The Way of The Beast

Chapters

Way of The Beast Prologue
Chapter 1- Shadows
Chapter 2- Heat

Way of The Beast Prologue

Way of The Beast

Prologue

Robert Kinley sat in his locker room, silently wrapping his hands as his coach and crew stood outside the door. His mind wasn’t focused on the fight ahead, only the memories that flew through his mind. Flashing lights and sirens. Adrenaline and rapid heartbeats. An unforgivable argument and a knock on the door.

The man, a heavyweight in the fighting world, let out a heavy sigh as he finished. He let his hands fall and his head hung. “Yo!” The man jolted as fists rapped against the door leading to the outside. “The match starts in two minutes! Are you ready or not!”

“I’m coming!” He answered, a growl stirring in his voice as he glared at the door. “Damn….” The man shook his head and stood to his feet, taking his gloves from the bench next to him and slipping them on. Wordlessly, he turned to the door and made his way out. The door opened with a click and he stepped out, seeing his three-man crew… but not his coach.

“Where's Ross?” He questioned, looking to each of the men.

“Said he’d meet us at the cage,” his medic spoke up. “Not sure what that's all about, though.”

The pro grunted before rolling his shoulders. “Then let's go,” he rumbled, starting to walk down the hall. His entourage fell in line behind him, the group falling into silence. Slowly, the sound of the roaring crowd reached their ears and before long they stepped out into the stadium.

The fighter's ears tuned out the screaming audience and music of his intro song. Instead, his gaze raced towards the cage, spotting his coach with his back turned to them. A huff left the man's nostrils before he turned his back on the older gentleman. Kinley continued to drown the crowd out as he held arms out, feeling hands pat him down before the smell of vaseline hit his nose. He gave a nod before he took the steps into the arena, the chain-link door closing behind him. He was silent as he bit down on his mouth guard, steely eyes watching his opponent enter the cage.

The younger man returned his adversary's look, a little gleam dancing through his stormy blue eyes as he gave a confident smirk. Kinley's nose scrunched up, the roar of the crowd crashing into his ears as the voice of the announcer boomed out. "Fighting out of the red corner, Joel 'The Storm' Victor!" The volume raged upwards as Joel raised his gloved fist into the air, bobbing his closely shaved blond head. Kinley glared harder before the announcer roared out once more. "And, fighting out of the blue corner, Bob 'The Beast' Kinley!"

The Beast snarled at his opponent, forest green eyes burning. He already knew how this fight would end before it ever even began….

Bob sat with his eyes half-closed, staring at the wall as the medic continued working on him. He breathed through his mouth to save his broken nose, blood occasionally dripping onto his chin from the split lip. His left ear still rang quietly as he refrained from rolling his throbbing shoulder. To say he looked like hell was an understatement.

It didn't help that Ross was stomping back and forth while yelling at the top of his lungs. "-and the fucking throw, that was fucking disgusting!" The coach shouted, finally turning his raging yellow gaze on the fighter. "What the hell were you thinking!?"

Bob looked up, his face startling calm. "You know what I was thinking, Ross."

The shorter man stared down at his trainer, the vein in his neck popping out as his face turned red. "All of you," he growled in a low, even voice, pointing towards the door. "GET THE FUCK OUT!!!" The entire team, who had been standing back and avoiding eye contact, rushed out of the room in an instant, even the medic scrambling after them.

Bob watched them leave before he turned back to Ross as the man let out a heated sigh. “You took their money,” was all the older man said as he crossed his arms, the steam coming off him betraying his calm expression.

“Yeah,” the fighter answered without blinking.

The coach’s eyebrow twitched. “How. Fucking. Dare. You,” he growled angrily.

Bob looked away, a sigh escaping him. “What do you want me to do, Ross?” He asked, his shoulders slumping. “I’ve lost every fight since I’ve come back. I just… I just can’t win. At least this way, I’ll get something out of it.” The man looked back up at his coach, Ross looking up towards the ceiling while shaking his head.

“That’s it then?” The red-faced elder questioned, looking down at him. “You’re just selling out?” Silence fell as the ex-champion refused to answer, causing Ross’ anger to grow. “...Fine then,” he murmured before starting to make his way to the door. “If that’s the case, I quit.” Bob said nothing as his mentor and oldest friend walked towards the door.

“Elana would be so disappointed.” The Beast only just had time to look up before the door slammed shut, leaving him completely alone with the sound of screaming sirens in his head. His widened eyes drifted towards the floor, his head bowing as his mind was engulfed in painful memories.

There was no telling how much time had passed before another voice spoke up in the room. “Quite the tongue on that old man.” Bob lifted his gaze with a start at the sound of the slightly rough voice. At the other side of the room, a man in a black leather jacket, cargo pants, and combat boots leaned against one of the lockers, a cigarette flaring between his lips as a glint came off the hilt of the sword over his shoulder.

“Who the hell are you?” Kinley rumbled, getting to his feet quickly and raising his fists, ignoring the protest of his shoulder and ankle.

The black-haired man raised his empty hand calmly as he used his other to remove his cigarette, blowing a cloud of smoke as purple eyes studied the fighter. “Name’s Soldier,” the grizzled stranger answered, putting the smoke out with the tip of his finger. “Odd, yeah, but that’s what I’m called and that’s what I’ll keep introducing myself as.”

“What do you want?”

“You.”

Bob froze at the bluntness of the answer. He searched the man, looking for any sign of a joke or jest, but one look at the stern features told him all he needed. “The hell does that mean?” The Beast asked as he raised his fists higher, body tensing.

“It means,” Soldier answered, straightening up and starting forward. “I need your help, and you can’t refuse my offer.”

The ex-champ raised an eyebrow, slowly lowering his hands as the other man stopped. “...Need my help for what?” He asked cautiously, once again searching the man.

Soldier put his hands in his jacket pockets and cocked his head a bit. “There’s a little girl I’ve been keeping an eye on,” he began to explain, catching the martial artist’s attention. “She hasn’t been the best off, but she’s done well given her situation. However, things are about to get very dicey for her and I’d rather she didn’t get hurt. I want you to watch and take care of her.”

Bob narrowed his eyes. This sounded like the plot of a bad 90s movie. “Why me?”

“Because,” the stranger answered, not taking his eyes off the green-eyed man. “You’re a very accomplished fighter, twenty-three wins seven loses-”

“In a row.”

“Ex-military-”

“Dishonorable discharge.”

