The Black Angel

The next morning I woke up to a little rubble in the kitchen. I rushed to see what it was… It was Altamir holding Adrian down, while he had his pistol’s barrel at Altamir’s chin. The two seemed quite upset about something. They quickly noticed me and just stared at me surprised. “This isn’t what it looks like!” They said in unison.

“Or is it?” I asked, arms crossed, leaning against the door frame.

They let go of each other and put their weapons away. “Well…” Altamir started.

“You might be my uncle, but you have a minute to explain what the fuss is about before I kick both your asses,” I replied, then Itrix came through another door, plates in her hand.

“What. The. Fuck. Guys…” She said, almost dropping the plates. I greeted her with a nod, she returned it.

“Just what I was asking about,” I replied.

“Clear this mess up, or you two will miss breakfast,” Itrix exclaimed, and the two did so at almost light speed. I could have sworn the had little haloes over their heads too for a second… “More like it…” She continued, and set the table. Breakfast was rice and meat, one of my favourites. We all sat down and got at it.

“So, what were the two of you at it about?” I asked while eating.

“Because he’s here,” Altamir replied.

“Yeah, I see that… How exactly?” I wondered. Itrix silently raised a hand. “Why am I not surprised… Why?” I asked.

“We thought he could be useful in the research team too, so I brought him here… Problem is, I can’t send him and his place back, because I don’t know if the place is occupied by now or not,” She replied.

“And why is that so bad, Adrian?” I inquired.

“Well, the coordinates on the machine have to be corrected, which will take one hell of a long time…” He replied.

“Is that all you’re whining about? A few numbers being incorrect? Adrian, with you in the research team, in addition to Itrix, we could advance quickly in technology. Better the lives of many, and maybe even save a lot! And all you think of is a few numbers?” I went in on him. “Besides, what is this beef between you and Altamir about in the first place?” I asked afterward.

“Itrix wasn’t around, and he called her a few names. I decided to warn him with the back of my hand,” Altamir explained.

I looked at Adrian, but only with my eyes, not moving my head. Soon I found the mark Altamir’s hand left. “Ow…” I said right afterward.

“Yeah, and I think I can’t feel my left arm either,” Adrian continued, while leaning on said arm on the table.

“I can fix it later,” Itrix noted.

“Nah, at least it doesn’t hurt,” He replied.

“Your call,” She said.

We soon finished breakfast, but couldn’t decide who should wash the dishes. “Soo. Who will wa-” By the time I could finish, only Itrix was present.

“I’ll take it…” She said, not very enthusiastic, and started picking them up. “Wait, where are you go-” I didn’t stay around to let her finish, I had no mod to do the dishes either. I went right to the research team, catching up with Adrian and the rest.

“I take Itrix will come late,” Adrian greeted me with.

“If I were you, I would take a day out and hide today,” I assured him. “Anything new you guys came up with since my last visit?” The Administrator was at age, about twice mine, yet refused to retire.

“A plethora in fact,” He replied, soon the others went to the storage while he listed them all.

“That would be?”

“As per your orders, we managed to make a few different types of Shotguns, Machine guns, Grenades, Sniper Rifles, Explosives, several vehicles, and devices,” He said.

“Great, tell me what I need know about them,” I replied. Adrian soon came up to me with a few models of shotguns.

“This is a SPAS-12, it’s an automatic shotgun with a large kick. Both ways… Ammo cap is 10 shells+1 in the barrel, 12 gauge ammo” He explained, showing me one of them on the table. “This one is an USAS-12, automatic as well, comes with magazines, 12 gauge ammo as well, magazine cap 20,” He said pointing at the other one. “And that’s a simple double barrelled shotgun. No cap size, no magazines. Only the two shells you load into the barrels, needless to say, 12 gauge ammo,”

“Nice…” I noted.

“Fancy one yourself? We have lots in storage,” Adrian wondered.
“Eh… Which one hits harder?” I asked. He handed me the doubly barrel.

“You know where the ammo is,” He said, hinting at the side-bag. I nodded. He showed me the rest of the weapons. I chose an M60 machine gun, a dozen of frag grenades, a Barret M98 sniper, and a Minigun for backup. “You sure aren’t under equipped now…” He noted. “As for the devices, this little machine gets strapped on your lower arm, the wireless signal travels to the earpiece, and changes the frequency,”

“So it works like the phones?” I asked.

