When Death Knocks

Chapter Nine

The Reaper Comes Knocking

The Everfree Forest was a dark place. That fact had become apparent as soon as I’d stepped foot in it. The thick canopy prevented the moon’s rays from illuminating my path, forcing me to rely on my HUD’s night vision to see. Sure, it wasn’t the most hostile locale I’ve been in, but it oozed an otherworldly strangeness as I tromped through the thick brush. An inexplicable sense of foreboding permeated the very air, as if it was aware of my presence and wanted me gone. It didn’t scare me in the slightest, but after a few hours of walking, even my nerves were on edge. Of course, I couldn’t really complain. I’d chosen to venture into the creepy woods by myself, after all.

My reasons for leaving Ponyville under the cover of darkness were relatively simple: I didn’t feel like waiting. Princess Celestia and General Titus wanted to marshal an army to besiege Black Reach, the castle where Aurelius had made his home. According to the research Twilight Sparkle had done on the place, it was well-fortified and had weathered its share of sieges. The fact that it was nestled deep within a spooky-ass forest didn’t help things, either. Moving an army though the Everfree would’ve taken longer than I cared for, and I had a gut feeling Aurelius wasn’t going to hang around forever. Not when he learned that Ice Wind had spilled the beans, at least. And if he went to ground, I’d have a bitch of a time digging him back up.

So, that very night, I cleaned my guns, checked my RIG, and left Ponyville. I didn’t even leave a note for Twilight Sparkle while she slept. Did I feel like a bastard for doing that? Absolutely. She’d probably be worried about me. Hell, it wouldn’t surprise me if she sent a letter to the Princess, begging for her to send out a search party. But I wasn’t just going to sit around and wait for Aurelius to hightail it out of Black Reach. I wasn’t going to let the bastard slip through my grasp. Not when I was so close to putting a bullet in his skull.

You shouldn’t have left, a voice whispered in the back of my thoughts, After all she’s done, this is how you repay Twilight?

“Shut up.” I growled aloud, gripping my seeker rifle. That little voice had been pestering me since my interrogation of Ice Wind, and frankly, it was starting to piss me off. Doubt was something I despised with every fiber of my being, and I didn’t need it annoying me before a fight. I couldn’t afford to be distracted when I threw down with Aurelius. If I slipped up, he’d send me back to Ponyville in a matchbox.

She’s your friend, the voice insisted, She didn’t judge you, despite knowing what you’ve done. But now she’s going to be worried sick, all because you’re too damned bloodthirsty.

“Shut. Up.” I snarled, shaking my head rapidly. “Keep it together, Jack. You don’t need this shit right now.”

I was so engrossed in silencing the voice that I didn’t hear the creature stalking me until it struck. With a suddenness that made me grunt in surprise, a white-hot pain lanced through my left shoulder, just below my pauldron. Before I could react, I was lifted off my feet and slammed into the trunk of a gnarled tree, the wood cracking from the impact. I clenched my teeth over a hiss of pain and rolled to the side, just in time to dodge a giant scorpion tail tipped with a wicked barb; a barb that gleamed with my blood. I watched the tail whip back to its owner, and I cursed vehemently when I saw just what it belonged to.

The creature had the muscular body of a lion, but on its back were a pair of comically-small bat wings. Its scorpion tail lashed back and forth, even as the beast growled menacingly at me. It was like something right out of an Old Earth myth, but I couldn’t place a name to the damned thing. Not that I particularly cared for what it was called, though. It was trying to kill me, and I wasn’t going to stop to ask for its name. I barely managed to scramble to my feet as it lunged at me, claws tearing into the tree I’d struck. It roared angrily and whirled to face me, moving surprisingly fast for its size…but not fast enough to dodge the two seeker bolts I embedded into its chest.

