of the worst mistakes anyone could have made. Birds scattered as the six people trampled practically anything that was too small or too slow to get out of their path, while a hulking monster of a bear chased after them, turning the trees into pudding with it's paws. "He's... he's not changing back..." Rainbow Dash said pointing out the rather painfully obvious thing to just about anybody. After almost an hour of the same spell, Spike hadn't gotten any smaller. "No... the spell... it's going to work! It's my fail safe spell!" "Umm... I hate to break it to you Twilight... but you said that when Discord decided to turn Ponyville into the chaos capital of the world..." "But this isn't Discord!" "Of course it's not! It... it..." It was worse. That's what it was. "Now Twilight..." Applejack began. "I don't wanna say anything that may be... well.... bleak... but ya know... what if Spike doesn't wake up? Or what if he does? But like that? Big, mean and angry! There would be nothing we could do!" "And that's why I have to do something!" Twilight retorted. "I can't leave him like this! Not like this!" "Twi..." Applejack sighed but said nothing, only choosing to bury her face within her hat. "Twilight... there may be nothing we can actually do..." Fluttershy began, not really wanting to say those words at all. "If there really is nothing we can do... then... maybe..." "What?!" Twilight asked rather hostilely, her anger rising at the prospect of what Fluttershy of all ponies may actually be about to say. "Well... you see..." Rarity continued, seeing that Twilight may be about to go... well... "Perhaps we could just leave him here?" Pinkie Pie suggested rather slowly. "ARE YOU ALL NUTS?! WE CAN'T LEAVE SPIKE!" Twilight said stamping her hoof like a foal who was just denied some candy. "HE'S MY FRIEND! HE'S LIKE A LITTLE BROTHER TO ME! WE CAN'T JUST... just..." She relented as she took a look at her friends. "We can't just leave him..." Twilight said lowering her head. "We can't do that... we just can't!" "The gas isn't going to last for very long." Rarity said. "Whatever that Deathstroke put him in won't last. As much as I hate to abandon my spikey wikey... if we stay... I don't even want to..." "She's right..."Applejack said sadly. "Like I said... I don't wanna say it... but... if he wakes up... there might be no telling what he may do..." "He's very scary like that..." Fluttershy agreed. "And he's such a meanie too! I hope it wears off! Maybe he's just sick! That's all!" "Wait... Pinkie... say what you just said again..." Rainbow Dash said. "What? Maybe he's just sick?" "Twilight..." Rainbow Dash said, wondering if there was anything that would comfort her friend. "Maybe... maybe it will wear off... maybe he will come back to normal... spell or no spell... don't you think we would?" She wanted to say "yes" but with the fact that the greatest foe Celestia had ever combated was alive and walking well... flying... around. It would be hard to say what would happen. Would it wear off? Could it wear off? She didn't know... and that's what scared her. "But I can't just..." "We know Twi... we know..." Applejack began. "But... I dun really wanna stick around to see what happens if he wakes up... we'll just have to hope for the best... and maybe Princess Celestia might have a clue..." "THAT'S IT! WE GO TO CANTERLOT RIGHT NOW GIRLS." Twilight announced. "Wait what...?" "If anyone has a clue... it's got to be Princess Celestia!" Twilight said. "Come on girls... let's get him back to normal!" [Meanwhile... in Canterlot...] Maybe it was one hour... maybe it was two... maybe it was half of the night she didn't know. All she knew was that there was something heavy on her, and with a mighty heave, the rocks and rubble came tumbling off. Painfully, Celestia got up, her mane covered in dust and blood, her face and body was lined with ugly cuts and bruises as she looked up at the ruins of Canterlot, the entire city having been one step from completely obliterated. There was not a single building that had been unmarked by the dragon raid, Canterlot castle itself fared slightly better than the rest of the city, a segment of the wall was missing entirely and the huge roaring blazes had yet to be put out by the local weather team. Whether or not said weather team was actually still alive... no pony knew. "Celestia... are you hurt?" Luna asked as she landed right next to her elder sister. "I have been looking for you..." "I am fine Luna... but Canterlot is not..." "I can see that..." Luna said as she saw the sun rise. "I... I had to preform your duty... I was worried..." "It's fine... thank you Luna. But... this city..." "Destroyed by the forces of the dragon king." Luna replied as she recalled the meteors that came crashing down upon the city. "It finally stopped... after the many hours... I didn't know... you were knocked out and when the building fell on you, I had no choice but to help aid any of the civilians. It was fortunate for us that Feynaltdrog chose to leave then. For what reasons... I don't know." "Was to demonstrate his strength? For he has the elements..." Celestia said. "And we have no way of stopping him... could Discord even?" "Could Tierk? Could Chrysalis? The nightmare forces? I doubt it." Luna said. "Our only hope... well... rests on them..." And right about now... "them" as in Sanya, Jim, Armin, Slade, Steve and Medic were busy hiding in a cave... "She's asleep. Too damn tired." Raynor said as he gently placed Sanya down on the ground of the cave. "And now... we're trapped in here..." "Zis is bad..." Medic said as he sat by a stream to fill up a canteen of water. "Zat Giant bear von't leave!" "And that's why it is bad..." Slade said as he sat down and took off his mask. "So tired..." "Look on the bright side people..." Cap said. "It can't get to us from in here." "Yeah... so what? It only has to wait us out..." Slade said. "Then that's why we got to get out." Steve said firmly. "Do you think..." "I think... but you don't." Slade replied. "If I know what Captain Star Spangles is going to come up with, it probably ends gloriously and sounds great, until we all get eaten." "Do you have a good idea?!" Steve asked. The lack of sleep was one thing that pissed him. Slade being Slade didn't exactly help. "Yes I do... not getting eaten!" Slade said. "What the hell?! Why did you possibly think this cave was a good idea!" "We wouldn't be in here right now if someone had the brains to check what the hell it was he was shooting!" "And we wouldn't be in here if some idiot didn't lead us straight into a goddamn death trap!" "You think it would have mattered? It's safe in here... for now. But look at those around you... you think we can keep on this forever? We get tired and we are all going to die! Look at Sanya... at Armin... at Medic... Do they LOOK like they can keep going?!" "We can easily hide..." "Hiding. How typical. We're not goddamn ninjas Slade!" "No... YOU are just a deluded fool!" "And you don't give a damn about anyone else except for yourself! We all die and you walk away without as much as caring to look back!" "Who said that?! Plus... you made it quite clear to me that you and I won't have too many problems slitting each other's throats at a moments notice." "What's that got to do? I am only telling you that the most DISPECIABLE person I know as of now should watch his ass if he decides he wants to pull a fast one!" "Watch my ass Captain? Scary. You're not the first person to threaten to kill me and you bet you won't be the last!" "The scary thing will be the next guy. It'll be quite hard to fight when you're missing both eyes!" "You want to fight Captain? You want to?! I'll give you..." "GUYS!" Armin said as he got in between the two. "BREAK IT UP. We're trapped in here and we are not going to get out by just fighting amongst ourselves!" Time paused for a moment as the last sentence echoed throughout the cave. Slowly, the two men stopped only glaring daggers at one another before either sitting down or leaning against a wall. "It's hopeless..." Medic muttered underneath his breath. His bleak attitude deserted him when he saw Armin fall straight into the stream. He chuckled a bit only to find it surprising that Armin had begun to laugh. "Vat's so funny?" "This stream... it's flow... it goes the other way!" Armin cried out. "There may be an exit... ON THE OTHER END!" Chapter 33"I don't like this." Raynor said as he listened closely at the eerie dripping noise within the cave. "It feels... I feel like I am being watched." "Who would anyways? It's too dark to see much." Slade said as he activated his tactical vision. "Better." "You... see anything?" "Nothing actually. Just caves, water and more cave." Slade said. "I honestly don't hope this leads deeper down or I am going to pick getting eaten alive by a giant bear." "I actually hope you do." Cap said muttering underneath his breath. "Alright Doctor, you know anything about caves?" "Damn it Captain! I am a doctor, not un cave expert!" "Alright... alright." Steve mumbled to himself as he held Sanya in his hands. "Damn... I wish you were awake. You could probably see just fine. Or rather... hear just fine." "I do have night vision Cap... and I can see just fine in this." Slade said as he took a look down. "Follow the stream... right son?" "Right." Armin replied as they continued on. "There has to be a way out, after all... where does this stream lead to?" "A fair point nevertheless." Slade said. Good to see you can make yourself useful kid. "Vell zen... let's keep going." The group moved on, unaware of that they were being watched by prying claws and greedy eyes. Had Sanya been awake... she could have heard it easily. "My... preciousness...." "Wha...who...wha...wh...ho...bubub..bub...ha...what?" Twilight stammered out as she looked out at Canterlot which had been like this way when she left, ended up looking a bit like this today. "Feynaltdrog. That's who. He attacked last night." Celestia said as she watched over at the citizens of Canterlot within their misfortune. Perhaps not a single household was spared that night as many crowded around Canterlot castle, lost and afraid. "Just last night... he used a spell... a long forbidden magic eons old. With that one spell, he was able to destroy this city effortlessly!" "He wields the power of the heavens themselves." Luna lamented as she dug a hoof into the earth. "Is there nothing that can oppose him?" "Princess... please... the whole thing." "Right..." Luna said as she recounted the battle the night before. How hundreds of dragons descended up Canterlot at night, how every pony was helpless against their might, how the two sisters themselves had attempted to battle with the dragon king and how in the end... they were utterly and completely helpless against his power. The king of dragons was truly a king of sorcery amongst him kind. With nothing that could stop him, Canterlot burned underneath him. "And that's not just the worst of it." Celestia said. "We are getting similar reports from every major city not just in Equestria... but from everywhere. And yet... there's even more to that. The Changelings are now under the control of the dragons, and we fear that the minotaur lands have fallen underneath the heel of the tyrant." "So... what can we do?" Twilight asked as she looked around at the destruction. At the dead and the dying and at the groans of the wounded. "What can we do?" "If only... if only there would be a way to tell when Feynaltdrog would strike..." "And where in the name of the moon he was coming from!" Luna said. "How does he... what?" "Princess... I think we're already on it..." Twilight grinned slightly. "You see... I met up with the humans when... well... we went looking for them... and..." She felt like she was forgetting something... but that train of thought would probably find it's way back sooner or later... now then... where was she? "Right. Sorry about that. They were off to the Crystal Empire! They are trying to look for a way for them to decipher the dragon language!" The two regal sisters looked at each other for a moment, before both smiling hopefully. "Then it's good... then we might just have a chance." Luna grinned. "Now then... perhaps we should make our way there too? The crystal empire has both the most powerful conjurer of defensive magic in all of Equestria and the Princess of love herself. With those two... we should be able to find sanctuary there." "But what of Canterlot?" "I'll stay back then." Celestia said. "Lest Feynaltdrog decides to rear his head again, I will be prepared to defend every pony to my last breath." "We can only hope that won't be necessary." Luna commented as the seven ponies went off. Twilight had forgotten something.... "Okay... this looks like a good place to stop..." Slade said. "She's STILL asleep?" "Yeah..." Cap said. "Nocturnal here? You of all people..." "Not in the mood." Slade cut off. Truth be told, he received little sleep last night either, because... well... kinda hard to rest when you have a giant purple bear outside wanting to eat you. "Now zen... how deep are ve in?" Medic asked as he took a look around. "I'd say... perhaps... I...um... okay.... maybe... damn it... I have no clue." Armin said as he took a look around and back to the stream within the cave. "I just hope this leads us out." "I swear..." Slade began. Even without things like lack of sleep and nearly getting killed, he was fairly easy to agitate. You can imagine how pissed off he would be when hearing rather... unfortunate news and having both of the two things happening to him. Though, a stern look from the star spangled man, and he would say nothing. Though he wanted nothing more than to hit something, or in this case someone... not here. Just anywhere but here. "Maybe you should carry Sanya." Cap said as he handed the small girl over to the assassin, inwardly making jokes to himself about how Slade would probably bludgeon someone to death with the sleeping girl. Then again... it wouldn't be a joke if that actually happened. Funny. Now that he began to think about it... the two seemed to have spent an awful lot of time together... Ironic even. The first day they met ended with Slade getting a shattered chestplate and Sanya with probably shattered bones... which turned out to not have happened but still... not the best of first impressions when all things considered but... Why did those two spend so much time together? What the hell did they even have in common? Why would one of the kindest, shyest and quietest people he had met want to be with that bastard? Why would that assassin want to be with anyone actually? Maybe it was the military background? Steve had started when he was in his early twenties, while Slade had begun his career as a soldier when he was 16. Sanya began at 13. Maybe it was this single... Nah. Slade? Really? Cap was in the army too and those two probably would murder each other if given the chance. Perhaps it was just mere sympathy at the fact... really... Slade showing anyone sympathy? That'd be the day. Probably just mere randomness then. Those two seemed like an odd grouping of all sorts. An old soldier past his prime who's still worth an army, while a soldier that should be too young to serve, also worth an army of lesser men. His train of thought crashed over a bridge when he heard what sounded like footfalls. Chapter 34Orussia being an alternate counterpart to Russia, not surprisingly, had a climate so cold that anyone not to used to constant sub-zero temperature would be in for a rough trip. But if anyone came to Orussia after September 1st 1939 west of the Ural moutains, the cold would be the least of anyone's concerns. Neuroi. Mysterious aliens that consumed swaths of land in an equally mysterious yet seemingly endless hunger. If it hadn't been for the witches and their uncanny magical abilities, the entire planet would have been consumed by the aliens. And here she was. Standing in the bitter cold with nothing but a rabbit-fur coat and the iconic usankas of Orussia, Sanya stood within the blizzard. The snow pelted her like an MG nest on an advancing charge, the bitter cold nipped at her face and stung her eyes. This was Orussia. The largest empire that the world has yet seen. A little tidbit of history now wouldn't be important, especially since this was only one person's history, not the rest. What was important was how in the midst of the terrible blizzard, a lone shape materialized out of nowhere. It was Eila. "Eila?" Sanya asked with disbelief at her friend as she stepped out of the snow which was almost like a veil to everything that was in front of her. "Sanya..." Eila replied. "Are you okay? Are you... how...uhh.... wake up!" "What?" Sanya asked. "Wake up Sanya! Please! Wake up!" Is this a dream? Definitely. Was this whole thing merely a dream? This "adventure"? Everyone that she had met? Surely there couldn't have been a land of magical ponies where... "God damn it! Wake up!" Eila cried out again. "Huh?" Sanya scratched her head as Eila began to shout incomprehensible things about "getting up". Maybe those comments should be saved for Hartmann... but that aside... "I know I shouldn't remind you... but didn't you say you'd carry me around if I was too tired to walk?" Sanya replied. "Are you kidding me?" Slade groaned as she listened to what Sanya just said through closed eyelids. "Are you kidding me?" "Well... you're job now!" Steve chuckled as he saw Slade glare daggers at him as Sanya continued to mumble incomprehensible words of gratitude and much to Slade's annoyance, calling him "Eila" which sounded much like a girl's name... you can only imagine how irritated he would get by that. "So Eila..." Steve said to Slade who had still not stopped giving him the evil eye. "How's your best friend doing? I hope..." "Very funny Captain. Very funny." Slade said as he held Sanya as he would to his children when they were younger. Back then, he actually knew how to hold children and probably could do it without either getting arrows/batarangs/shurikens/power rings/water/martians/kyrptonians/etc getting flung at him from all directions. Come on people, he was an assassin, not a kidnapper and... He stopped walking as he heard the footfalls. Silent... like that guy with the batarangs. Someone there was trying to sneak up on them. Or worse yet... it might be something. "You hear that?" Slade whispered. He didn't need an answer the moment cap's face went from jovial to alert in ten seconds flat. In less time than that, the Captain had drawn his pistol. Slade's hand strayed to his SMG. Whatever was trying to get the slip of them... it was getting closer. All the while, rather comically Sanya was still mumbling about someone called Eila. "So... what happened there?" Luna asked as the seven ponies went through the forest, trying hard to find what original route they had taken the last time, and where they had met up with the humans. They would stop temporarily at the large footprints within the ground. "Huh... looks like... well... wow..." Twilight said. "If I remember the books right... I think an Ursa Major has been through here." "Um... Twilight... doesn't that mean BAD things for us?" "Not at all actually! Did you know Ursas are mostly actually very calm and reasonable? They won't even notice you unless you do something to get their attention. Typically however, they leave us alone and probably wouldn't care about what we do and... what's that noise?" In the distance. Birds scattered as the roars became within earshot. The ponies took a look around for a moment for any telltale signs that could possibly tell them what was going on. Save for the footprints, there were none causing Luna to fly up into the skies to take a look. When she came down, she couldn't have been more panicked if someone had told her Feynaltdrog was (somehow) in her saddlebag. "We have to go. Now!" The princess of the night said. Her unfeigned anxiety and terror caused everypony to back up for a moment. "What's going on?" Rainbow Dash asked. "What's..." "There is no time to talk! There is a dragon fighting an Ursa Major!" "Wait.. say that again?" Twilight asked as she looked at her map again. "There is a dragon fighting an Ursa." Luna answered. "Come on! Let's go!" That instantly made Twilight's face droop. That's what she just forgot. "Umm... Luna what color was the dragon?" "Why do you care?! This entire forest is going to go up in flames with those two titans battling!" "Just tell me!" "Purple!" Imagine the looks on the faces of every pony when they all realized at the same time what they had forgot. "SPIKE!" "Vat vas that?" Medic asked to empty air as he drew out the bonesaw, the long blade still stained of blood on his last unlucky patient. "Something..." Jim said as he aimed his rifle. His motion detectors within his armor's HUD were buzzing like crazy, yet there was no way currently to search for a source. He couldn't tell where it was coming from. No one could. "I got nothing..." Slade grumbled as he activated his tactical vision. With Sanya in his hands, he mentally debated on whether or not Sanya would make a good bludgeoning tool. Frantically, the mercenary scanned around. He would find nothing. "Armin... what are you doing?" Rogers asked as he took out his shield, watching the boy step into the shallow stream, walking through it. "The water... we should go in... I know we'll get wet and all but if somethings out there... I think if we can't see it coming... we can hear it coming!" "And this is why I wish Sanya is awake." Slade said as he looked at the water. "What do you think if I... uh..." He pointed between Sanya and the water, getting all looks of disapproval... "Okay. I am certain her taking a nap isn't as important as... actually.. forget it. How the hell does she sleep through this is a better question." In all seriousness... Hartmann was easily outdone today in who was a better sleeper. But as things would have it, Sanya turned out to be a very heavy sleeper as she continued to mumble to an imaginary friend. Slade would have been the happiest man on the planet for like 2 seconds when Sanya perked up and wrapped her arms around his neck... only to find out... She was still asleep. "Thanks for carrying me Eila..." Sanya muttered in her dream-like state. Inwardly, dunking her in stream water was now becoming more and more of a viable option. Chapter 35Hungry... so hungry... Underground caves, as on might expect... aren't exactly the most plentiful in edible materials. And so, that's exactly the type of predicament a certain type of pack creature found in Equestria was having when it got lost and separated. Having spent days without eating, the beast was rather famished as you could imagine but nevertheless, retained it's capable abilities to track prey... scratch that last sentence. Got even better at it. Why? Because it was STARVING TO DEATH AND NEEDED SOMETHING TO EAT. Naturally... when other living beings entered it's domain you can imagine how hunting instincts kick in. The only problem was... the other beings entered and were rather quick on getting out. So... our lost hunter here needed to be very fast, or it's prey might escape. As time passed... the hunter found out that his prey may... be... a bit on the dangerous side. For instance... four out of the six potential meals he could have were larger than he was. Two of them were in irons that would break his teeth if he tried, whilst the other two carried an air of danger, one always carried a shield while the one in white with glasses had a... chilling aura of fear that made the hunter less sure of taking it on. So... he had two options. A somewhat cat-like creature that had done nothing but rest, while a shorter member of these strange species which seemed to be... what our hunter here would call easy meat. The only problem would be attempting to get it. In addition, this prey... something told it, that it won't be easy. Perhaps the swords at it's side? It waited. Making mistakes once in a while and attracting the attention of several members of the pack he kept stalking. Fearfully... yet hungrily he waited. The hunger would be what drove him into taking the risk... the beast surely wasn't stupid. It knew that it was the hunter... but it was also the prey. And that... that... was a problem. "Oh no... oh no... oh no..." Twilight said as she looked at the area of the forest. Gone. Just completely gone. Bulldozed by the two great titans that now fought tooth and nail for... Um... why are they fighting again? It didn't matter. What happened had to be stopped lest they destroy the entire forest... which they kinda already did already but still... best calm the two rampaging monsters down or bad things are going to happen. By bad things, I mean not as in the fact AN ENTIRE FOREST WAS PRACTICALLY LEVELED... by bad things I mean... hey... we gotta stop them from leveling the already leveled forest! That aside... however, Twilight looked to take a look at the action better. As of now, the Ursa and the dragon were both on the ground, roaring at one another like two cats fighting over territory. Perhaps that was what all of this was about? No. Spike is smarter than that. Something told her that though he had been reduced (or rather, enlarged) into a savage dragon, he had to have had a reason to fight the Ursa... or maybe he didn't... whatever the case, she needed Spike back. And she wanted him back now. Whether or not it was a good idea... yeah it was a terrible idea, but regardless Twilight got all the air her lungs could muster and called out. "SPIKE" For a instant the two creatures stopped fighting to acknoledge her existence the Ursa just looked at her, and then looked back, continuing to snarl and roar at it's foe, but Spike... Spike just stared at Twilight for a moment. Just stared. And then... without warning, he stretched his great wings and flew off. Just like that. "Spike?!" Twilight called out. "Spike?! SPIKE?!" He was gone. Into the wind he went, away from here as though there was something in Twilight he wanted to get away from. Nevertheless... whatever the reason, Twilight couldn't help but feel the pains of sorrow as she saw the dragon that had been her number on assisstant fly off into the distance, perhaps... never to be seen again by her. "Spike..." Twilight whimpered through the tears that streamed down her cheeks. "Why? Don't leave..." He was already out of earshot. But to Twilight... he would always be listening. Luna placed a hoof on the weeping pony's shoulders as they watch the Ursa make it's exit. "He's gone now." Luna said, stating the obvious. "To parts unknown." "Why?" Twilight asked. "Why does he want to leave?!" "I don't know." Luna replied. "But please... how did he become fully grown?" It took a while to explain. How a spell had overcome Spike, and in an instant, he had grown to a beserking dragon that rampaged through a local town. Only did some mysterious gas that Slade have ended up calming him down. When he never woke up nor returned to normal size, the decision was inevitably made to abandon him. A decision that was now regretted. "Don't be too hard on yourself Twilight. Had you stayed... you would have been caught in the middle of a dragon and an Ursa." Luna said as Spike faded into a little dot in the distance. "If Spike really is fully grown... then he'll seek out his own fortunes. But if... but if Feynaltdrog had TRULY corrupted him... then I doubt he would have just walked away from all of this." "So... where do you think he's going?" "He's a dragon Twilight. He'll go anywhere that has riches and a place for him to sleep. That's what the ordinary dragons do." Luna said. Her voice contained a grim undertone that silently spoke about the OTHER type of dragon. The ones who burned down cities and devoured their residents. Or worse yet... the ones that were vicious warlords and conquerers. "Eila..." She woke up rather rudely. Really rudely to the slap of cold water as Slade poured an entire canteen of it straight on to her head. Gasping for a moment, she took a look around, fully awake, her sharp hearing detected... something. "Oh... what happened here?" Sanya asked as she gasped again. "Are you..." "I've been carrying you for the last hour. You're welcome." Slade replied as he refilled the canteen in the stream. "Alright... so..." "There's something in here with us!" Sanya said. "Yeah... we've realized." Slade replied. "We just can't find the damn thing." "Maybe I can..." Sanya said as the magical antennas formed themselves, she grabbed TT-33 at he side. Like a cat finding signs of prey, she began to have a look around. Finding some place that migh... "Where the hell are you going?" Steve asked. "Get back here." "I think I can find whatever's in the cave with us." Sanya replied. "Don't worry... I can handle myself." Thank god. Slade thought as he tossed her his knife. "Hey kid... it'll come in handy." "Alright. Thanks Slade... and for carrying me all that time... did I really sleep all that time?" "Longer actually." Steve chuckled. "Right Eila?" "I swear..." In the cave. The lone hunter found it's potential meal yet it's potential predator. The lone creature was of small build, small being comparing to it's own kind. In truth, it stood over this specimen. The dog bared it's fangs in signs of frustration, wondering when was the best time to tackle it. It could hear him in utter darkness, and that caused the lone Diamond Dog to lose whatever advantage he had. Yet... could he take it on? Fight it? Wrestle it to the ground and snap it's neck before the others notice? It was worth a try. The dog readied it's fangs and claws and found a potential ambush site. It sat still... afraid to move a muscle as the Orussian approached. Knife in one hand, gun in the other. The magical antennas listening for anything... anything that may give anything about what was in the cave with her. Chapter 36Darkness. That was the home of the night witch. To some, they were like ghosts that haunted the dark skies after the sun had set, patrolling the skies. Regardless. Darkness was the Night Witch's best friend. They thrived in it and in return, the darkness was their ally. But how far did this friendship go when faced with this sort of creature? A creature that had been born in the dark... raised by it... molded by it... that hadn't seen the light until it had already been grown? That when it had seen the light, the light was nothing... just nothing save for blindness. Regardless... the Diamond Dog bared it's fangs as it saw Sanya, alone as she approached. Even without the perfect ability to seen within the darkness, the magical antennas that gleamed bright green within the ill-lighten cave would have given her away to practically anything along with the glow of the flashlight. The dog perched atop a small mound, fangs and claws at the ready. The first meal it would have in a long time. Something wasn't right. Why was it's prey towards him? Why was it that every time he inched off a little bit, his prey would change her direction, as though it knew he was there? Terrible realization would be had when a light was shone straight into his face, causing him to cry out and cover his eyes from the blinding light before being able to look at his potential meal. "Hello?" Sanya asked as she examined the creature. It was canine-like though a thin... and had these sharp teeth which wasn't very appealing to her. In addition, the claws would cause any sensible person to step back. To this end, Sanya kept her gun raised. "Can you speak?" "Yeeesssss..." The dog hissed. It's dinner was speaking to him. Amusing. "Speeaaaakkkk...." It's prey was alert. Ready for trouble. From the way the tail and the ears were tense, rigid, like an alert cat that had found signs of danger. If he struck now, he could end up with nothing... or worse. "Is there a way out?" Sanya asked with her normal air of quiet politeness. The creature... looked... well... pitiful almost. It was terribly thin, not in the same sense one would describe it as a compliment, but almost of a sickly thin. Realization and a closer scrutiny would reveal this creature hadn't eaten for maybe days now. "Yesss... I can show you..." The dog replied as it grinned inwardly. "Come... with meeeeee..." "I will... but I need to tell my friends... there's a way out..." "No... come with meeeeeee...." "Are you alright?" Sanya asked, her uneasiness beginning to show. The last part sounded a bit... demented even. "Are you sick? Do you need help? One of my friends is a doctor... he can..." "No... I jusssstt...neeeeed..... YOU!" She let out a small yelp of surprise as the dog lunged straight for her, fangs and claws barred at the ready. It could have gone badly for Sanya, easily could have, but her initial shock and instincts ended up saving her as she practically jumped back, the cat tail tucked under and her ears back. The dog was growling like an animal with a seriously bad case of rabies of is it lunged and scratched, missing every time until the last one, giving her a few small scars and a rather long tear in her sleeves. See... it didn't hurt. Save for the fact that the shirt she was wearing... was a gift from Eila. And that... really pissed her off. LIKE REALLY PISSED HER OFF. Slade burst into hearty laughter when he heard the sounds of wet meat splat against rock as the blow sent the dog flying, in an almost cartoon-like fashion as it hit the rock, somehow still being alive. "Very good... very good... I see you can handle yourself kid. They teach that in the military?" She practically jumped when she heard his voice... the only thing stopping her from leaping straight out of her skin was that Slade had a tendency to pull this on everyone. Turning around, she saw the masked mercenary approach her with a blade out. Had this been their first time meeting, she probably would have been pretty scared at the fact that a guy wearing ~~a painted hockey mask~~ A REALLY BADASS MASK THAT NO ONE WILL EVER MAKE FUN OF was approaching her... or rather... the semi-conscious... thing. "Please tell me you haven't been following me this whole time..." "I was.. I mean wasn't. Tactical vision told me your heart rate sky-rocketed. Told me that something was wrong so I went to take a look. I see you can take care of yourself just fine though. But let's find our way out now... okay?" It was a good thing he caught himself... or rather turned an accident around. He had almost just said the words "I was worried". "So... where's the way out?" Slade asked firmly. "You can all die hereeee with mee... AUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..." The blade was thrust straight into one the dog's paws causing the red, slippery liquid to spill out. "I am not going to ask again." Slade replied. "Tell me where's the way..." "Hey Slade!" Steve's voice called out from behind them. "Armin's got a way out!" The dog practically sighed with relief. He actually didn't know the way out and ha... "Well... you ran out of time." Slade said as his two hands grabbed the dog's head. "Wait... wait... wait!" SNAP* "So... whatcha guys got here?" Slade asked as he approached the group, seeing how the stream flowed outside... only problem was, unless you were able five inches tall, you weren't going to be able to go out. "I need a demo charge on that wall." Raynor said. "From what I know, we blow it up, and we're home free!" "Than stand back." Slade said as he grabbed his proximity bombs and placed them against the wall. "Hey Armin..." "What?" The boy asked, a bit nervous that it was Slade. "You found the exit, son. I think you deserve the honors." Slade said as he tossed him the trigger. Maybe he wasn't totally useless after all. "More walking now?" Medic grumbled as he grabbed the map. At least the warm afternoon was pleasant, the weather was nice and the birds were singing. Almost worth frolicking in if it wasn't for the journey ahead. "Unfortunately, doc." Raynor replied as he took a look. "But the sun's shining and we're alive and it's nice to be out! You know... I am so happy... I can just start singing... except I am terrible at it... so I won't." "Hmm... we used to sing on marches." Cap replied. "I think I got one." "Lemee guess... US army related?" Slade asked. "Of course. Now then... what was that song again? Oh right. Here's the one." Clearing his throat, the Captain began his song. All those stage performances in his early days as "Captain America" was now beginning to pay off. "How unexpected." Slade mumbled sarcastically. "It's a good song." Sanya commented. "Wait... Slade... didn't you say you used to be in Lib... I mean America's army?" "What are you trying to say?" "SING ALONG MERCENARY!" Raynor laughed. Groaning for a moment... he joined in the song with Captain America. The second most humiliating thing that would happen to him today. Chapter 37Five more days. Through lush forests, grassy plains and barren tundras would the six finally reach their destination, the crystal empire. Truely a city of glamor. "Wow... is that all..." "Crystal... or for me... minerals." Raynor said smiling. "I think I can get about 40 tons of minerals here..." "How are we going to move it all?" Steve asked. "Ehh.... good question." Raynor replied. "But let's just get into whatever library there is so that every time we listen to the dragons... it's not just giberish. And by "we listening", I mean "Sanya listening".... Sanya?" She was too busy staring. The crystal empire... just... just look at the place damn it! "Wow..." Sanya muttered. "That..." She was lost for words. Just simply lost for words. How could one describe it? The glamor that outdone Canterlot by many leagues? A diamond of a city. Litearlly and figuratively. Without further ado, the group procceded into the crystal empire. Twilight and the others were waiting for them. "Hey Twilight!" Raynor called pleasantly over to the lavender unicorn who looked as old as eternity as of now. "Howya doing?" She tried to speak up. But as the things built up, like the destruction of Canterlot and Spike... her voice failed her. Her mouth opened to say the words, the news about what had happened when they tried getting here, about what had happened when they took a detour back to Canterlot, but all that came out was silence. "Cat got your tongue?" Sanya teased. "Is something wrong?" When she gave no answer a second time, there would be no questioning of it. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. "We need to talk." Luna said as she waved them forward into the crystal palace, the crystal ponies still taking a look at the strange new creatures that arrived in their domain. "Vat's the ze matter?" "Come in." Luna said. "Now." Sanya's ears perked up as they walked in. She could hear something... Canterlot was in ashes. Those were the only words that left Luna's mouth, but those were the only words that would ever be needed to speak of the dire situation. Thousands were dead. All through the actions of Feynaltdrog. Everyone listened, gave their sympathies or condolences. Save for one who was listening, but not to Luna. Dii drog, Zu'u lost vorohah nahkivaar. Mu vis utilize daar verin wah un siifur oblaan. "Rinik pruzah. .. fos vis hi fun zey do daar. .. nahkivaar?" "Nust kod ganog luhaal zahvos tol los orin avokei fein hin. Nust vis kos mii. .. mii wah wahl hin thur envok wah suleyk do rah." "Wait a second... where's Sanya?!" Luna asked as she looked at the five people in front of her. She had just been with them moments ago when they entered the palace and now... "Damn..." Raynor began. "She really pulled a fast one on us." "Can't believe I didn't notice... where did she go?" Cap asked partly to himself, partly to everyone else as he looked around. "Sanya?!" "I think I may have an idea..." Twilight began. "Thanks again..." Sanya said rather quickly to the librarian as the heavy book was handed to her. "Not a problem! If it really is an emergency, a good book you can have my dear." Sanya nodded as she bolted off, the book itself must of have weighed heavy than the fliegerhammer... and that was saying something. Opening the page, she took a look... the librarian told her that only one who could use magic could fully access the book. It was a good thing she was a witch... A strange feeling overcame her as her world began to slowly fade into darkness... the same time when in the distance, she heard Luna call her name as her world slowly melted away. If being in a world that vastly resembled a Saturday morning cartoon wasn't really enough for her then this one might have been. "Sanya?" Armin asked as she ran up to the girl, who's eyes were locked unto the book, the text in a language he could not recognize. When he was given no response, he shook her a bit. When still given no response... he was lost for words and for thoughts. "What's wrong?" Slade asked as he took a look at Sanya who was staring into the large black book, unmoving, putting his fingers at her wrist and neck to check for pulse. Vitals were still there... somewhat slowed but at least she was alive. "What's happening to her Doc?" "Ehh... I don't know!" The doctor said as he took a look at Sanya. "Her vitals are normal... but somezing is off!" "She's in what doctors may call... a trance." Luna began as she scrutinized the witch and the book carefully. "The book... it's best explained to be... magical..." And back to the realm of a Saturday morning TV program. Slade grumbled inwardly. "Alright Lunar, what's so special about this book?" "Books like these in Equestria can be accessed, normally by users who are skilled in the usage of magic. Due to the fact that Aleksandra is a witch... I can assume that she is not one who hasn't used her fair share of the power. No wonder she could easily access the book." "And... so... define access." Steve asked. "Well... she's "in" the book." "And define that." "Well...." Cotton candy clouds, chocolate rain and grass that was pink and smelled of strawberry ice cream. Paradise to anyone who had a great childhood and/or happened to have been a kid back in the 1980s. Being separated from her parents at age 9 by a race of vicious aliens in 1939 and fighting a war with vicious machine-like aliens, you can imagine how this didn't apply to Sanya. Though one couldn't tell by looking, she was perhaps more alert and had a better grip of her situation if Raynor in his power armor or Slade with his tactical vision. Her gun in one hand, the knife that Slade had given her in the other. She prepared herself for trouble as the magical antennas sprung up. When the paw tapped on the shoulder, she merely turned around, feigning suprise. Not many people (or creatures in this case) managed to get the slip on her (just Slade actually.) Though... if she was suprised at the fact someone DID manage to sneak up on her, she didn't show any of that over the fact someone snuck up on her. Rather, her jaw hung agape at what stood in front of her. "Why hello there! You've just opened the book of chaos! Now... I actually was in here for my vacation because... you know... Equestria is SOOOO boring sometimes and needed to relax! But then if you need me... I guess I am always right here! For a price of course." "I need to learn how to speak... or understand Dragon." Sanya said firmly, pushing away all thoughts of suprise and her initial opinions of "What the hell is this thing?" "Straight to the point I see! No introductions? No Hello? Huh?" Discord asked. "Maybe you've been spending too much time with the world's greatest brooder! Well... he only does that when he's alone... which is quite often actually but you know!" "Listen... I don't want to be rude... but I need to know... please?" "Alright alright. You remind me just of someone I know. Now... I can teach you. Being the book of chaos... it's also the book of EVERYTHING. I don't have time to explain how... because it WON'T MAKE SENSE! Heh." Discord said as he snapped his claws. "Just like that! But first... you gotta do something for me." "What is it?" Sanya asked. "You see... this thing?" Discord asked as they were teleported in front of a well. "We call this... the well of eternity... it can predict the future... or futures as I should say. Fate is not pre-determined... it can be influenced with the help of a little magic but NEVER and I mean NEVER set in stone. So... I want you... to jump into this well... and see if it works!" "How would I know if it works?" "Cause you can see the future! Silly!" "But... what if it doesn't?" "Then... you probably get all your clothes wet and I'll hang you up to dry." Discord chuckled. "It'll be a laugh that's worth my time." "Then I accept." Sanya said as she got ready. "Go." Discord said as he shoved her in, making a ripple in time itself. Chapter 39"So... it's magic then?" Raynor asked as he watched Sanya load the Fliegerhammer. "Yes... without it, I doubt I could carry this." Sanya said as she loaded the rockets. Damn... that thing must have been at least 60 pounds UNLOADED. Loaded... it probably was heavier than it's user. "You don't seem surprised..." "I've seen a lot of things. A girl with cat ears and a tail who could probably bench press a horse with no problems isn't too hard to get a grip on." Jim said. Things like the Protoss Mothership which could break the laws of physics came into mind right about here. "But the Neuroi... that's what you call them right? So the story is they're highly advanced alien race and eat the earth?" "Something like that. They consume sects of land for... I don't know actually. I just know they consume land." "Heh. Reminds of TWO things I didn't like fighting." Raynor said as he finished his cup of coffee and looked back down into the hole. His project was almost finished. Having found a way, the process was now automated which allowed him to take the time off instead of being cooped up down there. "What are you building anyways?" Sanya asked. The only thing she knew about it was it was HUGE. Weighing about FORTY TONS probably meant that thing packed a punch. "Most tanks from where we come from weight about 40 tons... you building one?" "Kid... I am gonna do better than that. You see... minerals have a good thing about them. They are VERY, and I mean VERY efficient in terms of weight to strength. A few ounces of theses babies is pretty damn hard to break by conventional means. You get a ton, and you're going to need to bring some pretty heavy things. 40 tons? I'd love to see a bunch of overgrown lizards try to get past that. When you see it... I promise you... you'll love it." "Okay then." Sanya said as she finished loading her rockets and reached into her pockets, revealing two pairs of gloves and placing on a single pair. "Whatcha got there?" "Twilight found a way to further amplify my magic." Sanya said as she tested out her shield, noting the large increase in size. It would protect her well in the battle to come. "Though... the things I'd give for a Striker unit." "I feel ya." Jim said even though he hardly had a clue to what that was. "I am missing the good ol' Hyperion right now. But... what do you think everyone else is up to?" "I heard Slade wanted to train with Armin." Sanya said. That had been the most surprisingly thing anyone ever could of heard unless "train" meant cause an "accident" that involved Armin dying. "Not bad." Slade chuckled as he saw the blade come up to stop his from crashing down. "Not bad at all...." "Thanks." Armin said. The time he'd spent with Steve in the past few days had really helped. As of now, Captain America sat back on a lawnchair, watching the two fighters. "Told ya." Steve said to Slade as he took a drink of his beer, watching as Slade practiced with Armin. Despite Armin's clear improvement at the point, it would be clear to everyone who would win if the two would actually spar. To drive this point home, that's what they did two seconds later. It took Slade the same time to tell Armin he wanted to practice, as well as beat him then. "Well..." Steve grumbled as he watched Slade knock Armin on his back. "Okay. How about this... you pick with someone that's your own size?" "I was hoping you'd be up for it." Slade said as he took out his ballistic staff while Steve grabbed his shield. "Looks like we're not going to miss anything too exciting." Raynor said as he walked in, seeing the mercenary and the soldier stand opposite to one another. "I'll be right back kid." "Where you going?" Sanya and Armin asked. "To make popcorn." Raynor grinned as he went into the ship. "Hey doc..." Jim said as he passed by the infirmary, taking a look at the German doctor. "Whatcha doing?" "I am almost finished with zis medigun." Medic said as he continued to work on the kritz...medi...quick fix? "I present to you... ze Mehrzweck!" "The what?" Raynor asked as he took a look at the medigun. "The Me... whatever. So... what does this baby do?" "You see... I combined ze mediguns into one! Genius isn't it!... vait... vhy didn't I fink of zis sooner?" "What do you mean?" "Vell... you see... I've had zese mediguns for years now! Years! And... VHY DIDN'T I FINK OF ZIS SOONER?!" Ummmmmm...... because outside powers (game devs) had forbade it. Slade gave his first signs of him ever being in pain today as Steve punched him straight in the face causing the assassin to stagger back several yards, blood trickling out of his mouth. From his blackened eye and heavily bruised face, Steve smiled a bit as he saw Slade hesitate for a moment to asses his opponent. His entire body was already sore. Slade wasn't an Iron Man and he sure as hell wasn't a Thor or Hulk. But he hit like a train and getting hit like a train hurt bad. Really bad. He swung his fist again, though this time, the assassin would deal with it better than last time as his armored brace caught the blow and he swung with the staff straight for Cap who caught the staff in mid-air, the two men struggling, and struggling hard. "So... who's your money on?" Raynor asked as he ate out of his bucket of popcorn. "Slade's got this." Sanya said as she watched the mercenary strike the captain straight across the face, followed by another heavy blow to the gut area. "Heard the Captain survived 70 years being frozen alive." Armin began. "He's invincible!" Steve recovered quickly, inwardly thanking Dr. Erskine for his nigh-unlimited stamina. He swung at Slade and prepared to beatdown upon his opponent with a massive flurry of punches that could have easily killed a lesser man over and over. Perhaps expectedly, Slade only showed signs of pain and discomfort as he punched Cap away, wiping blood from his face. "Call it a draw?" Steve asked as he felt as though he'd broken his arm. His gloves had been broken and his knuckles were covered in blood. His or Slade's... he had no clue anymore. "I'll let you off the hook this time." Slade said as he wiped blood from his mouth and nose. "Besides... I can't beat myself up to hard... I got dragons to kill tomorrow." "I think I am better." Steve commented. "No... I am." Slade replied as he sat down in the lawnchair that Cap had previously occupied, mouthing words to Raynor. "MEDIC!" He silently yelled at the man who quickly took the hint. He hadn't had such a tough fight in his life since Batman, Nightwing and Robin. Steve only looked at his battered opponent. Two ugly rings of black had formed underneath his eyes and he felt as though he was missing some of his teeth. This guy would have probably killed Skull the first time they meet. He was brutal... he was... He couldn't help but feel respect for the man he had previously hated. He still did... maybe just not as much. Slade felt the same way. Chapter 40"Okay everybody. The plan is simple." Slade began as he gave them a layout of the volcano. "This volcano is one of the most active and mind you, largest volcanos on the face of this world. It erupts about three times a day all at various different locations. The only thing is, the dragons kinda get used to it's eruptions and all, so natrually, they can tell when the next eruption will occur. Normally, they will find a safe zone during each eruption but... what if there was an eruption so big that it took off a piece of the moutain where the dragons roost?" "They fly away?" Armin asked. "No..." Slade began. "The storms at this moutain make it so that anyone who flies too high get's a few billion volts so...." "We explode this here moutain..." Raynor began. "And Feynaltdrog is out of business." "Exactly." Slade began as he held up a small device. "What is it anyways?" Sanya asked as she looked at the thing. "A prototype explosive. A miniature nuclear device as some might call it." Slade began. "It's about a single kiloton in explosive yield.... and it looks like half of you have no clue what I am talking about." It would take some time to explain to everyone except Jim and Medic on how the bomb would work. After that, there would still be a lot of scratching of the heads or confused glances that ran around.... whatever... "Okay. So here's how it's going to work." Slade began. "Armin, Sanya and myself are going to find a way into the moutain the plant the device. The explosion, or explosions I should say should cause a chain reaction that wouldn't be noticed until you realize that half the moutain is missing. I should say this though. I don't know what we'll be facing down there, be it, dragons, rock monsters, etc... I don't know, and frankly, I don't want to find out. Jim... you, Steve and Medic should either cause a distraction, or stay outside and moniter anything that's going on. These overgrown lizards find out what's going on, we'll be canceled." "And by the way you two..." Slade said as he turned to Sanya and Armin. "I suggest that you do your best not to screw up. If you comprimise me or anyone else... I am leaving you behind." Maybe Cap should go in instead of Slade.... you know... just saying.... "But... how are you going to drop in un explosive?" Medic asked. "It's not like ve could just valk up ze moutain and throw in a bomb!" "You're right doc. We don't do that. This moutain actually used to be a stronghold for a REALLY REALLY ancient... I don't even know actually... sounds like what I am saying comes straight out a fantasy novel and not a coloring book... but I can tell you that the moutain is that it houses a city. Well... a broken, ancient rundown city that is, but a city nevertheless. According to Lunar, the moutain's inner city was built in the moutain so that in the event of an eruption, the lava would "miss" the city." "So... how do ve get in?" "Ummm..... eh..... good question." Slade began. "I... THINK there's an entrance somewhere along the moutain...." "So... you're not sure if there's even a viable route in?" Armin asked. "Okay kid. How about I drop you in from above? You like that for a "viable" route?" "Guys..." "Okay..." Sanya began. "Maybe we can... make an entrance?" "Sanya... say that again." "We make an entrance?" Sanya asked. "I got a solution..." Slade grinned as he looked over to some high yield explosives. "Alright... so everyone knows their roles?" "Yeah." "Yep." "Ja." "Good... then get some rest." Slade said as he looked over to Armin who was playing with a grappling gun. Imagine his suprise when he saw Armin actually use it correctly to get himself up on a tree. He couldn't have been more suprised when Armin got down with little to no effort taken. So... how was this guy... who couldn't even run a few laps somehow a master with some device that Slade had actually made in the line of his work? Whatever. He'll ask that later. Right now, he would need a good night's of bed rest. "Rose?" Slade asked as he found himself in front of a mirror in a familiar house, behind him was a girl with silver hair. Her back was turned to him though that didn't really seem to matter to him at the moment. What did matter was that he looked just the way he did many years ago. Before taking a bullet in the eye, before his divorce, before Grant's death. He looked like this at that time. "Who's Rose?" Sanya asked as she turned around. "Slade?" That resemblance... Slade thought to himself. Did Sanya really look like how Rose did in her childhood? He couldn't remember. Actually... it wasn't that. It was that he didn't WANT to remember. "Hey Kid.." Slade said. Heh. He even SOUNDED the same way he did that many years ago. "Where are we?" "What do you mean?" Sanya asked as she scratched her head in confusion. "Isn't this your home?" Okay... this is getting weird... and... The door opened revealing this man. "Billy?" Slade asked. But... Billy had been dead... no wait... at this point he was still alive. It would be many years later until Slade would finally kill him. "Who's Billy?" Steve asked as he took off the mask and threw it off in digust. "Worst operation mask ever.... nice house you got here Slade." "Thanks..." Slade said. Though truth be told, he'd never been at his original house for perhaps... more than forty years now. Jericho now lived at the place, and though he never actually said anything for rather obvious reasons, the young man had long made it clear to his father he didn't want to see him. Ever again. "And let me guess..." Slade began as he saw another person enter the room. He would have said "Grant" only thing was... it was Armin, with a familiar grappling gun. The one Grant had used when he accepted his first and last contract. "Why am I seeing this?" Slade asked to himself, everyone else seemed to be completly unaware to what he just said and looked at him as if he was about to say something. Without warning... Steve began to bleed. From the eye. "Cap... your eye... it's bleeding..." Slade said. "What are you talking about?" Steve asked, completly oblivious to the fact that he was crying tears of blood from just one eye. Without warning, he collapsed onto the ground. A small sword lodged into that same eye. Slade could only open his mouth in shock... and let me tell you, not a lot of things shocked him. But the image... it was familiar. He remembered this. He killed Billy. But for good reason, his old friend had betrayed him... he deserved his death! But... did Steve deserve his? No... this had to be a dream... it had to be... He heard the sound of someone giving out a cry of pain as he turned to Armin who had just collapsed onto the ground dead. His body was broken, as though something heavy had fallen upon him. Slade could only take a step back, right into Sanya. He turned around as he heard the sounds of gentle weeping. He almost cried out in shock as he looked at the girl, one eye was driven out, awash with blood and crying bloody tears as the other one began to cry actual salt water. "Slade... help...." Sanya muttered as she collapsed onto the ground. "Help...." He tried to move. He tried to do something. But he couldn't move. He was rooted the ground. Behind him, a small candle fell to the ground, it's tiny flame licking at the curtains to a window until the flame wasn't so small anymore, until the inferno consumed everything. That was when Slade jolted awake. He had broken into cold sweat, something that he hadn't done in perhaps years. "It was a dream... it was a dream..." Slade said as he went back to bed, the knock on the door annoyed him slightly as he went to answer it. "Rose?" Slade asked before he slapped himself inwardly. God damn it! "Who's Rose?" Sanya asked. "Slade... I came to wake you up... you were sleeping... oversleeping actually..." Morning already? "Yeah... I'll be right out." Slade said as he got his gear, his mind continuing to race about his dream. Chapter 41"Here we are and... I think I've been watching too much Lord of the Rings recently... but does that look like Mount Doom?" Slade asked as he looked at the huge mountain ahead of him.* "What's that?" Armin asked as his eyes were glued upon the massive peek, the hundreds of dragons were visible even from distance. "Never mind." Slade said replied as he pulled out his binoculars. "Damn... well... unless anyone wants to be human barbeque, I don't think the main entrance is a viable option." "Thanks Captain Obvious. Tell us something we don't know." "You're a captain, I am a colonel." Slade shot back as he took a look again. "Hmm... did sunbutt mention some ancient volcano civilization again?" "She did... why?" Jim asked. "I think I just found our way in." Slade said as his tactical vision picked up a structure. A structure that no dragon could have possibly even built. "Sanya, Armin let's go." "Hold on a second..." Steve began. "I am going with you." "What? Think we're going to have too much fun without you?" "I don't trust you." Steve said as his eyes narrowed down. His words yesterday about "leaving" people behind really came into mind right about here. "I am going with you." "Alright then. If you it's about what I said yesterday, then two things. It applies to you... and that if anything happens to you... I'll miss ya." Well. "For about... 3 seconds." "Go to hell Slade." "I feel like that's where I am headed." Slade said as he took one look at the mountain. "And now... this show is on the road." Raynor said as he monitored his companions progress from afar. "You guys in?" "A few "minor" difficulties..." Steve said as he pulled Armin up from a fatal drop. "But... we're good and... wow... that..." "Okay... I really think I've been watching too much "Lord of the Rings..." Slade said again as he looked at the massive entrance, large (marble?) carvings decorated the entrance though the many millennia have taken their toll upon the once great pieces of art as they weathered away over the many centuries. It seemed this part of the mountain was safe from the daily volcanic eruptions no matter how it erupted. Strange. But no one really would or wanted to argue with that, if this place was really safe, then let's hope it stayed that way as the four of them entered the entrance which overlooked a large... room? Room huh? More like city. "Wow..." Armin began as he looked below at the wonder... a civilization that had built itself within the belly of the largest volcano in Equestria. "Truly is a marvel eh?" Slade said as he activated his tactical vision. From what he could get, the locals would have used the sources of lava for both as an energy source, a light source and probably at some point, a mine that would erupt into specific areas that would miss the city, yet leave plenty of metals, jewelry and other precious materials for the picking. "From what I can gather..." The assassin continued, there is an entrance that leads below. "Down these stares of course. Let's go." The four proceeded downward, into the massive city through the long winding stairs. For a place that's been abandoned for thousands of years, it looked pretty intact to say the truth. A true miracle that the volcano hasn't consumed the magnificent wonder of a city yet. As the stairs went down, more hints of former civilization could be taken at. Tools, jewelry, a broken lava lamp (Smart.), a skeleton. Wait... a skeleton? Steve looked down at the thing, the bones... they... They were human. Slade's tactical vision and a quick scan from his "smartphone" would confirm that. Wow... humans here? Thousands of years ago? Truly a wonder then. Cap looked at the skull a final time before proceeding on. It reminded him of someone he knew... the only difference was, he had the strange... strange feeling that someone wasn't really dead despite what had happened. Cut off one head, two more shall grow to take it's place. As they progressed on, the buildings were more easy to see. In spite of the thousands of years of wear and tear, they still looked fine. Perhaps as well as one of the houses Armin would see within the walls that hadn't been ransacked by titans. Though as there became more buildings, there would be more skeletons. More death... more ruin... more signs of that life... had an end. That all things... good or bad. Had an end. "I don't like this." Steve said as they passed a large pile of thousand year corpses. "I don't like this." "To be or not to be!" Slade said as he held up a skull. "That is the question!" Laughing to himself, the heavily armored man threw it back into the pile he got it from, giving the Captain a hefty slap on the back. "Just some bones Cap, they're not going to hurt you." "Yeah... yeah... just makes me uneasy. Besides... reminds me of someone I used to know." "I get you. There's a lot of things that make me uneasy because of someone I met." (Anything that has anything to do with Jericho or Rose, or happens to be green arrows, red arrows, bats, robins, robots, rings (the powered type), maces, whips,... let's just say he's had beef with a ton of people... somehow... he still hadn't been shot, shot with arrows, been crushed into a bloody pulp, incarcerated at some space police prision... etc.) "But that aside... let's get a move I want to get done with this and be home by dinner." "Hopefully... we WON'T be dinner." Armin said. "The dragons..." "Yeah... yeah... they won't even know us there once we turn them into lizard steaks." As the group moved on... no one seemed to have noticed the skeletons had begun to move... jitter... and stir. And then... one got up. And another... and another... and another... Author's Note * Manu Bennet, the actor for "Slade Wilson" in the show Arrow, also plays Azog the defiler in "The Hobbit". Chapter 42"Humph." Slade grunted as he looked at what appeared to be a storehouse. Whatever happened, something caused the contents of said house to spill out all over the streets, enough riches to keep even the greediest souls happy for life. "What... you already want your payday?" Steve teased as he saw Slade take a look at all the fine wealth that lay at their feet. Ripe for the taking for any one who wanted it. "Not yet." Slade said as he cast his eye away. "Alright then... well according to my smartphone... we should be going... this... hey kid. You look like you've seen a ghost. What's wrong?" "I think... I think... I think I just did!" Sanya said in her "matter of fact" voice which... still sounded an awful like Fluttershy on a normal day. In short... Slade and Cap weren't convinced about the fact that Sanya was speaking in a regular tone of voice. "Just your imagination kid." Steve said as he took a look around. "I see nothing." "Me neither." Slade said as he checked his tactical vision. There wasn't anyone around in this area. Anyone... what about anything? "I don't know about this..." Sanya continued as her tail stood on an end. "I seriously think..." "Here..." Slade said tossing her the assault rifle. "You crazy?" Steve asked. "What? If any of the "ghosts" are here, she can shoot them up!" "You don't give someone who's about to have an anxiety attack a goddamn gun!" "Yeah... yeah.... yeah... tell that to half the army." Slade said dismissively as he watched Sanya's cat ears perk in various directions as though she could hear something they couldn't... which was pretty much always the case. "Anyways, let's get a move on kid. If there's a ghost... well you are a witch... so.... maybe some black magic or something will fix it?" "Doesn't work that way..." Sanya said. "What... do they at least ride around brooms?" "Back in the day." Okay. At least that wasn't a letdown. "So... once we get home... what are you doing first?" Steve asked as they went down the "road" if you call it that. "Sleep." Armin said as he held onto his swords. "Take a vacation." Slade said. "And probably... I'll never look at a Saturday morning cartoon program the same again... nor will I ever read anything by Tolkein EVER again." "You know... I always wanted what you did for a hobby." Sanya began. "I like reading... but I swear... I'll never pick up anything written by Tolkein or maybe anything in the fantasy genre ever again. I also like going to this place in Starling city. It's called Big Belly Burger... they have the best hamburgers in the entire country." "You never seem to be the type of guy who liked reading or eating junk food." Steve commented. "Yeah... well I do at least a few thousand pushups a day... so it doesn't really matter. Besides, I eat there like once a month. Normally... I am usually traveling cause of... work..." "Yeah..." Sanya said as she felt as though she heard another footstep. "You ever... well... I dunno if I should be asking this... but..." "Speak up kid." "Do you ever feel like you want to... make amends with your family?" Let's see... Adeline is crazy. Grant is dead. Rose hates him and is living across the country for good reason, and Jericho hates him and is fighting on the opposite side of him, having even tried to stop him on countless occasions during his contracts and probably would put his other eye out if he as much as saw him. So... was that exactly possible? No. "Yeah..." Slade said. "Eventually." Maybe when they're all dead... he can probably visit the graves and make peace with them. But until then, he wasn't too keen in having a guitar smashed over his head or getting shot in the other eye. "But about your family kid, you ever think you'll find your parents." "Of course! When the war ends, that's exactly what I'll do! I know I will! They're both alive and... if we don't give up... we'll see each other again! There's..." She went on. He stopped listening. Never give up, never give up... never give up... Why were those words echoing in his head? When was the last time he gave up? When was the last time he'd been contracted to kill someone, and they remained alive? Hell... he even went off to do his own thing and managed to beat the guy in the bat costume. And that guy... that guy was pretty tough. He never gave up on anything. He realized then... that was a lie. He gave up on many things. Rose. Adeline. Jericho. Grant. His family. He looked back at Sanya who was busy telling them about how her father had written her a song just for her. A rather talented musician. She had a dad that loved her dearly. And here Slade was, father of three... but he would be dad to none of them. He said nothing. One day... he will make amends with his family. Because that's... that's what a real man would have done right? RIGHT?! And this was probably why he didn't listen to his conscience.... he looked back at Sanya again who was now talking about her mother. If only Slade had any clue on who his parents was... he might have been able to sympathize somewhat. He'd been raised by his grandparents who were all and all, great people though... they didn't exactly raise him right. (At least from the modern society's standpoint, from Slade's standpoint, they were kinda the reason he was able to get into the army at age 16 and became the world's greatest assassin.) He looked back at Sanya again, wondering on how much she actually resembled Rose when she was younger. When Rose idolized her father and loved him dearly... yet never received any back. And here... Sanya loved her father... her dad... and... Sanya. She was everything he is and isn't. She lost her parents, yet still has them. Is still a soldier at a young age, yet still has a childhood full of friends and a family to find. She has a family who loves her dearly, yet at the same time can never show that love. And for the first time, Slade actually doubted himself, and began to have feelings akin to those having a mid-life crisis... okay. This is why he did not listen to his conscience too much. It got in the way but still... He looked over at Steve Rogers, or Captain America as he was called. A soldier in his land, and a hero. He didn't want to be hero, why waste life on helping strangers? But Steve had always lived his life fuller than he had, despite being frozen for 70 years. Maybe it was time... Slade thought. He recalled that contract that Amanda Waller had proposed to him days ago. Work for ARGUS, and they would wipe any evidence of him being "Deathstroke". Maybe it was time to accept that contract. Maybe for once... he needed to stop thinking about himse.... It was then he realized what was bothering Sanya. Right behind her... was a skeleton of a man, a knife in it's hands, raised above to deliver a fatal blow. Chapter 43She practically jumped out of her skin when she felt the swishing of the sword that flew right past her face and landed loudly, burying itself within the skull of a skeleton that moved and walked. "What's..." "Goddamn it..." Slade breathed as he looked around, realizing the massive numbers of walking dead that were approaching them from the way they came. "Holy shit..." "This isn't good..." Armin said as he took out his swords and swung straight at a skeleton, breaking the bones of the creature which clattered to the floor, almost comically and became inactive. "There's..." "Hundreds of them!" Slade said after taking a thorough look with is tactical vision. "Everyone... move! Move!" The four people bolted for the direction in which Slade waved as the assassin stayed behind temporarily to lay down a few proximity bombs, grabbing the trigger, he ran as far as he could, taking frantic glimpses back before finding the right time to detonate. Despite the dozens of body parts that would be scattered by that one blast, there were still hundreds of them just behind. Thankfully for the sakes of anyone who didn't want to get brutally murdered by walking skeletons, the undead moved at a slow rate. "What's going on?!" Armin cried out as he gasped for air. "No time! I AM NEVER going to touch anything made by Tolkein EVER again." Slade commented as the four took a few sighs of relief. "Listen... we have to keep moving before my favorite author's imagination murders us! Move! Move!" It felt like hours, despite being probably less than forty five seconds, in that moment alone, they had already trekked through the first floor and were proceeding their way down, all the way into the heart of the volcano, the heat becoming slightly more noticeable as they went down, as did the number of hordes of undead which sought to kill the living. "This is not good!" Steve said as he swung his shield, crushing two skeletons into a pile of bones. "What the hell are these things?!" "For some reason Sanya... even though I bet you have no clue... I think you can give me a REASONABLE explanation." Slade said as he kicked one down his attacker, breaking it's skull with his foot. "Magic?" Sanya asked tentatively. Maybe not surprisingly, that's probably the best explanation at this point when being in a little girl's coloring book all of a sudden now felt like they were in The Hobbit. Slade liked Tolkein and all... but he sure as hell didn't want to LIVE in it... especially with these circumstances. Of course... for him, a bunch of skeletons with reaction times of jello would hardly be much challenge for him, until one realized there were probably a few thousand of them down there. "This isn't going to matter..." Armin said as his sword went straight through one of his attackers, splitting the undead creature in two. "We need to hurry up and plant the... whatever it is and do it fast!" "He's right... try not to die!" Slade said as he grabbed Armin and took out his grappling hook. "We'll go ahead first, you two..." "We'll catch up, yeah." Steve said as he flung his shield at a group of advancing corpses, knocking them into many pieces. "Alright Sanya... you ready?" "Ready." The girl replied as Slade and Armin flew off, carried by a cable. There was no point in trying to be subtle. Absolutely none when there were a bajillion walking corpses around that were waiting to savagely mar anything living in their path. As such, the only logical thing really for everyone was to pull out whatever arms they had, and start shooting or slicing away. "Okay... here's the..." The loud rumbling caught Slade off, and almost knocked him and Armin off their feet. "Okay Volcano... don't do anything till I want you to." Slade said as he looked for the spot to plant the bomb. Really? Another level down? No... wait... There wasn't another level down... HE HAD TO DIG?! Not good.. "Cover me." Slade said as he looked around and continently, found a pick axe. "What are you doing?" "I used up all the demo charges when we were stuck in the cave... and the only place I am going to cause any form of the eruption we want is if I dig deeper... the only thing is... I hope I don't land right into a lava pit." "I actually hope that the eruption doesn't involve us as well!" Armin said as he broke yet another skeleton. "It won't... but we still gotta get out of here fast because as far as I know... the explosion might cause this entire cavern to collapse in on us!" "And how are we going to get out if there's going to be a huge eruption?!" "Simple! I radioed Jim and he set up a zipline! Not only does it avoid the eruption, we can get a nice view of a bunch of dragons going up in flames! And you know what the best part is?" "What? It's right at the entrance! We don't even actually have to fully go outside! There was a balcony which Raynor found!" "Oh god! Oh god!" Steve huffed as his uniform received a tear from a slashing blade, he retaliated against his attacker by smashing his bones into dust, watching as Sanya used the now empty assault rifle as a club. Man... she must have hit like a train with that thing. Looking down at his shoulder, he realized the large stain that was slowly forming along the tear. "How are you doing guys? Your heart rates are going crazy!" Jim's voice said over the radio. "Fine! You would not believe me if I told you!" Steve said as he ran with Sanya to where Slade and Armin had headed. "Oh I know what's going on... I just don't wanna know if it's true or not." Jim's voice replied. "You better hurry... Slade's going to need some cover while he plants the bomb!" "Really? Why the hell can't he just drop the damn thing and detonate it for Christ's sake?!" "I dunno something went wrong and... oh shit..." "What?" "SOMETHING JUST WENT SERIOUSLY WORNG." Jim's panicked voice said over the radio. "Slade! Please tell me..." "Grah!" Slade cried out as the large rumble threw him off his feet, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Armin trapped underneath many boulders. Grabbing the bomb, and seeing the many skeletons that surrounded them, he had no choice. He set the timer. "Move! Move! Move!" Slade said as he planted the bomb in the best place he could get, hoping to god that they would make it out. He realized then that Armin was trapped underneath the rocks. "Leave me!" Armin cried out. "Go!" He considered it for a moment. He had to leave him, there would have been no way that he could have.... He gave it a mighty push and the rocks came off. Well. "Wha... thanks." Armin said as his coughed for a moment, his mouth filling with dust from the rubble. "Don't mention it kid." Slade said. "Steve... we have to go!" "I just got here damn it!" Captain America said. "Why didn't you... and... oh... what..." "No time! That rock isn't going to let me dig anyways!" Slade said. "Go! Go! Go!" They went up the massive winding stairs, right on top of the ledge and crossed the next floor once again, the slow movement of their pursers meaning that avoiding them was relatively easy. That was when disaster struck. On the way up to the zipline... a low rumble shook the very foundations of the city. A section of the stairs gave way, sending Sanya straight down a massive drop. They could only stare for a moment... "Go." Slade said as he watched Armin and Steve gawk for a moment. "The zipline is set up... you two have to move now." "What about you and Sanya?! You sure as hell..." "Go. I will get her. And we WILL make it. I promise." Slade said. "Go!" "No way Sla..." "JUST DO AS I SAY." Slade shouted. "Move before we ALL die!" Grudgingly, the Captain obliged, looking back as he saw Slade make his way down, straight into a massive mob of skeletons and fighting his way through. He never saw a man ever run that fast in his life to make way to Sanya, who from the distance, looked like she was still moving. Barely. Chapter 44Sanya groaned painfully as she stood up, at a drop of roughly 30 feet, she should have been dead. Maybe one of the perks of being a witch was that a fall that high didn't kill you, only rendered pain throughout your body like hellfire. Getting up, she realized the sharp stabs that went through her leg as she stood up, or more accurately... just the ankle. She had spranged it. That was only the least of her worries as she saw the skeletons of the dead approach her with a motley array of weaponary. Grabbing her side arm, she fired several shots in the skulls, sending bones clattering to the ground. Her heart sank when she heard the click, as the undead approached. The shield she erected buckled and cracked at the first blow of an axe. A second strike and the ether of protection began to crack and fade. It would not save her a third time. Thankfully for her, it wouldn't need to as the sniper bullet took out her attacker, and every attacker within a six foot radius. Slade. Looked like someone had gone back on their word afterall. "Slade?" Sanya asked almost with disbelief. That was all she managed to get out because the pain in her ankle felt like hell as of now, attempting to hobble over did little than to worsen the case, causing her to cry out audibly in pain... which actually sounded a little something like this. "Jesus... you got yourself messed up pretty badly..." Slade commented as he took a look at Sanya. She wouldn't be moving at this rate, not like that. Looking up, he cursed silently to himself. The ledge was JUST SLIGHTLY out of reach for his grappling hook. They were going to have to go the long way... around... and up the stairs... pass... like... a few hundred skeletons... um.... yeah.... "Hey kid... I got pretty bad news..." "We're going up the long way?" "We're going up the long way." Slade confirmed. "You should leave me..." Sanya suggested. "I don't... I don't think..." "Don't talk like that." Slade said. In truth... he wanted to say much more. Those four words... were easily the four that caused the most shock to him in all his life. And it was only then did he realize... how much did she remind him of himself. "I am getting you out of here..." Sanya nodded though her doubts were more clear than Celestia's brightest day. "I can't walk..." "You don't need to." Slade said as he held her in one arm. Good thing she weighed nothing and that he was probably stronger in one arm than most people were in their entire bodies. Thank you experiments... He turned and clenched his teeth so hard that it hurt when he saw the hordes of skeletons approaching. Damn... this was a bad spot. He took a look at his weapons for a moment, the ballistic staff... useless unless he had both hands, an empty assualt rifle, an empty pistol and his two swords. Natrually, he grabbed one of the two blades, and approached the exit, cooly and calmy as the monsters approached the two of them. What did he have to fear? He was Deathstroke, a man of such skill in battle that not even the Dark Knight was able to beat him single-handely. At this moment, it was like any other, he'd beat one hundred men once without as much as breaking sweat. The fact that these things went down like a sack of grain at the slightest touch easily compensated for their vast numbers. Yet... at this moment... he felt it. It was the same