Second Wind

"Aaden, you're making a big mistake."

"I made a mistake the moment I joined the IMO."

"Think of the money! Think of the power!"

"That's not me. It may have been in the past, but I'm done with that."

"Why? Is it a girl? What damn reason could you possibly have to abandon this?"

"I see life for what it really is now. I have friends. Friends that actually care about my well being."

"Aaden, you went as far as to get that job of yours, so we could get the blueprints..."

"And I regret that. Those people are actually very nice, very hard working."

"Who gives a shit!?"

"I do."

"Just turn over the blueprints, Aaden."

"No."

"Aaden. You're going to get yourself killed. You know they'll come for you."

"Come what may, I will not surrender these blueprints. Not to you. Not to them."

"THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOI-"

"I have. I'm living a normal life now. It'll continue to be that way.

"Aaden..."

"Goodbye, Anthony. May you one day see what I see in this life, as well."

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That was weird. You remember that conversation well, but not who it was with, or anything else about it, actually. With multiple blinks of your eyes, you cleared your mind once more. Virgil was ranting about how you may qualify for veteran guardsman status, and Oliver was reinforcing his point when you opened the door to the barracks. Virgil broke his ranting for a minute, and spoke to the receptionist.

"Bruise, you think you could send a concierge to collect Aaden's armor for him?" Bruise nodded his head.

"Yes sir." Virgil and Oliver then walked off into what they called "Central Command". You decided to go back up to your room.

You were shaking with adrenaline from the fight. Your heart felt funny, and your stomach tickled. While this feeling left you with a sensation of elation, you still didn't like fighting. Something in your head didn't feel right when you thought about fighting. Like you know you're doing something wrong, but you do it anyway. Guilt. As you ponder these thoughts, you see Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Vinyl descending the staircase from your room.

"Oh. Hey girls." They then hurried down the stairs quicker. "I hope you enjoyed the show." They all three ran over to you. Rarity was the first to start with the questions.

"Oh, darling, are you alright?" She ran her hoof softly over your new slash, courtesy of Oliver. "That seems a little far for a spar, if you ask me."

"No, I'm fine. Oliver knew his limits. I think." Rainbow Dash then decided to investigate the wounds, too.

"Wow dude. A deep gash and you STILL brought him down? You gotta tell me where you learned that!" You shrugged your shoulders.

"If I could remember, I'd tell you." She ran a hoof through her mane quickly.

"Well, Aaden, I just want to say that I thought you were so AWESOME out there! We're so lucky to have someone like you defending Ponyville!"

"Thanks Dash." Then Vinyl stepped forward.

"How're ya feeling, honor-boy?" She slid her goggles up, revealing those eyes of hers. You could see legitimate concern in her eyes. You had never seen her like that before.

"I'm alright." You looked down at the slash across your chest. It was bleeding pretty badly. "Well. I could probably use a shower, and I could definitely eat something. I should also probably get a couple of bandages, take it easy for the day." You watched relief form itself in her eyes.

"Thatta boy. I knew you were tougher than that." Rarity used a hoof to grab your hand, and lead you upstairs, while the other girls followed. You got back into your room. Your breastplate, gauntlets, and helmet were all in the corner.

Damn. That concierge was fast.

The girls all trotted off, leaving you on your own. You didn't want to admit it, but you felt great relief that you could be on your own for just a moment. You untied the plates to your greaves, and untied your sheathe and satchel, leaving them together in the bedroom. You walked into the bathroom, undressed, and put your clothes in what you designated to be the dirty clothes hamper. You got inside of the shower, and pressed the silver button with the red lining. Hot water came out of all of the jets. It stung getting inside of your fresh slash wound, but you had to clean it out. While you cleaned it, you really took a good look at it, examined it. It wasn't too deep, you wouldn't need stitches or anything. Doesn't mean it didn't hurt, though. You spent your shower in silence, listening to the water hit the tile.

You never liked drying off. It was cold, and you always would leave a wet spot somewhere on your body, so you would spend an extra amount of time ensuring you were completely dry. Realizing that the only pair of underwear that you had was dirty, you threw on a towel over your waist, and walked into the bedroom. You opened up the suitcase, and found what you were looking for. A simple pair of blue jeans and a long sleeved white T-shirt, along with clean underwear and socks. You felt hooves slide around your waist.

"I never doubted you for a minute, darling." It was Rarity. You were relieved. "But please make sure you stay this careful." You shared this reverse hug for a minute, before you heard her leave the room. You walked back into the bathroom, put on your underwear and jeans, then decided to stand by the mirror and put on your bandages. You took a rag,  dampened it with disinfectant, and wiped down your wounds one last time. That's when you heard hooves walking into the bathroom. By looking in the mirror, you see it was Rainbow Dash.

"Oh, hey." She started to blush. "You're still in here. I'm sorry." She then looked curiously at you. "Whatcha doing?"

"Putting on new bandages over my existing wounds, and putting a bandage over my new wound." Rainbow walked over, and unpeeled a bandage.

"No offense dude, but you're doing it wrong. I get hurt all of the time in my line of work, so trust me, I know how to put on bandages."

Oh boy. I know where this is going.

"Here, lemme help!" You turn around, while she hops up on her hindlegs, and presses two bandages over your lower abdomen, and your shoulder. She then puts a long bandage over the slash, and pats it. You notice her hoof is still swirling around your torso. You clear your throat.