“And!” Soldier barked loudly, clearly tired of being interrupted. “You’re a father.”

Bob stopped at that, his angry frown falling alongside his gaze. “...Not anymore.”

“You never stop being a father!” Soldier reprimanded, drawing the man’s eyes back to his own. “You may have lost a lot of things over the last few years, but not that. You can never lose that.” Kinley was shocked into silence at that, his gaze blurring as he focused outside of reality.

“...What the hell is this?” The worn-out fighter asked, a tired sigh escaping him.

“It’s a second chance.” Bob looked up at the stranger. “One you desperately need. ...I’ve been watching you very closely Robert. A few weeks ago, you bought a gun. You bought one box of ammo. You put a single bullet into the clip.” Kinley’s eyes widened as he took a step back. “You plan to waste your life on nothing… and I am asking you to give your life to help someone else’s.”

Bob the Beast stared at the darkened figure, his mind racing through everything single thought he’d had for the last few months. He could feel the weight crashing down on him, all of his thoughts and intentions laid bare in front of him. With a sigh, he looked into purple, shifting eyes. “...How are we doing this?”

“You’ll be going very far away,” Soldier answered, his hands coming out of his pockets. “Very far. And you’ll never be coming back. On top of that, you’ll be needing a bit of a makeover.”

Bob let out a sigh, closing his eyes and nodding his head. “Okay,” he muttered, looking back up. “I only have one request.” Soldier gave a little nod and he continued. “You have to make sure my wife gets everything. I want her to live a comfortable life.”

“It’ll be just as your will entails,” the stranger intoned. “You’ll be found, deceased, in three days, and your wife, Selena, will inherit all of your earthly belongings.”

The tired fighter let out one last sigh and nodded. “Let’s do this, then.” Soldier nodded in return and tossed a green pendant towards the man.

“You’ll find yourself in a city called Canterlot,” the black-haired man informed as Bob caught the pendant in his hands. “The girl you’re looking for is called Sunset Shimmer. Find her quickly and protect her at all costs. I’ll be in touch. Good luck.”

Before he could open his mouth to question, Robert “The Beast” Kinley felt the ground give out below him, darkness swallowing him up as green light shone around him.

The walk to her front door was silent. It always was nowadays. With all of her family either dead or missing, Lynette had learned to become accustomed to the silence of loneliness. She barely bothered to look at her garden as she walked the path to the door, focusing instead on simply getting inside and getting ready for a nice, long sleep.

She had to go into work tomorrow, finally, after so long of being given leave. Admittedly she had requested the full 30 days of it, but she had to admit the silence and emptiness of being back home with none of her relatives around had been grating on her more and more.

Reaching the door, she fished her keys out of her pocket and, after finding the right key, jammed it into the lock. After unlocking the door, she opened it and stepped inside the darkness of her house.

Sighing as if the weight of the world had been taken off of her shoulders, she took off her coat and placed it on the coat rack, until she heard a curious sound.

‘Is that...footsteps?’ Mouth setting itself into a thin line, Lynette unholstered her standard-issue M9 and cautiously, quietly followed the sound. Seeing light coming from her living room, she frowned and furrowed her brow as she perked her ears up to listen intently. ‘No sounds of glass breaking.’ She waited for a beat. ‘No more footsteps either. Either they know I’m here, or are waiting for me. Likely both.’ Her frown deepened. ‘How did they get in? My security alarms should have gone off and alerted me via my phone...Which means they’re either an experienced thief or an experienced and well-paid merc...or an insurgent. I’ll have to play this carefully. They’re likely waiting for me, which means there’s a good chance they want to discuss something...that gets rid of the thief idea.’ She shook her head. ‘Either way, I can’t sit here and analyze all night. I’ll have to play this by ear for now and just go in.’

With that decision, Lynette walked towards the living room and, turning a corner, saw a man with snow-white hair and a black fedora and trench coat sitting patiently on her couch, and in front of him, on the coffee table, was the antique cavalry saber she’d gotten fifteen years ago after a tour in Britain.

The man smiled as he regarded her with his icy blue eyes. “Ah, you’re finally home. Apologies for barging in,” he said politely.

Lynette, ever to the point, asked, “Who are you, why are you in my house, and what do you want?” She kept her gun pointed at his head, ready to blow a hole in it if he made even one wrong move.

The man’s smile never wavered as he performed an oddly masterful sitting bow, “Antiquarian is my name, ma’am. I came here because I’d heard you had quite a nice antique, and, lo and behold, you did.” He gestured to the saber. “I simply wish to ask if you’d let me have it.”

‘Antiquarian? An alias? Part of an act? Or both? Either way, if he’s acting, he following the role his name gives him well, so far.’ Lynette mused. “I’m not partial to lies, much less by people who sneak around into others homes.” She cocked her gun. “What. Do you. Want.”

Antiquarian chuckled. “I’ve already said what I want. Your saber.”

“Then I decline. Now leave.”

Antiquarian frowned. “Well, I could hardly do that after having come all this way.”

‘All this way?’ Lynette looked him over. ‘He looks Caucasian, which means he’s either from somewhere here in America or one of the other Caucasian countries. Still, I shouldn’t completely rule out the possibility of him being one of the rare ones to live in another country.’

Antiquarian interrupted her thoughts. “How about a trade? You give me your saber, and I,” He smiled. “Will give you the chance to see your family again.”

Lynette froze for a split second, before growling. “I already told you I dislike lies. Are you trying to make your situation worse?”

Antiquarian hummed, cupping his chin. “I see that you’ll need some proof first, then. Alright.” He snapped his fingers, and suddenly what could only be described as a window in time and space appeared with a startling image on its other end.

“...Lucette…?” Lynette said quietly to herself, slowly lowering her gun. The person shown did look different, but Lynette could recognize the hairstyle, facial structure, and eyes anywhere. The strange thing was that she had pale-blue skin, and her eyes glowed, but… Lynette rapidly shook her head and retrained her gun on the man’s head. “How did you do that? Holograph tech?”

Antiquarian chuckled. “Not at all, ma’am. Just simple Void Magic.” He smiled at her. “So? How about it? Will you take the deal?”

Lynette faltered. She scanned the room as much as she could with her eyes, but she saw nothing that could be projecting the ‘hologram’. She didn’t recall being drugged at any point, nor drinking or eating anything laced with a drug. No matter how she tried to reason, she could not find an explanation or way to refute what she was seeing. Slowly, ever so slowly she lowered her gun again.