The creature roared in agony, lashing out with its razor-sharp claws. They tore deep scratch marks into my breastplate, but I held my ground against the assault as I thrust my rifle forward. The barrel punched through the thing’s teeth, shattering them with a brutal ease. I snarled savagely as I pushed the rifle deeper down its throat, before squeezing the trigger three times in rapid succession. The beast jerked violently, stumbling back as it made horrid retching noises. It fell onto its side, legs kicking wildly as its tail whipped around in a complete frenzy. I stared impassively at it for a long moment, before calmly putting a final bolt in the thing’s head. Its violent spasms ended abruptly after that, its tail falling to the ground with a solemn thud.

“Chew on that, bitch.” I spat, shaking blood from the barrel of my gun.

I grimaced in pain as my newly injured shoulder throbbed, and it didn’t take me long to realize that I’d broken out in a cold sweat, even as a sudden wave of nausea washed over me. My RIG flashed a message across my HUD, warning me of the unknown substance the creature’s stringer had pumped into me. I took a moment to lean against a tree, catching by breath as my RIG injected me with a veritable cocktail of anti-venom and light painkillers. I gave my shoulder some rudimentary first aid as I waited for the meds to kick in, though all I could really do was spray some anti-bacterial foam on the wound and slap a gauze over it. I just hoped whatever poison spreading through me was slow.

With a grunt, I shouldered my seeker rifle and pressed on, moving at a far quicker pace than before. The nausea was gone, but I still felt colder than an icicle as I pushed through the forest. At least the annoying voice in my head was gone, and I hoped to God that it stayed that way. I could deal with poison and pain, not doubt. Doubt could kill a soldier just as easily as a bullet to the head, or a knife to the throat. It could make a man turn on his own country, and tell him to kill his comrades in cold blood. I’ve seen it happen, and it wasn’t a pretty sight to behold.

Then again, I suppose nothing about my job is pretty, is it?

___________

It took me over an hour of walking before, finally, I pushed my way out of the jungle and into a wide, rocky clearing. Right in the middle of that clearing was Black Reach, and let me tell you, it was kind of a shithole. It wasn’t some grand, sweeping, ominous citadel where legions of undead soldiers patrolled the battlements. Instead, my eyes were treated to the sight of a worn, battered-looking tower surrounded by four crumbling stone walls and illuminated by guttering torches. The tower itself was a dozen stories high, though the majority of top floor was missing, exposing the interior to the elements. Hell, my HUD only picked out a handful of Aurelius’ legionaries guarding the walls, but to be fair, I didn’t know how many were inside. Not to mention that my ammo was more than a little scarce. It didn’t help that I felt like hell, either. My RIG was doing its best to counter the poison in me, but so far, it had done little good. I was running a high fever and the nausea made me feel like puking in my helmet. I knew I could tough it out, at least long enough to finish Aurelius. After that, though…

Well, let’s just say I wasn’t favoring my chances of getting back to Ponyville alive. I could hear Death knocking on my door, but I wasn’t in a hurry to answer it. The old bastard would have to wait until I’d dealt with Aurelius before spiriting me away. Death had been hoping to punch my ticket for decades; he could hold on just a little bit longer.

With a calm, deep breath, I began striding forward confidently, my mind entirely focused on the coming fight. The niggling voice of doubt was gone, replaced by the untroubled thoughts of a man who knew what was about to happen, and had accepted it completely. Thunder rumbled like a herald as I neared Black Reach, and with a sharp crack of a lightning bolt, the dark clouds above me split open. Rain began pouring down in drenching sheets, rivulets of water pouring down my helmet’s glowing visor. With a practiced ease I reloaded my seeker rifle, the sound of a fresh magazine sliding home almost inaudible over the rain. When I finally reached the gatehouse of Black Reach, I stopped to stare up at the tower looming in front of me. I regarded it calmly for a long moment, before slinging my rifle and methodically removing the heavy plates covering my arms. Even if they didn’t limit my range of motion, I wanted to be as fast as possible while fighting Aurelius. I couldn’t afford to be even the slightest bit slow if he started slinging magic.

