Shaping Man

Chapters

Prolouge pt1
Prologue pt2
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10

Prolouge pt1

Author's Note

Sorry for the short chapter, I just wanted to get this out but I'll be adding a part two in a couple hours. Got my motivational dub step and years worth of imaginating my own fan fiction. Now just to sit down and figure out what to write. Don't worry, all of my future chapters other than the prologue will be at the minimum 2-3 pages (2,000-2,500 words) and 5,000 on the weekends. Whelp off to write that second part, bye.

Prolouge pt1

As I Walked the grounds of the university I just couldn’t shake this feeling of being watched. Yet whenever I turned around nothing was there. After five pointless minutes of me just standing there looking I figured, ‘Fuck it, whoevers there can watch, not like i have anything valuable on me anyway.’ Then it hit me, where was everyone? It was only 8:53 sure but classes started in about seven minutes so there should be at least somebody around right? ‘Wait, what’s today?’ I ask myself as I check my phone. ‘Shit! The talent how was today!

As I sprint to the Gymnasiam hoping to the universe that I wouldn’t be late for my band to play. As I step into my dorm I grab my guitar I check the pamphlet that we got when we were told we would be performing and check when we’d be playing. “Phoenix Lyrics-9:45-9:50” “Thank goodness.” I breath out as I sprint to the gym. I pull out my phone to check the time. It reads 9:39. “I take that back!” I yell to myself as I put a little boost to my sprint. I bust through the back doors only to be stopped by my bandmate Jess as she slaps me.

“What the hell, where were you!?” She yells to me.

“I’m sorry, I forgot the date.” She hmphs and and turns to grab her drum sticks.

“Were on in 2 Gary.”

“I know.” I reply while wiping the sweat off my brow as I turn back to tuning my guitar. The rest of the group greets me with waves as I set my guitar down, satisfied with the sound.

“Sup PedoGar.” Says Jason.

“Sup tall, fat, and ugly.” I reply while we share a chuckle. Jason is 19 about 6’4 but has a bit of weight to him, with his shaggy medium length light brown hair and semiformal attire, wearing a light green button up with the first couple buttons unbuttoned while rocking a loosely fitting pair of blue jeans courtesy of his girlfriend not wanting him to make a fool of himself no doubt. He’s our pianist when i’m not on the board and at bass every other time. His girlfriend being Jess, who is 20, was in a pair of dark blue jeans that accentuated her figure nicely while wearing a magenta blouse that again hugged her figure like every man dreamed they could do to her. Now when I say that she’s hot I mean that she’s drop dead gorgeous. Not in that skinny as fuck supermodel but more so that perfectly curved woman that you’d want to do anything for hover long it takes just to catch a glimpse of that curvy perfection. Or you know, just be on the swim team like me and check her out then. Then there’s Ol’ Frank, our disk jockey, he’s actually pretty young, we just call him that since he’s the oldest in our band at 21, and i’d be lying if I said we’ve never used him to get alcohol into a party.

Then there's me, I won’t go into detail here but i’m 20, have short really dark brown curly hair that I straighten when I have the time. I’m currently wearing a long sleeved black dress shirt that i rolled the sleeves up and unbuttoned the top two buttons while sporting dark blue worn jeans and brown work boots. Why the work boots? Cause I'm in the military that's why. But back to what i’m doing right now. As I set up the mic and grab my guitar pic I look back to see if everyones all set and signal to the guy with the lights that were all set. As he dims the lights I start strumming out the first few chords.

(For those of you who want the song I was thinking of.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvtPYdqilm0

Yeah, we’re a cover band for now till we can orchestrate some of the songs we’ve written. But that doesn’t matter cause the crowd fucking loved it. We got 2nd place behind this kid that did BMX. I mean this kid was wicked talented and i probably would’ve given up our position if we didn’t get first and we did. Afterwards we each got a red ribbon and $500 (that we instantly put away for better equipment) and we headed for lunch at a local diner. After we ate we went back to my dorm and picked up my roommates ps4. Then we went over to Ol’ Franks and we proceeded to play InFamous Second Son till we passed out.

{Next Day}

I woke up to the sound of screaming. It sounded like Jess and I was instantly awake, but I couldn’t get up. Looking down I saw the blanket i was using had burn marks on it, with my hands I threw the remainder of it off and looked down to see...well nothing, my legs weren’t there. The couch I was sleeping on was charred and as I looked around I saw my friends had all begun pouring water on me to try to stop the black flames that were rapidly consuming me. The weirdest part was that it looked as if everything from my waist down was being burned away by this mysterious fire and consuming me, fast. But I couldn’t feel it, and as I look in horror at myself and mentally scream I just feel my guitar fling itself onto what remains of me there and gets burned up with me. The last thing I see before I black out was my friends running out the dorm and the room going up in flames as I slowly lose consciousness.

Prologue pt2

{Somewhere in the Mountains of Elephantine}

“Are you sure about this Ahuizotl?”

“Yes, i’m sure now do it!”

Ahuizotl yells as his henchmen, a certain trio of diamond dogs we all know and hate, are setting up the last of the preparations for the ritual. A ritual with the combination of a spell cast by the dozen unicorns that obviously he forced to do the casting. Or else he’d murder their whole family in front of them and the public in which he would then force them to do it again and if they fail he would just keep going down the bloodline till the unicorn get it right. So they better do it right the first time. As he walks into the pentagram, which was made using magically infused blood of an ape to give it the fiery red of the blood and the sunburst yellow of the magic. The pentagram has symbols drawn with the blood that would use as a gateway through time, space, and the multiverse, he feels his fur stand on end and begins to hear what sounds like barely audible whispers.

He smiles, pleased that everything is going according to plan. He uses the hand on his tail to signal to a diamond dog named Scruffy to get the unicorns to start casting the spell. As they do the all too familiar sound of magic charging up fills his cold heart of mischief and disharmony with the slightest of joy and a short maniacal chuckle leaves his snout as he wags his tail slowly in excitement. He then reached with his tail and grabs an oriental knife to which he uses to make three long shallow cuts on each forearm and let them drip into the pentagram. In turn with the spell casting of the unicorns the chanting of the dogs and his own blood the pentagram begins to glow darker.

The dogs in turn change louder as the unicorns put more magic into their spell, a few wiping away from the brow from the effort.

“Pour more magic into the spell, every lady drop off mana if you have to, I can tell were close.” Ahuizotl yells to the unicorns over the chanting of the verbal spell from the most fluent speaking dogs he could find.

The voices in his head were growing louder as more magic was being put into the spell. But the amount of voices jumbled together sounded like incoherent babble that was impossible to pinpoint on one voice. With one last burst of magic and the dogs howling the last word the voices in Ahuizotl’s head all screamed one thing. “HUMAN”

And just like that the pentagram erupted into fiery orange flames that glowed yellow and red as it reflected off the walls of the cave in the bitter cold caverns. As the flames were climbing higher the form of a pair of boot covered feet began to take form. With it came the pained cries of Ahuizotl, the cuts in his arms now pouring out blood as the cuts grew deeper and wider. So deep that they reached the bone and the cuts so wide they tore into each other. The pain growing too much he rolled onto his back in pain and did all he could to not roll himself out of the circle so he could relieve himself off the hell he was feeling.

Eventually the pain subsided and he looked up to the fiery figure in front of him, it stood with its arms by its sides shrouded in flames Ahuizotl’s blood swirling around him, slowly revealing color to the being that stood before him. He honestly want that impressed by any means with the stature of the being. It looked pretty thin with a slightly bigger barrel than the rest of the torso. The arms being petty slim compared to his own. But the legs, they were beefy and lean clearly stating it was bipedal, the being appeared to be wearing clothing on its body. But when his attention was brought to what color his fur was he saw the was none. The being was beginning to move to, the flames slowly being absorbed into its palms. Another item began forming on its back, it looked like a skillfully designed case of some kind. As Ahuizotl got up he looked down at his forearms and noticed that they had heeled,other than the fur that would undoubtedly grow back they looked just fine. Add he pondered this the being began to speak.

{Gary POV Thoughts after summoning}

It may have been only five minutes on their end, but it was about an hour on this end. An hour was all I needed at the time considering what was going on.

{Gary POV during summoning}

As my head burned away it revealed to me looking into an endless void. ‘So this must be limbo eh? I guess now I wait’ as I'm floating here my thoughts began to wander to what would happen to the others. ‘Did they make it out? They had to have I saw them lea-’

“Hello” Came a female sounding voice from nowhere yet everywhere at once.

“Who is this?” I asked calmly not trying panic over what had just happened.

“I am your guardian, I am too help you on your journeys and assist you with starting up on this new world your are to be sent to.” Came my reply.

“What do you mean?” I ask pensively, not sure what the fuck was going on and wanting answers.

“We are in limbo, and I am apart of you. In a sense I am your conscience, only now my purpose now isn't only to help you process info but to help you physically and mentally. I'm eventually my own being now. Only I am in a way omnipotent, if omnipotence was centered around one being. Now enough pleasantries, I need to prepare you for your future.”

“What do you mean? Am I going to a place to die or am I going to be reborn or what? Please tell me I'm not being reborn as a tapeworm. I'm not gonna be a tapeworm right?!” Panic slowly taking over until I feel a light slap across my face, although it felt liquidy and warm. “Thanks, I needed that. “

“It seems you did, now back to what I was saying,” as she was saying that a screen about the size of a 50’ in TV popped up about an arm's length away. On the screen it displayed me standing up straight with my current attire on and my hands by my sides standing at attention. “this is you now. Now I want you to make any changes to your attire you see fit.”

“Where am I headed? Because I'd much rather dress the occasion of I'm going somewhere.” The woman only laughed as she says.

“It'll be pretty cold, about the same temperatures you were witnessing where you were. ‘So I'll want my sweater and coat then.’

“Indeed you will.” As I reeled back at these aspect of her reading my thoughts I quickly brought myself back to my normal composure. Then it hit me. ‘How am I even going to get my stuff?’ “Just think of it and it’ll appear on your person.’’

“Ok.” I reply as I begin to think of my black sweatshirt with maroon decals and hood. And over that my blue form fitting peacoat that I had sewn black waterproof fabric over to make it look better, be more durable, and make it more useful. It was all together a very warm and flexible outfit. As I buttoned up my coat I summoned a pair of thin gloves and my two favorite necklaces.

They were in short chains so they wouldn't move when I ran and on them held a mood charm which held a crescent moon with a star held on by the tips fused to the metal framework. On the other held my prized charm, a three dimensional sword with a pair of wings fused to the blade. With them equipped I look to my hair, I quickly force my hair into its usual pose of all its dark brown straight spikey glory. I then asked.

“Is there a way to make my hair stay in this style until I change it?” Honestly I just wanted to see if there was a way to change my hairstyle at will. That sounded badass.

She let's out a few giggles before responding. “Of course you can, all your have to do is ask and I'll do it, as long as you don't get on my bad side that is.” With that we share a laugh. “But we. Must hurry up a bit, we are running out of time. Next tough must choose your arsenal and powers.”

“I'm getting powers!? That's so cool, do I get to choose them or is it preset?”

“You can choose one but it must be within reason.” She replies which makes my smile gallery just for a millisecond as a thought comes to mind. ‘Copycat or void type powers would be pretty kickass… but let's be honest here, being able to copy an exponents powers and summon then at will would be a hell of a lot more useful than some frilly magic power.’

“So I see you have made a decision. And a wise one at that. Just be known that with a power comes a setback, you will only be able to use the powers for a limited time and or have some sort of power source with you to keep from reverting back to your normal self. And to gain the power you will have to touch the being in question. As for your arsenal I believe I can grant you four items to start out with for your journey, so choose wisely.”

“I've actually already have a plan for that, first I would like to make a copy of my winded sword necklace that feeds me whatever power my abilities need to feel running, please.”

“As you wish.”

“Next I would like to have a copy of my moon necklace that will act as a sort of pocket universe that I can pull things and equip them in a sort of pause menus type format.”

“I can do that”

And as I take my necklaces of I put them in my inventory for later. After I put the new ones on.

“For my third price of equipment I would like a pair of handguns of my choosing with 500 rounds of ammunition each.”

“ Now that seems a little unfair asking for so much in one wish now doesn't it?”

“Well Aladdin asked to be a prince and ended up getting everything you saw in that movie with it so I think it's fair game as long as I can fit it in one sentence.”

“Point taken, now just think of them and they will appear in your inventory along with the ammo.” After she says that I begin to think of a pair of Thorns from destiny and a pair of badass dessert eagles I saw from the internet. As I think of them I mentally equip them and they appear in my hands.

As I go though my inventory I see that my first is there from when it came through with me, I sling it over my shoulder and store the guns away. My guitar, a gift from my grandparents for getting a scholarship to college was my pride and joy. It was with me through every gig since graduation.

“For my final wish I would like a guitar case that is equipped with a year's supply of pills that I can take that will quench my thirst, hunger, and act as a healing/reguvinating agent that I can use till I can get on my own feet, a text, a sleeping bag, a pillow and blanket, a survival guide of the local wildlife and it's inhabitants, night vision glasses, sunglasses, a bandana, a knife, flint and steel, rope, a pot, a pan, and whatever else I'll need to survive what lies ahead, all while working on a similar hub as my inventory. ” Since I'm in limbo I don't need to break so I managed to get that all in one sentence.

“That's quite a mouthful there Burt I think I'll manage.” She says as my first is wrapped in a stronger than meets the eye case that has a zipper on it to store things while I can summon anything I put into it into my hands. “And with that we have run out of time, till next time Gary, and please be safe on your journeys.”

“With all that you've given need I'm sure I'll do fine, thank you very much for all you've done for me.”

“Your welcome, but now youth must go and brave this new world. And with that I began to feel a tugging sensation as my feet started to burn away in a similar fashion as to how I got here.

As I began to remain my vision I saw what had to be one of the ugliest creatures I've ever seen

Author's Note

Here's the links to the pictures I wanted to use during the fic but my phone wouldn't allow me to. This is the pentagram http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m587/MightyMicah/09064ADF-B7EE-469D-BEE2-DE74A03827DC-2590-00000423F0B88725.jpg
And Here's the guns
Desert eagles:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/cf/00/c3/cf00c337b0dc6d9847718f2d6d57e280.jpg
And here's the second
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/cb/64/7a/cb647aa7c77d7d014ed88d0a31930d7b.jpg
And last but not least the guitar
http://store.shimamura.co.jp/img/goods/L/4515303494884_LRG.jpg
As of those who are wondering what that knife will look like I haven't decided on that yet, so feel free to give me examples in the comments below. Thank you all for reading and have a good one. Currently working on new chapter as you read this. It's gonna be about 3,000 or so words by the end so be in for a treat.

Chapter 1

Now when I say this thing was ugly I'm putting it lightly, I mean this thing has an unnaturally long snout, arms of a primate, what looked like the body and back legs off a dark and light blue lion, and had a tail with a hand on it, a fucking hand! Then there's the eyes, they were in the end of the snout, and right below our was a tiny nose and below that rows upon rows of sharp teeth. It was taking every bit of self control and keep a stone face as I looked around the room, to my left and front were these creatures best described as dogs from looking at them, although they resembled really deformed hunchbacks which made me laugh on the inside. Although there were some that actually stood up straight.

