The Costs of Survival and the Benefits of Sacrificeby 87AscendantJusticeChaptersChapter 1: Last Earth NightChapter 2: Where am I?Chapter 3: Unexpected EncountersChapter 1: Last Earth Night Author's Note: Not all of the characters in this story are my own. The Blood Moon Omega mentioned in the description goes to Crystal-Seeker. He also should be credited for helping me make this story happen at all. Thanks so much Crystal! I couldn't have done it without you! //2312, Eastern Standard Time// //Jacksonville, Florida; Earth, Sol System// Andrew kicked aside a rock with his boot as he walked down the dark, dirt road at the Florida Caverns State Park. He was clothed in jeans, hiking boots, a long-sleeve shirt, and a dark-blue hoodie. He carried a long oaken staff on his back and held a flashlight, which he was now using to illuminate the path he was taking. He was here with his family on a camping trip while on winter break. They'd decided that it would be a nice change from being constantly indoors. Though Andrew wasn't complaining. If anything, he enjoyed the change in atmosphere as well. But tonight was different. He'd gotten up an hour earlier after fruitlessly trying to fall asleep, completely energized and alert. He wasn't sure why, but a sense of anticipation had rooted itself within his chest, and with each step, it grew. Again, Andrew couldn't describe why he felt it, but he felt that it would be necessary to bring his bo staff along with him, which is what Will had strapped to his back. The staff was sort of like a large good-luck charm for Andrew. He didn't bring it everywhere he went, but he still liked to carry it around when he felt like it, and always kept it close. It was his weapon of choice during XMA (eXtreme Martial Arts) performances at his karate school. He walked in silence along the barren path and pondered what could be the reason he felt like this. Normally, he would just write it off as paranoia and leave it at that, but the sheer amount of anxiety that was still building inside told him otherwise. This feeling had Andrew thinking that something big was about to happen. And it was gonna happen to HIM. Almost like he was about to change history. Why now? What could this mean? he thought for the umpteenth time. He sighed in exasperation. There was only one way to find out, and that was to keep wa-- Suddenly, a flash of light and movement caught his eye. In one fluid motion, Andrew spun to his right, unsheathed the bo staff, and slid into a sparring stance. And what he saw made his jaw drop in shock. A large stag stood in the foliage. It seemed to be fashioned out of ethereal light that made it seem that it was standing in a bonfire. And it was staring right. At. HIM. "What are you?!" Andrew demanded. "Stay back! I'm not afraid to kill you if I have to!" Wow, Andrew. Was that really the best you could think of? he reprimanded himself The stag merely tilted its head in response. Then, it turned around and galloped directly away from Andrew. Everywhere its hooves touched, more of that light erupted from them and stood there like pillars of embers. At first, Andrew just stood rooted to his spot. He rubbed his eyes, thinking it was all a mirage. The flickering lights on the ground remained when he opened them again. He figured that all this was just some sort of weird dream, so he decided to follow the stag and took off in pursuit. As he ran, Andrew used the tiny columns of light as his guide. Soon he could make out the glowing visage of the stag itself. Andrew wasn't sure where it was leading him, but he didn't give it any thought. Eventually, the stag led Andrew to a clearing in the vegetation, where it finally stopped. Andrew halted next to it and looked around. He and the deer were at the top of a downward slope into a depression in the earth with a large tree at the far end. Andrew didn't recognize this place at all. Nor did he think that anybody had ever found this place before, as he saw no worn-down trails anywhere. The stag turned itself to fully face Andrew, and Andrew copied its motion. From here, he could see that this was an actual, real-life stag, and the light lay onto top of its coat. What's more, its eyes were sapphire-blue, shining in stark contrast to its fire-like layer. The stag opened its muzzle and spoke in a deep, masculine voice: "Greetings, young warrior. I have been waiting for you for a long time." The stag bowed its head. "My name is Kaidan." Andrew stood there, staring blankly at the stag for a moment. Then he snapped out of his trance and hastily bowed in return. "Um, hi there." he ventured. "My name's Andrew Ivanov. It's an honor to meet you erm...Kaidan?" Way to make a good first impression, you moron! he mentally scolded himself. Kaidan lifted his head then shook it. "No, the honor is mine, O Great Peacekeeper." Andrew cocked his head in confusion. "Peacekeeper? What's that?" Kaidan grinned, revealing two sets of pearly-white teeth. "The Peacekeeper is a being that is tasked with the responsibility of maintaining and restoring peace throughout the universe whenever existing civilizations are unable to do so on their own." He explained. "They quell and eliminate strife in a given area." Andrew had to admit, this was an interesting dream. "No Andrew, this is not a dream." Kaidan's statement snapped Andrew out of his thoughts. The teen digested what the stag had said. It took some time for Kaidan to calm Andrew down enough to stand in one spot and not make a sound. Then again, the teen's reason to panic was more than justified. The glowing deer continued where he left off. "As I was saying, the Peacekeeper's task is obviously a daunting one. But they're all endowed with an ability that allows them to accomplish it." "And that is the ability to access the imagination realm." Andrew looked at him blankly. "Sorry, but I'm not following." he apologized. Kaidan chuckled. "It is quite alright. In the simplest terms, whatever the Peacekeeper wants to happen will happen, and it is limited by their imagination." Andrew was utterly thunderstruck. He had the power to do anything?!? That sounded too good to be true!! As if sensing his excitement, Kaidan dropped his smile and warned, "Keep in mind, Andrew, that the Peacekeeper's role includes having to confront foes who can and will pose a serious challenge to you. This won't be easy under any circumstances." Andrew heeded Kaidan's hidden meaning and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Calm once more, he gazed back into Kaidan's eyes. He asked. "How do I use this ability?" Kaidan's eyes glinted with amusement. "Eager one, I see. Very well then." "The technique is quite simple. All you must do is focus on an image in your mind, then picture it somewhere in the real world." Andrew gazed at Kaidan in surprise. "Wow, how do you know all that?" His emerald eyes dulled a little in reminiscence when he answered. "I learned it from the last Peacekeeper, so I could teach it to the next one: You." "And what happened to the last Peacekeeper?" Kaidan smirked at Andrew's nervousness. "If you're worried that you might have to face his last enemy, you can relax. For he died of old age, nothing more." Andrew sighed in relief. At least he wouldn't have to deal with living forever. Plus, he'd hate to have to deal with whatever the last Peacekeeper took down. Focus, man.he chided. You've gotta get the hang of your power before you do anything more. That being thought, Andrew inhaled deeply. He tried stilling all of the chaos within his mind. It took longer than he would've admitted, but finally he had chosen on a single picture. Andrew slid his bo staff back into its sheath. He held a hand outstretched in front of him, open palm facing upwards. Andrew imagined the object he wanted falling into his hand. There was a slight ripple in the air above it. The ripple slowly become more and more distinct until it had become a multitude of ripples floating on thin air, flowing up and down like a stone dropped in water. The tiny waves melded together into the ghostly image of a small cylinder-like object. The inside of the cylinder darkened to the point where it looked like it was filled up with octopus ink. Finally, the object dropped into Andrew's waiting hand and revealed itself to be a strange metal device. Andrew smiled, then pressed the activation button with his thumb. Immediately, two long, pronged blades of energy erupted to life. They crackled with power and glowed electric blue. The ecstatic teen could barely contain