The Fable of a Lost Wolf

Chapters

Chapter 1: Welcome Home
Chapter 2: A Lost Soul
Chapter 3: Escape!!!
Chapter 4: Preparing For War
Chapter 5: Make a Super Out of You
Interlude: Family Talk
Chapter 6: A New Mentor Part 1
Chapter 7: A New Mentor Part 2

Chapter 1: Welcome Home

"This is it then." Trider said as he picked up the fragment and walked towards the portal. He stopped in front of it and looked back to his friends. They all smiled and waved at him, so he returned the gesture. "See you in a year." he shouted and turned back to the portal. He took a deep breath and walked thorugh the it. "Old home, new adventure." he said to himself as the portal closed behind him.

As soon as he entered it his senses were thrown into a disarray and he felt vertigo hit him like a truck. The confusion lasted for only a second before it stopped and he felt fine once again, however this time he didn't feel, see, hear or smell anything, almost like all of his senses were turned off. And just like before his senses returned almost as quick as they disappeared.

When he came back to, he quickly realized that he was standing between two buildings, the ground several feet below him. Gravity took its effect and he began to fall towards the concrete floor.

He smirked to himself and faced the sky above him. But his smirk was quickly replaced with a dreadful expression, when a sudden realization dawned on him.

He couldn't fly.

Thinking quickly he reached out his hand and grabbed the closest thing, which happened to be guard rail of the emergency stairs. Unfortunately the rail couldn't withstand the sudden force and it snapped almost immediately.

Trider looked at the stairs with anger and shouted as he continued to fall.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as his back collided with the ground. After several seconds he slowly stood up and massaged his aching head.

"-ck!" he said as he lifted his upper body from the hole he had created. "Why do I always fall from extreme heights, whenever I travel to a different planet?" he asked nobody in particular and stood up completely.

He glared at the Kanisar shaped hole in the ground, almost like it had killed it family. Eventually he closed his eyes and sighed. "The fuck happened?" he wondered and lifted his hands to his head. He inspected them for a second. He tried to channel his Ki through them and created a marble sized ball, before it almost immediately fizzled out.

He tried again and again, but he had no success with it. "Shit!" he cursed. He knew that no matter how hard he tried, it would be useless. He could feel his internal energy was in a state of pure chaos. For a minute he stood still as he continued to feel his energy, but eventually he sighed and gave up.

He knew that without Ki he would be as good as done, but he didn't give up. He once again inspected his arms, then his torso and finally his legs. He found no wounds on them and he began to ponder. He turned his head and saw a garbage container, filled to the brim with trash.

He approached it and reared his arm. In a split second he struck it with full force and sent it flying high into the air. Satisfied, he watched it spin in the air, before he turned around and walked away. "This will do to deal with the other trash."

Just as he rounded the corner he heard the container impact with the ground and afterwards the shouts of the residents. He smirked to himself and pulled a cloak out of his backpack and used it to cover himself with it. He continued to walk down the streets, avoiding any crowded place.

Slowly but surely he made his way through the biggest city on Inu, while also gathering any information he could get.

"One year?" he mumbled to himself, as he looked at the newspaper, he swiped from a human. "It's been one year since I've left." Now that he thought about it a bit, he remembered that the alley he wound up in when he came back, was the same one he jumped over when he left his planet.

He discarded the newspaper in a nearby bin, since there were no other useful information in it, and continued his trek. "The only thing I have to figure out now is why I can't use Ki anymore?"

Numerous thoughts ran through his head, about the possible reason why it happened, but he eventually gave up, since he wasn't the kind to think too much about such things. He prefered to keep it as simple as possible.

"Maybe someone at the base can help me figure out why it happened? But if it is somehow because of the shard and its magic, I doubt they'd be able to help at all." he continued to think, paying no attention to his surroudings, beside that he didn't accidentally run into someone.

Before he knew it he arrived to his destination. But what he found wasn't the secret base of his fellow rebels. Instead the building was demolished, charred remains the only thing left of it.

He slowly approached it and dragged his hand across a piece of wood. "So they found it." he said quietly. "Figures." Without sparing a single moment longer, he turned around and began to walk away. "Now then, where would the old man put his new base?" he pondered as he walked between the alleys.

***

A couple of hours had passed and Trider still wasn't anywhere close to getting an answer as to where the new rebel base was located. It didn't help that he couldn't ask anyone, since they would immeditely know that he was part of them.

"The only way to find it is to find a rebel." he said in a deep thought. "But where am I supposed to find one?"

Distant screams drew Triders attention and he decided to check it out. It took him a couple of seconds, before he arrived to where the commotion was coming from. His eyes widened from the scene that unfurled before him. Humans and Kanisars were engaged in fierce battle, neither side having any advantage over the other. Some of them were engaged in combat, while others were hiding or shooting at others.

"Bingo." he smirked to himself and ran towards the chaotic scene. As he approached he took notice of a Kanisar girl, enveloped in a black aura, who was fiercely fighting anyone who even came close to her. However she failed to notice a guard who aimed his gun at her. Just as he pressed the trigger, Trider jumped in and kicked him.

The bullet missed its target, but it drew the girls attention. She looked at Trider with shock. "Who are you?" she asked flabergasted, before she kicked away a guard who tried to tackle her.

"Later." Trider quickly replied. "Don't worry though, I'm a friend." he said and drew three lines across the left side of his chest with his right hand, in the shape of an S. She immeditely realized he told the truth and nodded. The two now back to back began to fight off the humans.

"Mind telling me what this is all about?" he asked her as he tossed one of the guards into a nearby wall.

"You don't know?" she asked.

"Kinda new here." he replied.

She grunted and kneed a soldier in the stomach. "After our base was found out and destroyed, several of our comrades were captured and we came here to rescue them." she pointed towards an armored truck that Trider only now took notice of. "Needless to say, things went south and here we are."

"Luckily you have me here now." Trider grinned and roundhouse kicked another guard. "With this we should be able to beat them."

The girl shot him an cold glare. "No we won't. If we continue like this, then it's only a matter of time before a Peacekeeper comes here."

Trider looked at her with a confused look and asked. "What's a Peacekeeper?"

The girls expression turned to one of shock and bafflement. "Were you living under a rock until now?" she asked.

"Maaaybe?" Trider replied with a shrug.

The girl shook her head. "Let's just say it's trouble. A kind of trouble that will get us all killed, if we don't get away, and fast."

"Then why don't you take the truck?" Trider asked and pointed towards the vehicle. "With it you should be able to plow through them with ease."

"We would, but we don't have the keys." she replied.

"Then who does?"

The girl lifted her hand and pointed towards a man way in the back. "Him."

Trider looked where she was pointing and his eyes widened.

There in the back stood a man with a black trench coat, that reached all the way to the ground. Towards the bottom it opened up to reveal white trousers and black shoes. In his hands he held two tonfas, whose edges were sharpened to an extreme, acting like two swords. His head was adorned with long, slicked back, black hair that was beginning to gray at the side of his head. The bottom half of his face was hidden behind a jet black mask, which was shaped like a skull with sharp and jagged teeth. But what was truly terrifying about him were the two cold grey eyes.

The same eyes that Trider had faced, right before he was transported to Equestria.

"Deadlock!" he exhaled. His eyes became colder and he began to walk towards him. "I'll get the keys. You guys focus on staying alive."

"Are you crazy?!" the girl shouted after him. "You can't take him alone!"

"Watch me." he said, before he began to run through everyone, heading straight for Deadlock. The soldiers tried to stop him, but to no avail.

When he reached Deadlock he reared his fist and unleashed everything he had at the man. The human dodged out of the way of the attack and looked at Trider, who was still wearing his cloak.

"You dare attack me beast?" he said in a cold tone, showing nothing but disdain. "You have some nerve. I will make sure your demise will be excrutiating."

He twirled his tonfas and began his attack. Trider matched his attacks and blocked his blade tonfas with the combat gloves he got from Spike. The two were locked in a fierce battle with neither of them showing any signs of backing down.

At one moment Trider saw an opportunity to deliver a sure hit and he took it. Deadlock took the full brunt of the attack and fel across the ground. Trider approached him, sure of his victory.

"No way a human could stand after an attack like that." he smiled and reached down.

Suddenly Deadlock lifted his arms, both of them glowing. "Death Star." the human said and blasted Trider. The Kanisar screamed as he fell to the floor. He grabbed his slightly burned face and faced Deadlock once again.

"You can use Ki?" he asked flabergasted.

"Of course." the man said with slight joy. "I am one of the few who was blessed with this power. Although I do hate it that it had come from your kind, but I guess the end result is more than worth it." Again he twirled his tonfas and began his assault on the Kanisar, this time also using several Ki attacks in between.

Trider was slowly pushed back by his relentless assault and he received several wounds. Eventually he was brought to his knees and Deadlock placed one of his tonfas on his shoulder beside his neck. "Be grateful mutt, you will have the pleasure to be executed by the likes of me." he said and lifted both of his weapons. He swung them down at Trider, but the Kanisar caught them midway and the blades dug into the flesh of his hands.

"You have a lot to learn about Ki, before you can even measure up to me." he growled. He pushed all of his power into his hands and with a loud snap he broke Deadlocks weapons.

Shock by that, the human had no time to react to his counterattack. Trider wailed on him with everything he had and while Deadlock tried to retaliate, Trider managed to successfully dodge or block all of his attacks.

With a roar, Trider delivered a powerful kick to the humans stomach and slammed him into a wall. "This is payback for the last time."

"Last time?" Deadlock said weakly. Trider wanted to punish him more, but he knew he didn't have the time. He searched the pockets of Deadlocks trench coat and found the key.

"Found it." he said loudly, lifting the key high into the air. But instead of cheers he heard a high pitched whistling. He looked around to find the source. Looking into the sky he saw it, a large object that was flying straight towards them. It smashed into the ground and laid motionless.

"What is that?" Trider asked.

Deadlock laughed at him. "Heh. This is your end. A Peacekeeper." The giant lump of metal began to shift, as it transformed. When it was finished it stood on four large oval shaped legs and a slightly smaller cicular body in the middle.

"A robot?" Trider asked, slightly disappointed. "This is what everyone was making a big deal out of?" He let Deadlock fall to the ground and walked over to it. "i've dealt with your kind before. Let me show you how."

He reared his hand as far back as he could and punched it. The Peacekeeper tilted backwards and it landed on its side when it fell down. Trider smiled victoriously, as he rasied both of his hands into the sky.

"Get away from there!" he heard someone shout. He paid them no attention, as he faced the robot again and saw it picked itself up, with no visible damage.

"Tough nut are ya. Well then, you better get ready for round two." This time he reared his leg and he swung it.

"Peacekeeper attack!"

Suddenly the robot jerked and intercepted Triders kick. Surprised by the sudden reaction, the Kanisar lost his balance and the Peacekeeper took advantage of that. It swung one of its legs at Trider and he was sent flying into a nearby wall. He grunted as he slid down to the ground, his back grating against the rough texture.

"Peacekeeper stand down." Deadlock said and the robot stopped its movement. The man walked over to Trider and he could tell that the man was smiling under his mask. "Like I said. Your end." He then turned to the robot again and shouted his command. "Peacekeeper, kill!" he said and pointed toward the rebels.

The robot shifted to life and began to move towards the terrified humans and Kanisars, who began to hide inside the truck.

"Now then, I think I was about to exe-" Deadlock didn't have time to finish his sentence as Trider punched him straight in the jaw, cracking the mask that the man wore.

Without a second to spare he ran towards the Peacekeeper. He saw that it approached a couple of humans that didn't manage to hide and it was about to strike them with its leg.

Trider knew that they wouldn't survive if it hit. A part of him said that they deserved it, the part that he had listened to for a great part of his life.

But not this time.

He jumped in front of the leg and grabbed it. He struggled against it and eventually managed to stop it.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE ALREADY!" he screamed at the two humans and they listened to him. Trider pressed back against the machine, however it was jsut stronger than him and it smashed him into the ground.

He had no chance to counter as it continued to strike at him with its leg, pressing him deeper and deeper into the ground.

Suddenly the girl Kanisar howed out of nowhere and kicked the Peacekeeper off of Trider. He wanted to thank her, but she just pulled him up and they began to run toward the truck.

"Why the heck didn't you go Feral?" she screamed at him.

"I can't." he replied.

"What do you mean you can't?" she asked, looking at him with complete shock and confusion.

"Woman, we don't have time to talk about my performance issues!" he shouted back at her. He handed over the keys he got from Deadlock to her. "You drive!"

She took the keys and nodded. The two went into the cabin of the truck and the girl started the engine. The motor roared to life and they drove away from the humans.

"Are they following us?" the girl asked after a few seconds.

Trider stuck his head out to look behind them and pulled it back just in time to avoid a shot. "Take a guess!" he said sarcastically.

The Peackepper, with Deadlock on top of it, as well as a few jeeps were following and shooting at them, but luckily the truck withstood the blows it received.

The girl focused on the road, while Trider navigated her.

"Take a left here!" he shouted. The girl turned the wheel sharply and smashed through a couple of cars that were in their way. "Shit!" Trider cursed and looked in the rearview mirror at the destruction they caused. "Where did you learn to drive?"

"I never said I knew how to drive." she shouted back.

"Shit!" he cursed again. He looked forward and saw that they were approaching another intersection. "Go forward!" he commanded.

"No!" she retaliated. "That won't get us nowhere, we need to turn right!"

"The only thing on the right is a dead end."

"And how do you know?"

"Cause I've passed by here before!"

"Yeah right, I am supposed to believe a guy who recklessly charges into a fight and has no clue as to what is going on? I am going right and that's final." she said and pressed on the gas even harder.

"Woman listen to me!"

"No I am driving, so I choose where we go!" she countered and turned the truck right. "Why don't you shoot at them, instead of trying to lecture me where to go?"

