Chapter 1 Breaking of the Team
A computer voice echoed through the bridge of the Conformer Shuttle
ERROR ERROR SYSTEM DOES NOT RECOGNIZE WORDS [Please get us the Fuck off this ship] As a Black skinned teenager in a dark blue gi frantically pounded his fists on a keyboard, after several failed attempts, another young man turned around in his seat to face the first
"Core, there's no need to panic, and for Shiva's sake stop being so rough, you'll break it."
Core stopped his pounding of the keyboard, turned in his seat, and gave the other teen a glare "No need to panic eh? We are flying through wormhole after wormhole, getting farther and farther away from home, on top of that we've got a chunk of mako infused rock the size of the planet Pluto almost directly on top of us and even worse, this piece of junk isn't even finished!! You tell me Denzel, how is this not perfect time to panic!?!
Denzel groaned "Well, the way you're acting doesn't help."
A girl with a red ribbon in her hair on Denzel's left looked over her shoulder "To be fair Captain, Cor's got a point. We're in some deep shit right now."
Denzel spun around in his chair "Jeez Marlene, don't you think I know that!?! I'm trying to keep everyone calm!"
"Speak for yerself!" their attention is drawn to the front of the cockpit, where a light brown haired cowboy, wearing a black stetson, and frantically flipping switches, pushing buttons, turning knobs, and yanking on a large padded wheel "Ya'll got it easy, Ahm the real one under pressure here! Cap'n, you and yer big, stupid idea's. Pa hadn't finished the damn thing, Ah eard em say it too! But didja listen to me? Nooooooooooooooooooo, we just had ta B-line it for the ship, jump on and go. Now what's happenin? We're flying next to a glowin green meteorite the size of Midgar itself, in a half-finished ship, lightyears away from home, and the only one who has any flight experiance is me. An. Ah. HATE. FLYIN!!" one the last word he revved the engine a little too hard, and everyone in the cockpit got jerked around in their seats.
A green-haired girl wearing sunglasses jumped awake in her seat " OUCH! Hey! Careful Ben, you almost gave me whiplash!"
Ben put a hand over his mouth "Good lord, sorry Cecilia! Ah fergot you were up here! Wait, why aren't you in the cargo with the others if yer gonna sleep?"
Cecilia stretched "ooooooooh....ah~ It's noisy back there, and the seats up here are much more comfy. Anyway, how are things going?"
Denzel stood up and walked over to Ben "I've been wondering that myself."
Ben the pulled over a large screen, it showed a Live camera shot of the outside of the ship, the large meteor next to the ship had a massive size comparison to the teeny ship "To be honest, Ah don't have the foggiest. Nothing hasn't really happened, nothing interesting anyway."
"BOOOOORIIIIIING...." Denzel looked over his shoulder at a long slick haired teenager walk into the bridge, buttoning a jean vest and wearing a big grin. Denzel chuckled "Martin, yer up."
Smirking, jumping in a nearby seat, and spinning in it, Martin whistled a carefree tune then stopped spinning, facing Denzel "Mourning Capt'n! Or is it Night? Maybe somewhere in between? Anyhoo, are we there yet?"
Everyone groaned "WE DON'T KNOW MARTIN."
Ben's eye twitched "Seriously, could ya'll at least keep it down!?! Ah'm avin enough problems flyin this thing than-" the ship lurched and everyone not strapped in a seat, were thrown to the side opposite side "Dammit!" whimpered Kody, rubbing his head after bouncing his head off a computer.
ERROR ERROR SYSTEM DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THE WORD [Dammit] Kody slammed a gloved thumb on a button making the screen turn off "AAAAAAW SHUT UP!!"
"Quiet!" Ben was now climbing on the dashboard of the cockpit, looking through the window above "Somethin's on the outside of the ship..." The bridge went silent
Denzel broke the silence ".....w-what do you see Cowboy?" CHUNK. The ship lurched again
Ben bit his lip "Well......we just lost 4 of our 6 stabilizer jets..." CRUNCH "There goes the photon cannon...." CLANG. CLANG. CLANG. "....and now it's tryin to get in."
Cecilia slowly undid her seat belt ".....all our weapons are in the cargo..."
Denzel licked his lips "okay......we need to be careful, I'm going to the back to get the others, Core you get the weapons, Martin you go with-" CRASH the window on Martin's left shattered as a long, thick spider leg with a enlarged human hand on the end smashed through and seized him by the throat.
The others were thrown about the bridge as the gravity was thrown out of whack and the suction of deep space started to fill the ship, to make matters worse the green moisture from the meteror started to seep thought the window. By this point, Core had grabbed Martin by the legs and frantically tried to out-pull whatever gods name this thing was, on top of that, Martin was now covered from head to toe, in the green sparking, radioactive mako, and was now screaming his head off.
Cecilia jumped forward, trying to help Kody as random items flew about the room and Denzel helped Ben keep the ship from smashing into the meteor, not being able to out-pull the creature, Core grabbed a screwdriver floating nearby and stabbed the hand as hard as he could, it let go immediately and withdrew back outside as the emergency window sealed itself. "MARTIN, ARE YOU OKAY!?!"