To my right were these strange humanoid equines with horns. They were chained by their ankles and wrist to the wall to the right of me and looked utterly exhausted. They were panting heavily and bent over while sparks flew from their horns. After counting there seemed to be a dozen or so in here, hard to say with the lighting and the distance. After about two minutes of looking around the creature in front of me spoke up.

“Well you're certainly not what I expected when I read about a being with divine power.” He gave me a scrutinizing gaze as he looked me over. “Frail, thin, barely any fur, no claws, seriously what do I have to work with here! You probably couldn't even take on a diamond dog pup!”

‘ So that's what they're called, whatever I've had enough of this shit.’ I thought as I summon my yellow painted desert eagle and take aim at his head.

“Keep talking and I'll rip you a new one.” Short but sweet of I do say so myself.

Ahuizotl replies between his laughter
“And that...little gun is supposed to be your weapon. It's nothing more than a slab of shiny metal!” He laughs out. As I look around the room again I see one of the dogs guarding the entrance drop and get dragged away by what looks like one of those humanoid equines only it has… wings? ‘Considering the others are in chains at this point I'll play along.’ I think to myself as I discreetly summon my other DE to my left hand. I keep my gun pointed at the creature in front of me as I spoke.

“Why did you bring me here?”

“Well, I brought you here so you could assist a fellow being off destruction in my plans to take over this pathetic world.” I squinted my eyes and put a bit of venom into my voice with my reply.

“Whoever said I would help you? Ever stop to think about what would happen if I didn't cooperate, if I was just a killing machine built to lay waste on every living thing I see?” I say as I flick the safety of and take aim with both guns. He takes a tentative step back as he finally comes to terms with how horribly thought it his plan was. “Now you're going to show me the way out or I'll make you, got it?”

“Guards seize him!” When there's no retaliation he turns to see that his guard aren't there, and that's all the opening I needed. I dove and took him to the ground pinning his arms to the side as a put my guns away. Using my left foot I smashed his tail hand with one foot while slamming my right knee into his torso. As he's gasping for breath I put him in a choke hold while holding his body close to mine with my legs. He was thrashing and I'd be lying if I said I came out without a scratch, her tore up my abdomen with punches from those powerful arms but I held on tight knowing I was there for the long hull, after about a minute his thrashing got slower and he went under.

I let go of him and went to stand up only to fall back down again. I reached into my inventory and took out a pill and popped out in, it tasted like freshly picked strawberries. I could feel my wounds closing and the bruises fade away as the pills did their work.

“Hello?” Came a female sounding voice from behind. I whipped around and took in my surroundings. The thing in front of me was wearing a thin brown jacket, equally brown snow pants, and a safari hat that covered most of her hair. Hey hair being a mix of black and grey was messy and matted to her forehead with sweat. The… well they look like unicorns if they were anthro...so the anthro unicorns were all huddled together no doubt trying to conserve body heat in this frigged cave. Looking behind me I see that the pentagram that was there moments ago had mysteriously vanished. As for the diamond dogs, they were all laid down with various levels of dents in their helmets. ‘Quick and efficient, at least someone here has a brain.’ I think to myself as I look around the cavern.

“Hello?” She asks again a hint of annoyance dropping into her voice.

“Yes, sorry, just taking in my surroundings. I'm Gary, and you are?” I ask holding my hand out to shake hers.

“I'm Daring Doo, but what are you?” She asks a bit of disgust seeping into her voice.

“I could all the same about you there Miss.Doo.” I reply not letting her attitude get these best of me.

“Well I'm a pony, although I've never seen anything like you during my travels, are you some sort of hairless ape?” She asks, walking around you. She goes to feel your hair but you move away.

“No touching, ok?” You reply beginning to be annoyed that she would just feel you like that. But then that reminds you. ‘I could get wings out of this. ‘ An idea starts to form in your head. ‘Yeah, that might just work’
“Hey, do you have any tinder? We could set up camp here. I've got food just no way to keep everyone else warm.”

“Yeah, let me just go get my bag, I'll be right back.”

“Ok, I’ll search the guards for the keys and do the ol switcheroo so wet don't have to worry about the guards retaliating.”

“Ok, be careful with Ahuizotl though, he's a slippery one.” She yells back as she runs down the corridor. As you go to the first guard you think better off or and summon your rope to tie up Ahuizotl first. The unicorns take this time to try and communicate with you.

“W-what are you?” A female sounding voice asks you.

“I'm a human, though there's no need to fear, Daring and I will take good care of you. Once I'm done tying up Ahuizotl here we'll set you free and help jump-start you on your way back home. How are you all holding up?”

“A heck of allot better now that you two are here.” Comes a low resounding voice.

“Now that's music to my ears.”

As you finish tying up Ahuizotl you then begin to loot the guards. They have various things on them but not much that you need. You did happen to score a pick axe and a shovel though. You left the weapons and assorted goodies for the others though. After finally finding the keys you begin to free them from their steel shackles. After you finish you turn around to be greeted by a hug from one of the female captives. And even if you didn't want to admit it, feeling her breasts press against your chest was amazing.

“Thank you so much for saving us, is there any way at all we can pay you back?” She asks as she grips you tighter effectively pinning your arms.

“Yes, there is.” You reply. “You can ask her out of here safely and return to your normal lives.” She then let's go off you and strides off to the others. There were in all 12 unicorns there, 8 female and 4 male.

“Hey, can any of you help me shackle these diamond dogs too the wall here?”

“Come on guys, let's help this feller out.” With that the guy grabs two by levitating them and shackles them up while the others to the same. You however just throw two over your shoulders and walk them over. After you make a couple rounds you walk around the area of the cavern to see if there are any more. After you check you hear the sound of sniffling behind you. You walk up to the cold mare and drape your coat around her shoulders.

“Thankyou” She says.

“Anytime.” You reply as you summon your blanket. You toys out over to the other mares and you take out your sleeping bag. You unzip the sleeping bag and toys it over to the stations as you set up your tent. The pillow you keep for yourself. So you all wait for Daring to come back as you sit in front of your tent and start to strum a time on your guitar. You had your first modified so it could be expanded into an acoustic and collapsed into an electric, gosh you love technology. As you strum away the sound of shuffling could be heard. You open an eye to see that they've all gathered around you. You chuckle softly as you begin to play Linkin Park in the end on your guitar. The sound of trotting makes you stop as you get up, find drawn pointing at the entrance.

“Hey I'm back, sorry it took so long, almost forgot where I hid my bag.” Daring says between pants. You put your guns away and walk over to help her with her bag. As you set it by the tent you take the tinder that's tied to it and look for loose stones to make there's base for your fire. You find those ready enough and make a small circle in front of the tent in the corner of the cave to conserve heat. You take out thirteen pills, one for everyone else since you just had one after your fight, you handed them out to everyone.

“What are these for?” Asks a station.

“They are nutrition pills, they'll fill you up, trust me.” You say trying to get them to eat the pills. He mumbles something under his breath and swallows the pill. After a few minutes his eyes go wide and he exclaims.

“This is amazing! Where did you get these?”

“From a friend, although I don't think she'd be able to make more.”

“And why's that ol champ?” Asked a posh sounding unicorn.

“It's complicated alright, why don't we all get done rest and we'll head out in the morning. You all can share my tent is you'd like, I'll sleep or here by the fire.”

“You sure you don't want to join us?” Came a reply from the mare who gives you when you first set everyone free.

“Yeah, I'm sure.” You reply with a reassuring smile. She let's out an audible “Eeep!” at the sight of your teeth. “What's wrong?” you ask,wondering what could've scared her.

“Your teeth.” She replies taking a tentative step back.

“Well I wouldn't be an omnivore if I didn't have canines.” You reply.

“You eat meat?” Daring asks.

“Yeah, I'd never easy you all though, I usually eat chicken, beef, steak, or pork, and bacon, god I love bacon.” You say as a bit of drool escapes your mouth, you quickly wipe it up and how nobody saw it. But by then they had all backed away a fair distance. “You don't think I'd eat you do you?” No response. “You're all bigger than me too, and I don't hunt for sport, I hung only for what I'd need. And let me tell you, one of you would lay me about a year, and I've got these pills anyways so I won't exactly be hungry any time soon. You all have nothing to worry about.” You day as you get back to plucking out some more Linkin Park.

One stallion exclaims, “Really everyone, I'm sure if he was going to eat us he would've kept us in chains now let's stop acting like scared fillies and stay by the fire.” as he walks back over to the warmth of my abode. A song comes to your tired mind as you thoughtlessly strum away at your guitar. You put your guitar away into its case and place the case into your inventory for safe keeping. You lay your head down on your pillow and fall asleep.

The next morning you wake to a wall of fur in your face. You bolt into an upright position and look around. You’re in your tent and your movement disturbed the mare that was next to you. Feeling a bit flustered you quickly yet discreetly exit the tent to get done fresh air. As you look around you see that the dogs and Ahuizotl are all still sleeping. You take this as prime time to get everybody moving and get out of here while you still can.

You stick your head into the tent and yell into it, “Alright let's get up everyone, it's time to get moving!” which brings the desired effect. Something itches at the back of your mind, then you remember, I was supposed to try out my powers last night while they were sleeping. You mentally face palm and begin to take apart the tent once they all vacate it.

‘How would I even go about using my powers?

“You could always ask me.” Came the voice of yours conscience.

‘Nice to hear from you again. So how would I go another using my powers?’

“Well all youth have to do is think about something you've touched and your body adapts to use those abilities of that being.”

‘Thanks...um… what's your name?’

“You can call me… Cordelia.”

‘Thank you Cordelia.’

“Your welcome Gary”

With piece of information you begin to think about Daring, her wings to be precise, you slow your breathing, close your eyes, and sit down. You feel yourself grow warmer. You feel a secondary layer being grown over your eyelids to protect your eyes during flight. Then the cream of the crop comes, you almost falter your concentration as you remove your sweatshirt and take off your dress shirt. Then you continue to concentrate, as you do you feel protrusions come from your lower shoulder blades and mid back on each side. Then you feel the feathers grow. As they do so you feel your frame become lighter, your muscles feel less strain as your bones become hollow yet they remain the weight when you feel what parts of the bone you kept grow denser. When tough feel things have stopped changing you open your eyes to be greeted by Daring sitting in front of you with a confused expression on her face.

“Are those… wings?” She asks you.

“Yes, you see my powers revolve around copying abilities of others as long as I touch them in some way, like when we shook hands when we first met”

“Like a changeling?” She asks you, which in return you shoot her a raised eyebrow.

“What's a changeling? Actually just give me a minute, I'm sure it's in my book somewhere.” You say as you summon your book.

{30 minutes later}

“Yes and no.” You say after reading the chapters containing changelings.

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that I can't copy the form of a specific being, I can only adapt to better suit the new-found ability. Like how you can fly, handle temperatures better, and have more stamina, at least compared to a
human.”

“That's kind-of creepy… “

“Yeah it kind-of is. But c’est la vie.” You say shrugging your shoulders.

“What's that mean?” Daring asks.

“It means such is life in a different language back on my world. Speaking of which were are we?”

“I was meaning to ask you about that, you seem to be taking this a little too calmly. It's like you were told you were going here and had time to prepare.”

“Actually that would be because I was gibbon the chance to prepare. How else do you think I would've gotten all these things packed. The summoning on my size took a couple hours. A couple hours in which I shared a lovely conversation with an omnipotent being that became my conscience. A being that granted me 1 power to help me survive on this world and four wishes pertaining to my arsenal. Let's just say I milked those wishes for every drop.” You both share a chuckle at that.

“Why were you going to sleep outside your own tent last night?”

“Because after how you all reacted towards my teeth I didn't want to discomfort you more.” ‘Also waking up to a humanoid woman using me as an extra large Teddy bear wasn't exactly good for the hormones’

“Ok, well that didn't stop one of the guys from bringing you in last night.”

“So I saw” As I say that I spread my wings so I can take a look at them. They have black feathers with dark purple highlights around the edges. The wingspan is about six and a half feet if you'd have to take a guess. “Is it always this warm for you?”

“Yeah, how else would a Pegasus survive while flying?”

“True, true. I think we should get going soon though. If my guess is correct it's winter here and we should go before it gets too cold to venture out.

“I'll prepare the others while you pack up. We'll meet you at the cave entrance alright?”

“Sounds good, I have done things I need to wrap up before we head out. But first take these pills so everyone can have a bit too easy before we head out.” You say as you toss her 13 pills. She nods to you before popping one and walking off to hand the rest out.

Author's Note

That's all I've got time for for now. Next chapter will have a bit more character development on all of the captives. Also Gary's second fight will be coming around. I won't reveal too much but I'll certainly be milking that gore tag for all its worth.

Chapter 2 Author's Note

Action in this chapter, so here's the weapons

Diamond Dogs pickaxes: https://doublebhomestead.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/stt751pickaxe_thumb.jpg?w=465&h=359

Axes: http://www.gransforsbruk.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/4992-British-Trade-Axe.png

Shovels: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/DM-Resize/photos.demandstudios.com/getty/article/250/171/AA027178_XS.jpg?w=360&h=360&keep_ratio=1

Pistols: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Pistolet-IMG_3196-b.jpg

Obsidian Strike:

Chieftain Tack: http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs46/f/2009/187/0/8/Genesis_Rapier_by_alsquall.jpg

Flash Sentry: http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y110/Conan_568/knives/AustrianGreatsword2.png

Shining Armor: http://pre13.deviantart.net/3f9b/th/pre/f/2007/017/e/9/sword_of_power_back_by_stefanmarius.jpg

Daring Do: http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs31/i/2008/197/5/2/Gunblades_by_DigitalMetal.jpg

Sorry to cut it short at the end. Sorry about the short chapter and the shoJt update time but I've been busy. Any who I how you enjoy non the less.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2

As planned planned out by Daring you all began the trek back to the surface. The others, which you had learned their names were (Starting with the mares) Silver Moonlight, an artist, Blissful Sonnet, a singer, with a magnificent voice you might add. Then there was Mini Starlight, an astronomer who was a little on the short side compared to the others. Then there was Starlight Shores, a cartographer. Sugar Crust, a baker who specialized in the pie department. Velvet Glimmer, a seamstress. Charm Hoof, a radio hostess. And last but not least Electric Diamond, she invented a way of storing electricity into diamonds in which she upgraded the current magic driven power source to an electrical.

As for the guys, there were still two that were pretty stubborn towards accepting you. Those two were Shining Armour, the captain of the royal guard, who got pretty butthurt when you asked how he got captured. After he just huffed, turned his back to you, and left… jackass. The other was his second in command, Lieutenant Flash Sentry, apparently he's in a relationship with Shinings sister. Or so I heard from Charm Hoof. The other guys that were there were a tad more accepting even if they were a bit tense while you were around.

The first was a more posh station named Chieftain Tact, he works as a tactician in this placed called the Crystal empire or something like that. Must be famous for their mining. Anywho, the other guy was named Obsidian Strike, a dragon slayer. That there sent chills down my spine. The fact that there were dragons here, what other mysteries does this world hold? Next thing I know I'll be seeing friendly ghosts named Jeff.