"I can't for some reason."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Can't go Feral and can't shoot Ki? Next you're going to tell me that you can't even-"

"STOP!!!" Trider shouted. The girl saw what he meant and pressed the breaks. The truck screeched to a halt, just a few inches away from a broken down bridge.

Trider turned his head to the girl and shot her a nasty glare. "This is the last time I let you choose where we go!"

"Oh this is my fault now?" she shouted back. "This coming from Mr. Impotence."

"Impotence?!" he screamed. "I'll have you know that I am more than capable of satisfying any woman, just ask my-"

Their bickering was interrupted when they heard a voice come from the outside. "You are trapped. Surrender now and we will let half of you live. Maybe." Trider knew who this voice belonged to and he knew that if they obliged, none of them will make it out.

He looked at the girl and saw her depressed expression. "I guess this is it." she sighed. "I'm sorry for what I said." she apologized. "Thank you for trying to help us."

Trider observed her, a scowl clear on his face. "Well I'm not." he said and reached over to the girl, pulling somthing from her belt. "I don't give up that easily. We'll continue this when we get back to base."

"Do you have a plan?" she asked, slightly hopeful.

"I have an idea." he answered. "Although it's probably an awful one." He unlocked his door and before he exited he told her one last thing. "Tell everyone inside to hold on to their butts."

With that said he went out, his hands behind his head.

Deadlock watched with glee as the Kanisar stepped out of the truck. "Good. Now for the others." he said. "Or we will have no other choice but to push the truck down."

Trider didn't say anything. Instead he pulled the pin and tossed the grenade into the air. Everyones eyes followed the object he had tossed into the air, while he himself shut them tight.

The object exploded, blinding and deafening everyone in the vicinity. It took a few seconds for everyone to regain their senses and once they did they could only stare at the sight before them.

Trider was using all of his strength to lift the massive truck with everyone inside it over his head. Then he grunted and tossed the vehicle across the gorge, where it safely landed an the other side. Still awestruck by what ahd happened, the humans remained still, giving Trider a chance to look back at them.

Deadlocks eyes widened as his eyes gazed at the unhooded face of the Kanisar. "It can't be." he gasped.

"Now for you!" The Kanisar said and extended his arm.

Fear coursed through Deadlocks veins. "Peacekeeper, protect!" he screamed. The robot positioned itself in front of the human and placed its legs at the front.

Trider watched how the humans scrambled around, trying to get out of the way of the blast. He then grinned and twisted his hand, flipping them off, which Deadlock saw quite clearly. He then turned around and ran to the edge of the gorge. With a mighty leap he crossed it and joined the others in the truck, with which they then drove off.

Deadlock continued to stare at the other side where the truck was, before reaching for his radio. "HQ. This is Deadlock. We mig- We have a problem."

***

The truck drove for half an hour, before they reached the outer limits of the city and then drove into the woods. It took several more minutes for them to reach the base of the rebels.

When they disembarked they were greeted by other members and they all cheered and praised. The captives hugged their closest ones and two humans approached Trider.

"Thank you." one of them said.

Trider simply shrugged and said. "No problem."

The girl Kanisar approached him as well and bumped him in the shoulder. "You're one crazy dude, but I'm glad we had you came when you did. Otherwise this would've ended even worse."

The two were soon swarmed by others and they began to ask them questions.

"I see you've been successful." someone said and as soon as he did, everyone stopped their chatter and turned towards an older man. He slowly walked towards the pair, using his blade as a makeshift cane.

"Commander Shepherd!" the girl said and saluted. Trider watched as the familiar face approached them and he couldn't help but smile.

"At ease." Shepherd said and the girl lowered her arm. "I'm glad that you made it back alive." he said and patted the girls head, which she clearly enjoyed. He then turned toward Trider and raised a brow at him. "And who might you be?"

The girl quickly responded. "This is a fellow rebel. If it wasn't for him we would've probably been captured." she said enthusiastically. "You should've seen him. He went against a Peacekeeper even though he can't go Feral or use Ki." she continued fawning over him.

Shepherd chuckled at the girls reaction. "I see. He truly will be a valueable ally in the future." He then turned his head towards Trider and extended his arm. "I am Commander Robert Shepherd, leader of the rebel forces here in Lupias. And who might you be."

Trider didn't respond, instead he continued to stare at the man. Eventually he reached up and removed the hood of his cloak, revealing his toothy grin. "Long time no see old man." he said.

Shepherds pupils shrank when he saw the all too familiar face. "Trider?" he asked in disbelief. When he uttered the name the people around them had different reactions. Shock, joy, fear and anger.

Still in disbelief Shepherd reached forward and touched Triders face with his hand, almost like he was trying to touch the most fragile object in existence. When he finally reached him, he broke down and pulled the Kanisar into a hug.

"I thought you were dead." he sobbed into his shoulder.

Trider was a little surprised by the reaction, but he eventually hugged him back and patted his back. "You know it would take a goddamn army to take me down." he said, as he buried his face into the old mans shoulder, hiding away the tears that began to flow down his face.

***

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"

Deadlock stood silent as he was berated by the king himself.

"HOW COULD YOU LOSE NOT ONLY THE CAPTURED REBELS, BUT ALSO ONE OF THE ARMORED TRUCKS, WHICH NOW THE REBELS HAVE IN POSSESSION?! DESPITE THE FACT THAT YOU HAD A PEACEKEEPER WITH YOU?"

"We... were surprised by someone." Deadlock tried to defend himself.

"Ah yes you did say something about that." another voice spoke up.

Deadlock was currently standing in a room that had several screens, on which the most of influental people on Inu were watching him.

"Who did you say it was again?" the voice asked again.

Deadlock fumbled for a bit, his usually clam demeanor crumbling under the pressure. "Trider Lykosgrothia." he answered.

"Trider Lykosgrothia?" the voice repeated. "As in the Mad Fang Trider Lykosgrothia?" Before Deadlock could answer, the voice continued. "The same Trider Lykosgrothia that you supposedly eliminated a year ago?"

"Correct." he answered.

"Are you certain?" another voice spoke up.

"I saw him with my own eyes." Deadlock replied. "And the Peacekeeper also managed to capture his face." As he said that the image of the Kanisar flipping off the camera was displayed on the screens. "And after running it through several face recognition programes we are certain, that it is him."

"Then tell me Deadlock." the king spoke in a soft tone, before he erupted. "HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN SOMEONE WHO IS DEAD, WALKING AROUND AND BEATING OUR SOLDIERS?" Deadlock could swear he heard the kings veins pop.

"In my defence sir." he said once the king had clamed down. "When he had disappeared we searched all over the city and after he had not resurfaced for three months we had all the reason to pronounce him deceased."

"He does put a valid point. He followed all the procedures, so he is not to blame for not knowing that he was alive." another voice spoke.

"He should've done a better job."

"How can you say that, he did all that was expected of him and then some."

"I say we should just demote him."

The voices continued to argue with each other and while they did so, another person continued to watch the enhanced image of Trider that the Peacekeeper took.

"So you were alive." the man said quietly. He corrected his glasses and smiled. "I can't wait for our reunion."

Author's Note

The continuation of the story is now out. I hope you all enjoyed it and leave a comment if you have one.

Chapter 2: A Lost Soul

"Well, that's it." the man said as he removed his hands from Triders back. "As far as I can tell everything is fine with you."

Trider placed his shirt back on and turned to the man who examined him. "Thanks anyway doc."

"I'm not a doctor though." the man replied as he watched the lad get up and walk out of the tent.

"It seemed appropriate." Trider grinned and exited.

Once he was out he began walking through the camp, observing his surroudings. He saw men, women and children going about their day. However as he continued he couldn't help but feel like he was stared at by almost everyone. He paid them no mind and began to ponder his predicament.

It's been a few days since he came back and he has slowly adapted to his old life on his planet. Yesterday he and Shepherd had a long talk about all the things that had happened since his disappearance. He learned that humans had developed numerous new weapons with which they kept the Kanisars in line. Among them the two that stood out were the Peacekeepers and the Ki modified humans. No one had any idea where the humans got the means to imbue themselves with it, but it made things far more difficult for the rebel forces.

He soon reached his destiantion and entered the tent. "Hey." he greeted as soon as he entered. The two people inside it turned to him, Shepherd and a Kanisar girl. They were in the middle of what seemed an important discussion. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Welcome Trider." the older man greeted back, while the Kanisar girl glared at him. Trider ignored her and instead focused on Shepherd. "I'll be right with you, just let me finish talking with Avaia."

"Sure thing." he said and shrugged. He stepped back outside and waited. After a couple of minutes the girl walked out and as she passed him she stopped for a second and shot him another hateful glare.

"What's her problem?" Trider thought as he watched her leave. He once again entered the tent and Shepherd motioned him to sit.

"What did Garant say about your condition?" the man asked, as Trider took a seat.

"He has no clue what could've happened to me." Trider explained. "But he did say that my Ki channels seem to be ... blocked or something. And that that is what's preventing me from using it at full capacity."

"And you don't know what could've done this?" Shepherd asked.

"I told you already. I lost it when I traveled back to Inu." he explained.

The old man sighed and rubbed his eyes with his hand. "Trider ... I know that you're not one to lie to me, but what you told me just seems impossible." He removed his hand to look at the Kanisar again. "Appearing in another world, meeting and fighting magical creatures and the like. I want to believe you, I truly do, but I just can't."

Trider fiddled with the fragment he had in his pocket, pondering if he should show it to him. But like before, he thought against it, fearing what could happen, since he knew what it did to Discord.

"It's fine." he sighed. "I'll figure it out, one way or another. Until then I'll just ... Wander around I guess."

Shepherd nodded in agreement and he returned back to the papers that were on his desk. Trider took as his cue to leave. Before he exited the man spoke to him, without taking his eyes from the table. "Try not to get into trouble and be careful."

"No promises." Trider said with a smile and left the tent.

For the next half an hour he walked around the new camp, that the rebels set up, trying to figure out the general layout of the place. Eventually he reached the outskirts of the encampment, where he saw a small makeshift field, on which several people were playing basketball. He approached them and as he got closer he saw that most of them were in their teens.

"Hey, got room for one more?" he called out to them. The kids stopped playing and they all looked at him. One of them stepped forward and got closer.

"Sure thing. Just be sure to play fair. Not all of us can punch a rock into dust." he said.

Trider grinned and began stretching. "Please, I could wipe the floor with all of you with one hand behind my back and without Ki."

Another kid approached them and pulled the first kid away from Trider, as he began to whisper to him. Trider could see scared and worried expression on their faces as they conversed and he couldn't help but overhear that they were talking about him.

The kid who was speaking with him faced him, this time more reluctantly. "Sorry, I just remembered that we have to go back. It'll be our curfew soon." he apologized, before he and the rest of the group ran away.

"But it's fucking noon." Trider grumbled. "What's their problem?"

"Can you blame them?"

He turned around to see who spoke to him and he saw a familiar girl. He remembered her from the day he came back and helped her escape the humans, as well as the few times she was in Shepherds tent.

She was about the same height as him, with a slender figure. Her blonde hair reached the middle of her back and her green eyes felt like they were piercing him with all of her might. She wore a small leather jacket, that cut off just above her stomach, leaving it fully exposed. She wore a short skirt that stopped midway down he thighs. But the most outstanding thing about her outfit were the metal boots, that reached all the way to her knees.

"Oh it's you... Uh..." he snapped his fingers as he tried to recall what Shepherd called her. "Avian or something?"

"It's Avaia." the girl corrected him, her tone clearly showing that she was angry.

"Yeah that." he said, disregarding her outburst. "Were you following me?"

"I did." she said almost proudly. "I had to make sure that you-"

"Y'know if you wanted to talk to me, you could've just approached me. There was no need to stalk."

Her face turned red and veins became clearly visible on her temples. "I wasn't stalking you. I was making sure you didn't cause any trouble."

"Whatever you say." Trider replied with a shrug. "Anyway, why did you stalk me? Did Shepherd asked you to?"

She wanted to correct him again, but she thought against it. "No, I came here of my own volition. After all, it is you we're talking about."

This time Trider was the one who got angry. "And what is that supposed to mean?" he inquired, his voice louder than it was before.

Avaia looked at him with an even angrier look, as she took a step forward. "Don't play dumb. Everyone in the camp knows or has heard of you, Trider the Heartless."

Without warning he closed the distance between them and grabbed her by the collar of her jacket. "Don't call me that." he growled in her face. The girl however didn't even flinch at his attempt at intimidation. "I'm not like that anymore, I've changed."

Avaia's expression became one of pure fury, as her eyes turned bright red. She kneed Trider in his stomach, which made him release her. As he was grasping his stomach, he failed to see her spin around and deilver another kick, right to his face. He fell to the ground and as he was trying to get up, he looked up and saw the girl thrusting her leg forward for another attack. She stopped, so her foot was less than an inch away from Trider's face.

"You expect me to believe you?" she asked, her voice quivering. "Do you think that just because you say it that I'll just forget everything you did?" Tears started to run down her face and Trider just watched her with a shocked expression. "How many people have died because of you? How many lost their lives because of your grudge? People who did their best to correct the actions of others."

She moved her leg away from Trider's face and turned away. "It was a known fact, that if you were part of the team it would be only a matter of time before everyone would end up dead, because of you." She lifted one of her arms and grabbed hold of the other, trying to stop her shaking. "Some of my friends were also part of those teams. Friends who I had close ties with. And every time they left, they didn't come back, only you did." Her shaking was now clearly visible and her voice broke from time to time. "And then, when you also didn't come back I thought that we were finally rid of you. But no, you came back anyway, spouting trash about another world, magic, super forms and all the other nonsense."

"You were eavesdropping?!" Trider said surprised.

"I did. I had good reason." she snapped back. "But out of all the bullshit you said, the one that was absolute worst and unforgiveable was that you've changed, that you were sorry. It made me sick." She turned back to him. Her eyes were bloodshot, but were still full of fury. "I bet you don't even remember their names, do you? The names of those who died for our sake."