himself. He'd actually done it! "An interesting choice. Might I ask, what is it that contraption Peacekeeper?" Kaidan inquired. "This," Andrew replied proudly. "Is an Energy Sword." "It's a high-tech weapon that emits two four-foot-long plasma blades. The race who invented this beauty, the Sangheili, see it as the most revered weapon of their military and is wielded by only the highest-ranking officers." "Ah." the stag said, nodding in understanding. "A unique weapon of choice, though just as dangerous." Andrew deactivated the sword smiled with gratitude, then concentrated on conjuring another item. This was to hold his sword and any other weapons he might want to show off. The same sequence of events occurred as it did with the Energy Sword, but this time the disturbance took place around Andrew's waist and it ended up being a silver, segmented belt. Without hesitation, he stuck the sword handle onto one of the belt's magnetic panels, then turned to face Kaidan again. "So, when do I start this new job as Peacekeeper?" he asked calmly. It sounded strange, given his circumstances, but Andrew could feel an energy coursing through his veins, almost like before. But this time, it was excitement for the adventures he was expecting. Kaidan's grin widened at the teenage human's enthusiasm. "I appreciate your excitement, but you must always keep one thing in mind." "Always solve problems in the most peaceful way possible. Never resort to violence unless ABSOLUTELY necessary." Then his smile disappeared, replaced with a serious frown. Kaidan lifted a foreleg, and pointed with his hoof at the tree. Andrew was confused. What does an old tree have to do with my mission as Peacekeeper? His thoughts were cut short when a pencil-thin beam of blueish-white energy shot from the tip of Kaidan's hoof and lanced over to the tree. Just shy of hitting it, the beam was stopped by some unknown force, and the energy started coalescing into a sphere. The sphere grew larger and larger as more energy was fed into it, until it almost eclipsed Kaidan in height. Abruptly, the beam connecting his hoof with the sphere disconnected, and the last bit of energy was sucked up. Then the orb began to rotate, slowly at first but gradually picked up more and more speed. As it did, the orb started to flatten and shrink in time with the increasing speed. The colors also changed, the white slowly darkening to midnight black. The blue was pushed to the edges of the disc as the black gathered in the center. Branches of blue formed off the edges of the rapidly-spinning disc. At last, the transformation was complete, and Andrew was astonished when he recognized it. Sitting before him and Kaidan was a slipspace portal. "This portal shall take you to the world that you must go to for your first task." Kaidan explained. "Like I said before, Andrew, your number-one rule is to deal with the strife and chaos as peacefully as you possibly can." "You still haven't told me what my task is." Andrew noted, a little irked about all of the ambiguity. Kaidan looked intensely at the teenager, and said: "Protect the natives of this world from Omega. Convince it to seek Convergence elsewhere." As soon as he finished that statement, an unseen force started dragging Andrew closer to the slipspace portal, and the tear in the fabric of reality spun faster. It felt as if a giant, invisible hand had seized the front of his hoodie and was pulling him into it. All of Andrew's instincts screamed for him to fight it, but he forced himself to let it pull him in. The force's power was too great to resist. It wasn't long before Andrew was sucked into the portal, and it promptly closed when he was gone from sight. Andrew looked around in wonder. Slipspace wasn't at all what he'd expected it to look like. He'd always thought that it was just like realspace, only with no stars anywhere. What he witnessed wasn't like that in the slightest. The entire landscape looked like the inside of a massive tube painted a brownish-gold hue. Strewn all around were what looked like immensely long strands of golden energy. Andrew had no clue what they were, but he didn't really care. The strands constantly flowed lazily around like a piece of yarn in water. Their hypnotic movements captivated him. Andrew looked ahead and saw one of the strands was seemingly pulling him forward to his destination. The end that was in contact with him encompassed his entire body in a large ovular bubble. It brought about a slight feeling of warmth and coziness with it. The energy shell was attached to the string by a glowing white piece hovering over his chest. Andrew wasn't sure what he would be encountering on this planet that Kaidan had sent him to, but he decided that he wanted to have some extra layers of protection, just in case his first encounter with life becomes hostile. With that, Andrew conjured a small hexagonal device, a pair of red aviators, and a wireless headset microphone. The hexagon, which he attached to his belt, was about the size of an apple and had a purple circle in the center. An idea struck him, and the teenager grinned mischievously. A monkey's tail sprouted from his back, just above his rear. Andrew put on the aviators and headset. The first would help him identify any basic information about any sentient organism he encountered and acted as a lie detector, while the latter was a universal translator. With all this new gear, Andrew thought he was prepared for what lay outside Slipspace. He couldn't have been farther from the truth. Author's Note Alright, guys, so that's Chapter 1 for you all! I hope you enjoyed it, and are ready for the next one. Now, to be honest, the next chapter will be out very soon after this one, but I still had a lot of trouble writing it. For some reason, it was like a writer's block for me. I guess I'm excited for the later chapters, so I don't really have much inspiration to write Chapter 2. But I shall soldier on regardless! Thank you all and I'll see you in the next chapter! Chapter 2: Where am I?Author's Note: Please note that this is not the final version. This will be subject to change at any time, as I'm working in collaboration with another writer named CrystalSeeker, and he intends to input his own OC(s) into this story. "Come on, Twilight! This is ridiculous! Can't this wait until tomorrow??" Spike complained. Twilight Sparkle whipped her head to glare at her assistant. She had been working all day and now through the night trying to figure out something. She sighed. "Spike, we've been through this a hundred times: Whatever this thing says, we have to know. It just might be monumental." Said object was floating before them outside on a hill. It was very simple, really. Just gray metal with a weird line that ran across its side that emitted a soft orange light. But what it extraordinary was it composition: made from an unknown, crystalline-like metal that was unbelievably durable: Spells to determine its age put it at over 100,000 years old, yet it showed no signs of its age at all. It was exactly four hooves wide, six hooves tall, and half a hoof in thickness. A series of strange symbols were meticulously carved onto one face. They were arranged so similarly to Equestrian that Twilight was certain it had to be message of some sort. But who? Who would use so much of a precious metal just to write a simple message on it? What did it say? Why was it here? Twilight and Spike had been trying to find the answers to those questions, but it was the middle of the night and they'd made no progress. Spike huffed in irritation. "Look, I know how much you're interested in this obviously, but why drag me into this?" "Why do you think, Spike!?" Twilight retorted. "The object, whatever it is, responds better to your touch." Twilight ignored him and looked back at the object. It just continued floating there, almost tauntingly. She gritted her teeth in frustration. This thing just didn't seem to want to give up its secrets easily whatsoever. For a while, she just stared at it menacingly until she finally lowered her horn and shot a magenta beam at it. A sudden wavex pulsed from the object with great force, blowing Twilight off her hooves and slamming into Spike. They hit the ground with a loud WHUMP. Twilight's laser wasn't so lucky; it fizzled out upon contact with the orange field. Twilight was dazed from the impact. She shook it off and scrambled back onto her hooves. She turned around and helped Spike up with her magic. The poor dragon's eyes were rolling around in his eyes