Although once he said that a couple of the mares and stations have his dirty looks while others looked the other way mumbling amongst themselves.

‘So I’m gonna take a shot in the dark and guess that dragons are sentient by the reactions. So he must be some kind of hitman to dragons or something?’ Anyway getting back on track we were nearing a large wooden door that looked like its seen better days. The panelling wood slabs appeared to be warping due to the moisture of the caves and the metal was rusting under the effects of time. Daring, who was leading at the front stopped at the door looking at it quizzically.

“This wasn't here when I went to get my bag earlier.” Daring thought out loud.

“What do you mean it wasn't here before?” Asked Shining as he made his way to the front. “Doors don't just appear out of the blue you know. “

“I am very much so aware of that Captain Obvious. “ Came Daring response a hint of annoyance coming to her voice. “I'm just skeptical about what would've caused a door to just randomly app-”
As she tried to finish her sentence a group of five heavily armoured dogs holding what looked like rusty swords, pickaxes, sharpened shovels, and primitive looking flintlock pistols that when shot held surprising accuracy for the model. Shining unsheathed a glistening sword from his hip and what looked like a glock that had a purple trim and Shining written in an elaborate cursive on the left hand side.

Beside him Flash pulled what looks to be a generic broadsword from a sheath strapped to his hip and a similar glock to Shinings, excluding the designs of course. He took a ready stance standing just behind his captain as they slowly move over to the mares to cover them. Not wanting to feel left out Sir Tackt unsheathed his rapier standing alongside Flash guarding the mares. Daring however pulls two, and I shit you not, gunblades. She pulls out two works of art that are guns attached to a blade, and to say I was astonished was an understatement. I quickly looked away to survey the rest of my surroundings, seeing Obsidian pull a blade similar to Flashes out only just like Darings, has a firing mechanism attached. Not wanting to feel left out I summon my guns and take aim at two dogs with a Thorn in one hand and a
D.E. in the other. The dogs snarl at us and make a demand I can't stand to hear.

“Give us back our slaves foul demon, we captured them, which makes them ours!” Growled a diamond dog standing a proud 6’4 and welded a pick in each hand with a flintlock strapped to his left buckle. He stood at the front of the pack. Stating that he's clearly the “Alpha Male” of the corrugated dogs of this mining cave. But rather than let you talk Shining decides to make himself spoken.

“I am the captain of the royal guards, And prince of the crystal empire! What makes you think we'll be leaving without a fight?” Shining calls out to them. You promptly step in front of Shining and stare at him bringing your finger up to your lips signaling for him to be quiet. He gives you a look then much to your displeasure, says.

“Step aside human, your frail body will have no use here.” He says as he tries to push you aside, but you stand fast. You then sheriff him off and turn to the diamond dogs.

You brought you voice a few octaves down to seem more intimidating and spoke.

“And what pray tell gives you the need and the rights to use slaves for your bidding?” The dog smells at you and reports with.

“Step aside, we only want them, but if you're of use you will soon join! As for why? How else do you think we fend off the dragons? We take pony slaves, we mine with them, we pay dragons, they don't eat us. Now stand aside before I blow your brains out!”

You contemplate that as you lower your guns a bit, then you ask something you're certain you're going to regret. “Where are these dragons?”

“Yes, bring me to these dragons. I shall make them bathe in their own blood and regret the day they were born.” Growls out Obsidian

Shining decides to quickly abolish the thought. “Aren't you a dragon slayer? Think for a minute, dragons are apart of houses. You mess with one, you get them all. You can't possibly manage to take on a dragon house like that.”

Obsidian just grips his sword tighter and grinds his teeth. You however would like to rethink your ‘genius’ plan.
‘Welp, fuck that plan.’ You think to yourself as you quickly try to formulate a plan of attack against these mangy mutts. There's three blocking the exit from behind, one in the middle of the hallway, and two more about six feet to his right and left. The one in the middle holds a shovel and has two flintlocks strapped to his hips. The one on the right looks like an even bigger version of Hulk Hogan, with an ice sized pick in one hand and a axe in the other, although as you examine you notice he has no cranial defenses. You mentally smile at that as your eyes flick over to the one on the left. He looks like the rut of the bunch, though you decide on taking him out first as he is dual wielding flintlocks along with two more strapped to his hip along with what looks like magazines strapped along his chest. With this info you suspect he's a marksman, not strong enough to use a sword but enough to handle the kick of a gun. You flick your eyes over to the two in front of you. The leader has a similar build to the behemoth behind you, only he seems to be smarter than he looks. The dog beside him looks to have a similar build to Shining, fit, yet not overly fit, like a marine. He is wielding a flintlock in one hand and a hatchet in the other. He has a creepy smile equipped and looking words you licking his lips once he saw you looking at him. ‘Gah, that's creepy!’ You think as you quickly avert your eyes back to the gunman, who is now pointing his guns at you and Obsidian. You decide enough is enough and want to settle this for good. Besides you have questions you want answers to, like where the duck you were, what they did to ‘summon' you here, and most importantly why? So you speak up.

“What about a compromise?” You ask, your mouth feeling dry and your palms sweating a bit as you await a response, a response that never comes due to Flashes brashness. Flash decides to throw in his two cents as you patiently wait seeing the leader think.

“Buck that man, I just wanna get out of here! Let's just kill these no good bastardy and get out of here!” To this with lightning speed the dog behind you whips his pistols firing one off shooting a round into Flashes left calf. At that you froze, sure you've used guns before. You've even done paintball in your J.R.O.T.C. class. But this is real, time seemed to slow as Flash fell to the ground. With adrenaline pumping through your veins you make a five for a nearby crack in the wall, slipping your bags into your pocket dimension you easily blend with the shadows and take aim. The mares are putting up a fight, Starlight Shores is leading the girls back down the corridor while Daring is providing cover fire, Obsidian is rushing the furry Hulk Hogan while Sir Tackt is carrying Flash behind a particularly large rock in which he starts to remove the wound with his magic. Shining alone has taken out the marksman who is now bleeding profusely as he clutches onto his bleeding stomach his flesh torn from the piercing bullet fired from Shinings glock. He scrapes at the wound in a desperate attempt to remove the bullet with little luck as he is just making it worse, a puddle of blood slowly tainting the stone around d him a dark crimson. His companion stands in front of him clashing blades with Shining as the remaining two take potshots at the fleeing mares. Deciding you'd had enough of this foolish pussying out you take aim with your
D. E. and fire a shot at one of the diamond dogs taking potshots. It soars over his head as you had fired too high. You calm your nerves and take aim is now more this time scoring a grazing hit to the back of his head. He roars in pain as the bullet tears through the mixture of fur and flesh, blood splattering onto the face of the dog beside him. He falls to the ground clutching the back of his head at an attempt to slow the bleeding. You take this time to fit another shot at him, taking slow and easy breaths, you hold your breath and fire of another, this one blowing a goofball sized hole through his skull. Cranial matter splatters over the dull gray stone and across his compatriots torso as he bares witness to suck an account. You watch as things seem to show down as you watch the bullet do it's work, you're eyes flicking to the dog beside him staring in a state of shock, fear, and admiration for the guns damage. The look quickly erases as you quickly take aim and dish out a similar fate as he joins his corpse of his friend beside him. You switch your attention to the Alpha that Shining is fighting. He and the Alpha are at eachothers throats, their swords clashing so hard that they occasionally spark as they slide off each other. You can't get a clear shot, they're moving too much for you to do something without risking Shinings safety. ‘I have to get closer.’ You think to yourself. You dash over to a nearby hole, pressing yourself at the edge, giving you cover for your back and bringing you closer to the fight. Now that you're were closer you could see that Shining had a gash going in an upward diagonal curve across his chest and was bleeding profusely. You could see the strain with every swing that he was slowing down. ‘Gosh dammit, what should I do?!’ I couldn't exactly run up and join in, I would be most likely either get shot by the guy fighting Obsidian, or get stabbed by the Alpha. Not to mention I don't even have a-

“Your knife dumbass.” Came the voice of Cordelia.

‘Well it's good to hear from you again.’ You mentally snap back at her. You pull mentally pull out the knife and gawk at it. ‘Oh you spoil me so.’ You say as thanks as you start to sneak around to get behind the Alpha. You feel her smirk in your mind, you don't know how but you do. Feels weird too. As you make your way around your see that Daring and Obsidian are pressing back again the behemoth. You smirk at that and continue your advance. You make it to the point where you're almost directly behind him. You wait for a minute, silently apologizing to Shining for making him wait for so long. You see your opening when they come to a standstill. Their swords pressed against each other as they snarl in each others faces. You take this opening and rush up to the Alpha, plunging your knife into his neck and quickly tanning it sideways, spreading the growing hole forming on his neck. Blood paints Shinings face, mane, and arm as he blocks blood from getting into his eyes. He let's out a sigh of relief as he looks around at the outcome of the attack.

Chapter 3

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 4

You wake up with a pounding headache, cradling your head as you sit up. Your vision pushing in and out of focus. you try to move your arms to get up but find your movements sluggish and hazy, like you had just swam for miles on end nonstop. Your upper back especially hurts, where you had grown out the wings yesterday while you experimented with your powers, least to say your body felt like you just went twelve rounds with a group of chimps. You just let out an exasperated sigh and try to reach for your locket. You open up the book and your mind is delved into the pocket dimension. You look around at the stelliferous background and observe your inventory. You seem to have all of your items with you, but something that irks you is the numbers that appear in the corner of your peripherals. It shows a fraction, the numbers presented showing 134 lbs/230 lbs. Confused you look over your belongings once more and notice that after picking up your knife you see the weight appear in the corner of your peripherals. Your knife weighed in at about 2.5 pounds, with the scabbard came in at about 4 pounds. Nodding you place it back where you found it. You continue to look around a bit, taking in minute details, like the faint red glow that emanates from the bottom of the item once it’s placed on the wall, it appears to be a type of energy that permits the objects to float in the picturesque abyss that replicates a masquerade view of space. The sky above in which you view every night. The beauty in which you take advantage of every evening when the sun sinks below the skyline. But you digress, offering instead to focus on the task at hand and find the wonderful salubrious pills that would relieve you from this torment of pain and allow you to move around in the world that you reside.

You grip the bottle and focus on exiting your inventory, the book closing with an audible click as the magnet holds it closed. A sharp gasp escapes your mouth as you struggle to open the bottle. You want to transform but even trying to focus on it causes a feeling akin to that of a railway spike being driven through your skull, slowly, steadily at some point and jittery at others. You feel your vision darkening as you finally get the bottle open, you splash the bottle to your face spitting out all but one of the pills to your lap as you jerk forwards in pain but as the pill takes its effect you feel the pain subsiding and your vision becoming clearer. You look around at the pills that are scattered around you. You sigh as you start the tedious task of picking up the pills. as you close the cap of the pills they disappear in a burst of blackish red flame outlined with a green hue. You sigh as you look around, then you spot that you are alone in the tent. Confused you close your eyes and listen, searching for any sound aside from your breathing and beating heart. You hear laughter from outside the tent and smile to yourself, the sound bringing an uplifting feeling to you as you make to get up. You put on your coat once more as you step out the tent and into the blinding light of the snow frosted cliffside in which the cave resides. After allowing your eyes adjust you go to the entrance to find the source of all the commotion.

The sight before you astonishes you. A tremendous airship is docked below you, resting at the bottom of the cliffside, residing in the snow laden valley. The cave entrance standing a proud 127 meters above ground gives you a spectacular picturesque view of the land before you. You look down mentally calculating the best way to get down without killing yourself from the fall. You would use your powers but quickly decided against it when you felt the pain in your head from simply thinking about the act. You quickly gather your things, tightening the strap holding your guitar on your back. You, despite the pain, change your nails so they mock the diamond dogs so you can maintain a secure grip on the way down and begin your trek. Brushing your hair out of your face you gradually lower yourself out of the cave entrance, the sheer slope making it nigh impossible to get your footing. As you sink your newly acquainted claws into the rockface your feet search for a crack to slip into. Your boots come up with nothing sadly. You sigh as you mentally prepare yourself for the hell your arms will bring you after the climb.
As you climb you decide to contemplate your position. Interesting as this new world may be you can’t exactly complain. You grew up in the slums of Puerto Rico, having to face with raids of the local gangs, the bastard bullies that tormented you to the point of breaking your legs and beating you within an inch of your life. Then having to receive the fallback of your mother for the hospital bills. Her being a single mother ‘taking care’ of you and your older sister. Her drug and alcohol addictions always taking priority over food and water. Having to get your first job at 7 just to feed yourself and your sister. Working odd jobs along with your job working at the accursed banana farm. Having to skip school just to bring in enough income to get you to the next week. Then your mother's backlash after she receives the news of your absence. You would shovel the shit of the locals horses, having to deal with homework alongside it. The late night studies and waking before dawn to walk the three miles just to be able to catch the bus less you walk the thirty some odd miles to school, cutting through the woods to make the trek shorter. lugging the cheap two dollar backpack that you would have to sew every so often because the seams would tear under the weight of the books the school made you carry. You shake your head, not wanting to continue reminiscing. Realizing you had stopped you hastily continue as to not waste arm strength. Despite your better judgement you allow your mind to wander once again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Gary Age 10~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You smile to yourself as you look at the tickets you were able to buy, three years of you and your mother, although considerably less from her, had managed to save the 1,500 U.S. dollars, had connected with your Abuela, who had moved to Florida many years prior, and had bought youselves each a carryon suitcase that carried your only belongings. You kept in there your 4 only shirts, your 2 pairs of pants, and your 3 pairs of socks. In the bag also had your meager collection of toy cars that you had accumulated over the years from the local church you and your sister would visit for the holidays if you could get the time off of work. You step out of the trunk of the homemade truck, it’s rusty frame leaving small scratches along your legs and arms during the bumpy ride there. Your mother and sister spill out of the front, thanking your uncle as he hugs you one last time, you hugging back as much as your frail frame can. You pray with him for safe travels despite you not being of any particular faith. You had decided that you would look at all the cultures and choose your own god to follow, or you would remain abstinent as you do now. You look into his tearful eyes and wipe them away with, telling him your gratitude for all he had done for you and the two most important women in your life. You turn and walk into the airport, you feel the chilled air of the airport on your face, savouring the escape from the sweltering heat. Your mother snatches the tickets from your hands as she talks with the attendant at the front desk. As she does that however you think about all the new opportunities you would be granted in America. Rumors had it that they didn't have the same sweltering, humid heat on a daily basis, and that the people were so pale that they rivaled the very paint on the classroom's walls. How everyone got to live in a house, and everyone got to eat to their fill, That everyone lived in luxury, and that everyone was nice. On the plane I was terrified, this giant metal cage was what was supposed to carry us over the ocean that separated us from America? I had spent all of my money on a seat in this? I was slightly perturbed and anxious about the whole ordeal, my sister having mutual feelings, but together, hand in hand, we stepped into the plane following our mother to our seats. I had spent the last three years learning english, even to the point of being able to read the books that i had bought from the market, a hardcover book that was called ‘Molly Moon’s Incredible Book Of Hypnotism’ I also bought a spanish to english dictionary to help me along the way. The seven hour flight was spent reading the book whilst my sister looked over my shoulder helping me translate as I read it aloud to her and I. When the plane landed, I couldn’t have been happier to step off, the feeling of the pájaro de metal as dubbed by my sister felt odd, like my stomach was being turned inside out but without the nausea, and when we landed i swore my innards would become my outardes. It was scary, but with being out of the plane we could move freely and when we stepped off we held our carry ons with us as we walked the corridor to get off the plane. Out the gate we met with my Abuela and Abuelo, we hadn't seen them for years and were more than happy to receive the letter stating that we could stay with them till we got on our feet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Gary Age 12~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I live with my father now, an honorably discharged Marine in the military, he has a girlfriend, she's a bitch. She keeps insulting my mother and made fun of my hair. My father wants to marry this woman, i don’t think he should. I have been living with my father for a couple of years now. I was named after him, that would explain why my name always sounded weird when i spoke with anybody in Puerto Rico, It just doesn’t roll off the tongue like i always thought a name should. Alas my english has improved, I am now in advanced classes again. In Puerto Rico I was meant to skip four grades but mother insisted on me getting the social experience. They stuck me in the higher classes but i was disappointed to still technically be in the same grade level, just different classes than all of the other students. The rumors lied. The kids here are just as mean, only their tongues like cobras and their accent odd compared to mine. Over the years my accent has slowly began to fade. My sister still lives with my mother and grandparents as i attempt to survive this winter tundra of Maine. I hate it here but i hated it more with my mother. Here I get a better education than i ever thought possible. The teachers don’t even hit you here, they say it’s against the law but the spoiled brats here probably deserve it. I see them everyday with their fancy phones, their fancy clothes and shoes. I remain in solitude as to not taint myself with their ranched behaviour and racial discrimination. The two most common skin types i have seem here is either white, peach, or surprisingly red. A man i met in public slapped me for asking why he has red. I, confused, simply asked him why as he stormed off callling me a dirty mexican immagrant. I still got bullied. For being different, having a more dark orange skin tine compared to the black and white tones that dominate the halls. I was called a nerd on many occasions. I dont bother to correct them since i guess i am. I keep to my studies and have become quite the bookworm, favouring the Percy Jackson Series on Mr.Riordan's take on how greek mythology would affect today's world. I love it. I remember the excitement when i read the first book, i must read the next, and after that the next. But as i come to a close for the school year i couldn't help but wonder what next year would bring.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Current time~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was torn from my thoughts as a voice finds its way to my ears. I turn to the right to meet the flying form of Daring as she flutters beside me.