I dropped the metal plates to the muddy ground, my breath forming a visible cloud as I exhaled quietly. Then, with a roar that drowned out the falling rain, my suit’s thrusters activated, sending me soaring into the air on a pillar of blazing fire. Reaching the top floor of the tower was easy; getting in was even easier. All I had to do was angle myself over the gaping hole and drop inside, my boots leaving a web of hairline cracks in the stone floor as I landed. The wide, decrepit room was deathly quiet, illuminated by a dozen guttering torches. I noticed immediately that something was off, and it took me a moment to realize that the rain wasn’t falling inside. Hell, I couldn’t even hear it. I glanced up to see the droplets of water simple ceasing to exist as they fell towards the roof, as if the tower was topped with an invisible umbrella that muffled the howling storm.

“A clever spell, if I do say so myself.” A familiar voice rasped from behind me. “It’s hardly complex, but I suppose that’s where its beauty lies: Simplicity.”

I turned around slowly, and found myself nearly face to face with Aurelius’ masked visage. In person, he was hardly different than the apparition he’d appeared as in Rairty’s boutique. He was the same size, the same height, and his armor still looked ridiculous. The only thing that seemed off about him was his attitude, which almost seemed…respectful, somehow. I wasn’t expecting him to shake my hand, of course, but at least his bearing didn’t scream ‘condescending prick’.

“Skip the pleasantries, jackass.” I grunted, folding my arms across my chest. “You know why I’m here.”

“Oh, I’m quite away of your intent, Lieutenant.” Aurelius chuckled, resting a hand on the sheathed gladius that rode his hip. “I know that one of us isn’t leaving this room alive, before night’s end. This fight, I daresay, is long overdue.”

“Damn straight.” I replied. “Before I kick you ass, though, mind if I ask you a question?” I hooked a thumb at myself. “Why did you bring me here? You coulda used your hocus-pocus magic to steal a crate of guns or something. Seems like a better investment than me, in my opinion. At least the guns wouldn’t try to strangle you.”

Aurelius shook his head and sighed, as if he was dealing with a particularly slow idiot. “You assume that I wanted you here in the first place, Lieutenant.” He said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. “Transdimensional magic is a fickle thing to use, even for those of us with years of magical experience. My original targets were the foul creatures you were fighting, but much to my…surprise, I caught you instead. Neither did I expect you to appear in an entirely different part of Equestria. You being here was, to be blunt, a complete accident.”

“Heh. Well, just look at how well things turned out for you. Maybe you should go back to magic kindergarten.” I snorted derisively, watching as Aurelius’ blazing eyes narrowed beneath his helm. “And you’re all kinds of stupid for wanting to bring the Necros over. They would’ve slaughtered anything in their way, including you.”

“Not if they were on a leash.” Aurelius growled, tightening his grip in his sword. “I could have easily bent their minds to my will, used them to spread terror throughout Equestria. With them at my side, I could have easily dethroned the Princesses and taken over as the kingdom’s rightful ruler.” He raised his free arm and pointed a finger at me commandingly. “There was a time when all of Equestria bowed to men like you and me. Humans were worshiped as gods! I’ve waited centuries to take my vengeance upon the Princesses, and I will not let you ruin my pla-oof!”

I headbutted Aurelius solidly, interrupting him mid-sentence. Sparks flew from either of our helmets as metal met metal, and Aurelius stumbled back in surprise. I swiftly backpedaled and raised my seeker rifle, but just before I could squeeze the trigger, Aurelius made a swift cutting gesture with his hand. A green-black disk of energy flew from his fingertips, scything through the air faster than I could blink and neatly severing the barrel of my rifle. I cursed savagely and threw the weapon aside, in time to catch a blast of unseen kinetic force in the chest. I flew backwards and careened into the wall behind me, my vision swarming with stars as my head smacked against the unyielding stone.