“Exactly. We’ll start equipping the troops and dividing frequencies soon,” He explained.

“And what about the explosives?” I asked, he having missed them.

“Right…” He said and went back to the storage with the rest of the guns he showed me, and came out with a larger one. “This, is an RPG-7. It fires these, you already know how to reload these… Itrix helped with her magic, so whoever holds these, knows how to use them. She did it to all the weapons, actually,”

“Right, I’ll take this one then,” I said, taking the launcher.

“Be careful. That thing WILL hit you back all right,” Adrian warned me, then also gave me a flamethrower, showing me how to put the fuel tanks on my back.

“I’ll keep it in mind,” I replied. “Anything else?”

“No, you have the weapons, the explosives and device. You’ll see the vehicles soon too,” He said. I nodded and left to see Itrix and the dishes. When I stepped through the door, one nearly hit me.

“Watch it!” I said.

“Damn, it missed,” She muttered.

“Come again?” I asked louder than my usual talk voice.

“Nothing…” She replied with a grin.

“You really did it, didn’t you?” I asked.

“Yep…”

“Are you out of your mind?” I asked again.

“Nope,” She replied. I facepalmed for a few seconds. “I’ll get going now…” She continued and left.

What the fuck was that about? I wondered for a brief second. I grabbed something to drink from the fridge Adrian got us. I still don’t know how it’s powered… Then went to see how Altamir was doing. I left the building, locking it, then made my way to the barracks, where he was talking to two trainees. “Anything I missed?” I asked, hopping in next to him.

“Not yet. These two tho… They have a unique question tho,” He replied.

“Ah?” I asked, looking at the two. “That is?”

“Ma’am, you see… She’s my sister… Could we be assigned to the same platoon?” Asked the older one.

“I see no problems with it. Why not,” I replied.

“I’ll go, do the paperwork…” Altamir threw in and walked away.

“Thanks a lot ma’am,” Said his sister.

“It’s basic. It’s natural that we don’t separate siblings. That is, if they let us know about it,” I explained.

Suddenly her brother leaned over to pick up something from the ground. “Ma’am, you dropped it,” He said, handing me a folded up piece of paper. It was the one Walgarus gave me. I took it, and left them with a nod to read it. I was meant to read it a few hours ago anyway.“Omnis

It’s me writing the letter, Walgarus. ‘How?’ You may wonder. Well, it’s part of my secret. A secret only Moonlight and Kalin knows.

But that’s not the point.

The point is, that the day you sent Kalin and her family to me, we’ve been very close. I kept them as safe as I could, since she told me you asked me to.

In short, we grew too close, and I won’t avoid the point no more.

I am inviting you to next friday in the Canterlot Castle.

What’s going to happen is a surprise.

I’ll see you there,” Time passed quickly. By that one friday Adrian introduced me to one of the new vehicles, which I learned to handle as well. A motor bike. I used said vehicle to get to Canterlot in no time, but was stopped at the town gates.

“I’m sorry ma’am,” One of them said.

“For what?” I asked, taking off the helmet.

“We can not allow you to enter with your vehicle,”

“Then I’ll leave it here,” I said, taking the keys and walking closer to them.

“We must make sure you’re not wearing any weapons, ma’am,”

“Go ahead,” I replied, needless to say, they knew of my bracers.

“Your bracers, take them off, or leave,” One of them said.

“Or else?” I asked.

“You are no longer our superior,” One of them reminded me.

“I would still be justified for kicking your asses,” I reminded them.

“Take them off, or we’ll be forced to act,”

“Oh, is that so? Would you ask a Unicorn to take off it’s horn?” I asked.

“Uugh..”

“Would you ask a Pegasus to take off it’s wings?” I asked again. “Or an Alicorn to take off both?”

“Those are body parts, yours is not.” He exclaimed.

“Taking these off is the biggest shame to us, I will not take them off,” I assured them.

“Why are you here, ma’am? Looking for trouble? Some practice?”

“I have an invitation from a friend I tend to visit,” I explained, showing them the letter.