and stars circled around his head. Other than that, he was fine. Twilight gazed back at the object and gasped at the spectacle before them. The object's glow had intensified. Without warning, the thing fractured into a multitude of smaller pieces. But they didn't fall to the ground. Instead, they just hung there, suspended in the air and all connected by thin thread the same orange glow. But that light seemed strange...almost as if it was...SOLID?! Twilight recoiled in shock at the revelation. There was no doubt, these pieces were being held in place by solid light. Then they started moving. The pieces began to arrange themselves in mid-air, forming two strange shapes. Twilight watched as the fragments connected to each other like a puzzle until a pair of large oblong objects floated in the tablet's place. The objects were about four hooves away from each other stood straight up, but jerked inwards about halfway up their length. A strip of something else glowed a light blue on the inside of the angled halves of each. Suddenly, four bolts of lightning lanced out from the objects and converged onto one point. Once they met, a ripple like a stone dropped in water emerged from that point and flowed outward. When the disturbance in the air hit the floating pylons, dots of blue energy flared into existence. The dots flew in every direction, creating a spiral shape outlined by the ripples At the center of it all, a little blue ball expanded outward toward the pylons. The whole thing bloomed bigger, and the colors darkened. In seconds, a swirling disc of black and blue churned in an endless circle between the pylons. It's some sort of portal. Twilight realized. The disc slowly began to pick up speed. Suddenly a piercing shriek of agony erupted from the portal, causing Twilight and Spike to cover their ears. It lanced through the night air, shattering the haze of peace and quiet for a few seconds before it was silenced. The portal then spat out a large, bipedal creature, sending it flying through the air. The creature yelled and flailed its arms and legs in a futile attempt to do something. It tumbled ungracefully down the hillside and came to stop at the base. A second, more powerful wave erupted from the portal, this time a pure-white hue. At the same time, all of the light that the portal and the pylons emitted snapped off and they all disappeared, plunging Twilight, and Spike into darkness once again. The former wasted no time rushing over to the edge of the hill and looked down at the creature. It just stayed where it was, unmoving. "Spike! Come here!" Twilight called to him. Her voice snapped the purple dragon out of his daze, and he hurried to join her. They both stared in shock at the being. It was garbed in tattered dark-blue cloth on its upper body, tan-colored cloth on its lower body, a jagged and beaten large wooden staff strapped to its back, and a silver belt around its waist. Sprouting from its lower back was a tail that looked not unlike a monkey's. On the creature's seemingly-deformed head were a pair of red opaque sunglasses. What shocked Twilight the most was its terrible condition: The creature looked bloody and beaten, with several nasty-looking bruises adorning its body. Without hesitation, the unicorn and teen dragon looked at each other and nodded before racing down from the hilltop down to the unconscious being. She examined it more closely while Spike stayed back, nervously waiting for what she would do afterwards. The more Twilight scrutinized, the more her expression became grim. Though she was no doctor by any means, she could tell that it was in bad shape; the wounds looked even worse up close, there was a lot of lacerations all over, and they were bleeding profusely. But she suspected that there might be some internal damage as well. Fortunately, the General Hospital wasn't very far to where the two currently were. Twilight turned to Spike and told him: "Run to the General Hospital as fast as you can. Wait outside until you see me coming, then go inside and tell them that a critically-wounded creature is on its way and needs immediate medical help." "But what about you, Twi?" "I'm staying behind for now to stabilize this thing." Twilight answered. "Now go! We don't have much time." Spike nodded and sprinted off into the distance. Meanwhile, Twilight called up her memorized spells and mentally went through them. She'd learned a couple basic healing spells over the past few months, so she was at least able to keep this being alive to make it to the hospital. She cast them, one by one, and watched in mild fascination as a few of the cuts and bruises sealed themselves up and disappeared. The deeper and more serious ones were left alone. She then levitated it a couple hooves into the air and took off after Spike. As she ran, a thought made her look up to the starry night sky and wonder: Where did it come from? Author's Note OH NOES! A CLIFFHANGER!! Sorry, but I thought that would be a good way to end this chapter. Don't want it stretching too long. Now I apologize in advance if the chapter isn't very well-written, I was a little hasty in writing it. So if anybody could give me some advice on how to improve it, I'd greatly appreciate it. So Andrew had made it into Equestria, but obviously things went wrong somewhere on the way. What happened? Find out next time! Chapter 3: Unexpected EncountersWARNING: This chapter contains some blood and gore. You have been warned. UPDATE 05/03/15: I'm very sorry, CrystalSeeker. I forgot to mention that one of the characters in this chapter, Brother, is Crystal's own OC. I hope that will suffice. If not, please let me know what more I should do. "Thought-speak" Thoughts Andrew found himself getting bored with all of this waiting. He didn't know how long it would take until he reached his stop, but apparently it was a long time. Finally he spotted a disturbance in the Slipspace landscape: A spinning dot. Andrew assumed that it was the exit portal, as his little cable of light connected his bubble and the dot. Slowly, he found out that he was correct; the dot had grown as he got closer and it was identical to the one he had entered the Slipstream(slipspace) in. He also noticed that his protective force field and the towing line were slowly dissolving. He didn't give it any thought, since he was confident his little barrier device would safeguard him. Soon the two disappeared entirely, and Andrew fell about a foot before landing on an invisible floor with an audible thump. The teen looked down and was curious to see that wherever his feet touched, the 'ground' glowed. He shrugged and strode to the tear in reality. He held up a hand and slowly stretched it closer...closer... ...Out of nowhere, an immense amount of pain exploded within his skull, causing Andrew to crumple to the ground and clutch his temples, snarling fiercely & vainly trying to ease the pain. Then he felt a massive presence touch his mind. It was awe-inspiring to say the least: It's consciousness was one of undecipherable thoughts and it whirled in every direction. It never stayed still, and it even radiated what felt like emotions, or more like one emotion in particular: Cool, unimaginable calm. In addition to feelings, the being was illuminated by vast intelligence, the likes of which Andrew found mind-boggling. Suddenly, the presence emitted a loud & high-pitched sound. Andrew redoubled his grip on his head, silently screaming in pain. All he could hear was the ear-splitting screech, that almighty noise. It sounded like metal being slowly torn apart right next to his ears. Then, through the deafening cacophony, the Peacekeeper heard a booming voice in his head. The voice was grand and majestic. It boomed through the human's fragile mind like a mountain avalanche. "So, you are the one..." "The newly-appointed Peacekeeper." The voice was low and rumbling. It made a sound, almost like a hum of thinking. "That's strange...I truly did not expect Kaidan to choose such an unlikely candidate, despite his habit for doing so." Andrew fought back the urge to just break down and sob from the pain, and mustered the will to respond: "W-Who...who are you?" "My identity is of no importance to you, nor are my intentions." Andrew was slightly surprised at the being's tone. It didn't sound threatening, just...flat. Furthermore, he could feel it probing his memories and sifting through them at incredible speeds. Almost as if it was-- "You're a clever Peacekeeper, young one. That is correct, I am examining