No matter how hard her tried, Trider couldn't say a word to her, he just stared at her with a hurt expression. "Try anything and next time I won't stop myself." She scoffed at him and walked away. Slowly Trider stood up and wiped the blood from his mouth. Silently he marched back to the camp as he thought over what Avaia told him.

***

Sleep eluded Trider that night, as the words Avaia said to him drifted through his head. He turned to his other side and tried to close his eyes, but it was still futile.

"Goddamit." he cursed silently. Just then his ears flicked, as he caught a muted buzzing. He lifted himself from his bed and looked around the dark room, which was only illuminated by one of the moons. "Where are ya fucker?" he said, turning his head to find the insect that further disturbed his sleep.

Then in the darkness he saw a small blue light and after straining his eyes he saw that it came from a strange floating device. He continued to stare at it, until it made a short beeping sound and a wave of light washed over Trider's face. The sudden brightness stinged the Kanisar's eyes and he rubbed his eyes to alleviate the sensation. After he was done he looked back to the device and saw it was scanning his room.

After it was done it turned back to Trider. "RECIPIENT RECOGNIZED." it said in a robotic and monotonous voice, as it landed in Trider's hand. "NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL OBSERVERS: 0. RELYING MESSAGE."

"Hello Trider." a voice greeted Trider. "I hope you weren't startled by my message drone, what am I saying of course you weren't." The man, whose voice belonged to, tried to sound calm, but was failing at certain points, making him fumble over his words. "Anyway, I heard that you were back in town and I would like to have an audience with you..." The man went silent for a couple of seconds, before he spoke again, this time in a hushed tone. "Audience? Does that sound too formal? Maybe I should go with 'I wish to speak to you? Nah still too much."

Trider continued to listen to the recording, smiling to himself over the man's nervousness. "Yeah let's go with that." he cleared his throat and continued the message. "I heard you were back in town and I would like to talk with you. Meet me at the location that the drone will provide you with. And make sure you come alone. Don't worry, this isn't a trap..." The voice again went silent. "Why did I say that? Now he'll think it is a trap. Ugh, how stupid can I-" The recording stopped and the drone displayed a map before Trider, on it a blinking red spot indicating the meeting point, as well as the route to take to it.

"Well, can't refuse I guess." he said as he stood up. He put on his boots and walked out, heading towards his destination. However, as he was leaving he failed to notice a pair of eyes that were staring at him from the shadows.

***

It took Trider about half an hour, before he reached the meeting point. It was on the outskirts of the town, inside a small park, which was empty at the time. While he did deem the contents of the message as truthful, it didn't hurt him to survey the location first, before he engaged the one who sent him the message.

After several minutes of scouting he continued towards a bench on which a lone man sat. Trider could only see his back. The man was shorter than him and had dark blue curly hair. He wore a white short sleeved shirt and equally white dress pants. As he approached him, the man failed to notice him.

"Hello there." Trider said, startling the man.

"Holy-" the man said as he jumped in his seat. He quickly turned around and Trider saw his ash grey eyes look into his own, through the glasses that sat on his nose. "I don't believe, it really is you." he said awestruck, as he stood up and approached Trider.

"Yeeeah." Trider replied, a bit taken aback, by the man's reaction.

"It's such a pleasure to see you again." the man said and reached out his arm, to which Trider reacted by taking a step back. "I bet you have a lot of stories to tell, about what happened to you, where were you and, and..."

"Woah there." Trider said as he raised a hand, signaling him to stop. "First of all who are you? And what business does a human have with me?"

The man blinked a few times, before he slapped his head. "Doi, of course you don't recognize me. My name is Syver Prodose. We've met before."

Trider tilted his head, a confused expression on his face. "Who?"

When he said those words, Syver visibly deflated, but he quickly regained his composure. "Well it has been a while, but maybe this will jog your memory." he said. "Master you are super, just a like a super hero." he spoke in a childlike voice.

Trider gazed at him like he was mad, but at the same time those words triggered his memories to wash forward. Until it clicked. "Wait a minute. You're that kid that kept following me around, calling himself my student and shit like that."

A smile stretched across Syver's face. "So you do remember me." he said gleefully.

Trider's sruprised expression was replaced by one of worry and confusion. "What happened to you? One day you were just gone. And what happened to your ears and tail?"

Syver didn't say anything, insted he lowered his head and lifted some of his hair to reveal two holes and bald patches on top of his head. Trider stared at this furiously, as he clenched his fists as hard as he could.

"One day I was caught by some humans and taken to a nobles residence to act as a slave." he explained somberly. "And they weren't fans of our kinds appearance, so they had them removed, to look more like them."

Trider was gritting his teeth in anger, as deep inside a part of him, that he abandoned, tried to resurface again. He took a deep breath and calmed down. "I'm sorry." he said.

"Thanks." Syver said and sat back down, patting the bench for Trider to sit by him. "But enough about me, I wanted us to meet so you could tell me what happened to you. Everyone thought you were dead."

Trider sat down as well and chuckled. "You probably won't believe a word I'll say."

Syver shook his head vigorously. "Nonsense. If it's you, then it must be true."

And so Trider began recalling his time in Equestria and what he had done there. Syver listened to him intently and was visibly excited by everything Trider told him.

"And then I charged at the giant robot and smashed him into pieces." he said, thrusting his arm forward, punching at the air.

"That is so awesome." Syver said excitingly. "I can't believe that our kind can achieve such power." he said as he wrote down what he has been told into a small notebook. "And you said that you gained this power by supressing your anger and instincts while in your Feral Unleashing and still drawing power from it. Remarkable."

"Kinda. Though it's a bit more complicated than that." Trider said.

Suddenly Syver closed his notebook and looked at Trider. "No matter. You'll have all the time to tell me how it works." he said and stood up. "With your help, my plans will be a success."

"Sorry, what?" Trider said, surprised by his friend's sudden outburst.

Syver looked at him, his eyes glinting. "I'm talking about finally ending this damned war and bringing peace back to our world." He reached his hand out to Trider. "Will you help me in achieving our ultimate goal?"

Trider stood up as well and was about to grasp his hand, when all of a sudden a shadow jumped out of the bushes. Trider and Syver watched as a foot crashed into the ground between them and they both backed away.

"I knew you'd get into trouble eventually, but this is just stupid." Avaia said as she glared at both men.

"Where did you come from?" Trider shouted.

"I saw you when you left camp and followed you here." she said, crossing her arms across her chest.

Trider casted his gaze towards Syver. "Hey what do you call someone who secretly follows you, with dubious reason?"

"I believe that's a stalker." Syver replied.

"See, even he agrees with me."

"I'm not a goddamn stalker." the girl yelled at him. "And my reasons aren't dubious, I told you that I was making sure you didn't cause trouble."

"I bet you were also waiting outside my tent all night." Trider continued.

"As if. I was just passing by when I saw you leave it in the middle of the night." Avaia argued.

While the two continued to bicker, Syver just watched, unsure how to react. "Um, excuse me?" he interjected.

"What?!" both of them shouted in his face.

"Is she your mate Trider?" he asked.

The girls cheeks flushed and her right eye twitched. "As if. He's the worst."

"Ah, I see. So you're just friends." he nodded in understanding.

"Not even that." Avaia fumed. Suddenly her expression changed, as she took a defensive stance against Syver. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Trider looked between the two, clearly confused. "Wait, do you two know each other?"

Avaia gave him a stern look, before she turned her attention back to Syver. "Everyone on Inu knows who he is. He's Maximillian Stonebright II."

Trider looked at her as if she grew a second head. "Wut?"

Avaia didn't spare him a single glance, as she kept her eyes solely on Syver. "Seriously, how daft can you be?" she snarled. "This man is the director and lead researcher of SyvTech. He helped create the Peacekeepers, gave humans the ability to use Ki and is responsible for deaths of dozens of Kanisars."

"Are you daft?" Trider exclaimed. "I know this guy. Well I can recall his face, but I know that he's a Kanisar as well and there is no way in hell that one of our own would side with the humans."

"I heard what he said and he only said that so he could gain your trust. For what reason I have no freaking clue."

"If I may." Syver said with a raised hand, as he interjected. The two glared at him, but he continued to smile at them both. "Both of you are correct and if you'll spare me some time, I'll be more than happy to tell you."

Avaia and Trider glanced at each other and they both relaxed a bit. Syver took that as his cue as he turned around and sat back down onto the bench. "Now keep in mind, Trider, that I never meant to keep this away from you." he said before he started his explanation. "I am both Syver Prodose and Maximillian Stonebright."

"Five years ago, I was captured by the humans and brought to the Stonebright estate, to be their slave. Those people, as I've already mentioned, weren't accepting of how our kind looks like and had our 'impurities' removed." he said as he again showed the bald marks on his head. "They also made us wear these." He reached for the 'human ears' on the side of his head and removed them. "Pretty godd, eh? Look just like the real deal."

"Just continue, please." Avaia said, clearly shaken by what he showed her.

Syver shrugged and placed his ears back. "For the next three years I had to endure hell. Those people abused me and other slaves and the only thing that kept me going was the thought of you Trider. That one day you would come and save us." he chuckled to himself, his expression turning dark. "But that never came. One day we were told that you had perished by the hand of Deadlock and at that time I lost all hope. I had nothing left, I planned on taking my own life." A smile stretched across his face as he looked Trider in the eye. "But then I remembered that you wouldn't give up and I knew that the Kanisars would need someone else to save them."

"However I'm not the warrior type like the rest of our kind, I'm subpar in terms of strength, speed and the like. But what I lacked in raw power I made up with my superior intellect." he boasted, as he tapped the side of his head. "That night I made a plan, to free myself and to take revenge on the family."

"You see the Stonebright's were very protective of their son, so they never let him out of the house. Not once in their lives, so nobody knew what he looked like, outside of those in the house." he continued his story as his smile grew darker. "One night I quietly went all around the house and killed everyone in their sleep, so they didn't put up much of a resistance."

"Wait!" Trider suddenly jumped in. "You said everyone. Does that mean also...?"

Syver sighed as his form slumped slightly. "Unfortunately, yes. I also had to kill all the slaves to make my plan a success." At that, both Trider's and Avaia's face turned pale.

"And what exactly was your plan?" Trider shouted, his anger clear as day.

"He took the place of Stonebright's son, since no one knew what he looked like and framed the resistance as the perpetrators of the murders." Avaia said.

"Clever one." Syver clapped to her deduction. "Yes that's exactly what happened. And they didn't question me much, since they assumed I was of noble blood." His face was full of glee. "Soon afterwards I joined the SyvTech and quickly climbed the ranks, until I became it's CEO. It wasn't that hard, since I had a lot of financial support from the Stonebrights inheritance."

"But why?" Trider asked. "You said that you wanted revenge, so why are you helping the enemy?"

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer." Syver answered, as he slowly stood up. "I am not like you Trider. I can't plunge my way through enemy ranks with brute force. So I decided for a less active approach." He snapped his fingers and out of nowhere a Peacekeeper appeared before them. Trider and Avaia got into their defensive stances, ready to fight.

"Oh don't worry, it won't cause you harm." Syver assured them, but the two were still apprehensive. "You see all of the Peacekeepers contain a hidden code in their programming, that when triggered will attack all humans on sight. And I'm the only one with that code."

The two Kanisars looked at him with doubt. "Then what about giving humans Ki?"

The man scoffed. "Humans aren't capable of handling Ki, at least not in great amounts. It wears their bodies out and the more they use it, the greater the damage is. If I were to put it simply, it's like a poision that's slowly killing them the more they use it." With shocked expressions, Avaia and Trider stared at their fellow Kanisar, unsure how to take what he had told them.

"Is what Avaia said about you killing other Kanisars also true?" Trider asked, his head slumped forward.

"Necessary sacrifices." he replied with a stoic expression. "If I didn't I wouldn't have gained so much of the humans trust and I wouldn't be here where I am now."

"And you are satisfied with that?" Avaia shouted at the man.

"If it means to save our people, then I am willing to do anything. Even become a villain." he turned to Trider, reaching his hand towards him. "But we can make all of that stop. If you come with me we can strike at the enemy sooner than I anticipated and finally get rid of the human filth from our home. So please, join me."

With a slow step, Trider approached the man and Avaia looked at him with wide and scared eyes. When he reached him he began to lift his hand to Syver's.

"Don't do-" Avaia's warning was cut short when Trider slapped Syver's hand away. They both looked shocked at the Kanisar's action.

"No." he simply replied.

"No?" Syver asked surprised. "What do you mean no? I know that what I did to our kind is unforgivable, but I am ready to pay for my crimes, as soon as we kill the humans and bring peace back to out world."

Trider looked at him with sympathetic gaze, as he started talking. "I'd still say no Syver." he said clamly. "If you asked me this, before I went to Equestria, I'd glady take your hand. But I'm not the same guy as I was back then." Syver looked at him with disbelief, trying to find out if he was lying to him or not. "While I was there, I saw what my hatred and anger were capable of. I hurt people closest to me and killed others who were innocent. I was no better than the humans who took my family away from me."

"But, you-? Wha-? Why?" Syver was flabergasted at what he was being told. "Are you saying that you're forgiving the humans?"

"No. At least not all of them. And don't think that I've just forgotten about what they did." he stated firmly. "But I know that killing them, won't bring peace. It'll only make the hatred between us greater." He reached out his hand and looked Syver straight into his eyes. "I know that your intentions are good, but how you're trying to achieve them is wrong. I had friends who helped me see my mistakes, so now I'll help you see yours, as a friend."

Both Syver and Avaia stared at him with looks of disbelief. The other Kanisar remained quiet for quite a while, before he raised his shaking hand towards Trider's. The two clapsed their hands and Syver pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you Trider, for making me see the error of my ways." he said. Trider patted him lightly on the back, glad he was so accepting.

Suddenly pain seared through his abdomen, as he felt his limbs go limb. He fell, as he could no longer stand, but Syver caught him mid-fall. "I now see that you have lost your way master." he whispered into the Kanisar's ear, before letting him fall onto the ground.

