Jumping Blind

Chapter 7: I Never Even Got Any Chocolate

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A firm tap to my knee made my leg kick out, dragging me back to the land of the living. I refused to open my eyes, hoping it was a figment of my imagination and I could return to my rest. The sound of something scribbling on paper followed by a familiar intelligent voice ended that line of thinking. “Subject Omega’s reflexes are normal, as are the rest of his vital signs.” The professional tone threw my mind into overdrive and made my eyes snap open. I saw three things:

I was in a laboratory.I was laying on a cot with wires trailing from a heart monitor to my chest.This is NOT where I went to sleep the night before. I reacted in what I think the most logical way possible for the situation. I screamed like a little girl.

My leap out off of the cot and high pitched sonic initiative was stopped when Twilight rushed over and put her hooves on my back. “Vigil, calm down.” I my position caused me to miss her when I awoke, I was on my side while she stood behind me.

The gesture had the desired effect, I froze. My head snapped to face my supposed host. “WHAT THE HELL TWILIGHT?!”

In her defense, she tried to appear as unthreatening as possible while she explained. “I finished the repair part of manual and wanted to make sure everything was functioning properly. It said that you are supposed to have a full inspection every three weeks. When was your last one?”

Ignoring the question, I shoved my face into hers. Our over-sized eyes were locked together as my wordless glare burned into her.

“Vigil?” Twilight’s voice sounded scared.

I didn’t care in the slightest. I was too busy trying to shove the thoughts of my time in Facility Six out of my head.

After an indeterminable amount of time, my internal struggle died down as a field of teal filled my vision. The comforting color washed all thoughts from my damaged mind, leaving a feeling of peaceful calm in their place. As my mind relaxed, I was able to pay attention again.

The sense of calm faded somewhat as she stepped back and looked down, hiding her face. I stepped forward and put a hoof on her shoulder, the sudden tension made me back off.

I shook my head, clearing out the last of whatever had a hold of me. Books lined the edges of my sight, I was in the library again. “W-what happened?” My voice sounded dry and rough. How long was I standing here?

Fluttershy lifted her head, still hiding half of her face behind her mane. “I don’t know. Twilight ran out to my cottage and told me that you were stuck again. We rushed back and you were standing and staring at the wall. We tried everything to make you wake up. I’m so sorry…” She sounded genuinely worried followed by being on the verge of tears.

I put a foreleg around her, surprised that she didn’t flinch or tense up again. “Why are you sorry? All you did was calm me down.”

“I-I-I used the Stare on you. A-aren’t you mad?” She sniffled, her mane hiding almost all of her face now.

I cracked a grin at her. “Honestly? No, I really can’t stay made at you ponies. You’re just too adorable. I don’t know what the ‘stare’ is, but it didn’t harm me in any way. If anything, it’s one of the few things that would have been able to help.”

She slipped out of my embrace, turning to face me directly. “Really?” I nodded. “Ok then… How did you get stuck like that again? I thought Pinkie was busy today.”

My shudder drew a concerned look from the pegasus. Pinkie scares me. And I’ve been to Hell. “I woke up in… unfavorable conditions.” She examined my expression carefully as I spoke.

“That’s not all, is it?”

“No.”

“What happened? If you don’t mind me asking…”

A smile appeared on my face again. Gods and Goddesses, that’s still cute. “Bad things. But that was a long time ago. Why was Twilight examining me?”

“Like I said before, I finished the repair part of manual and wanted to make sure everything was functioning properly. It said that you are supposed to have a full inspection every three weeks. When was your last one?” Twilight came out of the door to the living area of the tree house.

“Two hundred and thirty-two…” I looked away as I trailed off.

Twilight shot a quizzical look at me. “Two hundred weeks? You’re long overdue then.”

I scratched the back of my head, acutely aware that the unicorn could easily turn me into a greasy spot on the floor. While that isn’t fatal to me, it certainly isn’t comfortable. “Years actually.”

She laughed at that. “That’s a good joke. Two hundred and thirty-two years…” My expression remained neutral.

“Um… Twilight? I don’t think it was a joke.” Fluttershy cut into the other mare’s giggles.

Spike chose that moment to make an entrance. That kid really sleeps a lot. Yawning, he stepped down the stairs still holding the battered green blanket I gave him some time ago. “Good morning.”