you." An involuntary shudder ran down his spine. It was creepy how this thing could read his mind like an open book. "So, it seems you're also quite an interesting specimen. I sense a great amou--...wait..." The being paused in whatever it was saying. It sounded like it had noticed something else. Maybe it had discovered Andrew's mission? Maybe it- "Oh? And what are you doing here, Brother?" Another presence had invaded Andrew's throbbing head. Its voice sounded a little younger, but its consciousness was terrifying when it made contact. All he could sense was pure, animalistic evil. It lay at the heart of its being, with veins of sadistic glee and unfathomable hunger snaking everywhere and imprisoning all it touched. But mixed with this black terror was something even scarier: This being, like its so-called 'brother,' was lit by great wit and intellect, only this one's was infected by the hunger, just like everywhere else in its mind. Poor Andrew instinctively shrank away, both physically and mentally, in fear of this newcomer. "Tut tut. I thought you, of all our race, knew better than to establish such meaningless communications with a lower life-form. Shame on you." it said in faux-scolding. The first one started emitting mild frustration. "And I thought you of all our race knew better than to mess with my personal affairs." it responded. "Calm down, brother. I am fully aware of that. My curiosity simply got the best of me, that's all." "If that's true, then why haven't you already left?" "..." Andrew sensed the younger of the pair becoming frustrated itself. Abruptly, it swooped in and seized a hold of his mind. The other one, Brother, was clearly caught off-guard, as it rumbled in surprise and anger. Theta! What do you think you're doing?!" it demanded. "This human is the key to saving our race and leading us to a path of redemption!!" The second, Theta, scoffed. "What am I doing? I'm helping you to open your eyes, you old fool!" "You've gone on preaching about 'redemption' nonsense for long enough." "Theta, listen to me! That human is--" "I don't care who he is! He is nothing but a warning to you now: "Remember your duty to Convergence, or the Brethren will destroy you. With that, Theta turned its full attention on Andrew. It invaded his mind, forcing its consciousness into every nook and cranny. Then it forced the helpless teenager's body to reach down and deactivate the purple-glowing barrier device. Once the force field was gone, Andrew immediately started screaming in sheer agony. He could only bear witness as wave after wave of pain racked his body. Without the barrier device on to safeguard him from Slipspace and being unable to move on his own, the eleventh dimension began pounding relentlessly on him. A white flash of light blinded Andrew, and he found himself in blackness. He was back in control of his limbs somewhat, but he knew this inky darkness was an illusion, as the repeated blows from Slipspace were still very much there. A glint of silver flashed by the corner of Andrew's vision, and an unseen force carved a gash across his arm. Before he could even cry out, a second laceration appeared on both of his legs. Then another on his chest, on his shoulders, his back, everywhere. Andrew continued howling into the distance. There was just no way he could do anything to even deter the onslaught, let alone stop it. Blood was cascading down his form in bright-red sheets, and-- "STOP THIS NOW!!!" Brother's voice sliced through the chaos like a knife through butter. It was as if time had completely stopped; the cuts and Slipspace beatings had ceased, but the pain still remained. The dark blanket Theta had placed over his eyes faded and he was back in front of the exit portal. Andrew couldn't move, all he could do was lie in his growing pool of blood and struggle to stave off the other blackness that was gathering around the edges of his vision. He could still sense both of their consciousness pressing on his, but Theta's radiated irritation. "And why should I?!" "Because that human is the Peacekeeper." Brother growled. "If you kill him, then you will drive our race to extinction!" Shock replaced Theta's irritation in an instant. It quickly relinquished control over Andrew's body fully, though its presence remained. "How can such a lowly life-form be selected as Peacekeeper? That can't be possible." "The Peacekeeper's symbol burns brightly over him, Gamma. If you weren't so arrogant, maybe you would've seen that before. Brother scolded Gamma like an older brother would with a guilty sibling. By now, Theta was filled with guilt and even a tinge of fear. Andrew was confused. "Is the Peacekeeper so powerful that you both know the title?" "Of course. The Peacekeeper's powers far exceed any of ours." Brother explained. "Theta here is acting so nervous... "Am not!" "...because seven of our brothers made the mistake of forcing the last Peacekeeper to annihilate them all, without mercy." Andrew's confusion was swapped for awe. The previous Peacekeeper was capable of destroying THESE BEINGS? "Now...Theta?" Brother's voice had turned menacing, and Theta noticed it. "Y-Yes?" "Leave us...NOW." That single command carried so much authority that if Andrew wasn't grievously injured, he would've sprinted right through the portal before him without a second thought. Apparently, it had the same effect on Theta. "R-Right away!" And with that, his presence disappeared completely from Andrew's mind. Brother mentally sighed in exasperation. It focused on the limp human. It examined him closely, and emanated a grim note. I can't fix any of these wounds, but I can slow down the bleeding a bit. it said. The being was silent for a few seconds. Andrew watched in fascination as the lacerations' blood flow slowed from a furious gushing to a steady, gentle stream. "I can sense two more life-forms beyond this portal that seem willing to help you." Brother continued. "Given your current condition, I doubt you can stand on your own, so I'll send you through myself." Andrew felt himself get carefully lifted by some unseen force and was eased onto his feet. He wobbled dangerously for a a moment, then just managed to steady his burning legs as he took a step toward the exit. Suddenly, another unseen force swept the barely-conscious human off his portal through the portal. Instantly, the entire landscape made a dramatic change. He realized right off the bat that he was flying through the air. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, causing Andrew to yell out in panic and flail around pathetically. He hit the ground roughly, tumbled downwards, and came to rest at the bottom of what he assumed was a grassy hill with his head facing parallel to it. All that jostling had caused his newly-acquired wounds to flare back up angrily. Andrew fought hard to stay awake, but this time he was slowly losing. He heard noises coming from where he came from, and stopped at his body. His eyesight dimmed and grew watery. Just before it went out altogether a hazy figure stepped into his view. It was some kind of four-legged creature, with a lavender body and purple hair. It hurried over to his prone figure, and the last thing Andrew heard was a voice, saying "Please don't be dead." Then unconsciousness overtook him, and he fell back into darkness. Author's Note Hey everybody! I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 3! To be honest, this one is more of an experiment than anything else, really. I mean, that whole schpeel with Theta and Brother was a spontaneous idea, and I figured it would be pretty cool. ~~Mainly this is so I can get some ideas from you guys.~~ ~~Yep, I want to hear from you. Write your own idea(s) that could replace the current one that explains how Andrew got so cut up and wounded. It doesn't have to have Brother or Theta in it, or even anyone. These are all your own choices.~~ 04/11/15: Ah, screw it. I think I'll keep this. Reading it now, it sounds pretty cool. Somewhat gruesome, but cool. Speaking of Theta, he's more of a side character. I created him to explain Andrew's critical state, nothing more. So he may or may not pop up ever again in this story. Just saying. One more thing, for those of you waiting for the next chapter for "The Chance of a Lifetime," don't worry. I'm in the process of writing, but it may take some time since I've got a lot more inspiration for this fic. I apologize for the inconvenience. Alright, that's everything that I wanted to mention, and again I'm very sorry for the strange events in this chapter. Thank you all and I will see you in the next chapter!