Martin in question, was laying there on the floor as his skin bubbled, turning different colors. "........oooow......this feels.....like a......sunburn.....10 fold.....on top....of a grease burn......all over.....my body"
"Alright, enough of this bullshit." Denzel flipped open a case on the wall, and punched a large red button and a siren started blaring, he then took hold of a microphone and pushed the intercom "RED ALERT, GET YOUR ASSES UP, THIS NOT A DRILL, THE SHIP IS BEING TORN APART, GRAB YOUR WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT, RED ALERT!!"
Ben quickly started turning knobs to MAX "Shields at maximum, there's more that one." THUD a human-like creature slid down the side of the window, but was thrown off as the shields kicked in. "Oh God, DENZEL THEY'RE REMNANTS!! THEY ARE LITTERALLY COMING FROM THE METEOR ITSELF!! Fuck it, Ahm landin this thing! Computer where's the nearest planet!?! Ah don't care, just give me the coordinates!!" after a few clicks, the whole bridge lit up. "Hold on to yer asses folks! This one's gonna have a nasty kick." And he laid the throttle on full blast.
It took seconds, if not milliseconds for it to happen. All they saw at first was space on one side of the ship, and the meteor on the other. Now there was a planet on the left, and it was pretty damn close. Way too close. "Gravity's got us! Ships not gonna last!!
The rest of the group ran into the cockpit holding duffle bags and racks of weapons. led by Marlene. "Denzel, what the hell is going o-" The was a terrible sound of ripping metal as the ship was literally torn into several pieces, Denzel watched as his comrades, Friends, and Little sister were thrown down towards the colorful planet. Ben however was still locked in his pilot seat. "BEN, THE OTHERS-
"THEY'LL BE FINE!!" Ben roared over the wind. "IF THEY DON'T HAVE JENOVA CELLS, THEY'RE MAKO INFUSED. SUPER SOLDIERS. THEY'LL SURVIVE THE FALL." A loner piece of shrapnel caught Denzel on the left shoulder, he lost his grip and was sent sailing into the now blue sky, he watched as Ben, still in the pilot seat, rode what was left of the ship into the clouds below and out of sight.
Denzel then looked around as he cleared the cloud line, and what a sight he saw. It looked like a children's storybook cover, bright colors, castles, villages, large forests........it was......beautiful....however a sudden reality overtook him, he looked down and an upcoming forest. "oooooooh....sssss....this is gonna hurt." SNAP SNAP THWACK CRACK WHAM THUD CRAAAASH
He landed on the forest floor, Alive. In pain, but alive "........I'm going to sleep now" as he drifted off, one last thought entered his head.
".........How are we ever going to find each other?" and everything, went black.
Author's Note
Well, that's the intro, hope I'm doing this right. These characters are my own creation, except for Denzel and Marlene they are property of Square Enix. I'll be adding pictures once I get a mouse, can't draw worth a damn with a touch pad. Anyway, hope you enjoyed. This is my first story, and I'm happy to finally be here. 
Chapter 2 A Captain without a Team
It must have been several hours before Denzel stirred. His eyes flickered open to the towering branches of trees high above, as he sat up, his back popped several times. "AH! whew... must've been out a whi-" his voice trailed off as he rubbed the side of his head with his hand.........only, it wasn't a hand. "What......the....." on the contrary, in place of his hand, was now a dark blue horse hoof. His response to this, was such.
" WHAT THE ACTUAL BUCK!?! " He frantically got to his feet.....er hooves. He then looked down at his other three legs. ".........WHAT THE BUCK!?! Wait, why can't I say Buck!?! Holy shit, this is some freaking scary ass magic.......magic?........wait, magic! The others!" He held up his right leg, there it was, the Highwind-7: A portable journal, radio, phone, and computer. With a Compass and Blowtorch included.
"Okay okay let's see..." He sat down to have free use of both his front legs to keep from falling, he then had to carefully type in each number on account of him no longer having fingers. It took some time before he managed to complete the distress signal. "Now to see if everyponies alrigh- what in the!?! -oh not now." The little gadget then began to beep in a steady rhythm, it the stopped around 20 beeps, then stopped. "Nothing, no response. Which means either they're Dead or way out of range...." He hoped it was the latter. "Well, I guess I better find a town or somewhere sa-OOMPH!!" He fell flat on his face as he took a couple steps and tripped. "..........dis.......iz gunna be a wooooong day.....ptooey!" He got up, spitting the dirt out of his mouth.
.................SEVERAL HOURS LATER....................
"Okay, I think I've got it down...." He leaned against trees every few steps to keep his balance. "1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4, You. put. one. hoof. in. front. of. thee. other! YES! GOT IT!" He the started to gallop "Oh yeah! Here we go! This what I'm talkin abou-YEEET!!!" He his hoove hit something and he crashed into a nearby bush. "....it's a good thing nopony didn't see that." He stood up and started to look around for what had caused him to trip, he spotted it, a large Black Duffel Bag, it was one of the many that were aboard the ship. "Oh my god, thank you Jesus!" He ran over to it, grabbed it and sat down.