Twilight turned on Spike. “Spike, you know our guest here the most. How old is he?”

“Linearly or biologically?” A tear of pride came to my eye at the evasive question. He learned that one from me folks.

All he got for the effort besides an A+ from me was a scathing glare from the purple unicorn. “Just answer the question.”

“In total he’s two hundred and sixty-three but he’s immortally nineteen.” He shrugged and waddled off to the kitchen. “Do you know where my cereal is?”

The question fell on deaf ears. Twilight stood dumbstruck, staring blankly at me. “But… I’m just going to finish that manual.” She walked to her desk and opened the book.

Well… That was eventful.

Fluttershy was off to the side fidgeting and glancing repeatedly at the door, so I picked up my cloak and bag from the couch before opening it. I wanted to go out and see the town, but mostly I wanted out of the library ASAP before Twilight got the needles preferably. I HATE needles. “I believe Miss Fluttershy here wishes to get back to her animals. I’ll accompany her, if none of you mind.”

The other two were busy with whatever, Fluttershy simply nodded and stepped out the opened door. As soon as we left the building, I relaxed with a small groan.

“Are you ok?” My companion’s gentle voice inquired.

“I’ve been worse and I’ve been better. The last few days have been a little hard on me.” I admitted. “Do you need me to walk you back to your house?”

“Oh dear, I need to get back.” She took off, heading towards the edge of town. Before she disappeared, she called back “I hope you feel better.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then…” I stood there awkwardly. Turning and walking in a random direction I wondered if Applejack had a shovel I could borrow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I sat on a bench in the marketplace a few hours later, watching the ponies pass by. It’s something I’ve always done to distract myself, find the most crowded place and observe the daily life of the locals. Here everyone seemed so pleasant, very courteous to each other. With nothing to do my mind started wandering over the last few days.

I went over my current situation. I’m in a completely foreign world where I only know one person who also happens to be a child of a feared species. I hurt everywhere, my magic is still mostly drained, my appearance is unusual to say the least, and for some reason this place keeps bringing back memories I thought that I locked away long ago. My head dropped as my ears flattened back. I’m just very, very tired. At least I got something productive today done, I mean I finished my-

Twilight and Spike settling in at a nearby café pulled my out of my thoughts. Deciding that I had spent enough time pony-watching, I walked over to see what they were up to.

“Hello Twilight.”

She jumped with a shriek and turned at my voice, at this distance she looked stressed. “Oh, hi Vigil. How are you?”

I peered at her expression. “Are you ok? You look a little off.”

She sighed and chewed on the flower centerpiece of the table. “Just hungry.”

The waiter walked over to the table. “Have you made your decision?”

“I CAN’T DECIDE!” Twilight screamed at poor guy.

“Twilight, he just wants to take your order.” Spike held up his menu.

“Oh,” She said with a sheepish grin. “I would love a daffodil and daisy sandwich.”

 Spike asked the waiter, “Do you have any rubies?” The stallion raised an eyebrow. “No? Okay. I’ll have the hay fries. Extra crispy.” He tossed his menu over his back, hitting the head of mare of the couple behind us.

The waiter turned to me. “Nothing, thanks. Sorry about her, she’s had a rough couple of days.” He turned and walked back into the building. Once he was gone I addressed Twilight’s outburst. “Twilight really, what’s wrong? You don’t normally scream at innocent people… ponies. I really need to get used to that. At least I don’t think you do.”

She gave me the sanity doubting look, but explained the ticket situation. “How do I choose? And when I do choose, will the other four be mad at me? I mean, I could give up my ticket and give away two, but that would still leave three disappointed ponies! What if I-”

“Twilight. Chill. The food’s here.” I cut in.

The waiter set the food out in front of the other two and gave me an appreciative nod. I smiled back and he walked to the next table. I missed the next part of the conversation as the café’s patrons ran for cover. The waiter called out of the open door.  “Uh, madam? Are you going to eat your food in the rain?”

 “It’s not raining,” Twilight responded, confused. Looking around, we saw the enormous downpour occurring around us. Only our table was clear, sitting in a lone beam of sunlight. “What’s going on?” she asked, looking up.

“Hi there, best friend forever I’ve ever, ever had!” Rainbow was looking down at us from a hole in the clouds. “Enjoying the sunny weather?”

 Twilight looked angry. “Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?”

Spike and I wisely chose to stay out of this. We liked living with all appendages attached.

