Second Wind

Rarity came in very late that night. You were already asleep, and the girls had already left to go back to their respective hotels. You heard Rarity almost tip-toe inside, rustle around in the closet, then lay in bed next to you. You felt her kiss your forehead, and drift off to sleep. You were unable to stay awake, although you knew what dreams would come.

_________________________________________________________________________________

You looked around the interior of the helicopter. 6 men, including yourself, were seated, listening to The Chairman speak over the large radio that sat in the lap of one soldier.

"We apologize for the...sudden...deployment. However, a client of ours, a Senator in the United States of America, has enlisted our help. His daughter was recently kidnapped, sold into slavery, and then murdered." You looked out of the side of the helicopter. There was a swarm of them, maybe 14 or 15, each carrying 6 men, flying in formation with your helicopter.

"The Senator has already paid us. You are to storm this human trafficking complex, and kill everyone inside. Leave the slaves alive. And trust us...you will know a slave when you see them..." You look down at your shotgun. After the incident in Eastern Europe, you're glad to be doing something you view as good. Yeah, it was brutal, but at least you weren't killing any innocents. Hell, you would kill these sick sons of bitches for free. You were doing the world a favor. The Chairman continues his speech.

"After we...interrogated...a human trafficker we kidnapped from Los Angeles, he spilled out the location of his boss, here in southern France..." The pilot of helicopter punched the thin metal wall separating him from you.

"ETA 5 MINUTES! GET READY!" You heard him yell. The Chairman laughed quietly over the radio.

"Death twitches in my ear...live, he says...for I am coming...time to clock in, boys."

You looked back outside. You were flying over a dense forest that was turning an orange and scarlet color. Autumn was coming. You saw a large mansion in the distance. That was the complex. You noticed an astounding amount of cars parked outside of it and around it. They must be trading. Not for long. You load 8 shells into your shotgun, and stand up, holding onto the bar, letting yourself slightly lean outside of the helicopter.

Your helicopter stops directly over top of the mansion, while several others stop around it, and a few others stop in the forests surrounding the mansion. All the men in your helicopter stand up, and throw long ropes connected to the inside of the helicopter out. You all grab ahold of your own ropes. You hear Major Howard counting down.

"5..." You looked down.

"4..." Glass ceiling where you were dropping.

"3..." You could see people running around inside the mansion.

"2..." You pump your shotgun.

"1..." You take a deep breath.

"GO, GO, GO!" You grab ahold of the rope, and jump, letting yourself slide down. You and the 5 other men in your squad slam through the glass roof. You accidently lose your grip slightly, and fall about 6 feet from the ground. Another man from your squad runs over to you, and helps you up while the other men start cutting the traffickers in the room down.

"DO YOU WANNA GET PAID?! MOVE IT!" You hop to your feet. Men and women of different nationalities, all in fancy attire, lie dead in the room. They were traffickers. You look to the center of the room. There was a young female in her bra and panties, chained to a stake. She was kneeling, and crying in fear. Your squad lines up against the door, getting ready for the inevitable counter attack.

Using the butt of your shotgun, you smash her chains, freeing her.

"Stay in here, others will come. It's going to be okay." She nodded, and darted to the corner of the room.

"AADEN! GET THE FUCK OVER HERE, TAKE POINT!" You run over to the door, look down the iron sights of your shotgun, and kick the door open. You see a man in a business suit, who was about to open the door, staring at you in fear. You pull the trigger, ripping his torso apart. You pump the shotgun. Another man across the lobby was reaching into his blazer. You blast him before he does so, sending him to the ground. Your squad storms out of the room, firing on the traffickers pouring down the staircases. The front doors then fly open. More soldiers from the forests pour in. You separate from your squad in the chaos, running around the mansion, freeing all the slaves you could. That's when you entered the cellar in your search.

You could hear sobbing, a female voice.