“If so, go ahead. But your friend is responsible for your actions then,”

“Blah blah blah,” I replied to further insult him as I passed by. I was nearly impaled by his halberd, cutting me off. I put my left hand onto the weapon’s shaft, and looked at the guard. Even tho he was not physically touching it, I possessed him.

“Wh- What is this?!” He asked horrified.

“Oh, just a display what I could’ve done to you…” I replied from inside the deepest corner of his mind. I dragged him into a coma like state, and we were standing in a void once again, face to face.

“What are you doing to me?!” He asked.

“I’m going to show you what I could’ve done to you instead of talking,” I explained, and produced the flamethrower.

“What is that?” He asked, before I began scorching him for a while. He didn’t just stand there in silence, of course. When I was finished, he was laying on the ground in pain, yet without any injuries, as we were in his mind, meaning we only were our spirits.

“Hope you enjoyed it, because we have only just begun…” I reminded him with a grin, ignoring his pain, and by the time he stood up I had the shotgun ready and loaded. I blew one shell into his chest. The result was his intestines exposed, but only for a second, as he quickly healed back, so I blew the other shell into his face, killing him temporarily. It also healed up, and I was waiting for him with the M60.

Before I began firing at him, he managed to spew out a few words. “Fuck my life…” He said, and I began holding the trigger down, holding him under fire for a minute, firing hundreds of bullets. “Anything else you have?” He wondered, exhausted. I nodded, and brought forward the RPG. “Why did I even ask…” He muttered, and I fired the explosive at him.

“Have you learned not to question death itself?” I asked. He replied with a brief nod, so I left his mind, and returned to the real world, where the other guard stood in fear, looking at his comrade.

“You don’t look so good. Are you okay?” He asked. The comrade only replied with a nod. His glance was broken and glassy, pupils out of focus. “What did you do to him?” The remaining guard asked.

“You want me to show you?” I asked with a sinister grin, taking a step toward him. He only backed up against the wall, shaking. “And you’re what they call ‘Guards’ and ‘Soldiers’? Pitiful...” I continued, and walked on, until I met with the sisters, who told me that we still have little time left until the meeting. We spent that time talking, until it was time for us to go, and made our way to the throne room, where a small crowd, and two rows of guards we already present, one each side of the carpet. The sisters sat down on their rightful places, while I stood between them, facing the door. “What are we waiting for?” I asked.

“We wait,” Celestia replied, and soon the doors opened, revealing Kalin in rather fancy articles of clothing, Walgarus at her side, in his full suit of armor, except a helmet.

“Wait a minute…” I muttered to the sisters. “It this a-”

“Wedding? Yes?” Luna replied. “It is,” She assured me.

The pair only came closer with grins on their faces, until they stopped. “Hello, Omnis,” He said with the same grin.

“You little dirtbag… You should’ve told me to get something for the occasion,” I replied with a chuckle.

“Are you two ready?” Asked Celestia, the two nodded. The two said their oaths to each other, and the sisters continued. “Hereby, we declare you two as wife and husband. You can kiss now to seal your connection forever,” They said in unison. The two did just that, and the room broke out cheering for them.

“Everyone here is our guest to celebrate!” Walgarus yelled, letting everybody know. We had a good time, but I didn’t drink much, since Adrian told me not to drink much alcohol if I plan on using the bike. We celebrated for the rest of the day, until it was time for me to head back. The new pair decided to accompany me all the way to the town gate.

“Thanks for coming, Omnis. We’re glad you came,” Kalin said.

“Hey, I had fun, and you two do fit together,” I replied. I turned around, only to see a dagger fly their way. At this point it was too late, I couldn’t stop if, even with Focus, and it hit Walgarus dead in the chest, the heart. While Kalin checked on him, I looked at the killer. It wore a white robes, similar to Altamir’s, but it wasn’t him… No, I would’ve known. I summoned several hounds, and sent them after the figure to hunt it down. I pointed at the figure with anger, the the hounds threw themselves after it, causing it to run. The hounds ran and ran, barking and growling.

Having dealt with the attacker, I turned back to the other side. Kalin was on top of Walgarus, crying. I crouched closer to see what his status was. I managed to pry Kalin off of him, and pulled the dagger out, holding my hands on the wound, preventing bleeding. “Why me… Why now?” Walgarus asked.