‘This can’t be real. And if it is, does that mean that Devils and Demons are real? That’s the only explanation I can think of…’ She bit her lip, looking to the window of space-time where her niece was chatting amicably with someone unseen. ‘It’s been so long since I’ve seen her...or any of them…’

Gradually, her defenses went down, and eventually, Lynette caved. “...I’ll do it on one condition.” She turned to him, steel in her eyes. “I want it in writing.”

The Antiquarian’s smile grew. “A woman after my own heart,” he said, making a shiver run down Lynette’s spine. Snapping his fingers, a piece of aged parchment appeared in front of her, complete with all the legal bindings of any typical contract and a quill and inkwell.

Staring at the floating objects, Lynette could only sigh and try to brush off the absurdity as she took the quill, dipped it in ink, and looked over the contract. ‘Everything seems right…’ She reasoned eventually before she signed her name on it.

In an instant, the contract’s words glowed golden, and Lynette stumbled as her vision swam, dropping her gun.

“Excellent! The deal is struck, then! Do take care, ma’am,” Antiquarian said. The last thing the woman saw was his smile, and the saber floating into his hand before she blacked out and hit the floor with a thud.

Author's Note

Please visit the co-author of this story, Timeless Lord Slayer. Give him some supprot!

Chapter 1- Shadows

Chapter 1-

Shadows

Music bumped in the dim lighting, people murmuring amongst themselves at tables or moving to the music on the dance floor. It was a typical scene for a bar such as the Lonely Man’s Retreat. The crowd was large and the drinks were flowing. All was well for the owner of the bar… but not so much for red and blonde-haired girl weaving her way through the tables. She hated the crowd, the noise, the drinks. Even the atmosphere was something she detested. All of it was made worse by the way her leather skirt rubbed against her black leggings, the leather vest with maroon trim unzipped partially to just keep her modesty.

She hated that most of all. She hated her sense of self. The feeling of being someone else’s property… but then again, she didn’t have much choice. Technically, she was being paid, and technically of her own will. But, all things considered, it still didn’t feel like she had a choice.

“Sunset.” Green eyes looked up with a frown, her eyes meeting the maroon orbs that had given the accent of her clothing their color. The man was dark-haired, a single strand of silver combed back amongst the mess, complimenting his dark copper skin. The young woman, barely more than sixteen years old, stared up into the unfeeling gaze of her boss, the man who basically owned her, and most of the area around them, if she was being honest, waiting for the next words out of his mouth. “It’s nine-thirty. Go home. You have a test tomorrow and you’d better not fail it. You can’t afford to be staying after school.”

The girl nodded, turning her back to the spiff black slacks, white dress shirt, and the vest that matched the eyes she despised so much. She took her tray back to the bar and set it down, leaving it uncaringly for the barman to put in the back. She went around the back, through the kitchens, grabbed her backpack off a hook and all but ran out of the rear entrance into the back alley.

Sunset Shimmer slammed her back into the metal door behind her, letting out a heavy sigh that turned into vapor in the night air. Clearing her throat, she steeled her features and began the long walk home to the warehouse district. This was her least favorite part of the night. The hour it took her to get home in complete silence. Alone with only her thoughts. Thoughts and the sounds of all the other people that moved in the shadows. That was her life now. Moving amongst shadows….

The girl glanced back through the corner of her eye before looking back down. Sometimes, the shadows moved with her. She really hated when they did that. She picked up her pace only to listen as the footsteps behind her picked up as well. It wasn’t long before she was running down the alleyways, taking any sharp turn she thought would be enough to elude her stalker. She never looked back, but silently cursed when she heard more footsteps fall in behind her. She just kept running, her breaths coming faster and faster, her heart rate beginning to race almost as fast as her feet. She just needed to get out onto the main roads and it would be fine. It was still early enough in the evening that somebody should still be out on the town.

She saw her escape route coming up on the left, getting ready to make the turn that would make the difference between escape and capture. “Shit!” She spat as she jumped back and kept running, a shadow appearing at the entrance to the side alley that would have been her freedom. She kept running, her breaths becoming short now. Every path was blocked now, though, with the limited number of routes that were available to her, that didn’t much matter anymore. Except for the fact that they were corralling her, herding her in whatever direction they saw fit.

That’s how Sunset found herself out of breath and cornered in a dead-end between a pair of dumpsters and a crowd of gangsters. She looked them over, all ten of them as they filed into the limited space. All wore dark gray suits with metallic green pinstriping, vests of the same color under their jackets and no dress shirts. Sunset smirked.

“‘Sup, skins?” She taunted, switching to the accents and slang she’d grown accustomed to within the walls of the Retreat. “Ya lost?”

A few of the men laughed, the girl’s smirk twitching slightly at the sound. “Nah,” the one in the lead replied, a young man with yellow eyes and hair, his deep blue skin contrasting greatly with his suit. “We found exactly what we were looking for.” Sunset’s instincts screamed at her, the girl immediately taking her hands from her knees and backing up. The man in front widened his grin. “Silver Stream’s little angel. He’d pay a pretty penny for your ass.” The man glanced down and slightly behind her before looking back up with a gleam in his eye. “Then again, so would a lot of guys.” The men around her all chuckled at that, Sunset swallowing the lump in her throat.

She tried to back up again, feeling cold metal stop her dead. The chuckles died at the sound of the dumpsters clattering against each other at the girl’s jostling. The leader narrowed his eyes and took another few steps forward. “You are coming with us,” he told her, reaching into his jacket. “Whether you want to or not.” The mob started to stalk forward, each one taking out a tool of their choice. Guns, knives, bats, actual tools, they all had something. Her breath hitched as they got closer, her mind racing a mile a minute as she tried to think of an escape. Her heartbeat in her ears and her breathing couldn’t catch up. Even her ears were starting to ring. She shook her head to clear the ringing only for her to realize it wasn’t coming from inside her head.

The screech of metal came to an abrupt stop, drawing everyone’s attention upward. Where the screech stopped, another sound took its place. A low feral growl. Green eyeshine stared back at them, a hulking shadow hunkered down behind the eyes that stared at them. The gangsters let out a collective gasp, Sunset’s eyes widening at the massive creature above her.

