Somewhere Underground, Exact Location Unknown
Cloud Runner

In the last hour I’ve learned one really important point to remember in the future...

“Still nothing Cloud?” Cosmo whispered behind me.

You get stuck leading the pack in dark, hastily built tunnels when you’ve got night-vision equipment. “Still nothing.” I whispered back. I just kept walking, all while Cosmo and Sky stayed near the walls so they could follow the two marker lights on my back through the darkness. “What are you thinking Cosmo?”

“I think of many things Cloud.” The stallion retorted, his voice only now rising above a whisper. “For one thing I was wondering when this tunnel would end.”

As he said that the dim shape of a ladder became visible to me, growing clearer as we approached. “Try right about now.” I said as I stepped onto the bottom rung and clambered up to the hatch at the top. I slowly undid the latch holding it down and gently pushed it up, allowing moonlight to start streaming into the tunnel. Eventually it wouldn’t rise anymore, instead swiveling off to the side before it stopped clear of the portal to the surface. Sticking my helmeted head above ground I made a quick survey of the empty shops lining a cobblestone street before clambering up and onto the surface. “Looks like we’re clear.” I called down into the tunnel.

Cosmo scurried up the ladder, sliding across the cobblestone once he reached solid ground before turning around and hauling Sky out of the hole. “Alright, ideas?”I didn’t say anything as I slid the hatch along its arc of travel and pressed it flush into the roadway.

“We should get out of the street.” Sky whispered.

“Right.” Cosmo said as he looked around at the empty shops. “Cloud, care to take a pick?”

Wordlessly I looked around the street before settling on a small shop with the door already ajar. “Follow me.” I whispered. I broke into a run and reached the door in a matter of second and quickly noticed why the door was left open; there was nothing left to justify closing it. The shop had been vandalized and burnt out, and looking up confirmed that the floor above had collapsed and pancaked any isles that might have lined the center area of the shop.

“Looks like no one’s home.” Cosmo muttered as he brushed past.

“I think I could’ve told you that.” I retorted as I followed Cosmo into the rubble, quietly latching the door shut behind us. “So what do we do now?”

“We wait.” Cosmo said as he slumped down against the far wall. “Maybe we get a bit of sleep, then we start moving once the sun starts to come up.”

“But where are we?” Sky asked

“Probably somewhere in Emona.” Cosmo retorted. “It is the only city on this island.”

“That supposed to make me feel any better?” I asked as I slid down next to Cosmo and Sky.

“At least it’s a solid answer.” Sky muttered, fishing a small water bottle out of her jacket. “We still need to find De Witt, and unless I missed something Emona isn’t all that small.”

I finally shrugged and pulled my helmet off. “And looking around in broad daylight is a good idea? Come on Cosmo, you’re telling me that we can’t have someone do a flyover?”

“And see what? It’s pitch black outside!” He retorted.

Come to think of it, it is rather dark outside… Hell, I can’t see anything out the windows. “Wait a minute… All the windows were broken, right?”

“Uh… Cloud, what are you getting at?” Sky asked.

“If there’s no windows, why can’t we see anything outside?” I questioned, sliding my helmet back on and switching the low-light system back on. “Still can’t see a thing… I think we got a big problem on our hands.”

“No shit…” Cosmo muttered as he slid his revolver clear of it’s holster. “Anyone got ideas?”

“I thought you were the smart one Cosmo.” I chided as I clicked the headlights on my helmet on.

“What makes you think that?”

“We’re still here, aren’t we?” Suddenly in the black that enclosed the broken windows my lights caught something green, shiny and eye-like.

And did I mention that it was staring at me?

“Cosmo?”

“Ya?”

I pulled out the nightstick that came with my armor and twirled it around a bit as two more sets of green orbs appeared in the light. “I think we got company.” The first changeling leapt through the broken glass and barreled past Sky as he charged at me.

Cosmo obviously had other plans, as he wheeled in and smacked the Changeling across the face with his revolver’s barrel. “No shit!” He yelled as a second Changeling tried blasting him, only to narrowly miss as Sky pulled him out of the way.

As Sky tried to pull Cosmo back I stepped in with the nightstick and clubbed the second changeling. “I think we need to leave!”

Cosmo seemed to agree but didn’t say anything; instead he opted to pull his knife out and stab a third Changeling who had just gotten through the front door. I followed Cosmo out into the middle of the street when I realized he had stopped and was looking around. I did the same and came to what must’ve been the same realization that Cosmo had come to; barely visible in the moonlight we saw them. The rooftops of the abandoned shops were lined with a mix of Changelings and Griffons.

“Fuck…” Cosmo muttered as he holstered his revolver and swung his rifle off his back. “We might need some help.”

“Already on it.” I said as I clicked on my radio. “This is Tempest-”

BZZZZTTTT!!!

“Fuck!” I yelled as the static assaulted my ears. As soon as the static started blasting the system shut down with a message on my helmet display popping up that read ‘out of range’. “Cosmo, we’re on our own.”

“What do you mean ‘we’re on our own’?”

“Exactly what it sounds like!” I yelled. “Something’s up with the radio, I can’t get through to anyone.”

“So we’re surrounded with no backup?” Sky wondered aloud. “Cosmo, remember that raider camp we busted that year after we went up north?”

“Raider camp… Ya, I remember.” He said as he backed up to Sky. “How’d we get out of that again?”

“There was a bunch of shooting.” Sky said as she pulled me over. “I just don’t think that we had this many raiders lining up to kill us.”

“You still didn’t say how you got away.” I pointed out.