thing everyone felt at, at least more than one point in their lives. The same feeling Green Arrow felt when facing down the Dark Archer, or batman when facing with the fact that Gotham would potentially go up in flames. Even better yet, when the Justice League would have to face the potential destruction of many lives. It wasn't fear. No... a fiery determination, a burning desire to finish it all. Even if offered 50,000,000 dollars to get the job done, he couldn't have possibly been more motivated.His foes were the walking dead, but Deathstroke would have nothing to fear. For in this moment, he was armed with death. "Slade..." Sanya gasped out weakly. "There's..." "A lot of them... I know." Slade replied as he held onto her tightly. "But... just me... no... just us is a lot as well." "You first." Steve said to Armin as he looked at the zipline. He clenched his teeth as the rumble occured once again, the very foundations of the moutain seeming as though they had been rocked loose. The bomb must have detotonated by now... or is in the process of starting some kind of chain reaction within. He gingerly looked back as Armin got on the zipline and to safety, clenching his teeth at the empty hallway. He wanted to stay, but he knew in the bottom of his heart he couldn't. Grabbing the zipline, he went down as he radioed Slade... only to realize his nerves for the first time in his life had failed him. Even though the zipline extended over to an area that was like gazing in the maw of the darkest abyss... staring into the pit would have been less daunting than using his radio. It would take him several tries before he found his nerves. "Slade... we're out. How about you?" No answer. "Slade?" Steve asked as he walked over to Medic, Jim and Armin. "Slade?!" "We're alive!" Slade grumbled back as he dropped his shattered mask down the stairway, a large red scar had formed on his cheek when he had been careless. The kevlar within his body armor had been broken in many places, along with ugly dents in the metal parts. And the important thing? Sanya was okay. She could walk now... but not without support. That, Slade as more than able to provide. "We can rest for now." Slade said as he took a drink from his canteen. The sweet smell of wine filling the small corridor which the two rested in, the zipline would have been a short distance away to even the most novice of all runners, though it seemed like an entire pilgrimage to the two of them. "Ow..." Sanya said as her cat ears began to move. Alert. The magical antennas appearing as she listened, she turned paler than normal the more she listened to the sounds of the moutain, and the wild roars and shrieks of some unfortunate dragons. "Slade... thanks." "Don't mention it kid... what's that?" A kopeck? Cute. "Can you take this?" Sanya asked as she handed him the bronze coin... it... well... It was rather a long story. But let's just say it was comparable to how a child usually held sentimental value upon the first few trinkets they received from anyone they cared about. "A kopeck...?" "I know it's not much... but... it's the one I got... when I played the piano for my father during one of his concerts..." Sanya said as she thought of the time. She was very young at the time, maybe about 7 or 8. "Umm... sure... and you dropped this by the way." Slade said as he handed her the photo. The photo of her family. "Thank you." Sanya said as she placed it back in her pockets. But we need to get moving. "That we do." Slade said as he helped her up. "Come on." They ran into no difficulties along the way, though the rumbling was began to have a slightly... uneasy affect upon the pair. The magical antennas stayed as Sanya continued to listen, her breathing became very taxed as she broke into cold sweat. It seemed like eternity for them to reach the zipline. "Alright kid... you first." Slade said as he took a look. "You just gotta..." "I know... but... maybe you should go first..." "What? Why would I do that?" Slade asked. "You pulled me out of there and..." "I think I'll finish the job then. Go... I'll..." "Slade... I need to know that you're going to make it." Well... no one ever said that to him in a LONG time. Like maybe 40 years long. "I am going to make it kid. But with that leg of yours... you're going to need to..." "You took a beating back there too! You also need..." The rumbling started again, cutting her off as she liked around frantically and stopped speaking. Whatever arguement she had was gone... though she was intent on one thing. Slade would go first. "Well... sorry kid then..." Slade said. "Wait... what's that?" "What's what?" Sanya asked as she turned around. "I don't see any... ughhh..." She sighed slightly as Slade hit her upside the head, causing her to still be concious, though in a very dazed state. She could do nothing as Slade grabbed some cable ties, and tied her to the zipline, sending her down. She snapped out of it the moment she realized that she was almost down the zipline, she looked back at Slade who was still watching her. No... the volcano... it's going to collapse The moment she hit the ground, was the moment the line went dead. Looking over in horror, she saw the many rocks and rubble that came crashing down. It hardly looked like Slade even as much as cared... because he didn't. He only closed his eye and smiled to himself. "I am sorry Adeline." He had put one thought as the rubble came raining down upon him. Find your parents kid. Author's Note You had no clue how much fun I had writing this chapter... Chapter 45The first thing Steve did the moment the volcano finished exploding was go back over on the other side where he was met with what seemed like another new mountain of rubble where they had exited. His face distorted for a mere second into one of complete despair before he felt the tongues of anger beginning to lick at him. With a small scream, the man punched the rubble ahead of him, splitting a large rock into two pieces. For a moment, it almost appeared he wanted to dig with nothing but his bare hands, before he collapsed alongside the rubble, knowing it was futile. It didn't matter that he could lift about two tons on the average day, he couldn't move a mountain, and that realization threw the cloak of despair around him as he hit a nearby rock, the sheer force of it grinding it into dust. "Why.... why?!" Steve roared at the very heavens themselves as they only gave him the dark ashes and clouds for an answer. Why? Why... why did... He never liked Slade... but in this moment. This moment alone, he could have only felt worse if he saw Bucky die again. He looked back at the rubble that crushed the man called Deathstroke, the man he had long despised for the weeks they've been here, but in this moment alone... he loved the man like he was his closest brother in arms, like he had fought with him through the ravaged lands of Europe against Nazi Germany and HYDRA. He fought hard, but in the end, it was a futile battle as the lone tear dripped out of his eye and unbridled rage filled his soul. He lashed out once again creating a massive hole in a large boulder that he could never have hoped to move. "You... you... why? Why you?" Steve asked. "Why... both of you..." There would be no sense in speaking to a dead man as he stopped and took a deep breath, looking around for any signs of life. The only ones there would be would be the light steps Sanya took as she caught up and looked around, the magical antennas listening deeply for anything. Heartbeats, breathing... as much as a stir. There would be none. "Why did you do it?" Sanya whispered to herself as the tears flowed down her cheeks. "We both could have gotten out together." She was given no answer. Even if Slade could answer, it was doubtful she could have heard his reply. She looked around, looking for anything... something did sparkle to her though as she ran up the rubble to investigate. Despite the obviously present danger of falling down and springing her ankle a second time today, she didn't care. Kneeling over the shiny object... she grabbed it for a closer look... fresh tears ran down her cheeks like a summer storm as she saw what it was. A wedding ring. His wife... his children... and yet... he didn't even get to say goodbye. He would have died, knowing that his family hated him for what he had done, that the world he lived in despised the man underneath the mask and that he would not be missed once he finally bit the dust. But in this moment... Sanya missed Slade almost as much as she had missed her father. She said nothing, only knelt down at the sight of the ring, holding it. She remembered Slade's words. How he said he would leave anyone behind if anything happened to them. He didn't. In the end... he didn't. And for that reason... for that reason alone, he was dead now. Armin had been thinking the same thing, though he said nothing as he looked at Sanya kneeling over with the ring. It occurred to him then that Slade... had always intended to maybe make amends with his family one day... and now... he never will. Raynor looked at the ground by Steve as he walked over. "Godspeed you magnificent son of a bitch..." Raynor grinded through his teeth as Medic came over and bowed his head slightly. He watched as Sanya and Armin made their way over, Sanya holding Slade's wedding ring. "Why... why did he do it?" Sanya asked through her tears. "Why?" "I... I dunno..." Jim said. "I never should have left him..." Steve said. "It..." "You would have died with him then." Raynor said putting a heavy hand on the Captain. "Somehow... I think... I think... Sanya... I think he did it... maybe to atone for things... many things... he may have been one cold bastard... hell... reminds me of someone I know... but he... he did the right thing in the end..." "Maybe... maybe that's why I am still a Captain..." Steve said as he looked at Medic who had found the broken mask. "And that's why you were a Colonel." He handed the mask to Sanya who looked at the thing, for a moment before reaching down by her waist, revealing the long knife Slade had given her back in the gave. Moving forward... she took the knife and drove it within the rock and laid the mask on top. The strands at the back fluttering within the wind like a flag as the broken mask's lone eye socket stared back, as though it wanted to say something. She couldn't bear it anymore. Turning around, she began to walk away, though unable to continuously turn her head back at the mask which marked the final contract of his world's greatest mercenary. Feynaltdrog would be coming. To finish the job he started. They had to be ready. Steve looked into the mirror one final time as he opened the box and grabbed one of the modified assault rifles. Gas powered, armor piercing bullets, and modified to the Terminator's taste. It wasn't like he would be needing it anymore. He grabbed other things as well, many grenades, a long knife and of course, his shield. His eyes were burned with the flames of vengeance. He watched at the rest of his companions. Raynor checked this tablet for the last time before going outside. The loud stomping noises causing a miniature earthquake. Steve grinned slowly as he saw the mechanical monstrosity that looked like it could crush Hulk. (Except... it probably couldn't.) He looked over to Sanya who was staring down at the ring. She slipped the trinket into her pockets as she placed the gloves, the Fliegerhammer was ready. She looked over at Medic who had been discussing things with her earlier as he placed his new Medi-gun on the table. Critical Ubers. Now that was the stuff. Armin checked over his blades for the last time. He looked at the grappling gun that Slade had abandoned, after some consideration, he took it with him. It's not like Slade would be here to say "no" anyways. They were ready. And so was Drog. Chapter 46"He'll be coming. And we must be ready." Raynor said as he checked the radar within the ship. Indeed... a large organisim was apporaching them at high speeds. It would be here in about two hours. "With that... machine?" Armin asked as he looked at the Thor. "This should be easy..." "I would expect so..." Raynor said as he looked at the thing. "I built that but of course... we shouldn't ever feel like we got this too easily... I will be damned if at least SOME of those mean lizards didn't survive that Volcano." "If only Slade had." Sanya commented as she sat down with the rocket launcher in her hands, the weight of such a large weapon would have easily been able to exhaust one, maybe even two physically fit men that were probably twice her size. "Damn right..." Steve agreed as he looked over at the assault rifle. Armor piercing rounds, grenade launcher underneath... man... Slade had a lot of goodies he had kept in that van. Magnetic mines... regular proximity mines, smoke grenades, a sniper rifle... you name it. It was his stuff... yet in the end... he won't be needing it. Perhaps that was what really added the guilt about it all. Looting not just a dead man's, but a friend's armory. "So... ve kill ze dragon... und ve vin?" "Yeah." Raynor said. "That... or it turns us all into human barbeque and then takes over the world.... god... I feel like I am reading some children's bedtime story." "We all do..." Steve said. "Though, I think the time for sunshine and rainbows is long over." He cocked the assault rifle for emphasis on the last sentence before picking up his shield. If he was going to be honest... he actually never really liked killing people. He never wanted to kill anyone, not even people as bad as HYDRA. But... when the situation called for it, when the lives of others, when the freedom of a world was at stake... and now a dead friend... it was time he got his hands wet again. A few for you Slade... a few for you... Cap thought to himself as he slung his shield and checked the estimated time for Feynaltdrog's arrival once again before looking over at everyone else. His fists clenched. "I'll kill them... I'll kill them all..." Steve grinded through his teeth as his brain smoked of the same hatred he had felt the day of Bucky's "death". Mentally... he envisioned himself the day he slew the dragon by bashing out it's brains with his shield. He imagined doing the same to the rest of them... their dreams of conquest and domination would die with their shattered grey matter. "For Slade?" Sanya asked as she held Steve's hand. For comfort? For consolation? For strength? For anything? It didn't matter. "For Slade." Steve said as he knelt down and ruffled through her hair. "Are you ready?" "I am." Sanya said as she recalled the one-eyed assassin. The first day they met resulted in Slade getting a broken chestplate and Sanya almost having shattered bones. Funny. Despite that meeting, they... they... What was it about Slade? The fact that in the end, despite his attitude toward being here, that despite his motivation by greed, that despite they way he seemed to treat everyone else... he always did the right thing in the end. No matter how rough around the edges the man was, in the end, no matter how many times he threatened it, he came for Armin, and then for Sanya. He carried her out of that volcano and died doing so... what was it that motivated a man of his... character to do so? What is it a mercenary's honor of getting the job done? Or some hidden code of loyalty that he had followed? From how he acted, Slade treated loyalty as a bad thing... until she realized. It wasn't loyalty Slade frowned upon. It was blind loyalty that Slade could never bring himself to bring through... but was loyalty to a friend truly a blind thing? Not even a friend actually... someone he had barely known. Was it that the mercenary was sympathetic and opened up eventually? This last action... was it to atone for his lifelong sins... the countless murders, motivated not out of loyalty, but out of mere greed? She couldn't know, and perhaps, she never would. It only occurred to her then how much Slade resembled her grandfather who had perished during the first Neuroi war in 1914 to 1919 on an unspecified date. Story was... he had died covering the rest of the Orussian military's escape during one rather disastrous encounter with the Neuroi. The only remainder that their family would ever have of the man would be a lone painting. Wherever he was... whatever he had done... may he rest in peace. As the sky began to darken... Sanya, and everyone else knew exactly what was up. Feynaltdrog was here. The magical antennas came out, signaling the heavy flapping of large wings as the king of a dead race descended from upon the skies, a flaming hatred burning within his eyes. "Hi. .. hi lost al dii joriin! Dii reyliik! Pah evenaar! Toz wah hin dren. Hi fen pah saluk daar sul!" It hadn't occurred to anyone that Feynaltdrog may have been just as grief-stricken as they had been. Did it truly matter however? Who the hell cared after what happened to Slade? "And... you know what?" Steve replied as Sanya whispered the translation to him. "Go back to hell where you belong." "Zu'u fen. Nuz diist, aav hin fahdon til!" The large dragon cried as he opened his mouth. "Meyz! reyzan fron! Nahlok hin zeymah! Krii niin pah!" "Bad news guys!" Raynor called over his radio as he climbed into the Thor. "We got tons of dragons incoming!" "Cover us!" Steve said as he fired his assault rifle, causing the king of dragons to retaliate with a wall of flames. Thankfully for the captain, the ether shield was erected just in time to save him from becoming roasted human. "Medic! You know what to do!" "Jawohl." The doctor replied as he took out his medigun and began to overheal Sanya. "Ready?" "Ready!" Sanya replied as she took up the Fliegerhammer. He popped critubers that very moment. Now... four crit rockets are pretty scary... so... imagine nine. ON THE SAME TARGET. Feynaltdrog was blasted back, his wings torn and ripped from the blast as he looked into the skies, one of his brethren was torn in two by the javelin missiles of the Thor. Taking out a rather familiar gem... he opened his mouth as the literal "glow" from the element of harmony began to go into his mouth the same way a vacuum sucked up dust. His wounds healed, and he dove straight down right for Sanya and Medic. His mouth opened as he said the words. "Yol... Toor...SHUL!" Chapter 47Steve cried out audibly in pain as the tongues of flame licked him, raising his shield, he curled up into a ball as the flames went around, engulfing but not scorching him. He looked as he saw the Thor knock yet another dragon straight out of a sky, the once great beast sprawled to the ground and hit the ground, leaving a wet trail of gore and blood upon the ground. As the ground shuddered at the landing of another dragon, he glanced behind him to realize that there would be no way for him to block flames from two separate directions. Fortunately for the Captain, Armin managed to grapple atop the dragon behind him, felling it with a mighty slash from both of his swords. Just as Titan skin was essentially tissue paper to his blades, dragon scales would prove to be little difficultly. Feynaltdrog had just took the full force of nine critical rockets, most of them landing in vital spots that would have outright killed a normal dragon, instead however, the king of dragons was merely reduced to a pile of burning and smoldering flesh though... still alive. He had taken out one of the elements of Harmony, the element of laughter to be the first, and what appeared to look like he had consumed it's magic, healing himself instantly. Okay... now this was getting pretty terrifying. Did anyone really care though? No. Sanya looked up at the dragon as it sent down a massive wave of fire down upon her, the witch raising her shield to prevent herself from being burnt alive. Running quickly, she managed to evade the flames with a little help of magic as she ducked behind the Thor and opened the box that was waiting for her, a M60 LMG. A weapon that easily could have exhausted anyone from it's sheer weight took hardly an effort from the witch, as did the recoil which were nothing when you carried around a rocket launcher with you into battle on a fairly daily basis. The armor piercing rounds would easily cause Feynaltdrog great pain and discomfort, despite their obvious small killing power against him. Rearing up his great head, he shot forth another wave of flame at Sanya, who prudently ducked behind the Thor, the fire would do little against the great machine's armor. "EAT... THIS!" Raynor said as he fired a round from the Thor's mainguns, the massive guns shredding Feynaltdrog's flesh and bone, the king of dragons collapsed from his own weight and the weight of his injuries as Steve saw his chance and leapt up upon the king of Dragons. "This is for Slade!" Steve cried as he sent the shield crashing down upon the dragon king's back, the loud snapping noise of Feynaltdrog's back breaking was heard from miles away. Standing back, the Captain pulled out his assault rifle and fired several rounds and a grenade into the open scales that exposed the bloody, red flesh. The explosion practically tore Feynaltdrog in half. Though... it didn't help too much. If only he stayed in two pieces. As he consumed the element of honesty and once again got back on his feet as he opened his mouth, as soon as the words came out, the skies above them exploded into a whirling storm, the eye of the abyss opened as it shot down meteors from the heavens themselves, sending them crashing down upon the world as Equestria bore witness to the wrath of Feynaltdrog, king of dragons, lord of banes. Raynor gritted his teeth as the Thor shook a bit after being hit by a particularly large piece of meteorite. He had just a present for Feynaltdrog. 250 millimeter cannons right down his throat. See how he liked him now. He flipped open the trigger and chuckled to himself. NOW IF HE'D JUST STAY DOWN AFTER GETTING WITH THIS.... click* Boom. You can imagine Raynor's reaction to the fact that 250 Millimeter canons didn't kill Drog, in fact, it didn't even injure him severely, save for the fact that his wings must have gotten shredded for like the third time. But that wasn't the important thing... he looked as he saw the grappling hook. Armin! The boy swung up, blades at the ready, aiming straight for Feynaltdrog's neck, the blades sunk in, deep but hardly deep enough as the dragon king's broken, skeleton of wing came straight up, knocking him off. The two blades remained in as the red, oozing blood came gushing out, though fell straight out the moment the dragon consumed the element of kindness. "For the love of god!" Raynor cried from within his Thor as he sent a barrage of javelin missiles at the dragon, which retaliated by sending a wall of fire right back at him, the mighty machine and the great dragon both held their ground as missiles and flame tore away at hull and flesh. The two titans locked in battle, each refusing to give any quarter. Sanya dove away from the Thor the moment the flames reached it, not wanting to be anywhere close to the hellish flames that sought to consume everything within their path. The LMG was out of ammo... damn... her eye spotted a grenade launcher which she quickly grabbed. "Again Medic!" Sanya called over the din. "Vat?" Medic asked as he shot an arrow from his crusader's crossbow. "Medic! Charge!" "I can't hear you!" "CHARGE." "Oh! Why didn't you say so?" The german doctor replied as the medi-gun's rays enveloped Sanya. Quickly he flipped the switch. Crit grenades... each of them hit Drog, forcing him back slightly. But then... wait... what the hell was he doing?! Medic ran right at the dragon. Yes... just flat out CHARGED Feynaltdrog as though he wasn't going to get fried alive the moment the uber wore off. He had a strange... canteen like object within his hands which he opened the moment Feynaltdrog's attention was turn to him. With that, they found Medic covered in the red glow that was similar to his uber. He had just ubered himself.... while having a particular bonesaw ready to strike Drog. No could have saw it coming. No one ever expected the (crazy) German doctor who had the attitude of a (sociopathic) bookworm to be one hell of a fighter as he somehow managed getting crushed, not once, not twice but THREE TIMES as he sent the ubersaw straight into Feynaltdrog's legs and face, each of the wounds bleeding profusely. But... you can kinda imagine what Feynaltdrog did next. Hint: It involves the element of generosity. Twilight had seen, (and heard) the fighting going on for quite the time now. She hadn't left golden oaks library in a LONG time after Spike had left. Things weren't the same after her number one assistant deserted her, perhaps never to be seen again. She would have visited Jim and the others with her friends, though they too had been mourning over the death of a teammate. Granted, she never really liked Slade, but it was hard not to feel even a twinge of sympathy despite how... well... how much of a total jerk the guy was at times. She never got to hear the details of his death however... though it hit everyone quite hard. Even guys like Steve who had hated the man. However... the sound and sight of battle had been too much to ignore. Prudently, most of ponyville stayed within their home... though not Twilight. And definitely not her friends once they saw her out and about. There'd be absolutely no convincing required to get them to come with her. The moment they laid eyes on the battle however, it was a sorry sight. Four of the elements lay upon the ground. Grey and discolored, and there was a large, unearthly machine that was giving the king of dragons total hell. This hardly mattered when he picked up the element of loyalty, consuming it of it's energy. Opening his mouth, he said the words. "Wuld...nah...KEST!" He flew forward at ungodly speeds, striking the thor causing the machine to tip over and began to maul the machine. It was just so fortunate that the ejection system had been working fine, and that Raynor had been wearing his power armor, or he probably would have been in more than a few pieces by now. "No one can stop me!" Feynaltdrog cried to the heavens as he rose, holding the element of magic within his claws. "Once I consume this... nothing can stop me! No one ever can!" The irony of saying that... when a loud roar was heard that shattered the heavens, the earth and perhaps... even the very core of the king of dragons. A massive purple dragon was flying at unfathomable speeds at the dragon king, the loud roar that was deafening. There was someone atop this dragon... someone in a ~~hockey~~ mask and armed the teeth. "Slade?" Chapter 48He had been watching for as long as Feynaltdrog was in view of his tactical vision. He had been feeding off of the elements of harmony to regenerate his injuries, when he had outright stated himself that consumption of the element of magic would ascend him to new levels of power, Slade knew exactly what had to be done. Granted... it probably wasn't the smartest of all decisions he made in his life, but neither was accepting this contract as a whole. He jumped off of Spike, hoping that he had timed it right. If he didn't... Well they'd all be screwed. Of course. How could he have messed it up? He had perfect timing after all, and with that, he leapt straight above Feynaltdrog and snatched the element of magic straight from his grasp, landing upon the ground with a heavy thud, good thing his armor was cushioned and that his body overall would be resistant to damage from impacts. Even then however, it hurt like hell. Though... it was debatable to whether or not that he'd survive getting hit by a wall of fire as he looked up. Feynaltdrog had begun to speak. "Yol...." Time stood to a standstill as Slade tried to rise, realizing that he had probably broken both his legs. The flames began to creep ever closer to him from the mouth of the dragon. The shield of blue ether that saved his life formed just in time to stop him from becoming human steak, as did the small silver-haired girl who ran right by him, the blue shield beginning to stagger and buckle as the flames began to lick upon it. "Slade!" Sanya called, she had a billion questions, but as of now there wouldn't be a moment of time. "Medic!" Slade groaned in pain. No sooner had the words left his mouth, a large needle flew straight at into his shoulder. Now... one would EXPECT him to be in a huge state of pain from the fact that the needle was probably the size of a dagger though... he felt none of that. In fact... his legs didn't feel like they were shattered into a million pieces anymore. "That shield isn't going to hold!" Slade called out as he held Sanya. "Hang on!" The grappling gun shot right into the wreckage of the thor, sending the pair flying away from the flames as the blue aura of protection faded away and the flames scorched the ground. "Thankfully he didn't drop that..." Armin commented as he looked back at the grappling gun he had "borrowed" from Slade. Seeing his chance, he rushed forth to deliver to colossal blows straight at the dragon's legs, the large red gashes caused the king of dragons to roar in pain. Though... that'd be the least of his problems when a dragon of almost equal mass hit him like a cannonball, sending both creatures to the ground, creating massive scars within the ground. Even with his injuries, Feynaltdrog was stronger by... a lot actually. He managed to throw Spike straight off of him, sending the dragon flying back. "Yol...Toor...Shul!" The dragon king roared as the wave of flames shot at Spike, causing him to roar and screech in pain, forcing him back into the air. The wave of fire ceased and weakened as the guass rounds hit him in the tail, blowing the lower ends of it into a bloody pulp. "Come here!" Raynor called as the protective visor of his suit came down. The flames engulfed him, but the armor would hold just long enough for Captain America to make his move as the star-spangled man leapt upon the dragon, sending massive blows at the wings, breaking various bones. The flailing claws and pained movements of attempted strikes of the wings forced him back, Steve wasn't exactly interested in being torn into bloody ribbons. Thankfully... Slade and Medic were ready. "Charge now Doc!" Slade called as the crit-uber was popped. Grabbing ever last explosive he had, he flung the huge bundle straight at Feynaltdrog. The massive explosion tearing scales and flesh straight off the king of dragons who howled and roared in pain as he sent a wave of fire down upon Slade and Medic. The uber would save them from being cooked, but it wouldn't save them from flying back several feet. The two would find shelter within a ditch. It was a rather balsy move. But... you know what? They weren't exactly thinking straight... Or rather caring to since it was all or nothing at this point. Holding her hand for dear life, Armin and Sanya shot forward, straight at Feynaltdrog's mouth as the flames rushed forward, the shield saving the pair from a fiery death, for how long, it was as good as anyone's guess, it was just so fortunate that Armin intended on moving quickly as he drove both blades deep into the eyes of Feynaltdrog, causing the dragon to scream and shriek in ungodly pain as it flailed and stomped around, it's wings broken and useless, it's tail shattered and it's once great and powerful body in ruins. It was then when the elements of harmony began their ethereal glow. Twilight knew exactly what to do as she sent the elements straight at her friends. The six closing their eyes and concentrating. The elements would surely be able to destroy the dragon, if not seal him away for another thousand years to come. "The elements! My teeth to your hearts ponykind!" The dragon cried out in pain and fear. It somehow knew despite being completely blind. It opened it's mouth... Twilight realized just then that her friends and herself, in the process of firing the elements, couldn't move, and that no one exactly had the strength to stop the flames. Raynor was too far away and Sanya's shield had long been exhausted. No one could have stopped their deaths. That didn't mean NOTHING couldn't have as the large purple dragon descended from the heavens, it's foot stomping down upon the dragon lord's mouth, ensuring that the words and flames would never come out. "Now Twilight!" Spike roared. Even in such a weak state, Feynaltdrog was still slightly stronger than him IN JUST HIS JAW ALONE. "Hurry!" "But Spike!" Twilight cried. She had just gotten her number one assistant back... If he was caught in the way of the magic... "Just do it! I can't hold him for long!" Spike shouted as the larger dragooned threatened to escape. If he did... There'd be nothing stopping him then. Even being blinded... He could still "see." There would be no choice as Twilight closed her eyes, and prayed... Prayed to the heavens that Spike would be okay. The rainbow colored magic fired out of the elements. Chapter 49The massive rainbow colored beam shot forth, it's size was big enough to engulf not just both dragons, but the area around them, covering them all with the rainbow colored light. Behind the screams and shrieks of endless agony, Twilight felt sweat drip off of her mane. Spike... he was in pain. Even without the roars and screams of anguish of wounded beasts, she could just feel it in her bones. Nothing could have been more soul jarring than listening to her number one assistant in such other-wordly agony. The magic of the elements... She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth as they continued, the screams began to die and soon, the air was filled with a deathly silence. She opened her eyes to see it. Even though he'd been the bane of the world thousand years ago, and had been once again during his return... it was still pitiful. The once mighty king of dragons, bane of the world, hungry for conquest now lay nothing more than a pile of dragon bones, his skin and flesh having been flayed straight off by the magic of the elements. Even something like him mustn't have deserved such a fate. But nevertheless, it had been a neccessary act. But... Spike... Wait a minute.... "Where's Spike?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked around at Feynaltdrog's skeleton. Not that she exactly wanted to know... though a huge dragon skeleton was something that's pretty hard to los... "Pinkie... what's going on?" Twilight asked as the pink earth pony's tail began to twitch like crazy. No sooner had that happened did Pinkie Pie dive right into the ditch that Slade and Medic had taken cover within. "I think something's about to fall from the..." THUD* "Ow..." Twilight groaned weakly as she looked above. Spike had just landed straight on her head. Wait a minute... if Spike had landed on her head.... and if Spike hadn't crushed her than that meant.... HOLY HORSEAPPLES! HE'S ALIVE! Not just that too... he wasn't JUST alive. He was now back being just... Spike. Not a scary, huge dragon that looked like it had more business burning down villages. He was once again, Twilight's number one assistant Spike. "Whoa... ugh... I don't feel so well..." Spike groaned, evidently suffering case of serious nausea. Though... it could have been a lot worse considering things like a bigger dragon had been involved. Strange... despite the fact he'd taken the full force of dragon fire and getting knocked around.... yeah... he probably won the award of "luckiest dragon in Equestria" as of now. "SPIKE!" Twilight said as she wrapped her hooves around the dragon. "Umm... Twilight? Hey... you're not so small anymore... wait.... awww..." "What's wrong Spike?" Fluttershy asked. "Are you hurt?" "No... it's just that... I am not big anymore." He mumbled to himself, disappointed. "I..." "You were pretty damn awesome." Raynor said as he walked over, well... more like hobbled over considering the state of his power armor at the moment. "You royally kicked Feynalt... whatever's ass and gave him a beatdown." "Yeah... but... not..." "Doesn't matter who or what we are kid." Slade said as walked over. "Only matters is what we do and what our plan is. Right now... what you did probably would have earned you a few medals back in my day." "Mine too!" Sanya and Cap said at the same time. "So... wait... why am I not dead then? I mean... look at him!" "Maybe..." "It's because the elements of Harmony..." Princess Celestia began coming out of nowhere. "Are powerful enough to lock away or destroy any evil. As long as there is good however... the elements will not harm. Spike... Feynaltdrog's spell upon you turned you into a savage creature. But you were able to fight it and..." "Saved my bacon, and everyone else." Slade cut in. "Well done kid. I don't care what you are, but I think you done me and everyone else here a favor today." "Just as you have all done Equestria a favor too... Deathstroke." Luna cut in. "You know... I prefer Slade when speaking with my clients." Slade chuckled. "But... is he dead now?" "I would expect so.... hopefully..." Luna mumbled. "But whatever the cause... I suppose we may send you home now?" "You kidding?!" Pinkie Pie asked as she jumped straight in front of Slade before him or anyone else could give an answer. "This calls for a party!" Slade had considered pulling another "Deathstroke" though... went against it as he felt something tap against his shoulder. "What is it kid?" Slade asked. He could tell who it was... he didn't even need to look. "Are you going to go home now? Becuase..." "No. I'll stay... though I think my sanity might not agree." Slade said as he walked with everyone else as they began to depart. "I am glad you can... and I am certain so is everyone else." Sanya began. "But... can you tell me how..." "How I survived?" Slade said with a smile. Not the type he typically had when he was about to murder someone or complete a contract, but the type he probably had a lot of... maybe 50 years ago. "You know... I could tell you I pulled one of my tricks again... you're a witch after all. You have your magic, I have mine. But... that'd be a lie... or at least... not entirely true." "Go on." Steve said. He was listening too... and pretty damn interested. "You see... there was rubble... a ton of rubble... and this one piece of stone... about the size of a bullet ALMOST killed me. Would have had me straight through the heart." Slade said. Slowly, he reached into his armor, and took out a kopeck. Albeit... a dented kopeck which looked as though it had been shot. Kinda reminded him of that lawyer in Gotham city... "Saved my life." Slade said as he looked at Sanya. "I doubt I can really regenerate a rock in the heart." "I dunno... you always struck me as the type of guy who had a heart of stone..." Steve joked. He expected a wisecrack or a comeback, or at least a death glare... but got nothing. Just silence and some incoherent mumbling. "Eh... I am joking." The last part was added rather hastily. Slade made no comment. "Nevertheless though... I was trapped for a while... until Spike fished me out. Why he saved me? I dunno... I mean I was the guy who actually drugged him senseless but I guess he wanted Feynaltdrog's neck and not mine. So... I rode him, we got here as fast as we could, and the rest is history." "Nice..." Raynor commented. "Listen... maybe we can celebrate now? I dunno... but I really want a beer." "Except... it's going to be made of apples..." Steve moaned. "Here." Slade said tossing Raynor his canteen. "Gift from a friend... and not made out of apples. Pretty damn good. Give some to Captain Star Spangles afterwards. He needs a drink too." "Ve all do." Medic commented. "Though..." "You CANNOT have my blood sample." Slade said firmly. "Gah..." Medic grumbled as they headed back for Ponyville. Somehow... in under 45 seconds, it looked like Pinkie Pie had already produced enough baked goods, drinks and whatnot to have a country fair.... how is this possible again? Magic. "Time to go home now?" Armin asked as he got his things. Good thing he didn't bring much... "Indeed. Equestria thanks you again for your help." Celestia said. "Before we go... I suppose it's time for your... payment. Slade?" "Do me last. I gotta think." Well... that was pretty suprising. "Jim?" "Some of that shiny jewels you got... I need a ton... hope that won't be of inconvinience." "Of course not." Luna smiled. "Next... Armin?" "Just to be back home..." Armin said. God damn it... why the fu.. "Medic?" "Un Sample of every organism from Equestria... ja. Perhaps a little book on medicine?" "Done." "Sanya?" "A chance to see my parents." "Steve?" "I want nothing." "Slade...?" "Another chance." The mercanary said. Those two words would be all. Author's Note Are we done yet? Of course not... not for this one... and maybe not for a long time. Am I going to write a sequel? Probably. More on it next time. Epilogue: Part 1 Epilogue: Part 1 [Gotham City, local time: 10:30 PM, Slade's safehouse.] Sitting down in his living room in a tidy yet spartan apartment, the mercanary pulled out his laptop and placed it on the coffee table, besides him, a new freshly taken photo rested upon the bed. By the bedside, a family photo of himself and his family from about 50 years ago sat on the cabinet. Next to it lay Adeline's ring. She had died just a week earlier, her slit throat would have provided far too much. Though... he risked retribution from not just Rose and Jericho, Slade had attended the funeral. There were those who were... slightly more aware about Deathstroke and Slade Wilson. Suprisingly, no one had attempted to kill or even as much as say a threatening word to him as Slade sat silently amongst the mourners, saying nothing the entire time as his two children shot him hate filled glances, not even as much as speaking to him. The fact that he attended the funeral at all was suprising to some, but insulting to others. And now here he sat, back home in Gotham by his laptop. Amanda Waller of ARGUS had called the other day. Apparently, the guy in the bat costume and his friends weren't the only ones aware of Deathstroke's true identity. The only thing here was, ARGUS had the proof. The guy in the bat costume didn't, and this proof would be more than enough to give him a life sentence. Considering that he could expect to live a pretty long time, that sentence would for obvious reasons, be just as long. Of course... there would be a way out. The US goverment had quite the list of several notorious criminals and terorrists. All marked wanted, dead or alive. Mostly the former for rather obvious reasons. For this reason, the guy in the bat costume or any of his pals would be unlikely to do anything along these lines. The world's greatest assassin however, would probably have no qualms with any form of assignments like this. Needless to say, he called Waller the first thing he did after returning home from Adeline's funeral. He would accept this contract (or rather, contracts). Waller had said... not much actually. Only told him that she had expected nothing less from his good judgement and that he could expect this to take a long time, years as a matter of fact. Clever. He wouldn't have much time to go around murdering any other people while working for ARGUS. Plus... this was the sentence. Working for ARGUS. At least the pay would be rather handsome though the missions... he could expect nothing less than the one's that Task Force X AKA the suicide squad would be assigned to. Speaking of the suicide squad, Slade had made one thing clear. He would accept Waller's offer, from the way things looked, she needed the long list of people dead or behind bars quickly and efficently. As such... he would deal with her. On his terms. That meant no bombs in his head and that Waller kept her distance. Grudgingly... the woman would expect. Nevertheless, Slade could still expect someone to be watching his every move lest he did anything to violate their contract. On his coffee table, he looked at the colored picture. Strange... they lacked things like cars but still managed to produce perfect HD photos. Within the picture was himself, wearing his Deathstroke costume, save for the mask. He looked over at the people in the picture again. Himself of course, frowning as usual. Humph... as a crazy pink horse had described, it probably would kill him to look cheerful for once. Sorta hard to do that in his shoes. Jim... pretty big guy... actually the only person who was taller than he was. Then again... if he knew history right, it always seemed next generations were taller than the previous ones. When considering how Medic and Steve were around similar heights (Steve being marginally taller) and being born at the same time, he could make that assumption. He chuckled to himself as he realized it now. Jim, Medic, Steve and himself were actually all litearlly taller than both Sanya and Armin by at least a foot. Each. He looked back at those two, Armin who was rather confused by the camera and Sanya who was smiling for it. He considered showing the photo to Rose and comparing the two... though something told him that even as much as going near his daughter would probably end with him getting two bullets in the chest. Sitting back down, he grabbed himself a cup of ice water and considered going to bed.But first, he would have to look through the armory before doing so. "We're.... um... we're technically not allowed to be doing this now are we?" Eila asked Sanya as she drove down the street within the gotham city outskirts. "No." Sanya replied flatly as she looked down at the wedding ring. "Just... I hope we don't get caught driving." "Yeah... but this city... I always knew Liberion was famous for it's cities... but this? This is a bit much." "It's called America here." Sanya commented as she took a look around. "But... this is 2014 for them..." "Oh... no wonder. I thought this car was a bit fast... and... hey... I think we're here..." "Nice." Sanya said as Eila parked the car. (By parked... I mean scratched the paint off of the car next to her before pulling the automobile to a stop.) "Come on!" "Alright... but... um... this is pretty weird." "I know... I know... but you believe me... right?" "Right..." Eila said hesitantly as she looked at the homes. Finding the right address, she knocked on the door. Much to her suprise, it was actually not even fully closed it swung right open. Well.... "Umm... do we just go in?" Eila asked. "I hope he won't mind." Sanya said as she held unto the wedding ring. "He's a good friend." "He does sound pretty awesome. That nickname though..." Eila chuckled as she entered the house with her friend. They were greeted by the interior, a mostly empty living room with a strange device a top a table, and what Slade had called a "Smartphone" right next to it. "Hello? Is anyone home?" Eila called out. "Hey kid... brought your older sister?" The voice called out from behind them, causing Eila to jump. To Sanya... it was just Slade being Slade. "She's not my sister.... wait... do we look a like?" "Yeah... fairly similar." Slade said. "Take a seat kid... it must have been pretty hard for the two of you to get here. What's your name kid?" "Eila." And.... this is the part where Slade all of a sudden had the impulse to bash in Steve's face the next time he saw him.... okay that aside... "Why are you two here?" Slade asked. "I am certain you're not here to ask me to kill someone now... RIGHT?!" "No! Of course not!" Sanya said. "I... well... you forgot this." Slade eyed the object for a moment before his mouth slowly hung agape. It was his wedding ring. Author's Note So I mentioned writing a sequel... or rather, maybe even SEQUELS later on. As of now, I do want to stick with the same franchises I used during this story as well as the characters. I do have a few ideas as of now, even written them down already. These include so far... In terms of characters, the ones likely to appear as protagonists are: Every single Avenger who's had a movie or has appeared in one. This includes guys like: Black Widow, Hawkeye, Winter Soldier, Warmachine and Falcon. This does not include anyone that's not affiliated within the Avenger's movie universe. (No X-men. No Fantastic Four.) [I am serious... EVERY avenger with a movie.I actually plan to write just one fic with litearlly every single avenger who's so far been in a movie.] Just Slade from DC. I mean... who would work with this guy again? From the StarCraft universe, any Terran character that plays a role with Raynor (Matt, Rory, Egot) are all viable canidates. Whether or not they will ALL appear, I am still deciding. From the TF2 universe, all nine classes will be unlikely. Though... say half of the team... is more likely to happen. The two classes that I'll gurantee as of now are Medic and Engineer. From the AOT universe, the only character who is guranteed not to appear is Eren. Something tells me having both Eren and Hulk in the same place at the same time will mean bad things. From the Strike Witches universe, the entire 501st or any other supporting character (assuming they're a witch) is viable. Though as the same goes for the TF2 team, EVERY character will not appear, but EVERY character CAN appear. But anyways, I am up for ideas so... speak up! Epilogue: Part 2 Epilogue: Part 2 "Your house... it's..." Eila commented as she took a look around Slade's current place of residence. "Kind of empty?" Slade said finishing her sentence. For such a fairly large home, the only rooms that actually had any furniture were the basement, the living room and one of the three bedrooms. Everything else was litearlly empty, or maybe had a single cardboard box lying somewhere around the corner. "I am not too big on furniture anyways. Just need the essentials. But anyways... how did you two get here anyways?" "It's sort of a long story... but it involves a ton of magic, this really huge purple gem and... yeah... I think you probably understand." Eila explained. "Trust me... I thought Sanya was crazy when she told me everything! She'd been gone for only like... 5 hours and it seems like she's been gone for weeks!" "I was apparently. I returned "last week" to find out that my wife had died and was just in time for the funeral. Just got there in time to know that my children still hate me... that reminds me, Sanya, did you get to see your parents?" "Yeah! It was only for like... welll a few hours but it was great! I got to see them again... and... they really didn't believe anything I said... but... it was just nice to see them again." "I bet it was!" Eila said. "Too bad I never got to go. I always wanted to have a flying purple unicorn!" And I always wanted to MURDER that pink one... god damn it.... what was she on?! Slade thought silently as he listened to the sound of Pinkie's incomprehensible speech ring in his ears once again. "To say the truth kid, you might just get your chance..." Slade began as he looked over at the huge amount of names he had just been emailed. Dangerous names that required the skills of the world's greatest assassin. "Something in my gut tells me that this ride isn't over it." "What do you mean?" Sanya asked as she and Eila both shot him a pair of questioning looks. "Just a gut feeling... we might need to go back some time... god forbid." The last part, being under his breath. "And... by the way... did you two say you weren't related?" He took a closer look... man... they looked really similar... and that also meant. Rose in her childhood! The memories... The memories... If he was ever going to get any sleep after this... "Okay. So you two... you have a way on getting home?" Slade asked as he closed his laptop. "Oh... um... I don't think we planned that far yet... we kinda left the thing back in this place... it's sort of a long drive." "And let me guess... you both stole a car and lacking a license of any sorts... drove all the way here?" "How did you..." "First off... the neighbors are going to be pretty angry..." Slade chuckled as he was prepared for the massive rage fused yelling about how his grandkids were out of control. "Second off... as long as you're here... pretend that I am your grandfather." "Wait... why?" "Too many reasons. But you want me to drive you back or are you going to that later?" "Maybe... maybe we'll spend the night." Sanya said as she looked at the clock. 11:45. "Okay, there are some bedrolls in the living room." Slade said. "Feel free to hit the hay any time. I still have work to do." By work, he meant look over like the 500 names of people that needed a few bullets in the chest. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ [New York, SHIELD headquarters.] "So... are you COMPLETELY SURE that he's not going to go crazy on us and murder everyone?" Natasha asked as she looked at the doctors who were still screening Bucky. They had been at it for hours. Erased memories, brain washing and a few other nasty things had yet to be cleared from the man's mind. "Yes... I am sure. You asked me at least eight times now." Captain America replied as he sat down and looked over at the Winter Soldier. "He's my best friend." "Well... you know... he was trying to kill you just months ago." "Exactly how do you know any better when you're brainwashed and had your memories wiped again?" Steve shot back. "Okay. Let's change the subject... to maybe... that car accident." "Oh... yeah that." Steve began, he wasn't quite sure that Natasha would believe him. First off, according to everyone, they had lost him for about ten minutes before finding him at the roadside. "It's a long story, but next time, tell Coulson to give me a better briefing to what I am driving." "Will do then. When are you gonna tell me the long story?" "In a place where you won't call the insane asylum or think that I got hit on the head really hard. It'll take a while, but believe it or not, it involves a coloring book and some pretty interesting people." Yeah... A superhuman soldier like him, a guy from 400 years in the future, a crazy german doctor who's not affiliated with HYDRA in any form, a girl with cat ears and tail along with magic, and some boy who comes from a world full of man-eating giants. It was actually pretty amazing that Bucky believed him.... it took like four tries. But something... something told him he wasn't done. And that feeling sent waves of dread through him. He would have known this to be more than just a gut feeling if he had paid slightly more attention to Red Skull's "Death". Or better yet, if SHIELD had been paying attention to one of the islands in the middle of the pacific. Dubbed "HYDRA island." A certain man called Strucker just had some plans to meet with his boss again... and this time, they weren't going to take over the world. They were going to take over, every world. It was a good thing that when SHIELD wasn't vigilant. Odin Allfather was. The pair looked over at Bucky again, a doctor turned around to give Captain America a "thumbs-up" before letting Bucky out. The man walked out, with a grin as he looked at his friend again. "Hey. Heard that diner they had is still there. Wanna grab a few burgers?" "Like old times?" Steve said with a smile. "Like old times. We still got a mess to clean in New York though. Heard HYDRA still has a few stragglers." "We'll do that afterwards." Steve said. "Wanna come Natasha?" "No thank you." Black Widow said as she left the scene. Having lunch with the guy who had shot her through the stomach years ago wasn't really going to work up her appetite. Author's Note So... had started writing a sequel... I think from this chapter, you can probably tell who the "Big bad" is going to be. Or rather, the certain former-Nazi organization that will serve as the "Big bads". The likely set of characters will probably be.... Captain America. Winter Soldier. Deathstroke. Gertrud Barkhorn. Erica Hartmann. Medic. Due to the fact that Hyperlinks refuse to work in Author notes... GOOGLE THEM YOURSELVES, if unfamilar. I will explain a bit more on why these characters next chapter. Epilogue: Part 3 Epilogue: Part 3 "Good times... I remember this place from... seventy years ago." Steve commented as he sat with Bucky at the old diner in downtown Manhattan. The place where they'd go rather often. Taking a bite out of a burger, he savored the taste. Tasted like the 40s where thing actually seemed to make sense. Even after two years, he still had no clue on how to work his smartphone... or use a computer. Or even change the channels on the television. "Same... and I remember having to have your back in that back alley over there..." Bucky joked as he took a large bit out of his hamburger. "I am actually... starting to remember a lot of things. We used to go here after every baseball game. Just you and me... strange, you know... I've been up and alive for the past seventy years, and none of this I can even remember. So starting from the beginning... apparently I shot this guy... Nick Fury? What was his name? I can't remember. Then... they said what now? Oh right... we got into like two brawls, and it's crazy. Apparently, I was working for those damn krauts and I didn't even realize it!" "It happens... HYDRA must have seriously screwed with your mind." Steve said as he took a sip of his soda. Back in the day... they had glass bottles, not any of these paper cup... things. "But it's good to have you back." "It is. So... we won the war right?" Bucky asked. Being in a trance for quite some time and spending time as a human popsicle within some cryo-chamber really wasn't good for his memory or really, his overall touch for what had been going on for the past century. "Yeah." Steve said as he thought about what Zola had said to him. Cut off one head, two more shall grow to take it's place. "If so... then why are those goose-stepping bastards still alive? Didn't you kill... what's his name... that Red Skull guy?" "Apparently so." Steve said as he took a look around the diner for memories of the past. "But as they said... cut off one head... two more shall grow to take it's place." "If that's the case, we got a lot of work cut out ahead of us." Bucky commented. "So... from what I know, Hitler is dead. Skull is dead. That Zola guy is dead. Who's leading them?" Damn... this should be something he knew. After all... he'd been working for HYDRA... even though he had been unaware of it. Alexander Pierce? No... he's dead too and clearly wasn't in command. Could it have been Zola? But... the Doctor didn't seem to be too involved within the politics of HYDRA... within his mind... he thought of... there was that memory... a memory of a fairly old man with a monocle... what was his name again? Baron... Baron... "I don't know. Apparently HYDRA actually had GROWN over the years when a large portion of the Nazi party ended up going over once Germany lost the war. Like you said, we got plenty of work to do before we really win the war." Steve said, causing Bucky to lose his train of thought. Go figure. "Just like old times huh? You and me, going across the land and blowing up Jerry and his factories... except this time..." "HYDRA invaded the U.S too now? Yeah... but..." His cellphone began to ring, causing him to stop speaking. At the same time, Bucky's did too. It was Coulson. HYDRA had a plant located on the outskirts of New York that was manufacturing them weapons. They were to do something about this. _______________________________________________________________________ [Koprulu sector, aboard the Hyperion] Vitals are normal. Shock therapy ready. The commander will be resuming consciousness in 3...2...1... BZZTT. "Argh!" Raynor gasped as hundreds of volts was sent through his body... "Ow..." "Easy now Jim. We found... well... it's kind of an interesting story." Matt began. NO KIDDING. Raynor screamed on the side. "Alright Matt, what's your interesting Story? Lemee guess... I crash landed into some kid's Saturday morning TV program?" "I... guess?" Matt said as he scratched his head. "Well... you were gone for like a few days, and we were really worried and all... good thing Stetmann was able to track your ship... and..." He paused for a moment as the corners of his mouth shifted to a wide smile. "Jim... I dunno what the hell happened, and I think you had probably the best reason for being missing for at least three days... but seriously. Haven't you ever heard of the saying "greed kills"?" "What?... Eh... Matt... I don't follow.... tell me everything." "Well, we found your ship. At least, Stetmann did. But... man... you struck gold... like... LITEARLLY." Matt chuckled as he sat by Raynor's bed within the infirmary of the ship. "Man... there were TONS! Again... literally! We even had to scramble every available transport just to get it done in under a day!" Looks like Sunbutt upheld her end of the bargain. Nice.. nice "How much was it?" Raynor asked. "Give me an estimation." "Like.... 12000 tons?" Matt said trying to come up with a number. "Listen... I don't know how you found this stash... but the Dominion..." "Mengsk won't know what hit him." Raynor said with a smile as he got up. "Brrr... I could use a cup of coffee." "Easily arranged." Matt said. "So... what are we gonna do with all this... gold?" "What'dya think?" Raynor asked at the rather... dumb question. "We sell this, and then... man... Mengsk is going to get hit so hard, it'll knock the living daylights out of him and his Dominion." "Sounds like a plan. I'll get this stuff sold to any buyers." Matt said as he placed down a diamond the size of an egg right on the table. "Jim... mind telling me how you got this?" "It's a long and crazy story." Jim said as he sat down. "You might not believe anything I have to say, so I don't expect you to." "Try me." Matt said with a grin. "After all we've been through together, you know there's hardly anything in this universe that'll surprise me." "Funny... I don't think it was in our universe." Jim said as he thought about the others. "Anyways, it involves some master assassin from 500 years ago, a master soldier from 500 years ago, a crazy doctor, a witch that was like... twelve and had cat ears and tail and some guy who came from this place where there are a ton of man-eating giants." "Ummm... what?" "Yeah... lemee begin..." Raynor said as he sat down and grabbed a cup of coffee. "Matt... you know, I'd recommend you grab a bag of popcorn. Just saying... it's going to be one helluva story." Epilogue: part 4 Epilogue: part 4 "Well... that... um... I... I... bu..bu...wha.. never mind." Matt said as he tried to comprehend what Raynor had just told him. Little kid's coloring book made into a TV show made into... some fantasy world setting... thing? That totally made sense. For a good portion of the time, Matt would be wondering if the crash hit Jim really hard to the point he had begun to hallucinate things. His story was just... so... Matt was lost for words. He just couldn't describe what he wanted to say verbally, and perhaps, mentally, his brains would probably be turned inside out as he began to think about everything Jim had told him. From the mercanary that called himself "Deathstroke" to the crazy doctor that somehow was living about 500 years in the past yet had medical technologies that were on par, if not superior to the ones they had at their current given date. What really caught his attention however, were the so-called "elements of harmony". The pair had seen more than their fair share of Protoss Khaydarin crystals but... this seemed to be a little bit something else. Magic... hmmm... Magic. Was it truly magic? Or just some glorified versions of psionic powers that were dime a dozen in the 26th century within the galaxy? Natrually... when a witch had been involved in Jim's story... and they were discussing about "magic" and "psionic abilities" the conversation would turn to Sanya. "So... how old was she again?" "Twelve... or thirteen... I can't remember. But too damn young to be fighting. And you know what scares me? She's been doing it for a while too now. Same goes for her companions, not a single one of them is older than twenty. That's... that's just messed up. Child soldiers? Used to fight ALIENS?!" "That... that sounds terrible..." Matt commented. "But you know... if we look at it another way Jim, there might be a reason for that... now I am not justifying anything here but..." "I know... I know... and when I look at it another way... it makes sense. Apparently only people under the age of twenty have their abilities." He said as he sat down, looking at the ground. "And we thought Korprulu was an awful place." "Maybe one day... how you managed to get there, we can go in and help?" Matt asked. "Maybe." Jim said as he took a drink of his coffee. "But the thing is Matt, I got this huge gut feeling... that this all isn't over." "What do you mean?" "You believe what I've been telling you? I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. I probably told you some pretty crazy things." "I do believe you...." Horner said slowly, really unsure of what to make of what Jim ha dbeen telling him. Either he'd been hit REALLY hard on the head or something. Something about what Jim was telling him just... just seemed almost too crazy to be false. The above sentence probably would have made no sense to Matt if he had said it to himself yesterday. "But... what do you mean by this not being over?" Matt asked as he thought of what Raynor had said. "Something tells me... just this gut feeling... that I didn't end up there by coincidence..." Raynor said. He wouldn't get to finish his train of thought as the alarms began to blare from all corners of the Hyperion. Zerg. [Gravel pits of dustbowl, U.S.A] "Mornin, Doc." A Texan said as he entered the Medic's laboratory. "Whatcha doing here now?" "Research Engineer! Research! A breakthrough in SCIENCE!" The German replied as he fiddled around with many colorful fluids within the flasks and test tubes of his laboratory. Many unlucky lab rats would be on the receiving ends of these chemicals. Above him, perched upon the lamp were dozens of doves that watched as the crazed doctor mixed and heated chemicals, chuckling and muttering to himself as he looked over a massive, aged book that looked thick enough and heavy enough for him to bludgeon someone to death with. "What kind of breakthrough doc?" "A new Medi-gun! Longer ubers! Faster healing!" Medic cackled as he seized Engineer by the collar. "Do you know vhat this means Engineer?! We could have ze power of ze gods right here with us! I am a genius!" "Well... that's mighty sweet doc." Engineer said as he took a quite glance at Medic's notes. Wat.... "Ja! It is... Engie... I tink I may need your help." "Well... okay doc. Just tell me what we're working on." Engineer said as Medic gave him a fairly brief explanation to what he was experimenting on. [About two hours later] "Vell... I guess ve did enough." Medic said as he took a look at the results that included a fire in the sink, several broken bottles, acid on one of the counters, a huge mess on the floor and... of course, a new device that allowed the medi-gun to bring someone back from the dead... a work of gods truly. "Alright... I am going to take this down and test it." Medic said as he grabbed the device and left the lab, leaving engineer within the mess of a room. "Well... okay." Engie said as he sat down. Something caught his eye.... besides from the massive... textbook? That medic had been using, it was something else. Looked like a journal or diary of some kind. Along with that were three blood bags. Only one of them actually had blood however. Said bag was labeled. Litvyak The other two bags were labeled, both of which had been empty. Wilson Rogers Grabbing the journal, Engineer flipped through it. You can kind of imagine his reaction when it talked nothing about magical ponies, Equestria, dragons, an eighty year old master assassin, an one hundred year old master soldier, a guy from five hundred years in the future, a witch with cat ears and tail and some boy from back then where he would have to put up with man-eating giants. Maybe Medic was even crazier than they all initially thought him to be. The thing that really caught the attention of the Texan however, was the mention that all the things they had been experimenting with from the past hours, had come from this land of magical ponies known as "Equestria". Okay? But what else was... that the bag labeled "Litvyak" apparently contained the blood of a witch... Okay. So was Medic now practicing the occult now? And... Without warning. The alarm bells within the base rang. It was Soldier's roommate. Merasmus... Who was a wizard... And I think we can all guess what he was looking for.... Epilogue: Part 5 Epilogue: Part 5 "Run fools! Run from Merasmus!" The insane wizard boomed as everything that wasn't nailed down, ranging from desks, plates, tables and people were thrown all over the place, a literal tornado of sorts forming within the RED base. Pyro tried to stop him, only to get slapped about a few hundred feet by a cane as the wizard porcceded to Medic's labratory. Said German doctor was currently on "coffee break" after he had dropped off his reanimator. By coffee break, I mean hiding in his closet in his room after hearing (and seeing) Merasmus teleport straight into the base and slap Pyro across the entire room who landed straight on the trigger of his flamethrower, the effect was hilarious to anyone who wasn't Pyro. He flew and soared across the room out of control, bouncing off the walls like a pinball machine. "Ah, good night Irene!" Engineer commented as he saw Merasmus throw a metric ton of bombs at Demoman who was promptly blasted against a large, bulletproof window (which thankfully happened to have been flying-people proof as well). The Scotsman slid down comically while attempting to mutter something in his already incomprehensible slurring. The Texan looked over back into the labratory and found just what would be completely useless at this current event. "Merasmus demands your souls!" The wizard announced. A massive miasma of light surrounding the awfully tall wizard before randomly flickering out like a broken light. "Or... you can just give me the blood.... you know..." "Ummm... why do you want BLOOD?!" Scout asked as he held onto his baseball bat tightly. "And who's blood?!" "Don't play dumb with me city boy!" The wizard replied angrily as he hit Scout upside the head with his cane. "Where is the BLOOD?!" "What the bloody hell is he talking about?!" Sniper asked as he clutched onto his kukri. "You cannot have ze blood Vizard!" Medic said grinding through his teeth. It took ALL the convincing in the world for Litvyak to finally agree to give him a blood sample. He never got Slade's blood or Steve's blood which meant that the only sample he had was all the more valuable. Who knows when he was going to see anyone one of those three again? Though something in the back of his head always told him... he wasn't quite done with the talking unicorns just yet. But frankly, a hunch he had in the back of his head hardly mattered when there was some psycho wizard running around and conjuring up enough bombs to rival a nuke in terms of sheer explosive power. "You cannot stop me MEDIC!" Merasmus retorted as he slapped the doctor with his staff, sending the German crashing against the wall before sliding down, his glasses dramatically falling off of his face as they shattered upon impact with the ground. He was out for the count. So would be the rest of the team as they all tried (unsuccessfully) to stop Merasmus. The only man left standing would be Engineer as Merasmus swung his staff once again, sending Heavy flying right into Soldier and Scout who all landed in a most undignified heap upon the ground, Scout having the misfortune to be on the bottom of a 300 pound Russian, a bulletproof vest, a 200 pound American, a minigun and a rocket launcher. "Now stop right there Wizard!" Engineer threatened as he cocked his shotgun, aiming it straight at Merasmus' head. Merasmus hardly took this seriously when all things considered, grenades, rockets and 400,000 dollars worth of minigun fire really didn't stop him. This shotgun? It could knock down bears but you know what? Engineer might as well as have brought ping pong balls to fight the wizard with. "Engineer?! You think to stop me? Give me the blood and Merasmus will not feast upon your souls!" "No way Wizard! You want the blood?! You gonna have to go get past me first!" "Not something a great magician like MERASMUS cannot do!" The wizard said as he leapt at Engineer with his staff, intent on hitting the Texan upside the head with it. Tentatively, Engineer made sure his back was to the shelf of several bottles. At the last moment, he leapt straight out of the way, landing right on top of the heap that formed Heavy, Soldier and Scout. In the case of Merasmus the (mediocre) wizard, he had hit the cabinet causing several glass bottles to fall comically upon his head, each one of them ending with a musical note as it struck him. The last one splashed him full of a certain yellow liquid... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..........." Unfortunately... that wasn't exactly the only thing that fell off the shelf that had contained any form of liquid. Several of Demoman's whiskey bottles fell straight off, pouring all over the ground... and Pyro... with his new jetpack happened to have dipped a wee bit close to the alcohol flooded ground... What happened about two seconds later. _________________________________________________________________ [Wall Rose Maria, local time 8:00 AM, Scout regiment headquarters] "Careful boys..." The scout sergeant said as the two scouts gingerly carried the box, flanked by two more guards who frantically looked around. Behind them, Armin walked along, trailed by two more guards. The regiment had just acquired the box and it's contents a mere two hours ago. A disturbance resulting severe damage to a building within Wall Maria had caused the regiment to investigate. Anything else, was confidential, known only to the higher-ups within the Scout regiment. The group would pause at a door that was labeled with the sign reading: Erwin Smith. To this, Armin and the box were thrown in. Everyone else, cleared out. Within the office was the commander of the scout regiment himself, along with his second in command. The pair of them shot grim glances at Armin who could only respond nervously with a bob of the throat. Levi's blades never looked so threatening as of now... "Hello Armin." Erwin said calmly and coolly as he stood up. "Originally... I had intended all the officers of the scout regiment to be present when we discussed this. But in light of recent events, I have changed my mind. Squad leader Hange was supposed to have been present for this, but due to reasons involving two titan specimens, she will not be here today. You will explain EVERYTHING regarding this... incident to Levi and myself. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes sir." Armin said weakly, trying not to make eye contact with Levi who maintained his usual look. The death-stare he gave to just about everyone. Even without that look, it wasn't hard to know why Armin was nervous. He was in a room with not just one, but two apex swordsmen and hardened elites. Hopefully... their patience would match their talents. Actually... hopefully they would believe everything he would have to say because... frankly... he had shared with no one lest they thought he was crazy. And for good reason to. A land full of talking horses and meeting with those from the future wasn't exactly a very believable story to just about anyone, even himself. As of now, Armin was still having trouble to whether or not what he had experienced was either a very vivid dream... or perhaps what had happened really did happen. He began his explanation and prayed to the heavens that the two would believe his story. Author's Note Originally... I had been deciding on this for quite some time, but I thought why the hell not? Levi and Erwin are both going to go to Equestria. Not in the next one of course or the one after but SOME TIME... Not the end. Not the end. In the middle of the the Pacific ocean, was a large island off the coast of Japan. In some of the long forgotten tales of the second world war, it was known here that a force of Imperial Japanese soldiers had been given to a certain affluent Nazi officer. His name, was Wolfgang Von Strucker, second in command of HYDRA and one of the most powerful men of the Third Reich. Here, HYDRA laid down it's first few steps in becoming a world wide organization as the Japanese hopped aboard the band wagon, eager for new, quicker and unorthodox ways of winning the war. After the war, HYDRA island as it was soon dubbed became the ideal refuge for many former members of the Third Reich and the Imperial Japanese army. War-criminals especially would flock here in the thousands, swelling the numbers of HYDRA as even treacherous members of the Allies too would find a place here. Later, many Soviet and US defects would also attend this cabal of sorts, making HYDRA a small organization within the shadow of the axis powers, to the largest terrorist organization to ever exist as it spread across the world, the nine headed serpent had coiled itself around every major country. Within the island, an old German stood by the windows as lightning flashed dramatically. The experiment had succeeded... a bit too well unfortunately for him. He would lose his bid to have the world in his hands, but HYDRA will have won the gamble to have not just one world, but ALL worlds. Behind him, a seemingly younger and much taller man stood up. Clapping. Perhaps in mocking congratulation. "Did you really think I was dead?" The man began in German as he sat down and poured himself a glass of wine. "Did you really think. that I... one of the supermen who has left humanity behind, would die so easily? So that you... you can just inherit the greatness I have created? Fool... HYDRA is mine, and so is the world. Now... so will every world. Strucker said nothing as he sat back down into his seat. For a few decades, he had been in control of HYDRA following the "death" of the Red Skull. Unfortunately, he came back just today. The words "fell out of the sky on them" could almost have been taken literally as they activated their machine that created... tunnels within the fabric of space. A place of magic, did the Skull discover. To him, he had only been there long enough to peek at what treasures it would hold for HYDRA. To Strucker and to the rest of HYDRA, it had been seventy years. He would have certainly loved to remain in control. But HYDRA worshiped Schmidt as a devout Christian worshiped Christ. It was a losing battle if he intended to try and keep power. He would once again, be in the shadow of this deformed, and self-titled "greater man". This Red Skull. "Ahhh.... but you have done well Strucker." Johann continued as he put on his mask that would present his face as he had before the experiment. "For the brief time I was allowed within this place... I know that it contained magic. Great magic that would rival the powers of the gods! And we will have this power. HYDRA will have it. And for this... you will be rewarded." Strucker would have snorted at this. What would this "reward" be? Some miser's reward of promised wealth? Or maybe just a small piece of the pie that in truth, when the entire share belonged to him? He would once again be in the shadow of the Red Skull... and frustratingly enough, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it... for now. Schmidt could almost smell the ire of the baron. Chuckling within his mind, he didn't care. He had all he needed now. Opening the door of the stateroom, he looked out downstairs of the massive fortress where hundreds of scientists and engineers were working upon the massive portal, powered by a highly efficient and powerful source, courtesy of Stark industries. Smiling to himself, the Red Skull looked down. Soon... he will conquer the world that he had gazed upon. When he had stripped it of what he needed, every world will follow. Perhaps not even the gods would be able to stop him then. The world would be his. And after that. Every world. "Hail Hydra." Schmidt whispered to himself. Everyone would bear witness to the homecoming of the leader of HYDRA. As she watched these events unfold, Princess Celestia could only clench her teeth. Thankfully for her, there was a man, or rather a god that she could trust to help. Odin. And it just so happened that at that moment, it had occurred to Odin many things. That of the nine realms of Yggdrasil, only eight of them were unique. Midgard... was not. There were infinite versions of it across the many planes and realms that existed. In fact, it seemed as though every world that wasn't eight of the nine realms wasn't unique... that every universe seemed to have it's own version... This just occurred to the god. But to a mortal, a mortal among these infinite planes. A mortal by that dressed in a dark suit that resembled an owl, he had realized this long ago. And as HYDRA made it's plans to conquer every world, as Odin and Celestia thought of a way to stop them, this man would watch as an idea of unparalleled malevolence would bear it's way into his mind. This world, this Equestria had a unique property that Odin had yet to realize. Like the nine realms, it was unique. And that would mean that Equestria may have a very vital role within the strands of reality among not just one universe, but all of them. Thomas Wayne Jr. AKA Owlman, would be intent on exploiting that. Author's Note Okay. First off... this epilogue took WAY longer to write than I thought it would. But that aside, I am looking for any artists who could draw a cover for the next fic I am currently writing but have yet to put on this site. I need the following characters on the cover, preferably somewhat of a team pose or standard Photoshop would also suffice. http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131113074751/disney/images/a/a4/CaptainAmerica4-TFA.jpg http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140305193217/marvelmovies/images/1/10/Captain_America-The_Winter_soldier-poster.jpg http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140110223240/arkhamcity/images/1/17/Arkham_Origins_Deathstroke_Unmasked.jpg http://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/thumb/c/c2/Community_Medic_Strategy_Header.png/300px-Community_Medic_Strategy_Header.png?t=20120728061553 http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100203191953/strikewitches/images/thumb/c/c2/Erica_profile.jpg/500px-Erica_profile.jpg http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100203191749/strikewitches/images/9/91/Gertrude_profile.jpg Prologue Prologue [Canterlot Castle: Just outside] “Explain to me again why we’re doing this?” Rogers asked as he readied his shield and crouched behind the many boxes within the dark alley way. “Because I heard one of those overgrown child toys talk about how they had... more... like us.” Slade replied as he took a peek around. Good. There was no one here. Whomever was in charge of security around here must have had the tactical ingenious of a potato. “And your point is?” “I suspect that they must have some use for him or her...” “Do you think it’s that boy we met?” “Him? I think he’s dead.” Slade said as he continued taking a look at all possible ways the infiltration could go. “Can you tell me anyone who might survive that fall?” “Me? You?” “Someone that isn’t enhanced. Besides, you even said yourself that the current of the water would have been too great. If he didn’t break his neck on impact, then he probably drowned.” “Poor guy.” Rogers said as he remembered the kid. Blond, longish hair for a guy. Smart eyes and a few other things. “Are you going to start again? Cause we have a guy to help.” “I still think this is a bad idea. Besides, this isn’t even our...” “And so what? I need information. Because this isn’t our home, I want to know what the hell is going on and why I am in a little girl’s coloring book.” Slade said as he took out his bo staff which had a hidden rifle. “Don’t tell me you already plan on dropping bodies.” Captain Rogers said as he took his binoculars for another look. “I am not. These are tranquilizer rounds. They’ll wake up with nothing but a headache.” Slade said as he fired his shots. “Clear?” “Clear.” “Hey, Barn, I would like some help with these... mff... boxes.” The royal guard said as he pushed the boxes across the floor with no hidden difficulty. They must have weighed a ton! No answer. “Really Barn? You gonna help or what?” Still no answer. “Okay. If you’re not going to help, I am going to have to tell the Captain you’ve been napping again on your dut....” A hand was clasped over his mouth as the guard was lifted off his feet. In no time at all, a muzzle was placed around his mouth and his hooves were bound together so he couldn’t move. A wooden creak and he was thrown in. Right next to at least four other guards. “That should hold you.” Slade said as Steve closed the lid, making sure to leave a small opening so they can breath. “Clear.” “I am not in the army anymore, you don’t have to say clear every time.” Slade said rolling his eyes. “Did you check the dungeons?” “Nobody in there. Entire place is empty if you’d believe it.” “Our guy must be really badass if they don’t hold him in the regular place.” Slade thought aloud as he thought for a while. “Should we try top floor?” “Top floor it is.” Rogers replied as he grabbed his shield. “By the way Slade. You really think this is a good idea?” “Anything that has anything to do with me is considered bad by you. So you know what? No.” [A few minutes later. Canterlot guest chambers.] “I have to say, this place actually looks really cozy.” Steve muttered to himself as he took a look at the rooms. Despite the fact that your average inhabitant was slightly shorter than five feet the rooms looked like they could accommodate one of his size. Come to think of it again, the entire place looked REALLY inviting. Almost gave someone the sense of wanting to just lie down instantly. Only thing was, he disliked soft beds. “Yeah. You think the poor fellow is getting this form of treatment?” Slade asked again. “These things are pretty vicious. One of them tried to attack me.” “Getting beaten up by stuffed animals are we now?” “No.” Slade grumbled moodily as he recalled sending a zebra thing into a really good sleep. “Stop.” “Who said you were in charge?” “I am a colonel. You’re a captain.” Slade chuckled. “Well. At least was. But I hear someone... the door!” It was easy to vanish out of sight. That door was like a few hundred feet away. But even then, the only thing to hide behind was around the corner which the two would peek from. The knob of the door slowly opened... and then someone stepped out. Mind you. Someone. Not something. It was a young girl. Now hold on. She was calling someone’s name. No, something’s name. Some “Twilight Sparkle.” Ummm.... what? “Wait... so... they’re not...” “Shhh!” Slade hushed as he listened to the conversation. “Thanks again... it’s really nice...” “No problemo! You know, I never knew you could use magic without a horn! Well... I mean... it’s not as good without the... and frankly, I never knew I could make one! Why don’t you give it a test?” A small nod and... Imagine an young girl with silver white hair all of a sudden make magical... antenna things appear straight right on top of her head. To say the least, Steve’s jaw almost hit the ground whilst Slade’s one good eye almost popped out of it’s socket. “What the...” “Is someone there?” The girl asked as she turned into their direction causing both to men to hide back behind the corner. Silence. “Is something wrong Sanya?” Twilight asked as she looked in the general direction Sanya had been peeking in. “Nothing I thought I heard...” The trotting sounds of armored hooves drowned out her voice as a squad of royal guards showed up. “Shining? What’s going on?” “Listen. There’s an intruder in the castle! We have to get you and your friend to safety!” “What? No time to explain! For all we know there might be an assassin right around the corner!” “But...” “I don’t know much either. We don’t even know why they’re in here but I suspect it might have to do with her.” Shining Armor turned to the girl. “Hey. We’re going to place you under custody of the royal guard. Okay? It’s not safe and I suspect the assassin or whatever might be after you.” “On the contrary. I am not an assassin this time...” Slade’s voice rang down the hall. “What the... stay back! Whatever you are!” Shining Armor said as he looked at the intruder. It looked metallic in whatever it’s skin was... or was that armor? He couldn’t tell. But in it’s hands was a long metal stick. “Give me the girl, and no gets hurt.” Slade said as he approached the group. “You’re not coming near her! She’s under the custody of the royal guard as of this moment!” “Says you and what army?” Slade taunted. He got his expected response with seven rushing guards, six of which he all incapacitated. In one blow. “Who taught you all to fight? Your grandmothers?” Slade asked rhetorically as six ponies fell to the ground in an unconscious heap. Silently, he admired their leader to a small extent as he managed to jump back in time. Shining Armor’s mind raced. What the hell was he? It didn’t matter. It was a damn good fighter and that was the only thing he knew for sure at the current given moment. Charging up his horn, he prepared to fire a spell. Slade observed the unicorn’s horn begin to light up. He was curious to what it would do. The horn fired and a bright purple beam struck him in the chest. He almost felt that one. Twack! Another unconscious pony on the ground, his eyes doing barrel rolls. “Shining Armor!” Twilight cried out in horror. Her shock turned into rage as she glared at her brother’s assailant and lit up her own horn. Instead, she was nudged backwards by Sanya. “Let me.” Sanya whispered at an almost inaudible volume as she turned to face the one that many referred to as “Deathstroke”. “What are you do...” “Get help.” She whispered as she took a look at her new gloves once again. “Okay kid. Come with me if you want to get out of here.” Slade said as he gripped his staff tightly at the ready. There could be more of them any moment and this hallway would be a bad place to be caught in if a few hundred of them showed up. No answer. “Kid?” “You hurt Shining Armor.” “Who the hell is that? Or better yet, what the hell is that?” She raised one of her fists. Slade was amused. Some skinny girl wanted to fight him? Now that was a... The sound of a metallic chest plate shattering and the cracking of a rib echoed throughout the entire hallway as Slade hit the wall painfully. Whatever slight sense of amiability he had towards the members of his own kind that may have been held in this castle deserted him in ten seconds flat. “Okay. You just asked for it.” Slade said as he grabbed his bo staff and swung savagely at Sanya’s head, instead of hitting home, the staff hit a few bright blue rings. A shield. “What... are... you?” Slade asked with much surprise as he pretended to let his guard down. He got exactly what he wanted. Sanya swung her fists again at him. This time, he was prepared, like greased lightning, his hand shot out and grabbed her fist. To Steve, it was totally brutal. He thought he heard a few cracks of bones, but that was probably his imagination, all he saw was perhaps one of the most vicious beatings in his life. This would be a lot when all things considered, he had been beat up countless times and had been doing the beating up in the case of anyone who wore a Wehrmacht, SS or HYDRA uniform. “You done yet?” Steve asked with disgust as he watched Deathstroke pick up the unconscious girl. “I didn’t hurt her too badly.” Slade replied. Despite the seemingly viciousness of the beating, he had made sure that it wouldn’t do any permanent damage despite his current mood. “Now then.. why don’t you carry her?” “Sorry.” Captain America apologized to Sanya for all that was worth as he held her gently whilst a single eye flicked open. He swung his shield over his back and followed Slade. Instead. The room gave way. Or rather, the floor did. In fact, it seemed as though the floor opened up for a minute and they fell in down a slide. Straight into a cell within the dungeon. And outside, was a purple unicorn who was panting heavily though she had a gleam of satisfaction in her eyes. But that wasn’t the important thing. What was two winged-unicorns. A tall darkish blue one who wore a scowl of fury while a taller white one who had a slight flicker of sympathy. “You have a lot of explaining to do.” Princess Luna said as she glared at Slade and Steve. “Sanya... are you okay?” She was given her reply through a pained life of the hand. Yes. “Listen. I understand that everyone may be very confused and all an...” “Sister! These two... things snuck into the castle and injured several members of the royal guard! And now they hurt Sanya whose...” “Listen. I didn’t mean any harm.” Steve said as he laid Sanya down gently whilst approaching the bars. To his surprise, he hit something solid before he even got there. A magical barrier from the looks of it. Man. They must be in maximum security or something. “Thou lies!” “Oh he’s not. He just followed me here.” Slade said as he got up. “But you there... sunbutt...” “That’s Princess Celestia you’re talking to!” Twilight cried out indignantly. “Whatever.” Slade replied as he rolled his one good eye. “Can you fill us in?’ “Pardon?” “Fill us in. You told us that you knew we are all very confused.” “Oh right. First off though... there are more of your kind here... and...” “Can you also let us out of here?” Slade asked. “Sure and...” “WHAT?! PRINCESS?!” Twilight exclaimed. “He just took out like...” “I know Twilight. But I know deep down he has good intentions despite his... behavior.” Yeah right. “Now, would you like to meet everyone else?” (About half an hour later) There was a round table made for them just for the occasion. In this round table, sat six humans. Most of them eyed one another, a few relieved that there were other things that walked on two legs and had hair on the top of it’s head while some could only glare at others, eyes deep with mistrust. “So kid... you managed to survive.” Slade said as he saw Armin glare daggers of hatred at him. “No thanks to you.” Armin glared at Slade. “So... everything aside...” Celestia said as she watched the uneasy glances and glares that were shot across the table, how about we do introductions? You... Mr. Raynor was it?” “It is Ma’am.” “May you begin with your story?” “Alright then.” James said as he sat back and began. The next morning The next morning Across the land, through the badlands lay one massive peak. Was it the tallest mountain in all of Equestria? Who knew? Who cared would be a better question as one look at the mountain would cause even birds to turn the other direction and never come back. Here, a lone dragon had been flying for many hours, and finally, it's nostrils flared up a steam of relief as it's long trip would be over. It's many wounds had proved torturous for the entire trip whilst it clung onto the elements like a miser clung on to his last coin. As the mountain appeared closer, and closer, it's jagged and cracked earth that surrounded it appeared more like dark abysses. Wells of eternity rather than just a cliff or hole in the ground. Elsewhere, molten rock flowed freely, seeking to devour anyone or anything unlucky enough to be caught by it's fiery tongues. And here up on the mountain, was where the elements would go. And here on the mountain, a massive dragon perched, perhaps two to three times larger than the other dragons that dotted the landscape. An inexperienced observer would see these dragons from a far as demons as opposed to the mighty lizards that flew in the skies. But in this case, there would be no difference. The lone dragon perched upon the peak, prudently choosing to stay away from the streams of fire that poured out as it faced it's ancient master. It's mouth opened to address it's follower in the ancient dragon tongue. "You return... Dremahiik... you have the elements... have you not?" "I do... lord of banes... they are here... I have done as you asked and given them to you." "Very good... and... well done." "Thank you, my king." "Not yet Dremahiik... your wounds do not speak well of your abilities..." "Milord... our foes are not as weak as we perceived." "Do you jest Dremahiik? Without their precious elements of harmony, ponykind has no defense against us. Against me. I, Feynaltdrog, King of dragons has spoken!" "There is no doubt to your power... lord of banes... but there is no doubt to this new enemy..." "New enemy, Dremakiik? Speak. Tell your king this new enemy you have learned about." "They walk upright and wield weapons that herald themselves with thunder and rain fire and steel down upon their foes.. My many wounds speak of this encounter with them." "How many of them are there?" "Six." "Only six? Then they should be no problems for the armies of the bane king as of brethren choose the right side and the lower orders scramble beneath us to throw themselves at our service." His roar echoed throughout his domain, answered by his brethren as he overlooked the hundreds of dragons that sat below him in the dark mountain. The roar echoed throughout the world, a miasma that touched the heart and soul of every living being. You know. Ever since five years ago, and the fall of wall Maria, Armin hadn't really eaten too well. Scratch that. No one had really eaten too well. For starters, meat became a rarity which only the very wealthy could afford or the higher ups in the military. That, and food was rationed, perhaps not strictly, but enough to where he would be feeling hungry on some cold, long nights. And here he was, he had just cleaned his fifth plate. Here in breakfast at Canterlot, it was a buffet. Like literally, the breakfast buffet was perhaps the thing he could only think about as of now as he gouged himself like a king, doing his best not to look like a total Neanderthal. "Having fun there?" Steve commented as he put some jam on his bread. The tea was good. Nothing like some cold tea on a warm morning. "I hadn't eaten this well in five years." Armin mumbled with a mouthful of waffles and toast. "Too bad there's no meat though." "For... rather obvious reasons..." Slade commented as he took a note at the ponies that was breakfasting with them. The stares... the stares... "Well... look who's finally up..." Sanya nodded in acknowledgement as she sat down with them, looking around at the plates of steaming food. "Morning kid... slept well?" Raynor asked pleasantly. "No... not really..." "What? Was it because I didn't check underneath your bed for monsters?" Slade teased as he saw Sanya sit down. Completely exhausted. "No... you see... I was hearing things last night." "Really now? I didn't hear a thing." Armin commented. "It was all quiet and peaceful for a change." "It wasn't quiet. Or peaceful... I heard talking. Really loud talking... these big voices... they were..." She stopped speaking for a moment. "I... does anyone remember last night?" "How zis dragon almost took down zis whole place? Ja. I do." "Who could forget it?" Armin asked. What was worse? Getting roasted by this beast or getting eaten by a titan? "Well... remember how it breathed fire, knocked down a door?" "And somehow sent my gun flying out of my hands? Yes..." Jim said. All he recalled was getting hit with a particularly noticeable gust of air and seeing his C-14 flying across the room. Said gust had definitely come out of the dragon's mouth. "You see... the dragon was talking every time it did one of this. I remember hearing a voice and words every time it breathed fire. I can't remember the words... but I can remember the voice!" "And what's so significant about this?" Slade asked. "Because I heard that voice again last night." That caught his attention. "I can hear further in the night... and I heard a voice... it was very loud. It wasn't the same exact voice, but it was very similar. It was... I think a roar. Unfortunately... that's about it." "Well, I am sorry to say Sanya, but that's not a very good lead. Just because something sounds like something doesn't really mean anything..." Steve began. "But it's not something we can dismiss." "Captain Star-Spangle here is right. Now I am not doubting you kid, but you sure your hearing is as good as you say it is?" "Yes." She answered meekly. "Okay then. Like I said, I am not doubting you. I am just wondering whether or not it's the same thing we're dealing with. From what I could read last night, we live in a little girl's coloring book and a Percy Jackson story... we got things like Chimeras, Minotaurs and wait for it.... Hydras that are running around." "Very funny. So what's our game plan? We're here to stop some evil dictator from taking over the world which really sounds like my job in the second world war." "The only problem is, we don't know where this guy is. They don't know so that means we sure as hell don't know. If we did, chances are this thing would have already had two bullets in the head already." "One thing is for sure though. We have to stop the dragons from causing any harm." Steve began. "You remember that thing last night? We were lucky no one was hurt. We must stop these things from ransacking this... place." "Not just that, but as a bonus, we may be able to find out a little thing or two assuming we can catch a dragon." "You're going to catch a dragon?" Armin asked with disbelief. "I can see it happening." Raynor began. "In my world, we can contain Ultralisks and those things could stomp a siege tank into dust." "Speaking of your world... I vood like to see your ship." Medic said. "Vat time is it for you?" "The year is C.E 2504. We got some medical advances... but really, I am kinda fascinated at your medi-gun. That thing works just like the ones our medics used, except yours seems to actually be even taking that up a notch." "Vhy thank you. I do consider myself a man of science! Now then... if ve can see your ship..." "Yeah sure." Raynor said as he placed a napkin to his mouth. The apple pancakes were great. "But later." "Vhy?" "We have some more words of business with the Princesses." Steve began. "They'll be coming here so we don't really have to move." "I hope you've all had an enjoyable night here in Canterlot." Princess Celestia said as she looked at the six humans sitting at the table. "I must voice my thanks to you all. Had it not been for your efforts, the dragon may have caused more damage than just a mere hole in the wall which had been fixed as of this time. "That's good to hear." Slade said. "Now, then, onto first order of business. What do we do?" "Straight to business aren't you now?" Luna commented. "Very well. You see, as both Mr. Rogers and Mr. Raynor had well... asked... we have decided to allow you a place to stay outside of Canterlot in the surrounding area. Notably by a place called Ponyville..." "Okay. Okay. Who names these cites?" Slade cut in. "Because right now, I can name a Hoofington, a Filladelphia, a Canterlot and now a Ponyville?! Are these names supposed to be funny?" "I name them..." Celestia said awkwardly. "Either that or whomever settles in the cities." "Then whomever settles in new cities should really come up with something more original than horse puns." Slade said rolling his good eye. "Now may I continue? I do not wish to go into meaningless banter about city names." Luna said as Slade stopped talking. "Your enemy is Feynaltdrog, the dragon king. He goes by many titles, none of which are worth mentioning because many were made just to flatter him. His notable servants are normally other dragons who like him, are forces of evil upon this world. His magic however, allows him to corrupt other dragons to evil. We can only ask you to bring as little harm as possible upon the unfortunate souls under his thrall, for they have little control over their actions. Though in the end, the decision is not ours." "In addition, what's been going on for many days actually is dragon attacks. If you can, please try and stop them. I hope out of the kindness of your hearts you do for many major cities are in danger of the dragons." "Unfortunately... it's not just the dragons..." Luna continued. "The changelings too.... and many others who have bent knee to the dragon king. This will be very difficult, and we'll make sure to do whatever we can to ensure you are prepared for not just Feynaltdrog, but his wicked forces as well. You have access to any training facilities and armories under the royal guard as well as any library within Equestria that may prove to use... Sanya... Twilight means to give these to you." "Thank you." Sanya said silently as she was given the books on magic by Luna. "We hope you may put them to good use." Celestia beamed. "Now then, Mr. Raynor, we've moved your um... ship back to a place near ponyville where I doubt you can be bothered or end up bothering any other pony. I must comment on the current state of your craft however..." "I'll get it fixed..." "And lastly, we can only wish good luck." Luna said. "Whatever happens, we are all counting on you." "That's done now?" Slade asked. "Alright Jim, let's see ship." "You'll love it pal." The dragon rises The dragon rises [Canterlot Castle, conference room] "Now I am sure you all have many questions..." Celestia tried to say as the din of the room made it impossible to hear anypony. "But can we plea..." "Your majesty... is it true that these humans broke into the castle and injured many members of the royal guard?" One of the reporters asked. As she remembered the events of last night, she had recalled the one known as "Slade Wilson" and his comment about the royal guard. "Worse than low-budget mall cops". At this point and time, she may have to agree. How does anyone fail to keep the reporters out?! How?! She calmed herself for a moment. They didn't fail to keep anyone out. It's just that the entire castle failed to keep the information of humans in. No matter how discreet they were of sending the humans back, word got out. Word always seems to gets out around here. "WE WOULD REQUIRE SILENCE TO FUNCTION." Luna said or more like yelled. The royal canterlot voice, maybe annoying most of the time, but it certainly had it's uses here and now. Those words alone drowned out the entire room and got every pony to shut up. For the time being at least. "Now then... like I said... or rather, was going to say..." Celestia said slowly. Few things in this world managed to irritate her, but this was one of the things. "One at a time. Questions... raise your hooves please... you there." "Your majesty..." The reporter pony began as he began to scribble down notes. "Is it true that the humans had broken into the castle and injured several members of the royal guard?" "Only partially." Celestia replied. "You see... four humans had arrived in the beginning and hadn't as much as lifted a hoof. But two others had came later at night and snuck in..." The last part caused a virtual uproar within the room as words like "inadequate", "failure" and "useless" were being used to describe the royal guard and the overall security of Canterlot. Throw in a few witnesses of the Changeling invasion and there was the giant mess of noise once again. It would take ages, as it felt that long to finally shut every pony up. "Now then... before I was interrupted I would like to continue on what I was speaking of. Two of the six humans had snuck into the castle having been misinformed of the nature of their fellow beings reasoning of being here. While a few fights had broken out, no pony was seriously injured, what should be taken into note is the apex fighting capabilities of the humans." "Hold on! If these... humans didn't break into the castle, then why are the elements of harmony gone?!" Another uproar and incomprehensible yelling. Great. "I heard it was a dragon! A big black dragon that broke through the walls and had..." "No. There was no dragon." Princess Celestia said very quickly. "Royal guard reports have indicated that Changelings were behind the matter and we are now positioning ourselves to retake the elements." "Then what do the humans have to do with this?!" "We are still unsure of how they got here." Luna replied. "It is assumed at this point and time that there had been an accident with some form of new teleportation spell. However... they have agreed to help us retake the elements so long as we find a way to take them back to where they came from." Unfortunately for Luna. That led to the question. "Where were they now?!" "Oh god... thank you so much." Armin gasped as they finished loading the minerals on the van, a few bundles having to placed on the roof. "I thought I was never going to get out. She just wouldn't let me leave." "Mhm." Slade said as he carefully drove through the streets of ponyville, noting the awed glances his van was getting. "So how does this thing even work?" Armin asked as he took a look at the van. "I'll explain later. Now, I got to go get Sanya but I am a bit hungry. You still got any coins left?" "Yeah. Why?" "I want lunch." Slade said as he passed what he believed to be a restaurant. For a moment, he watched with some amusement as Armin tried unsuccessfully to open the door. Only on the umpteenth time did he finally manage to open the thing, which gave Slade a small chuckle. "Hmm... now then..." Perhaps just to test if it worked, Slade took out his smartphone and activated his tactical vision. Good. Everything was functioning normally. Something in the back of his head told him that he would be needing it later on. "Um... what can I do for you..." The waitress asked nervously as she saw the two... things approach. One of them was quite tall and frankly, gave her the willies. Standing at well over 6 feet, this creature was almost twice the height of the average pony. It's strange clothing vaguely resembled that of armor, and the many tools it seemed to carry sent alarm bells in anyone's head. This thing was not to be trifled with. Perhaps what was most intimidating was it's face. The black eyepatch that covered it's eye didn't cover up any assumptions. Whatever this thing was, it was tough. Mystifyingly enough, despite it's white mane and beard, it didn't look too old. Whatever this thing was, it was dangerous. The other... well... wasn't so outrageous. Dressed in what can be described as regular clothing amongst it's kind, it didn't look so fierce. The mane looked rather out of place and it's face was a mask of discomfort. It didn't want to be here. No. Especially not when it was being pushed around by it's larger and definitely more fierce partner. "Man up kid." Slade hissed into Armin's ear. "They're just out of a little girl's imagination, they aren't going to hurt you." "I know... I know..." Armin said nervously. What he really was afraid of was Slade and not the small colorful horses which he felt some what of an... interest in. Of course, he wouldn't tell Slade that he was afraid of him for rather obvious reasons. "So... what do you sell?" Slade asked as he found a place to sit down. "Umm... do you eat hay?" "No... but..." He knew the answer to the question, but for no reason at all, felt like asking. "You have any meat?" "What?! Eh... I mean... no... no..." "Oh well." Slade said to himself. "You have any... you know what, how about an apple pie?" "Sure! We have apple pie... lots..." The waitress babbled on nervously. "Get me some." Slade said as he tossed her the coins. "Get him some too." "Right a..away... s..sir..." He sat down on his chair, only to realize it wasn't a chair but rather a mushroom and felt somewhat like an elephant in a phone booth. But who cares? He didn't as of now as he grabbed two things. One of which was his smartphone, and the other was a canteen containing some rum. He took a swig from the latter, and began to play around with the former, seeing if by any chance it would actually work. Heh. If Google Maps worked here... "Thank you again, Twilight." Sanya said softly as Twilight took out the new glove. "No problem!" The lavender alicorn said. "Now let's see here..." Using her magic, she slowly slid the white glove onto Sanya's hand. The moment she did, a pair of black ears that would only be found on a cat popped straight out of Sanya's head whilst a black tail slowly formed itself. "Is that supposed to happen...?" "Yes..." Sanya said as she tried her ability once more. Listening.... listening... but all of a sudden... "Lein engein wah mii, dovah. Nunon med vir hi engein wah mii." "What the heck..?" "Shhhh!" Sanya hushed as she continued to listen. "I think... I think I am listening to a dragon!" "What?! How do you know?!" "I just do! Please... let me listen..." Faraway, in the badlands, a long dragon was trapped. It's wings torn and broken against the many thousands of changelings that now surrounded it. Upon it's chest stood a tall changeling. The changeling queen. "You fool... you came here all the way to threaten me? Queen Chrysalis?!" "Hi los sahlag ahrk hi los funtaas." "You dare to threaten me?" "Zu'u dreh ni. Nuz drog do feyn dreh." "The lord of banes? Do you jest dragon? But humor me... tell me about this lord of banes..." The vile cackling that came from the dragon would send shivers down even the queen of changelings. "Uv aalkos tovok fahvos hi verut mok?" "What... are you...?" Chrysalis asked. Something was wrong. "Nii dreh ni trun fos mu los. Fos trun los un mein. Nid gein geltkey wo Zu'u lost erei Zu'u lost lein ko dii jusk" Without warning, the dragon's body exploded. Just like that, exploded in a massive wave of fire and light which sent many changelings hurtling in all directions. Chrysalis looked up, to see this time that the dragon with the broken wings had grown much larger, it's black curved horns and dark pools of eyes glared at her and her army. She was speechless. It was true. The lord of banes wasn't merely an old wives tale. He was real. She opened her mouth to say something, maybe a command to order her changelings to attack. But nothing came out. She simply had nothing to say. But he had something to say. "Aam...aar...Sil!" Author's Note It doesn't matter who we are... what matters is our plan... How to learn Dragon How to learn Dragon "Well. You seem to agree that Armin is worthless." Slade said as he glanced back at the boy as Cap was about to leave. "Worthless? I only said that he's weak. Physically. In case you haven't realized, he isn't exactly..." "One who survived a giant fall off a cliff that otherwise would have killed him." Slade cut in. "How about this... why don't you... someone who's been in his shoes... go off and change him? Because right now, mark my words, he's the type of person who would either get us all killed or be a detriment at a fatal moment, and that I cannot have." "You almost act like you care for everyone else. You call him a detriment yet you aren't even a team player. How about this? I'll spend some time with him, and mark my words, I promise he'll be able to handle himself." "And if he can't?" "Then probably your "prediction." We all die." Steve replied coldly. [11:30 PM, Local time] She was always more active in the night than in the day, and on this cold night, there would be no exception. Sitting down on a rock outside, Sanya sat still, listening once again as the voices made themselves heard. "Kalumun rem kreh kru wah mii. Mu naram ko mul naal sul ahrk naal tokaan." "Vrah, dii jun, til los atruk kosil dii hah Zu'u kent ofun." "Tinvaak." "Zu'u nis saag nii enshar fah nii aal jeopardize un mein nuz aal Zu'u sent voth daar rut fid tir lith... buld vuldiik?" "As hi lig, dii shir fahdon. Dreh daar ned jul?" "Geh." What did it mean?! What did it mean?! That was the only thing that Sanya could think about as she spent her third time listening to the voices. The dragons. If only she understood dragon... if only she understood dragon... "Hey kid. What are you doing?" Sanya's skeleton almost jumped out of it's skin though she made barely any indication of her suprise. She turned around to see that it was just Slade. Nothing more. "How did you do that?" "Get the jump on you even with your enhanced hearing? It's something I learned back when I was still a kid." Slade replied. "Now then, you listening again?" "Yes. I can hear them... the only problem is..." "You don't speak dragon. And the one dragon in town doesn't speak dragon either." "Yes. I can listen to their conversations, but I need to understand what they are saying if..." "I know. Listening to the enemy is worthless if you can't make sense to what they're actually saying. I think we should try to fix this." "How so? You can't possibly learn an entire language in time to make a difference can you?" Slade smiled to himself and pointed at his head. "90% kid. 90%. Now what do you think we'll need and where do you think we'll get it?" "Well... Twilight told me that she really liked books and has an extensive collection in her home which is actually the town library." "Good. Then I think I'll be headed there." Slade replied. "You want to come?" "Slade. It's almost midnight." "And I should care... why?" She had nothing, only shrugged a bit and went off with him in the direction of ponyville. It's past midnight. And you're sleeping peacefully in your bed, just frolicking in dreamland when you hear a loud knock coming from the recesses of your mind. Normally, you just groan and moan for a bit, maybe toss and turn and go back to sleep. Problem was, the knock was getting louder. And louder. And louder. Until it felt like whoever was knocking might end up smashing the door down. That would be the scenario of both Twilight and Spike that night. "Ugh.... what time is it?" Twilight mumbled to herself as she in her dazed state hobbled over to the door. She opened it to find Slade, causing her to jump back in shock over the fact that when one considered his occupation, how he currently was dressed (armed and armored to the teeth) and the time of the day (or in this case, night) most people would end panicking. "Hey, Light Sparkler. You don't look too bright this evening." "What are you doing here?!" Twilight shouted indignantly. "It's past midnight." "We're actually here for a book." "We?" Spike asked. "Yes... I am here too..." Sanya said as she slipped in like cat through a window. "We need a book." "A BOOK?!" Twilight asked, her mood all of a sudden turning rather bright as Slade would describe. "Why didn't you say so?! Come right on in! Can I get you anything? Coffee? Maybe some appl..." "Just the book." Slade said. "So... we've been listening a bit to some conversations the dragons were having. But you already know that right? Unfortunately, our resident dragon here doesn't know dragon so we were hoping you could get us a book that could somehow teach us the dragon language." "Oh..." Twilight began. "Well... I did some research actually... and umm... you might not like this." "Lemee guess. You don't have the book." "Well... that's right... but for another... it's not that. Most dragons speak our language now but have a certain dialect... or accent as you might call it. What those dragons are speaking. Is ANCIENT DRAGON. It's over 2,000 years old by estimate of Princess Celestia." "Great. So I take it we're not going to be learning that language any time soon?" Slade replied. "Now, now. I never said that. I can actually think of a couple places where they actually might have books on the language. Canterlot and the Crystal Empire." "Crystal Empire?" Slade echoed. "It's a long story." "In that case, I simply don't have the time. I am heading to Canterlot. Now." "Wait hold on a minute... you should maybe wait till morning or something..." "No." "Okay. At least take this map..." Twilight said as she turned around to go grab one. When she turned around however... Slade was gone. "Where did he go?!" Spike asked with disbelief. "I just turned for a moment and he's gone!" Twilight took a look around. Then looked at Spike, then Sanya, and then the map. No one saw him as much as move, and now Slade had disappeared. "Here..." Twilight said as she handed Sanya a few bits. "There are still some late night trains... and maybe you can hitch a ride..." "Thank you." Sanya said as she walked outside. The cool air pleasantly hung around for the duration of the night. Slade perched a top the tree as he made his way up the mountain, taking a look around, it didn't look like there was another soul for miles. He activated his tactical vision just to be sure, and it was just as he expected. Not a soul in perhaps miles. Time alone. Alone. He considered taking this time to reflect on himself, but ended up passing up the opportunity when he passed a cave. Caves, like most things with Slade, he was indifferent with them. But when he walked straight by the mouth, a flock of bats flew out, reminding him of someone he knew. He chuckled to himself as he recalled their encounters, almost wishing for a moment that maybe the whole experience would be more tolerable if that star-spangled man was replaced with his old friend. After all, under that mask that struck terror in all the thugs in Gotham, that man was somehow the closest and most distant comparison Slade could ever find to himself. But forget that. Right now, as he listened to the sounds of the tracks and the whistle. He had a train to catch. Chapter 38It was like falling down a well. Only in slow motion however, as though the air within was like a fluid that slowed one's descent down. Like any fluid, Sanya would find herself floating down on her backside as she stared into the veils of the future. The many visions began to creep within to her mind. Or rather... the first thing that went into her mind wasn't a vision. It was a noise, and then would Sanya find herself in a massive room. "Hail Hydra!" A man cried in front of a massive army of armed men with unearthly arms and armor. He would be replied with a thunderous roar of the words "Hail Hydra! Hail Hydra!" many times before he turned around to come face to face with another man who whispered into his ears. Things about "unlimited power". And this is where she wished Eila was here. She would have easily been able to discern what these visions meant except... wait a second. "Eila?" Sanya asked with disbelief as she saw her friend standing next to her in the middle of a busy street. A nearby sign would read "Iceberg Lounge" which Eila seemed to be headed to. From out of Sanya's view, another Sanya walked right by her, following Eila into the lounge, the two conversing about "difficulties" and "one man". She tried to follow herself and her friend, but as the door opened, she saw in the middle of the everfree forests, a group of strange men talking. One of them wore a dark suit that resembled that of an owl. A large O was on his chestplate, the suit clearly being some form of body armor. He was conversing with his associates. One of them was a man cloaked in black with a compound bow and razor sharp arrows. There were a few others. She tried to listen... listen closer... but she couldn't get close enough. There would be more however as she tried to approach, the cabal of criminals that had been conversing were gone, replaced by an unearthly monster that radiated a vile miasma of power riding at the head of several monstrous creatures of varying size. There was more. A lot more. Some of them involved people she knew. Erica, Barkhorn and Eila. Others... she didn't know or were rather unfamiliar with. As the visions began to fade... she was met with one last thing. A small village by the ural moutains to the east. A familiar voice calling to her. Her father. "Sanya... Sanya... Sanya..." And the world went dark. She gasped extremely loudly when she woke, like someone who had just had their first gulp of air in a long time. Getting up, she realized that she had been on the "grass" and now smelled remotely like strawberry ice cream. "Wakey wakey! So... did it work?" Discord asked. "Ohh... who am I kidding? Of course it worked!" "Yeah... it did." Sanya said. "So... are you going to teach me now?" "Of course!" Discord said as he rubbed his hands together and snapped his fingers. She practically jolted out of her trance, causing many people and ponies to initially think she was having a seizure. When she breathed... and acted normally, as it turned out, she was fine. "Hey kid... you alright?" Raynor asked as he took a look at Sanya. "I am fine! I got it! Feynaltdrog is located at a volcano south of Equestria beyond the badlands and..." "Slow down kid..." Jim began. "Oh no..." "What's wrong now?" "Feynaltdrog... he's planning to use the elements of Harmony!" "WHAT?!" Everypony practically all screamed at once. "I heard him! He's... he's planning to use them to... we have to hurry! If he uses them... he'll become unstoppable!" "Then... Sanya..." Luna began. "What's going on?" She stopped for a moment before composing herself and telling the Princess of the Moon of the Dragon's King's plan. Located at a large volcano where he planned to harness the power of the elements to attain what many would call godhood. Speaking of a large volcano.... "Dii drog. .. nust lost nahkiv un mein!" A dragon said as it flew up to it's master at the peak of the volcano. "Zu'u mindok. dreh ni trun. Fos vis nust dreh wah helt mii?" The black dragon replied, almost bored by the news. "Zu'u dreh ni orin praag verin wah viik niin. Zu'u vis dreh nii naal dimaar!" "Fos koros fod nust meyz fah mii?" "Nid trun. Ko daar strunmah, til los ben do mii. .. ahrk nunon rinik lith do niin. Nu ruz. .. Zu'u fen bo nu wah nuviis wah trun do zuk. .. nizraadom." With that, the large black dragon spread his wings, and flew, to places unknown. What Feynaltdrog didn't know at this time was that Sanya had been listening. What he didn't know either was that now, Sanya understood every word that came out of his mouth. Speaking in his own language would no longer provide him with any more security. Luna had teleported them back home. Along with all the minerals that Raynor would need for his "project" and more. Not only did she provide them with the minerals, but also with a layout of the mountain. It wasn't too familiar to the princess of the moon for she'd been there a thousand years ago, not because of her battle with the dragon king but because of a slight detour. As a result, knowledge of the ancient mountain would be... limited. But enough to make a plan. The volcano had a tendency to erupt... quite frequently actually. But what would happen if say... a surprise eruption that not even the dragons were prepared for? Typically, due to poor visibility within the skies and perilous lightning storms, most dragons were not to eager to fly too high during eruptions and sought places to land in any nearby peaks or "safe zones". So what would happen if say... a certain device triggered such an eruption that there would be no place to land? Death by fire... or death by lightning. They would go to the mountain, and put an end to Feynaltdrog's army. Then... the king himself for within his conversation, and through a little help of Discord, they knew that he would not return for a long time. To strike now however, would be folly. Under preparation would be a killer. They would have only five days to prepare to take on hundreds of dragons if things went south. As Raynor built his weapon in the whole he made, he observed as Cap readied his shield, Slade practiced his swordplay with Armin (surprisingly) and Sanya readying the fliegerhammer. Medic would have a special medi-gun for the occasion. Author's Note No foreshadowing going on here... Epilogue: Part 6Though their facial expressions would both not say it, both men, Levi and Erwin at this given moment thought and probably mentally agreed on that Armin probably should be in some form of mental hospital though there was just something... something about his explanation and story, no matter how nonsensical it seemed, something felt to both of them as though he was telling the truth. That all this crazy nonsense about colorful, talking horses, dragons and other more advanced civilizations of mankind... something about it seemed to hold more than just a grain of truth. Armin sat there nervously as he watched both men whisper to one another about what he had just told them. They had been at it for quite the while now, silently discussing on things that Armin had no specifics of, but it would be anyone's guess that they were talking about what he had just told him and what this may have on the outcome of humanity's future. Ten minutes felt like ten years before Erwin stood up and said the word. "Dismissed." Words could not express how relieved he was as he practically stormed out of the room, leaving the two officers alone. Moving out of his spot, Levi went to the door, turning the lock as Erwin pulled the shades down and closed the windows. Hopefully, no sound could escape this room. "Ears everywhere." Erwin commented as he sat down and opened the box, the bright glowing gem could have been seen from the outside of the building had he not just pulled down the shades. He looked at the bright glowing beauty again as he gingerly took it out of the box, expecting as though it would explode... which had pretty much happened earlier this morning. "His story." Levi began. "There... he's not lying." "I know." Erwin replied as he held up the massive gem. "If what he said is true than this could turn the war, and the fate of humanity around in our favor." "So... that's what this is about?" "Indeed. We must be prepared to do everything and anything that will ensure the future of humanity." Erwin continued as he studied the stone intently. "Something tells me Levi... that we're not done yet. If what Armin told us had any truth to it, then what had happened with him, I can guarantee may happen with other people, maybe his friends, maybe us. We must be prepared. The future of humanity may benefit from this...." __________________________________________________________________ Folkestone, Britannia On the skirts of the coast, would someone find a forest, or a wooded area that would offer some form of privacy to anyone who happened to have went. This privacy was currently being enjoyed by Gertrud Barkhorn as she hung from a strong, sturdy branch that would support her weight. Grunting, she pulled herself up as she would for the last two hundred times. "202... 203... 204...two hundred and fi-.." "Hi Trude!" The voice called out from the trees, causing the girl to lose her balance and fall off. "Whoa..." "Erica..." Barkhorn muttered, normally, she'd blast into her face about how Erica had just messed her up, today... maybe she would save that for later. "Hey Trude! Whatcha doing?!" Erica asked. For someone who's favorite hobby was sleeping, she sure did have a lot of energy in some portions of the day. When it came to hunting Neuroi or eating... yep. That was Erica. "What does it look like? I am training... myself..." Trude said as she got up on the branch again. "Now what is it Erica?" "You know Sanya... about what she..." "Oh please. PLEASE DO NOT tell me you believe her too now!" Barkhorn groaned. "First Eila, then Francesca, then Charlotte, than Lynette, than Yoshika, the Major... and now you?!" "Look... that gem. Eila used it to..." "I don't want to hear that silliness." Barkhorn said curtly. "We all know there's no such thing as dragons... or talking horses... or... umm..." She was about to say "people from the future and past" but that sure as hell existed. Instead, she went on about how there couldn't have been a way to meet said people, even with things like magic. "You sure about that? Like I was saying... Eila used her magic to power that gem... they actually did go..." "Right... right..." Barhkorn said skeptically as she continued to do her pull-ups. "Let me guess, back to the land... what was it called again? Equestria? For another round of unicorns and flying ponies? Come on Erica, we all know this must be some kind of joke Eila thought of... or maybe just a dream." "Then why do you think Sanya keeps saying it's true then? Does she LOOK like the type of person who'd believe a "dream" to be true or make up stories?! She even said she managed to see her father after they were done killing the dragon! Think about it... if you were there, you could have maybe get to spend a year or two with Chris... and come back just in time for dinner!" "Erica... we know that, it can't happen. How can you spend weeks, months or even years and return home, only for no time to happen? It's absurd!" Barkhorn said as she jumped down, having done enough for the day. "Just... explain that!" "Magic?" Erica replied as she sat down. "Trude... you know as well as I do that what must have happened was definitely not made up. And besides... I really do hope a place exists. I always wanted a pony!" "Of course... of course..." Gertrud sighed as she headed for the beach. "You really would want that would you?" "Of course! What about you?" Erica asked. "Lemee guess... spend a year or so with Chris?" "That would be nice." Barkhorn said as she thought about how much she missed her younger sister. "But until I get magically teleported to a land full of talking horses and some sun goddess makes me the offer... I think that's not really going to happen. Besides, I would visit her, but we all have duties you know." "I know... I know..." Erica replied. Oh boy... here comes the BORING soldier lecture! "But as soldiers..." Sigh. She was one ear in and one ear out at this point. Thinking to herself, she thought about what Sanya had said. That she felt as though she may return in due time back to the place they called Equestria... maybe with a few good friends to share the experience and under circumstances not involving huge fire-breathing dragons. Made a few friends too apparently. Talked about a crazy Karlslandian doctor that referred to himself as "German". Some boy from a land where giants ruled the world, an older fellow from the far future, and two men who were apparently enhanced through... science. Super-soldiers. Both of which were well over 70 years old, yet fought better than a few hundred men combined. One of which was called "Slade Wilson". A man who had saved Sanya's life. She did talk about him a lot. About how he was so "lonely" and had such a "tragic" past. Funny... when Eila mentioned that Slade's job was killing people for money. Asides from that... he seemed like an alright guy. Though there was one thing. They had seen a photo of one of Slade's children... AND BOY WAS THE SEMBLANCE SCARY. Author's Note This epilogue is taking much longer than I thought to write. But anyhow I think what I am going to do after HYDRA invading Equestria is have the Crime Syndicate (See Justice League, Crisis on Two Earths) be the next group of baddies. I am open to ideas after that, I am seeing whether or not I can squeeze in as many characters as possible. What I am looking to do at this point is kinda do what Marvel is doing. Relatively low amount of characters in X movie. After a while, Relatively large amount of characters in X movie. Which when I think about, considering the plethora of great villains and characters that are available (Especially in the cases of Marvel and DC), probably doesn't sound too bad. I am gonna be at this for a while...
James Raynor James Raynor "Before you start cowboy... or before any of us say anything. Why don't we ask some questions?" Slade asked as he turned to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna and eyed them both with mistrust. "Hey sunbutt. Mind explaining how we got here?" "SPEAK MORE POLITELY TO THE PRIN..." "Twilight..." Celestia said as she gazed sternly down at her. "It's okay." "But he's so..." "It's okay. Anyways, my apologies, but I don't know how you got here. It seems only coincidence that you six all arrived at the same time." Celestia replied as she sat back to take a look at all the people she was addressing. "But Mr. Raynor... why don't you fill in on everyone how you got here?" "Well I was about to that ma'am. Before I was RUDELY interrupted..." Raynor said as he shot an eye over to Slade. "Who said that was my only question?" Slade asked once more. "Where the hell are we even?" "Canterlot Castle!" "Yeah. Great. As in... what planet are we on?" Slade said rolling his good eye. "Last I checked, I don't recall any species of talking horse on my world. Unless we happen to be in Narnia. But if that was the case, I expect more things on two legs that talk too." "Well... we are in Equestria... does that answer your question?" Twilight replied as she took a deep breath. This guy... "Good enough..." Slade said as he stopped talking. Finally. "Okay... Mr... Raynor? You can begin." "Alright then." The man said as he took a swig of apple cider. "Now it was a pretty good day for me when this all started. By good day, I meant it meant there weren't any Zerg, lasers, missiles or bullets headed in my general direction... and what made it even better was that my pal Matt got into contact with these black marketers. They were selling some information and research on the Protoss which the ship's scientist, Stetmann would have committed homicide to get his hands on. So we paid off the black marketers, and I went down there to go pick up the goods... what is it?" "What's a Zerg? And what's a Protoss?" Sanya mouthed. "Say that again kid. I can't hear a single word out of you." "What's a Zerg and a Protoss?" "Okay. You ought to speak up more in the future. The Zerg are nasty business. They're like giant bugs that came straight out of hell. They're bent on nothing more than to consume... well just about everything. They really are the worst things that you can run into out there in Koprulu... which I bet no one knows what it is... right?" No one knew. Shocker. "It's just a sector in our galaxy. I can't tell where it is because I don't think this planet was nearby when I crash landed. Which actually gets me to my next point." "So. The black marketers were great and all. Now just because they're probably mercenaries and guys that regularly go off to blow up some guy's house don't mean they're bad people. Typically, it's the poor sucker having his things blown up that is the bad guy. These pals of mine go way back with me. We fight the Dominion together and they promised to help me in whatever way possible. A promise they were honoring." "What's the Dominion?" Rogers asked as he was served a coffee. Something told him they'd be up pretty late. "An oppressive government led by a low-life scum called Mengsk. He founded it when we took down the confederacy and when the Zerg swarm reared their ugly heads. We were still friends then until he showed his true colors." "I assume this government has done many wrong things?" Steve asked. He too had spent a good portion of his life fighting against oppression. Nazi Germany for one. "It has. They do all sorts of bad things but what really worries me is what we discovered some time back. They had some secret labratory in a hidden... place. When we raided the place... the things Mengsk had... it gave this guy called Tosh nightmares for an entire week." "Who's Tosh?" "He's a psionic. A spectre. Probably some of the biggest badasses I've ever met. He hates the Dominion almost as much as me. He's a killer too. A damn good one at that yet whatever it was this lab had, it made the guy terrified. I know why because I was there to see it. The monster... it... it was terrible." He stopped for a moment as memories of the Hybrid began to fill him in again. The monster that had single-handedly destroyed the lab which nothing, not even a prototype warbot could stop. "But... I am straying off topic. When I picked up the goods in my ship, they were nice enough to load them into these boxes. Of course, I had checked them to see if these guys didn't screw me over. They were in there. And that was good. But when I lifted off and was in orbit... weird things were happening to my ship. For a sec, I thought it was cause I forgot to fix the old girl again, but it seems as though it was the shipment... you see... one of the boxes contained these giant purple rocks... they began to glow and I thought that I must've done something stupid. The entire glow was so bright, it covered the entire place! But I got to open my eyes and find out I was still alive... except I was in orbit of another planet and headed straight there... about to crash..." "And I believe this was when we first me you? Right?" Twilight asked almost too eagerly. "It was. What was your friend's name? Jack?" "Applejack..." "Right. So I kinda crashed... and destroyed a section of her farm... and.. sorry... but I oughta thank both of you for helping me get out." "You were in that big... metal... suit.... it was a miracle you could even move!" "Don't mind the power armor. Just mind the rubble. By the way... where did you take my ship?" "It's actually here in Canterlot. We can go have a look in the morning. Story was, it took over a few hundred Pegasi to move that thing." Twilight chuckled. "I can't believe how your people can go into space and fly without wings or magic!" "It's nothing really. We've been doing this for at least a few hundred years now." "How advanced are your people?" Armin asked. At this point really, he didn't even know what half the things Raynor had been talking about. For one, he had been really confused on how a "ship" crashed. It would take some explaining for him to understand that Raynor's ship actually flew and went into space. "I think we, the Terran people are probably the second most advanced species in the entire galaxy. Now I can go off all day about what I think of Vulture speeders, Power Armor and Battlecruisers but let's not go there. Hey... what's your name again?" "Armin." "Just an idea, but why don't you go next for all of us?" "Why?' "Well... you seem to not understand anything about what I was talking about. I take it wherever you're from, you're not exactly used to flying ships and aliens?" "No." Armin said. "I suppose if tell my side of the story, I can be able to fill you in." "Excellent. Why don't you go next Armin?" Princess Celestia said as food and drink was brought to the table. "I am sure we would all be delighted to hear your... oh... pardon me... but I must have duties to attend to. Luna does too. Twilight..." "Yes, Princess." "Thank you." Celestia said as she left the room in an almost frantic dash with Luna leaving behind six people who were scratching their heads and one purple unicorn who had pulled out a few square miles worth of paper to take notes on. A few seconds later, Armin began his story. Author's Note So a few things that I hope to clear up if it wasn't already. Raynor arrives to Equestria by not just having himself transported, but his ship too. Said ship for now has been unspecified as I am still considering what to do with it. The only confirmation at the time will be it's not the Hyperion. (I hope no one actually needed that confirmation.) Slade will mainly have the same gear as he does from Arkham Origins and be a mixture of all his incarnations in terms of personality and skillset (Except for Smallville) while Cap will be more oriented towards the movies. Now that's all good and done. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Any form of constructive criticism will always be appreciated.
Armin Arlert Armin Arlert "Before I start with how everything happened and how I almost died by falling down into a river and almost drowning..." Here Armin shot a glare to Slade who brushed it off as if it didn't mean anything to him, which was obviously the case here. "Back in my home, we, humanity live within the confines of three walls. Maria, Rose and Sina. Each wall surrounds a massive area of land and stands about 50 meters tall. The purpose of these walls is to keep humans in and Titans out." "Titans? As in the old gods of greek myth?" Steve asked curiously. "No. The Titans are a race of giants that eat humans." "How big are they?" "They're usually 3 to 15 meters tall." "Then I take it from these walls, they're usually not a problem because it's 50 meters?" "That had been the case for a hundred years..." Armin said as he looked down and remembered that day. The massive head that fixed it's gaze upon the entire Shiganshina district and with one mighty blow, destroyed the gates of the wall letting in hundreds upon hundreds of titans. "5 years ago. A Titan... it's size... it was 60 meters tall." "60 meters?!" Raynor asked with disbelief. Whatever this thing was, it could probably eat ultralisks for breakfast with it's size. "So... what happened then?" Slade asked impatiently as he Armin continued. "The titan destroyed the gate and the other titans came in... it was a massacre then. We were all too powerless to do anything. The military had set up cannons to defend the other gate but it was overrun by an armored Titan which shook off the cannon balls like they were nothing. I've seen those same cannons tear 15 meter classes in two but this... the story was they didn't even scratch it. It destroyed the other gate and it was all over then." Armin paused for a moment as he looked at the table and his cup. He grasped upon it tightly, the wooden thing began to creak and splinter as he grasped it tighter and tighter. "My parents died that day. But that's not the worst of it. A year later, the government decided they needed to take back the land we had lost. In the campaign that followed... it took my grandfather and the lives of 250,000." He wiped his eyes for a moment as the long suppressed memories came back. For a moment, he thought of it all. Until the thought of his friends came to him. "My friends, Eren and Mikasa joined the military. I went with them but that was... I don't know what that was. Because... the colossal Titan, the 60 meter one came back...." The room hushed into silence as everyone displayed a stony silence. Armin didn't need to go any further as he received sympathetic gestures from everyone. "We lost too many people that day... but what was important was... we won... for the first time in history... humanity had won against the titans!" Armin once again stopped talking, this time to allow himself a small repose. "I don't remember what had happened. But after the battle, I was told that I had mail. When I opened the box... there was a purple diamond inside of it... and the next thing I knew, I was here in the forest." "And that's when I guess the two of us come in right?" Slade asked as he took a swig of apple cider. "Indeed. I met these two in the forest when I was being attacked by a giant snake." Armin pointed at Slade and Steve. "The three of us got together and for a while decided on what to do. Unfortunately, those two didn't get along too well and couldn't decide on anything. I think... you..." "Slade." Slade said. "I am surprised you don't remember by name." "I will. I almost died because of you." "Ha." "Anyways... so he had heard about how one of our kind had ended up in the castle. So he wanted to investigate but we first had to go across a bridge. Though..." "Steve." Cap said. The boy hadn't heard his name. "Right. Steve said that the bridge wasn't safe but Slade insisted and said that I should go first to see because I was the lightest. I did and... the bridge broke." "I thought you died." Steve said as he shook his head. "It's a miracle you're alive." "It is. I couldn't swim as I never learned how to, but I managed to get saved by... I don't know what her name was... she had a yellow coat and a pink mane..." "Fluttershy?' "Right. I was saved by Fluttershy. You can image how surprised I was by a talking hor... I mean pony." Armin said. "But she was really nice. She made me supper and nursed my injuries. That afternoon, the military was told of my presence and I was summoned here in Canterlot. I was really worried at first until of course it was just that Princess... um..." "Celestia." "Right. Princess Celestia wanted to see if I was okay. I was fine thanks to Fluttershy and I really have to thank her for pulling me out of the water. I think I may have died if it hadn't been for her." "I am sure you'll get a chance to thank Fluttershy later." Twilight said. "But..." "Hey kid." Slade cut in. "If you have cannons, why is it so hard to kill these giants?" "Because there's only one way to kill them. It's their weak spot at the nape of the neck. Other than that and they'll just grow back. I've seen some Titans that had been snapped in two grow back in just moments. Their regeneration abilities..." "Is fascinating." Medic commented as he wrote this down. "Herr Armin, if possible, I vould like a sample of these... Titans..." "A sample?" "Ja. I vood like blood, skin, bone marrow, organs..." "The problem is, Titan bodies like melt away when they are killed, and having a live one is a really bad idea." "Hiss..." "And I take it because you can't seem to use those swords of yours very well... you have quite some trouble with these titans?" Armin ignored that one for the time being. Bullies. Best not feed them. "So... who would like to speak next?" "How about the doctor?" Slade suggested. "Nein. There's nothing interesting about it save for a problem with my machines... a man of science making mistakes..." "C'mon. I am pretty sure you have things to share." "Nein. I don't... but I do have this really funny story..." "Why don't we hear it?" Slade suggested. "Hold that thought." Twilight said as she turned to Steve. "You were with Armin, why don't you say something?" "I promise you, it's literally the same thing." "Just say it? Please?" "Fine." Steve said as he gave a small sigh. "Can someone get me some more apple cider? I am feeling a bit thirsty. Oh hey. Armin... your things..." "RIGHT!" Armin said. "Twilight... that 3D maneuver gear I had..." "I am sorry Armin. But it was broken... but we still got the swords..." "Give him swords? He'll cut himself most likely." Slade said as he placed his own pair of blades on the table. "You're all talk." Steve dismissed. "You have anything better to do then put other people down?" "Really now?" Slade replied. "The truth hurts some times." "Like how the world's greatest assassin got beat up by a twelve year old?" Lets be frank. Its more of the other way around but frankly, whichever way it went, Slade wouldn't of have been proud of it. "I am actually thirteen..." Sanya mouthed but no words came out. "I don't condone hitting little girls unless they hit me first. But I can tell you, that blow hurt. But you know what? If you think you're better then, you can always fight me any time. Any arena of your choosing and any..." "GUYS! STOP!" Twilight shouted causing both Steve and Slade to put off their argument. "Roger... whatever your name is..." "Steve Rogers..." "Can you please just go?" "Fine..." Steve said grudgingly as he shot a glare at Slade who replied non-verbally with his own death(stroke) glare. Author's Note So as one can probably infer, this does lead up to how Slade and Steve decided they wanted to break into Canterlot. While Armin covered on how the three met, the other two still have to say how they got here and their side of the story, leading up to how the two decided they wanted to break into the castle. So currently if you can't tell, Deathstroke and Captain America probably don't get along too well. Currently, it's just their personalities. Think Iron Man and Captain America in the first Avengers movie when the two first met only to a greater scale. Of course, it's not just going to be two different personalities. It's also going to involve things like how Slade ended up quitting the army, how Captain America still faithfully serves and Slade's current job as a mercenary. That aside, I hope that the personalities of the characters are on cue. OCC is something that gets me every time.
Steve Rogers Steve Rogers "I am certain I will surprise many of you when I tell you this, but I am actually 96 years old." Steve said as he begun his story. "It all started I think in 1942 when I tried to enlist in the military. At the time, I was 24 at the time and just your average beanpole with a ton of health problems. As a result, this made it so I couldn't enlist." "Why did you want to fight?" Armin asked. "Similar reasons to you. While the Nazis didn't exactly kill my family or burn my hometown down, my best friend, Bucky had enlisted to the military to go overseas to fight the Germans. Oh... everyone knows who the Nazis are... right?" Sanya didn't. Neither did Armin. "Well to make a long story short, they were people who were attempting to take over the world at the time and committing various atrocities overseas. The price of freedom is high... but it was something we all had to be willing to pay. Thankfully, a great man by the name of Dr. Abraham Erskin wanted to give me a chance to fight. He had devised a serum that would create an army of super-soldiers. I would be the first one." The memories came back now. The clapping, the cheering the congratulations, and the new feeling of stepping in to a powerful body that could lift two tons, run at 30 miles per hour and tear a man in half if he so much as wanted to. And then... "Erskin never got the things he had deserved. The very moment I became enhanced was the same moment he was killed. By a HYDRA agent." "Hydra? As in the monster of ancient greek myth?" Raynor asked. "Yes. That's their... inspiration. If I recall correctly, Hydra is very fond of their phrase "cut off one head, two more shall grow to take it's place". At the time, HYDRA was a SS division that researched weapons for Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Their developments would soon grow to be a threat to the entire world. We had to stop them." He took a shot of hard liquor this time. The memories... the memories... too bad all the liquor in the world wouldn't make them go away. Why are they made of apples anyways? "I don't exactly get PTSD. We may have given HYDRA and the Nazis the boot but it wasn't without losses. I lost many friends along with seventy years of life in the second world war. I was awoken later only to find that there were still more battles to go. My hometown, New York was almost flattened by an alien invasion. Two years after that, I got to find out that HYDRA really did live up to it's name and had seeded itself in SHIELD, the very organization that I had worked for to stop them. But in the end... the price for freedom... it was paid." "Can you tell me more about HYDRA?" Slade asked. "Does it stand for anything?" "It stands for tyranny and oppression. The things that I've sworn to fight." Steve replied. "You... a soldier? Still?" "You can bet your good eye that I am. I'll serve my people and country till my last breath." Slade said nothing as he sat back in his chair, toying with his ballistic staff. "So... how did you get here?" Sanya asked as she bit into an apple. "Well... I can't go into full detail or I'd have to kill all of you, but to make a long story short, I was to help move a shipment of "volatile and dangerous" resources. Of course, they never told me "volatile and dangerous" meant so volatile that me starting the truck would make set them off. I didn't notice the purple light until it was too late, and then I found myself in the forest and heard the shouting and met those two. Armin over there was having some trouble with a snake... this thing was huge! I've seen boas that are really big but this... it took the cake! But anyways, after we killed the snake and gave ourselves some "introductions" Slade told the two of us that he had met the locals or your people... I mean ponies. That aside, he mentioned that he overheard the conversations of two guards about another human being in the castle. Being Mr. Assumption, he assumed that they were holding him or her prisoner or something along those lines." "Well... there wasn't just one human, there was four. Sanya and Jim were here first I believe..." Twilight recalled. "And then Armin and Medic. You two were just late to the party." "The doctor over there is the reason I am not in a wheelchair or on a hospital bed." Jim said as he recalled his diagnosis. Numerous cracked ribs, a minor concussion and a sprained ankle. "Thanks." "Ja... Herr Rogers, can you please continue?" "Of course. Anyways, so we get to the part where Slade thought going across a bridge that was probably older than me was a good idea which ends with Armin almost falling to his death. After that, you can see why it was pretty hard to agree on anything when he made the dumb choice of almost killing someone." "Hey... I actually thought that it would..." "No gives a damn about what you thought. Maybe next time you get to be the testing dummy... anyways... so after that, we did come to the agreement that we should have at least take a look at who was being held at the castle. So we hitched on a train and made our way through the city when it was dark. That was when we broke in and..." "I have to say... how did you manage to take out at least twenty members of the royal guards without anyone noticing?" "We've had plenty of practice." Slade said. "Oh yeah... tell whomever is in charge of the royal guard that I applaud their tactical intelligence of being on par with a potato, and tell whomever trains these warhorses of yours that they are worse than low-budget mall cops and have no business defending anything." "Gee, my brother will definitely be glad to hear that..." Twilight said as she rolled her eyes. "But Steve, you were..." "Oh yes. Right. We checked the dungeons to find that there was no one there so we decided to go check on the upper floors. That was when we ran into Sanya... yeah..." "Sorry kid. I just get a little bit too into my job sometimes." Slade interrupted as he smiled disarmingly. Well. His "disarming" smile looked like the same facial expression of what a shark may have when it finds a lone fish. Said "smile" made Sanya almost want to crawl underneath the nearest place to hide. "It's okay... it didn't hurt..." Sanya lied semi-audibly. In truth, she still felt like she broke every bone in her body. "I hope I didn't hurt you..." "Of course not." Slade lied back. "Though that was a good punch. Shattered the steel chest plate." (And felt like she shattered a rib.) "So that's pretty much how it ends. Oh Slade... if it didn't hurt... why did you hit back?" "I'll call it a few love taps to the head." "And she fell unconscious too... huh..." Steve grinned wolfishly. At this distance, he could almost feel Slade fume. "Yeah...yeah... your outfit is still ridiculous." Slade grumbled back as he took a drink of hard liquor. The only thought on his mind was why the hell everything was made from apples. This comment was of course, coming from the guy who was wearing Kevlar underneath metal and had something that looked almost like a hockey mask. "So... Slade... why don't you go?" "It's really nothing... just another average work day..." "I have a feeling your "average" work day is going to be a lot like my "average" work day." Raynor said. "C'mon pal, my average day involves me making things explode and stealing alien artifacts. What's your average work day?" "Alright. Alright. Well..."
Slade Wilson Slade Wilson "So another day of work. This time, the target was a banker at the JP Morgan down in New York. Now for those of you who don't know, I am a mercenary and an assassin. So what happened was that night, I snuck into the bank, found the target and killed him." "You kill people for a living?" Twilight asked with disbelief and a bit of shock. "Why?' "The money is green. Not to mention, most people who are wanted dead normally aren't the nicest guys in town. Most of them normally get busted by a few of my.... acquaintances if I don't get to them... oh that reminds me, did anyone happen to find a blue van in that forest?" "What's a van?" Twilight asked. "Nevermind." Slade said as he saw the shakes of the heads. "Something I had in there. Now where was I? Oh yes. I am a mercenary and an assassin. Something Captain star spangle here can't seem to stand but that's besides the point. Like him, I used to be in the military fighting in the Korean war under the US. later, I was promoted to a Lt. Colonel, experimented on and enhanced and then married a woman called Adeline Kane. We had three children and lived happily ever after. The end... not. So because the military at the time thought and probably still does think that soldiers are soldiers and not human beings. So to make a long story short, I quit. Of course... it doesn't end there. I needed a job of course, and so, I worked as a mercenary and a contract killer but one day... a bunch of thugs came and kidnapped my son Jericho. I went off to rescue him but something went wrong and Jericho ended up alive but with a slit throat. Adeline..." He took a brief pause as he went down memory lane. Not the good memory lane. The bad one which poked around every corner of his life. "Adeline was upset by this. She said it was my fault, which I have to say, wasn't entirely false. To give you an idea how upset... she gave me this." Slade said as he pointed to his eyepatch. "And then left me... oh wait... there's more!" He stopped for a moment as he took another shot of apple liquor. Not like he could drunk either. "So... Grant decides that because a few guys trashed his apartment, he's going to be like his dad and get revenge on the people. This ends badly and he dies which I recall wasting about two years of my life avenging him for something that was his fault. Then my other son Jericho decides he wants to be a hero with the very people Grant swore to kill. Frankly, this doesn't matter. He's fine and that's what's important. Rose on the other hand... also decided she was going to be like her father and her brother. She gouged out her eye just to be like me..." Yikes... He stopped there. There was no more point to continue as for a moment, the most disagreeable person in the room became the one who got everyone's sympathy. "But of course, now about how shot the guy dead in the bank and the other thing I did." And everyone's sympathy just went straight out the window. "So I found the guy. Bank manager. Shot him dead and threw his corpse into a garbage truck that was waiting. I had been paid for in advance but hey... I thought I could use a "little" extra in my pocket. So I found a REALLY big purple diamond and some other things. But I hope everyone can guess what happens with the purple diamond because it was the EXACT SAME THING that had happened to everyone else. But the only difference is, I was still in the van to which I nearly hit a tree and slide off the road down into a cliff. Turns out, that tree had a light coming from it so I decided to go check it out. And you know what? I get attacked by some crazy horse... zebra... thing for... I don't even know why. She was babbling and rhyming about something before that. Frankly, I don't care, I've met a lot of psychos in my life. So... I took care of the problem." "Wait a minute... YOU KILLED ZECORA?!" Twilight almost shrieked. "Killed? No. She'll be waking up in the morning with a splitting headache but nothing more. I assure you, she'll live." For some reason... that wasn't so comforting. "Anyways, so I went back to the van and drove the thing until I met up with another talking horse. Well... I didn't exactly meet up with him, all I did was hide in the back with a VAN and somehow he managed not to notice. Overheard him talking to his buddy about a "two legged thing" that was at the castle. Of course, you know the old phrase. Loose lips sink ships. You all can expect what my next move was. But... instead... I met up with those two while Armin was busy getting strangled by a snake. I am going to be frank, I can't really blame him, that thing was probably heavier than the van I jacked but that aside... we all know how the story goes from there after being filled in by Captain Star Spangles." "That's Captain America to you." Steve grumbled. "So Slade... you're a merc eh?" Raynor asked. "Indeed. If you ever want to hire me, you're going to have to call me Deathstroke by the way." "Heh. You know, if possible, I might just want that. You see... that Mengsk guy I was talking about earlier..." "He needs two bullets in the chest?" "Yeah..." "Well... I could always go to assassinate a dictator of some star empire, but I realize... you probably don't use cash anymore do you now?" "No. All funds are either traded electronically or you barter." "My problem. I don't kill for free and I can't exactly take some money from the future either." "Would you be interested in gold coins?" Twilight shot from almost out of nowhere. "Gold? Sure I guess. I suppose I have to melt them down myself?" Didn't really matter actually. Gold fetched a good price and that would be sufficient payment. Of course... fencing it may be difficult. Then again, the gold is legal... "Yeah. Jewels too if you truly are interested." "Sounds go... wait a minute... why are you telling me this?" "Eh... nothing. Nothing." Twilight said really quickly. "Hey eh... Sanya... how about..." "Answer the question." Slade commanded. Something was off. "Why are you telling me that? Do you have work for me?" "No... no... I don't have work for you... I mean I could always use help around the library and all... but..." He eyed her for a moment. His one good eye burning a hole in Twilight's soul as she felt the beads of sweat form on her coat. Slowly, she managed to turn away from that death(stroke) glare and regain her composure. "Sanya... are you interested in speaking?" Twilight asked as she tried to avoid making eye contact with Slade. "Okay." Sanya began. "But before I do... um... Mr. Wilson?" "Slade is fine." "You're a soldier?" "Was a soldier. I would say I am too old for it, but that's obviously not true." "I was about to say... you seem a bit old to be fighting still..." "Nonsense. Our friend star spangles here is about 100 years old. I am not much younger. But that's not to important. Back there, how did you manage to shatter the chest plate? The thing is solid steel." "Well you see..." She begun her tale.