Chapter 1: Last Earth Night Author's Note: Not all of the characters in this story are my own. The Blood Moon Omega mentioned in the description goes to Crystal-Seeker. He also should be credited for helping me make this story happen at all. Thanks so much Crystal! I couldn't have done it without you! //2312, Eastern Standard Time// //Jacksonville, Florida; Earth, Sol System// Andrew kicked aside a rock with his boot as he walked down the dark, dirt road at the Florida Caverns State Park. He was clothed in jeans, hiking boots, a long-sleeve shirt, and a dark-blue hoodie. He carried a long oaken staff on his back and held a flashlight, which he was now using to illuminate the path he was taking. He was here with his family on a camping trip while on winter break. They'd decided that it would be a nice change from being constantly indoors. Though Andrew wasn't complaining. If anything, he enjoyed the change in atmosphere as well. But tonight was different. He'd gotten up an hour earlier after fruitlessly trying to fall asleep, completely energized and alert. He wasn't sure why, but a sense of anticipation had rooted itself within his chest, and with each step, it grew. Again, Andrew couldn't describe why he felt it, but he felt that it would be necessary to bring his bo staff along with him, which is what Will had strapped to his back. The staff was sort of like a large good-luck charm for Andrew. He didn't bring it everywhere he went, but he still liked to carry it around when he felt like it, and always kept it close. It was his weapon of choice during XMA (eXtreme Martial Arts) performances at his karate school. He walked in silence along the barren path and pondered what could be the reason he felt like this. Normally, he would just write it off as paranoia and leave it at that, but the sheer amount of anxiety that was still building inside told him otherwise. This feeling had Andrew thinking that something big was about to happen. And it was gonna happen to HIM. Almost like he was about to change history. Why now? What could this mean? he thought for the umpteenth time. He sighed in exasperation. There was only one way to find out, and that was to keep wa-- Suddenly, a flash of light and movement caught his eye. In one fluid motion, Andrew spun to his right, unsheathed the bo staff, and slid into a sparring stance. And what he saw made his jaw drop in shock. A large stag stood in the foliage. It seemed to be fashioned out of ethereal light that made it seem that it was standing in a bonfire. And it was staring right. At. HIM. "What are you?!" Andrew demanded. "Stay back! I'm not afraid to kill you if I have to!" Wow, Andrew. Was that really the best you could think of? he reprimanded himself The stag merely tilted its head in response. Then, it turned around and galloped directly away from Andrew. Everywhere its hooves touched, more of that light erupted from them and stood there like pillars of embers. At first, Andrew just stood rooted to his spot. He rubbed his eyes, thinking it was all a mirage. The flickering lights on the ground remained when he opened them again. He figured that all this was just some sort of weird dream, so he decided to follow the stag and took off in pursuit. As he ran, Andrew used the tiny columns of light as his guide. Soon he could make out the glowing visage of the stag itself. Andrew wasn't sure where it was leading him, but he didn't give it any thought. Eventually, the stag led Andrew to a clearing in the vegetation, where it finally stopped. Andrew halted next to it and looked around. He and the deer were at the top of a downward slope into a depression in the earth with a large tree at the far end. Andrew didn't recognize this place at all. Nor did he think that anybody had ever found this place before, as he saw no worn-down trails anywhere. The stag turned itself to fully face Andrew, and Andrew copied its motion. From here, he could see that this was an actual, real-life stag, and the light lay onto top of its coat. What's more, its eyes were sapphire-blue, shining in stark contrast to its fire-like layer. The stag opened its muzzle and spoke in a deep, masculine voice: "Greetings, young warrior. I have been waiting for you for a long time." The stag bowed its head. "My name is Kaidan." Andrew stood there, staring blankly at the stag for a moment. Then he snapped out of his trance and hastily bowed in return. "Um, hi there." he ventured. "My name's Andrew Ivanov. It's an honor to meet you erm...Kaidan?" Way to make a good first impression, you moron! he mentally scolded himself. Kaidan lifted his head then shook it. "No, the honor is mine, O Great Peacekeeper." Andrew cocked his head in confusion. "Peacekeeper? What's that?" Kaidan grinned, revealing two sets of pearly-white teeth. "The Peacekeeper is a being that is tasked with the responsibility of maintaining and restoring peace throughout the universe whenever existing civilizations are unable to do so on their own." He explained. "They quell and eliminate strife in a given area." Andrew had to admit, this was an interesting dream. "No Andrew, this is not a dream." Kaidan's statement snapped Andrew out of his thoughts. The teen digested what the stag had said. It took some time for Kaidan to calm Andrew down enough to stand in one spot and not make a sound. Then again, the teen's reason to panic was more than justified. The glowing deer continued where he left off. "As I was saying, the Peacekeeper's task is obviously a daunting one. But they're all endowed with an ability that allows them to accomplish it." "And that is the ability to access the imagination realm." Andrew looked at him blankly. "Sorry, but I'm not following." he apologized. Kaidan chuckled. "It is quite alright. In the simplest terms, whatever the Peacekeeper wants to happen will happen, and it is limited by their imagination." Andrew was utterly thunderstruck. He had the power to do anything?!? That sounded too good to be true!! As if sensing his excitement, Kaidan dropped his smile and warned, "Keep in mind, Andrew, that the Peacekeeper's role includes having to confront foes who can and will pose a serious challenge to you. This won't be easy under any circumstances." Andrew heeded Kaidan's hidden meaning and took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Calm once more, he gazed back into Kaidan's eyes. He asked. "How do I use this ability?" Kaidan's eyes glinted with amusement. "Eager one, I see. Very well then." "The technique is quite simple. All you must do is focus on an image in your mind, then picture it somewhere in the real world." Andrew gazed at Kaidan in surprise. "Wow, how do you know all that?" His emerald eyes dulled a little in reminiscence when he answered. "I learned it from the last Peacekeeper, so I could teach it to the next one: You." "And what happened to the last Peacekeeper?" Kaidan smirked at Andrew's nervousness. "If you're worried that you might have to face his last enemy, you can relax. For he died of old age, nothing more." Andrew sighed in relief. At least he wouldn't have to deal with living forever. Plus, he'd hate to have to deal with whatever the last Peacekeeper took down. Focus, man.he chided. You've gotta get the hang of your power before you do anything more. That being thought, Andrew inhaled deeply. He tried stilling all of the chaos within his mind. It took longer than he would've admitted, but finally he had chosen on a single picture. Andrew slid his bo staff back into its sheath. He held a hand outstretched in front of him, open palm facing upwards. Andrew imagined the object he wanted falling into his hand. There was a slight ripple in the air above it. The ripple slowly become more and more distinct until it had become a multitude of ripples floating on thin air, flowing up and down like a stone dropped in water. The tiny waves melded together into the ghostly image of a small cylinder-like object. The inside of the cylinder darkened to the point where it looked like it was filled up with octopus ink. Finally, the object dropped into Andrew's waiting hand and revealed itself to be a strange metal device. Andrew smiled, then pressed the activation button with his thumb. Immediately, two long, pronged blades of energy erupted to life. They crackled with power and glowed electric blue. The ecstatic teen could barely contain himself. He'd actually done it! "An interesting choice. Might I ask, what is it that