"help.....help.....help....." You picked up the pace, and found a girl tied to another stake. As you kneeled down next to her, you heard her whisper in between sobs.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." Your eyes shoot open, you quickly move your head, and dive out of the way. A large knife just flew in the empty space where your head used to be. A trafficker was using her as bait. He smirks at you.

"Think your a hero?"  He mocks. You throw your shotgun down, and rip your combat knife from its sheath.

"You're mine, you sick FUCK!" He runs at you, slashing the blade. He grazes your cheek with it, drawing blood. You feel overwhelmed with anger. How could anyone do these things? Hurt innocent people? He made the final mistake of his life when he tried to stab you. You caught his arm, and locked it behind you. Using your free right arm, you took your blade, and slammed it vertically into his jaw. He stepped backward, staggering, pawing at his throat, the blade surly had pierced his brain. It was only a matter of time before he died. In his backwards walk, he hit the cellar wall, and slid back against it. He stopped thrashing. You walked over to him, put your boot on his chest, and ripped the blade from his jaw, putting it back into it's sheath.

You pick up your shotgun off of the floor, and slam it down, freeing the girl in the cellar. She looks at you, tears in her eyes.

"You're an angel. A saint among men." You motioned with your shotgun for her to get upstairs. All of the gunfire and screaming had stopped. Your job was done. You come back upstairs, and see your helicopters coming back in. A bunch of soldiers were escorting the slaves onto them. Anthony walked over to you.

"God damn Locke! You're covered in blood!" You looked down at yourself, and back at him. "Are you okay? You're staring into blank space. Talk to me Aaden." You swallow.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

_________________________________________________________________________________

The morning was rather uneventful. Rarity was still in bed when you left, and training was simple. No sparring, just strength training. When you came back, there was a note on the door. You still couldn't read Equestrian, so she drew pictures. It was a drawing of a pony walking past a stall, with several hearts around it. She must be out shopping. You went in, showered, and got yourself dressed. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were going to be around soon for this hike of yours. You made sure your backpack was stocked with snacks, and decided to bring along your phone. It wasn't soon after your preparation that you heard a knock at your door. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were both there.

"Hiya Aaden! You ready?" You smile.

"You know it. Let's roll!" Your mind kept drifting off to that dream. Did you really do that? Did you really kill someone? Multiple someones? Was that real? Surely that was a video game or a movie or something. But they called you by name. You felt torn between two worlds. If that was the real you, you didn't want to be that way again. You want to stay an amnesiac, start anew. As you pondered these thoughts, your walk to the Silversong Forest was a quick one.

It was just as beautiful as Fluttershy had said. Gray trees with light purple leaves, and gray grass. It was hauntingly beautiful. Eerie, but beautiful none-the-less. As you fully examine and take in this melancholy yet breath taking environment, a strong gust blows through the forest, making the leaves of the thousands of trees rustle in unison. You can hear The Chairman laughing inside of your head.

Live. For I am coming.

_________________________________________________________________________________

You were stoked to be on a hike with Aaden. You still can't believe he let you come. That must mean he likes you, right?

Get it together! You, are, RAINBOW, DASH. Remember?

You hated how nervous and unsure Aaden made you. Normally, you could be as loud and as arrogant as you wanted to be with no problem, but when Aaden was there, it was different. You would start talking, and he would look at you. Right in your eyes.

Those eyes of his...

You look up at him while you walk through the forest. He looks back down, and smiles at you.

Ooooooh, those eyes...

You feel yourself melting at the thought of him. And those eyes...

Rainbow, you are NOT Fluttershy! Cut it out! Just tell him how you feel!

You couldn't fight it. He made you timid. You clear your throat.

"So, Aaden." Your voice cracks anyways. You clear your throat again. "You totally said you would talk about yourself." You let yourself laugh nervously. Fluttershy chimes in.

"Yeah Aaden, tell us about yourself!" You all continued your walk, while Aaden answered the plethora of questions you both had.

"What exactly are you?"

