Canadian Pacific 5-5

The ride back to the Bureau was calm. The Five and I rode back in out suits because we planned on changing straight into our sleep wear when we got there. When we got there we saw that the parking lot was fairly full so John let us off at the front door before finding a place to park.

Eventually I stepped back out of our room in my pajamas and went to tell the ponies the next chapter. Before I did though there was a question.

“Why did you codename each of your plans with a number? And why did you keep saying ‘Go To’ before each one?” Twilight asked.

“Well, I took some computer programming back in high school and one of the commands is ‘Go To’ followed by a number,” I answered, “It makes the program jump straight to the line of code with the same number. It was an easy way to identify each plan without giving anything away in a real codename. Programming class is also the reason why I write my zeros with a diagonal slash through them. Distinguish them from letter O’s”

The ponies all nodded and I figured I should continue with the story.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\E5/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Chapter 11: The Return

Knowing just what to do Brody and I attacked Andrew from either side forcing him to leap backward as he parried our blades. He turned and blocked Brent’s skilled swing and used the momentum to catch John’s attack between his blades. Twisting John’s sword out of his hands Andrew returned his attention to the rest of us. Side stepping my vertical slice he opened an opportunity. We all swung together at the same time and all of our blades collided as one for the second time. A noticeable pulse shook through the Void and large cracks began to appear in the ‘ground’. Shortly thereafter the cracks began to meet one another and large sections of the ‘ground’ began to fall away.

Carefully dropping back from the rest of the group I peered over the edge where a large chunk of ‘ground’ had fallen. What I saw was distressing. There, at the ‘core’ of the Void, was a miniature black hole. We were far enough away and it was small enough that we only felt it’s pull as equal to earth’s gravity. Nonetheless it sat there, a disconcerting darkness huddled amid the whiteness of the Void. I turned back to the fight hoping to end it quickly. As I returned to the fight I heard Conner’s voice, “Don’t hold back. You’ve not much time. I’ll keep him alive no matter what. Just finish this NOW!” With that I steeled my resolve and fought more viciously. Throwing all the force I could muster into the swing I brought my sword up in a slashing arc and managed to slice through Andrew’s right arm between the elbow and shoulder.

Andrew stumbled back in shock and in that moment John and Brent cut off his left and right legs respectively. Andrew fell backward onto the ‘ground’ and as I stepped toward him the ‘ground’ under him fell away. I managed to grab his left hand before he plummeted into the ‘core’. It took a few moments but I manage to drag Andrew back up onto the ‘ground’. I stepped back with the others to give Andrew some room. Andrew then reached over and grabbed his sword that he had dropped when I had cut off his arm. As I went to unsheathe my sword the ‘ground’ below John, Brent, Brody, and I fell away. We managed to grab onto the edge of the ‘ground’. As we hung there trying to pull ourselves back up Andrew dragged himself over to us and lifted his sword above his head preparing to smash the pommel into our hands.

Andrew froze just before he brought down his hilt. He looked each of us in the eye and stayed frozen for, what felt like, an eternity. Then his eyes softened and he lowered his sword. In a heartbeat Automail limbs appeared to replace the limbs that he had lost. He then helped each of us back up just before Conner reappeared. “Good news everyone,” he said, “The Evil-Andrew reference document has been successfully removed from my laptop’s hard drive.” Just then the ‘ground’ shook and we were reminded of the predicament we were in. “I’ve got this,” Conner said. The Void disappeared from view and Conner’s world came into focus. I turned to see the monitor on his laptop flash brightly for a split-second and immediately go black.

I turned back to see Conner talking on the phone, “Yeah…yeah…right away if you can. They just arrived.” He then hung up and turned to us. I asked, “What are you going to do about your laptop. We destroyed the screen.” “Don’t worry,” he replied, “I’ve got actual monitors to replace it with. By the way I was just getting a party together for you guys to congratulate you on your perseverance. While we wait for the others to arrive why don’t you elaborate a little, Conner?” “I’d be glad to,” I replied, “The plan I told you guys was not the whole plan I had laid out.” From there I went on to explain the numerous details, back-up plans, and contingencies that I had prepared and designed for. I told them of what I let slip to Andrew and what I told no one but Conner. Finally I asked, “For a plan so convoluted, half backwards, and with such a cliché ending, did it not go rather well?”

My friends whole-heartedly agreed and even complimented me on thinking of stuff that never would have crossed their minds. Suddenly I remembered something, “Hey, Andrew. How did you find the ‘N-Zone’?” “Funny you should ask,” he replied, “The Sunday after the fight in the oil field I was trying to outdo you guys by creating a minion that utilized both light and shadows. I barely succeeded and the only one I managed to create swallowed me whole shortly after I made it. It was dark for a moment but then I could suddenly see and there I was staring at the ‘N-Zone’.”

“I think,” Andrew continued, “that the ‘N-Zone’ may have been created when our swords all connected the first time. When the combined elements pulled us through the portal it may have created the ‘N-Zone’ in response.” “That would make sense,” John said, “Newton’s third law of motion.” Everyone nodded in agreement. Just then the doorbell rang. “That will be the party arriving,” Conner said, “Bring my stereo and cassettes with you.” The party lasted through the afternoon and well into the evening during which we recounted numerous aspects of my plan and what all happened in the Void. By the time the party was over the ten of us had drained 8 2L bottles of soda; 3 bottles of A&W root beer, 2 bottles of Pepsi, and one each of Barq’s, Coca Cola, and Sprite.

Our real world selves left at around 10:00 pm shortly before we headed back to our world. When we got back I invited my friends to stay the night and play video games for most of it. None of them said ‘No’. As we played we pondered on what Conner might throw at us next. Through all of our discussions we came up with dozens of ideas ranging from a zombie apocalypse to an alien invasion. With no way to be certain we assured each other that, no matter the villain, we would face the issue with the same vigour as we had so far. Continuing to play we exhausted our topics of conversation while the wee hours of the morning crawled past.

We eventually let sleep overcome us and woke only at noon to a beautiful fall Sunday. We went our separate ways for the time being, knowing that we’d meet at school the next day. The months rolled by as life continued as normally as it had been since that fateful day in June. Winter dragged on as it is wont to do in Canada and March was as snowy as ever. Something about that winter felt different though, but none of us could place why. We wouldn’t even know why until April was well underway.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\E5/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

“Equestria,” Twilight muttered.

“What was that?” I asked.

“Oh! I was just saying that what was different was Equestria, right?” she replied.

“Actually no,” I said, “It was something very different. I can start telling you about it if you’d like. We have the time.”

“That would be great,” Twilight said.

“Ok. Here we go,” I grinned.