"Trider!" Avaia screamed as she charged at Syver. But he simply waved his hand and the girl was slammed by the robot against the tree, where she slid to the ground, unconscious.

Trider tried to get up, but his body wouldn't listen to him. He felt a strange sensation, but painful, go through his body, as if parts of him were slowly waking up out of a long slumber. But that also casued his own consciousness to fade in and out.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure they treat the both of you delicately."

That was the last thing Trider heard, before his mind went dark.

Author's Note

It's been like, what, three months since the last update. I apologize for that, I've been very busy. I've had lots of exams for school and then my job took most of my time.

But anyway, I hope you enjoyed the new chapter.

Chapter 3: Escape!!!

The feeling was all too familiar. The never ending darkness, muffled noise in the background and especially the loud thumping in his head. Trider was caught in this sensation so many times, he had already lost count. Slowly he began to gather his thoughts and senses, and the world around him slowly gained a semblance of form. He blinked a few times to remove the fog from his vision and once it cleared up he was finally able to see where he was.

The room was huge, the ceiling was easily four times as high as he was tall and the opposite wall was so far away that you could have a 100 m dash tournament in here. Lighting provided ample illumination, so he could see all of the details. All around were various pieces of machines, most of which he didn't have any idea what they were used for, but he knew very well that this place was some sort of laboratory.

"You are finally awake!" The voice made Trider turn his head and he spotted Syver sitting in a comfy office chair, looking at him from behind a desk. "I was beginning to fear that I might've-"

"You bastard!" Trider roared, interrupting the man in the middle of his sentence. He tried to jump at him and pummel him into the ground, but something held him back. He quickly looked at his arms and legs and saw that they were restrained by metal shackles. He again glared at Syver, noticing a slight sheen and a faded reflection of himself.

"I'm truly sorry for treating you like this." Syver spoke, as he rose from his chair and approached him. "But it was a necessary precaution." Trider began to press against his restraints once more, but he didn't even make them budge. "Please calm down, I can assure you that you're safe." He tried to calm the angered Kanisar, but it didn't help. "I should tell you that this cage was made specifically to hold our kind. No matter how strong you are, you're not breaking out of there, so I plead again, rest easy and let us talk, I'm sure you have quite a few things you want to talk about."

Trider continued to glare at him, but he eventually stopped his struggle and settled down. Syver smiled at that and sat back down in his chair, facing him. "Where are we?" he asked calmly.

"This." he said extending his arms. "Is one of the kingdoms private laboratories, where most of their groundbreaking technological inventions are created. Such as hoverboards, replenishable power cells, Peacekeepers..."

"Human Ki infusion?" Trider spoke blatantly.

"That too." the man sneered. He took a deep breath, removed his glasses and began to massage his eyes. "I told you already that what I am doing is all for the better of our kind. I'm not proud of it, but someone has to make the sacrifice."

"I'm with you there. Someone has to make a sacrifice." Trider agreed and before Syver could speak up, he continued. "But they should sacrifice themselves, not others. If you want to change how things are, then put your own fucking life on the line and not those of innocent."

Syver remained silent for several seconds, his eyes hidden behind his glasses. "That is quite hypocritical coming from you." that sentence struck deep into Triders conscience. "You, who were nicknamed Trider the Heartless, the one who threw lives of his human comrades away like they were garbage."

"I've changed." that was all Trider said in reply.

"So you've said. But a wolf raised by sheep is still a wolf." Syver responded. Their chatter was interrupted, when the door to the lab opened up and in walked a woman.

"Sir, it is time for your afternoon tea." The woman spoke and Syver nodded.

"Completely forgot about it. Good job." he acknowledged and waved her over. As she walked over to him, she didn't spare a single glance at the caged Kanisar and instead focused on the man in front of her.

Trider on the other hand got a good look at her. She was quite tall for a woman, around 186 cm, and her body was very slender, but not so much that she looked like a walking stick. Her black hair was tied in a bun on top of her head, with a single strand cascading down the right side of her face. She wore a single piece tight fitting suit, which covered every part of her body, except from neck up. Once she placed the cup in front of Syver and poured the tea in, she faced Trider and when she did he could only see dead cold eyes staring at him. There was no emotion behind them, no semblance of a sould, just empty void. It made the Kanisar shiver.

"Hey you!" he called out to the woman, to which she didn't react. "You're a human right?" He waited for a reply, but again she didn't react. "That man over there isn't who you think he is. He's in fact a Kanisar like me and he plans on wiping out all of your kind."

The woman continued to stare at him with a blank expression and Trider became highly confused. He was brought out of his stupor when he heard Syver chuckle. "Did you really think that would work?" he asked, as he sipped his tea. "You are an enemy of humans; do you really think that they'd believe you just like that? A Kanisars word against the word of a high ranking official." He made another quick break to drink more of his tea, before he continued. "And even if your word held some value, she." he said nodding his head to the woman. "Would do nothing."

"Why?" Trider asked, switching his glance between the two people.

A sadistic grin appeared on Syvers face, as he stood up and moved behind the woman. Then without hesitation he placed his hand on one of her shoulders and dug his claws deep into her flesh. Trider just watched shocked, while the woman displayed no signs of pain or fear.

"Because she is my puppet." Syver said gleefully, taking out his claws and licking the blood off of them. "She was, still is, my assistant, who didn't know not to snoop around. She found out about my true identity and goals. But before she could report to the higher-ups, I stopped her and made her one of my first guinea pig." He smiled sweetly, almost like he was recalling a fond memory. "I broke her body, will and spirit. In order to avoid the torturous pain she was put through, she discarded all of that. Her body feels nothing, her will is mine to control and her spirit has long since been extinguished. Now she is nothing more than a soulless puppet."

Trider wanted to vomit. In all his life he had never encountered something so horrific. Even his past self would never do something so horrendous. "I've seen enough." he said and glared at Syver. "When I get out of here, I'm gonna kick your ass to kingdom come. And you can forget about me ever joining you. I'd rather die than even lift an arm for you."

Syver looked the Kanisar dead in the eyes, seeing the determination radiating in them. "I understand." he sighed loudly. "I really didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice." He pressed a button on his desk. "Prepare the girl for the procedure."

"What girl?" Trider asked, fearing the answer.

"The one you were with." Syver replied bluntly. "I was willing to let her live, since she was a friend of yours, but seeing how stubborn you are, I'll just have to use her to make you change your mind."

With all of his might, Trider began to thrash around. "When I get out of this thing, I'm gonna turn you to minced meat." he threatened.

Syver chuckled. "If you get out. That pod was made specifically to hold our kind locked up and with you in your current state, can't hope to even tilt it."

At this point Trider stopped listening to his banter and was solely focused on getting out. He pressed against his shackles, but they still didn't budge. As he continued his desperate attempts, he could feel something deep in him surge forth.

"AAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" he screamed to the top of his lungs, as the sudden burst of energy exploded, tearing apart the pod.

Syver watched from behind his turned over table, as Trider stood up from amidst the debris. His eyes were glowing bright blue, but they quickly turned back to their dark brown color.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Trider launched himself at the other Kanisar. But before he could reach him, he was tackled by the woman.

He tried to push her off of him, but was surprised by her inhuman strength. The woman grabbed his right arm and twisted her body around, throwing the Kanisar over her shoulder on the floor. Before he could stand up again, she sat on top of him and putting him in an arm lock.

"Incredible." Syver said in a cheery voice. "You continue to exceed my expectations."

"Come and fight me yourself, you coward." Trider growled.

"I'm not stupid Trider; I know that if I did, you'd win hands down. So I'll leave it to my assistant. It is her job to protect me after all." He then shifted his gaze to the woman. "Put him to sleep."

Without a word, the woman raised one of her arms, which now glowed in a purple aura and swung it down onto the Kanisar. But before her palm could connect, she and Trider were launched into the air. Surprised by the sudden development, the woman loosened her grip, which allowed the Kanisar to reverse the situation.

The two were now floating in mid-air, while Trider held the woman by her forearm. "Fuck. Off." he growled in her face and released her. She landed on her feet and casted her gaze back at the Kanisar. Her arms were once again enveloped in purple aura, this time however the focused them in the palms of her hands and began to shape them, until they took form of a spear.

With a single leap she shot herself at Trider and the two clashed. The woman tried to strike the Kanisar with her weapon, but Trider managed to block it with his Spirit Claws. Taking advantage of her momentum, the woman swung her body around, and kicked Trider in the face, making him hit the ground.

Before he even had the time to pick himself up, Trider saw the woman falling towards him, with her spear aimed directly at his chest. He rolled out of the way, making her strike the ground.

"Wailing Nova Sphere!" he shouted and shot a ball of energy at her. The woman reacted by dropping her spear and raising her hands to protect her upper body, while forming an energy barrier. On impact the whole building shook and the blast blew apart the wall, allowing Trider to see into the rest of the facility.

As he looked over the many humans that were in there, the people were also looking back at him, terrified. As he continued to look around, he soon spotted a pod in which Avaia was kept. He jumped down to the ground floor and ran over to the pod, making the other humans flee away from him.

"Avaia!" he shouted, but he got no response. He smashed his fist into the glass and broke it immediatelly. He looked over the girl and saw that she was just unconscious. He chuckled to himself, before he broke her restraints.

She began to stir and slowly opened her eyes. "Trider?" she asked quietly. "What are-?"

"It's OK. You're safe now." Suddenly he felt something behind him and without thinking he ducked, just barely avoiding the ethereal blade that swung at his head. He was again facing the woman, whose face was now covered in blood.

Trider prepared himself for another clash, but then they heard Syver shouting. "That's enough! Come back!" The blade in the woman’s hands disappeared and she jumped back to her master. "Initiate procedure HX-34."

Suddenly four objects fell from the ceiling and Trider watched as they began to shift around, until they took on a familiar appearance. The Peacekeepers loomed over the two Kanisars, awaiting their orders.

"Kill the girl, but keep the male alive." Syver commanded. Each of the robots beeped, before they lurched at Trider and Avaia.

Trider quickly charged at one of them, coming to a standstill. Avaia on the other hand, was still dazed and was just barely managing to dodge the robots assault. Trider wanted to help her, but was struggling against the machine. All of a sudden, another robot struck the Kanisar with one of its limbs, sending him flying directly at Avaia, who didn't see him coming at her. The two crashed and fell to the ground. They were both now surrounded by the Peacekeepers, as well as the guards, who were pointing their guns at them.

"It seems not even you can go up against a Peacekeeper." Syver shouted. "Kind of disappointing." he added under his breath. "Lock him up."

Trider breathed heavily as he stood back up and faced his opponents. He looked around trying to spot a way to get out, but saw none. He then turned his head to the girl who was still lying on the ground. She looked at him as well, her eyes full of fear. But what she saw on Triders face wasn't neither fear nor despair, instead she saw him smiling at him.

"Hey. Wanna see something cool?" he asked.

Her face contorted in confusion. "Wha...?"

Trider turned his head back to the men and robots in front of him. He closed his eyes and took slow, but deep breaths. He continued to do so, as the air around him began to shimmer with energy. The feeling that he had before was now stronger than ever.

"I'm back baby." he thought and smirked. Suddenly he exploded with tremendous power, making everyone shield their eyes from intense flash. When they looked back, they were all shocked at the now transformed Kanisar.

Avaia stared at him with her mouth agape. "Trider, is that-?"

"Told you it was cool." he said back to her. "Now get down and let me clean the house."

One of the robots lunged itself at him, as soon as he said that. To Trider it seemed to move in slow motion, so he kicked it while it was still in mid-air. The force of the impact twisted the robots body and sent him flying into a wall. Everyone in the room stared at the scene before them with wide eyes and mouths agape.

"Avaia!" he called out to his friend. "Can you go around and find if there are any other Kanisars around?"

She shook her head and cleared her mind. "Absolutely." she said with renewed determination. She got up and began to run towards the opening that was left by Trider, when he kicked the robot out of the way.

Other Peacekeeperes tried to get in her way, but Trider quickly intervened. "You should be focusing me you scrap heaps!" he shouted as he grabbed one of them by their limbs and tossed it into the other two.

As Trider continued to fight with the robots, Avaia too slowly made her way throughout the complex. The human soldiers tried to get in her way, but she was way too nimble for any of them. She weaved through their ranks with such grace, that it looked almost like she was dancing.

She managed to cover most of the facility in just a couple of minutes, but she has yet to find the holding cells. Just as she turned around the corner, she stumbled into a rather large group of soldiers. They were in a tight formation and were aiming their guns right at her.

"Open fire!" As soon as the commander said those words, the group began to fire at Avaia. She managed to retreat behind the corner just in time to avoid the barrage of bullets, but one of them still managed to graze her shoulder.

She winced in pain as she grabbed her wound. She gritted her teeth and began to channel her Ki into the palm of her hands. A ball of green energy formed and soon as the firing stopped she jumped from behind the corner.

"Booter Bouncer!" she said as she dropped the ball and kicked it with all of her might at the soldiers. The ball hit one of them, knocking him out cold immediately, and then bounced off his body. It continued to ricochet off the walls, floor and ceiling, in a chaotic pattern, until only one soldier remained.

Just as the attack was about to connect, the man extended his arm and grabbed the ball. He looked at the girl and snickered under his helmet.

"Nice trick." he said and shattered the orb. "But it won't work on me." He dropped his gun and raised his hands. They began to glow with golden aura, before firing a barrage of Ki blasts at the Kanisar.

Avaia collected herself and began to dodge and block the incoming projectiles, before jumping behind the corner again. "Stop this!" she cried out. "If you continue to use Ki, you're going to die because of it!"

The man cackled in response. "You think I'm going to believe such an obvious lie?!" he shouted back and increased the rate of fire, slowly chipping away at the wall behind which Avaia was hiding.