“Hey, what are you doing climbing down when you could just fly?”

“Because my powers have become…compromised for the time being.”

“Well i can't really carry you down, no offense.”

“None taken, Now if you’ll excuse me.” You say as you continue your climbing.

“Hey wait, if you don’t mind staying here for about five minutes i'll be back with my friend, he should be strong enough to carry you.”

“Well, i think i’ll keep moving but sure, just please be quick, i may have overestimated my abilities when i had begun this.”

“I know the feeling.” Daring laughs as she flies off.You continue your decent as you wait for Daring and this friend of hers comes. Sure enough, about five minutes later this pegasus with a billowing shoulder length two toned dark green mane and equally dark blue coat come flying to your position.

“Hey there, I'm Cacti Mender, the ships desert ops expert, heard you needed a hand.” he said reaching out his hand for a handshake.

“No disrespect sir but I need my hands to stay alive right now Mr.Mender. But I can assure you it is a pleasure to meet you.” You say, angling your body so you can look him in the eyes. His Face flashed one of mild alarm and disgust but quickly becomes profesional once again. He clears his throat and speaks once again.

“None taken at all, but to get you down both Daring and I will be taking a hand each. Tell me, did you climb all the way from the cave to here? You were only about 38 meters above the ground now and it was around midday. Daring here was on her way to go and get you from the cave, she said something about you being able to fly was it? If so then why aren’t you flying now?”

“Because I was most ignorant yesterday in my actions and am currently paying the consequences of overusing my powers. The most i could scrounge up was altering my hands to grow claws to assist me in getting down.” You reply as you grab ahold of his right hand with your left and swing around kicking off and grabbing onto Daring’s outstretched arm. They grab hold of your arms with both hands and begin the slow descent. You savour the sweat being dried by the cool breeze being blown into your face from the rushing winds. The wind blowing your short cropped hair around. Now that you weren’t in the R.O.T.C. program you held no obligation towards your hair, growing it out was now a must, especially with the cold weathers you were witnessing now. You look over to the guy holding you up by your arm and realize that he’s FUCKING SHIRTLESS. You look at him bewildered and ask.

“Aren’t you cold up here? Cause i’m freezing my ass off up here.”

“Not really, us Abraxan are pretty resistant to the elements, considering we fly at high altitudes with thin air.”

“Interesting.” Is all you state before looking back to the view presented to you. The setting sun radiates the fiery glow off of the snow covered land. You look down and notice that you're about fifteen feet off of the ground, deciding to be a bit of a cheeky bastard you slip on a sly grin as you look over to Daring and tell her. “Well as much as I appreciate the ride I believe this is my stop.” you say as you jerk your arms out of their grip and begin a short free fall to the ground rolling and sliding with your right knee down letting your left drag behind, creating a cloud of snow billowing in your trail. Using your remaining momentum you begin running, taking off on a slow jog, using powerful leaps to go faster with minimal effort. Then going faster till you’re in full sprint. Feeling the wind on your face is a sweet relief for you, reminding you of your runs with your buddies when you would parkour around town, hopping from building to building and having to lose the cops if they ever caught you trespassing during late night parkour. You continue running until you hear wing flaps coming in from the right.

“Are you crazy?! What the hell were you thinking?” Daring yells to you throwing her hand to the sides for emphasis.

“Simple, I wasn't.” You say as you add a bit of boost to your run. You're coming up the side of the airship, deciding to have a bit more fun you aim for a window that's about thirteen feet off of the ground, around you crew members are doing maintenance around the hull of the metallic beauty.
“Daring.”

“Yes?” She responds looking towards you her hat hanging by her neck and hair billowing in the wind behind her.

“Do you think that they would mind if I climbed this thing?” She smiles at the thought, looking back towards the airship, eyes giving it a once over, then looking back giving you a similar inspection.

“Wanna make a race out of it?” You smile back, briefly shaking her hand as you jump up pulling yourself onto and swiftly rolling onto a batch of crates, rolling onto your feet. Continuing your run you jump onto a passing forklift, climbing to the top, and running along it. Moving to the end you hop onto the crates its carrying and leap from them onto the window ledge, swiftly with practiced grace you pull yourself up and lift yourself to the next window leading to the next story in the gargantuan ship. Looking back you flash a toothy grin saying.

“Only if you can keep up.” As you start your ascent up the airship. She gives a short laugh as you continue your climb. Using her wings to boost herself to a similar ledge next to yours she looks over and calls out to you.

“Then let’s get this show started monkey colt.” You chuckle at the phrase and focus back on your climb. You see a railing for a small balcony that overlooks the ground from the airship. Grabbing the ledge you launch yourself from the ledge to the railing, mentally hoping the metal doesn’t give under your weight. Surprisingly it doesn't. Using your arms you pull yourself over, using your feet to kick off from the ledge. You flip onto the onto the ground where you are faced with a bewildered woman who screams and runs into her room locking the glass door separating the two of you. You try to call out for her to stop and that you're not going to harm her when Daring flies onto the balcony beside you and stifles laughter as she calls out to the woman who was cowering behind her couch on the other side of the glass door. Daring scoffs and reaches for the door handle. Opening the door the woman teleports over, grabbing Daring’s hand and teleporting the behind the couch that the woman. You hear a silent whisper argument for about five minutes before they emerge and the woman walks up to you shyly. She extends her hand out to you and you in turn intercept it halfway and shake it, introducing yourself in the process.

“Hi, I’m Gary, I’m a bit new around here if you hadn't noticed.” You jest, hoping to ease the woman's nerves as to why there's all of a sudden a human in her cabin as you release her hand. “But if you would be so kind as to give me yours i’d be delighted.” You take this time to take in her features. Her hair is a cool brown, curling at the tips slightly but for the most part straight, going to what you assumed the middle of her back from the hair you could see from the front. Her coat is a bright yellow. You didn’t notice it before but on her hand was a tattoo of what looked to be a ukulele with music notes pouring forth from the tips of the strings. You steal a glance at Daring’s and notice a similar sized tattoo only hers being a compas rose. Her eyes however are a sparkling blue that seem to pierce you. Her form is a bit on the frail side it seems. Not in an unhealthy way but more of a naturally skinny type. On her neck rests a amythest crystal suspended by a golden chain. She wears a vibrant blue sundress that hugs her figure quite nicely as she begins to talk.

“Hi, my name is Island Serenity. If it's not to much to ask but why were you climbing the ship?”

Daring decides to step in here for this and begins. “Oh me and Gary were just having a friendly race to see who could get to the top fastest.”
“I still think I would've won though if we had kept going.” You jest as you give a playful push with your shoulder.” Daring giggles as she looks to you.

“You wish, I would’ve had you beat in no time flat. Even so, I could’ve just used my wings to give myself a boost.”

“Well that's not very fair.” Giggles Island Serenity as you all share a laugh.

“Well in hindsight we didn’t exactly establish any rules so it was all fair game.” You state as you look over to Daring. “So should we continue our race or get back to business. Because I would like to know if I could speak to the captain about catching a ride to civilization. Less I spend the next couple weeks wandering aimlessly in a new world.”

“Yeah, I took the liberty of asking him earlier. Though he was pretty hesitant when Flash objected, Shining stood up for you and put his mind at ease. But the captain wants a close eye on you, so you’ll be staying in the room across from mine. Shining armour and Flash will be on either side of you and i’ll show you your cabin later. You follow her out of the cabin as you wave a goodbye to Island Serenity and head for what you assume is the captain's office.

Author's Note

Alright, new chapter. Little bit of crappy parkour and we meet someone new! Alright, I'll see you next time.

Chapter 5

As you walk down the hallways you can’t help but to notice the sleek design of the ship. From the inside it looks like a metallic version of an olden style wooden ship. The walls are a sparkling iron that is dulled as to not blind but has a complementing gold crown molding that lines the top and bottom of the halls. at the corners the gold spirals off of the molding and runs down the edge in a loop-de-loop fashion. On the walls lay plates describing the room numbers and floor in which you reside. You are currently walking Down hall D on the Fifth floor. However intriguing the interior design was, you preferred to know where Daring had wanted you to follow you too.

“So where exactly are we going?” You ask as you round yet another corner and Daring walks up to an elevator. She clicks the button on the right of the panels and you both wait for the elevator as she responds.

“Well we’re going to meet up with the captain of this fine vessel. Some things you might want to know however. He can be a bit of a douchebag at times, but you just have to muscle through it. Though however pompous he is he keeps the nobles at bay, however unpleasant the job may be. He’s sort of like an ambassador...but at the same time he contributes quite a bit to the country.”

“About that, i was hoping that after we meet this fellow. That you would give me a crash course lesson on...well this world really. I’ve been here like two days and I’ve only gotten more questions than answers.”

“I think I’ll have to redirect you to someone more...qualified than me at that sort of thing. I’ll show you to her later. Besides she's a huge nerd and would probably be committing scientific suicide as she would say it to not study you.” You suddenly felt a bit uneasy, picking at your nails and adjusting your coat on your back.

‘It’s getting pretty warm in here. I think i’ll take my jacket off.’ With that thought you, now with, at least to you, less effort than it was before you will your jacket away into your hammerspace and instead decide to zip up the black and maroon hoodie. Smiling inwardly that you were able to take the prized posession with you. It was a gift from your father for your thirteenth birthday. The age of the coat giving it a loose fit to your lean frame, your barrel giving it a slight bulge and resting your hands in the pockets of the hoodie, basking in the softness of the inner lining you cad sewn in during your junior year in high school. After all, living in Maine, even indoors you wore sweaters and clutched blankets and were still cold. Other than this year of course. The most you got at one point was a measly six inches. last year you got six feet. WTF winter make up your fucking mind!

-Ahem-

Anywho you were feeling better about your current temperature and were at you look over to Daring, an inquisitive look on her face.

“How do you do that?”

“I use this locket. It was givin to me by a friend as I was making my way over here from my world. But i’m still getting used to it. It’s kind of like having a pocket dimension that organizes things for you. but it hangs on your neck.”

“Fascinating, may I see it?”

“Sorry but no, literally everything I own is in here, what little I do have I will protect till my last breath. Especially my phone. I have some very important...files that I would soon hope to transfer to a safer network.”

“Is that fancy talk for you having your porn stash saved on your phone?” She looks over giving you a sly but cocky grin. You try to keep yourself together but soon join her chuckling as it grows to full blown laughter. Sadly your fit had to come to an end as the elevator doors opened and you both stepped out. Daring leading the way to the captain’s office. You look over, stifling your laughter to answer her question.

“But in all seriousness, no, that's not why my phone means so much to me. I have pictures of my family and friends that I had and if I’m to be here for the rest of my life than I’d rather not let the sands of time obscure them from my memory.” She doesn't say anything but rather gives me some quiet time as we make our way over to the captain's’ quarters. We walked in silence until we came across Chieftain Tackt.

“Why hello there madam and good sir, how are you two this fine morning?” He asks as you with a grin as you almost bump into each other as you turn a corner.

“Hi Cheif, hows it going? Where you off to?”

“I’m just headed down to the kitchen to start on my gumbo, you know how everyone on the ship loves it.”

“Yeah all 376 of us, and I’m guessing thats whats for lunch today?” She asked licking her lips and her eyes sparkling with a faint hunger in them. You let loose a small chuckle as you look over to him to receive your answer.

“I was actually going to make it for dinner, after all, it takes time to cook enough for everyone here. The chefs are already working around the clock as is, wouldn't want to overwork the poor lads and lasses.” Chief said as he began to walk down the hallway once more, leaving us to our business.

“Catch ya later!” Daring yelled out after him as we continued on our way. As we rounded another corner a thought occurred to me.

“Wait, you said gumbo right?” I asked giving a perplexed look.

“Yeah why?” She asked giving a curious look my way.

“Isn't gumbo primarily meat or shellfish?”

“Yeah, he makes two batches, one for the vegetarians and one for the meat eaters like the griffins and thestrals.”

“Cool, but if that's the case then why were the others so scared of me when I told them I ate meat?”

“That’s because they’re civilians. Safe and sound living their xenophobic lives. Honestly if it wasn't for their stupid princesses they would be one of the world's largest trade centers, making them economic powerhouses. Instead their princess keeps their borders closed because a criminal from the draconic lands decided it’d be fun to reign havoc on the precious princesses land. Now that draconicus is encased in stone and has been for over 997 years now. So now they always pull that card as their reason yet their territory is smack dab in the middle of all the others and unless you want to get arrested for trespassing you have to go around or by sea, which no one wants to do because it's a five day to week voyage and the walk is twice along, and with the beasts that dominate the outskirts due to massive amount of manna that pools in that one gigantic area the walk makes the risk of death thrice as likely.”