contraption Peacekeeper?" Kaidan inquired. "This," Andrew replied proudly. "Is an Energy Sword." "It's a high-tech weapon that emits two four-foot-long plasma blades. The race who invented this beauty, the Sangheili, see it as the most revered weapon of their military and is wielded by only the highest-ranking officers." "Ah." the stag said, nodding in understanding. "A unique weapon of choice, though just as dangerous." Andrew deactivated the sword smiled with gratitude, then concentrated on conjuring another item. This was to hold his sword and any other weapons he might want to show off. The same sequence of events occurred as it did with the Energy Sword, but this time the disturbance took place around Andrew's waist and it ended up being a silver, segmented belt. Without hesitation, he stuck the sword handle onto one of the belt's magnetic panels, then turned to face Kaidan again. "So, when do I start this new job as Peacekeeper?" he asked calmly. It sounded strange, given his circumstances, but Andrew could feel an energy coursing through his veins, almost like before. But this time, it was excitement for the adventures he was expecting. Kaidan's grin widened at the teenage human's enthusiasm. "I appreciate your excitement, but you must always keep one thing in mind." "Always solve problems in the most peaceful way possible. Never resort to violence unless ABSOLUTELY necessary." Then his smile disappeared, replaced with a serious frown. Kaidan lifted a foreleg, and pointed with his hoof at the tree. Andrew was confused. What does an old tree have to do with my mission as Peacekeeper? His thoughts were cut short when a pencil-thin beam of blueish-white energy shot from the tip of Kaidan's hoof and lanced over to the tree. Just shy of hitting it, the beam was stopped by some unknown force, and the energy started coalescing into a sphere. The sphere grew larger and larger as more energy was fed into it, until it almost eclipsed Kaidan in height. Abruptly, the beam connecting his hoof with the sphere disconnected, and the last bit of energy was sucked up. Then the orb began to rotate, slowly at first but gradually picked up more and more speed. As it did, the orb started to flatten and shrink in time with the increasing speed. The colors also changed, the white slowly darkening to midnight black. The blue was pushed to the edges of the disc as the black gathered in the center. Branches of blue formed off the edges of the rapidly-spinning disc. At last, the transformation was complete, and Andrew was astonished when he recognized it. Sitting before him and Kaidan was a slipspace portal. "This portal shall take you to the world that you must go to for your first task." Kaidan explained. "Like I said before, Andrew, your number-one rule is to deal with the strife and chaos as peacefully as you possibly can." "You still haven't told me what my task is." Andrew noted, a little irked about all of the ambiguity. Kaidan looked intensely at the teenager, and said: "Protect the natives of this world from Omega. Convince it to seek Convergence elsewhere." As soon as he finished that statement, an unseen force started dragging Andrew closer to the slipspace portal, and the tear in the fabric of reality spun faster. It felt as if a giant, invisible hand had seized the front of his hoodie and was pulling him into it. All of Andrew's instincts screamed for him to fight it, but he forced himself to let it pull him in. The force's power was too great to resist. It wasn't long before Andrew was sucked into the portal, and it promptly closed when he was gone from sight. Andrew looked around in wonder. Slipspace wasn't at all what he'd expected it to look like. He'd always thought that it was just like realspace, only with no stars anywhere. What he witnessed wasn't like that in the slightest. The entire landscape looked like the inside of a massive tube painted a brownish-gold hue. Strewn all around were what looked like immensely long strands of golden energy. Andrew had no clue what they were, but he didn't really care. The strands constantly flowed lazily around like a piece of yarn in water. Their hypnotic movements captivated him. Andrew looked ahead and saw one of the strands was seemingly pulling him forward to his destination. The end that was in contact with him encompassed his entire body in a large ovular bubble. It brought about a slight feeling of warmth and coziness with it. The energy shell was attached to the string by a glowing white piece hovering over his chest. Andrew wasn't sure what he would be encountering on this planet that Kaidan had sent him to, but he decided that he wanted to have some extra layers of protection, just in case his first encounter with life becomes hostile. With that, Andrew conjured a small hexagonal device, a pair of red aviators, and a wireless headset microphone. The hexagon, which he attached to his belt, was about the size of an apple and had a purple circle in the center. An idea struck him, and the teenager grinned mischievously. A monkey's tail sprouted from his back, just above his rear. Andrew put on the aviators and headset. The first would help him identify any basic information about any sentient organism he encountered and acted as a lie detector, while the latter was a universal translator. With all this new gear, Andrew thought he was prepared for what lay outside Slipspace. He couldn't have been farther from the truth. Author's Note Alright, guys, so that's Chapter 1 for you all! I hope you enjoyed it, and are ready for the next one. Now, to be honest, the next chapter will be out very soon after this one, but I still had a lot of trouble writing it. For some reason, it was like a writer's block for me. I guess I'm excited for the later chapters, so I don't really have much inspiration to write Chapter 2. But I shall soldier on regardless! Thank you all and I'll see you in the next chapter!
Chapter 2: Where am I?Author's Note: Please note that this is not the final version. This will be subject to change at any time, as I'm working in collaboration with another writer named CrystalSeeker, and he intends to input his own OC(s) into this story. "Come on, Twilight! This is ridiculous! Can't this wait until tomorrow??" Spike complained. Twilight Sparkle whipped her head to glare at her assistant. She had been working all day and now through the night trying to figure out something. She sighed. "Spike, we've been through this a hundred times: Whatever this thing says, we have to know. It just might be monumental." Said object was floating before them outside on a hill. It was very simple, really. Just gray metal with a weird line that ran across its side that emitted a soft orange light. But what it extraordinary was it composition: made from an unknown, crystalline-like metal that was unbelievably durable: Spells to determine its age put it at over 100,000 years old, yet it showed no signs of its age at all. It was exactly four hooves wide, six hooves tall, and half a hoof in thickness. A series of strange symbols were meticulously carved onto one face. They were arranged so similarly to Equestrian that Twilight was certain it had to be message of some sort. But who? Who would use so much of a precious metal just to write a simple message on it? What did it say? Why was it here? Twilight and Spike had been trying to find the answers to those questions, but it was the middle of the night and they'd made no progress. Spike huffed in irritation. "Look, I know how much you're interested in this obviously, but why drag me into this?" "Why do you think, Spike!?" Twilight retorted. "The object, whatever it is, responds better to your touch." Twilight ignored him and looked back at the object. It just continued floating there, almost tauntingly. She gritted her teeth in frustration. This thing just didn't seem to want to give up its secrets easily whatsoever. For a while, she just stared at it menacingly until she finally lowered her horn and shot a magenta beam at it. A sudden wavex pulsed from the object with great force, blowing Twilight off her hooves and slamming into Spike. They hit the ground with a loud WHUMP. Twilight's laser wasn't so lucky; it fizzled out upon contact with the orange field. Twilight was dazed from the impact. She shook it off and scrambled back onto her hooves. She turned around and helped Spike up with her magic. The poor dragon's eyes were rolling around in his eyes and stars circled around his head. Other than that, he was fine. Twilight