The girl took a deep breath and sighed. She slowly stood up, her legs now encased in sparks of electricity. With determination she jumped from her hiding spot and slammed with her feet into the opposite wall.

She began to run at the soldier, but to his surprise it wasn't on the floor. Instead she ran along the wall into which she slammed before. The soldier changed his aim and began to fire at the wall along which she was running, but as soon as he did that, Avaia leaped onto the ceiling and continued her upside-down sprint towards him.

When she reached him she swung her leg at him, but he managed to block her attack, by raising his arm. Pain flared through his entire arm, but he pushed through it and grabbed Avaia by her neck and slammed her onto the floor. He grabbed both of her arms and pinned her down, while still holding her throat with his other hand.

"I know they said to kill you." he said as he lowered his helmeted face to hers. "But maybe I can have a little fun with you, before finishing you."

Avaia glared at him, as he removed his hand from her neck and slowly began to lower it. "You should've gone for the legs." she said with a smirk. Before he had time to reply, he felt an unimaginable pain course through his entire body, as he collapsed onto the ground beside the girl.

The girl stood up and looked at the curled form of the man, as he desperately clutched at his groin. "Here let me help you ease the pain." she said before kicking his head, knocking him unconscious. She kneeled down and began to look over his body, eventually finding a keycard.

Without another word she ran down the corridor the soldiers were guarding and soon reached the holding cells. In total there were only five Kanisars and they all looked like they've gone through hell. She unlocked their cells and each one of them began to thank her.

"Is there anyone else?" she asked. They all somberly shook their heads and Avaia held back her anger and grief. Suddenly the entire complex was shaken, as numerous explosions went off.

Without a moment’s hesitation Avaia looked towards one of the walls and created a bright orange ball of energy.

She reared her leg back as far as she could and struck the orb with everything she had. "All-star Ace Shot!" The ball broke through the wall like it was made of paper and continued its devastating travel, decimating everything in its path, until it dissipated far off in the distance. "Get out of here and find shelter!" she yelled at her brethren, as she herself turned back and headed back into the collapsing building.

***

"These things are tougher than I first thought." Trider thought, as he smashed one of the Peacekeepers into a wall, before being tackled by another. "Though, I'm not fighting at my full capacity, otherwise this would've been over."

The robots were badly dented and one of them had one of their legs ripped off, but they continued their assault, but it was clear as day that no matter what happened, in the end Trider would be victorious.

As the battle continued, from up above Syver observed his fellow Kanisar, tear through his lab and creations, like they were nothing. "Super Kanisar." he mused to himself. "Thank you for showing me something wonderful." he said as he began to walk away. "Follow." he commanded to his slave and she obediently did so.

They calmly made their way through the mass of panicking scientists and once they were outside the complex Syver and the woman sat into one of the cars. The Kanisar took out a small device and turned it on.

"Initiate self-destruct. Code: Ka-boom." he spoke and the two drove off.

Meanwhile inside the building, Trider was still fighting Peacekeepers. Suddenly they all stopped. Trider stopped his attacks, expecting some kind of trap. Instead the robots jumped into the air and each one latching onto one corner of the roof.

Trider and the rest looked at them in confusion, right before they exploded. The ceiling began to collapse, as more explosions resonated all across the building. Without another thought Trider leaped into the air and slammed into the rubble that was falling. He held it in place as the humans looked at him.

"The fuck are you all staring at?!!" he yelled at them. "GET OUT BEFORE THE ENTIRE THING CRASHES DOWN!!!" They heeded what he said and began to run outside the complex, while Trider continued to hold the massive roof in place.

"This seems familiar." he thought, as he readjusted his grip on the rubble. He mustered as much strength as he could, but he could feel the debris pushing down on him even further.

"Trider!" he heard a familiar voice calling out to him. He looked down and saw Avaia running towards him.

"You idiot, why didn't you escape?" he screamed at her, as he dipped another meter.

"I couldn't leave you. We are all getting out of here." she replied, as she kicked a large slab that was falling towards her.

"Forget about me, something like this won't kill me." he said. "Help the others, who didn't get out instead. I can only keep this up for a few more seconds."

Avaia nodded and quickly began to help anyone who was trapped by the initial explosions. All the while Trider continued to struggle to buy a few more precious seconds, but with every moment the roof came closer to the ground and he could feel his strength reaching its limit.

"That's everyone!" he heard Avaia shout at him.

"Good, now you get the hell out." he yelled back.

"I told you, we're all leaving this place." she said. Trider wanted smile, but he couldn't even muster that much to do so. "When I say go, you move out of the way!" He glanced down to his friend and saw a large ball of orange energy. He nodded and used the last of his strength to push back.

"Now!" she screamed and kicked the ball right towards Trider. In the last moment he dropped out and the ball dug a giant hole through the rubble and continued high into the sky.

The rest of the building collapsed and both Kanisars were engulfed by the debris and smoke.

***

The night air was blasting against Avia's face, as she and Trider were soaring through the sky.

"I didn't know Kanisars could fly." she said, as held tightly onto Trider.

"Neither did I, until I did it." he laughed back. The two managed to escape and were currently heading back to the camp, where they could debrief Shepherd about everything that happened.

They continued to fly in silence; neither of them knew what to talk about.

"Why did you save them?" Avaia asked out of the blue. "Why did you sacrifice your life for the humans, when you could've just left them to die?"

Trider entered into deep thought. "Because it was the right thing to do? Cause I made a promise? Or maybe it's just repentance for my past sins? Who knows? I just did what I wanted to do."

Avaia remained quiet as she mulled over his reply. "I guess you really did change." she said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize." he reassured her. "I wouldn't have believed it myself."

"Still..." she trailed off.

"Nope not hearing it." Trider countered. "Besides it's me who should say sorry." Avaia turned to him and gave him an inquisitive look. "What you said back then, you were right. I acted like I was the victim, because how I was treated, but it was my own goddamn fault for it." he paused for a couple of seconds before sighing. "What you told me struck me deep and I couldn't even fall asleep. And not because of the reason you're thinking."

"Then why?" she asked, her brow furrowed.

"Because I tried to remember." he said somberly. "Cathy, Zack, Johnny, Lucas, Rebecca. These are just some of the names I could remember for now. But I promise I'll remember everyone who suffered because of me, and I'll work hard to make up to them. Even if it kills me."

Avaia was awestruck. For the first time since she met him, she didn't see him as Trider the Heartless, but as just Trider, a man who was making up for his past. She smiled and snuggled closer to him.

"That's more than enough." she said. Trider smiled back to her and the two could now see their camp far off in the distance. "What are going to do about Syver though?"

"I still think I can save him, but it'll be tough." he answered. "But we will have to fight him eventually."

"Why?" she asked.

He wanted to tell her, but he knew he shouldn't. It was his responsibility to retrieve what was taken from him. And he'd be damned if he didn't get it back.

***

"We'll soon be at the residence sir." the driver said as he drove down the packed road.

"Take your time." Syver responded. The light from outside reflected off of the smooth surface of the crystal that was in his hand.

"Now then, what is this Trider? What have you been keeping away from me?" he wondered as the crystal radiated with a menacing aura.

Chapter 4: Preparing For War

"Is what you told us true?" Shepherd asked, his face twisted in grimace.

"It is." Avaia replied to everyone in the room. The men who made up the high ranks of the rebel forces immediately began to speak to each other.

"This is preposterous!" One of them cried out.

"But what if it is true? What should we do?" Another spoke up over the other.

Soon the entire room was filled with voices talking over each other. The more they talked the louder they got and Avaia was afraid that it would soon break out in a brawl.

"Will you shut up already!" The sudden shout silenced everyone in the room, and all eyes turned to the agitated Trider.

Shepherd nodded in gratitude and picked up the conversation. "Thank you Trider." he began, before addressing everyone in the room. "I'm sure everyone has their doubts about what was told, but I am certain that what Avaia and Trider had told us is all true."

"How can you be so sure?" A rather old Kanisar said. "Did you even consider that maybe they made it all up? I mean youths these days will do anything to earn attention from adults." His eyes then turned towards Trider and his gaze hardened. "Not to mention that one of them is 'him'." he spat out as he addressed the Kanisar in question.

Avaia looked at Trider with a saddened expression, while everyone else became alert, preparing for what he might do. The young Kanisar however just hung his head and sighed.

Clearing his throat, Shepherd turned to the old Kanisar. "While I do agree that Trider’s past is something that can't be overlooked, but I have known him for a long time and while he is rather impulsive and short tempered at times, I can also tell you that Trider is one of the most honest people I know and I would never doubt anything he told me." The older Kanisar sagged into his seat and didn't reply back to Shepherd. "One the other hand there is also Avaia, who I'm sure most of you know quite well."

Everyone nodded and mumbled praises at the girl, who tried hard not to blush from the attention she was getting. "So let me ask this, who here believes that she would make up such a lie?"

The room went deadly silent.

"Thought so." Shepherd said and gave the girl a kind smile, which she returned.

"Still." the old Kanisar spoke up again. "It's really hard to believe what we were told. A Kanisar working with the humans to destroy humans? A masterplan to commit a genocide on humanity? And what about this Super Kanisar? If you ask me it's all one big phooey."

"So, what you're saying is that if we show you proof you'll believe us?" Trider said, as he walked out from the back of the room where he was for the most part of the meeting.

"That is exactly what I said punk." the man replied, not averting his gaze away from the approaching Kanisar.

Now standing in the middle of the room, Trider continued to stare at the old man, his face expressionless. Suddenly the air became tense and heavy. Suddenly with an explosion of energy Trider’s hair turned white and everyone stared at him with wide eyes.

"Super Kanisar." Trider simply stated and turned back to normal. The old man continued to stare at him, holding his breath in surprise.

The room once again went into turmoil.

"Quiet." Shepherd raised his voice and everyone went silent once more. "Now that we have been presented with the proof, do you still doubt what the two of them have told us."

Everyone in the room shook their head, but somebody spoke up. "While the issue of their truthfulness has been cleared up, that leaves us with the problem of how to deal with it."

"True." Shepherd nodded in deep thought. "And this is a predicament. Now we are fighting a war on two fronts. And like Syver said, his roots are already too deep within the Kingdom to dig them out completely."

"We'll just have to fight them both then." Trider's statement garnered the attention of everyone in the room.

"How? We are having trouble with just the Kingdom, so how are we supposed to deal with Syver as well?"

"Simple." Trider said matter-of-factly. "We'll teach every Kanisar here how to turn Super."

The silence of the room was deafening. The looks of surprise, disbelief and fear spread throughout the room.

"And let me guess you'll be the one to train them?" the old Kanisar spoke up again. "Good luck with that."

"No." He replied. "She will." he said and pointed at Avaia.

Avaia nearly choked on her spit. "M-M-Me?" she said flabbergasted.

"Yeah."

"But why?" she asked.

"Because no one would want to be trained by me. The distrust for me is already too great to be fixed by simple words. And even if there were some who'd be willing to train with me, the humans would begin to think that I'm just doing to further my own agenda." Trider explained. "You however, are already trusted by everyone and so they would listen to you."

Avaia was at a loss for words. The amount of trust and responsibility Trider was placing on her was tremendous. She was almost happy to be so relied upon.

"I got it. I'll do my best." she said proudly.

"Good, we'll start early tomorrow."

"Already? Why so soon?"

Trider’s face turned somber and he lowered his gaze. "Because we don't have time."

"Care to elaborate?" Shepherd asked curiously. "I know we are pressed for time, but I don't think there is need to rush." His face then turned to one of suspicion. "Unless there is something else you're not telling us."

Trider sighed loudly and turned to the man. "There is." he said. "I'm certain everyone already knows about my disappearance and what happened to me during that time."

"Are you talking about your insane story of how you were transported to another world by sentient humanoid horses via magic?" the old Kanisar asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Exactly." Trider said and nodded. "You can believe me or not, but at least listen to what I'm gonna tell you." The room remained quiet, as did the Kanisar.

"Thank you." Trider said before he started. "I had many adventures in that world, but during one of them I lost a family member and a close friend. They were taken from me by a guy named Comet Trail, who was corrupted by an ancient artifact with tremendous power. That close friend managed to take a fragment of that artifact and gave it to me so I could keep it safe. Then I was sent here to keep it as far away from their world as possible. But unfortunately it was stolen from me by Syver."

A woman raised her hand and Trider allowed her to speak. "If this thing can corrupt people, why did he give to you? Wouldn't it have corrupted you as well?"

"The object apparently only corrupts you through the magic in your body. And since we don't have much of it, the effect is miniscule." Trider explained.

"Stop me if I get something wrong." Another person said. "If I understand correctly, this artifact is magic right?"

"Right."

"So it can only be used with magic and it corrupts via magic?"

"Exactly."

"So why is it that important that you're telling us this. As far as I can tell it's completely harmless."

Trider’s gaze hardened and his expression stiffened. "I thought so too. But after I had it for a while I learned that it's not that simple. First I never said we don't have magic, I said we had small amounts of it." He let the statement sink into everyone before he continued. "It will corrupt us eventually. And as for it being useless as a weapon, after what I saw in Syver’s labs I wouldn't be so sure."

The room remained silent, before Shepherd spoke up. "I believe you Trider. And I'm all up for your plan." he said and raised his hand. "All those in favor say 'I'."

Everyone in the room exchanged glances and slowly began to raise their hands as well. While some were still skeptical, the majority of the room were holding their hand high.

"It is decided then. We will go with your plan and let you train Avaia, so she can teach other Kanisars."

Trider nodded and began to walk out of the room. He stopped by the entrance and gazed back. "I was gonna do it even if you said no." he said and smirked.

Author's Note

For thousands of years I lay - Oh wait already did that one.
Then this one, I guess.

Sorry it took so long to make a new chapter. I've been busy with work and I planned to write early in April, because I had a week off since I had my wisdom tooth removed, but it appears I can't handle surgeries. Figures.