"What was your home like?"

"What did you do for a living?"

Aaden kept his patience with you both, and continued his story. It amazed you. A world where cities were extremely common, where machines were an integral part of life, where magic didn't exist, and the only way to fly was in large machines. Aaden's life was also one of the most touching things you had heard about.

From what he told, he was raised with a large family, which was cut in half after an accident. He lost a father twice in his life. You couldn't imagine doing that once. He also seemed kind of reluctant to talk about it, but he was an Architect, and apparently a very successful one, designing those big buildings he described. He didn't talk about it long, and moved on.

This small talk continued for some time, and once again, you found yourself in state of complete fascination. You had all walked for at least an hour. Aaden's stories were so completely amazing and interesting, that you had lost track of time. Your stomach rumbled. Aaden smiled, and stopped the hike, signalling you all to sit down around him. You did so.

"Here girls, I don't know if Pinkie Pie had told you about this, but I have a lot of candy from back home. I think I might even have some potato chips. " You scooted closer to him, and peeked inside the backpack.

"Which do you like, Aaden?" Aaden dug through the bag, and pulled out a slim blue bar with red letters on it. You couldn't read it.

"Rarity really likes these. They're called Crunch bars. They're essentially chocolate bars with crisped rice inside of them."

Crisped rice?

Aaden notices your confused face, and laughs.

"Trust me, they're pretty good. Here, have one of them, aaaaand..." He digs through his backpack a little more. "And here, take this one, too." It's a little red bag. "That's a bag of spicy potato chips from back home. You're a dare-devil, I think you'll like them." Aaden also pulls out 3 bottles of water, and hands one to you and Fluttershy, while taking one for himself.

"Hey, Fluttershy, you want any candy? I've got chocolate, I've got some sour stuff, some extra sweet stuff, and I still have a few bags of chips and stuff." Fluttershy trotted over.

"May I look in the bag?" Aaden nodded his head. She put her head in the bag, and pulled out a neon green bag.

"Whatsh thish?" She asked with the bag in her mouth.

"Those are called Chewy Sprees. They're kind of sour, but I really like them." Aaden takes the bag from her mouth, and opens it, handing her a single chewy disk. Fluttershy curiously chewed it, and smiled in approval.

"Mmm...M-may, may I have the rest of the bag?" Aaden smiled really big.

"Of course, Fluttershy! And here," Aaden pulled out another, longer green package.  "That's called fun-dip. It's also pretty tasty." You all sat in silence, eating the snacks that Aaden had provided. You looked around, taking in the environment.

This forest was weird. It wasn't like any other. You all sat in a clearing, surrounded by thousands of gray trees on all sides. An occasional breeze would waft past, reminding you of just how perfect the temperature was. You looked over at Aaden. He wasn't eating anything. He just started to stare, with wide eyes, into the distance.

Ohhh...dude...his eyes are twinkling...

Fluttershy stood up.

"I, uh...I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be r-right back..." She was obviously embarrassed, and trotted off into the forest.

Alright Rainbow Dash, now is your chance!

Aaden was still staring. He hadn't blinked once. You leaned close to him, and closed your eyes. You kissed him. You actually did it. When you opened your eyes, he was still staring. His eyes were still wide open.

"Huh?" You pushed him with a hoof. "Aaden?" He still wasn't moving. You noticed his eyes welling with tears. You began to feel very panicked.

"Aaden, oh my goddess, I'm so sorry! I didn't know you didn't want that, and-" You stopped mid-sentence, and looked at him. Tears now ran down his cheeks, but his chest wasn't heaving, showing that he was crying. He just sat and stared. His eyes still enthralled you, even with tears.

You could tell something was wrong. You shook him as rapidly as you could, but no response.

"Aaden! Aaden, wake up!"

_________________________________________________________________________________

You were being overwhelmed. What was once 25 men was now 12.