 “What do you mean?” She asked innocently. “I just saw the smartest, most generous pony about to get rained on. So, I thought I’d kick a hole in the clouds to keep her dry so she can dine in peace. That’s all.”

 “Rainbow, you’re not trying to get extra consideration for the extra ticket by doing me extra special favors, are you?”

 “Me? No, no, no. Of course not!”

 “Uh huh.”

 “Seriously, I’d do it for anypony!”

 We looked at the other ponies, scrambling for shelter from the rain.

 Rainbow chuckled nervously while Twilight’s tone took on an annoyed edge. “Rainbow, I am not comfortable accepting unwanted favors, so I’d appreciate it if you closed up that raincloud right now.”

 “Ugh, fine.” The hole was patched up after her head disappeared behind the clouds.

 “That’s better.” Twilight levitated her sandwich to her mouth again but before she could take a bite, physics, the laws of nature, and maybe a little Murphy reasserted themselves. The unicorn and her sandwich were instantly soaked. Spike and I covered our mouths to stop from laughing while Twilight growled.

 “Twilight!” Rarity’s voice carried over the falling rain. On her back rested a white saddle, attached to an umbrella. Is that really how they carry umbrellas? She’s a unicorn! She could just carry it with her magic. Gah, this reality is supplementing my memories with the basics of it. The memory bleed is getting really annoying. “It’s raining.”

 “No,” Twilight growled. “Really?”

 Rarity grabbed Twilight around the waist. “Come with me before you catch a cold!” She whisked her off.

“Should we follow her?” I asked Spike. A cursory glance revealed him already drifting that direction with hearts in his eyes. WTF physics? Is today your day off or something? “Come on lover boy. We’ll catch up with them.” I tossed him over my head and onto my back before tearing down the street after the unicorns.

We made it to the boutique just as Rarity was pulling Twilight out from behind a modesty screen. She was wearing a royal ensemble of brilliant blues and greens. “There! Oh, you’re simply darling!” Rarity proclaimed.

 “Uh, yeah. It is kind of pretty, isn’t it?”

Rarity rushed over to the baby dragon standing next to me. “And you, Spike. A dandy little outfit for the dashing gent!”

 “No!” Spike yelled and ran for the door, but his escape attempt was thwarted. Resistance is futile buddy.

 A few minutes later, Spike was wearing a blue suit with white cuffs and gold trims while his head was decorated by ridiculous wig. He stared at himself in horror. Twilight and I laughed at the absurd scene.

 “Now all you need is a hat,” Rarity declared, setting a black colonial hat on his head.

 His frustration was evident. “Ugh, I told you. I don’t want any part of this girly Gala gunk. See you back at the library.” He tore off the clothes and dashed out. I thought about joining him, but Twilight looked like she needed the support. I met Rarity’s eyes in an baleful glare.

“Don’t even try it.”

 Rarity chuckled. “Oh, who needs them anyway?” She pulled a mirror in front of Twilight. “This is all about you and how fabulous you’ll look at the Grand Galloping Gala.”

 “Wait. The Grand-”

 She was cut off as Rarity went on a tangent about what she imagined would happen at this dance thingy. I tuned it out, instead draping my cloak over a pony-shaped mannequin and stitching up the remaining tears with a heavy black thread.

 “I see what’s going on.” Twilight began venting. “You’re just buttering me up so I could give you the extra ticket. Well it’s not going to work! You’re going to have to wait for my decision just like everypony else!” She walked over to the door. “Vigil, we’re leaving!”

“I’ll be done in a minute.” She walked out the door as I continued stitching. Once it was repaired, I picked up my cloak and shrugged apologetically to Rarity. “Sorry, I think it’s her time.”

She gave me a confused look as I followed Twilight out the door. The rain had stopped but Twilight was nowhere to be found. Shrugging, I walked to the most likely place she’d be, the library.

I saw a crowd gathered around then tree and went to investigate. Pushing through, I found Twilight and Spike at the center. I joined them as the crowd moved closer, turning to the mare “Twilight, listen to me closely. RUN FOR YOUR LIFE.” She galloped away, leaving me to face the unhappy looking crowd. “Hello everyone…”

“Well, it was nice meeting all of you, we should do this again. I’ll schedule you all in for coffee sometime. Well, maybe not. I can’t stand coffee. So long!” I turned and took off after my friend, leaving a very confused group of ponies behind. Moving up next to her to catch her attention, I whispered. “On the count of three run as far as you can, don’t look back.” I began focusing on my innate magic, channeling it into one of my abilities. Glancing over my shoulder showed the crowd to have reacted much faster than I thought they would. An aqua blue mare was inches from my tail, stretching forward to bite it. “THREE!”