"Okay, don't lemme down, what'd ya got, let's see what ya got..." He held his breath as he unzipped the bag. "JACKPOT!!" He pulled out each item in the bag, setting them each side by side, and writing down what he had in his journal.
The list wrote off as:
5 Cans of Soup
10 Packs of BBQ Jerky
1 Large Combat Knife
1 Canteen
1 Sleeping Bag
2 yards of Fishing line/w hook
1 Medical Kit
2 Lighters
1 5lb Bag of Gummy Bears
He did a double take at last one. "Wait, a 5 pound bag of......aw, thanks Martin." He loaded all of it into the duffle bag, and strapped it around his waist, he then noticed he had his leather armor vest still on. "This is getting weirder and weirder......anyway, it's time to move." Denzel started to make his way through the trees, hopefully to find a settlement, or at least a cabin.
A few hours passed, and the only thing that had changed was the scenery. It went from being a forest, to a swamp-like jungle. Now, this wasn't a problem for Denzel, he had gone through worse back on Gaia, but when it started to thunder, then downpour, oh this was aggravating on whole new level, he was wet, tired, hungry, lonely, cold, and fed up. "RRRRRAAAAAAUUGH!!! WHEN WILL IT END!?!"
A few minutes later, something caught his eye, a light! He tore through the mud and reeds heading in that direction, and burst into the clearing, and stood before a hut, it was made out of a weeping willow, and covered in colored masks and other baubles. "Yeesh, reminds me of the Ancient Forest back home...."
Denzel hesitantly walked up to the door, and after a moment knocked.
....
Nothing. He knocked again, a little harder this time, there was movement, and locks on the door were being undone, and the door opened, reviling a tall Zebra. "Who comes knocking at this time of night? Wouldn't it be better if you waited till Light?" She looked around before looking down at Denzel, by which her eyebrows raised. "It's dangerous to be in the dark for one so small as you, the creatures are liable to tear you in two!"
Denzel, who was not only taken aback at her constant rhyming, but the fact that she was a walking, talking zebra. Though, the thought was put out of his mind when he remembered he himself was walking on 4 legs, realizing the zebra was waiting for him to respond, he spoke up.
"Ah, I....I'm lost. You got a spare room?" He asked hopefully, using his best manners, despite his crappy situation.
The Zebra stood there for a moment, then smiled. "Small one, having you here will be no pain, now please, come in out of the rain." She stood aside for him to pass, which he gratefully accepted.
She stripped him of his wet vest and hung it on line to dry over the fire to dry. As Denzel put down his bag, he got a good look at the place. A Cauldron over a pit with a roaring fire sat in the center of the room, several shelves line the walls holding many different colored bottles, hanging higher up the walls are more masks similar to the ones outside, and a bed round the corner. "Wow, this place is fascinating....never seen anything like it...."
The zebra smiled at him "My home, though it is a tree, thank you for saying that, it means a lot to me." She suddenly realized something, putting her hoof over her mouth. "Apologies, small one. But introductions must be done. I am Zecora, potions and remedies are what I do, and now young colt, what shall I call you?"
Denzel, however had a little trouble responding. "D-Denzel. You can call me Denzel. Mis Zecora, you seem to be rhyming a lot, why is that?"
Zecora chuckled "That question has not gone unasked, back when ponies considered me an outcast. I talk in rhyme, my answer shall stand, it is a custom I have inherited from my home land." she proclaimed proudly.
Denzel's ears parked up "Oh, so you're not from around here?"
Zecrora shook her head "Sadly no, for in Equestria only ponies mainly stock, a zebra however, is the black sheep of the flock."
He didn't like the sound of that. "That sounds a little raciest."
The zebra quickly responded "Oh, there are other races too, yaks, Diamond Dogs, Griffins, Dragons, and others. It's true!"
Denzel wiped his head "Whew good, I hate seeing folks being pushed around for being different or being a different color." The last part ended with a sneer.
Zecora raised an eyebrow "You sound rather bitter on the topic too, has something in the past happened to you?"
The colt scrunched his muzzle, shaking his head "Not to me, a close friend, he's bullied mostly cause of both his different color and his inheritance. But to me, in my opinion, Friendship doesn't see color or race. Those two words can disappear from the Friend category for all I care."
The Rhyming Zebra giggled "So you do not mind my being a zebra? Then-"
Before she could finish, Denzel bet her to the punch. "Ma'am, I wouldn't mind if you were a Cheetah or an Amoeba.
She stood there for a moment, then burst out laughing that the colts smugness. She then walked over to her bubbling cauldron and began stirring the contents. "Before we turn in for the night, shall I cook us a up something to bite?
Denzel nodded in agreement "That would be nice, thank you." as he unrolled his sleeping back near a warm spot not too close to the fire. "We can talk more in the mourning..." he let our a yawn.
"My next question you must answer true, and I shall try not to stutter, but..." She looked at him over her shoulder "Do you take your potatoes With or Without Butter?
Author's Note
Denzel seems to have had his first encounter with an actual resident of the planet! Though, perhaps the others won't be so lucky.
Hope you enjoy, I'll try to post chapters when I can, works driving me nuts.