Sanya Litvyak Sanya Litvyak "My full name is Aleksandra Vladimirovna Litvyak, I am 13 and I am from Orussia." Sanya began. "And um..." "Eh. Frau Litvyak, I have a question..." Medic began. "Yes?" "Where is Orussia?" "It's the very big country in eastern Europe that stretches into Asia. It's very cold there during the winters, especially in Stalingrado." "Vait... is zis place Russia?" Medic asked curiously. "No. Orussia. Not Russia." "But zere is a place called Stalingrad!" "No, I said Stalingrado.... um... should I speak up?" "That'd be for the best kid." Slade said. Even with enhanced senses, trying to make out what she was saying is hardly even possible. "Okay. So um, I am 13 years old and I am from Orussia in a small village near Stalingrado which is a big city. My birthday is August 18th 1930..." "You're born in 1930?" Slade asked with disbelief. "Oh right... you're 13...but that'd mean..." "It's 1943 for you..." Rogers said knowing exactly what that'd mean. "And that means..." "Yes. We are in a conflict. The second Neuori war." Imagine the looks on almost everybody's faces when all things considered. Things like how Rogers had personally fought in the war. How Slade and Medic had both lived through it and how Raynor had read before it was the greatest armed conflict in the "olden" days of mankind. Armin on the other hand, had no clue to what she was saying though after noticing the looks on everyone's faces, something was up. "Is.... something wrong?" Sanya asked. "No... I am actually confused. You see... I fought in the war during 1944 and it had been going on since 1939... but... we didn't call it the second Neuori war... wait... does Neuori mean world or something in Russian?" "It doesn't." Slade said. "And it's ORUSSIAN." "Slade is right. The Neuori are a race of aliens who seek to consume the earth. They first attacked in 1914 but we as humanity were defenseless then. Luckily for us about 21 years later, we developed the striker unit which allowed any witch to have her powers amplified. While we have some basic powers we can use such as creating shields and our own token abilities, these striker units allow us to fly, have enhanced strength and amplify our basic powers." "We? Wait a minute... you're a witch?" "Yes." "So that was what that.... thing was back then..." "Yes. My power allows me to hear things from extremely long distances. I can also listen to radio broadcasts or any form of radio based communication. I can also make it so anyone near me can listen to what I am listening. Of course... my ability isn't good without the striker unit but Twilight made me these gloves which allowed me some use. One of them being the enhanced strength." So that's how she broke the steel chestplate... "Ah... now it makes sense." Slade said as he looked back at the shattered armor. "So I take it without this striker unit, you are at a weakened state?" "Yes. I am still immune to some of the effects of the Neuori and can use some powers... but they won't be as effective. Right now, Twilight is trying to make something so I can use them at full power. I still have to thank you for the gloves." "No problem! See if I can't get a better pair sooner or later! But in the meantime Sanya, please continue." "Okay. So I am a flying officer stationed in Britannia against the Neuroi." What Sanya had to say about her friends really didn't match to Steve. It was confirmed. She was a soldier fighting in a war. A war against a race that sought to exterminate humanity and devour the earth. Perhaps that was why she was so silent? Because she may suffer from PTSD? But for some reason... Slade was smiling. That disgusted him. "You're a soldier huh? You seem to be able to handle yourself." Slade commented. "You're 13 now?" "Yes." "I think you do remember, but I was 16 when I became a soldier. How do you like it?" "It's fine... my friends are really nice and all but I am usually on night patrol. I don't like the day. I really don't." "What made you want to be a soldier?" "I was separated from my parents. I just hope that one day, when the war is over, I can see them again. We're separated not only by several thousand kilometers but a Neuori hive as well." "That's harsh." Slade said and perhaps for the first time this night, he actually sounded like he sorta cared about someone else's predicament. "But please, continue." "Anyways. I was on night patrol as usual when I heard a sound... I thought it was the Neuori but when listened for it, there wasn't anything. Just a sweet whispering sound that no Neuroi would ever make. So I thought to check it out." She stopped for a moment to recall the event while everyone listened attentively. "It was pretty hard to find it. I can hear things, but I can't see them. It took a while for me isolate the sound and when I did, I realized it was actually off the coast of Britannia in a small island. More like a large rock if you know what I mean but I found it. That along with this large chest." Sanya took a sip of her drink as she remembered what happened next. "The Neuori appeared then. While was busy trying to find out what the box was the Neuori managed to sneak up. At least I was able to dodge the beam or I may have died then... but what happened was strange. The box was hit along with the island which sank into the ocean, but what was odd was this bright purple light. The next thing I knew, my striker unit was crippled and I was about a few meters in the air and falling into a pond." She smiled for a moment at the memory and at Twilight. "My thanks to your brother. I wasn't a very good swimmer but he managed to get me out of the water through magic. Without him, I may have drowned." "He kept telling me about there was a strange newcomer that was drowning and how he saved her life. Wouldn't shut up about it." "But also, thanks to him I was able to get stay here." "Actually... that'd be the Princesses. You see, from what Princess Celestia told me, you seemed to be new here and when you told us what had happened, about how you magically vanished from where you were, she thought you'd be really confused and probably even scared. By the way, we got that box... thing... from out of the pond. We have it in your room." "That's really nice. Thank you. I may need it again when I get home." "Yeah... about that..." Slade began. "Can we..." "Yes. I know. You want to get out of here ASAP." Twilight said rolling her eyes. "We're trying. Right now, I don't even know." "Well... Sparkler..." "SPARKLE!" "Okay Sparkle... I know how you have no clue how we even got here, but I am going to ask... can you please give me updates?" He said please.... "Okay. Fine... I'll give you what I can get or anything that the Princesses can get. Okay? I know you probably would rather be off killing pon... people and robbing banks or whatever it is you do... and chances are, everyone else probably wants to be home too but it's not like I can just go POOF and make that happen!" "Well... you told me earlier you can use magic..." "But it's not that simple! It's not omnipotent! It's not like I can snap my fingers and... make...things...happen..." "Frau Sparkle? Iz somefing wrong?" "No... not at all... actually... Sanya... are you finished?" "Pretty much. But there's still the part about the room you gave me. It was very comfortable and so was the food." "Glad you liked it." "And then we met." Raynor said. "You know... you think we can find that Striker thing of yours and fix it?" "What makes you say that? We don't even have the tools." "Not right now. But you see, my ship may have the means to do so. And now I dunno, but we can't exactly stay here..." "What do you mean? The Princesses would love to have you all here... well most of you..." "I don't really want to overstay my welcome. Though I appreciate it. Luckily, my ship has enough room for all of us and anything we might need. Hell. We got a bar in there if anyone wants a drink that's not made of apples." "Sounds actually pretty good." Armin spoke up. "Is there space for all of us?" "Son, this thing was made for living in the stars. We have enough room for twice our number. Which is a good thing because something tells me we might need room for someone's van." "Did I neglect the part about the motorcycle?" Steve brought up. "I ditched it in the forest too...." "Okay. I think we should have enough room anyways. There's lots of things in my ship y'all might want to see." "I bet. Everything we have must seem medieval to what you have." "Oh not so bad. This place doesn't even have running water... no offense." "What's running water again?' "Nevermind." "So... may I go now?" Medic asked rather impatiently. "Of course doc! Ready when you are!" Author's Note Who knew that not procrastinating for once can actually yield results? Anyways. So I decided to do this other chapter after realizing all the time I have on my hands. Hope it's good.
The Medic The Medic "Okay. So before I talk about how I got here, I got zis really funny story. So a some time ago, I vas a doktor, vell... I guess I am still a doctor today but... zat's beyond the point. So I vorked at this hospital und zere vas this one patient that needed surgery because he had a terminal illness." For some strange reason, he was chuckling really hard, border lining laughing. This was pretty terrifying to just about anyone considering the subject as terminal illness and surgery. "Okay... okay... hehe... anyvays, so zere vas a patient who had a terminal illness... and you know vat? He told me zat I can use any means possible to cure him of zis disease! It vas magnificent! It vas brilliant! My plan! Ha!" He laughed manically for a few moments, lost in the memories. "You see... zis man... zis poor man had zis vile of disease! It was in his bones! AHAHAHAHAHA!" And this was the part where Slade grabbed one of his swords while Raynor held onto his revolver and stared at the mad doctor was leering in Sanya's face. Sanya, who looked extra pale than usual gave a few nervous whimpers and slowly slid down the table, hiding behind her chair. "Now... zen... vhere vas I? Oh ja. He said zat I can use anything! Just make ze pain! Ze pain stop! Ze disease! Just cut ze disease out! HAHAHAHAHA.... so zen... I got out my new... invention.... ze krankenknockenentferner!!" "Eh... doc... for some reason...." Slade began. "That sounds like some kind of medieval torture device..." Steve finished. "Vell.... he vasn't in any pain.... but anyvays... hoho... I am getting to ze funny part. So... I put him through my new invention und it vorks! It actually vorks! But... he didn't wake up for a long... time... nein... not for a long time... but you know vat?" He burst out into hysterical laughter at this as everyone turned their heads into his direction, clueless at what was so funny. "Ven ze patient voke up, his skeleton vas missing und ze doctor vas never heard from again! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!... okay... okay..." He wiped tears from his eyes as he took a breather to calm himself down from his laughter. "Okay.... und zat's how I lost my medical license." "Um... doctor...." Armin suddenly began. "Ja?" "What was it you used to um.... heal me back there?" "Oh nothing. It's my medi-gun. You see... it vas a medical breakthrough I had made! It involved some medicine, a dying teammate and a severed head.... you still have your skeleton...." "Okay.... Okay..." Armin said as he wiped sweat beads off his forehead. Wait a second... just because his skeleton wasn't missing doesn't mean.... "Now then... so I guess it's time I explain how I got here.... ja? Vell you see... mein friend Engineer and I were doing some.... experiments with ze teleporters. You see.... ve found out zat ven we teleported bread... um... ve kinda created a bread monster." Wat. It took some explaining to do. Something about the teleporters made it so that an organism would appear in an all wheat environment... zis type of organism... oh boy! It's a monster! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! You see... we couldn't even kill it with miniguns, rockets, grenades and fire! It was a monster! It was an abomination! It was.... BEAUTIFUL! And it hated me! AHAHAHAHAHA!" "I am scared..." Sanya whimpered as she hid behind Slade and held his hand. "Grow a backbone kid." Slade said as he shoved her firmly away. "Maybe Captain Stars and Stripes might be more interested in using himself as a shield." "No... it's not him... I think I just heard something... some really loud roar... it was scary." "Yeah...yeah... you want me to check underneath your bed for monster tonight?" "You didn't happen to work for a guy called Schmidt have you?" Steve asked suspiciously. "Vat? No. This vas like... yesterday. I do work for a guy called Mann though...." Okay. Not a HYDRA agent. Good. "Anyvays, so after that fiasco, we made a rule. NO MORE TELEPORTING BREAD. But... of course... we could always teleport ourselves. Which I did.... und ended up here un...." There was a loud crash which was audible from the room they were situated in. From the sounds of everything, it had come from the lower levels of the castle. Frankly. It wouldn't of mattered how close by they were when they heard the roar. Hell, the whole world may have heard that one at the massive roar. At that same moment, there was the sounds of glass shattering which came from the upper levels. "What the hell is happening?!" Raynor cried out as glass broke all around him and a section of the wall and stained glass broke into several pieces sending shiny glass and hard rock flying all over the place. There at the mouth of a gaping hole in the mouth, was a massive brown horned lizard. Or a dragon to be exact. In the next instant, an unforgiving heat blanketed the entire room as a massive flame flew towards the people at the table. Luckily for them and more on quick thinking to steve who kicked the table down, they would be mostly shield from the massive inferno that almost consumed them. Besides them, ponies ran and screamed in a panic as members of the royal guard poured in, only to be knocked aside as the massive dragon made it's way in. Sayna listened for a moment. At every fire breath. She thought she could here something. "Yol... Toor...Shul..." What did it mean? Was it the dragon... no. It had to be the dragon. The dragon was speaking every time it sent forth a wave of fire! But... how did that even work? It was approaching a massive door. What this door was for, she did not know but it seemed to hold particular interest to the dragon as it opened it's massive mouth once again. "Fus... Ro... DAH!" The doors straight off. They were magically sealed and therefore had no hinges, but just like that, they literally flew off whatever it was they were connected to and revealed the interior, six beautiful gems sat there.... The dragon... it wanted the gems! But why?! Her thought was cut off as a red and blue blur flew by her and hit the dragon at one it's wings, sending no hidden waves of pain through the lizard as it turned it's head to see the star-spangled man with his shield. He held out his hand which contained a gun and fired two shots, none of which did any form of damage whatsoever. "Hi yin wahl yen midrak zey? Midrak Dovah?! Hi fen biis fah hin duziirah!" The dragon opened it's massive jaws and let out another stream of flame, surprisingly, all it took for Steve to not get burned alive was his shield. That must have been one good shield... The dragon relented the moment the charges hit it on the head, creating fiery explosions that drew it's attention to the one who threw it. The one in a black and orange armor holding up an assault rifle, firing rounds at the dragon's head. All of which would be ineffective. Slade grumbled to himself silently when the gun hardly even managed to poke the monster. No sense in wasting bullets at this point. He dodged aside as a large wave of fire almost hit him. He looked over at the flames that shot over him as he reached for one of his grenades and pulled the pin. "Armin! Here!" Twilight called as she tossed him his swords. If Armin was to be honest to himself, he actually wanted to hide behind a table. But that wasn't an option given the fact Slade and Steve were giving the dragon all that they got... oh! If only he had his maneuver gear! He may have been able to assist somehow! But thankfully, at the time being. He didn't need to the moment Jim came back. Fully clad in his armor and with a big gun and a beam that was washing over him. Behind him, Medic readied himself as his finger strayed towards the "on" button on the kritzkreig. The red bullets that flew at the dragon split open sections of it's hide, sending force chunks of blood and gore causing the beast to roar in it's agony. Turning around, it just had something to say to Raynor and his gun. "Zun...Haal.. Viik!" Without warning, the C-14 rifle flew out of his hands and landed about a few dozen meters away. There would hardly be time as Raynor quickly backed up into Medic, making a shield out of his armor as the protective visor in his helmet came down the moment the huge of flame came flying over. Thankfully, his armor held. "Sanya!" Jim called as he slid a massive metal box towards the small girl. The Fliegerhammer Carefully, she aimed as the dragon grabbed the case containing the jewels. Right when it turned it's body and it's head was facing her, she fired. Time stood to a stand still but she could still hear the words as if they were speaking at an accelerated pace. "Fo... Krah...Diin!" The wave of ice froze the rockets in midair which dropped to the ground harmlessly along with any bullets which had been in the same area. All the while, Armin could only watch in shock as the dragon took off to the gap in the wall, stretched it's wings and flew into the air, trailed by the many bullets that Steve and Slade fired at it. "Damn it!" Slade cursed as he saw the dragon fly away. "What the hell was that?!" "A dragon? What for?" Steve asked.... "Where's Twilight?!" She had left just moments ago. Where? To see the Princesses. But... for what? Author's Note I am more than certain now people know why I was listening to Alduin's voicelines.
Decision Decision "Princess Celestia!" Twilight panted as she managed to reach the same room where Luna and Celestia were conferencing in. "A..a dragon... it attacked and... and..." "Calm down Twilight. What happened?" "We were talking and then out of nowhere, this Dragon breaks down the door! It was just too fast for anyone and.... I don't know... I last was running away. The dragon, it... I..." "A dragon? Attacking Canterlot. Sister... you must know what this means then...?" Luna asked rhetorically. "Twilight... may you leave the room?" "Wait... why?" "Just do it. Please. It's very important and it's only between my sister and myself... and..." "YOUR HIGHNESSES!" The guard barged in, almost knocking down the doors. "A dragon... it attacked the castle and... IT TOOK THE ELEMENTS." "What?!" Luna and Celestia asked with disbelief at the same time. The guard repeated his testimony. "This is... this is terrible!" Luna cried out. "Eh... maybe I should leave now..." Twilight chuckled nervously as she sneaked for the door after the guard had left. "No. Twilight. You must stay." Princess Celestia said as her horn lit up. A small gleam of light revealed a hidden... bookshelf, one of which floated out. "What is this?" "I believe... it's the best I can get at an explanation..." Princess Celestia said. "When I was getting reports of dragons attacking towns and villages, I didn't want to believe it. I only thought and wanted to think that ponies were doing some things to provoke the dragons. Now... I see otherwise." "What is it?! Please... tell me!" "Patience. Patience." Luna said as she went over to the book. The arcane text gleamed and glittered as the two began to read. "More than a thousand years ago, Feynaltdrog, the dragon, ruled not just Equestria. But the world itself... and I will say this in advance, but our knowledge on him is... inaccurate at best... wrong at worst." "Feynaltdrog was not just any dragon. Rumors called him the king of dragons, the first dragon, the dragon god and so on." Luna continued. "He was to a dragon, what an alicorn may have been to a pony. Many things separated him from his minions." "To begin, not all dragons are evil. In fact, hardly any of them are. Feynaltdrog was set apart first and foremost with his mastery of magic. A power no dragon should have... yet he was a master of magic and sorcery. His power in both magic and as a dragon was unmatched and wherever he went, he conquered. We don't know what it was that had turned a dragon into evil or what had made a dragon a master of magic. Perhaps it was the vileness within him that gave him magic, or the magic that spawned the darkness within. Whatever it was, it was very powerful." "Can you imagine Twilight, the power it took to corrupt an entire race to evil? To corrupt the dragons into evil tyrants and killers? The power it took to hold the entire world in line and to do his bidding? The power it took to suppress some of the most powerful enemies Equestria has faced so far? During his rise to power, he had amassed an army of dragons that were loyal to him. All other dragons were merely pawns whom he corrupted so that they may terrorize and weaken other kingdoms whilst he and his loyal followers did the real work of subjugating the inhabitants. Those who resisted were destroyed. Those who didn't were enslaved to his rule." "But... I thought that was all just foaltales! I thought that notion of an evil dragon was really something..." "It's not. It's very real. Feynaltdrog is a threat to not just Equestria but to the world! Do you know his power Twilight? His power that even the elements of harmony didn't stop? Or that even Discord, master of chaos was powerless?" "What?!" "I know not how long the list of names go..." Luna began. "But during the final battle... it wasn't just my sister and I. But the aftermath was terrible. We had slain all the dragons that were truly evil along with Feynaltdrog with both the help of the elements and the powers of chaos but in the end, he still won in his own little way. He left one final blight upon the world. Do you know what made Discord use his magic for evil? He wasn't always like that, but in the end, the dragon king corrupted him. Discord made great efforts to resist this corruption, in fact, had he not resisted some of this corruption.... Discord's misdeeds may have been much worse. We see now that his actions were evil and for only his own amusement, but had the corruption went to it's full extent, Discord would have been a ruthless tyrant and murderer instead of an agent of chaotic mischief." "It wasn't only just that." Luna continued. "Changelings had once helped to spread love. It was commonplace for the changelings to warm relations between feuding lovers. In a cruel joke, Feynaltdrog had turned them into the exact opposite." "What else did he do... could he have been truly responsible for all the evils in Equestria?" Twilight asked with disbelief. This couldn't have been possible. How could have one dragon been the architect of all the tragedies and horrors that had afflicted ponykind? No. that had afflicted the world. "He was. We know because before, there was no such things on any scale like it. The aftermath was terrible. Discord, Sombra and the changelings were corrupted to evil. The nightmare forces were born. Starswirl had been slain in the final battle and his actions had even paved way for another lesser evil. Tirek." "Who's Tirek?" "That's not important. All I can tell you is that Tirek was a powerful sorcerer who could have easily held Equestria by it's throat. But even he feared the power of Feynaltdrog... and now without the elements... we are at a disadvantage.... save for one thing." It dawned on Twilight that instant. "The humans! They're here because..." "It was my plan. Yes. When I heard about the dragons, I wanted to make precautions. It seems those precautions have paid off... those humans are our less hope." "But... why them? They can't even use magic!" Twilight said doing little to hide her doubts. "You see... Luna and I looked into the history of humans. We looked not only in one world, but many. The man known as Raynor... where he comes from, humans have the power to destroy entire worlds with their weapons while in the home of Armin, humans have survived for a hundred years against a race of giants that are more powerful than them in every way imaginable. Right now... there is something about humans that make them special... which is why I selected six among them and..." The windows flung themselves open, or rather, were opened by an outside force. A certain outside force referred to as "Deathstroke" as Slade entered the room. Fully armed and armored. "So... I just heard I've been shanghaied." Slade growled menacingly. To his surprise, or rather his discontent, he was given no reply as Twilight could only stare while Luna and Celestia both said nothing. The door to the room opened as Steve made his way in with everyone else. "You know... it would have been nice to get a call first." "I understand." Celestia said. "And in this moment, there is no way I can fully voice my apologies. It wasn't fair to any of you. Knowing what I may drag you into, I can say that..." "No need to talk Princess. I overheard. This Feynaltdrog guy is out here to conquer the world. Or this world." Steve began. "I am going to find this guy... and I will stop him..." "You... really?" Twilight asked. "Of course. The price of freedom is high, but it's one I am willing to pay." Rogers said. "Show me where this guy is... and I promise you... he will regret the day he wished to seize the world." "That's... very generous of you... but you must understand Feynaltdrog is no pushover. There's no possible way..." "I am in." Raynor said. "Now... the thing is... I kinda..." "You want to be paid." Luna said. "We can arrange for that. I did my research and found out humans value things like jewels and gold?" "Very much." "Indeed. Then I assure you, I will supply you a payment that is more than suffice to fund your war efforts." "Thank you. And perhaps some research on "magic"?" "Can easily be arranged for." Celestia replied. "We're being paid?" Slade asked. "I am in. Give me where this dragon is. Just let me keep the skull." "It won't be that easy..." Luna smiled. "But we appreciate your enthusiasm." (What she didn't mention was that one thing that probably wasn't appreciated would be his bloodthirstiness.) "Vell... it seems we're being paid. But... I vould like some other fings in addition!" "What would it be?" "Um... bodies and plants." "What?!" "Medical research! What else." "Oh..." For some reason that never hit Luna and Celestia, everyone else didn't seem too comforted. "What about you two?" Celestia asked Sanya and Armin. "Um... I don't think I can..." "When we send you back, we can actually send you back at the exact same time you were sent away. Back at home too in case you were out." "Okay... but may I have some... of the books regarding magic? I wish to learn a bit on the subject." "OF COURSE!" Twilight said almost jumping on Sanya. "Listen... I own the library and.... sorry." "It's okay Twilight..." "And... um... I just want to see my parents. Just once." Sanya finished as Armin opened his mouth. "I guess I'll stay too." Armin said. "But... what I want is... is things from his world." "Mine? Heh. I am not surprised. Alright kid, we can make the deal. You'll really like some of the things we got if you're dealing with giants." "And what about you?" Luna asked. "You never asked for anything." "I don't want anything." Steve said. "C'mon Cap. We know you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart and all..." Slade began. "But even a soldier needs to eat. How about some money?" "Not interested." "Surely there's something... maybe a way to improve your world?" "No. Because I don't need the money. But I'll take some money regardless." "Huh?" "I don't need it. But other people do. It'll go well into wiping oppression off the face of my planet." "A noble wish." Luna commented. "It will be fulfilled." "Once Feynaltdrog is stopped one way or the other, we will send you home at the best time of convenience. We'll make do with anything we have and make sure it's as comfortable as possible." "Very well.... so where do we start?" Slade asked as his took out staff. "I need another fight." "That's the problem..." "Huh?" "We don't know where the dragon king is." "God damn it." Slade murmured. "Well... how do we start?" "We don't know. That's your job." Luna said. "Do it well. The fate of this world hangs in this balance. And something tells me, it may be bigger than that. But for now, we've provided accommodations. Mr. Raynor, you said you were only to stay this one night?" "Yeah. Have my ship moved.... somewhere. Somewhere where we won't disturb anyone. I got a BIG project ahead." Author's Note Takes place before the season 4 premiere. In case if anyone is wondering, Feynaltdrog means "Bane, Destruction, Lord" in dragon. While his name actually suggests otherwise, he's not here to destroy the world. He wants to conquer it as the characters have referenced. The dragon language is based off the one used in Skyrim mainly because I was to lazy to make my own language/making up languages is pretty damn hard. And that it's probably the most badass fictional language in existence. It's mentioned that Starswirl's death paves way to Tirek. Remember, this is already when Scorpan has met Starswirl and is about to warn the princesses of Tierk's true intentions.
The ship"Alright boys and girls, we'll be sleeping in this section of the ship." Raynor said. "Thankfully, this is the one section of the ship that isn't a mess. Not thankfully is the fact that this is debatably the least important part of the ship." There were three rooms for the living quarters. Each with two bunks, a bathroom, a shower and a few other accommodations. "Okay. So see these "beds" here? You can actually adjust how they feel." Raynor said as he waved over to a contraption by the bedside. "We got blankets and such pretty much in every room so don't worry about that. Oh right, the air conditioner is broken so if it's too hot or too cold, tough luck until we can get it fixed." "What else is broken?" Cap asked as he took a look around. "We got water and such, but we lost power to a good section of the ship including engineering which is the one section I want to get fixed ASAP. Power in general is actually the big issue. We don't have any permanent damage that we can't fix, but it's fairly extensive and spreads to many areas of the ship. So far, navigation is down. So is life support, power in some areas and we probably ain't getting the engines repaired any time soon." "Do we have the means to repair this fine machine of yours?" Slade asked as he took a look around. "We do. And it's just so fine for us, that we actually have the materials all over the place." "Really? These... pe.. I mean ponies don't really seem to be the type of people who'd have some technology found in space." Steve commented as he took a look at one of tablets and at that point, he felt like a caveman with a Rubix cube. This of course, was a guy who still couldn't figure out how to use his smartphone. "It's not that. The story is, that long ago, this guy discovered that we can use minerals to be melted down and built into more useful things. Yes. Minerals. Just minerals. Something about their properties which I really don't understand. But you know what this place is chalk full of? Minerals." "Umm... Mr. Raynor... how does this work?" Armin asked as he picked up a tablet. "That kid, is a tablet. We use them to store information." "Store information?" "Think of it like a book... I am assuming you have books wherever you're from, now think that this one thing has a few million of them stored in it's memory." "Memory?" "It's complicated business kid." Slade said. "But how it works is that we can essentially upload... text into this thing that you can use later." "Okay... how does it work?" "I'll show you later." Raynor replied. "Alright guys, this next place, Doc, you'll probably love this." He led them down a round hall to the other end of the ship where sections of damage became more evident. Some times, a wall would have some circuits blown straight out. Other times, a light or a few lights would be out or flickering but to this, no one truly cared. Maybe to the likes of Slade and Cap, they had all seen something along these lines, but still, it was like comparing a calculator to a smartphone. To Medic, it was almost movie like. This is what they got in the 26th century and you know what? He was pretty damn impressed. He REALLY wanted to see the next place. To Sanya, she'd been on many ships, just not the ones that can fly or had things that would make even the most advanced computing deceive in 1943 look like a potato in complexity. Of course, she never said anything about this or even as much as expressed the secret amazement and wonder deep below. She could only take a look at the device that Raynor was carrying, which was rather similar to the devices that both Steve and Slade had in their pockets, just... more advanced. And to Armin. All of a sudden, he wondered just how half this was even possible. Automatic doors weren't a thing in his world. Running water wasn't either. Automatic guns? Nope. Actually, pretty much everything aboard this vessel had no place in his world. He was like a caveman first discovering fire. "Alright everyone, and here's the infirmary. It really ain't much actually... but I am pretty confident doc that you can turn it into something." Yeah.... "Oooh... I can... may I borrow one of your tablets for my research? I vood very much vell need a place to keep my research on SCIENCE." "Alright doc. There's one waiting for you but as I said, I'll show you how the thing works later. Um, sorry about the mess." That was the understatement of the century considering all the broken glass and chemicals all littered in this one room. It was miracle to how one would even step in here without any shoes and not get cut up or slip in a puddle of chemicals. (These chemicals were medicine and therefore "safe" and probably won't burn your foot off.) "Ah... ja. I can clean zis place up. Now zen, if you all excuse me, I got vork to do." With that, he closed the door and the sounds of progress would soon be heard coming from that room. "And this here is the bridge. And this is what I'd call the... um... nav map... except we can use it locally too. Like for this planet." Jim said as he tapped the thing. "And this is the one part where we don't have power to the most important thing on this darn ship. You see, I can get this thing to tell me the layout of the entire planet! Only problem is..." "It's broken." Armin said pointing out the obvious. "Yep. And we oughta fix it. Thankfully, it's not the actual device that's broken or it'd be broken for good as I wouldn't know how to fix it. It's just the power that's cut off in this area. We'll have to fix it, we got the tools, but we don't have the parts. And now, it's probably time to get said parts." "Okay. But first, I still got to get my van." Slade said. "And I think Star-spangled man here is missing his motorcycle." "Alright then. Armin, mind going to town and getting me some of the things we need?" "What? Why me?" "Cause I know I am going to probably need Sanya's help. Here, take this." Raynor said tossing him a small purse containing bits. "The Princesses gave me an... allowance. Just go into town, buy me all the minerals that gets you, and bring it back here." "Here. I'll come and get you." Slade said. "Chances are, if you bring back the big haul, you can load it in the van." "Oh right. Once we can fix this part, we can get to the good stuff." Raynor began as he took a look at his tablet on the ship. "You see, I'll see if we can't get the bar restored." "The bar?" "Yeah. Don't ask why, but there's a bar on this ship. We got plenty of cold drinks for anyone who wants it. By "bar" I mean dining room that a bunch of old pirates turned into a bar but it's a pretty nice place. Let's get that place up next after we fix the power to the whole ship." "So... this computer, power and then bar?" Armin asked. "Yeah. You want a drink not made from apples? Then let's hurry this place up and we can all get some cold beer." Author's Note So the characters because a few people asked. Captain America (Steve Rogers): http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/059/a/1/almost_is_never_enough___steve_rogers_x_reader_by_angelmewmew-d78b3f0.jpg Deathstroke (Slade Wilson): http://www.lightninggamingnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Batman-Arkham-Origins-Slade-WilsonDeathstroke-Concept-Art.jpg Jim Raynor: http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130606182156/sky-does-minecraft/images/5/59/Jim_raynor.jpg The Medic: http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/792941212956353235/4E750FF876A5A806B07F230E159758A248BF81F7/ Armin Arlert: http://www.getcartoonwallpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Armin-Arlert2.jpg Sanya V. Litvyak: http://interestsoap.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/78444.jpg
Day 2"So Captain, what happened to your ride?" Slade asked as the two trekked through the dark forest. Even in the middle of the day, the shade from the trees made it almost as dark as night out on the paths within the Everfree. Creatures of all shapes and sizes fled at the sight of the pair, or perhaps waited. Waited, for an opportunity. "I didn't have my motorcycle with me when I was still back in where I was supposed to be. I was starting a truck to transport some deadly cargo for the government. Only when I got here did I see my cycle. Thing was just there like it was practically waiting for me." "So I take it the US government sends you to do all their dirty work?" "I am a soldier, Slade. I don't know what you're getting at, but I don't want to hear whatever nonsense you have in your head." "You may deny it Steve, but we're both quite alike. Old men. Fighting men. Suitable for the most dangerous of all tasks." "You're a murderer Slade. It may disappoint you, but we have little in common." "Me? A murderer? I don't deny that. But you Captain America, have probably killed more men than years you lived. How high is the body count? 100? 200? 500? 1000? I can tell you, whatever it may be, it's probably rival to my own." "And what's your point in all of this? That I am just as bad as you are? I fight for freedom and my people. You? You only cared for one person in your entire life. Yourself. It's all about you isn't it? You just care about that you get paid to kill this dragon thing, and then I bet your gone. You never consider what a war may do to other people. You were given a gift and that gift has only benefitted you. The gift I was given is shared." "You think yourself as a hero Cap?" Slade chuckled. "You know what being the best soldier to your government and being a "hero" to your people really is? You're government is just a bunch of con-men and mobsters in fancy suits and nice names. Someone doesn't play their game? They send in you, just their best enforcer in a inspirational getup if the regular thugs in uniforms don't work. And that's why we're no different. I was another thug like you but this time, every time I go kick in someone's teeth, it's not for the control freaks but for myself." "Really now? I recall having to fight my own organization when HYDRA almost took it over." "Still a thug. Just one who liked the old regime better." He gave up then. If this guy just wanted to get underneath his skin, it was working. Conveniently. He shut up the moment he found the van that was sitting by the tree. Now then... The motorcycle shouldn't be too far then... "Sanya, I need a hand with these.... Well. Wow." So. Massive massive metal beams that weigh about 200 pounds each? Moved easily by a skinny silver haired girl in about 20 seconds where it took a big guy in his prime about that much time just to move one. That was quite interesting. "Okay kid, you are a miracle." Jim said with amazement as he saw Sanya move the rest of the mess with little difficulty. He debated mentally whether or not if she was stronger than Findlay. He also imagined what his old pal's reaction might be to hearing that some skinny girl was stronger that he was. "Thanks. Is there anything else?" "A lot actually but I can do the rest myself." Jim said as he looked at the broken wires and power couplings. "Go get some sleep cause you look a mess." "Okay then." "I'll wake you when I am done. When that boy gets back with those other two, we can have a bite to eat and work on the rest. It's a team job from then." "Alright." Sanya said. She could use some sleep due to her utter lack of it the night before. Even if the soul-destroying roar hadn't made her want to hide under a rock, she was the nocturnal sort of person and was more active in the dark. The ship was truly impressive in many regards. In 1943, you didn't exactly have things like power armor, flying ships (unless you were the Neuroi), smartphones and advanced medicine that healed it's patient through a beam. It occurred to her then that her world was the second most behind in terms of scientific advancement, with only Armin's being the most archaic. This ship fascinated her. The only thing that surpassed her amazement in this wonderful craft was Raynor's mention of his other ship. A bigger ship and a better ship. At about 560 meters in length and moving at speeds unfathomable, it truly be a wonder to have in 1943. Enough thinking about what cool things they have in 2504. Right now, she went back to the living quarters, grabbed a blanket and took a bunk. Amazing. She could set the room's temperature down to the hundredth of a degree, the dimness or brightness of the lights or even the softness of her bed and pillows. Here in the wonders of the future, everything was amazing. She would soon find this even more when she found herself staring at a star map of the Korprulu sector that displayed on the ceiling and listening to a soft song. Her eyes slowly closed as she slipped into dreamland. "Grah. Finally." Medic mumbled to himself as he tossed the last bits of glass shards into the trash. Having drained all the chemicals and rearranged the furniture into a more personal touch. He gave mental note to build another healing device of similar design to the one he had in the hospital. As of now, he placed any unbroken jars into the cabinets and counters in a neatly arranged fashion and put any of his belongings in the locker. Taking a look around, he found a data tablet. Poking around for a moment, it was the ship doctor's personal tablet, which now meant he had access to plenty of research. This was going to be fun. But first... Things didn't feel 100% at home. He was missing something. Right. He needed a dismembered, somehow still alive severed head to be placed in the fridge. And a huge flock of doves somewhere to be messing around while he was working. Well. Time to decapitate someone or something. And maybe now would be opportune to go grab some bodies for SCIENCE. Come to think of it, he heard of a pers... pony that had lots of animals. He would pay her a visit tomorrow. "Um... Hi." Armin said awkwardly as he felt a hundred eyeballs lock onto him. To say he felt like a black sheep would be an understatement. He was more like an extra awkward cow in a flock of sheep. Or in this case, horses. "Hi... Um... How may help you?" The vendor replied nervously. Partly because that Armin, being short among humans was still significantly taller than most ponies and that well.... Not a lot of things like him came around here very often. Or at all for that matter. "I'd ummm... Like to buy some minerals..." He said nervously as he looked at all the stares he was getting. Something akin to if a camel walked into a movie and asked to go see Godzilla. "5 bits for a bag!" The vendor said just as nervously. She wondered inwardly if this creature would eat her or something along those lines. "Umm.... Here..." Armin said handing her all his bits. This got him about 6 bags, each the size of a milk carton. Something told him this may not be enough... "Oh man..." Armin mumbled to himself as he walked through the market, now oblivious to the looks of fear and fascination he was getting. "Jim is going to need more... This will be a problem." All problems of a solution. And it was just his luck that a certain white unicorn had taken interest in his uniform and overheard his mumbling to himself.
Chapter 12"Here it is..." Rogers said to himself as he pulled up his motorcycle which had been tipped over and had fallen down into a patch of shrubs. Taking a look, his ride was in fine condition and he could now take a spin. Looking back, he saw Slade had gotten his van started up and had pulled up next to him. "I'll meet you back at Raynor's?" "Didn't you say you were going to pick up Armin?" "First, I gotta drop off a few things." Slade said. "See you there." Rolling down the window which was a one-way type of glass. Slade looked into the back and chuckled to himself. He would need a ton of help with unloading this loot. "Umm... hi... so...." Armin had been lost for words. As of now, some unicorn with an accent had walked up to him to speak with him, expressing unfeigned interest in his coat. And then, after some sweet talk, she had made a point of dragging him all the way back to her shop and place of residence. And here he was, sitting on a plush couch and sipping some tea, doing his best to look his best. "Now I say... that coat of yours... it's absolutely marvelous! Where did you get it? And where can I get one?!" "They just handed these out..." Armin said looking at his uniform of the Scout regiment. "I got it for free..." "For free?! Where?!" "On my world... which I don't think is this world..." Armin muttered awkwardly. It would have been strange enough to be living amongst talking and rainbow colored horses but this? This was a bit too much. "My then! In your world... they surely know what to wear!" Rarity continued as she forayed into her babbling about how "dashing" Armin's coat made him look and how much she wanted one. "You know... I actually really don't think I'll be needing the cloak." Armin said looking at the green cape that would be useful in the rain. He wondered for a moment how badly Raynor actually needed his minerals, and perhaps how much he didn't need this green thing he had which he had long forgot the purpose of. Maybe except for "looking dashing" as this horse was describing. "Well... I'd be very happy to buy it!" Rarity offered. "Well then... I think... sure..." Armin said as he inwardly slapped himself across the face. "Hey kid. Wake up." Raynor said. "Slade and Rogers are back." "Okay." Sanya said rubbing her eyes for a bit. That was a quite refreshing rest. Getting up, she followed Raynor to outside. "Where's Medic?" "No idea. Told me he had the place cleaned up but he said he was missing something so he went off. I dunno where he went off to." The two were met by a black van and a sleek black motorcycle. Slade and Steve were there waiting for them. "Back so soon?" Jim asked pleasantly. "How did it go?" "Just fine." Steve said as he left out the part of how he felt about Wilson. "Great. I got a lot of things in the van that actually need unloading." Slade said as he grabbed two large bags and a metallic box. "Mind lending a hand?" "Sure. Go put it in the bar." Raynor said as he went and grabbed a few of the metal boxes. "What's in this? It's heavy." "You'll see." Slade said as he handed Sanya some of the duffel bags. Walking into the ship, he dropped them off on the wreck of a bar that the ship had and went for more. About fifteen minutes later, they were done as plenty of metal boxes and duffel bags lined the almost-broken tables. "And you want to see what's in here?" Slade asked as he grabbed a bag. Unzipping the thing, a literal wave of Benjamins spilled out. Unzipping every other bag would reveal similar contents as a massive green table cloth was poured over every possible table and even spilling over to create a rug for the ground. A count later would reveal the estimated sum of the money to be over 50,000,000 dollars. "Is this money?" Sanya asked as she took a look. "It is." Slade said. "I think it's about over 45,000,000. That's what I was told the estimate was anyways." "And you got all this money... how?" Rogers asked despite already having a good idea of where the money came from. "Bonus for my last job. The guy wouldn't be needing his money anymore so I took it." Slade chuckled to himself as he went over to one of the boxes and put in the combination. He would do this a few dozen times as the contents were laid over the tables. It was enough ordinance to start a war. Assualt rifles, sniper rifles, pistols, grenades, a grenade launcher, you name it. He had it all. "We can't exactly be killing any dragons without the proper tools to do so right?" Slade said as he held up an Assualt rifle. "You mentioned an Engineering bay or sorts on this ship?" "Yes. I can produce all the ammunition you may need." "Great." Slade grinned as he saw Sanya dig into the pile. "The bullets come out of the slim end kid." "I know... I know..." Sanya muttered as she took a look at all the ordinance spilled upon the table. "If you ever need to know how to use them the right way, just talk to me. Other than that, I think I actually have a guy to find." Slade said as he got his car keys. "If you need a gun, go take one." "Yeah... sure..." Rogers mumbled as he saw Raynor taking a look at the virtual armory Slade had amassed. "Slade... wait..." Sanya spoke up as he began to leave. "What is it kid?" "May I come with you?" "It's going to be pretty boring actually." Slade said. "Why?" "I want to see.... well..." "Right. I forgot it's probably your coloring book we happened to have gotten ourselves in. Follow me then." Slade said as Sanya went after him leaving Raynor and Medic along with a pile of weapons enough to start a third world war. "Man... what a jackass." Steve mumbled to himself. "You hate him already?" Raynor asked. "Of course! The guy's a total dirt bag!" Cap said as he took a look at the money. "How do you like that guy anyways?!" "I work with guys like him ALL THE TIME. Want to know the scary thing? We consider them the pleasant guys." Raynor chuckled to himself. Tosh. Selendis. Findlay. "Him? Pleasant?" Rogers asked as he tried to find any possible way that Slade and the word pleasant could even be used in the same sentence. "You know, I know a guy like him. His name is Stark." "Tell me about him." "He's a bit on the disagreeable side, a huge showboat, probably cares about himself the most at the end of the day. But this guy at least gives a damn about other people!" "What's your point?" "Slade? He's just a scumbag. It's people like him that make the world a worse place." "You know... maybe that's how you think of it, but maybe considering what the guys been through..." "Just because his wife shot him, and his son died doesn't exactly give him the right to be a total... well you know." "I know, I know... but like I said, maybe you should meet some of my friends and you'll probably love Slade." "Yeah... yeah... that'd be the day." Rogers said. "You got a drink by the way?" "Eh... I think this is ze place." Medic said to himself as he looked at the cottage and looked around once again. Strange. He was told that the place should have been alive and a buzz with all sorts of animals. Right now, there was nothing but some odd silence that was just... well... odd. He hesitated a moment before knocking. "Hello?" A tiny voice asked. "Hi... eh... I vood like to come in." Medic replied. "I heard you have some... well.. animals. Ja?" "Oh right." Fluttershy said as she opened the door. Imagine her surprise when she saw something that stood on two legs, wearing a white... whatever it was and only having hair on the top of it's head. In sort, a creature that she never had seen before. Ever. "Now zen..." Medic said with some surprising coolness as he stepped into the cottage. "Do you have any doves by chance? Or any other animals?" "Well... oh... You must be looking for a pet!" "Vell.... sorta of... I suppose." Medic said. If it was dove, it's probably going to be a pet. If it was anything else, he was probably going to end up dissecting it. "Now you said you wanted doves?" Fluttershy asked as she looked into the birdhouses. "Ja." "Well... I just got all the doves you might want!" Fluttershy said as she opened one of the houses. In that instant, a literal hurricane of white feathers was unleashed upon the German as dozens of doves enveloped him in their wings. "Zat... zis... JUST VAT I NEED." Medic said as he laughed to himself. "Oh... ja... may I have any other sort of animals zat are... about this big?" He made an approximate shape with hands, about the size of a pig. "Oh sure! There are tons to choose from... hey... eh... where are they?" You know. They say the animals in Equestria could have a hunch to what may happen to them in the near future....
Chapter 14The van pulled up to the golden oaks library and in a fashion that could be described as someone not too much in a hurry, Slade casually stepped out and went to the door, making a few grunts of annoyance to himself as he found himself somewhat tall for the door. Crouching down a bit, he would be able to enter with minor issues. "So... what are you two up..." "SHHHHHHHHHHH!" Twilight hushed as Sanya continued to use her magic. She was listening to something... but to what? "Buld vuldiik los kosil un imaar ont einzuk. Ruz. .. lein fen mah wah un uld." "Nuz zok pahsuleyk gein, fos do verin do dremhah? Dreh nust ni pose rut wah un drun?" "Nust los nid lingrahiik do komeyt." "Lost hin pahsuleyk al lot troz ko un drun?" "Nid, dii zeymah. Orin pruz. Zu'u lost gahrot sogaal. Nust los neben un imaar nu." "It's definitely a dragon." Sanya said to Armin and Slade as she stopped listening. "How do you know?" Armin asked. "When we fought the dragon that had broken into the castle, remember how it managed to well... breath fire and break..." "Yes kid. Lemee guess. This is him again?" "No it's not. When I first heard the dragon again, he was speaking with another..." Sanya continued. "Now... it's that other dragon speaking... I think it's name is Feynaltdrog." "The one we've been assigned to kill." Slade said as he sat down. "Well... what do you make of him?" "I am afraid I can only listen. That's it. I don't understand what language they are speaking in, but it's definitely one I've never heard before." "Well... that's not going to do us any good unless anyone here knows dragon... I am certain none of you might have a clue on how to..." The loud door slam that cut him off in mid-sentence irritated him a bit. And for some reason, the voice that called also just sounded flat out... annoying. But when he turned around to meet the speaker, Slade's frown slowly curled into a ghost of a smile. "Twilight! I am home! I got the groceries!" It was a baby dragon. "Und thanks again!" Medic said as all the dozens of doves seemed to crowd him to no end. "No problem! They all like you I see. I am sorry that there were no other animals though!" "Ah... vell zat won't be any problem... but good bye!" "Good bye!" Fluttershy said. "Isn't he such a nice... thing, Angel?" The bunny replied by hiding within Fluttershy's mane until Medic was out of sight. Something about this guy... "Alright. Vell... let's see... I'll name you Archimedes number 2... and you Archimedes number three.... and... zere are just so many Archimedes amongst you! By god! I am in heaven! Archimedes! Don't you understand?! Zis is ze happiest day of all our lives!" Coo. "Ja. I am excited too... now zen... you can all live in ze infirmary and... vat ze heck? Is ze ground moving?" Sure enough. It felt as though there was a small earthquake going on as rocks and pebbles began to shake and rattle. "Oh... please... not now..." Medic muttered as he rolled his eyes. "Alright Archimedes... ve are going home now and... vat ze?" He turned around as the air felt strangely warm for some reason. When he turned around, that's when he saw it. He never ran so fast in his life. "Perfect. They stop talking the moment we got this guy." Slade groaned as the conversation stopped. "Okay Sanya, you got anything?" "I am afraid not." Sanya replied as she took a look at Spike. "Are you a dragon?" "Yes ma'am! But... what are you exactly?" It wouldn't be easy to tell even if Spike knew what a human exactly was. Well. Maybe not OBVIOUSLY, but still EASILY. It's just that regular humans don't exactly have cat ears or tails. "She's a human. Homo Sapien Sapien for Light Sparkler here who fancies herself as a librarian." "But I..." "Anyways." Slade said cutting off Twilight much to the alicorn's great anger. "What's with the..." He made a single hand motion that would could be translated from mime to English as cat ears. "It's what happens when I amplify my magic." Sanya explained. "You see... when a witch uses anything to amplify her magic, you can tell because of her familiar. Mine is the black cat as..." She stopped talking for a moment as she heard something. Only this time, she didn't exactly need her magic. It'd only have been surprising by any standards if someone DIDN'T hear the noise. "What was that?" Spike asked as he dropped his bags in panic. "Is it... a monster?" "No you idiot. Can't you tell the noises your own kind makes?" Slade asked impatiently as he took out his sword. "It's a dragon." "Dragon?" Spike asked. "But dragons don't normally come around..." "They do now." Slade said as he went outside, followed by Armin and Sanya. "HELP!" Medic screamed as the massive dragon chased after him, firing a gust of flame out of it's mouth which licked at the German's coat. Turning around, he saw the thing slowly get closer as he felt his feet getting more tired. Suddenly. He felt hotter than usual. A quick glance behind him and he would see that a section of his coat was on fire which all of a sudden, made him feel like he wasn't tired anymore. "FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!" The doctor screamed in panic as he ran to ponyville. A well, water... just anything! "Stop running!" Captain America said as he popped out of nowhere and tripped the medic and began to beat out the flames. "God damn it doc, don't you know that running only fans the flames!" "I am running from ze dragon you idiot!" Medic retorted as the dragon landed almost on top of them. It's massive mouth opened to say the words. Though Cap had raised his shield and saved both himself and medic from becoming human barbeque, he felt as though that his hand was going to start smelling really good if this continued. Thankfully for him, it didn't as a burst of gun fire diverted the attention of the dragon to Slade. "Think you can use this kid?" Slade asked Sanya as he tossed her the assault rifle. "Where the hell is Armin?!" "I think he's hiding behind... I don't know actually..." Sanya said over the din. Somehow, it was still audible despite her almost silent speech. "Forget that then. That shield of yours! You might want to keep that up." "Why?!" "Cause I want you to get the things attention... don't worry. It'll be dead before anything bad happens. Okay? I promise." "I am still un..." "Just get it's damn attention." Slade said as he fired his grappling claw and landed upon a building. He watched the dragon and crouched, sword at the ready. Waiting for a moment, he saw Steve being thrown against the tree library and sliding down in an almost cartoonlike fashion. Waiting a few more moments would allow him the dragon's back as it turned it's attention to Sanya who continuously fired the assault rifle at the lizard's face. "Sanya!" Twilight cried out as she saw the flames engulf the girl, moving over quickly, she casted her own defensive spell which formed a bubble around Sanya, covering her from the flames that otherwise would have most likely killed or seriously injured her. Something caught her eye. The remote claw served it's purpose as it connected a tightrope between the tree library and another nearby building of considerable height over the dragon. Hanging right above, Slade jumped down, a low-yield explosive in one hand, and his blade in the other. But Twilight's eye caught the dragon's eye and it looked up just in time to move so Slade wouldn't strike a lethal hit. Instead, the blade pinned it's wing down but a headbutt would send the assassin flying, his grenade rolling away... Right into Captain America's hands. As the dragon once again opened it's mouth to unleash an inferno upon the hapless town of ponyville, Steve darted forward with superhuman speeds and punched the dragon in the mouth, causing it to stagger and hesitate. Recovering, the beast opened it's mouth, intent on chewing Captain America in two. It almost happened, but in that moment, Cap found that he was invincible, the dragon's teeth couldn't pierce this new metallic blue sheen that covered his body. He was invincible. But only for a few seconds. Without a moment to lose, Cap pulled the ping and flung the grenade straight into the dragon's mouth and hoped it wouldn't breath on him as the uber wore off. To his luck, a big guy in a suit of power armor jumped right on the dragon's mouth and punched it in the eyes. Holding the giant mouth closed. A single tense moment passed as time went to a standstill before the dragon's body exploded in a shower of blood and gore. They had done it. "Is it over...?" Armin asked as he emerged from wherever he was. "No it's not over!" Twilight replied as she took a look at the nearby buildings which happened to be on fire.
Chapter 15"Everyone and every horse alright?" Jim asked as he examined the dragon. With it's stomach area blown to bloody ribbons, there was no doubt the thing was dead. Carefully, he moved away from the massive pool of blood, not wanting to be anywhere near the gore. He was replied with a chorus of "Yes" and nods of heads. Taking a look at the corpse, he bent away and felt the scales. Even with the power armor, it felt hard. Hard as a rock. Another look would find bullets lodged into the flesh, unable to penetrate the deep, armor-like scales. "You okay?" Slade asked Sanya as he took a look over the girl. "I am fine... I think you want this back now." She said as she gave him the assault rifle. "Armin? Are you okay? You look sick." "Armin?" Slade asked to himself. Turning around, he found the boy sitting on a rock and staring at the dragon. "Armin." "Y..yes?" Armin asked nervously as he felt his fear lifting. The dragon was dead. Thank god. You ever seen someone get punched so hard that their socks and shoes came off? That was exactly what happened when Slade swung his fist. The blow sent Armin sprawling a great distance, creating a large trench in the ground as he slid for several feet before resting at a stop against a building. His eyes doing barrel rolls in their sockets as his whole body went numb. A good thing when Slade began to kick him in the stomach. "Worthless... coward.... Where the hell were you when a dragon was attacking?!" Slade shouted over the splats of him kicking in Armin's ribs. A single blow for every syllable delivered. Armin gave no reply. Only cries of agony from the severe beating he received at the hands of Deathstroke. The only thing that stopped was the heavy hand that found itself on Slade's shoulder. "Stop." Steve said firmly, his eyes as dangerous as the word. "Or what?" Slade asked. He was given no answer, but he stopped nevertheless. Whether or not he wanted to was easily answered. "Doctor... I think he's..." "He's fine. It's just a few bruises that vill go away." Medic said. "Now let's see here... I fink here is my saw." "What's he.... oh... oh my..." Sanya said as she looked away. Blood and gore flied in all directions as medic began to dissect the beast, removing bits and pieces of flesh, scales, organs, bones etc and placing them in jars which he seemed to have gotten straight out of nowhere. "It's for mein research." Medic said almost a bit too cheerfully as he filled a few containers with blood, much to the disgust of everyone. "Now ven... if you excuse me... we'll..." "By Celestia!" A pony cried. "What happened here?!" A crowd had gathered. Great. Just great. "Well. A dragon came and attacked this town. And we killed it." Slade replied as he wiped blood off his sword. "Are you all going to stand there gawking or are you going to help move this corpse? It weighs about 12 tons you know." Gawking. Just gawking. And one comment. Well not really a comment but more like a deranged hiss. "Handsssss......" "A dragon attacked ponyville?" Princess Celestia asked as she stood with Luna whilst the guard delivered his message. "It is your highnesses. A dragon had attacked ponyville. No pony was injured within the attack, but there has been a lot of property damage." "The important thing was that no pony got hurt." Celestia said. But what about "nobody?" "Well... you see... it was the um... the humans... they stopped the dragon." The guard said, almost as though he had read what had happened in the tabloids and not first-hand witnessed it. "I see... and I presume this beast has been... well..." "Murdered. Yes." The guard said. "And that concludes my report." "Very well." Luna said as she stepped into deep thought. "Dismissed. The guard gave a bow and left the throne room. "What is it Luna?" Celestia asked her sister who seemed to be... troubled. "Are you really sure these humans are up to it?" She asked. "You have doubts of their methods?" "Not their methods sister. For we know Feynaltdrog is far worse. But I have doubts that they can... well... truly overcome the dragon king." "Where do your doubts stem from? The humans slew the dragon with little difficulty from what the reports say." "That may be true. But this is a single dragon and the second battle. They won the battle, but can they win the war?" Luna asked as her horn glowed and her eyes flashed bright white. "Speak your mind." "I looked, and currently am still looking in their minds. These humans... well..." "I can tell you right now. That boy is worthless." Slade spat out as he walked ahead of everyone else with Cap. "Can you blame him? It was a goddamn dragon we were facing. What we supposed to do huh? Rush in there and die? It's not like he has fire-proof armor or some techno-shield thing." "No. He could have at least struck when there was an opening. Do you know what he did the whole time? He hid behind a rock! What the hell?! A rock! Do you see what Medic was doing? Busy saving your ass. Do you know what Jim was doing? Throwing himself on top of a goddamn explosive so the thing wouldn't spit it right out back at us! Do you know what Sanya was doing? Covering for my act. Do you know what you and I were doing? Something useful! Do you know what he was doing?! NOTHING. nothing." Slade said as rage swam with his blood vessels. "And how can you blame him? How is he supposed to fight a dragon? Do you think he has the strength of ten men? Does he look like someone who would survive a hit you can just shrug off like someone was throwing ping pong balls at you? Do you think he's wearing some kind of fire proof armor or has some kind of shield to save him from getting cooked alive?!" "Last I checked. Sanya's shield wouldn't have saved her, but she still was willing to do what needed to be done." "Let me guess. You told her to get it's attention." "I did." "And that's my problem right here." Cap said throwing up his hands. "You blame Armin for not doing anything but at the same time, you're willing to send people senselessly to their deaths if it so much as suited your needs? Right?" "No. Because she was fine. Armin would have been too. And it's not like I asked him to do anything, it's that, that coward did nothing but hide the entire time." "And what do you do? You ask a young girl to go take the heat for you while you go off wanting to be the hero?" "Hero? I am not a hero. Neither are you especially when we are all doing it so we can get out this goddamn Saturday morning cartoon." Slade retorted. "I am only a loner that's out for himself. As of this moment, you are out for yourself. You're deluded Captain. You think these people really care about this place? They just want to go home. They have more important things to do then saving some world from a bedtime story." "You really are out for yourself in this world aren't you? No. It was like that from the start wasn't it? You even told us all. You destroyed your own family. Your oldest son is dead because of you. Your two other children are permanently scarred because of you, and your wife left you because you wouldn't be man enough to do what it took to protect your own children. You consider yourself a soldier, Slade? You consider yourself a man? A real man would have took the heat by himself, he would have made the sacrifice. You? You're just a monster that feeds off of the sufferings of others. You kill for a living and you don't care who gets in your way or who it might be. They may not be the best of people, but you kill fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters and friends for nothing more so you can get a paycheck. What are you?" "What am I? I am a project from a medical experiment they told me that make me immune to truth serum. They didn't tell me the other parts of course. Right now, I am a mercenary who's just picked up a contract to go kill a dragon. What are you captain? A hero? No. Of course not. You're just a glorified tool that the government uses to bludgeon it's opponents into submission. I could never stand being used like that. But you? You can. You are blind Captain. Blinded by your morals and codes of "honor"." "Just like you are blinded. Blinded by yourself." Steve retorted. "You think Armin is a coward? When have you ever had to face your fears? You look down on him like he's worthless, like he's a ball and chain." "Because he is. He's a weak boy that needs to grow up and be a man." "Do you know what it's like to be weak, Slade? I was once like him. I had almost every medical condition that made it impossible for me to fight in a war. The experiment changed me into something like you. But I bet you were always the neighborhood bully who beat up the poor kid in the alleyway for his lunch money weren't you? And when they made you into something else, you continued being that bully you still are. You are not a man Slade. You are only a monster." "They've been at it for a long time." Raynor commented as the sounds of arguing and raised voices reached them. "What do you think they're talking about?" "I don't really fink I vant to know." Medic replied. "Herr Arlert, are you okay now?" "Yes... thank you, doctor." Armin replied. The beating he had received from Slade... he felt like he had broken all his ribs in just a few blows. As a matter of fact, the first time he was hit by him, he had lost nearly all his upper teeth. "Just whatever they're arguing about... maybe we should do something..." Sanya said as she walked up. Raynor only shrugged for a moment before following her.
Canterlot libraryThe late train happened to have been a freight train, which meant that the only available places to stay were on the boxcars. As usual, Sanya made no objection towards the engineer or the conductor when informed of this, only telling them that she just needed to go to Cnaterlot. Rather reluctantly, the two ponies allowed her on, not because of the fact that she was well... a strange creature by Equestrian standards but rather, for reasons like it'd be better for her to get some rest and wait till morning where they'll actually have passenger trains running. And here Sanya was, sitting within the boxcar, the cold air reminding her of home in Orussia, a small town near Stalingrado with it's cold winters which were legendary within all of Europe. She was alone. Something she found herself on almost every cold night back at home. Home. How she missed it. That isn't to say she didn't like Equestria. Only being here for about 2 days, she could easily say to herself that she loved the place. Maybe it had something to do with the fact it was full of colorful horses, maybe because the weather was so nice, or maybe because it was just so peaceful, so joy-filled here. Or just all of the above. There was life everywhere, even in seemingly inanimate objects. On this cold night. She was alone. That hardly bothered her as memories of her home with her parents began to flood her mind. She sung a small tune to herself, dedicated to her by her father. "Sweet song kid." Slade said as he dropped down from out of nowhere to the boxcar right besides Sanya. "Nice view up here." "How...?" "You got your magic. I got mine." Slade replied as he scanned the surrounding area. "ETA 8 minutes. So kid... what was that song anyways?" "What? Oh. It was a song my father wrote for me. He is a musician you see..." "He must be a great man. And a great song writer for that matter." Slade said partially to himself. "Thank you. I miss my parents, and I hope one day, after the war is over, I can find them once again... Slade... do you ever miss your family?" Did he now? His wife who was currently insane and had shot him in the eye. Grant, who though had idolized his father, but in the end destroyed himself. His other son Jericho, hadn't spoken to him for ages over rather obvious reasons, fought on the opposite side. The better side, as some would say. And of course, Rose, which... He stopped thinking about that part. He didn't want to anymore after all these years. It was just another ball and chain that would drag him down like this thing that people called a conscience. It only got in the way. "Slade?" "Yeah? Oh right. Well... I miss my family. Sometimes... we're here." "Well. Looks like this joint is open 24/7." Slade commented as he saw that the library lights were on. "Now that's finally something that's going our way." They'd never actually been in the Canterlot library before. So the two didn't exactly know what to expect. To describe the experience a bit, the library itself can be described as the Library of Congress in the US, only with somewhat more of a "cartoonish" and bright feel to the whole place. The only thing missing was the abundance of people which could be expected because A, there aren't any PEOPLE in Equestria and B it's like 1:00 AM. "How do you know?" Sanya asked as she peeked around. "I read the sign outside. Open 24 hours a day." Slade said as he approached the counter. With no one there, much to his annoyance. He rung the bell once. And.... no one. Even after about four times. Sanya shrugged to herself as she listen to Slade muttering something about "worst library service ever". Taking a look around, it would take time to find the "ancient history" and "foreign language" sections or anything along the lines of getting a decent grip of what Ancient Dragon was. "So... where do you think the horses keep their things about ancient dragon languages?" Slade asked to himself as he took a look around. "And where is a librarian or even just anyone who works here when you need them?" It just so happened to be convenient that right as he turned the corner, he almost walked straight into a pony that was dressed as what could be described as how you'd expect a librarian to be dressed. Well... I guess the ID card was really what gave one the assumption. "Oh finally. I rang that bell like eight times and no one showed up. So anyways, can you show me the section to where I can get a grip on what ancient dragon is?" "I am sorry..." The pony said. "Exactly who or what are you?" "I am the "monster" that everyone or every horse in this case has been talking about in town. The one which broke into the castle and showed to the world that your "royal guard" has no business defending anything. Now then, get me..." "Slade... please." Sanya began. "We're looking for a book on ancient dragon... language? I think... but anyways, if you can find us anything on it, we'd be very grateful." "Oh right... you're a human right?" The librarian asked as she stood up. "Oh right... yeah... right this way..." They walked through the almost maze like foundation, taking a few looks around at the fine work of art. "And then... this is the..." Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah. Something caught Slade's eye. Was it the janitor's closet? He didn't know. But it looked like some kind of door which had a small room. Either a bathroom or a closet. But that wasn't what was interesting to him. It was the small, almost negligible pool of black liquid. Taking the moment, he went over and knelt besides it, scrutinizing what it was. Definitely a type of bodily fluid. Did the janitor forget to do his job or what? Just for the heck of it, he activated his tactical vision. That's when he saw the unconscious equines within the closet. Turning around, he picked up several more living things around him. Unconscious and active. A closer scrutiny revealed that there may be more than one type of... creature that was within this building. They happened to have taken up the majority of the active bodies within the library. He looked back to Sanya who was speaking with the librarian. Something was wrong. Walking over, he hoped that Orussia's language was still the same as Russian. "Саня, нечто неправильно здесь." An eyebrow went up from the young girl as she stopped speaking with the librarian. "Что не так? И мы можем использовать английский." Thank god. "Нет времени, чтобы объяснить. Существует что-то очень не так. Я знаю это, и вы должны доверять мне. Будьте готовы ко всему." The librarian could only squint at them as she or in this case, it wondered what they were saying and then continued with them. "C'mon, it's just down this way. Through the door." Definitely an ambush. Slade made sure to keep his distance from the librarian as his hands began to stray towards his pistol and swords.
Deathstroke Deathstroke The big doors were open, as were Slade's eye as amazement crept it's way into him. The library looked even bigger now that they were on the inside. But this would be no time to be admiring any forms of architectural achievement as he scanned the area with his tactical vision. At least 24 active equine-like lifeforms, but something about them was... not quite the same as the ponies he had met. "And it's done right there." The librarian said, smiling sweetly. The smile resembled more of how an alligator might grin when finding a sitting duck. Turning around, she disappeared behind the doors. Click. "That was lock." Slade hissed into Sanya's ear. "So... what happens then?" "They might try to gas us..." Slade said as he looked around for any potential signs. "If that happens..." "We're dead?" "Just you." Slade replied as he scanned for... Footsteps. "There's something here." Sanya said. " Slade said nothing as he continued to look around as all of a sudden, he began to behave with an eerie air of casualness which boded poorly with Sanya. Perhaps it was just how he literally plopped up a chair and sat down in it and began to act like nothing was about to happen. "Slade?" "Yeah what kid?" "Shouldn't we be..." "Yes... I was getting to that part." Slade replied as he pointed his gun upwards and pulled the trigger. The sound of metal hitting wet meat filled the room as a black body dropped down. "You're pretty awful at this." Slade commented as he picked up the injured changeling by the neck. His bullet had actually severed off one of it's limbs, not surprisingly due to the small size of the creature. Taking the moment, he scrutinized the creature he held in his hand. Looked like a horse, save for the somewhat insectoid features and buggy like blue eyes. It's appearance could be somewhat described as what you'd expect out of a little kid's nightmare. Joke for another time. "There's...more...of...us..." The changeling gasped as a thick, black liquid spilled out of it's mouth and injury. It gave a small gesture of fear as Slade tightened it's grip upon it's neck. The loud snap echoed throughout the massive room. The sounds of several insect like cries and buzzing filled the room after the snap as dozens of changelings appeared out of the shadows, ready to strike at any time. "What do we do?" Sanya asked as she looked at Slade who had put away his gun. "Be sporting." He replied as he charged headlong into the largest group of changelings much to Sanya's dismay. Said dismay vanished almost instantly when the resulting "fight" if you could even call it that, turned out a bit like this. There would be no time to really spectate exactly how much of a beatdown the world's greatest assassin could lay down on anyone however, as a changeling jumped straight on her, it's fangs bared, like a dog ready to maul a smaller animal. Of course, by default, the average human was stronger than your average changeling. But couple that with the enhanced strength of the witch, Sanya hardly put any effort in the small, almost gentle push she gave, which sent the changeling flying several feet, crashing into more of it's comrades. Raising her fist, she sent a blow straight into another changeling, knocking out two of it's fangs, and it's living daylights. Getting up, she readied herself for more, only to find that Slade was in process of turning every remaining changeling inside out, some figuratively, and for the not-so-fortunate, very literally. "Thanks for helping." Slade muttered audibly as he stomped his foot upon a fallen changeling's neck, killing it instantly. "These things are pretty fragile.... Sanya... behind you." There really was no need as the large monster made quite the racket. It was just like the other changelings, only except it was about the size of a truck, had massive flailing tentacles and was drooling I-don't-even-want-to-know-or-describe what all over the floor. The massive creature gave a loud roar that woke the entire city before it rushed at Sanya, it's massive tentacles that protruded from it's back threatening to crush her. Sanya hardly had time to raise her shield, but it was just enough to stop getting crushed beneath the tendrils that slapped down, which would have easily done more than just leave a permanent mark. Enhanced strength was one thing. Enhanced durability was another. While the shield would probably stop Sanya's brains from going anywhere they didn't belong, a long tentacle snaked out and wrapped her by the legs, knocking her off balance, pulling her towards the changeling as it readied it's teeth. Acting quickly, Sanya quickly reached out and got herself a stool and smashed it against her foe's face, stunning it temporarily. There was an angry hum. No one even saw it, except for maybe Slade as his sword buried itself within the changeling's throat. Surprisingly, it continued to function for the time being. For the time being. Moving forward at blurring speeds, Slade readied his other sword, intent on decapitating the monster. A long tentacle lashed out, hitting him across the face. The same blow could have easily incapacitated most fit humans in their prime, all Slade felt was a moment's worth of daze and a whole lot of irritation. Irritation over the fact he had sloppily dropped his sword as though he was an amateur assassin. But perhaps there would be a way to turn this around, the blade was still in the changeling's neck area. Running forward, he punched the changeling in the face, causing it to stagger and walk backwards. Readying his feet, he stomped the hilt of the blade, hoping that his plan would work. It couldn't of actually been better as he drove the blade deeper into the changeling's throat. It was now when the monster began to make choking noises as it began to drown within it's own blood. Retrieving his fallen blade, Slade swung it straight at the changeling's neck, decapitating the creature and retrieving his other sword in the process. This entire process took about 9 seconds to execute. "Quit gawking kid." Slade replied. "If you want to make yourself useful, there's actually a bunch of unconscious horses locked in a few of these closets. Let them out, and then let's get our guide." Sanya nodded as she quickly cleared the area, leaving Slade to rub the small sting he had in his face.