“Pardon me for stopping you but aren't you a pony? I mean, everyone has their own beliefs sure but i would’ve thought that with you theoretically being born and raised there wouldn’t you have suscept to the...corruption is the best word I can find for that but why do you have different views?”

“Yeah, I suppose I can see where you’re coming from but we’ll talk about it later, let's let the captain know you're here.” You stop in front of a door, you're near the front of the ship if the curvature of the hallway is anything to go by, the walls coming to a slight point as they stop at a wall that has about a 4 foot difference from the end of the hallway to the right side of the door while looking towards it. Daring knocks on the door using a rat-a-tat wait three seconds ratti-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat wait three more seconds and repeating. Inside you vaguely hear a voice call out for you to come in.

As you walk in you take in the office/living space. It has crown molding that lines aqua walls in a very simple room. Which comes at a slight shock as all the captains in the movies usually have extravagant rooms with decour covering their walls and furniture. In this room the captain had a gun rack displaying many different guns that caught your eye, they were certainly one of the finer quality that you’ve ever seen throughout your life, short as it may be. You're pretty sure you saw a SAW that resembled a M249 but was modified to have a chrome finish with what looked like polished smoked hickory finishes. You couldn't help but admire the captain's choice in arms and nodded your head in approval. Turning away you take notice of the full sized bed with its satin sheets and silk comforter, the comforter dyed a deep bright red with an anchor decal in the center with seven stars surrounding it. The bed has a nightstand with a lamp, both fairly basic. But a nice black on gold finish that complemented the are nicely in your opinion. The map table in the center of the room held a fairly large map at around 6’ by 7’ or at least that's what you guessed by how much spilled off of the sides.

“Hey Capt, how’re you doing this fine day?” The captain was currently looking out a large window that panned across the wall facing the bow of the ship.

Author's Note

Hey, I'm off of hiatus, time to hop back on this rolor coaster of entertainment and crack into my wells of imagination. Future chapters will most likely be no longer than 2,000 words but I'm going to try to post around three times a week or so to make up for this story being up for six months and only having seven chapters with 16,000 words give or take. Anyway, as usual I hope you have a nice day and I bid you, adieu.

~PL101

Chapter 6

Warning, this chapter is solely backstory. I had a bit of writers block and figured some background information on the main character might be appreciated. Sorry for those who wanted more on the Equestrian front.

My team, ready to siege the apartment were blown off of our feet as we rounded a corner only to be blasted with an earsplitting boom from the soundwave gun that shot them against the wall disorientating them and forcing them to drop their guns as I struggled to keep hold of mine as my vision blurred, my goggles cracking and my ears bleeding. Our part in the siege was a total fail, my comrades had since been executed when interrogated for answers and I knew I would soon share a similar fate as we had been stripped to nothing but our drawers or skin in the case of Jackson, codename Fireheart, as he went commando. I could tell that they were done with good ol’ Fireheart as his muffled screams were silenced when the hammer made contact with the bullet that took the friend of a good man. Family of five and an honest wife he was a very content man and his kids adored him. If I were to survive this endeavour then I would be the first to volunteer to tell his wife about the death of her husband. I felt pressure on my back that soon exploded into pain as I stifled a grunt threatening to leave my mouth as the bastard ran his razor sharp knife across my back easily cutting through the layers of skin and piercing into my flesh, leaving a burning like no other i’ve ever felt from a knife cut.

“You like that?” Said a cocky voice from behind me. His arabic accent not lost on my ears as I fought through the pain. “It is layered with a neurotoxin. Won't kill you, but excruciating. Though I’m not at liberty to say what it is as I don't know. It is a chemical of his own design. Worked well enough on your comrades though. Had the girl rolling on the floor in pain.” He then came close and I felt his pungent breath tingle my ear as he whispered, “They’re having a great time with her now.” He said as I could practically see his nauseating grin from behind my blindfold. I just bit my tongue as I refrained from speaking to him as to not loose my temper. I vaguely struggled against my binds as I fought to get my fingers around the knot. He realized this and with a quick slash what's left of my pinkie finger was naught but a stub with a bit of shaved bone visible and susceptible to the elements. His tone icy he growled into my ear, “I wouldn't do that if I were you, less you want to lose more than your pinkie.” I merely gave quick but controlled breaths as I fought to keep my screams of pain on the inside while my nerves reeled and bucked at me as the neurotoxin took its affect, my pinkie feeling as if acid was being dripped onto it as it throbbed. I heard his footsteps as he turned and walked a few steps to face me.

“I have questions as you may know, and don't even try to claim that you don't know. Because i've done my research, and I know that you know. Now, let's get started shall we?” It was at this point in which II was mentally panicking. The only thing me and my team knew about was a recent project called Project Reach. Basically the guys down at N.A.S.A. decided that one universe to study wasn't enough and when focussed teleportation was invented they decided to use that technology to attempt to open bridges to different universes. They weren't sure which universe the would try to go to first but were actually able to make a sort of looking mirror from what i've found out. They have managed to make audio contact and what we’ve heard is certainly interesting. Though why might they choose my team to know? The thing is, they don't, only me, and now I’m about to get tortured till I give away information to them. My brain goes into overdrive and I try to think of something that I could do to either get away from them or if I can, apprehend them and bring them forth for justice. Not just for my friends and myself, but for what he might also know. Like who he's working for and why they decided to wage war on us. As I think he just slowly walks around me, dragging his blade, leaving cuts here and there. It takes all of my willpower not to show any signs of pain as my breathing slowly picks up. If I had to guess i'd gander about 37 cuts are along my back, chest, arms, and thighs. I lost count after I decided to think. Speaking of which, I think i've got something. It would require a hell of a lot of luck but even if I fail it would be better than what's going on now. I slow my breathing more so, and focus on listening. I listen for his footsteps as I ignore his questions. His yelling is throwing me off but I hear a small grunt of exertion and hope for the best as I quickly turn, throwing my arms up and while silently hoping that the knife will at least cut the rope a bit and not slice the arteries in my wrist. My hope is short lived as I feel the searing pain of the knife flaying the layers of my skin. Though as I expected a slow and gruelling death as quick as the thought came it left when I felt the rope fall from my wrist. I rip the blindfold off of my face and take a few steps back and roll to the side as he tries to slash at me. I kick him to the side and look around the room. Fortunately he was too stupid to have anyone else in and it was just me and him. He slashes at me again and I roll out of the way, grabbing the cut up rope I begin wrapping it around my knuckles as he charges at me, this time he stabs me in the bicep. I feel my muscles burning from the exertion as adrenalin pumps through me. He removes the blade, a wicked smile coming across his face with those yellow crooked teeth.

“You like that soldier boy? If you give up now i’ll make your death quick.”

“I'm encouraged to think you're lying, so no, no I won't.”

“Suit yourself.” He said as he gave me a snarl before throwing a punch with his left while rearing back his right that held onto the accursed blade. I slapped his fist out of the way as I grabbed for his right arm, grasping his wrist in my grip. My strength overpowering his I twist his arm behind his back and dislocate his shoulder making him drop the knife. He yells out in pain cursing at me in Arab as I stagger him back by punching him with my rope covered left fist. He stumbles back into the wall as I run up to him and deliver a couple punches to the abdomen and an uppercut to his jaw, throwing the back of his head into the wall behind him. Wanting to finish what I started I grab ahold of his head and slam his head into my knee. Stumbling back a bit myself I walk off the pain as I look over to him. He's breathing but he's laying on his already dislocated shoulder. I’m mean, but i'm not that cruel. I pop his shoulder back into it’s socket and I use a piece of cloth that I rip off of his shirt and wrap his head to cover the cut in the back of his head where he hit the wall. I prop him in the back corner. I search him and find a small g42 glock with four rounds in it and finding a separate full mag on his and seven spare bullets. In total 17 bullets. Not bad if I can place them right. Don’t have to kill them, just have to get out and radio HQ. As I continue to search him I find a keychain, a grenade, and I also take the sheath for the knife. Speaking of the knife it's fairly plain. The highlight of it being its handle. A polished wooden finish that goes nicely with the razor sharp blade. It looks akin to a bowie knife but the blade is about the size of my palm. I take his shirt and his pants leaving him in his draws until I find my stuff. I get ready to leave as I hear the door knob jiggle a bit as I hear keys jingling. I press myself against the wall on the opposite side that the door opens and pull the blade out as I wait for the person to open the iron door. I hear someone cursing in Arab and mumbling about the keys being labeled. He eventually gets the door open as he opens it only to be greeted my new knife to his jugular before he could scream out for his pals. I grab onto him and drag him into the room and close the door only leaving a crack so i’ll be able to get out too. I search him and find another glock, with seven rounds, six in the mag and one in his pocket. I also found a bit of weed on him along with taking his pocket knife and using my knife disassembling it and stabbing it into him burying it deep so Mr. Tourturemister doesn't get any bright ideas if he wakes up. I also take his fingerless glove, putting it on my left hand for the padding when I punch. I take a granola bar off of him and a roll of bandages. I creep my head out and look around. I'm in a hallway with about seven doors total and a dead end on the right. You wait there for about five minutes before you head down the corridor, leaning against the wall as you listen for any footsteps. You take a risk and lean your head downward as you nearly rest your chin on the floor as you peek out only enough so that you can see through your right eye. You see nothing down the corridor but as you look more closely you see a camera that was placed right above the entrance to the stairs. You smile to yourself but that smile quickly vanishes as the camera begins to look your way. You pull back and contemplate shooting the camera the next time it looks away. But the guy watching the surveillance might notice and send someone to fix it or even sound an alarm. Best case you would have enough time to get to a floor with windows and find a way to escape. You didn't want to meet anyone and they could keep all of your gear for all you care, it was all basic stuff anyway, not anything personal. You never understood why people would do that. Like how your commanding officer back at HQ would always carry his custom revolver that he got from his wife for his thirteenth anniversary. Beautiful thing that looked decorative but packed a punch with his hand tooled customized receiver. No one ever saw his losing that thing, and yet it was shot out of his hand along with his ring finger during a siege. Falling with his finger into the incinerator. Couldn’t even be in the same room as that thing without proper protective gear. Burns your skin to char and makes your eyes pop, I would know, Private First Class Jared Foss tried to go in and try and retrieve it. Soon as he opened the door he practically got burned to a crisp. The rest of us suffered from full body 1st to 2nd degree burns and we were a whole 3 meters away from him. We managed to get it shut through a nearby terminal but we were too late and the damage was done. Had we not recovered so quickly we would’ve been removed from the infiltration team. Mostly due to the fact that they are needed at a constant availability for the most effective team. But mines gone now. Taken by the hands of a scumbag ISIS groupie. That's when you remembered something.

“They’re having a great time with her now.”

You mentally growl and turn back around, crouched down you make your way as silently as you could with your bare feet. You walk, leaning your ears on the doors at an attempt to listen where her body was being...let's just not think about that. You make your way to a door that was about three doors down (hehe) and you hear grunting and a wet slapping from inside. You, as silently as you could, unlock the lock. You pocket the keys as you get the gun ready, arming the flashbang you found on the patrol guy you downed. You quickly crack the door open tossing it in and closing the door. You hear it go off and charge inside, your training kicking in as you bash one of the bastards into the wall and slam his head into the concrete wall, a satisfying crack resonating throughout the room as you turn and fire off two shots into the other that was still balls deep in your comrade. You lunge at him and tackle him off of her, ripping his trachea out with your teeth you were so angry, so angry that your vision was clouded with red, and it wasn't because of the blood. The third guy is making a break for the door but a well shot round meets him halfway as the guy underneath you struggles to breath. You growl while you plunge your gloved hand into him, ripping vertebrae along with assorted muscle as you pull out. Gaining control of yourself once more you remember the task at hand and turn back around. Cassandra Gail codename Widowmaker for her skills with a rifle, or more specifically her custom .45 revolver rifle that puts even a Barrett M82 .50 cal. Being the first class infiltration team second only to SEAL Team Six you guys get to use the cool shit, testing the waters for new weapons and gear. It’s a neat job, but the position didn’t come without a price. You may be wondering how i'm only eighteen, yet i seem to have these experiences...well that's where things get...difficult. You see, the younger America thought it would be funny to see how it would be like to see Donald Trump as president. Need’th I say more? I do? Ok then… well he basically wanted to make more than just America ‘great again’. After many failed attempts at taking other countries resource reserves they decided to retaliate. And retaliate they did. Why didn’t the court stop him you ask? Well let's just say he had friends in high places. Killing or bribing higher ups and killing those who got in his way. He turned this great country into a dictatorship. He bit off more than he could chew and we payed the price. Not him but the citizens of said country. He took children, didn’t matter if they were boy or girl. He used them for experimentation. Eventually, while I was in my sophomore year, having skipped grades and only being 11, the man that took me said that I would be a perfect candidate. They had been doing experiments for about three years by that time, hidden to the public. Other countries like Canada, Russia, and especially Germany started to retaliate. The German representative saying that he and his country never wanting to see what happened with Hitler to repeat and that they would do everything they could to stop it. So Germany, leading the charge, declared war on America. While this was going on, I was being trained. They had succeeded. After killing over seven thousand children and five thousand teenagers they had developed a serum that had accelerated the growth and mental capacity of the younger generation. So they started taking children from 12 and up, using the serum and two years of training they were sent out into battle. The serum in layman's terms because I’m too lazy to write down the specifics now, take a child and teenager and speeds up their growth. They become adults in the course of five days of sitting a chamber. They didn't even give you food or water, they just let you sit there. You're still conscious, but nobody ever complains.They kill those ones. They then spend the next two or three years depending on which branch you go into and train you to be an emotionless, remorseless, killing machine. Or at least on the outside. No one would ever admit it because they filter out the weak for the strong but we all hated it. We did what we were told and didn’t think twice. It was kill or be killed. After my training I had ranked the top of my class. I was thought to be a prodigy in my field. I was a corpsman. After two years of service I was put in an unnamed team of seven people. We were told by the general that we were second only that to SEAL Team Six, at the time that excited me. I had read a book about them a few years back, but that's besides the point. My team and I over the next three years were sent on a total of 346 missions. We were eventually taken down, and we couldn’t be more happy. The supposed ‘super soldiers repelled against Trump. We took down the bases, killing only when necessary. We were led by a kid names Jared Myservier. He led the first charge and sparked the resistance needed to take down the hell that we were succumbed to. After learning what America was doing to their children the countries that we were formally at war with took pity on us. Trump however pulled a Hitler and killed himself before they were able to get to him and the others that had formerly run the court system with cyanide lined creps that were dipped in a thin layer of gold. They died dining like Kings and Queens. After the war I decided to go back to school. I met up with old friends that had happened to survive and things were starting to return to how they were before the war.

A little background information but now back to the final mission.