Some of the assailants stepped back, the eyes cocking a bit to the side before the large mass started to rise. “Where you guys going?” Growled a deep, bestial tone. “I thought you were ready to have some fun?” Eyes widened as the large shadow leaped down, landing with a shuttering boom. A huge wall of red scales and black armored plating rose up in front of Sunset, gold accents glinting in the limited light. A dark brown, almost cat-like face stared out at them under a trident-shaped bone plate, three horns sticking out from its snout, one sprouting upward from above its nose while two others jutted out from the sides just underneath it. The huge, muscled arms ended in three long, clawed fingers, black and gold bracers on its wrists, chains wrapping around the back of the armor pieces. Its lower half was unarmored, though the shorter, slightly thinner legs didn’t seem to be big enough targets to require armor and the long, slender tail was swishing back and forth far too much to be able to hit, not to mention the bright green spike at the end.

Lips curled back in a snarl, a rumbling growl emanated from the beast’s chest as it towered over them. “Who’s first?” The leader snarled and raised his pistol, shots ringing through the air. An arm shot up, two shots pinging off the metal gauntlet while the last bounced off the boney horns on its head. Another growl echoed out as green orbs locked onto the young man. “Bad move.” With a roar, the monster rushed forward and the alley exploded into the sounds of gunfire. Bullets bounced harmlessly off the armor plating, bats and other wooden weapons shattering on impact with the hard red scales. The whiplike tail lashed out, slamming into a trio that tried to rush in. A swing of the colossal arms sent several more flying. One unfortunate bastard got pinned underneath the other claw before being thrown headfirst into the leader of their little group.

Screams and roars filled the air as the battle raged on, Sunset frozen in terror as she watched the exchange. A groan got her attention and she looked over to find the yellow-eyed man crawling with one arm, phone in hand. “We need back up!” He yelled into the receiver. “Bring bigger guns. There’s some- some- some kind of-” He was cut off by his own scream as he was yanked back by his leg, the creature roaring before throwing him into the last remaining member, stopping him from running any further.

One last growl rumbled from the creature before it let out a huff, its shoulders still rising and falling with its labored breathing. Slowly, its breathing slowed and it turned around, Sunset’s body tensing as it looked at her. Her breath hitched when it dropped back down onto all fours, taking measured steps towards her. She leaned back as the creature’s snout stopped just inches from her face, emerald orbs trying to look into seas of greenish-yellow. Her eyes widened and pulse quickened, hot breath blowing her hair back from the beast’s nostrils.

“Sunset Shimmer.”

The girl blinked at the sound of her name, barely registering that the creature’s lips moved. “Wh… what?”

“Good,” the beast grumbled, turning his back on her and hunkering down. “Get on.”

Sunset’s fear was very quickly replaced by confusion as she took in her situation. “I, um-”

“Just get on already!” The rough shout shook her out of her confusion, making her gasp as the beast shook itself, causing a metal loop at the nape of its armor to clatter. “Get on and hold on tight.” With a small gulp, she started to climb onto the monster’s back. “Hurry now, if I had wanted to hurt you, I would’ve. There are more of these guys coming and they will hurt you.” Sunset scrambled quickly onto his back, and the moment she took hold of the ring, the creature took off into the alleyways.

The beast galloped quickly, wind rushing past her ears as they raced on, trying to outrun the clock. However, the creature’s fastest wasn’t fast enough. They rounded a corner and black claws dug into the concrete bringing them to an abrupt halt. Clicks racked the air as a squad of twenty or so men stood in front of them. And they weren’t wielding baseball bats. “Blast that bitch.” Every automatic weapon ignited at once, spraying a wall of bullets at them. The creature grunted and raised itself up on its hind legs, effectively shielding her as it did its best to hide its face.

“Damn it,” it grunted, taking several steps back against the maelstrom. It straightened one arm, its gauntlet raising before a missile fired towards the firing squad.

“Hit the deck!” The firing stopped and several men dove to the ground, the projectile rushing over their heads and out into the street behind them. It raced into the sky before detonating in the inky void. A few groans escaped the men, but it wasn’t long before bullets were flying again.

The creature heard a whistle before he felt hot metal dig a trench in the side of his face. “Fuck!” He roared, immediately bringing his gauntlet back up guard his head. All the while, Sunset clung to his back, teeth clenched as she tried to keep her tears at bay, praying to whatever god might be of this world that she could just get out of this alive.

The loud cathoom’s of a grenade launcher sounded out as if her prayers had been answered by a god of war. Soon after, multiple screams of pain and agony ripped the air, and as the smoke from the explosions cleared, a new figure came into the creature’s view, just a short distance away.

It seemed human, and like a woman in shape...until it drew closer, and he noted the literal lion’s mane, ears, and tail it bore, the mane being somewhat short and black and spiky, the ears, whilst black, were far more rounded than a human’s, as well as larger and bearing yellow insides. The tail was also black save for the end, which bore a four-pointed yellow star.

The strange female’s entire form was covered in a full-on combat uniform, IMTV, combat boots, trousers, all of it colored in urban camouflage. A mask and goggles covered her blue muzzle and yellow eyes, as well. Hefting the launcher over her shoulder, she motioned the creature to follow her, and called out in a slightly French accent, “Move your ass! We don’t have all night!” Without any other words, she turned and ran.

A grunt escaped the creature’s muzzle before he rushed forward, galloping full tilt after the newcomer. Sunset clung to his back, eyes still clamped shut.

They ran down many streets, weaving through alleys and more, the creature wondering more and more if this wasn’t some elaborate trap. His thoughts were interrupted however, when three cars pulled up in a row across the street they were running down, three men jumping out of each with guns immediately blazing.

With a surprising amount of calm, the female leveled her grenade launcher and fired off three more grenades at each car, swiftly and efficiently blowing them and the men near them sky-high.

Sunset’s eyes widened at the sight, watching the vehicles arch into the sky. Who in Tartarus are these guys!? She screamed mentally, her thoughts racing a mile a minute as she tried to process the current events.

“Snap out of it already. We don’t have time,” the female reprimanded coldly, swiftly reloading her launcher. After doing so, she started to run off at top speed again.

“Icy,” the beast grunted before chasing after the black and blue female. “Hang on, kid.”

To Sunset, it seemed like they’d ran for hours. They’d gone way beyond her residence, or even where she recalled ever being in the city. But thankfully, they soon reached their destination, the female raising a hand to them both as she stopped in front of a seemingly abandoned concrete building. It almost looked like an old hotel, and based on the broken neon sign beneath it, it was.