Anyway a small update.
For those of you worrying that I won't finish this story, worry not I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am not giving up.
Secondly, from now on I'll make shorter chapters, but try to put them out regularly, instead every three months.
And lastly, after the next chapter we are going back to Equestria to see how the rest of the gang is doing. We are going to see some character development, backstories and maybe even some new characters, who knows.

Anyway I'd like to thank everyone for your support and for sticking with me through everything.
Thanks.

Chapter 5: Make a Super Out of You

The morning sun rose over the horizon and the light's rays shot straight through Avaia's bedroom window, hitting her directly in the face. With a grumble she woke up and yawned loudly.

She slowly got out of her bed and went over to her wardrobe. She pulled out her clothes and a small recorder. She pushed the play button and listened to her plans for today, as she changed clothes.

It was the usual; she had to meet up with commander to clear up a few issues that were happening around the camp, help at the kitchen where she had volunteered the previous day, as she always did, and to watch over the children for the afternoon.

The previous recording stopped and the next one started. "Extra note." her voice said, to which her ears perked since she rarely put extra notes at the end of her daily recordings. She listened closely to what she said, as she combed her hair. "Remember to join Trider at 7:00 for the training."

The recording stopped and Avaia put down the comb. She glanced at the alarm clock on her desk. It showed 7:15.

Her pupils shrunk as she realized she was late. Quickly she picked up her recorder, took a new cassette from her desk's drawer, her bag and a small loaf of bread, which she quickly munched away. She ran towards the door where she stopped to put on her metal boots.

"Crap, crap, crap!" she cussed, as she fumbled with her footwear. "C'mon you stupid thing, just get on already!" she yelled and finally managed to put them on. She slammed open the door and ran out, towards the meeting place.

As she was running in between the small huts, someone called out to her and she stopped abruptly.

"Yes?" she said, glancing around to see who it was that called for her. She spotted a small Kanisar boy who was waving at her. She walked over to him and kneeled down. "What is it Ghaur?" she asked.

The boy pointed towards a very tall tree nearby and Avaia could immediately see what the problem was. A red ball was stuck high up in the branches of the tree. She looked back at the boy. "Again?" she inquired. The boy simply nodded and hung his head in shame. "Wait here, I'll be quick." she said and walked over to the tree.

Once she was at the tree's base, she put her bag on the ground and looked up to where the ball was. Energy began to course through her body and shot down to her legs. In a flash she jumped onto the first branch and then the next, leaving a streak of electricity behind her. And just as quick as she got up, she came back down, holding the ball in her hand.

She walked over to the boy and gave it back to him. "Be careful next time, will you? I won't always be here to help you out you know?" she said as she ruffled the boy's hair.

"I will. Thanks Ava." he said, as he took the ball and ran off towards where his friends were, Avaia figured.

She picked up her bag and then remembered her meeting with Trider. "Shit!" she said under her breath. She was just about to run off when somebody else called out to her.

"Mornin' Avaia." an older human man said to her.

"Morning to you too Mr. Stevens." she said, her voice strained. "How can I help you?"

"Actually I could really use your help." the man said joyfully. "Y'see last night a landslide buried some of my crops and I was wondering if you could help break some of the bigger rocks, so me and my family can clean up the rest."

Avaia's eye twitched nervously. "Suuure." she said her voice even more strained.

The man gave her a skeptical look. "Y'sure? If you are busy, I can always ask someone else for help?"

The girl shook her head vigorously. "No, no, no. I can help. I'd be glad to." she said as she began to run towards where the he lived. The man simply shrugged and followed suit.

***

It was already 8:45 and Trider was patiently sitting on a rock, waiting for Avaia's arrival.

"She's late." he thought, as he played with a small Ki ball in his hand. "She's way too late."

His thoughts were broken when he heard someone yelling far in the distance. He strained his eyes and saw the girl running toward him, waving her hand.

"Sorry I'm late." she yelled as she quickly approached. Trider looked at her displeased. He broke a small piece of the rock from the large one and threw it at Avaia. The girl was too late to react, as the pebble hit her directly in the head, making her stumble and fall to the ground.

Trider jumped off of the rock and walked over to her. "Owww, what was that for?" she sobbed, as she massaged the spot where she got hit.

"You're late." Trider said, as he looked at her sternly.

Avaia slapped her hands together and raised them towards Trider, while lowering her head. "I'm so sorry about that." she said with pure sincerity. "I kind of overslept and then while I was running over I met a little boy who got his ball stuck in a tree, then Mr. Stevens needed help with clearing the debris from a landslide. Afterwards I met this really nice old lady who needed me to..." She continued to count off all the people she had helped this morning and Trider could only rub the bridge of his nose, at how absurd the whole situation was. "And after I brought the mother the medicine I came here as fast as I was able." she finished.

Trider looked at her with a skeptical and annoyed expression. "Why didn't you just say no?" he asked her. "It seems to me that they could've asked anybody for help, they just asked you since you were available. So why didn't you decline when you knew you had other business to attend to?"

The girl’s expression turned somber. "I just couldn't." she said, her voice just barely above a whisper. Trider sighed. She reminded him of a certain mare he knew, but she clearly had different reason for helping, outside of 'It's just right.'

"Fine. I won't dig any further." he said and helped Avaia to her feet. "I'll just give you a crash course of how to become Super Kanisar, and then we'll begin the training."

The girly nodded furiously. She put her bag down and pulled the recorder out of her pocket. Trider gave her an inquisitive look. "Why do you need that?" he asked.

"I do a lot of things around here, so I sometimes forget a few things." she said, as she gestured to the device in her hand. "That's why I use this to record everything."

Trider nodded. "Okay then, let's begin." he said and looked Avaia straight in her eyes. "Tell me what do you think Super Kanisar is and where does it come from?"

Avaia thought for a while and then raised her hand. "It's a special power up only certain, purehearted, Kanisars can achieve and it comes through determination and friendship." she answered, her eyes sparkling like the stars.

"Hell no!!!" Trider yelled at her, making her flinch. "First of all, purehearted? Do I seem like a boyscout to you?" he said pointing at himself. "And what was that bullshit on determination and friendship? Did you get that from one of those generic comics that are so popular nowadays?"

"Maaaybe?" Avaia answered, a sheepish smile appearing on her face.

Trider couldn't help but face palm at her. "Listen here." he said to her, his tone completely serious. "Super Kanisar is in fact just a different form of Feral Unleashing."

"Really?" Avaia asked, astounded at the revelation.

"Yeah," Trider said and nodded. "Feral Unleashing allows us Kanisar to draw power from deep within us, but at the price of losing our senses. The more power we draw the more we become unstable, to the point of becoming no more than simple beasts." he explained. "Super Kanisar works in the same manner. We still draw power from deep within us, but the difference is that, we retain our senses."

For presentation Trider transformed in front of Avaia. "In order to attain Super Kanisar you have to keep your calm while gaining more and more power. Once you manage to push beyond a certain point, you should be able to transform into a Super Kanisar." He stretched out his hand. "Grab my hand and feel how my Ki feels."

Avaia reached out towards his hand. She hesitated for a few moments, but she still took hold. She could feel immediately. The Feral Unleashing's aura always felt like fire, hot and painful at times, but this felt completely different. It was cool and felt smooth to the touch she couldn't clearly describe the feeling.

"This is amazing." she said as she continued to inspect Trider's aura. "But how come this form is so much more powerful than Feral Unleashing, if they are both the same?"

"I don't know exactly, but my thought is that with Feral Unleashing once you reach the point where you lose your senses you also lose the knowledge and capability to effectively draw forth the power." he elaborated his explanation. "While with Super Kanisar you always keep your senses, so you can continue to pull forth more power."

Avaia nodded in agreement with his explanation. "So how do I become one?" she asked, eagerly waiting what was next.

"Woah, it's not as simple as it sounds." Trider said raising his hands. "It took me months to get to this level and then several more to master the transformation. There is a long road ahead of us, so we better make use of the time we are given." Avaia backed off and nodded. "And that also means that you can't be late anymore."

"I said I was sorry." she said back, her face red from embarrassment. "So what should I do first?"

Trider grinned at her eagerness. "First I'm gonna see what I have to work with." he said, as he cracked his knuckles. "Come at me with everything you have, but can't use Unleashing, OK?"

Avaia grinned back and got into a stance. "I kicked your butt before, I can do it again."

The two had a stare down, as neither of them made the first move. Suddenly, Avaia charged at Trider, her body encased in electricity. She raised one of her legs and tried to kick the Kanisar in the side of his head, but he managed to raise one of his hands to block it. Without a moment’s hesitation, she dropped her leg and tried to leg sweep him. However Trider saw that coming as well and jumped away from her.

"You've got some moves." Trider praised her. "But if that's all you have then we can just call it quits."

Trider's taunting didn't bother Avaia all that much, as she focused her Ki into both of her hands. The Kanisar expected her to shoot those at him, but instead she dropped one of them and kicked it at him.

As the projectile was approaching him Trider jumped up and managed to avoid the first attack. But soon after followed the other shot, this one managing to graze him. Thinking, he had successfully avoided the attack, Trider wanted to taunt the girl once more, but a sudden impact on his back stopped him. He fell over as he felt pain surge through him and looked back to see what hit him, only to jump away as a ball of energy, threatened to smash into him.

While in the air he watched as the ball bounced off the ground and slammed into a tree, from which it also bounced. Trider watched as it continued to jump from one place to another in a chaotic pattern, with no sign of stopping.

Suddenly it hit a rock and bounced right towards Trider, the Kanisar however had had enough. He shot another blast at the ball, cancelling it out. Having dealt with the annoyance, Trider landed on the ground and looked where Avaia was, but she was nowhere in sight.

A shadow then appeared above Trider and just at the last moment he managed to get out of the way of Avaia's dropkick. Not wasting a single moment, the girl continued her assault with a barrage of kicks.

Trider managed to block and dodge all of her attacks, but he was slowly getting annoyed at her. As another kick came at him, he reached out his hand and grabbed her foot. He looked at her with an angry glare, but she simply smiled.

"Penalty Surge!" she shouted and released an explosion of energy from her foot. The blast knocked Trider off his feet and he landed on his back. He lifted his torso up and saw Avaia falling towards him, her leg threatening to smash directly into his skull.

"Enough!" he shouted and released a wave of Ki, which halted Avaia's attack and made her fall down. As she tried to recover she felt how Trider climbed on top of her, pinning her legs and arms beneath him.

"I told you didn't I?" Trider said, baring his teeth at her. "Come at me with everything you have."

"I did." she shouted back at him, while also struggling to get out of his hold.

"Bullshit!" he screamed back. "All this time you've been going at me with leg attacks, while leaving your upper body exposed and doing nothing with it." Avaia's face turned from anger to one of horror. "Why? Do you think that just cause you took me down once you should hold back or something?" he asked her, this time much calmer? "Is that why you're acting so cocky?"

"I can't." she said, her voice barely audible.

"What was that?" he said as he leaned closer to hear her.

"I can't." she repeated herself. Trider looked her in the eyes and saw that tears were slowly beginning to form.

He quickly got off of her and she raised herself to a sitting position. This time the tears began to run down her cheeks and she tried to wipe them away as fast as she could.

"Care to explain?" he asked her. She looked at him and Trider could see the pain her eyes. "Or you can just leave it. I'm sorry that I-"

"It’s fine." she said as she cleaned her face. "You'd find out eventually anyway."

Trider sat down next to her and waited for her to calm down. Once she composed herself, she looked at Trider and sighed.

"Have you ever heard of the Silent Death?" she asked her expression somber.

Trider nodded. "I did. It's an illness that ravaged throughout Inu a long time ago. Even before humans turned on us."

"That's right." she said and hugged her legs. "My mother was struck ill by it a little before I was born. She died right after I was born."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Avaia looked at him and smiled. "Thanks." she said. "While I didn't catch it myself, it still had an impact on me while I was inside the womb." She lifted one of her hands and Trider saw that it was shaking slightly. "My arms and hands have been severely neurologically damaged by the illness, leaving me with subpar arm strength and coordination." She put her arm back down and gazed in front of her. "I can still do crude maneuvers with my hands, like holding a bat or a tray. Utensils are quite tricky, but if I focus enough I can hold and utilize them properly."

"But?"

"But I can't draw or write. Heck I can't even sign my name, I always have to make an X or stamp anything I have to sign." she said, her composure beginning to falter. "That's why I use the recorder to log any events I go to." Her voice broke a little, but she ignored it as she continued. "And the most I can lift with my arms is my own body weight, if I try anything more it causes so much pain to me."

Tears began to trail down her cheeks once more, as she began to break down. "My dad taught me, that I should always help those in need. And I tried to do by his words, but every time I tried to I always messed up, because of these stupid hands." she said and slammed her fists into the ground. "I always made things worse and people began to push me away anytime I wanted to help. I don't blame them though, I understand why they did."

"Is that why you don't want to say no to people?" Trider asked in a soft tone.

Avaia nodded. "I just want to help people. But I can't." she whimpered. "When the war broke out, I found out that I had a knack for fighting and thought I could help people like this. But even then I wasn't allowed to be part of any mission due to my disability." Casting her gaze at Trider he could see her eyes were red from her crying. "Yesterday when you said that you'd train me, so I could help end this war I felt the happiest I have ever been. But now that you know..." she trailed off, as she began to cry uncontrollably.

Trider pulled her into a small hug and patted her head. "It's OK. I'm glad you told me this."

Avaia stopped her crying for a minute to look at Trider. "You aren't angry?"

"Why would I be?" he asked, giving her a confused look. "Sure I was angry before, because I thought that you were screwing with me, but now I know you really did go all out and I'm happy about that."

"What about training?" she asked, as she wiped her tears. "You'll probably find someone better suited than me I suppose?"

"Nope!" Trider stated frimly. "So what if you can't use your arms? It’s your determination that counts here. How far you are willing to go to help end this, once and for all." he said pumping his arm into the air. "Besides you are perfect just the way you are. You are corageous, caring and strong. And everyone knows that, and it's also why everyone likes you so much."