Stars and stripes vs Rainbows Stars and stripes vs Rainbows "And... you want to know why I am pissed me off?" Slade asked rhetorically as he took another drink. "They didn't have the book." "Well... I was wondering why you were angry as a hornet's nest." Raynor replied as he poured another one for Slade. He had been in a rather... angry mood to put it lightly for the entire morning, only calming down slightly when he had a cup of coffee and a drink after that. "By the way... where's Sanya?" "Still sleeping. By still sleeping, I mean "just went to bed an hour ago". She's nocturnal." "Well, regardless, we're all going to lose quite some sleep over this job." Raynor replied as he took a cup of coffee. "By the way, where's Captain Star Spangles?" "He left with Armin before you woke up. Must have been tiring for you though." "It's not. I never really get too much sleep anymore, not that it would matter to me as long as I get a good cup of coffee in the morning." "Well... regardless, the Captain's off doing something with Armin. He mentioned something about how they had some work to do in town." "Well then, that's very nice of him." Slade said as he chuckled to himself. "What is it?" "Nothing. Nothing." On most early mornings in ponyville, if Rainbow Dash wasn't up in the skies on weather duty, then she would be down on the ground within the ponyville track which was her common turf for practicing. With her wings, she was legendary. With her feet, she was unmatched save for the fleetest of all ponies on their hooves. Today, would be no different. She practiced a few laps, kicked up a ton of dust on the track, and received much awe from her any onlookers at one of the fastest pegasi in Equestria. However, while today wasn't planned to be different, it inevitably turned out unexpectedly as when she had arrived on the track. There were two strange new, residents in town. One of them wore a tanish coat with two wings upon it's back, while the other wore a blue uniform, engraved with a white star upon the chest piece. Rarity probably endorsed both articles of clothing. The one with the tanish coat happened to have been on the track, sweating and blowing as though he'd been running for days without end, while the one in the blue uniform stood by the sidelines and sipped a cup of coffee. Occasionally, he would yell out a few words, either encouragement or criticism depending on the occasion. Frankly, it should be all criticism. This guy? He moved slower than a tortoise.. sorry Tank. Naturally, now would be the time to showboat. Armin stopped to rest for a moment as his legs began to feel they were encased in a type of hot ice. For the entire morning, he had done nothing but run and now, after nearly an hour of non-stop running, he was at his brink. He felt like he would get a heart attack at this rate. Looking back, he saw the stern look from Steve that told him to keep going on. He could only nod weakly in reply as he began to move again, only this time to be outrun by a bright colorful blur that would be the pony called Rainbow Dash. "See ya!" Rainbow called out mischievously as she left Armin in a cloud of dust. Said scenario would repeat for about two times as Armin found himself too tired to actually attempt to catch up, all the while this newcomer kept lapping him, much to his heavy embarrassment. "Keep going..." Steve said as he walked to Armin on the track. "Did I say you should stop? Ke..." "What's the difference?!" Rainbow called out impudently as she chuckled to herself, lapping Armin once again much to the boy's humiliation. "You keep moving kid." Steve said. "C'mon, you can do it." "No... I can't..." Armin said as he almost collapsed from exhaustion. "What Slade said wasn't entirely..." "What Slade says is bullshit." Cap replied curtly. "He's just out there to get under your skin and make you feel bad. And what for? Just getting a laugh." "Well... it's not a joke. Not this time. I can't do any..." "I don't want to hear it kid... listen... we will make something out of..." "You should probably start by teaching him how to run!" Rainbow Dash called out again as she began to ran by. "I can't even tell if he's moving!" "And what do you know about running?" Rogers asked. "Running? What don't I know about running?!" Rainbow Dash retorted, noting the large crowd that was gathering around them. "Oh...?" Steve asked as he noticed the same crowd. "How about a race?" He got the reaction he wanted as he began to hear the hushed whispers and murmurings amongst the crowd. Looks like this cyan pony was a bit of a hotshot here in ponyville. (That's still the worst name for a town ever.) "You are on!" Rainbow Dash said. "Good. Just on the ground." "Oh I know! It wouldn't be fair if I used my wings." Dash replied. "On your marks... get set... go!" The wind was pleasant when it began. A gentle breeze that blew hard enough to be felt, but just gentle enough to be refreshing. To Rainbow Dash however, none of this mattered as she gave her best. The race would be 36 laps alongside the track, roughly equating to 9 miles. This would be easy. And to her, it seemed so. At the 8 minute mark. Dash was ahead by a hefty amount. 17 to 12. She would humiliate this guy and show him how a you actually got to run. As time dragged on however, perhaps it wouldn't be so easy. At the 15 minute mark, the margin had begun to close. 25 to 23. Towards the end of the race. Rainbow Dash's tongue hung out from her mouth like a flag on it's pole as weariness began to overtake her. Rogers however, kept going strong, almost as though he wasn't tired. It would later occur to every pony that he wasn't in the slightest. And there it was, at the 21 minute mark, the outcome of the race was easily decided by 35 to 29. In just 6 minutes, it Rogers had ran about 2 miles without as much as broken sweat. In a heartbeat, 35 became 36. He had won. The crowd was shocked, as was Armin and Rainbow Dash. "I... I lost..." Rainbow Dash commented as she breathed deeply, greedily sucking in all the air in Equestria. "Of course you did." Rogers said as he grabbed his canteen of water and took a small sip. "Not a bad race horse. I might bet on you the next time there's race around these parts." "Very funny." Rainbow Dash panted. "How?" "How? Years of training and runner's discipline." Steve said. "Learn something Armin." "But you don't even get tired! How would..." "I know that. That's why I wasn't trying." Jaws dropped at that comment. This newcomer? Beaten the resident runner sorely. And to top it all off? He wasn't trying. This got quite the attention. From the press too. "Okay Armin... maybe we should try to practice somewhere else...." Rogers said as he tried to get away from all the ponies that were crowding him. "Yeah..." Armin replied. "C'mon Steve... Jim said he would need help."
One of Cap's friends might be flattered One of Cap's friends might be flattered "How was it?" Raynor asked Cap as he came back with Armin who looked like he had just spent a few years running nonstop. "It wasn't bad..." Steve said slowly. Hell, in less that 20 minutes, he covered more ground while he wasn't trying than Armin did in the entire morning. They really had a lot to work on. "Well, that's nice to hear." Jim replied. "You see here? So the Cerestia... Celestia? I dunno. Anyways, so one of the rulers here gave me this here dossier on what we're dealing with. A bit more specific anyways... but disclaimer, they're not TOO accurate." The massive book itself looked like it could be used as bludgeoning tool as Jim had to go grab a table and set it down. The large piece of text was too heavy even for a big guy in his prime. The subject of this huge book that probably weighed enough to beat someone to death with? Dragons. "Alright. So reading from this, I can tell you that the average dragon is about 4 meters tall and 8 meters wide. That's a full body length by the way. But I don't think size actually matters in this case when we finish my um... new toy." Jim said as he gestured at a MASSIVE hole that had been dug in the ground. Courtesy of several high yield "controlled" explosions. "But you see, I think Sanya mentioned it earlier, when dragons breathe fire, they aren't actually breathing fire. They're talking fire." "Can you explain that a bit more in detail?" Cap asked. "Now, this ain't consistent with all dragons, but the ancient dragon language was actually made by Feynaltdrog. So the guy's been around for a pretty damn long time. The story is that he was skilled with magic and being a dragon so managed to put those two together creating an entire language in the process. What happens is that to breath fire, dragons have to say words, along with anything that's magic related on their end. God... this sounds like I am reading a fantasy story book." "It probably is considering the fact we're in a Saturday morning cartoon." Slade commented. "But continue." "So the dragon language is pretty damn complex, and we being mere human cannot learn it. Even if we learn the words, there's no way we can learn the magic behind it. Actually, from anyone's understanding, only dragons can actually learn this language to it's full potential. We can understand it, read it, speak in it and all that, but if I said the words "Yol, toor, shul." I wouldn't be burning anyone alive." "Okay. But enough of that, I want to know about the dragons. Weaknesses we can exploit, the things we need to be aware of." Slade said impatiently. "Then straight to the point. Most dragons are huge as we can tell and are pretty big badasses. They're weaknesses involve magic, something we don't have except in Sanya's case and a whole lot of firepower, which we all have." "Really? Is that the best way?" "Yeah... their scales are armored enough to stop bullets. Your bullets at least." "Just the regular kind." Slade replied. "I do have some alternatives." "Alright then. So I suppose we'll need a ton of explosions to kill a dragon?" Rogers asked. "Not a ton? I think two rockets from that rocket launcher Sanya carries around would rip a dragon in two. But there are some larger variants but nothing that's to big for us to handle. Now, the doctor is going to want this so have a look at it." [1 hour later.] "Archimedes 2! Stop turning ze page! I have to read ze book you know!" Medic cried irritated as he tried to make head and toe of the book. "Ooooh... interesting..." "Is everything okay doctor?" Sanya asked as she glanced over his shoulder. "It's fascinating! I have been in ze wrong profession! I need magic! Tons and tons of magic!" "May I ask why?" "Because... as a man of science... I cannot vaste zis opportunity to improve my machines! Ze medi-gun! Vat could it do vith a little... upgrade?" "So...." "Gah... I vill get it myself though. Zere is a tree not far from here und a zebra... or somefing lives zere. I vill pay her a visit to learn more..." No comment. But whatever he was planning, hopefully "learning more" didn't equate to any bloody messes. Speaking of bloody messes. "28 changelings. Dead, every single one of them received fatal blows that have either shattered their skulls and various bones within their bodies." The doctor said giving an autopsy. "And let me guess..." Twilight frowned. "It's the human called "Slade Wilson" that's behind this?" "They don't call him Deathstroke for no reason." Spike said jokingly, receiving a death glare from Twilight. "Spike, it's not funny." "I know, I know. But the guy is so awesome! He beat up 28 changelings with his bare hands!" "Well. Actually 26." The doctor said as the guards continued to clean up the mess. "26 of them were murdered by him, while one of them died from being thrown against a wall. Due to some... residue... of magic, we can infer it was Litvyak who killed it. Another changeling, a larger variant was killed via decapitation. We bagged the body already however." "By Celestia..." "Look on the bright side, he saved 13 ponies working at the library." Spike said. "They guy can't be all that bad!" "No. He didn't." Luna said as she came out of nowhere, causing Spike to jump. "Sanya did, I was watching. Spike... Slade Wilson is called Deathstroke on his world because he is the most expert assassin and murderer there. He is a killer Spike, not a role model, and definitely not a hero." "Then... why did we bring him over?" "As much as we hate to say this, sometimes, we have to get our hooves dirty. At least Wilson is willing to do that." "So... you want minerals? More minerals?" Slade asked as Raynor came back from storage with a peculiar looking machine. "Yeah. I need a ton. And by a ton, I mean like 40 tons." Raynor replied. "Take that statement literally." "Why so much?" "It'll be quite the BIG surprise." Raynor grinned as he got to work. "It's going to take weeks to finish actually, because we lack the true facilities to build what I am planning. Now, I heard there's this thing called the Rainbow Fall's exchange or something... I dunno. We got a ton of spare parts, so can you please try and get me some minerals?" "Yeah sure. I take it you're building a machine of some kind?" "I am. I am probably going to need a fuel source as well but we'll worry about that later. Right now I need the minerals." "I'll see what I can get you... hey kid. You up now?" Slade asked as Sanya emerged to take a look at the massive hole which Raynor was going in. "What's he doing?" Sanya asked curiously as she watched Raynor descend into the hole with his SCV. "He's building something and he wants me to go and buy some parts for him... I guess I'll do it. I got nothing better to do." "What about trying to get a translator?" Sanya asked. "Don't we still need it after we were listening to..." "Yeah... I'll take a train or something tomorrow. The only other place is like a few days worth of walking." Slade replied as he grabbed the spare parts and threw them into the van. "Jim?" Sanya asked over the din of an SCV beginning to make it's construction. "Yeah what kid?" Raynor asked as he stopped for a moment. "I was wondering... can we get a piano?" "A piano? I guess it wouldn't hurt.. sure. Go with Slade." "Alright then." Sanya said as she walked over to Slade to tell her of her want for a keyboard. The man frowned for a moment, but stopped when Sanya gave him this look. "Alright kid. Let's grab a piano." Slade said as his mouth gave a hint of a grin. "Just play me a piece when we get it, okay?" "Okay. I promise." "Very well then." Slade said. "So... piano, and 40 tons of minerals." He looked back for the moment at all the things he had. A single duffel bag containing about 400,000 dollars, a few hundred pounds of spare parts, and a silver haired girl giving him a pair of puppy eyes that really bothered him more than it should have. Author's Note There is absolutely no foreshadowing in the chapter's name.
Rainbow Falls Rainbow Falls "You want to make yourself better? Give me your 110% Armin." Rogers said calmly yet firmly as he watched Armin wear himself out from doing pull-ups. "Four." "Sorry..." Armin mumbled. "I just can't do it..." "You can do it. I survived getting needles stuck in my that were the size of bayonets. You sure as hell can do twenty pull-ups." "But you don't even feel it! They go in you and you'd probably pull them out!" "This was when I had asthma by the way and weighed about 100 pounds." Rogers replied. "Now are you going to do the pull-ups or we are going to get old waiting?" Armin sighed to himself as he got on the bar again. After lunch, the captain had done nothing that drive him like an animal. The training he had done at his final days within the boot camp were slowly coming back to him as he recalled the running and all the form of physical tests he and all the other trainees were put through. The only difference here was that Rogers had yet to put him through any form of combat training. This bothered him enough to where he would ask. "Combat training? First I teach you how to hold a rifle the right way, then we'll see how well you hit the target. Judging by the nature of our enemies, chances are you won't need to aim. I just need to know that when the recoil strikes you, you're prepared for it." "Captain... when we finish... will I truly be stronger?" "If some skinny girl that's thirteen can hold up a rocket launcher and fire it without as much as feeling the recoil, you sure as hell can too." There would be some truth in this statement. Armin was slightly more well-built that Sanya, though only marginally. Whether or not this made a difference, Cap already knew. Whether or not Armin knew it would make a difference, he did not know. It was going to stay that way for a long time as the two would continue their training sessions. "By the way... Captain... when you outran that pony... what were you trying to prove?" "I was trying to prove you shouldn't be discouraged." "How so? All you did show to the world was how much better you were than everyone else... and how much better you were than me." "No... I was once like you. Every aspect. I had asthma, weighed 100 pounds and couldn't fight to save my life. The only thing I had was this thing..." Cap said as sat down. "It's called heart. Heart can drive you to great distances. Great distances. It drove me to lift 1 ton when I had been shot. It drove me to survive a plane crash that would have killed a man three times over and survive encased in ice for over 70 years. That is heart Armin. And I only ask you to do the same for yourself. Because heart is something I cannot give to you or anyone. When I beat that horse? I didn't try because there was no need to. I am here to show you that you can accomplish what I have, not to show to the world how much better I am. Even without any form of super-soldier serum or experiments, Armin, I can promise you that you will go far. Very far." "And we're here..." Slade mumbled as he took a look around. Prudently, he had decided to wear his regular clothes, and by regular clothes, I mean a few layers of Kevlar without the metal bits in the armor. This may have made a difference in how much intimidation he demanded silently, only if he hadn't decided to come with a pistol in it's holster and a sword over his shoulder. Sanya, not surprisingly, decided NOT to bring a rocket launcher that weighed about 70 pounds even without the rockets. Just the gloves, which did stand her out from Slade when we considered most humans didn't exactly have cat ears growing out of their heads or cat tails coming out of their waists. "Well... this reminds me of... turkey." "You've been to turkey?" Sanya asked. "How is it? Is it really warm as they say it..." "Yes. And yes. Quite warm. Rather crowded in the bazaars however... reminds me sorta like this... except you bazaar didn't have rainbow colored falls...." Or talking horses. Or mythical creatures for sale as pets. Or gems the size of someone's head. The list went on. "Hey look! It's you!" A REALLY loud scream came from the mouth of a jumpy, pink pony with a mane that resembled somewhat like a balloon that a clown had it's hands on. As in the good type of clowns, not the one who went took a dip in acid. It took all the self-control and restraint Slade had ever mustered in under the span of two seconds not to murder this new creature by either breaking her or her neck in half when she practically jumped on top of him. Naturally, he wanted to berate her so hard till his mouth grew tired, but something told him it wouldn't work this time. Instead, he didn't speak. Just gave her the cold silence that he commonly gave to anyone who was overly friendly with him. "OH MY GOD.... YOU REALLY DO HAVE HANDS.... AND FEET! OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH OHMYGOSH!" "Thank you?" Sanya asked a bit nervously. "AND YOU CAN TALK! THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!" "Yes. Of course we can talk." Slade murmured as he rolled his good eye. He took two steps back to go grab some materials from the van before the pink blur showed up in front of him to babble incomprehensibly. Normally, he would have shoved the offender aside or more likely, thrown her aside but this time, any annoyance or impatience that normally would have gripped just wasn't there. What just happened, he didn't even see her move. He just turned his head and she was there. Had he not been so irritated and on a short fuse for the day, he may have smiled, or even laughed at the prospect. That was his trick. HE was the one supposed to be making people's head spin. Not the other way around. Nevertheless, his temper would soon be getting the better of him. "Go away." Slade said coldly as he grabbed some bits of steel. "Go away?! After we just met?! We are going to be the BEST of all friends!" Now it took all the self control and restraint not to club her senseless alongside the dirt road. Also took Sanya tugging on his sleeve to move on and have his attention drawn away so he wouldn't be tempted. Showing more patience than he would normally allow, he ignored Pinkie Pie's senseless yammering. "Do they take Liberion currency here?" "Well, it's USA currency from where I come from." Slade replied. "Who knows, maybe someone might have use for benja..." What was that sound? It sounded analogous to a fire engine or an air raid siren in terms of pitch and annoying. Looking up would reveal a mint colored unicorn with a smile that would probably give Tosh another weeks worth of nightmares. Alongside her was a beige colored earth pony with a look of minor disapproval towards her fellow pony. "Hands....." "Excuse me?" Sanya asked. "Did you just so something about..." "Hands...." "My... hands?" Sanya asked as she scratched her head in confusion. She turned around to where Slade was to shoot him the "I dunno what to do look" only to find that he had pulled another one of his old tricks and left her to contend with this joker. "They're real..." Lyra hissed. A rope of drool dripped form her mouth as her tongue hung out like a dog's. "So... can I help you?" "What's in that bag?!" Lyra asked with such energy that Pinkie Pie may have had a run for her money. "Libe... I mean US currency. It's..." "Oh... oh... it's one of the nations in your world right?!" "Umm... yeah..." Sanya said. Will, Slade's world, but at this point, it didn't matter. "Listen... I'll be right back!" Lyra said as she sped off with speeds that'd give Rainbow Dash a run for her money. Bon Bon only shook her head. "I am terribly sorry for bothering you." Bon Bon apologized. "She's... a bit obsessed." "With what? Hands?" "No. Humans. Lifelong obsession. Always said they existed. Turns out she was right." "So where's so going?" "Off to collect a few from..." The massive sack of bits was thrown with such force upon the table, that it almost broke in half. "Is... ha...is...this...ha...good?" Lyra asked as she gestured from the bulging sack of gold coins to the duffel bag of cash. "Umm... sure." Sanya replied as she took a look around for Slade. He wasn't anywhere in sight, but hopefully, he would be pleased with the massive amount of money that they had just seemingly got out of thin air. Well, it would cost Slade about 400,000 dollars, but hopefully he wouldn't need that. Rummaging through her pockets, Sanya would find two things of varying value. A photo of her parents, and a few kopecks.
Rainbow Falls part 2 Rainbow Falls part 2 "Good work." Steve commented as he saw Armin finally do the twentieth pull-up, though he had taken a few breaks in between, the captain was satisfied in the end when all things considered. "Thank you..." Armin breathed as he sat down and reached for a canteen of water, knowing in the back of his head that this break he was getting probably wouldn't last. "Good job anyways, but we'll have more work ahead of us. Now I see that you got these..." Cap said as he handed Armin his blades. "Whatever this steel is, it's pretty good." "Thanks. We made these to kill giants." "In that case, then they might just be able to be useful." Cap replied. "Wait a second, you're not going to have me using swords to fight dragons are you?" "I totally am. That steel is debatably good enough to cut through their scales. I can teach you how to handle yourself close up, but if you want training with the usage of your swords, you know there's only one person you can actually go to." "So... how do we start? Or how are we going to train?" "Well, Sanya and Raynor can take a dragon head on. We on the other hand, don't have fire-proof suits of armor or magical shields that we can just project out of thin air. So... we'll have to hit the thing when it's attention is drawn elsewhere..." "So... just hit it when it's not looking?" "It goes to more than that. While any idiot can probably sneak up on a dragon and stab it in the neck when it's distracted by a rockets and machine gun fire, not every idiot can do it while it's alert and ready for anything. Something tells me that task will actually be pretty difficult. Difficult but not impossible. So that's why I am going to start with the easy things, follow me, the Everfree awaits." "I fink this is ze place?" Medic asked Archimedes... well one of them at least as he looked at the hollowed out tree in front of him. The lights were on, so he could probably make a safe assumption that someone was home. Gingerly, he knocked on the door. After a rather tense pause that shouldn't have been so tense the door's peephole opened revealing a single eye that stared out at Medic. "Is something there, that Zecora hears?" A somewhat African-esque accented voice replied. "Umm... ja." Medic replied awkwardly. "Mein name is Medic, and I vas told that you are a.... vell... chemist of sorts, ja?" "An alchemist and a brewer is what I do. In this case, what about you?" "Vell... I am a doctor." Medic said. "I vould like to find some more vays of... medicine." "Very well then friend. May you come on in, and your search come to an end." The interior of the hut despite having the appearance of a witchdoctor's home as in the movies, was actually unsurprising to the German who had at this point and time, being a man of science, had readied himself not to be surprised by anything. It was already pretty surprising enough when he found himself in a land of talking colorful ponies. "Zis is your home?" Medic asked. He didn't know how to describe it to be honest. Though... something about it always felt oddly familiar to him. Heh. Might as well as say he could imagine himself sitting over a massive pot in the middle of a room to brew some form of... oh wait. "It is my abode. It is also where I keep my load." "I see... ja... vell I heard zat you had a talent for vell.. brewing medicine and potions, so I thought to seek some help for you." "What would you need? Speak, and I can give you a lead." That rhyming was getting PRETTY annoying, though the German doctor made no indication of it. "Now zen, I vould need some... knowledge of all ze plants and animals in ze local area. I need to know of zeir chemical properties as well as any medicinal value." "Well then friend, then your search is at an end. Come with me, and we can take a look at all that you see." "I am back. Is she gone now?" Slade asked as he appeared out of nowhere. He really needed to stop doing that. "She is... she gave us this..." Sanya said gesturing at the huge sack of bits. "For the money...." "Alright." Slade said with surprising calmness that surprised Sanya to a great degree. "Wait... you don't care?" "Of course not. I don't really have use for another 400,000 dollars that I am not going to use." Slade replied as he plopped up a chair and sat down. "But if you get home..." "Still wouldn't have much use for it. I am already set for life." "Then why did you take it?" "Because, it's a good way to remind myself how far I've come." Slade replied. "Hey kid, I spotted a metallurgist somewhere else, see if we can't get rid of all this broken hunks of metal?" "Okay." "You do it. I am a great salesman and all, but you know." Slade said. The last part was obviously sarcastic. "Okay." Sanya replied as she grabbed a duffel bag out of the van and handed Slade the sack of bits who got into the van and drove off. As she walked through Rainbow Falls, it didn't really bother her that she was somewhat of a black sheep, receiving whispers and stares either of amazement, curiosity or perhaps spite in the cases of some less than pleasant individuals. This place was amazing. Almost like a dream in some sense. There was a vibe here, so full of life, and it was so... appealing. On the normal part of the day when she would feel weary and probably required Ellia to carry her around, she all of a sudden felt the newfound strength to carry on throughout the steppe that housed a great view of some rainbow colored falls. Was this place paradise? Did it matter? She loved everything about it. The color of the... world actually. The songs of the birds. The chattering peop... things and whatnot. It was great and she really enjoyed herself here. Stopping by at where Slade had told her to go, she found the metallurgist, a peculiar looking Griffin wearing a suit of chain-mail and a friendly demeanor. "Hiya mate. What can I do for you?" The Griffin asked. "You are buying scrap metal... I think?" Sanya asked. "Indeed I am!" The Griffin replied with a smile that showed his... why does a beaked creature have teeth? (Cartoon logic. Do not question it.) "How much for this?" Sanya asked as she emptied the duffel bags. "Well depends, you want coin for that or do you want other things? I also happen to sell clothing in the back and some jewelry but you don't really strike me as the type that'd be interested. Or that'd really fit really." "I'll take the coin then." "Smart..." The Griffin said before pausing. Said pause was caused by his unfamiliarity with whatever Sanya happened to be. Nevertheless, he handed her a few sacks of bits and smiled pleasantly. "So... permit to ask... what are you?" "What am I?" "Well, you see... I am a Griffin. We got things like pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies, crystal ponies, minotaurs, donkeys, mules, griffins, dogs and whatnot. Just what are you though?" "I am a human." Sanya said. "Perhaps one of the first to have come here." "Then it truly is an honor to meet the first human who set her foot in Equestria." The Griffin replied as his talons shook her hand. He was especially careful in not scratching her. "How about a picture together?" "Sure." Sanya replied with mirrored pleasantries. Slade growled to himself as a bunch of horses blocked the road again. Probably the sixth time that happened. Slightly annoyed, he honked the horn a bit to tell them to hurry the hell up. They cleared in just ten seconds flat at the loud honk much to Slade's relief. He continued through the large spaces, making sure not to run anything over. Not that he really would have cared if he actually hit someone, he just didn't need any more people or things breathing down his neck. He found the gems dealer after getting some directions, and purchased the entire stock much to the delight of it's owner. Much to said owner's surprise, Slade would be gone literally three seconds after he got all the gems and minerals. Something caught his eye as he drove, and he realized what it is. A Mahogany piano. A closer scrutiny would reveal how well built it truly is. For a split second, he considered driving on, though something in the back of his head told him to stop. Getting out of the van, he made a scrutiny of the thing. He may have been no expert in telling how well built any instrument was, but from what he could as much as make out, the thing was pretty damn good. Not surprisingly, it's price tag was more than he had. But... He took a look at the pony who was selling. A fairly shy looking chap. Perhaps he could haggle it a bit down?" He looked back into his sack of coins. ~800. "Hey, you there. How much for the piano?" "Huh... what? Oh right." The dealer said as he jolted up from being half-asleep. "It's um... 1100 bits or any thing of similar value." "Okay, how about a bit lower?" "Well... I can go to 1000." "Hmmmm.... how about... 800?" "Eh.... I gotta eat too you know... I mean..." "Here..." Slade said as he walked into the tent a bit, making sure he was out of view, the pistol came out in a flash. "How about I give you the 800, and you don't regret anything later?" "Okay... no need to get upset!" The dealer almost cried. "Please... take it!" "Good..." Slade chuckled to himself as the deal was made. Getting into the van with the hefty cargo, it was a miracle it could move. He quickly went off to find Sanya. Let's just say when he found her, he walked in onto a drunken brawl. "Really? Please don't tell me you drink." Slade said as he watched the Griffin and the Minotaur duke it out. The talons of the bird was quite the issue for the larger creature who found him a bit too fast. "What?! No!" Sanya "screamed". By screamed, I mean spoke at slightly below room volume. "I..." "Then what's in the bag?" "It's... it's a gift... for..." "Hey... you there..." A pony whose shades made him look like a con-man. Or con-horse in this case. "I bet you that you can't knock down my friend..." "Beat it. I am not interested. And if I wanted to fight him, I'd bury him." That caused quite the uproar. Careful mates, we have a badass over here. "Fine... then why don't you let him hit you for free?" The pony asked as a burly minotaur made his way over, tossing the two other patrons away as if they were both rag dolls. "That's more like it." Slade replied as he handed Sanya his pistol and sword. "Sanya hold this for me." "Why? He's going to use that club of his..." The pony replied. "You probably want to..." "If I did, this fight would already be horrendously boring."
Chapter 23The average minotaur was roughly around the height of 6 feet 8 inches. Slade being tall when compared to his average man, was 6 feet 5 inches making him noticeably shorter than his foe. Would it have mattered, their height difference? No pony knew. All there would be were bets being made as the minotaur got it's club and Slade tossed away his weapons. "I dunno... that... whatever he is looks pretty tough." "He ain't so big... okay... maybe bigger than me but still..." "Oh just got on with it! I wanna see who wins!" "You get first shot." Slade said to his foe as he readied his club. "You sure about that? Big talk for such a small guy." A few chuckles here and there. "Really now? That club of yours? Quite large isn't it? It's not compensating for anything now is it?" This brought a hefty ripple of laughter from anyone who wasn't drunk enough not to understand the joke. "Okay. Enough talk." The minotaur grumbled as he lacked any sufficient wisecrack. "Let's fight!" He swung his massive club straight at Slade who just craned his body to the side and went back to his previous position. He hit him once. Once. This minotaur was about 6 feet 8 inches, and weighed about 400 pounds. One blow, and he went straight down like he was made of grain. This caused the entire room, (or tent in this case) that was normally full of rowdy creatures who had a bit too much to drink to go deathly still. The minotaur groaned and muttered to himself as he nursed a bloody nose. This continued for like a few minutes. Until he got up, and began to laugh. A genuine jovial laugh that caused everyone else to laugh. "That was really good... I hadn't been hit so hard since... ever!" He cried as he continued to laugh. "Whoever you are, whatever you are, you're pretty good." "Well... thanks." Slade said. He was accustomed to flattery, but rather unaccustomed to any genuine compliments. The only one he remembered was being called "the scariest badass on the planet" by the local police force and even then, that wasn't exactly used in the most positive of all fashions. All of a sudden, he felt like a Viking sitting in the local bar. "Tell you what, we take a few shots together? They're not Equestrian, so they're not made from apples." "That's fine but I got to get going... but if you're ever here again, get me some. I've been dying for a drink that doesn't taste like applejuice." "Take care friend." The minotaur smiled as he handed him a small necklace made of "gold". "I think you deserve this. By the way, my name is Mas." "Slade Wilson." Slade said as he back off slowly and dragged Sanya off with him. "Okay. What the hell is in that paper bag?" Slade asked sternly. He wanted to make a joke about Russians and vodka, but this... wait. Why isn't this the time? And why the hell does he even care that she drinks? It's none of his business anyways... it's just that... Inwardly, he sighed to himself. He hated it. Ever since they came here, he felt as though he's been doing things that he normally shouldn't have. Agreeing to stay here and help fight some dragon that probably won't be worth some time was just the start and the first offense but... "It's actually for you..." Sanya said nervously. "You mentioned the other day you needed a drink. So I got you one." For the first time in his life. He felt like a bad person. This deserved a facepalm. "Sorry. What is it?" Reaching into the bag, the girl pulled out a large glass bottle of wine. Rich red that had been aged for about 16 years. It was the stuff. "I.. hope you like it..." Sanya stammered nervously as Slade scrutinized it further. His reaction surprised her a bit as he chuckled slightly. "I probably will. Later though. Thanks." "Okay." Sanya said to herself as she reached into her pocket and took out the photo of her parents. Like most pictures back in the 30s, it was in black and white. "How did you get the money though?" Slade asked. "I paid him a kopeck. Bronze seems to be a rarity here so he agreed to make the deal." "Alright then." Slade said as he drove on. His mind racing like a certain guy he knew. Why was he concerned if she drank? She was Russian after all. Well, Orussian but that was just a name. He wasn't one to make racial stereotypes but if he knew them well, then he knew that Russians drank alcohol like it was water. Hell... why the hell did he care for anyone? Wasn't this all so he could rich? The only reason he agreed was that he could get enough money to be set for life?... again.... Why did he even care again that Sanya may have been drinking? It was her life, she could do what she wanted with it, and why the hell should he give a bent penny about her sake? Perhaps it occurred to her then he may have cared. Perhaps enough to tell her not to do something her personally may have believed as "not good for her health" but why? What the hell made her so special? Was it because of her age? Armin wasn't too much older and Slade had no trouble smashing his face in. Perhaps it was because she was a girl? That didn't stop him in the past. Let's see... like 16 of his assassinations, his own daughter, a few (hundred) female security guards... Whatever it was, not knowing bothered him. And it would for a long time. "So... how did your session go?" Jim asked Cap as he passed him some buttered biscuits. "Pretty well." Cap replied. "We got like 12 miles in. Not bad kid." "Thanks..." Armin replied weakly as he took a sip of iced water. "I also can gladly tell you all about how I almost got eaten by a bunch of wolves made out of wood." "Yeah... that's true. We were on the run and then some wooden wolves come out of nowhere and try to eat Armin alive." "And I take it the star-spangled man had a plan?" Slade joked. "You bet your other eye he did! Turned them into firewood." Rogers shot back as he grabbed a biscuit and swallowed the thing in one bite. "Okay. So Medic, I heard you mentioned something about going into the forest too. I didn't see you, so what were you up to?" "Vell... you see herr captain, I vas out in ze forest to get some ingredients for SCIENCE!" "Uh huh... like what?" "Dead bodies... poisonous plants, viper venom..." And this is why everyone didn't trust Medic to do heart related surgery when he asked. Something about that it makes the medi-gun "more efficient". Whether or not this may be true, or he was bull-shitting them so he could probably get his hands on someone's hearts, probably Steve, Slade's or Sanya's no one really wanted to find out. Suspiciously however... those three seemed to be at the top of his list... coincidentally on top of that, he wanted blood samples from all of them. This was probably good enough to have Steve's hand straying for his pistol every time Medic was within a two feet radius of him, Slade always keeping an eye on him and Sanya slipping out like a cat whenever he seemed to want something from her. "So Jim, what was your day like?" "Pretty boring. I always thought the grease monkeys who worked in SCVs had it easy. Turned out they had the most thankless and boring job in the entire korprulu sector. And I am certain no one here still knows where that is." Nope. "Anyways, what about you Slade? All you did was go get my shopping done." "Pretty boring too. All I can remember is having to pull a single fast one because a bunch of lunatics wouldn't leave me alone." Slade said. "I got this pink blur that was screaming incomprehensibly all the time and wouldn't shut up, and then there was some other joker who had a fetish for hands." "Well... I thought the pink one was pretty nice... she actually showed me around the place and gave me tips..." Sanya muttered almost inaudibly. "I think her name is Pinkie Pie." "Sounds like the flavor of an ice cream brand." Slade commented. "You telling me?" Steve asked. "I met this race pony called "Rainbow Dash". Tell me that doesn't sound like the name of an ice cream brand." "That aside however... I hope you liked the minerals." Slade said to Jim as he dug into some "chicken". "Yeah... yeah... it was great." Jim said. "I can get some more work done tomorrow. But Sanya... can you play us a piece on the piano we got?" "Yes." Sanya smiled as she took her spot behind the keyboard and began to play. [At ~~Mount Doom~~ I mean the huge terrifying volcano which someone had neglected to name. Either due to the fact that no one really wanted to go in an 100 mile radius of the thing or because that the guy writing this neglected to find a cool name. Take your pick.] Had anyone brave (or foolish) soul managed to climb the treacherous peaks of this mountain and managed to as much as camp here, they would know for one that though this may be hell, hell wasn't always hot. In fact, at this given moment, hell was cold enough to freeze smaller creatures solid in just moments. Down below, the fiery river Acheron became a path of ice and snow. Of course, if you were a nine meter long and four meter tall dragon, none of this really mattered to you. naturally, it didn't matter to the large brass dragon who flew over his brethren and against the howling wind with relative easy. He perched upon the tallest peak, which was also the throne of an even larger black dragon, Feynaltdrog. "Od key rahn zeim het. Un brothuz nahkip niist skerah ol nust nok niist kiir do od ahrk iiz voknau himdah." "Nid trun. Mu fen das velaaz voknau niin fod tiid meyz, nii fen kos nust wo los gein wah kos naak. Hi drey ni bo wah fun zey baarkei, fah daar lost bo nau fah ziin iilah." "Vrah dii drog. Fah giriik amongst daar ulfah. .. daar jul. .. tul sum. Nust vis gir wah fos mu saag voth vopent ahrk lost nid suleyk midrak nii." "Ruz dreh atruk do nii. Zu'u vis unstiid tii nau dii zeymah wah siiv lusvaan." "Ol hi smaal." Sanya couldn't sleep. Nothing out of the norm considering the circumstances, she considered taking some of the sleeping pills Medic had recommended, but recalled that the crazy doctor would probably take the opportunity to get at her heart. It was however, the voices that she heard once again that would stop her from getting any sleep. The same voice. The one called Feynaltdrog kept speaking. If only she could understand what he said, it would be of use to her companions. The problem wasn't any different as of last time. SHE DIDN'T SPEAK ANCIENT DRAGON. Author's Note So I think I should probably write this down somewhere. Six characters... six elements... mane six.... right? So the main idea here is to have a counterpart of each character to one of the man six. For example... Jim Raynor is the group's "Pinkie Pie". While he isn't a hyperactive person with limitless energy, he can get along with everyone because they all have something in common. For example Jim is... A mercenary (Slade) A freedom fighter (Cap) Fights against monsters that wants to omnomnom everything that's edible (Armin) Fights against an advanced race of aliens (Sanya) Is from a world where they are more advanced than anyone else's world (Medic) Sanya is the group's Fluttershy. Hope this wasn't too hard to get at. Slade can be seen as the group's Rainbow Dash. Highly skilled at what he does, is perhaps even the best at what he does. Though it a showboat and also the team troll. What separates him from most of the other characters is that he's the only character who's background puts him as the "bad guy" Cap is the group's Applejack. Hardworking, honest and honorable. Willing to help out others and seek help from others. Medic is the "Rarity". Has a huge sense of what his occupation is, though has a tendency to get overly obsessive which usually ends badly. Armin is the group's Twilight. While he isn't a main protagonist, he has to rely more on his head than his actual fighting skills for reasons that involve a distinct lack of power armor, enhanced strength and durability, magic etc.
Chapter 24"Get up." Steve said firmly as he practically threw Armin out of the bed who could only rub his eyes. "What time is it?" Armin groaned as he tried to get up. His exhaustion stuck onto him like glue. "Time to get up. Grab a bite to eat and probably a coffee because we got a lot of work ahead of us." "Oh dear..." Armin mumbled as quickly gathered everything he would be needing. Judging from how Cap was treating this, he wouldn't be surprised at all if he wanted him to do a few hundred laps around the track. Speaking of which... "Alright Armin. So we did only a few miles yesterday. Today, I want you to run, and run, and run until physically, you cannot go any more. I want your everything. Your 110%. Understand?" "Yes..." Armin muttered as he grabbed his things and got ready. He looked back at Steve who had his shield like usual, and had a few strange sacks of flour slung over his shoulder. Whatever the reason, he didn't know. All he did know was that this would be one hell of a day for him. [Ponyville track 7:30 AM] "Did you hear about the new guy in town?" Pipsqueak asked a friend as they walked to through town. "No, tell me about it." Archer asked. "He beat Rainbow Dash in a footrace. Can you believe it?! She's one of the best runners in... in Equestria! And she was beaten by this... I actually don't know what he was... all they say was that he walked on two legs and was wearing some blue jacket thing that..." "Like that?" Archer asked as she pointed at the main with the shield and several sacks of flour. "Oh my gosh... this is so cool! Do you think we can get an autograph or something?! Maybe he can teach us how to run and..." "What's going on here?" Scootaloo asked as she passed by the two foals. "What's up?" "You know that guy who beat Rainbow Dash in a footrace?" "What?! Someone beat Rainbow Dash in a foot race?! That's impossible! No one is faster than her! On the ground or in the skies!" "Well looks like someone is faster on the ground now." The colt said as he stared at Cap in awe. "He sure is a big guy." "He beat Rainbow Dash? I don't believe it." "Well he did. And you should believe it.... I think Featherweight should have taken a picture or something... maybe?" Behind them, the bushes rustled a bit as a camera's flash went off. So probably... yes. Of course, there really wouldn't be any need for assumptions being tossed around as Featherweight himself emerged from the bushes in which he was ~~stalking~~ hiding in. "So... yes... Rainbow Dash did get beat. Pretty badly too actually." Featherweight said as he looked through the pictures he had took. "And I was there actually at the end of it all, the guy said he wasn't trying." "No way. More like Rainbow Dash wasn't trying!" Scootaloo replied as he watched the newcomer arrive at the track and found a tree. Making a hand gesture to his shorter companion to begin running while he hung one of the sacks of flour a top the tree. "What do you think he's doing?" Archer asked as she watched Cap find a strong spot upon said tree. He took a position behind it and held his... hooves? Hands? Up and curled them. Taking ready, he swung a swing at the sack. "Is he punching a sack of flour?" Pipsqueak asked shaking his head. "The guys just a total weirdo. C'mon guys, let's get out of here... guys?" No one moved. They were all watching as Cap swung at the sack for a few times, swinging a barrage of one-inch punches. After a few moments of this, he put his fist back a few miles and hit the sack once. Not only did the chains break, but the tree did too, the sheer force of the blow sending the sack of flour straight into the tree, snapping it in half like it was a twig. "Whoa..." Featherweight awed as he took a quick picture and began scribbling down notes. "He's strong..." "C'mon, we should see this..." Archer exclaimed as she took a closer look at Cap, who was taking a look around for a sturdier tree to practice on. "Hey mister..." "Yeah what?" The man replied nonchalantly, as though he wasn't talking to a bunch of small, rainbow colored foals. "How did you do that?" "Do what?" "Knock a tree down!" Scootaloo exclaimed impatiently. "How did you do that?" "Practice." Cap replied as he found his other tree and hung the sack of flour and tested it. Hopefully this one wouldn't break. "To be honest, I wasn't trying to knock the tree down." "Well.. how did you?" "Lacking a bit of discipline." Cap replied as he took more hits at the flour, careful not to break the sack lest it snows him with the grain within. "I don't normally try to break things." "May I ask... what are you?" Pipsqueak began, careful not to offend the big guy. "Just a human." Rogers replied as he took another hit. This time, when he swung the finishing blow, the chains of the sack broke, but the tree did not. Good. Taking the moment, he hung up his last sack and moved a few feet back and took out his shield. "Why are you here?" Scootaloo asked a bit hostilely. "They involve a big dragon the other day tried burning this place down. Anymore of it's kind come here then I'll be....." The roar made his blood turn into ice as he looked up into the sky. There was no mistaking of it. Up in the clouds, was the shape of a large dragon. "Oh no..." Cap said to himself as he grabbed his shield and his pistol from it's holster. There was no doubt that it had saw him, as he saw the head turn straight for him as it readied to dive bomb like a Stuka fighter finding it's target. "Run..." "What? Why? It's just a..." "DO AS I SAY." Cap yelled like a pissed off drill sergeant. The foals scattered in less than ten seconds flat as the dragon closed it's gap. "ARMIN!" He saw it too, and was busy trying to do... get... something... he hadn't come armed. This wasn't good. Cap hoped that the dragon's attention would only be on him. Crouching down, he raised his shield up and pointed his gun. Sweat beads formed off his head as he got himself ready for the massive wave of fire that came shooting towards him. Even with his bracing and preparation, the sheer heat of the flames engulfed the shield and the area around it, licking at his more exposed areas. Kevlar, while being ample protection against bullets and such, would do little to stop the flames from giving him burns. The flames stopped and he saw the dragon flying away, as though finding new interest within the local town. He would have to do something about this as a single building was set on fire. Sprinting after the beast, Cap fired his gun, hoping that he'd at least draw it's attention back to him. Unfortunately for him, 9mm rounds didn't exactly do much against the armored hide of a dragon. He could only try to catch up and hope that no one would be roasted alive. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Armin running for a certain building... "Where's the royal guard?!" Mayor Mare panicked over the sound of the din as she saw the large dragon crush an unfortunate wagon, to her horror, she saw the massive jaws of the lizard clasp around it's owner who was too slow to get away, and for every horrible moment, witnessed the dragon devour the pony whole, the screaming... the screaming... "We don't know! They probably don't even know what's going on!" Her assistant sobbed as she watched the dragon set fire to another building. The plaza was full of ponies and buildings, many would be trapped by the rubble and the chaos with no feasible way out lest they get scorched or eaten. Perhaps then when various pieces of a broken cart was throne straight at the dragon's head, it couldn't have been better timed. The Mayor watched as the human referred to as "Steve Rogers" bolted through. The dragon's attention diverted. "Come Mayor! Now's our chance!" Her assistant called as she dragged her boss away, the mayor never once taking her eyes off of Cap rushing the dragon, armed with nothing but a pistol and a shield. The flames threatening to swallow him whole as he pressed onward. Something caught the Captain's eye over the massive inferno of the flames... movement. Up on the houses... to his surprise, it was Armin. But it wasn't just that, he had with him a massive bundle of colorful cloth and was hauling it straight to where the dragon was. He gave it a single push. Cloth in Equestria, like pretty much everywhere else, was highly flammable. Multi-colored cloth was also vision impairing for rather obvious reasons when thrown over one's head. You can probably imagine the predicament the dragon found itself in when it was not only blinded, but bathed it's own head in it's own flames. Of course, being a dragon, it was resistant to such things as flames, but the sheer intensity of the flames blinded it temporality, most likely what Armin was counting on because he had started shouting things that from the distance, was incomprehensible to Cap. Nevertheless, he knew what to do. Charging forward, the captain jumped straight onto one of the wings, with a mighty blow form his shield, the sound of bone splitting echoed throughout ponyville plaza. Hopefully that would keep it down. Kicking away the burning cloth (which was a far more difficult and tedious task than it sounded), Steve would have a clear shot straight at the dragon's head as jumped right on and raised his shield, the first blow creating a massive echo throughout the entire plaza. The second would yield him the sound of scales breaking apart and an agonized roar. It was then when the dragon attempted to chance flying to get it's tormentor off it's head, it's injured wing would only aid in it's own torture as it refused to flap correctly, after only a few feet in the air, the monster collapsed from exhaustion and from pain. Steve would only need one blow. Wiping off brains and blood from himself, the captain took a moment to look around at the awed and frightened stares. But as the adrenaline rush faded and the numbing subsided, it would be replaced by some scorching pain coming off from various areas of his body. He needed to rest for a moment. Perhaps comically, he pulled himself down on the nearest bench and just simply sat down, as if he was a jogger who had just finished a really long run. That was when the cheering started. Author's Note I have just come to the conclusion that my photoshopping skills are so bad, that they should be a crime against humanity. That being said, I realized I might need a guy to design a new cover because it just totally SUCKS. Anyways, if anyone could point me in the right direction, that'd be really appreciated.
Chapter 25"I can't believe his wounds are already gone." Nurse Redheart exclaimed as she looked over Rogers. Just a few minutes ago, Cap had several ugly burns and scrapes all over his body, mostly on his arm, leg and shoulder areas. Now? They were all gone, well, mostly all gone as the angry red burns were replaced by a layer of new skin already. "So, would it be okay for me to go now?" Steve asked as he took a look out the window as the Ponyville fire crew brought several rainclouds to quench the flames. Controlling weather? Now that was something that was actually pretty neat about this place. He'll have to tell Thor about this the next time they meet. Maybe the Thunder god could give him an explanation, or if Steve was in more of a mood to speak with multi-colored ponies, he could just ask himself. "Where's Armin?" Cap asked as he wrapped himself in a blanket. He would have to repair his uniform and possibly find a way to make it fireproof in addition to bullet proof. The problem here now was that there weren't any clothes that would be his size, nor would make any sense for him to wear since he didn't exactly walk on all fours. "I think he's at carousel boutique.... I am surprised Rarity isn't angry with him over all the cloth he dumped. Story is that it's pretty expensive." "Well, in the face of danger and a massive dragon, I really don't think cloth and money mean too much when it's our lives that are at stake." Steve replied as he grabbed his shield. "Thanks for the free healthcare." "No problem." Nurse Redheart replied. "You see, I don't know about where you come from, but you don't pay your doctors in Equestria." "You don't?" "It's considered a government post, so they normally come out of your taxes." Nurse Redheart replied. "This is because some can't afford treatment back in the day, so the Princesses decided a health reform." "Maybe my government should try that..." Rogers said as his memory began to work. Something about the current president and his healthcare reforms. "Well... if you need anything, feel free to come back any time, though I don't think you would if your injuries really go away that fast." "Yeah... thanks for the checkup." Steve replied as he got up and left Ponyville general. Taking a moment, he went off to help a trapped pony out of some rubble. He would have much work to do before he decided to finally take a break. "Now zen..." "Doctor... please... I'd rather not have some form of heart surgery which I have no idea to what it does." Sanya protested as she sat down on the infirmary bed. "Nein... who said anything about heart surgery?" "Didn't you say that you needed my heart or something?" "Nein...nein... it's not zat. Vell... I still vould like your heart but I promise I'll give it back!" "I'd rather not..." Sanya replied. "But what's the other reason for me being here?" "Vell... first off... ze cat ears and tail... may I have a... um... sample?" "Sample?" "Ja. I fink I'd like a hair or somefing. Perhaps you can also give me a blood sample?" "Well... okay... I mean why..." Before she could finish her sentence or say anything to that matter. The door the infirmary opened and an armored figure entered, Slade was back. "I hope this was worth it because I just spent three hours up in a tree and then had to go take a swim so you can have your specimen." On the table, a crocodile that was made of rock was thrown upon it, the dead beast was missing several teeth and had an eye poked out. Further scrutiny would reveal that the rocks at it's "rib" areas had been all shattered, indicating that it's back had been broken. "Ja! Zis is very gut! Danke!" "What happened?" Sanya asked as she took a look at Slade. He was covered from head to toe in all sorts of muck that was completely unidentifiable, almost as though he had taken a bath in a swamp. "I swam in a swamp." Slade said as he went to the fridge. He gave a small gesture of disgust for a single moment, before grabbing some water and taking a long drink. "All so I could catch that damn lizard." "Why did you want it?" Sanya asked as Medic turned his attention to the lizard. Grabbing a MASSIVE bone saw, he cut straight into the rock. All that happened was his saw breaking in two. "Equestria has some particular creatures, kind. Some of zem like ze timbervolves and ze cragidiles are made from vat seems like non-organic matter. Vell... just ze cragidiles. But I fink that ze timberwolves are rather strange... zey lack any form of "regular" tissue as most animals." "Oh by the way doctor, you still can not have my blood. Or my heart." Slade said as he grabbed another water bottle. "Sanya, please tell me he's not asking for your heart either." "He actually just was." Sanya replied sheepishly. "He also wants my hair... as in the ears..." She made a gesture to the car ears that practically grew out of her head every time she used her magic. Almost randomly, a small black cat leapt into her lap, purring quietly. "Well... you probably don't want to give him your heart, he may not give it back." Slade joked. Though some of this was rather serious. Medic always seemed to have a screw loose. "Ja...ja...ja... so are you going to give me your blood or vat?" "Alright then. I am ready." "Gut." Medic replied smiling nastily. The long over sized needle raised quite a few eyebrows in the room. Two dragon attacks over the course of three days. It was a complete miracle that ponyville actually looked 80% alright. Perhaps it would be the hard work of the weather team that kept the fires from going out of control, or the high population of industrious earth ponies ready to help their neighbors at an earshot. While there have been many injuries, no fatalities as so far reported. Twilight thought of this as she sat within her room in golden oaks library with her friends. On the table, was a large map each marked with all the major cities within Equestria. Any city that had been hit, or had any of it's surrounding areas attacked by dragons was marked with red ink. "Eh Twilight... I don't wanna be rude or nothing, but what does that map exactly tell us... besides of the obvious of course..." "Well, you see Applejack, I was actually getting all sorts of these reports in from... well... everywhere. Dragon activity seemed to have increased ever since a few days ago and this is because of..." "Yeah...yeah... some evil dragon king who wants to go take over the world." Rainbow Dash said rolling her eyes. "You told us already." "I know that, but can you at least take it seriously?!" Twilight retorted. "The fate of not just Equestria but maybe the entire world rests in the balance!" "This is like the... um... fourth... fifth... sixth time now?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It's okay Twilight! We got this! All we need is the elements." "Yeah... about that...." Simplified version of how everypony reacted to the elements being stolen by a dragon. "Wait... what?" Rainbow Dash asked once again as Twilight recounted what had happened. "Yeah... we don't have the elements." "So... what can we do then?" Fluttershy asked. "Surely Princess Celestia doesn't mean for US to go fight dragons now... right?" "No... but it's they who are going to fight." Twilight said as Spike rolled up a projector. Six "cards" popped up, identifying the people within. "Slade Wilson, Deathstroke. Former military from his world, subject of a medical experiment from his world." Twilight began as she gave Spike the word to continue. "He's... a mercenary and an assassin..." "Wait a second... as in... those guys who get paid to killed people?" Applejack asked with disbelief. "Yep. You got that right." Twilight said. "Who in tarnation thought of having a maniac like him here?!" Applejack continued. She would have went on a ranting spree, if it wasn't for Twilight's gestures of urgency. "Steve Rogers, Captain America. Military from his world, and a war hero. Sworn to fight injustice and oppression." "That guy? He doesn't look so cool." Rainbow Dash said, the events of their race still hadn't exactly left her mind. "Well... he's kinda like Slade. Also subject of a medical experiment, though he doesn't exactly kill people for money but we have to move on. There are more people." Such as. "The Medic. A former doctor who had lost his medical license. Now a mercenary and a gun for hire." "How did he do that?" Fluttershy asked. "Story is, he removed his patients bones?" Twilight asked as she tried remembering the events of when they met. It had been something along those lines. "Highly intelligent, though with a few screws loose. Next up, Jim Raynor." The projector went from the picture of Medic to the picture of Jim. "James Raynor. He comes from a place where his people own not just one world, but many worlds. I do know that he's like the others in the sense he's a mercenary, but he has no tolerance for injustice and oppression. That's unfortunately, ALL I really know because where he comes from, things are rather... complicated. Twilight not understanding something? Whatever this was, it must be pretty hardcore than. But regardless, she was moving on already. Not much like to be in such a rush. "Aleksandra Litvyak. Also military, fighting against a race of aliens known as the Neuori. Is a "witch" from where she's from. Essentially making her the only human we know about that can use magic." Let's be honest here. No one actually thought that humans existed until right about now when they've essentially be strutting all over the place. Humans were in Equestria until now, supposedly an oldwives' tale. Depending on where you're from, humans were something akin to what we may think of "big foot" or something that would be more akin to the slenderman of legend. Demons that haunted dark corners of the world, seeking to spread fear and bloodshed. "Armin Arl...." "Okay. Yeah. It's slowpoke." Rainbow Dash cut off as she shoved Spike out of the way. "Twilight, I appreciate you showing us this and all, but what is the point of it?" "The point of it is that these guys are going to be the people we are counting on to get us the elements back!" "These guys? I dunno Twi, what you said about Mr. Death... whatever his name is didn't sound too nice. And the doctor seemed a bit crazy to me." "Oh pish-posh! Armin is truly a gentleman! Did you know, he and his friend Steve saved ponyville from a dragon?" "We were all there..." Fluttershy said. "And I do remember finding it's big dead body right in the streets!" "Sanya seemed alright!" Pinkie Pie said. "But Mr. Wilson seemed like a total party pooper to me! I told Lyra about him, but all I know is that he hid or something." "Captain... whatever is just a showoff." "Like you aren't?" Rarity shot back. "He truly is a hero of fashion! His uniform! It's so tragic it was damaged in his fight! What a valiant... whatever he is again..." "GIRLS!" Twilight shouted over the din of argument. "The point of us here is not to argue over whether or not these people are friendly or not, it's that they are the only ones who might be able to get us back the elements! Do you know what that means?!" No. "It means that we need to get to know them... we're all in together on this... remember?" OH GOD. That would be the reaction of a few ponies and Slade when they all heard this.
Chapter 26"Alright guys. So... I am not sure... but I think I may have a clue to getting our hands on a dragon to English translator." Raynor said as he set down a large map of Equestria atop the table which had several places marked out for him. "Anyways, I borrowed this map from Twilight, so please ignore the ink and such." "It's in that place they call the Crystal Empire isn't it?" Slade asked as he took a look at the map, wondering for a moment what the large red circles meant. "Yep. So here's the thing... normally if we were to take train, it'd take I'd say about 6 hours. Not too painful. The thing is... we got no train. Why? Because some goddamn flying lizards burned it up." "Well... that's awfully convenient." Rogers began. "Of course it is. It's basic warfare. They are doing the old "divide and conquer". If Equestria can't as much as unite or hold any sizable force in one place, not that it really matters in my opinion, than whatever resistance, no matter how weak to begin with, will essentially be nothing." "If you haven't forgotten, I know that." Rogers glared at Slade. Seriously, what a smartass. He's just like Tony, only about a few thousand times worse. "So... what do we do then?" Armin asked. "You're not saying we can walk there.... right?" "That's actually what I kinda had in mind..." Raynor began. "By my estimation, it'd be about 3 days for us to walk there. Well, that's assuming we can walk nonstop. So in that case, I'd give it 6 days." "I don't fink it'll be a problem. Ja?" "Doesn't strike me as it would be." Cap replied. "Though just in case, I think we should actually arm ourselves and be prepared for anything. Just in case. The last thing we need is to be caught by another fire-breathing lizard without as much as a rusty fork to defend ourselves with." "And that is why I actually the things down at engineering produce more ammunition for all of us." Raynor replied. "Now then, you all think we should start tomorrow?" A chorus of yes followed by various nodding. It would be settled then. Tomorrow morning. "So... how long do you think it'll take with this route? Specifics at least." Rogers asked as he walked with the map. The previous night, he had repaired his uniform though he'd probably have to make a flame-retardant version later. As of now however, it would be fine assuming he wouldn't have to bear the full-brunt of another wall of fire. "Hmmm..." Raynor said to himself as his heavy armor left dull thuds within the ground they walked. His armor's HUD giving them an approximate of a time. "Yeah. 6 days sounds pretty reasonable if you count in things like sleeping and the fact that we all need to take a break sometime. I dunno anything about super-soldiers or magical witches, but I can at least assume we all have to rest some time." "Yeah. By the way Raynor, the first day we met, you mentioned you were a freedom fighter." "Part time. We kinda run on cold feet, so I am also a mercenary so I can get some money to fund my war." "Yeah. Is this... Terran Dominion as oppressive as it sounds?" "Perhaps not, but they're pretty bad. The Emperor called Mengsk is a total scumbag who's lies and exploits the very people he's sworn to protect. He only cares about power that one and as of now, I am kinda out of ways to show the people the truth or to topple him." "The price of freedom is high, Jim. But it's one I hope you're willing to pay." "I'll fight to my last breath Captain, you bet your shield and your shiny outfit on that one." Jim smiled as they continued to move. "So... tell me about zes titans Armin. Zeir regeneration capabilities?" "Formidable. We blow their heads off with a cannon and they just grow one straight back." "Oh... fascinating. Truly fascinating. Tell me, have your scientists gotten opportunity to study any of zese Titans? I am certain zey wood make many medical advancements." "Part of the problem Doctor. Titan corpses have a tendency of just evaporating into thin air." "Zen that must be quite ze problem. I assume zat capturing zem alive must not be an option?" "We did it the moment we won the battle I was in... it's a long story and all, but it was pretty difficult in capturing those two titans. And they were the smaller variants." "I see..." Medic continued. "So Armin... vat is your reason for staying?" "Staying? I... well... you know with all this magic stuff right?" "Ja?" "I think it might be a way to help in our war against the titans. And even without that, imagine all the good things like controlled weather may be. The potential is limitless!" "I see... vell... as you probably do know, I am here to advance my medical research. Imagine all the breakthroughs I'll be making! It's fantastic! Wunderbar!" "Alright doctor... but with that machine you have... don't you think further advancement is almost... like impossible at where you are?" "Vat ever do you mean?" "You literally heal people with nothing but a beam of light! How is that even possible." "Science my dear boy... science! But zere are always things to improve. One breakthrough for example is vat I call ze kritzkrieg. Using some advanced science, I vas able to build a machine that could store enough energy and transfer zem to it's patient, but mostly ze patient's weapon. Imagine... bullets traveling at 3 times zeir normal velocity! Rockets with ze same explosive radius but ze force of somefing 3 times greater! Zen, zeir is ze quick fix! And ze vaccinator! I am a genius!" "I would doubt that medic. But can I have a question?" "Sure." "You wanted I think hearts. Particularly Slade's, Steve's and Sanya's?" "Yes... vell... not just hearts... DNA samples, blood, etc. You see... Slade and Steve are both vat we'd call ubermensch... or supermen. Zey have much strength within zem and have tapped into ze power of ze gods! Imagine what I could do... if I was to replicate ze serums zat made them zis way. We could be gods!" "Become gods? I can see how you may make humanity a bit... stronger but becoming gods?" "How do I know zat? Elementary Armin. Can you explain how Steve stayed alive after being frozen for 70 years? Or how at age 80, Slade still is as fit as a kind? It's simple... zey must be immortal! Or perhaps... just long lived... it'd be better if it was the first one by ze way..." "But what about Sanya? Why does she interest you?" "She is a witch! Vhere does magic come from? Zis certainly isn't because of devil worship or black magic rituals isn't it now? It's merely science! Science zat some of us may not understand... and zat some lesser men may never have the capability to understand. But I intend to unravel it's secrets! YES!" Did we mention he had a screw loose and was perhaps a bit too obsessed with his line of work? "I think the good doctor maybe a little bit excited with his work..." "Yeah... he's not coming near me. If he does, I'll cut his hands off, that's for sure." Slade commented as he picked up a small splinter. He flicked the tidbit of wood, and chuckled to himself as he watched it slice a grasshopper in half. 80 years old, and he still hadn't lost his touch. Perhaps what medic was right. Even he didn't know the true capabilities of the experiments that had been done to him. Was he immortal? Most likely not. But is he still fighting at the same pace, if not at even greater than he was when he was only about 20 years old and ready for the experiment? Could he make the assumption, that from the fact he was 80 years old and had still yet to feel the symptoms of old age, that he could be very, very long lived? Most certainly. Of course, enough about him. He had his own questions. "So tell me about being a witch anyways. Do they all start as young as you do?" "At around 12, most witches find their powers to emerge. This is when they are at their best. From about 12 to 20." Yikes. And they thought he was too young when he started at 16. "And how old do MEN start?" "I think 18 is the minimum... I think there are such things as male witches, they're either rare or legendary. Rumor has it that Karlsland has some kind of secret research team that makes male witches? The details are just rumors and fairly unreliable." "Tell me." "Okay. I think their organization's name is like... um... I think it's called HYDRA?" Wait. What? Author's Note Disclaimer: HYDRA does not exist within the Strike Witches' universe and is a product of marvel, and marvel ONLY. Though... who said I couldn't crack a parallel universe joke?
Chapter 27"I hate this forest." Slade said as he almost went leg high in swamp water as a weak section of earth gave way, revealing the massive stretch of muddy water. "So... around or through?" Armin asked as he took a look. He could see the other side, though he wondered how long this entire place stretched. Pretty damn long from what he could gather. "Through." Captain America said as he tried to spot a way to go around. "Just stick to the drier paths and we can go through without taking mud all the way to our knees. Sanya's catlike ears perked up as they began to step one by one on the dry yet still muddy path. She could hear it, the swishing of water and the deep breaths. Something was out there. As the water around them stirred and bubbled, the mud and the dirt would soon be the least of their problems. "They're gone?" Twilight asked with disbelief as Spike hurried back. "Back... to where?" "I dunno." Spike said rather hopelessly. "It's not like they said anything or as much as left a clue!" "Great... just great! So how can we..." "Does it REEEALLLY matter?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I mean, why can't we just find the elements ourselves?" "I mean... they're probably going off to find something them..." "Rainbow Dash... hold on a second..." Twilight said as the last part of the sentence began to sink in to her. "What did you just say?" "They're probably going off to find..." "OH MY GOSH! That's it!" Twilight said as she almost jumped up and down with excitement. "They're going to the crystal empire!" "Wait... what... how do you know that?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked at all the other ponies who wear similar masks of confusion. "Oh... right... I should have told you girls, Slade and Sanya came the other day asking for a book on Dragon to Equestrian translation. Or English... that's what they call it anyways. But what happened was, I didn't have the book, and neither did Canterlot library when they went to go grab it... but there's just one place which may have anything about ancient dragons... a place just as old!" "The crystal empire! Of course!" Spike said. "Should I get our things packed?" "No Spike... because we're walking. Didn't you hear the news? The train station and a good portion of the tracks was destroyed by a dragon. Seems almost as though they're on to us..." "What if they are?!" Spike asked. "Don't be silly Spike!" Rarity cut in. "How can those brutes ever know what we're planning? It's not like they're telepathic or anything!" "Well... you gotta a point there... but what if..." "Besides... how could they listen without us noticing? I know there's a lot of spells and all, but I should easily be able to detect them if they were using magic to listen on us!" To the three eavesdroppers on this conversation, they all just burst out in deep, muffled laughter at the sound of this. Hundreds of miles away, perched upon a once again burning mountain, were three dragons. As the noise of conversation dinned down once again, one dragon opened up it's massive mouth and said the words. "Zul..gir..stirn!" They were all gods once. Rulers of the world, all corners of the earth were bent to their will and their words were law. Their power was invincible. The feeling was perhaps what many of the dragons of the old missed. Perhaps none missed it more than the dragon king himself, Feynaltdrog, bane of the world, destroyer of nations. As of now, he would go on a stroll to memory lane as he flew high above the skies, circling Manehattan, one of the largest and most populous cities in all of Equestria. He looked down at the city, the many ponies and buildings looked like ants to him from this high above, his mouths would open in wicked anticipation before he called force his self-restraint. He hadn't eaten in so long, but for now, he wanted to conquer. And conquer so he shall. Readying himself, the massive jaws opened to say the word. "Dovah! Hah! Kroved!" His words, were not said, rather roared as a bright aurora filled the sky, invisible to all but the king of dragons himself as he watched the wave spread far and wide. It stopped at three points, a dragon sunbathing on a rock at the coast of the sea, a sleeping dragon within it's cave, and yet another dragon on the flight. Something within them... whispered. Power. Wealth. Godhood. All merely at the price of allegiance to a master, and the domination of all "lower orders". Power and wealth seduced a dragon as easily as a hoard of hive of honey seduced a bear. They fell right under his spell as they flew to their new king, eager to serve. Addressing him as though in the ancient dragon tongue. A language that had been lost to them until now. "Mu kriist nuk wah aam. Ofan mii hin suleyk ahrk hin faraan." "Pruzah. .. pruzah. .. daar hiim. .. ag nii wah kii." The warcry of a dragon could be heard from miles away, and still be enough to cause the lesser creature to lose their hearing for the better part of the day. Imagine how the thousands upon thousands of ponies felt when they were so close, many of them would lose their hearing from that day forward as the three dragons plunged down onto their city. Fire burning away at the buildings, sending screams and shouts across the streets as buildings erupted to fiery deaths. Many of the inhabitants would share similar fates to their homes as they were burned instantly, the dragon fire flaying their flesh straight off their bones. High above, the dragon king looked into the fires and laughed to himself. Amusing how such weak creatures attempt to resist him, attempt to defy him. Why haven't they surrendered already? When the hungry changelings bent knee at the sound of his voice? Or how the minotaurs practically threw themselves at their feet when they landed in their cities, surrendering without a fight? Whatever the cause he didn't care. As of now, he was enjoying himself as he saw a mare try to carry her foal away from a huge fiery explosion. "Twi... this is a VERY bad idea... just saying... no offense..." Applejack began as they began their journey through the everfree forest. "C'mon girls! I know what I am doing! Just because we don't know where they are doesn't mean it's hopeless!" "Of course not! But why do we need them anyways? Why can't we just waltz into Feyn... oh brother, how do you even say his name? Why can't we just waltz up that mountain and take the elements back rather than let some petty thief keep them?" "Because A... dragons are quite big and ferocious creatures! With the exception of Spike..." Rarity began. "Oh come on..." Spike muttered to himself as he rolled his eyes. "And B... because these humans... oh... they're such heroes! Heroes of fashion! And probably heroes... in general. Except for that Slade Wilson... his ARMOR! Such a crime against fashion!" "You probably shouldn't say that!" Pinkie Pie said as she hopped around energetically. "He might be VERY upset." "Oh come on! Surely the man can take a bit of criticism!" "He can! But he doesn't like that! And you all know what happens to things he doesn't like!" Wat? "I... don't understand..." "Oh you're so silly Rarity!" Pinkie Pie said as she began to do this. "You all know what I am talking about? Right? Right? RIGHT?!" "Get a move on Pinkie..." Rainbow Dash said impatiently as she waved her forward. "Who are you looking at anyways?" "Nothing! Just the people who are reading this!" "What? Who's reading what?" "You know... the people reading this? Duhhhh...." And this is what most ponies would call Pinkie just being Pinkie.