"Uh, Dash. I think you got them all on." She immediately hopped down. She must have spaced out.

Eh. I do that all the time. No harm no foul.

"Sorry Aaden." You smile, and rub your new bandages. Even though you're sure she was flirting with you, she wasn't lying about knowing how to put these things on right. they were tight, but snug. You either did it too tight or too loose.

"I space out all of the time, Dash. It's cool." She giggled.

"Okay, good. Well, I've got to use the bathroom now." You walk out of the bathroom, and close the door for her. You had the weirdest feeling she wasn't going to close it herself. You sat on the bed, and put on your shirt. You lay back on the bed, and let your eyes close. You can feel yourself slipping into sleep. You didn't fight it. You were too tired to resist.

_________________________________________________________________________________

You walk away. You hear Anthony yelling at you.

"Don't you fucking walk away from me!" You stop, and turn around.

"Anthony, we both know I could kick your ass." Anthony mimicked your voice.

"But that's not me anymore! Waaaah! I wanna be normal!" You smiled.

"I like your impersonation of me. I'd say it's spot on. Now, if you'd excuse me, I've got a job to go to." you could hear Anthony walking towards you. He grabbed your arm. Big mistake.

"I guess you didn't hear me when I said: DON'T, FUCKING, WALK, AWAY, FROM, ME!" Anthony yelled.  You swung your suitcase up, bashing him in his face. As he backed up, holding his face, you put your suitcase down, pulled him over to you by his collar, and punched him in his face. Once. Twice. Three times. You then threw him back to the ground. He squirmed to get back up.

"Aaden..." He coughed. "Please...you don't know what you're denying me..." You picked up your suitcase, readjusted your tie, and turned around, about to continue your walk to work.

"Nobody needs that much money. Or power. Your lust for both will kill you one day, you know that?" You walked away successfully this time, the only sound in the streets being your dress shoes clopping against the sidewalk.

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"Hero? Wake up!" Your eyes open. You realize Vinyl is right on top of you. Her face couldn't be closer to you. You could stick out your tongue and poke her eye, if you wanted to.  She had her goggles slipped back up, and she was laying on top of you, shaking you awake. You gently pick her up, and set her aside. You loved those eyes, they really were quite mesmerizing, but that was uncomfortable for you.

You sat up on the edge of the bed and stretched. You stood up, and looked at the clock. It was 3 PM. You must have slept a really long time. You looked over at Vinyl, who was laying on one side, her chin in one hoof, while the other hoof went down over her side.

"You were really out, hero-boy."

Honor-boy? Hero-boy? These sound like awful comic book sidekicks.

You walk into the living room. It's empty. Everyone is gone. You call back to Vinyl.

"Where is everyone?" She calls back.

"They left to go get some food. Said they wanted someone to stay and watch you. Of course I volunteered." Your stomach rumbled. You hear Vinyl laugh from the other room.

"I heard that. They're bringing you back food too. They were going to surprise you with it, like a late lunch in bed type thing." You pat your stomach. You walk back to the bedroom, grab the frame at the top of the door, and lean in the bedroom.

"So. I'm not mad, but why'd you wake me?" Vinyl was now laying in the bed, under the comforter, where you were.

"Because I'm bored. Watching you sleep was boring."

Watching me sleep?

"You're much more fun when you're awake," She turned around, still under the comforter, her goggles still up on her forehead.

"You smell really good, you know that? This spot smells exactly like you, honor-boy."

You weren't sure why Rainbow Dash and Vinyl were becoming so "friendly" lately, but you decided to just leave it alone. No need to cause a problem if there isn't one. Plus, they knew you were with Rarity. They wouldn't seriously try anything, especially since they're both friends with her. You walk over to the window, adjacent to the bed, and separate the curtains. You let the sun pour in. You slide the window open, and let the fresh spring air blow itself in.

Other than the recent "friendliness" of Vinyl and Rainbow Dash, it was still a mighty fine day. It was a good day to be alive. You kind of wanted to go hiking, be in nature. But at the same time, you wanted to spend time with Rarity. You knew she probably wouldn't come hiking though. Too much dirt. and bugs. and nature. You'd ask Fluttershy about it when they got back with the food. You knew she'd be happy to hike with you and guide you through a couple of trails she knew.

It had been a long time since you had been hiking. The last trail you went on was with Evan and Sarah through northern New York state. Absolutely beautiful. As you thought about it, you heard the voices come back. It was like a memory, but just voices. You felt like you were losing your mind. You felt like your mind was haunted with the ghosts of your past. The ghosts that you can't remember.

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"So, let me get this straight, Captain Locke. You wish to leave the IMO?"

"Yes sir, Chairman."

"And what if we deny you the right to leave?"

"I will leave regardless of what you say, sir."

"Why though, Locke? You one moment can't wait to get the money and the power. All of the sudden you don't want it anymore? Explain yourself."

"I don't have to explain myself to you, sir. I am a changed man. Life is far too valuable to take. Especially over things as petty as money and power. At the end of the day, no matter how much money you have, or how much power you have, you die. We all die. We all have to face death. With that in mind, I intend to live my life to the fullest. Terrorizing third world countries and warring with other PMCs isn't exactly my idea of living life to a full potential. I have friends and family. Their love and attention is all I could ever ask for. And I have it. With that, I hereby resign." The Chairman laughed.

"Touching words, Aaden. Touching words. But I don't think you've thought this through."

"You aren't worth my full attention, if that's the case."