The building was crumbling, too, yet the female walked towards it without hesitation. “This is where we’ll be staying for the night. I’ll brief you all once…” She stopped by the door, turning her head to the creature. “...Bob, correct?”

Yellow-green eyes narrowed at the question. “Yeah, that’s my name,” the beast rumbled, stopping Sunset from climbing off his back by raising one of his arms.

She nodded. “Lynette Petremol. Pleasure.” She pointed to the side of the building. “Go around to the back. There’s an old auto shop there. Doors should be big enough for you to walk in, and it’s close enough that you can rush here in case we’re found. Either way, I’ll brief you all in ten minutes. Be ready.”

A low rumble let itself out of his chest before he rose back up on his four limbs, starting to make his way around the building with the girl still on his back. It didn’t take long for Bob to trudge their way to the back of the building, finding the auto shop. With a grunt, he rose back up on his hind legs and lifted the door open. With a small sigh, the large creature walked inside before hunkering down. A slight shiver ran through the titan’s body as the young woman slid down his side.

“Something wrong?” She asked, arching a brow as Bob walked further into the garage, collapsing into a corner.

“There were lots of bullets,” the creature answered with a pained grunt. “A few of them were bound to get through.”

Sunset’s eyebrow arched higher at that, green eyes going to the floor only to widen in shock as she followed the trail of blood splotches all the way to the creature. Upon closer inspection, she noticed more than a few bullet holes in the titan’s hide, some of them bleeding a bit more profusely than others while some looked only slightly pale as if they’d already healed.

“Oh, Tartarus…” she breathed, walking over to the beast before sinking to her knees. “...Why would you put yourself through this?”

She looked up in time to see his massive shoulders roll in a shrug. “Magic biker dude showed up one day and asked me to watch out for you,” he answered lowly. “I wasn’t using my time for anything useful, so I said yes.”

Sunset’s looked at him in disbelief. “You risk life and limb for someone you don’t know because you were bored?” She questioned, only receiving another grunt and shrug in response. She let out her own huff and sat back with her arms crossed.

They sat in silence for several moments, Bob’s wounds slowly sealing themselves as he laid on his side. Eventually, lime green eyes came up to look at the redhead. “...You are taking this oddly well,” he grumbled, not taking his head off his arm where it rested. “You in shock or denial or something?”

It was Sunset’s turn to shrug, staring at the concrete floor rather than at him. “Honestly, I’m still a bit terrified,” she answered, her crossed arms hugging her bare shoulders. “But then again, I’ve been terrified for years now. To be so far from home, not know anyone, and have to rely on the kindness of a criminal to get by, my life has just been one damn nightmare after another. But you?” She paused here and finally looked at him, allowing the beast to catch a glimpse at the terror in her gaze. “You guys are bucking terrifying. A giant cat-dragon-thing that can tank machine-gun fire and shoot missiles and some black and blue were-lioness loaded down with military surplus? I honestly thought you were bringing me out here to die for a few minutes there. But, it’s like you said,” she looked to the floor again, “if you had wanted to hurt me, you would have done it in that alleyway.”

The sound of boots on concrete met their ears soon after, followed by the ‘were-lioness’s voice, “I’m not in the business of hurting kids. I’m a military officer, I protect the innocent, not murder them.” Looking at the entrance to the auto shop, the two saw the female without her military gear finally, letting them see her form more fully. Blue and black fur covered he head to toe, and the bottom of her forearms bore yellow rings of fur along with blue, whilst shaggy black fur covered the top of her forearms.

She was wiping her forehead off with a towel, a simple tank top, and her trousers and boots all that covered her. This, in turn, allowed Sunset to realize that while she may have been sought after for...unsavory purposes, the lioness had much more going on.

Breaking her out of her thoughts, the lioness spoke up again, “Sunset Shimmer, correct?” She asked, the red sclera and striking yellow of her eyes boring into the younger woman.

Sunset swallowed at Lynette’s gaze, giving a small nod of confirmation. A low slithering sound scraped the concrete, a low rumble echoing from Bob’s chest as his tail wrapped around the girl without leaving the floor.

Lynette shifted her gaze to Bob. “Be at ease. I’m not here for conflict, I just want information.” She looked back to Sunset. “Where is the Mirror?”

Sunset’s eyes widened at that. “H-how do you know about the Mirror?” She asked, leaning back slightly.

“...” Lynette paused, then sighed, draping the towel over her shoulders. “Seeing as I will need to work with you for a time to achieve my goal, I suppose I can divulge some of my own information.” Lynette coughed into a fist. “I am in this world of yours for one reason and one reason alone; to reach my family. A note that was on my person when I arrived explained that you knew of the Mirror, a relic that can transport me to my family’s location, and that Mirror’s location. All I want is what you know of the Mirror. Nothing else.” Lynette crossed her arms. “Saving you was just a stepping stone.”

“So…” Sunset muttered quietly, her eyes going from the floor to the red eyes and back again. “Unlike Bob here, you’re just trying to use me?”

Lynette shrugged. “If you wish to put it that way, then yes.”

Sunset looked into the red and yellow eyes for a moment before giving a defeated sigh. “Okay,” she breathed, almost whispering. “The Mirror is located at Canterlot Highschool at the base of the statue outside. Not that it’ll do you any good.”

Lynette arched a brow. “And the reason for that is?”

“The portal won’t open again for a while,” the young woman answered, raising a hand with a shrug. “It only opens up every year or so and that won’t be for another few months.”

Lynette’s eyes narrowed dangerously, her tail flicking in irritation.

Sunset flinched at the reaction, a feral growl catching her attention as Bob started to lift himself to his feet, eyes locked onto the feline woman.

Lynette didn’t bother looking at him, but she eventually sighed. “Very well. In that case, I see no reason to not watch over you for the time being.” She looked to the side, out one of the windows. “I doubt even the strange people of this world would enjoy or tolerate me being out in the open, and it’s better that I make sure you’re not lying.” Lynette walked past them, further into the shop. “The area is secure for now, I checked before coming in. Follow me, girl. I’ll show you to where you’ll be sleeping for the night.”

Sunset hesitated a moment before getting to her feet and starting to follow. She stopped when something caught her waist. She looked back to find Bob’s eyes locked onto Lynette’s back. “Be careful around her,” he rumbled, slowly removing his tail from her waist. “And if anything happens, scream and I’ll bring this whole place down getting to you.” The girl pursed her lips at that and gave a small nod before following after the furred woman.