“No, not yet… You’ll be fine…” I replied, trying to keep them calm. Some time passed, and the bleeding stopped. I pulled the phone and called Adrian.

He asked.

I replied.

He wondered.

I yelled, and hung up. “You will be fine, Wal. Help is on the way, they will fix you,” I assured him, trying to keep him positive. Just 3 minutes later the chopper arrived, and 3 medics rappelled down to us.

“How is he?” One of them asked.

“Stab wound to the chest, heart probably affected. Bleeding stopped,” I explained.

“Copy that,” He replied, and injected him with some painkillers, and they lowered a carrier from the chopper.

“Told you you’ll be fine,” I said to him with a grin, as they took him away.

“We’ll report on his status soon,” Said the same medic, and they flew off.

“Walg!” Kalin yelled after them. I could barely keep her back from following them.

“They- Will- Take- Care of him!” I kept saying, until she calmed down.

“I sure hope so,” She replied, still in a bad condition.

“They will. Trust me,” I tried assuring her, then turned around. “As for the two of you, dipshits, you just stood here and sad not a damn word about him!” I yelled at the guards, beating both of them into a coma out of anger with the night-stick. When I was finished blood was pouring from their eyes, mouths and noses, accompanied by several fractures and broken bones. Kalin took the beat-up guards back to be taken care of and came back to me, just the same time the hounds dragged the attacker back to me. They were holding him one limb in mouth, basically levitating him off the ground. They did a good job, as he was still alive. “As for you, oh, I’ll have some fun with you back at home,” I said to him. “Kal, we’ll do our best. He’ll be back as soon as he can,” I assured her, then knocked the attacker out. The hounds sat onto the ground, waiting for the next command. I just waved my hands, and they disappeared. I threw the prisoner onto the back, and rode back home, where I threw him into a cell.

“So he’s the guy?” Asked Adrian, standing next to me.

“Yep,” I replied.

“What do you plan with him?” He wondered.

“You need a live target?” I asked.

“What?”

“A live target. Who knows, maybe it will help research,”

“You have a dark way of thinking, but I like it…” He replied. “Now that you mention, I do have something I need live target for,” He continued, and produced a syringe with some green liquid inside.

“What’s that?” I wondered.

“Something I came up with. It’s a chemical weapon. If injected into anything living, it will proceed to devour the host body. It will eat away skin, flesh, bone, blood… Everything inside the body,”

“And I’m the one with dark thinking?” I asked with a grin, yet surprised.

“The speed of the process depends on how much is injected,” He explained, and stabbed the needle into the bound prisoner’s left thigh, forcing the liquid inside. “With this amount, we should see the effects tomorrow,” He exclaimed.

“He won’t enjoy it, will he?” I asked.

“I doubt anybody would,” He assured me.

“How long do you think he has left then?”

“A week at best. Then again, the quicker he died, the less he suffers so… I’ll call it a week at worst,” He replied. “Could we talk in private?” He asked. I nodded, and followed him to a secluded area.

“What is it?” I wondered.

“When will you start hunting your targets down?” He asked.

“How do you know about them?”

“Celestia sent a letter to me about them. You know, we know each other from that day,” He explained.

“I’ll get at it after Wal gets better,” I replied. “Why?”

“The sooner he’s dead, the sooner will the world be safe,”

“I know, but he’s mo-”

“No he’s not Omnis… Etarr is treating the world as his personal playground, carelessly doing whatever he wants to, and you only worry about the life of a single pony… Come on, you can’t be serious,” He explained. I took some time to think, but agreed, and spent the next 5 years hunting down said targets.

Throughout those years I had to put millions of souls to rest, and absorbed as much. The day the last one fell was quite relieving for me. I pulled my blade from her chest and absorbed her soul as I did the others. I stood there for a while, watching her blood slowly paint the winter snow around her. I asked Adrian through the phone.

He replied. I hurried back, and headed straight for the research lab. “Give me a few hours,” I returned home and slept those hours away, and returned. “Allright… Here’s the thing… Put this on instead of your usual armor. This will give you about twice the protection,” He said, giving me a pile of seemingly modern body armor. I took it and put it on in front of him, since it didn’t need me to remove underwear.