Five copies of me suddenly ran off in different directions while I left Twilight to run another way. The mare got ahold of my tail and jerked me back into the horde where I was met by many hooves trampling me mindlessly as they ran after the copies. It took a bit, but eventually the last few elected to hop over me rather than continue my beating. I groaned on the ground for a moment then struggled back to my hooves and set after them at a much more subdued pace.

Wait… Is that Benny Hill? I watched the ensuing hilarity as all of the ponies seemed affected by the sourceless music. Red dove out of a cloud and into a stand selling pies, causing them to be flung into the crowd. Nearby Purple and Pinkie seemed to be having an all-out war against each other, various pastries, toys, and assorted junk sailed through the air as the duo pulled them out of hidden stashes. Yellow and Green were standing off to the side with instruments, Yellow playing a trombone while Green wailed away with a sax, playing with the music while being accompanied by a passing marching band. Blue was trying to reason with the group following him but wasn’t having much luck as he jumped over a trio of mares trying to hold him down. As he sailed through the air he yelled “I NEED AN ADULT!” He tripped and crashed to the ground, they closer the distance slowly and responded with a much quieter “We are adults.” I fell over laughing at the scene, narrowly dodging the brown blur that passed over me.

A whirring sound filled my hearing as something made me spasm and twitch uncontrollably. My vision was filled with static while the sound increased in pitch. It cut off with a click, releasing me from the excruciating experience. As my sight cleared somewhat, I could make out a brown stallion standing over me. In his mouth was a strangely familiar device.

“I don’t know who or what you are but know this. I will not let you hurt these ponies.” His voice was antagonizingly familiar too, British and commanding. I wracked my scrambled brains as he prepared to use the thingy again.

“Doctor?” I asked as the connection between the voice and the sound clicked. I looked into his eyes, the soft brown showed his age despite his body’s apparent youth. They were tired, sad almost, like he didn’t want to do what he was about to.

The Doctor did the same to me before responding in a hushed tone, “Vigil?”

I tried to get up, but found that I really couldn’t move anything. “Doc, what have I told you about using the sonic on me?” I glared at him half-heartedly.

“Don’t knock the sonic. And you said that it forcibly scrambles several key signals used in motor control. I don’t see why you never fixed that.” He ran the sonic screwdriver back over me, the static returned momentarily but no pain or seizing just a faint tickling sensation.

I got back up, feeling a little shaky but a little better. “Much better. I did fix it, you just changed it again.” I looked at it closely. “Huh. This model’s specifically for a pony. How long have you been here? Come to think of it, why are you outside of your universe? Or are you an analogue?”

He chuckled at me before wrapping his forelegs around my shoulders in a bone crushing hug. He had to get up on his hind legs to reach. “That’s the Vigil I remember. I’m the analogue here. After what happened the last time one of us saw you he sent out an alert through the TARDIS attached with memories of you. We were afraid you would need help.”

I closed my eyes, trying to remember that but came up with nothing. “Sorry, I can’t remember.”

“I was afraid of that. You lost several memories didn’t you?”

“Yeah, about fifty years’ worth and not all of it from what happened after, a fifth of my life just destroyed by her.” I looked down at him, still hugging me. “Um… Doc? You can let go now. We were never really that touchy.”

He laughed a little but released me. “In case you haven’t noticed, ponies are very contact-centric. It’s a huge part of their culture and life in general.”

“I guess that makes sense with the whole herd instinct and all. I’ve always been touch-shy though, even more so after the incident.”

“I know my friend, I know.” He seemed to wilt momentarily before springing back up. “Well, now that this has been taken care of I should get back to the TARDIS. Things to do, places to see, fair mares to dance with.”

I snorted and shot him a sly smirk. “Sure, mares… I still remember that time that you left me with a younger version of yourself. I swear anything with a pulse. And that was optional…” He turned to leave, chuckling at the shared memories. “Hey Doc? Does this TARDIS have that stuff I left in the other one? I know that they’re all connected but I‘m not sure how transfers work.” He nodded in affirmation. “Brilliant. I’ll stop by tomorrow then.”