You turn her over onto her back, placing your finger on her neck, checking for a pulse. You let out a breath as relief flows through you. You take the clothing off of one of those ISIS bastards and dress her. You take the ropes they had tied her in and tie her to your back. After checking to make sure she wouldn't fall you take inventory. You had gained a sizeable amount of ammunition now and are no longer worried about that, and even then, you would still be pretty light on our feet with your friend tied to your back. Though you are sorry for having to tie her so tight, her boobs would NOT be thanking you after this, with them being squished up against your back and her soft breath against your neck an- ok lets not think about that for now less you want your little friend down below to hinder your movements. Anywho taking inventory you now have thirty two bullets total, your knife, three grenades, one more flash bang, and a pair of sunglasses. You set the sunglasses on Cass and wrap a cloth around her head blocking off her ears and mouth so she won’t make as much noise or hear as much when she wakes up or if another flash bang goes off she won't be blind or deaf. Or at least as deaf as she probably already is from when you threw the flash bang in there. Not to mention her time in the service. You make your way back to the corner where the camera is and carefully line up your shot for the lense for its circuitry. You take the shot, the gun discharging and sending a bullet flying through the air and hitting the maintenance box. The camera sputters for a few seconds so you fire a second shot. It nails the lense and the camera shudders before the red light dims out and you proceed down the hall, keeping an ear out for any alarms or the sound of footsteps to your area. You make it to the stairway and after waiting a good five minutes to see if anyone would come you head downstairs, the sign to your left telling you you were only on the second floor. You quickly make it down the stairs, your bare feet making your footsteps near silent as you make your way down to the first floor. You open the door to be greeted with an empty hallway. You thank your good luck and then proceed to check for cameras. There is one right above you. You decide that it would be a bad idea to shoot it since you have an open exit and decide to just sprint for it hoping that you’re in the same building you were going to infiltrate as you recognise the layout of the area as the hallway near the supposed barracks and mess hall of the alleged ISIS group. And if you’re correct then this should lead you to the back where you can make your escape and walk to the nearby town of Lewiston. There you can either hijack a car or hitchhike back to base and turn in your report and face the punishment for failing your mission. Probably some time in the shame games, a competition where they filter out the inadequate and keep those only worthy of living as they put it. Along with half rations for a week or two. They will probably make you do double shifts of guard duty afterwards too. So thats nice. Besides it's not like they can use your team anymore, you’ve failed. You’ll be lucky if you don’t get killed after you give your report. They won’t kill Cass though, no, they need the women. And when she turns eighteen, she will be nothing to them than a breeding machine. Meant to pump out more soldiers while the lower class raise them and then take them once they become of age. So i'm not exactly in a hurry to get back home. But then I thought about it. Maybe I don’t have to go back. Maybe we could just leave. Surrender to the Germans and hope for mercy. Or at least save Cass the hassle. So I decided to do just that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~seven hours later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Math for those who want to know my reasoning for the timeframes. I used the Army's smaller but heavily used OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. The approximate distance from Lewiston, ME to Jacksonville, NC is about 969 miles or 1559.45 kilometers. Which divided by the cruising speed of the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior would take it approximately seven hours and fifty minutes, air time to travel the total approximate distance. But with the time it takes to prep the copter, fly it to altitude, plus possible turbulence, my calculations come out to around nine hours. If the chopper was to have a more fuel efficient engine, which my story is based in the future so it is possible, and is not shot down it would be possible for that helicopter to make it to Lewiston, ME, going at a cruising speed of 127 mph or 204.387 kph in a period of nine hours. Thankyou if you read this, it may be an insignificant thing that I could've just thrown in random numbers but its the small things that count. Not to mention that not many people consider how much works goes into writing. Plus in the future I would like to try to make my story as mathematically accurate as possible with my intelligence.)

I’ve been walking for seven hours now, I’ve finally made my way to the town of Lewiston. I’ve since untied Cass from my back and instead made it look like i'm giving her a piggy back ride. Not that i’m complaining and I bet her breasts feel a lot better about that as well. It's about ten at night from what I could tell from the position of the moon. I made my way to the local police station. I’m in Maine, this part of the country having been taken over by Canada a few years back and over the years had been built back up and is now functioning again as a seafood supplier and port. The previously lawless place had been restored to its former beauty in a mere matter of years. I made my way to the police station after asking for directions from a cashier in a passing gas station.

I walk through the door, instantly making eye contact with the receptionist. I set Cass down on a nearby bench taking off my shirt for her to use as a cushion between her and the hard wooden surface of the police station. I then walk to the front desk, the conversation is as shown.

“Helo sir, how may I help you?”

“Hey, look, I just want to say that i’m sorry for what i’m about to tell you. I’m a soldier made by Trumps experiments. I brought a fellow comrade after we failed our mission of infiltration.” You say as you rest your elbows on the counter, resting your head in your hands. “I don't know if you know what they’re doing there. But if anything, when we are defeated, take pity on the young. You may not believe me, and that's okay. But they have been doing awful things to their troops. They have developed a serum that accelerates the growth of children. So while we may look and sound like we're in our twenties, we’re not. I can’t say much else but all I ask is that you take my friend Cassandra, and give her pitty. I have to go though. Someone has to take the blame for our failures. And I won’t let her suffer any further. So all I ask is that you help her get acquainted into society. Let her live the life she deserves. And keep in mind that she’s really only 15. She was taught for the past three years nothing but how to kill and fight. I don’t care if you try to kill me for who I am and what i've undoubtedly done. But know that I am trained to combat forces greater than me. Now if you’ll excuse me. I have to go now, who knows how they’ll react when I get back. They’d probably kill me for failing. And I don’t want that for Cass. Thank You for listening. I’ll be heading out now.” You say as you start to back up to the door, not letting your eyes off of the receptionist so she doesn’t try anything, keeping your hand on the grip of your gun. You lean down and run your hand along Cass’s face once more before stepping out of the police station. Once I rounded the corner I heard the tell tale noise of police sirens. ‘Should’ve known that they wouldn’t let me go like that. Probably just scared the poor girl behind the desk. Let's see...that alleyway looks promising.’ You think to yourself as you slip into an alleyway, crawling underneath a dumpster, hiding as far as you can in the shadows without exposing yourself. You wait there for about an hour, the sirens having been long gone. Not taking any chances you decided to wait rather than risk being caught. You feel a pang of hunger as you feel your stomach protesting to the lack of food. You hadn’t realized how taking this situation had been for you. You also needed to find a way to escape the city and go back to base. But the more you think about it the less you want to go. The only real reason you want to go back is for your stuff. You have some things that you can’t replace in there. Like the drawing book from your younger sister, the acoustic/electric guitar from your grandparents that you had gotten not a week before they were killed in a car accident, and the scottish claymore that had been passed down for generations from your family. The heirloom being passed down from your father to you in recent years. These things which were in a bag under your bed in your barracks was a necessity to you to get back. Even if you want freedom, the disappointment of your family morally would make you feel as if you’d thrown it away. With that in mind, along with your hunger, which you ignored. You began to run to the nearest gas station, intending to snag a map of the area and make your way back to the base back in North Carolina. That is, without being shot down. Then, clear as the water back in Puerto RIco, and you facepalm for no thinking about it sooner. You could just fucking call them. Which you do. Once inside the gas station you ask the cashier if you could use their phone. With a bit of hesitation and some convincing on your side they allow you to. You step into the bathroom and make the call to the thirty-six digit number that you were forced to remember as you wait for them to answer. When they do, the conversation goes as shows.

The pre recorded message tells you to type in your seventeen digit identification code. After doing so, you follow the directions to connect to the operative that connects you to your senior officer, which after you quickly debrief him, skipping the part about you saving Cass. He doesn’t have to know, besides you’d never risk her newfound freedom. If they give her any. Hopefully they do. Though you suppose prison would be a cakewalk compared to what you do now. Your senior officer forwards you to the Airman's division in which he dispatches a helicopter that will pick you up in a remote location about thirty five miles from your current location. After formalities are traded you return the phone, thanking the kind cashier, and make your way over to the drop point.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Six hours later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Math: Used the Army's smaller but heavily used OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. The distance from Lewiston, ME to Jacksonville, NC is about 969 miles or 1559.45 kilometers. Which divided by the cruising speed of the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior would take it seven hours and fifty minutes, air time, to travel the total approximate distance. But with the time it takes to prep the copter, fly it to altitude, plus possible turbulence, my calculations came out to around nine hours. If the copter was to have a more fuel efficient engine, which my story is based in the future so it is possible, and is not shot down it would be possible for that helicopter to make it to Lewiston, ME, going at a cruising speed of 127 mph or 204.387 kph in a period of nine hours.)

You ran the whole way, only stopping to catch your breath after a mile or so has passed. You make it to the drop point, waiting there you sit down to catch your breath. You wait for about three hours as you wait for the chopper. After which you see the chopper off in the distance. You wake it down to the clearing they mapped you out to meet in and waited as the helicopter. After formalities and another nine hours of flying you found yourself in the barracks, showering and mentally preparing your verbal debriefing. As you wash yourself, wincing at the exposed cuts that itter your body. The field medic that had been dispatched with them had cleaned and stitched them closed during the long ride where you had gotten some well deserved sleep. You were pretty refreshed physically, mentally you were still dreading what would happen to Cass. I mean, you literally just dumped her there, gave a sap story, and left at gunpoint and a snippet of information. I contemplated trying to call so I could check on her. But I knew that’d be a bad idea. They track and record all the calls that are made through their radio towers. An artificial intelligence drone was programed to monitor all out of state outgoing calls and have them broadcasted to one of the many people monitoring all the lines. The only way to get around that would to have a phone that is either encrypted to block off the drones signal, relaying it false information or to have a phone registered to an underground company. Which is near impossible to do here due to the lack of providers, the number one provider being U.S. Cellular. The briefing took about an hour or so of me explaining everything. I asked for a funeral arrangement and ceremonial gathering but was refused due to funding. ‘If we don't have much funding then why were you assholes eating caviar and sirloin before i came here eh? God damn pricks’ Of course I’d never say that out loud, I don’t want to fucking die, not after all this bull shit. I’ve gotten too far to give up now. The war should be ending in the next couple years now. I just have to hold out till then. The remaining forces we have are becoming cannon fodder. Raised to think that they’re some superior above the rest because they’re American. Fucking despicable. That’s what runs through my mind as I walk down the hall to my barrack.

Author's Note

Hi everyone. Its a Friday and I had some time to type, while I'm at it I may as well give you some insight. I'll be doing drawings for this fic. And it will only be small stuff like dresses and concept weapons so don't expect them to be good. Though some constructive criticism would be much appreciated. Anywho though I'd add some back story to the fic. Please tell me in the comments weather you want to read about more back story or focus on the damn fic since were 20,000 words in and we've only just left the cave. Also sorry for the cut off there,I got writers block on who The captain should be. Here's some ideas to vote on,
I'll end voting on May 4, 2016 Here's the options.

1:Captain is Daring Do's Father
2:Captain is Daring's Mother
3:Captain is OC created by me
4:Captain is OC that is chosen by commenters
And also tell me if you want Gary to do anything special. I'd like to hear your suggestions. Anyway, love you all, criticism is appreciated and please point out my flaws and I will eventually do edits. And last but not least I bid you adieu.

~PL101

Chapter 7

The night was a quiet one, only to be pierced by the steady strums of my guitar as I played and hummed to myself. Unexpectedly I hadn’t gotten a punishment. ‘Yet’ My mind chastised me as I let out a heavy sigh, running my hand through my short hair. I was going to head to bed when I heard a knock at my door. Glancing at my clock, the time reading off 12:38 I was reluctant and confused about who could be there at this time of night. Confused and worried about who could’ve been knocking this late I grab my dagger and approach the door with silent steps. Peaking through the peephole I let out a sigh of relief when it’s only Jaranson. The graveyard shift patrolman chuckles as he speaks, just loud enough for me to hear.

“Oh don’t be that way Gary, I could hear your guitar from the end of the hall. You know curfew was three hours ago, now open up before I write you up.”

“Yeah, yeah, Jaren, just give me a minute.” I toss the dagger onto my bed and disengage the lock and open the door greeting my friend with a hug and waving for him to come inside. I leave the door open to let the cameras that monitor the hallways see into my room, knowing that Carol, who works the feed at night wouldn't call me out, her and I going back to the first day of training. Looking back at my newfound guest I watch as he sits at the edge of my bed, resting his rifle down and relieving himself of his heavy chestpiece and helmet. Setting them to the side and on the floor. He looks up at me tentatively before speaking.

“I saw them clearing out the rooms of your teammates. I don’t think I need to ask what happened. I just want to know. Was it quick?” At those words you quickly looked away, tears threatening the edges of my eyes. He stood up, embracing me as I cried into his shoulder. We sat down as I let it out, the truth behind my eyes not wanting to make itself known. But I knew I had to, Jaren deserves to know, His brother Carson a victim of the massacre of my team. We sat there for about five minutes, me crying into his sturdy shoulders as I gave his midsection a squeeze of appreciation as I looked up to him.

“T-They didn’t even have a chance. I led them in, I-It was my fault that they got blasted with that damn sound cannon. I’m sorry J but no, they did not end quickly. A-And Cassandra, she’s behind enemy lines, I dropped her off at the police station, asked them to get her the help she needs. I don’t even know what fate I left her to. I should’ve just brought her back with me. I just hoped that she wouldn’t have to deal with this hellhole anymore than she had to and could live her life. But i’m just a horrible leader, and a goddamn idiot.”

“No, no you’re not. Think about it this way. Cass might be able to live a better life now because of you. Besides, they’re only gone if you forget them. They’ll always be with you, even if you think they hate you, how could you have known that they’d be waiting for you. Besides, That kid Jared Myservier, he’s up to something I know it, damn the whole camp knows it, all except the higher ups. He’s been talking with the Germans. They say he’s an undercover operative. But I call all that a bunch of boulderdash. Though I have been hearing odd clicks coming from inside his cabin at night while walking my shift. I’ll keep an eye out but I feel like we’ll actually be doing a lot more than being cannon fodder in this pointless waste of lives.”

“You’re always so optimistic, Though I guess you came here to tell me to go and make sure their things get to their loved ones?”

“Yeah, though I didn't really think it would get to this. I mean, there's a supposed resistance brewing in our own ranks. Our brothers, sisters, friends, family are dying left and right. I never thought i’d live to see the day. Nor did I want to, but here we are. I've got to get back to my patrol but try to get some rest for tomorrow, you might need it” Giving him one last hug I let him put his armour on and he steps out the door and into the dim hallways, his visors night vision providing him with a brightened image of the hallway as he continued his patrol.

You put away the dagger back in its sheath, before taking it out once more. Staring at the grimm reflection staring back at you you contemplate the thought of escaping the harsh reality that has been bestowed upon you. You slap yourself for the thought and roughly sheath the dagger placing it under your pillow as you drift off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Next Day May 2, 2022

am~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your body wakes on its own as was drilled into it as you go through your morning routine of a granola bar and half an apple and heading out for P.T. Afterwards you shower and get dresses in your fatigues and report to the mess hall. Afterwards you report to your commanding officer's office as instructed the day prior. As you walk in you see that there is a sign that states to go down to meeting room 203. You grumble to yourself as you about face and lightly jog to your destination. Once there you see that the door is open and you commanding officer is sitting at the front of the room, behind the podium. You come to attention outside the door and give two loud and curt knocks on the doors frame before walking in as permitted by the simple hand gesture provided by your higher up. As you walk up to the podium you make a half left movement to face him and give him a salute stating your name and rank as you can’t help but notice the dozens of eyes on you. He dismisses you and you in turn take your seat when you are stopped by a hand on your shoulder.