gazed back at the object and gasped at the spectacle before them. The object's glow had intensified. Without warning, the thing fractured into a multitude of smaller pieces. But they didn't fall to the ground. Instead, they just hung there, suspended in the air and all connected by thin thread the same orange glow. But that light seemed strange...almost as if it was...SOLID?! Twilight recoiled in shock at the revelation. There was no doubt, these pieces were being held in place by solid light. Then they started moving. The pieces began to arrange themselves in mid-air, forming two strange shapes. Twilight watched as the fragments connected to each other like a puzzle until a pair of large oblong objects floated in the tablet's place. The objects were about four hooves away from each other stood straight up, but jerked inwards about halfway up their length. A strip of something else glowed a light blue on the inside of the angled halves of each. Suddenly, four bolts of lightning lanced out from the objects and converged onto one point. Once they met, a ripple like a stone dropped in water emerged from that point and flowed outward. When the disturbance in the air hit the floating pylons, dots of blue energy flared into existence. The dots flew in every direction, creating a spiral shape outlined by the ripples At the center of it all, a little blue ball expanded outward toward the pylons. The whole thing bloomed bigger, and the colors darkened. In seconds, a swirling disc of black and blue churned in an endless circle between the pylons. It's some sort of portal. Twilight realized. The disc slowly began to pick up speed. Suddenly a piercing shriek of agony erupted from the portal, causing Twilight and Spike to cover their ears. It lanced through the night air, shattering the haze of peace and quiet for a few seconds before it was silenced. The portal then spat out a large, bipedal creature, sending it flying through the air. The creature yelled and flailed its arms and legs in a futile attempt to do something. It tumbled ungracefully down the hillside and came to stop at the base. A second, more powerful wave erupted from the portal, this time a pure-white hue. At the same time, all of the light that the portal and the pylons emitted snapped off and they all disappeared, plunging Twilight, and Spike into darkness once again. The former wasted no time rushing over to the edge of the hill and looked down at the creature. It just stayed where it was, unmoving. "Spike! Come here!" Twilight called to him. Her voice snapped the purple dragon out of his daze, and he hurried to join her. They both stared in shock at the being. It was garbed in tattered dark-blue cloth on its upper body, tan-colored cloth on its lower body, a jagged and beaten large wooden staff strapped to its back, and a silver belt around its waist. Sprouting from its lower back was a tail that looked not unlike a monkey's. On the creature's seemingly-deformed head were a pair of red opaque sunglasses. What shocked Twilight the most was its terrible condition: The creature looked bloody and beaten, with several nasty-looking bruises adorning its body. Without hesitation, the unicorn and teen dragon looked at each other and nodded before racing down from the hilltop down to the unconscious being. She examined it more closely while Spike stayed back, nervously waiting for what she would do afterwards. The more Twilight scrutinized, the more her expression became grim. Though she was no doctor by any means, she could tell that it was in bad shape; the wounds looked even worse up close, there was a lot of lacerations all over, and they were bleeding profusely. But she suspected that there might be some internal damage as well. Fortunately, the General Hospital wasn't very far to where the two currently were. Twilight turned to Spike and told him: "Run to the General Hospital as fast as you can. Wait outside until you see me coming, then go inside and tell them that a critically-wounded creature is on its way and needs immediate medical help." "But what about you, Twi?" "I'm staying behind for now to stabilize this thing." Twilight answered. "Now go! We don't have much time." Spike nodded and sprinted off into the distance. Meanwhile, Twilight called up her memorized spells and mentally went through them. She'd learned a couple basic healing spells over the past few months, so she was at least able to keep this being alive to make it to the hospital. She cast them, one by one, and watched in mild fascination as a few of the cuts and bruises sealed themselves up and disappeared. The deeper and more serious ones were left alone. She then levitated it a couple hooves into the air and took off after Spike. As she ran, a thought made her look up to the starry night sky and wonder: Where did it come from? Author's Note OH NOES! A CLIFFHANGER!! Sorry, but I thought that would be a good way to end this chapter. Don't want it stretching too long. Now I apologize in advance if the chapter isn't very well-written, I was a little hasty in writing it. So if anybody could give me some advice on how to improve it, I'd greatly appreciate it. So Andrew had made it into Equestria, but obviously things went wrong somewhere on the way. What happened? Find out next time!
Chapter 3: Unexpected EncountersWARNING: This chapter contains some blood and gore. You have been warned. UPDATE 05/03/15: I'm very sorry, CrystalSeeker. I forgot to mention that one of the characters in this chapter, Brother, is Crystal's own OC. I hope that will suffice. If not, please let me know what more I should do. "Thought-speak" Thoughts Andrew found himself getting bored with all of this waiting. He didn't know how long it would take until he reached his stop, but apparently it was a long time. Finally he spotted a disturbance in the Slipspace landscape: A spinning dot. Andrew assumed that it was the exit portal, as his little cable of light connected his bubble and the dot. Slowly, he found out that he was correct; the dot had grown as he got closer and it was identical to the one he had entered the Slipstream(slipspace) in. He also noticed that his protective force field and the towing line were slowly dissolving. He didn't give it any thought, since he was confident his little barrier device would safeguard him. Soon the two disappeared entirely, and Andrew fell about a foot before landing on an invisible floor with an audible thump. The teen looked down and was curious to see that wherever his feet touched, the 'ground' glowed. He shrugged and strode to the tear in reality. He held up a hand and slowly stretched it closer...closer... ...Out of nowhere, an immense amount of pain exploded within his skull, causing Andrew to crumple to the ground and clutch his temples, snarling fiercely & vainly trying to ease the pain. Then he felt a massive presence touch his mind. It was awe-inspiring to say the least: It's consciousness was one of undecipherable thoughts and it whirled in every direction. It never stayed still, and it even radiated what felt like emotions, or more like one emotion in particular: Cool, unimaginable calm. In addition to feelings, the being was illuminated by vast intelligence, the likes of which Andrew found mind-boggling. Suddenly, the presence emitted a loud & high-pitched sound. Andrew redoubled his grip on his head, silently screaming in pain. All he could hear was the ear-splitting screech, that almighty noise. It sounded like metal being slowly torn apart right next to his ears. Then, through the deafening cacophony, the Peacekeeper heard a booming voice in his head. The voice was grand and majestic. It boomed through the human's fragile mind like a mountain avalanche. "So, you are the one..." "The newly-appointed Peacekeeper." The voice was low and rumbling. It made a sound, almost like a hum of thinking. "That's strange...I truly did not expect Kaidan to choose such an unlikely candidate, despite his habit for doing so." Andrew fought back the urge to just break down and sob from the pain, and mustered the will to respond: "W-Who...who are you?" "My identity is of no importance to you, nor are my intentions." Andrew was slightly surprised at the being's tone. It didn't sound threatening, just...flat. Furthermore, he could feel it probing his memories and sifting through them at incredible speeds. Almost as if it was-- "You're a clever Peacekeeper, young one. That is correct, I am examining you." An involuntary shudder ran down his spine. It was creepy how this thing