“It’s a bit heavier than usual, but nothing serious,” I replied.

“Now, here’s the flamethrower. It has double range. The M60, Minigun, and M82 has double the firepower. And… Take these instead,” He gave me a pair of bracers, glove, and blades, just like mine. “Yes, the blades are made of Celestium, the perfect material I found for melee weapons. The plating is made of Lunite, as you could’ve guessed,” I switched mine for those he gave me. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a way to improve your pistol or RPG, so those are as usual,”

“It’s okay, I should be good to go now,” I tried assuring him.

“Good luck out there,” He said with a grin.

“If I survive, I’ll see you later,” I replied, leaving them behind.

Just as soon as I left the confinements of my beloved home settlement, Etarr appeared, still in view distance for the guards, but they ignored him, knowing what we were about to do. “Omnis,” He greeted me with.

“Etarr,” I returned the greeting.

“I assume you’re eager, and ready,” He said.

“As much as you are,” I replied.

“Since I know you don’t want a third person being hurt from our fight, I give you the choice of choosing where we do it,” He said. I nodded, and teleported us both to the wasteland, where no more was anything living. We both prepared for the fight to begin. “Good luck, Omnis,” He exclaimed, but I said nothing in return. We stood there, only staring each other down at first, the cold wind stinging our faces. It seemed like we were there for an eternity, when we eventually started the fight. We gave in everything we had, causing most damage to the environment. We fought until one of us collapsed. Unfortunately, I was the first, having dropped to my knees in pain, and exhaustion. “It is over, Omnis… Now… Face your fate!” He said, summoning zombies of the targets I slew, each of them.

I simply grinned to myself, blood pouring down my face, into my mouth, and off my chin.

“What’s so funny?!” He asked. I managed to annoy him.

“You know how the Human Combat Rule goes… If one of the combatants use something other than their chosen weapons, or their body, the other is allowed to use their choice of help…” I reminded him.

“And what on earth could you still be able to use? You gave in everything against me!” He yelled.

“You think?” I asked, and pressed a button on the wrist device Adrian gave me. Moments later Adrian, Altamir, Itrix, Moonlight, and the sisters themselves were there, standing beside me.

“What’s this?!” He asked.

“Your summons count as combatants, so I invited some myself,” I answered, standing back up. “And I’m not done yet…” I reminded him, using the most of my powers to summon all the targets I killed, but I also brought them back to life, instead of just using their bodies the way he did.

“No! NO! That’s impossible!” He yelled.

“Here comes the finale,” I muttered, and my friends channelled their powers to me, without asking what I was going to do with it. I concentrated as hard as I could, and brought a surprise guest back as well.

He leapt out of the ground below, still a ghost. He flew high to the sky, and landed right in front of me. “And so… We meet once more, traveller…” He said with an ear to ear grin.

“Indeed we do,” I replied, returning the grin.

“Are you done now?!” Etarr asked, seemingly annoyed beyond words.

Altamir only whistled, and an army of Griffons arrived, a Dragon in the front. “Talking about overkill…” Itrix noted.”Fine, here’s my part,” She said, and soon the number of Alicorns by our side increased by two, only for the duration of the battle.

“Are you guys ready?” I asked.

“Oh, it’s on now,” Moonlight replied, and the two sides lunged at one another. Thirsting for revenge, and demise of the other we shot, burned, exploded, slashed, stabbed, cut, impaled, torn and ripped until only one side remained. We stood victorious in the end, only Etarr left, trembling in defeat on all fours.

I approached him, and removed all his limbs. Arms, legs, all gone. I grabbed his throat, and lifted him mid air. “What are you doing?! Just kill me already!” He yelled.

“No… You don’t deserve death…” I replied.

“Then let me go!” He said.

“No… I have a special place for you…” I taunted him, dragging him into a whole new place, where the screaming of the damned never ends. Where fire and brimstone are dominant, and torment is the only thing the place has to offer.

“Where are we?”

I only smiled, and replied. “Etarr… Welcome, to hell…” I said, throwing him to the ground. “May the sins of those who died because of you haunt you to all eternity, and may their rightful peace be your torment…” I said, leaving him there, with no intention of ever releasing him.

[The End]