“Gary, do you know why I called you here?”

“No sir, I do not sir. “

“I called you here to use you as an example. A warning for those that fail the core.”

“Permission to speak freely sir?”

“Why the hell not.” You about face and look him right in the eyes, your usual stoic eyes practically flaming with withheld rage and fury of the betrayal before you.

“This core used to be the home of brothers and sisters, volunteers that gave their lives to make others better. Now it's no better than the Nazi Regime.” A swift and hard slap met your face as his calloused hand hit you so hard that it burst the skin. A punch to the gut made you hunch slightly and bring up your hands to defend your face where sure enough a blow met your forearms. You drop to your back rolling back and to your feet quickly while your commanding officer stumbles from a missed punch. He pulls out a knife and throws a focused jab to your abdomen, which is blocked by your right leg as you duck under a swipe from his k-bar. You throw a swift punch to his unprotected throat, the force behind the punch enough to crack his trachea. He back up as he wheezed for air as you dodge to the side, grabbing his arm as he thrusts towards you landing a solid punch to your face. You vice grip his wrist and bring your left arm down, shattering his wrist and making his drop the knife. His breathing steadied he sparta kicks you away from him as you kick away the knife. He dives for the knife as you hit the ground. Sprinting over to you, you kick out snapping his knee backwards as you slide to the side on the ground and onto your side, stopping him in his tracks by tripping him and trapping his left leg in your legs. You jump up just in time to receive monomolecular enhanced k-bar into your shoulder, tearing through the muscle like melted butter, the blade shaving into your bone. You suppress a scream of pain as the blade is ripped out of your shoulder and into your thigh, using the blade to pull himself on top of you as you try to cancel out the vicious pain swimming through your nerves. You headbutt him, dazing him as you deliver a swift punch to the side of his head, holding your lean body away from him, being cautious about the knife as to not plunge it further into yourself. You quickly and unceremoniously yank the blade out, and put it in a reverse grip as he stumbles to his one good leg. What takes you by surprise is when he pulls a Rhino 200DS .357 magnum from a holster you chastised yourself on not noticing earlier. ‘Of course he would have a gun, all the officers here carry one. God damnit now your gonna die from an admittedly beautiful revolver but that's not important. What is is surviving this and getting out of here.’ Adjusting your stance you move your center of gravity slightly to the left as he cocks the gun.

“Look here ladies, all of you. You see what happened here, resistance. The whole point of this exercise is to show what happened to those that disobey, like this traitorous scum has. You see we found out yesterday about a girl, who just so happened to be with Little old Gary while he and his team Failed at their breach. That alone would’ve been treated properly, extra training, reduced rations, longer PT, something to motivate them to do better on their next mission. But no, Gary here went and turned Cass over and ditched her. Then he had the gall to call for a rescue chopper. We know everything that happened. From the interrogation to your little talk with Jaranson. Oh and don't go thinking you can escape. Even if you were to kill me here and now, how are you going to fight the entire establishment on Red Alert!?” He let out a laugh as he took aim at your ‘package’. “You caused me a lot of pain today boy.” He sneered as he lined up the sights. “I see it only fair that I repay you in Full.” You lunge to the left just before the first shot fired off, the bullet embedding itself into your inner thigh as you fling the knife towards him. The knife's handle hitting his forehead, sent him stumbling back as you charge towards him. You disarm him with practiced finesse and unload two rounds into him, one in the chest, another in the head. Looking towards the shocked faces, they began to murmur as you straightened yourself out. Limping over to the medkit you dress your wounds as the cadets sit there. Some too shocked to do anything while others are giving you cautious looks. It was at that moment that the doors of the room burst open and in ran Paisley, his face gleaming with sweat he looked towards the cadets, a simple phrase seeming to set them off.

“It’s time.” He spoke in a curt and firm tone, his order going heard you look towards them as he looked towards them as they began to shuffle through their bags, suiting up in kevlar chestplates, elbow pads and kneepads and armour for their forearms and shins as they primed their weapons. You looked at him questioningly as you ask what was going on, he simply replies with a smile. “It’s time you learned what we were up to for the past few months.” During the grueling process of removing the bullet from your leg he explained how Jared had gotten in contact, sending them information about how the troops were being made and treated. The Germans gave sympathy on us and agreed that those wearing a special insignia that would mark them as blue on their HUD in their helmets would be spared. Those without would be taken down with extreme prejudice. The cadets that had been in the classroom had actually been undercover from the European, Asian, Russian, and German forces to assist in the taking over of the different bases around the country. Their primary targets consisting of taking over the East and West coast. That way they would have Naval and Aerial advantages. Being able to land and refuel during raids would prove to be immensely useful when taking back America. The former enemies had become allies as Jared, a German born boy had volunteered as a teenager to go undercover and his work is finally paying off after two and a half years of living here. He was able to rally a group and with enough spare parts had made a communication device capable of going through the waves unnoticed until it reached its destination. Joking about how the connection was shittier than dial up he continued to explain how they were able over time to formulate a plan of attack and that all you had to do was follow their lead. He also made sure to put an emphasis on leaving no one alive. Said they were too much of a liability. And you couldn’t help but agree with him. He hands you a revamped m16 rifle. The liquid matter gun a new invention on the Allies side. A gun capable of transposing a solution of liquid matter into projectiles capable of traveling at near supersonic speeds without dissipating. A imaginative yet unreliable weapon in your eyes. The gun was still in it prototype stage and usually only lasts about three reloads. Which is about sixty shots. Fifty if you put it on automatic. By then it usually overheats to the point of melting the inner workings if it hasn't already burned your hands. You remind Paisley of that and he responds that they know. And that these were the only weapons that they could get their hands on. You get up, your wounds cauterized and wrapped up appropriately. You ready your gun with your NBDU’s. Your goal is to get to your room so you can get the rest of your armour. Namely your chestplate and helmet. You straighten out your hat and get in formation. Paisley and some other guy are at the front. Everyones at attention as you keep your eyes straight. Waiting for the order to fight. Besides, not like you know anything else right? After a brief rundown of the plan that they had formed they got you in ranks. Those with the heaviest armour at the front lines, able to take more than a couple shots with their level three strike plates lining their body from head to toe. They put on their face masks and helmets and get in formation. Two people on each side of the door, two people on either side of the poor guy that has to open the door. Their guns at the ready they burst through the door, Forming a nine man barrier in the hallway. The soldiers swarmed outside, Bringing collapsible barriers and strike plate shields with straps for their arms. You mentally prepare yourself as they swarm out of the room, setting up periodical barriers down the hallway. The sounds of gunfire reach your ears as you look down at yourself and sigh at your sense of unreadiness. You again straighten your hat and load a round in the chamber. You, being the last one inside peek out the door frame as you quickly duck back in to avoid a stray bullet on route with your face. Deciding to try again you crouch down and stick your head down, your face level with the ground as you look for cover that you can safely get to. The scene before you is less than encouraging. There are a few of your comrades littering the floor with various splotches of bloodspray on the walls. With this you remind yourself of one thing. War is not fun, it is not cool, there is no winning or loosing. Only death. And with that death comes more death until that last form of revenge for another's death is satisfied. You purse your lips as you instead of going through the death trap instead look towards the vents. You know they’re weak but if you ditch the gun and over shirt than you might be able to hazard the climb. You do just that. Not before grabbing the revolver of that sergeant you had to fight. It still had four shots in it. More than enough if you come across a skirmish. You take a chair and set it on a table as you use the sergeants knife to unscrew the screws holding the grates closed. You then pried the grate and climbed in. Only to reel back at the density of the air. The dust making you cough as you got back down. Taking the sergeant's shirt you tied it around your face as you once again climbed in, ignoring the grimy feel of the ventilation. Your small body making it a tight yet workable fit. You climbed to the end of the hallway, taking a couple of turns to get there. You come across a grate, looking through you see a dorm near yours. You kick the grate out and jump down, You sprint to your dorm, The sound of gunfire echoing through the vicinity. You quickly take out your keys and unlock the door, locking it behind you. You gear up in your spare set of gear, looking akin to the old style gear of the 2010’s. You then pick up your dagger, strapping it to your thigh. You grab your pistol, a G43 glock, from inside your box spring. You grab a few spare magazines. In total you carry with you forty rounds. Three magazines on you and one in the gun. With your gear and weapons ready, you feel ready enough to go out. You take a deep breath and with that, walk out the door.

Author's Note

Hey guys, sorry, I'm not dead and this issnt a lost project, just trying to finish the school year with a good academic standing. Though school let's out in two weeks. My goal for the summer is about 3-4 chapters consisting of 2000-3000 words each a week. But those are as such empty promises as I didn't hold to my last goal and utterly failed by going silent on you all. And for that again I'm sorry, again, just trying to get through school and work. Though I'll be sure to get my ass in gear this summer. Love and appreciate all of you, goodnight. Oh and check out my cousins Youtube channel. He does it with a few of his friends. For now they're playing Fallout 4 but they'll be moving onto Metro 2033, Metro Last Light, and Infamous Second Son. Oh, but just don't say that you were sent there through Fimfiction. He's a closet brony and wouldn't appreciate me doing that. Not to mention some of the backstory is based off of him. The parts about Puerto Rico and all that. I'll be sure to label the parts that are real. Oh, and in the future he might do an audio book of my story. He has an amazing deep voice in real life. Even if his crappy headset microphone can't provide it justice. His Youtube channel is PheonixLyrics Gaming. And yes the misspelling is on purpose. Anyway, thankyou all again and I wish you the best

Chapter 8

You wake up with a start. Looking at the ceiling and rubbing the sleep out of your eyes as you stretch your back and neck, the satisfying cracks coming from it causing you to groan in pleasure fro the dissipating stiffness. Climbing out of bed. You’ve been on the ship for a couple of days now. The captain just so happened to be Daring’s mom. Though you were pleasantly surprised that she was a very pleasant woman to speak to.

She would talk to you about the present and past of Terra and any important thing that would get you called out for doing. Like touching a unicorn's horn unless given permission, the same with pegasus wings. You would help out, acting as more of a cabin boy than anything. Helping keep the ship in tip top shape. Anything from helping to raise the sails to cleaning the hull from the scorch marks from stray lightning bolts that occurred from the previous storm you had to fly through. Though you haven’t been practicing your powers as of late considering whenever you try you just get the feeling of pins and needles in your head until you stop trying to summon up them. Something that has you slightly concerned because as you’ve been reading up on the different species on Terra, as it’s called. You currently being in the Northern Griffin Provinces or the NGP. Though the planet as a whole is about twice the size of Earth it is very prominent with the locals.

You were never small at 5’9 and were pretty lean with bigger arms but you were just plain tiny compared to them. You never took it into consideration before. Sure that astronomer you met back was short compared to the rest but that was because she was actually a lot younger than you took her for. Only about 13 as you learned while talking to her while stargazing on the deck. Today you were going to the doctors to get a checkup. The on board physiologist wanting to get a better look at your body for science. He also wanted to give a portion of your blood to a hematologist when you land in about a week.

You head into the bathroom, starting up the shower, you do your morning routine. Though what concerns you the most is that Cordelia hasn't spoken to you for the whole time you’ve been on the ship. Even when you try to talk to her. Now all that's there is just an empty feeling that concerns you pretty deeply since you had been meaning to ask her questions concerning her origins, why you were here, how you were alive, how your friends and family were. Though for now you’ll focus on the here and now. You step out of the shower and wipe the mirror of the steam as you brush your teeth and comb your hair to the side. You dry off and get dressed, picking a simple white tshirt and jeans that you found in the bag that was given to you by Cordelia. You grab your glasses and walk out the door, slipping into a pair of sandals as you walk to the elevator. Pressing the button for the third floor you head to the doctors quarters.

When you arrive you knock on the door, waiting as you bring your hands behind your back. Dr.Tender Heart opens the door, he’s a rather lanky stallion that stands at about 6’7 tall with light blue swept back hair, his hon peaking out of the hairs that go to the middle of his neck with dark purple fur. He has on normal doctors wear and has a clipboard in his left arm. He smiles to me as he speaks.

“Why hello there Gary, nice to see you could make it today. How are you?”

You chuckle as you walk in behind him. “I’m doing pretty well myself doc all things considering. Just wanted to ask a few questions is all.”

“That should be fine.” He states as he takes a seat in his chair as he motions for you to sit on the bed.

“Well you see when I first got here my powers worked pretty well. I was able to summon up as I would and was generally not experiencing any discomfort unless overdrained. Now however all I get is this pins and needles feeling. What do you think could be the cause of that?”

“Well, i’m not quite sure,l but If you want I could always give your system a flush and see what happens, maybe you’ve come in contact with something that your body finds foreign and I could clean it out now, study it, and give your body small doses, gradually giving it larger doses as to build your body's immunity to it and help it to adapt to fight whatever's blocking your powers. Now I’m not saying it’ll work but it’s what I’d recommend.”

“That actually sounds like a solid plan Dr.Tender Heart.”
“Please, call me Tender Heart, we’re all friends here are we not?” “Well than you Tender Heart, I’ll be sure to remember that.”

“If you will Gary, could you lay down with your arms to your side and your head facing up please as I prepare the spell?”

“Certainly doc.” You say as you do what you’re told, laying down you get comfortable as Dr.Tender Heart powers up his horn. You feel the intertwines of magic start to tendril around you as you feel as if something's being physically drained from you. You start to feel your muscles loose some of their mass and your body shrink, you feel your facial hair receding and your teeth become a tad bit more crooked like when they first came in. You feel your hair grow slightly longer. You could feel yourself shrinking, you try to yell at him to stop but your voice is a bit higher than it usually was. When it's all over you lay there, sweating from the physical pain it had put you through as you lay there gasping for air as Dr.Tender Heart does the same, But a shocked gasp escapes his lips as he takes a look at you.

“I don’t think I remember you being quite this small Mr.Gary. Are you alright?”

“I think I’ll be good doc.”You say as you sit up. You look down at yourself and just gaze at how small your clothes look now. Your once very formed figure is replaced with what you can only call a lean but muscular teenage figure. You feel like you had just gone through a time machine and placed in a past you’s body. You to your shock, feel pretty damn good. Just then, with great relief to you hear a voice in the back off your head.

‘Why hello there Gary, sorry I haven't been around lately and cut off your powers but I couldn’t get them to work with that darn serum that they injected into you to forcefully age you back on your old world. At least not without dire consequences as you experienced before.’

‘Well thank you Cordelia, but quick question, just how old am I now? I mean that spell took most of my physic with it, and my voice, and my beard. I mean, I’m physically a whole new person right now. Hell everyone here thought I was a full grown adult from my world, now I've lost about fifty pounds of muscle, my voice is higher, and i’m about an inch shorter. What should I do?’

‘That, is for you to decide, and please, your making the poor stallion panic at least answer the dear.