Tears began to fall once again from Avaia's eyes, only this time they were those of relief and happiness. "Thanks, I needed that." she said and got up. "C'mon what are sitting around for, let’s do this shit!" she shouted.

"That's what I like to hear." Trider said and got up as well. "Before we start with your Super training though, I have a few ideas how to improve your fighting style."

The two got into a heated discussion about their training, as time seemed to just pass by them in a flash.

Interlude: Family Talk

The morning was cold, but not so much it caused discomfort, it was just right to feel refreshing. Shepherd enjoyed this kind of mornings, as he could leisurely walk through the camp, taking in the scene. As he continued his walk, he stumbled upon a clearing and there he spotted two Kanisars who were currently sparring with one another.

"C'mon, c'mon. Is that all you've got?" Trider shouted to Avaia. She retaliated by landing several kicks onto him.

Shepherd continued to watch them in silence for couple more minutes, before he turned around and began to walk back to the camp. He still couldn't believe how much Trider had changed. Even when he met him all those years ago, the little Kanisar was so traumatized by the death of his parents, that he didn't let anyone get close to him, not even him.

But Shepherd never gave up on Trider. He tried to lift his sorrow and with time he managed to worm his way into the boy's heart. As far as he knew, he was the only human that Trider ever trusted. And he had hoped that he would come to trust others as well. However it was not meant to be, because every time it seemed that he had opened up a little, he would witness another atrocious act of humans.

"One step forward, two back, as they say." he thought to himself.

And after Trider disappeared, Shepherd was grief-stricken. He was close with everyone from the resistance. They were like a family to him, Trider especially, he felt like he was a son to him.

As his thoughts continued to wander to everyone in the camp; it slowly drifted away to his other family. He stopped in his tracks and sighed heavily.

"I have to." he said quietly to himself and with a quickened step, he walked back to his hut. Once he arrived he walked inside and walked over to a small chest and opened it. Inside there was a long saber, several shurikens and a white mask, as well as several other items.

He reached for the weapons and put them on his belt. Before he closed the chest he took out the mask and put it on. With determination he walked outside and began to head towards the city.

***

The morning was cold, but not so much it caused discomfort, it was just right to feel refreshing. But Deadlock had no time to savor the feeling, as he and his unit were patrolling the streets of the city, looking out for any troublemakers. Since his encounter with Trider and his subsequent loss to said Kanisar, he had been demoted and had to do the menial work that was usually reserved for the commoners.

"When I find that mutt I'll rip his intestines out of his gut and then..." he grumbled under his breath, just loud enough for the rest of the unit to hear him. They knew he was in a bad mood and none wanted to even talk to him while he was like that.

Suddenly a metal canister fell out of the sky and landed in front of them. The men didn't have time to react, as it began to spew smoke out of it, effectively blinding them.

"We're under attack!" one of the men shouted. He was soon silenced as someone jumped on top of him, knocking him out immediately. The others pulled out their weapons and began firing at the attacker, but due to the smoke missed completely.

"Stop firing or you might hit one of ours!" Deadlock commanded to the soldiers and they did as he told.

One of them suddenly screamed as his gun was knocked out of his hand and it landed in front of Deadlock. He picked it up and saw a shuriken lodged in it. He squinted as he saw the letter S inscribed on each point of the weapon.

"Finally you showed yourself." he said to himself, his tone joyful, but filled with rage at the same time.

The smoke was slowly clearing and everyone began to look around, trying to spot where the assailant was.

"Over there!" one of them shouted and pointed at the top of a building. The masked man looked down at them, making no movement at all. The soldiers quickly drew their weapons and pointed them at the man. Before they could fire the man disappeared behind the ledge.

"Should we follow him, sir?" one of the men asked and looked at Deadlock.

"No." their commander stated. He drew his weapons and his form was engulfed in a purple aura. "I'll finish him myself." With a mighty leap he jumped onto the roof and began pursuing his target.

He chased the masked man for a little while, shooting Ki blasts at him, but missing all of them. Suddenly the man dropped another canister, but this one exploded, releasing a bright flash, which blinded Deadlock.

While he was tending to his eyes, Shepherd began to circle him.

"Salutations." he said, holding his blade at his side. "Since we've seen each other, I shall submit my sincere salute to such a scoundrel as yourself." he continued twirling the sabre in his hand. "I am the specter that saunters the city streets, stalking the sinners that strike the unsuspecting Samaritans, as they savor in the seconds of their own stories." Shepherd lifted his weapon and held it in front of his face, his voice becoming sterner as he continued. "So I swore to stand for the masses whose sanctuaries were stricken by spiteful souls, who sought their slaughter. I shan't sit in silence as their screams seek security in society, where they can sense safety." Suddenly he slashed his swords on the ground three times, leaving behind three scratch marks that formed the letter S. He took a made a big sigh and calmed down. "Even so I suppose I strayed from my starting sentence, so allow me to again submit my signature. I am S."

Deadlock stared at the man, his eyesight back to normal. "Are you done old man?" he asked, standing to his feet.

"Did you not enjoy it? You've always liked it since you were a child." Shepherd wondered, his tone laced with melancholy.

"That was a long time ago!" Deadlock shouted, charging at Shepherd. The two clashed and the elder man stopped his attack by blocking it with his sword. Not wasting any more time, Deadlock tried to strike him with his other tonfa, but Shepherd kicked him away at the last second.

"Stop this I didn't come here to fight." he begged, putting the sabre back in its sheath.

"Too bad, because I did." Deadlock said, once again leaping at the old man, this time covered in a purple aura.

Shepherd stepped back in order to avoid the attack, all the while keeping his blade ready. Deadlock wasted no time and unleashed a barrage of strikes at the older man, who managed to successfully avoid all of them.

"Stop this!" Shepherd yelled at the man, his expression turning to one of anger and fear. "Stop using this power right now!"

"Why?!" Deadlock rebutted, his attacks becoming even more ferocious. "Are you that afraid of my power, old man that you have to beg for mercy?"

One of the strikes managed to graze Shepherd's face, making a part of his mask tear apart. "I am afraid." he replied in a calm tone. "But not the reasons you think. And didn't I teach you that power will never outshine pure skill." As he said that he grabbed his sheath and used it to strike the Deadlock's leg, making him lose his balance in the process. In that moment, while Deadlock was trying to regain his balance, he spun around, kicking away the tonfa in his right arm and once he was again facing him, he held the tip of his blade so close to his throat that he drew a drop of blood.

"What are waiting for?" Deadlock said and looked him dead in the eyes. "Finish me already."

Shepherd's eyes became full of pain and he lowered his weapon. "I told you I am not here to fight." he said and put his saber back in its sheath. "I'm merely here to talk."

Deadlock humped and locked the tonfa in his hand onto his belt, before he went to retrieve the other one. "And why should I listen to you?" he asked, kneeling down and picking up his weapon. "Why should I listen to the man who abandoned his family?"

"Nicholas I-"

"Don't call me that." the man said pointing his weapon at Shepherd once more. "Only my family and friends can call me by my name. To you, your little pack and everyone else I'm only known as Deadlock." he stated determinately.

Shepherd was hurt by his proclaim. He reached up and removed the mask from his face, revealing the aged and worn face behind it. "What happened to you? What made you become like this son?"

"I am not your son!!!" Deadlock yelled back. "You abandoned me and our family to help those... those animals." He too removed the mask from his face. His face was nearly identical to Shepherds, only younger. "Do you know how much grief we had to go through because of you? We were branded traitors, had most of our estate taken and we feared for our lives, thinking that someone would finally come and kill so make you pay for it."

The words that were spoken echoed deep within Shepherd soul and he felt as though he would be sick. "I'm sorry." he said, his voice weak, like he was on verge of death.

"Little too late for that." Deadlock said, walking over to the ledge of the roof and sitting on it. "But despite your betrayal I managed to restore our family's name, somewhat. The only way to fully erase the shame you put on us is by killing you myself." He took a pause to compose himself, before he asked. "Why? Why did you do it?"

Shepherd didn't answer, instead he looked into the sky, as though the answer was hidden somewhere in it. "Tell me, why do you think humans retaliated against the Kanisars?"

Deadlock shot him a glare, angry that he didn't receive a straight answer. "Because the Kanisars would eventually wipe us out? They are stronger and fiercer than any human. So it was only natural that we attacked first." he answered, his voice laced with annoyance. "Just take a look at Mad Fang. He is textbook case of what a Kanisar can do."

Shepherd smiled. "True. Kanisars are physically better than humans in every way. But that part about their ferocity isn't. Even Trider has managed to settle down." One quick glance at Deadlock, told him that the young man didn't believe him. "But leaving him aside, the reason you've given me is just the propaganda that the royal family made up."

"Why would they do that?" Deadlock asked confused.

"Do you know why we had to leave our home planet and come to this one?"

The young man became even more confused, as to why he kept asking him these questions. "Because our planet was attacked and taken over by aliens. In the attack the Earth was left inhospitable, so we were forced to leave." he stated matter-of-factly. "Everyone knows that. It's also the reason why we struck against the Kanisars in the first place, so that we wouldn't be wiped out again."

Walking next to his son, Shepherd again smiled. "That is just one big lie." His smile disappeared, as a somber expression took its place. "The truth is much crueler." He sat down and cradled the mask in his hands. "700 years ago, our planet was at war. Not with the aliens mind you, but with itself. The royal family who ruled over our planet was in danger, as many other nobles and those in power tried to take that power for themselves. So a desperate and foolish decision was made. They used an experimental weapon to subdue all those who opposed them." He sighed and looked at Deadlock, who returned the gaze. "But they weren't aware of the side effects that the weapon had, or simply ignored it. Long story short, the weapon was used, many people died and the world was made a living hell."

Deadlock processed what he had told him and he was flabbergasted. "What about the aliens then?"

"When the planet was evacuated, the royal family began to use their power and influence to change the story." He lifted his hand and extended his index and middle finger. "For two reasons. One was to shift the blame from them, so the people wouldn't eventually turn against them again. The other was so that once they found a suitable planet to live on, and it was already populated, the people would be easier to convince to take over the planet."

"And how do you know that?" Deadlock asked, his voice clearly displaying his skepticism.

"The Shepherd family was once part of the royal family and the truth has been passed down from generation to generation." Shepherd explained. "When I learned of what the royal family was planning to do, I couldn't just idly sit by and let the Kanisars pay for our ancestors past. So I left."

Deadlock was stumped. Everything that he had just been told was giving him a slight headache. "Why should I believe you? And even if that was true, why tell me now?"

Shepherd paused for a few seconds. "Maybe because I didn't want you to see me as a man who abandoned you, but as a man who is fighting for what is right." he said solemnly. "Ever since I left I was worried about all of you. Sometimes I couldn't even sleep, because I was so worried."

"That's nice and all, but that doesn't change the fact that you did what you did." Deadlock said, his glare piercing through Shepherd's mellow eyes. "Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"No." Shepherd said and stood up, slowly walking away from Deadlock. "I only told you this so you would really listen to me." He stopped and turned back to him. "I actually came to warn you."

It was Deadlock's turn to stand. "From what?"

"That power and the man who gave it to you." Shepherd said. "Maximilian Stonebright is actually a Kanisar who is hell bent on destroying all of humanity."

"What the hell are you talking about old man?" he said with aggression. "Sir Stonebright has done everything in his power to help the humans. Why would a Kanisar ever help us out? As far as I know every Kanisar in the world hates our guts."

"I do not know exactly why he does this, but I am certain he wishes for nothing less than our total destruction. Even if it means that there have to be sacrifices." Shepherd said, his words stern. "And that Ki power he gave you. Humans weren't made to house that power. It will kill you if you continue to use it. That is the true reason he actually gave it to you."

"Do you even hear how ridiculous you sound?" Deadlock said and laughed. "You went mad old man."

"Maybe." he said and smiled. "Believe me or not, you can find out the truth yourself. But just promise me that you'll no longer use that power."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because no matter what happens, I will always be your father, whether you like it or not. And I will always care for my son." With that said, he dropped another canister and smoke spewed everywhere.

"So with smoke and salute I signal my separation, but as sorrowful as it may be, we shall see each other." With his final words he disappeared, leaving Deadlock alone on the roof.

Nicholas put the mask back on his face, as he stared at where his father stood before. "As righteous of a rebel as you are, redemption will never right your wrongdoings." he said quietly and began to returned to his squad.

Chapter 6: A New Mentor Part 1

"Sorry if I had to drag you out of bed for this." Dyna apologized to Spike. "But I could really use some help with shopping."

"No problem." the drake replied. "Isn't that what a boyfriend is for?" They both blushed when he said that, as neither of them was yet used to calling each other that, and quite frankly it was embarrassing.

It's been a couple of weeks since Trider left for his home and in that time Spike and Dynamism grew closer together and eventually began to date. All of their friends were happy for them, saying they belonged with each other, and they couldn't agree more. All the time they spent together was bliss.

"Why don't we take a rest?" the mare suggested. Spike nodded, his arms getting tired from carrying the entire luggage. They went over to a small restaurant and took a seat behind one of the tables. As soon as they sat, a waiter walked over and took their order.

When he left, Dyna turned to Spike and smiled. "Thanks again for helping me. I don't think I would've been able to get everything on the list, if it wasn't for you."

"Of course, I'm happy to help you. I mean we can't leave the barracks empty now can we?"

Another thing that changed since Trider's leave was that Ponyville now had several barracks to house Canterlot Royal Guard. Since the attack on Canterlot it was decided that security should be buffed in Ponyville as well.

"I know we can't, but it such a pain in the ass." the mare complained. "If I knew that I would have to do all of this, I would've never accepted the promotion."

Spike shot her a small glare. "Don't say that." he said sternly, as he reached over and grabbed her hand. "The new guards will need someone to lead them and there is no one better than you. You earned the title of Lieutenant, after what happened in Canterlot."

