IK-A

*Dawn, Dimension 1*

The sun rose in a bright ball of fire, the birds chirped and made other noises that birds make. The human known as Daniel rose and looked over to see if his insanity was still there; which it was. With a sigh he stood and twisted his back and started his daily stretches, Baxter rebooted and noted the peculiar scene unfurl in front of him. With a short print he asked, 'Being known as Daniel, what are you doing?' He stopped and simply responded.

"Gotta keep limber, don't know when I gotta out run something!" Baxter accepted this and wrote it down in his data base while Daniel continued to stretch his muscles. When he finished the backpack was thrown open in a search of a year old granola bar somewhere in the bottom. He shoved aside a plethora of trinkets and moved more special items, soon he found that the bar was eaten by a mouse as evident by the teeth chewed wrapper. With a grumble he reached around for half eaten Tic-Tacs. "Tics, the breakfast of champs!" With a small smile he downed a few of the orange mints. "Come on Bax time to get a move on!" Daniel threw his back pack on his shoulder and marched on.

*Three Hours Later, Daniel*

It has been around three hours and the Tic-Tacs did nothing to aid in my hunger. My stomach growled quite loudly as I hung my head low, Baxter was oddly quiet. No electronic humming or other computery sounds, it was a tad dark and as I gazed up I felt a small splash of rain fall upon my face. I looked down and saw the damned building hiding in the darkest corner of this forest. I shuddered as I saw the faded yellow and blue building and shuddered, the only three of the four letters hung on he now chipped concrete. 'IK A,' the letter 'E' was face down on the ground as if it had simply decided to lay down for a nap.

My voice was high pitched, "Bax, we need to go in that building over there."

He printed out a card that read, 'Why must we being named Daniel?'

I took a deep breath in and whispered out, "We will get lost and die in the rain if we don't go." His green eyes analyzed and for the first time that I can think of, he nodded. It shocked me greatly, when did he start? Was this his first or was I not paying close enough attention? The occasional droplet of water was now becoming a downpour of rain, I picked up Baxter and sprinted for the ancient glass doors. I could feel the mud draining off of Baxter as I sprinted through the metal skeleton of the automatic doorway. As we made it inside I unceremoniously dropped Bax onto the ground, he landed with a majestic plop. I looked at him and I he was visibly thinner and somehow had dried in the ten seconds that we were inside. "Hu...how are you so dry?"

My inquiry took him a moment to process and his card came with his little ping. But instead of his normal black ink it was now purple. 'The magic used to create the automaton has a quick drying spell in place when constant wetness is no longer a threat, but the dirt will need to be replenished.' I felt my brain turn to mush as I read every sentence.

I glared and narrowed my eyes at him, and noted his eyes had a slight purplish hue to it. "Bax why is your ink purple?"

Out popped another card and it's ink was purple again, ' Actually the color is Sparklisious Purple...Wait why is typing what I say?. ' Well that answered two questions, some one was watching me through Bax.

I took a knee as I glared more into "Bax's" eyes and spoke, "Baxter if you can hear me, deny them access to you. What they're doing is not ethical. Fight it." His eyes lost his purple hue and returned to their swirling mass of green. "Bax I want you to stay here..." Suddenly I realized where we were. "OH MY FUCKING GOD! WE'RE GONNA DIE!" I realized that I screeched in a girlish tone and had my rifle at the ready. I took out the clear magazine and pulled back the slide and let the .22 round fall to the floor. Along with it I fell down to my knees and started to mutter what my good ol' great grandma taught me.

"O patre caelesti, qui es in caelis, protegas me, et a meis nocere, ut vagentur a daemonibus terram. Et nomen sanctum tuum, Ahem." I was visibly shaking as I muttered it, Bax's slim frame came into view and out popped a card.

It read, 'Why are you emotion identified scared?" Before I could respond another came out with a ding. Again it was the damned spying purple ink. 'How can you speak ancient Minotaurian? I can't even do that?! TELL ME!' As I read it I quickly gazed up to Bax's eyes and say that the purple was dying down.

"OK Bax there is so many rumors about this place I can't count them. I am going to freak out but we can't leave or you'll die." I was now hyperventilating as I spoke, "And I am starving and... and I don't know what to do!" My hand went to my heart as I hyperventilated and scooted to a nearby cash register desk and continued to panic. As I was mid panic Baxter cantered over and plopped his head down on my leg.

Out came a small card with light red ink on it instead of purple. 'Whenever you're scared think of jokes!
Why did the kitty cat cross the road?' I was greatly confused as I read the damned thing and said.

"I don't know why did the cat cross the road?"

'To get some milk!' It appeared that whoever made the joke decided that it was necessary to send out around thirty cards that read, 'HA HA AH HA!' My confusion greatly outpaced my fear and I felt the small warmth of laughter dig itself into my heart. Now the next card had, 'Now it's you're turn!!!!'

I sucked my teeth for a second before getting my greatest joke to come out, "Alright so Jared from Subway and a little boy were walking to a dark forest. The boy stops and says, "I dob't want to go in there! It's scary!" And Jared from Subway stops and turns to the boy aghast and says, "You're scared?! I have to go out of there alone!" I giggle to myself and read the next card that pops out.

This time it was a buttery color, 'I don't get it? What does this Jared and little "boy" doing near a dark forest?' I chuckled and before I could respond we both heard the sound of a loud squeak and Baxter dropped a card that read, 'EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!'

It had me scared as well but in a less "eeeee" sort of way. I yanked the rather large handgun from its holster and aimed into the dark where the sound came from. I raised it and then heard it from yer I saw a large shadow of a hunched being come from the doors. I sprang to my feet and grabbed Baxter and ran into the darkness. After a minute of running I stopped and panted. looked into my right hand and could only exclaim one word, "Fuck!" Why had I exclaimed my fourth favorite word? Well I had dropped the Hi-Power and didn't have my rifle the only thing left was Ol' Door Knocker.

I took the .410 shotgun out of my hip holster and gripped the barrel. "Please God let me have a shell in there!" I pushed the lever down and praised every holy deity that I had loaded it. I pushed the barrel up and thumbed the hammer back into ready action. I silently cried inside as I stepped to my left and felt the crunch and scatter of bone, My face went white as I moved my boot and looked done to see a femur bone. I knelt down and saw nibble marks on the entire surface, I heard a scurry and whipped the sawn down shotgun to the direction and fired. A bright flash blinded me for only a moment as I shakily walked to a small form. I quickly reloaded and kicked the small body into the light and saw that it was a...gerbil.

Granted it was hard to tell due to it being shredded but I was certain that it was one. I started to laugh, I laughed harder and harder as it dawned on me. The rumors were wrong there was no monster, I sighed in relief until a monstrous screech came from the back. I grew paler than before and gripped Bax by his under belly and sprinted out. I could feel the thudding of a monster's steps and its hot breath upon my neck. I saw my rifle in the dark and the stock had been nibbled upon. I leaned down a tad and grabbed the strap and yanked it upward. I huffed and puffed as I ran out into the muddy forest. I looked back and as I almost sank into a muddied ditch, I saw an outline of a great beast and I saw its red beady eyes glare into my own. It roared one last time, I shook down to my bone and from all the dear I threw up my small breakfast on my muddied shirt and leaned against a near by tree.

Author's Note

I never really wanted the Mane Six to get a full appearance so the color text will work until I decide for a chapter with them. As always with joy - LIFPH.