could read his mind like an open book. "So, it seems you're also quite an interesting specimen. I sense a great amou--...wait..." The being paused in whatever it was saying. It sounded like it had noticed something else. Maybe it had discovered Andrew's mission? Maybe it- "Oh? And what are you doing here, Brother?" Another presence had invaded Andrew's throbbing head. Its voice sounded a little younger, but its consciousness was terrifying when it made contact. All he could sense was pure, animalistic evil. It lay at the heart of its being, with veins of sadistic glee and unfathomable hunger snaking everywhere and imprisoning all it touched. But mixed with this black terror was something even scarier: This being, like its so-called 'brother,' was lit by great wit and intellect, only this one's was infected by the hunger, just like everywhere else in its mind. Poor Andrew instinctively shrank away, both physically and mentally, in fear of this newcomer. "Tut tut. I thought you, of all our race, knew better than to establish such meaningless communications with a lower life-form. Shame on you." it said in faux-scolding. The first one started emitting mild frustration. "And I thought you of all our race knew better than to mess with my personal affairs." it responded. "Calm down, brother. I am fully aware of that. My curiosity simply got the best of me, that's all." "If that's true, then why haven't you already left?" "..." Andrew sensed the younger of the pair becoming frustrated itself. Abruptly, it swooped in and seized a hold of his mind. The other one, Brother, was clearly caught off-guard, as it rumbled in surprise and anger. Theta! What do you think you're doing?!" it demanded. "This human is the key to saving our race and leading us to a path of redemption!!" The second, Theta, scoffed. "What am I doing? I'm helping you to open your eyes, you old fool!" "You've gone on preaching about 'redemption' nonsense for long enough." "Theta, listen to me! That human is--" "I don't care who he is! He is nothing but a warning to you now: "Remember your duty to Convergence, or the Brethren will destroy you. With that, Theta turned its full attention on Andrew. It invaded his mind, forcing its consciousness into every nook and cranny. Then it forced the helpless teenager's body to reach down and deactivate the purple-glowing barrier device. Once the force field was gone, Andrew immediately started screaming in sheer agony. He could only bear witness as wave after wave of pain racked his body. Without the barrier device on to safeguard him from Slipspace and being unable to move on his own, the eleventh dimension began pounding relentlessly on him. A white flash of light blinded Andrew, and he found himself in blackness. He was back in control of his limbs somewhat, but he knew this inky darkness was an illusion, as the repeated blows from Slipspace were still very much there. A glint of silver flashed by the corner of Andrew's vision, and an unseen force carved a gash across his arm. Before he could even cry out, a second laceration appeared on both of his legs. Then another on his chest, on his shoulders, his back, everywhere. Andrew continued howling into the distance. There was just no way he could do anything to even deter the onslaught, let alone stop it. Blood was cascading down his form in bright-red sheets, and-- "STOP THIS NOW!!!" Brother's voice sliced through the chaos like a knife through butter. It was as if time had completely stopped; the cuts and Slipspace beatings had ceased, but the pain still remained. The dark blanket Theta had placed over his eyes faded and he was back in front of the exit portal. Andrew couldn't move, all he could do was lie in his growing pool of blood and struggle to stave off the other blackness that was gathering around the edges of his vision. He could still sense both of their consciousness pressing on his, but Theta's radiated irritation. "And why should I?!" "Because that human is the Peacekeeper." Brother growled. "If you kill him, then you will drive our race to extinction!" Shock replaced Theta's irritation in an instant. It quickly relinquished control over Andrew's body fully, though its presence remained. "How can such a lowly life-form be selected as Peacekeeper? That can't be possible." "The Peacekeeper's symbol burns brightly over him, Gamma. If you weren't so arrogant, maybe you would've seen that before. Brother scolded Gamma like an older brother would with a guilty sibling. By now, Theta was filled with guilt and even a tinge of fear. Andrew was confused. "Is the Peacekeeper so powerful that you both know the title?" "Of course. The Peacekeeper's powers far exceed any of ours." Brother explained. "Theta here is acting so nervous... "Am not!" "...because seven of our brothers made the mistake of forcing the last Peacekeeper to annihilate them all, without mercy." Andrew's confusion was swapped for awe. The previous Peacekeeper was capable of destroying THESE BEINGS? "Now...Theta?" Brother's voice had turned menacing, and Theta noticed it. "Y-Yes?" "Leave us...NOW." That single command carried so much authority that if Andrew wasn't grievously injured, he would've sprinted right through the portal before him without a second thought. Apparently, it had the same effect on Theta. "R-Right away!" And with that, his presence disappeared completely from Andrew's mind. Brother mentally sighed in exasperation. It focused on the limp human. It examined him closely, and emanated a grim note. I can't fix any of these wounds, but I can slow down the bleeding a bit. it said. The being was silent for a few seconds. Andrew watched in fascination as the lacerations' blood flow slowed from a furious gushing to a steady, gentle stream. "I can sense two more life-forms beyond this portal that seem willing to help you." Brother continued. "Given your current condition, I doubt you can stand on your own, so I'll send you through myself." Andrew felt himself get carefully lifted by some unseen force and was eased onto his feet. He wobbled dangerously for a a moment, then just managed to steady his burning legs as he took a step toward the exit. Suddenly, another unseen force swept the barely-conscious human off his portal through the portal. Instantly, the entire landscape made a dramatic change. He realized right off the bat that he was flying through the air. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, causing Andrew to yell out in panic and flail around pathetically. He hit the ground roughly, tumbled downwards, and came to rest at the bottom of what he assumed was a grassy hill with his head facing parallel to it. All that jostling had caused his newly-acquired wounds to flare back up angrily. Andrew fought hard to stay awake, but this time he was slowly losing. He heard noises coming from where he came from, and stopped at his body. His eyesight dimmed and grew watery. Just before it went out altogether a hazy figure stepped into his view. It was some kind of four-legged creature, with a lavender body and purple hair. It hurried over to his prone figure, and the last thing Andrew heard was a voice, saying "Please don't be dead." Then unconsciousness overtook him, and he fell back into darkness. Author's Note Hey everybody! I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 3! To be honest, this one is more of an experiment than anything else, really. I mean, that whole schpeel with Theta and Brother was a spontaneous idea, and I figured it would be pretty cool. ~~Mainly this is so I can get some ideas from you guys.~~ ~~Yep, I want to hear from you. Write your own idea(s) that could replace the current one that explains how Andrew got so cut up and wounded. It doesn't have to have Brother or Theta in it, or even anyone. These are all your own choices.~~ 04/11/15: Ah, screw it. I think I'll keep this. Reading it now, it sounds pretty cool. Somewhat gruesome, but cool. Speaking of Theta, he's more of a side character. I created him to explain Andrew's critical state, nothing more. So he may or may not pop up ever again in this story. Just saying. One more thing, for those of you waiting for the next chapter for "The Chance of a Lifetime," don't worry. I'm in the process of writing, but it may take some time since I've got a lot more inspiration for this fic. I apologize for the inconvenience. Alright, that's everything that I wanted to mention, and again I'm very sorry for the strange events in this chapter. Thank you all and I will see you in the next chapter!