Chapter 28"Good job." Slade said sarcastically as he saw Armin go waist-up in swampwater. Grabbing him by the collar, he yanked him straight out of the water, his clothes dripping with the brackish water. "Oh... that's... not good..." Sanya said almost inaudibly as she took a look at Armin's clothes. "He'll live. We can't stop now though." Slade said as Armin's predicament began to attract attention. Agreeing grudgingly and silently, Steve nodded his head. Raynor had no comment on the matter. Everything here would be Armin's misfortune, he would have to go like that for probably the better parts of the day until... "Did you hear that?" Sanya asked, again as her cat-like ears perked up and her tail went puffed up like a nervous cat. "Hear wha..." If the massive roar didn't practically broadcast to everyone what was going on, then the fact that there was a massive stone crocodile that leapt out of the water sure did. Fortunately for everyone, no one had actually been grabbed or that would have meant some really bad things. "What the hell are these things?!" Raynor thought to himself out loud as he began to fire his rifle into the water wherever his suit's HUD detected movement. Whether or not they hit... no one could probably tell. The density of the water and it's darkness made it difficult even for Slade's tactical vision to go down very far, and that was a piece of equipment eons ahead of it's time period. All they could was... "JESUS CHRIST!" Steve cried out as a crocodile or in this case (cragidile) practically flew out of the water in an attempt to get a chomp on him. All it really did was get fed a knuckle sandwich straight into the face, causing it to shatter and crack. The same of course happened to a Cap's hand, which he found to be a bloody mess later. "DUCK!" Slade yelled over the sounds of heavy gunfire and random incomprehensible screaming. Seeing as the boy wasn't going to duck, or maybe just didn't hear him, he quickly went over and tackled Armin to the ground, the monster missing a chance at his throat by centimeters. "IDIOT... RUN RUN!" In a scattered and most undignified fashion, the six people quickly sprinted their way out, weary of the large monsters that lurked within the pool, opting to devour them whole. "Sweet mother of god..." Raynor commented as he looked at Captain's fist. "You got yourself knocked up pretty badly there." "It'll be gone in an hour... I think." Captain America said dismissively as he put his gloves back on. Truth be told, his hand hurt like hell which was a good thing Medic was on it. "Or with the help of Medic, in just a few seconds... So... hear anything Sanya?" "I think we're good for now..." Sanya replied as she checked the bottom of her boots for mud. Tons. "Can... we... rest... here... now?" Armin asked as he came back from taking water from the stream. Before Slade could say anything, Steve had already nodded his approval. "Just for the moment. We continue until 0900 hours." "And that's... when?" "In like about three hours. Alright people, take five minutes. Get a bite to eat, get a sip, do whatever, we get going then... understand?" Cap said as he took a break himself and opened a canteen of water and took a sip whilst Armin was bent over a stream and drinking in the whole thing. Slade checked his smartphone again. To be fair "smart" would probably be the biggest understatement of the century since it was more like a super-computer than anything. Like how that guy in the batsuit had his detective vision rigged to some computers in his secret hideout, Slade had his tactical vision rigged to his smartphone. Of course, that was just the beginning, it could scan maps of the local area, tell him wind speeds and calculate bullet trajectories, all that good stuff. It also gave him a connection to many contractors who would have jobs for him... of course, as of now, it didn't have a connection to any of said contractors, though it did have all his opened mail. One of them caught his interest. It was from Amanda Waller. He only scanned the letter the first time, never actually read it, just say at the end what the payment would be and was fairly disinterested. But now that he saw it again, he felt as though he should read it when he finally gets the chance. As of now, he turned back to everyone else and sat down with them. Be at a "campfire" something he hadn't done since Korea. That was about 60 years ago. "Alright fellas. Listen up, from my estimate, I'd say we got a nice, leisurely walk up ahead. You see, once we get out of this forest, it's just grasslands and trees... don't forget the colorful horses too..." "So... a little girl's coloring book?" Slade chuckled. "Pretty much... right Sanya?" "Huh?" "Nothing. I am just messing with ya." Raynor chuckled as he stood up. "You ready people?" Steve asked as he came back. Shield in hand. "Those crocodile things are getting rather unpleasant. "Aye aye Cap'n. Let's go." Raynor replied. "This... it's horrible!" Princess Celestia said as she read the paper. "Is it true?" "Everything about it..." The messenger said as he lowered his head sadly. "Manehattan was decimated by dragons. Similar reports have come in from Fillyadelphia, Trottingham, Baltimare and Las Pegasus. Equestria is under attack. "Casualties are within the thousands." "Then at this moment..." Luna began. "Equestria is at war." "Not just Equestria my sister..." Celestia began. "Feynaltdrog would not discriminate. He threatens the entire world with his hunger for power. He must be stopped at all costs! Tell the royal guard to prepare, and send emissaries to every nearby land available. We must defeat the dragon king or the whole world will be at risk!" Dismissing the messenger, the Princesses sat down a moment to think upon the situation. Feynaltdrog, the dragon king. Bane of the world had now just declared war upon it. Everyone and everything would have to be thrown at him. Even then, without the elements, they could only hope to keep him from conquering the world, it would be highly doubtful for them to actually defeat the dragon king without them. "We must get the elements back then." Luna said as she and Celestia discussed this over. "What do you propose then? We don't even know where Feynaltdrog is! We never even knew what hell he spawned out from... it'd be impossible to fight him when we don't even know anything about him! All we do know is that he can conquer the world and in a very short time if we do not react quickly!" Meanwhile in the skies of ponyville, a lone black dragon flew high in the skies, its eyes were peeled gleefully for any prey that would happen to chance into it's eyesight. As of now, there were plenty, but nothing intrigued him more than the baby dragon that was down there, just a few miles away. He would have to raze the town later. A few moments of flight, and he would find his dragon. The group of ponies had stopped at another town, which pleased Feynaltdrog. His wanting for some excitement would be savored at this point when the dragon went beserk. Opening his mouth, he readied his roar. "Dovah! Hah! Kroved!" "Why'd you stop kid?" Slade asked as he bumped into Sanya. Her ears once again stood up like an alert cat, she had heard something. "I heard something..." Sanya said as she looked into the distance. It came from about over there... "What is it this time?" Steve asked as he took out his gun and prepared for trouble. "I think it was a dragon!" "Then I think we should keep a low profile then... the last we need is to be caught..." "No... there's... screaming! Someone's in trouble!" Sanya said as she listened deeper. "We need to do something! I think there's a dragon attacking a town or something!" "We need to help..." Rogers said. "There's..." "We can't do that!" Slade shot at him, not wanting the Captain to finish his sentence. "You want to become barbeque Captain? Because that is not a good plan." "And what do you say we do? Huh? Hide and run like a bunch of frightened children? I say that we..." "I hate to say this... but Slade might have a point..." Jim began. "I don't like leaving anyone behind one bit, but we are not equipped to deal with any giant fire breathing lizards. The most we can do is..." "We have to do something! We can't just leave peo... ponies to die!" Armin began. "I am going..." "HOLD O... idiot..." Slade grumbled as he saw Armin bolting off. He turned his head to see that the Captain had begun to follow. "To hell with it... let's go!"
Chapter 29"WHAT'S HAPPENED TO SPIKE?!" Rarity screamed over the din as the big purple dragon began to breathe fire all over the town, scorching down entire buildings and sending ponies running in all directions. "He just turned huge!" Applejack screamed back as Spike sent a typhoon of fire that turned a wooden house into ash in ten seconds flat. "What's gotten into him?!" "SPIKE!" Twilight screamed over the din. "What are you doing?!" No answer. Only a mindless, senseless roar of an animal in uncontrollable rage. Spike was beyond her then as he sent another wave of fire down that would have consumed Twilight had she not gotten out of the way just in time. "Spike... okay... you... I am sorry..." She said to herself as she charged up her horn. The blast flew straight towards at Spike's face, hitting him right between the eyes. He didn't even blink, only turned towards Twilight. If he'd been mad before, he was now even madder (which had actually struck many witnesses as impossible until this moment). The dragon opened it's mouth once again to say the words. The words that were only replaced with a pained grunt as a spinning shield struck him right in the face. The dragon turned a moment to face his attacker, only to get shot twice in the face again, causing him to roar in senseless anger. Steve threw himself down as he retrieved his shield, the scorching flames missing him by less than a hair as they flew right above him. His cover, a large rock had it's entire frontal area turned into an angry red, anymore and it may not have been surprising to anyone if it melted. He was in a bad spot when he heard the massive footfalls that got closer and closer. He couldn't really run, his shield wouldn't be able to provide the ample protection. He could hope for the fact that Armin was already in... Another pained grunt, but this time, the heavy gunfire indicated that it was something else. A quick scan would reveal Jim approaching quickly, firing his C-14 rifle in at Spike, intent on filling the dragon with lead. "Please... don't kill him!" Twilight cried over the sounds of gunfire as Jim hid behind a building. "You crazy?! He's going to make us all into barbeque if we don't!" Jim replied as he shot a few more rounds at Spike, the dragon sending another wave of fire down at them. "He's my friend... please... just... do something... anything... but don't kill him! Okay!" "I'll see what we can do then..." A voice replied from behind her. Slade's. This wouldn't be good. "Wha...you... how...." "Nothing to it." Slade said as he grabbed his staff and took a scan of the area. He spied Armin on the top of one of the buildings, ready to strike with his swords. Looks like he didn't get the.... Spike's tail went straight into the building, knocking Armin straight off. Oh brother. It didn't help the fact that Armin had ended up stabbing Spike in the tail, doing no real harm in the process and only pissing Spike off to the point where he diverted his attention to Armin. "Idiot deserves what's coming..." Slade muttered underneath his breath as he saw the dragon about to go upon Armin. The only thing that saved him from getting chewed up was a well placed sniper rifle bullet on Slade's part and a bit of machine gun fire on Raynor's part. "Sanya..." Slade said as he went next to the girl. "Do you have a weapon?" "Umm... no..." Sanya replied sheepishly as she watched Armin run away from getting Spike. "I can..." "Doesn't matter for now... take this..." Slade said as he handed her the grenade launcher. "Hope you can point it the right way at least.... give me a distraction..." "Wait... why me?" "Just pull a magic trick, and I'll pull one of mine, okay?" Leaning over, he whispered a few directions in her ear. "Okay then..." Sanya said as she found a good place... It actually was a pretty awful place, to put this into perspective, the blast ended up knocking her straight for a few feet, anyone else besides Raynor who happened to have been in a 15 foot radius had a similar conundrum as they were launched several feet back. Evidently, it had been extra, extra high yield grenades that Slade had been using. Surprisingly, the blast hadn't killed Spike. Only stunned him. Had Sanya been aiming for Spike, it would have been easy to say that he would have been ripped in two. This was all Slade needed, from the smoke a figure in black and orange jumped off a building, landing on the dragons head. Grabbing a strange canister, he slapped it straight onto the dragon, a mysterious orange gas filling Spike's nostrils. Slowly, his actions began to die down as he lost consciousness. "And that's how you do it." Slade said as he jumped off the unconscious dragon. "Nobody hurt?" "You have at least told us there would be a blast that big." Cap said as he got up. His body had left a massive imprint in the ground. "Why didn't you anyways?! You wanted people to die or something?" "No one died. This thing tactical vision confirms that, but as of now, there would be no way in hell anyone was willing to fire that thing if I told them about the size of the explosion." Slade said as he passed the ponies who had their mouths agape in surprise. "Alright then... so... what do we do now?" "Is... it over?" Armin asked as he poked his head out from behind cover. His mistake as Slade grabbed him by the collar, the mercenary who had been somewhat good humored in the last second just turned dead serious. "Where the hell were you this time? Hiding to save yourself from what we were throwing our skins in front of?!" Slade snarled as he gripped Armin tightly, partially intent on choking the life from him. "Uh...uh...eh..." Knowing that everyone was watching, he leaned close to Armin's ear, every word meaning it. "Listen kid... I am a master of accidents... if you compromise ANYONE, ANYONE or if are something worse... if you are a coward.... if you contribute nothing... if you are nothing but a ball and chain... then I will kill you... do you understand me?" Armin nodded, though... what did he do again? Except for I don't know.... NOT GET BURNED ALIVE?! Throwing the boy down, Slade turned back to Twilight, who MIGHT of had an idea on how to change Spike back to his original size and temperament. From the distance, a lone dragon flew overhead, perhaps rather surprised at how these creatures performed and having witnessed firsthand. Perhaps they were truly indeed a threat to him. Should he attack now while they were weary and licking their wounds? Probably not. He was in a bad position and if he came down on them, they'd spot them quickly. No, some other time. The dragon king looked at the sight again, and flew back to his mountain where he would plan his next schemes.
Chapter 30"So... what do we do with this thing?" Slade gestured over to Spike. "If he regains consciousness, I don't have enough gas to keep him down." "I don't think that'll actually be necessary..." Twilight said. "I am working on a spell." "Alright Sparkler, but know this, if he wakes up and he's still as he was when he was awake, I am putting him down. Permanently." Slade said with the utmost degree of seriousness as he walked away, bumping straight into Rainbow Dash. "What do you want?" "And who gives you the right to just "put spike down"? And another thing... what's up with you and killing people anyways?! Do you enjoy doing that or something?!" "I don't enjoy it." Slade replied. "But if you favor getting barbequed alive and getting eaten, I suppose I'll just let him if that's what you want." "And hold just a second... who said WE need your help anyways?!" Rainbow Dash asked indignantly. "I can handle myself!" "Really now? I recall that Captain Star Spangle beat you in a footrace. You call yourself a race horse, skittles?" "Well that's cause he cheats! He doesn't even get tired! And what kind of name is skittles?" "Steve cheats? That's a good one." Slade said as he walked away. "Listen horsey, you probably shouldn't be acting so uppity lest you really want bad things to happen. Just a warning, just a warning." "Bad things to happen? I bet I can take you down Mr. "world's greatest assassin"." "Let's see it then." Slade said. No sooner did those words leave his mouth, Rainbow Dash flew at him like a multi-colored lightning bolt. Slade merely sidestepped to one side, causing the Pegasus to crash in a pile of rubble. "Fast on the wings eh? Not so fast in the head though." "So... about Spike... how long is this going to take?" Steve asked Twilight as he watched Rainbow Dash hit a pile of rubble. Serves her right. "I dunno... and that's what scares me.... what if he gets up? He may try to eat all of us or burn us all down again!" "I think Slade would probably blow his head off before that happens." Steve said, though something about that sentence wasn't really so reassuring. Perhaps it involved Spike losing his head... or maybe it was because a guy called Deathstroke was just involved to begin with. "Twilight... I have a question..." Steve began after a long pause. "Yeah... sure." "Why did you follow us?" "What?" "Why did you follow us? We were walking all the way to that... crystal empire or whatever it's called and yeah... it's going to take at least 6 days for us to get there. So why did you follow us?" "Because we thought you needed help. And that... well... maybe it'd be nice to get to know you... most of you at least..." Twilight said tentatively taking a look at Slade who was sharpening one of his swords. "So... you're a soldier and all... but don't you have problems of your own back at home?" That was true... and for that moment... Cap didn't know how to answer. He just stared at the ground awkwardly. "I... uh... yeah.... um... well you see... I've dedicated my whole life to fighting oppression and tyrants. If that's really true, then I got to do it not just back home, but here as well." "I see..." Twilight said as she continued to cast her spell. "So how is everyone?" "Well... Raynor is a great man. He's one of the most decent men I've ever met on that note." Cap said. "I worry about Armin and Sanya though." "Why?" "They're children Twilight. And yet, they're both soldiers in wherever they come from. One of them fights giants with nothing but swords while the other has to fight an advanced race of aliens. What the hell? Just how desperate are their people to start sending in their own children to fight?" "Well... I heard from Sanya that only the very young can use magic." "Regardless... it's just messed up! I... I... I kinda almost want to go over to help... if only I could... if I only I had a clue on what to do." "Well... that's very kind of you Steve... but what could you do? Perhaps you may not know it, but those two probably have the same skill as you do. At least, when it comes to fighting giants or aliens." "True... true..." Steve said. "Though Slade would disagree about Armin. Man, he hates that kid." "How so?" "He thinks he's useless. Calls him a coward, calls him a ball and chain, all sorts of things." Steve said. "Maybe he should just go off and pick a fight with someone who can actually hit back." His hands curled into two fists. It really didn't take a genius to spot out the dislike between the captain and the mercenary. "Slade really isn't the most pleasant of all things I had to deal with..." Twilight said in agreement. "But he's pretty skilled..." "Skilled? Of course. He's one of the best assassins in his world which puts him at an apex level. And he's a great fighter, but I'll be damned if someone calls him a great soldier. He's not a soldier. Soldiers work together, being a soldier means to be apart a family. Slade? He destroyed his own family, he fights for himself, and doesn't give a damn about the rest of us. If we all died, and he just made it out, I am certain he'll come out straight without any regrets. Hope he dies in a fire or something." He caught the mercenary stealing a glance off him. naturally, he scowled straight at the smirking assassin. "Twilight... perhaps we can move without you? I don't like the idea but..." "I would actually suggest you do... it's going to take a long time....." "Okay then. We can stay for five more minutes, if it's not done then, we get going. Okay?" "Okay." "And you see... every Witch has her own special ability. Mine for example, I can listen great distances." Sanya said as the magical antennas popped out. "For example..." The sounds of the woodland creatures chattering was more than enough to bring a smile on Fluttershy's kind face as she began to speak. "That's amazing! You see... everypony has their own special talent too... mine for example is with animals! I can talk to them." "Talk to animals?" Sanya asked with a bit of curiosity. "How so?" "I can understand what they want to say. And that's really useful since I take care of so many of them." "I like animals... especially cats." Sanya said. Hopefully the cat tail and ears didn't give it away... "I can get you one... or many..." Fluttershy offered. "Oh... really? I can keep them?" "Of course! There's plenty of creatures who would love to become a pet to anyp... anyone!" "Wow... thanks..." Sanya said. "But of course... that's when we get back... right?" "Yes." "Okay then." Sanya said. Their conversation continued, naturally going over to the subject of their companions. Sanya's opinion? "I think everyone I've met in my life was pretty nice and all... I have this friend, Eila... she's like an older sister to me." Sanya said as she thought of the rest of her squadmates back at home. "What about you?" "Oh my friends are just lovely! They're so kind... and so good to be with! But... I have a question. About the people you're with... what do you think of them?" "Well... Jim is very nice... he does get along with everyone... but I think Steve and Slade are rather... well..." She smiled for a moment. "They remind me of Shirley and Barkhorn... two friends of mine... they never get along... and probably never will... I do worry about Armin though... It seems as though Slade doesn't like him very much." "I see... I understand when friends fight a lot... but Slade... he's very scary." Oh I dunno whatever made you feel that way. The eyepatch? The swords? The fact that he's killed like a few hundred people? Yeah... "I don't think Steve and Slade call even be called friends..." Sanya began. She would say a few things about Medic... but the guy scared her and probably everyone else to the point that they wouldn't let him within 5 feet of them unless they were given a guarantee he was going to heal them with the medigun. That guy. There wouldn't be anymore time to talk however, as five minutes came up. As Steve came to everyone telling them to get up, Spike still hadn't returned to his normal form. Though many would express their concerns, Twilight assured them it was fine... "fine". Whatever the cause, they had to go. Every moment they dragged on what be another moment Feynaltdrog would use in his conquest on the world. Speaking of which... if anyone in Canterlot happened to have been using the observatory or on any high balcony... well...
Chapter 31Total chaos. That's what it was. Just total chaos. Even if Discord somehow managed to get back from his vacation in the eight dimension and decided he wanted to get himself "Un-reformed", there would have been no way in hell for him to have set a standard so high for himself. The shield that had once protected Canterlot and held it's own against the full force of a changeling army was about as much protection as tissue paper against a flamethrower the moment the first dragon came dive-bombing down upon Canterlot. It smashed through the shield and crashed into several buildings, sowing destruction and death in it's wake. The royal guard were mobilized in less time than one could say "blitzkrieg" the only problem was, the offensive spells that were everyday to the average unicorn guard would do little more than throwing ping pong balls against a dragon, the pegasi found themselves at a similar disadvantage, the only difference would be that they won't have time to react against an angry dragon if they zapped it with a bolt of lightning from the nearest cloud. "Al daar hiim! Aldol nii wah golt!" Feynaltdrog cried over the sweet melody of destruction as he watched a pony get devoured in a bloody mess by a dragon. Cackling manically the dragon king readied himself, for the first time in 1,000 years, he had the time to try the spell. "Suldaan! Meyz veyl!" The call of the apocalypse. The coming of the event would not come until perhaps the literal end of time. (Duh.) It was merely what one would call... a preview of what the actual thing may be like. The ground split open and molten lava poured straight out of the holes, the skies blackened themselves, not from the hundreds of dark wings that obscured the moon itself but from the dark clouds of ill omen as a literal eye of terror opened it's up where the moon should be, everything else obscured by the darkness. Fire and brimstone rained down upon the hapless city of canterlot, as though it hadn't been ravaged enough by the marauding dragons that made their point of burning down the city, everywhere the balls of fire crashed into the ground of Canterlot, it's citizens would find themselves at the most perilous of all situations as death sprang from both beneath and above them. From her tower, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna watched the destruction unfold. The mad king of dragons relishing in the ruin he caused. Looking at each other, the pair took to the skies, making a beeline straight for the dragon king, coming face to face with the massive black dragon who acknowledged their presence with a smile. "Dii wuth paal. Vir pruzah los nii fah mii wah grind ont einzuk? Vir lingrah lost nii kosaan? Fah ton eruvos, Zu'u lost kosaan ni nuz bruzah, dii sil krent kotin malur naal hin veistul luh. Vir gluuskei fah zey, hi nid lingrahiik posses grik zun wah kod midrak zey." "You deserved your sentence Feynaltdrog, king of dragons. For the world suffered and trembled beneath your claws." Luna said as she readied her horn, her elder sister preparing herself. "Ful saag gein wo unt wah frit lein ko unahzaal vulom. Lost hi vodahmin hin siifur dren? Tol hi los med zey? Hi laan lein ahst hin fren? Hi skem zey. Pah do hin eylok dreh. Hi yolskein mii vokulin tul duzrah hin siifur dren. Tol los fahvos lein qaariv wah kos neben dii fren. Zu'u los vahzah siifuriik do daar lein. Nunon zok suleykaar fen alun vorliz." "Then if only the powerful may rule, then we'll let you see who just may be!" Celestia replied as the golden beam shot out of her horn, straight at the dragon king who had readied his voice, the moment the words escaped his mouth, the bright blue shield covered his front as the power of the sun hit it with all it's might. The shield buckled and cracked, but did not break as the dragon king readied himself for the counter attack. "How... much... further?" Sanya whispered into Cap's ear over the sounds of crickets. "Not much more kid. We'll stop in five minutes... okay?" Steve replied as he took a drink from his canteen. "Okay..." Sanya said as she continued moving. "Steve... I think I heard something..." "What is it?" Cap asked as he took out his pistol, getting ready for any trouble. Likewise, swords and guns were all drawn the moment Sanya said this, much to the Orussian's annoyance. "No... as in far away... like really far away..." "Okay... so tell me about it." "There were... screams... just like that. Screams. I think..." "Kid... I don't want to be that guy, but we can't really just go off and get sidetracked every time some poor sap accidently steps on a set of legos." Slade said. "Whatever it is, it's probably some horse who scraped his knee or something." "No... I think it was many of them. And there was just SO many of them... I think... we need to hurry." "Well... that's the talk." Raynor said as they kept going on. "You still tired?" "No." Sanya lied as moved with them, in truth, having not gotten a good night's sleep in quite the long time, she felt like she could fall asleep right then and there. "Well... regardless, whether you're a witch, super soldier or crazy doctor... I think we all need to sleep some time." Raynor said. "This place looks good. What do you say Cap?" "Looks good to me." Steve said he took a look at the outside of the cave. "If there's anything in there, we can take care of it." "My pleasure." Slade chuckled nastily as he readied his assault rifle and activated his tactical vision. Indeed, there was a faint trace of a creature within. "Let's have some fun Cap." Let's just say... a certain Apex predator in Equestria was REALLY big. Like big enough to probably omnomnom on Killer Croc without a problem. The only thing was... it was kinda see-through and had a strange, almost magical physiology that made it so that it blended in albeit too perfectly in terms of temperature with it's surroundings. It was really big. I can give you that. And you know what else it had? Gunshots were pretty much mosquito bites to it, and the massive size of it all meant that it could probably turn even Jim Raynor in a full suit of power armor into pudding in just a few seconds with little to no effort. When Slade and Cap went into the cave. They stumbled straight into a sleeping Ursa. As usual, because of the darkness of the place, no one really bothered to actually take out a flashlight and see what they were dealing with. All Slade knew was something was in front of him and it was probably a wild animal. Thinking of clearing up some space and probably having breakfast, the mercenary fired a few rounds of his assault rifle straight into it's face. Only then did he realize the error of his mistake once he heard the low rumble that resembled that of an earthquake. The two must have broken records in an attempt to get out of that cave.
Chapter 32The instant they heard the literal earthquakes of footfalls, everyone that hadn't gone into the cave knew something was horribly wrong. Especially when Slade and Cap both came tearing out of the cave, almost tripping over one another in the most undignified scramble ever to get out. When it poked it's head out, no one moved a muscle. A few jaws dropped, eyes widened, and although no one would admit it, it wouldn't have been surprising if someone had actually done the number one, though no one would ever admit to this for rather obvious reasons. What could be admitted to easily was that everyone was scared shitless. Everyone. So... when the Ursa Major gave out it's loud roar, everyone stopped playing statues and ran like hell. Frankly, pissing off an 16 meter tall bear was probably one of the worst mistakes anyone could have made. Birds scattered as the six people trampled practically anything that was too small or too slow to get out of their path, while a hulking monster of a bear chased after them, turning the trees into pudding with it's paws. "He's... he's not changing back..." Rainbow Dash said pointing out the rather painfully obvious thing to just about anybody. After almost an hour of the same spell, Spike hadn't gotten any smaller. "No... the spell... it's going to work! It's my fail safe spell!" "Umm... I hate to break it to you Twilight... but you said that when Discord decided to turn Ponyville into the chaos capital of the world..." "But this isn't Discord!" "Of course it's not! It... it..." It was worse. That's what it was. "Now Twilight..." Applejack began. "I don't wanna say anything that may be... well.... bleak... but ya know... what if Spike doesn't wake up? Or what if he does? But like that? Big, mean and angry! There would be nothing we could do!" "And that's why I have to do something!" Twilight retorted. "I can't leave him like this! Not like this!" "Twi..." Applejack sighed but said nothing, only choosing to bury her face within her hat. "Twilight... there may be nothing we can actually do..." Fluttershy began, not really wanting to say those words at all. "If there really is nothing we can do... then... maybe..." "What?!" Twilight asked rather hostilely, her anger rising at the prospect of what Fluttershy of all ponies may actually be about to say. "Well... you see..." Rarity continued, seeing that Twilight may be about to go... well... "Perhaps we could just leave him here?" Pinkie Pie suggested rather slowly. "ARE YOU ALL NUTS?! WE CAN'T LEAVE SPIKE!" Twilight said stamping her hoof like a foal who was just denied some candy. "HE'S MY FRIEND! HE'S LIKE A LITTLE BROTHER TO ME! WE CAN'T JUST... just..." She relented as she took a look at her friends. "We can't just leave him..." Twilight said lowering her head. "We can't do that... we just can't!" "The gas isn't going to last for very long." Rarity said. "Whatever that Deathstroke put him in won't last. As much as I hate to abandon my spikey wikey... if we stay... I don't even want to..." "She's right..."Applejack said sadly. "Like I said... I don't wanna say it... but... if he wakes up... there might be no telling what he may do..." "He's very scary like that..." Fluttershy agreed. "And he's such a meanie too! I hope it wears off! Maybe he's just sick! That's all!" "Wait... Pinkie... say what you just said again..." Rainbow Dash said. "What? Maybe he's just sick?" "Twilight..." Rainbow Dash said, wondering if there was anything that would comfort her friend. "Maybe... maybe it will wear off... maybe he will come back to normal... spell or no spell... don't you think we would?" She wanted to say "yes" but with the fact that the greatest foe Celestia had ever combated was alive and walking well... flying... around. It would be hard to say what would happen. Would it wear off? Could it wear off? She didn't know... and that's what scared her. "But I can't just..." "We know Twi... we know..." Applejack began. "But... I dun really wanna stick around to see what happens if he wakes up... we'll just have to hope for the best... and maybe Princess Celestia might have a clue..." "THAT'S IT! WE GO TO CANTERLOT RIGHT NOW GIRLS." Twilight announced. "Wait what...?" "If anyone has a clue... it's got to be Princess Celestia!" Twilight said. "Come on girls... let's get him back to normal!" [Meanwhile... in Canterlot...] Maybe it was one hour... maybe it was two... maybe it was half of the night she didn't know. All she knew was that there was something heavy on her, and with a mighty heave, the rocks and rubble came tumbling off. Painfully, Celestia got up, her mane covered in dust and blood, her face and body was lined with ugly cuts and bruises as she looked up at the ruins of Canterlot, the entire city having been one step from completely obliterated. There was not a single building that had been unmarked by the dragon raid, Canterlot castle itself fared slightly better than the rest of the city, a segment of the wall was missing entirely and the huge roaring blazes had yet to be put out by the local weather team. Whether or not said weather team was actually still alive... no pony knew. "Celestia... are you hurt?" Luna asked as she landed right next to her elder sister. "I have been looking for you..." "I am fine Luna... but Canterlot is not..." "I can see that..." Luna said as she saw the sun rise. "I... I had to preform your duty... I was worried..." "It's fine... thank you Luna. But... this city..." "Destroyed by the forces of the dragon king." Luna replied as she recalled the meteors that came crashing down upon the city. "It finally stopped... after the many hours... I didn't know... you were knocked out and when the building fell on you, I had no choice but to help aid any of the civilians. It was fortunate for us that Feynaltdrog chose to leave then. For what reasons... I don't know." "Was to demonstrate his strength? For he has the elements..." Celestia said. "And we have no way of stopping him... could Discord even?" "Could Tierk? Could Chrysalis? The nightmare forces? I doubt it." Luna said. "Our only hope... well... rests on them..." And right about now... "them" as in Sanya, Jim, Armin, Slade, Steve and Medic were busy hiding in a cave... "She's asleep. Too damn tired." Raynor said as he gently placed Sanya down on the ground of the cave. "And now... we're trapped in here..." "Zis is bad..." Medic said as he sat by a stream to fill up a canteen of water. "Zat Giant bear von't leave!" "And that's why it is bad..." Slade said as he sat down and took off his mask. "So tired..." "Look on the bright side people..." Cap said. "It can't get to us from in here." "Yeah... so what? It only has to wait us out..." Slade said. "Then that's why we got to get out." Steve said firmly. "Do you think..." "I think... but you don't." Slade replied. "If I know what Captain Star Spangles is going to come up with, it probably ends gloriously and sounds great, until we all get eaten." "Do you have a good idea?!" Steve asked. The lack of sleep was one thing that pissed him. Slade being Slade didn't exactly help. "Yes I do... not getting eaten!" Slade said. "What the hell?! Why did you possibly think this cave was a good idea!" "We wouldn't be in here right now if someone had the brains to check what the hell it was he was shooting!" "And we wouldn't be in here if some idiot didn't lead us straight into a goddamn death trap!" "You think it would have mattered? It's safe in here... for now. But look at those around you... you think we can keep on this forever? We get tired and we are all going to die! Look at Sanya... at Armin... at Medic... Do they LOOK like they can keep going?!" "We can easily hide..." "Hiding. How typical. We're not goddamn ninjas Slade!" "No... YOU are just a deluded fool!" "And you don't give a damn about anyone else except for yourself! We all die and you walk away without as much as caring to look back!" "Who said that?! Plus... you made it quite clear to me that you and I won't have too many problems slitting each other's throats at a moments notice." "What's that got to do? I am only telling you that the most DISPECIABLE person I know as of now should watch his ass if he decides he wants to pull a fast one!" "Watch my ass Captain? Scary. You're not the first person to threaten to kill me and you bet you won't be the last!" "The scary thing will be the next guy. It'll be quite hard to fight when you're missing both eyes!" "You want to fight Captain? You want to?! I'll give you..." "GUYS!" Armin said as he got in between the two. "BREAK IT UP. We're trapped in here and we are not going to get out by just fighting amongst ourselves!" Time paused for a moment as the last sentence echoed throughout the cave. Slowly, the two men stopped only glaring daggers at one another before either sitting down or leaning against a wall. "It's hopeless..." Medic muttered underneath his breath. His bleak attitude deserted him when he saw Armin fall straight into the stream. He chuckled a bit only to find it surprising that Armin had begun to laugh. "Vat's so funny?" "This stream... it's flow... it goes the other way!" Armin cried out. "There may be an exit... ON THE OTHER END!"
Chapter 33"I don't like this." Raynor said as he listened closely at the eerie dripping noise within the cave. "It feels... I feel like I am being watched." "Who would anyways? It's too dark to see much." Slade said as he activated his tactical vision. "Better." "You... see anything?" "Nothing actually. Just caves, water and more cave." Slade said. "I honestly don't hope this leads deeper down or I am going to pick getting eaten alive by a giant bear." "I actually hope you do." Cap said muttering underneath his breath. "Alright Doctor, you know anything about caves?" "Damn it Captain! I am a doctor, not un cave expert!" "Alright... alright." Steve mumbled to himself as he held Sanya in his hands. "Damn... I wish you were awake. You could probably see just fine. Or rather... hear just fine." "I do have night vision Cap... and I can see just fine in this." Slade said as he took a look down. "Follow the stream... right son?" "Right." Armin replied as they continued on. "There has to be a way out, after all... where does this stream lead to?" "A fair point nevertheless." Slade said. Good to see you can make yourself useful kid. "Vell zen... let's keep going." The group moved on, unaware of that they were being watched by prying claws and greedy eyes. Had Sanya been awake... she could have heard it easily. "My... preciousness...." "Wha...who...wha...wh...ho...bubub..bub...ha...what?" Twilight stammered out as she looked out at Canterlot which had been like this way when she left, ended up looking a bit like this today. "Feynaltdrog. That's who. He attacked last night." Celestia said as she watched over at the citizens of Canterlot within their misfortune. Perhaps not a single household was spared that night as many crowded around Canterlot castle, lost and afraid. "Just last night... he used a spell... a long forbidden magic eons old. With that one spell, he was able to destroy this city effortlessly!" "He wields the power of the heavens themselves." Luna lamented as she dug a hoof into the earth. "Is there nothing that can oppose him?" "Princess... please... the whole thing." "Right..." Luna said as she recounted the battle the night before. How hundreds of dragons descended up Canterlot at night, how every pony was helpless against their might, how the two sisters themselves had attempted to battle with the dragon king and how in the end... they were utterly and completely helpless against his power. The king of dragons was truly a king of sorcery amongst him kind. With nothing that could stop him, Canterlot burned underneath him. "And that's not just the worst of it." Celestia said. "We are getting similar reports from every major city not just in Equestria... but from everywhere. And yet... there's even more to that. The Changelings are now under the control of the dragons, and we fear that the minotaur lands have fallen underneath the heel of the tyrant." "So... what can we do?" Twilight asked as she looked around at the destruction. At the dead and the dying and at the groans of the wounded. "What can we do?" "If only... if only there would be a way to tell when Feynaltdrog would strike..." "And where in the name of the moon he was coming from!" Luna said. "How does he... what?" "Princess... I think we're already on it..." Twilight grinned slightly. "You see... I met up with the humans when... well... we went looking for them... and..." She felt like she was forgetting something... but that train of thought would probably find it's way back sooner or later... now then... where was she? "Right. Sorry about that. They were off to the Crystal Empire! They are trying to look for a way for them to decipher the dragon language!" The two regal sisters looked at each other for a moment, before both smiling hopefully. "Then it's good... then we might just have a chance." Luna grinned. "Now then... perhaps we should make our way there too? The crystal empire has both the most powerful conjurer of defensive magic in all of Equestria and the Princess of love herself. With those two... we should be able to find sanctuary there." "But what of Canterlot?" "I'll stay back then." Celestia said. "Lest Feynaltdrog decides to rear his head again, I will be prepared to defend every pony to my last breath." "We can only hope that won't be necessary." Luna commented as the seven ponies went off. Twilight had forgotten something.... "Okay... this looks like a good place to stop..." Slade said. "She's STILL asleep?" "Yeah..." Cap said. "Nocturnal here? You of all people..." "Not in the mood." Slade cut off. Truth be told, he received little sleep last night either, because... well... kinda hard to rest when you have a giant purple bear outside wanting to eat you. "Now zen... how deep are ve in?" Medic asked as he took a look around. "I'd say... perhaps... I...um... okay.... maybe... damn it... I have no clue." Armin said as he took a look around and back to the stream within the cave. "I just hope this leads us out." "I swear..." Slade began. Even without things like lack of sleep and nearly getting killed, he was fairly easy to agitate. You can imagine how pissed off he would be when hearing rather... unfortunate news and having both of the two things happening to him. Though, a stern look from the star spangled man, and he would say nothing. Though he wanted nothing more than to hit something, or in this case someone... not here. Just anywhere but here. "Maybe you should carry Sanya." Cap said as he handed the small girl over to the assassin, inwardly making jokes to himself about how Slade would probably bludgeon someone to death with the sleeping girl. Then again... it wouldn't be a joke if that actually happened. Funny. Now that he began to think about it... the two seemed to have spent an awful lot of time together... Ironic even. The first day they met ended with Slade getting a shattered chestplate and Sanya with probably shattered bones... which turned out to not have happened but still... not the best of first impressions when all things considered but... Why did those two spend so much time together? What the hell did they even have in common? Why would one of the kindest, shyest and quietest people he had met want to be with that bastard? Why would that assassin want to be with anyone actually? Maybe it was the military background? Steve had started when he was in his early twenties, while Slade had begun his career as a soldier when he was 16. Sanya began at 13. Maybe it was this single... Nah. Slade? Really? Cap was in the army too and those two probably would murder each other if given the chance. Perhaps it was just mere sympathy at the fact... really... Slade showing anyone sympathy? That'd be the day. Probably just mere randomness then. Those two seemed like an odd grouping of all sorts. An old soldier past his prime who's still worth an army, while a soldier that should be too young to serve, also worth an army of lesser men. His train of thought crashed over a bridge when he heard what sounded like footfalls.
Chapter 34Orussia being an alternate counterpart to Russia, not surprisingly, had a climate so cold that anyone not to used to constant sub-zero temperature would be in for a rough trip. But if anyone came to Orussia after September 1st 1939 west of the Ural moutains, the cold would be the least of anyone's concerns. Neuroi. Mysterious aliens that consumed swaths of land in an equally mysterious yet seemingly endless hunger. If it hadn't been for the witches and their uncanny magical abilities, the entire planet would have been consumed by the aliens. And here she was. Standing in the bitter cold with nothing but a rabbit-fur coat and the iconic usankas of Orussia, Sanya stood within the blizzard. The snow pelted her like an MG nest on an advancing charge, the bitter cold nipped at her face and stung her eyes. This was Orussia. The largest empire that the world has yet seen. A little tidbit of history now wouldn't be important, especially since this was only one person's history, not the rest. What was important was how in the midst of the terrible blizzard, a lone shape materialized out of nowhere. It was Eila. "Eila?" Sanya asked with disbelief at her friend as she stepped out of the snow which was almost like a veil to everything that was in front of her. "Sanya..." Eila replied. "Are you okay? Are you... how...uhh.... wake up!" "What?" Sanya asked. "Wake up Sanya! Please! Wake up!" Is this a dream? Definitely. Was this whole thing merely a dream? This "adventure"? Everyone that she had met? Surely there couldn't have been a land of magical ponies where... "God damn it! Wake up!" Eila cried out again. "Huh?" Sanya scratched her head as Eila began to shout incomprehensible things about "getting up". Maybe those comments should be saved for Hartmann... but that aside... "I know I shouldn't remind you... but didn't you say you'd carry me around if I was too tired to walk?" Sanya replied. "Are you kidding me?" Slade groaned as she listened to what Sanya just said through closed eyelids. "Are you kidding me?" "Well... you're job now!" Steve chuckled as he saw Slade glare daggers at him as Sanya continued to mumble incomprehensible words of gratitude and much to Slade's annoyance, calling him "Eila" which sounded much like a girl's name... you can only imagine how irritated he would get by that. "So Eila..." Steve said to Slade who had still not stopped giving him the evil eye. "How's your best friend doing? I hope..." "Very funny Captain. Very funny." Slade said as he held Sanya as he would to his children when they were younger. Back then, he actually knew how to hold children and probably could do it without either getting arrows/batarangs/shurikens/power rings/water/martians/kyrptonians/etc getting flung at him from all directions. Come on people, he was an assassin, not a kidnapper and... He stopped walking as he heard the footfalls. Silent... like that guy with the batarangs. Someone there was trying to sneak up on them. Or worse yet... it might be something. "You hear that?" Slade whispered. He didn't need an answer the moment cap's face went from jovial to alert in ten seconds flat. In less time than that, the Captain had drawn his pistol. Slade's hand strayed to his SMG. Whatever was trying to get the slip of them... it was getting closer. All the while, rather comically Sanya was still mumbling about someone called Eila. "So... what happened there?" Luna asked as the seven ponies went through the forest, trying hard to find what original route they had taken the last time, and where they had met up with the humans. They would stop temporarily at the large footprints within the ground. "Huh... looks like... well... wow..." Twilight said. "If I remember the books right... I think an Ursa Major has been through here." "Um... Twilight... doesn't that mean BAD things for us?" "Not at all actually! Did you know Ursas are mostly actually very calm and reasonable? They won't even notice you unless you do something to get their attention. Typically however, they leave us alone and probably wouldn't care about what we do and... what's that noise?" In the distance. Birds scattered as the roars became within earshot. The ponies took a look around for a moment for any telltale signs that could possibly tell them what was going on. Save for the footprints, there were none causing Luna to fly up into the skies to take a look. When she came down, she couldn't have been more panicked if someone had told her Feynaltdrog was (somehow) in her saddlebag. "We have to go. Now!" The princess of the night said. Her unfeigned anxiety and terror caused everypony to back up for a moment. "What's going on?" Rainbow Dash asked. "What's..." "There is no time to talk! There is a dragon fighting an Ursa Major!" "Wait.. say that again?" Twilight asked as she looked at her map again. "There is a dragon fighting an Ursa." Luna answered. "Come on! Let's go!" That instantly made Twilight's face droop. That's what she just forgot. "Umm... Luna what color was the dragon?" "Why do you care?! This entire forest is going to go up in flames with those two titans battling!" "Just tell me!" "Purple!" Imagine the looks on the faces of every pony when they all realized at the same time what they had forgot. "SPIKE!" "Vat vas that?" Medic asked to empty air as he drew out the bonesaw, the long blade still stained of blood on his last unlucky patient. "Something..." Jim said as he aimed his rifle. His motion detectors within his armor's HUD were buzzing like crazy, yet there was no way currently to search for a source. He couldn't tell where it was coming from. No one could. "I got nothing..." Slade grumbled as he activated his tactical vision. With Sanya in his hands, he mentally debated on whether or not Sanya would make a good bludgeoning tool. Frantically, the mercenary scanned around. He would find nothing. "Armin... what are you doing?" Rogers asked as he took out his shield, watching the boy step into the shallow stream, walking through it. "The water... we should go in... I know we'll get wet and all but if somethings out there... I think if we can't see it coming... we can hear it coming!" "And this is why I wish Sanya is awake." Slade said as he looked at the water. "What do you think if I... uh..." He pointed between Sanya and the water, getting all looks of disapproval... "Okay. I am certain her taking a nap isn't as important as... actually.. forget it. How the hell does she sleep through this is a better question." In all seriousness... Hartmann was easily outdone today in who was a better sleeper. But as things would have it, Sanya turned out to be a very heavy sleeper as she continued to mumble to an imaginary friend. Slade would have been the happiest man on the planet for like 2 seconds when Sanya perked up and wrapped her arms around his neck... only to find out... She was still asleep. "Thanks for carrying me Eila..." Sanya muttered in her dream-like state. Inwardly, dunking her in stream water was now becoming more and more of a viable option.
Chapter 35Hungry... so hungry... Underground caves, as on might expect... aren't exactly the most plentiful in edible materials. And so, that's exactly the type of predicament a certain type of pack creature found in Equestria was having when it got lost and separated. Having spent days without eating, the beast was rather famished as you could imagine but nevertheless, retained it's capable abilities to track prey... scratch that last sentence. Got even better at it. Why? Because it was STARVING TO DEATH AND NEEDED SOMETHING TO EAT. Naturally... when other living beings entered it's domain you can imagine how hunting instincts kick in. The only problem was... the other beings entered and were rather quick on getting out. So... our lost hunter here needed to be very fast, or it's prey might escape. As time passed... the hunter found out that his prey may... be... a bit on the dangerous side. For instance... four out of the six potential meals he could have were larger than he was. Two of them were in irons that would break his teeth if he tried, whilst the other two carried an air of danger, one always carried a shield while the one in white with glasses had a... chilling aura of fear that made the hunter less sure of taking it on. So... he had two options. A somewhat cat-like creature that had done nothing but rest, while a shorter member of these strange species which seemed to be... what our hunter here would call easy meat. The only problem would be attempting to get it. In addition, this prey... something told it, that it won't be easy. Perhaps the swords at it's side? It waited. Making mistakes once in a while and attracting the attention of several members of the pack he kept stalking. Fearfully... yet hungrily he waited. The hunger would be what drove him into taking the risk... the beast surely wasn't stupid. It knew that it was the hunter... but it was also the prey. And that... that... was a problem. "Oh no... oh no... oh no..." Twilight said as she looked at the area of the forest. Gone. Just completely gone. Bulldozed by the two great titans that now fought tooth and nail for... Um... why are they fighting again? It didn't matter. What happened had to be stopped lest they destroy the entire forest... which they kinda already did already but still... best calm the two rampaging monsters down or bad things are going to happen. By bad things, I mean not as in the fact AN ENTIRE FOREST WAS PRACTICALLY LEVELED... by bad things I mean... hey... we gotta stop them from leveling the already leveled forest! That aside... however, Twilight looked to take a look at the action better. As of now, the Ursa and the dragon were both on the ground, roaring at one another like two cats fighting over territory. Perhaps that was what all of this was about? No. Spike is smarter than that. Something told her that though he had been reduced (or rather, enlarged) into a savage dragon, he had to have had a reason to fight the Ursa... or maybe he didn't... whatever the case, she needed Spike back. And she wanted him back now. Whether or not it was a good idea... yeah it was a terrible idea, but regardless Twilight got all the air her lungs could muster and called out. "SPIKE" For a instant the two creatures stopped fighting to acknoledge her existence the Ursa just looked at her, and then looked back, continuing to snarl and roar at it's foe, but Spike... Spike just stared at Twilight for a moment. Just stared. And then... without warning, he stretched his great wings and flew off. Just like that. "Spike?!" Twilight called out. "Spike?! SPIKE?!" He was gone. Into the wind he went, away from here as though there was something in Twilight he wanted to get away from. Nevertheless... whatever the reason, Twilight couldn't help but feel the pains of sorrow as she saw the dragon that had been her number on assisstant fly off into the distance, perhaps... never to be seen again by her. "Spike..." Twilight whimpered through the tears that streamed down her cheeks. "Why? Don't leave..." He was already out of earshot. But to Twilight... he would always be listening. Luna placed a hoof on the weeping pony's shoulders as they watch the Ursa make it's exit. "He's gone now." Luna said, stating the obvious. "To parts unknown." "Why?" Twilight asked. "Why does he want to leave?!" "I don't know." Luna replied. "But please... how did he become fully grown?" It took a while to explain. How a spell had overcome Spike, and in an instant, he had grown to a beserking dragon that rampaged through a local town. Only did some mysterious gas that Slade have ended up calming him down. When he never woke up nor returned to normal size, the decision was inevitably made to abandon him. A decision that was now regretted. "Don't be too hard on yourself Twilight. Had you stayed... you would have been caught in the middle of a dragon and an Ursa." Luna said as Spike faded into a little dot in the distance. "If Spike really is fully grown... then he'll seek out his own fortunes. But if... but if Feynaltdrog had TRULY corrupted him... then I doubt he would have just walked away from all of this." "So... where do you think he's going?" "He's a dragon Twilight. He'll go anywhere that has riches and a place for him to sleep. That's what the ordinary dragons do." Luna said. Her voice contained a grim undertone that silently spoke about the OTHER type of dragon. The ones who burned down cities and devoured their residents. Or worse yet... the ones that were vicious warlords and conquerers. "Eila..." She woke up rather rudely. Really rudely to the slap of cold water as Slade poured an entire canteen of it straight on to her head. Gasping for a moment, she took a look around, fully awake, her sharp hearing detected... something. "Oh... what happened here?" Sanya asked as she gasped again. "Are you..." "I've been carrying you for the last hour. You're welcome." Slade replied as he refilled the canteen in the stream. "Alright... so..." "There's something in here with us!" Sanya said. "Yeah... we've realized." Slade replied. "We just can't find the damn thing." "Maybe I can..." Sanya said as the magical antennas formed themselves, she grabbed TT-33 at he side. Like a cat finding signs of prey, she began to have a look around. Finding some place that migh... "Where the hell are you going?" Steve asked. "Get back here." "I think I can find whatever's in the cave with us." Sanya replied. "Don't worry... I can handle myself." Thank god. Slade thought as he tossed her his knife. "Hey kid... it'll come in handy." "Alright. Thanks Slade... and for carrying me all that time... did I really sleep all that time?" "Longer actually." Steve chuckled. "Right Eila?" "I swear..." In the cave. The lone hunter found it's potential meal yet it's potential predator. The lone creature was of small build, small being comparing to it's own kind. In truth, it stood over this specimen. The dog bared it's fangs in signs of frustration, wondering when was the best time to tackle it. It could hear him in utter darkness, and that caused the lone Diamond Dog to lose whatever advantage he had. Yet... could he take it on? Fight it? Wrestle it to the ground and snap it's neck before the others notice? It was worth a try. The dog readied it's fangs and claws and found a potential ambush site. It sat still... afraid to move a muscle as the Orussian approached. Knife in one hand, gun in the other. The magical antennas listening for anything... anything that may give anything about what was in the cave with her.
Chapter 36Darkness. That was the home of the night witch. To some, they were like ghosts that haunted the dark skies after the sun had set, patrolling the skies. Regardless. Darkness was the Night Witch's best friend. They thrived in it and in return, the darkness was their ally. But how far did this friendship go when faced with this sort of creature? A creature that had been born in the dark... raised by it... molded by it... that hadn't seen the light until it had already been grown? That when it had seen the light, the light was nothing... just nothing save for blindness. Regardless... the Diamond Dog bared it's fangs as it saw Sanya, alone as she approached. Even without the perfect ability to seen within the darkness, the magical antennas that gleamed bright green within the ill-lighten cave would have given her away to practically anything along with the glow of the flashlight. The dog perched atop a small mound, fangs and claws at the ready. The first meal it would have in a long time. Something wasn't right. Why was it's prey towards him? Why was it that every time he inched off a little bit, his prey would change her direction, as though it knew he was there? Terrible realization would be had when a light was shone straight into his face, causing him to cry out and cover his eyes from the blinding light before being able to look at his potential meal. "Hello?" Sanya asked as she examined the creature. It was canine-like though a thin... and had these sharp teeth which wasn't very appealing to her. In addition, the claws would cause any sensible person to step back. To this end, Sanya kept her gun raised. "Can you speak?" "Yeeesssss..." The dog hissed. It's dinner was speaking to him. Amusing. "Speeaaaakkkk...." It's prey was alert. Ready for trouble. From the way the tail and the ears were tense, rigid, like an alert cat that had found signs of danger. If he struck now, he could end up with nothing... or worse. "Is there a way out?" Sanya asked with her normal air of quiet politeness. The creature... looked... well... pitiful almost. It was terribly thin, not in the same sense one would describe it as a compliment, but almost of a sickly thin. Realization and a closer scrutiny would reveal this creature hadn't eaten for maybe days now. "Yesss... I can show you..." The dog replied as it grinned inwardly. "Come... with meeeeee..." "I will... but I need to tell my friends... there's a way out..." "No... come with meeeeeee...." "Are you alright?" Sanya asked, her uneasiness beginning to show. The last part sounded a bit... demented even. "Are you sick? Do you need help? One of my friends is a doctor... he can..." "No... I jusssstt...neeeeed..... YOU!" She let out a small yelp of surprise as the dog lunged straight for her, fangs and claws barred at the ready. It could have gone badly for Sanya, easily could have, but her initial shock and instincts ended up saving her as she practically jumped back, the cat tail tucked under and her ears back. The dog was growling like an animal with a seriously bad case of rabies of is it lunged and scratched, missing every time until the last one, giving her a few small scars and a rather long tear in her sleeves. See... it didn't hurt. Save for the fact that the shirt she was wearing... was a gift from Eila. And that... really pissed her off. LIKE REALLY PISSED HER OFF. Slade burst into hearty laughter when he heard the sounds of wet meat splat against rock as the blow sent the dog flying, in an almost cartoon-like fashion as it hit the rock, somehow still being alive. "Very good... very good... I see you can handle yourself kid. They teach that in the military?" She practically jumped when she heard his voice... the only thing stopping her from leaping straight out of her skin was that Slade had a tendency to pull this on everyone. Turning around, she saw the masked mercenary approach her with a blade out. Had this been their first time meeting, she probably would have been pretty scared at the fact that a guy wearing ~~a painted hockey mask~~ A REALLY BADASS MASK THAT NO ONE WILL EVER MAKE FUN OF was approaching her... or rather... the semi-conscious... thing. "Please tell me you haven't been following me this whole time..." "I was.. I mean wasn't. Tactical vision told me your heart rate sky-rocketed. Told me that something was wrong so I went to take a look. I see you can take care of yourself just fine though. But let's find our way out now... okay?" It was a good thing he caught himself... or rather turned an accident around. He had almost just said the words "I was worried". "So... where's the way out?" Slade asked firmly. "You can all die hereeee with mee... AUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..." The blade was thrust straight into one the dog's paws causing the red, slippery liquid to spill out. "I am not going to ask again." Slade replied. "Tell me where's the way..." "Hey Slade!" Steve's voice called out from behind them. "Armin's got a way out!" The dog practically sighed with relief. He actually didn't know the way out and ha... "Well... you ran out of time." Slade said as his two hands grabbed the dog's head. "Wait... wait... wait!" SNAP* "So... whatcha guys got here?" Slade asked as he approached the group, seeing how the stream flowed outside... only problem was, unless you were able five inches tall, you weren't going to be able to go out. "I need a demo charge on that wall." Raynor said. "From what I know, we blow it up, and we're home free!" "Than stand back." Slade said as he grabbed his proximity bombs and placed them against the wall. "Hey Armin..." "What?" The boy asked, a bit nervous that it was Slade. "You found the exit, son. I think you deserve the honors." Slade said as he tossed him the trigger. Maybe he wasn't totally useless after all. "More walking now?" Medic grumbled as he grabbed the map. At least the warm afternoon was pleasant, the weather was nice and the birds were singing. Almost worth frolicking in if it wasn't for the journey ahead. "Unfortunately, doc." Raynor replied as he took a look. "But the sun's shining and we're alive and it's nice to be out! You know... I am so happy... I can just start singing... except I am terrible at it... so I won't." "Hmm... we used to sing on marches." Cap replied. "I think I got one." "Lemee guess... US army related?" Slade asked. "Of course. Now then... what was that song again? Oh right. Here's the one." Clearing his throat, the Captain began his song. All those stage performances in his early days as "Captain America" was now beginning to pay off. "How unexpected." Slade mumbled sarcastically. "It's a good song." Sanya commented. "Wait... Slade... didn't you say you used to be in Lib... I mean America's army?" "What are you trying to say?" "SING ALONG MERCENARY!" Raynor laughed. Groaning for a moment... he joined in the song with Captain America. The second most humiliating thing that would happen to him today.
Chapter 37Five more days. Through lush forests, grassy plains and barren tundras would the six finally reach their destination, the crystal empire. Truely a city of glamor. "Wow... is that all..." "Crystal... or for me... minerals." Raynor said smiling. "I think I can get about 40 tons of minerals here..." "How are we going to move it all?" Steve asked. "Ehh.... good question." Raynor replied. "But let's just get into whatever library there is so that every time we listen to the dragons... it's not just giberish. And by "we listening", I mean "Sanya listening".... Sanya?" She was too busy staring. The crystal empire... just... just look at the place damn it! "Wow..." Sanya muttered. "That..." She was lost for words. Just simply lost for words. How could one describe it? The glamor that outdone Canterlot by many leagues? A diamond of a city. Litearlly and figuratively. Without further ado, the group procceded into the crystal empire. Twilight and the others were waiting for them. "Hey Twilight!" Raynor called pleasantly over to the lavender unicorn who looked as old as eternity as of now. "Howya doing?" She tried to speak up. But as the things built up, like the destruction of Canterlot and Spike... her voice failed her. Her mouth opened to say the words, the news about what had happened when they tried getting here, about what had happened when they took a detour back to Canterlot, but all that came out was silence. "Cat got your tongue?" Sanya teased. "Is something wrong?" When she gave no answer a second time, there would be no questioning of it. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. "We need to talk." Luna said as she waved them forward into the crystal palace, the crystal ponies still taking a look at the strange new creatures that arrived in their domain. "Vat's the ze matter?" "Come in." Luna said. "Now." Sanya's ears perked up as they walked in. She could hear something... Canterlot was in ashes. Those were the only words that left Luna's mouth, but those were the only words that would ever be needed to speak of the dire situation. Thousands were dead. All through the actions of Feynaltdrog. Everyone listened, gave their sympathies or condolences. Save for one who was listening, but not to Luna. Dii drog, Zu'u lost vorohah nahkivaar. Mu vis utilize daar verin wah un siifur oblaan. "Rinik pruzah. .. fos vis hi fun zey do daar. .. nahkivaar?" "Nust kod ganog luhaal zahvos tol los orin avokei fein hin. Nust vis kos mii. .. mii wah wahl hin thur envok wah suleyk do rah." "Wait a second... where's Sanya?!" Luna asked as she looked at the five people in front of her. She had just been with them moments ago when they entered the palace and now... "Damn..." Raynor began. "She really pulled a fast one on us." "Can't believe I didn't notice... where did she go?" Cap asked partly to himself, partly to everyone else as he looked around. "Sanya?!" "I think I may have an idea..." Twilight began. "Thanks again..." Sanya said rather quickly to the librarian as the heavy book was handed to her. "Not a problem! If it really is an emergency, a good book you can have my dear." Sanya nodded as she bolted off, the book itself must of have weighed heavy than the fliegerhammer... and that was saying something. Opening the page, she took a look... the librarian told her that only one who could use magic could fully access the book. It was a good thing she was a witch... A strange feeling overcame her as her world began to slowly fade into darkness... the same time when in the distance, she heard Luna call her name as her world slowly melted away. If being in a world that vastly resembled a Saturday morning cartoon wasn't really enough for her then this one might have been. "Sanya?" Armin asked as she ran up to the girl, who's eyes were locked unto the book, the text in a language he could not recognize. When he was given no response, he shook her a bit. When still given no response... he was lost for words and for thoughts. "What's wrong?" Slade asked as he took a look at Sanya who was staring into the large black book, unmoving, putting his fingers at her wrist and neck to check for pulse. Vitals were still there... somewhat slowed but at least she was alive. "What's happening to her Doc?" "Ehh... I don't know!" The doctor said as he took a look at Sanya. "Her vitals are normal... but somezing is off!" "She's in what doctors may call... a trance." Luna began as she scrutinized the witch and the book carefully. "The book... it's best explained to be... magical..." And back to the realm of a Saturday morning TV program. Slade grumbled inwardly. "Alright Lunar, what's so special about this book?" "Books like these in Equestria can be accessed, normally by users who are skilled in the usage of magic. Due to the fact that Aleksandra is a witch... I can assume that she is not one who hasn't used her fair share of the power. No wonder she could easily access the book." "And... so... define access." Steve asked. "Well... she's "in" the book." "And define that." "Well...." Cotton candy clouds, chocolate rain and grass that was pink and smelled of strawberry ice cream. Paradise to anyone who had a great childhood and/or happened to have been a kid back in the 1980s. Being separated from her parents at age 9 by a race of vicious aliens in 1939 and fighting a war with vicious machine-like aliens, you can imagine how this didn't apply to Sanya. Though one couldn't tell by looking, she was perhaps more alert and had a better grip of her situation if Raynor in his power armor or Slade with his tactical vision. Her gun in one hand, the knife that Slade had given her in the other. She prepared herself for trouble as the magical antennas sprung up. When the paw tapped on the shoulder, she merely turned around, feigning suprise. Not many people (or creatures in this case) managed to get the slip on her (just Slade actually.) Though... if she was suprised at the fact someone DID manage to sneak up on her, she didn't show any of that over the fact someone snuck up on her. Rather, her jaw hung agape at what stood in front of her. "Why hello there! You've just opened the book of chaos! Now... I actually was in here for my vacation because... you know... Equestria is SOOOO boring sometimes and needed to relax! But then if you need me... I guess I am always right here! For a price of course." "I need to learn how to speak... or understand Dragon." Sanya said firmly, pushing away all thoughts of suprise and her initial opinions of "What the hell is this thing?" "Straight to the point I see! No introductions? No Hello? Huh?" Discord asked. "Maybe you've been spending too much time with the world's greatest brooder! Well... he only does that when he's alone... which is quite often actually but you know!" "Listen... I don't want to be rude... but I need to know... please?" "Alright alright. You remind me just of someone I know. Now... I can teach you. Being the book of chaos... it's also the book of EVERYTHING. I don't have time to explain how... because it WON'T MAKE SENSE! Heh." Discord said as he snapped his claws. "Just like that! But first... you gotta do something for me." "What is it?" Sanya asked. "You see... this thing?" Discord asked as they were teleported in front of a well. "We call this... the well of eternity... it can predict the future... or futures as I should say. Fate is not pre-determined... it can be influenced with the help of a little magic but NEVER and I mean NEVER set in stone. So... I want you... to jump into this well... and see if it works!" "How would I know if it works?" "Cause you can see the future! Silly!" "But... what if it doesn't?" "Then... you probably get all your clothes wet and I'll hang you up to dry." Discord chuckled. "It'll be a laugh that's worth my time." "Then I accept." Sanya said as she got ready. "Go." Discord said as he shoved her in, making a ripple in time itself.
Chapter 39"So... it's magic then?" Raynor asked as he watched Sanya load the Fliegerhammer. "Yes... without it, I doubt I could carry this." Sanya said as she loaded the rockets. Damn... that thing must have been at least 60 pounds UNLOADED. Loaded... it probably was heavier than it's user. "You don't seem surprised..." "I've seen a lot of things. A girl with cat ears and a tail who could probably bench press a horse with no problems isn't too hard to get a grip on." Jim said. Things like the Protoss Mothership which could break the laws of physics came into mind right about here. "But the Neuroi... that's what you call them right? So the story is they're highly advanced alien race and eat the earth?" "Something like that. They consume sects of land for... I don't know actually. I just know they consume land." "Heh. Reminds of TWO things I didn't like fighting." Raynor said as he finished his cup of coffee and looked back down into the hole. His project was almost finished. Having found a way, the process was now automated which allowed him to take the time off instead of being cooped up down there. "What are you building anyways?" Sanya asked. The only thing she knew about it was it was HUGE. Weighing about FORTY TONS probably meant that thing packed a punch. "Most tanks from where we come from weight about 40 tons... you building one?" "Kid... I am gonna do better than that. You see... minerals have a good thing about them. They are VERY, and I mean VERY efficient in terms of weight to strength. A few ounces of theses babies is pretty damn hard to break by conventional means. You get a ton, and you're going to need to bring some pretty heavy things. 40 tons? I'd love to see a bunch of overgrown lizards try to get past that. When you see it... I promise you... you'll love it." "Okay then." Sanya said as she finished loading her rockets and reached into her pockets, revealing two pairs of gloves and placing on a single pair. "Whatcha got there?" "Twilight found a way to further amplify my magic." Sanya said as she tested out her shield, noting the large increase in size. It would protect her well in the battle to come. "Though... the things I'd give for a Striker unit." "I feel ya." Jim said even though he hardly had a clue to what that was. "I am missing the good ol' Hyperion right now. But... what do you think everyone else is up to?" "I heard Slade wanted to train with Armin." Sanya said. That had been the most surprisingly thing anyone ever could of heard unless "train" meant cause an "accident" that involved Armin dying. "Not bad." Slade chuckled as he saw the blade come up to stop his from crashing down. "Not bad at all...." "Thanks." Armin said. The time he'd spent with Steve in the past few days had really helped. As of now, Captain America sat back on a lawnchair, watching the two fighters. "Told ya." Steve said to Slade as he took a drink of his beer, watching as Slade practiced with Armin. Despite Armin's clear improvement at the point, it would be clear to everyone who would win if the two would actually spar. To drive this point home, that's what they did two seconds later. It took Slade the same time to tell Armin he wanted to practice, as well as beat him then. "Well..." Steve grumbled as he watched Slade knock Armin on his back. "Okay. How about this... you pick with someone that's your own size?" "I was hoping you'd be up for it." Slade said as he took out his ballistic staff while Steve grabbed his shield. "Looks like we're not going to miss anything too exciting." Raynor said as he walked in, seeing the mercenary and the soldier stand opposite to one another. "I'll be right back kid." "Where you going?" Sanya and Armin asked. "To make popcorn." Raynor grinned as he went into the ship. "Hey doc..." Jim said as he passed by the infirmary, taking a look at the German doctor. "Whatcha doing?" "I am almost finished with zis medigun." Medic said as he continued to work on the kritz...medi...quick fix? "I present to you... ze Mehrzweck!" "The what?" Raynor asked as he took a look at the medigun. "The Me... whatever. So... what does this baby do?" "You see... I combined ze mediguns into one! Genius isn't it!... vait... vhy didn't I fink of zis sooner?" "What do you mean?" "Vell... you see... I've had zese mediguns for years now! Years! And... VHY DIDN'T I FINK OF ZIS SOONER?!" Ummmmmm...... because outside powers (game devs) had forbade it. Slade gave his first signs of him ever being in pain today as Steve punched him straight in the face causing the assassin to stagger back several yards, blood trickling out of his mouth. From his blackened eye and heavily bruised face, Steve smiled a bit as he saw Slade hesitate for a moment to asses his opponent. His entire body was already sore. Slade wasn't an Iron Man and he sure as hell wasn't a Thor or Hulk. But he hit like a train and getting hit like a train hurt bad. Really bad. He swung his fist again, though this time, the assassin would deal with it better than last time as his armored brace caught the blow and he swung with the staff straight for Cap who caught the staff in mid-air, the two men struggling, and struggling hard. "So... who's your money on?" Raynor asked as he ate out of his bucket of popcorn. "Slade's got this." Sanya said as she watched the mercenary strike the captain straight across the face, followed by another heavy blow to the gut area. "Heard the Captain survived 70 years being frozen alive." Armin began. "He's invincible!" Steve recovered quickly, inwardly thanking Dr. Erskine for his nigh-unlimited stamina. He swung at Slade and prepared to beatdown upon his opponent with a massive flurry of punches that could have easily killed a lesser man over and over. Perhaps expectedly, Slade only showed signs of pain and discomfort as he punched Cap away, wiping blood from his face. "Call it a draw?" Steve asked as he felt as though he'd broken his arm. His gloves had been broken and his knuckles were covered in blood. His or Slade's... he had no clue anymore. "I'll let you off the hook this time." Slade said as he wiped blood from his mouth and nose. "Besides... I can't beat myself up to hard... I got dragons to kill tomorrow." "I think I am better." Steve commented. "No... I am." Slade replied as he sat down in the lawnchair that Cap had previously occupied, mouthing words to Raynor. "MEDIC!" He silently yelled at the man who quickly took the hint. He hadn't had such a tough fight in his life since Batman, Nightwing and Robin. Steve only looked at his battered opponent. Two ugly rings of black had formed underneath his eyes and he felt as though he was missing some of his teeth. This guy would have probably killed Skull the first time they meet. He was brutal... he was... He couldn't help but feel respect for the man he had previously hated. He still did... maybe just not as much. Slade felt the same way.