A silent walk followed until Lynette lead the girl up the stairs and onto the second story. Said story was surprisingly empty, only a scarce few desks, chairs and filing cabinets filling it, and they were more few and far between than butter over too much bread. A sleeping bag - obviously meant for the lioness based on its size - was on the floor in a barren corner. Lynette gestured to it. “Over there. Sleep tight.” Without any other words, the lioness turned on her heel and marched back downstairs.

Sunset watched her go, giving a small, tired sigh before going over to the bag. She got down to the floor and crawled into the sack, curling on herself a little before trying to go to sleep on the hard floor.

Lynette arrived back downstairs where Bob was, and, ignoring him entirely, walked over to a part of the shop where he noticed held a vast array of military hardware and equipment, which she started to sort through - despite it looking sorted already.

“...You’re not going to be very good for that girl’s mental health, are you?” Bob grunted from his corner of the garage, shifting slightly to take the weight off some bullet wounds that had yet to finish healing.

“Her mental health is not my concern unless it starts to threaten her memory. In addition, I never was qualified to attend to anyone’s mental or emotional needs. I am a soldier. An officer. I attend to myself and my men. Family is the only other exception,” Lynette replied simply, starting to disassemble a rifle.

A huff of hot breath ruffled the fur on the back of her neck. “You’d better get to reorganizing your priorities,” Bob growled lowly. “If anything happens to that girl, I’ll come after you first.”

“I am not heartless,” Lynette began, calmly cleaning each piece of the rifle. “And I already said I do not intend to hurt her or any youths or innocents. Furthermore, I do need her to accomplish my objectives. Rest assured that nothing will happen to her.” She glanced back at him, red and yellow eyes meeting pure yellow orbs. “Though I must say, for one who just met her, you’re surprisingly protective. You remind me of the cases my father would often have to take involving kidnappers who thought they were protecting their own child.”

Another huff ruffled her fur before he turned and slinked back over to his corner, lying back down with a grunt. “I would have at least taken her back to her own home so she could sleep in her own bed,” he grumbled, keeping his eyes off her. “But then again, I don’t expect a military basket case to know anything about children.”

Cold silence. Icy, cold silence. Not even the sound of guns being cleaned was heard. But, eventually, it picked up again. “For your information, if she’d gone home, it would’ve made it easier for them to track her down and thus render her home no longer livable. Furthermore…” She frowned, staring down at the fur lining her arms. “...I may not have ever had children of my own, but my niece and nephew were always important to me.” She turned a glare colder than a glacier to him. “There’s a reason I’m more focused on actual family than some random girl, much less a beast who thinks he’s automatically her father after saving her.”

“First, you might want to change your look,” the creature grunted, barely lifting his head before flopping it back down to look at her. “You're going to give yourself a cold with a look that icy. Second, loving children is different from raising them yourself. And finally, a question. How long have you been watching her for? Long enough to realize her place is monitored constantly? Long enough to realize that she’s got the biggest, baddest godfather in the city watching over her shoulder? Who do you even think those assholes in the alley belong to?”

“...” Lynette paused for a time, then sighed. “...All the more reason for her to stay here now, then. Besides, I’ve fought in wars. A petty crime boss is nothing.” She put her tools and the gun pieces down, then pulled out a medical kit. Picking it up, she walked over to him. “Get up. Let me dress your wounds.”

He looked up at her, raising an eye-ridge at her sudden change of demeanor. With a slightly pained grunt, he got up on all four legs, his rear left shuddering with effort. “Still, we’ll need to be more careful,” he rumbled in a slightly lower volume. “Silver Stream is nothing to sneeze at. He’s probably got at least eighty percent of the city in his pocket. Only Tempered Print is bold, or stupid enough, to fuck with him. Tonight, for example. The only people immune to Silver Stream’s influence seems to be those principles.”

She simply furrowed her fuzzy brow at this as she went about dressing his wound, applying hydrogen peroxide to one of the larger and deeper wounds. A growl rumbled from deep in his throat, his lips snarling as he stomped one of his clawed hands. “How do you know all this already?” She continued applying the peroxide. “And who sent you here? Antiquarian? Or some other asshole? Furthermore, how long have you been here?”

“In succession,” Bob started through gritted teeth. “I’ve been looking for and watching the girl from afar since I got here, some magic biker calling himself ‘Soldier’, and about… four… five months?”

Lynette frowned. “So you’ve been here longer than me, then.”

“How long’ve you been here?” He asked, half trying to distract himself and half actually curious.

Finished with cleaning that wound, Lynette pulled out some gauze. “Three weeks.” With no other words, she started to wrap the wound.

“And this… Antiquarian,” the titan grumbled. “He’s the one that sent you here?”

She nodded. “I woke up where the girl is sleeping. The note, some clothes and a bit of gear was all I was given. Nothing else.” She scowled. “Regrettably, I’ve had to steal from gun stores and more just to survive and protect myself.” She stopped her work briefly to tug on the tuft of fur over her cleavage. “The note said this new body would have special abilities. Only ones I’ve noticed so far is literal x-ray vision and electricity conduction. Nothing else. It’s been more of a pain than anything.”

“Never thought you’d miss going out in public, right?” He asked with a guttural chuckle before sighing. “I understand, though. Staying out of sight, no supplies except what you can scavenge, and a whole new body that can do things you never even thought were possible. It’s… a lot.”

She nodded, smiling for the first time since they’d met. “It’s good to know you understand...and that you aren’t completely hopeless.” She smirked up at him.

Bob let out his own little chuckle, his lips twitching in a small smile. “Not anymore anyway,” he grumbled mildly lightly, starting to slowly lower himself back down. “Thanks for the patch job, by the way.”

She shrugged. “You’re an ally. I prefer to help than hinder my allies.”

“Good to know,” the beast replied, starting to settle in. “I might actually rest better.” With that, Bob curled his head under the crook of an elbow and soon filled the room with rumbling snores.

Author's Note

Another chapter of Beast for your consumption while I suddenly realize I haven't done an author's box in a while. Anywho, I hope you guys enjoy it and if you see a mistake, have a comment, or just want to be silly, leave it in the comments below. Have a great one and I'll see you guys in the next one.

Chapter 2- Heat

Chapter 2-

Heat

‘Three weeks and thirty-two hours. Three weeks and thirty-two hours I’ve been in this world now.’ Lynette stared straight ahead even as her thoughts swam, eyes scanning about. An ability she’d picked up very quickly in the Service. Dawn was breaking, and she’d been up all night keeping watch.