‘Oh...right. Well thank you again Cordelia.’

‘Your welcome Gary’

“Hello, Mr.Gary, are you alright in there? Did I use the wrong spell?”

“N-No, I’m fine, and you used the right spell. You see, back on my old planet, when I was younger I was injected with a serum to force my body to mature at a rapid rate.”

“Why would you do that though?”

“I would rather not talk about it. Though if I were to guess I’d say that i would have to be around 15 years old now, if not younger.”

‘No you’re right, your body is 15.’

“No, fifteen that's it. Well, it seems like I finally get my teenage years back eh doc?”

“So it seems.” He say with a smile. Backing up slightly to take a seat in his chair. “Never thought I’d do that in all my days. Though I guess I should get rid of the serum that I contained in the jar then?” He asks as he holds up a mason jar filled to the brim with the dreaded liquid.

“In the worst possible way.” You tell him as he sets the jar down on a countertop. “Though if you don’t mind i’d like to monitor its destruction, make sure that it truly is disposed of so it can’t be reproduced or studied. That serum destroyed thousands of lives back on my world. And thousands before it in the creation of it. I just want that stuff gone.”

“Say no more, he says as he goes over to a trash can with a biohazard symbol and opens the top up, and with a swing of his arm, tosses the jar into it. There is a sucking sound before he closes the lid. You look at him with an unimpressed look. He raises an eyebrow at you.”What?” He merely responds. Shrugging his shoulders as he sits back in his chair.

“Nothing doctor I just thought that you would take this matter a tad bit more seriously. When I said disposed of I meant to the point where it could not be retrieved. Not merely into a biohazard container to be disposed of on the mainland.” You told him.

“ He gives you an understanding look. “Of course you wouldn’t know about the disposal system in this world, pardon me for not telling you beforehand. You see, these trash bins are fixed with a void and incinerator mix that is held n place with barrier spells. You see, inanimate objects can go in but once inside it goes through the incinerator and the remnants are sucked into the void and left to drift in the void for all eternity. So don’t you mind your little head there Gary. For you won’t be seeing that, nor will anyone else for that matter, ever again.”

You give him a grateful look and thank him as you get up off the bed. Stumbling a bit and getting a bit of a feel for your new body you walk around the room as you feel pretty silly in your baggy clothes. Dr. Tender Heart chuckles a bit as he watches you.

“You know, you could always go to our seamstress on the ship to fix up your clothes. Also if you wouldn’t mind i’d like to run a physical so we can get your information updated.”

“Of course doctor”

Author's Note

Hey guys, short chapter. Next one will also be relatively short but it'll be out around three or so. Though during a road trip where I'm singing at the New England Hydroplane Series competition. Got hired for a show up here in Maine and got hired again for a show down in New Hampshire. So that gives me plenty of time to type. See you all next time, and I bid you a due.
~PheonixLyrics101

Chapter 9 Author's Note

Special thanks to my editor and friend Eurie. Without their help I wouldn't have been able to come out with something this good for you guys to enjoy. Eurie and I will be making chapters regularly and are going to make another tommorow. And I do apologise for not updating in quite some time. Things didn't go as planned lately and this is the first time in nearly a month th I am able to put aside time for writing. I'd still like to see if I can make my goal of 50,000 words by the end of the summer but it seems less and less likely as I look on. Any who, I hope you all enjoy and I bid you all adue.
~PheonixLyrics101

Chapter 9

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~One and a half hours later (10:00 am)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You walk down the hallway with your clothes in hand as you spot Daring running towards you, waving at you to hold the door to the elevator. She slows to a walk, hopping into the elevator beside you and breathing heavily as you greet her, looking towards her.

“Hey there Daring, what’s got you in such a rush? Oh — and what floor?”

“Just wanted to check up on you, see how you’re adjusting to ship life and all. After all, it certainly isn’t for everyone. I know I never liked it when I was younger, though there are some cute guys around here,” she said, turning to regard you and narrowing her eyes critically, taking in your features. “Though I could’ve sworn the last time I saw you you were taller. And had more facial hair. Plus, you’re a lot skinnier than I remember. I mean, your clothes don’t even fit!” She says, gesturing to you animatedly. You chew the inside of your lip pensively as you look up to her to respond.

“Look, it’s complicated and I promise to tell you later tonight at dinner but for now I have to go and meet the tailor. I’m sure you have other stuff to do,” You say, stepping out of the elevator. She steps out with you, following alongside you.

“Nope!” She chirps, as smiling she smiles down at you. You sigh as you look forward. In all honesty you’re not even that mad. YI mean, you get to live through your teenage years now,. And without the risk of being convicted as a pedophile. You grin at the thought as you pick up the pace.

You walk up to the door and give a swift knock. A few seconds pass before a mare answers. She looks down at you me questioningly before her gaze softens with understanding.

"Oh, you must be that creature that came onboard with Daring. Why, with how the others described you I thought you'd be… well… more ferocious than you appear," she said, giving me a quick once-over.

"That would be courtesy of your onboard doctor ma'am. He was able to extract a… toxin if you will, one which had altered my overall appearance and genetic structure. Though I haven't felt this weak since my last recognizance during the last World War on my old world. But that's a story for another time. I'm here because I'd like to ask if I could get my clothes altered to better fit this frame,” I say, lifting my arm to illustrate, the extra fabric in my sleeve hanging slackly limply from the outstretched limb. “As I’m sure you can see, they’re a bit loose in some places.” I dropped my arm to my side. “Not to mention I'm broke, but I'll work off the debt if you're willing to help me out. Please," I implored, trying desperately not to feel a bit of inferiority in their stature compared to me, meeting her gaze levelly. She nods, looking down at me intently.

"I suppose I can. But it wouldn't be me you’d work for. It would be my husband in the kitchen. He always needs help down there to feed all the hungry mouths on board.” She smiles warmly, stepping aside and welcoming us in. “But please, where are my manners? Come inside," she says, allowing Daring and I entrance. The inside is far more grandiose than I would expect on a ship.

Past the doorway is a large, open space. A small catwalk sits in the center of the room, akin to a narrow stairway leading to what you estimate to be twelve or so feet of flooring, a backstage area veiled by a thick velvet curtain. It reminds you of the stages you would see at plays and recitals before everything went to shit. You look over to the mare as she motions for you to stand on a circular platform. You go over and step onto it, looking over in need ito the mare as it occurs to you that you were never properly introduced.

“Before we get started I’d like to know your name, at least. I'm Gary,” you say, extending your hand and grabbing your sleeve, pulling back the loose fabric and allowing her to take hold.

She extends her hand in exchange, grasping your own in a firm handshake and meeting your gaze with another amiable smile. “Pleasure to meet you, Gary. My name’s Gossamers. I’m the ‘fashion designer’ on deck,” she grinned, seemingly amused. I stared neutrally as we shook. ‘Isn't gossamer fragile? What type of name is that for a shipboard clothesmare? That's the opposite of what functional clothes should be, let alone articles designed by hand for specific tasks.’ On the outside, however, you manage to keep a straight face as you end the handshake.

“So how do you want me to stand? I've never had clothes tailored to me before, so I'm not really sure what to do,” I explained.

“Well, first i need you to remove those baggy clothes song can get your measurements. And don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing I've never seen before.” ‘Oh, you have no idea lady,’ You think, your brow furrowing bemusedly. Daring calls out from behind.

“Roses are red, Cacti are prickly, but dear Celestia that escalated quickly!” She exclaims. You try to stifle your laughter, averting your gaze and grinning like a madman.

Gossamers’ gaze flew toward her with a reproachful frown. “Daring Do! You know better than to act so childish. You and I both know damn well that this is standard procedure and that you shouldn't even still be in here while I'm dealing with a client. Now shoo, before I alert your mother of your shenanigans in the mess hall the other day,” she snaps, pushing Daring out the door and locking the padlock behind her. She sighs, tossing her mane and turning to you expectantly.

“Now, do you want to be professional about this? Or must you insist on childish antics as well?” She says. You opt to comply, raising your hands briefly in mock surrender and setting about removing your clothes, folding each piece of the oversized ensemble as you go and setting them in a neat pile. You hand her the tape measure and let her go to work on taking your measurements. Getting it done is a tad quicker than you expected as she measures you from head to toe, methodically tugging the tape out, locking it, and recording metrics on various portions of your physique whilst gossiping about the latest trends. You just stand there and not along as you zone out, personally indifferent whether Hoity Toity’s new line of suits was insulting to the gay community or how his models were staged. As your mind wandered, you thought about the different designs that you saw back when you were browsing the Internet back on Earth, remembering one in particular that caught your fancy a while back. You look down as Gossamers snaps her fingers in front of your face.

“I said I was done, might want to come out of the zone there. And get dressed, no happy endings with this fashionista,” she quips, walking briskly over to a table, grabbing a thick binder on her way and setting it down on the furniture in front of her. You hasten to get dressed and take a seat opposite her.

“Wasn't planning anything of the sort ma'am,” you say, placing your hands in your lap as you take a glance at the binder. It's a generic, three-inch, white binder with the words ‘Gossamers’ Male Designs’ written on the top in angular black lettering.

“Take a look at these and try to pick a style that would fit your task onboard the ship. As for working off your debt, just go in with a T-shirt and shorts. You'll be fine, though you can send them to me to be adjusted… Given that you had any, come to think of it,” she said, trailing off on an idle tangent and humming to herself, getting up and walking away as you flip through the binder. She returns shortly with a notepad as you decide on a black long sleeve shirt and a pair of blue jeans, selecting the black so the inevitable stains will be less noticeable, jeans for convenience. You also pick out a couple pairs of cargo shorts and a hoodie. After deciding you look over at the little book she’d grabbed while you were browsing and wrote down an estimate, coming to some 125£ which, you've never heard of but you assume to be their form of currency. She taps her pen absently against the pad, reviewing her calculations, and looks up to address you, her gaze flitting between you and her notes as she speaks.

“Given the size of your order, it's going to be a while before I can have them all complete. I'll call you when the clothes are done, or notify my husband, since you'll be working with him to pay all this off. After that he may even offer you a job.” She tosses the pad to the table, smiling at you warmly and leaning back, reclining leisurely in her seat and clasping her hands on the table in front of her. “Looks like you’re good to go; feel free to drop off any clothes you might want me to adjust. I can have up to ten articles of clothing done by the end of the week. If we’re finished, have a good day and I'll contact you when your order is ready,” she says, extending her hand. You grasp it, giving another firm shake farewell.

“Thank you for doing this for me, I'll be sure to see you around,” you say as you walk out the door, shutting it behind you. You head back to your cabin to process everything that's happened today, struck with a sudden sense of uncertainty. You now have a chance to relive your teenage years. The years of exploration, experimentation, and the growing independence is almost every bit as foreign in this new frontier as you remember, and you hardly have any clue how to tackle it. You’d never had this chance in Earth, forced to spring from some some Frankenstein’s ‘applied study of expedited development,’ churned out by a rapid growth experiment and shoved into an ongoing war. You felt conflicted as to whether to see this as a blessing or a curse. You now have to deal with being weaker, younger, and for the first time in years… genuinely afraid.

You’ve felt battle jitters, of course, but on Earth you had nothing to lose. Every day had been as good as any other to die. You’d have given up on the world you were fighting for in an instant, the world that betrayed you and reduced you to a lab rat. The world that had stolen your youth. But here, you were given a chance to reset; to start anew. You face an opportunity you never thought possible, and you’re elated that you are lucky enough to be here. You’re so compelled you could shed tears of happiness, and it would be the first time you would cry for years. But as you walk down warmly-lit deck of the hallway, you can only think of your sisters. The only two girls in your life that had mattered other than your guns. You quickened your pace and made it to your cabin in a matter of minutes. You unlock the door, walking in and standing only long enough to close the door and lock it behind you before you turn and collapse onto the bed, sobbing lightly as you try desperately to repress the memories of your two siblings.

The night results in a restless sleep, leaving you more exhausted than you were before you’d retired with the effort of forcing the haunting images from your mind.
~~~~~~~~~~Next morning, 7 am~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You wake up, lying still and enjoying your restful state for a precious few minutes, luxuriating in the ambient heat. Before long, you’re exhaling deeply and pushing yourself off the mattress, swinging your legs over the side of the bed and stretching toward the ceiling. Your back pops a few times, cracking loudly before you relax, rubbing the sleep from your eyes and standing, stumbling slightly as you make your way blearily to the bathroom. You rest your hands on the countertop, propping yourself up, and look into the mirror. The sight of the deep bags under your eyes is little comfort.

You heave a weary sigh, turning away and stripping yourself of your baggy clothes as you make a mental note to visit Gossamers and drop off what little clothing you have, with the exception of an outfit to wear the next couple days. You can just hand wash them in the tub and keep using them over the course of the week. You set about washing yourself, realizing that you hadn’t ever cleaned the day previous, falling into bed the moment you’d arrived back in your cabin for your fatigue.

Stepping into the shower, you turn on the cold water to wake yourself up and revel in the feeling of the rejuvenating cool washing over you, turning your face upward and shivering as your body is shocked into wakefulness. After a few minutes of the cold water cascading over you, you feel refreshed enough to relax your tired muscles, turning the knob in the opposite direction. Warm water spills out of the faucet, showering you in a near euphoric bliss as the chill of the cool water falls off you like the so many water droplets of the leaky faucet in front of you. Your thoughts go to your sisters again as you lather yourself up, rubbing the bar of soap along your body, sloughing off yesterday’s grime. You rinse yourself, the scene of your younger and elder sister meeting for the first time still fresh in your mind as if it’d happened just moments prior, run your hands through your hair and working in the shampoo to rid yourself of its unpleasantly greasy texture, closing out the bath.

Before long, you turn off the faucet and brace yourself as you open the curtain, recoiling from the blast of cold air that greets you from the opposing side. You reach out and grab hold of the towel, wrapping it around your waist and walking back into your room. You walk over to the bed, the hardwood beneath your feet cool yet comfortable as allow yourself to fall back over, sinking once more into the mattress. Grabbing hold of your locket, you open the shell and stare inward, your mind dragged into its frame and the confines of the world within. Before long, you shake yourself out of your stupor. You sigh to yourself and close the locket, the world around you warping back to that of your cabin, and look to your right to take inventory of your clothes.

You see your coat resting in one of the hexagonal cubby holes beside your bed. Underneath it is your navy blue dress shirt and your charcoal jeans, and in the cubby to its left is a white T-shirt and a pair of red basketball shorts. Other than the clothes that remain in the pile you left in the bathroom, this is the extent of your wardrobe. You summon to your hand the white T-shirt and red shorts as you get dressed. You’re feeling much more capable now that you’ve showered. You walk into the bathroom, picking up the overly large long sleeved shirt and folding it neatly before tucking it into your locket, repeating the action with your jeans and socks. You step out of the bathroom, walking to the bed once again, you sit down and pull your boots out from underneath. You lace up your boots and walk over to the door. You take a deep breath, preparing yourself to take on the day.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,“ you mumble to yourself as you unlock the door, opening it and looking out into the corridor ahead before striding purposefully outside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End of chapter~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 10

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