Chapter 40"Okay everybody. The plan is simple." Slade began as he gave them a layout of the volcano. "This volcano is one of the most active and mind you, largest volcanos on the face of this world. It erupts about three times a day all at various different locations. The only thing is, the dragons kinda get used to it's eruptions and all, so natrually, they can tell when the next eruption will occur. Normally, they will find a safe zone during each eruption but... what if there was an eruption so big that it took off a piece of the moutain where the dragons roost?" "They fly away?" Armin asked. "No..." Slade began. "The storms at this moutain make it so that anyone who flies too high get's a few billion volts so...." "We explode this here moutain..." Raynor began. "And Feynaltdrog is out of business." "Exactly." Slade began as he held up a small device. "What is it anyways?" Sanya asked as she looked at the thing. "A prototype explosive. A miniature nuclear device as some might call it." Slade began. "It's about a single kiloton in explosive yield.... and it looks like half of you have no clue what I am talking about." It would take some time to explain to everyone except Jim and Medic on how the bomb would work. After that, there would still be a lot of scratching of the heads or confused glances that ran around.... whatever... "Okay. So here's how it's going to work." Slade began. "Armin, Sanya and myself are going to find a way into the moutain the plant the device. The explosion, or explosions I should say should cause a chain reaction that wouldn't be noticed until you realize that half the moutain is missing. I should say this though. I don't know what we'll be facing down there, be it, dragons, rock monsters, etc... I don't know, and frankly, I don't want to find out. Jim... you, Steve and Medic should either cause a distraction, or stay outside and moniter anything that's going on. These overgrown lizards find out what's going on, we'll be canceled." "And by the way you two..." Slade said as he turned to Sanya and Armin. "I suggest that you do your best not to screw up. If you comprimise me or anyone else... I am leaving you behind." Maybe Cap should go in instead of Slade.... you know... just saying.... "But... how are you going to drop in un explosive?" Medic asked. "It's not like ve could just valk up ze moutain and throw in a bomb!" "You're right doc. We don't do that. This moutain actually used to be a stronghold for a REALLY REALLY ancient... I don't even know actually... sounds like what I am saying comes straight out a fantasy novel and not a coloring book... but I can tell you that the moutain is that it houses a city. Well... a broken, ancient rundown city that is, but a city nevertheless. According to Lunar, the moutain's inner city was built in the moutain so that in the event of an eruption, the lava would "miss" the city." "So... how do ve get in?" "Ummm..... eh..... good question." Slade began. "I... THINK there's an entrance somewhere along the moutain...." "So... you're not sure if there's even a viable route in?" Armin asked. "Okay kid. How about I drop you in from above? You like that for a "viable" route?" "Guys..." "Okay..." Sanya began. "Maybe we can... make an entrance?" "Sanya... say that again." "We make an entrance?" Sanya asked. "I got a solution..." Slade grinned as he looked over to some high yield explosives. "Alright... so everyone knows their roles?" "Yeah." "Yep." "Ja." "Good... then get some rest." Slade said as he looked over to Armin who was playing with a grappling gun. Imagine his suprise when he saw Armin actually use it correctly to get himself up on a tree. He couldn't have been more suprised when Armin got down with little to no effort taken. So... how was this guy... who couldn't even run a few laps somehow a master with some device that Slade had actually made in the line of his work? Whatever. He'll ask that later. Right now, he would need a good night's of bed rest. "Rose?" Slade asked as he found himself in front of a mirror in a familiar house, behind him was a girl with silver hair. Her back was turned to him though that didn't really seem to matter to him at the moment. What did matter was that he looked just the way he did many years ago. Before taking a bullet in the eye, before his divorce, before Grant's death. He looked like this at that time. "Who's Rose?" Sanya asked as she turned around. "Slade?" That resemblance... Slade thought to himself. Did Sanya really look like how Rose did in her childhood? He couldn't remember. Actually... it wasn't that. It was that he didn't WANT to remember. "Hey Kid.." Slade said. Heh. He even SOUNDED the same way he did that many years ago. "Where are we?" "What do you mean?" Sanya asked as she scratched her head in confusion. "Isn't this your home?" Okay... this is getting weird... and... The door opened revealing this man. "Billy?" Slade asked. But... Billy had been dead... no wait... at this point he was still alive. It would be many years later until Slade would finally kill him. "Who's Billy?" Steve asked as he took off the mask and threw it off in digust. "Worst operation mask ever.... nice house you got here Slade." "Thanks..." Slade said. Though truth be told, he'd never been at his original house for perhaps... more than forty years now. Jericho now lived at the place, and though he never actually said anything for rather obvious reasons, the young man had long made it clear to his father he didn't want to see him. Ever again. "And let me guess..." Slade began as he saw another person enter the room. He would have said "Grant" only thing was... it was Armin, with a familiar grappling gun. The one Grant had used when he accepted his first and last contract. "Why am I seeing this?" Slade asked to himself, everyone else seemed to be completly unaware to what he just said and looked at him as if he was about to say something. Without warning... Steve began to bleed. From the eye. "Cap... your eye... it's bleeding..." Slade said. "What are you talking about?" Steve asked, completly oblivious to the fact that he was crying tears of blood from just one eye. Without warning, he collapsed onto the ground. A small sword lodged into that same eye. Slade could only open his mouth in shock... and let me tell you, not a lot of things shocked him. But the image... it was familiar. He remembered this. He killed Billy. But for good reason, his old friend had betrayed him... he deserved his death! But... did Steve deserve his? No... this had to be a dream... it had to be... He heard the sound of someone giving out a cry of pain as he turned to Armin who had just collapsed onto the ground dead. His body was broken, as though something heavy had fallen upon him. Slade could only take a step back, right into Sanya. He turned around as he heard the sounds of gentle weeping. He almost cried out in shock as he looked at the girl, one eye was driven out, awash with blood and crying bloody tears as the other one began to cry actual salt water. "Slade... help...." Sanya muttered as she collapsed onto the ground. "Help...." He tried to move. He tried to do something. But he couldn't move. He was rooted the ground. Behind him, a small candle fell to the ground, it's tiny flame licking at the curtains to a window until the flame wasn't so small anymore, until the inferno consumed everything. That was when Slade jolted awake. He had broken into cold sweat, something that he hadn't done in perhaps years. "It was a dream... it was a dream..." Slade said as he went back to bed, the knock on the door annoyed him slightly as he went to answer it. "Rose?" Slade asked before he slapped himself inwardly. God damn it! "Who's Rose?" Sanya asked. "Slade... I came to wake you up... you were sleeping... oversleeping actually..." Morning already? "Yeah... I'll be right out." Slade said as he got his gear, his mind continuing to race about his dream.
Chapter 41"Here we are and... I think I've been watching too much Lord of the Rings recently... but does that look like Mount Doom?" Slade asked as he looked at the huge mountain ahead of him.* "What's that?" Armin asked as his eyes were glued upon the massive peek, the hundreds of dragons were visible even from distance. "Never mind." Slade said replied as he pulled out his binoculars. "Damn... well... unless anyone wants to be human barbeque, I don't think the main entrance is a viable option." "Thanks Captain Obvious. Tell us something we don't know." "You're a captain, I am a colonel." Slade shot back as he took a look again. "Hmm... did sunbutt mention some ancient volcano civilization again?" "She did... why?" Jim asked. "I think I just found our way in." Slade said as his tactical vision picked up a structure. A structure that no dragon could have possibly even built. "Sanya, Armin let's go." "Hold on a second..." Steve began. "I am going with you." "What? Think we're going to have too much fun without you?" "I don't trust you." Steve said as his eyes narrowed down. His words yesterday about "leaving" people behind really came into mind right about here. "I am going with you." "Alright then. If you it's about what I said yesterday, then two things. It applies to you... and that if anything happens to you... I'll miss ya." Well. "For about... 3 seconds." "Go to hell Slade." "I feel like that's where I am headed." Slade said as he took one look at the mountain. "And now... this show is on the road." Raynor said as he monitored his companions progress from afar. "You guys in?" "A few "minor" difficulties..." Steve said as he pulled Armin up from a fatal drop. "But... we're good and... wow... that..." "Okay... I really think I've been watching too much "Lord of the Rings..." Slade said again as he looked at the massive entrance, large (marble?) carvings decorated the entrance though the many millennia have taken their toll upon the once great pieces of art as they weathered away over the many centuries. It seemed this part of the mountain was safe from the daily volcanic eruptions no matter how it erupted. Strange. But no one really would or wanted to argue with that, if this place was really safe, then let's hope it stayed that way as the four of them entered the entrance which overlooked a large... room? Room huh? More like city. "Wow..." Armin began as he looked below at the wonder... a civilization that had built itself within the belly of the largest volcano in Equestria. "Truly is a marvel eh?" Slade said as he activated his tactical vision. From what he could get, the locals would have used the sources of lava for both as an energy source, a light source and probably at some point, a mine that would erupt into specific areas that would miss the city, yet leave plenty of metals, jewelry and other precious materials for the picking. "From what I can gather..." The assassin continued, there is an entrance that leads below. "Down these stares of course. Let's go." The four proceeded downward, into the massive city through the long winding stairs. For a place that's been abandoned for thousands of years, it looked pretty intact to say the truth. A true miracle that the volcano hasn't consumed the magnificent wonder of a city yet. As the stairs went down, more hints of former civilization could be taken at. Tools, jewelry, a broken lava lamp (Smart.), a skeleton. Wait... a skeleton? Steve looked down at the thing, the bones... they... They were human. Slade's tactical vision and a quick scan from his "smartphone" would confirm that. Wow... humans here? Thousands of years ago? Truly a wonder then. Cap looked at the skull a final time before proceeding on. It reminded him of someone he knew... the only difference was, he had the strange... strange feeling that someone wasn't really dead despite what had happened. Cut off one head, two more shall grow to take it's place. As they progressed on, the buildings were more easy to see. In spite of the thousands of years of wear and tear, they still looked fine. Perhaps as well as one of the houses Armin would see within the walls that hadn't been ransacked by titans. Though as there became more buildings, there would be more skeletons. More death... more ruin... more signs of that life... had an end. That all things... good or bad. Had an end. "I don't like this." Steve said as they passed a large pile of thousand year corpses. "I don't like this." "To be or not to be!" Slade said as he held up a skull. "That is the question!" Laughing to himself, the heavily armored man threw it back into the pile he got it from, giving the Captain a hefty slap on the back. "Just some bones Cap, they're not going to hurt you." "Yeah... yeah... just makes me uneasy. Besides... reminds me of someone I used to know." "I get you. There's a lot of things that make me uneasy because of someone I met." (Anything that has anything to do with Jericho or Rose, or happens to be green arrows, red arrows, bats, robins, robots, rings (the powered type), maces, whips,... let's just say he's had beef with a ton of people... somehow... he still hadn't been shot, shot with arrows, been crushed into a bloody pulp, incarcerated at some space police prision... etc.) "But that aside... let's get a move I want to get done with this and be home by dinner." "Hopefully... we WON'T be dinner." Armin said. "The dragons..." "Yeah... yeah... they won't even know us there once we turn them into lizard steaks." As the group moved on... no one seemed to have noticed the skeletons had begun to move... jitter... and stir. And then... one got up. And another... and another... and another... Author's Note * Manu Bennet, the actor for "Slade Wilson" in the show Arrow, also plays Azog the defiler in "The Hobbit".
Chapter 42"Humph." Slade grunted as he looked at what appeared to be a storehouse. Whatever happened, something caused the contents of said house to spill out all over the streets, enough riches to keep even the greediest souls happy for life. "What... you already want your payday?" Steve teased as he saw Slade take a look at all the fine wealth that lay at their feet. Ripe for the taking for any one who wanted it. "Not yet." Slade said as he cast his eye away. "Alright then... well according to my smartphone... we should be going... this... hey kid. You look like you've seen a ghost. What's wrong?" "I think... I think... I think I just did!" Sanya said in her "matter of fact" voice which... still sounded an awful like Fluttershy on a normal day. In short... Slade and Cap weren't convinced about the fact that Sanya was speaking in a regular tone of voice. "Just your imagination kid." Steve said as he took a look around. "I see nothing." "Me neither." Slade said as he checked his tactical vision. There wasn't anyone around in this area. Anyone... what about anything? "I don't know about this..." Sanya continued as her tail stood on an end. "I seriously think..." "Here..." Slade said tossing her the assault rifle. "You crazy?" Steve asked. "What? If any of the "ghosts" are here, she can shoot them up!" "You don't give someone who's about to have an anxiety attack a goddamn gun!" "Yeah... yeah.... yeah... tell that to half the army." Slade said dismissively as he watched Sanya's cat ears perk in various directions as though she could hear something they couldn't... which was pretty much always the case. "Anyways, let's get a move on kid. If there's a ghost... well you are a witch... so.... maybe some black magic or something will fix it?" "Doesn't work that way..." Sanya said. "What... do they at least ride around brooms?" "Back in the day." Okay. At least that wasn't a letdown. "So... once we get home... what are you doing first?" Steve asked as they went down the "road" if you call it that. "Sleep." Armin said as he held onto his swords. "Take a vacation." Slade said. "And probably... I'll never look at a Saturday morning cartoon program the same again... nor will I ever read anything by Tolkein EVER again." "You know... I always wanted what you did for a hobby." Sanya began. "I like reading... but I swear... I'll never pick up anything written by Tolkein or maybe anything in the fantasy genre ever again. I also like going to this place in Starling city. It's called Big Belly Burger... they have the best hamburgers in the entire country." "You never seem to be the type of guy who liked reading or eating junk food." Steve commented. "Yeah... well I do at least a few thousand pushups a day... so it doesn't really matter. Besides, I eat there like once a month. Normally... I am usually traveling cause of... work..." "Yeah..." Sanya said as she felt as though she heard another footstep. "You ever... well... I dunno if I should be asking this... but..." "Speak up kid." "Do you ever feel like you want to... make amends with your family?" Let's see... Adeline is crazy. Grant is dead. Rose hates him and is living across the country for good reason, and Jericho hates him and is fighting on the opposite side of him, having even tried to stop him on countless occasions during his contracts and probably would put his other eye out if he as much as saw him. So... was that exactly possible? No. "Yeah..." Slade said. "Eventually." Maybe when they're all dead... he can probably visit the graves and make peace with them. But until then, he wasn't too keen in having a guitar smashed over his head or getting shot in the other eye. "But about your family kid, you ever think you'll find your parents." "Of course! When the war ends, that's exactly what I'll do! I know I will! They're both alive and... if we don't give up... we'll see each other again! There's..." She went on. He stopped listening. Never give up, never give up... never give up... Why were those words echoing in his head? When was the last time he gave up? When was the last time he'd been contracted to kill someone, and they remained alive? Hell... he even went off to do his own thing and managed to beat the guy in the bat costume. And that guy... that guy was pretty tough. He never gave up on anything. He realized then... that was a lie. He gave up on many things. Rose. Adeline. Jericho. Grant. His family. He looked back at Sanya who was busy telling them about how her father had written her a song just for her. A rather talented musician. She had a dad that loved her dearly. And here Slade was, father of three... but he would be dad to none of them. He said nothing. One day... he will make amends with his family. Because that's... that's what a real man would have done right? RIGHT?! And this was probably why he didn't listen to his conscience.... he looked back at Sanya again who was now talking about her mother. If only Slade had any clue on who his parents was... he might have been able to sympathize somewhat. He'd been raised by his grandparents who were all and all, great people though... they didn't exactly raise him right. (At least from the modern society's standpoint, from Slade's standpoint, they were kinda the reason he was able to get into the army at age 16 and became the world's greatest assassin.) He looked back at Sanya again, wondering on how much she actually resembled Rose when she was younger. When Rose idolized her father and loved him dearly... yet never received any back. And here... Sanya loved her father... her dad... and... Sanya. She was everything he is and isn't. She lost her parents, yet still has them. Is still a soldier at a young age, yet still has a childhood full of friends and a family to find. She has a family who loves her dearly, yet at the same time can never show that love. And for the first time, Slade actually doubted himself, and began to have feelings akin to those having a mid-life crisis... okay. This is why he did not listen to his conscience too much. It got in the way but still... He looked over at Steve Rogers, or Captain America as he was called. A soldier in his land, and a hero. He didn't want to be hero, why waste life on helping strangers? But Steve had always lived his life fuller than he had, despite being frozen for 70 years. Maybe it was time... Slade thought. He recalled that contract that Amanda Waller had proposed to him days ago. Work for ARGUS, and they would wipe any evidence of him being "Deathstroke". Maybe it was time to accept that contract. Maybe for once... he needed to stop thinking about himse.... It was then he realized what was bothering Sanya. Right behind her... was a skeleton of a man, a knife in it's hands, raised above to deliver a fatal blow.
Chapter 43She practically jumped out of her skin when she felt the swishing of the sword that flew right past her face and landed loudly, burying itself within the skull of a skeleton that moved and walked. "What's..." "Goddamn it..." Slade breathed as he looked around, realizing the massive numbers of walking dead that were approaching them from the way they came. "Holy shit..." "This isn't good..." Armin said as he took out his swords and swung straight at a skeleton, breaking the bones of the creature which clattered to the floor, almost comically and became inactive. "There's..." "Hundreds of them!" Slade said after taking a thorough look with is tactical vision. "Everyone... move! Move!" The four people bolted for the direction in which Slade waved as the assassin stayed behind temporarily to lay down a few proximity bombs, grabbing the trigger, he ran as far as he could, taking frantic glimpses back before finding the right time to detonate. Despite the dozens of body parts that would be scattered by that one blast, there were still hundreds of them just behind. Thankfully for the sakes of anyone who didn't want to get brutally murdered by walking skeletons, the undead moved at a slow rate. "What's going on?!" Armin cried out as he gasped for air. "No time! I AM NEVER going to touch anything made by Tolkein EVER again." Slade commented as the four took a few sighs of relief. "Listen... we have to keep moving before my favorite author's imagination murders us! Move! Move!" It felt like hours, despite being probably less than forty five seconds, in that moment alone, they had already trekked through the first floor and were proceeding their way down, all the way into the heart of the volcano, the heat becoming slightly more noticeable as they went down, as did the number of hordes of undead which sought to kill the living. "This is not good!" Steve said as he swung his shield, crushing two skeletons into a pile of bones. "What the hell are these things?!" "For some reason Sanya... even though I bet you have no clue... I think you can give me a REASONABLE explanation." Slade said as he kicked one down his attacker, breaking it's skull with his foot. "Magic?" Sanya asked tentatively. Maybe not surprisingly, that's probably the best explanation at this point when being in a little girl's coloring book all of a sudden now felt like they were in The Hobbit. Slade liked Tolkein and all... but he sure as hell didn't want to LIVE in it... especially with these circumstances. Of course... for him, a bunch of skeletons with reaction times of jello would hardly be much challenge for him, until one realized there were probably a few thousand of them down there. "This isn't going to matter..." Armin said as his sword went straight through one of his attackers, splitting the undead creature in two. "We need to hurry up and plant the... whatever it is and do it fast!" "He's right... try not to die!" Slade said as he grabbed Armin and took out his grappling hook. "We'll go ahead first, you two..." "We'll catch up, yeah." Steve said as he flung his shield at a group of advancing corpses, knocking them into many pieces. "Alright Sanya... you ready?" "Ready." The girl replied as Slade and Armin flew off, carried by a cable. There was no point in trying to be subtle. Absolutely none when there were a bajillion walking corpses around that were waiting to savagely mar anything living in their path. As such, the only logical thing really for everyone was to pull out whatever arms they had, and start shooting or slicing away. "Okay... here's the..." The loud rumbling caught Slade off, and almost knocked him and Armin off their feet. "Okay Volcano... don't do anything till I want you to." Slade said as he looked for the spot to plant the bomb. Really? Another level down? No... wait... There wasn't another level down... HE HAD TO DIG?! Not good.. "Cover me." Slade said as he looked around and continently, found a pick axe. "What are you doing?" "I used up all the demo charges when we were stuck in the cave... and the only place I am going to cause any form of the eruption we want is if I dig deeper... the only thing is... I hope I don't land right into a lava pit." "I actually hope that the eruption doesn't involve us as well!" Armin said as he broke yet another skeleton. "It won't... but we still gotta get out of here fast because as far as I know... the explosion might cause this entire cavern to collapse in on us!" "And how are we going to get out if there's going to be a huge eruption?!" "Simple! I radioed Jim and he set up a zipline! Not only does it avoid the eruption, we can get a nice view of a bunch of dragons going up in flames! And you know what the best part is?" "What? It's right at the entrance! We don't even actually have to fully go outside! There was a balcony which Raynor found!" "Oh god! Oh god!" Steve huffed as his uniform received a tear from a slashing blade, he retaliated against his attacker by smashing his bones into dust, watching as Sanya used the now empty assault rifle as a club. Man... she must have hit like a train with that thing. Looking down at his shoulder, he realized the large stain that was slowly forming along the tear. "How are you doing guys? Your heart rates are going crazy!" Jim's voice said over the radio. "Fine! You would not believe me if I told you!" Steve said as he ran with Sanya to where Slade and Armin had headed. "Oh I know what's going on... I just don't wanna know if it's true or not." Jim's voice replied. "You better hurry... Slade's going to need some cover while he plants the bomb!" "Really? Why the hell can't he just drop the damn thing and detonate it for Christ's sake?!" "I dunno something went wrong and... oh shit..." "What?" "SOMETHING JUST WENT SERIOUSLY WORNG." Jim's panicked voice said over the radio. "Slade! Please tell me..." "Grah!" Slade cried out as the large rumble threw him off his feet, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Armin trapped underneath many boulders. Grabbing the bomb, and seeing the many skeletons that surrounded them, he had no choice. He set the timer. "Move! Move! Move!" Slade said as he planted the bomb in the best place he could get, hoping to god that they would make it out. He realized then that Armin was trapped underneath the rocks. "Leave me!" Armin cried out. "Go!" He considered it for a moment. He had to leave him, there would have been no way that he could have.... He gave it a mighty push and the rocks came off. Well. "Wha... thanks." Armin said as his coughed for a moment, his mouth filling with dust from the rubble. "Don't mention it kid." Slade said. "Steve... we have to go!" "I just got here damn it!" Captain America said. "Why didn't you... and... oh... what..." "No time! That rock isn't going to let me dig anyways!" Slade said. "Go! Go! Go!" They went up the massive winding stairs, right on top of the ledge and crossed the next floor once again, the slow movement of their pursers meaning that avoiding them was relatively easy. That was when disaster struck. On the way up to the zipline... a low rumble shook the very foundations of the city. A section of the stairs gave way, sending Sanya straight down a massive drop. They could only stare for a moment... "Go." Slade said as he watched Armin and Steve gawk for a moment. "The zipline is set up... you two have to move now." "What about you and Sanya?! You sure as hell..." "Go. I will get her. And we WILL make it. I promise." Slade said. "Go!" "No way Sla..." "JUST DO AS I SAY." Slade shouted. "Move before we ALL die!" Grudgingly, the Captain obliged, looking back as he saw Slade make his way down, straight into a massive mob of skeletons and fighting his way through. He never saw a man ever run that fast in his life to make way to Sanya, who from the distance, looked like she was still moving. Barely.
Chapter 44Sanya groaned painfully as she stood up, at a drop of roughly 30 feet, she should have been dead. Maybe one of the perks of being a witch was that a fall that high didn't kill you, only rendered pain throughout your body like hellfire. Getting up, she realized the sharp stabs that went through her leg as she stood up, or more accurately... just the ankle. She had spranged it. That was only the least of her worries as she saw the skeletons of the dead approach her with a motley array of weaponary. Grabbing her side arm, she fired several shots in the skulls, sending bones clattering to the ground. Her heart sank when she heard the click, as the undead approached. The shield she erected buckled and cracked at the first blow of an axe. A second strike and the ether of protection began to crack and fade. It would not save her a third time. Thankfully for her, it wouldn't need to as the sniper bullet took out her attacker, and every attacker within a six foot radius. Slade. Looked like someone had gone back on their word afterall. "Slade?" Sanya asked almost with disbelief. That was all she managed to get out because the pain in her ankle felt like hell as of now, attempting to hobble over did little than to worsen the case, causing her to cry out audibly in pain... which actually sounded a little something like this. "Jesus... you got yourself messed up pretty badly..." Slade commented as he took a look at Sanya. She wouldn't be moving at this rate, not like that. Looking up, he cursed silently to himself. The ledge was JUST SLIGHTLY out of reach for his grappling hook. They were going to have to go the long way... around... and up the stairs... pass... like... a few hundred skeletons... um.... yeah.... "Hey kid... I got pretty bad news..." "We're going up the long way?" "We're going up the long way." Slade confirmed. "You should leave me..." Sanya suggested. "I don't... I don't think..." "Don't talk like that." Slade said. In truth... he wanted to say much more. Those four words... were easily the four that caused the most shock to him in all his life. And it was only then did he realize... how much did she remind him of himself. "I am getting you out of here..." Sanya nodded though her doubts were more clear than Celestia's brightest day. "I can't walk..." "You don't need to." Slade said as he held her in one arm. Good thing she weighed nothing and that he was probably stronger in one arm than most people were in their entire bodies. Thank you experiments... He turned and clenched his teeth so hard that it hurt when he saw the hordes of skeletons approaching. Damn... this was a bad spot. He took a look at his weapons for a moment, the ballistic staff... useless unless he had both hands, an empty assualt rifle, an empty pistol and his two swords. Natrually, he grabbed one of the two blades, and approached the exit, cooly and calmy as the monsters approached the two of them. What did he have to fear? He was Deathstroke, a man of such skill in battle that not even the Dark Knight was able to beat him single-handely. At this moment, it was like any other, he'd beat one hundred men once without as much as breaking sweat. The fact that these things went down like a sack of grain at the slightest touch easily compensated for their vast numbers. Yet... at this moment... he felt it. It was the same thing everyone felt at, at least more than one point in their lives. The same feeling Green Arrow felt when facing down the Dark Archer, or batman when facing with the fact that Gotham would potentially go up in flames. Even better yet, when the Justice League would have to face the potential destruction of many lives. It wasn't fear. No... a fiery determination, a burning desire to finish it all. Even if offered 50,000,000 dollars to get the job done, he couldn't have possibly been more motivated.His foes were the walking dead, but Deathstroke would have nothing to fear. For in this moment, he was armed with death. "Slade..." Sanya gasped out weakly. "There's..." "A lot of them... I know." Slade replied as he held onto her tightly. "But... just me... no... just us is a lot as well." "You first." Steve said to Armin as he looked at the zipline. He clenched his teeth as the rumble occured once again, the very foundations of the moutain seeming as though they had been rocked loose. The bomb must have detotonated by now... or is in the process of starting some kind of chain reaction within. He gingerly looked back as Armin got on the zipline and to safety, clenching his teeth at the empty hallway. He wanted to stay, but he knew in the bottom of his heart he couldn't. Grabbing the zipline, he went down as he radioed Slade... only to realize his nerves for the first time in his life had failed him. Even though the zipline extended over to an area that was like gazing in the maw of the darkest abyss... staring into the pit would have been less daunting than using his radio. It would take him several tries before he found his nerves. "Slade... we're out. How about you?" No answer. "Slade?" Steve asked as he walked over to Medic, Jim and Armin. "Slade?!" "We're alive!" Slade grumbled back as he dropped his shattered mask down the stairway, a large red scar had formed on his cheek when he had been careless. The kevlar within his body armor had been broken in many places, along with ugly dents in the metal parts. And the important thing? Sanya was okay. She could walk now... but not without support. That, Slade as more than able to provide. "We can rest for now." Slade said as he took a drink from his canteen. The sweet smell of wine filling the small corridor which the two rested in, the zipline would have been a short distance away to even the most novice of all runners, though it seemed like an entire pilgrimage to the two of them. "Ow..." Sanya said as her cat ears began to move. Alert. The magical antennas appearing as she listened, she turned paler than normal the more she listened to the sounds of the moutain, and the wild roars and shrieks of some unfortunate dragons. "Slade... thanks." "Don't mention it kid... what's that?" A kopeck? Cute. "Can you take this?" Sanya asked as she handed him the bronze coin... it... well... It was rather a long story. But let's just say it was comparable to how a child usually held sentimental value upon the first few trinkets they received from anyone they cared about. "A kopeck...?" "I know it's not much... but... it's the one I got... when I played the piano for my father during one of his concerts..." Sanya said as she thought of the time. She was very young at the time, maybe about 7 or 8. "Umm... sure... and you dropped this by the way." Slade said as he handed her the photo. The photo of her family. "Thank you." Sanya said as she placed it back in her pockets. But we need to get moving. "That we do." Slade said as he helped her up. "Come on." They ran into no difficulties along the way, though the rumbling was began to have a slightly... uneasy affect upon the pair. The magical antennas stayed as Sanya continued to listen, her breathing became very taxed as she broke into cold sweat. It seemed like eternity for them to reach the zipline. "Alright kid... you first." Slade said as he took a look. "You just gotta..." "I know... but... maybe you should go first..." "What? Why would I do that?" Slade asked. "You pulled me out of there and..." "I think I'll finish the job then. Go... I'll..." "Slade... I need to know that you're going to make it." Well... no one ever said that to him in a LONG time. Like maybe 40 years long. "I am going to make it kid. But with that leg of yours... you're going to need to..." "You took a beating back there too! You also need..." The rumbling started again, cutting her off as she liked around frantically and stopped speaking. Whatever arguement she had was gone... though she was intent on one thing. Slade would go first. "Well... sorry kid then..." Slade said. "Wait... what's that?" "What's what?" Sanya asked as she turned around. "I don't see any... ughhh..." She sighed slightly as Slade hit her upside the head, causing her to still be concious, though in a very dazed state. She could do nothing as Slade grabbed some cable ties, and tied her to the zipline, sending her down. She snapped out of it the moment she realized that she was almost down the zipline, she looked back at Slade who was still watching her. No... the volcano... it's going to collapse The moment she hit the ground, was the moment the line went dead. Looking over in horror, she saw the many rocks and rubble that came crashing down. It hardly looked like Slade even as much as cared... because he didn't. He only closed his eye and smiled to himself. "I am sorry Adeline." He had put one thought as the rubble came raining down upon him. Find your parents kid. Author's Note You had no clue how much fun I had writing this chapter...
Chapter 45The first thing Steve did the moment the volcano finished exploding was go back over on the other side where he was met with what seemed like another new mountain of rubble where they had exited. His face distorted for a mere second into one of complete despair before he felt the tongues of anger beginning to lick at him. With a small scream, the man punched the rubble ahead of him, splitting a large rock into two pieces. For a moment, it almost appeared he wanted to dig with nothing but his bare hands, before he collapsed alongside the rubble, knowing it was futile. It didn't matter that he could lift about two tons on the average day, he couldn't move a mountain, and that realization threw the cloak of despair around him as he hit a nearby rock, the sheer force of it grinding it into dust. "Why.... why?!" Steve roared at the very heavens themselves as they only gave him the dark ashes and clouds for an answer. Why? Why... why did... He never liked Slade... but in this moment. This moment alone, he could have only felt worse if he saw Bucky die again. He looked back at the rubble that crushed the man called Deathstroke, the man he had long despised for the weeks they've been here, but in this moment alone... he loved the man like he was his closest brother in arms, like he had fought with him through the ravaged lands of Europe against Nazi Germany and HYDRA. He fought hard, but in the end, it was a futile battle as the lone tear dripped out of his eye and unbridled rage filled his soul. He lashed out once again creating a massive hole in a large boulder that he could never have hoped to move. "You... you... why? Why you?" Steve asked. "Why... both of you..." There would be no sense in speaking to a dead man as he stopped and took a deep breath, looking around for any signs of life. The only ones there would be would be the light steps Sanya took as she caught up and looked around, the magical antennas listening deeply for anything. Heartbeats, breathing... as much as a stir. There would be none. "Why did you do it?" Sanya whispered to herself as the tears flowed down her cheeks. "We both could have gotten out together." She was given no answer. Even if Slade could answer, it was doubtful she could have heard his reply. She looked around, looking for anything... something did sparkle to her though as she ran up the rubble to investigate. Despite the obviously present danger of falling down and springing her ankle a second time today, she didn't care. Kneeling over the shiny object... she grabbed it for a closer look... fresh tears ran down her cheeks like a summer storm as she saw what it was. A wedding ring. His wife... his children... and yet... he didn't even get to say goodbye. He would have died, knowing that his family hated him for what he had done, that the world he lived in despised the man underneath the mask and that he would not be missed once he finally bit the dust. But in this moment... Sanya missed Slade almost as much as she had missed her father. She said nothing, only knelt down at the sight of the ring, holding it. She remembered Slade's words. How he said he would leave anyone behind if anything happened to them. He didn't. In the end... he didn't. And for that reason... for that reason alone, he was dead now. Armin had been thinking the same thing, though he said nothing as he looked at Sanya kneeling over with the ring. It occurred to him then that Slade... had always intended to maybe make amends with his family one day... and now... he never will. Raynor looked at the ground by Steve as he walked over. "Godspeed you magnificent son of a bitch..." Raynor grinded through his teeth as Medic came over and bowed his head slightly. He watched as Sanya and Armin made their way over, Sanya holding Slade's wedding ring. "Why... why did he do it?" Sanya asked through her tears. "Why?" "I... I dunno..." Jim said. "I never should have left him..." Steve said. "It..." "You would have died with him then." Raynor said putting a heavy hand on the Captain. "Somehow... I think... I think... Sanya... I think he did it... maybe to atone for things... many things... he may have been one cold bastard... hell... reminds me of someone I know... but he... he did the right thing in the end..." "Maybe... maybe that's why I am still a Captain..." Steve said as he looked at Medic who had found the broken mask. "And that's why you were a Colonel." He handed the mask to Sanya who looked at the thing, for a moment before reaching down by her waist, revealing the long knife Slade had given her back in the gave. Moving forward... she took the knife and drove it within the rock and laid the mask on top. The strands at the back fluttering within the wind like a flag as the broken mask's lone eye socket stared back, as though it wanted to say something. She couldn't bear it anymore. Turning around, she began to walk away, though unable to continuously turn her head back at the mask which marked the final contract of his world's greatest mercenary. Feynaltdrog would be coming. To finish the job he started. They had to be ready. Steve looked into the mirror one final time as he opened the box and grabbed one of the modified assault rifles. Gas powered, armor piercing bullets, and modified to the Terminator's taste. It wasn't like he would be needing it anymore. He grabbed other things as well, many grenades, a long knife and of course, his shield. His eyes were burned with the flames of vengeance. He watched at the rest of his companions. Raynor checked this tablet for the last time before going outside. The loud stomping noises causing a miniature earthquake. Steve grinned slowly as he saw the mechanical monstrosity that looked like it could crush Hulk. (Except... it probably couldn't.) He looked over to Sanya who was staring down at the ring. She slipped the trinket into her pockets as she placed the gloves, the Fliegerhammer was ready. She looked over at Medic who had been discussing things with her earlier as he placed his new Medi-gun on the table. Critical Ubers. Now that was the stuff. Armin checked over his blades for the last time. He looked at the grappling gun that Slade had abandoned, after some consideration, he took it with him. It's not like Slade would be here to say "no" anyways. They were ready. And so was Drog.
Chapter 46"He'll be coming. And we must be ready." Raynor said as he checked the radar within the ship. Indeed... a large organisim was apporaching them at high speeds. It would be here in about two hours. "With that... machine?" Armin asked as he looked at the Thor. "This should be easy..." "I would expect so..." Raynor said as he looked at the thing. "I built that but of course... we shouldn't ever feel like we got this too easily... I will be damned if at least SOME of those mean lizards didn't survive that Volcano." "If only Slade had." Sanya commented as she sat down with the rocket launcher in her hands, the weight of such a large weapon would have easily been able to exhaust one, maybe even two physically fit men that were probably twice her size. "Damn right..." Steve agreed as he looked over at the assault rifle. Armor piercing rounds, grenade launcher underneath... man... Slade had a lot of goodies he had kept in that van. Magnetic mines... regular proximity mines, smoke grenades, a sniper rifle... you name it. It was his stuff... yet in the end... he won't be needing it. Perhaps that was what really added the guilt about it all. Looting not just a dead man's, but a friend's armory. "So... ve kill ze dragon... und ve vin?" "Yeah." Raynor said. "That... or it turns us all into human barbeque and then takes over the world.... god... I feel like I am reading some children's bedtime story." "We all do..." Steve said. "Though, I think the time for sunshine and rainbows is long over." He cocked the assault rifle for emphasis on the last sentence before picking up his shield. If he was going to be honest... he actually never really liked killing people. He never wanted to kill anyone, not even people as bad as HYDRA. But... when the situation called for it, when the lives of others, when the freedom of a world was at stake... and now a dead friend... it was time he got his hands wet again. A few for you Slade... a few for you... Cap thought to himself as he slung his shield and checked the estimated time for Feynaltdrog's arrival once again before looking over at everyone else. His fists clenched. "I'll kill them... I'll kill them all..." Steve grinded through his teeth as his brain smoked of the same hatred he had felt the day of Bucky's "death". Mentally... he envisioned himself the day he slew the dragon by bashing out it's brains with his shield. He imagined doing the same to the rest of them... their dreams of conquest and domination would die with their shattered grey matter. "For Slade?" Sanya asked as she held Steve's hand. For comfort? For consolation? For strength? For anything? It didn't matter. "For Slade." Steve said as he knelt down and ruffled through her hair. "Are you ready?" "I am." Sanya said as she recalled the one-eyed assassin. The first day they met resulted in Slade getting a broken chestplate and Sanya almost having shattered bones. Funny. Despite that meeting, they... they... What was it about Slade? The fact that in the end, despite his attitude toward being here, that despite his motivation by greed, that despite they way he seemed to treat everyone else... he always did the right thing in the end. No matter how rough around the edges the man was, in the end, no matter how many times he threatened it, he came for Armin, and then for Sanya. He carried her out of that volcano and died doing so... what was it that motivated a man of his... character to do so? What is it a mercenary's honor of getting the job done? Or some hidden code of loyalty that he had followed? From how he acted, Slade treated loyalty as a bad thing... until she realized. It wasn't loyalty Slade frowned upon. It was blind loyalty that Slade could never bring himself to bring through... but was loyalty to a friend truly a blind thing? Not even a friend actually... someone he had barely known. Was it that the mercenary was sympathetic and opened up eventually? This last action... was it to atone for his lifelong sins... the countless murders, motivated not out of loyalty, but out of mere greed? She couldn't know, and perhaps, she never would. It only occurred to her then how much Slade resembled her grandfather who had perished during the first Neuroi war in 1914 to 1919 on an unspecified date. Story was... he had died covering the rest of the Orussian military's escape during one rather disastrous encounter with the Neuroi. The only remainder that their family would ever have of the man would be a lone painting. Wherever he was... whatever he had done... may he rest in peace. As the sky began to darken... Sanya, and everyone else knew exactly what was up. Feynaltdrog was here. The magical antennas came out, signaling the heavy flapping of large wings as the king of a dead race descended from upon the skies, a flaming hatred burning within his eyes. "Hi. .. hi lost al dii joriin! Dii reyliik! Pah evenaar! Toz wah hin dren. Hi fen pah saluk daar sul!" It hadn't occurred to anyone that Feynaltdrog may have been just as grief-stricken as they had been. Did it truly matter however? Who the hell cared after what happened to Slade? "And... you know what?" Steve replied as Sanya whispered the translation to him. "Go back to hell where you belong." "Zu'u fen. Nuz diist, aav hin fahdon til!" The large dragon cried as he opened his mouth. "Meyz! reyzan fron! Nahlok hin zeymah! Krii niin pah!" "Bad news guys!" Raynor called over his radio as he climbed into the Thor. "We got tons of dragons incoming!" "Cover us!" Steve said as he fired his assault rifle, causing the king of dragons to retaliate with a wall of flames. Thankfully for the captain, the ether shield was erected just in time to save him from becoming roasted human. "Medic! You know what to do!" "Jawohl." The doctor replied as he took out his medigun and began to overheal Sanya. "Ready?" "Ready!" Sanya replied as she took up the Fliegerhammer. He popped critubers that very moment. Now... four crit rockets are pretty scary... so... imagine nine. ON THE SAME TARGET. Feynaltdrog was blasted back, his wings torn and ripped from the blast as he looked into the skies, one of his brethren was torn in two by the javelin missiles of the Thor. Taking out a rather familiar gem... he opened his mouth as the literal "glow" from the element of harmony began to go into his mouth the same way a vacuum sucked up dust. His wounds healed, and he dove straight down right for Sanya and Medic. His mouth opened as he said the words. "Yol... Toor...SHUL!"
Chapter 47Steve cried out audibly in pain as the tongues of flame licked him, raising his shield, he curled up into a ball as the flames went around, engulfing but not scorching him. He looked as he saw the Thor knock yet another dragon straight out of a sky, the once great beast sprawled to the ground and hit the ground, leaving a wet trail of gore and blood upon the ground. As the ground shuddered at the landing of another dragon, he glanced behind him to realize that there would be no way for him to block flames from two separate directions. Fortunately for the Captain, Armin managed to grapple atop the dragon behind him, felling it with a mighty slash from both of his swords. Just as Titan skin was essentially tissue paper to his blades, dragon scales would prove to be little difficultly. Feynaltdrog had just took the full force of nine critical rockets, most of them landing in vital spots that would have outright killed a normal dragon, instead however, the king of dragons was merely reduced to a pile of burning and smoldering flesh though... still alive. He had taken out one of the elements of Harmony, the element of laughter to be the first, and what appeared to look like he had consumed it's magic, healing himself instantly. Okay... now this was getting pretty terrifying. Did anyone really care though? No. Sanya looked up at the dragon as it sent down a massive wave of fire down upon her, the witch raising her shield to prevent herself from being burnt alive. Running quickly, she managed to evade the flames with a little help of magic as she ducked behind the Thor and opened the box that was waiting for her, a M60 LMG. A weapon that easily could have exhausted anyone from it's sheer weight took hardly an effort from the witch, as did the recoil which were nothing when you carried around a rocket launcher with you into battle on a fairly daily basis. The armor piercing rounds would easily cause Feynaltdrog great pain and discomfort, despite their obvious small killing power against him. Rearing up his great head, he shot forth another wave of flame at Sanya, who prudently ducked behind the Thor, the fire would do little against the great machine's armor. "EAT... THIS!" Raynor said as he fired a round from the Thor's mainguns, the massive guns shredding Feynaltdrog's flesh and bone, the king of dragons collapsed from his own weight and the weight of his injuries as Steve saw his chance and leapt up upon the king of Dragons. "This is for Slade!" Steve cried as he sent the shield crashing down upon the dragon king's back, the loud snapping noise of Feynaltdrog's back breaking was heard from miles away. Standing back, the Captain pulled out his assault rifle and fired several rounds and a grenade into the open scales that exposed the bloody, red flesh. The explosion practically tore Feynaltdrog in half. Though... it didn't help too much. If only he stayed in two pieces. As he consumed the element of honesty and once again got back on his feet as he opened his mouth, as soon as the words came out, the skies above them exploded into a whirling storm, the eye of the abyss opened as it shot down meteors from the heavens themselves, sending them crashing down upon the world as Equestria bore witness to the wrath of Feynaltdrog, king of dragons, lord of banes. Raynor gritted his teeth as the Thor shook a bit after being hit by a particularly large piece of meteorite. He had just a present for Feynaltdrog. 250 millimeter cannons right down his throat. See how he liked him now. He flipped open the trigger and chuckled to himself. NOW IF HE'D JUST STAY DOWN AFTER GETTING WITH THIS.... click* Boom. You can imagine Raynor's reaction to the fact that 250 Millimeter canons didn't kill Drog, in fact, it didn't even injure him severely, save for the fact that his wings must have gotten shredded for like the third time. But that wasn't the important thing... he looked as he saw the grappling hook. Armin! The boy swung up, blades at the ready, aiming straight for Feynaltdrog's neck, the blades sunk in, deep but hardly deep enough as the dragon king's broken, skeleton of wing came straight up, knocking him off. The two blades remained in as the red, oozing blood came gushing out, though fell straight out the moment the dragon consumed the element of kindness. "For the love of god!" Raynor cried from within his Thor as he sent a barrage of javelin missiles at the dragon, which retaliated by sending a wall of fire right back at him, the mighty machine and the great dragon both held their ground as missiles and flame tore away at hull and flesh. The two titans locked in battle, each refusing to give any quarter. Sanya dove away from the Thor the moment the flames reached it, not wanting to be anywhere close to the hellish flames that sought to consume everything within their path. The LMG was out of ammo... damn... her eye spotted a grenade launcher which she quickly grabbed. "Again Medic!" Sanya called over the din. "Vat?" Medic asked as he shot an arrow from his crusader's crossbow. "Medic! Charge!" "I can't hear you!" "CHARGE." "Oh! Why didn't you say so?" The german doctor replied as the medi-gun's rays enveloped Sanya. Quickly he flipped the switch. Crit grenades... each of them hit Drog, forcing him back slightly. But then... wait... what the hell was he doing?! Medic ran right at the dragon. Yes... just flat out CHARGED Feynaltdrog as though he wasn't going to get fried alive the moment the uber wore off. He had a strange... canteen like object within his hands which he opened the moment Feynaltdrog's attention was turn to him. With that, they found Medic covered in the red glow that was similar to his uber. He had just ubered himself.... while having a particular bonesaw ready to strike Drog. No could have saw it coming. No one ever expected the (crazy) German doctor who had the attitude of a (sociopathic) bookworm to be one hell of a fighter as he somehow managed getting crushed, not once, not twice but THREE TIMES as he sent the ubersaw straight into Feynaltdrog's legs and face, each of the wounds bleeding profusely. But... you can kinda imagine what Feynaltdrog did next. Hint: It involves the element of generosity. Twilight had seen, (and heard) the fighting going on for quite the time now. She hadn't left golden oaks library in a LONG time after Spike had left. Things weren't the same after her number one assistant deserted her, perhaps never to be seen again. She would have visited Jim and the others with her friends, though they too had been mourning over the death of a teammate. Granted, she never really liked Slade, but it was hard not to feel even a twinge of sympathy despite how... well... how much of a total jerk the guy was at times. She never got to hear the details of his death however... though it hit everyone quite hard. Even guys like Steve who had hated the man. However... the sound and sight of battle had been too much to ignore. Prudently, most of ponyville stayed within their home... though not Twilight. And definitely not her friends once they saw her out and about. There'd be absolutely no convincing required to get them to come with her. The moment they laid eyes on the battle however, it was a sorry sight. Four of the elements lay upon the ground. Grey and discolored, and there was a large, unearthly machine that was giving the king of dragons total hell. This hardly mattered when he picked up the element of loyalty, consuming it of it's energy. Opening his mouth, he said the words. "Wuld...nah...KEST!" He flew forward at ungodly speeds, striking the thor causing the machine to tip over and began to maul the machine. It was just so fortunate that the ejection system had been working fine, and that Raynor had been wearing his power armor, or he probably would have been in more than a few pieces by now. "No one can stop me!" Feynaltdrog cried to the heavens as he rose, holding the element of magic within his claws. "Once I consume this... nothing can stop me! No one ever can!" The irony of saying that... when a loud roar was heard that shattered the heavens, the earth and perhaps... even the very core of the king of dragons. A massive purple dragon was flying at unfathomable speeds at the dragon king, the loud roar that was deafening. There was someone atop this dragon... someone in a ~~hockey~~ mask and armed the teeth. "Slade?"
Chapter 48He had been watching for as long as Feynaltdrog was in view of his tactical vision. He had been feeding off of the elements of harmony to regenerate his injuries, when he had outright stated himself that consumption of the element of magic would ascend him to new levels of power, Slade knew exactly what had to be done. Granted... it probably wasn't the smartest of all decisions he made in his life, but neither was accepting this contract as a whole. He jumped off of Spike, hoping that he had timed it right. If he didn't... Well they'd all be screwed. Of course. How could he have messed it up? He had perfect timing after all, and with that, he leapt straight above Feynaltdrog and snatched the element of magic straight from his grasp, landing upon the ground with a heavy thud, good thing his armor was cushioned and that his body overall would be resistant to damage from impacts. Even then however, it hurt like hell. Though... it was debatable to whether or not that he'd survive getting hit by a wall of fire as he looked up. Feynaltdrog had begun to speak. "Yol...." Time stood to a standstill as Slade tried to rise, realizing that he had probably broken both his legs. The flames began to creep ever closer to him from the mouth of the dragon. The shield of blue ether that saved his life formed just in time to stop him from becoming human steak, as did the small silver-haired girl who ran right by him, the blue shield beginning to stagger and buckle as the flames began to lick upon it. "Slade!" Sanya called, she had a billion questions, but as of now there wouldn't be a moment of time. "Medic!" Slade groaned in pain. No sooner had the words left his mouth, a large needle flew straight at into his shoulder. Now... one would EXPECT him to be in a huge state of pain from the fact that the needle was probably the size of a dagger though... he felt none of that. In fact... his legs didn't feel like they were shattered into a million pieces anymore. "That shield isn't going to hold!" Slade called out as he held Sanya. "Hang on!" The grappling gun shot right into the wreckage of the thor, sending the pair flying away from the flames as the blue aura of protection faded away and the flames scorched the ground. "Thankfully he didn't drop that..." Armin commented as he looked back at the grappling gun he had "borrowed" from Slade. Seeing his chance, he rushed forth to deliver to colossal blows straight at the dragon's legs, the large red gashes caused the king of dragons to roar in pain. Though... that'd be the least of his problems when a dragon of almost equal mass hit him like a cannonball, sending both creatures to the ground, creating massive scars within the ground. Even with his injuries, Feynaltdrog was stronger by... a lot actually. He managed to throw Spike straight off of him, sending the dragon flying back. "Yol...Toor...Shul!" The dragon king roared as the wave of flames shot at Spike, causing him to roar and screech in pain, forcing him back into the air. The wave of fire ceased and weakened as the guass rounds hit him in the tail, blowing the lower ends of it into a bloody pulp. "Come here!" Raynor called as the protective visor of his suit came down. The flames engulfed him, but the armor would hold just long enough for Captain America to make his move as the star-spangled man leapt upon the dragon, sending massive blows at the wings, breaking various bones. The flailing claws and pained movements of attempted strikes of the wings forced him back, Steve wasn't exactly interested in being torn into bloody ribbons. Thankfully... Slade and Medic were ready. "Charge now Doc!" Slade called as the crit-uber was popped. Grabbing ever last explosive he had, he flung the huge bundle straight at Feynaltdrog. The massive explosion tearing scales and flesh straight off the king of dragons who howled and roared in pain as he sent a wave of fire down upon Slade and Medic. The uber would save them from being cooked, but it wouldn't save them from flying back several feet. The two would find shelter within a ditch. It was a rather balsy move. But... you know what? They weren't exactly thinking straight... Or rather caring to since it was all or nothing at this point. Holding her hand for dear life, Armin and Sanya shot forward, straight at Feynaltdrog's mouth as the flames rushed forward, the shield saving the pair from a fiery death, for how long, it was as good as anyone's guess, it was just so fortunate that Armin intended on moving quickly as he drove both blades deep into the eyes of Feynaltdrog, causing the dragon to scream and shriek in ungodly pain as it flailed and stomped around, it's wings broken and useless, it's tail shattered and it's once great and powerful body in ruins. It was then when the elements of harmony began their ethereal glow. Twilight knew exactly what to do as she sent the elements straight at her friends. The six closing their eyes and concentrating. The elements would surely be able to destroy the dragon, if not seal him away for another thousand years to come. "The elements! My teeth to your hearts ponykind!" The dragon cried out in pain and fear. It somehow knew despite being completely blind. It opened it's mouth... Twilight realized just then that her friends and herself, in the process of firing the elements, couldn't move, and that no one exactly had the strength to stop the flames. Raynor was too far away and Sanya's shield had long been exhausted. No one could have stopped their deaths. That didn't mean NOTHING couldn't have as the large purple dragon descended from the heavens, it's foot stomping down upon the dragon lord's mouth, ensuring that the words and flames would never come out. "Now Twilight!" Spike roared. Even in such a weak state, Feynaltdrog was still slightly stronger than him IN JUST HIS JAW ALONE. "Hurry!" "But Spike!" Twilight cried. She had just gotten her number one assistant back... If he was caught in the way of the magic... "Just do it! I can't hold him for long!" Spike shouted as the larger dragooned threatened to escape. If he did... There'd be nothing stopping him then. Even being blinded... He could still "see." There would be no choice as Twilight closed her eyes, and prayed... Prayed to the heavens that Spike would be okay. The rainbow colored magic fired out of the elements.
Chapter 49The massive rainbow colored beam shot forth, it's size was big enough to engulf not just both dragons, but the area around them, covering them all with the rainbow colored light. Behind the screams and shrieks of endless agony, Twilight felt sweat drip off of her mane. Spike... he was in pain. Even without the roars and screams of anguish of wounded beasts, she could just feel it in her bones. Nothing could have been more soul jarring than listening to her number one assistant in such other-wordly agony. The magic of the elements... She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth as they continued, the screams began to die and soon, the air was filled with a deathly silence. She opened her eyes to see it. Even though he'd been the bane of the world thousand years ago, and had been once again during his return... it was still pitiful. The once mighty king of dragons, bane of the world, hungry for conquest now lay nothing more than a pile of dragon bones, his skin and flesh having been flayed straight off by the magic of the elements. Even something like him mustn't have deserved such a fate. But nevertheless, it had been a neccessary act. But... Spike... Wait a minute.... "Where's Spike?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked around at Feynaltdrog's skeleton. Not that she exactly wanted to know... though a huge dragon skeleton was something that's pretty hard to los... "Pinkie... what's going on?" Twilight asked as the pink earth pony's tail began to twitch like crazy. No sooner had that happened did Pinkie Pie dive right into the ditch that Slade and Medic had taken cover within. "I think something's about to fall from the..." THUD* "Ow..." Twilight groaned weakly as she looked above. Spike had just landed straight on her head. Wait a minute... if Spike had landed on her head.... and if Spike hadn't crushed her than that meant.... HOLY HORSEAPPLES! HE'S ALIVE! Not just that too... he wasn't JUST alive. He was now back being just... Spike. Not a scary, huge dragon that looked like it had more business burning down villages. He was once again, Twilight's number one assistant Spike. "Whoa... ugh... I don't feel so well..." Spike groaned, evidently suffering case of serious nausea. Though... it could have been a lot worse considering things like a bigger dragon had been involved. Strange... despite the fact he'd taken the full force of dragon fire and getting knocked around.... yeah... he probably won the award of "luckiest dragon in Equestria" as of now. "SPIKE!" Twilight said as she wrapped her hooves around the dragon. "Umm... Twilight? Hey... you're not so small anymore... wait.... awww..." "What's wrong Spike?" Fluttershy asked. "Are you hurt?" "No... it's just that... I am not big anymore." He mumbled to himself, disappointed. "I..." "You were pretty damn awesome." Raynor said as he walked over, well... more like hobbled over considering the state of his power armor at the moment. "You royally kicked Feynalt... whatever's ass and gave him a beatdown." "Yeah... but... not..." "Doesn't matter who or what we are kid." Slade said as walked over. "Only matters is what we do and what our plan is. Right now... what you did probably would have earned you a few medals back in my day." "Mine too!" Sanya and Cap said at the same time. "So... wait... why am I not dead then? I mean... look at him!" "Maybe..." "It's because the elements of Harmony..." Princess Celestia began coming out of nowhere. "Are powerful enough to lock away or destroy any evil. As long as there is good however... the elements will not harm. Spike... Feynaltdrog's spell upon you turned you into a savage creature. But you were able to fight it and..." "Saved my bacon, and everyone else." Slade cut in. "Well done kid. I don't care what you are, but I think you done me and everyone else here a favor today." "Just as you have all done Equestria a favor too... Deathstroke." Luna cut in. "You know... I prefer Slade when speaking with my clients." Slade chuckled. "But... is he dead now?" "I would expect so.... hopefully..." Luna mumbled. "But whatever the cause... I suppose we may send you home now?" "You kidding?!" Pinkie Pie asked as she jumped straight in front of Slade before him or anyone else could give an answer. "This calls for a party!" Slade had considered pulling another "Deathstroke" though... went against it as he felt something tap against his shoulder. "What is it kid?" Slade asked. He could tell who it was... he didn't even need to look. "Are you going to go home now? Becuase..." "No. I'll stay... though I think my sanity might not agree." Slade said as he walked with everyone else as they began to depart. "I am glad you can... and I am certain so is everyone else." Sanya began. "But... can you tell me how..." "How I survived?" Slade said with a smile. Not the type he typically had when he was about to murder someone or complete a contract, but the type he probably had a lot of... maybe 50 years ago. "You know... I could tell you I pulled one of my tricks again... you're a witch after all. You have your magic, I have mine. But... that'd be a lie... or at least... not entirely true." "Go on." Steve said. He was listening too... and pretty damn interested. "You see... there was rubble... a ton of rubble... and this one piece of stone... about the size of a bullet ALMOST killed me. Would have had me straight through the heart." Slade said. Slowly, he reached into his armor, and took out a kopeck. Albeit... a dented kopeck which looked as though it had been shot. Kinda reminded him of that lawyer in Gotham city... "Saved my life." Slade said as he looked at Sanya. "I doubt I can really regenerate a rock in the heart." "I dunno... you always struck me as the type of guy who had a heart of stone..." Steve joked. He expected a wisecrack or a comeback, or at least a death glare... but got nothing. Just silence and some incoherent mumbling. "Eh... I am joking." The last part was added rather hastily. Slade made no comment. "Nevertheless though... I was trapped for a while... until Spike fished me out. Why he saved me? I dunno... I mean I was the guy who actually drugged him senseless but I guess he wanted Feynaltdrog's neck and not mine. So... I rode him, we got here as fast as we could, and the rest is history." "Nice..." Raynor commented. "Listen... maybe we can celebrate now? I dunno... but I really want a beer." "Except... it's going to be made of apples..." Steve moaned. "Here." Slade said tossing Raynor his canteen. "Gift from a friend... and not made out of apples. Pretty damn good. Give some to Captain Star Spangles afterwards. He needs a drink too." "Ve all do." Medic commented. "Though..." "You CANNOT have my blood sample." Slade said firmly. "Gah..." Medic grumbled as they headed back for Ponyville. Somehow... in under 45 seconds, it looked like Pinkie Pie had already produced enough baked goods, drinks and whatnot to have a country fair.... how is this possible again? Magic. "Time to go home now?" Armin asked as he got his things. Good thing he didn't bring much... "Indeed. Equestria thanks you again for your help." Celestia said. "Before we go... I suppose it's time for your... payment. Slade?" "Do me last. I gotta think." Well... that was pretty suprising. "Jim?" "Some of that shiny jewels you got... I need a ton... hope that won't be of inconvinience." "Of course not." Luna smiled. "Next... Armin?" "Just to be back home..." Armin said. God damn it... why the fu.. "Medic?" "Un Sample of every organism from Equestria... ja. Perhaps a little book on medicine?" "Done." "Sanya?" "A chance to see my parents." "Steve?" "I want nothing." "Slade...?" "Another chance." The mercanary said. Those two words would be all. Author's Note Are we done yet? Of course not... not for this one... and maybe not for a long time. Am I going to write a sequel? Probably. More on it next time.
Epilogue: Part 1 Epilogue: Part 1 [Gotham City, local time: 10:30 PM, Slade's safehouse.] Sitting down in his living room in a tidy yet spartan apartment, the mercanary pulled out his laptop and placed it on the coffee table, besides him, a new freshly taken photo rested upon the bed. By the bedside, a family photo of himself and his family from about 50 years ago sat on the cabinet. Next to it lay Adeline's ring. She had died just a week earlier, her slit throat would have provided far too much. Though... he risked retribution from not just Rose and Jericho, Slade had attended the funeral. There were those who were... slightly more aware about Deathstroke and Slade Wilson. Suprisingly, no one had attempted to kill or even as much as say a threatening word to him as Slade sat silently amongst the mourners, saying nothing the entire time as his two children shot him hate filled glances, not even as much as speaking to him. The fact that he attended the funeral at all was suprising to some, but insulting to others. And now here he sat, back home in Gotham by his laptop. Amanda Waller of ARGUS had called the other day. Apparently, the guy in the bat costume and his friends weren't the only ones aware of Deathstroke's true identity. The only thing here was, ARGUS had the proof. The guy in the bat costume didn't, and this proof would be more than enough to give him a life sentence. Considering that he could expect to live a pretty long time, that sentence would for obvious reasons, be just as long. Of course... there would be a way out. The US goverment had quite the list of several notorious criminals and terorrists. All marked wanted, dead or alive. Mostly the former for rather obvious reasons. For this reason, the guy in the bat costume or any of his pals would be unlikely to do anything along these lines. The world's greatest assassin however, would probably have no qualms with any form of assignments like this. Needless to say, he called Waller the first thing he did after returning home from Adeline's funeral. He would accept this contract (or rather, contracts). Waller had said... not much actually. Only told him that she had expected nothing less from his good judgement and that he could expect this to take a long time, years as a matter of fact. Clever. He wouldn't have much time to go around murdering any other people while working for ARGUS. Plus... this was the sentence. Working for ARGUS. At least the pay would be rather handsome though the missions... he could expect nothing less than the one's that Task Force X AKA the suicide squad would be assigned to. Speaking of the suicide squad, Slade had made one thing clear. He would accept Waller's offer, from the way things looked, she needed the long list of people dead or behind bars quickly and efficently. As such... he would deal with her. On his terms. That meant no bombs in his head and that Waller kept her distance. Grudgingly... the woman would expect. Nevertheless, Slade could still expect someone to be watching his every move lest he did anything to violate their contract. On his coffee table, he looked at the colored picture. Strange... they lacked things like cars but still managed to produce perfect HD photos. Within the picture was himself, wearing his Deathstroke costume, save for the mask. He looked over at the people in the picture again. Himself of course, frowning as usual. Humph... as a crazy pink horse had described, it probably would kill him to look cheerful for once. Sorta hard to do that in his shoes. Jim... pretty big guy... actually the only person who was taller than he was. Then again... if he knew history right, it always seemed next generations were taller than the previous ones. When considering how Medic and Steve were around similar heights (Steve being marginally taller) and being born at the same time, he could make that assumption. He chuckled to himself as he realized it now. Jim, Medic, Steve and himself were actually all litearlly taller than both Sanya and Armin by at least a foot. Each. He looked back at those two, Armin who was rather confused by the camera and Sanya who was smiling for it. He considered showing the photo to Rose and comparing the two... though something told him that even as much as going near his daughter would probably end with him getting two bullets in the chest. Sitting back down, he grabbed himself a cup of ice water and considered going to bed.But first, he would have to look through the armory before doing so. "We're.... um... we're technically not allowed to be doing this now are we?" Eila asked Sanya as she drove down the street within the gotham city outskirts. "No." Sanya replied flatly as she looked down at the wedding ring. "Just... I hope we don't get caught driving." "Yeah... but this city... I always knew Liberion was famous for it's cities... but this? This is a bit much." "It's called America here." Sanya commented as she took a look around. "But... this is 2014 for them..." "Oh... no wonder. I thought this car was a bit fast... and... hey... I think we're here..." "Nice." Sanya said as Eila parked the car. (By parked... I mean scratched the paint off of the car next to her before pulling the automobile to a stop.) "Come on!" "Alright... but... um... this is pretty weird." "I know... I know... but you believe me... right?" "Right..." Eila said hesitantly as she looked at the homes. Finding the right address, she knocked on the door. Much to her suprise, it was actually not even fully closed it swung right open. Well.... "Umm... do we just go in?" Eila asked. "I hope he won't mind." Sanya said as she held unto the wedding ring. "He's a good friend." "He does sound pretty awesome. That nickname though..." Eila chuckled as she entered the house with her friend. They were greeted by the interior, a mostly empty living room with a strange device a top a table, and what Slade had called a "Smartphone" right next to it. "Hello? Is anyone home?" Eila called out. "Hey kid... brought your older sister?" The voice called out from behind them, causing Eila to jump. To Sanya... it was just Slade being Slade. "She's not my sister.... wait... do we look a like?" "Yeah... fairly similar." Slade said. "Take a seat kid... it must have been pretty hard for the two of you to get here. What's your name kid?" "Eila." And.... this is the part where Slade all of a sudden had the impulse to bash in Steve's face the next time he saw him.... okay that aside... "Why are you two here?" Slade asked. "I am certain you're not here to ask me to kill someone now... RIGHT?!" "No! Of course not!" Sanya said. "I... well... you forgot this." Slade eyed the object for a moment before his mouth slowly hung agape. It was his wedding ring. Author's Note So I mentioned writing a sequel... or rather, maybe even SEQUELS later on. As of now, I do want to stick with the same franchises I used during this story as well as the characters. I do have a few ideas as of now, even written them down already. These include so far... In terms of characters, the ones likely to appear as protagonists are: Every single Avenger who's had a movie or has appeared in one. This includes guys like: Black Widow, Hawkeye, Winter Soldier, Warmachine and Falcon. This does not include anyone that's not affiliated within the Avenger's movie universe. (No X-men. No Fantastic Four.) [I am serious... EVERY avenger with a movie.I actually plan to write just one fic with litearlly every single avenger who's so far been in a movie.] Just Slade from DC. I mean... who would work with this guy again? From the StarCraft universe, any Terran character that plays a role with Raynor (Matt, Rory, Egot) are all viable canidates. Whether or not they will ALL appear, I am still deciding. From the TF2 universe, all nine classes will be unlikely. Though... say half of the team... is more likely to happen. The two classes that I'll gurantee as of now are Medic and Engineer. From the AOT universe, the only character who is guranteed not to appear is Eren. Something tells me having both Eren and Hulk in the same place at the same time will mean bad things. From the Strike Witches universe, the entire 501st or any other supporting character (assuming they're a witch) is viable. Though as the same goes for the TF2 team, EVERY character will not appear, but EVERY character CAN appear. But anyways, I am up for ideas so... speak up!