‘I honestly hoped I’d be out of here before now. Guess I should keep to the old doctrines more strictly.’ She frowned. ‘Laurette would’ve thrown a barb at me for that…’ She shook her head, mane shaking with the action. ‘Forget it. Don’t dwell on it, Lynette. Just don’t.’

She kept her AWM sniper rifle trained on the cityscape, not letting a single thing pass her by despite her swimming thoughts. A good number of coffee mugs sat on a crate near her, having kept her fueled the entire night. ‘I’ll need to find more coffee later. Last night forced me to go through it all.’ Frown deepening, she swept her sights across the area once more.

A loud rock song started to play in the air, loudly enough to echo down the halls. It wasn’t long after that a small groan followed, signaling Sunset sitting up in her sleeping bag. She blearily rubbed her eyes, her hand mindlessly sliding her alarm off. Her eyes opened, landing on Lynette at the window. Several seconds passed before a single word escaped her. “...Buck.”

“Morning to you too,” Lynette replied with dry wit. She glanced to Sunset. “Head downstairs. Bob should have gotten up by now. He can take you somewhere to get food.”

Sunset blinked at her, the words slowly processing. Without warning, her eyes flew open. “Buck, I gotta get home!” She screamed, throwing the bag off of her before rushing through the building and downstairs. “BOOOB!!!” A loud crash shook the building, followed by a pained roar and enough expletives to sink a battleship.

Lynette sighed, picking up her rifle, slinging it on her back, and calmly following after the girl. Downstairs, she found Bob rubbing the back of his neck, flakes of the ceiling still falling from above while Sunset was in full panic mode. “Hurry up, hurry up! I got to get home and change or else the principle’s going to kill me!”

Lynette rolled her eyes. “Just use my clothes, girl.” She walked over to where her military hardware was, then opened a trunk under the desk that held all the equipment, pulling out a v-neck hoodie from it that was obviously way too baggy for Sunset.

Sunset inspected the garment, her nose scrunching a little. “Can’t you guys just take me home?” She asked, practically bouncing from foot to foot. “It won’t take more than five minutes, tops.”

“Not gonna happen this time around,” Bob grumbled lowly, dropping back down to all fours. “Too many cameras and not nearly enough time.” The girl groaned and looked back to Lynette, practically begging with her eyes.

Lynette shook her head. “He’s right. You can’t go home, not with things as they are.”

Sunset groaned out again, putting her face in her hands and scratching at the border of her hair out of frustration. "Fine," the girl stated in exasperation, looking up from her hands. "What do you have?"

Lynette shook the hoodie in her grasp. “This and everything else in the trunk.” She gestured to said trunk. “Take your pick.”

Sunset made her way to the trunk and looked down into it. She drummed her fingers against the edge for a moment, her lips pouting towards one side as she thought. A moment more and she threw her hair back out of her eyes and looked around the garage. Her eyes lit up when they met the far wall. "Bob," she barked, causing the beast to jump a bit. "Grab those old elastics and cut the hooks off."

"Um…" the titan murmured, glancing at Lynette a moment before doing as he was told. He held them out to the redhead who quickly snatched them before rushing up the stairs with an armful of clothes.

"...What is she planning?" He asked out loud, looking towards the lioness again.

Lynette shrugged, placing the hoodie back where it belonged. “A new look, I’d wager.”

Bob grunted at that, turning to watch the stairs once more. It wasn't very long before thumping signified the return of the teenager. Sunset came down the stairs sporting a much different look from before. She'd taken the elastics and used them to tie up the legs of the pants, leaving her ankles bare and puffing up the base of the tan cargo pants. She'd gone for a white tank top that was covered mostly by a large leather jacket. Her thumbs stuck out of the holes where the cuffs buttoned, but just behind the wrist, she used more elastics on the inside to tighten them up, making it look like the jacket had been made that way.

"What do you think?" The girl asked with a grin, holding onto the half-zipped opening of the jacket.

Lynette hummed, then looked to Bob, as if in query.

"It's cute enough," the creature answered with a small shrug. "So long as the elastic can hold up to the ride."

"It should," the girl answered, becoming a bit smugger. "I don't think even that wannabe Rarity could do better."

Lynette frowned. “Don’t get a big head, girl. You do, and you’ll only fall harder.”

Sunset scoffed a bit and rolled her eyes. "Can't fall much further," she muttered before starting to walk towards Bob, backpack thrown over her shoulder. "Let's go."

"You should listen to Lynette on this one," the creature rumbled as the girl climbed onto his back. "Trust me."

Lynette shrugged, heading towards the stairs leading up. “I’m not her parent. If she doesn’t want to listen, then alright. I only care about her safety because she’s important to my objective.” She waved half-heartedly as she walked up the steps. “I’m off for some sleep. Stay safe.”

"At last, someone who isn't trying to run my life," Sunset muttered.

Unbeknownst to her, this drew a worried look from the creature underneath her. Sighing, he trudged his way out of the door. In no time at all, he raced off towards the inner city.

The feeling of a closed fist meeting his jaw was the first thing Tempered Print woke up to. The second was a sword-butt to the gut, knocking the wind out of him.

“Wake up, shithead,” a low baritone ordered.

A low groan that tried to be a growl escaped the large man. He looked up with his golden eyes, trying to give his best look of intimidation.

The guard simply smirked and stepped back, looking to a very familiar man off to the side. “He’s all yours, boss.”

"Thank you, Thrifty," Silver Stream replied, stepping into the light, his maroon eyes glinting. "Prepare our guest’s next party game."

“Got it, boss,” ‘Thrifty’ replied, turning to a cart laden with the obvious ‘party game’ equipment. Picking up a set of pliers, Thrifty squeezed them threateningly with a huge grin, his green eyes seeming to sparkle. He wore a dress suit and slacks, all in deep purple, though it had many heinous red stains. He didn’t seem to mind.

Print looked cautiously at the pliers before his attention was torn away by Silver slamming his hands down onto his chair-bound wrists. “I’m going to ask one god damn time,” the defined man sneered, maroon eyes glinting dangerously. “Where’s the girl?”

Tempered winced as the more fit gangster squeezed his wrists even tighter. “Gh, I got no idea what yer on about, mate,” the emerald green captive answered in his disguised accent.

“Thrifty.”

Thrifty’s grin grew as he walked up and roughly latched the pliers onto Tempered’s fingernail, and with expertise, ripped an entire fingernail off of one of the man’s fingers in one swift motion.