“No, I did.” Sky retorted. As one of the Griffons hit the ground in front of me I felt a rifle rest on my shoulder, followed by a chuckle. “I said there was a bunch of shooting.”

BANG!

Lucky for me my helmet dampened the report from Sky’s rifle as it went off, but it didn’t shield me from watching as the round slammed into the Griffon’s neck and knocked the flailing sod onto his back. “Let em’ have it!” Sky yelled.

I didn’t wait for her to pull the rifle off my shoulder, instead flipping my nightstick around before I ran at the group of Changelings that were gathering in the street. As I crossed the thirty some odd feet between us I began to feel… Well… A bit weird as the buildings in the corner of my vision seemed to go by much slower.

...I get the feeling that the ‘Spartan Time’ bullshit might be rearing it’s head again.

***

Cosmo

I was still having some trouble accepting how quickly Cloud rushed the first Griffon. For a colt who until recently wasn’t very violent, he’s really taken to beatings and bludgeonings rather easily…

“Cosmo, look out!” Sky yelled.

I managed to turn around in time to catch a Changeling’s fist as he tried to slug me.

Wait, why is it grey?

That’s when I felt a set of arms wrap around my back and toss me across the street. As I tumbled to a stop in front of a shattered window I caught a glimpse of a second grey Changeling that just seemed to fade away as the original one that rushed me slowly made his way towards me… All while two more identical ones seemed to walk out from behind him. “You’re a weird one.” I muttered.

I managed to get to my feet in time to catch another punch, this time from one of the duplicates. “Well of course I am.” The first one jumped back and the second one took his place. I managed to duck under the swing and bash the inside of his elbow with the barrel of my pistol. I got back to my feet and realized that all three had given me a wide berth. They all had the same look in their eyes, and the same expression. “It’s because I am Legion.” All three said as they seemed to merge back into the original Changeling.

“Well fuck…” I managed to roll out of the way as the ‘Changeling’ blasted the building behind me with a bolt from his barely-glowing horn. “Sky, I could use a hand!”

“I’m a bit busy!” I heard Sky yell.

I managed to get behind a beaten-up newsstand on the sidewalk as two more bolts of magic sailed past my head. “Alright Cosmo, think… It’s a just a weird Changeling that can divide and-” Wait, my grappler! I managed to turn the range down as far as it would go and shot the line through a dented up garbage can that was lying against the wall.

“Really?” I heard a somewhat disappointed sounding voice ask. A pair of hands wrapped around the collar of my vest and I felt the sensation of falling backwards before the back of my head slammed into the sidewalk. “You need to do better than that.”

As I stared up at the Changeling I remembered that the grappler line was still stuck to the trash can. “I always do better.” A quick flash from my horn managed to blind the Changeling as I got to my feet and wrapped the cable around his torso. “Now can someone give me a hand!”

A thud followed by a pull on the other end of the grappler’s line managed to hold the Changeling in place as he seemed to shake and vibrate, likely trying to divide into his other two copies again. “Really? Are you even a Changeling anymore?” I glanced over at the dark green stallion and realized that he had been with us back at the fortress. What was his name again, Specter or something like that?

“It doesn’t matter what I am!” Roared the bound Changeling. “I am-”

THUNK

As the Changeling went limp I realized that the sound of metal meeting skull came from a nightstick that I’ve been seeing quite a bit of this evening. “Thanks for showing up Cloud.”

I heard him snort before he shook his head a bit. “Did you notice something about this street Cosmo?”

A quick look around the firelit street revealed at least ten bodies. Maybe one was dead, but the other Griffons and Changelings were out like lights. “Wow… That was fast.”

“Cosmo, buddy…” Cloud flared his wings out to a shower of blue-white sparks. “I am fast.”

“I’d say so…” I muttered. “Now what was your name again, Specter or something like that?”

“Yup.”

I nodded before focusing all my attention on the stallion opposite of me. “What are you doing here?”

He simply shrugged. “I followed you three through the tunnel.”

“Right… Does Dart know where you went?”

“Nope.” Specter quipped. “Dusk knows and that’s about it.” So the new guy is a loner... Just fucking great.

“Then why are you here?”

“To put another bad guy under my belt.” He retorted. “Now do you want some help or not?”

“We’d love the extra set of hands.” Sky said, cutting off the words before they could even leave my mouth. “But you follow our orders, got it?”

“Ok…” Specter muttered. “What’s the plan?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” I asked aloud. With Specter’s undivided attention I cracked a wry smile. “We’re going to storm the bastille.”

Author's Note

Well... That was a short chapter wasn't it? Lately I've been up against a wall. Since Pia finished the cover for Broken Mirror and I published the prologue for Part II, I've noticed that I can't focus on The Long Road as easily... Much of my thinking power has been devoted to work, Broken Mirror, the codex, ~~porn~~ ~~smut~~ matters of a more adult nature, Halo, Fallout, and building a model railroad that has had the supplies sitting ready to go for years. I know, priorities, right? Anyway, to keep things moving the last chapter of The Long Road is going to be broken up into smaller parts so I can keep the story moving (and minimize the amount of thinking that goes into each chapter).

In the meantime, anyone got questions? Like what you're seeing so far? Hell, maybe have some gripes? There's a comment section and the Mirrorverse Codex. Read and comment away, because I want to hear from you fellow denizens of this corner of the internet. Sometime in the next few weeks there'll be an entry on that changeling who seems to think that Dr. Manhattan might have been onto something with that multiplying trick of his.

Finally, before I go, I'd like to leave this little signal boost for fellow writer volrathxp.

Anyway, until next time!
-Striker