“I’ll send your head back to Canterlot on a spike!” Aurelius roared, drawing his gladius and sprinting towards me. I cursed again, rolling to the side as Aurelius leapt forward, intent on ramming his sword through my chest. Instead, the blade embedded itself firmly into the wall, giving me the opportunity to rip a nearby torch from its sconce and bash him upside the head. He snarled as the embers burned his eyes, but he still had enough sense to duck my next swipe and tackle me around the waist. I stumbled back a few steps, but I held my ground as I hammered my knee into Aurelius’ chest, leaving a sizable dent in his polished breastplate. I managed to break his hold shove him back, leaping forward to drive his head into the wall. His helmet put a crack in the stone, but he rebounded quickly and sent me stumbling back with a spinning kick.

I expected him to charge me, but instead, he extended a hand towards his gladius. It flew into his grip of its own volition, and with a flourish, he began whirling it around him as he stalked towards me. I didn’t take long for me to realize that Aurelius was far better with a blade than with his fists, and he managed to score several scratches in my breastplate as we fought. I grunted as the gladius cut across my right arm, but I quickly rolled out of the way as he sliced at my head. Thinking quickly, I punched my hand into the old floorboards of the room and pulled one free, just in time to catch Aurelius on the chin with an underhand blow. He reeled backwards, giving me the chance to plunge the splintered end of the board into his arm. Red blood leaked from the wound, and Aurelius snarled angrily as he throw his gladius at me. I just barely managed to lean back in time to dodge, but the tip still left a deep scratch on my helmet as it passed.

Taking advantage of the brief distraction, Aurelius tackled me again, this time managing to slam me to the ground. I briefly gained the upper hand and grabbed Aurelius’ neck as I pounded his head into the floor. I even threw in a few heavy punches, but he swiftly shoved me off and straddled my chest before I could rise. His fingers wrapped around my throat like a steel vise, his eyes ablaze as he throttled the air from my lungs.

I choked out a curse and hammered by elbow into his face, before viciously shoving my thumb through the visor of his helm and into one of his blazing eyes. He roared in pain and immediately released his grip, giving me the chance to roll to my knees. I sent him sprawling onto his back with a solid uppercut, but before I could pounce, he slapped his hands together and sent a gout of fire streaming towards me. I instinctively raised my arms to shield my face as the flames washed over me, and I could feel their preternatural heat as they began burning my arms. I swore vehemently at the pain and scrambled to the side, out of the fire’s path. I put some distance between myself and Aurelius, who was in no hurry to pursue me as he slowly stood. I only took my eyes from him for a second to inspect my arms, and grimace at the damage. The sleeves of my jumpsuit had protected me from the worst of the fire, but they were ragged and tattered beyond repair. I eyed them for a moment, before tearing the scorched shreds off and casting them to the ground. My muscles rippled as I flexed my bare arms, before punching my fist into my palm and charging forward. Aurelius did the same, our boots pounding like thunder on the floor.

The two of us met in the middle of the room with a resounding clang. Punches were exchanged with a rapid ferocity as we dodged and countered one another. Looking back, I’d say the two of us were almost evenly matched. We were both strong, quick, and knew how to fight. Aurelius had the experience of a man who’d survived for centuries on the run, whereas I had the knowledge garnered from dozens of suicide missions and near-death experiences. I hadn’t avoided Death for decades on luck alone, after all. Aurelius and I hammered away at each other relentlessly for what seemed like hours, but with a well-timed dodge, I finally managed to land a savage kick to his knee. He howled in pain, collapsing to the ground as his leg buckled, unable to support his weight. Before I could begin pounding him flat, though, he clenched his fist and rammed it into my chest, spitting out a jagged-sounding word in the process. At first, I didn’t know what the move had achieved. It was only when my HUD began flashing red that I looked down at my chest, my eyebrows raised slightly

A ghostly, translucent white blade jutted from above Aurelius’ fist. He twisted it savagely, sending a lance of pain stabbing through my chest. Even though my armor was undamaged, bright red blood stained the blade as he wrenched it free and shoved me back. I sank to the ground, my legs shaky and unresponsive as I tried to move, but I couldn’t so much as speak as Aurelius stood and limped over to me. He reached down and pried my helmet free, tossing it aside contemptuously as he loomed over me. I tried to say something, but no words came out of my mouth; only a wheezing, wet rasp. Aurelius chuckled darkly and slowly knelt down beside me, casually wiping away the blood trickling from my mouth.