“GAAAH! FUCK!” The stout man cried out, throwing his head back. The ginger clenched his teeth as he growled out the pain. “Ya fuckin’ bi- MMF!” He was cut off as his jaw was snatched into the tight grip of Silver Stream.

“I’m not gonna ask again!” The man shouted, shaking his prisoner’s face roughly. “Where is Sunset Shimmer!”

Silver released the older man’s face, Print coughing. The overweight mob boss was silent for another few moments before he looked up at his captors, letting out a hot breath. “I… don’t have… the fuckin-”

“Thrifty, next party game!”

“No, wait-”

Thrifty wasted no time, and, having been heating an obvious brand in the background via a blow torch, walked over with the smoking, red hot brand and tore Tempered’s shirt’s back off before pressing the brand firmly into his skin.

Tempered Print screamed in agony, the acrid scent of melting flesh filling the air with an insidious hiss. “We don’t have her!” He wailed, gripping the chair he was bound to with his head thrown back. “We don’t have her, I swear!”

Silver Stream held his hand up to his faithful right-hand man.

Nodding, Thrifty pulled the brand back, though the frown on his face told that he was sad to have to stop. The wound sizzled as the victim panted through gritted teeth. Gold eyes slowly looked up from the floor into the unforgiving rubies of his rival.

“...Speak.”

Tempered Print winced at the sharp bark, teeth trying to close tighter. “We didn’t get’er,” he grunted painfully, wincing with every intake of breath. “According to what few of my guys got out and the video we could get back from our dashcams,” he began to explain, “the girl was saved by some… monsters. We thought they were yers….” The mobster slumped in his chair, breaking eye contact. “That’s all I’ve got, I swear.”

Maroon eyes narrowed dangerously, taking in every inch of the man’s body language. “...Thrifty Shifty,” Silver announced, drawing the younger man’s attention to him. “Show our guest the way out.” With that, he turned on his heel and started on his way out only to stop at the door. “But… take ten minutes to enjoy the party before you do.”

Thrifty’s grin could only be called unholy as he leveled the pliers in one hand and the brand in another. “I’ll get right on that boss,” he purred. Thrifty patted the portly man’s head. “Ohoho, just wait ‘till you see the new pipe cleaner I made out of bamboo~!”

Silver gave a small ‘hmph’ before he turned and left the room, not bothering to look back as the door closed. He had some security footage to get a hold of….

High heeled shoes clacked against linoleum floor tiles, causing a certain redhead’s brow to twitch with every step. She really hated the pair of heels on her feet. She let out a breath as she tried to let go of some of her anger. It wasn’t like she’d had any other choices to pick from, seeing as any of Lynette’s shoes would have been way too big for her.

Her brow only twitched more as she walked, as she could feel the lecherous ogling of the two boys behind her. Snails was less adept at hiding his drooling at what exposed flesh she had than his friend, Snips. Though Snails being less adept, in her mind, wasn’t too big of a shock.

Sunset let out a quiet ‘tsk’ as she walked, her fists clenched inside the pockets of her borrowed jacket. If it wasn’t for how useful they were, she’d have kicked them to the curb long ago. However, their ability to go unnoticed by, not only the student body, but most of the general public was uncanny. It also didn’t help that it had been drilled into her head just how much you needed to have eyes and ears everywhere….

“Well?” She barked, never looking back at the two boys. “Do you two have anything for me or are you just going to follow me around like dumb puppies all day?”

“Right!” Snails saluted, as did his friend. “We, uh…” He looked to Snips.

“We caught sight of those three girls again!” The chubbier boy spoke up excitedly. “They were making a real mess of one of the walls behind the school. They said something about getting famous off their wall morals.”

Sunset tsk’d again, the image of the three lower classmen jumping to her mind, reminding her further of each of their older siblings and idols. “What’s that matter to me?” She snarked, hunching her shoulders a bit. “Those ‘crusaders’ are always up to some kind of get fame quick scheme. Do you have anything that’s, I don’t know, useful!?” She stopped to turn a piercing glare at the two, stopping them dead in their tracks.

“U-um,” Snips began, bringing his hands up to his chest as if to ward off a blow. “We-we didn’t really, uh- Snails?” The shorter boy looked desperately to his taller companion.

“We don’t have anything else,” Snails said ‘helpfully’, still saluting dutifully.

The girl let her lip curl up, displacing her displeasure for the first time in a while. “Then get lost,” she ordered, not taking her narrowed eyes off of them. “I’m not in the mood to have you two tripping over my heels all day.”

Snips swallowed the lump in his throat as he looked into the killer emerald eyes. “R-right,” he stuttered, grabbing his friend by the sleeve before turning and quickly scampering away.

Sunset watched them go, her eyes not leaving their backs until they rounded a corner. She let out an angry breath before facing forward and starting off again. She didn’t need any more annoyances today, especially not from those pests. Of course, she knew it wasn’t bound to last before someone else came along and continued to wreck her already troubled mood.

“Well, that’s...a surprisingly good makeshift outfit,” came the posh tones of a certain alabaster fashionista who was by her locker, filing her nails.

The fiery teen stifled a growl, wishing she still had the ears to pull back threateningly. “Better than any of the dresses you’ve cobbled together, princess,” Sunset sniped back, almost snapping her teeth at the purple-haired girl.

Rarity gasped. “Why, I never!” Furrowing her brows at Sunset, Rarity snapped back with, “At least I have more style than someone who pulls rags out of a can and calls it clothing!”

A nasty smirk lit up Sunset’s green eyes dangerously. “Is that right?” She taunted, straightening her shoulders a bit. “If that were true, you’d have taken the gala no problem, right?”

Rarity stepped back, gritting her teeth before she ultimately turned her nose up and closed her locker. “Hmph! I don’t have to listen to this. I have classes to attend.” With that, Rarity began to walk off.

“Better watch your feet!” Sunset called after her, a victorious sneer on her face. “Wouldn’t want you to get tripped up again!”

The only reply she got was another, “Hmph!”

Sunset let her smirk remain for a few moments more before it slowly faded away, leaving her with a look of dejection on her face. She bowed her head a bit, her nose scrunched up as she began to walk towards her class once again. She tried to concentrate on the test ahead but the only thing her mind seemed to pick up on was the clicking of her heels.

Author's Note

I should have uploaded this a while ago, but... things have happened. I'll make a blog about it....