Epilogue: Part 2 Epilogue: Part 2 "Your house... it's..." Eila commented as she took a look around Slade's current place of residence. "Kind of empty?" Slade said finishing her sentence. For such a fairly large home, the only rooms that actually had any furniture were the basement, the living room and one of the three bedrooms. Everything else was litearlly empty, or maybe had a single cardboard box lying somewhere around the corner. "I am not too big on furniture anyways. Just need the essentials. But anyways... how did you two get here anyways?" "It's sort of a long story... but it involves a ton of magic, this really huge purple gem and... yeah... I think you probably understand." Eila explained. "Trust me... I thought Sanya was crazy when she told me everything! She'd been gone for only like... 5 hours and it seems like she's been gone for weeks!" "I was apparently. I returned "last week" to find out that my wife had died and was just in time for the funeral. Just got there in time to know that my children still hate me... that reminds me, Sanya, did you get to see your parents?" "Yeah! It was only for like... welll a few hours but it was great! I got to see them again... and... they really didn't believe anything I said... but... it was just nice to see them again." "I bet it was!" Eila said. "Too bad I never got to go. I always wanted to have a flying purple unicorn!" And I always wanted to MURDER that pink one... god damn it.... what was she on?! Slade thought silently as he listened to the sound of Pinkie's incomprehensible speech ring in his ears once again. "To say the truth kid, you might just get your chance..." Slade began as he looked over at the huge amount of names he had just been emailed. Dangerous names that required the skills of the world's greatest assassin. "Something in my gut tells me that this ride isn't over it." "What do you mean?" Sanya asked as she and Eila both shot him a pair of questioning looks. "Just a gut feeling... we might need to go back some time... god forbid." The last part, being under his breath. "And... by the way... did you two say you weren't related?" He took a closer look... man... they looked really similar... and that also meant. Rose in her childhood! The memories... The memories... If he was ever going to get any sleep after this... "Okay. So you two... you have a way on getting home?" Slade asked as he closed his laptop. "Oh... um... I don't think we planned that far yet... we kinda left the thing back in this place... it's sort of a long drive." "And let me guess... you both stole a car and lacking a license of any sorts... drove all the way here?" "How did you..." "First off... the neighbors are going to be pretty angry..." Slade chuckled as he was prepared for the massive rage fused yelling about how his grandkids were out of control. "Second off... as long as you're here... pretend that I am your grandfather." "Wait... why?" "Too many reasons. But you want me to drive you back or are you going to that later?" "Maybe... maybe we'll spend the night." Sanya said as she looked at the clock. 11:45. "Okay, there are some bedrolls in the living room." Slade said. "Feel free to hit the hay any time. I still have work to do." By work, he meant look over like the 500 names of people that needed a few bullets in the chest. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ [New York, SHIELD headquarters.] "So... are you COMPLETELY SURE that he's not going to go crazy on us and murder everyone?" Natasha asked as she looked at the doctors who were still screening Bucky. They had been at it for hours. Erased memories, brain washing and a few other nasty things had yet to be cleared from the man's mind. "Yes... I am sure. You asked me at least eight times now." Captain America replied as he sat down and looked over at the Winter Soldier. "He's my best friend." "Well... you know... he was trying to kill you just months ago." "Exactly how do you know any better when you're brainwashed and had your memories wiped again?" Steve shot back. "Okay. Let's change the subject... to maybe... that car accident." "Oh... yeah that." Steve began, he wasn't quite sure that Natasha would believe him. First off, according to everyone, they had lost him for about ten minutes before finding him at the roadside. "It's a long story, but next time, tell Coulson to give me a better briefing to what I am driving." "Will do then. When are you gonna tell me the long story?" "In a place where you won't call the insane asylum or think that I got hit on the head really hard. It'll take a while, but believe it or not, it involves a coloring book and some pretty interesting people." Yeah... A superhuman soldier like him, a guy from 400 years in the future, a crazy german doctor who's not affiliated with HYDRA in any form, a girl with cat ears and tail along with magic, and some boy who comes from a world full of man-eating giants. It was actually pretty amazing that Bucky believed him.... it took like four tries. But something... something told him he wasn't done. And that feeling sent waves of dread through him. He would have known this to be more than just a gut feeling if he had paid slightly more attention to Red Skull's "Death". Or better yet, if SHIELD had been paying attention to one of the islands in the middle of the pacific. Dubbed "HYDRA island." A certain man called Strucker just had some plans to meet with his boss again... and this time, they weren't going to take over the world. They were going to take over, every world. It was a good thing that when SHIELD wasn't vigilant. Odin Allfather was. The pair looked over at Bucky again, a doctor turned around to give Captain America a "thumbs-up" before letting Bucky out. The man walked out, with a grin as he looked at his friend again. "Hey. Heard that diner they had is still there. Wanna grab a few burgers?" "Like old times?" Steve said with a smile. "Like old times. We still got a mess to clean in New York though. Heard HYDRA still has a few stragglers." "We'll do that afterwards." Steve said. "Wanna come Natasha?" "No thank you." Black Widow said as she left the scene. Having lunch with the guy who had shot her through the stomach years ago wasn't really going to work up her appetite. Author's Note So... had started writing a sequel... I think from this chapter, you can probably tell who the "Big bad" is going to be. Or rather, the certain former-Nazi organization that will serve as the "Big bads". The likely set of characters will probably be.... Captain America. Winter Soldier. Deathstroke. Gertrud Barkhorn. Erica Hartmann. Medic. Due to the fact that Hyperlinks refuse to work in Author notes... GOOGLE THEM YOURSELVES, if unfamilar. I will explain a bit more on why these characters next chapter.
Epilogue: Part 3 Epilogue: Part 3 "Good times... I remember this place from... seventy years ago." Steve commented as he sat with Bucky at the old diner in downtown Manhattan. The place where they'd go rather often. Taking a bite out of a burger, he savored the taste. Tasted like the 40s where thing actually seemed to make sense. Even after two years, he still had no clue on how to work his smartphone... or use a computer. Or even change the channels on the television. "Same... and I remember having to have your back in that back alley over there..." Bucky joked as he took a large bit out of his hamburger. "I am actually... starting to remember a lot of things. We used to go here after every baseball game. Just you and me... strange, you know... I've been up and alive for the past seventy years, and none of this I can even remember. So starting from the beginning... apparently I shot this guy... Nick Fury? What was his name? I can't remember. Then... they said what now? Oh right... we got into like two brawls, and it's crazy. Apparently, I was working for those damn krauts and I didn't even realize it!" "It happens... HYDRA must have seriously screwed with your mind." Steve said as he took a sip of his soda. Back in the day... they had glass bottles, not any of these paper cup... things. "But it's good to have you back." "It is. So... we won the war right?" Bucky asked. Being in a trance for quite some time and spending time as a human popsicle within some cryo-chamber really wasn't good for his memory or really, his overall touch for what had been going on for the past century. "Yeah." Steve said as he thought about what Zola had said to him. Cut off one head, two more shall grow to take it's place. "If so... then why are those goose-stepping bastards still alive? Didn't you kill... what's his name... that Red Skull guy?" "Apparently so." Steve said as he took a look around the diner for memories of the past. "But as they said... cut off one head... two more shall grow to take it's place." "If that's the case, we got a lot of work cut out ahead of us." Bucky commented. "So... from what I know, Hitler is dead. Skull is dead. That Zola guy is dead. Who's leading them?" Damn... this should be something he knew. After all... he'd been working for HYDRA... even though he had been unaware of it. Alexander Pierce? No... he's dead too and clearly wasn't in command. Could it have been Zola? But... the Doctor didn't seem to be too involved within the politics of HYDRA... within his mind... he thought of... there was that memory... a memory of a fairly old man with a monocle... what was his name again? Baron... Baron... "I don't know. Apparently HYDRA actually had GROWN over the years when a large portion of the Nazi party ended up going over once Germany lost the war. Like you said, we got plenty of work to do before we really win the war." Steve said, causing Bucky to lose his train of thought. Go figure. "Just like old times huh? You and me, going across the land and blowing up Jerry and his factories... except this time..." "HYDRA invaded the U.S too now? Yeah... but..." His cellphone began to ring, causing him to stop speaking. At the same time, Bucky's did too. It was Coulson. HYDRA had a plant located on the outskirts of New York that was manufacturing them weapons. They were to do something about this. _______________________________________________________________________ [Koprulu sector, aboard the Hyperion] Vitals are normal. Shock therapy ready. The commander will be resuming consciousness in 3...2...1... BZZTT. "Argh!" Raynor gasped as hundreds of volts was sent through his body... "Ow..." "Easy now Jim. We found... well... it's kind of an interesting story." Matt began. NO KIDDING. Raynor screamed on the side. "Alright Matt, what's your interesting Story? Lemee guess... I crash landed into some kid's Saturday morning TV program?" "I... guess?" Matt said as he scratched his head. "Well... you were gone for like a few days, and we were really worried and all... good thing Stetmann was able to track your ship... and..." He paused for a moment as the corners of his mouth shifted to a wide smile. "Jim... I dunno what the hell happened, and I think you had probably the best reason for being missing for at least three days... but seriously. Haven't you ever heard of the saying "greed kills"?" "What?... Eh... Matt... I don't follow.... tell me everything." "Well, we found your ship. At least, Stetmann did. But... man... you struck gold... like... LITEARLLY." Matt chuckled as he sat by Raynor's bed within the infirmary of the ship. "Man... there were TONS! Again... literally! We even had to scramble every available transport just to get it done in under a day!" Looks like Sunbutt upheld her end of the bargain. Nice.. nice "How much was it?" Raynor asked. "Give me an estimation." "Like.... 12000 tons?" Matt said trying to come up with a number. "Listen... I don't know how you found this stash... but the Dominion..." "Mengsk won't know what hit him." Raynor said with a smile as he got up. "Brrr... I could use a cup of coffee." "Easily arranged." Matt said. "So... what are we gonna do with all this... gold?" "What'dya think?" Raynor asked at the rather... dumb question. "We sell this, and then... man... Mengsk is going to get hit so hard, it'll knock the living daylights out of him and his Dominion." "Sounds like a plan. I'll get this stuff sold to any buyers." Matt said as he placed down a diamond the size of an egg right on the table. "Jim... mind telling me how you got this?" "It's a long and crazy story." Jim said as he sat down. "You might not believe anything I have to say, so I don't expect you to." "Try me." Matt said with a grin. "After all we've been through together, you know there's hardly anything in this universe that'll surprise me." "Funny... I don't think it was in our universe." Jim said as he thought about the others. "Anyways, it involves some master assassin from 500 years ago, a master soldier from 500 years ago, a crazy doctor, a witch that was like... twelve and had cat ears and tail and some guy who came from this place where there are a ton of man-eating giants." "Ummm... what?" "Yeah... lemee begin..." Raynor said as he sat down and grabbed a cup of coffee. "Matt... you know, I'd recommend you grab a bag of popcorn. Just saying... it's going to be one helluva story."
Epilogue: part 4 Epilogue: part 4 "Well... that... um... I... I... bu..bu...wha.. never mind." Matt said as he tried to comprehend what Raynor had just told him. Little kid's coloring book made into a TV show made into... some fantasy world setting... thing? That totally made sense. For a good portion of the time, Matt would be wondering if the crash hit Jim really hard to the point he had begun to hallucinate things. His story was just... so... Matt was lost for words. He just couldn't describe what he wanted to say verbally, and perhaps, mentally, his brains would probably be turned inside out as he began to think about everything Jim had told him. From the mercanary that called himself "Deathstroke" to the crazy doctor that somehow was living about 500 years in the past yet had medical technologies that were on par, if not superior to the ones they had at their current given date. What really caught his attention however, were the so-called "elements of harmony". The pair had seen more than their fair share of Protoss Khaydarin crystals but... this seemed to be a little bit something else. Magic... hmmm... Magic. Was it truly magic? Or just some glorified versions of psionic powers that were dime a dozen in the 26th century within the galaxy? Natrually... when a witch had been involved in Jim's story... and they were discussing about "magic" and "psionic abilities" the conversation would turn to Sanya. "So... how old was she again?" "Twelve... or thirteen... I can't remember. But too damn young to be fighting. And you know what scares me? She's been doing it for a while too now. Same goes for her companions, not a single one of them is older than twenty. That's... that's just messed up. Child soldiers? Used to fight ALIENS?!" "That... that sounds terrible..." Matt commented. "But you know... if we look at it another way Jim, there might be a reason for that... now I am not justifying anything here but..." "I know... I know... and when I look at it another way... it makes sense. Apparently only people under the age of twenty have their abilities." He said as he sat down, looking at the ground. "And we thought Korprulu was an awful place." "Maybe one day... how you managed to get there, we can go in and help?" Matt asked. "Maybe." Jim said as he took a drink of his coffee. "But the thing is Matt, I got this huge gut feeling... that this all isn't over." "What do you mean?" "You believe what I've been telling you? I wouldn't blame you if you didn't. I probably told you some pretty crazy things." "I do believe you...." Horner said slowly, really unsure of what to make of what Jim ha dbeen telling him. Either he'd been hit REALLY hard on the head or something. Something about what Jim was telling him just... just seemed almost too crazy to be false. The above sentence probably would have made no sense to Matt if he had said it to himself yesterday. "But... what do you mean by this not being over?" Matt asked as he thought of what Raynor had said. "Something tells me... just this gut feeling... that I didn't end up there by coincidence..." Raynor said. He wouldn't get to finish his train of thought as the alarms began to blare from all corners of the Hyperion. Zerg. [Gravel pits of dustbowl, U.S.A] "Mornin, Doc." A Texan said as he entered the Medic's laboratory. "Whatcha doing here now?" "Research Engineer! Research! A breakthrough in SCIENCE!" The German replied as he fiddled around with many colorful fluids within the flasks and test tubes of his laboratory. Many unlucky lab rats would be on the receiving ends of these chemicals. Above him, perched upon the lamp were dozens of doves that watched as the crazed doctor mixed and heated chemicals, chuckling and muttering to himself as he looked over a massive, aged book that looked thick enough and heavy enough for him to bludgeon someone to death with. "What kind of breakthrough doc?" "A new Medi-gun! Longer ubers! Faster healing!" Medic cackled as he seized Engineer by the collar. "Do you know vhat this means Engineer?! We could have ze power of ze gods right here with us! I am a genius!" "Well... that's mighty sweet doc." Engineer said as he took a quite glance at Medic's notes. Wat.... "Ja! It is... Engie... I tink I may need your help." "Well... okay doc. Just tell me what we're working on." Engineer said as Medic gave him a fairly brief explanation to what he was experimenting on. [About two hours later] "Vell... I guess ve did enough." Medic said as he took a look at the results that included a fire in the sink, several broken bottles, acid on one of the counters, a huge mess on the floor and... of course, a new device that allowed the medi-gun to bring someone back from the dead... a work of gods truly. "Alright... I am going to take this down and test it." Medic said as he grabbed the device and left the lab, leaving engineer within the mess of a room. "Well... okay." Engie said as he sat down. Something caught his eye.... besides from the massive... textbook? That medic had been using, it was something else. Looked like a journal or diary of some kind. Along with that were three blood bags. Only one of them actually had blood however. Said bag was labeled. Litvyak The other two bags were labeled, both of which had been empty. Wilson Rogers Grabbing the journal, Engineer flipped through it. You can kind of imagine his reaction when it talked nothing about magical ponies, Equestria, dragons, an eighty year old master assassin, an one hundred year old master soldier, a guy from five hundred years in the future, a witch with cat ears and tail and some boy from back then where he would have to put up with man-eating giants. Maybe Medic was even crazier than they all initially thought him to be. The thing that really caught the attention of the Texan however, was the mention that all the things they had been experimenting with from the past hours, had come from this land of magical ponies known as "Equestria". Okay? But what else was... that the bag labeled "Litvyak" apparently contained the blood of a witch... Okay. So was Medic now practicing the occult now? And... Without warning. The alarm bells within the base rang. It was Soldier's roommate. Merasmus... Who was a wizard... And I think we can all guess what he was looking for....
Epilogue: Part 5 Epilogue: Part 5 "Run fools! Run from Merasmus!" The insane wizard boomed as everything that wasn't nailed down, ranging from desks, plates, tables and people were thrown all over the place, a literal tornado of sorts forming within the RED base. Pyro tried to stop him, only to get slapped about a few hundred feet by a cane as the wizard porcceded to Medic's labratory. Said German doctor was currently on "coffee break" after he had dropped off his reanimator. By coffee break, I mean hiding in his closet in his room after hearing (and seeing) Merasmus teleport straight into the base and slap Pyro across the entire room who landed straight on the trigger of his flamethrower, the effect was hilarious to anyone who wasn't Pyro. He flew and soared across the room out of control, bouncing off the walls like a pinball machine. "Ah, good night Irene!" Engineer commented as he saw Merasmus throw a metric ton of bombs at Demoman who was promptly blasted against a large, bulletproof window (which thankfully happened to have been flying-people proof as well). The Scotsman slid down comically while attempting to mutter something in his already incomprehensible slurring. The Texan looked over back into the labratory and found just what would be completely useless at this current event. "Merasmus demands your souls!" The wizard announced. A massive miasma of light surrounding the awfully tall wizard before randomly flickering out like a broken light. "Or... you can just give me the blood.... you know..." "Ummm... why do you want BLOOD?!" Scout asked as he held onto his baseball bat tightly. "And who's blood?!" "Don't play dumb with me city boy!" The wizard replied angrily as he hit Scout upside the head with his cane. "Where is the BLOOD?!" "What the bloody hell is he talking about?!" Sniper asked as he clutched onto his kukri. "You cannot have ze blood Vizard!" Medic said grinding through his teeth. It took ALL the convincing in the world for Litvyak to finally agree to give him a blood sample. He never got Slade's blood or Steve's blood which meant that the only sample he had was all the more valuable. Who knows when he was going to see anyone one of those three again? Though something in the back of his head always told him... he wasn't quite done with the talking unicorns just yet. But frankly, a hunch he had in the back of his head hardly mattered when there was some psycho wizard running around and conjuring up enough bombs to rival a nuke in terms of sheer explosive power. "You cannot stop me MEDIC!" Merasmus retorted as he slapped the doctor with his staff, sending the German crashing against the wall before sliding down, his glasses dramatically falling off of his face as they shattered upon impact with the ground. He was out for the count. So would be the rest of the team as they all tried (unsuccessfully) to stop Merasmus. The only man left standing would be Engineer as Merasmus swung his staff once again, sending Heavy flying right into Soldier and Scout who all landed in a most undignified heap upon the ground, Scout having the misfortune to be on the bottom of a 300 pound Russian, a bulletproof vest, a 200 pound American, a minigun and a rocket launcher. "Now stop right there Wizard!" Engineer threatened as he cocked his shotgun, aiming it straight at Merasmus' head. Merasmus hardly took this seriously when all things considered, grenades, rockets and 400,000 dollars worth of minigun fire really didn't stop him. This shotgun? It could knock down bears but you know what? Engineer might as well as have brought ping pong balls to fight the wizard with. "Engineer?! You think to stop me? Give me the blood and Merasmus will not feast upon your souls!" "No way Wizard! You want the blood?! You gonna have to go get past me first!" "Not something a great magician like MERASMUS cannot do!" The wizard said as he leapt at Engineer with his staff, intent on hitting the Texan upside the head with it. Tentatively, Engineer made sure his back was to the shelf of several bottles. At the last moment, he leapt straight out of the way, landing right on top of the heap that formed Heavy, Soldier and Scout. In the case of Merasmus the (mediocre) wizard, he had hit the cabinet causing several glass bottles to fall comically upon his head, each one of them ending with a musical note as it struck him. The last one splashed him full of a certain yellow liquid... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..........." Unfortunately... that wasn't exactly the only thing that fell off the shelf that had contained any form of liquid. Several of Demoman's whiskey bottles fell straight off, pouring all over the ground... and Pyro... with his new jetpack happened to have dipped a wee bit close to the alcohol flooded ground... What happened about two seconds later. _________________________________________________________________ [Wall Rose Maria, local time 8:00 AM, Scout regiment headquarters] "Careful boys..." The scout sergeant said as the two scouts gingerly carried the box, flanked by two more guards who frantically looked around. Behind them, Armin walked along, trailed by two more guards. The regiment had just acquired the box and it's contents a mere two hours ago. A disturbance resulting severe damage to a building within Wall Maria had caused the regiment to investigate. Anything else, was confidential, known only to the higher-ups within the Scout regiment. The group would pause at a door that was labeled with the sign reading: Erwin Smith. To this, Armin and the box were thrown in. Everyone else, cleared out. Within the office was the commander of the scout regiment himself, along with his second in command. The pair of them shot grim glances at Armin who could only respond nervously with a bob of the throat. Levi's blades never looked so threatening as of now... "Hello Armin." Erwin said calmly and coolly as he stood up. "Originally... I had intended all the officers of the scout regiment to be present when we discussed this. But in light of recent events, I have changed my mind. Squad leader Hange was supposed to have been present for this, but due to reasons involving two titan specimens, she will not be here today. You will explain EVERYTHING regarding this... incident to Levi and myself. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes sir." Armin said weakly, trying not to make eye contact with Levi who maintained his usual look. The death-stare he gave to just about everyone. Even without that look, it wasn't hard to know why Armin was nervous. He was in a room with not just one, but two apex swordsmen and hardened elites. Hopefully... their patience would match their talents. Actually... hopefully they would believe everything he would have to say because... frankly... he had shared with no one lest they thought he was crazy. And for good reason to. A land full of talking horses and meeting with those from the future wasn't exactly a very believable story to just about anyone, even himself. As of now, Armin was still having trouble to whether or not what he had experienced was either a very vivid dream... or perhaps what had happened really did happen. He began his explanation and prayed to the heavens that the two would believe his story. Author's Note Originally... I had been deciding on this for quite some time, but I thought why the hell not? Levi and Erwin are both going to go to Equestria. Not in the next one of course or the one after but SOME TIME...
Not the end. Not the end. In the middle of the the Pacific ocean, was a large island off the coast of Japan. In some of the long forgotten tales of the second world war, it was known here that a force of Imperial Japanese soldiers had been given to a certain affluent Nazi officer. His name, was Wolfgang Von Strucker, second in command of HYDRA and one of the most powerful men of the Third Reich. Here, HYDRA laid down it's first few steps in becoming a world wide organization as the Japanese hopped aboard the band wagon, eager for new, quicker and unorthodox ways of winning the war. After the war, HYDRA island as it was soon dubbed became the ideal refuge for many former members of the Third Reich and the Imperial Japanese army. War-criminals especially would flock here in the thousands, swelling the numbers of HYDRA as even treacherous members of the Allies too would find a place here. Later, many Soviet and US defects would also attend this cabal of sorts, making HYDRA a small organization within the shadow of the axis powers, to the largest terrorist organization to ever exist as it spread across the world, the nine headed serpent had coiled itself around every major country. Within the island, an old German stood by the windows as lightning flashed dramatically. The experiment had succeeded... a bit too well unfortunately for him. He would lose his bid to have the world in his hands, but HYDRA will have won the gamble to have not just one world, but ALL worlds. Behind him, a seemingly younger and much taller man stood up. Clapping. Perhaps in mocking congratulation. "Did you really think I was dead?" The man began in German as he sat down and poured himself a glass of wine. "Did you really think. that I... one of the supermen who has left humanity behind, would die so easily? So that you... you can just inherit the greatness I have created? Fool... HYDRA is mine, and so is the world. Now... so will every world. Strucker said nothing as he sat back down into his seat. For a few decades, he had been in control of HYDRA following the "death" of the Red Skull. Unfortunately, he came back just today. The words "fell out of the sky on them" could almost have been taken literally as they activated their machine that created... tunnels within the fabric of space. A place of magic, did the Skull discover. To him, he had only been there long enough to peek at what treasures it would hold for HYDRA. To Strucker and to the rest of HYDRA, it had been seventy years. He would have certainly loved to remain in control. But HYDRA worshiped Schmidt as a devout Christian worshiped Christ. It was a losing battle if he intended to try and keep power. He would once again, be in the shadow of this deformed, and self-titled "greater man". This Red Skull. "Ahhh.... but you have done well Strucker." Johann continued as he put on his mask that would present his face as he had before the experiment. "For the brief time I was allowed within this place... I know that it contained magic. Great magic that would rival the powers of the gods! And we will have this power. HYDRA will have it. And for this... you will be rewarded." Strucker would have snorted at this. What would this "reward" be? Some miser's reward of promised wealth? Or maybe just a small piece of the pie that in truth, when the entire share belonged to him? He would once again be in the shadow of the Red Skull... and frustratingly enough, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it... for now. Schmidt could almost smell the ire of the baron. Chuckling within his mind, he didn't care. He had all he needed now. Opening the door of the stateroom, he looked out downstairs of the massive fortress where hundreds of scientists and engineers were working upon the massive portal, powered by a highly efficient and powerful source, courtesy of Stark industries. Smiling to himself, the Red Skull looked down. Soon... he will conquer the world that he had gazed upon. When he had stripped it of what he needed, every world will follow. Perhaps not even the gods would be able to stop him then. The world would be his. And after that. Every world. "Hail Hydra." Schmidt whispered to himself. Everyone would bear witness to the homecoming of the leader of HYDRA. As she watched these events unfold, Princess Celestia could only clench her teeth. Thankfully for her, there was a man, or rather a god that she could trust to help. Odin. And it just so happened that at that moment, it had occurred to Odin many things. That of the nine realms of Yggdrasil, only eight of them were unique. Midgard... was not. There were infinite versions of it across the many planes and realms that existed. In fact, it seemed as though every world that wasn't eight of the nine realms wasn't unique... that every universe seemed to have it's own version... This just occurred to the god. But to a mortal, a mortal among these infinite planes. A mortal by that dressed in a dark suit that resembled an owl, he had realized this long ago. And as HYDRA made it's plans to conquer every world, as Odin and Celestia thought of a way to stop them, this man would watch as an idea of unparalleled malevolence would bear it's way into his mind. This world, this Equestria had a unique property that Odin had yet to realize. Like the nine realms, it was unique. And that would mean that Equestria may have a very vital role within the strands of reality among not just one universe, but all of them. Thomas Wayne Jr. AKA Owlman, would be intent on exploiting that. Author's Note Okay. First off... this epilogue took WAY longer to write than I thought it would. But that aside, I am looking for any artists who could draw a cover for the next fic I am currently writing but have yet to put on this site. I need the following characters on the cover, preferably somewhat of a team pose or standard Photoshop would also suffice. http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131113074751/disney/images/a/a4/CaptainAmerica4-TFA.jpg http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140305193217/marvelmovies/images/1/10/Captain_America-The_Winter_soldier-poster.jpg http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140110223240/arkhamcity/images/1/17/Arkham_Origins_Deathstroke_Unmasked.jpg http://wiki.teamfortress.com/w/images/thumb/c/c2/Community_Medic_Strategy_Header.png/300px-Community_Medic_Strategy_Header.png?t=20120728061553 http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100203191953/strikewitches/images/thumb/c/c2/Erica_profile.jpg/500px-Erica_profile.jpg http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100203191749/strikewitches/images/9/91/Gertrude_profile.jpg
Prologue Prologue [Canterlot Castle: Just outside] “Explain to me again why we’re doing this?” Rogers asked as he readied his shield and crouched behind the many boxes within the dark alley way. “Because I heard one of those overgrown child toys talk about how they had... more... like us.” Slade replied as he took a peek around. Good. There was no one here. Whomever was in charge of security around here must have had the tactical ingenious of a potato. “And your point is?” “I suspect that they must have some use for him or her...” “Do you think it’s that boy we met?” “Him? I think he’s dead.” Slade said as he continued taking a look at all possible ways the infiltration could go. “Can you tell me anyone who might survive that fall?” “Me? You?” “Someone that isn’t enhanced. Besides, you even said yourself that the current of the water would have been too great. If he didn’t break his neck on impact, then he probably drowned.” “Poor guy.” Rogers said as he remembered the kid. Blond, longish hair for a guy. Smart eyes and a few other things. “Are you going to start again? Cause we have a guy to help.” “I still think this is a bad idea. Besides, this isn’t even our...” “And so what? I need information. Because this isn’t our home, I want to know what the hell is going on and why I am in a little girl’s coloring book.” Slade said as he took out his bo staff which had a hidden rifle. “Don’t tell me you already plan on dropping bodies.” Captain Rogers said as he took his binoculars for another look. “I am not. These are tranquilizer rounds. They’ll wake up with nothing but a headache.” Slade said as he fired his shots. “Clear?” “Clear.” “Hey, Barn, I would like some help with these... mff... boxes.” The royal guard said as he pushed the boxes across the floor with no hidden difficulty. They must have weighed a ton! No answer. “Really Barn? You gonna help or what?” Still no answer. “Okay. If you’re not going to help, I am going to have to tell the Captain you’ve been napping again on your dut....” A hand was clasped over his mouth as the guard was lifted off his feet. In no time at all, a muzzle was placed around his mouth and his hooves were bound together so he couldn’t move. A wooden creak and he was thrown in. Right next to at least four other guards. “That should hold you.” Slade said as Steve closed the lid, making sure to leave a small opening so they can breath. “Clear.” “I am not in the army anymore, you don’t have to say clear every time.” Slade said rolling his eyes. “Did you check the dungeons?” “Nobody in there. Entire place is empty if you’d believe it.” “Our guy must be really badass if they don’t hold him in the regular place.” Slade thought aloud as he thought for a while. “Should we try top floor?” “Top floor it is.” Rogers replied as he grabbed his shield. “By the way Slade. You really think this is a good idea?” “Anything that has anything to do with me is considered bad by you. So you know what? No.” [A few minutes later. Canterlot guest chambers.] “I have to say, this place actually looks really cozy.” Steve muttered to himself as he took a look at the rooms. Despite the fact that your average inhabitant was slightly shorter than five feet the rooms looked like they could accommodate one of his size. Come to think of it again, the entire place looked REALLY inviting. Almost gave someone the sense of wanting to just lie down instantly. Only thing was, he disliked soft beds. “Yeah. You think the poor fellow is getting this form of treatment?” Slade asked again. “These things are pretty vicious. One of them tried to attack me.” “Getting beaten up by stuffed animals are we now?” “No.” Slade grumbled moodily as he recalled sending a zebra thing into a really good sleep. “Stop.” “Who said you were in charge?” “I am a colonel. You’re a captain.” Slade chuckled. “Well. At least was. But I hear someone... the door!” It was easy to vanish out of sight. That door was like a few hundred feet away. But even then, the only thing to hide behind was around the corner which the two would peek from. The knob of the door slowly opened... and then someone stepped out. Mind you. Someone. Not something. It was a young girl. Now hold on. She was calling someone’s name. No, something’s name. Some “Twilight Sparkle.” Ummm.... what? “Wait... so... they’re not...” “Shhh!” Slade hushed as he listened to the conversation. “Thanks again... it’s really nice...” “No problemo! You know, I never knew you could use magic without a horn! Well... I mean... it’s not as good without the... and frankly, I never knew I could make one! Why don’t you give it a test?” A small nod and... Imagine an young girl with silver white hair all of a sudden make magical... antenna things appear straight right on top of her head. To say the least, Steve’s jaw almost hit the ground whilst Slade’s one good eye almost popped out of it’s socket. “What the...” “Is someone there?” The girl asked as she turned into their direction causing both to men to hide back behind the corner. Silence. “Is something wrong Sanya?” Twilight asked as she looked in the general direction Sanya had been peeking in. “Nothing I thought I heard...” The trotting sounds of armored hooves drowned out her voice as a squad of royal guards showed up. “Shining? What’s going on?” “Listen. There’s an intruder in the castle! We have to get you and your friend to safety!” “What? No time to explain! For all we know there might be an assassin right around the corner!” “But...” “I don’t know much either. We don’t even know why they’re in here but I suspect it might have to do with her.” Shining Armor turned to the girl. “Hey. We’re going to place you under custody of the royal guard. Okay? It’s not safe and I suspect the assassin or whatever might be after you.” “On the contrary. I am not an assassin this time...” Slade’s voice rang down the hall. “What the... stay back! Whatever you are!” Shining Armor said as he looked at the intruder. It looked metallic in whatever it’s skin was... or was that armor? He couldn’t tell. But in it’s hands was a long metal stick. “Give me the girl, and no gets hurt.” Slade said as he approached the group. “You’re not coming near her! She’s under the custody of the royal guard as of this moment!” “Says you and what army?” Slade taunted. He got his expected response with seven rushing guards, six of which he all incapacitated. In one blow. “Who taught you all to fight? Your grandmothers?” Slade asked rhetorically as six ponies fell to the ground in an unconscious heap. Silently, he admired their leader to a small extent as he managed to jump back in time. Shining Armor’s mind raced. What the hell was he? It didn’t matter. It was a damn good fighter and that was the only thing he knew for sure at the current given moment. Charging up his horn, he prepared to fire a spell. Slade observed the unicorn’s horn begin to light up. He was curious to what it would do. The horn fired and a bright purple beam struck him in the chest. He almost felt that one. Twack! Another unconscious pony on the ground, his eyes doing barrel rolls. “Shining Armor!” Twilight cried out in horror. Her shock turned into rage as she glared at her brother’s assailant and lit up her own horn. Instead, she was nudged backwards by Sanya. “Let me.” Sanya whispered at an almost inaudible volume as she turned to face the one that many referred to as “Deathstroke”. “What are you do...” “Get help.” She whispered as she took a look at her new gloves once again. “Okay kid. Come with me if you want to get out of here.” Slade said as he gripped his staff tightly at the ready. There could be more of them any moment and this hallway would be a bad place to be caught in if a few hundred of them showed up. No answer. “Kid?” “You hurt Shining Armor.” “Who the hell is that? Or better yet, what the hell is that?” She raised one of her fists. Slade was amused. Some skinny girl wanted to fight him? Now that was a... The sound of a metallic chest plate shattering and the cracking of a rib echoed throughout the entire hallway as Slade hit the wall painfully. Whatever slight sense of amiability he had towards the members of his own kind that may have been held in this castle deserted him in ten seconds flat. “Okay. You just asked for it.” Slade said as he grabbed his bo staff and swung savagely at Sanya’s head, instead of hitting home, the staff hit a few bright blue rings. A shield. “What... are... you?” Slade asked with much surprise as he pretended to let his guard down. He got exactly what he wanted. Sanya swung her fists again at him. This time, he was prepared, like greased lightning, his hand shot out and grabbed her fist. To Steve, it was totally brutal. He thought he heard a few cracks of bones, but that was probably his imagination, all he saw was perhaps one of the most vicious beatings in his life. This would be a lot when all things considered, he had been beat up countless times and had been doing the beating up in the case of anyone who wore a Wehrmacht, SS or HYDRA uniform. “You done yet?” Steve asked with disgust as he watched Deathstroke pick up the unconscious girl. “I didn’t hurt her too badly.” Slade replied. Despite the seemingly viciousness of the beating, he had made sure that it wouldn’t do any permanent damage despite his current mood. “Now then.. why don’t you carry her?” “Sorry.” Captain America apologized to Sanya for all that was worth as he held her gently whilst a single eye flicked open. He swung his shield over his back and followed Slade. Instead. The room gave way. Or rather, the floor did. In fact, it seemed as though the floor opened up for a minute and they fell in down a slide. Straight into a cell within the dungeon. And outside, was a purple unicorn who was panting heavily though she had a gleam of satisfaction in her eyes. But that wasn’t the important thing. What was two winged-unicorns. A tall darkish blue one who wore a scowl of fury while a taller white one who had a slight flicker of sympathy. “You have a lot of explaining to do.” Princess Luna said as she glared at Slade and Steve. “Sanya... are you okay?” She was given her reply through a pained life of the hand. Yes. “Listen. I understand that everyone may be very confused and all an...” “Sister! These two... things snuck into the castle and injured several members of the royal guard! And now they hurt Sanya whose...” “Listen. I didn’t mean any harm.” Steve said as he laid Sanya down gently whilst approaching the bars. To his surprise, he hit something solid before he even got there. A magical barrier from the looks of it. Man. They must be in maximum security or something. “Thou lies!” “Oh he’s not. He just followed me here.” Slade said as he got up. “But you there... sunbutt...” “That’s Princess Celestia you’re talking to!” Twilight cried out indignantly. “Whatever.” Slade replied as he rolled his one good eye. “Can you fill us in?’ “Pardon?” “Fill us in. You told us that you knew we are all very confused.” “Oh right. First off though... there are more of your kind here... and...” “Can you also let us out of here?” Slade asked. “Sure and...” “WHAT?! PRINCESS?!” Twilight exclaimed. “He just took out like...” “I know Twilight. But I know deep down he has good intentions despite his... behavior.” Yeah right. “Now, would you like to meet everyone else?” (About half an hour later) There was a round table made for them just for the occasion. In this round table, sat six humans. Most of them eyed one another, a few relieved that there were other things that walked on two legs and had hair on the top of it’s head while some could only glare at others, eyes deep with mistrust. “So kid... you managed to survive.” Slade said as he saw Armin glare daggers of hatred at him. “No thanks to you.” Armin glared at Slade. “So... everything aside...” Celestia said as she watched the uneasy glances and glares that were shot across the table, how about we do introductions? You... Mr. Raynor was it?” “It is Ma’am.” “May you begin with your story?” “Alright then.” James said as he sat back and began.
The next morning The next morning Across the land, through the badlands lay one massive peak. Was it the tallest mountain in all of Equestria? Who knew? Who cared would be a better question as one look at the mountain would cause even birds to turn the other direction and never come back. Here, a lone dragon had been flying for many hours, and finally, it's nostrils flared up a steam of relief as it's long trip would be over. It's many wounds had proved torturous for the entire trip whilst it clung onto the elements like a miser clung on to his last coin. As the mountain appeared closer, and closer, it's jagged and cracked earth that surrounded it appeared more like dark abysses. Wells of eternity rather than just a cliff or hole in the ground. Elsewhere, molten rock flowed freely, seeking to devour anyone or anything unlucky enough to be caught by it's fiery tongues. And here up on the mountain, was where the elements would go. And here on the mountain, a massive dragon perched, perhaps two to three times larger than the other dragons that dotted the landscape. An inexperienced observer would see these dragons from a far as demons as opposed to the mighty lizards that flew in the skies. But in this case, there would be no difference. The lone dragon perched upon the peak, prudently choosing to stay away from the streams of fire that poured out as it faced it's ancient master. It's mouth opened to address it's follower in the ancient dragon tongue. "You return... Dremahiik... you have the elements... have you not?" "I do... lord of banes... they are here... I have done as you asked and given them to you." "Very good... and... well done." "Thank you, my king." "Not yet Dremahiik... your wounds do not speak well of your abilities..." "Milord... our foes are not as weak as we perceived." "Do you jest Dremahiik? Without their precious elements of harmony, ponykind has no defense against us. Against me. I, Feynaltdrog, King of dragons has spoken!" "There is no doubt to your power... lord of banes... but there is no doubt to this new enemy..." "New enemy, Dremakiik? Speak. Tell your king this new enemy you have learned about." "They walk upright and wield weapons that herald themselves with thunder and rain fire and steel down upon their foes.. My many wounds speak of this encounter with them." "How many of them are there?" "Six." "Only six? Then they should be no problems for the armies of the bane king as of brethren choose the right side and the lower orders scramble beneath us to throw themselves at our service." His roar echoed throughout his domain, answered by his brethren as he overlooked the hundreds of dragons that sat below him in the dark mountain. The roar echoed throughout the world, a miasma that touched the heart and soul of every living being. You know. Ever since five years ago, and the fall of wall Maria, Armin hadn't really eaten too well. Scratch that. No one had really eaten too well. For starters, meat became a rarity which only the very wealthy could afford or the higher ups in the military. That, and food was rationed, perhaps not strictly, but enough to where he would be feeling hungry on some cold, long nights. And here he was, he had just cleaned his fifth plate. Here in breakfast at Canterlot, it was a buffet. Like literally, the breakfast buffet was perhaps the thing he could only think about as of now as he gouged himself like a king, doing his best not to look like a total Neanderthal. "Having fun there?" Steve commented as he put some jam on his bread. The tea was good. Nothing like some cold tea on a warm morning. "I hadn't eaten this well in five years." Armin mumbled with a mouthful of waffles and toast. "Too bad there's no meat though." "For... rather obvious reasons..." Slade commented as he took a note at the ponies that was breakfasting with them. The stares... the stares... "Well... look who's finally up..." Sanya nodded in acknowledgement as she sat down with them, looking around at the plates of steaming food. "Morning kid... slept well?" Raynor asked pleasantly. "No... not really..." "What? Was it because I didn't check underneath your bed for monsters?" Slade teased as he saw Sanya sit down. Completely exhausted. "No... you see... I was hearing things last night." "Really now? I didn't hear a thing." Armin commented. "It was all quiet and peaceful for a change." "It wasn't quiet. Or peaceful... I heard talking. Really loud talking... these big voices... they were..." She stopped speaking for a moment. "I... does anyone remember last night?" "How zis dragon almost took down zis whole place? Ja. I do." "Who could forget it?" Armin asked. What was worse? Getting roasted by this beast or getting eaten by a titan? "Well... remember how it breathed fire, knocked down a door?" "And somehow sent my gun flying out of my hands? Yes..." Jim said. All he recalled was getting hit with a particularly noticeable gust of air and seeing his C-14 flying across the room. Said gust had definitely come out of the dragon's mouth. "You see... the dragon was talking every time it did one of this. I remember hearing a voice and words every time it breathed fire. I can't remember the words... but I can remember the voice!" "And what's so significant about this?" Slade asked. "Because I heard that voice again last night." That caught his attention. "I can hear further in the night... and I heard a voice... it was very loud. It wasn't the same exact voice, but it was very similar. It was... I think a roar. Unfortunately... that's about it." "Well, I am sorry to say Sanya, but that's not a very good lead. Just because something sounds like something doesn't really mean anything..." Steve began. "But it's not something we can dismiss." "Captain Star-Spangle here is right. Now I am not doubting you kid, but you sure your hearing is as good as you say it is?" "Yes." She answered meekly. "Okay then. Like I said, I am not doubting you. I am just wondering whether or not it's the same thing we're dealing with. From what I could read last night, we live in a little girl's coloring book and a Percy Jackson story... we got things like Chimeras, Minotaurs and wait for it.... Hydras that are running around." "Very funny. So what's our game plan? We're here to stop some evil dictator from taking over the world which really sounds like my job in the second world war." "The only problem is, we don't know where this guy is. They don't know so that means we sure as hell don't know. If we did, chances are this thing would have already had two bullets in the head already." "One thing is for sure though. We have to stop the dragons from causing any harm." Steve began. "You remember that thing last night? We were lucky no one was hurt. We must stop these things from ransacking this... place." "Not just that, but as a bonus, we may be able to find out a little thing or two assuming we can catch a dragon." "You're going to catch a dragon?" Armin asked with disbelief. "I can see it happening." Raynor began. "In my world, we can contain Ultralisks and those things could stomp a siege tank into dust." "Speaking of your world... I vood like to see your ship." Medic said. "Vat time is it for you?" "The year is C.E 2504. We got some medical advances... but really, I am kinda fascinated at your medi-gun. That thing works just like the ones our medics used, except yours seems to actually be even taking that up a notch." "Vhy thank you. I do consider myself a man of science! Now then... if ve can see your ship..." "Yeah sure." Raynor said as he placed a napkin to his mouth. The apple pancakes were great. "But later." "Vhy?" "We have some more words of business with the Princesses." Steve began. "They'll be coming here so we don't really have to move." "I hope you've all had an enjoyable night here in Canterlot." Princess Celestia said as she looked at the six humans sitting at the table. "I must voice my thanks to you all. Had it not been for your efforts, the dragon may have caused more damage than just a mere hole in the wall which had been fixed as of this time. "That's good to hear." Slade said. "Now, then, onto first order of business. What do we do?" "Straight to business aren't you now?" Luna commented. "Very well. You see, as both Mr. Rogers and Mr. Raynor had well... asked... we have decided to allow you a place to stay outside of Canterlot in the surrounding area. Notably by a place called Ponyville..." "Okay. Okay. Who names these cites?" Slade cut in. "Because right now, I can name a Hoofington, a Filladelphia, a Canterlot and now a Ponyville?! Are these names supposed to be funny?" "I name them..." Celestia said awkwardly. "Either that or whomever settles in the cities." "Then whomever settles in new cities should really come up with something more original than horse puns." Slade said rolling his good eye. "Now may I continue? I do not wish to go into meaningless banter about city names." Luna said as Slade stopped talking. "Your enemy is Feynaltdrog, the dragon king. He goes by many titles, none of which are worth mentioning because many were made just to flatter him. His notable servants are normally other dragons who like him, are forces of evil upon this world. His magic however, allows him to corrupt other dragons to evil. We can only ask you to bring as little harm as possible upon the unfortunate souls under his thrall, for they have little control over their actions. Though in the end, the decision is not ours." "In addition, what's been going on for many days actually is dragon attacks. If you can, please try and stop them. I hope out of the kindness of your hearts you do for many major cities are in danger of the dragons." "Unfortunately... it's not just the dragons..." Luna continued. "The changelings too.... and many others who have bent knee to the dragon king. This will be very difficult, and we'll make sure to do whatever we can to ensure you are prepared for not just Feynaltdrog, but his wicked forces as well. You have access to any training facilities and armories under the royal guard as well as any library within Equestria that may prove to use... Sanya... Twilight means to give these to you." "Thank you." Sanya said silently as she was given the books on magic by Luna. "We hope you may put them to good use." Celestia beamed. "Now then, Mr. Raynor, we've moved your um... ship back to a place near ponyville where I doubt you can be bothered or end up bothering any other pony. I must comment on the current state of your craft however..." "I'll get it fixed..." "And lastly, we can only wish good luck." Luna said. "Whatever happens, we are all counting on you." "That's done now?" Slade asked. "Alright Jim, let's see ship." "You'll love it pal."
The dragon rises The dragon rises [Canterlot Castle, conference room] "Now I am sure you all have many questions..." Celestia tried to say as the din of the room made it impossible to hear anypony. "But can we plea..." "Your majesty... is it true that these humans broke into the castle and injured many members of the royal guard?" One of the reporters asked. As she remembered the events of last night, she had recalled the one known as "Slade Wilson" and his comment about the royal guard. "Worse than low-budget mall cops". At this point and time, she may have to agree. How does anyone fail to keep the reporters out?! How?! She calmed herself for a moment. They didn't fail to keep anyone out. It's just that the entire castle failed to keep the information of humans in. No matter how discreet they were of sending the humans back, word got out. Word always seems to gets out around here. "WE WOULD REQUIRE SILENCE TO FUNCTION." Luna said or more like yelled. The royal canterlot voice, maybe annoying most of the time, but it certainly had it's uses here and now. Those words alone drowned out the entire room and got every pony to shut up. For the time being at least. "Now then... like I said... or rather, was going to say..." Celestia said slowly. Few things in this world managed to irritate her, but this was one of the things. "One at a time. Questions... raise your hooves please... you there." "Your majesty..." The reporter pony began as he began to scribble down notes. "Is it true that the humans had broken into the castle and injured several members of the royal guard?" "Only partially." Celestia replied. "You see... four humans had arrived in the beginning and hadn't as much as lifted a hoof. But two others had came later at night and snuck in..." The last part caused a virtual uproar within the room as words like "inadequate", "failure" and "useless" were being used to describe the royal guard and the overall security of Canterlot. Throw in a few witnesses of the Changeling invasion and there was the giant mess of noise once again. It would take ages, as it felt that long to finally shut every pony up. "Now then... before I was interrupted I would like to continue on what I was speaking of. Two of the six humans had snuck into the castle having been misinformed of the nature of their fellow beings reasoning of being here. While a few fights had broken out, no pony was seriously injured, what should be taken into note is the apex fighting capabilities of the humans." "Hold on! If these... humans didn't break into the castle, then why are the elements of harmony gone?!" Another uproar and incomprehensible yelling. Great. "I heard it was a dragon! A big black dragon that broke through the walls and had..." "No. There was no dragon." Princess Celestia said very quickly. "Royal guard reports have indicated that Changelings were behind the matter and we are now positioning ourselves to retake the elements." "Then what do the humans have to do with this?!" "We are still unsure of how they got here." Luna replied. "It is assumed at this point and time that there had been an accident with some form of new teleportation spell. However... they have agreed to help us retake the elements so long as we find a way to take them back to where they came from." Unfortunately for Luna. That led to the question. "Where were they now?!" "Oh god... thank you so much." Armin gasped as they finished loading the minerals on the van, a few bundles having to placed on the roof. "I thought I was never going to get out. She just wouldn't let me leave." "Mhm." Slade said as he carefully drove through the streets of ponyville, noting the awed glances his van was getting. "So how does this thing even work?" Armin asked as he took a look at the van. "I'll explain later. Now, I got to go get Sanya but I am a bit hungry. You still got any coins left?" "Yeah. Why?" "I want lunch." Slade said as he passed what he believed to be a restaurant. For a moment, he watched with some amusement as Armin tried unsuccessfully to open the door. Only on the umpteenth time did he finally manage to open the thing, which gave Slade a small chuckle. "Hmm... now then..." Perhaps just to test if it worked, Slade took out his smartphone and activated his tactical vision. Good. Everything was functioning normally. Something in the back of his head told him that he would be needing it later on. "Um... what can I do for you..." The waitress asked nervously as she saw the two... things approach. One of them was quite tall and frankly, gave her the willies. Standing at well over 6 feet, this creature was almost twice the height of the average pony. It's strange clothing vaguely resembled that of armor, and the many tools it seemed to carry sent alarm bells in anyone's head. This thing was not to be trifled with. Perhaps what was most intimidating was it's face. The black eyepatch that covered it's eye didn't cover up any assumptions. Whatever this thing was, it was tough. Mystifyingly enough, despite it's white mane and beard, it didn't look too old. Whatever this thing was, it was dangerous. The other... well... wasn't so outrageous. Dressed in what can be described as regular clothing amongst it's kind, it didn't look so fierce. The mane looked rather out of place and it's face was a mask of discomfort. It didn't want to be here. No. Especially not when it was being pushed around by it's larger and definitely more fierce partner. "Man up kid." Slade hissed into Armin's ear. "They're just out of a little girl's imagination, they aren't going to hurt you." "I know... I know..." Armin said nervously. What he really was afraid of was Slade and not the small colorful horses which he felt some what of an... interest in. Of course, he wouldn't tell Slade that he was afraid of him for rather obvious reasons. "So... what do you sell?" Slade asked as he found a place to sit down. "Umm... do you eat hay?" "No... but..." He knew the answer to the question, but for no reason at all, felt like asking. "You have any meat?" "What?! Eh... I mean... no... no..." "Oh well." Slade said to himself. "You have any... you know what, how about an apple pie?" "Sure! We have apple pie... lots..." The waitress babbled on nervously. "Get me some." Slade said as he tossed her the coins. "Get him some too." "Right a..away... s..sir..." He sat down on his chair, only to realize it wasn't a chair but rather a mushroom and felt somewhat like an elephant in a phone booth. But who cares? He didn't as of now as he grabbed two things. One of which was his smartphone, and the other was a canteen containing some rum. He took a swig from the latter, and began to play around with the former, seeing if by any chance it would actually work. Heh. If Google Maps worked here... "Thank you again, Twilight." Sanya said softly as Twilight took out the new glove. "No problem!" The lavender alicorn said. "Now let's see here..." Using her magic, she slowly slid the white glove onto Sanya's hand. The moment she did, a pair of black ears that would only be found on a cat popped straight out of Sanya's head whilst a black tail slowly formed itself. "Is that supposed to happen...?" "Yes..." Sanya said as she tried her ability once more. Listening.... listening... but all of a sudden... "Lein engein wah mii, dovah. Nunon med vir hi engein wah mii." "What the heck..?" "Shhhh!" Sanya hushed as she continued to listen. "I think... I think I am listening to a dragon!" "What?! How do you know?!" "I just do! Please... let me listen..." Faraway, in the badlands, a long dragon was trapped. It's wings torn and broken against the many thousands of changelings that now surrounded it. Upon it's chest stood a tall changeling. The changeling queen. "You fool... you came here all the way to threaten me? Queen Chrysalis?!" "Hi los sahlag ahrk hi los funtaas." "You dare to threaten me?" "Zu'u dreh ni. Nuz drog do feyn dreh." "The lord of banes? Do you jest dragon? But humor me... tell me about this lord of banes..." The vile cackling that came from the dragon would send shivers down even the queen of changelings. "Uv aalkos tovok fahvos hi verut mok?" "What... are you...?" Chrysalis asked. Something was wrong. "Nii dreh ni trun fos mu los. Fos trun los un mein. Nid gein geltkey wo Zu'u lost erei Zu'u lost lein ko dii jusk" Without warning, the dragon's body exploded. Just like that, exploded in a massive wave of fire and light which sent many changelings hurtling in all directions. Chrysalis looked up, to see this time that the dragon with the broken wings had grown much larger, it's black curved horns and dark pools of eyes glared at her and her army. She was speechless. It was true. The lord of banes wasn't merely an old wives tale. He was real. She opened her mouth to say something, maybe a command to order her changelings to attack. But nothing came out. She simply had nothing to say. But he had something to say. "Aam...aar...Sil!" Author's Note It doesn't matter who we are... what matters is our plan...
How to learn Dragon How to learn Dragon "Well. You seem to agree that Armin is worthless." Slade said as he glanced back at the boy as Cap was about to leave. "Worthless? I only said that he's weak. Physically. In case you haven't realized, he isn't exactly..." "One who survived a giant fall off a cliff that otherwise would have killed him." Slade cut in. "How about this... why don't you... someone who's been in his shoes... go off and change him? Because right now, mark my words, he's the type of person who would either get us all killed or be a detriment at a fatal moment, and that I cannot have." "You almost act like you care for everyone else. You call him a detriment yet you aren't even a team player. How about this? I'll spend some time with him, and mark my words, I promise he'll be able to handle himself." "And if he can't?" "Then probably your "prediction." We all die." Steve replied coldly. [11:30 PM, Local time] She was always more active in the night than in the day, and on this cold night, there would be no exception. Sitting down on a rock outside, Sanya sat still, listening once again as the voices made themselves heard. "Kalumun rem kreh kru wah mii. Mu naram ko mul naal sul ahrk naal tokaan." "Vrah, dii jun, til los atruk kosil dii hah Zu'u kent ofun." "Tinvaak." "Zu'u nis saag nii enshar fah nii aal jeopardize un mein nuz aal Zu'u sent voth daar rut fid tir lith... buld vuldiik?" "As hi lig, dii shir fahdon. Dreh daar ned jul?" "Geh." What did it mean?! What did it mean?! That was the only thing that Sanya could think about as she spent her third time listening to the voices. The dragons. If only she understood dragon... if only she understood dragon... "Hey kid. What are you doing?" Sanya's skeleton almost jumped out of it's skin though she made barely any indication of her suprise. She turned around to see that it was just Slade. Nothing more. "How did you do that?" "Get the jump on you even with your enhanced hearing? It's something I learned back when I was still a kid." Slade replied. "Now then, you listening again?" "Yes. I can hear them... the only problem is..." "You don't speak dragon. And the one dragon in town doesn't speak dragon either." "Yes. I can listen to their conversations, but I need to understand what they are saying if..." "I know. Listening to the enemy is worthless if you can't make sense to what they're actually saying. I think we should try to fix this." "How so? You can't possibly learn an entire language in time to make a difference can you?" Slade smiled to himself and pointed at his head. "90% kid. 90%. Now what do you think we'll need and where do you think we'll get it?" "Well... Twilight told me that she really liked books and has an extensive collection in her home which is actually the town library." "Good. Then I think I'll be headed there." Slade replied. "You want to come?" "Slade. It's almost midnight." "And I should care... why?" She had nothing, only shrugged a bit and went off with him in the direction of ponyville. It's past midnight. And you're sleeping peacefully in your bed, just frolicking in dreamland when you hear a loud knock coming from the recesses of your mind. Normally, you just groan and moan for a bit, maybe toss and turn and go back to sleep. Problem was, the knock was getting louder. And louder. And louder. Until it felt like whoever was knocking might end up smashing the door down. That would be the scenario of both Twilight and Spike that night. "Ugh.... what time is it?" Twilight mumbled to herself as she in her dazed state hobbled over to the door. She opened it to find Slade, causing her to jump back in shock over the fact that when one considered his occupation, how he currently was dressed (armed and armored to the teeth) and the time of the day (or in this case, night) most people would end panicking. "Hey, Light Sparkler. You don't look too bright this evening." "What are you doing here?!" Twilight shouted indignantly. "It's past midnight." "We're actually here for a book." "We?" Spike asked. "Yes... I am here too..." Sanya said as she slipped in like cat through a window. "We need a book." "A BOOK?!" Twilight asked, her mood all of a sudden turning rather bright as Slade would describe. "Why didn't you say so?! Come right on in! Can I get you anything? Coffee? Maybe some appl..." "Just the book." Slade said. "So... we've been listening a bit to some conversations the dragons were having. But you already know that right? Unfortunately, our resident dragon here doesn't know dragon so we were hoping you could get us a book that could somehow teach us the dragon language." "Oh..." Twilight began. "Well... I did some research actually... and umm... you might not like this." "Lemee guess. You don't have the book." "Well... that's right... but for another... it's not that. Most dragons speak our language now but have a certain dialect... or accent as you might call it. What those dragons are speaking. Is ANCIENT DRAGON. It's over 2,000 years old by estimate of Princess Celestia." "Great. So I take it we're not going to be learning that language any time soon?" Slade replied. "Now, now. I never said that. I can actually think of a couple places where they actually might have books on the language. Canterlot and the Crystal Empire." "Crystal Empire?" Slade echoed. "It's a long story." "In that case, I simply don't have the time. I am heading to Canterlot. Now." "Wait hold on a minute... you should maybe wait till morning or something..." "No." "Okay. At least take this map..." Twilight said as she turned around to go grab one. When she turned around however... Slade was gone. "Where did he go?!" Spike asked with disbelief. "I just turned for a moment and he's gone!" Twilight took a look around. Then looked at Spike, then Sanya, and then the map. No one saw him as much as move, and now Slade had disappeared. "Here..." Twilight said as she handed Sanya a few bits. "There are still some late night trains... and maybe you can hitch a ride..." "Thank you." Sanya said as she walked outside. The cool air pleasantly hung around for the duration of the night. Slade perched a top the tree as he made his way up the mountain, taking a look around, it didn't look like there was another soul for miles. He activated his tactical vision just to be sure, and it was just as he expected. Not a soul in perhaps miles. Time alone. Alone. He considered taking this time to reflect on himself, but ended up passing up the opportunity when he passed a cave. Caves, like most things with Slade, he was indifferent with them. But when he walked straight by the mouth, a flock of bats flew out, reminding him of someone he knew. He chuckled to himself as he recalled their encounters, almost wishing for a moment that maybe the whole experience would be more tolerable if that star-spangled man was replaced with his old friend. After all, under that mask that struck terror in all the thugs in Gotham, that man was somehow the closest and most distant comparison Slade could ever find to himself. But forget that. Right now, as he listened to the sounds of the tracks and the whistle. He had a train to catch.
Chapter 38It was like falling down a well. Only in slow motion however, as though the air within was like a fluid that slowed one's descent down. Like any fluid, Sanya would find herself floating down on her backside as she stared into the veils of the future. The many visions began to creep within to her mind. Or rather... the first thing that went into her mind wasn't a vision. It was a noise, and then would Sanya find herself in a massive room. "Hail Hydra!" A man cried in front of a massive army of armed men with unearthly arms and armor. He would be replied with a thunderous roar of the words "Hail Hydra! Hail Hydra!" many times before he turned around to come face to face with another man who whispered into his ears. Things about "unlimited power". And this is where she wished Eila was here. She would have easily been able to discern what these visions meant except... wait a second. "Eila?" Sanya asked with disbelief as she saw her friend standing next to her in the middle of a busy street. A nearby sign would read "Iceberg Lounge" which Eila seemed to be headed to. From out of Sanya's view, another Sanya walked right by her, following Eila into the lounge, the two conversing about "difficulties" and "one man". She tried to follow herself and her friend, but as the door opened, she saw in the middle of the everfree forests, a group of strange men talking. One of them wore a dark suit that resembled that of an owl. A large O was on his chestplate, the suit clearly being some form of body armor. He was conversing with his associates. One of them was a man cloaked in black with a compound bow and razor sharp arrows. There were a few others. She tried to listen... listen closer... but she couldn't get close enough. There would be more however as she tried to approach, the cabal of criminals that had been conversing were gone, replaced by an unearthly monster that radiated a vile miasma of power riding at the head of several monstrous creatures of varying size. There was more. A lot more. Some of them involved people she knew. Erica, Barkhorn and Eila. Others... she didn't know or were rather unfamiliar with. As the visions began to fade... she was met with one last thing. A small village by the ural moutains to the east. A familiar voice calling to her. Her father. "Sanya... Sanya... Sanya..." And the world went dark. She gasped extremely loudly when she woke, like someone who had just had their first gulp of air in a long time. Getting up, she realized that she had been on the "grass" and now smelled remotely like strawberry ice cream. "Wakey wakey! So... did it work?" Discord asked. "Ohh... who am I kidding? Of course it worked!" "Yeah... it did." Sanya said. "So... are you going to teach me now?" "Of course!" Discord said as he rubbed his hands together and snapped his fingers. She practically jolted out of her trance, causing many people and ponies to initially think she was having a seizure. When she breathed... and acted normally, as it turned out, she was fine. "Hey kid... you alright?" Raynor asked as he took a look at Sanya. "I am fine! I got it! Feynaltdrog is located at a volcano south of Equestria beyond the badlands and..." "Slow down kid..." Jim began. "Oh no..." "What's wrong now?" "Feynaltdrog... he's planning to use the elements of Harmony!" "WHAT?!" Everypony practically all screamed at once. "I heard him! He's... he's planning to use them to... we have to hurry! If he uses them... he'll become unstoppable!" "Then... Sanya..." Luna began. "What's going on?" She stopped for a moment before composing herself and telling the Princess of the Moon of the Dragon's King's plan. Located at a large volcano where he planned to harness the power of the elements to attain what many would call godhood. Speaking of a large volcano.... "Dii drog. .. nust lost nahkiv un mein!" A dragon said as it flew up to it's master at the peak of the volcano. "Zu'u mindok. dreh ni trun. Fos vis nust dreh wah helt mii?" The black dragon replied, almost bored by the news. "Zu'u dreh ni orin praag verin wah viik niin. Zu'u vis dreh nii naal dimaar!" "Fos koros fod nust meyz fah mii?" "Nid trun. Ko daar strunmah, til los ben do mii. .. ahrk nunon rinik lith do niin. Nu ruz. .. Zu'u fen bo nu wah nuviis wah trun do zuk. .. nizraadom." With that, the large black dragon spread his wings, and flew, to places unknown. What Feynaltdrog didn't know at this time was that Sanya had been listening. What he didn't know either was that now, Sanya understood every word that came out of his mouth. Speaking in his own language would no longer provide him with any more security. Luna had teleported them back home. Along with all the minerals that Raynor would need for his "project" and more. Not only did she provide them with the minerals, but also with a layout of the mountain. It wasn't too familiar to the princess of the moon for she'd been there a thousand years ago, not because of her battle with the dragon king but because of a slight detour. As a result, knowledge of the ancient mountain would be... limited. But enough to make a plan. The volcano had a tendency to erupt... quite frequently actually. But what would happen if say... a surprise eruption that not even the dragons were prepared for? Typically, due to poor visibility within the skies and perilous lightning storms, most dragons were not to eager to fly too high during eruptions and sought places to land in any nearby peaks or "safe zones". So what would happen if say... a certain device triggered such an eruption that there would be no place to land? Death by fire... or death by lightning. They would go to the mountain, and put an end to Feynaltdrog's army. Then... the king himself for within his conversation, and through a little help of Discord, they knew that he would not return for a long time. To strike now however, would be folly. Under preparation would be a killer. They would have only five days to prepare to take on hundreds of dragons if things went south. As Raynor built his weapon in the whole he made, he observed as Cap readied his shield, Slade practiced his swordplay with Armin (surprisingly) and Sanya readying the fliegerhammer. Medic would have a special medi-gun for the occasion. Author's Note No foreshadowing going on here...
Epilogue: Part 6Though their facial expressions would both not say it, both men, Levi and Erwin at this given moment thought and probably mentally agreed on that Armin probably should be in some form of mental hospital though there was just something... something about his explanation and story, no matter how nonsensical it seemed, something felt to both of them as though he was telling the truth. That all this crazy nonsense about colorful, talking horses, dragons and other more advanced civilizations of mankind... something about it seemed to hold more than just a grain of truth. Armin sat there nervously as he watched both men whisper to one another about what he had just told them. They had been at it for quite the while now, silently discussing on things that Armin had no specifics of, but it would be anyone's guess that they were talking about what he had just told him and what this may have on the outcome of humanity's future. Ten minutes felt like ten years before Erwin stood up and said the word. "Dismissed." Words could not express how relieved he was as he practically stormed out of the room, leaving the two officers alone. Moving out of his spot, Levi went to the door, turning the lock as Erwin pulled the shades down and closed the windows. Hopefully, no sound could escape this room. "Ears everywhere." Erwin commented as he sat down and opened the box, the bright glowing gem could have been seen from the outside of the building had he not just pulled down the shades. He looked at the bright glowing beauty again as he gingerly took it out of the box, expecting as though it would explode... which had pretty much happened earlier this morning. "His story." Levi began. "There... he's not lying." "I know." Erwin replied as he held up the massive gem. "If what he said is true than this could turn the war, and the fate of humanity around in our favor." "So... that's what this is about?" "Indeed. We must be prepared to do everything and anything that will ensure the future of humanity." Erwin continued as he studied the stone intently. "Something tells me Levi... that we're not done yet. If what Armin told us had any truth to it, then what had happened with him, I can guarantee may happen with other people, maybe his friends, maybe us. We must be prepared. The future of humanity may benefit from this...." __________________________________________________________________ Folkestone, Britannia On the skirts of the coast, would someone find a forest, or a wooded area that would offer some form of privacy to anyone who happened to have went. This privacy was currently being enjoyed by Gertrud Barkhorn as she hung from a strong, sturdy branch that would support her weight. Grunting, she pulled herself up as she would for the last two hundred times. "202... 203... 204...two hundred and fi-.." "Hi Trude!" The voice called out from the trees, causing the girl to lose her balance and fall off. "Whoa..." "Erica..." Barkhorn muttered, normally, she'd blast into her face about how Erica had just messed her up, today... maybe she would save that for later. "Hey Trude! Whatcha doing?!" Erica asked. For someone who's favorite hobby was sleeping, she sure did have a lot of energy in some portions of the day. When it came to hunting Neuroi or eating... yep. That was Erica. "What does it look like? I am training... myself..." Trude said as she got up on the branch again. "Now what is it Erica?" "You know Sanya... about what she..." "Oh please. PLEASE DO NOT tell me you believe her too now!" Barkhorn groaned. "First Eila, then Francesca, then Charlotte, than Lynette, than Yoshika, the Major... and now you?!" "Look... that gem. Eila used it to..." "I don't want to hear that silliness." Barkhorn said curtly. "We all know there's no such thing as dragons... or talking horses... or... umm..." She was about to say "people from the future and past" but that sure as hell existed. Instead, she went on about how there couldn't have been a way to meet said people, even with things like magic. "You sure about that? Like I was saying... Eila used her magic to power that gem... they actually did go..." "Right... right..." Barhkorn said skeptically as she continued to do her pull-ups. "Let me guess, back to the land... what was it called again? Equestria? For another round of unicorns and flying ponies? Come on Erica, we all know this must be some kind of joke Eila thought of... or maybe just a dream." "Then why do you think Sanya keeps saying it's true then? Does she LOOK like the type of person who'd believe a "dream" to be true or make up stories?! She even said she managed to see her father after they were done killing the dragon! Think about it... if you were there, you could have maybe get to spend a year or two with Chris... and come back just in time for dinner!" "Erica... we know that, it can't happen. How can you spend weeks, months or even years and return home, only for no time to happen? It's absurd!" Barkhorn said as she jumped down, having done enough for the day. "Just... explain that!" "Magic?" Erica replied as she sat down. "Trude... you know as well as I do that what must have happened was definitely not made up. And besides... I really do hope a place exists. I always wanted a pony!" "Of course... of course..." Gertrud sighed as she headed for the beach. "You really would want that would you?" "Of course! What about you?" Erica asked. "Lemee guess... spend a year or so with Chris?" "That would be nice." Barkhorn said as she thought about how much she missed her younger sister. "But until I get magically teleported to a land full of talking horses and some sun goddess makes me the offer... I think that's not really going to happen. Besides, I would visit her, but we all have duties you know." "I know... I know..." Erica replied. Oh boy... here comes the BORING soldier lecture! "But as soldiers..." Sigh. She was one ear in and one ear out at this point. Thinking to herself, she thought about what Sanya had said. That she felt as though she may return in due time back to the place they called Equestria... maybe with a few good friends to share the experience and under circumstances not involving huge fire-breathing dragons. Made a few friends too apparently. Talked about a crazy Karlslandian doctor that referred to himself as "German". Some boy from a land where giants ruled the world, an older fellow from the far future, and two men who were apparently enhanced through... science. Super-soldiers. Both of which were well over 70 years old, yet fought better than a few hundred men combined. One of which was called "Slade Wilson". A man who had saved Sanya's life. She did talk about him a lot. About how he was so "lonely" and had such a "tragic" past. Funny... when Eila mentioned that Slade's job was killing people for money. Asides from that... he seemed like an alright guy. Though there was one thing. They had seen a photo of one of Slade's children... AND BOY WAS THE SEMBLANCE SCARY. Author's Note This epilogue is taking much longer than I thought to write. But anyhow I think what I am going to do after HYDRA invading Equestria is have the Crime Syndicate (See Justice League, Crisis on Two Earths) be the next group of baddies. I am open to ideas after that, I am seeing whether or not I can squeeze in as many characters as possible. What I am looking to do at this point is kinda do what Marvel is doing. Relatively low amount of characters in X movie. After a while, Relatively large amount of characters in X movie. Which when I think about, considering the plethora of great villains and characters that are available (Especially in the cases of Marvel and DC), probably doesn't sound too bad. I am gonna be at this for a while...