He raised an eyebrow at me. “What do you need so soon?”

“Building supplies.” With that I turned and leapt into the air, leaving the bewildered Time Lord behind. Hmm… a Horsey Time Lord? Or maybe a Timey Horse? How about a Lordy Time Horse? Nah, those sound too silly.

I searched for Twilight for a bit, before spotting her running down a street with the mob right on her heels… hooves? What would that expression be here? So many lame equine jokes, so little time… I dove straight at her ending in a tackle, I wrapped her and Spike in my wings as we crashed into an alleyway. Spike was under my wing while Twilight was sprawled on top of me. “I have got to start running again.” I panted. “Erm… Twilight?”

A groan emanated from her followed by a squeak as she opened her eyes and jumped off. I grunted in pain as her hooves impacted my stomach. “Sorrysorrysorry.”

“Relax.” I rose painfully to my feet while trying to recover my breath. “What happened? I left you alone for ten minutes!”

Spike wriggled out from my wing. “Pinkie.”

I rolled my eyes. “Brilliant. Luckily I set an anti-Pinkie distraction.” An evil grin crossed my features as I thought if the marketplace warzone.

Spike looked at me curiously. “Purple?”

“Purple.” I agreed.

Twilight looked absolutely lost. “Vigil, who were those stallions? And why did they all look like you?”

I rolled my neck, trying to get a knot out. “Well Twilight, they were-” I did a double take as my vision crossed the opening of the alley. The crowd was back, this time holding my fragmented personalities. “That’ll have to wait. Hold on.” I got ahold of the back of Spike’s neck with my mouth as I wrapped my forelegs around Twilight. My wings flared to their full seven foot span then threw us into the air with a powerful down stroke. Each flap was a heavy strain as I struggled to keep us airborne.

We got three flaps up, almost clearing the roofs of the buildings beside us, before a group of pegasi slammed into me with a sickening pop from my left wing. I turned as we fell, using my body as a cushion again as we skittered down the alley, coming to a rest at the dead end. The sudden crash made my copies dissolve themselves to bolster my failing energy, leaving empty hooves and ropes tumbling to the ground.

Twilight shot up off of me with Spike clinging to her neck. Her horn sparked a fizzed as they came closer menacingly, a bright flash filled my vision just as they were about to reach us.

When my vision cleared, we were in the library again with all of the lights off. Spike, looking a little singed, said dizzily “Warn me next time you’re going to do that.”

“You’re… Telling... Me…” I wheezed out from under him. Small flames were still burning at the end of my mane and tail.

“Sorry man.” Spike sprung off of my stomach and blew them out. I wordlessly dropped my head to the floor.

After catching my breath I addressed the unicorn. “What did we discuss about teleportation spells?

“I didn't even know it was going to happen.” Twilight rushed over to the windows. “Now quick, lock the doors.” I lost track for a few minutes as pretty colors flashed across my sight. Oh wait, my eyes are closed. I opened them again to find the lights on and all of the girls gathered around Twilight. Not good, not good at all.

“Enough.” I didn’t raise my voice, didn’t need to. The ghostly whisper echoed eerily, draining away the sound of their arguing and returning the library to blissful silence. With a grunt I heaved myself back up to my hooves and limped over to stand between them and the stressed mare. Their expressions spoke volumes about my condition. My fur and mane were messed and singed; the normally orange colors were singed and entirely missing in places with bruises and cuts to compliment the bare patches. I couldn’t put weight on my right foreleg, my left wing was dragging lifelessly on the ground beside me, my back and both wings were covered in cuts and scrapes with missing feathers and scales. Several scales on my chest were cracked or missing, my right eye was blackened and swollen shut along with a split lower lip, and to top it all off a constant runnel of blood ran down from my nose dripping onto the floor with soft patters. Still I stood, somewhat unsteadily, trying to shield my host and the child from more abuse.

“Vigil?” The shy yellow pegasus questioned. The high pitched ringing in my ears nearly drowned her out. Stupid reconfigured sonic…

“No, I’m bloody Martin Septim.” My voice was low and gravely, painful to even hear now that the power was drained from it. One of my copies must have been hit in the throat or something.