“You’re a most worthy foe, Lieutenant.” Aurelius remarked, rubbing the blood against his fingertips with his thumb. “Perhaps I should try enthralling you and turning you loose against Equestria.” He put a hand over his heart in mock grief. “Oh, imagine poor Twilight Sparkle’s reaction when the man she adores comes to murder her. It would be absolutely priceless.” He laughed mockingly and shoved his blade into my gut, sending another wave of pain washing through me. I’m not going to lie, it hurt like a real sonuvabitch. But I couldn’t do much except grit my teeth and glare at Aurelius, rage swarming through me in an unstoppable torrent. I clenched my fists, willing with every fiber of my body to get up and do something. Anything that would let me tear the smug bastard’s face off.

“But, I suppose you have earned the privilege of a quick death.” Aurelius mused, pulling his blade free and angling it over my neck. “Farewell, Jack Ventralis. Know that your sacrifice was entirely in vain.”

The shimmering white blade plunged towards me, but rather than my throat, it sunk into my left hand. I focused my rage and hatred into pushing through the foul magic keeping me down, slowly pushing Aurelius’ blade away from me. I saw his eyes widen beneath his helm, but before he could react, I ripped my pistol from its holster and punched the barrel into his throat with a sickening squelch. The sound of the gunshot was nearly deafening at such close range, but I didn’t let that stop me from emptying the rest of the magazine into Aurelius’ neck. He jerked violently, warm blood spattering my face as the blade embedded in my hand disappeared.

He didn’t roar out any last words or spit a final curse as the pulse rounds tore into him. There wasn’t a maniacal laugh as his body disappeared ominously, or the screams of the damned as they took his soul. Aurelius merely toppled backwards and hit the ground with a wet thump, his throat a mangled ruin and blood pooling around his head. Death was many things, but he was hardly ever theatric. He did his job with a cool efficiency, and Aurelius didn’t get any special treatment. I only hoped his trip to Hell was delayed somehow. I didn’t want him beating me there.

Almost as if someone had flipped a switch, the rain began pouring into the room again. The cool drops felt fantastic on my burnt arms, and I couldn’t help but crack a smile as the water ran down my face. Before long, I was wheezing out raspy, hacking laughter as I stared up at the sky. I didn’t know what it was about dying that I found so funny. Maybe the ridiculousness of the last few days was finally catching up to me. Or maybe because I envisioned Death standing beside me, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for me to finally expire. Either way, I figured kicking the bucket with a smile on my face was better than dying angry.

I couldn’t help but wonder about Twilight, as I died. She’d been the closest thing I’d had to a friend for a long while, and deep down, I felt a twinge of sadness as I thought about how distressed she would be about my death. But I knew she’d endure. Beneath that bookish exterior, Twilight had the heart of a fighter. She would pull through in the end...I only regretted that I hadn’t been better to her, over the last few days.

“Thanks, kid.” I whispered to myself as the sound of rain began receding. “Thanks for sticking...with....” I trailed off as my breath caught in my throat, and convulsed violently, my back arching painfully before, thankfully, I went entirely limp. My RIG beeped wildly, the holographic display pulsing with a blood-red light. But, just like the rain, even that noise faded away to nothing.

And then I fell into the cool, welcome embrace of darkness.

Author's Note: Is this the end? Well...you'll just have to wait and see. As always, my gratitude goes out to Invictus for his pre-reading skills. I hope you all enjoyed!

-Wes