His words were reassuring to the mare and she smiled back to him. "I'm still not so sure." she said and reached to her right eye, which was covered by an eye patch now. "If I remember correctly it was you who beat Garble and I did nothing."

"We beat him together." Spike rebutted and looked her directly in the eye. "I wouldn't be here without you Dyna. We are here for each other, so if you ever need my help again, just call me."

The mare's grin couldn't be wider; she was so happy right now, that she couldn't put it to words. Instead she leaned over and kissed Spike. At first he was taken aback by her sudden action, but he eventually melted into her and the two continued to kiss until someone interrupted them.

"Your meals, sir." the waiter said, holding the tray with their food in his hands. The two quickly broke apart and were madly blushing.

"T-Thanks." Spike stuttered out. The waiter put their meals onto the table, along with a vase, with a rose in it and right before he left he looked at the drake and gave him a thumbs up.

The two remained silent for a couple more seconds before they began to eat. As they continued to eat Dyna noticed that Spike's face was slumped.

Putting down her fork she spoke up. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Breaking away from his meal, the drake lifted his head and looked at the concerned mare. "It is nothing." he said, trying to convince her he was fine, but Dyna knew better than that. She continued to stare at him, her gaze piercing right through the teen dragon. Eventually Spike couldn't take any more. "Fine." he sighed and put down his own utensils. "Something's been bothering me since Trider, well actually ever since we fought Garble." he confessed.

"And that is?" Dyna said, trying to continue the flow of the conversation. Still skeptical, Spike was trying to drop the subject, but he knew that his girlfriend would continue to pester him until he spilled the beans. "Spike." she said, scooting over to his side. "We are here for each other. You said so yourself, so if something is bothering you I'll be here to listen to you."

That sentence blew away all of Spike's worries and he knew he could finally speak about his troubles. "I'm thinking about leaving Ponyville." For the next few seconds a deadly silence fell over them, as Dyna tried to process what he had just said.

"What?" was all that left her mouth.

"I said that I'm thinking about lea-"

She placed a finger on his lips, stopping him mid-sentence. "No, no I got that part. Let me rephrase." she said looking at Spike with a puzzled expression. "Why?"

He didn't know how to properly answer, so for a moment he fumbled, but eventually he composed himself. "Because I want to get stronger, I guess?" Immediately he knew that the answer didn't satisfy the mare, as her expression turned to one of befuddlement to anger.

"You guess?" she shouted, drawing the attention of everyone in the restaurant. "Spike you're plenty strong already. Don't tell this is Trider's influence on you?"

"No, I'm not." Spike shouted back, startling the mare. "Look, when we fought Garble, we nearly lost, even with the two of us and he wasn't even that strong compared to others."

"Even so, why do you need to leave Ponyville?" she countered. "Can't you train here like you always have?"

The drake shook his head. "No, I can't." he said, his tone displaying his discontent. "For a while now I haven't improved at all, while Trider continues to break through to new levels of power. I feel like, if I don't step up I will disappoint him and will be left in the dust." Dyna was taken aback; she had no idea that he was feeling like that. "Plus there is also what Garble said about me."

"What did he say?" she asked, trying to remember as well.

"He said that I'm not a real dragon." Spike said, his mood dropping even more. "And he's right. For all my life I've been living among ponies, unaware of what a dragon is like. I'm more pony than I am a dragon."

"And that is why you want to leave, to learn how to be a dragon?" Dyna asked, clearly showing her uncertainty. Spike silently nodded, to which the mare sighed. "Didn't you try this once before?" Again he nodded. "And don't you remember how that ended?"

"I'm not saying that I'll go looking for other dragons. I just want to find myself." he said, his voice now filled with determination. Dyna was still skeptical and Spike could sense her doubt. "Ever since Trider left I've been having this feeling, like somebody is calling for me, like that if I follow them I'll find the answers I'm looking for."

After hearing all of that Dyna could no longer tell Spike that he shouldn't do that. Instead she sighed and leaned into him. "Just promise me you'll come back safe and sound." she said, looking longingly into his eyes.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." he said and embraced her.

After his talk with Dyna, Spike talked to all of his other friends as well, and just like his girlfriend they opposed him leaving at first, but they too eventually saw his resolve and decided it was for the better to let him go. On the day of his departure everyone in Ponyville came to greet him off. It almost made him reconsider, but he steeled himself and set off on his journey.

For the next several days he travelled across Equestria, following the feeling that has been gnawing at him since the battle in Canterlot. After two days of wandering through a dense forest he stumbled upon a large cave opening.

The feeling was stronger than ever, so with absolute resolve, Spike entered the cave. As soon as he stepped inside he was engulfed in darkness. He lit up a small flame and began to wander through the cave system. For several hours he continued to walk through the cavern, until he stumbled upon an enormous cave, which could house the entire town of Ponyville. The cave was illuminated by a bunch of blue crystals, which shined just bright enough to outline the shapes inside the cave.

Spike was taken aback by the beauty that was before him. However that beauty lasted a short while, as the entire cavern began to shake, almost as an earthquake hit the place. The shaking threw him off his balance and he fell onto the ground.

As the shaking continued, Spike noticed that several walls of the cave were shifting around. At first he thought that the entire place was about to collapse, but as soon as the shaking started, it also stopped abruptly. Spike glanced around the place, trying to see what exactly what had happened and he noticed that the entire cave was now completely different than how it was when he arrived. The walls were in completely different places than before; some moved closer to him, making the cave appear smaller. He slowly turned around, determined to get out but saw that the exit was now gone, instead replaced by a large boulder.

All of a sudden he heard cracking noises coming from the ceiling. He looked up only to see an enormous protrusion from it. The cracking noises continued and Spike saw how two giant golden crystals suddenly appear out of nowhere. The crystals began to move, showing two giant black lines across the middle of each of them, which were now pointed directly at Spike.

The drake has faced situations where he had been scared. When he faced the Diamond Dogs, Sombra, Changeling invasion, attack on Canterlot, in all those situations he was confronted by fear, but right now, at this moment, he felt pure terror wash over him as he stared at the giant golden eyes that were staring down at him.

Loud rumbling echoed throughout the cave as the protrusion split apart, revealing rows of giant sharp and jagged rocks. But Spike knew those weren't rocks.

"Greetings, my name is Ageny." a thundering voice spoke out. "Who are you?"

Chapter 7: A New Mentor Part 2

"My name is Ageny. Who are you?"

Spike's eyes were firmly locked onto the giant maw of the creature that was looking down onto him. He tried to reply, but no muscle in his body wanted to budge and the only thing that escaped his mouth was a squeal.

"It seems you have forgotten your manners hatchling." Ageny spoke, his voice calm, yet terrifying. "Or are you simply so rude as to not address your elders?"

Spike remained frozen for a few more seconds, before he finally moved. "H-h-hi, m-my name is S-Spike." he stuttered his response, awkwardly waving his hand to the creature above him.

The giant didn't respond, instead the two giant eyes continued to observe the scared drake, looking him over with a scrutinizing gaze. After a while it sighed and closed its eyes.

"Spike, huh?" he scoffed, his voice showing displeasure. "And how did a hatchling like yourself stumble into my abode?"

"I-I-I just walked here, s-sir." the young dragon answered.

The creature opened its eyes again, this time however they were filled with anger. "Just walked here?" he repeated what Spike said. "Do not take me for a fool hatchling!" he roared, making the entire cave shake. "This cave is cut off from the outside world! No mere mortal could 'just walk here' unless they possessed powerful ancient magic, like alicorns, ancient relics or ..."

He stopped his shouting, as something came to his mind. He lowered his head down to the now shaking Spike and took a deep sniff.

"Discord." he grumbled, his voice filled with rage and annoyance, while at the same time showing a sign of melancholy. "That trickster brought you here."

"Discord?" Suddenly Spike stopped shaking from fear and looked at the giant with inquisitive look. "You know him?"

"I do." Ageny replied. His mind tried to comprehend why Discord would send a hatchling like Spike here and allow him passage into the cave. Then he remembered their last conversation.

"This is the one he sent to continue my legacy? Raijat even in death you continue to mock me." he thought, showing displeasure on his face. "Leave at once!" he spoke to Spike and began to turn away.

"Wait!" the drake cried out. "You said Discord brought me here. But how? And why?"

"Let it be child. Don't think about that madman's actions too hard. Spare your sanity." Ageny answered. "Just leave."

"No!" The reply stopped Ageny and he again looked at Spike, this time with slight intrigue. "I knew Discord and while we weren't the best of pals, he was still one of my friends. So if he brought me here for a reason, then I demand to know why." Quickly he realized how he sounded and gulped. "I-If that's fine."

"He was one of your friends? That is what you said correct?" Spike nodded to Ageny's question. That put a perplexed expression onto the giant's face. "Who are your other friends?"

The question caught Spike by surprise. "W-Well there's Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity-"

"Those don't sound like dragon names?" Ageny cut in.

"Because they're pony names." Spike replied. "I was raised by ponies ever since I was hatched, so it's obvious that I would have ponies as friends. Now where was I? Oh right, there's also Applejack, Dash, the CMC ...”

The answer brought a smile onto Ageny's face. "Perhaps Raijit was right." he thought, as he continued to listen to Spike and the adventures he had with his friends.

Almost an hour has passed since Spike arrived to the cave and he was in the middle of one of his stories. "So then I jumped off of the tower and caught the Heart, but Sombra was just inches away from me, so much so I could smell his bad breath. And right before he reached me Trider comes hurtling right past me and-"

"I'm afraid I'll have to stop you right there hatchling. I’ve heard enough." Ageny said, cutting Spike's story short.

"What do you mean?" the drake asked.

Ageny didn't answer; instead he smiled and asked Spike a question. "Tell me, why did you decide to leave your friends and went out on this journey?"

The expression on Spike's face turned to one of sorrow. "A short while ago we were attacked by very bad people and we lost several friends to them, while others were badly hurt." he explained, clenching his fists. "And I was useless in that fight. If I had been stronger I could've protected my friends, but I-I couldn't."

He repressed his tears as he spoke and Ageny looked at him with sympathy. "What if I told you I could help you in your quest?"

Lifting his head, Spike gazed at Ageny, his eyes full of hope. "Really?"

Nodding his head, Ageny smiled to the sudden shift in young drake. "However first you will have to listen to my story." Spike remained quiet, as he adjusted his sitting position. "Tell me what did Discord tell you about the events that happened 5000 years ago?"

"Well he said that after the war of gods he and the two siblings collected all the corruption and sealed it away. Then the brother of the siblings was corrupted and waged war on the world with a damned army." Spike recollected the story. "Then the three fought and the brother was sealed away, the sister died and Discord became, well, Discord and that was all."

Ageny nodded along with the story. "I see. Well do you know what happened afterwards?"

"No." Spike answered, now intrigued at what he was about to tell him.

"Ten thousand years ago gods ruled this world, but alongside them stood mighty creatures that could rival them in power." Ageny said.

Suddenly the cave started to shake again, as the walls once again moved. This time however once they moved they revealed an even larger cave, one the size of Canterlot. The walls were adorned with bright luminescent crystals which illuminated the whole cave.

Spike watched the whole scene unfold with wide eyes. And when he glanced back to Ageny his eyes became even wider. The walls of the previous smaller cave, were in fact part of the giant's body.

His body was enormous, easily the size of several castles. His body was covered in ashen grey scales, while giant white spikes covered his entire back and tail. He proudly spread his white wings and lifted his head to the cave's ceiling, his golden eyes full of pride as he observed Spike's shocked expression.

"Those beings were called dragons."

Spike was left speechless, which brought a smile onto Ageny's face. After a few seconds he laid back down onto the ground and continued his story.

"We dragons didn't partake in the war, instead let it play out and waited for the outcome. But we too would pay for it." he said. "After the war was over we were approached by three young gods and asked to help them restore the world. Some turned their heads, saying it was their fault the world was in ruin, while others wished for the world to return to its proper state."

Spike continued to listen intently, as he swallowed every word Ageny spoke. "It took millennia, but they managed to save the world and peace was brought back. Until the brother was corrupted and the world was once again at war. But this time we dragons wouldn't sit idly by." he spoke, his voice filled with sorrow as he continued. "Many of our kind perished, but we were victorious in the end."

"And the brother was sealed away, right?"

"Correct." Ageny replied. "Raijat and the sister created the key, which was broken and scattered across the world. But fear still loomed that the realm would be once again opened, so we dragons decided to keep watch of it."

"But wouldn't the corruption corrupt them as well?" Spike wondered.

"We thought that we would be fine, since we believed that we were better than gods." Ageny closed his eyes and sighed. "How wrong we were. The corruption touched us as well and you can see the results of it. Dragons nowadays are associated with greed, violence and the like. Not honor, pride and righteousness, like before. We forgot everything about ourselves, even our full potential."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We were foolish. Luckily I was not as foolish. I managed to get away before the corruption affected me as well." Ageny said. "Now I am the last of the true dragons and I am reaching my limit as well. I thought that with me the knowledge would die as well."

"If that's so, why didn't you teach some other dragon about it?" Spike wondered.

"None were worthy. All of them would just abuse this power to get what they wanted." he angrily responded. "I believed that someone worthy would never appear." He turned his head towards Spike and looked directly at him. "Until now that is."

"You mean?" Spike said and gulped.

"Correct." Ageny said, while nodding his head. "Discord said that he had found someone worthy of my teachings and I judged you worthy. I can see that you are noble and righteous, and I know you will only use the power to protect those closest to you." The giant dragon stood up and said in a booming tone. "Spike, was it?"

Spike quietly nodded.

"I shall give you the knowledge and the power of the true dragons. Will you accept me as your mentor?"

Spike was left speechless. "I'll be honored." he said determinedly and bowed.

Author's Note

Sorry for the long hiatus.
I've had tests in summer and then my job took a lot of my time. But now I'm back and expect new chapters to come more often.