“What happened to yall?” Applejack examined our various conditions. While I had soaked up most of the physical punishment, but Spike was only a child and Twilight had been tearing herself apart all day. Either would leave a person vulnerable. My balance wavered for a moment, followed by a heavy thump as I crashed onto my right side. The world flared white momentarily as pain lanced up from my injured leg. After recovering somewhat, I tried to force myself back up to help my friends, but my injured leg wouldn’t allow me any leverage.

An orange hoof gently pressed against my shoulder, ending my squirming. “Stop. You’re going to hurt yourself further.” The hoof was attached to none other than Purple. He must have gotten away before the mob could catch him earlier. The hoof moved up to my forehead. “Relax my friend, everything is going to be ok.” My head made a softer thud as my neck gave out. My thoughts took on a drifting, dreamy characteristic as my eyes tried to close. Purple grimaced at my weakness followed by his form losing its integrity as he shifted into a light the color of his name and flowed back into me.

With the return of some of my strength, I forced my eyes open. My left leg planted close, I slowly dragged myself back up. My working eye fell on Spike and the rest of the girls holding a set of golden tickets. A wheezing laugh escaped from me, causing everyone to turn to me.

“What’s so funny?” Rainbow looked unsure of if she wanted to kick me or if that would break me.

“The tickets. That memory transfer worked both ways, to a degree. She only saw the memories instead of experiencing them, so I got a few of her memories as well but not her personality. Considering her penchant for sweets, she is either oblivious to other realities or she has a great sense of humor. And I know she can contact her alternates mentally. My teacher took me there once, almost had my feathers plucked for a ‘lighter-than-air’ chocolate line…”

The gasp from beside me must have belonged to Pinkie. “I never even thought of that! He’s always had the best ideas and they got even better with that little boy.” Wait…

I turned, slowly, to her. “You know what I’m talking about?”

She nodded excitedly. “Of course! Celly and Lulu aren’t the only ones, you know.”

“So, the fourth wall?”

“There’s still a fourth wall?!” Pinkie truly looked surprised at this. “I thought it was broken.”

I smiled weakly at her, breaking the scab on my lip again. “I’d hug you, but I’m leaking a bit. The red would clash with your coat.” I turned back to Twilight. “Everything taken care of? Everyone’s happy?” She nodded. “Alright, is there somewhere besides the couch I can crash? I don’t think you want to deal with bloodstains.”

Rarity disappeared into the back for a minute, and returned with several towels. I grabbed one and set it on the floor in a corner before gingerly laying down. The girls just stared in confusion the entire time.

“Do we need to take him to the hospital?” Fluttershy asked the group.

“No. They wouldn’t be able to help much anyway.” Twilight answered sadly.

Spike watched the entire exchange before walking over to his adoptive sister. “See? I told you. He’s not as indestructible as he tries to make everypony think.”

I looked over at them from my position of laying on my side. “I’m right here you know.” I rolled my eyes at their jumps of surprise. “Spike, in my bag there’s a bunch of bottles with red labels and caps on them, would you bring me one?” He waddled over to my discarded cloak and bag and rummaged through it. After a couple of seconds he moved over to me, a bottle of Coke with a familiar hourglass-infinity symbol stamped on it in his claw. I carefully twisted off the cap and took a gulp, the carbonated drink burning pleasantly. I offered Spike a drink, which he took.

“Soda?” He questioned while staring at the bottle in his claw. “I was expecting a healing potion or something.”

I chuckled. “Nope. Those only have a limited effect on me.” I held up the bottle. “And not just any soda, it’s Coke stolen from an addict.” I paused to take a gulp, letting out a happy breath when I finished. “Mmm… Stolen Coke... I’m more of a Dew fan though.”

Pinkie looked at the cap of the drink and gasped again. “Is this..?”

I grinned in response. “Yep.”

“Ooooh. Omny’s gonna be mad at you…”

I laughed and took another drink, eye twinkling. “If he can catch me. He may have his speed aura, but I’m sneaky. Everyone go ahead and take one out of the bag. It’s been an eventful day to say the least.”

They did as directed, then sat in a sort of circle. We talked for a while, and by ‘we’ I mean ‘they’ and by ‘talked’ I mean ranted endlessly about the Gala. I smiled and nodded at them until my injuries and exhaustion got the better of me and I fell asleep. As I slipped into unconsciousness a thought flitted though my mind before being consumed by darkness.

Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?