Your trench sat on the outside of a forest, and what felt like hundreds of hostile soldiers were bearing down on you.

"AADEN! AADEN, WAKE UP, AND GET THE FUCK ON THAT RADIO!" Major Howard yelled. You looked down at the body you were holding. The soldier was trembling, covered in blood. He reached his hand out to you, and still violently shaking, he grabbed your hand, and squeezed it with what little strength he had left. He was moaning in pain.

"HE'S GOING TO DIE!" You yelled back. "HE NEEDS HELP!" Major Howard poked his head back over the trench, and fired rapidly with his rifle.

"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE IF YOU DON'T GET ON THAT FUCKING RADIO!" You slammed your fist into the mud, and were forced to leave the wounded soldier in the mud. You leaned out of the trench, and fired several shots with your handgun. All around you, you heard your fellow men crying out.

"I'M OUT, I'M OUT!"

"NO MORE AMMO!"

"I'M DRY!"

You crawled over to the dead radio operator, and screamed over the receiver.

"HELLO?! HELLO?! GOD DAMN IT!" You punch the mud again. You try to switch channels on the radio..

"CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?! CAN ANYONE FUCKING HEAR ME?! WE NEED HELP! WE NEED HELP NOW!" Still no response. You scream in frustration. You crawl back over to the wounded man you were holding, and pick him back up. He was smiling, but still shaking. You could hear his quiet, raspy talking, even over the gunfire and screaming.

"A-Aaden..." You grip his hand, fighting back tears.

"I'm here Alan. I'm here." He squeezed your hand a little harder.

"I heard...a lot about you before...before this..." You looked him in his eyes. You could feel the tears coming, regardless of how hard you fought it.

"and I...I just want to say..." He coughed violently. "These few moments.....fighting beside you.....have been the pr-proudest.....proudest...of my...li...." The squeezing of his hand got really strong on yours all of the sudden, but then immediately ceased. He exhaled a deep breath, and completely stopped moving. The tears now flowed with no stop. You put your face in his chest. This was too much. This was all too much. You heard the radio buzzing, a static filled voice coming over.

"Viper 8-0, this is Archangel, going to be strafing the area, stand clear." A helicopter descended from the thick rain clouds, and immediately began firing it's minigun into the forest. Within moments, the fighting had ceased. The tears, however, had not.

What was once 12 men, was now 11.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Aaden, dude, please, wake up!" You didn't like seeing his tears. It made you feel like you wanted to cry. Aaden finally blinked his eyes, releasing a large payload of tears. He sniffed, and then put his arms around you. You yelped in surprise, but didn't fight it. You also couldn't help but cry. You hugged back as hard as you could. You heard Aaden whimper.

"Oh God...what have I done..." You hugged him closer, assuming the role of his comforter. You assumed it had something to do with a memory. You knew he was an amnesiac, so he probably just remembered something painful. He probably just relived one of the worst moments of his life. You couldn't imagine having to do anything painful over again. After a few moments, you pulled away, and looked at him. He was looking down at the gray ground. The crying had stopped, but his eyes were still a little red. You wiped his cheeks with your hooves, and gave him another big hug. He didn't hug back, but you understood. He was in pain, this much was obvious. And you were going to comfort him.

You were going to hold him.

_________________________________________________________________________________

You wanted to become an amnesiac once more. You had no idea your life was like that. You didn't want to know what else was around the corner, waiting to surprise you. With every memory that comes to you, you relived it. Every word of it. Every emotion of it. And it hurt. It hurt badly.

You lift your arms up, and hug Rainbow Dash back. You knew she would take the hugging back in a wrong way, but you didn't care. You needed a hug. You took a deep breath in, and held it in. When you exhaled, your mind settled slightly.

Of course, you could never tell the girls about this. You couldn't tell Virgil, or Oliver. This was your burden to carry, and yours alone. These were your mistakes. Your sins. You weren't searching for forgiveness of any God. You were searching for forgiveness from yourself.